People of God, October 2017

October 2017 Vol. 35, No. 9

Serving the multicultural people of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe www.archdiosf.org

Respect Life Month

“Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20 Art: “The Ascension” by Azzolino. Courtesy of Restored Traditions. USCCB.ORG/RESPECTLIFE

PEOPLE of GOD

2

W

hen battered by life’s storms, or immersed in a dense fog of suffering and uncertainty, we may feel alone and unequipped to handle the circumstances. Yet with words that echo through thousands of years into the corners of our hearts, the Lord says to us, “Do not fear: I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10).

He speaks these words not as one who merely observes our pain, but as one who experienced immense suffering.

And the very wounds that bear witness to his suffering indicate the essence of our identity and worth: we are loved by God. Reflecting on the healed wounds of the Risen Christ, we see that even our most difficult trials can be the place where God manifests his victory. He makes all things beautiful. He makes all things new.

october 2017

He is always with us. Jesus promised this when he gave the disciples the same mission he gives to each of us: Go. Go be my hands and feet to a world enslaved by fear. Go to the woman who is unexpectedly pregnant and fears the future. Go to your friend who fears reprisal at work because he takes a stand for the protection of human life. Go to your aging parent in failing health who fears being a burden. And go to others, too, for their support.

We don’t need to have everything figured out. We can simply follow the guidance of Our Blessed Mother, the first disciple: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).

Walk with each other. Do not be afraid to embrace God’s gift of life. Whatever storms or trials we face, we are not alone. He is with us.

RESPECT LIFE Art: Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino, The Ascension, early 17th century. Courtesy of Restored Traditions. Used with permission.

NABRE © 2010 CCD. Used with permission. Copyright © 2017, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

3

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Table of Contents 2 Be Not Afraid, Respect Life 4 Abide in Christ: That We May Be One 8 Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal 9 Acknowledging the Inconceivable 10 Vocations 11 Share the Journey: Here & Onward 12 Donate Life New Mexico 14 God’s Mercy Endures Forever…Feed the Hungry 15 Bread & Blessings Homeless Meal 16 Catholic Charities 18 Social Justice 19 Project Rachel 20 Catholic Schools 21 Family Life 26 World & National News 34 Archbishop John C. Wester’s Calendar

Official Magazine of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Assistant Editor/Photojournalist: Leslie M. Radigan lradigan@archdiosf.org Production: Christine Carter

Publisher: Most Rev. John C. Wester Editor/Photography/Design: Celine Baca Radigan cradigan@archdiosf.org

Published monthly with the exception of July. The Editor reserves the right to reject, omit, or edit any article or advertising copy submitted for publication.

All items submitted for consideration must be received by the 10th of the previous month.

Check out Media Kit online @ www.archdiosf.org Advertising listings do not imply Archdiocesan endorsement.

Friend us on Facebook: Archdiocese of Santa Fe Official twitter.com/ASFOfficial

4000 St. Joseph Pl. NWAlbuquerque NM, 87120 • (505) 831-8162

Together We Can Reach Our Goal!

80%

89%

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

Visit our new ACA Website at: www.archdiocesesantafegiving.org/ aca to donate to ACA 2017 watch Archbishop Wester’s ACA video, and much more!

10% 3% 0%

Let not our hearts be hardened by this daily barrage of disasters and the display of violence and evil, but open to hope and healing during this time of turmoil and despair.

I am very grateful to our parishes in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for their participation in the recent special collections. Please note, all monies donated to these special collections will be sent to Catholic Relief Services which directs 100% to disaster relief.

On behalf of my brothers and sisters of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, we join in solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico, Mexico and Las Vegas sharing our deepest condolences and prayers to all affected during these difficult times. We also give thanks and pray for all first responders, official and unofficial, who continue to go above and beyond their call of duty to protect and serve.

Yours in Christ, Most Reverend John C. Wester Archbishop of Santa Fe

Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for October/ Octubre

Workers and the Unemployed That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

100% 90%

The phrase “breaking news” has become a central element in our daily news cycle. Today and throughout these last few months, our brothers and sisters in the United States and abroad have faced numerous deadly disasters and horrific tragedies, turning their world upside down. The most recent, the deadliest mass shooting in U. S. history that took place in Las Vegas, NV shook us to our core.

Authorities say it could be many more months before electricity is returned to Puerto Rico and our nearly 3.5 million fellow citizens after being decimated by Hurricane Maria. In Mexico, at least 286 people have died as a result of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on September 19, 2017.

Our Goal $ 3,000,000

Derechos de los trabajadores y desempleados Por el mundo del trabajo, para que a todos les sean asegurados el respeto y la protección de sus derechos y se dé a los desempleados la oportunidad de contribuir a la construcción del bien común.

2017 Special Collection October 22, 2017 Mission Sunday is celebrated in all the local Churches as the deast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians over the world recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.

PEOPLE of GOD

4

S

october 2017

That We May Be One: Reflections on the Share the Journey Campaign

everal years ago, I heard a very important story that happened in the life of Sr. Marilyn Lacey, a sister of the Bay Area of San Francisco, and relative of the late Monsignor Lacey, former Vicar General of San Francisco. Sr. Marilyn’s ministry was to welcome refugees and others from the airport and then she would help orient them to the area. I remember her telling the story of greeting a woman who came in exhausted, having traveled many, many thousands of miles, and going through the long, involved vetting process of coming in to our country as refugee. Sr. Marilyn asked if this newly arrived, refugee woman was hungry and she answered, “Yes, I am.” Sr. Marilyn got some food and placed them in front of her, but she didn’t eat it. Sr. Marilyn said, “I’m sorry, is the food okay?” “Oh,” the woman said, “it looks wonderful. I’m very hungry.” And sister said, “Well, may I ask, why aren’t you eating?” The woman simply looked up to the sister and said, “But where are the others? Where are the others?” Sister said, “What others?” The woman replied, “Well, in my country, we would never ever eat alone. Eating is a communal activity. As a matter of fact, if you ate alone, it might be seen as a sign that you were hoarding and being selfish. We always eat with each other, strangers, friends, family.”

This story speaks of communion. It speaks of unity. And this really is at the heart of the Gospel, Matthew 25. The primary focus of what Jesus is telling us in this Gospel is union with Him, and with our neighbor. Jesus is saying that if you don’t accept those whom I send, you don’t accept Me. It’s one in the same. Jesus is uniting Himself with us. We are called to love both God and neighbor. You cannot love God and not neighbor, or the other way around.

This union with Christ and man’s unity with our brothers and our sisters with all human beings is fundamental to who we are. Now we know there are some over the years who have said that religion is the opioid of the masses, but actually, true

religion, authentic religion, is perhaps our greatest challenge and offers our greatest reward. It’s not a crutch. It’s a demand to love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as our self.

It is in this spirit that Pope Francis has inaugurated the “Share the Journey Campaign,” to live out this call of love God and of each other. For the coming two years, Pope Francis has asked us to specially focus on the stories of immigrants and refugees.

Many issues come up regarding the legal process of vetting refugees, and about our broken immigration system. In the face of these challenges, the words of St. John Paul II come to mind.

He said, “An irregular legal status cannot allow the migrant to lose his or her dignity since that migrant is endowed with inalienable rights that can neither be violated nor ignored.” Yes, we must work for comprehensive immigration reform, we must do all that we can, but our first duty is to be one with Christ and one with our immigrant brothers and sisters. Jesus tells us that if we want to be one with Him, we have to be one with each other.

This unity between Christ and ourselves is key to who we are as humans. I’m fond of quoting John Pierre de Caussade, a 17th century French Jesuit priest, who says, “Jesus Christ lives in everything, works throughout history to the end of time, that every fraction of a second, every atom of matter, contains a fragment of His hidden life, and His secret activity.” How much more so, then in our immigrant brothers and sisters.

And furthermore, we’re made in the very image and likeness of God. In the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church we read, “Since something of the glory of God shines on the face of every person, the dignity of the every person before God is the basis of the dignity of human beings before other human beings.” This notion then that we all have equal dignity because we’re created in the image and likeness of God is central to our REFLECTIONS continued on page 33

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

A Prayer for Refugees God of our Wandering Ancestors,

long have we known that Your heart is with the refugee: that You were born into time in a family of refugees, fleeing violence their homeland, who then gathered up their hungry child and fled into alien country. Their cry, Your cry, resounds through all the ages, “Will you let me in?” Give us hearts that break open when our sisters and brothers turn to us with that same cry. Then surely all these things will follow: Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices. Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat. Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.

Hands will reach out—working for peace in their homeland, working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven. Lord, protect all refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers in their travels. May they find a friend in us, and so make us worthy of the refuge we have found in You. Amen.

Courtesy of Catholic Relief Services

Faces of Migration As was the case 170 years ago with early Mormon pioneer families, Aden Batar and his family left their home – Somalia to resettle in a new area and faced the uncertainty of how they were going to re-establish their lives, build a home, and ensure a safe place to live. Batar, who was resettled through Catholic Community Services from Somalia to Utah in 1994 as a Muslim refugee, said the experiences of modern refugees are similar to those of the Mormon pioneers at the resettlement stage. “Same thing with the Mormon Pioneers — when they came to Utah, they found this new land, (start) a new life and make this their home. I consider myself as a pioneer coming to this new community in Utah. I consider this my home now. This is a state, a community that welcomed me and my family, took us in, and helped us to overcome all those challenges.”

Religious discrimination and sacrifice are also among the experiences shared by early Mormons and current “modern-day pioneers.” In the same way that Mormons were forced to flee their homes based on their religious beliefs, there are more than 65 million people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or religious persecution. This number includes 22.5 million refugees.

Read more about the refugee experience of Batar, who is also the Director of Migration and Refugee Services for Catholic Community Services in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and the rest of the story at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865686025/Modern-sacrifice-carries-on-pioneer-legacy.html

5

PEOPLE of GOD

6

H

october 2017

Que lleguemos a ser uno: Reflexiones sobre la Campaña Compartiendo el Viaje

ace algunos años, escuché una importante historia que ocurrió en la vida de la Hermana Marilyn Lacey, una hermana religiosa del área de la Bahía de San Francisco. El ministerio de la Hermana Marilyn era dar la bienvenida a refugiados y a otras personas que llegaban del aeropuerto y luego ayudarles orientándolos sobre el área.

Recuerdo escuchar la historia de cuando recibió a una mujer que llegó agotada por haber viajado muchos, muchos miles de kilómetros, y haber pasado por el largo y meticuloso proceso de investigación para ingresar a nuestro país como refugiada. La Hna. Marilyn preguntó a esta recién llegada si tenía hambre y ella respondió: “Sí, tengo hambre”. La hermana tomó entonces algo de comida y la colocó frente a ella. Después de unos minutos, la hermana notó que no había comido lo servido y preguntó: ¿acaso hay algún problema? ¿Está bien la comida?” “Oh”, dijo la mujer, “se ve deliciosa. Tengo mucha hambre”. Y la hermana dijo: “Entonces, ¿puedo preguntar, por qué no comes?” La mujer simplemente miró a la hermana y dijo: “Pero ¿dónde están los demás?” “¿Dónde están los demás?” Dijo la hermana: “¿Cuáles demás?” La mujer respondió: “Bueno, en mi país, nunca comería sola. Comer es una actividad comunitaria. De hecho, si alguien comiera solo, eso podría ser visto como una señal de estar acaparando la comida y ser egoísta. Siempre comemos unos con otros, extraños, amigos, familia.”

