Remembering an SCJ martyr
Today, September 22, we remember and celebrate the life of Fr. Juan María de la Cruz. On March 11, 2001, Pope John Paul II declared him blessed along with other 233 martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. Today is his feast day.
In the midst of the turbulent years of civil strife in Spain from 1931-36, the Catholic Church in Spain suffered one of the most difficult persecutions in its history. Churches, seminaries, rectories, monasteries and convents were sacked and destroyed. Thirteen bishops, 4,184 priests, 2,365 religious brothers, 283 nuns and thousands of lay Catholics were killed.
On July 23, 1936, Fr. Juan Maria traveled to Valencia seeking refuge with one of the congregation’s benefactors. Walking from the train station he passed the church of “los Santos Juanes” in the center of the city. There he witnessed men desecrating and burning the church. Fr. Juan shouted in protest. When the men heard his shouting, they said to each other: “He is a reactionary.
“No, I am a priest!” said Fr. Juan.
That was all that was needed to arrest him.
On the night of August 23, 1936, Fr. Juan María, together with nine other prisoners, was taken south of Valencia to be shot. The next day the bodies of the victims were thrown into a common grave in the cemetery of Silla.
Fr. Juan María de la Cruz was the first Dehonian to be named blessed by the Church.
Click here to read more about Bl. Juan Maria and access links to further resources.
Personnel directory available
Nancy Gray, province administrative assistant, notes that the print version of the Personnel Directory for Canada and the United States is being mailed this week.
She asks that you contact her if you need more than one copy or if you prefer to have a large-print edition. You can email her at provadm@usprovince.org or call 414-427-4261.
A year later…
It has been almost a year since SCJs from Canada and the United States came together for the North American Continental Conference (NACC). The conference was the concluding moment of the general visitation in North America, but it was also an opportunity for SCJs to renew their identity and bonds as members of the same religious community, living the same charism.
Together, SCJs identified urgent social realities in North America to which they felt a need for a Dehonian-based response. They asked that a follow-up committee be established to develop and oversee strategies to address two or three of the urgent social realities.
On April 8, that committee held its first meeting via conference call. Committee members: Fr. Jack Kurps, Br. Duane Lemke, Fr. Greg Murray, Fr. Willyans Prado Rapozo, Fr. Tony Russo, Fr. Greg Schill and Frater Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas. Sr. Cathy Bertrand, SSND, facilitator of the NACC, also facilitated the conference call.
Last week, the committee met in person at the Dehon Formation Community in Chicago. They chose “Immigration” and “Youth” as the initial priorities for focus and decided that a subcommittee on each would be established with a one-year commitment to basically “develop something,” some type of Dehonian-based response(s) to immigration and youth.
Fr. Willyans Prado Rapozo is the committee liaison for youth and Br. Duane Lemke is the liaison for immigration.
All SCJs in North American should have received an email on Friday regarding the NACC follow-up meeting. In it was an invitation to take part in one of the subcommittees. If you did not receive the email, or perhaps misplaced it, please click here to have it resent.
A day with the formation community
The meeting of the follow-up committee to the North American Continental Conference was a good excuse to take a few photos of our student community at the start of a new school year. The community hosted the meeting.
Click here to view a photo album from the Dehon Formation Community. The annual biographies from the house will be posted in early October.
In Asia
As mentioned previously, several members of the U.S. Province are currently in Asia. Fr. Stephen Huffstetter returns this week after visiting communities and ministries in the Philippines and Vietnam; Fr. Wayne Jenkins is in Vietnam helping the district establish its archives; and Fr. Tom Cassidy is in India assisting with formation and administrative tasks.
Fr. Steve and Fr. Tom have been faithful writers for our province blog. Last week Fr. Steve wrote that “I’ve seen and experienced so much in such a short time. I have much to think about and process and so many questions about a culture so new to me. Fr. Aloisio and Fr. Khoa served as today’s tour guides and gave me background on how our parish projects and formation programs developed and changed in the 25 years since the first SCJ foundations here. Fr. Al said that when he first arrived 20 some years ago he was ready to write a book about all his observations. A year later as he began to learn the nuanced complexities which are true of any culture, he wasn’t sure he could write even a page. I can identify with that already…
“Fr. Arthur (Totong) is the district treasurer, vocation director, and like most every religious, wears many other hats as well. He was born and raised in the area, and proved an entertaining and informative tour guide as he and I later wound our way five hours through costal villages and mountain huts, rice paddies and colorful villages in the Zambuanga del Sur region. Some years ago there were clashes with militants in the area, but recently it has been calm. We did pass a couple of police checkpoints as they try to keep the area safe.
“Totong spoke of his hopes for the SCJ community as it grows and matures in the Philippines. He described a Filipino value of wanting to show generosity and give back, and hopes one day they will provide missionaries to areas of the world and congregation in need.”
Click here to visit the province blog and read reflections from Fr. Tom and Fr. Steve, as well as others.
On Facebook
Whenever a new blog post is published, or a new article is placed on the province website, a link is made on the province Facebook page. Facebook is also where we often publish “quick news” and photos, such last week when we posted a picture of Fr. Wayne Jenkins (originally published on the website of the Ho Chi Min Archdiocese) handing out school supplies in Vietnam.
A reminder, you DO NOT need to be a member of Facebook to view the province Facebook page. Click here to access the page.
Living a life of Eucharist
“The first time I came across the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement was when I was in the refugee camp,” wrote Fr. Francis Vu Tran in a reflection posted last week on the Dehonian Spirituality page of the province website. “My mom took me to the church and signed me up with a group of strangers who were glad that I was part of their clan. It was the very first time that I knew what it meant to kneel for a half-hour in front of Jesus. It was the longest kneeling of a seven-year-old boy who had no concept of adoring Jesus or worshipping the Lord. Yet, from that moment on, the idea of service, dedication and priesthood began with that kneeling.
“After high school I joined the Priests of the Sacred Heart and began my formation study in San Antonio, Texas. During my novitiate year, I read about and contemplated Fr. Dehon’s dream of forming a religious congregation. I always remember the man with much dedication to the Heart of Jesus and the willingness to go the extra mile to educate and guide young men to live a holy life, acceptable to the Lord..
“In August of this year, I had a chance to be the chaplain to more than 80 young people who were about to enter the life of a servant leader — the model of service for young people. As I shared with them the life of a servant leader, one of the persons whom I highlighted during my talk was Fr Dehon. I told them about his life, his love for the Eucharist, and his dedication to the service of the Kingdom of God. I shared with them that the life of a servant leader is a life of love and service. Fr. Dehon would have said to them today that one cannot be a servant leader if one does not know Jesus. One cannot be a servant leader unless one cannot live without the love of the Eucharist and of service for God’s Kingdom in the life of the kids at their parish…
“I want young people to know Jesus, to love him, and to serve him. I want young people to come to Jesus when life turns upside-down. I want young people to live a life of the Eucharist, as an offering acceptable to the Lord.”
Click here to read the rest of Fr. Francis Vu’s text, as well as other reflections and prayers based in the Dehonian charism.
