April 2013

first pope from the new world

pope francis

“ C h r i s t

h a s

r i s e n ,

A l l e l u i a ! �

•

E a s t e r

2 0 1 3

We all have a mission; we all have a vocation. If you are discerning your call – to marriage, to consecrated life, to priesthood – visit: www.dioceseoflansing.org/vocations and watch the vocations video

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Portraits of the Call

contents 6 yourlife The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing

Most Reverend Earl Boyea PUBLISHER

Rev. Dwight Ezop

EDITOR AND CHAIRMAN

April, 2013 • Volume 14: Issue 3

Patrick M. O’Brien

PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Elizabeth Martin Solsburg

DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM PUBLISHING/ EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Cynthia Vandecar

MARKETING MANAGER

Patrick Dally

ART DIRECTOR

Michelle Hildebrandt WEBMASTER

Jillane Job

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

InnerWorkings

PRINT MANAGEMENT

Jim Berlucchi | Michelle Sessions DiFranco | Kevin Duffy | Doug Culp | Dcn. Tom and JoAnne Fogle | Bob Horning |Rev. Charles Irvin | Paul Jarzembowski | Rev. Joseph Krupp | Dr. Gelasia Marquez | Dr. Cathleen McGreal | Nancy Schertzing | Sister Ann Shields CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Derek Melot

PROOFREADING

Carlson Productions | Tom Gennara | James Luning (cover) | Michael Schimpf | Philip Shippert | Don Quillan CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Bob Patten | Chris Sushynski CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

FAITHTM (USPS 019993) is a publication of FAITH Catholic, Diocese of Lansing, 1500 E. Saginaw St., Lansing, MI 48906-5550. FAITHTM is a membership publication of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing and is published monthly except for February and August. To purchase a subscription, log on to FAITHmag.com. If you have a change of address, please contact your parish. Periodicals postage paid in Lansing, MI and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FAITHTM, 1500 E. Saginaw St., Lansing MI 48906-5550. ©2013 FAITH Catholic.

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table of contents

6 work life I shouldn’t have to walk through a toxic cloud to get to work 8 parenting journey Should we attend a wedding if our children aren’t invited?

8 conflict resolution Do I have to accept friend requests on Facebook?

9 marriage matters She says: “I can’t stand the way he eats!” He says: “She is always nagging about trivial stuff like this.” What do they do?

10 yourfaith 10 in the know with Father Joe Why should I stay Catholic?

12 spiritual fitness Lent is over – Here’s how to focus on Easter 14 theology 101 We believe in the Holy Trinity – What does that mean?

31 last word What is the importance of godparents?

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Liturgical Calendar: Divine Mercy Sunday April 7 | Annunciation of the Lord April 8 | St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr April 11 | St. Martin I, pope and martyr April 13

Catholic News Service

18

3

from the editor

Pope Francis, bridge builder

I

’m not sure anyone could have predicted that Cardinal Jose Mario Bergoglio would be chosen by the College of Cardinals as successor to St. Peter. In the hype leading up to the conclave, his name did not appear on any of the short lists of likely papal candidates that were being bandied about.

In fact, his name didn’t seem to appear on many long lists either, other than those which noted the names of all the cardinal electors who would be in attendance once the conclave began. Yet another reminder that the Holy Spirit blows where he wills.

T. Gennara

Father Dwight Ezop is editor of FAITH Magazine and pastor of the Catholic Community of St. Jude. E-mail: editor@ FAITHmag.com.

In his new role as successor to St. Peter, Pope Francis will be known by two common titles. The first is “pope;” the other is “pontiff.” In his ministry as Bishop of Rome, he is most commonly referred to as pope, a title that is rooted in words like “papa.” It expresses not only a kind of fondness but also the kind of care he is meant to exercise for a family that now counts over 1.2 billion members and which stretches around the globe. Following his election, we have seen how eager Pope Francis is to visit with the members of his

saint of the month

Live Mercifully St. Julie Billiart

Feast Day: April 8

4

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

“family” as he wades out into the crowds that follow him everywhere. The warm smile that we see so evident on his face seems to be genuine and a reflection of the great compassion and joy that he brings to his ministry. Like any good parent, I’m sure there will also be instances in his ministry that will require him to make weighty decisions with which not every member of the family will agree. Hopefully, knowing that he is one filled with joy and compassion will make those times easier.

The title “pontiff” comes from the Latin word “pontifex” which means “a bridge builder.” From his very first actions following his introduction, it seems as though Pope Francis is very keen on being a bridge builder.

The simple gesture of bowing down and asking for our prayers prior to giving his first blessing as pope built an instant bridge of humility between Pope Francis and the people of the world.

Pope Francis also seems to be very intent on bringing a simpler face to the papacy by eschewing some of the things which have been traditionally associated with his office. In doing so, Pope Francis has also been very clear that he seeks to help build a bridge of compassion and sensitivity between the

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.” This beatitude calls each Christian to be an instrument of God’s mercy in the world. It is for this reason that the Church has traditionally articulated the Christian duty to engage in both corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

This mercy is patterned on God’s own mercy. God the Father chose to not only exercise his power

world’s rich and poor. This is certainly in keeping with the ministry he exercised while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and is also very much in keeping with his desire to imitate his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. In calling attention to the plight of the world’s poor, Pope Francis is steadfastly reminding us that we cannot overlook their needs and urges us to ensure that we bring our own resources to bear in order to ease their sufferings. Likewise, Pope Francis has already challenged us to become more sensitive to issues related to the environment and how our choices impact the world in which we live. It seems clear to me that Pope Francis is going to be a very active pontiff and builder of bridges during his ministry as our pope.

In this special issue of FAITH we welcome Pope Francis, our new “papa” and “bridge builder.” Let us pray for strength and grace for him as he begins his ministry as Shepherd of the Universal Church. May he always walk joyfully and humbly in the footsteps of Christ, the Good Shepherd, whose love and care he is called to imitate and proclaim to all the world.

And so, our journey in FAITH continues.

by constraining it so that we might have life, but God the Son then emptied himself and submitted to death so that we might have life more fully with God. Thus, as Christians, we are to mirror this example in our own lives and in all of our relationships where we hold some measure of power whether physical, emotional, political, economic or social.

Being merciful in all of our relation-

Third Sunday of Easter April 14 | Fourth Sunday of Easter April 21| St. George, mar

75th CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF LANSING

Anniversar y

of

the

Diocese

of

Lansing

The Diocese of Lansing celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Throughout the year, we’ll be presenting pieces of our history, thanks to our diocesan historian, Msgr. George Michalek.

From Lansing to the world

Diocesan contributions to the universal Church

W

hen it comes to service to the Church, we often think locally, but the following are four people from the Lansing Diocese who make outstanding contributions to the international Church.

Sister Ann Shields, S.G.L. is a national and international conference and retreat speaker and evangelist with Renewal Ministries, and author of several books on Catholic spirituality. She is a member of The Servants of God’s Love, a charismatic religious community established in the Diocese of Lansing and a member of Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor. She is the host of the daily radio program Food for the Journey, and a columnist for FAITH magazine. In September 2012, she was awarded the

ships, Christianity demands a double movement, rooted and predicated on the love of God and neighbor. First, we must affirm the existence of the other by constraining ourselves in order to allow goodness to flourish, especially when it is in our power to “destroy” another.

Second, we must empty ourselves and exercise power in humble service to the other so that he or she may not only have life, but have it more fully, to share in the goodness of Divine Life.

St. Julie Billiart’s life (1751-1816) constitutes an example of what it means

Benemerenti Medal for service to the Church by Bishop Boyea on behalf of the Holy Father.

Father Kevin Lixey, L.C., from St. Mary Queen of Angels in Swartz Creek, heads the Church and Sports Program of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in Rome. Envisioned by Pope John Paul II as an international, pastoral outreach, it began just before the 2004 Olympics.

Lixey attended Flint Powers Catholic High School and lettered in football and soccer. He was ordained by John Paul II in Rome in 2002. His appointment to the Vatican came while he was working in Connecticut at the Legionaries of Christ seminary. He is in his second five-year term.

Dr. Ralph Martin is president of Renewal Ministries, author of many books on the Catholic Church and on spirituality, and the director of graduate programs in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. In December 2011, Martin

to live mercifully. The fifth of seven children, St. Julie loved her studies, especially in the area of religion, and spent her life teaching, especially the poor. She founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. In 12 years, she established 15 convents and her order continues her work of educating children today. However, she embodied mercy through much more than instructing the uniformed.

