OC CATHOLIC - JUNE 26, 2022

ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD JOHN HENRY HITS THE BALL DURING TENNIS PRACTICE AT JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO ON FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022.

PHOTO: DREW KELLEY

CONTENTS

VOCATION FULFILLED

After 44 years of service to the Diocese of Orange, Father Enrique Sera is retiring.

REST AND REJUVENATION

2022 6 7 14

The summer season brings opportunities for nurturing our minds, bodies and souls.

POPE: THEOLOGIANS MUST FIND NEW WAYS TO EXPRESS, SHARE FAITH

The community needs to adapt the message of faith to the new ways of communicating today, without changing the fundamental meaning.

ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC MISSION STATEMENT

The Orange County Catholic Newspaper seeks to illuminate and animate the journey of faith for Catholics within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange – building solidarity among the faithful and inviting a deeper understanding and involvement in the mission of Christ – through the timely sharing of news, commentary and feature content in an engaging, accessible and compelling format.

ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC

The Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Diocese of Orange Pastoral Center, 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove 92840

Publisher: The Most Reverend Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange

Executive Editor: Monsignor Stephen Doktorczyk

Editor: Patricia Mahoney, editor@occatholic.com

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Delivered weekly to parishes and homes throughout Orange County, Calif., Orange County Catholic is published by SCNG Custom Content, a division of Southern California News Group that offers content development and design expertise to businesses and nonprofit institutions. The Orange County Catholic editorial staff and editorial council are responsible for the content contained herein. Events and products advertised in Orange County Catholic do not carry the implicit endorsement of the Diocese of Orange or SCNG Custom Content.

PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

A CALL TO EVANGELIZATION

BY FR. AL BACA

AS A YOUNG MAN, when I heard the word evangelization, I thought of far away places where missionaries were preaching the Gospel often at great threat to their lives.

It would never have occurred to me that the word had some connection to me or anyone who was already a believing Catholic. All these years later I now see how evangelization is the very grounding of Catholic life.

Evangelization is the proclaiming of the gospel of salvation, of Jesus Christ. We evangelize by word and by good works. It is the central mission of the Catholic Church and the calling of every disciple of Christ. We might even say that it is one of the measurements of discipleship and the indwelling of the

Holy Spirit.

When the apostles were gathered in the Upper Room they were paralyzed with fear. Christ had been crucified and there was every good reason to believe that they would be arrested next. Then Pentecost happened. Sealed with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles had an irrepressible need to share their experience of Christ. It is this same confidence of faith that every Catholic longs for.

Bishop Vann established the Office for Evangelization to provide parishes, ministries and all Catholics with support and resources connected to evangelization. More importantly, it represents a concrete commitment of the Diocese of Orange to foster in all of us a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church.

All of us have had friends and family members who have left the Catholic

CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

The Diocese of Orange, through OC Catholic newspaper, presents local, national and world news about the Catholic Church. Our intention is to give our readers access to a variety of perspectives in order to help them to process the information within the framework of our Catholic faith, but also to better understand the perspectives of those with opposing viewpoints. We hope that ultimately our readers will be better equipped to have constructive conversations that further the growth of the Catholic Church.

FATHER AL BACA COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE

JUNE

26, 2022 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

DISCIPLESHIP’S COSTS

IN TODAY’S FIRST READING, God tells the prophet Elijah to prepare Elisha to succeed him. Succeeding Elijah will be no easy task; he has spent his life facing threats from the kings he has confronted about their infidelity to the God of Israel. The psalm illustrates the emotional and spiritual distress that the prophets’ steadfast faithfulness to God brought them. Paul’s description of the Christian’s freedom from the law as opposed to “the desire of the flesh” puts this struggle at the very heart of Christian identity. The reading from Luke’s Gospel recounts Jesus’ decision to journey toward Jerusalem, where he knows he will meet his earthly fate. Following Jesus— like succeeding Elijah as prophet—will now become more difficult. Unlike his calls to the first disciples, Jesus encounters those who are not ready or are not strong enough to journey with him.

Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co. C

MONDAY AM 2:6-10, 13-16; PS 50:16BC-23; MT 8:18-22

WEDNESDAY

376 – 444 –

CYRIL WAS BORN IN ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, and was the nephew of its patriarch, Theophilus. Classically educated, he was ordained by his uncle, whom he succeeded as patriarch in 412. He had helped Theophilus discredit and depose St. John Chrysostom from Constantinople, in what may have been a rivalry between the two ancient sees. As patriarch, he exercised his authority hastily and violently, drawing severe criticism, and was embroiled in heretical controversies, chiefly against Nestorius of Constantinople, who taught that Mary was not the mother of God. Cyril’s orthodoxy eventually was upheld by pope and emperor. This most brilliant theologian of the Alexandrian tradition was declared a doctor of the church in 1882; he is the patron of Alexandria. C

SATURDAY

SAINT PROFILE

“ The church is mother and calls together all of her children.”

— Pope Francis

VOCATION FULFILLED

DIOCESE’S FIRST ORDAINED PRIEST TO RETIRE

BY BILL QUINNAN

THE FIRST PRIESTLY ordination is a major milestone for any diocese. When the Diocese of Orange held it first ordination in 1978, Father Enrique Sera had the privilege of being the first priest ordained in the two-year-old diocese. Forty-four years later, he is ready to retire.

Father Sera asked his parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fullerton, not to make a big deal of the event. However, the parish will extend a farewell to him with a Night of Baseball event Wednesday, June 29, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the night before his retirement.

Priests never actually retire from ministry, but only from administration, Father Sera noted. He is hoping to spend his first five or six months of retirement on sabbatical and then looks forward to focusing on the ministries that originally attracted him to the priesthood.

“But I never want to attend another HR meeting; I never want to attend another budget meeting,” he said. “They can run that without me.”

JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

Father Sera was born in Cuba in 1950, nine years before the rise of Fidel Castro’s regime, and discovered his priestly vocation at a young age.

“Ever since I was a little boy, my mother would take me to church. I guess I was mesmerized by the whole mystery of the bells and the smells and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I had a very good exposure to the catechetical faith through the (De la Salle) Christian Brothers in Havana ... and so I knew that my Catholic faith was strong.”

As the political climate changed in Cuba, his vocation created an added incentive for his parents to get him into the United States.

“Even as a kid, I had problems with the communists, because I wouldn’t shut up,” he recalled. “I said (to my mother), ‘You know I want to be priest; you know I’m not going to be happy here.’ And she said, ‘Yes, I know.’”

His parents arranged to get him an exit visa through Operation Peter Pan, a covert program led by Father Bryan O.

Walsh in Miami that enabled approximately 14,000 unaccompanied children to escape from Cuba into the United States from 1960 to 1962.

While Father Sera arrived in the United States in 1962, his parents were not able to join him until 1966. In the meantime, he was sent to a foster family with six children of their own in Ellinsburg, Washington.

“It was just wonderful,” Father Sera said. Although Ellinsburg was a small town of about 6,000 people at the time, it

had its own state university and was home to the biggest rodeo in the northwest.

“If I was going to be enculturated in the American culture,” he said, “that was the best place to do it.”

ADVENTURES IN MINISTRY

Father Sera’s first assignment as a priest was at St. Joseph in Catholic Church in Placentia, a smaller parish at the time comprising a variety of cultures. As the Spanish-speaking priest at his parish, he was highly involved in

FATHER ENRIQUE SERA WAS THE FIRST PRIEST ORDAINED IN THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE 44 YEARS AGO.

PHOTO: DREW KELLEY

ministering to the Hispanic community. He also enjoyed getting to know a few of the professors from California State University, Fullerton, who were parishioners at St. Joseph.

“It was a good place to cut your teeth in terms of pastoral ministry,” said Fr. Sera.

As a priest at St. Mary’s a few years later, Father Sera received permission from the pastor to study marital counseling at CSU Fullerton. Although he initially only planned to take the classes that would be most relevant to ministering to married couples as a priest, he eventually earned a master’s degree and a marriage and family therapist license.

“It made me much more facile in dealing with human problems –much more open,” he said.

He served as a Navy chaplain from 1986 to 1999, taking him to destinations including Puerto Rico, Panama and Bermuda.

