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Thursday, August 16, 2018

NCW in the Archdiocese of Detroit

Before being assigned to Guam, Archbishop Michael Byrnes came from the Archdiocese of Detroit.  It was only last year that the Archdiocese of Detroit had welcomed the Neocatechumenal Way.  According to their website:
On March 2, 2017, Archbishop Allen Vigneron issued a decree establishing a Missio ad gentes of the NeoCatechumenal Way for the Archdiocese of Detroit. The Missio ad gentes was acknowledged by Mr. Francisco Argüello, founder of the NeoCatechumenal Way and representative of the International Responsible Team, on March 8, 2017. A certified copy of the decree may be obtained from the Chancellor’s Office, as well as additional information and assistance in understanding the details of this announcement (chancellor@aod.org)..
As of last year, a missionary family have been assigned to do missionary work in Detroit.  According to news report:

In less than two weeks, Matthew and Stephanie Zinser and their three young sons are leaving everything behind – their families, jobs and Glendale home – to answer the call to live as missionary disciples.
They will relocate to Detroit, Mich., in early September, to join four other families, laywomen and a priest, in forming a community of faith to share the Good News of the Gospel.
“I’m very nervous, but I’m very excited,” Stephanie said. “Because I have seen all of the wonders that God has done in my life and in my parents’ life, I feel like it’s time to go out and announce to those who don’t have any hope, to those who haven’t heard, that God loves them.”
The family belongs to the Neocatechumenal Way, and they feel called to be among the hundreds of families currently carrying out “missio ad gentes,” or a mission to the nations, an effort to evangelize in areas of the world where the Church is not very visible.
Last Sunday, the five members of the Zinser family stood before the congregation at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Jamaica, and received a blessing for the journey ahead of them.
Father Victor Bolaños, parochial vicar, sprinkled holy water on the couple, and their boys: Matthew, 3, Noah, 2 and Ignacio, nine months.
“It is not every day that we are able to acknowledge in person the hard work that missionaries do,” Father Manuel J. Rodriguez, pastor, said to his congregation.
“When it is a whole family that decides to leave everything… for the sake of spreading God’s Gospel, this is not just uncommon, but tremendously special.”
Father Rodriguez commended the couple on “taking Jesus seriously in their life as a family.”
Matthew and Stephanie are familiar faces in the diocese, serving most recently as co-directors of religious education at St. Benedict Joseph Labre parish, Richmond Hill. Matthew, who grew up in St. Matthias parish, Ridgewood, and attended Cathedral Prep Seminary, Elmhurst, also serves as music director at Our Lady of Victory Church in Floral Park.
The couple, who will celebrate five years of marriage this fall, are members of the Neocatechumenal community at SS. Peter and Paul parish, Williamsburg, where Father Rodriguez previously served as pastor. This past Lent, they led a three-month catechesis at the Jamaica parish.
They discerned their call to become a mission family through prayer and discussion over the last two years. They volunteered with the knowledge that they could be asked to go any city in the world.
But for this family, there was a unique consideration: two of the couple’s sons have Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, a rare disorder that requires regular blood tests and monitoring. It was essential for the boys to have access to the specialists and facilities they have here in the U.S.
Earlier this year, Detroit’s Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron called for a “radical overhaul” of the Church in his diocese. He invited the Neocatechumenal Way to establish a family mission team to aid in the work of the new evangelization. For the Zinsers, it was the perfect fit.
The couple is excited to help with the rebirth of the Catholic Church in Detroit, a city suffering from poverty, racial tensions, crime and urban decay. The Church there has faced substantial challenges in recent years, including declining membership, resulting in parish mergers and closings.
Example of Christian Living
When they arrive, the Zinsers’ role will be to spread the Gospel through their daily example of living as a Christian family. They’ll actively reach out to neighbors in their community, evangelize door-to-door, pray in public squares and share their own testimonies about how God works in their lives.
One of the topics the couple discusses is their sons’ illness, which, Matthew said, could have easily driven him away from God and the Church. But because of the encounter he’s had with God in the Neocatechumenal Way, he is able to look at the situation “through the eyes of faith.”
“My wife and I don’t say, ‘Why us God?’ We’re able to put our lives and everything we do in God’s hands,” he said.
“God has given us these two children for a reason,” Stephanie added. “In the suffering, we see His face.”
Understanding that it takes years to develop relationships and build the church, the Zinsers see their move as a permanent one.
The family has found a place to live, and Matthew hopes to find a position as a parish music director. In the meantime, he says he can get by with construction work.
“We’re going with faith that God will provide for us,” he said.
They realize that doesn’t mean there won’t be struggles and challenges ahead, but they will have each other, and their fellow mission families, and many people, including those back home, supporting them in prayer.
“I’m very happy to bring up my children in this way of living, which is not going to be easy because everyone thinks we’re crazy, even our own families,” Stephanie said. “But maybe one day, with our actions, they can see the love of Christ.”
Matthew and Stephanie Zinser and their children are shown with Father Manuel Rodriguez and Father Victor Bolaños, right, after receiving a blessing prior to their leaving for missionary service with the Neocatechumenal Way in Detroit.

