Young Men at St. John Paul II Newman Center Participate in Men's March
St. John Paul II Newman Center directed by SCTJM
Catholic Diocese of Peoria
April 26, 2014
On Saturday April 26, the young men at the St. John Paul II Catholic Newman Center in the Diocese of Peoria joined our Bishop, Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, at theAnnual Men’s March. The day started with the gift of arriving so early in downtown Peoria that they were able to spend some time with our beloved Bishop and ask him questions about his experiences: “Who are your favorite saints?” -to which the Bishop answered, the Blessed Mother and St Joseph of Cupertino. They continued, “Tell us about the times you met with St John Paul II….” Though the day was a powerful marching, praying and being witnesses on the streets with approximately 800 other men, for the Newman students, the highlight of the day was the time spent with our Bishop.
A few weeks ago the men of the St John Paul II Catholic Newman Center were asked to carry the statue of St Joseph for the march. This was such a powerful confirmation for the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary who minister at the Center, since St Joseph is the role model the Sisters present to the men to form them into authentic manhood. St. Joseph is a man chosen by God and who freely offered himself as a man of service and sacrifice for the Holy Family. He was a man who chose to make of his life an oblation of self and an oblation of his heart for the Child and His Mother. (cf. Redemptoris Custos). In the “St Joseph’s Cave” where the young meet weekly at the Center, we have a quote by our St Joseph statue that reads: “Let us contemplate the joys and sufferings of the heart of St. Joseph, the heart that places the gift of himself totally at the service of the work of salvation. St Joseph is the heart that participated in this plan with the total and complete gift of his self-oblation for the Mother and the Child; and he found in this vocation of oblation, the most sublime and Elevated realization of his humanity and his masculine heart.”(MotherAdela, Foundress).
In addition to striving to form the men unto the heart of St Joseph, giving to them their authentic masculine identity as expressed by St. John Paul, II: “Men are custodians of the feminine heart and of the life that she bears within her.” and “God has assigned a duty to every man, the dignity of every woman,” at the Newman Center, the Sisters likewise strive to form the women into the heart of our Lady. As the young men and women grow in their identity, we encourage them to share their gifts and talents and to live as a Holy Family, the Family of Jesus- the Church. Since this is our daily bread at the Center, you can imagine what joy when the young men at the march were asked not just to carry the statue of St Joseph, but to also carry the statue of our Blessed Mother!
It is the vision of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary at the John Paul II Catholic Newman Center to purposefully reach out to university students on campus and those attending our Sunday Masses with the intention of introducing them to Jesus and His love for them. We minister to form them in the healing love and the saving truths of the Catholic Faith, and we additionally actively form them on how to apply these gifts in their daily lives. We actively nurture a sense of belonging to the Family of Jesus- the Church, that asks of us and forms us on how to function as a Family: with love and responsibility. As this relationship and charity grows we are hopeful that students will grow in their understanding of the sublime gift of our Lord’s Bride- the Church, and desire to give, not just a semester but their lives to actively build His Kingdom on earth. We strive for this to begin across the street on campus with their peers. It is our dream that the John Paul II Catholic Newman Center will truly be a beacon of Light that, reaches out to as many as possible and forms present and future generations to build the Culture of Love and Life in our world.
