10-09-09 Vol. 31 No. 10

www.theleaven.com | Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas | Vol. 31, No. 10 october 9, 2009

Around the World in 24 years Story and photos by

Jill Ragar Esfeld

L

EAVENWORTH — Sister of Charity of Leavenworth Madonna Stehno wore out the tennis balls on her first walker.

She wore out the wheels on her second.

Finally, this summer, she finished walking around the world with her third.

Her route may be figurative, but she’s cut no corner.

The distance is very real.

“I walked around the middle — 25,000 miles,” she declared firmly. “I didn’t walk around the top or the bottom.”

She’s equally clear about the accuracy of her mileage. Although she has two pedometers, she hasn’t found them reliable. So she’s developed her own method.

“I count the miles. I count twelve blocks to a mile, and they’re long blocks,” she said. “Somebody I was talking to once said, ‘Sister, I’ve driven what you just walked, and it’s a mile in the car’ — so I’m not fudging!”

No one who knows Sister Madonna would suspect her of fudging. As a matter of fact, this probably isn’t the first time she’s walked around the world. But she didn’t start keeping track of her mileage until she turned 55, so she’s not counting anything before then.

“I don’t know why I decided to do it,” she said. “I

Turn to “Now” on page 16

Too short

Father Neal Stull, SOLT, only served as a priest for seven years, but he left behind a legacy of love and compassion.

3

road warrior The University of Saint Mary safety officers are accustomed to seeing Sister Madonna on her daily walks.

They often stop to chat with her. Above, Officer Melvin Lister stops to congratulate Sister Madonna on reaching her goal of walking 25,000 miles.

epic celebration

World mission sunday

St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence celebrated its 150th anniversary with a Mass that drew so many, it had to be held in an auditorium.

5

8-9

The World Mission Sunday collection will be taken up in parishes the weekend of Oct. 18 and is used to support missionary efforts around the world.

2 ARCHBISHOP

THE LEAVEN • October 9, 2009

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS

S

Prayer is solution to vocation crisis, said pope

everal weeks ago, I visited the convent of the Little Sisters of the Lamb in Kansas City, Kan., to pray Sunday vespers. The Sisters celebrate vespers in the context of eucharistic adoration, concluding with Benediction.

Two neighbor children — a sevenyear-old girl and her brother, who had just turned six — joined us for eucharistic adoration and Benediction.

I was amazed at the attentiveness and prayerfulness of these young children.

After Benediction, the Little Sisters introduced me formally to their young visitors. The little boy was proudly wearing a St. John Vianney medal that a priest friend of the Sisters had given to him. The Sisters asked me if I would bless the medal and give the young boy a special birthday blessing. I was pleased to accommodate their request.

I placed my hand on the boy’s head and prayed a special blessing for their young friend.

Some days later, the boy came back to visit the Little Sisters. He told the Sisters that he had a secret. Without much encouragement, the little boy volunteered his secret was that he was going to be a priest.

The Little Sisters commended him for this beautiful desire, but they felt obligated to tell him that he first needed to become a Catholic! Then, he

would need to work hard in school so he could go to the seminary in order to study theology. The Sisters told their six-year-old friend that a bishop has to call you to ordination, pray over you, and place his hands on your head, calling down the Holy Spirit. The little boy, quite excitedly, reminded the Little Sisters that the archbishop had already prayed over him, placed his hands on his head and blessed him.

Pope Benedict XVI, during his visit to the United States, counseled that the solution to the crisis of vocations to the priesthood and to religious life is to foster prayer in our young people. He assured us if our young people cultivate their friendship with Jesus in prayer, then many will hear his call to them to serve him and his people as priests and religious Sisters.

The past two weekends, our archdiocesan vocation office sponsored Project Andrew programs — two weeks ago at Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in Topeka and this past Sunday at St. Joseph Parish in Shawnee. Project Andrew programs are directed to high school boys whom their pastors and others think could make very good priests. The program is called Project Andrew, because in St. John’s Gospel, Andrew, after meeting Jesus, immedi-

Elmer Rottinghaus

ately finds his brother Peter and brings him to Jesus.

I was impressed by the number and quality of the young men who participated. In my brief remarks to the Project Andrew participants, I told them that it was not my primary desire for them to be priests. My foremost wish for them is that they would listen to the Lord, understand his will, and have the courage to follow God’s will wherever it leads them.

I encouraged them to pray, especially just after receiving the Eucharist or in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, asking God to make clear to them his will.

Our Archdiocese needs many more priests. If it were not for more than a dozen priests from other countries serving in the Archdiocese, I would be compelled to close several parishes. I hope we always have many international priests serving in the Archdiocese.

They enrich the life of our local church and are beautiful reminders that we are part of a worldwide community of believers. However, as much as God has blessed the people of northeast Kansas, we should not be dependent on other parts of the world to supply priests for our parishes. In fact, we should be sending priests to serve in other parts of the world.

I have no doubt that God is calling a sufficient number of young men from our Archdiocese to the priesthood.

However, it is difficult in our culture for a young man to hear God’s call and to have the generosity to accept God’s invitation to serve his people as a priest.

Part of the problem is that some-

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Father Neal Stull’s ministry was short but full of love

By Joe Bollig Leaven staff

EASTON — A vocation to the priesthood came relatively late for Father Neal Stull, SOLT, at age 45. And his ministry lasted only seven years.

Nevertheless, Father Neal served Christ and the people of God with passion, commitment, and empathy before he died of cancer on Sept. 17 in Eldora, Iowa.

Mike Ralston, now of Nevada, Iowa, was a boyhood friend of Father Neal in Grundy Center, Iowa. He described his friend’s piety as “average.”

“Certainly if someone had said, ‘Pick out the fella in this room who is going to be a priest,’ I probably wouldn’t have picked out Father Neal,” he said.

“But he certainly had a faith,” he added.

After the future priest received his degree in communications, he began working in radio. He moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he became a member of the cathedral parish. There, his faith blossomed and his vocation emerged.

“I’ll never forget the call he made to me and said, ‘I wanted you to know that I’m getting married,’” said Ralston.

“And I said, ‘Neal, you’re kidding me.

You were just talking about becoming a priest.’ And he said, ‘I’m going to get married to the church.’”

Even though he had left Grundy Center, the people joyfully welcomed him when he returned.

“When he came back to celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart after he was ordained, it was a big deal,” said Ralston.

“The only priest to come out of Sacred Heart Parish was my great-uncle . . . during the 1920s.”

Father Neal was first assigned to work in Houston at St. Monica Parish, which was predominately AfricanAmerican. It was during his time there that he was diagnosed with cancer. It seemed to go into remission after treatment, but his superiors decided to re-

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duce his workload by sending him to a smaller parish.

Father Neal loved his parish in Houston and was reluctant to leave. But after arriving in Kansas in July 2007, it wasn’t long before he fell in love with his new parish.

“He was a phenomenal man,” said Dawn Dean, a member of St. Lawrence in Easton and St. Joseph of the Valley in rural Leavenworth.

“He reached out to everyone, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. He’d go to the

high school, middle school, and elementary school games,” she continued. “There is only one other church in our town, and when they had a fundraiser, he’d go.”

Father Neal had a heart for working with the youth and people who were drifting away from the church.

“He was a caring person, and he displayed God through his humanity,” said Tim Herken, also of St. Lawrence and St. Joseph. “He was very interested in the youth of our parishes. He was easy to talk with.”

“It was a big goal of his to find lost parishioners and bring them home,” Herken continued. “He made it a point to search them out. He was approachable. People were just naturally attracted to him.”

But the cancer that he had fought successfully before returned in full force. It became apparent, after he brought the youth group back from a major event, that his illness had taken a very serious turn. He returned to Chicago for treatment, never to return.

“In one of my last conversations with him, he really hoped that he made a difference with young people, and I know that he had,” said Shelley Stull Webb, one of his sisters. “He was really passionate about that. Any youth group member would say he made a difference.”

Father Neal endured his illness with dignity and hope, even after it was clear the outcome would be terminal.

Just days before his death, Father Neal was thrilled to receive a phone call from Billy Williams, a former outfielder with the Cubs and 1987 Baseball Hall of Fame member.

“He absolutely loved sports, particularly baseball. He loved the Chicago Cubs and knew everything about them,” said Webb. “He could quote certain player’s statistics, the positions and teams they played.”

At the end, Father Neal had only had one regret: that his illness prevented him from doing more.

“He was really at peace,” said Father Dennis Dolter, SOLT, now in Bosque, N.M. “He said he had only been a priest for seven years, and there was so much more he wanted to do than he had done.”

“He said, ‘Whatever is the will of God,’” continued Father Dennis. “‘If he wants to heal me and wants me to stay, then fine. But if he wants me to come home, that’s fine.’

“And he was sincere. He was a tremendous witness to people of how to handle death with dignity and peace.”

Highlights of Father Stull’s ministry Leaven staff

Managing Editor Anita McSorley anita@theleaven.com Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799)

‘He was a phenomenal man’

By Joe Bollig

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times we adults ask our young people the wrong questions. We ask them: What do you want to become? We should be asking them: What do you think God wants you to do with your life? Or we ask them: What college do you want to attend? We should be asking them: How is your prayer life?

There are some encouraging signs.

Ten excellent new men entered the seminary for our Archdiocese this year.

The Archdiocese currently has 26 men studying for the priesthood. We ordained three men to the priesthood this year, but we will ordain only one man next year. In order to grow our presbyterate we need to ordain, on average, four men a year.

I am convinced it is very possible for us to ordain more than four new priests each year. However, for this to happen, everyone in the Archdiocese needs to pray for vocations to the priesthood. In our parishes — and even more importantly, in our families — we need to encourage young men to consider a vocation to the priesthood. We need to be asking our young people the right questions: How is your prayer life?

What does God want you to do with your life?

Finally, we need to teach our young people how to pray and for what to pray. If my six-year-old non-Catholic friend can understand that possibly Jesus is calling him to be a priest, I am convinced that our Catholic young people, praying in the presence of our eucharistic Lord, will discover the secret of Jesus’ unique love for them and discover his mysteriously beautiful plan for their life.