She suffered paralysis of her lower limbs at 22. For the next 22 years, she was confined to a bed. This did not stop

was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to a five-year term as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. He also was appointed an Adiutor Secretarii Specialis (expert) to the October 2012 Synod of Bishops in Rome on the New Evangelization.

Renewal Ministries fosters renewal and evangelization in the Church through weekly television and radio programs, and through mission work in more than 25 countries. Martin belongs to Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Edward Peters was appointed by Pope Benedict in 2010 as a referendary of the Apostolic Signatura, a canonical consultant to the Catholic Church’s highest court. He is the first layman to be appointed a Referendary since 1909.

Like Martin, Peters served as an Adiutor Secretarii Specialis to the Synod in Rome on the New Evangelization.

Peters holds the Edmund Cardinal Szoka Chair in Faculty Development at Sacred Heart Major Seminary where he teaches canon law, ecclesiastical Latin, liturgy and sacraments. He has written Annulments and the Catholic Church, and translated the 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law into English.

He attends St. Thomas Catholic Church in Ann Arbor.

her, however, from the spiritual work of mercy that is praying. In addition, she continued catechizing the children in her village from her bed.

She sheltered the homeless and comforted the afflicted during the French Revolution by hiding priests from persecution and certain death. In return, she had to patiently bear the wrong of becoming hunted herself and going into hiding.

In short, St. Julie was an instrument of God’s mercy. Through her witness, those around her experienced more fully that life which God mercifully wills for us all.

rtyr and St. Adalbert, bishop and martyr April 23 | St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr April 24 | St. Mark, evangelist April 25 | Fifth Sunday of Easter April 28

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yourlife work life

I shouldn’t have to walk through a toxic cloud to get to work He was a supervisor on a factory floor and never got caught.

But since your co-workers are holding their smokes, this strategy is dubious.

Embarrass Smokers are already accustomed to public humiliation.

They’re taxed, ostracized and frequently banished. Ever notice how they sheepishly huddle behind buildings, heads down, in hushed conversation? Plus the shivering and bouncing up and down in the winter? In biblical times, those afflicted with leprosy were shunned with shouts of “Unclean! Unclean!”

Maybe you could experiment – “UnKool, UnKool!”

Push ’em back

Q

Although the state mandates smokefree workplaces, several of my coworkers smoke just outside the building entrance, causing a toxic cloud for anyone approaching the building. This really aggravates my asthma – is there something I can do about getting them to stop?

a

Here are five options in ascending order of seriousness.

Cut and run My dad worked in an era

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where workplaces were virtual smoking lounges. He hated it so much he devised a clever method to reduce second-hand smoke. With a quick snip of scissors, he would deftly cut off the burning ends of unattended cigarettes parked in ash trays.

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

Smoking laws are crafted at the state and local levels. Some require long-distance smoking, from 15 to as far as 150 feet from building entrances. Find out if a local ordinance works to your advantage. If not, you could lobby and take steps to enact one.

Raise with management Your aggravated asthma is a real medical issue that affects your morale and performance.

It’s not unreasonable to inform you boss and see if some

Jim Berlucchi is the executive director of the Spitzer Center, whose mission is to build cultures of evangelization (www.spitzercenter.org). solution can be brought to bear.

Smoking hours could be limited to lowest traffic entry and exit hours; you could use a different exit; etc.

Cover up Since you’re really bothered by the smoke, why not pop on a surgical or protective mask if you have to navigate a toxic cloud. They’re easy to pop on and off. Explain to your coworkers that you’re not making a statement to aggravate them.

You’ve just got asthma. If a mask doesn’t work, maybe you can hold your breath for 15 seconds through the cloud.

Smoking is a controversial issue. Non-smokers deserve protection from unreasonable intrusions of smokers. But smokers also deserve the right to smoke without unreasonable impositions of a nanny-state.

There’s a balance to be struck.

As much as you hate smoking (me too), try to consider the penalties and inconveniences that smokers already endure.

You may not agree, but compared to theirs, your particular problem seems an easy fix.

St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church April 29 | St. Pius V, pope April 30

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Contact Bruce Everett to learn more about advertising in FAITH Phone: 517.853.7650 | E-mail: beverett@faithcatholic.com | www.FAITHmag.com

Diocesan Women’s Discernment Retreat April 13-14, 2013

Join us for a Women’s Discernment Retreat at Camp De Sales, 1134 Venture Dr. in Brooklyn.

The retreat starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April13 and ends at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 14.

If interested, contact Dawn Hausmann, director of Consecrated Vocations 517.342.2506 email dhausmann@dioceseoflansing.org.

For more details, visit www.dioceseoflansing.org/vocations.

Y O U R

a

L I F E

My husband and I shared your perspective when we planned our wedding. The reception was a boisterous celebration with young children and older family members dancing together. Our wedding album shows one young girl slipping into photo after photo, eager to be a part of the festivities! But our daughter chose a different approach. Her evening reception was more suited for adolescents and adults.

Couples plan their weddings based on their own personalities and dreams, budgets and priorities. It is unfortunate that the invitation directly excluded your children. A conversation over coffee about the wedding plans followed by an invitation that included only the adults’ names would have been a gentler approach.

parenting journey

Should we attend a wedding if our children aren’t invited?

Q

Explain why weddings are sacred events. One of the family values that is emphasized at many weddings is the need for the newlyweds to be supported by family and friends. Although your children won’t be participating in the liturgy or the reception, they can witness the ways that you support your friends. Perhaps you can invite the couple over for dinner to discuss the Scripture readings they are considering for the ceremony. Your children will be able to hear why particular verses speak to the couple and show how God is present to them at this special time. Why not bring your children with you to choose a wedding gift? You can go “off-registry” and choose something that has been meaningful to your family. The wedding takes place over the course of a day, but your children will observe the marriage of your friends for years and years.

Many couples planning adult-only events reserve rooms for child care if the reception is held at a hotel. Providing child care with fun crafts and activities can lead to a more relaxing evening for parents.

Even if you end up needing to arrange for baby-sitters on your own, think of it as a way to support your friends rather than as a learning experience for your children.

T. Gennara

We were invited to a friend’s wedding and were told on the invitation that our young children were not included. I think weddings are the way we model family values – should we just boycott the wedding?

What values do you want to model? Your children may be excited about the wedding as they hear about the plans. But throughout their lives, they will encounter families who make choices that differ from yours. Neighborhood parents may allow their children to play outside late at night when yours are in their pajamas getting tucked into bed.

Parents may fill lunch boxes with sugary treats that you only allow on special occasions.

Rather than boycotting the wedding, you can explain that different families have different rules and make different

decisions. The wedding can still serve as an opportunity to discuss your values.

Dr. Cathleen McGreal is a psychology professor and certified spiritual director.

Do I have to accept friend requests on Facebook?

conflict resolution

An old classmate “friended” me on Facebook, but I don’t want to accept. High school wasn’t my favorite time. Is there a way to do this without being really rude?

There is a difference between a friend, a colleague,

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

when you receive an invitation to a class reunion.

If you don’t have good memories of this old classmate, or if you don’t have good memories of the time you two were together in high school, you can decline the invitation.

S. Kendrick

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and an acquaintance. In school, in work, in communities, we develop different degrees of relationships; not all are your friends, some are your colleagues and others are just acquaintances. An invitation to engage in a social relationship via Internet is not the same as

Dr. Gelasia Marquez is a psychologist and family counselor.

She

says:

He

“ I can’t stand the way he eats!”

“She is always nagging about trivial stuff like this.”

Cindy says: I love Tom, and this sounds so petty, but his habit of chewing with his mouth open is driving me crazy. I can hardly stand to eat with him. Is there a way for me to not let silly little peeves like this get in the way of our relationship?

L

says:

Tom says: Cindy always seems to be nagging me about something trivial – I love her, but there are days I don’t feel as if I like her very much. Can we do something to get our marriage back to the easy friendship we had at the beginning?

What

do they do?

ooking at the positive first, both Cindy and Tom desire a change and both wish their relationship would improve. That is positive because both recognize their relationship is suffering and they want to work on it, not just walk away. What is missing for both is a learned and developed method of conflict resolution; a way to communicate their displeasures and a way of rebuilding their relationship. ment to each other and then state your issue honestly and with clarity so there will not be any guessing by either party.

