Big news, great news, and she certainly gets it; congratulations Sr. Mary Melone

Woman appointed rector of a Pontifical University for the first time ever

               

   

(©Antonianum)

(©Antonianum) Sr. Mary Melone

The Vatican has nominated Franciscan Sr. Mary Melone as head of the Pontifical University Antonianum. She spoke about theology of women and explained why gender quotas in the Church are not needed

Iacopo Scaramuzzi vatican city
She was the first woman to obtain a permanent position as a professor at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University Antonianum, the Roman university run by the Order of Friars Minor; she was the first woman to be appointed a dean, which is equivalent to the position of department head and now that Jorge Mario Bergoglio is Pope, she is the first woman to become a rector of a pontifical university in the Eternal City. The Vatican congregation for Catholic Education – headed by cardinal Zenon Grocholewski for the period 2014-2017 - has nominated Franciscan Sr. Mary Melone, an expert on St. Anthony of Padua, to lead the pontifical university.
 
Sr. Mary (birth name Maria Domenica) Melone was born in La Spezia in 1964. After finishing school with a specialization in classics, she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Angelina where she took her temporary vows in 1986 and then professed her perpetual vows in 1991. In 1992 she graduated with a degree in teaching and philosophy from the Libera università Maria santissima assunta (LUMSA) with a thesis on “Corporeity and intersubjectivity  in Gabriel Marcel”. She then studied theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum, where she had studied from 1983 to 1987, obtaining a degree in 1996 and then a PhD with a thesis on “The Holy Spirit in Riccardo di San Vittore’s De Trinitate” published in 2001. She was Extraordinaty Professor at the Faculty of Trinitarian and Pneumatological Theology  from 2002 to 2008 and head of the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences “Redemptor Hominis”. In 2011 she was elected (by a male college) dean of Theology. She is currently president of the Italian society for theological research (SIRT). She has published articles and essays in various collections and magazines – Antonianum, Doctor Seraphicus, Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie, Italia francescana, Quaderni di spiritualità francescana, Ricerche teologiche, Studi francescani, Theotokos – and has edited Ricardo di San Vittore’s works for the Edizioni Paoline publishing house (“La preparazione dell’anima alla contemplazione: Beniamino Minore” – “Preparing the soul for contemplation: Benjamin Minor”) and St. Anthony of Padua (“Camminare nella luce: sermoni scelti per l’anno liturgico” – “Walking in the Light: A selection of sermons for the liturgical year”).
 
“The academic community wishes the new Rector Magnificent, Professor Mary Melone, a fruitful work at the Pontifical University Antonianum and extends its gratitude to Professor Martin Carbajo Nuñez for the great work he did as acting Rector Magnificent,” a message from the university offices in Via Merulana (Rome) reads.
 
“I don’t give much importance to these kinds of labels, female theology,” Sr. Melone said in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, published on the occasion of her election as dean of Theology. “Above all, I don’t like comparisons although I recognize that in the past there may have been a reason for making comparisons. Maybe there is one today as well, I don’t know. More space definitely needs to be given to women. The reference to female theology does not really fit with my vision of things: all that exists is theology. Theology as research, as a focus on mystery, as a reflection on this mystery. But precisely because this requires different sensitivities.  A woman’s approach to mystery, the way in which she reflects on this mystery which offers itself and reveals itself, is certainly different from that of a man. But they do not contrast.  I believe in theology and I believe that theology created by a woman is typical of a woman. It is different but without the element of laying claim to it. Otherwise it almost seems as though I am manipulating theology, when it is instead a field that requires honesty from the person who places him/herself before the mystery.” As far as the role of women in the Church is concerned, “a reflection on this cannot be commensurate to the Church’s age as this reflects a development of thought that has gone on for hundreds of years,” she went on to say in the 2011 interview. “ However, in my opinion a new space does exist and it is real. I also think it is irreversible, meaning that it is not a concession but a sign of the times from which there is no return. It is no pretense. I believe this depends a great deal on us women too. It is us who should get the ball rolling. Women cannot measure how much space they have in the Church in comparison to men: we have a space of our own, which is neither smaller nor greater than the space men occupy. It is our space. Thinking that we have to achieve what men have, will not get us anywhere. Of course, although the steps we take may be real, this does not mean the job is complete. A great deal more can be done but there is change, you can see it, feel it. I think that (my case aside) the election of a woman in a pontifical university is also proof this. The body who elected me was made up entirely of men!” So doesn’t the Church need gender quotas?  “No, it doesn’t need quotas, it needs collaboration. And collaboration needs to grow!”

