Author: ra

Mary – Our Mother

St Alphonsus dedicated the Institute he founded in 1732 to the patronage of the Immaculate Conception – more than 100 years ahead of its official proclamation in 1854. Fr Paul reflects on St Alphonsus’ lifelong devotion to Mary using Fr Michael Brehl’s excellent article, St Alphonsus and Mary, the Mother of God, as a guide.  Listen also as Fr Paul’s leads the group in a meditation on Mary as our Mother.  (Music: Richard Wagner’s Quiet Heart/Spirit Wind. Poem: Magna Mater by Edwina Gateley (Holiness of the Feminine Sprit: The Art of Janet Mckenzie, p 19.)

On Making a commitment – Part I

On January 20, 2018, the Our Lady of the Desert Associates will make a commitment to a personal ministry that resonates with the Redemptorist mission to the poor and most abandoned.  A commitment, Fr Paul explains, can as simple as committing to attend associate circle meeting in 2019, caring for a family member or making sandwiches for the poor once a month.  A sample commitment letter was provided for discussion.  Fr Greg May points out that the Tucson group will be the first group making commitments as Redemptorist Associates in the Denver Province as a result of last year’s initiative.  Further discussions are planned for the December 13th meeting.

 

In a wide ranging presentation drawing on theological ideas of redemption spanning three millennia, Fr Greg concludes that Jesus’ understanding of redemption was very different from the “vengeful-god-exacting-payment” idea that many of us grew up with.  

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Jesus is our redeemer, Fr Greg points out, because he is our brother, our closest relative, our go’el. Jesus is our redeemer because that’s what brothers (and sisters) do for their siblings in need. Jesus is our redeemer because he seeks to restore us to our rightful place with him beside “Our Father.”  Jesus is our redeemer because we are all one family in God.

About Fr Greg May: Ordained in 1988, Fr Greg has served in a number of roles including as an associate at Our Lady of the Desert Church (2012-215). Fr. Greg has a profound interest in studying Scripture and loves to share what he’s learned. He is currently located at Denver Province headquarters in Chicago serving both as provincial treasurer and provincial representative on the North American Conference’s Partners in Mission Secretariat. 

Redemptorists form “one missionary body … each contributing through the ministry that belongs to [them].” * 

 * Constitution 2 of the Constitutions of the Congregation

“[The rule’s] a small book but the party’s on the inside.”

– Lee Morrison

Lee Morrison presented Anne Walsh’s video, “Constitutions and Statutes,” the professed Redemptorist’s “rule of life.” The rule is important to understand because it inspires our connections – to professed Redemptorists, to Redemptorist Spirituality and ultimately to our place, as associates, in the Redemptorists’ “one missionary body.” 

Listen to Lee’s introduction to Anne’s video and the group’s discussion below.

Lee also provided two handouts:  Anne’s Slides  and a list of helpful suggestions to foster group discussions. Lee also reminded us that online links to the CSSR: Constitutions and CSSR: General Statutes appear  on every oldassociates.net web page (on the right listed under “CSSR Links”).

Fr Paul Coury opened the meeting with a beautiful “Alphonsian” Prayer of Healing. It’s a prayer, he suggests, we might well spend an entire session on:

Fr Paul also announced that, as of Oct. 31^st, Partners in Mission (“PIM”) – and Redemptorist Associates, as a form of PIM – are now “officially” part of the North American Conference via its new  “Secretariat for PIM” with Fr Greg May representing the Denver Province on the Secretariat.  More importantly for us, the “Draft” Guidelines describing Redemptorist Associates have been formally adopted..

 “On November 9, 1732, in his beloved Scala, St. Alphonsus Liguori founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ announcing the Good News to the poor. He was 36 years old. His life became one of mission and service to the most abandoned. The Congregation was approved by Benedict XIV on February 25, 1749.”

That’s Fr Paul’s short version of the foundation.  Listen below for the more detailed discussion he led at the November 1st associates meeting.

Lee Morrison and Fr Paul Coury moderated a group discussion of some of the highlights of Anne Walsh’s recent presentation to the circle. This led to an important discussion of the role of “evangelization” in the life of a Redemptorist Associate.

Redemptorist Associates Around the World

John Davenport provided an overview of “Redemptorist Assciates Around the World” with examples of circles in 9 of the 82 countries Redemptorists are present. See: Around the World

(Note: You can listen to the discussion while you follow the “Around the World” presentation by starting the audio first and then clicking on the “Around the World” link above. The links in the presentation are all active for those who’d like to learn more.)

Standing (left to right)
Bob Keogh, Julie Ramirez, Gini Wuebold, Mary Phillips, Anne Walsh, Margaret McNealy, Jenny Martin, Ken McNealy, Marge Beymer, Diana Davenport, Frances Schlack, Fr Greg May, Lee Morrison, Colleen O’Leary, Bianca Montiel, Bob Francis, Luis Montiel, Chris Francis
Seated (left to right)
Fr Paul Coury, Angela Schneider, Joan Callaghan, Kathi Rush, Jane Duquette-Cummings, Genie Bowsher, Carmen Murrieta

Guest speakers Dr Anne Walsh, Chair of the General Commission for Partnership in Mission and Fr Greg May, Denver Province liaison for Partnership in Mission, discuss what it means to be a Redemptorist Associate.

Anne says a few words about how she got to know the Redemptorists:

Anne fields an important question concerning personal and group missions in Redemptorist Circles:

Anne talks about how discovering and enabling our “Redemptorist hearts” are what being Redemptorist Associates are all about:

See also: Anne’s presentation

Fr Greg discusses his new role fostering the formation and development of Redemptorist Circles as the Denver Province’s representative on the North American Conference’s Secretariat for the Partnership in Mission:

Fr Paul Coury, Redemptorist Associates, and friends celebrated St Alphonsus Liguori’s 322nd Birthday September 27th making hundreds of sandwiches for Tucson’s Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community soup kitchen. It clearly wasn’t all work.

*Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and the founder of the Redemptorist Congregation: St Alphonsus was born Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27, 1696, at Marianella, near Naples, Italy.

 

O Lord my strength and my Redeemer, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight. I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowed on Your humble missionary, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. May I have the same joyful vigor that Father Seelos possessed during his earthly life to love You deeply and live faithfully Your gospel. Amen

Born in Füssen, Germany, January 11, 1819, Francis entered the diocesan seminary of St. Jerome at Dillingen, Germany, in 1842. Soon after meeting the missionaries of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in Dilligen, he entered the congregation to minister to the German speaking immigrants in the United States. Arriving in New York in 1843 he was ordained a priest in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844. He began his pastoral ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as assistant pastor of his confrere Saint John Neumann, serving also as Master of Novices and dedicating himself to preaching. Francis became a full-time itinerant missionary preacher, preaching in both English and German in a number of different states. He contracted yellow fever while ministering to the sick in New Orleans, Louisiana during an outbreak of the disease, dying October 4, 1867.

Listen below as Fr Paul discusses the life of Blessed Francis Xavior Seelos whose memorial feast we celebrate October 5th.

In addition to showing a short video (which may be viewed at: Seelos) Fr Paul provided a refection on Blessed Seelos’ cheerfulness (which may be viewed at: Cheerfulness).

Discerning our mission:

Listen below as Lee Morison gives helpful guidance in discerning what we are called to do.

Lee also provided a summary which may be found at: Mission Guidance