Lent 2019

"No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great."

- St. John Chrysostom

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First Sunday of Lent

God, you loved the world so much that you embraced it in all its suffering in your beloved Son Jesus Christ, who sought the way of the cross that he might come to Easter and offer us the way back to you.

We thank you for this space apart, not just on this Sunday morning but in the weeks that are to come – space to become more receptive

to the incredible promise of new life: life to challenge all that is deathly in our world,

life to challenge all that is dull in our hearts....

- Rev. Dr Douglas Galbraith

Starters for Sunday

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Survey Monkey

The AUSCP sent out a brief survey with a few questions about the name of the AUSCP. Please take the time to answer and give your opinion and ideas.

Deadline is March 22nd.

Thank you!

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Registration Links for 2019 Assembly & hotel are at:

AUSCP - HOME 

2019 Assembly Schedule

Links to 2018 Assembly Presentations: 

Katarina Schuth 

Bishop R. McElroy

Richard Rohr

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Invitation to Become "Friends" of AUSCP

The AUSCP Friends Group now has 168 members. Please take time to invite your friends to join us!  

The majority of those who have become Friends have done so because of a personal invitation from an AUSCP member.

If you would like a flyer with the information on AUSCP Friends to print out or to email to your friends, send a request to: office@uscatholicpriests.org

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Help us continue the important and critical work of the AUSCP with your financial assistance!

You can click below to donate.

Thank you!

Parish Tithing

If your parish tithes its Sunday collection and sends a monthly donation to various places please consider putting the AUSCP on the list of recipients.  Thanks! 

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If you received a reminder about your annual dues, please renew by clicking on the BECOME A MEMBER button below, or send a check to:

 AUSCP

200 St. Francis Avenue, Tiffin, OH 44883-3458

872-205-5862

Consider setting up an auto-renewal on your bank account.

For more information, visit the AUSCP website at: 

AUSCP - HOME 

If you have a problem with your credit card being accepted online, call PayPal at 888-215-5506. When asked to name your problem, say “credit card denied.”

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To access the latest information on immigration reform and Action Alerts, click on the JFI logo below:

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To access information on care of creation and Laudato Si', click below:

Catholic Climate Covenant

Direct link to Homily Resources

Retreat Opportunity

AUSCP member John Vianney Hoover invites clergy to come for a 3-5 day retreat at:

New Creation Monastery

100 Madora St.

Mount Holly, NC 28120

(Near Charlotte Airport)

704-344-0934

Cost:-  $60 per day

The Monastery offers:

Silence, Solitude, and Holy Leisure!

 Lenten Resources 

Catholic Climate Covenant – Lenten Message:

Lent offers us a new opportunity to examine our lifestyles. In his Lenten reflection, Pope Francis puts fasting, praying and almsgiving in a creation care frame. It might be good for all of us to reflect on this:

"Fasting, that is, learning to change our attitude towards others and all of creation, turning away from the temptation to "devour" everything to satisfy our voracity and being ready to suffer for love, which can fill the emptiness of our hearts. Prayer, which teaches us to abandon idolatry and the self-sufficiency of our ego, and to acknowledge our need of the Lord and his mercy. Almsgiving, whereby we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us."

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Websites with Lenten Resources:

Toledo AUSCP Subcommittee - Homily Notes on Social Justice Themes

Loyola Press - Lent

NETWORK - Lenten Resources

Catholic Mobilizing Network - Lenten Reflections

Kairos USA - Worship Resources  

Columban Fathers -  Weekly prayer by email

 Contemplative Dialogue

“Mutual support” is a key element of AUSCP’s Mission. Collective contemplative dialogue facilitates that. It aims to transform our personal and group consciousness so we can attain together a higher kind of wisdom.

Contemplative dialogue generates a WE-wisdom beyond our individual I-wisdom. The heart of contemplation is deep listening to one another and to God. It transforms. Bob Bonnot experienced that In our 2013 Assembly in Seattle. His one-on-one conversation with Mike Gilgannon of Kansas City, under Doug Doussan’s guidance, followed by careful listening to the positive and negative statements made by others to the various proposals being considered, was transforming. On some resolutions proposed, he moved from an initial -3 on the voting spectrum to a +3, and those proposals carried!

Join us in St. Louis and experience the transformation contemplative dialogue might effect in you and in us.

Register now to join us in St. Louis!

Register at: AUSCP - HOME 

Facilitators Needed for 2019 Assembly

If you would be willing to facilitate a Table Discussion Group at the June Assembly, please notify the office at: office@uscatholicpriests.org. We are in need of 25 Assembly ‘Table Facilitators’.  A Facilitator Guide will be provided.

