A Class Act - The Redemptorists, Denver Province

The Co-Redemptorist
Apostolate Today
Fr. John Paul Andree, C.Ss.R.
Director of the Co-Redemptorist Association from 1983 to 2005
I am personally so very thankful and gratified to know that the
Co-Redemptorist Association continues to be an apostolic activity
for so many of you, our beloved Co-Redemptorists; that so many
of you still regard the education of our seminarians as a worthy
cause and one for which you are willing to make both a personal
and financial sacrifice.
6 HOPE
F
or 50 years (June 1960 to
June 2010), our Redemptorist
Formation Program has never
refused a student for economic reasons.
This is in large part due to the sacrifices
of our Co-Redemptorists. Every
Co-Redemptorist has a definite hand
in shaping and educating Redemptorists
for the future. Your title is indeed
well deserved: Co-Redemptorists!
It is also gratifying to know that the
program has not changed substantially
over the last 50 years, except, of course,
for the original $1.42 per month contribution.
That may not sound like much
today, but I know from the lived experience
of my dear Mom and Dad, it represented
a huge sacrifice for so many of
you who could have very easily used that
money for something else but chose instead
to support a future Redemptorist.
Thankfully, every Co-Redemptorist
continues to receive a monthly spiritual
letter. Depending on whether they
send their sacrificial offering monthly,
quarterly, semi-annually, or annually,
a return envelope and reminder are in-
cluded indicating the number of days
they have sponsored one of our seminarians
and the total amount of their
donation for that month, quarter, etc.
The continued success of the Co-
Redemptorist Apostolate will depend
on the following four factors: the yearly
preaching done by Redemptorists
about this apostolate in every Redemptorist
parish; the continued preaching
in non-Redemptorist parishes; the
quality and relevance of the monthly
spiritual letter; and the continuance
of the Co-Redemptorist Association’s
‘special intention prayer program’ and
the five annual novenas.
The late Bishop Thomas William
Murphy, the first director, said this of
the Co-Redemptorist Association:
“Co-Redemptorist was inspired,
founded and built on Christian coresponsibility.
Vocations to the Priesthood
must be a preoccupation for all
Catholics; first, by faith in prayers and
secondly, through sacrifice. The result
of this sacrifice in a material dimension
is the monetary offering. The incen-
tive to prayer and sacrifice is through
the monthly letter and the sharing in
the Redemptorists’ spiritual and pastoral
efforts. There has always existed
the firm conviction that Co-Redemptorist
is not a financial project, but
a spiritual reflection whose consequence
brings forth spiritual and
material cooperation.”
As a Redemptorist Priest and former
director of the program, I would
encourage you to seriously consider
supporting one or more of our men in
our seminary program. We need these
men to go on to become Redemptorist
Priests and Brothers. Our Church
needs these men. God willing, they
will become the living presence of
Christ in your lives.
With the Church struggling today
to attract men to the Priesthood and
Brotherhood, we cannot afford to forget
those men already in formation who
have chosen to become Redemptorists.
So please, if at all possible, make an
investment in the future of our Church.
Sign up today to become a Co-Redemptorist.
Let’s keep this wonderful
program going for another 50 years!
On behalf of all your Redemptorists of
the Denver Province, thank you Co-Redemptorists
– past, present, and future!
If you would like to become a member
of the Co-Redemptorist Association,
please fill out the coupon on page 8
and mail it back in the enclosed envelope.
Thank you.