If Cindy and Tom can articulate what is annoying each of them and share feelings in a gentle and open manner about how the annoying behavior is affecting them, they will discover a whole new level in their relationship – one built on caring, compassion and love for each other. As we are reminded in Ephesians 4:32 “... be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.”

The nagging and irritating eating behavior, left unchecked and not discussed, only adds another layer of obstacles to achieving a fruitful and life-giving marriage.

As Cindy lets Tom know how she feels sitting across the table from him when he is eating in this manner will help his understand-

ing of her and what his behavior is doing to their relationship. If Tom’s unattractive eating habit is something new, it may be a sign of some other undiscussed issue – retaliation against the food he is eating, against the nagging he is experiencing, or some other totally unrelated issue in their relationship. Both the eating habit and nagging (if they are newly acquired) are signs of a troubled, non-communicative, relationship.

Cindy and Tom may not know what the real issue is, but being honest and listening to each other out of respect, love and commitment can help the two of them come up with a solution satisfactory for both of them. Scripture also tells us “Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8) We should all remember that when a spouse complains “often” over the same issue, it is usually because they haven’t taken into account each other’s feelings and, consequently, believes the other spouse doesn’t understand or care.

T. Gennara

Tom says its trivial nagging. Cindy says watching Tom eat this way is driving her crazy. Both are telling the truth from their own perspective, so now they must bridge the divide. We are wondering, is this a new habit Cindy has just noticed or was Tom’s manner of eating something he has always done? When they were dating, did Cindy just ignore it, thinking (wrongly) that it was one of those things that would automatically change after they married? To really get to the root of the issue, one needs to ask the question, “Why now?” What has suddenly brought this issue to the surface for Tom and Cindy?

One of the first hurdles to climb is honesty. Being honest with each other when discussing likes and dislikes about annoyances and issues can bring about a better understanding of each other. However, the approach and manner you go about it can either build up a relationship or tear it down even further. When starting your dialogue, be mindful about your commit-

your marriage matters

Deacon Tom Fogle and JoAnne Fogle help prepare couples for marriage.

Pass along FAITH Magazine to a friend. Visit www.FAITHmag.com to purchase a gift subscription

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yourfaith in the know with Father Joe

Q

a

Dear Fr. Joe: It seems to me that every day there is a new scandal in the Church. I struggle with understanding – how can I stay Catholic?

Thank you for your question – things can be very difficult for us right now and your sincere and honest expression of what you are feeling is a gift. I’ll do my best to share well why I not only chose to stay Catholic, but to serve in the Church as a priest. I hope that what I share helps you.

As a boy, I was Catholic because I didn’t know there were other options – I only knew the reality I was given. After that, I grew into loving the Church because I loved my priest and my local parish experience. We had a holy, strong and loving priest who guided us through our faith in our daily lives. As I got older, I encountered other priests at our church – some were kind, some weren’t. My family and my parish went through some exceedingly difficult times and I found myself quite lost as to what to feel or think about being Catholic. I remember in my junior year of high school, someone asked me why I was Catholic.

In that moment, I thought of all I had experienced and all my little faith community had experienced and answered as

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honestly as I could. I knew there was something there, something I couldn’t articulate that kept me in the Catholic Church. I ended up saying the truth as I knew it: “I’m Catholic despite the Church.”

College was a big change for me. There, for the first time, I encountered people who really didn’t like the Catholic Church at all. They seemed quite willing to openly mock or question the Church and any who were Catholic. The funny thing is, this ended up being a gift, as it compelled me to read. I learned as much of the faith as I could in order to defend it well and, in doing so, I fell more deeply in love with the Church. I saw some of why we do what we do, why we teach what we teach and, in that, knew I was where I belonged in a way that I couldn’t have known before.

My sticking point always came with those times in our history when we acted sinfully. I really didn’t know what to make of it. How could such good theology produce leaders who sometimes acted evilly? How could a Church that has done so many beautiful and amazing things also be the Church that did these bad things? How

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

T. Gennara

Why should I stay Catholic?

could the Church I knew in my heart was called by Christ also be the Church that made such horrible mistakes?

My experience in seminary sharpened this idea, which began in college, that the Church was called to an extraordinary mission. Surrounded by men and women who loved God in such profound and thoughtful ways intensified my belief that our Catholic faith is a gift from God. The history classes put perspective on some of our sins from the past, and the active sacramental life of the seminary provided me with the strength I needed to heal from some wounds and grow in my love for the faith.

At the same time, I wrestled with my own sin. The more I went to confession, the more I saw how very broken I was (and am) and that led to a personal conflict in me: How could I be a priest? Broken, sinful me who says things he shouldn’t say and does things he shouldn’t do. Did God really want to “cut me loose” on his people? A beautiful priest to whom I will be eternally indebted provided me with the answer: Yes. God calls those wounded by their own sin and the sin of the world to compassionately preach the truth of his abiding love. God wasn’t calling me to be a priest because I was perfect, but, at least in part, because I was willing to look at sin in my life and give it to his mercy. God doesn’t need priests who revel in their perfection, lack of sin or perfect theology, but priests who recognize that God’s mastery over sin is so complete that he is even able to use their sin to draw us all closer to his heart. Wow.

If you’d like to submit a question for Father Joe to consider in a future column, please send it to: joeinblack@ priest.com. Father Joe is unable to personally answer questions.

I have come to see that my internal struggle about whether or not God really wanted me to be a priest was and is a microcosm of my wrestling with the Church. I am sinful, I am loved, I am called. This is true of me and this is true of the Church’s leaders. The Church comprises human beings who are susceptible to weakness and sin, but the Church is loved and the Church is called.

In the end, I am Catholic because of God’s gift in allowing such a thing. I am honored and humbled to be a member of this body of Christ in all its glory and all its faults. I embrace the reality of my sin, the sins of those in the Church and the mercy of God that covers it all. I rejoice in God’s call to his Church, which is based on his promise and not our performance. I find hope in the power of the Holy Spirit to empower the Church to heal us of the wounds we’ve inflicted and the wounds we’ve endured while safely leading us home to heaven.

Like any person who struggles with sin, the Church needs our love and prayers, not our condemnations and judgments.

Enjoy another day in God’s presence.

Pass along the CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF LANSING

When you are finished with this issue of FAITH magazine, please pass it along to a neighbor or friend. Or leave it at the dentist, the doctor, the laundromat or the hairdresser. It is an easy way for you to pass along the FAITH!

COME HOLY SPIRIT Presider: Let us pray that every person within the Catholic Diocese of Lansing will come to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way, Grow in maturity as a disciple of Christ, Become actively engaged in the full life of the Church, and joyfully utilize his or her gifts for the building up of the kingdom of God and the salvation of souls.

C

ome Holy Spirit, fill the hearts

of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever enjoy his consolations.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Aug. 2012 - Dec. 2013

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Y O U R

F A I T H

spiritual fitness

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FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

Read more spiritual fitness at:

Year of FAITH – Year of PRAYER

Lent is over

Here’s how to focus on Easter

B

The greatest feast we celebrate is Easter.

This is the celebration of God’s love for us. He was treated as the worst of human criminals and died a horrible death on a cross in order that the debt of our sin be paid and that we, because of his sacrificial act of love, become genuinely and truly sons and daughters of God. We have royal status.

By his death on the cross, he proved his love for us and gave us the gift of eternal life. Do you believe: 1) Who he is and 2) Who you are?

You are known to him, loved by him, raised to a dignity you could never attain by yourself and given a future full of hope – because he rose triumphant from the grave. You will also if you put your faith in him and follow him. Do you believe that?

It is a decision of the will. By his grace, I decide to believe his word and what he did for me on the cross. It is not a fairy tale – not some symbolic story. It is the most real action ever done on this earth – by God – for you and me.

Look at the first 10 verses of Chapter 20 in the Gospel of John. The most logical conclusion Peter and John could have gotten from the evidence would have been that someone stole Jesus’ body, but verse eight tells us John looked and believed. He made a decision to believe God’s promises and not to believe a possible conclusion from the physical evidence. He didn’t operate on the level of information from his senses, but chose to believe what Jesus had promised them. Peter saw the evidence of the missing body and all Scripture says is that he and John went back to their homes.

