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Fr. Tim Gray and candidate Justin Krenke

The end of January saw more erratic Chicago weather as the rest of the community reassembled. Fr. John Czyzynski and the novices, Juan Carlos Castañeda and James Nguyen, spent most of January touring province ministries (in the South, of course!). Frater Fernando Orozco spent January at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston, and Br. Clay Diaz returned from his program to begin the spring semester at Catholic Theological Union.

Everyone returned just in time for the First Friday reflection, given this month by Fr. Joseph Dinh. It was to be followed by a Come and See weekend. Br.  Ray and Br. Long were to bring three prospective candidates to visit the house and see the program.

Our community meals, of course, are an essential element in community life, and most of them are quite entertaining. Although texting and calling during the meal is verboten, most people have their phones at the ready to Google the answers to questions that arise. And questions arise!

I took some notes during two evening meals, and these were some of the topics that came up:

Everyone shared his favorite horror movies, and we also compared trips that we had taken. There was a discussion about different styles of chewing, and its effect on teeth. We also discussed  different types of relics.

People demonstrated tricks and stunts that they could perform, and we had quite a heated discussion of the various qualities of dogs and cats.

On the scientific side, we discussed the merits of different theories of evolution, and talked about the man in England who has dedicated his life to challenging Einstein’s theory of relativity.

We discussed the danger of coyotes; I showed pictures of my brother-in-law shooting coyotes out of his bathroom window in Maine.  We wondered what is used to fill tractor tires and Br. Duane called his brother, who assured us they were filled with salt water.

On the theological front, we had a debate about what the “sensus plenior” of Scripture referred to, and in response to a question about the grammar of “Sursum corda”, Fr. John Czyzynski did some research and assured us that “sursum” was an adverb.

On another front, we were informed about the details of Mexican superstitions — la llorona, (a ghost which wails at night) and the infamous chupacabra (a vampire which attacks goats).

There were other topics which were discussed, but this is a relative sample of the wisdom and entertainment you will enjoy during a visit to the Chicago formation community.  We have plenty of room and good food and always appreciate visitors.

-Fr. Tim Gray, SCJ

Fr. Tim Gray, SCJ, a member of our formation team at Dehon House in Chicago, writes the following:

The Dehon Formation Community Christmas tree

The formation community began the holiday season by visiting the retirement community in Hales Corners for Thanksgiving. The next three weeks saw a flurry of activity as the tasks of decorating the house and making other Christmas preparations were competed alongside the students’ pressure of final exams and papers due for school.

However, on December 7 we maintained our normal First Friday prayer schedule; we welcomed back Fr. Greg Schill, not so long ago a member of our formation community, to lead us in an evening of reflection. We were joined by Br. Ray Kozuch and Br. Long Nguyen, who brought three potential candidates for a “Come and See” weekend.

The community gathered on Wednesday, December 12, for an outing to see “Potted Potter,” a comical re-visiting of the Harry Potter series, and again on Thursday for a party (complete with charades), and gift opening.

After that, the community began to disperse; the candidates and the professed students headed home for vacation, and the novices began to steel themselves for their first experience of Christmas away from home. Fr. Bob Bossie and Br. Duane Lemke will also remain in the house over the holidays, while Fr. Antonny Warjito and I will take the chance to visit family.

As a community, we receive so many visitors and guests that “guest-master” is a regular work assignment, on a par with washing dishes and vacuuming. We are pleased and honored to be considered a home away from home by SCJs, their families, and friends — and other religious communities.

God’s blessings at Christmas and throughout the new year.

As noted previously, Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ, is among those on a pilgrimage to Rome organized by the province development office. What follows is his final blog post from the trip:

This is the last pilgrimage blog from this reporter. It has been a delight to sit down and recall the highlights of the pilgrim’s day. Perhaps, we can learn that every day has its highlights from God, though we often don’t recognize them as such.

Saturday, the group traveled to Monte Cassino to visit the famous Benedictine Abbey founded by St. Benedict at the juncture of a high promontory overlooking several deep valleys. The imposing position of the abbey can be seen from everywhere below and it is no wonder that its strategic importance was recognized by the warring factions in World War II. The present abbey was rebuilt after extensive damage caused by Allied bombing. Br. Steve Cyr, a deceased SCJ of the U.S. Province, was wounded at Monte Cassino.

