Much has changed in 30 years!
The Dehon Study Center has come a long way since its days in the basement of Dehon House. Established in 1994, the center was a response to a mandate by the US Provincial Council to make the founder’s works better known and available to English-speakers. Fr. Paul (PJ) McGuire, SCJ, was named the center’s first director, a role that he held until his death in 2016. By then, the center’s resources had been moved out of the basement and into a spare apartment at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
Following Fr. PJ’s death, the center’s work continued on a part-time basis with help from David Schimmel (former director of Dehonian Associates) and Fr. Jim Schroeder, SCJ, as well as other Dehonian scholars.
Last year, the Provincial Council named a full-time director for the center: Fr. Joseph Mukuna, SCJ (pictured above). One of his first tasks was to move the center to a place where it could be more easily accessed by a wide variety of people: the Provincial Conference Center in Franklin (Hales Corners), WI.
On March 18, approximately 80 people came to an Open House and rededication of the center.
“This year holds a particular significance for us,” said Fr. Joseph to those gathered. “We are commemorating 100 years since the death of Fr. Dehon, whose spirit and vision continue to guide our mission. As Fr. Dehon himself said, ‘I leave you a meritorious treasure, the Heart of Jesus.’ This treasure is more than a source of personal devotion. It is the wellspring of our work, the foundation of the values we seek to instill in all who pass through the doors of the Dehon Study Center….
“To honor Fr. Dehon’s legacy, we must not simply preserve it, we must translate and contextualize his message in today’s world. What does reparation mean in the face of modern challenges? How can social justice shape our engagement with the world? These are questions we must answer all the time.”
Anyone with an interest in Fr. Dehon, his charism and spirituality is welcome to visit the center. Contact Fr. Joseph Mukuna for more information at jmukuna@dehoniansusa.org
Collaborative tradition continues
On March 18, members of the US and Canadian administrations gathered (both in-person and on the Zoom screen) at the Provincial Conference Center in Hales Corners for their biannual meeting. One administration had just begun a three-year term while the other was preparing for the conclusion of its mandate. Joining them was Fr. Willyans Prado Rapozo, SCJ, general councilor, who was on his way to Brazil for the meeting of the Latin American major superiors next week.
Among the topics discussed at the North American meeting was immigration. Both administrations talked about the increasing challenges of obtaining visas for international SCJs coming to North America for study and/or ministry. The councils spoke about missionary efforts in the congregation and new geo-cultural structures, as well as follow-up to the North American conference on the dual threats of climate disruption and nuclear weapons, the North American Dehonian Theological Commission and its projects, the Dehonian jubilees, social media (how it can be a positive force for communication but also a challenge when used unwisely), and the North American meetings themselves. Although gathering by Zoom is easier and less costly, several of the meeting participants spoke of the benefits of being together, present to each other when possible.
The next in-person meeting of the North American administrations will take place October 15, 2025, in Toronto.
Collaboration in Brazil
This week Frs. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, and Gustave Lulendo, SCJ, are in Recife, Brazil, taking part in the meeting of the Latin American Dehonian major superiors. Representatives from each of the congregation’s South and North American entities are at the gathering.
Please remember
Seigo Madeleine, the mother of Fr. Guy Bertrand Wabo, SCJ, died in Bandjoun, Cameroon. She was 83. Fr. Guy is a member of the Ottawa community.
Fr. Gabriel Kera Tukan, a member of the Indonesia Province, died on March 18. He was born in 1976, professed in 1998 and ordained in 2006.
Dehonian Jubilee logo
Last week the general administration released the Dehonian Jubilee Logo to be used as a part of the celebration of the centenary of the death of Fr. Leo John Dehon and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation. It features an image of the founder, and the slogan of the Jubilee: “For Him I live: Christ lives in me.”
The logo was designed by Maria Eduarda Oliveira Batista, a graphic artist from Brazil who lives near the Dehonians’ parish and novitiate in Jaraguá do Sul. She is familiar with Dehonian spirituality through her participation in community events.
Click here to read more on the general website.
Budget reminder
All province budgets are due to the Provincial Treasurer’s Office by April 4. Questions? Contract Kevin Stanke.
Reminder: Lux Center presentation on Catholic-Jewish stories
The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology offers a free public lecture on March 30 at 2:00 p.m. with speaker Rabbi Yehiel Poupko and respondent Dr. Richard Lux (founder of the center and its namesake). The presentation description:
“The Torah and the Gospels teach their most important lessons through stories. This presentation will feature stories, real live stories, from several decades of Catholic-Jewish relations in the United States and in Israel. Just as religious ideas, aka theology, emerge from the stories of the Torah and the Gospels, so too will some religious ideas and theology emerge from these stories.”
The lecture is free, but you are asked to RSVP is you plan to attend. Click here to do so.
TOMORROW: Lenten Hour of Recollection
Tomorrow, March 25, at 10:00 a.m., is the Lenten Hour of Recollection for Dehonian collaborators, including employees, volunteers, and others with a connection to the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Province pastors, managers and supervisors are asked to encourage their employees to attend the session if possible. SCJs are also welcome to take part.
Dr. Jeremy Blackwood, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, will speak on Dilexit Nos, the recent encyclical by Pope Francis on the Sacred Heart.
The link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88125439711?pwd=wtjWV92CJ3rJjXoUBahlFLdlN9oqkY.1
If you missed it…
On March 14 the Dehon Study Center hosted the first of three presentations on Dilexit Nos. As with the Lenten reflection cited above, the sessions – held via Zoom – are also led by Dr. Jeremy Blackwood. The topic of his first session: “Renewing the Sacred Heart: Dilexit Nos and Fr. Leo Dehon.”
Click here or on the image above to view the recording.
Mass for Vocations
Following tomorrow’s Lenten Hour of Reflection will be the monthly Mass for Vocations in the chapel at the Provincial Conference Center. It begins at 11:15 a.m. and anyone is welcome to take part. Questions? Contact the Vocation Office at 414-529-4255 or vocations@dehoniansusa.org.
Appointed
Several SCJs from North America have been appointed to commissions at the general level:
- Dn. David Nagel, SCJ, was once again appointed to serve on the General Finance Commission.
- Fr. Joseph Mukuna, SCJ, was named to the International Spirituality Commission.
- Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, was named to the International Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.
- Fr. Charles Brown, SCJ, was appointed to the Dehonian Jubilee Commission.
- Fr. Antonio Maria Rezende Pereira, SCJ, (Canadian Region), was named as the North American representative to the General Communications Office
- Fr. John van den Hengel, SCJ, (Canadian Region) continues to serve on the International Dehonian Theological Commission.
- Also, Bridget Martin, principal of Sacred Heart School in Southaven, MS, continues her service on the International Educare Commission.
Updates
The following SCJs have been transferred to the US Province: Fr. M. Ari Saputra, Fr. Floribert Bulo Dhelo and Fr. Joseph Mukuna. Frs. Ari and Floribert have been assigned to ministry in South Dakota, beginning in May, and Fr. Joseph was appointed as director of the Dehon Study Center last year. Welcome!!
God must have our heart
Fr. Mark Fortner, SCJ, was the homilist at last week’s community Mass on the anniversary of Fr. Dehon’s birth. An excerpt from his homily:
“‘Our knowledge and our activities are no use to God on their own if He does not have our heart,’ wrote Fr. Dehon. After slowly repeating his words a number of times, I found myself still asking myself ‘What does it mean? What does that look like? What does that feel like? How is that manifested in daily life when we give, or else, withhold our hearts from God?’
“Pope Francis, in his encyclical on the Sacred Heart, entitled Dilexit Nos, offers us some very helpful insights that touch on Fr. Dehon’s concern. Pope Francis echoes Fr. Dehon’s concern, writing, in paragraph 6 that, ‘the heart is the basis for any sound life project; nothing worthwhile can be undertaken apart from the heart.”’ Secondly, in paragraph 16, he speaks of the unique power of the heart, stating, ‘this unique power of the heart also helps us to understand why, when we grasp a reality with the heart, we know it better, more fully. This inevitably leads to love of which the heart is capable, for the inmost core of reality is love.’ And thirdly, in paragraph 21, he reminds us of what we become when love reigns in our heart, saying, ‘In a word, if love reigns in our heart, we become in a complete and luminous way, the persons we are meant to be, for every human being is created above all else for love. In the deepest fiber of our being we were made to love and to be love.'”
Click here to read the full homily.
Fr. Mark is pictured above (right) during a recent visit to Indonesia, where he served for 30 years. At his left is Bishop Vincentius Setiawan Triatmojo, whom he baptized as an infant in 1971.
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