Save St Mary's Malaga

Should It Really Be About Money?

2009-07-06T03:23:10Z

We know that the church closures are not about money. Truly, whatever is lacking could surely be found. (The Diocese owns so much unused real estate and has plenty of money.) And besides, some of the most financially viable churches in the Diocese have been slated for closure. But many persist in believing the closures are about money.

Worse still, there are priests and pastors out there who claim that if a church cannot support itself, it has no right to exist.

(Keep in mind that debt is sometimes incurred due to the necessity of paying assessments to the Diocese and certain amounts to support local Catholic schools, whether or not parishioners actually make use of or can afford tuition at these schools. Barring these two things, most churches do not have any problem paying their utility bills and maintaining their properties. We should also remember that by virtue of threatening certain churches with closure, the bishop has scared off many Catholics from the Faith or their parishes altogether, causing a great deal of confusion, despair, and decreased church attendance, all of which affect collections.)

In any case, what we need to ask ourselves is this: As Christians, should it be the case that those churches who are wealthier deserve to exist, while those who are poorer do not? What kind of an attitude is that? Is it Catholic? Is it even Christian?

In fact, it is neither. Our Lord did not recommend that the poor go out and attempt to become rich, but that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that the treasure of the poor would be great in heaven, and that the Kingdom of God belonged to them, that the heavenly banquet would be theirs!

The burden of coming to the aid of the less fortunate parishes in a Diocese falls upon the wealthier ones. And it is the job of the shepherds--the bishop and priests--to see to it that all the faithful have churches in which to worship. The effort to evangelize, not consolidate, should be in the forefront of all of our minds.

If it is believed that a prior pastor lacked the ability to financially manage his parish, then is it fair that the laity be forced to lose their church as a result? We of course know that this is only an excuse to do something we all know to be wrong, but the point is this: shepherds of flocks in need should help them find ways to subsist.

Let us not delude ourselves. The role of a true pastor is not to persecute his flock, but to help them grow in Christ. He should be acting as a healer and not a henchman. No priest who plans on closing churches may be construed as a prophet unwelcome in his own country.

Let us look to St. St. John Vianney, one of the most unlikely saints of all. Thought to be a poor student, and having failed his seminary exams, he was finally ordained due only to his piety. He was sent to a teeny tiny French village called Ars:

Two decades after the French Revolution inspired massacres of 300 priests in France, there was a desperate need for priests....In a village of 40 houses, there were 4 taverns. Church attendance was very low, the farmers worked on Sunday, everyone spend their time drinking and swearing. It was a 'punishment parish' and the people laid bets on how long this new priest would last. But the new Cure of Ars surprised them all.

Someone peeked in his window and saw that he prayed all night. Others noticed that he removed all the fine furniture from the rectory and turned the parlour into a woodshed. He gave his clothes away to the poor and ate only two potatoes a day. Others reported that though his voice seemed to hurt their ears, his sermons stirred their hearts. He became part of the village life as well, visiting all the homes, and helping the villagers with their daily lives. He helped a shop owner with his bookkeeping, prescribed remedies for whooping cough, and when a tavern closed for lack of business, raised money for the owner to buy a farm, then tore the tavern down.
Twelve years later, people would say 'Ars is no longer Ars.' Everyone went to the three hour masses. The farmers prayed the rosary as they worked in the fields. When Father Vianney heard confessions, people would stand in line for hours....People travelled for miles and from around the world to make a confession to him. Sinners were converted at a few words from him. By the end of his life, he spend 16 to 18 hours a day in the confessional, and he was mobbed whenever he appeared. He heard 20,000 confessions a year, up to 300 a day.
In a country that had murdered great numbers of its priests, and discouraged the practicing of the Catholic faith John Vianney moved like a bright light, restoring faith and healing hearts....
The heroes of his youth were those priests who refused to submit to the French revolutionary government's nationalization of the Church, and risked martyrdom to celebrate Mass in secret in houses and barns of the faithful. John began to practice mortifications in imitation of these priests and as sacrifice for sinners from an early age.
When he was ordained and sent to Ars, he continued these austerities. He disposed of the fine furniture in the rectory, and used the money to help the poor of the parish. He spend hours in prayer, hours in the confessional and more hours serving the day to day needs of his parishioners.

