"From musical prodigy to servant of the poor: Newly recognized Venerable Santiago" by Larry Peterson.

 You can read the original source here.

From musical prodigy to servant of the poor: Newly recognized Venerable Santiago

Larry Peterson - published on 02/05/21

 

From the Paris music scene, he found the nascent Society of Vincent de Paul.

Santiago Masarnau y Fernandez was born in Madrid on December 10, 1805. His father, also named Santiago, was a native of Cantabria in northern Spain. His mom, Beatriz Fernandez, was from a family closely tied to the Spanish aristocracy. She passed on in 1808, leaving her 3-year-old son without a mom. Shortly after, Masarnau senior was named Secretary of the Royal Association of Nobility of Cordoba. His new position required him and his three children to move to Andalusia (the southern part of the Spanish peninsula).

 

The boy was a musical prodigy

Masarnau proved to be a musical prodigy when only a young boy. It was not long before he began studying music under the organist of the Cathedral of Granada. King Ferdinand VII had been deposed from the throne in 1808, but in 1814 he managed to regain power. Masarnau’s dad was appointed to a position and the family moved back to Madrid.

Once back near Madrid, Masarnau became part of the Escorial musical world (the Royal Palace outside Madrid). He was so good at playing the organ he was allowed to perform before King Ferdinand, even playing some of his own compositions. The boy was only 10 years old. But sometime during the early 1820s, Masarnau’s dad was forced to resign his privileges as a Gentleman of the Royal Household.

Masarnau had planned to study to be an engineer. But after his father was dismissed from the King’s court, he changed his mind and headed to Paris to study music. For the next 20 years, Masarnau divided his time among the cities of Paris, London, and Madrid. He developed a close friendship with the Spanish composer Jose Melchior Gomis.

Gomis composed the Himno de Riego, still used as the anthem by various governments in Spain. Gomis was also a Spanish rebel living in exile because he had sided with those who wished to depose King Ferdinand. Masarnau was sympathetic to those opposing the King and spent much of his time in London, where Gomis introduced him to the London music world.

 

He had a religious awakening

In 1838, Masarnau had a religious awakening that would transform his life. He came into contact with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at a parish in Paris. The Society had been founded in Paris in 1833 by Frederick Ozanam, a 20-year-old student who had been confronted by other students to “practice what you preach.” Frederick immediately went outside and gave away his coat to a homeless man, and that was the beginning of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. By 1838 the Society had grown, and when Masarnau discovered it, he decided that from then on, he would devote his life to the poor.

The rules that were in place for the Society impressed Masarnau. They were quite simple; “no politics or personal concerns would be discussed; the work of the Society should be in the service of God in the persons of the poor; there would be no distinction of creed, race, or of the poor, the infirm, and/or the unemployed. “

Masarnau became active in the Society and soon became the treasurer of his St. Vincent de Paul Conference. He would remain in France for almost five years, helping the needy. He refrained from composing any more salon music and directed his composing to sacred music. He returned to Spain in 1843.

 

He never lost sight of primarily serving the poor

Once back home, Masarnau remained active in the music business, teaching, composing, and writing articles for music publications. But he never lost sight of his primary focus: serving the poor through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. However, there was a challenge: the Society was unknown in Spain, and people were skeptical of a “foreign” organization and its “secular” nature.

But Masarnau refused to give up. His dedication to the needy and his devotion to his ministry paid off. In 1850 the Society in Spain, with the support of Pope Gregory XVI, was established. Santiago Masarnau y Fernandez was recognized as its founder. Coincidentally, this was the same year the St. Vincent de Paul Society began operations in the United States.

Politics reared its ugly head, and in 1868 the Spanish government forcibly dissolved the Society, seizing all its property. However, six years later, the Society in Spain was allowed to resume its work with the poor and marginalized. Masarnau returned as its leader. He passed away in 1882 at the age of 77.

On January 21, 2021, Pope Francis approved the decree that recognized Masarnau a man of “heroic virtue.” He is now recognized as Venerable Santiago Masarnau y Fernandez, and his cause for beatification will move forward.

