Holy visitors

We have been blessed this past week with a visit by two "real nuns." Sister Marie André and Sr. Marie St. Paul, Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, made a pilgrimage here from Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Arizona.

They are also blood sisters, whose father passed on to them a great devotion to Maryknoll and especially to our Founders. Knowing all kinds of arcane facts about Maryknoll, they can even put our resident Maryknoll historian, Br. Kevin Dargan, to shame (not an easy task.)

Kevin, who works in our library, has corresponded with the Sisters for many years and has sent books to their library. He invited them to visit Maryknoll.

The Sisters are very delightful to be around and talk with, on any variety of topics.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration were founded on December 8, 1854 by Fr. Bonaventure Heurlaut and Mother Marie St. Claire to "adore Our Eucharistic King" and spiritually support priests.

Their present superior is Mother Mary Angelica.

Maryknoll Turns 100

With trumpets, violins, timpani, organ, piano and a thirty-five-member choir, Ms. Lucille Naughton led a congregation of 400+ in singing "Non nobis, Domine, sed nomine tuo da gloriam " (Not to us, Lord, but to your name give glory) as 63 Maryknoll concelebrants processed in ahead of Superior General Ed Dougherty.

The two statues of SS. Peter and Paul on either side of our main altar sported huge red stoles, as is the custom in the Vatican on this day, according to Father Mike Walsh.

Sr. Janice McLaughlin, president of the Maryknoll Sisters, read the first reading for the solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Mr. Sam Stanton, from the Maryknoll Lay Missioner leadership, read the second reading and newly ordained Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry proclaimed the gospel.

Fr. Dougherty then gave a homily befitting a whole century of service. Despite feeling like 100 years, it was actually only twenty-eight minutes long (but who's counting?). Interestingly enough, "Doc" tapped into his inner Baptist preacher and had the congregation repeatedly respond with "Yes, we would!" to several incantations beginning "We would like to thank..." To wit, all Maryknollers, living and dead, all Maryknoll entities, Maryknoll affiliates, Maryknoll associates, Maryknoll benefactors, Maryknoll employees, and Maryknoll men in formation were all feted.

Towards the end of the Mass, County Executive Rob Asterino (cousin of Maryknoll Father Bob Asterino, Hong Kong) spoke a few words of congratulations and shared how as a boy he actually worked one summer in our social communications department. He declared Wednesday, June 29, 2011 as Maryknoll Appreciation Day in Westchester and formally presented "Doc" with the framed proclamation.

The entire ceremony not only was streamed live via Channel 15 to the men at St. Theresa's, but it was also videoed by former lay missioner Mr. Mike Lavery from the archdiocesan communications department.

After Mass the throng migrated out to the tent in the quadrangle where our Sodexo staff once again outdid themselves in presenting foods from around the mission world. Among our many guests were Gloria and Carl Price, relatives of our co-founder, Father Thomas Price. They did the honors of blowing out the candles on Maryknoll's birthday cake.

In a corner of the dining room, a huge screen showed a DVD prepared by Br. Kevin Dargan and Ms.Maureen Toohey of Channel 15 with vintage photos and Fr. Emile Dumas' voice reading the words of founder Bishop James A. Walsh.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the presence of about 12 very polite and pleasant protesters who stood outside with signs in support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois and women's ordination. Several Maryknollers went over and chatted with them and found them to be very sincere and dedicated. They also passed out a statement which I shall include in tomorrow's blog.

Today belongs to Maryknoll.

Brothers' Food for Thought

About forty Maryknollers and employees gathered in the Asia room over lunch to hear Br. John Blazo and Br. Alex Walsh speak of the charism and history of the Auxiliary Brothers of St. Michael, i.e. the Maryknoll Brothers. This was the second Food for Thought program held in conjunction with our Centenary celebration, the first being last January 24 on the Fathers.

John ran down a quick history of how the Brothers slowly developed from being strictly auxiliaries whose sole job was to help the "real" missioners (the priests) do their mission work to being missioners in their own right.

Brothers cooked, cleaned, did carpentry, physical plant and electrical work at various Maryknoll facilities around the country. Br. Alex Walsh, who celebrated his 50th anniversary last Sunday, took hotel management courses which soon made him an invaluable asset both here and in Latin America where bookkeeping and dietician planning were in great demand.

The growing prospects for World War II saw a suspension of Brother applicants, since they were (and are) technically not religious but rather a group of celibate laymen. Vatican II saw another moratorium of Brother candidates for about three years as the Society wanted to re-examin the Brothers' role in light of the changes following the Council.

Alex proudly pointed to the Amanacer program for street boys in Bolivia which the Brothers built up from scratch and successfully helped many youth to get an education and turn their lives around. Br. Dave McKenna and Br. Al Patrick were both instrumental in making Amanacer a success.

In the Q & A that followed, Ms. Marge Gaughan, managing editor of MARYKNOLL magazine, shared her story of interviewing Br. Gene Caspar, who worked in the Philippines. He said he got involved in peace and justice work after he noticed there were far too many children dying there due to poverty.

