August 2, 2021
- Father Ron appointed postulator of Hecker cause
- Franco eager to accept lead in sainthood effort
- Fr. Isaac Hecker: 19th-century pastor, 21st-century saint
- New from Paulist Pilgrimages
- Tell us about your life as an Associate
- Paulist Associate News
- Proposed Program for August
- Contacts
- Paulist Associates Promise
- Prayer for the Intercession of Fr. Isaac T. Hecker
From Fr. Ron:
I thank Eric for entrusting me with this responsibility. I also especially want to thank Paul Robichaud for his dedicated commitment to Hecker’s Cause, doing all the preliminary work to get the Cause opened, guiding it through its initial stages, providing prayer cards and other materials to promote knowledge of and devotion to Hecker in our community and among the faithful at large, as well as his many other past and continuing contributions as Director of the Paulist Fathers Office for History and the Office of Paulist Archives.
An important part of the postulator’s job description is promoting knowledge of and devotion to Hecker — not only within our community but more widely among the faithful, particularly our Paulist Associates, parishioners, and others affiliated with Paulists in our foundations or in other ways. I have prepared a preliminary presentation of the case (an excerpt follows) in the form of a reflection on Hecker’s story, in which I attempt to highlight his life of heroic sanctity and his reputation for holiness, as well as addressing some possible objections to his Cause, which deserve to be addressed. I would appreciate any critical comments and suggestions to improve the argument of the case and to help address obstacles. I would hope that further focused reflection on Hecker’s life and mission might provide an additional basis for further discussion among Paulists and others, encouraging more widespread sharing of Hecker’s story and deepened devotion and prayer for his intercession.
I will also be working with Paul Snatchko on ways to promote knowledge of and devotion to Hecker in our various constituencies.
Finally, a word about miracles. In addition to Hecker’s holiness, it will also be necessary to establish his reputation for intercessory power. So I encourage you to document and report any credible graces and favors that may be reported to you. For beatification, one actual miracle must be confirmed. (After beatification, a second confirmed miracle would then be required for canonization.) The scientific judgment that an alleged healing is inexplicable is the presupposition for the theological inquiry as to whether it resulted from divine intervention for which Hecker’s intercession was sought in prayer. The details of the actual illness must be determined (e.g., diagnosis, prognosis, treatments, etc.). An allegedly miraculous cure must be immediate, complete, and lasting. If a purported healing appears to meet those criteria, a formal inquiry (separate from the Archdiocese of New York’s inquiry into Hecker’s life and virtues and reputation for holiness) will begin in the diocese where the alleged miracle has occurred.
Again, for any of this to happen, we all need to promote knowledge of and devotion to our Founder and to encourage prayer for his intercession!
Based at our motherhouse in New York City, Paulist Fr. Ronald Franco is postulator of the cause for canonization of our founder, Servant of God Isaac Hecker. He is a Bronx native and holds a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University.
The following selection is the beginning of the preliminary lengthy presentation of the case. Further segments of the document will be published in future issues of Associates World.
On May 23, 2006, the Paulist Fathers General Assembly, “conscious of the need for contemporary models of holiness,” resolved to promote the canonization cause of Paulist Founder, Father Isaac Hecker, declaring his life and teaching “truly a valuable resource that needs to be widely recognized and communicated,” that he “can inspire others beyond ourselves towards holiness of life, heroic virtue and personal faithfulness to Christ,” and that “the time has come” for Father Hecker’s story “to be disseminated throughout the larger church.”
This is the will of God, said Saint Paul to the Thessalonians, your holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3). According to the Second Vatican Council, “all in the Church … are called to holiness” and “to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love”. [1] In the Apostles Creed, we profess our faith in what we call “the Communion of Saints.” This Communion of Saints unites us, who are still on earth, with those saints whose salvation and ultimate sanctity are already assured. Of this multitude from every race, nation, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9), a certain number have been canonized by the Church to be venerated as “Saints.” Canonization is, thus, the Church’s solemn and definitive declaration that a specific person is now in the glory of heaven, intercedes for us before the Lord, and is therefore to be publicly venerated by the Church. Canonized saints are seen as visible examples of the effects of God’s gifts of grace and as models of sanctity, of whose friendship and intercession we are beneficiaries.
