SOLT Mission Magazine Spring 2014

m a g a z i n e • s p r i n g 2 0 1 4

MISSI NSOLT

Sharing the goSpel

Dear Friends of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity,

The recently published Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, evangelii gaud-

ium, is pertinent to all Christians, but holds particular elements that are especially

relevant to religious missionary communities. After reading the exhortation, there

are a number of points that really struck me, a couple of which I will share below.

The first is the joy that should be present in the life of Christians, and in a

particular way in the life of consecrated people. Giving one’s life entirely to the

Lord is certainly a challenging path, but being able to dedicate one’s life in prayer,

community life and in service to the Gospel is also an amazing privilege. By be-

ing joyful, not merely in a superficial way, but in an enduring, abiding manner,

religious missionaries witness to the fact that it is always worthwhile to give one’s

life to the Lord. Through their intimacy and communion with God, consecrated

people are called to be a sign of the joy found in heaven! There is no more ef-

fective evangelizing instrument than the person who witnesses the profound joy

of a life given to Christ. It is a testimony that must be present in order to give

A MessAge froM the generAl priest servAnt

Spring 2014 | SOLT Mission Magazine | 1

authenticity to our belief that we are called to live in communion with God in this

life and the next.

As the General Superior of SOLT, one of my responsibilities is to visit the many

missions of our community. One of the key indicators that I look for as a sign of

the effectiveness of a SOLT team in mission is the joyful and peaceful spirit of the

members of the team. Wherever authentic, abiding joy is present, almost cer-

tainly there is a corresponding effectiveness in the pastoral ministry of the team.

One of the other illuminating points of Pope Francis’s exhortation which I

would like to mention here is the notion that our life is meant to be a mission

that is constantly striving to share the Gospel with others. There is no taking a

vacation from the work of evangelization or from religious life! There are always

people to meet, people to speak with, and people in need of hearing the essential

message of our salvation: God loves us personally; He became one of us in Jesus

Christ; He died for us to save us from our sins; and, He opened the pathway for

us to live with Him as His children. While it may not be easy to be an expert in all

areas of Catholic doctrine, each of us can surely appreciate the great importance

of sharing this essential message.

As you read this edition of Mission magazine, you will encounter some of

the stories of SOLT missionaries who strive to serve joyfully in the great work of

the new evangelization while serving our brothers and sisters in Christ. Following

the exhortation of Pope Francis, I pray that each of us will be joyful missionaries

who constantly look for opportunities in our conversation with others to share the

cause of our joy, happiness and hope—Jesus Christ.

Fr. Peter Marsalek, SOLT

General Priest Servant

Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity

fr. peter MArsAlek, solt

was elected during the july 2013 chapter in corpus christi, tx.

he is originally from burlington, canada.

2 | SOLT Mission Magazine | Spring 2014

“Programs, plans and projects have their place;

but the discernment of a vocation

is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue

between the Lord and his disciples.”

pope benedict Xvi

sr. MAriA de los Angeles

professed vows on februAry 11, 2014 At our lAdy of

corpus christi perpetuAl AdorAtion chApel.


Being a perpetually committed lay member of the Society of our lady

serving on an ecclesial Family team at our lady of Corpus Christ

(olCC) continues to be a whirlwind adventure and journey with the

people of god!

our lady of Cor-

pus Christi offers an

incredibly gorgeous

perpetual adoration

Chapel, a wonderful

retreat center and a

beautiful bookstore

to all the faith-

ful. Under Father

Jim Kelleher, our

lady of Corpus

Christi perpetual

adoration Cha-

pel serves the

Diocese of Cor-

pus Christi in

Our Lady of Corpus Christi retreat center and perpetual adoration chapel


many ways. the chapel is available to all people 24/7

for adoration, daily Mass, 1st Sunday St. peregrine healing Mass,

1st Friday Charismatic Mass and healing Service, tuesday nights Miraculous

Medal perpetual novena and numerous other special events. also, each Fri-

day the Mass is offered for all the living and deceased members of the Solt

Mass association.

olCC retreat Center has a two-fold mission under the leadership of

Father Dan estes. First, it serves the Diocese of Corpus Christi as a facility

available for retreats, such as Journey to Damascus, parish real life, par-

Between the Retreat Center and the Perpetual

Adoration Chapel, our motto

“A place of silence, a place of prayer, a place of peace”

is realized on a daily basis.


MonA lisA biberstein

and her family became members of solt in 2001 and have been

serving in various ministries in south texas since then.

ish aCtS retreats, Marriage encounter, engaged encounter, rachel’s Vineyard

and many more. Secondly, it offers St. ignatius silent retreats, Divine Mercy

retreats and total Consecration retreats to all. these beautiful and prayer-

ful retreats, led by Father Dan and our “adopted” diocesan brother, Deacon

Bob allen, began in 2010 and have grown to about 15 retreats per year. the

silent retreats are also served by Sister laudem gloriae. We have also held

marriage retreats and women’s retreats which include other members of our

community as speakers such as Sister anne Marie Walsh, Sister Miriam James

heidland and Dr. Joseph Biberstein.

