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2022: ‘The Year of Communion: Unity in Creed, Worship and Life’

Posted on by Cori Urban

The Diocese of Burlington will dedicate 2022 as “The Year of Communion: Unity in Creed, Worship and Life” to coincide with the theme Pope Francis has chosen for the next synod of bishops.

That theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.”

The pope will formally open the synod process at the Vatican Oct. 9-10 this year; the bishop of every Diocese will open the process in his Diocese Oct. 17.

The three-year synodal journey will have three phases — diocesan, continental and universal —of consultations and discernment, culminating with the assembly in October 2023 in Rome.

The diocesan phase will go through April 2022, featuring a consultation with local Catholics discussing a preparatory document and questionnaire that the synod office will send with guidelines for how the consultation should work.

The theme for 2022 in the Diocese of Burlington, “The Year of Communion: Unity in Creed, Worship and Life” was chosen not only as part of the preparation for the synod of bishops but as an effort to bring people back to parishes, back to communion, said Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne.

Diocesan pastoral and senior clergy staffs are preparing for the special year, which he wants to incorporate a focus on unity in creed, worship and life.

He said another round of questions for Vermont Catholics is needed even though they answered questions for the recent Diocesan Synod because the questions will be different for the synod of bishops, which will be more specific about the process of the synod rather than the content.

In revisions to the synod process announced in May, Pope Francis asked that it begin with consultations with laypeople. “Without this consultation, there would be no synodal process, because the discernment of pastors, which constitutes the second phase, emerges from listening to the people of God,” Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary of the synod, explained.

“The Second Vatican Council teaches that the people of God participate in the prophetic office of Christ,” he said. “Therefore, we must listen to the people of God, and this means going out to the local churches.”

“The governing principle of this consultation of the people of God is contained in the ancient principle ‘that which touches upon all must be approved by all’ — ‘Quod omnes tangit ab omnibus approbari debet,'” the cardinal said. “This is not about democracy or populism or anything like that. Rather, it is the Church that as the people of God, a people who by virtue of baptism, is an active subject in the life and mission of the Church.”

Bishop Coyne said this is an effort under the power of the Holy Spirit for members of the Church to consult and discuss the best way to move forward focusing on unity in creed, worship and life, “moving toward salvation and our love for God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Listening to every Catholic is “the true ‘pastoral conversion’ of the Church,” Cardinal Grech said. “God willing, one of the fruits of the synod is that we might all understand that a decision-making process in the Church always begins with listening, because only in this way can we understand how and where the Spirit wants to lead the Church.”

Bishop Coyne began a series of “town meetings” a few years ago that had to be curtailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But he hopes to resume them so he can visit different parishes and listen to parishioners’ concerns.

Details for “The Year of Communion: Unity in Creed, Worship and Life” must be worked out, but the bishop said its main focus will be on “our unity in love for God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, unity and love for each other as brothers and sisters and for all of our brothers and sisters in the world and unity around the faith of the Church, the worship of the Church and the life of the Church.”

—Cori Fugere Urban and Catholic News Service

—Originally published in the Sept. 18-24, 2021, edition of The Inland See.

 

 

2022 Advent Appeal

Posted on by Mary Beth Pinard

Every year, we are offered the gift of the grace-filled period called “Advent” that helps us prepare our hearts and minds in a special way for the celebration of the birth of Christ. As we anticipate Christ’s coming, we ask you to consider being the light for Vermonters in need of emergency assistance by making a gift to Vermont Catholic Charities’ annual Advent Appeal.

The “Season of Giving” has no bounds for people in need. At Christmastime and throughout the year, it is a daily struggle for many Vermonters to maintain housing, stay warm or feed their families. Please consider helping people in crisis, especially the most vulnerable among us — children, struggling parents, the elderly and those dealing with medical issues.

Help people like Peter and Crystal keep the heat on. Peter and Crystal have an eight-year-old son. They both are employed, but due to COVID they lost two weeks’ pay and fell behind on bills. They were running low on fuel and had expended their savings on other bills. They were concerned that in the cold of winter they would not be able to refill their tank. We assisted with a fuel delivery and provided a food card to help them get back on their feet. They stated, “We were stressed and felt very alone. This assistance gave us hope and relief. Thank you for helping our family.”

Help people like Sue feed her children. Sue is a single parent of three school-age children. She works full-time but her son has medical issues, so she had to reduce her work hours to care for him and take him to doctors’ appointments. Sue was worried about food and household expenses. Vermont Catholic Charities provided a food card. “Bless you for your kindness and generosity,” she said.

These are real people, and with your support we can assist people just like them, our neighbors in need. Last year, thanks to your generosity, more than 1,100 adults and 800 children received aid through the Advent Appeal and our year-round Emergency Aid Program.

