September 8, 2008. Luncheon Meeting, Louis Benton Steak House, 12:00 Noon. Dennis Leiber, our club's appointed delegate, will speak about the Serra International Convention he attended in July.
September 15, 2008. Board Meeting, Louis Benton Steak House, 12:00 Noon.
September 22, 2008. Prayer Service and Luncheon Meeting, Sacred Heart, 12:00 Noon.
September 15, 2008. Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Actually, Father Ted Kozlowski, Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, reminds us that the entire month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The following information sheds light on a special Rosary commemorating the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady is a popular way of sharing in the major crises of Mary's life. As we pray one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each sorrow, we ponder the pain she endured with her Son. We ask her to help us understand the evil we have done and to lead us in repentance. By mixing our sufferings with Mary's, as she joined her sacrifices with those of her Son, we participate in the work of our redemption.
In public recitation say with the priest:
O Lord, Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for my sins. I humbly ask your forgiveness, and I promise with Your help to prove worthy of Your love by sharing in Your Passion and Death, through Our Blessed Mother's Sorrows. Amen.
The First Sorrow: The prophecy of Simeon
Mary listened to Simeon predict that her Son would suffer so much to redeem the human race, it would cut her to the heart like a sword. For the rest of her life she dreaded the day the prophecy would be fulfilled. One Our Father, seven Hail Mary
The Second Sorrow: The flight into Egypt
To escape Herod's plot to kill her infant Son, Mary left home and friends and endured the fears of sudden flight by dark and uncertain life in a foreign land. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys
The Third Sorrow: The loss of Jesus
Returning from Jerusalem after the Passover, Mary lost her Son in the crowd. She worried and searched for three days before finding Him in the temple. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys
The Fourth Sorrow: The meeting at Calvary
Mary met her Son, tortured by the cross and the crowd, on the road to Calvary, and she was powerless to help him except by her presence. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys
The Fifth Sorrow: The Crucifixion
Mary watched the death agony of her Son on the cross, and witnessed His last will, which made us sinners her children. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys
The Sixth Sorrow: The wake of Jesus
Mary embraced her Son's body, lowered from the cross, and tried to comprehend that the Author of life was dead and the Creator had been killed by his Creatures. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys
The Seventh Sorrow: The burial of Jesus
Mary and her friends washed and anointed the battered body of her Son. They wrapped it in linen and laid it to rest in a fresh tomb. One Our Father, seven Hail Marys.
Three Hail Marys, said in sympathy with the grief of our sorrowing Mother, close the Rosary.
Source: Novena in Honor of Our Sorrowful Mother, Copyright 1987, by the the Servite Fathers, Chicago, Illinois.
Another Special Observance. As our readers undoubtedly know, Pope Benedict XVI announced a special Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Paul. The Jubilee year, which began on June 28, 2008, will end on June 29, 2009, to mark the approximately 2000th anniversary of the saint's birth.
St. Paul was born in Tarsus, in what is now Turkey, at the start of the Christian era, sometime between A. D. 7 and 10, according to church historians. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, he became one of the church's foremost evangelizers, first among Jews and then among gentiles.
The commemorative year will include symposiums and special publications devoted to the writings of St. Paul. The saint's letters are a primary source of information about the life of the early church and have strongly influenced church thinking through the centuries.
St. Paul's life holds a lesson for modern Christians, the pope said. The action of the church is credible and effective only to the extent that Christians are willing to "pay personally for their faith in Christ, in every situation," he said. Where this commitment is lacking, the appeal of the Gospel will be weaker, he said.
"The church is, by its nature, missionary; its primary task es evangelization," said the pope on the occasion of this announcement. "At the beginning of the third millennium, the church feels with renewed strength that Christ's missionary mandate is more pressing than ever."
View this bulletin online at http://www.catholicweb.com/
Mark Your Calendar for the following important dates for October and beyond.
October 10-12, 2008. Regional Meeting, Wheeling, West Virginia.
October 13, 2008. Member-guest Reception, Louis Benton Steak House, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Every Serran is urged to bring guest who is interested in learning more about our club. There will be no noon meeting on that day.
TBA: Leaf raking with the Consolata Sisters, Belmont. Abe Rossi is in charge of the fall leaf raking. He will work with West Catholic's Cathy Pearce to schedule this event, but we must wait until late October for maximum results.
December 2, 2008. Vocations Dinner. We urge all members to attend and bring guests. We will need two hundred plus attendees to make this event a success. The Programs Committee met on August 29 at Cathedral Square to tour the banquet facility with Patty Hughes. The final decision as to venue for the dinner will be announced in the October newsletter.
The Serra Chalice. Serrans Nate and Pam McKenzie purchased our club's chalice from Rome, where it received a papal blessing. The chalice can be moved from home to home or from meeting to meeting. It has already been placed in two fourth grade classes for one week each. The prayer cards that accompany the chalice have been written by the Detroit Oakland club. These prayers, or any others relating to vocations, can be used, but the decision as to which prayers are to be said is left up to whoever is hosting the chalice. At this time Joe and Kathy Westdorp have it in their home and will bring it to the September 15 meeting for someone else to take.
