Six men will be ordained priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11, 2015, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame.
Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of Peoria (Illinois), will confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Rev. Mr. Matthew Fase, C.S.C., Rev. Mr. David Halm, C.S.C., Rev. Mr. Timothy Mouton, C.S.C., Rev. Mr. Stephen Chase Pepper, C.S.C., Rev. Mr. Daniel Ponisciak, C.S.C., and Rev. Mr. Christopher Rehagen, C.S.C.
On Sept. 13, 2014, the six professed perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and committed themselves to the common life and apostolic work of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Read more about the men on the Holy Cross website.
Ave Maria Press is an apostolate of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers.
Rev. Theodore “Ted” M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., 97, died at 11:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 26) at Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Fr. Hesburgh, a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross for more than 70 years, was president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. He was one of the nation’s most influential figures in higher education, the Catholic Church, civil rights, and national and international affairs.
“We mourn today a great man and faithful priest who transformed the University of Notre Dame and touched the lives of many,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. “With his leadership, charisma and vision, he turned a relatively small Catholic college known for football into one of the nation’s great institutions for higher learning.
“In his historic service to the nation, the Church and the world, he was a steadfast champion for human rights, the cause of peace and care for the poor,” Fr. Jenkins said.
In accord with Father Hesburgh’s wishes, a customary Holy Cross Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame in coming days for his family, Holy Cross religious, University Trustees, administrators, and select advisory council members, faculty, staff and students. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Father Ted Hesburgh, C.S.C., Fund for Excellence in Catholic Education at Notre Dame or to the Congregation of Holy Cross.
A University tribute to Father Hesburgh will take place in Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center at a time to be announced.
For more on Fr. Hesburgh’s life and for other arrangements as they become available, see the special tribute pages on the University website.
NOTRE DAME, Ind.—Ave Maria Press is commemorating our 150th anniversary in 2015 with a new look.
An apostolate of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Ave Maria Press is unveiling a fresh, new company logo as part of our anniversary celebration. The logo reflects Ave’s Marian heritage and devotion, emphasizing Ave (the first word of the “Hail Mary” in Latin) in our name and including a light-blue graphic image of the turning pages of a book.
Ave was founded by Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., with the publication of the first Ave Maria magazine on May 1, 1865, twenty-three years after he founded the University of Notre Dame. Fr. Sorin wanted the magazine to honor the Virgin Mary, focus on Catholic families, and showcase the best American Catholic writing. The first issue was a sixteen-page weekly edited by Fr. Sorin himself. Many had doubts about whether the publication would survive, but it did for more than a hundred years and at one time was the most popular Catholic magazine in the country.
Fr. Sorin believed that The Ave Maria magazine would “be the source of most abundant blessings, one of the best things ever done in the Congregation, and ultimately a glorious work for our Blessed Mother.”
We believe Fr. Sorin would be proud of his legacy today. “Planning for our anniversary has given all of us at Ave Maria Press a welcome opportunity to step back from our day-to-day work and reflect on the history and legacy of the wonderful publishing ministry that Fr. Sorin founded 150 years ago during a very different era,” said Thomas Grady, publisher of Ave Maria Press. “Fr. Sorin might be mystified by the way we create and distribute our work in a digital era (as I frequently am!), but I hope he would recognize that we have remained faithful to our mission to proclaim the Gospel, serve the spiritual needs of the Church, and join the Congregation of Holy Cross as ‘educators in the faith.’”
Rev. Anthony Szakaly, C.S.C., president of the Ave board of directors, agrees: “Fr. Sorin’s vision of deepening the faith remains the basis for everything that Ave Maria Press does today.”
Ave is a leader in publishing Catholic high school religion textbooks, parish resources, and books on prayer and spirituality under the Ave Maria Press, Sorin Books, Forest of Peace, and Christian Classics imprints.
“As the magazine evolved into Ave Maria Press, this ministry has touched the lives of countless individuals throughout the world who have been privileged to be inspired by the words of some of the best spiritual writers of our time,” said Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., provincial superior of the U.S. Province. “In a world where so many search for guidance in their lives or grasp for spiritual insights, Ave Maria Press has become a leader in providing such guidance.”
In the tradition of Holy Cross, Ave strives to make God known, loved, and served through the spiritual, pastoral, and catechetical books that are at the core of our publishing mission.
The Ave Maria magazine ceased publication in 1970, but the publishing ministry continues to flourish. Ave Maria Press remains one of the oldest, continually operating Catholic publishing houses in the country. Among our highly acclaimed titles are Lisa M. Hendey’s The Handbook for Catholic Moms; The Artist’s Rule by Christine Valters Paintner; Rebuilt by Michael White and Tom Corcoran; A Book of Hours by Thomas Merton; and Basil Moreau: Essential Writings, edited by Revs. Kevin Grove, C.S.C., and Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C.
