Serra Club of Augusta, GA Augusta Deanery, Diocese of Savannah Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Serra Spectrum 2010 Most Outstanding Newsletter Serra Clubs USA Council We carry on... The 2010-2011 club year is a continuing year of firsts : Our first anniversary of our formation Mass: Our first anniversary and second celebration of Priesthood Appreciation Sunday; Our first deanery winner in the first joint Vocation Essay Contest with the Serra Club of Savannah and the Southern Cross; Our first formal induction of new members; and This issue is the first anniversary of Serra Spectrum as our chapter s bimonthly newsletter. It remains a work in progress. So we would welcome story suggestions, photos you ve taken at Serra events anything you as Serrans would contribute to help this newsletter and our club grow! Serra Club of Augusta INSIDE: FR. MIGUEL GRAVE DE PERALTA OF ST. IGNATIOS OF AN- TIOCH MELKITE CATHOLIC CHURCH GAVE OUR JANUARY TALK. FR. JERRY RAGAN, ST. MARY ON THE HILL PASTOR, TALKED IN FEBRU- ARY ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO THE PRIESTHOOD. CHAPLAIN FR. MI- CHAEL LUBINSKY HAS A LENTEN MESSAGE. WE SAY THANKS TO PRESIDENT RICHARD RAMIREZ. Our Mission The Serra Club of Augusta has, as a deanery wide effort, the mission of promoting, encouraging and supporting vocations to the priesthood and religious life by creating a culture of vocations in our parishes and our homes. To prepare ourselves for this mission, we assist one another in recognizing and responding to the universal call to holiness in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
Page 2 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 March 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 St. David 2 Bl. Charles the Good 3 Mothers of Priests 7 AM St. Mary on the Hill 4 St. Casimir 5 St. John Joseph of the Cross 6 St. Colette 7 Shrove Monday 8 Shrove Tuesday 9 Ash Wednesday 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Holy Hour 7 PM St. Mary on the Hill 17 St. Patrick 18 19 Solemnity of Joseph 20 21 22 23 24 25 Annunciation of the Lord 26 10 AM Mass MHT, 10:30 AM mtg. St. Pat s 27 28 29 30 31 Serra Club of Augusta, Georgia President..Richard Ramirez President-Elect.Michelle Migone Treasurer...Terry Wick Secretary...Jennifer Hitt VP Programs...position open VP Membership...position open VP Communications...Jeff Ryan VP Vocations.Dee Campbell Chaplain.. Fr. Mike Lubinsky Spectrum Editor. Shannon Kaiser-Jewell Contact us: augustaserra1@gmail.com Or call 706-737-8946 Follow us on Facebook: Serra Club of Augusta Send comments or ideas for the newsletter to: SKJKRK@aol.com Serra Spectrum is published bi-monthly. Join with us Membership in Augusta s Serra Club is open to all practicing Catholic laypersons and permanent deacons from all Augusta Deanery area parishes. Members are encouraged to attend club meetings, participate in activities sponsored by the club and share responsibilities by serving on committees. Individuals interested in joining our chapter can email us at augustaserra1@gmail.com; attend a meeting, Holy Hour or other sponsored activity, where membership forms are available; or contact us on Facebook: Serra Club of Augusta.
