02-24-12 Vol. 33 No. 27

WWW.THELEAVEN.COM | NEWSPAPER OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF KANSAS CITY IN KANSAS | VOL. 33, NO. 27 FEBRUARY 24, 2012

ARCHBISHOP

ON TOUR

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann toured the new Xavier Elementary School building in Leavenworth on the morning of Feb. 15. The school, which was previously housed on three different campuses, moved into a new facility at the beginning of this school year.

Photos from top: Xavier first-grader Liesel Barkei was greeted by Archbishop Naumann Feb. 15 during his tour of the school. This was the first time the archbishop has been to see the new school. Previously, Xavier was spread out over three campuses.

Archbishop Naumann gives Janice Zoellner’s firstgrade class a blessing as part of one stop on his tour of Xavier. The archbishop celebrated Mass with students before making the rounds.

Barb Ferrara (left), president of Leavenworth Catholic Schools, Archbishop Naumann and Karen Davis, principal of Xavier, visit the students during their lunch hour.

Photos by Susan McSpadden

2 LOCAL NEWS

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS

Coercing individuals to violate their consciences is un-American

T

he news cycle has a very short attention span.

The media is beginning to lose interest in the concerns raised by many people of faith regarding the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandates requiring religious entities and individuals to provide contraception, abortioninducing drugs, and sterilization to employees. gious freedom to freedom of worship.

It is obvious that the president Certainly, freedom of worship is an esbelieves so passionately in providing sential component of religious freedom. contraception and abortifacient drugs Without the freedom to worship, there that he is willing to risk the constituis no meaningful religious freedom. Not tionality of his health plan and perhaps so long ago, communism in the Soviet his own election. There is little doubt Union and Eastern Europe restricted what the president is doing is ideologiseverely freedom to worship. In commucally based. Planned Parenthood and nist China and many Islamic countries, the abortion lobby for some time have many Catholics and people of other been attempting to close Catholic hosfaiths have their freedom to worship pitals or to co-opt them into providing restricted or completely denied. so-called “reproductive health services” Freedom of religion is a fundamental — translate abortion human right that not and sterilization. only applies to the Lenten WednesdayIn addition to the ability to worship God night confessions ideology behind the as one chooses, but president’s efforts, he also to live in accord Beginning this coming has also made a politiWednesday, and for all the with the dictates of Wednesdays of Lent from 6-7 cal calculation. He is one’s own conscience. p.m., priests of the Archdiocese convinced that if he Authentic religious have been asked to be available can focus the public freedom prevents for the sacrament of reconciliadiscussion on access government from tion/penance. Last year’s Lenten to contraception that coercing individuWednesday night confession projhe will benefit politials or communities ect was very fruitful. Many indically from the actions viduals took advantage of this adfrom being forced to ditional time for the sacrament. of his administration. act in a manner that Happily, many who had not been It is fascinating seriously violates the to confession for many years that, on one hand, moral principles dewere motivated to do so. advocates for the HHS rived from reason and The best single activity that mandates quote pollreligious faith. any of us can do to grow in holiing data that claims The First Amendness during this Lenten season 95-98 percent of all is to encounter the Lord and his ment to our Constitumercy by going to confession. In American women in tion — the First Right the coming weeks, I will again child-bearing years of the Bill of Rights share with you some thoughts have used contracep— protects religious about how to examine one’s contives, but on the other freedom. The First science and to prepare properly hand they claim there Amendment reads: to make a good and sincere conis an access problem. fession of our sins.

“Congress shall make While the polling no law respecting data is skewed in an establishment of many ways, it does make it hard with a religion or prohibiting the free exercise straight face to claim that there is a real thereof; or abridging the freedom of contraceptive availability crisis. speech, or of the press; or the right of The issue raised by the HHS manpeople peaceably to assemble, and to dates is not fundamentally about petition the Government for a redress contraception or abortion. It is about of grievances.” Notice how the First religious freedom and conscience proAmendment first speaks about protecttection. What is most troubling about ing the free exercise of religion and then the HHS mandates are they are part of a immediately identifies other protected pattern by this administration. activities that are not necessarily reliRecently, the U.S. Supreme Court, gious — e.g., speech and assembly. by a rare unanimous decision, ruled as In the case of abortion, the vast unconstitutional an effort by the Justice majority of Americans agree that those Department to interfere with the ability who object morally to abortion should of a Lutheran school to hire and retain not be forced to participate in the killing faculty based on religious belief and of an innocent human life. Even though practice. A few months earlier, HHS some may have participated in a form of chose not to award a grant for the care mental gymnastics to convince themof victims of sex-trafficking to a Catholic selves that abortion is not the violent agency because it refused to provide destruction of innocent human life, abortions and contraceptives. nearly all Americans do not think it right Part of the administration’s strategy to force those who believe every abortion is to limit the understanding of relidestroys an innocent human life to fund

and/or to participate in an abortion. The HHS mandates, by requiring the provision of ella, an abortion inducing drug, indeed does coerce Catholics and the majority of Americans, who are pro-life, to participate in abortion.

With regard to contraception, many people do not immediately understand why this is also so morally objectionable to Catholics and many others. Most people do not remember that less than 100 years ago, every Christian denomination considered contraception as seriously sinful. As recently as 50 years ago, contraception was illegal in many states until the Supreme Court discovered a “right to privacy” in the Constitution which they used to strike down all state laws prohibiting or limiting contraception.

Oral contraceptives are perceived by many Americans as one of the great human advancements of the 20th century. With the lure of “sexual freedom” and the noble effects that were promised — 1) prevention of the imminent global disaster of overpopulation; 2) the prevention of abortion and teen pregnancy; 3) the elimination of child abuse; and 4) the strengthening of marriages strained by the weight of parental responsibilities — it was not a difficult public relations exercise to popularize contraception.

The experience of the past 50 years has been quite different than what the proponents of contraception promised. So-called sexual freedom actually resulted in a trivialization of sexual intimacy, as evidenced nightly by popular “entertainment.”

Today, Western Europe, Russia and Japan are threatened by a serious problem of population implosion (depopulation). There are not enough young people to support the services needed to care for the older generation.

Despite the contrary claims of contraceptive advocates, the trivialization of sexual intimacy has resulted in: 1) more than a million abortions annually; 2) pornography as the fastest growing addiction; 3) epidemics of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; 4) a 50 percent divorce rate; 5) cohabitation becoming culturally normative; and 6) the percentage of couples marrying dramatically declining. The destabilization of family life to which the contraceptive mentality significantly contributed has resulted in a host of social problems.

One could make a compelling argument that the most serious health risk for society is the trivialization of sexual intimacy caused by the widespread use of contraception. Yet, Planned Parenthood has convinced the president that America’s most pressing health need is free contraception and abortioninducing drugs.

Yet, even if you agree with Planned Parenthood and President Obama about the benefits of contraception, you

Of cardinal importance Newly elevated speak out on their role

Archbishop Naumann’s weekly calendar

SECOND FRONT PAGE 3

By Francis X. Rocca

Catholic News Service

Feb. 23 -24 Kenrick-Glennon Seminary board meeting Visit seminarians Feb. 25 Men Under Construction — Church of the Ascension, Overland Park Benedictine Scholarship Ball Feb. 26 Pastoral visit —Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kan. 3 p.m. Rite of Election — St. Patrick, Kansas City, Kan. 7 p.m. Rite of Election — Sacred Heart, Shawnee Feb. 27 Adoration and Benediction —Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park

Feb. 28 Mass — Atchison Elementary School and Maur Hill-Mount Academy, Atchison Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas board meeting Catholic Fine Arts Council reception — Savior Pastoral Center March 1 Religious Alliance Against Pornography phone conference Confirmation — Most Pure Heart of Mary, Topeka

Archbishop Keleher’s weekly calendar

Feb. 25 “The Catholic Way” radio taping should still oppose the HHS mandates.

Why? Because it is simply un-American to coerce individuals to violate their conscience to pay for someone else’s lifestyle choice. The question before our nation is quite simply: Are we willing to trample on the First Amendment, religious freedom and conscience protection to make abortion, sterilization and contraception free? Think about it!

If you wish to hear more about what our Catholic faith teaches about religious freedom and conscience protection attend the School of Faith free lecture at Holy Spirit Parish on March 1 at 7 p.m.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Practically everyone knows two things about cardinals — that they wear red hats and elect the pope. But what other purpose do these men serve in the Catholic Church?

On the eve of the Feb. 18 consistory where Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to expand the College of Cardinals by 22 new members, the three North Americans among them shared some thoughts on the meaning of their new role.

“Every priest and certainly every bishop has a responsibility to care for the church universal,” said Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, “but a cardinal really has a very clear role in a pastoral concern for the church universal.”

“It’s a wider focus on the church and how we can help the Holy Father and inform the Holy Father as to the needs of the church universal as we experience them,” Cardinal O’Brien said.

Unlike most of his peers working in Rome, Cardinal O’Brien has not been named to run a Vatican office. Instead, Pope Benedict has made him head of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

The order, which has its roots in the medieval crusades, now works to help Christians living in the Holy Land, among other ways, by running hospitals, orphanages and schools.

That mission has lately “taken on a special urgency,” said Cardinal O’Brien, as war and civil unrest in the Middle East have made the always-precarious position of Christian minorities there even more threatening.

But the cardinal, who will continue to administer the Archdiocese of Baltimore until the pope names his successor as archbishop there, said that he will also remain involved in efforts to defend religious freedom in the United States from what he called the “steps being taken on every level of our government to limit our options as Catholic and Christian people.”

“I’m still an American,” Cardinal O’Brien said. “I will not interfere, but I will support my successor in every way possible, and my brother and sister Catholics in every way possible, to turn this tide around. It’s gone too far and we’ve been too complacent for too long, and we have to take action.”

Cardinal Thomas C. Collins of Toronto said he recently drew inspiration from a biography of St. John Fisher, a cardinal who was martyred in 1535 for refusing to recognize King Henry VIII as head of the English church.

“The red robes, those spectacular scarlet robes of the cardinals, the reason for that is the shedding of blood,” Cardinal Collins said.

Meet the 22 new cardinals

CNS photo/Paul Haring

U.S. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan congratulates U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien after they receive their red hats from Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 18. The pope created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries during the consistory.

Most cardinals, of course, do not expect to be killed as witnesses to the Catholic faith. Another model for his new role, Cardinal Collins said, is St. Charles Borromeo.

The 16th-century archbishop of Milan, a towering figure of that century’s Catholic Reformation, experienced a kind of nonphysical martyrdom in the sense that “he was with his people even in the midst of plague . . . and he was also very firm in terms of the civil power,” Cardinal Collins said.

New York’s Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan struck a characteristically informal note when he told Basilian Father Thomas Rosica of Salt and Light Television that “in the long run it doesn’t amount to much” becoming a cardinal.

“In the vocabulary of the church, we

don’t like to use words like ‘promotion’ or ‘honor’ or ‘dignity’ or ‘prestige,’” the cardinal said, “because Jesus told us not to.”

