Today, September 29, is Priesthood Sunday.
October is The Month of the Rosary and Respect Life Month.
October is the month of the Rosary, because of the anniversary of victory at the Battle at Lepanto and the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, occurring in October. The Battle of Lepanto and the institution of the feast day took place in the 17th century; in the late 1800s, Pope Leo XIII officially dedicated the entire month to devotion to the Holy Rosary.
October 14, 2019. Luncheon Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Cathedral Square.
October 18, 2019. Feast Day of St. Luke, Patron Saint of Physicians, Surgeons, and Sculptors. St. Luke was a gentile born of Greek origin. He was a doctor, whom St. Paul described as the Beloved Physician. It is believed that he was an artist who painted the first portrait of Mary. Luke is the writer of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. We have Luke to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: "Hail Mary, full of grace" spoken at the Annunciation and "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus" which was spoken by her cousin Elizabeth. Luke best reveals Jesus as a friend of the downtrodden, comforting even the thief who was crucified alongside him.
October 22, 2019. Feast day of St. John Paul II.
October 28, 2019. Luncheon and Board Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Cathedral Square. All members are welcome to attend.
Looking Ahead.
December 9, 2019. Dinner at the University Club, 6:00 p.m. Please feel free to invite spouses and guests. See our President's Message.
Notes from the September 9 meeting. Note from Weldon Schwartz: We decided to send $400 for the priests' convocation. The Muskegon club also agreed to provide $400.
Joint Meeting between the Grand Rapids and Muskegon Clubs, September 23. At that meeting we discussed the following possibilities for future activities: Organizing a priests' appreciation or a sisters' appreciation event, organizing a fundraising event for seminarians of religious orders to help them pay for expenses and pay off college debts, meeting with teachers of religion classes to discuss how Serra might be of help to them in encouraging vocations, and forming a new Serra club in Gaylord.
Note from Judy Cozzens. An invitation to a prayer initiative for vocations directors.
"Serra is organizing an effort to insure that all vocations directors in the U. S. has at least one Serran praying for them for one hour a day for a year. Each club will be asked to organize seven-member teams whose members agree to commit to one hour of prayer (Mass, Holy Hour, Rosary, or other prayers) each week for one year in support of their Vocations Director. The seven-member teams would cover all seven days of the week among them. The focus will be on Vocations Directors to the local clubs, but many clubs will be asked to cover additional Vocations Directors from areas where there is no Serra Club in the diocese.
If you have Serrans who attend daily Mass, they can offer their Mass and Communion for the diredtor and then pray a rosary for the, they will probably have fulfilled their one-hour commitment. These directors are on the front line working for our church. Vocations Directors need our prayers.
We will discuss the possibility of adopting this practice at our next meeting. Our vocations director is Fr. Stephen Durkee.
Judy Cozzens, of Plymouth, MN, is the president of U. S. A. Council of Serra International.
Our Shepherds, our Future Capital Campaign.
Bishop Walkowiak asks us to pray for our seminarians:
University of St. Thomas-St. John Vianney College Seminary, St. Paul, MN.,
Matt Jandernoa, St. Patrick Parish, Portland; Charles Leidel, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Alex Paiz, Shrine of St. Francis Xavier/Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish; and Nathan Steffens, Holy Spirit Parish. All of these seminarians are at the College 1 level.
University of Saint Mary of the Lake-Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, IL. Christopher Epplett, Theology l.
Another Prayer for Priestly Vocations.
Lord, give us holy, faithful and humble men willing to offer their lives for your sake, and for your Bride, the Church. Give them the courage to be living witnesses to the reality of your passion, death, and resurrection.
May the men who have already begun their formation to be supplied with the grace if clear discernment about your will for their lives and may their example inspire other men.
Look upon the men already serving the flock as priests. Continue to form them into your own image as spiritual fathers who will continue to be the greatest encouragement for all who are being called by you to consider the priesthood.
Lord Jesus, thank you for what you have given and for what you have yet to give.
May your Church never be lacking in gracious providers of your life to us in the sacraments. Amen.
Note from Fr. Ted Kozloski of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Last weekend Fr. Ted had another commitment at the time of the 4:00 Mass, and he arranged for a substitute priest. For one reason or another, he found out at the last minute that the arrangement he had made wasn't working out. After a few tense moments, he was able to locate a priest from St. Andrew's, Fr. Bill (who was attending a meeting at the time), who said he would be available for the Mass. He left his meeting and arrived at Our Lady of Sorrows at 4:02. So, Mass began a few minutes late, but the important thing was, we had a priest.
Incidents of this kind should make us think once again about the importance of priests. Without priests, we have no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist, we have no Church. Thank you, Fr. Bill, and thank you to all priests for their service to the Lord. Take a few minutes right now to pray for our priests!
Book of Prayers for Vocations.
Note from the Editor:
This past Friday, at the Adoration Chapel, I took a look at the forward of the Book of Prayers for Vocations and noted this passage:
"Founded in 1948, the Serra Club of Grand Rapids Club activities include contributions to an annual diocesan priest retreat, an annual recognition event for sisters of all orders in the diocese, a vocations dinner which raises funds for bishops' and priests' continuing education, and support for high school student participation in leadership retreats at Notre Dame and the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and for a joint program with the Boy Scouts leading to a Scout religious Venturing badge....
While we still carry on some of these activities, we have let some of the others go dormant. Let us continue to work on membership so that we can promote and maintain our club's vitality.
Pray and work for membership and for priestly and religious vocations!
A Message from our President. On Monday, December 9, we will hold our December meeting at the University Club at 6:00 p.m. This dinner will be a thank you for Monsignor Hankiewicz for all the services he provided to our Serra Club and it will also serve as our annual Christmas dinner. Please let me know if you will be attending so I can provide a number to the U-Club. This will be our only meeting for December, but we will have two meetings in October. See you then.
Pray for our fellow Serrans Len Gross and John Stepanovich. Also continue to pray for Fr. Dennis Morrow.
What does the Lord require of you but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?
The Micah mandate.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us.
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