ST SERRA VOCATIONS MINISTRY |
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Message from our Leadership
This months message is from the editor.Our worthy leader is getting a pass for this month. His Wife and Serran, Anita was in a car accident yesterday. She is at home recovering and we ask that you keep Thom and Anita in your prayers.
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From The Editor
Welcome to the St. Serra Vocations Ministry Newsletter.
This months edition will have some great info on Vocation Awareness Week, A grand Farewell to Fr Marco and a Big Welcome to the Carmelites of Mary Ever Virgin. And More !
GOT VOCATION ?
Please contact us if you have any questions or are interested in joining Serra, or starting a Parish Vocation Ministry. You can also contact us at Serrabridge@gmail.com
Pax,
Mike Roberts
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The first week in November is National Vocation Awareness Week.
What are you doing in your parish ?
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Written By Thom Field
It was sad to have received word of Fr. Marco’s new assignment in Ecuador last Thursday and receive notice about last evening’s vespers and farewell dinner at such a late date. Fortunately, Anita and I were able to be there and it turned out to be a spectacular night.
Attended by approximately 150 people, including Bishop Caggiano, it began with a 40-minute vesper service that was put together by the Redemptoris Mater (RM) seminarians (we took a number of vesper books that I will give to attendees at our October 27th meeting – location pending). Including the wonderful music that they ordinarily sing, it was truly inspiring. Following vespers, we retired to the church hall where a delightful dinner was served.
The Bishop began the dinner with a prayer of thanks and a beautiful tribute to Father Marco. He emphasized the wonderful job that Father has done in mentoring the RM seminarians since his arrival 5 years ago (it seems that we have known him and his wonderful young men much longer than that!). Father Marco then offered a few words of gratitude for the magnificent turnout of supporters, noting many of them specifically, including our Serra Ministry.
Later in the evening, the seminarians sang two songs for the assembly….and then Father Marco joined them on the guitar! What a wonderful voice he has…a voice that he has kept under wraps (at least from us) all these years! The seminarians presented him with a few gifts, all of which confirmed the love they have for him in mentoring them in their discernment process.
Anita and I emphasized to Father how much we Serrans have enjoyed working with him and his seminarians over the years and how much we will miss him as he goes forward to his new assignment as a seminary rector in Quito, Ecuador. He promised to stay in touch so we can follow his progress there. He wished us all well and we joined the others present in closing out the evening.
I am sorry you were unable to join us for this truly joyous evening, but know that you were all there in spirit, especially for such a wonderful priest!
Father Marco’s successor as Rector will be announced soon and I look forward to us supporting him as well in his mission of guiding men to the priesthood.
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Welcome to the Carmelites of
Mary Ever Virgin !
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Rosary for Vocations: The Joyful Mysteries"
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Get ready! World day of Cloistered Life is November 21st!
On this day, the faithful are encouraged to reach out to the cloistered religious in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement, and material support.
Some ideas:
-Organize a novena of prayer
-Offer up prayers and send them in the form of a spiritual bouquet to a nearby convent, cloister, monastery or hermitage
-Write letters of encouragement to contemplative communities
-Visit them
-Call to thank them
-Donate monetarily
We’ve put together some free, downloadable resources to help you celebrate this event:
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Igniting the faithful starts with a spark.
Welcome to the Serra Promotion And Resource Kit (SPARK!) Brought to you by the U.S. Council of Serra International.SPARK is a free online collection of best-practices tools in religious vocation ministries-as curated from parishes, dioceses, and religious orders around North America. Click here to learn more about Serra Spark.
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A new survey shows priests are happy in their vocation but struggle with burnout. Here's how you can help.
Priests surveyed also said that they find significant support in their lay friends — so that should motivate us to think about how we can be better friends to the priests we know and love. We should never assume that they have the support they need, so here are a few ideas to consider.
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Our Next Serra Meets: Saturday, November 12, 2022
Father Brett Brannen, author of the popular book To Save A Thousand Souls and Spiritual Director at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, will be our speaker. Father Brannen will introduce Serrans to a powerful tool he developed to help vocations directors around the country form their diocesan vocations programs. The Four I’s of Vocations identify the foundation of everything successful, beginning with inspiring young candidates to pursue God’s call, setting up the invitation, properly informing the candidate, and forming the candidate in the intimacy of a growing relationship with Jesus built on a strong prayer life. Finally, the emphasis of building a life of service to others completes the program.
Join Father Brannen on Saturday, November 12, at 11:00 CST.
Passcode: 853558
About Father Brannen
Father Brett Brannen was ordained a priest in 1991 for the Diocese of Savannah, where he served as vocation director for 10 years and as a pastor of five different parishes. From 2005 to 2011, he was the vice-rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Father Brannen has preached numerous retreats for diocesan priests, seminaries, and religious communities, as well as discernment retreats for vocation candidates.