Don’t you wish you could have heard their conversation as they returned home: John believing Jesus had risen and Peter, uncertain,

still sifting the evidence in his mind? These two disciples represent most of us. Put yourself for a moment in their place. Which of the two represents most the way you would have reacted?

What would you have done if you had gone to the tomb that day?

In verses 11-18, we see the beauty of a woman’s love for her Lord. She just wanted to care for his body – to render the last act of service she could do for the one who had forgiven her so much; the one she loved so much.

When a man asks her why she is weeping, she responds, “They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.” Then wonder of wonders, the stranger says her name.

She suddenly recognizes that voice of love and mercy and kindness. Jesus right then makes her the first evangelist: “Go to my brethren and say to them ...” Mary does and tells the disciples, “I have seen the Lord ...” Faith leads to evangelization (announcing the good news).

Verses 19-24 tell the disciples’ experience as the Lord appeared to them and later the remarkable and compassionate revelation to the doubting Thomas. No matter how far we have strayed or how little we believe, if we come to him asking for faith, he will restore and heal and make well for the glory of his Father.

To my regular readers, may the Easter grace be one of deepening faith in Jesus, our Lord, our Savior and our brother. May your faith increase day-by-day. To those who perhaps have picked up this magazine for the first time, or for those with little or no faith, may the abundant life-giving grace of Easter penetrate your heart and give you a new hope in the Lord. It is a hope that will not disappoint. Happy, blessed Easter – all 50 days until Pentecost.

T. Gennara

efore you read any further, go and get your Bible. First, read John 20: 1-29. If you don’t have a Bible, go out and buy one. It can be a small and inexpensive one. You need God’s word at hand all the time. You need access to it to learn to understand God’s mind and God’s perspective in all our daily personal relationships and activities. It is especially important during the time of major feasts because God wants us to be able to see how each feast we celebrate has a very particular message for us.

Sister Ann Shields is a renowned author and a member of the Servants of God’s Love. Questions can be addressed to Sister Ann Shields, Renewal Ministries, 230 Collingwood, Suite 240, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

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Y O U R

F A I T H

theology 101

Holy Trinity by Hendrick van Balen

Read more theology 101 at:

S. Olson

We believe in the Holy Trinity What does that mean?

Doug Culp is the CAO and secretary for pastoral life for the Diocese of Lexington, Ky. He holds an MA in Theology from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

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ur being made for communion with God makes perfect sense since God has revealed himself to be communion – a Trinitarian communion: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This mystery of the one God, three persons is “the central mystery of Christian faith and life.” As a mystery of faith, however, the Trinity is inaccessible to reason alone. What we can know of this mystery is entirely dependent on God revealing who he is to us.

Who is God? Throughout the divine revelation of the Old Testament, God is revealed to be one.

The Shema, a central prayer of the Jewish

faith, captures this fundamental truth, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” (Dt 6:4) Additionally, God revealed to Israel that he is truth and love, as “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” God even revealed his name to Israel.

“A name expresses a person’s essence and identity and the meaning of this person’s life. God has a name; he is not an anonymous force.” This is critical because the disclosing of his name makes it possible for us to know him more intimately.

God is YHWH (I AM WHO I AM). This mysterious name “expresses God as … infinitely above everything that we can understand or say…and he is the God who makes himself close to men.”

At the same time, in the last installment, we learned the culmination of God’s revelation to humanity occurs in Jesus. “Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him, he has said everything.” This revelation of the extent of God’s love for us and his will for us to enter into communion with him has reached its finality with the Word made flesh.

The heart of communion We began this series with the assertion that the key to our happiness is to live in communion with God for whom we were made, i.e. to be of the same mind, love, heart and thought (see Philippians 2:2) as God. Who better to reveal to us the mind, love, heart and thought of God than the Word of God, the very Second Person of the Trinity?

Christ, precisely because he is God, is in perfect communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Consequently, he is the Way into this communion (remember we receive first, then only can we respond), the Truth of this communion, and the Life that is the fruit of this communion. And Jesus preserved this communion throughout his earthly mission.

In the desert, he refused to turn the stones into bread, choosing instead to live by the word of God. After Peter urged

Year of FAITH – Year of PRAYER

Pope John Paul II Karol Wojtyla was elected the 263rd pope on Oct. 16, 1978, and reigned for almost 27 years until his death on April 2, 2005. Pope Benedict XVI waived the normal five-year waiting period before beginning John Paul II’s cause of beatification and canonization 26 days later. He was beatified on May 1, 2011.

On the relationship between the Second Vatican Council and the Jubilee of the Year 2000 “… the Second Vatican Council was a providential event, whereby the Church began the more immediate preparation for the Jubilee of the Second Millennium. It was a Council similar to earlier ones, yet very different; it was a Council focused on the mystery of Christ and his Church and at the same time open to the world. This openness was an evangelical response to recent changes in the world, including the profoundly disturbing experiences of the 20th Century, a century scarred by the First and Second World Wars, by the experience of concentration camps and by horrendous massacres. All these events demonstrate most vividly that the world needs purification; it needs to be converted.” (Tertio Millennio Adveniente, Nov. 10, 1994) On the importance of the Second Vatican Council to his papacy “For me, then – who had the special grace of participating in it and actively collaborating in its development – Vatican II has always been, and especially during these years of my Pontificate, the constant reference point of my every pastoral action, in the conscious commitment to implement its directives concretely and faithfully at the level of each Church and the whole Church.” (Address of Jan. 25, 1985: L’Osservatore Romano) him to turn away from Jerusalem so as to avoid persecution, Jesus rebuked Peter for thinking as a human rather than like God. In Gethsemane, Jesus surrendered his will to the Father’s will. Even on the cross, he responded to challenges and taunting by commending his spirit into the Father’s hands.

In other words, he emptied himself in obedience to the Father’s will so that all might be saved (healed, whole, one, in communion). He also faithfully taught only what he heard from the Father. (see Jn 8:26 and Jn 8:28 for examples) In this way, he not only taught us perfectly and fully about the mind, love, heart, and thought of God (i.e. who God is) but he showed us the extent to which God loves, cares and thinks about us.

Through him, God is revealed to be a Trinitarian communion. The Catechism explains that “Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father.” Further, Jesus reveals that God is Spirit when he prom-

ises to send the Holy Spirit to be with the Apostles and the Church “to teach them and guide them ‘into all truth.’”

The dogma of the Holy Trinity In closing, the Church teaches the following about this “central mystery” of our faith and life: • The Trinity is One. Each person of the Trinity is fully and wholly God. The Catechism explains, “The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God.” • At the same time, the divine persons are re-

ally distinct from one another. “God is one but not solitary.” The names of each person are not simply designating modalities.

• The divine persons are relative to one another. Because God is one, the real distinction of the persons resides “solely in the relationships which relate them to one another.” As God is one nature, the relationship of the three presents no opposition. In other words, they are in perfect communion (of the same mind, love, heart, and thought) because they are one. And this again is why Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God. – Quotes come from the Catechism (200-260) unless otherwise noted.

Catechism quiz

Q: A:

Which of the following is not one of the “senses” of Scripture? a. Literal b. Common c. Moral d. Allegorical

(b) Common – There are two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual. The spiritual sense is further subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. (CCC 115)

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Year of FAITH – Year of PRAYER

Catholic News Service

from the bishop

Pope Francis, a shepherd with the heart of Christ

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Carlson Productions

ow! He does it all on one lung! Yet, he clearly has the heart of Christ. Of course, the one in question is Pope Francis. There is a spiritual energy that moves him internally and reaches us externally through him. His election as pope by the cardinals is a clear sign of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in their discernment. They wanted to do God’s will and it seems that God’s will has triumphed in our new Holy Father.

Bishop Earl Boyea is the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing.

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His simplicity of life challenges all of us not only to seek greater simplicity in our own lives, ridding ourselves of many distractions with which we surround ourselves, but also to focus on what matters – Jesus Christ.

It appears that he has a special devotion to Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus. Hence he chose to celebrate the beginning of his Petrine ministry on the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19). This should challenge us to seek greater assistance from the Holy Family as we seek to form and love our own families.

He certainly is joyful in his ministry. Christianity is not meant to be a miserable religion, but one marked by the joy of people who

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

know that Jesus has saved them and is their Lord. We know that no matter what, God is in charge and that gives us a deep serenity.

