Six years ago this week, I moved to Los Angeles. I chose the feast of St Thérèse as my move date.

Last year, as I prepared to move back to Minnesota, I reflected on her witness in relation to my five years in southern California. You can read it here.

Labels: hollywood, prayer, saints

On the memorial of St. John Mary Vianney, patron saint of priests, I've decided to pull a few passages from a letter to priests that was published by Pope John Paul II on Holy Thursday of 1986. In this letter, the Pope reflected on the Curé D' Ars and the value of his example for priests today.

The depth of his love for Christ and for souls

The Cure of Ars is a model of priestly zeal for all pastors. The secret of his generosity is to be found without doubt in his love for God, lived without limits, in constant response to the love made manifest in Christ crucified. This is where he bases his desire to do everything to save the souls ransomed by Christ at such a great price, and to bring them back to the love of God. Let us recall one of those pithy sayings which he had the knack of uttering: "The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus." In his sermons and catechesis he continually returned to that love: "O my God, I prefer to die loving you than to live a single instant without loving you... I love you, my divine Savior, because you were crucified for us... because you have me crucified for you." For the sake of Christ, he seeks to conform himself exactly to the radical demands that Jesus in the Gospels puts before the disciples whom he sends out: prayer, poverty, humility, self-denial, voluntary penance. And, like Christ, he has a love for his flock that leads him to extreme pastoral commitment and self-sacrifice. Rarely has a pastor been so acutely aware of his responsibilities, so consumed by a desire to wrest his people from the sins of their lukewarmness. "O my God, grant me the conversion of my parish: I consent to suffer whatever you wish, for as long as I live." Dear brother priests, nourished by the Second Vatican Council which has felicitously placed the priest's consecration within the framework of his pastoral mission, let us join Saint John Mary Vianney and seek the dynamism of our pastoral zeal in the Heart of Jesus, in his love for souls. If we do not draw from the same source, our ministry risks bearing little fruit!

The specific ministry of the priest

Saint John Mary Vianney gives an eloquent answer to certain questionings of the priest's identity, which have manifested themselves in the course of the last twenty years; in fact it seems that today a more balanced position is being reached. The priest always, and in an unchangeable way, finds the source of his identity in Christ the Priest. It is not the world which determines his status, as though it depended on changing needs or ideas about social roles. The priest is marked with the seal of the Priesthood of Christ, in order to share in his function as the one Mediator and Redeemer. So, because of this fundamental bond, there opens before the priest the immense field of the service of souls, for their salvation in Christ and in the Church. This service must be completely inspired by love of souls in imitation of Christ who gives his life for them. It is God's wish that all people should be saved, and that none of the little ones should be lost (cf. Mt 18:14). "The priest must always be ready to respond to the needs of souls," said the Cure of Ars. "He is not for himself, he is for you." The priest is for the laity: he animates them and supports them in the exercise of the common priesthood of the baptized—so well illustrated by the Second Vatican Council—which consists in their making their lives a spiritual offering, in witnessing to the Christian spirit in the family, in taking charge of the temporal sphere and sharing in the evangelization of their brethren. But the service of the priest belongs to another order. He is ordained to act in the name of Christ the Head, to bring people into the new life made accessible by Christ, to dispense to them the mysteries—the Word, forgiveness, the Bread of Life—to gather them into his body, to help them to form themselves from within, to live and to act according to the saving plan of God. In a word, our identity as priests is manifested in the "creative" exercise of the love for souls communicated by Christ Jesus. Attempts to make the priest more like the laity are damaging to the Church. This does not mean in any way that the priest can remain remote from the human concerns of the laity: he must be very near to them, as John Mary Vianney was, but as a priest, always in a perspective which is that of their salvation and of the progress of the Kingdom of God. He is the witness and the dispenser of a life other than earthly life (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 3). It is essential to the Church that the identity of the priest be safeguarded, with its vertical dimension. The life and personality of the Cure of Ars are a particularly enlightening and vigorous illustration of this.

