Sacred Heartbeat

2009-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

I’m always struggling to catch up with the present in this blog! But I would be remiss, if I didn’t share the experience of the journeys on which I have been sent in the name of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. For I know it is the Lord who sends me and it is Christ who accompanies every step I take.

The Risen Lord is with us!

In August, I was sent to different parishes to do mission appeals, a splendid way to witness to believers who as yet do not know us concerning the blessings and the challenges of our religious life and also to receive hospitality from Gospel-centered people for whom entertaining strangers is a joy!
In the first part of the month, I had the pleasure of being reunited with my brothers Father Pat and Father David.Thanks to them, I always have the joy of proclaiming, whether going or coming, that I always have a home, a home with a heart! After two weeks of local missions, I took a long journey to Detroit, traveling by car over a thousand miles, to a mission parish at he border to Canada, led by the Basilians, another religious order that I know and respect based on past experience. The church at which I arrived, Saint Anne de Detroit was huge, though the neighborhood had seen better days.

Looking toward the altar of St. Anne de Detroit Church from gathering space

Surprisingly, its biggest mass was in Spanish, and was broadcast on the radio. And that was the mass at which I was privileged to preach about the mission of our congregation. What a thrill that was! Afterward, I was invited by a warm, faith-filled man named Carlos to eat at a local restaurant where they played live music. It was wonderful, yet before leaving Carlos’ mother told me that Carlos had a serious case of cancer, asking for my prayers. Would you who read this pray for him also? As I was leaving that Sunday, I snapped a picture of the nearby bridge that leads into Canada, a symbol of our Catholic mission that crosses every national boundary

Bridge to Canada from Detroit

Remember!We are a Church that is missionary, missionary with the Heart of Christ!

After two days of exhausting travel, I finally arrived home in Massachusetts, just in time for our provincial retreat, one of the highlights of our religious life every year, as we share in learning and prayer, guided by a retreat master who has molded his message just for us!

A few of our priests and brothers doing adoration

For this retreat, we were led by Fr. John Keenan, a Blessed Sacrament Father,

Fr. John Keenan SSS

who taught us about the Eucharist as both a personal and cosmic event of the Kingdom, which is surely coming, as surely as the growth of fruit in summer follows the blossoming of flowers in spring. See, experience the Living God in action, and believe!

Dogwood Tree in Blossom

Dogwood Tree with fruit

The retreat ended with a special mass to celebrate 60 years of mission by our East Coast Province in Japan, which has now taken a new path with the erection of a new province linking Japan and the Philippines. As we contemplated the list of all the missionaries who have served in Japan these past years,

List of SSCC Missionaries to Japan

our provincial offered his personal thanks to the four former missionaries to Japan who are among us.

Left to right: Fr. Bill Heffron SSCC, Fr. Columban Crotty SSCC, Fr. Mike Annunziato SSCC, Fr. Brian Marggraf SSCC

Hip! Hip! Hooray!

The new provincial of the Japan-Philippines Province, Fr. John Yamada SSCC, offered his thanks and gratitude not only by his presence and that of Fr. Martinus Pariyanto SSCC

Left to Right: Fr. Bill Petrie SSCC, Fr. John Yamada SSCC, Fr. Martinus Pariyanto SSCC

but also through a special gift that he brought with him, a large wooden statue of our own Saint Damien.

New Statue of Saint Damien

Together with representatives of our sisters, secular branch members, and Men of the Sacred Hearts, we all celebrated a magnificent mass with true family spirit!

Part of our wider Sacred Hearts Family!

More of our Sacred Hearts Family!

As soon as the mass ended, Father David Lupo SSCC and I set off for a mission appeal, traveling together to the northernmost part of the state of Maine.

Wow! Are we there yet?

At the Northeast tip of the U.S.A.!

Looking over the other side of the St. John River, we were able to see over the border into Canada. Church and Town on Canadien Side of St. John River

In this area imbued with a strong French Catholic tradition of devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and to our Blessed Mother,

A Beautiful French Canadien-American Altar for the Blessed Sacrament in Maine Country Parish

Altar to Mary in French Canadien-American Parish

we received over the course of two days a warm and beautiful welcome. The only disappointing thing was that despite all the warning signs about moose traffic, we didn’t see even one moose.

Moose Warning Sign!

O darn!

After the mission appeal was over, Fr. David brought me to Logan Airport in Boston, where I took a plane for another trip, this time to the southernmost part of the United States, on the U.S. border with Mexico, where our congregation has been in mission in the Brownsville Diocese for many decades. It was great to once more immerse myself in a Spanish-speaking Catholic environment where Our Lady of Guadalupe, missionary mother for the Americas, reigns supreme.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

I stayed in the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Edinburg, Texas, knowing I was in good hands, the Sacred Heart of Jesus blessing me

The Sacred Heart Statue at Sacred Heart Church

and the able pastor Fr. Bob Charlton directing me with his strong leadership style.

