OC CATHOLIC - JULY 31, 2022

JULY 31, 2022

AROUND OUR DIOCESE PAGE 12

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ORANGE n OCCATHOLIC.COM

AT HOME WITH BISHOP VANN BISHOP VANN GIVES A GLIMPSE AT A HOBBY DATING BACK TO HIS YOUTH PAGE 10

AT HOME: BISHOP KEVIN VANN HOLDS HIS COCKER SPANIEL GRACIE IN FRONT OF HIS RESTORED PLAYER PIANO. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN GEORGES/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND FREE SEMINARS PRESENTED BY ATTORNEYS AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS At the seminar, you will learn how to protect and provide for your loved ones, avoid probate, provide a Catholic perspective on health care directives, how to choose your trustee and power of attorney, what is needed to update or create an estate plan, will, living trust and more.

Participants will receive a FREE no obligation consultation!

Seminars are held at various parishes throughout Orange County. To view the full list of dates, times and locations, visit OrangeCatholicFoundation.org/estate-planning.

For any questions, please contact Roxanna Payton at 714.282.6046 or email PlannedGiving@OrangeCatholicFoundation.org

Please use your cell phone to scan QR code and view the list of English seminars

JULY 31, 2022

CONTENTS

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BUILDING A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE

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LENDING A HAND

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St. Juliana Falconieri hosts a retreat focusing on the foundational importance of the family.

Volunteering and donating your efforts is an expression of faith.

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST

OC Catholic’s newest section highlights retirees discovering an exciting new chapter in life.

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 News Ideas: editor@occatholic.com Delivery Problems: occatholicsupport@occatholic.com

ADVERTISING Director of Custom Content: Caroline Wong, cawong@scng.com

SCNG CUSTOM CONTENT Managing Editor: Caitlin Adams Art Director: Kenneth Abbott 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.

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@OCCCatholicNews

ADVERTISER NAME HALF PAGE VERTICAL 4.89 IN. X 9.65 IN.

PAGE HEADING GUEST COLUMN

TO REST IS TO BE HUMAN

BY HOSFFMAN OSPINO CNS

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ORKAHOLIC,” “productive,” “unstoppable,” “24/7,” “busy bee,” “overachiever,” etc. These words and expressions, and others similar, have come to be omnipresent in our everyday vocabulary. We often feel proud when identified with them.

Common words and expressions often reflect the character of a culture.

What do the above terms say about who we are? For some, they point to the human drive to do, achieve and produce.

We want to change things; transform them whenever possible. We want to be known for doing something.

For others, those words are reminders of the frenzy of a society that seems to have lost the sense of pacing itself while longing for constant outputs. We seem to have forgotten when to stop.

Our outcomes define us; without them we feel incomplete.

Being aware of our natural drive to do things and to achieve, which is something good, must be balanced with the sobering realization that we are more than what we do and produce, also something good. A sense of joy inhabits somewhere in between these two realities.

Catholics have a long tradition of affirming the importance of rest. Such tradition is grounded in the Scriptures themselves. In the first chapter of Genesis, we find God resting on the seventh

HOSFFMAN OSPINO, A PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT BOSTON COLLEGE, WRITES THE “JOURNEYING TOGETHER/CAMINANDO JUNTOS” COLUMN FOR CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE. CNS PHOTO/ LEE PELLEGRINI, BOSTON COLLEGE

day after creating all that exists. What a beautiful image!

Does God need rest? Was God tired?

We can speculate at infinitum, but that is not the point. God rested and contemplated. God rejoiced. On the seventh day we encounter a God who finds joy in being a God who rests.

The Hebrew biblical tradition reminds us of the importance of moments of rest, also dedicated to honor God: 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.

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DAILY READINGS AND REFLECTIONS

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Family love is a personal path of holiness for each one of us.

JULY 31, 2022 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

— Pope Francis

THE CENTER OF A MEANINGFUL LIFE

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ODAY’S READINGS INVITE us to reflect upon some of life’s deepest questions, and to explore the meaning of faith. We hear of the universal human search for meaning in our lives in the book of Ecclesiastes. In Luke’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ parable about one who foolishly seeks ultimate security through the accumulation of wealth. In Colossians, faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ is proclaimed as the path to a richly purposeful and meaningful life. The path of Christian faith places our work, our sufferings, and our limitations within the larger picture of God’s purposes for all of us. In Jesus, God is revealed as our companion in human suffering and limitation. God’s love is at the center of a meaningful life. We place our trust in this loving God, who created us to share in this love, and to share this love with others.

Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co. C

SAINT PROFILE

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CHRISTINA THE ASTONISHING 1150 – 1224

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ORN AT BRUSTHEM, BELGIUM, Christina had a seizure at age 21 that was thought to have killed her. At the Mass being said for her, she suddenly flew to the top of the church, later saying she had been to hell, purgatory and heaven, and was allowed to return to earth to pray for suffering souls. This was one of the incredible events attributed to this poor, likely schizophrenic mystic, called “Christina Mirabilis,” who reportedly flew to treetops and rooftops to avoid smelling other people. She spent her last years in St. Catherine Convent in SaintTrond, and is a patron saint of psychiatrists, psychologists and those suffering mental illness. C

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

PHOTOS: CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE, SHUTTERSTOCK

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

JER 28:1-17; PS 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102; MT 14:13-21

JER 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22; PS 102:1621, 29, 22-23; MT 14:22-36 OR MT 15:1-2, 10-14

JER 31:1-7; JER 31:10, 11-12AB, 13; MT 15:21-28

JER 31:31-34; PS 51:12-15, 18-19; MT 16:13-23

NA 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7; DT 32:35CD36AB, 39ABCD, 41; MT 16:24-28

DN 7:9-10, 13-14; PS 97:1-2, 5-6, 9; 2 PT 1:16-19; LK 9:28B-36

WIS 18:6-9; PS 33:1, 12, 18-22; HB 11:1-2, 8-19 [1-2, 8-12]; LK 12:32-48 [35-40]

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FEATURE

BUILDING A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE, ONE FAMILY AT A TIME ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI HOSTS A RETREAT FOR THE WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES

BY MEG WATERS

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HILE THE WORLD Meeting of Families was reconvening in June at the Vatican following a COVID-induced hiatus, about 15 families gathered at St. Juliana Falconieri parish in Fullerton to participate in a new program to help local families reinforce their love of each other and their Catholic faith.

Linda Ji, director of the Office of Family Life for the Diocese of Orange, hopes this retreat presented by Father Tri Dinh, SJ, director of Christus Ministries from Culver City, will be the start of similar family-building retreats throughout the Diocese.

“This is a great opportunity for families to do something intentional to build their faith,” said Ji. “Often we go to women’s, men’s or couples’ retreats, or retreats for children and teens, but this is the one time that the entire family can explore their spiritual life together.”

According to their website, Christus Ministries (christusministries.org) helps Catholic parishes and institutions form young adults who have a strong sense of discipleship and a clear desire to discover and live out their callings in life. Its four pillars of faith development help young adults develop a prayer life, a discerning heart, a collaborative way of serving and a connection to parish life.

ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI CHURCH HOSTS A MINI-RETREAT FOR FAMILIES LED BY FR. TRI DINH IN FULLERTON ON SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2022. PHOTO COURTESY OF DREW KELLEY/ DIOCESE OF ORANGE

afternoon.

“My team at Christus Ministries and I believe that young adults and young families are both underserved groups in the Catholic Church – and an untapped treasure,” Fr. Tri Dinh said.

He said he has big plans to tap into SIMPLE MESSAGE, BIG PLANS families to make them stronger in faith.

The purpose of the two-hour retreat, Fr. Tri Dinh blends the energy of a followed by Mass and dinner, is to look coach with a simple message of God’s at the role of family life and how it calls love for the whole family. Families are each member to the path of holiness. The given a unique opportunity to bond around their shared faith in a spirit-filled session zeros in on three critical elements

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of becoming a holy family. Through the grace of Baptism, each member of the family becomes God’s favorite “Hiding Place.” This is a sim­ple concept that helps everyone orient themselves in relationship to God. It is understood that when we become God’s favorite hiding place, we welcome God into our lives. A family that is God’s favorite hiding place is a sacred place to live. It’s a beautiful concept that even the youngest child can understand, yet it is also profound.

While at the retreat, families gather

to discuss how they are “God’s favorite hiding place” and then break out into age-appropriate activities. The most important part is when families reunite and discuss, many for the first time, spirituality as a family. With God now “hiding” within each member, God’s holiness has a dwelling place within the family. As a family, each member contributes to the holiness of the entire family.

The retreat also gives parents a CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

FEATURE / CATHOLIC FAMILY LIVING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

chance to talk about their faith and share with other parents what it is like to raise faith-filled children.

Christus Ministries partners with parishes to build a bridge for young adults and young families. So far, Christus has been invited to build community in several Orange County parishes, hoping that more pastors will consider a partnership with Christus.

St. Pope John Paul II launched the World Meeting of Families in 1994, as part of the United Nations celebration of the Year of the Family. In a beautiful letter, St. John Paul II speaks about building a civilization of love beginning within the family.

“The civilization of love evokes joy: joy, among other things, for the fact that a man has come into the world (cf. Jn 16:21), and consequently because spouses have become parents.

The civilization of love means “rejoicing in the right” (cf. 1 Cor 13:6). But a civilization inspired by a consumerist, anti-birth mentality is not and cannot ever be a civilization of love.

If the family is so important for the civilization of love, it is because of the particular closeness and intensity of the bonds which come to be between persons and generations within the family. However, the family remains vulnerable and can easily fall prey to dangers which weaken it or actually destroy its unity and stability. As a result of these dangers, families cease to be witnesses of the civilization of love and can even become a negation of it, a kind of counter-sign. A broken family can, for its part, consolidate a specific form of “anti-civilization,” destroying love in its various expressions, with inevitable consequences for the whole of life in society.”

