May 2006

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May 2006

Sr. Marilyn's vocation calls others to become lay leaders for the church

worklife

now that I'm in charge, I feel like a failure how can I succeed again? last

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faith or reason?

Do we have to choose or can we have both? theology

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a step¡by¡step guide through the church's liturgies www.FAITHmag.com www.FAITHteen.com

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editor a teacher’s lessons learned from my students f r o m

e r e d i t o r t fh r eo m e d ti ht o

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have benefited from the gifts of many teachers during my lifetime. Some of them have been of the classroom sort while others have been teachers I have encountered in the school of daily events that are part of living out one’s faith. Because I have realized such gifts from other teachers, I have always had within me the altruistic desire to seek to return the favor in whatever way I might be able to do so.

Each time I step into a classroom setting, I am reminded of the wonderful irony upon which good teaching rests – teachers (if they are honest with themselves) learn more from their students than they could ever hope to impart as they teach. I have found this to be true no matter the setting for my teaching–from grade-school or middle-school religious education to adult faith formation and our diocesan program for ministry formation. Each time I have been the “teacher” I have invariably been taught much more by the “students.”

Just a few weeks ago, I finished a six-week study of the Gospel of Mark with about 100 people in my parish. This was the first time we had ever done Each time I step a Bible study on this scale. I have to admit that I was a little apinto a classroom prehensive as the group kept growing. Yet from the first night we setting, I am gathered, I found myself rejoicing in the teacher/student irony. reminded of the Although many of the participants perceived me as the “teacher,” wonderful irony I came away from each gathering deeply touched by the faith that upon which good had been shared so freely and so openly. Our group comprised teaching rests both men and women. Some were young in years while others were – teachers (if they young at heart. Some had participated in other Bible studies, while are honest with for others this was their first such experience. All are people who themselves) learn have deep faith in God. Their faith inspired me and I am the better more from their for the experience. students than they Those six weeks reminded me that I still have much to learn could ever hope and that God continues to send me a host of very gifted teachers. to impart as they As a community of faith, the same can be said of our neophytes teach.

– those recently welcomed into the church at the Easter Vigil – as well as the many other “teachers” who come our way each day. In cooperation with Jesus, the Teacher, we are presented with myriad opportunities for growth in faith.

Our faith is meant to be a dynamic reality – it is meant to grow, stretch and change through the years. That process of growth does not mean that we leave behind what we learned when we were young. Instead, we build upon it, led to see our relationship with God in faith as something that is always changing, growing and developing. It is, as the Scriptures say, “ever ancient and ever new.” And so our journey in FAITH continues.

T. Gennara

– Fr. Dwight Ezop is editor of FAITH Magazine and pastor of the Catholic Community of St. Jude

Liturgical Calendar: St. Joseph the Worker May 1 | St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor May 2 | Sts. Philip and James, Apostles May 3 | Blessed Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka’i, Pr

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inside

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what you’ll get out of this issue • Dear Fr. Joe: what’s with The DaVinci Code?

6 in the know with Fr. Joe – Fr. Joseph Krupp

• She says it’s porn. He says it’s normal. What do they do?

8 your marriage matters – Deb McCormack

• My kids are embarrassed when I show up at school – should I go anyway?

9 the parenting journey

16

– Dr. Cathleen McGreal

• Now that I’m in charge, I feel like a failure – how can I succeed again?

11 work life – Tim Ryan

p r o f i l e meet Doug Moore – Lansing Catholic Central’s man of action Doug Moore’s trip to Calcutta led him to recreate India’s poverty in the classroom – so his students could get a taste of his life-changing trip. Read about Doug’s creative flair for bringing faith to life at Lansing Catholic Central High School. – Marybeth Hicks

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s t o r y everyone’s mother –Theresa Henderson Theresa Henderson’s mother was raped 62 years ago, but chose life rather than abortion. That choice has given countless children the gift of Theresa’s love in the classroom, her medical skill in the barrios of Manila and her faith in God. – Bob Horning

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c o v e r

How Sister Marilyn helps others touch God Sister Marilyn’s vocation has led her to direct a lay ministry formation program that helps shape the future of our church by shaping the lives of its leaders.

Siena Heights University partners with the Diocese of Lansing to enable lay leaders to be touched

by God, and to touch others with God’s love.

– Nancy Schertzing

• A step-by-step guide through the church’s liturgies.

12 theology 101 – Elizabeth Solsburg

• “Go into the world and proclaim the Good News!” The importance of teaching.

14 from the bishop – Most Rev. Carl F. Mengeling

• Closing the open door of ignorance – how education can inform our faith.

24 spiritual fitness – Fr. Bill Ashbaugh

• Meatloaf? Grilled cheese?

It’s a surprise.

26 culture – Michelle DiFranco

• An interview with the producer of X-Men 3 28 FAITH exclusive – Elizabeth Solsburg

• Faith or reason? Do we have to choose or can we have both?

31 last word – Fr. Charles Irvin

ka’i, Priest May 10 | Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs May 12 | St. Pancras, Martyr May 12 | Our Lady of Fatima May 14 | St. Isidore May 15 | St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest May 20

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The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing

Most Reverend Carl F. Mengeling PUBLISHER

Rev. Charles Irvin FOUNDING EDITOR

May 2006 • Volume 7 : Issue 4

Rev. Dwight Ezop EDITOR IN CHIEF

letter letters l e t t e r s

Patrick M. O’Brien MANAGING EDITOR/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

What color is God’s skin?

A HUGE congratulations to Nancy Schertzing on her wonderful story about Deacon Oliver and Father McShane!

(FAITH, March 2006) A true testimony to how one person can make a huge difference in this world. A living definition to real personal courage. I enjoyed the story so much it is now one I will keep and pass on over and over again.

Elizabeth Martin Solsburg ASSISTANT EDITOR/STAFF WRITER

Patrick Dally ART DIRECTOR/WEB DESIGNER

Jillane Job SUBSCRIPTIONS/SECRETARY

Patricia Oliver SECRETARY

Rev. William Ashbaugh Michelle Sessions DiFranco Marybeth Hicks Elizabeth Johnson Rev. Joseph Krupp Deb McCormack Tom and JoAnne Fogle Bob Horning Cathleen McGreal John Morris Rick and Diane Peiffer Tim Ryan Nancy Schertzing Allena Tapia Sara Teller CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Derek Melot Margaret Perrone PROOFREADING

Tom Gennara Christine Jones James Luning (cover) CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Vicki Bedard Wayne Case Patricia Garcia Mary Jo Gilliland Diane Nowak Margaret Perrone James Rhadigan Ricardo Rodriguez Dcn. David Rosenberg Rev. James Swiat Peter Wagner Sharon Wimple

– Catherine Johnson St. John Parish, Jackson

Not enough coverage on World Youth Day? Some months back you did a small article about World Youth Day, titled Serendipitous. ...it bothered me. It was a huge event, 80-plus teens from the Lansing diocese went and our parish, St. John the Baptist in Howell, sent stories ... and some great pictures, and to see this tiny article about when my husband lost his camera, and the postage-sized picture included was a slap in the face! ... Why did you choose to sweep it under the rug?

– Patty Sherrill St. John Parish, Howell

We want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think. We want to hear your opinions – about articles in the magazine, happenings in our church or anything you want to share.

Send your letters to: Editor FAITH Magazine 209 Seymour Ave. Lansing, MI 48933 Or send us an e-mail: esolsburg@ faithpublishingservice.com Please make sure to add a line granting us permission to print your letter or e-mail.

Your thoughts and ideas matter – please share them with your brothers and sisters in FAITH.

Explore your FAITH

ADVISORY BOARD

FAITH Publishing Ser vice Rev. Dwight Ezop CHAIRMAN

Patrick M. O’Brien PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Beverly Sherman SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

Enomhen Odigie GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGN

InnerWorkings PRINT MANAGEMENT

FAITHPublishingService.com FAITH™ (USPS 019993) is a membership publication of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing, 300 W. Ottawa, Lansing, MI 48933. Published monthly except February and August. Subscription rates are $15 per year. Individual issues are $2.50.

Send all subscription information and address changes to 209 Seymour Ave., Lansing, MI 48933; 517. 342.2595; fax 517.342.2537 or e-mail jjob@dioceseoflansing.org. Periodicals Postage Paid at Lansing, MI or additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: FAITH™, 209 Seymour Ave., Lansing, MI 48933. ©FAITH Publishing Service. FAITH is a trademark of FAITH Publishing Service.

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Find daily changing Catholic news, Web exclusives and more on FAITHmag.com St. Rita of Cascia, Religious May 22 | St Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor May 25 | St. Gregory VII, Pope May 25 | St. Mary Magdalene

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web saint s Barbie’s hip “Scene” no place for 8-year-old o n l i n e

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a golden tongue for God s a i n t

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ne of the best things about having a cell phone is getting into the car after grocery shopping, calling my house and instructing one of my children to turn on the oven. This cuts about eight minutes off the time it takes to get frozen lasagna on the table.

“Preheat the oven to 400 degrees,” I say to my eldest daughter as I load the bags of food into the van.

“OK, but there’s a problem,” she says. I hear the electronic beeping of the oven dial in the background.

“There’s a problem with the oven?” I ask.

“No, with the TV. Nickelodeon is playing the new My Scene movie, and when I told Amy to turn it off, things got ugly around here,” she explains. “Say no more.” I brace myself for the inevitable whining and begging I will face from Amy, my 8-year-old fashionista, when I walk into my house.

Barbie is her barometer of style, and the My Scene movie is Barbie’s new animated adventure in Hollywood. This is the first full-length feature based on the My Scene doll collection. But, as my older daughter correctly guessed, it is not a movie I would allow.

In case you T. Gennara

St. Bernardine of Siena o f

t h e

m o n t h

St. Bernardine of Siena Born: Sept. 8, 1380 Died: May 20, 1444 Feast Day: May 20 Claim to fame: St. Bernardine of Siena, a Franciscan priest, is renowned for his eloquent preaching. Called a “second Paul” by Pope Pius II, Bernadine traveled throughout Italy on foot, preaching about God’s mercy and the love of Mary. He was dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, a devotion which he popularized. In a time and place known for intrigue and vendettas, St. Bernardine preached peace and reconciliation. His charisma and his message attracted thousands. It’s not surprising that he is the patron saint of advertising, public relations and public speaking.

