A Gift to the Whole Church

The province was well represented at the beatification of Blessed Adèle last Sunday in Agen, France. The ceremony of beatification was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect for the Congregation of the Saints. Numerous representatives from the Church of France were present, including  Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris . In his mid-day Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis referred to Blessed Adèle as a "gift to the whole church." May the formal recognition of her life of holiness by the Church serve as an encouragement for the entire Marianist Family to become a "witness of a nation of saints."

On June 30, Bro. Ed Loch will officially retire as the archivist for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, TX. Bro. Ed has served the archdiocese for 29 years and probably knows more about the Church in San Antonio than anyone. After a long and generous service to the archdiocese, Bro. Ed will devote some of his time at the Marianist Archives on the campus of St. Mary's University. Read the wonderful tribute to Bro. Ed by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller. Well done, good and faithful servant.


The Emerald Isle

After attending the beatification in Agen, Bro. Tom Giardino traveled to Dublin, Ireland to meet with various parties involved in the transfer of St. Laurence College to the Le Chéile Catholic Schools Trust. These are important meetings, and I ask your prayers for Tom and for all involved in planning for the future of the school.


Hand-over

On Tuesday, June 26, the members of both the current and newly-appointed Provincial Councils will meet together at the West Pine offices. Our sharing is intended to provide the current Council with closure and the new Council with some information and thoughts for the future. Members of both Councils have been meeting informally for the last several months to provide the best transition possible. As you know, the new Provincial Council will formally begin its service on August 1. Perhaps now is the time to single out one person for special thanks:  Bro. Joe Kamis, who has faithfully taken minutes for the Council since July 2010! This final gathering will mark meeting #93!! Thanks, Joe.

Let's continue to pray for our Brothers in the health care communities. We pray, especially, this week for Bro. John Rohe who died on Wednesday morning in San Antonio. May he know the merciful embrace of our Lord and the care of our Blessed Mother. May he now intercede for us and for our province.

Immigration Advocacy Opportunity from USCCB

The current administration in Washington has scaled-up their policy to separate children from their parents when they come to the border. Since October 2017, with a major spike in the last few months, over 1,000 children have been separated with at least 100 of them under the age of four. This creates major trauma for the kids and families in addition to likely trauma from their journey. One such parent committed suicide as a result.

ACTION:
1) Watch Video from Fr. Juan Molina, OSST: Co-Chair of CMSM's Justice and Peace Committee (4 min.)
2) Contact Congress to stop family separation and to visit the border (this took Brian less than one minute total to complete email to Congress)

Formation Program on Nonviolence

Inspired by a reinvigorated conversation about nonviolence within the Catholic Church, Cultivating Nonviolence, Harvesting Peace is an 8-week JustFaith Ministries program focusing on nonviolence from a Christian perspective. Based on Jesus as model of nonviolence, the program takes participants through explorations from self-focused nonviolence to what nonviolence can look like on a national or global scale. The program includes prayer, mind-and-heart-opening readings and videos, spiritual exercises, dialogue and invitations to action. Maryknoll helped develop this program. Consider using this in your religious community, parish, school, university, etc.

Linking Justice and Peace in the Lectionary

Below you will find homily resources from CMSM members and other people of wisdom in our community for your reflection. If you are not preparing homilies, please consider sharing with your local priest.

• Sunday June 17 by Dan Horan, OFM, Ph.D.
• Sunday June 24 by Joe Serano, O.Praem.
• Sunday July 1 by Don Timmerman, Catholic Worker
• Sunday July 8 by Dianne Bergant, CSA