SAINT ISAAC JOGUES PARISH 8149 Golf Road ~ Niles, IL 60714 847/967-1060 ~ Fax # 847/967-1070 Website: http://sij-parish.com Deacon Bob and Joan O’Keefe Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2009 Page Two Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2009 Congratulations and Blessings Deacon Bob O’Keefe on the 25th Anniversary of your Ordination “May Pilgrimage” Walsingham The Catholic Shrine of Anglican Shrine Our Lady of Walsingham (“Slipper Chapel”) While I have no English ancestry, I was irresistibly drawn to Walsingham. No doubt, part of my fascination was cultural. As an American, I can find a connection to England in the language I speak, Common Law, and Magna Carta. English and American ties are strongly historical. Origin- - be it political or genealogical- - shapes identity. When I first traveled to England in 1972, it was like a "homecoming." It was exciting to visit Stratford- on-Avon and attend a Shakespearean play, to photograph the Yeoman Guard at the "Bloody Tower" and see the Crown Jewels. But, after the major sights, as a Catholic priest, I was eager to make a pilgrimage to Walsingham. Walsingham, more than any other site, recalls England's Catholic heritage. It was the pre-eminent shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary before the "Reformation." For pilgrims, it was on a par with Canterbury, Santiago de Compostela, Rome, and Jerusalem. What was it that attracted pilgrims from all over Europe to Walsingham? In 1061, an Anglo- Saxon gentlewoman, Richeldis de Faverche, claimed that the Blessed Virgin had appeared to her. In the vision, Our Lady asked Richeldis to build a replica of the “Holy House” of Nazareth. A fifteenth century anonymous ballad recounts the miraculous construction of the house . With a location chosen by Our Lady herself, the house was the labor of men and angels! Richeldis founded a chapel to enclose the “Holy House.” Her son, Geoffrey, endowed the chapel and placed Page Three Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2009 it under the guardianship of a religious order. In 1153, the Augustinian Canons became “guardians” and did much to promote pilgrimages to Walsingham. Walsingham became known as “England's Nazareth.” It enjoyed royal patronage throughout the Middle Ages. A high point was when King Richard II offered his Kingdom as the “Dowry of Mary.” English monarchs were frequent pilgrims; for they considered themselves “vassals” of the Mother of God! This was true even early in the reign of King Henry VIII. He and Queen Catherine of Aragon went to Walsingham to pray for a male heir. When the son born to Henry and Catherine died shortly after birth, the king apparently lost his faith in Our Lady of Walsingham. With the Act of Supremacy (1534), Henry VlII declared himself the supreme head of the Church in England. In time, the commission Henry appointed to "inspect" monasteries and shrines, as well as a Catholic rebellion in the North, caused the king to suppress religious houses and confiscate their property. Late in 1538, the shrine and monastery at Walsingham were looted and “put to the torch.” The image of Our Lady of Walsingham, with other madonnas, was burnt at Chelsea in July of 1539. Toward the end of the sixteenth century, St. Philip Howard, who was destined to be a martyr himself, gazed at the ruins of Walsingham. He sensed the profound loss of faith there and lamented: “Heaven is turned to hell!” For three hundred years, the Catholic faith “went underground,” but was not lost. The monasteries were in ruins and the small "Slipper Chapel" had been used for a storage barn. But in the Church of England, the “Oxford Movement” and the “Anglo-Catholic Movement” brought many back to traditional beliefs and practices. Roman Catholics were given back fundamental rights through the "Catholic Emancipation Bill” (1829). In 1896, Charlotte Boyd, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism, purchased the "Slipper ChapeI." The next year, Pope Leo XIII re-established the beautifully restored chapel as a Roman Catholic shrine. In 1934, it was designated as the "English National Catholic Sanctuary." Our Lady of Walsingham was honored' during the Marian Year (l954) with a crown sent by the pope. And, while the late Pope John Paul II was unable to make a pilgrimage to Walsingham, he celebrated Mass in England near an image of Our Lady of Walsingham. Inspiring too is the story of the restored Anglican Shrine. A charismatic, young Anglican priest, Fr. Alfred Hope Patten, was appointed Vicar of Walsingham in 1921. Fr. Patten was a zealous Anglo-Catholic. He had a sculptor carve an image of Our Lady of Walsingham from an old seal. He placed the image the Parish Church of St. Mary and restored the pre-Reformation devotion. Growing in popularity, the devotion prompted Fr. Patten to build a Pilgrim Hospice. In 1931, a “Holy House” was constructed and encased