Page 3 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Fr. Miguel Grave de Peralta s journey to the priesthood has been insightful. (Photo from the St. Ignatios of Antioch Melkite Catholic Church website) Questions lead Fr. Miguel to the priesthood Fr. Miguel Grave de Peralta s journey to the priesthood has been full of questions. The oldest son of Cuban political exiles, he was born and raised as an Evangelical Baptist in New Jersey. Then he converted to the Episcopal faith as an undergraduate student at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. But after his first year at Princeton Theological Seminary, he transferred to The General Theological Seminary in New York, earning a master s of divinity degree before being ordained in the Episcopal Church s Diocese of New Jersey. I served eight years as a minister, working in parish, campus and Hispanic ministries before converting to the Orthodox faith in 1996 and being ordained an Orthodox priest. In 1998 Fr. Miguel made his profession of faith to the Pope of Rome and was received in the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton. Since then, he has been at St. Ignatios of Antioch Melkite Catholic Church of Augusta, focusing as assistant priest on hospital chaplaincy at Trinity Hospital after becoming a certified professional chaplain with the National Association (Continued on page 4)
Page 4 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Questions lead Fr. Miguel to the priesthood (Continued from page 3) of Catholic Chaplains in 2003. He s also parish administrator of St. Ignatios and lives with his wife and family in Martinez. We live in time.... Some theologians believe the first thing created was time, Fr. Miguel told the Augusta Serrans at their January meeting. There are some everyday points applicable in terms of our relationship with God and our journey.... It s one of the things that makes our faith.... God is the Lord of time. But is time the past, present and future? Or is time infinity? What does it mean: You are a priest forever? he asked. It started me thinking. I usually don t do anything Saturday except my Honey Do list. But he started thinking about eternity. It s almost impossible for us to really understand it. We experience it in fleeting ways. We are conscious of time. We can make connections with experiences.... Yet, everything is dependent on Him... one moment at a time.... God is attending to millions at the same moment. That s our life. These (time) are our own constraints. Not God constraints. Whether we do good, bad or ugly, beneficial or terrible, it has eternal consequences. Fr. Miguel Grave de Peralta Fr. Miguel reflected on the words of author C.S. Lewis: Time is always present for Him. In eternity, my prayers are forever and my deeds are forever. Think about it. The different between time and eternity is not chronological. It s eschatological (Eschatology are the body of religious doctrines concerning the human soul in its relation to death, judgment, heaven and hell.) It s not just the act of saying I love you. The truthfulness is also eternal reality. You go to confession, your sin is gone. But in terms of eternity, it s not gone. There s purgatory. The invisible investment is there for us.... When we worship God, we leave time behind. It s not just about time. It s about the personal investment that will always be there. Fr. Miguel reflected on being raised an Evangelical Baptist. I needed to be growing. That s my nature. I m always asking questions. That s how I became a Catholic. They (the Protestant churches) ran out of answers. These guys had the answers. When he was seven years old, he thought eventually he d be watching his life recalled on The Miguel Channel. I thought, This is terrible. I knew I was guilty of something. In a way, if we stretch the metaphor, it s accurate. Whether we do good, bad or ugly, beneficial or terrible, it has eternal consequences. We are created to participate in this unusual reality (but) the future in terms of eternity is right now. What we do and what we don t do is very, very important. God has given us a great deal of freedom. But we do have to deal with what we do. You not only will pay now but will pay (later). Your worship will be more invested. C.S. Lewi s q uo tes Pasquale: God has given us the dignity of choice. It s a gift. I m also a gift. Who am I? Not much. But He s given me the gift: Actually being able to influence salvation history and salvation eternity.
Page 5 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 April 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mothers of Priests 7 AM St. Mary on the Hill 8 9 10 Passion Sunday 11 12 13 Holy Hour 7 PM VA Hospital (Downtown) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Holy Thursday 22 23 Holy Saturday 24 Easter 25 St. Mark 26 St. Cletus 27 28 29 30 10 AM Mass MHT, 10:30 AM mtg. St. Pat s Because of Ash Wednesday, our next Holy Hour will be March 16 at 7 PM at St. Mary on the Hill, Augusta. Fr. Tran will be the celebrant. Our April Holy Hour will be April 13th at the VA Hospital (Downtown). Fr. Everett will be the celebrant. Our March meeting will be the 26th in the third floor art room of St. Patrick Hall at Church of the Most Holy Trinity at 10:30 AM., with retired military chaplain Fr. David Arnoldt. Those who can are welcome at 10 a.m. Mass at MHT. * * * News in brief It would be great to have some new ideas for monthly speakers, programs and even fundraisers for our club. If you have a suggestion but are too shy to bring it up at the meetings, you can email us with your ideas. * * * Congratulations to the Serra Club of Savannah for the blessing of getting Fr. Mark VanAlstine as the new club chaplain! We Augusta Serrans know Fr. Mark, as one of our club s founding cochaplains, will be a welcome addition. Did you know? Wonder how to contact the Vocations Office at the Diocese of Savannah? Here s the info for Fr. Mike Ingram, Vocations Director: email him at pastor@holyspiritmaco n.org. Or call him at 478-788-6386. The website is: www.savannahpries t.com
Page 6 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Diocesan Prayer for Vocations O God, hear my prayer and let my cry come unto you. Bless our Diocese of Savannah with many priestly and religious vocations. Give the men and women you call the light to understand your gift and the love to follow always in the footsteps of your priestly Son. Amen In Serra Club of Augusta s future The Serra Club of Augusta will be honoring religious sisters of the Augusta Deanery by co-hosting an International dinner at St. Mary on the Hill March 2. With a salute to our patron Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra, dinner will have a Spanish theme, prepared by our own resident chef Terry. * * * Please continue to keep our chaplain, Fr. Michael Lubinsky, in your prayers as he continues his recovery to full good health! * * * We are looking for a few MHT parishioners to reinstate the Elijah Cup program. Please prayerfully consider giving your time as Serrans for this very important Serra ministry. Contact President- Elect Michelle Migone if your are interested. How we celebrate priests and religious Attend Holy Hour to pray for vocations the second Wednesday of the month Meet every fourth Saturday of the month for Mass, speakers and event planning Host a dinner for Priesthood Sunday Adopt a seminarian as a pen pal Acknowledge birthdays, feast days, ordination anniversaries and other important events in the lives of our priests and vowed religious. Assist the diocesan vocations office with vocations related activities in the area Ensure the Elijah Cup continues uninterrupted in our parishes Organize events related to Vocation Awareness Week We are still growing and welcome your ideas!
