Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth

Died suddenly this morning.

He was a friend and my confessor for awhile.  He was a holy man.  He was only 59.

Bishop Paul Sirba has died

Dec 1, 2019

 With sad hearts, we share the following message regarding the sudden death of our beloved Bishop Paul Sirba that was sent out to diocesan clergy and employees this morning and which is being announced at Masses today.

Following is the message from Father Bissonette, who has served as Bishop Sirba’s vicar general:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must inform you of tragic news regarding our Bishop. Bishop Paul Sirba suffered cardiac arrest at St. Rose Church in Proctor, MN this morning, December 1st. He was rushed to Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, where life-saving measures were attempted, but were unsuccessful. He was attended to by Father John Petrich who administered the last rites to him at the hospital. He was declared to have passed away at just after 9:00 A.M. this morning. Words do not adequately express our sorrow at this sudden loss of our Shepherd. We have great hope and faith in Bishop Sirba’s​ resurrection to new life, and have confident assurance that he will hear the words of our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter in the joy of your Master.”

Arrangements for Bishop Sirba’s funeral Mass and burial will be forthcoming. Please pray for the repose of Bishop Sirba’s soul, as well as for his mother, Helen, and his siblings, Father Joe, Kathy, and John, and their families. Let us also hold each other up in prayer during this most difficult time.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord ...
- And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace ...
- Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God ...
- Rest in peace, Amen.

Reverend James B. Bissonette
Diocese of Duluth 

For the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist

Barely four weeks that late Reverend Fr Paul Offu, Parish Priest of St. James Greater Catholic Church, Enugu, was shot dead, bandits on Thursday attacked Reverend Father David Tanko, at Kufai Amadu in Takum, Taraba state, killing him and setting his dead body and vehicle ablaze.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/08/breaking-bandits-set-catholic-priest-vehicle-ablaze-in-taraba/

Monsieur Vincent, RIP

Vincent Lambert died this morning after having been denied the basic food and water he needed to survive for over a week. All human beings, regardless of ability level, deserve to live free from the violence of intentional starvation. May he rest in peace. -  Rehumanize International

Br. Bonaventure of Jesus Crucified, OCD

Br. Bonaventure Potter, OCD

Requiescat In pace

I saw the notice last night on FB from the Washington Province.

Early this morning our dear brother Br. Bonaventure (Potter) of Jesus Crucified, OCD passed away. Brother was 93 years old and made his profession of vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Order of Discalced Carmelites on February 28th 1948!

I called him my brother in Carmel.

We met when I was inquiring about entering Carmel while he was at St. Florian's in Milwaukee.  He knew I was also visiting a friend in town who had followed a New Age spiritual group while studing music at the conservatory there.  Brother worried so much about me - he gave me The Secret of the Rosary and much advice, fearing I would follow my friend.

He was dubious about me entering Carmel, then leaving only to enter the Trappists, and finally leaving to try my vocation as a 'pilgrim', he even called my mother from time to time sharing his concern.  He became quite a good friend of mine.  As I said, he was there for me from the early stages of my conversion and through my searching a vocation, and later on as well. He even came to see me when I lived in Boston.

The first or second time I visited St. Florian's, I once saw him praying before the Blessed Sacrament - in tears - weeping and moaning. From the Friar's chapel I noticed him standing in prayer - in the main church below.  He wept and prayed, without any knowledge I observed him.  I was always impressed with that.  He was the Carmelite who told me the community life of the friars was not like the Discalced nuns, and I shouldn't expect it to be.  He also cautioned me never to tell the Fathers that I'd like to live a nun's style of monastic life.  He said the Fathers were suspicious of men whose piety was influenced by that kind of religiosity.

After Boston, I lost touch with him, but I never forgot him.

Oh Br. Bonaventure, pray for us! Pray for me - you know why.

In thanksgiving for the holy vocation and witness of Br. Bonaventure, OCD.

Nearly all my spiritual fathers are dead now - just a couple left.  Hopefully they are closer to me now than when they were alive.

A priest forever.

From the NCRegister:

PRAYERS for Father Michael Los who died this morning! 

The Polish seminarian suffering w/ terminal cancer was ordained in his hospital bed in May. 

On the day he was ordained, he said: “Praised be Jesus Christ! Thank you for all your prayers, and I hope you continue praying. I bless all of you in the name of the Father & the Son & the Holy Spirit." 

—Father Michael Los. Requiescat in pace

In thanksgiving for the sacred ministry and holy priesthood of Fr. Michael.   Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli

Prayers for the repose of his soul.

Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli

1923-2019

Saints of God, come to his aid!

Come to meet him, angels of the Lord!

R. Receive his soul and present him to God, the Most High.
May Christ, who called you, take you to himself;
may angels lead you to Abraham's side. R.
Give him eternal rest, O Lord,
and may your light shine on him for ever. R.