“Everyone else saw it as work. I saw it as the greatest amount of fun I was having – all these sailors and Marines and everyone else and going to all these different places.”

Several building projects were completed under Father Sera’s watch, including the construction of a new $4 million church building at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana and an $8 million renovation at Saint Joachim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa.

“It was really fun, because I was working with high type-A personality guys in the construction business and architecture,” he said.

Father Sera expressed his appreciation for Bishop Kevin Vann’s Diocesan leadership and the concentrated effort within the Diocese to foster fraternity among the parishes.

“Today we are very much aware that we are a brotherhood,” he said. C

REST AND REJUVENATION

SUMMERTIME OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO NURTURE OUR FAMILIES, OURSELVES AND OUR SOULS

BY CATHI DOUGLAS

IT SEEMS STRANGE TO non-Catholics, but one of my favorite parts of summer vacation travel was Sunday mornings when we would attend a local church.

Every Catholic community worships universally, but still there are neighborhood and regional traditions and each parish has its own personality.

My husband and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the Bay Area. We were there to visit our middle son and his girlfriend, but we also explored Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, the Palace of Fine Arts and more.

Our time was spent talking and eating, whether we were in their apartment or at their favorite Italian restaurant. Vacations usually mean I lose a few pounds, but not this time. Our son believes that life is all about the food.

Vacations – even short weekend getaways – are among my favorite things. I love having a trip to look forward to, and having no trips on the books was, for me, one of the worst parts of the coronavirus pandemic.

For me, vacations mean exploring. Regional food, national museums, state parks and historic hotels are just some of the attractions I love. Reading about a city ahead of time and booking some events, activities and

tours makes each trip more special. We still talk about the bus tour we took from London to the Cotswolds and the hop on, hop off bus that drove us through Boston.

Vacations, of course, provide escape from our busy work lives, the change to unplug from technology, the opportunity to indulge ourselves in massages and margaritas – whatever leisure pursuits allow us to recharge and rejuvenate. It’s common for me to meditate and pray more when I’m away than at home, where my everyday obligations are call out for my attention.

One of our most indulgent vacations was just after our oldest son’s wedding, when we knew we’d be tapped out from all the stress and activities. We booked an all-inclusive stay at the Hotel Encantada resort in Cabo San Lucas, and never left the property. It offered five different swimming pools, private villas stocked with drinks and with full kitchens, and at least a half-dozen restaurants, some of them fancy and others dedicated to local cuisine. We were never without drinks in our hands and relied on our personal butler to drive us to appointments at the spa or dinner reservations. On that trip, we experienced how the other half lives; it was a revelation to return home to our usual lives –

the ones that include laundry and bills Getaways are good, but staycations can be fulfilling, too. Sharing afternoon espresso breaks on the front porch glider allows my husband and I to observe the birds, butterflies and bees. It’s refreshing to body and soul alike. Hiking one of Orange County’s many trails, in the foothills or at the ocean, provides the eye with new vistas and the soul with fresh opportunities to appreciate God’s gifts to us, including the natural worlds of plants and animals, sunsets and moonrises. Summer provides students with a break from the classroom and adults a change of pace. I pray that this summer offers you the opportunity to take a deep breath, relax and rest – and the chance to reconnect with your soul. C

VISITORS WALK THE GROUNDS OF HISTORIC MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARISA TRUJILLO/DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

LEADING THE WAY

JSERRA’S ADAPTIVE TENNIS PROGRAM SHOWS NO LIMITS

BY LOU PONSI

JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL in San Juan Capistrano is on a path towards becoming the school of choice for athletes with special needs.

Twin brothers Keith and Kurt Orahood, longtime tennis coaches at JSerra, recently started an adaptive wheelchair youth tennis program for players with disabilities.

The program, which the brothers run through their club program, T3Tennis, serves youngsters ages 8 to 18 and is believed to be the first of its kind in south Orange County.

Keith Orahood, JSerra’s assistant coach under Kurt, was inspired to start an adaptive tennis program after coaching Lions’ sophomore Landon Sachs, a wheelchair bound member of the school’s tennis team.

The California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body of high school sports in the state, allows players in wheelchairs to compete against players with no disabilities under slightly modified rules, Orahood said.

