Starting on Sunday, November 14, 2021, Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province Secretary, Director & Rector of The Shrine of St. Anthony, and Spiritual Guardian of The Companions of St. Anthony– all on the Ellicott City, MD Campus) is the featured presenter for the three day 40 Hours Eucharistic Devotions, at our Shamokin, PA pastoral Ministry – Mother Cabrini Catholic Church.

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

+Fr. Ignatius Maternowski vitrail (stained glass window), in La Petite Chapelle de Cauquigny, Normandy, France

While visiting the Église Saint-Ferréol of Cauquigny, to bless the new stained glass window in the chapelle des Parachutés (aka La Petite Chapelle de Cauquigny), to honor +Fr. Ignatius Maternowski, OFM Conv., our Minister Provincial – the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. was interviewed in a live broadcast on D Day Live. Follow the link to read more about Franciscan Friar Conventual priest and US military chaplain, +Father Ignatius Maternowski, OFM Conv., who was killed during the Invasion of Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

In 2019, at the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Pastor of Mother Cabrini Catholic Church (Shamokin, PA) – Fr. Martin Kobos, OFM Conv. and Province Director of Mission Advancement – Mr. Joseph Hamilton represented the Our Lady of the Angels Province (Link to Post).  At that time, they presented the local US-Normandy Association of Remembrance and Gratitude (Association U.S. Normandie , mémoire et gratitude) with an American flag that had been flown over the US Capitol, in honor of +Fr. Ignatius.  The Association placed this flag on the Altar at the Mass of Dedication of the +Fr. Ignatius Maternowski vitrail (stained glass window), on November 12, 2021.

The Parish Priest of Picauville and Sainte-Mère-Église, le père Marie Bernard Seigneur (above concelebrating the November 12, 2021 Mass with Fr. James), hosted the ceremony in “La Petite Chapelle de Cauquigny,” where some of the fiercest fighting on D-Day took place – close to the nearby hamlet of Gueutteville, where Fr. Ignatius was slain.

Église Saint-Ferréol Cauquigny ou Chapelle Saint-Ferréol dite chapelle des Parachutés (aka La Petite Chapelle de Cauquigny)

As the fighting raged on D-Day and the following week around Gueutteville, Normandy, the body of our slain friar-priest-chaplain lay off limits on the hamlet’s single dirt road where he died.  Local survivors with their children took refuge in this dwelling that the Germans had occupied, and where Fr. Ignatius had tried to persuade the enemy to observe the Geneva conventions which protected the civilians and the wounded troops.  After the war, the hamlet’s survivors pooled their scant money to obtain and install at the site this statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary (below).  Its present owner – Claude and his son – Remy (at right with Fr. James) welcomed the group to pray before the treasured statue.

Fr. James left a cross with a red poppy, at the old stone wall on Gueutteville’s sole street, at the exact spot where Fr. Ignatius’ slain body lay unmoved for three days.

The group visited the Memorial in Guetteville, France, commemorating the charity and heroism of Franciscan Friar Conventual Fr. Ignatius Maternowski on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

On the day that Fr. James blessed the new Fr. Ignatius Window in Normandy’s Cauquigny Chapel, L’association US Normandie Mémoire et Gratitude conferred upon Fr. James honorary membership in the Association.

For more photos and a video of the speech
by L’Association Président: Eric Labourdette,
visit Association U.S. Normandie , mémoire et gratitude.

_______________________________

Bénédiction du vitrail
en l’honneur de
+Père Ignatius Maternowski, OFM Conv.
Cauquigny, Normandie, France
12 novembre 2021

Homélie prononcée par Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.