Page 7 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 From the chaplain s prayers... Lent begins Wednesday March 9th this year and I advise all to really make this one a chance to become more like Christ by works of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, as these are the three cornerstones of Lenten discipleship. Fasting not only from food. I know we should and can abstain from eating meat on Fridays. I encourage you to fast from all that takes you away from personal prayer and time with family, such as TV and computer and telephone and other busy things around your community and home. Fast to gain the heart and mind of Christ. Fast to learn the discipline to do without some things for 40 days of Lenten devotions, to following Jesus daily as a way to grow in virtue and holiness and in the love of neighbor. Almsgiving to the Bishop's Annual Appeal (BAA) to help out with all diocesan ministries and outreaches. Thanks. Pray for one another and for Vocations. Serra Club of Augusta President-Elect Michelle Migone with our chaplain, Fr. Michael Lubinsky, at the 2010 Priesthood Appreciation Dinner. Pray for the RCIA candidates and catechumen and sponsors. Pray for a heart renewed by the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Pray for the Bishop, priests, deacons, seminarians and religious. Pray that all might be one in the Holy Spirit. Thanks so much for your active participation of fasting, prayer and almsgiving this Lent. Fr. Michael Lubinsky Chaplain Prayer for Canonization Heavenly Father, we ask you to look lovingly on the missionary journey of your faithful servant, Blessed Junípero Serra. His steadfast efforts founding nine missions in California and conversion of thousands of Native Americans inspired the formation and work of Serra International. This ministry in his name is to encourage and affirm vocations to priesthood and vowed religious life. We pray you bless this holy and courageous Franciscan missionary and grant him the ultimate honor of Sainthood in your heavenly kingdom. We ask this in the name of thy Blessed Trinity and of Mary, Queen of Vocations. Amen.
Page 8 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Spreading the word Serra Club of Augusta participating in the Time and Talent Ministry Fair the first weekend in February at St. Francis Hall of The Church of the Most Holy Trinity. Club members including Jennifer Hitt (above left) and Karen Burnham (center) helped man the display, explaining our mission and recruiting new members. Our club chaplain, Fr. Michael Lubinsky (right), was captured visiting the various booths as well as letting people know Serra Club was represented.
Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Page 9 Discovered Googling at www.epicureans delight.com and shared in the Holy Spirit of Easter: The graphic was created by BBM Designs in 2005 and redone in 2006 using the paintings and words of another whose identity is unknown.
Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Page 10 Thank you, Richard! For more than two years, Richard Ramirez has given of his time and himself to get Serra Club of Augusta nurtured beyond a germ of an idea into a growing, successful club. Just as Serra is devoted to supporting and increasing religious vocations, so he has been devoted to Serra and its mission. Richard is stepping down from the presidency, and we thank him for his dedication and faith.