In the entire village in which St. John Vianney lived, there were only a couple hundred people. Now a parish with 250 families is said not to have a right to exist! Oh how far we have fallen. This saint of saints and priest of priests spared nothing for his flock. What are the priests who should be imitating this great saint doing today? Busy figuring out how to close churches? We hope not. Let us pray that all priests, pastors, and bishops see the Light and heed the commands of Our Lord, to "preach the gospel to the poor."

My letter from Bob

2009-07-04T19:20:13Z

Just one month ago I was privileged to receive a letter from Bob Nardelli. You know Bob. He's the "Chairman and CEO of Chrysler LLC." There's good news from his end, it turns out. He tells me he's "very pleased to announce that Chrysler LLC has signed an agreement in principle to establish a global strategic alliance with Fiat to create a vibrant new car company." Wow! Vibrant! I know all about that now. Vibrant is good. Peppy. Positive. A breath of fresh air. Pulsating growth. Good joojoos. It should be interesting to see what the new Fryslers look like.

I thought, though, that the letter might be of use to the Diocese in trying to shill their merger packages. So I took it upon myself to revise where necessary. I guess Fryslers may be something like "Catholic family faith communities," now that we're moving away from the term "church." Church is so...churchy. So uncool.

For the past couple years we have worked tirelessly to reach agreement with key parties on concessions that would allow the Diocese to complete its alliances and closures and proceed with its plans without any need for actual transparency. Despite substantial progress on many fronts, largely due to lay complacency and a willingness to believe those in positions of authority, our own continual spinning and bending of information, and the use of heavies, outright political propaganda, and the like, we have been able to receive concessions. As a result, to facilitate these alliances and create new merged entities we will be proceeding with what is typically referred to as "structured" consolidation and closure.

In doing this, we have submitted motions under Section 1234567890ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ in Subsection EENYMEENYMINYMO under Canon Law #1UKMA in order to carry out this plan. With or without the approval or consensus of Catholics within the Diocese, and with or without the guidance of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the scheduled mergers, closures, and consolidations are expected to be completed in an undisclosed time period.

Rest assured that there will not be a moment's interruption in our work to meet the needs of all Catholics in the Church of South Jersey. The new entities will seamlessly transition so as to accommodate all. The new "faith communities," "parish families," and the like--as we will henceforth be calling them--will continue to produce and support quality spirituality over the long term, under the "Catholic," "Christian," "Church of South Jersey," and several other brands.

Some may be wondering if remaining or becoming a Catholic at this time, amidst all this turmoil and confusion, is a wise decision. Beginning today, the Diocese of Camden can look forward to the future with great optimism. In most cases your new local "faith family community" will have programs you will find attractive, including various varieties of coffee products, scones, and in some cases trendy pop spiritual products such as labyrinth walking workshops, Deepak Chopra CDs available to borrow, or even "A Course in Miracles." All products and programs will be well-priced and attractively packaged. Your local worship leader or lay minster would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about today's products--not that old, stodgy and medieval Catholicism--but spiritual products for the modern Catholic, which have the highest quality rankings in the history of our Church.

We are profoundly grateful for the support of the gazillions of Catholics in South Jersey who support our program. We take enormous pride in the contributions we have made to the religion industry, are honored by the trust you have placed with us for the past several years of the Galante Administration. We look forward to continuing to serve you for many years to come.

Again, I thank you for your support and look forward to serving you with outstanding Catholic spiritual products and services from a strong, new, and most importantly a significantly shinier Diocese of Camden. We aim to make vibrancy something you can sink your teeth into! To show our appreciation, we would like to extend the attached coupon incentive that will admit you and any three family members, free of charge, into any of our newly merged "parish community" entities, to any Sunday "liturgical celebration" taking place in the coming 24 months. (Offer expires July 2011.)

Update: Just yesterday Jimmy, Bob's bud, sent me a letter. You'll be happy to know that "Chrysler LLC has successfully emerged from our restructuring as a vibrant new car company called Chrysler Group LLC." It's reassuring to know that the "Church of South Jersey" is in such good company. Who knew that "vibrancy" was something Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was shooting for when He established the Church upon earth? I feel shiner already.

