Walking Tour of Boston

These are pictures from last Saturday's walking tour of Boston with Dr. Philip Crotty, my Latin instructor at St. John Seminary. Enjoy!

Love the Immaculata!

Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

EWTN Exposed

My dearest friends, this post could take you months to explore. You have been warned.


An email from a good friend back home prompted me to make this brief post. It concerns the collection of articles and publications found at http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/EWTN.php As you may know, EWTN is the Eternal Word Television Network, a popular cable subscription for many Catholic families. The linked article claims to discredit the claims made in a book, that EWTN is actually a seat of apostacy and heresy since the departure of Mother Angelica (its founder), seeking to prove that it has always been such an institution, even while she was directing it.


I do not have primary facts myself, but the article seems to be constructed in an inconsistent manner, with internal errors that point to its falsity. The most glaring error that they try to point out is that EWTN exhibits false ecumenism in its programming. Here is the response I sent to my friend on this point:

I think the most important thing to consider here is not whether this particular network is at fault, but, in our dealings with others, that we assert the most valid message that we can, enlightened by the Holy Spirit in the silence of our hearts. Ecumenism, which is the most glaring of the faults addressed in the article, must be undertaken properly (ecumenism, relations between religious traditions, can be good; the book and article accuse EWTN of promoting false ecumenism, which I have no evidence to support or reject). I do not know what correct ecumenism is. It is like addressing racism without forcing everyone to be the same, but with a consideration of morals and the order of the universe in play. It is not simply allowing practitioners or followers of other religions to continue in ways that may be immoral, but to praise individuals' pursuit of the truth (as we pray on Good Friday for the Jews and other non-believers), and to help them to attain the ultimate (final, objective) truth that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, that we were created out of love by God, the first person of that same Trinity, and that by the sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross, we are invited to model our lives after His, growing in Love, to one day join Him in eternal splendor.

Statements may be made off the cuff that declare in absolute terms (though mistakenly so) that Buddhists (to use an example from the article) may attain salvation, with no obligation to join the Church. Such statements are grave errors. It is certainly possible that one who has not come to the opportunity of discovering Christ's church as the one church necessary for salvation may be saved, however, should one come to such an understanding and remain apart from the church, he will certainly be judged more harshly for it. Pope Benedict XVI just beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert, who, for many years, denied the legitimacy of the Catholic Church, but, who, realizing that it was within the Church that he could be guaranteed salvation, ultimately converted, setting a marvelous example for youth and establishing such a rational route by which to understand the truth of the church that many could follow after him.

So whether EWTN is a blatant propagator of apostatic teaching or a well-spring of orthodoxy, it is certainly worthy of such an attack by simple virtue of its prominence. We must listen to Christ's vicar, the successor of Peter, who informs the faithful of the proper interpretation of the full tradition of the Church in every age. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI has tried to bridge the gaps in understanding of the faithful regarding Vatican II teachings, which are widely misunderstood (I know very little of what specifically changed and why), in order to help those extreme critics to understand the fullness of the faith that was both preserved and enriched in Vatican II, and to promote a stronger church (without necessity of growth - he is quoted as saying that the church in the coming days will be smaller, yet more faithful, and that would be his preference over a larger, less faithful church).

In all things, seek the Truth, who is Love.


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Two weeks!

I was reminded last weekend that I did not post anything... such are the demands on a postulant's discretionary time!

It has been a substantial two weeks academically - we finished Homer's Odyssey and Aeschylus' Agamemnon, tore through the Pre-Socratic philosophers up through the Atomists, explored the first few chapters of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovered "Potency and Act" according to Aristotle with commentary by St. Thomas Aquinas and struggled with Heraclitus and Parmenides' misconceptions regarding change. Oh, and, in Latin, we covered the first two declensions in full, with prepositions and adverbs, and the essential (actually, existential) verb 'sum, esse, fui, futurus' in the present, imperfect, and future indicative tenses (with the genitive of possession and the dative of possession, how will I ever properly express ownership?).

Br. John and I cooked up a nice Asian dish last Saturday: egg rolls, won ton soup, and a beef stir fry with snow peas and bok choy; tonight, Chris and Br. Steve made us gyros - goes with all the Greek I'm learning with my Latin... no, I'm not confused at all.