His intimate configuration to Christ and his solidarity with sinners

Saint John Mary Vianney did not content himself with the ritual carrying out of the activities of his ministry. It was his heart and his life which he sought to conform to Christ. Prayer was the soul of his life: silent and contemplative prayer, generally in his church at the foot of the tabernacle. Through Christ, his soul opened to the three divine Persons, to whom he would entrust "his poor soul" in his last will and testament. "He kept a constant union with God in the middle of an extremely busy life." And he did not neglect the office or the rosary. He turned spontaneously to the Virgin. His poverty was extraordinary. He literally stripped himself of everything for the poor. And he shunned honors. Chastity shone in his face. He knew the value of purity in order "to rediscover the source of love which is God." Obedience to Christ consisted, for John Mary Vianney, in obedience to the Church and especially to the Bishop. This obedience took the form of accepting the heavy charge of being a parish priest, which often frightened him. But the Gospel insists especially on renouncing self, on accepting the Cross. Many were the crosses which presented themselves to the Cure of Ars in the course of his ministry: calumny on the part of the people, being misunderstood by an assistant priest or other confreres, contradictions, and also a mysterious struggle against the powers of hell, and sometimes even the temptation to despair in the midst of spiritual darkness. Nonetheless he did not content himself with just accepting these trials without complaining; he went beyond them by mortification, imposing on himself continual fasts and many other rugged practices in order to "reduce his body to servitude," as Saint Paul says. But what we must see clearly in this penance, which our age unhappily has little taste for, are his motives: love of God and the conversion of sinners. Thus he asks a discouraged fellow priest: "You have prayed..., you have wept..., but have you fasted, have you kept vigil...?" Here we are close to the warning Jesus gave to the Apostles: "But this kind is cast out only by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21). In a word, John Mary Vianney sanctified himself so as to be more able to sanctify others. Of course, conversion remains the secret of hearts, which are free in their actions, and the secret of God's grace. By his ministry, the priest can only enlighten people, guide them in the internal forum and give them the sacraments. The sacraments are of course actions of Christ, and their effectiveness is not diminished by the imperfection or unworthiness of the minister. But the results depend also on the dispositions of those who receive them, and these are greatly assisted by the personal holiness of the priest, by his perceptible witness, as also by the mysterious exchange of merits in the Communion of Saints. Saint Paul said: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24). John Mary Vianney in a sense wished to force God to grant these graces of conversion, not only by his prayer but by the sacrifice of his whole life. He wished to love God for those who did not love him, and even to do the penance which they would not do. He was truly a pastor completely at one with his sinful people. Dear brother priests, let us not be afraid of this very personal commitment—marked by asceticism and inspired by love—which God asks of us for the proper exercise of our Priesthood. Let us remember the recent reflections of the Synodal Fathers: "It seems to us that in the difficulties of today God wishes to teach us more deeply the value, importance and central place of the Cross of Jesus Christ." In the priest, Christ relives his Passion, for the sake of souls. Let us give thanks to God who thus permits us to share in the Redemption, in our hearts and in our flesh! For all these reasons, Saint John Mary Vianney never ceases to be a witness, ever living, ever relevant, to the truth about the priestly vocation and service. We recall the convincing way in which he spoke of the greatness of the priest and of the absolute need for him. Those who are already priests, those who are preparing for the Priesthood and those who will be called to it must fix their eyes on his example and follow it. The faithful too will more clearly grasp, thanks to him, the mystery of the Priesthood of their priests. No, the figure of the Cure of Ars does not fade.

(from the Letter of Pope John Paul II To All the Priests of the Church for Holy Thursday 1986)

See also:

Letter of Pope Benedict XVI Proclaiming a Year for Priests - June 16, 2009

Encyclical Letter of Pope John XXIII on Saint John Vianney - August 1, 1959

Labels: conversion, John Paul II, mercy, moral life, paschal mystery, pope benedict xvi, priesthood, saints, vocations, Year for Priests

I think of how it began.

Paul Furey, continue to remember us in your prayers. You are certainly in our own.

Labels: communion, paschal mystery, pauline year, prayer, saints, suffering

Today is the feast day of St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. He died on this day in 1975.

In this Year for Priests, it seems appropriate to highlight his solicitude for priests:

His love for the priesthood and for priests was transparent. In 1941, he had to leave town for one of these retreats in Lérida. Although his mother was ill, he decided to go anyway because the doctor did not think it was serious.

“Could you offer your sufferings for the work I’m going to do?” he asked her.

As he left the room he heard her murmur: “This son of mine…”

Arriving at the seminary of Lérida, he had knelt before the tabernacle, saying: “Lord, look after my mother, for I am taking care of your priests.”

