Fall 2015 V+J Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Toledo-Detroit Province Five Oblate Novices Profess Vows
BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine 2 Great Joy Our cover story is about five Oblate novices professing their first vows, a cause for great joy in the two North American provinces of Oblates. October is an important liturgical month with Mother Chappuis the feasts of Blessed Louis Brisson Oct. 10 and St. Margaret Mary Oct. 16. Bl. Brisson is the co-founder of both the male and female congregations of Oblates and St. Margaret Mary is the Visitation Nun granted visions of the Sacred Heart. Oct. 7th is the 140th anniversary of death (1875) of Venerable Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis, the Visitation Nun who co-founded the male Oblates with Father Brisson. Shortly before her death, she expressed great joy that the Oblates would exist and said, It will be as though Our Lord were walking the earth again! St. Margaret Mary, Blessed Louis Brisson and Venerable Mother Chappuis, pray for us! We are grateful to the photographers who contributed photos for this issue: Oblate Fathers Michael Murray and Tom Ribits; Oblate Scholastics Joe Katarsky and Craig Irwin; and James Allen for the photo on page 8. Editorial Staff Cover: Newly professed Oblates (l to r): Chris Allen, Joe Katarsky, Jim Cummins, Craig Irwin, Joseph McDaniel and in back: Father Michael Newman, Director of Novices. Mission Statement The mission of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales of the Toledo- Detroit Province is to Live Jesus according to Salesian spirituality in our personal and communal lives, and to share this spirituality with the People of God. Bondings Bondings is published regularly for the members and friends of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Toledo-Detroit Province. Its purpose is to enhance and develop the bond we have through our common faith in Jesus Christ and Salesian spirituality. Bondings is free of charge to anyone on request. Send your name and address (or that of a friend) to the Provincial Office or call 419.724.9851. Provincial Office 2043 Parkside Blvd. Toledo, OH 43607-1597 419.724.9851 www.oblates.us Editorial Staff Father Roland Calvert, OSFS Father Tom Helfrich, OSFS FAITH Catholic 1500 E. Saginaw St. Lansing, MI 48906 Chairman Rev. Dwight Ezop President and CEO Patrick O Brien Editorial Director Elizabeth Martin Solsburg Graphic Designer Janna Stellwag
Five Oblate Novices Profess Vows by Father Mike Newman, OSFS This past August was a wonderful month for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. It was during this time that five novices professed their first vows. Chris Allen, Jim Cummins and Joseph McDaniel took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience at Immaculate Conception Parish in Elkton, Md. on Aug. 1. Two weeks later, Craig Irwin and Joe Katarsky did the same at St. Mary of Good Counsel Parish in Adrian, Mich. on Aug. 15. The five entered the Oblate novitiate in Brooklyn, Mich. in August 2014. The novitiate is a one-year program required for all those entering a religious order. Father Michael Newman, OSFS, the Director of Novices, describes the novitiate in this way: The novice works on two goals: falling in love with God and striving to respond fully to God in the present moment this allows the Oblate to best minister, and be present and responsive to God s people in the 21st century. The novitiate year is one of quiet reflection in which the novice deepens Fall 2015 www.oblates.us 3
BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine his relationship with God, his fellow novices and the Oblate community. The novice grows in love for God through daily prayer and meditation and in relationship with others by living in community. The novice studies Oblate history and Salesian spirituality and also engages in an apostolic activity once a week in order to integrate into ministry what he has learned. Following profession, the new Oblates will move to Washington, D.C. where they will live at Brisson Hall with Father Jack Loughran, OSFS, the newly appointed Director of Formation. Chris, Joe, Craig, and Joseph will begin theological studies at the Catholic University of America in preparation for ordination. Their classmate, Brother Jim Cummins, will live with them, but minister at Bethlehem House, a community that cares for persons with intellectual and physical disabilities. The Oblates believe that formation continues throughout life. Our prayer is that we all continue to grow, both individually and communally, as we strive to Live Jesus in our world. Please pray that our newly professed do the same. The Newly Professed Oblates 4 Joe Katarsky met the Oblates while a student at Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Mich. Joe became an Oblate Associate after high school and while attending Michigan State University. He worked for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for several years as a park ranger. In
commenting on the novitiate Joe said, Overall the novitiate has been one of the best years of my life. I have really grown in knowing myself and that I must accept and love my flaws instead of running away from them. Craig Irwin is from Toledo, Ohio. He attended St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo and the University of Dayton where he received a BA in religious studies in 2007. Craig stated, The year has taught me to be more flexible especially when it comes to the way people live and when what they believe may be different from what I believe. My ministry has shown me the world isn t perfect and that few people fit into the bubble of the way things ought to be. Chris Allen is a graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School and Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Chris first met the Oblates at Our Mother of Consolation Parish, where he often served Mass and volunteered to help