Venerable Santiago, please pray for us.

"Why Your Catholic Men’s Group Will Eventually Fold" by Rob Marco

 You can read the original source here.

Many of the men who are in most need of Catholic male fellowship are in the worst position to make it happen: mid-career, young and growing family, demands on time to balance everything...anything that isn’t work or family gets pushed to the back burner.

  

When my wife and I first got married, we didn’t have many friends who were practicing Catholics. I had to fish for a college friend to be the godfather of our firstborn, and I attended a Protestant Bible study for six years because I couldn’t find a Catholic one. We felt alone as we slowly turned the boat toward the shores of Catholic orthodoxy.

So, I prayed. I prayed the prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, send me some brothers.” And, eventually, one by one, He did. A priest in our area was organizing a winter hike in single-digit temperatures and I got plugged in with some good, solid Catholic guys. I was very grateful for these guys; it seemed like the community, the band of brothers, I had been looking for.

I want to be clear about something here: none of what I’m about to write is reflective of these guys in particular. From other male Catholic friends I’ve talked to in other areas of the country, I’ve heard that they seem to deal with the same issues and challenges that I do here in my area. So, I think the issue is one of the idea of a Catholic men’s group in general, not a particular group specifically.

Anyone who has done a group project knows that some people are naturally “take charge” while others remain more passive and allow other people to lead. Men’s groups are no exception. In one sense, a group really needs that one guy (or two, or three) who can play the project-manager role and bring guys together, put the work in to build some structure and accountability, and keep men engaged.

The downside to this is twofold: firstly, the functioning of the group can become dependent on that one man without a sustainable system in place if and when he leaves, moves, or steps down. Secondly, the guy stepping into that role (usually because no one else wants to) can become resentful of the time and work he is putting in to make things happen, and he can become burned out in the process.

To overcome these obstacles, you could do the “President,” “Vice President,” “Secretary,” “Treasurer” thing, but then it becomes much less organic and more like a second job, something you have to do. Or you could just keep it unstructured and decentralized, with no one really leading the group. But men being men, it becomes easy to just not do or suggest anything then. Everyone becomes passive, or, at the very best, they rely on an organic approach in which things happen as they happen.

In my experience, guys do not just get together to talk in the same way women do. Men use one-third the number of words women do in a day, and their time spent together (for better or worse) needs to be structured around some kind of activity for it to work. This, too, is another kind of no-win trap. If there is a lack of activity or something to do or accomplish, men will not naturally spend time together for long. But the logistics of planning “things to do” often necessitates a point-guy to take charge and make it happen for the group. (See the previous section regarding the reticence of guys to step into this role.)

If there is no common vision—something to work toward or be challenged by, or some string that holds the group together—it becomes “guys hanging out.” That kind of group is easy to walk away from because it doesn’t require anything—no work, no accountability, no undertaking of any kind. Just show up and do whatever. But when you start actually requiring things of men, you run into the third problem, which is….

Many of the men who are in most need of Catholic male fellowship are in the worst position to make it happen: mid-career, young and growing family, demands on time to balance everything…anything that isn’t work or family gets pushed to the back burner. Which is largely understandable—and also a reason why many men’s groups peter out or become inactive. It isn’t a top priority, despite the lip service that is given to the need for strong men in the Church today. When the going gets tough, the tough get…busy.

Another issue I’ve seen that goes back to the problem of needing to “do” or “accomplish” something as men is that when that “task” is complete, there’s no real reason to stay connected with one another. I’ve done Exodus 90 twice, and while it is good at challenging men (cold showers, fasting, prayer, etc.), I hardly have any contact anymore with the men I’ve gone through the program with. Sure, it appeals to male sensibilities for a challenge, to be pushed, and to structure fellowship around a “thing” to focus on (i.e., the 90-day program), which is why it is a relatively successful Catholic program for men. But what then, on Day 91 and beyond? This is the challenge for any kind of program-based regimen to build male fellowship—when the program ends, so does the fellowship, largely.

