Do you know where this piece of art is...

 Here is a wider picture which may help you...

Is it getting any clearer? St. Alphonsus is the figure on the bottom on the right hand side.

The picture should make it all clearer...

Here is a better picture....Westminster Cathedral.

St. Alphonsus' head is by the door way, under the bell tower.

Check it out the next time you go into the cathedral for prayer.

Not bad for our Doctor of the Church!

A Hidden Mystic...

A new book has come out on the life and spirituality of the Venerable Maria Celeste Crostarosa O.Ss.R.,

the Foundress of our Sisters, the Redemptoristines.

The book is called "A Hidden Mystic" written by a Dominican Sister, Honor McCabe OP.

In the book she focuses on the mystical spirituality as found in the Venerable Maria Celeste's life.

It is published by Dominican Publications.

Sr. Gabrielle O.Ss.R., the Prioress of the Dublin Monastery asked Honor McCabe to write this book.

From the back cover it says:

"This book is a brief account of the life and spirituality of the foundress of the Redemptoristine Order - the Venerable Maria Celeste Crostarosa, an eighteenth century Italian mystic -

who is still little known outside the Order she inspired.

The author, Honor McCabe OP, was impressed by the fact that much of Maria Celeste's mystical doctrine resembled the teaching on prayer of saints already Doctors of the Church,

Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena."

See Denver Province's Archive...

For those of you who are interested in Archive material, here is and an interesting YouTube presentation.

The Clapham Interprovincial Community...

The Provincial Councils from the Dublin, London and St. Clement's provinces met in Clapham to further discuss the establishment of an Interprovincial Community. 

More news will follow when the community appointments are made.

The Council from the Dublin Province were:

• Fr Michael Kelleher C.Ss.R. - Provincial
• Fr Brendan O'Rourke C.Ss.R. - Vicar Provincial
• Fr Peter Burns C.Ss.R. - Consultor  

The Council from the London Province were:

• Fr Ronald McAinsh C.Ss.R. - Provincial
• Fr Gerard Mulligan C.Ss.R. - Vicar Provincial
• Fr Maurice O'Mahony C.Ss.R. - Consultor 

and from the St. Clemens Province the Council were:

• Fr Johannes Römelt C.Ss.R. - Provincial
• Fr Henk Erinkveld C.Ss.R. - Vicar Provincial
• Fr Jürgen Langer C.Ss.R. - Consultor

 A few snaps from the refectory...

Three Wise Monk (ey) s...

Here we have the three monkeys who are hearing no evil, speaking no evil and seeing no evil!

Here below we have three confreres from the Clapham in a similar position!

Fr. Michael McGreevy is getting used to his hearing aids - hear no evil!

Fr. Charles Corrigan has lost his voice - speak no evil!

Fr. Bev Ahearn has gone almost completely blind - see no evil!

Thanks to the confreres for being good sports!

The Vatican announces

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II

January 14, 2011.

Benedict XVI has announced the beatification of of Pope John Paul II. It will take place on May 1. The announcement comes after a miracle was unanimously approved by the Vatican's congregation for the Causes of Saints.

A French nun suffering from Parkinson's disease was suddenly cured after praying to the deceased John Paul II.  

Beatification is the final step before Sainthood and is expected to bring millions of pilgrims to Rome.

14th January - Feast Day

Blessed Peter Donders

Missionary extraordinaire

In many ways, Peter Donders was ahead of his time. He was the kind of person who could pull into action the resources of the state in order to support those most in need. This is exactly what he did on behalf of the Batavian lepers among whom he lived and worked.

 Peter was sent to Batavia in 1856. There he would spend most of the next 31 years.

When he arrived at the leper colony, Peter Donders had been ordained 15 years, but he was not as yet a Redemptorist. It was ten years later in 1866 that the Redemptorists first arrived to co-ordinate the mission in Surinam. Only then did Fr Donders and one of his fellow priests apply for admission to the congregation.

The two candidates made their novitiate under the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Johan Baptist Winkels. 

After his profession as a Redemptorist on June 24, 1867, Peter Donders returned promptly to Batavia.

Since he now had assistance in working among the lepers, he was able to reach out to the indigenous peoples of Surinam, a dream he had held for many a year. He continued in this work which was previously neglected because of a lack of manpower. He also began to learn the native languages and to instruct the local peoples in the Christian faith.
Fr Donders was born in Tilburg, Holland, on October 27, 1809. His parents were Arnold Denis Donders and Petronella van den Brekel. Their home was poor, so Peter and his brother had little schooling as they worked to support the family.

As a youngster, Peter was interested in becoming a priest, and with the generosity of a group of local clergy behind him, he was able to begin his studies. He was ordained in 1841, at 29 years of age.

Even before ordination, Blessed Peter Donders was being guided by the seminary leaders towards the missions in the Dutch colony of Surinam. He arrived in Paramaribo in 1842. He made regular visits through the plantations along the colony’s rivers preaching and celebrating the sacraments. Many of the people were slaves. Peter’s letters express his indignation at the harsh treatment of the African peoples forced to work on the plantations.

When he was sent to the leper station in 1856, he preached among the lepers and celebrated the sacraments with them. Peter also tended the lepers personally with their many needs, and at the same time, ensured that the authorities provided much-needed nursing facilities. By bringing the leper’s needs to the attention of the colonial authorities, he was in many ways able to improve their conditions. He was tireless in these efforts.

