In Persona Christi: Ordination in Our Archdiocese

By Brandon Briscoe

Almost hidden in the local Church calendar amid the feasts of the Ascension, Pentecost, and the start of Saints football practices are two beautiful occasions celebrating tremendous gifts to the Archdiocese of New Orleans — the ordinations of transitional deacons and priests.  Earlier in May, Archbishop Aymond ordained Ian Bozant, Charles Dussouy, Tim Hedrick, and Matthew Johnston to the transitional diaconate, beginning their final year of preparation for the priesthood. And on June 1 at 10 a.m. at St. Louis Cathedral, Deacons Colin Braud, Travis Clark, Gary Copping, Daniel Green, and Jonathan Hemelt will be ordained priests for the Archdiocese.

Ordained is a word we don’t hear much, but it’s a fitting description for what takes place at these intricate liturgies. In making promises of obedience and chastity–in giving their entire lives to the Church–these men are “ordered” to Jesus Christ. By their self-gift, they become instruments of His grace. In the sacraments they will administer, the men will act in persona Christi–in the person of Christ–as when they absolve penitents from their sins. Through their gift, they become so ordered to Christ as to act not just like Him, but as Him.

The ordination liturgy makes apparent the gravity of the gift and its spiritual implications. In a striking scene that every Catholic ought to see at least once, each man ordained lies face-down on the floor as the congregation chants the litany of the saints, invoking the intercession of all the great martyrs, mystics, and models of the faith to pray in earnest at this critical moment. The eloquent Msgr. Rondald Knox explains that the man ordained “was yielding his body to Christ to be his instrument, as if he had no life, no will of his own.” It’s not surprising, then, that Blessed John Paul II recalled that moment as one that “deeply marked” his priestly life. There are other moving scenes in the ordination liturgy, too–when the newly ordained priests are first vested in the stole and chasubule, when they are embraced by an endless line of their brother priests, when they give their very first blessings to the archbishop.

Usually, the ordinations give rise to a host of celebratory traditions. The faithful line up after the Mass to kiss the newly consecrated hands of the priest and request one of his first blessings. The new priests will celebrate their first Masses the next day, often in their home parishes. At those Masses, the priests will sometimes present their mothers with the maniturgium, a linen cloth used to wipe the excess holy oil from their hands after they are anointed in the ordination. The priests may also present their fathers with the stoles they wore to hear their first confessions. Traditionally, the priest’s parents are buried with these items–tokens of their gift of a priest to the Church to present at the gates of heaven.

Usually these things surround an ordination, but not always. The story is often told this time of year of a former New Orleans archbishop who asked the newly ordained priests for their blessings at their ordination many years ago. When none of them were able to provide a blessing in Latin, he reportedly suspended their faculties immediately and required additional training before they were permitted to celebrate Mass or the other sacraments! (In case it proves useful to anyone on June 1, try:Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper.)

In any event, we celebrate these ordinations and thank these men and God for their gift to the local Church. It is a moment of joy. But it is also a moment of great undertaking for both the newly ordained and the faithful alike. Our responsibility–our obligation–is to always pray for them and ask the Holy Spirit to keep them close to Christ so that they may more perfectly serve as instruments of His grace. And we are reminded, too, to pray for more priests so that these occasions might remain an annual event.

Second Collection

1. For some years now, the Archdiocese has revived the tradition of the Corpus Christi procession, in which the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is processed through the city streets in a rite of adoration and blessing. This year, Archbishop Aymond will lead a procession from the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Shrine on State Street to Holy Name of Jesus Church on St. Charles Ave. on June 2 at 9:30 a.m., beginning with Mass and concluding with Benediction atnoon. The Archdiocese Office of Evangelization and Eucharistic Renewal has created a wonderfully organized event, complete with shuttle busses and snoballs, that should not be missed. Here are the details.
2. Nola Needs Peace. Archbishop Aymond and others have been a terrific advocates for the campaign led by the Louisiana Right to Life Federation to stop Planned Parenthood’s plans to build a facility on Claiborne Avenue where abortions would be provided. Our city–particularly the Claiborne corridor–is already devastated by violence; it does not need a building dedicated to the destruction of human life. Please join the campaign to promote life and the protection of women by contacting your elected officials and speaking out against the evils of abortion and this construction project.

