ACU > News and Events

Current Articles | Categories | Search | Syndication

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Ramón Erbiti Zabala (1935-2007)
By Jorge Hidalgo @ 5:34 PM :: 267 Views
1 Comments ::

I remember hearing a priest once say that “the moment will come in which we will have a vague memory of our passage through this world.” We have been created for eternity and if I have been convinced of something in the last few years, it is that our existence in this planet is at most a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Material life is short and our passage through this earth, a little flash of light that is consumed immediately.

Who lives a successful life on this earth? I ask myself continuously. Who most illuminates with the flash of light that he receives? Is it he who accumulates more toys and believes that because of that he is admired and even envied by his fellow human beings? Or is it he, whose life may be dull before the eyes of the world, does the most good for those who surround him with the talents that he has been given? The answer was given to me years ago by my religion. Years ago, I also was given the answer by an article about Our Lord Jesus, in Time magazine, not exactly a standard-bearer of Catholic religion. The author of this article, possibly a person completely immersed in the interests of this world, indicated that, without a doubt, Jesus’ life had been the most influential that had existed in the history of humanity. Ah! There was the response, I thought. Both my religion, like the world, at least in a moment of serious introspection, define for me the type of life that is, in its essence, valuable, and because of that, successful. Both were in agreement! The flash that illuminates the most is that which does the most good.

Under this definition, Ramón’s passage through this earth was a tremendous success. In the thirty-some years that I knew him, I do not remember anyone who had ever spoken badly about him. To the contrary!

In Saint Ignatius’ times there were beggars. The society in which we live provides such that no one dies of hunger, but who are the beggars of today? Ramón found the answer before many of us and went out to respond helping drug addicts and homeless. He went every Sunday afternoon to the Plaza in Río Piedras and brought lunch to many of the people that filled that Plaza. First he would read them the Readings of the day, trying to explain the Readings to them, and later he helped, together with others, to feed them. He wanted to start a home where he would gather all of those people and tried for a long time to organize a House for the Friends of Jesus and Mary. He dedicated time, almost all his money, and did not succeed in that project. For us, the sensible ones, the project seemed too big for him and we continuously discouraged him. If I had helped Ramón more, would he have been able to have found that home? I will know, hopefully in heaven, but maybe that was what I was supposed to have done. How sensible was I, how comfortable was I, so that I would not have to give more? What is certain is that when the homeless and drug addicts found out that Ramón had fallen ill, they spontaneously kneeled and with the simplicity of people that recognize that they are powerless to achieve anything by themselves, they prayed to God for “Pastor Ramón.”

Project “Harvest” also benefited from Ramón’s efforts. He would go around to the best restaurants in the metro area at closing time to pick up, not the leftovers, but rather the cooked food that had not been sold and was left at the end of the day. Ramón had his route that included the kitchens of several luxury hotels. During that period of his life, Ramón ended each day picking up the most succulent foods to later hand them out among shelter kitchens. Thanks to Ramón, the homeless enjoyed, at times, exquisite dishes. Legal considerations put an end to this good idea, but Ramón did not stop working. He was an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and brought Jesus to the elderly in the Vista Hermosa complex. He walked with confidence on Sunday mornings through places where I doubt I would enter.

Ramón wanted to be a priest in Cuba and a Deacon in Puerto Rico, but the Lord had other plans for him. He was a founding member in his parish of the Foundation for the Rescue of the Divine Infant Jesus, volunteer in the Fondita de Jesús, member of the New Evangelization Movement of Our Lady of Bethlehem parish, a sincere and untiring fighter for the cause of Jesus. Many doors were closed in his face, but he never tired of saying, “I continue onward, the Lord will open another door.”

Many of us will miss him in the Spiritual Exercises that the Puerto Rico chapter of the ACU organizes each February. The Spiritual Exercises celebrated 44 consecutive years in Puerto Rico in 2007. Ramón, the bell ringer, who called us to the meditations with his bell-ringing; Ramón, the head of audio; the candle-lighter; giver of the Prayers of the Faithful; the coordinator of the Readings for each day; the altar server; and even the attention-getter for Father Amando Llorente, S.J., our director, if he, for any reason, sat in the wrong seat. We will miss you Ramón, but we are sure that from heaven you will give even more of yourself because now you will not have the imperfections and defects that the flesh brings us.

