Charism and Devotions
The International Dehonian Theological Seminar continues through tomorrow in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. On Saturday, members of the North American Theological Commission presented their report regarding the experience of devotional practices in Canada and the United States. Last year, in preparation for the conference, SCJs throughout the world were sent a questionnaire to help organizers get a sense of how devotions are linked to the Dehonian identity. What is the Dehonian experience of devotional practice?
Each continental commission was asked to develop a report based on input from the questionnaire in its geographic area. Members of the North American Commission are Frs. Charles Brown, Gustave Lulendo, Zbigniew Morawiec and John van den Hengel. Fr. John and Fr. Charles presented the North American response.
“The Constitutions urge us to be prophets of love,” concluded the North American commission. “It means that we should assume as our mission to ‘proclaim his love that surpasses all understanding.’ (#17) We can do no better than to let our every fiber, our total devotion, be given to seek to grasp and be grasped by this love. If we seek a Dehonian identity, we could do no better than to be recognized for our passion to study and put into social practice the amour pur [pure love] of God.”
Click here or on the image above to see a video in which Fr John briefly reflects on the North American presentation.
Click here to download a PDF of the North American paper.
More information
Click here to visit a website devoted to the International Dehonian Theological Seminar, “Charism and Devotions.” Scroll to the bottom of the page to access reports and videos from the conference or click on the word “Resources” in the upper right corner of the website.
Photos and reports can also be found on the DehoniansWorldwide Facebook page. Click here to view it.
The conference concludes tomorrow, July 25.
Preparing for the new novitiate class
Work is moving quickly to prepare the new novitiate house for the 2017-18 class of novices. A carport is getting walls so that it can be used as the chapel and extra bedrooms are being added. The wine cellar has been converted into a library, and what was once the basement recreation room is now a classroom.
Click here to view photos of the novitiate taken last week.
A former residential property, the novitiate is located approximately 12 miles south of Sacred Heart Monastery. Henry Nguyen and Paul Hoang will be received into the novitiate on August 14. Fr. Byron Haaland will be their novice master. All SCJs in North America were sent an invitation via email on July 19 to the August 14th ceremony. If you plan to attend, please respond by August 4 either by clicking on the RSVP button on the right side of the email invitation, by clicking here to send an email, or by calling 414-425-6910.
The Reception to Novitiate ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. and will be followed by a light reception. The address and directions to the novitiate are in the invitation.
Latest from the Centro Studi Dehoniani
The most recent issue of the Centro Studi Dehoniani (Dehon Study Center) newsletter was published last week via email. One of the main features of this month’s issue is the updated “DehonDocs” website.
The revised site provides “a portal to a variety of resources related to the person of Léon Dehon and studies dedicated to him and the Dehonian heritage…” writes the CSD staff. “From here you can access Dehon’s original texts, translations, study articles etc. It is a new design that will identify all the projects accessible from it. The most important innovation is the development of a new engine that very rapidly displays the selected documents. Noteworthy is the chronography, a biographical element with direct access to Dehon’s works and the most significant data of his life. All this was created by the collaboration between the Dehon Study Center in Rome and Dehon Media in Bologna.”
Click here to view the issue; the English text follows the Italian. A subscription link is at the top, left corner of the newsletter.
Mark your calendar!
On September 21 the Sacred Heart community in Franklin will celebrate the ordination anniversaries of Frs. Johnny Klingler, Paul Casper and Ed Griesemer. Invitations will be in the mail to SCJs in mid-August. The jubilee Mass will be at 4:00 p.m. followed by a reception and dinner at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
August birthdays
Those celebrating birthdays in August include Fr. Steve Pujdak (74) on August 2, Br. Peter Mankins (88), Br. Bernard Taube (85) and Fr. Walter van As (94) on August 8, Fr. Leonard Elder (76) on August 19, Br. Ray Kozuch (72) on August 22, Br. Frank Snider (71) and Br. Frank Presto (62) on August 28, and Fr. Herman Falke (89) on August 31. Happy birthday!
Former SCJ superior general ordains new SCJ bishop
Bishop André Vital Félix da Silva was ordained a bishop on July 8 by former SCJ superior general Bishop Virginio Bressanelli. The new bishop will receive canonical possession of the Diocese of Limoeiro do Norte (in the state of Ceará, Brazil) on July 29 during an evening celebration at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Conception.
Taking shape
The Fr. Gregory Bezy Volunteer House in Holly Springs, MS, is starting to take shape. The house will have space for 32 volunteers and is expected to be completed by fall. It is named after Fr. Gregory Bezy, who came to Mississippi in 1952 and served as director of Sacred Heart Southern Missions for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in establishing churches in northern Mississippi, expanding schools and initiating social outreach programs. Each year hundreds of volunteers come to Mississippi to give their time and talent to the ministries of SHSM.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Ed Kilianski returns to Milwaukee today after a weekend helping with Spanish liturgies in Mississippi. July 31 through August 5 he will be in Scottsdale, AZ, for the annual CMSM Conference. Representatives of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology will also be at the conference, sharing information about the seminary with the major superiors.
Closing shots
Below are a few photos from the International Dehonian Theological Conference (Charism and Devotions). Visit the DehoniansWorldwide Facebook page to view more pictures from the conference as well as videos and reports. Or, visit the conference’s website, https://www.charismdevotions.org to access more information. As you can see, conference participants have spent some time out of the meeting hall, enjoying a performance of the Ramayana Ballet and touring to various historical sites in Indonesia, including the Hindu Borobudur Temple.
