December 2005

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Planned debt borrowing with a purpose

As an aduk Catholic, do I need a oonversion?

Why we all need a change of heart I culture

Make time to share a surprise

D·A·T·E tips final installment 4 tips to lasting communication

a tasty tradition make this special coffee cake for] esus' birthday work

life

how to shift to being the boss

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God’s gentle invitation called me home f r o m

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here is a chapter of my life that I want to share with you, but I’m not very proud of it. It centers on the time that I was in college and it has had a profound impact on my life. It may provide some hope and, in its own way, offer some encouragement.

When I went away to college in Ann Arbor, I found myself taking advantage of the novel freedom that is part of every new college student’s life. Since I was no longer under the direct influence of the benevolent dictatorship of my parents, I discovered that I could put Sunday morning to a variety of different uses. Initially, I tried to make sure that I went to Mass as regularly as possible. However, as the cold of winter began to settle in, I found that it was more enticing to turn off the alarm, roll over, and enjoy a few more hours of sleep.

One week turned into a month. One month turned into a few more. Certainly, whenever I was home, I made sure to attend Mass with my family, but when I was on my own, I found it easier to fill my Sundays with a variety of distractions. All the while, though, I felt something–or was it Someone?–tugging at my heart. I knew that I was missing something in my life, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. That feeling was there, at the periphery, and it would not go away.

It took a while for This pattern continued for several years until, one weekend, some Catholic friends me to respond to invited me to come to Mass with them. I had just bought my first car, so the transporGod’s invitation tation question was solved. Through their gentle coaxing, I accepted their invitation extended through and joined them for Mass one Sunday morning at St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor. I the gentle words walked through the doors of the church and suddenly felt back home. That gentle tug and actions of oth- in my heart had cooperated with my friends’ gentle invitation, and God led me back ers, but it worked. to where I had needed to be all along.

There were other invitations that quickly followed – invitations that encouraged me to begin making use of my God-given gifts in ways that gave me a sense of interior satisfaction. Soon, I knew that I had been re-connected with a reality much larger than myself – I had been re-connected with Jesus, who had been patiently, lovingly, persistently tugging at my heart and leading me by the hand back to a deeper relationship with him and with his church. The rest, as we might say, is history.

It took a while for me to respond to God’s invitation extended through the gentle words and actions of others, but it worked. There was no wagging of the index finger, no guilt-tripping and no harsh words. That lesson about the power of faithful, patient, gentle invitation in my own life has influenced me profoundly and it literally changed the course of my life.

During the quiet weeks of Advent, before the dawn of Christmas, I encourage each of you to offer that same gentle invitation to someone you know. Perhaps he has been away from the church for a while. Perhaps she has been looking for a deeper relationship with God and simply can’t name it as such. Perhaps they find themselves on a journey of faith, looking for a church to call home. Isn’t it possible for each of us, in our own gentle way, to extend a hand of invitation and a few words of encouragement? We can be a people of welcome and overcome obstacles so that, together, our journey in FAITH can continue.

T. Gennara

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

Liturgical Calendar: St. Francis Xavier, Priest Dec. 3 | St. Nicholas, Bishop Dec. 6 | St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor Dec. 7 | Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (holy day

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insi inside 24 what you’ll get out of this issue • Dear Fr. Joe: What does it mean to be ‘born again?’

6 in the know with Fr. Joe

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– Fr. Joseph Krupp

• Some musings – becoming and being a bishop.

10 from the bishop

o u r

s t o r y : Communion couple – at last Paul Thompson can share the Eucharistic experience with his wife, Jenny.

Paul Thompson felt left out at Mass.

Learn about his conversion journey and the joy of receiving Communion with his wife, Jenny. – Patricia Majher

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p r o f i l e Hearing God’s persistent call – the conversion of Fr. Mike Depcik.

Fr. Mike Depcik is one of the country’s few deaf priests. After leaving the church as a young man, he heard God calling him to come home – and to be ordained. – Marybeth Hicks

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F A I T H e x c l u s i v e Anne Rice – Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt.

In a radical departure from her vampire chronicles, popular author Anne Rice writes about Jesus Christ as a child. Find out what motivated her to write and why she came back to the church.

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– Elizabeth Solsburg

c o v e r

Why I came back – Mike Eichhorn’s journey away from the church and back home again.

Mike Eichhorn’s mother suffered a major stroke at age 45; his beloved wife died at 36. Find out why Mike left the Catholic Church and why he came back home.

– Nancy Schertzing

– Bishop Carl Mengeling

• How to shift to being the boss.

17 work life – Tim Ryan • Planned debt – borrowing with a purpose. Make time to share a surprise! D-A-T-E tips, final installment. 4 tips to lasting communication.

20 your marriage matters • The transition to parenting a young adult.

21 the journey – Dr. Cathleen McGreal

• As an adult Catholic, do I need a conversion? Why we all need a change of heart.

22 spiritual fitness – Fr. Bill Ashbaugh

• A tasty tradition – make this special coffee cake for Jesus’ birthday.

24 culture – Michelle DiFranco • I was baptized – what else do I need to do?

31 the last word – Fr. Charles Irvin

oly day of obligation) Dec. 8 | St. Juan Diego, Hermit Dec. 9 | Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12 | St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Dec. 13 | St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor Dec. 14

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The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing

Most Reverend Carl F. Mengeling PUBLISHER

Rev. Charles Irvin FOUNDING EDITOR

who’s new in Diocese of Lansing ministry

December 2005 • Volume 6 : Issue 10

Rev. Dwight Ezop EDITOR IN CHIEF

Patrick M. O’Brien MANAGING EDITOR/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Elizabeth Martin Solsburg ASSISTANT EDITOR/STAFF WRITER

Patrick Dally ART DIRECTOR/WEB DESIGNER

Jillane Job SUBSCRIPTIONS/SECRETARY

Patricia Oliver SECRETARY

Allena Tapia EDITORIAL INTERN

Rev. William Ashbaugh Michelle DiFranco Tom and JoAnne Fogle Marybeth Hicks Rev. Joseph Krupp Patricia Majher Cathleen McGreal John Morris Pat Nischan Rick and Diane Peiffer Patrick Rinker Tim Ryan Nancy Schertzing CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Derek Melot Margaret Perrone PROOFREADING

Tom Gennara Christine Jones James Luning (cover) CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Michael Andrews is the new director of catechesis for the diocese. Michael is a Flint native who converted to Catholicism from Lutheranism when he was 18. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and his M.Div. (cum laude) from Mount St. Mary in Maryland. After a brief stint as the assistant editor of the Arlington Catholic Herald in Virginia, he returned to Michigan to minister as the director of adult education and evangelization

for Sts. Charles and Helena Parish and then the parish of St. Joseph in St. Johns. Michael is dedicated to catechesis and family life and one of his priorities in his new position is helping refocus and deepen spirituality in families.

He plans to add a little high-tech communication to his diocesan ministry as well.

Little-known fact: Michael met Mother Teresa when she came to visit his seminary in 1995. He treasures the two miraculous medals she gave him during her visit.

in the beginning

by Chris Sushynski

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

Amy 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.

Subscriptions: 1.888.FAITH.90

Oooo! A burning bush!, I can’t pass this up!

Find daily changing Catholic news, Web exclusives and more on FAITHmag.com

St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor Dec. 21 | St. John of Kanty, Priest Dec. 23 | Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Dec. 25 | St. Stephen, Martyr Dec. 26 | St. John, Apostle and Evangelis

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web sai in the still of the night

Catching a moment to listen to your son o n l i n e

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am standing in the hallway outside my son’s bedroom door, listening. OK, I’m eavesdropping – but it’s the only way I’m going to find out what’s really going on in his life.

Not that I don’t ask him directly. Every afternoon in the van at the end of a long school day, I pitch questions such as, “What made today fun?” or “What happened that surprised you today?”

I’ve read parenting articles that recommend asking open-ended questions rather than those that can be answered with a simple “yes,” “no” or the most meaningless reply, “fine.” So, instead, I ask things that should elicit a thoughtful response.

Unfortunately, the answer I get from my son these days is “nothing.”

How is this possible? He leaves the house before 8 a.m. and doesn’t climb into the car until after 3 p.m. It’s inconI’ve read parenting ceivable to me that in more than seven hours away from home, nothing happens that is even articles that recremotely remarkable. ommend asking open-ended ques- Yet, ever since he started sixth grade, I’ve noticed a change in my son. The boy who can tions rather than those that can be talk for seven or eight minutes without a breath about last week’s soccer game or last night’s Yananswered with a simple “yes,” “no” kees game or the last frozen waffle in the refrigor the most mean- erator is suddenly mute about middle school. ingless reply, “fine.” When I ask, “Who did you hang with at recess?” the answer is, “My friends.”

Unfortunately, If I probe with, “Tell me about your classes,” I the answer I get from my son these get, “They’re boring.”

Once I asked, “So, do you have a girlfriend?” days is “nothing.”

He said, “No. Should I?” This felt like a conversational victory.

“Of course not,” I said. “I just wanted to see what you’d say.”

It seems unlikely that overnight my son has developed the male propensity for uncommunicativeness. His voice hasn’t even started to crack, so it’s too early for him to bury his face behind a newspaper and ignore the woman asking what he might like for dinner.

Besides, what I hear while standing in the dark is proof he’s still talking. He’s just not talking to me.

Read the rest of Marybeth Hicks’ article, along with other exclusive stories, interviews and news events on FAITHmag.com

St. Peter Canisius

wrote a catechism s a i n t

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St. Peter Canisius born: May 8, 1521 died: Nov. 21, 1597 Feast Day: Dec. 21 Claim to fame: Known as the “Second Apostle of Germany,” Dutch-born Peter Canisius is a doctor of the church, recognized for the catechism he wrote in response to the attacks and distortions of Catholic belief by followers of the Protestant Reformation. Peter offered to help his friend, Father Lejay, write the catechism, but didn’t want to be the main author. However, when Lejay died, Peter had no choice but to tackle the job. The catechism, published in 1555, was an immediate hit. During his lifetime, the catechism went through 200 editions and was translated into 12 languages. Because there was such a great need, Peter also wrote two special editions of the catechism for younger Catholics – one for students that focused on a different virtue for each day of the week, and one for very young children that included basic prayers for morning, evening and mealtimes.