From there the group went to Pompey to see the excavated remains of a city destroyed by a natural, rather than a military, force: an erupting volcano in 79 AD. The power of Vesuvius and its destructive force is unimaginble.

Though the trip took several hours, the group arrived back home in Rome only 10 minutes later than planned and was in plenty of time to participate in a Roman style banquet — one that takes several hours to complete. It begins with wines, red and white from the local vintners, and water from the local bottlers.

After a bit, an antipasto is served. The amount of food is not too great but it certainly whets the appetite of hungry people who desparately fear that this is all they will get to eat. So, they wolf it down: bruschetta and sauteed egg plant and  zuchini strips, with garlic oil and a light sausage. Once the plate is clean, the pilgrims stare at their empty plates (if they have never experienced a Roman banquet before) and a note of desperation filters through the rising level of conversation.

Twenty or so minutes later, the waiter or waitress (there is only one no matter how large the group may be), returns to pick up the empty plates and a sense of hope is restored. This raises the volume even more.

Shortly thereafter, the pasta plate appears. American pilgrims know pasta. They often make their main meal of spaghetti. In Italy, things differ slightly: pasta is intended to line the stomach for the  delicacies that are to follow. But first, it takes another half hour to finish the pasta, then to have the waiter or waitress return to collect the empty plates. In the meantime, between courses, people feel like they are starving.

At last the main course is delivered on a plate to each guest. We had patatine, with chicken strips, and salad. Having nibbled on tasty Italian bread throughout all the previous courses and dipped it into olive oil, some patrons end having leftover chicken on their plates. I guess this is used to feed the cats of Rome of which there are many.

The desert course was a fresh fruit cocktail in a semi-sweet sauce. It was the perfect end to a marvelous banquet that took nearly three hours. However, by this means the pilgrim group had another experience of a different culture than their own and talked about it all the way back to the hotel.

Fr. Bernie Rosinski

That was Saturday. Sunday was entirely different. It began on a very high note: the bus was on time and took us to St. Peter’s Square where with a minumum of delay the pilgrims easily passed through security to get into St. Peter’s (a reminder of the assassination attempt on Blessed Pope John Paul II). We were guided into St. Peter’s Basilica where Fr. Dominic and I concelebrated an 8:00 a.m. Mass at the “Polish” chapel, i.e., the chapel of our Lady of Czestochowa.

Having concluded our Mass and gone to our agreed upon meeting place, we met our guide a little after 9 a.m. From that point, things began to “go south” as we Americans say. The sky began to cloud up. By the time we had bussed to our closest point to the Piazza Navona where we were to begin the day’s tours, drops of rain began to fall. Actually, once in Piazza Navona, the wind blew water from the fountain on us so that we were inundated from the top and from the side.
Sunday morning is church day. And even though the Roman churches and basilicas tolerate visitors to see the wonderful artwork, Sunday morning is Mass time and visitors and pilgrims may not visit and move about. It is sacred time. Though our tour guide tried to compensate for the schedule conflict by giving us time for shopping and gelato (delicious Italian ice cream), we still were a bit too early. However, we managed successfully to visit the Pantheon, the church of St. Ignatius with its ceiling fescoes by Fr. Luigi Pozzo, and the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The entire circuit entailed a great deal of walking on cobblestones which are not kind to tired feet. The group did manage to make its way to the Fountain of Trevi and a 45 minute pause for food and/or shopping. At that point, a decision was made to end our tourist day, and not a moment too soon. As we made our way to where the bus was located, we were drowned by a downpour that saw rivulets of water course down the streets where we were walking. All in all, when we consider the great weather we had on all our other days, this day was an exception.

Monday is a day on which no program is scheduled. The pilgrims will be free to choose to do what they want: visit a favoritve place, shop, eat, pray, pack. Tuesday, we return to the United States.

Fr. Bernie said that “Blessed Pope John Paul II is a favorite of our pilgrimage group. Here his image is found on the door to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.”

