N E W S L E T T E R S p r i n g 2 0 1 6

John Paul II redirected the Church’s

missionary efforts in the 1980’s using an

approach that he called the “New Evange-

lization”. His vision for the New Evangeli-

zation was based upon the dramatic col-

lapse of Catholic values and religious

practice in the Western Christian world.

Secularization had overrun nations that

had once been strongholds of the Catho-

lic faith. Ironically, the parts of the world

that used to be considered mission terri-

tory to Christianity were experiencing

explosive growth. Conversely, the parts of

the world that used to send out mission-

aries now had become nations in need of

re-evangelization. The New Evangeliza-

tion was re-orienting the Church’s evan-

gelistic efforts toward

nations like ours, to our

very families, co-workers

and neighbors, so in need

of hearing again the proc-

lamation of the saving

gospel of Jesus.

As we all know, Pope Francis has

declared that this year be focused on the

theme of God’s mercy. By so focusing the

Church he has placed the ongoing mis-

sionary efforts of the New Evangelization

in the context of mercy. Mercy should be

infused into all of the Church’s life and

missionary efforts this year.

Why did Pope Francis choose Mercy

to be the spiritual cen-

ter-piece of this year?

First, I think it is a char-

ism that the Holy Spirit

has given to the Pope.

He is a man with a mer-

ciful heart. Secondly, I

think he has made an astute assessment

of our Western culture. Fifty years ago

basic Catholic truths like the Ten Com-

mandments, traditional marriage, and

regular Church attendance would have

been normative, but this is no longer the

case. With a remarkable swiftness these

beliefs, long considered bedrock Christian

cultural values, are now battle grounds of

confusion and are quickly becoming re-

jected by modern culture. What was once

viewed as a means to goodness and a

healthy society are now viewed as restric-

tive and discriminatory.

This is a time of moral and spiritual

darkness to such a degree that the light of

the Gospel and Catholic truth are actually

painfully blinding to many who have been

raised in the present post-Christian era.

Catholic truth is so foreign to so many

people that it is extremely difficult to

Continued on Back Page

Mercy Opens Hearts and Minds to the Invitation of the New Evangelization by Br. Ken Apuzzo, BH

Mercy enters into the suffering of another and creates an opportunity

to build trust.

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Mercy Must Lead the Way Mercy Must Lead the Way

Street Evangelization. Above, Br. Adam Neri (left) offers a word of hope to a young man in Boston during an Alternative Spring Break mission trip for college men.

Brother Basics

By Br. Ken Apuzzo, BH

A t the tail-end of the Year of Conse-

crated Life, the Congregation of

Institutes of Consecrated Life and Socie-

ties of Apostolic Life released a document

entitled, Identity and Mission of the Reli-

gious Brother in the Church. As you might

imagine, this document was greatly antici-

pated by our community of brothers!

I want to share with you, our friends

and benefactors, a few excerpts from the

document. These quotes eloquently cap-

ture the mission and identity of our par-

ticular community of brothers, things that

all Catholics should know about our spe-

cial call. Please enjoy them, and as you

read them, think about your own interac-

tions with the various brothers you per-

sonally know and how they have wit-

nessed to these truths.

On the Call to Holiness:

- “The first ministry that Brothers devel-

op in the Church as religious is ‘to re-

mind the baptized of the fundamental

values of the Gospel’ and ‘the need to

respond with holiness of life to the love

of God’”. (Identity and Mission #7)

- “The community of Brothers lives its

prophetic mission counter-culturally, be-

cause its lifestyle, according to the Gos-

pel, is opposed to what the world pro-

motes. The community of Brothers is a

‘brotherhood born of the Spirit,’ of the

interior freedom of those who put their

trust in God despite the human limita-

tions of those who represent him.” (#25)

- “The Brother lives in communion with

the Father, source of all life, through the

total offering of his life to God in an atti-

tude of praise and worship.” (#16)

On Fraternal Life:

- “The fraternity of Religious Brothers is

an encouragement for the whole Church,

because it makes present the Gospel val-

ue of fraternal relationships of equality in

the face of the temptation to domi-

nate’.” (#7)

- Brothers “give witness to brotherhood

and sonship to which all the faithful are

called. … In that way they are responding

to the call to be experts in communion,

effective signs of the possibility of living

deeper relationships rooted in the love of

Continued on Back Page

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G O D A L O N E G O D F I R S T

S h a r i n g O u r V i s i o n

“The vocation of the

Brother is part of the

answer that God gives

to the absence of

brotherhood today.”

