Welcome to the community!
Justin Krenke, 23, professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart on Saturday, August 16. The ceremony took place at St. Martin of Tours parish, Franklin, Wis.
Justin has been a candidate with the community since 2010. Before entering novitiate last year, Justin was a member of the Dehon Formation Community studying at St. Xavier University in Chicago.
A convert to Catholicism, Justin says that it was the priesthood that actually led him to the Church.
“I was 17 and I picked up the phone and called St. Margaret Mary parish, the closest one to our home. A nun answered the phone and I asked her ‘how old do you have to be to become Catholic without permission?’ She asked me how old I was. I told her; she said that I was old enough, but she wanted to speak to my mother. When my mother got home from work, I told her that she needed to call the nun. I was a little nervous, but I was determined that I was going to do this. My mother eventually made the call.”
With his mother’s blessing, Justin entered the RCIA program, grew in his faith and eventually joined the Church.
During his candidacy, Justin has done everything from volunteer work in Mississippi with the SCJs’ Sacred Heart Southern Missions to assisting with Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology’s ESL program in Hales Corners. He even did a good impression of the founder, Fr. Leo John Dehon, in a presentation at the 2013 Mission Education Conference.
Click here to read more about Justin on the province website.
Click here to view a photo album from the profession ceremony.
Vow renewals
Congratulations to our SCJs who recently renewed their temporary vows: Fraters Juan Carlos Rojas Castañeda, James Nguyen and Joseph Vu!
Update
Fr. Mark Mastin’s new address:
13 Jadwin Drive
Ft Leonard Wood, MO 65473
Directory going to the printer
Nancy Gray, province administrative assistant, is preparing the latest North American Personnel Directory and plans to take it to the printer on Friday, August 29. She asks that all address, phone and email updates be given to her no later than Monday, August 25.
You can email Nancy at: provadm@usprovince.org.
SHSST news
A reminder: the email addresses at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology now ends with “SHSST.edu” instead of “SHST.edu” to reflect the new name of the institution.
The seminary’s website address also changed; It is now: www.shsst.edu
Opening Mass for the new school year is on August 27 at 4:30 pm. All SCJs are welcome to join the SHSST community for the celebration; if you plan to stay for the dinner after Mass, please email Food Service Director Brian Gullicksen at bgullicksen@shsst.edu by Aug. 20.
Classes begin on Monday, August 25.
Region embraces internationality.
As noted last week, the Canadian Region held its chapter August 11-14. The gathering took place at a retreat house near Montréal; Fr. Stephen Huffstetter attended as an observer.
Much of the focus of the chapter was on the changing face of the region, which has become more international.
“It has been a real blessing for us,” said Fr. Bill Marrevee, the regional superior. “With 12 members of our small region over 70 years of age, without the help of Dehonians from elsewhere we would hardly be able to maintain ourselves.” Currently, the region has three SCJs from Indonesia, one from Cameroon (with one more coming), one from Congo, two from Brazil, and five from the Netherlands. In the fall, an Indian SCJ will come to study pastoral counseling in Ottawa.
On Wednesday evening, the chapter moved from the retreat center to the SCJs’ community house in Montréal to celebrate the jubilees of Fr.Walter van As (70 years of profession), Fr. Herman Falke (65 years of profession and 60 years of priesthood) and Fr. Reinier van Leewen (65 years of profession).
The Chapter ended on Thursday at noon with Eucharist after approving a reflection on the theme of the General Chapter and electing Fr. Claude Bédard as the delegate to the 2015 General Chapter and Fr. Élie Kasongo Muzungu N’Goy as the alternate. Fr. Bill Marrevee will also attend in his role as regional superior.
Click here to read more on the general website.
Reflecting on formation
Br. Duane Lemke, province director of formation, reflected on his role in the formation program as a part of the latest Dehonian Spirituality page update.
“It is my job to form and judge the suitability of men who want to be religious and ministers. In the 21st century, I’ve been responsible for the formation of a diverse group of men,” he writes. “I’ve had responsibility for students from three continents, and an easy half-dozen countries and cultures. There have been men interested in developing pastoral skills, and men interested in the world of academe. There have been many from many backgrounds: traditional, progressive, charismatic, mystic, scholastic, immigrant, white, Latino, Mestizo, Pole, Democrat, Republican, unenfranchized, and even a Cubs fan.
“It could be tempting for my standard to be how closely they come to resemble my values and convictions. I could challenge those who differ from my perspective, and give those who are similar an easy pass. Some directors sadly choose that route. I could narrowly ask if they are able to live my understanding of what it means to be a Priest of the Sacred Heart, or I could take my cue from an incarnate God, attempt to understand who they are, ask them how they will live and love as a Priest of the Sacred Heart, and challenge and celebrate with them as they do it.”
Click here to read Br. Duane’s full text, as well as other reflections and prayers based in Dehonian Spirituality.
District welcomes new candidates on 1st anniversary
Fr. Rino Venturin, superior of the District of Vietnam, wrote about the celebration of the district’s first anniversary.
“On August 12, the feast of our beloved founder [August 12 was the anniversary of the death of Fr. Leo John Dehon in 1925], the Vietnam District celebrated its first anniversary. During the Eucharistic celebration, presided by Fr. Vincent Sri Herimanto, local superior, with the homily delivered by our two deacons, Phu and Ngoc, 11 candidates were welcomed into the SCJ formation program at Nha Dehon. Ten of them are already college graduates. More candidates are expected to arrive in the next few weeks, bringing the total number of candidates to 17 this year. We are grateful to our enthusiastic and committed Vietnamese SCJ vocation promoters. It is indeed a blessed moment for our ‘baby entity.’ God be praised.”
Provincial’s time
This week, Fr. Stephen Huffstetter takes part in council meetings August 19-20. Next week he will join the SHSST community at its opening liturgy on August 27. On August 28, he heads to Chicago for the consultation for a local superior.
And then he has a few days to get ready for his trip to Asia. From September 4-24 Fr. Steve will be visiting SCJ communities in the Philippines and Vietnam.