Esta historia habla de comunión. Habla de unidad. Y esto realmente está en el corazón del evangelio, en Mateo 25. El enfoque primario de lo que Jesús nos está diciendo en este evangelio es la unión con él, y con nuestro prójimo. Jesús está diciendo: Si no aceptas a los que yo envío, no me aceptas a mí. Es lo mismo.

Jesús mismo se está uniendo a nosotros. Estamos llamados a amar tanto a Dios como al prójimo. No puedes amar a Dios y no amar al prójimo, o al revés.

Esta unión con Cristo y la unidad del hombre con todo ser humano, nuestros hermanos y hermanas, es fundamental para nuestro propio ser. Ahora, sabemos que se ha dicho que la religión es el opio de las masas, pero en realidad, la religión verdadera, la religión auténtica, es quizás nuestro mayor desafío y nos ofrece nuestra mayor recompensa. No es simplemente un soporte. Es una exigencia de amar a Dios con todo nuestro cora-

zón y a nuestro prójimo como a nosotros mismos. Es en este espíritu que el Papa Francisco ha inaugurado la campaña “Compartiendo el viaje”, para vivir este llamado de amar a Dios y amarnos unos a otros. Durante los próximos dos años, el Papa Francisco nos ha pedido que nos centramos especialmente en las historias de inmigrantes y refugiados.

Muchos argumentos surgen con respecto al proceso legal de investigación de refugiados, y sobre nuestro quebrantado sistema de inmigración. Frente a estos desafíos, recuerdo las palabras de san Juan Pablo II. “La condición de irregularidad legal no permite menoscabar la dignidad del emigrante, el cual tiene derechos inalienables, que no pueden violarse ni desconocerse.” Sí, debemos trabajar por una reforma migratoria integral, debemos hacer todo lo que podamos, pero nuestro primer deber es ser uno con Cristo y uno con nuestros hermanos y hermanas inmigrantes. Jesús nos dice que si queremos ser uno con él, tenemos que ser uno con los demás.

Esta unidad entre Cristo y nosotros es la clave de quienes somos como seres humanos. Me gusta citar a John Pierre de Caussade, un sacerdote jesuita francés del siglo XVII, quien dice: “Jesucristo vive en todo, obra en toda la historia hasta el final del tiempo, que cada fracción de segundo, cada átomo de materia, contiene un fragmento de su vida oculta y su actividad secreta.”

Cuánto más, entonces vivirá en nuestros hermanos y hermanas inmigrantes.

Además, estamos hechos a la imagen y semejanza de Dios. En el Compendio de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia se lee: “Puesto que algo de la gloria de Dios resplandece en el rostro de cada persona, la dignidad de cada persona ante Dios es la base de la dignidad del ser humano ante otros seres humanos. “Esta noción de que todos tenemos igual dignidad porque somos creados a imagen y semejanza de Dios es fundamental para nuestra enseñanza social y es fundamental para nuestra enseñanza sobre los inmigrantes. Todos reflejamos la imagen de Dios. Y como todos reflejamos esta imagen, somos uno. Es la misma imagen, cada uno de nosotros. De hecho, cuando todos nos reunimos, es cuando la imagen de Dios está completa. Y cuando nos negamos a acoger al extranjero entre nosotros, la imagen de Dios está deREFLECTIONS continued on page 33

october 2017

Una Oración por los Refugiados Dios de nuestros errantes antepasados, hace tiempo que sabemos que tu corazón está con el refugiado: que naciste en una familia de refugiados que huía de la violencia de su patria, que luego recogió a su hijo hambriento y huyó a un país extranjero. Su lamento, tu lamento, resuena a través de todas las edades, “¿Me dejarás entrar?” Danos corazones que se abran cuando nuestras hermanas y hermanos se vuelvan hacia nosotros con ese mismo clamor. Entonces seguramente todas estas cosas seguirán: Los oídos ya no se volverán sordos a sus voces. Los ojos verán un momento para la gracia en vez de una amenaza.

Las lenguas no serán silenciadas, sino que defenderán. Las manos se extenderán, trabajando por la paz en su patria, trabajando por la justicia en las tierras donde buscan refugio.

Señor, protege a todos los refugiados, inmigrantes, solicitantes de asilo en sus viajes. Que encuentren un amigo en nosotros, y así nos hagan dignos del refugio que hemos encontrado en ti. Amén.

PEOPLE of GOD

Rostros de la migración Como fue el caso hace 170 años con las primeras familias pioneras mormonas, Aden Batar y su familia salieron de su hogar en Somalia para asentarse en una nueva área y se enfrentaron a la incertidumbre de cómo iban a restablecer sus vidas, construir una casa, y asegurar un lugar seguro para vivir. Batar, quien fue re-asentado de Somalia a Utah como refugiado musulmán a través de Catholic Community Services en 1994, dijo que las experiencias de los refugiados modernos son similares a las de los pioneros mormones en la etapa de reasentamiento.

“Pasó lo mismo con los pioneros mormones cuando llegaron a Utah, se encontraron con esta nueva tierra, comenzaron una nueva vida e hicieron de este su hogar. Me considero como un pionero al venir a esta nueva comunidad en Utah. Ahora considero que este es mi hogar. Utah es un estado, una comunidad que nos dio la bienvenida a mí y a mi familia, nos recibió y nos ayudó a superar todos estos retos.”

La discriminación religiosa y el sacrificio también se encuentran entre las experiencias compartidas por los primeros mormones y los actuales “pioneros de hoy en día.” De la misma manera que los mormones se vieron obligados a abandonar sus hogares por sus creencias religiosas, hay más de 65 millones de personas en todo el mundo que han sido desplazados como consecuencia del conflicto o la persecución religiosa.

Esta cifra incluye 22.5 millones de refugiados.

Lea más sobre la experiencia como refugiado de Batar, quien es también el director de Migración y Refugiados Servicios de Servicios Comunitarios Católicos en la Diócesis de Salt Lake City , y el resto de la historia en http://www.deseretnews.com/article/ 865686025 / Modern-sacrificio-lleva-a-pionero-legacy.html

7

8

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

PROMISE to Protect Pledge to HEAL O

n Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe sent out a news release from Archbishop John C. Wester that contained a list of 74 clergy and religious who had served in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a child or children within the archdiocese. The decision to release the list and statement was not entered into lightly, or in haste, rather this is intended as an important and critical step in helping with the healing for the victims and family members.

May the publication of this list

serve as an important step in healing for the survivors, their families, our Church and communities. For the complete news release and the list of clergy and religious credibly accused of sexual abuse of children, please go to the archdiocesan website http://archdiosf.org or go directly to http//tinyurl.com/y9gkeb63.

If you or anyone you know has been the victim of childhood sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, please immediately contact a local law enforcement agency and our Victims’ Assistance Coordinator, Annette Klimka at 505.831.8144 or aklimka@ archdiosf.org

While we have put good programs in place, we must continue to be vigilant- not only to prevent child sexual abuse but also to help victims of past abuse heal and recover from this tragedy. To the survivors of childhood clergy and religious sexual abuse, their families and loved ones, I am so deeply sorry for the pain and suffering you have endured. The history of this terrible abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to love and protect you is a deep source of sadness and shame for our Church.

We as a Church must forever strive to support and assist you on your road to recovery.

Archbishop John C. Wester

Archdiocese of Santa Fe 2017 Abuse Awareness Training for Adults: Creating a Safe Environment for Our Children

(formerly known as the Sexual Abuse Misconduct Prevention Workshop) Rev. 10/15/17

Attendance at the workshop is MANDATORY for all clergy, employees, and volunteers in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Pre-registration is necessary. These workshops are sponsored by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Contact: Annette the Victims Assistance Coordinator or Rose Garcia, at 505.831.8144.

Note: Do not bring children. No one under age 18 is allowed in the workshop. If you are late you will not be allowed to enter the training.

Please contact the Victim Assistance Coordinator to report any abuse that has occurred by Clergy, Employee or Volunteer in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe IN THE EVENT OF BAD WEATHER – CALL 505-8318144 FOR A RECORDING ADVISING IF THE TRAINING IS CANCELLED.

October 21, 2017 Saturday

10:00 a.m.–12:30 San Jose 1081 Iglesia Rd Anton Chico, 87711

November 4, 2017 Saturday

9:00 a.m. – Noon Catholic Center 4000 St. Joseph’s Pl. NW Albuquerque, 87120

December 7, 2017 Thursday

6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Catholic Center 4000 St. Joseph’s Pl. NW Albuquerque, 87120

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

Acknowledging The Inconceivable

By Very Rev. Glennon Jones, Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Los Alamos

M

any no doubt saw the recent press release in which the Catholic Archbishop of Santa Fe published the names of the members of Catholic clergy who have been accused of past sexual abuse of children. It’s no new news that those things happened, but if you’re like me, your reaction may have been: “Wow … so many.”

At least know that they have all been permanently removed from ministry, if not now deceased. I know of no allegations of new abuse by clergy in our archdiocese for many years now, and all of us in ministry pray that that beast never again raises its contemptible head. Allegations that still arise in the news are almost invariably from actions in decades past.

Why so many? From what I’ve gleaned, this archdiocese once contained a “treatment center” for acknowledged abusers intended to turn them from those desires, and other dioceses also sent offenders here for “treatment”; that’s why on the list are many clergy from other regions and religious orders. At the time such psychological treatments were believed to be—and deemed—effective, and some who completed the regimen may have been released to return to ministry.

However, from what I’ve read recently it seems very unlikely that such desires can be purged, at least permanently.

What brought about their perverse desires in the first place? I have my own ideas, as unscientific as they might be. First of all, I don’t think it was so much that priests became predators, but rather that some predators became priests—slipping undetected through the system. Predators seek prey where it is most plentiful and least vigilant,

and where they themselves are best camouflaged. Churches where families are led trustingly by one able to hide himself underneath a cloak of virtue provide perfect hunting grounds.

Another possible cause (I think) may have been the past system of minor seminaries—boarding schools for teenage boys, and thus prime targets for molesters masquerading as administrators and teachers. Because the abused often become abusers themselves, the abuse may have become self-perpetuating, increasing over time. As those abused themselves eventually became clergy, it spread throughout regions and nations. There are now few (if any) minor seminaries still operating.

Finally—and perhaps most contributive—may have been simple naiveté: sheer disbelief that someone professing to be dedicated to God and to love of neighbor could be so treacherous as to do such despicable deeds. This is a reason, I think, so many bishops were slow (indeed, negligent) to take effective action: they simply couldn’t imagine such horrid hypocrisy and betrayal by those professing to dedicate their lives to pursuing virtue and holiness. Such incredulity doesn’t excuse inaction, but it may be a possible reason for it.

Whatever the causes, it doesn’t assuage the sorrow. A line from the 1980s movie “Excalibur” sticks with me; when King Arthur questions Merlin: “Where does evil remain in my kingdom?”, Merlin replies: “Always where you least expect it.” And we remember that even Jesus had Judas. This is why the Church now insists that all staff and volunteers in any ministry (even those unrelated specifically to children) submit to criminal background checks and receive training on recognizing signs/ signals of possible predation.

One result of these scandals includes the unfortunate cultivation of some misconceptions. A prevalent one is that the required celibacy of Catholic priests (in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 7, if you’re wondering) is the cause of these crimes.

If that were the case, married men would commit such things at lower rates, which is not the case.

Another (more malicious) erroneous charge is that Christianity/Catholicism secretly teaches such evil behavior.