Families who give God a hiding place in their hearts and at the center of their family life will, step by step, build a solid and holy civilization of love. C

LENDING A HAND

JSERRA STUDENTS HELP OUT AT THE JUNE 10 HOME ESSENTIAL DIAPER DRIVE AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS. PHOTO COURTESY OF IAN TRAN/ DIOCESE OF ORANGE

CATHOLIC FAMILIES’ VOLUNTEER SERVICE IS LIVING TESTAMENT TO OUR FAITH

BY CATHI DOUGLAS

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ATHOLICS WOULDN’T BE Catholic without a commitment to service. Giving generously of ourselves, our finances and our prayers is vital to our faith.

Teaching children the value of service is incumbent upon Catholic parents. Beyond contributing to the collection plate during Sunday Mass, giving of our families’ time instructs children firsthand about love and care for our fellow humans.

LEAD BY DOING

When our kids were little and we both had demanding jobs, it was difficult to find the time for volunteer work, but we did so: Boy Scouts, Little League, parent-teacher organizations and our parish benefited from our dedication – and the children witnessed the importance of giving uncomplainingly and often.

We found ways to inspire our children to simple acts of service, such as adopting a child in need at Christmas through the Tustin Public Library’s giving tree and choosing a toy for them. Later, my daughter and I spent a year as volunteer after-school tutors to homeless kids for School on Wheels.

VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER

Catholic families can volunteer together. Simply ask at your parish rectory about opportunities to help the needy;

many of them operate soup kitchens or homeless outreach, in addition to after-school programs.

Volunteers are always welcome at St. Vincent de Paul, which holds parish food drives and delivers food to needy families.

Catholic Charities of Orange County welcomes volunteers both in the office, through its ministries, and at its Cantlay Food Distribution Center in Santa Ana. Organizations such as Mary’s Shelter and Casa Teresa also welcome volunteers, financial support and in-kind donations in support of mothers and their babies.

Other local organizations seeking volunteers include Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest of Orange County and the Red Cross.

For more volunteer opportunities, visit Volunteer Match, the Volunteer Center for Good and the Network for Good online.

CLOSER TO HOME

But Catholic families needn’t volunteer their time, talents, treasure and love to formal organizations; there are plenty of opportunities to give closer to home.

When our neighbor fought terminal cancer, we brought homemade meals to their doorstep. After a Santa Ana wind

we often rake leaves from our neighbors’ yards without being asked.

Our elderly next-door neighbor knew we would take out her trash cans, help her with the groceries, and take down her Christmas lights. She often called on our boys, since both of them were tall and strong. Even in the middle of watching an NFL game, they would leave the TV to help.

THE POWER OF EXAMPLE

Charitable giving and volunteering have always been part of our lives.

Our kids often saw me leaving in the evenings for alumnae board service to my sorority, leadership work in professional organizations like the Public Relations Society of America, or for volunteer work for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

They saw me serve as a lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and helped load the car with donations for Goodwill and the Salvation Army. They participated in discussions about how much we could spare for causes such as Doctors Without Borders and the Pacific Symphony.

Actions speak louder than words.

Children know what’s important by watching how we parents spend our time, so volunteer service and financial support of the Church and worthy nonprofits validate our values without words. C

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LEFT PAGE

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Catholic Ministry Insists Poverty Relief Must Include An Encounter with Christ If you are like most people, you’ve probably never heard of Suchitepéquez, Guatemala. It isn’t home to the country’s capital city. It’s not a tourist hot spot, and it doesn’t have an abundance of the natural resources the world craves. Almost nothing about this remote part of Guatemala stands out as noteworthy or would draw your attention — except for its people and the miraculous material and spiritual work God has begun to accomplish there.

“Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, has become an area of great interest to Cross Catholic Outreach, and we expect many in the Catholic Church will eventually celebrate its significance in the years ahead. We believe that people and communities are being transformed there, and the way that change is being achieved will soon be a model for ministries working to end poverty elsewhere in the world,” said Jim Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach. “Great changes have already taken place there, and I’m confident even greater advancements will be made in the year ahead.”

Cavnar is also encouraged by how so many American Catholics have stepped forward to help with the mission work underway in Guatemala. His ministry — well known for its relief and development work around the globe — needs this support in order to undertake new initiatives and expand the diocese’s current outreaches to help the poor. (See related story on opposite page.)

Contributions from U.S. donors have already helped Cross Catholic Outreach and the bishop of the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-

Retalhuleu begin several community transformation programs that provide both material and spiritual blessings to families living in the area.

“We believe there are two key factors that produce real, lasting change in poor communities. Part of the process involves addressing the serious material needs of the people by ending extreme hunger, providing safer water sources, seeing that families have basic medical care, improving housing, educating children and doing other outreaches of that kind. Because poverty touches on many areas, you can only produce long-term prosperity in an area by having a relief plan that considers all of a community’s needs,” Cavnar said. “The other part of the process focuses on the spiritual condition of the people, and we consider it a critical reason for our success. Some try to attack poverty with only material solutions. While that may help for a time, it rarely creates a healthy community or makes improvements that will last. Real transformation and progress are only possible when Christ is part of the solution. As people, we can offer temporary fixes to a momentary need, but it takes an encounter with Christ to change lives and communities profoundly and forever.”

The work Cross Catholic Outreach has underway in Guatemala clearly reflects the development strategies Cavnar outlined, and many American Catholics have already shown their enthusiasm for the mission by supporting it financially. These contributions will continue to be important, especially in new communities

that are still waiting to be helped.

