Newsletter | September 27, 2019 | Issue 171
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Forming Apostles Through Accompaniment and Witness
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Director's Desk
On September 15, my Pallottine confrere,
Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C.,
was beatified in a beautiful and spiritually moving Mass in Limburg, Germany. Having preached against the Nazi regime while serving in what is now the Czech Republic, Fr. Henkes was arrested in 1943 and imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp. He died serving people with typhoid in the barracks where he was their “secret pastor.” The
Heart of Jesus Province of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate
summarizes his life and death in this way:
“The Pallottines consider his sacrifice as one of a brave warrior and as a testimony for the Christian faith as well as a martyr of Christian charity.”
Blessed Richard Henkes was not perfect, but Christ perfected him through his living witness unto death of the motto of the Pallottines: “The Charity of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor. 5:14). Rekindling charity as
St. Vincent Pallotti
called us to do, often means witnessing to what is just in this world, even if it causes persecution and suffering. We are called to
accompany
our brothers and sisters who are oppressed and in need without counting the cost to ourselves and our own comfort.
God provides us with the ability to do such things – to grow in holiness – as Blessed Richard Henkes came to know. We do not do it on our own. Pope Francis offers an important reflection for our day when he says in
Gaudete et Exsultate
:
“Persecutions are not a reality of the past, for today too we experience them, whether by the shedding of blood, as is the case with so many contemporary martyrs, or by more subtle means, by slander and lies. Jesus calls us blessed when people ‘utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account’ (Mt 5:11). At other times, persecution can take the form of gibes that try to caricature our faith and make us seem ridiculous. Accepting daily the path of the Gospel, even though it may cause us problems: that is holiness” (94).
May the Charity of Christ urge us on!
In Christ, Apostle of the Eternal Father,
We are now offering a new book about Blessed Richard Henkes, S.A.C.
Click
here
to order the print version and
here
for the eBook.
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The book discusses and expands on the term of accompaniment and helps implement practical ideas for use in your ministry. To read an excerpt from this resource,
click here
.
For more information on accompaniment, you can visit our
Accompaniment Resources
page where you will find webinars, videos, and documents that elaborate more on this topic.
Click here
to visit webpage.
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Earlier this year Colleen and Tom presented a Facebook LIVE titled:
"Forming Communities of Accompaniment,"
where they discussed the term accompaniment and spoke on this new publication. They also shared the importance of the topic and why they decided to write on accompaniment. To watch the recording of the Facebook LIVE,
click here
. If you are interested in additional information on accompaniment, please visit the Center's accompaniment resources page by
clicking here
.
Colleen Campbell
is a second year Ph.D. student studying Catechetics at the Catholic University of America. She holds an MA in Theology from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Dallas. Colleen is also an alumna of Notre Dame’s Echo program, serving in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Colleen is passionate about mentorship, lay ministry, St. Edith Stein, and a renewal of catechesis, especially for women and girls.
Tom Carani
works at a parish in Austin, Texas. His daily mission is to put people in touch with God and one another through parish ministry, formation, and various methods of accompaniment. Tom received his BA in Theology and Religious Studies from The Catholic University of America and his MA in Theology from the University of Notre Dame through Echo, a Catechetical Leader program.
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CEUs by Catholic Apostolate Center offered through St. Joseph's College of Maine
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The
Catholic Apostolate Center
is continuing its collaboration with
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
to provide a variety of courses offered as Continuing Education Units (CEU) for this fall (Oct. 1- Dec. 31, 2019) and spring (Feb.1 - April 30, 2020). Each course utilizes Center resources and is instructed by Marianne Green, a
collaborator of the Center.
Students will be able to learn at their own pace in collaboration with their peers and the instructor through online learning using videos, discussion boards, and assessments.
A CEU allows someone in active ministry to stay sharp, learn best practices, and adapt to modern times and technology
.
Some topics for the fall include:
- TH 17 Marriage and Family Life
- TH 24 Ministry and the Importance of Self-Care
- TH 32 Encountering Neighbor: Hispanic and Latino Ministry
For more information, please see the Saint Joseph's College of Maine's catalog information
here
.
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Spanning ten sessions,
Apostles on Mission
focuses on evangelization and apostleship. Each session is structured with
prayer, small discussions, and theological training
. Through those ten weeks, participants are asked to work with their
mentors
and
facilitators
to create an
evangelization start-up
based on their gifts and charisms. The program currently has been implemented in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and is offered in both English and Spanish.
If you would like more information on
Apostles on Mission
or would like to fill out an application to be considered for the program in the nearest diocese in the future, please visit
www.apostlesonmission.org
.
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Recent and Upcoming Center Events and Presentations
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Diocese of Norwich Conference: Accompanying our Youth on their Faith Journey
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On September 12, Center Director
Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C
.
was in the Diocese of Norwich to
facilitate a day-long discussion with diocesan and parish leaders on the topic of
"Accompanying our Youth on their Faith Journey."
Fr. Frank was happy to be able to assist those who attended in developing a greater understanding of the Church's responsibility to accompany all of its members through their lives.
To read more on Fr. Frank’s presentation or to listen to his presentation please
click here
.
