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True disciples are ‘teachable of God’

Posted on by Fr. James Dodson

What sets Jesus Christ apart from all other teachers? In short, the Lord is the divine teacher whose subject matter is, in essence, himself.

Put another way, when the Lord teaches, He not only teaches about something, He teaches himself – He who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No other teacher, professor or academic holds his or her position to teach about himself or herself; rather, they expound on some subject about which they are knowledgeable. In Jesus Christ, however, the subject and the object are one and the same reality.

Additionally, there is a substantial difference between knowing about Jesus, and knowing Jesus. A cursory familiarity with knowing some things about Jesus may provide a certain spiritual comfort that suits us and our current manner of life. The longer one stays in this place of comfort without any challenge, however, the more difficult it is to desire any and all necessary change according to God’s will, let alone effect it.

Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles for “good” people is that we do not allow God to demand of us greater love and more faithful service. In short, we are not willing to sacrifice. And if this is the case, can we say with integrity and in all honesty that we truly know Jesus Christ? We may know the words that our Lord speaks without allowing the divine word to convict us and transform the manner of our life all the way through; so, in this we know about Jesus without truly knowing Jesus.

The things we know about Jesus, or think we know about Jesus, can make us “feel good,” especially when highlighting certain areas about which our Lord speaks without understanding how they fit into the totality of His message. How often we bracket and set aside certain words and teachings of Christ because our acknowledgement of them would demand a radical change in the manner of our life!

Never in the Gospel do we hear the words “be nice” uttered from the lips of the Lord, but unfortunately this two-word caricature of His message seems to be the summary espoused by many people today. “Nice” captures nothing substantial, and is essentially meaningless. And rather than feeling uncomfortable, we allow ourselves to subscribe to a many-times sanitized and redacted cliff notes version of the Gospel – to our peril and the peril of those we profess to love as brothers and sisters in Christ.

We exchange “being” for ‘feeling.” Yet, is it not precisely this temptation, of exchanging “being” for “feeling,” that our blessed Lord confronted as He hung upon the cross for our redemption and the salvation of the world? And yet, to make the point rather bluntly, He hung in there.

So, how do we truly allow ourselves to be educated in the ways of God?

First, by knowing about what Jesus Christ has done for me, and second by being convicted to transformation by the eternal word into an ever-more perfected reflection of the Lord, to the point that the words of St. Paul to the Galatians become our own: “I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:19-20).

It is in this moment that the true, authentic Gospel knowledge about Christ in one’s mind unites with the soul’s desire to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ himself, so that, even if only for an instant, the heavenly Father’s statement about His beloved Son is simultaneously directed at us, His adopted children in faith: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17).

The reading of sacred scripture, study of the teachings of Christ in and through the Catholic Church, a regular life of committed and disciplined prayer and a moral life constantly renewed and strengthened by the divine grace of the sacraments are the solid educational platform on which the faithful are instructed by the divine teacher, Jesus Christ, who fulfills in himself the gap between God’s ways and thoughts and our ways and thoughts.

It has been said that the only true disciples of the Lord are “teachable ones.” So, are you teachable? Not just in mind, but unto the manner of your life? It is only when the student is able to put what he or she has learned into practice consistently that true education has occurred and learning taken root.

Do you have the desire to be teachable of God? Consult the barometer of the true, authentic, unadulterated Gospel as proclaimed by Jesus Christ and measure the manner of your life in light of it.

The Third Luminous Mystery captures our Christian vocation beautifully – The Lord’s Proclamation of the Kingdom and Call to Conversion. Let us, then, pray for the desire to hear and know every word falling from the lips of Him who says “whoever has ears ought to hear” (Matt 11:15), and for the grace that our heavenly Father knows we need to become like Christ, whose life perfectly matches His mouth. What He says, He is; and as He is, so we are to be.

So, perhaps the next time you are in church preparing silently for Mass, you offer this prayer: “May your divine word O Lord, convict, teach and transform my mind and the grace flowing from the worthy reception of your precious body and blood transform my life so that I may become like you whom I receive – to the glory of God and the salvation of my soul. Amen.”

—Father James Dodson is director of vocations for the Diocese of Burlington and pastor of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary-St. Louis Parish in Swanton and Highgate Center.

—Originally published in the Fall 2022 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

True Devotion to Jesus through Mary

Posted on by Cori Urban

Father Lance Harlow is continuing his efforts to assist in the conversion of the parishes he serves by teaching members about St. Louis De Montfort’s practice of the True Devotion to Jesus through Mary.