With all of Ramón’s virtues and defects, the Puerto Rico chapter of the Agrupación Católica Universitaria was blessed for 38 years by his presence.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Togo Mission
By Willian Ryan @ 9:19 AM :: 855 Views :: 8 Pages
0 Comments ::

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been too long since I sent you the last update on the mission here in Togo back in October. There is a lot to tell you, and I hope the photos I include with this letter speak for themselves.

But first I need to ask for your help.

Recently I had some wonderful news: a Togolese order of nuns has agreed to send three sisters next year to work at the mission here. One sister will direct the parish dispensary. Another will work in catechesis and will eventually become the principal of a new Catholic primary school we hope to build. The third will serve as part-time parish secretary and will also be involved in evangelization and youth work.

This is great news and should give a tremendous boost to the work of the mission. The presence of vowed religious should have a real impact in this rural area. The people here rarely see a nun, but sisters and priests nonetheless inspire great respect and bring much credibility. I also think the sisters will find fertile ground here for vocations to the religious life.

There is only one catch: I now have to build a house for the sisters!

Many of you were very generous last year when we made the appeal for the dispensary. I now turn to you once again to ask your help in providing a place for the sisters to live.

St. Martin’s Church in Gaithersburg, remains our sister parish in the U.S., but contributions for the mission here in Togo should no longer be sent to St. Martin’s. Instead, please send donations to:

Togo Mission
P.O. Box 130
Gaithersburg, MD 20884-0130

The tax-exempt status of “Togo Mission” is pending; but your donations are nonetheless already legally tax-deductible. I thank you in advance for your generous help.

Now for some news.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Luis Hernandez
By Steven Pardo @ 7:33 AM :: 370 Views
0 Comments ::

Luis (Lui) Hernandez is a Mexican born immigrant who grew up in Los Angeles and is now residing in Atlanta. He is currently an outstanding Aspirante with much contributed to the Agrupacion up here in Atlanta. He joined the ACU after being introduced early in 2005. He was searching for a medium to actively learn about his faith and meet others that are at the same stages of life as him.

The first reaction one might have is that he is not Cuban or Puerto Rican. While many in the Agrupacion for all intensive purposes have become United States citizens relatively easily or were born here in the States and have been brought up in relatively stable economic households, Lui brings to the table a different perspective of the Latin/Hispanic Immigrant and many life experiences that many of us did not have to go through. Now with a wife and two kids, Lui has overcome many obstacles that a Mexican/American immigrant had to face, to be an inspiring success story.

He is a very successful programmer that not only works for one of the largest internet service providers but is also one of the webmasters of the EstoVir.org website. He has also been charged with leading an “Apostolado” where the Agrupados from Atlanta go help those in need a couple times a year. He also enjoys being a charlista at the weekly Adult Catechism classes taught in Spanish where many of the students are Mexican immigrantes parents. He is now able to share the knowledge of his Catholic faith and of the Catholic Church, which he has learned at the Agrupacion, with a point of view that many of us in Atlanta could not present.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Three Lessons from Damien of Molokai
By Kyle Shinseki @ 5:56 PM :: 369 Views
1 Comments ::

On a tropical island in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, the example laid forth by the life of a Belgian priest presents three extraordinary lessons for all Catholics to follow. Joseph de Veuster departed his homeland for the Hawaiian Islands in 1864, where he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu. Over the next 25 years, until his death in 1889, he would exemplify the ACU’s motto of Esto-Vir. In particular, the Blessed Damien de Veuster of Molokai demonstrated courage in the face of uncertainty, respect for human dignity, and acceptance of God’s will.

Blessed Damien confronted constant uncertainty as he began his priestly life. However, he welcomed this uncertainty because of his trust in God. As a youth, Damien prayed every day in front of an image of Saint Francis Xavier asking for his intercession so that he would be sent on a mission. His prayers were answered when he was sent off to the desolate peninsula of Kalaupapa on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai on May 10, 1873. During his ministry there he dealt with worms, horrendous scenes, and suffocating smells. Where other priests left in tears, Damien’s courage allowed him to treat patients with bulging intestines, exposed ribs, and missing limbs.

In the midst of leprosy patients who had been abandoned by society, Blessed Damien discovered the dignity of each and every one of Kalaupapa’s residents. He recruited leprosy patients to build churches, homes, and hospitals; encouraged their participation in sports and musical groups, and found ways for even the most debilitated patients to play a role in the community. For example, one patient who did not have a left hand tied a wood plank to his arm in order to play the lower notes of the organ. If a patient could not leave his home to be part of Perpetual Adoration, Damien would bring the Blessed Sacrament to his bedside. Even after life ended, Damien emphasized human dignity by organizing funeral societies and bands that would play at funerals.

