St. Augustine Catholic (Sept/Oct 2016)

ENRICHING YOUR FAITH

The Cursillo Movement

EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

Meet Fatima Expert Father Andrew Apostoli

STORIES OF CONVERSION

Ministering on Death Row

SAN AGUSTÍN CATÓLICO

Movimiento de Cursillos de Cristiandad

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

VOLUME XXVII ISSUE 2 SEPT/OCT 2016

features

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THE CURSILLO MOVEMENT

If you haven’t made a Cursillo weekend, you may not know much about it. But for those who have, they explain finding a deeper, more personal relationship with Christ.

Learn more about the Cursillo movement in the Diocese of St. Augustine and how you can participate. BY ROSE ROBERTSON

ROSANN MUCCILO

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contents

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MEET FRANCISCAN FRIAR ANDREW APOSTOLI

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A founding member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Father Apostoli is a preacher, teacher, writer and host of a weekly television program on EWTN, Sunday Night Prime. A Fatima expert, Father Apostoli will be one of the keynote speakers at the Eucharistic Congress this spring. BY ROSE ROBERTSON

16 BRANDON DUNCAN

MINISTERING ON DEATH ROW

The extraordinary comes in many forms especially among inmates on death row.

Read the stories of conversion from Deacon Jason Roy and Dale Recinella who serve as instruments of God’s loving message.

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BY JEFF BRUMLEY

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The Sisters of St. Joseph came to St. Augustine from Le Puy, France to teach, but in the 150 years since they arrived, they, in their quiet way, have shaped the lives of thousands of people – their dear neighbors!

WOODY HUBAND

COURTESY SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH

COVER STORY THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH: CELEBRATING 150 YEARS

what you will find inside 4

EDITOR’S NOTES | COMMUNICATION AND MERCY

BY KATHLEEN BAGG

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SAINT | MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA

BY LILLA ROSS

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BISHOP’S MESSAGE | I TRUST

BY BISHOP FELIPE J. ESTÉVEZ

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WHY DO CATHOLICS? | GET ANSWERS

BY FATHER TERRENCE MORGAN

BY LILLA ROSS

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FAITH MATTERS | TOM COUGHLIN

BY MICHAEL CURET

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TRANSITIONS

Two diocesan employees – Eric Johnson and Ron Ginder – will retire this fall. They have served faithfully behind the scenes for many years and their contributions have made a lasting impact. BY KATHLEEN BAGG

APPETITE FOR FAITH | BASIL PESTO PASTA

BY KELLI BREW

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AROUND THE DIOCESE | COMMUNITY

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CALENDAR | WHAT’S HAPPENING

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SAN AGUSTÍN CATÓLICO

On The Cover: Sister Mary Aquinas O’Shaughnessy, SSJ, worked with migrant children at the Education Day Care Center in Lake Worth, Fla. Circa 1960s. Photo: DOSA Archives

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ST. EDWARD CATHOLIC CHURCH CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

The small rural parish, located on U.S. Highway 301 in the middle of Starke, Fla., celebrates its Diamond Jubilee.

BY TONIA BORSELLINO

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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Editor’s Notes | A Faithful Encounter The St. Augustine Catholic is the official magazine of the Diocese of St. Augustine, which embraces 17 counties spanning Northeast and North Central Florida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The diocese covers 11,032 square miles and serves more than 157,000 registered Catholics.

Most Rev. Felipe J. Estévez PUBLISHER

Kathleen Bagg EDITOR

Lorena Espinoza SPANISH NEWS EDITOR/WRITER

Pat Dally ART DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Tonia Borsellino Jeff Brumley Michael Curet Angelina DeVincenzo Father Terrence Morgan Rose Robertson Lilla Ross CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Daron Dean Brandon Duncan Norma Garcia Woody Huband Rosann Muccilo Scott Smith Zach Thomas CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Michael Curet ADVERTISING SALES COORDINATOR

Cindy Barrier PRINTING REPRESENTATIVE

Read us online at WWW.DOSAFL.COM

St. Augustine Catholic (USPS 024-733) is a membership publication of the Diocese of St. Augustine, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258-2060. Published six times a year; every other month. Periodicals postage paid at Jacksonville, FL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to St. Augustine Catholic, c/o Office of Communications, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258-2060. PARISHIONERS: If you have a change of address, please call (904) 262-3200, ext. 127 or email: llendvay@ dosafl.com ©St. Augustine Catholic, Diocese of St. Augustine. No portion of the St. Augustine Catholic may be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise reproduced or distributed in whole or in part without prior written authority of the Diocese of St. Augustine. For reprint information or other questions regarding use of copyright material, contact the St. Augustine Catholic editorial offices.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook.com/DOSACatholics and Twitter @DOSACatholics

Help Spread the Faith!

Give the gift of the St. Augustine Catholic Magazine

$15 annual subscription Order online at www.dosafl.com/staugcatholic/ subscribe (904) 262-3200, ext. 123 4

Communication and Mercy

BY KATHLEEN BAGG

P

OPE FRANCIS, IN THIS HOLY YEAR OF MERCY, invites all of us to reflect on the relationship between communication and mercy. In his message for the 50th World Communications Day that was released from the Vatican on January 24, this year, he said, “What we say and how we say it, our every word and gesture, ought to express God’s compassion, tenderness and forgiveness for all. Love, by its nature, is communication; it leads to openness and sharing. If our hearts and actions are inspired by charity, by divine love, then our communication will be touched by God’s own power.”

Our Holy Father calls us to communicate with everyone, without exception.

“The Church’s words and actions are all meant to convey mercy, to touch people’s hearts and to sustain them on their journey to that fullness of life which Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to bring to all,” he said.

Bishop Estévez, as part of the Year of Mercy, set aside Sept. 12 – Mercy Monday – as a day for Catholics who have been away from the practice of their faith to come back to the Church. The diocese purchased time on local television stations in Gainesville and Jacksonville to reach out to our brothers and sisters with a message of hope and compassion. This message is just one example of how we can communicate God’s love for all.

This month, Catholics will be asked to consider giving to the Help Spread the Faith Catholic Communications Appeal. The appeal will be taken up in all parishes the weekend of Sept. 24-25.

The appeal funds our communications efforts right here in the diocese through our work on the St. Augustine Catholic magazine, the ongoing development of the diocesan website (dosafl.com), our efforts in social media through Facebook and Twitter, the weekly Spanish Mass on radio for the homebound and La Voz de Emmanuel – a weekly informational talk show for Hispanic Catholics – and many other efforts to spread the church’s message of hope, love and mercy to the community at-large.

Your generous contributions also help us assist parishes by developing strategies to improve their communications by introducing tools that will help parishioners stay connected to their faith community.

Communications technology has opened up broader horizons for many people.

It is a gift from God which involves a great responsibility, shares Pope Francis. “In a broken, fragmented and polarized world, to communicate with mercy means to help create healthy, free and fraternal closeness between the children of God and all our brothers and sisters in the one human family,” said the Holy Father. Please consider helping us fulfill this mission through our local efforts.

If you miss the HSF Communications Appeal weekend, you can still contribute by sending your donations to the diocese, c/o the Office of Communications, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258. Please mark “HSF Communications Appeal” on your check. If you have questions about the appeal and where the money goes, email kbagg@dosafl.com or call (904) 262-1705.

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Saint of the Month | She Incarnated Love

Mother Teresa DIVINE MERCY IN ACTION

BY LILLA ROSS

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, we are looking at saints who are role models of mercy.

CNS PHOTO

CNS PHOTO/MICHAEL COLLOPY

She is the best-known saint of the 20th century, world renown for her life devoted to the poorest of the poor that earned her a Nobel Peace Prize.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a native of Macedonia, was a member of the Irish Sisters of Loreto for 20 years, teaching at St. Mary’s School for girls in Calcutta before founding her iconic order.

She was increasingly disturbed by the poverty she saw around her. A famine in 1946 brought not only widespread suffering but religious and political upheaval and violence. As a cloistered nun, she was not allowed to leave the convent to serve the poor in the streets. She wanted to remain a nun but she also wanted to serve the poor.

She left for her annual retreat on Sept. 10, 1946 to pray and seek God’s calling for her ministry. During the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling she received the “call within a call.”

“I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order,” she said. “To fail would have been to break the faith.”

She responded to God’s call to “Come be My Light” by founding the Missionaries of Charity Sisters in 1950 for Feast Day: the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The sisters were instantly Sept. 5 recognizable by their white and blue habit. Its mission Born: was to care for, in her own words, “the hungry, the August 26, 1910 in naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, Skopje (modernall those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared day Macedonia) for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

Died: The order began with 13 sisters but over the years Sept. 5, 1997 in grew to an international organization including men Calcutta religious and lay people. The boldness of the sisters’ Beatified: ministry, comforting the dying in the streets, mothering Oct. 19, 2003 by orphaned children, serving lepers brought international Pope John Paul II attention, including the Nobel Peace Prize for Mother Teresa in 1978.

Canonized: International admiration blunted criticism over her Sept. 4, 2016 by positions on social issues. When she died in 1997, she Pope Francis in received a state funeral. Five years later Pope John Paul Rome II beatified her. And on Sept. 4, 2016 she was canonized

by Pope Francis in Rome.

As a role model of mercy, Mother Teresa put the spotlight on people too often overlooked while also showing that works of compassion have political consequences.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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Bishop’s Message | Saint Teresa The pattern of the Paschal Mystery – the life, death, and resurrection of Christ – can be seen in this scenario. Out of the chaos of atheist Albania, came the greatest saint of our times.

From within the devastation of total godlessness emerged a witness to God’s own tender desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Mother’s spirituality of love for the poor and thirst for souls was by no means a new message but it was newly presented to the world through a petite religious woman speaking a paradoxical truth: God’s love does

BY BISHOP FELIPE ESTÉVEZ not embrace “systems” or “classes.” God embraces real people as his beloved children. He cares for every individual, but most N SEPT. 4, the world witnessed the canonization by Pope especially the poor and suffering who are most often forgotten by godless societies. This is the essence of charity and the reason Francis of a woman who was considered a living saint in her Mother Teresa named her religious order the Missionaries of lifetime, a woman who was universally acclaimed as a model of Charity. Mother witnessed this paradoxical message from the slums holiness for our age – Mother Teresa of Calcutta. of Calcutta to the White House, from the favelas of Brazil to the hallowed halls of Harvard, and even to the world stage of the Nobel It hardly needs to be said that Mother Teresa exhibited the Peace Prize, which she won in 1978. In her acceptance speech, she heroic virtues of faith, hope and charity in her 60-plus years as a made a bold defense of the unborn in need of protection. consecrated woman, but what many do not fully appreciate is how We may ask how Mother Teresa kept up her vigorous schedule much she was – as Christ before her – a “sign of contradiction” and travelled the world for more than half a century. How did a for the entire 20th century. Her spirituality of thirst for souls was a diminutive nun wearing a poor Indian robe have immediate access counterbalance to a world in which atheism and materialism are to kings, presidents and international audiences? The answer to powerful forces leading souls away from God. this question is as simple as When Mother Teresa was a young nun, she had a vision of Christ it is profound. The secret to Were Mother Teresa on the Cross – a vision that determined how she would spend the her success, if you will, can to speak to us from rest of her life. During a train ride to a retreat she literally heard be found in her devotion to heaven on the day of her the Lord speak to her the same words he spoke from the Cross on the one source of grace for canonization, she would Good Friday, “I thirst” (Jn 19:28). This vision impressed upon her the the world: the Most Blessed probably say nothing profound awareness of our Lord’s immense “thirst” for souls, that is, Sacrament of the Eucharist. more than she said to the for the eternal salvation of every person. Her mystical experience of We would be entirely mistaken world for 60 years: serve Christ planted in her soul the fire of that same insatiable thirst. Soon to view Mother’s mission only Christ in the poor and after that, she began to pursue her true calling, which was to bring as a campaign to alleviate the love him in the Most Holy souls to Christ by serving the poor in the worst slums of the world. sufferings of poor people. It was Sacrament of the Altar.”

