The Synaxis of the Holy Theotokos...

"He who before the birth of the Morning Star was begotten of the Father, without a mother, became incarnate on earth of you, O mother of God, without a father. Wherefore a star announces to wise men that you have given birth without human seed, and the angels and shepherds glorify you, O Woman full of grace!"

What an amazing line: ...begotten of the Father, without a mother, became incarnate on earth of you, O mother of God, without a father...

The focus of this time of year is, of course, the birth of Christ. Although that was a miraculous and marvelous event, the most ineffable, extraordinary thing that we celebrate is what happened nine months before, viz., the Incarnation. It was then that the holy (as wholly other), transcendent, mighty God emptied himself to become man so that we might become divine. Let us really reflect on what the Incarnation means to mankind.

Frohe Weinachten!!

"Your birth O Christ our God, has shed upon the world the light of knowledge for through it those who worship the stars have learned from from a star to worship You, the Sun of Justice,and to know You the Dawn from on High, Glory to You, O Lord" (from the Divine Liturgy of the Nativity)

Modern Day Martyrs...

I have to share an experience that Deb and I had this last week. We listened to one of the professors at the ITI speak about his grandparents. He is from Romania. His grandparents were married in February of 1948. Four months later his grandfather was arrested by the government and held without any charges. His wife was pregnant and had a daughter in October of that year. He spent 16 years in prison. During that time, he was able to see his wife and daughter once after seven years of imprisonment. He was routinely tortured.

(Pictured Vasile Aftenie, Bishop and Martryr)

The backstory here is that the Greek Catholic churches* were outlawed in every Soviet-bloc country. The Greek Catholic priests were required to renounce the Greek Catholic church and join the Orthodox church or face arrest, imprisonment, torture, and death. There were six Greek Catholic bishops in Romania at that time. Every one of them died for their faith; many by torture! The grandfather of my friend escaped death. However, he is deaf in one ear from being beaten with with cloth tubes packed with sand (used so that it would leave no marks).

Each prisoner was given 150 grams of bread per day. That comes to 5.3 ounces (5 slices of bread per day). That was to sustain them under heavy labor conditions. There was such a hunger for the faith that these men would sacrifice part of their daily bread supply and make rosaries from small beads formed from their bread.

This gentlemen got out in 1964 because of pressure applied to the Romanian government by the American government concerning political prisoners. His daughter was 16.

He and his wife have been married now over 60 years. He was ordained once out of prison and has served the Romanian Greek Church since.

What has struck me so profoundly since I have been here and have interacted with Eastern Catholics is how these churches were DECIMATED during Communism. There were many places where all of the bishops and priests were taken away to never return. The Latin Church was left alone as a way of touting some form of religious freedom. However, these churches were under tremendous pressure from the KGB. You step out of line, you disappeared to never be seen again. The Orthodox churches were gutted earlier. Thus, many, many of the priests were KGB agents. The confessionals were bugged. Many, many good Christian people were murdered.

We don't have to look back to the distant past of the early church to find great persecution and martyrdom. There are many people alive today that witnessed the attempted eradication of the Greek Catholic Churches. These churches are still trying to figure out who they are in the world. They were driven so far underground that in some sense they are still emerging.

It is inspiring to hear the stories of these holy and brave men and women. I only pray that God would give me the grace to stand so strong in the face of that kind of persecution.

*What I mean by Greek Catholic Churches are those churches that are not of the Roman Catholic Church that are united with the Pope. These church have many different liturgical rites by which they express their faith. Examples are Byzantine, Melkite, and Maronite rites. The Romanian Greek Church is of the the Byzantine rite.

Here is a small essay on the history of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church:

The communist persecutions
On august 23, 1944, Romania was invaded by the Soviet Army and in March 6, 1945 the Communist Government was installed. One of the goals of the new government was to abolish the Greek-Catholic Church, considered dangerous for the communist plans. They started a campaign of disparagement of Holy Father, and the connections with Vatican were broken.

The government framed up that the Greek-Catholic Church "came back" in the Orthodox Church. They started to threaten the Greek-Catholic priests and bishops that they would be put in jail or killed if they didn't sign their "return" to the Orthodox Church. The communist prisons were full of priests, monks and lay people who didn't sign the "return" to the Orthodox Church. All the Bishops of the Greek-Catholic Church were put in prisons.

On the December 1, 1948, through a decree of the Great National Assembly, The Greek-Catholic Church was abolished because everybody "returned" to orthodoxy. All its possessions were took by the Orthodox Church. Today a very few of these possessions were given back.

