Habit vs Custom vs Tradition

I am happy to report the Angelus was indeed recited before today's community Mass at 11:30 at the Center. If this does successfully evolve into a custom and then a tradition (that is, something done around Maryknoll more than three times in a row), this most excellent reminder of the Incarnation and devotion to Our Lady may rekindle the smoldering embers of our quickly fading spirituality.

And not a moment too soon. In an earlier post I already kvetched about priests who sat in street clothes amidst the congregants and then raised a hand during the consecration under the mistaken impression they were concelebrating, in violation of two distinct liturgical rules.

Now I focus my crosshairs on those who vest for concelebration and think that's all that is required of them. Um, no.

Nothing is more distracting during a liturgy than concelebrants who don't realize they are now "on stage" and can be clearly seen by everyone. Liturgical and prayerful "presence" require more than the minimal sitting and standing at the correct time.

As a graduate of the same high school alma mater as Isador Danielovitch, a.k.a. Isador Dempsky, a.k.a. Kirk Douglas, I know from stage presence, especially for extras, i.e. actors not in lead roles. Every gesture, every glance must add to the scene or it will diminish and distract. In recent liturgies the body language of some concelebrants bordered on disrespectful.

One maintained the classic "padrone stance" (hands behind his back) throughout the entire Mass, while he checked out various people in the congregation. News flash: we can see you. What's more, we can see exactly what and whom you are looking at. Cut it out!

Another kept his arms crossed in front of his chest. This is the classic self-defense pose, nonverbally seeking protection ( lest the Word of God upset you?)

Some held onto the hymnal for security even when no hymn was imminent.

Many maintained a minimalist pose: hands folded but lowered, as if praying apologetically.

Now to their credit, those concelebrants who do maintain a respectful prayer stance all seem to be from Asia. (But I could be prejudiced). To dissect further: the most prayerful stance seems to be of guys from Japan, Taiwan and Korea in that order. (Demerits to two old Korea hands, however, whose posture indicated boredom or a desire to be elsewhere.)

A suggestion: if you are that uncomfortable or embarrassed to be seen praying in public then do not concelebrate.

I just returned from Istanbul where, let me tell you, Muslims know how to pray with their bodies. I have seen Buddhists---and Maryknollers---express reverence during prayer in a Buddhist temple. Pictures in Maryknoll magazine of people at prayer leave no doubt what they are doing. A snapshot of Maryknoll concelebrants would leave most people scratching their heads.

If the Eucharist is our central prayer and if we are privileged to concelebrate, shouldn't our bodily posture reinforce this? How can we proclaim the Incarnation yet be reluctant to pray with our bodies? But will it take more than the recitation of the Angelus and this petulant post to whip us into shape liturgically????

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A sending forth

US Regional Father Mike Duggan leads the congregation in blessing the winners of the 2010 Explore My Mission contest sponsored by our vocation department.

Katherine Dzida of Costa Mesa, CA and Daniel Wozniczka of Chicago won this years competition in which they submitted three-minute videos of their ministry. These and other entries can be viewed at www.2010exploremymission.org

For winning, today, June 30, they and Fr. Dennis Moorman leave for a mission visit to Tanzania. Francisco Suarez (seen above in left corner) and Karen Cooper from Maryknoll Media Production will document the entire trip.

The 99th Foundation Day Mass was a joyous event, beginning with the recitation of the Angelus. (Y'all got the email, right?) Whether this becomes a tradition remains to be seen.

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Storm before the quiet

A storm with sudden hurricane-strength winds and possibly a tornado slipped past Maryknoll yesterday afternoon with only a 20-minute downpour and then slammed full force into Bridgeport, Conn., causing considerable damage.

The Korean Perpetual Help Sisters were enjoying some ice-cream in our dining room when the heavens opened. While this postponed by a few minutes their planned visit to the grave of their founder, Msgr. John Morris, the respite afforded them time to peruse the photo albums of Fr. Ray Sullivan, who regaled the Sisters with stories and treated them to chose a souvenir from our Gift Shop.

