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2020 Year with the Saints: St. Andrew

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 30

Church • Waterbury

St. Andrew was St. Peter’s brother and was called to follow Jesus at the same time. Beginning as a disciple of John the Baptist, Andrew became one of The Twelve who stayed with Jesus throughout His ministry.

Like many of the apostles, we do not know much more about him. He does appear again in the Gospel of John as the one who finds the child with five barley loaves and two fish that Jesus then multiplies.

According to legend, Andrew preached the Gospel in modern day Greece and was martyred at Patras. His feast is Nov. 30.

The original St. Andrew Church in Waterbury dates back to 1857, but the current church was completed in 1916. The church has a particularly interesting history surrounding events that happened directly after the flood of 1927 which severely impacted Waterbury. When the church flooded, the statue of the Virgin Mother came off its pedestal and positioned itself 20 feet away facing the altar. This became known locally as Our Lady of the Flood, and people came from throughout the region to see the statue that had not been damaged. In 1929 an 8-year-old boy suffered extensive burns to his legs, and doctors wanted to amputate his legs. After much praying and several visits to the statue, the boy was healed and left his crutches at the altar in St. Andrew Church.

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

2020 Year with the Saints: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 8

Church • Swanton

While Scripture does not give an account of the event, the nativity or birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated since about the sixth century, although there are other, con-flicting accounts of when this particular feast came to be.

It likely originated in the Eastern Church in response to the Council of Ephesus, in which Mary was officially proclaimed “Mother of God” (Theotokos), and it is thought that the date of Sept. 8 was chosen because the Eastern Church year begins in September. Later, this feast would help determine the date of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Swanton is the third church to be built to serve the parish; it was built in 1925. The first church was destroyed by fire in 1858, and the second church was demolished in the 1930s. The hand-carved, wooden altar dates back to the original church. It was retrofitted with interior lighting in the 1970s. Father James Dodson has been pastor since 2019. He commented that the ceiling of the church reminds him of the hull of ship, an image often associated with the Church in the broader sense.

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

2020 Year with the Saints: Holy Cross

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 14

Church • Colchester

More precisely known as the Exaltation of the Cross, this feast has been celebrated in the Church since the seventh century. It can trace its roots back to St. Helena, whose pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the early part of the fourth century uncovered what was believed to be the true cross of Christ, located under a dismantled second-century temple to Aphrodite.

St. Helena’s son, the Emperor Constantine, built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the spot where the cross was discovered. Today, this feast is celebrated on Sept. 14, the anniversary of the basilica’s dedication.

Holy Cross Church in Colchester was completed in 1967 and is a prime example of early post- Vatican II church architecture. The church features stonework on both the exterior and interior, constructed of a native limestone, which prevails in the Malletts Bay ledges on nearby Lake Champlain. The main altar is made from one 30-foot ancient, hand-hewn beam felled in Colchester. The parish celebrates both its feast day and anniversary on Sept. 14 with a parish breakfast. The parish has a relic of the True Holy Cross and a first-class relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, to whom the parish’s chapel at the front of the church is dedicated.

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

2020 Year with the Saints: Christ the King

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 22

Church • Rutland

This is considered a movable feast as it is celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year; in 2020, that day falls on Nov. 22.

On this feast, we celebrate the great paradox of Christianity: Despite worldly appearances and judgments, it is the crucified Christ who is indeed the king and savior of all.

Originally celebrated in 1926, it was supposed to occur on the Sunday before All Saints Day in October. It was moved in 1969 to its current date and title, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe by Pope Paul VI.

Built in 1928, Christ the King Church in Rutland is a beautiful white marble church. The first Mass was celebrated on the feast of Christ the King in 1929. At the entrance to the church is a statue of Christ holding the world in His hand. In the past, the parish has celebrated the feast day with solemn sung vespers.

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

2020 Year with the Saints

Posted on by Cori Urban

Who was St. Mungo?

Employees of the Diocese of Burlington and Vermont Catholic Charities Inc. at the Bishop Brady Center in South Burlington learned about him as the Year with the Saints got underway in January.

St. Mungo, also known as St. Kentigern, lived from 528 to 614. He is the patron saint and founder of Glasgow, Scotland.

The diocesan center’s Fun Committee is highlighting one saint a month. “This is a good way for staff to learn about different saints they may not be familiar with,” said Kathy Cawley, Vermont Catholic Charities billing specialist and member of the committee.

Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne hopes that during this special year people will become familiar with the great stories of the saints and come to a greater understanding of their own call to sainthood.

St. Mungo’s feast is celebrated on Jan. 13, and on that day, staff members found on their desk the story of St. Mungo and a package of Scottish shortbread cookies.

“Staff were not only excited about cookies on their desk but most did not know anything about St. Mungo and the miracles he performed,” Cawley said.

This is just one way people in the Diocese are celebrating the Year with the Saints.

