Check out our digital viewbook, to start learning about Francis, Franciscan Spirituality, the Conventual Charism, and the path to joining us as a friar!

The Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province are saddened and disappointed in the decision of The Catholic University of America to terminate the friars’ 24-year service as University Chaplains and Directors of Campus Ministry.
When the Franciscans assumed leadership of campus ministry at the University, they were mandated by the U.S. bishops to restore a fuller sense of Catholic identity in the ethos of life on campus – orienting the undergraduate and graduate students, along with faculty, administration, and staff, to the Church’s gospel principles of truth, charity, and justice.  For 24 years the friars, in collaboration with hundreds of lay ministers, have striven to create a faith community at the Catholic University, committed to the principles of the Christian intellectual tradition, the sanctity of life, the dignity of the human person, the culture of social justice, the witness of interreligious dialogue, and the sacredness of liturgical celebration.
The friars depart with profound gratitude to God for the privilege of having accompanied the Catholic University community on its journey of faith through 24 years of unprecedented times.  We hope, in the humble spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, that we have contributed to upbuilding the faith-life of the University.  We offer our support to those whom the University has chosen to replace us.  May the Franciscan blessing of “Pax et Bonum” (“Peace and Good”) descend upon all.

Located on a 236 acre campus in rural Ellicott City, MD, the rich history of relationships surrounding the property on which The Shrine of St. Anthony sits extends all the way back to the founding of the colony of Maryland and even to a relation to the first bishop of the Premier See of the United States. From their early start as owners of the property and the establishment of a Novitiate in the manor house in 1928, to today’s two friary-property, with friars serving in varied capacities, through nine on-site and six off-site ministries, our Franciscan Friars Conventual have made this beautiful landscape their home.

The video above was created in 2017 and features much of the beauty of the Ellicott City Complex. A large part of the property, and the ministries within, have been enhanced and enriched over these past years.  One of the largest changes is that of Carrollton Hall Historic Site. This is the original manor house of Folly Quarter, built in 1832 by Charles Carroll, and given as a gift to his granddaughter – Emily Caton McTavish. After varied hands of ownership, it was purchased by our friars in 1928. Through the generosity of a large group of distinguished donors, the historically significant 190 year old manor house has recently gone through an extensive restoration project that was many years in the making. In addition to restoring the grand manor to its original beauty, our friars have made some unique spiritual and historically significant additions. A period home chapel was adapted in one of the manor rooms, housing a vast array of relics and artifacts, including a restored marble altar which covered the Tomb of St. Francis in Assisi for over 100 years (1821 Assisi Altar). The manor’s front facade’s retaining wall is being converted to “The Carrollton Hall Memorial Project – Memorializing the people who were enslaved there…” The renovation projects are almost at their completion and on Sunday, March 27, 2022 Carrollton Hall Historic Site will be blessed and dedicated by Archbishop William E. Lori, of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. (Opening Celebrations)

Other additions to the property include our Little Portion Farm ministry, producing vegetables donated to the economically disadvantaged via the work of the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore’s Franciscan Center, in Baltimore, MD. The barn was also updated to assist in the storage and transfer of the harvests from Little Portion Farm and Farmer Matt has an office located in the rejuvenated Carrollton Hall. In 2021, our province’s Franciscan Soy Candles ministry relocated from one of our New York friaries to the lower level of The Shrine, which continues to grow with many more pilgrims visiting each year. The other ministries on-site include: FMA (Franciscan Mission Association), the Companions of St. Anthony, and the Provincialate Offices.

Many of the outdoor prayerful reflection features of The Shrine grounds, such as the Grotto in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes, the St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. Outdoor Shrine, the Outdoor Stations of the Cross and the numerous Prayer Paths and Gardens are depicted in this 2017 video.  Excitedly the friars of The Shrine of St. Anthony look forward to the most recent development project, which is in the midst of completion. A very generous donor to The Shrine has gifted a beautiful St. Anthony Garden of Eternity, which will be completed May 2022.

The 14 friars of the Portiuncula Friary and the St. Joseph of Cupertino Friary invite everyone come spend some time with them in prayer and peace, in personal reflection and in group day retreats or meetings. Daily Noon Mass is celebrated in the Chapel at The Shrine and friars are on hand Monday – Saturday, prior to Mass for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The on-site Gift Shop is open daily and the grounds are open during daylight hours, even on days when The Shrine buildings are closed.

Denim & Diamonds is a Virtual Fundraising event that guests can attend and enjoy in the comfort of their own homes.

Video Reflection by Fr. Donald Grzymski, OFM Conv., President of our Province’s Baltimore, MD high school ministry ~ Archbishop Curley High School.

Some photos from our Province Ministries in the USA, as well as some from our Province Custodies in Brazil and in Great Britain/Ireland:

During the February 2022 school break, 18 students from our province’s Athol Springs, NY high school ministry ~ St. Francis High School ~ went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, led by Our Lady of the Angels Province friars ~ Fr. Bryan Hajovsky, OFM Conv. (above 5th from left) and Fr. Matt Foley, OFM Conv. (above right), along with SFHS Religion Teacher Rory Reichenberg (above 3rd from left). The insert photo below shows the student pilgrims in prayer at the Tomb of St. Francis, in Assisi.

From Fr. Matt:
“It was ten beautiful days of prayer, fraternity, laughter, and gelato. I found most moving how prayerful the students were. Watching 18 young men pray in silence for more than 20 minutes before the San Damiano Cross was inspiring. We were blessed with several opportunities for Franciscan hospitality. We were greeted at St. Peter’s Basilica by Friar John Voytek, OFM Conv. (pictured above left – another Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, serving as a Confessor at the Vatican). After Mass, Friar John took us to the Apostolic Penitentiary and a tour of St. Peter’s; two areas closed to the general public. We were also joined by Friar Mike Lasky, OFM Conv. (another friar of our province, serving as the Delegate General – JPIC, in Rome), who led us on a walking tour of the city and shared his Franciscan presence and knowledge with the guys.  Later in the week, Friar Mark Folger, OFM Conv. (a friar of the St. Joseph Cupertino Province USA) arranged a private Mass in Santi Apostli and gave us a basilica tour. More than one student described the experience as life-changing. We pray the fruits of this pilgrimage and the example and intercession of the poor man of Assisi will inspire these young men for the rest of their lives, and perhaps please God one or two might consider a religious vocation.”

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

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

___________________________________

^[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

On February 22, 2022, the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province elected the Very Rev. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. as Minister Provincial, effective May 25, 2022.