SECOND FRONT PAGE 3

EASTON — Father Neal K. Stull, SOLT, 52, pastor of St. Lawrence Church in Easton and St. Joseph of the Valley Church in rural Leavenworth, died on Sept. 17 at the home of his sister and brother-in-law, Melody and Tim Hoy, in Eldora, Iowa. The cause of death was colon cancer.

Father Neal was born on Sept. 24, 1956, in Grundy Center, Iowa. He was the only son of the four children of Donald and Loretta (Connell) Stull. The family attended Sacred Heart Parish in Grundy Center, now closed.

The future priest attended Grundy Center Elementary School and Grundy Center Junior High. He graduated from Grundy Center High School in 1977, and attended Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids. He continued his studies at the University of Iowa and graduated with a bachelor’s in communications in 1983.

After graduation he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. There, he worked as an announcer at Catholic radio station KLUX-89.5

FM. He also worked at a pharmacy owned by a relative.

He joined the Corpus Christi Cathedral choir and, as his faith deepened, he participated in eucharistic adoration and became devoted to praying the rosary. He became part of the Marian Movement of Priests prayer apostolate. As he began to discern a vocation to the priesthood, he asked Father James H. Flanagan to be his spiritual director. Father Flanagan is the founder of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).

He first went to St. Phillip’s Seminary in Toronto, Canada, and then received his master’s of divinity degree at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.

Father Neal was ordained a priest in the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity on June 29, 2002, at Corpus Christi Cathedral. He became pastor of St. Monica Parish in Houston on Sept. 1, 2002. While there, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent treatment.

In 2005, Father Neal distributed holy Communion with one of his heroes, Pope John Paul II, during a Christmas Midnight

Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Later, he distributed holy Communion at Yankee Stadium with Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

During his years of priestly ministry, Father Neal made several trips to Mexico City to help at a school, and he spent time at a Native American reservation in North Dakota, working with children to make rosaries.

After his cancer went into remission, his superiors decided to send him to a less demanding assignment. He became pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Easton and St. Joseph of the Valley Parish in rural Leavenworth County on Aug. 1, 2007. The two parishes were consolidated last July.

Father Neal was an avid sports fan, especially of the Chicago Cubs and the Iowa Hawkeyes. He often attended local sporting events in communities where he served, encouraging parishioners who were participants.

He also had a gift for youth ministry. He organized a contest with a youth group to name his new Labrador puppy. (The winning name was “Benedict.”)

One of the highlights of his time at St. Lawrence and St. Joseph of the Valley was when he led a youth group to the Steubenville West Youth Conference, held this past July 24-26 at Arizona University.

It was to be his last gift to the parish.

His cancer had returned last January.

Soon after he returned from Arizona, he resumed treatment in Chicago. The disease could not be stopped, however. In August, he went to his sister’s and brother-in-law’s home in Eldora, where he received hospice care.

Father Neal was preceded in death by his father, Donald. He is survived by his mother, Loretta, of Eldora; three sisters — Shelly Stull Webb of Cincinnati, Melody Hoy of Eldora, and Tamara Evans, Seattle; and nieces Ariel and Elizabeth Hoy. A visitation was held on Oct. 7 at Holy Family Parish, St. Gabriel Catholic Church, in rural Reinbeck, Iowa. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Gabriel on Oct. 8, followed by burial at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Grundy Center.

A memorial Mass was celebrated on Oct. 9 at St. Lawrence Church in Easton.

4 RESPECT LIFE

THE LEAVEN • octoBER 9, 2009

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

Where do we go from here?

The challenge of building a culture of life

By Cardinal Justin F. Rigali Special to The Leaven

The effort to restore legal protection for unborn children faces new challenges, as we deal with a new administration and Congress that support “abortion rights.” Many are asking: Where do we go from here?

We first need to recall why we are here, why we Catholics became involved in these tough battles. We begin with the dignity of each human person.

Each and every one of us has intrinsic and immeasurable worth. That is because God created each of us in his image by the outpouring of his infinite and unconditional love. In return, he asks only that we share that love with others, beginning with those most in need — the poor, vulnerable, and despised of this world.

This intrinsic God-given human dignity is the basis for all inalienable human rights — beginning with the most basic right: the right to life. It is most basic because it is the condition for all the others. First we must live, then we can talk about living well.

The right to life is the core element of other rights. All other earthly rights involve something more than life itself — but without life, they are nothing.

That “something more” is vitally important. The defense of life reaches its fullness when it expands to defend the entire range of human flourishing. This is all one vision, and ultimately one issue — the dignity of the human person.

In the words of St. Irenaeus, “Gloria Dei vivens homo” — “The glory of God is man fully alive.”

To keep that vision constantly before our eyes, to remember why we are here and to gain the strength to move forward, we need to begin all our efforts with prayer.

In defending the right to life, our first duty is to oppose the direct taking of innocent human life — any human life, at any stage. As Pope John Paul II confirmed in his encyclical, “The Gospel of Life”: “the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral” (no. 57). Abortion and euthanasia are preeminent concerns of the church for reasons that are intrinsic to these issues, as well as rea-

sons that are situational.

Intrinsically, these acts always constitute the direct taking of a human life when it is most innocent and defenseless. And they are willed and carried out by those most called to defend human life — members of the healing professions and of one’s own family. To undermine these two havens of life is to make a culture of life impossible.

Situationally, these issues are the places where those committed to a conditional and selective vision of human rights have planted their flag in our time. They want to draw lines between the important and unimportant members of society, between persons and “nonpersons.” In a different time or place, the forcing issue might be slavery, racism or anti-Semitism; today, abortion and related issues force us to decide whether we mean what we say in speaking of inalienable human rights, inherent in simply being human.

In particular, the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has made abortion the battleground over our tradition of inherent human rights and has polarized our society as nothing else has. Later efforts to use law as a weapon against other innocent human lives — against newborn children with disabilities, for example, or against the sick and elderly through a “right” to assisted suicide — have cited Roe as their inspiration and precedent.

Thus, in promoting a culture of life, we must give priority to defending in-

nocent unborn boys and girls from direct attack. We must also make it clear how this effort stands for the dignity and well-being of everyone, before and after birth.

In defending conscience rights in health care, for example, we stand with the unborn child and also with the women and men of our healing professions whose freedom of conscience is at risk — and with women who will lose access to basic life-affirming health care if those who truly care about them and their children are forced out of medicine.

In sending tens of millions of post-

cards to Congress against the radical “Freedom of Choice Act,” we have helped stop extreme legislation that would treat ready access to abortion as a goal overriding respect for unborn children or for the well-being of pregnant women.

By insisting that the federal government promote only morally sound stem-cell research, we defend the life of embryonic children — and also the health of patients endangered by the many risks of attempted embryonic stem-cell treatments and the health of women whom some want to exploit as “egg factories” for attempts at cloning human embryos for stem cells.

And the “Pregnant Women Support Act” will provide a wide range of assistance so women can bring their children to live birth and receive a helping hand as they parent the child or make an adoption plan.

Of course, helping those in need is not only the task of government.

The dedicated efforts of Catholics at pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, hospitals, retirement homes, and parish-based support networks for pregnant women and children, as well as prayer and assistance efforts outside of abortion facilities, are needed now more than ever.

Our task is to change hearts and minds, including our own. All our good works in the areas of public policy, education and pastoral care must be undergirded by our prayers and sacrifices offered up to the Lord of Life. Through his saving power, and with the prayerful intercession of our Blessed Mother, we can build a culture of life.

The defense of human life at its most vulnerable stages is an essential duty of those inspired by the Gospel.

Our prayers and efforts in this cause should open us up to defending the rights and meeting the needs of human beings all along life’s spectrum.

Having said “no” to attacks on innocent human life, we need to affirm a great “yes” to the full range of human living and flourishing.

Cardinal Justin F. Rigali is archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

LOCAL NEWS 5

Lawrence parish celebrates unity in diversity

By Jane Graves

Special to The Leaven LAWRENCE —Father John Schmeidler, OFM Cap., pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church here, decided to keep the parish’s 150th anniversary celebration simple.

“It’s just us all gathering together for a family reunion — to celebrate the life that God has given us and the heritage that helped us come to this point,” he said. “We’re not making it grand. The simplicity of it is that we’re just gathering.

“What makes it grand is that we’re together as one.”

But a family reunion of more than 1,200 people is a grand event — no matter how simple the intent may be.

Since the church holds only 300, the Sept. 20 Mass was held at KU’s Lied Center of Kansas.

The next challenge was how to show appreciation for the diversity within the parish.

The history of St. John the Evangelist is rooted in the era of border warfare — where differences often resulted in conflict and where appreciation of diversity was scarce.

According to a parish history written by Michael T. Hoffman in 1937, the first Mass was celebrated in the Bernard Donnelly home in October 1857. The priest, visiting from Lecompton, was ordered out of town by sundown by “ruffians.”

In 1863, during Quantrill’s infamous raid, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Miege, who was visiting St. John’s to administer confirmation, intervened with Quantrill — keeping the church, the rectory and the people within the rectory safe from the torching and murder that devastated most of the rest of Lawrence.

Father Favre, pastor of St. John Parish at the time of the raid, is said to have hidden the Quaker minister in the basement of the rectory, wrapped in an old carpet.

Rather than looking back at history, however, Father John said he wanted to focus on what the parish has become and to celebrate “that oneness in our diversity.”

Lisa Roush, director of music at St. John, was given the charge of merging the worship styles from the six, regular weekend Masses into one representative liturgy. Since those styles range from a Spanish choir with guitars and

Villa St. Francis

Leaven photo by Jane Graves

More than 1,200 St. John the Evangelist parishioners in Lawrence join in the Lord’s Prayer during the 150th anniversary Mass held Sept. 20 at KU’s Lied Center of Kansas. Father John Schmeidler, OFM Cap., pastor of St. John, said the Mass was like a “family reunion” to celebrate “oneness in our diversity.” brass to a contemporary choir and a youth-oriented choir incorporating full bands, mixers, and electric guitars to the more traditional choir with organ or piano accompaniment, it was a challenge, Roush said.