From medical doctor, to Priest, to founder to Saint

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Extended Bio Video Comments

Short Cuts

Facts

Feastday: July 5
Patron of The Barnabite order
Birth: 1502
Death: 1539

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Cofounder of the Barnabites. Born in 1502 in Cremona, Italy, Anthony became a medical doctor. In 1528 he was ordained a priest and cofounded the Barnabites, the religious congregation so called because it was headquartered in St. Barnabas Monastery in Milan. The Barnabites occupied the monastery in 1538, having been approved in 1533. Anthony popularized the forty-hour prayer ceremony, promoted the use of altar sacraments, and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday. He is depicted in liturgical art in habit.

The Fourth of July through my eyes!

Celebrating the birthday of the nation of your birth is exciting; it's even more exciting when that nation is, in many ways, the greatest on earth.  As a young boy, the 4th of July was more about sparklers, a swimming pool, all of about 3 feet deep and picnics in my family's back yard which was shaded by three incredible pecan trees.  I really don't remember ever leaving the family property on the 4th of July until my family grew older.  By then, I was already traveling back to that same property with wife and 1st child in tow.  4th of July events took on a new look for me during my years as an active officer with the Louisiana Jaycees.  Wendy and I, and sometimes Jimmy, would travel to different festivals and events sponsored by local Jaycee affiliates.  I witness a flag ceremony in Ponchatoula, a baseball tournament in Morgan City and Cottonport, a festival named for some kind of jelly in northeast Louisiana and a giant seafood festival in Mandeville.  The Metairie Jaycees used to be involved in a huge fireworks event in the big park in that town and the Waggaman Jaycees had a picnic highlighted with competitive horseshoes.


When our Jaycees days were over and Wendy and I ventured north, moving from Terrytown to Abita Springs, our earliest 4th's were spent content on our new 10 acre existence, cutting grass and firing up the barbeque pit.  Then came those amazing vacations where we witnessed the celebration of the nations birth through the eyes of folks in other states and places.  In 2002 we were on our way to New England on the 4th of July driving through the heart of Virginia and skirting our nations capital.  We spent the night in a town called Dover Delaware and they had a spectacular fireworks display we watched from our hotel room.  A few years later we spent the 4th in Minnesota and wound up in a small town with a full fledged parade and celebration.  Then there would be the first 4th of July for our grandson Calvin in North Carolina just a year ago. 


Today, it's back to the Kubota and a day on the 10 acres, me cutting grass, Wendy and our friends working in the garden.  It's been a productive and peaceful day and there was plenty of incredible good food! 


Through all these memories I know that I live in a great country, a country that is free despite an out of control government hell bent on restricting my freedoms; and those of the most vulnerable among us.  Yet she remains a great nation.  Until recent history, no one, including the founders of America, would deny the roll of God in blessing a great nation.  Of course the same government of which I speak tries unsuccessfully to take God out of the equation but the vast majority of Americans will not tolerate this; and I hope it will be so far into the future.


Long before there was an America, long before there was Christianity, God made a covenant with the patriarch Abraham.  He told Abraham something like this: I will make a great nation of you, I will bless you and make your name great, so that you may be a blessing.


America was born a great nation, her name too is great among the families of nations and yes, America has been a blessing, for all who have risked everything to be here and to others whom she rushed to save in two World Wars and beyond.


