2013. Year of Faith and 300th Anniversary of Blessed Junipero Serra.Calendar of Events.
February 28-March 3, 2013. USA Council Incoming Board Meeting/Retreat, St. Paul, MN. Grand Rapids Serran John Osterhart is attending as we write.
March 11, 2013. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at the University Club. Speaker will be Mr. D. J. Florian, Director of Pastoral Services and Pro-Life Ministry for the diocese.
March 18, 2013. Board Meeting and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart of Jesus.
March 25, 2013. Prayer Service and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Looking Ahead.
April 20, 2013. Sisters' Day at the Ball Park, 1:05 p.m. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Dan LaVille sends us this note: Nuns at the Ballpark!
Please join your fellow Serrans and the Sisters of the Diocese of Grand Rapids at Fifth Third Ballpark on Saturday afternoon, April 20, at 1:05 p.m. to watch the West Michigan White Caps host the South Bend Silver Hawks in a Class A baseball game! Our club is treating the Sisters to free admission and all you can eat grilled food that afternoon to show our appreciation to all of the nuns in the Diocese. Cost for Serrans and friends is $20 per ticket, which includes admission and food. Please notify DanLaVille (dlaville@comcast.net) to request tickets. They can be billed to your next Serra dues statement, or you can pay Dan by check payable to Serra Club of Grand Rapids. Please reserve today!
April 21, 2013. World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
May 17-19, 2013. USA Council Annual Meeting and Super Weekend, Chicago, Illinois.
June 1, 2013. Ordination of James VanderLaan, Charles Schwartz, and Scott Nolan, 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew. We need six volunteers to serve as ushers. Ken Baldwin has already volunteered. Those assisting on the hospitality team are asked to arrive at 9:00 a.m. Let us offer them and their families our special prayers as they await this event.
June 20-22, 2013. Serra International Convention, Majorca, Spain.
Future Speakers for our Second Monday Meetings. Larry Mulligan has announced some of the future speakers for our Second Monday meetings: April 8, Fr. Ted Kozlowski, Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows and May 13, Mary Vaccaro, Director of the Dominican Center at Marywood. Dr. Juan Olivarez, President of Aquinas College, is scheduled for September.
Mark your Calendar. Our Lady of Sorrows Spring Spaghetti Dinner, Sunday, April 14, 11:00-4:00.
Details to be provided in the April newsletter. The Spring Spaghetti Dinner is always scheduled for the second Sunday after Easter.
Priests' Anniversaries for March.
Father Richard Host, March 17, 1974.
The Lenten Season.
The season of Lent was originally a time of intense prayer and study for those who were to be baptized and join the Church community at the Easter Vigil. Because these new members were to be received into the living Body of Christ, the whole community was called to the same preparation. Today, Lent is a time of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer in preparation for the Paschal Mystery (the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ).
The deep purple color that fills the Church during Lent symbolizes Christ's suffering and death, but because purple is also the color of royalty, it foreshadows Christ's kingship and resurrection.
Ash Wednesday is forty-six days before Easter, but Lent is considered forty days long because Sundays are not counted as days of Lent. The reason? Fasting is considered inappropriate on Sunday, the day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus.
A Special Lenten Opportunity.
Dan Grady notifies us of Holy Family Radio's special showings of Restless Heart on the following March dates. This film offers an excellent opportunity to enhance our Lenten journey:
Sunday, March 17, 2:00 p.m.
Monday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 19, Noon and 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 21, 7:00 p.m. Call 616-956-1140 for tickets. Call in plenty of time to get the date you want, as seating is limited.
Filmed in Europe, Restless Heart is the first full-length feature movie on St. Augustine. Born in North Africa, Augustine studied in Carthage, becoming an accomplished but dissolute orator. After converting to Manichaeism, a guilt-free religion, he was called to the imperial court in Milan to serve as an opponent to the Christian Bishop Ambrose. But when the Empress Justina sent imperial guards to clear out a basilica where Augustine's mother Monica was worshiping, her constant prayers and the witness of Ambrose won him over to Christianity. Serving in Hippo in 430 AD. Bishop Augustine urged the Roman garrison to negotiate with the Vandal King Genseric, but they proudly refused. He passed up a chance to escape on a ship sent to rescue him by the Pope and stayed by the side of his people. Christian Duguay directed the film, and the cast includes Franco Nero, Johannes Brandrup, Monica Guerritore, and Alessandro Preziosi.
Learn more about the movie and even about how to schedule special showings of your own at www.restlessheartfilm.com.
