Cardinal John Newman

Beatification

The beatification of Cardinal John Newman is of particular significance for the Church. The following is the LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2nd CENTENARY OF HIS BIRTH WHICH WAS ADDRESSED To The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, WHO WAS Archbishop of Birmingham AT THE TIME.

Pope Benedict’s apostolic journey to the United Kingdom culminates on September 19 with the beatification of Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman, described by Venerable John Paul II as “one of the most distinguished and versatile champions of English spirituality” and as a thinker who came to “a remarkable synthesis of faith and reason.”Hailed by James Joyce as “the greatest of English prose writers,” Newman was at once a seminal theologian (An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent), a poet (“The Pillar of the Cloud,” “Dream of Gerontius”), the leading defender of liberal education in his day (Idea of a University), the author of a classic spiritual autobiography (Apologia Pro Vita Sua), and a preacher with an eloquence perhaps unsurpassed in the English language, from his Anglican Parochial and Plain Sermons to his Catholic Sermons Preached on Various Occasions. 

Born in 1801, Newman became an Anglican cleric in 1825; seven years later, he helped launch the Oxford Movement, which sought to emphasize and restore the Catholic aspects of the Church of England while conceiving of Anglicanism as a via media between Rome and Protestantism. In 1845, he was received into the Church by Blessed Dominic Barberi. Ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1847, Newman brought the Congregation of the Oratory to England the following year. 

Pope Leo XIII created Newman a cardinal in 1879. Upon his death in 1890, the Guardian hailed him as “one of the very greatest masters of English style,” “a man of singular purity and beauty of character,” and “an eminent example of personal sanctity.” Pope John Paul II declared Newman venerable in 1991, and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a decree last July that cleared the way for his beatification. 

St Joseph Cafasso

This year the feast day of St Joseph Cafasso happens to be the 150th anniversary of his death. That means he died just six months after the foundation of the Salesian Congregation. It was an undertaking which Don Bosco must surely have discussed at length with him, not only on the practicalities of the project, but more importantly on discerning God’s will in the foundation of a new Congregation.


It was Joseph Cafasso who was initially instrumental in directing Don Bosco in working with youth in difficulty, who continued to direct him in his weekly confession, who advised him to take up lodgings with Don Borel at the Refuge, who worked closely with him in the foundation of the Oratory, giving him financial support and convincing others to fund his charitable foundation and, when necessary, to defend him from critics even from the clergy.

Remembering Don Rua

Fr Pascual Chavez has written a wonderful letter to all the Salesians of Don Bosco who joyfully celebrate this centenary. The figure of Don Rua is a permanent reminder of the spirit of Don Bosco. The austerity of his life has set out for the Congregation a paradigm to follow in order to be faithful followers of Don Bosco.

Centenary of the Death of Bl Michael Rua

Rome, 24 June 2009

Birth of Saint John the Baptist

My dear Confreres,

…The reason for this letter of mine is to make the official announcement to you that we shall be dedicating the year 2010 to a special commemoration of Blessed Michael Rua. It is in fact the centenary year of his death, which occurred on 6 April 1910. The year 2010, centred on the figure of the first Successor of Don Bosco … will help us to bring to fuller maturity our consecrated Salesian vocation. It seems to me important that we are conscious of the historical situation, that from the death of Don Bosco until our own days, the Congregation has had a great and significant development, taking steps forward, having second thoughts, making fresh starts, reflecting deeply. The identity of the Congregation can be understood better, in fact, through its history, knowing the forms and expressions it has assumed at different times and in different places.

Bl. Michael Rua with Bl Philip Rinaldi

“Remembering Don Rua”, we shall spend this year 2010 on a spiritual and pastoral journey. It will begin on 31 January, the solemnity of Don Bosco, the day on which each year we recall the death of the Saint: it was on that 31 January in 1888 that Don Rua took the tiller, to continue the journey on which the Founder had embarked. The year of commemoration will conclude on 31 January 2011. …

I mention now some focal points, …

First of all, following the example of Don Rua, the faithful disciple of Jesus in the footsteps of Don Bosco, each confrere is being called to re-discover the ways in which to preserve fidelity to the vocation of consecration. Our vocation is a precious gift; however, it is “like a treasure in earthenware vessels.”

Returning to Don Bosco’s initial exposure to the youth reality…

AFW Salesian Brothers on Pilgrimage

to the tomb of St Joseph Cafasso.

This year 2010 is the 150th anniversary of St Joseph’s Cafasso’s death; he died at just 49 years of age on 23 June 1860. That means he passed away just six months after the foundation of the Salesian Congregation. It was an undertaking which Don Bosco must surely have discussed at length with him, not only on the practicalities of the project, but more importantly on discerning God’s will in the foundation of a new Congregation. It was Joseph Cafasso who was initially instrumental in directing Don Bosco in working with youth in difficulty, who continued to direct him in his weekly confession, who advised him to take up lodgings with Don Borel at the Refuge, who worked closely with him in the foundation of the Oratory, giving him financial support and convincing others to fund his charitable foundation and, when necessary, to defend him from critics even from the clergy. Here we see what a wise spiritual director Fr Cafasso was, and how his guidnace in the first few years of Don Bosco as a priest  proved to be crucial.

Fr Joseph Cafasso exposed the young priests who came to the Convitto under his care to the challenging pastoral realities of a city fast becoming industrialized. Don Bosco was no exception, and in reading the Memoirs one can see the impact that Don Bosco’s visit to the prisons left on him: “It was Fr Cafasso who first took me into the prisons, where I soon learned how great was the malice and misery of mankind.”

 

United to Christ

Benedict XVI to Priests on Holy Thursday

This week  is the feast of St Joseph Cafasso, Spiritual Director of Don Bosco. He died 150 years ago on the 23rd of June 1860 at the age of only 49. He was indeed a wise spiritual director able to discern God's action in Don Bosco's life. Let us mark his day in humble gratitude for the role he played in Don Bosco's vocation and in the founding of the Salesian Society, as we pray that we too may like Don Bosco seek to be in spiritual direction so as to discern God’s will in our lives.

As an aid to reflect on the priesthood, in this edition we are bringing a synthesis of the Pope’s homily on Holy Thursday at the Chrism Mass. Indeed it is a beautiful reflection on the priesthood.

One way of marking the feast of St Joseph Cafasso is to have a penitential service in community and  facilitating the possibility of confession and/or spiritual direction as we bring the Year of the Priest to a close in community.