75 years!
On November 9, Holy Family School in Holly Springs, MS, hosted a 75th anniversary celebration. Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson was the main celebrant at a Mass that kicked off the day’s events; he is pictured above with SCJ Frs. Guy Blair, David Szatkowski, Vien Nguyen and Jack Kurps.
The school opened in 1948 as “St. Mary School” (the 75th celebration was delayed by a year due to construction). It was a time when children in the South were segregated, and St. Mary’s was established to serve the needs of the area’s Black children. In that first year there was a just a single teacher to teach 55 students in eight grades in one classroom. The next year, four School Sisters of St. Francis joined him.
Enrollment grew to 100; after cotton-picking season it jumped to 154. A high school was added in 1950, and just as with the primary school, the students’ first responsibility was to the cotton fields. For several years St. Mary’s had no choice other than to shut down for several weeks in autumn to allow for the harvest.
In 1969, St. Mary’s merged with nearby St. Joseph school in Holly Springs and was renamed as CADET, an acronym for “Christian Aided Development Through Extraordinary Training.” A child care center for three and four-year-olds was added in 1974. In 1994, CADET was renamed “Holy Family School” in recognition of its Catholic heritage.
The school’s name has changed several times, but not its mission: to serve children and their families in Holly Springs. Holy Family is a ministry of Sacred Heart Southern Missions.
Please remember
+ Kamala Mulyangasu Martin, the uncle of Fr. Ushindi Kambale Sahani of the Canadian Region, died on November 12. He was 71 and had been suffering from heart problems for several years.
Pastoral year enhances seminarian’s commitment
“A pastoral year experience is often transformative, marking a journey of spiritual, personal, and professional growth for seminarians,” writes Frater Truc Tran, SCJ, in a reflection on the first months of his pastoral year.
“Arriving in South Dakota, I received the warmest welcome from our community, students, staff, and employees of St. Joseph Indian School. My first days were filled with excitement and nervousness as I looked through the staff directory, which included over 300 people! I wondered, ‘How can I get to know all of them in just one year?’
” I am dedicating more time to visiting students in their homes, offering prayers, and listening to their life stories to understand them better. These experiences help me connect Native American traditions and the Catholic faith. However, such moments are not always easily accessible. I have struggled to find the right words to understand the relationship between religion and the Native American traditions. Yet, these challenges have revealed to me the grace found in a simple, compassionate presence. At such times, I was reminded of the beauty and strength that faith can provide. I am realizing how profoundly ministry connects me to people’s lives.
“The pastoral year is filled with moments of discernment. I questioned whether I was called to this life. I have discovered that my role was not to have all the answers but to be a presence and a vessel of God’s love. Additionally, the pastoral year provides an excellent opportunity to explore Fr. Dehon’s spirituality deeply and discern my relationship with God in my vocation. Each day, my love for the people and God’s calling deepens. My heart expands to understand that ministry becomes more abundant when grounded in humility and compassion.”
Click here to read Fra. Truc’s full reflection on the province website.
SCJ tells youth that they are the “Church of TODAY!”
Fr. Henry Nguyen, SCJ, our vocation director, sends a message from Long Beach, CA, where he took part in the National Catholic Youth Conference over the weekend.
“I had the unique opportunity to be the presider and homilist for Thursday’s 5:15 pm Mass,” wrote Fr. Henry. “Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu and several other priests concelebrated. The room was filled with hundreds of young people, their chaperones, and other priests and religious.
“My message to them was a reminder that they are not the Church of tomorrow but the Church of TODAY. Young people have an important place in the Church now. The priests, religious, and chaperones are only here at this event because of them. Their journey of faith, along “the way” (this year’s theme), is a relationship they have with God.”
The NCYC is a powerfully unique three-day experience of prayer, community, evangelization, catechesis, service, and empowerment for Catholic teenagers (of high school age) and their adult chaperones. As Fr. Henry notes, this year’s theme is El Camino, or “The Way.”
Welcoming one another
“Welcoming international members in community and ministry” was the theme of last week’s one-hour Zoom conference hosted by the US Provincial Administration. Increasingly, the Church in the United States is multicultural, not just in the pews but among the many priests and religious who serve it. Approximately half of the conference participants were Dehonians born in countries other than the United States. Helping international ministers and religious feel welcome and at home in the US is a priority for the province.
Dr. Paul Ashton, Psy.D., D. Min., was the presenter. He has led a wide variety of workshops and training seminars in dioceses throughout the world. And while the theme of the presentation focused on welcoming international religious and other ministers, his words spoke to a wider sense of welcoming.
“Some of the most important questions that we can ask another person are ‘How are you managing? What do you need? What do you want?'” Dr. Ashton noted that not every “want” is possible, but it is important to get a sense of what people are yearning for, especially people navigating a culture which is new to them.
“Life is short and people need you,” said Dr. Ashton. “People need a kind word, a smile; sometimes much more. Develop trust by being vulnerable. Jesus himself was vulnerable for us. He is our model.”
Postcard from South Africa
Fr. Charles Brown, SCJ, sends the photo above from Aliwal North, South Africa, where has been visiting with the postulant community.
“We had a marvelous week,” he wrote. “I gave ten conference on the New Testament (St. Paul) and our Dehonian life. We had lots of very spirited discussions! We all send our greetings.”
Fr. Sanil Michael, SCJ, of the formation team, is pictured in the second row, second from the left.
Looking ahead
Coworkers, volunteers, members of the Dehonian family, and SCJs are invited to an Advent Hour of Recollection on Tueday, December 10 at 10:00 a.m. (CST) It will be held via Zoom; link information below.
Dr. James Stroud will present “Forgiveness in a World of Conflict”. Dr. Stroud is Associate Professor of Moral Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. In addition to his intellectual training (S.T.D., The Catholic University of America, S.T.L., The Catholic University of America, M.A., University of Dallas), Dr. Stroud lives his faith daily and has a beautiful way of sharing it with others.
Questions? Contact Monica Misey, director of Dehonian Associates, at [email protected] or 414-427-4267.
Zoom information:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81332521828?pwd=QHEmEfaf9Ae5FiZAVDHPZSxMdMTca3.1
Meeting ID: 813 3252 1828
Passcode: 573872
Please note that there is a separate Advent Hour of Reflection for SCJs on December 5. Information about this was sent to SCJs in the US and Canada on November 15; information about the December 5 presentation is also on the Members page of the US Province website.
Father Tour Guide
Our closing photo is of Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, at the community house in South Dakota where he is visiting with Sisters Yollie Nobabos and Clary Joy Palasan of the Theresian Missionaries of Mary, along with their Mother Superior, Sr. Evelyn Tinoy, and sisters from the Missionary Congregation of Mary: Sr. Evangeline Hingpit (Mother Superior of the MCM sisters) and Sr. Teresita Sajelan (General Secretary), as well as Sr. Ramona Fabe Pandan.
Sisters Yollie and Clary Joy have been serving in South Dakota for the past year, and Sr. Ramona is preparing for future ministry in the US Province. Fr. Vien invited the leadership of both of the religious communities –now partnering with the Dehonians in ministry – to come for a visit. They will spend a few days learning about the ministries of South Dakota before continuing to Mississippi.
Both of the religious communities are based in the Philippines, serving in some of the same areas in which our Dehonians are found there.
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