Little-known fact: In 1565, St. Peter was a “secret agent” for the Vatican, smuggling copies of the decrees from the Council of Trent into the hands of all the bishops in Europe. The 43-year-old Jesuit was well-known as the founder of several well-respected colleges, so he was able to travel from Rome to Germany, supposedly as a “visitor” of Jesuit foundations, but really delivering the valuable church documents into safe hands.

What made him a saint: Peter Canisius desired to bring an accurate perception of Catholic belief to people. He did it in a way that won them over by good example rather than threats or attacks. He followed the Jesuit tradition that harsh words or actions should not be used. For example, after reforming German universities from heresy, he was called to Vienna to do likewise. The people there didn’t like his German accent and wouldn’t listen to his preaching. So he endeared himself to them by working with the sick and dying during a plague that afflicted the city. After that, the people wanted the pope to make Peter their bishop. Peter declined, but he did stay and work in the diocese for a year. His writings on church history and theology, his catechism, and his work establishing Catholic colleges throughout northern Europe helped to bring many people to a clearer understanding of their faith.

Best quote: “If you have too much to do, with God’s help you will find time to do it all.”

How he died: Peter Canisius died of old age on Dec. 21, 1597 in Switzerland.

Prayer: Lord, you gave Saint Peter Canisius wisdom and courage to defend the Catholic faith. By the help of his prayers, may all who seek the truth rejoice in finding you, and may all who believe in you be loyal in professing their faith. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. – Elizabeth Johnson

vangelist Dec. 27 | The Holy Innocents, Martyrs Dec. 28 | St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr Dec. 29 | Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Dec. 30 | St. Sylvester I, Pope Dec.31

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frr. jjoe S

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dear Fr. Joe:

do I need to convert?

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Dear Fr. Joe: I’ve always been Catholic, do I need to have a conversion experience and what would that look and feel like?

What do people mean when they ask if I am “born again?”

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verybody needs a conversion experience.

Even more than that, all of us need a daily conversion experience. Well, maybe not my mother.

I think I will answer the “born again” question before breaking the previous line down, so that my answer on the conversion question will make more sense.

In your baptism, you were born again. The waters in the baptismal font are the waters of the womb of our holy mother, the church. You went in the water and emerged a new creation. At that point, your heart was directed toward God in a special way. Some other things happened, but I am focusing on your question.

So, you were born again if you were baptized. The problem is, for a great many people, there wasn’t a ton of “follow through” after that. If that is the case, then you need to be “born again.”

Think of it this way: Baptism gives you all the grace you need, but you have to respond to it each day in order to be fully born again. It’s like someone giving me Double Stuf Oreos – receiving them is nice, but eating them is divine.

Being born again is an expression that Jesus used to describe the process of entering into a personal relationship with him. This is when you, as an adult, make a commitment to Jesus to live the way he has called you to live.

It’s called being born again because it is a rebirth – it’s that moment when all our priorities change, when the way we view the world changes. We are a new creature in Christ when we are born again. We give ourselves to Jesus: heart, mind, body and soul.

We give him absolute lordship in our lives. This surrender will change us radically.

When, where and how do you do it?

Anywhere, FAITH Magazine

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A friend of mine recently asked me a great question. He said “Father, if we are put on this earth to love others, what exactly are others put here for?”

My editor said we probably won’t cover that one here anytime soon ... anytime (though I am partial to doing this in front of the Blessed Sacrament). You get down on your knees and surrender your life to Jesus.

I am not going to tell you how to pray, because you know what you need to say.

Christianity is, in my mind, first and foremost about surrender.

Conversion is a huge part of this.

See, the closer we draw to Jesus, the more we realize how we have fallen short and how we continue to fall short. God understands this and meets us in our frailty, but he always, always wants us to do our best with his help.

Conversion starts when we see the gap between who we are and who we are called to be; it contin-

ues when we feel sorrow about that gap and it reaches its pinnacle when we ask God’s forgiveness and help.

God will fill that gap.

This process of conversion is prompted and maintained by grace, or strength from heaven, and it must be a daily event.

Enjoy another day in God’s presence – Fr. Joseph Krupp

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

JoeInBlack@priest.com

December 2005

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quiz poll po pol this month in history

FAITH asks:

what do you want for Christmas?

December of what year? h i s t o r y

q u i z

p a r i s h

Thomas Edison created the first string of Christmas lights on Dec. 22, WHAT YEAR?

p o l l

We asked third-graders at Sacred Heart School in Hudson: What was the best Christmas gift you ever received? What do you want for Christmas this year?

“The world’s a big blue marble.” A camera mounted on the nose of a missile took the first color picture of Earth from space on Dec. 1, WHAT YEAR? The classic holiday short story, The Gift of the Magi, by William Sydney Porter (a.k.a. O. Henry) was published on Dec. 10, WHAT YEAR? The story, about two newlyweds who sacrifice their most prized possessions in order to buy Christmas gifts for each other, has been dramatized and retold in many ways, including versions with Sesame Street’s Ernie and Bert and Disney’s Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Composer Ludwig von Beethoven, whose spectacular Ode to Joy is heard in churches throughout the world, was born to a Catholic family in Bonn, Germany, on Dec. 16, WHAT YEAR? His Ninth Symphony, which features the Ode to Joy, was dedicated by Beethoven to “my God, who never abandoned me.”

1882, 1959, 1905, 1770

“When I was in prison, you visited me.”

The Prisoner Pen Pal Ministry, operated out of the Office of Restorative Justice, is looking for anyone 18 years of age and older who is willing to write one letter a month to a prisoner in our diocese. For many of these men and women, these letters are the only contact they have with healthy community life. One prisoner wrote, “They gave me warmth and hope and the remembrances of times long ago when I was a part of a real family – full of life, love and God’s presence.” As a pen pal you can be assured of your total anonymity and privacy. All letters are screened in our office, in both directions. If you are interested in knowing more, we can send you the volunteer guidelines pamphlet as well as the prisoner guide-

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Rianna: The best Christmas gift I ever received was when I got my American Girl doll. This year, I want an art set for Christmas.

Jared: The best Christmas gift I ever received was my train roundhouse.

This year, what I want for Christmas is the Thomas the Tank electric engine and Bertie the bus.

lines. This is a great opportunity for service for those who are homebound or disabled. Please contact the Office of Restorative Justice at 517.342.2469 for more information.

The Department of Corrections is reaching out to the faith community in unprecedented fashion, inviting us to assist parolees in their very difficult transition to life in the community. Without family support, most parolees will end up back in prison within 18 months. When no jobs open up and the available housing is full of drugs and alcohol, the likelihood of a return to crime is high. With a support network of trained volunteers who can assist with transportation, literacy skills and recreational time, the parolee is much more likely to achieve a healthy life. We are looking for volunteers willing to

Olivia: The best Christmas gift I ever received was a toy cat and dog. This year, I want a book and a winter hat for Christmas.

o n l i n e

31% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country today.

Gallup Poll 10/18/05

What do you think? help lower the recidivism rate in our areas. All volunteers will be trained and will have their privacy protected. Volunteers will work in pairs and will have coordinator support. Please call the Office of Restorative Justice at 517.342.2469 if you are interested in learning more.

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

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FAITH looks back

Mike and Linda talk in their own words about being lay missionaries t h e t oh l eo og l yo g1 y0 11 0 1

discerning through spiritual highs and lows

Above: Mike and Linda reflect on their “mission year” in Sierra Leone.

Inset: Mike and Linda and some young friends.

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fter a nine-hour flight, our plane landed in Accra, the capital of Ghana. As we rested under the mosquito netting in the Salesian residence hall, we reflected on the decision-making process that led us to commit a year of our lives to a Salesian lay mission program in Sierra Leone, fulfilling our lifelong dream of volunteer service.

When we began this discernment process, we found a publication entitled, Response, A Directory Of Faith-Based Volunteer Opportunities. It was exciting to read about the vast FAITH Magazine

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array of opportunities to serve.

Our next step was practical.

We went to visit a good friend who works as a financial adviser and asked for his help to make this dream a reality.

The Confessions of St. Augustine is considered a classic in western literature.

It’s a “before and after” story.

Augustine writes beautifully of his call: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you ... you called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.”

In discerning a vocation, it may help to ask, “Am I truly going toward someone or something, or am I running away?” For Augustine, it seemed to be both.

Sometimes, people who experience the beauty and richness of the Catholic faith enter into the process known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). They are elated with their newfound faith, having found in Christ and in the church a meaning for life. Some Catholics, on the other hand, find themselves quitting the church for a time, considering it “freedom” from what seems oppressive. Then they return.

In either case, whether you have found the faith for the first time, or through some conversion experience, you have begun to see what Augustine saw – the emptiness of a life without God. In the “spiritual high,” that can come with conversion, some have come to think that God was calling them to the priesthood or religious life, when what was really happening was a first-time awareness of an owned faith or owned spirituality. Wisely, the canon law of the church requires neophytes (those new to the faith) to wait two years before entering into formal formation.

Some have suggested this two-year delay might also be a good thing for any young Augustines of our time. The question is, are you truly running toward, or are you running away? It is wise at this point to seek out a spiritual director and discernment.

After all, Augustine’s famous line, “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in you” applies to all human hearts whatever our call in life. – Fr. Matt Fedewa We also got input from our children, family and friends.

But, most important, we

prayed. We asked God for signs that this dream was something we should pursue.

Support missionary work. Contact the Mission Office of the Diocese of Lansing 517.342.2541

December 2005

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101 bible quiz

missionaries

God’s people pray

Christ’s hands and heart in the world

b i b l e

q u i z

1 Prayed for wisdom to rule Israel (1 Kings 3: 6, 9) 2 Prayed inside a fish 3 Prayed for a son 4 Prayed for fire on Mt. Carmel A Zechariah B Solomon C Elijah D Jonah What did Jonah pray for?

During this time of reflection and discernment, we also made practical plans. We rented our house to some good friends who wanted to help us make the dream a reality. We met with an attorney and established a living trust. We met with family members and good friends who would offer support and All the pieces were falling into advice to our place. We had children. We assessed the experienced sign after sign health and that this was a well-being good decision, of Linda’s that this dream 80-year-old was truly part of mother, who was very our life’s joursupportive ney together. throughout our discernment process.

In August 2002, we completed the orientation process at the Salesian retreat house in New Rochelle, New York. We met priests, brothers, sisters and other lay missioners who had volunteered in other developing countries. All the pieces were falling into place. We had experienced sign after sign that this was a good decision, that this

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hen we read stories like Mike and Linda’s, describing their missionary trip to Sierra Leone, are we nudged by a twinge of guilt? We may wonder if we’re doing enough – being disciples enough. Are we supposed to become missionaries, too?

– Mike and

sent Jesus as an outpouring of love and we are to reflect this love by encouraging everyone to “enable people to share in the communion which exists between the Father and the Son.” (John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio) Our ability to do this is rooted in our personal relationship with Christ – in this sense, every Catholic who has had a personal encounter with the Risen Lord has the heart of a missionary.

So how do we do this?

Some of us are, like Mike and Linda, called to travel the world preaching and teaching. Some of us are called to catechize within our own parishes. Some of us help by, as St. Francis said, “Preaching the Gospel always. Use words when necessary.” We preach the Gospel and act as missionaries when we gather clothing to give to the poor, when we tithe, when we send a check to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, when we donate blood.

In living our Christian vocations, we can be missionaries in our own spheres, bringing Christ’s light to those who have not experienced it. We are given the gift of sharing in Christ’s own purpose in this world. This is why, when sent forth at the end of Mass, we proclaim joyfully, “Thanks be to God!”

Linda Brown

– Elizabeth Solsburg

Answers to July Quiz: 1-e, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a, 5-d.

dream was truly part of our life’s journey together.

This time, at the end of our orientation, we prayed with 30 other lay missioners who were making a similar commitment. We were inspired and ready to make this commitment. We returned home to meet with family and get their blessings. Good friends hosted a prayerful “sending off party.”

Our church community prayed with us and offered us support.

Now, as we rested under mosquito netting and contemplating our last leg of the journey to Sierra Leone, we felt confident that our decision to serve as lay missioners would be one of the best decisions of our lives. And as it turned out, it definitely was.

The church, by its very nature, has a missionary spirit. We are all called to continue Christ’s own mission in the world. The word, mission, comes from the Latin for “to send,” and like the apostles, we are sent into the world at the end of every Mass – to be Christ’s hands, heart and voice in the world. The U.S. Catholic bishops, in Teaching the Spirit of Mission Ad Gentes: Continuing Pentecost Today, remind us that Jesus is the first of all missionaries, since he was sent to all of us by the Father. God

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Diocese of Lansing Archives

FAITH Magazine

10

December 2005

Bishop Kenneth Povish ordains Bishop Carl Mengeling – “In one instant, the Lord’s call set my priestly life in a completely new direction.”

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some musings

becoming and being a bishop

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Diocese of Lansing Archives

ur FAITH editors asked me to share experiences of becoming and being a bishop. They asked, “What gave you pause about becoming a bishop? What are some of the best things about being a bishop and what are some of the most challenging things?” I hope this answers their questions:

About becoming a bishop, I was totally in the dark. I only came into the process at the end, when the papal nuncio informed me in the name of Pope John Paul II and I accepted. Simply put, it’s like a sudden bolt of lightning. It was wholly unexpected, and it was the most transforming and challenging event of my life.

In one instant, the Lord’s call set my priestly life in a completely new direction. It was a total sea change that called for a new vision and broader horizons. All the gears had to be shifted.

Frankly, after 10 years, I’m still working at it, since none of us are ever done with our Lord’s call.

When I was in the seminary from 1948 to 1957, our professors stressed obedience as essential to being a good and happy priest. That reflected their Rule of St. Benedict. They cautioned, “Never ask for anything.” In our time, that means, “Don’t push your own agenda and appointment.” For 38 years, I never asked for anything.

In 1995, I had the bright idea that, since I’d turn 65 in Oct., it would be good to ask for a smaller parish. I had been pastor of a very large parish for 11 years. Retirement was not on my mind. Looking back, I can see my noble pastoral motives were not enough – I wanted to move from a larger to smaller parish for the good of the people in the larger parish to have a younger pastor, and I wanted a smaller parish that had a school. I was still asking for my agenda and assignment.

I did not get what I wanted. The change I requested was granted, but not in my way. Eight days after I turned 65, on October 30, 1995, the answer hit me like a bombshell. I returned to the rectory at about 8:45 p.m., after teaching our weekly Bible class.

Fr. Malarz said that a man with a foreign accent had called, and would call again at 9 p.m. I thought it might be a priest playing a joke, but when I answered the phone, a voice said, “Are you Msgr.

Mengeling?” I said I was and he asked, “How can I be sure it’s you?” I said he could ask one of my assistants. Then he said, “Do you know Justin Rigali?” I said he was one of my closest friends and my caller said, “Now I know it’s you.” He then told me that the Holy Father had appointed me bishop of Lansing, Mich. and asked, “Do you accept?” Words fail to describe my reactions: stunned, overwhelmed, numb. My seminary profs’ voices rang in my ears, “Never say ‘no.’” I accepted, with the grace of God.

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I phoned Bishop Povish and he invited me to his house on Nov. 6. He began to introduce me to the diocese on Tuesday, meeting the diocesan staff and clergy. There was a press conference. It was a daunting challenge, because there is no course called How to Be a Bishop. Bishop Povish was an ever-present and willing guide. I knew no one in the diocese; the only part of the diocese I had ever even seen was I-94 on the way to Stratford. For the first time as a priest, I was to live alone. That was hard.

With such great and willing help, I soon began to feel at home.

Three events happened quickly after my installation as bishop on Jan. 26. Two days later, I met Fr. Mark Inglot and our seminarians, and I celebrated Mass in the chapel at St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing. The next Wednesday, I was the guest of Fr. Dan McKean and the students of St. Mary School in Williamston, where I celebrated Mass. That was my first trip beyond Lansing.

Then came the first confirmation at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Jackson. Our Lady’s intercession enabled me to confirm nearly 100 students.

These years serving the church in Lansing have been happy and blessed for me. I like it here and hope to stay. Many gracefilled and enduring events stand out, but there are many more both great and small. A few of the more outstanding – • The three-year intensive preparation for the Jubilee 2000 celebration. The Jubilee made a great impression on faith and holiness.

• Our diocesan pastoral plan, solemnly decreed at the Chrism Mass of 1999, promulgated seven goals and 68 strategies that are moving us forward in a spirit of unity and collaboration.

• FAITH Magazine, launched in Jubilee 2000, continues as a vital communication to all of our 83,000 households of the message of Jesus Christ.

• Mother Teresa Home for the dying.

• Bethany House, a spiritual life center for youth, made possible through the generous financial support of the Knights of Columbus.

• The new Fr. Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in Ann Arbor.

• The new St. Andrew Dung-Lac Parish, serving our Vietnamese community.

There is so much more, but this is not my farewell. I am now in my 75th year and canon law required that I submit my resignation to the pope at the end of my 75th year – on Oct. 22, 2005.

I asked for something once. I am not asking for anything now. It is in our Lord’s hands.

– Most Rev. Carl F. Mengeling is the fourth bishop of Lansing and publisher of FAITH Magazine.

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December 2005

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In the midst of Mom’s recovery, I had a chance to reevaluate the life I had been living, and I knew it needed to change. I especially regretted the way I had treated some of the women I had known. So I prayed, “God, if you send me a woman to love, I promise I’ll take care of her.”

Soon, I met Theresa. She was 35 and I was 27, but as we got to know each other we fell deeply in love. Theresa had just come out of an abusive marriage and she had lots of reservations about starting a new relationship, especially with someone so young. But I was sure we were meant to be together. Six months after we met, we got married and started our first home.

Mike Eichhorn’s journey away from the church and back home again

By Nancy Schertzing | Photography by Jim Luning

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grew up Catholic and went through all the sacraments. I had a strong foundation in my faith, but in high school I left the church for a while. I spent my early 20s living selfishly as I built my career in television advertising by day and partied freely at night.

When I was 26, my mother suffered a brain stem stroke, which left her completely paralyzed. She was dependent on a tracheotomy and feeding tube at age 45. I remember thinking, “This is my mother! Why is this happening to me, God?” I listened to the Bible on tape as I drove the 50 miles every morning and night between my work and Mom’s hospital. One day I just realized there was no answer. “This has nothing to do with you,” I told myself. “Stop being so selfish.”

It became clear this was about something more than I could understand, and that God didn’t necessarily want me to understand it. My job was to get through this with God’s strength.

After six months of 24-hour attention and coaching from my father, sister and me, my mother was breathing and eating on her own. She went home shortly after, and my father became her full-time caregiver.

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It became clear this was about something more than I could understand, and that God didn’t necessarily want me to understand it. My job was to get through this with God’s strength.

Four months after our wedding, Theresa got really sick and she went in for some tests.

Her doctors diagnosed her with liver cancer – hepatocellular carcinoma. She had to go into the local hospital immediately. The University of Michigan Hospital reviewed her liver biopsy and came back with the same diagnosis. Her only hope for survival was a transplant, but she couldn’t get it through U of M. Theresa’s doctors called the UCLA Medical Center and, even though they would not agree to admit her, I knew we had to go to Los Angeles.

Fourteen days after her diagnosis, Theresa was malnourished and dehydrated from constant vomiting. She was on a morphine drip and had received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, but we got on the plane and headed west. We got to LA and went straight to the UCLA Medical Center. They immediately started a central line in her neck and began testing to see if the cancer had spread to any other parts of her body. It had not, so they put her on the list for a liver transplant.

I had been coaching my mother for over a year through her stroke, so I knew how important a positive attitude was. From the day Theresa told me she had cancer, I never believed she would die. I told her over and over that we were going to kick this thing and the cancer didn’t stand a chance against us.

My whole focus became getting Theresa the transplant and getting her healthy. I stayed with her from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., waiting for a liver for my beautiful bride, who was withering away before my eyes.

Eighteen days into our wait, I got a call at 4 a.m. that there was a donor. I dressed quickly and

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went to my wife. When I walked into her room, Theresa was smiling from ear to ear. “I’m going to live, Mike!” she said. It was wonderful to see the hope in her face.

It was the hardest moment in my life when I had to say goodbye to Theresa at the operating room door. She started to cry, and through my own tears I told her I loved her and I’d see her in a little bit.

After they rolled her in, I stood in the hallway staring at the doors. I turned and went to the chapel to pray.

It was a long wait, but the doctors came up when they were finished. Everything went great! I went to see her in intensive care and Theresa looked like an angel.

