Fr. Dougherty eulogizes Newtown

Thank you for taking the time to attend this Memorial this morning as part of our Maryknoll Family.

Exactly one week ago, each of us began to heart the news about the tragedy that quickly overwhelmed Newtown, Connecticut.. Through last week and into this week, our collective hearts have been broken and many tears have been shed here at Maryknoll and across the nation.

During any time of sorrow, especially when something unexpected occurs, many of us are at a  loss for words. We simply do not know what to say. Life really is so precious and fragile.

This very human reaction, though possibly awkward at times, can be refreshing. It allows us to fill that silence in our own way, and we can choose to do with our tears, with our broken hearts, with our hugs and thoughts, and with our prayers. Last Monday morning on my way to n appointment, I noticed at the  school bus stops there seemed to be more parents hugging their children--or maybe you just see it differently after a tragedy like Newtown.

Today as we have done everyday since last Friday and as we will continue to do for many more days to come, the Maryknoll family asks our Lord to hear our  prayers for the beautiful children of Newtown, to listen to our words for all their teachers and the emergency responders, and to comfort all the parents, extended families and friends. And we ask the Lord to provide the community with strength and courage as it continues to pull tightly together in love and support to heal the pain.

We also pray for the soul of Nancy Lanza and others in the Lanza family who grieve through this tragedy. And our faith tells us to seek God's mercy for Adam Lanza.

We may never learn the answers to all our questions about this tragedy about this tragedy. And, when answers are elusive, or the answers we do have are difficult to understand, we often turn to God to ask Him why He could allow this to occur to us.

For those of us who have a deep faith in God, bad things often do not make sense to us. But, rather than continue to ask God "why?", let us, instead, begin too ask ourselves "who."

To who shall we tun during this time of pain? The answer to that question is easy.It is a renewed faith in our Lord. We turn to God for peace. We turn to God for comfort and we saw the people of Newtown doing this: scenes of people going to churches and other places of worship.

It our faith that tells us that GOd, at the proper time, will make sense of this moment. Our faith allows us to trust God to lead us through this difficult time and the many others that certainly will occur during each of our lifetimes.

A few days ago, I again heard the words to a prayer attribute to a former bishop in Michegan. The prayer is: "The Work to build the Kingdom of God Continues." I will not read the entire prayer to you now, but I found the first four lines may be of comfort to all of us today.

"It helps now and then to step back and take the long view. The KIngdom of GOd is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our life time only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us."

Since last Sunday, a large sign has hung on the overpass of Interstate 84 where it passes through Newtown. It says simply, "Pray for Newtown."

We have. We do today. And we will continue to pray for Newtown, ourselves and the Kingdom of God.

I also saw this prayer referring to the Holy Innocents--the group of babies who were killed around the time of Christ's birth.

     "Holy Innocents, you died before you were old enough to know what life means, pray for all children who die young that God may gather them into His loving arms.

     "Holy Innocents, your parents grieved for you with deep and lasting sorrow, pray for all parents who have lost young children that God may wrap a warm blanket of comfort around them.

     "Holy Innocents, you who are now in Heaven, pray for all of us that one day we may join you there to bask in God's love forever."

O loving God and Mary, our loving mother and Our Lady of Maryknoll, we pray to you for all the victims, heroes, families and friends in Newtown.

Thank you again, for your presence, prayers and love. May you have a Blessed, Peaceful and Merry Christmas!

Edward M. Dougherty, M.M.
Superior General

Hurricane Sandy

Like a mighty stone fortress, Mother Knoll safeguards our residents against nature's fury, a.k.a. Hurricane Sandy. So far it has been mostly a wind event, but these are picking up and the main rains are expected around 6 p.m.

The employees were sent home early. A few stalwart workers volunteered to stay on and stay over. Thankfully Rosa in the kitchen will see us through the next few meals, albeit with reheated entrees and disposable plates.

We are fairing better (so far) that the lower lying places (i.e. New York City) which is bracing for the high tides/full moon/storm surge combo. Meteorologists say flooding could go as high as Poughkeepsie.

The wake for Fr. John King will be held nonetheless tonight, although following tomorrow's funeral we'll have to wait another day for the burial.

Now that I am back from a European cruise, and attending the canonization of St. Kateri, and a visit to the ancestral Veneroso homestead, I am rested and ready to once again flood cyberspace with interesting tidbits of life here at the Center.

Fr. Joe Girzone @ Maryknoll

Fr. Joe Girzone, author of the popular Joshua series of religious novels, will speak today at Maryknoll from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on experiencing Jesus in our time.

We have a lot in common. Unbeknownst to many of you is that Joe, like me, is from the Albany diocese, but he also actually concelebrated at my first Mass at St. Michael's church in Amsterdam, NY on May 27, 1978! (But don't hold that against him. If you're near Maryknoll this afternoon, come anyway!)

Also like me, Joe is an author. Unlike me, Joe has made mucho dinero off his books (But stay tuned. I'm working on that!)