May America remain a great nation, a name great and may she be a blessing.  May America always trust in God, thank God for all her blessings and allow her citizens and visitors to worship God with an abundance of religious freedom and liberty!

13 states are represented by Catholics in Statuary Hall at the U. S. Capital; Louisiana is one!

Kathy Schiffer, a blogger over at Patheos and wife of a Catholic Deacon posts very good stuff and today, in honor of the 4th of July, posted a previous story about the Catholics honored in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capital.  It seems that 13 states honored Catholics who distinguished themselves in a number of ways, including serving as Catholic clergy and religious.  The list includes a Blessed, who we just remembered on July 1st and an American Saint.  In addition, the representative from Wisconsin, Pere Marquette, played a huge role in discovering the Northshore of New Orleans where I live and work and minister as a Catholic Permanent Deacon.  Here is the list:


http://www.aleteia.org/en/society/article/the-catholics-in-statuary-hall-5875877699125248?

A New Orleans area Baptist Pastor shares a balanced approach to immigration, implores help from Representative Scalise

Praying Rep. Steve Scalise will lead on immigration: David Crosby

In this Sept. 6, 2012, photo, cotton farmer Teofilo Flores drives his truck along the U.S.-Mexico border fence that passes through his property in Brownsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

 

By Contributing Op-Ed columnist The Times-Picayune
on July 04, 2014 

 

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise has vaulted into a formal leadership role within the House of Representatives just as we hear that the House will not be moving immigration reform forward this year.
That would be a major disappointment. Like many other Christians across the nation, I am praying that Rep. Scalise and his colleagues will yet help our country find long-term solutions on this vexing issue. I am disappointed that our elected officials are unwilling to deal with this issue so vital to the welfare of all who live within our borders.
I was personally delighted to see Rep. Scalise elected to serve as House Majority Whip. He has represented his Louisiana district with distinction, including leading on key issues of concern to Christians such as protecting life in the womb and defending religious liberty.
Immigration is actually a very common theme in the Bible. In fact, Jesus' famous instruction to "love your neighbor" is a quote from the Old Testament teaching on caring for foreigners as if they were native-born.
God repeatedly commands the Israelites to love and welcome the immigrants who come into their land, remembering their own history as foreigners in the land of Egypt. God makes clear his concern for those who are vulnerable, repeatedly mentioning the immigrant alongside the fatherless and the widow as groups in need of special protections.
At First Baptist New Orleans, we've tried to put these biblical teachings into practice in a variety of ways. As we've reached out to the many immigrants in New Orleans, this issue has become very personal for our congregation.
Immigration is no longer about statistics. It is about faces and names of individuals we have come to know, many of whom participate in our ministries. I cannot watch a brother or sister suffer without speaking up.
I have seen the wounded -- broken ribs, gunshots, and stab wounds -- whose stories illustrate the need for reforms to our immigration laws. Undocumented immigrants, often victims of assault and other crimes, are afraid to access medical care or to report crimes to the police. Their desperate need and terrible isolation speaks to the suffering endured by millions who live in the shadows of our society.
The longer our dysfunctional laws go unaddressed, the greater the suffering. I urge Rep. Scalise to lead the House of Representatives in acting on immigration this summer.
Do not construe this as a call for amnesty. While individual Christians are called to forgive, the government has been instituted by God to maintain order, and it has a responsibility to respect the rule of law. Amnesty -- forgiving and forgetting the violation of law -- is not a good option.
The reality, though, is that our immigration laws have been disrespected and only selectively enforced for decades: The current situation is a de facto amnesty. Still, almost no one in Washington, D.C., advocates deporting all of the approximately 11 million people present unlawfully in the United States. That would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and necessarily divide families that include both U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants in the same family.
Because mass deportation and amnesty are both non-solutions, the only reasonable response to those present in our country unlawfully is to impose an alternate penalty. I've joined other evangelical leaders in calling for an earned legalization process that would require immigrants here illegally to come forward, pay a fine for having violated the law and then undergo a criminal background check.
Those who have committed serious crimes would be deported, but the majority of undocumented immigrants, who have been otherwise law-abiding, could earn the chance to stay lawfully in the country if they could meet a stringent set of requirements. Combined with improvements to border security and a more market-sensitive visa system, these reforms actually would restore the rule of law.
Polls find that the vast majority of Americans, including most evangelical Christians, support these sorts of reforms. We are tired of waiting. As politicians bicker, people here in Louisiana suffer.
My fervent prayer is that as Rep. Scalise assumes his new position of leadership, he will use his influence to genuinely lead on this urgent topic.
Rev. David Crosby is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of New Orleans.