She had tubes everywhere and many monitors, but she slept peacefully. I went back to take a nap and slept better than I had in a month.

In less than 48 hours, Theresa had recovered enough to move back to a regular room on the surgical floor. Shortly after moving her out of intensive care, Theresa’s doctor came in with amazement in his eyes. She had fooled everyone, he told us. After they removed it, the doctors tested her whole liver and found Theresa did not have hepatocellular cancer as they thought. Instead they found cholangiocarcinoma – a very rare and deadly cancer.

If the doctors had originally diagnosed it correctly, the hospital would never have put her on the transplant list because this kind of cancer usually came back and infected the new organ. They would have sent her home to die.

When the doctor said Theresa fooled them, he wasn’t quite accurate. God fooled them. Theresa liked to say God wasn’t ready for her to come home yet. Within a month, we were back in our own house, ready to resume married life.

Every day was a gift. We went to Mass together, and Theresa got her first marriage annulled so we could get married in the Catholic Church.

We built a new house together in Flint when I became general manager of a television station there. Theresa became pregnant twice, but she lost both babies early in her pregnancies. Despite our sorrow over the miscarriages, life was sweet because we had each other.

Then one day Theresa’s vomiting began again and we knew the cancer had returned. God had FAITH Magazine

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given us three wonderful years together, but this time there would be no miracle cure. I became Theresa’s Hospice nurse. We read the Bible together, planned her funeral and talked about eternal life.

I had lost my purpose.

After Theresa’s funeral, I stopped going to Mass. I attended religious services at different churches – Methodist, Presbyterian – but nothing really clicked.

My faith was strong, but I didn’t feel like I had a home.

One evening in July, Theresa got up from her bed to turn on the porch light. She told me her brother Gary was coming – though he had died six months earlier. She went back to bed and then suddenly she was at my side murmuring something over me. When I asked Theresa what she was doing she said, “Blessing you.” Then she went back to bed and fell into a coma.

Four days later, as she was dying, she came out of her coma, opened her eyes and looked at me and her parents standing at her bedside.

I can’t explain how this happened, but she started talking to me without using words or moving her mouth at all. She told me what to tell her family and she told me goodbye. Then she died.

We were still gathered around her bed, unable or unwilling to move, when after about three minutes, Theresa opened her eyes again. In her wordless way, she told me she had seen heaven and it was beautiful. I told her in reply, “Eternity is a long time, Honey. I’ll see you soon.” Then she was gone for the last time.

I had lost my purpose. After Theresa’s funeral, I stopped going to Mass. I attended religious services at different churches – Methodist, Presbyterian – even a Jewish synagogue – but nothing really clicked. My faith was strong, but I didn’t feel like I had a home.

After a while, my buddy suggested we take a trip together. He suggested Hawaii, so we booked www.FAITHmag.com

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flights and headed to Oahu. One evening, a waiter told us about the lunar eclipse that night. We were in the only place in the world the eclipse could be seen.

So we found a bench that gave us an open view of the ocean and sky and waited.

As we watched Earth’s shadow passing across the moon, I felt Theresa there with me as if I could have touched her. We watched the eclipse together, then suddenly she was gone. Her journey home to heaven was finally complete. I knew it was time for me to continue on my own path.

The bishop ... started talking about people who I returned to work with the feeling that my new had left the path included a friend and coworker named Angela. Theresa had taken her under her wing before church and needed an the cancer returned and we had all become friends. invitation to I told Angela I would like to date her, but since I was come back. general manager, if she wanted to date me she would He said Welhave to quit her job. She resigned. come Home Sunday Within two years, Angela and I married and eswould give tablished a home together. Our daughter Kaylynn them that inwas born, and though I still wasn’t attending Mass, I vitation and felt strongly that I wanted her baptized in the Catholic that reason Church. Kaylynn’s baptism was the first time I had to return. gone to Mass since Theresa’s funeral. Standing in the I suddenly church, I felt I was home. realized he Life was great with my beautiful wife and baby. was talking about me!

As general manager of the TV station, I was making This was my lots of money and enjoying perks from limos to travel. invitation My only regret was that I had too little time at home home. with my family. The hours and responsibilities piled up so much I hardly had any time to enjoy my baby girl.

On Kaylynn’s first birthday, I just realized I needed to quit. The next day, I gave the TV station my resignation. I told Angela when I got home, and I started planning my own firm using my TV and business experience. I partnered with two close friends, and Crossroads Consulting was born in the basement of my house. We signed our first client right away and began building from there.

The Diocese of Lansing became one of our clients when I helped it negotiate its contract for televising Masses and increased its media value. One day, I was assisting with media for a new diocesan program called Welcome Home Sunday.

The bishop came in to our meeting and started talking about people who had left the church and needed an invitation to come back. He said Welcome Home Sunday would give them that invitation and that reason to return. I suddenly realized he was talking about me! This was my invitation home.

Angela had grown up in the Baptist tradition.

Since Kaylynn’s baptism, I had been hoping she would want to join me in the Catholic faith, but I didn’t want to pressure her in any way. It had to be her choice or I knew it wouldn’t be right.

After I started working on Welcome Home Sunday, I introduced Angela to the RCIA director at our local parish so she could learn more about Catholicism. I was so excited when she decided to enter into the RCIA process. This Easter, we made the circle complete when she and our new son Michael were baptized together at the Vigil Mass.

All these things have happened in my life for some reason. Just as when my mother first had her stroke, I don’t know what that reason is yet. But I’m open to whatever God puts in front of me.

My mom, Theresa, Angela and now our kids – this is about something more than I can understand.

Mike’s wife Angela and their children, Kaylynn and Michael.

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In every way, I’m trying to make a difference. With God’s strength, I have. When my mother had her stroke, I asked “Why is this happening to me, God?” Now I ask, “How can I help, God? How can I help?” I’ve lived a very blessed life that has taken a lot of paths. This one has led me home.

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Communion couple

at last Paul Thompson can share the Eucharistic experience with his wife, Jenny

Paul Thompson experienced a revelation of faith.

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was always the person sitting out.” That’s how Paul Thompson – originally baptized into the Lutheran faith – felt when he attended Mass with his Catholic wife, Jenny, at St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor. “We were both members of the parish,” he explains.

“But I was never able to participate in the Eucharist the way she did.”

“[As a non-Catholic,] I was left sitting in the pew every Sunday watching her and others go up to the altar.”

A desire to fully understand and experience holy Communion motivated Paul to consider converting to Catholicism. But he also heeded the counsel of his Catholic nephew Justin, then just 12 years old. Paul says, “Justin’s a sharp kid, but the things he shared with me about how it felt to be saved and loved by Christ sounded like they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.”

With the encouragement of family and friends, Paul entered the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) FAITH Magazine

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program at St. Francis in the fall of 2002. His small class of 10 candidates quickly became close-knit. “Our conversations ran the gamut of personal and theological topics,” he notes.

And they were always encouraged in their discussions by the non-judgmental approach

of their catechist – “Pattie [Scherer] was tirelessly patient and kind.”

In addition to Pattie’s talks, Paul’s understanding of the church’s teachings was deepened by discussions with guest speakers like Father James Conlon. “He explained

the sacraments in great detail to us,” says Paul, “and was always open to our questions.”

It was a taped presentation on transubstantiation, however, that really resonated with Paul. “It was awe-inspiring – describing the Eucharist in a way that was well beyond symbol or concept, beyond what the intellect could reason.”

What Paul experienced at that moment was a revelation of faith – that wheat and wine could indeed be transformed into the body and blood of Christ and that the act of transformation could be witnessed by a whole community of believers every time a Mass was celebrated.

“Finally, I understood the true meaning of the word ‘communion,’” he says.

This revelatory feeling stayed with Paul through the Rites of Acceptance and Election to the celebration of the sacraments of initiation.

“I don’t know what the other

Neophytes may choose to participate in a program such as the Cursillo Movement. Cursillo, which means “little course,” emphasizes evangelization as an outgrowth of the Christian faith. This evangelization takes its form as the act of being Christlike within daily life. The goal of the movement is to provide the tools, mentality, strength and support to make this possible. Cursillo begins with a three-day weekend, followed by a lifelong participation in Ultreya, meaning “onward,” the larger Cursillo community. Those who have gone through Cursillo often say it has changed their lives dramatically, recommitting them to go forth as apostles, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

For more information about Cursillo in the Diocese of Lansing, contact Jackie Rowe 734.429.5675, Maria Jaimez 517.265.2720, Gene Myers 810.234.3693, Mary Kay Howard 517.784.1353 or Msgr. Sylvester Fedewa 989.587.4379.

By Patricia Majher | Photography by Christine Jones

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how to shift to being the boss w o r k

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I Pattie Scherer gives Communion to the Thompsons.

candidates were feeling, but I felt prepared not just to be a Catholic, but to be a disciple of Christ.”

Acting on that idea, Paul asked the St. Francis staff about training for spiritual direction. “I explained to them that I didn’t want to be a spiritual director per se,” Paul related. “But I did want to see if the training for that profession could help me in my own.”

With the staff’s help, Paul – a practicing psychologist – entered an internship program in Ignatian spirituality offered through the Manresa Jesuit Retreat House in Bloomfield Hills. “I prayed that the training would enable me to better understand the spiritual dilemmas my clients sometimes face.”

Now halfway through the program, he feels strongly that his calling as a psychological healer has been immeasurably enhanced.

Paul’s new-found faith has informed not only his professional life, but his personal life as well. “Becoming a Catholic deepened my relationship with my wife, without a doubt,” he notes. “Our love is stronger and our communication more complete with Christ in both of

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our lives.”

Paul also reports that his connection to his nephew has strengthened now that they share the same faith.

Given what he’s experienced, would Paul recommend RCIA to others? The answer to that question is definitely positive.

“I think even ‘cradle Catholics’ would benefit from going through it as a refresher course of sorts.”

It’s been two years since he was fully initiated into the church, and Paul still lights up when he talks about it. “I am so happy to be a part of the body of Christ, to be a participant instead of a spectator.” And his commitment to the Eucharist has not wavered at all.

“If anything, I feel more deeply about it now than when I first finished the program. Every time I go up for Communion, it’s new and wonderful, and I feel awed and inspired by it all.”