Feast Planning: We Could Use YOUR Help!

2009-07-03T03:53:32Z

From the Bulletin:

It's getting to be that time of year again. We especially want this year to be a great success. Let us make it a truly special Feast for Our Lady. Let us put all our heart and soul in it. After all this is Our Tradition, something good to look forward to. Let us work together for Our Lady and Our Church! We all know the deal. We need everyone involved.

Chicken BBQ tickets will be on sale after each mass.

50/50 raffle tickets will also be on sale after each mass. Both BBQ and raffle tickets may be purchased at the rectory.

We will need baked goods, soda, and water -- name brands only. Look for volunteer sign-up sheets in church.

Donations for Chinese Auction: Anything you can offer will be appreciated, including money for others to purchase auction items. See Joann Betz or call the rectory to participate. (You can also contact info@savestmarys.net for any of these.)

Feast Talent Show will be August 16th. For sign-ups, please call the rectory or Mrs. Wilson: 609-774-1559. All musicians are required to bring their own instruments and sound equipment.

We are also hoping for help to organize things like horseshoe tournaments, sack races, and corn or pie eating contests.

Not yet set in stone: By the way, it looks like we may have some awesome professional bands playing this year, from classic rock to bluegrass, including a surprise guest. We also hope to have two local wineries participating and a beer garden in additional to our normal activities. We will be selling tickets for the wine tasting and wine by the glass. Please make plans to come out, to help out, and make this feast the best one ever.

A Saint I Bet You've Never Heard Of

2009-07-02T03:33:24Z

St. Goar

Feast Day: July 6th
575

Priest of Aquitaine, France, honored by Charlemagne. A parish priest, Goar became a hermit at Oberwesel, Germany, on the Rhine River. The local bishop, Rusticus of Trier, accused him falsely of sorcery, but Goar was cleared of the charge by King Sigebert I of Austrasia in Metz. Bishop Rusticus was deposed because of this attack and because he lived luxuriously. Goar was offered Rusticus' see but returned to his hermitage. Emperor Charlemagne later erected a church over St. Goar's former hermitage.

St. Goar, sufferer of grave injustice but triumphant in God, pray for us here below!

From the Bulletin 6/28/09

2009-07-02T00:51:31Z

Just a few snippets from Fr. Namiotka's column:

Fr. John Buckthese, OCD, a Carmelite priest from India (via Spain) will be helping at the parish during the month of July....Fr. Bernard Gannon, Fr. John Tumosa, Fr. Martin Smith, OSA, and Fr. John Bruni will also be assisting on various weekends and/or particular weekday situations at St. Mary's. We welcome their help and support.

May the Year of the Priest invigorate all of us who are ordained to serve you more fervently while we strive for a deeper holiness and love of Our Lord.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Editor's Note: We appreciate the priests who help us out and visit us regularly, including Fr. Smith and Fr. Gannon. We definitely enjoyed having Fr. Smith and look forward to his return to St. Mary's, and of course we all love Fr. Gannon and have known him for many years. Many of us also know Fr. Tumosa from St. Rose of Lima and certainly we will no doubt enjoy having a Carmelite visit us in the near future.

In any event, it has been expressed by many at St. Mary's that we would also love to have Fr. Romanowski say mass for us more frequently, even though he is so busy filling in at so many parishes around the diocese and keeps busy with his work with the Legion of Mary and Holy Name. We are very glad to have him say the Traditional Mass for us once a month and look forward to it with great eagerness. Since Fr. Romanowski is willing and able, there is really no reason why he cannot fill in just as any of the other priests can.

We welcome all of these good priests to St. Mary's. Thank you for your service to the Church. And instead of despairing of a seeming lack of priestly vocations (and we know this is not true since all we have to do is look to the traditional orders and to the FSSP to see that this is not the case), let us pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life and encourage our children to consider these possibilities!

This is a 2009 group shot of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) seminarians.
Lack of priestly vocations? I think not. Wishy-washiness in many American dioceses?
Definitely. Clearly young priests and religoius want to lay down their lives for
the One True Church in an unequivocal way, without dilution, without nonsense.

