Well done, my good and faithful servant. . . .
Come, share your Master's joy. (Mt 25:21)
Dear Friend of the Sacred Heart,
I am deeply saddened to inform you that, on Monday, January 29, 2001, Father Frank Aresta, SCJ, was called to his eternal reward.
Over the past few years, Father Frank suffered from several illnesses and had been undergoing kidney dialysis for over a year.
On January 4, he was blessed with a kidney transplant. Released from the hospital six days after the surgery, he appeared to be recovering. However, a short time later, he had to be re-admitted to the hospital for respiratory difficulties that he was unable to overcome. He died in the hospital at the age of 62.
Father Frank lived a life rich in service to others. He entered a high school seminary on the East Coast, but left after a few years. He then entered the Air Force and had the opportunity to fly all over the world. After one trip to Brazil where he saw poverty up close, he answered an advertisement for the Priests of the Sacred Heart. He felt attracted to the community's commitment to serve the poor.
A short time later, while in his mid-twenties, he became a candidate for the United States Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. He made his first vows as a religious brother in 1965 at the age of twenty-seven. After completing his education, he held several assignments in the United States before being assigned as a missionary to Lesotho, a country in southern Africa. He served there as the headmaster of a technical school.
A few years later, he returned to the United States to take up studies for the Priesthood at Sacred Heart School of Theology. Ordained in 1981, he returned to Africa and served as pastor in Port Elizabeth, a large city in the Republic of South Africa.
When the need arose for a Canon Lawyer in South Africa, he volunteered to return to school in North America and earned a degree in Church Law. After graduation, however, he was unable to return to Africa because of heart problems. He then used his knowledge and served as Provincial Secretary and Mission Secretary for the United States Province.
In the Summer of 1994, Father Frank received his final assignment as Spiritual Director of our benefactors.
More important than any listing of his accomplishments is the spirit which motivated everything he did - a spirit of compassion and love. In 1994, when he became Spiritual Director, he said:
The Sacred Heart has always been a part of my life and it seemed only natural that I would follow the call to carry out His mission of compassion and love.
Father Frank did indeed carry out Christ's mission of compassion and love for the many friends and benefactors of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. In his letters and phone calls, in group meetings and individual sessions, he constantly spoke of the love of the Sacred Heart for each one of us. He was aware of God's great love and wanted to share the joy of this message with everyone.
We will all miss Father Frank. But if I know him at all, he will continue his ministry of praying for each one of us before the throne of our Heavenly Father.
Please join me in praying for Fr. Frank, his family, and all his friends. And, as Fr. Frank would say, thank you and God bless you!
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Paul, SCJ