Fr. Robert Charlton SSCC

While in Sacred Heart Church, I was privileged to form, for the first time, a parish vocation committee, consisting of laypeople with a strong interest in promoting vocations to ordained priesthood and consecrated religious life.

The New Vocation Committee at Sacred Heart Church

I also enjoyed the opportunity of attending a Lifeteen mass, a youth-centered mass that features increased youth involvement, as well as a Life Night program that encourages teen interaction and participation.

The Lifeteen Congregation

The Sacred Heart Church Youth Choir

That particular Life Night featured the "Office Olympics" with games and amusing pageantry.

Let the Games begin!

The Olympic "Flame"!

"How far do I have to go? Where are you?"

It's a goal!

At another time, I was happy also to join with Fr. Emilio Vega SSCC in leading a ritual of benediction after a session of Eucharistic adoration.

Fr. Emilio helps me with the humoral veil for benediction

Adoring the Lord!

The lesson for me was that happiness and intimate community is Jesus’ gift to us who love and pray with devotion to the Lord we love!

The Adoration "Gang"

Fr. Emilio with an aged adorer!

I was happy also to visit our Sacred Hearts Community in Harlingen Texas in the parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace, capably led by Fr. Bill Penderghest SSCC with the assistance of Fr. Alfie McHugh SSCC.

Community dining! (from left to right: Fr. Alfie McHugh SSCC, Fr. Bill Penderghest SSCC, friend of community, Fr. Jerry Shanley SSCC)

There, too, I attended a Lifeteen mass and accompanying Life Night.

The Youth Choir is all revved up!

Priests and teens gathered around the altar!

Can you tell how many jelly beans are in the jar?

What fun it was to see the youth involved and excited, also to see the affectionate relationship of our priests with the teens that is so characteristic of our youthful Sacred Hearts spirit. We may have gray hair, but our hearts are young!

Never too old to play!

I experienced this same pleasure myself firsthand, when I had the opportunity to witness about vocations to the local Newman Club for young Catholics at Pan-American University. What a charge it is to let college-age Catholics know that there is a vocation of graced love and stability available to them in this uncertain world! Just let me know if your own young Catholics in college want to hear a hopeful message about the Love of the Sacred Heart and the Call of a Vocation , and I promise I'll be there!

Sharing God's Inspiration with College Youth

Personal Conversation with a young seeker

A special highlight of my trip to Texas was to take a short side-trip to Reynosa, Mexico, where our happy missionary Fr. Jerry Shanley SSCC excels in serving people who are really poor in material things, but rich in their loving spirit! In the chapels he had built, one saw a simple beauty,

Saint Damien Chapel

A stained glass window showing the Heart of Jesus at the Assumption Chapel

A place of adoration at St. Philip de Jesus Parish

An offering of flowers to Saint Damien

and the same simple beauty was in the people whose devotion to Jesus and to Mary was the center of their lives.

Fr. Jerry with Valentina, who truly lives (!) at her chapel, praying and cleaning.

Fr. Jerry is known for his tireless efforts to bring basic necessities, such as food and clothing, to both persons and organizations who are in need. And one must remember that the poverty one finds across the border in Mexico is much more drastic and tinged with desperation than that which one normally encounters in the United States. Every week, Fr. Jerry goes with his helpers to the dirt roads of the poorest neighborhood in Reynosa to give food and clothing to the poorest of the poorest of the poor in Reynosa.

A truck full of food is ready to go!

Fr. Jerry surrounded by hungry people clamoring for food!

A long line of hungry people

I also saw him and his helpers feeding some of the migrant workers who are kicked out of the United States in a penniless state.

Migrant workers catching a snack at Felipe de Jesus Parish in Reynosa

Migrants in Reynosa gathered to share their experiences

How good that someone is willing to do this kind of work! Yet how much better it could be if more Catholics would open their hearts and wallets to these needy men and their families! Though it was just a short trip, I felt really blessed to have made the effort. Like the flamboyan tree that grows at an incredible rate in the stifling heat and sparse moisture of northern Mexico, though its origin is in Asia, God pushes me to grow in places that are different and challenging. Readers, are you ready to respond to God’s plan for your growth?

A three year old Flamboyan Tree!

I returned to Texas in time to give thanks for the blessings of the United States, as well as enjoy the Texan hospitality of my brothers. I saw them preparing for the celebration of Fr. Damien’s canonization.

