Installment No. 2

Setting the Tone
 



 

The Call

“See my servant, whom I uphold; my Chosen One, in whom I delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will reveal justice to the nations of the world. He will be gentle—he will not shout nor quarrel  in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged. He won’t be satisfied until truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth.”

 

As I sat in the church pew in January, 1992 on the Feast Day of Jesus, I heard the above reading from Isaiah 42 and instinctively believed that God was talking to me. It was so  powerful that I looked around me to see if anyone else was impacted. It was like thinking someone is waving at you from the other side of a crowded room and you look around to see if the wave is meant for someone else. No one else looked as stunned as I was so it was definitely my call, one that I would hear many times over the next few Januaries. That experience was to be the first of many profound “spiritual doo-doos” especially in the 1990s.

When the Holy Spirit plucks you out of nowhere and starts inspiring you pretty directly, it’s difficult to ignore! There is no mistaking it! When you are singled out, you feel like you're the only one called. You and you alone. And there is no mistaking that you have to respond, probably like when Jesus chose his Apostles; or even when He picked the first seven women who were ordained by three Roman Catholic bishops in Austria several years ago; or the  Chosen Few among the hundreds of thousands of Catholic clergy sexual abuse victims who are bringing the church to justice today; even Pope Francis who is trying to right the wrongs in the church. The call is inescapable no matter where you are or what you are doing. 

That was the beginning of the formation  of CITI-Celibacy Is the Issue though I did not know it at the time. The call was real--the blueprint missing.

The Eye Opener

The eye-opening experience that led to the mission was my childhood friend Jeanne who visited me at my Dad’s funeral. in February 1991. I had not seen Jeanne in 40 years so imagine my surprise when her response to my question, "So what does someone our age do around here for excitement?" (I knew she had been divorced). She said, "My life is quite complete. I have been in a relationship with a priest for 13 years." I was speechless. I had never heard of such a thing! 

 Jeanne and I reconnected and shared lunch several times over the next few months. My family was going to Maine  frequently to clean out and sell our homestead. Since I had recently discovered the shortages in the Roman Catholic priesthood while trying to find a priest to visit my Mom, I was too curious not to ask questions about her relationship with her priest friend. This was all so new to me. 

I would later spend many hours at various libraries in Maine and Boston during 1991 and 1992, where I discovered priests in relationships, priests who had married and clergy sexual abuse. While churches were closing in the Midwest, nothing so public was happening on the East Coast.  In fact, eleven families in a remote area of Wisconsin had become Episcopalian because their local  Catholic church was closed and sold to another denomination. The congregation had been forced to drive great distances to attend Sunday Mass. Regarding clergy sexual abuse, I found a 15-page article that appeared in Vanity Fair in December, 1991 regarding a very public case in New Orleans, where the priest perpetrator had been hidden from the courts for two years because he was a friend of the Catholic District Attorney.

Another powerful "spiritual happening" occurred in 1991 at the funeral of the father of a friend of ours, a few months after that of our parents. The impact of another grieving family so soon after my own parents never occurred to me, else I might not have attended. I cried throughout . When the casket was coming down the church aisle to leave for the cemetery, all of a sudden I felt a loving arm against my back, holding me. I turned left, right and behind. No one had touched me. It was definitely the spirit of some being or Being. I'll never forget that moment.

Our religion was not a participatory religion. My recollection is that we were never taught theology or the Scriptures, only church rules and regulations. and we were not really spiritually aware as children at such sacraments like Baptism (birth), First Communion (7 years old) and Confirmation at about 13 years old. Even to this day, the Catholic Church prefers we not read the Bible unless an ordained priest is available to provide the church's "interpretation" as our local congregation was recently told at a winter retreat. It is therefore, not unusual that we as  mainstream Catholics would not remember being informed of the Vatican II Synod that took place in the 1960s.

A simplistic summary of Vatican II: Pope John 23rd called the Synod explaining that it was time to "open the windows and let the fresh air in." Among other major changes that might take place like Mass in the vernacular, it was expected that birth control would now be allowed among practicing Catholics. Most important to those inside the walls was the issue of optional celibacy for priests. The expectation was that priests would now be allowed to marry.  Unfortunately, our beloved Pope died while the Synod was in progress. When Pope Paul VI took over, everything changed--and nothing changed regarding these major issues except Mass in the local language.

The twenty years that followed saw a mass exodus of priests, 9 out of 10 to marry. Of those, 40%-45% married nuns. Thus, the beginning of priest shortages in the church. A sociological study  conducted in the 1980s with files from diocesan archives is available in the book Full Pews and Empy Altars (Schoenherr and Young, 1993).

In the spring of 1992, someone recommended that I read Shattered Vows by award-winning journalist and married priest David Rice. It was an account of some of the priests who left their clerical status to marry. The book was translated into eight languages and became a bestseller in several European countries with a television documentary to follow.  Shattered Vows was blocked from distribution in the U.S. When the U.S. version was finally released, it was abridged, edited to remove pages that implicated the bishops and their harsh treatment of priests who married.  (Later when the original unabridged bestseller edition was finally published for the U.S. audience, the Catholic Church bought the U.S. publishing house and the newly-printed books never made it to the retail shelves. One can occasionally find a used copy of the original book on Amazon.com.)