“This is a great honor, my God, for a kid from Ballwin, (Mo.),” he said, but “in the vocabulary of the Gospel it’s simply a call to more expanded service.”

“What really counts is what?” Cardinal Dolan asked. “That we’re made in the image and likeness of God, that I’m baptized into the church and saved from my sins by the precious blood of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. For me, it means a lot that I’m a priest. And everything else is gravy.”

Then the cardinal, often known to poke fun at his own hearty appetite, quickly added with a laugh: “I like gravy.”

Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799)

Editor Reverend Mark Goldasich, stl frmark@theleaven.com

Senior Reporter Joe Bollig joe@theleaven.com

Reporter Jessica Langdon jessica@theleaven.com

President Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann

Managing Editor Anita McSorley anita@theleaven.com

Production Manager Todd Habiger todd@theleaven.com

Advertising Representative Jennifer Siebes jennifer@theleaven.com

• Italian Archbishop Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, 65.

• Portuguese Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 73.

• Spanish Archbishop Santos Abril Castello, archpriest of Basilica of St. Mary Major, 76.

• Italian Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, president Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, 74.

• Italian Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State, 69.

• Italian Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Interpreting Legislative Texts, 73.

• Brazilian Archbishop Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 64.

• U.S. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, 72.

• Italian Archbishop Domenico Calcagno, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, 69.

• Italian Archbishop Giuseppe Versaldi, president of Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, 68.

• Syro-Malabar Archbishop George Alencherry of India, 66.

• Canadian Archbishop Thomas C. Collins of Toronto, 65.

• Czech Archbishop Dominik Duka of Prague, 68.

• Dutch Archbishop Willem J. Eijk of Utrecht, 58.

• Italian Archbishop Giuseppe Betori of Florence, 64.

• U.S. Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, 62.

• German Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin, 55.

• Chinese Bishop John Tong Hon of Hong Kong, 72.

•Romanian Archbishop Lucian Muresan of Fagaras and Alba Julia, 80.

• Belgian Father Julien Ries, expert on history of religions, 91.

• Maltese Augustinian Father Prosper Grech, biblical scholar, 86.

• German Jesuit Father Karl Josef Becker, theologian, 83.

Published weekly September through May, excepting the Friday the week after Thanksgiving, and the Friday after Christmas; biweekly June through August. Address communications to: The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109.

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4 LOCAL NEWS

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THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

THE FOOD OF LENT

elcome to part two of our Lenten recipes. Here are some more recipes sent in by our readers and chosen by advertising representative Jennifer Siebes — a former caterer herself and our unofficial food critic. Look

for all submissions on The Leaven’s website.

Healthy Black Bean and Hominy Chili

1 quart vegetable broth 1 can (14.5-ounce) petite-diced tomatoes 1 generous tablespoon vegetable oil 1 medium-large onion; diced 1 bell pepper (color of choice); diced 3 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground oregano 2 cans (15.5 ounce) black beans; drained 2 cans (15.5 ounce) hominy; drained 3 large garlic cloves; minced 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate; grated (or 1 tablespoon cocoa powder) ¼ cup fresh cilantro; chopped

Creamy Shrimp Paprikash Submitted by Marilyn Riedel, Holy Spirit Parish, Lenexa

1 pound fresh or frozen shrimp; peeled and deveined 2 cups medium egg noodles; uncooked 1 package (10-ounce) early peas frozen in butter sauce 1 jar (2.5-ounce ) sliced mushrooms; drained ½ cup onion; chopped 1 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 3-ounce package cream cheese; softened ¾ teaspoon paprika Salt and pepper to taste Grated Parmesan cheese (optional) Prepare shrimp and noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. Cook peas according to package directions. In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and onions in butter until onions are translucent.

Stir in sour cream, cream cheese, salt, pepper and paprika. Gently fold in shrimp, peas and noodles; heat through, but do not boil. Turn into serving dish and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Submitted by Mary Spellmeier, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Topeka ¼ cup margarine ½ cup onion; chopped ¼ cup flour ½ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon paprika or nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 cups milk 6 hard-boiled eggs; sliced Cook onions in margarine over low heat until almost tender, but do not brown. Whisk in flour and seasonings. Stir and cook gently for 2 - 3 minutes.

Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until thickened. Add sliced eggs and heat through. Serve open-face style on toasted bread. Makes enough for 6 - 8 slices of toast.

Submitted by Dee Gutierrez, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Topeka

Microwave broth and tomatoes in a microwave-safe container on high power until steamy hot, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven or small soup kettle over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers and sauté until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add chili powder, cumin and oregano and sauté until fragrant, about a minute or two. Add beans, hominy and hot broth mixture. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover partly and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in garlic, chocolate and cilantro and continue simmering for a few minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Remove from heat and let stand for 5- 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings if necessary and serve. Makes 4 – 6 servings.

Creamed Eggs on Toast

Tuna or Crab Quiche

Submitted by Rosemary Pappert, St. Pius X Parish, Mission 1 cup cheese (any type); grated 1/3 cup onions; minced 1 teaspoon salt 4 eggs; beaten 1 small can condensed milk 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 can tuna or crab meat; drained

Spinach Tomato Tortellini

Submitted by Deacon Dan and Carol Ondracek, Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish, Topeka 1 package (16-ounce) cheese tortellini 1 can (14.5-ounce ) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion 1 cup fresh spinach ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1½ teaspoons dried basil 1 teaspoon minced garlic 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ¾ cup milk ¾ cup heavy cream (may use half-and-half) ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese Boil tortellini until tender, about 10 minutes. Combine tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, basil, and garlic in a large saucepan, heat until it begins to boil then reduce heat to low. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, whisk flour, milk and cream together. Add to spinach and tomato mixture; simmer until thickened — about two minutes. Drain tortellini; add to saucepan and gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Lenten Potato Soup

Submitted by Judy Stupar, Sacred Heart – St. Casimir Parish, Leavenworth 2 leeks; thinly sliced 1 medium onion; chopped ¾ cup celery; chopped ¾ cup carrots; chopped ½ stick butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 bag frozen hash brown potato cubes (32-ounce) 2 cups vegetable broth 4 cups milk 2 cups half-and-half 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Salt and pepper Prepare the leeks by cutting off the root and slicing the white and light green parts thinly. Place the leeks in a bowl of cold water and swish gently to remove sand. Scoop the leeks off from the top of the water. In a stockpot, sauté the leeks, onion, celery and carrot in the butter until tender. Add the flour and cook about one minute. Add the broth, milk and potatoes and cook over low heat until the potatoes are tender. Add the half-andhalf, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 12 cups. Variation: add corn or cooked shrimp.

Tuna Pizza

Submitted by Freda Galer, St. Dominic Parish, Holton Crust: 1 package yeast 1 cup warm water 2 ½ cups flour 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt

Sauce: 1 small can tomato paste 1 tablespoon dried oregano ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon pepper

Topping: 1 onion; chopped 1 green pepper; chopped 2 cans tuna; drained 2 cups grated cheese

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a 2 ½ quart bowl and let stand for 5 minutes, until frothy. Stir in flour, oil, salt and sugar. Beat vigorously (about 20 strokes) until dough is well blended. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile prepare the sauce and toppings. Divide dough in half and roll out or stretch onto two greased pizza pans. Spread tomato sauce over crust, top with chopped vegetables, tuna and cheese. Bake at 425° for 12 – 15 minutes, until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly. Variation: Try adding sliced mushrooms or olives.

Finely chop the tuna (or crab) and arrange in the bottom of an unbaked pie crust. Add cheese, onion, eggs, condensed milk, salt and pepper. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300° and continue baking 30 more minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Creamy One-Pot Pasta

Submitted by Christina Rockers, Holy Angels Parish, Eudora 2 garlic cloves; minced 2 fresh tomatoes; diced 3 cans (15-ounce) vegetable broth 1 package (16-ounce) penne pasta 1 small head broccoli 2 carrots; thinly sliced 1 8-ounce package cream cheese Grated Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste Spray an 8-quart stockpot with olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add broth, cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta, cover and simmer 8 - 10 minutes, until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets; thinly slice carrots; and cut cream cheese into cubes. Add broccoli, carrots, cream cheese, salt and pepper to stockpot with pasta. Stir until cream cheese is melted and fully combined.

Reduce heat to medium, cover and continue to cook for 2 - 4 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add diced tomatoes to the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Variation: Try adding cooked shrimp to make it extra delicious!

LOCAL NEWS 5

Use the sacrament to grow in faith, and humility this Lenten season Continued from page 16 few and far between. That is why the sacrament is said to be “celebrated,” not just performed. The priest is supposed to fulfill the ministry of the Good Shepherd, who binds up the wounds of sin. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1465) and is not the “master of God’s forgiveness, but its servant” (CCC, No. 1466).

That said, that doesn’t mean priests don’t occasionally get tired, cranky, or in some other way fail to represent Christ to you. If you do have a bad experience, remember that even a difficult priest acts in the place of Christ who loves and forgives you, and seek out another priest for your next confession.

Confession: step-by-step

An Act of Contrition Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

Amen.

Source: Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

greets the penitent, and both the priest and the penitent make the sign of the cross.

I’m afraid to go to a priest who knows me. Won’t he think less of me after hearing all the sins I’ve committed?

THIRD, the priest in-

A.

vites the penitent to place his or her trust in God, and then confess his or her sins by kind and number.

First, it’s almost guaranteed that your priest will find your confession far less interesting — or memorable — than you fear. Remember that he hears hundreds of them every year. Moreover, he will very likely think better of you for at least taking advantage of the sacrament, since it’s hard to believe that all those giving the sacrament a pass just don’t have any sins to confess.

But if this is an issue that really concerns you, take advantage of this Lenten initiative and go to a church where you are not known between 6 and 7 p.m. any Wednesday of Lent for the sacrament.

FOURTH, the penitent receives counsel and a penance from the priest.

FIFTH,

the priest asks the penitent to express sorrow by praying an act of contrition or some other appropriate prayer.

The priest then says the prayer of absolution, and the penitent responds, “Amen.”

Q.

What’s the difference between a mortal and a venial sin? And if you only have to confess mortal sins, and all I’ve committed are venial, aren’t I really just wasting the priest’s time?

SIXTH, the priest dis-

misses the penitent using one of the formulas found in the ritual. The penitent goes forth to live and continue the celebration of the sacrament by doing penance.

A.

Q.

Couldn’t I just go directly to Jesus? God knows I’m sorry for my sins, so why do I need to confess to another person?

A.

You are going directly to Jesus, through the minis-

FIRST, the penitent enters and kneels at a screen or sits in a chair.

The penitent may begin with a traditional formula, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been (indicate time) since my last confession.”

SECOND, the priest

Q.

Good try. But the second of the five precepts of the church states: “You shall confess your sins at least once a year” (CCC, No. 2042).

Besides, there’s much to be said for honestly examining the patterns of even venial sins in our lives, and then confessing them. An important part of spiritual life is humility, and a principal component of spiritual growth is discipline.