Last Tuesday, we were able to attend the episcopal ordination of two new bishops for Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross). It was awesome to see all the bishops in attendance, including a bishop of the Ukrainian Rite and Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Church. This past Monday, we touched bases with the Young Adults' group here at St. Clements, and today, we took an amazing walking tour of Boston with freshmen from Thomas More College in Merrimack, NH... I will be sore tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we have a planning meeting at St. Brigid in South Boston with the Confirmation teachers with whom we will be working each Sunday.

I've been taking lots of pictures, so I'll put them online soon - be ready!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Happy feast!

Today, Sunday, September 12, 2010, marks the 184th commemoration of the Titular Feast of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. It is celebrated as a Proper Solemnity by the Congregation.

At Morning Prayer, Br. John and Br. Tom renewed their temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the spirit of Fr. Lanteri, a solemn and joyous occasion for the entire congregation.

My first (almost full) week of classes is now over, and what a week it was! I enjoyed all of my classes; they are all challenging and intriguing, with much reading. I thought to myself, as I was reading the life of St. Dominic during a Holy Hour toward the end of the week, that I was still reading, and it had nothing to do with a class! The previous night, I had read over 100 pages of Homer's Odyssey, along with John Paul II on the Catechism and the Prologue to the Catechism, itself. And that is not to mention the Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle that we have been working through in Metaphysics. Anyway, the study of philosophy (literally, the love of wisdom, in Greek) is fascinating and empowering - it is this subject that awakens the mind more than in any other discipline and requires both systematic, analytic consideration of the subject matter and an intuitive, experience-based progression through it.

This coming week, we will attend the ceremony of ordination and installation for two new bishops for the Archdiocese of Boston - it should be good!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

From Retreat to the Set

This week began with a meeting concerning the house rules, which are to be expected in a community that is preparing some of its members (the seminarians) for a life of discipline with the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The rules are fairly standard for a professional setting, but they were presented along with a reflection comparing seminary growth to being raised in the home of the Holy Family in Nazareth. Fr. Dan Barron, OMV, prepared the reflection that is included in the brief handbook, in which he presents Mary as lady of the house, Joseph as its master, and the serenity and good will that must have pervaded the home as Jesus began to grow up. He remarks that the examples of charity, compassion, and even frustration shown by Jesus' parents would have formed Him into the God-Man that had mercy on lepers, fed the hungry, wept at the tomb of his friend, and violently chased the money-changers and vendors out of the temple. So too, we, he recommended, should enter, spiritually, into that sense of preparation and growth in the midst of immense holiness.

Monday afternoon, we went over to St. John's Seminary to register for our classes and obtain a welcome package containing important information about the school. The seminary now supports the education and spiritual formation of 100 seminarians from a couple dioceses and a handful of religious orders, a number that has been growing steadily for the last few years.

Monday evening, the three Postulants departed for the St. Joseph House of Retreat, in Milton, MA (I learned the town was self-incorporated in 1662!). The three days that we spent there, in retreat, were amazing. I opened my heart to my Lord and my Lady, cleared my mind, and let them speak. It was tremendous what I realized about the depth and surety of my vocation to the priesthood. At the same time, I read the lives of St. John Bosco (and a bit of St. Francis de Sales, as he relates to St. John Bosco) and St. John Vianney, two very inspiring priests, who lived in Italy and France, respectively, and who were contemporaries of Fr. Lanteri and were affected by his work. Their lives contained very moving moments for me, in which the Will of God was revealed to them, their immense trust in Divine Providence with the intercession of Mary was richly rewarded, and their sensitivity to the most basic needs of those around them had such a great and resounding impact that many thousands continued to be converted, based on their efforts, for decades after their deaths.

Last night, after dinner, my brother Postulant, S.G., and I had a little jam session in the Upper Room (the old sisters' chapel from when a cloistered convent occupied these buildings). He plays piano quite well, and knows quite a few popular tunes. We will probably be writing some music. Tonight we discovered that our singing voices are very similar, which is really awesome. Again, we'll probably be writing some music.


Today was spent at the house in Milton, again, with Fr. John Wykes, OMV, and a frequent visitor to St. Clement's, D.M. Fr. John prepared a full script, and we went to the house to film some re-enactments of the life of Fr. Lanteri. We were away from home for 12 hours for this piece of the project (there is more filming to be done, as well as recording narration, and final editing). It was really nice to be able to help out in such a project. The Youth Group project to present the life of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina to the Confirmation students several years ago resulted in all of us who participated gaining a powerful understanding of the spiritual foundations of a man so "in-tune" with God; today's experience was no different.

We return to Milton for a Labor Day BBQ Monday afternoon, but Tuesday is the first day of class. Here we go!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca