Sunday, March 4, 2012

Grand Rapids Serra Club Newsletter, March 2012


Calendar of Events.
March 14, 2012. Member-Guest Reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Louis Benton Steak House.
Please notify Tim Hile if you want to invite guests. Fr. Mark Przybysz will speak about the book, "Love Wins." Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served. Valet parking will be available.
March 19, 2012. Board Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart.
March 26, 2012. Prayer Service and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart.
Sunday, April 22, 2012. Sisters' Day at the Ball Park. Details to follow in the April newsletter.
April 30, 2012. World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated Life.
May 5, 2012. Red Mass at St. Andrew's Cathedral.
May 8-10, 2012. Holy Family Radio Sharathon. More information to follow in the April and May newsletters as to our club's participation in this event.
June 21-23, 2012. Serra International Convention, Hilton Providence, Providence, Rhode Island. Registration information may be found at www.serra.org

Priests' Anniversaries for March.
Fr. Richard Host, 3-17-1974

Promoting a Holy Priesthood that Bears Witness to the Sanctity of Life.
We have learned that Serra International hosted a special Pilgrim Mass in honor of Fr. Junipero Serra on January 23, the Monday morning before the March for Life, at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D. C. at 8:00 a.m. It was the organization's first year attending the March for Life. The event was held in recognition of "the importance of supporting a holy priesthood that bears witness to the sanctity of life."
Information sent by Dan Grady. We apologize for the delay in conveying the information.

Adoration.
St. Isidore, 24/7, code 513.
IHM, 24/5 (no weekends), code 5412.
See Sacred Heart's bulletin for information about adoration opportunities there.

2013 Committee. The 2013 Committee is meeting regularly on Monday evenings at St. Stephen's. Two subcommittees have been formed, a budget committee headed by Joseph Scoville and a programming committee headed by Dan LaVille. The committee is developing a theme, based on the idea of affirmation of our own faith as Serrans, but no final plans have been put in place yet. As time passes, the committee will be able to use our help on various projects as well. Call Joseph Scoville for meeting dates and times and other information.


Count me in. Ever since Holy Family Radio began broadcasting at 1140 AM in Grand Rapids, I have from time to time picked up the programming cards and putting them with my regular reading materials at a place near our kitchen table. I have heard various Serrans mention Holy Family Radio, and I have seen bumper stickers promoting the station. However, until I heard Larry Nienhaus's excellent address to our club at the February 14 luncheon meeting, I had never actually turned the station on. Even then, I thought of it a couple of times but couldn't remember where to find it on the dial. One day, for some reason, perhaps in answer to the Lord's gentle suggestion, I thought I'd try it out during my drive home at 5:30 p.m. or so.
Now it has become my regular drive-home station, usually featuring Catholic Answers at that time. Since then, I've started adding time, especially on my way to and from weekend Mass on Saturdays. Yesterday I heard Vocation Boom Radio from EWTN, which offers encouraging news for those of us who make a special point of praying for priestly and religious vocations. At any rate, I don't know what took me so long to get around to listening, but it's becoming a habit which enriches my life and strengthens my faith. Holy Family Radio is a valuable addition to our community, and as Larry Nienhaus suggested, a valuable tool for evangelization. It's just good!

The Harvest Continues On...Continuing in our series of reports about priestly vocations arising from the military, we feature the story of Mark C. Bristol in this month's newsletter.
Diocese: Brooklyn, NY
Rank/Branch of Service: O-1 Ensign/NAVY
High School Attended: Atlantic Community High School, Delray Beach, FL
College attended: Franciscan University of Steubenville,l Steubenville, OH
Hobbies: Swimming, traveling, singing, playing the bass guitar, going to concerts, seeing Broadway musicals, watching movies, visiting museums and historical sites.
WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU THOUGHT OF THE PRIESTHOOD?
When I attended a Life Teen Mass at my parish, a young priest who had been recently ordained celebrated the Mass. When I heard him preach and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass I could relate to him and picture myself being up there one day.
WHO INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED YOU?
My father, the chaplains who served me when I was stationed in Gaeta, Italy, and the lives of Servant of God Father Vincent R. Capodanno and Monsignor Bernard J. Quinn.
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I converted to the Catholic faith when I was 16 years old.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE?
Timothy 2:4 RSV: "No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him."
HOW DID YOU COME TO KNOW JESUS?
When I was eight years old, I went to a Protestant summer camp and asked Jesus to come into my life. Since that day, my relationship with Him has been a constant journey of me falling in love with Him, me running away from Him, Jesus running after me an me returning back to him who is my first love.
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE SPIRITUAL EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU DEVELOP AND SHARE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH?
World Youth Day 2005, Catholics seeking Christ and the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.
WHAT INFLUENCE DID POPE JOHN PAUL II HAVE ON YOUR VOCATION?
When Pope John Paul II died, I was present in Rome at his funeral and at that time I was still running away from God. While I was standing there shoulder to shoulder in the midst of over a million people from all over the world, I heard the Lord say in my heart, "What happened to that fire that was in your heart for me and my Church when you first became Catholic?" I repented that day and made a promise to myself to go on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day in hopes to rekindle that flame. When I went to World Youth Day, that flame was rekindled and I realized that God was still calling me to the priesthood.
WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND BEFORE THE SEMINARY?
I enlisted in the Navy right after high school as an Information Systems Technician and was stationed onboard the USS Mount Whitney in Gaeta, Italy. I spent five years on active duty and four years in the Navy Reserves. While I was in the Navy Reserves and attending college, I was recalled back to active duty service and deployed to the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Africa)
in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
"Theology of His/Her Body" by Jason Evert.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPIRITUAL BOOK?
Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
WHO IS A HERO TO YOU?
Pope John Paul II, because her survived the loss of both of his parents, the perils of war, persecution because of his faith and an assassination attempt. Despite all of the tragedies and suffering in his life, he was still full of joy and love for God, life and humanity.

