Father George H. Tavard

Georges Henri Tavard was born in Nancy, France on February 6, 1922. He made profession of religious vows as an Assumptionist on December 27, 1943 and was ordained to the priesthood on March 2, 1947.

He received a Doctorate in Theology from Universite Catholique de Lyon in 1949.

After spending a few years in England, he came to the United States in 1952 and has been here ever since.

Fr. Tavard was a Peritus at the Second Vatican Council serving especially with the Protestant delegation. He held several teaching positions at American Universities and Seminaries, most notably at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Fr. Tavard authored over 55 books and numerous articles, mostly on ecumenical subjects. Until his death he was busy writing and lecturing.

by Father Donat Lamothe, A.A.

It was a great privilege to be present at the canonization of Blessed Marie- Eugenie, founder of the Religious of the Assumption, which took place during the Mass on Trinity Sunday, June 3, 2007 celebrated by Pope Benedict in the great space within the arms of the Bernini Colonnade before St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. But the celebration lasted for three days, not counting the pilgrimage that many sisters and friends had taken in the preceding week to places in France associated with the new saint.

I arrived from Paris Saturday afternoon and began my participation in the events with the vigil service held in St Gregory VII church in the evening of June 2. When we arrived at the church, its main level was already filled and we had to find place in the crypt of the building that also was filled to capacity. The vigil service lasted about an hour and contained hymns and readings from Holy Scripture and the writings of Marie Eugenie. Those of us in the crypt could hear what was going on upstairs but could only contemplate the slide of the official icon of Marie Eugenie projected on a screen before the altar. It was a prayerful moment very conducive to entering into the spirit of the event.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFMCap, honored the community in Brighton with a friendly visit on Thursday, July 26. He arrived at 6:00PM, led us for the Evening Prayer (Vespers) and had dinner with us. Being a man of simple Franciscan tastes, he neither made any long speeches or excpected any special treatment other than that of a fellow "Friar."

Fr. Claude welcomed the cardinal in the chapel before Evening Prayer assuring him of the prayer of the community especially as he meets the numerous challenges of this great Archdiocese. Cardinal Sean asked numerous questions of our student brothers and was genuinely interested to know more about the Assumptionists. Before leaving, he posed for a group photo on the steps of our house. This photo appeared in his weekly “blog”.

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is an adapted version of a biography of Blessed Marie-Eugénie of Jesus (1817-1898), which was published by the Holy See. Benedict XVI will canonize the woman religious on Sunday.

Marie-Eugenie of Jesus

BLESSED MARIE EUGENIE OF JESUS (1817-1898)

Anne-Eugénie Milleret was born in 1817 in Metz after Napoleon's complete defeat and the restoration of the monarchy. She belonged to a nonbelieving and financially comfortable family and it seemed unlikely that she would trace a new spiritual path across the Church of France.

Her father, a follower of Voltaire and a liberal, was making his fortune in the banking world and in politics. Anne-Eugénie's mother provided the sensitive daughter with an education, which strengthened her character and gave her a strong sense of duty. Family life developed her intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions and a broad worldview.

Like her contemporary, George Sand, Anne-Eugénie went to Mass on feast days and received the sacraments of initiation, as was the custom, but without any real commitment. However, her first Communion was a great mystical experience that foretold the secret of her future. She did not grasp its prophetic meaning until much later, when she recognized it as her path toward total belonging to Jesus Christ and the Church. {mospagebreak}

Her youth was happy but not without suffering. She was affected when still a child by the death of an elder brother and a baby sister. Her health was delicate and a fall from a horse left serious consequences. Anne-Eugénie was mature for her age and learned how to hide her feelings and to face up to events.

