National Vocation Awareness Week, Nov. 2-8
Established by U.S. bishops in 1976, National Vocation Awareness Week is an annual week-long celebration of vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life in the Catholic Church. As a part of that celebration, the U.S. Province added several vocation-related features to its website, including a reflection by Frater James Nguyen about a moment of spiritual transformation that eventually led to the discernment of his vocation with the Priests of the Sacred Heart.
“[I] was spiritually transformed in a little town in Arembepe, Brazil,” wrote James. “It was in this small town, in a little chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, that I saw a woman kiss the tabernacle. It may not sound like an extraordinary act, but I felt overwhelmed by the great mystery and was unable to take it all in. It was sort of a liberating moment that helped me grasp how God can be infinitely above me and yet undeniably beside me. For the majority of my life, our family has always lived within a few blocks of our parish. Although I was close in proximity to the house of God, I never really felt spiritually home until I traveled thousands of miles away from where I live.
“The image still stays with me vividly even today. I realized that God is not some great, unreachable deity that sits on top of a cloud, but one who is close and intimate with me. I brought God ‘down’ and finally was able to have a relationship with God.”
Click here to read the rest of James’ text, along with other reflections and prayers on the Dehonian Spirituality page.
Meet our formation community!
The Dehon Formation House in Chicago is home to an international, intergenerational community of professed SCJs and those discerning religious life with the congregation. The community not only houses the initial formation programs (candidacy, novitiate, philosophy and theology) of the province but also welcomes SCJs from around the world on sabbatical or in graduate programs.
Each year members of the formation community introduce themselves in their own words. Click here to read this year’s autobiographies, including that of the newest member of the community, Patrick Skahill, who writes that “It’s only been a couple of months since I joined the formation community here in Chicago, so my discernment has just begun. It was difficult leaving everything behind as I am sure it is for most candidates. However, I’m very pleased and happy I made the move. I have met many interesting people so far who have shown nothing but hospitality, kindness, and patience.”
Welcome!
Joining the Dehon Formation Community in January will be Luis Barrantes, who was accepted on Saturday as a candidate with the Priests of the Sacred Heart. He is 44 and lives in Artesia, CA. Currently Luis is a human Resources manager for at DKN Hotels. He also teaches Bible study and 6th grade catechesis.
Luis will be a student at St. Xavier University.
Continuing the journey in youth ministry
In August we shared a story about a newly developing Dehonian youth ministry initiative spearheaded by Fr. Christianus Hendrik. Our thanks to Br. Long Nguyen, a participant in the project, who wrote about the group’s most recent gathering:
“On Thursday, October 24, several younger members of the U.S. Province gathered at the Provincial Conference Center to continue the work that we began in August in regards to sharing the Dehonian message with youth. Frater Joseph Vu, Frater James Nguyen, Frater Justin Krenke, Frater Juan Carlos Casteñeda Rojas, Fr. Christianus Hendrik and I came together to learn about and brainstorm on youth ministry.
“We shared our experiences of working with youth and learned more about our Dehonian charism. David Schimmel, province director of Dehonian Associates, gave a presentation on Dehonian Spirituality. As we share our Dehonian charism with young people he encouraged us ‘not to confuse what I want and desire with what God wants. All of what we do is about what God wants.’”
Click here to read the rest of Br. Long’s report on the U.S. Province website.
Talking about vocations…
The Province Vocation Office recently posted a short video message from Fr. Stephen Huffstetter inviting young men to consider discerning a vocation with the Priests of the Sacred Heart. View it below or click here to go to the YouTube video.
Home, and gone again
Fr. Tom Cassidy came home from India with just barely enough time to do his laundry and repack before heading off to Indonesia last week. He will be spending most of November with the Indonesian Province, an area for which he had responsibility during his first term on the General Council.
As when he was in India, Fr. Tom’s journal entries are being posted on the province blog. On November 1 he wrote about visiting St. Antonius parish (and its attached school), the community’s first parish in Jakarta:
“The school was for many years a part of the parish but has now become a part of the Dehon Trust covering the several schools owned and operated by the SCJs on Java and Sumatra. While I don’t know if you would call St. Antonius an inner-city parish it is beginning to feel the effects many city Catholic parishes in the States have gone through. As the population has become more affluent the trend is to move out of the city into the surrounding areas — I don’t think you can quite call them suburbs just yet. Consequently St. Antonius’ parishioners are growing older.”