I will attempt to live-blog his more salient observations.

Miguel's mission

An overnight stay at our 39th St. House afforded me some time to chat with Fr. Miguel D'Escoto about his recent activities. He assured me he has no great desire to be Libya's representative at the United Nations, but rather wants to put together an A-List international team of high profile negotiators who can bring a peaceful and just solution to the Libya conflict.

To that end, Miguel had to quickly change his plans to come to the Knoll this weekend. A phone call convinced him to get back to Nicaragua tomorrow.

I have to say, listening to Miguel is like going on a mini-retreat. No matter what question I asked him, he always circled back around to the gospel. Miguel certainly lets his faith illuminate his actions. Quoting Tolstoy, he said "The kingdom of God requires a radical love that exempts no one and excludes no one." This has been his guiding principle throughout his missionary life as well as in recent years when he served as president of the U.N. General Assembly. He dismissed charges that he needed a diplomatic visa to work at the U.N. and flashed a special I.D. badge he has as a former president which gets him anywhere inside the U.N. compound.

"You have no right to criticize someone unless you love them," Miguel said. "Only love gives you the vision to criticize effectively. Without love, criticism may be motivated by jealousy, anger or hatred. Such criticism will never be heard by God nor will it help the person or institution you are criticizing."

Speaking of which, Miguel is about to publish a book proposing a total overhaul and reinvention of the United Nations. Clearly he loves the U.N.

He recalled meeting President George W. Bush for the first time. "What would I say to him? We had 153 items on the U.N. agenda. Finally I offered my hand and said, 'Mr. President, I want you to know that I love you. I love your wife and I love your family.' " Miguel recalls how Bush's face noticeably softened. Probably underestimating the man he was facing, Bush later described Miguel as a pleasant, old gentleman.

I tried to gauge his reaction to the imminent dismissal of Fr. Roy Bourgeois from Maryknoll and from the priesthood. "Roy is paying the price for standing up to the institutional church which has been distorting the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 1,600 years." He then went into detailed description of how Constantine manipulated the Council of Nicea.

At about this time I got a phone call from a former superior general of Maryknoll who shall remain anonymous so as not to jeopardize his teaching position at the University of Scranton. I assured John I had not been silenced again, for the simple reason that I had not been silenced the first time. I try to give an accurate reading of what guys discuss here at the Knoll, but truth be told, how many colonoscopies and seminars on gerontology can one report on in between baseball or basketball games?

That being said, Miguel's taking a long view of things and casting his actions as working out of love to build the kingdom of God, no matter what the personal cost or hardship, helps us understand if not always appreciate what he and Roy and so many lower profile Maryknollers are doing. "What else would you expect if you're following a Crucified Lord?" Miguel said.

Some still unsettled dust

The following was an anonymous post in a CNS (Catholic News Service) blog on Maryknoll's stopping financial support for the SOA Watch.

Anon, on July 26, 2010 at 5:58 pm Said:
Heidi – I send this to you FYI. http://thechristianradical.blogspot.com/2010/07/fr-roy-soa-primer-2010.html. This video was shot on Fr Roy’s SOAW national tour (information I found on a SOAW press release re: dates/locations for Fr Roy’s national tour, which ended in late May 2010). The tape is dated within the week of the reported May 24 meeting between Maryknoll and Fr Roy about the SOAW funding cut by Maryknoll. My guess is that this is the reason Maryknoll felt they had to cut funding. Listen through to the end of the tapes. Fr Roy has my full faith and support and I trust that he speaks from a place of deep and well-formed conscience. Nonetheless, I am not surprised Maryknoll felt it had to make this decision, based on Fr Roy’s very clear statement that, whenever and wherever he is granted a forum to speak about SOA and SOAW, he will also speak about women’s ordination. In fairness to Maryknoll, I think these videotaped – and thus fully authentic – statements need to be publicized, to flesh out this story and balance the speculation. Again and again, I have read and heard questions – including my own – that ask why it is assumed that SOAW should be held accountable for the personal beliefs of its founder. The tapes answer that question, I believe. I do not write this in critique of Fr Roy or SOAW. I write in the interest of honesty in general and fairness to Maryknoll in particular.

The CNS blog can be read here: http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/maryknoll-ends-financial-support-of-school-of-americas-watch/

Developments in Development

Father Bob Jalbert has been appointed new head of the Mission Education and Promotion Department (MEP). MEP includes fundraising, church dates, appeals, MARYKNOLL & Revista Maryknoll Magazines, Orbis books, New Media and the web. Bob (my classmate from Hingham '73) is immensely qualified for this new position and we wish him all the best, prayers and blessings on his new assignment.

The dilemma now is this: Bob leads the pack in the revote for regional superior, having gotten 13. In the next round, only he and the other three top vote-getters (Fr. Steve Booth, Fr. Mike Duggan and Fr. John Moran) vie for the top position. Does heading MEP help or hinder Bob's election chances?

Stayed tuned!