Oct 20, 2023
Exploring the early years of our founder, St. Gaspar, whose feast day is October 21.
If you’ve ever seen an episode of “Downton Abbey,” or watched Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” you know that there’s a lively and bustling milieu going on behind the scenes at a palace.
Cooks and bakers, maids and valets, groomsmen and groundskeepers, all working long days to keep up appearances, in Italy, la bella figura, a fine appearance or impression.
That was the world in which St. Gaspar del Bufalo, our founder, born in 1786, grew up. Gaspar’s father, Antonio, moved the family to the Altieri Palace (Palazzo Altieri) when he took a job there as a cook. Gaspar was one year old.
While his father was part of the working class, life in the environs of the palace, across the street from the impressive Church of the Gesù gave Gaspar and his brother, Antonio, his only sibling, a measure of protection against the harsher aspects of life in Rome in the late 18th century.
The best and most complete description of St. Gaspar’s early life is described in the definitive biography of the saint’s life written by Amilcar Rey, C.PP.S., the postulator of Gaspar’s cause for sainthood, published in 1950.
“Rey paints a rather glowing picture of what life was like in Rome in those days. It seems, in Ray’s view, that everyone was jolly,” said Fr. Jerry Stack, C.PP.S., who served six years as secretary general of the congregation in Rome and was the archivist at the generalate. “Rome’s population at the time was around 100,000 people, much smaller than it is today. Its boundaries did not go on much beyond the walls. Where our generalate is today was probably farmland.
“Many of the people of Rome would have lived in grinding poverty. Afflictions like head lice and other skin conditions were very common. The city was dangerous, with a murder rate of something like 400 homicides per year. There were many babies who were abandoned, given up to convents and raised by nuns.
Gaspar was never abandoned by his devoted parents. The del Bufalo family lived downstairs at the palace, with the other hired help. “The Altieri Palace really is very grand. It was built in the 17th century by relatives of Pope Clement X. Gaspar’s family lived in what today we would call a garden apartment; it was probably relatively comfortable.”
Early in his life Gaspar displayed an interest in spiritual matters, and a determination to serve the Church. When Gaspar was 10 or 11, Fr. Stack said, he and two of his playmates who also lived at the palazzo, Maria Tamini and Pippo Berga, decided to become missionaries and run off to Turkey. Maria was concerned because she was a girl, so her friends told her to “disguise yourself as a man.” She stole a pair of pants from her brother. But their plans were thwarted by their parents before the young missionaries could set sail. Gaspar remained friends with them throughout his life. Maria became a nun and Pippo became a monk.
Gaspar knew from an early age that he wanted to be a priest. He asked to join an order of Benedictines who ministered out of Santo Stefano, a church that was near by the palazzo, but he was turned down, “probably because he was too young,” Fr. Stack said.
He was influenced by his mother, Annunciata, who was devoutly religious, and his father, who was described by C.PP.S. historian Fr. Andy Pollack as “a big-time operator.”
Antonio del Bufalo had “all kinds of money-making schemes,” Fr. Stack said. “He put on plays; one biographer said that he organized soccer matches, though I’m not sure soccer existed at that time. It might have been a game more like lacrosse. Antonio never was terribly successful, but he was a good breadwinner and provided for the family.”
Gaspar’s parents supported him in many ways. “His parents made sure he got a good education,” Fr. Stack said. “From a fairly early age, he went to the Collegio Romano, founded by the Jesuits, a block or two away from his home. The Collegio educated adolescent boys up to their preparation for the priesthood. While studying there, he became the president of the Santa Galla Hospice when he was 20 years old. It was a fairly large operation with room for 200 people.”
Young Gaspar could have been described as a joiner—for instance, he belonged to a burial society whose nickname was the “black sacks,” named for the black habit they wore. He saw the value in joining with others to work toward a common goal—to build community, such as the Congregation he formed in 1815, which is still carrying on his mission today.
Oct 14, 2023
By Fr. Joe Uecker, C.PP.S.
To better understand our readings for today, we ought to go back a few weeks.
Three weeks ago, you recall Jesus telling the story of the workers hired at various hours, but all receiving the same pay. The leaders of Israel do not understand.
Two weeks ago, Jesus told the story of the two sons: one said yes but did not go to work. The other said no but changed his mind and worked. Even with Jesus saying that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the Reign of God before the leaders, they did not repent.
Last week we heard Jesus tell the story of the owner who sent servants to get the rent from the vineyard. They mistreated and killed the servants, and even the son of the owner. So, Jesus tells them that the Reign of God will be taken from them and given to those who will produce fruit.
Jesus has been trying to tell the leaders of Israel that they need to change and to think more like God thinks:
- to be generous and rejoice at the good fortune of others
- to be able to turn from evil and do good and to forgive when others repent
- to realize that just belonging to God’s people is no guarantee
- and to know that just showing up is not enough. God wants our good works and God wants us to be messengers of the Reign of God.
The operative word here is change. Change is not easy. In my experience, the only people who like change are wet babies.