Such aspersions, of course, are grossly unmerited; Christian/Catholic teaching abhors such crimes, not approves them.

If such a charge were true, one would expect non-Catholics/non-religious people to perpetrate such crimes at comparatively lower rates, but that doesn’t seem to be true.

The problem stemmed (stems) not from closeness to God, but rather in perpetrators disregarding Him, regardless of their public profession or persona. It is difficult to understand how such utter hypocrisy and betrayal of what one publicly professes could not but be mere deceptive simulation of belief.

“What is wrong with these people?!”

Tommy Lee Jones asks in exasperation in “No Country for Good Men” about those committing particularly heinous crimes.

Psychology? Physiology? Moral perversion? Who knows for sure? But no excuses. If one can resist temptation in public, he can resist in private. In the case of child molestation, the normal person free of such aberrant desires cannot but be mystified, for such behavior goes against every particle of our human instinct to protect our little ones. The shield? Perpetual vigilance … so regrettably essential in our day, even with those who are most trusted.

9

10

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Meet Our New Seminarians

Why do you believe God is calling you to become a priest?

Matthew Cockrell, 1st Year College, St. Gertrude – Mora, Mt. Angel Seminary

Nestor Gaitan, 1st Year College, Christ in the Desert Monastery, Mt. Angel Seminary

I feel Jesus is calling me to become a priest because I have a desire to deliver the sacraments.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16a). That was Jesus calling me, and like Cyprian had said, to place nothing at all before Christ, because He placed nothing before us.

Preferring Christ above all else is the only way that I can begin to fulfill the Gospel and the directive to love one another.

Xavier Gutierrez, 1st Year College, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus, Assumption Seminary I feel Jesus is calling me to become a priest so I can administer the sacraments to God’s holy people and not for myself. I do not want to give myself absolution but rather give absolution to those who are broken hearted and are in need of Gods mercy. Lastly, I feel Jesus is calling me to become a priest not for myself but for the people of God.

Kevin Akanna, 3rd Year Theology, No parish sponsor, Josephinum Seminary I know God is calling me to be a priest because of the untiring unending desire in me to serve the faithful in His church. This desire is manifested in my daily life through prayer and service to others.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Share the Journey: Here and Onward November 3-December 16 An art exhibition exploring the human experience of migration, displacement, movement, place, and pilgrimage.

By Rev. Graham R. Golden, O. Praem

H

ow do we respond? Our world is facing an unprecedented trend of human migration due to social instability, war, climate conditions, and other factors. It is easy to react out of fear, close in on ourselves and point to those experiencing something different than ourselves as “other.” Our faith calls us to something much more challenging— solidarity. We may know that in Christ we are one, but how do we begin to confront our own biases to live out this truth?

The arts have always been an avenue that push us to look more deeply, to find that inner point of the human experience that transcends the narrow particulars of our individual experiences. By exploring artistic reflections on the human journey we hope to open our hearts and our minds to see where our various personal walks find unity in a shared space of seeking.

Art Exhibition Opening and Café Communio Live musical performances, food trucks, locally roasted coffee, and fellowship in faith Friday November 3: 6:30-9pm Meditative Writing Retreat Saturday November 4 (pre-registration required) Taizé in the Desert Contemplative prayer service of song, scripture, and silence Friday November 17: 7:30pm Young Adult Advent Retreat: “’Tis the Season to Wonder” Saturday December 2 (pre-registration required) Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Friday December 8 5:30pm Solemn Vespers 6:00pm Holy Hour and Reconciliation 7:15pm Abbatial Mass

You are invited to share in this experience! Make a pilgrimage to the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey and encounter artistic expressions of human migration, displacement, movement, place and pilgrimage. Come see where our human journeys, though unique, intersect in the unity we hold in God.

Meditative Writing Retreat Saturday December 9 (pre-registration required)

Join us for the following events at the abbey during the art exhibition.

Posadas and Art Exhibition Closing Saturday December 16: 6:30pm

Taizé in the Desert Contemplative prayer service of song, scripture, and silence Friday December 15: 7:30pm

Visit www.norbertinecommunity.org for more information.

11

PEOPLE of GOD

12

Jonathan Madrid, Organ Donor

Organ donation is a testimony of love for our neighbor.

Pope Francis The Catholic Church is clear that, in itself organ donation is a good and meritorious thing. A powerful expression of human solidarity that helps build a culture of life, a culture in which life is cherished.

Pope John Paul II I have always registered as an organ donor in my past assignments, San Francisco and Salt Lake City, and will do so in New Mexico. I appreciate all that New Mexico Donor Service staff and volunteers do to ensure the gift of life through organ donation.

Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe

october 2017

The Catholic Church has long recognized organ donation as a great act of charity and love.

For decades, the Catholic Church has declared organ, eye and tissue donation supports the culture of life. Families are encouraged to discuss end-oflife decisions, such as donation. During a time of loss, it is helpful for families to know their loved one’s wishes. Give others the opportunity to live full and productive lives through the gift of donation. Join our Catholic brothers and sisters in making the lifeaffirming decision to save and heal lives as an act of compassion and charity. The need for lifesaving organ transplants is critical in our nation and our state.

Register to be a donor on your driver’s license or ID card, or at RegisterMe.org

Organ & Tissue Donation Statistics • One donor can save the lives of eight people.

• One tissue donor can restore the lives of 50 or more.

• More than 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant.

• Nearly 120,000 patients are on the U.S. transplant waiting list, including 1,000 New Mexicans • Over 30,000 lifesaving transplants took place in the United States last year.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

13

SHARING THE GIFT OF LIFE Maria Sanders New Mexico Donor Services, Public Education “Willie, would you be willing to accept my son’s liver?” That was a question Willie Martinez had never expected to hear.

Willie had been sick with nonalcoholic cirrhosis for many years and had been recently listed for a liver transplant. From the time Willie’s son, Dominic, entered high school, Willie was in and out of hospitals just trying to stay alive.

The friend asking the question was Willie’s son’s best friend’s father.

The men’s two sons Dominic and Jonathan Madrid, were inseparable from the time they were seven years old. Their families grew very close through years of football, school activities and worshiping together at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church.

The last time Willie saw Jonathan was at their sons’ graduation from Belen High School. Jonathan went looking for Willie in the crowd, found him and gave him a strong hug. Jonathan was aware of Willie’s struggles with liver failure, as his grandfather had died from cirrhosis two years prior.

It was the end of summer and the

Willie Martinez, Organ Recipient boys were getting ready to begin their first year of college, when the Martinez family heard the tragic news that Jonathan was in an accident that he would not survive. The Belen community was devastated. Everyone who knew Jonathan and his parents, John and Judy Madrid, prayed for the family.

Jonathan had made the decision to register as an organ and tissue donor on his driver’s license years earlier.

John and Judy knew Jonathan would have wanted to help his best friend’s father and former coach, so they asked Willie if he would accept Jonathan’s gift.

By honoring Jonathan’s decision

to be an organ donor, Willie’s life was saved by a liver transplant. The lives of four additional people were saved through Jonathan’s gift of his heart, lungs and two kidneys. Jonathan gave sight to a two-year old, and his donated tissue helped transform additional lives.

Willie received his Gift of Life in August of 2015. He honors his donor by taking care of his health, volunteering at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, and keeping Jonathan’s memory alive by speaking on the importance of registering as an organ donor.

You too may be able to save someone’s life one day. Register to be a donor at RegisterMe.org

Facts About Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation • All major religions support donation and view it as a selfless act of generosity and goodwill to people in need.

• People of all ages and medical histories are encouraged to register as donors.

• Registering to be a donor will not interfere with life-saving medical care provided to those who are sick or injured.

• A person’s medical condition at the time of death is assessed to determine organs and tissue that can be donated.

• There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for donation. The donor family is only responsible for medical expenses incurred before death is declared.

• Donors are treated with utmost respect and dignity, making it possible to have traditional funeral arrangements, such as a viewing.

• It is illegal to buy or sell organs and tissue for transplantation in the United States.

• Organ failure can happen to anyone. Many diseases that cause organ failure are more prevalent in minority communities.

For more information contact Maria Sanders, New Mexico Donor Services Public Education 505.843.7672, msanders@dcids.

PEOPLE of GOD

14

october 2017

God’s Mercy Endures Forever. . . Feed the Hungry By the Enduring Mercy AdHoc Committee In September at Holy Family parish in Albuquerque, people from around the archdiocese gathered for a day of retreat, reflection, formation, and service.

Panelists from Bread for the World, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Felix Pantry shared how we can feed the hungry, and a recipient of food in her time of need shared her testimony. The easiest way to feed the hungry is to donate food or money. Participants learned another way is to use their voice with their local stores and legislators.

According to a study by the US Department of Agriculture, 133 billion pounds of food are thrown away in the United States every year. Feed the Hungry Day participants learned they, as consumers, could use the power of their voice to encourage retailers to pass good food, which can no

longer be sold in their establishments, on to food banks and food pantries. These can be distributed to those in need. Also, local, state, and national legislators need to hear from constituents about the importance of programs such as SNAP, farm bills and US foreign aid programs.

Rev. Larry Bernard, OFM spoke to how we address spiritual hunger and the growing need for faith communities to provide resources and tools for this. He also reminded the participants that in feeding spiritual hunger, one gains strength to reach out in charity and justice to their neighbor. These actions build even stronger communities.

Norma Valdez, a regional representative from Catholic Relief Services, spoke of the importance of global solidarity to feed the hungry. She shared how our economic choices in purchasing food and other items

can help build up families, or push them further into destitution. Being a responsible consumer by thinking of the actions of those from which we purchase can and will have the long-lasting consequence for today and the future.

In service, participants of Feed the Hungry Day placed into paper sacks enough food to feed four days’ worth of food for a family of four, distributed hot soup, bread, and cookies to the homeless in the area and participated in a global solidarity prayer walk to end hunger around the world.

The day closed with a beautiful liturgy for the 26th Sunday for Ordinary Time presided over by Archbishop John C. Wester, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, Fr. Patrick Schafer and pastor of St. John XXIII Catholic Community, Rev. Arkad Biczak concelebrating.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

15

Immaculate Conception Parish Bread and Blessings Homeless Meal By the Enduring Mercy AdHoc Committee On November 9, 2008, Immaculate Conception Parish in downtown Albuquerque started feeding the homeless from its church basement. The Bread and Blessings Sunday meal is now approaching its ninth year of reaching out to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. In nearly nine years, we rarely missed a single Sunday of serving with compassion and dignity. Last year we served 7,460 meals.

Our guests are served restaurant style. Volunteers will seat each guest at a table set up with a tablecloth, salt and peppershakers, a container with sugar, and flowers. Volunteers for this ministry come from all over the city; various parishes send their confirmation candidates as well as their youth groups. St Pius X High School students have the option of completing their required community service

hours here and many of them do take advantage of this opportunity.

A hot, homemade, nutritious meal is served. With their meal, we provide saltine crackers, dinner rolls, coffee, fruit punch, and a dessert. Guests are invited to second servings as well as carryout. After the meal, many will walk out with a sack lunch for consumption later in the day.

Donated clothing and toiletries are also provided. During the winter months, blankets are also distributed.

While the majority of those we serve are homeless, many are not. We serve those who are struggling in one form or another. All are welcome! No one is refused any of our services.

We are grateful for past grants provided

by Catholic Foundation and CRS Rice Bowl.

However, we no longer rely on funding from these organizations. This ministry is supported solely on the generosity of our parishioners and other benefactors.

