May 1st is Religious Brothers Day!

In 2021, I was both honored and humbled to be invited to deliver the keynote address for the Annual Religious Brothers Conference. It was a virtual event rather than a live one due to Covid restrictions, which was fine with me because I didn’t have to travel and get all dressed up. The theme I was given to muse on was “Brotherhood in the 21st Century,” which inspired a whole new series of images of my favorite Brother saints from across the ages and cultures of Church history. Each of these holy Brothers in his own way has inspired me over the years to creatively be who I am, perfectly well. I would love to share a few of them with you on this 2023 Religious Brothers Day. But first, let us look at a more recent image of Jesus, the Big Brother of all Brothers.

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

JESUS THE GARDENER In recent years, one of my favorite images of Jesus is inspired by the Easter story in John’s Gospel wherein Mary Magdalene approaches the empty tomb on Easter morning and mistakenly thinks Jesus is the humble gardener- not a high priest or bishop, nor a chief rabbi or pope, but a simple gardener! A humble Brother laborer! A creator of life in all its glorious color! Whether it’s Gethsemane or the Garden of the Resurrection, we are called to be there for and with each other, walking in the Garden of Life and creating glimpses of heaven on Earth.

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER May 1 was established as the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker to create a Christian alternative to May Day, the day established by the Communists to celebrate the common worker. Dorothy Day, who had great devotion to Saint Joseph, used this feast day to launch the Catholic Worker newspaper in New York City. While the Communists were holding their big rally in Union Square, she and her fellow workers were distributing copies of the newspaper as a way to present Catholic Social Teaching to the hungry, jobless masses in the midst of the Great Depression.

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI Like Jesus the Gardener, Francis was interested in nothing more than celebrating the life-giving beauty of all creation and all creatures. He even called the sun his Brother, and his sister the moon. At the very heart of Franciscan Spirituality was, and still is, the importance of living life in humility, simplicity and goodness, all the goals of a good religious Brother! Because Francis never desired elevated status or privilege of any kind, he remained an unordained Brother, a simple friar who discovered the holy presence of God in all things and all people.

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES With all due respect to Dominic, Catherine and Thomas Aquinas, I must admit that Brother Martin is my favorite Dominican Saint. Rising above the racist and clerical teachings and practices of the Catholic Church in his day, Martin evolved out of the margins with mature and self-confident spirituality to become not only a model of gentleness and compassion in his own day but also what he is today: the Patron Saint of Race Relations; Biracial People; Public Health Workers; Hairdressers and Barbers; and Veterinarians! He did it all by simply being himself perfectly well.

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

BLESSED FRA ANGELICO Giovanni de Fiesole earned the nickname “Fra Angelico” because of his sweet and gentle nature. Not only was he a most impressive Dominican Brother, but was one of the great master painters of the Italian Renaissance. The walls of his home at San Marco Priory in Florence are adorned with beautiful frescoes illustrating the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints. These frescoes were created to inspire the prayers and meditations of his fellow Dominican friars and community mates and they still do that for visitors today. Go to Florence and see for yourself!

©️Michael O’Neill McGrath, OSFS

A CLOSING THOUGHT FROM POPE FRANCIS In these modern times of declining numbers of Brothers, sisters and priests in religious life, it is good to recall that each of these saintly Brothers also lived in challenging times of reform and division, but each one did joyfully what he was called to do and each one was the person he was called to be: hard-working and devoted; generous and compassionate; active and contemplative men of their times and timeless messengers of the Gospel. Let us follow their lead in our own unique way today.

Happy National Brothers Day!

Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS

Salesian Artist

Camden, NJ

*Brother Mickey's books, prayer starters, Christmas Cards and Calendars are available at Clear Faith Publishing. Brother Mickey's images can be purchased at Trinity Stores.

Live Jesus! Virginia Event Coverage & Speaker Presentations

On Saturday, March 18, the Oblates hosted the Live Jesus! at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, VA.

“Be at Peace” was the theme. Attendees gathered in prayer and fellowship while enjoying presentations by Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, Sister Susan Louise Eder, OSFS, and Tom Opfer, Ph.D., Principal of St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, VA.