Make use of the sacrament as a spiritual discipline, and you may find that the honesty it requires and the grace the sacrament confers will help you more effectively deal with the venial, but habitual, sins that you struggle with.

Most confessionals or reconciliation rooms allow for you to choose to confess behind a screen or face to face.

try of the church. Jesus specifically gave the apostles and their successors the authority to forgive sins when he said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19).

Jesus knows your sins, so you’re not telling him anything new. He doesn’t need confession — but you do. Yes, tell Jesus you are sorry for your sins and then go to confession.

Jesus understands the human need to receive counsel, wisdom and assurance from another person — someone commissioned by him and acting through his will. The act of making a good confession also helps keep us honest with ourselves — and responsible for our actions.

Examination of Conscience Whether you go to confession frequently or are doing so after a long period of absence, it is important to prepare to celebrate the sacrament.

We do this by praying to the Holy Spirit to help us recognize our sins and have true contrition and by making an examination of conscience.

Two traditional formats for the examination of conscience are meditations that use the Ten Commandments and the five precepts of the church (CCC, Nos. 2042 and 2043). Two versions of the examination of conscience — one for adults and another for children — can be found on the archdiocesan website at: www.archkck.org/lent.

6 LOCAL NEWS

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Catechesis prepares Donnelly students to evangelize others

By Father John Melnick, SSA

LOCAL NEWS 7

Couples celebrate World Marriage Day

By John Huertz

Special to The Leaven

Special to The Leaven

ampus ministry at Donnelly College, like life in general, is an allencompassing thing. Whether it’s an informal gathering to discuss multicultural understanding, weekday Mass in the seventh-floor chapel, or planning a community party for students and staff, the goal of campus ministry at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kan., remains the same: to share the love of God in Jesus Christ and the beauty of our Catholic faith.

Tailored to the needs of Donnelly College’s unique multicultural make-up, and focusing on both the student body as well as the faculty and staff, campus ministry’s mission is primarily one of education and pastoral care for the people of God at Donnelly College.

It’s a kind of ministry that involves everyone at Donnelly College. It promotes positive student development, provides care and guidance, challenges systems that are obstacles to positive development, and maintains a contact/referral list to connect members of the Donnelly College community and their families to support services as needed.

Furthermore, in the context of pastoral care, Donnelly’s campus ministry utilizes the church’s instruments of catechesis, community life, evangelization, justice and service, leadership development, and prayer and worship.

Catechesis happens in many ways: theology classes, faith discussion groups, informal discussions, and a lot more. Whether it’s walking the hallways or gathering to pray, we seek to provide knowledge of the Catholic faith to students and faculty, with the development of practical skills for living the Catholic faith in today’s world.

This kind of practical knowledge of the faith is, in itself, a kind of “evangelization,” whereby the Donnelly College community calls and empowers students to be evangelizers of other students, their families and the greater community. Thanks to Andrew Julo, Service Learning coordinator at Donnelly, programs are built into study courses so that students can “give back” to the wider community, sharing the insights, knowl-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — “The Lord calls married couples to be his sacrament of love for each other,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann told participants in the World Marriage Day Mass on Feb. 12, “but also to be an instrument of evangelization for the world.”

The archbishop concelebrated the Mass at St. Therese Parish in Parkville, Mo., with celebrant Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The Mass was co-sponsored by the office of family life in both dioceses.

Couples from throughout both dioceses, many with children in tow, renewed their marriage vows at the Mass.

“Family life, founded on the committed, faithful love of a married couple,” the archbishop said in his homily, “is the principal social institute of transmitting the principles and beliefs, of fostering the virtues and values, that are the foundation for culture and society.”

Brad and Libby DuPont of the archdiocesan family life office echoed his sentiments at a reception following the Mass.

“Marriage is for the good of the couple,” said Brad DuPont, “and then for the good of the community. When marriage operates as God designs it, it is a great source of his power and love.”

Archbishop Naumann said that when people are first married, “not being able to know or see what lies in front of them — what kind of challenges and problems they will encounter — they promise to love each other, no matter what the future may hold.

“To be able to love in this unconditional way — not just for a day or a season or a year, but for a lifetime — requires the grace of God. It is not possible to be able to love in the manner that Christian marriage requires without God giving one the strength and generosity.”

Basing his homily in part on the Gospel reading for the day — Jesus healing the leper — the archbishop also pointed out that, for Christians, “the path for redemption leads to Calvary.”

In her remarks at the reception, Libby DuPont tied the theme of the day in with the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, a spe-

C

Sister Marie Kathleen Daugherty, SCL, faculty member at Donnelly College, serves as lector at a Mass held at the college’s chapel on the seventh floor of the college’s main building in Kansas City, Kan. Father John Melnick, SSA, director of spirituality and mission, is the celebrant.

edge and Christian values they acquire at the college.

Donette Alonso, vice president of student affairs, helps to guide community life — collaborating with campus ministry, students, faculty and staff. Her office provides avenues for participating in a model of community life which acknowledges, celebrates and values friendship and faith.

Prayer and worship are also an essential part of campus ministry: With great

Concrete Work

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Campus ministry works with the wider faculty and administration to enflesh the church’s compendium of social teaching. Consequently, concepts of justice, human dignity and the interconnectedness of persons in society are also built into the “Donnelly experience.” respect to our cultural diversity, prayer is nonetheless encouraged in all our classes. Weekday Masses are regularly celebrated on campus, and I — along with

Sister Marie Kathleen Daugherty, SCL, and a host of others — work to deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ through communal prayer and liturgical experiences.

Campus ministry also works with the wider faculty and administration to enflesh the church’s compendium of social teaching. Consequently, concepts of justice, human dignity and the interconnectedness of persons in society are also built into the “Donnelly experience.” Susan Keim, Dr. Brenda Harris, and many others have developed classes and course work that involve students in actions of direct service to those in need and in efforts to address the causes of injustice and inequity to nurture a lifelong commitment to service and justice.

In short, campus ministry at Donnelly College participates in the church’s mission to “make Jesus tangibly present” in everything we are and everything we do.

Kevin Kelly/Key photo

Dave and Mary Pat Miller join scores of married couples in renewing their vows at a special World Marriage Day Mass on Feb. 12, celebrated at St. Therese Parish in Parkville, Mo., by Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann concelebrated and was the homilist.

The Millers, who will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary this year, worship at both the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, and Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park. cial day of prayer for the sick celebrated the day before. Blessed John Paul II discussed the intimate connections between human love, God’s love, salvation as liberation from evil, and the problem of suffering in his apostolic letter “Salvifici Doloris,” she said, which addressed the complexities of human suffering and was issued on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1984.

“In ‘Salvifici Doloris,’ John Paul II said that suffering unleashes love,” said Libby DuPont. She illustrated the pope’s insight with a story from her own life as a wife and mother.

Two of the DuPont’s four children

died only a few months after birth — Peter in 2005, and Gianna in 2008.

“The parish found out about Gianna and it unleashed a great deal of love, because people came to us to tell us about children they had lost,” she said.

“Then the teens started telling us about their own hurts,” she added, “such as that ‘my dad never wanted me.’ Then people started coming back to church.”

Thus did a married couple become God’s instrument for turning sorrow into a way to share the good news with those around them, she said.

“We believe as Catholics that suffering matters,” said Libby DuPont.

“I wait for the day when my kids take my hand in heaven and say, ‘Mom, look at all the places where the grace went.’”

World Marriage Day began in 1981, when couples in Baton Rouge, La., persuaded church and civic officials to proclaim St. Valentine’s Day as “We Believe in Marriage Day.” The name was changed and the event moved to the second Sunday in February in 1983, and Blessed John Paul II gave it his apostolic blessing 10 years later.

“World Marriage Day is emblematic of the emphasis we want to put on supporting marriages,” said the archbishop.

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Miracles in Mali

t

Katie Hyde paints the nails of a student during the team’s girls-only party in Daganbougou. While at the party, girls received necklaces, homemade headbands, a manicure and suckers.

Leaven intern shares memories on medical mission that changed many lives — including her own have neither the wisdom of age nor experience to reflect upon the week I spent in Mali, West Africa. Every time I attempt to put my thoughts down onto paper, images flood my memory, flash before my eyes, crash into my brain: brilliant, toothless grins; dirty, naked feet upon scorched earth; and wind-burned and sunworn hands held in mine.

I traveled to Mali from Jan. 3-15 with a team of 41 surgeons, doctors, nurses and volunteers to help the community through medical assistance and other volunteer efforts.

Our team traveled there with mosquito nets and bug spray, with anesthesiology equipment and thousands of pills, with scrubs and scalpels and surgical masks.

We traveled with dresses made out of pillow cases and headbands with large colorful flowers and bottles upon bottles upon bottles of hand sanitizer.

We came home from Africa with cameras full of images, heads full of stories and hearts brimming.

I came home changed.

The one Bible passage that was always in the back of my head while I helped with patient intake or taught children how to wash their hands or spoke broken Bambara to good-natured listeners comes from the Gospel of Matthew: “Then the king will say to those on this right . . . ‘For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me. . . . Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me’” (25: 34a, 35-36a. 40b).

For two, perfect weeks, I met the least of my brothers and sisters, and they met me.

Here are our stories.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat He was so emaciated, wrapped in his mother’s arms, it seemed his ribs would almost poke out of his paper-thin skin.

The young boy’s problems began when he drank poisonous water and his esophagus closed up with scar tissue. That was 2010.

In the two years since, he nearly starved; barely any food was passing into his stomach. According to Dr. Tammy NeblockBeirne, a general surgeon on the trip, when he was brought to the clinic, he had less than six months to live.

His mother walked into the clinic, cradling his listless body in her arms, and asked, quietly, for help.

By the end of the day, after NeblockBeirne put in a feeding tube, light was back in his eyes and he was sitting up in his hospital bed, reaching out to nurses and doctors who walked in.

Ba was the first of many lives that Medical Missions Foundation changed in Mali.

Over five days, the team saw over 1,000 patients and performed 92 surgeries in Ouelessebougou, a small town 50 miles south of the capital city of Bamako. The hand washing team, which went school to school encouraging children to wash their hands, visited 17 schools and educated over 7,000 children.

Over our week in Mali, many hungry mouths were fed: from hungry volunteers and ravenous translators after a hard day’s work to starving children with swollen tummies from malnutrition.

t The students of Daganbougou smile for the camera after receiving new T-shirts, backpacks and school supplies from the Medical Missions team.

I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink There are many kinds of thirsts in Mali: for water, yes, but also for justice, for recognition, for respect, for equality.

And, as I saw in the three days I spent in the small village of Daganbougou, thirst for education.

Medical Missions Foundation purchased textbooks, notebooks, pencils, colored pencils, calculators and protractors for the children in the school of Daganbougou. We bought 200 basic grammar books and a variety of math, history and French books for the school.

