Calendar of Events for September, 2007
September 10, 2007. Member-guest reception, Louis Benton Steak House, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Membership chairman Tim Hile is still taking names and addresses of prospective new members.
September 24, 2007. Prayer service and luncheon meeting, 12:00 noon,
Sacred Heart Parish, with orientation for new members.
Coming up...
Regional Conference. The Great Lakes Conference of Serra USA will take place on October 18-21 in Bay City, Michigan. Everything needed to sign up is at http://www.saginawserraclub.org/.
Priest Appreciation Day. Priest Appreciation Day will be observed on October 28, 2007.
Fall leaf raking with Consolata Sisters in Belmont. Date TBA.
Vocations Dinner, December 6. Noto's Restaurant. Chairman Bob Paul urges all members to participate in inviting guests to this event, as we are committed to 200 in attendance. We also welcome sponsors. Please do all you can to make this event an unprecedented success. Tickets will be $75.00 per person, but those who reserve a table or pay early will be offered an incentive of $65.00 per person. Remember, the Vocations Dinner is our major fundraiser of the year and provides funds for the Bishop to carry on his work in fostering vocations.
Sister's Appreciation Dinner. The dinner is scheduled for April 12, 2008 at St. Jude's Parish.
Notes from our Board. The Serra Board met on August 20 at Louis Benton Steak House. Two guests, Dennis Rybicki and Sarah Clapp, spoke about the formation of a Catholic Choral Group for grades 2-8. The vision of the group is to introduce young people to singing sacred music and becoming involved in the Church. Dennis asked about the possibility of support from Serra Club, and board members recognized that vocations could result from this group. However, the board ultimately decided that significant financial support of this activity was a bit too far afield from our mission, but that we would perhaps invite the group to perform for our club on certain occasions and give a stipend for doing so. Individual Serrans interested in contributions to the Catholic Choral Group may visit http://www.catholicchoralacademy.org/
The Board also acknowledged recognition of our club by the International Foundation of Serra because of contributions by Charter Member Ralph Hauenstein. A banner presented to the club in honor of this occasion will be displayed at all future Serra meetings. The Board announced that a healing card would be sent to Ralph following eye surgery performed in early August. Let us keep Ralph in our prayers as he recovers.
Serrans Honor the Memory of Long-Time Member Harry Mika. Harry E. Mika, ( a long-time memer of the Grand Rapids Serra Club), age 87, of Grand Rapids, passed away on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. Born in Bay City in 1920, Harry moved to Grand Rapids in 1934 and graduated from Central High School in 1938. Harry lived a life exemplified by service to his church, to his professions, and to his community. A member of St. Alphonsus
Church for more than fifty years, Harry was a leading proponent of parochial education and was actively involved in significant parish and diocesean development activities, including extensive renovation of the church in the late 1970s.
After a number of years as an owner of the East End Super Market, Harry set home sales records in the state as a leading realtor in Michigan, and finally, as a banking executive, was involved in several of the more significant bank mergers in West Michigan. He occasionally taught courses in real estate and labor and industrial relations for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
For more than fifty years Harry served on many professional and community boards and associations in the Grand Rapids area. As a board member of the Grand Rapids Urban League, he was among the longest serving Urban League directors in the country. Harry was a religious and caring man who was deeply devoted to his family, the pillar of his support. From humble beginnings, Harry devoted his life to public service, driven by his conviction that God-given talents must be used for the betterment of others. He touched the lives of many people and will be remembered for his gentle and caring manner, his integrity, and his compassion...
The Mass of Christian Burial for Harry Mika was celebrated on Saturday, August 4, at 12:30 p.m. at St. Alphonsus Church. Interment was in Fairplains Cemetery. The family greeted friends and relatives on Friday, August 3 at Arsulowicz Brothers, Remembrance Mortuary, in Walker. Those who still wish to extend an expression of sympathy may make a contribution to Hospice of Michigan. Source: The Grand Rapids Press.
Seminarian David Gross Shares Reflections on his Retreat. After considering my options and consulting with my spiritual director, I decided to embark on a 30-day Ignatian Retreat at Creighton University this summer. I was looking to deepen my relationship with the Lord, learn more about myself, and reduce my dependence on material goods. The experience gave me all of this and more. I was a little bit nervous about not being able to talk for 30 days, but I was more nervous about how to fill four to five hours of prayer time every day. The hardest part of the silence was not knowing how my family was doing back home and being out of touch with what was going on in the world.
The retreat began on Friday evening, June 29, and I quickly settled into a daily routine of spiritual direction, prayer, mass, meals, rest, and recreation. The first three days I prayed over the Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises before moving into the first week, praying about the love of God, my own sinfulness, and how I have let God down. The surprising thing was how much joy I felt at the end of the week ad I became more aware of the tremendous love that God has for me and how wide his mercy and forgiveness are. The remaining three weeks I spent meditating on the life of Jesus and putting myself into the events of the gospel. I gained a new appreciation for many of the Bible stories that I had heard countless times, and this led me to a more intimate relationship with Jesus. Finally, on the last evening of the retreat I experienced a breakthrough in which I realized deep down in my heart that I have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus, who is the same amazing and wonderful God who created me and the entire vast universe. While I had said many times before that Jesus is God, suddenly those words took on a whole new meaning.
