Volume 1 Issue 2 Fall 2008

Society of Our Lady of the

Most Holy Trinity

50th Anniversary

July 16, 2008

“Our celebration begins at Corpus Christi Cathedral.”

Communio

“In the opening procession, children of SOLT carried flags, one for each country in which SOLT has a mission.”

“Many SOLT priests are in attendance, as well as Corpus Christi Bishop Emeritus Gracida, Bishop Carmody and Bishop Wright, Bishop of Belize.”

“As you can imagine, Father Jim Flanagan was all smiles…

…and so was Father John!”

“The Corpus Christi Choir sang beautifully, and the organ music was magnificent.”

“The gift of the Eucharist was gratefully received!”

“These folks standing were present when the 25th anniversary was celebrated!!”

“Father Vince Albano wears a stole commemorating the 50th anniversary of SOLT. Stoles were given as gifts to SOLT clergy.”

“SOLT Sisters, old and new, with Fathers Jim and John!”

“All praise to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to Our Lady, for the gift of this wonderful day!”

Fr. Tony Anderson currently serves SOLT as head of an ecclesial team in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Fr. Tony joined SOLT in 1985, and has been a priest 17 years.

Here are some highlights from the talk, for you to ponder:

God is our generous, benevolent Father. How can •we grow to appreciate the ‘grandness’ of God the Father? Look to creation…

God is in the great and the small. Scientists ponder •the great e.g. stars, the Milky Way, galaxies – and the small e.g. atoms, protons, ‘singularities’. Much hasbeenwrittenaboutthesescientificstudies.Fr.Tony recommends a book titled, A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson.

Reading about these studies, and their conclusions, •can be a way to strengthen our faith! Ultimately, scientists come to the conclusion that there is a Creator and a Mind behind the structure and creation of the universe. God planned creation very well. Creation is a sign of how much God loves you and me! Thank you, Father, for the gift of creation and life!

God blesses us with life and the gift of creation, •andGodisalsoourrefuge,ourRock.God’sinfinitelove for each of us provides us with a resting place, arefuge.AswereceiveGod’sinfinite,tender,unconditional love, we are made strong. As we let ourselvesbeaffirmedbyGod,webecomearefugefor others.

We have many people in our lives that are a rock, •a refuge for us: Fr. Jim Flanagan, Pope Benedict. Othersourcesofaffirming,unconditionallovemightbe our biological fathers and mothers, our priests, our ecclesial team members.

In the Scripture story of the adulterous woman, •Jesusaffirmsthiswomanwithemotionalaffirmation(her sin was no worse than anyone else’s there –“Lethewhohasnotsinnedcastthefirststone”)andintellectualaffirmation(“Go,andsinnomore…”).Reconciliationcanbearockofrefugeforus also. Scripture shows us that the apostles Peter and John were a rock and refuge for others.

God’s love is pure power, pure love. In it we •become strong. Fr. Jim’s favorite psychologist, ConradBaars,defines“deprivationneurosis”andcountersitwithrelationalhealing.God’saffirminglove, found in unconditional love between humans,

Topic: God the Father - talk given by Fr. Tony Anderson, SOLT

Fr. John Patterson (R) gives Fr. Miguel Noyola a blessing.

Fr. Tony Anderson ministering to a boy in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

is necessary for emotional health. In our lives with God,weshouldembracethe‘ABCsofaffirmativeliving’: A. be Attentively present to the one in front of you, B. live in the realm of Being, C. live in Community(notactivityorcommunication).Thiswill enable us to have a capacity to love and be affirmersofothers.

“Thank you, Eternal Father, for being You toward •us.Amen!”

And also during the Assembly ...

Jennifer Wycoff seated next to Fr. Jim Flanagan became a consecrated widowOthers pictured: L-R Anna Eby, Rose Crilly, Marie Garrett, Mary Hanrahan, Nikki Sullivan, Maria Blount, Magdalene Edmonton, Mary Louise Zell, Juanita Steele, Rosemary Fesen, Jackie Sheehan

Eight Sisters renewed their vowsSr. Maria Angelica MorenoSr. Maria de los Angeles RamirezSr. Alison Marie ConemacSr. Mater Ecclesia AbbottSr. MaryAnn RichwaldSr. Janet Marie NewcomeSr. Catherine NaglSr. Mary Claire Strasser

The following lay members made Committed promises:from Georgia:Ken & Christine Dawson and familyJim and Mary Ann JudgeJim & Erin DesPres and familyAlso:Ilene BibersteinMaura ChipaFrances & Conrad Gonzales Lay Definitive Promises:Elizabeth HenricksRosemary HoughtonDonald FesslerChristine Ann MugridgeMichael and Melinda Pond and family

OrdinationsDeacon Samuel Medley was ordained a priest and Brother Dennis Dugan was ordained a Deacon.