When the children walked into school and saw their gleaming new books on their desks, their mouths turned up into incandescent grins. They immediately sat down and began drawing their dreams: a farmer, an astronaut, even a doctor.

For many of them, it was the first time anyone had ever told them that they could do anything if they worked hard in school.

Twenty minutes later, when class took a break and all the children were allowed to go outside, many fiercely guarded their new books, protectively placing them inside their new, black-and-blue drawstring backpacks before rushing outside for a game of soccer.

But some students didn’t go outside at all. They sat, sharing math books with their neighbors, excitedly working together to solve equations.

We encountered that same thirst for education later that night, when we sat in a loose circle outside of our mud huts with some women of the village. The only light came from the moon, stars and the occasional headlamp as we began talking about education.

Katie Hyde holds Shaka, the chief’s grandson, during the group’s three-day stay in Daganbougou, a small village outside the town of Ouelessebougou. Each night, Hyde sang Shaka to sleep, earning her the nickname of “Baby Whisperer.”

Because many women in Daganbougou marry around age 14, most of them do not know how to read or write. When we asked if they wanted books of their own to learn, eight heads nodded simultaneously.

Though the women of Daganbougou work tirelessly throughout the day cooking, cleaning and rearing their children, they wanted to spend time each night learning how to read.

So we gave them a stack of basic French grammar books, and one small thirst was quenched.

I was a stranger, and you invited Me in Our car slowed to a stop on the red dirt earth of Daganbougou. In the distance, the three doors of the school slammed open as children poured out, streamed down the chalky blue concrete steps and sprinted, arms flailing and chests heaving, to our car.

They arrived, panting and clutching their sides, wearing worn orange shorts and frayed Royals T-shirts and white sandals long stained red by the omnipresent dust.

They welcomed us into their school, into their soccer games, into their families and into their homes.

Our first day in Daganbougou was a whirlwind of unexpected cultural lessons: 1. When someone makes you tea, accept it and sip loudly.

2. Always eat dinner, especially if the chief’s son has a chicken killed to celebrate your arrival.

3. It is acceptable to sleep in a lawn chair if it’s too difficult to fall asleep on the concrete floor. (We took full advantage of this.)

When we left Daganbougou three days later with tear-filled eyes, we each had a new family and a new home.

In the words of Zina, the chief’s son, “You are always welcomed here, in your home.”

I was a stranger, and they let me into their homes, into their hearts.

as we tied the straps around their shoulders and told them in their native Bambara that they were beautiful. Immediately after putting the dresses on, the girls sprinted off to show their mothers.

In Daganbougou, many children wore the same outfit every day. Their shirts were covered in red dirt and holes. Some children wore shirts five sizes too big.

Medical Missions volunteers gave over 100 shirts to both children and adults of Daganbougou that said “Love Out Loud.”

The next day, all students of the school were dressed in their shirts, some so long the kids wore them as dresses.

One key lesson I learned in Mali was right there, on the shirts: Love out loud.

Love with abandon and with a full heart.

Naked, and you clothed Me

Moving forward

Nothing made the girls of Ouelessebougou smile brighter than when Notre Dame de Sion seniors Jessica Benninghoff and Rachel Fenimore and St. Teresa’s Academy senior Katie Beirne and I slipped handmade dresses over their shoulders.

The dresses were made out of pillowcases and decorated with pieces of fabric, but the excitement on each girl’s face was palpable. They trembled with excitement

I cannot forget. I cannot forget the faces, hands, words and smiles of the men, women and children I met in Mali. I cannot forget the hungry faces or swollen bellies or pained eyes, just as I cannot forget the beautiful smiles, excited faces and appreciative words.

I cannot forget the least of my brothers and sisters in Mali.

s Senior Rachel Fenimore from Notre Dame de Sion High School in Kansas City, Mo., holds the hand of a child while her mother waits to receive medical treatment at the Medical Missions Foundation clinic in Ouelessebougou. According to Ouelessebougou mayor Yeah Samake, people travel from all over the country to receive Medical Missions’ care.

Poisoned by contaminated water, Ba was brought to Ouelessebougou by his mother on the first day of the Medical Missions Foundation team’s visit.

Dr. Tammy Neblock-Beirne’s first case of the mission was to put a feeding tube directly into Ba’s stomach, thereby saving his life.

s

I

Katie Hyde

Special to The Leaven

10 NATION

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Future of Catholic health care is service to community, poor WASHINGTON (CNS) — Even with health reform, some people will remain uninsured, and Catholic health care must continue to be known for its “special predilection for the poor,” said panelists at a Washington colloquium. “Without that, we would have a hard time distinguishing ourselves from other not-for-profit hospitals,” said Robert V. Stanek, chairman of the board of trustees of the Catholic Health Association. Corrine Parver, health policy attorney and former executive director of the health law program at American University’s Washington School of Law, expressed dismay that only 60 percent of those who are uninsured today are expected to be insured by 2019, when the health reform law is fully implemented. That situation will give Catholic hospitals “an opportunity to provide more community benefit,” she said. Jesuit Father John Haughey, a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center, focused on Catholic health care’s role as a continuation of Christ’s healing ministry. He said that understanding should infuse any Catholic health care institution, “from the CEO down to the one who mops the corridors.” The three speakers were part of a panel discussion during a daylong colloquium Feb. 14 at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

Women’s Justice Circles help women take charge of life WASHINGTON (CNS) — There was a time when Imelda Vera and Maria Villagrana, immigrants from Mexico, were afraid to confront an injustice in their lives. But no more. As members of a grass-roots organization known as the Women’s Justice Circles at their parishes in Washington state, they have learned that injustices can be overcome through knowledge and numbers. Vera, 41, and Villagrana, 44, both mothers of five and legal residents, have been involved in justice circles for several years. Both are leaders in the movement that spans 55 Catholic parishes in 42 cities in Washington and Oregon. The circles help poor and marginalized women address their needs through community organizing based in Gospel values. Because of the many successes the circles have realized, the project was awarded the Sister Margaret Cafferty Development of People Award Feb. 12 by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which has funded the program over the years. Vera said the circles help women understand their rights and responsibilities in society and to take action to overturn an injustice they might experience. “When we started a circle, I realized women together can do more than anyone can do on our own,” she said of her work in Spokane, Wash. A native of Guanajuato, Mexico, Vera has helped people tackle unsafe housing that immigrant families often confront as they settle in their new homeland. As a whole, the circles recently helped defeat a legislative effort in the Washington state legislature to deny undocumented immigrants the right to obtain a driver’s license.

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Lent is time to help others, says pope

Catholics risk loss of their connection to the land

By Mary Shovlain

Catholic News Service

By Mark Pattison

Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholics are at risk of losing their connection to the land, according to a professor from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

“There are 244 Catholic degreegranting institutions in the United States, and not one of them offers an undergraduate degree program in agriculture,” said Christopher Thompson, academic dean at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, which is housed at the university.

In the classes he teaches, he said he was baffled by his students’ seeming ignorance of even some of the basics.

Thompson said one student asked him what a kingfisher was. (It is a bird.)

Another student asked what an aspen was. (It is a tree.) A student from Los Angeles, after going on a Thompson-led weekend retreat that visited three farms in Minnesota, remarked: “I didn’t know they raised animals in Minnesota.”

A graduate student in Thompson’s “Spirituality and Sustainability” class not only had never heard of the chemical giant Monsanto, he had trouble pronouncing its name. Another student told the professor, “I’ve heard that sap from maple trees is poisonous.” (No; it is used to make maple syrup.) Yet another student asked, “Is it safe to put rainwater on a garden?”

“God does all the time,” Thompson told members of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference during its Feb. 11 meeting as part of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington.

For Thompson, the topper may have been the student who read a recipe that called for artichoke hearts and asked, “Do you know what an artichoke animal looks like?”

“These are our best and brightest,” Thompson said, yet they “seem oblivious to their surroundings, especially when it comes to the land and the food that sustains them.”

One factor may be the decline in the rural life conference’s membership, which mirrors the decline in the number of farmers overall. As farms and ranches grow bigger because of consolidation, the numbers of people who own and operate them shrink.

The danger of such diminishing numbers, Thompson pointed out, is “the loss of a theology of creation, a philosophy of nature, which lies at the heart of the church’s social tradition concerning the meaning of man and the task of agriculture.”

CNS photo/David Agren

DIRECTOR SPEAKS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS — Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, speaks April 24 on the subject of asylum for those fleeing the violence directly across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The couple, heads covered, had four family members murdered in Ciudad Juarez and fled to El Paso, where they seek asylum.

Federal immigration agency turns to El Paso shelter for help

By Joseph J. Kolb

Catholic News Service EL PASO, Texas (CNS) — Necessity often results in unexpected relationships, and that’s one way to describe the connection between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Annunciation House here, a shelter for undocumented immigrants.

Ruben Garcia, the shelter’s director, said that as the federal government’s El Paso-area detention center swells with immigrants, particularly those seeking asylum, there is a desperate need to house those whom officials have decided not to detain but who still must navigate what can be a daunting bureaucracy until their plight is determined.

For 34 years, the Catholic-run center has been a respite for immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, a scant 10 blocks away. Garcia said the unlikely relationship between Annunciation House and ICE — and its precursor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service — has been going on for more than 25 years.

ICE is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; INS was folded into the department several years ago.

“They [federal agents] used to drop immigrants off a few blocks away and point in our direction for them to walk to,” Garcia said.

On one particularly cold El Paso night, a U.S. Border Patrol agent tapped on the house window and motioned to a van of immigrants who were just picked up and had no place to go.

“Of course we took them in,” Garcia said. “Annunciation House has been privileged to bear witness to the evolution of immigration.”

Through the years, the relationship with ICE has evolved from covert to more overt referrals.

Garcia points to those who initially immigrated to the United States for economic opportunities but are now fleeing violence in Mexico and are seeking asylum. With the explosion of requests for asylum by Mexican immigrants fleeing the violence spurred by President Felipe Calderon’s war on drugs, under way since he took office in 2006.

That year, there were 2,811 requests from Mexicans for asylum protection.

The number jumped to 3,231 requests, paralleling the growth of violence in Mexico. ICE has been unable to keep up with the demand for bed space in its detention center, so the agency turns to Annunciation House.

Garcia estimates that 50 percent of the shelter’s residents, which are split between three houses, are direct referrals from ICE. Stays run from one night as a hospitality stopover to months for those who are enduring the asylum process and have no place else to go, which Garcia said is an increasing trend.

“As the Department of Homeland Security goes down this path of increased immigration enforcement, it also has to deal with the logistics of beds,” Garcia said.

Among other immigrants ICE refers are pregnant women, widows and individuals with medical issues.

But the immigration process for the growing number of people fleeing Mexico’s drug wars is arduous, and the court system is so backlogged that any asylum seeker who has arrived recently cannot get an initial hearing until 2015.

But according to the law, that asylum seeker only has one year to present his or her claim or forfeit the right to claim asylum and he or she must file a petition to withhold deportation.

