Calendar of Events.
December 8, 2012. Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Holy Day of Obligation. Readings for the day are Genesis 3:9-15,20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, and Luke 1:26-38.
December 12, 2012. Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
December 15, 2012. Schubert Men's Chorus Concert, 7:30 p.m. at East Grand Rapids High Schools's Performing Arts Center. This will be our club's only Serra meeting in December. Ask Aggie about tickets. Pre-concert reception will take place beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the home of Dan and Jeanine LaVille, 2237 Cardiff NE. Please invite family and friends to join us for a delightful evening.
December 17, 2012. Board Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart.
Looking Ahead...
January 10. 2013. Super Weekend, Chicago, Illinois. All Serrans are invited to attend. To obtain registration information, please call the Serra USA office at 1-888-777-6681 or check online at www.serraus.org. Please note Serra USA's President Greg Lynch's good news message which will appear later in this newsletter.
January 11-13, 2013. Super Weekend, Chicago, Illlinois.
January 13-19, 2013. National Vocation Awareness Week. Planning kits are coming soon.
January 28, 2013. Member-Guest Reception, 5:30 p.m. at the University Club. Please provide Tim Hile with names, addresses, and e-mail addresses of potential invitees. Beverages and heavy hors d'oeuvres will be provided.
February 3, 2013. World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated Life.
April 21, 2013. World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
June 20-23, 2013. Serra International Convention, Majorca, Spain. Plan now to attend this wonderful event. The 2013 Serra International Convention will be held in Palma de Mallorca. The convention headquarters hotel will the the five-star Grand Melia Victoria Hotel located in the heart of Palma, close to the Mediterranean coast over which looks the beautiful 13th century Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma. For lower cost accommodations, Serra will also secure additional guest rooms at the three-star Hotel Tryp Palma Basque, a short bus ride from the Cathedral. On Saturday after the delegates' meeting, there will be a pilgrimage to the peaceful rural town of Petra, the birthplace of Blessed Junipero Serra. The convention, which promises to be informative, historical, and very enjoyable, will be concluded with the Annual Banquet on Saturday, June 22, 2013. For registration and additional information, please visit the Serra International website.
The opening Mass will be celebrated by the new bishop (the see is now vacant) at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, 2013. Invited speakers are His Eminence Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome, and His Eminence Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts.
Serra International's In the Loop Newsletter suggests that clubs have a special event to honor Blessed Serra. The Santa Clara Club, for example, is having a Novena which was written by Blessed Serra. On June 5, 2011, the USA Council Board approved a resolution to plan an international celebration to honor this
Priests' Anniversaries for December.
Father Julian Reginato, 12-19-1964
Father Charles Dautrement, 12-18-1960
Father Robert Gillespie, 12-8-1943
Father Norbert Leyrita, 12-21-1963
Fr. Michael Olson, 12-27-1994
Msgr. John Porter, 12-15-1957
Most Reverend Robert Rose, 12-21-1953. Episcopacy date is 12-6.
Remembering a Friend of Serra. Dan LaVille sent this notice on November 6, 2012: Dear Serrans,
I just noticed in today's obits that Evelyn Olman has passed away. Her husband, Robert Olman, was a long-time Grand Rapids Serran, and the Olmans were very involved in our club activities. In fact, Evelyn supported our Sabbatical Dinners even after Bob passed away. Please remember them both, and their families, in your prayers.
More About the Schubert Male Chorus. The Schubert Male Chorus is considered the oldest independent continuing male chorus in America.l Founded by Henry C. Post, a talented pianist, teacher, and music critic, along with 12 other men on November 19, 1983--and immediately expanded from 13 members to 16 "just to be sure"--the Club presented at least one major concert each year since its first on December 4, 1884. The organization never departed from its original intent of furthering the appreciation and performance of good chorale music.
Civic benefits have been part of the Schubert service since its beginning with innumerable concerts for shut-ins, schools, churches and dedications, including City Hall (1885), East Grand Rapids High School (1929), City-County Complex (1969), and the Ford Museum and DeVos Hall. The group is a regular at the June Arts Festival.
The Schubert Male Chorus invites us to listen in MP3 format. Serrans may visit the website at schubertmalechorus.org to learn more about this wonderful community resource.
Adoration Reminder. St. Isidore's, 24/7, Code 513, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, 24/5, Code 5412.
In the Year of Faith, let us renew our resolve to spend time with the Lord praying for vocations.