Pope Francis is a Latino from Argentina, a source of pride for all the Americas, including the many Latinos and Latinas in our own communities. Estos católicos son tal bendición a nuestra Iglesia. This points once again to the universal character of our Church and invites us to be the kind of Catholics who embrace this universality.

And a Jesuit! Our Catholic heritage includes such a rich variety of spiritualities. We in leadership have not done a good job in sharing those with our people and to that degree we are all impoverished. Learn more about Jesuit spirituality or perhaps Carmelite or Franciscan or Salesian. There are so many!

Speaking of Franciscan, his choice of his papal name, Francis, really came as a surprise.

Some may think of Francis’ love of animals, but it is the new pope’s love of the poor which led him to this choice. St. Francis considered poverty his love. Here is another case when many of us may like one aspect of a famous person, such as Francis’ care for the earth, but ignore his true calling, to rebuild the Church.

That is what Christ called him to do and he did it primarily by becoming poor and then by being obedient to the direction of the Holy Father, Pope Innocent III. Our new Holy Father has really set a high standard for himself and, indeed, for all of us.

Finally, he seems to have a pretty strong will.

To resist the temptations of office, to strive to keep his life as simple as possible given the duties he now has, and to persevere in the task given are all signs of a real strength of character. For this is not just some kind of stubbornness, but a strong adherence to the will of God. In other words, it is fidelity, something which challenges all of us to be faithful to our God until the end, to run the race and not give up until the race is over.

Sisters and brothers, let us celebrate our new Holy Father, but even more let us pray for him that he will always be open to the actions of the Holy Spirit in his life.

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first pope from the new world

pope francis Reuters

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Reuters

Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, makes a private visit to the 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome on March 14, 2013. Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher the Roman Catholic Church into a new age of simplicity and humility.

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hite smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney and bells rang out across the Vatican City on March 13, 2013, shortly after 7 p.m. (Vatican City time) in announcement of the election of a new pope. Approximately an hour later, Proto Deacon Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauren stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to inform the world that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., of Buenos Aires, Argentina, had been made pope and would assume the name of Francis.

The result of the papal election is significant for its number of “firsts.” For the first time in 100 years, the conclave arrived at a consensus on the fifth ballot. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first pope to take the name, Francis. He also is the first non-European pope in modern times, the first South American pope and the first Jesuit pope.

The name Many argue that the name the pope chooses carries a great deal of significance in terms of how the pontiff will reign and what will be important to him. At first, it was unclear who the pope had in mind when he chose the name Francis. The two

The papacy: Beliefs through the ages The pope (from the word for “father” in Greek) is the bishop of Rome and the visible and earthly leader of the Catholic Church. He is a vicar of Christ, the true head of the Church. He is the successor of St. Peter, an apostle and first pope.

The papacy itself, as one of the most enduring institutions in the world, has played a major role in human history.

The rock One cannot understand Catholic belief about the papacy without understanding apostolic authority. Jesus established a living authority to teach, govern and sanctify

Reuters

A number of “firsts”

Pope Benedict XVI (L) greets the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, at the Vatican January 13, 2007.

most likely candidates were St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier. A case could be made for either one. St. Francis Xavier was a co-founder of the new pope’s religious order, the Society of Jesus. But according to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the new Pope Francis told a gathering he chose Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, for whom he has a special devotion.

his name called “Apostolic.” It began with the Twelve Apostles and continues through their successors.

The papacy itself emerges from Scripture where St. Peter is clearly identified as the head of the Apostles. One need look no further than Matthew 16:18-19 to find evidence of this and also that it was Jesus who established the role, its authority and its power:

And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Further, in John 21:15-17, Jesus makes it clear that Peter also will be the shepherd of his Church. If this wasn’t enough, Acts 15 demonstrates the early Church acknowledged the final authority of Peter in its account of the Council of

Jerusalem as his statements are described as settling the doctrinal dispute in question.

The early Church The bishop of Rome was considered the head of the Church from the very beginning.

For example, the fourth bishop of Rome, Pope Clement I, was summoned to settle a leadership matter in the Church at Corinth around 80 A.D. when appeal could have been made to St. John the Apostle, who was still living and closer to Corinth.

St. Irenaeus (130-202), who was taught by St. Polycarp – a disciple of St. John the Apostle – emphasized as a given that communion with the Church

For continued coverage of the papal transition, visit www.FAITHmag.com

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St. Francis Xavier, S.J., (1506-1552) was born in what is named Pope Francis then asked the crowd to pray for him before now Spain and is much venerated in Spain and other Latin he blessed them. countries. He became a missionary, particularly in Asia. He It was a move consistent with descriptions of his character. was influential in spreading the faith in India, but also evange- As the archbishop of Buenos Aires, a post he held from 1998 to lized countries like Japan where no Christian missionary had 2012, Cardinal Bergoglio chose to live in an apartment heated ever been. He was known as both an organizer and a pioneer by a small stove with a simple bed rather than live in the church and is reputed to have converted more people than anyone mansion. He also gave up his chauffeured limousine for public since St. Paul. transportation and cooked his St. Francis of Assisi own meals. He was known for (1181/1182-1226) was born his humility, doctrinal conserThe Society of Jesus in Italy and founded the vatism, and commitment to The Society of Jesus is a Roman Catholic religious social justice.

Franciscan Order, the Order of order. Its members are called Jesuits. Co-founded by St. One of five children of an St. Clare and the Third Order Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier among othItalian railway worker and his of St. Francis. He was a friar ers in 1534, the society is engaged in evangelization wife, Cardinal Bergoglio had a known for his preaching and and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents. lung removed due to infeche is one of the most veneratJesuits are known for their founding of schools, colleges, ed religious figures in history. tion when he was a teenager. universities, and seminaries, their scholarly research, and After a vision, Francis reHe earned a master’s degree their missionary work. Spiritual direction, retreats, parish nounced his life of wealth and in chemistry before entering and hospital ministry, ecumenical dialogue and promotion studies at the seminary. He began to live a life of poverty. of social justice are all characteristic of the Jesuit Order. joined the Jesuits in 1958 and He was the first recorded person to receive the stigmata, the was ordained a priest in 1969. wounds of Christ’s Passion. He He taught theology before is the patron saint of animals, the environment and Italy (with becoming the rector of the seminary where he had studied.

Catherine of Siena.)

After becoming archbishop in 1998, he was named a cardinal

by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He also was appointed to several administrative positions in the Roman Curia, serving on the The man Congregation of Clergy, Congregation of Divine Worship and The crowd in St. Peter’s Square grew silent as Jorge Mario Ber- Sacraments, and the Congregation of Institutes of Consecrated Life among others. He speaks Spanish, German and Italian. goglio, 76, recited the Lord’s Prayer and a Hail Mary. The newly of Rome was essential in order to maintain the apostolic tradition. He then went on to list all popes to date.

A further acknowledgment of the pope’s status came from an unlikely source: Roman emperors. In the first 200 years of the Church, every pope but one was martyred in persecutions by Roman emperors bent on the Church’s destruction. These emperors reasoned that striking the head of the Church would lead to its death.

Despite these persecutions, the popes, as the recognized head of the early Church, did much to encourage the spread of Christianity and to resolve various doctrinal disputes.

The Middle Ages The role of the pope grew in importance after the fall of Rome. He became a source of authority and of continuity in the secular world. In 800, Pope Leo III’s crowning of

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Charlemagne established that no one in the West would be emperor without anointing by a pope. Yet, when reforms became necessary due to corruption flowing from such secular power, it was Pope Gregory VII in 1073 who instituted them. Popes also called for the Crusades in response to the Muslim invasions of the Byzantine Empire and to regain Christian territories, especially Jerusalem.

Throughout the Middle Ages up until the Reformation in 1517, the authority of the pope was challenged by monarchs and anti-popes. The popes also had to contend with the cardinals who occasionally tried to put forth the notion that the Church councils had authority over the pope.

The Reformation and beyond As the Protestant Reformation gained steam, the papacy was criticized for its corruption. In response, popes called for

a Catholic Counter-Reformation (15601648) to address the Protestant challenges and to institute internal reforms. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) gave the papacy a victory over those in the Church wanting conciliation with Protestants and who opposed papal claims through its definitions of doctrine and reforms.

