The first Mass offered by newly ordained Father Scott Caton was the Mass of Pentecost celebrated yesterday, June 12, 2011, 4:00 PM, St. Michael’s Church, Rochester.
(Click onthe picture for a clearer image)
(left) Father Paul Gitau, (center) Father Caton, (right) Father Ronald Antinarelli
Tags: DoR History, Liturgy
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I clicked on that photo for a better view—
What a beautiful picture -What a beautiful scene!
It was as beautiful as it looks! Not pictured were the many concelebrating priests! Beside Fr. Caton and Fr. Antinarelli, who took a primary role, there was Fr. Gitau, Fr. Kennedy, Fr. Bonsignore, Fr. Catanise, and many more priests not named in the bulletin!
There was a lot to Fr. Caton’s homily; it would have been good to take notes! A lot about the teachings on the Holy Trinity from St. Augustine. What stood out to me is the distinction of the Holy Spirit being “sent forth”, and how when the Holy Spirit is sent, He dispels the divides, particularly divides in relationships, all kinds of relationships. And he named many kinds of relationships: “…within family, society,… …and Diocese”.
I thought of how at Pentecost there were all those people in Jerusalem of many nations speaking many languages and even that impossible divide was crossed by the Holy Spirit. Certainly in our Diocese we speak different languages! It can seem an impossible divide. It will take the Holy Spirit to dispel our divides, and how quickly it can happen, like on the day of Pentecost. Or perhaps He will come through the faithful in a more invisibly pervading way – similar to what Anne, a lay apostle teaches in her messages – that Christ the Returning King is returning now, in our hearts.
Probably we all sense there are some who will never be touched by the Holy Spirit because they do not want to change. As Judas did not want and did not change. However, only God knows who is unreachable, and when the Holy Spirit works we can expect some surprises. So, we can hope and pray for the Holy Spirit to be sent forth to heal our divides.
Which makes me think of this prayer you all must know:
“Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, thy well beloved spouse. “
WOW! This is Rochester NY? There is hope after all!
Eliza 10-Thank you for your lovely post; revealing details of Fr. Scott Caton’s Mass of Thanksgiving and for your inspiring comments and prayers on Pentecost. I enjoyed your post.
I so wish I could have been there to see my dear friend’s first mass (though I was privileged to attend his ordination on Saturday). God has blessed the DOR with a great man. He is truly a minister of God’s reconciling love. I will continue to keep him and his family in my prayers.
Incidentally, my Pentecost sermon was on exactly the same theme of the Holy Spirit’s work in dispelling divides and uniting us all in Christ Jesus. I referred to Fr Caton’s ordination and challenged my congregation to pray and work for Christian unity. (I am a Congregational minister outside Boston.)
My best wishes to all of you involved with this blog.
Thank you for writing in Pastor AM Burgess. I, as well as others, will pray and work for Christian unity.
Thank you for the compliment, Christian. And AMBurgess, you sound like a good friend. Isn’t that interesting you both had the same Pentecost message? It does seem like the way of the Holy Spirit – to put the same idea in many hearts at once.
Thank you for the thoughts, Amburgess. It’s a slow and winding road, but we’ll get there someday. All will be one again in Christ!
Yes – thank you, AMBurgess. Right back at ya!
I can’t remember if I’ve left this comment on CF elsewhere, but I met more than a few God-centered protestants at both of these liturgies and I was so impressed by them. I always feel blessed when a reverent protestant (formerly being one myself) comes to a Catholic mass. And I do enjoy fellowshipping with protestants. May we all be one.
Does anyone have an address for Fr. Caton in case anyone is so inclined to send him a congratulations note?
I think you can do a white pages search for the address because he lives in Spencerport.
I understand(and I heard by 3rd party) that Fr. Catons’ wife is not a Catholic. Which brought to mind the question of whether they were ever remarried in the Catholic Church, since I assume that theiy were originally married in their Protestant church. If that were the case then the Church would see their marriage as invalid the same as any other couple who was not married in the Catholic Church. Therefore, it is my understanding that he would not be able to say Mass or consecrate the Eucharist until the marriage was made valid in the Church. Also, I would think that she would want to become Catholic to support her husband’s ministry and unify their family. Can someone clarify all this for me?
awb,
This is not true. A Catholic who marries outside the Church – their marriage would be invalid. Two protestants who marry outside the Church (assuming no other impediments) – that’s a recognized valid marriage. There is no need for Fr. Caton and his wife to remarry because it was valid in the first place.
Where can I find that in Canon law? So being Protestant and married in the Protestant church would make it a valid marriage then for all Protestants wanting to become Catholic? What about his wife being non Catholic? Is this correct? If so, why would she not want to become Catholic and be supportive to his priestly ministry? If he is to evangelize or win people to the Catholic faith should that not start at home? What about his 6 children are they converting or have they to the Catholicism? Iam not the only one asking these questions, Iam just bringing them to the CF forum for some clarification.
I’m not gonna do the homework for you.
assuming no other impediments – yes.
People should become Catholic because they believe it to be true – not merely to support someone else. This fact should be highlighted in RCIA classes.
This is very personal and presumptuous. I don’t know the situation, but I’d guess Fr. Caton prays every day that his wife and kids would become convicted of the Catholic faith. However, you can’t force someone to become Catholic. That’s a fundamental Catholic belief.
Same thing goes for the kids. It’s one thing if you’ve always been Catholic. But if you have kids, then convert to Catholicism, you don’t have the right to force them to be Catholic. This could be true even if they are under the age of reason depending on his wife’s opinion. If they had planned to raise the kids one way, and then one person converts, they don’t have a right to go against their word. (Again, I don’t know the situation at all. I’m just speculating in the hopes of settling some fears here.)