June 28th: Feast of St. Irenaeus

2009-06-29T01:13:42Z

Prayer to St. Irenaeus

St. Irenaeus, Second Century Bishop of Lyon, missionary, and unapologetic apologist for the One True Church, pray for us who struggle to defend and preserve the Church and God's churches here below! Let the Son of God be praised in each and every church in the Diocese of Camden! St. Irenaeus, help us to always see the Light that shineth in the darkness, and let us not be deceived by the darkness of the world.

"But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness..." Matthew 8:12

"And seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them: because they were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd." Matthew 9:36

Dear St. Irenaeus, please pray for all those who are lost and in need of the guidance only the Good Shepherd may provide. Pray that we will never put ourselves in the place of God, the grave sin of Adam and Eve which caused us to be born in sin. Similarly, oh holy saint, please pray for our priests and bishops and their growth in holiness and subjection to God's will. Pray that all lukewarmness be banished from our hearts! Help us all to know and grow in our Faith, separate Truth from error, and remain on the narrow path of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here are a few interesting snippets from the great saint's most important work. We recommend reading St. Irenaeus as well as the other Fathers. In this way we may be affirmed that the Church has its foundation from the earliest of times. In fact She has survived countless storms, as promised by Our Lord to St. Peter, but not without constant defense and even the shedding of blood.

From Against Heresies, Book IV:

The skill of God, therefore, is not defective, for He has power of the stones to raise up children to Abraham, but the man who does not obtain it is the cause to himself of his own imperfection. Nor, [in like manner], does the light fail because of those who have blinded themselves; but while it remains the same as ever, those who are [thus] blinded are involved in darkness through their own fault. The light does never enslave any one by necessity; nor, again, does God exercise compulsion upon any one unwilling to accept the exercise of His skill. Those persons, therefore, who have apostatized from the light given by the Father, and transgressed the law of liberty, have done so through their own fault, since they have been created free agents, and possessed of power over themselves.

From Book V:

The devil, however, as he is the apostate angel, can only go to this length, as he did at the beginning, [namely] to deceive and lead astray the mind of man into disobeying the commandments of God, and gradually to darken the hearts of those who would endeavor to serve him, to the forgetting of the true God, but to the adoration of himself as God.

Assumption Wildwood Crest's Pastor Retiring

2009-06-29T00:06:00Z

Fr. Richard Hadyka to retire this month. He's only 68. As it turns out, he was located at my own home parish, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, from the time I was six until I was nine, during the time I received the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. (He was not, however, pastor there.)

We don't know the details of Fr. Hadyka's situation. But it bears repeating that for a diocese supposedly short on priests, it seems an awful lot of them who are willing to continue on in their posts are being retired and relocated lately. We at Save St. Mary's aren't the only ones who have made this observation. But hey, we're in the process of making big, big, happy "parish families" and "Catholic communities" aren't we? Whatever it takes. I feel all warm and fuzzy.

Quotable Fr. Corapi

2009-06-28T14:21:52Z

Fr. John Corapi, SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity). What a priest!

"The surest way to be a cause for division is to water down the Truth."

"When I first started preaching, I mean preaching the way I wanted to, there was a powerful force to keep me from doing that. Not from my superiors--they were supportive and are to this day... Even bishops. They would say, 'You can't say that. People don't want to hear that.' I remember a bishop told me 'You can't talk like that, you'll get into trouble.' [Fr.Corapi in response:] 'Trouble is my middle name.'"

"The Truth is very well defined. You're either in it or you're not. You either believe it or you don't."

"Unity is to be desired, but not at the expense of Truth."

Amen!

Modest Attire

2009-06-28T00:01:54Z

What does that mean? "Modesty" (or immodesty), particularly from the point of view of appearance, is not a popular thing to talk about these days. It is a mark of just how far our society has fallen when all talk of modesty is a mark of old-fashionedness or prudishness! But it's so important for so many reasons, even just from a secular perspective. But since we're focusing on Catholic Christian modesty here, that's what we'll talk about.

A lengthy essay on all the lofty ideas regarding modesty is not what's intended here. So much more can be, and has been, said on the topic. This is only a reminder of why this is such an important subject for the Christian. Let's look at St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans 12:1-2:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.

