ORDER OF MALTA MOMENT

The Chicago Region is hosting a retreat on “The Spirituality of the Order of Malta” at the Stritch Retreat House, Mundelein, Illinois. Rev. Eric Hollas, OSB, PhD is the retreat director. Please contact Fra' Tom Mulligan.

This year we are welcoming 52 new Members into the Order. There will be many events throughout the weekend, including our Defense of the Faith forum on Friday. The principal speaker will be Kathryn Jean Lopez, Founding Director of Catholic Voices, on “Defending the Family”.

The weekend events will be held at the Mayflower Hotel. Mass will be at St. Matthew's Cathedral and the Annual Dinner will be held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Washington, DC.

Invitations will be mailed the second week of August.

Click here for the full schedule of events.

All Members of the Federal Association are invited to participate on a pilgrimage to The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is the site of the only Marian apparition in the United States approved by the Catholic Church. Approval was received on December 8, 2010 by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay. He also approved the chapel at the site as a shrine.

History of the Apparition:

Adele Brise was born in Belgium in 1831. She moved to the Green Bay area with her parents in 1855. Adele was walking to the mill in early October, 1859 when she saw a woman clothed in white with a yellow sash around her waist and a crown of stars above her flowing blond hair. The woman was standing between two trees, a maple and a hemlock. Neither the woman nor Adele spoke.

On Sunday, October 9, Adele saw the woman again while walking to Mass. She asked the priest for advice, and he suggested she ask the woman, "In the name of God, who are you and what do you wish of me?"

After Mass on the same day, Adele saw the woman for the third time and asked the woman the question suggested by the priest. The beautiful Lady replied, "I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same." Adele was also told "to gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation."

The Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858 as the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady appeared to Adele Brise one year later as the Queen of Heaven. The apparition is considered by the Church as the completion of the Lourdes message. For more information on the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, click here.

Click here to view the invite and to register.

Have you ever lamented a lack of patience? As the conclusion to the prologue to his Rule, Saint Benedict writes: “We shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.” In the Latin in which he wrote, the words “patience” and “sufferings” recognizably share the same root. How often, however, do we ever consider the seemingly endless succession of circumstances in our life that demand our patience to be an invitation to share in Jesus’ cross and suffering? Are we sometimes tempted to feel that our sufferings, which require patience, are punishments? When confronted with serious or unanticipated illness, with disappointment, with the failure of carefully made plans, does the thought steal over us that perhaps God does not care? Or can we discern in all these things the Lord’s invitation to take up our unique and particular cross, and follow him? After all, he himself on his own cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” But “God raised him up”, and thus it is possible that our patience in suffering, in disappointment and in pain can be our profession of faith in Jesus’s resurrection.

Saint Benedict returns again to patience at the conclusion of his Rule, when he instructs the monks “to bear most patiently one another’s infirmities, whether of body of character.” Patience has now become the fruit of charity, which is the goal of Christian life. Can we discern in the demands – often relentless – of others’ needs a revelation of Christ’s cross, the greatest sign of God’s love?

We can take to heart the words of the 12th Century Cistercian, Isaac of Stella: “Patience is the greatest virtue of all . . . It is divided into two parts, namely, temperance and courage, and it makes the soul it possesses … sober and strong. May he be pleased to bestow on us that we suffer with him and in him, who, in patience, has suffered for us, Jesus Christ.”

The weather on July 5th, cooperated in a spectacular way for the annual Wounded Warrior BBQ at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Over 110 volunteers from the Federal Association joined with the Members of the Johanniter Order to serve a crowd 640 warriors, families and staff. For the first time we were able to carry dinner to 115 room-bound patients on two wards. The menu consisted of Prime sirloin steak, grilled chicken, a fantastic variety of salads, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, ice cream, cake and cupcakes. The Russo family entertained the children with a craft table extrodinairee, and the band music was so popular the guests remained an hour after schedule. Many families who participate in the bi-weekly dinners at the Fisher House and Navy Lodge came to serve along with the Federal Association Members from as far away as North Carolina. These others deserve a huge thanks for providing donations to make the event possible: Musicians on Call, who stepped in at the last minute to provide the fabulous entertainment; Georgetown Cupcake; Central Farm Markets; Berliner Specialty Foods; and The Ritz-Carlton, for their food contributions, and Jack Slattery of the Warrior Café who so generously provides logistics, assistance and the venue. Thank you to all who come to serve, and please mark your calendars for July 2, 2015.

This year it is the turn of the Netherlands to host the 31st edition of the annual International Camp for disabled young people. Some 500 people from 20 countries will be participating from August 9 to 16. A week of friendship, team work, entertainment and integration for the disabled aged 18 to 35. Thanks to the support of the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the camp will be held in the Royal Netherlands Army Base “Harskamp/General Winkelman” in the splendid setting of the De Veluwe national park, 50 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam. Just as in the previous editions, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta Fra’ Matthew Festing will be taking part in the International Camp.

Click here to read more.

Order of Malta Moment - September 4, 2014

The Board of Directors election ballots will be mailed July 30, and are due Thursday, August 21. The ballots will be counted on August 22 and the results will be sent that day. Please check your mailboxes next week for the ballot.

On July 18-19, past malades, companions, and pilgrims gathered at Mt. St. Mary's for the annual Lourdes Reunion. Fr. Drummond was the celebrant of the opening mass which was followed by a cocktail reception and dinner.

On Saturday, Jenkins Cromwell, KM led the pilgrims in a rosary at the Grotto on campus. Fr. Mullins celebrated mass and the pilgrims were invited to a lunch and film screening about the Lourdes Pilgrimage made by Peter Scudner, KM.

Congratulations! Thanks to your generosity we surpassed the 2014 Annual Appeal goal.
$904,383.12 was raised with 76% Member Participation.
This is an increase of 12% in revenue and 6% in Member participation.

A special thank you to the regions that reached our ultimate goal of 100% participation: Des Moines, Kansas City, Lafayette and St. Joseph!

Discover how these funds will make a significant difference to those in need.

Applications for admission - Class of 2016 have been revised and updated and are now ready for distribution. There are two important changes this year: the deadline for submission is December 1, 2014 and original signatures on the application form are required from the applicant, both sponsors and the Regional Hospitaller. Applications can be found on the Members section of our website. Sponsors should be willing to commit to mentoring their candidate during his or her formation year and during their first year of membership