Perennial reader favorites include:
Together for Life by Joseph Champlin with Rev. Peter Jarret, C.S.C. – Ave’s all-time bestseller
Praying Our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp
With Open Hands by Henri Nouwen
Riding the Dragon by Robert Wicks
Encountering Jesus in the New Testament and This Is Our Faith by Michael Pennock
This year we are introducing two new textbooks approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Jesus and the Church and Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching.
There will be several events in the coming months to celebrate Ave’s 150th anniversary, including an open house at our 1865 Moreau Drive, Notre Dame, Indiana, offices on April 30, 2015. On May 1, the actual date of Ave’s founding by Fr. Sorin, there will be a Mass and dinner at Moreau Seminary on the campus of Notre Dame. The Mass will be celebrated by the Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Indiana), with Ave staff and their spouses, board members past and present, and members of the Congregation of Holy Cross in attendance.
In addition, Ave’s staff has compiled a commemorative history that will be published prior to the official anniversary. There will also be special anniversary promotions for customers throughout the year. Find out more at avemariapress.com/anniversary.
Pro-life advocate Chaunie Brusie, author of Tiny Blue Lines; Reclaiming Your Life, Preparing For Your Baby, and Moving Forward with Faith in an Unplanned Pregnancy, wants to get her book to those mothers who need it most.
One way she can help women see their unplanned pregnancy as an incredible new beginning is to get books into the hands of pregnancy center leaders, staff members, and volunteers. Heartbeat International, a network of pro-life pregnancy resource centers throughout the world, has agreed to give 1,000 pregnancy help workers a copy of Tiny Blue Lines during its 2015 conference. The organization has already made Tiny Blue Lines a “Shelf Help” resource on its website.
Brusie must supply all of the books in order to make that happen, so she’s taken to crowdfunding the project . Her drive, on flowerfund.com/tinybluelines, ends March 31, 2015.
You can read more about her plan in her Oct. 31 blog about the project.
Brusie is the creator of the popular parenting website TinyBlueLines.com.
For more information or to set up an interview about the project, contact Chaunie Brusie at chaun08@yahoo.com.
Not many people realize that one of the most influential spiritual writers of the twentieth century, Thomas Merton, was deeply influenced by Franciscan spirituality even though he was a Trappist Monk. Dan Horan, OFM, both a Franciscan Friar and expert in Thomas Merton, shows us why this was the case and gives us a unique insight into Merton's life and work in The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton.
We caught up with Horan amid a very busy speaking schedule to ask a few questions about his newest book.
Ave Maria Press: You have the unique perspective of being both a Franciscan friar and an expert in the life and work of Thomas Merton. What was it in your life that attracted you to both?
Dan Horan: I came really to know both Thomas Merton and the Franciscan intellectual and spiritual tradition while a student at St. Bonaventure University. It’s an interesting biographical overlap with Merton’s own story because it was also at St. Bonaventure, when he taught in the English department in 1940-1941, that he came to study the Franciscan tradition in depth.
There was always something about Merton’s honesty and humanity that attracted me to his writings and insight. Likewise, both St. Francis and the tradition that bears his name are approachable and down-to-earth models for authentic human living. Neither Merton nor the Franciscan tradition gets old for me and I’m continually learning something new along the way of my own spiritual and intellectual journey.
Ave Maria Press: Some readers of Merton books may not know the story of Thomas Merton and his early association with the Franciscans. Can you explain briefly where his Franciscan roots originated?
Dan Horan: Sure. Merton’s connection to the Franciscan tradition really began with his reading of Etienne Gilson’s book The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy in which the philosopher introduces his readers to some of the great Medieval Franciscan theologians and philosophers. Merton credited his reading of that book to changing his outlook on Catholicism in general and shortly afterward he sought baptism in the Catholic Church.
Merton then discerned a call to religious life and sought the guidance of his Columbia University mentor, Dan Walsh, who said that Merton had a true “Franciscan spirit” and he should consider joining them. At that point, he sought to enter the Franciscan friars (in fact, the very same province that I belong to headquartered in New York City) and was accepted.
There are a number of complex factors that came together and led to Merton’s eventual withdrawal from the Friars (I talk about all of this in Chapter Three of the book) and he then accepted a job teaching English at St. Bonaventure University, a Franciscan college. It was there that he actually became a Franciscan as a Third Order member, studied the Franciscan theological and philosophical sources with some of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century, and befriended a number of friars who helped guide the young Merton to his ultimate vocation as a Trappist Monk.
Most people think that the Franciscan influence stops there, but Merton’s writing and reflection continued to be shaped and informed by the Franciscan tradition throughout his whole life. Though he was indeed a true monk, he also had a special place in his heart for the Franciscan heritage and worldview.
Ave Maria Press: Thomas Merton is known for his insight into the “True Self.” In your book you trace this concept back to a Franciscan perspective. Can you explain the connection there?
Dan Horan: The origin of and the theological foundation for Merton’s notion of the “True Self” can be traced back to the original work of a medieval Franciscan friar named John Duns Scotus. Scotus argued that what makes something a particular or individual thing was not external or extrinsic to that thing (as many other theories held), but that everything is particularly loved into existence by God with a unique, inalienable, and unrepeatable identity that is really identical with a thing’s very existence.