Let us pray.
All-powerful and merciful God,
we commend to you Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli, your servant.

In your mercy and love,
blot out the sins he has committed
through human weakness.
In this world he has died:
let him live with you forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.
V. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

R. And let perpetual light shine upon him.
V. May he rest in peace.

R. Amen.

Bishop Morlino

Dear Bishop Morlino died tonight.

Diocese of Madison1 hr · 
It is our sad duty to inform you of the death of Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison. Bishop Morlino died tonight, Saturday, November 24th, at approximately 9:15 pm at St. Mary Hospital in Madison at the age of 71. Funeral plans are pending and you will be notified via email of final arrangements.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Prayers for the repose of his soul.  May God reward him.  Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

I am so sorry that he has passed away.  An excellent bishop!

Charlotte Rae

1926 - 2018

She played Sylvia in Car 54 Where Are You?

She was my favorite character.

RIP

Remembering Tab Hunter

1931-2018

Joe Sciambra wrote a piece about him on his FB page:  "RIP - Tab Hunter. A life-long Catholic, his autobiography is very good; and I think unintentionally instructive concerning the origins of homosexuality. "

Tab Hunter kept it secret - but even then it didn't help his career.  I'm happy to know he was Catholic and I believe he was a practicing Catholic.  I believe his death was unexpected, so I hope he frequented the sacraments, and I hope he has a Catholic funeral. 

It was not until 50 years after “Battle Cry,” when he wrote his autobiography, that he publicly discussed his homosexuality; his love affair with the actor Anthony Perkins; the rage and wrath of his parish priest when, as a 14-year-old boy, he haltingly confessed what had happened in the dark of a movie theater; and years of being “painfully isolated, stranded between the casual homophobia of most ‘normal’ people and the flagrantly gay Hollywood subculture — where I was even less comfortable and less accepted.” - NYTimes

I obviously do not know very much about him, except that he was a gay actor from the '50's-'60's.  Robert Redford played a character seemingly based on him in a film with Natalie Wood, titled Inside Daisy Clover.

I'm not aware of Tab Hunter being active in gay rights.  His description of feeling painfully isolated from normal people, as well as uncomfortable and less acceptable by gay people, resonates with many, I think.  I have always said that as a group, or 'subculture' I do not like gay people - so I understand Mr. Hunter in that respect.  His experience of isolation from 'normal' people is related to my discussion in "The dishonesty is too much" post.

May he rest in peace.

A good man.

Not too hard to find.

This weekend I came across a notice of the death of a man I knew from church.  He attended daily Mass, he was a sacristan and lector, he attended devotions and events at the parish, and he was active in many charities.  A retired teacher, he lived around the corner from me with his partner who died about ten years ago.  Later he moved into a condo, and just a year or two ago I heard that he signed himself into a home for Alzheimer's patients.  Today is his funeral Mass.

We weren't really friends, we just said hello and chatted.  I think he wanted to be friends but I kept a distance because I knew he was more 'liberal' about being gay and Catholic.  He would have no problem identifying with gay, and I expect he'd fit right in with Fr. James Martin's POV on the subject.  He would agree that people are born that way and nothing is wrong with same sex unions.  I had great respect for him, but it has always been my experience that once people knew my POV, they more or less shunned me as too narrow, and/or tried to convince me I would be happier if rejected all of that.  I wanted to be friends, but he pretty much left me alone.  When he moved away, he became more active at a more liberal parish where his priest-friend helped out at in Minneapolis.

Despite our differences on Catholic teaching - which I would never have tried to 'covert' him to - he was a good man, a much better man than myself.  (I really mean that.)  He was generous and as I mentioned, very active in the parish and devoted himself to very real charitable works which demanded sacrifice.  I mention him today because he is receiving a Catholic burial - as he should.  The surprising thing about that is his obituary mentions he was preceded in death by certain relatives and his 'life-partner'.  In some places, that note alone would have caused some priests or parishes to refuse him a Catholic burial.  Thank God that is not how this diocese treats people.

I was so pleased this did not happen to my friend/acquaintance/neighbor who just died.  Rest in peace BD.  May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

I wish I had accepted his friendship.

Barbara Bush

+1925-2018+

In memoriam.

Such a great lady.

Rest in peace.

Hommage au gendarme Arnaud Beltrame.

-source-

Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame

Je vous salue, Marie, 

pleine de grâces, 

le Seigneur est avec vous; 

vous ętes bénie entre toutes les femmes, 

et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni. 

Sainte Marie, Mčre de Dieu, 

priez pour nous pécheurs, 

maintenant, 

et ŕ l'heure de notre mort. 

Amen.