The experience of the Spiritual Exercises helped me to appreciate that God has been calling me to the priesthood for most of my life. I also discovered that following God's will is the only thing that can bring me true happiness. I realized that it is not about what I do, but rather what I allow God to do with me. This thought brought me a feeling of great joy and peace. I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given to participate in this retreat, and while I don't have a desire to do it again, the graces that I was given will stay with me for the rest of my life.
S0urce: David Gross.
Serrans could benefit from the Jesus prayer: breathing God. The Jesus prayer is a prayer of the Eastern Desert Fathers. Some patriarchs also call it the prayer of the heart. It is a very short prayer repeated often throughout the day. It can say something like, "Lord, have mercy," or "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
This is one of the deepest and most mystic prayers and it is constantly repeated as part of a personal relationship with God. For those who say it constantly, it becomes part of breathing and thus becomes part of the whole person.
When practiced constantly, the Jesus Prayer becomes automatic and spontaneous. Some people consider it part of meditation, but since it is not reflective meditation, it could be considered rather as a part of contemplation. In this prayer there aren't many words, but a simple being with the Lord, being in God.
The prayer probably originated in the desert of Egypt. The remains of an inscription containing fragments of the Prayer of Jesus were found in the ruins of a monastery in the desert of Egypt. The remains are from the 13th century.
Theologically, the Jesus Prayer could be considered as an extension of the lesson of Jesus about the Publican and the Pharisee. The Publican is the one who, correctly and humbly, says: "Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner."
The Eastern monks often say this prayer up to hundreds of times a night. The monk tries to internalize the prayer to bring the presence of Jesus to his heart and mind. It can also be used as a prayer of repentance. To say this prayer is to move and breath in God constantly, even in the midst of daily tasks and concerns. It is a way to remind oneself of our purpose in life, what we are doing, and the constant presence of God in our lives.
If a person is in prayer in this way, all of his or her reactions, actions, thoughts, and desires will be dominated by the presence of God. There won't be any room, therefore, for things that are not in the spirit of the Lord, like anger, selfishness, pride, or violence. This is, therefore, a prayer that unites the person with God in such a way that the person acquires a new personality and identity.
Source: Our Lady of Sorrows bulletin, August 5, 2007.
Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me, and Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us.
A Message from our President. Dear Serrans: I am confident that all who attended the annual picnic at the Franciscan Sisters' property in Lowell had a wonderful evening. Our thank go to Fr. Hankiewicz for celebrating mass, Pam Szczesny and Nancy King for preparing a wonderful meal, and the sisters for allowing us to use their facility. Also, thank to all who made donations to the Franciscan Sisters that evening.
In August a handful of Serrans traveled to the International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Grand Rapids has always enjoyed a good representation at these events and we should be proud of our accomplishments. The programming is always done very well, and the hosts are from area clubs. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet Serrans from around the world and get a picture of the role our organization plays in the Universal Church worldwide. Next year's convention will take place in Brazil; details will be forthcoming. There are several members who are already planning on attending this event. I will forward information as it becomes available. The Brazilians are excited and look forward to hosting us in 2008.
September 10, 2007, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. will be our fall member/guest reception at Louis Benton. If you have not invited potential guests yet, please do so personally and forward their contact information onto Tim Hile at thile@ottawa-kent.com or 616-437-1404 so that he may send them a formal invitation. There will be a social hour with heavy hors d'oeuvres from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The formal presentation will begin at 6:30 and conclude no later than 7:00 p.m. Complimentary valet parking will be available at the Ionia Avenue entrance of the restaurant. The member-guest receptions are one of the most important activities we sponsor as a club. This evening is an informal way of sharing our SERRA experience with our co-workers, friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners. We all benefit from the camaraderie and friendships we establish in the club; we ask that you please share that experience with others.
The autumn is always an exciting time of the year, but this year is a little busier than usual for two Serrans. I am pleased to announce that Pam Szczesny and Nate McKenzie will be married on October 13. On behalf of the club I would like to extend them our congratulations and best wishes.
I look forward to seeing you on September 10 at Louis Benton.
Very truly yours,
Mark A. Kubik, President
Miscellaneous Items.
A new diocesean poster featuring our seminarians will be published this fall.
A new CD titled, A Pictoral History of Serra International is now available. Ask Pam Szczesny if you're interested in obtaining one.
And finally, muchas gracias to the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist for hosting our picnic with the South-of-the Border theme. Thanks to some of our fellow Serrans and their guests for becoming cornhuskers for a time, although we have little information about their sentiments toward Nebraska.
Life Fest 2007 will take place during the weekend of September 7-9 at the Franciscan Center. The Life Fest is advertised as a weekend for the heart and soul and features a Friday retreat, a Saturday dinner and auction, and a Sunday family picnic. For complete information about the Life Fest or the Franciscan Life Process Center in general, visit http://www.lifeprocesscenter.org/
Pray for Vocations.
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