SSND American heritage

The School Sisters of Notre Dame were in my life from little on up.  I had three aunts in the order;  Sr. Agatha, Sr. Beatrice, and Sr. Lucida.  Then as I became chaplain at Good Counsel in the 1980's the connection to this order of religious women was sealed.  So last May I decided to be installed as an Associate member of SSND.  It means that I will try to value and live out the values that Blessed Theresa Gerhardinger established for her sisters.  So it became a part of my sabbatical to touch some of the heritage sites of SSND.  My first connection is here in Mankato.  Before I left I visited the graves of my aunts who are buried at Good Counsel.  Then during my time in Milwaukee I went to visit the grave of Mother Caroline who was the one who lead the sisters through their early years in America.  She was a strong leader and spiritual guide for the fledgling American presence of SSND.  The first Motherhouse was established in Milwaukee.  There is a beautiful castle like building that is still in use.  It was a gift to walk those grounds and sense the strong faith that energized these women in very difficult conditions.  It leads me to look forward to my time in Germany where I will touch the real origins of SSND.

Milwaukee connections

I have arrived in Milwaukee, WI.  Yesterday I found my way to St. Camillas Center where my old friend Fr. Ted Hottinger resides.  It was great to see him.  He ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul for about 30 years and is well known around town.  As his health began to slip, last August he made the move here to reside in a Jesuit care community.  He certainly misses Mankato but has found a lovely residence and a caring community.  He goes out and says two masses a week in nursing homes in the area.  So he remains as active as he is able.  In the picture and living in the same place is Fr. Karl Voellker, a former pastor at SSPP.  Actually he was the final Jesuit pastor, leaving in 2008.  It was a delight to see them both.  

Family time

We realized that our family has only gathered for holidays since our parents died 15 years ago.  Often those times were only for a few hours.  So we decided to spend four days together away from work and our homes.  I wondered how we would manage.  As our time ends I have found that we are still different, that we can be together, and that the connection is still strong.  This morning we celebrated the Eucharist and we were able to come together in faith.  So I share several pictures.  The first one is of the 5 Kunz children in order of age--Jim, John, Barb, Earl and Richard.  The second picture adds the partners--Barb and Don, Earl and Sylvia, Richard and Julie.  It is great to have this connection during my sabbatical.  Please keep us in prayer.

Bye, Seton Hall University

Seton Hall has been my home for the last week and really a gift.  I stayed in the Seminary here with about 40 other priests.  Yes, there are that many priests associated with the Seminary or University.  I kept reminding them that our whole diocese only has 63 active priests.  Anyhow, they have been very hospitable and welcoming.  I came tired from all the Holy  Land travel and needed a place of respite.  The picture is a selfie with my good friend Fr. John Dennehy.  We enjoyed some great days and a reconnection from the time we spent in Rome together 12 years ago.  

Maryknoll or bust

As New York scraped away the ice of the weekend, I boarded a train up the Hudson River Valley.  There is a great freedom from traffic that helped me relax and enjoy the ride past Yankee Stadium and Harlem, to the town of Ossining.  Maryknoll is a Society established by the American Church to do missionary work.  I knew of it as a child when a young man from Madelia joined and soon was off to Africa.  His name was Fr. Ramon McCabe.  When I became a priest it was my dream to go and visit him.  Actually I visited three times, each was a great blessing.  Last May Fr. Ray had a stroke and died.  He was buried at Maryknoll, NY.  Since I was near this past weekend it seemed easy to go to his grave.  His fellow Maryknollers welcomed me and toured me through the campus and eventually to his grave.  I loved Fr. Ray's missionary spirit to serve most of his life in Tanzania.  So I prayed God's mercy for Fr. Ramon McCabe and the same for me who has a way to go yet here on earth.  I have a feeling that he is watching over me as I go.

New York Encounter

In 1998 my priest support group decided to study the writings of Luigi Guissani, the founder of Communion and Liberation (CL).  This is a world wide movement in the Catholic Church.  This study has brought us closer together as priests and much stronger in our faith in Jesus Christ.  Annually this movement gathers in New York.  I have never been able to attend until this year of my sabbatical.  So here I am.  I have spent the weekend, learning, talking and sharing, celebating and praying.  Three of us from my priest group are here.  It has blessed us.  Sunday we celebrated Mass with Cardinnal Sean O'Malley.  