Two days later, the thought of his mother still very much in his heart, he proceeded to preach on the role of the priest’s mother. It occurred to him to tell his listeners that her role was so important that she should not die till the day after the death of her son the priest.

After the meditation he remained recollected in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Then the apostolic administrator of the diocese, who was making the retreat, came up to him somewhat disconcerted and said in a low voice: “Álvaro del Portillo would like you to phone him in Madrid.”

His mother, Dolores, had died.

Years later, Saint Josemaría affirmed, “I have always thought that our Lord wanted that sacrifice from me, as an external proof of my love for diocesan priests, and that my mother especially continues to intercede for that work.”

(source)

Here are a couple of additional resources on St. Josemaría Escrivá:

• his writings
• novena to Saint Josemaría for work

Labels: prayer, priesthood, saints

Labels: communion, John of the Cross, paschal mystery, prayer, saints, technology

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a time to remember in a special way the message of our Lord to St. Faustina Kowalska, a simple nun from Krakow in early part of the 20th century.

When I was studying in Europe as part of a semester-abroad program in 1992, I had a chance to visit Krakow and visit the convent where Sister Faustina lived. I remember leaving from Steubenville's Austrian campus early that day -- which meant skipping out of the end of a talk given by Cardinal Schönborn, who was reading to us from the latest draft of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Just one more thing to lay before God's mercy...

When we arrived in Krakow, it was hard to find Sr. Faustina's convent -- although the fact that none of my classmates spoke Polish might have had something to do with it... We just pulled out our holy cards with the image of the Divine Mercy on it, and first were directed to the wrong church! But we eventually got there, and the sisters were kind enough to show us around... we saw the sisters' cemetery, the chapel that contains the image, and the tomb of St. Faustina. Here are a few photos...

The sister's cemetery

Praying at the tomb of St. Faustina

The Divine Mercy image in the chapel

A Polish holy card

Labels: Easter, liturgy, mercy, saints

The feast of Divine Mercy is this coming Sunday. Visit the website of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy for all kinds of information about Saint Faustina, the Divine Mercy chaplet, and John Paul II's special devotion to the Divine Mercy.

I remember reading St. Faustina's diary about fourteen years ago, after visiting her convent outside of Krakow, and being very moved not only by her mystical experiences but also her deep and abiding love for God and for sinners. Two of my favorite quotes:

Only love has meaning; it raises up our smallest actions into infinity (Notebook I, #502)

Almost every feast of the Church gives me a deeper knowledge of God and a special grace. That is why I prepare myself for each feast and unite myself closely with the spirit of the Church. What a joy it is to be a faithful child of the Church! Oh, how much I love Holy Church and all those who live in it! I look upon them as living members of Christ, who is their head. I burn with love with those who love; I suffer with those who suffer. (Notebook I, #481)

So why not prepare yourself for this feast of the Church? Many parishes will be having Divine Mercy devotions this Sunday at 3 pm, the hour of mercy. While the Divine Mercy novena began on Good Friday, it's not too late to join in. You can also download a talk on Divine Mercy to your computer or MP3 player, compliments of Fr. Jay Finelli, the iPadre.

Labels: Easter, liturgy, mercy, multimedia, podcasts, prayer, saints

Finally getting around to posting more audio from the RCIA Hollywood program.

This week I've posted the audio recording from our class on virtues, passions, and the artist, which was led by guest speakers Dr. Daniel McInerny of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, and Dr. Michael P. Foley of the Great Texts Program at Baylor University. The class was held almost a year ago to the day, and includes a reading about Saints Perpetua and Felicity, whose feast day is March 7.

Click here for links to the audio and to all of the materials we read in preparation for the class.

Labels: hollywood, multimedia, podcasts, RCIA, saints

Q: The emperor demanded of Saint Lawrence in Rome that he should hand over the treasures of the Church. A little while later Lawrence, who was to die as a martyr on this account, came into the presence of the emperor and showed him the great army of poor people in the city, with these words: "This is the greatest treasure of the Church."

A: Holy Scripture tells us, indeed, that Christ came from among the poor of Israel. On the fortieth day after his birth, his Mother brought the gift of the poor and showed us thereby that among these simple people the inner vision had remained clear. They had not lost sight of the whole by splitting it with a thousand distinctions, but had conserved an inner simplicity, a purity, truthfulness, and goodness that can see clearly.

