03-21-14 Vol. 35 No. 31

theleaven.com | vol. 35, no. 31 | march 21, 2014

Let the Madness Begin

DRiving

Father Daniel Schmitz, associate pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood, drives past a Serra All-Star during a game March 10 at Bishop Miege High School.

Photos by Doug Hesse

Run and gun

Seminarian Carter Zielinski, a fourth-year college student at Conception Seminary in Conception, Mo., secures the rebound and prepares to lead the Runnin’ Revs down the court.

all smiles

From left, Father Larry Bowers, Father Mitchel Zimmerman and Father Scott Wallisch watch their teammates on the court while they take a break from the action.

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he Runnin’ Revs unofficially kicked off March Madness before a packed house March 10 at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park.

The Revs are a team of basketball-playing priests and seminarians from the archdiocese. Their annual foe is a team of all-stars comprised of players from area Catholic schools. The Revs were victorious in this match 64-57. The final game on the Runnin’ Revs slate this year will be held on April 28 at Hayden High School in Topeka.

2 archbishop

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

Life will be victorious

T

Let God heal your heart of grudges this Lent

he recent observance of St. Patrick’s Day reminded me of the joke: Do you know what Irish Alzheimer’s is? It is when you forget everything except the grudges! Unfortunately, the Irish by no means have a monopoly on keeping grudges.

For the Christian, this is a real problem. Jesus tells his disciples that it is not sufficient to love your neighbors, friends and family. Christianity is not about just being nice to the nice. Jesus tells his disciples that we must love our enemies and pray for our persecutors.

Frankly, I often glide over the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer where we ask our heavenly Father “to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In our fractured humanity, when someone treats us badly or insults us our natural impulse is to strike back. Yet, we heard recently in one of the daily Mass Gospel readings that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

Immaculée Ilibigiza, the famous survivor of the Rwanda genocide, in which

archbishop Joseph F. Naumann a million of her tribe were brutally massacred (including her own parents and two of her three brothers), has become an international advocate for forgiveness and reconciliation. In her book, “Left To Tell,” Immaculée chronicled how she and seven other women survived the genocide by being hidden in a tiny bathroom in the home of a Protestant minister.

During part of this prolonged period of living under the constant threat of death, Immaculée was filled with anger and rage. She realized that, if given the opportunity, she would have murdered those who perpetrated these atrocious crimes against her tribe and family.

Immaculée states rather bluntly that she survived on prayer. However, when she prayed the Lord’s Prayer, she decided to just skip over the sentence about forgiving the sins of others. Immaculée knew that, when praying, it

Archbishop’s baptismal ministry to support larger families To show his personal support for those couples open to raising larger families, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann has offered to participate in the baptism of the third or greater child of any family (by birth, adoption, or blending through valid marriage) interested. The first of these baptismal celebrations will take place on May 18 at 2:30 p.m. at Church of the Ascension, 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park. Additional celebrations are scheduled for July 27, Sept. 7, and Nov. 16. For 2015, celebrations are scheduled for Jan. 18, March 15, and May 17. Please contact your parish office for more information.

Additional information is also available from the archdiocesan office for liturgy and sacramental life at (913) 647-0330 or online at: liturgy@archkck.org.

was important to be completely honest. She did not want to pray words that were contrary to what was in her heart.

This seemed to work well for her for a short while, until Immaculée heard a voice during prayer saying to her: “Immaculée, Jesus himself authored this prayer. He does not need you to edit or rewrite it.” At that point, Immaculée began to beg God to give her the grace to be able to forgive, because she knew that she was not capable of doing this by her own power.

The single most important thing that any of us can do in our Lenten observance is to go to confession. If we make a sincere and heartfelt confession of our sins, then we will experience a profound encounter with Jesus. One of the fruits of this encounter will be to be transformed by Our Lord’s merciful love.

The sacrament of penance not only frees us from our sins, but provides us the grace to live a more virtuous life. It especially disposes us to be more forgiving of others; in other words, to forget our grudges.

When we forgive someone who has hurt us, it does not mean that we condone their behavior. Forgiving does not mean that we forget what happened to us. Forgetting our grudges does not mean we become tolerant of evil, but rather that we no longer harbor a desire for revenge against someone who has wronged us.

Forgiving those who have hurt us is really very liberating. As long as we hold onto our anger against someone who has perpetrated some sort of injustice against us, we allow that person, in a way, to continue to control us and to hurt us. When we are able to forgive from our heart those who have offended us,

calendar

March 28 Confirmation — Holy Trinity, Lenexa

archbishop

Naumann March 21 New Evangelization seminar — Benedictine College, Atchison March 22 Pastoral visit — St. Benedict’s Parish, Atchison

March 29 Anointing Mass — Curé of Ars, Leawood March 30 Pastoral visit — Corpus Christi, Lawrence Marian pilgrimage information session — Savior Pastoral Center

March 23 Pastoral visit — Immaculate Conception/St. Joseph, Leavenworth

March 31 Confirmation — Mater Dei, Topeka

March 24 Confirmation — St. Ann, Hiawatha, and St. Leo, Horton

archbishop

March 25 Topeka Region priests meeting — Christ the King, Topeka March 26 Fellowship of Catholic University Students alumni event — Prince of Peace, Olathe

keleher March 23 Confirmation — St. Patrick, Kansas City, Kan. March 28 Confirmation — Holy Trinity, Lenexa

March 27 Johnson County Region priests meeting — Good Shepherd, Shawnee

March 29 Anointing Mass — Curé of Ars, Leawood

Confirmation — Resurrection School parishes — Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kan.

March 30 Confirmation — Curé of Ars, Leawood

then their evil is no longer dominating our hearts and, in a sense, controlling our lives.

Once again this Lent, the priests of the Archdiocese will be available to hear confessions every Wednesday evening from at least 6-7 p.m.

When we examine our conscience sincerely, it redirects our attention from being focused on the sins of others and allows us to recognize our own sins.

Without an awareness of our own sins, we really have no need for Jesus, because we have no need for a savior or a redeemer. When we humbly and honestly approach Jesus in the sacrament of penance, we discover that Our Lord’s love is not contingent on

us always doing everything right. Jesus loves us even in our weakness Pope Francis, when asked to describe himself, said that the most accurate description was: “That he was a sinner touched by God’s mercy.”

Each time we receive the sacrament of penance, we are touched profoundly by God’s mercy and thus are freed from the burden of our own guilt and empowered to love and forgive others.

Do yourself a favor this Lent and experience God’s mercy through the sacrament of penance. Remember your own sins. Allow God to heal your heart and forget your grudges!

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second front page 3

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

Health care facility chooses to fight Villa St. Francis joins class action lawsuit

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By Joe Bollig joe@theleaven.com

Villa St. Francis has courageously come forward to vindicate its religious freedom rights on behalf of itself and a whole large class of similarly situated Catholic ministries across the United States.”

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ANSAS CITY, Kan. — When presented with a Hobson’s choice of acting contrary to the Catholic faith or facing ruinous fines, Villa St. Francis chose a third option: to fight.

The Catholic Benefits Association — a coalition of nearly 200 Catholic employers and 1,000 parishes, including Villa St. Francis — filed a class action lawsuit on March 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Villa St. Francis, a Catholic notfor-profit skilled nursing facility in Olathe sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and other CBA plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction against the contraceptive mandate part of the Affordable Care Act. Other plaintiffs include the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The defendants in the lawsuit are Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal officials and departments.

Although it is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has an interest in this case, said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann.

“The archdiocese joined the Catholic Benefits Association, which is the group launching the lawsuit,” said the archbishop. “The archdiocese itself is not one of the plaintiffs, but Villa St. Francis is.”

“The reason I make that distinction is because our health insurance plan for the archdiocese — which includes all of our other entities and agencies, parishes and schools, is grandfathered at this point,” the archbishop continued. “Our entities are not being affected by the mandate . . . as long as we can keep our grandfathered status, which we won’t be able to keep forever, perhaps for a couple of years.”

Villa St. Francis, for various reasons, chose not to be a part of the archdiocesan health benefits plan and thus is subject to the U.S. Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate.

The archdiocese will, however, benefit from a favorable ruling in the case, or, conversely, be burdened by an unfavorable ruling, said Colorado Springs-based attorney L. Martin Nussbaum, a partner in the law firm of Lewis Roca Rothgerber, which represents the plaintiffs.