I was particularly drawn to the chapter featuring Carla and Paolo Camellini, a Carmelite priest from Italy. Carla was a church-authenticated visionary like St. Teresa of Avila, founder of the Carmelite order, both having spiritually ecstatic relationships with Jesus. Carla, a widow with two children spent summer vacations in the area where Fr. Paolo happened to be the local pastor. During one of her vacations, she experienced an intercession with Jesus,  directing her to tell Paulo that they were to be married, and to form an international association of married priests. (There were over 100,000  married priests worldwide at the time.) Carla was reluctant to approach this priest she hardly knew, but did as she was told. Within two weeks, Paolo was granted a dispensation from Rome from his celibacy vows and they were married.

Ten years later, Carla received a new Divine message that “it was time” to begin the work on a global married priest movement, which became the International Federation of Married Priests, formed by Paolo, Rev. Heinz Jurgen Vogels, then President of the German Married Priest movement and one or two other married priests from various European countries.

 

                                             Carla Camellini, October, 1995, Assisi Italy

I was profoundly touched by the story of the Camellinis because through my many readings and prayerful moments the previous few months, Teresa of Avila was  strongly in my presence and I had no idea why. I contacted Shattered Vows author David Rice in Ireland and said, “I have to meet Paolo and Carla.” His response, “It would be Impossible because they live in a very small remote Italian village and they don’t speak English." (I would meet them a year later.) St. Teresa of Avila’s presence every day was so strong,  I was crushed at the news of being unable to communicate with the Camellinis, but kept wondering, “What does Teresa of Avila have to do with all this?” There was also a lot of “Why ME?” going on too.

Prior to my involvement as a now more informed Catholic, I had also never  heard of mystical theologians. The spiritual inspirations during CITI's foundation especially in 1992 were so frequent at times that I was afraid I was beginning to "lose it." I would wake up  in the morning and say to Dick, “Wow! Do you know what the Holy Spirit said last night?” His response, “Sure.” He thought for sure I had gone off the deep end. 

I was  finally given the name of mystical theologian Dr. Keith Egan connected with Notre Dame. When I related to him all that was happening, He said, “I believe you. Stop worrying about where the messages are coming from and just do what you’re told.” At that point, I knew that at least I wasn't nuts, and followed his direction. Dr. Egan also referred me to Sister Vilma at a nearby Carmelite Monastery and suggested that I visit her at some point. However, when I called, she was traveling doing retreats and would not be available until fall.

 

On October 15, 1992, I was traveling to the western part of Massachusetts doing some sales work.  For some reason, Teresa of Avila was taking over my thought process throughout the day. I couldn't concentrate on my work and couldn't figure out why. When I returned to our office in Framingham about 6:30 p.m. just prior to going home, I felt compelled to reach Sr. Vilma right away. I called the Monastery and was told, that Sr. Vilma "could not come to the phone right now. This is the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila and Sr. Vilma is very busy getting ready for a special service at 7:00 tonight." I freaked out! I quickly shut out the lights, closed the office door and went home.

 

A pamphlet was in our mailbox the next day announcing a series of mystical workshops at a Franciscan Monastery in Northern Massachusetts and the first one would be featuring St. Teresa of Avila. Needless to say, I attended.  The talk was given by Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh, a Carmelite who had spent his life researching this saint and had written many books on her. Fr. Kavanaugh said, and this was confirmed later by Sr. Vilma, that the main focus of Teresa of Avila and the Carmelite order was to pray for the "priesthood" and for the "preservation of the sacraments."

On November 3, 1994, Paulo and Carla Camellini wrote me that "one of the last message from Jesus to Carla was to proclaim Santa Teresa D'Avila like Patron Saint of Married Priests mission. As you can see, through to Teresa D'Avila , God joint us to you and you to us." [sic.]

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A Little of my Background

A Life of Extended Blessings

January 9, 2014

"Fighting ideas is like fighting clouds. You can punch and kick, but what difference will it make? The way to impact the world today is by tackling the tangible items."

When I read the above in my horoscope a few days ago, it was like re-living my experiences in Rentapriest, a name that is still being googled more frequently than its original parent company name CITI or Celibacy Is the Issue. The horoscope reading finally inspired me to begin to reminisce on paper (blog) about the 20 or so years of life-changing events for myself as well as those who may have been impacted by Rentapriest, be they Roman Catholic priests, their spouses or the recipients of their ministry, or the many who have supported them and the mission of optional celibacy in the Catholic Church.

For those new to the story, Rent A Priest (Rentapriest) is a free referral service of married Catholic priests (priests who married) available for sacramental ministry to Catholics and others needing spiritual assistance.

My mother, Yvonne Blanche Gousse Labbe, was the inspiration for the founding of CITI/Rentapriest, for it was in her time of need that I discovered the shortage of priests and subsequently priests who married, Catholic clergy sexual abuse* and a host of other politics in the Catholic Church, what I had thought was my sanctuary.

The last photo I have of my Mom and me, taken March, 1991, two weeks before she died.

