Nobember 7, 2008. Mass and Adoration, 8:30-10:00 a.m. at St. Stephen's.
November 8, 2008. Youth Rally at Cathedral Square. Our club will preside over a table at the rally. We will distribute NDVI materials and information about Serra. Call Len Gross if you want to help with setting up on Friday or working on Saturday. A 4:00 mass will conclude the event.
November 10, 2008. Luncheon Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Louis Benton Steak House.
November 17, 2008. Board Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Louis Benton Steak House.
November 24, 2008. NO MEETING. ENJOY YOUR THANKSGIVING WEEK.
December 2, 2008. Eighteenth Annual Vocations Benefit Dinner at the Conference Center at Cathedral Square. Social 6:00 p.m. Dinner 7:00 p.m.
February 21, 2009. Sisters' Appreciation Dinner. Please note the correction. The October Newsletter reported the date as February, 2008.
News from West Virginia, October 10-12. John Osterhart moderated the two back-to-back Membership meetings and Nate McKenzie served on the panel. One of the themes of the discussion was Recruiting the Next Generation of Serra, looking for a more diverse and younger membership. Let us congratulate John and Nate for their part in an excellent presentation.
Another highlight of the conference was a message by Bishop Emeritus of Wheeling-Charleston Bernard Schmitt. The bishop, one of a family of seven boys, recalls his grandmother. She had always thought about a religious vocation, but instead married and had nine children. She attended two masses every day and prayed fervently that one of her children would feel called to serve the Church with a religious vocation. At one time one of her daughters decided she wanted to become a Sister but left the convent after six months. However, the next generation of the family produced seven priests and six religious sisters. The Lord's ways are not necessarily our ways, the Bishop observed. The Lord answers our prayers, but not always in the way we would have envisioned.
A second point the Bishop made was that there is no easy way to Salvation. The job of Serra, he reflected, is planting seeds, getting ready so that when Christ comes around, we need to make sure that He will find good ground. "Lukewarmness is the great enemy of the Church. Be like St. Francis, he advised, on fire with love of God. In our time, Mother Theresa, beginning with nothing, founded the Sisters of Charity, now more than 700 members strong."
Third, the Bishop inquired why we are not more upset about the lack of vocations in the Church. We need to make people aware of the situation. Good families, he said, provide the good ground to sow the seeds of vocations.
As one might expect, the Oglebay Conference offered a wonderful opportunity for prayer and fellowship in a beautiful setting.
Prayer for the Second Day of the Divine Mercy Novena. Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy.
Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard--upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.
Excerpt from Boston Tough. Military Chaplain is Vocations Director to the World.
Father John McLaughlin became the first vocations director for the Arthdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in June, 2008.
National Catholic Register Interviewer Tim Drake spoke with Fr. McLaughlin from his office in Washington, D. C.
Where are you from originally? I'm from Woburn, Mass., 12 miles north of Boston. We call it the "holy city." One parish in particular has had more priests per capita than any parish in the country, with more than 80 priests ordained from it. In 1995, I was the sixth guy ordained in six years...
What led to your own vocation? I was in real estate and owned my own properties and coached high school wrestling for about 10 years. One night in 1986, a car accident killed two of my wrestlers on the last day of the season. My captain was left a quadriplegic, and another young man was left in a coma. Both of them came from very religious families. John Turner came out of his coma and is doing well. I baptized two of his children.
I accompanied the other young man, Tim Donovan, on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in 1988. Tim was in a wheelchair. I thought I was taking him on the pilgrimage, but in the end, it was he who was taking me. That experience brought me back to my faith.
What was it about the pilgrimage that moved you? There's a great peace you get there. A lot of people look for that peace. I was working, doing what I was supposed to do, trying to make more money. That didn't give me the same peace that I got from the prayer that was going on over there. That propelled me toward the priesthood...
How dire is the need for Catholic military chaplains? It's pretty great. We have around 300 for all the services. When you think of the number of people in the military and the fact that 24 percent of them are Catholic, that's not a great number. The chaplains can't be everywhere, so sacramentally--bringing the Eucharist, anointing the sick and dying, and hearing confessions--they're not able to minister to the men and women as they should.
Some dioceses have been really good about freeing up men for service to the Military Archdiocese, and some haven't been supportive--perhaps because they are facing shortages of their own.
What's the biggest challenge of your work? We're the largest diocese in the world because we go all over the place. Time management is a big concern. Because of the huge distance that I cover, I can't randomly stop into all the bases..I've been traveling to different bases and talking to men who have an interest in religious life. I just got back from Fort Bragg, where I met with three different men...I'm soliciting people to become priests or religious, but am not just soliciting for the Military Archdiocese; they have to be sponsored by another diocese. We do not have people who are priests just for us. If they want to come into the Military Archdiocese or become priests, I direct inquirers to their diocese or diocesan vocation director.
Are there particular qualities that make those who have served in the military good candidates for the priesthood or religious life? The young people I've met are tremendous. Their sense of duty, discipline, and their willingness to sacrifice brings them to a willingness to sacrifice for God.
What can families do to encourage religious vocations? That's the big problem. People wonder why the numbers are going down. Internationally, the numbers in third-world nations are really high. The comfort level in America is at the highest in history. That's part of the reason. Vocations are nurtured. If people aren't going to church or talking about the priesthood in the family, it's not being supported.
Source: National Catholic Register, October 12, 2008.
