Lent -2024

See The UAC Congress Site www.vincenzopallotti.org/congress

 

 

 

 

 

 Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Let us continue to explore the theme of discernment. Last time we considered prayer, understood as familiarity and confidence with God, as its indispensable element. Prayer, not like parrots. No: prayer as familiarity and confidence with God; prayer of the sons of the Father; prayer with an open heart.  Today I would like, in an almost complementary way, to emphasize that good discernment also requires self-knowledge. Self-knowledge. And this is not easy, eh! Indeed, it involves our human faculties: memory, intellect, will, affections. Often, we do not know how to discern because we do not know ourselves well enough, and so we do not know what we really want. You have heard many times: “But that person, why doesn’t he sort out his life? He has never known what he wants…”. There are people who… And then, yes, his life goes like that, because not even he knows what he wants. Without arriving at that extreme, it happens to us too that we do not know clearly what we want, we do not know ourselves well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering Sr. Olivia

 

Remembering Sr Olivia

Grateful for your service

Sister Olivia Reginella

August 19, 1929 – February 2, 2024

Monroe, NY

Sister Olivia Reginella, a member of the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines) in Monroe, NY, passed away on Friday, February 2, 2024. She was 94 years old. Daughter of the late Angelina (LoGuidice) and Benedetto Reginella, she was born on August 19, 1929, in West New York, NJ, and given the name Mary Grace.

Sister Olivia was an outstanding educator and Religious. She was a dedicated member of the Pallottine Sisters community for 75 years, having served as major superior. She will be missed by those she taught throughout her years of service, and by her religious family. Sr. Olivia was instrumental in establishing the Monroe Senior Center.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at Queen of Apostles Chapel, 98 Harriman Heights Rd., Monroe, NY. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, February 7th, at 11:00 a.m. at Queen of Apostles Chapel, followed by interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Monroe, NY.

Pallottine Family News

 Pallottine Family News

Information about our Pallottine Family

Please  check out the New UAC blog at:

https://www.vincenzopallotti.org

It has all the information of the Communities throughout the world. If you click on the update button there, you can see what the Pallottine family is doing in the service of the Church.

One information I would like to share today is that Sr. Patrice of the Missionary Sisters died this past week Laurel.  She was one of the first members of the USNCC and a consultor for the Community in Rome. 

In Memoriam of Sr Patrice Wales

• 19/10/2023

“All who are called and chosen have received from the Lord talents in a measure according to their election and holy vocation.”

St. Vincent Pallotti

Sister Patrice (Barbara) Wales SAC, a member of the Pallottine Missionary Sisters, Queen of Apostles Province, was born September 9, 1935, in Washington, DC, the daughter of the late Robert C. and Bernadette (Dyer) Wales.  Sister Patrice died Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at the age of 88, at St. Mary’s Convent Infirmary in Huntington, WV.  

Sr. Patrice entered the Congregation of Pallottine Missionary Sisters on September 8, 1957, in Huntington, WV.  How fitting that she would return to Huntington for healthcare, and the Lord would take her peacefully to her final home.  Sr. Patrice made her First Vows on August 15, 1960, and her Final Vows on August 15, 1966, at St. Mary’s Convent Chapel, Huntington, WV.

Sr. Patrice’s educational studies began in 1957 at Dunbarton College where she received her B.A. Degree in Biology, in 1958 sister went on to Catholic University where she obtained a M.S. Degree in Biology.  In 1994, Sr. Patrice studied at the University of Maryland, where she graduated with a Ph.D., Ed. Policy & Administration Degree.  Sister’s ministries were carried out at Pallotti High School Laurel, Maryland, from 1960-1965 and again from 1966-2004, holding positions of teacher and in Pallotti High School Administration.  Sr. Patrice was loved by her students, as she offered encouragement and caring to them.  She was someone they could confide in and knew they would receive her guidance when needed.  In 1965-1966, sister taught at St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Huntington, WV.   From 2004-2016, sister was in Rome, Italy, where she served as secretary and General Councilor until her return to Laurel, MD in 2016.   Sr. Patrice remained at Pallotti Convent in Laurel until health issues brought her to the Sisters Infirmary in Huntington, on September 9, 2023, where she received compassionate, loving care from the Infirmary staff until her death on October 17, 2023.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Medical Center Sisters Chapel on October 20, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. with Msgr. Dean G. Borgmeyer officiating.  Sister Patrice’s body will then be taken back to Laurel, where she will be interred at St. Mary of the Mills Parish Cemetery.

