St. Benedict Cathedral Newsletter — July 2022

St. Benedict

Cathedral

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Meet Fr. Alex Zenthoefer,

Our New Cathedral Rector

“This Is My Greatest Desire — to Know Christ More Fully”

F

r. Alex Zenthoefer fondly remembers spending long hours with his siblings laboring in support of his childhood parish. He was raised at Sacred Heart, where his mother served as the Director of Religious Education.

The parish became a home for him. It was a place where he felt supported and encouraged. It was also where he met and worked with Fr. Eugene Dewig, his pastor and the greatest influence on his vocation.

“It was also the place where I first felt called to the priesthood,” Fr. Alex says. “I remember serving in fifth grade and being enamored by the mystery of what happened during Mass. That fascination with the Mystery of God is still one of the driving forces that motivates and informs my ministry.”

We welcome Fr. Alex Zenthoefer Fr. Alex became the Vicar General for the as our new Rector here at St. Benedict Cathedral.

Diocese of Evansville in June of 2021, and the position has opened his eyes to the vast issues faced by the Church on a diocesan level. It has also made him more sympathetic to those who are struggling, both laity and priests, and joyful to see how grateful our people are for our priests.

“One thing is clear — we need to pray for our priests,” he says.

“They are burdened with things that a priest 40 years ago would have never dreamed of. We are ordaining men to run parishes, and their continued on page 2

Inside JULY 2022

3 We Provide the Gifts, God Performs the Miracles 4 Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Humbly Serving and Sharing Christ 6 Getting to Know the “Summertime” Saints 7 Eucharistic Adoration: Drawing Near to Christ in His Real Presence

Meet Fr. Alex Zenthoefer, Our New Cathedral Rector continued from front cover

responsibilities rival those of many CEOs, and all the while, our priests are asked to care for the souls entrusted to them. It is a heavy load, and priests need our prayers.”

On June 30, Fr. Alex takes on a new role as Rector of St. Benedict Cathedral. He’s most looking forward to getting to know the faith community.

“Every parish offers a new perspective on the face of Christ — this is the beauty of the Church,” Fr. Alex says. “The more we share our experience of Christ, the more we can see Him in His fullness. This is my greatest desire — to know Christ more fully, knowing that He is the source of every joy and every hope.”

As he looks to the future, Fr. Alex’s primary goal is to follow Christ and to listen. He encourages young people and families to spend time together in silence so that we can all better learn to listen.

“My goal is to be obedient to Christ’s voice, and I realize that I can only do this if I am willing to listen to the people around me, to those who are also searching for Him,” Fr. Alex says.

“Everything else is secondary to following Christ.

Setting goals will be important and preparing a vision for the future will come in time, but there is no program that can replace the presence of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Fr. Alex would like to ask the faith community of St. Benedict to “show your faith” and what it looks like for you to follow Christ.

“I want to learn from your experience of faith and what God has been doing in your life,” Fr. Alex says. “I look forward to learning from you and growing in my priestly vocation by tending to your needs. You are a gift to us, and we look forward to celebrating that gift with joy!”

Fr. Alex Zenthoefer celebrates the completion of his Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching.

If you would like to speak with Fr. Alex Zenthoefer, please reach out to him through email at azenthoefer@evdio.org or through St. Benedict Cathedral Parish’s office at 812-425-3369.

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Miracles A Letter From Our Cathedral Rector

We Provide the Gifts, God Performs the

My Fellow Parishioners:

I

t is human nature to try to neatly place things into categories. If we categorize the miracles performed by Christ, the two largest groupings might fall under the headings “Healing” and “Feeding.”

This is exactly what we are about here at St. Benedict Cathedral. At the base of all our liturgies is the Eucharist, when we come together in communion with the Lord and with one another to be both fed and healed. Even one of Christ’s most famous miracles — the Feeding of the Multitude — involved both healing and feeding from a spiritual and a literal perspective.

The reason the large crowd gathered was because Jesus’ reputation as a healer had spread and grown. He felt compassion for that crowd, which is another way of saying He loved them and felt sorry that they were hungry due to their willingness to sit and be with Him for so long.

Recognizing it was late in the day and that many of them had not eaten, Jesus literally fed them — but that day, He didn’t stop with physical nourishment. He

also fed them spiritually with His words, and simultaneously, healed their wounded hearts by preaching a message of hope and forgiveness in the midst of a dark and hardened world.

The narrative of Christ taking a small amount of food and using it to feed thousands is familiar to all of us. It is reported in all four Gospels. However, I would like to highlight one aspect of that miracle. It all started with one boy who was willing to share what little he had. Because the boy made the gift of his fishes and loaves, the Lord took it

and multiplied it many times over, nourishing so many more people than what that little bit initially could.

Isn’t that what we as a parish are called to do? I know I often feel this in my vocation: it seems like I have so little to give for so many. You may even feel the same in your own family or at work. But the challenge is to not try and take the place of God, who alone can multiply our offerings to heal and draw a multitude of people closer to Him. The reality is that without the gifts, there can be no miracles, and without miracles, we are a hungry and broken people. Christ has come to renew, nourish, fulfill, and restore — and that, brothers and sisters, is what Christianity is all about.

Peace,

Fr. Alex Zenthoefer Cathedral Rector 3

Extraordinary Minister

Humbly Serving a

T

“Fundamentally, none of us is worthy to do what we do. Seeing this ministry as a service with the Body of Christ, for the Body of Christ, to the Body of Christ is of great importance.”

— Fr. Godfrey Mullen 4

hroughout the course of the liturgy, the priest acts in the person of Christ. Ultimately, the priest is the only one necessary to bring us Christ in the Eucharist. However, the Church gives us many ways for laypeople to assist the priest and in a large parish like St. Benedict Cathedral, this assistance is vital. Altar servers directly assist the priest while lectors and cantors bring us the Word of God in a profound way. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have the unique privilege of offering the Body of Christ to the congregation. It is a great and humbling responsibility.

“There is no place nearer that we can get here on this earth than holding His presence in our hands, offering His presence to another brother or sister with a hungry soul,” says our former rector, Fr. Godfrey Mullen.

In our parish, the ministers assist at Mass and often help to take Communion to those who are ill or homebound. While being a minister brings an individual close to our Lord, they also have a great responsibility in bringing Christ to others who are hungering for spiritual food.

When those who would like to receive the Eucharist are unable to come to Mass and participate in the community of the parish, the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is able to be the face of the parish, bringing them both our Lord and fellowship.

“Anytime we serve someone in need, someone hungry, and we’re looking for the living Lord, we so easily are serving Him,” Fr. Godfrey says. “His hunger is fed when those who hunger for the ‘bread come down from heaven’ are fed.”

St. Benedict currently has about 65 Extraordinary Ministers of Holy

rs of Holy Communion

and Sharing Christ

Communion. Ministers are confirmed Catholics who have undergone a simple training process. Fr. Godfrey trains new ministers after a weekend Mass, walking them through the practical steps and also giving some catechesis about the ministry. The parish is always in need of additional people to serve in this ministry.

Fr. Alex is looking for one or two people willing to take over the coordination of this ministry.

“Often, when I encourage someone to consider this ministry, I hear these familiar words, ‘Father, I’m not worthy to do that,’” Fr. Godfrey says. “Fundamentally, none of us is worthy to do what we do. Seeing this ministry as a service with the Body of Christ, for the Body of Christ, to the Body of Christ is of great importance. There are very few reasons that really should keep a person from this ministry.”

Entering this ministry with humility and reflection can spill over into the rest of your life in the best possible way.

“Noticing the hunger of the other, finding ourselves able to address that hunger not only with our own service but with the presence of Christ, that moves us to becoming more readily willing to ask the Lord to help us in all our projects, challenges, and ministries,” Fr. Godfrey says.

Anyone who is interested in being trained as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion may contact the parish office at cathedral@evdio.org or 812-425-3369.

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Getting to Know the

“Summertime” Saints S

chool is out, and summer is now in full swing.

The days are longer, warmer and filled with plenty of fun summertime activities.

This summer, as we take family vacations, gather with friends and loved ones for barbecues, spend time by the pool, and enjoy all of the usual summertime activities, we can also take the time to reflect on some of the saints who are associated with the summer.

Family vacations are perhaps the most iconic of all summertime activities. Although there is no patron saint of vacations, there are a number of saints associated with traveling. One of the most popular is St. Christopher. According to his story, St. Christopher was an extremely tall and strong man who served Christ by helping people cross an especially dangerous river. That is why many people wear St. Christopher medals while traveling — to ask for his blessing and protection.

For those of us who are taking road trips this summer, there is St. Frances of Rome, the patron saint of cars and drivers. While St. Frances died well before cars were invented, her story says that her guardian angel went ahead of her when she traveled at night and lit the road with a lantern to keep St. Frances safe.

There are also saints we can look to when traveling by plane. St. Joseph of Cupertino was a Franciscan friar who is said to have frequently and miraculously levitated off the ground during intense prayer sessions. Because of this levitation, he is recognized as the patron saint of air travelers. St. Therese of Lisieux is also associated with aviators and flying.

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If you are going on a cruise this summer, you can ask for the intercession of St. Brendan the Navigator, an Irish monk who founded the Clonfert monastery and monastic school, and is the patron saint of mariners and sailors. He and his brothers sailed the Atlantic Ocean and evangelized on a number of islands, and may have even reached the Americas.

Another favorite summer activity is swimming.

