Prayer for Grace and Abundance

Transcription

1 Mission Office, Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud Vol. 43 Summer South 8 th Avenue, St. Cloud, MN (320) Prayer for Grace and Abundance Creator God, we ask that you move us Beyond the poverty of mindless consumption To the abundance of your Church s social teachings. We ask that you move us Beyond our impoverished need of material things To the richness of solidarity with our brothers and sisters Throughout this country and around the world. In this Issue: Partnership Updates Spotlight on Mission Franciscan Missioners Mission technology And MORE! We ask that you move us Beyond the empty drive to store up individual possessions To recognize the wealth of working for the common good. Grace us to consider the human dignity and the rights as well as needs of everyone in our local, national and global communities without counting the cost, Knowing that, as we have read in the recounting of the distribution of loaves and fishes, There is always enough for everyone to come to the table. Inside this Issue Prayer 1 Partnership Update: Maracay Ministry Partnership Update: Headed for Homa Bay Spotlight on Mission There s an App for That! We thank youfor this abundance. In Christ s name we pray. Amen. ~ Jane Deren, ~ Thank You from the Newest Country on Earth Tenth Anniversary in Mexico Base Church Communities 4 5 6

2 Partnership Update: Maracay Ministry Begun as a relationship in which St. Cloud sent priests and Religious to serve the young diocese, the relationship between the Dioceses of St. Cloud and Maracay, Venezuela has grown to one of mutual sending and receiving. After 50 years of friendship, a few of the great things still happening include the Friends of Seminarians Fund, which allows us to support the seminary in Maracay and the formation of the many young men of their diocese who feel called to the priesthood but could not otherwise afford the necessary education, and Maracay priests coming and serving in mission to us. Below are reflections, interviews and happenings from some of these seminarians and missioners from Maracay. Seminarian Tony Hair Medina Hernandez About the partnership of the two dioceses, it is a way of evangelizing and also for giving a response to the mission of Christ who commanded his apostles to carry the gospel to the ends of the world. In this way the mission of both dioceses is very important, being that among distinct cultures, distinct languages, it is shown and one can see the love of God among human beings. In the first place the partnership integrates the love of Christ, and wants to follow Christ carrying His message to those who need it. To do this there should be ministers wanting to do the mission, like my priest friend told me, actually a priest of St. Cloud, that the priestly vocation is not just ours, it is a call from God, a submission to God, a man s response to God, handing over his life to the gospel. It is like my Bishop Rafael Conde said, The call is not only a generous call by God, but also a generous response by man. In this I find the partnership of both dioceses to have much importance. Our new Pope Francis has given a complete new somersault to the church, from his name Francis to his actions, is just a short time of his papacy he has given a big example within the church, being humble, simple, in solidarity with the poorest like the great St. Francis de Assisi. I am glad and I give thanks to God that I am permitted, with the grace of God, to do my future priestly ministry during his papacy. His humility of a holy life will be an example for all the priests and the new generation of priests that are coming out of the many seminaries around the world. Page 2 Everyone s mission is to be holy, like our God is holy, from this is my response to the call that God gave to me. I want to respond to his love in my life. In today s world there are so many problems and there are always young people who want to give their lives to Christ. And so, answering His call and His presence in the Eucharist, with complete faith in Him, I want to and I am ready to submit my life to serving the church. Padre José Bracamonte After two years of seminary studies in Venezuela and six years in Columbia, Father José Bracamonte was ordained a priest on March 19th, Then, twelve years into his priesthood, he was asked to come to St. Cloud. Hesitant at first and not sure what to expect, José spent the next five years ( ) ministering in the area of Hispanic Ministry in our diocese, where he won Padre José Bracamonte, priest of Maracay Diocese and former missioner to St. Cloud over many hearts and built lasting relationships of faith and friendship. Now, after returning to Venezuela, Fr. José is Director of Catholic Charities for Maracay Diocese, as well as serving as pastor of two parishes, Divine Mercy and San Bartolomé, which are 50 miles apart and together have 45,000 parishioners. Between the two parishes, last year saw 260 baptisms, four weddings, 160 confirmation candidates and 82 funerals. He stays busy! Despite the magnitude of Fr. José s current ministries in Maracay, he found the time this past Spring to return home to Minnesota for a visit. We asked Fr. José to share some of the things he experienced and learned during his ministry in St. Cloud Diocese that he has carried with him back to Maracay. He highlighted the following: Liturgy: [In St. Cloud Diocese] Liturgy is very organized, detailed and elegant. I appreciate the emphasis on the importance of the priests and all they do. Role of women in the church: (Continued on page 5) MISSION CONNECTIONS is published by the St. Cloud Mission Office, 11 8 th Ave. South, St. Cloud MN (320) It is distributed to the Catholic faithful in the Diocese of St. Cloud and to others concerned with the mission of Jesus Christ and global solidarity and justice. There is no charge for the publication, but tax deductible donations for our educational work are gratefully accepted. Donations for any of the missioners or mission connections mentioned here may be made in care of the Mission Office. **Please direct comments, suggestions and articles to Kateri Mancini, at kmmission@cloudnet.com **The mailing list is managed by Lora Knafla, at lkmission@cloudnet.com **For further information about the work of the Mission Office, contact Elizabeth Neville, at enmission@cloudnet.com