“At the core of this law is the mandate by the federal government that all employers and insurers provide the CASC benefits — contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and devices, sterilization and counseling,” said

L. Martin Nussbaum, a partner in the law firm of Lewis Roca Rothgerber

Leaven file photo

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann celebrates Mass in the chapel at Villa St. Francis. The villa, a Catholic not-for-profit skilled nursing facility in Olathe sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and other CBA plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction against the contraceptive mandate part of the Affordable Care Act. Nussbaum.

The archdiocese is exempt, but burdened by the law, he said. The archdiocese must both serve and lead its affiliates in ways consistent with the Catholic faith.

“If the law prohibits them from having this second group of employers [like Villa St. Francis] that aren’t exempt in their plan, then the archdiocese can’t serve them or model the right conduct that will help them,” said Nussbaum. “The archdiocese is not a named party in the lawsuit, but it is by virtue of being a member [of the CBA] affected by the lawsuit.”

Villa St. Francis stands as a model of the kind of Catholic employers that are not exempted from the mandate, yet at the same time are a thoroughly Catholic ministry.

“The only [choice] the govern-

ment has given them is to comply with the mandate or hire a surrogate to do it for them,” said Nussbaum.

“Villa St. Francis has courageously come forward to vindicate its religious freedom rights on behalf of itself and a whole large class of similarly situated Catholic ministries across the United States,” he continued. “It shows great leadership by Villa St. Francis to do this.”

Late last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offered what it called “an accommodation” to religious entities that objected to the mandate.

“It is a childlike moral analysis coming from the government, because they think [the accommodation] solves our moral dilemma,” said Nussbaum.

The “Final Rules” included a re-

quirement for self-certification that “also has effects contrary to Catholic values,” according to the plaintiffs’ opening brief. The CASC benefits would still be provided.

“Obviously, it’s not an accommodation at all,” said Nussbaum. “It forces them to engage a surrogate to provide those benefits it condemns.”

The financial penalties for the Villa to defy the mandate would be severe.

If Villa St. Francis provides health insurance to its 100 eligible employees but refuses to include the CASC benefits, it could be fined $100 per employee per day. That comes to a fine of $36,500 per covered employee per year — or a total of more than $3.6 million a year.

“To show you how agenda-driven this law is, if Villa St. Francis declined to provide insurance to its employees altogether, the fine is $2,000 per employee per year,” said Nussbaum.

“Why 18 times as much if [the Villa] gives [employees] all insurance but holds back the condoms? That’s the law.”

Another plaintiff complaint is that the mandate “creates an unprecedented government scheme of discriminatory religious classifications,” choosing religious “winners and losers,” and the government appropriating for itself the power to control and define the religious life and identity of believers.

“I’ve spent my life working around these issues,” said Nussbaum. “And I cannot find any law in American history as religiously discriminatory as this law, in terms of creating whole different classes of religion. This is discrimination among religious types.”

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Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799) President: Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann

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Reporter Jessica Langdon jessica@theleaven.com

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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. Phone: (913) 721-1570; fax: (913) 721-5276; or e-mail at: sub@theleaven.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. For change of address, provide old and new address and parish. Subscriptions $18/year.

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4 LOCAL NEWS

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

Parishioners put hearts —and backs — into new parish hall

Seminarian named one of FOCUS’ ‘30 Under 30’

By Jessica Langdon jessica@theleaven.com

H

ARTFORD — St. Mary Parish here might be small in numbers, but it’s huge in passion and faith — which it demonstrated by making a big dream come true.

The parish, which is made up of about 50 families, gathered March 8 to celebrate the dedication of its brandnew parish hall.

“I think it’s a sign of life in the parish,” said Father Ray May, pastor of St. Mary and chaplain/director at the Didde Catholic Campus Center at Emporia State University.

The plans and fundraising started before he arrived at the parish as pastor. But he’s been constantly impressed as he’s witnessed this faith community come together to build this hall.

“Everyone put a contribution into that building,” he said.

Pat Wiederholt, a parishioner and member of the parish and finance councils who has been heavily involved in the project over the past few years, agreed.

“It never stopped,” he said of the ongoing effort by parishioners.

People pitched in when they could, whether that was during the evenings after they finished working their regular jobs, or on weekends.

After all, this is a place that will play a big part in parishioners’ lives — whether their families head to the hall for religious education classes or come together as a parish community for fellowship, food and faith.

“Any time parishioners come together and just spend time together and visit, I think it just really unites you and pulls you together as a family,” said Janel Wiederholt, Pat’s wife and the bookkeeper for the parish.

By Joe Bollig joe@theleaven.com

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Leaven photo by Elaina Cochran

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann blesses the new parish hall at St. Mary Parish in Hartford, with assistance from pastor Father Ray May, on March 8.

Past and future St. Mary Parish formed in 1877.

In 1879, its first church, a little white building, was constructed.

That church building was moved in 1885 a few blocks away to the land the parish stands on today.

The cornerstone was laid in 1890 for a new church building on the same grounds, and that “new” church still serves as the present-day church.

The original church building remained open as the parish hall, hosting many parish meals (including the beloved beef-and-noodle dinner) and other functions, religious education classes and even some wedding receptions.

It held many memories, but parishioners recognized the need for an updated building.

For one thing, religious education classes for some time were split between the hall and the former rectory across the street.

And because both church buildings were built more than a century ago, the old rectory site held the only restroom facilities for the parish — again, across the street.

Once parishioners had seen their church through a series of renovations over the past two decades, including the addition of a ramp, heating and air improvements, painting, work on the steeple and more, they felt it was the right time to turn their attention to the parish hall.

“Everybody was in the mood to

Leaven photo by Elaina Cochran

Archbishop Naumann and Father May bless the kitchen of the new parish hall. Despite its small numbers, St. Mary Parish in Hartford exceeded its financial goal for the facility. attack this,” said Pat Wiederholt.

And so it began.

Big family Wiederholt was touched by the turnout when, early in the process, he invited St. Mary parishioners to accompany him on a trip to St. Joseph Parish hall in Waverly for a look around.

Even though the evening was cool and rainy, he said, “practically everybody showed up,” and their Waverly hosts shared what they liked — and what they thought they might change — about their hall.

In May 2011, St. Mary formed fundraising and design and construction committees, with an original goal of about $120,000.

But as the dollars started rolling in, the parish realized it was going to exceed that, and actually raised about $150,000.

That allowed for some upgrades Pat Wiederholt believes will pay off in the long run when it comes to keeping the structure in great shape.

He didn’t want to create any debt,

“

“Any time parishioners come together and just spend time together and visit, I think it just really unites you and pulls you together as a family.”

Janel Wiederholt, parishioner of St. Mary, Hartford

and is excited that the project is paid for.

Parishioners took the lead on design, said Janel Wiederholt. The archdiocese provided input, and the parish worked with Doug Schmidt Construction in Olpe.

The former rectory was sold, and

the parish broke ground on the new hall in June 2012.

A lot of labor was donated along the way to make the 50-by-60-foot framed metal-clad building a reality.

It holds an open space, four classrooms and handicap-accessible restrooms (which are now on the same side of the street as the church).

It also has a 14-by-32-foot attached storage area.

“These are projects that bring a parish together,” said Pat Wiederholt.

“You’re not just going to church on Sunday and everybody scatters. It’s been fun to watch people get so involved in it.”

People realize they are called to be faithful Catholics — but also recognize they have a responsibility to take care of their parish grounds, he said.

“It just makes it even more special when you’ve got your own parishioners who are willing to jump in and pitch in,” said Janel Wiederholt. “It’s just a sense of pride really. . . . We feel like we’re a big family coming together.”

Small but strong The parish family gathered March 8 for the dedication and blessing by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann.

The hall was merely a shell last time he saw it in 2012, and Pat Wiederholt was excited for him to see it ready for visitors.

Parishioners enjoyed their first meal — which included the beef-and-noodle menu highlights and was hosted by the Altar Society — in the new parish hall after the dedication.

With one gathering complete, parishioners looked forward to many more in their new parish hall.

“St. Mary’s Parish — even though we are a small parish in a small town — we’re going strong,” said Janel Wiederholt. “It’s very special. It means a lot to all of us.”

“We’re doing good,” she added.

“We’re staying strong.”

