JESUS, THE CENTER OF HIS LIFE

 

Another young man who is an example to our 21^st C. youth is BL. ALBERTO MARVELLI, who was a member of the Catholic Action movement. He was noted for his defense of the poor and for selflessness during World War II in tending to the homeless and wounded despite the devastating air raids while placing himself at risk. He also saved numerous people from deportation, freeing them from sealed train carriages before the train could set off.

 Bl. Alberto was also an active champion for social justice and was known for giving his possessions to the poor and homeless, especially during the harsh winter periods. He served as a town councilor for some time after the war and helped in restoration efforts though he died in an accident before election as a Christian Democrat candidate.

 Bl. Alberto was born in 1918 inFerrara as the second of six children to Luigi Marvelli (a bank clerk) and his wife Maria Mayr. In his childhood Alberto was known for being  thoughtful with an enthusiastic willingness to aid other people. His mother, who herself worked in charities,  was a great influence on his religious formation and often invited the poor to their home. The Marvelli's moved to Rimini in 1930 where Alberto attended the Salesian "oratorio" school and was involved with the Catholic Action group in his parish from the age of twelve.

One childhood friend of his was the filmmaker Federico Fellini. Alberto loved all kinds of sports, especially cycling. His father died unexpectedly on 7 March 1933, leaving his wife to take care of the children alone. It was some months later in October that Alberto began to keep a spiritual journal.

In 1936, aged eighteen, he was elected president of the Italian branch of the Catholic Action movement. He continued his studies at the University of Bologna where he graduated in 1941 with a degree in engineering and began working with the Fiat company in Turin.

 He left soon after for conscription into the armed forces in Trieste but was exempted from it after a few months on the grounds that two of his brothers were already in service. It was not long after this that he began teaching in a high school.

 Throughout World War II he continued to serve the poor at great personal cost and risk to himself. His family was forced to move to Vergiano, seven kilometres from Rimini, because of the devastating air raids. Despite the risk to his own life, after each bombing he would go back to Rimini to help the wounded and those made homeless by the attack.

 He is known to have given even his bicycle and the shoes off his feet to those most in need. He also gave out food to them as well as mattresses and blankets for their comfort.  Bl. Alberto wrote in his diary: Jesus has enfolded me in his grace. I no longer see anyone but Him, I think only of Him”. Bl. Alberto made the daily Eucharist the center of his life.

Once the war had ended, the interim authorities entrusted to Alberto the task of housing allocation and he proved an able administrator. Months later he was appointed to the town council. He opened a soup kitchen for the poor where he himself served and as co-founder of Italian Workers' Catholic Action formed a cooperative for construction workers.

He agreed to run in elections as a candidate for the Christian Democrats around this point but died before the elections.People still voted for him though his mother took his place as a candidate.

Bl. Alberto  was killed in the evening of 5 October 1946 when a van belonging to the armed forces struck him on a dark road as he cycled to a polling station for an election meeting. In 1968 his remains were placed in the Sant' Agostino church in Rimini in a decorated tomb. The then Prelate of Loreto, Archbishop Angelo Comastri, speaking on Vatican Radio, said that "one can be in politics and be a saint" as shown by the blessed’s life. He also pointed to the way in which Alberto had shown a level of honesty and integrity in his political activity not always found in the arena of politics.

The miracle that led to his beatification was the healing in August 1991 of a doctor from Bologna named Tito Malfatti of an aggressive hernia. Over 250 000 people attended the beatification celebration

Today, the Church needs young people to be heroic witnesses and the life of  Bl. Alberto  is an important lesson for high school, college and young adults living in an age where there is so much hopelessness. He stands along side of Bl Carlos Acuti and Bl.Giorgio Frasetti.

NAVAL SACRIFICE

 

 

FATHER ALOYSIUS H. SCHMITT  was a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, who served as a chaplain in the United States Navy at the beginning of World War II.

