Saint Anthony Garden of Eternity

An area on the grounds of our Ellicott City, MD multi-ministry site at The Shrine of St. Anthony is being developed into the new Saint Anthony Garden of Eternity; a special place for pilgrims to pray outdoors, generously donated in memory of William and Kathleen Cavanaugh. It will consist of a walkway with thirteen locations to pray using the words of Saint Anthony, a seven-foot statue of St. Anthony of Padua, and an exquisite garden of flowers and plants.

St. Anthony Garden of Eternity Plan

Carrollton Hall Historic Site Supporting Ukraine

Carrollton Hall Historic Site is located on the grounds of The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. As a favorite granddaughter of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, Emily Caton McTavish was gifted property known as Folly Quarter. The manor house built there was named Carrollton Hall, and a parcel of the vast estate grounds is now the site of several of our Province ministries, including: The Shrine of St. Anthony, Carrollton Hall Historic Site, our Provincial House, the Companions of St. Anthony, the Province FMA Office (Franciscan Mission Association), Franciscan Soy Candles, and Little Portion Farm. The property also includes several meditation trails & gardens, an outdoor Shrine of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., outdoor Stations of the Cross, and a peaceful Grotto. Many more projects are underway, as the property is evolving into one of the premier destinations for the faithful to find a location for peace and reflective tranquility.

In support of Ukraine, the evening lighting of Carrollton Hall was updated to yellow and blue. We unite ourselves with the Polish and Ukrainian friars of the Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross (Ukraine), a Custody of the Polish Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar (Kraków, Poland), with Pope Francis, and the Church throughout the world, on March 2, 2022, to fast in a special way for peace and an end to war!

Street Side View

Front – Field Side View

(Photo Cred: Michael Sawicki)

READ MORE…

Prayer for Peace

From our Curia:
Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross in the Ukraine: Press Release
Message from the Minister General

News from the Friars in Ukraine: 
I Leave My Peace to You
The Monastery in Bolshivtsi is Open to Refugees

Donate to help the people of Ukraine:
CRS Urgent Need in Ukraine
KofC Ukraine Solidarity Fund

Reflection by Fr. Ed Ondrako, OFM Conv.

Newman as a Volcanic Eruption

“Newman’s Response to the Anglican Bishops’ Charge of Fancifulness and Skepticism”[1]

Follow Newman as he looks back on his decision “to ask for admission (as he describes it) into the one fold of Christ.” “During my course of reading in the summer of 1839, I began to look for some ground to supply a basis for my view of antiquity and catholicity. … The history of St. Leo showed me that the deliberate and eventual consent of the great body of the Church ratified a doctrinal decision as a part of revealed truth…. The Creeds tell us that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. I could not prove that the Anglican communion was an integral part of the one Church, on the grounds of its teaching being apostolic or catholic. I could not defend our separation from Rome and her faith without using arguments prejudicial to those great doctrines concerning our Lord, which are the very foundation of the Christian religion.  … I deliberately quit the old Anglican ground as untenable; though I did not do so all at once, but as I became more and more convinced of the state of the case. … I had no thought of leaving the Church of England because I felt some of my old objections against Rome as strongly as ever, I had no right, I had no leave, to act against my conscience. That was a higher rule than (writing about the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic) Notes of the Church.”[2]

To the end of his life Newman was satisfied with his argument in Tract 90 (see my 21 February entry). He wrote: “Holiness as the true test of a Church was steadily kept in view in what I wrote in connection with Tract 90. … According to this theory, a religious body is part of the one, catholic and apostolic Church, if it has the succession and the creed of the apostles, with the note of holiness of life; and there is much in such a view to approve itself to the direct commonsense and practical habits of an Englishman. … I sunk my theory to a lower level … when the Bishops and the people of my Church, … actually rejected primitive Catholic doctrine, and tried to eject from their communion all who held it. This was the lower level on which I placed myself, and all who felt with me, at the end of 1841.”[3]

Newman was faithful to the Anglo Catholic part of the Church of England. Rationalists and Evangelicals made up the other parts. “The Anglican theory was very distinctive. I admired it and took it on faith … my only worry … it was a paper system. … The liberals (rationalists) had beaten me in a fair field. …Submission to the Catholic Church could not have been earlier. … I did not possess certitude. In December 1844 I resolved to write on doctrinal development and if my convictions were not weaker, I would enter the Church of Rome. … On 3 April 1845, … (listen to his heart) accept this apology, my dear Church, and forgive me. As I say so, tears come into my eyes;—that arises from the accident of this time, when I am giving up so much I love. … I am this night (8 October 1845) expecting Father Dominic, the Passionist … He does not know my intention; but I mean to ask of him admission into the one fold of Christ…. ”[4]

There you have Newman’s words, his character, his purpose and emphases! Do you find them illuminating? To what extent? Is Newman sufficient? Does he need to do more work? He chose certainty in making judgments which is not on the side of Lockean subjectivism. Newman worried about the process of downplaying the importance of having premises as constitutive to making judgments with certainty. A premise is a statement from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion. To Newman, a combination of evidence and antecedent probabilities leads to practical judgments.