Fr. Dan Dolan paid tribute to the many Brothers whose service over the years built and maintained countless buildings here and overseas, even in China, thus saving the Society millions and making our mission work possible.

Ms. Linda Guerra from Treasury expressed gratitude for the many Brothers, such as Br. Don Miriani and Br. Adrian Mazuchowski, who have helped with our finances over the years.

Br. Kevin Dargan, who now works in our library, is Maryknoll's answer to Google, at least when Society history is concerned. He has compiled two volumes of research on the Maryknoll Brothers. Most recently, he has decorated our dining room with archival photographs of Maryknollers around the world over the years to commemorate our Centenary.

Fr. Dennis Moorman, formerly our vocation director, reports an upswing in inquiries into the Brothers by young men hoping to be missioners.

(I hope to upload pix shortly---the hard way. The problem still hasn't been fixed.)

A gathering of (gray and balding) eagles

Reports I've heard from some who attended the Mission Institute confirmed my contention that many of us Maryknollers are still stubbornly stuck in the 1970s and 1980s. This has a direct bearing on our vocation recruitment efforts, as it may blind us to where the Church in the States and its young people actually are, as opposed to where we think they ought to be. Yet again we seem to show more flexibility and acceptance of other religions than we do of variations in Roman Catholicism.

Things are happening fast and furious as Jubilee Weekend and our 100th anniversary approaches. Jubilarians have gathered the past few days, necessitating a move for the daily Mass from the Lady chapel to the Queen of Apostles chapel.

Our grounds crew and physical plant are doing great work to spruce up this place and set up flooring, round tables and chairs to accommodate 800+ expected Sunday and 350 on Wednesday.

New, reinforced-roof tents went up. These have weathered the torrential rains we've been having. The weather for Sunday promises to be sunny but if the ground hasn't drained off completely by then, Plan B is to give our guests a real mission experience of planting rice in the quadrangle.

The flags of all the countries where Maryknoll has ever worked will grace our upper quadrangle. The physical plant has creatively hit upon a way to display the flags without permanently affixing flag holders to the pillars: removable clamps.

Many thanks to Br. Kevin Dargan, Fr. Tom McDonnell, Fr. Joe LaMar and moi for selecting vintage photos from our archives for display in the dining room. Ms. Roberta Savage of our art department printed these and Kevin, assisted by Brother candidate Glen D'Angelo and Seminarian Jonathan Hill framed them nicely.

A huge, red Centenary banner to be draped from our tower throughout the coming year has to await the grommets (I never heard of them, either) to connect it by way of a cherry-picker to the supporting cables. Given the thunderstorms we've been having, such a delay is prudent.

Asian invasion?

Well, it seems that the residents once again survived 45+ Korean-American high school students and teachers from St. Paul's in Queens last weekend attending a workshop here without too many glitches. Oh sure, their praise band drumming and strumming after 11:30 p.m. did awaken some guys, but he politely asked them to be quiet and they were, for the most part. And a few other students forgot the rule about closing their doors quietly and not running down the halls, especially at 2 a.m.

Perhaps the biggest snafu was we forget about the quantities of food teenagers can pack away. Luckily, we adhered to the policy of not descending on the food line until 30 minutes after it opens. This allows Members to get their desired portion of spaghetti and ice cream. To be fair, the kids were very good about not wasting food, but, yes, they can eat!

Many thanks to Fr. Stephen Taluja who gave them a talk and helped with confessions, as did Fr. Kevin Hanlon. And thanks too to Br. Kevin Dargan for helping prepare hot water for the late snack of Ramen noodles after the students were shriven.

While the students and teachers enjoy coming to the Knoll, I'm wondering whether it's worth the ágita for all concerned. We had to hold back on the number of participants because of a rule somewhere that says we have to cut back on the number of participants. That is, we have rooms to accommodate as many as 60 but I was told no more than 45 could attend. Luckily, some agreed to day-hop. Also, due to insurance liabilities, the students were told not to use our gym again, even though they bring a certificate of insurance covering an aggregate of $2 million. For the record, Graymoor requires no such certificate; neither does Marian Shrine that also has a gym. A tired student is a quiet student! Also, St. Josaphat's in Oyster Bay is a stand-alone building where noise or numbers are not an issue.

My thinking for bringing them to the Knoll was that it was an opportunity for the students to visit and learn more about Maryknoll, but I'm afraid what they may be learning might not help matters. (For the other record, Fr. Alfonso Kim came from this parish as did Seminarian Dae Wook KIm, currently on OTP in Bolivia. In addition, five young men from the parish who were at this weekend's workshop have expressed interest in attending the Holy Week retreat here for vocations.)

It seems that, with the growing number of retirees moving to the Center, it may no longer be feasible for the foreseeable future to have large groups stay over. This underscores the need once again to consider what to do with Bethany. Between the Koreans, the Haitians, the Vietnamese and the Hispanic communities, we should have little trouble keeping the place occupied. Provided of course we spring for the big bucks to bring the building up to code.

