THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF June 18, 2007...
Provincial’s time Fr. MacDonald is in and out of the office this week. At the end of the month, he and Fr. Bernie Rosinski will head to Mississippi for the ordination of Frater Mark Mastin to the diaconate. Feast day celebrations The Province Development Office hosted its annual Shrine Mass at Sacred Heart Monastery on Friday. Over 600 people attended the Mass, including a benefactor who flew in from New Jersey just for the day. “We picked her up at the airport in the morning, she came to Mass, had lunch and flew back home,” said Pam Milczarski of the Development Office. Another benefactor drove in from Alabama. Fr. MacDonald was the main celebrant. In Ottawa, the Canadian Region welcomed two new honorary members during its feast-day celebration on Thursday evening: Denise Dufour, long-time manager of the SCJ office in Montréal, and Merle Stern, a retired professor at St. Paul University who is a member of the region’s admissions committee. During Holy Hour, Fr. Claudio Dalla Zuanna, general councilor, gave a reflection on how devotion to the Sacred Heart may be interpreted today. News from Bishop Joe Bishop Joe Potocnak called last weekend to wish members of the province a happy feast-day. During the call he told Fr. Paul Grizzelle-Reid that he recently testified against the man who attacked him last year during a robbery attempt. The man, who stabbed the bishop several times, was sentenced to six years in prison. Keep in prayer Frater Markus Mönch, a German SCJ who studied in the United States last year, asked that SCJs keep him in prayer as he prepares for his ordination to the diaconate on June 24. If you’d like to drop him a note, his e-mail address is: markus.moench@scj.de Please remember… ––Our SCJs in nursing assistance. Fr. Kevin McInnis was hospitalized over the weekend with a high temperature and pneumonia. As of Monday morning (June 18) he was doing better, though is still quite ill. Fr. Chuck Kelly is having more health issues in recent days. Also, please remember Fr. Howard Melzer who is also in nursing care. ––Fr. Christian Kolvenbag, a member of the Indonesian Province who died June 14. He was born in 1936, professed in 1958 and ordained in 1965. Thank you Fr. Jim Schifano called to thank SCJs for their prayers and masses following the death of his mother, Cecelia Schifano. “The loss was tempered by your charity and love,” he added. Mission intention The Holy Father’s mission intention for the month of June: the North African Church –– that the Church in North Africa may bear witness to God’s love for every individual and all peoples. Reminder On Sunday, June 24, the Benedict Center of Milwaukee is holding its first annual “Bridges to the Community” river walk, a two-mile walk along the Milwaukee River that starts and ends at Pere Marquette Park in downtown Milwaukee. It will begin at 11 a.m. The Priests of the Sacred Heart are a major financial supporter of the center; Fr. John Klingler currently serves on the Benedict Center’s board of directors (see the June SCJ News for a story about Fr. John’s ministry at the center). The Benedict Center is an interfaith, nonprofit criminal justice agency that works with victims, offenders and the general community to bring about justice and rehabilitation. It has been in existence since 1974. Under its umbrella are educational opportunities (such as tutoring to help women earn their GED or HSED), parenting classes, job training and assistance with job placement, outreach programs (including restorative community service), and jail chaplaincy. To learn more about the center, and/or to register for the walk, go to the center’s website at www.benedictcenter.org and click on “Calendar of Events.” You can also call (414-347-1774) or e-mail the center (justice@benedictcenter.org). Or, contact Fr. John at: klinglerjohn@yahoo.com Congrats! Congratulations to the parish community at Holy Spirit in Hernando, Miss. Groundbreaking ceremonies for its new church took place May 27.