“The thing that comes to mind is just universal church — all in one parish,” said Roush. “There’s so many people from different backgrounds, different cultures . . . different life experiences, and it just comes together.”

“We’re at a point where we can appreciate one another’s gifts,” she added. “Different as they are, they do fit together.”

Pete Haack, assistant music director at St. John in charge of the Jubilate Choir, agreed that the logistics of merging the smaller ensembles into one, large music ministry — as well as singing the songs in both Spanish and English — was a challenge.

But “any time you can get this many people together in one place to celebrate and to praise God,” he said, “it’s worth it.”

“I think the music does a great job of bringing everybody together,” Haack said. “It’s something that goes beyond the language or the style.”

“The one constant is that we’re all celebrating the Catholic Mass,” Haack said. “And that’s going to remain constant for the next 150 years. So that’s what we’re going to be remembering and celebrating today.”

The Mass — including the homily, music and readings — was done in both English and Spanish. Sign-language interpreters translated the service from the altar. Students from St. John Catholic School, dressed in their school uniforms, brought up the gifts at the offertory procession. After the liturgy, parishioners gathered at the church grounds for a picnic, music, and games for the children.

“I think it’s important — especially for the younger generations — to see how you work together and keep up that family feeling in the community. That it just continues to thrive,” said Dolores Lemus-Kenney, a lifetime parishioner of St. John.

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“I think it shows [the children],” she added, “that they should continue on with that, and it sets an example for them.”

The Sunday bulletin distributed at the celebration included renderings for expanding the church and school so that it could accommodate ministry needs in the coming years, including space for parishioners “to worship together for the 175th anniversary on the church grounds in 2034.”

“When the community gathers, and celebrates, and commingles with one another in that friendship and the goodness of God, the Spirit enlivens the heart to a richness that just wants to come back and give itself to the community in a new way,” said Father John.

“So to me that’s what’s important about this 150th. Not that it’s the 150th,” he said, “it’s just that we’re gathering to renew our hearts to once again enter back into the community and give ourselves for the next generation.”

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6 LOCAL NEWS

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009 Mary (McCarty) and Jim Blaise, members of Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Wea, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 10 with a Mass of thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, Kan. Anniversary The couple was married on Oct. 10, 1959, at the cathedral by Msgr. John P. McKenna. Their children and their spouses are: Bill and Elaine Blaise, Overland Park; Monica and Dan Browne, Lenexa; Bridget and Dan Shamai, Southlake, Texas; Rita and Randy Mathews, St. Louis; and Molly and David Allison, Keller, Texas. They also have 11 grandchildren.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt May 9-May 20, 2010

J

oin Fr. Mike Stubbs, Leaven Scripture columnist, for an inspiring journey to Israel and Egypt. Our program includes visits to the center of Jesus’ life and ministry in Nazareth and Galilee, to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We will journey along the Dead Sea to visit Masada and Qumran, then spend time at Mt. Sinai where the covenant and commandments were given through Moses.

We end our journey in Cairo exploring ancient Egytian sites (such as the pyramids) and medieval Muslim sites such as the Mosque of al-Azhar. We hope you’ll join us! For more information, go on line www.travelillume.com/trc/isr or phone (913) 727-3742.

Correction

Rivals for Peace During the Rivals for Peace event on Sept. 11, students from Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park and St.

Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park came together to gather items for care packages to be sent to soldiers serving in Iraq. Before the Miege-Aquinas football game at Dixon Doll Stadium that evening, students assembled 289 care packages, filled with magazines, books, and food, as well as personal letters from the students to the soldiers. The packages were blessed before the game by Miege chaplain Father Greg Hammes and Aquinas chaplain Father Andrew Strobl. The next week, the care packages were delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base in Sedalia, Mo.

Because of incorrect information supplied to The Leaven, the date and Mass times for the Knights of Columbus Silver Rose event at St. Mary-St. Anthony Church in Kansas City, Kan., were incorrect. The Silver Rose will be at the church on Oct. 18 at the 9 a.m.

Mass in English and the 11 a.m. Mass in Spanish.

The Kansas state council of the Knights of Columbus is participating in the Silver Rose program, a North American effort paying tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas.

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Catholic News Service

World Mission Sunday

A eucharistic celebration for all the world W orld Mission Sunday, organized by the Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. In 2009, World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on Oct. 18.

Annually, World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the next-to-last Sunday in October. As described by Pope John Paul II, World Mission Sunday is “an important day in the life of the Church because it teaches how to give: as an offering made to God, in the Eucharistic celebration and for all the missions of the world” (see “Redemptoris Missio,” no. 81).

Pope John Paul II has also spoken of the Propagation of the Faith’s General Fund of support, calling this a “central fund of solidarity.”

In a message delivered on a recent World Mission Sunday, the pope said: “The offerings that will be collected [on World Mission Sunday] are destined for a common fund of solidarity distributed, in the Pope’s name, by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith among the missions and missionaries of the entire world.”

Every year the needs of the Catholic church in the missions grow — as new dioceses are formed, as new

seminaries are opened because of the growing number of young men hearing Christ’s call to follow him as priests, as areas devastated by war or natural disaster are rebuilt, and as other areas, long suppressed, are opening up to hear the message of Christ and his church. That is why the involvement and commitment of Catholics from around the world is so urgently needed. Offerings from Catholics in the United States, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings to the Propagation of the Faith worldwide.

Mission dioceses — about 1,100 at this time — receive regular annual assistance from the funds collected.

In addition, these mission dioceses submit requests to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples for assistance, among other needs, for catechetical programs, seminaries, the work of religious communities, for communication and transportation needs, and for the building of chapels, churches, orphanages and schools. These needs are matched with the funds gathered in each year. The world’s national directors of the Propagation of the Faith vote on these requests, matching the funds available with the greatest needs. These funds are then distributed, in their entirety, to mission dioceses throughout the world.

V

ATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics to give generously this year to the church’s missionary agencies, saying that young church communities need the funding at a time of economic crisis.

The pope made the comments in his message for World Mission Sunday, observed Oct. 18 in most countries. The text was published by the Vatican Sept. 5.

The pope said missionary zeal has always been a sign of church vitality. He asked all Catholics to pray for an increase in missionary passion and to support missionaries who work on the front lines of evangelization, often under hostile conditions.

“I ask everyone, as a credible sign of communion among the churches, to offer financial assistance, especially in these times of crisis affecting all humanity, to enable the young local churches to illuminate the nations with the Gospel of charity,” he said.

“I mention especially the local churches and the men and women missionaries who bear witness to and spread the kingdom of God in situations of persecution, subjected to forms of oppression ranging from social discrimination to prison, torture and death,” he said.

Even today, he added, missionaries are put to death for their evangelization work, joining the ranks of missionary martyrs through the centuries.

Pope Benedict strongly defended the fundamental missionary task to call all people to salvation in Christ.

“The task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the church, a duty and a mission which the widespread and profound changes in present-day society render ever more urgent. At stake is the eternal salvation of persons, the goal and the fulfillment of human history and the universe,” he said.

The church should make clear that it wishes to transform the world by proclaiming the gospel of love and by spreading hope “contagiously”

among all peoples, he said. He emphasized that the church evangelizes — not in order to extend its own power or dominion, but to serve humanity, “especially the suffering and the excluded.”

The pope expressed gratitude to the pontifical missionary societies and encouraged their service of promoting missionary animation and formation, as well as channeling material help to young churches.

“Through these pontifical institutions, communion among the churches is admirably achieved via the exchange of gifts, reciprocal concern and shared missionary endeavors,” he said.

Editor’s Note: The entire text of the pope’s message in English is available online at: http://www.vatican.va. Click on “Latest” button, then click on “World Mission Day 2009.”

ATCHISON REGION St. Benedict’s, Atchison St. Joseph, Atchison St. Louis, Atchison St. Patrick, Atchison St. Benedict, Bendena St. Ann, Effingham St. Mary, Purcell St. Charles, Troy St. Joseph, Wathena St. Leo, Horton St. Ann, Hiawatha

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JOHNSON COUNTY REGION Curé of Ars, Leawood Holy Trinity, Lenexa St. Pius X, Mission Holy Cross, Overland Park Queen, Overland Park

Archbishop praises archdiocesan mission work My dear people,

O

n Oct. 18, the archdiocese reaches out to our brothers and sisters in the missionary world through time, talent and treasure. Our Holy Father states: “Holiness and mission are inseparable aspects of the vocation of every baptized person.” He encourages all of us to renew our faith and grow in holiness through the prayers of the rosary and to make our Blessed Mother our teacher and guide.

Missionaries, by their calling, stand in the place of our local parish in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Far Pacific.

Father Marc Tillia, an archdiocesan priest, Benedictine monks, Benedictine Sisters, Sisters of Charity, and Jan Webb, a lay nurse, are the healing balm for many persons to whom they minister in Brazil and Peru.