The martyr bishops
The communist persecution killed seven Greek-Catholic Bishops. Six of them were bishops when they were arrested (October 1948): Valeriu Traian Frentiu, Iuliu Hossu, Alexandru Rusu, Ioan Balan, Ioan Suciu and Vasile Aftenie, and one of them was ordained bishop in prison: Tit Liviu Chinezu. All of them died in prison or in forced residences, after long periods of sufferings.

The first martyr was Vasile Aftenie (1899-1950), who was tortured in the basement of Ministry of Internal Affairs, and died there. In the prison of Sighetul Marmatiei died Valeriu Traian Frentiu (1875-1952), Ioan Suciu (1907-1953), Tit Liviu Chinezu (1904-1955). The bodies of those who died there were buried in a field, so that we don't know for sure where their graves are. Alexandru Rusu (1884-1963) died in the prison of Gherla.

Ioan Balan (1880-1959) and Iuliu Hossu (1885-1970) died, after prison and forced residence, in a hospital in Bucharest.

The Greek-Catholic Church started the process of canonization of these seven Bishops three years ago. They are the symbol of all the martyrs of the Greek-Catholic Church, and with the will of God they will be the first saints of the Greek-Catholic Church.

The Nativity Fast...

In the Eastern Catholic Church, there is a 40-day preparation for the Nativity of Christ just as there is for Easter. It begins the day following the Feast of the Apostle Philip. The fast is sometimes referred to the St. Philip's fast accordingly. Thus, the Eastern Church enters into "Advent" as of today. What a special gift to begin the anticipation of the coming of the Son of God into the world! The Church in her wisdom gives these days to prepare, to anticipate, to purify ourselves to be more worthy to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I hope and pray that your Advent whether celebrated with the East or the West is one of great blessing and coming nearer to the One who comes to us!

I Love Italy

A former student of the ITI was ordained last week. He is a Benedictine monk at the monastery in Norcia, Italy. They have a cool website. This is the monastery that Cody is interested in. There was a large contingent of professors and students from the ITI that attended the ordination. Cody and I were among them. It was a long but blessed weekend. It is about a 12-hour drive to Norcia from Trumau. I got the pleasure of driving in Italy once again. Italy is a beautiful country. We spent the first day driving, two days in Norcia, and the last day driving back. There was much to see in the little village of Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. The region is famous for prosciutto and black truffle. There are at least ten shops in town that are dedicated to selling these delicacies. After the ordination, the monastery hosted a meal for all the guests. It was amazing!! We ate for 2-½ hours straight! We started with antipasta consisting of the famous prosciutto and even truffle smothered on toast. It was delicious. We then had two separate pasta courses, a meat course with lamb and two kinds of pork with potatoes, a dessert course, and a fruit course. I think we started with five forks at our place setting. They even had to bring out more forks! Of course, the wine flowed freely and was very good.

Sunday evening we were able to travel to Cascia which is only 18 Km (~10 miles) from Norcia. There we visited the shrines of two Blesseds (Sister Mary Teresa Fasce) and Simone Fidati. He was involved in an Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Cascia (which we saw). 

On the way home, we were able to stop in Assisi and see the tomb of St. Francis and the Portiuncula. St. Francis’ tomb is a very holy place. I could have stayed there and prayed for days. The peace. Amazing. We then went to Santa Maria degli Angeli where the Portiuncula is housed. It is the church where St. Francis prayed and lived.

It was here that on 24 Feb., 1208, St. Francis of Assisi recognized his vocation; here was for the most part his permanent abode, after the Benedictines (of the Cluny Congregation from about 1200) had presented him (about 1211) with the little chapel Portiuncula, i.e. a little portion (of land); here also he died on Saturday, 3 October, 1226. Catholic Encyclopedia

It was very special to have Cody show me around a place that he loves. We were invited to pray terce with the monks in their private chapel. To be there with my son was a blessed moment.

I hope you enjoy the pictures! (click on the image to enlarge)

Famous fresco of St. Benedict holding the village of Norcia. That is St. Scholastica, his twin, on the other side of the Blessed Mother.

 

The basilica and monastery of St. Benedict on the left. The building on the right is the city hall.

 

Cody on front of statue of St. Benedict which is in the middle of the town square.

 

Narrow Italian street. Try driving a nine passenger van through these babies!

 

Inside the basilica of St. Rita

 

St. Rita

 

Basilica of St. Francis

 

The crew outside the basilica of St. Francis. Surprisingly all Americans except the baby (Austrian) and the woman on the far right, who is from Cape town, South Africa.

 

The Portiuncula

Pilgrimage to Loretto

Every year the ITI begins the school year with a gala opening and a pilgrimage. The gala opening occurred on the 1oth of October. Cardinal Shönborn was the main celebrant at the Mass in the parish church. Both Zach and Cody served the Mass. Cody was the thurifer and Zach was the crozier bearer.

