Catholic Key February/March 2023

From the Bishop

What is luck?

P. 4

Catholic Schools

Growing enrollment and a new school P.28

Eucharistic Revival

Fresh Fire inspires P.32

hope JOYFUL IN

Our 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal, “Joyful in Hope,” comes from Romans 12:12 and aptly captures where we stand at this time in our diocesan story as we embrace our duties as disciples of Jesus.

This is essential funding that impacts every parishioner and parish in the 27 counties that make up our diocese. By supporting the ACA, your gift will help in this continued work we do together today but also to prepare for our future. God has given us many blessings. Let us join together as one family and walk together in faith through acts of love as disciples of Our Lord.

Romans 12:12

To give a gift or make a pledge to the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) go online and visit: www.kcsjcatholic.org.

Also, while there, please take the opportunity to listen to this year’s ACA audio message.

The magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

VOL. 3 | ISSUE 2

Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr.

Publisher

Ashlie Hand

Editor

Christy Gruenbaum

Assistant editor

Jenny Pomicter

Graphic designer

To submit story ideas and news, send emails to hand@diocesekcsj.org

www.FAITHcatholic.com

Catholic Key (ISSN 2769-2353, USPS 024-190) is a membership publication of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, published bimonthly (Feb/ Mar, Apr/May, Jun/Jul, Aug/ Sep, Oct/Nov, Dec/Jan) by the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, The Catholic Center, 20 W. Ninth St., Kansas City, MO 64105. Periodicals Postage

Paid at Kansas City, MO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Catholic Key, The Catholic Center, 20 W. Ninth St., Kansas City, MO 64105. ©2022 Catholic Key, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

ON THE COVER: Michael Haynes, Sr. has found support and positive affirmation through Morning Glory Ministries at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

by Ashlie Hand.

14

COVER STORY

Redemption road | Bridget Locke

Michael Haynes, Sr. knows the power of redemption. When life left him sad and alone, homeless and lacking confidence, he found Morning Glory Ministries at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. Michael’s story reminds us of the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as we enter the season of Lent and turn our focus to preparing our hearts for the resurrection. Through blessings and lessons, God always provides for the road ahead.

4 On the Way | Believe in luck

… or Divine Providence? | Bishop Johnston

What exactly is luck, and is it consistent with being a Christian who lives by Faith?

7 You cannot outgive God | Deacon Joe Zagar

I think many are jaded or lack compassion at the thought of ministering to the imprisoned, while many others are probably intimidated at the thought. I won’t lie, at times I have been in both of those thought camps.

learning environments that will prepare their children for college and a competitive workforce, while developing their spiritual growth. This may explain, in part, why Catholic school enrollment is growing in record numbers.

30 To Serve and Lift | Help and hope for a brighter future | Susan Walker

Change is hard when life is stable. However, when facing the barriers of poverty, change can seem insurmountable.

8

House of God | St. Patrick’s Parish, St. Joseph | Ashlie Hand and Cory Thomason

Explore the history and symbolism found in the architecture and sacred art of St. Patrick’s Parish in St. Joseph.

20

A hug and a sandwich | Marty Denzer

Kathy and Bruce Whittman started a summer lunch program at Holy Spirit Parish in Lee’s Summit which served nearly 12,000 lunches over the 12-week summer break in 2022 alone.

28 Catholic Schools | Enrollment on an upward trend | Bridget Locke

More than ever, challenges in K-12 education have prompted parents to look for alternative

32 Eucharistic Revival | Fresh Fire | Marty Denzer

According to Father Justin Hoye, pastor at St. Thomas More Parish in Kansas City, “Fresh Fire is the exposure of a truth non-Catholics haven’t been exposed to, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is evangelization at its purest.”

EN ESPANOL

24 Fresh Fire brinda oración, adoración y evangelización juntas | Marty Denzer

26 En Camino | ¿Cree en la Suerte ... o en la Divina Providencia? | Obispo Johnston

Photo

Marty Denzer is long-time writer in residence for the Catholic Key.

Ashlie Hand leads the Office of Communications for the Diocese of Kansas CitySt. Joseph.

Bridget Locke loves God and people. Learn more about her life and work at bnlcomms.com.

Susan Walker leads the Outreach and Engagement team at Catholic Charities KCSJ.

Deacon Joe Zagar serves St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Blue Springs and St. Michael the Archangel High School.

PROVIDENCE? Divine

If you’re like me, you often wish others “good luck” with some undertaking. Or, when the Chiefs get a turnover at a key point in a game, exclaim “that was lucky!” Others identify a lucky object of some sort: a hat, a jersey, a fishing rod. Gamblers often talk of luck in poker and blackjack and other games of chance. But what exactly is luck, and is it consistent with being a Christian who lives by Faith? As we approach Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, this question is a timely one. After all, we also often speak of the “luck of the Irish.”

Luck is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a force that brings good fortune or adversity [as with bad luck].” A variation of the definition includes the concept of chance and factors that are unpredictable. So, what are we to make of all this? Is there a “force” that guides the unpredictable events of our lives for good or ill?

One can think of luck as a form of superstition, such as a black cat crossing one’s path will bring bad luck. This is a false belief in causation and chance whereby supernatural forces can be managed and controlled as if by magic. This approach to luck is contrary to the Christian Faith.

For the Christian, there is a force in the world that guides and holds everything in being. That force is God, the Holy Spirit. Likewise, Christians also believe in the work and action of angels, those pure spirits who are unseen, but who nevertheless have an active role in God’s plan and our human history. A term that speaks of God’s benevolent action in our lives is Divine Providence — God’s generous love which guides and provides for all his creatures. Our Faith, articulated in the Lord’s Prayer, is that God is our Father — a good Father who loves us and wants to give us good things. Jesus em -

phasized this on the occasion when he gave a teaching on prayer: “Would one of you hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf, or a poisonous snake when he asks for a fish? If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks him.” (Mt 7:9-11)

Christians believe that the world is not a big game of chance. We also know that while this world is guided and sustained by God, he has also allowed for human freedom, which means that things can go wrong when we go wrong. There are also random natural forces in the world that are a part of God’s Divine Providence that can hurt or even kill us, like lightning bolts, cancer and grizzly bears. The mystery we live with is that all of this is part of God’s will, and none of it is luck. We can still wish our friends “good luck” in words of goodwill and support. Or, after an errant golf shot hits a tree and lands on the green, say, “That was lucky.” But we do so not in superstition, but in the knowledge that God holds the world in his loving hands and that all blessings come from him, and even all our crosses and disappointments are somehow aligned for our benefit too. It’s not luck at all — but grace!

“WE KNOW THAT GOD MAKES ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS DECREE.”

— ROMANS 8:28

From the Bishop Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. is the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

FAITH WORK at

The vast majority of the more than 1.5 million people employed in the Kansas City and St. Joseph metropolitan areas work in secular industries. How is faith expressed by devoted Catholics working in our area banks, law firms, doctors’ offices, restaurants, farms or auto plants? This is “Faith at work.”

STACEY HARTMAN

Nurse, Mosaic Life Care

Internal Medicine Pediatrics and Adult Care

Q Tell us a little bit about your faith journey.

I was always involved in church and Sunday school growing up, but didn’t become Catholic until later in life. All three of my children attended Catholic schools: Cathedral of St. Joseph School and Bishop LeBlond High School. My grandkids currently attend Saint Gianna Early Childhood Center and plan to continue their education in the Catholic schools.

Q Is your Catholic Faith part of your professional identity?

My co-workers know I am Catholic. I love jewelry and always have my cross necklace, Our Lady Medallion and scapular on. I also wear two saints’ bracelets. I’ve been asked before if they are pictures of my children and I happily tell them they are saints. I work for a doctor who is also Catholic and helps remind me of Holy Days of Obligation and special Mass dates.

Q What are some practical ways that you incorporate prayer into your work day?

