Tricia Lothschutz of Passionist Volunteers International will speak on the topic: Volunteerism: How Young Adults Can Contribute to Church and Society at Theology on Tap on November 6.
As the disciples walked on the road to Emmaus, they didn’t realize that the man they were traveling with was Jesus. Sometimes, we need a little support as we travel our own path through life. Theology on Tap, a speaker series program for young adults, offers topics for discussion that we can’t always address in church. Theology on Tap is a program for young adults in their 20s and 30s interested in coming together to learn more about their Catholic faith and build community in a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere. It reaches young adults where they are, while inviting them to discover how faith can give sense to their everyday lives.
As Catholics, we are called to be witnesses to our faith in the way we live our lives; we are called to serve. On Sunday November 6th, Tricia Lothschutz, will speak on the topic: Volunteerism: How Young Adults Can Contribute to Church and Society.
The TAP sessions will be held at Tommy Fox’s Public House in Bergenfield, NJ and start at 7PM.
Enter through the rear entrance on Portland Avenue. RSVP’s are requested, but not required. Call Brian O’Dowd at 201-385-2859 or email yam@stmarysdumont.org.
Tommy Fox’s is located at 32 S. Washington Ave – Bergenfield, NJ 07621
Fr. Edward Beck interviews Mario Lopez about his new children’s book, Mario and Baby Gia. During a “lightening round” on faith, Mario shares how much his Catholic faith means to him.
Father John Chrysostom Ryan, a Passionist priest, died after a brief illness at Immaculate Conception Monastery, Jamaica, New York on Friday, October 15, 2010. He was 89 (AGE: born 28 December 1920). Son of the late Henry Ryan and Jennie (Murrin) Ryan. Uncle of Eileen Huettl of Mays Landing, New Jersey, and brother-in-law of Margaret Ryan of Mays Landing, New Jersey. A native of Union City, New Jersey, Father Ryan graduated Saint Michael High School in 1938. He attended Holy Cross Preparatory Seminary, Dunkirk, New York from 1938-1940. He professed vows in the Passionist community at Saint Paul of the Cross Monastery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1941. He received a B.A. in philosophy at Saint Ann Monastery, Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1943 and an M.A. in theology from Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop James McNulty, the bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey in 1948.
Father Ryan was assistant novice master and director of Passionist students at Saint Michael Monastery in Union City, New Jersey and at Saint Ann Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania from 1949-1953. He preached parish missions and retreats from 1953-1956. He then served as assistant retreat director at Mother of Sorrows Retreat Center, West Springfield, Massachusetts from 1956-1958. He was vice-rector of Saint Gabriel Monastery, Brighton, Massachusetts from 1958-1959 and rector of Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey from 1959-1965. After serving three years in Passionist leadership, he was reappointed rector of Saint Michael Monastery in 1968. From 1971-1974 he conducted parish missions and retreats. He was assistant treasurer for the Passionist province from 1974-1980 He also served as assistant retreat director at Cardinal Spellman Retreat Center, Riverdale, New York from 1980-1982.
Father Ryan was elected rector of Saint Ann Monastery. Scranton. Pennsylvania in 1982 and then served as pastor of Saint Joseph and Saint Michael Parish, Union City, New Jersey, from 1984-1990. In 1990 he moved to Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, New York. He served as assistant treasurer .for the Passionist province from 1991-1993. He then returned to Immaculate Conception Monastery where he lived from 1993 until his death.
Visiting hours are from 3 to 8 PM on Monday, October 18, 2010. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Jamaica Monastery Choir Chapel on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 11 A.M. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington,
“Pilgrims!” It seems to me that “pilgrim” and “pilgrimage” is what this evening is all about. “Pilgrim” is what our own Holy Father, Pope Benedict, last May 12th, called himself when he visited the Esplanade of the Church of Our Lady of Fatima. He declared:
“Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, I too have come as a pilgrim to Fatima. I have come to rejoice in Mary’s presence. I have come to Fatima, because today the pilgrim Church converges upon this place. I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted by various ills and sufferings. Finally, I have come with the same sentiments as those of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, and the Servant of God, Lúcia, in order to entrust to Our Lady the intimate confession that “I love” Jesus!
For many in our world these past few days have meant something of a pilgrimage vigil as we halted our personal journeys to watch, pray and rejoice as in that desert two hundred miles north of Santiago, Chile, fellow pilgrims returned from the sixty-nine days of an agonizing and aching national ordeal. This evening as processing pilgrims, Brothers and Sisters, we need to give thanks for the remarkable ending to this trial. Giving thanks in our candle light procession is a good way to renew our commitment as devotees to Our Lady of Fatima, continuing our pilgrimage to the Kingdom! In our prayer and procession I suggest we ask ourselves: What does it mean to be a Pilgrim? What does it mean to be a Marian Pilgrim? Who are our pilgrim heroes?
When I ask, “What does it mean to be a Pilgrim?”, I answer that my first distinguishing mark as a pilgrim is that “I’m not a tourist!” I am not here for curiosity sake. I’m not interested in how many sites I’ve seen. I’m not collecting souvenirs with which to impress the folks back home. I don’t plan to astonish folks back home with how I managed to get, say, the water view stateroom or the penthouse suite for less than half the upgrade cost!
