News & Events | December 01, 2025
Lord Jesus Christ,
you once said to your disciples:
“Keep watch,
for you do not know the day or the hour.”
Your words of love amaze us all.
For you call us to welcome the light
in ways not of our choosing
and at times when we least expect it.
Lord Jesus,
as we wait for the Day of God to dawn,
we offer our hearts to you.
We promise to be available in faith
and to work for the rebirth of people.
When you come as Lord,
may we be ready to welcome you.
Amen
Advent begins
During the four weeks of Advent the Dehonians’ general website is sharing reflections from Fr. Dehon and from four groups of Dehonian laity from around the world. The first text from Fr. Dehon is on the theme of vigilance and is taken from The Year with the Sacred Heart. Click here to access it.
Click here to read the first reflection from a group of Dehonian laity in Saint-Quentin, France, where Fr. Leo John Dehon had his first parish assignment.
Reminder! Advent Hour of Recollection today
The Advent Hour of Recollection for employees and other collaborators is this morning, Dec. 1, at 10:00 a.m. (central). The theme: “Reflective Listening for Leaders: Cultivating Meaningful Connection with Those You Serve.”
Kay Eibl, the presenter, is a professional counselor with expertise in communication; her focus will be on reflective listening skills. Reflective listening is a vital tool for helping people hear where God is calling them in their lives. This program is sponsored by the Dehonian Associates Office to provide ongoing formation and support to the many people who collaborate with the Priests of the Sacred Heart. However, SCJs are also very welcome to take part.
The Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89575567354?pwd=vcvbFfasaCopkQ7vljMExFhT54AuGb.1
The Advent Hour of Recollection for SCJs will be on Monday, December 8, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (Central).
The theme is “Awake! Prepare the Way of the Lord; Loving Hope and Human Tenderness in a Culture of Artificial Intelligence.” It is an invitation to SCJs to reflect, pray, and dialogue on how faith, compassion, and Dehonian spirituality keep the human heart awake in our fast-paced, technology-shaped world. The speaker will be Pauline Sister Rose Pacatte, D. Min., who will be joining SCJs from Rome where she heads the International Office for Media Studies for the Daughters of St. Paul.
The Zoom link was sent to SCJs via email last week. Questions? Please contact Fr. Joseph Mukuna, SCJ, 414-427-7265, Jmukuna@dehoniansusa.org
Happy Birthday!
Those celebrating birthdays in December include Fr. Gary Lantz on Dec. 8 and Br. Clay Diaz on Dec. 19. Happy birthday to you both!
Please remember
+Fr. Pietro Natali, a member of the North Italian Province, died on November 26. He was born in 1936, professed in 1955 and ordained in 1965.
Screenshot
North America represented on international education commission
Bridget Martin, principal of Sacred Heart School in Southaven, MS, and Christian Lavergne, director of the Séminaire du Sacré-Cœur in Quebec, took part in the November 15-19 meeting of the Dehonian Educare Commission in Rome. The group includes representatives of Dehonian schools from throughout the world. In a YouTube video, members of the commission introduce themselves in their home language and talk about their schools.
Click here or on the image above to view the video. Bridget begins speaking at 11:27 and Christian starts at 13:56.
Thank you
Fr. Richard Johnston, SCJ, writes: “On behalf of our family, I would like to extend my thanks for sympathies, condolences, and prayers for my brother-in-law, Donald Stich, and for my brother, Brian Johnston. God bless and thank you.” Fr. Richard’s brother and brother-in-law died in November.
Congratulations… again!
For the ninth year in a row, St. Joseph’s Indian School was named a “Top Rated Nonprofit” by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews of charities and nonprofits.
GreatNonprofits is a website where people share stories about their personal experiences with more than 1.6 million charities and nonprofits. The GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Awards are the only awards for nonprofits determined by those with direct experience with charities as donors, volunteers or as aid recipients.
Keep in prayer
A week from today, on Monday, Dec. 8, Dehonian Fraters Hung Pham and Long Nguyen will be ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Jeffery Grob of Milwaukee. The ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. If you are planning to attend and did not RSVP, click here.
Please keep Fraters Hung and Long in your prayers as they prepare for this moment in their vocation journeys.
Listening in
Last week we opened Fridge Notes with a photo of our vocation team speaking to youth at the National Catholic Youth Conference. This week we close with a photo of students at Holy Family School in Holly Springs listening to Pope Leo XIV speaking to teens at NCYC via a video feed. It was billed as the Holy Father’s first “digital visit” to the United States.
“One of my own personal heroes, one of my favorite saints, is St. Augustine of Hippo,” Pope Leo XIV told the young people. “He searched everywhere for happiness, but nothing satisfied him until he opened his heart to God. That is why he wrote, ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.'”
Click here to access a YouTube video of the digital visit with the Holy Father.
Click here to subscribe to the weekly news (Fridge Notes) via email