SOLT MISSI N m a g a z i n e a u t u m n 2 0 1 4 Year of Consecrated Life
A Message from the General Priest Servant A Special Year Dedicated to Consecrated Life Dear Friends of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, This coming November will mark the beginning of a special year dedicated to consecrated life. There are two primary dimensions that one can consider consecrated life from: the individual and the communal. On the part of the individual living of consecrated life, the focus is on the prophetic witness that religious offer in giving their life to Christ according to the evangelical councils of poverty, chastity and obedience. On the part of the institution or community, the focus is on the living out of the approved charism of the community in fidelity to the inspiration given through the founder of the community. I would like to focus on this second communal dimension. The charism of a religious community refers to the purpose for which the Holy Spirit erected a particular community. It is the reason for the community s existence and it should be sufficiently distinct from the charism of other religious communities so as to avoid the risk of unnecessary fragmentation. Every authentic charism of a religious community is not only communicated through a founder, but is approved and authenticated by the authority of the Church. In our recent General Chapter in July 2013, the charism statement of SOLT was expressed as, Disciples of Jesus through Mary, living in Marian Trinitarian communion, serving on ecclesial family teams in areas of deepest apostolic need. The statement identifies three essential elements of the SOLT community: we are Marian, we serve together in family teams and we are missionary. Taken together, these elements identify the reason for our existence within the Church. The Marian nature of our community is clearly expressed in our title, Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. Interestingly, while SOLT was founded in 1958 under the relatively unique title of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, six years later in the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, Our Blessed Mother Mary was specifically referenced in relation not just to Christ but to each of the persons of the Trinity as being the beloved daughter of the Father, mother of the Son of God and temple of the Holy Spirit (LG 53). As disciples of Jesus through Mary, we strive to imitate our Blessed Mother in conforming our lives to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit in order to manifest that we too are beloved children of the Father
and members of the family of God. Of course, the only way to manifest the above discipleship is in relationship with other people. We are not alone in belonging to the family of God. Through our collaboration with one another on ecclesial family teams composed of not only religious but also lay members, we strive to manifest the fruitfulness of this Marian-Trinitarian communion in our relationships with one another and in service to others. It is a great joy and consolation to be able to minister within the context of a team that is focused on accomplishing the same objective. Finally, the missionary nature of our community is expressed by our ministry in areas of deepest apostolic need. Whether those areas of need coincide with locations that have been traditionally identified as missionary on account of the surrounding material poverty, or places that suffer from spiritual destitution or some other great need, we strive to assist the local diocese in meeting the various challenges that they face. As we approach the year dedicated to consecrated life, let us pray for all religious to be faithful prophetic witnesses to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, and let us pray for the many religious communities in the Church to be faithful in manifesting their particular gift or charism for the benefit of the people of God. Finally, I would also like to personally give thanks to God for the founder of SOLT, Fr. Jim Flanagan, SOLT, who was the instrument of the Holy Spirit in beginning the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. God bless, Fr. Peter Marsalek, SOLT General Priest Servant fr. peter marsalek, solt originally from burlington, canada, was elected general priest servant during the july 2013 chapter in corpus christi, tx. ON THE COVER: On September 8, 2014, four women professed first vows in Putiao, Philippines. ABOVE: Fr. James Flanagan, SOLT Founder, while giving a teaching to laity in Covington, Georgia in 2002. Autumn 2014 SOLT Mission Magazine 1
with my whole being do you wear that on your head? Since becoming a religious sister, this has become one of the questions I Why have been asked most frequently, especially by children. My response is always, This is a veil, and I wear it because I cover my hair, my beauty, for Jesus, just as the sacred vessels in the Church are covered because they are used in Mass to worship God. A Sister is veiled to show that she is set apart for God. These simple questions remind me of who I am and that I am called by God and set apart for Him. My relationship with God has developed over time, just like any friendship, by the more I spent time with Him in prayer. In prayer, I came to realize how much God loves me. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Knowing I needed to love God in return, I prayed about where He was calling me. My Heavenly Father knows me so well and has the best plan for my life. In front of the Blessed Sacrament I could hear that God was asking me to be a religious sister. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you (John 15:16). He chose me from all eternity to dedicate my life just to Him, to be set apart to love and serve Him. With my whole being I worship Christ; I long for Him and desire to be with Him forever (Common of Virgins). As a consecrated religious, these words are to ring true to our hearts. Our whole being, body, mind and soul, are to worship God at every moment of the day. I used to think this was only possible if I was in the chapel all day or constantly praying in my apostolate, and when I was unable to work and pray I thought I failed. But over time, I have come to see that Our Heavenly Father looks down upon us and delights in us throughout the day. All we have to do is live in relationship with Him 2 SOLT Mission Magazine Autumn 2014