On the contrary, as a pilgrim I know that I am in for a rough time of it. Before starting off, I check shoes! “Am I supported by the right shoes for a pilgrim journeying to the Kingdom, that is , am I fortified by the Grace of prayer and the Sacraments?” We Pilgrims know we are not on a relaxing holiday. We’re on a journey with a mission! Yes, along the way we will rest, laugh and loosen up. But always our intent is that we go forward on a mission of personal and spiritual renewal.
What does it mean to be a Marian Pilgrim? Being a Marian Pilgrim means first of all that I journey with my BOOK! I carry the Word of God with me. It is within my mind, in my heart and on my lips. I remember the woman in the crowd who called out to Jesus in admiration, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you?” We could call her a “pilgrim in training!” But Jesus called her forward to be a genuine pilgrim. Ringing in every Marian Pilgrim’s ears is Jesus’ reply, “Blest rather are they who hear the Word of God and carry it out!”
In our pilgrimage, the Word of God, the BOOK of the SCRIPTURES is our constant pilgrim’s guide:
It explains the detours we must take: “Enter by the narrow gate; the road is wide that leads to destruction, and many follow it. But how rough and narrow the road that leads to life—and few there are who find it!” The Word of God sustains the pilgrim when the road is a washout and we are ready to give up: “Behold I am with you always; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness!” The Scripture instructs us at those times of doubt when we wait to know when and where to move forward: “Now is the hour for you wake from sleep; arise, let us go hence!” The Word of God will remind us over and over that we’re not pioneers, we’re not the first to walk this pilgrimage. Jesus and Mary have gone this way ahead of us and they “have not left us orphans, but are with us all days until the end of time!”
The Book of God’s Word will never let pilgrims be comfortable sitting still or lingering too long over some satisfying personal victory. We are always with Mary– who is always with Jesus– as he resolutely journeys to Jerusalem, the Jerusalem of Calvary and the Jerusalem of Eternal Life!
Who are our Pilgrim Heroes? Marian Pilgrims don’t journey alone. Ever since that Friday of her long journey home from Calvary’s Hill Mary has been a Pilgrim journeying with Pilgrims. I like to translate Jesus’ words to John, “Son, there is your mother” as something like this: “Take my mother home!” It tells us that Mary was to be Mother to all of us on pilgrimage to the Kingdom!
As we journey together we need our heroes in the Journey. We need our “Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux,” our St. Paul of the Cross. We need Francis, Dominic and Ignatius. We need St. Gabriel, Gemma and Maria Goretti. We need Mother Theresa along with Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia!
Here at the Fatima Shrine on the grounds of the old St. Gabriel’s Passionist Monastery, you Fatima Pilgrims have a sterling hero to inspire you and strengthen you on your journey. That hero was and is Passionist Father Cajetan Bendernagel! As many of you are aware, he died this past September 12th at St. Mary’s Home in New Britain, CT. Fr. Cajetan was the driving force behind the building of this shrine. Much more than that, however, Fr. Cajetan was, and continues to be, a Pilgrim’s hero because he knew so well the Pilgrim’s journey and how to walk it.
Cajetan never walked alone. He was always walking with his fellow pilgrims. He walked in such a way that helped all of us to keep going. If we needed a rest, he would sit it out with us, listening to our fears and struggles until we were ready to go on. As he listened he never gave directions from high up from a pilgrim’s master’s chair! No, he always was right with us listening from his heart. Alongside us he heard more clearly our shames and fears, our desires and hopes. His listening and his words were full of reverence for us and for God’s presence within us!
Cajetan was and is a Pilgrim’s hero also because he always carried the essential pilgrim’s gear, his BAG! The Pilgrim’s BAG is a symbol of the pilgrim’s readiness to move on to the next stage. Jerusalem is always ahead of us. It is important that we are always ready to pitch camp and break camp as the Holy Spirit guides! Fr. Cajetan pitched camps in Pittsburgh, right here in Brighton, then in North Palm Beach, then in Baltimore and finally in West Hartford. When it was time to break camp and get on with the journey, Cajetan’s BAG was always packed. But he didn’t break camp easily. He found it wrenching to leave his fellow pilgrims in their worries and fears but he turned them over to Mary and to our Savior, to our Wounded Healer, Jesus the Lord.
We soon will light out candles and process with our Rosary Prayer. It would be well that we think of our procession as a little sacrament of our greater journey of Faith. As we process it is good to renew our commitment to our pilgrimage to God’s Kingdom. As we light our candles and go forth I want to share the words of Pope Benedict pilgrim blessing in the Chapel of the Apparitions last May 12th:
Dear pilgrims, standing together with lighted candles in your hands, you seem like a sea of light around this simple chapel, lovingly built to the honor of the Mother of God and our mother, who appeared to the shepherd children like a way of light. However, neither Mary nor we have a light of our own: we receive it from Jesus. To him therefore be every glory, and to us the humble confession of our nothingness and the unworthy adoration of the divine plan which will be fulfilled when “God will be all in all” (cf. 1 Cor 15:28).
Tricia Lothschutz of Passionist Volunteers International will speak on the topic: Volunteerism: How Young Adults Can Contribute to Church and Society at Theology on Tap on November 6.