“Suchitepéquez is a rural area and most of the families living there are very poor, typically relying on subsistence farming to survive,” Cavnar explained. “The diocese is a reflection of the community and works with a very meager budget. It will continue to need our help to accomplish the social and spiritual outreaches local families desperately need. With our support, the diocese can feed the hungry, dig wells to supply fresh water, build houses for the homeless, set up medical clinics, provide educational scholarships, support spiritual outreaches and do the other things community transformation requires.”

As these improvements take place and prove successful, donors to the cause often want to become even more involved, Cavnar added.

“In my experience, most American Catholics want to support meaningful outreaches to help

the poor. But they are looking for something specific and they want to know their gifts will have a significant impact,” he said. “When they see what they can accomplish through Cross Catholic Outreach by empowering a diocese like this one, they often ask us, ‘What can I do next?’ They feel such fulfillment from the experience that they want to do more.”

Readers interested in supporting Cross Catholic Outreach’s outreaches to the poor can contribute through the ministry brochure inserted in this issue or send tax-deductible gifts to: Cross Catholic Outreach, Dept.

AC02205, PO Box 97168, Washington DC 20090-7168. The ministry has a special need for partners willing to make gifts on a monthly basis. Use the inserted brochure to become a Mission Partner or write “Monthly Mission Partner” on mailed checks to be contacted about setting up those arrangements.

Cross Catholic Outreach’s “Day of Prayer” Blesses Catholics Spiritually Each year, one of the nation’s leading international relief and development ministries sets aside a special day to offer prayer as a gift to those in need — particularly to Catholics in America who have been supporting its work overseas. It is yet another sign of the organization’s deeply spiritual approach to charity.

“Since our inception, we have always set aside a day of the week to pray for those who have shared their intentions, and those requests have typically come to us through

the many priests who visit U.S. parishes to share about our mission during the homily of the Mass,” explained Jim Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach. “The Day of Prayer we celebrate in August is a full day dedicated to prayer for others, and it also includes a wonderful additional blessing. The prayer petitions we gather during that time are sent to His Eminence Cardinal Konrad Krajewski at the Vatican, who intercedes for the many prayer intentions during a special Mass celebrated on the Feast of the Assumption of

the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Individuals interested in participating in the Day of Prayer are encouraged to use the ministry’s special internet page to submit their prayer intentions. It is found at CrossCatholic.org/dayofprayer.

“While Cross Catholic Outreach is best known for the many things it does to support Church missions serving the poor — delivering shipments of food and medicines, funding educational and house-building initiatives, and developing self-help projects that allow people to

escape poverty — we are very intentional about serving the poor spiritually as well,” Cavnar said.

“That is not always the case with charities, even religious ones, but we believe communicating the Gospel of Christ and promoting the means of grace — including prayer — must be part of our relief and development mission.”

“This approach is also in keeping with the points made in the Papal Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est,” he added. “It very clearly states that those of us who become involved in works of mercy must also be people of prayer.”

RIGHT PAGE

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. Catholics Help Poor Guatemalan Families Break the Bonds of Poverty There is a terrible and destructive myth about the poverty in Central America. It suggests that the poor families living there are unwilling to work hard to succeed and are eager to leave their communities to find an easier life elsewhere.

“Nothing could be further from the truth, in my experience,” said Jim Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach, one of the leading Catholic ministries working to alleviate poverty in the developing world. “Yes, many rural families are mired in extreme poverty and desperately want to provide their children with a better way of life, but most men and women I’ve encountered want to find solutions at home, because they love their country, their communities and their families.” Cavnar has worked and traveled through South and Central America for nearly two decades, and his work with Catholic dioceses in countries such as Guatemala have proven out his sentiments. The poor are not looking for a handout but rather for “a hand up,” as he explained.

Working under this premise, Cross Catholic Outreach typically supports diocesan efforts to provide both urgent relief with supplies of food and long-term development with selfhelp initiatives that allow families to improve their lot in life through agricultural and animal husbandry programs and other small business ventures. When families are offered access to opportunities like these, he says, they put an incredible level of energy into the work it involves.

“When you improve a farmer’s crop yield so he can earn a higher income or you set up a pig-raising project so he can pay his bills and send his kids to school, you are triggering a major transformation in a family’s life. The economic chains that have bound the family in poverty for generations are broken, and a life of greater prosperity begins,” Cavnar said. “It’s an incredible experience to be part of that transformation — to see God restoring hope and opening a path to a brighter future for these precious people and their children.”

According to Cavnar, this idea of addressing both a family’s material and spiritual needs is what has been fueling his ministry’s current efforts in Guatemala. (See related story on the opposite page.)

“We believe this life-changing mission of mercy could sweep the globe and change millions of lives if we continue to be supported

Many of the poor families in the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu live in fragile homes constructed from scrap wood, plastic or canvas sheets, and discarded metal. Few can afford even the most basic furnishings and most rely on wood-burning stoves that fill their tiny houses with smoke. They long to provide their children with a better life, so the Church is working to transform their communities and help them escape the bondage of this extreme poverty.

by American Catholics,” he added.

