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Following The Dream...

          It’s not unusual to hear people speak glowingly of “The American Dream.”  Although the precise content of the dream may differ from one person to another, it usually refers to accumulating material possessions:  a house in the suburbs, two cars in the garage, the latest high-speed computer.   America has always been the land of opportunity where dreams can come true.  Unfortunately, too many people have limited the horizon of their dreams to acquiring money and the things money can buy.  Father Dehon always recognized that people had a right to a living wage and to a fair share of the prosperity of society, but he was even more convinced that without the experience of God’s love and a burning desire to share this good news with others, no amount of wealth could ever satisfy the longing of the human heart.  

          When the first member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart came to the United States he was inspired by both the American dream and the dream of spreading God’s love.  Matthias Fohrman, a somewhat shy but friendly priest from the tiny principality of Luxembourg, arrived in New York harbor on January 1, 1920.  Father Dehon had sent him to America with a twofold mission:  to raise funds to rebuild the communities and ministries in Europe that had been destroyed in the war, and to scout out potential opportunities to begin new ministries on American soil.  As Father Fohrman soon found out, neither of these tasks would be easy.

After the austerities of the war years, Americans were eager to do rebuilding and spending of their own.  A mood of isolationism settled over the country, which had now grown weary of foreign entanglements.  It was difficult to convince pastors and parishioners that they should get involved in the far-away problems of the Church in Europe when there were so many urgent needs closer to home. 

          Father Fohrman’s other task of finding a suitable location for ministry was thwarted by the fact that the urban centers of the Northeast and Midwest where he was soliciting funds were strongholds of a well-established Catholic church.  There was no shortage of priests and religious.  Every parish and ethnic group had its own priests in abundance;  every parochial school was thoroughly staffed by religious sisters.  Even Catholic high schools were in the hands of priests, brothers, and nuns.

 After nearly three years of frustration and disappointment he was contacted by a bishop in the western part of South Dakota who was looking for a religious community to provide pastoral care on the Indian reservations in his diocese.  Although the locations were remote and the work was fraught with physical and emotional hardships, Father Fohrman’s superiors saw this as an ideal opportunity to practice the distinctive SCJ style of ministry:  the Native American people had been neglected and mistreated for generations;  the local church was incapable of meeting their needs;  it was a situation that cried out for reconciliation and the healing presence of Christ’s love.  Word came from Europe that Father Fohrman was to accept this ministry in the name of the congregation, and four additional priests were promised within a year.  

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