I have open communication with God, all day every day. He is very much a part of my everyday interactions with people. I do my best to have patience with everyone and treat others with kindness, respect and a smile. I normally pray the Rosary

in the morning. My favorite prayer is: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Q Does your Catholic Faith influence your interactions and decisions throughout the work day?

Everyone has their own crosses they carry — life can be difficult. We never know what others are going through but we can do our best to respect them and be a pleasant source. I have a positive attitude and I am always good for a hug.

Q What is your go-to faithbased podcast, app, radio program or station?

My go to faith-based podcast is Father Mike Schmitz — he is a great pick me up at any time of day. He’s on YouTube and the Hallow app. I also enjoy “Bible in a Year,” “Ascension Presents” and the latest “Catechism in a Year.”

Stacey is a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in St. Joseph.

YOU CANNOT OUTGIVE GOD

In St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Blue Springs, there is a beautiful image of the Corporal Works of Mercy in stained glass from the Gospel of Matthew. Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty and clothing the naked all come very naturally to Christians. Farther down the list is to visit the imprisoned. This is one that does not come so easily. I think many are jaded or lack compassion at the thought of ministering to the imprisoned, while many others are probably intimidated at the thought. I won’t lie, at times I have been in both of those thought camps.

By Deacon Joe Zagar

So why would anyone want to get involved in ministering to the imprisoned? For me, it wasn’t a comfortable thought at first, but one thing I have learned in my years is that you cannot outgive God. As a permanent deacon, my ordination configures me to minister as Christ the Servant. Christ did not turn away from anyone in need, in fact, after the wedding at Cana, when his ministry began. His whole life from that point on revolved around seeking out the lost, forgotten and the needy.

One of the ways I am convinced that the devil is hard at work is to watch the slow degradation of the dignity of the human person. It is easy to see this when we talk about pro-life issues, but there are other ways in which the devil

is attacking the dignity of each person and the value of human life in general. Removing distinctions between male and female, devaluing marriage and reducing the worth of a person to their utility or usefulness diminish the dignity of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God.

When we enter the role of judge and through judgment determine the “worth” of a person or apply labels, it makes it easy for us to just push aside those we don’t want to associate with. This is a very dangerous temptation. This attitude is not pleasing to God. The people that we choose to ignore or avoid are the very ones that Christ sought first and calls us to do likewise. If we want to see Christ, we will find

him in those we serve. We have to fight the urge to see only the bad in people and begin to see how valuable each and every life is. When we begin to do that, we will see each life very differently. Even though I may not always feel redeemable, thankfully God doesn’t see it that way. Don’t we owe that grace and mercy to everyone?

Everything I have ever done for God and with God no matter how difficult or sacrificial, has been in the end some of the greatest joys in my life. When you see Christ in those you serve or who are in need, he is more beautiful than you can imagine. I have never regretted anything I have done for my Lord. He always blesses me more than I could ever bless others.

The more you get to really know people, the more you find out we aren’t that different. The stigma of incarceration shouldn’t define one’s dignity or worth. I have found some of the most faithful people who are in the fight for their souls in places that I never expected. I receive much more than I give and my faith is strengthened by the witness of those who are seeking, trying and fighting for their salvation. I want to see others through the eyes of God, not my own. That is when I see the face of Christ. I pray that in me, they also see the face of Christ.

To learn more, visit humanrightskcsj.org

Deacon Joe Zagar is assigned to St. Robert Bellarmine Parish and St. Michael the Archangel High School.

“FOR I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE ME FOOD, I WAS THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME DRINK, A STRANGER AND YOU WELCOMED ME, NAKED AND YOU CLOTHED ME, ILL AND YOU CARED FOR ME, IN PRISON AND YOU VISITED ME.”

— Matthew 25:35-36

House of God

St. Patrick Parish, St. Joseph

By Ashlie Hand

Photos by Cory Thomason

St. Patrick Parish in St. Joseph celebrated its first Mass in 1869 at the Christian Brothers’ school at 11th and Montgomery streets. The current church was completed in December 1873 and looks much the same today from the outside, with the exception of the 1960s addition of a front entrance that allows for handicap accessibility. The church is built in the Romanesque style, a term coined by 19th century art historians that refers to the characteristics which bear some resemblance to ancient Roman architecture. All the labor was donated and materials for construction were purchased with proceeds from bazaars and socials.

According to This Far by Faith, vol. I, “Combining brick and stone became a practical and decorative adaptation of the Italianate Romanesque churches.” The total cost to build St. Patrick’s Church in 1869 was $20,000. The bell tower was built in 1874 for $50.

St. Patrick Parish’s church seats 200 and includes a traditional choir loft that is still used each week. The interior of the church originally ended where the current communion rail begins and was enlarged and redecorated in 1923. The stained-glass windows are believed to be original to the church, dating back to 1873.

The current altar, a signature architectural element of St. Patrick Parish’s church is made of a combination of white Carrara marble, Trani marble and Algerian onyx. Bas relief statues of Saint Patrick and Saint Bridget were carved into the main altar. It was made in Italy in the early 1940s, but could not be delivered until after World War II, arriving in 1947.

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine represents a powerful devotion due to the migration of Hispanic Catholics from Holy Rosary Parish when it closed in the 1960s. The move established a lasting legacy of Mexican and Hispanic heritage at St. Patrick Parish that continues today. The St. Patrick Mexican Fiesta began in 1969 and remains one of the hallmarks of summer in St. Joseph.

more fascinating details at catholickey.org

The side altars were also made in Italy, purchased from the Hackner Company of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and arrived with the main altar in 1947. They are dedicated to the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph. Familiar symbols are painted on the ceiling above each side altar, roses for the Blessed Mother and lilies for Saint Joseph.

Father Jonathan Davis has served as pastor at St. Patrick’s Parish for nearly 18 months, following assignments at Holy Cross Parish and Our Lady of Peace Parish in Kansas City. He has a special appreciation for the diversity of cultures within the congregation of the parish, which he says is about 60 percent Hispanic and growing. “It’s a really beautiful representation of the universality of the Catholic Church. That’s what I love about it,” he said.

Hand-carved and realistically painted wood Stations of the Cross surround the main worship space inside the church.

Following his ordination in 2017, Bishop Johnston placed Father Davis in a Spanish immersion program in Mexico for six weeks, which gave him the necessary language skills to minister to the growing Hispanic Catholic community in the diocese. Today, Father Davis celebrates Masses in both English and Spanish, and shares with the congregation a love of Hispanic cultures around the world.

The church was intentionally built facing the east, the direction from which we believe Christ will return. So, as we look toward Easter, Father Davis offers a connection to the Resurrection and the ancient liturgical tradition of Christians facing toward the east in prayer, “Those entering the church at Easter would actually face the east to make their baptismal promises. In doing this, their backs were toward the west to symbolize they were turning towards Christ the Light of the World and turning their backs on the darkness of sin and the things of the world.”

The base of the altar features a pelican, an ancient image of Christ. The tradition is that when a mother pelican is without food, she will feed her own flesh to her young. The closer you get to the image, the greater the level of detail you can see.

The statue of the parish’s patron saint, Saint Patrick, was a more recent gift to the parish, while the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus dates back to 1929, according to a handwritten account inside one of the arms.

By Robert

Who better than a carpenter?

Who better than a carpenter to be the earthly father of God incarnate? Who better to receive the maker than one who makes?

A carpenter looks at things made and recognizes the intentions of the maker. A child needs to be seen for who they are so they may become who they are meant to be. Who better than Joseph to see the child Jesus for who he was? Joseph was likely among the first who looked at Jesus and saw God.

And anyone who has been truly seen by someone is better equipped to do the same for others. I suspect Joseph played a part in developing Jesus’ extraordinary ability to look into a person’s heart and see who they were meant to be.

A carpenter knows what it is to pour heart and soul into the world — into things readily woven into daily living. God poured Jesus into our world so that we might live with God in all intimacy.

