Our Hopes for the New Year
Companion Movement Vicky Otto , Companion Co-director
During our Companion Retreats this year Fr . Ben Berinti spoke about the four irritatingly beautiful questions for disciples and the Companions of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood . As I reflect about hopes for the New Year for Companions , the last question comes to mind , “ Whom Shall I Send ?” As we begin 2017 , my hope is that each Companion when asked , “ Whom Shall I Send ?” will answer courageously and in faith , “ Send Me .” Gather , Send encourages Companions to “ share the gifts we have been given with the rest of the world .” When I visit Companions across the country I am continually in awe of the amazing talents and gifts that Companions offer our church , our community and our world . When we freely share those gifts , we become those ministers of reconciliation and renewal that Saint Gaspar longed for . The composer Robert Schuman wrote once , “ To send light into the darkness of men ’ s hearts — such is the duty of the artist .” As we begin this new year , I would change his comment to include the Companions of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood . As we step out , stand up and speak clearly about the Precious Blood of Jesus through the sharing of our gifts , we bring light to hearts that are in need . May we answer each day of 2017 , “ Lord , send me .”
Justice & Peace Gabino Zavala , Justice and Peace Coordinator
Throughout our lives we are asked or we ask ourselves , “ How can we live out our Precious Blood spirituality in our daily lives ?” “ How do we put into practice what we believe ?”
My hope is that as daughters and sons of St . Gaspar we can come to passionately believe that just as essential and nonnegotiable within our spiritual life as disciples of Jesus as prayer , fasting , almsgiving and keeping our personal lives in order is being involved in creating justice for the poor and the marginalized in our midst . Jesus ’ teaching on this is very strong in the Gospels . He tells us that ultimately we will be judged on how we treat the poor .
My hope is that as Precious Blood members and Companions we will continue to grow in our understanding of the charism of our founder , using his words , our corporate stances , our personal gifts and other tools at our disposal to be passionate witnesses of love for God and all our sisters and brothers . We are called to be courageous disciples in our prayer , our diverse ministries , and are life in community . We must be bold in imagining our future as the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in service to those on the margins .
My hope is that we live the one thing God asks of us , that we “ act justly , love tenderly , and walk humbly with our God ” ( Micah 6:8 ).
Precious Blood Volunteers Tim Deveney , Director
To say that 2016 has been a disappointment would be an understatement for the volunteer program . I am looking forward with hope towards a stronger 2017 . We retooled some of our recruiting efforts to do a better job of encouraging graduating seniors to join with us in service . This recruiting season has fed this hope with an excellent list of candidates from several different schools . These changes to our recruiting included better discernment on which colleges to visit , varied follow up tactics and using Google AdWords to get our message out .
As part of our campus recruitment efforts I have spent more time cultivating relationships at colleges where we have had success in the past . These colleges include Notre Dame and the University of Dayton . At the same time I dropped a few colleges from my visit list because of a lack of interest from their students , while adding more visits to colleges like St . Joseph in Rensselaer , Indiana .
Changing our follow up tactics is also a big part of what I am doing now . After college fairs I am now texting students within a day of meeting them . This has increased our response rate from students I meet at volunteer fairs and provides an extra personal “ touch ” to potential recruits .
During 2017 we are looking to have a few shortterm opportunities to expose young people to Precious Blood spirituality and what it has to offer them and the world .
I am hopeful for 2017 that we will have enough volunteers to fill our placements here in Kansas City as well as have additional volunteers to reopen our placement at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago .
Vocations Fr . Timothy Armbruster , c . pp . s .
What a thrill it would be to have more candidates than we have rooms for at the Formation House ! It ’ s entirely possible but will take work to accomplish . It
4 • The New Wine Press • January 2017