Mass of Thanksgiving
As many of you know, Dn. Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas, SCJ, will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, February 16, in Colombia. There will be a Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston on Sunday, March 10, at 1:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the gymnasium.
Those planning to attend should let Dn. Juancho know by March 1. You can email him at: scjuancho10@yahoo.com
If you need lodging, he suggests that you make reservations at the Holiday Inn Express on 1818 Bell Street in Houston. It is less than two miles from the parish. The direct phone number is: 713-652-9400; the toll-free reservation number is: 1-888-HOLIDAY. Click here for the website.
Visiting the SD capital
St. Joseph’s Indian School’s 7th and 8th graders toured the South Dakota capital on January 25, and met with Rep. Rebecca Reimer, Sen. Troy Heinert and Sen. Red Dawn Foster. The students watched the opening sessions of each chamber and were recognized by the legislators. Several stopped to visit with the children on the way to the House floor.
Provincial visitations
The 2019 Provincial Visitations are underway. Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, held visitations with the Sacred Heart Community at SHML and the St. Joseph’s Community (4th Floor) in January; these included the filial communities of St. Francis and Dehon House.
The Sacred Heart Monastery Community visitation will be March 3-8, the Mississippi visitation (facilitated by Fr. Quang Nguyen, SCJ) will be March 14-17, the Novitiate visitation will be March 18-21 (Fr. Ed), and the visitation of the Texas community will be April 22-27 (facilitated by Fr. Christianus Hendrik, SCJ). Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, will conduct the South Dakota visitation; details are in the process of being finalized.
Note that the dates of these and other province events are in the US – Canada online Google calendar. A link to the calendar is at the bottom of the Fridge Notes e-blast, as well as the bottom of each page of the US Province website.
Corrections
Please note that David Schimmel’s email address in the personnel directory has a typo. The correct address is dfschimmel@juno.com. The directory address is missing the “f”. David is director of Dehonian Associates for the US Province.
Also, in the Updates section of the January 2019 Cor Unum it stated that Fr. Duy Nguyen, SCJ, is returning to Our Lady of Guadalupe in February, following his sabbatical. Please note that the cell phone number next to his name is actually Br. Andy Gancarczyk’s. The correct numbers are listed in the online personnel directory.
Thank you
Also, SCJ candidate Okechukwu Landericus Oledibe (Landry) expresses his gratitude for condolences and prayers regarding his mother’s death (Mrs. Lady Princess Susan Oledibe). Her funeral took place January 11 (she died in October).
In response to his mother’s passing, Landry is establishing a support group for those whose parents have died. It will be a place for people to share their stories, and the stories of their deceased parents, as well as their grief in losing a loved one. “It will be a pathway to healing,” said Landry.
The meetings will take place at 8:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Chapel at SHSST on the third of each month; the first gathering was on February 3.
“Thank you, and God bless you all,” concludes Landry in his message.
Dehonian reflections for Lent
Beginning March 7, the Dehonian Associates office will publish brief reflections sent by email each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday throughout Lent. The reflections come from the writings of Fr. Leo John Dehon. The title of this year’s series is “The Politics of the Gospel” and explores the challenging consequences of following Jesus.
All SCJs in the US and Canada will AUTOMATICALLY be subscribed to the mailing. However, anyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to receive the e-blast. Click here to add a subscriber.
David Schimmel, director of Dehonian Associates for the US Province, is the editor of the Lenten e-blast.
Canadian treasurer named
Last week Fr. Paul Tennyson, SCJ, was named as the treasurer of the Canadian Region. He will serve a three-year term.
Nominations sought for Klingler Social Action Award
The Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Commission is seeking nominations for this year’s Johnny Klingler, SCJ Social Action Award.
“The purpose of the award is to recognize dedication to “ministry to the lowly and the humble, the workers and the poor” (Const. #31), and to the ideals of social justice as expressed in Catholic Social Teaching,” said Mark Peters, JPR director for the US Province, speaking for the commission. “The US Province wants to lift up efforts that touch people’s hearts, transform personal attitudes and that spur people to greater social action, be that direct service, justice education, advocacy, empowerment of the marginalized, and/or support for systemic change at the governmental or institutional level.”
If you would like to nominate a person, group or organization that you feel exemplifies the Dehonian charism of social action, please send a brief explanation of why you think that individual or group should get the award to justdir@usprovince.org. The deadline for nominations is March 31. If you have any questions, call Mark Peters at 414-427-4273.
New releases
The February issue of the Justice, Peace and Reconciliation newsletter was published on Saturday. In it are links to articles about the Pro-Life debate (and in particular, last month’s March for Life rally in Washington, DC), racial divisions, immigration, and the impact of the partial government shut-down on Native Americans, as well as other topics.
Click here to view it. Questions about the newsletter? Click here to contact Mark Peters, US Province JPR director.
Also, the Winter 2019 edition of the SCJ News is in the mail. Click here to access a PDF of the quarterly publication.
SHSST on AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. Go to Amazon Smile and search “Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology” to make it your charitable recipient.
How to be a “prophet of love”
“I was first struck with the question of how I could be a ‘prophet of love’ to all people as I looked around and noticed the lack of love in the Church and in the world,” writes Frater Henry Nguyen, SCJ, in the February 1 issue of Dehonian Spirituality. I live Constitution #23 closely as I welcome the Spirit to guide me in all that I do in a response to Jesus’ love. I believe in my call to have a reparative vocation as I know of the suffering in the world—I can’t just sit there and stare blankly, work needs to be done. I can only do what I can do; however, if I do nothing then I will lose it all.”
Click here to read Frater Henry’s full reflection, as well as the rest of the issue which focused on the theme of consecrated life. February 2 was World Day of Consecrated Life.
Closing shot
On January 26, members of our informal Chicago SCJ community (primarily SCJs doing graduate studies in Chicago) got together to celebrate Fr. Louis Mariano Fernandes‘ birthday and his 15th anniversary of ordination. Fr. Louis is a member of the Indian District doing advanced studies at Loyola of Chicago. Joining him at a local Ethiopian restaurant were Fr. Joseph Mukuna, Fr. Andrzej Sudol, Fr. Bob Bossie and Fr. Edgard Biankeu.
