Dear Koinonia Community,
Welcome back to the glorious world of St. John's at the Univeristy of Illinois. The Serivce Team and I hope you all had great, relaxing summers and are ready to get back into the hustle and bustle of school life. We pray that you are able to have a wonderful year in school, in church, and in serving the Lord and others, in all the things that St. John's offers. Always remember that we are here to serve you and that your questions, comments, and suggestions will not be turned away. So feel free to approach any one of us throughout the course of the year with your needs.
A goal of this year will be for community building through personal spiritual development (sound familiar Energizer 3 participants?). There will be opportunities daily for spiritual growth at St. John's, e.g., daily mass, prayer group, bible study, discussion groups, Eucharistic Adoration and many others. The community needs commitment from all of its members to personal growth to remain strong and able to stand against the temptation of those things that draw us away from God.
This year we will also focus on the community by having more Go meetings and fostering the development of small groups, both of which provide strong means of building each other up while deepening our own spirituality. I hope that you all find your calling this year and that the Lord blesses you abundantly with his Grace. United we stand strong together and following Christ Jesus and proclaiming His Truth we will "conquer" the world. Praise the Lord!
Through Jesus and Mary,
Amar Patel
Service Team Leader
Dear Fellow Koinonians,
The grace of God and peace be among you all!
Greetings from Champaign-Urbana! As you probably know, summer has drawn to a rapid close, and the fall semester here is well underway. Plans for NFK #44 and #45 are already in motion. I'd like to take a moment, however, to reflect back on this past summer's Energizer 3 retreat. For those of you who were able to attend, you know what an incredible experience it was. For those of you who culd not be with us at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein that last weekend of July, I'd like to share with you some reflections on the power of the weekend.
We began Friday evening with a very casual reunion as travelers trickled into the seminary with their bags and pillows. We shared in some praise and worship, and then the wise people stumbled off to bed in preparation for the complete day that was to come!
The theme of Saturday was to focus on increasing our individual spirituality in order to build and strengthen the community at large. Thus, the team's goal was to enable the participants to experience different forms of prayer that can strengthen our individual spirituality: the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross, Scripture, Gregorian Chant, and the Office. Silence was encouraged during the day and personal time was allotted for the participants to spend alone with God as a means of keeping the focus on our individual spirituality.
Fr. Joe had given a wonderful meditation on the face of Jesus, and afterwards, we wre challenged to seek the face of God anywhere on the grounds that we felt called to go. It was powerful to see how people were drawn all over--to the chapel, Marytown (where Eucharistic Adoration took place), the Stations of the Cross, and yet others found a welcoming patch of grass by the lake or went for a peaceful walk through the woodland.
Considering the goal of the weekend, Energizer 3 proved to be a wonderful success. I think I can safely speak for everyone, based on what they shared at mass, when I say that the Lord and His powerful Spirit had filled the seminary that weekend. The eprsonal testimonies to this given during the homily at the concluding mass were truly incredible and inspiring. People were able to feel God's presence and Spirit in their lives in a way they hadn't for a while. Some found God in the birds, the lake, the deer, and the trees. Others saw His presence in the Blessed Sacrament and the people around them.
Through the prayer experiences, we were able to become more in touch with our Lord, and as a result, our eyes were opened to His presence all around us. In fact, a greater challenge that day would have been to try NOT to find the face of Jesus! This weekend is a perfect testimony to the power of prayer in our lives, and in our spirituality. We can only grow in our relationship with our Lord if we spend time with Him. And the more time we spend with Him, the harder it will become to be separated from Him in all aspects of our life. Where is God in your life now? How is He reaching out to you? Let us meet Him halfway.
I wish you all a wonderful year filled with peace and love. May God bless you and keep you safe in His embrace.
Yours in Christ,
Sandy Labouvie
NFK #41, #43
Dear Community,
I hope this letter finds you content with, yet challenged by, your journey with the Lord. "I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through Him who empowers me." (Philippians 4:12,13) I pray that the Lord continues to give us the strength to accomplish His will in our lives and the humility to accept it.
Once again God has beautifully shown His love in Koinonia by calling together a wonderfully spirited team for NFK 44. Without further ado, they are:
Matt Burch Colin Duffield
Katherine Ewers Fr. Joseph T. Hogan
Sherry Ipri Jenni Johnson
Nicole Kilcoin Andrea Kish
Lieschen Llerena Mike Meade
Kevin Nelson Pete Ohotnicky
Cheri Roller Mary Seremak
Deanna Simmet Tom Vasiliauskas
Please PRAY for all of us (especially the participants!!) as we continue to prepare for the rapidly approaching weekend of October 7-9, 1994. Write Wheat Letters and send them to Fr. Joe Hogan at 604 E Armory, Champaign 61820 or Deanna Simmet or me at 709 W Green St, Apt B8, Urbana 61801. Also, do not forget about the reunion. Attend 5:00 Mass on Saturday, Oct. 7, and proceed to the Staff House for dinner. Then come join us in Pesotum, Illinois for yet another great gathering of Koinonians.
