Religious life in our world...

Yesterday, a friend of mine who has been staying at the rectory left to return home for a couple of weeks before he joins a religious order. He has been discerning his calling for quite some time and determined last year that he was called to religious life. His discernment since then has been determining which religious order he is called to join. He came to the conclusion that God was calling him to the Intercessors of the Lamb based in Omaha, NE.

The Intercessors are a fairly new religious group (officially they are a Public Association of the Christian Faithful) having been founded in 1980. They, like all religious groups, have a specific charism that defines their focus and center of ministry. The Intercessors describe their charism as follows:

The Intercessors of the Lamb are dedicated to the contemplative formation of all Christians for the powerful ministry of intercession. Our goal is to develop and foster a deep interior life in the hearts of God’s people so that they might become within themselves, “a house of prayer” as God is within Himself. Because it is the life that prays, our own personal relationship with Jesus is the root and power of all effective intercession. - Intercessors of the Lamb web site

The reason I mention this is that those discerning a call to serve God are opting for religious life more often than in the recent past. While the number of religious priests has continued to decline in the U.S. (14,137 in 2005 compared with 15,092 in 2000 - source) more and more men and women are considering religious life overall. Some of this may be due to a hesitation to enter diocesan life because of the priest scandals, but much of it has to do with men and women seeking to find that special ministry suited to their talents. Basically, the people are discerning not only their call to serve God but also HOW and WHERE God is calling them to serve. This results, in my opinion, in people who are much more in tune with what path God has laid out for them. They are deeper in their discernment process simply because they have examined their specific talents and seek to put them to use doing God's work.

Anyway, I wish my friend well as he joins this religious group and I pray for all who are in religious life that God may open their minds and hearts to His path for each of them. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 07:39 | link | comments (1) |
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You are a priest forever...

This morning, I had the priveledge of serving as the deacon for the priesthood ordination of Anthony Ouellette and Brandon Farrar. Both were ordained to the priesthood for our diocese at 10:30 am this morning at St. Peter's Cathedral. Archbishop Naumann, in front of a completely packed church, laid hands and conferred the Holy Spirit upon the two men consecrating them forever as priests of Jesus Christ.

The ritual was a beautiful, blessed and glorious event for the diocese. I had the honor of serving as their deacon for the Mass, which to me seems only appropriate. I have been friends with Anthony since 6th grade and we come from the same home town. His sister is married to my cousin, so we are sort of related. Brandon served as the deacon for my diaconate ordination, so is was a joy to be able to serve as deacon for his priest ordination.

For those who have not witnessed a priest ordination before, it is a beautiful experience. Like my diaconate ordination, the ordinands make promises to the archbishop and place their hands in his offering obedience to him and his successor. Likewise, the sacrament is conferred on them in the same way as it is conferred on the deacon: by the laying of his hands on their head and the prayer of consecration. The newly ordained priests, however, also have their hands anointed with the Oil of Chrism consecrating their hands for the sacred responsibility of changing the bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Lastly, they each receive the paten and chalice from the archbishop signifying their duty to celebrate the Eucharist as co-workers of the archbishop.

The Rite of Ordination to the Presbyterate is truly a beautiful and richly symbolic ritual. I hope to post some pics of the ordination on the blog in the next few days. I ask you to offer prayers of thanksgiving for the ordination of Anthony and Brandon and ask that God continue to guide them as they faithfully serve His people. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 16:34 | link | comments |
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Catholic Blog Review: The Usual Suspects by Karl Keating

TITLE: The Usual Suspects: Answering Anti-Catholic Fundamentalist
AUTHOR: Karl Keating
PUBLISHER: Ignatius Press
Written by: CR

Karl Keating is the founder and president of Catholic Answers.He was an attourney who became interested in Fundamentalist literature appearing in his own Catholic parish. He began a crusade to evangelize thew true beliefs of the Catholic faith and to defend against Fundamentalist attacks on the faith. Keating is the founder of Catholic Answers, which is a medium he uses in defending the faith.

In 2000, he published a book titled, The Usual Suspects: Answering Anti-Catholic Fundamentalists. In this book, Karl Keating defends the truth of the Catholic Church against a host of attacks. He tackles fundamentalist accusations such as papal blessings actually being curses and Catholic worship of anything from statues to hairballs under the bed (you'll have to read the book to truly understand this one). His arguments are done in a civil yet aggressive manner. He presents sane, biblically backed and straightforward responses to the various accusations. At times, however, his explanations can be a little overboard and occassionally overly theological.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource both in countering accusations against the faith and simply as a means of better understanding the Catholic Church. It makes for a fascinating and very interesting read in understanding and deepening of our faith.

posted by: crossman at 09:39 | link | comments |
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End of Summer hiatus...

Well, I've been absent from the blog for 14 days and I think that's a new record..although a bad one. BUT, I have recovered from my ordination, have settled into my role as deacon, have returned from my vacation and have reclaimed my sanity (well...sort of). I will begin blogging 4 to 5 times a week for the remainder of the summer. I am going to spend a fair amount of time blogging on what it is like to be a deacon. I also want to re-examine some life issues. Lastly, I will be starting up a new reoccurring feature on the blog titled, Catholicism 101. These will be short (2-3 minute) audio AND video clips discussing and explaining elements of the Catholic faith. I hope to begin this next week.

This weekend the archdiocese ordains two men to the priesthood. Anthony Ouellette and Brandon Farrar will be ordained on Saturday at our cathedral. I have the honor of being the deacon for the ordination. I should be a blessed event.