Little-known fact: Bernardine wasn’t always a golden-tongued preacher. When he was first ordained, his voice was hoarse and weak. After 12 years of prayer, his voice became strong and commanding, attracting crowds who hung on his every word.

don’t know, My Scene is Barbie’s new milieu. Having long ago dumped the antiquated and uncool Midge and Ken for hip girls including Chelsea, Madison and Delancey and guys named Hudson, River, Ellis and Sutton (all names that suggest the question, “Do the creators of these characters ever get out of Manhattan?”), Barbie underwent a complete makeover from glamour icon to urban trendsetter. She has become “way cool,” according to my daughter. Unfortunately, being “cool” is what makes My Scene off limits for my daughter.

–Marybeth Hicks

Was there a “scene” when Marybeth got home?

Read more on FAITHmag.com.

What made him a saint: Bernardine put his entire self into everything he did – from caring for the sick during a plague in Siena to using his gifts as a preacher to bring healing and reconciliation to troubled communities. He refused to listen to gossip or shameful words, and showed his listeners how words could be used for holy purposes.

Lowest/scariest moment: While many people admired St. Bernardine, others were jealous of his success. They told the pope that he was preaching superstition and encouraging idolatry by promoting the use of placards inscribed with IHS (the abbreviation for the Holy Name of Jesus). The accusations were quickly proved groundless.

Best quote: “The name of Jesus is the glory of preachers, because the shining splendor of that name causes his word to be proclaimed and heard.”

How he died: St. Bernardine devoted his life to preaching.

When he realized he was dying, he brought forth one last reserve of energy and preached for 50 straight days, traveling throughout Italy by donkey when he was too weak to walk. He died in 1444.

Prayer: Saint Bernardine of Siena, words were very important to you. You used your gifts to share words of Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness and to praise his Holy Name. Pray for us that we may always choose to speak Jesus’ name with reverence and to use our words to promote peace and love rather than discord. Amen.

– Elizabeth Johnson

gdalene de’Pazzi, Virgin May 25 | St. Philip Neri, Priest May 26 | St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop May 27 | The Ascension of the Lord May 28 | Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary May 31

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dear Fr. Joe: what’s up with The DaVinci Code? i n

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J o e

Dear Fr. Joe: I’ve heard a lot of hype about the movie, The Da Vinci Code and I’m confused. Is this stuff true? If it is, my faith is in doubt!

To mark the release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code, we are reprising an earlier Father Joe column.

T

hanks for writing! I have gotten more inquiries about this than almost any other topic.

I hope this article is the beginning If college students wrote the Bible... of a restoration of your faith. Have • The Last Supper would have been eaten the next morning – cold.

I seen the movie? Not yet. Did I read the book? Yes. To date, I have • The Ten Commandments would actually be only five – double-spaced and written in a large font. read every book written by Dan Brown and enjoyed most of them. • Paul’s letter to the Romans would become Paul’s email to tyrant@romans.gov.

• Instead of God creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh, he would have When I read The Da Vinci Code, I put it off until the night before it was due and then pulled an all-nighter. never anticipated the book would cause such a firestorm. describes the leaders of the Catho- by Michael Baigent, Richard First of all, let me start off by saying it is an absoLeigh and Henry Lincoln. lic Church as corrupt, misogylute must to read Dismantling The Da Vinci Code by OK, the rest of this article is Sandra Miesel. You can find it at www.crisismagazine. nistic and violent. I understand going to contain some “spoilers,” that it is politically acceptable to com/september2003/feature1.htm. so if you haven’t read the book or I want to state that some of what I am going to write ascribe all sorts of moral horrors seen the movie, you may want to to Christian leaders, but I urge in this article comes from Miesel’s article, and the rest come back to this later. comes from my own research. I’ll try to give you some readers to remember that judging Let’s look at some of the more others so harshly can have bad references to help you do research on your own. For outlandish errors Brown made: implications for our souls. the rest of you, let’s establish some key ideas: The Priory of Sion is a central Premise three: Brown’s Premise one: The book The Da Vinci Code can focus of The Da Vinci Code. In research is suspect. Again, asbe purchased in just about any local bookstore. In suming he was simply the book, the Priory of Sion is order to find it, you need to go to the The issue seems attempting to write a an ultra-secret group that meets fiction section. That’s right, folks. It’s to be that people fictional novel, there regularly to preserve, study and fiction. By labeling his book as such, are taking his fic- should be no problem keep secret the great mystery – Brown absolves himself of any need to Jesus and Mary Magdalene were be realistic or truthful, despite his claims tion and embrac- here. The issue seems married. For a great article on the to be that people are of veracity in the beginning of the book. ing it with faith that it does not myth of the Priory of Sion, please taking his fiction and That is an essential premise to keep in demand. go to www.alpheus.org/html/artiembracing it with mind. cles/esoteric_history/richardson1. faith that it does not Premise two: The author is clearly html. It’s a good explanation of no fan of organized religion, particularly Catholicism. demand. If you look at Brown’s sources, you can see a great many how the myth came about, and In one section of the book, a character explains that it would take too much space for authors and books that most “ ... every faith in the world is based on fabrication.” me to cover here. scholars – both Christian and No opportunity to let the reader know his opinions Now clearly, the idea that non-Christian – give no credis passed up by Brown. He preaches as if he has the ibility. The best example of this Jesus and Mary Magdalene were kind of authority that he despises in the church. The married is something that the hierarchy seems to bear the brunt of Brown’s rage. He would be Holy Blood, Holy Grail FAITH Magazine

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May 2006

4/5/06 10:38:28 AM

quiz poll p “If you want something done, ask a woman.” outspoken Margaret Thatcher takes office in ...? h i s t o r y

FAITH asks:

what makes a good teacher?

q u i z

Making her mark in history, the first female prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, is sworn into office on May 4, WHAT YEAR?

p a r i s h

p o l l

We asked students in Mrs. Fogerland’s second-grade class at St. Patrick School in Brighton about their experience with teachers.

Here are their answers to the questions, “What makes someone a good teacher? Why do you think school is important?”

At 5:19 p.m. on May 13, WHAT YEAR?, the Turkish Mehmet Ali Agca shot Pope John Paul II while he was circling St. Peter’s Square. After being operated on extensively at Gemelli hospital, the Pope declared: “Pray for the brother who shot me, whom I have sincerely forgiven.”

All in good ‘Faith.’ Gordon Cooper begins his 34-hour journey into space aboard Faith 7, NASA’s capstone of Project Mercury, on May 15, WHAT YEAR? Cooper was the first American astronaut to spend more than a day in space.

On May 17, WHAT YEAR? the U.S. Supreme Court declares a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The Court’s historic decision marked a major victory in the civil rights movement.

– Sara Teller

Jordyn: A good teacher makes good games. School is important because our teachers help us a lot.

Matthew: Teachers are good because of how they teach the children how to learn. School is important because you have to learn.

Kira: A good teacher doesn’t yell. School is important because we need to learn.

Answers: 1979, 1981, 1963, 1954

church isn’t big on. Let’s look at the source of this myth in order to debunk it. The primary source(s) for this are the Gnostic gospels. The book contends that the Gnostic gospels contain “the truth” about Jesus, and the church worked hard to suppress them. If this is true, then half of the world’s Christian population is in trouble. Check out this lovely exchange between Jesus and Peter in the Gospel of Thomas: “Simon Peter said to them, ‘Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life.’

Jesus said, ‘I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.’” (v. 114) In the words of the great philosopher Bill (of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), “Dude. I so

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don’t get it.”

Make no mistake; the Gnostic gospels were condemned by the Apostles and their successors immediately after they were written.

There was and is no cover-up here. As you will read in the next paragraph, the church had no power to cover up anything in the first 300 years.

Brown contends that the Emperor Constantine forced the church to claim that Jesus was divine. This one can’t survive a logical attack. Remember, for more than 200 years, Christianity was a capital offense in the Roman Empire; a great many people suffered and died rather than reject Jesus’ divinity. Among those under the reign of Constantine were a great many Christians who had been mutilated and tortured by the Romans for belief in Christ’s divinity. Also, wouldn’t at least some of the Christians

alive at the time notice that the entire focus of this new religion had changed, and resist that change? The way Brown writes it, Constantine changed the entire belief structure of Christianity and somehow destroyed every book and killed every person who fought the change. That is not a realistic idea of the fourth century.

I could continue, but I am running out of space. I hope that this article has been helpful. In the meantime, let’s remember to rejoice in what has been handed on to us by the Apostles.

Enjoy another day in God’s presence!

Send your questions to: “In the Know with Fr. Joe” FAITH Magazine 209 Seymour Ave. Lansing, MI 48933 Or: JoeInBlack@priest.com

o n l i n e

44% of American Catholics say the church’s teaching that opposes abortion is “very important.”

– CARA, Winter 2006

What do you think?

Log on to FAITHmag.com then click FAITH forums to discuss this and other interesting topics.

4/5/06 10:38:29 AM

marri ma rriage age

he says ... she says ...

what should they do?

y o u r

m a r r i a g e

m a t t e r s

Make an effort to increase your awareness of what amuses your spouse, and learn how to trigger each other’s sense of humor. Recall a funny story or experience to break the tension of a stressful day.

Protect your precious time together by learning to say “no.” “No” to answering the phone. “No” to answering the door. “No” to answering a child’s non-urgent questions during your scheduled time together.

IStock Photo

time

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ark and Sarah have been married for about three years and have no children. They are both working professionals.

m oney

Many different factors go into the credit score formula, but pay history and amounts owed are the big ones – don’t underestimate them!

it’s porn

it’s normal

Sarah says: I was cleaning Mark’s home office the other day and I found Playboy and some other pornographic magazines. I had no idea Mark looked at this kind of thing, and it makes me wonder if this is why we’ve been having some problems recently. I feel as if he isn’t interested in me anymore because I don’t look like the women in those pictures. There’s an emotional distance between us.