Announcement of Saint Damien Celebration at Sacred Heart Church

Canonization Announcement at Sacred Heart Church!

How wonderful that we share such a saint as our brother!

2009-09-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

In Fairhaven, where I live most of the time, June was a miserable month weather-wise. Almost every day was wet, cold, and dark. Instead of the bright sunlight of spring, there always seemed to be a dark cloud approaching.

O Sun, where are you?

Did God change his mind about giving us spring and summer? That was the worry of many people I talked to. But my friends in the natural world seemed to take the weather in stride. The dogwood tree near my office blossomed with great abundance, the daisies pushed through the enclosed spaces of their yards, the tree trunks turned green, and the mimosa trees put on a floral display worthy of a strutting peacock!

Our Dogwood Tree in Bloom!

Hey daisies, peek-a-boo!

A Green Tree Trunk!

Mimosa Blossoms!

The lesson is that the difficult places in ones life offer no less gifts of life than the agreeable and pleasant places. You just have to know where to look!
That lesson served me well in the dry desert country of New Mexico, where I went to stay for several weeks. What a different landscape that was! Instead of endless rain, there was a thirst for water everywhere I looked. But I learned that, instead of dwelling on the dry and barren landscape,

This land is dry and barren!

I was better off gazing at the places watered by human attention and love. And I found a surprising abundance of life!

Even in the desert, there is abundant Life!

So once more I reveled in the rich communal life of a Community in Mission, an intentional community of a different sort, one part male SSCC and the other part female SSCC, living together in harmony.

Artesia CIM minus Fr. Paul Murtagh SSCC (from left to right-Fr. Brian Guerrini SSCC, Sr. Mary Dominic Reantaso SSCC, Sr. Damien Dang SSCC, Sr. Marie Lemert SSCC

Shortly after I arrived, there was a humble, modest parade for the Fourth of July. Yet, what did I see, but a special float dedicated to Blessed Father Damien, soon to be a Saint! And who was that sitting in the front, but a young Saint Damien!

A Float Dedicated to Saint Damien-Great!

Saint Damien is waving!

Because I did not mention them in my last blog entry concerning ourcommunity in New Mexico, in this one, I would like to focus on Fr. Brian Guerrini SSCC and Sr. Mary Dominic Reantaso SSCC. Sr. Mary Dominic is a great musician and was once a director of liturgy in California. Now, she is happy in the humble surroundings of our rural churches, leading Bible Study groups, supplying and planning music, and playing her keyboard in our rural churches in the Pecos River Valley.

Sr. Mary Dominic Reantaso SSCC at the Keyboard

And, of course, she takes her turn at cooking for the community. Fr. Brian, a newly ordained priest after twenty years as a religious brother, has branched out in his ministry in interesting new wayw. I was pleased to see, while I was there, the new, recently expanded headquarters for the Vincent DePaul Center that Fr. Brian helped establish.

Fr. Brian Guerrini SSCC at Entrance to Vincent De Paul Center

In the tradition of the great Saint Vincent de Paul, who modeled truly heart-focused Christian ministry to the poor,

Saint Vincent De Paul, Model for True Charity to the Poor

this center is feeding double the number of people it did before, an important resource for the poor in these hard times of economic recession.

Food in Storage at St. Vincent De Paul Center

A Lay Volunteer Helping Keep Things In Order

Of course, Artesia is a place where people have shown how they care about the needs of their neighbors long before we Sacred Hearts missionaries arrived on the scene. One proof of that is the loving work of the San Jose Society, an association of lay volunteers who feed the families of the dearly departed who have funerals at Our Lady of Grace Church.

Bereaved Family gets in line for some good food!

Devoted Lay Volunteers Waiting to Serve

Another work of Fr. Brian has been to work with local Legion of Mary members to carry out Enthronements of the Sacred Heart in the Home. While I was there in New Mexico, I accompanied Fr. Brian to the neighboring city of Carlsbad to participate in some of the enthronements. How beautiful it was to fulfill the desire of devoted laypeople who wanted Jesus with his Sacred Heart to be their friend, guide, and ruler.

Family Celebrates with Enthronement Team

and to see how devotion strengthened the family’s bonding with God’s blessing!

Vasquez Family Sheltered under the Cross after Enthronement of Farm

Mary Smith blesses her sons

The people who live here are hardy and strong, like the Ocotillo Cactus that grows tall and strong, despite a shortage of water.

But they are also gracious in their hospitality, as the newest sign on the outskirts of Artesia states: “Artesia, A Great Place to Stay along the Way.”

Greeting Sign for Artesia, New Mexico

Yes, it certainly was and is. So I am praying and I ask you to pray, too, that from this unlikely, out of the way place, young people, like these two dedicated altar servers, will become servants of the Lord, a source of pride for their community and their God!