“It’s a crazy process because the system puts the asylum seeker almost immediately at a disadvantage,” Garcia said.

CNS photo/Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters

RELATIVE CRIES AFTER DEADLY PRISON FIRE — A relative of an inmate cries outside a prison in Comayagua, Honduras, on Feb. 16. A massive fire that began Feb. 14 in the overcrowded prison killed more than 350 inmates, many of them trapped inside their cells. It was one of the world’s deadliest prison fires.

Honduran diocese works to help prison fire survivors

By Edgardo Ayala

Catholic News Service SAN SALVADOR (CNS) — The Diocese of Comayagua is working with prison authorities to try to help survivors of one of the world’s deadliest prison fires.

Bishop Roberto Camilleri of Comayagua, where more than 350 people died overnight Feb. 14, said he visited with survivors and took them water, “because some small aid has started to come to our diocese.”

“I talked with them because our presence is important to give them spiritual support,” Bishop Camilleri told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Feb. 16.

“It was sad to see scorched bodies lying on each other,” he added.

The bishop and the prison chaplain, Father Reinaldo Moncada, pointed out that the prison was overcrowded — it was designed for 250 people and was holding more than 850. Bishop Camilleri also told CNS that 52 percent of the inmates had not yet been sentenced.

“One does not understand how this many people can live in such a small space,” he told CNS. He said the bishops’ conference would meet the week of Feb. 20 to discuss how to support victims’ families, “because the dead are not only from Comayagua, but also from the rest of the country, and we will be announcing measures on that matter.”

Firefighters have not determined what started the fire.

“Rumor has it that it was caused by electric shock or even by a criminal hand, but we really don’t know, and as church we [would] rather wait for the

official explanation,” the bishop said.

In videos of the fire circulating on the Internet, screams of prisoners can be heard, as well as gunshots.

“We are investigating why shots were fired by prison guards, and we were told that they did it to prevent a massive escape,” the bishop said. “We don’t want to anticipate the official inquiry, but we certainly want to know the truth as it is, without anybody trying to pull the wool over our eyes.”

In a statement released by the diocese, Bishop Camilleri invited people to join in a “common effort to alleviate the most urgent short- and medium-term needs of the survivors of the incident and those families affected.”

He urged Hondurans to unite as “we demand authorities to improve prison conditions and human safety measures in security facilities, to safeguard the integrity and dignity of prisoners, and to not repeat again such an unfortunate tragedy.”

Prisons in Honduras, like much of Latin America, are beset by overcrowding, poor hygienic conditions and populated by a large number of inmates who are awaiting or involved in trials and are not separated from those who have been convicted of crimes.

“It’s a total abandonment of human rights” in prisons, said Alba Mejia, who works on torture cases for a Honduran nongovernmental organization.

The tragedy in Comayagua was the latest in a series of difficulties for Honduras since a June 2009 coup, in which then-President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office and flown by the military to Costa Rica, plunging the country into economic and political turmoil.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI called on the faithful to be concerned for one another and “not to remain isolated and indifferent” to the fate of others.

Materialism and self-sufficiency are obstacles to a Christian life of charity, the pope said.

Instead of looking first to God and then to the well-being of others, people often have an attitude of “indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for ‘privacy.’”

He said that God’s commandment to love “demands that we acknowledge our responsibility toward those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God.” The annual Lenten message was presented during a Vatican news conference Feb. 7 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the office which handles the pope’s charitable giving, along with Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, the council’s undersecretary.

The cardinal highlighted the pope’s call for “fraternal correction” and the church’s prophetic mission in denouncing situations of injustice and poverty in the world.

To overcome such injustices, one must get to the moral roots of such situations, he said. Corruption, accumulation of wealth, violence, and living off the work of others without contributing are all cancers that weaken a society from within, the cardinal said.

But, he said, the true root of the world’s injustices stems from ignoring or denying God’s existence. By not acknowledging there is a creator and Lord who is greater than man, society degenerates into a “conflictual individualism” and a struggle of one person against another, Cardinal Sarah said.

The theme of the 2012 Lenten message was taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews: “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.”

The pope outlined his message with three points taken from St. Paul’s letter: “concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness.”

Concern for others, the pope said, means wanting what is good physically, morally and spiritually for one’s neighbor. But he noted that contemporary culture “seems to have lost the sense of good and evil.”

“There is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail,” the pope said, defining good as “whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion.”

WORLD 11

British official sees Vatican as ally against global challenges VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Strengthening its ties to the Vatican will help the United Kingdom in its efforts to confront the global challenges of poverty, arms proliferation, climate change, regional conflicts and threats to religious freedom, said a high-ranking British government official. “The Holy See and its views can be very influential and can be very supportive of what we in Britain are trying to do,” said Lord David Howell, minister of state in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. “These are international problems we really have to work together on” with new allies who represent large networks across the world, he told Catholic News Service Feb. 15. Blocs of large superpowers are no longer the movers and shakers, but rather “those who’ve got the ‘soft power’ and influence around the world — these are the important people, and here we are standing in the midst of that,” he said during an interview at the Vatican press office. The minister was part of a seven-member delegation of government ministers visiting the Vatican Feb. 14-15.

They were joined by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and met Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican officials to discuss a range of policy issues. Archbishop Nichols told CNS that the official visit was a follow-up to the pope’s visit in 2010, which had really “opened up eyes on both sides” that “there is a significant shared agenda,” and fruitful cooperation was more than possible. “There’s a real recognition of the reach of the Holy See” and how influential its voice and presence are on the world stage, the archbishop said.

Pope calls on Syria to address citizens’ legitimate demands VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As a sectarian conflict in Syria intensified, Pope Benedict XVI called on all Syrians to begin a process of dialogue and reminded the government of its duty to recognize its citizens’ legitimate demands. In Beirut, the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church warned against toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, calling for dialogue to solve the crisis in the country. “Our fear since the beginning of the bloody crisis in Syria was that the refusal of any sort of dialogue between the regime and the opposition will surely create a state of chaos that will definitely lead to a civil war,” Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan told Catholic News Service. “The world must sustain all efforts for a dialogue to solve problems and uphold the democracy in a realistic and gradual way. Forcing the departure of the Syrian president will be a step for a civil war based on confessionalism,” the patriarch said. In St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Feb. 12, the pope expressed his concern for “the dramatic and increasing episodes of violence in Syria.” At the end of his Angelus prayer, he said he was praying for everyone who has been killed, injured and affected by a conflict that is “increasingly worrisome. I renew an urgent appeal to put an end to the violence and bloodshed,” he said.

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Custom-designed memory quilts using your T-shirts and/or photos. Personalized items for sororities, weddings, graduates and more. We also offer quilting classes and studio/machine rental. Call (913) 6492704. For samples of our work, visit the website at: www.quiltedmemoriesllc.com.

Exterior painting, drywall projects, wood rot repair, bathroom and kitchen remodels, and tile work - Quality products. 20 years experience. References. Call (913) 206-4524.

Teachers - The Goddard School, 21820 W. 115th Terr., Olathe, is seeking a qualified, full-time young toddler teacher and a part-time, afternoon assistant teacher. In our warm, loving atmosphere caring teachers support the healthy development of children from six weeks to six years. Full-time benefits include: competitive pay, benefits package, opportunities for professional development and career growth, and a great working environment. Qualified candidates must meet or exceed Kansas regulations, have strong communication skills, a professional appearance and a desire to learn and implement the Goddard School programs. Lead teachers should have a degree in early childhood education, a CDA, or a degree in a related field with an emphasis in early childhood education. Prior experience in a child care setting is preferred. For information or to apply, call (913) 768-4499 or send an email to: olathe2ks@ goddardschools.com. Owners are members of Church of the Ascension, Overland Park.

Retired nurse, housekeeper/companion/ elder care - With over 25 years experience is willing to do hospice and in-home care for your loved one.

Days/nights/weekends. Will consider outside the metro area or a live-in position as well. Rates negotiable. Call (913) 579-5276.

Spring yard cleanup Leaf removal; tree and shrub trimming Free estimates; references. Local parishioner Insured, licensed and bonded Call Tony at (913) 620-6063

Master electrician - Licensed in Missouri and Kansas. 35 years experience in residential and commercial electrical needs. Call Rick, L & M Electric, at (913) 362-1501 or (816) 781-1501.

Electrician - Free estimates; reasonable rates.

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

Bankruptcy consultation - If debts are overwhelming you, seek hope and help from compassionate, experienced Catholic attorney, Teresa Kidd. For a free consultation, call (913) 422-0610;send an email to: tkidd@kc.rr.com; or visit the website at: www. bankruptcylawinkansascity.com.

Services

The Drywall Doctor, Inc. - A unique solution to your drywall problems! We fix all types of ceiling and wall damage — from water stains and stress cracks to texture repairs and skim coating. We provide professional, timely repairs and leave the job site clean!

Lead-certified and insured! Serving the metro since 1997. Call (913) 768-6655.

Husband and wife cleaning team - Reasonable rates; references provided. Call (913) 940-2959.

Rockhurst High School - Has an opening for a journalism teacher for the 2012 - 13 school year. To download an employment application form, visit the website at: www.rockhursths.edu. Submit application, a letter of interest, and a CV outlining academic credentials to: Scott Duschen, assistant principal for academic affairs, Rockhurst High School, 9301 State Line Rd., Kansas City MO 64114, or send, via email, to: sduschen@rockhursths.edu. Deadline is March 1.

Financial representative - Due to the success and growth of the Knights of Columbus, we are adding financial representatives in the Kansas City, Topeka and Atchison areas. This position is ideal for a determined, high-energy, high-expectation, professional, self-disciplined, independent individual desiring to serve others, yet earn a better-than-average income. We provide top-rated financial products to our members and their families and will provide excellent benefits and training. For information or an interview, contact John A. Mahon, 307 Dakota, Holton KS 66436; or call (785) 364-5450.

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Caregiving

Senior assistance - Non-nursing, sitting with a loved one, driving, home helper, meals, errands. Experienced; references. Member of Curé of Ars Parish, Leawood. Call (816) 678-5718.

Private senior care - Registered nurse offering medical and nonmedical services. Keeping seniors at home and independent. Call (913) 522-4938 or send an email to: jcseniorcare@gmail.com. Member of Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa.

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 Laurie, Debbie or Gary.

Looking for high quality home care? Whether you’re looking to introduce care for your family or simply looking to improve your current home care quality, we can help. Our unique approach to home care has earned us a 99% client satisfaction rating among the 1,000-plus families we have assisted. We are family-owned and based in Lenexa. Call Benefits of Home-Senior Care at (913) 422-1591 or visit our website at: www.benefitsofhome.com.

Home Improvement Detail construction and remodeling - We offer a full line of home remodeling services. Don’t move — remodel! Johnson county area. Call for a free quote.

(913) 709-8401.

Wagner’s Mud-Jacking Co. Specializing in Foundation Repairs Mud-jacking and Waterproofing.

Serving Lawrence, Topeka and surrounding areas.