Father Bob Bazzoli, OSFS with various parish maintenance projects. Following his graduation from college, Chris began the postulancy program by enrolling in philosophy studies at the Catholic University of America before entering the novitiate. Jim Cummins, originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., has spent most of his life in the Washington, D.C., area where he worked in television news and video production. In the fall of 1995, Jim had a conversion experience when he made the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises at Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown. He will be an Oblate Brother. In commenting on his journey Jim said, I decided it was time to make a drastic change in my life and I wanted to start doing God s work and not my own. Joseph McDaniel, originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, met the Oblates at DeSales University. At DSU, Joe majored in philosophy and history, and assisted in various roles in campus ministry with Mrs. Maggie Riggins and Father Tim McIntire, OSFS. He also was a founding member and leader of the university s Men s Spirituality and Service Group. Joe credits his own vocation to the Oblates he met at DSU, saying: I have come to learn about Salesian spirituality and found that it has a great personal resonance with me and has much to give to the Church today. Fall 2015 www.oblates.us 5
BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine 2015 Assembly Group photo of Toledo-Detroit Oblates taken June 25, 2015. 6
Fall 2015 www.oblates.us 7
BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine Statue Dedicated at Holley Institute Family Village A statue of St. Francis de Sales was added on Aug. 23, 2015 to the Holley Institute Family Village on the site of the former Camp De Sales in Brooklyn, Mich. The idea for the statue came from Father Paul Grehl, OSFS, who worked with the Family Village for 23 years until his recent death. He also served as its financial director for a number of years. After Father Paul s death, the decision was made to dedicate the statue to him. 8 Ardis Gardella, President of the Holley Institute, stated: Donors are not only those who give financial assistance some of them give themselves in service, advice and support. So when the statue was dedicated, it honored both St. Francis de Sales as patron of the deaf, and Father Grehl for his dedicated service to the Family Village. The statue was unveiled by Father Paul s classmate, Father Paul Ruddy, OSFS, and his good friend, Father Alan Zobler, OSFS. The Provincial of the Toledo-Detroit Oblates, Father Ken McKenna, OSFS, celebrated Mass prior to the dedication and offered a blessing for the statue. St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) had a deaf servant named Martin and devised sign language in order to communicate with him and teach him catechism. For this reason, Francis was declared patron of the deaf. The Holley Institute Family Village serves deaf, deaf/blind and hard of hearing children, adults and their families. They partner with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales who assist in the work.
Letting Go, Hanging On by Father John L. Graden, OSFS Book Review by Father Roland Calvert, OSFS The subtitle of this book is A Guide for the Spiritual Journey. Early in the book the author notes, You are surrounded by many loves from which to choose. The book is a series of discussions, reflection questions and activities helping us choose our loves wisely. The format of the book makes it ideal for a self-retreat or for discussion groups. One of the strengths of the book is the use of many personal examples from Father John s own life. In the opening discussion on attachments and detachments, he writes of his bypass surgery. The doctors found that there were scar tissue adhesions of the heart, the result of chemotherapy and radiation from a previous bout with cancer. The heart was literally attached to the tissue around it and had to be released for the operation to be successful. When he uses the phrase attachments of the heart afterwards, the reader has a very vivid image of what he means. In the twelve chapters that follow, the topics are down-to-earth discussions about our ordinary lives (identity, friendship, sexuality, prayer, and so on). One particularly helpful chapter is Spirituality of the Present Moment, which is a very Salesian theme. The present moment is a precious gift from God that we can squander by spending too much time nostalgically in the past or obsessing about the future. This leads to the final chapter on Holy Indifference. Indifference is not about a lack of caring but rather making the best of what happens because we discern God s presence in all our present moments. When we live this way, we already experience Heaven because God is so real for us. Wendy Wright in her foreword describes Salesian spirituality as inspired common sense. De Sales used images and stories that helped ordinary people of his time to give their hearts to God. Father Graden continues that tradition, she notes, speaking in an identifiably Salesian idiom that is inviting and accessible to readers today. Letting Go, Hanging On is indeed a very useful guide for the spiritual journey that will help us give our hearts more completely to the Divine Lover. Letting Go, Hanging On is available from Embraced by God (email: resources@embracedbygod.org or telephone 1.800.782.2270). Fall 2015 www.oblates.us 9
BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine Photos from the Oblate As Brother Fred Chiappone 10 Father Roland Calvert
sembly 2015 Photographer: Fr. Tom Ribits, OSFS Brother Al Durant (l) and Scholastic Joe Katarsky Fathers Joe (l) and Mike Newman Fall 2015 www.oblates.us 11
V+J Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Toledo-Detroit Province 2043 Parkside Blvd. Toledo, OH 43607-1597 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID LANSING, MI PERMIT NO. 689