For twenty years, donors to Cross Catholic Outreach have generously supported the ministry’s efforts to provide the poor with food and other urgent needs, and those objectives will remain an important part of the organization’s mission, but Cavnar hopes those same compassionate people will also want to support the longterm sustainable solutions the charity is undertaking.

“Together, we can partner with Caritas Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu to help families grow their own food and increase their crop yields through improved tools and training,” Cavnar said. “These families are willing to work hard, and they want to become

self-sufficient and prosper in their home communities. The Church should be helping them achieve those noble goals.”

With the help of American Catholic donors, Caritas Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu could double its agriculture program in the year ahead, he said.

“In the past, Caritas successfully trained 200 families on proven techniques to grow healthy, sustainable home gardens, and the impact of that outreach was an incredible blessing. More recently, Caritas trained 400 farming families to grow native herbs, vegetables and local citrus fruits. This will

help parents provide nutritious meals for their children, and those families would also be able to sell their surplus crops to increase their income,” Cavnar said. “Catholic donors in the U.S. will play an important role in continuing this outreach. Their gifts will fund the technical assistance, cover the cost of seeds and organic fertilizer, and purchase the fruit trees we will provide the next group of participating families. With these benefits and the spiritual support the diocese provides, these families can have hope again. Their dignity will be restored and their faith will be strengthened.”

How to Help To fund Cross Catholic Outreach’s effort to help the poor worldwide, use the postage-paid brochure inserted in this newspaper, or mail your gift to Cross Catholic Outreach, Dept. AC02205, PO Box 97168, Washington, DC 20090-7168. The brochure also includes instructions on becoming a Mission Partner and making a regular monthly donation to this cause.

If you identify an aid project, 100% of the donation will be restricted to be used for that specific project. However, if more is raised for the project than needed, funds will be redirected to other urgent needs in the ministry.

DIOCESAN NEWS

AT HOME WITH BISHOP VANN BISHOP VANN GIVES A GLIMPSE AT A HOBBY DATING BACK TO HIS YOUTH

BY PATTY MAHONEY

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ISHOP KEVIN W. VANN’S love of the piano began at age 10 when he started taking lessons from his beloved aunt, Sister Mary Margaret Jones, who was a music teacher in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

In his teenage years, an affinity for player pianos (or self-playing pianos) blossomed, along with the art of rebuilding them.

Today, the leader of our Diocese of Orange has amassed a collection of nearly 3,000 player piano music rolls, which are essentially long sheets of perforated paper wound onto a spool. His vast collection includes tunes from jazz greats Fats Waller and George Gershwin; contemporary artists like Frank Sinatra and Garth Brooks; and Disney classics including Frozen and Cinderella.

The rolls are all categorized according to genre and are displayed in cases throughout his living room. They were acquired over the last 55 years, at various places like music stores, antique shops and eBay. At the center, sits his own player piano — a 1922 Cable-Nelson — the one he bought for $50 at a neighbor’s garage sale back in 1967. He was 16 years old.

“I found this piano on sale in a parishioner’s garage in 1967 and bought it, then told my mom and dad and they had to haul it home,” said Bishop Vann.

He rebuilt it in his parents’ basement, which was no easy task. Once restored, the piano sat in his parents’ entry way.

He would play it during parties, for his

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AN 18-YEAR-OLD KEVIN VANN SHOWN RESTORING PLAYER PIANOS IN A STORY BY THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER (ILLINOIS) IN 1969. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN GEORGES/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

parents’ friends, and everyone would sing along.

“It was a conversation piece,” he said.

“The home entertainment center of the time.”

The player piano—which reached its height of popularity during the late 19th to early 20th century —has traveled with him from his home state of Illinois over to Texas where he served as Bishop of Fort Worth from 2005-2012 and had it rebuilt a second time—and finally to his current home of Orange County. And with it, comes treasured memories of youth and family.

“It’s been a big part of my life,” he said.

SOME KIDS HAVE PAPER ROUTES, WHILE OTHERS REBUILD PLAYER PIANOS

Bishop Vann’s great-uncle, Ed Roche,

O C C AT H O L I C n J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 2 2

was a professional piano tuner. He would visit the Vanns during the summer months and tune relatives’ pianos while young Kevin watched, learned and was inspired. The rest, he taught himself.

Working on player pianos started out as a hobby for the teen but then turned into a small business venture.

Rebuilding a player piano is not a simple feat; it requires patience, and if you didn’t have a driver’s license at the time like a young Kevin Vann, it required a supportive family member with a set of wheels. In this case, it was Kevin’s grandfather who would drive him around town and transport people’s player piano pieces back to his parent’s basement to be rebuilt.

To understand what it takes to rebuild a player piano, one must know how one works. When you pump the

piano’s foot pedals, it creates a vacuum.

When the perforated music sheets pass over the tracker bar, the air rushes in and lifts the valve, which helps make the pneumatics collapse and strike a certain key.

To rebuild one, you must take it all apart, re-do the pneumatics and put it back together again.

Young Kevin Vann would charge around $150 for the three months of work it would take him to rebuild neighbors’ pianos. As an 18-year-old high school senior he was even featured in the local newspaper, The State Journal-Register.

