Celebrating feast of the Sacred Heart
“This Solemnity of the Sacred Heart reminds us of our mission in a culture, a world which has often forgotten God,” said Fr. Ed Kilianski during his homily at the feast-day Mass at Sacred Heart Monastery last Friday. “If we put our trust and hope in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he will not disappoint; for his Heart still beats with healing and love for the world, for us…
“I remember Pope Francis saying in a homily, “it is more difficult to let God love us than to love Him! The best way to love Him in return is to open our hearts and let Him love us.” The First Letter of John makes this clear, “love is of God.” We are reminded to open ourselves to the love of God through the Heart of Christ and give ourselves completely to him as he does to us. He lays his heart open before us as an example of how to love, how to live our lives.
“If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. We are not led blindly into a community of faith, but rather we are given a simple rule, to love others as God loves us. By following this commandment we remain one with God. This is the message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This feast reminds us that Jesus gave us the ultimate example of love, laying down one’s life for another, and thus he set his heart upon us.”
Click here to read Fr. Ed’s full homily.
Click here to view photos from the feast-day celebration at Sacred Heart Monastery.
Bishop main celebrant at feast-day Mass in Mississippi
Bishop Joseph Kopacz, bishop of Jackson, was the main celebrant for the celebration of feast of the Sacred Heart at Christ the King Church in Southaven, MS. Among those joining him at the celebration were Fr. Jack Kurps, Fr. Thi Pham, Fr. Greg Schill, Fr. Zbigniew “Ziggy” Morawiec and Fr. Leonard Elder, as well as two SCJ candidates: Celsus Robert and Paul Hoang. Members of Sacred Heart Southern Missions’ staff and parishioners from the six SHSM parishes also took part. The bishop is pictured above with several of the Dehonians.
A feast-day reflection on being “united in one heart”
Frater Juancho Castañeda Rojas is concluding his year of ministry in Brazil. On feast of the Sacred Heart, he shared a reflection on the province blog about his experience.
“During my pastoral year experience in Brazil, I have had the opportunity to reflect about the meaning of Ecce Venio, Ecce Ancilla, and the real meaning of going out of the sacristy to be among the poor and marginalized,” he began. “This experience has been really important in my discernment and my desire to give my life completely to the service of God in the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Learning about the spirituality of Fr. Dehon from members of the congregation here in Brazil has been also very important in the growth of my vocation…
“I understand our call to live intimate communion with God. But I also understand that it is through our service to others that we truly experience communion with God. It is the intimate and personal communion with God that Fr. Dehon experienced and translated for us as the intimate communion with our brothers and sisters. In this way, this union with the poor and marginalized reveals the joy of our union with Jesus. This is how our call and vocation takes its meaning and purpose as we strive for a perfect relationship with the love of God, one that is reflected in our love for our brothers and sisters. For me, this is how our vocation makes sense in complete and joyful union with Jesus.”
Click here to read Frater Juancho’s full reflection.
Fr. Vince McDonald
Fr. Vincent McDonald died June 19. He was 85, professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 1951 and was ordained in 1958.
“Variety” is an easy word to apply to Fr. Vince. He served as a prison chaplain, as a chaplain to the armed services, in hospital ministry and in parish ministry.
His assignments took him to Wisconsin, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, Florida and even Manchester, England (Sacred Heart Church) and Banbenhausen, Germany (chaplain with the US Air Force).
Originally from Jersey City, NJ, Fr. Vince earned a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in Chicago.
His last ministry assignments were in Houston at Holy Name and Our Lady of Guadalupe parishes. Do to health concerns, Fr. Vince retired from public ministry in 1998.
Since 2008 he had been a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML with residence at a suburban Milwaukee nursing facility. Mass of Christian Burial was on Thursday, June 22, at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake. Fr. Ed Kilianski was the main celebrant and Fr. Jim Brackin was the homilist.
Happy birthday!
Those celebrating birthdays in July include: Fr. Bill Marrevee (81) July 5, Alonso Barrantes (47) July 7, Br. Long Nguyen (38) and Fr. Johanes Yuliwan Maslim (53) July 15, Fr. Richard Woodbury (73) and Fr. Willyans Prado Rapozo (35) on July 19, Fr. Dominic Peluse (71) on July 22, Fr. Vien Nguyen (44) on July 27 and Fr. Peter McKenna (68) on July 29.
Latest SCJ News
Click here to download the latest issue of the SCJ News. Included is a round-up of the province assembly, as well as a feature on the province’s golden jubilarians. The hard copy of the issue will be in the mail in the next week.
Please remember
Dave Holodak, an alumnus of Bellefontaine in Lenox, class of 74, (professed from 1980-1982) would like to let SCJs know that his mother, Eleanor Holodak, died on June 20 from cancer. “She was 89 and she and my father, Tom Holodak, had just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last April.” Please remember her in your prayers. Click here to send Dave an email.
Schools in Collaboration in Mississippi
Sacred Heart Southern Missions was host to this year’s Summer Institute for SCJ Schools in Collaboration. From June 12-13 students and educators from Sacred Heart School (Southaven, MS), Holy Family School (Holly Springs, MS), Our Lady of Guadalupe School (Houston,TX) and St. Joseph’s Indian School (Chamberlain, SD) participated in team-building games and exercises, as well as prayer. Joining them via Skype were students from another Dehonian school: San Jeronimo in Salamanca, Spain.
There was also a visit to the Memphis zoo, and even a night in the kitchen, cooking a meal together.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Ed Kilianski is in the office until June 29, when he leaves for a family visit in Buffalo. He will be gone until July 8. The next Provincial Council meeting is July 11-12.
Happy Independence Day!
The Provincial Offices will be closed July 3-4 to commemorate Independence Day. There will be no Fridge Notes on July 3; the next issue will be on Monday, July 10.