It was beautiful to come together to share in the Salesian Spirit!  Thank you to all those who attended and volunteered!

Let us all Live Jesus!

Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS: “Be at Peace”

Sister Susan Louise Eder: “Crooked Paths to Peace”

Dr. Tom Opfer: “Finding Peace Amidst Everyday Business”

Father John Kolodziej, OSFS: Homily at Live Jesus! Mass

Our next Live Jesus! event will be held on April 29 at

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Glen Mills, PA.

Learn more here.

Live Jesus! Virginia Event Coverage & Speaker Presentations

On Saturday, March 18, the Oblates hosted the Live Jesus! at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, VA.

“Be at Peace” was the theme. Attendees gathered in prayer and fellowship while enjoying presentations by Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, Sister Susan Louise Eder, OSFS, and Tom Opfer, Ph.D., Principal of St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, VA.

It was beautiful to come together to share in the Salesian Spirit!  Thank you to all those who attended and volunteered!

Let us all Live Jesus!

Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS: “Be at Peace”

Sister Susan Louise Eder: “Crooked Paths to Peace”

Dr. Tom Opfer: “Finding Peace Amidst Everyday Business”

Father John Kolodziej, OSFS: Homily at Live Jesus! Mass

Our next Live Jesus! event will be held on April 29 at

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Glen Mills, PA.

Learn more here.

Spiritual Family Tree

I have always been fascinated by history, especially the history of my family.  Learning about my roots and the branches of my family tree always interests me. When I discover someone I never knew existed I get especially excited.

I was recently looking at old census records on ancestry.com and found that my grandfather, Michael Conroy, had a little sister.  My family always led me to believe that my grandfather and his four brothers only had one sister (my Aunt Helen).  When I looked at the records and census materials online, I realized that my grandfather had a little sister, Nora, who died at the age of ten from influenza.

While I don't have any other information about young Nora Conroy, I do know that she is part of my family story and that she is someone who I can now pray for (and to) as I include all of my aunts, uncles and cousins in my daily prayer.

I thought of Nora when I came across the story of Saint Dominic Savio.  Dominic was a young student in Italy who lived a holy life that is still remembered today.  On March 9, 1857, Dominic died from complications due to pneumonia at the age of 14.  He had just started studying with Father (later Saint) John Bosco to become a priest in the Salesian order.

Dominic never became an official novice or seminarian, but he was certainly Salesian as he followed the teachings of Saint Francis de Sales. Throughout his short life, young Dominic was able to teach others by his example.  Dominic showed that holiness can be achieved through the practice of simple, everyday actions in our daily life.  Being friendly, faithful and helping others was the way that Dominic put the spirituality of Francis de Sales into practice as a child and teenager.  

Dominic once said, "I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God."  Saint John Bosco, Dominic's mentor and guide, later described this young saint as someone who found joy and holiness in doing the ordinary things for love of Jesus.  John Bosco would tell the Salesians that "religion must surround us like the air we breathe.  Dominic Savio wore holiness like the clothes on his back."

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the Oblates have always considered the Salesians of Don Bosco as spiritual "cousins."  Just as I was humbled to find my Aunt Nora in the Conroy family story, it is great to discover that the Oblate family has a young cousin like Dominic Savio in our spiritual family tree.   May the example of Saint Dominic inspire all of us - no matter our age - to do the ordinary in an extraordinary way.  As we live each day guided by Jesus, may we work each day for holiness.  Francis de Sales encouraged us to be close to God with these reassuring words:  "Let God be the air in which your heart breathes at ease."  May Saint Dominic Savio and all of the deceased members of our own families help us to find holiness in the air and in our hearts.

Father Jack Kolodziej, OSFS

Provincial, Wilmington-Philadelphia Province

Father Crossin, OSFS featured in Arlington Herald

Father John W. Crossin, OSFS

The Arlington Catholic Herald recently ran an article entitled, "Christian unity may not be so far off, says former head of bishops’ ecumenical office.” This features the newest book by Father John W. Crossin, OSFS, Moving into the Ecumenical Future: Foundations of a Paradigm for Christian Ethics. This book was the topic of a talk Father Crossin gave at St. John Neumann Parish (Reston, VA) earlier this month. In the article, Father John is described as "an optimistic ecumenist." From the article: “As an Oblate, Father Crossin’s 50-plus years of formation in the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales certainly contributes to his hopeful stance."