A carpenter knows how to measure carefully, design what suits the needs at hand, assess the materials and cost and, for the big projects, call trustworthy subcontractors to complete the work. Who better to raise the one who laid the foundation for the kingdom of heaven and calls us to complete the work?

A carpenter knows how to assess what is broken and mend it, making it more resilient than before. Who better to help shape the vocation of one who came to heal the broken?

And who better to make a home for God’s mercy and love than Joseph, who offered mercy and love to the expectant Mother of God?

Sandford

Bob Sandford has been designing and making things with wood for church and home for more than 30 years. This Easter candle stand, a work in progress, will soon be searching for a home.

The VALUE of COMMUNITY

for your children is among the most important gifts you can offer them — and yourself.

Mary and Joseph modeled this. The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus as a child, but it’s not hard to extrapolate that the Holy Family was solidly supported by community. Why else would Mary and Joseph have not even noticed their 12-year-old wasn’t with the group for three days after they left Jerusalem? The only explanation is, they were so comfortable with the community in which they were raising their son, they figured he was just with someone else and would show up soon.

I’ve been experiencing a surprisingly satisfying part of parenting lately. It’s the bit where I get to watch other people’s kids grow up alongside my own. As the years go by, I find I have almost as much fun watching other people’s kids succeed, grow and change as I do my own. It has its own sweetness, too, because I’m not the one working so hard on those kids. I’m just there for the celebration.

All of our children are going through major milestones this spring. First Communion, Confirmation and graduation from both elementary and high school are on the calendar.

In preparation, I am looking up again and again to see the families we have known for years presenting their children for the same things. Some I know well. Some I only know by sight — not even by name — but these kids and

Karen Ridder

their parents are a part of our community. Walking beside them is a fruit of choosing to be in one. We don’t live in a world that is very conducive to community. People move a lot. Friends leave. Your kids grow. You quit a job. The situation changes. Maintaining or creating community can be exhausting. It requires intentionality, sacrifice and sometimes hard work. But, I would propose, creating a community

is a parishioner at St. James Parish in Liberty and a convert to the Catholic Faith. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has written for numerous publications in the Kansas City area. Karen and her husband Jeff have three sons and a daughter.

You don’t have that kind of trust in your community by just making a cursory investment in a place. You have to live there. You have to stay there. You have to keep going back time and again, even when it’s hard.

It can be challenging — especially when you are new someplace — but God knows what your family needs, and he will help.

The most satisfying kind of community is with people who share your faith and values. Seek those people out. Invite them over. Ask for and accept help. Tell them your story. Listen to theirs. This is important stuff. Make space for it. Prioritize it.

Don’t be too busy for it.

Jesus never completely left the community his parents built for him. Two of his disciples were kids he grew up with. He went to his cousin John to be baptized. He performed his first miracle at a friend’s wedding. Jesus looked down to see a small community of women and his bestie by Mary’s side at the foot of the cross.

Create a community for your children. It will help them become God’s people. It will help you too by becoming a more satisfied parent — celebrating others — and living like Jesus.

“The most satisfying kind of community is with people who share your faith and values.”

PERSEVERANCE IN MERCY: A LENTEN REFLECTION

Isaw Lent as an opportunity to prove myself as a worthy disciple and a way to shock my spiritual life back into rhythm. Every year, my Lenten practice was to perform some grandiose act of mortification — going without shoes, sleeping on the floor, only eating one meal a day — with the hopes of growing closer to God. However, despite persevering in these disciplines for 40 days, not one of them impacted my spiritual life in the long run. A few weeks after Easter, I was right back in the same spiritual rut as before.

Last year was no different. I was struggling to adapt to the rapid changes in my life. Within the previous two years, I had gotten married, become a father and absorbed more responsibilities at work. I began seeking comfort in mindless activities rather than confronting my ever-growing exhaustion and anxiety. My spiritual foundation was deteriorating, and it showed. I was constantly absorbed in my phone, which made it difficult to have intentional quality time with my wife and kids, enjoy being in the present moment and find the motivation to pray.

I threw myself into Lent determined to eliminate everything that kept me from spending time in prayer in the hopes of becoming a better father, husband and disciple.

Two weeks into Lent, tension began to build between my wife and me. I was dedicating time to prayer and other spiritual disciplines, while she was drowning in household chores and taking care of our son. It seemed that my spiritual life

and marriage life were opposed to one another.

And then one day I found this quote by Saint Josemaria Escriva: “Choose mortifications that do not mortify others.” Suddenly everything made sense.

What good was my fasting if it impeded my capacity to love those around me? My fasting only considered my own spiritual improvement, but it never occurred to me that the purpose for my fasting was to reflect the mercy of Christ to others.

I was meant to persevere, not in the 40-day goal I had set for myself, but in charity and mercy. My vocation was to grow in holiness through marriage by being merciful to my wife and children, which meant sacrific-

By Brad Horn, Director, Office of Youth Ministry Meet Brad Horn:

Brad took over as director of the diocesan Office of Youth Ministry on November 15, 2022, and has hit the ground running with intention and focus. He relocated his family from Texas to Kansas City to take the position with the diocese and is excited to “aid in the implementation of the Clear Path for Discipleship vision among the youth ministries in the diocese.” Brad and his wife Annamarie and two children, Lucas & Jacquelyn, are registered at Coronation of Our Lady Parish and are looking forward to fostering new relationships in the Kansas City Catholic community.

ing some of my disciplines in order to be more attentive to their needs. I needed to truly surrender myself completely to God and allow him to transform the desires in my heart so that they were in accordance with the desires of his will.

If we want Lent to transform our hearts, it must embody these three pillars — fasting, prayer and almsgiving (a.k.a. the works of mercy). Through fasting, we make room for God in our hearts; through prayer we allow God to fill our hearts with charity; and through almsgiving that charity is poured out into the world, just as the fountain of mercy flowed out from Jesus’ pierced side.

Lent is not about flexing our spiritual muscles or testing our willpower; it is about removing idols, reorienting our hearts towards God and allowing him to transform our lives by imitating Christ on the cross. We are to empty our hearts, sacrifice our will and learn to desire only God’s will. No matter what our Lenten sacrifices may be, they must increase in us the virtue of charity and lead us to acts of mercy towards our neighbor. Once we begin to allow God to transform our hearts, then we can truly hope to persevere as saints.

“TO BEGIN IS FOR EVERYONE; TO PERSEVERE IS FOR SAINTS.”

– SAINT JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA

By Bridget Locke

Every spring, Christians worldwide participate in the Lenten season by engaging in 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This period of preparation, prior to celebrating the Lord’s resurrection at Easter, allows for intentional focus on repentance and the redemption from sin that is available to us through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

Relatedly, there are other aspects of life that call for a focused period of preparation, prayer, and sacrifice in advance of redemption.

Just ask Michael Haynes, Sr.

Blessings and lessons

In 2008, Haynes felt dissatisfied. He wanted his shot at the American dream, but he always felt that it seemed just out of reach.

“I am originally from California,” he said. “The cost of living is so much higher on the West Coast, so my girlfriend and I decided to relocate to the Midwest. We needed a fresh start and decided to come to Kansas City.”

New life emerged from that decision, both figuratively and literally. Not long after arriving, the couple discovered they would soon be parents. The birth of their son Michael Haynes, Jr. in 2009 changed everything.

“I became a first-time dad at age 40,” said Haynes, smiling. “Children come with blessings and lessons.”

They also come with significant expenses. Though the couple found work after settling in the area, they still struggled to make ends meet, and getting ahead was even more difficult with a baby in tow. The day-to-day stress created more tension than their relationship could withstand, so the couple eventually split up. When his former girlfriend and infant son returned to California, Haynes remained in Kansas City.

Saddened and alone, Haynes gradually lost his belongings, his residence and his confidence.

