Catholic Key April/May 2022

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FROM THE BISHOP God’s personal touch P. 4

HEALING An advocate for victim-survivors

T h e sear c h

P. 10

CATECHISM Why does God allow suffering?

P. 34

fo r trut h

A DESIRE FOR AUTHENTICITY LEADS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

MISSOURI CATHOLIC CONFERENCE The public policy agency of the Catholic 1zurch in Missouri.

The Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) is the Catholic voice in the halls of the Missouri State Capitol. Founded in 967, the MCC was formed to advocate for Catholic schools, and has since broadened its agenda to fight for the dignity of human life, marriage and family, social justice, religious liberty, and more. Learn more about the MCC by listening to our podcast, MCC from the Capitol, or by reading our print publication, Messenger. Scan the QR codes to listen or read today!

Do these topics pique your interest in becoming a Catholic public policy advocate?

Join the Missouri Catholic Advocacy Network today at mocatholic.org or text MCCAN to 50457.

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

Angelina Creedon from growing in

On the Way |

ministry, but she felt that God was

God’s personal touch

calling her to do something bold and

Bishop Johnston Some theologians have referred to this Christian belief that God loves us personally, and stoops to

APRIL/MAY 2022 VOL. 2 | ISSUE 3

become involved in our little lives, as a kind of scandal. How could God care personally about each

Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. Publisher

tiny creature so intimately?

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Ashlie Hand Editor

Using Our Resources Wisely | A new home for Sisters in Jesus

There were a lot of wise reasons for the Sisters in Jesus the Lord to relocate to St. Joseph from their first

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

home in Raytown in August 2021.

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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. ©2021 Catholic Key, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

ON THE COVER: Father Eric Schneider and Sam Finley at the entrace of St. Ann Parish in Plattsburg.

Photo by Megan Marley

10 The search for truth

Whitney True-Francis serves as our

Ashlie Hand

diocese’s Victim Assistance Coor-

Father Eric Schneider and Sam Finley

dinator in the Office of Child and

share an interest in spiritual authentic-

Youth Protection, as a champion

ity, and while their journeys have been

for survivor-informed advocacy

different, they have led them to the

and response.

sion to the Catholic Faith as a young

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man, which led him to dedicate his life

Brigette Chirpich

to the priesthood. Sam’s innate curios-

A new program at Catholic Charities,

ity about religion took her through a

“Social Butterflies” works with

forensic search for “the most original

children to repair the void created

truth before it got corrupted.” She will

by traumatic experiences.

be baptized into the Catholic Faith, along with her daughter and husband, at the Easter Vigil at St. Ann Parish in

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figurative painter whose liturgical work “is inspired by faith and the

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Synod on Synodality: One Family, Journeying Together

More than 40 groups have met across the Diocese of Kansas CitySt. Joseph to participate in the global Synod on Synodality initiated by Pope Francis.

vocate for victim-survivors

Ashlie Hand

Father Schneider experienced a rever-

Marty Denzer

James Langley is an American

Healing Our Family | An ad-

COVER STORY

same Catholic parish in rural Missouri.

Finding God’s creation in art

Megan Marley

Marty Denzer

Jenny Pomicter Graphic designer

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presence of God in the sacraments.”

the Lord

Megan Marley Assistant editor

intentional in service to the Church.

EN ESPANOL

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En Camino Obispo Johnston Reflexión Leyden Rovelo-Krull

To Serve and to Lift | Social Butterflies Editorial correction: In the February/March 2022 issue, we failed to include the contributions of Monsignor Robert Murphy, co-creator of “Stations: A Musical Dramaturgy.”

Growing God’s Family |

Monsignor Murphy wrote the

Just say ‘yes’

dialog for the original script in

Plattsburg, where Father Schneider

Bridget Locke

is her pastor.

Attending college wouldn’t prevent

1976 with Paul Novosel.

Megan Marley

Ashlie Hand

Bri d ge t Locke

Ma rt y Denzer

B r i g e tte C h i r pi c h recently retired from

is a writer,

leads the

loves God and

is long-time writer

photographer,

Office of

people. Learn

in residence for

Catholic Charities

videographer and

Communications

more about

the Catholic Key.

KCSJ, she continues

media geek for the

for the Diocese

her life and

Her many years of

encouraging people

Diocese of Kansas

of Kansas City-

work at

work can be found

to serve and lift

City-St. Joseph.

St. Joseph.

bnlcomms.com.

on catholickey.org.

those in need.

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on th e way Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, Guercino, 1640-41 Oil on canvas.

“Many Samaritans from that town believed in him on the strength of the woman’s word of testimony: ‘He told me everything I ever did.’”

— John 4:39

God’s personal touch Guercino, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

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his past week, I was asked by two different groups of people to share my personal faith

story and how I was led to the priesthood. It is

F ro m t h e Bi s h o p Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. is the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Kansas CitySt. Joseph

Guercino, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

something I enjoy sharing, and something I still marvel at as I get older, much as the Samaritan woman did after meeting Jesus at the well that day.

Part of what still fascinates me is that Jesus pays such attention to me personally. It is easy to imagine that God casts a broad vision from beyond the edge of the universe and sees the world in general — that blue planet with all those billions of people, all busy with things. But God is God, and each of us is his child, precious and unrepeatable. God knows us intimately; as the Samaritan woman realized in her words, “He told me everything I ever did.”

One sees this amazing realization reflected in Saint Paul’s letters too, along with those of the other apostles.

In one of his most beautiful testimonies, Saint Paul writes: “I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20) He loved me and gave himself for me; he is living in me.

This realization is one of the most important in a Christian’s life, to realize that Christianity is not just a movement, or a set of teachings, but a personal encounter with the living God. Some theologians have referred to this Christian belief that God loves us personally, and stoops to become involved in our little lives, as a kind of scandal. How could God care personally about each tiny creature so intimately? The late Carl Sagan, the celebrity astronomer, was so overwhelmed at the immensity of the universe and its incomprehensible vastness that he would remark at how small and insignificant we humans seem to be. A mere speck of a speck, from his perspective. Indeed, God’s love follows a divine logic which is hard for humans to understand and, for some, too good to be true.

But this is one of the keys to the Gospel and its Good News. God is love, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) This, too, for some, strikes as scandalous; that God, almighty and all holy, would stoop to assume our humanity so that he could die and then rise from the dead for me.

Our challenge as disciples is to recover our wonder and love at what God has done for us — personally — and, like the Samaritan woman at the well, and like Zacchaeus, and like so many others in the Gospels, give our own testimony when presented the opportunity about what he has done for me.

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saint

Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

FA I T H, FA M I LY A N D FA R M I NG

By Megan Marley

Farming is a demanding, year-round occupation, reliant on hard work and the providence of God. There’s a special connection between working the land and working out your salvation, as Saint Isidore the Farmer could tell you.

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Saint Isidore was born around 1080 near Madrid, Spain. He was a hard worker for landowner Juan de Vargas and even more diligent in his spiritual life. He had a great devotion to the Eucharist and attended daily Mass before work.

His wife, Blessed Maria Torribia, was his match in holiness. Together, the couple prayed, worked hard and did works of mercy; Isidore would often bring home poor guests, and Maria kept a constant pot of stew going to feed them.

Isidore had a gift for miracles. One time, a jealous co-worker complained Isidore was shirking work. The landowner went to investigate and found Isidore at prayer while angels plowed the fields for him! Isidore’s prayers are also said to have rescued their son from drowning in a well, and restored the landowner’s daughter to life.

In art, St. Isidore is portrayed as a peasant with sickle or staff, or with angels plowing. He is the patron saint of day laborers, farmers, agriculture, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference and many cities in Spain and South America. Isidore and Maria’s joint feast day is May 15.

