GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES TO ALL

Dear Servites,

We are looking forward to the many blessings that God has in store for us in this New Year: 2008. As Servite Family, we are jubilant and rejoicing as we celebrate the 775th Anniversary of the Order of Servants of Mary. Let us celebrate! Let us give thanks to God!

Just recently, Seven Holy Founders Community, Affton, Missouri celebrated the Rite of the Promise of four candidates who have accepted the call and invitation to walk with us in the footsteps of our Seven Holy Founders. Congratulations to our new sisters and brothers and welcome to the Servite Family!

The National Council of the Secular Order will have its first meeting at Our Lady of Sorrows Monastery, Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, January 30, 2008. We ask for your prayers and encouragement as we gather to plan for the life and welfare of the Secular Order in the United States. You will hear from each of the National Councillors very soon.

The month of February will be a time of "new beginnings" for the Secualr Order. In Lady Lake, Florida, Our Lady of Sorrows Community is born. Don and Nancy Siple,SOSM have been guiding four candidates during their Period of Probation as they prepare to make their Promise. The time has come! On Friday, February 8, 2008, 10:00AM, St. Timothy's Parish, Lady Lake, the four candidates will make their Promise as Secular Servites. Our prayers and best wishes are with them, with Don and Nancy, and Fr. Gene Weiss, the Spiritual Assistant.

In Fulllerton, California, at St. Philip Benizi Parish, there will be two celebrations of the Rite of the Promise: one in English and one in Spanish, on Sunday, February 17, 2008. Salve Regina Community welcomes the new members of their community who will make their Promise. The Spanish-speaking candidates will also celebrate as 15 candidates will make their Promise and will initiate a new community of the Secular Order. Let us remember our sisters and brothers in our prayers as they seek to walk with us on our journey of faith.

The feast of our Seven Holy Founders, February 17, 2008, will also be the date in which four candidates of Our Lady of Sorrows Community, Chicago, Illinois will make their Promsie. Let us remember our sisters and brothers in our prayers as this special moment in their lives approaches. They will make their Promise at the Mass Opening the 775th Anniversary of the existence of the Order of Servants of Mary, which is to take place at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, Chicago, Illinois, 10:30AM Mass!

Fr. Vidal Martinez,OSM