I am so excited to know that our parishioners are heavily involved in our many ministries, not only in the area of liturgy and worship but more so in our outreach ministries. As I described in my letter in December 2022, we are reaching out to so many people in need through your generosity.
One of the ways we are in direct contact with the most in-need people in our area is through serving meals at Our Daily Bread located in Melbourne. Before, we have been serving meals once a month but, because there is so much interest in this ministry, we have taken on a second serving day. I would like to thank all those who have been helping with the ministry, especially Julie and Greg Cole for leading it. This is the note we received from Daily Bread: “A BIG SHOUT OUT to St. John the Evangelist Catholic
Church who is stepping up to take on a SECOND serving day! YAY! Because of EACH of you, Daily Bread has NO volunteer needs for the month of January!!! WOW!”
Thanks for your generosity in permitting me to visit my family after more than 3-1/2 years. I will be gone for 3 weeks. Please keep me in your prayers. In my absence, Fr. Vincent will take good care of you. Please be good to him.
On Tuesday, 10 January 2023, the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year returned and will continue until the day before Ash Wednesday. Today we celebrate the Second Sunday, Year A. “Ordinary Time runs for 33 or 34 weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ itself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays” (Universal Norms, 43).
On Friday, 20 January, we celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Dedication of our splendid House of God. My dear friends, we have indeed been abundantly blessed by the Lord. This house of worship has been a source of consolation to all of us and to those who have visited this sanctuary. Once again, I wish to thank you all for the sacrifices you have made in making this place of worship a sacred place, a place where we can truly experience God’s presence.
Also on 20 January, the Congregation of Holy Cross — and we with them — celebrate the Feast of Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. This one is even more special as it marks the 150th anniversary of Blessed Basil Moreau’s entry into eternal life. This important milestone will be celebrated all over the world from Friday, 20 January 2023 through the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, 7 June 2024.
Born Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau (Basil Anthony Marie Moreau) in Laigné-en-Belin, in the diocese of Le Mans, France, on 11 February 1799, he was profoundly affected by the spiritual upheaval caused by the French Revolution. Church property was seized, priests were executed and arrested, and religious communities were expelled from France. Basil Moreau’s hope was to fill the vast spiritual and educational gap created by these events.
In 1821, Moreau was ordained a priest of the diocese; later he became a seminary professor, teaching philosophy and theology while enthusiastically continuing his pastoral duties. By 1835, Moreau had organized a group of young and energetic “auxiliary priests” whose mission was to travel the diocese, assisting in educational and spiritual growth programs at parishes. That same year, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Bouvier asked him to oversee the Brothers of St. Joseph, a group of educators founded by Rev.
Jacques-François Dujarié. Two years later, on 1 March 1837, Fr. Moreau merged the priests and brothers and the resulting community took its name from the small French town outside of Le Mans in which it was based, Sainte-Croix. The new order’s name became, in Latin, Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (hence the initials C.S.C.), which literally means “Congregation of Holy Cross.”
The Cross soon became an integral part of his community’s spirituality. The motto of the congregation is Ave Crux, Spes Unica, which means “Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope” — calling on the community to “learn how even the Cross can be borne as a gift.”
Blessed Moreau’s vision was to complete and maximize the spiritual vigor of this community — to give it “one heart, one soul” — by modeling it after the Holy Family and bringing into it a group of sisters who would also be involved in education and evangelization. Reflecting his association’s zeal to make God known, loved
and served, Moreau started sending its members to other countries, including Algeria, Canada, Bangladesh, and the United States. He sent seven young men — six brothers and Rev. Edward Sorin — to the United States where, in 1842, they founded the University of Notre Dame. In 1857, the Holy See officially declared Moreau’s group to be a religious congregation, and the Congregation of Holy Cross was born. Blessed Moreau died on 20 January 1873 and was beatified on 15 September 2007.
(Portions of the above were taken, and slightly modified, from “Basil Moreau, Founder of Holy Cross” by Gary MacEoin and “The Cross, Our Only Hope” edited by Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C. and Kevin Grove, C.S.C.)
Now that you know who Fr. Moreau is, I request you to pray for his canonization so that the Lord might be glorified in the works of Fr. Moreau’s descendants. Please continue to pray for the canonization of Fr. Moreau using the following prayer.
Prayer for the Intercession of Blessed Moreau
Lord Jesus, source of all that is good, you inspired Basile Moreau to found the religious family of Holy Cross to continue your mission among the People of God. May he be for us a model of apostolic life, an example of fidelity, and an inspiration as we strive to follow you. Lord Jesus, you said, “Ask and you shall receive.” We come to ask you
that you hear our prayer. It is through the intercession of Basile Moreau that we ask ... (state your intention). May we learn to imitate his holiness and service and look to
him confidently in times of need. Amen.
May Blessed Basil Moreau and
Saint Brother André Bessette intercede for us!
Have a blessed week!
With love,
Fr. John