That's pretty straightforward. Our bodies are temples of the Living God and as such should be presented to Him in a way that would please Him. And we should not be concerned with the passing things of the world, but with God, His will, and the things of eternity.

Now let's look at what the most recent Catechism has to say about modesty:

Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing ideologies. The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.(2523-2524)

What may we glean from this? (1) That fashions, whether immodest or modest, are not to be of concern to the Christian, since this world--along with all its vanities--is passing. (2) That God, who loves us, has endowed us with inherent dignity. (3) That we should teach modesty to our children in order for them to properly respect themselves and others.

How does this relate to a person's manner of attire? If we look at what the Church teaches us in the Catechism alone, without further looking to past popes or the saints and what they have said on the subject, then it seems fairly simple. We ought to dress according to what we are: sons and daughters of the Most High God. We dress not to impress people, but to respect God and ourselves. Since our bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost, we ought to remember this and keep ourselves properly covered as much as possible.

Further, if we are attending mass, it is of utmost importance that we remember in whose presence we are. We are before our Eucharistic Lord, all the angles, and the saints who worship with us. If we were going to an important meeting, to a wedding, to court, to a restaurant, we would dress appropriately. How much more important it is to dress appropriately before the Holy Trinity: Jesus in the Eucharist, God the Father who is our ultimate and just Judge, and with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

And of course, we should always remember Our Lady when we dress for holy mass. Remember Her message at Fatima, that "certain fashions are going to be introduced which will offend Our Lord very much....the Church has no fashions; Our Lord is always the same."

"Our Lord is always the same." What is Our Lady reminding us of here? This world is fleeting, but our lives with God are eternal. Heaven is our home. God desires our obedience because He loves us, and our manner of dress can be an example of this. In a seemingly small way, our modesty in dress in an immodest world can be a reminder to those around us of Him with whom our allegiance lies.

In a practical sense, does this mean we have to dress up all the time? Of course not. How impractical that would be. In fact, the beautiful St. Ambrose said so many centuries ago:

The body should be bedecked naturally and without affectation, with simplicity, with negligence rather than nicety, not with costly and dazzling apparel, but with ordinary clothes, so that nothing be lacking to honesty and necessity, yet nothing be added to increase its beauty.

St. Ambrose makes it clear that it is possible to dress in a dignified way, without revealing too much of our bodies, without going to great expense or extravagance, simply and neatly, while still being able to function in our daily activities.* It's important that we refrain from promoting a lack of chastity and respect.

At mass we join all of Heaven in worshiping God, who grants us an unspeakable grace when He becomes present bodily for us. It is incumbent upon us that we remember this great gift--the salvation that was won by His suffering and death on the cross, and His continued Eucharistic love for us--and leave our tank tops and shorts at home.

The Catholic Encyclopedia says this:

In the government of the exterior of a man modesty aims to make it conform to the demands of decency and decorousness (honestas).

Interestingly, the Catholic Encyclopedia places its discussion of modesty under the heading of "temperance," which is considered a cardinal virtue, because modesty has to do with moderation and self-control.**

Though the topic of dress is of concern to both men and women, the problem of modesty so often falls to women since what is depicted as "attractive" attire for women (and even girls) is so often sexually explicit and demeaning. Therefore it is so easy to lose perspective as to what is appropriate. So let's just try to remember what the great St. Francis de Sales said in his Introduction to the Devout Life, and we cannot go wrong:

...avoid all affectation, vanity, curiosity, or levity in your dress. Keep yourself always, as much as possible, on the side of plainness and modesty, which, without doubt, is the greatest ornament of beauty, and the best excuse for the want of it.

* The Angelic Doctor discusses St. Ambrose as well as St. Gregory the Great, Aristotle, St. Cyprian, and St. Augustine here. Please see also Turtullian here: On the Apparel of Women.
**Although the Angelic Doctor distinguishes between temperance and modesty.

Latin Mass TOMORROW NIGHT (June 28th)

2009-06-27T21:27:34Z

ATTENTION TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS LOVERS!

In addition to the regularly scheduled masses this weekend (5pm Saturday as well as 8:30 & 11:30 Sunday), tomorrow night Sunday at 6:00 pm is the traditional Latin low mass, Fr. Jerome Romanowski presiding. On every last Sunday of the month we have the traditional mass.

