St. Bridget, St. Elizabeth & Sacred Heart

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Several Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to clarify that the terms “male,” “female,” and “sex,” among others, refer to the biological distinctions between men and women when those words are used in laws. 

The Defining Male and Female Act of 2024, introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall from Kansas, aims to prevent government officials and courts from reinterpreting those terms through the lens of gender ideology by identifying men and women based on self-identification instead of biological distinctions.

Marshall said in a statement that he “didn’t think we would need legislation to tell us that there are only two sexes, male and female, but here we are.”

According to a news release, the legislation would restore the legal right to reserve girls’ and women’s sports and scholarships for biological girls and women. The news release also states that the bill would restore the sex separation of restrooms, locker rooms, dorm rooms, prisons, and shelters for victims of sexual assault. 

“As a physician who has delivered over 5,000 babies, I can confidently say that politicizing children’s gender to use them as pawns in their radical woke agenda is not only wrong, it is extremely dangerous,” Marshall said. “We must codify the legal definition of sex to be based on science rather than feelings. With our legislation, we can fight back against the Biden-Harris administration’s assault on our children.” 

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement that “men and women have biological differences that must be recognized.” He added that “women and girls deserve to feel safe and respected in all spaces, public and private.” 

The legislation is designed to unwind policies that were enacted during the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Under the current administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reinterpreted the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination to include any discrimination on the basis of so-called “gender identity.” The rule was blocked by a judge but would have forced health care providers and insurers to cover transgender drugs and surgeries for both adults and minors. 

The administration also revised Title IX regulations to redefine sex discrimination to include any discrimination based on gender identity. This could have forced publicly funded schools and colleges to allow biological men in women’s locker rooms, dormitories, and athletic competitions. However, its enforcement is limited after multiple courts blocked implementation.

“Since taking office in 2021, the Biden-Harris administration has embarked on a radical transgender agenda, preying on vulnerable youth and endangering women and girls in sports and locker rooms,” Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois, said in a statement. 

“This agenda was soundly rejected by the American people on Nov. 5, and we now have a clear mandate to stop this insanity,” Miller said. “The Defining Male and Female Act will prevent any future administration from ever again redefining Title IX, and I’m thrilled to work with Sen. Marshall in sending it to President Trump’s desk next year.”

The proposed legislation would declare that “every individual is either male or female” and that “an individual’s sex can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth.” It adds that “in no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self-identification.”

The bill would further clarify that laws separating facilities and athletic competitions based on biological sex “do not constitute unequal treatment under the law.”

Under the law, the following words would be clearly defined based on biological distinctions: man, woman, male, female, boy, girl, mother, and father.

The proposal adds that the word gender “shall be considered a synonym for sex” and “shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role” unless the explicit definitions of that law indicate otherwise.

Team Saint Paul schedules frequent adoration for soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. / Credit: Team Saint Paul

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Regina Fontana was in an airport on her way home from a pilgrimage to Italy when she realized she wanted to leave her job and pursue a calling from God — she just didn’t know what. 

It was only in the weeks after she turned down a job offer as a flight attendant — her dream for many years — that she came across Team Saint Paul. 

“I made this really big decision and I quit everything,” she recalled. “And here I am like, ‘What’s next, Lord? I don’t know what I’m doing here, so I need your help.’”  

Team Saint Paul, a new endeavor by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, places team members near military bases to help organize faith-based activities and build Catholic community in the area.

When Fontana came across the ministry, it seemed like an answer to her prayers.

Team Saint Paul is a new initiative of Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the USCCB and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Modeled after FOCUS’ work on college campuses, the archdiocese sends several young adults to organize faith-based opportunities for service members at military bases.

“I ended up applying and prayed about it a lot,” Fontana told CNA. “And it was a really good fit. The rest is history.”

Fontana has now been working for Team Saint Paul for almost a year at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She helps organize Bible studies, adoration nights, and community-building events. 

“What was really attractive was that our daily lives are rooted in prayer and Jesus,” Fontana told CNA. 

“Our day-to-day changes a lot,” Fontana said when asked what an average day looks like. “Every day we have Mass and Holy Hour. Those two things are always set.”

In addition to a daily structure of prayer and worship, Fontana organizes frequent events for the service members. 

“One of the first things we started implementing when we got here was adoration. We held adoration twice a week for the soldiers,” she said. “That was just something that we really saw they needed. We’re going to be starting a Bible study finally in January. We meet one on one with them. They have questions; we respond to them.” 

Team Saint Paul also coordinates activities on the weekends, from rock climbing to line dancing. 

“We’re really close to the Nashville Dominicans [the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation], and so one of the things … is we’ll go pray vespers with the sisters, and then go line dancing afterwards.”

“They love it so much. They do it on their own,” Fontana said of the service members. “If we’re busy, they’re like, no, we’re just going to go.” 

McKenzie Mauss, the program’s organizer and the associate director for Missionary Discipleship for the military archdiocese, told CNA that the goal of Team Saint Paul “is to minister to young adults in the military and form missionary disciples.”

“I think the greatest effect of Team Saint Paul has been cultivating authentic Catholic communities at the installations they currently serve that invite young adults to draw closer to Jesus Christ,” Mauss said.