Les premiers frères franciscains sont arrivés en Normandie à pied au treizième siècle, du vivant de leur fondateur, Saint François d’Assise.  Plus de sept cent cinquante ans plus tard, un autre frère franciscain est arrivé en Normandie, non pas à pied mais en parachute.  Le Père Ignatius Maternowski, prêtre et aumônier franciscain, est arrivé ici à Amfreville, Picauville, Guetteville et Cauquigny, le 6 juin 1944 – le Jour J.  Peut-être certains de vos propres parents et grands-parents l’ont-ils accueilli, lui et ses compagnons d’armes, en ce jour fatidique, alors que commençait leur mission de libération de la France.
Le père Ignatius a versé son sang ici, sur le sol de Normandie, quelques heures après son arrivée.  Il a été le seul aumônier américain à mourir le jour J.  Il a offert sa vie pour vous, à l’âge de trente-deux ans, en tant que martyr pour la cause des droits de l’homme.  Sa mort a témoigné du passage de l’Évangile : “Celui qui perdra sa vie [pour les saints desseins de Dieu] la sauvera” [cf. Luc 17:33].  Peut-être qu’un jour, l’Église catholique déclarera le père Ignace “bienheureux”, puis “saint”.  Aujourd’hui, pour vous et pour moi, le Père Ignace est déjà considéré comme un “saint” homme de Dieu, dont nous invoquons la mémoire avec honneur, dévotion, gratitude et prière.
La Normandie a toujours été un lieu qui manifeste la gloire de Dieu.  Comme le dit le Livre de la Sagesse, le vent, l’air, la mer, les étoiles – tous si évidents en Normandie – évoquent la puissance et l’énergie de notre Dieu Créateur – un Dieu d’Amour en qui le Père Ignace a trouvé toute l’inspiration et le courage dont il avait besoin pour venir ici le Jour J.
Ce magnifique nouveau vitrail dans la chapelle de Cauquigny nous rappellera à jamais que l’amour héroïque est possible – l’amour du pays, l’amour de l’humanité, l’amour de Dieu.  L’artiste du vitrail, M. Joseph Beyer, de Philadelphie, en Pennsylvanie, aux États-Unis, a représenté le père Ignace comme un héros de l’amour – portant l’habit gris de l’ordre franciscain, et arborant l’uniforme de la quatre-vingt-deuxième division aéroportée.  En réalité, le père Ignace était un homme qui portait trois uniformes différents – chacun distinct : son habit franciscain, ses vêtements sacerdotaux et sa tenue de combat de soldat.
Le père Ignace avait trois identités distinctes – frère, prêtre et aumônier de l’armée.  Il est mort en portant l’uniforme de la quatre-vingt-deuxième division aéroportée de l’armée des États-Unis.   Cependant, il ne portait que l’uniforme d’aumônier, car il avait d’abord été appelé à porter l’uniforme de l’ordre franciscain et les vêtements du sacerdoce. Il portait des vêtements différents pour manifester ses différentes identités à des communautés particulières, mais ces trois uniformes signifiaient tous un message commun : L’amour chrétien du père Ignace pour tous les peuples et son engagement à défendre la dignité de chaque personne humaine.
Lorsque le Père Ignace a été abattu à Guetteville, il portait un brassard à croix rouge pour rappeler les conventions de Genève en vigueur depuis 1929, des dispositions destinées à protéger en temps de guerre tous les blessés, les mourants et les non-combattants.  Le témoignage de M. Theroude a clairement montré que le Père Ignace a risqué sa vie pour persuader l’ennemi de ces principes de droits de l’homme et pour protéger les populations locales de cette région.  Le père Ignace est mort pour protéger, non seulement ses compagnons d’armes blessés, mais aussi tous les innocents non-combattants de la région contre les représailles allemandes.  Il est mort pour défendre ces principes – un martyr de l’amour.
Même aujourd’hui, à une époque séculaire et pluraliste, ce capitaine de l’armée catholique et franciscaine – un simple garçon de la petite ville de Holyoke, dans le Massachusetts – incarne les aspirations les plus élevées de toutes les branches de la famille humaine. Son engagement envers la dignité de la personne humaine était absolu.   Aujourd’hui, grâce à ce nouveau vitrail, chaque personne qui entre dans la chapelle de Cauquigny peut contempler ces vérités.  Chaque visiteur peut quitter cette chapelle inspiré par la conviction que l’amour pour l’humanité ne doit connaître aucune limite, comme en témoignent la vie et la mort du Père Ignace.
Permettez-moi de conclure en reconnaissant et en remerciant, au nom de la famille franciscaine du père Ignace, tous ceux qui ont rendu possible la célébration et la cérémonie de bénédiction d’aujourd’hui :

• Père Seigneur, curé de Sainte-Mère Eglise
• Maire d’Amfreville, Madame Ginette Dongé
• Maire de Picauville, Madame Marie Hélène Perrotte
• Maire de Sainte-Mère Eglise, Alain Holley
• Maire de Beuzeville la Bastille, Carles Dupont
• Sénateur Philippe Lebas
• le député Philippe Gosselin
• Les membres de l’Association US-Normandie ‘Memorie et Gratitude’,
• notamment :
  • M. Pascal Millet
  • M.Emile LaPierre
  • M. Daniel Briard
  • M. Eric Labourdette
  • M. Steve Todd

• Mme Vivian Roger et M. Rodolphe Roger
• La colonel Kelly Carrigg
• M. Joseph Beyer et son épouse Rita

Enfin, permettez-moi de remercier tous ceux qui sont ici aujourd’hui – les habitants de Normandie qui chérissent la mémoire de mon frère franciscain, le Père Ignace.  Je ne peux imaginer un plus bel endroit au monde où la mémoire de ce gentil héros-martyr devrait être préservée et vénérée.  Que Dieu vous bénisse.

