Calendar of Events.
September 3, 2013. Feast day of St. Gregory the Great.
September 6, 2013. The reduced table rate for the Catholic Legacy Award Dinner expires.
September 8, 2013. Feast of the Birth of Mary, Mother of Vocations. See note below regarding the correspondence from Dante Vanini, Vice President, Vocations of Serra International. He invites us to participate in a Day of Prayer throughout the Serra World.
September 9, 2013. Luncheon and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at the University Club. Speaker will be Dr. Juan Olivarez, President of Aquinas College. Editor's Note: We have heard him speak on other occasions and advise that you don't want to miss this presentation. Invite a guest or two if you'd like.
September 10, 2013. Coffee for Sara Vanderwerff, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the home of Larry and Marian Burns, 1556 Pontiac Road SE. See note below.
September 14, 2013. Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
September 16, 2013. Board Meeting and Luncheon, 12:00 noon at Sacred Heart of Jesus.
September 21, 2013. Feast Day of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.
September 28, 2013. 2013 Catholic Legacy Award Dinner. The reception will begin at 6:00 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m., at the Grand Rapids Hilton Hotel, 4747 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids. Dinner speaker will be The Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore. His topic will be Being Catholic in the United States; Living the Faith in a Pluralistic Society. We will also be in the presence of the Most Reverend David J. Walkowiak, Bishop of Grand Rapids, and the Most Reverend Walter A. Hurley, Bishop Emeritus of Grand Rapids, to whom the award will be given, for his outstanding service to the Diocese and its people. Note that Archbishop Lori also serves as Chairman of the Bishops' Ad-hoc Committee on Religious Freedom and as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.
October 13, 2013. Our Lady of Sorrows Spaghetti Dinner, 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Call 243-0222 for tickets.
October 27, 2013. Celebrate Priesthood Sunday.
Invitation from Dante Vanini. He writes, in a letter dated August 19, 2013:
Dear fellow Serrans,
Peace! Peace! Peace!
For the past two years, we have been uniting in our prayers for more vocations to the priesthood through "Serra Unites!"--a Day of Prayer throughout the Serra World.
I am now writing to seek your continued support and active participation in this year's "Serra Unites!" which will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2013--the Feast of the birth of Mary, Mother of Vocations. On this day, let us unite our prayers, praying as one to the body of Christ, for a more generous response on the part of those men called to the sacred priesthood as well as for the holiness of our priests and consecrated religious.
We also pray that all Serrans will remain faithful to the call of God in carrying out His work in the Serra lay apostolate. May we put aside all differences and be guided by the Holy Spirit in all that we do.
See below the simple prayer dynamics for this year's "Serra Unites!"
"Serra Unites!" 2013. A Day of Prayer throughout the Serra World, Sunday, September 8, 2013, Feast of the Birth of Mary, Mother of Vocations.
Instructions to Serra Clubs are as follows:
1. As 8 September falls on Sunday, Serra Clubs may choose to get together to pray on Saturday, 7 September instead of Sunday.
2. Preferably, conduct a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations, inviting friends and relatives to join in the prayer.
3. If the Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration is not possible, clubs can organize a Rosary Prayer meeting using the Serran Rosary for Vocations (this can be found on www.serra.org).
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for us!
God Bless,
Dante Vanini
Codes for Eucharistic Adoration. IHM 5412. St. Isidore, 513.
Coffee for Sara VanderWerff. All Serrans are invited to a coffee to support our fellow Serran, Sara VanderWerff, who is running for City of Grand Rapids Comptroller. She was appointed this past year to fill a vacancy, but now the office is coming up as an elected position. The coffee will be on Tuesday, September 10 from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at the home of Larry and Marian Burns, our newest Serrans, 1556 Pontiac Road SE. Coffee, tea, and rolls will be served. Come for whatever time you have to support Sara's campaign.
Welcome to our Club. As noted above, we welcome our newest Serrans, Larry and Marian Burns, and we thank them for their support of Sara in the upcoming elections.
Prayer for September. O Glorious St. Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus and the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant. Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven. Amen.
St. Matthew is the author of the first gospel. He is the brother of James, the Apostle. Mtthew was a tax collector. Because of this, he was regarded as an outcast by his own people. Matthew heard Jesus'
call and rose and followed him. His faithful devotion earned him a position as one of the twelve. He was among the Apostles present at the Ascension. Afterwards he prayed in union with Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Jerusalem.
Followers urged this gifted writer to set down from memory the acts and teachings of Jesus. He completed his gospel eight years after the Ascension of Jesus, preserving his message of salvation for posterity.
SYMBOL: Bag of Coins, Desk with angel.
Source: Catholic Art Calendar, 2013.
