From CNA:
Notre Dame to hold Eucharistic procession this Sunday
South Bend, Ind., Apr 23, 2009 / 05:57 am (CNA).- The procession will be led by Rev. Patrick Neary, Rector of Moreau Seminary. [Not Fr. Jenkins?] It is co-sponsored by many different groups from Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College and Holy Cross College. Organizers describe the event as a revival of an old university tradition. The procession will begin on the Notre Dame Campus at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart after the 11:45 a.m. Mass.
According to an announcement for the procession, it is intended to pray for a greater respect for and protection of human life from conception until natural death; for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially to the Congregation of Holy Cross; and for blessings upon the students, faculty, administration and staff of Holy Cross College, St. Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame.
Fr. Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, set up a program of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration for the entire congregation which went on continuously for 27 years. [Must we assume that that practice died out?] He called Adoration “the richest source of divine blessings for us and for our houses.”
The group Children of Mary is also organizing a 40 Hour Devotion providing Eucharistic Adoration for 40 hours before the procession in the Log Chapel on campus.
More information on the procession is available at http://www.notredameprocession.com/
At the Notre Dame Commencement on May 17, President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary law degree. The invitation of the president has generated significant controversy, evidenced by over 330,000 signatures to the Cardinal Newman Society’s on-line petition, [which now has a huge mailing database as a result] in part because of the president’s extreme support for abortion.
ND Response, a coalition of student groups opposed to the invitation, has launched a “One Million Rosaries” campaign to pray for President Obama’s “change of heart,” especially on the “sanctity of life.” Their prayer intentions also include prayers for the Catholic character of Notre Dame and for a greater respect for life around the world.
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clink, clink go the bricks, one at a time ;>) btw where is Fr Jenkins in all this, too embarrassed to attend ?
To be fair, has Fr. Jenkins ever taken part in the
procession?
This is exactly what every Catholic institution needs, the reintroduction of much more of the supernatural into the life of its organization. As members of the Church we have become far too “naturalized”. We see this in the lives of individual Catholics as well as in our institutions. We will have marginal successes in our endeavors to carry out the mission of the Church if we leave little room for grace to operate. We need to balance the great reliance upon our “push from below” with a greater reliance upon the “pull from above”.
Fine and dandy. Perhaps Notre Dame can renew itself as a Catholic university from within. The power and presence of the Blessed Sacrament can and will outshine anything Father Jenkins and President Obama can offer. Once again, it will be interesting to see what ultimately happens between now and May 17.
It would be most edifying if Father Jenkins took part in the procession as well as Father offering the Gregorian Rite of Holy Mass at the Notre Dame campus chapel.
Fr. Jenkins has never led the Eucharistic Procession, to my knowledge. I’m not sure what you’re implying by noting that he’s not. I can’t recall that any president of the University did. It would be more noteworthy if he did decide to lead it.
As for Eucharistic Adoration, the Congregation of Holy Cross was founded in 1837, in France; 27 years later would have been 1864. Again, I’m not sure what you’re implying with your emphasis on this.
Why must everything ND does be twisted into an opportunity to criticize and mock Our Lady’s University?
he has a degree from Bezerkley
Actually, Fr. Jenkins’s degree is not “from Berkeley,” which would mean from the University of California, but from the Jesuit School of Theology, a far less prestigious institution that is located in Berkeley.
Mary M wrote
Why must everything ND does be twisted into an opportunity to criticize and mock Our Lady’s University?
Not the university just certain facility that seem to do it for us, Fr Jenkins started this and is too proud to admit error, it is his mockery not ours, he needs our prayers.
Former president of Notre Dame, Father Hesburgh, in his pre-liberal period, did lead Eucharistic processions and Rosaries at the Grotto in the old days. Tom
Throughout the Vatican II Era, pro-abortion, pro-priestesses, Culture of Death Protestant and Jewish ministers, rabbis and representatives have been honored by our Church. They have participated in ecumenical and interreligious services conducted by Rome and out bishops. They received great praise from our Churchmen.
A couple of examples.
