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Published: 15 April 2019

Holy Week in 3 Minutes

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Published: 08 April 2019

Be not afraid...

Be not afraid! 
Read this article ...
... and be not afraid!

FACING THE FUTURE WITH HOPE AND JOY 
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. 
Pontifical College Josephinum, 3.27.19 

I’m glad to be here tonight for two reasons. First, I admire – greatly admire — the Josephinum and the men it produces. The Church needs you because we urgently need more good priests, men of prudence and charity, but also of spine and courage, who understand the changing terrain of our times. In my life, the priesthood has been a deep source of joy and purpose, the gift of knowing with certainty why God made me. But it’s not a life for the weak or the lukewarm. Especially now.

My second reason is this. Cardinal Pio Laghi was a mentor and friend who showed great kindness to me as a young bishop. When you’re a baby bishop, everything is new and a bit intimidating. Cardinal Laghi’s encouragement made a great difference in my life and ministry. He gave me my first zucchetto, pectoral cross, and mitre. I’ve never forgotten the debt I owe him. Delivering these remarks in his name is not just a pleasure, the pleasure of being with you, but also an honor. So let’s begin.

I chose tonight’s theme because it sounds better than “facing the future with confusion and anxiety,” and anger for that matter, because I’m tempted to feel all three of those things a couple of times a week. There are days when everyone in the Church seems angry. Laypeople and priests are angry with their bishops for the abuse scandal, which never seems to end. Bishops are angry with priests for their bad example. And many bishops are also frustrated – to put it gently — with Rome for its unwillingness to acknowledge the real nature and scope of the abuse problem. Clerical privilege is not the problem. Clericalism may be a factor in the sexual abuse of minors, but no parent I know – and I hear from a lot of them – sees that as the main issue. Not naming the real problem for what it is, a pattern of predatory homosexuality and a failure to weed that out from Church life, is an act of self-delusion.

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Published: 08 April 2019

Our OSsR Nuns - The Redemptoristines...

Life lived in God. Is God Calling you?

This is the question asked by our nuns in Dublin. They are an International Order of enclosed Nuns, who are actually our Redemptorist counterparts - praying all the time for the work we do and for the whole Church and the world.

Essentially we work together!

They have 2 postulants at the moment and 1 novice

• they are Irish, English and Indian!

Read more: Our OSsR Nuns - The Redemptoristines...

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Published: 08 April 2019

The Provincial writes...

6th April, 2019

Dear Confreres and friends,

Apologies for this monthly letter being late but as you may know I was in Rome attending a meeting of the leaders of all English-speaking groups of the Congregation. I was happy to meet up with Brother Benjamin and with Fr. Gideon Sidinga who is studying spirituality in Rome.

On my return, the OPC immediately began the second round of visits to the communities, and on their behalf I would like to thank you again for your welcome and for your openness and willingness to cooperate with us in attempting to continue to reinvigorate the Province.

We are hoping to publish the Nominations soon after Easter; but of course we still need to hear back from the local bishops in whose dioceses the proposed changes will take place.

At the meeting in Rome, the General Government presented us with the new Plan of Community Life which we hope to present to each of the communities in the coming weeks. As a sign of cooperation, Fr. Dan Baragry, the Provincial Superior of the Dublin Province and I have talked about the possibility of having this printed professionally and shared among the confreres. It will be part of the blueprint for our renewed way of living.

At the meeting, there was also a suggestion that the Provincial Councils of London, Dublin, St. Clements and MunichNienna meet during the summer to see in what manner we can continue to advance the restructuring process in the Congregation. As you can imagine, with a minimum of 12 people we are having a great challenge in finding suitable dates.

Read more: The Provincial writes April 2019

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Published: 22 March 2019

London Calling...

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Published: 19 March 2019

Who Can Be a Redemptorist?...

We are looking for men who:

* Practice the Catholic faith

* Can give themselves generously in service to God and His people

* Can live with others in community, collaborate on common projects, share their successes and failures, their joys and sorrows, and do ministry together as an apostolic community

* Can embrace the Redemptorist charism of preaching the Gospel to the most abandoned, especially the poor

* Are flexible and adaptable in the service of mission

* Can foster an intimate relationship with God through prayer, having a deep love for Christ in the holy Eucharist and a love for His Blessed Mother

* Can live a healthy and balanced lifestyle defined by the Redemptorist charism under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

* Are in good mental and physical health

* Are open to growth and development on an academic, spiritual, communal, ministerial, and personal human level

* Are between the ages of 18-45

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Published: 17 March 2019

Walking the Way of the Cross...this Lent...

I love You Jesus, my love above all things.

I repent with my whole heart for having offended you.

I will never offend you again.

Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will.

We adore You O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Read more: Walking the Way of the Cross...this Lent

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Published: 15 March 2019

Brand NEW - The Life of St Alphonsus...

