Presentation Brothers Our Lady of the Americas Province Newsletter ~ Serving in Canada, the United States and the West Indies ~ January 2016 .. Dear Brothers, Associates, Family and Friends, It has been said “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” There is godly wisdom in that. Jesus makes all things new. With God’s help everything can be renewed. This new year, I encourage you to entrust to Our Lord those issues in your life, or in the life of your loved ones, that seem hopeless. In prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to bring blessings out of thosesituations in which defeat has become the status quo. It maybe illness, unemployment, depression, disagreements, whatever your trial, know that Jesus wills to bring about graces. Cling to him. Trials are indeed opportunities for your sanctification. Recognize God’s hand in the midst of your suffering. I pray that in 2016 you are able to see these challenges in your life with God’s eyes, understand them with God’s wisdom, and deal with them with God’s love. Here is a New Year challenge for you. Choose a hopeless situation in your life. It may be a habitual sin, a long desired virtue, a troubled relationship. Something that you have dealt with for quite some time and it just feels like it will never change for the better. Discern it in prayer. Then, make a resolution to pray about this situation daily and to approach it God’s way from now on. No longer your way. Then, let others know how Our Lord answers and how things turn out. It is with pleasure that we now share with you some of the happenings within our own Province and Congregation. Kindly know that we are grateful for your support by your prayers, sacrifices and generous donations. You are remembered by us in prayers of gratitude and petition for your various prayer requests. Wishing you a very blessed New Year! Brother Francis Schafer Province Leader
Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home) Br. Robert Fanovich - Grenada During September and October, I visited three schools in Grenada and two in Trinidad where I focused on Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si. The reality of climate change and the urgency of spreading our Pope’s message far and wide, was driven home to me, since we have been experiencing unusually dry spells in the midst of the wet season. Last year, Jamaica experienced a drought which destroyed most of the crops in the most fertile part of the island. Water rationing went into effect and Antigua and Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad, and Grenada all experienced drought like conditions this year. Dominica on the other hand, was pummeled by hours of torrential rain which washed away roads, bridges and homes with a tragic loss of life. My hope is that we all embrace our Pope’s message to care for our common home. Our religious houses ought to be living examples of what it means to conserve scarce resources, care for the most vulnerable and be proactive in promoting an ecological spirituality. I felt hopeful that our Caribbean Youth are getting the message that it cannot be business as usual where our earth is concerned. Guyana recently banned the importation of Styrofoam in an effort to create a cleaner, healthier country. We hope that other countries would follow their example and that we, individually and collectively, lead the way by our example as Presentation Brothers.
Brebeuf College Toronto, Ontario Brebeuf College, has been under the direction of two very distinct religious communities, the Presentation Brothers and the Jesuits. Each reflecting, in an unique way, that special charism that would encourage educational excellence and social responsibility to build a better world. The school named after the Jesuit missionary, Jean de Brebeuf, opened with one hundred Grades 9 and 10 students in September 1963. Brebeuf’s first graduating class in 1966 consisted of 30 students. In May, 1983, Fr. William Ryan, the Provincial of the Jesuits, announced that the Jesuits were going to give up responsibilities for the operation of Brebeuf College School by June 1985. Cardinal Carter and the staff of the Archdiocese began to explore the possibilities to ensure the continual operation of Brebeuf. In February, 1984, Cardinal Carter’s office announced that the Presentation Brothers were willing to assume responsibility for Brebeuf College, and would officially take over on July 31, 1984. Brother Lawrence Maher served as principal from July 1984 to June 1996. Brebeuf has been under lay personnel of the Toronto Catholic District School Board since September 1997. Presentation Brother Lawrence Maher Fund and PresLink Brebeuf continues to be a significant donor to the Presentation Brothers' schools in Ghana and Nigeria. Monies are raised as part of the campaign called the Brother Lawrence Maher Fund for Africa, named for our former Principal. Almost $15,000 was raised last year through a variety of means, including monthly collections from the students and staff; a Euchre night; a Christmas gift catalogue; and a generous donation from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. This year, a new club of students called PresLink will help in these fund-raising endeavors. PresLink is an organization founded in 2006 by students and staff of the Presentation Brothers Colleges. The main aim of Preslink is to develop links within the Presentation Family and to connect with Presentation Brother’s Missions and projects in the developing world. Their first objective is educational – wanting to raise awareness about the challenges faced by members of the Presentation Family mainly in Ghana and Nigeria. Their second objective is to assist in practical ways - running a variety of fund-raising activities throughout the year.
Brother Henry Spencer - Year of Consecrated Life This year, the Church celebrates the men and women who have entered Consecrated Life as Brothers, Sisters, and Priests. We at Brebeuf are blessed to have the daily presence of Brother Henry Spencer, F.P.M., in our school. Brother was one of the original Presentation Brothers to arrive at Brebeuf in 1984 and taught until his retirement in 1997. Since then, he has volunteered his time daily on the school's Chaplaincy team. His work on the school morning prayer, communion service, retreats, masses, and his joyful faith greatly enriches the spiritual life of the school. He is a role model for us all. Thank you, Brother! Presentation Brothers Associates - Grenada Beverly Steele The Associates of the Presentation Brothers in Grenada met recently with eight members, two Brothers and one guest met at a new and exciting venue. John Pitt, who hosted this meeting, chose a recently refurbished lounge at the Grenada National Museum as the place of meeting, which proved to be cosy and comfortable. He explained that this was his small effort to fight the practice of the unnecessary separation of religious activities and secular places. The experiment worked well. We were pleased to have with us as our guest Richard Hosein. Richard is an alumnus of Presentation College San Fernando, but was now living in Florida. The prayers of the Evening Office were led by Peter Bullen. This was followed by a discussion led by Br. Robert. The group was taken through the change of focus of the Presentation Brothers - from teaching to a concentration on prison visiting and working with the poor. This Option for the Poor has always been a part of the Spirituality of the Presentation Brothers, along with the better known Option of Teaching. Brother Robert expressed the view that the lack of vocations in general in Grenada and to the Presentation Brothers in particular was due to the
lack of vibrancy of the Church in Grenada, and also the Church’s challenges in the modern world. The group was asked to express some of the needs, challenges and strategies which might highlight and correct the lack of enthusiasm for religion among the young. The following thoughts were offered: · The church needed to assess the influence of technology on the psyche of young people. · The Church needed to use technology in evangelization. · Young people need to see in the Church the very vibrancy we lack. They need to see meaningful activities in progress. · Religion needs to be integrated with everyday secular life. Using secular spaces such as the National Museum for a religious purpose should be commonplace. Also, there should be a Catholic column in the secular newspapers, and not just in the Church’s newspaper - The Catholic Focus. · There was a need to find out what young people were looking for in the Church and for the Church to respond. For example, how can Church services be made more attractive to the youth? One of the areas needing immediate attention was the format of sermons. · Someone noted that there was a sense of desperation among some members of the Church - that it would fail completely. But we were reminded by another member that Jesus promised that the Church would last forever, and “The gates of hell would not prevail against it.” · The suggestion was that we start a movement of reformation in small measures, and not despair. Each one of us should get the ear of someone in authority and encourage them to try new things and different ways of doing the same thing. We should also try to evangelize on a one to one basis. · We heard that the experience abroad was similar to that in Grenada. However, there was a universal need among people for peace and a holy and spiritual existence. If Catholics began reaching out to people, and the Church embrace backsliders with forgiveness and facilitated their re-entry, a good start would be made.
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