BLESSED FRIEND OF THE POPE'S

 

VENERABLE ENRIQUE ERNESTO SHAW was an Argentine Roman Catholic businessman. He was born in France, later emigrating to Argentina where he served in the marines. He promoted and encouraged business growth in accordance with the social doctrine of the faith and  founded the Christian Association of Business Executives. He was also a prolific writer and published a range of books.\

 He was born in 1921 in Paris as one of two children of Argentine parents, Alejandro Shaw and Sara Tornquist Altgelt; he was of both German and Scottish descent. The Shaws moved back to Argentina in 1923. Sara died in 1925. 

Before she died, she made her husband promise that he would have the Enrique’s religious education entrusted to a Sacramentino priest. Enrique’s father kept his promise.

Enrique was enrolled in the Colegio de La Salle in Buenos Aires. He was not only an outstanding student, but his deep religious faith stood out. He attended Mass every day and received Holy Communion.

He was among the top three in his class and became the youngest graduate of the school to graduate.

 He served as a marine in Argentina and entered in 1936 despite the opposition of his father. He became a Junior Lieutenant.

 He started his business at the conclusion of World War II and established in 1952 the Christian Association of Business Executives with the assistance of Archbishop, later Cardinal, Joseph Cardijn of Belgium.

He became a prolific writer and he published a wide range of books. He was also among the founders of the Christian Family Movement and he also served as the president of the Argentine Catholic Action. He also established a pension fund and a health care plan to provide medical services and financial support in circumstances such as illness and new births.

 In 1955 he became a victim of anti-Catholic persecution in the administration of Juan Peron. He was arrested and was seen as an altruistic prisoner as he provided fellow inmates with mattresses that relatives brought to him as well as food. In 1961 a firm he led was sold to an American trust fund that decided to fire over a thousand people.

Venerable Enrique was opposed to this and proposed a plan to retain all workers.

One of his initiatives was the application of Catholic social doctrine in the workplace, using  the social teachings of Pope Pius XII in 1946. At that time he served in an organization for humanitarian aid for post-war Europe.

 In 1943 he married Cecilia Bunge and the couple went on to have nine children; one of whom became a priest. All of his children were taught the importance of prayer.

 In 1957 he fell ill with cancer. He took to writing during this time and also found time to speak at conferences. In mid1962 he received a blood transfusion donated from his fellow workers. People at the hospital that the Venerable was admitted to were astonished to see the number of workers in line to donate blood.

 Enrique himself said before his death that he was pleased that the blood of his workers coursed through his veins. He was able to take a pilgrimage to Lourdes before his death. He died on 27 August 1962 in a hospital in Buenos Aires at the age of 41.

Venerable Enrique was a member of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. The beatification process began in September 2001 under Pope  (St.) John Paul II in a process in Buenos Aires under Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis.

 In an interview in 2015, the Holy Father said of him: “Enrique Shaw was rich, yet saintly. A person can have money. God gives it to him so he can administer it well, and this man administered it well.”

 

CATHOLICS IN AMERICA- SURVEY

 

Some interesting new surveys from the Pew Research Center regarding Catholics in the USA, including priests. 

Twenty % of Americans identify as Catholic (a stable number since 2014), which is roughly 52 million people, 24% of U.S. adults. 57% are white, 33% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2% Black. Catholics tend to be older than Americans overall, but Hispanic Catholics are younger. 

These numbers may look great, but only 3 in 10 (28%) say they attend Mass weekly or more often, yet 52% say religion is very important in their life. Where is devotion to the Eucharist in this picture?

 About a third have a bachelor’s degree. 28% have some college experience but not a bachelor’s degree, and 40% have a high school education or less, a distribution similar to that of the general adult population.

 About 6 in 10 U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal, in contrast to the Church’s teaching.  This includes 39% who say it should be legal in most cases and 22% who say it should be legal in all cases. Catholic Democrats, who number 78%, say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 43% of Catholic Republicans say this. 

One wonders what being Catholic means.

On a brighter side, the typical ordinand regularly took part in Eucharistic adoration (77%) and prayed the Rosary (71%) before entering seminary, according to a survey conducted for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.  392 of the 475 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States were questioned.  