Our Churchmen cooperate with and heap honor, for example, upon the Chief Rabbinate in Israel. Father Zhulsdorf ran a story a few weeks ago in which Rabbi Kula insisted that the Chief Rabbinate in Israel is rotten and corrupt.
Our Churchmen have allowed pro-birth control, pro-priestesses, anti-life Protestant “bishops” to conduct religious services in Catholic churches.
Regarding the heaping of praise and honor upon heretics and schismatics, what is the difference between the actions of our Churchmen and Father Jenkins?
I think this is evidence that parents should send good, well-catechized Catholic young people to Notre Dame. This is a battle that can be won!
They ought to hold such a procession and invite the US President to take part. Seriously though…this is the reasonable response to what is taking place at ND. Far better than lots of articles and protests…I’m still thinking Obama will manage to back out of this invitation.
I think that the message being sent by having 40 Hours Devotion at Notre Dame is that traditional Catholicism still exists no matter how reprehensible Fr. Jenkins’s actions are. This proves that Notre Dame is still a Catholic university and not one in name only.
This is not a response to anything. This is an annual event, much beloved by the student body (Obama fans and detractors alike). It was held before Fr. Jenkins was president, has been held annually for several years running, and will be held long after Obama’s presidency ends. Don’t exploit Our Lady’s students’ love for the Eucharist and twist it into some sort of statement of anything beyond adoration. It’s not.
Marcum,
Mr. Jenkins is what Father Jenkins soon might be.
Mary M,
If some of the students participating in the Eucharistic procession are Obama fans, then they seriously need to go back to Catholicism 101.
Tom
Mary M, where are you seeing these supposed mockings and twistings you refer to? I’m not getting from Fr. Z’s comments at all. I don’t understand the attitude of some of my fellow students that Notre Dame is above reproach by “outsiders” in all matters.
And of course the Eucharistic Procession is for everyone. Who knows, perhaps some of the Obama “fans” will have their consciences pricked as to Who they should be honoring above all.
I agree with Mary M. I’m a student at Notre Dame, and while I, along with many people, am against the university’s decision to honor Obama, this still is a very good and Catholic place with a strong spiritual life. Hundreds of Masses are offered on campus every week. We were one of the first large Catholic universities to respond positively to the Motu Proprio, with a Mass in the old rite every week, offered by Holy Cross priests. Groups like the Children of Mary, Communion and Liberation, Knights of Columbus, Militia of the Immaculata, etc. thrive on campus. There are lines of students outside the confessionals before all Masses at the Basilica. We just built a new chapel in the Law School with pews, kneelers, BEAUTIFUL stained glass windows, and a beautiful tabernacle right in the center of the sanctuary, and a new engineering building and a new Center for Social Concerns are both under construction, each planned with similar stained glass and beautiful chapels. The procession has been back for 5 years now and grows larger every year.
My point is this: I love the Catholic Church and believe we must have the greatest fidelity to her. I also love my school, and it hurts when things like this Obama controversy or others happen here and bring us into a negative view of the Church. We must always work toward greater fidelity. However, it does upset me when we are referred to only as “Notre Shame” and only the bad things that happen are emphasized. Let’s have a positive view of the good things that happen here and can continue to happen here as we consecrate ourselves more fully to Our Lady, patroness of the University and to her Divine Son.
‘My point is this: I love the Catholic Church and believe we must have the greatest fidelity to her. I also love my school, and it hurts when things like this Obama controversy or others happen here and bring us into a negative view of the Church. We must always work toward greater fidelity. However, it does upset me when we are referred to only as “Notre Shame” and only the bad things that happen are emphasized. Let’s have a positive view of the good things that happen here and can continue to happen here as we consecrate ourselves more fully to Our Lady, patroness of the University and to her Divine Son.’
Comment by Under the Dome — 23 April 2009 @ 6:48 pm
Under—I appreciate hearing these things. You are particularly wise for so tender an age to recognize that the controversies there do ‘bring us into a negative view of the Church.’ Passions run deep about the conduct of Father Jenkins et al and so please understand from a different view of the culture wars, things are going poorly for the good guys. However, you are so kind and tactful in reminding all of us that ‘under the dome’ there are Catholics who are fighting the good fight. Thank you for that reminder and that ray of hope.