 [English Translation]

Blessing of Stained-Glass Window
in honor of
+Father Ignatius Maternowski, OFM Conv.
Cauquigny, Normandy, France
12^th November 2021

 Homily delivered by Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.

The first Franciscan friars came to Normandy by foot in the thirteenth century, during the lifetime of their founder, St. Francis of Assisi.  Over seven hundred and fifty years later, another Franciscan Friar arrived in Normandy, not by foot but by parachute.  Father Ignatius Maternowski, a Franciscan priest and chaplain, came here to Amfreville, Picauville, Guetteville and Cauquigny, on the 6^th of June 1944 – D-Day.  Perhaps some of your own parents and grandparents welcomed him and his fellow soldiers on that fateful day, as their mission to liberate France began.
Father Ignatius shed his blood here in the soil of Normandy a few hours after he arrived.  He was the only American chaplain who died on D-Day.  He offered his life for you, at the age of thirty-two years, as a martyr for the cause of human rights.  His death gave testimony to the Gospel passage: “Whoever loses his life [for God’s holy purposes] will save it” [cf. Luke 17:33].  Perhaps someday, the Catholic Church will declare Father Ignatius a “blessed,” and eventually a “saint.”  Now, for you and for me, Father Ignatius is already regarded as a “holy” man of God, whose memory we invoke with honor, devotion, gratitude, and prayer.
Normandy has always been a place which manifests the glory of God.  As the Book of Wisdom tells us – the wind, the air, the sea, the stars – all so evident in Normandy – bespeak the might and energy of our Creator God – a God of Love in whom Father Ignatius found all the inspiration and courage he needed to come here on D-Day.
This beautiful new stained-glass window in the Chapel of Cauquigny will forever remind us that heroic love is possible – love of country, love of humanity, love of God.  The artist of the window, Mr. Joseph Beyer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States, has depicted Father Ignatius as a hero of love – wearing the grey habit of the Franciscan Order, and displaying the uniform of the eighty-second airborne division.  Actually, Father Ignatius was a man who wore three different uniforms – each distinct:  his Franciscan robes, his priestly vestments, and his soldier’s battle dress.
Father Ignatius had three distinct identities – friar, priest, and army chaplain.  He died wearing the uniform of the eighty-second airborne division of the army of the United States.   However, he only wore the uniform of a chaplain, because he had first been called to wear the uniform of the Franciscan Order and the vestments of the Priesthood. He wore different clothes to manifest his different identities to particular communities, but all three of these uniforms signified one common message: Father Ignatius’s Christian love for all people, and his commitment to defend the dignity of every human person.
When Father Ignatius was shot to death in Gueutteville, he wore a red cross armband to signify the Geneva conventions which were in effect since 1929, provisions designed to protect in wartime all the wounded, the dying, and the non-combatants.  The eyewitness testimony of Mr. Theroude has made it clear that Father Ignatius risked his life to persuade the enemy about those principles of human rights, and to keep safe the local people of this region.  Father Ignatius died to protect, not only his wounded fellow soldiers, but to safeguard all the innocent non-combatants of the area from the German reprisals.  He died in defense of those principles – a martyr of love.
Even now, in a secular and pluralistic age, this Catholic, Franciscan, Army captain – a simple boy from the small town of Holyoke, Massachusetts – embodies the very highest aspirations of any branch of the human family. His commitment to the dignity of the human person was absolute.   Now, because of this new stained-glass window, every person walking into Cauquigny Chapel can contemplate these truths.  Every visitor can leave this chapel inspired by the conviction that love for humanity must know no limits, as evidenced by the life and death of Father Ignatius.

