Newsletter Date 11/2005 Commodore John Barry Division # 1 Ancient Order of Hibernians of Saratoga Notes From Your Chieftain Every so often, a hallmark Brother Mark Phillips has tions of where we have event occurs in an organiza- kept guard over documents sums of AOH brotherly char- been and consideration of tion that should cause its belonging to our Division ity when out of work or at- where we should continue membership to recognize from the 1890 s and early tempting to best manage ill- to go. from whence it has come and 1900 s. They have been ness. ( I found a disburse- where it should be going. stored in the dark recesses of ment to one Susan Cum- Remember to cast your the William J. Burke Funeral mings for a few dol- vote on November 3rd for For those of you who were Home. In painstaking and lars .how scary is that in our proposed Slate of Offi- not able to attend, it was precise penmanship, to sat- my ex s name and on the cers, and just as important NOT the March Family Feis isfy even the most particular same date as my birth, 40 get out to VOTE in your or stroll down Albany s St. Mother Superior, the ledg- years earlier ? ). They reflect communities on November Patrick s day events ; NOR ers, documents and articles the ancestral names of many 8th! was it the summer parades or reveal much of this Divi- of our current Brethren. the picnics; NOR was it the sion s early history. They They show the pursuit of the Half way to St. Paddy s an- portray a fun-loving group of Division in the dream to ac- nual Golf Tourney; NOR Irishmen who basked in their quire land and money for the was it the annual rededica- reverie and hosted a national dedication of the original tion of the Murphy Monu- convention. They show dili- Murphy monument. ment. The event was some- gence to keep our Catholic thing far greater that each of responsibility in the fore. They are a treasure ..our us can still, and should, par- The journal entries reflect treasure. Come to the No- take and enjoy. the sad times of some mem- vember and December meet- bers who received small ings to share in their revela- 2005 Elections Elections are upon us! We lowing candidates accepted Bergman; always remain open until have an annual obligation to nominations at the October Marshall: Brian Murphy; the actual election occurs if vest officers with the respon- meeting: Sentinel: Jeff Carney and Dick you wish to participate. sibility of managing our Divi- President: Dave Cummings; Nelson; Installation of officers will sion. All of us have the oppor- Vice President: Steve Curran; Standing Committee Chair, Bob be at the K of C at our De- tunity to nominate brothers in Recording Secretary: Rob O Rourke. cember 1st monthly Divi- good standing, right up to the Przedwiecki; You must be in attendance and sion meeting election at the November 3rd Treasurer: Chris Millis; have paid current dues to vote Monthly meeting. The fol- Financial Secretary: Chris on November 3rd. Nominations Ancient Order of Hibernians of Saratoga Timothy Murphy Monument Rededication Saratoga Battlefield Chris and Dave put together our trips to the monument. The AOH was responsible for an impressive presentation On October 9th, 2005 a collec- erecting and dedicating a inside the Visitor s Center. There are links to the story of tion of monu- We were regaled in tales Timothy Murphy on our web- Hibernians ment from the Battle and the his- site for those who would like and guests to tories of the individuals in- to learn more about his im- gathered at Mur- volved. Everyone should be portance in our struggle for the Saratoga phy proud to be involved in freedom from England. National almost these festivities. Battlefield 100 We all have our landmarks to recognize years Later as the weather cleared and this is one for our divi- the Irish ago. we made our way to the sion. efforts in We monument to Timothy Mur- the Battle of are phy which is near stop 5 on This is an annual event and Saratoga. proud the battlefield path. There, everyone is encouraged to Lead by to go a wreath of flowers was laid attend to make this part of Chris Tem- back in front of the monument as their October schedules. plin and each it was flanked by members Dave Cum- year and guests dressed in authen- mings we heard of the great ef- around the time of the battle tic period garb. forts that the combatants went and recognize the efforts put through to ensure that the Brit- forth by the Irish that helped We ve been honored to have ish would never make it to Al- develop what we have today. the full co-operation of the bany nor New York City from staff of The Saratoga Battle- the North. With questionable weather, field and National Parks in The particu- lar Irishman we recog- nize on an annual basis is Timothy Murphy who is said to have in- flicted the fatal shot that downed General Frazer and set the bat- tle into the hands of the colonials. Page 2 Canonization in the Roman Catholic Church dom, which then allows beatifica- Some things to think about during the Churches may be dedicated in the saint's tion, yielding the title "Blessed" month that starts with the Feast of All memory and a feast day in the Blessed's Saints Day home diocese and perhaps some The Mass can be offered in the saint's other local calendars. If the Ven- Canonization is the process of declaring honor erable was not a martyr, it must someone a saint and involves proving that be proven that a miracle has taken place by his or her intercession. a candidate has lived in such a way that he Feast days are celebrated in the saint's Today, these miracles are almost or she is worthy of sainthood. It is cur- memory rently practiced by the Roman Catholic always miraculous cures, as these Church and its appendages, by the Eastern are the easiest to establish based Images of the saint are made in which his Orthodox Church, and by the Oriental Or- on the Roman Catholic Church's or her head is surrounded by a halo thodox Churches. requirements for a "miracle." (The patient was sick, there was no The saint's relics (remains) are enclosed in known cure for the ailment, The veneration of saints has been a com- vessels and publicly honored. prayers were directed to the Ven- mon practice since the early church, but it erable, the patient was cured, and was only gradually that the identification doctors cannot explain it.) of who is a saint came to be regulated by The process begins at the diocesan level, bishops and pope. Beginning in the 10th with the bishop giving permission to open century, the Roman Church asserted that an investigation of the virtues of the person To pass from Blessed to Saint, no one could be venerated as a saint with- who is suspected of having been a saint. one (more) miracle is necessary. out its approval. The first recorded canoni- This investigation may not open until per- A saint's feast day is considered zation of a saint is Ulrich of Augsburg by mission is given by the Vatican, and not universal, and may be celebrated Pope John XV in 993. sooner than five years after the death of the anywhere within the Catholic person being investigated. However, the church, although it may not ap- pope has the authority to waive this wait- pear on the general calendar. The process of canonization became a part ing period, as was done for Mother Teresa of canon law in the Roman Catholic by Pope John Paul II as well as John Paul Church and developed into a long and In the case of persons that com- II by his successor, Benedict XVI. When complex process. This process was simpli- mon usage has called saints from sufficient information has been gathered, fied by the Apostolic Constitution Divinus "time immemorial" (in practice, the subject of the investigation is called a Perfectionis Magister of January 25, 1983. since before 1500 or so), the "Servant of God", and the process is trans- Church may carry out a ferred to the Roman Curia the Congrega- "confirmation of cultus", which is The Significance of Canonization tion for the Causes of the Saints where it much simpler. For example, Saint is assigned a postulator, whose task is to Hermann Joseph had his venera- The primary purpose of canonization is to gather all information about the life of the tion confirmed by Pope John Paul officially authorize veneration and inter- Servant of God. When enough information II. cession of a particular saint. The investiga- has been gathered, the congregation will tion process that preceeds canonization recommend to the pope that he make a seeks primarily to ensure that the person is proclamation of the Servant of God's he- in heaven and God is working through him roic virtue, which entitles him or her to or her. receive the title "Venerable". A Venerable has as of yet no feast day, but prayer cards Being canonized as a saint means that: may be printed to encourage the faithful to pray for a miracle wrought by his or her intercession. The saint's name is added to the catalogue of saints (meaning that veneration is au- thorized) The next step depends on whether the Ven- erable is a martyr.