Mercy Moments

This year we have been blessed with

three young men taking a deeper step to

discern the call to be brothers in our com-

munity as Candidates. During this time of

discernment, Ryan Petrillo, Matthew

Warnez and Brandt Haglund, live the

basic rhythm of prayer and fraternal life

within a Brotherhood household, as well

as serve as Mission Leaders at a campus

ministry alongside the Brothers and other

staff. In this Year of Mercy, we thought it

an appropriate introduction to ask each

man to share a brief, personal experience

of God’s mercy:

“‘Really wish I could come ... have to

study for my physics exam though’. I can

still remember the uncomfortable insin-

cerity with which I

sent this text mes-

sage (and many like

it) as a college fresh-

man, in order to

decline an invita-

tion to a campus

prayer meeting. But I am so grateful to

the man who received it: despite my re-

peated disingenuousness, he persevered

in reaching out to me. What mercy, that

God sought after me even when I fled

him.” ~ Matthew Warnez

“I had many fears about serving in

campus ministry, and during my first

month of mission work, I was expressing

frustrations, and yes, even some anger

towards God espe-

cially about my

financial insecuri-

ty. In the middle of

my complaint ses-

sion, my phone

chimed, and I re-

ceived a text message from a benefactor

which read; ‘I just bought a car for you.

When can you come to get it?’ My frustra-

tion turned to tears which turned to grat-

itude and deeper trust. I must say that

the Father’s merciful provision for me,

both materially, and even more im-

portantly, spiritually, has far exceeded

my understanding.” ~ Brandt Haglund

“As a college fresh-

man, the last thing

I wanted to do was

get involved with

faith programs.

Through his mercy,

Jesus sent me a

brother, Kevin Steele, to walk with me

and invite me to a life of Christian living

and knowing Jesus. Through Kevin’s sim-

ple invitation, God began a great trans-

formation in my own life and a college

experience I never could have

imagined!” ~ Ryan Petrillo

“Setting the

Captives Free”

Br. Gary Davis has begun pris-

on ministry at two correctional

facilities in Massachusetts. He

has helped lead Cursillo re-

treats, as well as weekly Bible

studies. He says, “It has

been a tremendous expe-

rience of bringing the

gospel to these men who

suffer intense pain and

misery as they serve their

sentences.” Recently, he

served with a retreat

team that shared a week-

end together with 50 men.

Br. Gary continues, “We ate

with the men, drank coffee

together (which is not normal-

ly served), listened to their

stories and shared in their pain. We

shared about the Father’s merciful love.

It was a grace to help my new ‘brothers

in the Lord’ experience their dignity as

sons of God. As the weekend came to a

conclusion it did not feel like a prison

anymore but a genuinely loving commu-

nity filled with hope.”

Catholic Knights:

New Campus Mission At UCF

In the Spring of 2015, the Brotherhood

was invited to begin a new collaboration

with Saint Paul’s Outreach and the Dio-

cese of Orlando, Florida. With the sup-

port of Br. Adam Neri, we began by send-

ing five Mission Leaders trained by St.

Paul’s Outreach to work alongside the

staff of the University of Central Florida’s

Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) in Or-

lando. In August, they began the work of

building relationships, reaching out to

new students, supporting the existing

structures, and winning hearts for Christ.

Most recently the CCM spring

retreat had 130 people on

it! The current cam-

pus ministers, Tony

Marco (CSU@FSU

alumnus, 02’), and

Fr. Benjamin Ber-

inti, have been very

supportive of the missionar-

ies’ efforts. There is so much

to be grateful for at UCF es-

pecially for those who served

for many years to make CCM

so vibrant. The future looks

bright for this collabora-

tive ministry in Florida!

WITty Catholic Radio

Outreach on the Boston area

HUB campuses has taken on a

some new creative twists this year.

Students from the newly founded

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Catholic Association, decided to attempt a

different way of reaching their fellow stu-

dents on campus. “WITty Catholic Radio”

hit the airwaves in January with weekly

interviews of local Catholics, homilies and

praise music which are all pumped

through WIT’s Student Center and gym.

Not to brag or anything, but it has the

highest listen-to record of any of WIT

radio programs.

Students Offer Prayers. Above:

At the end of our winter retreat for HUB

college students of Boston, the community

prayed for Fr. Paul Helfrich before his depar-

ture to Rome.

A r o u n d t h e B r o t h e r h o o d

s

s h

n a p

o t s

Pope Francis Names Fr. Paul Helfrich a Missionary of Mercy

e are deeply honored that Fr. Paul

Helfrich, one of the founding members of

the Brotherhood of Hope, has received a

special commission from His Holiness

Pope Francis to serve as a Missionary of

Mercy during the Extraordinary Holy

Year of Mercy.