Brandon Briscoe is a commercial litigation attorney at Flanagan Partners LLP in New Orleans. He studied philosophy and theology at Notre Dame Seminary and is an acolyte, lector, and tour guide at St. Louis Cathedral. To read more about this blogger, click here.

Blessed are you who believe (Lk.1:45)

By Sr. Judith Gomila, MSC

She resides on the third floor of the Holy Angels Convent in downtown New Orleans. The guesstimate is that she is maybe 100 years old or more. I am not talking long-term care for an individual sister, but I am raising consciousness to a porcelain statue of Mary, affectionately referred to as the Expectant Madonna.

Legend says that this 16 inch, white, indoor sculpture was sent to the Marianites of Holy Cross by sisters in their Motherhouse Community in LeMans, France, where the Congregation was founded in 1841 by Blessed Basil Moreau. There is no indication who the original artist was, whether the statue is one of a kind or one of multiples. What is clear is that our Blessed Mother, with a serene face and beautiful hands crossed over her heart, is with child. The drape of her robes, particularly from a side few, is a profound portrayal of Mary, pregnant and full of grace.  Over the years visitors to the convent have been mesmerized by her presence.

It is a pious custom within the Congregation to pray to Mary under the title of the Expectant Madonna for those most affected by her: mothers, grandmothers, mothers-to-be, new mothers, women with problem pregnancies, and those desiring new life, physically or spiritually, in their families.  Also in a much wider sense, the Expectant Madonna speaks to all those confronted by the mystery of God’s designs in their lives.

While facilitating a May retreat in Kiln, MS almost two years after  Katrina, I had used a replica of the statue as part of the focus table and did tell the story.  When I returned to New Orleans I was minus the Madonna.  Parishioners had purchased her, and in my presence, presented it to their pastor who was leading the reconstruction of their Church that had been destroyed.  Blessed are you who believe!

While coordinating a retreat in a Metairie Parish, a woman came forward to place her hand on the delicate feet of Mary. She confided in me she was praying in gratitude for her godmother, a gracious and generous woman who had not borne any children, but had “adopted” her when her own mom was too frazzled by life.  In Chalmette, an elementary school classmate told me of his childhood devotion to Mary since he had been a student at St. Mary of the Angels. He rubbed the tummy of the statue as he explained how his daughter had two miscarriages. Earnestly, and with tears in his eyes, he prayed for his own burdened child. Blessed are you who believe!

Senior Nursing students from Our Lady of Holy Cross College were at Holy Angels for a retreat.  A small part of the day included a tour of the convent…the structure of which is more than 150 years old. On the third floor the students walked through the community room, stopped for a prayer in the small chapel, saw the kitchen and dining room and did a “pass-by” the original statue on the mantel piece.  Sr. Joyce Hanks casually pointed out the Expectant Madonna.

That information pierced the heart of one of the Student Nurses who ached for her own blood sister and her husband anxiously longing to become pregnant. On her way home, the Student Nurse called her sister about the sculpture. Within days, the husband and wife, made an appointment to come pray before the statue.  With deep faith and hopeful determination  they brought roses and spent some time in prayer…holding hands all the while.  Blessed are you who believe!

Six weeks later, we received a phone call from the excited couple. They were just back from the doctor’s office and learned that they were pregnant.  They wanted to come and pray in thanksgiving.

“Blessed are you who believed” (Lk. 1:45), Elizabeth says to Mary. She was whole-hearted in our trust!  May our Blessed Mother, under her title of the Expectant Madonna, draw you closer to the Son she bore thereby strengthening your daily life of faith.  Blessed are you who believe!