In May, Sachs competed in his first ever USTA Wheelchair Tournament, finishing first in the 18 and under division.

“When Landon agreed to play tennis here and when I saw the smile it brought to his face on a daily basis, I thought that magic could go on with other kids,” Keith Orahood said. “I had the heartstrings tugged on and thought I want to do something - I want to give back to the community and to some kids.”

Keith went on to earn coaching cer-

tification in wheelchair tennis with the United States Tennis Association and the brothers launched the first six-week session in April. The second session just got underway, with instruction taking place each Wednesday.

One of the participants, Gianna Mantucca, 14, is already a competitive swimmer and water polo player and is taking up tennis for the first time.

The Santa Margarita High School freshman removes her prosthetic leg while in the wheelchair.

“This is the first experience I’ve ever had with tennis,” Mantucca said. “It’s a lot of fun learning new things and meeting other people who also have disabilities.”

JSerra’s tennis players are also involved, serving as volunteer coaches.

“It’s a great program and great coaches,” said Viana Poggi, who played for the Lions’ frosh-soph team last season. “I love the team environment. The fact that they are doing this for kids who really want to enjoy tennis, I think

it’s great. I just think it is very inspiring to watch them. It really makes you want to do your best as well and they are just the sweetest kids. I think by them coming her every single day and trying is amazing.”

Senior Natalie Walters said she wanted to help as soon as she heard the Orahoods were starting the program and has built an Instagram page to promote the classes.

“It’s a really good feeling, just being

COACH KIRK ORAHOOD, CENTER, LEADS PRACTICE WITH GIANNA MANTUCCA, LEFT, AND LANDON SACHS, RIGHT, AT JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO ON FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022.

able to be out here to help them play, just because you can tell they love to be out here,” Walters said. “They are so fun to be around. I walk out of here feeling like a way better person than when I came in.”

JSerra tennis player Christopher Kempf said the budding tennis players improve with each session.

“They all have a good stick to stickto-itiveness,” Kempf said. “They are all amazing athletes.”

JSerra athletic director Chris Ledyard said the adaptive tennis program is the first step to bringing additional adaptive sports such as wrestling, track and field and swimming.

“Right away, we said we are totally open to this,” said Ledyard, when approached by Keith Orahood about having a complete program of adaptive sports. “That would be really cool to have kids come here and know that they can play a sport right now, while they are here.”

Once established, JSerra would be able to compete against other adaptive sports teams.

“Everybody is excited about this next step,” Ledyard said. “We’re taking our time. It’s going to take a while, but we want to become a school where we know we can have kids wrestling in the CIF, going right after whatever, it is they want to achieve.”

JSerra parents and board members have provided the funding for the specially designed wheelchairs, which cost $3,000 each.

Outside donations are also helping. Tennis Serves Others, an Orange County nonprofit which sponsors a variety of tennis themed activities, recently donated $3,000 to the adaptive tennis program.

Four members of the nonprofit are also JSerra parents.

“We’re hopeful to partner with them and see what else we can do to help them,” Tennis Serves Others CEO Kelley McBride said. “We are driven to help

youth. They want to continue to grow this program and that is what we want to do is help these new programs get off the ground. We’re super proud of them.”

JSerra dean of athletics, Amy

Hemphill, said the adaptive tennis program “is the absolute best thing that has happened to JSerra this year.”

“This has allowed us to grow, in the fact that these kids have so many abili-

ties, and not disabilities,” Hemphill said. “And it has made our own students realize how much harder it is for a student with a disability to play a sport that they just take for granted.” C

FROM LEFT, GIANNA MANTUCCA AND LANDON SACHS RUN TENNIS DRILLS DURING PRACTICE AT JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO ON FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022.

PHOTO: DREW KELLEY

FROM RIGHT, CRUZ WILKINSON GIVES TEN-YEAR-OLD MILES MCINTOSH TIPS ON IMPROVING HIS SWING DURING TENNIS PRACTICE AT JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO ON FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022. PHOTO: DREW KELLEY

LANDON SACHS RUNS TENNIS DRILLS DURING PRACTICE AT JSERRA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO ON FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022. PHOTO: DREW KELLEY

HOPE, BLESSINGS AND DINNER IN DANA POINT

BY SPENCER GRANT AND MARA CASEY

FORMER ENGLISH PROFESSOR

Jan Rainbird does a lot of cooking at St. Timothy’s Church in Laguna Niguel where he cooks for the homeless and working poor who gather each afternoon in a parking lot at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. There, folks who have fallen on hard times find food, blessings and hope.