3 Partnership Updates: Headed for Homa Bay St. Cloud Diocese and the Diocese of Homa Bay, Kenya entered a Global Solidarity Partnership with the help of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in 1999, since which time various exchanges of people, personnel, gift s and prayer have taken place, and continue to do so. Delegations to each others dioceses, which take place on a three-year rotating cycle, remain a major highlight of the partnership. Fall of 2013 will see the next such delegation, when 12 delegates will travel to Kenya September 10-24th. They represent eight different parish communities throughout our diocese, and range in age from 20 to 73. Below are thoughts from a few of these delegates on why they feel called to participate in the delegation, and what they hope will come from it. Jackie Higgins, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Opole Page 3 This will be my first experience traveling abroad and participating in a new kind of mission. Initially, when asked to join this sister parish partnership a little over 4 years ago, I thought what every average American thinks, What can I do to help? How can we make life easier for them? What I am learning in this process is that when Americans go to other countries to do mission work, more often than you would think, they are not helping but hindering the communities and the people who live in them. My hopes and dreams are to learn about our friends in Homa Bay, share with one another and benefit from each other s gifts. When I speak of gifts, I am not talking about material items. Americans are so overwhelmed with so much stuff that I think it clouds our vision and distracts us from truly living out our faith. I pray that with God s grace, I will learn from our friends in Homa Bay their many [relational, spiritual, non-material] gifts and the joy they have in practicing their faith, so I can return home to share these things with the people in our community. I am also learning through this experience that diversity is not necessarily the color of one s skin or the different language a certain people might speak. Rather it is differences in other cultures that we simply are not use to. When we allow ourselves to be open minded and have a willingness to learn and to welcome these new friendships, we soon identify these differences as gifts! We can all be a part of this partnership and many others like it. It s simple; as Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself, then we can share in this journey together. Mary Kuntz, Sacred Heart Parish in Glenwood I ve always enjoyed meeting new people, living in a new neighborhood and learning how other people live and do things. Since my husband was in the Navy for 20 years, we moved from state to state early in our marriage. We encountered many people who had the mind-set that if they don t do it the way I do, it s wrong and I need to change them. We decided early on to learn from others, and enjoy the adventure. In 2005, I went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, and loved the whole experience; especially our host family and how they eked out a living in this stony land. We were located at the foot of Mt. Krizevec, giving me an opportunity to hike Cross Mountain frequently. On one hike, I met a beautiful lady and we began to share our faith, why we came to Medjugorje and a little about our family and how we lived our lives. As we shared, I felt a strong connection with her and wanted to know her. She was from Kenya, and a seed was planted. Sometime after that, I filled out a form saying I was interested in a Mission to Homa Bay, Kenya; I was over-joyed at being selected. I ve enjoyed the orientation and getting to know the other delegates, and learning something of the customs of the people we will visit. Delegates preparing to travel to Homa Bay Diocese, Kenya in September are (left to right): Micki Morrissey of Sacred Heart Parish in Glenwood, Kateri Mancini of Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud, Tanis Beireis of St. Louis Parish in Paynesville, Emily Beaufeaux of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Isanti, Tim Thole of St. Mary Help of Christian Parish in St. Augusta, Mari Walker of St. Michael Parish in St. Cloud, Mayuli Bales of Multicultural Ministry for the Diocese of St. Cloud, LeRoy Schlangen of St. Agnes Parish in Roscoe, Jackie Higgins of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Opole, Janel Heinen of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Opole, Mary Kuntz of Sacred Heart Parish in Glenwood, and Merry Mund of St. Michael Parish in St. Cloud. The Mission Office has done a great job of preparing us and bringing us together as a delegation. I m planning on experiencing life-changing moments, and am so thankful for the opportunity!

