St. Clement I, Papal Authority, The Consecrated Life and the Value of Prayer, Dom Gueranger, "Modernist" Trinitarian Formulae, and Other Related Items

Today is the Feast of St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr--the third successor of St. Peter. St. Clement is best remembered, perhaps, for leaving the clearest and earliest historical record of exercising the universal Petrine authority over matters outside of the Diocese of Rome. Dom Gueranger writes about this incident, involving the church of Corinth seeking to settle a particularly contentious issue within its boundaries:

The Corinthians at last felt the necessity of putting an end to a disorder that might be prejudicial to the extension of the Christian faith; and for this purpose it was requisite to seek assistance from outside. The apostles had all departed this life, except St. John, who was still the light of the Church. It was no great distance from Corinth to Ephesus where the apostle resided: yet it was not to Ephesus but to Rome that the church of Corinth turned.

St. Clement claimed authority, used his authority, and his authority was accepted. All this in the first century A.D. Papal authority certainly existed-- and almost certainly was exercised over churches outside Rome-- from the very beginning of the office. But this record contained in St. Clement's letter to the Corinthians while even yet an apostle of Jesus Christ still lived, stands as evidence of a most important kind.

St. Clement also wrote about the laudable life of the consecrated virgin. In the entry for the Presentation of Mary a few days ago, Dom Prosper Gueranger wisely remarked that "the world, unknown to itself, is ruled by the secret prayers of the just." Pope Clement certainly understood this to be true of the consecrated religious. Anticipating the great doctors of Christian virginity--SS. Athanasius, Jerome, Ambrose and others, he wrote as follows:

"He or she who aspires to this higher life, must lead like the angels an existence all divine and heavenly. The virgin cuts herself off from the allurements of the senses; not only does she renounce the right to their even lawful use, but she aspires to that hope which God, who can never deceive, encourages by His promise, and which far surpasses the natural hope of posterity. In return for her generous sacrifice, her portion in heaven is the very happiness of the angels."

These words brought to mind that I would continue to ask for prayers for all consecrated religious, but especially the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest and their new foundation in St. Louis. These gentle and holy sisters bring the blessing of God, invoke His favor and mercy, and forestall His righteous anger, in a way that we cannot perceive. They give us their "secret prayers of the just".

Back to St. Clement I. Like so many faithful Catholics, especially the early Popes, he paid the price of the faith with his life-- the emperor Trajan had him exiled, and later cast into the sea tied to an anchor. Miraculously, his body was delivered up by the ocean when the sea receded three miles, revealing his body in a marble tomb on the floor of the sea. Hence the anchor graphic, above.

Finally, I wanted to thank Delena, who came to see us in St. Louis this past weekend. Sharon and I had a great time visiting with her and her cool husband and sons. In the middle of a nice dinner with plenty of alcohol (but not enough to trigger a trip to the confessional) she unloads this bombshell: she says Holy Spirit instead of Holy Ghost.

Wha???

My brother was quick to point out that she is, of course, a modernist.

Now, I realize that saying Holy Spirit doesn't really make you a modernist, so no hate mail, please. Well, not by itself, anyway. Just kidding! It really is a weird phenomenon, isn't it? I know there was no magic diktat from the Second Vatican Council to switch from Ghost to Spirit, but it seems to be the time period when the switch occurred. Spirit is derived from the Latin Spiritus while Ghost comes from the old English Gast, and similar to the German Geist.

The real reason I brought it up is to provide the fodder for my next poll. Do you say Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? My guess is that people who identify themselves as traditional Catholics tend to say Ghost, yet not uniformly so. My other guess is that Catholics not described above say Spirit almost exclusively. Let's see if I am right.

The last poll, while not immensely popular, did prove that by a 2-to-1 margin you do not like my vest. Too bad, I'm wearing it anyway.

Yes, It Would Help. A Lot, In Fact.

Rev. Bozek: I might step down

By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/22/2009

The Rev. Marek Bozek, pastor of St. Stanislaus church just north of downtown, told parishioners Sunday that he was willing to step down if it would help the parish.

"I do not want my personal circumstances to impede what is best for St. Stanislaus," Bozek said.

Bozek was laicized, or defrocked, by the Roman Catholic church in January.

In July 2008, the archdiocese filed a lawsuit against the St. Stanislaus board that, if successful, would allow it to regain the power to assign the church’s pastor and approve its board members. The trial date is set for February.