I worship Christ and recognize His love for us and respond to it with love. Even when the mind and heart of the religious are not actually praying, her whole being as a consecrated person is a living prayer, a permanent sacrifice to God (Religious Life: A Living Liturgy). I am trying to teach my first graders that Jesus is with us always, and so we have asked Him to be one of the students in the class. He has His own desk and the students make space for Him when we do group activities. On one occasion, one of the girls asked if Jesus went out to recess with us. I explained A Sister is veiled to show that she is set apart for God. On May 29, 2014, six women professed their perpetual vows in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are pictured with Fr. James Flanagan who celebrated his 90 th birthday the same day. Autumn 2014 SOLT Mission Magazine 3
that He does and because He is God He can even play with everyone all at the same time. Then another girl shared that He played tag outside with them that day. We are all called to make God a part of our everyday life, not just while we are in the chapel. Our first priority as consecrated religious is prayer since communion with the Most Holy Trinity flows from this. How can we tell people about Christ if we do not know Him ourselves? It is in prayer that God reveals Himself to us. It is in spending time with our Beloved that we are able to know Him and what He desires. Then we can pray always seeing His love for us throughout the day. We notice His presence in our lives and become more grateful, thus allowing Him to care for us. We are all called to make God a part of our everyday life, not just while we are in the chapel. LeFT to Right: Sr. Maria Caritas of the Cross, Sr. Jean Marie, Sr. Kateri Marie Benedicta of the Cross, Sr. Mary Elizabeth, Sr. Rejoice Mary, Sr. Maryam Caritas. Sr. Kateri Marie Benedicta of the Cross, SOLT is from buffalo, ny. following her graduation from the franciscan university of steubenville, she volunteered at the solt mission in belcourt, nd. sr. kateri professed her perpetual vows this past may. 4 SOLT Mission Magazine Autumn 2014
consecrated the year of life This November, we will begin a year dedicated to giving thanks for the great gift of consecrated life and to ask the Father to bestow further blessings on all those called to this vocation. In our own Holy Father, Pope Francis, we celebrate an example of a man called to consecrated life as a Jesuit, who became a priest, and eventually became Pope. Consecrated life should not be seen as a kind of middle way between the clerical and lay conditions of life. Rather it should be seen as a form of life to which some Christians, both clerical and lay, are called by God so that they may enjoy a special gift of grace in the life of the Church and may contribute each in his own way, to the saving mission of the Church (Lumen Gentium, #43). What marks the consecrated life as a unique and specific call from God? The Christian who pledges himself to this kind of life binds himself to the practice of the three evangelical counsels by vows or other sacred ties of a similar nature (Lumen Gentium, #44). The evangelical counsels are poverty, chastity and obedience. These counsels are ways in which a consecrated person strives, with the grace of God, to become like Christ, poor, chaste and obedient. If consecrated souls take their eyes away from Christ, not only will their vows become a burden instead of a joyful ABOVE: Sr. María de los Ángeles from Guatemala professed her perpetual vows on February 11, 2014 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Autumn 2014 SOLT Mission Magazine 5
Obedience and love are virtues that are intimately united. sacrifice, but their soul will sink as it attempts to step out of the boat to meet Christ on the water. Why then would someone respond to God s call to consecrated life? Very simply, so as to never take one s eyes away from Christ. The Church exists to profess and keep her spousal love for Christ in order to go out to all nations and share Christ s love with all people. In Jesus, we see our Messiah poor. He became equal to those who are poor in this world, in order to make all of us wealthy in the things of God, such as justice, wisdom, peace, happiness, mercy and love. This poverty is not to be confused with destitution which the Church always seeks to relieve, and this will, hopefully, lead us to a more just society. In Jesus we see He who is chaste, belonging to everyone as brother. His love transcends exclusive human love, yet it is warm and pure so that everyone can experience His consecrated love. In Jesus we see the Son who became obedient unto death, death on a cross (Phil 2:8). Obedience and love are virtues that are intimately united. Jesus is obedient, not from duty, but because He loves the Father and desires that we, also, participate in God s obedient love. God is obedient because God is love (1 John 4:16); we will obey the one we love. In Jesus, with Him, and through Him, let us as His Body, the Church, give thanks to Him and ask for future blessings on consecrated life in the Church. ABOVE: Laying prostrate and invoking the help of the saints. Fr. scott braathen, SOLT fr. scott was ordained a priest by st. john paul the great in 2003. he recently transferred to corpus christi, tx to live a contemplative life in order to serve the church through deep prayer. 6 SOLT Mission Magazine Autumn 2014
