Regnum Christi

If stones could talk, I would fire many questions at the unique Magdala stone uncovered in 2009 in the recently discovered first century synagogue. But they can’t talk; and so we are left to speculate, with the help of scholars of course. Before the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, in 70 AD, the Jewish city of Magdala possessed a very special stone, a precious treasure in their synagogue: their own 4 dimensional representation of the Temple.

A curious design is carved into the top central part of the Magdala stone: a 6 petalled rosette, with 6 more petals encircling it. The question is, what does it signify for the first century Galilean Jews? Is it merely a pretty decoration? In the context of the other sacred symbols from the Temple, and considering it was found inside a 1st century synagogue where Jesus very likely taught and preached, many theories have evolved. Continue reading →

It is so easy to mindlessly receive Christ in Communion. We know he is there, but we don’t think about it. We often mechanically approach his person as if he were just a wafer and not God! One day I knelt down to receive him at the sanctuary step in our seminary chapel, and as I stood up after receiving him, this thought struck me: Continue reading →

I sure love being a priest. Here are five reasons why in pictures:

1. Little Prayer Partners - Whenever I'm praying in the chapel and the students come into pray on their own, I get little prayer partners!

2. Altar Servers' Rules - Numbers 10 and 11 are my favorites!

3. Preschoolers - Nothing is quite as much fun as visiting the preschool - here we just compared their plush toy mass kit to the things I use at mass!

4. Catfish - The other day at a family picnic about 8 little boys and girls helped me land this catfish!

5. The Mass - Catching catfish may be plenty fun, but nothing beats getting to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass every day. Nothing.

This would be the summation of my first week here. Surrender is a key virtue demanded of a missionary here. Rarely do things unfold the way one plans but God in His infinite goodness always takes note of a heart that has surrendered to His will. What seems lost is found somewhere else often where least expected. Some of the high points of my weeks here have always been working with the Sisters in their wound clinic. I am a nurse by trade a healer by vocation. But this is an experience sought by many of the missionaries here from various organizations. Such was the case this week. I could only send 4 people with the Sisters. Fr. Daniel went in my place with the 3 missionaries in medical studies. It was a hard sacrifice for me. I always meet our suffering Lord in the faces of those I care for there. It’s not about the “doing” there for me but about the “who” I encounter. Continue reading →

Mirianna Sternhagen -- super student speaker

“Closing time. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Semisonic

It was a glorious Saturday morning: blue sky, sunshine, perfect temperature in the mid-70s, flowers blooming, light breeze, surrounded by friends.

So I found myself at the final graduation ceremony of Mater Ecclesiae College, Greenville, Rhode Island. It being the last event of a closing college, I was feeling a bit melancholy, looking forward to seeing many good friends, but hoping to lurk on the edge of the crowd in case I found myself with a speck in my eye leading to a tear. Continue reading →

Greetings after our little excursion to the village of Gallet-Chambon. On Wednesday, we packed our bags and spent a short morning at the Children’s Home while Father and a few missionaries went to buy the supplies we would need for our overnight in the village. They came by around 11:00 to pick us up and we took our first excursion out of Port-au-Prince and enjoyed the countryside which was beautiful to see! Continue reading →

What sort of person doesn’t watch television or surf the worldwide web? They would be so out-of-touch, so backward, so ignorant, so connected – a real loser, right?

Maybe not.  According to the UK Daily Mail, Pope Francis hasn’t watched television since making a promise to the Virgin Mary in 1990 – and has never used the internet. Despite all this media deprivation, the Holy Father leads and Roman Catholic Church and would seem to be having considerable impact on the world. Continue reading →

The greatest misnomer in Haiti is the name for the Home for the Dying. After our experience today we could rename it: the Home of Joy, the Home of Peace, the Home of Life. Certainly, there is much suffering that occurs there, but our experience today has shown us that suffering does not have the last word!

We arrived at the Home just after 9:00 in the morning and after morning prayer and finding a place to put our water and bags (and another group photo with #flatfrancis), we made our way (with some trepidation) up to the wards with the sick men and women. Continue reading →

These words Pope Francis spoke back in March made my ears perk up: “I remember when I was visiting a retirement home, I spoke with each person, and I frequently heard this: “How are you? And your children? Well, well. How many do you have? Many. And do they come to visit you? Oh sure, yes, always, yes, they come. When was the last time they came?” I remember an elderly woman who said to me: “Mmm, for Christmas.” It was August! Eight months without being visited by her children, abandoned for eight months! This is called mortal sin, understand? (General Audience, March 4, 2015)” These are strong words. Continue reading →

Starting an IV on the sick elderly man we found in Tipling.

The daily aftershocks continue here in Nepal, though so frequently that, at times, I wonder if I am only imagining the ground moving beneath my feet. Regardless, our mobile medical units continue to fly into logistically challenging, but extraordinarily stunning mountain villages to provide post-earthquake assistance- only coming back to base long enough to reload supplies, hand wash some laundry and identify the next destination.

Recently, we flew into a village named Tipling. Similar to many other mountain villages, Tipling is cut into the side of a mountain with stunning snow-capped mountain views. Almost every destination in Tipling requires a steep uphill hike, which is made somewhat more difficult being at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. One of the first places I had to visit in Tipling was the health post. There we hoped to speak with the health workers and discover whether or not the health post survived the earthquakes. Being about a thirty-minute hike from where we landed, a local man volunteered to serve as our guide. As we hiked, he began telling us about Tipling and stories of those who died and those who survived the earthquakes. Continue reading →