However, popes gradually have been forced to give up temporal power and their authority almost exclusively is restricted to matters of faith. The dogma of papal infallibility in 1870 represents an assertion of this authority. The First Vatican Council declared when the pope speaks ex cathedra (“from the chair”) while issuing a solemn definition of faith or morals he was infallible. The only time this dogma has been put into practice was in 1950 when the pope defined the Assumption of Mary as a dogma.

It was the First Vatican Council that dogmatically defined the status and authority of the pope in its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ. It decreed that Peter was established by the Lord Christ as the chief of all the apostles, and the visible head of the whole Church with primacy in jurisdiction;

By the numbers: Archdiocese of Buenos Aires

Reuters

Pope Francis served as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2012. The diocese was erected on April 6, 1620, and elevated to an archdiocese on March 5, 1866.

Newly elected Pope Francis appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican, March 13, 2013.

2,729,610 Population of Archdiocese of Buenos Aires in 2005 2,500,000 Number of Catholics in the archdiocese

182 Parishes making up the archdiocese

92 Percent of population that is Roman Catholic in Argentina

20 Percent of practicing Roman Catholics in Argentina

Issues Pope Francis will face The new pontiff will face a plethora of challenges. Attacks on the sanctity of life, marriage, family life and religious liberty are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some others: • Ongoing clergy sex abuse scandal • Abortion • Same-sex marriage

• Human trafficking • Rise of radical Islam •P ervasiveness of apathy toward religion/practical

that the papacy was instituted by Christ; and that Peter has perpetual successors in the person of the Roman pontiff.

The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964) followed with the declaration that “In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown so that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking.”

The role of the pope since the establishment of Vatican City in 1929 has expanded into the areas of international diplomacy, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, works of charity and the defense

atheism • Persecution of Catholics and other Christians throughout the world

of human rights.

For example, after World War II, Pope Pius XII focused on material aid to the 15 million displaced persons and refugees and on the development of the Church’s worldwide diplomatic relations.

He also internationalized the internal Church by moves such as appointing cardinals from Asia, South America and Australia.

Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit all five continents and continued to work for the internationalizing of the Church by opening the Roman Curia to the bishops of the world rather than only cardinals.

The election of Pope John Paul II marked the first time in 455 years a non-Italian had ascended to the throne.

• Assaults on freedom of conscience • Assaults on religious liberty • Ongoing Vatican Bank scandal • Disunity among Christians • Growing economic disparity • Global climate and technological changes

He played a major role in the demise of communism in Eastern Europe by sparking a peaceful revolution in his homeland of Poland.

Pope Benedict XVI followed the long pontificate of Pope John Paul II and focused his efforts on combating secularization and relativism, especially in the West, until his retirement (the first voluntary resignation since 1294) on Feb. 28, 2013.

There can be no question that the pope is viewed as an international moral authority. As the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide in an age of instant information, extensive travel, command of multiple languages, diplomatic acumen, and personal holiness seem to have become standard prerequisites for the role.

For continued coverage of the papal transition, visit www.FAITHmag.com

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Then Cardinal Jorge Mario Be shelter for drug users, during

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Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis (C, back), is pictured with family in this 1958 photo courtesy of the pope’s sister, Maria Elena, in Buenos Aires. Pictured (back row, L-R) are his sister Maria Elena, mother Regina, brother Alberto, brother Oscar, sister Marta, Marta’s boyfriend Enrique, (front row L-R) grandfather Juan, grandmother Rosa and father Mario.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (R), now Pope Francis, travelling by subway in Buenos Aires.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, during his youth in Buenos Aires.

A young Father Bergoglio.

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FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

Father Jorge Bergoglio preaching at Mass.

Then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio holds a jersey from the San Lorenzo soccer club, of which he is known to be a fan, as he offers Mass in the chapel of the club’s sports complex in Buenos Aires May 24, 2011.

The papacy: Last 100 years Pope Benedict XV Elected: 9/3/1914 Given name: Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa He is known for his intervention to bring peace during World War I and for issuing the first ever Code of Canon Law. He reigned for seven years and 141 days. He died on Jan. 22, 1922, at age 67.

Pope Pius XI

ergoglio of Argentina washes the feet of patients of the Hogar de Cristo a Holy Thursday Mass in the Parque Patricios neighborhood of Buenos Aires, March 20, 2008.

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Elected: 2/6/1922 Given name: Achille Ambrogio Damiano Ratti He is best known for signing the Lateran Treaty, which established the Vatican City as a sovereign state.

He also penned the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno commemorating the 40th anniversary of Leo XIII’s famous encyclical Rerum Novarum. He served 17 years, four days until his death on Feb. 10, 1939. He was 81.

Reuters

Pope Pius XII

New Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio kisses Pope John Paul II after he received the red biretta, a four-cornered red hat, during the Consistory ceremony in St. Peter’s Square Feb. 21, 2001.

Elected: 3/2/1939 Given name: Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, Pius XII had served 19 years, 221 days, as pope when he died on Oct. 9, 1958 at age 82. While controversy about his role in World War II still swirls, he also is remembered for invoking papal infallibility, in 1950, as it regards the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared him Venerable.

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Pope John XXIII

In 1998, then Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio (C), now Pope Francis, accompanied by Father Jose Maria de Paola (R) (known as “Father Pepe”) and local residents, visits the Villa 21-24 slum in Buenos Aires.

Elected:10/28/1958 Given name: Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli Known as “Good Pope John,” this beloved pontiff reigned only four years, 218 days. During this time, he opened the Second Vatican Council, though he would not see it to its conclusion. He died on June 3, 1963, at age 81. He was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

For continued coverage of the papal transition, visit www.FAITHmag.com

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D. Quillan

Reuters

The Fisherman’s Ring is placed on the finger of Pope Francis by Cardinal Angelo Sodano (R), Dean of the College of Cardinals during his inaugural Mass at the Vatican, March 19, 2013.

On Tuesday, March 19, the S Lansing, celebrated a Mass

d i o c m a s s

Crowds fill Saint Peter’s Square for the inaugural Mass of Pope Francis.

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D. Quillan

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The pallium is fitted on Pope Francis during his inaugural Mass.

Our Monsignor on the street: Rome report

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Pope Francis prepares the altar for his inaugural Mass in Saint Peter’s Square.

The faithful of the Diocese of Lansing pray for the Church’s new shepherd, Pope Francis, at the diocesan Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary Cathedral.

– even though we all knew the election of a pope is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Msgr. Jerry Vincke from the Diocese of Lansing currently is stationed at the North American College in Rome. FAITH talked to him about our new pope.

On the cardinals – Most of the American cardinals stayed at the North American College before the conclave started. They left for the conclave on March 12, early in the morning. All of us lined up and “clapped them out” before they went to St. Martha’s House (the place where all the cardinals stayed during the conclave).

On this historic moment – It was and still is incredibly fascinating. There was so much Msgr. Vincke excitement and a buzz in the air. It was really hard to concentrate, and there was so much speculation going on

On Wednesday, March 13 – On Wednesday evening, I was in the square with other faculty members. I didn’t think we would see white smoke that night. But when it was white, the whole place went nuts. It was incredible. Everyone was so excited. Everyone

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

Pope Paul VI Elected: 6/21/1963 Given name: Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini He was the first pope to travel to the United States and he brought the Second Vatican Council to a close. He reigned for 15 years, 46 days, until his death on Aug. 6, 1978. He was 80. He was declared Venerable in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope John Paul I

Solemnity of St Joseph, Patron of the Church, Bishop Earl Boyea, Bishop of of Thanksgiving for the election of Pope Francis at St Mary Cathedral.

e s e o f l a n s i n g o f t h a n k s g i v i n g

Elected: 8/26/1978 Given name: Albino Luciani He had reigned for only 33 days when he died on Sept. 28, 1978, at age 65.

Known as “The Smiling Pope,” he was the first pope to use two names (taken from his two immediate predecessors.) His canonization process is under way and he is currently Servant of God.

Pope John Paul II

D. Quillan

Elected: 10/16/1978 Given name: Karol Józef Wojtyla He was the first Polish pope and the first nonItalian pope in 455 years.

He reigned for 26 years, 168 days, until his death on April 2, 2005, at the age of 84. Beatified in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, John Paul II is considered one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century.