Our pastor, Fr. Warren Broussard, S.J. not only offers his support but he rolls up his sleeves every Sunday and helps serve the delicious food.

Our Gracious Lord has allowed us to be of service to our hungry fellow brothers and sisters and with His help and mercy, we will continue for as long as these services are needed.

Anyone interested in obtaining more information, would like to volunteer, or make donations please contact our coordinator: Roberta Montoya at the parish office 505.247.4271 or by email robertacmontoya@gmail.com.

PEOPLE of GOD

16

october 2017

Disaster Relief for Those Affected by Recent Weather Disturbances In partnership with the archdiocese, Catholic Charities has been collecting disaster relief funds to distribute to diocesan as well as Catholic Charities/CCUSA organizations involved in relief efforts in the geographic areas impacted by recent devastating hurricanes. We would like to thank all who have generously sent monetary gifts, contributed to the second collection at parishes in September, and to all who donated blood at our mobile blood drive.

The total amounts raised will be announced on our website (www.ccasfnm.org).

Faith and Good Works – If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

- James 2:14-18 Thank you again to all who have generously answered the call to help our brothers and sisters in need!

We our Volunteers!

In September, Catholic Charities expressed appreciation to its volunteers during a special luncheon at the Embassy Suites.

Clara Mae Vanzura has Volunteers help in been helping to schedule almost every area of rides for seniors for more the organization. From than 20 years! offering free rides to senior citizens to welcoming newcomer families as participants in “Team Refugee” to organizing the festive fundraiser, the St. Nicholas Ball… these individuals and groups are making a positive impact in our local community!

Clara Mae Vanzura began volunteering at Catholic Charities as a driver in June of 1997. A few years later, she became a transportation scheduler in the office. Today at the age of 87, she is still dedicated and committed to her work at Catholic Charities. A few years ago, we introduced an online scheduling system, which “rocked her world.” Clara Mae was not sure she was up to the challenge. After a long Christmas break she showed up with an “I can do this attitude.” She commented, “I know what Catholic Charities does for me, it keeps me from getting old and keeps my mind fresh.”

If you are interested in volunteering your talents to bring hope to those in need, please contact Cathy Aragon-Marquez, Catholic Charities Volunteer Developer at 505.724.4634

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Back-to-School at Catholic Charities Just a short couple of months ago, more than 100 adults graduated from the programs offered at Catholic Charities. It was a joyous time for these graduates, their families and friends. Their accomplishment paves the way for new and exciting opportunities for these individuals.

A new class of adult learners are back in the classrooms at Catholic Charities for High School Equivalency, English as a Second Language, Citizenship and workforce trainings. With over 17 different courses offered and more than 700 students enrolled program-wide, the Center for Educational Opportunity is serving more and doing more with its great new space at Casa de Corazon.

Our Center for Educational Opportunity is always in need of ongoing support. Individuals interested in volunteering or in making a monetary contribution should contact Catholic Charities’ Development office at 505.724.4693 or at development@ccasfnm.org.

Have You Purchased Your Tickets or a Table for the St. Nicholas Ball?

Catholic Charities creates hope for those in need by promoting self- sufficiency, strengthening families, fighting poverty and building community. The St. Nicholas Charity Gala raises much-needed funds to help those in most need throughout Central New Mexico.

Kick off the holiday season and give to those in need by attending our signature fundraiser on November 18, 2017 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque.

Enjoy the evening with dinner, silent and live auctions, entertainment and dancing by the Pink Flamingos while giving back to our community! Check out our website to learn more: http://www.ccasfnm.org/saintnicholas-ball.html

AACC School Supply Drive

Members of the dynamic AACC Scholarship Committee Mrs. Louise Davis and Dr. Geri Harge present an abundance of school supplies for our Catholic Schools to Ms. Susan Murphy, superintendent.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe African American Catholic Community distributed school supplies recently for the benefit of all Catholic elementary schools in the archdiocese. Thanks to donors who contributed to this effort. Our Catholic schools do not benefit from the other school supply drives around town. The AACC Scholarship Committee has been collecting and distributing supplies since 2014.

The AACC appreciates your contributions for the next school year which is on-going at Risen Savior Catholic Community on Wyoming & Paseo, F.C. Ziegler’s-Garson’s Religious Store at 2415 San Pedro NE and Lay Canossian Daughters of Charity . Thank you for your generosity.

17

18

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Call for proposals for Catholic Campaign for Human (CCHD) Development Grants CCHD is the US Bishops’ anti-poverty initiative to break the devastating cycle of poverty in America, to defend human dignity, and to assist people to help themselves. Collections are taken in all parishes throughout the US in November, and then are used for grants for community organizing and economic development projects that focus on helping people with a hand up not just a hand out.

Non-profits (or organizations that have a fiscal agent that is a non-profit) that work with community development or economic development initiatives that focus on empowering low income people may apply for National grants

of $25,000-$75,000.

Smaller “seed” grants of $1,500-$10,000 are also available. An “eligibility quiz” is available until November 1 for “new” organizations (organizations that have never received CCHD National funding or organizations that have not been in the cycle of funding for at least 3 years) seeking National CCHD funding. More information about what is eligible for funding is located on the CCHD web site, http://www.usccb.org/ about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/grants/index. cfm. For small “seed grants,” contact the Office of Social Justice and Respect Life505.831.8167.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

By Carol Feeney, Project Rachel Coordinator Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. Psalm 23:4 October 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a special day set aside for honoring and remembering children who have died in pregnancy or in infancy. Families around the U.S. who have experienced such a loss will honoring their children in ways that are meaningful to them.

In association with the Remembrance Day is the “International Wave of Light.” Families will light memorial candles at 7:00 in the evening of October 15th. As each time zone arrives at 7:00 PM, new candles will be lit. Over the course of the day, a wave of light will progress around the whole world.

If you have lost a child, perhaps you will want to take part in these rituals, which unite families in thought and prayer. In our humanity, those who have lost a child take comfort in companionship from others who have suffered similar losses. God is our constant companion, who walks with us and understands our sorrow. If in our grief we lose sight of God, he is still there. If on our journey we feel isolated, the Church is there to accompany us.

You are not alone. God is in your Christian brothers and sisters who love you, who want to pray with you, who have experienced losses like yours.

In our archdiocese, a few weeks after the Remembrance Day, a Mass of Hope and Healing will take place in Albuquerque on November 3, 2017 at St. Jude Thaddeus Parish (5712 Paradise Blvd NW).

Sponsored by Project Rachel, this special Mass is for families who have lost children during pregnancy due to miscarriage or abortion, or who have lost children during infancy. It offers a prayerful and encouraging

setting for grieving families and friends to come together in Christian community. Rev. Tien-Tri Nguyen will preside. The sacrament of reconciliation will be available beginning at 5:30 PM. A presentation, also beginning at 5:30, will be offered which will address healing through grief with faith. Mass will begin at 6:30 and will be followed by a reception.

When we remember God’s faithfulness and his ability to bring goodness to all situations, it brings us calm and hope. Allow God to strengthen you and take care of you.

For more information, please call 505.831.8235.

I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

19

PEOPLE of GOD

20

october 2017

St. Pius X Launches Mendoza Endowment

In September, St. Mary’s School and Immaculate Conception Albuquerque hosted our annual First Responder’s Mass. Our students invited their family and friends who serve as police officers, fire fighters and medics to join our weekly school Mass to thank them for all they do for the wider community. We were grateful to welcome responders from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department and others from our area.

At the end of Mass we asked a special blessing upon our guests.

Saint Mary’s Annual FALL FEST

A Benefit for Saint Mary ’s Catholic School--Belen Saturday , October 2 1 , 2 01 7 5:00 pm, until the last ticket drawn 1 01 North 1 0 th Street Parish Center-Belen

Event Information

$10,000 GRAND PRIZE Only 600 tickets sold 70 guaranteed winners Odds of winning 8.57 to 1 Dinner served 5:30 to 8:00 pm Board Auction begins at 6:15 pm

Dazzling and Unique Live Auction items and Stunning Raffle Baskets Event tickets $100 each Multiple buyers per ticket accepted 2 ROAST BEEF dinner tickets included with every ticket Additional dinner tickets may be purchased for $10.00

The 4x4 Side by Side ATV Drawing will take place at 8:00 pm 505.864.0484 for more information

RULES: Do not need to be present to win. All names will be drawn and posted. Names will be placed in blocks of 25, based on ticket numbers and will be auctioned. The person who purchases the block containing the name of the Grand Prize Winner will win 50% of the total auction pool. The first ticket drawn will win $500. Every tenth ticket drawn will win $100. Every fiftieth drawn will win $250. The final ten tickets will be auctioned. Tickets on through eight will win $100. The ninth ticket will win $1,000. The tenth ticket or final ticket is the $10,000 Grand-Prize Winner. Seller & buyer must be 21 years of age or older or ticket will be void. Saint Mary’s Catholic School 1011 North Tenth Street Belen, NM 87002

Former players carry Coach San Juan Mendoza off the field after winning the 2016 Class 5A State Football Championship.

By Melissa W. Sais, St. Pius X High School The St. Pius X High School Foundation has announced the creation of an endowment in the name of retired head football coach San Juan Mendoza. Mendoza spent the last 25 seasons coaching the Sartans, earning state championships in 1999 and 2016. The Coach San Juan Mendoza Endowment will provide tuition assistance to deserving St. Pius X High School students.

“During my time as coach, I worked to instill in my players that football was not about wins and losses, but about how you played the game,” Mendoza said. “My true goal was to develop my players into good men, hard-working, dedicated, strong, and loyal men.”

Alex Sais, Class of 2016, is one of those players. A First Team All-State defensive end, Sais is now playing football and studying accounting, Spanish and music at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. “Hard work, accountability and brotherhood were what we developed during my time at SPX and those things are what make our teams so successful,” Sais said. “Coach Mendoza was always able to anticipate what we needed to prepare for on either side of the ball, but it was as a mentor and person where he was able to get the best out of his teams. I have to thank Coach for the opportunities he gave to me to grow as a player, person and leader, and I truly appreciate the time I spent on his team. Because of his commitment to me, our teams and our school, I am honored to contribute to an endowment that will bear his name and will support deserving students.”

Bobby Wallace, St. Pius X High School director of advancement, says the St. Pius X Foundation is working to raise $30,000 that will fully fund the endowment and support tuition assistance at Albuquerque’s only Catholic high school. He is reaching out to Coach Mendoza’s former players and Sartan football fans to support the effort to honor Mendoza and support students seeking the positive influence and winning tradition found at St. Pius X High School.

If you’d like to help, visit saintpiusx.com/support, click the “Donate” button, and select “Mendoza Endowment” in the drop down “Designation” menu. For more information, contact the St. Pius X Advancement and Alumni Office at 505.831.8406.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Archbishop’s School Fund Dinner Teachers of the Year

By Susan Murphy, Superintendent of Catholic Schools The Archdiocese of Santa Fe Catholic School’s Office celebrated their 34th Annual Archbishop’s School Fund Dinner “Promise For Our Future” in September 22 at Sandia Resort & Casino. Our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. David Romero, reporter at KQRE and alumnus of St. Pius X High School shared his experience with Catholic schools and provided a wonderful flow to the evening. The keynote speaker was Mr. Jonathan Doyle, an author, global speaker, motivator and entrepreneur. He spoke of his deep passion for Catholic education and challenged all present to act with justice. He defined justice as giving to another what is due to them because of “whose” they are.

