A special Father's Day at MorningStar Renewal Center

By Jonathan Martinez - Florida Catholic

Photography: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

PINECREST | The dedication of a new rosary garden at MorningStar Renewal Center was special enough for Johanne Harries, who sponsored its creation in memory of her father.

But it also took on special meaning because it coincided with the worldwide celebration of the Year of St. Joseph, proclaimed by Pope Francis in his apostolic letter, Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart).

And it coincided with a nationwide push to promote eucharistic processions to help “unite our nation.”

“St. Joseph is the patron of the Church, so we celebrate this special year as our pope has invited us to do, to celebrate the strength of having this father in St. Joseph, this blessed mother in Mary and of course the son they raised, the Son of God, Jesus,” said Sue S. DeFerrari, director of ministry at MorningStar.

She noted that MorningStar is the archdiocesan retreat house “and we have had all kinds of events happening this year celebrating the year of St. Joseph, all kinds of programs and faith formation opportunities.”

The June 19 event, which brought faithful from across south Florida to the retreat center, fell under the umbrella of a national program called Catholic Father’s Day, which MorningStar took special pride in hosting.

“The Unite Our Nation group reached out to me with the hope of hosting a Father’s Day celebration in south Florida,” said Daisy M. Ramos, a parishioner at St. Augustine in Coral Gables who helped coordinate the event along with Harries, a fellow parishioner.

“We felt that we pay a lot of attention to mothers and dads are kind of not paid as much of attention as they should, so we wanted to bring awareness to the important role they play, especially in this year of St. Joseph,” Ramos said.

The procession began in the center’s chapel, where Justin Yglesias, leader of MorningStar’s peer ministry group, led the congregation in songs of worship. Father Paul Vuturo, pastor at St. Louis Church, located next door to the retreat center, then led the group in praying the first two decades of the rosary.

From the chapel, the faithful walked outside in procession with the Blessed Sacrament. At their first stop, the Mary Grotto, they reflected on the word of God and prayed another decade of the rosary. They prayed the next decade at their second stop, the Garden of St. Joseph. Their third stop, where they concluded the rosary, sang and spent some time in adoration, was the rosary garden, the newest addition to the center. It had been completed just days before.

Harris, a board member at MorningStar, sponsored and helped build the garden in memory of her father, who lived in Trinidad and died during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the time came to choose a date for the garden’s dedication, and June 19 was chosen, “it was divine intervention,” Harris said. “June 19 also happens to be the day that my father would have had his 100th birthday.”

“I hope that rosary groups throughout Miami will come here and walk through and do the rosary and find peace as I have,” she added.

The day’s final stop was back at the center’s chapel where those in attendance reflected on the day and Father Vuturo concluded the ceremony.

“With this ceremony, with this new garden, we hope that people will have a sense of community and prayer and know that we are here,” said DiFerrari. “However many months after lockdown, we are here outside paying attention to social distance, being careful, but continuing in faith, trusting God that we are moving forward.”