Since then, he’s been on a persistent journey to gain it all back.

God always provides

In 2010, Haynes began visiting Morning Glory Ministries, a community-serving ministry led by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception that provides food and emergency assistance to those experiencing homelessness in Kansas City.

In addition to 150 meals served each day, up to 30 individuals arrive in need of emergency assistance. In response, staff, volunteers and donors provide clothing (for everyday life, as well as for work), shoes, hygiene and pantry items, blankets, backpacks and more. The organization also helps guests secure birth certificates and state of Missouri identification, as requested, so they can apply for housing and jobs.

Haynes speaks highly of every person he has encountered through Morning Glory Ministries (“We’ve become family and we worry if we don’t see someone for a while,” Haynes said), but feels particularly fond of John Kraus, Morning Glory Ministries’ director.

Kraus’ positive, hands-on demeanor is welcoming and infectious. On a cold, dreary morning in December 2022, just before opening the breakfast line to a full house, Kraus moved through the crowd to greet the guests and volunteers. They all connected with him eagerly.

“When I looked at the list of volunteers for today and noticed that only three people were on the list, I was concerned,” Kraus shared into the microphone before praying. “But I arrived this morning and saw all of these people here

Mike Haynes, Sr. has found a welcoming community at Morning Glory Ministries and is grateful for the staff and volunteers who have helped him along the road to redemption.

to help,” he said, pointing to the fully-staffed group of volunteers. “God always provides.”

Kraus’ upbeat approach, as well as his resourcefulness, has greatly influenced Haynes’ growing sense of hope for better days to come. In addition to the positive affirmations that Kraus shares with the guests, the tangible resources that Morning Glory Ministries helps its clients to procure can make a world of difference. For example, having official identification is something that many may take for granted, but is often a game changer in gaining access to support services, stable work and housing.

With Morning Glory Ministries’ help, Haynes received a replacement Social Security card and felt a swing in momentum. Possessing an official piece of identification became a powerful step forward.

“I’m getting back to where I was,” Haynes said. “I have a post office box now and look forward to getting a car and a job. I’m getting my confidence back.”

The road ahead

Today, Haynes has been reunited with his son, who returned to Kansas City with his mom a few years ago. Despite the turbulent times that his parents faced, Michael Jr. is thriving.

“He’s a straight-A honor student,” Haynes said proudly of his teenage son. “I told him I’d give him $10 for every A he earned. Of course, he earned seven,” he laughed.

Haynes has his eyes fixed on a successful future ahead.

“I look forward to driving to my job in my own car, working 40 hours a week at a place I love and having a home of my own, where my son can stay over. It doesn’t have to be a mansion — just mine.”

And, while he’s walking the road to redemption, Haynes remains grateful for the staff members and volunteers at Morning Glory Ministries who have helped him and so many others. Haynes feels that the needs of those experiencing homelessness are often misunderstood.

“People sometimes think that individuals choose to be in that situation. That’s rarely the case. Some just get into bad circumstances, or could be dealing with struggles with their mental health. The bottom line is, don’t assume you know someone’s story. More people should take the time and care and ask people about their journey. As for me, I’m just trying to be better than I was before, one step at a time.”

“As for me, I’m just trying to be better than I was before, one step at a time.”

Morning Glory Ministries is an established Catholic ministry in central downtown Kansas City, drawing its clients for more than 10 years to the “gold dome” for hot food and emergency services.

Mike Haynes, Sr. is a daily client of Morning Glory Ministries which he considers family.

Why should I confess my sins to a priest?

Nothing makes adults more nervous than going to Confession for the first time. I saw it in RCIA classes year after year. Really, who can blame them? Tell another person my deepest, darkest faults and secret thoughts — sign me up! However, they always came out of that first Confession better, more peaceful, more at ease with their past and genuinely feeling forgiven.

Unsurprisingly, people try to find a loophole in the Confession conundrum. It’s uncomfortable. So, do you need to confess your sins to a priest? Can you just confess in private? Well, yes and no.

In John 20:21-23, Jesus says to the apostles, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus gave the apostles the power to forgive sins and the authority to judge whether they should forgive them. What does that imply? The penitent must first speak their sins aloud. The minister can’t decide unless they know the person’s sins.

So, sacramental Confession is necessary for mortal sin. However, it’s true that venial sins can be forgiven in private prayer and within the Mass. Do you need Confession if you haven’t committed a mortal sin? Here’s the thing. If you skip regular sacramental Confession altogether, you’re missing the larger picture and depriving yourself of vital help in the spiritual life. We are fallen and tend toward sin. The sacraments are our primary means to overcome sinful tendencies. Sacraments give a particular kind of grace unique to the sacrament’s character. When you confess your sins and receive absolution, you also receive the power to fight the very sins you confessed.

Catechism 1458 says, “Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit.”

Marc Cardaronella is the director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation.

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is for Catholics who have sinned since their Baptism, above all, those who gravely sin and lose their baptismal grace, i.e., commit mortal sin. This type of sin ruptures communion with the Lord. It necessitates the mediation of a priest capable of judging the disposition of the penitent and ministering reconciliation.

It’s clear that, from the beginning, Jesus intended the forgiveness of sins to happen primarily through Confession.

In my experience, if I stay away from confession too long, temptations creep in, and it becomes challenging to say no. The grace of the sacrament is like a shot in the arm that wards off the infection of sinful thoughts and inclinations.

So, sacramental Confession gives a double benefit. Not only are your sins forgiven (and you know they are forgiven), but you also receive help in not sinning again. The truth is that forgiveness alone will not keep you from repeating that sin. You need God’s power, and confessing your sins to a priest in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the way to get it.

“The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner.”

CCC 1465

By

A HUG and a SANDWICH

There are suburban neighborhoods where generational poverty affects all ages. Despite relief organizations and groups, poverty seems to thrive. Imagine not knowing if you can feed your child!

A Lee’s Summit couple learned from a friend at The Summit Church about their summer lunch program for children eligible for the National School Lunch Program. “We can do that!” Kathy and Bruce Wittman, of Holy Spirit Parish, said. That was in 2015.

Seven years later, the summer lunch program they started served

11,998 lunches over the 12-week summer break in 2022.

“We are licensed and inspected by the Health Department regularly. We start the first day of summer vacation and serve the kids Monday through Friday,” Kathy said. “We work with school resource officers, police departments and health agencies. Donations come in from our parish, from other parishes or churches and from individuals. One hundred percent of the money coming in goes to the lunches. We get our lunch foods from Price Chopper at cost! We’re paying $2 per sack lunch.

“We try to use non-staple foods as often as possible, and thanks to the generosity of our parish, we can.”

Seventeen people, including Father Joe Sharbel, the pastor, on his

day off, deliver sack lunches to five locations daily through the summer.

Kathy explained, “We gather in the parish kitchen and fix ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches, Gogurt (the yogurt in a tube), chips, cookies, grapes or fruit chews, and a juice drink. Also, we learned from Dr. Edna Curry, a pediatrician friend of ours, to ‘add a toy.’ She always gave a toy to patients at the end of the visit. She died last year and left seven or eight weeks of toys for the kids. We used some of them in the lunch sacks, and people in our parish picked up where she left off. The children get excited over the toys!”

If you are interested in volunteering for this program or thinking of starting a similar program, contact Kathy Wittman, kathywittman1957@ gmail.com

When asked for a favorite happening of the past seven summers, Kathy said, “We’ve met all sorts of people we wouldn’t have known.”

Bruce said, “Remember the little girl who needed a hug more than a sandwich?”

“Oh, yes!” Kathy exclaimed. The child’s mother was present and gave her permission.

Kathy and Bruce both hugged her and, with the Crayons in her lunch sack, she colored a picture for the couple, which was hung in the parish kitchen.