“Each person is made in the image of God. No child should be deprived of the beauty, potential, passion and richness of a Catholic education because of poverty.”

“There is only one reason that you are blessed and that is you have been blessed to be a blessing to others. You are called to do for others what they can’t do for themselves at this time.” Jonathan ended his talk with a quote from the only Australian saint, St. Mary Mackillop, “never see a need without doing something about it.” Jonathan was the epitome of this statement by donating $1000 of his own money to help a child attend a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The evening included a major donor private reception, an auction, raffle baskets, dinner, and Baseball with the Bishop Raffle. The final event of the evening was a testimonial from St. Pius X High senior, Briana Enriquez.

Brianna shared her story and her successes made possible due to the generosity of others. These messages resonated with those gathered as was apparent through our “Raise the Paddle” for Catholic education activity which raised $19,000 in ten minutes. The Catholic Schools Office thanks the many sponsors, donors, and friends of Catholic schools who through their generous support continue to promise a future for our children.

Giving Back Students at Santo Niño Regional Catholic School along with Gorman Lighting collected items for the victims of Hurricane Harvey this past summer.

21

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Mrs. Mary Helen Schulte Receives Catholic Foundation Award

By Jennifer Maldonado, STAS Parent Club Vice President Every year since 1998, The Catholic Foundation has honored an average of five teachers at their annual Grants Award Luncheon in September. Recipients are nominated and selected by a committee, awarding $1,000 to the honorees and $100 to their school’s endowment fund at The Catholic Foundation. The award is made possible by an anonymous donor through an endowment, going to a teacher who has touched the life of a child because of his or her dedication to Catholic education.

This year, St. Thomas Aquinas School is proud to announce that Mrs. Mary Helen Schulte is one of those honorees. Mrs. Schulte teaches fifth grade at St. Thomas Aquinas School and has been with the school since its second year in 2001. She began as a 4th grade teacher where she remained for four years. Mrs. Schulte then became the mid-school science teacher for two years and finally landed in 5th grade where she has been ever since. Mrs. Schulte’s teaching philosophy stems from a passion for education, “I want my students to be lifetime learners. I strive to give them the tools they need to be ready so that they can accomplish anything. I am known for teaching them to take notes, how to study and most of all to be prepared. When they leave St. Thomas Aquinas, they can attend any school and be successful.”

Mrs. Schulte began her career in education as a music teacher where she taught kindergarten-5th in public school.

She then became a mother and opened her own piano studio out of her home. It wasn’t long before Mrs. Schulte had an itch to return to the classroom, so she attended the University of New Mexico where she completed her certification in teaching. Mrs. Schulte resides in Rio Rancho, NM with her husband. She has been blessed with three daughters and three granddaughters. On her weekends, she plays piano during Mass at St. John Vianney and St. Jude Thaddeus.

According to Mrs. Schulte, “I pray every day that God gives me the wisdom, the grace, the love and the fortitude to get me through each day.” Mrs. Schulte received her award on September 21st at the 2017 Grants Award Luncheon at the Sandia Resort and Convention Center. St. Thomas Aquinas School wants to thank Mrs. Schulte for the last 16 years of dedication and touching the lives of the many students who have been blessed to have her as their teacher.

22

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

With this ring....

Did you hear wedding bells in 1957/1967?

Celebrate your golden or diamond anniversary with the People of God. You are invited to include the information below and have it published in one of our issues: Groom’s name Bride’s Maiden Name Date you received the Sacrament of Matrimony Parish Town/City Parish to which you presently belong 100 words about your family or a brief reflection of your life Please include your phone number and email address.

Mail to People of God 4000 St. Joseph’s Pl NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 or email lradigan@archdiosf.org and attach a high res photo.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

Lucero, Romero Mr. Margarito Romero and Miss Virginia Lucero celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on August 9, 2017.

They were married in Mountainair, NM at the parish of St. Alice. Margarito and Virginia were residents of Estancia, NM and graduated from high school there in 1947 and were married thereafter. They had been high school sweethearts. They began their married life moving to Santa Fe and Margarito pursued employment at the New Mexico State Capitol. They started their family and now are proud parents of five sons, several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Virginia and Margarito have been members of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish since 1952 when Margarito’s employment brought them to Albuquerque. They have both been active parishioners in OLA Parish. Margarito served as a leader for over 26 years with the Knights of Columbus and Virginia has lead the bilingual choir for the past 46 years. Margarito celebrated his 90th birthday on August 25th. They celebrated on August 6, 2017 with a family brunch.

Chavez, Lovato Mr. Larry Lovato and Miss Beatrice Chavez are celebrating 70 years of marriage. They were married October 18, 1947 at Sacred Heart Church in Albuquerque. They have three children , Freddy and wife Dorothy, Joanne and husband Art, and Denise and husband Marty. They have 10 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

They attend St. Joseph’s on the Rio Grande Church in Albuquerque where Larry is a fourth degree Knight. Larry retired from the post office and Beatrice is retired from electronics. They enjoy their dances at the senior centers, traveling and weekly gatherings with their friends.

Herrera, Garcia Mr. Lino Ernesto Garcia and Miss Viola Ann Herrera met while both employed at the Health Department in Santa Fe. After a year of dating, Lino’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Eloy Garcia of Questa, traveled to meet with Viola’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Cleofes Herrera of Santa Fe, to ask for their daughter’s hand in matrimony.

Sixty years ago they received the sacrament of marriage at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on August 10, 1957.

As they began their blissful life as one, they started a family and a successful printing business, Yucca Printing. As parishioners, they provided printing service needs for San Isidro Parish.

Upon retirement in 1997, they built a home in Questa, NM and joined St. Anthony Parish. After the wall collapse of the St. Anthony’s Church in 2008, they volunteered their time, talent and resources. This included making stained glass windowpanes, working on site with the tractor, feeding the volunteers, fundraising, and providing contributions. As they continue to pray together daily, God remains at the center of their marriage.

Work Towards a More Meaningful Marriage at Upcoming Marriage Encounter Weekend, Dec. 2 & 3

By Erica Asmus-Otero, Marriage Encounter It’s been said that “marriage takes work” – a concept that may intimidate unmarried couples, but one to which most married couples can relate. Married couples have to “work” at not taking each other for granted, at staying connected, at agreeing on financial issues and parental responsibilities, among others. Sometimes those magical feelings we had for each other as newlyweds may be masked for a time, but that doesn’t mean the marriage is not worth the effort any longer. The value of marriage is deeper than what we feel at the time.

Since 1970, married couples in New Mexico have tapped into Marriage Encounter – a ministry of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Family Life Office – for a life-changing course in communication. In fact, Marriage Encounter is the longest running marriage centered ministry in the country. Thousands of marriages have been rebuilt with this essential ministry because it teaches ways to argue without hurting, make marriage a priority, and go home with a deeper understanding and appreciation for spouses and marriage.

Just like any job or career, if we want to advance and progress, we take continuing education courses, participate in workshops or training seminars, and may have to make sacrifices in order to succeed. Like marriage, sometimes we just don’t feel like dedicating the energy or time required to be better, but the rewards are great in the end.

A Marriage Encounter weekend is scheduled on December 2 and 3, devoted to couples who want to nourish their marriages. Couples who have also participated in Marriage Encounter will lead the weekend. The weekend is designed to be private between husband and wife with no group sharing. Those wanting to validate their civil marriages in the Catholic Church are also invited to participate in the Marriage Encounter weekend.

The cost of the weekend is $200 per couple ($100 deposit, $100 due during the weekend) which includes overnight stay accommodations, communications tools, and meals. Confessions and a send off Mass are offered on December 3 for couples as well.

Isn’t your marriage worth improving? Bring the focus back on God and your marriage at the next Marriage Encounter weekend.

For more information, visit Facebook.com/ ABQSFMarriageEncounter/ or call the Family Life Office at 505.831.8117. To register call Vivian Austin at 505.363.0363 or email Vivnava@yahoo.com.

Lopez Archbishop Emeritus Michael J. Sheehan blesses Victor and Toni Lopez on the occasion of their 65th Anniversary Sept 2, 2017 at Our Lady of Belen Church in Belen, NM.

23

PEOPLE of GOD

24

october 2017

Connie Baca, Ct. Our Lady of Belen #1359

Catholic Daughters of the Americas

The New Mexico Catholic Daughters of the Americas’ Fall Retreat/Workshop was held at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Albuquerque in September. There were 149 attendee including the five State Officers: Angelina Romero State Regent; Angela Herrera 1st Vice State Regent; Yvette Griego 2nd Vice State Regent; Catherine Collins State Secretary; Rosie Duran State Treasurer and their State Chaplain Msgr. Anthony Bolman, representing 27 of the 31 courts in New Mexico.

Best Selling Author and Rwandan Genocide Survivor to Speak in Las Cruces Immaculée Ilibagiza to Talk About Faith, Hope, Love and Forgiveness

By Martha Beasley, Family Outreach Ministry, Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Las Cruces, NM

I

mmaculée Ilibagiza, a New York Times best-selling author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Genocide, is scheduled to speak at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary about faith, hope, love and forgiveness, on Friday evening, February 23, and Saturday morning, February 24, 2018.

In 1994, members of the Hutu tribe in Rwanda took up arms against the Tutsi tribe. In only 100 days, they slaughtered over 800,000 Tutsis using only spears, clubs and machetes. It was genocide, and few Tutsis survived Immaculée Ilibagiza was one of the few.

To protect his only daughter from rape and murder, Immaculée’s father told her to run to a local pastor’s house for protection. The pastor sheltered Immaculée

and seven other women in a hidden 3x4 foot bathroom. For the next 91 days, Immaculée and the other women huddled silently in this small room, while the genocide raged outside the home and throughout the country.

While in hiding, anger and resentment were destroying Immaculee’s mind, body and spirit. It was then that Immaculée turned to prayer. She began to pray the rosary as a way of drowning out the anger inside her, and the evil outside the house. It was that turning point towards God and away from hate that saved Immaculée.

After 91 days, Immaculée was finally liberated from her hiding place only to face a horrific reality. She emerged from that small bathroom weighing just 65 pounds and finding her entire family brutally murdered, with the exception of one brother who was studying abroad. After the genocide, Immaculée came face-to-

face with the man who killed her mother and one of her brothers. After enduring months of physical, mental and spiritual suffering, Immaculée was still able to offer the unthinkable, telling the man, “I forgive you”.

Today, Immaculée is regarded as one of the world’s leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. She has shared this universal message with world leaders, school children, multinational corporations, churches, and at events and conferences around the world.

A major motion picture about her story is under production with an international release in theaters in 2018.

Tickets for this retreat event can be purchased at www.immaculee.com, links: Shop/Events, Retreats, or call Martha Beasley, Event Coordinator, for more information at either 575.640.9076, 575.524.8563, or e-mail at martha.cathedralihm@gmail.com.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

25

Albuquerque Faith Leaders’ Annual Breakfast

Deacon Steve Rangel and Paul Jew, founders of Albuquerque Faith Leaders, held their annual breakfast at the Jewish Community Center. Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and over 150 diverse faith leaders came together to address the concerns of homeless families and how to combat hatred. At the breakfast they discussed ways the faith community could work together to help homeless families with housing and the resources they need. They also signed an anti-hate compact against hatred, extremism and bigotry. The compact is adapted from the US Conference of Mayors and the ADL compact to combat hate. They are working for the common good of our Albuquerque families.

