Florida Catholic | Archdiocese of Miami News Briefs

August 2008

Cuban patroness to be honored

Posted: 08.26.08

Archbishop John C. Favalora will preside at the annual celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba, which will take place Monday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m., at the Bank United Center on the campus of the University of Miami.

Also in attendance will be retired Auxiliary Bishop Agustín Román and Auxiliary Bishop John Noonan. The homily will be preached by Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of the Diocese of Orlando, a former priest and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami.

For more information, call the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, 305-854-2404.

Learn Scripture from top experts

Posted: 08.26.08

Are you interested in the Bible? Would you like to learn about its characters, the strange and ancient world that produced these texts, and study with some of the premier Catholic biblical scholars alive today?

The Catholic Biblical Scholar Series offered by St. Thomas University’s School of Theology and Ministry allows participants to do just that and receive a certificate upon completing the program.

The program consists of two units per semester, each addressing an area in biblical studies for six weeks. Participants meet as a learning community Monday evenings. The unit concludes with a Friday evening presentation by a noted biblical scholar and a Saturday roundtable with the scholar.

The dates, topics and lecturers are: Aug. 18-Oct. 18, Luke/Acts, taught by Robert O’Toole of the Gregorian University; Oct. 25-Dec. 13, John, taught by Francisco Lozada Jr. of Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University; Jan. 5-Feb. 23, 2009, Christology, taught by Father Frank J. Matera of The Catholic University of America; and March 2-May 4, 2009, women of the New Testament, taught by Dominican Sister Barbara E. Reid of the Catholic Theological Union.

Their Friday night lectures — Oct. 10, Dec. 5, Feb. 20, 2009 and May 1, 2009 — are free and open to the public. Cost of the certificate program is $100 per semester, with one-time registration fee of $30. To register, call 305-628-6762 or 954-434-7676.

Women make Bible come alive

Posted: 08.26.08

“Blessed Women of the Bible,” a musical written by Alice Johnson of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, is now available for viewing in parishes throughout the archdiocese.

The play, first performed at the council’s 50th anniversary convention in May, features women from Christ the King Parish in Perrine portraying women from both the Old and New Testaments who sing, dance and speak from their hearts.

Parishes are invited to witness a performance by calling Johnson at 305-253-4061 or e-mailing alicejohnsonmj@aol.com.

Daughters welcome new members

Posted: 08.26.08

All Catholic women are invited to join the local council of the Daughters of Isabella, an international group of active women dedicated to unity, friendship and charity. The local circle meets the second Monday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in the parish center of the Church of the Little Flower, 2711 Indian Mound Road, Coral Gables.

“We come together as a sisterhood to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church, bringing spiritual benefits to our members and contributing to the common good of humanity,” said Florence Birch, regent of the local council, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Circle 884.

Birch recently attended the Daughters of Isabella biannual international conference in St. Louis. For information on joining the group, call 305-262-0717.

Web site wins award

Posted: 08.26.08

Catholic Health Services of the archdiocese has received a merit award for its Web site from the Healthcare Marketing Report, the leading publication in the field. The 25th annual Healthcare Advertising Awards received a record number of more than 4,400 entries this year. The entries were judged on creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design and overall impact. The winning site is www.catholichealthservices.org.

Movements mark jubilee

Posted: 08.14.08

Members of the archdiocese’s ecclesial movements and new communities are invited to take part in a trilingual celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Miami.

The Mass, to be celebrated by Archbishop John C. Favalora and Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Estévez, will take place Saturday, Aug. 23, 11 a.m. at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 N.W. Second Ave., Miami.

Bishop Estévez also will celebrate a “sending day” Saturday, Sept. 20, for members of the apostolic movements to continue their work as missionaries and apostles in the world. The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude with a Mass at 4 p.m. It will be held in the Salon Felix Varela located on the grounds of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, 3609 S. Miami Ave., Miami.

‘Prayer and life’ workshops begin

Posted: 08.14.08

Prayer and Life workshops, based on the spiritual writings of Franciscan Father Ignacio Larrañaga, will begin this month in various parishes in the archdiocese.