He was born in St. Lucas, Iowa, on December 4, 1909.  He studied at Columbia College (now Loras College) in Dubuque and graduated in 1932. He then studied in Rome for the priesthood and was ordained on December 8, 1935. Father Schmitt was first assigned as an associate at Saint Mary's Church in Dubuque. He was also assigned to St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After four years, he received permission to become a chaplain, and joined the United States Navy. He was appointed Acting Chaplain with rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG) on June 28, 1939.

On December 7, 1941, Father Schmitt was serving on board the battleship USS Oklahoma during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when a hit caused the ship to capsize. A number of sailors, including Father Schmitt, were trapped in a compartment with only a small porthole as the means of escape. Father Schmitt helped a number of men through this porthole. When it came his time to leave, he declined and helped more men escape. In total, he helped 12 men escape.

 Father. Schmitt died on board the Oklahoma, and was the first chaplain of any faith to have died in World War II. Most of the bodies were recovered after the ship was righted in 1943. His remains were originally buried in a cemetery in Hawaii as an "Unknown."

 In 1944, the Navy presented a specially made crucifix to the Archdiocese of Dubuque, in honor of Chaplain Schmitt. It was 24 inches tall and was made from the teakwood deck of the Oklahoma. The corpus of Christ on the crucifix was shaped from the ship's metal. The presentation was made by the chief of chaplains, 8th Naval district.

In 2015 the United States Department of Defense exhumed the remains of what were believed to be 388 military personnel. Father Schmitt's remains were identified in 2016 from DNA taken from his skull and matched with that of a relative. They were returned to Iowa where a Memorial Mass was celebrated in his home parish of St. Luke in St. Lucas on October 5, 2016. His remains were transferred to Dubuque where a funeral Mass and burial were held in Christ the King Chapel at Loras College on October 8.

Father Schmitt was honored posthumously by the U.S. government when it awarded him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart. On December 7, 2017 he was awarded the Silver Star. St. Francis Xavier Chapel at Camp Lejeune was dedicated in his memory in 1942.

 A destroyer escort named USS Schmitt was commissioned in 1943 by the Navy in his honor and served the U.S. Navy until 1967, when it was transferred to Taiwan.

Christ the King Chapel at Loras College was dedicated in his memory in 1947 and contains some of his personal effects that had been recovered from the Oklahoma, including his chalice and prayer book, and other items that were donated to the school. Present at the dedication were Cardinal Samuel Stritch of Chicago and Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.

City Island, in the Mississippi River near Dubuque (formerly known as Ham's Island, after Mathias Ham who once owned it) was renamed Chaplain Schmitt Memorial Island. A new memorial "Skyward" is on the island. It was conceived as a solemn tribute to all veterans calling Dubuque, Iowa their home. Sited as the pinnacle element, the piece culminates the journey along the memorial pathway with an invitation to enter the stainless-steel coil. While honoring Chaplain Schmitt, Skyward also commends the sacrifice of veterans in the service of our country. Built over water, the installation suggests suspension between earth and sky, and ultimately, the moment between life and death.

 Like Christ Himself, he laid down his life for others, that they might have life.

MONASTERY QUEEN - A RARE BREED

 

I often  write of our dogs- I am a dog, not a cat person- but at present we have a cat that deserves mention.  She is a rare NEBELUNG, who came to us from Orcas Island when the owner was moving and could not take her.  Neighbors heard of her and contacted Mother Catarina, who had recently lost her beloved Toby.

Nebelungs have long bodies, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild dispositions. The name Nebelung is derived from the German translation for "creature of the mist."

The American foundation of this cat breed was laid by the cats Siegfried (1984) and Brunhilde (1985). Cora Cobb, the owner of Siegfried and Brunhilde, was very impressed by the beauty of her blue-grey cats. Siegfried and Brunhilde looked like a Russian Blue   but with a semi-long coat. To find out if it was possible to start a new breed with these cats, Cora got in touch with the geneticist of the American Cat Association.