Please support this worthy effort by sending a check to Vermont Catholic Charities, 55 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403 or giving online at vermontcatholic.org/adventappeal. Your gift helps us continue to be the hands and feet of Christ, showing God’s love in concrete ways.

On behalf of Vermont Catholic Charities and all the Vermonters you will help, thank you. May the joy and peace of the Advent and Christmas seasons be with you and your loved ones.

With gratitude,

Mary Beth Pinard, Executive Director, Vermont Catholic Charities Inc.

—Originally published in the Nov. 12-18, 2022, edition of The Inland See

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Stanislaus Kostka

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 13

Church • West Rutland

St. Stanislaus Kostka’s greatness would consist of who he was, not what he did. While studying with his brother at a Jesuit college in Vienna in 1564, Stanislaus became gravely ill. He later reported that the Blessed Mother had appeared to him and told him to join the Jesuit order.

He entered the Jesuit novitiate and was studying there when he fell ill again. On the Feast of the Assumption, 1568, Stanislaus told a priest that he saw Mary surrounded by many angels. This holy young man died shortly thereafter.

Venerated especially in Poland, his feast is Nov. 13.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in West Rutland was built in 1904 by Polish immigrants. Their heritage can be seen throughout the church. Paintings and statues of Polish saints are placed throughout the church. There is a statue of St. Stanislaus on the high altar and one outside the church. In the center of the church is a dazzling chandelier that came from Poland and is made of 1,500 glass crystals.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Michael

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 29

Church • Brattleboro

Although angels have been recognized throughout salvation history, St. Michael is one of the three archangels we know by name, the others being Raphael and Gabriel.

Michael appears in both the Old and New Testaments. He is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as well as the Letter of St. Jude; in the book of Revelation, he leads God’s armies in the final battle over evil. He also is invoked against the influence and power of Satan in the world.

The patron of soldiers, police and doctors, his feast, along with that of Gabriel and Raphael, is celebrated Sept. 29.

St. Michael Parish in Brattleboro takes its name from St. Michael the Archangel, who is well represented in art in the church, school and rectory. Among the works of art representing St. Michael are statues, an icon and a stained-glass window. “One of the coolest represen- tations of the saint is a bas relief that hangs in the rectory,” said Father Justin Baker, pastor, as he gestured to the plaster work.

The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel is recited at each daily Mass, and the parish celebrates the patron’s feast day with a parish picnic on the church grounds on the Sunday closest to the Sept. 29 feast. Nearly 200 people usually attend the event which features food, music, games and “all-you-can-eat” ice cream.

Prayer to St. Michael

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,

by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits

who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Edward the Confessor

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Oct. 13

Church • Derby Line

This English king was not the only saint in the family; his niece, who spent a great deal of her youth at his court, was St. Margaret of Scotland.

Ascending the throne in 1044, Edward’s reign was known as a largely peaceful one; he is remembered especially for his good rule and the repealing of particularly crushing taxes. Though caught up in the political intrigues that were inevitable in his position, he resolved them without armed conflict.

He built an abbey at the site of the present- day Westminster Abbey, where he is buried. His feast day is Oct. 13.

St. Edward the Confessor Church in Derby Line was completed in 1964. The natural light that streams in through the many clear glass windows adds to the open feeling of the semi-circle floorplan. This church is part of the Mater Dei Parish, which includes four churches and is served by a team of Vocationist Fathers. St. Edward’s has a notable collection of first-class relics. In the spring, Father Rijo Johnson, pastor, placed three significant relics (St. Edward the Confessor, St.  Faustina Kowalska and Blessed Father Justin M. Russolillo, SDV, the founder of the Vocationists) on the altar, to ask for their intercession to end the pandemic.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Charles Borromeo

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 4

Church • Bellows Falls

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day is celebrated on Nov. 4, probably is remembered best for the various reforms he helped institute in the Church during the Protestant Reformation. Though he worked behind the scenes, he was instrumental in seeing the Council of Trent through to its conclusion.

Ordained at 25 in 1563, he was made bishop of Milan soon after. His life’s work centered on reform; whether at Trent or in his Diocese, St. Charles always led by example, living a holy and simple life Worn out from hard and constant work, St. Charles died in 1584 at 46.

St. Charles Borromeo Church in Bellows Falls was completed in 1885 and still has many of its original features and adornments, such as the white reredos with plaster work and statues, late- Victorian stained-glass windows and plaster Stations of the Cross. A large pipe organ was added to the choir loft in 1937, gifted to the church from a private estate in Scarsdale, New York. The church has both a statue and a small stained-glass window featuring the patron saint, as well as a first-class relic.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.