Local News 5

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Perhaps, when they knocked on Joe Heschmeyer’s door, the traveling missionaries thought they had found a hot prospect.

They did. Just not in the way they thought.

A few years ago, when he was a law student and then an attorney, Heschmeyer and two friends used to regularly invite Mormon missionaries to dinner.

Joe Heschmeyer “It was really a wonderful experience,” he said. “[My friends] lived near one of the headquarters, for lack of a better word, of the Mormon missionaries in northern Virginia. We’d talk about the faith over dinner. These were very friendly conversations, but ones where we asked hard-hitting questions that, hopefully, raised some questions.”

Later, he wrote about it on his blog. He gave tips on how to treat missionaries and types of questions to ask. It was so popular it was even picked up by the online blog version of the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper.

“There’s a chance I’m on a list somewhere in Salt Lake City,” he said.

Maybe. But there’s no doubt he’s on one list.

This fall, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students announced its list of “30 Under 30.” Heschmeyer is one of the FOCUS “30 young Catholics under the age of 30 who are making a difference in our church and in our world.”

The FOCUS 30 are divided into five categories: activists, artists, athletes, apostolates, new media and

Joe and Ofelia Ortiz, members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Topeka, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a blessing on Feb. 23 by Father John Phelps, a visiting priest at the church. Their children and grandchildren will host a family dinner on March 22 in their honor. The couple was married on Feb. 20, 1954, at Our Lady of Guadalupe. Their children and their spouses are: Ruben and Lucia Ortiz; Daniel and Roxanne Ortiz; Martin and Cynthia Estrada; Rita and the late Mark Perez; Elizabeth Ortiz; and David and Denise Ortiz, all of Topeka.

They also have 23 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

intellectuals. Heschmeyer is counted among the intellectuals.

Today, Heschmeyer, 28, is studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

His online evangelization work on his blog, “Shameless Popery,” has gained a loyal following and been featured on several other blogs. He’s been interviewed on the Catholic radio’s “Son Rise Morning Show,” and been featured in the British Catholic newspaper, the Catholic Herald.

A peek at his blog shows why Heschmeyer was tapped for the “30 Under 30”: He has a lively, deep and passionate love for the Catholic faith.

It wasn’t always that way. There was time in Heschmeyer’s life when you could have called him a “pew potato.”

Heschmeyer grew up across the state line in Missouri, but went to Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park. During his freshman year, he was recruited for the debate team by an older friend, Andrew Strobl. Their parents were longtime friends, and the two boys had known each other their whole lives.

When Heschmeyer graduated in 2003, he followed Strobl to Washburn University in Topeka. Strobl, who turned out to be his dorm resident assistant, had meanwhile undergone a profound re-conversion to the Catholic faith.

Sometimes, on school breaks and weekends, they’d carpool to and from Topeka. During their 75-minute drives, Heschmeyer would pepper Strobl with questions.

“It was really neat,” said Father Andrew Strobl, ordained in 2009, and now associate pastor of Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe. “He had such a brilliant mind, always thinking and active, always curious.”

Heschmeyer graduated from Washburn in 2007 with a bachelor’s in history and minor in political communications. He next went to Georgetown University Law Cen-

ter in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with a law degree in 2010 and practiced law in the District of Columbia office of Polsinelli and Shughart.

The beginning of his professional life didn’t mean an end to Heschmeyer’s desire to study the faith and to evangelize. He continued his blog, which he began as a student in 2009. He decided to discern whether or not he had a vocation to the priesthood, so he entered the seminary for the archdiocese in fall 2012. Currently, he’s a second-year pre-theology student and, if he continues, has four years to go.

Father Strobl was only a little surprised that Heschmeyer made the “30 Under 30” list. After all, he was one of three persons who nominated the seminarian.

“I think there’s a real connection with the new media, social media and the Millennial generation, and Joe as well as anyone uses it well,” said Father Strobl.

“On his blog, not only does he write great things when it comes to questions of the faith, apologetics and how best to share the faith, he engages people so well in the comments [section],” he continued.

“Unlike a lot of apologetics blogs where the comments can be fiery and don’t exhibit enough charity, he really exhibits a ton of charity. . . . He has a lot of non-Catholics he treats with respect and takes them seriously.”

As a group, the “30 Under 30” is as impressive a gang of “wunderkinder” you could ever find. Interestingly, hardly any have a role in the church that could be described as “institutional.” They are entrepreneurs of the Catholic faith.

“All of them are involved in some sort of campus outreach or group they formed themselves,” said Father Strobl. “[They] weren’t waiting for the church to say, ‘Here’s exactly what we want you to do.’ They were willing to go engage the culture, see a cause worth fighting for or talents to apply. They just did it.”

Summer Leadership Camp for girls ATCHISON — Girls entering sixth, seventh or eighth grades are invited to attend the 2014 Leadership Camp from June 30July 2 on the campus of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica here. The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth co-sponsor this event. Registration deadline is May 23.

The Leadership Camp provides opportunities for participants to learn about their faith, how Catholic Christian values and leadership go together, and how to set goals and make decisions. Recreation,

a scavenger hunt, music, arts and crafts, talks and prayer are built into the three days that conclude with Mass at 7 p.m.

Registration fee is $125 and covers room and board, meals and a T-shirt for each participant. Partial scholarships are available.

Contact Sister Barbara Smith, OSB, at: vocation@mountosb.org, or (913) 4265275; or Sister Vicki Lichtenauer, SCL, at: vickil@scls.org, or (816) 718-2660. For a brochure with an application, visit the website at: www.scls.org.

Aquinas offers summer camps OVERLAND PARK — St. Thomas Aquinas High School here will offer a variety of sports-related camps for grades K-8.

Camps include baseball, football and strength training, basketball, soccer, cross-country, cheer, speed and agility, volleyball (individual and team) and wrestling from June 2 - Aug. 9.

Costs range from $50 to $100. St. Thomas Aquinas also offers several

non-athletic camps from May 28 - July 27, including: “Act Like a Saint,” designed for aspiring actors entering grades 5-8; chess for grades 3-8; and two cooking classes — cake decorating for grades 5-12 and kids in the kitchen for grades 3-8. Costs range from $35 to $85.

For more information, call (913) 3192416 or go online to: www.stasaints.net/ summercamps.

Sister Regina Marie Allgaier, SCL LEAVENWORTH — Sister Regina Marie Allgaier, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth for 77 years, died on March 12 at the motherhouse here. She was 95 years old.

Catherine Gertrude Allgaier was born in Kansas City, Mo., on March 26, 1918, the youngest of three children born to Michael and Catherine Rigney Allgaier. The family moved a great deal while she was growing up, because her father was a traveling salesman. She attended grade school at St. Raymond School and graduated from St. Francis High Academy in Joliet, Ill. On Sept. 1, 1936, she entered the religious community of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and, as Sister Regina Marie, made her profession of vows on June 28, 1938.

After two years of novitiate training, she started her teaching ministry. Sister Regina Marie said that it was hard for her at first, but then she learned to love it. She went on to teach for 54 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Mary College, Leavenworth, and a master’s in special education from Eastern Montana College of Education in Billings, Mont.

In 1992, she was assigned to be in charge of the activity room at the motherhouse until her retirement in 2003.

Sister Antoinette Markiewicz, OSB MEXICO CITY — Sister Antoinette Markiewicz, OSB, died Feb. 22 at the Monastery of St. Benedict here.

She was born on Nov. 1, 1922, in Kansas City, Kan., to John and Alice Markiewicz of Kansas City, Kan. She had a twin sister, Hilaria Markiewicz Asher, as well as seven other sisters.

Antoinette entered Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison in 1939. She taught for eight years in Kansas and Colorado. In 1946, the monastery began planning a Benedictine daughter community.

Sister Antoinette immediately volunteered to help found the new community in Mexico City. She left at age 26, not even knowing the language, to become a pioneer teacher to Mexico’s poor, and stayed for 66 years.

Sister Antoinette earned a library science degree and used what she learned to start a library at the school she helped found, Colegio de Guadalupe. In 1955, her youngest sister, Josephine, made vows to the Benedictine order and joined the same community, becoming Sister Antoinette’s faithful fellow servant through the years.

A tireless teacher, Sister Antoinette was committed to her work with the Mexican people, earning their love and support. She was a Scripture scholar and utilized a collection of over 100 symbols to teach its truths.