Page 11 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Fr. Jerry: I grew up in Catholic culture Fr. Gerald P. Ragan, pastor of St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta and dean of the Augusta Deanery, started his discernment in his native Philadelphia, PA, in what may sound like an irreverent approach to the solemnity of the Eucharist: My own faith was nurtured quite young. I grew up in what largely doesn t exist anymore a Catholic culture. There were statues and books and pictures and crucifixes all around the house. Larry Rogers and I down in the basement would have a Necco wafer Mass. His comment brought chuckles perhaps of similar memories from the members of the Serra Club of Augusta for whom Fr. Jerry was February speaker. In his first grade at St. Helena s School there were 100 children in his class, with one nun. There were three or four first grades, because there was a huge city parish. Mid-year his family moved to the suburbs and there were 56 children in my first grade class. His family lived in a diverse neighborhood of faiths, including Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. But you still had in that parish that Catholic culture. Your life revolved around the happenings in the parish. We didn t identify ourselves as neighborhoods as much as coming from a certain parish. Parish life was wonderful. There were sports like basketball and baseball. I was a klutz and so I was a bench warmer. So the next year my dad started a parish league where everybody got a chance to play. Part of that Catholic culture was a dominant prayer life. We said night prayers, and my mother had devotions to St. Ann and St. Anthony. She also had four sons, so she taught us to pray every night Dear God, Please make one of us boys a priest! As a teen it evolved into something else. Prayers as a teenager intensified. I remember a real intensified feeling of God s presence that was really the root of my vocation. The realty was my personal relation with God. When I graduated from high school, I wasn t quite ready to enter the seminary. So, following in my father s footsteps, I started studying accounting at LaSalle University. I d gone to LaSalle High School, and at the university I was still hanging with the same friends. Studying accounting kind of clarified pretty quickly and I knew I wasn t cut out to be an accountant. There was another defining moment: My birthday is Feb. 18 and on Feb. 4, 1972, my birthday was drawn No. 11 in the draft! Thoughts of seminary came back! He has a vivid memory of his first day at St. Mary s Seminary. The background of that memory is his family along with others from his parish had spent the summer at the shore, and a lot of time on the beach. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had met a monsignor who was vicerector of the seminary. At a welcoming event on the first day at St. Mary s, the monsignor didn t recognize Fr. Jerry s mother immediately. Then, to everyone s embarrassment, he suddenly recalled her and said, I didn t recognize you with your clothes on! There were a few explana (Continued on page 12)
Page 12 Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 (Continued from page 11) tions to follow. I loved the structure and the prayer of the seminary. Those were some of the best years of my life. He also recalls fondly the bonding with classmates, including annual productions such as parodies of the life of the faculty. I was ordained as one of 12 priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We ve stayed in touch. Two are dead, another left the priesthood, but we ve stayed in touch. That kind of closeness and bond are an important part of my ministry. I was named Master of Ceremonies, in charge of the liturgy. My first year and a half as a priest I was at SS Peter and Paul Cathedral in Philadelphia. There was a papal visit that year (1979) and he was directly involved in the papal Mass. I bounced around several parishes and I didn t get along with the pastors. I always felt they lacked vision. He came to St. Barnabas, a working class congregation with only 20 percent of the people coming to Mass, but there was little outreach. He decided to make a pilgrimage to Spain with three other priests in September, 1992. St. James, the patron saint of Spain, is buried in Santiago de Compostela, and Fr. Jerry the traditional pilgrimage to his grave is known as the Way of St. James. I stopped at Mount Serrat where Ignatius had his conversion. I knew I loved the priesthood but I knew I needed a smaller church. It was a 30-day retreat. But the retreat wasn t going well. The first week it s a purgative. That took some time. Even in the third week I still didn t have clarity. I went to a small church near the retreat and the choir was singing The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor. It pierced my heart. Glenmary popped into my mind. (Glenmary is a Catholic society of priests and brothers and Glenmary Home Mission Sisters dedicated to serving spiritual and material needs in Appalachia, the South and Southwest, especially small towns and rural areas.) Glenmary just seemed to be a perfect fit. So I went back to the retreat and went to my spiritual direction group. And there was a priest who showed up (at the group) who was a Glenmary vocations director! It was so providential! Eventually Fr. Jerry was released from his commitments to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and he joined the Glenmarys. That was a great experience. These people are true missionaries. I filled in for priests in Texas and Arkansas. Then in November 1993 I was assigned to Waynesboro, GA and Fr. Charlie Hughes (now one of the senior priests at St. Mary on the Hill) was the first person I met. After three years of commitment to Glenmary, I discerned I wasn t called to missionary life, so I asked to be a diocesan priest in the Savannah Diocese. I moved to Dublin, GA., where I served two churches and five counties. I was happy to be a country priest. Then I was sent to St. Mary on the Hill (in 2002). I ve been blessed to make this journey of faith with so many good people. It s a call to discipleship. That s why I love this group (Serra Club) and what it involves. I have a ministry to priests, praying, reaching out and helping them. Part of that ministry is as Southeastern Council Member in the Jesus Caritas Fraternity of Priests, which had its origins in the writings of Brother Charles de Foucauld, a martyr of the Church, to strive for supportive spirituality for diocesan priests. Spirituality speaks to me. We try to focus on the Eucharist and live the gospel of simplicity.
Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Page 13 Faith n begorrah, a symbolic priest! Saint Patrick lived in the 3 rd and 4 th Centuries, but he is popularly recognized as the patron saint of Ireland, and he is credited with making the shamrock popular as well. As a young man of about 16 from Roman Britain, he was enslaved by Irish marauders and taken to Ireland and sold to an Irish chieftain, not escaping until six years later. The Irish people interested him, however, and after he became a priest, he returned to Ireland after his ordination as a bishop and active missionary. St. Patrick s Day March 17 th is supposedly the day of his death, but it has become a worldwide celebration as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. No matter an individual s ancestry, many people adopt an Irish tradition for the day every year. In his mission to convert the chieftains and people of Hibernia from paganism to Christianity, St. Patrick, according to legend, used a shamrock with its three leaves to explain the holy Trinity of the faith: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Another legend claims St. Patrick drove all snakes from Ireland. Science says Ireland after the glacial era had no snakes, so some interpret the legend as meaning him eliminating the serpent-like pagan Druids and their followers. Interestingly, snakes are never seen in fields of shamrocks anywhere in the world, and shamrocks can indeed be used as a remedy for snake venom. The saint is celebrated in modern times with the naming of churches such as St. Patrick s Cathedral in New York City and the annual St. Patrick s Day parades in many cities around the world, including the seat of our diocese, Savannah, reflecting the strong heritage of Irish settlers in southeastern Georgia. The shamrock as Holy Trinity Sure, and you already know a wee bit about the shamrock legends. In Gaelic the trefoil was "seamróg," pronounced "Seamroy" ("little clover"). Ancient Druids honored it as a sacred plant, believing it to have power to avert evil spirits. Some still believe it has mystical, prophetic powers. They also revered it for its three leaves; "3" was a sacred number. The three leaves shaped like hearts were associated with the Triple Goddess of Celtic mythology, the "Three Morgans," representing the Triple Mothers, the hearts of ancient Celtic tribes. The shamrock is a symbol of the Trinity and the Cross for Irish-Catholics. The wisdom of St. Patrick's mission was to take ancient pagan Celtic ideas and beliefs and use them to explain the concepts of Christianity so Druids and their followers would embrace Christ and the Trinity. He plucked a shamrock, held it high and proclaimed, "Do you not see how in this wildflower three leaves are united on one stalk, and will you then believe there are indeed three persons and yet one God?" This won approval by Druid High Priests of his missionary work, and led many of them to convert to Christianity and becomes Christian priests.
Pope s Lenten message 2011: Baptism is a gift You were buried with Him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with Him. Pope Benedict XVI is referring to the bonds between Baptism and charity in his 2011 Lenten message excerpted here: Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence. As she awaits the definitive encounter with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the Church community, assiduous in prayer and charitable works, intensifies her journey in purifying the spirit, so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord (cf. Preface I of Lent). This very life was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we "become sharers in Christ s death and Resurrection", and there began for us "the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples." In his Letters, St. Paul repeatedly insists on the singular communion with the Son of God that this washing brings about. The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is received in infancy highlights how it is a gift of God: no one earns eternal life through their own efforts. The mercy of God, which cancels sin and, at the same time, allows us to experience in our lives "the mind of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2: 5), is given to men and women freely.... Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized Volume 2 Issue 2 March-April 2011 Page 14 to reach the adult stature of Christ. A particular connection binds Baptism to Lent as the favorable time to experience this saving Grace.... This free gift must always be rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path like that of the catechumenate... By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.... This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace God bestowed upon us...so it may illuminate and guide all of our actions.... (To read the entire message, go to press.catholica.va/ news_services/bulletin/ news)