Of course, the Church needs intellectuals too, absolutely. She needs people who will put their spiritual powers at her disposal. She also needs generous wealthy people, who want to place the power of wealth at the service of what is good. But she still lives also on the enormous strength of those people who are humble believers. In this sense the great host of those who need love and who give love is indeed her true treasure: simple people who are capable of truth because, as the Lord says, they have remained children. Through all the changes of history they have retained the perception of what is essential and have kept alive in the Church the spirit of humility and of love.

from an interview with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, in God and the World, "Faith, Hope and Love"

Labels: church, Lent, pope benedict xvi, saints

Never listen to talk about the weaknesses of others, and if someone complains of another, you can tell her humbly to say nothing of it to you.

Saint John of the Cross, from the Sayings of Light and Love, #147

Day 15 of the Advent calendar has been posted. Click the image to view the calendar.

Labels: saints

The tradition identifying the Church with a woman reaches far back into the Old Testament, where Israel sees itself as the bride whom God wishes to take into his confidence, to make his own, and to unite to himself in eternal love. That was adopted in the Church, which in fact continues the life of the Old Testament. Paul talks about our mother, the Jerusalem on high. He is thus discovering, from within the Jewish tradition, the image of the Church as mother, the motherly city that has given birth to us all and that gives us life and freedom. And so the Fathers took up this idea, which also appears in the Apocalypse--the woman arrayed in the sun--and used it to portray the whole holy being of the Church. Although often they had no thought of Mary in doing this, basically the whole of mariological thought is being expounded here along with ecclesiology. In other words, what the Church is, is made concrete in Mary. And the theological significance of Mary appears in the Church. Both spill over into each other, so to speak: Mary is the Church in person, and the Church as a whole embodies what Mary, as a person, anticipates.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, from God and the World

Day 13 of the Advent calendar has been posted. Click the image to view the calendar.

Labels: pope benedict xvi, saints

Think not that pleasing God lies so much in doing a great deal as in doing it with good will, without possessiveness and human respect.

Saint John of the Cross, from the Sayings of Light and Love, #59

Day 2 of the Advent calendar has been posted. Click the image to view the calendar, then click on the door labelled 2.

Labels: saints

On the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, my patron saint, I'm providing a passage from Dietrich von Hildrebrand's Transformation in Christ about St. Francis and peacemaking. It seems especially apropos during this election cycle marked by so much vitriol, even within the Church, and even by those claiming to be advocates for peace in the world, who (ironically enough) cannot bring themselves to act as peacemakers within the borders of their own community. As Saint Augustine once wrote: Where there is division, there is sin.

I've illustrated the post with a few of my own photos from my two trips to Assisi, Italy in 1992 and 1996.

The Lord says, not merely, "Blessed are they who are at peace," but, "Blessed are the peacemakers." It does not suffice to love peace and to preserve it amidst inevitable conflicts; beyond that, a true Christian must also and everywhere act as a peacemaker. Wherever we witness a struggle over earthly goods or a struggle for the kingdom of God that takes the form of a mundane strife, we should be pained and grieved at the sight.

We should diligently try, in the first case, to mediate peace, and in the second, to inject the spirit of peace into the inevitable struggle for the kingdom of God and to restore that struggle to its true character. In this function of peacemakers, too, it will be most needful for us to possess true inward peace in ourselves, and that in a measure which renders it effective even by mere spontaneous irradiation.


All saints were peacemakers and brought peace wherever they went. A scene from St. Francis' life may provide the most touching illustration for this. Shortly before his death the saint was lying, gravely ill, in the episcopal palace at Assisi.

"The first thing Francis learned there, after his arrival, about the affairs of his native town" (we quote from Jørgensen's St. Francis of Assisi) "was that an open feud had broken out between the Podesta and the bishop. The Bishop had pronounced an interdict against the Podesta; the latter, in his turn, had forbidden the burghers all traffic with their spiritual head. 'It should greatly shame us,' said Francis to his brethren, 'that none of us is working for peace here!' And, eager to do what was in his power, he wrote two new strophes of his Canticle of the Sun, and thereupon invited the Podesta to the episcopal palace where he lay bedridden, asking at the same time the Bishop to lend his presence. When the two enemies, and all others Francis had wanted to be present, were gathered in the Piazza del Vescovado (the same place where, nineteen years before, Francis had given his sumptuous robes back to his father), two friars of this brotherhood came forward and sang the Canticle of the Sun: first its original text, then the addition newly written by Francis --

Praised be Thou, O Lord, for those who give pardon for Thy love
and endure infirmity and tribulation;
blessed those, who endure in peace,
who will be, Most High, crowned by Thee!