Throughout his life, Damien accepted the will of God. While he treated leprosy patients, he did not pay much attention to hygiene. He ate from the same plates as the patients, shared his pipe with them, and did not hesitate to hug them and treat their wounds. Not surprisingly, he eventually was diagnosed with leprosy and he described himself as the “the happiest missionary in the world.” As the disease progressed, he had eruption on the skin of his hands, violent diarrhea, constant coughing, and obstructed breathing. As a result he could no longer say Mass and would only be able to sleep for one to two hours a night. On his deathbed in April 1889, he said “how happy am I for having giving it all to the Lord.”

Saturday, April 01, 2006

2006 — ACU Diamond Jubilee Year
By Kyle Shinseki @ 8:29 PM :: 325 Views
0 Comments ::

The Agrupación Católica Universitaria marks this year the 75th anniversary of its foundation. The ACU was started by a group of 1st Year University of Havana students under the direction of a Spanish Jesuit Priest, Fr. Felipe Rey de Castro. The foundation and subsequent history of the ACU reveals the perseverance of its members and the Grace of God. Starting the ACU required early ACU members to convince the Jesuits to return Fr. Rey de Castro back to Cuba and to assign him to lead this activity. Later, the ACU survived many critical events including the Cuban revolution, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the exile and dispersion of its members in the early 1960s. Today the ACU has active chapters in 6 cities, owns the Juan Pablo II Retreat House in Miami where Spiritual Exercises are held on a weekly basis, and owns the Jesús Maestro Residence in Miami housing university students.

The ACU will celebrate its Diamond Jubilee with a number of special activities this year. Two of the special events planned for the Jubilee celebration are a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and a weekend of celebratory activities in Miami during December.

ACU Director Fr. Amando Llorente, SJ, and Assistant Director Fr. Nelson García, SJ, will lead a pilgrimage to The Holy Land departing at the end of May. This will not be purely a sightseeing trip but an opportunity to meditate the Life of Christ in His homeland in the style of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The Diamond Jubilee celebration concludes in Miami in early December with two major events. The first will be a solemn mass concelebrated by a number of agrupado priests - we have invited the newly minted agrupado Cardinal, Sean O'Malley of Boston, to be the principal celebrant. During the mass we will witness the consecration of new congregants from the various chapter houses of the ACU. And, as is our custom, we will follow the spiritual celebration with a dinner party the next day on the grounds of the ACU Headquarters in Miami. The mass and dinner party celebration will be open to agrupados, family and friends and is by invitation only.

While it is important to celebrate the ACU's Diamond Jubilee, we will also have the opportunity during the year to reflect on how to continue to fulfill the ACU mission in the future years. Our number one activity is the recruitment and formation of new members, students and professional men, whose vocation is to live the Christian life according to the principles of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The ACU will continue to sponsor Spiritual Exercises - more than 30 a year in our Juan Pablo II Retreat House and at the other chapter houses. We will, of course, continue our apostolic work that ranges from radio programs in Miami and Orlando, Prison Ministry in Miami, Assistance to the Poor in Atlanta, Puerto Rico, and other chapters houses, etc. One major focus of the ACU in the near future will be the operation of the Jesús Maestro Residence in Miami, an abode for young men to reside in as they complete their professional formation and learn about the ACU as a Christian vocation.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Seminar on the Spiritual Exercises
By Nino Alvarez @ 9:14 PM :: 292 Views
1 Comments ::

Ignatius of Loyola: A Spiritual Experience is the title of a seminar on the Autograph Manual of the “Spiritual Exercises” that Fr. Juan José Santiago, S.J. has been conducting on an on-going monthly basis in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The monthly sessions, which began last August, present a structured analysis of St. Ignatius’ Manual Autógrafo and the Inspired Spiritual Exercises. This “Autograph” version is known as such because it includes 32 revisions personally scribed by the Saint.

Fr. Santiago began the seminar with a geopolitical and ecclesiastical background of the world in Ignatius’ time. For example, during the period, Gutenberg invents the printing press, the Protestant Reform erupts, and Spain discovers the “New World”. In today’s terms, Gutenberg’s press and the Columbus’ discovery were compared to the diffusion of the Internet or the potential discovery of life in Mars. After painting a brilliant global historical setting, Fr. Santiago plunged into the Saint of Loyola’s biography.