18 comments:

  1. Well the nice isn't good for guam. That's plain and simple.

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 4:41 pm, 

      I believe you meant the NCW rather than "nice." Well, I have news for you. The NCW is already in Guam and has already done much good for Guam whether you like it or not.

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    2. Dear Anonymous at 4:41pm,

      Could you elaborate why the NCW 'isn't good for guam. That's plain and simple.'? What is your personal experience and observations of the NCW to make you say this?

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    3. The NCW isn't good for guam period. You can't force people to follow the NCW's ways when majority of the island has long followed the traditional ways of celebrating the mass. Catholisicism is open to all but doesn't mean everyone who doesn't follow or believe in Catholicism are wrong.

      Just like those "invitations to joy" after the homilies in mass where the NCW member confesses about adultary or the clouded mind they had, the mass isn't where that should be shared but rather in confession or on a stage in the middle of that park or at the mall.

      The point is that the NCW is not for guam period...

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    4. Dear Anonymous at 8:51 pm, 

      No one was forced to enter the NCW. My family and I saw the "invitation to joy" and decided to attend. It was a decision we made. The NCW is also Catholic.

      The stories we shared are testimonies of what God had done in our lives. Why is it that you only heard the part about adultery and you did not hear the part where God took him out of that adulterous life?

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    5. Dear Anonymous at 8:51am,

      No one is forced to join the NCW. There around roughly 500 brothers in the NCW in Guam. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Aga%C3%B1a there 132,494 Catholics on Guam. The NCW in Guam account for .3373%, less than 1%, of Guam's Catholic population.

      You have not answered the previous post's questions: Could you elaborate why the NCW 'isn't good for guam. That's plain and simple.'? What is your personal experience and observations of the NCW to make you say this?

      There are other Catholic charisms on Guam. NCW is just one of them. Less than 1% of Guam's 132,494 population chose to become part of the NCW.

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    6. Dear Anonymous at 8:51am,

      we re all Christian brothers in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the NCW we are walking a special path to salvation. We don't go out to glow and shine in front of the crowd. We gather in quiet rooms to contemplate the wonders of the Lord in every area of life. Do you do this for the Lord, my brother?

      We don't go out bathing in publicity and adoration. We are withdrawn to do the job of the humble. Do you go out to reach the fallen, the struggling, the desperate? We go and tell about the love of the Lord! We acknowledge we are no better than them. We are all sinners, so we accept them and we are happy to see how much they also accept us as their brothers in the Lord! Who do accept as your brother in the Lord?

      We go out to the addicts, the homeless, the prostitutes.
      - We tell the drug addict that my brother, you don't need to shoot up yourself to the moon, because my Lord has a much better plan for you. He loves you and wants you to stop doing drugs.
      - We tell the porn addict that my brother, you don't need that dirty world of lewd imagination, because my Lord has a much better plan for you. He loves you and wants you to stop watching porn.
      - We tell the alcoholic that my brother, you don't need to drink yourself unconscious, because my Lord has a much better plan for you. He loves you and wants you to stop drinking.
      - We tell the homeless that my brother, you don't need to live on the street, because my Lord has a much better plan for you. He loves you and wants you to stop walking aimlessly all day long.
      - We tell the prostitute that my brother, you don't need to earn money by debasing yourself to pariah and live your life in mud, because my Lord has a much better plan for you. He loves you and wants you to stop selling your body.
      My brother, what do YOU tell people about the Lord?

      As sinners, we acknowledge that sin exists in the world. Even among us, my brother. Even among clergy. We have to pay for sin by giving up our comfort and convenience of being Sunday-only Catholics. What are you doing for Jesus, my brother, during weekdays? We acknowledge the sad facts of predator priests and homosexual priests among clergy who just did not became servants of God for the good reason. Some of them prey on willing partners, thus dwelling in sin. Some of them trespass all decency and target minors. How bad is that, my brother?! Very, very bad!

      What do you do to bring back the flock to the Lord? This is the question, my brother. We had the resources to set up a House of Prayer in Asan. When the assets of the church are in danger of selling, we establish firm and separate bases of stability that cannot be touched by lawsuit or archbishop. Is this not good, my brother? Tell me, what else can you do for the Lord, who asked you to make people his disciples all around the globe?!

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  2. The Vatican said on Thursday Pope Francis was on the side of victims of more than 300 "predator" priests in the United States accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades.