We dodged a weather bullet and the rain broke the humidity for now.

On again, off again and on again local Korea superior Fr. Gerry Hammond and I had time to catch up over breakfast, reminisce about back in the day when as a Peace Corps volunteer I spent six months at his place in Su Dong. We also chatted about the situation up North ( and I don't mean Canada) on this, the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. Gerry is here for his 50th. Ad multos annos!

Fr. Rich Augustin, here for his 25th from Korea, brought encouraging news about how our men in the Seoul house draw topics for breakfast table conversation from Knollnews. (Hi guys!) I apologize to all my faithful readers for the two-week hiatus whilst I was galavanting around Greece and Turkey the first two weeks in June. Had I known you guys actually read my ramblings, I'd have been more conscientious in posting.

Even when nothing noteworthy is going on here, I can always rant about liturgy, the tower bells, the hierarchy, the lowerarchy, vocations and cassocks, so I promise to do better. If you never want to be mentioned by name on this blog, my P/A number is 1846

Would you believe SEVEN TENTS?

The quadrangle filled with large and small tents and connecting canopies begs the question: where are the clowns? (In the trade this is known as a "soft-ball pitch".)

June visitors

Several Perpetual Help Sisters are visiting Maryknoll today from Korea. They will start at the MK Sisters Motherhouse for a tour and lunch. After that, Yours Truly has been asked to show them around the Knoll and then take them for prayers at the grave of Fr. John Morris.

As happens every June, the Center has filled up with visiting Maryknollers,  jubilarians and guests. This weekend things get REALLY crazy when 800+ guests are expected. 

The housekeeping and physical plant people have been hard at work getting everything ready, especially setting up tables and chairs under the SEVEN tents that are needed to work around the emergency access paths. The Lady Chapel and Spellman Room too have been reconfigured with seats and TV monitors to focus attention on the main Chapel.

And last but not least a word of praise for our Sodexo Food Service who go the extra mile to accommodate this sudden influx of meal guests.  

Maryknoll very intense

Four smaller tents have been erected for next week's jubilee
celebration. Because of the newly installed emergency access paths,
the tents had to go up to the side and back of the OLOM kiosk and
departure bell. Grass above the access paths has failed to thrive,
despite extra watering. Not to worry. After seven days under these
tents, our entire quadrangle will be brown and dry.

Re-interment for Br. Tom McCann

Maryknoll Brothers, Sisters, Fathers and Lay Missioners gather for the
graveside service of Maryknoll's first Brother whose remains were
moved from Los Angeles.

A Brother comes home

The remains of Br. Thomas McCann, the first Maryknoll Brother, who passed away in 1922 and had been buried in Los Angeles, will be re-interred at Maryknoll, N.Y. on Friday, June 18th, following a special Mass.

A place of honor will be afforded Brother Thomas under the Celtic Cross at the entrance to the upper cemetery. The cross once stood atop the Old Farmhouse that served as the Brothers Formation House back in the day. Br. Thomas joined the Auxiliary Brothers of St. Michael in 1912 and later worked at the Japanese mission in Los Angeles.

This translation and re-internment of Brother Thomas's earthly remains mark the unofficial countdown to the centenary celebration for the Maryknoll Brothers as well as the culmination of efforts going back several years.

"We didn't want to move the body here just for the sake of moving it," says Brother Kevin Dargan who has eagerly followed the process over the years. "There is precedence." Father Price's body was brought back from Hong Kong after the completion of the seminary building, Kevin said, and Mother Mary Joseph's body was moved from her original grave here at the Fathers and Brothers cemetery across the street to the Sisters once their cemetery was created.

Speaking of the Maryknoll Sisters, several shared stories of the old days when Br. Thomas would pull up to the loading stone (that huge, flat piece of granite behind the Price Building used to assist riders in getting in and out of horse-drawn carriages) to transport Sisters to and from the convent and Ossining.