As noted previously, Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ, is among those on a pilgrimage to Rome organized by the province development office. Today he writes about several visits of the group in  the city, as well as Mass celebrated at the Generalate:

The group visited a number of places and saw a variety of masterpieces or historical artifacts: St. Peter in Chains (the Moses of Michelangelo and the chains that bound St. Peter in the Mamertine prison before his execution on Vatican Hill); the Coliseum, erected by Emperors Vespasian and Titus to wipe out all traces of the Emperor Nero’s highly unpopular and cruel domination of Rome; the Roman Forum down through the centuries before Roman civilization really took hold under the emperors and after; St. Mary Major, the last of the four major basilicas of Rome visited by our group (cradle of Jesus and historical mosaics dating back to 6th century and later).

Francesco, our guide, was very capable in English and spoke with an American accent. He was extremely knowledgeable and told us he “loved to talk.” It was for this reason we obtained truly extensive explanations of the many places we visited and their features. He may be our tour guide again on Sunday; at least the group hopes so.

The group was treated to a talk by Fr. John van den Hengel,  the Vicar-General of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, on the international scope of the congregation.  After, was a Mass concelebrated in English by the superior general of the congregation, Fr. José Ornelas Carvahlo.

Fr. General also gave our pilgrimage group a talk with slide illustrations that described the status of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart worldwide. It was fascinating in its presentation of how the congregation and the church is moving toward the southern hemisphere, the aging patterns of the northern hemisphere. We who have been present at general chapters and conferences are familiar with the statistics but it was an eye-opener for the pilgrim group.

We citizens of any particular place have a tendency to localize our interests and neglect what is happening elsewhere. Our media has a tendency to note particular events; trends and directions are less concrete and therefore not part of what we hear on TV or read about in our newspapers and magazines. That was remedied by Fr. General’s presentation. Several members of the group asked pointed and intelligent questions afterwards. They seemed very interested in what was happening in the church. At the end of the presentation Fr. General thanked the people for their support of the SCJs in the United States and noted that much of what we are able to do worldwide comes from the support of the U.S. Province.

The end of the day saw a dinner hosted by the Priests of the Sacred Heart for the pilgrim group in the community dinning room. Along with visible evidence of the internationalization of the congregation seated at table (students and curia staff from 17 of the 41 nations in which the Priests of the Sacred Heart are found worldwide), the pilgrim group enjoyed a meal of lasagna, peas, string beans, potato fries, and chicken along with an Italian tort and aperitifs of several kinds for dessert. What many pilgrims found amazing was the fact that the food was served by the Superior General, general councilors, curia staff and students. And the same cleared the dishes away afterwards.

In their turn, many SCJs present were fascinated by S. Natividad, the group’s 92-year-old pilgrim. They spoke to her, teased her, and were teased in turn. This gracious lady was a great source of pride to her three daughters who accompanied her on the pilgrimage. Fr. General chose to sit at her side.

Fr. Dominic Peluse (back left) and Fr. Bernie Rosinski (back right) enjoy a meal in Assisi with members of the tour group.

As noted previously, Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ, is among those on a pilgrimage to Rome organized by the province development office. Today he writes about the group’s visit to Assisi:

The pilgrim group visited the city of peace, Assisi in Umbria. St. Francis would have been proud of our group. We supported all the merchant class of which his father was a member. Yes, it was a time for shopping as well as visiting sacred shrines.

Our bus driver endeared himself to many members of the group by arriving at the escalator which took us to the level where the church of St. Clare was located. It saved us innumerable steps and a great deal of energy which would be needed later in the day.

The church of St. Clare fronts the chapel of St. George in which the famous crucifix from which Francis heard the words: “repair my church” were heard. After some months of literal interpretation, Francis finally understood Christ to mean “the” Church, not “a” church. Clare’s tomb is contained in the crypt and other famous memorabilia are found there as well.

We proceeded to the main square where the group broke up into small, manageable luncheon groups — all the better to get served quickly and thus allow time for shopping. Some of us pilgrims are learning that shopping is not just an artform but a vocation.

After, the entire group followed the guide to the house where Francis was born and lived his early life. His mother was French and his father a converted Jew from Lucca. Both parents are honored with bronze statues and his early home is now a chapel.