Between the retreat Center and the perpetual adoration Chapel, our

motto “a place of silence, a place of prayer, a place of peace” is realized on

a daily basis.

olCC opened a bookstore in 2011 and now has a coffee shop named

“Café Veritas.” as a team serving the retreats, bookstore and adoration cha-

pel, we are also able to witness our charism of serving in ecclesial Family

teams. it is a joy to have an ecclesial Family team at this mission—priests,

sisters, brothers, and laity serving together a common mission!

Approximately 300 people (half of these for the first time) per week

participate in one form or another in the life at olCC through retreats, ado-

ration, Masses or just want to come and see what’s under the blue dome. it

is a blessing to show people the adoration Chapel, help a group have a good

retreat by making sure their needs are met, and help folks find the right book

or gift in the bookstore. another tremendous blessing is praying with the

team at midday prayers, attending daily Mass, being nourished through our

community, celebrating birthdays or gathering with the larger Solt commu-

nity for the assembly or monthly family days. god is so good!

Be sure to visit our website, “like us” on Facebook at “our lady of

Corpus Christi and Café Veritas” or sign up for a retreat at www.

deepprayer.org. We would love to meet you and show you what’s under

the blue dome!


doMe fest bAnquet

Saturday, March 1st

fr. toM showAlter MeMoriAl golf tournAMent

Friday, april 25th

upcomingeventsAt olcc


“Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured by

programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the

grace of the sacraments, is the first means by

which we come to know the Lord’s will for our lives.”

pope benedict Xvi


elizabeth Dietrich, Consecrated

Widow (CW), was honored

on her 90th birthday recently

celebrated by family and friends.

Elizabeth’s over fifty years of service

to the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese

was acknowledged by Bishop rob-

ert Finn. elizabeth served as a leader

of the Diocesan Council of Catholic

Women in Kansas City. She also led

the rosary altar Society, the tab-

ernacle Society, and the Blue army,

which brought the statue of our

lady of Fatima to different parishes

throughout the diocese each first

Saturday. She also has led many dif-

ferent groups on pilgrimages to our

lady’s Shrines throughout the nation.

After five years of temporary

promises, elizabeth recently made

her perpetual promises as a conse-

crated widow of Solt. her service

now is one of intense prayer.

the Consecrated Widows of

Solt, which began in 2000, now has

fifty-three members with another

seven in formation.

Father Flanagan’s (Solt Found-

er) vision of this vocation has been

developed and formed by his writ-

consecrated widowslauded byBishop Finn


The Consecrated Widows which began in 2000, now has

fifty-three members with another seven in formation.

nicolinA sullivAn

and her late husband dr. george sullivan, have been members of

solt since nearly the foundation of solt in 1958. nikki continues

to serve through her leadership of the consecrated widows.

ings. he has written a Consecrated

Widow Manual, which contain the

rules of formation and his teach-

ings. CW’s make promises to Jesus

through Mary of poverty, chastity

and obedience for one year, and af-

ter five years, may make perpetual

promises. the main work of the Solt

CW’s is to become holy, live a simple

life, remain chaste and pray for fam-

ily and friends. their prayers are very

powerful and they are an example

to many. the CW’s have a special

apostolate to abandoned women

of the world who have no one to

pray for them. Saint Josephine Bakh-

ita, whose feast day is February 8th,

is the patron saint for the Conse-

crated Widows.

Contact nicolina Sullivan at (816)

531-0244 for more information about

the Consecrated Widows of Solt.


We arrived

in tama-

le, ghana

in September 2012, tired

but excited to start our

new missionary work in

the archdiocese of ta-

male. Fortunately, for

us the archdiocese of

tamale has provided a

beautiful convent to stay in,

which has quickly become

a place to call home. it con-

sists of two buildings, one

serving as a main house

with a chapel, and the oth-

er as sleeping quarters. this

home is surrounded by lo-

cal fruit trees and vegetables which

provide food for the community.

Being invited by Most rev. philip

naameh, our lady’s priests were the

first to arrive in Tamale in Septem-

ber 2011. the church that they were

given to serve did not have a its own

build-

ing, so the priests

said Mass at the pastoral center.

a year later, two Solt Sisters who

are native ghanaians joined the

priests and one year later a third

sister followed.

over the last few years the pa-

rishioners have built a church called

serving the people in Ghana


St. teresa’s. this parish is a thriv-

ing church, as are most churches in

tamale. We serve the university stu-

dents, in great number. they make

up more than half our parish, are

involved in many groups and run

many activities themselves. Due to

the numerous actives that go on

in this parish, the church serves as

a multi-purpose building which our

enthusiastic youth have single hand-

edly taken over. they use the church

for their spiritual activities and be-

cause of this we are now raising

money to build a bigger church, and

the existing church will become a

Being a culture built on relationships,

it is easy to find oneself smothered with love and

affection everywhere you turn.

serving the people in Ghana


[The university students] use the church for their

spiritual activities and because of this we are

now raising money to build a bigger church, and the

existing church will become a parish hall.

sr. rejoice MAry enyonAM hoedoAfiA

professed her first vows with solt in 2009.