If we look at our first reading, Isaiah tells us God has chosen the Jewish people to be messengers of the Good News. “On this mountain” is Isaiah’s name for Jerusalem, the people of God.
Notice how Isaiah sees Israel as the center of God’s activity. God is using Israel as messenger of the Good News for all the nations.
God now uses us to share the Good News. At least God wants to use us. If you ask people why we are baptized, most people will say “So that I can go to heaven.” That can sound rather selfish: “So that I can go to heaven.” Would it not show a greater concern for others to say: “I am baptized so that God can use me as an instrument of Good News to others.” But in our self-centered culture, we don’t always think that way.
I’ve said this often, but I am not convinced that many people believe it. If they did believe it, why would the celebration of the sacraments of initiation—baptism, confirmation, Eucharist—so often be the end of involvement in the Church rather than the beginning? It often happens that once a person has received these three sacraments, it is “Adios, see you later, maybe when I want to get married,” rather than “Okay, now I’m ready to be sent out to serve.”
A man goes to the police academy and spends a good bit of time studying and practicing. He passes the tests and he is drives around with an experienced officer. Then comes the day of his graduation. His wife is there to pin his badge on him. Everyone congratulates him. The next day he tells the chief: “Thanks for everything. It’s been good to be with you. I wish you all good luck. You won’t be seeing me around anymore.”
We would say he is crazy; yet that happens in the Church all too often.
Do you see how different our Church would be if we lived our baptism each day instead of considering it just as our ticket to heaven?
- We would not hesitate to contact someone we haven’t seen at Mass lately.
- We would ask them if there is any way we could help them.
- We would gently encourage young people to hold off till marriage before having sex.
- And on and on.
One might well ask: But isn’t it important to think about going to heaven? It is. But that is a result. If we live our baptism, if we are messengers of the Good News of Jesus. Then when we die, we will not have to worry about going to heaven. Jesus will welcome us with open arms: “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.”
By being concerned about others more than ourselves, we will gain entrance into the heavenly banquet feast. Others will thank us for having shared the Good News with them, and we will be assured of having our wedding garment.
Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fr. Joe Uecker, C.PP.S., has spent over 40 years in ministry in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas. He served as pastor in San Angelo, Sweetwater, Abilene and Odessa. Since retiring in 2011, he continues to live in Odessa.
Oct 7, 2023
By Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S.
Growing up on a farm, CP Estes knew her family had burned the land from time to time because “the ash made tired ground more fertile again.” But after one such burning, she asked her uncle what he would plant in the field and was surprised when he told her, “I will seed nothing.” Her uncle told her he would leave the landed unseeded “as an invitation.”
For just as it “was a blessing to welcome the stranger, to give comfort to the wanderer, and especially to the weary traveler,” her uncle told her, “So, too, the land has the hospitality of the true host. For the earth is so patient. It takes the seed, the weed, the tree, the flower; it takes the rain, the grain, and the fire. It allows and invites entry. It is the perfect host.”
Practicing hospitality is a hallmark of our Precious Blood spirituality. Unfortunately, many in our world have failed to listen to what the Earth seeks to teach us about hospitality. Sometimes it takes hurricanes and floods and wildfires to get our attention about climate change and global warming.
Our unwillingness to listen to the Earth, to learn from nature, is also reflected in our relationships with one another, especially with people from other cultures or creeds, with people who hold different views or who see through a different lens than we do.
Both the first reading from the prophet Isaiah and the parable from Matthew’s Gospel speak of being good stewards of God’s vineyard. In the parable, the tenant farmers go to the extremes by not only refusing to offer hospitality to those sent by the owner of the vineyard for his share of the produce but turning to violence. They even kill some of the messengers the owner sends to negotiate with the grape growers. Even when he sends his own son, the farmers “seize him, drag him outside the vineyard, and kill him.”
The parable reminds us how redemption and new life come out of ruin. The rejection suffered by Jesus will be the means of salvation for the world. Jesus is “the stone rejected by the builders” that becomes the cornerstone of a new creation.
In the vineyard of today’s world, the harvest of justice seems to be far off. Instead of harvesting hope, justice and peace in this vineyard, so many people taste only sour grapes of wrath, of war, of violence, and exclusion.
In these dangerous times, we draw some measure of hope—and a large challenge—from the message of St. Paul in the second reading. Our challenge is to cultivate an attitude that Paul describes: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” If we live the qualities Paul outlines—truth, honor, justice, purity, graciousness and love—then “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
All of us have anxieties, all of us claim more than a few fears, and all of us have known failures even after our best efforts. There is certainly more than enough to be anxious about in our world today, but our challenge is to trust that in our prayer, when we live with grateful hearts, we will know “the God of peace will be with us.”
As people who work and pray in the vineyard of the Precious Blood, we believe it is out of the ashes that new hope will rise. At every Eucharist, we celebrate how God takes our failures and transforms them into a future full of hope. For it was on the night he was betrayed, that Jesus gave us the greatest of gifts, his body and blood.
