Order priests find something unique to follow

Parishioners also have been hospitable to Father Spenard, the latest of many Augustinian friars who have served at the parish since 1858, when it was known as St. John the Baptist Church.

Being a member of the same order of priests that has been in St. Augustine's over the years makes Father Spenard seem part of an extended parish family.

"It's like you have a common ancestry, a shared history," he said.

Order priests who minister in parishes in the Albany Diocese spoke with The Evangelist about ways in which the spirituality of the Augustinians, Redemptorists, Carmelites or Franciscans manifests itself in their pastoral work. They also shared their thoughts on community, attire, retirement and other lifestyle aspects that make them different from diocesan priests.

REDEMPTORISTS

Living in community is one of the benefits of being an order priest, Father O'Blaney noted, and it's even better when you're so close to the priests assigned to your parish.

"We know each other very well. I've known Father Sullivan since 1947. The pastor before me was my associate pastor in Annapolis, Maryland," he said. "Father Cannon taught me in the seminary, and I was his colleague in the seminary. Now I'm his pastor. The roles get reversed pretty quickly."

The priests at St. Clement's pray and eat together, have community meetings and read spirituality aids that come from their order's Brooklyn headquarters.

One way in which Redemptorists distinguish themselves is through their style of preaching, one instilled by St. Alphonsus Liguori, their founder.

"Our style is supposed to be simple. We're not supposed to be rhetorical in a flourishing kind of way, but direct and understandable. That's something we've been taught pretty consistently," Father O'Blaney said.

Redemptorists see themselves as being good confessors and close to the people they serve, and Our Lady plays an important role in their spirituality.

"We always try to foster devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We're very Marian-oriented," Father O'Blaney said. St. Clement's has an Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena at 7 p.m. each Wednesday. The parish center also pays tribute to the many men and women in the Redemptorist tradition who have earned a place in Church history.

"Every room in the parish center is named after a Redemptorist, either a saint or a blessed, and in each room there's a picture and a short bio," Father O'Blaney said.

The St. John Neumann Residence, an infirmary for Redemptorists which is adjacent to the church, adds another taste of the order's influence in the parish. Priests living there will preach at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena, and Father O'Blaney and the other priests living in the rectory will join them for meals. Students from St. Clement's School also will bring Christmas gifts to the priests at the Residence and spend time with them.

St. Clement's has a mission, St. Therese in Gansevoort, and priests from the parish take turns celebrating Mass there each Sunday. Priests occasionally wear the Redemptorist habit, which includes a black cassock, white collar, Rosary beads and cincture.

CARMELITES

Today, only three Carmelites live at St. Joseph's: Rev. Romaeus Cooney, pastor; Rev. Albert Pavlik, associate pastor; and Rev. Vincent McDonald, its first pastor. Father Cooney also serves as administrator of Holy Trinity Church in Troy.

Working in a parish that had been staffed by diocesan priests was difficult for that first group of Carmelites, but parishioners have come to appreciate the order priests during the past 30 years, Father Cooney said.

"In the beginning, there was opposition to us, but that's completely changed," he said. "There aren't many parishes in the Diocese with three priests."

Carmelites have a sacramentary and lectionary that they use to bring the spirituality of their order into St. Joseph's. Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Therese the Little Flower are two saints whose feast days are celebrated in the parish, and the Carmelites honor Our Lady with a hymn at the end of Mass. Parishioners see the Carmelite influence in the priests' dress, which may consist of a brown tunic and scapular, and a white capuche, or cape.

Father Cooney enjoys being a Carmelite because of the order's prayerful lifestyle and emphasis upon community living. "That's a benefit, that we're not alone, in a sense," he said.

The parish community also seems to be getting stronger, and Father Cooney is grateful for the many parishioners who are so committed to St. Joseph's Church. "We have a lot of volunteers helping around the place. They have a great love of the building," he said.

AUGUSTINIANS

Father Spenard lives with two Augustinians, Revs. Edward Dixey and Joseph Keffer, and their community lifestyle brings them closer to each other and diocesan priests who occasionally stop by to talk. The order follows traditional religious vows, and the Augustinian emphasis on prayer is very much a part of their spirituality.

"Our heritage includes a wealth of devotions," Father Spenard said. "These are things that are part of you and, therefore, part of your preaching and part of the people you serve." Such saints as Augustine of Hippo, Thomas of Villanova, Monica, Rita and Nicholas of Tolentine hold places of high regard in the order; and statues, paintings or stained glass windows depict them in church.

An old coat-of-arms of the Augustinians from the Middle Ages is painted on the ceiling in the back of church and features a pierced heart, cross, cincture, book and a Latin phrase that means, "Take up and read!"

Augustinians often serve in different dioceses or countries, and they bring this global outlook to their local work. "We bring a sense of the wider Church, and you also have a sense of being a part of the diocese you're in," Father Spenard said.

When Augustinians, who wear a black tunic, capuche and cincture, serve at a parish, people often grow close to them and miss them when they're gone, as happened in 1996, when the order pulled out of five parishes in the Albany Diocese. "I think many people were surprised at the attachment they had to the order," Father Spenard said.

FRANCISCANS

Father Bionda, who previously was associate pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Watervliet, said the friars' influence is noticed right away by parishioners of St. Anthony's. "The first thing they would see is we're dressed in brown," he said, referring to the tunic worn by the Friars during Mass.

The way in which friars conduct themselves at Mass also gives people a peek into the Franciscan lifestyle. "Sincerity and simplicity are probably the keynotes to how we celebrate liturgy. And reverently, just as St. Francis was," he said.

There are Perpetual Novenas to St. Anthony, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Jude, and the friars look to several saints as role models, including St. Anthony, who was commissioned by St. Francis of Assisi to teach theology to Friars, and St. Bonaventure, who divided nations into provinces to govern friars better. The parish also marks the June 13 feast day of St. Anthony with a special celebration.

Father Bonaventure finds living in community to be helpful in his ministry. "It's good because you always have somebody to talk to," he said. Other members of their order who serve in the Holy Name Province include Rev. Emery Parillo, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Watervliet, and Rev. Paul Guido, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Palenville.

Friars usually live in community, but in the case of some parishes, "they've become smaller and smaller, and you really can't afford two priests," said Father Bionda, who occasionally sees friars from other parishes. He'll also be with them in Wappingers Falls during an upcoming retreat.

(04-22-99) [[In-content Ad]]