“It’s amazing to realize that Christ is literally there in the bread and wine, if we just have the heart to see him.”

used to laugh at the incompetence, twisted logic, and self-centeredness of the “pointy haired” boss in the Dilbert comic strip. The humor began to fade, however, when I became a boss and discovered the pressures of middle management. Not only did I have to keep my boss happy; I had to keep my team happy as well. It’s tough not to become a “pointy haired” boss. I can recall unwittingly using twisted logic myself to justify some action to my team just to make a good impression on upper management. It took me a while to realize that the more I focused on my own interests, the less effective I was as a leader.

In his book, Good to Great, James Collins identified characteristics that are common to leaders of top performing companies. Most of these qualities are contrary to what we’ve come to believe characterize great leaders. They include: 1 Modesty.

2 Motivation through inspired standards rather than charisma.

3 Focusing on long-term results.

4 Channeling of ambition into the company, not the self.

5 Preparing successors for even greater success in the next generation.

6 Never blaming others for bad results.

Each of these characteristics represents a spirit of selflessness and humility that reflect core principles we find in the Bible.

“Choose to serve others.”(Matthew 23:11) We’ve been conditioned to think that business leadership is about individual career success. Instead, Collins has debunked that notion by demonstrating that truly successful and lasting companies are led by people who act in the interest of other people and the company as a whole. So, if you are ever called upon to be “the boss,” remember that true success can only be found by trusting God’s wisdom to guide your actions and by serving others. “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10) –Tim Ryan

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hearing God’s persistent call the conversion of Fr. Michael Depcik

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fter five years as chaplain for the deaf ministry of the Diocese of Lansing, Fr. Michael Depcik, OSFS, left in July for graduate studies at Gallaudet University.

One of only five deaf priests in America, Fr. “MD” quickly became a beloved member of the deaf community in Michigan, helping the ministry grow church attendance and enthusiasm. While working on his master’s degree, he will continue to offer retreats for deaf Catholics through the National Catholic Office for the Deaf.

Before he left, FAITH Magazine sat down with Fr. MD for a conversation about his personal conversion. Fr. Ken McKenna, OSFS, interpreted.

This issue of FAITH focuses on conversion. You were raised in a Catholic family, and yet you have a conversion story. In what way were you converted?

I grew up in a large Catholic family – in fact, everyone I knew was Catholic – all my aunts and uncles and cousins as well as my parents. We went to church every Sunday. However, everyone seemed to be private about their faith. We said grace before meals and went to church, but when we prayed it was just words.

Would you say you were a “cultural Catholic?”

Yes. My parents and my four siblings all are deaf, as well. My parents sent us to FAITH Magazine

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St. Rita’s School for the Deaf in Cincinnati. It was a good school – I got a good education there – but when it came to my Catholic faith, I felt like I knew about God, but I didn’t really know God. Then, when I was 17, I was an exchange student. I went to Australia, where I lived with two different families. The first was an Anglican family – very similar to mine. Their faith life wasn’t alive or vibrant. After I was there for a few months, the father took a job transfer out of the country so I went to live with another family.

The second family I lived with in Australia was a deaf family, so I felt more comfortable with them. But they were

also fundamentalist Christians. They talked easily about Jesus and about their faith. Every night they studied the Bible and when they prayed, they seemed to pray from the heart.

At first it was very awkward to be with this family. I had never been around

By Marybeth Hicks | Photography by Tom Gennara

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people who were so free and easy talking about God and his place in their lives. After a couple of months living with them, I decided I should start joining in with their family for various activities, including Bible study.

This was when I began to understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus. The members of that family were my first Christian role models and they could see that I experienced God through them.

They didn’t understand the Catholic Church, though. They questioned the church and were opposed to the pope as its leader. At this time, when I caught fire for God, I decided I wasn’t really a Catholic anymore.

Inside my heart, I privately quit the church. When my time in Australia was over, I went back to St. Rita’s and even though I still went When it came to to Mass, I didn’t my Catholic faith, go to Communion I felt like I knew anymore. I didn’t about God, but I feel the Catholic didn’t really know Church was God. for me.

Did you officially leave the church after you graduated from St. Rita’s?

I tried to! That year in August, I went to Washington, D.C. to attend Gallaudet University. At the orientation, there was a fair for campus organizations and I was looking for a deaf church. But a priest caught my attention and asked me if I was Catholic. I tried to look away but I had to say, “Yes, I’m Catholic.” He told me about deaf Masses.

I went to the Masses on campus for a few weeks. The homilies were good, but I started to find flaws. I was looking for reasons to leave. After a few weeks, I stopped going to Mass. I had heard the Baptist church had a van that would pick you up for services. That sounded good, but I was too nervous to do that.

Then I met a man from Uganda who said he had seen me at the Catholic

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Fr. Mike Depcik is one of a few deaf priests in the U.S.

Church. “Where have you been?” he asked me. I said, “The Masses are only OK and I’m not sure I liked the people there.” He said,“You go to Mass for God, not for the priest or the people.”

So I went back to church. In fact, I found the priest to be a great homilist – he’s still one of the best homilists I know.

It sounds like you wanted to quit the Catholic Church but the church wouldn’t quit you.

Exactly!

How did you go from being a reluctant Catholic to becoming a priest?

That’s a huge leap.

At the age of 21, I read a book on Our Lady of Medjugorje, where Mary [allegedly] asked the faithful to pray the rosary.

I had to teach myself how to say the rosary, because even though I had been raised Catholic, I didn’t know how.

The more I learned about Mary’s [possible] revelations at Medjugorje, it suddenly sounded all new to me. That summer, when I was 21, it was like the church was all new to me. For the first time, I felt it was possible I was called to be a priest, and I believe Our Lady of Medjugorje called me. In fact, the first apparition of Our Lady of Medjugorje [is said to have] occurred on June 24, 1981. I was

ordained on June 24, 2000.

Throughout your conversion story, you have hardly mentioned that you’re deaf and have been deaf since birth. Yet it seems God is using your deafness to his advantage. How important is it to you that you’re deaf?

It’s very important. Being deaf can be very isolating. People don’t understand that it’s like a separate culture – like an ethnic culture – that has its own language and traditions. Being deaf can make it more difficult to learn about God, because we don’t always have a community of people around us to share our faith or to learn from. That’s why the deaf ministry in the Diocese of Lansing is so important. Thankfully, Bishop Mengeling is committed to keeping the ministry vibrant and growing.

You spend much of your time dealing with the effects of being deaf, both for yourself and others. But those of us who have our hearing often struggle to listen to God. Do you think it’s ironic that hearing is not really the avenue to listening to God’s call?

God’s first language is silence. Whether we have our hearing or are deaf, we all need to quiet the noise in our heads and listen silently to God’s voice.

For more information on ministry to Catholics who are deaf or hard of hearing, contact Rose Smith at rsmith@dioceseoflansing.org or call her at 517.342.2532

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your marriage matters a continuing series to help you strengthen your marriage

planned debt: borrowing with purpose m o n e y

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Should we always avoid debt? Not necessarily. Often, well-conceived planned debt will preserve your cash or capital. In other words, paying cash may not be your best option when you can borrow for your purpose, and you have the cash flow to service the debt.

Spending cash has a cost; it depletes your investments. It stops growing because it is gone. If you can pay for a car, or college or roofing with reasonably priced debt, that you can afford to repay monthly out of cash flow, then your cash assets are preserved. This cash can then be invested to earn interest and go for a different future purpose. You pay extra over time due to interest, but weigh the cost of that interest with the preservation of existing post-tax cash and the fact that you pay your payments with future dollars. Next year’s dollar is worth less than today’s dollar. Remember, though, that you must be able to afford the payments without compromise of your family’s well being and your Christian ethics.

“Till death do us part” 4 tips to lasting communication c o m m u n i c a t i o n

– John Morris

it’s about time share a surprise t i m e

m a t t e r s

Share a surprise. Most of us enjoy making a pleasant surprise that brings happiness and cheer to others; for it is better to give than receive. Surprise her with an invitation to slow dance to “our” song in the evening just before bedtime. Surprise him with a candlelight supper or evening snack of “our” favorite food on an evening when company is not expected. To make it a big surprise, spend some time thinking about how to make it even better, more relaxing and really special for your spouse.

If you succeed, the next surprise will be even greater.

– Tom and JoAnne Fogle

Time Tip: Pray as a family on secular holidays, too. Most Catholics see the importance of praying on holidays such as Christmas and Easter, but other holidays can be a reason to pray. Don’t let any holiday go by without finding a reason to thank God. -- from Time Management for Catholics by Dave Durand FAITH Magazine

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What are the ingredients to a lasting commitment?

1. Put your marriage first among all commitments.

2. Make time daily and weekly to communicate.

3. Put fun back into your relationship by “dating” again.

4. Ask God together to bless your marriage.

There are more aspects to commitment. But these four are key. Marriage takes a lifetime to perfect so don’t get discouraged. In order to deepen your commitment, dialogue on these questions: • What does our daily pattern of living tell us about our commitment?

• How is our time being used? Does it reflect our commitment to each other?

• Do we nurture our commitment through regular communication? Is this mutual or always dragged out of the other?

• Do you still date and try to make your spouse feel special? If not, what will you do about it?

Hold hands together tonight and ask God to deepen your commitment. He is the bedrock of all marital commitment!

– Tony Sperendi

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marriage resources: A married couples retreat, Tending the Garden of Your Marriage, will be held Dec. 2-4 at St. Francis Retreat Center. Fr. Larry Delaney and Mary and Warren Walrath will facilitate. Cost is $225 per couple. Contact 866.669.8321 for more information or to register. p r a y e r

the transition to parenting a young adult t h e

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Empty Nesters’ Prayer and talents you’ve given us, as your Holy Spirit prompts us.

She: May we not be tempted to rest too soon.

The fields are ripe for harvest, you said, and there aren’t enough workers in your Father’s vineyard.

He: Give us a place, a time, and a work to do for you.

Gather each act of love and service into your harvest that we may enjoy with you the everlasting banquet.

Together: We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

make a D-A-T-E for romance the final D-A-T-E principles r o m a n c e

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“T” means time together is a priority. This won’t happen by accident. With today’s busy lifestyles, you must have some determination.

Allow the challenge of planning and making arrangements for a date to become part of the fun and anticipation. But don’t miss those opportunities to be spontaneous that also may come along. Finally, set aside some time to pray as a couple, and attend retreats like Marriage Encounter.

“E” is for the energy saved as a gift for your spouse.

