Founder’s Day
As noted last week, today marks the 168th anniversary of the birth of Fr. Leo John Dehon, founder of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Born in 1843 to a French aristocratic family, he credited his mother for his devotion to the Sacred Heart, a devotion which inspired him to found a religious community focused on bringing people to the love of the Sacred Heart and to promoting a more just society for workers and the most disenfranchised. Although he felt his call early in life, the path that Fr. Dehon took to its fulfillment was one with many turns and side-trips.
Click here to learn more about Fr. Dehon’s vocational journey.
Founder’s Day is usually marked with a letter from the superior general. This year, the letter takes the form of an envisioned interview with Fr. Dehon, written by Fr. Stefan Tertünte, a member of the German Province. In it, Fr. Stefan focuses on some of the challenges Fr. Dehon faced in the early development of the congregation.
Click here to go to the interview.
Interruptions can be worthwhile
Leading up to Founder’s Day, the staff and faculty of St. Joseph’s Indian School in South Dakota received a daily email with facts about Fr. Leo John Dehon and the religious community he established. Today’s fact, on the 168th anniversary of the founder’s birth:
“Fr. Dehon was a newly ordained priest and only 26 at the time he took on the role of stenographer at the First Vatican Council. He said, ‘This year of the Council took up half my time. It interrupted my studies but, on the other hand, it richly rewarded me by expanding my horizons. I held my finger on the pulse of the Church and garnered more experience in one year than I could have gained in ten years of my ordinary life.’ (Memoirs)
“Sometimes our ‘interruptions’ are our greatest rewards!” wrote Mary Beth Freidel, production manager at St. Joe’s.
Budget reminder
Budgets are due at the Provincial Treasurer’s office by April 1; however, Dn. David Nagel asks that if possible, budgets be submitted to his office by Friday, March 25. “It takes time to distribute copies to the Finance Commission and Provincial Council,” he said. “If you decide to mail budgets to all of the parties yourself you will need to send them to the Finance Commission members, the provincial superior and councilors, and three more copies of the budget to the Provincial Treasurer’s Office.”
If you have questions about the budgets, contact Dn. David, John Kuxhause or Kevin Stanke.
The hammers return
If you have driven by the new development across from Sacred Heart Monastery/School of Theology in recent weeks you may have noticed that the construction site looks rather quiet. As sometimes happens with building projects, disagreements among various parties brought work on Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake to a halt.
Dn. David Nagel, province treasurer, is happy to announce that work is tentatively scheduled to resume, starting next week. The Horizon Construction Group, Inc., of Madison, Wis., will complete the project. It is estimated that about ten weeks of work remains on Stage 1 (the SCJ wing). Soon after it is completed, preparations will begin on Stage 2, the wing that will house apartments for the general public, as well as shared common space.
Eat, pray, study: a student’s life in Rome
It’s been almost a year since Fr. Francis Vu Tran left St. Martin of Tours Parish in Franklin, Wis., for Rome. Most of that year has been spent in language studies in preparation for graduate work in biblical theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
First there was Italian, the language of the country in which he would live. He needed Italian not only to make daily life easier, but also to understand his courses. All of his classes at the Gregorian are taught in the language.
But after a year in Rome, Italian has become a comfortable language for Fr. Francis. Joining native Romans at a café he easily yells over the lunch-time crowd clamoring for the barista’s attention. “Due caffè per favore!”
With Italian added to his other two languages of Vietnamese and English, Fr. Francis moved on to Hebrew and Greek. The ancient languages are prerequisites for entrance into the biblical theology program.
It was the first time that Fr. Francis’ new language skills were really put to the test. The Greek and Hebrew classes are taught in Italian. It is one thing to order a couple of coffees in a new language, but to use it for academic study? It was a challenge, but one that Fr. Francis had gone through before. When he was 13 he immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. Soon after his arrival he was using his newly learned English to study alongside his American classmates.
“But Greek and Hebrew are a lot different than English or Italian,” said Fr. Francis as he reviewed study notes for his winter exams. The line “It’s Greek to me,” isn’t much of a joke for Fr. Francis.
Click here to read more about Fr. Francis’ first year in Rome. The story includes a brief slide show.
A letter to the governor
As many are aware, Wisconsin has been in the news in recent weeks over legislation that was to eliminate collective bargaining for state employees. Thousands of protestors have been at the capital since the legislation was announced in February. The largest protest took place on Saturday, March 12, two days after the bill to repeal most collective bargaining was passed.