Sr. Mary Grace Barilie, SAC
Provincial Superior

    

https://uacmoments.blogspot.com   Extracts from the Papal Letter of John XXIII for the Canonization of Vincent Pallotti, Confessor
“The burning desire of Christ that those who believe in him be one (cf. Jn 17: 21), also inflamed the heart of Vincent Pallotti, Roman priest, surrounded by us today with the crown of saints and invoked as our intercessor in heaven. He, in fact, urged on by love for God and at the same time moved by the infinite miseries of humankind, longed ardently all his life and strove in every way that human beings, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, be able to understand that eternal life consists in this: to know the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (Jn 17:3). 
...
This Saint (...) worked unceasingly in this city [of Rome], in the living hope that Catholics above all would recognise their own dignity as Christians, preserving their faith intact; that [other Christians] would return to the one fold of the Catholic Church under the guidance of one Shepherd; finally, that [non Christians] as yet unenlightened by the light of the Gospel would, through the omnipotent grace of God, submit to the law of Christ. He dedicated himself with every means possible to the education of children and young people; to the formation and spiritual direction of seminarians and of priests; to the care of soldiers, of the poor, of the sick, of prisoners and of those condemned to death; to the ministry of preaching; to the worship of God, also in external and solemn form, sometimes restoring the sacred ceremonies to their original splendour.
It pleases us to remember that, in order to complete these virtually innumerable activities, he united not only the work of priests, as is natural, but also that of lay people, men and women; so much so that he was rightly called precursor of what today is Catholic Action.
Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome on April 21, 1795, and was regenerated in the sacred waters of Baptism in the basilica of San Lorenzo in Damaso the following day (...). Over the years, he perceived clearly that he was called to the priesthood. The unjust laws of the time, however, forbade young men to enter the seminary, and Saint Vincent too was forced to remain at home. Here, however, he waited diligently to prepare for the priesthood in study, prayer and penance. He was ordained priest on May 10, 1818 and, filled as he was with zeal for others, he immediately became the apostle of Rome, making his own the motto of St. Paul: the love of Christ urges us on (2 Co 5: 14). And above all, in order to provide a good education for the young, he opened numerous schools which they could attend after work during the evening, also learning the first elements Christian doctrine. Caring particularly about young men called to priesthood, he accepted the role of spiritual director of the Roman Seminary and of confessor in the Scottish, Greek, English and Irish ecclesiastical colleges as well as that of Propaganda Fide (...). He alleviated the miseries of the poor in every way, to the point of depriving himself several times of his own bed and coat in order to help them. His concern for the sick reached the pointed of heroism when, in 1837, cholera broke out in Rome.
It was his custom to preach in the squares (...). After such sermons, he usually went into some church and got people to pray, while he heard confessions at length, sometimes late into the night. But (...) God wanted him for a very particular type of activity. Therefore, he conceived a plan in his heart to bring Christians above all to a more pure and active faith, in order then to lead all [non Christians] to conversion. For this purpose he founded the [Union] of Catholic Apostolate in 1835. All, directly or indirectly, must collaborate in achieving the goals of the [Union]; which are, to recall the words of the founder himself: “the increase, defence and spreading of charity and of the Catholic faith, under the special protection of the Immaculate Mother of God, Queen of Apostles, according to the directives of the Supreme Pontiff”.
Very many, taking up the invitation of Pallotti, gave their names to the [Union]. He promoted (...) an Octave, from the day of the Feast of the Epiphany itself , during which (...) different functions in different oriental Catholic rites were celebrated and talks given in different languages: a real manifestation of the unity and universality of the Roman Church.
Something else worthy of mention: Vincent Pallotti, with the aim of cultivating the spirit of piety in priests, invited them to special weekly meetings, during which not only secular and religious priests, but also bishops and prelates, parish priests, theologians, Consultors of the Sacred Congregations, listened attentively to the reading and explanation of passages from Sacred Scripture, and discussed theological and liturgical questions. He also had the gift of performing miracles, such as healing even the very seriously ill, converting sinners, freeing the possessed from demons, predicting the future for himself and others; he sometimes even had the gift of bilocation. His truly exceptional priestly prudence, fortitude and dignity were demonstrated especially when, in the middle of the 19th century, political disturbances broke out in Rome during which various priests were persecuted and killed, and he himself was repeatedly hunted in order to be killed.