Mark says: I’ve always looked at magazines like this. I mean, what normal guy hasn’t? I like the pictures and I don’t see any problem with it. I’ve never been unfaithful – my philosophy is “look, don’t touch.” I think Sarah is overreacting – our marriage isn’t as romantic as it was at the beginning, but that’s because we’ve been together for a while.

FAITH Magazine

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The expert says: This is a very delicate issue in today’s society. As with most issues there are always areas of gray.

The overwhelming message we get from the mass media is anything goes and more is better.

Sexuality is a gift from God and should be treasured and nourished.

Pornography demeans the dignity of both men and women and is a form of “spiritual infidelity.” It is an objectification of other human beings for the purpose of one’s own sexual pleasure, and the church teaches that it constitutes the grounds for grave sin. The real question is what happens now that both partners know about the pornography.

Mark and Sarah should begin by talking about pornography and how it impacts their marriage.

It is important that this conversation happen in a confidential, accepting place. They need to make time for this talk when there’s no chance of interruption and nobody can overhear. A genuine dialogue with true listening by both partners is a must. First, one partner should have the floor and the other partner needs to listen.

Then the next partner should talk and the other partner should listen. Expressing anger and disappointment are OK and even beneficial, if

T. Gennara

r om ance

May 2006

4/5/06 10:38:34 AM

Marriage Resource: If you are experiencing difficulties in your marriage. contact your local Catholic Charities agency for help.

should I go anyway? p a r e n t i n g

j o u r n e y

c o m m u n i c a ti o n

the expression is honest, open and not designed to be hurtful. Be as honest as is possible. Questions like “How can we get our sexual relationship back on track?” should be asked.

Mark needs to explain what attracts him about pornography. Since men are stimulated by visual images and women by words and romance, there may be a fundamental misunderstanding about why Mark wants to look at these pictures. Sarah should explain why she is uncomfortable with Mark lookForgiveness and ing at the images. understanding are Forgiveness and understanding the most important are the most important components of this conversation. Blame components of this conversation. is less important than listening.

Understanding of your partner Blame is less can happen even if you do not important than agree with his or her actions. listening.

Next the couple needs to develop a plan of action. One idea would be for Mark and Sarah to re-create some of the romance and chemistry in their relationship, thereby lessening Mark’s feeling that he needs to rely on pornography. Here are some ideas for recapturing those feelings:

Never go to bed angry. If you experience a disagreement with your spouse just before bedtime, postpone the discussion until tomorrow.

Instead, say “I love you,” mean it, and give him a passionate goodnight kiss.

• Remember how your relationship was in the beginning of your marriage, and plan a romantic evening with all the trappings: candlelight, music and good food. This sparks conversation and revitalizes memories. Your action plan should be comfortable for both partners.

• Time alone as a couple is very important. Find someone to watch the children overnight.

• Take the phone off the hook to avoid interruptions.

• Let your spouse know that you value her and your relationship with her.

Mark and Sarah should remember that showing love and respect is the most important ‘to do’ item on the marital agenda. If one person’s behavior is causing pain for the other, the motives for engaging in that behavior should be seriously questioned. This relationship is their top priority. Both partner’s feelings and comfort level within the relationship should be respected. Always remember that counseling is available.

Church teachings also remind us not to forget the power of the sacrament of reconciliation – a beautiful way to “make whole” their relationship with each other and with God. – Deborah McCormack

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T. Gennara

e

my kids are embarrassed when I show up at school

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he Acts of the Apostles on the sixth Sunday of Easter describes Cornelius falling at Peter’s feet and offering homage. Peter says, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.” Few individuals experience this admiration from other adults. But many of us know what it is like to be put on a pedestal by a young child. Parents are more than just human beings. They are stronger, smarter and able to do more things than anybody else! Children ask for instruction: Where does the sun go at night? What is it like at the edge of the rain? As parents, we continue to know many answers throughout childhood and it is exciting to help out in our children’s grade-school classrooms. But, as puberty approaches for our children, that parental pedestal shows gradual wear. Older kids’ advice to parents may be, “Please don’t volunteer.” What’s happening?

Letting go of their “ideal” parents and getting to know YOU! As children get older, they become capable of abstract thought and are able to assess situations from different perspectives. They discover that parents make mistakes just like everybody else. Children may be disappointed to realize that parents don’t match up to their childish images of perfection, but this is actually one of the first steps of emotional maturity. It is not until early adulthood that children truly see their parents as unique individuals.

Who let that parent on my stage?

The peer group becomes more and more central to the lives of children as they get older, and parents can become unmanageable liabilities.

The term “imaginary audience” was proposed by psychologist David Elkind to indicate the extreme self-consciousness that teens sometimes feel. They are concerned about minute details of appearance.

Sometimes, there are real concerns about being different, and a parent who is a constant source of embarrassment may add to the discomfort.

So, you should keep connected with the schools – it benefits the school and your children. But listen to your children’s concerns and balance your volunteering with their needs. Remind them that if all the parents pulled out, many of their favorite activities would disappear! Rotate helping in the “spotlight” (chaperoning a dance) with unobtrusive work (assisting in a mailing). Pray for guidance: “The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.”

(Proverbs 16:21) – Dr. Cathleen McGreal

4/5/06 10:38:49 AM

top10 what in the world? the top-10 Catholic News events this month t o p

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Small state makes a big statement about life On Feb. 24, South Dakota banned all abortions, except those necessary to save a mother’s life.

2

Marriage in Wisconsin – one man-one woman?

Wisconsin’s Catholic bishops were pleased with the state Assembly’s decision to send to the voters a constitutional amendment defining marriage that way.

3

Gonzaga University’s president sees “hidden blessings” in major campus fire The March 13 fire destroyed a $10.3 million, 225-bed apartment complex under construction. “We feel blessed that no one was hurt ... ,” said Father Robert J. Spitzer.

4

Pope and Egyptian president meet Pope Benedict XVI and President Hosni Mubarak met March 13 to discuss the situation in the Middle East, tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and religious tolerance in Egypt.

5

Vatican official says Catholics must support Holy Land Christians Catholics have an obligation to support Christians living in the Holy Land with prayer and material resources, said Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud.

6

Second miracle confirmed in cause for Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin of Indiana This paves the way for the canonization of the 19th-century founder of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods.

7

Politicians’ consciences must concur with church on moral teaching, including abortion So said key leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, responding to Catholic Democrats who cite “the primacy of conscience” in their voting decisions.

8

Catholic Charities in Archdiocese of Boston to end adoption services The agency will not comply with a state law requiring no discrimination against gay and lesbian couples who seek to adopt.

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Portland, Ore. judge: No parish funds to pay abuse claims until courts resolve issue Sex abuse plaintiffs cannot be paid from parish property before the issue of parish ownership has been resolved in the courts.

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Pope temporarily merges four Vatican councils under two presidents This is seen as the possible start of what may be a sweeping reform of the Roman Curia.

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4/5/06 10:39:07 AM

worldwork world w work now that I’m in charge, I feel like a failure how can I succeed again? w o r k

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A photographic celebration the first year of the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI

Beth was promoted to general manager six months ago – overseeing multiple functions in a manufacturing company. Since then, her career has been fraught with problems.

(Clockwise from top left) Pope Benedict XVI blesses a child as he leaves a prayer service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome April 25. During the service, attended by several thousand people, the pope stressed that the primary task of the church is to evangelize.

Pope Benedict XVI starts the procession for his inaugural Mass April 24 in St. Peter’s Square. The Mass marks the formal start of his papacy Pope Benedict XVI walks at the end of his weekly Wednesday general audience at the Vatican Sept. 14.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome May 26.

Pope Benedict XVI holds a candle as he celebrates a Mass marking World Day for Consecrated Life in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 2.

Pope Benedict XVI embraces a boy as he leads a ceremony with children in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 15.

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Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful from the window of his apartment at the Vatican after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Feb. 11 for the 2006 World Day of the Sick.

Pope Benedict XVI looks out toward the mountains from an Alpine meadow near Les Combes in northern Italy July 14.

l i f e

eth Says: I’ve been successful right from the start in my career, although I admit I am a control freak – a real micro-manager. Early on, I improved the efficiency of a number of processes in our plants and was promoted to team leader. Six months ago, I was promoted to general manager. I automatically assumed that my management style would continue to work. But as I put more controls in place and pushed harder, quality ratings dropped, performance slipped and morale plummeted. Now my bosses are pressuring me to get things turned around.

Why am I failing? I thought I was good at this!

The expert says: Organizational consultant Margaret Wheatley suggests a management approach contrary to the traditional command-andcontrol. In her book, Leadership and the New Science, she says attempts to impose greater control can often instensify problems, and that human beings need meaning to thrive. When there is a shared sense of purpose throughout an organization, people will naturally act in concert and require little direct supervision.

The leaders are then free to spend time in visioning and long-range goal-setting.

Isn’t this essentially what Christ teaches in Matthew’s Gospel? He asks us to depend on God rather than our own desire to control.

We are instructed to not worry about the elementary needs in life; “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” (Matt 6:3233) If we focus our energy primarily on

building God’s kingdom, God will bring order to our lives.

Shouldn’t this principle apply to our work lives as well? If you are a leader, you are called to fulfill your purpose and to draw a sense of meaning and purpose from your people. If you do, won’t God bring order to your organization?

How can you build God’s kingdom in a secular organization? Most companies establish a set of values that may be given lip service only.

But you can “walk the talk” – by practicing and encouraging your organization’s stated values.

Five qualities of good management are: • Trust that if you provide employees with direction and resources, they will do the job.

• Respect the knowledge and ability of your employees.

• Loyalty to employees results in their loyalty to the company.

• Service is a priority – to customers, co-workers and the community.

• Teamwork means collaboration – you need the team and the team needs you.

– Tim Ryan

4/5/06 10:39:21 AM

theolog g

the liturgy of the Eucharist

a 9-part exploration of the church’s public prayer t h e o l o g y

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t h e o l o g y

1 0 1

T At Mass, we present our gifts to the Lord w h y d o w e d o t h a t ?

kneeling Kneeling is a gesture of penitence and supplication. Although the general Jewish posture for prayer was standing, penitents and supplicants knelt on occasions of great solemnity or urgency. For example, we read about Solomon kneeling before the multitudes, Jesus kneeling to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and Stephen falling to his knees in the midst of an ecstatic vision before the Sanhedrin. From about the fourth century, kneeling was recognized as the usual attitude for private prayer. During the Mass, we kneel from the end of the Sanctus (the Holy, Holy, Holy) to the great Amen that occurs just before the recitation of the Our Father. In the United States, the bishops received an adaptation to the general norms of the church to allow for kneeling after the Agnus Dei (the Lamb of God).