Permit me to conclude by acknowledging and thanking, on behalf of Father Ignatius’s Franciscan family, all of those who have made possible today’s celebration and benediction ceremony:

1. Father Seigneur, pastor of Sainte-Mere Eglise
2. Mayor of Amfreville, Madame Ginette Dongé
3. Mayor of Picauville, Madame Marie Hélène Perrotte
4. Mayor of Sainte Mere Eglise, Alain Holley
5. Mayor of Beuzeville la Bastille, Carles Dupont
6. Senator Philippe Lebas
7. Deputy Philippe Gosselin
8. Members of the US-Normandy Association ‘Remembrance and Gratitude’, especially:
   • Mr. Pascal Millet
   • Mr. Emile LaPierre
   • Mr. Daniel Briard
   • Mr. Eric Labourdette
   • Mr. Steve Todd
9. Vivian Roger and Mr. Rodolphe Roger
10. Colonel Kelly Carrigg
11. Joseph Beyer and his wife Rita

Finally, permit me to thank all of you who are here today – the people of Normandy who cherish the memory of my Franciscan brother, Father Ignatius.  I can think of no more beautiful place in the world where the memory of this gentle hero-martyr should be preserved and revered.  May God bless you.

In 2019, in honor of Veteran’s Day, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and our Order’s new Delegate General for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation – Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. published a reflection on the Seraphicum’s website entitled
“A Song of Hopefulness for Veterans & Members of the Armed Forces.”
Look back on his reflection, as we celebrate Veteran’s Day 2021.
Within the reflections he included this stanza from the “Navy Hymn” added in 1969/70:
Creator, Father, who first breathed
In us the life that we received,
By power of thy breath restore
The ill, and men with wounds of war.
Bless those who give their healing care,
That life and laughter all may share.

There are a number of other friars of our province who are also veterans, including Br. Douglas McMillan, OFM Conv. (in residence, spiritually contributing to events and presentations at The Shrine of St. Anthony, Ellicott City, MD), Fr. Curt Kreml, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar – St. Lucie Catholic Church, Port St. Lucie, FL), Fr. Anthony Francis Spilka, OFM Conv. (Pastor – St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Johnstown, PA), Br. Dennis Sokolowski, OFM Conv. (in residence at the Our Lady of the Angels Care Center, Enfield, CT), Br. Lawrence LaFlame, OFM Conv. (Instructor – Archbishop Curley High School, Baltimore, MD), and pictured here – Fr. Andy Santamauro, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar – Archdiocese of Baltimore Pastorate including St. Casimir Church and St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church.
Many of our friars have served and continue to serve in the Armed Forces. A veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, Fr. Santo Cricchio, OFM Conv. is in the Reserves and currently provinces counseling services for the Jonesboro, GA area through an office in our pastoral ministry of St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church.
Meeting Sister Death this year, on 4/6/2021, Vietnam War Veteran (where he was known as Corporal Kenneth Lucas of the US Marine Corp), +Br. Ken Lucas, OFM Conv. stayed involved in Veteran Affairs as long as he was physically able, as he stated in his Spiritual Testament posted on this site on November 5, 2019.

A great vocation moment happened on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, as friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv. a Post-Novitiate student friar of our province who is in studies at The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC) was chosen by CatholicU Theology and Religious Studies as their  #STRS student feature spotlight. It was not only the Feast Day of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, on November 9th, but it is also National Vocation Awareness Week.

Please continue to keep in prayer – new vocations for the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, friar Raad, all of our friars in formation, and their formation directors. Also please remember to pray for all of the Solemnly Professed friars of our province and our Order around the world, that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirit.

For more information on vocations and #nationalvocationawarenessweek,
email our Province Vocation Director, Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. at vocations@olaprovince.org.

More on Vocations:

Kicking off National Vocations Awareness Week, Fr. Michael Martin, OFM Conv. – Director of Campus Ministry for Duke Catholic Center welcomed Sister Mary Elizabeth Endee – Vocations Director of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist and our own Province Vocation Director – Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. to speak at Mass on Sunday, November 7, 2021.

Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv.