There is an immense historical irony about Mother Teresa’s faith that, of course, but her spiritual journey: her life-changing mystical experience took place in the mission went much farther than very year (1946) that her countryman, Communist dictator Enver providing material services. She gave people God, who himself had Hoxha, seized power in her native Albania and declared it to be become poor and destitute out of love for suffering humanity. the world’s first completely atheistic state. Hoxha murdered as many Many people do not know that, following the example of their as 100,000 of his own people. He martyred priests and he closed foundress, the Missionaries of Charity attend Mass and spend two every one of the 2,169 churches and shrines in Mother’s homeland hours each day in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. over the next 20 years.

Nothing defines – or vivifies – a religious mission as clearly as During that same period, however, Mother Teresa founded the this practice. The source of their charitable work is Charity Himself Missionaries of Charity and began molding her sisters into a unique who speaks to us from the cross about his desire for souls and comes religious force whose mission to serve the “poorest of the poor” to us humbly in the Eucharist. Were Mother Teresa to speak to us would eventually reach to the ends of the Earth. Her universal vision from heaven on the day of her canonization, she would probably say of serving Christ in the poor was the antithesis of Communism’s goal nothing more than she said to the world for 60 years: serve Christ in of an unrealizable utopia of universal brotherhood that had no need the poor and love him in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. of God. According to Mother Teresa, however, God had great need of In the end, a life of service and holiness is the only thing that truly us and even thirsted for our love. She knew that the Christ who had lasts. The Albanian dictator Hoxha died in 1981 and today hardly embraced the poverty of the human condition even to the point of anyone outside of Albania even knows he existed. Mother Teresa dying on the Cross was the true Savior of the world as opposed to a died in 2007 with tens of millions attending to news of her. That is godless ideology was incapable of consoling the sorrowful, clothing the legacy of a woman whose whole life was the passion to love Jesus the naked, and feeding the hungry personally. and care for the poor.

I THIRST

O

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

BIBLE

QUIZ The Bible instructs us to do a lot of things – to love one another, to forgive, to help the poor. But it also tells us to chill out. So in honor of the end of summer, here’s what the Bible says about taking time off: 1. Why is the Sabbath considered a day of rest?

A. Religious law B. God likes football C. Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday D. God blessed the seventh day of creation.

2. How would Jesus take time off ?

A. Go fishing B. Hang out in the desert C. Go to the mountains 3. What happens to those who trust in God? A. Laughter B. Rest C. Pleasure 1. A. Exodus 34:21; D. Genesis 2:3 2. A. John 21:1-25; B. Luke 5:26; C. Matthew 14:22-33 3. A. Psalm 126:2; B. Matthew 11:28; C. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Answers: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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Why Do Catholics…? | Get Answers

LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR FAITH

What happens when a person is canonized?

BY FATHER TERRENCE MORGAN

What happened to Mother Teresa of Calcutta on Sept. 4, the date of her canonization in Rome? Did Pope Francis make her a saint? What happens at a canonization?

Your intuition is right on the money: only the grace and mercy of God can make a saint! The ceremony that took place in St. Peter’s Square Sept. 4 recognized in a public and solemn way that Mother Teresa cooperated fully with God’s grace and call throughout her lifetime and thus (a) led a life worthy of imitation for anyone who would want to call himself or herself a disciple of Christ and (b) is certainly in heaven, worshiping at the Altar of the Lamb and assisting us who remain on Earth with her prayers just as powerfully as she assisted us when she walked with us only a few years ago.

“Canonization” – the name of the process (which began almost immediately after her death in 1997 and included not only two miracles attributed to her intercession but also an almost universal acclamation of her holiness) and the solemn ceremony that took place on Sept. 4 – is essentially a liturgical event. Theresa of 8

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Calcutta’s name was entered into the Canon of Saints for WE DECIDE the Universal Church: her AND DEFINE name may be invoked THAT SHE IS in the Litany of the A SAINT AND Saints, she may have INSCRIBE a feast day (Sept. 5, HER IN THE her “birthday,” the CATALOGUE day of her entry OF SAINTS, into heaven in STATING 1997), she may THAT HER have churches MEMORY dedicated to her, SHOULD etc.

BE KEPT While most WITH PIOUS of us have a kind DEVOTION of moral certainty

BY THE that, for instance, UNIVERSAL our mothers or our CHURCH.” fathers have quite probably achieved sanctity and we seek their heavenly intercession, canonization moves beyond “my family” and “moral certainty” and “quite probably” to certain veneration by all believers. This is best seen in the short but very clear declaration of the pope: “We decide and define that she is a saint and inscribe her in the catalogue of saints, stating that her memory should be kept with pious devotion by the universal Church.”

The best historical and theological explanation I have found of veneration of the saints and of canonization can be found at www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/beatification-and-canonization.

I made the mistake recently of bringing up the subject of “proper Mass attire” in a room full of friends – all of them Catholic! Their opinions varied from dress up of course to be realistic – this is Florida after all. What do you say?

If – as all “good Catholics” do – you are looking for me to lay down the law, there really aren’t that many rules on how the faithful should dress for Mass. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal suggests “dignified clothing” for readers, extraordinary ministers, and other people who have liturgical functions (GIRM no. 339).

Call me a fuddy-duddy, but I always keep a pair of slacks and a nice shirt in the trunk of my car in case I get a last-minute invitation to the home of friends or to a restaurant. If I can do the “Superman quick-change” bit for a restaurant, should you consider it for the Lord’s Supper?

If the Superman-quick-change is too much for you, consider this, from a wise, seasoned priest-friend of mine. As a rule of thumb for appropriate church attire, think where people’s eyes will be drawn first when you wear your blouse/shirt/shorts/etc.

If their eyes are not drawn first to your face – maybe you should wear something else.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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JENN HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY

Faith Matters | Helping Others

Tom Coughlin: ‘My Life is a Miracle!’

BY MICHAEL CURET

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OM COUGHLIN KNOWS that his Catholic faith had a lot to do with him being able to win two Super Bowls as head coach of the New York Giants. That goes the same for his work off the field.

He has been married to his wife Judy as long as he’s been coaching – 47 years, raising four children in the process: Keli, Tim, Brian and Katie. He spent 20 years as a head coach in the NFL – the last 12 years coaching the Giants before stepping down at the end of the 2015 season.

The Super Bowl titles came in 2007 and 2011. He was the first head coach in 1995 of the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading them to two AFC Championship games in the first five seasons.

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Away from the gridiron, he’s entering his 20th year as president of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, which he founded in honor of Jay McGillis, a player he coached at Boston College who died of leukemia in 1992.

The foundation was created to provide families who have a child diagnosed with cancer with financial, emotional and practical support.

Since its inception, the Jay Fund has raised more than $6 million and helped more than

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Mary’s, which was run by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Even as a young altar server, he knew he wanted to help others.

“What happens is there are ‘doers’ and ‘talkers.’ I prefer to be a doer,” Coughlin said. “I believe in surrounding yourself with the right people, talking about values and principles and the things you believe in.

I’m driven by strength in terms of my beliefs in my maker.

It’s about growing and giving examples. I can’t stand the hypocrites and the people that want everyone to think they’re religious. They’re trying to convince everyone that they’re Tom and Judy so devout. I don’t personally Coughlin visit with believe in any of that.”

Ansley, one of the The Jay Fund has grown children who received tremendously in the last 20 help from the Jay Fund. years and you can hear the excitement in his voice when 4,000 families in North Florida Coughlin talks about it.

“It’s an incredible experience,” and the New York-New Jersey said Coughlin, noting that the metropolitan areas.

Jay Fund just completed its “My life is a miracle,” said remembrance weekend when Coughlin. “It continues to families who have lost a child amaze me how the Holy Spirit works. When the experience at come back for support and guidance.

Boston College occurred with Coughlin emotionally recalls the sickness and unfortunate visiting the home of a 3-year-old death of Jay McGillis, we were cancer victim the day before she able to see how dire the need died. was for family help.

“She was comforting her “When we had an mother, saying ‘Don’t worry opportunity to come to about me mom. I’ll be fine.’ Now Jacksonville and start the tell me where do those words NFL franchise here, Judy and come from?”

I realized this would be the Over the years, it has been way we would give back,” said especially gratifying to see many Coughlin. “We weren’t sure of his players step off the field how we were going to raise the and help him with this cause. funds, but we knew we were “Players are basically good going to serve and be there for with kids and then there’s a families who had a child with category of players that are cancer and needed help.”

The oldest of seven children, good with children that have an Coughlin was born into an Irish incredible burden like cancer,” said Coughlin. “To see the Catholic family in Waterloo, N.Y. He attended the same grade players drop everything, and lend their time and efforts to school that his father did – St.

JODI CRANDELL PHOTOGRAPHY

Coach Tom Coughlin with one of the Jay Fund children.

make these kids feel better and feel good about themselves is extremely rewarding.”

In the latter years of Coughlin’s NFL career, he has become

closer to his players too.

“It’s one of the best feelings you could possibly have, outside of family, when a former player tells you he loves you,” said

Coughlin. “It’s an incredible experience. I remember when it first started happening. I didn’t know what to say.”

Whether it’s coaching a football team or running a foundation, Coughlin has the same approach and it’s a recipe that has proved to be successful.

“I do believe we are called

by Jesus Christ to help our fellow man,” said Coughlin.

You try to surround yourself with people, even if they don’t share completely the things you believe in and your faith.

I try to do things the right way – whether that would be counseling a player who’s gotten off the beaten path or whether it’s being there for a coach who’s had a family member devastated in some particular way. If you can be consistent and strong in

your faith, supportive of that individual while attempting not to be judgmental, then you give the best opportunity for that person to feel a sense of strength and hope.”

Having recently celebrated his 70th birthday, Coughlin has come to grips that he won’t be pacing the NFL sidelines this season as a head coach – although he doesn’t rule out returning to coaching again.

“I think the good Lord has a plan,” said Coughlin. “What that plan is, I’m not sure. But he has a plan. We’re going to see and we’re going to be excited and look forward to whatever that might be.”

For more information on the Jay Fund, visit www.TCJAYFUND.com.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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L

IFE CHANGING. These two simple words describe the

depth, breadth and meaning of Cursillo. Just ask Dave and Janice Sleap, Jose Escamilla, Jeri O’Hara, and Cristina Muneton, and Carl Ludwig, the volunteer director of Cursillo in the Diocese of St. Augustine. Each and every one readily offered these two specific words to describe their

DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB/KRISTINA AFANASYEVA

experience.

Cursillo Developing a deeper, more personal relationship with Christ

BY ROSE ROBERTSON

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Janice shares, “Cursillo deepens your faith. It can open up a whole new light of Christ in your life and you’ll feel very close to Jesus. It’s like holy ground and the entire weekend is a mountain top experience! This is my Jesus shot in the arm and something I cannot live without.”

These six men and women made a Cursillo because of either a direct invitation by a Cursillista (a person who has completed the weekend and is active in the movement) or because they were inspired by the visible changes in someone who made a Cursillo and inquired as to how they could obtain a similar experience.

Most found that during their Cursillo weekend, they discovered they’d been simply following the rubrics of their faith, never really understanding they could have a personal encounter with Christ.

“Before I went,” explains Carl, “I was so blinded to God I thought only religious had a relationship with Christ. During the weekend, I heard laymen explain how they’re living for Jesus seven days a week.

That humbled me and took root in my life.

Cursillo awakened me, helping me see how much Christ loves us and wants us in a personal relationship with him.”

Cristina matter-of-factly states, “It was a wakeup call. I grew up Catholic but it wasn’t until Cursillo that I finally understood God loved me as I was and as his daughter I had responsibilities I was not fulfilling. It was so beautiful to realize in fulfilling those responsibilities I was finding joy I never found before.”

Cursillo is Spanish for “short course” and refers to just that: a short course in Christian living and a reintroduction to

DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB/KRISTINA AFANASYEVA

Upcoming

Cursillo Catholicism. Intended to be an encounter to satisfy the hunger for God; it is meant with Christ, Cursillo helps participants see to create a hunger for him. When you how Christ is working in them, as well as encounter Christ, your life and those learning the basic tenants of their Catholic around you will change for good.” faith. Originating in Majorca, Spain in “My faith has been deepened,” sums up the 1940’s, this lay movement arrived to Jeri, “and deepens each day as I continue the United States in 1957, and in the St. to study and share Christ’s teachings. At Augustine Diocese by 1974.