4 Spotlight on Mission Page 4 There are countless mission activities happening all the time in the St. Cloud Diocese, ranging from parish mission groups, to fair trade sales, to groups incorporating mission education and service. All these activities are important to the work of celebrating our global Church. In this issue we highlight Fr. Ernie Martello, OSC and the Crosier Presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This coming August, Father Ernie Martello will celebrate 50 years of being a Crosier. He answered the call to religious life in 1963; several years later he answered the call to priesthood and was ordained in Then came another calling. Fr. Ernie was teaching at the Crosier Seminary in Onamia in 1985 when he received a letter from the Master General in Rome asking him to consider teaching philosophy at a new seminary in Zaire (later to become the Democratic Republic of the Congo) that was being set-up in order to receive Africans into the Crosier order. Excited about this call, Fr. Ernie spent one year learning French before moving to North Kivu Province in DRC, where he would spend the next 20 years. Fr. Ernie returned to Onamia in 2005, leaving behind a success story. The seminary set up in hopes of 1996 Crosiers Regional Meeting in Mulo, DRC having Congolese Crosiers now includes a new community in Butembo that is flourishing with 56 seminarians and novices. Fr. Henri Paluku Muhumira, a Crosier from the DRC who was ordained during Fr. Ernie s time in the Congo, now serves the global Crosier community by assisting the Master General in Rome. The Crosiers have also started a Listening and Accompanying Center for victims of sexual violence and trauma during the longstanding civil war and conflict there, and a college offering degrees in clinical psychology to help provide for the on-going healing needs. The Crosier presence and ministry there is a strong one. Congratulations Fr. Ernie on 50 years as a Crosier, and blessings to all the Crosiers who have or continue to do ministry in the DRC and throughout our universal church! There s an App for That! Introducing the new MISSIO App! MISSIO gives users access to the Pope s daily homily, videos and news from around the world, including mission, from Catholic News Service and News.va, the Vatican s news agency, as well as from FIDES, the Pontifical Mission Societies news agency. News is presented with a Catholic perspective in eight languages. "It is urgent," Pope Francis said at the App s launch, "to find new forms and new ways that God's grace might touch the heart of each man and woman and bring them to Him." Download MISSIO today! Thanks from the Newest Country on Earth South Sudan is the newest country in the world, officially becoming its own country on July 9, 2011 after a referendum that passed to secede from the nation of Sudan, following over 20 years of civil war and unrest. Bishop Paride Taban is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Torit, and founder of the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron, South Sudan that works to bring different ethnic groups together. He is the recipient of many awards for his decades of peace-building efforts, including being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. A longtime friend of our diocese he visited again this past April, and below is a message of thanks following that visit. Cordial and fraternal warm greetings from me and the entire people of the Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron. I reached back home safely after my visit to the U.S. and your diocese. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of you very much for the warm reception to me, Bishop Taban shares a map of the young country of South Sudan with staff at the Mission Office during his April visit and active participation in my mission appeal in your diocese. I thank my brother Bishop John Kinney for fostering this close collaboration with us. I am indeed eternally grateful for your generosity and openness to support our people to free themselves from deprivation by poverty, so that every human being created in the image and likeness of God can enjoy full freedom, live in human dignity, and live life in its fullness. When I came back to South Sudan, the President of the Government of South Sudan appointed me as a Vice Chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Council in our country. This indeed is a challenging assignment. We ask the Holy Spirit to show us the way to succeed. We invite you in future to visit us here in the Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron to participate in our programs and experience life together.

