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March, 2020 Serra Club Newsletter of Louisville MISSION: To foster and promote “To always go forward – to never turn back!” vocations to the priest- – Saint Junipero Serra hood and religious life. If you receive this through regular postal delivery, but would be willing to receive it by email, please contact Chuck Lynch, (502) 244-2752. HOLY HOUR CALENDAR OF UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS FOR VOCATIONS Unless noted otherwise, all lunch- Bertrand parish, followed by WEDNESDAY es are at 11:45 at the Golden Cor- lunch. RESERVATIONS RE- ral in Hikes Point, Louisville, and QUIRED BY MAR 11. (Contact MARCH 4 are open to the public. Chuck Lynch 244-2752) Speaker Mar 2 – Fr. Peter Do, Associate and topic yet to be determined. 1 ‐ 2 PM Vocation Director will give us an Apr 6 – Speaker and topic yet to update from the Vocation Office. be determined. OUR LADY Vocation Contest awards will be Apr 20 – Deacon Mark Rougeaux presented to first place winners. will speak about Mass of the Air. OF LOURDES Mar 16 – Noon Mass at St. Louis 508 BRECKENRIDGE LN FR. DON HALPIN, OFM, College, Lusaka, Zambia, he di- rected a House of Prayer for twelve CONV. SPOKE AT OUR Speaking of different types of years. He continues to visit annually retreats, Fr. Don defined a “guided FEB 3 MEETING. a mission in West Africa. At the retreat” as one in which there are present time Fr. Don lives in Louis- several attendees, but the retreat ville, traveling now and then to Fr. Don Halpin joined us to director also meets one-on-one serve on teams for Retrouvaille re- tell us about retreats in Southern with the attendees to discuss their treats, or beg for the missions. He Indiana and the Archdiocese of personal needs. He defined a currently lives at the Incarnation Louisville, especially those led by “directed retreat” as one in which parish. the Franciscans affiliated with Mt. there is only one retreatant and the Fr. Don, now in his 70s, admits St. Francis in New Albany. retreat director functions as a spir- he’s slowed down some for leading Fr Don is originally from To- itual director meeting with the at- retreats. ledo, Ohio. High school was Mt. tendee, maybe an hour at a time, Speaking of his work on voca- St. Francis Minor Seminary in for which the retreat could be for tions, he’s promoted the priesthood southern Indiana. After novitiate one day or more. in Uganda, and led retreats for the with Conventual Franciscans, Fr. Fr. Don says he once attended Don was first professed in 1961; Poor Claire nuns, saying the Church then college was completed with is very fruitful in Uganda. He has an undergraduate degree in 1966. spoken to the Serra Club in Spokane He was ordained a priest in 1972. Washington. After a few years in a parish in His Franciscan province has Louisville, he began extended been leading retreats ever since work in retreat ministry including 1974, when Fr. Don was encour- parish missions, spiritual direc- aged to lead them. tion, and retreats in many places He spoke of the twelve different around the world. retreat centers in or near our own He was a missionary in Africa Archdiocese. You can find the list at for thirteen years, especially Zam- www.ArchLou.org/Directory page bia, where at St. Bonaventure 91. Page 1 www.ArchLou.org/Serra March, 2020 Serra Club of Louisville world to move toward more openness, trust, and truth. FR. DON HALPIN, OFM, CONV. Fr. Ron says that one way to temporarily leave the (continued from page 1) world behind and “go into the heart” is to use the St. Ignatius method. The inner senses of the soul allow a 40-day retreat, upon his return from years in Afri- you to begin to see with heart and imagination. He ca, to help re-acclimate himself to the change in cul- suggests we try to go into the mystery of love and ture and lifestyle. God’s presence. Psychologically we use our imagina- As to retreat themes, they can be whatever the tion to concoct a journey we couldn’t picture without the imagination. The heart can be hurt and could be carry- ing a wound. “We can imagine meeting Jesus on the roads” of the New Testament, “healing people and healing us.” We want to thank group desires. He’s led retreats for people going Fr. Don Halpin, OFM, Conv. for taking the time to through Alcoholics Anonymous, for example. He’s meet with us and share his ideas on retreats. also led retreats for religious men and women, as well as many other groups. And he led one retreat Thanks to Jerry Zimmerer for the pictures with this for as many as 120 men. article. Why should a person go on a retreat? Fr. Don spoke of our reasoned, rational approach to life. But VOCATION