Cursillo, I learned how to Father Amar Nagothu, have a better, more peaceful, “IT’S LIKE HOLY spiritual director of Cursillo, happier life by simply looking GROUND AND shared the powerful impact to God first, being thankful THE ENTIRE of the movement within for all God places in my life. I WEEKEND IS A parishes. “Almost every parish am never alone.”

MOUNTAIN TOP in the diocese has Cursillista’s.

Carl passionately suggests, EXPERIENCE! All of them have become “You need to come and see for THIS IS MY JESUS more active in their parish yourself. It’s like the woman at SHOT IN THE ARM ministry as lectors, Eucharistic the well who couldn’t explain AND SOMETHING ministers, ushers, etc. The her encounter with the Lord; I CANNOT LIVE weekend reconnects them words cannot do it justice.

WITHOUT.” with their Catholic life.”

Unless you experience it, Making a Cursillo involves you don’t get the full affect. I four days, beginning with a three-day remember leaving Cursillo Sunday evening weekend. During those 72 hours, 15 talks and asking God to let me keep what I was are given by a team of lay volunteers and feeling. I had had a glimpse of heaven.” religious. The team and candidates live as If you haven’t made a Cursillo, Father a small community, sharing in discussion, Amar has some enticing words of prayer, meals and sacraments. By the end encouragement to consider. “At a Cursillo, of the weekend, candidates have a better people feel the Spirit and are filled with the understanding of the power of the Spirit in Spirits energy. On these weekends, people their lives and realize they have been called are so joyful; I want everyone to experience to help spread the Word for the rest of their that joy!” days. The remainder of one’s life is known To participate in a Cursillo, you must as the Fourth Day. be sponsored by someone active in Dave reflects, “It taught me we need to take Christ into the world and if you use the Cursillo. If you don’t know a Cursillista, Cursillo method of participating in a weekly the Diocesan Cursillo Office can assist you. Cursillo weekends are gender and support group (called Groupings) with language based. To learn how you can other Cursillista’s, it’s easier to do. When we Group each week, our relationship with attend or to obtain a sponsor, call Carl Ludwig at (904) 724-8485 or email: God is held accountable.” cl2465@att.com.

Jose concurs, “Cursillo is not meant

Weekends

The next Cursillo weekend for men in English is Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 and for women, Oct. 6 to 9.

The next Cursillo weekend for men in Spanish is Oct 13 to 16 and for women, Oct 20 to 23.

Call (904) 724-8485 for more information or email cl2465@att.com.

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CONGRESS

EUCHARISTIC

2017

ROSANN MUCCIOLO

share with attendees at the 2017 Eucharistic Congress, March 24-25, in Jacksonville, Fla. Considered by many as an expert on Fatima, Father Andrew recently authored Fatima Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope, an exhaustive study presenting facts and evidence to clear up many controversies surrounding Mary’s appearance. The book, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Fatima, emphasizes the power Our Lady’s message has to transform the world. “The one directive Mary gave in all three

BY ROSE ROBERTSON appearances was to tell people to pray the rosary every day.

EVOTION TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER can surface early. “When I was a The rosary is powerful enough little boy,” shares Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, co-founder of the Franciscan to stop wars, convert sinners and bring peace. Mary said if Friars of the Renewal, “I remember Jesus inspiring me in prayer to understand enough people do what I ask, Mary is my mother, and I take very seriously what Jesus tells me. Mary has my triumph will come and interceded many times in my life to reassure me of her love and protection. that will bring world peace,” shared Father Andrew.

“I do believe she is the spiritual mother to all of us. She has “In 1976, Pope John Paul said, ‘we are in the greatest spiritual a worldly intercessory role, which began at the foot of the cross struggle of the 2000 year history of Christianity and Fatima is more when Jesus said his mother, ‘behold your son.’ Then to his important now than it was in 1917.’ I personally don’t see how beloved disciple, who represented all of us, ‘behold your mother.’ anything political, monetary or military can change people’s hearts.

Since then, Jesus keeps sending his mother to bring a message of It has to come through God’s grace, and people again recognizing peace to the world.” the importance of God in their lives. We’ve lost the original It is that message of peace, most specifically the message given American society based on Judeo-Christian morality. Through to three children at Fatima in 1917, which Father Apostoli will Mary’s intercession, we’ll be able to get back some sort of Christian

Franciscan Friar Andrew Apostoli A Fatima expert will speak at the 2017 Eucharistic Congress

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heritage for civilization,” he emphasized.

Father Andrew said, “Our world today is a mess. Atheism is spreading and atheism hates the church. We live in selfishness and selfishness leads to such a loss of faith everywhere. Last year, a survey of Americans under the age of 30, found 20 percent do not have faith in God or anything supernatural. That’s the worst it’s ever been and implies our future generations will be led further from God.” At Fatima, Mary promised to help us if we pray to Our Lady of the Rosary, Father Andrew explained. “I tell people when they buy a product, they want a guarantee. When the mother of God can guarantee you the way to peace – through prayer, sacrifice, living good lives, and practicing the five first Saturdays devotion – I think it’s important to listen to her.” Father Andrew will talk more indepth about Our Lady’s guarantee at the Eucharistic Congress.

Father Andrew recognized his pastoral calling at a young age. “I was at Mass and was about 5 years old. I told myself I wanted to do what the priest was doing. At that age I didn’t know for sure what he was doing but there was something that inspired me. As I grew up I had a greater desire to become a priest and entered seminary in high school.”

His vocation is not without challenges. “Sometimes I feel like I am fighting Satan himself with the social distortion of God’s plan.

I keep myself grounded in my hope to one day be in the kingdom of heaven with Jesus by spreading the glory of God and honoring Jesus’ mother in a special way. When I die I hope to hear, ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.’”

Father Apostoli’s priesthood has also enjoyed some rich rewards. “I was ordained by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He made such an impact on my life. He was a great lover of the Blessed Mother, promoter of Fatima’s message and he opposed Communism. He instilled in me a great love of Christ and the priesthood. And I count myself very lucky that I personally knew Mother Teresa very well. Her influence was big in our community and I helped teach her sisters in the South Bronx.

“I was also graced, in 1987, to be a founding member of a new community, the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

And in 1988, I helped found the Franciscan Sisters of Renewal.

Fátima is a central Portuguese town and Catholic pilgrimage site. The Capelinha das Apariçoes marks the spot where the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared in 1917.

Three mornings a week, I say Mass at one of their convents, I TELL PEOPLE WHEN THEY hear confessions, and teach BUY A PRODUCT, THEY about the prayers and vows we WANT A GUARANTEE. made as a religious.”

WHEN THE MOTHER OF Founder, preacher, teacher, GOD CAN GUARANTEE faithful servant – Father YOU THE WAY TO PEACE Andrew also hosts a weekly – THROUGH PRAYER, television program on EWTN, SACRIFICE, LIVING GOOD Sunday Night Prime, and is a LIVES, AND PRACTICING prolific writer, authoring nine THE FIVE FIRST books and currently working SATURDAYS DEVOTION – I on another. And through the THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO countless ways he spreads the LISTEN TO HER.” glory of God, Father Andrew’s fundamental message remains clear. “Mary, at Fatima, came to present the road to true peace in the world, based on true love of God and faithfulness to his message, his revelation, and his word. We have to listen to our Mother.”

Mark Your Calendars Now for the 2017 Eucharistic Congress

March 24-25 | Prime Osborn III Convention Center, Jacksonville Theme: “Do Whatever He Tells You” Keynote Speakers include: • Apostolic Nuncio to the United States – Archbishop Christophe Pierre • Law Professor and USCCB Consultant – Helen Alvare • Franciscan Friar – Andrew Apostoli, CFR • Singer, Songwriter – Marie Miller • Theologian and Author – Dr. Edward Sri • Speaker, Musician and Author – Chris Padgett • Author and Director of Evangelization for the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception – Father Michael Gaitley To learn more about the Eucharistic Congress sponsored by the Diocese of St. Augustine, visit www.FloridaEucharist.org.

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CNS PHOTO/DARON DEAN

‘Christ sweated carrying the Cross’

Deacon Roy said he’s had many encounters with Christ among the men on death row and in solitary confinement. It’s apparent in their lives and on their faces.

He has worked with three inmates preparing them to become Catholic through the RCIA process. They were fully initiated into the Catholic Church last year.

Deacon Roy explains that he “walks the row and ministers to Catholics, Protestants and non-believers alike at cell front. I bring the outside in and they bring the inside out to me.”

He shares spiritual reading materials, prays with them, brings them Communion, and is available to discuss anything they want to talk about. Upon request, he will provide one-on-one spiritual advising.

He remembers a recent visit with a Catholic prisoner this summer that was grateful someone from the outside was coming inside to meet with him. They prayed together and the inmate requested the Eucharist. He said it was a hot day especially there since death row is not air conditioned. The heat index inside can get up to 120 degrees.

Deacon Roy said to the inmate, “I have sweated on the Host.”

Chaplain Dale Recinella provides “He said ‘that’s OK. Christ sweated religious education instruction at Union Correctional Institution in carrying the Cross. I’ll take it.’ And he took Raiford, Fla., and also ministers to Communion.” Deacon Roy said he was death row inmates. choked up by the remark.

On Ash Wednesday all inmates can receive ashes. About two years ago, Deacon Roy took ashes to a prisoner in solitary confinement who was in a restraint chair and wearing a spit mask.

BY JEFF BRUMLEY He said he was escorted into the room with two guards who agreed to pull the mask EATH ROW IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED A TRAGIC PLACE. And it is. for just a few seconds.

But tragedy routinely turns to the miraculous when inmates embrace faith, “I knelt down and administered the ashes said Deacon Jason Roy, director of prison ministry for the Diocese of St. Augustine on his forehead and gave him Communion.

When our eyes connected, I didn’t see an and a chaplain who serves Florida’s death row and solitary confinement inmates. inmate – I saw Christ looking right back at me and I began to cry and he started crying There are 389 men (60 are Catholic) The extraordinary comes in many forms housed on death row and another when ministering to these men, according to too. And then they put the mask back on 2,200 men (250 are Catholic) in solitary Deacon Roy and Dale Recinella, a lawyer and him,” said Deacon Roy. “It is a joy to have the opportunity to serve confinement at the Florida State Prison lay minister who for years serve on behalf of and Union Correctional Institution located the Catholic Bishops of Florida as a Catholic my Lord at cell front,” said Deacon Roy. He’s been involved in prison ministry for 30 years in Raiford, just 50 miles southwest of Correctional Chaplain to Florida’s Death – two years serving men on death row.

Row and Solitary Confinement.

Jacksonville.

MINISTERING ON DEATH ROW

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“I’m not here for me. I’m not here for them. I’m here for Christ and that helps me stay focused as a minister on death row.

‘What a rat trap it is’

“There are many myths about the death penalty. For example, that it is cheaper than life in prison. That is a lie. It costs much more and that money goes to state lawyers instead of to corrections officers.”

“Another myth is that it encourages conversions. In fact it can be an obstacle.

I have had many men challenge me: ‘Why would I want to become Christian when Christians are the ones who want to kill me?’

Frequently, I find myself explaining that Catholic Christians who are faithful to the leadership of our bishops and the popes do not support the use of capital punishment.”

Despite such hurdles, Recinella and his wife, Susan, have been baptismal godparents or confirmation sponsors to more than 20 men in their 18 years of death row ministry.

“I asked one why he decided to become Catholic. He said, ‘it’s very simple: I want to belong to the church that wants to belong to me.’

“Thank God that our Catholic Church wants to belong to everyone, even those who have made horrible mistakes.”

Deacon Jason Roy, director of prison ministry for the diocese, ministers to men on death row.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

BRANDON DUNCAN

For many Catholics, ministering to men on death row is unfathomable. They either don’t know or don’t agree with what the Church teaches about the death penalty.