"If a man shall have given all that he possesses, he will despise it as nothing." - Song of Songs 8.7

Death of St. Benedict Joseph Labre

My friend Larry died.

Many thanks for all your prayers.  Larry died in peace surrounded by his family.  He has a good size family, I understand his daughter is a Lutheran minister.  The sons are active in ministry as well - from what I understand.

After Larry left seminary, we pretty much lost contact, except for certain occasions.  We went our separate ways.  I left - or fled - the 'neighborhood' and the 'group' and only got back together with them after Larry had married and moved away.  So Larry had another life for more than forty years.  I didn't know him as a married man, widower, father, teacher, and so on.  I was, I suppose, a sort of 'prodigal friend' - he didn't know me either.

When he moved back to the metro area he eventually socialized with most of my old friends, those  with whom I lost contact after they married and raised a family.  Being a 'single man' I lived apart.  My life has always been more or less that of an outsider, although I maintained contact with one or two friends, who knew both my family and friends and me.

As a single man, more or less alone, my boyhood friendships remained a thing of the heart.  I suppose it's a symptom of arrested development, or 'friendship interrupted'.  Yet it really is very much a memory that grew and developed, albeit somewhat sentimentally.  I never realized, or took the time to consider how my friend evolved, how he matured and how the responsibilities of wife and family, home, career and avocation, absorbed and consumed him.  I found that out, watching and praying for Larry from a distance, my only contact with cards and messages left on the CaringBridge site his children updated.  Reading the messages of others who know him revealed more about Larry than I ever knew.  He was a beloved teacher for one thing.

That's how I came to understand he was at the very least an estranged friend - or more appropriately, I was the estranged one.  In other words, the stranger.  It's wonderfully existential to realize that, BTW.

In the end, I need to admit my deepest concern was to pray for his 'happy death', his eternal salvation.  I was always concerned that Larry became Lutheran after seminary - I couldn't understand that.  Call me old fashioned - because I am.  Which is why I turned to the Divine Mercy devotion and many rosaries as well as appeals to Our Lady Undoer of Knots.  I so often recall stories of deathbed conversions when a priest could visit, as well as those stories when the dying person refused a priest.  Everything today is different.  We affirm people in their good faith.  That's our reality today - so I leave it at that.  I do not want to start a discussion on that point.  Our Lord can do infinitely more than we ask or imagine and Our Lady can remove any obstacle to our salvation.

My friend was certainly a devout, faithful Lutheran, as are his children.  They live better lives than I do.  It may even explain why Larry didn't invite me into his social circle as he did my other friends.  (Perhaps my former lifestyle was too much a scandal?)  Although, no one ever said anything about that.  Nevertheless, who am I to judge his state of soul at death?  What dare I say if he was a good Lutheran, a man faithful to the duties of his state in life?  He was an honorable man.

I only present all of these thoughts because my genuine interest and concern is for the salvation of his soul and the souls of my family and friends.  That is my greatest concern.  That is why I asked for prayers and have Masses said for others.  No other concern interferes with that - none.

I pray daily for a happy death for myself (and those I love) - not to die without the sacraments and to be fully disposed to accept the death God has willed for me from all eternity.  As Catholics there is no greater consolation at death than the sacraments.

In conclusion, please pray for my childhood friend Larry - he was a wonderful man who did so much good.  Thank you.

Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Jesus I trust in you!

If the sacrifice of worldly honours, goods, friends, and life be required of such a one,

 he makes it with joy, saying with the Royal Prophet, 

"What have I desired in heaven or on earth, besides thee, O God! 

Thou art my portion for ever." Ps. 73.25

Hubert de Givenchy

20 February 1927 – 10 March 2018

Fr. William Baer

Father William Baer, 60, pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale, died early Jan. 14.

I'm so sorry to hear that Fr. Baer died.  He was a very holy priest, a gifted man, a truly humble man - no guile, no ambition - just enthusiasm for Christ and the Gospel - and great kindness and consideration towards ordinary people.  

May he rest in peace.

A beautiful life.

Sister Mary Ann Sullivan, ocso 

of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey,

died on May 13, 2017.

More here.

This morning I had a sense that a friend died.

Afterwards, I opened an envelope containing the newsletter from Our Lady of Mississippi Abbey, and sure enough, Sr. Mary Ann was on the first page.  Moments before, I thought - I should open my mail, I bet Sr. Mary Ann died.  (I don't open my mail as soon as I receive it, I like to pretend it's an exercise in detachment to set it aside until Sunday.  I'm not at all detached though - just nuts.)

Anyway, Sr. Mary Ann was always very kind to me. I thank God for her holy life and fidelity. It is a great thing to persevere in the monastery until death.

Another Cardinal dead ... the third in two months.

Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, President Emeritus of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See ... dead at 81.