By the way, please do not worry if you are not familiar with the traditional mass. We have booklets available for you with the Latin on one side and the English on the other. We would be happy to help you follow along.

Hope to see you there!

Sts. John Fisher & Thomas More

2009-06-23T07:58:13Z

Ora pro nobis!

St. John Fisher was a bishop who stood up to King Henry VIII and his diabolical plan.

When the question of Henry's divorce from Queen Catherine arose, Fisher became the Queen's chief supporter and most trusted counselor. In this capacity he appeared on the Queen's behalf in the legates' court, where he startled his hearers by the directness of his language and most of all by declaring that, like St. John the Baptist, he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage.

He continued to calmly rationally speak out in support of Church teaching and was eventually executed, his head placed on a stake and eventually thrown into the Thames.

St. Thomas More (right), Lord Chancellor of England, defender of the Faith, a truly great and heroic saint, died a martyr. Here's another link.

My lord, for one bishop of your opinion I have a hundred saints of mine; and for one parliament of yours, and God knows of what kind, I have all the General Councils for 1,000 years, and for one kingdom I have France and all the kingdoms of Christendom. -Thomas More (at his trial on July 1, 1535)

I highly recommend you watch the movie, A Man for All Seasons to get an idea of who the great St. Thomas More was. You will not regret it!

A "New" Priest Comes To St. Mary's

2009-06-21T23:11:06Z

Today at 11:30am mass we were privileged to have a visiting priest named Fr. Marty Smith, OSA. It seems that he may become a regular fixture at St. Mary's and unless I miss my guess, parishioners will not be disappointed. Fr. Smith kindly introduced himself as an Augustinian who currently resides at the Augustinian monastery at Villanova University. He has been ordained a priest for 32 years now. Our area, of course, is accustomed to the Augustinians due to the proximity of St. Augustine's Prep. For example, at my own grandfather's funeral, an Augustinian priest, to our great surprise, showed up to say the mass at Sacred Heart since he so fondly remembered my grandfather. I was so moved by that gesture, I won't ever forget it.

Anyway, Fr. Smith gave an excellent but simple sermon about weathering life's storms and how we should always ask ourselves whether or not we are asking for God's intercession or whether we are depending upon ourselves to make it through. Since it was Father's Day today, Fr. Smith offered a special prayer for the fathers at mass which granted a plenary indulgence! Apparently the privilege of offering this indulgence was granted to Augustinians many years ago when one of them did a "favor" for the pope. I was unfortunately unable to find any further information on this online, so I can't share with you anything other than that.

So, welcome to Fr. Marty Smith. We hope to see you often!

Via Crucis Procession

2009-06-21T01:42:03Z

I stumbled on this collection of beautiful pictures of the "Via Crucis Procession" in Washington DC. Quote:

Men carry a statue of the Jesus as they walk the Via Crusis, or "Way of the Cross," leading about 200 other Catholics through the Dupont Circle neighborhood to mark Good Friday April 10, 2009 in Washington, DC. The faithful "walked in the footsteps of Christ" and carried wooden crosses and statues from Our Lady, Queen of the Americas Catholic Church to the Cathedral of St. Matthew. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America)

What Does Our Lady Think?

2009-06-18T13:57:35Z

When it comes to churches closing, Our Lady's view is pretty simple and straightforward, actually. In churches where Her Son is "praised, adored, and loved, with grateful affection" we know the answer to this question is unambiguous.

I am fortunate to have a Eucharistic Adoration slot once a week. This gives me a little time for spiritual reading, among other things. I happen to love the many books written by Joan Carroll Cruz, such as The Incorruptibles, Secular Saints, and the one I had with me, which is called Miraculous Images of Our Lady. I was reading about Our Lady of Siluva (see also this link).

Our Lady of Siluva
In the early through mid-1500s, Lutherans and Calvinists were able to win over converts in Lithuania, but only among the nobles and ruling class. The peasantry (the vast majority of the people) remained staunchly Catholic, but were persecuted. Church properties were confiscated and turned over to Protestants. In 1570 the church in Siluva was similarly threatened and in his wisdom, the pastor, Rev. John Halubka, collected

some of the church's treasured articles including a few vestments, a favorite image of the Madonna and Child that hung above the main altar, and the church's records. Placing them in a metal-covered oak chest, he buried it a short distance from the church near a large rock. This was providential, since the church was soon seized by Protestants.