Bozek’s announcement could open a door for the archdiocese to regain control of the church without a trial.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/83EF9CE3598AC6BE86257676006B7BB4?OpenDocument

_______________________

Some additional information at today's updated story at STLToday. Is the end of the lawsuit near?


Bozek said he could not comment on the timing of his announcement because of pending litigation between the church and the Archdiocese of St. Louis. His attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

In July 2008, the archdiocese filed a lawsuit that, if successful, would allow it to regain the power to assign the church's pastor and approve its board members. Since 2001, the board twice has amended its bylaws to cement its control of church matters. That lawsuit is scheduled to come to trial in St. Louis Circuit Court in February.

The archdiocese welcomed the news of Bozek's possible departure from St. Stanislaus.

"If that opens up an avenue for reconciliation, that would be a wonderful thing," Bernard Huger, an attorney for the archdiocese, said Sunday. "Clearly we don't want to have a trial, we just want to have St. Stanislaus returned as a Catholic parish."

Huger said St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson had "made it clear" to St. Stanislaus attorneys that he was "most willing to resolve this."

The Polish-born Bozek was hailed as a hero in 2005 for risking his vocation to lead a church some Catholics felt had been abandoned by the archdiocese. But over the last three or four years, Bozek's version of Catholicism drove away many of the church's traditional members.

At the same time, his support for homosexuality in the church, and women's ordination, brought in a new group of parishioners.

In January, Bozek was laicized, or defrocked, by Pope Benedict XVI.

Tensions are high at St. Stanislaus, between those who support Bozek and those who want him gone. And the two sides — with two very different concepts of what it means to be Roman Catholic — reacted to the pastor's announcement Sunday with equal fervor.

"He's bringing people back while the rest of the Catholic church is driving them away," St. Stanislaus member Diana Daley said after Mass on Sunday. "He says he's willing to step down, but if he does, they might as well close this church."

Grzegorz Koltuniak, a longtime critic of Bozek's, said after the pastor's announcement that he'd been "waiting for this moment from the beginning."

101st Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Francis de Sales

The present church building of St. Francis de Sales was completed and dedicated in a solemn ceremony on Novermber 26, 1908. The Oratory celebrates this anniversary with Mass and the annual Kirchweifest today.

This photo of the church appeared in the Golden Jubilee Souvenir Book published in 1917. (The first church building was erected in 1867, and destroyed by a tornedo in May, 1896.)

The following message to the parishioners of St. Francis de Sales was recorded in the Jubilee book:

We congratulate you to-day for the harmony and unexcelled co-operation that you have in the years gone by ever shown in the interest of your church. May this grand spirit that to-day finds a place in the heart of every parishioner, continue in the years to come. May we in the future work together as we have done in the past, so that the next Jubilee of St. Francis de Sales church may find, if possible, even greater reasons for rejoicing than the past fifty years have offered. Our parish to-day, on the day of its fiftieth anniversary, stands pre-eminent among the parishes of our diocese. The spirit of religion, the frequency with which our parishioners approach the Sacraments, your devotedness to your church, your sacrifices in her behalf, your real, genuine Catholic Faith stands as a shining example to all who have occasion to know the inner life of our parish. This it is, after all, which carries greatest weight before the Eternal Judge. Our good wishes to you to-day are that these grand and noble conditions may continue in our parish, and that each succeeding year may find you more worthy of the name you bear. That you continue walking in the footsteps of those noble men and women, who, by their sojourn in St. Francis de Sales parish, have merited the “Crown of Glory.”

Today is the Last Sunday after Pentecost, and closes out the Church year as we are called to contemplate the Last Things. Advent begins next Sunday.

Novena to the Immaculate Conception

St. Francis de Sales Oratory is conducting is annual Novena of Masses to the Immaculate Conception. Every day of the Novena will feature Mass with a different homilist.

This year's lineup includes some fantastic preachers. In addition to the many local Archdiocesan priests well-known for their preaching skills, I wanted to call your attention to the Mass of Canon Matthew Talarico of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Canon Talarico is stationed at the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, and is a Vice Provincial of the Institute for the U.S. He is a very moving speaker, and I say that because you may not have heard him before--and not intending to slight any of the other great speakers by omission.

The schedule is below, and directions and information are at the link above.

