The Passionists Compassion is now an e-publication. We hope you enjoy the new format, which makes it easier to read or to print your own copy, if you wish.
In this issue:
Participating in the Future of the Passionist Missionaries – Meet Anne Marie Gardiner, Director of the Office for Development for the Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Province.
The internationally renowned priest and author, Henri Nouwen said, “From the perspective of the gospel, fundraising is not a response to crisis. Fundraising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry.” These words have been my “mantra” since beginning my career in Catholic fundraising over twenty years ago.
As a Catholic fundraiser, it is my responsibility to as- sure donors that they can place their trust in us and that we are very mindful of the sacrifice they make to support our ministries. I have been privileged to meet many of our Priests and Brothers and to hear the stories of their ministries and how blessed they feel to have served among God’s poor and needy. These men have influenced generations and have shown by their exam- ple what it means to live the words of their founder, St. Paul of the Cross, who said, “You will find the name of Jesus engraved on the faces of the poor.”
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Gratitude is Endless – Passionist Associate Terri Meilus reflects on her family’s journey to Lithuania, the land of her ancestors.
One of the many pilgrimage and historical sites we visited was the Hill of Crosses. Known as the Lithuanian national pilgrimage center, it’s located about eight miles north of the small industrial city of Siauliai.
During the era of Soviet occupation, pilgrimages to the Hill of Crosses served as a vital expression of Lithuanian nationalism, along with trust in God. The Soviets repeatedly bulldozed the crosses erected on the hill. Three times, during 1961, 1973 and 1975, the hill was leveled, the crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with trash and sewage. Following each of these desecrations, local inhabitants and pil- grims from all over Lithuania rapidly replaced crosses upon the sacred hill. In 1985, the Hill of Crosses was finally left in peace. The reputation of the sacred hill has since spread all over the world and every year thousands of pilgrims like us visit.
Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled – Fr. Bill Murphy, C.P., pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish in Baltimore writes about his parish’s ministry of welcoming new people to the two cemeteries that flank St Joseph’s.
I wonder if the laying aside of Christian rituals at the time of death, and that the majority of the funerals take place apart from a celebration of the Eucharist, indicate a failure of expressing our faith in religious practice? Changes in the funeral industry, increasing numbers of cremations, and our culture’s approach to death, impact our way of reverently burying loved ones.
But how important and unique is our faith today that life is not ended but changed in death! Bent with grief and mourning, we have hope.
God’s Incurable Wound for Us - Virginia A. Blass, D.Min, a member of the Passionist Itinerant Preaching Band shares an experience from her childhood that taught her about God’s great compassion for us.
Can you recall a time in your life when you experienced God’s compassion for you, or when you were moved by compassion for another? God puts compassion in our own hearts to love the very way that God does. I am able to witness to this grace because of my parents. Here is a story from my early life.
Compassion Fall 2010
Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was a masterful educator, a preacher of great fame and a prolific correspondent in the days before e-mail and instant messaging. The dozens of volumes of sermons, tracts and personal correspondence he left behind bear witness to the seeds of his influence, which flowered in many of the documents of Vatican II.
In this issue we highlight the grace-filled meeting of Newman with our own Blessed Dominic Barberi, C.P., Italian missionary to England, who received Newman’s profession of faith in the Roman Catholic Church. Likewise, we learn about the warmth and breadth of Newman’s literary output of theological and personal writings. Their influence on successive generations of believers has given him a rightful claim to the still unofficial title of Doctor of the Church.
Newman was the most frequently quoted theologian at the Council which fostered many developments in the twentieth-century Church, such as a renewed understanding of revelation, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, and the apostolic engagement of the laity, especially women.
Our writers reflect on some of these developments. Rabbi Abraham Heschel in his words and actions called attention to the compassion of God for our world. Many women experience new opportunities to share their strength and gifts in today’s Church. Newman, having lived until the age of 89 himself, has become an example of the need for the Church to develop new pastoral outreach to its own seniors who suffer the challenging burdens of age that come to believers at that stage in life.
May Blessed John Henry Newman inspire all of us by his wisdom and love.
Paul Zilonka, C.P.
Editor
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- Mother Mary Joseph Day – Sutton 2010 (passionistsisters.wordpress.com)
Compassion: Spring 2010
In this issue:
A Passionist Parish Reaches out to a Passionist Mission – by Justin Kerber, CP
How St. Peter’s Parish in Greenville, NC responded to the earthquake in Haiti by sending a medical team to work with Fr. Rick Frechette, CP at St. Damien’s Hospital.
Make a Joyful Noise – by Patty Bell
A nurse shares her grace-filled experience of volunteering in Haiti with Fr. Rick at St. Damien’s.
The Western Origin of Haiti’s ‘curse’ – by Adele Webb
Ever wonder why Haiti was in such tough shape even before the earthquake? A little history should clear things up.
A Lunch that Empowers for Life – by Jean Baumgardner
When our young Passionist Volunteers arrived in Talanga, Honduras last summer to begin their year of service one of the first things they noticed was little children competing with dogs for scraps of food in a dumpster. They decided to do something about it. The result? Comedor Infantil Pasionista, a lunch program for children aged four to six.
News from the Center of the World – Compassion interviews Padre Ciro Benedettini, CP who serves as Deputy Director of the Vatican Press Office.
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- Reza Nabavian: A Hopeful Note on Haiti (huffingtonpost.com)
Compassion: Fall 2009
In this issue:
Listening to God through Pain – Compassion interviews Fathers Timothy Fitzgerald, William McGuire, John McMillan and Dan Sullivan at St. Paul’s Monastery and Retreat Center in Pittburgh, Pennsylvania.
A Letter from the Pope: “Caritas in Veritate” – by Victor Hoagland, C.P.
Listening to Young Catholic Adults – by Robin Ryan, C.P.
The Jamaican Ties that Bind – by Paul Zilonka, C.P.
Hearing the Call today – by Sr. Ann Stang, S.C.
Driving Miss Doris – Betsy Rouleau