Too often, we expend all our energy at work, with our children or with other interests and activities. It is an important responsibility to save some of our God-given energy each day as a gift for our spouse. Our energy allows us to be better lovers, have a positive attitude and keep a sense of humor. Energy gained from the proper amount of rest, eating and exercise will also go a long way to keeping the romantic sparkle in your eye throughout your lives together.

Questions for discussion: • Are we making time together a priority in our lives?

• Can we plan a date for the near future?

• How can I conserve my energy for my spouse? -- Rick and Diane Peiffer

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ecember 22 was highlighted on my calendar last year. My daughter, Kaiti, would be coming home after studying at the Universidad de Alicante in Spain. But in November, Kaiti called with unexpected news. She was staying for another semester and would be returning to the U.S. in six months. She had arranged new housing and matriculation as a Universidad student instead of a study-abroad student. Her transition to adulthood had been gradual, but suddenly it seemed that our college sophomore had grown up in the space of a phone call.

End of a hierarchical relationship. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes the change that occurs when children become adults, “Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them.”

(CCC #2217) From a parent’s perspective, this role change may be difficult. Adult children may ask for advice but then decide to follow another course of action or make significant modifications to the recommendation. Or parents may learn of major life decisions after the fact. The days of being able to make the final decision in regard to a child’s welfare are over. Accept that your children will make different decisions than you and focus on listening as they share their ideas.

Mutual affection and respect guide interactions. Most adolescents report that they have good relationships with their parents. Friends tend to guide choices that have to do with clothing, grooming and entertainment, but parents have a stronger influence on educational decisions and values. Bickering about the cleanliness of a room or a hair style is more characteristic of parent-teen arguments than are serious disagreements.

As children become adults, decisions about tattoos and piercings, music choices and DVD collections are no longer under parental control. Relationships often become smoother without this quibbling over personal taste.

If you are dismayed by an adult child’s choices, think back to your own early adulthood. What seemed natural to you but incomprehensible to your own middle-aged parents?

Boomerang children and the ‘refeathered’ nest. Many couples find the “empty nest” years to be ones of renewed marital satisfaction. But adult children sometimes return home after falling on hard times. In these cases, living arrangements need to be negotiated.

House rules help avoid conflict. How long a stay seems reasonable? How will household chores be divided? Communication is central in keeping the “refeathered nest” a positive experience for all.

Words from Anne Frank’s diary provide perspective, “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.”

T. Gennara

He: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

In your love you send us forth at the end of each Mass – a model for us, perhaps, as our children leave home.

She: In your name, O God, we send them forth.

May they do your will on earth.

Because parenting is a hard act to follow, O God, give our lives new meaning, direction, and fulfillment.

He: Put to good use the gifts

– Dr. Cathleen McGreal

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as an adult Catholic do I need a conversion? why we all need a change of heart

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As a cradle Catholic, I must admit sadly that I did not have a deep appreciation or understanding of my faith.

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was blessed to be born and raised a Catholic. When someone is born into a Catholic household, they are often referred to as a “cradle Catholic,” as opposed to someone who has converted to the Catholic faith from another religion or Christian denomination.

FAITH Magazine

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December 2005

Statistics show that Unfortunately, we cradle Catho- there are 64 millics do not always lion cradle Catholics in the United do so well in terms of practicing States representing our faith. Statistics 23 percent of the U.S. population. show that there Only one out of are 64 million cradle Catholics in three cradle Cathothe United States, lics go to church every Sunday. representing 23 percent of the U.S. population. Only one of three cradle Catholics go to church every Sunday.

I remember a time when I was very lax in my practice of the faith. I had a general sense of what Catholicism was about – you know, going to church and “been there, done that.”

While I saw and experienced the liturgical seasons, I always thought they were kind of odd. For example, Advent was the time when priests wore purple.

I could not understand the choice of the color purple when Christmas was so close. Green would have been much better with the Christmas trees. But then again, what did I know?

As a cradle Catholic, I must admit sadly that I did not have a deep appreciation or understanding of my faith. This was certainly not because of neglect by those responsible for passing on the faith; the fault was all mine.

Fortunately, God has a way of moving us from the cradle to the manger.

In the cradle, we get coddled and can really end up living a self-centered existence.

When God moves us to the manger, we are not being coddled but have become food for others. Just think of our Lord Jesus.

Jesus was born in poverty, wrapped in rags, laid lovingly by Mary in a manger – a food box for animals! His birth was “good news for those of good will.” For Jesus was born to die for us, “to give his life in ransom for the many.” That is what Jesus did in his public ministry. He www.FAITHmag.com

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tness ness poured himself out for others to the very end. Read Philippians 2:6-8.

In emptying himself, he became our food – our manna during our journey to the promised land of eternal life. Jesus said, “God’s bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world...I am the Bread of Life.” (John 6:33,35) Our Bread of Life was born in Bethlehem, a name that means “house of bread.” Even at his birth, he was ready to be our food. The angels told the shepherds to “let this be a sign for you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.” The manger foreshadowed the great gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. The sign of the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes reminds us of the bread of the Passover feast, which is wrapped in a white cloth. Already, the angels were pointing out Jesus as our Messiah and his role as “food” for all of us.

So, this season of Advent is our opportunity to grow and become more like Jesus. Repentance and conversion are the focus as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s second coming and his birth during the Christmas season. That is why the church’s liturgical colors are purple.

Purple symbolizes penance and conversion. In a graphic way, it reminds us of death, as well as our dignity as God’s children.

During this month, for our spiritual fitness, we will pray for a deeper conversion to Jesus. We will pray for a conversion away from self (selfishness, self-centeredness, self-dependence) to the selflessness of Christ – from being coddled in a cradle, to being in a manger with Jesus as food for others.

– Fr. Bill Ashbaugh

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Spiritual Exercise

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onversion is about changing our hearts. It is a grace of God. We ask for a change in attitude, feeling, desire and knowledge. We ask for a new appreciation of our faith, a new awe, new wonder, new sense of mystery, new joy, new gratitude, new love for Jesus and what God has done for us and the whole world in sending us Christ. In our prayer, we want to think about Jesus and his selflessness.

Do not worry about thinking of your own selfishness. We all could be more selfless. Just think about Jesus and ask God to give you a heart that would move you to act as he did.

• Find a quiet place to pray. If you can find a manger scene, all the better.

• Kneel or sit down. You are approaching the baby Jesus. Think about how you would approach him if you were one of the shepherds coming in from the fields after seeing the angels. What might have been going on in their hearts and minds?

Take some quiet time and think about being with Jesus.

• Ask Jesus to change your heart to be like his.

• Pray the following – or something in your own words:

My Christ, my Jesus. Thank you for becoming human. I love you and adore you. You are a humble baby.

How is it that God should choose to be so weak and

little? Why are you in a manger and not in some fine crib in a palace? I want to hold you in my heart. I offer you my heart, my king and my God. I see your love for me. Like Mary, I ponder your goodness and the great mystery of your birth.

How glorious you are, O God! Loosen my lips so that I may praise you. Open my heart so that I may truly express my gratitude and thanks. Open my mind so that I may have a new sense of awe and mystery in thinking of your incarnation.

You who made the whole universe and who penetrate its incomprehensible expanse as though it were but a grain of sand, you have come to dwell with us. You have stripped yourself of glory, and yet are glorified beyond all imagining. Humility, goodness, mercy and love are your garments of glory.

Lord, may I too choose to be wrapped in these garments. I want to be rid of pride and self-centeredness. May I think of others’ needs before my own.

You have emptied yourself in becoming one of us, and have made yourself an offering so that we might have life.

May I too live for others. May I choose to empty myself. May I desire to make myself an offering to you and to others as you would direct me.

I see you in this manager, and I know you offer yourself to the whole world.

You come to us even now in the Eucharist. You are our Bread of Life. May I love you in the Eucharist and do what I can to be bread for others.

How is it, my God, that we can hear your voice in the cry of a baby? Teach me, my Jesus, to always hear your voice in the cry of my fellow human beings and not harden my heart to anyone in need. Convert me. Have mercy on me.

• Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be with love.

• Go and do good for someone, and resolve to pray again tomorrow.

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a tasty

tradition

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My mother’s personal conversion affected our entire family. As part of celebrating our family’s faith, my parents began a few unique traditions when my sisters and I were really young. They were designed to make sure we were infused with the faith she had come to love so much.

One in particular was a birthday party for Jesus every Christmas morning. Not one with party hats, balloons and the ubiquitous cake with too much frost-

ing. Rather, we would celebrate with a special coffeecake and an heirloom, porcelain baby Jesus. It was my folks’ way of diverting our attention from materialism to what Christmas is really about – Jesus. Mom would swipe a taper candle from the Advent wreath and place it into the center of a coffeecake baked by my grandmother. My sisters and I lined up: one of us holding the cake, another holding the porcelain baby Jesus, and

• 1 packet of instant yeast • 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 4 cups sifted flour • 1⁄2 cup of warm mashed potatoes (prepared instant will do) • 1⁄2 cup warm water • 1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick) • 2 eggs (beaten)

the third, the crèche. We then paraded toward the dining room singing Happy Birthday and placed the baby in the center of the Advent wreath on the dining room table. (I must admit that part was a little awkward and silly during my teen years.) While devouring our once-a-year coffeecake, we would each share what Jesus means to us. It has been interesting how our discussions have evolved over the years!

We’re grown now, and this simple, yet meaningful tradition lives on and is shared with the new additions to our family. For my father, sisters and I, it would not be Christmas without it. For my mother, it has also been a way for her to remember and reflect on her joyful conversion. I invite you to try – not just my grandmother’s absolutely incredible coffeecake – but also the entire tradition.

Happy Birthday Jesus coffeecake

Recipe

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hortly after my parents got engaged, my father was sent to Vietnam. During his absence, my mother began another relationship. With Jesus.

She had begun to attend classes about the Catholic faith, to read Scripture and attend Mass. She longed for the day she could receive the Eucharist. One month before my father returned, she did.