Walking down the street toward the Basilica of St. Francis was like walking the halls of history. The tour guide would point to the left and right as we proceeded and name a date, an event, an occurrence that took place anywhere from the 12th century to the 20th. Though we pilgrims were outfitted with “whispers” or wireless radio receivers, we still had to pay attention to her remarks because her English needed some polish — maybe a summer in the Sacred Heart School of Theology ESL program! She consistently would place an adjective after a noun, observing Italian grammar rather than English grammar. If one person were “poor,” then two persons were “poors.”  These words are not written to mock her courageous efforts, but to indicate how hard we pilgrims had to listen. She was extremely knowledgeable.

The tour guide showed us just how an illiterate people could be served by the images and frescoes in the basilica. Beginning at one end, she made her way around the entire upper church and narrated the life of St. Francis in frescoes by Giotto. It was a much appreciated tour de force.

There was a brief shopping interlude in the souvenir store found just between the upper and lower parts of the basilica. Once shopping was concluded, we were shown the lower church with frescoes by Cimabue, including what is believed to be a very accurate portrait of St. Francis. This portion of our visit concluded with a trip to his tomb where the pilgrims prayed for peace and many other things.

While it was a very tiring day, with all the walking and climbing, there were no complaints. Our bus driver, Nicola, got us home in plenty of time to enjoy risotto, patatine, and bistecca at the Villa Aurelia.

Fr. Bernie sent this photo, writing “You never know who or what you will see on the streets of Rome!”

As noted yesterday, Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ, is among those on a pilgrimage to Rome organized by the province development office. Fr. Bernie wrote the following at the end of a day that included attendance at the papal audience in St. Peter’s Square:

The group of pilgrims awoke Wednesday morning to learn the latest news of the presidential election. When the polls were closing on the West Coast, Romans were waking up to the morning sun.

Today was spent at a pontifical audience with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s square. Fr. Dominic and I explained the “liturgy” of the audience, what languages were used, the order of precedence, the formality approach. Fortunately, after some terrifying dark clouds, only a few sprinkles of rain fell and the sun came out to welcome the Pope.

Pope Benedict gave a fine talk about how, from his very creation, man is meant for God. When s/he is unhappy, the cause for the distress usually lies in the choice man has made to put some created thing or value in place of God.

While the full papal discourse was given in Italian, brief summaries followed in French, Spanish, English, German, Polish, Portuguese, Croatian (there were approximately 7,000 Croatians present), Indonesian and what seemed to be Arabic. I was stumped by that last language.

Right after the audience a member of the group and I went to verify a meeting location for the tour bus. In the meantime, the pilgrims twiddled their thumbs awaiting our return. However, after we got our information, the Italian police wouldn’t let us return into the area where the rest of the pilgrims were waiting. About 20 minutes later, someone in the group began looking for us and saw our frantically waving arms. Eventually, everyone got together and waited at the proper place for the proper bus to arrive at the proper time. And even the proper tour guide was there.

In the interim, to make use of toilet facilities (which are not all that conveniently common in the city of Rome) the group members entered a large tourist gift shop and bought some objects: this practice appears to be an acceptable “quid pro quo” with Roman merchants.

The remainder of the afternoon consisted of a bus trip through interesting parts of the city out to the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls and to the catacombs of St. Domitilla.

Tomorrow the pilgrims take a bus to Assisi, the city of peace, the new Jerusalem. It will be an all-day affair with lots of walking and step climbing. This is a state of affairs that creates problems for some among the group. However, all look up to the example offered by Natividad, a 92-year-old resident of McAllen, TX, who has “walked the walk” and is a remarkable model for the rest of us pilgrims.

Finally, all are mindful of the three pilgrims who did not join the trip at the very last moment because of an 18-year old relative who suffered a brain aneurism just as they were preparing to leave. All have offered prayers for the victim at the sacred sites they have visited as well as for those who did not join them.

Children at St. Clement’s in Kinshasa, Congo

Fr. Egide Safari, SCJ, a member of the Congolese Province, recently wrote about the start of the new school year at one of the province’s schools, St. Clement.

The following is paraphrased from the original French:

St. Clement in Kinshasa recently held an opening Mass, seeking the grace and support of God, for the 2012-13 school year. The principal celebrant was Fr. Élie Muzungu, SCJ, out-going director of the school. [Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fr. Élie is a member of the Canadian Region; he did his novitiate in Chicago with members of the U.S. Province.]

Fr. Élie urged students to love God, their parents and school, and reminded them of the sacrifice needed to do well in school.

