Three enter postulancy
Congratulations to Kodjovi Hubert Liassidji, Angel Romero and Alonso Barrantes who were received into postulancy by Fr. Ed Kilianski last week during the visitation of the Dehon Formation Community. Fr. Andrzej Sudol will be their postulancy director while they prepare to enter novitiate in August.
Nuncio to return for fall symposium
Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology just announced that Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will return to the seminary next fall as one of several presenters at an international symposium titled “Discovering Pope Francis: Theological, Philosophical, Cultural and Spiritual Perspectives.”
The archbishop was the main presenter at the November 8, 2017, SHSST Dehon Lecture.
The 2018 symposium will be held October 8-11. Other speakers will include Bishop Robert Barron, Massimo Borghesi, Rocco Buttiglione, Guzmán Carriquiry, Rodrigo Guerra López, Austen Ivereigh, and Susan K. Wood, SCL.
More news about the conference, including registration information, will be available in the months ahead.
SHSM in-service focuses on undocumented immigration
Today, February 19, members of the Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Commission will be in Mississippi leading an in-service for Sacred Heart Southern Missions’ staff on the topic of undocumented immigration. Migration was also the topic of the October 9, 2017, in-service, which featured a panel discussion with three students who offered firsthand insight into immigration and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).
About today’s in-service, Mark Peters, US Province JPR director, writes that “We will reflect together on who the undocumented are, why they come here, why there is no ‘line’ for them to get into to enter the U.S. legally, and how Christians are expected to respond to the ‘alien’ in their midst.”
Some members of the North American Migration Commission will also be in attendance. They plan to interview several SHSM staff about their personal experiences of migration.
“Our committee members would like to have a conversation with people to help us grow in our awareness of how we, in light of our Dehonian charism and spirituality, can respond to migrants,” said a member of the commission. “Some of us have a story to tell; others will have insights that we all should be open to hear.”
Catholic-Jewish Studies Film Series
On Sunday, February 25, SHSST’s Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies is sponsoring the viewing of another movie in their “Educational Films with Scholars” series. This month’s movie is “The Jewish Cardinal.” It is the true story of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, who vehemently protested the construction of a convent on the grounds of Auschwitz. Lustiger was a born in Paris in 1926 to Polish-Jewish parents. The family moved to Orléans in 1939 to flee Nazi persecution, but his mother was arrested and taken to Auschwitz where she was murdered in 1942. Lustiger later converted to Catholicism, became a priest, and eventually was named Archbishop of Paris.
Dr. Richard Lux, professor emeritus of Scripture Studies at SHSST, and founding director of the Lux Center, will introduce the film and after, add his insights.
The film begins at SHSST at 3:00 pm. Admission is free, but you must RSVP by February 21 to Bonnie Shafrin at bshafrin@shsst.edu.
Thoughts about Lent
“The traditional Lenten themes of Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting call us to a deeper relationship with God, God’s children and God’s earth,” wrote Fr. Bob Bossie in a post last week on the JPR blog.
“Chalana stopped me in the park a few weeks ago,” he continued. “I have known her since she started coming to our community house for help several years ago.
“We talked for a while. I gave her some money to help her with her needs.
“She then told me that the government removed from the approved list of medicines the only medicine that helped her psychological needs. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Then, she told me, to make matters worse the government was also closing most of the mental health clinics in the city.
“I couldn’t find the words to respond to her except to say I knew about the closings already. Deep inside I felt the anger rising at such injustice against the most vulnerable.
“The words of Rev. Cornell West came to mind: ‘Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.’”
Click here to read the rest of Fr. Bob’s reflection on the JPR blog.
Latest SCJ News available
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Provincial’s calendar
Fr. Ed Kilianski is in the office this week, and then has the Novitiate visitation February 26 – March 1. The next council meeting is March 6-7.
