What is it about?

Talking of beatification and canonization involves mentioning the saints who have gone before us, those whose life was completely turned towards God, who devoted themselves in active charity towards others so as to respond to the needs of their time. Father Etienne Pernet was one of those.

The procedure for the beatification and canonization of persons who lived and died in the odor of sanctity comprises several stages:

• Servant of God: It is the first stage towards canonization, since 2007 this title carries a meaning given by the bishop to the candidate for beatification and later for canonization.
• Venerable: It is the title given to the Servant of God after the promulgation of the decree on the heroicity of the virtues.
• Beatification: It is the solemn act by which the pope declares that a public cult may be accorded to a Servant of God, according to the forms and in the specified places. It requires the recognition of a miracle obtained through his intercession, that is, an exceptional event due to a special intervention of God that goes beyond the normal course of nature to ease sufferings and demonstrate the love of God.

At the beginning of 2015 the Assumptionists opened a new international community in Colombia, consisting of two Chileans, Fr. Esteban Monsalves and Br. Juan Nuñez, and one Congolese brother, Jean-Aimé Kakule Virivusiga. After settling into their various new responsibilities (Esteban as superior of the community and regional delegate of the provincial for Colombia) and Juan and Jean-Aimé as students in theology, they decided to spread their wings this past Christmas and get involved in a heavy dose of pastoral ministry in rural settings. Juan traveled to our community high in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador where he lent a hand at our parish. Jean-Aimé accompanied a group of missionaries to two farming villages in the mountainous region of Boyacá (central northeast Colombia bordering Venezuela) and Fr. Esteban to northern tip of the country. What follows is a short description of Fr. Esteban’s experience.

"We arrived on December 13 in the state of Riohacha bordering the Caribbean Sea. We thought we would be working along palm-lined beaches with salty breezes. Wrong! In fact we ended up in an arid inland region known as Guajira where the diocese hoped that we could help a fairly underserved population to prepare for Christmas.

The Assumptionist Center in Brighton recently hosted its first “Conversations…” of the semester. The topic “Called to Witness As Who We are: A Conversation for Helpers, Lovers, and Evangelizers,” was addressed by Sam Keffler (a resident at the Center), Jennifer Verkamp and Gabriela Seufferheld who shared their perspectives on evangelization in the field of social work. All three of them are pursuing their Masters in Social Work at Boston College.

The over- riding inspiration was the quote from St. Catherine of Siena, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

In facilitating a very inter- active discussion, the community, residents and guests were first asked to address the ‘Who’ in this process of evangelizing by getting in touch with their own self- identity as persons in relationship with self, others and God. After a few minutes of reflection and sharing, the group moved on to the ‘Why’ and the motivation, the passion, the driving force of their vocation and/ or preparation for a career. What is it that gives us joy? What are our God-given gifts and talents? And lastly, what does the world need of us? In what way can we make a difference, no matter how small? It was most interesting to note that everyone in the room has already chosen a life of some kind of service to others or is preparing to do so in the future.

WORCESTER, MA (January 14, 2016)—This month, two separate groups of Assumption College students will head to Washington, D.C., and Atlanta for hands-on educational experiences.

Twenty Assumption students will travel to Washington, D.C., from January 21-23 to participate in the annual March for Life, an organization whose mission is to provide all Americans with a place to testify to the beauty of life and the dignity of each human person. The event brings together pro-life leaders and groups to organize, unite and strategize around a common message. After the Jan. 22 march, the group will attend the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life at Georgetown University on Jan. 23.  This year’s conference will focus on the paradigm of the current debate surrounding issues of life, which revolves around the opposition between the pro-life and pro-choice positions.