Father Lukasz “Luke” Willenberg, a military chaplain for the 5th Group Special Forces (Airborne), noted that Mass attendance has been up by 50% since Team Saint Paul came to town.  

“Seeing more active-duty members in uniform attending daily Mass brings great joy to our hearts,” Willenberg said. “It is wonderful to observe how Caroline [McDermott, another Team Saint Paul member] and Regina use their gifts to personally engage with random Mass attendees, creating moments of encounter and bringing them closer to the Lord. After Sunday Masses there is a circle of young adults chatting, getting to know each other, and making plans to keep each other encouraged in the faith.”

When asked about the response of military members, Fontana said “many of them were just really hungry for community, authentic community.”

“This has been the first thing that we did when we got here was really just start fostering that community, meeting people, hanging out with them, introducing them to their peers who they didn’t know,” Fontana explained. “And through that, they’ve built close friendships with each other.”

“We got here and we met people so quick, and they were just so eager for that community that we couldn’t even keep up with [it],” she recalled.

Fontana said one of the biggest challenges is navigating it as a pilot program and “figuring it out as we go along.”

Currently, there are programs at Travis Air Force Base in California and at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, but the team is hoping to expand to a third location. 

One of the most memorable events for Fontana was attending the National Eucharisitc Congress with a group of soldiers.

“Almost every single one of them had some just crazy encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist,” she said of the service members. “One of them was like, I think he had been praying about whether or not he wanted to reenlist, to continue or to get out of the Army. And he just heard God being like, ‘No, just stay where you’re at.’ And so he got a huge answer there.”

When asked about the lasting impact, Fontana said she hopes that other service members will be inspired to lead ministries when they are transferred. 

“It’s so hard because the nature of the military is so fluid,” she explained. “People are always moving. People are in and out. So even when you have those good leaders who take initiative to do things, you have them for maybe two years, and then they’re gone.”

She said she hopes service members will learn to build community as they go to new areas.

“Then they can take it to the next place, even if there’s no missionaries there and they can start their own community,” Fontana said.

The Daughters of St. Paul during their annual Christmas concert. / Credit: Courtesy of The Daughters of St. Paul

CNA Staff, Dec 1, 2024 / 07:30 am (CNA).

A group of religious sisters is getting ready to hit the road for its annual Christmas concert. The Daughters of St. Paul Choir announced the dates for its “Come to Bethlehem: A Christmas Concert with the Daughters of St. Paul” tour, which will make stops this year in New York, Boston, and New Orleans.

The Daughters of St. Paul is a religious community that focuses on evangelization through social communications and media. They often release professionally produced Christmas and religious song albums as a means of spreading the faith.

The sisters have been putting on their annual Christmas concert for over 25 years, featuring original choral arrangements, inspirational stories, and audience participation all while focusing on the true reason for the season — the birth of Jesus. 

This year the choir is made up of seven sisters: Sister Margaret Timothy Sato, Sister Anne Joan Flanagan, Sister Fay Pele, Sister Sean Mayer, Sister Mary Martha Moss, Sister Amanda Marie Detry, and Sister Tracey Dugas. 

The tour will stop in New York on Dec. 5, in Boston on Dec. 14–15, and in New Orleans on Dec. 18.

Dugas told CNA in an interview that the concert serves for many as a “kickoff to what they need to feel like, ‘OK, this is how I’m going to integrate the real meaning of Christmas with all the hustle and bustle I have to face after this.’”

Dugas has been taking part in the Christmas concert since 1992. She first became involved by singing for the studio recording and then had her first live concert experience in 2007. 

She shared her memory of hearing the sisters sing for the first time when she was just visiting the community and recalled feeling “moved and touched by the Holy Spirit.”

Now, being one of the sisters herself and part of the choir, she explained that they felt called to put on this concert because they realized that “music is such a sacred part of our worship of God.”

“It’s an expression of our prayer life,” she said. “So, the singing is much more an act of worship than it is a performance … We’re just leading out brothers and sisters in prayer and just inviting them to let their hearts be lifted.”

“We see it in people’s faces that something reaches into their memory or their hearts or their relationships where it’s God’s work.”

Dugas said she hopes those who attend a concert leave feeling “the closeness of God to every individual person” and knowing that “he cherishes, loves, and values us and just wants us with him forever.”

The Daughters of St. Paul was founded in 1915 by Blessed James Alberione in Italy. With the help of Mother Thecla Merlo, he created a community for religious sisters to communicate the Gospel through the “apostolate of the Good Press.” It wasn’t until 1932 that Mother Paula Cordero along with another sister landed in New York and established the sisters’ American presence through the publishing of books. 

Dugas explained that in any of the sisters’ book centers, chapels, or houses, visitors will see statues of Mary where, instead of holding Jesus to herself, she is actually handing him away.

“That idea is that Mary gives Jesus away to the world and so that’s the position that we are in — we give Jesus through the word, through music, through image, through social media presence, through speaking, whatever means,” she said.

“Our mission is to reestablish or to reintroduce or re-announce that we are made for our ultimate goal, which is heaven. So being a culture saturated in communication that is always happening and how often it disintegrates us we’re called to be … as our mother foundress would say, ‘We’re just a drop in the bucket but we’re a drop that makes ripples.’”