The Wittmans were recognized by Bishop Johnston and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for their lunch program at the Bishop’s Recognition Mass on Aug. 28, 2022, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Marty Denzer

Main photo: Bruce and Kathy Whittman (L) love the people of all ages they meet through their summer lunch program at Holy Spirit Parish in Lee's Summit.

150 years

as ‘an offering to God and the Catholic

Church’

On the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 20, 2022, St. Mary the Virgin Parish in Carrollton celebrated the 150th anniversary of its church's dedication. Father Kenneth Criqui, pastor since 1995, said the “beautiful” Mass celebrated by Bishop James Johnston and the dinner following were attended by several hundred parishioners, many third- and fourth-generation members.

By Marty Denzer

As the homilist, Father Criqui began with the feast of Christ the King: “after the Christ the King homily, I talked about our priests, our history, and our parish services to the whole community.” He added that the current parish population of around 400, is about one-third children, one-third middle aged and the rest elderly.

Bishop Johnston shared this story from On the Mission to Missouri: in the mid-1800s, circuit riders from Liberty, Lexington or Weston served the

area. In January 1861, Father John Hogan — later Bishop Hogan of St. Joseph and later still of Kansas City — was visiting Chillicothe and was asked to witness a marriage in Carrollton. Hiring a two-horse sleigh with a driver, he made the trip, but due to a snowstorm and two accidents, he arrived hours late. The bridal couple had hired a sleigh to take them to Lexington to solemnize their marriage, but as Hogan wrote in the 1913 book, “I did my best.” He did baptize infant Catherine Shine, whose parents brought her to the priest they’d heard was in town.

Major Gen. James Shields, of the Union Army during the Civil War, moved to Carrollton and purchased a home in 1865. He invited circuit riders to offer Masses at his home until a church could be built.

Father Richard Nagle arrived in

Carrollton in 1867, commissioned to organize the scattered local Catholics into a parish. He was the first resident priest. Parish histories describe him as “a man in a hurry,” and so, with funds obtained from both the congregation and the bank, he purchased four acres of land on which to build a church, with rooms for a priest on the second floor.

Father Nagle oversaw construction of a frame church, named St. Mary the Virgin, but left Carrollton in 1869 for Placerville, California, where he’d heard of Irish gold miners perhaps needing a priest.

In 1872, Mary Quinn Tally, a cousin of Gen. Shields, who prospered through some shrewd investing, commenced the construction of St. Mary’s brick church, completed that year. She paid for most of it.

A headstone placed over the door honors her life’s philosophy — “Maria Sine Peccato Concepta Ora Pro Nobis ” (“Mary conceived without sin pray for us”).

It’s been 150 years since then, and the parish has watched Carrollton grow, pastors come and go and storms destroy and rebuilding follow. The parish is “living and loving,” as its history book proclaims.

Father Ken Criqui, Father Charles Rowe and Bishop James Johnston lead the celebrants out of Mass following St. Mary the Virgin Parish's 150th anniversary celebration in Carrollton.

Mass was followed by an elegant reception marking St. Mary the Virgin Parish's milestone anniversary.

Learn

about The Four Loves at cslewis.com

SEASON OF

LOVE

Exploring The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

By Ashlie Hand

Love is a popular sentiment in our society and in the practice of our faith. It gets an especially bright spotlight in February as we approach Valentine’s Day.

We know that love is important — from a biblical sense, it’s cited as the most important virtue according to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Type “Greek definitions for love” into your favorite search engine and you may find there are anywhere from three to eight words for love commonly attributed to the ancient Greeks. Published in 1971, C.S. Lewis’ book The Four Loves “explores the possibilities and problems of the four basic kinds of human love — affection, friendship, erotic love and the love of God.”

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Affection ( storge ) — this is probably the broadest definition in the group and can be applied to many different things from our favorite dessert to the way a mother cares for her child. C.S. Lewis tells us that affection can sit alongside other loves and often does. Our human relationships are often built around affections for certain places, experiences or shared interests that lead us into a deeper relationship with each other.

Friendship ( philia ) — it’s not uncommon today to hear “Love you!” as a parting sentiment or “I love you, man,” between friends. Lewis writes, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves.” It’s usually less complicated than romantic love and can be shared among large groups of people, families, co-workers and colleagues.

Romance ( eros ) — while often beginning with passion, romantic love is a much deeper and more meaningful emotion. Romantic love, says Lewis, “has made appetite itself altruistic, tossed personal happiness aside as a triviality and planted the interests of another in the centre of our being.” Romance is the only type of love that leads itself to the creation of new life. Romance is where we learn to set our own self interests aside in preparation for our Heavenly home. Lewis adds, “It is an image, a foretaste, of what we must become to all if Love Himself rules in us without a rival.”

Charity ( agape ) — this is often called “perfect love,” as it is the kind of love only God himself is capable of. It refers to the unconditional love of the Father given to us through his Son and the Holy Spirit.

Love requires vulnerability and courage. As the saying goes, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” May you be surrounded by God’s perfect love in this season of life and beyond.

501 years celebrating

This year, the monks celebrate the 150th anniversary of Conception Abbey. At the persistence of diocesan priest Fr. James Power, the monks of Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland sent Fr. Frowin Conrad, OSB to begin our Benedictine monastic community in 1873. For 150 years, Conception Abbey has been a partner of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, working to provide for the Church’s future in a variety of ways. Our location in northwest Missouri complements the lives of contemplative prayer and reflection led by the monks who live, work, and pray here.

We welcome you to celebrate with us this year in our home of 150 years. From special events to tours and retreats—and most especially in our mission of prayer—we hope you can be a part of our celebrations throughout 2023.

More information available at www.conceptionabbey.org/150years

Join the Missouri Catholic Advocacy Network! (MOCAN)

Join the 10,000 + Catholic Missourians who make up the team of advocates who help the Catholic voice ring through the halls of the Missouri State Capitol. If you want to stay updated on pro-family legislation — or any of the many other legislative priorities the MCC advocates for — you will not want to miss the opportunity to join MOCAN.

If you're already a member, encourage your family, friends, and fellow parishioners to join! As MOCAN grows, so does the Catholic voice in Missouri's Capitol. Visit mocatholic.org or send us an email at mocatholic@mocatholic.org for details.

MISSOURI CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

A Missouri Catholic Conference public policy priority is to uphold and strengthen marriage and family. There are currently more than 14,000 children in Missouri’s foster care system, according to the Department of Social Services. The latest issue of Messenger details stories about foster children, adoptive parents, and how you can embrace the call to care for some of our most vulnerable.

Don’t miss the latest MCC from the Capitol podcast featuring Dr. Michael Meehan, CEO of Marygrove, a child welfare program giving hope to children with trauma.

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FRESH FIRE

brinda oración, adoración y evangelización juntas

Por Marty Denzer

Hace una década Dana Epperly vivía en Texas y discernía sobre lo que Dios quería que ella hiciera con su vida. Un dia mientras estaba en Adoración Eucarística, tuvo una visión de personas sentadas al aire libre en el frío, sin saber que había calor dentro de la Iglesia. Ella oró pidiendo que el pueblo de Dios pudiera conocer el calor del amor de Jesús.

Tuvo una visión de un “fuego ardiente de amor” y mientras rezaba pensó, “Señor, ¿cómo puedo ayudar a aquellos que no conocen ese amor?”.

Como dijo Jesús en Lucas 12:49, “Yo he venido para encender fuego en el mundo. ¡Y cómo me gustaría que ya estuviera ardiendo!” Y así, comenzó ella.

A través de la oración, Epperly se conmovió y hace varios años se mudó a Kansas City. Más o menos al mismo tiempo, Maureen Dierkes, que había comenzado un programa de oración y evangelización en su parroquia en Michigan, también se mudó a Kansas City. Ellas se conocieron en la Parroquia de St. Thomas More.

Epperly invito a Dierkes a unirse a ella en Adoración y a rezar acerca de su llamada a la evangelización. Poco después invitó a Dierkes a unirse al ministerio de evangelización de St. Thomas More, y así se encendió Fresh Fire.