5 Tenth Anniversary in Mexico On March 10, 2013, the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls celebrated the 10th anniversary of their presence at San Rafael Mission in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The following article was written by Sr. Bea Eichten, and submitted by Sr. Pat Forster, currently the only Franciscan Sister at San Rafael, though over the years there have been as many as ten serving there. We had a wonderful celebration of ten years of ministry at San Rafael Mission. The celebration, which was held at San Rafael Parish, involved some 500 persons. At our liturgy, presided by Bishop Ramon Calderón, I shared this message: Dear Friends, I bring you greetings of peace and love from the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the San Rafael Mission. Our sisters, working in cooperation with the people of San Rafael, have brought the message of Jesus love and mercy to so many. They have worked together with you to serve those most in need, bringing our message and services to you with humility and simplicity. The sisters work in educating children and parents in our Catholic faith, their pastoral ministry and their training of lay Catechetical Ministers has enriched the faith life of this community. Their work with providing housing and support for some of your high schoolage students has enriched the education and opportunities for these young women. We began this work to spread the mission of God and it is our hope to continue serving the people of this area. We cannot do this alone. We have been blessed by all those who have volunteered time and talents to support the mission of San Rafael. I say a big Thank you to the sisters for their dedication and loving efforts on behalf of God s mission to promote peace, justice and love between all people. And I say Thank you to Bishop Calderón, Fr. Antonio and all those who have supported and worked with our sisters over these past 10 years. God s blessing will be yours in abundance. After my (above) presentation, Ricardo Saucedo, President of the Civil Association, gave an entertaining talk, remembering how three couples who serve on the Asociación Civil met the Sisters and were so taken with their Partnership Updates: Maracay Ministry, Cont. (Continued from page 2) This began as a real surprise to me. [In Maracay] Positions of Directors [in the diocese] are always priests. We are now starting to have more women at the altar but this tradition began with Fr. Jim Minette, Fr. Mark Willenbring and Fr. Rich Walz. In San Bartolomé it is okay to have women at the altar; we now have women who take communion to the sick, women who are catechists and who help in some of the sacramental work. Punctuality & Organization: Back in Maracay it is the men who are on time and the women who struggle [with time]. Masses on Saturday in Maracay are not so on time but the Sunday Masses [that I celebrate] are. This poses a difficulty to many people as timeliness isn t practiced consistently there. Here there is deep respect for all people and their time! You are also very good at decision making, maintaining a calendar, making agendas and following them. I have tried doing these things in Maracay! Page 5 ministry to the high school girls that they began a Padrino Project to bring in sponsors to help finance the education of 15 students through high school and post high school. Sr. Pat Forster followed with thanks to all persons involved. We are here, she said, to rebuild the church and to evangelize. We were all very pleased and surprised to receive special recognition from Fr. Antonio and Bishop Calderón in the form of two plaques expressing gratitude from the diocese and from San Rafael Parish for the sisters dedication and fine ministry to the people. The Mass was followed by food, singing, a song of appreciation, a skit about Francis and the Wolf performed by the student residents, and dancing by a group of men and boys from one of the villages. We can be proud of the fine work that has been and continues to be done by the sisters and staff at San Rafael Mission. The support for the mission on the part of our Franciscan Sisters, the people of the parish and the three committed lay couples is extraordinary and so positive. It will carry us into the future. Padres Omar & Oswaldo On Saturday, May 25, nearly 150 parishioners from the Diocese of St. Cloud, mostly from Centro Hispano in Waite Park and the parishes of Melrose, Greenwald and Meier Grove, boarded a bus with Fr. Omar Guanchez and Fr. Oswaldo Roche, both missioners from Maracay, and Sisters Isabel Berrones, Pat Forster and Mary Dumonceaux; lay ministers Griselda Guadalupe, Juan Servando and Lupita Aguilar. Fr. Oswaldo Roche with acolytes from St. Joseph, Waite Park at the shrine headed for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI. The pilgrimage was one of faith-building and fun, as well as a fundraiser for the Maracay Partnership. Thank you to everyone who participated in the journey, and a special thanks to Padres Omar and Oswaldo for their efforts in leading the pilgrimage! Muchas Gracias!