The Big Apple

New York is the site of the upcoming "New York Encounter".  So it is where I found myself today.  The newly opened 9/11 museum was my morning trip.  It tells the story in a beautiful, tragic, and compelling way.  After two hours I could not take any more.  The story and its images are horrific yet the beauty of the human response is quite captivating.  Before finding my way back to the hotel I stopped at Times Square.  There is always activity and people of all kinds and shapes.  Attached is my selfie.  You are all in my prayers,  Fr. John

Go Seton Hall

Seton Hall University has become my home for a few days.  A friend of mine, Fr. John Dennehy (yes, another Fr. John) is the chaplain here.  It has been exciting to be on a college campus, although the thought of taking classes doesn't seem so desirous at the moment.  I am staying on the seminary here and the attached picture is their chapel.  Their basketball team is ranked 21st in the nation and I attended a game the other night.  But they lost!   Oh well, my Minnesota influence is weak here.

Pilgrimage ends, Sabbatical begins

Its been a quick turn around.  After a day to do wash, rest quietly and repack, it's time to start the long awaited sabbatical.  As I left Mankato I felt the strong connection to many.  But somehow there was an urging to begin the journey in earnest.  The packed travel of the last weeks was near to my memory and felt in my body.  I pray God with me.

My first stop is in the Twin Cities.  My two friends Jim and Joe were waiting for my arrival. We have been friends for 46 years, since we started the seminary together.  We still meet together each  month. It was 23 years ago that we went to the Holy  Land together.  So I filled them in on all the changes and the renewed experiences from my recent trip.  The hours slipped away as we talked, laughed and remembered.  May God watch between us as we now part ways.

Our last day in Rome

Today is Friday. This will be our last day in Rome. It is a free day for the pilgrims to relax, gather themselves, and perhaps have some time to wonder the city of Rome. My blogs will be few for a few days as I will be flying into the USA tomorrow, getting settle at home and then beginning my sabbatical. Please continue to check my blog as I will be writing about my experiences while on my sabbatical.

Yesterday, Thursday, was a very long pilgrimage on foot. We explored many places and, I am sure, put in about six miles of walking. We began our day, as usual, heading again to the Basilica of St. Peter. We started our day with mass on the tomb of Pope John Paul II. What a thrill that was for me to actually stand next to him and offer mass. After mass we went to the city beneath the Basilica - called Scavi. It was here that we looked at ancient burial tombs and the burial spot of St. Peter. Very interesting to learn that there are three layers on top of Scavi, each has an altar on top of the other, all directly above St. Peter's resting place.

Later we went to the prison where St. Paul and St. Peter were detained before their trial. These prisons were similar to the holding cell we witnessed in Jerusalem. It was here that St. Paul continued to baptize with the water that dripped from the walls of the prison. This was a very humid place, like a root cellar, and the water would pool in low spots. It was that water which St. Paul used to baptize guards and other prisoners.

We visited St. Peter in the Chains Church (San Pietro in Vincoli). This is one of the oldest churches in Rome, having been established in 431. It was originally dedicated to SS Peter and Paul, but when Pope Leo the Great was presented with chains which Peter was traditionally believed to have worn in the Mamertine Prison, St. Peter became sole patron of the church; the chains are now preserved as a precious relic in the high altar.

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback with this blog. I pray for many blessings for you and your family. 

Peace,

Fr. John

Papal Visit

Wow, that is about all I can say right now - but, WOW!

The pilgrims and I rose at 5:45 a.m. to catch the bus the Vatican to attend the general audience with Pope Francis. It was an hour wait in line and then about another 2.5 hrs waiting inside the St. Paul VI Audience Hall to meet (well sort of) Pope Francis and listen to his address to his audience. We had great seats along the aisle of his entrance into the hall, most of us either had an opportunity to just touch Pope Francis' hand or arm and some of us were able to shake his hand and speak to him.  I was one of the lucky ones and was able to shake his hand.  What a thrill!  Before his address the groups in the crowd were recognized as pilgrims. We were one of those groups and he gave us all special blessings for making the pilgrimage.  After his address, we prayed the Our Father in Latin, he blessed us and our families back home - that is you! - and any religious items we had with us.