Father Francis Browne/The Titanic. / Credit: The Father Browne Collection

CNA Staff, Dec 1, 2024 / 06:43 am (CNA).

More than a century after it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the Titanic remains the most studied and discussed ship in history. 

Even the biggest Titanic buffs, however, may be unaware that what was likely the very last photo ever taken of the ship on the surface was captured by a Jesuit priest who was himself a prolific photographer. 

Father Francis Browne was born in Ireland in 1880. He studied at the Jesuit-run Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy and was ordained in 1915 by Cloyne Bishop Robert Browne, his uncle, by whom he had been raised since childhood after the early deaths of both his mother and father.

Bishop Browne provided the younger Browne with his first camera, and he would go on to become a celebrated photographer, with a portfolio that included a collection of photographs of World War I in which he served as a chaplain. During that conflict Browne suffered severe injuries from a gas attack and received the Military Cross for his efforts. 

Yet arguably his most famous contributions to world photography are his photographs of the Titanic, among the scant few that captured life aboard the brief ocean liner prior to its sinking.

In his book “Father Browne’s Titanic Album: A Passenger’s Photographs and Personal Memoir,” Jesuit Father E.E. O’Donnell writes that Browne ended up on the Titanic after Bishop Browne gave his nephew “the trip of a lifetime” in the form of a two-day cruise on the Titanic. 

The Jesuit priest sailed from Southampton in England to Queenstown in Ireland, where he fortuitously disembarked prior to the rest of the ship’s fateful voyage.

However, Browne’s brush with death was even closer than it appeared: While on the ship he befriended a wealthy American couple who offered to buy him a ticket for the rest of the journey to America. 

The priest sent a telegram to his Jesuit superior asking for permission. At Queenstown the priest received a reply that read: “GET OFF THAT SHIP.” Browne reportedly kept the message for the rest of his life. 

It was upon deboarding at Queenstown that the priest captured what were likely the last photos of the ship on the surface of the water. (Another passenger and fellow photographer, Kate Odell, also deboarded at the same time and snapped similar photos of the ship as it steamed away.)

In addition to the haunting final images of the Titanic, Browne snapped numerous photos of life aboard the ill-fated liner, including the last known pictures of many of the crew, such as Captain Edward Smith. 

The priest also captured the only known photograph of the Titanic’s wireless room, from which the ship’s wireless operators would transmit desperate SOS messages on the night of April 14-15 until just minutes before the vessel sank. 

In his history, O’Donnell argued that the “most newsworthy fact” about Browne is not his presence on the historic ocean liner but that he is now recognized as “one of the world’s greatest photographers of all time,” with a lifetime portfolio of nearly 42,000 pictures. 

His collection of Titanic photographs, O’Donnell noted, is not merely of interest for its historic rarity but also because it represents “early works from the hand of a man who went on to become a master of the art of photography.”

Upon his death in 1960, Browne was hailed as a “brave and lovable man” who “had a great influence for good,” beloved by Catholic and Protestant friends alike. 

Reflecting on the Titanic tragedy, Browne himself wrote of learning about the catastrophic sinking — the news of which was “whispered at first, then contradicted, but finally shouted aloud in all its horror of detail by the myriad-throated press.” 

In Ireland, meanwhile, “we did not forget those whom we had seen deprecating in all the joy of hope and confidence,” he wrote, “for we gathered in the great cathedral to pray for those who had departed, and for those on whom the hand of sorrow had fallen so heavily.” 

Lectionary on altar table at Mass / Credit: Grant Whitty / Unsplash

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 1, 2024 / 04:30 am (CNA).

With the first Sunday of Advent, a new liturgical year begins in the Catholic Church, with the readings corresponding to Cycle C of odd-numbered years. What does this liturgical practice entail?

The beginning and end of the liturgical year

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains on its website that the liturgical year is made up of six times or seasons: Advent, Christmas, Lent, the paschal Triduum, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

The conference notes that the new 2025 liturgical calendar will begin with the first Sunday of Advent on Dec. 1, 2024, and will conclude on the Saturday after the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which will be Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.

The three-year cycle 

Perhaps less known is that the liturgical calendar has a three-year cycle, repeating every three years, which determines the biblical readings for Sunday Masses.

St. Paul VI in his apostolic constitution Missale Romanum states that “all the Sunday readings are divided into a three-year cycle” and the Ordo Lectionum Missae (“Order of Mass Readings,” 1969) explains that each liturgical year will be designated “with the letters A, B, C.”

The ordo of 1981 specifies that Cycle C is designated as all years “that are multiples of 3.” Thus the 2025 liturgical calendar uses Cycle C.

In Cycle A, the Sunday Gospel is generally taken from Matthew, in Cycle B from Mark, and in Cycle C from Luke, while the Gospel of John is read primarily at Easter.

During the Easter season, the first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles. But the second reading in Cycle A is mainly from the First Letter of St. Peter; in Cycle B, from the First Letter of St. John; and in Cycle C, from Revelation.

In Ordinary Time, the First Letter to the Corinthians is read in all three cycles, while the Letter to the Hebrews has been divided in two, with one part read in Cycle B and the other in Cycle C.

Why an odd year?

On weekdays, also called “ferias,” the readings of the Mass have a different order. Lent, Advent, Christmas, and Easter have their own texts.