OFFICE AND SERRA he points out our need to sometimes step away from CLUB VOCATION CONTEST the world of reason and “give the heart a chance.” He also spoke of getting away from the “bombardment of the senses” we experience in the Judging has been completed for the Vocation modern world, where there is too much stimulation Poster Contest (grades 4 through 6) and the Vocation and too many distractions. Essay Contest (grades 7 and 8). This year we had a He quoted from Lamentations 3:27-28 --- “It is total of 52 essay entries and 224 poster entries. There good for a person … to sit alone and in silence …” were 13 schools participating in the poster contest, He also quoted Christ, in Mark 6:31, where he said and five schools participating in the essay contest. “Come away by yourselves … and rest a while.” Home schooled children were also invited to partici- Fr. Don said that even silent retreats can be of pate. value. He laughed about one in which everyone sat GRADES 4-6 POSTER CONTEST around the dining table, eating in silence, while FIRST PLACE ($100): Lydia Adams of St. Albert crunching carrots and celery. The retreatants could- the Great School (Grade 6). Lydia’s teacher is Grace n’t help but laugh at themselves. Duckworth ($50). He also spoke of retreats based on certain images SECOND PLACE ($75): Ramona Manion of St. – e.g., those of violence, poverty or injustice. The Joseph Parish in Bardstown, (Grade 5). retreatants were encouraged to meditate on a differ- THIRD PLACE ($50): Ava Rager of St. John the ent definition of how to battle these evils. Apostle Parish in Brandenburg (Grade 4). In another example, he quoted from Exodus 14 -- GRADES 7-8 ESSAY CONTEST - “The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep FIRST PLACE ($100): Aubrey Gossom of St. Cath- still.” And in another, he suggested thinking about erine School in New Haven (Grade 8). Aubrey’s Christ’s words – “Come and see.” What is your teacher is Jessie Reed ($50). heart’s desire, your greatest longing, your wish? SECOND PLACE ($75): Avery Powers of St. James Fr. Don also spoke of Retrouvaille Retreats – Parish in Elizabethtown (Grade 8). ones aimed at helping those in struggling marriages. THIRD PLACE ($50): Anthony Pike of St. James He always recommends that retreats be accompa- Parish in Elizabethtown (Grade 8). nied by the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And he First place winners are also being invited to the says another reason for retreats is to deal with our March 2 meeting of the Serra Club. You can see all own loneliness. He encourages people to pray for the the winning posters and essays at Page 2 www.ArchLou.org/Serra March, 2020 Serra Club of Louisville VOCATION CONTEST Her Master Degree in Chemical Engineering is from the U of L Speed School. Lastly, she received a Mas- (continued from page 2) ter of Education Degree from Harvard University. https://therecordnewspaper.org/vocation-contest- Janice explained to us that she is with the Office of winners-selected/. Multicultural Ministries but she wanted to speak to us about the African American part of the OMM (https:// www.archlou.org/services-directory/archdiocesan- agencies-facilities/multicultural-ministry/). They have NATIONAL CATHOLIC SISTERS two locations, one at the Maloney Center and one at WEEK IS MARCH 8-14. the Catholic Enrichment Center on Broadway. Janice also spoke of historic Kentucky Catholics Established in 2014, as part of Women’s History like Daniel A. Rudd (https://www.patheos.com/ Month, the National Catholic Sisters Week is March catholic/black-catholic-journalist-pat-mcnamara-06-12 8 through 14 each year, regardless of the day of the -2012 ), who lived from 1854 to 1933. He thought the week that period begins. According to the national office, “The NCSW mission is to honor women reli- gious through a series of events that instruct, enlight- en, and bring greater focus to the lives of these in- credible women. We welcome events of any type, and encourage organizations to think about creative ways to celebrate sisters for the entire week.” This is a good time for all parishes, schools, and others to choose some way to celebrate this occasion. Maybe you can simply take your favorite religious sister out for a meal. For more information, see http://www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org. Events that some are considering include - a Mass and sup- per; a Sisters’ Appreciation Day; a card or letter to your favorite sisters; Vespers; a Cupcakes, Coffee, and Conversation event; a retreat; etc. To see what Catholic Church represented real hope for African others are doing around the country, see Americans, especially after the Civil War.