That’s something Dale Recinella knows from experience.

“I used to support the death penalty,” he said.

That was until the late-1980s when Recinella, a lawyer, was asked by the Florida Catholic Conference to prepare a draft amicus brief for a death penalty case.

“In the course of preparing that brief, I became horrified that the death penalty I had supported didn’t really exist – it was a fantasy,” he said.

“I had supported a death penalty that kills neatly and quietly without horrendous botched executions, causes no harm to the innocent family of the condemned and the staff who DEACON ROY must kill for us, is EXPLAINS THAT just and equitable HE ‘WALKS without reference to race or wealth, THE ROW AND that only convicts MINISTERS TO the guilty, only CATHOLICS, attaches to the PROTESTANTS worst of the worst, only costs AND NONa fraction of life BELIEVERS ALIKE imprisonment, AT CELL FRONT. only ... only it I BRING THE does not exist,” explained OUTSIDE IN AND Recinella.

THEY BRING THE He continued INSIDE OUT by explaining, TO ME.’” “I’ve witnessed a horrendously botched execution and the execution of a man I believe was innocent. I’ve seen the agony of the family of the condemned at the homicide by the state of their loved one. And not only is the death penalty arbitrary and biased, it also regularly snares the severely mentally ill and U.S. Veterans with PTSD –

each group making up at least 10 percent of those sitting on America’s death rows.”

In Florida, Recinella discovered there is an invisible industry of pro-death penalty state lawyers and other professionals who are financially dependent on its existence, all at taxpayer expense. “What a rat trap it is,” he said.

Recinella – a staunch Right-to-Life activist from high school through his law school years at Notre Dame – also learned that the U.S. bishops had been urging an end to the death penalty for years.

“The arbitrary monstrosity that the death penalty is changed my mind, and the teachings of the Church changed my heart,” he said.

In addition to following a calling to become a death row chaplain in 1998, Recinella has authored several books: The Biblical Truth about America’s Death Penalty (2004) and Now I Walk on Death Row (2010).

His most recent book was just released: When We Visit Jesus in Prison: A Guide for Catholic Ministry.

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The Sisters of St. Joseph

came to St. Augustine to teach, but in the 150 years since they arrived, they, in their quiet way, have shaped the lives of thousands of people – school children, migrants, the sick, the disabled and the spiritually lost.

In the beginning they did it by helping former slaves find their humanity and new lives by teaching them to read, write and think for themselves.

They do it every day by making the effort to treat everyone as “a dear neighbor,” helping, in the words of their founder, “to unite neighbor with neighbor” and “neighbor with God.” And, they do it “in whatever ways a woman is capable,” which meant one thing when the order was founded in 17th Century France, and quite another in 21st Century Florida.

Teaching has been the mainstay of their ministry, with schools throughout the state.

The sisters also established an orphanage in Jacksonville and a major hospital and clinic for undocumented migrants in Miami. A Sister of St. Joseph is chancellor of the Archdiocese of Miami and another is associate vocations director of the Diocese of Orlando. They work in parishes, offer retreats and spiritual direction; they provide counseling, work with the dying, the disabled and migrant workers. One is an architect, another is a stained glass window artist and another is the archivist for the Diocese of St. Augustine for 450 years of historical records.

When they are physically unable to perform active ministry, they are enlisted in a ministry of prayer for the needs of the world, the “dear neighbor” and the congregation.

They have touched thousands of lives in countless ways, but consider for a moment an unlikely pair: May Mann Jennings, who was Florida’s first lady at the turn of the century, and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami.

What do they have in common? The Sisters of St. Joseph!

DOSA ARCHIVES

Sister of St. Joseph Noreen O’Connor teaches her young students religion. Circa 1945.

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broader glasses than the average person does.”

Jennings, a Baptist, was sent to St. Joseph Academy at Archbishop Wenski also was educated by the Sisters the age of 9 after her mother died and she graduated as of St. Joseph. As a boy at Sacred Heart School in Lake valedictorian in 1889.

Worth, Wenski accompanied the sisters on visits to a Her friendship with the sisters lasted a lifetime, said migrant workers camp where he had his first encounter historian Barbara Mattick, author of Ministries in Black with Haitian immigrants. and White: A history of the Congregation.

“He began to understand what ministry After her husband, William Jennings, was “In to Haitians meant and it marked his life,” elected governor in 1900, she received a said Sister Elizabeth Worley, chancellor warm letter of congratulations from her the first 30 of the Archdiocese of Miami. “He has principal at St. Joseph Academy. years the teaching become a huge voice for the Haitian Sister Margaret Mary wrote, ministry expanded community. He learned that from his “Always bear in mind while carrying throughout Northeast vocation but it started with one of your honors that charity to the Florida and south to our sisters because she exposed him poor will entail a blessing on your Orlando and Tampa. By to serving the person of Christ in the household, and that while honors person of a Haitian.” are conferred upon you, you must 1910 the sisters were In his advocacy for Haitians, refer them all to God, who is the running six academies Archbishop Wenski is following in the author of all.” and 14 day footsteps of another former student of At the end of his term, the Jennings schools.” the Sisters of St. Joseph – Florida’s first moved to Jacksonville, where Mrs. bishop, Augustin Verot.

Jennings was active in the woman’s club At the end of the Civil War, Bishop Verot movement, taking progressive stands for faced a daunting task – attempting to serve the needs conservation, social welfare and women’s rights. Today of more than 5,000 newly freed slaves in North Florida, she is considered one of the most influential women in who had neither the resources nor education to begin Florida history. new lives.

In her biography, Mrs. Jennings explained her perspective: He turned for help to the Sisters of St. Joseph in his “I was educated in a convent and look at life through much 20

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

BY LILLA ROSS

JIM JUDKIS/USCCB

Sister of St. Joseph Suzan Foster, vice principal of St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine, interacts with students.

ZACH THOMAS

Stained Glass Artist, Sister Diane Couture, SSJ.

BRANDON DUNCAN

BRANDON DUNCAN

At their Motherhouse in St. Augustine, from left, are Sisters Mary Christine Zimorski, Jane Stoecker, general superior, Thomas Joseph McGoldrick and Barbara Cekosh.

Diocesan Archivist Sister Catherine Bitzer, left, and Historian Sister Thomas Joseph McGoldrick examine the oldest documents in the United States.

DOSA ARCHIVES

COURTESY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI

JIM JUDKIS/USCCB

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami recognizes his Chancellor, Sister of St. Joseph Elizabeth Worley for her work at the archdiocese.

Students of St. Benedict Parochial School prepare for a parade.

Date unknown.

If in 1870 a man was a wagon driver, by 1880 he had his hometown of Le Puy, France. The order was founded own wagon, by 1920 a taxi.” in 1650 but this would be its first foreign mission. Sixty To support their efforts to educate impoverished sisters volunteered; eight were chosen. They arrived in St. blacks, the sisters began to teach the children of the Augustine in 1866. more prosperous whites in academies like St. Joseph They found a Florida that was economically devastated Academy in St. Augustine, the oldest private by the war, a population of blacks struggling school in the state. to find their footing as freemen and a In the first 30 years the teaching ministry community of whites who weren’t sure “People expanded throughout Northeast Florida they were ready for it. seeing you live and south to Orlando and Tampa.

And so the sisters set about their out the faith are very By 1910 the sisters were running six new mission as they have for 150 academies and 14 day schools that years – offering themselves to God in important. Everyone served 1,438 white children and 240 prayer, accessing the needs around is called to holiness; blacks, according to Beyond the them and figuring out how best to in addition, as women Call: A history of the congregation meet them. religious, we are called

by Sister Thomas Joseph In the beginning, the need was to live the vows of McGoldrick, SSJ. obvious – education, including their poverty, chastity and And though it has been forgotten, own (they didn’t speak English). the sisters were an integral part of the Though it is hard to quantify, census obedience.” public school system when it was found records indicate that some of those first in 1868. They were paid a salary, allowed blacks who were educated by the sisters to teach religion before or after school and made lives for themselves and had some take off religious holidays, Dr. Mattick said. But all measure of success, Dr. Mattick said. that ended about 1913 when a wave of anti-Catholicism “The sisters were there to make sure they had a basic and racism swept the South and the Florida Legislature education and to remain good Catholics,” Dr. Mattick banned the use of public funds for private education. said. “There was no goal of making them doctors and In 1916, the legislature passed a law making it illegal for lawyers. But in census records you can see a progression.

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DOSA ARCHIVES

DOSA ARCHIVES

poverty, chastity and obedience. We live with the laity as our ‘dear neighbors’ yet, I think, they want us to be identified apart from them.”

Sister Thomas Joseph, 90, who hasn’t worn a veil in 50 years, is wearing it again. She notices a difference in the way people respond when she is at the O’Reilly House Museum, where she is a part-time curator.

Sister Louis Edwin Dunn led

That’s right. She’s 90 and she is still working for the Mercy Hospital in Miami for congregation. Sisters of St. Joseph don’t retire. That’s partly many years. She is seen here The first St. Joseph Academy with Dr. Ajoc. in St. Augustine. because a vocation is for life and partly out of necessity.

In the last 50 years, the size of the congregation has dropped to 60 sisters, many of them elderly. They currently have one novice.

“It’s an extraordinary small congregation. Remarkable work has been done,” Sister Elizabeth said. “We pray for vocations. We live our lives faithfully. We’re not here to leave a legacy but to have our charism flourish in the Church.”

And one way the charism flourishes is through lay people.

Lay people have always worked with the sisters, as far back as the 17th century, said Sister Kathleen Power, associate vocations director for the Diocese of Orlando.

There are active groups of lay associates, both men and women, in St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and Palm Beach. They come together regularly for days of Sister Kathleen Power, left, is the associate vocations director retreat and prayer and many are in active ministry. for the Diocese of Orlando.

“We have more associates than sisters,” she said. “I think the associates are the move of the future. They bind white teachers to instruct black children, which led to the themselves, not legally or financially, but spiritually to the arrest of three members of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In the sisters. They discover their deepest spirit matches the wake of the arrests the law was declared unconstitutional deepest spirit of the sisters.” but the controversy highlighted the longstanding service So what does the future hold for the Sisters of St. Joseph? of the order to the black community. And it also led to the “We have no control over the future,” said establishment of the Catholic school system, Dr. Sister Jane Stoecker, superior general of the Mattick said. congregation. “What’s important to the As much as the Sisters of St. Joseph future is how we live the present.” have shaped lives and culture with “We have Sister Jane said they look back to their teaching and example, their lives no control over those first sisters with a sense of awe have been shaped by culture as well. the future,” said at their faith, courage and tenacity.

Major cultural forces were under “They were going into the Sister Jane Stoecker, way in 1966 when the congregation unknown. It was a time of grace,” she celebrated its centennial. superior general of the said. “This is a time of grace, too.”

The number of sisters in the congregation. “What’s Sister Jane said she doesn’t think congregation peaked at about 350 important to the future it’s a coincidence that the Sisters in the early 1960s and then began to is how we live the of St. Joseph are celebrating their drop after the momentous changes present.”

150th anniversary during the Jubilee brought on by the Second Vatican Year of Mercy.

Council. The congregation put aside its The congregation has asked that Masses full length wool habit for contemporary be celebrated in every parish in the state. clothing, which Sister Thomas Joseph thinks has

“We have literally had thousands and thousands made the sisters harder to recognize. throughout the state praying for vocations for the sisters.

“People want to know what you are,” Sister Thomas How could He not bless our congregation if our desire Joseph said. “People seeing you live out the faith are is to remain faithful to our vow to minister to the dear very important. Everyone is called to holiness; in addition, neighbor?” as women religious, we are called to live the vows of COURTESY OF THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

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Joanna Stark

BRANDON DUNCAN

Ron Ginder

BRANDON DUNCAN

GLENN HASTINGS

Eric Johnson

Transitions

BY KATHLEEN BAGG

This fall, two longtime directors of the Diocese of St. Augustine staff will retire – each making contributions to their respective areas of expertise that will be appreciated by many for years to come.