Two great altar servers posing with me in sacristy of Our Lady of Grace Church

Christopher (left), me (middle), Daniel (right)

2009-08-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

We live in a blessed time! And so I’m feeling a little guilty for not writing more to you this last month. I must not forget that, since Jesus has no hands on this earth,

Statue of Jesus without hands

Jesus needs my hands to write to you about all the great things that I have seen, all that reflects the glory of Jesus in the Sacred Heartbeat of this life. In this posting, I would like to begin with the month of May, Mary’s month, in which our Blessed Mother’s beauty shines, bringing us closer to the mystery of Jesus.

Front Window of St. Mary's Church, Fairhaven

On the lawn of Damien residence, we commemorated the beginning of May by crowning her with flowers,

Statue of Mary Crowned

a fitting way to acknowledge not only how great she is, but also to highlight the beauty of the new creation of which she is the Mother. Remembering her mothering of beauty, I have taken special care lately to photograph some of the flowers blooming around me, as well as some swans in a nearby cove. Can you see our Blessed Mother’s beauty shining through them?

Rhododendron Blossoms

Swans at a Cove of the Acushnet River

Azalea Blossoms

Near the beginning of May, I set off for the national meeting of the governing board of the Men of the Sacred Hearts, which took place at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois.

Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

In that holy and beautiful place, we discussed ways of remaining faithful to and also renewing the apostolate of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home. This is a ministry that arose from one of the great missionaries of our Congregation, Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey SSCC,

Fr. Mateo contemplating his mission of spreading devotion to the

Sacred Hearts

who, burning with spiritual energy, developed a special path to renew true devotion of the Sacred Heart, relying on visits to families by committed laymen in the Church. One hundred years later, his apostolate continues, continuing to call families back to true devotion that is an extension of our Eucharistic worship and consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We, the National Board, after our business meeting, were happy to pray and listen to each other, renewing our brotherhood.

Celebrating our time together!

Teaching Sacred Heart Spirituality

I was doubly blessed to return from Belleville in time to participate in our Chapter of the East Coast Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. A Chapter is a meeting of a province of religious brothers and priests convened to discuss and make basic decisions as well as elect leaders who will govern us in the next three years.

Fr. Stan Kolasa SSCC serving as a facilitator of the Chapter

Members of East Coast Province attending Chapter

The highlight of this particular chapter was our decision to approve an ambitious and far-reaching plan for the development of our retreat center in Wareham, Massachusetts. This is the same beautiful and blessed place I mentioned in an earlier post. We also reelected our provincial, Fr. William “Bill” Petrie SSCC and transformed our Provincial Council.

New Council (from left to right)-Fr. Fintan Sheeran SSCC, Fr. Tom

McElroy SSCC, Br. Paul Alves SSCC, Fr. Bob Charlton SSCC,
Fr. Bill Petrie SSCC-Provincial

And we had a spirited and humorous celebration of the jubilees of several of our more senior members, here portrayed in our religious attire.

Jubilee Celebrants after Anniversary Mass

We were honored to have present throughout our chapter our current Superior General, Fr. Javier Enrique Ossorio SSCC,

Fr. Javier Enrique Ossorio SSCC, Superior General of

the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

who both charmed us and called us to fidelity in our mission and brotherhood that extends across the globe. Because of that internationality, there was no surprise in seeing one of our younger Indian priests, Fr. Alexis Nayak SSCC, giving a reflection, nor seeing him later helping count votes in the Chapter, while standing alongside his former novitiate comrade in the Philippines, Fr. Chris Santangelo SSCC.

Fr. Alexis Nayak SSCC, left Fr. Chris Santangelo, right

Despite the pains of adjusting to our present reality, the Chapter made clear how we retain our hope by being in a Resurrection mode, open to whatever transformation that will come to us through the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Emblem of our Spiritual Life

2009-07-09T17:38:00.001-07:00

At last! Christ has risen!

After a long and strenuous Lent, the day arrived upon which our faith and hope is based. On April 12, the Church tasted the joy of Easter once more. For me, the coming of Easter signified a call to taste the Lord in a new way through retreats that shared the dynamic life of the Lord. For, as St. Paul said: “From now on we regard no one according to the flesh, even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:16) How would I interpret that?

We’ve all heard too many things that we didn’t need to hear. Right?

We’ve all seen too many things that we didn’t need to see? Right?

We’ve all said too many things that we didn’t need to say. Right?

How can we make up for it? The solution is to engage in the intense experience of a retreat and then to see all as new: “ So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A New Creation!