following the migrant stream Sr. María Asunción and a migrant child picking blueberries on the farm. My husband Miguel and I, as SOLT lay members, decided to go on a mission trip with our two youngest children, Raphael and Lucas. We joined Fr. Vince Albano, Sr. María de la Asunción and Sr. María de Jesucristo Crucificado on the Migrant Team. I have to confess, I went with the idea that since I have a lot to offer that I could be of some help. I didn t suspect that I would receive much more than I gave. After we settled in our home, we began the grand task of searching for camps where the migrant workers were housed. It was a daunting task because we did not know the area or roads. So for the first two weeks we drove around and mapped out the locations of the camps. By the third week, we had a grasp on the work that lay ahead and now I Autumn 2014 SOLT Mission Magazine 7
would be able to impart all the knowledge that I had accumulated throughout my life. Fr. Vince would celebrate Mass in the camps and for the most part was received with excitement and joy. The migrant workers work twelve hours a day, most Sundays and did not have much time for anything else. He would schedule a Mass and on that day the workers would try to get out early to attend Mass and prepare food for us. It was an amazing witness that they were willing to share the little they have with us! Fr. Vince also offered to bless their cars and homes and they were so grateful. It never failed that someone would ask Father to bless the altars they had prepared in their homes in I thought I was going to come and save the day and instead I was awestruck by the faith of my migrant brothers and sisters. The migrant team serving in Michigan. Fr. Vince Albano, SOLT, Miguel and Ada Segovia with Lucas Segovia, Sr. María Crucificado and Sr. María Asunción. 8 SOLT Mission Magazine Autumn 2014
honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What a learning experience this was for me! I thought I was going to come and save the day and instead I was awestruck by the faith of my migrant brothers and sisters. There was one camp in particular that made a great impression on me. Fr. Vince had scheduled a Mass one evening and we went out to the camp early to make sure the people who lived at the camp weren t working late. As we arrived, we noticed there were people playing cards and they didn t even acknowledge our presence. Fr. Vince let them know that he would be back in a couple of hours to celebrate Mass. When the time came for Mass, most of the people were in their homes. One man came out and Fr. Vince asked him for a table he could use for an altar. The man provided a dirty table and it was at this point that I became upset. I asked Miguel to talk to Father and tell him we should leave and forget this camp. After all, there are plenty of camps that would value Father s presence more. I suggested that we go to one of those camps, have Mass and call it a day. After seeing Fr. Vince was determined to stay, Miguel and I decided that we should help him set up for Mass. Just before Mass began, people started showing up. They were a motley crew, but nevertheless, they came. Miguel gave them song books and asked them to sing with him. He even convinced a couple of the men to read. During the homily, Fr. Vince talked about the importance of having faith and then asked if they had any questions. One rough-looking man stood up and said, Father, thanks for coming here. No one has ever come here to celebrate Mass. We are forgotten. I was so moved that day. I wanted to impart my knowledge to them and give them Jesus and instead they gave me Jesus. I learned that Jesus is truly present even in the forgotten of this world. Fr. Vince taught me a valuable lesson as well: If we truly want to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves and go to the forgotten and show them Jesus. ada segovia and miguel segovia, from corpus christi, tx, met solt in 2005 and have been lay members since 2010. they are part of the solt team serving christ the king parish and our lady of corpus christi retreat center. they hope to serve full-time in mission next year. Autumn 2014 SOLT Mission Magazine 9
Is God Calling you to Volunteer in the Missions? SOLT is seeking young men and women to bring the love of Christ to the missions! Serve for 1 year (or more!) with Native Americans in North Dakota at SOLT s elementary school. OR Serve for 1 year (or more!) in Belize, Central America, at our elementary school, high school, or the John Paul II Junior College. OR Serve for 1 year (or more!) in Santa María del Mexicano in Querétaro, Mexico. Spanish speaking teachers and aids are needed for the elementary and high school students in this boarding school. Please contact SOLT for more information: Monica Oliver monoliver@googlemail.com The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) is a Catholic missionary community of priests, religious and laity who serve in areas of deepest apostolic need. www.societyofourlady.net Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity PO Box 4116 Corpus Christi, TX 78469 Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Robstown, TX Permit No. 774