 

 

 

Following the Mass there was a big party with all of the required politicians etc welcoming the ITI. It was an enjoyable evening.

 

We undertook the pilgrimage to Loretto 10/26. We walked for about three hours and a half hours from Trumau to the Austrian village of Loretto. There is a basilica in Italy where the supposed house of the Holy Family’s (their house from Nazareth) is found. As Austrian gentlemen visited this basilica in the middle of the 17th century. He was so moved by the experience that he had a statue made and a replica of the house of Nazareth built in Austria. The place was aptly named Loretto. The weather was perfect. It was a great day to walk and pray. Zach, Eli, and I walked. The rest of the family was ill so they met us there.

I carried each and every one of you in my heart as I walked. I prayed for you and asked Gog that he would bless you for your support of our endeavors here.

  Eli leading the pilgrims

The church of Loretto in the far distance. We had been walking about two hours at this point.

The main altar at the church in Loretto.

The statue at the Church of Loretto. Made in 1645.

I didn’t get a picture within the replica of the house. I was too busy praying… Afterward, all the pilgrims descended on a little restaurant outside of Loretto. We had a fantastic meal together as a community. It is good to be Catholic!!

Trumau

We've been trying to get settled over the past couple weeks in the new apartment. It has been a lot like our favorite pastime - camping! We just got running water and a dishwater hooked up. We have been doing the dishes in the bathtub over the past two weeks. They just put up the cabinets in the kitchen when some of them, in another apartment, collapsed. So they took them down for fear of more falling. Fortunately, no one was hurt. It looks to be a flaw in the wall construction.

Before we arrived, we were very concerned over the size of the place. It is *really* small but is livable. Deb has been hard at
work making the place look like home.

We are living among Austrians now, whereas in Gaming we had little contact. Felicity, Cody, and I are enrolled in German classes. I am excited to be able to converse with the locals beyond simple phrases. Felicity received a note from an Austrian girl, written in German and English, wanting to show Felicity Trumau. What a neat gesture.

Below you'll find the Lee apartment virtual tour.

The entrance and landing.

Sorry for the shot of the toilet. Interesting that there is no sink in that room. You have to go clear to where the bathtub is to find the sink (or the kitchen.)

We altered the coat closet to be my office. It actually works quite nicely.

The kitchen. It is much bigger than the one we had in Gaming. You can see the cabinets are not on the wall. Turning 180 degrees...

You see the dining room and living room. I took the picture of the kitchen from where Eli is sitting, and this picture from the other end of the table.

Down the hall you find the "washroom". It has the sink, bathtub, washer, and dryer.

Zach, Eli, and Zeke's room.

Felicity and Cody's room. The furniture divides the room in half and acts as a wall so they have privacy. Not an optimal set up, but it is impossible to put all four boys in one room.

The Master Suite ;-). We were so happy that we could actually get the bed (king size), the dresser, and an armoire in the room and still be able to have some room to move.

We made it…

We arrived in Austria on the 21st of September. We stayed in the small village of Gaming (where the ITI moved from) as there was no place for us in Trumau, yet. We spent three days in Gaming and then moved into the new digs in Trumau. As you can imagine, 900 sq. ft. is a bit cramped for seven people. We currently have a temporary kitchen that isn’t completely hooked up. Kitchens (stove, fridge, cabinets, sink, etc) do not come supplied with any apartment. The ITI has to provide those things for us. So, it is a bit like camping actually. We do have a small bit of grass in the backyard. I was pretty concerned whether the place would just be too small to live in. However, I think we can make it. It will take love and creativity, but we can do it with God’s grace.

We do not have an internet connection as of yet. I will post pictures of the place once things settle down a bit. Between trying to moving in and classes starting, there is not much time for anything else.

Thanks for your prayers and support. It means the world to us….

Zeke’s Trip to the Dentist

We discovered that Zeke was having some troubles with his teeth while we were in Austria. When we got here, it was confirmed that he had decay in his front two teeth that required either pulling the teeth or drilling and filling them. Sigh…

Debbie called around to different pediatric dentists and received the same response: he would have to go to the hospital and be anesthetized. The procedure would cost about $3000. Gulp.