Can we change our assents, our certainty, our views, our convictions? Newman’s answer is: “yes.” Certitude differs from certainty. Can we change our certitudes? Newman’s answer is “no.” Be careful of the trap. Certitudes are reflective and tightly held. To deny proof from certitudes is to give in to a process that is interminable. The consequences are disastrous. Locke (and Whately) require assents to be “certainty.” The dangerous impracticality is that a person could never be sure about all doctrines that are to be believed which, in effect, was the rationalists’ highjacking of certainty in England. Newman is not indiscriminate in regard to one’s certainties. He respects that one’s assents are one’s own business.

Why is this important for the future and living today in modernity? I separate from anyone or group who attempt to reconstruct the past for the present. Why? Newman is always looking to the future of faith and reason. The work of Christ is always going forward. John Locke turned towards religious epistemology and was brought up to the Aristotelian code of logic by R. Whately, an Oxford rationalist in whose charisma Newman was taken. Soon enough, Newman recognized the mischievous Cartesian-inspired game about proof. He broke from Whately, and his effective reply was a lifelong developing general and religious epistemology which I am attempting to synthesize. The Oxford Dictionary defines epistemology as “the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.” An easy example: when asking about religion, how often do you hear: I “kind of” believe. “Kind of” is Lockean inspired. “Kind of” is not Newman. Consequences can be unfortunate for faith as every parent, teacher/preacher knows.

By now, it is clear why I am repeating the gravity of the confrontation with Lockean thought by the Anglican Bishop Joseph Butler, Analogy of Religion (1736), for Newman’s originality. Butler rebutted Locke’s epistemology which had become more persuasive and aided a full-blown rationalist approach to knowledge, belief, opinion, prejudice and bigotry. Locke viewed simple faith as something barbarous and leading to violence. Locke was addressing the phenomenon of fanaticism that contributed to religious wars and violence in the 16th and 17th centuries. The problem for Newman at Oxford was that religion was being bled out because Locke’s epistemology amounted to saying that no one can fully believe in the Trinity, the Son of God as Savior and Redeemer, religious conviction and sin.

I return to the metaphor of an active volcano and rationalist rumblings that are amplified today. Newman is a “placeholder” for the future. The 21st century accords reasons for skepticism to creep back into a believer’s certitudes and certainties with social effects that are serious and produce anxiety. The active volcanic rumblings include Lockean epistemology that has no defense for faith or room for atheists. Lockean thought inundates the West and overplays reason while making fervently held conviction impossible. Future entries will unpack Newman’s vocabulary for making judgments or giving assent, including the illative sense.[5] Pivotal is personal recognition of the existence of a Judge as lawgiver within conscience. The compelling authority of his Butler inspired explanation of the voice of God in conscience, which permeates his thought and makes it apposite and indispensable for the future, is freeing.

“After (almost) 30 years waiting, he (Fr. Dominic Barberi) was without his own act sent here.”[6] On 8 October 1845, Newman requested “admission into the one fold of Christ.”

Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conv., Univ. of Notre Dame, Remembering Forward #4 eondrako@alumni.nd.edu

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[1] Apo., ch 1, M. Svaglic, (Oxford, OUP, 1967), 23. After Tract 90 the Anglican Bishops charged Newman with both.
[2] Apo., ch 4, M. Svaglic (1967), 138-139.
[3] Apo., ch 4, 141-142.
[4] Apo., ch 4, 193, 195, 205, 209.
[5] L. Wittgenstein and B. Lonergan read The Grammar of Assent (1869-1870) and reacted to Newmanian thought.
[6] Apo., ch 4, 211, M. Svaglic, (1967). Newman had written to a number of friends on 8 October 1845.

Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
March 2, 2022

Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross in the Ukraine: Press Release

Peace and All Good!
In the early hours of the morning of Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded the Ukraine. For four days, Russian soldiers have been entering our country. From the south, they are entering from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. From the east, they are entering from the Russian Federation and from the Donbass region, which was also annexed in 2014. From the north, they are entering from the Republic of Belarus. So far, there are no reports of Russian troops entering from the Republic of Transnistria, that is, from the part of Moldova annexed by the Russians in 1991. In addition to the fighting for cities in the east, north and south, strategic points in all Ukrainian cities are under attack.

Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) Initiative ~ Final Stop

On Sunday, February 27, 2022, the MI Initiative that began two years ago came to a conclusion at The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City.  Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial ~ the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. was the principal celebrant of the Mass and Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. gave the homily concerning St. Maximilian and consecration to the Immaculata. The Shrine’s Director/Rector ~ Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. concelebrated the Mass and Shrine Staff Friar ~ Br. Paschal Kolodziej, OFM Conv. assisted. Many who attended made their consecration and after Mass some stayed for a great photo op, including several of our student friars.