In Ordinary Time, the Gospels are determined by a cycle of readings that is repeated every year. However, the first readings, which are generally from the Old Testament and the apostolic letters, have a double cycle, made up of an even and an odd year.

The ordo of 1969 specifies that “Year I” is for “odd years” and “Year II” is for “even years.” Therefore, the 2025 liturgical calendar is Year I, or an odd year.

The purpose of the cycles with even and odd numbers

This whole distribution of the readings by cycles and even or odd years has its source in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, where the Second Vatican Council asks that the “treasures of the Bible” be opened more to the faithful during Mass.

“In this way a more representative portion of the holy Scriptures will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years,” the document states.

Thus, after three cycles, one will have heard a large part of sacred Scripture, and if one goes to daily Mass for two years, he or she will have gone even further into the Bible.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Soren and Ever Johnson run Trinity House + Cafe and Trinity House Community in Leesburg, Virginia, and shared with CNA how their mutual love of St. John Paul II led them to open Trinity House and dedicate their lives to full-time ministry. / Credit: Migi Fabara

CNA Staff, Nov 30, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

For Soren and Ever Johnson, it was love at first sight when they met on the steps of the Dominican Priory in Krakow, Poland, 24 years ago. Within a few weeks, the pair knew they wanted to marry and dedicate their life together to promoting Pope John Paul II’s new evangelization. 

Last month the couple marked the 10th anniversary of one of the fruits of their ministry: Trinity House Cafe, which they operate in Leesburg, Virginia.

In a recent interview with CNA, the Johnsons shared how their mutual love of St. John Paul II led them to open Trinity House on Oct. 24, 2014, and dedicate their lives to full-time ministry. 

“With our marriage, it was a gift of love at first sight and just finding our true love and best friend for life, and knowing that very quickly,” Soren told CNA. “Then, just given our inspiration, our faith, and the witness of our own parents and families, we saw how marriage is not a private good. It’s a gift, a sacrament that has such beautiful dimensions with regard to the community, to family.”

Rather than keeping their marriage and faith “privatized,” Soren recalled that they “both felt very deeply early on in our marriage that we’ve been given this gift to share with others. And if we don’t share it, we really are not stewarding the gift as God intended.”

The founding of Trinity House

The couple, who are parents to five children ages 13 to 21, explained how the cafe was an outgrowth of following their deep sense of mission. 

Ever was working for George Weigel at the time, a Catholic intellectual and author who was then writing his famous biography of Pope John Paul II.  

“There was this steady stream of people coming through his office saying, ‘How do we get involved in the new evangelization?’” Ever explained. “So eventually, Soren and I said, ‘Let’s put together a group of these people,’” and the John Paul II Fellowship was born. For many years, the group held sponsored events such as Masses, talks, seminars, dinners, and other cultural and social events. 

Yet, after a while, Ever said the couple felt they had been “preaching to the choir,” and what they were doing wasn’t quite the new evangelization. So they told the group: “Let’s open a place in public and continue to do all of these cool events, but in public, where you lower the barriors to entry.” 

After several years of fundraising and searching for a location, the Johnsons stumbled upon the building that was to become Trinity House Cafe. It was Sunday, April 27, 2014, and they were driving home from the simulcast celebration of John Paul II’s canonization Mass at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. 

“[While] we drove back into Leesburg on our way home, we saw the ‘For Lease’ sign right under the Church and Market Street signs in the front yard,” Ever said, laughing: “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I think that’s it! That’s incredible!’ [John Paul II] was all about bringing the Church and market together.” 

Having leased the building since the cafe’s founding, the Johnsons are now hoping to purchase it. They were made an exclusive offer from their landlord for a limited time and have decided to go for it. 

“Earlier in November, Trinity House Community launched a $450,000 capital campaign to secure the building as both its flagship cafe and market location and the headquarters of its growing ministry to families,” Soren told CNA. 

A historic registry home dating back to the 1700s, the building was once home to two generations of Methodist ministers. 

The Trinitarian icon

Hanging above the fireplace in the Trinity House Cafe is the Trinity icon by the Russian monk Andre Rublev. Its prominent display does not serve a merely aesthetic purpose but represents the core of the Johnsons’ mission both at Trinity House and with their new evangelization curriculum model, “Heaven in Your Home.” 

Five years after the Johnsons opened Trinity House, they began teaching this family-life model.

“St. John Paul II said that the future of humanity passes by way of the family,” Soren said. “And if we go back to the catechism, we are really reminded of how it says that the Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Having “always been deeply moved by the visual depiction of the communion of divine persons,” in Rublev’s icon, the Johnsons developed their curriculum based on Church teaching about the Trinity.

“The mission is to inspire families to make home ‘a taste of heaven’ for the renewal of faith and culture,” Ever said. 

The Johnsons will also be releasing a new book in early 2025 titled “Heaven in Your Home Letters and Guide: Nurturing Your Holy Family,” which includes a foreword by Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus. The new release is a follow-up to their book “Heaven in Your Home Letters and Guide: Inspiration and Tools for Building a Trinity House.”

Fostering relationships 

The cafe has done more over the years than offer hot beverages, freshly baked goods, and beautiful religious items — it’s been a place for relationships to grow, including some romances.