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who ’s in the s anctuary?

Altar server: The altar server is usually a young person who assists the priest during Mass. The altar server carries the processional cross, candles, the incense and thurible. He or she also assists the priest during the purification rite and often acts as a living bookstand. An altar server may be an acolyte, one of the minor orders on the path to the priesthood.

The Eucharistic prayer follows, beginning with thanksgiving, expressed in the preface.

The preface invites us to praise and worship, and offers specific reasons for doing so – based on the season or particular celebration. Next is the acclamation of praise, which is sung by the whole assembly: “Holy, holy, holy ...Hosanna in the highest.”

The priest then prays the epiclesis, asking the Holy Spirit to come down upon the gifts and on us, transforming the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ and transforming us into people who live in Christ’s image.

He then tells the story of the first Eucharist in a few words, mentioning the meal in which it occurred. The words of institution and consecration are spoken – “He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said, ‘Take this all of you and eat, this is my body.’” And by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread becomes the real presence of the body of Christ. The same follows with the wine as it is trans-

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he Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the preparation of the gifts. Although this part of the Mass was more elaborate in the Middle Ages, it has been restored to its earlier simplicity.

The altar has been bare up to this point; now the server brings the book (sacramentary) and vessels over and members of the congregation bring forward the community’s offerings of bread, wine and financial gifts. The presider prays, asking a blessing for the gifts and those who offered them.

May 2006

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gy y 101

w h a t ’ s

h e

w e a r i n g ?

bible quiz

Old Testament books b i b l e

q u i z

1. Old Testament book read each year during the Jewish festival of Purim.

w h a t ’ s t h e s e a s o n ?

2. Old Testament book best known for its apocalyptic symbolism.

a. 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings b. The Pentateuch c. Daniel d. Book of Lamentations, Nahum 1:2-8, and several psalms e. Book of Ruth f. Esther g. Numbers h. Daniel

3. Old Testament book that reminds us to be tolerant and understanding of people from different countries.

4. The Old Testament book that deals with the social organization of Israel based on the 12 tribes.

5. Narrative is the main literary style of these books.

6. The only book of the Old Testament that clearly affirms resurrection for the individual.

7. A combination of narratives and law codes that cover time from creation of the universe to just after the death of Moses.

8. These books use acrostics, each line beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Answers: 1: f; 2: c; 3: e; 4: g; 5: a; 6: h; 7: b: 8: d

formed into the blood of Christ.

After the words of institution, we sing the memorial acclamation – “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” or one of the other available choices that proclaims the essence of the paschal mystery.

Prayers of remembering, offering and intercession follow. We ask God’s blessings on the church, its ministers, and all its members – both living and dead.

The Eucharistic prayer ends with a doxology, or statement of praise. The priest elevates the consecrated bread and wine and sings, “Through him, with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, forever and ever.” The people sing a profound, “Amen,” their assent and belief in all that has taken place in the Eucharistic prayer.

We follow by praying the Our Father, the prayer Jesus taught us. We move into the peace prayer and a sign of peace among the congregation. In this, we are following Jesus’ command to reconcile before coming to the altar. As the hosts are broken and placed in vessels for distribution, we pray the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. We express our sorrow for our sins in the prayer, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you ...”

Then we rise in unity and process to receive the body and blood of our Lord, saying, “Amen” to indicate our belief .

After prayers of thanksgiving, the Mass concludes with a blessing and a statement to go and serve the Lord, living out the Eucharist we have received.

By Elizabeth Solsburg | Illustrations by Bob Patten

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marian feasts: The church devotes special veneration to Mary as the mother of God. As such, there are solemnities devoted to her, as well as a host of feast days and memorials. Some are based on biblical events, such as the Annunciation; some on specific devotions, such as Our Lady, Queen of Peace; some on dogma, such as the Immaculate Conception; and some on geography, like Guadalupe. Additionally, May is traditionally the month of Mary and October is the month of the rosary.

chasuble: The chasuble is the most visible of the vestments the priest wears at Mass. The chasuble is an adaptation of secular garments worn during the early church. The president wore his newest and cleanest everyday clothes to preside at Mass. As secular clothing changed, the church reserved the chasuble for liturgical functions. Its name derives from the word, casula, or little tent, which it resembled in its ability to cover the whole person. w h a t ’ s

i n

t h e

c h u r c h ?

altar:

T

he altar is the table on which the elements of bread and wine are placed during the Mass. In the earliest days of the church, this table was called the trapeza Kyriou, or “table of the Lord.” It was generally made of wood or stone and was identical to ordinary dining tables. Catacomb frescoes show groups gathered around the trapeza as at a meal.

The term altar was studiously avoided by Christians until the fifth century, due to its pagan sacrificial connotations.

4/5/06 10:39:38 AM

D

t h e

b i s h o p

o you ever think of yourself as a teacher? My usual answer is, “No way!” That’s because most people associate the word “teacher” with a professional in schools or other teaching situations. That needs to change for followers of Christ. Our Lord and his church call all of us to broaden our vision and accept our mission as teachers.

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Our Lord’s final words at his ascension were the great commission to his followers, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News.” The Good News, or Gospel, gives meaning and purpose to all teaching. Centuries ago, this command to teach was telescoped into “Instruct the ignorant.” It’s one of the spiritual works of mercy.

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May 2006

4/5/06 10:39:42 AM

bishop

“Go into the world and proclaim the Good News” the importance of being a teacher

b i s h o p

The seven spiritual works of mercy, as well as the seven corporal works of mercy, find their origin in Scripture. They are 14 brief and precise commands that summarize a wealth of biblical teaching. They are works of mercy because they are acts of love. They help our neighbors in their many bodily and spiritual needs.

These seven spiritual “commands” speak love and mercy to us. To admonish, instruct, counsel, comfort, bear wrongs, forgive and pray are precious gifts we give and receive.

Like most people, I had a long way to go in grasping the impact of teaching and being a teacher.

In the first 25 years of my life, my status was that of a student. The only teaching I recall was playing school with other little children. I was always the teacher.

Of course, in the seminary, we attended courses like Philosophy of Education, Psychology of Education and Catechetics. In those years, I never experienced being a teacher.

Then, like a bolt out of the blue, I became a teacher. Like many young priests in the ’50s – with no consultation, no preparation and no experience – I was assigned to a Catholic high school. Very quickly, I discovered I wasn’t “playing school” anymore.

All of us are teachers in what we do and fail to do, in what we say and show for better or for worse. This happens daily in families – grandparents and parents are teachers in the family.

The church says that parents are “the first teachers of their families.” Unfortunately, my

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Ourr Lo Lord’s final nal words word at hhiss asc ascension were the great commission to his followers, “Go into the whole world and proclaim oclaim the e Goo Good d News.”

siblings and I never knew our grandparents. They never came to America. But I was blessed with two uncles who taught me much by word and example.

They were good listeners and kind teachers.

From great spiritual minds and true teachers, here are some winning qualities needed by teachers. I’m still working on them!

In one of his many addresses to teachers, Pope John Paul II said, “Teaching is an act of love of man toward man, parents toward children, teachers toward students and adults toward youth.”

The great “patron of youth,” St. John Bosco, spoke often of qualities that are valued in teachers, “The young should know they are loved ... Of the qualities required of all teachers, kindness is the most important.”

Another great teacher, St. Francis de Sales, gives this wise and practical truth, “One catches more flies with a spoon of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.”

The prophet, Isaiah, calls teachers “peaceful and patient servants.” A good teacher is careful and respectful, remembering that “a bruised reed he shall not break and a smoldering wick he shall not quench.” How easy it is for us to break the one hanging on by a thread or to blow out the tiny flickering flame.

But with patient love, the spark that still glimmers is gently fanned into flame.

There is another requirement that we all have as teachers. It is our witness, our example. Pope Paul VI, in his Encyclical on Evangelization (1975) wrote,

“Modern people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers. When they listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”

St. Francis of Assisi, in a simple paradox, said that we should “preach (teach) always. When necessary, use words.” Even 800 years ago, he knew that the most effective teacher is one who leads by good example. When I was ordained in 1957, the bishop said, “It’s not what you know; it’s what you show.” He repeated this statement at every priest conference I attended in that diocese.

All of us who have the solemn duty to teach the young, by word and witness, received a bold reminder from Pope John Paul II during his visit to St. Louis. He said, “As we look to the future, how can we fail to think of the young? What is being held up to them? A society of things, not persons? The right to do as they will from their earliest years without any constraint? We can well fear that tomorrow these same young people, who reach adulthood, will demand an explanation from their parents, leaders and all of us for having deprived them of reasons for living and the tools for happiness, because they failed to teach them.”

Father Luigi Giussani wrote, “Teaching is a sacred task, a sense of reverence and trembling in front of the mystery that dwells in each person.”

This awesome responsibility is supremely challenging, so we can take comfort from the words of Blessed Mother Teresa – “God does not ask us to be successful.

God asks us to be faithful.”

– Most Rev. Carl F. Mengeling is the fourth bishop of Lansing.

4/5/06 10:39:48 AM

how Sister Marilyn helps others

touch Sr. Marilyn’s vocation calls others to become lay leaders for the church

“None of us has the whole truth. We all have little pieces of it. Together, with prayer and study, we come to a deeper understanding of the truth.

“We live our lives as individuals, usually interacting only at a surface level. I believe God asks us to go beyond the surface. When we do, the depth we sometimes find can surprise us. In my work, I meet with people and come away from my conversations feeling connected and hopeful. I come away changed. And when we can come away changed for the good, we have touched God.”

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4/5/06 10:39:53 AM

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r. Marilyn Barnett, OP speaks from her heart and from decades of teaching within the Catholic Church. As coordinator of the Program in Theological Studies at Siena Heights University, she relishes the transformation she sees in those studying to become lay ecclesial ministers.