Superior General Father Ed Dougherty will be the main celebrant at the special Mass with Br. Kevin Dargan reading the biography and Br. Wayne Fitzpatrick offering what would normally be called a homily if he were a priest but must be called a reflection because he is not. Brothers will also act as honorary pall bearers.  The difference between an honorary pall bearer and an ordinary pall bearer is that too many declined to volunteer if any heavy lifting was involved.

With this, we unofficially declare our Centenary celebration open!           

The Daily Show

This just in from Father Joe LaMar:

Just an advisory that our segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will most likely run TODAY at 6/17 at 11:00 PM on Comedy Central.

For you'se folks who are not aware, I, Joe La Mar, with Cathy Rowan, Seamus Finn and Barbara Aires will be featured for our activities in challenging the banks on financial issues. The program was taped just prior to and immediately after the Goldman Sachs shareholders' meeting.

They took 4.5 hours of taping and had to squeeze it into 3 to 5 minutes of show time.

Here is our notice of the program coming on, hopefully, this Thursday.

Joe La Mar

The Centenary Committee Report

Father Bob Jalbert, head of MEPD, showed a PowerPoint presentation starting with a quote from the 12th General Chapter. He told us we need to mindful of other celebrations: 40 Years for Orbis in 2010, 35 for the lay missioners as well as 100 for the Sisters in 2012.

In broad strokes, here is what's planned next year.

In January 2011 a Mass will open the Jubilee Year
In February we will co-sponsor a mission trip overseas for PMUSA diocesan directors.
In April Father Dougherty will address the PMUSA Diocesan Directors
The May MISAL meeting is postponed to October
June 1-4 missiologists will lead us in reflections on new directions in mission.
September ALUMNAE WELCOME HOME will have two keynote addresses.
OCTOBER 6-8 mission symposium at CTU
October 30 Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral
November National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis. (Attracted 20,000 in 2009)
December formal closing liturgy

I noted in the Q & A that I noticed nothing was scheduled for our actual Foundation Day of June 29th, not even a cake. Bob said (yet another) committee will soon be formed. I offered a suggestion we as Maryknollers recite the Angelus every noon from June 29, 2010 to June 29, 2011. It would cost us no money, is incarnational, and focuses on the BVM. And it just may rekindle the fires of our Maryknoll spirituality.

Throughout 2011 MEPD there will be sponsors events at Center and local events with the magazines and media

The Alumnae "Welcome Home" weekend will have two keynote addresses
*Facing 21st century of mission
*Missio Dei and other breakthroughs

Plus ecology, spirituality, prophetic witness and social justice issues will be addressed.

For the symposium in Chicago there will be one of two topics: "To the Peoples: Maryknoll, the Church and future of mission"
Or "The church in mission: affirming the past, charting the future."

The goal is to reach as large an audience as possible with these programs.
Exam the trends impacting mission today.

Our four mission centers around the U.S. will contact their dioceses to organize events to commemorate our 100th. Various Benefactors Appreciation Days are planned.

Regions overseas: Africa will have a regional retreat with Mr. Robert Ellsberg giving talks on our Founders. There will be symposia in Nairobi in April.
In June a gathering of Africa bishops will focus on the Maryknoll presence.

In Asia Society Members will gather at Stanley for events and then make a pilgrimage to China. There will also be an All-Asia Society assembly

Latin America will celebrate in Cochabomba.

There will four books by Orbis for our centenary and both magazines will commemorate our 100th.

We will try to foster a spirit of collaboration and closer partnership with the other Maryknoll entities.

Between 2011-2012 there will be four reflection days and retreats with the Fathers & Brothers and Sisters.

There will be an event in Washington, D.C. With the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns.

Eight committees are humming away as we speak.

Various and sundry other proposals have been received from the membership and are under consideration. These will all be made accessible and communicated to the membership via very high tech media.

A Logo expressing "The Gift of Mission" has been designed by the art department. It met with mixed results.

Bob ended with a quote for Fr. Patrick Byrne's departure in 1923 about the seed dying etc.