Finally, in 1588, a new law was passed which gave Catholics the right to repossess church properties unjustly taken from them, but the documents clearly proving previous ownership were required. For the church at Siluva, documents could not be found to prove that Peter Giedgaudas had given the land to the Church in 1457.

...in the summer of 1608...children shepherding their flocks, saw a beautiful lady standing on a large rock. Holding a child in her arms, the lady wept bitterly. Startled by the vision, one of the children ran to a Calvinist teacher, Mikola Fiera, who promptly claimed it to be an apparition of the devil who was trying to draw people away from Calvinism.

Hearing about the vision, people flocked to the rock. The Calvinist teacher continued to insult and riducule the people for paying any creedance to the children. But the Lady and Child appeared again. Fiera, the Calvinist, asked Her, "Why are you weeping?"

Sadly the vision answered, "Formerly in this place my son was adored and honored, but now all that the people do is seed and cultivate the land." Saying this, the lady and child disappeared.

The Calvinists tried to dismiss and argue against the apparation, but the people knew that they saw Our Lady and the Holy Infant Jesus. Shortly thereafter, Mikola Fiera left Siluva. The bishop had the matter fully investigated. A blind man, having heard about the vision,

remembered the metal-covered oak chest that the pastor had buried years before....when...taken to the rock, his sight was immediately restored. He was then able to indicate the exact location of the chest.

Inside they found all the contents, including a miraculously undamaged picture of the Virgin and Child. Now having the papers in their possession, the Catholics were able to get their church back, although it took years of court negotiations with the Calvinists. Because of the sheer number of people attending the church, it had to be expanded and expanded again in 1786 (picture left). By order of the bishop, in 1663 a chapel was built in the exact location of the rock, but again the sheer number of people required its expansion in 1818 and then in 1924. (The apparition was officially approved by Pope Pius VI.) The miraculous image has been credited with many countless healings.

We may even visit a shrine to Our Lady of Siluva in Washington DC at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where beautiful mosaics depict the story.

This beautiful photo of the shrine of Our Lady of Siluva in
Washington, DC thanks to rhilton4u (find photostream here).

Our Lady's Desire
In the case of Our Lady of Siluva, She wanted Her Son to be worshiped, the church returned to Catholic hands. In the history of our Catholic faith, there are many such stories that have gone like this. I'm sure you might know of some others. What does Our Lady always do, without exception? She points to Her Son. She wants nothing more than for Her children to worship Her Son, Jesus. So when She miraculously appears, what does She so often request? She requests that a shrine or church be erected in a certain spot.

In the history of our Church, can you think of one single time that Our Lady has requested that a church faithfully dedicated to the worship of Her Son be closed? When has she said, "Knock it down! Cose it up! Replace it with a Wawa!" No, never. Not once. She has appeared miraculously in the obscurest of locations, in places where the church had long ago fallen into ruin. But no mere falling mass attendance deters Our Lady. The church can be laying in pieces on the ground and She requests it be raised up again and the worship of Her Son continue. And it does. Why? It is Our Lord's holy will, and Our Lady's desire. Of that we can be completely confident. Truly Our Lady weeps at such travesties as churches falling into disuse, disrepair, or closure.

At St. Mary's we know that Our Lady is with us. She is our much loved patroness, as She is the patroness of every Catholic. She is our Single Greatest Advocate in Heaven, our Queen, Mother of every saint, and our Mother. Most of all, She is Mother of the Church, Mater Ecclesiae, and she intercedes for the Pilgrim Church on Earth. This is why at St. Mary's over the past year She has granted us the grace of her miraculous image changing color before our eyes. In this small way, She has reassured us of Her loving presence and protection. "Our Lady of Malaga," Mater Ecclesiae, ora pro nobis!

