Calendar of Events.
January 14, 2019. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at Cathedral Square. Our January speaker will be Fr. Michael Hennessey, CSP, Associate Pastor of the Cathedral of St. Andrew.
January 17-20, 2019. Serra Rally, Ventura, California. A three-day tour of the California Missions will follow for those who wish to stay after the rally. Weldon and Karen Schwartz and John and Ellen Osterhart will participate in the tour.
January 28, 2019. There will be NO Board Meeting on January 28. Weldon and John both attended the late Mass at the Cathedral yesterday and they agreed not to schedule the board meeting on that date. Both will be attending the Serra Rally in California, followed by the Mission tour.
Other Important January Dates.
January 1, 2019. Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. New Year's Day. Holy Day of Obligation.
January 2, St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen.
January 3, 2019. The Most Holy Name of Jesus.
January 4, 2019. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
January 5, 2019. St. John Neumann, Bishop.
January 6, 2019. The Epiphany of the Lord.
January 7, 2019. St. Raymond of Penafort.
January 13, 2019. The Baptism of the Lord.......
January 17, 2019. St. Anthony Abbot.
January 21, 2019. St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr.
January 22, 2019. Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn.
January 24, 2019. St. Frances De Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.
January 25, 2019. The Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.
January 26, 2019. Sts. Timothy and Titus, Bishops.
January 28, 2019. St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church.
January 31, 2019. St. John Bosco, Priest.
Spend time in 2019 by learning more about each of the Saints on his or her Holy Day.
Also, Mario Biscardi, President of Serra International 2018-19, reminds us:
Membership in Serra is everybody's business. Every Serran is to recruit 1 new Serran in 2019.
He also suggests that every Serra District is to charter one new Serra Club in 2019.
Please download and review the membership materials from serrainternational.org or serraus.org.
Christmas Message from Serra International President Mario Biscardi.
Saturday, December 22, 2018.
Advent season is a very joyful time for us to prepare ourselves to celebrate the real reason for the season, namely, the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. We cannot help but remain totally awed and humbled by the realization that God so loved us that He assumed human form so that He could be close to us. Not only that; he chose to come to us in the form of a baby, completely defenseless and vulnerable, born in a strange place where to our knowledge had no family or friends or other tangible means of support. Imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt after a lengthy journey from Nazarath to Bethlehem. As the Son of God, Baby Jesus could have been born in a place that exceeded the splendor of all of the wonders on earth, but yet He chose a bed of straw in a manger, in a stable with animals inside. Truly, this was far from the expectations that the people in Israel held for their Messiah...
(During this Christmas season) let us thank the Lord for the gift of life, the gift of family, the gift of Serra, and most of all the gift of our Catholic faith, the most wondrous of all gifts by which we have the means of achieving eternal life with Him in heaven.
It is in being true to our Catholic Faith that we can meaningfully give thanks to our Good Lord for all of the gifts that He has bestowed upon us, for which we were created but for which we are unworthy, were it not for the graces that come to us through being true to our Catholic Faith and through being of faithful service to His Church. It is, after all, the only true gift that we can give to Him, namely being His true disciples here on earth.
May our daily reflection and meditation of the first Christmas lead us to our ultimate goal of being found worthy of life with Him for all eternity in heaven when our day is done, along with our loved ones.
May the true joy of Christmas remain within us each and every day of our lives, and may we magnify that joy to all around us!
Blessings for a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year to all!
The Serra Foundation.
As we end 2018 and look forward to 2019, we are reminded to look to the Serra Foundation as we allocate our gifts to charitable organizations. On December 28, John Liston wrote, "How Far Do Your Donations Go?"
In Cameroon, 25 Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis were trained to perform community outreach and evangalization from a grant awarded by the Serra International Foundation last year. When you donate to the Serra International Foundation, your dollars can travel as far as India, Uganda, Australia, Mexico, the United States, and Canada to touch the lives of people discerning and living their religious vocations. If you are considering a donation, there is one day left to prayerfully consider making a generous donation to the Serra Foundation. If you missed out on 2018, you may, of course, consider 2019. Follow the link to Support the Serra International Foundation. Try johnliston@serrainternational.org/http://www.serrainternational.org.
Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament for Vocations.
O God, Our Father, You have called us to Baptism, to follow Your Son through lives of living service to You and to one another.
Grant us Your assistance as we seek to live out our vocation in life.
We pray especially for those who have answered Your call as priests, brothers, sisters, and deacons.
Keep them faithful in following Your Son, and dedicated in serving You, in their brothers and sisters.
Grant that many more men and women will be open to the challenge of dedicating their lives in the ministry of building Your Kingdom.
Jesus, High priest and Redeemer, we ask You to call men and women to Your service as priests and religious.
May they be inspired by the lives of dedicated priests, brothers, and sisters.
Holy Spirit, give to parents the grace of generosity and trust toward You and their Child, so that their sons and daughters may be helped to choose their vocation in life with wisdom and freedom.
We ask all of this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen
From www.serrainternational.org
Bus Trip to St. John Vianney Seminary, St. Paul, Minnessota.
Please note Fr. Stephen Durkee's article in the latest issue of Faith Magazine about the annual bus trip to St. John Vianney Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Viannney Visit provides men ages 16-24 the opportunity to take a closer look at the priesthood by experiencing a few days in the life of a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary. Transportation, accommodations, and meals are provided free of cost. According to Fr. Durkee, the trip bears much fruit in helping prospective priests to discern their vocations. Supporting this trip with our prayers is still another way to fulfill our Serra mission.
From Our President.
Weldon is looking for a replacement. If you feel called to fill this position, please step forward.
Let us thank Weldon for arranging our Christmas party and for all he has done for our club in the past.
Adoration: IHM 24/5, 5412.
St. Isidore, 24/7. Find out the code by calling the office at 616-459-4731.
What doth the Lord require of thee, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8.
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