Two religious sisters in the Diocese of Arlington marked jubilee anniversaries with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge at St. Luke Church in McLean Feb. 1. Benedictine Sister Charlotte Lange and Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary Sister Jacqueline Ann Murphy, who was unable to attend, were recognized for decades of service to the church. Following Mass, a celebratory luncheon was served.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge will ordain seminarian Guillermo Gonzalez to the transitional diaconate Jan. 26. Gonzalez was born March 17, 1989, in Sonsonate, El Salvador, to Moises Amilcar Gonzalez Torres and María Kelly Cruz de Gonzalez, the younger of their two boys. His elder brother, Emerson, died in 2015. Gonzalez, who moved to the United States as a teen, has lived primarily in Fairfax and Centreville. He graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly in 2008.
“Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a dulled world.” So wrote C.S. Lewis in his brilliant book, “The Problem of Pain.”
Toothbrush, shampoo, comb: check. Passport, wallet, breviary: check. Trash emptied, coffee pot clean, lights off: check. And so go the final preparations before a trip. Going to seminary in Rome has acquainted me well with packing and preparing. As I head into my last semester of seminary and look forward to priestly ordination June 1, God willing, I’ve begun to turn my attention to the final preparations I need to make before embarking on this lifelong journey as a priest of Jesus Christ.
A woman in her late 90s joyfully awaiting the next life. A 20-something grad student who lost belief in God at the age of 8. The stark difference between the two has impacted me greatly during my time in seminary. Both were encountered during what are termed “pastoral formation” assignments.
This past semester at seminary I took an elective on the Book of Psalms. Instead of going through the book from beginning to end, we have been going through the psalms as they appear in the four-week cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours.
Doctors told Vera Calandra that her daughter, Vera Marie, would not make it to her first birthday due to congenital defects that had already necessitated the removal of her bladder. They did not count on St. Pio of Pietrelcina, or Padre Pio.
There is something funny about being new to Rome; “new” is certainly not the word one would use to describe this city. The patrimony of the church has belonged to me and my family for generations; it has been here all my life and then far, far longer. My home state of Virginia is the oldest one in the United States, and yet, the most venerable traditions and historic buildings in the Old Dominion are as nothing next to the antiquity of Rome.
While on trial for practicing Christianity in pagan Rome, the young virgin Cecilia was asked to state her name. She replied, “Men call me Cecilia, but my most beautiful name is that of Christian.” The interrogator, Almachius, grew impatient with her defiance and stated, “Are you ignorant of my power?” To which Cecilia retorted, “And do you know who is my protector and my spouse? The Lord Jesus Christ.” At the end of the trial Cecilia was executed for her fidelity to Christ. Today, most people associate the name of St. Cecilia with her connection to music, but we should remember that her whole being was caught up in a continual song of praise to her Lord. Cecilia’s life centered on her firm identity in Christ, her total trust in God’s plan and the joy that comes from belonging totally to Christ.
Back in October, I was at St. William of York in Stafford for a wedding. I arrived early in order to make a holy hour, something I have done at this particular church many times as it is my home parish. But even though I’ve spent a lot of time there, something struck that I had never noticed before.