In attendance:

Roland Malboeuf, Al Gaulin, Kip Muldoon, Richard Gallant, Richard Donais, Tomasz Jaster, Tomasz Kierul, Frank (Harry) Aubuchon

Discussion/Decisions:

• New members were brought up to date, contact lists, Alumni Update document and Associates program description were passed out
• 
  Names and original home addresses of class of 1970 was passed to all
• 
  More work needs to be done to track down students from other classes
• 
  Summer reunion will be held on Sunday August 26th at St. Anne in Fiskdale to hopefully attract those who are away during the summer
• 
  Kick off will be earlier (9am) to allow for more "reunion time"
• 
  Separate Mass for just Cassadagans and guests
• 
  Catered lunch for 50-75 people targeted at $10-12 per head
• 
  Activities during the day to possibly include, volleyball and/or bouncy bouncy (with medics standing by), Trivial Pursuit (Cassadaga style), "skits" honoring some of our "favorite" priests/brothers/classmates, ping pong and chess
• 
  Formal announcement regarding Associates of the Assumptionists - info will also be pre-mailed
• 
  Email blast to hold the date will go out in the next few days, and post card follow-up shortly after
• 
  Regional reunions will be planned for 2008 and 2009 to be followed by a giant anniversary reunion in 2010 (50 years Cassadaga, 150 years death of Fr. D'Alzon)

• more at www.cassadagaseminary.org

At the invitation of Fr. Dennis Gallagher, NA Provincial and on behalf of Fr. Richard Lamoureux, AA Superior General, a group of lay people gathered Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at the Assumptionist community residence in Worcester.

The gathering included friends of the Assumptionists through connections to the college, prep school, Cassadega, St. Anne’s Parish in Fiskdale, and Brighton communities. Fr. Lamoureux animated the discussion by citing the General Council’s commitment to developing bonds with the laity and citing Fr. D’Alzon’s intention from the beginning to involve the laity in the life and spirit of the Assumptionists. Several people expressed affection and gratitude for role the Assumptionists have played in their lives and a desire to work toward realizing the vision of the General Council.

“Can we continue to work as we have until now to spread far and wide the Catholic spirit, open to all people, to all rites, to all traditions? My father, I believe so, in spite of all the difficulties.” (Pavel Djidjov)

The feast of our three martyrs is approaching and once again we are called to reflect on the meaning of their witness, on the importance of this event, today, for the entire Assumption Family.
The road to holiness is not a solitary road, but rather it is written in a long history where God’s grace is revealed through our relationships, through places or people who prepare the ground for us, who show us the way.
One cannot understand the witness of faith of our three Bulgarian fathers, Kamen Vitchev, Pavel Djidjov, and Josaphat Chichkov, without recalling all the men and women religious who preceded them and who created the conditions that fostered the flourishing of their faith.
This feast of November 13 invites us to expand our horizons. It is necessary to acknowledge with gratitude that the “Mission d’Orient” (Mission in Eastern Europe) is the fruit of self-giving of numerous priests, brothers, and sisters (coming first of all from France and, then, particularly from the Province of Lyon, which extended well beyond the borders of France) and that this mission to Eastern Europe continues its history thanks to the generosity of the Province of France.

His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales among members of the Assumptionist Community in Brighton and their guests

The Assumptionist Center in Brighton opens its doors to many visitors. On Saturday afternoon and evening (September 30), we were happy to receive the visit of Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, the Archbishop of Manila, Philippines. The Cardinal was in the Boston area to visit and pray with his brothers and sisters in the Filipino-American community and to promote his Pondo ng Pinoy program to feed the poor and provide for the needs of the disadvantaged.

Brothers Eduardo Molina (Ed), Vo Tran Dinh (Dinh) and Carlos Melocoton

On August 28, the feast of St. Augustine, in the Chapel of the Holy Sprit, on the campus of Assumption College, in Worcester, Massachusetts, two young men made their first profession of vowsin the presence of Very Rev. Richard Lamoureux, A.A., superior general,who was home on holiday. As Father Richard said in his homily, "how unpredictable life is!" Ten years ago, Eduardo Molina (Ed), a Filipino, was working as a businessman in Bangkok, Thailand and Vo Tran Dinh (Dinh), a Vietnamese, who was suffering under the historical situation in his homeland as he began his theological studies.