Serra Club of Grand Rapids Newsletter July, 2011

Calendar of Events.

July 1-10, 2011. Serra Club's Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations to the Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life, Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Our opportunities for adoration are as follows: St. Isidore, 24/7, Code 513, and IHM, 24/5 (no weekends), Code 5412. Also adoration is available at Sacred Heart of Jesus every Thursday before First Friday, every month except during Lent.

July 7-11, 2011. Serra International Convention, Ottawa, Canada. Dennis Leiber and Margaret will attend from Grand Rapids.

July 11-18, 2011. Serra International Pilgrimage, Jerusalem, Israel. Let us pray for the health, safety, and spiritual renewal of Grand Rapids Serran Dan Grady and of all others who are participating in this pilgrimage. Dan will be accompanied by his mother.

July 11, 2011. No regular Monday meeting.

July 18, 2011. Serra Board Meeting, location TBA.

July 25, 2011. An evening at the Fifth-Third Park with the Sisters. Game time begins at 7:00 p.m. Dan LaVille has received 100 tickets, 20 parking passes, and 100 meal tickets in the mail. Thanks to Pat Leikert for getting a timely check to the White Caps, which saves our club $110 for prepayment. Dan requests that those requesting tickets send him a list of Serrans, family, and friends attending and mailing addresses so that he can prepare for mailing out the tickets in approximately ten days. He has received a number of requests already. Cost per person is $21. Get in touch with Dan if you have any questions, either by e-mail or by telephone at 634-0794 (C), or 458-6696 (H). Dan reports that the nuns who have already called him are very enthusiastic about a night at the baseball game with the Serrans.

August 8, 2011. Luncheon Meeting and speaker, 12:00 Noon at the University Club. We will send out a reminder in the August newsletter to please RSVP to either Lee Sullivan or Nancy King because it is especially important that we have a count ahead of time. The University Club requires a minimum of 25. As always, we welcome guests at this meeting. Our speaker will be Father Stasker.

August 16-21, 2011. World Youth Day, Madrid, Spain. Pope Benedict XVI's World Youth Day Message, 2011: Yet experience tells us that a world without God becomes a 'hell'--filled with selfishness, broken families, hatred between individuals and nations, and a great deficit of love, joy, and hope.

A September Evening. Our club plans to hold an evening meeting in September, with date and time TBA. Our September speaker with be Msgr. Ancona.

October 30, 2011. Priesthood Sunday.

Priests' Anniversaries for July. Lawrence King, 7-8-89; Lam Le, 7-10-04; and Ray Bruck, 7-20-58. Thanks again to Lee Sullivan for keeping track of these anniversaries and for sending the cards to the priests. We note the special effort required in sending out the June cards!

Looking Ahead. At the June meeting, the Board discussed the formation of a committee to be appointed for the upcoming regional convention in 2013. Various names were mentioned, but no formal appointments have been made. We will need subcommittees for reservations, speakers, hotel and meal arrangements, ligurgies, and side activities. The serraus.org web site offers a link to a manual on preparing for regional conventions, and we will download that and bring it to our board meetings so that we may refer to it when it is needed. The Board also considered asking the Muskegon Club to help us host the convention, and we will also consider teaming up with other regions, such as Region 7.

Other topics discussed at the Board meeting: Dan LaVille reported that two Grand Rapids Serrans attended the St. Lazare golf outing and urges more participation from our club for next year. The Board also discussed a possible joint meeting/retreat at St. Lazare's. St. Lazare's can accommodate up to 50 people for such an event. Also, Fr. Vince O'Malley has offered to speak to our club again, an idea much to the liking of the Board. Aggie would like to inquire about Aquinas College's upcoming theater productions and will consider organizing a theater night followed by a reception, pending Board and club approval.

Notice of Proposed Amendments. Formal notice of modifications to the Proposed Amendments to the by-laws of Serra International has been posted of the Serra US website at serraus.org. Delegates will be voting on these amendments in Ottawa.

An Invitation from Our Lady of Sorrows. Amanda Shaheen, Director of Music at Our Lady

of Sorrows, invites all to attend Amanda Shaheen in Concert ("Amanda Vernon Music Ministry") on Sunday, August 7, 2011 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. See Amanda witness her faith in Jesus Christ through original songs, crown interaction, and sharing her personal testimony. Free will offering will be taken to support Amanda's pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

Independence Day--A Day of Prayer

Yes, the Fourth of July is the great summer holiday, observed nationwide. With most people enjoying a day off, family picnics,--even family reunions, remain a classic way to celebrate America's Independence Day. And this option looks to traditional menus and sites, ranging from backyard barbecue to ice-packed coolers of food and drinks hauled to the seashore, mountains, or nearby state parks.