The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2023 is a 34-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a survey.  43% attended a Catholic elementary school, 32% a Catholic high school or college.13% were home schooled, typically for eight years. 82% of the time, both parents were Catholic.

60% had earned their undergraduate degree before entering seminary, and 15% had earned a graduate degree. Unlike days gone-by, men do not enter seminary as young as in past:3% entered seminary in high school, 35% in college, 52% at a pre-theology level, and 10% at a theology level.

And who influenced these young men? 63% were encouraged by a parish priest to consider a vocation; 41% were encouraged by a parishioner, 41% by a friend, 32% by their mother, and 23% by their father. So while the family is definitely important for a stable influence and prayer life, outsiders had a greater % of influence. A large % took part in some Catholic outside activity, such as youth group, campus ministry, Knights of Columbas.

38% of the men attended seminaries in the Midwest, 28% in the South, 17% in the Northeast, 12% in the West, and 5% abroad.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

 

Good Shepherd Sunday, the 4^th Sunday after Easter is designated World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Pope St. Paul VI instituted the day of prayer in 1964 and placed it on the Sunday on which the Gospel of the Good Shepherd is read at Mass.

 

                                                                  Ted Roberts- UK

“The problem of having a sufficient number of priests,” he stated in his message for the 1st World Day of Prayer for Vocations, “has an immediate impact on all of the faithful: not simply because they depend on it for the religious future of Christian society, but also because this problem is the precise and inescapable indicator of the vitality of faith and love of individual parish and diocesan communities, and the evidence of the moral health of Christian families. Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity.”

“Vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life are born out of the experience of a personal encounter with Christ, out of sincere and confident dialogue with him, so as to enter into his will. It is necessary, therefore, to grow in the experience of faith, understood as a profound relationship with Jesus, as inner attentiveness to his voice which is heard deep within us.

 This process, which enables us to respond positively to God’s call, is possible in Christian communities where the faith is lived intensely, where generous witness is given of adherence to the Gospel, where there is a strong sense of mission which leads people to make the total gift of self for the Kingdom of God, nourished by recourse to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and by a fervent life of prayer. This latter “must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly.” (Spe Salvi, 34).     Pope Benedict XVI,  2013

NEW SAINT FOR THE EUCHARIST?

 

At this time of Eucharistic Renewal, it is important that we have holy people who give us example of great love for Jesus in His gift to us with His Body freely given.

 The Vatican has granted permission to initiate an investigation into the potential canonization of NINA RUIZ-ABAD, a 13-year-old native of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines.

 Nina died in 1993 at the age of 13 due to a cardiac disease. Her great devotion to the Eucharist is what sets her apart from others her age.

 Bishop Renato Mayugba, who had a close relationship with Nina, spoke about her with reverence and wonder. “That’s the girl who always wore a rosary. The girl who loved to pray. The girl who loved God so much.”

 The path to sainthood is normally not an easy one. According to Vatican rules, five years must pass after a person’s death to begin the process, allowing emotions to subside and objectivity to prevail.

 The Congregation for the Causes of Saints then thoroughly scrutinized the evidence of her holiness in her life, scrutinizing every aspect of it. If approved, the Pope would designate her as “venerable,” starting off the journey of beautification.

 Niña was born Oct. 31, 1979, in Quezon City on  Luzon island. Her parents were lawyers, but her father died when she was only 3 years old. She grew up in Quezon City  along with her sister, Mary Anne. She attended school at the Child Study Center of the University of the Philippines and later at the Holy Angels Montessori School, both in Quezon City. 

 Her mother, a devotee of divine mercy, moved with her daughters to Sarrat, 300 miles to the north of Quezon City, in April 1988 to work at the Department of Justice. Nina started high school at Mariano Marcos State University High School in nearby Laoag CIty.

 When Father Danny Pajarillaga met Nina in 1993, he immediately noticed her great love for the Eucharist and that she prayed a lot. She was known to distribute rosaries, Bibles, prayer books, and holy cards in her neighborhood and at school.