St. Clement School includes three kindergarten classes, nine primary school classes and 14 secondary school classes. Unlike last year, there has been a decline in enrollment, especially in kindergarten. This is because of the difficult social conditions of the country. Parents have to pay the cost of their children’s education. Throughout the school year, students are forced to abandon school because of a lack of funds.

This is hard for the students, of course, but also for the school because it depends upon tuition to pay for much of its costs, including staff payroll and supplies.

And so, we pray and wish for a successful school year for our students, but also for the school itself.

Opening Mass for the new school year at St. Clement’s

Pam Milczarski and Fr. Dominic Peluse of the Province Development Office are leading a pilgrimage this week in and around Rome.

Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ, is among those on a pilgrimage to Rome organized by the province development office. The city is a place he knows well after years of both study and work in Italy. Fr. Bernie wrote the following at the end of the group’s second full day in the Eternal City:

The Office of Vespers/Evening Prayer for today, Tuesday November 6, has the following prayer: ‘The talents of artists reflect your splendor, may their work give the world hope and joy.” This prayer of the church is recited by priests, monks and cloistered nuns worldwide every day on behalf of the members of the Church.

Brought to Rome through the offices of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, this pilgrimage group  — 30 strong — witnessed how the talents of artists reflected God’s splendour both yesterday and today and their sentiments run in perfect accord with the prayer. Monday, it was the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. Today it was the remarkable Renaissance city of Florence.

Never mind that all the pilgrims are still suffering degrees of jet-lag; their hearts are resonating and soaring with the beauty they have seen from the artists they revere: Rafael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio. They have been in the city that housed Dante and Boccaccio, and the scientists Galileo and Vespucci.

Under the direction of Fr. Dominic Peluse, SCJ, and Ms. Pam Milczarski, the group, so far, meshes well together. We are staying at a Villa Aurelia, a modest hotel run by the Priests of the Sacred Heart conveniently found in the heart of the city of Rome. All movement is by a comfortable bus. Though lunch is often on the run at bistros and unknown and untested restaurants, these have not disappointed. And the evening meals are always fantastic.

Tomorrow, we look forward to the audience with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s square.

Ciao from Roma!

Fr. David works with a member of the SHSM staff

Fr. David is a part of the SCJ community that serves the Catholic Church in the nine northern counties of Mississippi. Recently he wrote about his experience joining members of the Sacred Heart Southern Missions’ staff in rehabilitating a home for a local resident.

I believe that at Sacred Heart Southern Missions we are keenly aware that the mission of the Priests of the Sacred Heart and the mission of the Southern Missions is to be active agents of the love of Christ. We all know that many people support us in this effort: donors, co-workers, volunteers, prayer partners, and many others. But, just as importantly, we too are part of that active love of Christ.

I believe it is important to have an active experience of what we do to truly experience the impact our actions can have on the lives of the people we serve and their communities. The concrete experience of sharing the lives of those we work among gives us a window into the ways we can transform and change our communities and ourselves. In working with other employees of Southern Missions I had the experience of putting the love of Christ into action. I also experienced sharing that love of Christ.

I had this experience in the Wooten house. It was a fun experience working alongside others I do not see daily. During the day of labor I saw first-hand that we are able to make the lives of others better in a profound way. The work that our team did –– preparing a house to be rewired and re-dry walled –– was a sharing of Christ’s love from our hearts and lives and was felt by the family whose house is now safer and warmer. I believe that the witness we offered, the willingness to share what we have to make the lives of others better, is the reason we are here together. It does not matter what our task, it only matters that we want to share our gifts and talents with the people we are called to serve.

 -Fr. David

The Dehon Formation Community. Top row: Gabriel Gutierrez, Br. Duane Lemke, Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojas, Justin Krenke, Anthony Nguyen and Fra. Luis Fernando Orozco Cardona. Bottom: Fr. Tim Gray, Fra. Joseph Vu, Fr. Bob Bossie and Fr. John Czyzynski. Not pictured: Br. Clay Diaz.

