VATICAN INSIDER: TWO SEMINARIANS ON LENT, ROME’S STATION CHURCHES AND THE “JOY OF THE CALL”

VATICAN INSIDER: TWO SEMINARIANS ON LENT, ROME’S STATION CHURCHES AND THE “JOY OF THE CALL”

You met my two guests in this week’s interview segment last week in Part I, American seminarians Patrick Ernst and Nicholas Monnin of the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana. Both are in their second year of studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. We met last fall over dinner at my home with their ordinary, Bishop Kevin Rhoades.

L Nicholas   R Patrick

These remarkable young men talk of their call to the priesthood – how they heard ‘the call’, what they expect of priesthood but most importantly, the very joy they feel at the mere idea of being a priest! They talk of some of the highlights of living in Rome and, given that Lent has just begun, they highlight something very special to the eternal City, Rome’s Lenten station churches. Do not miss that uplifting conversation! You will feel so positive about the future of the Church in the U.S.!

We continued our conversation over dinner at La Vittoria (as you saw last week).

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

VATICAN INSIDER: THE STORY OFF A VOCATION – A LENTEN SERMON : FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT MEANS BEING OPEN TO NOVELTY

VATICAN INSIDER: THE STORY OF A VOCATION

Welcome to a new edition of Vatican Insider featuring news stories from the Vatican and an always-interesting interview segment.

My guest in the interview segment is Fr. Brad Easterbrooks, but he was a Deacon studying in Rome when I interviewed him for Vatican Insider. This week we look at his pre-seminary years – work at a consulting firm and on political campaigns, law school, then the Navy and assignment as a lawyer for JAG (remember the TV show “JAG” – Judge Advocate General!).

He has such an amazing story – one that continues following his ordination in June 2022 – that I offer an encore this weekend.

I do so as I am still mostly homebound due to issues with my back and have not been able to do a new interview. Thanks for understanding!

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

A LENTEN SERMON : FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT MEANS BEING OPEN TO NOVELTY

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher to the Papal Household, delivers his first sermon for Lent 2023, focusing on “renewing the newness” that comes from the Holy Spirit.

By Christopher Wells

In his first sermon for Lent 2023, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., focused on “the newness of the Spirit” and the need for constant renewal and conversion, both individually and in the Church as a whole.

The problem, he said, is not novelty per se, but how we deal with it. “Every novelty and every change is a crossroads; it can take two opposite paths: either that of the world or that of God; either the path of death or the path of life.”

Cardinal Cantalamessa went on to say that in the Church, “we have an infallible means to take the path of life and light every time: the Holy Spirit.” He explained that this year’s series of sermons for Lent are aimed at “encouraging us to put the Holy Spirit at the heart of the whole life of the Church,” and especially in the work of the ongoing Synod.

For his first sermon, the cardinal looked to the lessons taught by the early Christian community. In its earliest days, he said, the Church was led by the Spirit, guided by Him in matters large and small.

This method of turning to the Spirit to make ecclesial decisions – as the Church did with regard to the question of admitting gentiles to the Church – can also be seen in the efforts of the Second Vatican Council to renew the Church’s teaching about Herself, and especially the role of lay people.

It also helps us to see that questions in the Church are not resolved solely by synods or decrees, but by the reception of those teachings, which can sometimes require compromises between a desire for continuity and a desire for novelty.

Cardinal Cantalamessa then recalled the role of St. Peter in mediating between competing concerns in the early Church, a role that is continued today by the Popes as Peter’s successors.

Concluding his sermon, the preacher of the Papal Household emphasized the importance of kindness, of being good to others, while being strict with oneself. As a remedy to polarization and division in the Church, he proposed trying to look at issues from other people’s points of view.

Instead of judging others with condemnation, Cardinal Cantalamessa said, “it is not a matter of eliminating judgment from our heart, but rather of removing the poison from our judgment.”

“The strength of Christian love,” he said, “lies in the fact that it is capable of changing judgment from an act of non-love, turning it into an act love,” thanks to the gift of the Spirit.

Cardinal Cantalamessa concluded his sermon with the prayer “Make me an instrument of your peace,” sometimes attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.