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, through World Mission Sunday, is the arm of support to some 1,170 missionary bishops of the world. It is also the instrument for religious communities of men and women to meet their financial

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St. Ann, Prairie Village St. Agnes, Roeland Park Good Shepherd, Shawnee St. Joseph, Shawnee Prince of Peace, Olathe St. Paul, Olathe Holy Rosary, Wea Sacred Heart, Gardner Holy Spirit, Overland Park Nativity, Leawood Ascension, Overland Park St. Michael, Overland Park Sacred Heart, Shawnee LAWRENCE REGION Annunciation, Baldwin Assumption, Edgerton Holy Family, Eudora St. John Evangelist, Lawrence Sacred Heart, Tonganoxie Corpus Christi, Lawrence

Sincerely yours in Jesus, the Lord of Life,

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann

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T

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TOPEKA REGION St. Dominic, Holton $ 250.00 St. Francis, Mayetta 100.00 St. Aloysius, Meriden 719.00 St. Joseph, Nortonville 160.00 St. Theresa, Perry 95.00 Immaculate Conception, Valley Falls 150.00 Holy Family, Alma 70.00 St. Vincent de Paul, Onaga 15.00 Sacred Heart, Paxico 145.00 St. Stanislaus, Rossville 170.00 Immaculate Conception, St. Marys 716.00 St. Bernard, Wamego 166.00 St. Joseph, Flush 220.00 Christ the King, Topeka 3,626.00 Mater Dei, Topeka 1,190.00 Most Pure Heart of Mary, Topeka 758.00 Our Lady of Guadalupe, Topeka 1,216.00 Sacred Heart, St. Joseph, Topeka 1,214.00 St. Matthew, Topeka 409.00 Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Topeka 609.00 WYANDOTTE COUNTY REGION St. Peter Blessed Sacrament Christ the King Holy Family Holy Name Our Lady & St. Rose Our Lady of Unity All Saints St. John the Baptist St. Patrick St. Mary/St. Anthony Sisters, Servants of Mary Latin Community Office

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Making a world of difference

here are gifts to bring to the celebration on World Mission Sunday.

Above all, there is prayer — daily prayer for the missions and in support of those offering the poor Christ’s light. Consider praying the World Mission Rosary during October, the month of World Mission Sunday; you can find out more information and pray that rosary online at: www.worldmissionrosary.org.

needs in areas of service.

On Oct. 5, students in our Catholics schools were exposed to World Mission Day as a means of growing in faith.

Many thanks to our pastors, associates, principals, and parish councils for your gifts to the missionary world.

1,067.00 890.00 360.00 2,514.00 2,585.00 876.00 591.00 687.00 280.00 3,302.00 3,675.00 4,928.00 596.00

Financial help is also needed.

These young churches of the missions require assistance as they serve the poorest of our human family.

A gift of $25, for example, would provide a month’s support for a young woman preparing to serve as a religious Sister.

A gift of $60 is enough to provide a month’s education for a seminarian in a mission diocese.

A gift of $100 helps provide Bibles and leaflets with a Christian message and resources to conduct a faith formation program for 100 people.

10 NATION

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

Charities discuss ways to cut US poverty rate in half by 2020 PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) — Leaders from the Catholic Church’s main network for domestic social services gathered in Portland Sept. 24-26 to devise ways to cut U.S. poverty in half by 2020. The Catholic Charities USA convention called for unprecedented cooperation among anti-poverty groups, businesses and government to address the issue, plus a plan to persuade and inspire the public about it via digital media. It’s a major step for the more than 170 diocesan and other Catholic social service agencies that make up the umbrella organization and deliver day-to-day services while also working for systemic change. Catholic Charities leaders proposed using social Web sites such as FaceBook, YouTube and an interactive wiki community on the Internet to convince the nation of the need to reform its approach to poverty. “We must think and act anew,” said Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, which is based in Alexandria, Va. Urging resolve, he reminded the 500 employees in Portland that it took President Franklin D. Roosevelt four or five years to get New Deal policies in place during the Great Depression.

Blessed Jeanne Jugan called ‘a Mother Teresa of her time’ WASHINGTON (CNS) — Blessed Jeanne Jugan isn’t exactly a household name. Yet those who live on Harewood Road in northeast Washington know well the story of the soon-to-be saint. “She took one lady, put her on her shoulder, took her home and gave her her own bed,” said Mary Nathan, 77, who has lived for nine years at the Jeanne Jugan Residence on Harewood. Blessed Jeanne, who founded the Little Sisters of the Poor in France in 1842, will be canonized Oct. 11 in a ceremony at the Vatican.

“She was very much like a Mother Teresa of her time,” said U.S. Sister Diane Shelby, one of the Little Sisters at the Washington home. It was in 1839 when Blessed Jeanne, 47, took in her first resident, Anne Chauvin, a blind and ill widow. She gave Chauvin her own bed and went to sleep in the attic. Soon Blessed Jeanne and two companions were attending to several other women who could not care for themselves. Today, the Sisters — 2,700 worldwide — look after more than 13,000 people age 65 or older at homes in 32 countries.

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

Pope welcomes new US ambassador

House resolution honors women religious WASHINGTON (CNS) — A U.S. House resolution passed Sept. 22 “honors and commends Catholic Sisters for their humble service and courageous sacrifice throughout the history” of the nation.

The resolution approved with a voice vote also specifically supports the goals of a traveling exhibit on women religious in the United States that is being sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The resolution was introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and co-sponsored by 67 members of both parties.

In speaking on the floor of the House in support of her resolution, Kaptur, a Catholic, cited the history of Catholic Sisters in the country dating back to 1727, and their roles in nursing during the Civil War, in health care today, and in education and other types of ministries. She noted that since 1980 at least nine U.S. Sisters have been killed for their work; they include three Ohio nuns murdered in El Salvador in 1980.

The resolution said “the social, cultural and political contributions of Catholic Sisters have played a vital role in shaping life in the United States” and that “such women have joined in unique forms of intentional communitarian life dedicated to prayer and service since the very beginnings of our nation’s history, fearlessly and often sacrificially committing their personal lives to teaching, healing and social action.”

In addition, the resolution noted that about one in six hospital patients in the United States is treated in a Catholic facility and that Catholic Sisters “have been among the first to stand with the underprivileged, to work and educate among the poor and underserved, and to facilitate leadership through opportunity and example.”

Vatican: No protecting free expression when it incites hatred

By John Thavis

Catholic News Service

(CNS photo/Beth Donze, Clarion Herald)

WOMAN PLAYS CALLIOPE — Debbie Fagnano plays the calliope on a New Orleans steamboat Sept.

18. She also is a parish minister of music in the New Orleans Archdiocese.

Musician aims to make people happy through calliope tunes

By Beth Donze

Catholic News Service NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — As the player of one of the country’s two working calliopes, Debbie Fagnano has a unique view from her perch atop the New Orleans steamboat Natchez.

While playing the iconic instrument during pre-boarding concerts at the boat’s home dock, Fagnano will see grown men and women break into a hop or a skip when they hear tunes like “Camptown Races” and others coming from the instrument’s pipes.

When she plays “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” dog walkers in the French Quarter will scoop up their pets and wave their animals’ paws at Fagnano in gratitude.

Making people happy through the calliope’s joyful strains is her trade, and Fagnano, 54, is happy to oblige. “[Calliope music] actually draws people to the boat,” said Fagnano, a Catholic who celebrated her 20th anniversary as the Natchez’s calliope player Sept. 26. “I’ll check with the ticket of-

fice [before a calliope concert] and they maybe will have sold 40 tickets for that cruise, but by the time I get done playing, we’ve got 150 people on the boat.”

A calliope is a musical instrument fitted with steam whistles, played from a tiny keyboard. The original reason for putting calliopes on steamboats was to lure people to the riverfront.

“The calliope is the Pied Piper of the river and it still works today,” said Fagnano.

When she is not playing the calliope, chances are she’s at the organ at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Belle Chasse, playing for the weekend Masses, and directing the parish’s youth and adult choirs in her role as minister of music.

“On Saturdays, I go from the boat to church; on Sundays, I go from church to the boat,” she said. “I’m on the river seven days a week.”

One recent professional highlight was her dedication of an extended calliope concert to New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond on Aug. 20, the day of his installation at St. Louis Cathedral.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Welcoming the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI outlined wide areas of potential cooperation with the administration of President Barack Obama, but drew a sharp line on the issues of abortion and the rights of conscience.

The pope called for “a clear discernment with regard to issues touching the protection of human dignity and respect for the inalienable right to life from the moment of conception to natural death, as well as the protection of the right to conscientious objection on the part of health care workers, and indeed all citizens.”

He made the remarks at a ceremony Oct. 2 to accept the credentials of Miguel Diaz, named in May by Obama as the ninth U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. After the encounter at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo south of Rome, Diaz held talks at the Vatican with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The pope’s comments on the right to life touched on a current debate in the United States over provisions of health care reform and how they would affect abortion policies.

Leading U.S. bishops have insisted that any final health reform bill exclude mandated coverage of abortion and protect conscience rights. Obama has said that under his plan “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place,” but the bishops say none of the proposals under congressional consideration have met that challenge.

The pope smiled and greeted Diaz warmly at the papal villa, chatting with the ambassador before greeting members of the U.S. embassy staff and Diaz’s family.

Diaz also prepared a speech, but the pope and the ambassador handed each other their texts instead of reading them.

In his text, the pope said he recalled “with pleasure” his encounter last July with Obama, and expressed his confidence that U.S.-Vatican relations would continue to be marked by fruitful dialogue and cooperation in favor of human rights and human dignity.

CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Catholic Press Photo

NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VATICAN PRESENTS CREDENTIALS — Pope Benedict XVI receives the credentials of the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Miguel Diaz, at the the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct. 2.

The pope praised the founding U.S. ideals of freedom, dignity and pluralism and, in a reference to Obama’s short time in office, said that “in recent months the reaffirmation of this dialectic of tradition and originality, unity and diversity has recaptured the imagination of the world.”

In his own speech, Diaz spoke of the need for the United States to act cooperatively to resolve international problems, saying that “more than ever the United States realizes that we cannot act alone.”

The pope strongly endorsed that orientation toward “a greater spirit of solidarity and multilateral engagement,” saying today’s crises cannot be resolved on individualistic or even national terms.

The pope said multilateralism should also be applied to “the whole spectrum of issues linked to the future of humanity,” including basic health care, immigration policies, climate control and secure access to food and water.

He expressed his particular satisfaction for the results of a recent U.N. summit on nuclear disarmament, chaired by Obama, which unanimously approved a resolution on nuclear disarmament and set the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

The second half of the pope’s address defended the right and responsibility of church leaders in the United States to

world 11

weigh in on ethical and social questions by “proposing respectful and reasonable arguments grounded in the natural law and confirmed by the perspective of faith.”