Las mujeres se acercaron al párroco, el Padre Justin Hoye, con la idea y él les respondió: “Esa es una gran noticia, ¡la mejor que he escuchado!”

Con su asistencia y supervisión, en Enero de 2022 se llevó a cabo el primer evento de Fresh Fire. El evento incluye un servicio de adoración a la luz de las velas, con grupos de oración, música y Adoración, con el Padre Hoye en procesión a través de la Iglesia hacia

el Altar con el Santísimo Sacramento en la custodia. Epperly recordó, “Fue una oportunidad para que las personas despertaran al Señor, y así fue como los ayudamos a entrar”. Dierkes añadió, “es especial y siempre lo será”.

Un año más tarde, Fresh Fire continúa encendido. En el último servicio, realizado en Noviembre, participaron 85 personas — hombres, mujeres, niños y adolescentes (el Padre Hoye indicó que Fresh Fire se requiere como parte de la preparación del 8o grado para la Confirmación), y también algunas personas de diferentes tradiciones religiosas. Las señoras indicaron que un número de Cristianos no Católicos se convirtieron en asistentes regulares. El Padre Hoye dijo, “Fresh Fire es la exposición a una Verdad a la que los no católicos no se han expuesto, la Presencia Real de Cristo en la Eucaristía. Es la evangelización en su forma más pura”.

El Fuego arderá otra vez en las primeras semanas de 2023. Para actualizaciones en 2023, chequee la página web, www.stmkc.com

Nota del Editor: A medida que nuestra Iglesia Católica en los EE. UU. se prepara para entrar en el año parroquial del Renacimiento Eucarístico Nacional de tres años, nos gustaría señalar parroquias con devociones únicas o especialmente fuertes a la Adoración Eucarística. Si su parroquia tiene una historia que compartir, por favor déjennoslo saber en catholickey.org o llenando nuestra planilla de contacto.

¿Cree

en la Suerte... o en PROVIDENCIA? laDivina

“SABEMOS QUE DIOS OBRA EN TODA SITUACIÓN PARA EL BIEN DE LOS QUE LO AMAN, LOS QUE HAN SIDO LLAMADOS POR DIOS DE ACUERDO CON SU PROPÓSITO”. — ROMANOS 8:28

Si usted es como yo, a menudo les desea a los demás “buena suerte” cuando emprenden algo. O, cuando los Chiefs pierden la pelota en un punto clave en un juego, exclama “¡fue una suerte!”

Otros identifican un objeto de la suerte de algún tipo: un sombrero, un sweater, una caña de pescar. Los apostadores a menudo hablan de la suerte en el póker, en el blackjack, y en los juegos de azar. Sin embargo, ¿qué es exactamente la suerte?, y ¿es consistente con ser un Cristiano que vive por la fe? A medida que nos aproximamos al Dia de San Patrick el 17 de Marzo, esta es una pregunta siempre oportuna. Después de todo , a menudo hablamos de la “Suerte del Irlandés”.

El diccionario Merriam Webster define Suerte como “una fuerza que trae buena fortuna o adversidad [como la mala suerte]”. Una variación de la definición incluye el concepto de azar y factores que son impredecibles. Entonces, ¿qué vamos a hacer con todo esto? ¿Hay una “fuerza” que guía los eventos impredecibles de nuestras vidas para bien o para mal?

Uno puede pensar de la suerte como una forma de superstición, por ejemplo, cuando un gato negro se cruza en nuestro camino pensar que puede traernos mala suerte. Esta es una falsa creencia en causalidad y azar en la cual fuerzas sobrenaturales pueden ser manejadas y controladas como por arte de magia. Este enfoque de la suerte es contrario a la Fe Cristiana.

Para los Cristianos, existe una fuerza en el mundo que nos guía y mantiene cada cosa en su lugar. Esa fuerza es Dios, Espíritu Santo. De la misma manera, los Cristianos también creen en el trabajo y la acción de los ángeles, esos espíritus puros que no podemos ver, pero que tienen un papel activo en el plan de Dios y en nuestra historia humana. Un término que habla de la acción benevolente de Dios en nuestras vidas es la Divina Providencia — el amor generoso de Dios que nos guía y provee para todas sus criaturas. Nuestra fe, articulada en el Padre Nuestro, es que Dios es nuestro Padre, un buen Padre que nos ama y quiere darnos buenas cosas. Jesús enfatiza esto en la ocasión en la que nos

da una enseñanza sobre la oración: “¿Podría uno de ustedes darle a su hijo una piedra cuando le pide un pan, o una serpiente venenosa cuando pide un pescado? Si usted, con todos sus pecados, sabe cómo darles a sus hijos lo que es bueno, ¡con más razón nuestro Padre celestial le dará cosas buenas a quienes se las pidan!” (Mateo 7:9-11)

Los Cristianos creen que el mundo no es un gran juego de azar. También sabemos que, aunque Dios guía y sostiene este mundo, nos permite tener libre albedrío lo que significa que las cosas pueden salir mal cuando nos equivocamos. También hay fuerzas naturales aleatorias en el mundo que son parte de la Divina Providencia de Dios que pueden lastimarnos o inclusive matarnos, como los rayos, el cáncer y los osos pardos. El misterio con el que vivimos es que todo es parte de la voluntad de Dios, y nada de eso tiene que ver con la suerte.

Todavía podemos desearle a nuestros amigos “buena suerte” como palabras de buena voluntad y apoyo. O, después de un golpe errático en el golf que golpea un árbol y cae en el Green decir, “que suerte”. No lo hacemos por superstición, sino en el conocimiento de que Dios mantiene el mundo en sus manos amorosas y que todas las bendiciones provienen de Él, y aún todas nuestras cruces y desencantos están de alguna manera alineadas también para nuestro beneficio. Eso no tiene nada que ver con la suerte, ¡sino con la gracia!

Del Obispo

El obispo James V. Johnston, Jr. es el séptimo obispo de la Diócesis de Kansas City-St. Joseph

GOOD NEWS BEYOND THE PEWS

Catholic school enrollment on an upward trend

by Bridget Locke

Instability due to the pandemic.

Decreasing test scores. Increasing violence.

More than ever, challenges in K-12 education have prompted parents to look for alternative learning environments that will prepare their children for college and a competitive workforce, while developing their spiritual growth.

This explains, in part, why Catholic school enrollment is growing in record numbers. According to the National Education Catholic Association, Catholic school enrollment increased by 3.8 percent in the 2021-22 academic year. It was the first increase in two decades and the largest ever recorded.

Schools in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have experienced parallel trends; for the 2021-22 school year, enrollment (which includes pre-K through 12th grade) increased 3.6 percent over the previous year. For 2022-23, enrollment grew by 9 percent.

of schools for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. “Pastors and principals also work diligently to encourage new families to consider Catholic schools for their children and welcome them enthusiastically into our system.”

The cost of Catholic education sometimes presents a barrier to access. However, since House Bill 349, a bill supporting school choice in Missouri, was signed into law in 2021, Bright Futures Fund, the diocesan nonprofit organization that helps students in need to receive a Catholic education, has served as one of six newly certified Educational Assistance Organizations offering the MOScholars program. Through this program, Bright Futures Fund offers state income tax credits to Missourians and awards scholarships to eligible students who wish to attend Catholic school.

To learn more about Catholic education in the diocese, visit catholicschoolsystem.net

According to Kroh, MOScholars is responsible for approximately half of the diocese’s school enrollment growth.

“MOScholars is a tremendous gift. More than ever, finances don’t have to prevent families from pursuing Catholic education,” she said.

BRIGHT FUTURES FUND

Bright Futures Fund was funded and awarded $2.5 million in tax credit scholarships for the 2022-23 school year. As a result, 358 scholarships were offered to all 26 partner schools within the diocese. For the 2023-24 academic year, $6 million has been awarded, increasing the organization’s total capacity to more than $7.5 million.