FA I TH AT W O R K

Read more from our conversation with Dr. DeMarco at CatholicKey.org

FAITH at WORK

By Ashlie Hand | Photo by Megan Marley

T

he 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.”

Vincent DeMarco, DO Dr. DeMarco is Board Certified in Family Medicine and is a physician at Family Medical Care Associates located on the St. Mary’s Medical Center campus in Blue Springs.

Q:

Tell us a little bit about your faith journey.

I was raised Catholic. I grew up going to Catholic school at St. James Parish in Liberty through fifth grade and then went to public school. I went to Truman State University, where I became involved in the Catholic Newman Center and met my wife. My wife and I have three children, Graziella (age 8), Octavia (4) and Pietro (9 months). At this point in time, part of our faith journey is raising them and teaching them about Jesus and what we believe as part of the Catholic Church.

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Q:

Is your Catholic faith part of your professional identity, either publicly or privately?

I believe it is important to keep the Catholic faith as part of my entire identity, including my professional identity. My Catholic faith permeates how I practice medicine. I try to approach every patient with compassion and try to mimic Jesus and how he took care of people. God and Jesus are the ultimate physicians. I do not necessarily bring up God with every patient that I see; however, I try to take care of every patient equally and lead each patient in the best possible approach to their health.

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Q:

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

The hard part about medicine is there is not always a 100 percent correct way to manage patients and their health; that is why they call it the “art of medicine” or the “practice of medicine.” I think it is important to practice making the correct decision all the time, no matter

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how small. This includes making sure patients come in for their follow-ups and get their labs done, as well as not prescribing meds that are not necessary nor consistent with my beliefs.

Q:

Is there a Bible verse, Scripture story, prayer, spiritual item or quote that you carry with you?

One of my favorite quotes is “pray as if everything depended on God, work as if everything depends on you.” Especially in medicine, I find this very appropriate. God gave us the intelligence and the ability to help others and heal others through interventions, including medicine, vaccines and surgery. Many times, I will run into a patient who has chronic illnesses who does not want to do anything to improve their health because they say “God will help them.” I mention this quote to them to point out that God gave us the ability to treat various diseases and the ability to take care of ourselves with his help. Medicine is not a replacement for God but an extension of his graces through his gifts to us of intelligence, research and healing in general. Additionally, I realize I also have to leave some aspects of their health to God.

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Q:

What is your go-to Catholic/Christian/ faith-based podcast, app, radio program or station?

I enjoy the Catholic Sprouts podcast with my 8-year-old daughter. She loves it; it is a great conversation starter between the two of us. Many times, I am learning things about saints that I never knew or reconfirm what I already knew about the Catholic Faith.

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Dr. DeMarco and his wife are parishioners at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

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using our re s o u r ce s w i se ly The former convent and Early Childhood Learning Center at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, is now the future home of Sisters in Jesus the Lord.

(L to R) Mother Emerita Julia Kubista, Sister Maria Damiana Lee, Sister Joanna Marie Schlies, and Mother Maria Stella Whittier.

By Marty Denzer Photos by Megan Marley

S I S T E R S I N J E S U S T H E LO R D M OV E TO S T. J O S E P H

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ast summer, during the Year of Saint Joseph, the Sisters in Jesus the Lord moved to St. Joseph from Raytown, which had been their home since 2009. The missionary order, founded by Mother Emerita Julia Kubista to help revive the

Catholic Church in Far Eastern Russia, particularly Vladivostok, came to the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese in 2009 at the invitation of then-Bishop Robert Finn. The community, offering a missionary presence with the charism of living in Jesus and evangelizing through the parish through liturgy and music, catechesis for all ages and building the culture of life, was decreed a Public Association of the Faithful in 2010, then became an integral part of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Raytown.

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Some time ago, after much thought and prayer, it became clear that the community might need to move in order to grow and flourish, even though they loved the parish that welcomed them 12 years earlier. As they prayed for a resolution, Father Steve Hansen, pastor of the Cathedral of St. Joseph and St. Mary’s Parish in St. Joseph, contacted Mother Maria Stella Whittier, who had been elected prioress Oct. 2, 2020, with an offer. The convent at Cathedral was vacant, used only as storage, would the sisters be interested in it?

Mother Maria Stella at the entrance of the Cathedral convent, p and playing the har . yer pra g nin eve during

M OV I N G O F F E R E D M A N Y A D VA N TA G E S : •T he missionary order founded by Mother Emerita Julia is the sister community to the Canons Regular in Jesus the Lord, founded by Father Myron Effing, CJD in 1992 for the revival of the Canons Regular Tradition, based in Vladivostok, Russia.

Canons and canonesses (of which Mother Stella hopes the sisters will eventually be known) traditionally live and work at cathedrals.

With Bishop James Johnston’s approval and blessing, the sisters accepted Father Hansen’s offer, which included the use of St. Mary’s Parish’s furnished rectory until the former Cathedral convent, which for 35 years had been used as an Early Childhood Learning Center, could be renovated to serve the sisters’ needs.

The sisters moved into the furnished rectory Aug. 25, 2021. Mother Stella said they were grateful, as all their furniture could go into storage until needed.

Last fall, while still settling in — to daily community life, meeting with students, teaching catechesis, substitute teaching and getting to know parish and school staff and parishioners — the sisters at St. Mary’s experienced an attempted break-in one night. Mother Stella was in Vladivostok at the time, and her sisters asked, “Can we get a dog?”

They adopted a black-and-white pit bull mix, Petrus Magnus Invictus (Peter the Great the Unconquered), affectionately called Magnus, in December. His full name salutes the sisters’ work in Russia.

Sister Joanna is learning Latin at Benedictine and right away started teaching Magnus verbal commands in Latin — visitors hear, “Sede (sit)!”

Magnus, veni (come)!” and “Expecta (wait)!” as Magnus learns obedience.

When she is at school, Sister Damiana continues his training.

The sisters are so excited about the opportunity to serve at the Cathedral in St. Joseph and surroundings as a vital part of new candidates’ training to serve in Russia, and to restore the historic convent into a wonderful motherhouse where they can welcome more members, Mother Stella added.

•B enedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, is only 30 minutes away and a wonderful opportunity for the formation of sisters. Mother Stella also said they hope some students will feel called to serve the Church in Russia. Sister Joanna, CJD is currently enrolled as a student at Benedictine College.

•T he opportunity for the sisters to assist Father Benjamin Armentrout of the Cathedral and Ally Goetz with college ministry at Missouri Western State University is good preparation for the sisters’ work with students in Russia.

•T he Pro-Life Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is close by; its director, staff and members are eager to help host Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for post-abortive women and men, a labor of love and mercy in which the sisters have long been involved.

•C athedral Parish and School are eager to host Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a religious experience for children in which childhood religious values — contemplation and enjoyment of God — predominate. Catechesis is a continuation of their ministry and good training for the work of the Sisters in Jesus the Lord in Russia. The new St. Gianna Early Childhood Center, next to the Cathedral campus, is a perfect place for such catechesis, Mother Stella said.

(Clockwise from top left) Little chapel at St. Mary rectory; Petrus Magnus Invictus; Sisters praying liturgy of hours; Sr. Damiana with the community cat.

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heal i ng ou r fam i ly How long has the diocese had a Victim Assistance Coordinator?

In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) adopted The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and The Essential Norms, marking a significant shift in the level of organization and accountability in Church law regarding clergy sexual abuse.

As part of the Charter, the responsibility of victim outreach and pastoral support was established and required for every diocese.

Q

Learn more about the USCCB’s efforts at usccb.org/topics/catholic-safeguards

What drew you to the role of Victim Assistance Coordinator?

A belief in the rights of all victims and survivors, their pursuit of justice and dignity, their right to be believed and actively listened to. I want to take my experiences in anti-violence systems change and share them with the Church in our effort to transform the response to clergy sexual abuse.