The pope repeated a point he made during his visit to the United States in 2008: that freedom is also a continual summons to personal responsibility. He said that requires discernment and reasoned dialogue, and the church has a rightful voice in this process.

In explaining why the church insists on the unbreakable link between an “ethics of life” and every other aspect of social ethics, he quoted Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, “The Gospel of Life,” which said a society lacks solid foundations when it asserts values like human dignity but then “radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued or violated.”

Diaz began his speech by saying Obama had been “deeply touched” to meet with and listen to the pope last July.

Citing the pope’s recent encyclical on economic justice, Diaz listed several areas of mutual U.S.-Vatican concern, including interreligious dialogue, environmental protection, the financial crisis, global poverty and the migration of peoples.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While the freedom of expression is a right, states are not obliged to protect expression that incites hatred and tramples upon other people’s rights, a Vatican official said. The Vatican’s representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, said the freedom of expression should take into account the “principles of social ethics such as truth, solidarity, tolerance and fairness.” These are principles that “form the cornerstone of justice, equity, respect for privacy and subsidiarity,” he said Sept. 30 at a U.N. Human Rights Council session focusing on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. Freedom of expression “is not only a right but also a duty that needs to be strengthened,” said the archbishop, who sent his remarks to Catholic News Service. “Protecting the freedom of expression, however, is not an absolute obligation,” he said, because the aim should be to uphold the good of society and protect everyone’s enjoyment of religious freedom and belief.

No Middle East peace seen for at least another generation BOISE, Idaho (CNS) — Those waiting for peace in the Middle East will have to wait for at least another generation, in part because U.S. and Western interests simply lack the will to make it happen, said retired Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem. The patriarch was in Boise to attend the gathering of Northwestern lieutenancy of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher Sept. 24-28. He spoke with the Idaho Catholic Register, Boise’s diocesan newspaper, for about 30 minutes following a public panel on Palestinian peace efforts.

Patriarch Sabbah offered his thoughts on a variety of topics, including his disappointment at the failure of the administration of President Barack Obama to include Palestinians in his vision for Middle East peace and the president’s apparent decision to place peace on the back burner.

“He opened his vision to the Israelis and to the Muslims,” he said, “but along the way, he has forgotten the Christians. This is about the strong imposing its will upon the weak,” the patriarch added, “and the Palestinian Christians are the weak.”

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A Day of Boundless Joy

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Caregiving - We provide personal assistance, companionship, care management, and transportation to the elderly and disabled in home, assisted living and nursing facilities. We also provide respite care for main caregivers needing some personal time. Call Daughters & Company at (913) 341-2500 and speak with Andrea, Sara or Gary.

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Home Improvement Masonry work - Quality, new or repair work.

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JoCo and southern KC metro area. Call Pat at (913) 963-9896.

EL SOL Y LA TIERRA *Commercial & residential * Lawn renovation * Mowing * Clean-up and hauling * Dirt grading/installation * Landscape design * Free estimates Hablamos y escribimos Ingles!!

Call Lupe at (816) 252-3376 STA (Sure Thing Always) Home Repair - Basement finish, bathrooms and kitchens; interior & exterior repairs: painting, roofing, siding, wood replacement and window glazing. Call for free estimates.

Cell: (913) 579-1835; phone: (913) 491-5837; e-mail: smokeycabin@hotmail.com. Member of Holy Trinity Church, Lenexa.

Brown’s Carpet - Installation and repair carpeting; vinyl and wood installation. Free estimates. 10 years experience. Serving the KC metro area. Call (913) 231-4961.

For rent Living at its best on a budget! - 1 BR apt., with rent based on income; all utilities paid; no voucher needed. Section 8 assistance. Great location, only 5-10 minutes from The Legends in Kansas City, Kan. Edwardsville Court Apartments Highrise, 531 S. 4th St., Edwardsville. Call (913) 441-6007. EHO. Handicap accessible.

For rent - All-brick Shawnee ranch; 3 BR, 2 BA, double-car garage, double fireplace. For details, call Ken at (913) 484-6942.

Real Estate Roeland Park home FSBO - $112,000. Walk to churches and schools, including Bishop Miege and St. Agnes. 2 BR, 2 BA, one-car-garage home with first-floor utilities, central vacuum and a large yard. Screenedin porch on back. You might qualify for an $8000 tax credit. 4930 Mission Rd. Call (913) 381-7494.

Beautiful Lenexa home - Large, 5 BR, 3-1/2 BA

home located one block from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Enjoy a 26 x 16 in-ground pool with a cedar deck.

Finished lower level with second fireplace, BR/office and full bath. Recently upgraded hardwood floors and many extras, plus a $5000 allowance for kitchen. 13322 W. 113th St. $225,000. Call RoseMary, Masters GMAC Realty, at (913) 661- 9744.

St. Peter Parish, Kansas City, Kan. - 2 BR home with new roof and furnace. Air conditioning; large, fenced backyard. $48,000. Call (913) 406-8267.

Oak Park Manor FSBO - 10411 Bond, Overland Park. Walk to Holy Spirit Church/School. Well-maintained, two-story home has 4 BR, 2-1/2 BA, a paneled family room with brick fireplace and bookcases, all-electric kitchen, patio, covered deck, full bsmt., and two-car garage. Upgraded furnace, A/C and windows. Close to shopping, hospital and highways. To view, call (913)-888-2104.

Lake house – Beautiful and private Lake Kahola, less than 2 hours from the KC area. Only 10 miles off I-35 at Emporia exit. This home sleeps 10+ with a 2-car garage, plus a private boat ramp and dock. Located at the water’s edge on a quiet cove. Call Cy at (316) 262-0888.

Kansas land - Have land to sell? Marisa Morgan Dallman, owner-broker, Kansas Land Brokers, LLC. Call (913) 915-9151 or visit the Web site at: www.

KansasLandBrokers.com.

Ski vacation - Winter Park, Colo. 2 BR, 1 BA, sleeps 6. Fully furnished, fireplace, rec. center with pool & hot tub. $125/night; $750/week. Call Joe Frederick at (913) 385-5589.

Lake of the Ozarks rental - Osage Beach, million-dollar view, fully furnished; 2 BR, 2 BA; sleeps six. No smoking, no pets. For special fall rates, call Steve or Sheryl Roederer at (913) 244-2022.

Childcare It’s not too late to join a preschool class - St. Joseph Early Education Center has a few openings left in our three- and five-day preschool program. To register your child in our award-winning school, call (913) 6310004.

For sale Residential lifts - Buy/sell/trade. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. Recycled and new equipment. Member of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Leawood. Call Silver Cross KC at (913) 393-2042.

Bulk mulch - $35 per cu. yd. delivered (within our delivery area with a 2-yard minimum order) OR $70 per cu. yd. delivered and spread. Contact Joe Keehn at (913) 631-7217 or (913) 449-9848 or visit the Web site at: www.mokanmulch. com.

Avon products and opportunity - Buy or Sell

Linda O’Neill, Independent Sales Representative.

Web site: http://loneill.avonrepresentative.com/blog E-mail: Linda.Oneill999@yahoo.com Call: (913) 219-0730 Located in Shawnee

Wanted to buy ***WANTED***

I buy coins, older watches,

silverware, slot machines, old rifles and shotguns, stoneware crocks and jugs, old furniture from basement or attic.

Call Chris at (913) 593-7507 or (913) 642-8269

Will buy firearms and related accessories One or a whole collection. Honest evaluation and top prices paid. Contact Tom at (913) 238-2473. Member of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawnee. *** Wanted to Buy *** Antique and vintage costume jewelry Member St. Joseph Parish Renee Maderak (913) 631-7179

To purchase a classified ad: Send an e-mail to: jennifer@theleaven.com, or call (913) 647-0327. The cost is $16 per column inch, five lines or less. Each additional line is $1.50. Classified ads will also be posted online at The Leaven’s Web site: www.theleaven.com.

Find us online @ www.theleaven.com

10

Oct.

The Curé of Ars singles group will host an autumn fantasy singles dance from 7:30 – 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 in the parish hall/school cafeteria, located at 9401 Mission Rd., Leawood. The cost of $15, payable at the door, includes beer, wine, soda, bottled water, and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Volunteers are needed for cleanup after the dance. To volunteer, call (913) 633-2403. All volunteers will receive a $5 refund on their ticket purchase.

Help us support Harvesters by bringing food items or cash donations.

The Catholic Education Foundation’s annual Gaudeamus dinner, honoring John and Pat Menghini, will be held on Oct. 10 at the Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Blvd. Quality, faith-based education may be beyond the reach of many, but it is within yours. Every dollar raised is used to fund scholarships for children in need! For information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation, call (913) 647-0344 or visit the Web site at: www.cefks.org.

All are invited to attend an evening of fun, food and live entertainment by the “Legends” show at Prairie Star Ranch, located in Williamsburg, on Oct. 10. Proceeds from the event will be used to build a chapel. Msgr.

Tom Tank will celebrate Mass at 5 p.m., followed by cocktails and dinner at 6 p.m. The attire is western, so hats and boots are welcome. The cost is $100 per person. The ranch is located 50 miles south of the metro on I-35. A bus will be available for $10 per person, from the parking lot of Church of the Ascension, 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park.

For reservations or information, call Mary Jo Doherty at (913) 685-8313, or (913) 302-9909.

The women of St. Stanislaus Parish, Rossville, will host a morning of spiritual renewal, entitled “Mary and the Woman of Today,” on Oct. 10. For registration information, call Colette at (785) 584-6612 or Deidre at (785) 582-5851.

11

Sacred Heart Parish, 1100 West St., Tonganoxie, will host its annual turkey dinner and bazaar on Oct. 11. Dinner will be served from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Carryouts will be available until 3:30 p.m. The cost is: $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 3 - 12; children 2 and under eat free. There will also be a country store, door prizes, bingo, raffles and children’s games.

Holy Cross Church, Emmett, will host its annual turkey dinner and bazaar on Oct. 11.

Dinner will be served from 3:30 - 7 p.m. The cost is: $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 5-11; children 4 and under eat free. There will also be a silent auction, bingo, and a quilt raffle.