Serra Pins. Membership Chairman Tim Hile has Serra pins available for the bargain price of $5.00. If you've lost or misplaced yours, or if you never received one, please take advantage of this opportunity, as the new price will be $7.50.
Venturing. Ever since our club began working with the Gerald R. Ford Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the term venturing has made its way into our vocabulary. At the recent Serra picnic, Program Director Aaron Gach further described venturing, and former Eagle Scout Dennis Leiber explained how his experiences as a judge led to his interest in reaching out to the youth of our community.
In 2006, when Serra International Foundation approved a $7000 grant to fund the establishment of Serra Club chartered venturing crews or sea scouting units in Catholic high schools, Dennis saw an excellent opportunity to devote his time and talent to two of his favorite organizations at the same time--Serra and the Boy Scouts. Dennis is now Vice-President of Venturing at the Gerald R. Ford Council. At the picnic Pam McKenzie accepted a framed certificate naming us as the first Serra Club in the USA to join the scouts with the venturing opportunity. Under the rules of the Serra International Foundation, each Serra club will receive funding for half of the expenses incurred for chartering a venturing crew. The cost of starting up a venturing cres is minimal to the chartered organization. The fee is $20, which covers liability insurance for the chartered organization and administrative support from the local council.
What is venturing in general? Ten years ago, the Boy Scouts of America launched a youth development program for young men and women 14-20. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible adults. Specifically, teens need to test their capacity to 1) accept and meet new challenges, 2) make independent decisions and choices, 3) make important contributions to a team effort, 4) make ethically morally, and spiritually sound decisions, and 5) contribute something of value through service to a community or family.
Working with local Catholic high schools, Serra club units are intended to allow each young person to grow in religious belief using the Pope Pius XII Religious Emblem and provide opportunities for various outdoor, sports, and career oriented resources of Venturing and Sea Scouting. Serra clubs could offer further support for the religious components of various scouting projects and provide additional opportunities for young people to discern religious vocations. We look forward to watching how our venturing project contributes to the spiritual development of our young people. Father Larry King, pastor of St. Patrick's of Portland, attended the picnic in order to learn more about venturing.
Congratulations to Father Jim Wyse. Father Jim, pastor of Christ the King in Howard City and St. Francis de Sales in Lakeview celebrates the 21st anniversary of his ordination this month.
Pray especially for these Serrans and Spouses: Deacon Dale Hollern, Bob Gabridge, and Paula Mulligan.
A Message from our President. Dear Serrans: As I travel north and pass the apple orchards, I see that the apples are red and ripe and ready to eat. Fall is here and the Club is busy as ever with new ideas and vocation projects, among them writing a club history of the past 60 years, adoration not only for vocations but also for healing for our club members who suffer from a variety of illnesses, the 18th annual Vocations Dinner, the Fall Youth Rally in November, Vocations Awareness Week in January, and the member/guest gathering in October--the list goes on and on. I thought I knew what I was in for as president but really didn't have a clue!
It was a pleasure to see so many folks at the picnic on August 28. Aaron Gach and the Boy Scout facility certainly made this event most enjoyable, especially with the campfire and roasting marshmallows. It is always a pleasure to have Ralph Hauenstein join us for such meetings with his busy schedule. The picnic provided the Boy Scouts with the opportunity to award Ralph personally with the Citizen of the Year Award which he so richly deserves. In addition, Aaron explained more about our Venturing opportunity with the Boy Scouts. Tony Oleck, a student from West Catholic, told how the students from the high school are able to use the scout facilities as they meet to discuss their Catholic faith in today's world. (Editor's note: Tony was one of the students our club sponsored for Notre Dame Week in 2007, and he went back on his own this past summer). Imagine that--high school students talking about their Catholic faith! God does answer prayers. Cathy Pearce, West Catholic Advisor and Campus Minister, also thanked us for sponsoring this faith based student club. opening the door for teachers to use the scout facilities, too. Nate and Mark outdid themselves with the food menu and they even let me help! In the coming weeks we will be hearing more about Venturing. We will learn about what the West Catholic group is doing and maybe even sponsor a second group. I will add, as Dennis Leiber told us, we are the first Serra Club in the USA to join the scouts with the Venturing opportunity.
Aquinas College is back in session and the group of discerning men will be meeting again. Keep them in your prayers. In coming meetings we hope to have Terry Marshall and others from the Aquinas staff join us as we pray and talk about vocations and how we can make a difference. The reding from Romans 12:1-2 comes to mind:
I urge you, brothers and sister, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves
to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Also, this is a reminder that December 12 is our 18th Annual Vocations Dinner. We need you to invite other Catholics to come and hear about Serra and vocations in our Diocese. Joseph Scoville and the Programs Committee have plans in the works for a super great evening, and we need to fill the room to capacity! As long as we are inviting--don't forget to send potential member names to Tim Hile for the October 13 Member/Guest Reception from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Louis Benton Steak House.
Football is here----GO BLUE...Go Irish....Go Green....Ohio State who???
Peace to all,
Pam McKenzie