On January 15th 1850, he suddenly fell ill. He seemed to pick up quickly but, to the amazement of all, he didn’t want to leave his bed. Instead, he asked for Viaticum and Extreme Unction and, after having given his children his final exhortations, he died peacefully on the day which he himself foresaw, the 22nd of that same month.

Very soon after his death, since his fame for holiness was on everyone’s lips, the opportunity to confer on him the title of Blessed began to be thought about. Therefore, after the usual canonical processes, the Supreme Pontiff signed the decree for the introduction of his Cause: it was January 13, 1887 (…). The virtues of Vincent Pallotti (…) were declared heroic by Pius XI with the decree of January 21, 1932. The rite [of beatification, led by Pius XII,] took place with great solemnity in the basilica of St. Peter’s on January 22, 1950, exactly one hundred years after his death. Then, because of the very many other miracles obtained through the intercession of the Blessed, the Cause for his canonisation was resumed; in particular, the canonical processes for the examination of two specific healings were instituted (…). On April 6, [1962] (...) we declared to be certain, without a shadow of a doubt, the healing of Angelo Balzarani from a carbuncular pustule [a dark itchy abscess or skin ulcer] together with grave toxaemia [blood poisoning], and that of Fr. Adalbert Turowski, Rector General of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, from a very serious postoperative toxic-infectious syndrome, compounded by heart failure.
Having invoked the abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in our quality as supreme teacher of the universal Church, we pronounce the following words: In honour of the Most Holy and indivisible Trinity, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and for the increase of the Christian religion, with the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and Our Own: after having pondered over the matter at length and repeatedly invoked divine help; having heard the views of Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops resident in Rome; we declare and define that the blessed Vincent Pallotti is a Saint, and we enter him in the register of saints, arranging for his memory to be devoutly venerated every year on the day of the anniversary of his death, the twenty second of January. In the name of the Fa†ther and of the S†on and of the Holy†Spirit. So may it be.

Written in Rome, at the tomb of Saint Peter, on the twentieth of January nineteen sixty three, in the fifth year of Our Pontificate ”.

I, JOHN, Bishop of the Catholic Church
                                                                                     
      2012-01-03  

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 Wishing All the Blessings of Christmas

May we be the Lord's Presence to one another!

 

Apostles for Today – August, 2022

Ecumenism - 

Towards A Successful Unity

as Children of God

    Ecumenism - Because All are Called

    God gave us Jesus Christ so that "He might be our firstborn brother, 'ut sit Ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus' (Rom 8:29) ... In this way He wished to animate more vividly and palpably in us faith in that intimate, true, very close relationship which may be called ... supernatural kinship. Through it we enter into the rights of the children of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ." These words of St. Vincent Pallotti make it clear that all who profess Christ are united as brothers and sisters and called to follow him into communion with God and with one another.

    On the way to this fellowship of churches, the Christian confessions have come a decisive distance in recent decades within the framework of ecumenical encounter and ecumenical dialogue. But in the face of present and future challenges, we need to redefine ecumenism from the center of Christian faith. Experience shows that the ecumenical process must come from the center of Christianity and be sustained by the life and faith practices of Christians as a whole.  If ecumenism is to carry its own concerns right into the hearts of people and the movements of life, it needs a spiritual reorientation and a clear change of perspective inspired from the center of the Christian message, as well as a broadening of horizons.