 “She was a walking testimony of piety and religion. She was always dressed in white and with a rosary around her neck,” those who knew her recalled.

 At the age of 10 Nina was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and lived with the disease for three years with great faith and joy. 

“Niña’s life was one of prayer, adoration, and an intimate relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Bishop Mayugba said.

On Aug. 16, 1993, she suffered cardiac arrest while she was at school and was immediately taken to the hospital, where she died. She was buried in a public cemetery in Sarrat and her grave is now a pilgrimage site.

 “Today, children and young people are inspired by the life of Niña Ruiz-Abad to live a life rooted in prayer. Her story continues to reach the hearts of many people because it is an example of how with God obstacles can be overcome,” the Philippine Bishops’ Conference stated.

 

UNDOER OF KNOTS

 

One of our favorite artists has a new, very beautiful, image of our Lady, this time, Undoer of Knots. He did the lovely painting of Our Lady of Seattle, a copy of which hangs in our chapel. Daniel says of the Undoer, he used influence of styles from Persian, Mexican, Gothic and Northumbro- Irish art.

Pictured with Our Lady are The Archangel Raphael and Tobias and his dog.

 We need to pray to our Lady that she can untie some of the knots in our troubled world today, especially in the Middle east!

TO CALL THEE LOVE

Let Me Be To Thee As The Circling Bird

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Let me be to Thee as the circling bird,
Or bat with tender and air-crisping wings
That shapes in half-light his departing rings,
From both of whom a changeless note is heard.
I have found my music in a common word,
Trying each pleasurable throat that sings
And every praised sequence of sweet strings,
And know infallibly which I preferred.
The authentic cadence was discovered late
Which ends those only strains that I approve,
And other science all gone out of date
And minor sweetness scarce made mention of:
I have found the dominant of my range and state—
Love, O my God, to call Thee Love and Love.

Great Blue Heron- Holly Wach

UKRAINE UPDATE- MUSIC

 

Mother Felicitas’ son (a tenured professor at Dartmouth and expert on Russian politics) was just here, and as usual gives us an update on the on-going crises in the Ukraine. This reminded me that in the British music magazine we receive from a neighbor (See Blog February 23), I found another Ukrainian musician in this last month’s issue. In looking him up I found an article from The Flute View from April 1, 2022.

DENIS SAVELYEV is flute player from Lviv. He was the first-prize winner of the 2017 NYFC Competition, “Rising Star'' at the 2021 Galway Flute Festival, and Young Artist of 2019 NFA. Denis began studying flute at the young age of five. After completing a combined Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the ‘Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow, he moved to the USA to pursue a MM and Professional Studies at the Mannes School of Music, The New School University, where he studied under Judith Mendenhall. He was later a member of The Orchestra Now, graduating from Bard College with a Master’s degree in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies. Currently, Denis is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in the studio of Marina Piccinini.

 Denis has won multiple prizes, including the 1st Prize at the New York Flute Club Competition, the New Jersey Flute Society, and the 2nd Prize at the Young Artist Competition of the National Flute Association. 

Orchestrally, he has worked with the Mariinsky Theater in Vladivostok, as well as with Orchestra Now, the Manhattan Symphonie, and the New York Symphonic Ensemble on its Japanese tour in 2016

He has performed at various international venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC; Merkin Concert Hall, the Morgan Library, and the Metropolitan Museum in NYC; Lviv Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthaus; Suntory Hall in Tokyo, as well as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, under conductors such as Neeme Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Hans Graf, Gerard Schwarz (of Seattle), and Tan Dun. 

In The Flute View, Denis expressed great worry and his sorrow at the state of things in his home country. While he and his parents are safe in the USA, many of his friends are not. He says he is usually a positive person, but watching what is happening in The Ukraine, he is not always positive.  But, he has hope that things will get better, and feels the present situation has taught the country about unity and the importance of freedom.

 Denis reminds us that musicians in Ukraine have different roles today as some are on the front line of battle (some having lost their lives), some volunteering to help refugees and other refugees themselves. Denis feels we can all help, if not financially, then at least in a thought (prayer) especially that this courageous country will survive and that its unique music will live on.