Eric Johnson, director of Mission Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine, retires October 1, 2016. He has served as an employee at the mission since July 1995, first as an assistant director to Msgr.

Harold Jordan for three years, two years as the manager of the Shrine Gift Shop, and 15 years as the director of Mission Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.

His accomplishments are many including the expansion, restoration and beautification of the mission property; he has added numerous tour programs, monuments, memorials, oversaw the annual Founder’s Day celebrations and served on several diocesan and national boards including the NASPA (shrine directors’ association) most recently as president. Locally he has served two terms on the Board of Trustees for the St. Augustine Historical Society.

Eric oversaw the building and interior design of the Mission Museum. He has also been instrumental in developing

signage on the property helping visitors experience the historical significance of the “sacred acre.”

Bishop Felipe Estévez has appointed Joanna Stark as the new director of Mission Nombre de Dios, effective July 1, 2016. Joanna will use her expertise in marketing and development to implement a new initiative to promote the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche as a first-class destination for pilgrimages and evangelization.

Ron Ginder, director of Human Resources, retires November 1, 2016.

Ron came to the diocese in May 2000 to develop an Office of Human Resources.

Three months later, he hired Twink Wilson to serve as his administrative assistant and they became a team providing direct services to diocesan leadership, staff at the Catholic Center and consultative services to parishes, schools and other entities. At that time, the diocese had 2,400+ employees placing us in the top 15 employers in Northeast Florida.

“I think right from the start people embraced the HR function and welcomed the services that we could provide because it was something they struggled with.

They are thrilled to have someone here to turn to – to answer difficult personnel questions and receive guidance,” said Ron. Over the years the HR group expanded and so did the services they provided

to the leadership and now 2,600+ employees. In June, our diocesan family sadly said good-bye to Twink who died just a few short weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.

What began as making revisions and enhancements to existing policies and procedures grew to include training workshops in HR practices and an expansion of benefits as part of the total compensation package provided to employees.

Through Ron’s leadership, our health insurance has had minimal increases in premiums in the last three years and the diocese has built up a surplus of more than $4.5 million in a health care trust that wasn’t there when he started. Ron has also overseen diocesan efforts to ensure that the pension plans are well funded, to provide retirement benefits to our lay service employees.

When asked what accomplishments he is most proud of – Ron quickly gave credit to his team. He said he is proud of his team and the level of customer service they provide to parishes, schools and other diocesan entities. He said, “It is all about building relationships and you do that through service!”

Ron said he plans to travel with his wife MJ and spend more time with their grown children Mike and Melissa. And, get back to his love of woodworking.

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St. Hildegard of Bingen and the

GREEN OF GOD

BY KELLI BREW | PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMITH

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eptember 17 is the feast day of Hildegard von Bingen, one of the newer Doctors of the Church, made so in 2012. “Doctor of the Church” is a title bestowed on people who are both particularly learned and saintly – and who also left a written body of work deemed to have important theological insights.

It took almost a thousand years for Hildegard to receive this honor. She was born in 1098 and, as a tenth child, was dedicated to the church as a “tithe.”

Around her sixth birthday, she was sent to live with a spiritual director, Jutta.

She would grow to become a renowned healer, composer, artist, mystic and scientist – as well as a Benedictine abbess with a growing community and many followers. She has been rediscovered in our time in part because of her writings about seeing God in created things – in both human beings and in the environment. She strove to connect humans, “glittering, glistening mirror of divinity” with the Earth which supported them and was also a creation of God. Hildegard spoke of viriditus, or “greenness,” which symbolized physical and spiritual health in people. This condition was in stark contrast to a “dryness” that led to death, as surely as it does with plants.

“Good People, most royal green verdancy, rooted in the sun, you shine with radiant life.”

Hildegard’s theology recognizes and celebrates what we now describe as the interdependent web of life where we are sustained by nature as in turn we help sustain it.

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of the Earth’s greenings. Now, think what delight God gives to humankind with all these things.

All nature is at the disposal of humankind.

We are to work with it. For without it we cannot survive.”

Hildegard’s feast day is on one of the last

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Appetite for Faith | Basil Pesto Pasta days of summer. While the beginning of fall is not as dramatic in North Florida, we can see it in the drying leaves of sycamore trees, the earlier nightfall, and the changing slant of the sun. But we are fortunate to have a second season of greening here, if we get busy. Often heat-loving vegetables like tomatoes and basil will have another chance at producing before the first freeze. But just in case, it’s not a bad idea to grow them in pots in the fall, so they can be quickly moved inside if there is an early freeze.

Whether you grow your own or not, you will likely be able to find both basil and tomatoes at the market in late September and October. Here is a recipe for Pesto Pasta which also uses our own local tree nut – the pecan. It will keep in the fridge for a week or you can make extra and freeze it before adding the cheese. Frozen in ice cube trays, you can add a cube or two to soup, or pop out several for a little green in the winter. It will smell like summer.

Basil Pesto Pasta Ingredients: • 4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves • ½-cup pecans (or pine nuts or almonds) • 3 cloves garlic • ½-cup olive oil or enough to create a smooth paste • ¾-cup grated parmesan cheese • One standard tomato, chopped or a handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered and lightly salted • 16 ounces of pasta of your choice (I like the corkscrew or shell-shaped pasta; it grabs the pesto) Cooking Instructions: Heat water for pasta until boiling, add salt and pasta and cook per instructions on box or bag. While pasta is boiling, whirl the first four ingredients together in a high-speed blender or food processor. Mix pesto with pasta thoroughly, and then add cheese while stirring and fluffing pasta to make sure it is evenly distributed. Top with tomatoes and serve while hot.

Buon appetito!

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I

N NOVEMBER, the faith community of St. Edward Catholic Church will celebrate their Diamond

Jubilee. The small rural parish, located on U.S. Highway 301 in the middle of Starke, Fla., will celebrate 75 years of rich history.

In the late 1800’s, Catholic families in the Starke area were served by missionary priests who traveled intermittently there from St. Michael’s in Fernandina Beach.

Parish records tell the story of people attending Mass in Catholic homes in Gainesville or traveling more than an hour to Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville before a Catholic Church was built and dedicated on Oct. 13, 1941.

To this day, St. Edward’s remains the only Catholic Church in Bradford County.

The church was named after St. Edward the Confessor and dedicated to Edward Pace, the first Catholic child born in Starke in 1861. Pace was the first son of Starke to enter the priesthood – ordained for the Diocese of St. Augustine in 1885. He served as rector of the Cathedral in St. Augustine in 1886 and later became the first American to hold a Ph.D. in psychology and taught on 26

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

WOODY HUBAND

ST. EDWARD CATHOLIC CHURCH Celebrates 75 years

the faculty of The Catholic University of America for nearly 40 years. He was considered a brilliant scholar, educator and administrator. He died in Washington in 1938.

In the 1940’s, St. Edward’s served the spiritual needs of American Catholic serviceman and others who trained at nearby Camp Blanding during World War II. Later, the parish priests ministered to the employees, their families and Father Edward Pace, the first inmates of the prison systems Catholic child born in Starke of Raiford, Lake Butler and in 1861.

Lawtey.

Today, the tiny parish finds themselves surrounded by more than a dozen Protestant churches and other faith communities.

Elissa Stefanelli Biggs has been a parishioner since 1945 when she was four years old. She said she has seen servicemen, travelers, families and children grow up and pass through the parish doors.

“For as small as we are, we see everything here,” she explained.

Because there are only about 150 registered parishioners, Pauletta Phillips, secretary of the Women’s Guild since 1963, said, “Everybody knows everybody.”

“If a parishioner needs help, they know they can depend on the other parishioners to help them out,” she said.

Renovations took place in 2001, under the leadership of Father William Hochheim, which included the addition of a parish hall, a niche where the tabernacle and altar are located, new carpet, 14 stained glass windows and improvements to landscaping.

On Sept. 1, 2015, Bishop Felipe Estévez appointed Father Jan Ligeza as pastor of St. Edward Parish. He replaced Father Conrad Cowart who retired.

Bishop Estévez will be the principal celebrant for Mass celebrating the parish’s Diamond Jubilee on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 10 a.m. A reception will follow at the Women’s Club of Starke.

The community is invited to the celebration.

BY TONIA BORSELLINO

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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Bishop Celebrates Special Masses for Jubilee Year of Mercy

SPECIAL

Rose Sweet

At the Well – A Retreat for Divorced Men and Women

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On Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. Bishop Estévez will celebrate a Jubilee Mass for those inspired by Mary. Homilist is Father David Keegan. The Mass will be at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, 34 Ocean Ave., St. Augustine. For details, call Father Ivan Carrillo-Paris, ICC at (904) 207-7117.

Faith Formation Day focuses on Church on the Move This year’s Faith Formation Day, which is provided to enrich the lives of those who serve in the ministry of religious education – is open to all Catholics who want a day of faith enrichment. This year’s theme is: Church on the Move: Let’s Set Mission and Ministry in Motion.

During registration, you will have ten breakout sessions and speakers to choose from with topics for those who Keynote Speaker, Joe Paprocki, D.Min. serve in classrooms, youth ministry, the RCIA and those seeking adult faith formation. These breakout sessions include topics such as, pastoral implications of Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), using meditation in the classroom, the nuts and bolts of youth ministry, the art of being a good catechist, and more. The keynote speaker is Joe Paprocki, D. Min, sponsored by Loyola Press.

Faith Formation Day is Saturday, Oct. 8, from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Bishop John J. Snyder High School in Jacksonville. For more information and to register, visit www.dosaformation.org.

Another, smaller Faith Formation Day will be held on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Queen of Peace Parish in Gainesville. For details, call Erin McGeever at (904) 262-3200, ext. 118.

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

SPECIAL

Join nationally-recognized Catholic author and speaker Rose Sweet for a weekend of heart-felt healing, hope and even a little humor. Rose has ministered to the separated and divorced for more than 20 years and is the creator of The Catholic Divorce Survival Guide, a DVD program used in hundreds of parishes in the U.S., Canada and abroad.

Rose serves as a lay advocate helping parties in the annulment process and trains advocates in the pastoral aspect of divorce ministry.

Her books – grounded in Scripture and Theology of the Body – are all about healing and strengthening marriages, friendships, parenting, divorce recovery and annulments, and helping all people “put your religion in your relationships.”

The retreat is Friday, Oct. 14 beginning at 7 p.m. and concludes at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16. It will be held at Marywood Retreat and Conference Center, 235 Marywood Drive, St. Johns. The cost is $50 and includes double occupancy. For more information, call Father Tony Palazzolo at (904) 551-2619 or visit www.dcfl.org to register.

In the Bull of Indiction for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis described mercy as “the beating heart of the Gospel.” This has been manifested throughout the history of the Church, most especially in the practice of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

On the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the Church’s many patrons of those who perform works of charity and mercy, Bishop Felipe Estévez will celebrate a Jubilee Mass for those who show mercy. Many of the faithful of our parishes who minister to the sick and homebound, those who work through agencies such as Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, as well as those who advance the message of social justice are encouraged to take part in this special Mass on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at San Juan del Rio Catholic Church in St. Johns. Father Edward Rooney will be the homilist.

around the diocese | community

It’s Back to Basics for Middle School Youth Calling all middle school age students in North Florida! Join hundreds of your friends at Bishop John J. Snyder High School in Jacksonville for a Middle School

Youth Rally with the theme, Basic Training. Don’t miss this opportunity to see skits, play games, hear talks, and attend Mass as one group of young disciples encouraging each other in faith.

To register for this spectacular rally, contact your parish youth minister. If your parish is not attending, contact Donna Wilhelm at the diocesan office who will connect you with a parish who is participating. Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 112 or email dwilhelm@dosafl.com.

Early bird registration, before Oct. 6, is $20 for youth and $10 for adults. Starting Oct. 7, the cost will be $35 for youth and $15 for adults.

BRANDON DUNCAN

Sister Helen Prejean Begins Death Penalty Tour in Jacksonville

Are You in Need of Prayer?

“Request a Prayer”

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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SCOTT LANGLEY

Requesting a prayer is only a click away. Available on the Diocese of St. Augustine’s website is an unassuming link for users to, “Request a Prayer.” Clicking on the link opens up a new page which provides a space for users to leave their name or instead mark the request as “Anonymous” and leave a prayer request.