Cardinal De Paolis died on Saturday at the age of 81 in Rome after a long and painful illness, which the Pope said he endured “with a serene spirit and a trusting surrender to the will of the Lord”. - Vatican Radio

19 September 1935 – 9 September 2017

May the souls of the faithful departed...

rest in peace.

Carlo Cardinal Caffarra has died.

The second of the Four Cardinals of the Five Dubia to have gone to the Lord – in two months. - Source

[My first thought:  Angels and Demons - you know, the novel/film.  Robert Langdon, Harvard symbologist.  (I think Langdon may be in the Philippines right now, deciphering symbols embedded in plastic rosaries.)  What?

Anyway.  Don't get mad at me - that's the climate created by Catholic nut-jobs online who spark controversy with tall tales and conspiracy theories and reports of devils and heretics taking over the Vatican.]

Seriously ...

His Eminence, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra Archbishop Emeritus of Bologna today returned his soul to his Lord, whom he faithfully served all his life without reservations of love, generosity and intelligence, serving generously wherever He called him.

The Archbishop of Bologna expresses the deep and affectionate condolences of the entire Diocese, the presbyterate, and his staff, and invites the faithful to join in prayers of suffrage.

The chapel of rest will be set up in the Sala Bedetti at the Archbishopric, starting tomorrow, September 7, at 4 pm.

The Vigil of prayer for his soul will be celebrated on Friday 8 September at 9 pm in the Cathedral.

Archbishop Matteo Zuppi will preside at the funeral ceremonies on Saturday 9 September at 11 am in the Cathedral. Following the ceremony, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra will be buried in the Crypt of the Cathedral. - Archbishop Matteo Zuppi

+ 1938 - 2017 +

Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord

and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The death of unknown saints ...

The discovery of the body of St Alexis or the death of St Alexis, 

by Georges de La Tour (1593-1652)

I often think of St. Alexis, as a special patron for single men.

My friend Ray Marshall has died.  Apparently alone, in his apartment.  He used to get mad at me because I'm so reclusive.  Not too long ago - around our birthdays he said we better get together quick because he doesn't have much time left.  I said okay - but never did anything.  Now Ray has died.  Alone, in his apartment.

Found the following notice on his Facebook page from a friend of his ...

Thursday August 17 Ray did not show up at the VA. VA officials called the police to check on Ray and they found that he had passed at his home. I understand that It took a while for officials to connect with Ray's family so the announcement to the public of his death was delayed. I have heard that there will be funeral services for Ray in Duluth but have no details. All of this information is second hand so I can not vouch for complete accuracy. He was a special soul. God Bless you Ray Marshall. - Matt Gulseth

I'm so sorry.

For my neglects, but so edified by Ray and his good example.

Ray was a good, kind man.  He was very accepting of me.  He reminded me of my older brother Skip in many ways - they shared the same birthday.  He was a devout man, frequented the sacraments - loved confession, prayed, and spent his free time serving others.

He died alone.  Like St. Alexis, like Matt Talbot, like so many other single guys ...  although, I don't believe they died alone - nor are they alone now.

Ray volunteering at OL Lourdes.

Ray is in the blue apron.

A lovely condolence from Pope Benedict read at the funeral Mass of Cardinal Meisner Saturday ...

Read by Archbishop Ganswein at today's funeral Mass. 

"What struck me particularly in the last conversations with the Cardinal, now gone home, was the natural cheerfulness, the inner peace and the assurance he had found. We know that it was hard for him, the passionate shepherd and pastor of souls, to leave his office, and this precisely at a time when the Church had a pressing need for shepherds who would oppose the dictatorship of the zeitgeist, fully resolved to act and think from a faith standpoint. Yet I have been all the more impressed that in this last period of his life he learned to let go, and live increasingly from the conviction that the Lord does not leave his Church, even if at times the ship is almost filled to the point of shipwreck."  - Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict noted that Cardinal Meisner was most edified and consoled by how "young people, above all young men, came to experience the mercy of forgiveness, the gift, in effect to have found life, which only God can give them" in the Sacrament of Penance.

Connected to that, the second source of his assurance, "which again and again touched and made him happy, was the perceptible increase in Eucharistic adoration."

Though the retired Pope's comment concerning the Church appearing to be near the point of capsizing is stunning and sobering at the same time, his directing our attention to the Truth that Christ does not leave his Church is all the more consoling, as well as his indication that our stability and salvation is to be found in the Sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist.  The one is necessary to the other.  That is clear.  And more deeply, "the fact that a person cannot eat this bread as just some sort of nourishment, and that to “receive” the Lord in the Eucharistic Sacrament includes all the dimensions of our existence – that receiving has to be worship, something which has in the meantime become increasingly clearer."

This is a great consolation and assurance.