When asked how she knew her calling, Sister Antoinette’s response was, “God will tell you where to go if you are open to him.”

She is survived by Sister Josephine Markiewicz, OSB, of Mexico City, and Bernadine Asher of Shawnee. She was buried in Mexico on Feb. 23. A memorial Mass will be offered on March 30 at 10 a.m. at Sanctuary of Hope Retreat Center, 2601 Ridge, Kansas City, Kan. The family requests donations to Sanctuary of Hope.

6 local news

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

Fatima, Lourdes among highlights of Marian pilgrimage for March 30 at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kan. — will provide additional information on the trip, as well as ANSAS CITY, Kan. help people prepare spiritually — Michael Scherschligt will be mak- for the experience.

Bob and Shirley Chenoweth, ing a pilgrimage as a parishioners of Church of the teacher, but he anticipates just Ascension in Overland Park, as eagerly his role as a student registered for the pilgrimage as he experiences key Marian and look forward to traveling shrines for the first time. again with Scherschligt after “I will be a little child and a having visited the Holy Land student of Mary,” said Scherwith him. schligt, director of the School of “We found it inspirational to Faith in Overland Park, looking hear him speak in the places we forward to an 11-day pilgrimage were visitto several sites in ing,” said Bob Europe this OctoChenoweth. ber.

The couArchbishop Jople was also seph F. Naumann When: March 30, 2:30-4 drawn to the will lead the pilp.m. idea of going grimage that inWhere: Archbishop Keleon a pilgrimcludes sites in her Conference Center age led by Portugal, Spain, at Savior Pastoral Center, Archbishop France and Italy Kansas City, Kan. Naumann.

Oct. 7-17 to celeTo register: Visit the “He’s a brate the 25th anCatholic Foundation of very straightniversary of the Northeast Kansas website Catholic Foundaforward, holy at: www.cfnek.org. man,” said tion of Northeast Those with questions Chenoweth.

Kansas. may also contact Lesle “I look forScherschligt Knop, CFNEK executive ward to his has traveled to director and archdioceobservations Rome and the san director of stewardat these holy Holy Land, but ship and development, by sites that this pilgrimage phone at (913) 647-0325. we’ll be visitwill be his first ing.” visits to Fatima Archbishop Naumann actuin Portugal, Santiago de Comally offered the suggestion of a postela in Spain, and Lourdes, Marian pilgrimage — after all, France. the archdiocese is dedicated “I know a lot about Fatima, to the Virgin Mary — early in Lourdes and Our Lady, so for the planning of a CFNEK annime this will be like the culmination of almost 20 years of versary pilgrimage, said Lesle Knop, CFNEK executive direcstudy on the Blessed Virgin tor and archdiocesan director Mary,” he said, noting that his of stewardship and developdoctoral work focused on Mary. ment.

His dissertation explored the Many agreed this was the relationship of Mary and the perfect way to mark the occaHoly Spirit. sion.

“I will have the privilege of “Witnessing pilgrims from being a pilgrim with the othall over the world praying toers and the privilege of shargether, crying, crawling on ing with them just the great their hands and knees on cobwealth that’s been given to us blestones — photographs and through the approved apparivideo just don’t do it justice,” tions of Fatima and Lourdes,” said Knop, who has traveled to said Scherschligt.

Fatima. “You have to be there About 55 people have regisand pray and join in that comtered so far — but there’s still mon prayer for peace with evroom for more. eryone, with all those pilgrims.”

An informational session Those who have already on the pilgrimage — planned

By Jessica Langdon jessica@theleaven.com

K

Free information session

Marian Shrines and Rome pilgrimage with Archbishop Naumann When: Oct. 7-17, 2014 Price: $4,399 from Kansas City. Includes round-trip airfare on Delta/Air France, breakfast and dinner per itinerary, hotel accommodations, air-conditioned motor coach and more. A deposit of $300 per person is due with registration.

More information: Find the brochure by visiting the CFNEK website at: www.cfnek.org.

For further details and reservations, contact Unitours Inc. Address: 10 Midland Ave., Ste. 202, Port Chester, NY 10573 Phone: (800) 777-7432 Fax: (914) 253-9001 Email: mpisano@unitours.com Website: www.unitours.com

signed up for the October pilgrimage expect it to be nothing short of a life-changing spiritual experience.

Knop encourages anyone who has been thinking about it but hasn’t yet signed up to attend the information session.

This could be ideal for anyone who has a particular devotion to Mary, or an anniversary celebration for a couple, said Knop.

The session will run from 2:30 to 4 p.m., and will include a video, prayer, and questions and answers.

While on pilgrimage in the Holy Land, Chenoweth said he was moved to walk in the places where his faith began, the places where Jesus walked.

He’s excited to continue that journey in Europe and “to experience the locations where these apparitions and miracles have taken place.”

Scherschligt promises this pilgrimage is not merely a sightseeing trip, but a time to focus on prayer and learning, as well as fun and fellowship.

“It reminds us of what this life is all about — that we are on a journey to our true homeland in heaven,” said Scherschligt.

On a pilgrimage — Oct. 7-17 The pilgrimage starts in Lisbon and Fatima in Portugal. The pilgrims will then visit Santiago de Compostela and Santander in Spain. Next is Lourdes, France, and finally, Rome.

Among the highlights:

Fatima, Portugal

Pilgrims will travel to the basilica and shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, as well as the birthplaces of the three children Mary first appeared to in 1917. Pilgrims will join in the evening rosary and candlelight procession.

“I’ve been to Fatima, and that personal experience almost 30 years ago was a profound influence on my devotion to Mary,” said Lesle Knop, CFNEK executive director and archdiocesan director of stewardship and development.

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Unitours describes this as one of the most famous shrines in the Western world.

Pilgrims will attend Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago and travel toward Santander along one of the “Routes of St. James.”

Lourdes, France

“Lourdes — there are just so many miracles associated with Lourdes,” said Knop.

Mary appeared 18 times in 1858 to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous — now St. Bernadette Soubirous. Pilgrims will visit St. Bernadette’s birthplace and where she lived at the time of the apparitions.

“It’s kind of a lifelong dream to me to be able to go to Lourdes,” said Knop.

LOCAL NEWS 7

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

Age no obstacle to lifelong volunteer

By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill@theleaven.com

W

ATHENA — Frances Hartman, a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish here, laughs when people ask why she has volunteered almost every day for the last 30 years.

“Well, I don’t know why,” she said. “I didn’t have a particular reason — there was just always something to do, so I did it.”

Though she is modest, those who know Hartman are eager to talk about her seemingly boundless energy and generous spirit.

She will be 94 this summer.

“I’ve never heard her complain,” said Mary Kay Nold, director of Wathena Keen Age Senior Citizens Center, where Hartman has helped with the Meals on Wheels program for more than 30 years.

“I wish the younger generation could follow her example of always trying to be helpful,” she said.

Hartman started her volunteering in her parish, where she was treasurer of the Altar Society and a regular at morning Mass until she could no longer drive.

“She would set up for weekday Mass,” said Nold. “And before she’d go to the [senior] center, if she had time, she would go over to the parish hall and clean out the refrigerator or freezer.

“Whatever she could think of to do, she would do.”

Hartman said her work ethic stems from life on a farm with her husband raising corn, beans and five children.

“I stayed active,” she said. “I worked every day.”

When Hartman’s father became a resident of the Wathena Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, she began to volunteer there, too.

“I liked the idea of helping,” she said. “It was something to do.”

The health care facility had a twice-weekly bingo game. Different volunteer groups would trade off calling numbers.

“It ended up Frances was always the one doing it for everybody,” said activity director Theresa Rohrer. “She came for every group because she belonged to all the groups.

“And then it just became Frances.”

Hartman developed a routine of helping at the senior center and then, on bingo days, heading from there to the health care center to call numbers.

And she always had a heart for residents that couldn’t play bingo.

“She would go up and down the halls,” said Rohrer. “And if someone

Photo courtesy of Theresa Rohrer

Frances Hartman, a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish in Wathena, calls bingo games at the Wathena Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Hartman has spent more than 30 years volunteering for various charities in the Wathena community. was bedridden and couldn’t come to bingo, she would visit with them and bring them a bingo treat.”

Once she was past the age of 90, Hartman found her eyesight was failing and she could no longer drive.

But that didn’t stop her volunteer efforts.

“She recruited another volunteer,” said Rohrer.