Your request is then emailed to the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, where it is printed, and placed in a basket. The basked is placed under the altar in the chapel of their motherhouse. Your prayer is prayed over continuously as the sisters spend time in both organized and individual prayer.

Sister of St. Joseph Carol Stoval shared, “It is part of our mission to pray for our neighbors.” She expressed, they obviously can’t know the needs of every person and so, receiving these prayer requests via the diocesan website, “connects us more with our dear neighbors.”

If you have a special prayer request for yourself, a loved one or a friend, visit www.dosafl.com and scroll down on the home page to “Popular Links” and click on Request a Prayer. It is that simple. God Bless!

Sister Helen Prejean, best known for her book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, which later became a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, will begin a fourday speaking tour on the Death Penalty in Jacksonville on Friday, Oct. 14.

Sister Helen will talk about “The Power of God’s Mercy” and she will be joined by Dale Recinella, Catholic Chaplain on Florida’s Death Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ Row at St. Joseph’s Cody Enrichment Center beginning at 11 a.m.

Sister Helen has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on the death penalty and helping to shape the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to state executions.

Since 1984, Sister Helen has divided her time between educating citizens about the death penalty and counseling individual death row prisoners. She has accompanied six men to their deaths. In doing so, she began to suspect that some of those executed were not guilty. This realization inspired her second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions, which was released in Dec. 2004. Autographed books will be available for purchase after the event.

Reservations are required for her talk in Jacksonville

by Oct. 7. Contact Sheila Broderick by email: sheilakbroderick@gmail.com or call (904) 803-3337.

Lunch is provided.

around the diocese | community Theology on Tap is Back for Young Adults

St. Vincent’s Creates New Outreach for Senior Citizens

COURTESY ST. VINCENT’S HEALTHCARE

Upcoming Theology on Tap dates are Nov. 21 and Dec. 19 – same time and location.

St. Vincent’s HealthCare has a new program that provides free health care education and screenings to about 260 seniors twice a month at San Jose Manor and Hurley Manor – two senior apartment communities in Jacksonville managed by Catholic Charities. The program began in July and is made possible through a $150,000 grant from The Jim Moran Foundation.

“This program is a wonderful extension of our already robust Mobile Health Outreach Ministry, which offers critically needed care to our neighbors who need it the most,” said Stella Mouzon, manager of the ministry. “Our goal is to help keep these seniors healthy so they can remain independent longer and continue to live life to the fullest.”

“Receiving this prestigious grant is important because it has opened the door for vulnerable, low-income senior citizens in our community to receive quality health care that will make them happier and healthier,” said Jane R. Lanier, CFRE, president of the St. Vincent’s Foundation. To learn more, visit www.jaxhealth.com/MobileHealth.

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Bishop Felipe J. Estévez

Bishop Estévez Wants your Input!

Join Bishop Felipe Estévez for one of five “Listening Sessions” in September, October and November. In 2012, listening sessions were held with Bishop Estévez gathering input from Catholics on key issues and concerns facing the diocese over the next three years. The bishop responded with a strategic plan and pastoral letter entitled, “Come, Live in the Light.”

It is time to come together again to evaluate the work that has been done.

Below is a schedule of the next listening sessions. Participants will be asked to provide input on how well the diocesan strategic plan addressed what was shared during the listening sessions in 2012 – as well as gather ideas for future planning efforts. Sessions are open to all Catholics in the diocese and registration is not required.

Tuesday, Sept. 27 San Juan del Rio Church, St. Johns 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 10 St. Madeleine Parish Hall, High Springs 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 7 St. Matthew Parish Hall, Jacksonville 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 (Spanish) San José Parish Hall, Jacksonville 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 10 St. Joseph Academy Auditorium, St. Augustine 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

SCOTT SMITH

Young Adults – the popular Theology on Tap series is back with a season theme – “The Struggle is Real.” Topics during the series will reflect on everyday issues familiar to us all as we face our spiritual journey to the Lord.

Join your peers on Monday, Oct. 17, at MShack Riverside (1012 Margaret Street) in Jacksonville for an evening of stimulating conversation with Tony Kolenc as he discusses “Faith in the Public Square.” Tony is an Associate Professor of Law at the Florida Coastal School of Law and this topic is timely with the general election just around the corner.

The evening begins at 7:00 and there is no charge. Open to all – bring a friend! For more information, call Donna Wilhelm at (904) 262-3200, ext.

112 or email dwilhelm@dosafl.com.

around the diocese | community 40 Days for Life Campaign The 40 Days for Life campaign will begin Sept. 28 and concludes Nov. 6. This movement is the largest internationally coordinated pro-life mobilization effort in history. It helps people in local communities end the injustice of abortion through prayer, fasting, community outreach, and a 40-day round the clock peaceful prayer vigil.

Join others in our diocese in

this campaign as we partner with thousands around the globe in prayer for a greater respect for life.

We will be praying at A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (www.40daysforlife. com/Jacksonville) and at Bread and Roses Women’s Health Center in Gainesville from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (www.40daysforlife.com/ Gainesville). Please join our Respect Life team in this time of prayer. To sign up for prayer vigils, please visit the website corresponding with each site. For more information, email Mary

Catherine Damon at cdamon@dosafl. com or call (904) 551-2619.

WOODY HUBAND

Bishop Estévez celebrates the Red Mass in 2015.

Bishop Estévez Celebrates Red Mass A Special Opportunity for Mothers and Daughters Shepherding young women on the path of purity, sexuality and chastity is a sacred role entrusted to parents.

Mothers, especially, yearn for effective strategies and answers. On Sept. 24 and 25, the Diocesan Center for Family Life is hosting a retreat for mothers and daughters to learn about God’s remarkable good news about sexuality.

The retreat is open to young women in grades 8-12 and their mothers.

Katie Hartfiel, a nationally known

speaker and author of Woman in Love, will lead mothers and daughters on this remarkable journey that weaves engaging talks with powerful prayer and extraordinary fun to create an experience of a lifetime.

The retreat will begin at 9:30 Saturday morning, Sept. 24 and ends with Mass at 9:30 Sunday morning, Sept. 25. It is being held at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jacksonville. The cost is $50 per family. Daughters will spend the night at the parish and mothers will spend a restful night in their own beds at home and return the next morning.

To register, visit www.dcfl.org. For more information, contact Mike Day at mday@dosafl.com or call (904) 5512619, ext. 102.

The Annual Red Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Jacksonville. The centuries-old tradition of the Red Mass is celebrated worldwide for judges, attorneys, law school professors, law students, government officials and the law enforcement community invoking the Holy Spirit on the justice system.

Bishop Felipe Estévez is the principal celebrant at the Red Mass hosted by the Catholic Lawyer’s Guild of the Diocese of St. Augustine.

The Mass is open to all. There is a reception immediately following the Mass. To learn more, call Ian Weldon, at (904) 322-7980 or email Ian@ weldonlegal.com.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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calendar | what’s happening September 23 Rise Up for teens & young adults Featuring Emily Wilson, Dom Quaglia and Sarah Kroger at Trinity United Methodist Center, 4000 NW 53rd Ave., Gainesville 5 p.m. Food Truck Festival 6:30 p.m. doors open. For details, call (904) 707-4022 or visit: www.riseupyc.org September 24 Rise Up for teens & young adults Featuring Emily Wilson, Dom Quaglia and Sarah Kroger at Munnerlyn Center Theatre 4455 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville 5 p.m. Food Truck Festival 6:30 p.m. doors open.

For details, call (904) 707-4022 or visit: www.riseupyc.org September 25 Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet Join Bishop Estévez for 40 Days for Life campaign 3 p.m., Bread of Roses Center, 1233 NW 10th Avenue, Gainesville. For details, call (904) 551-2619, ext. 103

Save your marriage!

Attend a Retrouvaille Weekend. It’s like a lifeline for troubled marriages. When both spouses commit, Retrouvaille has a 70% success rate.

Join us for a RETROUVAILLE WEEKEND Oct. 7-9, 2016 For more information, call Brian and Kathy Szabo at 904-662-8604 and register online at Retrojax.eventbrite.com www.retrouvaille.org www.helpourmarriage.org 32

September 27 Jubilee Mass for Volunteers who Show Mercy Bishop Estévez is the principal concelebrant. Homilist: Father Edward Rooney 6 p.m., San Juan del Rio Catholic Church, St. Johns. For details, call (904) 287-0519 September 27 Young Catholic Professionals Kick-Off Reception All are welcome to celebrate the launching of the YCP Jacksonville chapter.

7 to 9 p.m., St. Joseph Cody Enrichment Center, Jacksonville. To learn more, visit: www.ycpjacksonville.org.

September 29 Diocesan Red Mass Celebrated annually for judges, attorneys, law school professors, government officials and law enforcement. 5:30 p.m., Basilica of Immaculate Conception, Jacksonville.

Reception after Mass. For details, call (904) 322-7980 or Email: Ian@ weldonlegal.com Open to all October 7 It’s Just Fun 8th Anniversary Party Theme: An Evening at the Oscars Join Catholic singles (35 and older) on the Red Carpet dressed as your favorite movie star or character. Live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and soft drinks.

Tickets: $20/advance or $25/door. Visit www.itsjustfun.org October 9 Jubilee Mass for those Inspired by Mary Bishop Estévez is the principal concelebrant, Homilist: Father David Keegan 2 p.m., Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine For details, call (904) 207-7117

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

October 11 Feast of Our Lady of La Leche “Our Lady of La Leche” by Dr. Mary Soha at 10 a.m. Rosary at 11 a.m., Exposition of Blessed Sacrament and Reconciliation from 3 to 6 p.m. with Mass at 6 p.m., Concert at 7:15 p.m., Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine For details, call Leslie Porter (904) 8242809 October 14-16 At the Well for Men and Women A healing weekend retreat for the separated and divorced Leader: Rose Sweet, creator of “The Catholic Divorce Survival Guide” 7 p.m. Friday to 1 p.m. Sunday Marywood Retreat Center, St. Johns Cost: $50/double; to register www.dcfl.org/atthewell Call Father Tony Palazzolo (904) 551-2619 October 14 The Power of God’s Mercy Presenter: Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ A discussion of her experiences ministering to inmates on death row.

Book signing follows 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., St. Joseph’s Cody Enrichment Center, Jacksonville For details, email obyrnen@bellsouth.net October 17 Theology on Tap “Faith in the Public Square” with Tony Kolenc at MShack Riverside, Jacksonville. For all young adults; no charge. Call Donna Wilhelm at (904) 262-3200 or email: dwilhelm@dosafl.com October 22 Middle School Youth Rally 2016 “Basic Training” for students in grades 6-8 Leaders: Katie Prejean & Tommy McGrady Music by Justine Dery 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bishop John J. Snyder High School Cost: $20/early bird by Oct. 6; $35 after.

Deadline: Oct. 14 For details, call (904) 262-3200, ext. 112 or email: dwilhelm@dosafl.com October 29 Biblical Spirituality for Health, Happiness & Longevity Retreat Retreat Leader: Father Charles Padathuruthy, Th.D. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Marywood Retreat Center, St. Johns Cost: $20/includes lunch; to register call (904) 287-2525 or Email: info@marywoodcenter.org

FOR MORE DIOCESAN, PARISH AND ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS, visit www.dosafl.com/events

SEPT/OCT 2016 | dosafl.com

Movimiento de Cursillos de Cristiandad DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB/KRISTINA AFANASYEVA

Una Oportunidad para Seguir Creciendo en la Fe POR LORENA ESPINOZA

N EL MES DE OCTUBRE, el

para entender mi Iglesia. Hizo que la Palabra se encarne y pueda vivir mi Fe a plenitud, Movimiento de Cursillos de con obras de Misericordia y ayuda al Cristiandad de la Diócesis de San prójimo”, comparte el puertorriqueño Melvin Agustín ofrecerá sus dos retiros, para Pérez, quien actualmente es miembro activo del Movimiento de Cursillos. hombres y mujeres católicos que Por su parte Madeleine Torres, quien estén interesados en cultivar su Fe. también es de origen puertorriqueño, asegura que antes del cursillo era una El de mujeres se realizará desde el 13 al 16 de octubre y el de hombres desde el 20 al católica de domingos. Era una cristiana 23 de octubre. Ambos en el Centro de Retiro a medias y no tenía la disciplina de levantarse a orar.

