J.M.J.T. + Pax Christi

DISCALCED CARMELITE FRIARS -

Monastery of the Espousals

166 Foster Street, Brighton, MA 02135-3902 (617) 787-5056

Christmas 1998

Dear Friends,

As I begin writing this 1998 Christmas Letter, I can’t help being amazed at how quickly the year has passed. I’m sure most of you are of the same opinion. Well, if so, that’s good, because it means 1998 was a good year for you. As the saying goes: Time flies when you’re having fun! Of course, one doesn’t have to be having fun as worldly people define it, all that is required that one have a deep down contentment in their souls. And there is no greater contentment than that which derives from seeing the merciful hand of God in all that happens to one’s life, and the knowledge that one has made, with the help of God’s grace, good faith efforts to do His Will in all things. That contentment is, really, the peace that surpasses understanding of which Holy Scripture speaks. Which now leads me to say that the saying first italicized above does not apply to people having fun according to the world’s definition of fun. No! What worldly fun produces is weariness, restlessness and bitterness. So, if you can say that the past year has passed like lightning, then you can be sure you have spent it in living a divinely-human way. God Be Praised!!

In my letter of last year, I spoke about the composition of our Brighton community. Perhaps some of you remember that I named all the professed members of the community and said a bit about them. I also spoke of our postulants, but without naming them. So perhaps you won’t mind my speaking about how the community has changed.

One change involved the Vocation Director, Fr. Michael Dodd. Late last Spring the Provincial Council decided that our House of Studies in Chicago needed another professed member to be a part of the Formation Team there. Fr. Michael Dodd was chosen to fill the need. Though we were disappointed to lose him, we were given the Assistant Vocation Director, Brother Robert Sentman, as compensation. In his own unique way, he has enriched our community life and spirit.

We also gained a new community member and lost one of the old ones. In early June we were joined by Brother Mark DeVelis, who later that month was ordained a transitional deacon. Besides living here most of the time, he is exercising his Order of Deacon at his home parish, St. Malachy’s, in nearby Burlington, MA. His priestly ordination will take place on March 21, 1999.

The member that we lost is Brother Joachim Nickerson. We lost him to Heaven. In early spring of this year he announced that he had been diagnosed to have lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymph system. Alas, despite the chemotherapy, he lost the battle and died on September 3. But, as the saying goes, he lost the battle and won the war, and is enjoying eternal rest and the other rewards of his diligent, self-sacrificing labors in service to the Church, the Order and souls.

Of the nine postulants we had at Christmas time in 1997, seven persevered to the end of the Postulancy program and were approved for the Novitiate. Of that seven, six went to our Novitiate at Holy Hill, Wisconsin. The seventh developed medical problems that had to be addressed immediately. After the six completed the pre-novitiate retreat, only five stayed to receive the habit. And now, alas, only 2 of them are still in the Novitiate Program. The other three felt that God was calling them to serve Him in some other vocation. But a bit of good news is that the Postulant who had to attend to health needs is now ready to join the two novices who remained. God is GOOD!

In mid-September, we were joined by seven new Postulants. The average age of this group is less than that of last year’s. How happy we were to welcome them!! Without students, life here in the monastery tends to be rather routine, and thus a bit dull. With the postulants the change is dramatic. The place is so lively and so interesting. Never a dull moment and lots of good wholesome fun. One of our postulants says that he has laughed more in the short time he has been here than he has in the past ten years. Please join us in praying that this group not only perseveres to the end of the Postulancy, but also that they persevere through to profession and to permanent membership in the Order.

As for myself, I’ve been quite lucky in that the parishes where I made mission appeals in July and early August enabled me to stay five in-between weekends at my younger sister’s house in Rochester (Gates, really) NY. Thus I was able to visit almost all my cousins on both sides of my family, as well as to enjoy the kindness and loving hospitality of my sisters and their families. Ah! The Goodness of the Lord!!

Well, I must have been feeling a bit guilty about being so fortunate, so Our Lord gave me a bit of inconvenience to help balance the budget. About the time I returned here to Brighton, I had developed a problem in my left knee, and for about 8 weeks time it gave me chronic discomfort and limited my ability to use it, as I was accustomed. I finally had to see our doctor, who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. She injected Cortisone into the knee, which resulted in a marked improvement, although there is still something not right in the joint. On December 4^th I had an MRI on the knee, and soon will know the exact nature of the problem. At present, though, I can say that the knee functions at about 95% of normal. Again, Deo Gratias!

* * * * * * * *

It seems we can say without fear of error, that the Day of the Lord began with the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary. We can also say that on this Day the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1 was (and is) fulfilled: The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone (Jerusalem Bible). Although Jesus came principally to suffer and die so as to redeem us and reconcile us (the entire human race) with His Father, one of the chief results of His appearance in our midst as one of us was (and is) to shed light on the attributes of the Divinity He shares with His father and Their Holy Spirit. As Jesus Himself told Philip at the last Supper: To have seen Me is to have seen the Father (Divinity), so how can you say “Let us see the Father” (Jn. 14:9b). It is chiefly by the example He set Jesus that Jesus shed light upon the Nature of God as Love and on all the attributes of Infinite, Subsistent Love.

Now, ordinarily, we tend to think of physical light, that which is perceived only by our faculty of sight, as a symbol for truth. Thus, the Light that dawned upon us with the birth of Jesus seems to be directed exclusively to the intellect. But if we stop to think about it, we realize that Jesus is light for ALL OUR HUMAN FACULTIES OF PERCEPTION, Jesus, in HIS Humanity engages ALL OF OUR HUMANITY, just as do the people among whom we live.

As you know, there are so many non-verbal ways of picking up facts and information from what is happening around us. And we ourselves, whether we realize it or not, are always giving non-verbal signals to others. We do this by our mien and our conduct, by the tone and inflection of our voices, by the expression on our faces, and surely in other ways besides. In other words, it is chiefly by means of our hearts that we perceive the data communicated to us by others. I’m convinced that the signals picked up by the heart are the most accurate and reliable of all.

The love of Jesus, therefore, which we are able to experience personally, reveals to us far more about Him (and Divinity) through our hearts, than all the solemnly defined dogmatic formulas we can string together concerning Him and the Father are able to reveal to us through our intellects.

But is it accurate to say that in our present day humanity we experience personally the Love of Jesus? After all, Jesus ascended into Heaven forty days following His Resurrection! In what way is His Humanity still with us, that it might engage our entire being?

To help us answer that question, we recall that Scripture reveals Jesus as Light for ALL who live in darkness. The darkness Scripture refers to still exists. It exists wherever there are individuals who …though the light has come into the world, … have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil (Jn. 3:19b). In order to be light to all the faculties of perception for all human beings throughout time, the Humanity of Jesus has to be present, in some way, throughout all time as well. Thus, it can only be through each and every Christian who is a firm and committed disciple of Jesus that His Humanity can possibly engage the entire being of all who are born into this world. John himself says (1:9): He (Jesus the Word) is the true light, who enlightens every man coming into this world (Latin Clementine Vulgate).

What this means is that each of us should be a surrogate of Jesus. It is Jesus who wants to love me in and through YOUR humanity, and it is Jesus who wants to love you through MY humanity. Can we possibly deny HIM that joy?

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