Bro. Larry McBride has been in the province for some months and recently had a hip replacement. He was hoping to return to his community in Patna, India, by early September. His return has been delayed for about six weeks on doctor's orders. Thanks, Larry, for being patient, and for your service in the District of India.

Bro. Tom Oldenski has been dealing with chronic leg pain for some months, due to deterioration of his left hip. He, too, will have a total hip replacement in India, probably in October. Tom has been serving as the executive director of the UD Deepahalli program in Bangalore. In addition to our Marianist scholastics, 14 Brothers of St. Gabriel from Thailand have joined the program as first-year students.

Thanks, Tom, for your generous service to our Indian brothers.

On Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, we will have the official opening and blessing of the National Archives of the Marianist Province of the United States in San Antonio. On Thursday evening, the board of trustees of St. Mary's University will hold a reception at the facility; on Friday from 4-6 p.m., all Marianists and Marianist collaborators are invited to a reception at the Culebra Road facility.

Many thanks to province archivist Mary Kenney, and Bros. Earl Leistikow and Brian Zampier for preparing for these happy events.

The province has been offered the statue of the Sacred Heart that had been at the Marianist novitiate in Marcy, New York, and was later given to Sacred Heart Parish in Vernon, Connecticut, while our brothers were ministering there. We will ship the statue to Mount Saint John, where it will join the companion statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin.

Thanks to Bro. Bob Moriarty for taking the initiative to retrieve this bit of province history.


As of this writing, this Category 5 hurricane is barreling through the Caribbean and will hit Puerto Rico. Let us pray for the Colegio San José school community in San Juan and the Chaminade-Madonna school community in Hollywood, Florida, and for everyone who will be affected by this terrible storm. Let's also continue praying for those suffering the effects of Hurricane Harvey, especially the poor and homeless in Houston.

After the provincial council meeting in San Antonio this weekend, Fr. John Thompson and I will travel to Querétaro, Mexico, to visit the community there.
As I noted earlier, we have temporarily closed the community in Puebla; all the brothers are now living together in Querétaro, assisting with pastoral ministry in the local mission stations.

Bro. Juan Pablo Espinoza Chavez, who recently received his religious worker visa, will travel back to San Antonio with John. Juan Pablo will begin his immersion experience and service at Central Catholic High School while living at the new community at Holy Rosary Parish.

For those beginning new academic years, let us entrust our work to Mary and embrace our mission with zeal.

Two weeks ago, Brian Reavey called to our attention the "Season of Creation" to be observed from Sept.1 to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4.  

As Catholics we are accustomed to celebrating various liturgical seasons. Pope Francis' newly proclaimed "Season of Creation," while not an official liturgical season, encourages us to focus on God the creator and to reflect on our human responsibility to serve and protect all life.  

Please check out the creative resources available from Catholic Climate Covenant. The prayer service Finding God in the Wilderness is beautifully adapted to the Ignatian Exercises. It would also be easily adapted to community Lectio Divina.

These weeks might also be the time to read and prayerfully reflect on Pope Francis' Laudato Si'.

Pope Francis' challenge to encounter the "other" -- the one who looks, acts and believes differently -- moves us beyond our comfort zone to a greater self-awareness and the openness to see the world from a different point of view. 

Dr. Arturo Chavez, president of the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio, is the presenter for these one-hour sessions. The webinar is free but registration is required. Choose from two dates and languages:

• Sept. 26, 2 p.m. CST (in Spanish)

• Sept. 27, 2 p.m. CST (in English)

With the beginning of this academic year, St. Vincent-St Mary High School begins its happy journey as a Marianist-sponsored ministry. Fr. Marty, Dan Donnelly and I will travel to the Akron, Ohio, school to mark this occasion on Oct. 10.

The current plans are for Fr. Marty to preside at a Mass with the students and faculty in the morning. We will then tour the school during the day, and at the end of the school day have a social with students and faculty. That evening there will be a reception for parents, alumni and other members of the school community.

The Office of Sponsorship has prepared a wonderful welcome card that is being distributed to the entire school community to deepen their understanding of things Marianist. It includes a link, marianist.com/spirit, which I encourage you to access. It is delightful.

We will also be distributing these cards for each of our sponsored high schools and retreat centers at the Marianist Administrators Conference, Oct. 22-24 in St. Louis. I will also make some available for communities via the local community directors at their meeting in the beginning of October.

Abundant blessings to all in our educational institutions at the beginning of this school year!

Earlier this week, the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States issued a joint statement on the recent surge in racist hate crimes in the United States. These groups stand together in condemning this legitimized hatred.

Among the authors of the statement is Dr. Neomi DeAnda, a Lay Marianist and professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton. Please read the statement.

Please visit the USCCB page on racism to learn how the Church is praying, teaching, and acting against racism, and how you can get involved on Sept. 9 and beyond.

A new article in the Jesuit America magazine contends that all U.S. Catholics are called to oppose mass deportations under President Trump. Read the article.

Bread for the World offers an opportunity for your ministry or community to join with thousands of others in living out God's vision of a world without hunger. The event encourages prayers, activism and financial support.

Free resources include a scripture study guide by Fr. James Martin, SJ. Learn more.