A Church that Moves the World

Conviviality was the prevailing wind of the day, at least figuratively, as we gathered in Kolbe Hall at Holy Cross Catholic Church on April 15th in the midst of the Tax Day Blizzard of 2018. Already, an hour before the first events of the afternoon, the hall was veritably bustling with people from the parish, from the University of St Thomas, clergy from the Archdiocese, and more friends from Italy than I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering in one day. We had a purpose, a mission for gathering which was somewhat academic and practical but was primarily as convivial as the atmosphere. The “Church that Moves the World” was present in the community that was gathering on a decidedly white spring afternoon.

It was easy to tell, as a relatively low man on the proverbial totem pole, that there was some movement happening in that parish hall. Names were exchanged, and hands shaken with people from across the region, from the top of the academic and ecclesiastical ladder to people like me, the room was packed with people in every position that were ready to revive Catholic culture. This had to be a topic worth our careful consideration and attention.

Fr Howe set the tone as such with his opening remarks and recollections of his own time spent in Italy with the Tipi Loschi and the formative character of their community. A brilliant and, I think, unintended side effect of Father’s opening story was the familial conversation that it began. Indeed, the rest of the talks of the afternoon had the air of (sometimes) parents lovingly imparting wisdom, brothers and sisters sharing help with one another, and children receiving graciously from teachers.

Fr. Cassian Folsom OSB, all the way from Norcia, Italy, shared his insights on how to interact with the modern Western culture. Marco Sermarini, also visiting from Italy, spoke to the group about how the Saints give us aid and pray for the family of the Church here on Earth. Dr. Michael Naughton, Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at UST, gave an academic look at the conversation of the family within the Church which followed Marco’s entreaties well. Finally, Dr. Catherine Deavel from the Philosophy Department, UST, talked about the need for friendships and the types of friendships presented in Aristotle and other philosophical schools of thought.

Following the afternoons talks, and the intermissive happy hour featuring Birra Nursia brewed by Fr. Cassian and his brethren, the majority of those gathered made our way over to the church to spend time in contemplation before the Blessed Sacrament of what it was the Lord had called us to throughout the day. After sung Vespers and Benediction, the church began to fill with parishioners joining us for the usual Sunday evening Holy Mass. The family came together, with the Saints and Angels, to worship the Lord in the most proper and intimate way we could, by totally receiving Him in the Eucharist. It was the perfect capstone, or perhaps, cornerstone, to tie the whole day together and to remind us why, exactly, creating a Catholic culture is necessary.

“We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a Church that will move the world.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

God love you,

Kyle Etzel, Catholic Studies ’17, Seminarian of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis

Candlemas 2018

For the second time in the history of the Roccasecca Project, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful gathered to celebrate the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to contemplate the role of light in the Christian life. The Church of Saint Mark made for a beautiful, hospitable setting once again. Of course, the premier means of contemplating the Light this evening was in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Dr. Mark Spencer’s reflection on light in the Christian life could not have been a more apt continuation of the night.

As a board member of Juventutem Twin Cities, one of the newest young adult ministries in the Twin Cities, it was a two-fold pleasure to be co-hosts with Roccasecca Project. Our two groups are both particularly supportive of the wider use of the Extraordinary Form (EF). To be able to help Roccasecca bring the EF to a group of people who may not be familiar or comfortable with its means of worship and praise is integral to the mission of Juventutem TC. Second, as a UST alum on a board of current students and alumni, it is also a wellspring of joy for us to be a part of the celebration of this beautiful liturgy to the community which nurtured our education.

This Mass, and the procession it began with, are particularly well-suited to making clear to us that the Light came into the world. The blessing, distribution, and lighting of candles for the procession begin the liturgy. Fr. Bryan Pedersen, celebrant, received and blessed the candles to be used by the congregants in the procession and throughout the Mass. It is most fitting that the rest of us present approached the altar to receive our unlit candle and, in silence, blessed it with a kiss upon reception. That action of intimate benediction commended us by the Church in the prescriptions of the Rituale Romanum communicates to us and through us the joy we should have in receiving the Light that is Our Blessed Lord.

Furthermore, the EF provided us the opportunity to physically orient ourselves toward the Lord in our worship. Practically speaking, in a darkened home in the wintery months we must move toward the lit rooms or sources of light to do anything after sunset. Naturally, then, we should logically be oriented toward the Lord, the Light of the World, in the celebration of the Mass. The Latin phrase ‘ad orientem’ is often used to describe this posture for the priest during the Mass and is derived from the fact that Our Blessed Lord, as the Light of the World, is expected in the east (orient) in His second coming, prefigured by the sun’s rising. Praised be God for these deep traditions in the Liturgy.

After the Mass and some community time, Dr. Mark Spencer regaled the remaining crowd with a very enlightening reflection on how the light of Our Blessed Lord can and ought to permeate our lives as Christians. Dr. Spencer’s contribution as a philosopher provided us with a means to marry faith and reason in the events of the evening, particularly in his use of some of the philosophical thought of the Angelic Doctor and patron of the Roccasecca Project.

To be a part of the evening, as participant and co-host, was a distinct joy. I left with a great deal of hope for the future of the University community and of the younger components of the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis. If we young adults, St Thomas alumni, young families, intercessors can keep our whole selves oriented toward the Light of the World in prayer, worship, and daily work, then there is reason to rejoice.

God love you,

Kyle Etzel, Catholic Studies ’17, Seminarian of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis

Listen to Dr. Mark Spencer's talk from the evening below.

Dr. Mark Spencer "Light as a Sacrament of Divine Beauty"

Duc in Altum

We gathered on the eve of battle to keep vigil. Professor Robert Delahunty of the St. Thomas Law School transported our band of brothers into the midst of one of the greatest naval battles in European history: the Battle of Lepanto. In 1571, a coalition of European armies joined together under the heroic leadership of Don Juan of Austria. Their goal was to stop the aggressive arm of the Ottoman Empire from sweeping through the Italian peninsula. The most notable event from this battle is the apparition of Our Lady to Pope St. Pius V at the moment of the Christian victory. Under her intercession, the Christian armies were able to overtake the unstoppable Ottoman Empire on October 7. Given Our Lady’s intercession in this great moment in Christian history, October 7 has been deemed the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

On the anniversary of the victory, friends and families of the Roccasecca Project joined together for Mass and rosary at St. Mark’s parish to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and to pray for peace and our alma mater. Some additional opening and closing prayers said during the rosary also reminded us of the 100 year anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Behind the chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on campus, there is a statue of Our Lady of Peace (or Victory) holding both a sword and a rosary.

These symbols are images that remind us both of the Battle of Lepanto and the Fatima apparitions. We are reminded that there are battles to be won for God on Earth, both spiritually and otherwise. By gathering for Mass and the rosary, followed by the Angelus in front of Our Lady of Victory and fellowship amidst Homecoming celebrations, we are strengthened to go back out into the deep.