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Men of Signum Crucis, this newsletter comes to you as we begin the holiest
week of the year.
May God bless each of you to finish Lent on the highest note possible. It’s time to redouble our efforts as we contemplate the awesome gift given to us–redemption earned by Jesus on the cross.
Did I mention that our redemption is undeserved–that we, through no merits of
our own, receive this gift? Nothing we have ever done or ever do will justify this
awesome gift given to us. It’s pure Gift, entirely out of God’s goodness to us who are made in his image and likeness. From the first days of creation, it was apparent that God created us to be with him forever, and it took sending his Son to earth in the fullness of time to endure the hardships of human existence and the most horrendous form of death ever known to man to restore our chance to be with him for eternity.
I think that’s Love–because, as St. John tells us in 1 John 4: 7-12 and John 3:16,
God is Love.
So, I encourage each of you to take this week most seriously and re-commit to
some form(s) of suffering or penance and thereby unite your suffering to that of Christ.
It’s what real men do.
By doing these types of things, we are able to become more Christ-like, and as
Father Anthony Viviano told us in his words of encouragement during our October 2022
gathering, strong men are protectors and we protect our wives, family, friends, and all
those around us from the errors of the culture. To do this, we have to be strong (that is,
Christ-like).
So, this week, let’s strive to become more Christ-like for others, by enduring any
suffering we encounter without complaint, and consciously unite that occurrence to the
suffering that Jesus endured for each of us for our families and friends.
I hope that you will have the opportunity to attend Mass on Holy Thursday, the
day that we celebrate Jesus’s gift of the Eucharist and the Priesthood. If you have
never been, I hope you can attend this year–it’s a beautiful celebration. Good Friday is
the only day in the Church year when the Holy Mass is not celebrated–but the service
on Good Friday is the most reverent service you will ever attend. I hope you are making
plans to attend that service as well.
Attending Mass on Holy Thursday and the Good Friday service is what really
sets up the highlight of the year, Easter Sunday Mass. Whether I go to the Easter Vigil
or the Mass on Sunday, it’s the highlight of the year for me. It is the feast of feasts.
And, we will feast the entire rest of the week. Each day during the week after
Easter is a celebration of Easter (during the Octave). The scripture at those weekday
Masses will knock your socks off–I hope you will be able to attend Mass as often as
possible during Easter week.
Let us all Fast well this week, so we can Feast well next week (and beyond).
And, after all that, I am really looking forward to seeing you at our gathering on
April 19, when we will open up Acts 2:42 and hear from four men of our community how
we Men of Signum Crucis can become the disciples we are called to be. I personally
cannot wait to learn from these four men.
I hope to see you at Helias on April 19. For those who wish to arrive early for the
devotion of the Most Holy Rosary, the Rosary will begin at 6:00 p.m. sharp and will
conclude at approximately 6:20. Our official start of the evening, as always, will be at
6:30 p.m. After our Study of Acts 2:42, we will migrate to the Commons for fraternity
there. As always, we will conclude our evening with the Litany of St. Joseph (our Patron
Saint) at 7:55 p.m.
A few other announcement/reminders:
I wanted to pass along to you a suggestion made by Larry Jansen to the Planning Group that I think is very appropriate for all Men of Signum Crucis. A Novena to the Divine Mercy begins on Good Friday and concludes on Divine Mercy Sunday (now always the Sunday after Easter). Here is a link to the Novena. I hope that each of you will consider this devotion leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks, Larry, for bringing this to our attention.
As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Dr. Ray Guarendi, otherwise known in Catholic circles as the host of the Catholic Radio show, “The Doctor Is In,” will be the keynote speaker at the 10th Annual Catholic Radio Mass and Barbeque Fundraiser, to be held at Helias in the Chapel and Commons on Saturday, July 8. I and some other members of the Men of Signum Crucis Planning Group (and some of you) have been instrumental in planning this annual event over the past ten years. If you have not listened to Dr. Ray before, you can get a load of his dry wit Monday through Friday at noon on either 88.1 FM (St. Thomas/Jefferson City) or 94.7 FM (Columbia). I hope you will mark your calendars now for this one-of-a-kind experience here in Jefferson City.
Also, to repeat one of the goals I have challenged you with in our previous newsletters, I hope that each of you will invite at least one new man from your family or circle of friends to the Men of Signum Crucis gatherings each month. It is very obvious to me that you men are bringing other men with you each time–we have new men joining our ranks each time we gather. We are now up to 140 members of the Men of Signum Crucis. No doubt there are still hundreds of men waiting to be asked to join our circle, so please continue to share the “wealth” of the Men of Signum Crucis with other men in your circle. Remember that men do not have to be Catholic to be a member of our fraternity.
Thank you for your fidelity to this fraternity of Men of Signum Crucis.
St. Joseph, Foster Father of the Son of God, and patron saint of the Men of Signum
Crucis, pray for us.
In hoc signo, vinces,
Mark Rehagen
P. S. In hoc signo, vinces: https://veterumsapientia.org/in-hoc-signo-vinces/
Future Gatherings:
April 19, 2023 (a great way to learn about the vitality of the early Church)
May 17, 2023 (a great way to kick off a summer of faith)
June 21, 2023 (a great way to share fraternity on the longest day of the year)
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