“Many of the pianos I worked on back then, I rebuilt them for people whose pianos had belonged to their parents,” said Bishop Vann. “So, when I CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

DIOCESAN NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

would play it, they would hear the same music their parents had heard, and it made them think of their moms and dads.”

These days, Bishop Vann says he plays his pianos (he has a second one in another room) a couple times a week. It not only relaxes him but brings back memories of days gone by. Guests always ask him to play as well.

“Folks really enjoy it,” he said.

RARE FINDS

Bishop Vann has been collecting music rolls since 1967. His oldest is the World War One-era Pretty Baby which he recently found at a California antique store. His inventory includes many collector’s items like Somewhere Over the Rainbow which followed the Wizard of Oz’s release in 1939. But the one that holds the most sentimental value to him is People (1967) from the Broadway music and movie starring Barbara Streisand, Funny Girl.

“I remember this one because I put it on the first piano I ever fixed and it worked,” he said.

The older, more delicate finds can leave a collector holding their breath up right until they hear the first note.

“You can open them and see if they have a lot of rips in them, but you won’t know for sure until you get home and play it,” said Bishop Vann. C

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST

BY MIKE ZINN

This is the first in a series that looks at living life to its fullest post-retirement. Whether it’s adopting new hobbies or continuing one’s education, OC Catholic aims to highlight those within our Diocese of Orange who see retirement as the next exciting chapter in life. This first installment is dedicated to Father John Block who passed away in June after a brief illness.

T

HROUGHOUT MODERN history, many people have anxiously awaited a point in their lives when traditional retirement age was fast approaching. That day when work colleagues celebrate them with a sheet cake and their boss thanks them for years of service. The only thing left is to pack up a box of memorabilia and head off into the sunset – into the golden years.

Perhaps there is a different plan! Perhaps, instead of following society’s expectation for hitting the age of 65 and fading into the background, we follow God’s plan. God has given each one of us special gifts. Most people never realize or maximize those gifts in their lifetime. The time to maximize these gifts is not only when we are young, not only when are courting our wife to-be and not only when we are preparing for a job promotion. It is about maximizing God’s gifts throughout our lifetime.

There is no one in the Diocese of Orange that exemplified the mantra of living life to the fullest more than Fr. John Block.

Fr. John passed away on Tuesday, June 21 after a brief illness. He was a retired priest in residence at Santiago de Compostela Parish in Lake Forest. However, don’t be fooled by this title – Fr. John did not embrace the concept of traditional retirement, in any sense of the word.

Fr. John was born on July 16, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended college first at Bellarmine College in Louisville and later at the University of Detroit. It was

FR. JOHN BLOCK. PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. CECILIA PARISH.

his schooling at the University of Detroit which gave the first clue into Fr. John’s vast academic interests. While there, he studied engineering and his curriculum involved both classroom studies and practical work application. In 1958, Father John began his studies for the Sacred Priesthood at St. Bernard Seminary, in Rochester New York.

After completing his course work in 1960, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in philosophy. Fr. John continued his studies at the Georgian University in Rome and was ordained in Rome at Christ the King Church in 1964. Fr. John’s travels brought him back to the states and he began a lengthy career in Florida. From 1964 to 1997, Fr. John faithfully served in various roles in the Archdiocese of Miami and later the Diocese of Palm Beach.

Beginning in the 1970s, Fr. John began his journey into later in life activities and continued to pursue lifelong learning.

These two concepts are the cornerstones of making the most of our time on earth and Fr. John embraced these fully. Throughout

the decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s, Fr. John would visit Southern California, specifically Orange County, on vacation. When Fr. John eventually moved to the area, he ministered at several parishes over the years, including Blessed Sacrament Parish, St. Cecilia Parish, St. Bonaventure Parish, and Santiago de Compostela Parish.

When asked about serving at these parishes, Father John remarked with his usual modesty, “I am honored just to help out where I can.”

Fr. John took on each assignment with zeal and respect. When serving God and his parishioners, no task was too small.

Although there were no formal names for all the activities and learning Fr. John took on, he was unknowingly a pioneer in the movements of later in life activities and lifelong learning.

When asked why he pursued such activities, he replied, “I have always enjoyed the process of learning and involving myself in new experiences.”

During his time in Orange County, Fr. John discovered boogie boarding. The exact date that Fr. John started the sport of boogie boarding is unknown. We do know that in his late 60s, he could be seen leaving the rectory at St. Cecilia and heading for Huntington Beach with his board. Fr. John constantly prepared for his rigorous hobby by walking the streets of Tustin, wearing his team-favorite Green Bay Packers jacket.

The passion for lifelong learning continued during his time in Orange County, with courses at California State University, Long Beach. Again, not for the faint of heart, Fr. John took challenging advanced courses in subjects such as upper-level calculus and math analysis.

On Tuesday, June 21, our Lord took Fr. John to join him in Heaven. He will be remembered as a man of God, priest, scholar, lifelong learner and lover of the ocean. The Diocese of Orange and the world is a much better place for the service and life lessons left by Fr. John.C

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DIOCESAN NEWS

AROUND OUR DIOCESE

resources. We want every child, every woman, every family, to be supported in their dignity as a child of God, knowing that they too are born ready.