The Annual Archdiocesan Retreat for Parish Ecumenical Liaisons

By Jim Gilroy, Member of the Archdiocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Commission

O

n Saturday, September 23rd, the Archdiocese held its Annual Ecumenical Retreat for parish liaisons from throughout the Archdiocese. Rev. Msgr. Bennett J. Voorhies, Director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, started off the day with both a prayer and reflection on the Priestly Prayer of Jesus – “That they all be one” (Jn 17:11), reminding all that the call to the ecumenical ministry of restoring Christian unity pertains to the whole church, faithful and clergy alike; and, that only, through a life of prayer can there be the change of heart and holiness necessary for the Spirit to work toward Christian unity.

Msgr. Voorhies stated that to be effective ecumenical ministers, Catholics also need to be well prepared in the understanding of the fundamentals of our faith beliefs as well as those of our Protestant and Orthodox brothers and sisters. In this time of great social change and growing skepticism toward religion, Catholics need to better understand the breadth and depth of our own be-

liefs as well as those of our fellow Christians. The Nicene Creed tells us there is more that unites us than divides us, and we, as Christians, need to come together prayerfully and take seriously Christ’s prayer, “that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me.” (Jn 17:21) After the opening prayer and reflection, there was a three-hour presentation and dialogue on church history, scripture, and theological topics from an ecumenical perspective, followed by an update on the many ecumenical and interreligious activities in the archdiocese. The retreat concluded in prayerful reflection of the Our Father as it relates to the unity God, our Father, desires for us in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

If you are interested in joining the ecumenical and interreligious work in our archdiocese or would like to be a parish ecumenical liaison, please contact Beth Lukes, Chair of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Commission, at 505.831.8208.

For more information on the Archdiocese Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, see the archdiocese website http://www. archdiocesesantafe.org/Offices/Ecumenical/Ecumenical.html

PEOPLE of GOD

26

october 2017

W O R L D A N D N AT I O N A L N E W S

U.S. Bishop Chairman Statement on Immigration Principles and Need for Congressional Action to Protect Dreamers October 10, 2017 WASHINGTON—On Sunday evening, the White House released Immigration Principles and Policies that are a proposed list of priorities to be considered when working on legislative protection for Dreamers.

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Texas, Chairman of the Committee on Migration, issued the following statement urging Congress to “ensure true protection for Dreamers once and for all.”

Full statement follows: “The Administration’s Immigration Principles and Policies do not provide the way forward for comprehensive immigration reform rooted in respect for human life and dignity, and for the security of our citizens. They are not reflective of our country’s immigrant past, and they attack the most vulnerable, notably unaccompanied children and many others who flee persecution. Most unfortunately, the principles fail to recognize that the

family is the fundamental building block of our immigration system, our society, and our Church.

“Since July, Congress has introduced legislative solutions for Dreamers, including the Dream Act. The Administration should focus attention on ensuring that a legislative solution for Dreamers is found as soon as possible. Every day that passes without that solution, these youth experience growing apprehension for their futures and their families.

Each passing day brings us all a step closer to March 2018, when DACA recipients will begin to lose legal work privileges, and far worse, face the threat of deportation and family separation.

“For this reason, we exhort Congress to take up legislation and move forward promptly to ensure true protection for Dreamers once and for all.

Together with so many others of good will, we shall continue to offer welcome and support to these remarkable young people, and we shall not stop advocating for their permanent protection and eventual citizenship.”

Do not let hate, violence ‘have the last word,’ says Las Vegas bishop

A couple prays during an Oct. 3 vigil for the victims of a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas. (CNS photo/ Chris Wattie, Reuters)

LAS VEGAS (CNS) -- At an emotional interfaith prayer service at Guardian Angel Cathedral, Las Vegas Bishop Joseph A. Pepe told those filling the pews Oct. 2 that “in the face of tragedy we need each other.” “And in the face of violence we stand together because we cannot let hate and violence have the last word,” he said in his remarks at the evening service. “We gather from all faiths and walks of life. We pray and sing and listen to the word of God to remind ourselves that amidst this tragedy God is with us,” Bishop Pepe said. “God cries with our tears.”

The service at the cathedral brought people

together as they were still trying to fathom what had occurred barely 24 hours earlier: A crazed gunman, later identified by law enforcement officials as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, showered a crowd of about 22,000 attending a country music festival in a venue on the Las Vegas Strip the evening of Oct. 1. From his perch in a room high on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino resort hotel, he fired off hundreds of rounds of bullets down on the crowd below, ultimately leaving at least 59 people dead and more than 500 injured. It is the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Bishop Vasquez urges U.S. to help solve expanding Rohingya crisis

Rohingya Children gather at a camp for displaced people Sept. 6 in Maungdaw township, Rakhine state, Myanmar. More than 120,000 Rohingya, the vast majority of them Muslim, remain interned in camps in Rakhine, where they face restrictions on their movement and limited access to basic services and education. (CNS photo/Nyein Chan Naing, EPA)

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration called on the federal government to work with the Myanmar government and the international community to solve the crisis affecting the persecuted Rohingya people. Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, said in written testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Oct. 5 that the situation affecting the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar deserve “safe, humane and voluntary durable solutions” as they struggle amid violence that has caused them to flee their homeland. More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 after

government forces began retaliating after attacks on security check posts by militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. The conflict has resulted in more than 1,000 Rohingya deaths, dozens of houses burned and countless women being raped. Bishop Vasquez offered several recommendations to the House committee, including steps to stabilize the situation in Rakhine state and Bangladesh, provide protection and humanitarian assistance for the displace Rohingya, resettlement of Rohingya in other countries as necessary, and work for long-term peace while addressing the root causes for the displacement of people from Myanmar, also known as Burma.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

W O R L D A N D N AT I O N A L N E W S

U.S. Bishops to Meet November 13-14 in Baltimore Address from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Report from Bishops Working Group on Immigration, Centennial Anniversary October 10, 2017 WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will meet in Baltimore, November 13-14, for their fall general assembly. During the assembly, the bishops will elect a new secretary for the Conference as well as five committee chairs. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, will also give his first address to the body of bishops as President of the USCCB as he completes the first year of his three-year term. In addition, the body of bishops will also hear an update from the bishops working group on immigration.

The bishops will vote for new chairmen-elect of the following six USCCB committees: Committee on Communications, Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, Committee on National Collections, Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Committee on Doctrine, and a Chairman for the Committee for Religious Liberty. Bishop nominees for the board of directors for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) will also elected.

The assembly will vote on the ICEL Gray Book translation of the Order of Baptism of Children text which reflects the translation principles introduced in Liturgian authenticam. They will also discuss and vote on the Conference’s 2018 budget.

There will also be a voice vote on the cause for canonization for a Lakota holy man and medicine man turned Catholic teacher named Nicholas Black Elk, Sr., sought by Bishop Robert Gruss of Rapid City.

Several reports will also be given including a report from the National Advisory Council, as well as a report from Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and from Bishop Frank Dewane, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Bishop George Murry, Chairman of the newly established Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, will also give an update report. The bishops will also hear updates on the Share the Journey campaign launched by Pope Francis on September 27 and reports from Sean Callahan, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services as well as Sister Donna Markham, OP, Ph.D., President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA).

An update will also be given on the Convocation of Catholic Leaders in America that took place July 1-4, 2017 in Orlando, Florida, as well as reports on preparations for the upcoming V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry and the 2018 Synod for Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment. The Most Reverend José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, OSA, Archbishop of Panama will also present on preparations for the 2019 World Youth Day. On Sunday evening, a Mass will also be held in downtown, Baltimore. The Mass will mark the Centennial Anniversary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Conference will take place at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel.

Coverage of the bishops’ meeting is open to credentialed media. Sessions open to the media will be Monday, November 13, and Tuesday, November 14. There will be media conferences after each open session.

27

28

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

Time Again to Shop for the Best Medicare Deal

By Bob Moos/Southwest public affairs officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

ow’s the time for New Mexico residents with Medicare to check their health and drug coverage for 2018.

Medicare’s open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

Open enrollment is the best time to make sure your health and drug plans still meet your individual needs, especially if you’ve had any changes in your health.

By now insurers should have notified you of any adjustments in your health or drug coverage or any changes in your out-ofpocket costs for next year.

Even if you’ve been satisfied with your health and drug coverage, you may benefit from reviewing all your options.

Shopping around may save you money or improve your coverage.

Medicare Advantage remains a strong alternative for people who prefer to receive care through a private insurer rather than through Medicare’s original fee-for-service program. Most plans include drug coverage.

The number of people buying Medicare Advantage plans is expected to grow by 9% to 20.4 million nationwide in 2018. Thirtythree percent of New Mexico residents with Medicare now opt to

N

get their health care benefits this way.

Many Advantage plans charge a separate premium on top of the Part B premium you’ll pay for Medicare’s medical insurance.

Nationally, the average monthly cost for that separate Medicare Advantage premium will be $30 in 2018 -- $1.91 less than this year.

New Mexico residents in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service program who want to add prescription drug coverage can choose from 24 drug plans with monthly premiums ranging from $17.40 to $153.40 – about the same premium range as last year. Nationally, the average premium for a basic drug plan in 2018 will drop by $1.20 to $33.50 per month.

Look beyond premiums, though. The only way to determine the true cost of your drug coverage is to consider other factors like deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance.

Medicare’s website – www.medicare.gov – has the best tool for helping you narrow your search for a new health or drug plan. Just click on “Find Health and Drug Plans.”

After entering your ZIP code and the list of your prescriptions, you can use the “Medicare Plan Finder” tool to compare your coverage and out-of-pocket costs under different plans.

The quality of a health or drug plan’s customer service should be considered, too. To help you identify the best and worst, the Plan Finder provides star ratings for each plan. The ratings range from five stars (excellent) to one star (poor); three stars are average.

Higher-rated plans deliver a higher level of care, such as managing chronic conditions efficiently, screening for and preventing illnesses, and making sure people get much-needed prescriptions. Higher-rated plans also have fewer complaints or long waits for care.

Besides using Medicare.gov, you can call Medicare’s toll-free help line at 1-800-633-4227 or consult your “Medicare & You 2018 Handbook,” which you should have received in the mail in the last few weeks.

One-on-one benefits counseling is also available through your State Health Insurance Assistance Program. In New Mexico, you should call 1-800-432-2080.

Medicare’s drug benefit continues to improve. You’ll enjoy more savings on your prescriptions in 2018 once you land in the coverage gap, known as the “doughnut hole.”

You’ll receive a 65 percent break on your brand-name drugs and a 56 percent discount on your generic drugs while in the gap. The doughnut hole begins once you and your drug plan have spent $3,750 for your drugs.

If you’re having difficulty affording your medications, you may qualify for extra help with your drug coverage premiums, deductibles and co-payments.

The amount of help depends on your income and resources.

But, generally, you’ll pay no more than $3.35 for each generic drug and $8.35 for each brand-name drug in 2018.

Thirty-eight percent of New Mexico residents with Medicare’s drug coverage now get such a break.

To learn more about whether you qualify for extra help, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

There’s no better time to check your Medicare health and drug coverage. Any changes you make will take effect on Jan. 1.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

29

Language as Opening or Closing our Minds

By Rev. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI Thirty years ago, the American Educator, Allan Bloom, wrote a book entitled, The Closing of the American Mind. This was his thesis: In our secularized world today our language is becoming ever-more empirical, one-dimensional, and devoid of depth and this is closing our minds by stripping us of the deeper meanings inside our own experience. For Bloom, how we name an experience determines to a large extent its meaning.