Brown sugar and cinnamon mixture • 1⁄4 cup melted butter • 3⁄4 cup brown sugar • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon • 1⁄2 cup raisins • 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons softened butter • 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla • 3 to 4 tablespoons milk • pinch of salt Reserve 1 cup of flour from total amount and combine remaining flour with yeast, granulated sugar, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Combine and heat the mashed potatoes, water, and butter to 120 - 130 degrees (too hot will kill the yeast). Stir into the dry flour mixture. Add eggs and continue to stir. Add some of the reserve flour and knead dough until it’s no longer sticky. Roll into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts. Set aside and spray a pie pan with cooking spray. On a large, floured surface, roll out dough (1⁄4 inch thick). Spread melted butter all

over and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll the dough into a snake-like shape and pinch all open ends so mixture will not fall out. Lift the roll and gently stretch so it’s long enough to fit into pan. Place the roll into pan so it forms a circle. Cover with foil and let the prepared dough rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place. Unseal the foil, but keep coffeecake covered and bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour depending on oven. Remove from oven and set aside. Mix ingredients for icing and spread all over top and sides while cake is still warm. For extra color, add sliced maraschino cherries on top. Enjoy!

By Michelle DiFranco | Photography by Phillip Shippert

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from writing about vampires to writing about Christ an interview with Anne Rice

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nne Rice is best known for her series of novels about the vampire, Lestat. In her new book, Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt, she makes a radical departure from that genre.

Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt is the first-person fictional account of Jesus’ childhood at the time the Holy Family returned to Nazareth from Egypt.

FAITH: What prompted you to write tive to take. I know you read Ray this book? It’s quite a switch from your Brown’s books in preparation; what other novels. other research did you do?

Anne Rice: It was the result of a Anne Rice: I did read Raymond slow process of returning to faith and Brown’s work and it was very impresa building obsession with the subject sive. I also read John Meier and many matter of Jesus and his life. others – Meier and Brown I reached a point when I are great Catholic scholars.

I had to pull didn’t want to do anything I started research in the together all the else but that. I was totally on physical research 1990s when a lot of books fire to do it – I felt convicbegan to appear about the – Nazareth, the tion and tremendous comgeography, what historical Jesus. I would mitment and excitement. pick them up and bring the Temple reI believe that everything ally looked like. I them home. If there was I have done up until this any one beginning, it was wanted to make point was a preparation for my research probably a book on the it. I was writing about the Dead Sea Scrolls. I picked it totally solid. I’ve supernatural and writing off a book shelf and began never written a in the first person voice, novel where I had to read it. I became very exploring the position of a to stop so often to intrigued by the controversy person who is a supernatu- check something. described in the book. ral hero and yet an outcast But what really interested – and suddenly I realized I was poised me was the life of Jesus and what really at the beginning of the biggest advenhappened. I got down to work on it and ture of my life – it was to write about nothing else in 2002. I began researchJesus himself. I said to myself, “If you ing this book before I was finished with believe in him, and you say you do, the last of the vampire chronicles. what was it like for him?”

I had to pull together all the physical research – Nazareth, the geography, FAITH: It was a fascinating perspecwhat the Temple really looked like. I FAITH Magazine

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December 2005

wanted to make my research totally solid.

I’ve never written a novel where I had to stop so often to check something.

FAITH: Although you obviously took creative license, you seemed to make every effort to be faithful to church teaching in the book.

Anne Rice: I tried very hard to do that. There was one place I deviated by having James be the stepchild of Mary and not a cousin. St. Jerome and others had argued about this during the church’s early years. What really decided me was Giotto’s painting in Assisi, The Flight to Egypt. It depicts a little boy with Mary, Joseph and Jesus who is leading the donkey. Immediately I thought, “James.” That painting made a huge impression on me.

By Elizabeth Solsburg

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w o r l d

FAITH: I know that you returned to the church yourself. Can you tell me what prompted you to leave?

Anne Rice: It was really about faith.

I lost my faith when I was about 18. I had started college at Texas Women’s University and I simply lost my faith.

It was before Vatican II and I wanted to know what the modern world was; I was tremendously curious and wanted to read the existential philosophers. But I came from a rigid Catholic background where those books were really forbidden. I believed I couldn’t pick them up without committing a mortal sin and I simply didn’t have the flexibility to understand all of it. I was living in a world that was not a Catholic world – I really didn’t even know any other Catholics.

Another Catholic at another university somewhere might have been able to get through, but my loss of faith was total.

FAITH: And then what brought you back?

Anne Rice: It was gradual. My husband and I had moved back to New Orleans. I felt an overwhelming desire to return. But every time it would get really strong in me, I would think, “Wait a minute. What do you believe about this? And what do you believe about that? And how can you go back to the church that says things you don’t believe in your heart of hearts?” Gradually, I came to realize that I didn’t need to solve all those problems. I wasn’t Thomas Aquinas. There is a way of doing things that is more like Francis of Assisi where you just say, “Yes. Let me come to the banquet table. Please.

And I’ll do my best on everything else.”

I mean, nobody was even asking me for answers to all those questions. They weren’t even relevant to my life. What was relevant was to return to church and return to Communion. And that’s what drew me back to church more than anything else – this overwhelming desire to go to Communion. I really

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believed that Jesus was on the altar – when I started believing that, I don’t know, but I believed it. And the belief grew stronger and stronger and I felt the compulsion to return. It was like a great gift had been given to me – I was suddenly in a world filled with redemptive grace.

FAITH: As you wrote this book, did you feel you came to know Jesus better?

Anne Rice: Oh, absolutely. I’m very aware that the Jesus in my book is a fictional Jesus. But I felt that my sense of talking to him all day, every day, sort of the way St. Augustine does in his Confessions, really was a religious experience.

FAITH: What do you hope readers will get from your book?

Anne Rice: That experience of believing, at least for the time they’re reading the book and perhaps afterward. When people come to me and say, “I was there,” that’s what I want.

I tried to take the latest research and couple it with the Jesus of faith. There are a lot of novels about Jesus out there but they always have a particular type of Jesus who deviates from the Jesus of faith. They want to argue that Jesus didn’t found Christianity or he wasn’t the Son of God. They’re almost all antiChristian. This novel doesn’t have that agenda – it’s saying, “This is the Jesus you believe in.”

FAITH: What’s next?

Anne Rice: More of the story.

FAITH: Are you going to continue in first person?

Anne Rice: I’m going to continue his story. I’m not sure I’m going to do the teen years – they may be handled as a flashback. I’m definitely going to stick with first person – Jesus telling what he was feeling as it happens, all the way through the Ascension.

Synod message urges Catholics to allow Eucharist to transform lives While acknowledging problems connected with faith, discipline and manpower, the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist called on Catholics to approach the sacrament with awe and allow it to transform their lives and the life of the world.

In their final message, the bishops encouraged Catholics to “go joyfully” to meet the risen Jesus in the Eucharist and experience the truth of his promise to be with his followers until the end of time.

The message was released Oct. 22, a day later than scheduled, after synod members returned it to their drafting committee for dozens of minor changes and after several bishops called for clarification in its section on divorced and civilly remarried Catholics who cannot receive the Eucharist.

The rewriting of the message meant that the bishops did not have a chance to vote on its final form, although Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, chairman of the drafting committee, told a press conference Oct. 22 that the bishops’ applause earlier that morning signified their approval.

The message said the synod’s goal was to offer Pope Benedict XVI suggestions on how “to update and deepen the eucharistic life of the church.”

It listed several challenges to eucharistic renewal, including secularism with its loss of a sense of the sacred and an awareness of sin; a shortage of priests in many countries; those in irregular marriage situations; and war, injustice and poverty. – CNS

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E. Solsburg

St. Michael Parish celebrates 162 years

Resurrection students reinterpret the beatitudes

Catholic Lawyers Guild honors Tony Randall

T. Gennara

St. Gerard Parish dedicates its remodeled worship space

The Diocese of Lansing helps tsunami and hurricane victims Since January of this year, the people of the Diocese of Lansing have generously contributed $1,221,315 for the victims of the tsunami and of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This amount reflects only contributions sent directly to the diocese in response to Bishop Mengeling’s requests. Additional money was contributed directly by parishes and individuals. The bishop extends his gratitude to all members of the diocese.

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Applefest, an annual tradition at St. John Parish in Fenton, was held Sept. 15-18. Chairpersons Tim and Rachel Draeger said they were delighted with the outcome of the event, which drew thousands of people to the parish. “We sold 700 fish dinners and 750 chicken dinners. More than 3,600 people enjoyed the music of Rock ’n Roll Engineers in the entertainment tent.”

A highlight of the event was the annual pie-baking contest and pie auction. Canisters to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina were located around the festival and more than $500 was collected. – Jan Rynearson

J. Rynearson

St. John Parish hosts the 33rd Annual Applefest

Last year, Elaine Jackson’s fourth-grade class at Resurrection School, Lansing, reinterpreted the beatitudes in order to make them more meaningful to students. Eight beatitudes were written for each aspect of school life, including sports, friends, the playground, the lunchroom and the classroom.

Some examples: “Blessed are those who asked a lonely kid to play, they will be noticed for being a nice person. Blessed are those who keep promises, they will be granted trust. Blessed are those who listen to the lunch lady, they will be thanked.”

Now fifth-graders, and still taught by Mrs. Jackson, the students pose with two of the beatitude posters.

The Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Lansing held their annual Red Mass on Oct. 18 at St. Mary Cathedral. Dinner followed in the parish hall and the St. Thomas More Award was given posthumously to Tony Randall, Lansing attorney who was featured in FAITH.

St. Michael Parish in Flint celebrated 162 years of presence in the city of Flint. The first church building was completed in 1848, the second in 1883. The third, and current, building was consecrated on March 24, 1966. In 1856, the parishioners built a parish school that educated students until its closure in 1974. The school is still serving the Flint community as a school of choice, operated by the Flint Community Schools.

The parish of St. Gerard, Lansing, celebrated the culmination of a fiveyear building project with the dedication of its new worship space and the blessing of the school and offices. Bishop Mengeling presided over the dedication on Sun., Oct. 2. St. Gerard’s worship space was remodeled and enlarged; a gathering space and Eucharistic chapel were added; a new pastoral center was built, which includes educational spaces, a nursery, library and youth center; some of the school’s classrooms were expanded and the space for a new pre-school was remodeled.

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things to do Correction: The phone number for St. Vincent Catholic Charities was erroneously printed in the last issue of FAITH. The correct number is 517.323.4734.

for the St. John Parish Book Club. The discussion is scheduled Sat., Dec. 3, 9-11 a.m., in the St. John Parish Activity Center, Fenton. Call 810.629.2251.