Novena in Honor of the Immaculate Conception

Rosary and confessions before all Masses and devotions

Sunday – November 29, 10:00 am

Canon Jason Apple, Vicar at St. Francis de Sales Oratory

“The Immaculate Conception – Patron of the Institute of Christ the King”

Monday – November 30, 6:30 pm

Canon Matthew Talarico, Vice-Rector Shrine of Christ the King, Chicago

“Devotion to Mary – Secret to Sanctity and Sanity”

Tuesday, December 1, 6:30 pm

Father Edward James Richard, Dean of Students & Vice-Rector, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

“The Immaculate Conception - Our Mother”

Wednesday – December 2, 6:30 pm

Father Thomas Keller, Pastor, St. Angela Merici-Florissant

"The Old Testament and Devotion to Mary - The Story of Rebecca and Jacob."

Thursday, December 3, 6:30 pm

Father Kristian Teater, Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

“Queen of Priests”

Friday, December 4, 6:30 pm

Monsignor C. Eugene Morris, Pastor, St. Mary Magdalen, Brentwood, Lecturer of Sacramental Theology, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

“Mary – Woman of the Eucharist”

Saturday, December 5, 8:00 am

Father Gregory Lockwood, Temporary Administrator, St. Elizabeth of Hungary-Crestwood, Lecturer of Systematic Theology, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

“The Immaculate Heart of Mary”

Sunday, December 6, 10:00 am

Monsignor Vernon Gardin, Vicar General of Archbishop of St. Louis

"Like Mary, Our Identity is in Christ."

Monday, December 7, 6:30 pm

Father Eric Kunz, Associate Pastor, Queen of All Saints-Oakville

"Mary - Cause of Our Joy."

The Enormous Body of Lies from Our Communist Leaders to Pay Off Soon

The health care plan that won't cover abortion, won't cause the government to takeover one-seventh of the economy, that won't have death panels, that won't ration care, that won't force doctors to perform abortions, that won't cover non-citizens, that won't come up for a vote until after the new year, that won't raise taxes, that won't increase the deficit, that won't bankrupt the country, and that won't destroy private ownership of businesses, and that won't cause massive unemployment...

...will be voted on in the Senate on Saturday night, copying the House's cowardly ramrod weekend job.

This is communism, plain and simple, forced on you by a totalitarian state, controlled by the communist party of political sheep, ruled over by an illegitimate thug.

I Think Being Polite Drives People Crazier Than Just about Anything Else

This incident occurred right here in Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. It really highlights the problem with governmental intimidation and arrogance, and also just how hard it is to effectively protect your rights.

Steve Bierfeldt, who works with Campaign for Liberty, was flying back to D.C. from St. Louis after a C4L event carrying registration money in his carry on bag. He was pulled aside by TSA.

Read his story here.

The full audio recording can be found here. Be advised that there are a few instances of medium to strong profanity used by officials therein.

On the one hand, it is obvious that the situation was--practically speaking only-- prolonged by the refusal of Mr. Bierfeldt to give information the government had no right to have. However, isn't that just the point? Isn't the point of freedom from unwarranted searches and seizures, not to mention unjustified detentions, to be able to be free from giving such information "just to get along"? In the end, it is not a security risk to the airplane to carry money, regardless of the amount.

Parts of the audio are funny, parts are frightening. It is a study of psychological law enforcement techniques. Just part of 21st Century Amerika. Credit the ACLU for vindicating this matter in the Courts. That organization sometimes does great work-- too bad it gets grossly overshadowed by most of its other cases.

Jamie Allman Manages to Get It Nearly All Wrong

I enjoy listening to Jamie Allman's morning show. I tend to be politically conservative. But just as I am forced to remind the statists who comment here, being Catholic comes first--antecedent to any political identification, worship of Kenyan-born "presidents", or radio talk show preferences.

Allman, a Catholic, has written an op-ed in the Post-Dispatch today which, seemingly, tries to be controversial for its own sake. Much like the old Kevin Slaten ad--"People say I'm controversial, but I don't buy that. I believe controversy is a good thing."

In the piece, Allman takes issue with the recent donation by the Archdiocese to the effort to defend marriage in Maine. I will re-post section-by-section below, with my responses. From STLToday:

Is gay marriage a bigger priority than illegal immigration in St. Louis?
Jamie Allman

11/19/2009

I think I have a dynamite way for gays who want to get married to avoid the cross hairs of Catholic bishops: They should find a way to become illegal immigrants.

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson chased nuptial-hunting gays all the way to Maine earlier this month when he used an Archdiocesan fund to drop $10,000 into the coffers of those fighting to defeat gay marriage.