She kept calling and found Dr. Roy Rodgers in Boise. He was confident that Zeke could be treated in office. He gave Zeke a “dragon nose,” which is the nose piece for the nitrous oxide, to take home, play with, and get used to. We played with Zeke’s dragon nose over the last couple weeks in preparation for today. Of course, we were concerned that Zeke would freak out, and we would end up at the hospital. We are so grateful to Dr. Rogers. He and his nurse worked so hard to keep Zeke calm. In the end, Zeke was calm for the entire procedure. They were able to do everything they needed to do on his teeth. If we had to do this in Austria, it would have been a train wreck. The level of patient care within dentistry is very crude there. God was very good to the Lee family today!

We *highly* recommend Dr. Rogers if you ever have the need for a pediatric dentist. They were wonderful!!

The Grotto of St. Mary Magdalene

Tradition has it that St. Mary Magdalene ended up in France after the diaspora of the disciples after the destruction of the Temple. Here is a website maintained by the Dominicans that guard the holy cave: http://saintebaume.dominicains.com/?lang=en. The history of the cave and the connection to the saint can be read here: http://saintebaume.dominicains.com/spip.php?article137.

The ITI went on a week-long pilgrimage through France. It was a wonderful trip with much sacrifice. We drove a van and spent two nights sleeping in the van and three nights driving until 3am. It was worth it, though. Here are some pictures of the grotto.

 

View from the bottom of the hill. You can see the facades of the buildings in the center of the bluff near the top.

 

A close-up of the grotto.

 

 

The view from the top.

 

Entrance into the cave.

 

The altar in the cave.

Retreat

Debbie and I are putting on a retreat Saturday, August 22nd at Nazareth Retreat Center (4450 N. Five Mile Rd, Boise, ID  83713). The theme is: Jezu ufam tobie (Jesus, I trust in you). It begins at 9:00am and goes until 7:00pm. Sign-in is from 8:30am-9:00am. At the conclusion of the retreat, we hope to go to dinner together for fellowship. You can bring the family to the dinner (you are responsible for the cost).

There is no cost for the retreat. Lunch will not be provided so please bring a sack lunch. You should bring a Bible, pen, and journal. There are cold spots in the facility so dress accordingly.

If you plan on going, please email me at ShoelessMichael (at) gmail (dot) com. Please ask any questions in the  comments or email. Thanks!!

Into the Deep

After a year-long hiatus, the Into the Deep podcast produced by Brent Brown, Mike Englesby, and yours truly is back! We are going to do a thematic study of the Gospel of John similar to what I am currently doing at Nazareth. The podcast would be a good way to make up anything that was missed or to be able to review certain points for those attending the Bible study at Nazareth.

This series of shows will study: the major themes of the Gospel, word studies of important Johannine terms, and how to apply what has been learned to our lives.

Come join us!

You can get the show at sqpn.com or deepcast.org.

Feast of the Transfiguration

It was three years ago on this day that we landed in Vienna exhausted, scared, and excited. This Feast always has had a place in my heart since arriving in Austria. The icon of the Transfiguration is one of my favorites.

This particular icon takes up an entire wall. Father Thomas Labanic (a graduate of the ITI) wrote it.

It captures my heart in that it shows the two aspects of my spiritual life and ministry that I am most grateful for, viz., that Elijah (on the left of Jesus) is standing on Mt. Carmel and Moses is standing on Mt. Sinai with the Torah. I love the Carmelite Order and its spirituality. St. Teresa of Jesus and St. Therese of the Child Jesus are particular spiritual mentors of mine. I make every effort to root my life in silence and contemplation.

In addition, I love the Scriptures (here signified by the Torah, the Law). It is such an honor and pleasure to study God’s word – to hear the voice of the Shepherd calling to me in the Holy Writ.

It is in the study of the Sacred Scriptures within the context of a life of contemplative prayer that Christ Jesus in his glory becomes manifest and known to me.

I hope and pray that God gives me the grace and the gifts to share these two aspects of my spiritual life with others…

St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars

Today is the Feast day of St. John Marie Vianney, the Patron Saint of Diocesan priests. There is an expectation that at the end of the Year of the Priest that he will be named the Patron of all priests.

He was born near Lyon, France in 1786. He was not the brightest student mainly due to a lack of exposure to academics rather than being unintelligent. He did, however, struggle with his Latin studies. With the help of the Lord, he overcame these obstacles and became the parish priest in the small hamlet of Ars. The following is from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

The chief labor of the Curé d'Ars was the direction of souls. He had not been long at Ars when people began coming to him from other parishes, then from distant places, then from all parts of France, and finally from other countries. As early as 1835, his bishop forbade him to attend the annual retreats of the diocesan clergy because of "the souls awaiting him yonder". During the last ten years of his life, he spent from sixteen to eighteen hours a day in the confessional. His advice was sought by bishops, priests, religious, young men and women in doubt as to their vocation, sinners, persons in all sorts of difficulties and the sick. In 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached twenty thousand a year. The most distinguished persons visited Ars for the purpose of seeing the holy curé and hearing his daily instruction…His direction was characterized by common sense, remarkable insight, and supernatural knowledge. He would sometimes divine sins withheld in an imperfect confession. His instructions were simple in language, full of imagery drawn from daily life and country scenes, but breathing faith and that love of God which was his life principle and which he infused into his audience as much by his manner and appearance as by his words, for, at the last, his voice was almost inaudible.