60th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood
Anniversary Mass
Sunday, November 7, 2021
St. Paul Church, Kensington, CT
12:00pm
Informal Reception
Saint Paul School Gym

A large group of Franciscan Friars Conventual, Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, St. Paul Church Parishioners, family and friends gathered on Sunday, November 7, 2021 for a special Mass in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Ordination to the Priesthood of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv.
Friar Raymond has served in pastoral ministry at St. Paul Church since 2010, but his 67 years as a Franciscan Friar Conventual included years of study in the USA and Italy, followed by service in varied ministries including education, vocation, formation, pastoral and missionary sites. In the November 7th parish bulletin, Fr. Joseph Benicewicz, OFM Conv. (Pastor) stated: “Fr. Raymond has served the Franciscans and the Church in so many ways over the years. He often has a smile on his face and is ready to share a story or a memory that is often accompanied by one of his hearty laughs!! His Franciscan spirit is alive and well 67 years after his profession of vows.” This was a great way to begin National Vocation Awareness Week. Friar Raymond was the main celebrant for his Anniversary Mass, with several of his confreres on hand to concelebrate, including our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. who delivered the homily.
Friars in attendance: Fr. Joseph Benicewicz, OFM Conv. (Pastor of St. Paul Church), Fr. Michael Englert, OFM Conv. (Parochial vicar of St. Paul Church), Fr. Mark Curseky, OFM Conv. (Pastor of St. John Catholic Church), Fr. Piotr Tymko, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar of St. Paul Church), Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. (Province Secretary, Director of The Shrine of St. Anthony, Spiritual Director of the Companions of St. Anthony), Br. Vincent Vivian, OFM Conv., Fr. Mitchell Sawicki, OFM Conv. (Chaplain for Our Lady of the Angels Care Center), Fr. Charles Jagodzinski, OFM Conv. and Fr. Mieczyslaw Wilk, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr).

Friar Joe reminisced about his entrance in the Order during Friar Raymond’s tenure as Vocations Director. Read More

Several members of Friar Raymond’s family were able to join in the celebration.

Friar Raymond with some of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist who were in attendance. He serves as confessor at their Generalate and Motherhouse in Meriden, Connecticut.

Friar Raymond with present Mother General of the Sisters – Mother Miriam Seiferman and Co-Founder & Former Mother General – Mother Shaun Vergauwen (seated) – and with Sister Raffaella Petrini, whom Pope Francis has recently appointed Secretary-General of Vatican City, the highest-level post ever held by a Religious Sister

Three former Vocation Directors: Fr. Vincent Gluck, OFM Conv., Friar Raymond, and Fr. Martin Kobos, OFM Conv.

SLIDESHOW

SISTERS SERENADE

Our current Vocation Director is Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv.
He can be reached at vocations@olaprovince.org.

November 8: Bl. John Duns Scotus anticipates a Culture of Encounter
32^nd Wk B; Wis 1:1-7; Lk 17:1-6;
Theme: Love justice, you who judge the earth;
seek the Lord in integrity of heart”
(Wis 1: 1);
Subtheme: “Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
If he wrongs you seven times and returns saying I am sorry, forgive him”
(Lk 17).