At the conclusion of the general audience we all had time to do some shopping and have lunch. We met again after lunch to visit the Basilica of St. Paul outside the wall of the old city. This is the largest church in Rome.  The Basilica houses the tomb of St. Paul. It also has the portraits of every Pope including Pope Francis. 

Our last stop was to view the catacombs. Unfortunately, they do not allow photos, so I will not have any pictures for you. It was nice to celebrate mass in the catacombs and head back to our hotel for dinner and a good nights rest. Tomorrow is another early start as we will go to St. Peter's Church in the morning and celebrate mass above Saint Pope John Paul's tomb. Another amazing day in store for us.

Peace, 

Fr. John.

Rome

This pilgrimage is not for the faint of heart, as I am figuring out. It seems that we are getting up early and going to bed late. We are always on the go and it seems that we do not have much time to rest in between the days. I have heard stories about pilgrims in the medieval times, who would travel from as far away as Sweden, ON FOOT, to Rome. So, who is it that I should complain - right? We pilgrims, are only human and at times being human we grumble about how hard it is. Sometimes thinking this should be easier and we should be doing a more leisure pilgrimage that allows for comfortable rest. We all know that if it were to be easy we would not have the true feeling of what a pilgrimage is. Jesus did not give us the answers to his parables, but allows for us to wrestle with them because he knew that way we would get more out of them. As Jesus said to his Apostles, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables..." (Mark 4: 11-12) So, with that I begin the blog of our pilgrimage to Rome!

Wake up call - 1:00 a.m., load the bus at 1:45 a.m., in the Tel Aviv 3:00 a.m. to catch our plane to Rome. Arrived in Rome at 8:30 a.m. We did not go to the hotel but loaded the bus to begin the Rome pilgrimage. Out first stop, the Basilica of St. Mary Major. This grand church was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is said that that the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius and the patrician Giovanni Patrizio on August 4, 352 AD, instructing them to build a church on the Esguline Hill. Searching for the spot to build was tough as it was a high hill above Rome (at that time) and they couldn't agree upon a spot. Through prayer, and I am sure some frustration, a  miracle was sent to them and snow appeared in Rome on a summer day in August. In that snow they began to draw out the floor plan for the Basilica. Although this church does not sit within the walls of Vatican city, once you enter its doors you are in the Vatican.

Our next stop, the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, St. Helena dug all through Jerusalem looking for relics of the Holy Cross and Christ's passion. Upon finding them she sent some to this church, which she build. Here you will find the relics of four small fragments of the Holy Cross, two thrones from the Crown of Thrones, a couple of rocks from the Holy Sepulchre, The finger of St. Thomas, a nail from the Holy Cross, dirt from the holy ground of Jerusalem (why the church is called by it name), a stone fragment of the scourging pillar, and a large piece of the cross of the repentant thief.

Our last stop is at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This Church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It is decorated with many icons, paintings, statues of the Apostles, and paintings of Popes. So very beautiful, I could spend a few hours there meditating on the artwork.

Thus ends the day, I need to get some rest as we will rise early tomorrow to have a general audience with the Pope!

Peace,

Fr. John.

Day 8 Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Way of the Cross

The morning came early as we were to load the bus at 4:45 a.m. Our route today was to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the Damascus Gate. It was here that we would walk the Via Dolorosa. The Via Dolorosa is the route that Jesus took on his way to his crucifixion and burial. Our guide, George, was smart in having us follow the way of the cross early as the streets are lined during the day with people and merchants. It would be almost impossible to have a spiritual moment while the market was in full swing. With us prayerfully following the stations in the very early dawn, in the dark, we were able to feel the presence of Christ's great sacrifice for us.

After we completed the Via Dolorosa we visited the sites within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and celebrated Mass at the Alter of the Crucifixion. The sites in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre include: the climb to Calvary - the spot where Jesus was nailed to the cross, the hole in the rock where the cross of Jesus crucified, was placed so it could stand erect, and the decent down Calvary to the stone slab that Jesus' body was prepared before being laid in the tomb, and lastly, to the tomb in which Christ was laid.

The pinnacle of our pilgrimage is here at this spot of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. To be part of this journey is to strengthen our faith. While we walked the stations of the cross, the pilgrims and I, were silent only to be heard when we prayed and sang. Very humbling for us all. 

Although I mentioned that this is the pinnacle of our journey it is not the ending. We will continue our journey WITH Jesus tomorrow as we head to Rome.

Peace,

Fr. John.