Sr. Judith Gomila, MSC is a Marianite Sister of Holy Cross. She holds a Masters in Theology and Religious Studies from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Sr. Judy has served the Church in education/evangelization/mission outreach for 50 years. Currently she coordinates the Public Relations and Communication ministry for the Marianite Congregation and is co-director of the Marianite Associates, an organization for lay women and men who identify with Holy Cross spirituality. For more about this blogger, click here.

Welcome John-Damien Howat!

Congratulations to NOLA Catholic Blogger Cory Howat and his wife Molly on their newest addition to their family, John-Damian Howat!

Our prayers and good wishes are going your way!

-The NOLA Catholic Experience Blog Team

Don’t forget God in your summer plans

By Sarah Comiskey McDonald, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of New Orleans

Just this week it hit me – the hot, humid air that only means one thing: it’s summer in New Orleans and it’s going to be hot for a long time. We can now all expect to break a sweat on even the shortest walk from our parking places to our offices daily.  True, we have been blessed by God in recent weeks with some unseasonably cool weather, but now here we are at the end of May getting ready for the lazy days of summer.

Amidst spending more time in the pool with the BBQ pit and our family vacations, are we spending some of our downtime with the Lord? Are we making sure the laziness and heat of our NOLA summer is not stopping us from daily prayer, receiving the sacraments and even getting to Mass on Sunday?

Vacations are meant to rejuvenate us, leave us well-rested and ready to return with full vigor to our daily routine and tasks.  So if we’re taking the time to do this for our household and career tasks, it is even more important to do that in our faith-lives.  Vacations are meant to bring families together and form bonds between friends.  So if we’re taking the time to do this with those most important to us on this earth, it is even more important to strengthen our relationship with Our Lord.

As we’ve said so often in this blog, this is a Year of Family and Faith in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  We are being called to a deeper, richer relationship with Our Lord and to build up our families through God’s grace.  Let’s not let the laziness of our New Orleans summer get in the way of that call.

There are a few ways we can work towards this during the summer months as well.

• Download the Year of Faith brochure from the Archdiocese website to find out how to make a Year of Faith pilgrimage with your family and friends.
• Take part in the annual archdiocesan Corpus Christi celebration as a family or with a prayer groups on June 2.
• If you are married, attend the annual Archdiocesan Supper and Substance at Rock ‘n Bowl on July 20.
• Commit yourselves to attending Mass as a family each weekend, and don’t forget…
• Visit http://www.masstimes.org/ to find Catholic Church parishes and Mass times nearby your favorite vacation spots.

Of course, take the time to have fun this summer, but don’t forget to bring along the Lord!

Sarah Comiskey McDonald, a native of the New Orleans area, has served as Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of New Orleans since 2008.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from the University of Louisiana Lafayette and is a graduate of Archbishop Chapelle High School.  She has served on numerous area boards and committees including most recently the Young Leadership Council, the Public Relations Association of Louisiana – New Orleans Chapter and the River Region Ballet.  She is wife to David and mother to Nathan (2) and Eloise (10 weeks).

#MotherMaryNOLA

By Anna Toujas, NOLA Catholic Experience Admin

For NOLA Catholics, our city has had many special ties to Mother Mary for her constant protection in turbulent times throughout history. In fact, the patron(ness) of our entire state is Our Lady of Prompt Succor. You may have heard a saying to the effect of “Behind every great person, is a great mom.” This also can be said of our city! From individual prayer intercessions to the saving of the entire city in the 1815  Battle of New Orleans, Catholics in the Archdiocese of New Orleans hold Mother Mary close to their hearts.

In the month of May, the Archdiocese of New Orleans is highlighting the many devotions our city has to Our Blessed Mother through Instagram! Follow @archdioceseofno on Instagram and #MotherMaryNOLA for some neat images of the many titles and faces of Mother Mary that can be found in our city. What’s your favorite Marian devotion and where can we find it in our archdiocese ? We’d love to know! Leave it in the comments or post your own Instagrams pics with #MotherMaryNOLA to join in our dedication this month. Here is our series so far. If your’e a history buff, check out the links in the captions for some interesting history on Mother Mary in our city…

Our Lady of the Seven Dolors, From the Chapel at the old Holy Angels Academy in the 9th Ward.