“It works,” said the pastor of Corpus Christ Parish based in St. Johnsbury and author of “The Echo Of God: A Commentary For Beginners On St. Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort’s True Devotion To Mary” who created related videos available on YouTube.

“Every pastor wants his parishioners to draw closer to Jesus,” he said, but programs designed to help them to do so often fade over time. “I learned years ago when I was first pastor in Bethel that devotion to Mary leads us to Jesus, and that is the goal. Her presence in a parish always leads to Jesus and clears away any evil spirits.”

This particular devotion goes back to the 18th century, but St. Monfort’s teaching draws from the lives of the saints from the time of Jesus.

“The goal of my teaching the True Devotion is for people to consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary by the formula of the consecration,” Father Harlow said. “It’s a lifestyle by which everything is given over to the Blessed Mother — dedication to Mary spiritually, physically, materially — in order that she may give it to Jesus.”

The effect, he continued, is the stripping away of pride, self will, careerism and other obstacles “so the Holy Spirit can come down on us and fill us with grace and holiness.”

As he has done in every parish he has served since his book was published in 2006, Father Harlow led people in the consecration/reconsecration to Mary March 25 at St. John the Evangelist Church in St. Johnsbury. Twenty-five participated.

Parishioner Paige Lindholm was among them. “I felt a calling to do it,” she said of her reconsecration.

Father Harlow preached about the devotion at four Saturday morning Masses, offering a kind of mini retreat about it.

The consecration should be renewed annually, he noted.

The fruits of consecration are greater zeal and fervor for the practice of the faith, to the Eucharist, to personal holiness and for evangelization. “There is also a sense of doctrinal stability rooted in the Gospel and the Catholic faith,” Father Harlow said. “We have Jesus, Mary and the Church. You can’t go wrong with that combination.”

Lindholm agreed that these are the fruits of the consecration, and she added that it also is a “confirmation I’m in the right place,” sharing a Marian devotion with her pastor. “It has brought me a lot of peace” and brought her closer to Jesus.

“People are tired of this ‘woke’ thing of not talking about religion or talking about religion in public,” Father Harlow said, “because the human heart is searching for God.”

To watch his video presentations, go to his YouTube channel. To order a copy of “The Echo of God,” call him at the rectory: 802-748-8129.

 

Trip to Appalachian Catholic Worker Farm

Posted on by Submitted Article

Parishioners from the Essex Catholic Community are on a 10-day service and educational experience to the Appalachian Catholic Worker Farm in Spencer, West Virginia. They left June 19 under the leadership of Jeannie Kirkhope, a member of the Catholic Worker Movement founded by Dorothy Day. The 10 teenagers and four adults will have an intense experience in Catholic social teaching and service in one of most impoverished areas of the country. Edmundite Father Charles Ranges has asked for prayers that the trip will be a safe and life-transforming experience for all involved. Those involved and the Essex Catholic Community are financing the trip. The group will be posting a blog at vt2wv.blogspot.com during the trip. Follow along!

Transforming our evangelization strategies

Posted on by Deacon Phil Lawson

Game Changers in Vermont? How are we doing? In the last issue, we considered two “game-changing” events: Pope Francis’s call for the whole Church to embark on a “path of pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are” and the gathering of 3,500 Catholic leaders who reflected on the question, “How do we live the Joy of the Gospel in America as Missionary Disciples?” What shape is our response here in the Diocese of Burlington and in our local parishes taking? Our mission is to help each of our Diocese’s 96 parishes and missions show forth the “Joy of the Gospel,” radiate the light of Christ visibly and facilitate an encounter with the same Christ-like love and charity that lead folks to say of the early Christians communities: “See how they love one another.” A lofty goal, yet here are a few highlights of our attempts to implement the movement from maintenance to mission in the Diocese:

Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist  

At the invitation of the Diocese, the Franciscan Sisters have established a mission presence in Vermont. This vibrant community of women, based in Meriden, Connecticut, has a strong focus on bringing the sacred into the secular world. The sisters are excited to be in Vermont and a part of the work of the New Evangelization. Their presence has already been a gift at the University of Vermont Catholic Center, at numerous vocations events throughout the Diocese and as a part of our new Diocesan Lay Formation Program. In addition to their primary ministries, the sisters are available to speak at parishes, schools, religious education programs and other groups. When Bishop Louis deGoesbriand, the first bishop of Burlington, came to establish the Church in Vermont, one of his early actions was inviting religious sisters to assist him in that effort. May these wonderful sisters bear similar fruit in our day.