The first retreat I attended was an Emmaus retreat, its roots being the appearance of Jesus to His two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-32) It was a unique experience of speaking to each other freely in the presence of the Lord, such that, at the end, we could say, “Were not our hearts burning?” I came to see each of these dear people as truly my brother or sister, a fellow pilgrim of Emmaus 161.

My small group at the Emmaus 161 Retreat

This particular retreat movement was founded by two of our Sacred Hearts priests over twenty years ago. And like all things of the Spirit, it has outgrown us. Thank you, Jesus!

The second retreat, sponsored by the local group of the Men of the Sacred Hearts, was one that I had the privilege of preaching for and leading, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the central focus, which I connected with Jesus' proclamation of Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

It turned out to be an amazing week-end, better than any of us expected, because Jesus’ Heart was in charge. Take a look at some of the happy devotees!

Of course, it also helped that our beautiful Sacred Hearts Retreat Center manor house and grounds were the setting, letting the participants see and feel God’s beautiful presence just by taking a walk.

And the food? Wow! Almost to die for! So come on down and get to know this beautiful and holy place!

Sacred Hearts Retreat Center Manor House

Sacred Hearts Retreat Center boathouse beach area

2009-07-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up in a fog, the kind of fog that keeps one from seeing things clearly. Everything looks kind of hazy.

And that got me thinking. Have I been in a fog these past three month? Why else would I have stopped writing in this blog and sharing with you my Sacred Heart friends? Let me make it up to you and to the living Christ who is my light and your light, even in the darkness.

When I last wrote in this blog, it was Lent, which I began in the desert of southeastern New Mexico, where our Community in Mission. When I came home, I started once again as a resident of St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven, MA., where I work , eat, share community, and also contribute by celebrating mass for the good people of this parish. Yes, they’re all good, because we know that God doesn’t make junk and builds us up to grow in the life and person of Jesus Christ.

Shortly after I returned, I had the pleasure of witnessing a Lenten mission preached by our very own Fr. Tom McElroy for the parishes of St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s.

Fr. Tom McElroy SSCC

At first, I was a little confused, because Fr. Tom was so bright and happy as he preached, but then I realized that, yes this is a part of our charism. We, as Sacred Hearts missionaries, want to bring brightness and light to our human condition, which we are equipped to do through the light that comes from the Heart of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fr. Tom witnessed for us the baptismal grace that we have just begun to tap. On the last night, as I snapped some pictures, Fr. Tom asked me to come up to where he was and snap some pictures of the parishioners, who had been enlivened by the words of life and love they had heard. Look and see what they looked like right after the experience.

Later, I’m sure that they asked themselves, like those who walked on the way to Emmaus with Jesus as their side: “Were not our hearts burning?”

I found a more “conventional” celebration of Lent in the three Sacred Hearts Parishes of the Fairhaven-New Bedford area, the so-called “living stations of the Cross.” Each parish exercised its creative spirit in witnessing and prayers associated with the stations of the Cross. My favorite was one from St. Mary’s Church that linked the cross of Jesus with personal “heart-prayers” addressed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

What would Lent be for us, if our sense of Jesus’ limitless love was lost or overlooked? Our sacrifices, our prayers, our daily shouldering of the cross would lose its meaning, if it were not for the connection of our hearts with the Heart of Jesus. Though devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has faded, new efforts of evangelization are always possible. This became clear to me in several different prayer and retreat experience in which I was privileged to participate. First, in March, together with the Men of the Sacred Hearts, we enthroned St. Francis Xavier Catholic elementary school and each of its classrooms to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The children responded, not only by listening, but by drawing the Sacred Heart, each and every one of them. And some of them won the prize of a Sacred Heart statue to bring home to their familes.

As March passed and April came, spring finally came, symbolized by the first crocus flower emerging from the soil. So beautiful, and yet so fragile!

The flower whose image I captured in this photo was cut off and died within a few days of its emergence. The vocations I try to foster are also fragile, and yet I have chosen to try. So, beginning in April, I went to California to speak with the students at Damien High School about the significance of seeking a vocation for their lives, holding up our vocation as a way of caring for others and growing in God’s abundant life. I tasted the welcoming of the young and they tasted my zeal to communicate what the vocation of the Sacred Hearts is all about.

While in California, I also conferred with and enjoyed the welcome of Fr. Pat O’Hagen SSCC, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, a parish brimming with activity and life.

Thanks, Pat, for all you shared!

Fr. Pat O'Hagan SSCC

I also was able to view some of the unique California flora. Can anyone tell me the names of these incredible flowers and plant?

God, your creation is wonderful!

