I have a special place in my heart for St. Michael's Abbey because it was home to a dear priest friend, Fr. Leo Celano. The way we met was unusual. Back in the 1970s I was involved in some of the early rescues. In one I was chained to an abortion table at Milan Vuitch's facility. Vuitch was responsible for the change in the abortion laws in D.C. He was doing them illegally in his basement before Roe v. Wade, and just moved his shingle to the front door to continue his bloody business. He opened up a shabby office where he quipped he'd kill black babies for free.
The photo of me chained to the table popped up all over the place including the National Catholic Register.
Fr. Leo was studying at the time at Catholic University and one afternoon he called and thanked me for defending the babies. I invited him for dinner. It was October and near Halloween. He arrived with a pumpkin for the kids, a big bottle of red wine, a bouquet of flowers and a smile and booming voice that filled our home with laughter. What a blessing to know him over the course of about forty years! We travelled to California, probably thirty years ago and went to St. Michael's Abbey for a visit. Father became our tour guide at San Juan Capistrano. I can never think of him without hearing his voice and remembering his smile and his great love for his "Mama Rose."
We were fellow rescuers during the heyday of Operation Rescue, Father out west and me in the east. He was arrested and imprisoned for 22 days in Los Angeles, one of the more brutal rescue sites in the country where police used nunchucks and actually broke bones.
For a time, Father was chaplain at a male juvenile facility. He was a modern day Don Bosco who loved his boys. Some of them were murderers. All of them were felons. Over 80% grew up fatherless. Fr. Leo gave them love and hope. “They can be good men. They can be great men. They can be saints."
We were fellow rescuers during the heyday of Operation Rescue, Father out west and me in the east. He was arrested and imprisoned for 22 days in Los Angeles, one of the more brutal rescue sites in the country where police used nunchucks and actually broke bones.
For a time, Father was chaplain at a male juvenile facility. He was a modern day Don Bosco who loved his boys. Some of them were murderers. All of them were felons. Over 80% grew up fatherless. Fr. Leo gave them love and hope. “They can be good men. They can be great men. They can be saints."
Fr. Celano died March 1, 2022. I pray for him and also beg for his intercession. He was one of the most joyful people I've ever known, filled with life and hope. He was nearly blind in his final years from macular degeneration, but never let it discourage him. Dear Fr. Leo, please intercede for me and help me to experience and reflect the joy in life so evident in you.
Please pray for the happy repose of his soul and for his fellow Norbertines.
Dear Mary Ann, if you ever get the chance to visit the new abbey, don't pass it up. It is glorious. The Norbertines have been such a huge part of my life, I would have to write pages to explain. They are amazing, a gift. I do miss them since fleeing CA. Even though I am a native Californian, I couldn't stay any longer. My only disappointment is that the new abbey church altar is not really built to be conducive to the TLM...sadly. But the priests are amazing, nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @9:32 am - - - re first paragraph. What is the matter with you? Anywhere this picture was shown, it always came with an anti-abortion byline. No one in their right mind would say what you did, which doesn't speak well for your frame of mind IMHO.
ReplyDeletePlus "decolletage blouse"? We all know what you look at first - a woman's chest! You must need glasses since it's clear that the blouse has a panel across the V-neckline to insure modesty. Besides, what makes you an expert on proper clothing to wear while protesting and going into an abortion clinic to save children from being murdered?
I don’t understand why you allow comments like this on the blog. Commenting anonymously is fine, but this is paragraph after paragraph of rambling. But - it’s your space. You don’t even have to allow this comment in the combox. I just hate to see a great blog polluter in the combox.
ReplyDeleteI vacillated about it, Mike. I tend to allow comments unless they are blasphemous. I'll give it some thought. It was certainly off topic.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the anonymous comment was allowed either, but most especially in light of another (?) anonymous comment in the Luminous Mystery thread. Why Susan wasn't allowed to respond is a mystery to me. I was and am curious how she would have responded. Ah well, your blog, your rules.
ReplyDeleteI'll assume other readers understand at least a third of what was said here.
ReplyDeleteI decided to remove the comment after getting another that continued in the same vein. That person has commented in like mode a number of times. You get to recognize the trolling personality. I think I'll be more discerning in the future. They generally try to get you off on a tangent defending yourself, which is exactly what was done here.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other post, Debbie, I reach a point where I'm tired of the pointless wrangling and, as you say, "my blog, my rules."