A future Saint for young people and everyone; beatified by St. John Paul II

    

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

Facts

Feastday: July 4
Birth: 1901
Death: 1925
Beatified By: 20 May 1990 by Pope John Paul II

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He was born in Turin into a wealthy family, who owned a newspaper called La Stampa. Though an average student, Frassati was known among his peers for his devotion and piety.
He was dedicated to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. He was involved with Catholic youth and student groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic Action, and was a third order Dominican. He would often say, "Charity is not enough; we need social reform." He helped establish a newspaper entitled Momento, whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical: Rerum Novarum.
Despite his family's enormous wealth and power, Frassati's father was austere and never gave his children too much spending money. Frassati, however, donated most or all of his money to people he saw as more "needy" than him, and as a result he became accustomed to giving his train-fare to the poor and running back home or riding in third class.
Despite the many organizations to which Frassati belonged, he was not a passive "joiner"; records show that he was active and involved in each, fulfilling all the duties of membership. He was strongly anti-fascist and did nothing to hide his political views.
Participating in a Church-organized demonstration in Rome, he withstood police violence and rallied the other young people by grabbing the banner which the police had knocked out of someone else's hands. He held it even higher while using the pole to ward off their blows. When the demonstrators were arrested by the police, he refused special treatment that he might have received because of his father's political position, preferring to stay with his friends. One night a group of fascists broke into his family's home to attack him and his father, but Frassati beat them off single-handedly chasing them down the street.
Frassati died in 1925 of poliomyelitis. His family expected Turin's elite and political figures to come to offer their condolences and attend the funeral; they naturally expected to find many of his friends there as well. They were surprised, however, to find the streets of the city lined with thousands of mourners as the cortege passed by. Poor people from the city petitioned the Archbishop of Turin to begin the cause for canonization. The process was opened in 1932 and he was beatified on 20 May 1990. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's feast day is 4 July.
Frassati was called Man of Eight Beatitudes by Pope John Paul II, who beatified him on 20 May 1990.
Frassati is the Patron Saint of Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma, where Frassati's family blessed the school in his spirit.

My facebook post and my sincere prayer today

Deacon Mike Talbot

My prayer today is for an America that honors life, worships God, respects religious freedom & liberty, eradicates violence, murder, racism, sees the human dignity in all people, regardless of race or creed, nationality, physical appearance and physical hardships, male or female, gay or straight. I pray for an America where children should be protected, from the moment of conception, that in a gr...eat nation we end the death penalty, that the stranger(replace the word immigrant here) is at least welcomed and treated with respect, that we honor the veteran and make sure, in the autumn and winter of their lives, they can get the medical care they deserve. I pray for an America where the word bullying does not exist, where school should be among the safest places our children enjoy, mothers AND fathers are respected and all mothers AND fathers love and honor their kids with their very best. I pray for an America that never replaces football with futbol(geez), that comes to love the New Orleans Saints as the real "America's team". I pray for an America where the mention of God in school or any public event does not spring the ACLU into action, an America that begins to pay it's bills and reduce her debt, for an America that truly learns to love one another, to despise evil and love what is good! I pray for an America where Americans will come to know the Word of God and keep it, and an America that promotes peace among the family of nations and within her borders. Finally I pray for an America in which all can be proud because all these things can be a reality, if you simply join me in my prayer. May the blessings of almighty God continue to abundantly be poured out on the United States of America and may we, as Americans, use these blessings to be a blessing to our nation, one another and to God who loves us!

