MEET PARISHIONERS DENNIS AND MARY HARB: Sharing Gifts of Time, Talent & Treasure with God & Parish

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus implores us to pay no mind to earthly treasures. In heaven, our treasures can’t be destroyed like they can be on earth. We should choose to store our treasures in heaven — “for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21).

We are blessed to have a wonderful church building and community here at St. Leo’s. As the Gospel of Matthew says, we should consider heaven as a place to store treasure. In the same way, we should give St. Leo’s our time, talent, and treasure.

Dennis and Mary Harb have been St. Leo’s members for about 47 years. Name a ministry, and they have probably been involved, from marriage preparation and ushering, to delivering the Eucharist to the homebound and teaching religious education. Dennis also served as Parish Council president for 12 years.

“St. Leo’s is such an important place to us,” Mary says.

One of the most monumental aspects of the couple’s faith journey was their involvement with Cursillo. From about 1990 to 2000, they were heavily involved with the weekend retreats.

“Cursillo was a big part of our faith journey,” Mary says. “It brought us together as a family. It really changed our lives.”

Mary is a 12-year member of the Women’s Bible Study at St. Leo’s. Dennis is a part of Brothers in Christ and the Evangelization Team.

“I enjoy looking at ways to bring more people back to the church through the Evangelization Team,” Dennis says. “About 50 percent of Catholics are gone from the Catholic Church. It’s getting quite disturbing.”

Mary, who helped start and expand Eucharistic Adoration at St. Leo’s, values adoration as an essential part of her faith.

“It has really helped me personally,” she says. “It increases my joy, my peace, and my prayer life.”

Mary also values the Rosary group of which she is a part — it’s been the same group of women for about 10 years. She has helped, where she can, with several other ministries —washing linens, delivering food to the food pantry, and helping with funeral dinners.

Dennis and Mary love the St. Leo’s community. They’ve each found a ministry where they can really apply their passions. For Mary, that’s keeping the outside of the entrance looking beautiful through the Liturgy and Environment Committee. She looks for an opportunity to garden any time she can.

“It’s a form of hospitality,” she says. “When it’s nice outside the church, you want to go look at what’s inside.”

Dennis has found his niche by evangelizing. He had open-heart surgery more than two years ago. When he woke up from the surgery, he took that as a sign that God had more planned for him. He started a group called Men of the Cross, and assembles crucifix necklaces and gives them to men to wear to show their love for Christ.

“A lot of people ask me about my crucifix,” Dennis says. “It has become an evangelization magnet and a way to talk to people about Christ.”

Dennis is also involved with the St. Paul Street Evangelization Team, a nonprofit with a goal of sharing Jesus with people out in public.

“I love doing evangelization work,” he says. “We are the hands and feet of Christ.”

The couple also supports St. Leo’s financially, and are supporters of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

Dennis and Mary start each day by either watching or attending daily Mass at St. Leo’s. In their free time, they enjoy walking and watching their grandkids’ sports and activities. They have two sons and seven grandchildren.

“Our grandchildren are all great Christian kids,” Mary says. “We are so proud of them.”

Dennis and Mary Harb