The Knights of Columbus, Marian Council No. 3768, at Christ the King Parish, Kansas City, Kan., will host a pancakes-and-more breakfast from 8:30 - 11 a.m. on Oct. 11 in Davern Hall. A freewill offering will be collected. Proceeds will benefit the Girl Scout programs of the parish.

St. Aloysius Church, Meriden, will host its fall bazaar from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Oct. 11. A traditional turkey and ham dinner

with all the trimmings will be served. The cost is: $7 for adults; $4 for children ages 4 – 12; children under 4 eat free. There will also be children’s games, a silent auction, arts and crafts, and a lottery drawing.

12

“Education and Support for Those Dealing with Diabetes,” a nutrition program presented by Pat Callaghan, master food volunteer with K-State Extension, will be offered from 1 – 2 p.m. on Oct. 12 at the Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the Web site at: www. mountosb.org/kwc.

13

The Shawnee Knights of Columbus, Council No. 2332, will host a first-degree exemplification in their hall, located at 11221 Johnson Dr. in Shawnee, at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 13. Initiation into the Knights is eligible to all practicing Catholic men age 18 or older.

For information or to join, call Ron Masters at (913) 238-4489.

14

Rockhurst High School, 9301 State Line Rd., Kansas City, Mo., will present an evening with Immaculée Ilibagiza from 6 – 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 in the Rose Auditorium. Ilibagiza spent 91 days with seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Her life was dramatically transformed by the experience. She is considered one of the world’s leading speakers on peace, faith and forgiveness. To purchase tickets, visit the Web site: www.kcpresents.org.

15

The Singles of Nativity will host a dinner and movie night at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. Meet at Panera Bread Co. at Town Center Shopping Center, 119th and Nall, Leawood. After dinner, everyone will walk over to the AMC 20 Theaters. For information, send an e-mail to: social@son-ministry.org.

16-17

The Garnett Knights of Columbus will host the annual Autumn Blaze Knights of Columbus barbecue contest, 5K walk/run for Special Olympics, and pumpkin festival on Oct. 16 - 17. To register a barbecue team or for information, visit the Web site at: www.garnettkofc.com.

17

October is Respect Life Month.

Become a public witness to the atrocity of abortion. Join Father Tom Hesse on Oct. 17 for the archdiocesan monthly pro-life Mass at 8 a.m. at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church, 44 N. Mill, Kansas City, Kan., followed by a rosary procession to an abortion clinic four blocks away. Eucharistic adoration is available for those not processing; Benediction concludes services at 10 a.m.

Join the Singles of Nativity for a day trip to celebrate Oktoberfest in Hermann, Mo., on Oct. 17. For information, send an e-mail to: social@son-ministry.org.

The Altar Society at St. Mary-St. Anthony Church, Kansas City, Kan., will host its annual Oktoberfest from 5 - 8 p.m. on Oct. 17 in Bishop Forst Hall, 615 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan. Traditional American and German foods will be served. The cost is $8 for adults; $4 for children ages 12 and under. Dinner tickets

must be purchased in advance by calling the parish office at (913) 371-1408. There will also be a raffle and musical entertainment.

Join Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann at a benefit dinner to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Villa St. Francis, a skilled nursing center in Olathe sponsored by the archdiocese. The event will be on Oct. 17 in the parish hall at Church of the Ascension, 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park. Social hour begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by The Priest Band. For information or to purchase tickets, call (913) 592-3897.

Join the Singles of Nativity for happy hour, beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17, at Houlihan’s, 11600 W. 95th St., Overland Park. Look for the yellow balloon and our greeters who will be at the table until 7:30 p.m. Questions?

Send an e-mail to: social@ son-ministry. org.

18

The Knights of Columbus, Council No. 12437 at Immaculate Conception Parish, Louisburg, will serve breakfast from 8 – 11 a.m. on Oct. 18 in the parish hall.

St. Mary Church, Purcell, will host a pancake luncheon from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Oct. 18. A freewill offering will be collected. There will also be a silent auction for Red Wing crocks.

21

The annual pro-life forum and essay contest will be held from 9:30 – 11:45 a.m. on Oct. 21 at the Church of the Nativity, 119th and Mission Rd., Leawood. All eighthgrade parochial students will be attending.

Parents are invited and encouraged to attend.

22

The Knights of Columbus, Council No. 12437 at Immaculate Conception Parish, Louisburg, will host bingo on Oct. 22 in the parish hall. The doors and concession stand open at 6 p.m.; bingo will begin at 7 p.m.

“Soups, Stews and Such,” a nutrition presentation, will be offered from 9:30 – 11 a.m. on Oct. 22 at the Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the Web site at: www.mountosb.org/kwc.

23-25

Divorced? Widowed? Beginning Experience Weekend gently helps people move through their loss to a new beginning in their lives. The Beginning Experience Weekend for the Kansas City area will be Oct. 23 - 25 at Sanctuary of Hope, 2601 Ridge Ave., Kansas City, Kan. For information or for registration material, call John at (913) 219-3465 in Kansas City, Sue at (785) 331-2216 in Lawrence, or visit the Web site at: www. beginningexperience. org.

Sophia Center, 751 S. 8th St., Atchison, will host a retreat, entitled “Everywhere A Blessing: A Celtic Spirituality,” presented by Therese Elias, OSB, from 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 through 1 p.m. on Oct. 25. The cost is $180; advance deposit is $35. For information or to register, call (913) 360-6151.

24

Bishop Ward High School, 708 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kan., will host its annual auction at 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Reardon Center, 520 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan.

CALENDAR 13 Tickets cost $60 and include dinner, a live auction, a silent auction, and other festivities.

For information, visit the Web site at: www. cyclonecountry.org; call Sarah Dee at (913) 371-6901; or send an e-mail to her at: sdee@ wardhigh.org.

The Johnson County Unos will gather for 4:30 p.m. Mass on Oct. 24 at St. Pius X Church, 5601 Woodson, Mission. Dinner will follow at Perkins Restaurant, 11200 W. 87th St., Lenexa.

A craft and gift bazaar will be held from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Oct. 24 in McDevitt Hall (church basement) at St. Joseph Church, 11311 Johnson Dr., Shawnee. Over 40 vendors will showcase their crafts, candles, jewelry, home decor and more! Refreshments will be provided by the St. Joseph Garden Club. For information, call Connie Davidson at (913) 631-7757 or Shannon Foley at (913) 825-4353.

25

The Mary, Health of the Sick Guild will host a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Oct. 25 in Spurlock Hall at St. Peter Cathedral, 409 N. 15th St., Kansas City, Kan., to benefit the Sisters, Servants of Mary.

The cost is $6 for adults; $4 for children.

Sacred Heart Parish, Paxico, will host an old-fashioned smoked German sausage supper from noon – 5 p.m. on Oct. 25 in the Knights of Columbus Hall in Newbury (1-1/2 miles north of Paxico). The cost is: $8 for adults; $3.50 for children ages 6 – 12; and $2.50 for children ages 2 – 5. There will also be bingo, a beer garden, a silent auction, and games for all ages.

Misc.

“Coping With Grief,” a series for those grieving the loss of a loved one, will be offered on Tuesdays from 6:30 - 8 p.m. through Oct. 27 at Good Shepherd Church, in the Romero Chapel, 12800 W. 75th St., Shawnee.

For registration or information, call Bernadine Asher at (913) 563-5304.

Project Rachel is offering weekly support groups throughout October in the KC metro area for those hurting from an abortion.

Registration is required. For information, call Patricia at (913) 621-2199 or 1 (888) 246-1504.

All calls are strictly confidential.

The Singles of Nativity will gather for round-robin-style tennis on Sundays from 2:30 - 5 p.m. and on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the Indian Creek Recreational Center, 103rd St. and Marty, Overland Park, on Sundays throughout the spring, weather permitting.

Beginners are welcome. Join us for fun tennis, and good company. We may go out for a light dinner afterwards.

“Living Free: Re-enter and Re-start,” a weekly support group for women who have recently been released from incarceration, will be held from 1 – 2 p.m. on Mondays at the Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the Web site at: www.mountosb.org/kwc.

Wanted Small apartment or room to rent - Retired nurse is seeking modest living accommodations in the JoCo area. Call Pam at (913) 579- 5276.

Vacation Ski cabin in Winter Park, Colo. – 2 BR, 1 BA, on free ski shuttle route. $110/night. Call (913) 6423027. To view pictures, visit the Web site at: cabin. forcadeassociates.com.

Patty Schneier

“Prove it, God…And He Did!” Proclaiming the glorious truth of God’s plan for life and love.

Oct. 17th 7:30-8:45 pm

Church of the Nativity 3800 W. 119th St. Leawood, KS $5 per person Audience: Adults of all ages, Teens ages 16 and up Contact Beth Meier at bmeier@archkck.org for any questions

14 COMMENTARY

Catholic Press Association Award Winner 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Archbishop Edward O’Meara Award Winner 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003

Quote Week

of the

“[Father Neal Stull] was a phenomenal man.

He reached out to everyone, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. He’d go to the high school, middle school, and elementary school games. There is only one other church in our town, and when they had a fundraiser, he’d go.”

Dawn Dean, a member of St. Lawrence in Easton and St. Joseph of the Valley in rural Leavenworth See story on page 3

I

Oct. 11 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 7: 7-11; Ps 90: 12-17; Heb 4: 12-13; Mk 10: 17-30 Oct. 12 Monday Rom 1: 1-7; Ps 98: 1-4; Lk 11: 29-32 Oct. 13 Tuesday Rom 1: 16-25; Ps 19: 2-5; Lk 11: 37-41 Oct. 14 Callistus I, pope, martyr Rom 2: 1-11; Ps 62: 2-3, 6-7, 9; Lk 11: 42-46 Oct. 15 Teresa of Jesus, virgin, doctor of the church Rom 3: 21-30; Ps 130: 1-6; Lk 11: 47-54 Oct. 16 Hedwig, religious, Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin Rom 4: 1-8; Ps 32: 1-2, 5, 11; Lk 12: 1-7 Oct. 17 Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, martyr Rom 4: 13, 16-18; Ps 105: 6-9, 42-43; Lk 12: 8-12

simply stewardship

Excuse the shameful name-dropping

Stewardship has its beginning in baptism

I get together once a month with four other priests at Lake Perry. Part of our day is spent looking at the coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. I found myself snickering as I listened to the first reading from the Book of Numbers (11: 25-29). You’ll remember it once I mention two names: Eldad and Medad.