Q

What is a typical day like for you in your role?

I have the privilege of walking with victim-survivors and their support systems as they journey through disclosing the abuse they endured, participating in the Independent Review Board process, and counseling. I also support victim-survivors by raising awareness of trauma, long-term health impacts of abuse, and work to integrate trauma-informed processes and policies into our response to those who have been harmed by clergy sexual abuse.

Q

An advocate for victim-survivors

What is “survivor-led response” and why is it important in the work you do?

A survivor-led or survivor-centered response means that we strive to keep victim-survivor’s voices and experiences at the center of this work. We have a responsibility to invite victim-survivors to inform the work that is happening. Providing options and finding ways to meet them where they are at is all part of a survivor-centered approach.

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By Ashlie Hand | Photos by Megan Marley

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pril is Child Abuse Prevention Month, which marks an important month in the year-round work of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph’s Office of Child

and Youth Protection (OCYP). One of the newest members of the OCYP team is Victim Assistance Coordinator (VAC) Whitney True-Francis. We sat down with Whitney to learn more about her role and her passion for supporting victims and survivors of child abuse.

Where do you fit in at the diocesan offices?

I am on the local response team for victim-survivors when a report is made of sexual abuse of a minor within the Church.

I also partner with Journey to Bethany to help transform the diocese and the local community’s response and their support of victims and survivors of abuse within the Church.

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LEARN MORE about our diocese’s OCYP at kcsjcatholic.org/office/child-youth-protection

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Is healing possible?

Healing is possible for some but may not be accessible for all at this time. Healing doesn’t mean that a person gets over it or is finally unaffected by the abuse. A victim-survivor will never be unaffected by the harm they endured. We can prevent future abuse and respond to victim-survivors in a way that holds abusers accountable and creates a Church culture of safety for victim-survivors.

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“Our local Catholic community has been deeply affected by the harm and scandal of clergy sexual abuse. This vital and sacred ministry provided by Whitney along with lay partners from Journey to Bethany brings us together as a community, to hold one another up as we journey towards healing.”

— Carrie Cooper, director, Office of Child and Youth Protection

Many events and expressions of atonement, support and educational awareness are planned throughout the month in our diocese as we all journey together along the path of healing and hope.

These include:

“It’s an important step for the Church to publicly profess its apology for the harm caused to victim-survivors by their perpetrators and the mishandling of the abuse within the Church.”

— Whitney True-Francis, Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

• April 21, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Zoom webinar: Recognizing the Signs of Sexual Abuse • April 26, 12:15 p.m.

Annual Mass in Atonement for Those Harmed by Sexual Abuse with Bishop James Johnston, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City • April 26, evening time TBD Healing Service hosted by Journey to Bethany, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Kansas City • Pinwheel displays in various locations throughout the Diocese of Kansas CitySt. Joseph | Learn where at journeytobethany.org/ calendar. The pinwheel is the official symbol of Child Abuse Prevention Month. Learn more at preventchildabuse.org.

(Clockwise top left to bottom left) Scenes from Day of Prayer in Atonement for those Harmed by Sexual Abuse in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

April 26 | Day of Prayer in Atonement for those Harmed by Sexual Abuse Each year since 2017, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has set aside one day during Child Abuse Prevention Month devoted to prayer in atonement for those harmed by sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This started with the Service of Lament in 2016, where Bishop James Johnston made five commitments to the people of the diocese, including naming April 26 as an Annual Day of Prayer. Bishop Johnston will celebrate Mass on April 26, 2022, at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, to which the entire community is invited. The diocese’s Victim Assistance Coordinator will join counselors and members of clergy to meet with attendees following Mass. Additional healing services are being held at various times and locations across the diocese.

For a full list of events, details and links, visit catholickey.org.

If you experienced sexual abuse as a minor by a member of Catholic clergy, religious or Church volunteer, please consider making a report.

Contact Independent Ombudsman Joe Crayon at crayon@ ombudsmankcsj.org.

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To s e rv e a n d to l i f t

Social Butterflies

By Brigette Chirpich

O

ut of the cold and snowy winter, we emerge into the sunshine of spring. We wander through the tree blossoms and spy the pale green leafy buds that follow. We see the sun more often,

and grass is greening up again. There is hope in this new season.

With the blossoms of the crocus, then daffodils, tulips, lilacs and, eventually, peonies, our spring walks are glorious.

As you plan your gardens, remember to plant marigolds, salvia, coneflowers and goldenrod. These blooms attract the butterfly. Oh, the social and happy butterfly. The fragile and innocent butterfly.

Imagine the reaction of children when they see butterflies. They run and chase butterflies. They giggle and smile. They are filled with excitement and wonder. Watching a child play with butterflies brings joy and peacefulness; that is a happy child.

A young child is also needy and fragile. When they are exposed to trauma or strife, they are left with holes to fill and repair. These traumas are called Adverse Childhood Experiences, or “ACEs” for short.

Some of these experiences include child

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abuse or exposure to drug use. However, some of the experiences are less visible, such as their private fears, possibly of hunger or housing.

All ACEs influence a child. Some effects are behavioral like anger issues or being clingy to a parent.

Other effects show up in the development of the child’s speech or writing delays. All these effects will have an impact on the young child’s ability to thrive in school.

A new program at Catholic Charities, “Social Butterflies,” works with children to repair the void created by their experiences. Social Butterflies will assess the child, work with the parents and create plans for growth. Teaching skills through play, connecting with experts and classes on parenting are all ways Social Butterflies will bring a child and their family forward, beyond the adverse experiences. When children are confident among their peers, they can play like a child, they can feel

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Shutterstock/Mariia Khamidulina

happiness, not fear, and they blossom like a butterfly.

In the cocoon, the caterpillar transforms. When properly protected and nourished, the butterfly will emerge in all its God-given beauty. You will see it flit and flutter from one flower to another in a happy-go-lucky fashion. It brings joy, just living its life.

Watching it fills you with hope — in spite of its fragility.

Why is it we whisper when we hold a butterfly? Perhaps it is because we know we are holding an extremely special and fragile creature. How we handle this insect can break its lifecycle.

Apply that image to holding a baby, a crying toddler, or a fearful child. They are more fragile than we are.

Their experiences are new

When children are confident among their peers, they can play like a child, they can feel happiness, not fear, and they blossom like a butterfly. and stay with them and can harm their future. How we handle these children impacts their growth and development.

We all have a part to play in caring for our children.

Jesus said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37) There is much love in this statement. A child sees the goodness of God everywhere. They learn to question God as they gather adverse experiences.

Embrace the child and their pure, unbiased, childlike faith in God. Encourage it in others. Witness the hope in the child’s actions. May our little social butterflies bring hope and sunshine to us all this new season.

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c ov e r s to ry

Sam Finley and Father Eric Schneider stand at the entrance of St. Ann's Parish in Plattsburg.

T h e sear c h

for truth

A DESIRE FOR AUTHENTICITY LEADS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

By Ashlie Hand | Photos by Megan Marley

Father Eric Schneider’s connection to his Catholic Faith is steeped in a rich fabric of memories visiting his Italian-American grandmother in Chicago and the neighborhood where his father grew up.

“When I was a child, my Nanna Galluzzi had a whole shrine in her room to all of her saints and she had all of these flickering candles and I loved going in that room. I was very influenced from a cultural perspective and always wanted to know more about it,” he says.

These treasured experiences are contrasted with the reality of his early faith formation.

Father Schneider grew up in the Methodist church outside of Chicago where his mother belonged until he was 11 years old. When his parents divorced, he left Chicago and moved to a city just outside of St. Louis with his mother and stepfather.

The move left him feeling disconnected from the cultural traditions of his youth and sparked a nearly decade-long search for that same authenticity.