Items of Interest. Pam McKenzie gave a presentation about vocations to St. Stephen's third,
fourth, and fifth graders on October 29. The students were introduced to the Vocations Chalice...SDVI Scholarship recipient Katie O'Connor (2006) recently called Pam to volunteer for an extra leaf-raking session with the Consolata Sisters. Several members of her family joined in the November 1 effort. Also to be noted is that Katie went back on her own for a second NDVI session...Prayer cards have been sent to Father Tom DeYoung, who will be retiring this month, Julie Klein, and the Msgr. Ancona family. Pray also for Fr. Mark Przybysz and Fr. Danner...Paul Nelson, along with several other Serrans, continues his College Connection work at Aquinas.
Pray the Rosary for Vocations. The following note is being circulated among the parishes of our diocese: Pray for Vocations. Bishop Hurley, we, the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, will pray the Rosary weekly for ministries within the Church, especially the priesthood, the religious life, and the deaconate through May, 2009. The forms are to be returned to Mary Burk, 734 Stewart Street, Fremont, MI 49412, by December 1. They will be presented to Biship Hurley by December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. These prayers can be said at one's convenience, in any setting, and do not require a special meeting, time, or place.
A Letter from Serra International President Cesare Gambardella. October 30, 2008. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Serra: When a family is united and one of its members has a difficult problelm, all get together in an effort to help and support him.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the case for the Serra Family, due to the nature and characteristics of each Serran: the spirit of friendship freely given and of fraternity.
Joe Donahue of the Serra Dlub of NW Denver in Colorado U. ?S.l A. and also a member of the International Board of Trustees, communicated that he has been diagnosed with cancer of the liver and pancreas, because of which (in his own words) there is little hope.
We, all together and united, can be a great help to Joe: the certainty of our prayers for him and his family.
However, I am asking more. I have Joe's permission to ask all Serrans to pray to ourPatron Blessed Junipero Serra to intercede for a cure, and if this be God's will, to make this initiative a worldwide effort.
It is my dream: could Joe be the instsrument of the miracle needed for Blessed Junipero Serra to be recognized as a saint of the universal Church? It is a fact that we are waiting his canonization for a long time.
To this end, I ask you to inform Chicago Headquarters or me directly on what initiative you have or will be taking.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us!
Yours in Serra, Cesare Gambardella, S. I. President
Remembering our Beloved Dead. When Benjamin Franklin wanted to convey the inevitability of taxating by governments, he used death as an analogy. "Death and taxes" entered our vocabulary as a piece of folk wisdom. People of all religious beliefs around the world have acknowledged the place of death in the cycle of things, and have connected some of their deepest beliefs and most profound rituals to it. Those of us in the Christian tradition are no different. But what makes death different in our lives is that we connect the life of the departed not only to our own lives and the lives of those he or she knew and loved, but also to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our celebration of the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls) on the Lord's Day is a wonderful opportunity for us to recall that on each Lord's Day we celebrate the mystery that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. Moreover, as we remember and celebrate the lives of those who have gone before us in faith, we take comfort in our sorrow by remembering that their lives--and their deaths-- are intimately bound up in the life of Christ, who lives forever, no more to die. Source: Our Llady of Sorrows Bulletin, November 2, 2008.
November is the month of the remembrance of the dead.
Prayer for the Dead. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.Amen.
A Message From Our President. Dear Serrans: November is upon us and it is the time of year when we remember those who have departed. We certainly want to remember the deceased Serrans who have served our Grand Rapids club over the past 60 years, as well as the priests and religious who have served the Church. May they rest in peace.
With the West Catholic venturing crew off and running, I am happy to report that a second venturing crew is forming. This is a smaller group of men attending Aquinas College. They are discerning about the priesthood. Several priests have been talking and working with them. The
group has scheduled meeting times about every other week as their schedules permit. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Len Gross and the Vocations Committee have some busy days coming. The Youth Rally will take place on November 8. A big thank you to the Serrans who have volunteered to help. Also, don't forget about adoration on Friday morning at St. Stephen Parish. Then on Sunday, November 9, we have been asked to provide hospitality at Grand Valley State University. Father Don Andrie is putting together a social time after the 5:30 mass at DeWitt Center on campus. He called me to see whether I could get about six people to help him. I accepted. This is the first time that I know of for Serrans to meet and mingle with Grand Valley students. If you are interested in helping, please call me at 893-5233 and I will give you the particulars. Stay tuned for more news...
I know all of you have been talking to your friends and neighbors about attending the Vocations Dinner on December 2. Even though the early bird opporunity is over, you can still promote and sell tickets. The Programs Committee is looking over the final plans, and the evening will be very enjoyable.
Our traveling chalice is making its way to Catholic elementary schools. The third, fourth, and fifth graders at St. Stephen were happy to help pray for vocations, including our 10 seminarians. While talking to the students, I learned that one of them has a cousin in a seminary. We decided to add the cousin's name to the list. Boys and girls do know a lot about vocations and discerning about a religious way of life. I am always energized after giving one of these presentations.
Thank you to Dr. Larry Burns for his enlightening presentation on stem cell research and Proposal 2. Don't forget to vote! November 10 is our next meeting date at Louis Benton Steak House. We will have a break the week ofThanksgiving, and then comes the gala Vocations Dinner on Tuesday, December 2, at Cathedral Square.
May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Pam McKenzie