A prayer for our nation by the 1st Catholic Bishop in America for her birthday

Prayer for Nation and the Civil Authorities

We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name.

We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope Benedict, the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own Bishop, William Murphy, all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation.

We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance.

To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Written and first delivered on November 10, 1791 by John Carroll of Baltimore,
a cousin of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the nation's first bishop

Cardinal Donald Wuerl reflects about the Catholic heritage that helped build a nation

75th Anniversary Masses and Our Foundation of Faith

June 28th, 2014

Our Archdiocesan Synod, which concluded on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, offered a moving reminder of how we are connected by faith to all who have gone before us.  Grateful for the legacy our Catholic ancestors have left us, by virtue of this family gathering our local Church now has a blueprint for the future, to help us be the best Church we can be.

In this effort, we build on a foundation that began on the first Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit helped guide the Apostles to heed Jesus’ call to be his witnesses and proclaim his Good News to the world.  We build on the groundwork that was laid when Catholic settlers first brought the faith to our region of the world and also on the foundation of Pope Pius XII’s establishment of the Archdiocese of Washington in 1939.

This weekend, June 28^th and 29^th, I will celebrate two 75th anniversary Masses for the Church of Washington that honor these roots of our Catholic faith. Today, we will rejoice with a Eucharistic celebration at the reconstructed Brick Chapel in Saint Mary’s City, Maryland.  Tomorrow, we will celebrate Mass on Saint Clement’s Island, where Jesuit Father Andrew White celebrated the first Catholic Mass in the English-speaking colonies 380 years ago.

On that day, March 25, in 1634, the English colonists who were traveling on the Ark and the Dove, seeking a new life in the Americas, had made landfall at an island on the Potomac that they named after Saint Clement.  Father White, whom we now remember as “the Apostle of Maryland,” later gave a report of that momentous day:

“On the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in the year 1634, we celebrated Mass for the first time, on this island. This had never been done before in this part of the world… Sacrifice being ended, having taken up on our shoulders the great cross which we had hewn from a tree, and going in procession to the place that had been designated, the governor, commissioners, and other Catholics participating in the ceremony, we erected it as a trophy to Christ the Savior, while the litany of the holy cross was chanted humbly on our bended knees, with great emotion of soul.”

Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman from England, founded the Maryland colony on the ideals of freedom of conscience and worship, and historians today regard Maryland as the birthplace of religious freedom in the United States. Catholics at Maryland’s first capital, Saint Mary’s City, built the Brick Chapel there circa 1667, which stood as a visible symbol of their religious freedom. But that right proved to be fragile when others took power.  In 1704, the royal governor ordered that the doors of the chapel be locked, and it was later dismantled, brick by brick, at a time when Catholics could not worship in public in Maryland.

In 2009, I participated in a ceremony at Saint Mary’s City and helped push open the doors of the reconstructed Brick Chapel there, which once again stands as a sign of Maryland’s legacy of religious freedom. Archaeologists have discovered that the site is surrounded by the graves of pioneer Catholics who helped plant our faith in Maryland.

As our family of faith celebrates the Eucharist at Saint Mary’s City and Saint Clement’s Island, we will pray for and honor our ancestors in the faith who first planted the cross in Maryland and established the ideal of religious freedom that we cherish today as Americans and as people of faith. Like the Apostles in the upper room, and like those pioneer colonists, we are called to be Jesus’s witnesses. In doing so, we honor the legacy of our ancestors in the faith, as we prepare to share our great inheritance, our Catholic faith, with generations to come.

- See more at: http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/#sthash.5TAkiTSL.dpuf


First seen at Deacon's Bench