These were the two elders who, for some reason, didn’t make it to the meeting tent with Moses, yet still got a portion of his spirit and were prophesying in the camp.

When our group started its reflection on the Scriptures, I confessed that I couldn’t hear the names Eldad and Medad without grinning. One person in our group mentioned that, sadly, the oldest, wisest and most respected member of that family couldn’t go to the tent with Moses, either; his name was “Granddad.” Another mentioned that one family member was away fishing at the time (“Crawdad”). Then there was the guy who was really hard to describe — “Doodad.”

After Sunday Masses that weekend, parishioners reminded me of the family member who always stood head and shoulders above the others (“Stepdad”) and of the one who worked as a sacker at the market — “Baghdad.”

Even though I’m sure there are more

members of the “dad” family out there, I’d better stop and get to the point of this column.

In that reading from Numbers, Joshua, who was Moses’ right-hand man, is disturbed at Eldad and Medad for prophesying and wants Moses to stop them. Moses replies, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!

Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”

Jealousy. It’s something that lurks to some extent in all our hearts. It’s a feeling that’s destructive and divisive.

It infects the one who harbors it, often with dire results, as this ancient Greek legend illustrates: A certain athlete ran well but placed second in a race. The winner was not only showered with praise, but eventually a statue was erected in his honor in the town square. Jealousy ate away at the man who had placed second. He so resented the winner that he could think of little else. One day, he decided to destroy the winner’s statue.

Night after night, he went to the statue and chiseled away at the base to weaken the foundation. One night, though, he chiseled with such violent anger that he went too far. The heavy marble statue teetered on its base

and crashed down on the disgruntled athlete. He died beneath the weight of the marble replica of the man he had grown to hate. His jealousy had destroyed him. (Adapted from “Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes” by Robert J. Morgan.)

Isn’t that how jealousy works? It begins to chip away at your life. It so distorts your vision that you fail to see the particular gifts, talents and blessings that are there in your life and instead focus solely on what’s “not there”: the gifts, talents and blessings that another person has. Over time, if unchecked, this jealousy makes a person bitter and ungrateful. In effect, like the Greek legend warns, it kills a person — perhaps not physically, but certainly spiritually.

At times, like Joshua, we become jealous and catch ourselves belittling the efforts of others who are doing good — because they’re not Catholic, or not American, or not of our race or economic class, or not . . . well, the list could go on and on.

Moses had the right idea. If good is being done, if God’s Spirit is at work in people’s words and deeds, then be grateful and encourage it. After all, there’s plenty of God’s work to go around: No one person or group can hope to do it all.

This week, catch folks doing good.

Rather than judging or being jealous of their good work, let them know you noticed, thank them and encourage them to continue changing the world for the better.

I’ll close with an apology to Eldad and Medad. Would that we all had their spirit of prophecy!

the gospel truth

S

COMMENTARY 15

Mark my words

t truly does not take much to amuse me.

That’s the conclusion I reached (yet again) after my priests’ prayer group meeting a few weeks ago.

Scripture Readings TWENTy-eighth WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

Disciples warned of price for following Jesus

ometimes, I will listen to a tune, and then I can’t get it out of my mind. The melody keeps running through my head. Something similar happens once in a while in the Scriptures. We see that in Sunday’s Gospel reading.

Jesus meant in the previous Gospel reading about losing one’s life. It can involve the sacrifice of what one holds most dear: family and property.

It reflects the experience of many in the early Christian community. The government persecution of Christians It is a recurring theme. Once again, did not always lead to the Jesus accompanies an indeath penalty. Instead, it struction to his disciples with Twenty-eighth sometimes resulted in exile the words: “for my sake and Sunday in Ordinary or confiscation of property for the sake of the Gospel.”

Time — punishments considered A month ago on Sept. 13, Mk 10: 17-30 nearly as severe, comparable we heard those words in to a life sentence for us. The the Gospel reading from Mk Gospel reading warns the early Chris8:27-35: “Whoever loses his life for my tians that this could be the price for sake and that of the Gospel will save following Jesus. it.”

And what could the disciples hope Now, in the Gospel reading for this to obtain in return? “Houses and Sunday, Mk 10:17-30, we hear the brothers and sisters and mothers and words: “There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or moth- children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.” er or father or children or lands for my Jesus’ promise to his disciples sake and that of the Gospel who will echoes the experience of Job in the not receive a hundred times more now Old Testament. The patience of Job in this present age.” is tested to the extreme. He loses his Sunday’s reading clarifies what

property and his children in a series of tragic accidents. He is smitten with a painful disease. Despite all this, Job places his trust in God. He is rewarded by being given a new fortune and a new family. God does not restore to Job exactly what he had before, but gives him something just as good.

Jesus has something similar in mind for his disciples. He will supply them with new brothers and sisters to replace the ones they have lost because they have followed him. The family nature of the church will provide them with many surrogate brothers and sisters.

To reflect this attitude, the members of the church will call each other brother and sister. St. Paul attests to that practice in his writings: “Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers who are with them” (Rom 16:14). To a degree, we continue that practice when we address priests as “Father” and religious women as “Sister.”

In this age, the disciples can expect a new-found family in the life of the church. In the age to come, they can look forward to eternal life. That is also the promise that Jesus makes to us.

Father Mike Stubbs is pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lansing and has a degree in Scripture from Harvard University.

B

ig brother Sam wanted to kiss the face of Jesus on the bas-relief of “The Last Supper” below the altar. So up he trotted up and kneeled before Jesus and “his buddies.”

The sight of a two-year-old kneeling before Jesus isn’t something I see every day. It sure did warm my heart.

Sam’s baby sister, Mary Frances Dixon, was being baptized. The event was a happy occasion for the parents, Mike and Jeanne-Marie Dixon, the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The ceremony was Father Keith Lunsford’s last baptism at Holy Trinity Parish in Paola. He moved later the following week to his new parish at St. Ann in Prairie Village.

We were happy to be with the Dixon family as we heard Father Keith’s last homily at Holy Trinity that spoke to our roles as parents and as children of God. Father Keith gathered little Sam and his big brother Noah before him and asked if they had chores at home.

Noah said, “I pick up my toys.”

Father Keith asked, “Do you do the laundry?”

“No, Mommy does,” Noah answered.

“Do you do the cooking?” Father asked.

“Daddy makes pizza,” Noah said.

The adults laughed.

Then Father Keith reminded the boys that, as children, they can’t do everything and must depend on their parents. He then reminded the adults that, as children of God, we depend on our Father in heaven to take care of us.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we turn to each other as the family of God. As stewards of God’s many gifts to us, we often think that we are in charge and that we can control the outcome of our daily challenges by ourselves, without the grace and goodness of our Lord.

Stewardship is an expression of discipleship with the power to change how we understand and live out our baptismal call. In the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter on Christian stewardship, the bishops teach that stewardship involves embracing a Christ-centered way of living, which has its beginning in the sacrament of baptism. This

biblically commissioned sacrament is the foundation of our call to be good stewards and to proclaim by word and deed the good news of Jesus Christ.

The International Catholic Stewardship Council will convene its 2009 gathering in Dallas on Oct. 11-14. Its theme is: Living our pastoral call through stewardship. Anyone interested in attending should visit the ICSC Web site at: www.catholicstewardship.org.

No matter how strong we think we are, we often need a gentle reminder now and then, as Father Keith did so sweetly at little Fran’s baptism, that we are God’s children. Stewardship helps us live our lives as our Father in heaven wants us to live.

Lesle Knop is the executive director of stewardship and development. You can e-mail Lesle at: lknop@archkck.org.

cef centered

W

Help struggling parents say ‘yes’ to their kids

hat are you going to be when you grow up? The answer to that question is not an easy one and, as a child, can be somewhat daunting.

At some point in each of our lives, we have asked at least one question regarding our future. I said “one,” being kind. In most of our lives, we have dealt with many futuristic questions.

You know what I am talking about!

As a child: When are we going to eat? What time do I have to go to bed?

Why do I have to clean my room before I go outside and play?

As a teenager: I know we just ate, but when are we going to eat again?

Curfew is at what time? I am tired of

bumming rides from my friends, when can I get a car of my own?

As a young adult: I know we just ate, but when are we going to eat again? I need to get a job this summer? How am I ever going to be able to pay back my student loans?

As an adult: If I take the job transfer, who will be my new boss? What are the Catholic school options at this new locale? If we buy this house, what are the parish boundaries?

I could go on, but you get the gist!

These are real-life questions and the direction indicates that we take many things for granted, including our Catholic education.

How about this question: Dad/ Mom, why can’t I go to a Catholic school? Answer: Because we don’t have the money to send you to a Catholic school. Tough question and a tougher answer!

U.S. Census Bureau reports tell us that the percentage of Americans living in poverty rose last year to 13.2, the highest level in 11 years. In our world today, that translates to about 39.8 million people in households with an annual income below the federal definition of poverty, which is $22,025 for a family of four. Unreal!

You, I and others have the opportunity to help with the “tough question and answer” in our own archdiocese

by helping to provide scholarships for children in need through the Catholic Education Foundation. We just need to be futuristic thinkers and do it! A Catholic school education can be the springboard to higher education, the best way to break the cycle of poverty.

Our children’s future is our future. I encourage each of you to think ahead and help a child in need!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself.”

For more information, please visit our Web site at: www.cefks.org.

Michael Morrisey is the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation.

word of life

T

Faith communities at core of two ministries

he conversion of northeast Kansas ultimately depends upon the Lord. In the office of evangelization and Catholic formation, we remain prayerful and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the church.