The ABCs of Promoting Religious Vocations. Father Ron Hutchinson, director of priestly vocations for the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, offers an A-Z alphabetical list of suggestions for those interested in promoting religious vocations. Of those, we have chosen three which are of special note to us:
Commit to spending an hour of prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament at least once a month to pray specifically for an increase in religious vocations.
Join a Catholic organization that is specifically committed to fostering vocations, such as the Knights of Columbus or Serra Clubs, or form a parish vocations committee.
Recite the rosary for the express intention that many more young people will respond to God's invitation to serve as a priest or religious.
Adoration Sites:
St. Isidore, 24/7 Code 513.
IHM 24/5 (no weekends) Code 5412.
Interregnum.
(We have entered) into the period known as interregnum. With the astonishing, but not totally unforeseen, news of Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that he would resign the papacy at the end of the month, there are many things for us to keep in mind as we go forward.
First and foremost, I ask you to please pray for our Holy Father and for the Church at this vital moment in history. Try not to get caught up in the posturing and speculation over who will be our next pope. Instead, let the Holy Spirit lead Christ's Church, as he always has done since the time of Peter, the very first pope.
Pray for the Holy Father, and ardently petition the Holy Spirit to bring us a holy successor...This is not a time for apprehension; it is a time for hope and anticipation. It is a special time to give thanks to God for the incredibly fruitful years of Pope Benedict's papacy. Since Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI nearly eight years ago, the Church has benefited greatly from his leadership...
The world, not just Catholics, will be watching the momentous events of this transition unfold. And we look forward to bringing you the comprehensive coverage of the upcoming conclave that will bring the Catholic Church her next shepherd.
God bless you, and God bless our pope!
Source: Michael Warsaw, National Catholic Register, February 24, 2013.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, let us pray for this very special vocation!
The Grand Rapids Dominicans' Home Health Care Venture.
For those of you who did not attend the February 11 meeting with Sister Patrice, we present a WZZM broadcast from Friday, October 7, 2012 regarding the Dominican Sisters' new home health care venture:
Grand Rapids (WZZM). As more and more baby boomers reach their senior years, a group of Christian educators in Grand Rapids is shifting gears to meet their needs. The Dominican Sisters announced Thursday that they will provide home health care and spiritual guidance for the elderly.
The sisters have been in Grand Rapids for over 100 years, and over time, their Marywood campus grew into a 34-acre center for education. Sister Nathalie Meyers says they are responding to the needs of the times by transitioning from education to healthcare.
The new venture is called Marywood Home Health. The Dominican Sisters are partnering with Porter Hills retirement communities, which have been around for 40 years. Both recognize that some people want to stay in their homes and can't afford to live in a retirement community.
Porter Hills CEO Larry Yachcik says, "The sisters have always been interested in providing affordable opportunities to people who sometimes fall through the cracks or are left out of that process." They will provide spiritual services and home health care. "The home health services will include personal care, licensed nursing, rehab therapy, health monitoring, mental health services, and spiritual companionship."
Marywood Home Health will also provide basic care, like housekeeping or grocery shopping. They will also educate people on additional free or discounted services in the community. For example, Kent County passed a millage in 2006. It provides 44 services like home repairs, transportation, or home delivered meals.
Jachcik says, "There (are) a lot of people who don't know to ask for the services and don't think they can afford them." Marywood Home Care (began) its new venture October 10th. Those involved say their main goal is to make sure that senior citizens are cared for, in every way.
A Message from our President.
Dear Serrans:
Spring is near. I can feel it! As the season turns and we contemplate our own Lenten journey I encourage you to check out the USCCB website. They have daily insights that have caused me to reach a little deeper while on my own Lenten journey.
Many upcoming speakers and events are coming up. Please consult the newsletters for dates and times.
A big thank you to Nancy Mulvihill and all who helped with the messaging out in Lowell and Saranac. Msgr. Ed was pleased with the response of his parishioners and said Serra members who spoke did a great job of representing our message and mission.
I look forward to seeing you all at Serra events in the coming months. Remember to pray for our current priests too, as well as those in formation.
Tim Hile, CRA, CIC, CWCA.
Traditions: St. Joseph Feast Day March 19.
St. Joseph Feast Day is a traditional Italian holy day: Seven days before the Feast of the Annuniciation (25 March) which commemorates the Annunciation (Gabriel's visit to Mary announcing that she is to give birth to the Messiah), we meet St. Joseph, her spouse. To honor the carpenter, much of the food includes breadcrumbs, representing sawdust. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph's Day custom.
We recommend the website pinterest.com for a wealth of information regarding traditional St. Joseph's Day foods and customs.
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.
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