It’s a complicated situation to be sure, but let’s focus on the public aspects – not the private ones. By all measures, Fr. Caton seems to be a fervent Catholic, an extremely well educated man, and a passionate man. His priesthood should be supported by all Catholics in the DOR and that his ministry will bear much good fruit.
Can’t we just celebrate?
If you have any personal questions for Father, I encourage you to ask him rather than ask us.
Sorry for all the questions, I understand that no one here wants to tackle personal questions that people ask. This is not an attack on Father Caton so don’t get so riled up. However, I believe laity have a right to know a bit of the background of this “unusual” situation. Its hard enough to swallow that a married protestant minister can walk across the street(euthanism) and become a priest. In regards to raising children as Catholics, what happened with the Churchs’ teaching that if a parent is Catholic then they should be raised Catholic? This is why the Church in the past always wanted both to be Catholic when marrying. If one was not it was purposed that he or she should convert to Catholicism so as to be unified in their childrens christian upbringing. Also, getting back to the marriage question issue, does the Church view their Protestant “valid” marriage the same as the “Sacrament of Matramony” in the Catholic Church?
Is it really? What about a married fisherman who denied Christ 3 times? You also make it sound like Fr. Caton just became Catholic on a whim.
Nothing about this situation would have any bearing on that. That’s something you commit to between spouses when you get married.
People should always be encouraged to investigate the Church to determine is She is the True Church. If one determines otherwise, they should not convert. That would be living a lie.
I believe so.
The pope gave him permission. Our Church allows for this situation. Let us rest in the assurance of Holy Mother Church. There is nothing un-Catholic about this situation. I’m at a loss for why you would want to know about his wife and children. That seems very personal to me and probably not best discussed in a public forum like this.
AWB: It’s a little late to be posting this message, but:
My parents were married in the Catholic Church in 1950.
My mother was Roman Catholic and my father was Protestant (mainline Protestant-high church format). There were concerns about “a mixed marriage” from both sides-particularly the Catholic priest to perform the marriage before he met my father and one of my father’s Protestant grandmothers who stated she was boycotting the marriage.
The Catholic priest consented to marrying in the Catholic Church, but outside the altar rail. The Protestant grandmother planning to boycott the marriage was the first person there for the wedding.
My father was not made to convert to Catholism. My father did not chose to convert to Catholism. (My father however, has some personal beliefs which are more inline with Catholism). My father agreed, as did my mother, to be open to any children God would send their way. My father agreed to have their children raised in the Catholic Church.
All of us children were raised Roman Catholic and made all of our sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. My father remained and has remained Protestant. My father would come with us at times, to Mass and other church functions. My mother and us would go with my father at times, to Service. We would all attend marriage, Confirmation, and funeral services for family, friends, and neighbors in various Christian denominations. Relatives on both sides of the family learned to live in harmony with one another.
As a result, I feel blessed to be brought up in such a religious environment. I have a greater understanding of what goes on in various church denominations and do not feel like a stranger if I should come there for an event. I also feel blessed that I am plagued with ignorance and discrimination (sometimes hatred) that happens when people are restrained from contact with another Christian denomination.
As an adult, I have visited a Jewish Temple and was blessed to having been allowed to dress the Torah. I have also communicated with a leader of the Islamic Faith when he visited our Roman Catholic Church. i have learned to be accepting, and loving of all
God’s People even if some area of their faith do not perfectly align with mine.
My mother-in-law and father-in-law who are Catholic were outlawed from attending another denomination’s church when they were raised; my mother-in-law paricularly. My father-in-law was exposed to other denominations when he went to church dinners at the church of other denominations while young, single, and away from home. He looked at their church missals while waiting for the dinner inside of the church. My father also, who is Protestant, went to church dinners and dances at Catholic Churches in addition to playing basketball there. My father was also hired for a job at a Catholic Church in his neighborhood as a teenager. (My father suffered jealousy and hatred from some of the Catholic boys who hated Protestants. They purposely caused him severe injury to one of his hands which he still suffers from to this very day and has caused him to undergoe surgeries. He never reported the purposeful attack to the priest, but just left).
My father and my father-in-law had exposure to other Christian denominations other than their own before marriage. My mother had exposure to Protestant denominations after marrying my father. My mother-in-law never had exposure to any Protestant denomination prior to a few years ago. She forbade her children from attending any relative’s marriage, funeral, or other event, which would take place in a church which wasn’t Roman Catholic, and she would not attend herself. She sent my father-inlaw, alone, to attend these events on behalf of the family.
When the Roman Catholics and Lutherans were asked to merge together for the Ash Wednesday Sevice at the Senior Living Facility a few years ago, with a Protestant Minister and a Catholic Deacon, with Communion from the Roman Catholic Church available from the Catholic Deacon, and the Lutheran Communion from the Lutheran Minister, my mother-inlaw had qualms about attending. I encouraged her to go and she did along with my father-in-law. Afterward, my father-in-law commented on how elated he was to be able to sit next to neighbors who he knew and liked very much who were Protestant. Afterward, my mother-in-law was excited and talking a lot about the service; how surprised she was that the Lutherans used the same readings and had the same type of service, etc. My mother-in-law’s coments made me wonder to what she thought was happening in Protestant Churches all these years.
Conclusion: Ignorance, discrimination, and hatred have no place in our hearts, only Love and Understanding belong there.
Claification/Correction: 3rd line in 4th paragraph- should read-“I also feel blessed that I am not plagued with ignorance and discrimination (sometimes hatred) that happens when people are restrained from contact with another Christian denomination.”