Marywood.

“Cuando asistí al Cursillo veía a todos Y es que desde hace 35 años, este con una sonrisa y eso me hizo sentirme que movimiento brinda la oportunidad a sus no estaba sola. El cursillo fue un despertar asistentes de encontrarse con ellos mismos, sobre los valores de la vida cristiana. Yo no con Cristo y con su comunidad.

“El cursillo es un curso pequeño e intenso conocía mi verdadero yo y no estaba dando todo mi potencial para ser mejor cristiana. que va desde la noche de jueves hasta el Antes pensaba que con sólo ir a la iglesia domingo, donde la persona católica puede retomar su fe, volver a dejarse conquistar por era suficiente, pero no es así”, expresa el amor de Dios”, explica claramente Cristina Madeleine.

Pero, ¿qué pasa después del cursillo?

Muñeton, coordinadora de los tres días del Después del cursillo se invita a la persona Cursillo de la Diócesis de San Agustín. a que continué utilizando las herramientas, Durante el encuentro, los participantes creciendo en su vida como católico real, reciben charlas dadas por sacerdotes, viviendo la fe. Es una continuidad. “El diáconos y laicos comprometidos. objetivo es que el nuevo cursillista siga “Cuando llegué al cursillo buscaba viviendo apoyado de su grupo y se envuelva constantemente formación y la encontré. El en su comunidad y así pueda desempeñar cursillo me dio las herramientas necesarias

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las labores que en realidad todos tenemos en nuestra Iglesia”, agrega Cristina Muñeton.

“Ahora veo la Iglesia cada día más perfecta.

Cristo es la cabeza y el Cuerpo lo forma los ministerios con toda su espiritualidad. El cursillo continua formándonos cada día en el caminar de nuestra fe”, finaliza Melvin Pérez.

La asistencia al cursillo se hace por invitación. Una persona que haya asistido al cursillo con anterioridad invita a otra en su comunidad. Claro está que también hay personas que han escuchado sobre los Cursillos de Cristiandad, pueden contactarse con el responsable de los cursillos en la parroquia.

Antes, los cursillos se realizaban una vez al año, pero desde el 2016, por invitación del Obispo Felipe Estévez, se efectúan dos cursillos anuales. Uno se llevó a cabo en el mes de febrero y ahora en octubre.

“Es importante encontrarle una dirección a la vida, probablemente solos no lo vamos a encontrar. Es trascendental evaluarnos y ver qué tan firmes estamos viviendo el catolicismo. Es una gran oportunidad para reevaluarse y ponerse un norte a la vida como católico”, asegura Cristina, quien invita a todos a ser parte de esta maravillosa experiencia.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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¿EXISTE EL DIVORCIO CATÓLICO? POR MONS. JONÁS ACHACOSO, JCD REPRODUCIDO CON EL PERMISO DE NUESTRA-VOZ DE LA DIÓCESIS DE BROOKLYN

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N NOVIO ERA INTERROGADO EN LA INVESTIGACIÓN PRENUPCIAL. Mientras la novia esperaba fuera del despacho de la parroquia, el sacerdote le preguntó: “¿Tiene usted la intención de entrar a un matrimonio que sea para toda la vida?”

El joven, se quedó muy pensativo y luego le contestó al cura: “¡Por el momento, sí!” El cura tuvo que tragar saliva antes de explicar al joven que aquella respuesta no coincidía con el carácter vitalicio —para toda la vida— del sacramento matrimonial. Luego el curita se lo dijo más claro: ¡O se casa para toda la vida o no se case!

Es evidente que la respuesta del novio está arraigada en una mentalidad de divorcio. Por un lado, entiende la permanencia del sacramento del matrimonio; por otro, mantiene la posibilidad de su ruptura. Es común en nuestra época querer tener un poco de esto y un poco de aquello. En este caso, al final, sale un matrimonio hibrido, cuya permanencia queda a la disposición y antojos de las partes.

Por los altibajos y dificultades normales de la convivencia matrimonial, nunca van a faltar razones para divorciarse. Ése es el resultado de la mentalidad de divorcio: Si por cualquier razón se puede dar un golpe mortal al vínculo conyugal, la permanencia del vínculo no existe. Podemos preguntar, pues, ¿qué sentido tiene entonces prometer “de hoy en adelante, en la prosperidad, en adversidad, en la riqueza, en la pobreza, en la enfermedad y en la salud, hasta que la muerte nos separe”?

Una de las acepciones del verbo divorciar como está definido en el diccionario de la Real Academia Española es “disolver o separar, por sentencia, el matrimonio, con cese efectivo de la convivencia conyugal”. En este sentido de la palabra, entonces, no hay ni puede haber divorcio católico.

En cambio, hay en la Iglesia Católica un proceso que tiene como resultado el cese efectivo de la convivencia conyugal. Es el proceso judicial para la declaración de nulidad matrimonial. Es un proceso oneroso, más serio y largo. Requiere mucha paciencia.

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

Antes de comenzar el proceso, se debe comprobar que ya se han agotado todos los medios al alcance para salvar el matrimonio.

Una evidencia clara de esto es el decreto civil de divorcio.

El Tribunal eclesiástico procede entonces a investigar anomalías y violaciones del contrato matrimonial basado en testimonios y pruebas. Para conseguir pruebas materiales, se citan las partes al tribunal en días y horas diferentes para evitar así cualquier careo o escándalo.

Una vez que el juez llega a una certeza moral sobre los motivos de la nulidad, emitirá una sentencia para declarar el matrimonio nulo, o sea, que nunca hubo un matrimonio. El juez, pues, no separa a los cónyuges. Lo que declara es que, en realidad, no fueron nunca marido y mujer.

Habrá que precisar, entonces, que hay dos procesos distintos: divorcio y nulidad matrimonial. Ambos tienen el efecto de terminar la convivencia conyugal. Estos dos procesos se hacen en el ordenamiento civil dependiendo de la legislación que el país tenga.

En la Iglesia Católica, solamente existe el proceso de la nulidad matrimonial. No hay ni puede haber proceso de divorcio. No hay ninguna otra razón para que no exista divorcio católico más que lo que se nos ha dicho: Lo que Dios ha unido, no lo separe el hombre. Es por eso que la respuesta del joven no puede ser aceptada. ¡O se casa para toda la vida o no se case!

La Diócesis de San Agustín presente en la XXXI Jornada Mundial de la Juventud POR NORMA VÉLEZ- GARCÍA MINISTERIO DE JÓVENES Y JÓVENES ADULTOS DE LA DIÓCESIS DE SAN AGUSTÍN

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l pasado 25 al 31 de julio, tuvo lugar en la Ciudad de Cracovia la XXXI Jornada Mundial de

la Juventud convocada por nuestro Santidad El Papa Francisco y que providencialmente coincidió con el Año Jubilar de la Misericordia, por lo que el lema de esta jornada fue “Bienaventurados los Misericordiosos porque ellos alcanzaran Misericordia”.

NORMA GARCIA

En esta ocasión asistieron alrededor de dos millones de jóvenes de todo el mundo, evento en cual el espíritu cristiano, la armonía, solidaridad y la espiritualidad fueron el marco principal.

Para nuestra Diócesis de San Agustín en particular fue una experiencia inolvidable, con un valor que no se puede medir y que definitivamente cambio la vida de muchas personas.

Compartimos con jóvenes y adultos de diferentes áreas de la diócesis como Live Oak, Lake City y Jacksonville.

A su vez, durante toda esta peregrinación estuvimos acompañados espiritualmente por los padres Andy Mitera y Robert Trujillo, quienes caminaron durante esta jornada al lado de los peregrinos sin importar las circunstancias adversas que se presentaron.

Además también tuvimos la bendición de contar con la presencia de Monseñor Felipe Estévez, quien presidio una misa en el Santuario de la Madonna Nera de Czestochowa, en Polonia y quien compartió con nuestro grupo unos momentos donde nos manifestó su alegría de que los jóvenes hispanos de nuestra

diócesis estuvieran presentes en tan importante evento como lo es esta Jornada Mundial de la Juventud.

No puedo dejar de mencionar mi experiencia personal, la alegría de tener cerca al Papa Francisco, la emoción que me atrapó y los gritos de alegría y júbilo que salieron desde mi corazón, fue algo que llevaré conmigo siempre.

Los mensajes tan claros del Papa Francisco llenaron de fuerza a muchos jóvenes como el mensaje de bienvenida donde nos reiteró que la mano de Jesús siempre está dispuesta a recogernos cuando nos caemos e invitó a todos los jóvenes a pedirle al Señor: “Lánzanos a la aventura de la Misericordia. Lánzanos a la aventura de construir puentes y derribar muros (cercos y alambres)”.

El mensaje final que el Pontífice pronunció a los jóvenes fue algo que a todos impacto, les pidió que tuvieran “memoria, coraje, futuro y esperanza”. Esas palabras guardan

mucho mensaje para todos los que estuvimos presentes, pues invita a los jóvenes a tener compromiso a la acción sin límites.

Comparto con ustedes algunos de los testimonios de los jóvenes que estuvieron presentes en el encuentro: “Necesito empezar a pensar en grande, con la seguridad de que en Dios grandes cosas se logran. La jornada me motivo mucho a trabajar por y con los jóvenes y a aprender a ser misericordiosa como el Padre es con todos y en todo momento.

Tengo muchas ideas y entusiasmo para trabajar en la diócesis acerca de lo que aprendí en la jornada y contagiarlos de ese entusiasmo para que así ellos se animen a participar en la próxima jornada”, Anny López.

“Tenemos que tratar de ser más abiertos a ayudar a la gente alrededor del mundo y buscar el camino trabajando fuerte para llegar a la santidad y de esta manera estar más cerca de Dios”, Tatiana Saldarriaga.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

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Mensaje del Obispo | Santa Teresa

TENGO SED

en Albania, vino la santa más grande de nuestro tiempo. La espiritualidad de la Madre de amor por los pobres y la sed de almas fue de ninguna manera un nuevo mensaje, pero fue presentado al mundo a través de una mujer religiosa pequeña que hablaba de una verdad paradójica: El amor de Dios, no conoce de “sistemas” o “clases”. Dios abraza a personas reales como sus hijos amados. Él tiene cuidado de cada individuo, pero muy especialmente a los pobres y los que sufren que están más a menudo olvidados por las sociedades sin Dios.

POR OBISPO FELIPE ESTÉVEZ Esta es la esencia de la caridad y la razón por la que la Madre Teresa llamó a su orden religiosa las Misioneras de la L 4 DE SEPTIEMBRE, el mundo fue testigo de la Caridad. Ella fue testigo de este mensaje paradójico de los canonización de una mujer que fue considerada una santa barrios pobres de Calcuta a la Casa Blanca, desde las favelas durante su vida, una mujer que fue aclamada universalmente como de Brasil a los sagrados recintos de la Universidad de Harvard, modelo de santidad para nuestra época - Madre Teresa de Calcuta. e incluso a la escena mundial del Premio Nobel de la Paz, que ganó en 1978. En su discurso de aceptación, ella hizo una No hace falta decir que la Madre Teresa exhibió las virtudes defensa audaz por los no nacidos que necesitan protección. heroicas de la fe, la esperanza y la caridad en sus 60 años Podemos preguntar cómo la Madre Teresa mantuvo su como mujer consagrada. Ella fue un “signo de contradicción” agenda vigorosa y viajó por el mundo desde hace más de para todo el siglo 20. Su espiritualidad de sed de almas era un medio siglo. ¿Cómo una monja diminuta vestida con túnica contrapeso a un mundo en el que el ateísmo y el materialismo india pobre tiene acceso inmediato a los reyes, presidentes son poderosas fuerzas que conducen a las almas lejos de Dios. y el público internacional? La respuesta a esta pregunta es Cuando la Madre Teresa era una monja joven, tuvo una tan simple como profunda. El secreto de su éxito se puede visión de Cristo en la Cruz – una visión que determinaría encontrar en su devoción a la fuente de gracia para el cómo iba a pasar el resto de su vida. Durante un viaje en mundo: el Santísimo Sacramento de la Eucaristía. Estaríamos tren a un retiro, literalmente escuchó al Señor diciendo totalmente equivocados en ver la misión de la madre sólo las palabras que pronunció desde la cruz el Viernes Santo, como una campaña para aliviar el sufrimiento de los pobres.