Editor's Note: I am not entirely certain whether the following story fits strictly into the guidelines of our mission or not. I offer it here and will let you be the judge, but perhaps if we add our prayers to those fellow Christians around the world, we will help to save the lives of those suffering persecution for their faith. It is always inspiring to learn of living examples of the power of prayer.

Worldwide Outrage Grows over Condemned Iranian Pastor

The U. S. House, Donald Trump, worldwide Christian and human rights groups, a Brazilian soccer legend, and Twitter users in 198 countries have created a growing international coalition of millions trying to stop Iran from executing a modern-day Christian martyr who refuses to renounce his faith and embrace Islam.
Dr. Richard Land, a leading figure in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) tells Newsmax that Youcef Nadarkhani is still alive today only because of the worldwide outpouring of support.
"The only thing that has kep this dear pastor from being executed already is the cold,l public light of world opinion being focused on Tehran," he said.
Nadarkhani, the father of two small children, was sentenced in 2010 to death by hanging, and has now been imprisoned for more than 873 days in northern Iran. His case has ignited a maelstrom of outrage that has reached more than 960,000 Twitter users around the world and done something that few thought possible in Washington, D. C. --unite Republicans and Democrats in an election yer.
"People are working together that probabaly never thought they would world together because you can put differences aside versus such a basic right and such an abuse of power," declared Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which launched the Twitter campaign to overturn Nadarkhani's death sentence on a charge of apostasy. The ACLJ also heard from more than 180,000 Americans who urged the House to approve today's resolution condemning Iran for its continued "persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing" of Nadarkhani, something it did by a margin of 417-1.
In this case, apostasy is interpreted as abandoning Islam. The original indictment against Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor who became a Christian at age 19, also accused him or organizing evangelistic meetings, sharing his faith, trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, running a house church, and rejecting Islamic values.
Iranian officials amended the indictment last fall to include allegations of rape, extortion, and threats to national security, as well as Zionism. Critics viewed the additional charges as trumped-up allegations by Iran to counter the international outrage over the case...
Dwight Bashir, deputy director for policy and research with the U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said, "I think it's important to understand the death sentence for apostasy is not something that's actually codified in Iran's penal code. It's something that the ruling mullahs can determine on their interpretation of Shariah law. But there is nothing in Iranian law that says being charged and found guilty of apostasy results in the death penalty. There isn't such a thing. It's an interpretation...."
"There have been several hundred Christians who have been arrested in the past year," he explained, noting that more than 300 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained since June of 2010 in Iran, with about a dozen still in prison...
Dr. Khataza Gondwe of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a humanitarian organization that specializes in religious freedom, added that arrests of Christians in Iran have increased over the past month. An entire Christian congregation, including children, was detained during its recent Christmas celebration.....
"Most of the attacks on Christians--or an upsurge--is usually accompanied by some type of propaganda campaign where key figures in the establishment start to hurl insults at particularly the house church movement--calling them all sorts of things like parasites that have been implanted there to ruin the faith of the masses," Gondwe explained from her office in London.
The ACLJ, which focuses on Constitutional law and works to protect religious and human rights around the world, fears that Nadarkhani could become a bargaining chip in Iran's ongoing dispute with the international community over its nuclear program...
It is not clear how much--or how little--Nadarkhani knows about the global attention that his case has brought, but Sekulow suspects that the pastor is given little information, making his plight all the more compelling.
Reported to be in his early 30s, Nadarkhani was given several opportunities to recant his Christian faith and accept the Prophet Muhammad in September in exchange for his freedom, but he refused--choosing a path that is comparable to a biblical martyr.
"It's like one of those stories," Sekulow insisted. "This is just too far. We know that they don't have to do this under their legal system. There's no law that says you have to do this."
Source: Newsmax
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/WorldwideOutrageGrowsOverCondemnedIranianPastor
Note: Serrans who don't use Twitter surely know of a relative or neighbor who does.
A Message from our President.
I have received notes from some of you with detailed information to send invitations to our event March 14 at Louis Benton Steak House. It's still not too late to keep inviting.
Please join us and invite a friend to enjoy a casual evening and hear Father Mark Przbysz's take on Rob Bell's Love Wins.
What's the fuss about Rob Bell? Faith alone, or faith and works; which is it?
I look forward to seeing all of you there on March 14 from 5:30 until 7ish. R. S. V. P. to thile@okins.com and let me know how many will be in your party.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us!

What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8