2009-03-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yes! It is a great gift to be traveling through the season of Lent! Let me share a little of my own personal travels in this season. I began Lent by traveling to the desert. However, it was not the desert of Judea, where Jesus fasted and prayed, but the desert of southeastern New Mexico surrounding the small city of Artesia, where it has not rained since the month of September. This is a place where no one laments the rain falling, for it is a matter of life or death.

Yes, and that is also true about this Lenten season. Lent, with its emphasis on prayer, fasting, and charity is as important as the cross of Jesus to our salvation. Wasn’t that so very clear when we had our foreheads smeared with ashes on Ash Wednesday and heard the words: "Repent and live the Gospel."?

I came to a community of Sacred Hearts religious that was very familiar to me. Just two years ago, I was serving there, together with two brother priests and three sisters from our Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. What a great reunion it was to be again with these special people that I so love. With me on the trip was Fr. Benedict Folger SSCC, who also was there. Serving with verve, praying with fervor, beloved by the people, he would never have left, if it were not for health problems. So I rejoiced to see him again in this place where his spirit fit so well.

Fr. Benedict Folger SSCC

This community in Artesia is distinctive, in that it is called a C.I.M., a Community in Mission, meaning that it aims at the renewal of our religious and communal life with a spark of our original spirit, given to us by our two founders: Fr. Pierre Coudrin SSCC and Sr. Henriette Aymer SSCC, who began our religious life by taking their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in 1800.

Fr. Pierre Coudrin SSCC- the "Good Father"

Sr. Henriette Aymer SSCC- the "Good Mother"

Because of them, whom we call our “Good Father” and our “Good Mother”, we are a true family, and that family spirit is part of our mission to renew ourselves and the world through God’s Love.

Each person in that community had and still has a unique and priceless function. For example, Sr. Damien Dang SSCC is part of the St. Jose ministry that serves food to bereaved families after funerals.

Sr. Damien Dang SSCC (with green apron)

Sr. Marie Lemert SSCC serves as an advocate for the protection of children. See the picture of Marie showing off her fifty cent jacket. Go Marie! Get those bargains!

Sr. Marie Lemert SSCC

And Fr. Paul Murtagh SSCC, is the softspoken, but ever caring servant-leader of five diverse communities.

Fr. Paul Murtagh SSCC

St. Catherine's Church in Hageman, N.M.

Pardon me for not showing photos of Sr. Dominic Reantaso SSCC and Fr. Brian Guerrini SSCC., who are equally special. I just didn't get around to photographing them!

I felt a deep connection once more with our people as I celebrated masses in all five churches.

And though it hurt to tell them I was visiting, not staying, we shared tremendous joy in seeing each other again.

In a mission like this, one learns to treasure the small things that others may not notice, like the sign at the entrance to Artesia that reminds one of the “scent of success.”

Do you think that sign shows the wrong end of the cow?

The nearby oil refiner, though ugly and a bit scary when its refuse flames surge like the fires of hell, it is a beautiful sight at sunrise and at night, when its lights twinkle and serve as a lighthouse in the pitch-black darkness.

refinery with refuse flame

refinery at sunrise

refinery at night

One shouldn’t forget that this refinery’s activity provides hundreds of jobs and produces the fuel that powers our airplanes. It reminds me of the refinery of spirit that is our religious life when we show our "light." at special times. If only more could see and know how beautiful this life is!

And yet this life must always change. Just eleven short days after arriving, we had to leave, but it was all right, knowing that we would be remembered and loved, and, of course, we would do the same. In that way, we are trying to be Christ’s missionaries, coming when we are needed, though not always wanted, and leaving when we are not needed as much, though perhaps still wanted . We come and go with Jesus, and that’s all right! Don’t you want to travel with us?

2009-03-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

Being a vocation director necessarily limits the kind of ministry I do, but recently I had an experience that may resonate with some of you who desire a way to follow in the footsteps of Father Damien in this country and in this particular time of economic distress. My experience began when I learned from a newspaper article in the local New Bedford newspaper, that the local Homeless Service Providers’ Network was seeking volunteers for a 24 hour mission of contacting and counting all the homeless people in the city of New Bedford, the city I see across the Acushnet river from the town of Fairhaven.

The official reason for the count was to provide a reliable, current statistical figure of homelessness demanded by the federal government from every city and locality in the USA one day a year as a means to determine funding for the homeless. But for those who volunteered in this one day mission, there was another motiviation: to contact and to help the poorest of the poor. Looking at my photograph of Damien, I knew that I had to say “yes.” I had to be a volunteer. For weren’t the homeless the ones whom Damien would be assisting, if he were present now?