The Advent Wreath. The Advent wreath or garland is the first announcement of Christmas. The word Advent is of Latin origin and means coming. It is a time in which Christians prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. The season of Advent takes place during the four weeks prior to Christmas.
The Advent wreath is rooted in Germanic pre-Christian traditions. During the cold and dark days of December, crowns of green branches were collected and fires lit as a sign of hope in the coming spring. But the Advent wreath does not represent a concession to paganism; on the contrary, it is an example of the Christianization of the culture. The old now takes on new and full contents in Christ.
New reality: The Christians knew how to appreciate the teaching of Jesus: "I am the light of the world; whoever follow me will have the light of life and never walk in darkness" (John 8:12). The light that we turn on in the darkness of winter reminds us of Christ who conquers darkness. United in Christ, we are also light: "You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14).
In the 16th century, German Catholics and Protestants used this symbol to celebrate Advent; primitive customs contained a seed of truth that could now express the supreme truth;; Jesus is the light that has come, is here with us, and will return in glory. The candles look forward to the coming of the light at Christmas: Jesus Christ.
The wreath is made from green foliage, which is the color of hope and life. Four candles are placed in the wreath; three candles are purple and one is pink. The are lit one at a time over the four weeks of Advant, and prayer is said as a family. The red apples that adorn the wreath represent the fruit from the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. But they also brought the promise of the greatest Savior. The red ribbon represents our love of God and the love of God that surrounds us.
On the first Sunday of Advent we light the first candle and every Sunday we continue lighting a candle up until Christmas. The pink candle corresponds to the third Sunday and represents the joy over the coming of Christ. While the candle is being lit, a prayer is made using a passage from the Bible, and hymns are sung.
We can do this during the Advent Mass, and it is also recommended to do this at home, for example, before dinner. If there are no candles in the colors available, you can still make the wreath, since the most important is its meaning: that the light is increasing as the birth of Jesus, who is the Light of the World, is near.
Source: www.catholic.net
A Message from our President.
Dear Serrans:
Prayers were answered and Serra International and USAC have moved forward. The court case has been mostly resolved, and we hope that both parties will continue to move forward in relative harmony. A united Serra is a strong Serra.
Please continue to promote and order your tickets for the Schubert Men's Chorus Concert. The concert provides an important opportunity for our club to make some money and promote our vocation mission to others outside the club. Invite friends! Remember that Pat can bill you for your tickets. Also, prior to the concert the LaVilles are hosting a Serra holiday gathering. More on RSVPs for this event to come in a future e-mail. (Note: If you receive a paper copy of the newsletter, call Tim Hile at 437-1404 and he will pass along the word).
We had a great meeting at West Catholic on November 11th. Thank you, Ken Baldwin, for setting this meeting up. We met with Pat Dolci's discernment group and heard from most of the boys about their process and how the group is working and recruiting more young men. I was very impressed with all of them. I was lifted all week by their prayerfulness and faith-filled intentions. I hope others who attended were, too.
Nancy King, our newsletter editor, has a number of links and items related to Serra and USAC's new promotional pieces. With these materials, there are things each of us can do in our parishes and in other parishes where Serra does not have a presence. We are also looking into a banner for our club to honor the 300th anniversary of Blessed Junipero Serra's birth. More to follow. Also, we will have a board meeting in December to plan for the future..
All Serrans need to promote our Member-Guest Reception and invite at least one friend to our event on January 28. More to follow soon!
Thanksgiving has now passed, and I remain thankful for the efforts of all of you to further Serra's cause.
Tim Hile
Continue to Pray. Bob Paul extends his thanks for your continued prayers for Hazel. She is making a slow but steady recovery. We pray as well for Beverly Shields. Also, continue to pray for a united Serra. USAC President Greg Lynch sent the following message on November 16. "Today, November 16, 2012, Judge Neil H. Cohan issued the following ruling: "Serra International's motion for summary judgment and motion to strike are denied. USAC's motion for partial summary judgment is granted and this court finds that SI does not have the authority to order the dissolution of USAC or to order USAC to turn over its assets." Dialog is taking place and resolution TBA.
Looking Forward. Sister Patrice Konwinski has called to inform us about an upcoming home health care program she is working on. More to follow.
Also, USAC Vocations sub-Committee will be offering a monthly "What Can I Do?" column for us to insert in our newsletter. We look forward to including this information in future editions.
We wish all of you a wonderful Advent and a Blessed Christmas Season.
What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with they God? Micah 6:8.