Father Crossin’s book proposes ten pillars for common Christian Ethics and invites dialogue on the topic. He holds a Ph.D. in Moral Theology, served as Executive Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and has published books and articles on Virtue Ethics and Salesian Spirituality.

Father Crossin will speak on “The Church and the World” on Friday, March 31 at 7:00 pm at St. John Neumann Church, 11900 Lawyers Rd., Reston, VA.

To purchase the book click on: Moving into the Ecumenical Future: Foundations of a Paradigm of Christian Ethics 

Saint Katharine Drexel

“If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them.  Let us open wide our hearts.  It is joy which invites us.  Press forward and fear nothing.”   - Saint Katharine Drexel

This time last year two men with opposite impacts on the world were in the news.  Only a few days apart, Dr. Paul Farmer died unexpectedly at 62 years of age.   The same week President Vladimir Putin decided to commence an “absurd and cruel war” in Ukraine, as Pope Francis aptly described it.

Mr. Putin is well known, in the news frequently since his coming to power back in 1999.  Paul Farmer is less known.  He was one of the founders of Partners in Health, an organization based on the belief that modern health care can and should be available to everyone, everywhere in the world. The belief arose from working in collaboration with people in communities without the type of care that is standard in affluent countries.  Dr. Farmer summed up the belief that underlines this work: “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”   

Partners in Health brings people together to build up medical institutions in places throughout the world without access to modern medical care.  Paul Farmer and his partners are effective because they bring openness and humility to the communities they encounter.  This encourages, and even requires, working with others, getting buy-in and engaging in back and forth.  Step by step, person by person, the effort builds up something good, true and beautiful.  

But it is so much easier to destroy than to build up.  Forces that destroy stir up and harness fear, hate, jealousy, ignorance and distance to energize people.   Far from fostering encounters that could lead to understanding and connections, destroying divides, imposes and does not listen to any voices outside its own echo chamber.  

Clearly, Mr. Putin is able to do that in the authoritarian Russia he has helped shape.  Beginning last February, in this one conflict, millions of lives have been disrupted, hundreds of thousands have died, billions of dollars—and rubles—that could have been directed to improving the lot of humanity, have been wasted creating or mitigating this tragedy.

Mother Drexel (right) with Navajos; courtesy and copyright the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Pope Francis often notes that when we bridge differences and make contact with people different from us, the poor and people on the margins of our world, our hearts grow larger.  It is important to remember the many efforts to build up good in this world.  The loud and disruptive negative can overshadow the good.

The same season as these one-year anniversaries, the Church Year highlights another outstanding Christian who can inspire us.  Saint Katharine Drexel came from a very wealthy family in Philadelphia.  Despite their status, her family served the needy out of their home each week.  The Drexels had a close family friend who was a bishop in a Western territory. Through him, the family encountered Native Americans and learned about their experience as conquered peoples who were pushed to the margins to make way for the young republic’s westward expansion.

With this background shaping her vocation, Katharine founded a group of women, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, to reach out to Native Americans and African Americans.  The sisters shared the faith of Christ, building schools and parishes. Pictures of Mother Drexel in full, formal Victorian Era nun’s habit next to a group of Native Americans or Black Americans illustrate vividly that these were people from very different worlds encountering one another.

Our world has a long way to go before the joy of the Lord crowds out all fears and smallness of heart and everyone sees everyone else as sister or brother of the one God above.  In unmistakable ways, Saint Katharine Drexel and Paul Farmer demonstrate the power of faith in action that each one of us is a part of.  This Lent let us be sure to renew our hearts by keeping company with sisters and brothers who share the joy of Christ in their open hearts.

Father Mike McCue, OSFS

Chaplain, Our Lady of Lourdes Virtua Hospital

Camden, NJ