Because I lived at one time in the South End of the city

I was made part of a team to reconnoiter the South End in what must have been one of the coldest days of the year. I was part of a team of three. The others, Rosemary and Jessica, were much more experienced than I, since they work with the homeless on a daily basis in one of New Bedford’s homeless shelters.

Left:Rosemarie, Right: Jessica

Our first step was to report to the hall that was being used that day as launchpad for over 70 volunteers who were contacting the homeless that day. The large room had nametags, food, maps, flashlights, pamphlets, and some articles of clothing to offer any homeless persons we encountered.

But the best gift they gave us were some coupons from McDonald’s that we could offer to those who were in need, even if they refused to be interviewed.

We began by setting out for Fort Tabor, the bathhouses, and Salisbury Street, all places where the homeless had been sighted before. We didn’t find any homeless people, but we did find a place where they had slept under the bathhouse.

And we gave to anyone who had seen and talked to homeless people our “Street Sheets,” that listed all the resources in the city for people who were homeless or were threatened with homelessness. At one point, while casing the rundown area of County Street, we heard about an older Hispanic man who had been hanging around, but we never found him. We could only hope that the bar owner who sometimes fed him would share the Street Sheet information written in Spanish that we gave him. In the previous year, three homeless people had been approached and convinced to come off the street during the street count. Jessica and Rosemarie told me that there was always a danger that one of the homeless people would otherwise freeze to death,which happened to one unfortunate homeless man last year. The problem is that many of the homeless fear being “outed” or arrested, and therefore avoid having contact with anyone with the look of the official establishment.

When we returned after three hours of a mostly futile search, we were greeted and thanked by the managers of the project, Lisa and Fred, who thanked us for our effort, despite the fruitlessness of our search.

But I was impelled to ask why a cold day in winter was selected for this yearly count, since obviously the homeless, during the coldest times, would find a way to be indoors by sleeping in someone’s basement or doubling up in a friend’s apartment. One cynic among the volunteers told me that HUD forced them to choose that day, because the low street count made the government look more effective than it was. Could this be true? Perhaps. After all, we do live in a country that gives millions to distressed millionaires and a pittance to those who are at the bottom of the barrel. Damien knew the same reality, which is why he was sometimes called a “troublemaker.” May we find more troublemakers with the same passion for the poor that Blessed Damien of Molokai had.

2009-02-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

My God, it’s been quite awhile since my last posting, almost a month, though I have not forgotten you, dear readers. Since I last wrote, I have moved my place of residence just a mile up the road to one of our parish communities, St. Mary’s Church in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. This move reflected my spiritual longing for greater contact with a living community of Catholic faithful. Now that I’m here, I’m giving thanks to God more often, which is a good sign that I made the right choice.

So I go every day to this parish’s beautiful worshipping space, sitting between the tabernacle and an amazing statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The statue, some say, goes back to the time of the revival of the devotion to the Sacred Heart in France after the revelations of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary.

The statue evokes a presence of Jesus that affirms my consecration to His Sacred Heart as a foundation for my vocation as a religious and priest.

Another foundation is our brotherhood with a simple, hospitable family spirit. So I am happy to introduce you to my kindly and good-natured brother in the Sacred Hearts family, Father Patrick Killilea SSCC. Fr. Pat hails from what he says is the “best part of the Emerald Isle”, that is, Galway on Ireland’s West Coast. Having been a parish priest for 40 years and having served in the parish of St. Mary’s for 7 years, he has much to teach a relatively young priest like myself.

Fr. Pat Killilea

Several weeks ago, I was on my own here, filling in for Fr. Pat while he was away. One morning, after several weeks of living alone in the rectory, I came down the stairs the first thing in the morning and filled up a paper cup with drinking water. Then, for no reason, I dropped the cup and the water it contained onto the kitchen floor.

Marvelling at my own clumsiness, suddenly I “knew” that this was a sign that “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Isn’t that why the gift of fraternity and community is such an integral part of our lives as Sacred Hearts religious? It makes us not special, but human.

Everywhere I look, it is the same. Even the ducks I pass by in the park prefer to be together.

On some of the coldest nights of this winter, as I walked in prayer beside the Acushnet river, I heard the ducks honking at each other. Honk! Honk! Honk! Their persistence in communicating made me smile.

Many people were also smiling at the human communication that was a part of a local workshop given by our own unique and wonderful brother, Father Martin Gomes SSCC. at St. Joseph’s Church in Fairhaven.

Fr. Martin Gomes

Fr. Martin came from his parish of Saint Joseph’s Church in Nassau, Bahamas to share his expertise on the life-giving, life-sharing ministry of parish councils. In this time of priest shortages, many are lamenting a loss of the clarity and stability that our Catholic Church once possessed. I think of this powerful image often as I gaze across the Acushnet River at a Catholic church in New Bedford that towers over nearby edifices.

