Holy places, grateful prayers

On Monday, Bros. Roger Bau, Dave Murphy, Tom Oldenski, Dennis Schmitz and Fr. Paul Fitzpatrick and I celebrated the Eucharist at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

	The grotto at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Afterward, we visited the grotto in the crypt, which Catholic tradition holds is the home of Mary in Nazareth. We spent time in prayer in this very special place, remembering all members of the Province gratefully.

 

On Tuesday, we visited the Benedictine monastery, which holds the tradition of the multiplication of loaves. We also celebrated the Eucharist at the Church of the Primary of Peter and toured the city of Capharnaum. Paul has been an excellent pilgrimage leader.

 

Next Monday, Dennis and I will continue on to India for the District Assembly, the reception of the new District strategic plan, and the installation of new District leadership. 

 

We appreciate your prayers for these important events.

2018 Province Assembly

Here's an update from 2018 Province Assembly committee co-chairs Fr. Tim Kenney and Bro. Jack Ventura:

 

The committee met last month in San Antonio; we are pleased to share with you the assembly logo at right.

We also are excited to announce our two main speakers:

The assembly will run Thursday through Sunday, June 28 -July 1. July 1 will be a full day of activities, so you'll need to plan return travel for July 2.

The committee will send out more information later this summer. We are looking forward to our time together in St. Louis!

Update on Province properties

 

Here's news on a few of our real estate situations.

Former Marianist Mission building

Work has begun on the demolition of the old Marianist Mission Building on Franklin Street in Dayton. We anticipate that the site will be cleared by the time neighboring Chaminade Julienne starts classes in August.

 

PULSE community houses

The PULSE program is expanding to include two communities of young volunteers.

 

We will continue to rent on the eastside of Dayton. And, through the generosity of a donor, the Province is able to buy a house on the near-westside as well. We've received approval from the zoning committee so we can have multiple nonrelated people living in the house. Brian Reavey has more PULSE news in his section below. 

 

Chapel Street, Cincinnati

We have a sale pending on the house at 1516 Chapel Street. The house went on the market on May 21, and, happily, within four days we had five purchase offers.

 

Vernon, Connecticut  

Marianist International NGO

The following announcement is on behalf of General Assistant for Temporalities Bro. Michael McAward and myself:

For more than 10 years, Marianists have maintained a presence at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In May 2006, the UN formally recognized Marianist International as an NGO, affording it an approved presence, along with other organizations -- many sponsored by religious groups -- for the purpose of proposing issues and supporting the mission of the United Nations in its work for humanity and the rights of all.

While the challenges have been great and plentiful, those who work in this area do so with dedication, hope and determination, despite the frustrations of having to balance so many social, political and economic factors. Marianist International NGO has been a joint venture of the General Administration and the Province of the United States.
 
Recently, our representative, Brian Reavey, was informed that the access credentials of the Marianist International NGO were not eligible for renewal, due to new procedures for security and other concerns at the UN. Effectively, this makes it quite difficult to have a real and significant presence there. With Brian's input, the Provincial Council and the General Council have decided to discontinue permanent representation of the NGO before the United Nations, and on July 1, 2017, we will close this office. We will, however, continue to monitor issues, maintaining our contacts there and expressing our positions as appropriate.
 
We would like to thank the two people who have represented the Marianists at the UN during these years. Bro. Steve O'Neil worked very hard to establish the NGO and, with tireless enthusiasm, became well-known among other NGO representatives for his advocacy work there.  

Later, Brian Reavey continued this representation with his steady efforts to raise issues of social justice at the UN and keep them present in the consciousness of members of the Society of Mary. Though not officially credentialed at the UN, Brian will continue to watch and share issues whenever possible. Brian will continue to serve the Province as the full-time director of the Office of Justice, Peace & the Integrity of Creation out of the Marianist Center in Philadelphia.

We are grateful to Steve and Brian for their dedicated service! 

PULSE is flourishing!

June 28 - Commissioning Mass for outgoing volunteers

7 p.m. at Queen of Apostles Church, reception will follow.

Aug. 4 - Commissioning Mass for incoming volunteers
7 p.m., details to follow.

The U.S. recently made with Saudi Arabia the largest arms deal in history. Saudi Arabia uses U.S. weapons to kill massive numbers of humans and destroy civilian infrastructure in Yemen. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consistently violates human rights.
 
Some courageous lawmakers are trying to thwart the arms deal with bipartisan resolutions of disapproval in the House and in the Senate. Congress needs to hear from constituents this week.
 
In January, Pope Francis said: "(We must work) for the elimination of the deplorable arms trade and the never-ending race to create and spread ever more sophisticated weaponry ... The stockpiles of armaments which have been built up in various countries must be reduced by the parties concerned."

The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) encourages you to contact your lawmakers to support these resolutions against the Saudi arms deal. Take action now.

Please respond now to P ope Francis' call for input