Too bad for the gay people. Had they been illegal immigrants, the Archdiocese might have run to Maine to rescue them and relocate them. That's what the Archdiocese did in Valley Park when the city dared threaten to enforce the law.

OK, let's begin. First of all, this whole argument is a complete non sequitur. Defending marriage is a Catholic issue. Being concerned with the way immigrants are treated by the state is a Catholic issue. Neither decision-- the donation of money to help support the institution of marriage in Maine, and the concern that people are given their rights to due process of law regardless of immigration status-- has any connection to the other, apart from the fact that the Church has justifiable concerns for both.

Also, the language Allman uses is intentionally inflammatory and patently unfair. "Carlson chased nuptial-hunting gays" and "avoid the cross hairs of Catholic bishops" is the type of language I would expect of 19th Century Know-Nothings, or the Foursquare Gospel sect, not from a Catholic. This is also language I would expect to hear from Mr. Bozek or the Cronan's leadership.

No wonder Catholics are confused. They never know where the holy ball is marked. That sure makes it hard to be a holy roller.

Wit, thy name is Jamie Allman. I would suggest some of the confusion comes when avowed Catholics in the public eye feel free to criticize Bishops who uphold Catholic teaching. Allman's target happens to be traditional marriage, while others fault the pro-life efforts of the Church.

What the public sees is just the tip of the mitre when it comes to confusing actions.

In 2002, a St. Louis priest admitted he sexually abused a kid. In the summer of 2003, Archbishop Justin Rigali let one of his buddies, Monsignor Richard Stika, increase the priest's salary. By the fall of that year, Rigali was hammering the board of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church for being "out of communion" with the church. Who is more "out of communion": the abusive priest or the Polish parish?

Rigali became a cardinal in Philadelphia, Stika became bishop of Knoxville, Tenn., and the St. Stan's board wound up being excommunicated.

When you are really out of ideas, just bring up the sex abuse issue. I love how you hear all the time--even out of the USCCB bureaucracy itself-- that homosexuality is not involved in the abuse situation. Yet the statistics bear a different story. Nearly all of the pedophilia cases (children yet to reach puberty, as opposed to that term being defined to include any minor under 18) involved the abuse of boys by men. Same sex. Is there a term to describe that situation?

Then of course Allman pulls another non sequitur and pairs this situation to the St. Stanislaus situation. The funny thing is that he presents this as a way to make the St. Stan's junta look like victims. Funny he should mention Bozek in juxtaposition to the abusive priest. What was Bozek but an abusive priest? He disregarded the authority of the Bishop. He preached a Gospel different than that of Jesus Christ. He supported heresies and publicly opposed infallible Church teaching. And I am only talking about his public statements here.

Gee, am I wrong or wasn't it Allman's job to explain Archbishop Burke's position in this matter? How good a job did he do on that, I wonder? Maybe because Jamie Allman never thought he was in the right when he did so?

Give me a break. You can be against both pedophilia and "gay marriage". In fact, you ought to be--and as a Catholic you must be. In Allman's view, if any leader of the Church ever did anything wrong at any time, the whole Church loses the ability to advocate in the moral realm.

So heaven forbid you're gay and want to get married in Maine. Now you've got ten grand and more against you, courtesy of Catholic bishops. Better you commit a crime by sneaking into the United States. Then you have legions of bishops surrounding you with protection, condemning raids on you and even harboring you from the law.

Heck, as long as you're an illegal immigrant and not eyeing a gay marriage, the bishops will even push for government health care to be thrown your way.

Oooh. Ten grand in the context of a statewide referendum, where the other side is backed by tens of millions of dollars. That is scary. P.S., gays can get married in any state in the union. They just have to actually get married, which is to say to someone of the opposite sex, like anybody else. That strikes me as equality.

This then leads to the straw man of the nefarious "illegal immigrant". Should people follow the civil laws governing the flow of immigration to the United States? Absolutely. Does the government have the right to regulate this process to ensure order, maintain sovereignty and promote the common good? Sure.

But don't tell me that a person from another country is not a person who doesn't deserve basic human dignity and due process of law. If an immigrant without status needs to go to the emergency room because he would die otherwise, is Allman saying he shouldn't get care? If he is the target of crime, should the police not protect him? If he is charged with being out of status and deportable, does he get a hearing or can anyone just judge the case on their own and ship someone out? If his spouse, or children, are U.S. citizens is it always proper to deport? No matter what? That may or may not be Allman's view, but it isn't the Catholic view. The bishops are right in wanting certain basic rights for everyone.