With increasingly weakening health, his labours slowed over the last years of his life. He died on January 14, 1887. The significance of his life was well known in Surinam and spread also back to Holland, the land of his birth. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982 - during the 250th anniversary celebration of the Congregations founding.

“O Jesus our Redeemer, you took flesh and walked among us in search of the abandoned. Our brother, Peter Donders, spent his life in preaching your saving word to lepers, to slaves, to the poor and neglected. By his merits and prayers, stir up in us the same apostolic zeal, that we might place ourselves completely at the service of your gospel.

You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.”

Warmest Congratulations to our re-elected Fr Provincial!...

Very Reverend Father Ronald McAinsh C.Ss.R.

Provincial Superior.

The Chapter re-elected Fr McAinsh and the election was approved by our Roman Curia.

Fr. Provincial will hold office for the next four years.

Our Prayers and Congratulations go with him!

Elected to the Ordinary Provincial Council were

Fr. Gerard Mulligan

and

- Fr Maurice O'Mahony

both were re-elected like the Provincial.

Elected to the Extraordinary Provincial Council were

Fr Richard Reid

Fr Charles Corrigan

Fr Desmond Keegan

Fr James McManus

Fr. Kieran J. Brady CSsR

Where now for Parish Missions?

An article written for a Catholic newspaper (some time ago but still has resonance today)

Have you ever found yourself speaking a foreign language? I have. Recently I was speaking to a small group of Catholics, the conversation was in English but we were coming from very different perceptions of reality. I quickly learned that some on the parish council had never experienced a ‘Redemptorist parish mission’, while a couple of older members thought we had stopped conducting them all together. Of course parish missions have been the mainstay of parish renewal for many years in Britain. They have evolved with a changing church, yet people have widely differing views and expectations from them.

The recent calls for renewal, from John Paul II, among others are not a new phenomenon. Any group that engages in evangelisation is at the service of the church which is missionary by its very nature. I am aware that there are some new movements springing up and hopefully they will be co-ordinated by the development of an agency for evangelisation. I am sure that they will bring new energy and vigour to the life of the church. As a church in search of vision for evangelisation, I believe we should use all the gifts the Spirit gives us. That means investing in the new as well as continuing with the tried and tested ways of communicating God’s love.

The order I belong to was founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori to reach out to the poor and abandoned. Since then we have been creative in leading parish missions and retreats for over 270 years, gaining much experience and insight into the life of ordinary Catholics. Missions by their very nature have developed over the years, honed by the life of real people in real life situations. I am reminded of a comment made by Pope Paul VI about the Redemptorist work of parish missions. ‘The great joy you have is to be the witnessing church in people’s homes, in their kitchens and in their hearts’. This could also apply to all those engaged in this specialised ministry of parish renewal. This is where we begin to understand what church is, and what it can be. The building blocks of our church remain the parish communities, the people of God.

There is no doubt that parishes are in constant need of spiritual renewal. There are many different ways of achieving this. Some dioceses have been working on assemblies and pastoral plans. The new agency will encourage and support groups of committed Catholics to become evangelisers. Yet I truly believe that the ordinary parishioner needs to be supported in a more immediate way from time to time. A parish mission is about creating a space for God in the day-to-day life of a worshiping community. It is about being touched by the Word of God through a time of grace. This sort of experience should not and cannot involve targets, as it is simply immeasurable.

Fr. Paul Billington, formerly of CMS would describe the experience of a Parish mission as working on many levels. “An individual spiritual renewal, calling the community to be co-responsible for the life of the church, while inculcating in people a spirituality of mission in it’s widest sense”. As a Redemptorist also engaged in renewal, I am saddened at the decision to move what was CMS away from its fine tradition of parish missions. As I said earlier missions are not incompatible with other evangelisation strategies.

Missions have great strengths but I accept they also have weaknesses. In my experience as a Redemptorist, we have not yet devised a viable follow up strategy for parishes that we work with. Perhaps a mission then, could be seen as a launching pad for a pastoral plan. In setting up small groups to work on the parish mission liturgies, a parish may then have an indication of how these groups could work on evangelising projects at local church level.

The initiative for evangelisation cannot be imposed by a remote group or committee. It needs to come out of a desire for renewal at a local level. I believe that parish missions are a vital part of this renewal, speaking as they do, to the people in the pew in a language that they can understand.

If you feel your parish would benefit from a Redemptorist parish mission, contact us

Fr. Kieran J. Brady CSsR

Brother Elias Gweme and Brother Mark Chandavengerwa CSsR

Early in the year 2008 the Redemptorist community in Zimbabwe had the great joy of recieving the Final Vows of Brother Elias Gweme CSsR. The confreres also welcomed His Grace Archbishop Robert Ndlovu, and the Provincial of the London Province, Fr. Ronnie McAinsh CSsR, to officiate at Elias' Diaconate Ordination.

The Redemptorists are blessed with many young men, like Elias, who are willing to give their lives to the service of the Gospel. In October 2008 Fr. Elias Gweme CSsR was ordained to the Priesthood, while Br. Mark Chadavengerwa CSsR was ordained to the Diaconate., a ministry of service.

Could you give your life for plentiful Redemption?

If so Contact;

Fr. Vocations Director, Alphonsus House, P.O. Box 30, Tafara, Harare

Tel; 00 263 (4) 491544

Have you ever known you were truly at home? You are invited to share the beginnings of a vocation story by Fr. Elias Gweme CSsR