A gift from his father, an old St. Joseph Missal from the 1950s, helped to bridge the gap. Father Schneider read it from cover to cover, fascinated by the vestments, the parts of the Mass and the Latin text. He kept it on his nightstand as a source of comfort and familiarity.

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c ov e r s to ry

THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A REAL CONVERSION IN MY HEART TO THE LORD, TO STOP LIVING THE NORMAL SECULAR LIFE OF QUESTIONING EVERYTHING, BELIEVING THAT ALL RELIGIONS ARE THE SAME. THERE WAS A PALPABLE TRUTH, AND I WAS REALLY STRUCK BY WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE ON THE ALTAR.” — FATHER ERIC SCHNEIDER

Father Schneider will baptize Sam Finley, her husband and daughter at St. Ann's Parish in Plattsburg during the parish Easter Vigil Mass.

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Father Schneider’s stepfather was a devout Catholic who mentored him in his Catholic Faith. They would attend Mass at the local diocesan church, St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Cottleville, Missouri, outside of St. Louis. This is where Father Schneider eventually received his First Communion and Confirmation.

Father Schneider held on to the missal, and would take it with him to Mass at St. Joseph. His experience of the Mass there, however, was not what he read about in the missal.

This was deeply disappointing to the young teenager. “I was always the kid asking the inconvenient questions to the priest.”

He gradually drifted away from his diocesan parish, but

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Father Schneider’s attraction to the Catholic Mass would stick with him, leading to a poignant moment in his life right after high school.

“As I was preparing to go off to college, I felt a need to get my life right and followed a nagging that I should return to Mass,” he recalls.

Father Schneider went to Confession and attended the celebration of high Mass at St. Francis DeSales Oratory in St. Louis. The realization of what he had been missing struck him, and he found himself in tears.

“That was the beginning of a real conversion in my heart to the Lord, to stop living the normal secular life of questioning everything, believing that all religions are the same. There was a palpable truth, and I was really struck by what was taking place on the altar,” he recalls.

Father Schneider went off to college, but the priesthood kept nagging at him.

“It was a really rough time and I had to choose against [the wishes of] Read a lot of people,” he says, recalling the Father Schneider’s advice for those many obstacles he faced during his discerning the discernment. “If I was going to [join priesthood at the priesthood], I wanted to give up CatholicKey.org my life for something authentic. I chose to be a diocesan priest after visiting the seminary in St. Louis, where I felt a great sense of connection and peace.”

Father Schneider’s journey solidified his strong devotion to the Catholic Faith. He has witnessed the way that experiencing Christ in the Mass has changed a lot of people’s lives and brought people into relationship with Our Lord. This includes several people in his current parishes of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Plattsburg and St. Joseph Parish in Easton.

“If we’re really trying to seek the truth of the matter, we’ll find it in the Eucharist and our experience with Christ in the Mass,” he says.

The search for truth is precisely what led Sam Finley to St. Ann’s Catholic Church in the fall of 2021.

Sam Finley’s story reads like a spy novel, or a true crime podcast. An innate curiosity about religion and an almost insatiable desire for truth drove her to seek out all the information she could gather, plotting it out in one room of her house like a seasoned detective. Sam has lived all over the world, but her search for the truest religion has led her to a small Catholic church in Plattsburg where she will be baptized into the Catholic Faith this Easter.

Her journey began in a divided home where her mother was Catholic, and her father was Muslim. Sam explains that when a father is Muslim it is the tradition that the children are raised Muslim. There was a Catholic church where they lived, but her mother was not allowed to bring her children to Mass. At the mosque, men and women are separated for worship, so Sam would often be alone.

This left her without a strong foundation in either faith.

“I did want to have something in my life, so I was always reading. I tried to read more about Islam, but no matter what I did, there wasn’t any peace for me. I had beliefs, but I wasn’t fully Muslim or Catholic.”

The tension this created eventually caused Sam to pull away from both religions. In an effort to get on with her life, she got married at a very young age.

Sam spent much of her teens and early adulthood reading about many religions around the world. With the precision of an investigative journalist, she would look for inconsistencies and omissions in other sources of scripture. She searched for the earliest sources of Christianity, from both Scripture and historical perspectives. She researched and questioned everything in her attempts to figure out where the original beliefs came from.

Sam Finley bows her head in prayer at St. Ann Parish in Plattsburg.

“I’m always looking for the truth; the most original truth before it got corrupted,” Sam explains.

“After we moved to Plattsburg, I fell in love with the town and its history. I realized if I’m going to stay here, I want to build a base and find my community.”

On a whim, Sam chose to give Mass a try at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Plattsburg.

“Right before coming to St. Ann’s, I was in the process of reading St. Mark’s Gospel and realized I definitely did not want to be Muslim anymore. So, I decided to go to the Catholic church with fresh eyes, without bias, let go of what was going on before in my life and just listen.”

The very first Mass she attended, she listened to the pastor, Father Eric Schneider, and immediately signed up for RCIA. “I had my daughter with me, so she and I both signed up. She initially grumbled about it, but I encouraged her to just try it out. She really loved it and wanted to continue, and so did I,” Sam recalls.

As Sam and her daughter continued their catechesis, Sam’s husband often questioned her intentions. As their daughter grew to love the classes, even attending happily without complaint, Sam saw her opening to invite her husband to Mass as well. “[At first he was sure] he wasn’t going to like it, but after a few weeks he changed his mind and decided to sign up for class,” Sam says proudly. Now he goes to Mass every week, even when Sam is out of town.

Sam, her husband and her daughter will all be baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Ann Parish. All three of them will also be Confirmed and receive their First Communion.

“I think it’s great ... but I would have done it anyway,” Sam says in a tone that is both decisive and intentional. “I came to St. Ann’s at the perfect time. The things going on in my family sent me down the path of questioning and research which led me here.”

Read more about Sam’s journey at CatholicKey.org

SO, I DECIDED TO GO TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WITH FRESH EYES WITHOUT BIAS, LET GO OF WHAT WAS GOING ON BEFORE IN MY LIFE, AND JUST LISTEN.” — SAM FINLEY 17

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growing Go d’s fa m i ly

Just say

YES

By Bridget Locke

L

ike most students focused on the future, Gladstone, Missouri, native Angeli-

na Creedon had already begun considering life after high school before she had even graduated. Heading off to college was the initial plan for the homeschooled student in 2020. However, the possibility of pursuing a different path also tugged at her heart.

“I have watched my parents serve in ministry since I was very young. I also served in peer ministry and helped with the Challenge group at St. Charles Borromeo Parish as a mentor to middle school girls,” Creedon said. “I have known for a while that I want to serve God for the rest of my life.”

Although attending college wouldn’t prevent Creedon from growing in ministry, she felt more and more that God was calling her to do something bold and intentional in service to the Church.

20

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Angelina Creedon (third from left) with the rest of NET Ministries Team 11.

“The end goal is to put young people in community with one another, and provide an environment for them to clearly hear Christ speaking to them.”

The NET was cast During her sophomore year of high school, missionaries from NET Ministries stayed in her family’s home and encouraged her to apply someday. After their discussions, Creedon felt called by God to pursue NET. Based in West St. Paul, Minnesota, NET Ministries was developed in 1981, when founder and President Mark Berchem organized a team of young adults to put on several high school youth retreats around Southern Minnesota over a three-week period. Eventually, the missions expanded over more states, and the time commitment grew to nine months. NET, short for National Evangelization Teams, was later adopted as the ministry’s official name, drawing inspiration from Mark 1:17 (“And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will

To learn more about NET Ministries, visit www.netusa.org.

make you fish for people’”) and Luke 5:4 (“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch’”).

Today, more than 150 NET team members serve annually across the country.

“I’ve been acquainted with several NET alumni in my personal life, and felt drawn to who they are in their faith,” Creedon said. “Their character told me what I needed to know about the strength of the program, so I decided to apply.”