Our Lady of Lourdes, grotto at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in New Orleans

Our Lady Star of the Sea at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in the St. Roch neighborhood.

Mary, Queen of Vietnam. This statue is on display at Archbishop Aymond’s residence. It was a gift to Archbishop Aymond from the New Orleans Vietnamese community.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, the patroness of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Uptown.

Fun fact: Pope Francis holds a special devotion to Mother Mary too!

The “Salus Populi Romani” is the mother that looks after our growth, she helps us face and overcome problems, she gives us freedom,’the Pope said. So Francis is a pope who is deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary and is not afraid to show his attachment to forms of devotion which post-Conciliar theology saw as dated. One image of the Virgin Mary which Bergoglio helped to spread devotion for in Argentina, was that of “Our Lady, Untier of Knots”. This tradition originates from a Bavarian devotional image (Maria Knotenlöserin) created by German painter, Johann Melchior Schmidtner, in 1700. The icon is now preserved as an altar piece in a chapel inside the Romanesque church of St. Peter am Perlach, in the Bavarian city of Augsburg.

In an article for Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, Stefania Falasca wrote that Bergoglio discovered the icon during one of his study trips to Ingolstadt and started spreading the word about it when he returned to Argentina. As auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, he dedicated a shrine to the icon and as archbishop he inaugurated a number chapels named after the Virgin Mary depicted in the icon. He even printed the image on his personal “business card” which he always included in correspondence. The image is of Mary looking determined to untie a number of big and small knots in a ribbon that is being handed to her by some angels. “All of us have knots in our hearts, failings and all of us go through difficult times. Our good Lord, who bestows grace on all His children, wants us to have faith in Her; he wants us to entrust the knots of our woes to her, the knots of our miseries that prevent us from reaching God, so that She can untie them and bring us closer to His son Jesus. This is the meaning of the icon.”

On the back of the image of the Virgin Mary which Bergoglio used to send out with his correspondence, there is a prayer that reads (in rough translation): “May evil never ensnare you in its chaotic web… May you act as an example of how to unravel the knots in our lives and help us through difficult times with simplicity and patience, through the intercession of Your Son.” Read full article from Vatican Insider.

Anna Toujas is admin for the NOLA Catholic Experience. She is also the Communications Coordinator for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Social Networking toward Community

By Daniella Zsupan-Jerome Ph.D., Guest Blogger

In response to the Second Vatican Council, the Church has for decades observed “World Communications Day,” with a new theme each year to reflect about.   On Sunday, May 12^th, it is the 47^th such occasion to pause, ponder and pray about how communication plays a part of our identity and mission as Church,  this time with the theme:  “Social Networks: Portals of Truth and faith; New Spaces for Evangelization.”

This brief annual message is a blessed opportunity for reflection. Social networking and digital communication are part and parcel of our culture. The various screens we sit in front of, carry around, gaze at, poke, or talk into are shaping our culture in profound way.  We are connected to a constant network of communication.

Can this connection lead to community, or even toward a sense of communion?  Does the experience of the social network have the potential to reveal the profound bond that undergirds all of creation, a bond that animates authentic human relationships, a bond that forms communities and one that offers a dim reflection of the very essence of God as Father, Son and Spirit in eternal, loving relationship?  When it comes to being part of the social networks of our digital age, the challenge for us as Church is to witness the depth of communion these connections can lead to.

New Orleans food critic Tom Fitzmorris has a theory about our city. In his 2010 book Hungry Town, he proposes: “ I believe there are only 500 people living in New Orleans …each performs not just one function in your life, but many. You constantly run into the same people, playing different roles.”  (62)  His observation fills me with hopeful joy about teaching theology in New Orleans.