Whether you choose a pool, a lake or the ocean, seek the intercession of St. Adjutor of Vernon, a knight who was captured in the First Crusade.

His captors tried to force him to give up his faith, but St. Adjutor escaped by swimming to his freedom. For this reason, he is the patron saint against drowning, and for drowning victims, sailors and swimmers.

The summer is also a time of amusement and enjoyment. One of the biggest national celebrations of the summer is the Fourth of July. For this type of summertime activity, we look to St. Barbara, the patron saint of fireworks.

There are also a number of saints with feast days during the summer. The feast day of St. Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, is celebrated on July 26. July 31 is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is also associated with stewardship. These are just two of the many saints whose feasts we celebrate this summer.

No matter what kinds of activities we choose to enjoy during the summertime, let us remember to honor the saints who have gone before us, and give their intercession for us as we walk through our own journeys of faith.

Eucharistic Adoration:

Drawing Near to Christ in His Real Presence

P

ope Emeritus Benedict XVI was a strong proponent of Eucharistic Adoration. In an address after the Angelus given on Oct.6, 2007, he stated, “In life today, often noisy and dispersive, it is more important than ever to recover the capacity for inner silence and recollection.

Eucharistic Adoration permits this, not only centered on the ‘I’ but more so in the company of that ‘You’ full of love who is Jesus Christ, ‘the God who is near to us.’”

Here at St. Benedict Cathedral Parish, Eucharistic Adoration has been offered for over 15 years. Current adoration hours are Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additionally, on the fourth Monday of each month, adoration is held from 8 a.m. to midnight. During the season of Lent, there is an additional adoration hour from 6 to 7 p.m. after the conclusion of the 5:30 p.m. Mass.

Lisa Roth is in charge of scheduling the normal weekday adoration hours. She first started coming to adoration herself two years ago after seeing an ad in the bulletin and deciding to just give it a try.

“It was a struggle for me at first,” Lisa says. “When I started going, I thought I’d come in every now and then, but it’s a weekly commitment. However, I always felt better after I went. My days go better when I take that time for adoration or Mass.

“Adoration is a time where you can be with the Lord, sit quietly, and listen,” she adds. “You can read something that helps increase your faith, and perhaps if you’re reading the Bible, a certain verse will speak to you. You could say a Rosary or traditional prayers.”

In a message to Dutch youth on Oct. 25, 2005, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “Go to the encounter with Him in the Blessed Eucharist, go to adore Him in the churches, kneeling before the Tabernacle: Jesus will fill you with His love and will reveal to you the thoughts of His Heart. If you listen to Him, you will feel ever more deeply the joy of belonging to His Mystical Body, the Church, which is the family of His disciples held close by the bond of unity and love.”

Lisa herself has experienced this effect of adoration.

“For me, I know it’s one hour of undisturbed time to be with the Lord,” she says. “I think it helps me to become a better person. I say a Rosary or read The Imitation of Christ. By reading things like this, it helps me to be a better person by understanding how Christ wants me to live and to go out and love others and bring joy to people.

“By doing adoration, I’m understanding things better when I read my Bible,” she adds. “I see ways in which I need to make improvements in continued on back cover

“Adoration made me realize how important the Eucharist is. As Catholics, sometimes we don’t give enough thought to Who we are receiving.

Adoration has made me realize that I need to focus more and realize how special the Eucharist really is. We are receiving Christ.” — Lisa Roth 7

1328 Lincoln Avenue | Evansville, IN 47714 (812) 425-3369 | www.saintbenedictcathedral.org

Eucharistic Adoration continued from page 7 my life. I think that you have to make room for the Holy Spirit and clear out the clutter and realize that sometimes we push the Holy Spirit out by the things we do. Adoration is a good time to reflect on how you are living your life. It opened that door for the Holy Spirit more clearly for me. It’s made a difference for me personally in my overall view of our faith and how beautiful it is.”

Adoration has also strengthened Lisa’s appreciation of the Catholic faith.

“Adoration made me realize how important the Eucharist is,” she says. “As Catholics, sometimes we don’t give enough thought to Who we are receiving. Adoration has made me realize that I need to focus more and realize how special the Eucharist really is. We are receiving Christ."

St. Benedict Cathedral hopes to one day have Perpetual Adoration available. If you would like to sign up for an hour of adoration, please contact one of the following: For normal weekday hours, please contact Lisa Roth at 812-473-1702.

For an Adoration hour on the fourth Monday of the month, please contact Justine or Jim Cameron at 812-480-1315 or 812-480-9403.

The Adoration Chapel is located in the former Cry Room.

LITURGY SCHEDULE

Saturday Vigil: 4:30 p.m. | Sunday: 8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Daily Mass: Tuesday - Saturday 9:00 a.m.

Confessions: Tuesday through Friday 8:40 - 8:55 a.m., Saturday 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. & 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.