News - March 2010 RSS Feed

This week’s trinity of high holy days is the lynchpin between Lent and Easter. All of the Stations of the Cross and poor man’s suppers and confession lines bring us to Jesus’ last hours on earth. Just as in Mass when we "interrupt" the Eucharistic prayer to proclaim the mystery of faith, we move away from Eucharist as usual and enter into three days of liturgical drama and scriptural feasting.

At the start of this Holy Week, we invite you to visit the Web site of our fellow Redemptorists from the Denver Province. Their site this week features a quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s work, The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ .

“When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:33-34).

Redemptorists are known for being good preachers and good confessors. Ever wonder how they learn those things? Read about it in the new edition of our quarterly newsletter, Plentiful Redemption. You’ll also learn how you can support our men who are in formation and continuing their studies for ministry.

On March 18, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Redemptorist Father Ralph Heskett of the London Province, as the Bishop of Gibraltar. He will succeed Bishop Charles Caruana, KHS., C.St.J., who has surpassed retirement age and was awaiting a successor.

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). It is easy for us as onlookers to condemn the crowd as unfair accusers of the woman caught in adultery, to feel indignant toward them, and to feel that justice was served when Jesus made a simple request of the woman’s accusers.

Today is the feast of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer who is considered a second founder of the Redemptorists for his efforts to establish the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer north of the Alps. He founded the first Redemptorist house in Warsaw, Poland, where he lived for more than 20 years before fleeing the Napoleonic invasion.

Redemptorist Brother Gilbert John Hunter died March 13 at the St. John Neumann Residence at Stella Maris in Timonium, MD. He was 89. Brother Gilbert was born August 10, 1920, and professed vows as a Redemptorist October 16, 1997.

Click here to read the homily delivered by Very Rev. Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R., during the funeral Mass at the St. John Neumann Residence at Stella Maris. Redemptorist Brother Gilbert Mary Hunter, who could find a cheerful word for anyone he encountered, died Saturday, March 13, at St. John Neumann Residence, Stella Maris, in Timonium, MD.

Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province hosted the Superior General of the Congregation at their retreat house in Long Branch, NJ, this week. Most Rev. Michael Brehl held several meetings with Redemptorists representing the provinces in North America.

"’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province will welcome the Superior General of the Congregation March 10 at our retreat house, San Alfonso, in Long Branch, NJ . He will celebrate Mass and meet with province leaders.

Redemptorist Father Kevin Milton, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Baltimore, has asked for prayers for the students, teachers, and families affected by last week’s announcement that the parish school will close in June.

Redemptorist Father Gerard Francis Campbell died March 5 of a sudden heart attack. He was serving in the Province of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A funeral Mass will be celebrated March 8 at 10 a.m. in Puerto Rico.

The Sisters of Mercy—Mid-Atlantic Community recently leased the Redemptorists’ former seminarian residence in Whitestone, NY. The St. Alphonsus Formation Residence will become a Convent of Mercy where 30 senior Sisters of Mercy from Brooklyn, Long Island, and other parts of New York will live.

“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means!" (Luke 13:2-3) So typical of the Gospels, these nine brief verses cover so much ground and pose such profound questions: Why do bad things happen to good people?