Parish-based men’s programs suffer from the usual problem: since you are drawing from a limited scope of men based on parochial parameters, it skews older and tends to feel forced, inorganic, and unsustainable. Organizations like the Knights of Columbus do good work. They are good men. But, as a friend described them, they are largely “a civic group, and manpower for the parish.” They skew older as well, the uniforms are goofy (in my opinion), and the insurance thing is annoying. Not my thing. But that doesn’t mean a lot of men don’t gain benefit from it; just not many from my demographic. Maybe in another ten years or so I’ll get my second degree. Maybe.

“Virtual” groups have their own issues. I had to do a Zoom event for work recently; the night before, we had an in-person event. The energy was totally different. At the in-person event, there was an energy and buzz; the Zoom event was largely flat and tired. Zoom fatigue is real, especially when you use it for work. Sure, you don’t have the geographic constraints, but there is a lot lacking when you are not physically present with other men.

Virtual life is not real life. I’m going to say it again so the people in the back can hear: virtual life is not real life. The more one lives online, debating with internet strangers or going down reddit rabbit holes, the more underformed one’s character seems to be. For many men who live in more isolated areas, it’s a temptation for sure, due to being the “next best thing” to real life and in-person interaction. I get it. But I still believe social media and the like are a harmful experiment that we will wake up to years from now with massive societal damage to reckon for.

One of the things I was looking for most in a men’s group was the least easily found, and that was accountability. Despite the solidness of the guys in my local group, and our years of knowing each other, there are virtually none whom I feel I could rely on for spiritual accountability, nor guys who would trust me with that aspect of their lives. Maybe that’s just the way it is with men—we hide things easily and withdraw into ourselves, whether because of shame or how we are trained to be islands of one.

It’s inevitable that some guys will come and go, move, or have schedule changes that preclude them from staying involved in one group for years on end. To the extent that you are not bringing new guys in, you are failing to grow and may not be in a situation in which you can sustain the group over the years. It also becomes tempting to be comfortable and cliquey when you just keep it to a little club.

Every time I see a Catholic guy in a tweed jacket or bowtie smoking a pipe or drinking whiskey while waxing about Chesterton or Belloc, I groan a little. Same for the Man Up type marketing for diocesan men’s conferences—the soldier/military imagery, the baseball Hall of Fame speakers. I mean, they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place here, so I feel for the planners of these events.

The fact is, though, a lot of men—like myself—don’t fit into these boxes, and it doesn’t make us less of a man. They are shallow, easy stereotypes, so you don’t have to think too much about what actually makes one a Catholic man.

The thing I struggle with as a Catholic man is that cognitive dissonance that comes with being told that “men need other men; iron sharpens iron!” while simultaneously seeing guys who don’t really believe that. It becomes Catholic, Inc. marketing for things like Into the Breach and Battle Ready (TM). For most guys, I would wager, they actually feel that work and family is all a man should really need. And they act accordingly. Why should I pour into my local group, after a number of years doing so, when I can just be like most men I know who are content with working and being with their family?

Most Catholic men’s groups and diocesan initiatives recognize the need for strong men in the Church, but they are impotent to exact the change on a sustainable, year-after-year level, in real fellowship. Maybe that’s just the way things are, the nature of manhood, and to expect otherwise is…well, misguided expectations. Or maybe it’s a Catholic problem, since “fellowship” is often seen as a thing for Protestants. We have the Mass and sacraments—why do we need each other? Maybe we don’t. Maybe it’s true—work, family, and our local parish community should be enough.

I think what it comes down to is this: to the degree that men are not growing in virtue, or loving each other sincerely in fraternal charity, you may be better off not wasting your time.

I think the sad fact is, for many of us men, we are largely on our own. Sometimes we might actually want more but don’t know how to go about forming it. Or maybe it’s just me. If we can find one or two solid men to rely on in our times of need, and be that man to them as well, that’s a plus. But largely, I wouldn’t count on a Catholic men’s group holding up for more than a few years. If it does, consider yourself blessed.

