WYD pilgrims find their way home

Our World Youth Day travelers have made their way back home. Approximately 250 Dehonian youth groups from around the world gathered in Poland for WYD.

“I was impressed with how much our young people know of our spirituality, the heart of our charism,” said Fr. Mark Mastin, who traveled with the group from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Houston. “This included things such as hospitality, Sint Unum, Ecco Venio and Ancilla, and availability. Now that they know the Dehonian charism they have to put this knowledge and experience of WYD into practice. As I told them in my closing homily today, ‘Remember Pope Francis’ words about not buying into Sofa Happiness. Go out and make your mark on this world and make your lives a gift to others, especially to the poor and marginalized. Do not allow the spiritual energy gained by WYD to fade. Find ways to keep it alive.’

“Also, I was impressed with the SCJ hospitality and kindness shown to us. In every location, SCJs went out to their way to make us feel at home. It was very well planned. Even Fr. Andrzej Sudol’s mother and father invited Justin Krenke, Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas and myself to have dinner with them in their home. I made some good friends whom I hope to remain in contact with in the future.”

During the closing Mass on Friday, July 31, Pope Francis announced that the next WYD will be in Panama in 2019.

“In these days, we have experienced the beauty of our universal fraternity in Christ, the center and hope of our lives,” said the pope in his final words at WYD.  “We have heard his voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd who dwells in our midst.  He has spoken to each of you in your heart.  He has renewed you by his love and he has shown you the light of his forgiveness, the power of his grace.  He has made you experience the reality of prayer.  These days have given you a spiritual ‘breath of fresh air’ that will help you live lives of mercy once you return to your own countries and communities.

Click here to read more on the Vatican news site.

Please remember

+ Fr. Albert Schmit, a member of the Franco-European Province, died July 24. He was born in 1925, professed in 1946 and ordained in 1953.

+Fr. Nicolau Kohler, a member of the Brazil – Sao Paolo Province, died on July 31. He was born in 1934, professed in 1958 and ordained in 1963. 

+ Fr. Jean Schijlen, a member of the Dutch-Flemish Confederation, died August 2. He was born in 1924, professed in 1947 and ordained in 1954.

Remembering Fr. Peter

Fr. Tony Russo was the main celebrant and homilist at the Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. Peter Mastrobuono. The two were classmates together in Rome during the mid-1960s.

“Fr. Peter was someone who was always available to people,” said Fr. Tony. “He never said no in ministry; he was very generous in the service to people. He was a prayerful man.

“How gentle he was with people. He impacted the lives of so many.”

Click here to access a video of Fr. Tony’s homily. The image is at a low resolution but you should be able to hear the audio without difficulty. Click here to view photos from the funeral.

Memorial in Houston

A Memorial Mass for Fr. Peter Mastrobuono will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Houston on Friday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m. Fr. Ed Kilianski will be the presider and homilist.

Native Hope featured

The SCJs’ “Native Hope” based in Chamberlain, SD, was featured in an article published in the August 4 Mitchell Daily Republic. As the title suggests, Native Hope works to inspire hope in Native Americans

“Online and social media-focused, Native Hope employs five people who administer programs, monitor the website and speak at events to spread the organization’s message across South Dakota,” writes the Daily Republic’s Caitlynn Peetz. Eventually, Native Hope hopes to work with all nine reservations in South Dakota to some extent, Director Julie Muldoon said…

“‘There’s something almost unexplainable about this generation that is so empowered… that they want to change the stereotypes and be who they are,’ Native Hope Ambassador Andrea Hearting said. ‘I would say Native Hope would really be that opportunity for them to be heard.’”

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to visit the Native Hope website. 

We are all preachers

“Like it or not, if you are a baptized Christian, you are a preacher!” wrote Fr. Charlie Bisgrove in a reflection re-published in last Friday’s Dehonian Spirituality. “Many Christians, perhaps Catholics in particular, have not been formed to think of themselves as preachers, nor have they been formed to think of preaching as crucial to the Church’s identity.

“In our common language, the word, ‘preach,’ tends to be defined by its adjectival form: ‘preachy,’ instead of its proper meaning, which is ‘to proclaim.’ The essential mission of the Church, stated repeatedly at Vatican II and proclaimed again by Pope Paul VI in 1976, is the task of evangelizing all peoples, that is to say, the preaching of the Gospel. The first reason that the Church exists—the primary occupation of the Church—is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“To bring about the reign of the Heart of Christ in souls and society has been, from the beginning of our Congregation, one of our primary aims. Fr. Dehon was keenly aware of this gift which he had and which the Church and the world needed.

The Church and the world still need this gift. How appropriate it is for us SCJs to announce this in our day. How important it is for us to realize that we preach not only by what we say, but also by how we live. I am reminded of the words of St. Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the Gospel at all times—if necessary, use words.’”

Fr. Charlie wrote this reflection in December 2003. He died on March 10, 2011. Click here to read it in full in the August 5 edition of Dehonian Spirituality.

Click here to subscribe to the weekly e-publication of prayers and reflections based in the Dehonian charism.

Welcome!

Fr. Gary Lantz joined the Sacred Heart Community at SHML last week. His apartment phone number is 414-409 4855. His cell phone remains the same: 605-280-6563

Provincial’s time

Fr. Ed Kilianski returned from WYD in Poland on Thursday and had just two days back in Hales Corners before heading to the airport again. He is in Montréal taking part in the Canadian Regional Assembly until August 11.

Closing shot

Take a look at the new leadership team of the Indonesian Province which was installed on July 15. Notice some familiar faces? Just about all the SCJs pictured are alumni of the ESL Program (English as a Second Language) at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.

Fr. Alex Sapta Dwi Handoko, is the new provincial superior. The Provincial Council includes Fr. Titus Waris Widodo, Fr. Yulius Sunardi, Fr. Fransiskus Xaverius Kusmaryadi and Fr. Pius Pujo Wiyanto.