“I think we’re on to three couples who have met at the cafe and gone on to the beautiful gift of marriage,” Soren shared. “That’s just a very striking example of the friendships that are begun and strengthened here.”

Daniel Thetford met his wife at a Bible study at Trinity House and told CNA: “I feel like any time we stop there it’s just really warm and hospitable — the place everyone envisions from their favorite book or movie or TV show. It really feels like an episode of ‘Gilmore Girls’ or something.” 

Thetford and his wife continue to visit the cafe whenever they are able and even took some of their engagement photos there.

Located across the street from the Leesburg Courthouse, the cafe draws people from all walks of life, Soren said, noting that “the faith is here if you want to go deeper, but if you just want to come into a beautiful cafe and be welcomed, listened to, and served, then that is a wonderful experience, and it can be just that.” 

The point, he continued, is that “beauty can be the first part of a conversation that leads people into the truth and goodness that we know.” 

Several customers at Trinity House have told the Johnsons that their time at the cafe has led them to return to the faith. 

“People are embodied,” Ever added. “That was a big focus of JP II, as well, to stop having the faith in your head. If you create an embodied context that is healthy, that gives people the input that they need, you’re going to get a certain output. And that’s what happens: People turn to deeper conversations when they’re in that environment.”

Workshop of Gerard Seghers, “Saint Andrew,” ca. 1637. / Credit: Register Files/Public Domain

National Catholic Register, Nov 30, 2024 / 04:48 am (CNA).

St. Andrew, whose feast day is Nov. 30, was one of the two initial disciples of John the Baptist who encountered Jesus at the beginning of John’s Gospel. He was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, but many people know little about him.

St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter, also known as Simon bar-Jonah. He and Andrew shared the same father, so the latter would have been known as Andrew bar-Jonah.

Andrew is regularly mentioned after Simon Peter, which suggests that he was Peter’s younger brother. Like his brother Peter, and their partners James and John, Andrew was initially a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.

Here are eight more things to know and share about St. Andrew the Apostle:

1) What does the name Andrew mean?  

The name Andrew (Greek, “Andreas”) is related to the Greek word for “man” (“Aner,” or, in the genitive, “Andros”). It originally meant something like “manly,” expressing the parents’ hopes for their baby boy.

Interestingly, Andrew’s name is of Greek origin, not Aramaic. Pope Benedict XVI commented: “The first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name: It is not Hebrew, as might have been expected, but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present” (General Audience, June 14, 2006).

The fact that their father — Jonah (or Jonas) — gave his elder son (Simon) an Aramaic name and his younger son (Andrew) a Greek name reflects the mixed Jewish-Gentile environment of Galilee.

2) How close was he to Jesus?

In the synoptic Gospels and Acts, the 12 apostles are always listed in three group of four individuals. The first of these groups indicates those who were the closest to Jesus. It includes the two pairs of brothers: (1) Peter and Andrew, the sons of Jonah, and (2) James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Andrew was thus one of the four disciples closest to Jesus, but he seems to have been the least close of the four.

This is reflected in the fact that, several times, Peter, James, and John seem to have privileged access to Jesus, while Andrew is not present.

For example, Peter, James, and John were those present for the Transfiguration, but Andrew was not. They were the closest three, while Andrew was a distant fourth.

This is ironic.

3) Why the irony of this more “distant” relationship?

Because Andrew was one of the first followers of Jesus. In fact, he discovered Jesus before his brother Peter did.

Indeed, he was one of the two initial disciples of John the Baptist who encountered Jesus at the beginning of John’s Gospel.

Because he followed Jesus before St. Peter and the others, he is called the “Protoklete” or “First-Called” apostle.

Pope Benedict commented:

“He was truly a man of faith and hope; and one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God’ (John 1:36); so he was stirred, and with another unnamed disciple followed Jesus, the one whom John had called ‘the Lamb of God.’ The Evangelist says that ‘they saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day...’ (John 1: 37-39).

“Thus, Andrew enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account continues with one important annotation: ‘One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus (John 1:40-43), straightaway showing an unusual apostolic spirit.

“Andrew, then, was the first of the apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Exactly for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honors him with the nickname: ‘Protokletos’ [protoclete], which means, precisely, ‘the first called.’”

4) What do the Gospels reveal to us about St. Andrew?

There are three notable incidents. The first occurs when Jesus performs the multiplication of loaves. Pope Benedict noted:

“The Gospel traditions mention Andrew’s name in particular on another three occasions that tell us something more about this man. The first is that of the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. On that occasion, it was Andrew who pointed out to Jesus the presence of a young boy who had with him five barley loaves and two fish: not much, he remarked, for the multitudes who had gathered in that place (cf. John 6:8-9).

“In this case, it is worth highlighting Andrew’s realism. He noticed the boy, that is, he had already asked the question: ‘but what good is that for so many?’ (ibid.), and recognized the insufficiency of his minimal resources. Jesus, however, knew how to make them sufficient for the multitude of people who had come to hear him.”

5) When else does Andrew come to the forefront?

A second instance is when he and the other core disciples question Jesus about his statement that the beautiful stones of the Temple will be torn down.