Learn how you can get involved and sign up for updates today at wewerebornready.com.

THE CARING FOR THE WHOLE PERSON INITIATIVE

BY STAFF

SUMMER PRINT HIATUS

OC Catholic will not be published on the following dates: August 7 and August 14. We will return on August 21 with our Back-to-School issue.

During this time, please check our website, occatholic.com for any news updates.

If you have any story ideas or upcoming events you think OC Catholic should cover, please email Patty Mahoney at editor@occatholic.com As always, we value your input and thank you for your readership.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE

WE WERE BORN READY

Born Ready is a forum to empower, equip, mobilize and resource Catholics to fulfill their baptismal call to serve women, children and families, especially women in difficult and unexpected pregnancies.

On Jan. 22, the California Bishops issued a statement committing to a vision of support for women, children and families. This is who we are as Catholics. For more than 2,000 years, Catholics have cared for the most vulnerable by founding the first hospitals, orphanages and social safety nets. We provide food, drink, clothing, shelter, healthcare, visitation of the sick and imprisoned and comfort for the afflicted and the dying. We were born ready.

Now, as some states in the U.S. ban abortion and others seek to be abortion destinations, Catholics will stand in the gap to support women, children and families with life-affirming

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GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BORN READY

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF THE CARING FOR THE WHOLE PERSON INITIATIVE

O C C AT H O L I C n J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 2 2

The Caring for the Whole Person Initiative, in partnership with our Diocese of Orange, is hosting a fivepart virtual training on how to care for parishioners and support families through serious illness. Topics include Catholic Moral Teaching Around Serious Illness and End-ofLife Issues, Caring for Parishioners through Serious Illness, Advance Care Planning, Palliative and Hospice Care and Parish as a Loving Community.

The training sessions will take place over Zoom on Wednesday evenings from Aug. 17 to Sept. 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The training is open to all active parish ministers/volunteers in California and recommended for those in pastoral care ministries, as such as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick and Homebound, Stephen Ministers. to the Sick and Home­bound, Stephens Ministers, Knights of Malta, Parish Nurses, St. Vincent de Paul, etc.

The Caring for the Whole Person Initiative is a statewide partnership between the bishops and Catholic health systems of California. It seeks to ensure that parishioners and family members are accompanied, loved and supported during serious illness, their end-of-life journey, and/or other times when medical and spiritual support is needed.

For more information, please visit https://wholeperson.care. The deadline to register is Aug. 5. C

GUEST COLUMN

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FirSt FridAy FriArS

the Sabbath day, the seventh year after working the land during the previous six years, the jubilee after 49 years of labor, etc. God rests. The workers rest. The land rests.

I love those Gospel passages that portray Jesus resting: He takes time away from the crowds, retreats with his friends, seeks moments of silence, and sleeps.

Christians throughout the centuries have affirmed the imporANNE MARTINS PRAYS THE ROSARY IN CHRIST CATHEDRAL ON TUESDAY, tance of rest. Societies APRIL 14, 2020. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL ALKOFER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE with a strong Catholic influence are known for having more holidays. In Latin America this reflection is me.

We need to grow more in our apprereligious and secular holidays are days of rest and simultaneously occasions for ciation of the need and wisdom of resting. Sometimes we need to understand fiesta. The term holiday in Spanish is that it is OK to say, “I am tired and “festivo,” a festive day. need some rest.” Being tired does not Resting is an act of justice toward make us less human. All the contrary, ourselves and others -- and the created order. We are not machines and should needing rest reminds us of how human resist treating ourselves or be treated as we are.

To appreciate the value of rest, we such. We must not deny the humanity of others by denying them their rest. We need each other’s support. This is exactly why being part of a community is are human and thus we must rest. To important. Not only we need others to rest of an act of love for ourselves and remind us that we need to rest. We grow others — and the created order. as human beings as we rest with our I must confess that I am among families and friends. We grow as we rest those who derives much pleasure in with the created order. Let’s make sure putting extra hours of work, producing to find the time to rest. something new regularly, sometimes Ospino is professor of theology and sacrificing necessary rest. The first person who needs conversion in light of religious education at Boston College. C

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CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS PAGE HEADING

BISHOP URGES CATHOLIC EDUCATORS TO SEE IMPORTANCE OF THE EUCHARIST

compassion of Jesus Christ. “ Bishop Daly noted that some Catholic schools teach religion for religion’s sake, not to “help save souls,” which he indicated was missing the point.

He stressed that teachers at Catholic schools need to see the Eucharist’s spiritual food -- to regularly participate in Mass, eucharistic adoration and the sacrament of confession -- which he

BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE described as “strengths for the journey” and the mission of spreading the Gospel message.

WASHINGTON (CNS)—Addressing He also urged the educators to be Catholic educators at an annual national humble. “An effective teacher who wants conference, Bishop Thomas A. Daly of to reach the hearts of young people can Spokane, Washington, urged them to do so only and most effectively when make sure their work was always rooted they are humble, grateful and generous. in the importance of the Eucharist.

As we know, Eucharist means thanksgivThe bishop, chairman of the U.S. ing, and it strengthens these qualities.”