Fr. Tim Gray, SCJ, who was a frequent contributor to the blog during his recent sabbatical, is a member of the Dehon Formation Community in Chicago. He writes about the community at the start of a new academic year:

Community members arrived in late August from all over the province, the country, and the world to begin the new school year. Once again, this year we have 12: six students in formation, three SCJs on the formation team, and three more in residence. Here is a brief introduction to the residents:

Joseph Vu, SCJ, from Chicago, has already drawn  comparisons with another Joseph: Joe Haselbauer. He is a whiz at math and computers, and can always be counted on to find the solution to almost any problem. Joseph is doing very well in his studies at Catholic Theological Union, but his heart is in his ministry to the youth at St. Henry’s parish on the north side.

Every community has “a quiet one” and for us that is “Jimmy” Nguyen, from Seattle, who usually lets his smile do the talking, but who is consistently expected to inspire us with his creative prayers. James loves the quiet and the opportunity to reflect that he finds in the novitiate program.

“Juancho”, (Juan Carlos) Casteneda, from Colombia, on the other hand, is constantly at the center of whatever social activity is going on, often in the kitchen , with joyful music at full volume. He also enjoys the novitiate as a break from the grind of studies and an opportunity to know Fr. Dehon better.

Fernando Orozco Cordona, SCJ, also from Colombia, like Juancho, misses his family and native land. He has been called “Juan Valdez” for his love of coffee and is always one of the first up in the morning to enjoy his cupful. He enjoyed his summer at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston and hopes to return there upon his graduation from CTU next spring.

Justin Krenke, from the Milwaukee area, is in his third year of candidacy, and attending St. Xavier college. As a convert, he is intensely interested in Catholic rituals and traditions and always keeps us on our toes with his comments and questions, not only about church matters, but also current events and pop culture. He was extremely impressed by the ministry done by Sacred Heart Southern Missions during his experience in Mississippi this summer. [Note: Justin wrote about that experience in a previous post on the this blog.]

Gabriel Gutierrez, from central California, is the “new kid” of the program, and is still getting adjusted during his first month in Chicago. He is very serious about his studies at St. Xavier, and keeps in touch with the news, especially church news.

Br. Clay Diaz, SCJ, from both Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, is in his last year of theology studies and looking forward to final vows. We are awaiting his return from his program in January, when he will return to studies and his ministry of tutoring children at The Port.

Br. Duane Lemke, SCJ, our home-grown SCJ from South Dakota, is the local superior and head of the formation team, and is already preparing for Halloween. He puts his creative talents to work in decorating the house, preparing social events, and leading community projects, such as canning fruits and vegetables under the “Sons of  Dehon” label. His latest interest is taking a course in mosaics. In addition to all this, he manages to supervise the house and the formation programs.

Fr. John Czyzynski, SCJ, from the great metropolis of Cleveland, is the novice master and continues to enjoy his ministry of formation, living in the house, and also his ministries outside the house. He spends a lot of time and  energy working with several homeless people in our area, with the goal of helping them live a more settled and secure life.

Fr. Bob Bossie, SCJ, thinks he has lost his “Bahston” accent, but we know better. Bob  officially retired from his ministry at Eighth Day Center for Justice and now stays closer to home. He still spends a great deal of time and energy caring for his brother, Paul, who suffers from a multitude of health problems.

Fr. Antonny  Wijaya, SCJ, from the Indonesian province, is studying for a degree in sociology, in preparation for teaching when he returns. Despite the fact that his evening classes make it difficult for him to participate in a lot of community activities, he has been a valued and well-liked member of the house.

Mr. Brian Fitzpatrick is a layman, a former seminarian with the Redemptorists, and a former classmate to several of our students, who has lived with us for most of the past year while studying for a degree in social justice.

As for me, Fr. Tim Gray, SCJ, I was born in Detroit but considered Houston “home” after 20 years there. Now I am back in Chicago as the newest member of the formation team, and have not yet tired of talking about my travels and exploits in Brazil during my sabbatical. I am working with the professed students in their last years of  theology and have located several Hispanic communities with which I will help out with weekend liturgies. I also hope to become involved in immigrant ministry.

Our house is at “the crossroads of America”, and hospitality is a major theme. Fortunately, we have several guest rooms, and they are often used. The weekend of October 5-7 was a “come and see” experience. Br. Ray and Br. Long accompanied two prospective candidates, Amir Fahrai and James Bartley, who got a flavor of the formation community. Keep them in your prayers as they discern their call.