Twenty years earlier, in rather provocative essay, The Triumph of the Therapeutic, Philip Rieff had already suggested something similar. For Rieff, we live our lives under a certain “symbolic hedge”, namely, a language and set of symbols within which we interpret our experience. And that hedge can be high or low and consequently so too will be the meaning we derive from any experience. Experience can be rich or shallow, depending on the language by which we interpret it.

Take this example: A man has a backache and sees his doctor. The doctor tells him that he’s suffering from arthritis. This brings the man some initial calm. But he isn’t satisfied and sees a psychologist. The psychologist tells him that his symptoms are not just physical but that he is also suffering from mid-life crisis. This names his pain at a deeper level and affords him a richer understanding of what he is undergoing. But he’s still dissatisfied and sees a spiritual director.

The spiritual director, while not denying him arthritis and mid-life crisis, tells him that he should understand this pain as his Gethsemane, as his cross to carry.

Notice all three diagnoses speak of the same pain but that each places that pain under a different symbolic hedge. Language speaks at different levels and only a certain language speaks at the level of the soul. Recently we have been helped to understand this through the work of Carl Jung and a number of his disciples, notably James Hillman and Thomas Moore, who have helped us to understand more explicitly the language of the soul and how that language uncovers deep archetypes within us.

We see the language of soul, among other places, in some of our great myths and fairy tales, many of them centuries old. Their

seeming simplicity can fool you. They may be simple, but they’re not simplistic. To offer one example, the story of Cinderella: The first thing to notice in this story is that the name, Cinderella, is not a real name but a composite of two words: Cinder, meaning ashes; and Puella, meaning the eternal girl. This is not a simple fairy tale about a lonely, beaten-down young girl. It’s a myth that highlights a deep structure within the human soul, namely, that before our souls are ready to wear the glass slipper, be the belle of the ball, to marry the prince, and to live happily ever after we must first spend some necessary time sitting in the ashes, suffering humiliation, and being purified by a time in the dust.

Notice how this story speaks in its own way of our spirituality of “lent”, a season of penance, wherein we mark ourselves with ashes in order to enter a desert of our own making.

Cinderella is a story that shines a tiny light into the depth of our souls. Many of our famous myths do that, though nothing shines a light into the soul as deeply as does scripture, the bible. Its language and symbols name our experience in a way that both honors the soul and helps us plumb the genuine depth inside our experiences.

For example: We can be confused, or we can be inside the belly of the whale. We

can be helpless before an addiction, or we can be possessed by a demon. We can vacillate in our prayer lives between fervor and dark nights, or we can vacillate between being with Jesus ‘in Galilee’ or with him in ‘Jerusalem’. We can be paralyzed as we stand before a globalization that’s overwhelming, or we can be standing with Jesus on the borders of Samaria in a first conversation with a Syro-Phoenician woman. We can be struggling with fidelity and with keeping our commitments in relationships, or we can be standing with Joshua before God, receiving instructions to kill off the Canaanites if we are to sustain ourselves in the Promised Land. We can be suffering from arthritis, or we can be sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane.

The language we use to understand an experience make a huge, huge difference in what that experience means to us. In The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom uses a rather earthy, but highly illustrative, example to explain this. He quotes Plato who tells us that during their breaks his students sit around and tell wonderful stories about the meaning of their immortal longings. My students, Bloom laments, sit around during their breaks and tell stories about being horny.

We are losing the language of the soul and we are poorer for it.

4333 Pan American Fwy. NE ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87107 PHONE: (505)

247-0444 FAX: (505) 243-1505

John A. Menicucci, CPM President / Real Estate

Frederic Brennan, CPCU President / Insurance William F. Raskob President / CEO

Gabriel A. Portillo Vice President

The specialists of Berger Briggs handle all types of real estate and insurance: commerical, industrial, and investment real estate; full property management; contractor bonds and all lines of insurance.

For over 70 years, in a field where reputation and high ethical standards really count, clients have trusted Berger Briggs.

REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Curtis A. Brewer, CCIM Bill Campbell James Ellis Bruce Golden Dan Hernandez, JD Larry McClintock Timothy P. Mullane

ACCOUNTING

Mary Jo Dawson

.

Vangie Pavlakos CCIM Jim Schneider Stuart Sherman Tai Alley Dave Vincioni Alan Vincioni Karen Ward

Dede Walden

INSURANCE

Sherry Anderson Linda Atkinson Sylvia Austin Jeannie Boyd Ryan Brennan Kaelan Brennan Rhonda Hill Amber Laguillo Frank Melendez Joseph Menicucci Pam Muzzi Carolyn Nasi

Brian O’Malley Carol Pinnell Melissa A. Portillo Angela Romero Jim Sampson Dee Silva Ann Skelley, CISR Debra Stiles Tracy Thompson Jessica Vargas Vanessa Villegas Kathy Yeager

30

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

A New Mission Church is Inspired by the Memory of a “Beautiful American”

By Dr. Tim Muldoon

O

n Saturday, September 23, more than 15,000 people gathered at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City to participate in the Mass of Beatification for native son Father Stanley Rother. That day Father Rother became the first man born and raised in the United States to be beatified. He is also the first martyr from the United States as well as from Guatemala, where he served as a pastor for 13 years before being gunned down by a government that despised the Church’s service to the desperately poor indigenous population.

Among the throng gathered there that day was a small group of pilgrims from Decatur, Arkansas, about a three-hour drive away. They were clad in light blue shirts which on the front read “Iglesia Católica Decatur, AR” and on the back bore an image of Father Rother. They were members of the soon-to-be-dedicated Beato Padre Stanley Rother Mission, and were proud to be the first community in the world about to bear the name of the new Blessed.

When I visited the community the next day, Sunday the 24th, they were gathered in the local Decatur school for a Mass with Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock. They listened intently to the bishop’s 90-minute presentation on the life of Father Rother—an attention which was all the more impressive for the fact that there were many children in the audience. They understood that something historic and profound was unfolding there: establishing a living memorial of a man who had given his life for the people he served.

As the members of the new parish are Central American, the connection to his life is very real and, for some, a matter of living memory. José Zamora, who is in training for the diaconate, grew up in neighboring El Salvador, not far from the city of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, where Rother ministered. He told a news reporter that he remembers vividly when the government was “killing everybody.” He said, “When I was hearing about [Father Rother’s] story, in El Salvador we saw catechists disappear, our priests were crying.

It was familiar. We know what he went through.”

He described crying through the previous day’s beatification Mass, moved by the story of the pastor who, in Rother’s own words, could not abandon his flock at the first signs of trouble.

All of the priests and bishops present at the beatification vested in red, symbolic of the blood of the martyrs. Seldom do they have to contemplate the stark reality of martyrdom; most reflect the attitude of one of Father

Rother’s fellow priests during the period of Guatemalan repression: “I like the martyrs. I just don’t want to be one of them.”

What is stunning about Rother’s story—a story aptly told by María Ruiz Scaperlanda in her book The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run—is that he fled Guatemala and returned to his home in Okarche, Oklahoma, for time to contemplate what lay ahead for him. He could either remain in his diocese of origin, ministering in a rural parish like the one he had grown up in, or he could return to the people who had come to depend on him and love him. Seldom has there ever been such a choice so much in the shape of the Paschal mystery: a man called to go to those whom he loved, very mindful of the possibility (and even likelihood) that he would be killed. Okarche was Rother’s Gethsemane; Santiago Atitlán was his Jerusalem.

He returned to Guatemala and was killed only a few months later.

As Bishop Taylor told the details of Rother’s story, I looked around the room. The members of the community were riveted. Rother had died for people like them; in a sense he had died for them. This is a community unaccustomed to being told how valuable they are, how beloved by God. On the contrary, a glance at recent news might persuade them that many of their neighbors consider them a burden. But after the Mass, the mood was joyful, exuberant. Serving plates of rice, beans, and meats, they beamed at the photographers and reporters gathered to witness the founding of a new mission church.

Most of the men of this small mission work in local chicken-processing plants, many supporting large families. Some work multiple jobs. In very many cases, they were drawn to the United States to escape violence in places like El Salvador, Guatemala, or southern Mexico. The promise of work and a safe place to raise a family stands in stark difference to the reality from which many fled. For them, the fact that a man from the United States spend his priestly ministry in the kind of danger from which they themselves escaped is enough to persuade them of his heroic virtue.

In his funeral homily in 1981, then-Archbishop Charles Salatka of Oklahoma City said of Father Rother that, unlike the image of a self-centered “ugly” American, Stanley Rother was a “beautiful American”—a man willing to shape his life according to the pattern of Christ and love profoundly. The members of the new Blessed Father Stanley Rother community have a patron and friend in heaven, one whom they—and we—will do well to imitate in our pilgrimage toward God. Dr. Tim Muldoon is Catholic Extension’s Director of Mission Education.

PEOPLE of GOD

october 2017

When Is It a Sin to Make a Referral?

During World War II, if a contractor had been asked to construct a building knowing that it would serve as a gas chamber in Auschwitz, it goes without saying that he ought not agree to do it. By laying the foundation and supervising the plumbing, electrical and duct work, he would be contributing to, or enabling, the subsequent commission of atrocities against prisoners in the concentration camp.

But significant concerns would also arise if he were to reply: “I’m sorry, I have a moral objection to building this structure, but let me put in a call to a colleague who is a contractor, and he will do it for you.” By placing the call, he would still be a part of the causal chain leading to the building of the facility, and to the subsequent evils that would be carried out in it. By making a referral to engage someone else’s services for something immoral, we can still be involved in, and responsible for, the commission of grave evils.

Among medical professionals, situations can likewise arise in which they may be tempted to make a referral for an immoral procedure, supposing that because they are not doing the procedure themselves, they are now morally “in the clear.”

For example, a pharmacist who lives and works in a state or jurisdiction where physician-assisted suicide has been legalized may be asked to fill a prescription for suicide pills. By declining to fill that prescription, he or she avoids immediately cooperating with a customer’s immoral decision to commit suicide. But it would still raise moral concerns if the pharmacist said to the customer: “Let me pass this prescription to my co-worker, because, although I cannot fill it, he can help you out.” The first pharmacist remains a contributor in the chain of events leading up to the carrying out of the evil act, and he would be cooperating in evil by making the referral to his co-worker.

A “referral” in moral terms is when the person who refuses to do the immoral procedure himself or herself directs the requesting person to another individual or institution because the other individual or institution is known or believed to be willing to provide the immoral procedure in question. The decision to offer the referral indicates that the one doing it is choosing, at least implicitly, to help the requester carry out the evil act, and such implicit willing of evil acts can never be morally acceptable.

Making a referral can also convey a sense of tacit acceptance and approval of that evil, and therefore the referring provider can also become guilty of wrongdoing by giving scandal. Someone who gives scandal helps to form the immoral will of another. In fact, the term “scandal” in theology refers to any action, word or deed that leads another to sin.

Of course, a pharmacist could simply decline to fill a suicide pill prescription. He may have to pay the consequences for his refusal, but it certainly would be a valid and courageous option for him to give witness to the injustice of assisted suicide laws. But that may not be the only way to approach the situation. A conscientious pharmacist could also say to the customer, “There may be other pharmacies around

31

here that can assist you,” or even, “there may be others working at this pharmacy who can assist you,” and leave it at that. This would not be a referral, but a simple statement regarding commonly available public knowledge. The pharmacist could then return the prescription to the customer, rather than passing it to a co-worker, and the customer would then have to initiate a new “causal chain” or series of choices as he or she seeks to obtain the immoral medications, looking around and inquiring about who might fill the prescription. This removes the original pharmacist from the causal chain, avoids making a referral to a colleague, and diminishes or eliminates responsibility for any subsequent evils that the customer may end up committing.