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National Young Adult Ministry Summit 2019: Rooting Young Adult Ministry
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Several staff members from the
Catholic Apostolate Center
attended the
National Young Adult Ministry Summit
which took place in Chicago, IL September 17th-19th.
The Summit, which was hosted by the USCCB's National Advisory Team on Young Adult Ministry, aimed to address and discuss the "vision where the field of Catholic young adult ministry is being called to do next, in light of the synod and the post-synodal
exhortation,
Christus Vivit
."
(NYAMS)
Assistant Director of Programs,
Jonathan Sitko
, served on the planning committee for the summit. Center Project Coordinator,
Brian Rhude
, took part in a plenary panel session regarding Vocational Discernment and the Universal Call to Holiness.
Assistant Director of Administration,
Monica Thom Konschnik
, presented with
Katie Delaney
from our affiliate,
Catholic Volunteer Network
on Long-Term Service/Volunteerism and Vocation and our Director,
Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C
.
, presented to the entire conference about the mission of the Center and response to
Christus Vivit
and missionary discipleship.
Throughout the three-day Summit, held at
Catholic Theological Union at Chicago
, Media Manager,
Alex Cranstoun
, produced and supplied a livestream so young adult ministers could participate in this summit even if they were not able to attend in person. Live steam recordings will be available in the next couple of weeks.
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Silent Day of Reflection at Green Hill
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Ten young adults from the Washington, D.C. area attended our first event at
Green Hill
. The Silent Day of Reflection focused on the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew and included Mass, Lectio Divina, and Eucharistic Adoration throughout the day.
Although these place makers were created to aid in the experience of the day, participants had the option to choose to spend time in personal, silent prayer. All participants had the option of reflecting indoors in the St. Vincent Pallotti Chapel and other meeting rooms or enjoying our 14 acres of garden and grounds outdoors. This retreat was designed to give all the participants a deeper dive and time to focus on Christ's call in the Beatitudes.
The Catholic Apostolate Center will be hosting events periodically throughout the year. Green Hill events is also available for day programming by Catholic entities and organizations. If interested, please visit
catholicapostolatecenter.org/GreenHill
.
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Conference for Catholic Campus Ministers at The Catholic University
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This webinar will explore how vocations – to which all baptized Catholics are called – are the fruit and the seeds of a radical love. Whether single, married, clergy or religious, a properly discerned vocation would enable us to live more fully, to love more radically, to more joyfully bear witness to the Gospel, and to more authentically reveal (and perhaps attract others to) the love of Christ. Only this can produce and sustain more vocations.
The Center also offers additional resources on vocational discernment such as documents, podcasts, blogs, videos and more. To view these resources,
click here.
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Blessed Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C.
, who died in the Dachau Concentration Camp during World War II, was beatified on September 15th in Limburg, Germany. Fr. Henkes was a member of the German province of the
Society of Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines)
and was a vocal critic of the Nazi regime. Due to this, Blessed Fr. Henkes was arrested in April 1943 and was sent to Dachau three months later. He cared for and ministered to the sick people of Dachau, particularly the Czech people who were imprisoned there. After over a year in the concentration camp, he contracted a disease that would ultimately take his life in February 1945. He was declared by Pope Francis in December of 2018 to have died "in hatred of the faith" and declared a martyr. This allowed his cause of canonization to move forward.
The
Catholic Apostolate Center
, working with Pallottines internationally, now offers a resource page devoted to the life of Blessed Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C. It provides more information on his cause for canonization. A book on Fr. Henkes's life is available in both
eBook
and in
hard copy
.
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The
Catholic Apostolate Center
invites you to explore
Living as Missionary Disciples
, a document published by the
USCCB
about how active Catholics can become missionary disciples. The Catholic Apostolate Center assisted in the development of this timely document and compiled many resources to assist in its study and application for you and your ministry.
This resource can be used to assist dioceses, parishes, and other Church organizations in developing their own plans for how to live as missionary disciples. The Catholic Apostolate Center has resources available including webinars, podcasts, and videos, to assist in the reading and understanding of the document, and you can view them all by clicking
here
.
The Center is also available to work with your diocese, parish, ministry, or organization to assist in helping you use this resource and implement programs to form missionary disciples. Learn more about how we can help you by visiting:
CatholicConsulting.org
.
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In my life, my friends and peers have been incredible examples of
accompaniment
. An intimate and baseline knowledge about me makes it so much easier for a friend or peer to understand where I am in life and how to proceed. Peer mentorship, in my experience, is only possible because of the tireless effort that my parents, teachers, ministers etc. have put into nurturing me in understanding and action in the Faith. Without those people I wouldn’t have had the faithful and honest advice that is always so valuable to making me a better Catholic. Just as Jesus sent out his Apostles two by two, we share in the Apostles’ mission to evangelize the world and we must rely on those who share our mission for their support in life.
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Saint Vincent de Paul is the patron saint of charities, volunteers, and hospitals. Vincent dedicated most of his priestly life to the service of the poor, eventually founding the Confraternities of Charity, the Congregation of the Mission, and the Daughters of Charity. While St. Vincent is mainly known for his charity work, he also strove to reform the educational training of seminarians in France. Thanks to his efforts, St. Vincent de Paul established the model of modern-day seminaries. He died in France in 1660.
“Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.”
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