6 Base Church Communities Sr. Joan Gerads, OSF has worked as a missioner in Latin America since In addition to opening a CENTER for training missionaries, she and Maryknoll Father Tom Maney began a school for training spiritual directors, especially the Servant Leaders of CEBs. Below she talks about this fantastic ministry. When I first went to work in a foreign mission, I went to set up a health and social service ministry in Maracay, Venezuela. At that time the parish of San Bartolomé was served by the Diocese of St. Cloud. I felt ready and prepared having worked as a public health and home care nurse and grounded in sociology. I had a lot to learn besides the language! After doing a study of the parish I formed a local committee to help make a plan of service to the people. When we began to do our survey of their needs, they weren t very enthusiastic at all. They told me that I was the ninth person to come and do an investigation, promising help and then going back to their own comfortable turf. And nothing changed. As I continued visiting my awareness grew; especially two things impressed me: the extreme poverty, and the attitude of the people to give to one another, sharing the little they had. Little by little, working with the government and the people, we obtained portable water, our barrio was connected to the city sewage system. We got a grade school and a playground. This was all very encouraging! I began inviting the members of the committee and others from the barrio to help me give a similar service on the other side of the highway. I was surprised to find that no-one was willing to leave their own barrio to help another barrio obtain a better life. It was at this time that a missionary team from Bolivia came to work in our parish to form Base Church Communities, CEBs. This development in the Latin American Church had become widespread and was a successful means of renewing the faith and the lives of the people, especially the poor, uniting them in small communities. As I became involved in this Renewal of the Church I became so very convinced of the difference between what I had been doing with the poor and this ministry of forming CEBs. Soon other parishes were asking for our help to also start renewing their parishes, through the Page 6 Sr. Joan Gerads at a meeting of servidores (servant leaders) of the CEB s in Cumbayá, Ecuador forming of CEBs. The Health and Social Service we had started was ready to be taken over by the local people. So, to my surprise and delight the Diocese and our Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls gave me the green light on working in other parishes full time. Forming CEBs has been my ministry ever since. What do these CEBs do? There is no pattern. Some reach out to the sick, taking them for treatment. Some will start a community service at low prices for the products. In one parish the little, neighborhood CEBs united on the parish level and built a gradeschool for the girls in the campo (in the poverty life of the campo, boys will be given an education and the girls remain illiterate). One of the teams we formed, the Baque family, went to Venezuela and started a center there. They plan to return to Ecuador this August, where we now have our missionary CENTER. They will live and work with me as well as with members of the CEBs to bring this new life and hope wherever we can. What is the secret of the success of the CEBs? GOD! Each time I return to the USA and talk about the CEBs, many will say, We need them here. It really is a call from God to make the Church come alive for the people in their daily lives, in their faith and in their solidarity. Many of you have helped us financially and with your prayers. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! GOD BLESS YOU! Mission Office/SPOF Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud 11 8 th Avenue South St. Cloud, MN Non-Profit Org. U.S.POSTAGE PAID St. Cloud, MN Permit No. 2382