Father Larrañaga has described these 14-week-long workshops as “a method of new evangelization in which one exercises friendship with the Lord, a radical process of purification and pacification takes place, and one undertakes the path to holiness, imitating Christ.”

Prayer and Life workshops will begin Monday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m., at Good Shepherd, 14187 S.W. 72 St., Miami; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 8:15 p.m., at Our Lady of Lourdes, 11291 S.W. 142 Ave., Miami; and Thursday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m., at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, 9500 S.W. 184 St., Cutler Bay.

For more information, contact local coordinator Bill Bower at 786-489-7451.

‘Spirit’-filled weekend set

Posted: 08.14.08

“The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me” is the theme of this year’s Miami Catholic Charismatic conference, an annual event sponsored by the archdiocese’s Catholic Charismatic Services.

The conference will begin Friday evening, Sept. 19, and conclude at 11 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 21, with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop John C. Favalora. The weekend will feature inspired teachings, uplifting music, good fellowship and a service for those in need of physical, spiritual or mental healing.

The conference will take place at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel, 1870 Griffin Road, Dania Beach, which is offering a special room rate until Aug. 28.

Preregistration is preferred. Admission prices are $35 for adults, $50 for couples. At the door the price will be $40 for adults and $55 for couples. Teenagers are admitted free.

To purchase tickets in advance, call Catholic Charismatic Services at 954-961-1856 or visit the office at 3600 S.W. 32 Blvd., Hollywood. Hotel reservations may be made by calling 954-920-3300.

For more information, call Jim Horvath at 954-961-1856.

Heartbeat readies second clinic

Posted: 08.14.08

Just one year after opening its first clinic in Hialeah, Heartbeat of Miami is getting ready to open a second facility where women considering abortion can see ultrasound pictures of their unborn babies.

The second Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic will be at 12060 N.W. Seventh Ave., Miami. At 2,025 square feet, it will have double the space of the Hialeah clinic, which is at 380 W. 49 St.

Since its opening July 9, 2007, the Hialeah clinic has seen more than 900 women, and 125 babies have been born thanks to its ministry.

“We are now seeing an average of 10 women a day,” said Marta Avila, president of Heartbeat’s Miami office. “Statistics show that 89 percent of the women who see their baby on the ultrasound screen choose life for their baby.”

The Hialeah clinic also offers two parenting preparation classes a week for new moms.

Heartbeat clinics are a joint effort of the archdiocese’s Respect Life Ministry and local Christian churches. They rely for support on the donations of local Catholic parishes, Christian churches and individuals.

Heartbeat’s goal is to counteract the work of 37 abortion businesses in the Miami-Dade County area by opening pro-life clinics in the neediest neighborhoods of Hialeah, North Dade and Little Havana.

In order to open, the North Dade clinic needs donations of furniture for a large lobby, three counseling rooms, one examining room and one large classroom, as well as workers to lay the floor in the counseling rooms and make kitchen cabinets and a counter for the reception area.

Anyone interested in helping should call 305-863-2155 or go to www.heartbeatofmiami.org.

Local TEC leaders attend conference

Posted: 08.14.08

Luke Rissmiller, chairman of the Archdiocesan Young Adult Council, and Juliana Diaz, pastoral associate at San Isidro Parish in Pompano Beach, were honored with this year’s Spirit of TEC Award for outstanding service to the TEC (To Encounter Christ) movement in the Archdiocese of Miami. TEC is a spiritual movement for young adults between the ages of 18 and 35.

Rissmiller chairs the Miami TEC council. The awards were presented at the annual TEC Congress held in Wichita, Kansas, where Rissmiller was one of the keynote speakers. Deacon Richard Venezia, spiritual director of the local TEC movement and coordinator of TEC for U.S. Region XIV, also attended the conference.

The first TEC in the Archdiocese of Miami was held in February 2006. The next retreat will take place Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at the Archdiocesan Youth Center, 3333 S. Miami Ave., Miami. Cost is $95, which includes overnight accommodations and meals. For more information, go to www.miamitec.org or call 305-664-0086.

Legion of Mary marks 50th

Posted: 07.28.08

The Legion of Mary in the Archdiocese of Miami will mark its 50th anniversary with a Mass Saturday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m., at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 Pope John Paul II Ave. (Northwest Second Avenue), Miami. The Mass will be followed by a social hour. All active and auxiliary members are invited. For information, call 305-667-8142.