The application process, which Creedon describes as encouraging and intense, entails completing an application, participating in an interview and attending a Discernment Weekend, a retreat attended by multiple prospective missionaries. During the Discernment Weekend, applicants learn more about NET and spend time in prayer to determine whether spending the next year as a missionary is what God is calling them to do.

Creedon found the process validating.

“Every step helped affirm who I am in the faith,” she said.

Relational ministry In August 2020, Creedon began serving as a parish missionary in Jasper, Indiana, where four parishes feed into the youth group she serves.

Currently, she oversees youth nights, plans youth retreats and helps facilitate religious education for approximately 40 young people. With every interaction, setting the atmosphere for others to develop real relationships with Christ is her focus.

“I give our youth group members a safe space to be authentic and ask questions. While I cannot eliminate their distractions, I can help build a level of trust that invites them to encounter Christ. NET is a relational ministry, and our relationships become the safe place for them to share. The end goal is to put young people in community with one another, and provide an environment for them to clearly hear Christ speaking to them.”

Next (ordered) steps Creedon’s time in the program will end in May 2022. As she did in high school, Creedon has begun contemplating the next phase. As always, she is depending on God to order her steps.

“Whatever comes next for me, I know I’ll be working in ministry. I’ve prayed about it, and have heard God tell me, ‘Just say yes.’”

21

par e nti n g

Weed M

y 11-year-old announced to me in early spring he wanted to plant the garden by himself. Our garden sits at the back of our yard, partially

behind the garage. It’s easy to forget about. It had not been great — for a while …

I thought, “Why not? It can’t hurt. It will give him a reason to be outside all summer.”

“Sure honey. Go ahead,” I said.

He researched and started seedlings in the kitchen window. He hoed, tilled and planted. He came in dirty and happy, reporting all of his progress to me. I didn’t pay much attention.

A few weeks into his project, he said, “Mom, come see my garden!”

I walked out to the garden. What I saw was pretty impressive. Everything he planted had come up so nicely — onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic; all very exciting.

“Good job, son,” I said. “It’s beautiful. Now, don’t forget to weed.”

22

Weeding.

“No, Mom, it’ll be fine,” He replied.

“You’ve got to weed,” I said “No, Mom. I’ve planted it in such a way that it will be fine.”

This went on for a while.

Me reminding him to weed.

Him assuring me that it would be OK. When I wandered back out to the garden a few weeks later, the weeds had taken over with a vengeance, crowding out the good growth I had seen before. That promising garden was now in major trouble.

Those beautiful plants were suffering. I stood there looking at all that lost potential

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Getty Images/lucentius

the garden wondering what to do when a realization hit me. This garden is just like my children. Sure, they seem to be doing great, but I can’t forget to weed. If I do, the weeds will grow up and choke out their potential.

Jesus told a series of parables with this kind of warning.

(Matthew 13). In them, seeds with potential are choked or crowded out because of a variety of problems, but the message in each is to be diligent. Be careful.

Don’t forget to weed.

Getting our children from promising growth to fruit bearers is not an easy task. It requires daily diligence. We can’t just turn to God and say, “It’s fine, I’ve planted them in such a way that it will be fine.”

That approach works only if you don’t believe in weeds.

Yes, it is God who ultimately grows our children, and if you are discouraged, turn to Ezekiel 36:36 for the reminder of God’s

K a re n R i dde r 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.

ability to replant and rebuild even the most desolate of gardens. But it is our job to tend the growth, guide the growth, provide stakes and trellises and space for growth — and never neglect our duty to weed.

Marriage with God in the Middle

T

he moment I asked my wife, Cathy, to marry me I knew that something was changing. We went

to the beach just blocks from the location of our first date and I took her by the hand and we walked out knee depth in the cold waters of the Pacific. I took a knee in the waters and realized that this moment was much like the commitment of my baptism. Through the years I have meditated on this moment and sought to invite God more and more into our married life.

There is a well-known book by Fulton Sheen titled “Three to Get Married.” The basic premise is an invitation to engaged and married people: invite God into the center of your relationship. This is the language of discipleship.

There is a helpful analogy here between the stages of development in a human relationship with the deepening of conversion to Jesus Christ. When a man and woman find mutual interest in each other they begin to spend more time together and to show greater affection. Should this lead to engagement one says to the other “you are closer to the center of my life, and I now make decisions in reference to our future together.” Upon entering the Sacrament of Marriage this commitment to one’s spouse involves a shift. The promises of the marriage rite are a commitment to offer one’s entire self to the other as a gift. In other words, “you are now at the center of my life, and I make all important decisions with reference to you.” Growth in our relationship with God follows the same progression. It leads the believer to commit to God more fully. One’s choices in life are initially made in reference to God, but with him as one priority among many. As conversion deepens, one begins to make decisions (especially important ones) putting God’s will first.

“As we come to trust Him more, we invite him deeper into our lives.”

Here we see the beautiful intersection of these two relationships. In the Sacrament of Marriage, a baptized man and a baptized woman can bring their relationship with God into the center of their relationship with each other. This is how married people discover sanctity in the details of their life together, with God in the middle. Sheen describes it this way, “Marriage is a vocation to put God in every detail of love.

In this way, the dream of the bride and groom for eternal happiness really comes true, not in themselves alone, but through themselves. Now they love each other not as they dreamed they would, but as God dreamed they would. Such a reconciliation of the tension is possible only to those who know that it takes three to make love.” (Fulton Sheen, Three to Get Married, chapter 4)

The Second Vatican Council described God’s dynamic action in marriage in which, “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love and is directed and enriched by the redemptive power of Christ and the salvific action of the Church, with the result that the spouses are effectively led to God and are helped and strengthened in their lofty role as fathers and mothers.” (Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the

m ar r i ag e

Di n o Dur a n do is director of the Office of Domestic Church and Discipleship and the Office of Marriage and Family Life.

Modern World #48)

God wants to get in the middle of our love for one another.

He wants to enrich, strengthen and bless married love. As we come to trust Him more, we invite him deeper into our lives.

We must also invite Him deeper into our marriages. This is an open invitation from God. Do you have the courage to invite him into the center of your marriage and family?

Getty Images/Shtrunts

23

c ult u r e

Theme The plants listed below all have a symbolic meaning related to Mary, and there are extensive lists online to pull from. Depending on the coordination of light, soil and watering needs, it’s possible to combine some plants into Marian themes such as mysteries of the rosary or attributes of Mary. Or maybe you want a dual-purpose herb and Mary garden!

Mary

By Megan Marley

W

hen I was about 10, I “helped” my elder cousins plant a Mary

garden for our grandma’s birthday.

Looking back, I was probably more of a hindrance.

Born in May and named Mary, Grandma had a great devotion to Our Lady.

Most of her daughters are named after a title or attribute of Mary. Rosaries of all colors stashed in the nooks and crannies of her room were easily accessible to pray for her 14 children every day. And by the end of her life, an entire wall of framed pictures gifted to her of various titles and apparitions of Mary stood testimony. The smells of honeysuckle from the garden, warmed-over Folgers and old books still remind me of her, and of those final months when cancer took her memory of our names but not the words of the Hail Mary she repeated from habit.

She made devotion to the Mother of God a normal, everyday thing to the end.

In many ways, it’s hard to carve out literal and figurative space for prayer in today’s cramped, busy life — let alone cultivate devotion to Mary. But since I have an increasing houseplant horde to water, it’s a good opportunity to revisit themes of that old Mary garden in my own home to grow both faith and flora.

24

Below are some tips and meaningful plants to cultivate your own windowsill Mary garden.

Space and containers When finding containers and plants, keep in mind the size of the windowsill and the space needed for healthy root growth.