Tomorrow I will post the overdue Catholic Blog Review article. It should have gone up last Wednesday, but I wasn't in the state (or near a computer in the middle of the woods in Branson) so it didn't go up. After that, I will give a short synopsis of the ordination on Saturday. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 14:43 | link | comments |
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Away for a few days...

I will not be blogging for about the next 6-7 days due to a number of current events: 1) my uncle passed away Monday and I have the wake plus the funeral to attend this evening and tomorrow 2) Holy Trinity (my summer parish) has its parish festival this weekend and I have some major roles in planning and execution of it and 3) I will be taking a brief vacation with my dad to Branson, MO for trout fishing.

I will resume blogging later next week and IF dad and I actually catch a trout, which would be a first in four years of our annual trip, I will be sure to post pics. Also, when I return to blogging next week, I'd like to begin exploring a couple of heated and certainly Catholic issues. I'd like to take an in-depth look at the concept of marriage and how same-sex marriage not only is counter to God's plan but also how it damages the conception of family. Secondly, I want to re-examine stem cell research, some of the advances that have happened since we last broached this subject in March and what these so called 'lifesaving cure' organizations have accomplished in the past few months. So, until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 12:48 | link | comments |
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Diaconate Ordination: Part II

I thought I'd continue the description of my diaconate ordination and include a few more pictures. It is still so vivid and astounding in my mind it seems like it happened this morning. Again, please feel free to copy these pictures for your private use, but contact me for permission if you wish to use them in a public setting.

After the ordination rite concluded, I assisted in preparing the altar and in preparing the chalice for Archbishop Naumann. At the doxology that concludes the Eucharistic Prayer, the deacon elevates the chalice while the celebrant elevates the Sacred Body of Christ.

Following the Lord's Prayer, the deacon announces to the congregation, "Let us offer each other the sign of peace" and then Archbishop Naumann shared the sign of peace with me with a fraternal embrace.

 

The deacon is the special minister of the chalice, pouring the wine into the chalice at the preparation of the gifts and cutting the wine with water. The deacon then is the minister of the cup at communion distributing the Precious Blood to the congregation. I had the privledge of distributing the cup to my parents, family and to some of my close friends. I was blessed to be able to share Jesus Christ with so many persons who helped me to come to this glorious day.

After communion, my sister sang a beautiful mediation song titled, "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman" and she sang it a capella. It was such a beautiful dedication to the Blessed Mother who is a source of strength and support to all in ordained ministry.

The Mass concluded with the closing prayer and a blessing of the newly ordained. Lastly, as the recessional song was being played I reverenced the altar with a kiss for the first time together with Archbishop Naumann and Deacon Brandon.

The whole ordination was a beautiful, blessed and humbling experience and was made so due to the help of so many people. The Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Isabella, Frs. Tom and Regie, Stan Nill, Paula Niehouse, Mike Farnet and the whole staff of Holy Trinity as well as my family, friends and seminarian brothers all have my deepest gratitude and praise for making my ordination an unforgetable and blessed experience. Until next time...God bless.

 

posted by: crossman at 11:40 | link | comments (1) |
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Diaconate Ordination!!!

I finally have some pics ready to post from my diaconate ordination. I'll include a brief description of each as I go along in this blog entry.

The Mass began at 10:30 am with the procession into the Church. The seminarians, priests and Archbishop Naumann all processed in. My mom, dad and I were in the procession just behind the deacon for the Mass.

After the homily, the deacon called me forward saying, "Let Christopher John Rossman, who is to be ordained to the diaconate come forward" I stood, announced "present" and walked up to the foot of the sanctuary. Archbishop Naumann then accepted my call to orders and then gave his homily.

After the conclusion of the homily, I stood again and the archbishop asked me each of the six promises (see archive tag to the left titled "rite of deacon" to better understand the promises). After each promise, I responded with "I do" except the last promise in which I added "with the help of God." I then approached the archbishop, knelt before him and placed my folded hands in his promising obedience to him and his successors.

After the promises and the oath of obedience, the Litany of Saints was sung. While everyone else stood to sing the litany, I prostrated myself near the altar. It is a very humbling experience to lay face-down and flat on the floor while the congregation invokes the intercession of the saints to strengthen me in my ministry.

Following the litany of saints and a prayer by Archbishop Naumann, the actual ordination takes place. The required elements of an ordination are the laying of hands by the bishop onto the crown of the head of the ordinand and the prayer of consecration that follows. Archbishop Naumann placed his outstretched hands on my head silently invoking the Holy Spirit. This powerful gesture conveys the grace of Orders on the ordinand.

After the laying of hands was the prayer of consecration, which is a very long prayer where I was on my knees for during the entire prayer! At the conclusion of this prayer by the archbishop, I was officially a deacon!!! I then returned to the front pew where Fr. Tom & Fr. Regie, the priests of Holy Trinity parish, vested me in the deacon stole and dalmatic. The deacon stole is a long strip of fabric worn from the left shoulder, across the chest and back to the right hip where the two ends are connected. The dalmatic is a garment similar to the priest chasable except that the dalmatic has arm sleeves whereas the chasable resembles a poncho.

That takes us through the ordination rite itself. I have a couple of pics of my assisting as deacon for the rest of the ordination Mass, but I will save them for another time. Feel free to copy and print out any of these pics for your private use. I would ask that if you want to use any of them for non-private use (ie. a vocation flyer, web site, etc.) that you contact me either through the comments section or via my email, which was posted in an earlier  blog entry. Thank you to all those who offered prayers and kept me in their thoughts during my ordination last week. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 16:02 | link | comments (5) |
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