So, the Church, citing Saint Augustine, prays in her liturgy:
For you are praised in the company of your Saints
And, in crowning their merits, you crown your own gifts.
By their way of life you offer us an example,
by communion with them, you give us their companionship,
by their intercession, sure support,
so that, encouraged by so great a cloud of witnesses,
we may run as victors in the race before us
and win with them the imperishable crown of glory,
through Christ our Lord. [2]
So what warrants proposing Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulist Fathers for canonization as a saint, by conducting a formal inquiry into his life, virtues, and reputation for holiness and intercessory power? [3]
In a November 9, 2006, Catholic New York column, Edward Cardinal Egan, then the Archbishop of New York, wrote that, as a saint, Hecker would “be an inspiration for us all.” His Eminence described Hecker’s life as “nothing less than an adventure in faith.” Indeed, it is to the adventure story that was Isaac Hecker’s life that we should look to answer this question.
Isaac Hecker was born on December 18, 1819, and died on December 22, 1888. His story can be considered in four identifiable (if at times also overlapping) stages. The first comprises his early life and spiritual search, culminating in his baptism as a Catholic in 1844. The second spans his years as an enthusiastic new Catholic, a Redemptorist seminarian and then priest, culminating in the crisis which led to his formal separation from the Redemptorists in 1857-1858. The third includes the period of Hecker’s most extensive public pastoral and missionary activity, beginning with the founding of the Paulist Fathers in 1858, through the American Civil War and the First Vatican Council, until the onset of an apparently debilitating illness in 1871. The fourth is the experience of his final years, still very productive but characterized increasingly by physical illness and emotional suffering. Each period can help highlight distinctive aspects of his sanctity that remain especially relevant for the Catholic Church in the 21st century.
To say that, of course, is not to suggest that Hecker’s thoroughly 19th-century experience automatically addresses — without any further filtering — our own 21st-century situation. To suggest that Hecker in the 19th-century exemplified a heroic sanctity that is exemplary for the 21st-century obviously does not mean that one should be asking what Hecker would say or do in this or that specific situation today (an unanswerable question in any case), but rather to ask what someone inspired and motivated by Hecker’s heroic sanctity should say or do today. Hecker himself, commenting on the significance of Saint Francis of Assisi, warned that what the age called for was not individuals attempting to relive the Saint Francis’s life, but individuals filled with his genius who could freshly address their age as Francis had his.4 That, of course, is always the challenge presented by the life of any saint.
(Continued in next issue)
Notes:
1. Lumen Gentium, 39-40.
2. Preface I of Saints. Cf. Augustine, En. Ps., 102.7 Ergo coronat te, quia dona sua coronat, non merita tua.
3. “The reputation of holiness is the opinion that has spread about the purity and integrity of life of the Servant of God and about the virtues practiced by him to an heroic degree.” Congregation of the Causes of Saints, Sanctorum Mater (2007), 5.
4. John Farina, An American Experience of God: The Spirituality of Isaac Hecker (Paulist Press, 1981) p. 140.
An 11-day pilgrimage with Paulist Fr. Thomas A. Kane on an unforgettable pilgrimage to Eastern Europe. See the once-a-decade performance of the world-famous Oberammergau passion play and explore the breathtaking cities of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna.
An article in a recent issue referred to this quote from the Paulist Associates Handbook:
“Paulist Associates find opportunities in their daily lives, through their various vocations, to exemplify the mission commitments of the Paulists in the charism of Fr. Isaac Hecker. His charism specified that, in modern American/Canadian culture, the Holy Spirit was at work, making it conducive to invite people to faith, and helping the Church understand its role in modern, democratic societies. His charism was marked by openness to others and a particular welcome to outsiders.”
In the months ahead, we’d like to ask you to share ways in which you live that model in your daily lives, in your families, in your parishes or schools…any way that you bring the Paulist charism to the wider world.
Submissions of any length are welcome. And pictures are a great addition.
Email them to Denis Hurley at [email protected]
Thank you.
— Denis Hurley, Editor
by Mike Kallock, CSP, Director of the Paulist Associates
At the virtual meeting of the associate coordinators on June 26 and then at the June 29 monthly meeting of the board, our director Mike Kallock, CSP requested that since only two qualified associates had declared their candidacy before the deadline, that they be so approved forgoing the formal election by ballot.