    Building Blocks of a Spiritual Ecumenism

    Before the unity of Christian denominations becomes a visible reality, Christians must first become aware once again of the foundation and the goal of unity. This foundation can only be religious and at the same time spiritual. The visible unity of the Church is only a concretisation and manifestation of unity in the spirit of faith and the mission of the People of God. Ecumenism cannot be reduced to the level of mere conversation, argument and problematiation, or to diplomacy and human benevolence. It must emerge from the spiritual power of living proclamation and witness to the Gospel from life. It must blossom in lived faith.

    It is therefore indispensable that Christians of all denominations first become aware of their mission and calling as Christians. The basic condition of the unity of the Church is the fundamental awareness that there is only one God and one humanity. This fundamental unity precedes all differences and all legitimate diversity. The one God is the Creator of all human beings. All human beings are creatures of the one God, made in his image (cf. Gen 1:26). The Creator of all human beings, according to the Christian faith, is the heavenly Father. Because we have only one Father, we are all children of God and therefore brothers and sisters. The desired unity of the Church is nothing other than the unity of humanity already founded in creation, which the Church is called to live. This can only succeed as a spiritual process. Such a spiritual perspective enables us to seek without prejudice that which unites us and to give it form: Are we not united by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our vocation and common mission as Christians, the profession of faith, the call to mercy and holiness of life, and last but not least, our common hope in eternal life? The sacramental bond of Baptism unites us deeply with one another and gives us a spiritual kinship with Christ and in him with our fellow human beings. It is necessary to recognize this deep kinship and to fill it with life.

    We must understand ecumenism as a spiritual process encompassing all dimensions of the Christian life. "Because ecumenism, with all its human and moral demands, is so deeply rooted in the mysterious work of the Father's providence through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, it reaches into the depths of Christian spirituality." This means penetrating the truth of the faith existentially and appropriating the essence and truth of the Christian message in such a way that it shapes and transforms one's whole life. The common confession of faith that all Christians pray must become an experiential existential reality for life and Christian practice. This confession is, of course, an ongoing task which we hope will be fulfilled.

    To realize unity in legitimate diversity of faith traditions and approaches is above all a spiritual task wrought by the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can give the necessary power to reconcile differences. For the intention of the petition for unity in Jesus' high priestly prayer (cf. Jn 17:20-26) has in view a unity that is pre-formed in God himself. But it is an eschatological reality that can already be experienced now in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The "already" and "not yet" of the faith founded in the message of the kingdom of God is especially decisive in questions of ecumenism. Ecumenism can only be successful if we look for a theologically-reflective contemporary form of the gospel and the church that comes from the centre of the Christian faith and is oriented towards the present ecumenical necessity and the present world situation rather than towards the outdated confessional categories and reasons for separation of the past. We need a great spiritual strength to surrender part of our own history and the narrowness of our own confessional limiting identity and to attain a larger and more comprehensive common Christian identity.

    Ecumenism as a spiritual process demands from everyone a spiritual breadth of heart and an inner spiritual strength to respect and love not only individual brothers and sisters in other churches, but entire denominations as such, without rashly giving up one's own self-understanding. This is, of course, the more difficult and uncomfortable way, but in the long run it is fruitful. For true fidelity to the Lord and his Church and openness to the various challenges of the reality of others are not mutually exclusive. To the extent that we live in communion with Christ, abiding in his love that accepts and purifies us all, to the extent that we share in Christ's community, we too can be faithful to the Gospel and to our own journey of faith while at the same time being open to other journeys of faith. We are all united in the spiritual search for the all-surpassing truth of the Christian faith in its depth and fullness.

    Theo-centric Orientation

    In our common confession of faith, first and foremost is the confession of the one God who is the Creator of all people. In this confession we are given a great vision of unity. When God is at the centre of ecumenism, we are on a sure spiritual path. The point is to refocus all our ecumenical efforts on God and to understand the whole process of ecumenism as a journey of deeper knowledge of God and relationship with God. All our ecumenical efforts should be about grasping more deeply God's one plan of salvation for all humanity and drawing strength from it for our actions.

