We live in a blessed time! And so I’m feeling a little guilty for not writing more to you this last month. I must not forget that, since Jesus has no hands on this earth,

Statue of Jesus without hands

Jesus needs my hands to write to you about all the great things that I have seen, all that reflects the glory of Jesus in the Sacred Heartbeat of this life. In this posting, I would like to begin with the month of May, Mary’s month, in which our Blessed Mother’s beauty shines, bringing us closer to the mystery of Jesus.

Front Window of St. Mary's Church, Fairhaven

On the lawn of Damien residence, we commemorated the beginning of May by crowning her with flowers,

Statue of Mary Crowned

a fitting way to acknowledge not only how great she is, but also to highlight the beauty of the new creation of which she is the Mother. Remembering her mothering of beauty, I have taken special care lately to photograph some of the flowers blooming around me, as well as some swans in a nearby cove. Can you see our Blessed Mother’s beauty shining through them?

Rhododendron Blossoms

Swans at a Cove of the Acushnet River

Azalea Blossoms


Near the beginning of May, I set off for the national meeting of the governing board of the Men of the Sacred Hearts, which took place at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois.

Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

In that holy and beautiful place, we discussed ways of remaining faithful to and also renewing the apostolate of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home. This is a ministry that arose from one of the great missionaries of our Congregation, Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey SSCC,

Fr. Mateo contemplating his mission of spreading devotion to the

Sacred Hearts

who, burning with spiritual energy, developed a special path to renew true devotion of the Sacred Heart, relying on visits to families by committed laymen in the Church. One hundred years later, his apostolate continues, continuing to call families back to true devotion that is an extension of our Eucharistic worship and consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We, the National Board, after our business meeting, were happy to pray and listen to each other, renewing our brotherhood.

Celebrating our time together!

Teaching Sacred Heart Spirituality

I was doubly blessed to return from Belleville in time to participate in our Chapter of the East Coast Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. A Chapter is a meeting of a province of religious brothers and priests convened to discuss and make basic decisions as well as elect leaders who will govern us in the next three years.

Fr. Stan Kolasa SSCC serving as a facilitator of the Chapter

Members of East Coast Province attending Chapter


The highlight of this particular chapter was our decision to approve an ambitious and far-reaching plan for the development of our retreat center in Wareham, Massachusetts. This is the same beautiful and blessed place I mentioned in an earlier post. We also reelected our provincial, Fr. William “Bill” Petrie SSCC and transformed our Provincial Council.

New Council (from left to right)-Fr. Fintan Sheeran SSCC, Fr. Tom

McElroy SSCC, Br. Paul Alves SSCC, Fr. Bob Charlton SSCC,
Fr. Bill Petrie SSCC-Provincial

And we had a spirited and humorous celebration of the jubilees of several of our more senior members, here portrayed in our religious attire.

Jubilee Celebrants after Anniversary Mass

We were honored to have present throughout our chapter our current Superior General, Fr. Javier Enrique Ossorio SSCC,

Fr. Javier Enrique Ossorio SSCC, Superior General of

the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

who both charmed us and called us to fidelity in our mission and brotherhood that extends across the globe. Because of that internationality, there was no surprise in seeing one of our younger Indian priests, Fr. Alexis Nayak SSCC, giving a reflection, nor seeing him later helping count votes in the Chapter, while standing alongside his former novitiate comrade in the Philippines, Fr. Chris Santangelo SSCC.

Fr. Alexis Nayak SSCC, left Fr. Chris Santangelo, right

Despite the pains of adjusting to our present reality, the Chapter made clear how we retain our hope by being in a Resurrection mode, open to whatever transformation that will come to us through the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Emblem of our Spiritual Life