“Tengo sed” (Jn 19,28). Poco después, comenzó a dedicarse a su Su misión espiritual fue mucho más allá de proporcionar verdadera vocación, que era llevar almas a Cristo sirviendo a servicios materiales. Ella dio a la gente al Dios mismo, quien los pobres en los peores barrios del mundo. se convirtió en pobre e Una inmensa ironía histórica sobre el camino de fe de la indigente por amor a la Si la Madre Teresa nos Madre Teresa: su experiencia mística que cambió su vida humanidad que sufre. hubiese podido hablar tuvo lugar en el mismo año (1946) en que su compatriota, el Muchas personas no saben desde el cielo en el día dictador comunista Enver Hoxha, tomó el poder de su Albania que siguiendo el ejemplo de de su canonización, natal, la cual la declaró como el primer estado completamente su fundadora, las Misioneras ella probablemente nos ateo en el mundo. Hoxha asesinó como 100 mil de su propio de la Caridad asisten a las hubiese dicho: servir a pueblo. Él martirizó sacerdotes y cerró cada una de las 2.169 misas y pasan dos horas Cristo en los pobres y iglesias y santuarios en Albania en los siguientes 20 años. cada día en adoración ante amarlo en el Santísimo Durante ese mismo período, la Madre Teresa fundó las el Santísimo Sacramento.

Sacramento del Altar.”

Misioneras de la Caridad y comenzó a moldear sus hermanas La fuente de su trabajo de con una fuerza religiosa única y cuya misión de servir a los caridad es la Caridad misma “más pobres de los pobres” alcanzó hasta los confines de la quien nos habló desde la cruz sobre su deseo por las almas Tierra. Su visión universal de servir a Cristo en los pobres y que viene a nosotros humildemente en la Eucaristía. Si la era la antítesis de la meta del comunismo, de una utopía Madre Teresa nos hubiese podido hablar desde el cielo en irrealizable de la hermandad universal que no tiene necesidad el día de su canonización, ella probablemente nos hubiese de Dios. De acuerdo con la Madre Teresa, Dios tiene gran dicho: servir a Cristo en los pobres y amarlo en el Santísimo necesidad de nosotros e incluso sed de nuestro amor. Ella Sacramento del Altar. sabía que Cristo quien había abrazado la pobreza de la Al final, una vida de servicio y la santidad es la única cosa condición humana hasta el punto de morir en la cruz, era que realmente dura. El dictador albanés Hoxha murió en el verdadero Salvador del mundo frente a una ideología sin 1981 y hoy en día casi nadie fuera de Albania sabe siquiera Dios, incapaz de consolar a los afligidos, vestir al desnudo, y que existía. La Madre Teresa murió en el 2007 con decenas de alimentar al hambriento. millones pendientes de noticias sobre ella. Ese es el legado de El patrón del Misterio Pascual – la vida, muerte y resurrección una mujer cuya vida entera fue la pasión de amar a Jesús y el de Cristo – se puede ver en este escenario. Del caos del ateísmo cuidado de los pobres.

E

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

EUCARÍSTICO

CONGRESO

FRAILE FRANCISCANO ANDREW APOSTOLI

2017

UN EXPERTO EN FÁTIMA, HABLARÁ EN EL CONGRESO EUCARÍSTICO 2017 POR ROSE ROBERTSON

“Creo que ella es la madre espiritual de todos nosotros. Ella tiene un papel de intercesión, que comenzó a los pies de la cruz cuando Jesús dijo a su madre, “He ahí a tu Hijo”. Luego a su discípulo amado, que representó a todos nosotros, “He ahí a tu Madre”. Desde entonces, Jesús sigue enviando a su madre para llevar un mensaje de paz al mundo”.

Es que el mensaje de paz que fue dado a tres niños en Fátima en 1917, lo compartirá el padre Apostoli con los asistentes del Congreso Eucarístico 2017, el 24 y 25 de marzo en Jacksonville, Florida.

Considerado por muchos como un experto en Fátima, Padre Andrew escribió hace poco Fátima Hoy: El Urgente Mensaje Mariano de Esperanza, un estudio exhaustivo que presenta hechos y pruebas que aclaran muchas controversias en torno a la aparición de María. El libro, coincidiendo con el 100 aniversario de Fátima, enfatiza que el poderoso mensaje de la Virgen tiene que transformar el mundo. “La única directiva que María dio en las tres apariciones fue decirle a la gente que rece el Rosario todos los días.

El Rosario es lo suficientemente potente como para detener las guerras, convertir a los pecadores y traer la paz”, compartió el Padre Andrew.

“Nuestro mundo de hoy es un desastre.

El ateísmo se está extendiendo y el ateísmo odia la Iglesia. Vivimos en el egoísmo y el

ROSANN MUCCILO

S

u devoción a la Santísima Virgen empezó desde muy temprano.

“Cuando era un niño pequeño, recuerdo que Jesús me inspiró en la oración para entender que María es mi madre. María ha intercedido muchas veces en mi vida y me ha reafirmado su amor y protección”, comparte el Padre Andrew Apostoli, CFR, co-fundador de los Hermanos Franciscanos de la Renovación.

egoísmo conduce a una pérdida de fe en todas partes. El año pasado, una encuesta de los estadounidenses menores de 30 años, se encontró que un 20 por ciento no tienen fe en Dios ni nada sobrenatural. Eso implica que las generaciones futuras serán dirigidas lejos de Dios”, enfatizó.

En Fátima, María se comprometió a ayudarnos si rezamos a la Virgen del Rosario, el padre Andrew explicó. “La madre de Dios puede garantizar el camino hacia la paz a través de la oración, el sacrificio, viviendo una buena vida, y la práctica de la devoción de los cinco primeros sábados - Creo que es importante escuchar a ella”. Padre Andrew hablará más a fondo acerca de la garantía de nuestra Señora en el Congreso Eucarístico.

Padre Andrew reconoció su vocación pastoral a una edad temprana. “Tenía casi 5 años. Estaba en la misa y me dije a mi mismo que quería hacer lo que el sacerdote estaba haciendo. A esa edad no sabía a ciencia cierta lo que estaba haciendo, pero había algo que me inspiró.

A medida que crecía, tenía un mayor deseo de ser sacerdote y entré en el seminario en la escuela secundaria”.

El sacerdocio del padre Apostoli ha disfrutado de algunas recompensas.

“Fui ordenado por el arzobispo Fulton Sheen. Hizo un impacto tan grande en mi vida. Era un gran amante de la Mater, el promotor del mensaje de Fátima y se opuso al comunismo. Él me inculcó un gran amor a Cristo y al sacerdocio. Y me considero muy afortunado de haber conocido muy bien a Madre Teresa.

Su influencia era grande en nuestra

comunidad y me ayudó a enseñar a sus hermanas en el sur del Bronx”, agregó.

“En 1987, fui miembro fundador de una nueva comunidad, la Comunidad de Frailes Franciscanos de la Renovación. Y en 1988, ayudé a fundar las Hermanas Franciscanas de la Renovación. Tres mañanas a la semana, celebro misa en uno de sus conventos, escucho confesiones, y enseño acerca de las oraciones y votos que hicimos como religiosos”.

Fundador, predicador, maestro, servidor fiel - Padre Andrew también conduce un programa semanal de televisión en EWTN, y es un escritor prolífico, de autoría de nueve libros y actualmente trabajando en otro. El mensaje fundamental del Padre Andrew Apostoli sigue siendo claro, “María, en Fátima, vino a presentar el camino a la verdadera paz en el mundo, basado en el verdadero amor de Dios y la fidelidad a su mensaje, su revelación, y su palabra. Tenemos que escuchar a nuestra Madre”.

MARQUE SU CALENDARIO AHORA PARA EL CONGRESO EUCARÍSTICO 2017 24-25 de marzo Centro de Convenciones, Jacksonville Prime Osborn III Tema: “Haced lo que Él os diga” Para obtener más información sobre el Congreso Eucarístico, patrocinado por la Diócesis de San Agustín, visite www.FloridaEucharist.org.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC

37

CALENDARIO

La Confesión, un Regalo de la Misericordia de Dios POR P. IVÁN CARRILLO-PARIS RECTOR DEL SANTUARIO NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA LECHE Y EL BUEN PARTO

Q

UERIDOS HERMANOS, durante mi vida sacerdotal he disfrutado sin lugar a dudas de los siete Sacramentos, de una manera que comprendo que todos ellos están

instituidos para darnos VIDA. El Bautismo nos hace renacer: nueva vida; la Confesión nos resucita del pecado: nueva vida; la Eucaristía en palabras de Jesús: “quien come mi Cuerpo y bebe mi Sangre, tendrá Vida Eterna”; la Confirmación: nos da los dones del Espíritu Santo para desarrollar la vida en Dios; el Matrimonio: colabora con la vida y la formación de los hijos de Dios; el Orden Sacerdotal: instituido para proveer la vida de Dios a los fieles; la Unción de los Enfermos: prepararnos para nuestra entrada a la Vida Eterna.

Como pueden apreciar, todos creados y compartidos por nuestro Señor para que tengamos vida.

Estos siete regalos que fueron instituidos por Jesucristo y confiados a la Iglesia, como lo afirma el canon 840 del Código de Derecho Canónico, nos dan la alegría y certeza de saber que vienen de Dios, como un regalo extremo de su Misericordia para nuestra salvación.

Quisiera resaltar ahora el Sacramento de la Confesión. En el Capítulo 20 del Evangelio de San Juan, leemos que Jesús aparece a sus discípulos, les da su paz y sopla sobre ellos el Espíritu Santo diciéndoles: “A quien perdonen los pecados, les quedarán perdonados”.

Por Tradición Apostólica, este poder ha sido transmitido a los sacerdotes, legítimamente ordenados, para administrarlo en bienestar de las almas.

Podría preguntar ahora: ¿qué recibo al confesarme con el sacerdote? y lo primero que te respondería es que con el debido arrepentimiento, recibes la salud y la alegría de sentirte realmente perdonado por Dios. Abres además, como lo dice Apocalipsis 3:20, las puertas para que el Señor entre y transforme en ti lo que antes y por ningún otro medio, has logrado. ¿No es esto suficiente para llenarse de un deseo extremo por el Sacramento que nos reconcilia con Dios?

Demos el paso, y recibamos los dones que la Iglesia nos provee.

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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

El “RITO DE INICIACION CRISTIANA PARA ADULTOS” (RICA) se ofrece a todos los Hispanos que necesitan formación en español, y desean obtener sus Sacramentos de Iniciación u otro sacramento que le falte.

Parroquia San José: Todos los domingos 10:30 a.m.

Parroquia San Catherine: Todos los miércoles 7:00 p.m.

Parroquia Most Holy Redeemer: Todos los lunes 7:00 p.m.

Parroquia Blessed Trinity: Todos los martes 7:00 p.m.

Para mayor información comunicarse con Elia Vega al (904) 704-8074 16 de octubre Celebración del Señor de los Milagros – Perú Parroquia St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – Palm Coast Se iniciará con la Procesión a las 3:30 p.m. rezando el Santo Rosario 29 de octubre Rosario Peregrinado Parroquia Sacred Heart en Blanding Blvd.

Desde las 8:00 p.m.

Informes al (904) 7084504 Chiqui Maldonado 13 al 16 de octubre Cursillo de Hombres 20 al 23 de octubre Cursillo de Mujeres Ultreya de Bienvenida el 28 de octubre en la Iglesia Most Holy Redeemer. Informes: Cristina Muñeton al (904) 343 7086

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