Topic: God the Son - talk given by Sr. Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT

Sr. Anne Walsh is currently the General Sister Servant for SOLT Sisters. She joined SOLT in 1983, and has been a SOLT sister for twenty years.

Here are some points from the talk for you to ponder:

Jesus is the center of •everything, and the Firstborn of all creation.

There is a beautiful, active exchange of love •between the Father and the Son.

Jesus works to restore the image of the Father •in us so Jesus can bring us into communion with Himself and the Father, through the Holy Spirit. The Father looks for Jesus, and looks to see Jesus reproduced in our souls.

The Blessed Mother mirrored Jesus and the Father •and the oneness of love between them both.

Jesus always sought to please the Father. As we •strive to be more like Jesus, our goal should be to please the Father; the only way we can do this is to become more like Jesus! There are several ways we can do this…

Blessing: bestowed as a gift to bring about the will •of God. (If you spend any time with Fr. Jim, you willseethatheblesseseverything!)Throughourpriestly capacity given us at our Baptism, all of us can participate in the power of Christ to bestow the priestly blessing of Christ to upon each other and all creation.

Living the Pascal Mystery: the Father will see •Jesus in us if we react to suffering with forgiveness and love.

Healing of Memories: we must receive healing, so •our memory operates prompted by the movements of the Holy Spirit. If I need to remember something, the Holy Sprit brings it to mind; if I don’t need it, it is not in my conscious mind, causing any disturbance.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict are an incredible •gift to us: they move from suffering, through memory, and into hope!

Recall that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, •Jesus was present to the disciples in an even

greater way. There was an explosion of the Holy Spirit! The disciples must have felt awe and yet great sadness as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven…howdifficulttobepartedfromJesus!Yetwithout this separation, the explosion of the Holy Spirit could not have come…

We can look for a similar gift when God calls Fr. •Jim home. Let us pray we have members among us who are courageous enough to ask for this explosion of the Holy Spirit for this community when Fr. Jim goes home.

“Let us be fully united with Christ in His life, •sufferings, death and resurrection. Let us rid ourselves of all obstacles to that. Let us be a blessing to each other. Let us, with the help of Our Lady,fullyputonthemindofChrist.”

Father Rogel (Ogie) Rosalinas, General Priest Servant of Our Lady’s Society at the 50th Anniversary Mass.

Deacon Paul McCardle, the first deacon in Our Lady’s Society.

Theyear:1957(themonthofMay)The setting: Diocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico - Archbishop Byrne presidingThe cowboy: Father John McHughThe Bostonian: Father Jim Flanagan

The cowboy had been working in this diocese, in the town of Holman, for the last three and a half years. When he arrived, the parish had a school run by an order of nuns. After he arrived, the school burned down and the nuns left the diocese. Everything was going badly, and the cowboy prayed to Our Lady to ‘make something happen.’

The Bostonian wanted to convert the world to Christ, and was looking for others to do the same. After meeting Archbishop Byrne, the Bostonian was told to begin his work anywhere in the diocese, AFTER he talked to the priest currently working in the Sangre de CristoMountains(Holman).

The Bostonian arrives, by stagecoach, to Holman. He waits in the hardware store to meet the priest, who comes there once a week for supplies. The Bostonian looks out the big picture window of the store, and sees a priest coming up the walk…WEARING A COWBOY HAT AND COWBOY BOOTS! The Bostonian immediately thinks to himself, “That’s all I need, someone who wants to play cowboys and Indians, and I want to convert theworldtoChrist!”

The cowboy was told by the Chancery that a priest from Boston was coming. The cowboy had a prejudice against Bostonians: they talk big, smoke big cigars, and wear Homburg hats! He thought to himself, “I have no help, no Sisters, no teachers, all I need is a city slicker from Boston telling me what to do and nottodo!”