Indeed, Hartman’s son would drop her off at the senior center each day and, on bingo days, a fellow volunteer would drive her to the health care center to call numbers.

“And we made the bingo cards big, on four-by-six cards, so she could read them,” added Rohrer.

With failing eyesight, helping with Meals on Wheels became more of a challenge also. But that didn’t stop Hartman.

“I found her jobs she’s been able to do by feel,” said Nold.

Reminiscent of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Hartman said, “I did little things.”

“Yes,” said Nold. “She would do little things like wipe my tables down, and she always counted the sacks out for me and opened them up on the table.”

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Rome

Finally, the pilgrims will travel to Rome.

“To visit the Holy Stairs and visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran with the archbishop is an incredible opportunity for me and for all the other pilgrims who are going to be on this trip,” said Knop.

The Rome portion of the pilgrimage also includes an orientation tour and a visit to some catacombs, a burial place of early Christians, as well as Vatican City.

Hartman would then carry a tray of snacks and cartons of milk to the table so the sacks could be packed efficiently.

“We would walk down the table like an assembly line,” explained Nold.

After the lunches were packed, Hartman helped with cleanup in any way she could.

“Her eyes got worse to the point where she could only see shapes and such,” said Nold. “But she had this place memorized as to where everything was.”

Rohrer was so impressed with Harman’s volunteer efforts that she nominated her for the 2012 Northwest Professionals on Aging Annual Wally M. Carpenter Volunteer Award.

The award goes to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to volunteerism.

All nominees were invited to attend the award ceremony. But when Hartman found out about it, she conveniently scheduled a doctor’s appointment to coincide with the event.

When Rohrer learned that Hartman had won, she knew she had to get the humble volunteer to the ceremony somehow.

“So I called Frances’ daughter and asked her to make up some story about the doctor canceling the appointment,” she said.

After receiving the award, Hartman said simply, “A lot of people do more than I do.”

“I don’t know who they are,” replied Rohrer.

When asked what advice she had for others who would like to imitate her active longevity, Hartman said, “Just do something and hang in there.”

Nold intends to take that advice.

“Yes,” she said, “I keep telling myself when I get old, I need to make sure I’m like Frances — do whatever I can do and not complain.

“And never quit.”

Nold said Hartman has a philosophy that as long as God is taking care of her, she should be taking care of others.

Maybe that’s why God has kept her around.

“I don’t want to brag,” said Hartman reflecting on her long history of volunteering, “but I guess I did make a difference.

“But I don’t think I did a heck of a lot,” she added. “I did a lot, but not a heck of a lot!”

TOUCH OF HEAVEN

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Into the Wild Blue Yonder Beloved Aquinas teacher gets patriotic send-off to Afghanistan

Photos by Susan McSpadden of the send-off in six words.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said.

“No pun intended,” he added, “You are the bomb.”

Many wingmen

O

VERLAND PARK — One moment, Leo Brown was explaining to his seventh-hour freshman theology class at St. Thomas

Aquinas all about hell.

Minutes later — thanks to every single soul inside the school — the popular teacher, who was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, experienced a glimpse of what he could only compare to heaven.

A massive but stealthy surprise filled the hallways outside his classroom as Brown, a first sergeant with the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 442nd Fighter Wing Maintenance Group, taught one of his last classes before his deployment.

At 2:42 p.m. on March 11, an announcement came over the speakers for everyone to log out of Skyward, the school’s software program.

“We make this get-out-of-Skyward announcement about 35 times a day,” said Dr. Bill Ford, president of St. Thomas Aquinas.

So the request didn’t raise any alarm for Brown, but it cued everyone else in the building (except the class Brown was teaching at the time) to move.

Only hushed voices, the intermittent squeaks of tennis shoes and blasts of “Shhhhh!” sounded in the hallways as seniors and faculty lined both sides of the walkway, and freshmen, sophomores and juniors converged in the commons, where they would greet Brown with cheers, patriotic songs and a blessing.

Keeping this a secret among 1,000 people was no easy feat.

“It was kind of hard — especially between seniors — because he’s in our hallway,” said Austin Tedder, a senior at Aquinas. “And we like to talk a lot about secrets. It’s kind of what we do.”

Even Ford admits he almost let the news slip at Mass ahead of time.

But everyone somehow held it together.

When Craig Moss, principal for academic services, arrived at Brown’s classroom door — under the pretense of getting Brown to sign some documents in the office — Brown didn’t have the slightest idea what he was about to walk into.

As soon as he rounded the corner, students burst into cheers and applause, and a chorus of “USA! USA! USA!” started.

American flags and balloons added splashes of red, white and blue to what looked like a living tunnel of high-fives, handshakes and hugs.

A huge smile spread across Brown’s face.

“What I was thinking about was this must be just a little tiny window of what it’s like to die and go to heaven,” said Brown. “I wish I could do it again because you’re so caught in the emotion of all of this.”

Story by Jessica Langdon

Aquinas students mob Brown for a huge group hug. Though he’s been in the Reserve for years, this is the first time Brown has been deployed.

Leo Brown walks down the hallway of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, where he teaches, to a heartfelt send-off by the students and faculty. Brown, a reservist in the U.S. Air Force, is being deployed to Afghanistan.

Brown gets emotional among the chants of “USA” and the school choir’s singing of “Wild Blue Yonder” and “America the Beautiful.” Brown said he imagined that this was what it would be like to “die and go to heaven.”

Patriotism and prayers When he reached the commons, shouts of “USA!” turned into cheers for “Leo Brown!”

The choir launched into “Wild Blue Yonder,” the U.S. Air Force’s song, and “America the Beautiful.”

“May he return safe to us,” prayed Father Daniel Schmitz, chaplain at Aquinas, during a blessing for the 48-year-old Brown.

Hands extended toward Brown and the crowd of more than 1,000 fell silent in prayer for him, an experience Father Schmitz had never before witnessed.

“It was giving me chills,” he said. “I was grateful to see their enthusiasm for him. I was hoping that they, too, learned a good lesson — that it left a deep impression on the students of the gratefulness we have for those who defend our country.”

Brown has served with his Reserve unit on the homefront for years, but this is his first deployment overseas — and it’s also a first for Aquinas.

Father Daniel Schmitz, chaplain at Aquinas, offers a blessing for Brown. “May he return safe to us,” prayed Father Schmitz. members keep other areas of life in good order so they can focus on their Air Force jobs.

“A first sergeant is kind of a combination of big brother, cheerleader, father confessor and school disciplinarian — it’s all that,” he said. “It’s kind of like being a high school teacher.”

He sees life’s highs and lows.

His two jobs have dovetailed well, and he feels he is stronger at each because of the other.

Ford said it’s the first time he’s experienced a teacher being called up for service, and Aquinas wanted to demonstrate that the power of prayer will be with him every day over the next six

months or so.

“I hope they take away that this is a very special project that he’s undertaking,” said Ford.

The 442nd Maintenance Group is ba-

sically in charge of “everything it takes to get the planes in the air mechanically,” along with some administrative functions, explained Brown.

As a first sergeant, he works to help

Passion for work Just as students want to know details about the Air Force and what he does, when his military colleagues learn he’s a high school teacher, they barrage him with

their own questions about life as a teacher.

Brown, who grew up the youngest of six in Pittsburg, has always been fascinated by World War II — and hopes his students today will seek out the stories of veterans in their families and recognize the sacrifices many make for their country.

His father served during the war in the U.S. Army Air Corps, which later became the U.S. Air Force.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I latched onto the Air Force,” he said. “That’s the genesis of my Air Force interest.”

In his remarks to the student body at his send-off, Brown mentioned the message a friend from the seminary instilled in him — that “the heart of all prayer was gratitude, because everything we have is a gift from God.” And so he summed up his appreciation

In his 16 years at Aquinas, Brown has taught theology at all grade levels.

“There’s no kid that’s a stranger,” said Ford. “If he doesn’t know them, he asks them their name.”

And he’s known to address his students as “Doctor,” added Tedder.

Aquinas senior Annie Lind took note when she first got to know Brown of a list of life’s rules he keeps on his board. The one that struck her most says, “Life is not about you.”

Having Brown as a teacher and working with him as part of the student council to organize freshmen retreats, she has seen Brown exemplify that in his interactions with students.