Regarding the bill, the U.S. Province Commission on Justice and Peace released the following letter to Governor Scott Walker:
“We the members of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, give our agreement to and support of the statement of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference regarding the Rights of Workers and the Value of Unions. www.wisconsincatholic.org
“We join with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in their encouraging words to the Wisconsin Catholic Conference as regarding their statement. www.nccbuscc.org
“Our Founder, Father Leo Dehon was greatly influenced by Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter “Rerum Novarum” (Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor). It challenged him to work hard for justice for working men and women. His writings and works were devoted to the human and spiritual progress of the working class. Today we follow his witness in supporting working men and women who, through their unions, seek in open communication, representation and collective bargaining, their just rights.”
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of articles about the legislation available on the internet and in print media. A basic story about the passing of the bill is posted on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s website. Click here to read it.
For a round-up of recent postings on JS Online about the legislation, click here.
Click here to read Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s letter to Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance.
And finally, an opinion piece on the legislation, written by Fr. Bryan Massingale, a former instructor at Sacred Heart School of Theology, was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Click here to read it.
St. Martin of Tours hosts indoor ride to support food pantry
The gymnasium at St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, Wis., was filled with approximately 100 cyclists pedaling to raise money for the parish’s food bank. “Pedal for the Pantry” was organized by parishioners Lauren and Todd Jensen as a way of “doing something positive in the wake of the death of a good friend,” said Lauren.
In October, Lauren’s bicycle training partner, Jeff Littmann, died after injuries suffered when a car hit both him and Lauren on a training ride. Lauren sustained several injuries as well, including a broken shoulder that has required multiple surgeries.
On a cold, spring day (“Perfect weather for an indoor ride,” said one participant), cyclists set their bikes on indoor stationary trainers and spent four hours riding “nowhere for a good cause,” said a volunteer. Each hour the riders were led in their efforts by a local athlete, including Olympian Brent Emery, and Lauren herself, a professional triathlete. Lauren led her session with her arm in a sling, the result of a recent surgery.
Members of St. Martin of Tours’ youth group helped at the event, doing everything from filling bottles with Gatorade to pumping tires and handing out snacks. Fr. Rob Naglich, associate pastor, was also on hand.
St. Martin of Tours is ministered to by the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Fr. Yvon Sheehy is the pastor and Frs. Thi Pham and Rob Naglich are associates. Dn. Greg Schill is also on the parish team.
Directory updates and corrections
Last week the personnel directories for SCJs in North America were mailed. If you need additional copies, please contact Kassandra Huerta at 414-427-4261 or email her at provadm@poshusa.org.
Corrections and updates:
Fr. Bryan Benoit’s e-mail is bryanscj@aol.com
Fr. Paul Grizzelle Reid’s email is paulgrizzellereid@me.com
Fr. Richard Johnston’s email is rv12rjrj@att.net
Br. Ray Kozuch’s work e-mail is brrayscj@wi.rr.com
Fr. Richard MacDonald’s cell phone is 956-357-5390
Fr. Peter Mastrobuono’s e-mail is pmastrobuono@olghouston.org
Fr. Jim Schifano’s office number is 414-409-4831
Dn. Greg Schill is a member of the 37th Street Community, not at the Dehon Formation Community in Chicago.
Forward corrections and updates to Kassandra, Br. Frank Presto or Mary Gorski at the Provincialate Offices.
Please note that the personnel directory is also available in the Members’ section of the province website. This has the most up-to-date listings of province membership. To access it, members need to login to the Members’ section and click on “Personnel Directory” in the Members’ box in the upper right corner of the Members’ homepage.
Please remember
Fr. François Bescond, a member of the Franco-European Province, died March 5. He was born in 1937, professed in 1957 and ordained in 1965.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Tom Cassidy starts the week in St. Louis where he has CMSM Region V meetings; he will then visit with SCJs in the area. March 19-26, he is in Arizona visiting family and March 29-30 he has council meetings.
Calendar updates
March 21: Deadline for SCJ feedback on proposed Mexico project
March 29-30: Provincial Council meeting
May 1: Easter Concert, 2 p.m. (SHST)
May 9-11: Provincial Council meeting (budgets)
May 17 & 18: Masses for the anointing of the sick,(SHST) 1 p.m.
May 21: Dn. Greg Schill’s priesthood ordination (San Antonio)
May 23-24: North American councils meeting (Chicago)
July 1: Feast of the Sacred Heart, Mass at SHST, 11 a.m.
Week of July 11: Province Assembly, Hales Corners, Wis.
August 30-31: Provincial Council Meeting
October. 2: Pet Blessing (SHST)
October 4-5: Provincial Council Meeting
November 14-16: SCJ Retreat, Pinellas Park
December 14-15: Provincial Council Meeting
December 18: Advent Concert, 2 p.m.