Once the cowboy and the Bostonian met, things started to change fast. The cowboy likes to point out that he was consecrated to Our Lady in 1946, one year before the Bostonian was consecrated. The two have been together ever since, a reminder to all of us that the Father’s plan comes from His love!

The First ‘Graced Friendship’ in SOLT - a cowboy and a Bostonian!

Frs. Jim Flanagan, John McHugh - enjoying their graced friendship - and Sr. Maria Angelina Soto after the Anniversary Mass.

From the EditorWe are eager to hear from you! Please send any news, articles, prayers, pictures, etc. to the Com-munio email address: Communionewsletter@yahoo.com.In Christ and Our Lady,Diane Olsen

Dr. John Purk joined SOLT in 1979. John currently serves on the North American Regional Council. He and his wife Patty and their children live in Roeland Park, Kansas.

John spoke about the Holy Spirit. Here are some points from his talk for you to ponder:

The Holy Spirit is devoted to us; we live in the age •of the Holy Spirit.

AfteralivingencounterwiththeHolySpirit,thefire•of the Spirit burns inside us.

Just as you and I proceeded from a mother and •a father as a sign of their love, so the Holy Spirit proceeds from the love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. In this manner, individually, each of us is patterned after the Holy Trinity.

Ourmemoriesmustbepurifiedinordertohearthe•voice of the Holy Spirit. Healing of memories can occur through the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.

One cannot have opposition to Our Lady AND the •Holy Spirit.

Inner darkness can come from sin, a need for •purification,ortemptation.Ourresponsetoitisthesame. We can ward off darkness with prayer, doing our daily duty well, and remaining faithful to the commands of the Councils of the Church.

JesusisourfirstCounselor;theHolySpiritis•our second Counselor. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to bear witness to Jesus.

Sincanbedefinedastherejectionofthemission•of Jesus that causes people to condemn Jesus to death. However, the love of Jesus is so great that Jesus would rather die on the cross than condemn us.

The evil one is an accuser, and can make us •suspicious of God, fearful that God wants to judge us. The Holy Spirit wants to drive this suspicion out of us. We receive happiness and peace when the Holy Spirit overshadows us.

Topic: God the Holy Spirit - talk given by Dr. John Purk, SOLT

Items for SaleThis Christmas give the gift of the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Book of SOLT. It includes a bio of the Founder, history of the early years in NM, the Kansas City years, Boston and Corpus Christi years, mission and apostolate throughout the world, special events, specialized ministries, future directions and much more …. The book is an attractive 64 page, hard cover publication, professionally laid out with many pictures included and it is ready to be shipped.

A $20 offering + $5 postage is suggested for each book. To order a copy online go to Soltsisters.org/catalog.html or mail a check to PO Box 536, Bosque, NM 87006. For questions please contact Sr. Anne or Sr. Mary Paul at 505-864-4251.

Membership Directories are available for sale: hard copy in binder form $10 + $5.50 shipping or CD(powerpointnecessary)for$5+$1.00shippingTheseareavailablethrutheGeneralLayOfficeinBosque, PO 417, Bosque, NM 87006.

If you would like a cookbook with recipes compiled by Nikki Sullivan, call 816-531-0244.

Medals of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity are available in silver, 14k and 18k gold. Visit the Web site www.artifexmariae.com or order through Blair Burton at PO Box 40, Capulin, CO 81124 or artifexmariae@gmail.com.

A Scripture Rosary DVD with 200 images and scripture meditations is available. Donations are used to promote the rosary and support SOLT missions. There is an image for every Hail Mary accompanied with a scripture meditation. There is no audio, just pictures with meditations. You or someone in the family reads the meditations out loud or silently. After the meditation you respond with the Hail Mary.

The Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious mysteries are recited by you, your group or family. It takes about 25 minutes to recite each set of mysteries. Total DVD length is 1 hour and 40 minutes. Pray the rosary as the Rosary DVD plays.

For more information go to www.scripturerosary.com.

To order call 913-638-6811, email scripturerosary@gmail.com or write SOLT, c/o 3305 West 50th Terrace, Shawnee Mission, KS 66205.