in a new Pilgrimage Church. The statue of Our Lady was solemnly translated to the “Holy House” chapel. Since 1938, an enlarged church has welcomed Anglican pilgrims. The Church is sumptuously adorned with chapels to the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and shrines honoring the saints. The Anglican shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham reflects the late Fr. Patten's passion to “restore all things in Christ” and honor the Mother of God. I was deeply moved by the Mass I celebrated in the “Slipper Chapel.” I felt part of a great act of reparation and affirmation of Catholic tradition. It is the Mass and devotion to Our Lady that have opened the way for reconciliation between Catholics and Anglicans. As I concluded the Mass, I saw a large group of young people. They had removed their shoes and were praying before Our Lady's image. They rose from their knees, and left the chapel barefoot. I learned that they were Anglicans! I was told they would walk the final mile to the Anglican Shrine as pilgrims had done before the “reformation.” It was that witness of “Christian Unity that has made Walsingham one of my Page Four Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2009 favorite Marian Shrines. -Fr. Luczak Anglican Procession at Walsingham *********************************************************** SPIRITUAL LIFE READINGS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9 Ephesians 4:1-13 Mark 16:15-20 ABOUT NEXT WEEK’S READINGS ACTS: “Today’s passage takes us back to the beginning verses of the Acts of the Apostles and sets forth the themes that Luke is going to develop throughout this, the longest book of the New Testament. His major theme is the role of the Holy Spirit, who enables the apostles to be effective witnesses to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is mentioned 57 times in the Acts of the Apostles.” EPHESIANS: “Today’s passage was chosen because of its reference to Jesus’ ascent to heaven, which is contrasted with his descent to the dead. Early Christians believed that those who died before the coming of Jesus awaited redemption in a shadowy existence described here as the lower regions of the earth. It is our Christian tradition that immediately after his death, Jesus went to these people to announce that they had been saved.” Page Five Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2009 EDUCATION RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS *Thank you to the Parish Community for your prayers, example, encouragement and support of the RE Program this past year. It takes every person of faith to help every other person to grow in their relationship with Christ and with the Church. Thank you to Fr. Andrew, Fr. Cam, and the other priests who presided over sacraments and gave presentations; to the Deacons and to former catechists who subbed and/or assisted with retreats, interviews, etc. We extend special thanks to those of the parish who helped pass on the faith through their voluntary ministry as Catechists, Assistants and Room Parents. May God bless you for your faithfulness, service, and love: Teresa Krywko Amelia Misiak Rose Nowak Louise Burdi Rita Loveless Gailmarie Mattison Marilyn Sawicki Kathy Petersen Nancy Winans Tom Simmons Chris Stat Tiffany Zaagman Lela Gorak Margaret Janik Madlene Condon Kam Baloue Geri Johansen Joanna Koziol Aneta Sliwinski Ann Livorsi Sharon Mallari Martha Zaborowski Gina Faso Lambert Diana McLean Elzbieta Misiak JoAnn Faso Violet Peter Ted Lenart Sandy McIntosh Maureen Malitz Deacon Paul Stanton Steve Lambert Anita Kuhn *The RE Faculty and SPRED Team end of year celebration will be off grounds on Monday, May 18th, at 6:00 p.m. Please call the RE Office if you need directions. *Registration for the 2009-2010 Religious Education Program has begun! Returning families need to fill out the appropriate form, provide a copy of each new child’s baptismal certificate and give a partial tuition payment. Returning families are to return their completed registration materials by June 15th as a late fee of $25 is assessed after that and a late fee of $35 is assessed after August 1st. If you think you might be moving but are unsure, it is better to register now and withdraw later! Please remember that in order to pay the parishioner tuition rate you must be registered in the parish and using your Sunday envelopes and/or giving time in at least one of our parish ministries. Otherwise, you are charged the non-active/non-parishioner rate. Tuition will remain the same for this next year. There is no increase. New families fill out appropriate family and student forms, provide a copy of each child’s baptismal certificate (if not baptized here at St. Isaac Jogues Parish), give a partial tuition payment, and provide a letter/report card/evaluation from the parish or school your child previously attended for religious education (if applicable).