The graduate students whom I encounter at the Loyola Institute for Ministry all have a holy desire to live their faith in the service of the Church and the world – what an amazing calling! Their studies is a time for growth, preparation and discernment, a time for listening to the voice of the tradition, the voice of the Spirit, the voice of their own experiences.  When thinking about ministry and service, grappling with the reality of our digital culture is a regular part of the discussion.   And from a Catholic perspective, such a discussion is replete with challenges.

In the short time I have lived here, New Orleans has also taught me that such a discussion is also one that is full of possibilities.  This is a place that understands social network not just as a means of digital communication but also as those “500 people” Fitzmorris writes about.  Connections abound here; we discover ties us to one another in multiple, unexpected ways.   New Orleans “social networking” is also deeply embodied – we feast, we celebrate, we eat, we serve, we accept and lend a hand.  When the culture of this city meets digital culture, the authentic meets the possible, and offers food for thought for imagining the path toward genuine community.

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Liturgy, Catechesis, and Evangelization at the Loyola Institute for Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in liturgy from St. John’s University in Collegeville, a master’s degree in religion and the arts from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D . in theology and education from Boston College. Her research explores media and ministry, especially digital media and its potential for catechetical formation. She has published a number of practical and devotional resources, including  Daily Prayer 2013 (Liturgy Training Publications) and regularly contributing to Liturgical Press’ Give Us This Day series. Her current research focuses on synthesizing the Roman Catholic Church’s approach to social communication from Vatican II to present day for her forthcoming book Proclaiming Good News: Exploring the Church’s Documents on Social Communication and Digital Media. (Liturgical Press)

Notes from the Notre Dame Seminary: Commencements of Faith

As we close this academic year here at Notre Dame Seminary, one might ask what happens towards the end of the year at a seminary. First, seminarians participate in an evaluation process in which faculty members, vocation directors, bishops, and the seminarian review where the seminarian is at in his discernment of a priestly vocation. We review how the seminarian has participated in the community, how he interacts with other seminarians, we review his pastoral skills from his pastoral assignment. We talk about his commitment to celibacy and his understanding of what he is sacrificing and how celibacy allows him to love in a new way. We talk about what is happening in his prayer life and his understanding of obedience. The faculty then offers recommendations about the seminarian’s readiness to advance to the next class level.

Secondly, there are final examinations that include presentations, papers, completion of coursework, and written and verbal examinations. There are seminarians preparing for ordination to the diaconate and ordination to the priesthood. These seminarians are seeing to details regarding invitations, first Masses and even vestments. Most of the seminarians have already been given their assignments therefore they also are meeting with their pastors and supervisors to learn about their responsibilities. Those to be ordained are practicing for the last time in how to celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments as well as an assessment of their preaching skills. There are some seminarians who are discerning out the program preparing to move on having been formed as a Catholic man, a man of prayer, and a man committed to the Church. Applications are also coming in from new seminarians. Some have made visits to the seminary to learn more about what it means to be a seminarian. So, in short, these are busy days for both the seminarians and for the faculty.

Tomorrow, May 9, we have graduation and then the seminarians move into their Summer responsibilities. Please pray for the men preparing for ordination, for the seminarians as they continue their discernment, and the faculty as they carry out their formational responsibilities.

Thanks, Fr. Jim

A Prayer for One’s Own Vocation
God our Father, life is your gift to me. Through baptism, you invite me to share in the gift of my life in service to others. Be with me as I choose each day to show your presence in our world. Give me the courage and generosity to respond to your love, to your call. I pray especially for those who serve you as priests, brothers, sisters, deacons and lay ministers. Keep them close to you. Open the minds and hearts of many other men and women that they may accept your challenge to build the Kingdom. Amen.

From Prayers for Seminarians (The Pontifical North American College)

Father James A. Wehner, S.T.D. is rector/president of Notre Dame Seminary. He holds STB, STL, and STD degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University specializing in ecclesiology and evangelization. Read more about this blogger here