The September 2024 Newsletter of the

Upcoming Events

All members of the Order of Malta, especially those in the Ohio Area, are invited to attend any events or opportunities. This includes Knights, Dames, Auxiliary/Associates, and Volunteers. Please mark your calendars for these opportunities, for questions please reach out to the Area Chair(s) or the contact person listed for the event or ministry.

Message from our Area Chair

by Tom Gruber, KM

Greetings Confreres and Consoeurs,

Autumn is upon us, a time of renewal. Schools resume, days grow shorter, and the air is crisper. Crops are harvested, and activities resume that took a break during the leisurely summer season. Our Malta activities are no exception. We continued serving at St Vincent DePaul and St Anthony Center during the summer months, but our meetings and gatherings were otherwise dormant.

Autumn is a busy time as we prepare for our September quarterly meeting, the annual Red and White Masses and our festive Christmas party in early December in addition to our monthly service at SVDP and SAC. Dates and details of these events appear elsewhere in the newsletter but be sure to mark your calendars. I look forward to joining with you as we continue to serve the faith, our sisters and brothers in need and enjoy fellowship with each other.

Membership Update

As Knights and Dames, we are responsible for continuing to grow our membership. Presently three individuals (1 in Cincinnati and 2 in Cleveland) are pursuing membership in the 2025 Investiture class and several others are considering it. Membership applications are accepted until October 31. Please think about friends or family members that you believe would make great Knights and Dames and approach them. The strength of our Area rests in the strengths of our members.

Membership | Order Of Malta American Association.

With that in mind I am happy to report that Chris Kelley and Jim and Jodi Akers have been accepted as new members in the Class of 2024 of the Order and will be invested in New York City in November. Congratulations Chris, Jim and Jodi! Your contributions have already enriched us in your year of formation, and we look forward to many years of confraternity with you.

Opportunity to Step Up and Serve

Speaking of new members, the Cincinnati Area needs someone to succeed our recently deceased brother, Declan O’Sullivan as Membership Co-Chair. It’s an easy yet deeply rewarding position and offers the opportunity to meet some wonderful people while shepherding them through the decision-making process about pursuing membership.

Additionally, while Niki McGowan has done a wonderful job of coordinating Malta Monday at the St Anthony Center, with her new responsibility as Area Chair, Cleveland (see below) we are looking for someone to step forward and succeed her as the St. Anthony Center lead.

Please contact me if you are interested in either of these roles (Membership Co-Chair or Malta Monday - St. Anthony Center Ministry lead).

Area Changes - Cincinnati and Cleveland

As previously reported, the Ohio Area is now divided into the Cleveland and Cincinnati Areas. The official break occurs January 1, 2025. At that time Niki McGowan assumes the role of Area Chair, Cleveland and Terry Horan succeeds me as Area Chair, Cincinnati.

It is bittersweet to separate, but there remain opportunities for continued joint activities. This newsletter, our Net Ministries prayer partners and our annual Retreat days are some which come to mind immediately. I encourage each of you to consider other ideas how we might continue to grow separately while maintaining a common bond as Ohio Area Maltesians.

Yours in Malta,

Tom

Welcome to Niki McGown, Incoming Cleveland Area Chair

Dear Confrères,

By now you have all heard the news that the Board of Directors has approved the formation of a new Area - the Cleveland Area of the American Association! 

I am honored and humbled to have been named the very first Chair of the Cleveland Area and am extremely grateful that I will have several more months of Tom Gruber’s excellent tutelage to help prepare for the new position. 

For those of you who may not know me, my husband, Thom, and I were Invested into the Order in 2013. I have had the pleasure of having been on the Lourdes Pilgrimage 6 times (so far!). For the past five years I have served on the Board of Trustees of the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation, one of the Primary Works of the Order. While I am a “retired” physician turned stay-at-home mom of two amazing children, I am soon to be an “Empty Nester”, and am ever amazed at how the Holy Spirit sends us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it!

Please feel free to contact me at any time, day or night, via my email nicollemcgowan@gmail.com, or my cell (216) 409-8001- I welcome suggestions, unsolicited advice, recommendations, etc. As we move forward in the development of this new Area, I have a humble request - I would ask for your prayers as we discover how best to live out our call to serve - serving all of our Members, but especially our Lords the sick and the poor of Northern Ohio.

-Niki

*Niki and Thom pictured in photo serving at Lourdes in 2019.*

Message from our Area Hospitallers

Reflecting on our Quarterly Events

by Kathryn Dierckes, DM of the Cincinnati Area

The quarterly meeting of the Ohio Area was both spiritually enriching and intellectually stimulating. We gathered on June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist, Patron of our Order. Bishop Binzer, as our Area Chaplain, celebrated Mass at the beautifully renovated St. Xavier Church in downtown Cincinnati.

Discussion on Gender Ideology w/ Dr. Andrew Sodergren

Following the Mass, we enjoyed refreshments and a timely presentation on gender ideology by Dr. Andrew Sodergren, Director of Psychological Services at Ruah Woods. Dr. Sodergren gave a historical overview and timeline of gender care in our country and the world debunked some of the myths surrounding the topic, and provided a list of reference materials. The talk was informative, particularly the Q&A session at the end. A copy of the presentation resources related to gender dysphoria is here.

Annual Masses for Cincinnati and Covington

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the Diocese of Covington celebrate the Red Mass annually to honor serving the legal profession: lawyers, judges, paralegals and their families. The 26th Annual Red Mass is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, 4:30pm at St. Xavier downtown. All members of the Order are warmly invited to participate in the procession.