One woman changed her whole career path because of another student – someone 20 years her junior.

The younger woman had received a degree in social work and then enrolled in the pastoral studies pro-

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gram. She believes this combination “nurtured my love of ministry and taught me so much about combining academic study with a pastoral approach.” Because of this young woman’s enthusiasm, the older student decided to pursue the same dual course of study – she too will be a social worker with a strong foundation in pastoral ministry.

By Nancy Schertzing | Photography by Jim Luning

4/5/06 10:40:00 AM

“W

e get comments from people all the time saying the program has changed their lives. Its combination of theological study with spiritual formation and discernment gives students a deeper understanding of who they are alone and before God. It helps them articulate their piece of the truth, and explore others’ truths through dialogue within the church framework. They get a chance to access the synergy that comes from exploring their truth with others in order to touch God.”

Sister Marilyn’s wisdom flows from nearly 50 years in religious life, teaching and preaching God’s truth. “In 1956, when I graduated from high school, options were limited for women in our society. Professionally, you could become a secretary, nurse, teacher or nun. I grew up with nuns teaching me from grammar through high school. They seemed to be happy, peace-filled women doing the work of education for God. That was good work. Though I liked boys, I felt I’d have more freedom to do good if I wasn’t committed to one person.”

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May 2006

Colorado to identify and train lay She graduated from high school leaders in and for the parish faith and entered the convent of the community. These parishes were Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. Her 100 percent Hispanic, and different community lived out their charism from any place I had ever worked. of reconciliation by teaching in “There among them, I learned schools throughout the Boston Archdiocese. Sister Marilyn enjoyed that when I handed a project over to another person, he or she might teaching, but after several years she do it differently from how I had found herself increasingly drawn envisioned it. Most importantly, I to liturgy and music ministry. She learned that was OK. searched for positions in her native Boston I loved the mix of my Those who study where she could honor and learn can expieces of the truth and God’s call, but found pand their horizons theirs.” those positions closed and change their Over the next six to women. lives. I encourage years spent identifying, In 1977, she left Bos- men and women training and establishton to accept a position of faith to make the ing leaders from the as liturgy and music Pueblo faith comchoice to learn. director at St. John the munity, Sister Marilyn Baptist Parish in Ypsilanti. With her worked herself out of a job. She order’s blessing, she worked at St. left local parishioners in place to John’s and advanced her education, fill leadership positions from adult earning her master’s degree in theol- formation to liturgy and youth ogy from Notre Dame in 1982. ministry.

With her order’s continued In 1988, she returned to the blessing, Sister Marilyn headed to Diocese of Lansing as director of the Diocese of Pueblo, Colo. She the diocesan Office of Worship. In and another sister worked there as her work there, she continued the diocesan pastoral associates for lay formation of liturgical lay leaders through parish workshops, ministry leadership formation. “I went to For more information about lay ministry, visit www.DioceseofLansing.org

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tion for them to minister in the church. It allows me the time I need to pray, read, study, contemplate and take time with people.

“I can listen to their stories. Together we can share the truth. This sustains me as a nun and a person. If I ever stopped growing and learning, I would die!

“I never questioned my vocation in religious life, and I’m proud to say that, in 2002, I reaffirmed my vows as a Dominican. But I won’t say there weren’t hard times. There were. In the 1960s and ’70s, I sometimes wondered if I were going to be the only one remaining in the convent.

So many women were leaving!

The Second Vatican Council gave us much more a sense of personal decision-making than before. Many nuns – my sister included – made the choice to leave the convent and pursue other lifestyles.

“When I was growing up, it used to be relatively easy to live the Catholic faith. There was a set of rules and, if you followed them, you were promised heaven. With the Second Vatican Council, the responsibility for how you lived your life as a Catholic Christian fell more directly on each person. The documents

‘

The Diocese of Lansing Ministry Formation Program includes three components:

I can listen to their stories.

Together we can share the truth. This sustains me as a nun and a person.

If I ever stopped growing and learning, I would die!

and statements of the Vatican Council didn’t change what we believed, but they did ask us to study and live our faith and the message of the Gospels as Christians in the modern world.

“Many men and women who grew up right after Vatican II were disadvantaged in learning about their faith. The famous Baltimore Catechism had been the traditional teaching we received in Catholic school education. Vatican II replaced it with a ‘Jesus loves you’ kind of message and the vision of the Council. Great emphasis was placed on the Mass and preaching as ‘the source and summit’ of the faithful understanding.

“While that is the foundation, it isn’t everything needed. Those who study and learn can expand their horizons and change their lives.

I encourage men and women of faith to make the choice to learn.

Take advantage of the opportunities available, from the program in theological studies to Bible studies at your local parish.

“God is alive and well. Find the truth along with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Come away changed for the better!

“Touch God!”

‘

training and classes in liturgical issues. She continued the same work for the Archdiocese of Chicago as associate director of the Office of Divine Worship.

“I went into parishes and people often said to me, ‘You know, you have a passion for what you’re talking about.’ I began to realize what I was doing was teaching and preaching. And I loved it! God was calling me in this new direction, and I began to consider the charism of preaching.

“The last thing I wanted was a major change in my life, but it became increasingly clear that was God’s invitation. I began seriously exploring this call. In the Adrian Dominican Congregation, I found a charism and structure that felt right to me. In August 1999, I entered into the transfer process to the Adrian Dominicans with the blessing and good wishes of my former congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph.

“God is so good and full of surprises! While going through the three-year transfer process, I was offered my present position as coordinator of the program in theological studies at Siena Heights University. This position allows me to work with people and provide the necessary educational founda-

1 36 credits in theological study 2 spiritual formation workshops and retreats 3 opportunities to develop pastoral skills.

In partnership with the diocese, Siena Heights University offers theological study in the following areas: inquiry, ethics, Christian and Hebrew Scriptures, sacramental theology, ministry, church history, ecclesiology and Christology. There are three methodolgy courses offered in: liturgical catechesis; ministry management and leadership; and catechetical methodology.

Siena classes are offered in: Lansing, Jackson, Flint and Ypsilanti.

The diocese also partners with the Loyola University Extension Program (LIMEX) to provide graduate-level formation in pastoral studies and religious education. Students meet at various locations throughout the diocese. Loyola faculty design the lesson plans and learning material; they also monitor and grade students’ course work.

The LIMEX program is an intensive, “learner centered” process. Graduates earn a master’s degree from a fully accredited Catholic university.

Call 517.342.2512 for more information.

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4/5/06 10:40:26 AM

meet Doug Moore

p e profile

Lansing Catholic Central High School’s “man of action”

p r o f i l e

Doug’s ministry as a high-school theology teacher began in 1995.

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very year, Doug Moore leads groups of high school juniors into the tunnels beneath Lansing Catholic Central High School. With candles burning, he points out symbols on the cold, dark walls. His echoing whispers hold the students in rapt attention as Doug recreates the clandestine worship experience of the early Christian church.

“It’s really cool,” he says.

Doug’s creative approach to teaching church history is just one way he works to bring the Catholic faith to life for his students.

“High school students are still in the process of ‘becoming’ who they will be,” he reflects. “It’s a great time to make their faith more real to them. Faith isn’t just what we believe, but how we live – how we act on FAITH Magazine

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May 2006

our beliefs.”

In a culture that teaches teens to seek out immediate gratification and saturates their daily lives with thousands of media messages, teaching theology in high school is sometimes a tough sell.

“Our culture is the biggest thing working against us,” he says. In his more than 10 years in the classroom, this challenge has only grown.

Doug’s ministry as a high-school theology teacher began in 1995.

His Lansing Catholic Central High School job also includes an administrative role as coordinator of high school retreats, student activities and service. Prior to his present position, he worked at Lansing’s St. Gerard Parish as youth minister. Doug holds a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Loyola

University (New Orleans), and happens to be a 1980 graduate of the school where he now teaches.

As an alumnus, Doug’s highschool memories help him relate to his students.

“There’s a lot of drama growing up,” he says. “When I was in high school, I coped by relying on my faith. The church always was a big part of my life.”

He hopes to support his students on their faith journeys so that they might see God shining through him. “It’s not so much me,” Doug says. “It’s the things I do to help the students experience God’s presence.”

“One of the most powerful experiences I’ve had the privilege to create is to take groups of high-school students to Chicago where we stay with the homeless. We really spend time with folks, eating meals with women who work as prostitutes, for example. I tell the kids, ‘That’s something Jesus did. He ate with prostitutes.’ Those are the opportunities that really open their eyes to what their faith is all about.” By doing this, Doug’s goal is to shatter students’ expectations of what life is like for people in these situations, and to see them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Doug believes that service gives him the chance to build awareness of the two critical paths faith must take. “On the one hand, there’s the need for justice – that’s the part of our faith that calls us to action. But we also must grow in our relationship with God – that’s the spirituality that we try to develop.

“We try to make God real to them

By Marybeth Hicks | Photography by Tom Gennara

4/5/06 10:43:09 AM

e

Doug Moore’s life was changed by his trip to Calcutta.

by offering them chances to experience a life of faith, and we also try to convince them of the need to live out their faith in the years to come.”

In the ongoing battle with the culture, Doug reminds teens that, “They can’t ‘have it all.’ Kids are convinced because of what they see and hear in the media that they’re entitled to have and do just about anything they want ... Young people need to learn they can’t and shouldn’t ‘have it all’ – living a self-centered lifestyle – since this pulls them away from God’s call of service.”

Setting an example is another tool Doug uses to inspire his students.

Each year, he participates in Habitat for Humanity building projects as part of the school’s alternative spring break program, using his vacation time to recharge his “Christian service” batteries.

Doug also spent two weeks in India last year as part of the Frontiers of Justice program offered by Catholic Relief Services and the National Catholic Education Association. The program takes eight Catholic educators each year to areas of the world where missionary partnerships address the critical issues of hunger, poverty and AIDS. In New Delhi, Doug visited two homes for the needy: Michael’s House, a residential hospice for men with AIDS and other terminal illnesses; and Saraha House, a transitional home for women and children. In addition to providing shelter and medical care, Saraha House aims to end women’s reliance on the “street culture” and sex trade. Instead, it teaches skills such as weaving and paper making so that residents can go on to create productive lives for themselves and their children.