Pope Benedict noted:

“The second occasion was at Jerusalem. As he left the city, a disciple drew Jesus’ attention to the sight of the massive walls that supported the Temple. The Teacher’s response was surprising: He said that of those walls not one stone would be left upon another. Then Andrew, together with Peter, James, and John, questioned him: ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?’ (Mark 13:1-4).

“In answer to this question Jesus gave an important discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and on the end of the world, in which he asked his disciples to be wise in interpreting the signs of the times and to be constantly on their guard.

“From this event we can deduce that we should not be afraid to ask Jesus questions but at the same time that we must be ready to accept even the surprising and difficult teachings that he offers us.”

6) Is there a third instance in which the Gospels reveal St. Andrew’s importance?

In a third instance, St. Andrew — with his Greek name — serves as a bridge between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. Pope Benedict explained:

“Lastly, a third initiative of Andrew is recorded in the Gospels: The scene is still Jerusalem, shortly before the Passion. For the feast of the Passover, John recounts, some Greeks had come to the city, probably proselytes or God-fearing men who had come up to worship the God of Israel at the Passover feast. Andrew and Philip, the two apostles with Greek names, served as interpreters and mediators of this small group of Greeks with Jesus.

“The Lord’s answer to their question — as so often in John’s Gospel — appears enigmatic, but precisely in this way proves full of meaning. Jesus said to the two disciples and, through them, to the Greek world: ‘The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. I solemnly assure you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit’ (Jn 12:23-24). 

“Jesus wants to say: Yes, my meeting with the Greeks will take place, but not as a simple, brief conversation between myself and a few others, motivated above all by curiosity. The hour of my glorification will come with my death, which can be compared with the falling into the earth of a grain of wheat. My death on the cross will bring forth great fruitfulness: In the Resurrection the ‘dead grain of wheat’ — a symbol of myself crucified — will become the bread of life for the world; it will be a light for the peoples and cultures.

“Yes, the encounter with the Greek soul, with the Greek world, will be achieved in that profundity to which the grain of wheat refers, which attracts to itself the forces of heaven and earth and becomes bread.

“In other words, Jesus was prophesying about the Church of the Greeks, the Church of the pagans, the Church of the world, as a fruit of his pasch.”

7) What happened to Andrew in later years?

Pope Benedict noted:

“Some very ancient traditions not only see Andrew, who communicated these words to the Greeks, as the interpreter of some Greeks at the meeting with Jesus recalled here, but consider him the apostle to the Greeks in the years subsequent to Pentecost. They enable us to know that for the rest of his life he was the preacher and interpreter of Jesus for the Greek world.

“Peter, his brother, traveled from Jerusalem through Antioch and reached Rome to exercise his universal mission; Andrew, instead, was the apostle of the Greek world. So it is that in life and in death they appear as true brothers — a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special reciprocal relations of the See of Rome and of Constantinople, which are truly sister Churches.”

8) How did St. Andrew die?

Pope Benedict noted:

“A later tradition, as has been mentioned, tells of Andrew’s death at Patras [in Greece], where he too suffered the torture of crucifixion.

“At that supreme moment, however, like his brother Peter, he asked to be nailed to a cross different from the cross of Jesus.

“In his case it was a diagonal or X-shaped cross, which has thus come to be known as ‘St. Andrew’s cross.’

“This is what the apostle is claimed to have said on that occasion, according to an ancient story (which dates back to the beginning of the sixth century), titled ‘The Passion of Andrew’: 

“‘Hail, O cross, inaugurated by the body of Christ and adorned with his limbs as though they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear. Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift.

“‘Believers know of the great joy that you possess and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared. I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me exultant as a disciple of the One who was hung upon you. ... O blessed cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs! ... Take me, carry me far from men, and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the one who redeemed me by you, may receive me. Hail, O cross; yes, hail indeed!’

“Here, as can be seen, is a very profound Christian spirituality. It does not view the cross as an instrument of torture but rather as the incomparable means for perfect configuration to the Redeemer, to the grain of wheat that fell into the earth.

“Here we have a very important lesson to learn: Our own crosses acquire value if we consider them and accept them as a part of the cross of Christ, if a reflection of his light illuminates them.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register on Nov. 27, 2013, and has been updated and adapted by CNA.

Advent wreath. / Credit: Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 30, 2024 / 04:08 am (CNA).

As we prepare for the birth of Christ during Advent, it can be easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. But as calendars get filled up and preparations are made, here are four resources to help you get ready to enter into the deeper meaning of Christmas.

Hallow

This year for Advent, take part in Hallow’s Advent Pray25 Prayer Challenge beginning on Dec. 2. The prayer challenge includes reading and meditating on “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken alongside Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls, and Sister Agnus Dei of the Sisters of Life. Biblical scholar Jeff Cavins and author Francis Chan will also reflect on Scripture. Plus, Roumie and Father Chrysostom Bear will dive into the book “A Divine Intimacy,” a book of Carmelite meditations, alongside Catholic actor Kevin James.

On Saturdays during the Advent prayer challenge, listeners will encounter God’s love through music with Gwen Stefani, Lauren Daigle, Matt Maher, and Sarah Kroger. 