Celebrants of the diocesan Mass of Thanksgiving for our new pope follow the crucifix out of St. Mary Cathedral at the end of Mass.

pushed toward the front of the square. And then they made us wait an hour to find out. That hour was filled with so much anticipation. When the announcement came, only a few people around me understood the name right away. And when the Pope Francis came out, his first words were “buona sera” and I think that won the hearts of the Italians right away. That, and having the people pray in silence for him really showed his humility. He is making quite an impression in Rome with his simplicity and humility. Everyone loves him. He is speaking the language of love, which everyone can understand. He seems to have always lived the words attributed to St. Francis: “preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words.” I think Pope Francis wants to rebuild the Church the way St. Francis rebuilt the Church – not buildings, but our hearts.

Pope Benedict XVI Elected: 4/19/2005 Given name: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger At 78, he became the oldest person elected pope since Clement XII in 1730.

He advocated a return to Christian values as the way to counter an ever-increasing secularization of the world, especially in the West, until his retirement on Feb. 28, 2013, at age 85. He reigned for seven years, 315 days, until he became the first pope to renounce the Papacy since 1415, and the first to do so on his own initiative since 1294.

For continued coverage of the papal transition, visit www.FAITHmag.com

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yourcommun Retreats

time to pray, rest and enjoy being together with the women of your family.

Weber Retreat Center, 1257 E. Siena Heights Dr., Adrian, 517.266.4000 or www. weber.adriandominicans.org Apr. 19-21, God’s Unfinished Story Retreat is based on the book Roots and Wings, sub-titled ‘The human journey from a speck of stardust to a spark of God,’ published in the United States by Eerdmans.

Dominican Center at Marywood, 2025 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, 616.454.1241 or dominicancenter.com/ May 3, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Create, Pray, Heal, cost $10; May 11, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., A River Runs Through It: Fly Fishing for Men; May 15, 22, 29, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Moses, Friend of God, cost $45; May 29, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Do This in Memory of Me: Do What?: Eucharist the Mass, and eucharist the whole of our life, are both meanings intended

by Jesus when he asks to be remembered in the breaking of the bread. Cost $20

community

things to do: Join with parents who are learning to cope with the death of a child of any age. Located in Mason, the 10week support group is formed twice a year, January and September. Open to parents in the Lansing area. Pre-registration is required.

For information or to register, contact Rose at 517.420.4161 or roseroberts@yahoo.com; or Pat Mentzer at 517.676.4234 or pat_mentzer@yahoo.com.

Apr. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., St. Elizabeth, Tecumseh’s Catholic Council of Women is sponsoring its annual Mom to Mom sale in the parish center, 510 N. Union St. The sale is an opportunity to sell and/or buy children’s gently used items. Admission is $1. Table rental space is $10 per eight-ft. table; contact Judy Prater at 517.423.3391.

Apr, 7, 2 p.m., Divine Mercy Sunday at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 1227 E. Bristol Road in Burton. At 3 p.m., the Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed in song.

For information, contact the parish 810.743.3050.

Lansing Catholic Singles invite mid-life singles, 30s-60s, to their upcoming events: Apr. 7, 10:30 a.m., Mass at St. Therese Parish in Lansing followed by brunch at a local restaurant; Apr. 19, 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Happy Hour at Frank’s Press Box West in Lansing; Apr. 27, Bowling Night at City Limits in East Lansing time TBA; May 4, 7:30 p.m., Contra Dance at Central United Methodist Church, downtown Lansing – cost is $10 at the door. For more information, call 517.321.7886 or email lansingcatholicsingles@live.com. New members always welcome.

Apr. 11, 18 and 25, All About Us Marriage Workshop is presented by Marriage Matters of Jackson, dinner 5:30 p.m. and

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St. Francis Retreat Center, 703 E. Main St., DeWitt, 866.669.8321 or www.stfrancis.ws/ May 10-11, Mother/Daughter Retreat is a workshop 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at Cascades Manor House in Jackson.

To register, visit www.marriagemattersjackson.com. Cost is $79 per couple and includes dinner. Diocese of Lansing offers scholarships of $39.50. For information, call 517.796.5116.

Apr. 12-June 14, Fridays 7 p.m.8:30 p.m., Divorced and Separated Support Group – recovery and healing – at St. Mary Magdalen, 2201 Old U.S. 23, Brighton.

Cost of $10 for program materials. For information or to register, contact Sister Maryetta Churches, 810.229.8624.

Apr.12, 4 p.m.-10 p.m. and Apr.13, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., St. John and Blessed Sacrament’s Moms Clubs will have their annual Scrapbook Marathon at the St. John Parish Hall. Price includes meals, snacks and beverages. Those who register for both days will be entered in the grand prize drawing. There will be vendors, door prizes and a silent auction. If you have questions, email Kim Murawski at k3murawski@gmail.com or Jen Auger at jlynn2118@gmail.com.

Apr.13, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., (registration 8:15 a.m.), Christ the King in Ann Arbor Parish Center will have “Beyond the Upper Room” seminar. Fee of $15 covers brunch, lunch and handouts. It is designed for those who have attended Holy Spirit or Life in the Spirit seminars.

For information or registration,

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

call Olga at 734.426.5514 or ortiz4519@earthlink.net.

Apr. 13-14, Sat., 8:30 a.m. until Sun., 1 p.m., there will be a Diocesan Women’s Discernment Retreat at Camp De Sales, 1134 Venture Dr. in Brooklyn.

Contact Dawn Hausmann, director of consecrated vocations at 517.342.2506 or email dhausmann@dioceseoflansing.org. For more details, visit www.dioceseoflansing.org/vocations.

Apr. 20, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., the Lansing Diocese’s Council of Catholic Women presents the Spirit of Spring Day at St. Catherine Labouré Catholic Church, 211 Harmon Ave. in Concord.

Guest speakers are Father Doug Osborn and Kathleen Petersen. Bid in Chinese Auction – enjoy both a continental breakfast and lunch, while being spiritually filled and recharged. Cost: $15 per person.

For more information, contact Sheila Melvin at 517.563.2177 or sheilamelvin@rocketmail.com.

Apr. 23-25, Priests, religious and laity are invited to attend a conference sponsored by the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma and Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center: The New Evangelization Today Helping People to Enter the Porta Fidei – the Door of Faith. For more information, visit www.sacredheartmercy.org .

May 7, 6 p.m.-7 p.m., Lansing

Catholic High School’s 29th annual Father Mac Scholarship Dinner at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Matthew Kelly, keynote speaker and the 2013 Community Service Recipient Father John Byers. Ticket: $125 per person. For information, contact Colleen Murray at 517.267.2109 or murray@lansingcatholic.org.

May 11, 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Steak and Song will be hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas, East Lansing, in the school gym. Proceeds will benefit the formation of the music scholarship fund. Tickets are available beginning Apr. 22 at the parish office, call 517.351.7215.

Bishop Boyea’s April 2013 confirmation schedule is: 4/8, 7 p.m., St. Mary, Westphalia 4/11, 7 p.m., St. Michael, Grand Ledge 4/15, 7 p.m., St. Paul, Owosso 4/16, 7 p.m., St. John the Evangelist, Davison (St. Mark the Evangelist, Goodrich) 4/18, 7 p.m., St. Thomas the Apostle, Ann Arbor 4/19, 7 p.m., St. Mary Student, Ann Arbor 4/21, 2 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi, Ann Arbor 4/22, 7 p.m., St. Anthony of Padua, Hillsdale 4/25, 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception, Milan (St. Joseph, Ypsilanti) 4/29, 7 p.m., St. Agnes, Fowlerville 4/30, 7 p.m., St. Mary, Pinckney

nity Catholic Charities Livingston County Catholic Charities, www.livingstoncatholiccharities. org or 517.545.5944 St. Vincent Catholic Charities, www.stvcc.org or 517.323.4734, ext.

1700 Apr. 20 and 27, 9 a.m.-noon, a WE C.A.R.E marriage preparation class will be held at the Diocese of Lansing in Madonna Hall, 228 N. Walnut St. To register, call 517.323.47334, ext. 1700.

Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties, www.ccsgc.org or 810.232.9950 Apr. 24, 3 p.m., at Center for Hope’s gym, 517 E. Fifth Ave., Flint, dedicated volunteer will be honored at an annual award banquet. To attend, volunteers must RSVP to the North End Soup Kitchen at 810.785.6911.