Conference of Catholic Bishops’ ComThe bishop said Catholic teachers mittee on Catholic Education, said needs to guide students to make spirituschoolteachers should help their al connections and find meaning. students more deeply appreciate the “A eucharistic vision sees the world sacrament amid the current National as natural and supernatural, full of Eucharistic Revival. wonder and mystery,” Bishop Daly said.

Launched June 19, the feast of Cor“Sacraments are, as we know, signs of pus Christi, the revival is a three-year the sacred. And all of creation is imbued initiative of the USCCB to revitalize Catholics’ understanding of and love for POPE FRANCIS GREETS BISHOP THOMAS A. DALY OF SPOKANE, WASH., DURING A MEETING AT THE VATICAN FEB. 3, with this. But we must train our eyes to 2020. BISHOP DALY, CHAIRMAN OF THE U.S. BISHOPS’ EDUCATION COMMITTEE, DELIVERED A KEYNOTE ADDRESS see it.”

Jesus in the Eucharist.

JULY 11, 2022, DURING THE 10TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INSTITUTE FOR CATHOLIC LIBERAL He reminded the group that their At the National Eucharistic Congress EDUCATION JULY 11-14 AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA IN WASHINGTON. (CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA) mission is to “help guide young people that will close the revival in 2024, Bishop Daly said, “there will be a great emos and that they also have been “involved to grow in grace and wisdom” and the women religious and priests at parish strength they received from the Euchaphasis on the work that Catholic schools schools who wondered why the Euchain Catholic education enough to know rist would help them do this. can do and how they might help the next rist wouldn’t “be the foundation of one’s that we are given this privileged obligaThe new Catholic University presgeneration ... to appreciate, to know and life, especially if one has been given a tion and responsibility to lead people to ident, Peter Kilpatrick, welcomed the to love Jesus Christ” in the Eucharist.

Jesus Christ, to help families and most share in helping guide young people to group virtually, prior to the bishop’s The bishop gave the opening address know Jesus Christ in a Catholic school?” especially spiritually, innocent and imevening address, and thanked them for of the 10th annual conference of the pressionable children that our Lord has “In other words, why do we have Institute for Catholic Liberal Education people teaching in our schools if they given a grace to, that they would grow in their “steadfast commitment to Catholic education” and their work to advance held July 11-14 at The Catholic Universi- don’t go to Mass on Sundays?” he asked grace and wisdom.” ty of America in Washington.

“How can one not see the importance the “mission of Catholic education at all the group. He recounted how one levels.”

A news release from the institute said applicant for a Catholic school position of participating in the holy sacrifice of He said today’s growing Catholic the annual conference brings Catholic the Mass?” he asked. “I hope that many had difficulty coming up with the name school enrollment is “a direct result of educators together “to deepen their unof you are in schools that have been of his parish, which did not help his job derstanding of the nature and purpose more intentional, and that you’re staffed the leadership of many of you during the prospects. past few years.” of Catholic education and its roots in the with believers, active, practicing CathWhen the applicant could not name “In the midst of a pandemic,” he said, classical liberal arts tradition.” his parish right away, the bishop said he olics who try to live their faith each day “Catholic schools played an extraordiBishop Daly said that in his years as wondered, “Where was the Eucharist in with questions, with struggles, because nary role in restabilizing our education a bishop, and previously as a priest and it’s so often important for us that we this man’s life?” a Catholic school administrator, he has approach those staff, and most especial- system and, in large part, creating a path He told the conference participants forward for our communities.” C had many conversations with laypeople, that they had likely seen similar scenari- ly students, with the patience and the

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O C C AT H O L I C n J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 2 2

Year of Hazel

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, The Orange Catholic Foundation and music ministry of Christ Cathedral are pleased to announce that the 2022–23 concert season will be the Year of Hazel.

The season will highlight the newly restored Hazel Wright Organ and culminate with a grand performance in June 2023 featuring the Pacific Symphony, Pacific Chorale and Grammywinning organist Paul Jacobs.

The iconic instrument, blessed in a special ceremony led by Bishop Kevin Vann in June, will be featured throughout the series with solo concerts and an interfaith choral festival.

“Now that Bishop Vann has blessed Hazel, we are tremendously excited and proud to demonstrate her sheer breadth and beauty,” said David Ball, music ministry director and the cathedral’s principal organist.

“While the organ regularly plays at Mass, our Year of Hazel series will give music lovers everywhere a better chance to hear more of what this amazing instrument is truly capable of.”

The Year of Hazel begins on Sept. 30, 2022, with a dedication concert of the restored Hazel Wright Organ with organist Hector Olivera. The day will also feature workshops, a Q&A session with Hazel stakeholders, and a screening of a new Dioceseproduced documentary delving into the instrument’s history.

Other highlights of the Year of Hazel include the Dec. 16, 2022, “Christmas at the Cathedral” concert and the May 31, 2023, Cathedral Organ Scholars concert that shows off the future generation of organists.

The series concludes on June 20, 2023, with a grand performance of the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale — two Orange County icons — alongside Paul Jacobs, the first organist to win a Grammy Award.

For a complete listing of concerts, ticket information (as it becomes available) and partnership opportunities, visit HazelWrightOrgan.com.

J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 2 2 n O C C AT H O L I C

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