Welcoming new novices
On August 14 James Nguyen and Juan Carlos Castaneda Rojas will enter the novitiate. There will be a ceremony at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Monastery/School of Theology with a luncheon following. All SCJs are welcome to attend.
SCJ team at Marian Days
Br. Long Phi Nguyen, SCJ and Keith Burdick of the province vocation office took part in Marian Days August 1-5 in Carthage, Mo. Held since 1978 on the campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, Marian Days is a time for prayer and celebration for Vietnamese-Americans. Over 60,000 people attended the event this year. Priests and religious come from around the world.
“It is nice to see a culture come together and see people attend from across North America,” said Keith Burdick, office manager at the vocation office.
“Sr. Mary Magadalene Takazawa, a religious sister with the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, was amazed to see the faith in the people and believed this is how, by coming together, the core of faith can be passed on to future generations,” said Br. Long.
“Many people who came to our SCJ vocation booth said that they enjoyed the opportunity at Marian Days to reunite with family and friends, as well as help their children know the faith through activities such as the procession of Mary on the last day of the event,” added Br. Long.
Embracing internationality
Taking advantage of the fact that all of the major superiors of the congregation were in Neustadt for the General Conference, the general administration called for a three-day meeting with them July 23-25. Approximately every two years the general curia and major superiors come together. The last such meeting was in Autumn, 2010.
“The idea is that this assembly [the major superiors] can function like the senate of the congregation,” said Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho, superior general. “We count on your critical and creative capacities to help us as a congregation define our future path.”
On the second day of the gathering Fr. Ornelas spoke about the congregation’s theme for the year: “internationality.”
“If we were not an international congregation, if we were not guided by an international mission, we would not be here as we are today,” he said.
A quick scan of the meeting room gave proof to the statement. Begun in France, the Priests of the Sacred Heart from its very beginning moved beyond borders to find new people and new ways to express the charism of Fr. Dehon. The superior general is Portuguese, the vice-general is Dutch-Canadian. Africa, Asia and South America are all represented in the General Curia. The room was filled with major superiors that reflect the internationality of the congregation, not just by the entities they represent but by the their own heritage as well.
“Internationality is essential to our development as a congregation,” said Fr. Ornelas. “All of us here are a result of the congregation’s commitment to mission.”
Click on the following links to read reports from the meetings: Day 1 and Day 2. Click here to view photos; you can also view photos from the meeting in the slideshow below (Flash required to view slideshow):
More than academics found in Spanish study program
Fr. Jim Walters, SCJ, is director of the Hispanic Studies Program at Sacred Heart School of Theology. Through the fall semester he is on a sabbatical that began in Avila, Spain. He posted the following on the province blog:
“For years I had hoped to study the works of Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Jesus. A year ago I became aware of a course offered through the Catholic University of Avila (UCAV), Spain. The course is taught in Spanish and offers study from the original texts…
“What I had anticipated as an academic experience proved to be much more. Our classroom sessions (Monday – Friday) were scheduled for three hours daily. We were encouraged to spend four to five hours of study and praying with the major works of both saints in preparation for each day…
“Our liturgies together focused our study on how each of us is called to live the vocation to contemplative prayer in the midst of daily ministry. I was reminded often of Fr. Dehon’s hope that his sons would be contemplatives immersed in the struggles of the world. I came to appreciate the spirituality of John of the Cross and Teresa of Jesus as one that very much calls us to appreciate and affirm the beauty and dignity in all of humanity and to empty ourselves of all that keeps us from living in union with God and one another.”
Click here to read Fr. Jim’s full post.
Also on the blog
Fr. Tim Gray’s most recent post from Brazil was on the country’s “favelas.”
“Even if I had more time and space to describe a favela, it would be difficult,” he wrote. “You can Google it to get a rough idea. Try to imagine a small city, broken into many pieces, and jammed back together chaotically. Many of the pieces of a city are there, but not as you expect. Almost everything looks temporary, or under construction, which it probably is.”
Click here to read Fr. Tim’s full post.
ESL newsletter
The July 27 ESL newsletter and the August 3 edition are available now available. Click on the dates to download them.
Challenges of aging parents
Fr. Jim Schroeder shares a link to a New York Times article that addresses the difficulties of both elders and youth as people age. The author, Bruce Feiler, writes that, “Bringing down parents is much harder than bringing up kids.” Caring for youth “involves gradually introducing someone to the larger world;” whereas with elders, it is “helping someone disengage from the world… The lessons your children don’t want to hear from you today are the same ones you won’t want to hear from them later.”
Many SCJs find themselves counseling parishioners, employees and others on the growing demands of caring for elderly loved ones. Of course, it is a challenge that SCJs themselves face as well.
Click here to read the article.
Moving in
Last week Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake welcomed its first lay residents and Mass was celebrated for the first time in the main chapel on August 5.
There has been a lot of interest in the apartments and the state has already approved plans for the third wing of SHML. It is expected that work will begin at the end of the month on the second section of public apartments. For information about rentals, or to tour the site, call 414-409-4848 or email sacredheart@oakbrookcorp.com.
On Thursday, August 9, SHML will host an open house from noon to 7 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend the event which will include tours of the property (given every 30 minutes), door prizes and refreshments. Again, if you have questions, call 414-409-4848.
Please remember
Trish Salazinski, the receptionist at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake, died on July 28. She and her husband Bob, who died several years ago, were long-term friends of Sacred Heart School of Theology through the Knights of Columbus.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Tom Cassidy returns to the office on August 7 following a week at the CMSM assembly in Houston. He will be in Milwaukee for much of August, with the exception of a quick trip back to Houston for the 100th anniversary celebrations at Our Lady of Guadalupe the weekend of August 18.
A reminder: all SCJs are welcome to join in the anniversary Mass at 6:30 p.m. on August 18. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston will be the main celebrant.
Upcoming meetings and events:
August 9: SHML Open House 12-7 p.m.
August 14: Reception of Novices, 11 a.m., SHM
August 28-29: Provincial Council Meeting
October 11-12: Provincial Council Meeting
October 12: Dedication of Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake
December 18-19: Provincial Council Meeting
2013:
January 29-30: Provincial Council Meeting
March 19-20: Provincial Council Meeting
April 8-9: Mission Education Conference, St. Joseph’s Indian School
April 30 – May 1: Provincial Council Meeting (budgets)
Week of June 3: Province Election Assembly.