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 8:44 am,

      The Bishops should have stood by them seven decades ago. Seven decades later is too late. If Archbishop Flores had not moved Father Brouillard off-island, he would have been prosecuted and many other boys would not have been molested.

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    2. So every bishop prior to archbishop Byrnes is guilty of covering up the crimes of its priests.

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    3. Dear Anonymous at 11:34 am,

      No. Only the ones who covered it up. Archbishop Flores, for example, knew about Father Brouillard and sent him off-island before they could prosecute him.

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    4. When I desperately try to make sense of the daily scourges we as true Christian brothers receive on the face every single new day, I just plead to my Lord for more humbleness and humility in my heart. I would like to snap out and tell everybody: it is all lies and lies and lies! But I know Jesus did not open his mouth. We have to keep silence in the midst of persecution.

      Now, we see the bitter cover-up of all those crimes and abuses in Pennsylvania. Wow! How long, oh Lord?! How long should we endure this shame and insults? Forever, my Lord? Do you really want me to stay silent with quaint heart? Oh, heaven of heavens! Yes Lord, I have to admit, I have always known the answer down in the depths of my heart: YES, my Lord wants me to resign my bitterness, give it up all to Him and peacefully face the spits of our adversaries on my face! That is what He wants. Oh my, He really knows how to teach me humbleness!

      When I read of the glee and malice directed toward the adversaries and persecutors, I just cannot resist a quiet smile on my face. It feels so good to see them down, doesn't it. But wait... wait a minute, my brother, this is not what our catechists told us at all! Our catechists told us we are sinners and the price of sin is death. It is us sinners who made Jesus to pay the price in excruciating death for all sins on Earth! Our Lord saved us on Calvary, but we still have the residue of death in us. So we better be truly, truly humble, brothers! We have to do away with glee, malice and accusation of the accusers. It would only lead us down the slopes of a sinful world.

      When I pray for more humiliation, I do it to purify my heart off from pride and conceitedness. We have heard from our ancestors that gold is purified in fire! It is in the Bible. Are we there yet, brothers? Well, I don't think so. We just get more of it and even more afterward. Because, is it not easier to fight back and deny the accusations! It feels good to defend myself from the scorn and mockery. But would this lead me on the path of salvation? Would this lead me to Jesus? Would this lead me to become a Christian? See what the Lord says:

      "I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle." (Is. 50:6)

      I know I am not there yet, brothers. Please pray for me that I can abandon defiance and accept that we are all sinners, no matter what. I need the humble hearth of my Lord in me, otherwise I am just the worst of all.

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    5. So, what can be done to ensure that sexual abuse by the clergy doesn't happen again?

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    6. Dear Anonymous at 12:05 pm,

      Since the Boston Scandal hit, reforms were starting to be put in place to make certain that children are safe. Archbishop Byrnes is also doing the same thing since he came into the Archdiocese of Agana. If I am not mistaken, everyone who works or volunteers in the parish are being screened. Obviously, that is the proper way to go rather than passing a law, lifting the statutes of limitations.

      The seminary across the U.S. has also undergone some changes. I agree with Pope Francis when he said that gay seminarians should not be accepted into the seminary. That may sound discriminatory to some people, but putting a gay seminarian in a place full of only men is the same as putting a heterosexual man in a place full of only women.

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  3. The Vatican didn't say anything like that so stop listening to lies

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    1. It's news published online for all to see. It's not a lie.

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  4. Lately, I have been reflecting on the sufferings of people around me. Sudden death of a family member. Senior citizens alone. Marriage problems. Drug abuse. Alcohol abuse. Teenage suicides. And the list goes on.

    Do they know that there is a God? A God who loves them? A God who can help them if only they seek Him. I think the Church may have failed to emphasize God's love for them.

    From my experience, it was by attending an Initial Catechesis that I started to know and believe that God loves me. During the Catechesis, the catechists helped me to see God acting in my life. And proclaim that God loves me! I never heard someone say directly, emphatically and with conviction that 'God loves you!' And now having been in walking in my community for over 10 years now, I truly know this.

    The sufferings of people around saddens me since they believe that they are alone and that only they can 'fix' their problems. When I am able to talk personally with some of them, I share my experience of God's love for me. And I express that 'God loves you!' That God is allowing you to experience these sufferings. So that you can pray to God to take over and let His will be done. Then God begins to act.

    The brothers in the Way are passionate about proclaiming 'God loves you!' So when the opportunity arises, we share and listen to a brother in need. The NCW is not the only Catholic group or organization.

    But those suffering just need to know that there is a God.

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    1. ANON 3:28 How can people know God when people don't faith in GOD.To go to church people have to have some sort of faith.

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