 This geneticist, Solveig Pfleuger, said that the breed was best defined as semi-long haired Russian Blue. Supported by Pfleuger, Cobb wrote the breeding standard according to the Russian Blue, but with a difference: its coat length.

Russian Blue breeders from The International Cat Association (TICA), however, objected to this, and the breed standard was thus revised to describe a unique breed, resembling blue-grey cats that had been imported from Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

TICA was the first association to recognize the Nebelung and provides the breed standard. The goal of the Nebelung breeding program is to produce a blue cat with the same type as those early Russian imports and to combine this type with a thick shimmering coat of medium length. The body and tail are long, the ears large in proportion to the head, and the eyes range in color from yellowish green to green.

Size is medium and the body well-muscled. The coat is medium long on the body and longer on the tail, with lighter colored guard hairs. The soft double coat feels fine and silky; it is gray in color and is tipped with silver. The fur on the tail is longer than that on the body. Tufts of fur are found behind the ears and in between the toes, and the hind legs sport pantaloons. 

Nebelung cats are lively, playful, affectionate, good-natured, and intelligent. The cat's mild-mannered state and personality may not always reflect the relatively high level of intelligence often found in the breed.

Nebelungs prefer their own families and often keep a distance from strangers. They tend to bond with a select few humans and stay loving and devoted throughout their lives. It is, however, a cat that gladly accepts company of its people or of another cat.

 Nebelungs are very good communicators and will remind their owners of problems.  (see below) This happens often since Nebelungs can be very picky about things such as litter cleanliness and their food. (Don't we know).

Many owners of Nebelung cats say that they can act more like dogs at times, being extremely loyal to their owner and family. They are also known for being easily leash trained with use of a proper harness. The breed is also very playful and is known to learn to fetch and retrieve toys when thrown.

 Better than toys, our Zarah loves the hunt. Just when we think we have seen the last shrew on Shaw, we look out to see the front of the chapel lines with more. 

Not only is our Zahara a rare breed but she is a rare character.  She likes to go for walks daily and woe is Mother Cat (as she is affectionally called) if she forgets.  No, she does not need a lead, as she likes to lead, and take us where she wills!

All photos of OLRs "Zarah"  Top photo Mother Prioress Noella

others  by Mother Catarina

NEW MEXICAN SAINT

 

Another saint who had a great devotion to the Eucharist, as well as a member of the Knights of Columbus, was LUIS BATIZ SAINZ. He was born in Mexico in 1870 and at the age of 12 he entered the seminary of Durango, where he was known for his piety. From his ordination in 1894 until his death, he served as spiritual director of the seminary and parish priest at San Pedro Chalchihuites,  Zacatecas . 

His involvement with Catholic Action led him to found elementary and technical schools.  He was known to be friendly, cheerful, kind, and good-natured, and loved by his people.

In 1926, he spoke at a meeting that discussed the possibility of armed rebellion against the oppressive government, whose anticlerical policies alienated the religious Catholics of the country.

After convening a meeting of the National League in defense of religious freedom before the bishops closed the churches, Father Batiz was denounced as a conspirator plotting to overthrow the government and forced into hiding. He was arrested Aug.14. by government soldiers. When the townspeople demanded his release, he was transferred to Zacatecas. En route he was shot together with three members of Catholic Action (SS. Manuel Morales, Salvador Lara, and David Anrold).

Father Batiz was both beatified (1992) and canonized ( 2000) by Pope John Paul II.  His feast is May 25.

He is reported to have said, "Lord, I want to be a martyr; though I am your unworthy minister, I want to shed my blood, drop by drop, for your name."

MODERN SAINT OF VOCATIONS

Most religious orders are praying for vocations these days. Here is an order of nuns who found a young woman to intercede for them.  Perhaps we all need to find our intercessor!

 SERVANT of GOD CLAIRE de CASTELBAJA was born in Paris in 1953, the youngest of five.  From a young age she  was known to be prayerful, generous, and passionate, with a love for life.

Into her teens, she found the social and political changes of the 1960s deeply unsettling. To counteract some of this, she formed the Chorale Claire de Castelbajac, which continues to this day.