Awards given at diocesan liturgy conference On Feb. 2, liturgical ministers gathered at St. John the Baptist Parish in Howell for the Diocese of Lansing’s14th annual Liturgy and Music Conference. At the event, four ministers were honored with an Alleluia Award, which is given to those who have contributed their gifts and time to the liturgical formation of God’s people and to excellence in liturgical preparation.

This year’s honorees included (left to right): Loretta Budzyn, pastoral associate at St. Joseph, Adrian; Marcy Forsleff, music director at Powers Catholic High School; and Marga-

local news ret Mullally-Henne, director of Liturgy at St. Patrick in Brighton. Dr. Timothy Flynn, director of music at St. Mary Cathedral, also was honored, but unable to attend.

The Ad Coeli Award for excellence in the liturgical arts was awarded to the dedicated volunteers of St. Andrew Dung Lac Parish for their tireless efforts and months of volunteer labor that transformed their parish church. Accepting the award, on behalf of the parish, was Phillip Nguyen (far right).

Listing of locations for free hot meals in Livingston County: • 5:30 p.m., Sun., the Fish and Loaves community meal is provided by rotating churches in the Brighton area. Call 734.718.6009 or 810.229.4377 for information on each week’s location.

• 6 p.m., Mon., Magdalen’s Kitchen at St. Mary Magdalen, 2201 Old U.S. 23, Brighton. For information, call 810.229.8624.

• 6 p.m., Wed., God’s Kitchen at St. Joseph, 425 E. Washington St., Howell. For information, call 517.546.0090.

• 6 p.m., Thurs., St. Agnes, 855 E. Grand River Ave., Fowlerville. For information, call 517.223.8684.

• Noon, Sat., Shalom Lutheran Church, 1740 E. M 36 in Putnam Twp. For information, call 734.878.6859

Priests on the move Bishop Boyea announces the following pastoral appointments, effective June 26, 2013 unless otherwise noted: • Rev. James McDougall – from pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, Ann Arbor to senior priest status, effective Aug. 12.

• Rev. James Conlon – from pastor of St. Mary, Westphalia to pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, Ann Arbor, effective Aug. 12.

• Rev. David Harvey – from pastor of St. John the Evangelist, Fenton to senior priest status.

• Rev. Dwight Ezop – from pastor of Catholic Community of St. Jude, DeWitt to pastor of St. John the Evangelist, Fenton.

• Rev. William Stevenson – from pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle, Saline to senior priest status.

• Rev. Francis Mossholder – from pastor of St. Mary, Charlotte to pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle, Saline.

• Rev. Lehr Barkenquest, OSFS – from pastor of St. Rita, Clarklake to senior priests status in the Order of St. Francis DeSales, effective July 7.

• Rev. Thomas Helfrich, OSFS – to pastor of St. Rita, Clarklake effective July 7.

Other appointments: • Rev. Cecilio Reyna – pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Flint to temporary leave of absence for reasons of health, effective Jan. 25.

• Deacon Omar Odette – to temporary administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Flint effective Jan. 25.

• Rev. Jeffrey Njus – resignation of pastorate at St. Anthony of Padua, Hillsdale, effective Dec. 31, 2012.

• Rev. David Reamsnyder – from parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua, Hillsdale to parochial administrator of the same parish, effective Jan. 1.

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29

Hospice of Adrian’s quilt St. Mary on the Lake, Manitou Beach parishioners know the meaning of donate. Pennye Scheiber and Denice Combs share this common trait. They have worked together to create a quilt that hangs in the waiting room of the Hospice of Adrian facility, which opened in February 2012.

Denice’s husband, Charlie, received hospice care in their home before his death on Valentine’s Day eight years ago. After his death, Denice bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and started riding in hospice events. While working at GM/Delphi, a co-worker of Denice’s husband needed a kidney. Denice donated one of hers.

Pennye has donated many quilts as fundraisers for St. Mary.

When Denice approached her about making a quilt for the Hospice of Adrian, Pennye started her search for motorcycle fabric. She cut up T-shirts that Denice received on her hospice runs and sewed the quilt together.

The quilt honors Denice’s husband, a best friend of theirs, Jerry Hughes, and Rosalind and Wendy Reeves.

– Jan Hoffbauer

Jackson Pro-Life Conference – building a culture of life Father Mathias Thelen and Kathy Potts planned a Pro-Life Conference at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Church, Jackson, sponsored by the parish’s Knights of Columbus.

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Christians of all denominations gathered to listen to speakers such as Dr. Monica Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society; Marybeth Hicks, author and columnist

for Washington Times; Dr. Patricia Hoffman, MD, Allegiance Health; Jackson, and Mary Lockwood, a post-abortive speaker. Those in attendance came together to reflect, learn and become better equipped to build a “culture of life.”

St. Mary on the Lake’s wall of hunger

St. Gerard School’s world explorers

St. Mary on the Lake, Manitou Beach Family Faith Formation class was freed from the “Wall of Hunger” at Bob’s Market in Hudson. Parishioner Jen Loar spearheaded the event that had children from the class placed inside a wall of food that would be purchased by individuals to donate to the food pantry.

Pam Faust and Pat Haag, food pantry coordinators, came to the store to help roll out 10 grocery carts filled with food and collected $300 in donations. The “Wall of Hunger” filled with cereal, spaghetti sauce, noodles, peanut butter and other items was knocked down thanks to the generosity of the parish and shoppers.

The first-graders in Mrs. Iding’s class at St. Gerard School in Lansing are learning about the continents in a program called “World Explorer.” Each month, the students “travel” to a different continent. In January, it was Asia; in February, it was Africa.

Students’ passports are stamped as they travel from continent to continent.

As part of their World Explorer visit to Asia, the students had a lesson on China from Tim Iding, a Maryknoll missionary, who lives there. While he was home for Christmas, he visited St. Gerard School and taught the students about China and how to write Chinese numbers.

FAITH Magazine / April 2013 / www.FAITHmag.com

What is the importance of godparents?

F

aith is not an individualistic matter.

Faith is something we share together in our family of faith, the Church. One is baptized into our shared faith. But that is only the beginning of one’s faith development.

Being a godparent is a responsible position. It is an office in the Church, a task that one bears in the Church and for the faith that is ours. We need to remember that being a godparent is not a one-time role in a lovely ceremony. Perhaps some may see it that way, but the Church does not. Being a godparent is a serious undertaking, something that exists for the care and nurturing

of the soul of the one baptized.

We need to remember that a godparent’s role does not end when the baptismal rite is completed. On the contrary, the role of godparent only begins in the ceremony. The real purpose of being a godparent is found in the continuing spiritual care extended to the one who was baptized.

So, in choosing godparents, what role do parents want the godparents to play in the life of their newly baptized?

How will the chosen godparents represent Christ and his Church in their future relationship with the one baptized?

These are important

last word decisions that have considerations far beyond that of simple friendship.

Faith in Jesus Christ is something that is not just individually mine; it is something that we all share. It is in the sharing of our faith over time that we see what it means to be a godparent. Godparenting is a role that we all need to take seriously and in which our role should be on-going and active.

Look up the date on which you became the godparent of someone.

On that date, send your godchild a birthday card, reminding them that on that day they were born again into eternal life, a life destined to last forever with God, a life in which you have a real interest.

Father Charles Irvin is the founding editor of FAITH Magazine and is retired.

RSVP cookbook The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Jackson County is the first RSVP to be established in Michigan. The 40 year-old nonprofit organization has compiled a cookbook with recipes from its volunteers.

The cookbook is a fundraiser, with the profits to be used for its

volunteer programs, which last year included transportation for 45 veterans to 462 medical appointments, traveling 11,099 miles. Also, transportation for senior citizens included 2,274 trips, 1,655 volunteer hours and 39,866 miles. To participate, seniors must be 60 years old and volunteers must be 55.

Some of the recipes included in the RSVP cookbook are: fruit salsas, cheeseburger soup, guess again salad and millionaire pie. Of course, the best recipe is the RSVP volunteer – ingredients include kindness, love, sincerity, enthusiasm, perseverance and a good sense of humor.

If you would like to order the $10 cookbook or volunteer to drive senior citizens to medical appointments, please contact Catholic Charities of Jackson at 517.782.4616. – Jan Hoffbauer

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notes:

~ 2013

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL

We find ourselves e ~ ly

Oy a

$in cere ~ift ofOurselves

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