Another Reflection for September.
The readings of September 1 center on mindfulness, awareness of where we stand in God's plan. The mountain of Sinai carries a message of the majesty and distance of God, while Jesus' presence as the host of the banquet speaks of intimacy and mystery. September's shadow calls us all to mindfulness as we prepare to return to life outside of summer. The Christian life holds these two places in the knowledge of God in careful balance. Even in the accounts of the Passion we see the table of the upper room in balance with the Mount of Olives.
Altar means "high place," yet it is also a table. The former liturgy of the Latin Rite began with the priest bowing at the foot of the altar's three steps, chanting, Intribo ad altare Dei, or "I will go the altar of God," followed by the altar server's response,"The God who gives joy to my youth." Many Catholics can recall and recite this scene by heart. As with so many things in liturgy, there are layers of meaning in our worship. The altar table evokes memories of high places once reserved for encounter with the holy, and the intimacy of the table where hospitality draws us to share food and drink.
Source: Our Lady of Sorrows Bulletin, September 1, 2013.
The Be Happy Attitudes. We remind our fellow Serrans to buy Dr. Schuller's Be Happy Attitudes, available at all major bookstores and at amazon.com for a very reasonable price. The discussion of Chapter 1 will take place at our Fourth Monday meeting on October 28 at Sacred Heart of Jesus, with Jim Hunter leading the discussion. We offer below a very apt and helpful piece, "Humility, the Key to Happiness," as an accompaniment to the readings of September 1 and the thoughts of Dr. Schuller in Chapter 1 of his book:
"Pope Francis has earned a reputation as a humble pope. September 3 is the feast of another humble pope: Gregory the Great. St. John Moschos, an abbot, recounted this story of the great Benedictine:
'One day, as I was standing in the city center (of Rome), I saw that Pope Gregory was going to pass by...When the Pope came near I perceived that I was about to prostrate myself--the Lord is my witness, brethren--he prostrated himself down to the ground and refused to rise until I had got up. He embraced me with great humility, handed me three pieces of gold and ordered me to be given a monastic cloak, stipulating that all my needs were to be taken care of. So I glorified God, who had given him such humility towards everybody, such generosity with alms and such love.'
The readings are about humility--specifically, they are about how humility can make you happy. Very happy.
'The just rejoice and exalt before God,' says the Psalm. 'They are glad and rejoice.'
Here are three ways humility makes you happy, according to the readings.
1. Humility sets your expectations low, so you sometimes surpass them. Jesus' first bit of advice in the Gospel is about setting your own expectations low. Do not choose the place of honor at a banquet, he says: 'A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, Give your place to this man, and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.' Instead, choose the lowest place, he says.
Then you will be surprised by being given something greater. People have a tendency to be greedy for more and greater things. But greed leaves people dissatisfied with what they have. The beatitudes counsel the opposite. Happy are those who are poor in spirit, says Jesus. The humble don't expect much, and so they are happy with what they get. The first reading from Sirach agrees. What is too sublime for you, seek not, it says. Into things beyond your strength search not.
2. Humility improves your relationship with others. Nobody likes a boaster; everybody loves a humble person. Jesus describes what happens when you are moved up at the table. You will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table, he says.
Or, as the first reading puts it, 'My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.' The quietly pleasant person who admits who he is and is fine with it is always nicer to have around than the pushy and self-seeking person who pretends to be something he is not.
3. Humility allows God to have a relationship with you. The proud crowd out God; the poor in spirit let him in. 'When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,' says Jesus 'Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'
The more you try to find your happiness in the world, by impressing others and by currying favor, the more restless and unhappy you will be. The more you trust in God for your happiness, forgoing the search in this world in favor of the next, the more open you are to true happiness. 'Humility is the foundation of prayer,' says the Catechism (2259). 'Only when we humbly acknowledge that we do not know how to pray as we ought are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer.' Sirach agrees, 'Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.'"
Source: Tom and April Hoopes, The National Catholic Register, August 25-September 7, 2013.
A Message from our President.
Dear Serrans:
I ask that you pray for me and our socal Serra Club as we move forward together with our important work. Hopefully my message finds you happpy and well rested from a wonderful Labor Day weekend.
Let us join together in support of the 2013 Legacy Dinner by getting our reservations and money to Tim Hile for half a table by September 6, 2013.
We postponed the discussion of Chapter 1 of the Be Happy Attitudes until the second meeting of October. After Jim Hunter's short discussion we are all eager to read this book. And we will be ready to participate in a lively discussion.
I would like to take a minute to thank the dinner committee for the wonderful job they are doing to make the 2013 Legacy Dinner a success.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us!
Aggie Kempker-Cloyd
