Robert_Wild_-_Catherine_Doherty_Servant_of_God

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must agree. In matters which affect individuals, the obedience would come from the respective Director. In practice, this means that individuals are under their respective Directors for major, personal aspects of their lives; and the community’s direction, as a whole, is guided by all three Directors. So far, it’s working! But in daily life, there will be, and are, many situations where a man may take his obediences from a woman, or vice versa; or a priest from a lay person, or vice versa. A Director of a certain house, for example, may be a man or a woman. Then your obedience, on a day to day basis, is given to that person. The great key, of course, is to understand that obedience is always given to Christ himself. The frequent changing of superiors is purifying of the virtue of obedience. As we are challenged to obey, now this man, now this woman, now this priest, we are called to go beyond mother- or father-figures, and distorted clerical images. With such shifting and changeable superiors—sometimes daily—one is more and more led to understand that one is always obeying Christ. As I said above, I have lived in monastic communities, and know something about how obedience functions there. I can testify that our trinitarian arrangement is workable, and is working so far. It is not easy, and has its challenges. But, then, what authority structure doesn’t I explained this community structure to a monk in an Orthodox monastery once, and he simply said: “It will be more difficult, because it is more of the gospel.” Since we are trying to be Church, one of the graces we have to offer to the Church today is precisely deeper relationships in Christ among men and women, priests and laity, working and living very closely together. “Clericalism” is modified and purified by constant relationships with laity, and by recognizing their gifts. And the new “laicism” (lay people becoming as authoritarian as any priest) is modified and purified by the constant pres- 42
ence of priests, and by respecting their graces of ordination and teaching. The Church is a family. Our authority structure respects the graces of men and women, priests and laity—or at least, is trying to. The mystery of the Trinity has a “practical” application in how the election of a Director takes place. Catherine introduced the Russian concept of sobornost, unity of mind and heart. The Three Persons are totally one, though distinct as Persons. Whenever some kind of total unity is experienced on earth, a sobornost, an expression of the Trinity, has blessed the earth. (Catherine pointed to Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the infant Church, as an example of sobornost.) “Sobornost originates with the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit are completely one and they draw us to become one with them and with each other. We are to become as united together as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Sobornost is truly a Trinitarian concept.” (Constitution, 9) This unity, in a very real sense, is already a present reality, since the Trinity dwells within each one of us. Sobornost concerns overcoming all the obstacles in relationships so that this unity can be effectively, as well as essentially, present. In our “Way of Life” she calls us to achieve a total unanimity in the election of a Director. This has not been easy, but so far, with the grace of God, this has been achieved. The theology behind it is that if everyone is truly in a deep relationship of love with God and with one another, the Spirit will inspire all with the same choice. The goal of our Madonna House spirituality, therefore, in all of our houses, is to form a community of love, with the Trinity as our model. It is not a self-enclosed, turning inward, spirituality, except to meet the God who is within. The apostolic community of Acts 2:42—“faithful to the prayers, the brotherhood, and the breaking of bread”—must be complemented by Matthew 28:19— “Go out into the whole world and preach the good news.” 43
Page 2 and 3: “...the life of Catherine Doherty
Page 4 and 5: Madonna House Publications 2888 Daf
Page 7 and 8: Part One CATHERINE DOHERTY AND MADO
Page 9 and 10: community life—but they were all
Page 11 and 12: Movements convened in May, 1998, in
Page 13 and 14: a foundress grew over a period of t
Page 15 and 16: and upbringing, is a more accurate
Page 17 and 18: phers tell us, for something to rem
Page 19 and 20: Second World War, the racial integr
Page 21 and 22: ularized West, we would have an exp
Page 23 and 24: intermarriage, the close living tog
Page 25 and 26: ago. And when they hear that our fo
Page 27 and 28: sent. (His side of the family didn
Page 29 and 30: Catherine challenged not only the c
Page 31 and 32: consists mostly in how to love in s
Page 33 and 34: Combermere Before she came to Combe
Page 35 and 36: love” to be, in some real sense,
Page 37 and 38: In this regard I would add that, in
Page 39 and 40: 1934. This means that Catherine was
Page 41 and 42: Our joys, our gladness, our fun [at
Page 43: her life! She said that her whole l
Page 47 and 48: achievement—and probably the hard
Page 49 and 50: in their lives we see how the gospe
Page 51 and 52: the people in the world.” (Ibid.
Page 53 and 54: more way in which to love and serve
Page 55 and 56: mysticism. Several times in her dia
Page 57 and 58: From about 1951 until her death, Ca
Page 59 and 60: Her love for priests was extraordin
Page 61 and 62: What phase Becoming Church in a dee
Page 63 and 64: cludes by pointing out that Our Lad
Page 65 and 66: One reason for this historically ma
Page 67 and 68: After more than a decade of this se
Page 69 and 70: Arise—go! Sell all you possess. G
Page 71 and 72: Part Two CATHERINE’S CAUSE FOR CA
Page 73 and 74: for people’s search for guidance.
Page 75 and 76: to the whole Church. By petitioning
Page 77 and 78: ceed, and, more importantly, the Ho
Page 79 and 80: Beware of a Cult One of the tasks o
Page 81 and 82: a list of witnesses, both favorable
Page 83 and 84: slightly different insights. Eventu
Page 85 and 86: as a fascinating adventure of the S
Page 87 and 88: now the new magna charta for the pr
Page 89 and 90: Vatican’s Saint-making body. ‘R
Page 91 and 92: Relics Is it not a very human trait
Page 93 and 94: tuality shines forth and is a flame
Page 95 and 96:
and life itself,’ through a radic
Page 97 and 98:
Swiftly I run to my Lord with a hea
Page 99 and 100:
We must also be good stewards of ou
Page 101 and 102:
Beginnings at Madonna House Poustin
Page 103 and 104:
And in a personal note to me, Broth
Page 105 and 106:
There are also some personal witnes
Page 107 and 108:
The Glorification of the Saints in
Page 109 and 110:
temporary form, consists of a solem
Page 111 and 112:
5. “That the name of hieromartyr
Page 113 and 114:
Committee on canonization of saints
Page 115 and 116:
divisions do not reach all the way
Page 117 and 118:
also when the ‘miracle signs’ a
Page 119 and 120:
Consequently, the recognition of a
Page 121 and 122:
a reporter for Sign magazine, but h
Page 123 and 124:
etween East and West, a purpose tha
Page 125 and 126:
“Dear Fr. Wild, “I am delighted
Page 127 and 128:
patient. 95% of the time her impati
Page 129 and 130:
At the end of a month I left the wh
Page 131 and 132:
ny. I had found a secluded spot in
Page 133 and 134:
She said that she had visited Cathe
Page 135 and 136:
when we turned her she seemed so st
Page 137 and 138:
Alma and Carol Ann recorded the fol
Page 139 and 140:
nurtured and loved deeply and beaut
Page 141 and 142:
us praise the Lord! Come on, let us
Page 143 and 144:
And in that total abandonment of he
Page 145 and 146:
Endnotes 1. Trans. Joseph Daries, C
Page 147 and 148:
1922-1929 Life of a refugee. In the
Page 149 and 150:
for families, is opened. St. Benedi
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