“Merciful like the Father.” This theme

of the Jubilee Year of Mercy resounded

throughout the talk that Pope Francis

gave to me and the other priest Missionar-

ies of Mercy who were gathered in Rome

W by Fr. Paul Helfrich, BH

in the days surrounding Ash Wednes-

day. The Pope had summoned us there

to commission us to preach mercy and

to authorize us to forgive sins which

are normally reserved to the Vatican for

absolution. This unusual granting of

authority made me realize how deeply

Pope Francis desires that the Church

realize that our heavenly Father is

ready, yes eager, to forgive sins, even

the most grievous.

The Vatican’s website further ex-

plains the special functions of priests

selected for this role.

The Missionaries are to be:

- a living sign of the Father’s wel-

come to all those in search of his for-

giveness;

Continued on Back Page

Missionary of Mercy Missionary of Mercy

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US...

in our mission of bringing the transforming love of Jesus to others, especially the

young. Know that we pray for you and your intentions in our daily community

prayer. Please continue to remember us in your prayers and support.

BROTHERHOOD OF HOPE

P. O. Box 200057, Roxbury, MA 02120

Our NEW Telephone: (617) 652-7263

Electronic Giving Options On-Line · All Gifts are tax-deductible

®

G O D F I R S T G O D A L O N E

www.brotherhoodofhope.org

Brother Document

Continued from Inside

Christ. Mutual love is the hall-

mark of Christians (cf. Jn 13:35), and this

is the sign which Brothers offer.” (#24)

On Mission:

- “The vocation of the Brother is part of

the answer that God gives to the absence

of brotherhood which is wounding the

world today.” (#6)

- “The Religious Brother makes visible

in the Church the face of brother Christ,

‘firstborn among many brothers’ (Rom

8:20), creator of a new brotherhood

which he established with his teaching

and with his life.” (#15)

- Their apostolic action “consists in

transmitting what the Brothers have pre-

viously lived in community. Their broth-

erhood will create brotherhood, and the

mission of the Brothers is characterized

from the beginning as one of being in

communion and creating commun-

ion.” (#24)

- “All Brothers, whatever their specific

mission, must take seriously their being

witnesses of the hope they carry within.

They are called to be expressions of hope,

being present in situations of pain and

misery, demonstrating that the tender-

ness of God knows no boundaries.”

(# 29)

Missionary of Mercy

Continued from Inside

- facilitators for all, with no one

excluded, of a truly hu-

man encounter, a source

of liberation, rich with

responsibility for over-

coming obstacles and

taking up the new life of

Baptism again;

- guided by the words,

“For God has consigned

all to disobedience, that

he may have mercy upon

all,” inspiring preachers

of Mercy; heralds of the

joy of forgiveness;

- welcoming, loving,

and compassionate

Confessors, who are

most especially attentive

to the difficult situations of each person.

Paternal compassion is what the Holy

Father wants the Missionaries of Mercy to

reveal to His people. To make this clear,

the Pope exhorted us to enter the confes-

sional with the heart

only of the Father. A

heart that is ready to

both understand the

weakness of each peni-

tent and to always

encourage them to

begin anew on the path

to holiness.

This commission as a

Missionary of Mercy is

one that humbles but

also excites me. For

having experienced the

forgiveness of the Fa-

ther in my own confes-

sion of sins I am eager to

share that grace with

others.

Commissioned! Father Paul Helfrich

touring in Rome during his recent visit to

be commissioned as a mercy missionary.

Mercy Leads the Way

Continued from Front

embrace it. This is the genius

of Pope Francis’ focus on mercy. For this

generation mercy must lead the way! To

simply try and win a young person over

to the faith with logical arguments and

scholarly debate is no longer very effec-

tive since, for many, these truths have

been transformed into the enemy of free-

dom.

But everyone needs mercy! No one is

afraid or intimidated by mercy. Genuine

mercy approaches a person with an au-

thentic desire to help them where they

need it most. Mercy is disarming! Mercy

enters into the suffering of another and

creates an opportunity to build trust.

Trust then opens the way for a deeper

sharing of life and belief. Trust fueled by

mercy convinces both parties that there

are no agendas or hidden motives.

So let us all take up the call of Pope

Francis to be “missionaries of mercy”. Let

mercy lead the way especially as we en-

counter people who are far from Jesus

and His Church. I am convinced that this

grace of mercy will then create a way for

Catholic truth to be received by this pre-

sent generation. May Jesus, the very face

of mercy, bless us all in this special year

of grace!