She was accepted as a foreign student at the Central Institute of Restoration in Rome.  She was even more distressed by the youth of her generation.

“The only thing that interests them is pleasure in all its forms. So that depresses me and disgusts me a little. Sometimes, when I see the people around me, I think to myself that it wouldn’t be so bad to be like them. Then I pray to have the courage, I could even say sometimes the heroism, to resist.”

But like so many young people, she found it hard to resist the troubled times. Fortunately, her falling away was short-lived and she returned to the Church.  She would turn back to Christ and to the Church.

She once remarked to a nun: “I would like to give happiness to all those I approach and sow joy. Thérèse of Lisieux expected to be in heaven to make others happy. I want to do it on earth.”

Her work in restoration took her to the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi where  she worked on two frescoes. While there in  January of 1975, she fell gravely ill with meningoencephalitis, a serious neurological condition consisting in inflammation of the brain and surrounding tissues.

Knowing that her condition was terminal, she told her mother: “I am so happy that if I died now, I believe I would go straight to Heaven, since Heaven means praising God, and I’m already there!”  She offered her suffering up for the world, after an intense life of prayer.

In her letters, journals, and writings can be seen the depth of her spiritual life. 

The Cisterian Abbey of Sainte Marie “de Boular ” (Closest city is Toulouse in SW France) was suffering from a shortage of vocations for 30 years, so decided to pray to Claire. The prioress was a childhood friend of Claire’s mother.  She had the Cistercian Abbot General read a collection of letters from Claire.  He decided, in the opening of the cause of beatification of Claire, to ask the nuns to pray for five new vocations during the year 1981. Five young women actually presented themselves that year. Since then one to two per year enter. 

The community also welcomed, until her death in 2005, the mother of Claire de Castelbajac. The tomb of the young servant of God is also in this monastery.

As a result of the increase in the community, the monastery in 1998, sent nuns to the Abbey of Rieunette, near Narbonne (SW of Montpellier), abandoned since the Revolution. In 2021, the community of Boulaur has thirty-one sisters, whose average age is only forty-three.

The monastery's agricultural project is ambitious; it is committed to an organic farming approach, an approach further reinforced since the encyclical "Laudato Si' in 2015. The orchard is notably in permaculture . At the beginning of 2020, the sisters broadcast a video on the Internet in which they explain the project they have to build "a Cistercian barn of the 21st century". This building will allow them to quintuple their production with twenty-five cows, a dozen pigs, workshops, a cheese dairy (with Jersey cows), a delicatessen, a reception area and an exhibition hall.

HOLDING THE EUCHARIST IN IRAQ

As one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world, the Christians of Iraq with a culturally rich ecclesiastical heritage, have given the Church innumerable saints, many of whom are martyrs for the faith. 

One of the most recent martyrs for the faith was SERVANT of GOD RAGHEED AZIZ GANNI, an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic priest, who was killed along with three subdeacons,  his cousin Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed in front of Mosu's Holy Spirit Chaldean Church, where he was a parish priest, Trinity Sunday, 2007.

 Father Ragheed was born in 1972 in the predominantly Sunni city of Mosul , Iraq.

After completing a degree in Civil Engineering at Mosul University in 1996 and fulfilling obligatory military service under the Saddam Hussein regime, he entered the seminary in Iraq. In 1996 his bishop sent him to Rome  for further study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum where he completed a licentiate in ecumenical theology in 2003. He was ordained a priest in Rome on 13 October 2001 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. While studying in Rome, he made a point to be actively engaged with the poor, and frequently volunteered with the Sant'Egidio community, delivering meals to the homeless.

During his study in Rome he resided at the Pontifical Irish College where he played soccer for the College. The annual showcase 5-a-side tournament played in May among the Scots, English, Beda and Irish Colleges has been named the "Ragheed Cup" in his memory.