Quoting directly from the minutes of the coordinators:
“The local coordinators unanimously declared that these individuals are so qualified for the National Board and that no election need be held for this particular election year.”
And from the minutes of the board’s meeting:
“After much discussion (including the unusual circumstances presented by the COVID-19 Pandemic), it was unanimously voted not to conduct the formal election process this year and to ratify and affirm Heather McClory and Rich Allegra as new members of the National Board, commencing in September 2021, it being the intent of this Board that this decision apply only to this 2021 election.”
So I am pleased to present to you your new board members with sincere thanks to Katherine Murphy and Carol Wagner Williams for their years of service on the board.
Heather and Richard’s four-year terms begin this September. Below are the statements and pictures they submitted as candidates for the board.
My name is Heather McClory and I’m a long-time member of St. Peter’s Parish in Toronto. Our parish was served by the Paulist Fathers for over a hundred years and Fr. Jim McCabe, CSP, started our group around 2006. I have been the coordinator of our group for most of its existence.
I am retired from teaching in the Catholic school system and have been involved in a number of ministries at St. Peter’s, including refugee settlement, lector and Pastoral Council. Therefore, some of the gifts I can bring to the Associates’ international board are organizational ability and commitment to our tasks. I’m also dedicated to the vision of the Paulist Associates as people of faith who support each other in living and sharing the Paulist charisms of openness to believers who may think differently, and to the use of up-to-date means of communication in bringing the Gospel to our world.
As for a vision for the Associates, I would hope that we can, especially in post-pandemic times, assist our parishes in spreading the Good News of our faith and bringing in even more members into our parish communities. In Toronto, although we have a very supportive and extremely capable pastor, we do miss our Paulists and want to keep their influence alive.
Richard Allegra: I am happy to be considered for a position on the Paulist Associates National Board. I made my promises in 2015 at the Paulist Center in Boston, where I had been serving in music, art and environment and other ministries beginning in 2004. It was a wonderful, welcoming place to learn about Fr. Hecker and the mission of the Paulist Fathers. I am currently a member of the Associates in Diaspora, regularly meeting with our small group from around the country and keeping in touch with others via social media.
Having the experience of exploring other Christian denominations before returning to Catholicism, I have a particular interest in the Paulist charism of ecumenism and how Fr. Hecker’s spirituality can be a bridge. I’ve recently joined the Associates World newsletter team and see that as a way to both bring us all together and engage with those who might be interested in the Associates. I work in the higher education field so I’m constantly exposed to the experiences of younger people; I’m interested in working with the Board in strategizing ways to connect with the“next-gen” of Paulist Associates.
Thank you for your consideration.
In April we launched a new series of monthly programs based on selections from the writings of Father Hecker as found in The Paulist Vocation. We are asking every one of our associate groups to participate.
Here is the rest of the schedule which runs from August through July 2022. You can choose any opening and closing prayers you like, even composing your own. Then a selection from any part of The Paulist Vocation. You ought to have a downloaded copy. If not, you can read it here or download it is a PDF. The April, May, June, and July Programs, give you very good examples of what we have in mind.
Selections are broken up very nicely in red titles. So, all you have to do is paste the selection into your Program. You may or may not give some background to your selection. We think what is most important is your discussion questions. Three would do and that they should be such that they easily enable discussion and sharing.
Send your program to me no later than ten days before the first of the month of when your month has been scheduled. Only exceptions are July and January which appear in the June and December issues. Send to [email protected].
Mike Kallock is Director of the Paulist Associates.
Submitted by Angie Barbieri, on behalf of the Toronto Associates
L. Come Holy Spirit
R. Fill the Hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
L. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of the earth
L. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructed the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit we may know what is right and always rejoice in his consolation, through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
THE PAULIST VOCATION, Chapter 22: A. Evangelization
The Role of Women in the Church
We hear much said, and not a little written, in the United States and in England, about the exclusion of woman from the spheres of action for which her aptitudes make her equal, and in many cases render her superior, to man; of her partial education, and in many cases the inferior position which she is forced to accept in society
Strange that we hear no such complaints in Catholic society or from Catholic women! Is it because they have been taught to hug the chains which make them slaves? Or that they are denied liberty of speech? Or that their lips are closed by arbitrary authority? Not at all. The reason is plain. Women, no less than men, are free to occupy any position whose duties and functions they have the intelligence or aptitude to fulfill. They have the opportunities and are free to obtain the highest education their capacities are capable of. This every Catholic woman knows and feels, and hence the absence of all consciousness, in the Church, of being deprived of her rights, of oppression and of injustice. (1886, The Church and the Age, pp. 177–78)
All roads in the Church are open to woman’s energies and capacities, and she knows and is conscious of this freedom; and, what is more, she is equally aware that whatever she has ability to do will receive from the Church encouragement, sanction, and that honor which is due to her labor, her devotion, and her genius.