Though at times we feel like tired ground, worn out and weary of life, unable to produce a harvest of justice; though at times we taste the bitter disappointments of life and respond with sour grapes; though at times sickness and loss and the death of loved ones stop us in our tracks, we proclaim our belief that God will continue to bring new life, new hope, and new growth out of the ashes of our lives.
Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S., a noted author, preacher and retreat leader, also serves as vice provincial director of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, United States Province.
Sep 30, 2023
Brother Tom Bohman, C.PP.S.
Life is not fair. Among my favorite Ohio professional sport teams, I note that there are many rocky roads. We wish that we would always be on the winning side but as in life, we find that we are tested in our loyalties. It seems that faith also tests our loyalties. God demands our loyalty and then extends his mercy.
God’s mercy is always present. God is good all the time. There are good days and bad days. God reminds us today that we are blessed. Many times we stray from the Lord. We seek our own ways away from what God calls us to. Life is easier when we try to glimpse the many good things he gives us.
Psalm 25 and Ezekiel 18 speak of God’s justice and God’s mercies. We remind ourselves that we dedicate ourselves to God, we pray and worship as Catholics. We are generous in giving alms. Yet we also admit that we can do better in all we do and that we do not always stay on the path of righteousness.
The readings today are brief and to the point. Philippians 2 and Matthew 21 continue our journey towards faithfulness. Jesus challenges the people to do the will of his Father. We should be like the first son, whose path eventually seeks the will of God. The most important thing is that God allows us to find the way and that we indeed do what is right.
The writer of Matthew points towards future challenges by the priests and elders on Jesus’ journey towards Calvary. God is merciful. We ask God for His mercy in all of challenges in life. Our eye is on heaven well beyond baseball championships.
Brother Tom Bohman, C.PP.S., is in ministry at St. James the Less Church in Columbus, Ohio.
Sep 29, 2023
Fr. Leon Flaherty, C.PP.S., 88, died on September 29, 2023, at 10:20 a.m., in the infirmary of St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio. He had been in failing health.
He was born on July 10, 1935, in Superior, Wisc., to Michael and Emily (Jaques) Flaherty. He entered the Congregation in 1949 at Brunnerdale, the Congregation’s former minor seminary near Canton, Ohio.
Fr. Flaherty was ordained on June 10, 1961, at St. Charles.
After his ordination, Fr. Flaherty served as an instructor at Brunnerdale, the Congregation’s high school seminary near Canton, Ohio. In 1970, he was named director of vocations and later became director of formation. He was also the chaplain for firefighters in Jackson Township of Stark County, Ohio.
In 1978, Fr. Flaherty was named to the retreat team at the retreat center in Maria Stein, Ohio, where he also participated in Marriage Encounter weekends, a ministry he found very fulfilling. He was also known for offering spiritual direction that was life-giving and prayerful.
During that time, he was elected to the leadership of the Congregation. In 1982, he was elected vice provincial director of the Cincinnati Province. He served on the general curia of the worldwide congregation from 1983–89, living in Rome during that time.
Fr. Flaherty then continued his retreat and renewal ministry, moving to Columbus, Ohio, in 1989. In 2000, he returned to parish ministry in the Diocese of Superior. From 2000-01, he was the associate pastor at St. Anthony’s parish in Superior; then from 2001-02 he was the associate pastor at Queen of the Universe parish in Woodruff, Wis. Fr. Flaherty served as the associate pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior from 2002-09. During that time, he was also active in the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers, an interdenominational service to the sailors working on the Great Lakes freighters. He also ministered from 2009-12 as senior associate pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Whiting, Ind.
Fr. Flaherty returned to Superior in 2012 in his retirement, but he enthusiastically entered into ministry at the Cathedral of Christ the King there, presiding at Masses and assisting in many other ways. There he was honored with the Lumen Christi Award by the Cathedral School for his outstanding priestly service in the U.S. and Italy, but especially in Superior.
His ministry in Superior continued for 11 years until September 2022, when poor health caused Fr. Flaherty to move to St. Charles where his Community could care for him. The two goodbye parties for him hosted by the Cathedral staff were full of well-wishers who were sorry to see him go, but grateful for his ministry.
Fr. Flaherty had a pastoral approach to people, reaching out with his heart in all his many ministries. Retreatants and parishioners would often ask him, after he preached, “How did you know that was what I needed to hear?” His response was that before he would preach, he asked God to let the people hear what they needed to hear.
With a Missionary spirit, he went where he was called and he truly loved his Community, but part of his heart was always along the shores of Lake Superior, and with his family. When he drove north toward Superior, he would reach a point where he could see the hills of Duluth, and he would know he was home. To return there to minister near the end of his life meant a great deal to him, and he continued to serve the people of God as long as he could.
Survivors include his brother, Thomas (Phyllis) Flaherty, Superior; and his sister, Carol Zowin; several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother-in-law, Thomas Zowin.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, at St. Charles Center, with Fr. Andrew O’Reilly, C.PP.S., presiding. Fr. Jerome Stack, C.PP.S., will be the homilist. Burial will follow in the Community cemetery.
Viewing will be held at St. Charles from 10:30 a.m. until Mass begins.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood United States Province.