This “principle of individuation” (the technical term) of Scotus is called haecceitas in Latin (meaning “this-ness”), which Merton refers to during his studies of the tradition and around the time he begins working on what will become his book New Seeds of Contemplation in which the “True Self” concept first appears.
In a 1946 letter to Mark Van Doren, a former professor of his, Merton expresses his enthusiasm for the work of Scotus and mentions he wants to write a book on Scotus’s thought. Merton scholars believe that what became New Seeds was in fact that same book. Throughout New Seeds the insights of Scotus are found everywhere, but especially in the sections on the “True Self” and in Merton’s reflections on the Incarnation.
Ave Maria Press: How would you say Franciscan spirituality influenced Thomas Merton’s interest in interreligious dialogue?
Dan Horan: Well, Merton himself actually credits Francis of Assisi with being perhaps the greatest example of someone engaged in Christian interreligious dialogue. At other point in his writing, Merton points to Francis and the encounter the medieval saint had with Sultan Malek al-Kamil in 1219 in Damietta, Egypt, during the height of the Fifth Crusade as a model for engaging non-Christians today. This is further emphasized by Merton in his writings about Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris (1963). Aside from the many explicit ways Merton names Francis as a model, I think the way in which Merton engaged with Muslims and Buddhists, in addition to those of other religious traditions, bears a stark resemblance to the way Francis went about interacting with women and men of other traditions in his own time. Both Francis and Merton were way ahead of their times in their respective historical contexts.
Ave Maria Press: If there was just one lesson from the writings of Thomas Merton that every Catholic should know, what would it be?
Dan Horan: That is a difficult question to answer because Merton has so much insight and wisdom for every Catholic. I still believe that Merton’s writing on the “True Self” is very important for women and men today to hear and understand. The way Merton popularizes Scotus’s deeply insightful notion of how God loves all of creation into existence and knows and holds each person’s truest identity says a lot about the dignity of each and every human person in a world that is quick to evaluate people based on external appearances, wealth, status, and the like. What the “True Self” also reminds us of is the absolute need we have to work on our relationship with God, because Merton affirms that it is only in finding God that we are able to find our true selves.
Thank you, Dan, for sharing these additional insights with us and for offering such a unique perspective on the life and work of Thomas Merton.
ALBANY, N.Y.—Sr. Anne Bryan Smollin, CSJ, 71, died Thursday (Sept. 25, 2014) at St. Peter's Hospital, Albany, NY. She had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for the past 53 years.
Sr. Anne was the author of three Ave Maria Press books: Live, Laugh and Be Blessed (Sorin Books, 2006); God Knows You're Stressed (Sorin Books, 1999); and Tickle Your Soul (Sorin Books, 1999).
She was born Julia Ann “Judy” Smollin on Jan. 18, 1943, the daughter of Irma (Dolezel) and Bryan J. Smollin in Troy, N.Y. Her mother and sister, Kay, survive.
Raised in Watervliet, Sr. Anne graduated from Vincentian Institute, Albany. Sister Anne entered the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph on March 20, 1961, and professed final vows on Aug. 6, 1968. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from The College of Saint Rose, a master's degree in counseling from the State University of New York at Albany, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Walden University.
Sr. Anne served as an elementary teacher and counselor, as well as a counseling psychologist at the Counseling Center in Albany. Sr. Anne also served as executive director for Counseling for Laity in Albany, a position she had held for the past 33 years. In addition, she hosted her own radio show for 18 years.
The visitation will be from 2 p.m. to the 7:30 p.m. prayer service Monday (Sept. 29, 2014) at the St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham, N.Y. The funeral liturgy will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 30, 2014) at the Provincial House chapel. Interment will be in Our Lady Queen of Virgins Cemetery.
Contributions in Sister Anne's memory may be made to the Development Office of the Sisters of Joseph, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY 12110.
A story about Sr. Anne’s death is available on the Albany Times Union website.
DECATUR, Ga.—Ave Maria Press author Judith Valente took second place for nonfiction religion book of the year for Atchison Blue.
The award was given out Sept. 20, 2014, at the Religion Newswriters Association’s 65th annual conference in Decatur, Georgia.
Atchison Blue is a meditative spiritual memoir about Valente’s transformative pilgrimages to Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison, Kansas.
Valente also received second place in television news magazine religion report of the year for a PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly report “Churches and Domestic Violence.”
Angela Alaimo O'Donnell shares stories from her new book, Mortal Blessings: A Sacramental Farewell, about how the mundane tasks of caregiving during her mother’s final days—bathing, feeding, taking her for a walk in her wheelchair—became rituals or ordinary sacraments that revealed traces of the divine.
In this interview, O'Donnell shares insights into the "Catholic imagination," a sacramental worldview, her life as a poet, her inspirations as an artist growing up in the Catholic Church, and her very moving stories of caring for her mother towards the end of her life.
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