Redemptorist Publications

Published on 31 Jul 2018

 

 

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Published: 15 March 2019

Fr Richard CSsR explains Redemptorist Publications...

A brief insight into the world of Christian publishing and the vital role of Redemptorist Publications among Catholic and Anglican communities. 

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Published: 15 March 2019

Fr Ed Hone in Luxembourg...

An interview with Fr Ed Hone CSsR was televised on Luxembourg TV and can be seen here Fr Ed speaks about the nature and mission of our English-speaking Catholic community here in Luxembourg. 

Fr. Ed Hone CSsR is chaplain to the English-speaking Catholic community in Luxembourg. 

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Published: 15 March 2019

Feast of St Clement Mary Hofbauer CSsR...

The 15th of March is the feast of St Clement Hofbauer, "Illustrious Propagator" of the Redemptorist Congregation and patron of the city of Vienna. Here is a short life from this month's Reality, written by Fr Dr Brendan McConvery CSsR, 

How Jan Dvořák became Clement Hofbauer is of a piece with his complex story. He was born in 1751 in the small town of Tasovice in what was then Moravia, and is today the Czech Republic, almost 200 kilometres from Prague. His father Pavel Dvořák, a butcher, changed the Slavic form of the family name to its German equivalent, Hofbauer. Both names mean the same, ‘farmer,’ but in Clement’s homeland, German and the local Slav dialect were used interchangeably. Switching from one language to another was to be a of the rest of Jan / Clement’s life. 

He was the ninth of twelve children. His father died when he was 6, and although Jan from his childhood felt the desire to become a priest, his family’s poverty meant he had to go to work early. After finishing his apprenticeship as a baker, he was employed by the Premonstratensian canons of Brück. He remained there until he was 24, when he tried to become a hermit. His hermit days did not last long, for the government soon abolished all hermitages in the Habsburg Empire. Jan also had a passion for long-distance pilgrimages. He walked the 1,000 kilometres each way to Rome and back four times in his life. On the third occasion, he tried the hermit’s life again near Tivoli, about thirty miles from Rome, changing his name to Clement Mary in memory of the pope of that name. He stayed there only six months, for his desire for priesthood had not gone away, and he would be Clement for ever. He returned home to begin studies at the University of Vienna. When he had finished his philosophy course, disappointment struck again, for the Emperor forbade religious orders to accept new candidates.

Read more: Feast of St Clement Mary Hofbauer CSsR

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Published: 14 March 2019

 

Prophetic Witness: Standing with the Abandoned is a CommonHome.tv documentary filmed and edited by Matthew Howard with the support of Redemptorists throughout the Philippines. CommonHome.tv is an initiative of the Redemptorists of Oceania.

Throughout the world, the Redemptorists are called to be Prophetic Witnesses. While cultural contexts may change, the principle remains the same; defend the dignity of the human person. In the Philippines, this has meant standing with the poor and standing up to dictators.

“Brother Jun is hoping that enough people will see what he has seen, that they will be moved to say and to act in such a way that we don’t permit this kind of vigilantism, this kind of injustice, this extrajudicial killing to take place”

– Fr Michael Brehl, Redemptorist Superior General.

Prophetic Witness ~ standing with the abandoned follows Brother Ciriaco ‘Jun’ Santiago through the dark streets of Manila as he exposes the reality of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. Through photography, the extent and brutality of those murdered by means of extrajudicial killings are revealed. Follow Jun and Redemptorist communities throughout the Philippines as they systematise their response to the killings, and provide support for the living victims.

Prophetic Witness: Standing with the Abandoned

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Published: 14 March 2019

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“To preach the Gospel ever anew”

March 15, 2019

Dear Confreres, Sisters, associates, and friends,

As we approach the Mid-Sexennial Meetings, and the approval of the Apostolic and Restructuring Plans of each Conference, the story of St. Clement Hofbauer offers us great hope and remarkable insights into the ways in which God calls people to share in the missionary vocation of our Congregation.

Clement Hofbauer was almost 33 years of age when he was accepted into the Redemptorist novitiate, along with his friend Thaddeus Hübl. Although he had a strong sense of vocation to the missionary life and to the priesthood, various obstacles kept disappointing his hopes of realizing this dream. Nevertheless, Clement did not stop searching for a way to respond to what he experienced as the call of God. He studied theology in Vienna, spent time as a hermit and catechist in Tivoli, read spiritual books (including some works by Alphonsus Liguori), developed a deep prayer life, and went on a pilgrimage to Rome. In Rome, he met the Redemptorist Missionaries working in the church of San Giuliano and requested admission to the Congregation.

Read more: Message of Fr. General CSsR for the Feast of St. Clement Hofbauer, CSsR