Ascension

Join Father Mike Schmitz for Face to Face: Advent with Fr. Mike Schmitz on the Ascension app. Schmitz will take you on a journey through daily video reflections and Scripture passages to discover who God is, who we are, and how we are made worthy to stand in his presence. The theme of the program focuses on the idea of how we would live Advent differently if we knew that Christmas Day was the day we were going to die. One would have to live it with more purpose, intentionality, and grace. Through this Advent program, Schmitz encourages us to live Advent differently and prepares us to meet God face to face.

Word on Fire

Bishop Robert Barron’s “Advent Gospel Reflections” is a devotional booklet that invites readers into the prayerful nature of the season. It features the full Gospel reading for each day of Advent, a daily reflection from Barron, and space for journaling and to answer reflection questions. This book is great for an individual seeking to grow in his or her faith during Advent as well as families or parishes seeking to grow together. 

EWTN Religious Catalogue 

The EWTN Religious Catalogue offers a variety of Advent devotionals including “Advent Reflections: Meditations for a Holy Advent,” “Advent with Our Lady of Fatima” by Donna Marie Cooper O’Boyle, and “The Jesse Tree: An Advent Devotion” by Eric and Suzan Sammons. Each of these devotionals offers daily reflections and meditations to help you find peace in Christ amid the hustle and bustle. (Editor’s note: EWTN is CNA’s parent company.)

Have a blessed Advent!

As they have for many years, members of St. Vincent de Paul, known as Vincentians, served thousands of people on Thanksgiving day around the country. / Credit: D Sharon Pruitt/Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

CNA Newsroom, Nov 29, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

While millions of Americans were traveling or cooking or getting ready to watch a football game, several thousand volunteers with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul were serving Thanksgiving meals to those who needed them. 

“Many communities have a sizable level of poverty, people who just need that helping hand up,” said Michael Acaldo, chief executive officer of the national council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization headquartered in St. Louis. 

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Acaldo said, more than 300 volunteers were scheduled to serve more than 3,000 people at four sites. 

It started in the late morning at Baton Rouge River Center, which included sit-down meals but also a drive-through component since it’s near a highway. St. Gerard Catholic Church was scheduled to kick off its meal in the late morning as well, followed by meals in the society’s dining room in Baton Rouge and at McKinley Alumni Community Center. 

The Baton Rouge society has been serving Thanksgiving Day meals since about 1982, Acaldo told CNA. 

In Phoenix, more than 500 volunteers were expected to serve about 7,000 meals at seven locations, under the direction of executive chef Chris Hoffman, who has worked at the Ritz Carlton and other resorts, said Ryan Corry, chief philanthropy officer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul there. 

“And his style is that he wants to put dignity and humanity on a plate, every single day,” Corry said. 

Breakfast at the Phoenix dining room was at 7 a.m.; the last meal of the day ended at about 6:15 p.m., he said. In between, there are brunches, lunches, and dinners. 

The major Thanksgiving meal in Phoenix included turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans. 

And, Corry added: “We have the most number of pumpkin pies I’ve ever seen in my life.” 

‘The center of their day’

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 in France by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel Bailly to help the poor in Paris. The American version was founded in 1845 at what is now the old cathedral in St. Louis. 

Members of local conferences, who are known as Vincentians, serve more than 5 million people a year in the United States, according to the organization’s national council. 

On Thanksgiving, organizers of the meals say they appreciate the time volunteers take on what is one of the quintessential family-gathering days in the United States. 

“Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful day to be with family and friends, and those who are taking their time or talent, it’s the most valuable thing we’ve got — they understand the need in the community, and they’re sacrificing time with their family to help those who don’t have family,” Acaldo said. 

Many who come to serve have been doing so for years. 

“For volunteers who come here, they plan their day around volunteering. This is the center of their day,” Corry said. 

The Phoenix version includes a program called “Hearts and Hands,” aimed at accommodating multigenerational families of volunteers with age-appropriate tasks, from as young as 3 to people in their 90s, Corry said. 

Charity in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul isn’t a one-way street, he said. 

“It’s special because not only do we serve people, but we give people an opportunity of service,” Corry said. 

While many of the volunteers didn’t watch football games on television, at the dining room on West Jackson Street in Phoenix, less than a mile away from the Arizona Capitol, some had a chance to see former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery and about 20 other National Football League retirees. Not a lot of fuss will be made over them, though, Corry said. 

“They [weren’t] there for celebrity status. They’re working,” Corry said. 

This year has been tougher for poor people in Maricopa County (which includes Phoenix) than 2023, he said. 

“We’ve seen a 30% increase in requests for food, year over year,” Corry said. 

Corry noted that while Thanksgiving Day brings a lot of attention, the society plans to feed about the same number of people in Phoenix on the day after Thanksgiving and every day after that. 

“In some ways it’s a really special day,” Corry said, referring to Thanksgiving. “In other ways, it’s another day for us to care for God’s people.” 

Gratitude  

In Pittsburg, California, about 25 miles northeast of Oakland, several dozen volunteers were scheduled to serve about 200 meals overseen by a trained chef, said Claudia Ramirez, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul District Council of Contra Costa County. 

The regional council of the society has been serving meals on Thanksgiving Day for the past 15 years. 

“Everybody comes to help support the community and do the good we can, and share the blessings we have,” Ramirez said. To the usual menu this year was added butternut squash soup, she said. 