Yet Fr. Martin gave us all a reason to hope for and to dream about a new kind of Catholic Church that, despite our weaknesses, is starting to shine in a remarkable, unforeseen way.

The key, Fr. Martin told the parish councils and staff of St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s Church, is to do the mission of Jesus Christ together with a common sense of mission. Laypeople, no less than clergy, are being empowered by baptism to do ministry that is a continuation of the mission of Jesus Christ in this world. Worshipping, listening, discussing, socializing, the parish councils of the two Sacred Hearts parishes in Fairhaven learned in this workshop what the People of God are called to do and can do as disciples of Jesus Christ on behalf of their parish communities.

Left to right: Robert Espindola, Deacon Doug Medeiros, Rhody Medeiros

Left to right: Lillian Desrosiers, Paula Viera, Janet Macomber

Marge Copeland and Roseanne Souza

Everyone I talked to who was present told me the same thing, that their experience in this workshop brought them joy, because they were learning to do ministry better and to do it together.

During and after the workshop, Margaret Copeland, the religious education director of St. Joseph’s Church, crackled with energy like a human sparkplug as she spoke of how the laypeople had been given a wake-up call on the possibility of making the parish “come alive” by “adjusting out ministries to meet the needs of the people of today.”

Marge Copeland

Even Fr. Gabriel Healy, one of our more senior priests, with over 50 years of varied pastoral experiences, learned, he told me, new ways of coordinating parish ministry at the workshop.

Fr. Gabriel Healy and Tracy Travers

Fr. Tom McElroy, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church and preacher of renewal for many Catholic parishes throughout our country, said that he loved the challenge that was presented to us to “change our structures” and “minister in new ways for the sake of a Gospel that utilizes the gifts of all.” Saying that, he laughed at the amazing truth that we can be “instruments of the Lord.”

Left to right: Fr. Tom McElroy, John Jannis, Marge Copeland

Yet, one thing more needs to be said. Besides this new, exciting vision of a Church in which ministry is communal, planned, and inspired by Jesus in the Spirit, we have another need. We need new brothers and sisters with an adventurous spirit who are ready to take a leap and go where they have never gone before. Could one of those potential ministers be you? Are you ready to take a leap forward with others close behind?

2009-01-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome Friends! Welcome Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Welcome all those who have linked their lives with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, choosing Divine Love at the center of their lives! And welcome to those who are just beginners in the spiritual journey. That includes me!

This is the first edition of Sacred Hearts Beat, a blog that I have begun in order to promote an outreach of our Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to those who surf the Web.
Today, as I write this column, it is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the last Sunday of this Christmas season. In the Gospel today, Jesus did what was totally unexpected. He asked John the Baptist to baptize him, though He rightfully could have taken a position of superiority, baptizing John the Baptist. Why did Jesus act in this way? For all of us who personally know the love that comes from the Heart of Jesus, the answer becomes obvious when we hear it. Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan river to bring the transforming Love of His heart to the culture and environment of His time, just as He became part of your life when you were baptized. It is similar to the way the new snow is falling on this cold wintry day and letting us see everything around us in a fresh, new, and beautiful way. May I show you some photos of what I see?

The small building in the center of the photo is the place where, as a vocation director, I have chosen to be based. The sign along the path that leads to my office says, “The Damien of Molokai Center.” Here amid photographs and mementos of the life of Blessed Father Damien of Molkai, I sit and dream of a future in which followers of Damien will come forth to dedicate themselves to God, the Church, and to the poor of God, who need His love the most.

In the case of Father Damien, the poor ones he was called to serve were victims of Hansen’s Disease, the modern name for leprosy.

Damien was only just 33 years old, a handsome, strong, lively, young man, when he began his mission to the victims of Hansen’s disease. Because the victims of leprosy were exiled on the island of Molokai. Damien chose to be exiled with them. Thus,he responded with loving obedience to a personal call of Jesus’ Heart, We are able to respond in a similar way, when Jesus’ Heart is our center.

Young Damien

For brothers and sisters of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts who follow in Damien’s footsteps, the poor of God can be any and all who come to us, but especially the poor and unevangelized that we encounter. Readers, please look around you and beyond your comfort zone to see the ones who most need what is inside the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Through what we do with our hands, feet, tongues, and hearts, we can help bring Jesus’ and Mary’s hearts to them. Being ministers of the Church, we, of course, include the teachings and sacraments of the Church. There are so many riches that come from His Heart!
What a beautiful vocation! What a wonderful life! There is so much to share and give. So give whatever you can! And, please, please come and visit this website again!

See you later!