In Calcutta, Doug visited the

headquarters of The Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa. He also saw the orphanage and hospice run by the sisters, as well as the chapel where Mother Teresa prayed each day.

“You really feel her presence there,” Doug recalls. “It’s humbling to go to the place where she prayed and worked.”

Doug’s tour also took him to remote areas outside the city, to small villages where residents gathered to present songs, dances and a warm welcome to their American visitors.

“One of our visits was delayed,” Doug says, “which caused a major scheduling problem. So two villages actually came together to welcome us and what made this remarkable was that these tribes were feuding.”

All of Doug’s travels in India taught him the power of collaboration. Catholic Relief Services creates partnerships wherever it establishes a mission presence, working with local agencies to accomplish the goals determined by the local community. “This is why they are able to do so much with so few resources,” Doug says.

“That trip stays with me still,” Doug says, “because I learned how effective we can be when we partner with the people in a particular community. ...

We have to ask them what they need and how we can help.

That’s a model for human service that I try

r e s o u r c e

The four diocesan high schools in the Diocese of Lansing are: Father Gabriel Richard Regional High School, Ann Arbor, 734.662.0496 Father Luke M. Powers High School, Flint, 810.591.4741 Lumen Christi High School, Jackson, 517.787.0630 Lansing Catholic Central High School, Lansing, 517.267.2100

to emulate as I develop programs for our students.”

One way he brought his experience home was to recreate the living conditions in Calcutta in his classroom, helping the students to appreciate the poverty and hunger that are the daily reality of an entire population.

Another way is by implementing the idea of partnerships. Doug is the driving force behind Lansing Catholic’s Work-A-Thon, a new Homecoming weekend tradition that puts 540 students and a corps of parent and teacher volunteers into the community for 2,000 hours of service in a single day. On this day, students work with a host of community service agencies to respond to their particular needs.

Doug’s energy and enthusiasm for service inspires not only his students, but his colleagues. Mary Gates, theology department chair, and an early student of Doug’s at LCC, says, “Doug dreams big and then he follows through.”

Principal Tom Maloney concurs.

“Doug ... inspires all of us to put our faith into action.”

For more information about Diocese of Lansing Catholic Schools, visit www.DioceseofLansing.org.

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everyone’s mother Theresa Henderson – nurse, missionary and catechist m y

s t o r y

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heresa Henderson is the mother of six grown children, and has 16 grandchildren. She has been a registered nurse since 1973, and an anesthetist for 29 years. During the last 10 years, she has had an additional calling – passing on the faith to grade-school children at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor.

Here, she tells FAITH about her many roles.

I love seeing the eyes of the children light up with joy when they learn and understand something about God; and then when they do something with what they learn. I want to help them get to heaven by understanding their faith, and through having a relationship with the Lord. I want them to learn Scripture, and I tell them that Catholicism is based on the Scriptures. That way they can defend the faith. I also show them how the church is centered on the Eucharist.

At present, I have 17 fourth-graders. This year they are learning to talk to God, with and without the help of a prayer book, and how to receive Jesus in Communion. We also are focusing on the saints, the liturgical calendar and Scripture.

I try to teach at their level to keep them involved and interested.

At the start of class, we have a routine in which I ask, “Who are you?”

They respond, “We are saints in the making.” Then we say a decade of the rosary for their intentions. We also pray a Hail Mary for terrorists, that their hearts will be changed. I tell a lot of stories, changing my voice for each character. I use aids, like the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the wall, and say to them, “This is your mother. She loves you and is happy you want to learn about Jesus.” Every year I invite a priest to come with his vestments and explain why he wears each one.

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And, I am all the time giving them things like Bibles, holy cards, rosaries, prayer books, pens, rulers, you name it. You know how kids like to receive things.

Some families are teaching the faith at home, so their children already know a lot. Some know nothing. But at this age they are like sponges, soaking up everything. There are two parents who come “We walked four regularly with their children miles each way to so they can learn, too. One Mass every day. parent of a boy who is having My grandmother trouble in school asked me would tell me that what I do differently in the during Commuclass that allows him to learn. nion Jesus was I explain that the kids learn coming down better if they know they are from the altar to important – important to the live in me.” church – and know that God has a mission for them. So I try to make everyone in class aware of something special about each child.

By Bob Horning | Photography by Christine Jones

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my s story y I don’t have much formal training as a catechist. But I did have 12 years of education from Dominican nuns in Akron, Ohio – plus learning from my mother and grandmother. We walked four miles each way to Mass every day.

My grandmother would tell me that during Communion Jesus is coming down from the altar to live in me. I have also learned about catechesis from the evangelism I do at work.

No one has ever said anything to me about praying with the patients and staff. In fact, my boss tells me to keep praying. I even give out Bibles at work. One time, a rosary fell out of my pocket. A technician saw it, realized I was Catholic, and we began talking about Catholicism. Turns out she had been away from the church for 35 years. As a result of our conversations, she is back practicing her faith.

I work at Oakwood Medical Center in Dearborn. For eight years I was clinical director of the Acute and Chronic Pain Service, the unit for those with six months or less to live. I would ask all the patients if they would like me to pray for them. No one said ‘no.’

Once I prayed over a Protestant lady who had neck cancer. She was touched deeply. Sometime later, she told her family and me that she wanted me to do the eulogy at her funeral. I was the only AfricanAmerican there. When I gave the eulogy, everyone was amazed, but I didn’t know why. Afterward, I was told that she had hated black people her whole life, and wouldn’t even walk on the same side of the street as them.

I try to live my life in a way that people will want to imitate me. I try to love them where they are, not attempt to change them. There are a lot of people waiting to hear the truth. If we don’t step out for God, nothing will happen. If I can give them God’s love, it changes them.

Theresa reads to her grandchildren.

r e s o u r c e

The Diocese of Lansing has a renowned catechetical formation program. Those who are called to this ministry are provided with excellent workshops to prepare them as catechists.

If you would like more information about becoming a catechist, contact your parish’s director of religious education or call the diocesan director of education and catechesis, Michael Andrews, at 517.342.2539.

One last thing about work – in the medical community, abortion is, of course, a big issue. I tell those who favor abortion that 62 years ago my mother was raped.

Should she have aborted me?

Every year I go on a mission trip with the Filipino Medical Society of Michigan. We go to the barrios three to four hours from Manila, where the hospitals have nothing. We take along supplies and equipment donated from hospitals here. While there, we live like the poor people. We live out of our suitcases because the hotel rooms have no furniture. The mattresses sag. The ants and lizards are our companions. If we are lucky, there is a window air-conditioning unit. It gets hot in the Philippines in the summer.

The catechesis there is living out the Gospel, giving God’s love, and caring for the people medically. We do hundreds of free surgeries that the people would otherwise have no chance to receive. They are very grateful. It’s one way they learn about God. I tell people here that if you don’t believe in God or prayer, go on a mission trip. We are the answer to the prayers of the poor who have been begging Jesus and Mary for help.

Read news, essays and other interesting stories at www.FAITHmag.com.

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spiritu p

closing the door of ignorance how education can inform our faith s p i r i t u a l

f i t n e s ss p i r i t u a l

f i t n e s s

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earning for some people can be arduous and even unpleasant. I was visiting my nephews recently and could sympathize both with them and their parents. The adults kept at them to “go and do your homework!” They moaned. Eventually, after the moaning died down, they got to their study. While it may not seem so at the time, such discipline is good for the soul. It contributes to curing the deadly disease we call ignorance.

We all suffer from this affliction. We are limited.

Yet while we realize we cannot “know it all,” we also realize we need to know many things for our good and the good of others. Ignorance can be dangerous, even deadly.

Consider the ignorance of young teens regarding sexual activity. I have spoken with a few who had sex just once and became pregnant. They told me they did not know that could happen with just one encounter. Another young person contracted a sexually transmitted disease. He did not think it could happen to Him. Sadly, many seem ignorant of how such behaviors affect not only the body, but even more the soul.

There was another young person who was being convinced to have an abortion. She was told that what was in her was just some tissue and she should not worry. There was no child yet. Her ignorance of the simple facts of biology allowed her to be a victim of a lie.

Fortunately, ignorance is what Christ our teacher desires to dispel. Jesus established his church to destroy ignorance and error through its proclamation of the truth of Jesus Christ. We have the gift of 2,000 years of saints who lived the faith – 2,000 years of liturgy, creeds, prayers, doctrines and dogmas. We also have numerous expressions of our faith in the church’s living members in every corner of the world who draw their life from Jesus.

Through all these, the radiant light of Jesus shines.

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Truly, the home is the first school of faith for all of us.

Jesus went to school.

All such expressions reveal When visiting Nazareth and the activity of learning that many Galilean towns some years has overcome the deadly foe of back, I saw how each village ignorance. Yet the work goes on until the end of this world. Every had its own synagogue where age must learn anew. No wonder the young people and adults of God constantly reminded his the village went to learn their people to remember. faith. Jesus would No wonder Jesus have attended such a Spiritual fitness synagogue like everyestablished the New requires us to one else. Of course, Covenant at the end know our faith.

Joseph and Mary of his life and told us We need to dig would have been his to “Do this in meminto the sacred first and constant inory of me.” Remem- Scriptures as bering takes study, though they were structors of the faith. prayer and living Parents have a huge a sand box. the faith, but it has a role in dispelling great power to dispel the evil of ignorance. Truly, the home is the ignorance. first school of faith for all of us.

Another place Jesus went to Spiritual fitness requires us learn was the Temple in Jerusato know our faith. We need to lem, as early as age 12. As the dig into the sacred Scriptures as Gospel of Luke says “Jesus, for though they were a sand box. his part, progressed steadily in One way I became more wisdom and age and grace before motivated to learn the faith was God and men. (Luke 2:52) When Jeto think about Jesus and his own experience of learning. Even sus began his ministry, he taught

May 2006

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ual fitness

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Spiritual Exercise:

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his month, we will ask the Lord to dispel our own ignorance with his wisdom and light. To begin, pick one aspect of the faith or practice of the church, or even some current social issue you feel you know very little about. It is very possible for us to be ignorant of our ignorance! One quick cure for this is to go through the creed or catechism and ask yourself “Do I really understand what this means?” Gather some information about the topic you feel ignorant about and bring it to the Lord. Begin with the sign of the cross and acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is our teacher.