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LETS PRAY
Prayer for all those who serve the church
Let us pray for all those that serve our Holy Church.
We pray that they will be guided by the Holy Spirit to serve God through worship, evangelization and charity.
Let us pray for,
Pope Francis
Pope Benedict
our Cardinals,Bishops, Priests ,Deacons, Sisters, Nuns, Brothers and the Laity.
Let us pray for,
an increase in vocations.
Let us pray for our seminarians, candidates to the Diaconate, and for for those discerning religious vocations.
Let us pray that more families raise their children as practicing Catholics that encourage their children to serve the church.
Amen
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A Minute with Mike
Each Friday morning my parish does an e-blast of the Weekly Bulletin to everyone on the parish’s email distribution list. It is comprised of Mass intentions, parish announcements, brief religious instructions, and inspirational stories and verses. One such piece received is entitled, “Why do we do that? Catholic Life Explained.” Recently, the question posed was, “What is a sacramental seal and where did it come from?” We receive the first seal in Baptism, being born anew and “marked as people of faith,” or as Sister Beata Victoria, SV says in the following short story by her in the Sisters of Life publication Imprint, “making us brand new.”
“I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life and made a lot of mistakes, but today ... it all starts over.”
I tried to suppress my laughter as I chatted with a five-year-old just before his Baptism.
“You bet it does,” I responded.
My young friend had grasped a deep truth in a way that only the pure heart of a child can: Baptism makes us brand new. In its cleansing from the stain of original sin, Baptism claims us as children of God the Father and citizens of heaven.
“What color is my marking?” my same young friend asked, as I told him about God placing a mark on his soul that would forever indicate to Whom he belongs. “I hope mine is orange.”
Although invisible in physical terms, the transformation of a soul in Baptism is total and irreversible. Hidden in the quiet of our hearts is the presence of Someone. As baptized Christians, we are never alone. Our souls are wed to an Eternal Love beyond our wildest imaginings. Nothing we can do will ever cause Him to take back His love. It will never diminish, or fade, or depart. Nothing else will satisfy a heart that is made for and claimed by this love.
Now, it’s true — we will often fall short of this love. We will make mistakes and do bad things. We can cut ourselves off from love, but He never ceases to pursue our hearts, in order that we might be restored to grace. He never tires to beckon us home to the love we were made for, the love that is promised to us. Every time we turn back to the Lord and seek His forgiveness, we are restored to the life of grace. A fresh start is always possible thanks to the mercy of God.
This is the marvelous brilliance of God’s redeeming and victorious love. It draws forth beauty in every shade and color. We sell ourselves short when we live in darkness. His vision for us is radiant.
In the Sacrament of Baptism, you and I are able to “live in newness of life” because "Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father;" in the Sacrament of Baptism, you and I are filled with grace born of unimaginable Eternal Love. “Go and claim your inheritance,” says Sister Beata, knowing “In Baptism, you have been marked with the beauty of love. You are a citizen of heaven.”
May God bless you.
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Gregorian Chants - Sung by Nuns of St Cecilia's Abbey |
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DEACON DAVES CORNER
Get Going!
During our recent Novena to St. Jude, Fr. Eric Silva was one of the guest celebrants. Each night of the Novena a guest celebrant preached a memorable homily that moved each of us who were there. Fr. Silva, who opened the Novena, made a statement in his homily that stuck with me. Because I thought it was important enough to be certain that I was recalling it correctly, I emailed him and asked that he send it to me. He kindly replied writing, “God won’t do Himself what He can do through His people.”
What struck me about that statement is that it applies to every facet of our relationship with God. Yes, He is God, and there are no limitations on what He can do, but, since He turned the world over to us, He is counting on us to sustain what He created and considered good. One of His creations is the Church, and His Church needs men and women to shepherd and nurture us, it’s faithful, on our journey to salvation.
Priests are especially needed; good, holy men who love the Church to celebrate its sacraments from which we receive the grace to persevere on our journey. To fill the thinning ranks of clergy, God could snap His fingers and create the priests we need, but He doesn’t. At least not directly. He is snapping His fingers, though, but it is to get our attention so that we do our part for the Church He has created.
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Thank You for viewing our newsletter.
We ask that you Pray with us on our Facebook or Twitter Page and we ask that you consider becoming a vocation minister.The more volunteers we have the more we can do to help the diocese promote vocations.
Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might be considering a vocation in the church. The biggest thing you can do to influence vocations is just ask someone one simple question. Do you think that you might be a great priest, deacon, sister, nun or brother!
Please contact us if you would like to become a member. We specifically ask our clergy to recommend parishioners that may be able to help build a Vocations Team in your Parish.
Pax Christi,
The St. Serra Vocations of Bridgeport Team
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St. Serra Vocations Ministry of Bridgeport |
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