Marists All May 2009
ISSUE # 96
An Invitation to the Marist Family Spirituality Weekend
Marist College, July 10-12, 2009
WITNESSING, A MISSION FOR ALL!
Witnessing, Witness the Spirit Within: our theme for this year’s weekend. Christ gave witness to and of the Father by being the Living Word. Father Champagnat continued that witness by his life, work, and words. Bro Ben Consigli, our main presenter, will help us to better know and appreciate Father Champagnat’s efforts by sharing insights gained from a recent study of many of Father Champagnat’s writings and correspondence. Father Ed Keel, a Marist Father, will again share the weekend with us, witnessing by his presence and the liturgy, Christ among us. Other presenters, continuing our theme, will be Barney Sheridan, Anne Sheridan, and Bob Grady.
An invitation is extended to the readers of Marists All and the laity involved in the Marist Sharing and Embracing Our Call programs. If interested, secure a reservation by sending a deposit of $25 per person, made payable to the Marist Brothers to:
Brother Charles Marcellin, FMS
The cost of the weekend, including six meals and lodging, is $170 per person or $315 per couple. Any questions may be directed to Bob Grady. Those coming by car, please bring your own bed linens, a pillow, blanket, and towel. The complete schedule appears on our website. Please reserve by June 10, 2009.
From FRANCIS X. (STEPHEN JOACHIM) GALLOGLY OSA (’52):
I retired from active ministry two years ago and came to live in a beautiful monastery at Villanova University in Philadelphia. I have just turned 74. I live with about eighty other friars in this new, state-of-the-art monastery in the center of the campus. Our community is not like Noah’s Ark: we have no two-of-a-kind here. Some of the friars teach at the university and other colleges in the area; others are administrators or chaplains for convents and hospitals. We live happily together with every need gently taken care of.
I have spent my life teaching in high schools, in one of our three colleges in Florida, Massachusetts, and here in Philadelphia. The school in Florida was a law school. I spent a great number of years in parish work in Albany, New England, Florida, and Pennsylvania. I loved each assignment and have had the chance to travel all over the world and been chaplain on many cruises. I have been gifted with a very happy life.
Last year I wrote to all the members of the class of ‘52, and I must thank all who wrote back and continue to keep in touch. One has stopped writing after I told him that he would be featured in my novel that cries out to be published. I get visits from former students who come with their families to see if I can get them into Villanova. I can't do very much, but I try. On my birthday weekend one of my law students came with his daughter. I am so proud of him because with a little help from me, he now is a defense lawyer in New Jersey.
I miss so many of you who were a part of my growing-up years. I pray for you each day in my Mass.
We have guest rooms in our monastery for visitors. Philadelphia is a great city.
From DENNIS J. MURRAY, President, Marist College:
I am pleased to announce that Brother John Klein has been appointed General Secretary of the Institute of the Marist Brothers, effective March 2010. In this role, John will be responsible for the coordination and management of the work of the Marist Brothers worldwide. He will be based in Rome and will work in close collaboration with Superior General Sean Sammon, who is also a graduate of Marist College.
John was chosen for this very prestigious role because of his leadership, good judgment, and commitment to service. He brings to his new position a strong academic background, a long history of creative and effective leadership in the area of administration, and a love of the Marist Brothers' mission and way of life. John currently serves as the Provincial of the Province of the United States and for six years was the Provincial of the former Province of Esopus. John was also the President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men in the U.S. He holds a doctoral degree in history from Fordham University as well as degrees in educational administration and supervision.
John has been a member of Marist's Board of Trustees since February 2005, serving on the Academic Affairs, Admissions and Enrollment, and College Advancement Committees. We are grateful for his wisdom, good counsel, and dedication to our students. John is that rare individual who possesses both a superb intellect and a highly engaging personal manner. I know that he will continue to play an active role in the life of his alma mater. We look forward to his involvement for many years to come.
Please join me in saluting John and wishing him well in this new phase of his life. Being selected as General Secretary of the Institute of the Marist Brothers is a great honor, and I can think of no better person to fill this important role than John.
From PAT KEILTY (’65):
My best friend, Tom Kelly, novice group of 1966, has been diagnosed with liposarcoma, a cancer of the fatty tissue of the body. Sadly, he has been told that he has only a few months to live. Tom, one of nine children from Bellerose, graduated from Molloy in '65, met me in Esopus that fall, and we have been friends for over forty years. Tom married Susannah (Blackie) Whelan, one of twelve children, from East Hampton, and together they built a house in Southampton. Tom taught English at Bridgehampton School, and Blackie teaches social studies at Southampton Middle School. They have three children: Rachel (34), Daniel (32), and Sam (28). Rachel has two children, John and Claire. Please pray for Tom.
From BR. LEO SHEA (’52):
Some of you remember my asking you for financial help in 2002 when we first opened Guadalupe Regional Middle School on the Mexican border in Brownsville, Texas – a tuition-free Catholic middle school for deserving youngsters whose families desire but cannot afford a Catholic education.