    What we need today is a God-centeredness in the life of the churches and the ecclesial communities. When we look together to God, we have the strength to perceive from a new perspective the reality of human life and all that belongs to the human condition. All ecumenical movements must start from God and lead more and more to him. For the vocation of all Christians and of the Church is to be witnesses for God in the world. Since this witness is obscured by the division of Christians, the abiding goal of ecumenism is to be together "convincing" witnesses to God. If we succeed in a new departure towards God, we will also succeed in ecumenism. If we are on this spiritual journey, we will discover more deeply our common calling as Christians. When we put God at the center, we will all have a common direction of vision to guide individual Christians and the church as a community.

    The necessary theo-centric orientation in ecumenism becomes concrete and real for us in a lived Christo-centricity. Jesus Christ is at the center of the Christian faith and the confession of him makes us what we are: Christians. In Christ we recognize who God is. In him and through him, God becomes Immanuel, the God with us. The concretisation of the experience of God in Christ is only possible if we are willing to enter into friendship with him. This friendly relationship with Jesus is the central theme of a spiritual ecumenism. Through the knowledge of Christ we become new people. In him we live in a new way in the awareness of the unity given in him to all who follow him and have become brothers and sisters in him and through him.

    Jesus Christ is the common foundation of the Church. If we want to build ecumenism not on sand but on solid rocky ground, and if we want to come closer to the goal of the unity of all Christians, then we must first turn our gaze to him and to the salvation given in him.

    We must return to Jesus Christ and his saving message: Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and forever (cf. Heb 13:8). Christians confess together about him: Jesus Christ is true God and true man. This confession is the common foundation of all churches and the common heritage of undivided Christianity in the first century. An ecumenism built on this foundation can be purposeful.

    Ecumenism and Evangelisation


    When we recognize that the divisions are obviously contrary to the will of Christ, then for the sake of the cause of Jesus we must make every effort to intensify ecumenism from the mission of the Church and to continue it as a spiritual process of bringing the faith to life and passing it on. For the raison d'être of the visible Church is solely the mediation and realization of the salvation given in Christ, so that people may find their salvation, to the infinite glory of God. The source of ecumenism's strength is the awareness of Christians' sacramental union with God, the bond this gives them with one another, and the spiritual community of life and witness that follows from this.

    The Church's mission of evangelization and ecumenism are closely linked. Therefore, we must start at the root. We must once again make the Gospel the center of the Church's life, because the Gospel is the beginning, the permanent foundation and the source of ecclesial life and of all renewal. Of course, by Gospel is meant the living Word of God, Jesus Christ Himself. Thus we must again begin everything anew on the ground of the Gospel and renew everything in Christ. Only on the path of evangelization, which means at the same time a new evangelisation and self-evangelisation, can we walk ecumenism as a spiritual path to unity. This is how we realize our apostolate.

    One thing is necessary: A new enthusiasm for God that opens and inclines, unites, builds up and completes. If we are close to God, we will also be close to one another and together we will be a sign and witness of human unity. If we succeed in grasping anew the glorification of God as our proper vocation and mission, the ecumenical endeavor will take on a new quality. Many divisive issues will then appear in a different light and this goal of unity will unite us: "You have called us to stand before you and serve you". This prayer of the Church in the celebration of the Eucharist is the confession of her very raison d'être.

    When Christians existentially embrace the spiritual implications of one of the most quoted words of the Bible, ecumenism will appear in a new perspective: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy tribe, a people who have become his special possession, that you may proclaim the great deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) This calling is our mission: When the glorification of God is seen as the unifying center of God's people and is also grasped and lived existentially, then a new horizon opens for ecumenism. The ecumenism of the future can only succeed if we are prepared to join in Jesus' prayer for unity and to live our lives accordingly: "Let all be one, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21).

Dr. Fr. George Augustine SAC

Reflections on God's word