For information about dedicated single life vocations, please contact Elaine Ouellette at meolet2002@yahoo.com.

The St. John Parish Book Club will host Fr. Karl Pung, diocesan director of formation, for a discussion about Fire Within: Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross and the Gospel on Prayer by Thomas Dubay. Everyone is welcome to attend on Tues., Jan. 10, 7-9 p.m. in the St. John Parish Activity Center. Call 810.629.2251 for more information.

Msgr. William Fitzgerald will lead an Advent Day of Prayer on Thurs., Dec. 8, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Msgr. Fitzgerald is a spiritual director, Irish storyteller and priest from the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

Call 866.669.8321 for more information or to register.

A morning for Exploring a Great Spiritual Practice – Meditation is being offered on Sat., Dec. 10, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the St. Francis Retreat Center. Dr. Richard and Doris Strife will facilitate. Contact 866.669.8321 for more information or to register.

Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids is hosting Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics through Dec. 31. The centerpiece of the show is the maiolica nativity scene on exclusive loan from the Museum of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Fondazione Cassa Risparmio in Perugia, Italy. It is the first time this has been exhibited outside Italy.

Msgr. Robert Lunsford, the retired chancellor for the Diocese of Lansing, will lead a discussion about Helena, by Evelyn Waugh, a novel about the mother of Constantine.

This is part of an ongoing series

Pastoral leaders are invited to visit the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Resource Center at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. Available materials include access to the American Theologi-

december readings Sunday, Dec. 4 Second Sunday of Advent Isa 40:1-5,9-11 Ps 85:9-14 2 Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1: 1-8 Thursday, Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception Gen 3:9-15,20 Ps 98:1-4 Ephes 1:3-6,11-12 Luke 1:26-38 Sunday, Dec. 11 Third Sunday of Advent Isa 61:1-2a,10-11 (Ps) Luke 1:46-50,53-54 1 Thess 5:16-24 John 1: 6-8,19-28

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Midnight: Isa 9:1-6 Ps 96:1-3,11-13 Tim 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14 Dawn: Isa 62:11-12 Ps 97:1,6,11-12 Tim 3:4-7 Luke 2:15-20 Day: Isa 52:7-10 Ps 98:1-6 Heb 1:1-6 John 1:1-18 or 1:1-5,9-14

cal Library Association database, a grants procurement center and thousands of resources.

followed by a dinner dance at Fox Hills Banquet Center.

Call 734.434.7389 or e-mail len@acd.net to make reservations. On Sat., Feb. 25, St. Mary Cathedral will host a Mass and renewal of vows, followed by a dinner dance at the Lansing Radisson. Mass time is 5 p.m.

Call 517.327.0165 or e-mail dcastilhos@comcast.net to make reservations.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter will be celebrating World Marriage Day at two locations in the Diocese of Lansing during the month of February. Mass and a renewal of vows will be held Feb. 11, 4:30 p.m. at Christ the King Church in Ann Arbor,

month, 10:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 11 will focus on personal prayer and prayer of the heart, Jan. 15 will focus on scriptural prayer.

Call 517.547.7496 if you wish to attend.

How many times do you have to invite someone back to church? Think of it this way:

So, keep inviting, keep inviting, keep inviting. Contact your parish’s Welcome Home Sunday coordinator for ways you can help bring someone you know back home.

Sunday, Dec. 25 Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Vigil: Isa 62:1-5 Ps 89:4-5,16-17,27,29 Acts 13:16-17,22-25 Matt 1:1-35 or 1:18-25

Sunday, Dec. 18 Fourth Sunday of Advent 2 Sam 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16 Ps 89:2-5,27,29

Evangelization Minute

by Pete Ries, director of the Office of Evangelization

• Draw three stick people on a piece of paper.

• Make an empty box above the head of each stick person.

• Write the number 2 in one box, 5 in another and 100 in the third.

• Look at your picture – every inactive Catholic has an invisible number above his or her head that indicates how many invitations it takes before they say “yes.”

Rom 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38

december café events Experiences of Prayer and Worship, family faith formation events, are scheduled at St. Mary on the Lake Catholic Church, Manitou Beach one Sunday each

St. Mary Parish, Manitou Beach, is offering Adult Scripture Study on the Psalms, the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, 9:30-11 a.m. upcoming sessions are scheduled for Dec. 8, Dec. 22 and Jan. 12. Call 517.547.7496 for more information or if you wish to attend.

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An Indian soldier distributes kerosene to survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake in Poonch, India, Oct. 11.

Millions have been left homeless by the earthquake and are facing the cold of winter.

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he head of the Catholic Church’s relief and rescue operations in Pakistan’s earthquake zone said the scenes of devastation were “beyond description.”

“I was taken aback by the extent and magnitude of the devastation,” Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, Pakistan, told Catholic News Service Oct. 21 in a telephone interview.

“It was pathetic to find almost every building flattened or damaged. The sights of devastation are beyond description. The suffering of

the injured and the survivors was very moving,” said Bishop Coutts, who as director of Caritas Pakistan had visited the earthquake zone three times in two weeks.

After the magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit Kashmir Oct. 8, Bishop Coutts said he stayed in Mansehra to set up Caritas’ front-line office to

Men look through the rubble of their collapsed house in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Oct. 10.

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coordinate the relief work with other Catholic aid organizations and volunteers.

Mansehra, about 15 miles away from the quake’s epicenter, was the only city with communication links.

Recounting his encounters with the quake victims, Amir Bukhari, an official with the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services in Pakistan, told CNS that “most of the quake victims seem to be traumatized and emotionally drained.”

“After seeing so much death and devastation around them, the survivors have gone numb and were speaking very casually of deaths in their own family,” said Bukhari.

“I came across children and others who were the sole survivors from their family. It was painful to talk to them,” Bukhari said.

He said villages near the town of Muzzafarabad presented a “scene of total devastation.” Houses, schools and mosques were destroyed, roads were blocked by landslides

and communication links were snapped, he said.

“The situation is very pathetic. Everyone is gloomy and sad,” said John Joseph, executive secretary of the Caritas unit in Rawalpindi.

Joseph said during his visits to the disaster zone he came across people searching for their relatives in the debris of buildings, amid the stench of rotting bodies – especially of dead animals.

A Caritas Pakistan report dated Oct. 21 said the situation was turning into “one of the toughest relief operations the world has ever known.”

While the death toll was estimated at 79,000, the Caritas report said that many of the 74,000 people identified as injured have “open fractures, spinal injuries and very dirty wounds” that could lead to amputation.

“Pakistan needs technical know-how for providing artificial limbs to the injured,” the report said.

It also said that approximately 50,000 child survivors have become orphans or cannot locate their parents and that the government planned to compile records in an effort to reunite children with their parents.

The report said UNICEF had warned of a “second wave of deaths” as winter approaches. Caritas said UNICEF reported that up to 120,000 children remain without relief in Kashmir, and that UNICEF estimates “some 10,000 could die of hunger, hypothermia and disease within the next few weeks.” – By Anto Akkara/CNS

December 2005

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forty years later Vatican II continues to reverberate through church

I was baptized what else do I need to do? l a s t

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O Pope John XXIII signs the bull convoking the Second Vatican Council Dec. 25, 1961.

Forty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, the deep transformation it set in motion continues to reverberate through the church at every level, from the halls of the Vatican to the pews of local parishes.

The council’s four sessions from 1962 to 1965 and its 16 landmark documents modernized the liturgy, renewed the priesthood and religious life, enhanced the role of lay Catholics, opened dialogue with other churches and non-Christians, and identified the church as the “people of God” attuned to the problems and hopes of the world.

Although the council defined no new dogma, Catholics who lived through the Vatican II era will never forget the changes – some of them abrupt – that visited their church communities in the mid-1960s.

Altars were turned around so that priests faced the people. The Mass in Latin gave way to Mass in the vernacular. Other sacraments were updated and simplified. Men and women religious adopted a more modern form of dress.

Not all the changes were immediate, however.

Church leaders began a long and sometimes contentious process of revising nearly every area of pastoral life, from the teaching of religion to lay ministries.

“The council represented a Copernican revolution for the church, which challenged itself by asking how it could reopen a dialogue with the modern world,” said Father Dario Vitali, who teaches church history at Rome’s Gregorian University.

“Through the council, the church drew closer to contemporary men and women and made the Gospel meaningful to them. If there had been no Vatican II, I think the church today would be a small minority, closed off in rites incomprehensible to the modern mentality,” Father Vitali said. – John Thavis/CNS

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nce I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior, am I not saved? Once I go through the RCIA program and am baptized, confirmed, and receive my first Communion, what more is needed? Ongoing conversion is something people talk about but find difficult to do. It’s sort of like entering into an exercise program, nice to talk about it but hard to do it, and even harder to sustain it.

In an age of instant breakfast, instant Internet and instant news, we can quickly shift our attention to other interests. It’s like spending the day with a cell phone attached to our ears – lots of talk, little action.

Ask yourself, does Tiger Woods continue to practice, even though he has made it as the world’s top golfer? Professional basketball players, baseball players and athletes in all sports continue to work to improve even though they are at the top of their games. If you’re into a “do-it-yourself spirituality,” you are likely to be at a spiritual D+ grade and need some real work to improve.

Why do we think that once we’ve been confirmed we don’t need to go to Mass very much any more? When I was 27 years old, I entered the seminary and spent seven years learning about our Catholic faith. I was not ordained a priest until I was 34, and I’m still learning about our faith.

Imagine yourself driving your car and the windshield is covered with winter’s slush. A squirt or two of washer fluid and some action with the wipers may get you by in terms of seeing where you’re going. But when the sun comes out, you’ll notice every smudge and ding on your windshield. Well, when you’re facing the light of the Son of God, a similar situation faces you. In his bright light, you will – if you are honest with yourself – realize that the window of your soul needs some cleaning up, some ongoing conversion in your spiritual life.

This time of the year is filled with new beginnings. Instead of a nice, pious New Year’s resolution that will meet the fate of other resolutions, make a firm commitment to enter into a genuine and effective conversion in the way you do things and live your life with God in Christ. Insta-pay may be effective in managing your finances, but it doesn’t work when it comes to deploying your spiritual treasures.

All of us need ongoing conversion, including me.

– Fr. Charles Irvin

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For parish information and resources for returning Catholics: www.welcomehomesunday.com – or for a one-on-one conversation, call 1.877.82.FAITH.

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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