The miracles recorded by his biographers are of three classes:

• first, the obtaining of money for his charities and food for his orphans;
• secondly, supernatural knowledge of the past and future;
• thirdly, healing the sick, especially children.

The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practiced mortification from his early youth. and for forty years his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking, to sustain life. And yet he labored incessantly, with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerfulness, until he was more than seventy-three years old.

Otten, Susan Tracy. "St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 Aug. 2009 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08326c.htm.

He was said to sleep only 2 hours a night and live on potatoes that he would cook as his meal but also to keep him warm. The devil attacked him continuously even setting his bed on fire.

We had the blessing of going to Ars to see this holy man. In that pilgrimage, we had gone to Lourdes, also. Ars was my favorite. It was a very holy place. I find myself drawn to this simple country priest.

Thought you might like some of the pictures we took:

A Chapel beside the church which contains the heart of the Saint.

St. John Vianney’s bed that the devil set on fire.

The Body of the Saint.

St. John Vianney, please pray for all priests and those considering the vocation. We need holy priests such as you to give us the sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Confession…

Eighteen Years…

Yesterday,  Deb and I celebrated our eighteenth wedding anniversary. I am always amazed at how fast time goes by. One thing is for sure, God has blessed me with a wonderful woman.

A good wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and tasks for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She girds her loins with strength and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers girdles to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 30:10-31

Debbie certainly fits the above Scripture. Our home is blessed.

Graduation!

I thought my first blog after the “Hey, I am back” blog should be about graduation. Three years ago, we sold nearly everything we had (house, car, possessions, etc.) to head off to Gaming, Austria to study theology. We were (and are) convinced that this was the Lord’s will for us. At the time, we felt that the reason we were going wasn’t simply to get a degree in theology but to become trained to teach at the collegiate level; specifically the seminary level. This goal demands that we stay in Austria a total of five years: three years to complete the STB-degree and another two years to complete the STL-degree. Once done with the STL, I can teach at the seminary level as I pursue a STD.

Anyway, after three years of sacrifice from myself, my family, and our benefactors, I graduated on May 16, 2009 with a Sacrae Theologiae Magister. I was really excited and blessed with the fact that I graduated Summa cum Laude. It was a way that I could honor the gift of the Lord calling us there, the gift of time and sacrifice my family had given me, and the gift of support from all of our benefactors.

It was a wonderful day. The main celebrant of the liturgy was he Right Reverend Mag. Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck, O.Cist, Abbott of Heiligenkreuz. He was the person that read and gave us our diplomas.

As I reflect on the day, I am struck by the amazing grace that got us here, kept us here, and brought us this first conclusion. All of my doubt and anxiety was a waste of time. The Lord held us in the palm of his hand the entire time and provided for us at every turn. I often feel ashamed at my lack of trust when contrasted to his amazing faithfulness. It reminds me of a beautiful Scripture from Lamentations:

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:21-26

Thank you, Lord for never letting us go and teaching us about your faithfulness and love. Thank you Debbie for standing by me sacrificing so much. Thank you Lee kids. You inspire me with your love, openness, and sacrifice. Thank you to all our supporters and benefactors that made this possible. May God bless you abundantly!!

Click on any picture to enlarge:

The graduation ceremony was held

in the Baroque Library at the Kartause.

Brother Basil, O.S.B (directing) and Father Benedict, O.S.B (looking on) directing

the boys choir that sang Gaudeamus Igitur (in Latin, of course ;-)).

You can see Zach and Eli in this picture.

Time to Catch Up

I am shocked to see that I have not updated the blog since November!

Much has happened since that time. We went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, celebrated Christmas, attended an international symposium on the mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches, I was accepted to pursue a Licentiate degree in theology at the ITI, wrote a thesis, finished the STM degree, graduated, and brought the entire family back to the U.S. for the summer. Whew!! We are going back in September so I can pursue the Licentiate degree (the one that will actually let me teach at the seminary or collegiate level).

I plan on posting pictures and commentary on all of these activities as well as keep everyone updated as to our current situation.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope and pray that when you stop by you will not only find out what is going on in our lives but that you will be edified in some way by the path the Lord has called us to follow….