It might make sense to have a couple of smaller potted plants around a Mary statue rather than all in one container.

Decor A Mary statue or plaque is a good focal piece for your mini-garden. Metal, plastic or glass statues work best if placed in a pot, since wood and plaster absorb water.

Other fun accents to include are painted rocks with prayer intentions, seashells and stars for “Our Lady Star of the Sea,” angels, etc.

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

Herbs

Foraged plants

• Basil (Holy Communion Plant) • Chives (Our Lady’s Garlic) • Dill (Devil Away) • Lavender (Mary’s Drying Plant) • Lemon Balm (Sweet Mary) • Marjoram (Mother of God) • Rosemary (Rose of Mary/Mary’s Bouquet) • Sage (Mary’s Shawl) • Thyme (The Virgin’s Humility)

• Chicory (Our Lady’s Balm) • Bee balm (Sweet Mary) • Dandelion (Mary’s Bitter Sorrow) • Impatiens (Mother Love) • Kenilworth Ivy (Tears of Mary) • Lady’s Mantle (Our Lady’s Mantle) • Star of Bethlehem plant (Star of Bethlehem) • Violet (Our Lady’s Modesty)

Flowering plants • Amaranthus (St. Joseph’s Coat) • Amaryllis (Beautiful Lady/St. Joseph’s Lily) • Begonia (Mary’s Heart/ Jesus’ Heart) • Bleeding heart vine (Rosary Vine) • Chrysanthemum (All Saints Flower) • Forget-Me-Not (Mary’s Eyes) • Geranium (Gentle Virgin/Beautiful Lady) • Hyacinth (Lily Among Thorns) • Iris (Mary’s Sword of Sorrow) • Marigold (Mary’s Gold) • Mini roses (Mystical Rose/Mary’s Thorn) • Passionflower (Passion Flower) • Periwinkle (Virginity) • Spiderwort (Our Lady’s Tears) • Tulip (Mary’s Prayer)

Succulents, tropicals and other houseplants • African violet (Madonna) • Aloe (Trinity) • Asparagus Fern (The Maiden’s Hair) • Crown of Thorns (Crown of Thorns) • Maidenhair Fern (Our Lady’s Hair) • Mother of thousands (Madonna’s Herb/ Mother of Thousands) • Prayer Plant (Prayer Plant) • Spanish Moss (Mother of Thousands) • Spider Plant (Queen of Apostles/ St. Bernard’s Lily) • String of Pearls (Rosary Plant)

Illustrations: Getty Images/Vladayoung

Houseplants for t he Mont h of

Bishop James Johnston (center) with seminarians of the Diocese of Kansas CitySt. Joseph studying at Conception.

Nati o nal Headlines R o u nd u p

Getty Images/AndreyPopov

Invalid Baptisms continue to cause scandal in the United States. In August 2020, a Vatican document clarified that using the phrase “we baptize” when attempting to baptize someone does not confer the sacrament, since it diminishes the singular role of Christ, who baptizes through the minister. Every sacrament requires a specific formula of the words spoken (the sacramental form), along with the actions performed and materials used (the sacramental matter). More on the topic can be found at CatholicNewsAgency.com.

t o r ead mo r e news

Pope Francis asks for prayers amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe.

The pope designated March 2 a day of fasting for peace in Ukraine, as neighboring Russia launched an invasion in late February. On March 25, he invited Bishops around the world to join him in consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the feast of the Annunciation.

More on the Church’s response at VaticanNews.va, and ongoing humanitarian aid efforts at CRS.org.

visit kcsjcatholic.org/news and catholickey.org/news

In mid-February, Pope Francis made a series of changes to the CDF and the Code of Canon Law via motu proprios. “Fidem servare” reorganized the Vatican doctrine office’s internal structure into two sections: a doctrinal section and a disciplinary section with separate secretaries for each, plus melding a third section which dealt with marriage cases into the doctrinal.

“Competentias quasdam decernere” changed the Code of Canon Law with an overall theme of decentralization.

Additional changes were also released on March 19. Explanatory articles can be found on PillarCatholic.com.

25

e n e l ca mi n o Jesús y la mujer samaritana en el pozo, Guercino, 1640-41 Óleo sobre lienzo.

“Muchos Samaritanos de esa ciudad creyeron en Él por la fuerza del testimonio de las palabras de la mujer: ‘Él me dijo todo lo que he hecho.’”

- Juan 4:39

El Toque Personal de Dios Guercino, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

26

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

L

a semana pasada yo le pedí a dos grupos diferentes de personas compartir mi historia

personal de fe y como fui conducido al sacerdocio.

Es algo que yo disfruto compartiendo y que todavía

D e l O bi s p o

me maravilla a medida que envejezco, como la mujer

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

Samaritana lo hizo después de reunirse con Jesús en el pozo ese día.

Parte de lo que todavía me fascina es que Jesús me haya prestado tal atención a mí personalmente. Es fácil imaginar que Dios tiene una visión amplia más allá del borde del universo y observa el mundo en general — el planeta azul con esos miles de millones de personas, siempre ocupados con sus cosas. Sin embargo, Dios es Dios, y cada uno de nosotros es un niño, precioso e irrepetible. Dios nos conoce íntimamente; tal como conocía a la mujer Samaritana que se dio cuenta en sus palabras, “Él me dijo todo lo que he hecho”.

Uno también ve esta sorprendente realización reflejada en las cartas de San Pablo, junto con otras de los Apóstoles. En uno de sus más bellos testimonios, San Pablo escribe: “Yo he sido crucificado con Cristo, y la vida que vivo ahora no es la mía propia: Cristo está viviendo en mí. Todavía vivo mi vida humana, pero es una vida de fe en el Hijo de Dios, quien me amó y se entregó a si mismo por mí” (Gálatas 2:20). Él me amó y se entregó a si mismo por mí; Él está viviendo en mí.

Esta realización es una de las más importantes de la vida Cristiana, darse cuenta de que la Cristiandad no es solo un movimiento, o un grupo de enseñanzas, sino un encuentro personal con el Dios viviente. Algunos teólogos se refieren a esta creencia Cristiana de que Dios nos ama personalmente, y mira hacia abajo para involucrarse en nuestras pequeñas vidas, como una especie de escándalo. ¿Cómo podría Dios cuidar personalmente a cada una de sus criaturas tan íntimamente? El difunto Carl Sagan, el célebre astrónomo, estaba tan abrumado con la inmensidad del universo y su incomprensible extensión, que remarcaría lo pequeños e insignificantes que parecemos los humanos. Una pizca de una pizca, desde su perspectiva.

Todavía, el amor de Dios sigue una lógica divina que es difícil de comprender por los humanos y para otros, demasiado buena para ser cierta.

Esta es una de las claves del Evangelio y de sus buenas nuevas. Dios es amor, y “Sí, Dios ama tanto al mundo que le entregó su único Hijo, para que quien creyera en Él no muriera, sino que pudiera tener la vida eterna” (Juan 3:16) Esto también suena escandaloso para algunos; que Dios todopoderoso y santo, pueda rebajarse para asumir nuestra humanidad de manera que pudiese morir y resucitar de entre los muertos por mí.

Nuestro reto como discípulos es recuperar nuestro asombro y amor por lo que Dios ha hecho por nosotros — personalmentey como la mujer Samaritana en el pozo, como Zaqueo, y muchos otros en los Evangelios, dar nuestro propio testimonio cuando se presente la oportunidad, acerca de lo que Él ha hecho por mí.

27

evangelization

R

ising toward the ceiling above the altar of Christ the King Church is an imposing, framed 10’ x 6’ painting of the Crucifixion,

the Sorrowing Mother and Saint Mary Magdalene. The artist, James Langley, is an American figurative painter whose work develops forms that are “recognizably derived from life,” as his website states. In other words, there is a realness to his figures.