That was seven years ago for our first fund-raiser when we netted $17,000 by raffling off a donated Ford pick-up truck. Thanks again to all of you who sent twenty-five dollars for six chances. (Just to put at ease the minds of those who remember me well and might suspect that the drawing was rigged – the grandmother of one of the sixth graders won the truck. She gave it to her daughter and son-in-law. Her grandson is now a senior on scholarship at the Marist Brothers’ St. Joseph Academy and ready for college after graduation in June. His is a wonderful story of a lost kid who found success and companions.)
The Marist Brothers, by the way, offer our best graduating eighth graders ten four-year scholarships at St. Joseph Academy here in Brownsville. And Camp Marist gives ten Guadalupe students two free weeks at camp. Quite the gifts from the FMS!
The Irish Christians, the Marist Brothers, and the Incarnate Word Sisters sponsor the school as its Board of Trustees and have contributed one-third of the $600,000 income needed each year. Foundations and grants make up the second third, and individuals (some from our GMC) and benefactors from the local community add the final $200,000. Happily, we have raised almost four million dollars – one half million put away safely at 5.5% for the hard times ahead. (And I nearly failed Richard Edwin’s economics class!)
With a nine-hour school day, excellent young dedicated teachers, small classes and a longer school year, we advance the students four and a half grades in three years.
We have room here for ninety sixth, seventh, and eighth grade boys and girls. The school is full with a waiting list. And the President, a seventy-four-year-old Marist Brother, runs the school and raises the money, enjoying life and his chance to work with grateful young people.
Not one of our graduates (We have graduated four classes of twenty-five.) has dropped out of high school. The high school retention rate in Brownsville is 50%; nationwide for Hispanic students, 59%. Our goal is to see them all graduate from college and return to serve as the leaders of the local civic and church communities. Our first sixth grade class heads to college next fall.
From GUS NOLAN ('48):
I thought it would be of some interest to report to the Marists All readers a new GMC development. The local GMC Poughkeepsie group has changed its format in meeting times. Our plan might inspire a similar procedure for others to follow.
We no longer meet on the evening of the first Friday of each month. Rather, we have selected several times when most of the group is in the area. We now have an afternoon picnic (when the weather is appropriate) or a potluck dinner sharing the hosting aspect. This change keeps us off the road late at night.
We have also developed a more focused liturgy. Several times we used the Scripture readings for the coming Sunday. A wonderful source for developing this method was Marty Lang’s book, Christian Spirituality, a program of study and prayer based on Saint Matthew's Gospel.
Using Marty’s text has been a huge help in providing a rich background for the discussions we have had. Aside from the GMC usage, I have personally found the book to be a source of insight and inspiration and think many can profit by it. The good news is that Marty is generously making the book available free with a five-dollar charge for handling and shipping for anyone interested while the supply lasts.
From JIM GARGAN (’59):
I just spent my sixth annual meeting in Esopus held over the last seven years. These meetings were organized by John “Oke” O'Connell (’58) to gather together as many of the folks who went through training in Esopus, Tyngsboro, and/or Marist College. We gather for common memories, to say “hello,” and to catch up. Unfortunately, Oke had to miss this one for health reasons, but we are all indebted to him for getting this great tradition started.
To those who have come, you know the great joy we have experienced in getting together again; to those who have not been able to make it, plan to join us the week after Easter 2010 and give it a try. Some come for several days, and others, like me, are "day-hops" on Saturday.
On another note, this September marks twenty years since Terry McMahon died. On the occasion of his fifteenth anniversary, a group of us got together in Donovan's of Woodside and told "Terry" stories. We will do the same to observe the twentieth year of his passing. Donovan's is located on Roosevelt Avenue and 58th Street in Woodside, Queens. Donovan's is unique in that one can reach it by LIRR from any LIRR station on Long Island. Also, if you can get to Penn Station, you can get to Donovan’s! Keep in mind that a good Terry story - and they all are - is usually followed by a toast.
If you would like to join us in September, it will be one afternoon - September 15, 16, or 17. Send me an email with your interest, or give me a call and I will be sure to let you know the details.
From PATRICK J. KEILTY (’65):
Two weeks after retiring from forty years of English and math teaching, I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, a killer disease which is quite different from standard hypertension.
Within weeks of initiating treatment, my health declined dramatically from normalcy to being barely able to breathe, lacking energy, and running out of insurance money due to four week-long hospital stays. My pulmonologist, Dr. Gregory Ferreira of Lung Associates in Sarasota, advised me to travel for surgery to University of California San Diego in La Jolla. Thousands of friends from around the world, only some personally known, prayed for my return to health. I thank each of my doctors, nurses, techs, family, friends, relatives, and colleagues for your help, concern, and prayers. Each of you helped bring me back to better health with a new desire to live. Thank you!
The University of California San Diego Hospital located off I-5 in La Jolla is well-staffed and is one of the few American hospitals that provides pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) surgery, the surgical removal of clots from the lungs.