parish hall. thanks be to god! along with performing their normal priestly

duties, our Solt priests act as spiritual directors for many students as well as

the seminarians. last year we prepared 68 candidates for baptism and at the

moment we are preparing 72 more. We offer spiritual direction to the legion

of Mary group by giving weekly reflections on the bible and other topics for

their spiritual growth. We serve the other small faith groups in the parish

whenever there is a need. the church has a small school attached to it where

the sisters give religious instructions once a week. St. theresa’s parishioners

quickly embraced our little Solt family.

as well as serving our parish, the Solt sisters help to teach in others

schools, give counseling services to children in the a government orphanage

and help archbishop naameh when needed. the team here spends much

time truly living out our Solt identity by building beautiful friendships with

the people. Being a culture built on relationships, it is easy to find oneself

smothered with love and affection everywhere you turn. Spending time with

the people has led many young women to enquire about our community. at

this time we have three women here who have come to see what life is all

about as a Solt sister. in addition to serving in the parish, the sisters work

will extend to formation of women discerning religious life.


“Indeed I count everything

as loss because of the

surpassing worth of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord.”

phil 3:8


V irgin Mother of good

Counsel parish in hythe

is situated in Kent on the

South-east coast of england. this

county was where St. augustine,

sent by pope St. gregory the great

in 596 a.D., came to evangelise the

anglo-Saxon pagan peoples. Solt

began to serve here in 1997 when

Father Jean hart was assigned as

parish priest and assisted by Fa-

ther robert Copsey. Since then

we have had Father Fred alexan-

der as head of the parish assisted

by other Solt priests. two Solt

members died here while serving,

Father richard Merrick and more

recently Brother rick Bunch. Be-

sides the main church in hythe we

have three mission churches in the

Marshes: St Monica’s in Dymchurch;

St augustine’s in littlestone; and St

Virgin Mother Good Counsel

i n hy the , k ent, engl And

of


Martin of tours in lydd. a team of several Solt priests and sisters pray

and minister together to these areas of england. the parish is also as-

sisted by a married deacon, rev. ray partridge and his wife elizabeth, and

two retired diocesan priests, Monsignor Klyberg and Canon Cronin. Below

are descriptions of the Solt members currently serving and their particu-

lar ministries.

Father avelino Bermundo is the head of the parish and serves in the

administration of the parish as well as pastoral activities and the cele-

bration of the sacraments. Father avelino

works with

many groups, such as the Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM). on sev-

eral occasions he has led the parishioners on pilgrimages to various holy

shrines in the United Kingdom and abroad. he is involved in remembrance

Sister Trinity sees her struggles with

cancer as a gift from God that unites her to His

Pascal Mystery and offers the suffering for

the conversion of England and the work of SOLT.


Masses, Mass for the housebound, carol services and concerts. Father has

also founded a Filipino presence in the parish with a monthly Mass and

meal, and many other creative activities throughout the year, such as pro-

cessions and programs, which have brought great joy to the parish.

Father Sam Medley has a varied apostolate inside and outside of the

parish. he began a youth group and often works with Youth 2000. he

holds individual rCia classes for converts and has done much to re-es-

tablish a good relationship with nearby St augustine’s primary school, in

which he serves regularly. additionally, Father Sam travels all over england

and europe to give talks on theology of the Body, most recently going to

the Ukraine. he provides human formation classes for the archdiocese

at the Vocation Centre for Seminarians. he also helps with retreats of

various kinds and has an effective ecumen-

ical outreach.

Father robert Copsey

knows the parishioners very well and maintains close

relationships with them. he is especially treasured for his wonderful work

with the sick and the dying. Father robert has been able to reach many

lapsed Catholics through this ministry and has brought quite a number


sr. MAry of the trinity vAughAn

is from manchester, england and will be celebrating

her 35th profession of vows on july 16th.

back to the Church. Besides helping with administering the sacraments,

Father robert provides a tridentine rite latin Mass every Friday.

Sister Maria Caritas Wendt is the newest member of team, having ar-

rived in March 2013. Sister Caritas has been a great blessing to our team

as she shares her wide experience of catechesis, youth ministry work and

music ministry. She is supportive, intensely interested in england and serv-

ing with her whole heart.

Sister Mary of the trinity Vaughan arrived in hythe in 2012 after seven

years of service in Wales. the most important reality for her is and has

always been the conversion of her fellow countrymen back to the faith.

Following the call of the new evangelisation, Sisters trinity and Caritas

go door to door visiting all the parishioners to bring them faith shar-

ing, prayer and the Word of god. it has become increasingly fruitful with

wonderful encounters as they try to bring Jesus to them. Sister trinity

also helps with First Holy Communion and Confirmation classes, as well

as some retreats and talks outside of the parish for various groups. Sister

trinity sees her struggles with cancer as a gift from god that unites her to

his pascal Mystery and offers the suffering for the conversion of england

and the work of Solt.

Father Robert Copsey has been able to reach many

lapsed Catholics through this ministry

[to the sick and dying] and has brought quite a

number back to the Church.

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SOLT Mission Magazine Spring 2014