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Sex scandal

(There. did I get your attention?)

Dr. Claudia Koblenz-Sulkov, clinical pyschologist in our OSP, addressed the assembly about the on-going Praesidium program for dealing with the clergy child abuse crisis.

She pointed out that the past two years have shown the crisis is not limited to the United States. The good news is that since they began collecting data in 2004 there have been NO new accusations of abuse against minors by clergy in the United States. The number of offenders and the cost have also decreased.

She then gave various statistics of outcomes of allegations, removal or return to ministry after investigation, and the amount spent on all theses cases.

Abuse victims and families are now getting compassionate and financial support.
What have we learned? The injury to the victims is greater than we had ever imagined. Easy answers are not valid. Catholics have been hurt by the moral failings of their priest but more outraged by the inaction or mishandling by the bishops. We need to stop circling the wagons in defense of the indefensible. We've learned a lot about the denial and self-deception by abusers who expressed a deep concern for the welfare of the children they abused. We, the Church, continue to suffer the effects of this betrayal of trust.

Fr. John Moran then gave the bad news. The media have given extensive coverage of the worldwide problem of abuse and by mishandling by even Cardinal Ratzinger. The problem is pervasive.

In Dublin, sexual abuse was reported by half of the witnesses: rape, voyeurism and other violations. These people reported abuse by clergy, teachers, lay volunteers and many who had isolated access to children on camping trips, sports events etc.

The hypocrisy of bishops who preach so forcefully against other sins of a sexual nature but who remained shamefully silent in the face of systemic clergy abuse remains the gaping wound of our Church.

John paraphrased the pope's statement at Fatima that the greatest suffering and persecutions come from sin within the Church. John told us to brace ourselves to a new wave of criticism here in the Stares as a movie is erased chronicling the way the seculars media (Washington Post and Boston Globe) exposed this ugly secret and forced the bishops and Church in the U.S. to acknowledge and address this issue.

They then showed us a DVD of heart-wrenching testimony by victims and witnesses, both men and women whose faith, not just in the Church but in God, was shaken or destroyed.

John asked what do we, as Maryknollers whose mission is conversion--of institutions no less than individuals--do to address this pressing issue in our Society, Church, nation and world.

Clericalism, privilege and entitlement foster this unhealthy environment in our Church.

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Father General

Father General Ed Dougherty gave his State of the Society talk this morning session of the U.S. regional Assembly.

He introduced the new world area leadership, whose superiors will gather for the ELB next month.

He called for "all hands on deck" for next years' centenary celebration over and beyond what the committee has planned, which Bob Jalbert will tell us about later.

Dougherty gave us an update on the causes (for canonization) for the founders. Bishop Walsh's cause will be taken up by New York and he expected Fr. Price's cause to be taken up by North Carolina with the blessing of their priests' council.

Shawn Crumb and Philip Yang will take their first oath later today. Lam Hua will renew his temporary oath and Rodrigo Ulloa will take his permanent oath to the Society. At 28 years of age, Rodrigo's entry into our ranks as a permanent member will no doubt lower our median age (from 75.9 years to 74.2).

Dougherty then gave a VERY brief version of our finances, basically saying the budget remains the same for next year.

Some "hiccups" in providing needed healthcare for our members in the past year will be fixed, Doc said. (One hopes by doing more than holding our breath and then drinking water.)

Doc then quoted an essay from Fr. Jim Kroeger some years back that whatever we do, we should do "with a missionary heart."

Doc referred to Fr. Finch and Fr. Sivalon wanting to see this place as "Mission Center" even though it will continue to be a place of retirement and assisted living.

Maryknoll Magazine and Revista will be cut down to six issues a year. How this will impact the successful and effective school bulk program spearheaded by Managing Editor Ms. Marge Gaughan remains to be seen.

At the behest of the bishops, Maryknoll will sponsor two Vietnamese seminarians who will study English and then attend maybe attend Mundelein seminary.