The founder of this surgical approach, Dr. Stuart Jamieson, continues to teach his method to students and other surgeons, and thankfully he operated on me. After nineteen days I left California, and with my wife Anne’s help (Thank you, Anne!), have been recuperating at home in Sarasota for over two weeks. I try to walk each day, enjoy simple activities, and get plenty of rest. In a few weeks I can swim again, drive the car, and do many of the things that I feared were over forever. I am sure the evaluation that I passed that first week included a determination of whether I would survive the operation and benefit from the surgery. For me, fear of the operation and pain were overridden by the hope that I would get my life back. I could be a first-year baby-boomer retiree again within a couple of months. When I retired in June 2008, I looked forward to a new life in Florida, being more physically active than I had been before -- swimming, walking, biking, golfing, riding my newly purchased Vespa, and reconnecting with my peers, all of which were threatened by this disease.
Dr. Jamieson asserted, “I can fix you.” I believed him when he said this and continue to believe. Dr. Jamieson is my hero and will always be so. Thank you, Dr. Jamieson, and all of the medical personnel at UCSD, as well as Drs. Ferreira and Horiuchi at Lung Associates. They saved my life. They are my miracle workers.
I share this information because it may help others. I thought my life was over, and sadly this rare but necessary operation is only offered in a few hospitals. Unfortunately, some patients and medical personnel are unaware of the hope PTE offers. PTE saved my life. Perhaps it can save yours.
I hope every person who suffers from pulmonary hypertension will find an improvement in his/her health.
The Spirituality of the Liturgy of the Eucharist
David Kammer (’42)
(David has written an inspiring essay, based on a presentation given at Our Lady Star of the Sea parish in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in early February 2009. The first two paragraphs of the essay appear below. The full essay appears on the Marists All website. Ed.)
We Catholics speak of our main communal religious service as the mass. We are not likely to use the more extended title of “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” nor are we likely to use the expression of the very early Christians, “the breaking of the bread.” Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI refer to the Mass as the “Eucharistic Celebration” as does the current Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Within the Eucharistic Celebration we find the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Our celebration is a liturgy through which we are fed the Word of God, and we commune with divine life. We are fed so that we may give of ourselves. Our Lord gives of himself to nourish us. Simply put, our Mass is a banquet and a sacrifice.
From BILL DESCHENE (‘53):
(Bill sent the following letter he had written to his parents from the novitiate – his mother had saved them! He admits in an aside that it is “a little bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but that’s the way we were in those days.” It portrays the innocence and idealism that we all experienced. Next issue we will include his first letter from the scholasticate. Ed.)
Remember those letter-writing Sundays in the novitiate and scholasticate? Well, my mother had saved all those letters:
St. Joseph’s Novitiate
November 1, 1953
Dear Mom and Dad,
Happy feast day to you both! Sure enough, today is the feast of All Saints, both in heaven and on earth, and from what I know, that includes you. You know, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m the luckiest guy on earth to have such wonderful parents. This isn’t just flattery because I’ve done some real serious thinking, about as serious as I can do, which probably isn’t much; but anyway, what gets me is the way you do things so nonchalantly, so selflessly, never looking for a tap on the back or a sign of thanks, and most of the time you never get one. Somewhere in the books I’ve been reading, it says that a saint never looks for self but is always trying to help others and to please God, without any thought of the sacrifices they will meet… always working, cheerful … and a lot of things that are an eye opener because they are personified in you and Dad. Ahem! …
I’m in good health and happy and working pretty hard lately at the quarry. Br. John B. has it almost empty, and you should see the rocks.
The novitiate is running pretty smooth now. The new boys are pretty well settled, and we are fairly well acquainted with each other now. At first I didn’t think I would like this group as well as last year’s group, but now I find them just as good and maybe better. They’re pretty hefty, so it‘s going to be hard to beat them in sports. The four boys from the Philippines arrived last week. Their first names are Santiago, James, Sergio, and Fernando. I won’t tell you their last names because that would be embarrassing, as I can’t even pronounce them, never mind spell them. They are getting along very good. I got rid of a pair of old pants and some old overalls that I didn’t need, or like, by giving them to them.
Our jackets arrived last week, and they are beauts. Mine is very dark blue and it fits good. We all look like a bunch of “rocks” walking with them on.
Take good care of yourselves, and keep going to mass on weekdays. You ought to buy yourself a daily missal. It helps you to stay awake. Love, Bill.
From BR. HUGH TURLEY (’54):
The following arrangements have been made by the Provincial Treasurer's Office with the office of Mr. Ronald Vioni, First Vice President - Investments, at Merrill Lynch to facilitate gifts of stock to the Marist Brothers: You or your transfer agent may directly contact Veronika LaGasse, Registered Client Associate, in Mr. Vioni’s office. Mrs. LaGasse will expedite the transfer and notify the Marist Brothers Development Office of your gift for proper acknowledgment as required by the US Internal Revenue Service.
(Thank you to those who contribute toward the expenses of printing Marists All: Rev. Frank (Stephen Joachim) Gallogly ‘52, Paul (Damian Andrew) Bruneau ‘51, Gene Zirkel ‘53, Bert Chassé ‘43. Bert sent his check with a short note, “…thanks ever so much for your donation to Marists All over all these years in keeping us informed on the lives of monks past and present and those who continue to be part of this wonderful group of former monks. All my prayers, Bert.” Editor.)
Source: Original Marists All Site
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