English Martyrs

2009-06-16T04:02:02Z

Today, June 16th, is the feast day of Blessed William Greenwood, one of the Carthusian martyrs murdered by King Henry VIII. Because the monks and priests refused to show approval for the king's divorce and remarriage, and subsequent break with the One True Church, they died horrible deaths. Blessed William Greenwood died of starvation in Newgate Prison, and many others were hung, then disemboweled while still alive, and finally quartered. Check out this great website which will tell you a little more about a few of the martyrs at Tyburn. (It is the website of the Catholic Benedictine nuns located at Tyburn.)

Although their feast is not until the end of the summer (as one of the "Forty Martyrs of England and Wales"), and they died roughly 50 years later, this would be a good time to mention Saints Margaret Clitherow and Margaret Ward, pictured to the right in the painting above (left and right). Margaret Ward was executed for trying to rescue a priest from prison.

Margaret Ward was kept in irons for eight days, was hung up by the hands, and scourged, but absolutely refused to disclose the priest's whereabouts. At her trial, she admitted to having helped Fr. Watson to escape, and rejoiced in "having delivered an innocent lamb from the hands of those bloody wolves." She was offered a pardon if she would attend a Protestant service, but refused.

Margaret Clitherow (1556?-1586), whose feast day is March 25th (individually) also has a very interesting story. From Bert Ghezzi's Voices of the Saints:

St. Margaret Clitherow became a convert at her hometown of York in 1573 when it was dangerous to be a Catholic in England. Pope Pius V had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth in 1570, provoking an intense persecution of Catholics. Mass was outlawed, priests were regarded as traitors, and harboring them was a capital crime. Margaret disobeyed the law, keeping secret rooms in her house and at a neighbor's house where priests hid and celebrated Mass.

On March 10, 1586, sheriff's men raided Margaret's house. They found a schoolmaster with her children, whom they mistook for a priest, but he escaped through the secret chamber. The officers terrorized an 11-year-old Flemish boy who lived with the family. The frightened child led them to the priests' room, where they found vessels and books for Mass. So Margaret was taken to prison to await a hearing.

John Mush, Margaret's biographer, report that she accepted her persecution lightheartedly. She and Anne Tesh, her friend also betrayed by the boy, laughed so much that Margaret said, "Sister, we are having so much fun that I'm afraid unless we are separated we shall be in danger of losing the merit of our imprisonment." And just before she was to appear before the judge, Margaret decided to cheer the 35 other Catholic prisoners across the hall. "She looked out of a window towards them," writes Mush, "and she made a pair of gallows on her fingers and pleasantly laughed at them."

In the above picture, St. Margaret Clitherow is in the foreground, towards the center, just to the
left of the gallows, wearing the red and lavender dress. Margaret Ward is standing on the left,
just in front of the tree, with the red head covering. I presume the white-clad figures are 4
of the Carthusian monks martyred.

Margaret was charged with harboring and maintaining priests. When the judge asked her if she were guilty or not, she declined to enter a plea. The judge warned her that the law required the death penalty for anyone refusing to plead. He told Margaret that she would be stripped, arms stretched out and bound to stakes, and pressed to death with a sharp stone on her back. "I am not worthy of so good a death as this," was her reply.

Margaret believed that her death was inevitable. Had she pled to the charges, her husband and children would have to testify against her and her neighbor's guilt would have been exposed, possibilities she could not bear. Her love for her family intensified her suffering, but did not deter her. "I love my husband next to God in this world," she wrote.

"And I have care over my children as a mother ought to have. I trust I have done my duty by bringing them up in the fear of God, and so I trust now I am discharged of them. And for this cause I am willing to offer them freely to God who sent them to me, rather than I will yield one jot from my faith."

Thus, on the Friday in Passion Week, 1586, she was pressed to death under 800 pounds of weight. Fittingly, she must have thought, she died like Christ, with her arms extended, as on a cross.

Supposedly St. Margaret Clitherow was also pregnant at the time of her death. She was publicly stripped and humiliated, as Christ, prior to her barbaric execution. Later on, her two sons became priests and her daughter a nun in France.

The English martyrs are an inspiration to all of us. May we be granted the tremendous faith they had, and may we be willing to lay our lives on the line for the sake of the Truth if necessary. May we always be willing to defend our precious Faith.

Blessed Thomas Greenwood and Saints Margaret Ward and Margaret Clitherow, pray for us!