Most Catholics begin the holiday by checking off another tradition--going to Mass, whether they

are at home or on vacation. For attending Mass is a very traditional Catholic way to observe Independence Day. Witness how few are shy about joining in the popular closing hymn, "America the Beautiful."

There are many reasons: At the Fourth of July Mass, the congregation remembers and honors ancestors who fled their own homelands, seeking religious freedom and equality in this New World. Many also salute their relatives--men and women--who serve in the Armed Forces, defending and protecting this land of the free and brave.

Today, Catholics of all backgrounds and nationalities pray on the Fourth of July with special fervor and focus. For thousands of U. S. Catholics (whether of Eastern Rites or the Roman Rite) still have family members in places where practicing their faith can mean risking their very lives, even on the most joyous of Holy Days, Easter and Christmas).

And as it has throughout history, our Church accommodates great secular celebrations with distinctive Liturgy for the day. For the Fourth of July, pastors may select readings for the day from among a wide list of options, and likewise for the opening prayer and prayer after Communion.

Among the petitions for one of the opening prayers:

"Open our hearts to the truth of His Gospel, that your peace may rule in our hearts and your justice guide our lives."

All of the prayers and readings for the Fourth of July remind us to celebrate and rise to the challenge of the gifts bestowed on us by God. This year, we want to keep in mind as well our brothers and sisters world-wide who still suffer persecution and poverty.

Source: Franciscan Mission Associates, Mt. Vernon, New York 10551, June, 2011.

A Little Club History--for new Serrans and a review for our longer-term members:

Blessed Junipero Serra, O. F. M.--Missioner. Looking into summer's star-filled night sky, many young people can't help but think about their nation's astronauts. And a good number of them may hope to join the ranks of those citizens of two worlds: their home on earth, and the world of space and challenges "out there." Looking into just such a star-filled sky, but back over some 300 years, a young Franciscan, the Spanish Friar from Mallorca, Fr. Junipero Serra, was already bidding good-bye to the world he had always known. In August of 1749, this distinguished professor of theology and famed preacher in his homeland would set sail for the New World.. It was an arduous and often dangerous journey over a vast ocean still not fully explored. He knew that in realizing the mission-calling of his Franciscan vocation, he might never again see the shoreline tht so quickly faded from view.

Arriving in present day Mexico in 1749, Fr. Junipero Serra would work there for two decades. Then God would call him to move north, permanently, to what was then called Upper California. This was the New World that would one day claim him as its own. There, in just 15 years, Fr. Junipero established nine of the 21 Franciscan missions along that rich and varied Pacific Coast. He baptized 6,000 Native Americans and confirmed another 5,000. All told, Fr. Junipero Serra preached the Gospel for 35 years along the Pacific Coast. He was the very definition of the word missionary. While respected for his knowledge and saintly priestly ministry, Fr. Junipero lived nonetheless as a stranger. For some would always find him and his motives suspect. Among them were men of his own European culture, then serving in commercial and governmental enterprises. Pat of Friar Junipero's job was reminding them that many exploration goals, e.g., fortune hunting at any cost, were not in sync with Gospel values. In recognition of his own contributions to what is now California, his likeness is among heroes represented in the Statuary Hall in the U. S. Capitol in Washington, D. C. (Note the photo which has been leading off our newsletter since February, 2009). Pray for Blessed Junipero Serra's intercession for today's missionaries. Ask his intercessory prayer for those priests, religious, and laity throughout the world who dedicate their lives to the service of God and God's people. Like Fr. Junipero, some preach the Godpel in life-threatening situations. And like Fr. Junipero, they are blessed to find in their mission work so many people hungry for God's gifts of faith and enduring love.

Source: Franciscan Mission Associates, June, 2011

A Message from our President: President Tim Hile has been out of the office this week and his phone is not working; therefore, he has limited means of communication. He has sent us this message to pass along to the membership: Encourage all to join the Sisters at the ball park. This is our only July event. Please continue to pray for vocations and the leadership of Serra International and USAC, May both parties rise above it all and seek mediation, as suggested by many as well as Bishop Christensen. Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us.