Parish Staff and Volunteer Retreats

The past few popes have taken their curia staffs for a weeklong retreat each Lent. Instructing the retreatants to leave their work at the office, the retreat gives them the opportunity to “come away for a time with the Lord.” In imitation of this practice, three years ago the diocesan staff at the Bishop Brady Center began taking a one-day retreat each Lent to facilitate our own spiritual lives and growth. This year the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis decided to expand this offering to our parish staffs and volunteers. Two retreat days took place, one for the northern parishes of the Diocese at St. Jude Church in Hinesburg and one for the southern parishes at Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Ludlow. Both retreats reflected on Pope Francis’ exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel,” and how we are to live this joy as missionary disciples in our pastoral ministries. The retreats were well attended and will become an annual offering.

Pre-Cana

The Church has called us to evaluate how we prepare couples for the Sacrament of Marriage: What are we doing well? What could we do better? With these questions in mind, the Diocese has carefully prepared a new formation process designed to equip couples in the spiritual and human skills necessary for marriage in today’s challenging landscape. One part of that shift was to move a portion of the formation to an online platform. Taking advantage of the next generation’s comfort with online learning and considering the fact that roughly a third of the Catholic marriages in Vermont are destination weddings, this is a helpful approach. In addition, a retreat day is offered to the couples to give the couples the opportunity to set a foundation of praying and reading the Scriptures together. On this day, they also receive a blessed crucifix and the Church’s formal “blessing for engaged couples,” gifts that help them in their desire to root their marriage in Christ and their Catholic faith.

Totus Tuus Expansion and Training

Totus Tuus, a summer faith program for young people, is now entering its eighth year in Vermont. Each year teams of young adults — usually college students and seminarians — travel to parishes to lead a week of fun catechesis for the children and teens. In past years, we have sent these young missionary leaders to Nebraska for training. This year, for the first time, the Diocese of Burlington will be hosting the training at St. Anne’s Shrine. We are also delighted to be hosting the Diocese of Portland’s leaders for training. The Diocese of Portland, following Vermont’s lead, will be the second Diocese in New England to run Totus Tuus. Also new this year is an expansion from 10 host-parish sites to 12 throughout the state.

Institute for Missionary Discipleship: Lay Formation Program

Pope Francis is calling for the Church to raise up “missionary disciples.” These are men and women who know how to sit at the feet of Jesus (disciples) and are equipped and inspired to go out into the world (missionaries). The 22 participants in this inaugural two-year formation program are being formed with the spiritual, intellectual and pastoral tools to take back to their parishes and ministries. Applications for the second class will begin in the spring of 2019.

Religious Education Leader Certification

Our parish religious education leaders are often on the front lines of parish life and the new evangelization. In an effort to give them the tools to best fulfill the role entrusted to them, the Diocese has signed a partnership agreement with the Catechetical Institute at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Through online training and in-person mentoring, our parish religious education leaders will be inspired and equipped to be the missionary disciples the Church is calling them to be.

Other Initiatives

The first Diocesan Men’s Conference took place in February, and like the annual Women’s Retreat, will be a yearly event. We are in our second year of offering the Adult Confirmation Program, which culminates with Confirmation administered by Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne on Pentecost. Parish and regional workshops are offered regularly by the Office of Worship for our lectors and other ministers. Parish missions, retreats and workshops are being offered regularly throughout the state. Finally, the Diocesan Synod, which will convene this fall, will be a tremendous opportunity for the Church in Vermont to come together and discern where the Lord is calling us to go.

In conclusion, we are working to both structurally and personally transform our efforts in Vermont to inspire and equip our parishioners and parishes to radiate the joy of the Gospel through the efforts described above along with many others. These are designed to be some of those “game changers” that Pope Francis envisioned in Evangelii Gaudium, and our American Catholic leaders sought to spark last July. Please pray that, with the Grace of God, these efforts and those in your local parishes may bear great fruit here in our Diocese of Burlington and we may truly radiate Christ’s love and bring those we meet to Our Lord.

Deacon Phil Lawson is the executive director of evangelization, catechesis, divine worship, marriage and family and respect life for the Diocese of Burlington. He can be reached at plawson@vermontcatholic.org.

—Originally published in the Summer 2018 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

 

Training programs

Posted on by Cori Urban

The Diocese of Burlington hosted a Parish Administrative Training Oct. 8 at the Bishop Brady Center in South Burlington, designed for new pastors/administrators, but all clergy were welcome to attend.