Finding God’s creation in art

By Marty Denzer | Photos by Megan Marley and Mike Jones

28

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

His liturgical work, Langley said, “is inspired by faith and the presence of God in the sacraments.” Christ the King is one of two churches in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to display his artwork. In addition to the Crucifixion altarpiece, a Madonna and Child hangs in the St. Julian Peter Eymard Perpetual Adoration Chapel in the church. There is a Langley Divine Mercy painting at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gladstone.

In addition to liturgical art, Langley’s work encompasses portraiture, figure art, murals and decorative botanical studies. The artist, 61, grew up in Colorado, where his art-loving mother supplied him with a camera, paper and art supplies with which he entertained himself inside the house and outdoors, instead of watching TV. Inspired by his mother, entertainment grew into a love of drawing, he said.

After attending Catholic schools, he earned advanced degrees from the Rhode Island Academy of Art and the New York Academy of Art. Originally a studio artist, Langley taught art for 15 years at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic drove professors and teachers worldwide into virtual platforms, but, Langley said, it’s difficult to teach art online. Recently, Langley returned to his studio.

His architectural ornament work is exhibited at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art; his religious art at Opus DeiRome and Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Neb.; and other works in the U.S., Ireland, France, Spain, Italy (including a Vatican traveling exhibit), Finland and Portugal.

Langley said, “To me, art is a way to find God in creation.”

Which brings us back to Christ the King and St. Andrew the Apostle churches in this diocese.

Christ the King’s altarpiece was commissioned by then-Bishop Robert Finn in 2013 and installed in early 2015. Langley said the painting involved about 10 months of planning and sketching and three months painting it in oil on Belgian linen.

The inscription, “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,” is in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, and Langley said he consulted with Hebrew, Latin and Greek scholars to ensure accuracy.

When asked why the Blessed Mother is standing with raised arms spread wide, Langley said he portrayed Mary as strong and supporting Jesus, while surrendering to the sorrow and pain she experiences as she watches her son suffer. Her posture is one of receptivity, he said. Mary thus becomes an inspiration to prayer. “Mary and Saint Mary Magdalene represent the Church, and us, being drawn into participation in the Mass, the repetition of Calvary,” he said.

While Langley was working on the altarpiece, at Christ the King other renovations and changes were taking place. With J.E. Dunn as the general contractor, and Mike Jones, a St. Andrew the Apostle parishioner and member of the Kansas City Woodworkers Guild, the sanctuary was redone. The

To learn more about James Langley, visit his website, jameslangley.com.

cross was moved to the south wall and the statues of Mary and Joseph found new homes in niches at the front of the sanctuary. The communion rail was rebuilt and the circular altar was removed and replaced with an altar upon a wooden platform rising several feet from the floor. The altar is against the wall, so the priest faces the altar at Mass.

Jones built the altar platform, niches, communion rail and the wood frame for the altarpiece. He also built the glassdoored ostensorium for the Adoration Chapel, “to show” the monstrance with the consecrated host, all to Father Greg Lockwood’s specifications. And he became acquainted with James Langley.

A few years ago, a beloved St. Andrew’s parishioner, known for her devotion to the Divine Mercy, died. Jones approached her grandson and his family, offering to build a memorial to her around a Divine Mercy painting. He recommended Langley as the artist. The family agreed, and Langley accepted the commission.

His Divine Mercy representation hangs in the church in a candle-holding wood frame built by Jones, who said there was some criticism that the Divine Mercy didn’t look the same as the well-known image. Jones said, “God spoke to James in his heart, and this image is his answer.”

The altarpiece and Madonna and Child paintings at Christ the King also speak loud and clear to those who listen. As Father Lockwood said, “We want everyone to know what we’re about here!”

“God spoke to James in his heart, and this image is his answer.”

29

co me h o m e to co mm u n i o n

Easter is a

homecom i n g W

hen we resumed Sunday Masses after the COVID shutdown, I remember some people

coming forward to receive Communion with tears in their eyes. They were coming home to Communion.

For the last several months, a message to the people of our diocese has been: Come Home to Communion. It has been a joy to see people return to live worship. Watching Mass on television may be edifying and helpful when there is no alternative, but as a song from many years ago opined, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.” The real thing, of course, is the real presence of Jesus in Eucharist.

In the spring, there is joy of seeing people Come Home to Communion for the first time as they receive the gift Jesus makes of himself at their first Communion. At the Easter Vigil, the newly baptized, and often the newly received, share in the Eucharist with us for the first time.

After Easter, many children, mostly those in second grade, also Come Home to Communion for the first time.

As we watch these people, young and old, come home to Communion, may it remind us all of the great gift we receive in the Eucharist, and may it lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of that gift.

Fat h e r J o s e p h C i s e t t i is pastor at St. Therese Parish in northland Kansas City.

Getty Images/Jaclyn Lippelmann Photography

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

S ant o

R efl ex i ó n

Cinco Razones Principales Por Las Que Debes Discernir Tus Carismas

¿T

iene Dios un plan para mi vida? La mayoría de los cristianos hacen esta pregunta al menos una vez en su

vida. ¡La respuesta es sí! Sin embargo, debemos discernir cuál podría ser ese plan. Una de las mejores formas de entender

F E, FA M I L I A Y AG R I C U LT U R A

la voluntad de Dios para tu vida es discernir tus carismas. Los carismas son dones que Dios nos da a cada uno de nosotros para ser canales de su providencia para otros. Veamos las cinco razones principales por las que debes discernir tus

Por Megan Marley

carismas ahora mismo:

La agricultura es muy exigente, es una labor

1. Los carismas son pistas sobre tu vocación.

2. Nos permite tomar buenas decisiones.

3. Conocer tus carismas te ayuda a no juzgarte a ti mismo porque no eres como los demás.

4. Conocer tus carismas te ayuda a evitar: a. Agotamiento b. Ineficacia c. Frustración 5. N uestros carismas nos ayudan a hacer una diferencia en el mundo.

que se realiza durante todo el año, que depende del trabajo duro y de la providencia de Dios.

Hay una conexión especial entre el trabajo de la tierra y el trabajo de su salvación, como decía San Isidro Labrador.

Directora, Ministerio Hispano

Dios tiene un propósito y un plan para tu vida. Y es esto: ayudar en la reconstrucción de Su Reino. Nuestras parroquias pueden ser fuentes de sanación, evangelización y transformación comunitaria. Si bien discernir nuestro carisma individual es poderoso, ¡discernir nuestros carismas como parroquia puede ser transformador!

Getty Images/m-imagephotography

San Isidro nació alrededor del año 1080 cerca de Madrid, España. Fue un buen trabajador para el hacendado Juan de Vargas, y aún más diligente en su vida espiritual. Tenía una gran devoción por la Eucaristía y asistía a la Misa diariamente antes de ir a trabajar. Su esposa, la Beata María Torribia, era su pareja en santidad. Juntos rezaban, trabajaban duro y hacían obras de misericordia; Isidro a menudo llevaba a su casa huéspedes pobres, y María mantenía siempre una olla de estofado listo para alimentarlos.

Isidro tenía un don para los milagros. Una vez, un compañero de trabajo celoso se quejó de que Isidro estaba eludiendo el trabajo. El hacendado fue a investigar, ¡y encontró a Isidro rezando mientras los ángeles araban el campo por él!

También se decía que las oraciones de Isidro rescataron a su hijo de ahogarse en un pozo y le devolvieron la vida a la hija del hacendado.

En el arte, San Isidro se representa como un campesino con una hoz o bastón, o con ángeles arando. Es el santo patrono de los jornaleros, los agricultores, de la agricultura, de la Conferencia de la Vida Rural Católica Nacional, y de muchas ciudades en España y Sur América. La festividad conjunta de Isidro y María se celebra el 15 de Mayo.