"While the two friars sang, all stood there with folded hands as when the Gospel is read in church. But when the chant was ended, with the last Laudato si, Misignore still in everybody's ears, the Podesta made a step forward, knelt down to Bishop Guido, and spoke: 'For love of our Lord Jesus Christ and His servant Francis I forgive you from my heart and am ready to do your will, as it pleases you to bid me!' The Bishop then bent down, and drawing his former enemy to him, embraced and kissed him, and said: 'According to my office, it would befit me to be humble and peaceable. But of my nature I am inclined to anger; therefore thou must bear with me.' And the brethren went in and told Francis of the victory he had achieved with his song over the evil spirits of strife." "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God."


In every one of us the desire must be alive to attain inward peace, to keep peace, and to serve the peace of others. As the disciples of Him about whom St. Paul says, "Christ is your peace" and whom the Church at Christmas calls Princeps pacis ("Prince of peace"), we must possess, irradiate, and spread peace. We must always stand witness to this primary word of the Gospels, thus giving proof that we are true disciples of Christ: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet."

In truth, he alone who has tasted the sweetness of the Lord can imagine what true peace is, and burn with desire for that peace. They alone can be truly transformed in Christ who say with St. Augustine (Confessions 10.27): "Thou has called me aloud, and pierced my deafness; Thou has shone and sparkled, and chased away my blindness; Thou has spread a sweet perfume; I have breathed it in and am longing for Thee; I have tasted, and how I hunger and thirst; Thou has touched me, and lo! I burn with desire for Thy peace."

Labels: saints

Lately I've been thinking a lot about anniversaries, one of which occurs today: five years since I moved to California.

Back in the summer of 2003, when I decided to move from the Twin Cities to Los Angeles, I chose October 1 as my move date because it was the feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Since she is the patroness of missionaries, I wanted in a particular way to seek her intercession as I moved to the mission fields of Hollywood. She is a great saint to turn to for anyone who would come here, because her "little way" is a perfect antidote to the heady atmosphere of the big, the extraordinary and the exalted.


Five years on, I appreciate her example even more. The experiences I treasure most from these five years have been small and ordinary. The silent moments on the crowded subway... an exhibit of humanity's many faces... living sculptures in still and unstudied poses. The many encounters with people who, though they work in entertainment, will never be seen on any screen. The quiet hikes in the Verdugo and Santa Monica mountains. The mornings of prayer and study in the basement of Family Theater with the RCIA program. The lapping waves and faint gull cries on the shores of Malibu.

St. Thérèse teaches us authenticity: to love the ordinary, to seek out the hidden, and to expose every small movement of the heart to the heart of God. No facade. No exaggeration. No presumption.

I recently re-read the personal statement I wrote as part of my application to the Act One program... to see how my aspirations at the time match up with what I have actually been doing since:

I think that good film will illuminate human and spiritual values. This is no small challenge in the culture in which we live, and requires, I believe, a contemplative point of view. I believe it is my first task as a screenwriter to be immersed in a life of prayer. This is why I have committed myself to formation in Carmelite spirituality. Without a deep, candid and abiding friendship with the Lord, I have very little to offer; everything must stand the test of confrontation with the face of Christ. Pope John Paul II has a passage in The Gospel of Life in which he discusses the importance of contemplation for the world today. I return to this passage often because it grounds the whole effort to be a witness in the modern world. The Pope writes:

We need first of all to foster, in ourselves and in others, a contemplative outlook. Such an outlook arises from faith in the God of life, who has created every individual as a “wonder” (cf. Ps. 139:14). It is the outlook of those who see life in its deeper meaning, who grasp its utter gratuitousness, its beauty and its invitation to freedom and responsibility. It is the outlook of those who do not presume to take possession of reality but instead accept it as a gift, discovering in all things the reflection of the Creator and seeing in every person his living image (cf. Gen 1:27; Ps. 8:5). This outlook does not give in to discouragement when confronted by those who are sick, suffering, outcast or at death’s door. Instead, in all these situations it feels challenged to find meaning, and precisely in these circumstances it is open to perceiving in the face of every person a call to encounter, dialogue and solidarity.