“He can make any student feel like they’re the most important person in the room,” she said. “It’s almost like he says, ‘Life’s not about me,’ but it’s about the person he’s talking to.”

She will miss his booming voice outside his classroom and the jokes he shares with his students.

But Lind and Tedder know that during the months he’s serving in Afghanistan, his influence will continue to thrive in the student body, thanks to another important lesson he has instilled in his students.

One of the first things he does is pair each student with another.

“They’re our wingman,” said Tedder.

“They take care of us, we take care of them — just like in the Air Force.”

“He brought that up in class almost every other day, and I’m not exaggerating,” agreed Lind. “That was something that was really important to him.”

Brown hopes the students will continue that tradition in his absence, even when change is hard to adjust to or times are stressful.

“You’re not in class for yourself, and no matter what feelings you’re going through, you’re here to ensure your wingman’s academic — but more importantly, spiritual — success,” said Brown. “We’re here to get each other to heaven in the good times and — especially [in the] bad times.”

And if his send-off was any indication, Brown has hundreds of wingmen thinking about him, praying for him, and anticipating his safe return to Kansas.

St. Thomas Aquinas is the kind of community that prays, said Lind. Intentions are a key part of it, and everyone realizes it’s a big deal that one of their theology teachers has been called to serve his country in Afghanistan.

“I know Mr. Brown will be coming up all the time,” said Lind.

Brown is expected to arrive in Afghanistan sometime this month, and to return to the United States in the fall.

He knows it will take a bit of time to “morph from Sgt. Brown back into Mr. Brown,” so it’s likely he’ll return to Aquinas to teach in January 2015.

And his family and friends inside and outside the school can’t wait for that day to arrive.

“We’re sad to see him go, and wish him Godspeed,” said Ford.

“He’s a great Catholic gentleman and a great servant to the United States,” said Father Schmitz.

10 world

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

Kansas church named minor basilica

Pope recommends reading a Bible during commute ROME (CNS) — If you get a seat on a crowded bus, you should use your travel time to read a few lines from the Bible, Pope Francis told members of a suburban parish filled with people who commute to Rome for work. “A Christian’s first task is to listen to the word of God, to listen to Jesus, because he speaks to us and saves us with his word,” the pope said March 16 during a homily at the parish of Santa Maria dell’Orazione on the northeast outskirts of Rome. Everyone should carry a small Bible or pocket edition of the Gospels and should find at least a few minutes every day to read the word of God, Pope Francis said. The pope suggested a bus-ride reading of the Gospels, when possible, “because many times on the bus we’re packed in and have to maintain our balance and defend our pockets” from pickpockets, he said. “But when you have a seat” on the bus or a minute or so free somewhere else, “pick up the Gospel and read a few words.”

Bishops suggest restoring year-round Friday abstinence CNS photo/Rasem Ghareeb, Reuters

Battle rages

A Free Syrian Army fighter runs amid destroyed buildings during clashes with forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Assad in the town of Morek March 11. Catholic bishops of Syria called for a cease-fire and for the pursuit of the Geneva peace talks to end the crisis in their country.

Fight the urge to judge others, pope says

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

V

ATICAN CITY (CNS) — Judging someone is always easier than being merciful and understanding, Pope Francis said.

The difficulty is why it is so important to keep reminding oneself, “Who am I to judge?” the pope said March 17 at his early morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he resides.

The day’s Gospel reading was from St. Luke: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.’”

According to Vatican Radio’s report on the homily, Pope Francis told those gathered in the chapel that to fight the

natural inclination to judge others, one must recognize that “we are sinners,” be ashamed of one’s sins and ask the grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

In the face of repentance, he said, “the justice of God is transformed into mercy and forgiveness.”

Pope Francis told his small congregation, “It’s true that none of us has killed anyone, but we have done many little things, many daily sins every day,” and when one realizes that every sin is a sin against God, it’s a cause for shame.

“It is simple,” he said, “but very difficult to say, ‘I have sinned.’”

Yet once someone admits their sinfulness and asks God’s forgiveness, the pope said, they become more capable of showing mercy to others.

It takes exercise and discipline, he said, but, as a Christian, one must “enlarge your heart.”

“The Lord says, ‘Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and you will receive.’ This is generosity of heart,” the pope said. “If you have a big, large heart, you will receive more.”

“Who am I to judge?” is a question that should come naturally to anyone who recognizes that he or she has sinned and been forgiven by God’s mercy, he said.

“If all of us — all peoples, individuals, families, neighborhoods — had this attitude, think how much peace there would be in the world, how much peace there would be in our hearts,” Pope Francis said. “Mercy brings us peace. Always remember, ‘Who am I to judge?’ — feel shame and enlarge your heart. May the Lord grant us this grace.”

PERTH, Australia (CNS) — Several Australian bishops said they would support re-establishment of year-round Friday abstinence in Australia, following the lead of England and Wales. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne, Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore and Bishop Michael Kennedy of Armidale are among prelates who said they support Friday abstinence from meat — without sanction of sin — almost 30 years after it became noncompulsory in Australia. In 2011, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales restored Friday abstinence. Friday penance regulations in England and Wales were relaxed in 1985, as they were in Australia, allowing Catholics to perform an alternative form of penance. U.S. bishops ended obligatory abstinence in 1966.

Looking back at the decision to end Friday abstinence in Australia, Bishop Elliott said it was a “big pastoral and spiritual mistake. I can understand why that happened, in the mood of that era, but I believe it failed to take into account human psychology,” he said. Friday abstinence was a universal practice that Catholics were obliged to fulfill under pain of sin until Pope Paul VI issued his apostolic constitution on penance in 1966. The document gave bishops, acting through their episcopal conferences, the ability to establish the norms “they consider the most opportune and efficacious” in regard to fasting and abstinence.

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nation 11

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

By Doug Weller Catholic News Service

V

ICTORIA (CNS) — Capuchin Father Jeff Ernst’s voice leapt with emotion when he heard the news: St. Fidelis Church in Victoria would be named a minor basilica.

“It’s exciting,” he said from his office at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence. “The state of Kansas doesn’t have any” basilicas.

Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Salina received the news from the Vatican in early March that it had granted the dioFather Jeff Ernst cese’s application to have St. Fidelis designated a minor basilica. He will dedicate the church as a minor basilica June 7.

“This is a great day for the people of Victoria but an equally great day for the people of the Diocese of SaFather John Schmeidler lina,” the bishop said. “St. Fidelis Church has long been a place of pilgrimage and prayer. Indeed, many have been drawn to the mystery and love of God by spending time in this inspiring church.”

Worldwide, there are more than 1,600 minor basilicas; only 78 of them are in the United States.

The Catholic Church has four major basilicas: St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and Basilica of St. Mary Major, all in Rome.

A church designated as a minor basilica must be a center of active and pastoral

W

CNS photo/ Doug Weller, The Register

St. Fidelis Church in Victoria, in the Salina Diocese, has been named a minor basilica by the Vatican.

The church was built in the early 1900s, replacing a small wooden structure that served as the parish’s first church. liturgy with a vibrant Catholic community and may have unique historical, artistic or religious importance.

Father Ernst recalled that one day when he was walking through the front doors of St. Fidelis, he said to himself: “This could become a minor basilica.”

“I thought about it for a few days and then ran it by the bishop, and he really

liked the idea,” the priest told The Register, newspaper of the Salina Diocese.

The Capuchin priest had only been at the Victoria parish since August 2011. With the parish council’s support, he began assembling the information he needed: specific information about the structure of the church, the participation of the parishioners, and the art

and architecture.

It took him about six months to complete the application — which included a lot of pictures. It was then sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for approval. By September 2013, it was on its way to the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

Shortly before that, Father Ernst’s order transferred him to the Lawrence parish. He was succeeded in Victoria by Capuchin Father John Schmeidler, who was excited to hear the news about the application.

“The people really do take great pride in the church and its upkeep,” he said.

“I think it’s because of their love for the church and all that it stands for.”

“Being created a basilica, for them, I think, will elevate the sanctity and holiness of the church and help them to know that even better,” he added.

It’s likely to increase the number of people visiting the church, as well.

The church’s 141-foot twin towers are easily seen from nearby Interstate 70, and about 16,000 people visit it each year.

Victoria was founded in 1873 by English farmers. German Catholics from the Volga River region of Russia began arriving in 1876.

The first Catholic church was a 40-by20-foot addition built onto a settler’s home. As the number of Catholics grew, larger churches were built in 1878 and again in 1884.

In 1904, plans were announced for an imposing new structure. It is constructed of limestone quarried about seven miles south of town. Parishioners also learned to dress the stone. The old church was dismantled and the stone set aside for the new inner walls.

The resulting Romanesque structure is 220 feet long, 110 feet wide at the transepts, 75 feet tall and seats 1,100. At the time of its dedication in 1911, it was considered the largest church in the state.

Colored-glass windows made in Munich were installed in 1916, and Stations of the Cross were imported from Austria in 1917.

U.S. lawmakers invite pope to address Congress

ASHINGTON (CNS) — A bipartisan invitation to Pope Francis to address a joint session of Congress if he comes to the United States in 2015 recognizes “the importance of the qualities” the pontiff embodies that resonate with people around the globe, said Cardinal Donald

W. Wuerl of Washington.

Those qualities include “a desire for peace, care for the poor, and an ability to bring people together to address the needs of the suffering and marginalized,” the cardinal said in a statement March 13, the first anniversary of the pope’s election.

“These are values that our broken

world is so in need of at this moment in history. I am grateful to Congress for acknowledging the universal appeal of Pope Francis’ message with this invitation,” he added.

Earlier in the day House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a formal, open invitation to the pontiff to address a joint meeting of the U.S. House

of Representatives and Senate as a visiting head of state. “[It] would honor our nation in keeping with the best traditions of our democratic institutions,” Boehner said in a statement. “It would also offer an excellent opportunity for the American people as well as the nations of the world to hear his message in full.”

12 classifieds Employment Director of advancement - The St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, located in Lawrence, is seeking a director of advancement to assist with its fund development programs and related processes for the center. The director of advancement is an integral part of the fundraising efforts for the ministry and programs at the center that serves the University of Kansas community. Applicants must be practicing Catholics and have a bachelor’s degree. The right candidate will be organized, work as a team player, must have a fluid, flexible communication style in order to communicate effectively and compassionately with all socioeconomic strata. They must be computer literate, familiar with grant writing and have social media expertise. Demonstrated competency with Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge or comparable software and Excel are a must. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and resume by email to: lsharpe@kucatholic.org.

Principal - Seeking dynamic Catholic school principal at St. Agnes Grade School, Roeland Park, who embraces the Catholic faith and possesses spiritual leadership skills blended with strong instructional leadership and managerial skills. St. Agnes School serves 300 students in grades K-8 and employs 23 faculty and staff members in grades K-8. The school is looking for an excellent communicator who can build upon the strong Catholic identity and academic programming that is a hallmark of the school. Principal applicants must be practicing Catholics and hold (or be eligible for) an administrative license from the Kansas State Department of Education.

Interested individuals should complete the principal application available online at: www.archkckcs.org. Applications are due by April 4. Questions may be directed to Dr. Kathleen O’Hara, superintendent of schools, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, by calling (913) 721-1570 or by sending an email to: kohara@archkckcs.org.

Positions - Bishop Miege High School is seeking candidates for the 2014-15 school year. Assistant principal, social studies, Spanish and theater/video production teachers, and head boys basketball coach. Send an email with letter of interest and resume to Mariann Jaksa at: mjaksa@bishopmiege.com.

Secretary - Queen of the Holy Rosary, Wea, is looking for a part-time parish secretary. The candidate would be responsible for secretarial and related office services for our priest, members of the parish and various other committees and boards. Please send resume in care of the business office to Holy Rosary, Wea, attention to John Loyd.

Guidance counselor - St. James Academy, Lenexa, is looking for a full-time guidance counselor for the 2014 2015 school year. The ideal candidate desires to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation, and possesses or is working toward a KSDE counseling license. Applicant should aspire to work in a faith-filled environment and have experience with: the college admissions process, working with a wide variety of academic, social, and emotional needs, the advanced placement curriculum, and should have in-depth knowledge of the ACT, SAT, AP, and other standardized testing regulations and logistics. The ideal guidance counseling applicant should be able to address social and emotional issues through a Catholic worldview.

Interested parties should fill out an application with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and send their resume to St. James Academy, Lenexa, to the attention of the principal, Karla Leibham.

Director of senior care services - Catholic Charities of Kansas City - St. Joseph is a community leader in providing comprehensive, compassionate services that help individuals and families overcome poverty. In addition to being a leader in community services, Catholic Charities is committed to being an outstanding workplace.

We are seeking qualified candidates for our director of senior care services position. The ideal candidate is an individual with previous experience managing home health programs or nursing home operations. Desired education and experience: master’s in business, social services management, public administration or related business field. Previous experience in program development and management. Skilled at securing funding sources and grant proposal development. Budgeting and financial management experience. This position is eligible for health and dental benefits, paid time off, and short-term, long-term and life insurance coverage. If interested, please email resume to: hr@ccharities.com or send to 20 W. 9th St., Suite 600, Kansas City, MO 64105.

Restoration technician - Servpro of Lawrence, an industry leading cleaning and restoration company, is looking for a lead restoration technician. This position will work on water mitigation projects, mold remediation, fire cleanup and restoration, and air duct cleaning.

Experience in the construction industry is helpful but not required. The successful candidate will be a self-starter with a proven track record. Please send your resume by email to: toneill@embarqmail.com.

Financial representatives - Due to the success and growth of the Knights of Columbus, we are adding a financial representative in the Kansas City metro, Lawrence, Topeka and the Seneca - Sabetha area. Ideal for a determined, high energy, high expectation, professional, self-disciplined, independent individual desiring

theleaven.com | MARCH 21, 2014 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. Please contact John A. Mahon, general agent, for more information or an interview by sending an email to: john.mahon@kofc.org, by phone at (785) 408-8806 or at 1275 Topeka Blvd., Topeka, KS 66612.

Services Mike Hammer local moving - A full-service mover.

Packing, pianos, rental truck load/unload, storage container load/unload, and in-home moving. No job too small. Serving JoCo since 1987. St. Joseph, Shawnee, parishioner. Call Mike at (913) 927-4347 or send an email to: mikehammermoving@aol.com.

Faith-based counseling to cope with life concerns Kansas City area. Call Mary Vorsten, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, at (913) 909-2002.

Machine quilting - by Jenell Noeth, Basehor. Also, quilts made to order. Call (913) 724-1837.

Tree service - Pruning trees for optimal growth and beauty and removal of hazardous limbs or problem trees.

Free consultation and bid. Safe, insured, professional.

Cristofer Estrada, Green Solutions of KC, (913) 378-5872. www.GreenSolutionsKC.com.

Lawn mowing - 20 years of experience mowing lawns.

Call (913) 669-2328 for a free estimate.

Rodman Lawn Care - Mowing, leaf removal, mulch and more. Call John Rodman, member of Holy Cross Parish, Overland Park, at (913) 548-3002 or send an email to him at: Rodman.Lawn@yahoo.com.

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.teresakiddlawyer.com.

We moved! Come check out our new office in Lenexa.

Time to get your landscaping in shape!

We are offering 10% off mulch in March.

Serving Johnson County. Contact us for an estimate.

John at (913) 825-4353 john@foleyslawncare.com Getoutofdebtlawyer.com - Free first consult! Goals: Save money, erase debts, keep your home and car, save your credit! Let me negotiate debts and foreclosures for you! Fight creditor lawsuits! Dispute your credit report!

Bankruptcy! Call attorney Laura Simpson at (913) 2489400 or send an email to: lsimpson@getoutofdebtlaw yer.com.

Garage door and opener sales and service - 24-hour, 7-day-a-week service on all types of doors. Replace broken springs, cables, hinges, rollers, gate openers, entry and patio doors, and more. Over 32 years of experience.

Call (913) 227-4902.

Brick mason - Brick, stone, tile and flat work. 19 years of residential/commercial experience. FREE QUOTES - KC metro area. Small and large jobs accepted. Call Jim at (913) 485-4307. www.facebook.com/faganmasonry.

Electrician - Free estimates; reasonable rates. JoCo and south KC metro. Call Pat at (913) 963-9896.

Tim the Handyman - Small jobs, faucets, garbage disposals, toilets, ceiling fans, light fixtures, painting, wall ceiling repair, wood rot, siding, decks, doors, windows, and gutter cleaning. Call (913) 526-1844.