Topeka (785) 233-3447 Lawrence (785) 749-1696 In business since 1963 www.foundationrepairks.com

Interior and exterior painting and wallpaper removal - 30-plus years experience. Quality work; excellent references; reasonable rates. Senior discount. Member of St. Ann Parish, Prairie Village. Call Joe at (913) 620-5776.

Tile work - Ceramic tile installation/repairs; kitchen or bathrooms; custom showers and flooring projects. 20 years exp.; insured. Free estimates. Call Frank Womack, In Line Flooring, at (913) 485-0745, or send an email to: inlineflooringkc@gmail.com.

Adept Home Improvements Where quality still counts!

Basement finishing, Kitchens and baths, Electrical and plumbing, Licensed and insured.

(913) 599-7998 Perfect Roof - Free estimates; roofing repairs if needed. Hail and wind damage inspections. Insured and reasonable. Call (816) 288-1693.

Clutter getting you down? Organize, fix, assemble, clean! “Kevin Of All Trades” your professional organizing handyman. For a free consultation, call today (913)271-5055. Insured; references. Visit the website at: www.koatindustries.com.

Swalms Organizing Service - Basement, garage, attic, shop — any room organized! Items taken to donation sites, trash is bagged, and areas are clean and neat when job is complete. To view before-andafter pictures, visit the website at: www.swalms.com.

Over 20 years of organizing experience; insured. Call Tillar at (913) 375-9115.

Masonry construction - Division 4 Masonry, Inc. 25 years experience; licensed and insured. Brick, block and synthetic stone; repairs; outdoor living; and new construction. Residential and commercial.

Call Tom at (913) 927-6203 or send an email to him at: tomdivision4masonry@gmail.com.

Brick mason - Installation and repair of all types of masonry work — brick, stone, and concrete.

17 years of residential and commercial experience.

Small and large jobs accepted. Free quotes in the KC metro area. Call Jim or John at (913) 485-4307.

Custom countertops - Laminates installed within 5 days. Cambria, granite, and solid surface.

Competitive prices, dependable work. Call the Top Shop, Inc., at (913) 962-5058. Members of St. Joseph, Shawnee.

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

For Sale For sale - Four adjacent burial lots in the Ascension Garden at Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa. Lot 150; section D; spaces 1- 4. Current value is $1725 each. Will sell at $1700 each. Call Jim at (706) 4672632.

For sale – Double-depth crypt in the Faith Lawn area of Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa. Call Ken Christian at (816) 918-4075.

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) 327-5557.

Vacation Breckenridge, Colo. - 2 BR, 2 BA condo; sleeps 8. Roomy, first-floor unit with washer/dryer, gas fireplace, ski closet, Wi-Fi, cable and covered parking. One block to slopes; two blocks to downtown; 30 steps to hot tubs. For discounted pricing and availability, call (816) 392-2730.

Christ’s Peace House of Prayer, Easton, will host a contemplative prayer retreat day from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Feb. 25. Instruction will be provided on request. Full- or half-day attendance options are available, with the noon meal included. The cost is $25 per participant. For information, call (913) 773-8255 or send an email to: info@shantivanam.com.

Sophia Center, 751 S. 8th St., Atchison, will host a mini-retreat, entitled “Lent and Easter with St. Benedict,” from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Feb. 25. Sister Judith Sutera, OSB, will facilitate. This retreat will focus on the exploration of humility, the tools of good works and other spiritual practices to refresh the soul in preparation for Easter. The cost is $50. For information or to register, call (913) 360-6151 or visit the website at: www.mountosb.org/sophia.html.

The Knights of Columbus of Sacred Heart Parish, 2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kan., will host a Texas hold’em poker tournament and chili dinner at 6 p.m. on Feb. 25. The suggested donation is $30 per player. For information, call (913) 963-9095.

26

For Rent For rent – Beautiful 2 BR, 1 BA half-duplex in Overland Park. Walk-out basement and garage; neighborhood pool and exercise room; trash and lawn care included. No pets. Call Catherine at (913) 972-8852.

For rent - 2 BR, 2 BA duplex with a two-car garage located in Parkway Village, a 55-and-older maintenance-free community, near 83rd and Parallel in Kansas City, Kan. $800 per month. For information, call Sue Yoakum at (816) 926-0454.

Office space available - Great location in the Ranchmart area of Prairie Village. Ideal for start-ups, professional and small businesses. Flexible terms.

Call Marek at (913) 461-4491.

Wanted to Buy Antiques wanted 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. unplanned pregnancy? decisions to make?

Replace pressure and panic with thoughtful, and rational reflection. A confidential, caring friend is waiting for your call.

Topeka- (785) 234-0701 Lawrence- (785) 843-4821 Leavenworth- (913) 682-2700 Kansas City-(816)444-7090 Emporia- (620) 342-8600

IRTHRIGHT

25

Feb.

or call 24 hrs. toll free 1-800-550-4900

The Daughters of Isabella, Little Flower Circle No. 503, will say a rosary for sick and deceased members at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 26 at Rossiter Hall, 204 S.W. 8th, Topeka. A business meeting will follow at 1 p.m.

Mary Health of the Sick Guild of the Sisters, Servants of Mary will host a meeting following a 9 a.m. Mass on Feb. 26 at the convent, located at 800 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kan. Anyone interested in joining the guild is welcome.

The eighth-graders of Our Lady of Unity School will host a taco dinner from noon - 6 p.m. on Feb. 26 at St. John the Evangelist Church, 2910 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kan. Proceeds will be used to help offset the cost of graduation and to purchase an AED unit for the school.

St. Mary Church, Hartford, will host a beef and noodle dinner from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 in the multipurpose room at the Neosho Rapids Grade School. The cost is $7 for adults; $4 for children ages 10 and under.

28

The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will offer a 12-week program with education and support for women dealing with addictions and/or domestic violence from 10 a.m. - noon on Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 28. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www.mountosb.org/kwc.

for training? The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will offer a “Pathways to Employment” information session from 6:30 - 8 p.m. on Feb. 28. The program will be presented by Patricia McCullough, career adviser at the Workforce Partnership of WyCo. Participants must be Kansas residents; other eligibility requirements apply. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www.mountosb.org/kwc.

The Church of the Ascension, 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park, will host a miscarriage and infertility support group at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 in the bride’s room. The group meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Both husbands and wives are encouraged to attend. For information, send an email to Lisa Kopp at: lisakopp1@gmail.com or call Jean at the parish office at (913) 681-3348.

Sophia Center, 751 S. 8th St., Atchison, will host a mini-retreat, entitled “When Jesus Smiled,” from 9:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 28. Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, and Sister Gabrielle Kocour, OSB, will facilitate. Come closer to the mystery of the human Jesus and his life among us. The cost is $50. For information or to register, call (913) 360-6151 or visit the website at: www.mountosb.org/ sophia.html.

29

The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will offer “Cenando con Diabetes” (“Dining with Diabetes”), a three-part nutrition class taught in Spanish, from 1:30 - 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 29.

For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www. mountosb.org/kwc.

The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will offer “Preparing for Resurrection,” a Lenten retreat for women facilitated by Sister Bridget Dickason, OSB, on Feb. 29. A light supper will be served at 6 p.m., followed by the retreat from 6:30 - 9 p.m.

Space is limited and reservations are required. There is no cost to attend; however, a freewill donation is appreciated.

For information or to RSVP, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www. mountosb.org/kwc.

1

March

Marillac Center, 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth, will offer “Linger over Coffee,” a four-session Lenten series to nourish the soul, from 9:30 - 11 a.m. on Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 28. Sisters Susan Chase, Noreen Walter and Kathleen Wood will lead discussions on spiritual practices to nourish your soul and transform your life based on the book, “Sacred Rhythms,” by Ruth Haley Barton. A freewill offering will be accepted. For information or to register, call (913) 758-6552; send an email to: retreats@scls.org; or visit the website at: www.marillaccenter.org.

All Christians are invited to participate in a Taizé prayer service at 7 p.m. on March 1 and every first Thursday of the month at Annunciation Chapel, located on the Leavenworth campus of the Sisters of Charity, 4200 S. 4th St. Taizé prayer is a meditative, candlelit service that includes repeated chants, silence, and prayers of praise and intercession.

The Taizé prayer tradition emerged from an ecumenical community of monks in Taizé, France. For information, call (913) 758-6572 or visit the website at: www. marillaccenter.org.

Need help finding a job or planning your career? Need financial assistance

The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will of-

fer “ABCs of Asthma and Allergies” from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. on March 1. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www. mountosb.org/kwc.

The Serra Club of Johnson County will meet at 7 p.m. on March 1 in the Father Burak Room at Curé of Ars Church, 9401 Mission Rd., Leawood. The Serra Club supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life. All men and women of the archdiocese are invited to come and learn about the Serra Club.

The Church of the Nativity, 3800 W. 119th St., Leawood, will host Lenten reflections and faith sharing on March 1 and every Thursday evening during Lent.

The sessions will be held from 7 - 8:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Room. Handouts will be provided for the following week’s readings and reflections. For information, send an email to Randall Stevenson at: Gaelwynn@yahoo.com.

3

The annual Irish St. Patrick’s Day Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. on March 3 at Redemptorist Church, 3301 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo. For information, call (913) 515-6672.

A four-week Lenten journey, entitled “From Calvary to the Upper Room and Beyond,” will be offered from 9 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays, beginning on March 3, in the parish hall at St. Therese Little Flower Parish, 5814 Euclid Ave., Kansas City, Mo. There is no cost to attend. For information or to register, call Jim Lipps at (816) 333-4115.

St. Philippine Duchesne Latin Mass Community will have a solemn blessing of its new church bell by Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher at 11 a.m. on March 3 at the church, located at 5034 Rainbow Blvd. in Westwood. Refreshments will follow. For information, call the Fraternity of St. Peter at (913) 236-0005.

4

St. Joseph Church, 11311 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, will host its annual St. Joseph Table and pasta dinner on March 4 in McDevitt Hall. Father Mike Hawken will bless the table at 8:30 a.m.; viewing will follow from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Homemade goodies, fruit, wine, floral arrangements, and religious articles will be featured that may be purchased.

A pasta dinner will be served from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Freewill donations will be accepted. Proceeds will benefit the needy in the parish community. For information, call Christine Marion at (913) 268-6677.

5

The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., will offer “Job Readiness, Professional Etiquette for Work, and Life Skills,” presented by Deb Foster, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. on March 5. Lunch will be provided; reservations are required. For information or to register, call (913) 906-8990 or visit the website at: www.mountosb. org/kwc.

A Runnin’ Revs fun night will be held at Bishop Miege High School, 5041

CALENDAR 13

Reinhardt Dr., Roeland Park, on March 5.

Area priests and seminarians will challenge eighth-grade and high school boys from area Catholic schools to a heated basketball game. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Expect biased calls and lots of fun. Donations will be accepted to benefit the seminarians. For information, call (913) 647-0303.