View the Mass including a reflection by Friar James here.

The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD

Totus Tuus

____________________________

M.I. Pilgrimage Opportunities:

First Annual Franciscan Pilgrimage to the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
,
in Washington D.C.,
on Saturday, April 30, 2022

 Franciscan European Marian Shrines Pilgrimage
(August 13-25, 2022)

The reservation deadline is April 12, 2022.
Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (Pilgrimage Director – jobe.abbass@gmail.com)
Registration Form

Posted in MI

Our Lady, Protector of Ukraine, Pray for Peace. 🕊

Prayer for Peace
We fly to Your patronage,
O Virgin Mother of God.
Despise not our prayers in our needs,
but deliver us from all dangers,
since you alone are pure and blessed.
O most glorious Ever-Virgin Mary,
the Mother of Christ our God,
accept our prayers and present them to
Your Son and our God,
that for the sake of you,
He enlighten and save our souls.

The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help
or sought your intercession
was left unaided.
Inspired with confidence, I fly to you,
O virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you I come, before you I kneel,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy,
hear and answer me.
Amen.

 

Pope Francis’ Prayer for Peace

Please keep in your prayers, the friars of our Order who live and serve in the Ukraine, including Bishop Edward Kawa, O.F.M. Conv. ~ Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Lviv, and the friars of the Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross, which is a Custody of the Polish Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar. 

 

NOTE: Although we could not find the original artist of the image of Our Lady, Protector of Ukraine, this March 4, 2022 online article in Catholic Standard, explains Mary holding a protective veil, as an echo of the Pokrov apparition, on October 1, 911.

 

Support the Friars Work in Ukraine | Our Lady of the Angels Province, USA (olaprovince.org)

Congratulations Friar Jacek!

February 18, 2022: A few days after celebrating his 50th Birthday with the parishioners of St. Anthony of Padua Parish (Chicopee, MA), where he serves as pastor, Fr. Jacek Leszczyński, OFM Conv. became a US Citizen.

Congratulations!

Consecration to the Immaculate

Consistent with our Franciscan charism and tradition of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our province promotes opportunities to more fully tap into a devotion from our Kolbean heritage, through the example of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., and the continued efforts of his Militia of the Immaculata’s (M.I.) unconditional Consecration to the Immaculate. In order to better promote M.I. among the faithful served through the ministries of our friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., our Province MI Assistant, has completed the 35th & 36th successful and rewarding stops on our Province M.I Initiative Tour of our pastoral ministries. Although halted by the pandemic in March 2020, Friar Jobe continued with the tour in August of 2021.
On Sunday, February 27, 2022, at the noon Mass, he will celebrate the final tour stop, in our Chapel at The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. Please keep Friar Jobe and all those he has greeted throughout the May 2019 – February 2022 Militia of the Immaculata Initiative Tour in your prayers, as he continues to serves as the Province Delegate to the M.I. and the National Assistant of the Militia of the Immaculata M.I. Canada, encouraging the faithful to consecrate themselves to the Immaculate, and to enroll in the M.I.

On the weekend of February 19-20, 2022 the M.I. Initiative promoting consecration to the Immaculate and membership in the Militia of the Immaculate made its 35th and 36th stops at Our Lady of Hope Parish (Coal Township, PA – pictured at right) and St. Patrick Parish (Trevorton, PA – pictured at left) served by Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Fr. Tim Geiger, OFM Conv. (pastor) and Fr. Tim Lyons, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar). These two friars also serve as parochial vicars at Mother Cabrini Catholic Church in nearby Shamokin, PA. (the 33rd Stop on the M.I Initiative Tour).
Very unusual snow squalls blew into the area just as Friar Jobe arrived from Canada. Although church attendance is still down due to COVID, the faithful in both parishes welcomed the Initiative and we added 100 new M.I. members as a result. In the photos are some of the new members along with Friar Jobe and Friar Tim G.

Our Lady of Hope Parish, Coal Township, PA

St. Patrick Parish, Trevorton, PA

Pilgrimage Opportunities:

Following the completion of the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) Initiative Tour, several of our province ministries will be participating in the
First Annual Franciscan Pilgrimage to the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,
in Washington D.C., on Saturday, April 30, 2022
.
READ MORE

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A pilgrimage to the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, including the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, will be directed by Friar Jobe, August 13-25, 2022. Friar James McCurry, OFM Conv. will be the Spiritual Guide. The brochure containing all the information and details must be used to register and is linked here:
 Franciscan European Marian Shrines Pilgrimage (August 13-25, 2022).
The reservation deadline is April 12, 2022.
Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (Pilgrimage Director – jobe.abbass@gmail.com)
Our Lady of the Angels Province – Delegate for the Marian Apostolate

Posted in MI