Regrettably, pharmacists and other health care professionals today are coming under increasing fire from the culture around them as they are being told, as part of their job description, that they have to ignore their well-formed consciences and fill prescriptions for suicide pills, the abortion pill or contraception. Yet a double-standard is clearly at work, for if the prescription were for something a pharmacist knew would be used as a date rape drug to take advantage of a woman at a party, everyone would declare the pharmacist to be a moral hero for refusing.

To sum up, then, a great deal of care, vigilance and determination is needed not only for us to avoid committing certain evils, but also to avoid making a referral for those evils to be carried out by others.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

LENTEN PILGRIMAGE TO ROME AND ASSISI MARCH 10 - 18, 2018

With spiritual director, Deacon David Little from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Rio Rancho, NM. You will attend daily Mass, visit the Vatican, the Papal Audience, the Sistine Chapel, the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Wall in Lateran, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, a tour of the Roman Colosseum, the Forum, the Trevi Fountain. In Assisi, you will attend Mass at the Beautiful Bassilica of St. Francis and more.

The cost of $2998.00 for double occupancy includes R/T from Albuquerque/Rome/Albuquerque, hotel with breakfast and dinner daily, deluxe motor coach to places on the itinerary, one suitcase per person. Transfers from airport/ hotel/airport, entrance fees to places on the itinerary, English speaking guide.

For a brochure call Julio J. Garcia, group coordinator at (505)994-9188 or Nick Gjeca at 1-800-228-4654. Ext. 216 at Regina Catholic Pilgrimages.

NOBODY DELIVERS FASTER 2720 Carlisle NE • Albuq. NM 87110

Replate • Repair Fine Metal & Artifact Restoration Glass Engraving and Repair Custom Engraving Custom Rosaries

(505) 888-3993

Custom Jewelry Jewelry Repair Sterling Silver & Gold

midway OFFICE SUPPLY

Business & Workplace Products New Mexico’s Largest Home Owned & Independent Office Supply Company

345-3414

5900 Midway Park NE • Albuquerque, NM www.midwayos.com

PEOPLE of GOD

32

Rest in Peace

CATHOLIC 101

Two Great Feasts: All Saints And All Souls

By Fr. Larry Rice, CSP On the first two days of November each year, the Church commemorates two linked feast days: All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2). All Saints is easy to understand: We remember all those who have lived lives of heroic holiness, whether the Church has canonized them or not. On All Souls, we remember all those who have died, not just the spiritual superstars.

From the earliest days the church has prayed for the deceased. Their judgment is in the hands of God, and we trust in God’s mercy. But we also believe the God cares about us and our concerns, so prayers for our deceased loved ones are appropriate.

The feast day itself is rooted in the second

october 2017

century. In the 10th century, St. Odilo of Cliny established a memorial of all the faithful departed. Rome added the feast to the church’s calendar in the 13th century. In many parts of the world the celebration of this feast day is marked with particular energy, such as el Dia del los Muertos in Mexico.

It’s appropriate to commemorate All Souls Day by praying for those who have gone before us in faith. Some people also visit the graves of their loved ones to pray for them.

The feast of All Souls reminds us of our mortality. We are all finite, mortal creatures. We are all loved by God, who has endowed us with an immortal soul. Our ultimate destiny lies in God’s hands, and even death does not separate us from his love. (Courtesy www.USCCB.org)

Deacon Reynaldo Alfonso Cordova passed away on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

Deacon Cordova was ordained a deacon on July 28, 1990.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Deacon Reynaldo Cordova and for his family and friends.

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

REFLECTIONS Continued from page 4

social teaching and is central to our teaching about immigrants. All of us reflect the image of God. There’s our unity with God with Christ.

And since we all reflect this image, we are one. It’s the same image, each one of us. As a matter of fact, when we all come together, the image of God is most complete. And when we refuse to welcome the stranger in our midst, the image of God is marred and fragmented and incomplete.

And a final connection is that Jesus joins us through the medium of suffering. He surrenders Himself and ‘became one of us not gaining equality with God something to be grasped.” That’s suffering, letting go, surrendering. And He died on the cross for us that we might have eternal life. That Jesus that raises us in judgment at the end of time - raises a hand with a nail hole in it, to symbolize his unity with all humanity. Because all of us suffer, and Christ suffers with us.

And so these are some of the ways that we’re one with Christ and one with each other. And we know that the Church has a special place in her heart for the poor, sometimes called a “preferential option for the poor.” And that is I believe, because the poor are the ones most in danger of not being united with us. They are the ones most in danger of dying of starvation, of disease, of being forgotten, of being trafficked, of being beaten down. It is the poor that we must reach out to first, and gathering to be with us. And clearly, it’s hard to imagine anyone who can be poorer than immigrants or refugees, with nowhere to lay their head, and quite often no laws to protect them, and sadly, sometimes, in some places, no warm welcome.

And so, our Holy Father asks us to journey together with our fellow pilgrims for these two years and beyond, so that we might give witness, advocate, pray and learn so that all of us together might be fellow pilgrims. I think Pope Francis actually gave us a beautiful context for these two years. Remember when he came to visit our country, not long ago and spoke before the joint sessions of Congress. He said, “we the people of this continent are not fearful of foreigners because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you were also descended from foreigners. Let us remember the Golden Rule. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we wish to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security. If we want life, let us give life. If we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. We are one with Christ and one with each other.”

May the next two years help us to extend this unity to everyone, as we ask over, and over and over again: “Where are the others?”

Sincerely yours in the Lord,

Most Rev. John C, Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe

33

REFLECTIONS Continued from page 4

teriorada, incompleta y fragmentada.

Una conexión final es que Jesús se une a nosotros por medio del sufrimiento. Él se entrega a sí mismo y “se hizo semejante a nosotros, no considerando el ser igual a Dios como algo a qué aferrarse”. Eso es sufrimiento, dejar ir, rendirse. Y murió en la cruz para que nosotros pudiéramos tener vida eterna. Ese Jesús que nos juzga en el juicio final, levanta una mano con un agujero de clavo en ella, para simbolizar su unidad con toda la humanidad.

Porque todos sufrimos, y Cristo sufre con nosotros.

Estas son algunas de las maneras en que somos uno con Cristo y uno con los demás. Sabemos que la Iglesia tiene un lugar especial en su corazón por los pobres, llamando a veces a esto una “opción preferencial por los pobres”. Creo que esto es porque los pobres son los que corren mayor riesgo de no estar unidos con nosotros. Son los que están más en peligro de morir de hambre, de enfermedad, de ser olvidados, de ser traficados, de ser golpeados. Es el pobre al que debemos llegar primero, y a quien debemos reunir para que esté con nosotros. Y claro, es difícil imaginar a alguien que pueda ser más pobre que los inmigrantes o los refugiados, sin un lugar en dónde recostar su cabeza, y muy a menudo sin leyes para protegerlos, y lamentablemente, en algunos lugares, sin que alguien les ofrezca una cálida bienvenida.

Nuestro Santo Padre nos pide que caminemos juntos con nuestros compañeros peregrinos durante estos dos años y más allá, para que podamos dar testimonio, abogar, orar y aprender para que todos juntos podamos ser compañeros peregrinos.

Creo que el Papa Francisco realmente nos dio un hermoso contexto para estos dos años. Recuerden cuando visitó nuestro país no hace mucho tiempo y habló ante el Congreso. Él dijo, “nosotros la gente de este continente no tememos a los extranjeros porque la mayoría de nosotros fuimos extranjeros. Digo esto como hijo de inmigrantes, sabiendo que muchos de ustedes también descendieron de extranjeros. Recordemos la regla de oro.

Tratemos a los demás con la misma pasión y compasión con la que queremos ser tratados. Busquemos para los demás las mismas posibilidades que deseamos para nosotros. Acompañemos el crecimiento de los otros como queremos ser acompañados.

En definitiva: queremos seguridad, demos seguridad; queremos vida, demos vida; queremos oportunidades, brindemos oportunidades. Somos uno con Cristo y uno con los demás.”

Que los próximos dos años nos ayuden a extender esta unidad a todos, al preguntarnos una y otra vez: “¿Dónde están los demás?”

Sinceramente suyo en el Señor,

Arzobispo John C. Wester

PEOPLE of GOD

34

Fri Nov 10

TV MASS SCHEDULE The Catholic Center St. Joseph/St. Francis Chapel Over the air television Sunday at 6:30 a.m. on KRQE TV-13-2, KBIM TV-10-2, KREZ TV-6-2 and KASYMy50TV Cable or satellite providers on KRQE TV-13, KBIM TV-10, KREZ TV-6, FOX 2 American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted TV Mass donations may be sent online to www.archdiosf.org or mailed to: Vicar General’s Office/TV Mass 4000 St. Joseph’s Pl. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120 Check out Sunday and daily readings at www.usccb.org

To advertise in People of God, THE MAGAZINE contact Leslie M. Radigan at 505-831-8162 or email lradigan@archdiosf.org

october 2017

Veteran’s Day

ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE OCTOBER 14 Sat 8:00 a.m. Archdiocesan V Encuentro, St. Pius X HS Gym, Albuquerque 15 Sun 9:00 a.m. Consecration of Santa Ana Pueblo Church, Santa Ana Pueblo 16 Mon 10:30 a.m. Serra Club Golf w/Padres, Canyon Club at Four Hills, Albuquerque 17 Tue 6:00 p.m. Adult Confirmation, Cathedral Basilica, Santa Fe 18 Wed 4:00 p.m. APC Executive Committee, Lamy Room, Albuquerque

6:00 p.m. Adult Confirmation, St. Jude Thaddeus, Albuquerque 19 Thu 6:00 p.m. MACC 45th Anniversary Dinner, San Antonio, TX 20-23 Fri 8:00 a.m. Annual EOHSJ, Oklahoma City, OK 25 Wed 10:00 a.m. Catholic Foundation Board Meeting, Location TBD

6:00 p.m. St. Mary’s School High Bidder Dinner, Belen 26 Thu 1:00 p.m. Tape Spanish ACA Message, Albuquerque

3:00 p.m. Listening Session and Installation of Rev. Emmanuel Izuka as Pastor OLOG, Peralta 28 Sat 9:00 a.m. Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, Church of the Risen Savior, Albuquerque

4:00 p.m. Mass and Dinner, Archdiocesan Youth Conference

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Albuquerque 29 Sun 9:00 a.m. Mass, Kirtland AFB Chapel, Albuquerque

2:30 p.m. Ecumenical Event-Commemoration of the 500th Anniversary

of the Reformation, St. John’s United Methodist Church, Albuquerque NOVEMBER 5 Sun Archbishop Wester’s birthday 7 Tues 12:30 p.m Executive Finance Committee, Catholic Center

1:00 p.m. Curia Meeting, Catholic Center 8 Weds 10:00a.m. Presbyteral Council Meeting, IHM Retreat Center

Blessing of Christus St. Vincent Medical Center’s new wing, Santa Fe 9-16 USCCB General Meeting, Baltimore, MD 17 Fri 12:00p.m. Archbishop’s Hour, Catholic Radio 18 Sat 10:00 a.m Stational and MC Training for Deacons

october 2017

PEOPLE of GOD

35