The Order of Malta, Catholic Charities Southwest Ohio and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati join annually to celebrate the White Mass, honoring all those who work or volunteer as a caregiver. Nurses and physicians, dietary staff and lab workers, those who care for a sick or elderly friend or relative to those who volunteer at healthcare facilities, retirement communities or parishes. 

SAVE THE DATE – The 2024 White Mass is scheduled for Sunday, November 17 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains at 11am. 

All members of the Order of Malta are invited (and encouraged!) to submit nominations. We all know someone who works or volunteers in a caregiver role! The nomination process is open, and nominations can be submitted here. All nominations are due by September 20.

A Time for Fellowship and Reflection

by Dr. John A. Das, MD, KM of the Cleveland Area

In the month of June, I was given the opportunity by our Area Chair, Thomas Gruber, to set up our nascent area’s inaugural business meeting, which was held at Saint Sebastian Catholic Church in Akron. Members of the Order of Malta were present for the offering of the Holy Mass and during the subsequent business meeting, we discussed prison visitation, maternity home ministry, and the Day of Reflection. I am thankful that members of the Order were able to worship together and then present our ongoing work in the Cleveland Area to one another. 

I had the privilege of organizing the Cleveland Area’s first Annual Day of Reflection, which was held on July 6, 2024. This special day included the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance, a theological lecture on faithful living, Stations of the Cross, the offering of the Holy Mass, and walking the Fr. Vince Prayer Path. The outdoor stations of the cross provided members of the Order of Malta with time to collectively contemplate the Passion of Christ in a powerful way. The Rev. Fr. John Valencheck, ChD discussed in his lecture the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian and His work in our sanctification. We are thankful for the relationship that we formed with the Loyola Retreat House and look forward to continued retreats at the Benedictine-affiliated center in the years to come.

Our prison ministry at the Portage County Jail, which I direct, continues to thrive as we hold regular communion services for inmates, who are then provided with Order of Malta prayer books and Bibles. We continue to pray that they will be touched by God through our work there.

The Order of Malta supports Zelie’s Maternity Home, with locations in Lakewood and Garfield Heights, in its ministry to pregnant mothers. Recently, Dr. Robert Hostoffer, KM and Karen Hostoffer, DM assisted in hosting a luncheon for the alumnae mothers at the Celine's Nest location in Lakewood. Additionally, they organized items for the families to take home. It was rewarding to see alumnae mothers return for the luncheon as it provided the opportunity for current residents to connect with those who successfully completed the program and have moved into independent housing.

Message from our Area Chaplains

The Gift of the Eucharist

by Bishop Joe Binzer, ChM.

Because he loves us, Jesus gave us an inexhaustible gift in the Eucharist. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches,

At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” (Paragraph 1323)

This past July, thousands attended the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, humbling themselves before God, praying for our Church, our Nation, and our world. The Congress was part of the National Eucharistic Revival movement with the hope of being united once again around the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist.

In late July, I received a phone call from a local hospital to give the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to a patient. The caller told me the patient was anxious and fearful because of her diagnosis. When I arrived at the patient’s room, she asked if I would hear her confession, give her the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, and give her Holy Communion. After hearing her confession and anointing her, I reached someone in the spiritual care office of the hospital and arranged for the Eucharist to be brought to the patient’s room. The Chaplain said it would take about 10 minutes. I continued talking with the patient, and she asked if we could just sit in silence because she was so tired and it was difficult for her to speak.

As the woman closed her eyes, we spent maybe two minutes in complete silence before she broke it with these familiar words:

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof” and closed her eyes again. 

Without citing the Catechism, she witnessed to the grace and the pledge of future glory given to us when we receive the Eucharist. Several minutes later, the hospital staff person arrived with the Eucharist. We prayed, and she received the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, the source and summit of our lives.



           We hunger for that which satisfies us. We need the food that Jesus generously gives us so that we can be united with Him. Jesus wants to consume us with His love as we consume him in the Eucharist. He’s the one who cares for all our needs and feeds us with the Bread of Life. How blessed we are!!

Order of Malta News Update

Have you heard of the Order's Hospital in the Holy Land? One of the principal works of our Order, Holy Family Hospital, located in Bethlehem, West Bank, was recently featured by Fox News for it's efforts at providing health care to all in need throughout the area. To learn more about the hospitals efforts, follow the link.

Interested in attending the annual Investiture Mass and Reception on November 15? Join together with fellow members of Malta from around the Association as we officially welcome and invest new members, including three from our Area. For more information and to register, please follow the link below.

Looking to get more involved? Reach out below!

St. Vincent de Paul - Cincinnati Catino Choice Food Pantry:

Jack Leibold, MD, KM

1st Monday of the month in Cincinnati, helping neighbors select their food and load their vehicle.

St. Francis Seraph Ministries & the St. Anthony Center:

Nicolle McGowan, DM

3rd Monday of the month in Cincinnati, serving meals at the St. Anthony Center

Net Ministries Prayer Partnership:

Thomas Gruber, KM

Zelie's Home in Cleveland:

Karen Hostoffer, DM

Prison Ministry:

John Das, MD, KM

Daily Prayer of the Order

Lord Jesus, thou hast seen fit to enlist me for thy service in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. I humbly entreat Thee, through the intercession of the most holy Virgin of Philermo, of St. John the Baptist, Blessed Gerard, and all the saints, to keep me faithful to the traditions of our Order.

Be it mine to practice and defend the Catholic, the Apostolic, the Roman faith against sacrilege. Be it mine to practice charity towards my neighbors, especially the poor and sick.

Give me the strength I need, to carry out this my resolve, forgetful of myself, learning ever from Thy Holy Gospel a spirit of deep and generous Christian devotion, striving ever to promote God's Glory, the world's peace, and all that may benefit the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Amen.