Over the past two years, I have come in contact with two worthy agents of transforming culture: the Light of the World evangelization process (LOTW) and the community-building mission of Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO). I have experienced these two ministries inspiring conversion, awakening faith, maturing faith, forming Christian communities, and actively engaging the evangelizing mission of Jesus Christ.

The Light of the World evangelization process (www.lotwem.org) incorporates three essential elements: an evangelization retreat that is designed to awaken faith and renew the sacraments of initiation; the formation of small communities, where ongoing formation and fellowship take place; and outreach and mission to others in the community. Last May, six parishes participated in the Light of the World leadership retreats. This fall, five parishes are participating in the four LOTW retreats at their parishes. Over 200 people are expected to attend one of these retreats. From these retreats

we hope to begin a number of small communities and eventually we hope these smaller communities will be mature enough to have a profound effect in the work of evangelization in the archdiocese.

In addition to the LOTW process, we are hosting two Fan into Flame retreats in October and November. The Fan into Flame retreats are the first step in the process of forming communities where the faith can mature and within which the evangelization mission of the church can be fruitful. Saint Paul’s Outreach (www.spoweb.org) has helped to implement this evangelization process in the archdiocese.

The first Fan into Flame retreat is for students at local colleges, mostly drawn from Benedictine College in Atchison. At Benedictine, we already have four SPO households, which serve the work of Benedictine’s plan to form Schools of the Lord’s Service among the college students.

These students live a committed Christian life and are taking many of the leadership positions on the retreat.

We expect nearly 80 students on this retreat and plan to invite them to commit to a new way of living for Christ.

The second Fan into Flame retreat is Nov. 6-8 at Prairie Star Ranch in Williamsburg for married couples and young adults. Our hope is to host the retreat for an initial deeper conversion and establish small groups and a community that form a strong Christian environment where the faith can continue to awaken and mature.

More information on all of these events can be found on our Web site at: www.archkckecat.org. You may also call the office of evangelization and Catholic formation at (913) 721-1570.

Matt Karr is the consultant for the office of evangelization and catechesis. He can be reached at: ecat@archkck.org.

16 LOCAL NEWS

THE LEAVEN • october 9, 2009

Now almost 80, Sister of Charity is on the road again Continued from page 1

came to visit and gave the teenage boys in the area an early lesson in feminism.

“Sister got out of the car in full habit.

The boys were playing basketball and the ball hit the rim and bounced over to her,” she said. “One boy said, ‘I’m sorry ma’am,’ and started over to retrieve the ball.

“She was 20 feet away from the goal and she picked up that basketball and threw it.

“It never touched the rim — it just went right on through,” she said. “I thought those boys were going to have a stroke.”

Smith, who retired with her husband to St. Paul Parish in Olathe, has known Sister Madonna for almost 40 years now and is not surprised she’s managed to walk around the world.

“She has always said she just enjoys getting out in God’s world,” she said.

“And she has always just taken off,” Smith added. “I don’t mean a block or two. I mean four or five miles.

“Cars would stop her, asking if she had car problems. That was just Sister Madonna.”

just thought, ‘This is silly, I’m walking all around and I’m not counting it.’

“So I started counting.”

A bump in the road Officially, it took Sister Madonna 24 years to walk around the world. But technically, four of those years were spent recovering from major surgery, which makes her accomplishment even more amazing.

“I was at 19,170 miles in 2002 when I had an injury,” she recalled. “It’s called an ulcerated ankle. I hit my ankle bone so many times, but I didn’t do anything about it, and that’s why it was ulcerated.

“Then one day when they checked us over. The nurse said, ‘Get her to the hospital.’ So I was out of commission.”

Veins had to be removed from one leg to repair the other, and Sister Madonna spent many long months in a wheelchair, going back and forth to St. John’s Hospital. Eventually, she moved into Ross Hall, the infirmary on Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth campus, where she received physical therapy.

“We have wonderful therapy right in our building, and they worked with me,” she said. “Pretty soon, I could get across the room and eventually I got to where I could walk with a walker.”

In 2006, Sister Madonna was walking so well that she started tracking her mileage again. On Aug. 13, at the age of 79, she reached 25,000 miles.

Fox News got wind of her accomplishment and aired a story on its local affiliate. It was inspirational, to say the least. Sister Madonna received congratulations and compliments from many people. But the biggest surprise was hearing from a favorite former teacher.

“I heard from Miss Fay, who was my gym teacher at Bishop Ward,” she said.

“She called me and she said, ‘I saw you on TV!’”

Born to walk, called to serve Growing up in a large family in Kansas City Kan., Sister Madonna always loved being active and outdoors. She walked to and from Bishop Ward High School — two miles each way — where she participated in every sport she could.

“I was very athletic,” she said. “I was in the girls’ athletic association, and I bowled and played tennis and played ball.”

At Ward, she was taught by the Sisters of Charity; in her senior year, she felt called to join them.

“I was 17 and I was popular; I had my dates and everything,” she said. “But I’d come home, and it just didn’t satisfy me.

“Then [God] called me, and I was so happy. In August [after graduating], I entered the Sisters of Charity. I didn’t even think of anybody else. I am 62 years a Sister.”

Sister Madonna’s first mission trip as STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT and CIRCULATION (Act of October 23, 1962; Section 4369, Title 39, United States Code) PS Form 3526 1. Title of Publication: The Leaven 2. Publication Number: 0194-9799 3. Filing Date: Sept. 28, 2007 4. Issue Frequency: Weekly September - May, except Friday the week after Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Friday after Easter; biweekly June - August.

5. Number of Issues Annually: 41 6. Annual Subscription Price: $18 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 12615 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66109

Treasures along the way

These days, Sister Madonna’s walks are confined to the University of Saint Mary campus, but she doesn’t mind. Its scenic paths are beautifully landscaped. a teacher was to Helena, Mont., where she fell in love with the trek up Mount Helena. Next, she was sent to Butte, Mont., where she often climbed to a television tower atop a mountain there and had coffee with the staff that managed the tower.

She was later sent to Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. She walked hundreds of miles in each location and couldn’t begin to choose a favorite.

“I’ve loved every place I’ve been,” she said.

At one point, she did ask her superior why she seemed to move so often.

“I said, ‘Mother, what’s wrong with me? They move me every year.’

“And she said, ‘You’re flexible.’”

And so she was. In each location, Sister Madonna was at home the minute her feet hit the pavement. And her long walks brought her instant camaraderie — because when Sister Madonna walks, she is a friend to every person she meets along the way. And she never misses an opportunity to stop and have a chat.

A friend for life Sister Madonna loved teaching and favored the younger grades. When she 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 12615 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66109 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher and Editor and Managing Editor : Publisher: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, 12615 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas Editor: Rev. Mark Goldasich, 12615 Parallel Parkway, K ansas City, Kansas Managing Editor: Anita McSorley, 12615 Parallel P arkway, Kansas City, Kansas 10. Owner: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None

finally landed in Olathe and was offered the position of principal at St. Paul Elementary School, she made a stipulation before she would accept the job.

“I said, ‘I’ll only be a principal if I can keep my babes,’” she recalled. “I wanted to be a teaching principal, and I was.”

While at St. Paul, Sister Madonna met Joann Smith, a military wife with eight children and a husband deployed to Vietnam. Smith volunteered to help with the music program at St. Paul.

In exchange, Sister Madonna helped Smith keep her sanity. The two became lifelong friends.

“She was like my guardian angel,” recalled Smith. “I had four teenagers and then the other four. They were all in school and about to drive me crazy.”

When Smith came up to school during the day, Sister Madonna could sense her stress.

“She would say, ‘Do you mind if I come out tonight for a little bit?’ And she would meander out and sit for about an hour and have coffee or iced tea and kind of calm me down a bit,” said Smith.

“The kids loved her; she was like an aunt to them.”

The two kept in touch when the Smiths relocated to Colorado. Smith recalled one time when Sister Madonna

15. Circulation:

Av. No. copies Single issue

each issue during nearest to

preceding 12 mos. filing date A. Total no. copies printed (Net press run) 54,00 54,000 B. Paid Circulation 1. Mail Subscriptions 52,824 52,996 3. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales 0 0 C. Total Paid Circulation 52,626 52,618 D. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution 1. Outside-County copies included

The only time Sister Madonna doesn’t walk is at night or in the snow. But the coldest weather doesn’t faze her.

And when temperatures head toward the triple digits?

“I mop my brow,” she said.

When she walks, Sister Madonna said she prays.

She also observes nature, visits with people, and, sometimes, she finds a little cash.

“When she was teaching, she would pick up coins and put them in her deep pockets,” said Smith. “And she would take them back to her classroom and put them in a jar to save for classroom things.”

In her lifetime, Sister Madonna says she’s found well over $100. The best town for finding money, she claims, is Laramie, Wyo. “See, up in Laramie, it’s so cold in the winter,” she explained. “So, a lot of people will put their hands in their pockets and then pull them out and not realize they’ve dropped some money.”

When she finds money, Sister Madonna always knows who to thank.

“I always say, ‘Make my day, Lord!’” she said.

Sister Madonna can be seen every morning — and most afternoons — walking around the SCL campus, stopping at various statues to say a few prayers, admiring the beautiful landscaping, and talking with anyone she passes.

“I walk alone,” she said, “but I meet people so much that I never feel alone.

“I made seven miles today — three this morning and four this afternoon.

So where does that leave her?”

“I have walked 170 since Aug. 13.”

And she’s still counting.

on PS Form 3541

445 456 4. Free Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or Other Means) 0 0 E. Total Free Distribution 445 456 F. Total Distribution (Sum of C and D) 53,071 53,074 G. Copies not Distributed Office Use, Left-Over Unaccounted, Spoiled 483 926 H. Total (Sum of 15 f and g) 53,554 54,000 I. Percentage Paid and/ or Requested Circulation 99.2% 99.1% I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Rev. Mark Goldasich, Editor