Memorial of Saints (March 6)

St. Colette decided to live a life in seclusion according to the Rule of the Franciscan Tertiary Order. She went into seclusion upon the death of her parents at the age of twenty-two. She however also took time to travel to France and Flanders, founding and reforming convents of the Poor Clares. In her years of work and service in the Church, she was able to found a branch of the Poor Clares called the Colettines (died ca. 1447 A.D.).

St. Chrodegang of Metz became bishop of Metz, France in 742 A.D. He built and restored churches, monasteries, and founded the abbey of Gorze. This may have been the abbey where St. John of Gorze became abbot in 960 A.D. But Chrodegang's greatest achievement was the reform of much of Europe's secular clergy - specifically in Germany, Italy, the British Isles, and the Frankish kingdom (which includes present-day regions of France and Germany) (died ca. 766 A.D.).

St. Fridolin was an Irish priest who went to Gaul and settled at Poitiers (in France). He started to rebuild a church that was destroyed by a Vandal raid and then left for an island in the Rhine River near Coire, Switzerland. On the island, he built a monastery, a convent, and a school for boys. Fridolin was surnamed the "Wanderer" because of his many trips for the mission of the Christian faith (died ca. 650 A.D.).

Sts. Cyneburga, Cyneswide and Tibba were related to one another. Cynesburga and Cyneswida were sisters - daughters of the King of Mercia, probably an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Cynesburga was married, but her husband rebelled against her father. So she went to Cynesburgecester and founded a convent. Her sister Cyneswide and their relative Tibba (a hermitess), joined Cynesburga in the convent (died ca. 7th century A.D.).

Sts. Baldred and Bilfrid were both monks at Landisfarne in northern England. Baldred was a monk-priest while Bilfrid was a monk-hermit. Bilfrid was an expert goldsmith who bound with precious metals and gems St. Cuthbert's copy of the Gospels. Baldred on the other hand left Landisfarne, and moved to the Scottish border first, before he finally settled in Northumbria. Baldred died ca. 765 A.D. while Bilfrid died ca. 758 A.D.

St. Cadroe was a Scot who studied at Armagh, Ireland. He returned to Scotland and became a teacher of priests. Cadroe then went on pilgrimage to many Irish shrines. He continued to travel until he reached France. While in France, he accomplished many things: he founded a monastery, entered the Benedictines at Fleury, became abbot of Waulsort, and then reformed St. Clement abbey at Metz (died ca. 976 A.D.).

St. Ollegarius became priest of St. Aidan's monastery in Spain. He was made to accept the episcopate of Barcelona, required to attend the First Lateran Council, and appointed papal delegate to preach a crusade against the Moors in Spain. When his diocese was transferred to Tarragona, Ollegarius rebuilt it because it was destroyed by the Moors (died ca. 1137 A.D.).

St. Cyril of Constantinople was a Carmelite. He became prior general of the Order in Palestine in 1232 A.D. He served in this position of leadership and authority until the year of his death (died ca. 1235 A.D.).

St. Agnes of Bohemia was born into a royal family and educated by Cistercian nuns. Because of her wealth and influence, she built a Franciscan hospital, friary and convent, and established clinics for the sick. She entered the Order of the Poor Clares at age 29 and spent 50 years in the cloister (died ca. 1282 A.D.).

History of Catholic Church in America

The Founding of the Catholic Church in America

History of Catholic America up to the 19th century

Missionary communities which founded Catholic America

Those who first planted the Catholic Church in North America - outside the original thirteen colonies, but within the present boundaries of the U.S.A. - were religious communities of Jesuits, Franciscans, Capuchins, Recollects, and other missionary congregations. Moved by the zeal for the Catholic mission, these missionaries endured every form of hardship, some with torture and death, that they may build communities and gather around them the nucleus of what will be a Catholic parish.

Early Founding Fathers

The Franciscan Junipero Serra and the Jesuit Eusebio Kino are the most famous of the hundreds of priests who evangelized the vast Spanish territory stretching from Florida to California. These two missionaries taught the native population the arts of civilization as well. They left souvenirs of their labors in names like San Francisco, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. Elsewhere, northward to the huge French area, the Jesuit Jacques Marquette (discoverer of the Mississippi), and the Jesuit martyrs St. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf, and their companions, were among the many who ministered to the spiritual and temporal needs of the native Americans. These early founding fathers and other missionaries also helped establish French Catholic outposts on the Great Lakes and down through the Ohio and Mississippi valleys - creating a chapter in Catholic history that would always be remembered by names like Detroit, St. Louis, Vincennes, Louisville, and Marietta.

The Maryland colony


Although the first Catholic parish was established in 1565 A.D. at what was then the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, Florida, the history of American Catholicism can be traced to the efforts of George Calvert, first Baron of Baltimore, who established a colony for English Catholics in 1627 A.D. In 1632 A.D., two months after the death of Calvert, a charter was granted by Charles I to form the colony of Maryland. Maryland as a colony had both Catholics and Protestants, who lived peacefully in a spirit of mutual toleration. When, however, the Church of England was established in the colony, the Maryland Catholics migrated to the colony of Pennsylvania.