This is a far cry from Allman's baseless charge that the Church harbors illegal immigrants from the law. Giving a hungry person a sandwich is not harboring.

And regarding the health care takeover-- readers surely know what an awful idea I think this is, that aids in the destruction of innocent human life and violates the principle of subsidiarity. But I will say this: the bishops aren't advocating that homosexuals shouldn't be covered, so at least their position vis-a-vis the two non-related issues is consistent. Allman might phrase it that "Carlson chased nuptial-hunting gays all the way to Maine to ensure they had health insurance."

As keenly opposed as Catholic leaders like Archbishop Carlson are to gay marriage, it's too bad they aren't more determined on abortion. Sure they all lobbied to ban abortion funding in the House health care reform bill. But that came after an election season in which they mumbled incoherently about a "scale of values" in voting for a president.

With some notable exceptions, the Bishops as a group strongly advocated for life in the last election. And since he is talking about the Archbishops of Saint Louis, past and present, with regard to them both the stance of the Church was crystal clear. But don't let the facts get in the way.

What you get with your "scale of values" is confusion and hypocrisy.

See above. This is laughable.

You get St. Louis Catholics with Obama buttons pinned to their purses hollering at priests when they have the audacity to hope during a homily that people consider the abortion issue in voting.

Or you get Catholic commentators like Chris Matthews on MSNBC who will on one day declare that it's not wrong for someone to "call al-Qaida," but the next day declare that it is wrong for Catholic bishops to call lawmakers.

So Catholic clergy DID speak up for life in the election, and leftist Catholics ignored them and spread confusion?

Bishop Carlson's $10,000 wire to whack gay marriage in Maine got very little attention among St. Louis Catholics. (Be lucky your name isn't Raymond Burke, your excellency. You'd still be on the front page about this one.)

Maybe a good Director of Communications could help.

The lack of attention may be because Catholics — especially the ones who voted for a pro-choice president — may feel they have to stand up for something they deem to be a moral issue. Putting the hammer on gays is cleansing. It's absolving. It feels, well, Catholic.

I mean, really, this is asinine. How many Catholics who voted intentionally pro-choice are anti-gay "marriage"? One? Even one? More than three?

But I'm sure there are many uses for ten grand. Last Sunday, Catholics heard appeals from priests for donations to the seminary. Kids at one local parish started a Pennies For Priests collection. Ten grand would go a long way there. Or could the Marriage Enrichment Program at the Archdiocese use some cash?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Before you cue the lightning strike, please make no mistake. As a Catholic I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I'll be sure to teach my children that. Otherwise it's none of my business. And I certainly don't believe the government should be involved in dictating who gets married and who doesn't. That's why I'm a conservative and not a Republican.

I'm personally opposed, but...

But maybe I'm totally wrong. Maybe Archbishop Carlson and his guys finally have found the American sweet spot by mixing their fight against gay marriage with their wave to illegal immigrants. After all, both the Democratic and Republican parties seem to share a disdain for gay marriage and a soft spot for illegals. Maybe the bishops have finally found a bipartisan comfort zone.

Catholic bashing from an avowed Catholic. Does it get any better?

Heaven in Plain Sight

I am currently reading Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather. I may write a fuller review when I've finished, but the book has already moved me so much that I wanted to say a word or two here.

C.S. Lewis was fond of writing that the beauty and joy that we see here on earth is only beautiful and joyful inasmuch as it is a participation in the joy of Heaven. In other words, we acknowledge something or someone as beautiful, or joyous, or lovable because we are actually experiencing the heavenly, but here and now. In the Last Battle, the protagonists enter Aslan's Country (Heaven) and discover to their surprise that it is actually Narnia itself-- not merely Narnia renewed or restored, but actually Narnia in its real essence. This essence is so real that what they thought was Narnia in the life before was only a shadow, or poor copy, of the real thing.

Of course, the Mass is the ultimate expression of this reality. The Holy Sacrifice really is the Sacrifice of Calvary, yet made present here and now.

Apart from Mass, we see these little glimpses of Heaven often, if we can but perceive them. Yet less frequently we actually experience oases on the journey that really make obvious the joys that the Lord wills for us if we will be faithful to the end. He showers graces on us, and sometimes these graces include the ability to see the graces he showers, if you get my meaning.