7-8

The junior high students at Holy Trinity School, Lenexa, will present Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland Jr.” at 1 and 7 p.m. on March 7 (seventhgraders) and again at 1 and 7 p.m. on March 8 (eighth-graders) in the parish center/gym, 13600 W. 92nd St., Lenexa.

Tickets cost $5 for adults; children attend for free. Proceeds will benefit Operation Breakthrough and the Make-AWish Foundation.

8

The Redemptorist Center Seniors Club invites all area seniors to attend the annual St. Patrick’s Senior Ball from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. on March 8 in the gymnasium of Cristo Rey High School, 211 W. Linwood Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. There will be live music, dancing, refreshments, and door prizes. There is no charge to attend. Free parking and parking assistance will be available.

10

The Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (ACCW) will host a Lenten retreat from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on March 10 at Mater Dei-Assumption Church, 204 S.W. 8th St., Topeka. For information or to RSVP, contact Susan Draftz at (913) 674-6172.

The Altar Society of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, Kan., will host a women’s Lenten day of reflection on March 10. Sister Loredana Mazzei, a member of the community of the Apostles of the Interior Life, will present “Prayer in All Seasons of a Woman’s Life.” The day will begin with Mass at 8:15 a.m. and conclude at noon. The cost of $10 includes a continental breakfast. For information, contact Patty McKiernan at (913) 281-2918.

Misc.

The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend will be held from March 2 - 4 at Savior Pastoral Center, 12601 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, Kan. For information or to register, call Ralph and Jan Lewis at (913) 400-7173 or visit the website at: www.neksme.org.

Divorced? Widowed? Beginning Experience Weekend gently helps people move through their loss to a new beginning. The next weekend for the Kansas City area will be March 9 - 11. For information or to register, call John at (913) 219-3465 in Kansas City; Kim at (816) 739-4733; visit the website at: www. beginningexperience.org; or send an email to: BEWeekendKC@hotmail.com.

Calendar submissions:

Are due at noon on Wednesday, nine days prior to the requested publication date. Email submissions are preferred, send to: jennifer@theleaven.com or mail to: 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City KS 66109.

14 COMMENTARY

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

MARK MY WORDS

Catholic Press Association Award Winner

1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

QUOTE WEEK

OF THE

“For two perfect weeks, I met the least of my brothers and sisters, and they met me.”

Katie Hyde, Leaven intern See story on pages 8-9

“H

Ah, it’s Lent; now we’re cookin’

m, that’s not right!”

In last week’s Leaven, we featured several Lenten recipes. One that I just couldn’t wait to try was the “Cheesy Potato Soup.”

I immediately went out to buy all of the ingredients. After cooking the vegetables in broth for 10 minutes and sautéing the onions in butter in a large soup pot, I suddenly stopped. Rereading the list of ingredients, I realized that something was missing. Holy cow, it was flour! We’d neglected to put that in the printed recipe. For a seasoned cook like me, no problem. A quick calculation in my head and I added about 9 tablespoons of flour. I stirred in the rest and — voila — a tasty delight awaited me.

OK, let’s get real here. Anyone who knows me would immediately recognize the above paragraph as pure fiction! Did we print some Lenten recipes in the paper? Yes. Did that “Cheesy Potato Soup” look tempting? Yes. Did I buy the ingredients and make it for myself? Not a chance!

Sad to say, the only “cooking” I do falls into four categories: 1) it comes in a can to be consumed “as is” (like fruit) or heated up (like soup); 2) it’s a frozen meal that can be zapped in the microwave; 3) it’s eggs (I can boil or scramble those) or pasta (nothing fancy, I just add olive oil and Parmesan cheese to it); or 4) a parishioner has dropped off something delicious that I just have to heat up and eat.

Am I intrigued, though, by cooking?

Yes. In fact, over 20 years ago, I wrote a column here speaking of my firm resolve to learn to cook. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve done nothing with that intention. One line from the

IN THE BEGINNING

FIRST WEEK OF LENT Feb. 26 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT Gn 9: 8-15; Ps 25: 4-9; 1 Pt 3: 18-22; Mk 1: 12-15 Feb. 27 Monday Lv 19: 1-2, 11-18; Ps 19: 8-10, 15; Mt 25: 31-46 Feb. 28 Tuesday Is 55: 10-11; Ps 34: 4-7, 16-19; Mt 6: 7-15 Feb. 29 Wednesday Jon 3: 1-10; Ps 51: 3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Lk 11: 29-32 March 1 Thursday Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25; Ps 138: 1-3, 7c-8; Mt 7: 7-12 March 2 Friday Ez 18: 21-28; Ps 130: 1-8; Mt 5: 20-26 March 3 Katharine Drexel, virgin Dt 26: 16-19; Ps 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Mt 5: 43-48

first reading last Sunday seemed to be addressed directly to me: “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” (Is 43: 18-19a) Well, that’s my task this Lenten season. I’m finally going to try my hand at cooking. It will be a great discipline for me. I’ve come to discover that the major reason I’ve not attempted to cook is because of fear. No, I’m not overly fearful of giving myself ptomaine or of burning down my duplex.

Quite simply, I’m afraid that I’ll mess up. I’m fearful that I won’t be good at it. I’m terrified that I’ll come across some basic words in a recipe, have no idea what they mean and I’ll (gulp!) have to ask someone a question and look stupid.

Isn’t that silly? I’m afraid to try something that I’ve never done before because I think I’ll fail at it. Of course, I never consider that those failures can give me experience, which in turn could make me better at what was once “new,” thus opening up all kinds of unexpected possibilities. No, I don’t expect to ever turn into a Wolfgang Puck, but I’m certain I can expand my culinary repertoire significantly and, in the process, eat in a healthier way.

I’m blowing the dust off of my George Foreman grill. I’m gathering

up the long-abandoned books — “The Absolute Beginner’s Cookbook or How Long Do I Cook a 3-Minute Egg,” by Jackie Eddy and Eleanor Clark; “A Man, A Can, A Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make,” by David Joachim; and “Going Solo in the Kitchen,” by Jane Doerfer. Who knows?

One day, I may even have the courage to try something from “Recipes from Strawberry Hill,” by the St. John the Baptist PTO. For a change of pace this Lent, why not try something new instead of — or in addition to — “giving something up.” Learning at least the basics of cooking has been one of the “unfinished projects” — something new — that I’ve carried in the back of my mind for years now. Is there something unfinished in your life? Is there some spiritual book that you’ve intended to read? Have you wanted to go to a weekday Mass sometime at your parish? Have you thought about volunteering your time or donating goods to a charity? Why not use this Lent to get to that project.

Let’s get back to the food, though.

Strengthening my resolve to cook are even more tasty recipes on page 4 of this issue. Although I anticipate making some colossal failures in the kitchen, from them I hope to embrace humility. We’re not all good at everything we try . . . and that’s fine! But if we never do something new, we miss out on so much of life’s richness.

Wish me luck! By the end of Lent, I may even know enough about cooking to stop calling the florist to ask what type of “flower” is best to use.

T

Covenant with Noah now ours to honor

he theme of covenant runs throughout the Bible. God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises him many descendants “as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.”

Later, through Moses, God makes a covenant with the Hebrew people and forms them into the nation of Israel.

The Ten Commandments stand out as a crucial part of FIRST SUNDAY that covenant. God OF LENT asks the people of Gn 9: 8-15 Israel to obey those commandments as their end of the bargain.

To govern that nation, God establishes a monarchy and makes a covenant with the house of David.

God assures David that his family will supply kings for Israel on a permanent basis: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me.” But as weak human beings, the kings and people of Israel violate their covenant with God. They bring disaster down on their country.

Nonetheless, God offers them hope.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promises them a new covenant: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within

them and write it upon their hearts.”

As Christians, we believe that these covenants prepare us for the covenant God has established with us through Jesus Christ. That is the focal point of our faith.

Throughout the season of Lent, the first readings on Sunday will point to these different covenants in the Bible.

In that way, we will prepare ourselves to renew our covenant with God. That series of covenants begins this Sunday with the reading from the Book of Genesis (9:8-15). It focuses on the first covenant involving God and the human race.

In that reading, God speaks to Noah after the flood waters have dissipated. Before the flood, humanity had brought sin into the world. But now, all that has been washed away. God could begin anew. So God promises never again to destroy the earth by flood.

By its sins, the human race had brought destruction — not only upon itself, but upon all living creatures.

The whole earth had suffered through the flood. In starting over again, it was only appropriate that God should make the covenant, not only with Noah and his family, not only with human beings, but with all living creatures: “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.”

We are all in this together. We are in the same boat, with the animals and other living creatures. In recent years, we have become more aware of our responsibilities toward the earth, our duty to care for the environment, to avoid polluting it. The covenant God made through Noah reminds us of our deep connection with other living things. It calls us not to bring destruction upon the earth again through our sins. Our merciful God has pledged not to destroy the earth again by flood. But there are other ways.

Father Mike Stubbs is the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Overland Park and has a degree in Scripture from Harvard University.

Seniors to kick up their heels at St. Pat’s Senior Ball KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Redemptorist Center Seniors Club invites all area senior citizens to enjoy live music, dancing, refreshments and dozens of door prizes at the annual St. Pat’s Senior Ball from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on March 8 in the gymnasium of the Cristo Rey-Kansas City High School here, at 211 W. Linwood Blvd.

Admission and refreshments are free for seniors. Free parking and parking assistance will be available at the rear of the building.

The Senior Ball features live bigband music and always guarantees plenty of dance partners. Irish dancers will perform intermittently. Everyone attending will be eligible to win cash door prizes.

Begun in 2000, the annual St. Pat’s Senior Ball is sponsored by the seven O’Neill brothers and their families and friends in memory of Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade co-founder Pat O’Neill Sr., who passed away in 1999.

Clubs or organizations wishing to attend the dance as a group should RSVP by calling Brother John at (816) 931-9942.

Remember your recently deceased loved one by attending a Memorial Mass Saturday, March 3, 2012 9 a.m.

Holy Family Chapel, Resurrection Cemetery, 83rd and Quivera Rd., Lenexa

CATHOLIC CEMETERIES 913-371-4040 Wyandotte County Mt. Calvary, Kansas City, Kan. St. John, Kansas City, Kan. Gate of Heaven, Kansas City, Kan. Johnson County Resurrection, Lenexa, Kan. St. Joseph, Shawnee, Kan. St. John, Lenexa, Kan. Mt. Calvary, Olathe, Kan.

John and Mable (VanLerberg) Creten, members of St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Feb. 11. The couple was married by Msgr.

Clarence Bradley at St. Joseph Church, Shawnee. Their ANNIVERSARIES children and their spouses are: J. Gary and Tammy Creten, Ron and Peggy Creten and Marcia Creten (deceased). They also have five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. They celebrated their anniversary at the Sweet Life of Rosehill where John now resides.