“We have food coming in from various sources, Rainbird said. “It’s my job to make it into some sort of palatable meal.”

Jeanne Karcher is with Welcome INN – which stands for Interfaith Needs Network, one of the organizations implementing the program, now in its 20th year.

“We don’t ask for ID, we don’t ask for anything,” she said. “We let anybody who wants a meal get a meal.”

The organization is 100% volunteer.

It’s not just meals that Welcome INN supplies. As client Jimmy Pockets explained, “I’m so grateful these people are here. It’s a real blessing. Last week they gave me a shirt.”

Pockets said he’s been coming to the dinners for two years now. He learned about the program when he came to Orange County and money got tight.

“Now I’m living on SSI [Supplemental Security Income]; before I got that, things were really bad.”

Joe Perez, another client, said he’s been coming to the dinners for 10 years because he has physical disabilities and it’s hard to cook food.

“I have cerebral palsy but I’m Catholic and I say prayers every day before we eat,” he said. “I’m not homeless but there’s a lot who are, so I volunteer to come down and help.”

In the parking lot along with Welcome INN is iHope or Interfaith Homeless Outreach for Empowerment. Volunteer Lana Fiore explained that they collaborate with case workers in both Dana

Point and San Clemente to offer help with housing, doctor appointments, emergency financial assistance, food stamps, weekly showers and communi-

cating with families.

“They do the hard stuff,” added Karcher. “We just help them get a meal.”

Other participants include St. Edward’s

in Dana Point, Corpus Christi in Aliso Viejo, Catholic Charities and the Boy Scouts.

Another organization present at the dinner is Safe Room, which provides shelter and phones for homeless youth.

“It’s really nice to meet people who are hungry and be able to tell them to come down to Doheny Park and you’ll be fed,” explained Margie Herzing of Safe Room. “It’s so much fun to have somebody walk away and know their life’s changed because of this vehicle for help.”

Welcome INN president Don Lemly said he is grateful for the 40-plus contributors including community organizations, retailers and concerned individuals who help make the program such a success.

Speaking of the clients, he said, “The mix is about 40% people who are housed, but they’re mostly day laborers.”

Lemly pointed to the high rents in Orange County as a major problem facing day laborers in the area.

“Five guys might be staying in one room and if they can save five bucks on dinner, it’ll help them make their rent.”

Lemly recalled the story of a guy who stopped coming to the dinners back in 2008.

One day he ran into him at Costco and asked where he’d been.

“I was very lucky, he said. I got my job back but thank goodness you had those meals. They kept me going when I didn’t have a job.”

“When you provide food, you provide hope,” added Lemly. “Our goal is that Welcome INN would be delighted to show up to serve dinner some evening and nobody shows up because they’ve all been taken care of. Numbers have gone down and that’s thrilled us.” C

WELCOME INN PRESIDENT DON LEMLY (BLUE SHIRT) DISTRIBUTES PREPACKAGED FOOD TO CLIENTS AT DOHENY STATE BEACH IN DANA POINT AS CLIENT JOE PEREZ LOOKS ON. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPENCER GRANT.

A CLIENT PLAYS A SONG FOR HER COMPANIONS DURING DINNER CO-SPONSORED BY WELCOME INN AT DOHENY STATE PARK IN DANA POINT. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPENCER GRANT.

AROUND OUR DIOCESE

BY STAFF

BLESSING OF THE HAZEL WRIGHT ORGAN

Bishop Kevin W. Vann blessed Christ Cathedral’s Hazel Wright Organ on Friday, June 10 during a special ceremony that included music, a 100-person choir and biblical readings. Pope Francis also sent a special apostolic blessing from Rome. The day also featured a special appearance from Josep Solé Coll, principal organist of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and organist for the liturgical celebrations of Pope Francis.

