Audio links of Bishop Perry and Fr. Mankowski, S.J.

From the Capstone Pilgrimage to Chicago, 2013...

Capstone students with Bishop Perry at St. John Cantius.

Click on the links below to hear and download the two major talks the students heard while in Chicago.  Also, the link at the bottom allows you to contribute to the travel and other expenses of the Senior Capstone Seminar - your generosity is appreciated.

• His Excellency, Bishop Joseph Perry of the Archdiocese of Chicago
• Fr. Paul Mankowski, S.J. of Loyola University, Chicago

Like what you see and hear about Capstone and Saint Agnes School?  Support the Senior Capstone Seminar (noting "Senior Capstone Seminar" in your entry).

Capstone Pilgrimage to Chicago - January, 2013

The slide show below contains images from the Capstone Seminar Pilgrimage to Chicago (Jan., 2013).  Captions describing each image can be viewed by clicking on the text icon in the lower left corner of every image.

The purpose of this annual Pilgrimage to Chicago is to engage in an integrated, Catholic experience in the big city – an amalgamation of culture, faith, politics, art, food, architecture, history etc.!

The students’ experiences include:

• riding the Amtrak train to Chicago
• walking around Windy City during rush-hour
• eating deep-dish pizza at the restaurant where it was invented
• chanting Vespers with Benedictine monks downtown
• viewing the city from atop the John Hancock skyscraper
• meeting with His Excellency, Bishop Joseph N. Perry
• attending a lecture by renowned Jesuit, Fr. Paul Mankowski
• visiting the Chicago Institute of Art
• enjoying Greek food in Chicago's Greektown

The images below are a window into the life of the group's four day pilgrimage to the Windy City.

Shocking: Cardinal George's "What are you giving up for Lent?"

This article by his imminence, Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago bluntly states the predicament of the Catholic Church in America under the current regime.

We were blessed to meet with Cardinal George in December and he did not mince his words then either.

Ad multos annos!

Here's a snippet of the Cardinal's recent article:

The Lenten rules about fasting from food and abstaining from meat have been considerably reduced in the last forty years, but reminders of them remain in the fast days on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and in the abstinence from meat on all the Fridays of Lent. Beyond these common sacrifices that unite us spiritually to the passion of Christ, Catholics were and are encouraged to “give up” something voluntarily for the sake of others. Often this is money that could have been used for personal purposes and instead is given to help others, especially the poor.

This year, the Catholic Church in the United States is being told she must “give up” her health care institutions, her universities and many of her social service organizations. This is not a voluntary sacrifice. It is the consequence of the already much discussed Department of Health and Human Services regulations now filed and promulgated for implementation beginning Aug. 1 of this year.

Why does a governmental administrative decision now mean the end of institutions that have been built up over several generations from small donations, often from immigrants, and through the services of religious women and men and others who wanted to be part of the church’s mission in healing and education? Catholic hospitals, universities and social services have an institutional conscience, a conscience shaped by Catholic moral and social teaching. The HHS regulations now before our society will make it impossible for Catholic institutions to follow their conscience.

So far in American history, our government has respected the freedom of individual conscience and of institutional integrity for all the many religious groups that shape our society. The government has not compelled them to perform or pay for what their faith tells them is immoral. That’s what we’ve meant by freedom of religion. That’s what we had believed was protected by the U.S. Constitution. Maybe we were foolish to believe so.

Read the entire article here.

Images from the Windy City

Prima Pars (126 images)...


Secunda Pars (62 images)...

The Empire Builder (or, What I Saw On the Train)

Ok, gang. You all have to write papers, so in solidarity I too wrote one. After our discussion with your parents today, I decided to share a piece I wrote for the Wanderer Forum Foundation. Click here if you are interested.

Memorabilia

 

At St. John Cantius...

Preparing for Mass at St. John Cantius Church - 12/4/11

More photos from the Chicago trip to come...

With the Cardinal

Senior Capstone Seminar students with Francis Cardinal George, OMI

"I told him his name was in the ledger too."

While at brunch we were amazed to meet and greet Tony Mockus, an actor who has played in several famous movies and is a parishioner of St. John Cantius.

This is a memorable scene where he plays the judge in "The Untouchables", a Chicago mob classic about Al Capone and Eliott Ness.  Click on the You Tube image to view...

Mr. Adkins and Tony Mockus

Mrs. Houghton and Tony Mockus

"We'll say 'hi' to the cardinal for you."

We'll all be in Chicagoland over the weekend to visit with His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George.  Below are some highlights of our itinerary.  We'll recap the journey here when we return...

[From the Saint Agnes School Parent Newsletter]

"Seniors in the Capstone Seminar class are traveling to Chicago with Fr. Ubel, Mr. DeJak, Mr. Adkins and Mrs. Houghton leaving this Saturday morning Dec 3^rd via train and returning Tuesday Dec 6^th. They will arrive at iconic Union Station in the afternoon and during their stay, students will have the opportunity to:

• visit with Fr. Robert Araujo, S.J., an internationally respected lawyer and expert on Aquinas and the Natural Law
• pray Solemn Vespers for the Second Sunday of Advent at the Monastery of the Holy Cross
• visit the famous Chicago Institute of Art
• tour the beautiful parish of St. John Cantius, known for its cultivation of sacred music and art
  sightsee in downtown Chicago from atop the Hancock building
• eat at at the legendary Pizzeria Uno 
• and -the highlight of the trip- we have a private audience and meeting with Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and former President of the USCCB. The trip coincides with our readings of The Rule of St. Benedict, The Confessions of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas' Treatise on Law. A more detailed itinerary will soon appear on the Saint Agnes website.

The trip coincides with our readings of The Rule of St. Benedict, The Confessions of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas' Treatise on Law."

Chicago Trip Installment 2: St. John Cantius

On Sunday we will be visiting the "daughter parish" of Saint Agnes: St. John Cantius. If it weren't for Msgr. Richard Schuler and Saint Agnes, St. John Cantius wouldn't be the beacon of Catholic Culture that it is today! Check out this video to gain a taste of the glory that is St. John's!

Chicago Trip Installment 1: How to Pass the Time on the Train

In order to prepare for the trip to Chicago via train (especially during this season of Advent), I submit to you the following training video. I expect all to pass the time thusly, especially between St. Paul and Milwaukee.