Laudato Si' Conference

A groundbreaking initiative, "Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home," will be held June 27-29, 2019 at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, co-sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant. The event will bring together current and potential U.S. Catholic leaders to convene, equip, and inspire them to more deeply integrate Laudato Si' and its climate change teaching into eight "tracks"  of U.S. Catholic life: Adult Faith Formation; Advocacy; Creation Care Teams in Parishes, Schools, and Religious Orders; Energy Management; Higher Education; Liturgy; School Education; and Young Adult Ministry. Application deadline is April 1; attendance is limited.

Use this link to apply if you are interested in attending.

In Memoriam

Fr. Kenneth Taylor, known to his friends as Fr. K.T., died on December 19, 2018. In addition to his over 40 years of service in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Ken was the longest serving President of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus. He was also the founding Director of the Office of Multicultural Ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and served in that capacity for almost 20 years. His obituary says, "He loved all people and worked tirelessly to connect people to one another. He also loved to laugh (he had a great laugh!) and baseball, especially the San Francisco Giants and the great Willie Mays."

May Ken rest in God's eternal love.

Second Postcard to All Priests

All priests listed in the Kenedy Directory  received a postcard in February to invite them to the June Assembly in St. Louis. This is part of an all out effort to expand the awareness and membership of the AUSCP. Since the best approach is a personal one, please invite at least one of those you know to join the AUSCP and to participate in the June Assembly. A second postcard will be sent in March.

Annual Appeal Monetary Goal Reached!

The Annual Appeal has reached $105,920 from 308 donors. Thank you to all who made this possible! Our goal for this year's appeal was to receive donations from 350 donors for a grand total of $100,000. We are most grateful to all who have donated and still hope to hear from more to reach our goal of 350 donors.

A primary focus for this year is expanding the voice of the AUSCP. Every donation, large or small, helps us toward our goal.

Reduce Your 2019 Assembly Cost by $200 

When you reserve your hotel room for the Assembly, you will see an offer for a Marriott Credit Card. If you have not had one within the last 2 years, you can apply and get a $200 credit on the card IF you make a purchase within 3 months. Then if you register for the Assembly online with your card, $200 of that $495 fee will be covered by your credit! (You also get 2 free nights at a Marriott hotel IF you charge $3000 on your Marriott Card within 3 months of getting it.) Be sure to look at the conditions. If it makes sense to you, AUSCP's 2019 Assembly can be yours at significantly reduced cost.

In Christ with Hope, Joy & all Blessings,  

Bob Bonnot, AUSCP Executive Director

 Amazon Smile

Shop at http://smile.amazon.com/ch/45-3307327 and Amazon donates to Association of Us Catholic Priests. 

Creator Mundi 

A SPECIAL WAY TO SUPPORT AUSCP - VISIT THE CREATOR MUNDI STORE: "Creator Mundi", an exhibitor at the 2018 Assembly, is supporting our mission. The AUSCP receives 12% of your purchase total every time you shop at the Creator Mundi Store, if you use code donateAUSCP  when you place an order. (This is not a discount to the customer.) 

Click here to order.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT!

The 8th ANNUAL AUSCP ASSEMBLY

St. Louis, Missouri: JUNE 24-27, 2019

God's Priestly People: The Baptized & the Ordained

2019 Assembly Schedule

Retreat Leader: Fr. Thomas Rosica,  CSB, Monday, June 24,        9:30 AM-2:30 PM

"Go, Repair & Rebuild My Church: Reclaiming the Priesthood of the Faithful"

Speakers:

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archdiocese of Chicago: "Ordination does Not Annihilate Our Baptism"

Richard Gaillardetz, Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology, Boston College:  "To Form a Priestly People - Toward a Non-Clerical Theology of Priesthood"

Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Rio Grande Valley:   "Today's Leaders in the Church"

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Early Bird Special! 

Register by check by March 31, 2019 and pay $475.

Send check to: AUSCP

200 St. Francis Avenue, Tiffin, OH 44883-3458

 Online cost $495 

Hotel rooms are $115 per night, single or double occupancy, if booked by June 1, 2019. Use the link on the AUSCP website or call 314-423-9700.

(Rate available 3 days before and after Assembly.)

For  links to articles of interest on various topics, visit the AUSCP Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/AUSCPriests

For more information and photos, visit the AUSCP website at: AUSCP - HOME 

 ©2017 Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP)