The Philipian, A Publication of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church — January 2021

JANUARY 2021

the phi lipian

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F S T . P H I L I P N E R I C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

New Year Brings Opportunity for Growth as Disciples of Christ

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here is something undeniably exciting about the hope and optimism that comes with the beginning of a new year. Following the season of preparation during Advent and the joyous celebration of the birth of Christ, we are invited to pause once more and reflect upon our goals and dreams for the coming year. As a parish, we look forward to continuing to provide the faithful of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church with many opportunities for spiritual growth.

As Fr. Fabio Refosco reminds us, the opportunity to pause and evaluate our spiritual lives began in earnest with Advent and the Mass readings from the Book of Isaiah.

“What was happening in that time was that

Isaiah was part of the old generation that wanted to return to the homeland, and there was also the new generation that had been born in exile,” Fr. Fabio says. “So Isaiah had to bring these people and relationships together. Certainly, we have lost relationships as the pandemic has imposed a little bit of distance between ourselves and God, and like Isaiah, we need to try to rebuild that community of God and make people more conscious of the presence of the Lord in our midst.”

As the new liturgical year began in Advent, prompting us to reflect on how we might increase our faith in the coming year, this January is the time to put our plans into action. In addition to continued on back cover

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P R A YCome E Rto:Know the Lord

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e make constant reference to the “three Ts” of stewardship, recognizing that to truly live as a stewardship people, we must give God the first fruits of our time, talent, and treasure. It is easy for us to see the concrete reality of the latter two. If we are to give God our talents, we must first recognize with what talents He has blessed us, and then use those talents for His greater glory. And as we continue our stewardship path, we know very well that our money is something concrete. When we recognize it as a gift from God, we know that we are to give a certain amount back to Him. It is easy for many of us to understand what it means to give God our talent and our treasure.

But what does it mean to give God a portion of our time? This idea is much harder to grasp, and yet giving to God the first fruits of our time is just as important as the other two. And if we understand this idea and implement it properly, our stewardship of time will serve as the very foundation from which our stewardship of talent and treasure bear fruit.

When we talk about stewardship of time, we are referring to prayer time. Prayer is of the utmost importance in a disciple’s life, and in the Diocese of Wichita’s The Pillars of Parish Stewardship, it is also one of the four pillars of stewardship.

Does this mean that in order to be true disciples, we should say the Our Father three times a day or pray a daily Rosary? Not particularly. Of course, we must not discount the merits of prayer, as the Church in her wondrous wisdom has given us certain prayers to help guide our lives. However, the disciple’s deep life of prayer involves even more.

St. John Chrysostom explains, “You should not think of prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, an indescribable devotion … the gift of God’s grace” (Hom 6). That is, if we look at prayer as a mere regimen that we must follow every day, then we do not see to the heart of it. The reality is that prayer will take on different forms for every one of us. One person may have a deep

devotion to the Rosary, and in praying it, he is closely united to the Lord. Another person might feel deeply connected to Him through constant conversation – in the car on the way to work, before bed at night, or other hours throughout the day. Meanwhile, for another person, a daily or weekly hour of silence before the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration is the best place for him to offer the Lord his heart. No matter how we choose to pray, we must get to the root of it all. If we are to truly give God our time, it must be a gift of ourselves. It must come from the heart and not take the form of mere word repetition.

If we offer an Our Father without meditating on the words, it can simply become recitation.

The point of prayer is to get to know the Lord. If we are committed to living as His disciples, we must be on personal terms with Him. The first disciples didn’t know what it meant to pray the Rosary. And until the Lord taught them the Our Father, they couldn’t pray that either.

But they were definitely true stewards of their time. They walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and ate meals with Him. He was their best friend, and the more they got to know Him, the more they longed to serve Him. The same holds true for us today. We can walk with Him, talk with Him, and sit with Him, just as they did.

And He wants us to do this, too. St. John Chrysostom proclaims, there is nothing more worthwhile: “For prayer unites us to God as His companions” (Hom 6). How can we serve Him if we don’t know Him? If we truly desire to be a servant people, we must talk to Him whom we wish to serve. We must get to know Him. Then, most assuredly, we will fall in love with Him. We will undoubtedly desire nothing more than to serve Him. Recognize Jesus as your best friend and spend time with Him as such. He is the Lord, the Creator of the Universe, without whom we would cease to exist. Bring Him your cares and concerns, your excitement, your worry, your fears, and your frustrations, and allow Him to comfort you. He is there, and He wants to speak with you.

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A Letter From Our Pastor

Forget the Resolutions...Seize the Opportunities!

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ne of the most unforgettable years in our lifetimes is finally over and 2021 is here! With the new year, I recommend we forget the notion of making resolutions. This new year presents us with opportunities to practice faithful stewardship — that is, to view the start of 2021 as a time for opportunities instead of resolutions, and to choose to be the disciples we are called to be.

The choice is ours, as it always has been.

I know all too well that each New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, we do more than just begin a new calendar year. We make all kinds of promises, articulate expectations, and express hopes, desires, and dreams. I don’t know who started that custom, but I do know I have spent years attempting with the best intentions to follow my own resolutions, only to become disappointed that most are forgotten all too soon. Therefore, it occurred to me that this year, I need a new and fresh approach to this. Perhaps we all need a new perspective. After all, isn’t that what faithful stewards are best at?

The to-do list for 2021 should be seen as a list of opportunities to practice the discipleship intended

by Jesus — not just at the beginning of each year, but each day throughout the year when presented with opportunities to be a Christian disciple. In doing so, we are practicing the stewardship way of life. Maybe this year, each of us will be open to embracing the connection between discipleship and stewardship.

Discipleship and stewardship are indeed closely linked, so much so that it clearly defines our Catholic spirituality and touches every aspect of the life of the Church. I hope that the same vision is clearly in your sight — the moment of discovery that stewardship is a way of life, a defining moment presenting opportunities to live what we believe, using our time, talents, and treasure to reach others around us.

Therefore, as we close out one of the most eventful years in modern history, and are at the start of a new year filled with promise and hopefulness, I ask you to join me in celebrating the opportunities that will

present themselves during 2021. We need to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to them. They will be there when we least expect them. Our Lord’s call to be faithful stewards of the gifts we have been given is already echoing in our hearts as we have concluded a season of giving in which God’s gift to us, Jesus Christ, remains the perfect gift that keeps on giving to each of us. If we continue to receive our Lord with grateful hearts, we can respond in our own way of giving time, talent, and treasure back as opportunities to become Christ for others.

I know that 2021 will be a year of great interest in what will happen in the world around us, and new opportunities will abound. Wait for them. Look for them. Treasure them when they become known.

While resolutions always seem to be good ideas, opportunities are often what God has chosen for us to experience so that our lives may be more whole and fulfilling. Can you think of a better way to start a new year than to forget the resolutions, and instead seize the opportunities God has waiting for us?

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Fabio Refosco, C.O.

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Catholic Schools Wee Celebrating What Cathol E

xcitement is building, as the countdown begins to one of the most anticipated events of the New Year — Catholic Schools Week. And while our festivities may look a bit different this year, nothing will stop us from recognizing and celebrating the gift of Catholic education, especially here at St. Anne School. This year, Catholic Schools Week takes place the week of Jan. 31.

“One of the things we try to do at St. Anne is to not make it just a fun spirit week — it’s fun and we celebrate all the great stuff we do, but we try to bring out what Catholic education is all about,” says St. Anne’s Principal, Mrs. Shaileen Riginos, who is primarily based at the elementary school campus, at St. Anne Parish.

This year, the Catholic Schools Week celebrations will include an essay contest, themed “Proclaim the Good News that Christ is Alive.” An annual tradition, these essays often reveal the impact of Catholic education, not only on the students but on their families as well.

“One of the things we talk to the kids about is how blessed they are to be able to come to St. Anne to be a part of a Catholic school and receive a Catholic education,” Mrs. Riginos says. “Seeing their joy and the things they’ve learned and how it’s benefited them, on paper, it’s really proclaiming how wonderful Catholic

schools are. The words that they’ll put down on paper are amazing.

“A lot of times the children will write, not only about what Catholic schools have done for them, but what Catholic schools have done for their family,” she adds. “They’ll say, ‘It brought my whole family back to church.’”

St. Anne Upper School, which is located on our campus at St. Philip Neri, uses Catholic Schools Week as an opportunity to empower students in sharing their gifts through short, informational TED Talks, speaking on topics they are passionate about, during lunch.

“It helps them to develop what they’re passionate about,” says Mrs. Melanie Rainier, Upper School Assistant Principal. “And that will help them get involved in the social justice ministry in our parish, or find an internship, or maybe it’s a career path.”

Giving back to the community is also a focus of Catholic Schools Week at the upper school level.

Although this year’s project has yet to be determined, the students work hard to find an area in which they want to have an impact, and find ways to make a positive difference through service.

For both Mrs. Riginos and Mrs. Rainier, their own children were students at St. Anne’s before they began working at the school, so they know firsthand the value

The St. Anne Upper School is located on our campus at St. Philip Neri.

Our third-grade students lead the Living Rosary for Catholic Schools Week.

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ek at St. Anne School lic Education Is All About of Catholic education in their families’ lives and the unique benefits of St. Anne School.

“It’s whole-child education,” Mrs. Rainier says. “You can go deeper with these kids, because you can bring your faith into everything you do, really looking at the big picture and the tenets of our Catholic faith. It’s so impactful to be able to say to a kid, ‘Let’s look at God’s plan.’” “[St. Anne’s] brought my family more into the church,” Mrs. Riginos adds. “I’m a cradle Catholic and I’ve learned so much from being principal, from my colleagues and teachers, and the students and the families.”

The administration, faculty, staff, and students of St. Anne School are grateful for the parishioners who so generously support the school — financially, in prayer, and as volunteers. As a ministry of our local parishes, serving students from St. Anne, St. Philip Neri, and several other parishes, they remind parishioners of the impact of their support. One student became Catholic during her senior year in high school, and another is currently in the process of converting.

Both Mrs. Rainier and Mrs. Riginos hope that, through their time at St. Anne’s, their students build a solid foundation of faith that shapes them personally, and guides their impact on the world around them, for years to come.

“I hope they become critical thinkers who see the world through a different lens, through the lens of Christ and who know how to be the face of Christ to other people,” Mrs. Rainier says.

“I hope they have that moral compass to live their faith, and think about others and serving others,” Mrs. Riginos adds. “Our students recognize that they’re part of something special. They recognize the opportunity, they recognize that they’re building a legacy.”

Students participate in a Living Rosary during Catholic Schools Week.

Mrs. Melanie Rainier, Upper School Assistant Principal, hopes that students leave St. Anne School with the ability to think critically and be the face of Christ to others.

If you would like more information about St. Anne School, please visit www.stanneschool.com.

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Highlights of Our 2020 Stewardship Renewal

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Embracing the Benefits of Catholic Education and Helping Our Church

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his month, we are happy to share with you several opportunities to be involved with the mission of our parish, whether you are benefiting from Catholic education or sharing your gifts with our faith community.

St. Philip Neri Catholic School Subsidy In our continuing effort to support Catholic education, we are pleased to offer Catholic School Subsidy to partially offset tuition costs for qualifying families who choose to provide a Catholic school education for their children. If you qualify, St. Philip Neri will provide a portion of your child’s tuition for the 2021/2022 school year.

To apply for the Catholic school subsidy, you must complete and return the St. Philip Neri Church Catholic 2021-22 School Subsidy Application to the parish office

by Feb. 28, 2021. Applications are available on the parish website. Funds are limited, so apply early.

For more information, please contact Melissa DelaO in the parish office at accountant@saintphilipneri.org.

Adopt-A-Child Given our responsibility to provide for another generation of God’s children, St. Philip Neri has established its Adopt-a-Child Program, an Annual Fund designated to support Catholic education.

The cost associated with our Subsidy Program has increased over the years, with the Annual Fund designed to offset some of this cost through the faithful and generous stewardship of our parishioners.

Methods of giving — how do I contribute?

Monetary donations may be contributed through one lump sum or continued over a designated period. Donations may also be made through online electronic giving. Checks should be made payable to “St. Philip Neri Church,” with “Adopt-a-Child” noted in the memo line.

Please consider making a bequest to our Adopt-a-Child Annual Fund when developing your estate planning. For more information please contact Lynda Curry in the parish office at businessmanager@saintphilip.neri.org.

How to Support the Church and Save Taxes Required Minimum Distribution It is possible to make a tax-free transfer as part of your Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA directly to St. Philip Neri. It’s a convenient and smart option for supporting the work of the Church. Your taxable income is not affected because no taxes are due on this distribution — a real advantage at tax time.

Contributions can only be made from traditional Individual Retirement Accounts or Roth IRAs. Each year, the donor/IRA holder must instruct the IRA trustee/custodian to issue the distribution check payable to the charity, including the charity’s address. In order for donors to make a qualified IRA contribution, the Church must provide written acknowledgment of each contribution.

For detailed information, please contact your tax or investment consultant. You may also contact Lynda Curry in the parish office at businessmanager@saintphilipneri.org or 803-548-7282.

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New Year Brings Opportunity for Growth as Disciples of Christ continued from front cover the typical secular resolutions, recommitting to an active and vibrant faith life in 2021 is essential now more than ever. Often, this spiritual renewal takes place in the home.

“We need to nourish what St. John Paul II used to say about the domestic church,” Fr. Fabio says.

“When we leave Mass — whether in-person or watching on the computer — that’s when you bring the ideas and inspiration to the domestic church at home. At church, we pray so that you can understand how to pray at home — we share the Eucharistic meal so that you understand how to share a meal together at home.”

While cultivating a strong domestic church in our home is an important part of drawing close to the Lord, we must also continue to seek community with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The COVID-19 crisis has made social interaction increasingly difficult over the last year, making it all the more necessary for parishioners to be intentional about nurturing

their relationships with one another.

“Connect with people,” Fr. Fabio says. “I know there is a lot of reluctance regarding that, but this is the reality. We have to connect with people, we have to push forward. We are very physical people, we like contact and interaction. It’s very challenging, but it’s in the challenging moments that we can grow, so we have to press forward and develop new ways to connect with one another. I say to the people — be Isaiah, connect to the people, the old and the young. We have lost that connection to the Lord and to other people, and it affects our spirituality.”

Moving forward in the new year, may we all strive to keep our faith lives front and center, strengthening our domestic churches and our ties to one another.

“This year, I hope that we slowly return to our daily routines, while always bearing within us this wonderful joy of the moment of the Incarnation that we experience in Christmas, and bringing that light into the shadows everywhere we go,” Fr. Fabio says.