On Love…
Each year we note some of the parallels in the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and our founder, Ven. Fr. Leo John Dehon. Below are reflections from both on the topic of “love.”
“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
“The Word of God is going to take a heart of flesh to deify matter in some manner. Human love makes it beat; divine love fills it. It is in this Heart that mercy and truth have met, that justice and peace have embraced; it is the place of the eternal kiss between God and humanity.”
– Venerable Fr. Leo John Dehon
Closed today
The Provincial Offices are closed today for the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will reopen tomorrow.
Looking ahead
Calendar items for the next few months:
March 11-12: Provincial Council meeting
May 13-14: Provincial Council meeting (budgets)
March 18: North American administrations meeting (Hales Corners)
June: Provincial Council meeting (formation advancements; meeting will take place during an evening of the Election Assembly)
Week of June 9: Provincial Election Assembly
Correction
Our apologies to Sr. Margaret Sue BROKER whose name we incorrectly typed in last week’s Fridge Notes. Sr. Margaret Sue was a part of the giant snowball-building squad that included our Dehonian exchange students from Brazil.
“The Charism of Leo Dehon and My Teaching”
Fr. Wayne Jenkins, SCJ, province archivist, reminds Dehonians that the most recent issue of the international publication, Dehoniana, has a reflection by Dr. John Gallam, SHSST professor emeritus of philosophy. In it, he shares the impact of the charism of Fr. Leo John Dehon on his teaching. Note that Dr. Gallam initially studied with the SCJs and earned his bachelor’s degree from the province’s Kilroe Seminary before discerning his path as an academic.
An excerpt from Dr. Gallam’s text:
“I offer this brief reflection on how the spirituality and charism of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCJ) influenced my teaching the philosophy curriculum at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology (SHSST). I must begin with a confession: while I received the standard spiritual formation of an SCJ seminarian during my years with the community, I was not a deep student of the spirituality of the congregation or its founder, Fr. Leo John Dehon. Nor am I now. As a teacher at SHSST, I benefitted from several wonderful in persona presentations of Fr. Dehon’s words by David Schimmel. And very recently I read two works on the life and mission of Fr. Dehon, Petite Vie de Leon Dehon, by Fr. Yves Ledure, and Fr. Paul McGuire’s translation of Fr. André Perroux’s short biography, Leo Dehon: A Passion for Christ; A Passion for the World. But these recent forays into the life and thought of Fr. Dehon have only made me more aware of the limits of my previous appreciation of the spirituality and ideals which this wonderful man tried to infuse into the members of his religious community. In reading these books I learned many new things about Fr. Dehon, but two things stood out: first, quite simply, what a lovely human being Leo John Dehon was (which is why he was called le très bon Père, the very good Father) and, secondly, just how passionate he was about the importance of a highly educated Catholic clergy…
“I am not clear how, or even if the meaning of the Heart of Jesus in my personal life has explicitly influenced my teaching. I believe that, at very least, it has helped me shake off hopeless visions of reality encountered as I and my students have wandered through the more desolate parts of the philosophical landscape. And similarly, the message of the Heart of Jesus draws us away from gloomier approaches to Christian life that have appeared from time to time and seem to have a perennial appeal. Of course, there are no orthodox expressions of the faith that deny God’s love for us. Nevertheless, it seems to me that there are some spiritualities which I think make it harder to believe in that love. In charity I will resist branding them “knucklehead”. But, for my part, I find strength and hope in the joyful message of God’s immense love for us — a message quintessentially expressed in the spirituality of devotion to the Heart of Christ.”
Click here to read the rest of the text on DehonDocs.
Fr. Wayne has also made a limited number of hard copies available. Contact him to receive a copy: provarch@usprovince.org, 414-427-4274.
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