Or perhaps we should revisit the whole idea of limiting the number of retirees who live at the Center, and those that do, living in places other than the R-Wing. This had been the suggestion when we remodeled, but some R-Wing residents didn't want to relocate. As a result, retreatants are scattered among the residents on all the floors and wings and the potential for noise and disruptions increases. Why not close off the R-wing to residents via attrition? That is, once a permanent resident vacates a room in the R-Wing, it remains available only to outside guests?

Or we can take the opposite approach and simply become a retirement home with only a few rooms for guests.

Just like last year when there was a similar noise disruption, the Korean student workshop ended yesterday with the disturbors of the peace making the rounds during lunch time to apologize to Maryknollers. Of course, by that time, only three tables of missioners remained and those who were there weren't the ones whose sleep had been disturbed. Luckily, the Maryknoll Grapevine is such that I trust word will spread around the Knoll fast enough.

Heart of Jesus & the Super Bowl

At the Knoll this weekend, about 35 Haitians are making a Heart of Jesus Retreat directed by Fr. Romane St. Vil. Between the Haitians and the Koreans, we are making good use of our facilities. If Maryknollers can't get to the mission peoples, let the mission peoples come to Maryknoll.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the all-important Super Bowl tomorrow. Br. Kevin Dargan is once again organizing a food fest up in the Third Floor TV Room and rec room. In addition to your usually munches, he will prepare ham, beans and various cheeses. I hope there are no serious Steeler fans in the group, because Green Bay is going to kick some Pittsburg butt before the day is out. Well, at least they can take solace in Br. Kevin's comfort food.

Other snippets of news that have fallen between the cyber cracks in recent weeks:

Archbishop Timothy Dolan will no longer be the main celebrant at our official Centennial Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on October 30 at 2 p.m. It seems that there is a conflict with an important bishops meeting in Rome. So the Maryknoll Centennial Committee for the St. Patrick's celebration is scurrying around for a replacement of equal stature.

Speaking of presiding bishops, I heard from someone who knows that we have yet to settle on the ordaining bishop for the priesthood ordination of Rev. Mr. Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry on June 4.

In the Incredibly Vanishing Stuff Around the Knoll category, someone "borrowed" the connecting cables for the TV in the Fourth Floor TV room where Br. David McKenna shows a film every Thursday evening. What's up with that? Methinks a House Meeting is in order to refresh guys' memories about life in our noncommunity community. For example, communal property (breviaries, vestments, stole, purificators etc) is not an open invitation to stock one's own private sacristy. Another issue, public sloppiness. Guys have an almost daily habit of spilling food or beverages in the food line—and then just walking away without bothering to tell the more-than-patient kitchen staff.

Incredibly disappearing stuff

CORRECTION: In my previous blog I posted that Fr. Ernie Lukaschek's operation was Thursday. It's today: Wednesday, Feb. 3. The request for prayers stands.

Fr. John Kaserow, our liturgy coordinator, noticed our new aspergillum (sprinkler, for you post Vatican II types) that bore an uncanny resemblance to a whisk brush, had apparently grown a pair of wings and flown away. Either that or someone had a sudden urge to sweep their floor. In any event, in looking for it in time for Fr. Jim O'Neill's wake, John happened upon the old aspergillam which had gone into hiding when the new one arrived.

But this did bring up the subject of theft...er...I mean, unauthorized permanent borrowing from the sacristy. Many albs, gone! Matching stoles, vanished! An almost complete set of custom-made Chinese vestments with the character "Tao" (or Way) on the back, missing! (Our guess is our men in Africa and Latin America are not suspect.) The bishop's stool for ordinations, disappeared. (Feel free to nominate your favorite episcopal wanna-be).

And this is just from the sacristy! Br. Kevin Dargan, librarian, reports that some magazines don't last a day in the periodicals room. America and U.S. Catholic both have a habit of sprouting legs. And the surveillance camera outside the library entrance shows nothing unusual, leaving us to imagine very unsavory ways to spirit away a publication.

But wait! There's more! Kevin also reports that while going through the late Fr. Dan Schneider's things, someone or ones felt free to go into the room and help themselves.

The laundry room is another point of departure for one's personal belongings. I once had a brand new shirt (only worn once) disappear when I sent out four shirts for laundering and, get this, I got back three shirts and an empty hanger! Talk about hutzpah! I even posted a "Missing Shirt" bulletin, all to no avail. It reappeared almost one year later, in the laundry room, cleaned and ironed and on a hanger. I guess the culprit thought the rabbinical curse at the end of my bulletin was only a joke.

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In other news, once again the right liturgical hand didn't know what the left pastoral hand was doing, so yesterday the funeral pre-empted the Mass of the Presentation. Being temporary, mobile and flexible missioners, we made do.

At second solemn vespers yesterday, we blessed the candles and gussied up the ceremony with lighted tapers and chanting. A recond 15 (count'em--15!) guys attended.

I propbably should have stopped to count the breviaries and candles after the ceremony.