Order of Malta Moment
March 28, 2013
Living the Paschal Mystery
Our celebration of the paschal mystery of Jesus’ dying and rising in this Easter Season is the very heart of our Christian faith. To what extent is this “Good News” more than a mere intellectual assent for us, more than just another piece of information?
In his encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI challenged us with the question: “Is the Christian faith also for us today a life-changing and life-sustaining hope? Is it ‘performative’ for us – is it a message which shapes our life in a new way, or is it just ‘information’ which in the meantime we have set aside and now seems to us to have been superseded by more recent information?”
If the paschal mystery is to be “performative” faith for us, we must live this mystery daily, beginning with small ways. How, for example, do we accept the mystery of Jesus’ cross in our daily life? The essence of the cross is found not only in its agonizing pain and cruel injustice. An essential aspect of the mystery of the cross is that it is something Jesus did not choose for himself, did not want for himself, but accepted solely in loving trust that it was somehow his Father’s will.
How do we accept the setbacks, the disappointments, the sudden reversals in our fortunes, the illnesses, which we encounter so frequently in life? Are we frustrated and irritated at these uninvited and unwanted intrusions into carefully planned life? Or can we see them as an invitation to patience and the offer of a share in Jesus’ cross in our own life?
What of our faith in Jesus’ resurrection? If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, there are no hopeless situations, though some seemingly hopeless situations will not be resolved in this life. Are we able to live that hope? Are we able to trust that there is absolutely no area of our lives, or the life of the world, that cannot be illumined by the light of Christ’s resurrection?
It is in these small, seemingly insignificant, ways that the paschal mystery grows in our life, much as that initial, small, flickering flame of the paschal candle will grow strong and illumines the church throughout this Easter Season. – Abbot Placid Solari, OSB – Belmont Abbey, Conventual Chaplain ad honorem
Investment Portfolio Report
Please click here to review the Investment Portfolio Report prepared by Thomas Weiford, KM, Treasurer of the Federal Association.
Day of Reflection
From 1891 to 1970, the university's main library was the Riggs Library, located in the south tower of Healy Hall. Riggs, one of the few remaining cast iron libraries in the country, is now used mainly as a reception space.
The Federal Association’s annual Day of Reflection will be on Saturday, April 20 in the Riggs' Library at Georgetown University in Washington.
The theme for the day will be “I was in Prison” and the primary presenters will be Rev. Michael Bryant, the former chaplain for the DC Jail, and Dr. Janelle Goetcheus, the founder of the Christ House Ministry that provides medical and other services to the poor in Washington.
The program will include presentations by Fr. Bryant and Dr. Goetcheus, small group discussions, Mass in Dahlgren Chapel, and lunch. Please click here for more information and registration.
Grant Applications
FOR 2013 GRANTS ARE DUE
MAY 13
Members who wish to apply for grants supporting programs serving the sick and poor, in which Federal Association members actively volunteer, should contact Leif Carlson at the Order of Malta office for a Grants Application.
To learn more about the Grants Program, please read the slightly revised Guidelines for Grants on the Members' section of the Association's website.
For Guidelines and Grant Applications, call Leif at 202-331-2494. He will answer your questions and email you the necessary information.
Applications should be submitted electronically and are due no later than May 13.
Annual Anointing Mass in Northern Virginia
The Annual Northern Virginia Region Anointing Mass was held on March 23 at Saint Ambrose Church in Annandale, VA. Thirty Knights, Dames and Candidates, assisted by spouses and volunteers served over 200 malades and companions. The Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington and Conventual Chaplain ad honorem was principal celebrant and homilist. Concelebrants were Fr. Andrew Fisher, Fr. Alexander Drummond and Fr. Stephen Holmes. Mass was followed by a luncheon provided by the Knights and Dames. Each malade received a miraculous medal and a bottle of Lourdes water as gifts from the Order. – Elizabeth Scheuren, DM
Upcoming Events:
April 4 - 5 - Wash DC - Day of Formation for candidates and sponsors of class of 2014
April 5 - Syracuse - First Friday Mass, Breakfast and Speaker - 7:00 AM Contact Margaret Martin
April 20 - Wash DC - Federal Association Day of Reflection, Georgetown University; "I Was in Prison" will be the theme, and Rev. Michael Bryant, former chaplain to the Washington, DC Jail, will be the primary speaker.
April 25- Lafayette, LA – Third Annual Lafayette Region sponsored Mass for
Healing and Anointing of the Sick. Most Rev. Michael Jarrell, Bishop of Lafayette, will be the celebrant and homilist - St. Mary, Mother of the Church, 10 am. Contact Paul David
April 29 - Lancaster, PA - Defense of Faith presentation -“Faith and Academic Life - An Evening with John Garvey, President of the Catholic University of America”; St. John Neumann Church; Mass - 6:30, presentation by Dr. Garvey - 7:30. For information, please contact Peter Scudner
Apr 29 - Syracuse - Malta House Birthday Party - Volunteers arrive 2:30 PM. Contact Pat Fallon
May 1 - 8 - Order of Malta Pilgrimage to Lourdes
June 21 – Hartford – Federal Association’s “primary observance” of the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Mass – Cathedral of St. Joseph followed by dinner.
July 19-20 – Emmitsburg, MD – Lourdes Reunion – Mt. St. Mary’s University; all former pilgrims invited
October 18 – 19 - Wash DC - Investiture Weekend
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
Federal Association, U.S.A.
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