Fr. Emile Dumas was once again welcomed back to the Center as he assumes his new role as the Pastoral Coordinator of St. Theresa's.

Some stateside positions are opening up for any member who might be interested. He noted specifically media relations, from which Ms. Betsey Guest is retiring at the end of next month.

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Regional Assembly Day 2

Men in formation and all members at the Center and St. T's were
invited to attend and participate in this session.

Tuesday's focus on vocations

A Culture of Vocations

Today's session was directed by the Vocation Team (Fr. Dennis Moorman, Fr. Dave LaBuda, Br. Tim Raible, Deacon Steve DeMartino).

Dennis started by explaining the three responsibilities of the vocations office are to accompany prospects, the associate priest and brothers program and the short-term mission volunteer program.

Maretta McKenna not present) is the point person for the short-term volunteer program.

Vocation Office does outreach, accompanies men, visits prospects' homes, runs Come and See programs, retreats.

Forty inquiries month come in, mostly through the Internet.

The CARA study of 2009 said that if you look at formation programs over the last ten years there has been no significant change in numbers. Last year religious communities saw a 4% increase.

Twenty percent of religious communities who have one or more men in formation have five or more. By comparison we are in the top 20%.

Are young guys attracted to a community with so many older members? The answer seems to be age is not as important as enthusiasm and an active prayer life.

A study was done by National Religious Vocations Conference was presented by Dave LaBuda to address the issue of what attracts men to religious life.
* Those that follow a traditional style of religious life
* Members that live together in community, participate in daily Eucharist, Divine Office, and engage in devotional practices together.
* Members wear habits, work together in common apostolates and are explicit in their support for the Church and the Magesterium.

In the month of May we have 382 hits on our new vocation website, most from overseas.

In January they will sponsor a mission immersion trip to Petén, Guatemala where participants pay their travel

The Holy Week retreat will be held here at the Center next year

In May a "Come and See" weekend at the MM Formation House in Chicago.

The goals are to provide a cycle of activities to expose prospects to the membership and ministries of Maryknollers.

Reflection on Maryknoll's mission identity was focused on our prayer, liturgy, mission charisms, reflection on Maryknoll as a mission community.

The Vocations team's concrete priorities: pray, invite, accompany, experience and mentor.

To view a new mission video shown to the assembly, see: http://
www.maryknollvocations.com/bednarczyk.htm

There is a Maryknoll Youtube video (that we cannot view at the Center because it is blocked but don't get me started...) that has had more than 1,000 hits without being advertised.

Discussion focused on these questions: 1) Do we want vocations to the Maryknoll Society?
2) What am I willing to do to promote vocations? 3) What are we as a Society willing to do to promote vocations?

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After the break...

Fr Ray Nobiletti then shared an incident while concelebrating Mass with Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros at Huntington seminary in Queens. The bishop recounted the feeling of humility he experienced in that same chapel years before when he prostrated himself before that same altar when he was ordained.

This comment caused Ray to reflect on his own ordination when there was no feeling of humility but rather how now he was a missionary priest sent to set the world on fire. He went to Hong Kong and was still in language school when circumstances at a local parish necessitated his becoming pastor. His first funeral Mass caused panic. He wasn't fluent in Cantonese; he wasn't sure of his theology of death and resurrection. He wanted to back out. A Maryknoll Sister brought him back to reality.

"Ray, they are not interested in your theology," she said. "They want you, their pastor, to be with them in their sorrow. You will say that Mass." Then as a parting shot she added, "And your Cantonese stinks."

He came to realize it's not what we say but what we represent that is important. Ray had so much time on leaning language, liturgy, the "mechanics" of priesthood without concentrating on cultivating those pastoral skills that enabled him to be more present to the people.

Humility, according to Ray, is built into a mission vocation. Going to a different culture and learning a new language should be humbling. Our foreign mission charisms may not always be understood or appreciated by others.

The priesthood has changed; the brotherhood has changed; and mission has changed.