Currently, the group is currently studying the “first week” of the Exercises using copies of the Autograph edition written in antique-Spanish. Fr. Santiago’s domain of the old-Spaniards’ language translates the embedded depth of thought that lies within the document’s message. By studying the Exercises in its original “español antiguo,” emphasis is placed on the fact that the text was conceived during the first half of the 16th century. Nonetheless, the course carefully uncovers spiritual thoughts, psychology, concerns, and worries that are perfectly relevant in the 21st century.

The seminar sessions take place at the “Centro Universitario Católico,” located at 10 María Bracetti, a couple of blocks from the “Universidad de Puerto Rico” in Río Piedras. The seminar begins at 5:00pm on the fourth Saturday of the month and includes a talk followed by a period of Q&A. While originally scheduled to run through May 2006, Fr. Santiago anticipates the need for additional dates. Each session is followed by a celebration of the Holy Mass for those who wish to participate. This course is sponsored by the ACU in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is open to persons of all religious denominations. Autograph Manuals are available. An optional donation is suggested to cover costs. For further information, kindly contact the ACU’s San Juan chapter at sanjuan.support@estovir.org.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Padre Sean
By Ramon Dominguez @ 7:17 PM :: 321 Views
4 Comments ::

Today the press either praises or criticizes him for the challenging situation he is dealing with, as he has been called upon to resolve issues that were ignored for many years in the Archdiocese of Boston. For us, the agrupados of Washington, he continues to be our dear Padre Sean. This is the most typical way in which we in the ACU’s Washington house recognize the current Archbishop of Boston, now on his way to becoming a cardinal of the Holy Church. If anyone deserves this distinction, it is this humble capuchin.

During more than 12 years, he dedicated countless days to cultivating agrupados. His weekly mass, always a bit late, was the core of our weekly guardia. We still recall with fondness his Lenten retreats and his homilies that inspired us to give more and follow his example. As agrupados, we were like his hands and arms, like our hymn says. It was through his work that we were able to participate in and see Christ’s call to unite ourselves with the poor.

In fact, Padre Sean’s work in the Spanish Catholic Center was the driver of our ACU apostolic efforts. It was in the Centro Católico that we shared his austere life that was dedicated so integrally to helping the poor and forgotten immigrant. It was he that, like a supersonic jet, propelled the night classes, medical clinics, dental consultations, Spanish-language newspaper, weekly radio program, and all types of social services for new immigrants. His merit was also in organizing the unemployed and homeless, while preparing them with education and hope. This he did without worrying about the hours required nor where he would rest, and sometimes not even what he would eat or wear.

We can truly say that Padre Sean is an example of an agrupado since he fully lives our motto of Esto Vir with great love for the Blessed Virgin and Christ. His example is a legacy that the Washington house will never forget.

Monday, February 27, 2006

José María de Lasa
By Kyle Shinseki @ 5:49 PM :: 323 Views
0 Comments ::

For agrupado José María de Lasa, the ACU will always be linked to the struggle for a free Cuba. When his friends invited him to the ACU in Havana, Cuba found itself in the midst of great civil conflict. Many of the key counterrevolutionary leaders were agrupados and the ACU itself played an important role in the resistance movement. As José María describes, many agrupados like him felt that Christ called them to be part of the struggle to save their homeland. He sees his role in this struggle, inspired by the ACU’s values, as the one apostolic work that most inspired him as an agrupado.

In the midst of this strife, José María had fallen in love with María Teresa Figueroa. At the time, José María had been given asylum in the Venezuelan Embassy in Havana, after the Bay of Pigs offensive. However, María Teresa, daughter of renowned agrupado Miguel Figueroa, was already in exile in Miami. In order to communicate with her, he would send her letters by tying them to a stone and tossing them over a fence to ACU Director Father Llorente, who was hidden in the building next to José María’s at the Embassy. Father Llorente then passed the letters on to María Teresa’s uncle for them to be delivered surreptitiously to Miami. Stones tossed by Father Llorente back over the fence would bring José María letters from María Teresa.

Once José María made his way to freedom in the United States, he was married to María Teresa and their marriage has given fruit to 4 children and 8 (soon 9) grandchildren. Exiled in Atlanta, José María became a congregante in 1963. He eventually became a lawyer and worked his way up to becoming General Counsel of a major U.S. corporation. José María notes that his Catholic formation and participation in the ACU’s Spiritual Exercises each year have helped him keep the strictest ethnical standards in his legal career. Aside from his profession, he participates in several civic organizations, like the Council of Foreign Relations, the Resource Foundation, and the Cuba Study Group.

Paging - Page: 1 of 2
	Previous Page \| Next Page