The meeting this month occurred on the Solemnity of All Saints – and this year was the 25^th anniversary of the Canonization of St. Gaspar Bertoni.

As usual, the meeting opened with a concelebrated Mass – with our Marist confreres who live with us here, and our Reverend Provincial, Fr. Gregory Hoppough. Fr. Hoppough had to leave after Mass to attend a Memorial service for a much-loved faculty member of near-by St. Pope John 23rd Seminary, the late Fr. Thomas Schmidt.

In the homily, the emphasis was on St. Gaspar Bertoni’s service of Holy Abandonment to the Church – honoring the Father, Son and Holy   Spirit, with the intercession of the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph – as his living of the ˆFiatˆ in the Lord’s Prayer. The Our  Father was presented as the prayer of Hope of the Baptized committing each one to self-giving in their abandonment to the Trinity and in service to the Church.

The Prayer of St. Ignatius [Suscipe – cf. Sp. Ex. # 234] which expresses the Ignatian Mode of serving the Church, in the Company of Jesus – expressing loving obedience to His Father, as the Jesuit does to the Pope. A comparison was also made with the Prayer of Holy Abandonment of Charles de Foucauld. These are inspired interpretations of each one’s personal charism.

For St. Gaspar Bertoni, his mode of self-giving, was modeled on that of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his loving obedience to the Pope, St. Gaspar wanted a similar spirit to serve the Church as expressed through the apostolic needs of the Bishops of the world.

During the meeting, a letter was read from our “long-distance” members of the group,  Tereza and Vicente Lopes, natives of Brazil, but presently living and working in Plano Texas. Their suggestion was to make note of the Stigmatine blog which they are managing, for news concerning the Stigmatines [http://stigmatines.com/blog/].

Due to the small number of members attending, the discussion ensued whether our format for meetings is acceptable – or, if there is any other way membership could be increased. The ultimate decision on the continuance of the group is s Province matter.

The Baptismal nature of all charisms seems also to flow from the very mysterious life within the Trinity as we read in both Paul and John that God so loved the world that He gave up His only Son – and the Son shows His love for us, by handing over His life on the Cross. St. Ignatius wanted all Jesuits to be in the company of Jesus and His loving obedience, by a special commitment to the  Pope. St. Gaspar Bertoni hoped that all interested n the Stigmatine charism might offer the holy abandonment to the most Blessed Trinity, but a true commitment to their vocation in life.

The next meeting was set tentatively for December 6^th, at the usual time, 9:00 a.m. for Mass.

Rev. Joseph Henchey, CSS

              The regular monthly morning of recollection took place on October 4, 2014 – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

The group assembled in St. Joseph’s Hall Chapel, for the 9:00 o’clock Community  Mass, celebrated by the Marist and Stigmatine Fathers, under the leadership of the Provincial, Fr. Gregory Hoppough, one of the con-celebrants.  Fr. Henchey was the main celebrant and spoke on the Lord’s Prayer – and its centerpiece, Thy will be done!  He noted that as the Heavenly Father gave up His only-begotten, most beloved Son [cf. Rm 8:32; Jn 3:16] – the saint of Assisi gave up his earthly father, excessively attached to his possessions, for his espousals to Lady Poverty.

It was pointed out that this was present in the 7 day creation story [beginning liturgically in the evening, then the morning, moving through the 7 day celebration  – for this Liturgy of Life], as well as in the Redemption narrative as lived by Jesus Himself,  lived through His life, perfected by His  ex-spiration on Calvary. Mary echoed this in her FIAT to the angel, making her the Mother of God– and confirmed this by standing next to the Cross of Christ, becoming the Mother of the Church.

The Our Father was lived in the Church’s faith as noted in DV 5 – as Mary and Joseph lived it toward each other, as noted in Pope John’s Paul’s Redemptoris Custos, emphasizing  St. Joseph and his husband’s self-giving to Mary and to the Christ child. For St. Ignatius it was the FIAT of a soldier’s obedience – for St. Francis de Sales, it was the fiat of charity.

For St. Gaspar Bertoni his fiat was apostolic as well as the acceptance of life long-poor health – a fiat of hope in his life-long oblation [obsequium  –  cf. Rm 12:1] to God’s Mercy

In the meeting itself at 10:00, it was noted that John Marzilli was attending a funeral for a family member. The pertinent parts of a letter from Tereza and Vicente Lopes, our long distance members from Brazil, living in Plano TX.  And Fr. Henchey noted a new member from Sacramento CA, John Archuleta. Those attending offered prayers for the recently concluded Council of Superiors and its decisions. Next year this annual meeting has been scheduled for this USA Stigmatine Province.

The death this week of Fr. Carlo Cappai, CSS in Italy was noted – and prayers offered for the repose of his soul.

The conference pondered on the Holy Abandonment of St. Gaspar Bertoni, flowing also from St. Ignatius’ Personal prayer, Suscipe [cf. Sp Ex #  234] and the Prayer of Abandonment of Charles de Foucauld.

The meeting ended with the Sacrament of Reconciliation being celebrated for those who requested it. The next meeting is set for Saturday, November 1, 2014.

Rev. Joseph Henchey, CSS

On this first day of summer – the longest of the year [?] – we had a very pleasant day of recollection [Mass and a Conference] here on the liturgical commemoration of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, on the Influence of St. Gregory the Great, Pope, and St. Gaspar Bertoni.

The few of us present made plans for the coming year: to meet each First Saturday – and we will contact the members that used to attend, to see if they might be interested again, with our new format. We will ask for their prayers, and promise our own Mass is at 9:00 a.m. – coffee break after Mass until 10:00 – a 45 minute reflection on the Stigmatine spirituality and 15 minutes or so, of questions and discussion. The idea will be to cover one of the 12 parts of the original Stigmatine Constitutions each month. The typewritten text will be given to each one who can attend. The entire monthly endeavor is due to end around 11:00 a.m., starting in September.

Father Joseph Henchey, CSS,
Moderator of Stigmatine Laity