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Afternoon session

This afternoon Larry Lewis presented a talk on renewal. We talk about it because our centenary is approaching. People also talk about renewal in times of crisis and we are in crisis. We have a lot to worry about and a lot to celebrate. We have 432 members and our median age is 76. We face a crisis of numbers. We face our mortality. If we had large numbers coming in we wouldn't even be having this all-important conversation.

We always were fragile, we always were inefficient. The greatest spiritual threat of our time, according to Thomas Merton is not lack of prayer or charity, but "Efficiency".

We won't and can't go back to the past. We've strategized about reformation. We need now to talk about renewal from our position of fear and vulnerability. According to Lewis, "We can't be in a better place."

Like Peter, when we as a Society were young we went about freely, but now as we grow older God has taken us to places we do not want to go.

Without doing mission with an awareness of our vulnerability, without accepting this fragility, no matter how many churches or schools we build overseas, we arrogantly go about destroying hearts.*

Will we pretend everything is OK? Or will we openly embrace this diminishment in and through which true renewal lies?

Dare we wait for God? We can renew on a level we could never have before. This is a time of grace for us.

*Larry shared this quote from Noel O'Donoghue, OCD, from "Heaven in Ordinaire"
..."for the heart is made for God and the wild glory of God's love and all that means of divination and fulfillment. Or to put it another way: the human psyche has within it an immense energy of self-receiving, of loving and of being loved, of sacrifice and aspiration. And it is this challenge in the depths of himself the anti-mystic has to meet in confronting the mystic, and the only alternative to accepting its motivation is to destroy it utterly. And once I choose the way of the invulnerable heart there is hardly any limit to my self-righteousness and destructiveness. Even when I build churches and schools I am still in the business of destroying the heart."

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Live! From the U.S. Regional Assembly!

We opened with morning prayer taken from the breviary! (Not one tree was hugged, nor kumbaya sung.)

R.S. Mike Duggan gave a brief state of the region, which now has 68 members and is arguably the largest MK region. We have 83 members in residence here in the Center including retirees. Triennial visitations are already underway. Next year members with faculties in the NY archdiocese will need recertification through the Praesidium program (which exempts us from having to attend the otherwise mandatory gathering at Dunwoodie seminary next month.)

The overarching theme of the assembly is "Renewal in the context of being a Maryknoller."

Creation of a Mission Center here, long under discussion, will go forward facilitated by Frs. Dave LaBuda, Bill Boteler and Gerry Kelly. They have been visiting bishops around the country and see the Center as helping diocese and parishes around the country in twinning with places overseas.

Concern was raised by members that we are already behind the curve or may be duplicating efforts already underway by USCMA and Propaganda Fide. Several dioceses are already doing this. The men suggest we communicate with mission offices not just bishops. Global solidarity is already being promoted by groups like CRS and they would welcome us but don't want or need us to tell them what to do. We need to be humble in this, it was suggested, because we do have a good reputation in the mission field but we are no longer the only game in town.

Br. Wayne, first assistant, then gave a preview of what the "Open Space" dynamic will be later in the assembly on Thursday, to afford opportunities to raise and discuss topics of concern to men that have not be adequately addressed.

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House meeting

House meeting minutes for May 19, 2010

Twenty two of the 85 residents attended this last house meeting before the all-important US Regional Assembly which runs Monday evening through Thursday noon next week. A special Mass at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, will celebrate temporary oaths of seminarians who will be here following their retreat this week in New Jersey.

May 25, 26, 27 jubilees will be celebrated by 39 Maryknollers with some 800 guests expected.

On Thursday June 3 there will be the Employees Awards luncheon following a prayer service at 11:00.

June 7-18th the ELB (Extended Leadership Board) will meet.

On June 14th there will be a "Karibu Cafe" of African food and music during lunch.