Pray: Father, you are the source of all knowledge, wisdom, and light. Send your Spirit upon me that I may come to a deeper knowledge of my faith.

You infused this gift of faith in me at baptism. Deepen my faith so I may hold more firmly to it.

Broaden my faith so my love and awe may grow all the more. Help me to hold fast to the truths you have revealed in Jesus Christ, and to seek to understand what you have revealed and why you have revealed it. Dispel my ignorance and replace it with a new understanding and love for you.

I know that I “don’t know” so much, but let what I do know draw me ever more to love you. Amen.

After praying this prayer, meditate and read the material on that which you would like to grow in knowledge of and let yourself be drawn to considering what you do not know.

Ask Jesus to explain things to you. Think about it. Do not be afraid to admit your ignorance to him. ... Study more and get a book to read or a tape to listen to. In all things, let your meditation lead you to God. End by praying the Creed or the following prayer of praise.

Go through the creed or catechism and ask yourself “Do I really understand what this means?”

T. Gennara

in the synagogues and temple.

Interestingly, a similar pattern of teaching has existed in the church from the beginning. Local parishes throughout the world have served as centers of learning for their community, much like synagogues in Jesus’ day. Historians show evidence of parish schools dating all the way back to the second century.

Those seeking entrance into the church (catechumens) learned their faith through catechetical instruction from the bishop. Priests, deacons and catechists were also involved in these cathedral schools. Cathedrals are churches so named because they hold the bishop’s chair or cathedra. The chair is a sign of the teaching office of the bishop.

Every diocese has one cathedral church, and through the ages, cathedral churches established schools for the faithful. Often these schools would train young men to be priests, or serve in the church in some way.

As the church grew, monasteries also became important centers of learning. Many great saints were educated through monastic schools. Some scholars have even claimed that such efforts actually saved Western civilization. (How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill; How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

by Thomas E. Woods) Later on, universities and colleges were established.

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus told his Apostles to go out and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them and “teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you.”(Matt 28:20) Through the ages, the church has done just that in numerous ways.

Prayer of praise to the Holy Trinity inspired by Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Praise to you, O Lord, who in the beginning created us in freedom.

Praise to you, O Lord, who endowed us with reason and free will.

Praise to you, O Just Father, who in your love has desired to have us for your very own.

Praise to you, O Holy Son, who for our salvation became human and died on the cross for us.

Praise to you, O Spirit of Life, who has enriched us with your spiritual gifts.

Praise to you, O Lord, who has brought us to know your divinity.

Praise to you, Lord, who has made us worthy to join with the angels in praising you.

Praise to you, O Lord, for you have dispelled our ignorance and given us light.

From every mouth, let praise rise up to you – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. On the heights and in the depths, let there be praise to the Holy Trinity, on earth and in heaven, from beginning to the end of time, world without end. Amen.

– Fr. Bill Ashbaugh

4/5/06 10:44:39 AM

Recipe

Meatloaf?

Grilled cheese?

Maybe – or maybe it’s a miracle!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich You’ll need: • Vanilla pound cake (storebought is fine) • One cup vanilla or buttercream frosting (store-bought is fine here, too) • Red and yellow food coloring

Cut the pound cake into one-inch slices and lightly toast in a toaster or toaster oven until they turn light golden brown. Let cool 8-10 minutes.

Once cooled, stack two slices for each sandwich and cut in half diagonally. Do this first to avoid making crumbs. Set “bread” slices aside and add a couple of drops of yellow and red food coloring to the can of frosting. More yellow than red is better for realisticlooking American cheese. Carefully spread a generous amount of frosting between slices of each half of sandwich. Gently press down on the sandwich so the frosting slightly oozes out of the sandwich, creating a melted cheese effect.

I suggest that you actually serve these after the main course. It will be something totally unexpected for family or friends and a great opportunity to discuss God’s unexpected miracles. Have fun!

By Michelle Sessions DiFranco | Photography by Phillip Shippert

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c u l t u r e

Recipe

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here are a number of different true miracles that have been recorded in history.

Jesus was known to be a healer, not only of physical disease and ailments, but the “disease” of human sin. He had the miraculous ability to drive out physical and psychological demons from the afflicted. He could also multiply a few loaves of bread and some fish in order to feed a multitude.

There are those true miracles of life. So are the ordinary miracles of a cocoon hatching into a butterfly – or even more astounding, the miracle of a human embryo with developing arms, hands, legs and heartbeat. Many people describe the birth of a baby as the greatest miracle of their lives.

You may be thinkTrue miracles happen in many ing, “What in the different ways and they hapheck does a grilled pen every day. These are the cheese sandwich unexpected miracles we don’t and meatloaf see – miracles that happen recipe have to do when we aren’t even with true unexaware of them. For pected miracles?” instance, we may Read the ingredi- have emerged ents and ponder unharmed from a life’s surprises. car accident.

Or God may have “opened a door” for us by placing in our paths a new friend who is there for us during a difficult time. Typically, it is our human tendency to think of these situations as fortuitous coincidences, rather than as miracles.

These surprising “miracles” are something worth thinking about and even praying for. Discuss them with a spouse, a friend or your children.

Have you ever thought of opening up the lines of discussion over a grilled cheese sandwich or some meatloaf at dinnertime? I highly recommend it. You may be thinking, “What in the heck does a grilled cheese sandwich and meatloaf recipe have to do with true unexpected miracles?” Read the ingredients and ponder life’s surprises.

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Meat Loaf You’ll need: • One 5” by 9” bread pan • 6 cups cocoaflavored crisp rice cereal • One 10-ounce bag regular marshmallows • Red and green rolled fruit snacks • 1⁄2 cup dried pineapple • 2 tablespoons butter • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Coat the bread pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a food processor, quickly pulse the cereal. Crushing the cereal with a rolling pin in a large ziptopped freezer bag will work, if you don’t own a food processor.

Chop all of the rolled fruit snacks and dried pineapple into small bits. Set all ingredients aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and stir until mixed. Add the bag of marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add cereal, chopped fruit snacks and dried pineapple to the marshmallow mixture. Stir quickly, using a rubber spatula coated with cooking spray or butter, until well mixed.

Press mixture evenly into pan and let cool for 30 minutes. For a more convincing meatloaf, slice it up and place on a serving platter.

4/5/06 10:45:01 AM

“Where do you stand?”

FAITH talks to Ralph Winter, producer of X-Men 3 e x c l u s i v e

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alph Winter is the producer of X-Men 3, the third in a blockbuster trilogy of films based on the Marvel Comics series about mutants. FAITH spoke with him about his movies and about the way he lives his own Christian commitment through them.

FAITH: What can you tell me about the movie that is exciting and different, compared to XMen 2? Are you going to be able to top that?

Ralph Winter: Absolutely, we’re going to top that. We have a better story. We have a new director, so we have a new chef in the kitchen with the same ingredients.

All the cast is back. This is a capper to the first two movies, concluding these stories about the battle of values and action that Professor Xavier and Magneto have back and forth.

I know one of the themes in the movie is about a “cure” for the mutant gene. This seems to fit in with a number of current concerns held by disabilities awareness groups.

We address that in the movie. Curing mutants goes to a long-standing argument about one of the underlying themes of the movie regarding tolerance. Is being a mutant something that can be “cured”?

For example, Magneto was a survivor of the Nazi extermination camps. We did a flashback in the first movie to show that he was marked. He was scheduled for extermination, only because he was a Jew. Should he be “cured” of being Jewish? Is being of a different color something that can be “cured”?

It gets to be a very emotional, dramatic argument, and you can fill in the blanks there with almost anything. I think that’s one of the reasons the first two movies have resonated with audiences. And this won’t disappoint in that same way.

I understand you’re a very committed Christian.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you’ve lived out your faith through your career?

Well, first of all, I don’t see it as a dichotomy. I don’t see it as something I do Monday to Friday and there’s something else I live on Saturday and Sunday. I feel that storytelling – movies – are probably the most powerful form FAITH Magazine

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of communication and influence in our culture today. So I feel fortunate that I can be involved in that because I love it – I love telling stories, I love producing movies. I love seeing audiences react to a television show or a theater piece or a movie and get emotionally moved by it.

And, you know, as a Christian, I feel like I’ve been chosen to help reflect God’s love in whatever that might be. Part of that is in the actual stories that get told and in the way they get told. That’s about being salt and light.

It’s also about being part of the process – showing that there’s a way to treat people with respect and pay a fair wage and make the process enjoyable and reflect God’s love along the way. That’s almost more important than the end product – the journey as Christians. It’s what it’s all about.

There does seem to be a religious theme running through a number of recent “comic book” movies, such as Spiderman and the X-Men series. But it

doesn’t hit you over the head.

Yeah, I’ve made that mistake in the past. I made the first Left Behind movie and I wasn’t happy with the results. Nobody wants to go to a movie with an agenda or where they’re preached at. That’s not what stories and movies do best. They do best at entertaining. And if there are values the hero has that you want to communicate, then you have to show that in an entertaining way and show it by what the hero does, not what the hero says. That’s what we strive to do.

What about Left Behind was a disappointment?

The people who were controlling the purse strings were more inter-

By Elizabeth Solsburg | Photography provided by FOX Films

4/5/06 10:45:18 AM

exclusive s e I know you contribute to Act I. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Yeah! Barbara Nicolosi runs that – she’s great. They’ve done a terrific job of trying to inform talented people of faith who want to work in Hollywood what the standards are, how to do that, how to integrate faith and skill in the marketplace.

I think she’s doing a phenomenal job of connecting working professionals with those who want to break in, but doing it in a way that says, “We’re going to come at this from a position of faith, because that’s going to inform the way we work and we want it to inform the stuff that we write.”

For example, in a movie like X-Men 2, people saw a character like Nightcrawler, a person of faith who looked like a devil with a tail.

But Brian (the director) did it in such a way so as not to denigrate Nightcrawler. His friends didn’t

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make fun of him; they respected him. He quoted psalms when he was in trouble – he prayed when he was in trouble. His faith was informing his choices along the way.