"With St. Joseph’s help, these clergy were saved from death at Dachau" by Ray Cavanaugh

 

02/11/21

The survivors returned each year to Joseph's shrine in gratitude and to pray for their lost comrades ... and for their tormentors.

Dachau.

 

Fr. Blessed Engelmar Hubert Unzeitig, the Angel of Dachau (1911-1945).

 

It was one of the most evil places our world has seen. At the site of an old munitions factory about 10 miles outside of Munich, the Dachau concentration camp began operation on March 10, 1933. It was the first of the infamous Nazi confinement facilities and would have the longest tenure, lasting until April 29, 1945, when U.S. forces liberated the surviving inmates.

Over the course of 12 years, the Dachau camp received more than 200,000 prisoners, about 3,000 of whom were Catholic clergy. Dachau was the most popular confinement setting for clergymen (most of them Roman Catholics, though there were smaller numbers of Protestants and Orthodox Catholics) who had voiced opposition to the Nazi regime.

In April 1945, as Allied forces were about to topple a crumbling Nazi empire, the priests and monks at Dachau were almost certain the Nazi guards were going to round them all up and kill them. On April 22, 1945, these clergymen, the majority of whom were ethnic Poles, consecrated themselves to St. Joseph (husband of Mary, father of Jesus) and vowed that, if they escaped death, they would make a yearly pilgrimage to the St. Joseph Shrine in Kalisz, a city of about 100,000 persons in central Poland.

There was good reason to fear a mass execution: In fact, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the second-most powerful Nazi, had ordered the extermination of all Dachau prisoners on the evening of April 29. However, just a few hours before the Nazis were to undertake a mass execution, the first unit of U.S. soldiers came to liberate the prisoners.

As ensuing U.S. forces arrived, they were accompanied by members of the media. Through words, pictures, and newsreel, these reporters were able to document the almost unreal depravity into which human beings can sink.

The total number of deaths at Dachau was far less than the number at the extermination camps in Nazi-occupied Poland. That said, many thousands of Dachau inhabitants perished, typically through disease and malnutrition. Another cause of death was medical research.

Dachau was a center of Nazi medical experiments, which meant the inmates served as human guinea pigs for procedures that were often as agonizing as they were lethal. Priests were frequent fodder for research conducted by Professor Claus Schilling, who purposely infected his human subjects with malaria in order to assess the effectiveness of various potential methods of treatment.

More ghastly yet was Schilling’s research on the effects of: submersion in near-freezing water, drastic changes in air pressure, consumption of massive amounts of seawater, and the deprivation of food and water altogether.

Even for those who avoided the experiments, Dachau was a torment. Hunger, typhoid, and hard labor were the routine. Other activities consisted of having to prostrate oneself in the mud, with Nazi guards making a point to stomp the heads of those who failed to muddy themselves sufficiently.

Under such conditions, both life and faith still managed to endure. The priests often held Mass surreptitiously. Resources were so deprived that hosts were broken into 20 or more pieces so that everyone present could receive the Eucharist. Also impressive was that the Dachau clergy managed to operate a secret divinity school.

The clergymen (a total of 856 survived, though some had suffered such mistreatment that they were unable to continue their pastoral duties) who emerged from Dachau were convinced that St. Joseph had interceded on their behalf. Fulfilling their promise, each April 29, to commemorate their day of liberation, they visited the St. Joseph Shrine in Kalisz (which was established around the year 1670, soon after a nearby villager credited his recovery from illness to the intercession of St. Joseph).

In 1970, the surviving priests built a Chapel of Martyrdom and Gratitude at Kalisz to commemorate their 1,800 brother clerics who died at the camp. A ceremony to mark the chapel’s completion was attended by then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, who later became Pope John Paul II.

As pontiff, His Holiness returned in 1997 to Kalisz, where he commended the remaining Dachau priests for having kept their debt of gratitude to St. Joseph. Aside from expressing gratitude, the priests continued to visit the shrine to pray for those who perished at Dachau. They also prayed for their former tormentors at the concentration camp, such as Prof. Schilling, who was executed by hanging for his atrocities.

