Calendar of Events.
January February 2, 2019. National Catholic Schools Week See excerpts from the Bishop's letter later in this newsletter.
February 2 and 3, 2019. World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated Life.
February 2, 2019. The Presentation of the Lord and the Purification of Mary.
February 3, 2019. St. Blase.
February 4, 2019. Telephone Conference for Programs, 8:00 p.m. EST.
February 11, 2019. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at Cathedral Square. Speaker will be Sister Delgado, Prioress of the Dominicans.
February 19, 2019. Telephone Conference for Vocations, 8:20-9:20 P.M. EST. See Serraus.org for telephone numbers and access codes.
February 25, 2019. Board Meeting and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Cathedral Square. All members are welcome to attend.
February 27, 2019. Serra International Founders Day (1935).
Looking Ahead.
May 12, 2019. World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
June 19-23, 2019. Serra International Convention, Mexico City. You will stay at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma. Special rate for participants: $142 per night.
One of the world's largest cities, Mexico City offers a wide variety of attractions, activities, and experiences for all visitors to its vast expanse, with great ethnic, architectural, topographical, and ecological diversity. It also presents a glimpse at the long and rich history of the Mexican capital, from pre-hispanic times and the colonial era to contemporary life in a city that never ceases to surprise.
You will be able to visit the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe, thus visit Her! There's also a great variety of important museums that are representative of Mexican culture, its art and history. And if art and history are not really your thing, you can always go shopping or dining in the most exclusive areas.
From the Serran, September 2018.
From the Office of the Bishop.
Dear Friends in Christ,
We have good news to share and celebrate as we observe national Catholic Schools Week, Jan.27-Feb 2, 2019. The 31 Catholic schools in our diocese are serving more than 6,650 students this school year, including our largest preschool class in 18 years and our largest kindergarten class in six years...Last fall we welcomed students into the hallways and classrooms at the new, independent St. Robert Catholic School in Ada. We are also proud that our alliance of Catholic schools in the diocese has implemented new curriculum standards, which are firmly rooted in our faith and were developed through contributions from educators in theologians...
We are committed to offering an excellent education to even more students through our "Catholic Schools: Bridging Faith and Future
The Serra Rally and Mission Bus Tour 2019.
John and Weldon will make information about the rally and the bus tour available at the February meeting.
About the Presentation of the Lord.
Known originally as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a relatively ancient celebration. The Church of Jerusalem observed the feast as early as the first half of the fourth century, and likely earlier. The feast celebrates the presentation of Christ in the temple at Jerusalem on the 40th Day after His birth.
Date: February 2.
Prayers: Nunc Dimities, the Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32).
Other Names for the Feast. Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, the Meeting of the Lord, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
The History of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
According to Jewish Law, the firstborn male child belonged to God, and the parents had to "buy him back" on the 40th day after his birth, by offering a sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24) in the temple (thus the "presentation of the child). On that same day, the mother would be ritually purified (thus the "purification').
Mary and Joseph kept this law, even though, since Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ, she would not have had to go through ritual purification. In this gospel, Luke recounts the story (Luke 2:22-39).
When Christ was presented in the temple, "there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25). When Mary and Joseph brought Christ to the temple, Simeon embraced the child and prayed the Canticle of Simeon:
Now dost thou dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to the word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people of Israel (Luke 2:29-32).
Candlemas and Groundhog Day.
The emphasis on light, as well as the timing of the feast, falling as it does in the last weeks of winter, led to another, secular holiday celebrated in the United States on the same date: Groundhog Day. You can learn more about the connection between the religious holiday and the secular one by looking up, Why Did the Groundhog See His Shadow?
Possible Lenten Project for Our Club.
Dan Grady sent a note about a possible Lenten project for our club. Maybe we could all assist him in arranging and organizing this project:
"During my Serra Club visits while on the SI Board, I attended one event during which the club presented to the Bishop a tally of prayers, etc. for vocations--rosaries prayed, hours of adortion, mass intentions--for seminarians, priests, and religious. It was a large diocese and the Serrans involved non-Serrans as well. The number was in the tens of thousands. I can only imagine the task of organizing and tallying the numbers. It would be similar to a 'spiritual bouquet,' for those who have heard of those.
Maybe we could start with just the club and friends of Serra, maybe a Lenten project that we present to the Bishop around Good Shepherd Sunday?'"
Dan would welcome your suggestions. I know that I myself would benefit by creating a daily schedule for prayers, Scripture reading, and prayers for vocations. Maybe we could start by tallyin our own activities during the Lenten season.
Also, membership is a goal for 2019. Let us pray for that cause also, and consider people we know whom we could invite to join Serra.
The Serra Foundation.
Download the Serran magazine from December 2018 for information about giving to the
Serra Foundation during this upcoming tax season. Last year the Foundation awarded grants to 25 organizations, all of which were related to the promotion of priestly and religious vocations.
Also, our club was mentioned as one of the Mission Clubs donors ($2000-$2999) in 2017.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us!
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