Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Provincial Offices and Province Development Office are closed today to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Offices reopen tomorrow, January 17.
Awakening to injustice
Fr. Bob Bossie was interviewed last year as a part of Georgetown University’s American Pilgrimage Project. During the interview he talks about his awakening to the realities of poverty and injustice.
The American Pilgrimage Project invites Americans of diverse backgrounds to sit together and talk to each other one-to-one about the role their religious beliefs play at crucial moments in their lives
Click here to listen to the interview; it last about three minutes.
Back in India
Fr. Tom Cassidy is back in the Indian District where he spends several months each year assisting with formation and administration. As in the past we will share excerpts from his journal on the US Province blog. On Sunday he wrote about the celebration of the Tamil Nadu Pongal festival:
“Usually Catholic celebrations begin with Mass but the most important event of Pongal is the cooking the Pongal (a rice dish). A special pot just for the occasion is prepared and decorated; our own Br. Mary Babu Kota (3rd year student) decorated our pot with floral designs. As the Pongal cooks to perfection participants do a dance around the Pongal pot and when all is ready our Pongal pot was led in procession as the community processed into our temporary chapel.”
Students from the nearby Sisters of Aloysius Gonzaga joined SCJ students in giving the history of the feast. “Fr. Michael added how it has been adapted by Christians. A good example is that that Sun God is seen as Jesus the Light of the world and just as the sun is necessary for human existence so Christ is to the salvation of the human family.”
Click here to read the full blog post.
Welcome!
Fr. Heru Ismadi, former secretary general, arrived in Hales Corners last week to begin ESL studies. During his time here he will be a member of the St. Joseph’s Community at SHML (4th floor).
Seminarian participates in Dehonian Youth Mission
Frater Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas, a seminarian doing his ministerial year in Brazil, sent the above selfie from the Dehonian Youth Mission. The DYM takes place through the end of the week in Terra Boa, Brazil.
“There are 111 young adults from different parts of the São Paulo Province,” wrote Frater Juancho. “And even though the weather is really hot everyone shows great disposition to doing their ministry of visiting the people and sharing the Word of God. I ask for the prayers of the community so this mission continues to bring joy and blessings to the people of Terra Boa and to us as Dehonians.”
Updates
Fr. Wojciech Adamczyk is now a member of the community at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston. His mobile number is: 346-317-5341
NORAM Theological Commission meets
Members of the North American Theological Commission had their first meeting last week; they met at the Provincialate Offices. Members include Fr. Charles Brown, Fr. Gustave Lulendo, Fr. Zbigniew Morawiec and Fr. John van den Hengel (chairperson).
The focus of this meeting was to begin work in preparation for the congregation’s theological seminar that will be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 20–25, 2017. Members of the North American commission will participate in the seminar. They will give a presentation based on the responses to the questionnaire sent to SCJs last October; 46 North Americans responded. The questionnaire asked participants to share something about their lived faith, what practices give expression to their faith? How do they live the charism of Fr. Dehon? “All faith finds an outlet,” said Fr. John. “What is ours? And how has it changed over time?”
The Commission will do additional research in the next two months and begin to write a draft version of its presentation for Yogyakarta.
Please cash it!
The Province Treasurer’s Office reminds those who receive checks from it to please cash them in a timely manner. Communities and other entities should not wait until they need the funds, they should deposit province checks soon after they receive them. This aids in accurate accounting at the province level.
New book by SHSST faculty member
Congratulations to Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo, associate professor of Sacred Scriptures and Biblical Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology! His book, Rethinking the Prophetic Critique of Worship in Amos 5 for Contemporary Nigeria and the USA, was recently published by Pickwick Publications.
The introduction on Amazon notes that “Father Udoekpo’s work offers a thorough review of the theology of worship in the work of Amos of Tekoa, one of Israel’s foundational prophets. It critically examines Amos 5 in its socio-historical and literary context and theologically reevaluates the application of Amos’s message of ethical worship, judgment, and hope to two contemporary cultures: Nigeria and the United States of America.”
“Michael Udoekpo is one of the finest emerging new scholars from the third world,” said Richard C. Lux, Professor Emeritus of Scripture Studies at SHSST. “Thoroughly conversant with modern prophetic studies, he rightly applies Amos’ critique of economic prosperity, the gulf between rich and poor, and religious hypocrisy to his native Nigerian society as well as to American society.”
Click here to access the book on Amazon.
New church in Sebastian
Fr. Richard MacDonald shares the news of a new church in Sebastian, Texas: St. Martin of Tours. The dedication will take place on Sunday, January 22 at 5 p.m.
“The SCJs ministered in this area at three parishes and five missions for 42 years; many in our province were part of it all,” wrote Fr. Mac. “Perhaps the two places with the greatest pocket of poverty were in Hargill and Sebastian. This is a wonderful achievement for St. Martin of Tours. Our province gave $100,000 to the project.”
Fr. Mac will be at the dedication.
Provincial’s time
From January 15-20 Fr. Ed Kilianski will be doing his visitation of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML. Visitation at Sacred Heart Monastery will be January 24-26.
Closing shot
As noted last week, the Dehon Formation Community welcomes four new candidates (Jose Angel Romero, Kodjovi “Hubert” Liassidri, Celsus Roberts and Thadeus Brooks) for the start of the new semester. Fr. David Szatkowski, local superior, is pictured below, blessing them in the community chapel.