American Revolution

The American Revolution brought about a big change in the fortunes of American Catholics. The legal disabilities under which they labored were gradually lifted, beginning with Maryland's and Pennsylvania's adoption of religious liberty in 1776 A.D. With the advent of American independence and a more favorable climate for Catholics in the United States, Rome felt it was time for them to have a bishop of their own. This bishop was John Carroll. The Holy See appointed John Carroll in 1790 A.D. to be the first bishop of approximately 25,000 CAtholics.

Bishop John Carroll

Catholic America was singularly fortunate to have John Carroll guide its destiny and lay the groundwork for its future expansion. John Carroll was a wise and humane superior who has his roots from an old and distinguished Maryland family. He was a Jesuit, a highly educated scholar, and a man of broad vision and genuine spirituality. In building the institutions necessary for the growth of the Church, he received much assistance from the various religious communities of men and women who began to enter America during his tenure - the Carmelites (in 1790 A.D.); the Poor Clares of Georgetown; the Visitation nuns; the community founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton at Maryland (in 1809 A.D.); the Sulpicians (in 1791 A.D.); the Jesuits (re-established in 1806 A.D.); the Augustinians (in 1795 A.D.); and the Dominicans (in 1805 A.D.). John Carroll's flock grew to nearly 200,000 by his death in 1815 A.D. His diocese was subdivided in 1808 A.D., when four other dioceses were added: Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Bardstown (later Louisville).

Bishop John England

The Age of Bishop John Carroll was then followed by the Age of Bishop John England. Bishop England insisted that the American bishops gather together in council to steer the burgeoning young Catholic America from crisis to growth. So, together with other bishops like Francis Kenrick (Philadelphia), Martin Spalding (Baltimore), John Hughes (New York), and John Purcell (Cincinnati), they led Catholic America to grow and establish new dioceses in pace with the rapid westward movement of the American frontier. By 1840 A.D., the archepiscopal see of Baltimore presided over fifteen suffragan sees: Boston (1808 A.D.), New York (1808 A.D.), Philadelphia (1808 A.D.), Bardstown (1808 A.D.), Charlestown (1820 A.D.), Richmond (1820 A.D.), Cincinnati (1821 A.D.), St. Louis (1826 A.D.), New Orleans (1826 A.D.), Mobile (1829 A.D.), Detroit (1833 A.D.), Vincennes (1834 A.D.), Dubuque (1837 A.D.), Nashville (1837 A.D.), and Natchez (1837 A.D.).

Massive influx of Catholic immigrants

No missionary territory in the nineteenth century registered great and substantial gains than the Catholic Church in America. Thanks also to the massive influx of Catholic immigrants - Irish, German, Italians, Poles, and others - the growth of the Catholic Church far outstripped the nation's growth. The American bishops integrated these newcomers into the Church structure and provided a huge network of schools, hospitals, and other institutions for them.

References used in this article

• A History of the Church, by Franzen and Dolan
  


• A Concise History of the Catholic Church, by Thomas
  Bokenkotter

2nd Sunday of Lent (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

March 16, 2014
Liturgical readings
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 33
2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Matthew 17:1-9

"This is my beloved Son in whom my favor rests. Listen to him."

Matthew's gospel chapter 17, verses 1-9, describes Peter, James and John witnessing the Lord's Transfiguration. That miraculous event revealed the divinity of Christ, with the evangelist painting the picture of Jesus "as dazzling as the sun" and "as radiant as light". What do the reflections of the past comment on this scripture passage? St. Leo (ca. 400-461 A.D.), one of the Popes in the 5th century, says that the reason for this divine manifestation, is to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of the apostles. The dazzling and radiant event had a purpose: so when the Lord eventually dies on the cross, they would not be disheartened.

Moving now to modern biblical scholarship, many comment that the Transfiguration event in the life of Christ was a glimpse of His resurrection, and a foretaste of the mystery of the resurrection of the body, and the gift of eternal life. Deep within the resurrection and eternal life, is the gift and mystery of the Cross. The Cross is a reality Jesus takes up in obedience to his Father's will, and which the apostles also followed in faith. Bible commentators continue to support the truth that since the scandal of the cross can shake the faith and confidence of the apostles, the Lord revealed his divinity to strengthen them before the event of his death on the Cross. The Lord granted the vision to James and John, and to Peter, especially: (because) Peter was entasked to encourage his brothers after the tragic event of the Cross (Luke 22:31-32).

The difficulties and tragedies of the times can weaken the natural faith we have in the goodness of the world and others - difficulties like calamities that can make living conditions humanly impossible to deal and grapple with. This is what happened to the spirit of the apostles. Though the three in Christ's inner circle (Peter, James and John) had a vision of the Lord in glory, they forgot about it when the death of the Lord actually loomed before their eyes. But the vision of Christ's Transfiguration they had witnessed reminded them of what the Father said: "This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him." That vision was meant to strengthen them. It is also meant to strengthen us today. Through the Eucharist, Christ's Transfiguration is meant to encourage us, and give us a strong hope, so that in times of severe stress, trials, and crisis, our remembrance of Christ and His divinity will help us stand firm in the midst of adversity.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
Abram went as the Lord directed him...Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12)
The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness (Psalm 33)
Let us bear our share of the hardship which the gospel entails (2 Timonty 1)
The Lord came toward them and layed his hand on them and said, "Get up! Do not be afraid" (Matthew 17)