‘‘

I understand you convinced Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart to change a plot line in X-Men. Yes, that was in the first movie.

It involved the violence of showing Magneto actually killing someone. It sort of upped the stakes – it’s a common technique in storytelling that if I kill someone, it shows that I’m serious about what I’m doing and that there are significant stakes.

I had an opportunity with Patrick and Ian to say, “Do you really want your kid, your family, your friends to see a movie where the first thing Magneto does is to kill a cop? Isn’t there a better way to do this?” So I enlisted their support to challenge Brian Singer and Brian came up with an incredibly clever idea, which was to show Magneto, who can control metal, actually controlling the bullet.

It was spinning right in front of the cop’s head. He achieved both – the stakes are high and I will fire the gun, but I don’t know how long I can hold off the bullet.

Who’s your favorite comic book character?

I like Wolverine. Maybe because I’m working on the movie right now, I feel like he’s a character that you’d want to be around.

He knows when to fight, he knows when not to fight. There’s a sense of justice in what he does. There’s a softer, more tender side to him underneath the rough exterior. He does care about his fellow mutants on the journey. I like being with that character; I want to see what that character does next in more X-Men movies.

That’s what draws me to Indiana Jones, James Bond, Captain Kirk.

They are movie heroes who transport us to another world. I think when we do the best job of that, we want to go be with Maximus in Gladiator because he values the kinds of things that I want to value in my life.

‘‘

ested in it becoming an evangelical tool than they were in telling the story that I was attracted to. Again, it points to the fact that the journey we’re on as Christians should be about relationship and process, not about trying to convert people through a movie.

The journey we’re on as Christians should be about relationship and process, not about trying to convert people through a movie.

Read the full interview, along with other exclusive essays, features and news briefs only on FAITHmag.com

X-Men 3 opens May 26, 2006.

Anything else?

There’s action in this movie, but there’s also some serious thinking that you can engage in as an adult.

One of the things we’re promoting on billboards and the sides of buses is, “Take a stand.” Where are you going to stand in this battle?

4/5/06 10:45:30 AM

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n e w s

Chelsea Knights of Columbus support Philippine Mission The Chelsea Council of the Knights of Columbus conducted a fundraising dinner for a Philippine mission, The House of the Holy Family, in Legazpi City. Father Matthew Weber, a member of the Servants of Charity, is a council member who has been serving in the Philippines for the past two years. The mission helps the poor Event Chair, Ken VanGolen works with Grand Knight and houses 10 severely disabled Gary Kistka to set-up the parish hall for the spaghetti children. They also provide medidinner they are about to serve. cal care for 35 other developmenmay readings tally disabled children, health care to 50 patients per week, food for 50 children a day and job skills training. The fundraiser at St. Mary Sunday, Parish, Chelsea, raised $2,000 for the charity.

May 7

Dominicans celebrate 800th anniversary This year marks the 800th anniversary of the monastery in Prouilhe, France, founded by St. Dominic Guzman. This first monastery is the cornerstone of the Dominican Order. The Adrian Dominican Sisters, located in the Diocese of Lansing, belong to the Order of Preachers, whose members include brothers, contemplative nuns, congregations of contemplative and apostolic sisters and lay persons.

Requiescat in pace Father Gilbert Rahrig, formerly pastor of St. Joseph, Howell, passed into eternal life on March 18. Father Rahrig also served at St. Joseph, Kalamazoo and Holy Family, Decatur during his priesthood.

things to do: St. Mary Catholic School, Pinckney, is hosting its ninth annual benefit auction Sat., April 29. This year’s theme is Cruise and the highlight of the evening is a live auction under the stars on the Lido deck. Auction items include trips and vacation packages. Visit www.stmarypinckney. org or call 810.231.0095.

Steak & Song @STA, a musical fundraiser for the St. Thomas Aquinas (E. Lansing) Music Ministry, will be held Sat., April 29, 5:30-8 p.m. Contact 517.351.7215. Tickets are $10 FAITH Magazine

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in advance and $12 at the door.

The 2nd Annual Spring Auction will be held at Holy Spirit School, Hamburg, Fri., April 28, 7-10 p.m. Admission is free and there will be live entertainment and many bid items. Call 810.231.9199, ex. 214.

Big Daddy Weave Christian concert will be held at Swartz Creek Hometown Days, June 3, 6 p.m. Visit www.hometowndays. com for ticket information.

Catholics Returning Home, a program for those who wish to renew their relationship with the Catholic Church, is offered at St.

Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4:8-12 Ps 118:1,89,21-23,26,29 1 John 3:1-2 John 10:11-18 Sunday, May 14 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 9:26-31 Ps 22:2627,28,30,3132 1 John 3:18-24 John 15:1-8 Sunday, May21 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 10:2526,34-35,4448 Ps 98:1-4 1 John 4:7-10 John 15:9-17 Sunday, May 28 The Ascension of our Lord Acts 1:1-11 Ps 47:2-3,6-9 Eph 1:17-23 or 4:1-13 or 4:17,11-13 Mark 16:15-20

Volunteers from the Diocese of Lansing reach out to Katrina survivors in New Orleans A volunteer group of 16 adults from 11 Lansing regional Catholic parishes traveled to the city of New Orleans to help Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their damaged homes.

Jim Miner, volunteer team leader, learned about Operation Helping Hands, a relief effort of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, and organized the volunteers to commit to this short-term service. The team tore out damaged walls, ceilings and flooring; and then sanitized the residences to kill bacteria and mold. Volunteers ranged in age from 19 to 71. For information about future trips, contact jim@minercom.com.

Mary Parish, Adrian, April 20-May 25 at 7 p.m. Call 517.263.4681.

Duc in Altum III, a course in evangelization, will be sponsored by Youth to Youth Catholic Evangelization, July 24-30, Mt. Zion Catholic Pastoral Center, Flushing. Cost is $150. Call 810.639.7175 or visit www.

YouthToYouthCatholic.com.

Sisters of the Living Word are hosting a vocation retreat for young women on May 12-14 in Arlington Heights, Ill. Single women, 18-40, are invited to explore their vocations. There is no fee, but advance registration is required. E-mail glumbs@aol.com.

May 2006

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faith or reason? do we have to choose or can we have both?

An alternative spring break in New Orleans

l a s t

Fourteen members of Generation Christ, a young adult group at St. Thomas Parish, Ann Arbor, traveled to New Orleans to assist with Operation Helping Hands.

On Ash Wednesday, the group began gutting the home of James and Maisy McGinty, 81 and 80 years old, whose home was devastated and mold-ridden. It pained the volunteers that everything had to be thrown away, except for what would fit in one small box – a crucifix, a couple of images of Mary and some family photos. One volunteer remarked, “We were all once again reminded that we should not be attached to material things, for you never know when they might be destroyed and taken away.”

Fiction of The Da Vinci Code, will give two parish talks on April 30.

She will speak at St. Thomas the Apostle, Ann Arbor at 2 p.m. and at St. Thomas Aquinas, East Lansing at 5 p.m. Free.

At the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt may café events Fr. Robert S. Rivers, CSP will speak on the topic, From Maintenance to Mission: Evangelization and the Revitalization of the Parish, St. Agnes Parish, Fowlerville, Fri. May 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Call517.342.2510 or e-mail awoelfel@ dioceseoflansing.org.

Catholic Charities Day, a time of prayer, fellowship and renewal, well be held May 4, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Bishop Mengeling will celebrate Mass and talk about Pope Benedict’s encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. There will also be presentations by Michael Andrews, director of catechesis, Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA and Msgr. Robert Lunsford. Call 517.342.2465.

Fr. John Riccardo will speak at the St. Patrick Catholic Men’s Spiritual Movement on Thurs., May 18 , 7-9 p.m. Call Ron at 810.229.9863.

Amy Welborn, author of Decoding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the

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My Unknown Child, My Loss Beyond Words, an adult grief recovery retreat day for Catholic women and men who have suffered a loss through miscarriage, still birth, or neonatal death, will be held May 6. Call 866 6698321.

A Mother/Daughter Retreat, an invitation for the women of your family to pray, share, listen, rest and be together. May 12- 13. Call 866 669-8321.

Summer Scripture Days will be held at Bethany House, DeWitt, Aug. 22-24. Father William Wegher will speak about praying the psalms.

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e are all aware of the current debates over creationism and science, particularly with regard to public school curricula dealing with our origins, the big bang theory, and the question of why we exist at all. The debate is as old as it is fresh. Are science and faith compatible with each other? Our church answers, “Yes.” The church has nothing to fear from the truth. The list of Catholic colleges and universities worldwide is huge. Faith, we assert, is an act of reason. It is a reasonable thing to have faith.

In writing his famous Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas appealed to the natural sciences and to human reason to support his theological arguments. He was opposed by the religious conservatives of his day, who insisted that the only reliable truth comes to us from God’s revelation in Scripture and tradition. They nearly succeeded in labeling Aquinas as a heretic, relying on St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians: “See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8) Some fundamentalists in our day hold to the same position.

Nicolaus Copernicus declared that Earth was not the center of the solar system and Galileo Galilei, using a telescope, proved him to be true. Their antagonists, however, due to miscomprehensions of the truth, succeeded in bringing the church ridicule during the subsequent Enlightenment, which began in the 1700s.

Do I need to understand before I can believe, or do I believe in order that I might understand? St. Augustine said, “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but to believe that you may understand.” In his encyclical Fides et Ratio, Pope John Paul II wrote “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”

To assert that the only source of reliable truth is found in revelation is as misguided as to assert that the only source of reliable truth is found in science. One without the other leads to a suffocating intellectual totalitarianism.

The human spirit needs to breathe the life-giving oxygen flowing into both lungs that allows the human mind to flourish and develop.

– Fr. Charles Irvin

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E. Odigie

209 Seymour Ave. Lansing, MI 48933 Online:

www.DioceseofLansing.org www.FAITHmag.com

The Outreach Mass: Sundays On TV:

Flint: Lansing:

FOX 66 10 a.m.

WHTV, UPN 18 10 a.m.

WLAJ, ABC 53 at 6 a.m.

On Radio: Mass, 11 a.m. on WJIM 1240 AM

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