As of 2018, the Church has beatified 56 Dachau clergy, and additional cases are under consideration.

 

The original source can be accessed here.

 

Would You Date a Trans Woman? by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

 

A conversation developed on a reality TV show which has now spread to the BBC here in which a “trans woman” named India Willoughby asks a guy if he would date a trans woman. He declines and she (and a good number of viewers) decide that he is “trans-phobic.”

For those readers who are befuddled by this sort of story, a “trans woman” is a biological male who, with the assistance of chemicals and surgery, has altered his appearance to present himself as a woman. India acknowledges the problem she faces:

 

     “all this superficial stuff that you are a woman and all that sounds great and is the right thing to say. But it makes no difference if people don’t believe it – that’s the problem.”

 

Yes. That is the problem, and it indicates a deeper problem in society generally, and that is not only are people confused about who exactly India Willoughby is, we’re increasingly confused about what a man is and what a woman is.

This video illustrates the hilariously sad opinions of college students on the question:

This is a question I ask young people who are coming to prepare for marriage in our parish. I’ll ask the guy, “What is a man?” and the girl, “What is a woman?”

They often seem confused by the question, then they will say something along the lines of, “A man has certain chromosomes and male genitalia.”

“OK. And a woman?”

They’ll reply, “A woman has female chromosomes and breasts and female genitalia.”

Then comes the crunch question. I say, “And what are those breasts for?”

Blushes and maybe giggles then, “To feed babies.”

“Correct answer!” I continue…”and what is the male and female genitalia for?”

“To reproduce.”

“Correct again. Therefore the definition of a man is a father or a potential father and the definition of a woman is a mother or a potential mother.”

We then go on to discuss how being a father or a mother fulfills not only the person’s masculinity or femininity but also because of that, completes their humanity, because we are not created as neutered humanoids. We are created male and female.

It is interesting that feminist theologian Phyllis Zagano, in her book pushing for female deacons, calls for the church to embrace what she calls “a single nature anthropology”. That at the essence of our humanity we are not only equal, but the same. This idea fits neatly with the zeitgeist in which the distinctions between male and female are being obliterated.

What corrects this skewed anthropology? The simplicity of recognizing that a man is a father or potential father and a woman is a mother or a potential mother.

I understand that some feminists will cry, “You want to keep us barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen!” When G.K.Chesterton was confronted with this argument he said something along the lines of, “Yes. The woman’s place is in the home, but the man’s place is also in the home, and the only reason he leaves home is to work in the world to provide the home.”

On Twitter Fr Matthew Schneider commented about the question of dating a “trans woman”, that if dating were about a man looking for a woman who he might marry and with whom he might have children, then the question would not be whether the man was “trans phobic” or even whether he found the trans woman attractive or not. It wouldn’t even be about whether the man wished to have sex with the trans woman, but it would all be much simpler.  The trans woman doesn’t have a womb therefore the trans woman would not be an eligible candidate for a relationship.

Invariably this brings us back to the question of artificial contraception. Artificial contraception breaks the natural link between the sexual act and procreation.  To quote GKC again, he quipped, “Birth control? No birth. No control.”

Artificial contraception has become part of the culture. Therefore the disassociation of procreation with the sexual act has become part of the culture. People have literally forgotten what sex if for. Therefore they have forgotten what their genitalia are for. No wonder, therefore that they are confused about what a man is and what a woman is.

What is the answer?

The answer is not to fuss and fume and rage against feminism, homosexuality, transgender people and the whole muddled mess. That doesn’t do any good.

The answer is for young Catholic men to look for young Catholic women and hear God’s call to be fathers and mothers–and for this to be their primary vocation. Then, forming strong families they should join strong parishes where there is a joyful, family based community that is pro life in every way. This shining example of true masculinity and true femininity will also be a shining example of true humanity–a humanity that is radiant with joy, with love and with life.

 You can read the original test here.