In the summer of 2013, I was told that one of my mother's ancestors, Etienne de Lessard, donated the land for the Ste. Anne de Beaupre Shrine in Ste Anne de Beauce, Quebec, Canada, I thought, "Why am I not surprised. This is just another one of those 'doo-doo doo-doo moments in my life." And so my husband Dick and I arranged a trip North. I just wanted to see with my own eyes, and to drink the spirit of, Etienne de Lessard, who is buried in the Church. Ste. Anne of course was Jesus' grandmother and the Shrine is one of the foremost healing sanctuaries in the world.

My Mom was a very special woman. We've always described her as an angel, also a very smart and strong woman. A Canadian priest cousin of my Dad's told him of his betrothal to my mother in 1933 that she was "un morceau d'or" (a piece of gold). The Ste Anne lineage was just another confirmation for me.

Yvonne Blanche Gousse Labbe, L'Abbe (Rev.) Lucien Lacharite, cousin/officiant, Raoul Ovide Labbe, married July 4, 1933

Divine intervention led me to CITI/Rentapriest in 1992 and the most phenomenal journey of my life. The Holy Spirit even provided a nonprofit specialist, married priest Rev. Donald Horrigan, to help me transition to retirement when it was time in 2011. The stories behind the work of the Holy Spirit during the 20 years of my involvement with CITI/Rentapriest have never been told. I had been warned early on that only scholastic justification would be recognized by the religious community, so "Don't tell those stories." Well, this is the beginning of the stories that need to be told before the end of my own life.

CITI/Rentapriest was "produced and directed" by the Holy Spirit. I was just an instrument. I have no other explanation for the many coincidences--God-incidence, providence or "doo-doo doo-doo happenings"--with regard to my life in the movement.

Perhaps the earliest unusual spiritual experience I remember was playing the part of Jesus in the first, second and third grades. I still wonder why the nuns would have chosen a girl for the role in a co-ed school with many boys available in my class. (I often wonder why the Holy Spirit chose a woman for Rentapriest too). There was very little dialogue for my part of the baby Jesus in the school play during the first two years. However, I remember having to learn quite a few lines the third time I played the part.

During grade school, we lived  a mile or so from the church. I remember spending much of my weekend time at the church. I was fascinated by weddings and funerals, especially the beautiful hymns. I don't recall much about the funerals in terms of the dead or grieving families, but I do remember the confetti and pretty wedding gowns. In fact, we would gather the confetti and bring it home for the plays we put on in the garage.

I remember writing plays and directing them; in particular one in which the Blessed Mother was Annette Baril from up the street. Annette's mother had the most beautiful peonies I had ever seen so I staged a scene where there would be a peony at the Blessed Mother's feet and of course, that would have to be portrayed by Annette since she brought the flowers. In sixth or seventh grade, I remember writing and directing a play for the entire school including the faculty of Presentation of Mary sisters and the pastor and curates. It featured my friend Jackie Lessard as Alice Blue Gown, a popular song in the mid to late 1940s. Jackie jokes today that the reason she got the part was because she was the only one who had a blue gown.

During these early years, a neighbor and I would also spend some Saturdays at the convent helping the nuns clean up (wash windows, dust, etc.). My spiritual devotion was pretty strong. I remember having Holy Water near my bedroom door and talking to God in everyday conversation instead of rote prayers. I still do that. Once my Mom asked if I had thought of becoming a nun. That probably burst my bubble as it was never in my frame of reference even though I enjoyed the company of the religious...nuns and priests, even to this day. They have always provided a comfort factor in terms of "God talk" and I love a Home Mass, a gathering of friends and family for more spiritual sharings.

The friendships I had with nuns and priests as a schoolgirl and into my adulthood was probably a major reason why the revelations in 1991-92 (shortage of priests, married priests, clergy sexual abuse, mandatory celibacy and the rest of church politics) came as such a shock. As an adult, I wasn't part of the internal system--parish council, Cursillo or other religious group, but I considered myself a close secular friend to nuns and priests. I thought I had an ear to the convents and rectories and these subjects never came up in conversations. Many personal things from their lives were shared. However, I had no idea that nuns or priests got married or even had romantic relationships, let alone the politics and corruption.  

When our Canadian cousin priest would visit in the summertime, he always brought his housekeeper. Today, I wonder just who she was in his life. Having Lucien around the house so much probably humanized these Holy people for me, though I always revered them as the Chosen Few who responded to the gift of the Holy Spirit--Jesus was alive in their belly, as I saw it.

Fast forward to the early 1990s and losing my parents five weeks apart from one another. There are so many personal stories to tell about the founding of CITI/Rentapriest especially as a result of my Mom's unexpected death that I can hardly wait to get started. There are also some great photos.

*The Bingo Report: mandatory celibacy and clergy sexual abuse, 2005. Available through Amazon.com.
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(As I write this, I realize that in the 22 years that have passed, I don't think my siblings and I have ever had a retrospective conversation about how the untimely death of our parents affected us introspectively. We obviously went through the motions and emotions together, but we are quite spread out geographically so our infrequent gatherings surround children and grandchildren events, not around each other, an interesting observation as we near our own end of life.)

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