Foundation Day as usual will be celebrated the weekend of June 29

Three years ago Michael Joncas, prominent Catholic composer ("On Eagles Wings"), agreed to compose a special Mass for our centenary. After much dialog, he has completed the "Missa ad Gentes" (subtitled: On the Centenary of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) and will cut a CD in a Chicago recording studio to be made available at the liturgical musicians convention this summer in Detroit. The music will also be included in the new hymnals published by GIA Sacred Music Publications and yes, it will be the new "improved" translation of the Mass.

Reminder of dress code especially in the dining room as the summer months approach: no cut-offs, short shorts, gym clothes, tank tops or hats.

Once again Br. Kevin Dargan pleaded with the men not to take periodicals out of the reading room especially NCR, but given the small attendance at the meeting it is likely the persons responsible might not get the message.

Food committee: There will be many groups coming through in May and June like the 150 postal workers who came through yesterday. This raises the question: Do we continue to welcome outside groups who have no connection to mission or religion or education?

This set off a lively discussion. Some said it helped get Maryknoll's name out. Others wondered what financial benefit was in it for Maryknoll, as our physical plant people are used to set up the extra tables and chairs. A more basic question was: Does Maryknoll have any say as to who comes in? The house committee will meet with Nancy Kleppel and Barbara Delph to review policy towards outside groups. A general feeling was that a Maryknoller should have input, if not the final say.

Large screen TV is gone from 4th Floor Rec Room after it was reported as out-of-order and supposedly unfixible. This is also an example of decisions being made without the knowledge or approval of a Maryknoller in charge.

For all this, the meeting only lasted 45 minutes.

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Needed: A new Maryknoll "mythiology"

A COLLOQUIEM OF MARYKNOLL MISSIOLOGISTS gathered again here at Mother Knoll this week, as they are wont to do from time to time, to theologize and come up with a paper or two on mission. Fathers John Gorski (Bolivia), Jim Kroeger (Philippines), Kevin Hanlon (USA) and Bill LaRousse (Philippines) have been hard at it since Monday but no word yet as to when and what we can expect from their deliberations.

In the meantime, I got to doing some musing of my own. When we held our annual May crowning a few weeks back, we prayed the prayer Bishop James E. composed to Our Lady of Maryknoll in which he asks the Blessed Mother's intercession for Maryknoll as we minister to "the poorest and most despised."

Would that this were true! This type of expression permeates many of Maryknoll's mission statements, documents and prayers and we blithely repeat it but, with literally only a handful of exceptions, simply is not the case. Oh, even I helped out a poor person from time to time when I was in Korea, but "the poorest and most despised" simply were not the emphasis nor purpose of my ministry.

Who are the most despised today? Well, at least in the Unites States and unfortunately in a growing number of countries around the world, without a doubt and with no competition, it would be pedophile priests, accused, convicted or just suspected. How many of us would even speak of them in sympathetic terms much less minister to them?

Ah, but there is a group that did, and without fanfare. Not ten miles north of us, the good Friars of the Atonement (Graymoor), back in 2002 when accused priests were being tossed out of rectories and had no place to turn, opened an entire wing of their friary to these "most despised." They discussed and voted as a community to offer hospitality, with strong restrictions, to these men until they could figure out where they might go and live.

Now, to be fair, Graymoor has experience dealing with men in recovery (or at best rehab) through St. Christopher's Inn. And we here at the Knoll have the logistical problem of Brookside Elementary School being right across the street.

But to my knowledge the question never even arose at a house meeting or regional assembly or general council meeting. One might argue that our focus is overseas mission, but I counter that our duty as missioners does not end just because we crossed the US border. Another unfortunate factor in recent years and especially since 2002, is the veto power lawyers and insurers have over our public activities, especially here in the States.

A Maryknoller could never be the Good Samaritan here because our lawyers and insurers would caution against getting involved and fellow Maryknollers would remind us we can only live the gospel overseas.

So we continue in our increasingly set ways, not permitting outside realities to disturb us, and content to repeat prayers about ministering to the poorest and most despised.