Few great undertakings in the Church have been conceived and carried on to success without the cooperation, in some shape, of women. The great majority of her saints are of their sex, and they are honored and placed on her altars equally with men. It is not an unheard-of event that women, by their scientific and literary attainments, have won from Catholic universities the title of doctor. St. Teresa is represented as an authorized teacher, with pen in hand, and with a doctor’s cap. (1886, The Church and the Age, p. 179)
Discussion Questions to Share in Your Group:
1. The above passage firmly states Fr. Hecker’s pro-feminist position on women’s mistreatment in secular society due to their gender. He also states that the Church is open to women’s full participation in all aspects of Catholic life. Agree or disagree with this statement about women’s acceptance and participation in the Church.
2. In 2021, there are no women in highly visible positions of power in both North American Catholic and Papal Administrations. Are women only capable of supporting roles in the Catholic community? Why the exclusion of women?
3. Fr. Hecker mentions that a great majority of saints are women, are placed on altars equally with men, and have by their scientific and literary attainments, have won from Catholic universities the title of doctor. Share with your group the impact that the actions of a female Catholic saint has had on your spiritual life.
For Racial Harmony
Father, who hast made all in your likeness, and loves all whom you have made, suffer not our family to separate itself from you by building barriers of race and color. As your Son our Savior was born of a Hebrew mother, but rejoiced in the faith of a Syrian woman and of a Roman soldier, welcomed the Greeks who sought him, and suffered a man from Africa to carry his cross, so teach us to regard the members of all races as fellow heirs of the kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Attributed to Oliver Warner
PAULIST ASSOCIATES NATIONAL DIRECTOR
- Mike Kallock, C.S.P.
Paulist General Office, P.O. Box 20606, New York, NY 10023, [email protected]
BOARD MEMBERS
- Carol Wagner Williams, Tucson, AZ: [email protected]
- Frank Desiderio, C.S.P. : [email protected]
- Katherine Murphy Mertzlufft, Columbus, OH: [email protected]
- Joe Scott, C.S.P. : [email protected]
- David Rooney, Chicago, IL: [email protected]
- Mary Sullivan, Boston, MA: [email protected]
ASSOCIATES WORLD STAFF
- Publisher: Fr. Mike Kallock, C.S.P.
- Editor: Denis M. Hurley
- Design Coordinator: Ellie Murphy
- Staff Writer: Richard Allegra
Heavenly Father, you called your servant Isaac Thomas Hecker to preach the Gospel to the people of North America and through his teaching, to know the peace and the power of your indwelling Spirit. He walked in the footsteps of Saint Paul the Apostle, and like Paul spoke your Word with a zeal for souls and a burning love for all who came to him in need.
Look upon us this day, with compassion and hope. Hear our prayer. We ask that through the intercession of Father Hecker your servant, you might grant us (state the request).
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. One God, forever and ever. Amen.
When you pray this prayer, and if you believe that you have received any favors through Hecker’s intercession, please contact the Office of the Cause for Canonization of Servant of God, Isaac Hecker at [email protected]. Visit paulist.org/hecker to learn more about his life and the cause for his canonization.
I believe that I am drawn by the Holy Spirit to the spirituality and qualities of the Paulist Community.
I have discerned both by prayer and study that God calls me to become associated with the Paulists.
I promise that I will pray for the works of the Paulist Society, meet with others, who are also members of the Paulist Associates, for spiritual sharing and formation; and I seek to embody the apostolic qualities of the Paulists in my daily life.
Attentive to the Holy Spirit and faithful to the example of St. Paul and the charism of Father Isaac Hecker, I commit myself for one year of membership in the Paulist Associates.