Jubilee gala set for October

Posted: 07.28.08

The Archdiocese of Miami will host its 50th anniversary Jubilee Gala on Saturday, Oct. 18, beginning at 7 p.m., at the newly rebuilt Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

During the gala, Archbishop John C. Favalora will present the Jubilee Honor to City Furniture president Keith Koenig, a member of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Plantation. The gala will be chaired by Coral Gables resident Bunny Bastian, a member of Epiphany Parish in Miami. Both are well known for their charitable works on behalf of the Catholic Church and the community.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit Catholic Charities and Catholic Health Services of the Archdiocese of Miami. Tickets are $625 per person. Sponsorships are available at the $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000 levels.

For more information, contact Martha Velasquez at 305-762-1051.

Chorbishop honored

Posted: 07.28.08

On Sunday, June 29, the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul, Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Miami hosted a celebration for Chorbishop Joseph Abi-Nader, who is marking the 60th anniversary of his priesthood.

Hundreds of parishioners, friends and family attended the Divine Liturgy, at which Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron, Brooklyn, N.Y., presided. Concelebrants included Chorbishop Abi-Nader; Chorbishop Michael Thomas, vicar general of the Eparchy of St. Maron; and Father Elie Mikhael, pastor of Our Lady of Lebanon.

In his sermon, Chorbishop Abi-Nader reflected on how the life and mission of St. Paul the Apostle has helped guide his own life as a priest. He argued that each and every person has the ability to be an apostle of Christ, pointing out that “Christ did not go to the universities and places of higher learning to find his apostles. … He went after ordinary fishermen.”

Afterward, Bishop Mansour thanked Chorbishop Abi-Nader for his role in building the Maronite faith in America.

Chorbishop Abi-Nader was born in the U.S. in 1921, but was raised in Abdelly-Batroun, Lebanon. He earned a degree in theology at St. Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon, and was ordained a priest June 28, 1948.

He served the Maronite church in Atlanta from 1957 to 1967, when he was appointed vice chancellor (and later chancellor) of the Exarchate of St. Maron in the U.S. He was ordained chorbishop in 1975, and in 1978 he founded a national Maronite newspaper, The Challenge, serving as its editor through 1986. (The Challenge is the forerunner to today’s The Maronite Voice.)

After 38 years of dedicated service to the Maronite Catholic Church, Chorbishop Abi-Nader retired in 1986 for health reasons. He currently resides in Lighthouse Point, where he assists at St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church.

New society to help homeless

Posted: 07.28.08

Camillus House has launched the Society of St. Camillus, a new fundraising initiative designed to increase community support for the health care services provided to persons who are homeless by Camillus Health Concern.

The new society, named in honor of St. Camillus de Lellis, a Catholic patron saint of the sick, aims to unite individuals and organizations with a passion and interest in improving the overall health and well-being of the poor and homeless in the Greater Miami area.

Camillus Health Concern, which was established in 1984 by Brother Paul Johnson and Dr. Jose Pedro Greer Jr., is a federally qualified health center for the homeless. Originally a medical outreach initiative, Camillus Health Concern now provides adult primary health services, women’s preventive health services, pediatric care, dental care and a number of specialized services, including podiatry and mental health care, to more than 5,000 men, women and children each year.

For more information on the Society of St. Camillus, call Jerry Cohen at 305-374-1065, ext. 201.

Haitian youths to rally for Jesus

Posted: 07.22.08

The second annual youth rally for Haitian Catholic young people will take place Saturday, Aug. 2, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at Msgr. Edward Pace High School, 15600 N.W. 32 Ave., Miami Gardens.

Participants will include young people from different churches in the Haitian community and three young, dynamic priests who seek to provide an alternative to the overwhelming violence affecting society.

About 500 young people from Broward County to Homestead attended a similar rally last year at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. The theme of this year’s rally is “With Jesus, You Will Shine.”

For information, call 786–704–5145 or e–mail jjsouffrant@yahoo.com.

RETURN TO TOP | RETURN TO ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI FRONT PAGE