St. Thomas More
Society
Scranton, Pennsylvania
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St. Thomas More
Society |
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February 27, 2006 Dear Friends and Members of the St. Thomas More Society, Lent begins in two days. Ash Wednesday Masses at St. Clare are at 8AM, Noon, and 7PM. There will be no Anglican Use Mass that day at St. Clare, because of the time constraints posed by the scheduled Latin Rite Masses. This same scheduling conflict will remain throughout Lent. Therefore, I have proposed we use this opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the depth and breadth of our Catholic heritage. Those who would like may join me and other recent converts to the faith in visits to other Catholic churches where together we can experience Catholic liturgies that differ from what we are used to. You are the inspiration for these ‘field trips’ of sorts, as several of our members have appealed to me to help all of us become better acquainted with what it means to (finally) be part of the Universal Church. Thus, you can spend Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil getting to know your brothers and sisters who share the same faith but not the same customs, and you don’t have to go alone when you experience any of these liturgies for the first time. Our first ‘field trip’ will be on Ash Wednesday when we go to St. Michael’s Church, 1703 Jackson Street, in West Scranton. The Mass celebrated there is the Tridentine Rite Mass, the Latin Mass that was used in every Roman Catholic Church until 1965, at which time the Second Vatican Council instituted changes that allowed the Mass to be said in the vernacular. In other words, this is the Mass that every Roman Catholic over age fifty can remember quite clearly, and our experience of it will help give us an appreciation of the liturgy that was a part of the lives of our Roman Catholic friends and neighbors for many, many years. If you would like to come with us please meet in front of St. Michael’s Church at 6:30PM. The Mass begins at 7PM. Future ‘field trips’ this Lent will involve visits to Eastern Rite Catholic parishes, and I will give you that information as our plans are finalized. St. Clare’s offers occasions each week during Lent to increase our devotion to our Lord. Each Friday at 7PM we can pray the Stations of the Cross, recalling the steps Christ took on the way to Calvary. Daily Mass, of course, is also offered at 8AM, but during Lent there is the extra treat of worshiping with the students from St. Clare School. If you have not already adopted the practice this Lent may be the time for you to learn to pray the Rosary, a devotion offered with special intention for the lives of the unborn at 6PM each Wednesday at St. Clare. Remember, also, that we are called by the Church during Lent to abstain from meat each Friday and adopt a penitential discipline that will better prepare us for the reception of Holy Communion on Sunday. Some of these practices are new to us and others are not, but participating in one or more of them is sure to help each of us grow in the Faith. Another way we can learn about Catholic customs is to go on a pilgrimage. Msgr. Feldcamp has appointed Joanne Shuemaker to be St. Clare’s Parish Pilgrimage Director, and her task right now is to gather for the Office for Parish Life the names of all those from St. Clare Church who will attend on Saturday, April 29th the Diocese of Scranton’s Bi-Annual Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Please call her at 689-0866 if you are interested in going along. The cost is $39 per person, which pays for the bus ride down and back, and reservations must be in by March 17th. If you have never been on a pilgrimage this is your chance to grow in the faith with Catholics from across the Diocese, as well as spend time with our father in Christ, Bishop Joseph Martino. As we as converts become more familiar with Catholicism, something we should do until the end of our days, I continue to receive inquiries from people who are interested in our journey into the Church. Most recently I was asked to lead a day of reflection at St. Gabriel’s Monastery. Sponsored by the St. Gregory’s Women’s Guild, this all-day event will be held on Wednesday, April 12th and is open to all who wish to attend. I have been asked to speak there about conversion to Catholicism, which also happens to be the theme of the Second Annual Anglican Use Conference, to be held in Scranton on June 5th and 6th. Through both events our small group has the great privilege of doing the work of evangelization, the work of drawing people into the fullness of God’s Truth by inviting them into communion with the Church Christ founded. Our keynote speaker for the Anglican Use Conference, Avery Cardinal Dulles, has already generated much interest, and I hope you will be among the large number of people likely to come hear him speak about his own conversion. During this time of transition, as we await news of progress in my path towards ordination, please keep ever before you the inspiration our conversion has been to so many. By our example the Lord has given several clergymen the courage to leave the Episcopal Church and seek ordination as Catholic priests. Men seeking ordination in Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Tennessee have all contacted me, and in some instances we have provided material assistance to them, money taken from the tithe of your offerings. By our example the established Anglican Use congregations and parishes have been encouraged that the work they are doing has been a model for others to follow. At last year’s Conference we were told explicitly by other Anglican Use clergy that our story had given them hope. By our example life-long faithful Catholics have been affirmed in their conviction that the precious faith they hold dear is one well worth the sacrifices they make to uphold it. In 2005 Catholics from across North America, inspired by our sacrifice, sent in the mail donations totaling over $7,000 to the Society. By God’s grace ours has been a story that has given strength to the weak, hope to the disheartened, and consolation to those who have suffered for their Catholic convictions. The success of our group, therefore, cannot be understood as a local matter. Certainly we hope to make converts of people living in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys, but more widely we desire to make converts of whomever we might be able to aid, wherever such people may live. Already we have done just this; your witness has touched the hearts of people across this country, even across the world, and this will continue to be true no matter how long we may have to wait for the realization of the goals we set forth upon our inception in late 2004 as the St. Thomas More Society Scranton, Pennsylvania. Very simply, keep broadening your view. Learn what it means to live as a Catholic, but at the same time know that God is using our story as the means to teach others about the lengths to which the Vicar of Christ will go to bring home to Rome everyone he can. We surely have much to learn, and we will learn it, but we are also one of God’s instruments, and He has made certain that the sacrifices we have made because of our love for Him have not gone unnoticed by those who need to see our work. We shall be successful only if we maintain this Catholic perspective, when we are desirous of a church home locally, but even more committed to helping make the Church a home for lost and restless souls who, in circumstances and places quite unfamiliar to us, have been separated from the Love of Christ. Our confirmation on October 31st was not the end of our journey but its beginning, and I pray that you, making patient sacrifices dedicated to God, will continue to travel it with me that more people might come to know the Home we have found.
Desirous
for your safety and well-being, as I pray this Lent will be for you the
occasion of increased penitence and devotion, I am,
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