Suggested donation $13.00 includes shipping.

Jubilee “rest”1. : time to rest in the abundant goodness of God, and give thanks with a joyful heart! A renewed commitment to live in freedom2. : this is the graced time to be freed from whatever may be keeping us from living the fullness of our commitment to Our Lady’s Society.Restore unity and peace3. :“writeoffthedebtofsin”by letting go of any grudges and offenses.Time away with the Lord4. , perhaps making a pilgrimage to a Marian Shrine. All members of

SOLT are encouraged to take time daily to pray the Jubilee Prayer of the Fiftieth Anniversary of SOLT, composed by Father Jim Flanangan (see below).Receive blessings5. that God promises to bestow in a Jubilee year. Be faithful, and receive abundant grace!

Five Aspects of a Jubilee Year - from a reflection given by Fr. Anthony Blount

Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy TrinityPrayer for the Fiftieth Anniversary

July 16, 2008 Holy Spirit,

All Our Lady’s Society is truly grateful for all your Gifts,Graces and Blessings during these past 50 years.

We ask forgiveness for any ways we have been unfaithfuland have not brought forth the fullness of the Divine plan

of the Father for Our Lady’s Society in His love.May you be the inspiration to indicate the path we should

taketofulfillGod’splanandshowwhatwemustdowithyourhelp.

May all the apostolic works of Our Lady and all her membersbe pleasing to you. May you be the inspiration of all our servingas Jesus served. May you be our inspiration, for you alone can

bring us with the Father and the Son to the Divine destiny.May you never leave us or allow us to displease our Father.

Unite our hearts with the hearts of Jesus and Maryand the great heart of our Father so that the gifts of your grace

may bring us to become one in the communionof the Most Holy Trinity.

Maywebeunitedinlovingoneanotherandliveintheinfinitemercy of our Father, united to Jesus in the Eucharist,

andcometothefulfillmentofgrace.

In eternity, let us become sons and daughters of the Father in HisFamily in the eternal life and happiness He has prepared for us all.

May we imitate Mary, become like Jesus, and live for the Triune God.

SOLT Golden Jubilee Activities Kansas CityWednesday, November 5, 2008, 5:00 p.m. – SOLT Jubilee Mass - held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Bishop Robert Finn, Bishop of the Kansas City St. Joseph Diocese will be the main celebrant. A reception will follow in Donnelly Hall, with a talk by Fr. Jim Flanagan.

Thursday, November 6, 2008, 6:00 p.m. – SOLT Memorial Mass and Celebration of the Life of Fr. Tom Gier - held at the Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City. Father Flanagan and other SOLT priests will attend.

Friday, November 7, 2008, 6:00 p.m. – Mass and re-dedication of Our Lady’s Montessori School – will be held with Father Flanagan and other SOLT priests. A reception will follow to celebrate the school’s service in the Kansas City area since 1971.

Sunday, November 9, 2008, 10:00 a.m. – Mass and Reception at St. Louis Church - for all current and former SOLT members in the Kansas City area.

Ifyouwouldlikemoreinformation,pleasecall(816)561-8849.

BostonA get-together is being planned in Boston for the middle of November. Fr. Vince Albano said it is hoped that Fr. Jim Flanagan would be able to attend along with former lay apostles from the New England area and New York as well as former Boston College classmates. They will have a Mass of Thanksgiving, a sit down dinner with a couple of speakers and promotion of the worldwide missionary works of the Society.

Please pray for the healing of:Fr. Jim FlanaganFr. Joe HadgkissFr. IsidoreFr. Tom ShowalterFr. Neal StullFr. John CorapiFr. Jim TamborninoFr. Ralph JonesFr. Jack PurtellBr. Philip HowardSr. Trinity VaughnSr. Eileen DoughertyMary Lou FarrellLeocadia Serbin Jacqueline SheehanLinda AvilaMaria BlountMary ChapaRichard AndersonBilly Ann StewardTom AndreoliGeorge EstesMarijane CamilliriThe family of Israel and Paula Trevino

Please pray for the repose of the souls of:Dorothy DumatierInez BarramedaMary Albano

Also, please continue praying for all the ill and struggling priests, sisters and laity of SOLT .

Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity109 W Avenue FRobstown, TX 78380