“Bright Futures Fund has been long-committed to providing access to families to receive a Catholic education. Thanks to the new bill passed by state lawmakers in Missouri, we have opened our capacity to offer this opportunity to more families and students,” said Jeremy Lillig, executive director for Bright Futures Fund. MOScholars scholarship applications for 202324 opened on Feb. 1. Scholarships will be awarded to students who live in Kansas City, Missouri, Jackson County or in a city with a population of more than 30,000 and fall into one of the following categories:

• Have an IEP or ISP under the Individual Education Disabilities Act (with no income restriction)

• Are new students whose families earn less than 200 percent of the free and reduced lunch income maximum

Those meeting the criteria will qualify for $6,375 per year to attend a Catholic school in the diocese. Supporters can again reserve tax credits through the MOScholars Program, equal to 100 percent of an eligible donation.

To reserve tax credits or to apply for the scholarship, visit brightfuturesfund.org/moscholars

The growth was a welcome surprise, but it wasn’t achieved by accident.

“Daily, teachers and administrative staff serve faithfully to ensure the academic and spiritual growth of our students,” said Karen Kroh, Ed.D., superintendent

For 2023-24, Kroh anticipates another year of positive growth for diocesan schools, based on the past two years of data and continuing national trends.

“I invite all families who have considered Catholic education for their children to explore our schools. Once you do, you’ll want to stay and invite others to join us, too.”

Generosity and gratitude

Diocese welcomes Our Lady’s Montessori as first new diocesan Catholic school in more than 20 years

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, Our Lady’s Montessori School (OLMS) will welcome students to its new location at 58th St. and Michigan Avenue on the St. Therese Little Flower campus in Kansas City, Missouri.

The school is an apostolic work of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) offering an authentic Catholic Montessori education to preschool and elementary-age children of all faiths and backgrounds. It has outgrown its current location on South 7th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, so its Board of Directors recently voted to relocate to a larger building in Kansas City, Missouri.

OLMS Executive Director Sister Maria Laudem Gloriae, SOLT said, "Our Lady's Montessori School has been growing considerably over the past few years. After exploring different ways to accommodate our increasing enrollment, Bishop Johnston graciously and generously offered us an opportunity to relocate to his diocese. We are grateful for the warm welcome we have received from St. Therese Little Flower Parish and for the chance to open

in the historic school building on its grounds. We are also grateful to Bright Futures Fund for their abundant help and support as we transition to this new location. We're eager to continue serving our current families as well as welcoming new families to our wonderful community at Our Lady's Montessori School. We are humbled by the way Our Lord has generously provided a new home for our growing school in a way we never expected."

This is the first new elementary school to open in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph since 1999, punctuated by a nine percent increase in enrollment in diocesan Catholic schools over the last year.

Dr. Karen Kroh, Ed.D., superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said, “Over the past two years, our Catholic schools have experienced tremendous growth. The opportunity to expand the blessing of Catholic education in partnership with Our Lady’s Montessori School is a gift to our diocese and the neighborhoods on the east side of the city.”

Our Lady’s Montessori joins the Bright Futures Fund family as the third school serving our diocesan community

Our Lady’s Montessori School joins Holy Cross Catholic School and Our Lady of Hope Catholic School as one of three Bright Futures Fund schools serving communities in vital need of good, dependable education.

Jeremy Lillig, executive director of Bright Futures Fund, said, “Bright Futures Fund is excited to work in collaboration with Our Lady’s Montessori as they open in our diocese. Bright Futures is excited to help provide a quality education at this location renewing its long legacy of Catholic education.”

Our Lady’s Montessori School will open in an existing school building adjacent to St. Therese Little Flower Church in Kansas City, Missouri.

Father Don Farnan, parochial adminis -

trator of St. Therese Little Flower Parish, said, “What an incredible blessing for our Catholic community. After several recent losses and closures, it is great that our diocese is opening its first elementary school in nearly a quarter century. It’s a bonus that it will be in the heart of Kansas City, where educational needs and spiritual expression are so great. After some dormancy and important reflection, people are eager to rally around the Church doing what she has done well for centuries.”

Bishop James Johnston has envisioned a

Learn more about Our Lady’s Montessori School at olmskc.org

Learn more about Bright Futures Fund and its mission at brightfuturesfund.org.

new Catholic school for the neighborhoods of Kansas City’s east side, serving an area that has experienced closures of Catholic parishes in recent years.

Bishop Johnston said, “One of the greatest opportunities we can provide for families and children is a Catholic education. Few things can impact the future of a child as much. I am grateful that Our Lady’s Montessori School will be bringing their beautiful and growing school onto the St. Therese Little Flower campus as the newest member of the Bright Futures family.”

the poverty mindset into Transforming

By Susan Walker

Every Lent brings the possibility of hope to the forefront of our lives.

Most of us choose something to work on during Lent — and that “something” often has to do with changing habits or automatic ways of thinking. Forty days of intentional focus offer the hope that we will emerge at Easter as a new, better person.

Habits are behaviors wired so deeply in our brains that we perform them automatically. However, the brain’s executive command center does not completely relinquish control of habitual behavior. A 2012 study from MIT neuroscientists has found that a small region of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, where most thought and planning occurs, is responsible for moment-by-moment control of which habits are switched on at a given time.

Professor Ann Graybiel, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, noted that her team’s findings offer hope for those trying to kick bad habits. It shows that though habits may be deeply ingrained, the brain’s planning centers can shut them off.

Good news! Habits can be changed and old ways of thinking replaced. Bad news: it’s not easy.

Change is hard when life is stable. However, when facing the barriers of poverty, change can seem insurmountable. When someone is chronically living in poverty, their mind-set shifts from one of growth and opportunity to a sometimes desperate seeking of survival. Individuals in poverty have to overcome a barrage of negative beliefs about wealth (it’s unattainable, my family has never had money, money is the root of all evil, etc.). These negative beliefs cause patterns of behavior making it nearly impossible to do what is necessary to attain self-sufficiency.

Moving from a poverty mind-set to an “I can do it!” mindset is a personal journey unique to every individual. Each person moves at their own speed, as we are all at a different place when it comes to willingness to learn and the commitment to do.

Those individuals find help and hope at Catholic Charities. In the Welcome Center, we meet clients at their commitment level and encourage them to participate in our barrier-reduction services when they are ready. For some of our clients, it takes

multiple visits and conversations with our staff before they decide they are ready to take the steps toward self-sufficiency. Some of the most common reasons clients stay in the poverty mind-set are:

• It’s been passed down generationally and they’re accustomed to meeting their own needs in other ways.

• Because life is chaotic and needs present as a crisis, there’s little chance to plan. Without a plan, other people and circumstances dictate the direction of their lives.

• Planning around extremely limited resources is difficult and takes a lot of time and learning new ways of meeting life’s needs. Individuals can quickly become discouraged when stability isn’t immediate and the path to self-sufficiency is delayed.

At Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, we’re working to change this mentality. We know the poverty mindset is something learned, and our brains are adaptable enough to learn better, healthier patterns and behaviors.

As we work with clients, we see them grow in their capacity to not only focus on the present but see the reality of a more positive future.

Isn’t that the Lenten gift that we all are seeking?

EVERY SAINT HAS A PAST; EVERY SINNER HAS A FUTURE.

– OSCAR WILDE

“Each person moves at their own speed, as we are all at a different place when it comes to willingness to learn and the commitment to do.”

Shutterstock.com/Kaspars Grinvalds

FRESH FIRE

brings prayer, worship and evangelization together

By Marty Denzer

Adecade ago, Dana Epperly was living in Texas and discerning what God wanted her to do with her life. One day, while at Eucharistic Ad oration, she had a vision of people sitting out in the cold, not knowing there was warmth within the Church. She prayed that the people of God would know the warmth of Jesus’ love.