For example, my family attended a party last summer that was just such an event-- a beautiful setting, gracious hosts, good Catholic friends, fun, food, even fireworks. It struck me forcibly that if this was possible on earth that the communion of Saints in Heaven must be wonderful indeed.

The Oratory is another such example for me-- an island of charity, faith, truth, beauty and culture in a secular wasteland.

Reading Death Comes for the Archbishop has been one of these joys, and in fact is almost a chronicle of these types of heavenly glimpses in the life the title character. Though the tale is fictional, the stories related are as true as anything in this life can be.

The book is a series of vignettes of the life and travails of a Catholic missionary Bishop who is sent to New Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century. Nearly every such vignette has moved me greatly. I might post other excerpts later, but for now I'll start with this one.

In this chapter, a Mexican woman who is the ill-used slave of a local American family turns up at the church in the middle of a freezing winter's night. Her masters are protestants who are hostile to the Church and who won't let her go to Mass or receive the sacraments. She has come in the middle of the night hoping to visit the church. The Bishop, who was unable to sleep, arises and finds her there. He gives her his cloak and ushers her into the church:

The church was utterly black except for the red spark of the sanctuary lamp before the high altar. Taking her hand, and holding the candle before him, he led her across the choir to the Lady Chapel. There he began to light the tapers before the Virgin. Old Sada fell on her knees and kissed the floor. She kissed the feet of the Holy Mother, the pedestal on which they stood, crying all the while. But from the working of her face, from the beautiful tremors which passed over it, he knew they were tears of ecstasy.

"Nineteen years, Father; nineteen years since I have seen the holy things of the altar!"

"All that has passed, Sada. You have remembered the holy things in your heart. We will pray together."

The Bishop knelt beside her, and they began, O Holy Mary, Queen of Virgins....

More than once Father Vaillant had spoken to the Bishop of this aged captive. There had been much whispering among the devout women of the parish about her pitiful case.... Now that they were back in Mexican country, the Smiths were afraid their charwoman might escape from them and find asylum among her own people, so they kept strict watch upon her.... When [some women of the parish] said they had come to ask Sada to go to Mass with them, [Mrs. Smith] told them she had got the poor creature out of the clutches of the priests once, and would see to it that she did not fall into them again....

When they rose from their knees, Father Latour told Sada he was glad to know that she remembered her prayers so well.

"Ah, Padre, every night I say my Rosary to my Holy Mother, no matter where I sleep!" declared the old creature passionately, looking up into his face and pressing her knotted hands against her breast....

He spoke soothingly to her. "Remember this, Sada; in the year to come, and during the Novena before Christmas, I will not forget to pray for you whenever I offer the Blessed Sacrifice of the Mass. Be at rest in your heart, for I will remember you in my silent supplications before the altar as I do my own sisters and my nieces."

Never, as he afterward told Father Vaillant, had it been permitted him to behold such deep experience of the holy joy of religion as on that pale December night. He was able to feel, kneeling beside her, the preciousness of the things of the altar to her who was without possessions; the tapers, the image of the Virgin, the figures of the saints, the Cross that took away indignity from suffering and made pain and poverty a means of fellowship with Christ. Kneeling beside the much enduring bond-woman, he experienced those holy mysteries as he had done in his young manhood. He seemed able to feel all it meant to her to know that there as a Kind Woman in Heaven, though there were such cruel ones on earth. Old people, who have felt blows and toil and known the world's hard hand, need, even more than children do, a woman's tenderness. Only a Woman, divine, could know all that a woman can suffer.

Not often, indeed, had Jean Marie Latour come so near to the Fountain of all Pity as in the Lady Chapel that night; the pity that no man born of woman could ever utterly cut himself off from; that was for the murderer on the scaffold, as it was for the dying soldier or the martyr on the rack. The beautiful concept of Mary pierced the priest's heart like a sword.

"O Sacred Heart of Mary!" she murmured by his side, and he felt how that name was food and raiment, friend and mother to her. He received the miracle in her heart into his own, saw through her eyes, knew that his poverty was as bleak as hers. When the Kingdom of Heaven had first come into the world, into a cruel world of torture and slaves and masters, He who brought it had said, "And whosoever is least among you, the same shall be first in the Kingdom of Heaven." This church was Sada's house, and he was a servant in it.

Archbishop Carlson Elected to Head USCCB Committee

From the USCCB website comes the news that Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis was elected Chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocation.

Congratulations to His Grace.