Le y de n R ov e lo K r ull

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synod

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception hosted a local discernment session Feb. 23.

‘COME, HOLY SPIRIT’: D I S C E R N M E N T A N D SY N O DA L I T Y

By Megan Marley

S

ynod — what does this word mean?

In the history of the Catholic Church, it’s an assembly called by the Church to discuss matters of impor-

tance for the Church. The Greek root words syn and hodos literally translated mean “together, journey.”

While recent synods have examined themes such as the New Evangelization, the family, young people and the Amazon, the synod currently being prepared focuses on “synodality” — how the people of God walk together in listening to the Holy Spirit. The world’s bishops will collectively meet in 2023 to discern what the Holy Spirit is speaking, but there are also gatherings at the continental, national and diocesan-wide levels to inform that synod.

Beginning in Advent, parishes, schools and other groups in our diocese hosted listening and discernment sessions focused on 10 themes proposed for the synod. The themes aim to encourage listening to the Holy Spirit and fostering discernment, participation and co-responsibility for the Church’s mission in the world at all levels of the Church.

“The Holy Father has challenged us to engage communities whose voices are not often heard, individuals we see on the margins of society … we also want to reach out those who have maybe fallen away from the practice of their faith,” Bishop Johnston said in a video introducing the synod.

Reports summarizing local sessions are being compiled by the diocese for creating a diocesan-wide report to go up to the national level. This local report will be made available on the diocesan website, kcsjcatholic.org.

Below are some experiences of the local synod process.

St. Patrick School, Kansas City St. Patrick School in northern Kansas City held not one, but two synod sessions: one for teachers and staff, another for middle-schoolers.

First-grade teacher Hannah Duran was present at the teachers and staff meeting held Jan. 26. Principal Kaci Monaghan sent out the 10 topics several days in advance for them to think and pray about what was speaking to them and submit their top three. Duran appreciated the openness of the process.

“When she asked us to choose, it gave us ownership of the topics and made us be more involved and invest in the conversation,” she said.

“Listening,” “Sharing Responsibility for Our Common Mission” and “Ecumenism” were the three they discussed.

“The one that really stood out to me was one I voted for, which was ‘Listening.’ We talked a lot about how we can be better in our school,

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Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

and as a parish, in listening to people that might have different views than our own … and how to cross that barrier.”

The process reminded her that “we need to talk in our school community about things other than school. We had a really useful conversation, it's not like it takes too much time out of anyone’s day for a meeting and we ended up learning a lot about what each other thought.”

“Listening” was also one of the three topics middle-schoolers picked at their Feb. 2 session.

“It was interesting because they had a similar perspective to the staff on the issue, noticing a lot of the same barriers to listening, bias, fear of conflict … they only have a small slice of life but they already see some of the same things we see as adults,” said Melanie Abel, sixth-grade teacher.

The students also talked about “Speaking Out” and “Celebration” — the latter sparked an idea that the parish might utilize: a prayer space in the back of church to sign up to pray for others, and to be prayed for.

“We don’t always see our ideas play out in the bigger picture,” Abel said.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City Collin Lavery was a participant in the in-person and virtual session held Feb. 23 at the Cathedral in Kansas City that focused on the topics of “Listening,” “Celebration” and “Dialogue in Church and Society.”

Synod participants “A lot of what we talked about tonight surrounded the frustrations of Mary Immaculate Parish, Gallatin vote on the top three both the position the Church is in today, and the infighting within the Tony Gronninger was among the 20-some themes they would Church,” Lavery said. people in attendance at the in-person seslike to discuss during “Everything about the Church is kind of local, that’s where we pull sion held at Mary Immaculate Parish Feb. their Listening & our most strength and our best outreach … having little get-togethers 15. Topics that surfaced for the group were Discernment session. like this in a public forum would be immensely helpful for just com- “Celebration,” “Listening” and “Speaking Out” munication of our faith and values.”

— the first one stood out to him.

He also found the topic of “Dialogue in Church and Society” to be “We talked about Celebration: locally with this whole pandemic important to his millennial demographic. thing, we are past running from each other … When this thing hit, ev“Something I deal with in marketing, my job is how do we remove erybody shooed — that was the Church’s take on it, and appropriately barriers in getting the person we’re talking so. But Celebration as a community, we’re to to agree with the product we’re selling? In looking forward to getting back to it,” said the Church it is: how do we remove barriers Gronninger. from truth? One barrier would be: I have He particularly enjoyed being able to Synod 2021-2023 to get out of bed to go to church. We can’t speak to the top — coming from a rural 10 THEMES move the church to that person’s house, perspective, “It’s hard to keep jumping up but maybe we can move dialogue into that and down in the back of the classroom and •C ompanions on the Journey person’s house via their phone … I got back never get called on.”

• Listening into the Church because of videos about “I am proud of the pope’s initiative to see • Speaking Out the Catholic Church and being reinvested.” what the folks in the trenches, the Catholic • Celebration laity, are thinking and their take on the •S haring Responsibility for Our Church and its goals for where it’s going,” Common Mission Gronninger said.

•D ialogue in Church and Society However, he’s a little skeptical on the • Ecumenism “Do we have expectations outcome of the synod process.

•A uthority and Participation “My personal question was how much •D iscerning and Deciding for what we have here, that lay input is there above this pastoral, small • Forming Ourselves in Synodality our work here is going to church level? Do lay people have input at the diocese? What are the U.S. bishops goTO LEARN MORE about these have an impact on what ing to do with the input? This is going to 10 themes, how the diocese is the Church does? What go back to the clergy to filter, in my view, participating and to view the the opinions that go out later on. So am I diocesan-wide compiled report are our expectations and hopeful? Yes. But … they have a different (available June 2020), visit what should they be?” perspective than you and I, as lay persons.” kcsjcatholic.org/synod2021-2023

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catechism co r n e r

Why does God allow good people to suffer?

M ar c Cardaronella is the director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation

Dealing with this question can stretch the limits of faith.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. I’ve said that every person is known by God, loved like his own child and created with intention and purpose. So, why would a loving father let bad things happen to his children?

To come to terms with this, we must understand the meaning of personhood.

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The unfortunate consequence, however, is that people do choose evil and those choices have consequences. Confession exists as a remedy for the spiritual costs of our sin, but that doesn’t negate legal, social and emotional costs.

In the end, the why is a mystery. We hurt and we don’t like to hurt. But knowing why isn’t always possible. The Catechism gives more assurance than explanation why. Love requires vulnerability, and that can lead to pain. God doesn’t promise love won’t hurt, but that he loves and hurts with us. Jesus loved and suffered more than anyone. To the suffering, he says, “You are not alone. I have been there, and I am with you now. Join all your pain with mine and I will transform it.”

So, God respects our freedom and permits evil … but also offers hope. The other assurance is to somehow “mysteriously … derive good from it.” The why may remain a mystery. However, Saint Paul tells us, “We know that in everything God works for good for those who love him.” (Rom 8:28) Immerse yourself in God’s merciful love with full knowledge he has the power to draw greater good from any evil.

Catholic Key • April/May 2022 • catholickey.org

“God doesn’t promise love won’t hurt, but that he loves and hurts with us.”

Getty Images/PORNCHAI SODA

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (311) says, “Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love.

They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus moral evil … has entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it.”

To be a person is to be in control of your own destiny by free choice. God desires everyone to love him. However, for a true, loving relationship to exist, it can’t be forced or coerced. Having the choice of radical love means the opposite choice must also be possible … radical hate and evil actions.

What we’re really asking is for God to put limits on human freedom. It sounds good, but is that what we really want?

Lately, it’s become painfully obvious that people love personal freedom. Being controlled angers us, which stands to reason.

A person is an end in themselves and must never be an object of use. Freedom of choice is our sovereign right as persons.

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