88 years ago today
Fr. Leo John Dehon, founder of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, died on August 12, 1925. The day is commemorated in a variety of ways around the world. This morning in Vietnam, the congregation installed the first administration of its new SCJ district in the country. Fr. Rino Venturin, an alumnus of Sacred Heart School of Theology’s ESL program, is the first district superior. More will be soon published about the inauguration.
In Thane, India (near Mumbai), SCJs celebrated the founder’s life with a special liturgy and reception with parishioners.
“It was really a blissful day, and we all enjoyed sharing our happiness with our parishioners,” wrote Fr. Abraham Lazar, a parish priest in Thane.
Click here to see photos from Fr. Dehon’s last residence in Brussels, Belgium.
Click here to read more about the founder.
In his own words…
On this anniversary of the death of the founder, a quote from him. It is taken from Fr. Dehon’s Memoirs, VI, 131):
“If I had one piece of advice to give to Christians and priests of our day, it would be not to remain strangers to social questions, as has so often been the case. Get involved in the lives of farmers and workers, learn about their living conditions, their food, their salaries, their children and the elderly, their mutual aid societies, what they read and what they do in their spare time.
“Why? My God, in order to care for them, to instruct them, and to improve their circumstances! This ought to be our dominant concern, not politics or ambition or complaining.”
Fr. Zolile becomes BISHOP Zolile
On August 3, Fr. Zolile Petros Mpambani was ordained as bishop of Diocese of Kokstad, South Africa. He is the second SCJ in less than a year to be ordained for episcopal service in Africa. Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna was ordained October 7, 2012, for the Archdiocese of Beira, Mozambique.
Fr. David Szatkowski represented the U.S. Province at Bishop Zolile’s ordination. He writes that “there was a constant feeling of joy and celebration as the Mass began and continued. I was struck more than once by the overwhelming sense of unity and joy found in the people who were present.
“Joy was expressed not only by singing, but also by hands lifted up in prayer, in dancing to the hymns, in the applause at the announcement of the Papal mandate for the ordination. People felt free to sing and move with the liturgy. In the truest sense, the liturgy was the work of the people accepting a new shepherd and rejoicing at his ordination.
“I was also struck by the way the liturgy was inculturated. The hymns and prayers included multiple languages. People moved among them with comfort. Hymns were sung in both English and African languages…”
Click here to read more about the ordination on the province website.
Kasanag Daughters Foundation rebuilds
Two years ago, the river running through Cagayan de Oro, a Philippine city on the island of Mindanao, burst its boundaries in the midst of epic rains. People were swept away in the raging waters; homes and businesses were damaged, including that of the Kasanag Daughters Foundation. The foundation, begun and operated by the Priests of the Sacred Heart, helps young women rebuild their lives after being the victims of sexual abuse.
Flood waters at Kasanag reached the second floor. Fortunately, no one was killed. However, the water damage was extensive. Fearing that people’s lives were in harm’s way during future rains, the SCJs decided to find a new property on higher ground. With financial help from around the world (including the U.S. Province) the Kasanag Daughters Foundation built a new structure that was blessed last week.
Click here to read more about the blessing on the province website.
Keep in prayer
Antoniette Westhoven, the sister of Fr. Tom Westhoven, has been hospitalized with a bowel obstruction. It is hoped that she can be treated without surgery.
Re-linked
Recently we published a notice about Fr. Bill Marrevee’s new book, Sharing the Word of God. Unfortunately, the link provided for more information wasn’t accurate.
If you would like to learn about the book, or purchase a copy, click here or type the following in your browser:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/william-marrevee/sharing-the-word-of-god/paperback/product-21074084.html
What’s happening when?
A reminder that there is a calendar of events on the province website. You can find it in the “News and Publications” section. Click on the tab (second from left at the top of the page next to “Home”) and go to the Feature Stories home page, or any of the six pages listed under News and Publications. The calendar is on the left side of the page below the “Search” tab. The first three upcoming events are listed followed by a calendar. The calendar has been updated through next year’s provincial chapter.
If you have an event that you would like to have listed in the calendar, please contact Mary Gorski.
In the email (e-blast) version of the Fridge Notes, calendar events are listed in the right column.
This week
On August 14 Justin Krenke will be received into the novitiate during a 5 p.m. Adoration service at Sacred Heart School of Theology. All SCJs are welcome to attend.
Justin has been spending the summer helping with the ESL program at Sacred Heart School of Theology. Last weekend, he and Br. Long Nguyen represented SCJs at Marian Days. The annual event is a mix of festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics. It has taken place the first weekend in August since 1978 on the campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri. Tens of thousands of attendees come from throughout the United States, along with visitors from Canada and Vietnam.
The day after Justin enters the novitiate, James Nguyen and Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas leave it. They will make their first profession of vows during a 10:30 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart School of Theology on August 15.
Photos from both ceremonies will be on the province Facebook page.
Updates
Fr. Christianus Hendrik has a new cell phone number:
605 252 2648
In the Members section
The minutes from the Election Assembly will be posted in the Members’ section of the province website by Tuesday, August 13. Contact Mary Gorski if you have difficulty accessing the Members’ section.