Click here to read the rest of this and other blog posts.
Dehon ed on the road
At about the same time that Fr. Tom Cassidy left for Indonesia, Fr. P.J. McGuire headed to the airport bound for the Philippines. He is continuing a tradition of bringing the Dehon Study Center on the road to Asia. As he has in India and Indonesia, as well as previously in the Philippines, Fr. P.J will give presentations to novices and postulants studying in the region. Sessions will be on the history of the congregation, Fr. Dehon’s prayer life, the challenges the founder faced, Lectio Divina and Fr. Dehon, as well as Fr. Dehon’s understanding of the Passion of Christ.
Fr. P.J. will be in the Philippines until late November. Fr. Quang Nguyen, will join him later in the month to do a presentation on Fr. Dehon and economics.
Dehonian Social Justice
Mark Peters, province director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation, recently added a few new items to the JPR website, including Part 3 of a series on “Fr. Dehon and the Social Question.”
Click here to go to the homepage of the website, and here to go to the series “Fr. Dehon and the Social Question.
Pinellas Park days of recollection
Br. Ben Humpfer of the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park writes that “Fr. Tom Cassidy is going to give us three days of recollection on December 8-10. They will be simple: morning prayer at 7:45 a.m., Mass at 8:00 a.m. There will be a conference at 1:00 p.m. During the day there will be time for private recollection, confession and an opportunity to talk with Fr. Tom about the spiritual journey, if desired.”
February 23-25 Fr. Wayne Jenkins will lead a similar three days of reflection.
There is room for seven guests. Any SCJ who would like to join the community for the reflection days should contact Br. Ben. Click here to email him.
Update
Fr. Peter Mastrobuono’s current email address:
fatherpetermastrobuono@gmail.com
Please remember
+Fr. Gerard Majella Adam Witkamp, a member of the Dutch-Flemish Confederation, died October 29. He was born in 1929, professed in 1951 and ordained in 1956. Fr. Gerard was a member of the French-Canadian community from 1957-1978. He taught at the Séminaire du Sacré-Coeur and served as a provincial councilor.
+Fr. Antonio González Gómez, a member of the Venezuelan Region, died October 27. He was born in 1934, professed in 1956 and ordained in 1972.
Thanks
Br. Frank Presto, provincial secretary, writes: “I thank all SCJs who were able to complete the Mandatory Reporter training module before Friday’s deadline. Your efforts are appreciated and will assist the process of accreditation. For those who were unable to accomplish this task before the deadline, I urge you to complete it as soon as possible. It is relevant and appropriate.
“Some have asked why this is necessary. The training is in response to a revision made by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men regarding ‘Standard 12.’
“Again, thank you for your time, energy and effort.”
In Germany
Dn. David Nagel is in Neustadt, Germany, this week for meetings with the General Finance Commission. He returns to the office Monday, Nov. 10. If you need assistance from the Provincial Treasurer’s Office, contact Kevin Stanke (414-427-4270) or John Kuxhause (414-427-4269).
Provincial’s Time
Fr. Stephen Huffstetter leaves Tuesday for Mississippi for meetings with the Sacred Heart Southern Missions board of directors and for the consultation of leadership in the local SCJ community. Nov. 10-14 he will be back in Hales Corners with a board meeting at the Province Development Office on Nov. 13.
And then it is off to the Democratic Republic of Congo! Fr. Steve will be in Africa Nov. 17 – Dec. 7 where he will attend the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Congolese Province and a memorial to the SCJ martyrs who were killed during the 1964 rebellion.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus,
you call me by name
to tell me how much
I am worth in your eyes.
May this whisper of your love
also reach all my brothers and sisters.
Select from our midst
priests, who will guide your people;
religious, who will be faithful witnesses of your love;
and lay ministers to lead the Church.
Open the hearts of all young adults
to the challenge of living their love
in the faithfulness of their lives.
Grant unity to all these disciples of your love.
Amen.
The vocational prayer is from the Canadian Region
Click here for resources for National Vocation Awareness week on the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops website.