It is time for all of us to adopt this outlook, and with deep religious awe to rediscover the ability to revere and honour every person, as Paul VI invited us to do in one of his first Christmas messages. Inspired by this contemplative outlook, the new people of the redeemed cannot but respond with songs of joy, praise and thanksgiving for the priceless gift of life, for the mystery of every individual’s call to share through Christ in the life of grace and in an existence of unending communion with God our Creator and Father. (John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, paragraph 83)

This is the task of a lifetime. I would be happy to spend my life as a screenwriter adopting this vision according to my state in life.

I had a good laugh reading this, as I still haven't completed my first screenplay. What remains, however, is the desire for contemplation, for discovering God's presence in every corner of life. And St. Thérèse is still showing me the way.

Labels: friendship, hollywood, prayer, respect, saints, vocations

Claudio Cardinal Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, has written a letter to priests worldwide, in order to commemorate today's feast -- the feast of Saint John Baptiste Marie Vianney.

Dear brother priests,

On the occasion of the August 4th feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars, I greet you cordially with all my heart, and I fraternally send you this brief message.

The Church knows today that there is an urgent mission, not only “ad gentes,” but also to those Christians living in areas and regions where the Christian faith has been preached and established for centuries and where ecclesial communities already exist. Within this flock, the mission, or the missionary evangelization (Redemptoris Missio, 2), has as its target those who are baptized but who, for different circumstances, have not been evangelized sufficiently, or those who have lost their initial fervour and fallen away. The postmodern culture of contemporary society -- a relativist, secular, and agnostic culture -- exerts a strong erosive action on the religious faith of many people.

The Church is missionary by its very nature. Jesus told us that "the sower went out to sow" (Mt 13:3). The sower does not limit himself to throwing the seed out of the window, but actually leaves the house. The Church knows that it cannot remain inert or limit itself to receiving and evangelizing those who are seeking the Faith in its churches and communities. It is also necessary to rise up and go to where people and families dwell, live and work. We must go to everyone: companies, organizations, institutions and different fields of human society. In this mission, all members of the ecclesial community are called: pastors, religious and laity.

Moreover, the Church recognizes that priests are the great driving force behind daily life in local communities. When priests move, the Church moves. If this were not so, it would be very difficult to achieve the Church’s mission.

My dear brother priests, you are the great richness, the energy, the pastoral and missionary inspiration in the midst of the Christian faithful, wherever they are found in community. Without your crucial decision to "put out into the deep" for fish ("Duc in altum"), as the Lord himself calls us, little or nothing will happen in the urgent mission, either "ad gentes" or in the territories that have previously been evangelized. But the Church is certain that it can count on you, because it knows and explicitly recognizes that the overwhelming majority of priests -- despite our weaknesses and human limitations -- are worthy priests, giving their life daily to the Kingdom of God and loving Jesus Christ and the people entrusted to them. These are the priests who are sanctifying themselves in their daily ministry and who are persevering until the harvest of the Lord. Only a small minority of priests have gravely deviated from this mission, and the Church seeks to repair the harm that they have done. On the other hand, it rejoices in and is proud of the immense majority of its priests, who are good and exceedingly worthy of praise.

During this Pauline Year, and pending the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God to be held in Rome this October, we call those who are receptive to this urgent mission. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us, send us, and sustain us, so that we might go forth and proclaim once again the person of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, as well as His kingdom!

I greet you again, dear brothers, remaining always at your disposal. I pray for you all, especially for those who suffer, for the sick and for the elderly.

Vatican City State, 15 July 2008

Claudio Cardinal Hummes
Emeritus Archbishop of São Paolo
Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy

This statue in the hills outside of Ars, France, captures a moment in the life of St. John Vianney. En route to his new parish assignment in Ars, he encountered a boy who offered him directions to the town. Vianney expressed his gratitude with these words: "You have shown me the way to Ars; I will show you the way to heaven."

Labels: priesthood, saints

Details over at Blog by the Sea.

This is great news, not only because it has to do with one of the all-time greatest saints, but because it means that we will have more role models of holiness in married life.

Hat tip to Jeff Miller.

UPDATE (7/13/08): The date for the beatification has been set for October 19. Details here.

Labels: saints