She had a vision of a “burning fire of love” and thought while in prayer, “Lord, how can I help those who don’t know this love?”

As Jesus says in Luke 12:49, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” And so, she began.

Through prayer, Epperly was moved to relocate to Kansas City several years ago. About the same time, Maureen Dierkes, who had started a prayer and evangelization program at her parish in Michigan, also moved to Kansas City. They connected at St. Thomas More Parish.

Epperly invited Dierkes to join her

in Adoration and pray about their call to evangelization. Shortly thereafter, she invited Dierkes to join St. Thomas More’s evangelization ministry, and Fresh Fire was lit.

The women approached Father Justin Hoye, pastor, with the idea. He responded, “This is great news, the best I’ve heard!”

With his assistance and oversight, in January 2022, the first Fresh Fire event was held. The event entails a candlelight worship service, with prayer teams, music and Adoration, with Father Hoye processing through the church to the altar with the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance. Epperly recalled, “This

was an opportunity for people to be awakened to the Lord, and it’s how we help them enter in.” Dierkes added, “It is special and should always be special!”

A year later, Fresh Fire is still burning. At the last service in November, 85 people attended — men, women, children and teenagers (Father Hoye said Fresh Fire is required as part of eighth graders’ Confirmation preparation) — and some of different faith traditions. A number of non-Catholic Christians have become regular attendees, the women noted.

Father Hoye said, “Fresh Fire is the exposure of a truth non-Catholics haven’t been exposed to, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is evangelization at its purest.”

Editor’s note: As our U.S. Catholic Church prepares to enter the parish year of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, we’d like to highlight parishes with unique or especially strong devotions to Eucharistic Adoration. If your parish has a story to share, fill out the contact form with your details at catholickey.org.

St. Thomas More Parish launched its Fresh Fire Eucharistic Adoration series in January 2022.

Father Justin Hoye blesses a parishioner with the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance during the Fresh Fire Eucharistic Adoration.

personality lights up a room, and it is impossible to not be happy when talking to him. It is easy to see how much he cares for everyone at St. Michael’s and makes sure everyone is included and happy.

WITNESS Johnny as a

Ihave been on the cross country team for four years and teammates with Johnny Joyce for the past three years. Throughout that time, I’ve had the pleasure to get to see us work together and achieve great things. If you ask any student at St. Michaels about Johnny, you’ll hear nothing but great things, as everyone loves him. But I think that because I’ve shared so much time with him over the past three years, I’ve come to know him much better than most.

“I have learned that just a simple smile can do so much for a person, and how anything is possible when you work hard and put your faith in God.”

Ever since I’ve had the pleasure to meet and get to know Johnny, I’ve never seen him in a bad mood; he is always so positive and joyful. Getting to be not only his teammate but his friend for three years now has been amazing partly because of all I have learned from him. I have learned that just a simple smile can do so much for a person, and how anything is possible when you work hard and put your faith in God.

By Sam Roseberg

Johnny never fails to amaze me with how positive and loving he is to everyone he encounters, whether he is saying hello to everyone in the hallway, talking about his favorite bands or even just a simple smile. Getting to practice and get better together at the sport we both enjoy has taught me so much. He makes every practice so much better, whether it’s talking about some of our favorite movies on easy runs or pushing each other to get better each and every day. He always gets the team excited to race and never fails to cheer on his teammates. He has a personality that makes any team event so much better. During a sport like cross country, we have to push our body to its limits, which forms a special bond between teammates.

Over the past three years, I’ve gotten to see him succeed not only in running but also in his school career. Whether it’s just seeing him in the halls, talking to him at lunch or seeing him sing the school song during Mass, Johnny never fails to amaze me with how special his presence is and how happy he makes everybody. Getting to see him play the violin at all school Masses has been really amazing because he does such an amazing job. His

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Sam Rosenberg is a senior at St. Michael the Archangel High School.

The St. Michael the Archangel High School Cross Country team has witnessed Johnny Joyce's positive influence. Johnny attends SMA through a grant from the FIRE Foundation. From left to right: David Rogge, Xavier Collins, Oliver Hotop, Sam Rosenberg, and Johnny Joyce.

In celebration of POPE BENEDICT XVI

Early life

Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany in 1927. The son of a cook and a policeman, he always felt his life was immersed in the paschal mystery from his birth on Holy Saturday and his baptism the next day in the newly blessed Easter waters.

Although the Ratzinger family attempted to avoid involvement with the Nazi Party during World War II, they were not completely successful. Young Joseph was drafted into the German army for a while, but deserted near the war’s end and spent time in an American prisoner-of-war camp.

Joseph studied philosophy and theology; was ordained, along with his brother Georg, in 1951; and earned a doctorate in theology in 1953. For years, he was a professor of theology at various universities in Germany. He quickly became renowned for the depth and breadth of his intellect. He published numerous essays, sermons and reflections over the years, cementing his scholarly reputation.

Cardinal Ratzinger

In March 1977, Pope Saint Paul VI named Father Joseph the archbishop of Munich and Freising; he was elevated to the College of Cardinals in June of the same year. His most prominent position prior to the papacy was that of prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is in this role that Cardinal Ratzinger was responsible for defending the orthodoxy of Church teachings.

Despite his difficult role as the enforcer of Church doctrine, Pope Benedict XVI was known to colleagues, neighbors and friends as a gentle, pastoral man with a dry sense of humor. As Cardinal Ratzinger, he lived quietly in an apartment in Rome, walking to work every day and chatting with those he passed in the streets. He was respected for his ability to listen intently and thoughtfully, even to those with whom he disagreed.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, reflected, “Generations will continue to be enriched by his books, discourses and homilies.”

Pope Benedict XVI holding the Paschal Candle at the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 7, 2012. (L’Osservatore Romano)

FROM POPE BENEDICT On evangelization

Papacy

As the 265th leader of the Catholic Church, Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict. It is the name of the founder of the Benedictine Order. Saint Benedict is the patron of Europe, and the name Benedict means “blessing.”

As pope, Benedict XVI traveled and wrote extensively. He authored a trilogy of books on the life of Jesus Christ. His reign (April 2005-February 2013) was marked by a call both to restore traditional Catholic practice and worship in order to correct erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, and to return to fundamental Christian values in order to counter growing secularization around the globe.

These concerns informed many of his initiatives as pope. For example, he relaxed restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass, and reached out to the Society of St. Pius X, a traditionalist, schismatic group, in hopes of accomplishing their return to communion with the Holy See.

Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the new evangelization by establishing the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization in 2010. He followed this by declaring a Year of Faith in 2012-13.

Retirement

On Feb. 11, 2013, Pope Benedict stunned the Vatican and the world when he announced his intention to resign the papacy. After his retirement, Pope Emeritus Benedict resided in a monastery in Vatican City, living a life of quiet prayer and study.

Pope Francis presides over the funeral for his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on Jan. 5,

Funeral

The funeral Mass for Pope Benedict XVI was held on Jan. 5 in St. Peter’s Square. Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in the square to pay their last respects to their beloved pontiff. He died on Dec. 31 at the age of 95. Hundreds of cardinals, bishops and priests were in attendance, along with official state representatives from Germany and Italy. Pope Francis celebrated the solemn and simple funeral Mass according to Pope Benedict’s wishes. In his homily, Pope Francis said that as we strive to follow the Lord as an ecclesial community, we, too “want to follow in His steps and to commend our brother [Benedict] into the hands of the Father. May those merciful hands find his lamp alight with the oil of the Gospel that he spread and testified to for his entire life … Together, we want to say: ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit.’

Pope

2023. (Vatican Media)

Francis greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as they celebrate the 65th Priestly Ordination of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Clementine Hall in Vatican City on June 28, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

“Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever!”

“The Gospel must be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems.”

—MEETING

WITH

U.S. BISHOPS, APRIL 16, 2008