Bishop Coyne hopes that Catholic schools, religious education programs and parishes will make an effort to engage with the life of a saint each week according to the liturgical calendar.

Parishes also are planning events to commemorate the special year. For example, the Essex Catholic Community is sponsoring a series on the saints, begun with the encouragement of Bishop Coyne.

“I see it as a yearlong series,” said Edmundite Father Charles Ranges, pastor. The first three presentations were schedule to be on St. Theresa and those on the road to sainthood Black Elk and Brother Joseph Dutton of Stowe. Other presentations are being planned, perhaps on St. Joan of Arc, St. Edmund of Canterbury, St. Dismas, St. Gianna and first Bishop of Vermont Louis DeGoesbriand.

“We have saints in the Catholic Church because he all need people to inspire us to holiness,” Father Ranges said. “The saints give us the right example for Christian living, and we can call upon them to pray for our special needs.”

In addition to in-person presentations, Vermont Catholic staff will make available in print and online information on saints for whom Vermont churches are named. Alayna Masker, communication coordinator, and Mary-Margaret Carroll, art director, are working on the project. “We want to draw a connection between the saints and parishes, people and events in the Diocese. One way we do this is by looking at artwork and relics as well as celebrations or devotional practices in honor of the saint and feast day,” Masker said. “Our focus isn’t necessarily on the saint but more so how the parish celebrates their saint and the saint’s feast day.”

For example, she noted that Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Springfield has a strong devotion to Mary and celebrates three of the Marian feast days with 40 Hour Eucharistic Adoration.

“As we make visits to the parishes we continue to be impressed with the dedication, knowledge and enthusiasm of the parish staff. They have been very hospitable, excited to be participating in our project and have such unique stories to tell about their churches and patron saints,” Carroll said.

In the five years that Bishop Coyne has been bishop of Burlington, the Diocese has dedicated different years to a particular pastoral theme such as creation and discipleship. So for 2020, as the work of promoting the cause of first Bishop of Burlington Louis deGoesbriand for sainthood is underway, he consulted with diocesan pastoral staff and decided this would be a good year to focus on the stories of the saints.

Since he became a bishop, Bishop Coyne has sought to follow St. Francis de Sales who said, “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”

Another quote from the saint that Bishop Coyne appreciates is: “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them — every day begin the task anew.”

Do you have a favorite saint? Tell us about that devotion at amasker@vermntcatholic.org.

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

 

2020 March for Life theme: Life Empowers: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman

Posted on by Catholic News Service

March for Life: Jan. 24

The March for Life, the annual march in Washington to protest legalized abortion in the United States, is tying itself in 2020 to the women’s suffrage movement for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

The theme of the march is “Life Empowers: Pro-Life Is Pro-Woman.” Jeanne Mancini, head of the March for Life, remarked how two noted suffragists of their day, Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony, were themselves staunchly against abortion. A video made to support the upcoming march, to be held Jan. 24, said the women called abortion “the ultimate exploitation of women.”

An unnamed woman speaking in the video said 30 million female babies had been aborted since the twin 1973 Supreme Court rulings in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion virtually on demand.

Mancini said speakers lined up for the pre-march gathering include Louisiana State Sen. Katrina Jackson, a pro-life Democrat who authored a bill in 2014 to require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. It was ruled unconstitutional in 2017, but that ruling in June Medical Services v. Gee was reversed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court said in October it would take up the case, its first abortion-related case since the death of Antonin Scalia and the retirement of Anthony Kennedy.

Also on the speakers’ list is U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-New Jersey, long a pro-life advocate, who has sponsored the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which would bar the killing of any baby who survives an abortion. Two such survivors will speak as well, according to Mancini.

The 2020 march will be the 47th such march. “We march regardless,” Mancini said during a Dec. 3 news briefing in Washington about the march. In 2016, “we had ‘Blizzardgeddon,’” she added. An even stronger blizzard in 1982 that crippled the Washington region and its transportation network did not deter those hardy but few marchers who had already made it to the nation’s capital.

The 2019 march was “the first one we marched during a government shutdown,” Mancini added. She said she is working with the U.S. Park Service to assure that there would be no complications to conducting the march should the government be shut down again.

The March for Life now bills itself as “the world’s largest human rights demonstration” and “the world’s largest pro-life event.”

Mancini, during the news briefing, called it “the single unifying pro-life event” bringing together people from all points on the pro-life spectrum. Mancini said more legislation on the abortion front is being advanced at the state level, and that the March for Life would be replicated elsewhere, including Virginia, Connecticut and Chicago.

While the march promotes legislation reflecting pro-life interests, it also aims to “change hearts and minds,” Mancini said.

Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, which is the sister organization of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund headed by Mancini, also spoke at the briefing. “If Roe v. Wade is overturned or weakened,” he said, “there will be even more action in the states.”

— Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

—Originally published in the Jan. 18-24, 2020, issue of The Inland See.