While I encourage our Maryknoll missiologists to come up with something new and inspiring in the realm of overseas evangelization, I see a chronic need for us to purge our prayers of pious platitudes and replace them with realistic and contemporary expressions of just what exactly it is we Maryknollers do. Or better yet, how about reflecting on the words of our founders as well as the giants in our Maryknoll pantheon: James E., Francis Ford, Considine and Nevin, and discuss what we can do—even here in the States and in our present aged condition—to make these a reality and make an effort to live up to our self-inflicted myths.

Now THERE'S something to commemorate our centennial!

Taking off our training wheels (The Ascension of the Lord)

One of the big moments in a child's life comes when she trades in her tricycle for a two-wheeler bike with training wheels. Soon enough the day arrives to remove even these. Self-confidence and independence come from experience, from trial and error, and above all from overcoming the fear of falling or failing. An anxious but proud parent's guiding hand helps maintain balance for awhile but then comes the moment of truth when the parent lets go and the child rides all on her own. "Mom! Dad! Look what I can do!" This small step on the road to maturity demands a willingness on the part of the parents to let go.

Among other things, the Ascension of Our Lord marks the removal of our spiritual training wheels. Unless we experience Jesus' absence, we will never grow up. Unless we learn to make our own mistakes and learn from them, we will not develop a sense of balance, compassion and justice. More importantly, unless Jesus leaves us we will never experience much less appreciate the power of God within us: the Holy Spirit.

That awkward time between the Ascension and Pentecost was necessary to remind the apostles---and us--that without God we can do nothing, but with God there is nothing we cannot do.

The Ascension also celebrates the holiness, not just of humanity but of all creation. When Jesus ascended into heaven he took his glorified human body with him. His human, albeit resurrected, body was made from the elements of the world around him. Even after rising from the dead, Jesus is recorded as having eaten bread and fish. In other words, God continues to interact with the material world of nature.

The Ascension of our Lord into heaven completes the mystery of the Incarnation when God became human. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Blessed Virgin Mary and she conceived Jesus, her humanity did not explode. You might say that humanity, created from the beginning in the image and likeness of God, was designed specifically to receive the Holy Spirit. Conversely, from all eternity God was prepared for the ultimate marriage between divinity and humanity which was consummated when Jesus ascended body and soul, humanity and divinity into heaven. The Trinity did not implode when he ascended with his human nature into the Godhead. This says as much about God as it does about us. Christmas celebrates God with us; The Ascension celebrates us with God.

Jesus came to earth to take away our sin, that is, our alienation, not just between humans and God but also between humans with one another and between all creation and our Creator. Through the incarnation and ascension of Jesus, all creation participates in the life of God. As such, we must be as deferential and respectful of creation as we are of the bread and wine that become the body and blood of Christ.

Church law mandates that the bread must be made of pure wheat flour with no yeast, that is, no corruption. The wine, too, must be made from grapes with no preservatives and at least 12 percent alcohol.

If we are so careful to safeguard the purity of the material that, through the words of consecration and the Holy Spirit, will become the Body and Blood of Christ, shouldn't we be equally careful of the elements of the world around us that participate in the reign of God and the new creation?

At the Ascension two angels appeared and asked, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand there staring into the sky?" Yes, Jesus has disappeared from our sight but he has not left us. What's more, we have a lot of work to do here on earth. People deserve to know the Good News of what Jesus has done for us. People are literally dying to know their sins are forgiven. People have a right to hear that Jesus saved the world.

If you truly believe Jesus has saved the world, now is the time for all people of faith and good will to do our part and save the earth.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is only the latest outrage against the environment. Our air is polluted, our rivers contaminated, our oceans dying, our rain forests disappearing. As disciples of Christ who believe God became human on this planet and who consecrated the earth by his presence, we have an obligation to clean up the various messes we humans have made.

We honor God when we take care of the world God made and gave us. We can still save our environment by being mindful of how we live on the earth and of our impact on it. And we can hold individuals as well as companies responsible and accountable for their actions. Let us do our part to clean up our world so one day we, too, as sons and daughters of God, can point with pride to our earth and pray, "Our Father in heaven, look what we can do!"

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