The gathering began at 10 a.m. with the distribution of coats, scarves, toiletry items, and notes from kids in Catholic religious education programs to the people coming for meals — “So they all know they are loved and appreciated this Thanksgiving Day,” Ramirez said. 

At 10:30 a.m., volunteers and those being served gathered for a “Gratitude Circle” in which those who want can take the microphone and say what they are grateful for. It usually takes about a half hour to 45 minutes. 

“They do it very much from the heart,” Ramirez said. 

The event isn’t just a meal, she said, but a meeting of hearts. 

“This is what makes us Vincentians: We see Christ in those we serve,” Ramirez said. “And if we’re doing our work well, they see Christ in us.” 

For committed Catholics, statistics like this come as no surprise. It’s the Gospel message in a bar-graph, the Cross in a pie-chart. / Credit: Diego Cervo / Shutterstock

National Catholic Register, Nov 28, 2024 / 08:28 am (CNA).

Some might be surprised to learn that religious work leads to greater personal fulfillment than any other profession. But not Monsignor Stephen Rossetti. 

“Priestly happiness is one of the great secrets of our time,” said Rossetti, a research associate professor at The Catholic University of America. “And I’m glad it’s coming out.” 

Last week, a column in the Washington Post brought the news of happiness among religious workers to a secular audience. Citing studies from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it found that religious work causes a higher sense of satisfaction than any other profession.  

“It’s counterintuitive,” said Rossetti, who has written numerous books on the subject over the past 20 years. “Everyone says priests are unhappy, but they’re not. They’re stressed, they’re under pressure, but those aren’t the underlying factors that promote happiness.”  

The Post article relied upon responses by workers to statements intended to measure professional fulfillment, such as “I am proud to be working for my employer” and “I contribute to the community through my work.” Workers who fell under the category of “clergy” responded “strongly agree” to these questions more than any other type.  

What’s behind religious happiness? 

The article’s findings echo other studies in recent years. A 2014 study by the Office of National Statistics in the U.K. also found that clergy reported the greatest level of job satisfaction among 274 others.  

Other professions that provide elevated levels of fulfillment include outdoor jobs, such as forestry and construction, and education workers. Meanwhile, food service jobs, janitorial roles, and engineering and software developers all reported low levels of happiness in their work.  

While the idea of the “happy priest” might seem counterintuitive to a secular culture that prioritizes self-interest over service, a deeper dive into happiness data makes it seem obvious. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics cited by the article, “religious activities” finish highest among all activities in terms happiness and meaning, while “personal care” activities finish at the very bottom.  

But for committed Catholics, statistics like this come as no surprise. It’s the Gospel message in a bar-graph, the Cross in a pie-chart.   

“What is it that makes one’s life happy? What are the underlying factors?” asked Rossetti. “People who spend their time helping others tend to be happier people. People who give themselves to others find not only that it helps others, but it helps them. The thing about happiness is it's elusive. If you try to be happy, if you try to grasp it for yourself, it fails. But when you search out the wellness of others, you find out, ironically, that it helps you, too.” 

Rossetti went on to cite other factors known to foster personal happiness, all of which are abundant in religious life: having solid friends, having a rich spiritual life, liking what you do for work, and being a part of a community. These markers of personal fulfillment have diminished since the COVID-19 pandemic, which accounts for diminishing morale among the general population.  

But as Rossetti noted, the opposite effect is taking hold among the religious.  

“I’ve done a study several times that finds the numbers for happiness and morale are rising among priests,” he told the National Catholic Register, CNA's news partner. “Priests like being priests. Over 90% say they like it, and they would choose it again.”  

A 2022 study conducted by The Catholic Project also found that priests experienced high levels of well-being, despite some struggling with burnout. 

'No greater happiness'

Sister Carolyn Martin, a vocations coordinator for The Little Sisters of the Poor, believes there is more at play here than sociological factors.  

“I think it’s because our work, regardless of what ministry, is specifically connected with eternal values,” she said. “Our employer is God himself. And what we are doing is rooted in him and connected with eternal values. That's what really makes us happy: to be a part of the work of his kingdom.”  

The popular saying "do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life" seems particularly apt for the religious. The available statistics bear this out. In addition to the finding that “religious activities” bring more fulfillment than any other kind, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also finds that a “place of worship” is more likely to bring happiness and meaning than any other place, including one’s own home, the outdoors, and restaurants or gyms.  

“My daily work is such a joy that I find it problematic to even call it work,” said Martin. “It's deeply meaningful. It's not just social service. It's not just, what I'm called to do the work of my hands, but it’s who I’m called to be, which is a witness of the hope and joy that people are looking for and their hearts are longing for.” 

Martin’s average “work” day is highly structured and filled with challenging tasks that include caring for the elderly and infirmed, as well as community time and silent prayer. That such a way-of-life should bring elevated levels of happiness seems curious to the modern secular mind, which prizes material wealth, freedom from responsibility and individual autonomy.  

But for Martin and her fellow sisters, it’s the perfect recipe for fulfillment.  

“Nothing can give us more consolation than at every moment of the day having given ourselves,” she said. “To be fatigued because you poured out all your energy and strength for God and his poor, there's no greater happiness.” 

“I love going to bed, tired,” she added. “That makes me happy” 

This article was originally published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.