“We began these training days under [previous] Bishop [Salvatore] Matano and decided that it was time to renew our efforts to equip our priests to be prepared to address the challenges which arise from different areas of parish life,” explained Msgr. John McDermott, vicar general.

According to Mary Foster, executive director of human resources for the Diocese of Burlington, the purpose of the meeting was “to train new pastors on the administrative duties and responsibilities of their new role and to equip them with the necessary information, processes and procedures to execute those duties and responsibilities.”

Among the presenters were representatives from the diocesan offices of human resources, finance and safe environment programs.

Topics included financial policies and procedures including the handling of cash and approving and paying invoices as well as the responsibilities and authority of finance councils and pastors. In addition, information was shared on VIRTUS Online registration instructions, safe environment training, background checks and the Code of Conduct and Policies on Ethics and Integrity in Ministry.

“Perhaps the most important thing taught during the trainings is the reminder to the priests that the chancery and all of its offices exist to assist them [parish priests] to fulfill their ministry well,” Msgr. McDermott said. “They are reminded that when a question comes up, which it will, remember to call us for assistance if you’re not sure how to address the question.”

Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne has implemented a twice yearly “Priests’ Business Day” to ensure on-going education for the priests in relationship to administration of the parishes.  These days often include updates from all the diocesan offices.

“We will have days specifically for new pastors and administrators as we move into the future, as well as the twice yearly business days for all priests,” Msgr. McDermott said.

In addition, the Diocese is hosting a professional development day for all parish administrative assistants and bookkeepers. Presenters will include the diocesan offices of human resources, finance, and evangelization/catechesis. The theme for the day is “Reflections” and “will focus on equipping these valuable parish employees with the most up-to-date information, processes and procedures they need to excel in their responsibilities, as they are often the first point-of-contact for parishioners and the community,” Foster said.

There are three opportunities to attend: Oct. 16 at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Stowe; Oct. 23 at Holy Cross Parish in Colchester; and Oct. 30 at Christ the King Parish in Rutland.

All sessions are from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Traditional Irish dance is individual and communal, much like faith, priest says

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

As a lilting Irish hornpipe blared from his smart phone, Jesuit Father Brian Frain’s hard shoes repeatedly smacked a wooden floor with rapid-fire precision. The hypnotic rat-a-tat-tat-tat that echoed in the empty room seemed like the perfect percussive accompaniment to the Celtic tune.

When the music changed to a jig, the priest’s feet flew even faster as he floated across the floor — arms rigidly held alongside his torso.

The music ended, and a smile engulfed the clergyman’s face as he leaped about three feet and kicked.

“You know, I should really have the 911 button ready to go,” said the 59-year-old pastor of St. Ignatius Parish in Baltimore, his breathing slightly heavy after several minutes of high-energy dance. “I’m out of shape.”

Traditional Irish dance has been an important part of Father Frain’s life ever since he was a boy. His father was born in Ireland, as were his maternal grandparents. His aunt, who first taught him to dance when he was about 5, learned the art form while attending an Irish boarding school. He later studied in an Irish dance school.

Born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey, Father Frain remembers falling in love with the beauty of the movement. He won several regional Irish dance championships and once competed at the national level. From 1987 to 1992, he ran his own school of Irish dancing before giving it up to enter religious life.

Father Frain, who earned his dance licensure from An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha in Dublin, the world’s premier Irish dance commission, also taught with Irish dance groups at Fordham University in New York, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

Now just under a year into his new pastoral assignment in Baltimore, he planned to offer Irish dance classes at St. Ignatius this Lent. Over the years, he has helped three people earn their certification to teach Irish dance.

Irish dance is both individual and communal, Father Frain said, much like the practice of the Catholic faith.

“It takes a lot of coordination and perfection with others,” he told the Catholic Review, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “You are no longer just a self, but you’re part of a community and you can’t do what you want. You have to lift your leg exactly at the same height that the others lifted. You have to lift your hands at the precise millisecond that the others lift their hands. It requires you to stop thinking individually and start thinking of who’s around you.”

Father Frain, who has visited Ireland seven times, also plays the accordion and enjoys monthly Irish jam sessions in the rectory with a cousin. He recently began serving as chaplain to the Baltimore-area Lady’s Ancient Order of Hibernians.

“There’s a joy that’s expressed in Irish dancing,” he said. “I just love it when I see kids dancing and they know what they’re doing and that they can do it. It’s a beautiful thing.”

— George P. Matysek Jr.