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Brookline Carmel Bulletin J M J T
October 25, 1959
Cogitatio Sancta
(Holy
Meditation)
An Informal Account of
the Third Order Congress
The Philadelphia Third Order deserves the highest praise for its
masterful handling of the hundreds of details involved in the smooth operation
of the Congress. The apology offered by
their Prior, James Sammon, at the end of the closing banquet “for
anything they had overlooked” seemed quite
unnecessary. They were wonderful hosts
in every way and their two years of preparation were crowned with blessings.
The setting for the Congress was the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, in the
heart of Philadelphia. Here the
sessions were held, while the religious services took place in the Cathedral,
St. John the Evangelist Church, and St. Patrick’s Church. The Congress opened with a Solemn High Mass
at the Cathedral on Friday morning. The
Most Rev. Joseph M. McShea, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, presided and gave
the address of welcome, in which he showed his fine appreciation of the life of
prayer and sacrifice.
In the Friday afternoon session, Fr. Gregory delivered his paper on “The
Need of the Apostolate Today for Every Tertiary.” He warned against a selfish, ingrown
attitude that misconstrues the meaning of the Tertiary’s vocation and stressed
the importance of having a sincere concern for souls. The Tertiary must have apostolic zeal, although this zeal will,
of course, express itself in various ways, depending upon the state of life and
circumstances of the individual. Fr.
Sebastian then dealt with “The Apostolate in the History and Spirit of
Carmel.”
He pointed out that Carmel was originally eremitical, but that when it
became a mendicant order, it acquired an active apostolate. Whereas the Second Order (nuns) are limited
almost exclusively to the apostolate of prayer, the First Order (friars) and
the Third Order also have the obligation of engaging, in a limited way, in the
active apostolate of the Church.
The Friday evening session consisted of papers by Fr. Philip and Fr.
Adrian. Fr. Philip discussed “The
soul of the Apostolate” and Fr. Adrian
developed the subject more fully with his treatment of “The Apostolate
of Prayer and Sacrifice.” The closer our personal union with Christ,
the greater will be our love for souls, and the more effective our apostolate.
The Saturday morning session was made up of papers by Fr. Paul and Fr.
Christopher dealing with two forms of the apostolate especially prescribed by
the Third Order Rule, viz., “Good Example – Its Tremendous Possibilities” and “Modesty – The Apostolate of Every
Tertiary.”
No matter how limited a Tertiary’s activity may be in the apostolate, he
is never excused from the obligation of setting good example, which, in itself,
has untold repercussions in the world about him. Modesty, the exterior manifestation of interior purity, is a form
of good example badly needed in a world overrun with sins of the flesh.
On Saturday afternoon, Fr. Alphonse delivered a stirring talk on the
Tertiary’s obligation to be a missionary. (An unscheduled collection at the close of
his talk resulted in a donation of more than $300 for our missions in the
Philippines, which undoubtedly represented a real sacrifice on the part of some
Tertiaries who had come from long distances to the Congress, with considerable
expense to themselves. May God reward
their generosity.) The remainder of the
afternoon was devoted to a bus pilgrimage of the city, during which the
Tertiaries from other areas were guests of the Philadelphia group in visiting such
points of interest as Old St. Joseph’s Church (1733), the tomb of Venerable
John N. Neumann, C.S.S.R., Fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, the National Shrine
of the Miraculous Medal, and the monastery of the Carmelite nuns. In the evening Fr. Richard conducted a holy
hour at St. Patrick’s Church, during which he preached on “The Eucharist
and our Apostolate.” This was followed by a meeting of Directors, Priors and
Prioresses, Novice Masters and Novice Mistresses, to formulate resolutions for
the Congress. Among the resolutions
(which were adopted unanimously at the general session the following morning)
were provisions for a central office for all Third Order business of the
Province (to be located at our Washington monastery, 2131 Lincoln Rd., N.E.,
Washington 2, D.C.) and for a bi-monthly bulletin to be published and sent to
all the Tertiaries of the Province.
Another resolution was to the effect that from December 8, 1959 until
December 9, 1960, all Tertiaries should offer their daily half-hour of mental
prayer for the intentions of the Ecumenical Council. It was also decided that the next Congress will be held in
Washington, D.C. (with the Baltimore Congregation as co-hosts) on the weekend
following the Feast of St. Teresa in 1962.
During the Sunday morning session, Fr. John (Prah) spoke on “Practical
Solutions of Some of the Problems of the Apostolate.” He explained that the
Tertiary’s apostolate is exercised in the fields of one’s family, work, and
parish. A negative, defensive view of
the apostolate must be replaced by works of love. In the words of St. Teresa, “If the love of God is
genuine, it cannot be idle.” Fr. Provincial then delivered the final
paper of the Congress on the subject “Mary, Queen of the Apostles and
Our Marian Apostolate.”
At the closing banquet, at which the visiting Tertiaries were guests of
the Philadelphia group, the men and boys choir of St. Charles Borromeo Church
sang a beautiful program of religious music.
All who had participated in any way in the Congress were duly
thanked. Funds remaining after expenses
were given to Fr. Gregory, to be used, presumably, for the new novitiate in
Waverly. The Congress was formally
closed with Benediction at St. John the Evangelist Church at 3:00 on Sunday
afternoon.
The benefits deriving from the Congress cannot, of course, be
measured. The papers delivered by the
Carmelite Fathers, and the discussions following each, helped to shed much
light on the ideals and the practical applications of those ideals in the life
of the Tertiary. We who were privileged
to attend the Congress self strongly that Our Lady was blessing our endeavors
and that much lasting good would come from them because of her maternal
interest.
The proceedings of the Congress are to be published. We have, therefore, refrained from quoting
the various papers at length, since the original texts will be made available
as soon as possible. Those who were
unable to attend the Congress will thus be able to share, in part, in the
fruits of the Congress. We do feel, however,
that nothing can replace the experience of actually being present, and we hope
that all Tertiaries will resolve to make plans to attend the next Congress, to
be held in Washington, D.C., three years hence. The spoken word has effect, which the printed page can never
fully reproduce. (This is perhaps one
reason that Our Lord did not write a book to be circulated among His followers,
but instead sent His Apostles out to preach.)
The benefits of hearing the papers actually delivered and of taking part
in the formal and informal discussions that follow can hardly be
overestimated. The opportunity to meet
Tertiaries from other areas and to exchange ideas with them is, in itself, a
great blessing. We realize that the
expense of making the trip is great, but the rewards are well worth the
sacrifice.
The general theme of this Congress was the Tertiary’s Apostolate. We know that many members of the Third Order
gained a better view of their privileges and obligations in this field from
their attendance at the Congress. The
apostolate of prayer is for all Carmelites of the First, Second, and Third
Orders; the active apostolate, within certain limitations, is also the
responsibility of the First and Third Orders.
Prayer is our primary obligation, but we must never forget our duty to
souls. We must, first of all, pray for
them, but we must also, according to our ability and circumstances, work
actively for their salvation and sanctification.
L D V M
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