Bro. John Laudenbach will be assigned to the Marianist Residence Community with a ministry of prayer and support to the community.

After consultation of the members of the community, the Provincial Council has appointed Bro. Timothy Pieprzyca to a three-year term as Director of the Woodlawn Marianist Community, San Antonio. We thank Bro. Tim for undertaking this fraternal service. 

A special word of thanks to Bro. Richard Thompson, who served as the Acting Director of the Woodlawn Community during the transition as new community members joined the community. 

Earlier this summer, I published the community visitation schedule. For your convenience, I’m publishing it once again. Please remember that the community visitor is the liaison to the Provincial Council. As always, please feel free to contact any member of the council when you have a question or a concern. Click here for the list.

On Friday, October 1, the province sponsored the annual directors' meeting virtually. Community directors will be reporting back to their communities shortly. Please take a moment to support your community director and to thank him for his ministry.

During the recent meeting for directors, I shared that I had told our wonderful vocation director, Bro. Mark Motz, that we want to “turn up the heat” on our vocation ministry. It is important to state that turning up the heat on vocation ministry means that we are turning up the heat on ourselves as members of the province. We must ask ourselves as communities and members if we have created “the community vocation plan.” Once again, I invite all of us to ask ourselves how we are supporting vocation ministry. How do we encourage vocations? How do we get young people interested in religious life? How do we invite others? Remember that vocation plans will be different from community to community. Pray for vocations!

Thanks to all the directors, area coordinators, council members, and support persons (a group of approximately 45) who together made last Friday’s gathering so successful. While we missed the sharing that an in-person meeting over three days makes possible, a very fraternal spirit in all the discussions was evident. I look forward to learning the plans your community makes for reducing its “environmental footprint” and being an agent of civil discourse while advancing justice.

I am pleased that in the month of October our Church invites us to focus on the rosary as an important prayer and also on Respect Life. With all of the issues before us, Respect Life is an important one, and that phrase is important to be used in a positive way and not negative. As Marianists, we join with our Church in respecting life from the womb to the tomb and believing all human life is sacred which encompasses all of the issues that we as Marianists are concerned about: the unborn child, the new immigrants, the people from Haiti on our borders, the homeless people on the streets where members of our Marianist Family live, those who are teased and bullied because of their gender and sexuality, the elderly in our families and in our Marianist care centers, and those who are in prison. May Our Lady of the Rosary inspire us to proclaim that every human life should be cherished.

The Office of Religious Life is working with Bro. Gary Marcinowski to prepare an Advent prayer book to go with the four weeks of the Office (Liturgy of the Hours). Bro. Gary and Scott Paeplow have adjusted the psalm tones for our singing, created some wonderful intercessory prayers and pulled together some opening hymns, etc. I have asked the directors of our communities to determine how many copies your community may wish to order. Because it is time-consuming to have them printed and mailed to the communities, I am asking for the order forms to be returned within two weeks. Click here for the information.

More detailed information will be given later along with registration deadlines for our Province retreats in 2022. I wanted to let you know the dates. Click here for the information.

I invite you to watch a very moving YouTube video of six people who recently made their formal Consecration to Mary in Mexico and the United States virtually. This was hosted by some of the Marianists (religious and lay) in Mexico. It is the first time that a bilingual Marianist consecration has been made, to my knowledge, between the Marianist lay communities in Mexico and the United States.

Once again, I want to share with you the document on the Marianist World Day of Prayer. Towards the end of the document are some very beautiful prayers of intercessions that you might like to use. For more information, click here for English and here for Spanish.

I had the opportunity to visit both Archbishop Moeller High School and Purcell Marian High School this past week. Both visits provided me with a clear sense of the commitment of each school in deepening its Marianist identity. We discussed ways in which our relationship could be strengthened into the future. My special thanks to the brothers of the Moeller community for their gracious hospitality to me and for their tireless commitment to Moeller. Both schools expressed their deep gratitude for the support they receive from the Office of Sponsorship.

When visiting Purcell Marian, I had the chance to visit the members of the Marianist Urban Students Program (MUSP). These students represent the best of who we are as Marianist educators. Amaree Lovette (left) shared, ”MUSP has allowed me to succeed academically. I am an active member of the LIFE team and have taken on leadership roles in the school such as leading prayer during morning announcements.”

Please join me in praying for all of our students in the Marianist Urban Students Program and for their directors.

Two opportunities are planned later this month for our retreat center and high school leadership. Please keep these gatherings in your prayers.

Through a series of interactive presentations and discussions, participants will learn ways to support mission-focused governing boards and will have the opportunity to network with other administrators, board members and province representatives. This workshop is for the CEO-level leader of each sponsored school and retreat center, along with one board representative from each of those sponsored ministries. Our workshop facilitator is Mr. Jack Peterson of Managing for Mission.

The Marianist Administrators’ Conference offers professional and spiritual insights and an opportunity to network with leaders from other Marianist-sponsored ministries. Participants include presidents, heads of school and principals of sponsored schools and directors of sponsored retreat centers.

Congratulations to Bro. Justin Quiroz, who professed his Perpetual Profession on October 2. You can view photos of the ceremony here, watch a highlights video here, the entire live stream here and see the reception here.

Additionally, the Stonemill-Kiefaber Community had a vocation live-in last week, Monday, September 27-Friday, October 1. Three University of Dayton men were invited to join the community for this live-in. They participated in community prayer, Masses and meals. We had an opening meeting on Monday explaining our live-in and the men had a number of one-on-ones with the brothers in the community. They also attended the profession of Perpetual Vows of Bro. Justin Quiroz this past Saturday.

Pictured with the brothers of the community are Wally Price, Simon Didat and Tom Laveck.

October 7: Sylvester Burkemper, Robert Moriarty

October 9: Gerald Chinchar

October 12: Raymundo Domínguez González

October 13: Edward Loch

October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary

October 10: Marianist World Day of Prayer

October 12: Our Lady of the Pillar