“The purpose of music in the liturgy is, above all and before all else, to give glory to God and to lead us to holiness,” said Bishop Vann, who played organ while growing up in Springfield, Illinois. “Thus, the music of the organ wonderfully expresses the new song that Scripture tells us to sing to the Lord.”

Restoration of the Hazel Wright Organ, which is the world’s fifth largest, was finished earlier this year. It cost $3 million and took nearly a decade. The process included sending the complex instrument to Italy for a full restoration, individual tuning of every pipe, and adding temperature controls to the cathedral.

CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS HOSTS SUCCESSFUL DIAPER DRIVE

The Christ Cathedral campus hosted its annual Diaper Drive Thru Drop-Off on Friday, June 10, an event organized by HomeAid Orange County with help from corporate sponsors. Participants drove onto the campus, some in large trucks, to bring boxes of diapers and other supplies

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BISHOP KEVIN W. VANN PLAYS THE HAZEL WRIGHT ORGAN PRIOR TO ITS BLESSING ON FRIDAY, JUNE 10. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN GEORGES/DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

BISHOP KEVIN W. VANN BLESSES THE HAZEL WRIGHT ORGAN ON FRIDAY, JUNE 10, AS DEACON MODESTO CORDERO LOOKS ON. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN GEORGES/ DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

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that will be donated to needy families. Various public safety agencies were also on hand to help in the drive.

A few groups also made structures out of diaper boxes that were themed.

ADORATION CHAPEL

Will you come spend an hour with me? The 24-hour Adoration chapel will be open on Wednesday, June 29, St. Angela Merici Church, 585 S. Walnut St. Brea. More information will be available at the church over the weekend of June 26, or email adoration. chapel@stangelabreachurch.org. o register, visit https://adorationpro.org/angelabrea

OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISHIONERS PARTICIPATE IN WALK FOR LIFE EVENT

Our Lady of Fatima parish recently participated in the May 21 Walk for Life in Dana Point Harbor to benefit the San Clemente Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC). Thirty-eight parishioners attended the event, including retired parish priest Father Jim Ries.

Thanks to the participation of Our Lady of Fatima parishioners – as walkers, sponsors, or donors - a total of $6,030 was raised to support the Pregnancy Resource Center. C

VOLUNTEERS SET UP DURING THE ANNUAL DIAPER DRIVE THRU DROP-OFF EVENT HELD AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS ON FRIDAY, JUNE 10. PHOTO COURTESY OF IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

ST. ANGELA MERICI CATHOLIC CHURCH, BREA. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSHUA SUDOCK/DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISHIONERS, ALONG WITH RETIRED PARISH PRIEST FATHER JIM RIES, PARTICIPATED IN A WALK FOR LIFE EVENT ON MAY 21 AT DANA POINT HARBOR. PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISH.

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faith. Some leave for another Christian faith, others simply stop going to any church at all. When asked what has happened, the response is often along the lines, “I’m spiritual, not religious.” Suppose to be words of comfort they leave us frustrated and saddened.

The truth is that all of us are tested from time to time. This is an important part of the spiritual life and helps the soul to mature. Often though, the believer can mistakenly think that they are losing faith. Without guidance, they might lose their way and leave the Church. I often think that with a little spiritual support and attention, many people would still be with us and stronger than ever in their faith.

Every October, the Diocese of Orange hosts a one day event on evangelization, Evangelize Now, at Christ Cathedral Campus. We begin with Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Vann accompanied by Bishop Freyer, Bishop Nguyen and attending priests and deacons. At the close of Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is taken in procession to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang. For the rest of the conference, the Blessed Sacrament is in the Large Gallery for private prayer. Three presentations are then given

by three presenters in three different languages: English, Vietnamese and Spanish. The day ends at 4 p.m. with Benediction in the Cathedral. The theme for each year centers on evangelization and deepening our commitment to Jesus Christ.

This year, we will welcome Sr. Regina Marie of the Carmelite Sisters of Los Angeles as our speaker in English. In Spanish, we welcome Fr. Miguel Angel Sanchez, pastor of Christ the King Church in the Archdiocese of Tijuana.