Another way to help us out is to pray at Chapel Cover. It will be from 5:00 p.m. Friday until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Smith or Jen White.
Thank you so much for being so supportive and loving. Your prayers and your wheat are greatly appreciated.
Peace and love,
Becky Digenan
Dear Koinonia Community,
Just two points. First, a question, "How is the Koinonia challenge going? Second, a true story, that will only make sense if you read (pray) Mark 4:26-34. Please take your time; I will wait....
Sarah was only a little girl when her family moved to Normal (as in Illinois). She was in the third grade and every day the bus would pick her up, like it did all the other kids, and drop her off. In her case, when the bus came back from school in the afternoon, her brother was waiting for her by the fence that surrounded the house. He was a year or so older than Sarah, but he didn't go to school.
Some of the other students on the bus used to look for him and when they saw him they would laugh. They laughed at him because somehow they recognized that he was different. They didn't know why, and the kids on the bus didn't understand, so they laughed.
When Sarah got off the bus, her brother would jump up and run to meet her. and to the other students' surprise, Sarah didn't seem at all embarassed, though she knew behind her the kids on the bus were having a great time.
Sarah was only a little girl, of course, but she had learned a very human lesson of love. And it took time, the rest of the school year, for the others to learn, but toward the end, the other students gradually seemed to understand a bit more and their mocking behavior trailed off. Some of the mroe perceptive children felt that somehow it was not right, and their example affected some fo the others. Therefore they began to show a little kindness and compassion.
Sarah rode that bus for many years, until finally her family moved away. The image of those daily visits of Sarah embracing her brother and the evolving reaction of the kids on the bus remained in the memories of those students for a long time...
Do you suppose that the memory of Sarah and her borhter influenced those school children, now grown to adulthood, to be more sensitive and compassionate? I wonder what they have taught their children.
What did Jesus say? He said that the reign of God, that is, the actions and presence of God, is what? It is like a seed. You hardly know it's there. It's very tiny. It's imperceptible. But it's there and it grows nevertheless.
Years gone by, don't you think the kids of Sarah's bus received the tiniest of seeds? So much so that you have a bus load of adults, now, who are more compassionate and sensitive to those who are different? Don't you think that the seeds planted will sprout into deeds that will make a difference? That's what life is about, what the reign of God is about.
We stand at the beginning of another year, with a fist full of seeds, a fist full of possibilities. That seed is the kindness we do, the worship we share in, the seed is being sensitive, the seed is the "Koinonia challenge."
Love,
Fr. Joe
"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
Henry D. Thoreau
Jesus uses the analogy of the seed many times in the gospels (cf Mark 4:24-32, Luke 8:5-15). We read about and sing about seeds and sowing all the time. But how often do we think about how miraculous a seed really is? Into the tiniest of seeds is packed enough information to describe an extremely complex organism. This is just one way in which God manifests his glory in the world around us. Yet, too often, we are too busy to notice. Part of the Koinonia Challenge that Fr. Joe mentioned earlier is becoming aware of God's presence. Look around, then read God's word, then look around again. The world might take on a whole new light.
The Koinonia Challenge, in the words of Father Joe:
"Try to be faithful to at least 15 or 20 minutes daily of being alone with God. Try to make room for this at a regular time each day. God wants time to be alone with each of us and communicate with us; and what God wants from us God deserves."
Just a couple of quickies. First, if you've moved recently, please let Beth Haken know your new address, if you haven't done so already. The change of address form is below. Second, if you have any comments on, or contributions to, the newsletter, please write to me at 805 E Oakland, #108, Urbana, or send email to hovland@cs.uiuc.edu.
May the Love that is Christ be with you always,
Paul Hovland
"Why must we give ourselves fully to God? Because God has given himself to us. If God, who owes nothing to us, is ready to impart to us no less than that, shall we answer with just a fraction of ourselves?
One thing Jesus asks of me: that I lean on him; that in him and only in him I put complete trust; that I surrender myself to him unreservedly. Even when all goes wrong and I feel as if I am a ship without a compass, I must give myself completely to him. I must not attempt to control God's action; I must not count the stages in the journey he would have me make. I must not desire a clear perception of my advance upon the road, must not know precisely where I am upon the way of holiness. I ask God to make a saint of me; yet I must leave to him the choice of the saintliness itself and still more the means which leads to it."
Mother Teresa
Total Surrender
23 Go Meeting (7:00 pm in Social Hall)
24 Empty Tomb Work Day
28 K-Mass
7-9 NFK #44
12 K-Mass
14 Go Meeting
21 Quarter-Rest Coffeehouse
28 Go Meeting
29 Empty Tomb Work Day
4-6 NFK #45
9 K-Mass
11 Go Meeting
18 Quarter-Rest Coffeehouse
19 Empty Tomb Work Day