 Father Ragheed celebrated his first Mass in the Chapel at the Irish College. Today he is one of the nine figures represented in the apse of that chapel where the relics of Saint Oliver Plunkett rest in the altar wrapped in the priestly stole of Father Ragheed. He regularly offered Mass for the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas which was at the time housed on the grounds of the Irish College.

 Fluent in Aramaic, Arabic, Italian, French, and English, he served as a correspondent for the international agency Asia News of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

He was finishing his degree in Rome when the Iraq war broke out. Father Ganni had received permission from his bishop to return to the Angelicum in Rome to work on a doctorate in ecumenism. In a prewar interview he expressed his opposition to the invasion of Iraqi fearing that Iraqi Christians would be targeted and persecuted. He looked forward to returning to his native land to serve the Church and people there. He did so after Saddam Hussein was ousted from power in 2003.

On June 3, 2007, Father Ganni had just finished celebrating the Sunday evening Mass and three deacons had recently decided to accompany him because of threats against his life. After the liturgy, he was walking away from the church with Daud as Isho, Bidawed, and Isho's wife followed by car. The group was stopped by unknown armed men.

 One of the gunmen shouted at Father Ganni that he had warned him to close the church and demanded to know why he didn't do it. Father replied asking "How can I close the house of God?" The gunmen ordered the woman to flee. Then after the gunmen demanded that the four men convert to Islam and they refused, the four were shot. The car was then set with explosives to deter interference and so that the bodies would remain abandoned. Several hours passed until a police bomb-squad defused the devices, allowing corpses to be recovered.

Thousands of people attended the funeral of the four men in Karemlash, Iraq on 4 June 2007. Father Ganni was secretary to Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Archbishop of Mosul of the Chaldean Church, Iraq's largest Christian community.  Archbishop Rahho was murdered only nine months after Father Ganni's death, in the same city of Mosul.

Father Ragheed was known to have a sense of humor and from the many photos of him, it is obvious he was a man of great joy, with a love for the Eucharist..

"There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say 'Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sin of the world', I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us...keeping us united in His boundless love...In normal times, everything is taken for granted and we forget the greatest gift that is made to us. Ironically, through terrorist violence that we have truly learned that it is the Eucharist, the Christ who died and rose, that gives us life. And this allows us to resist and hope."

BIRDS AND STRESS

 

We all know that spending time in nature is known to improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, and relieve a sense of isolation and loneliness.  The exact reasons this phenomenon happens are unclear at this point, but it’s been proven in many studies that associations with nature have these effects on us. 

Academics at the University of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the University of Queensland did a study on the effect that just seeing BIRDS  out your window can have on one’s overall well-being.  The results showed a significant lowering of depression, anxiety, and stress in those people who interacted with birds.  It's undeniable that birds bring joy to people of all ages. 

When stress and anxiety are reduced, the heart rate returns to normal, blood pressure can be lowered and there will also be a reduction in the high levels of cortisone associated with stress.

 It can also improve cognitive functions like memory and attention and reduce stress.    (Painting:  Lisa Finch- USA)

The therapeutic qualities of nature have also been recognized in the United States, where there are now 87 programs nationally that prescribe time in nature to medical patients.

One example is Park Rx America, a non-profit organization of healthcare professionals that prescribe connections with nature as a part of treating chronic disease.Robert Zarr, a Washington, D.C., physician and founder of Park RX   is working to get other doctors and healthcare professionals on board. More than 600 have signed up to the group’s platform to make it easy for doctors to locate green spaces near patients and track how patients “fill” prescriptions, which specify an activity and a frequency.

 He envisions a similar tool embedded in electronic health-record systems one day, and in 2019 the National Institutes of Health funded a five-year research trial to test physical and mental health outcomes at the community health center where he works.

 Over time, such programs may be a boon both for people and nature, especially with recent surveys indicating that 25 percent of U.S. residents spend two or fewer hours a week outdoors. 

Researchers have found that people who listen to bird songs became more relaxed than those who listened to a meditation app.  So next time you take a walk or go hiking, be sure and listen for the birds!