Love justice (Wis 1:1)! “Create processes of encounter, processes that build a people that can accept differences,” exhorts Pope Francis. “Even people who can be considered questionable on account of their errors have something to offer which must not be overlooked”. “Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue! Let us teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!”[1]
Hardly known is the Franciscan Bl. John Duns Scotus,[2] born in 1265, who anticipated the culture of encounter with his political thought centering on the importance of the community. The origin of government and obligation of members made an implicit agreement to cooperate together for social benefits. Protecting collective freedom and each other from harm requires a social agreement. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau in the 16^th 17^th and 18^th centuries offered theories of the social contract. Duns Scotus anticipated their versions in the early 14^th century by centering on Christ.
Americans understand the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in perfect continuity. Recently, the Honorable Judge Clarence Thomas reminded students at the University of Notre Dame[3] that the word slave was never used in the Declaration. He believed the founders were ashamed of owning slaves. Rather, the Declaration said the equality of all men (and women) has always been present. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and to our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Who knew Duns Scotus would anticipate our founders? In 1803 the slave trade was outlawed in England and slavery in America in 1863. The echo of Duns Scotus is in the Declaration of Independence. Pope Francis’ call for the formation of a culture of encounter echoes Duns Scotus.
Pope Francis recognizes the need for regeneration by a culture of encounter that builds social peace. No turbulent seas, or truth appearing in freefall, or lies claiming headlines, dash Pope Francis’ aspiration for a world to be passionate about meeting others, building bridges and inclusive of everyone in a culture of encounter. He challenges the faithful to learn about, teach, and live by the principle of encounter, to let it become deeply imbedded by creating processes of encounter. His constant hope is that social peace come from a culture of encounter. Social peace is possible, fitting, and by the gift of grace, realizable. A rich resource is the thought of Bl. Duns Scotus who is true to the theological activity of love, forgiveness and solidarity generated by St. Bonaventure and rooted in St. Francis.
To build a culture of encounter cannot force the language of separate eras as pre-modern or modern or post-Christian which bear their own meaning. Reputable research makes the case for the claim to identify in truth what are unjust and narrow criticisms and accusations of error. Distinction of terms from an early age cannot be imposed upon a later age. Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, O.F.M.Conv. is diagnostic and prophetic in balancing differences in language used in separate eras. He distinguishes terms[4] without loss that Christ is the measure and Spirit the power in every age.
One Scotistic term, for example, perplexes many teachers who dare to engage. Duns Scotus devised the concept, “univocity of being,” (as contrasted with “analogy of being”) to give a more exact teaching than Bonaventure on the theory of divine illumination.[5] All other concepts reflect this first concept but univocity itself does not reflect them. Univocity has a logical form but its content transcends the logical and provides a point of unity for all other concepts. Duns Scotus demonstrates that analogy cannot explain the differences of beings. Being is what is, not what is coming to be or experienced.
Univocity of being is more exact than divine illumination, natural and supernatural, which is divine enlightenment making possible a created intellect as a created nature. According to Bonaventure, this divine illumination is provided to every rational creature. The making possible of the knowledge of the supernatural or divine realities is a special supernatural gift of divine grace known as faith. Faith is given to those who desire it and not given to those who refuse or deny that faith.
Bonaventure[6] is concise. “To be perfect, all intellectual activities have to be relinquished and the most profound affection inflamed and transported into God. No one knows this mystical secret, except the one who receives it and the one who desires it. No one desires it except the one who is penetrated to the marrow by the fire of the Holy Spirit, Whom Christ sent into the world. That is why the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom (or secret)[7] is revealed by the Holy Spirit (I Cor 2:10). God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
Peter Damian Fehlner’s contemporary theological method aligns with the culture of encounter which Pope Francis dreams. I find Fehlner’s studies of the Mariology of Duns Scotus and its implications for Catholic theology, thought, and forms of practice today, aligns with Pope Francis’ culture of encounter. Fehlner narrates the saving message of Christ and the Apostles with absolute fidelity to the mind of the One Teacher of all, Christ Jesus as it has been communicated to us in the living, uninterrupted Tradition of the Church. His genius is to explain how the Church’s Tradition was cultivated in the theology and philosophy which Franciscans identify as the Scotistic tradition.
To Pope St. Paul VI: “the intellectual treasury of (Bl.)[8] John Duns Scotus can be a source of effective instruments with which to combat the darkness of the pervading era. Paul VI saw the theoretical and practical denial of God are nothing but the fruit of idolatrous illusions arising out of arrogant boasting about merely human ways of thinking (n. 11). Sacred theology in Paul VI’s writings relies on the written Word of God, taken together with sacred Tradition, as on a permanent foundation (DV 24). He fostered the study of the sacred page as “the very soul of sacred theology” (DV 24).
Paul VI knew that from antiquity, Gnostics’ terminology is rooted in pride to make oneself naturally like God and obscures the love of God. Gnostics pit Tradition against Scripture. Irenaeus became a bishop in 178 C.E and hammered the Gnostics by defending Scripture as the instrument of Tradition, the ground and pillar of faith. The Second Vatican Council aligns with Irenaeus’ reply to the Gnostics of old and to the Gnostic return in modernity, a model of Gnosticism that is vastly more sophisticated theoretically. Duns Scotus aligns with Irenaeus and Vatican II. There is much to be studied.
Let us love justice, seek the Lord in integrity of heart and build social peace with a culture of encounter. May we learn solidarity with John Duns Scotus, pray he be counted among the Saints, and imitated. Join Franciscans who believe that Bl. Duns Scotus is a saint and will be a Doctor of the Church.

__________________________________________

In Celebration of My Golden Jubilee Year of Priesthood, Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, O.F.M.Conv. eondrako@alumni.nd.edu

[1] Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, (Assisi, October 3, 2020), 217.
[2] A political science professor at Columbia University fully agreed with my reference to Duns Scotus.
[3] Hon. Judge Clarence Thomas, Toqueville Lecture, University of Notre Dame (16 September 2021).
[4] P. D. Fehlner, Theologian of Auschwitz (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, LLC, 2020), Glossary, 320 and 326.
[5] Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, volume 4. Fehlner employs analogy and univocity.
[6] Bonaventure, The Journey of the Mind to God, chapter 7, 4. Bonaventure wrote this mystical work at the place where St. Francis of Assisi had received the gift of the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ in September 1224.
[7] There is not a hint of Gnosticism in this Bonaventurian mystical secret.
[8] Paul VI, Alma Parens (14 July 1966), before Duns Scotus was beatified in 1993, is a Scotistic ecumenical vision.

Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
November 8, 2021

October 12-17, 2021: The Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF) gathered at the Mexican American Catholic College Center (MACC) in San Antonio, TX. Included at the meeting were several Our Lady of the Angels Province friars: our Minister Provincial – the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., our Province Delegation of St. Francis of Assisi (Canada) Provincial Delegate & Delegate to the M.I. – Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., Assistant General CFF – Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv., and our Province JPIC Province Commission Chairman & pastor in two of our PA pastoral ministries – Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. Curia’s Newspost

October 16-18, 2021: Friar James, joined several of our friars in celebrating the 50th Jubilee of Ordination for Fr. Conrad Salach, OFM Conv., at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, New Bedford, MA, where Friar Conrad serves as pastor.

October 21, 2021: Mass and Reception in Chancellor’s Residence at Syracuse University, where Our Lady of the Angels province friar – Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. serves as Campus Minister.  Each year, Chancellor/President Kent Syverud and his wife Dr. Ruth Chen host this university community event.

October 24, 2021: Many friars, parishioners, Oblate Sisters of Providence, and family members gathered at our pastoral ministry of St. Casimir Church, in Baltimore, MD to celebrate Brother Ed Handy, OFM Conv., and his 2021 60th Jubilee of Profession of Vows.

Fr. James has a few more friar visits in the Carolina’s to close out the month before he heads over to visit with our Province Custody in Great Britain/Ireland – The Greyfriars of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody.

“Rebuild My Church” by Friar Ed Ondrako, OFM Conv.: August 2nd, the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula, was the publication date for Ed’s newest book which features two detailed chapters each on the life of the late Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, OFM Conv.; on Bonaventure; on Duns Scotus; on Newman, and on Fr. Peter’s theological vision and why it matters.

The following introduction was presented on October 21st,
at the Hammes Notre Dame Book Store – Book Talk and Signing.

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My name is Cyril O’Regan, Huisking Professor of Theology, here at the University of Notre Dame. It is my pleasure to introduce Fr. Edward Ondrako, who will shortly have the stage to himself, and to say a few words about his new book, which Fr. Ondrako will speak to more fully.
Rebuild my Church is the reworking and expansion of a dissertation that Fr. Ed. Ondrako completed under my supervision at Notre Dame. Intentionally, it constitutes a homage to his teacher and mentor Fr. Peter Fehlner, or Fr. Peter Damian Mary Fehlner, which probably captures just about all the aspects of Fehlner’s writing and teaching on the Church, its substance, office, and mission. In particular, Rebuild my Church wishes on the basis of a diagnosis of the erosion, drift, and assimilation of the Church in and into a secular modernity, to propose with and after Fehlner the retrieval of the Franciscan School whose lynchpins in the medieval period are Bonaventure and Duns Scotus, are  developed in the modern period by Franciscan scholastics, and outside a direct causal line echoed by Newman, who in turn is echoed by Benedict XVI, though in his case he has direct access to the Franciscan tradition in his deep study of Bonaventure that constitutes his Habilitation (1958). But in line with the Franciscan genius that Christianity is first a form of life and only secondarily a form of thought, again after Fehlner Fr. Ondrako wants to insist upon the pivotal importance of the witness, and especially the witness of Saint Maximillian Kolbe who died at Auschwitz.
Above when speaking of Fr. Ondrako’s relation to Fr. Fehlner I used two prepositions for the price of one, that is, “with” as well as “after.” Fr. Ondrako knows as well as anyone that one does not do honor to a teacher by rote repetition. Rather, you honor the teacher by carrying forward what was opened up but not fully articulated. To speak in the language of tradition as tradio, the gift that is handed on exceeds what the hander-on offered on and sets the one who is gifted a task of developing as well as elucidating what is intended in what has been said. This is precisely what is happening in this rich text. If Fehlner’s major contribution lies in his ressourcement of Franciscan sources and the prophetic claim of their relevance for the renewal of the modern age and in the rebuilding of the Church, perhaps Fr. Ondrako has the keener sense of the evacuation of doctrines and practices effected by secular modern age and the drift of the Church towards the secular that makes retrieval so necessary. Without challenging Fehlner as the ultimate source of Fr. Ondrako’s inspiration, it might be said that Ondrako has plumbed deeper into Newman and Benedict XVI, for him the two prophets of both lamentation and jubilation in the modern period. This is a serious and learned book, but I also dare to suggest itself a prophetic one.
Congratulations to Fr. Ed for producing such a treasure. Since his energy is indefatigable and his passion without bounds, I suspect that we will be repeating today’s event of celebration and appreciation any number of times in the future.
Cyril O’Regan
Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology
University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters

Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
Recent Reflections:
Reflection by Fr. Ed Ondrako, OFM Conv. | Our Lady of the Angels Province, USA (olaprovince.org)
Reflection by Fr. Ed Ondrako, OFM Conv. | Our Lady of the Angels Province, USA (olaprovince.org)
Reflection by Fr. Ed Ondrako, OFM Conv. | Our Lady of the Angels Province, USA (olaprovince.org)

Throughout the Month of November, we are all called to continue to remember all those who have gone before us. Our varied Province ministries hold special Masses, prayer services, memorials and other events to remember the faithful served by the ministries, as well those who have been served through them. Photos and articles from many of our ministries, will be shared on our Province Facebook Page throughout the month, starting with the November 1st celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints and the November 2nd Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls).
Two more uniquely Franciscan memorial days will also be celebrated in November. November 5th is the Commemoration of All the Deceased of the Seraphic Order – Franciscan All Souls Day, when we pray for all Franciscans who have died, our family, friends, and benefactors. On November 29th we end the month in celebration of the Commemoration of All Saints of the Seraphic Order – Franciscan All Saints Day. Join us in prayer, entrusting cares and concerns to God. “The souls of the just are in peace.” “The one who believes in the Son of God has life everlasting.”

Five friars of our province met Sister Death over this past year:

Friar Augustine Pilatowski, OFM Conv. ~ January 24, 2021

Friar Vincent Lachendro, OFM Conv. ~ March 27, 2021

Friar Kenneth Lucas, OFM Conv. ~ April 6, 2021

Friar Michael Taylor, OFM Conv. ~ August 29, 2021

Friar Conrad Salach, OFM Conv. ~ October 30, 2021

Deceased Friars since Our Lady of the Angels Province was erected:

Fr. Peter Fehlner, OFM Conv. ~ 5/8/2018
Fr. David Stopyra, OFM Conv. ~7/1/2018
Fr. Emmett Carroll, OFM Conv. ~ 8/20/2018
Fr. Patrick Gallagher, OFM Conv. ~ 9/4/2018
Fr. Henry Madigan, OFM Conv. ~ 12/10/2018
Fr. Terence Pescatore, OFM Conv. ~ 12/17/2018
Fr. Marcel Sokalski, OFM Conv. ~ 1/2/2019
Fr. Joseph Grzybowski, OFM Conv. ~ 1/24/2019
Fr. Phillip Blaine, OFM Conv. ~ 2/5/2019
Fr. Canice Connors, OFM Conv. ~ 3/17/2019
Fr. Duane Mastrangelo, OFM Conv. ~ 3/22/2019
Br. David Suckling, OFM Conv. ~ 3/31/2019
Fr. Giles Van Wormer, OFM Conv. ~ 4/10/2019
Fr. Joseph Madden, OFM Conv. ~ 4/22/2019
Fr. Firmin Finn, OFM Conv. ~ 5/4/2019
Fr. Lucjan Krolikowski, OFM Conv. ~ 10/11/2019
Bishop Elias Manning, OFM Conv. ~ 10/13/2019
Rev. Antone Kandrac, OFM Conv. ~ 11/20/2019
Fr. Boniface Reinhart, OFM Conv. ~ 12/28/2019
Fr. Edward Costello, OFM Conv. ~ 2/18/2020
Fr. Brad Heckathorne, OFM Conv. ~ 7/11/2020
Fr. Alvin Somerville, OFM Conv. ~ 8/19/2020
Fr. Augustine Pilatowski, OFM Conv. ~ 1/24/2021
Fr. Vincent Lachendro, OFM Conv. ~ 3/27/2021
Br. Kenneth Lucas, OFM Conv. ~ 4/6/2021
Fr. Michael Taylor, OFM Conv. ~ 8/29/2021
Fr. Conrad Salach, OFM Conv. ~ 10/30/2021