This year, we have a special series of three presentations to our Vietnamese youth and young adult Catholics on dealing with the challenges and frustrations of life. Navigating a path through today’s world can be exhausting. We are blessed to have a team of presenters who will help give our youth advice on how to cope with unique stresses they live under.

Of the many resources and support that are offered through the Office of Evangelization and the Office of Faith Formation, the annual Evangelize Now Conference (formally DMC) is a powerful day of prayer, education and renewal. We invite you to attend on October 15 on the Cathedral Campus. C

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PAINTING BY JOSE Int/Ext, Repair Dry Wall, Stucco, Wood Flrs, Mold L#967673

AN INTERIOR VIEW OF CHRIST CATHEDRAL. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE.

THEOLOGIANS MUST FIND NEW WAYS

BY CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY (CNS) —The Catholic Church needs theologians who know how to transmit the truths of faith in a way that will speak to people today, help them live the faith in their daily lives and inspire them to share the Gospel with others, Pope Francis wrote.

“The community needs the work of those who attempt to interpret the faith, to translate and retranslate it, to make it understandable, to expound it in new words; it is a work that must be always done again, in every generation,” the pope told staff from Milan’s archdiocesan seminary in a text given to them June 17. The seminary staff were in Rome as part of their celebration of the 150th anniversary of the seminary’s theology journal, which Pope Francis described as being “a bit like a store window, where a craftsman displays his work, and you can admire his creativity.”

“What has matured in the workshops of academic classrooms, in the patient exercise of research and reflection, of debate and dialogue, deserves to be shared and made accessible to others,” the pope said in his written text.

The Vatican press office said the pope handed his prepared text to the staffs of the seminary and the journal, but it provided no information about what he discussed with them.

In the text, the pope had written that the church needs theologians who know how “to communicate the truths of faith today, taking into account linguistic, social, cultural changes and competently using the media, without ever watering down, weakening or ‘virtualizing’ the content.”

“The church encourages and supports the effort to redefine the content of faith in every age, in the dynamism of tradition,” he said. “That is why theological language must always be alive, dynamic, cannot help but evolve and must work to make itself understood.”

Unfortunately, he said, “sometimes

the sermons or catechesis we hear are mostly composed of moralism and are not ‘theological’ enough, that is, able to speak to us about God and to answer the questions of meaning that accompany people’s lives, and which we often do not have the courage to formulate openly.”

To be of real service to the church and its members, he said, theologians must “always keep in mind the link between faith and life” and “cherish and communicate the joy of faith in the Lord Jesus.”

At the same time, he said, they also must have “a healthy restlessness, that quivering of the heart before the mystery of God. And we will know how to accompany others in the search the more we

experience this joy and restlessness. That is, the more we are ‘disciples.’”

To truly support evangelization today, the pope said, theology must know how and show others how to “dialogue with the world, with cultures and religions.”

“A theology that evangelizes is a theology nourished with dialogue and welcome,” he said. “Dialogue and a living memory of the witness of the love and peace of Jesus Christ are the paths to follow to build together a future of justice, fraternity and peace for the whole human family.”

Pope Francis also used his text to talk about the role of seminary staffs today in identifying and nurturing those who

have a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

“Those who are called are not mushrooms that sprout spontaneously,” he said. Each person is “an immense mystery” and comes with a range of personal experiences and a past molded by family, community and parish.

“Seminarians and young people in formation,” the pope wrote, “must be able to learn more from your life than from your words; to be able to learn docility from your obedience, industriousness from your dedication, generosity with the poor from your sobriety and availability and fatherhood from your chaste and nonpossessive affection.” C

POPE MILAN THEOLOGY MEETING VATICAN. POPE FRANCIS AND A BABY LOOK AT EACH OTHER DURING AN AUDIENCE AT THE VATICAN WITH THE STAFF OF MILAN’S ARCHDIOCESAN SEMINARY AND ITS THEOLOGY JOURNAL JUNE 17, 2022. (CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA)

Moments in our Journey Moments in our Journey

Bishop Kevin W. Vann is pictured with Auxiliary Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen and Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Freyer during the special blessing event for the Hazel Wright Organ celebrated on Friday, June 10.

—Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Orange