Donald and Anna Banks, members of Sacred Heart Parish, Atchison, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Feb. 26. The couple was married on Feb. 26, 1952, at St. Augustine Church, Fidelity. They have nine children, 18 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

MT CALVARY – KC KS Wilma B. Boyle Kathleen A. Bucan Jaime S. Burch Dorothy M. Campion Loretta J. Glanville Nancy L. Jernigan Doris R. Kokoruda Louis F. Kovach Frank J. Kovich Jr. Gladys E. Linck Alice G. McGurn Joseph B. McWilliams Helen M. Metz John J. Meyers Dolores Mooneyham Barbara A. Murphy Clara A. Nichols Anthony P. Ontiveros Leona G. Plumberg Shirley A. Renne Bernice A. Resovich Linda Reyes Charles C. Sack Anastastia M. Sadecki Catherine M. Simonich Michael J. Slaughter Juanita Luna Sorriano Eloise C. Troxell Helen Wilson Maida R. Woody Khoua X. Yang RESURRECTION Mary Ellen Alfino Charles J. Beckner Gregory A. Biddulph Mary Ellen Blaida Margaret M. Bohlman Edward H. Bowers James E. Brown Francis J. Clifford Mildred M. Colich Donald C. Comstock Sean M. Cunningham Jennifer D. Curbow George L. Curry Richard K. Davis Clare R. DenHaerynck Helen N. Doresky Charles E. Dye Mary Ehrhardt Gilbert W. Fisher Edward S. Flynn William W. Gerfen Richard R. Gibbs Aaron T. Hazuka Robert J. Keller Robert P. Kritzler Alfred D. Larson Lawrence E. Leroy Donald J. Massing Robert F. McConnell Joseph N. McCormick Patrick H. McGill Esther D. McLaury

Michael L. Miller Gertrude E. Moll Mildred R. Moorman Ann M. Mulcahy Mary E. Neville Ton Van Pham Bernard Paulsen Helen R. Pellegrino Josephine M. Pivonka Rosemary M. Prater Gary V. Richardson Nola Rieke Lorra M. Rodak Ruth M. Ruhl Linda L. Scahill Robert J. Schmitt Alan T. Scarboro Jackye L. Seals Victor E. Segale Louis J. Sill Dorothy J. Smith Michelle M. Smith Fletcher B. Smotherman Gertrude A. Stephens Margaret Stephenson Elizabeth L. Stevens Dorothy E. Stipetic Claude J. Supplee Gregory J. Sustrick Frank E. Tarcha Amy S. Thimmesch Mary L. Timmons Robert S. Tomassi Glen E. Tuck Charles J. Van Hee Ivonne VanNieuwenhuyse Donald H. Voelker Richard P. Walter ST JOSEPH Rose M. Dargon Joan E. DeCaney Julius W. DeGraeve Horace S. Dowell Jr. Joan C. Miller Emil J. Nunnink ST JOHN – LENEXA Harold J. Caenen Jr. Clarence E. Schlagel Harvey Wise MT CALVARY – OLATHE Mary K. Manning Marguerite D. Petty GATE OF HEAVEN Michael S. Bortnick William Irvin Jr. Mary E. Johnson Rose R. Kilderry Robert J. Koelzer Joseph W. Nelson Jr. Audrey B. Pickert George Pihner Cecil D. Sturgeon

Marjorie (Olberding) and Lambert Haug, members of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Seneca, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Feb. 19 at the Windmill Inn in Seneca with a family dinner.

Their children are: Linda Becker, Carolyn Bloom, Duane Haug and Lyle Haug. They also have 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. The couple was married on Feb. 18, 1947, at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Seneca.

Rita and Al Winkelbauer, members of St. Leo Parish, Horton, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Feb. 11. The couple was married on Feb. 13, 1947. Their children and their spouses are: Deril and Caroline Hasford, Wichita; Wayne and Patti Winkelbauer, Wichita; Tom and Sharon Winkelbauer, Leavenworth; and Larry and Beverly Robinett, Gladstone, Mo. They also have 14 grandchildren and 19 greatgrandchildren.

LOCAL NEWS 15 Corrections The senior price for the shrimp and fish dinner at Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie was incorrect in the Feb. 17 issue of The Leaven. The correct price is $12.50.

The name of the recipe submitted by Rosemary Pappert in the Feb. 17 issue of The Leaven was incorrect. The correct name is Tuna Tatoes.

In the Cheesy Potato Soup recipe from last week, 9 tablespoons of flour was inadvertently left out. The Leaven regrets the errors.

Plan for the next Encounter KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The next Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend will be held from March 2 - 4 at Savior Pastoral Center here, at 12601 Parallel Pkwy. For information or to register, call Ralph and

Jan Lewis at (913) 400-7173.

Weekend deals with loss Beginning Experience Weekend gently helps people move through their loss. The next weekend for the Kansas City area will be March 9 - 11. For information or to register, call (913) 219-3465.

Join Us for the 16th Annual

Healing Mass & Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick 10 a.m. on March 10, 2012 at Curé of Ars, 94th and Mission Rd., Leawood, KS

Celebrant will be Archbishop Emeritus James Keleher The anointing of the sick in both dioceses will be administered to Catholics whose health is seriously impaired by illness or old age. All are invited to participate. The ceremony will follow the Lourdes pilgrimage format.

Among those who may be anointed, the ritual mentions, in particular: • Those undergoing a surgery whenever serious illness is the reason • Elderly people when they have become noticabley weakened even if no serious illness is present • Sick children if they have sufficient use of reason to be strengthened by the sacrament We are asking those who wish to receive the sacrament at Mass, to register by mail using the form below, or call 913-649-3260 and leave your name.

Name cards are made for those receiving the sacrament.

Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Parish __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please mail the form to: Order of Malta, P.O. Box 7270, KCMO 64113

16 LOCAL NEWS

THE LEAVEN • FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Make this Lent your own with a mix of devotional practices

L

BY WOODEENE KOENIG-BRICKER | SPECIAL TO THE LEAVEN

ooking for ways to make a “better Lent?” Use one or more of these Lenten devotions to help you grow your faith and renew your relationship with God. Eucharistic adoration

As early as the Council of Nicea in 325, the Eucharist was being taken to the sick unable to attend Mass. From that beginning, the idea of honoring the Real Presence developed until, by the early Middle Ages, it was customary to have eucharistic adoration reserved in many churches, particularly monastic chapels.

• If your parish offers perpetual adoration, visit the chapel and spent an hour keeping watch with the Lord. If it doesn’t, take a few minutes after Mass on Sunday just to be in the Lord’s presence.

Acts of discipline

Learning to gain discipline over our minds, bodies and hearts is the real reason behind “giving something up” during Lent. To obtain needed selfmastery, choose one small thing each day to help strengthen your resolve. For instance, forgo snacks. Or omit the sugar from your coffee. Or get up when the alarm rings and not after hitting the snooze button.

Veneration of the Cross

Part of the Good Friday service includes the Veneration of the Cross, but paying homage to the holy cross dates back to at least the 4th century when a sliver of wood believed to have been discovered by St. Helena during excavations in Jerusalem in 326 was honored each year.

• Place a crucifix in a place of honor in your home and each night, before bed, say the prayer: “We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee, because by thy holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world.”

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been, um, well, um, I guess it’s been like a really long time since my last confession.”

This Lent, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is making the sacrament of reconciliation available every Wednesday night from 6-7 p.m. at parishes everywhere.

And just because you’ve been away from the sacrament for some time is no reason not to take this opportunity to make things right with God. Maybe these answers to some common questions will help you start.

Stations of the Cross

The “Via Crucis” (“Way of the Cross”) began when medieval pilgrims journeyed from their homelands in Europe to the Holy Land in order to walk in Christ’s footsteps. When the Turks closed the holy sites, replicas were set up in Europe. Eventually, under the influence of the Franciscan preacher St. Leonard of Port Maurice, the Stations of the Cross as we know them took shape. Most American Catholic churches have the stations lining their walls, but did you know that originally the Stations were allowed only in Franciscan churches? In 1731, Pope Clement XII extended the right to non-Franciscan churches.

• This Lent, make the Stations at least once, meditating on Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

Confession

The word used for sin in the Scriptures carries the meaning of “missing the mark.” During these 40 days, reflect on the occasions you have “missed the mark” in your relationship with God and utilize the sacrament of reconciliation to bring restoration and hope back to your life.

(See story at right.)

Daily reading

From the daily readings at Mass to the Liturgy of the Hours to books by and about the saints, the choices for daily reading and meditation are extensive. Consider picking up a time-honored classic like “My Daily Bread” by Father Anthony J. Paone or “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales; a “new” classic like “Jesus Calling”

by Sarah Young; or Pope Benedict XVI’s books on “Jesus of Nazareth.” Read a few minutes each day and let the words speak to your heart.

Sorrowful mysteries of the rosary

The rosary is a popular devotion all year long, but the sorrowful mysteries are particularly well suited to Lent.

Prayer beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys from the Middle Ages on. Between the 12th and 15th century, events in the lives of Mary and Jesus were linked to the prayers and, by the 16th century, our current form of the rosary was established. In 2002, Blessed Pope John Paul II introduced a new, optional set of mysteries called the luminous mysteries.

• Make a commitment to pray the sorrowful mysteries, at least on Fridays during Lent.

‘Stabat Mater’

Jump right in — the redemption is great!

The Passion of Our Lord

This Lent, read the Gospel accounts of the passion of Our Lord and then respectfully watch a movie on the life of Jesus. The “Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson, while violent, can be a moving and heart-changing experience, but many other movies are worth viewing, including “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “The Messiah” and “Jesus of Nazareth.”

“At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping . . .”

No one knows more acutely what is it like to watch the suffering in our broken and hurting world than Our Lady. During Lent, call on her to help you deal with the pain in your life in order to transform it into an Easter alleluia.

In particular, set aside March 24, the feast of the Annunciation, as a day of prayer and devotion to Mary, the mother of Our Lord.

Q.

I haven’t been to confession for years. What if I can’t remember how to do it?

A.

Don’t worry — it’s not rocket science.

For the basic steps and an act of contrition, clip out the step-by-step guide and the prayer on page 5. Even with this help, though, you might tell the priest that you’re a little rusty and need some help.

Don’t go in unprepared, however. Make the most of the opportunity by giving it some serious thought ahead of time, using the examination of conscience provided in this article.

Q.

What if I can’t remember all my sins?

A.

You don’t have to.

Father John Zuhlsdorf in his blog “What Does The Prayer Really Say?” advises penitents to “try to confess all your mortal sins in kind and number whenever you go to confession.

However, since it has been a very long time for you, and we humans just can’t remember everything, do your best. . . . If you do your best, all your sins will be forgiven, whether you could remember them all or not. Then, in the future, you can be more precise.”

Many confessors recommend the penitent say that they are sorry for the sins they have confessed and all those they cannot remember.

Q.

What if the priest yells at me? That’s what happened the last time I went.

A.

Reconciling with the Lord is supposed to be a joyful experience, like the return of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke (15: 11-32), so instances of yelling should be See “USE” on page 5