Agua Fina Irrigation and Landscape The one-stop location for your project!

Landscape and irrigation design, installation and maintenance.

Cleanup and grading services It’s time to repair your lawn. 20% discount on lawn renovations with mention of this ad.

Visit the website at: www.goaguafina.com Call (913) 530-7260 or (913) 530-5661

Home Improvement 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.

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.

Heating and cooling repair and replacement - Call Joe with JB Design and Service. Licensed and insured with 20 years experience. Member of Divine Mercy Parish. Call Joe at (913) 915-6887.

Swalms Organizing Service - Reducing Clutter - Enjoy an Organized Home! Basement, garage, attic, shop, storage rooms - any room organized! Belongings sorted, boxed and labeled, items hauled or taken for recycling, trash bagged. For before and after photos, visit: www. swalmsorganizing.com. Over 20 years of organizing experience; insured. Call Tillar at (913) 375-9115.

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 SPRING IS ACTUALLY COMING BEFORE WE KNOW IT! HOUSE PAINTING Call today to get a free estimate on your home. Inside or out, decks, kitchens and bathrooms. Basement refinishing and design also! Improve what you have today to enjoy it tomorrow. Insured/tons of references and a local parish member. Call (913) 209-9926.

STA (Sure Thing Always) Home Repair - Basement finish, bathrooms and kitchens; interior & exterior repairs: painting, roofing, siding, wood replacement and window glazing. Free estimates. Call (913) 491-5837 or (913) 5791835. Email: smokeycabin@hotmail.com. Member of Holy Trinity, Lenexa.

Adept Home Improvements Where quality still counts!

Basement finishing, Kitchens and baths, Electrical and plumbing, Licensed and insured. (913) 599-7998 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.

House painting Interior and exterior; wall paper removal.

Power washing, fences, decks.

30 years experience. References. Reasonable rates.

Call Joe at (913) 620-5776.

ALL THINGS WOOD ROT Windows and fiber cement siding.

New windows, decks, basement remodel or kitchen update. Insured and only the best crews.

Serving Johnson and Wyandotte for over 2 decades.

Call to set up a free estimate today at (913) 209-9926.

Concrete construction - Tear out and replace stamped, stained or colored patios and drives. Retaining walls, footings, poured-in-place safe rooms, excavation and hauling. Asphalt drives and lots. Fully insured; references. Call Dan at (913) 207-4371 or send an email to: dan deeconst@aol.com.

Caregiving 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.

Caregiving - 43-year-old caregiver available all week, nights and weekends. Excellent references. Please call Kara at (913) 909-6659.

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, with offices in Lenexa and Lawrence. Call Benefits of Home Senior Care, Lenexa: (913) 422-1591 or Lawrence: (785) 727-1816 or www.benefitsofhome.com.

REAL ESTATE Wanted to buy - Houses that need an upgrade or are very old that you’re having difficulty selling or are in need of selling quickly. I can pay cash within 20 days. Please call Mark Edmondson at (913) 980-4905. Holy Trinity Parish member.

Own Your Own Lodge - Approximately 5,860 square feet. Perfect for large families or a business getaway.

240 feet of lake frontage. Seasonal, summer or winter.

Three stone fireplaces, 3 master suites with 3 additional bedrooms, 6 baths, 2 wet bars, 3 living areas for family and friends. Fully furnished. 3-well oversized dock.

Sunrise Beach, Mo., in the Ozarks. $695,000. Call (913) 208-8074.

for RENT For rent - Shawnee home for rent; ranch, 3 BR, 1.5 BA. Very nice, $1,200 per month. Contact Ken at (913) 4846942.

VACATION Colorado vacation - Winter Park; 2 BR, 1 BA, furnished.

Mountain biking, golf, hiking, and fishing. $125 per night or $700 per week. Call (816) 392-0686.

Irish eyes are smiling when you journey to Ireland with an Irishman!

Complete tour of the entire Emerald Isle April 30 - May 13 Call Gerry at (913) 648-1560 Pilgrimage in France - Sept. 8 - 13, 2014. Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Bernadette, healing baths, St. John Vianney, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Thérèse, beaches of Normandy (70th anniversary), Mont St. Michel, Our Lady of Pontmain, St. Catherine Laboure, St. Vincent de Paul, Paris. Chaplain: Fr. Ernie Davis, St. Therese Little Flower Kansas City. $4,559. Send an email to: frernie3@gmail. com or call (816) 444-5406.

for sale Residential lifts - Buy/sell/trade. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. Recycled and new equipment.

Member of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Leawood.

Call Silver Cross KC at (913) 327-5557.

For sale - Four gravesites located in section 8 of Mount Calvary Cemetery, Kansas City, Kan. Valued at $6,400; asking $5,600. Call (785) 986-6480.

For sale - 3 cemetery lots. Good location, St. Mary’s Cemetery, Louisburg. $600 each. Call (913) 904-4122.

For sale - Mausoleum at Prince of Peace Resurrection inside the main chapel at eye level. Valued at $8,000.

Will accept a decent offer. Call (913) 341-3149.

For sale - 2 separate burial plots, Resurrection Cemetery, Queen of Heaven section. Asking $2,000; $2,800 value. Vault also available, asking $700; $1,000 value. Call (713) 569-9898 or send an email to: thomas_ conry@att.net.

Antique and collectible solid wood furniture - Handcarved, England, France; unique 1840 bed, 7-foot carved headboard, chestnut with walnut trim. 7-foot handcarved walnut grandfather clock. Gorgeous walnut and cherry leaded glass dining room table. Cherry china cabinet. 4 Eastlake chairs. 2 Ethan Allen pieces. Needlepoint ottomans. Tiffany lamps. Original paintings. 1950’s Evening in Paris perfumes, etc. Lots of jewelry, miscellaneous items. All a must-see. Holy Cross parishioner. Call Mary Grace at (913) 385-0309 or cell (913) 579-0279.

wanted to buy Wanted to buy - Antique/vintage jewelry, lighters, fountain pens, post card collections, paintings/prints, pottery, sterling, china dinnerware.

Renee Maderak, (913) 631-7179.

St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee 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.

MISCELLANEOUS Our Lady of Hope. Catholics with an Anglican and Methodist heritage. Formal and friendly. Visitors welcome.

Mass Saturdays at 4 p.m., St. Therese Little Flower, 5814 Euclid, Kansas City, Mo. Fulfills Sunday obligation. Father Ernie Davis. Dr. Bruce Prince-Joseph, organist. For more information, send an email to: frernie3@gmail.com or call (816) 729-6776.

Cost to advertise is: $17.50 for five lines or less; $1.50 each additional line; Email: julie@ theleaven.com; Phone: (913) 647-0327

Want to help someone heal from an abortion?

Call Toll Free 888-246-1504

calendar 13

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

March The 2014 Symposium for Advancing the New Evangelization 21-22 will be held March 21 - 22 at Benedictine College, Atchison. Keynote speakers are Dr. Denis McNamara, assistant director of the Liturgical Institute, University of St. Mary of the Lake; Dr. David Bentley Hart, author, theologian, philosopher and cultural commentator; and Dr. Regis Martin, professor of theology, Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, Franciscan University of Steubenville. For information or to register, visit the website at: www.benedictine.edu/ima.

St. Benedict Parish, Atchison, will host a St. Patrick’s Irish Fest on March 22. A 5K and 10K trail run and pancake breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. The cost to attend the run is $30. For a registration form, send an email to: john son.brooke@att.net. For more information, call Brooke Johnson at (913) 683-8027 or Jason Johnson at (913) 683-8029.

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Deepen your Lenten prayer journey on the beautiful grounds of Sanctuary of Hope, 2601 Ridge Ave., Kansas City, Kan. Join Sister Therese Steiner, SCL, to pray with the Scriptures that lead up to Easter on March 22 from 9 a.m. - noon. The cost to attend is a suggested donation of $20.

Scholarships are available. Call Sanctuary of Hope to sign up at (913) 321-HOPE. For more information, visit the website at: www.sanctuaryofhope.org.

St. Joseph of the Valley Parish, 33151 207th St., Leavenworth, will be hosting a St. Joseph’s Table on March 22 following the 5 p.m. Mass. A traditional spaghetti dinner with salad, bread, and dessert will be served. The cost to attend is a freewill donation. Items on the St. Joseph’s Table will be sold by silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the Little Sisters of the Lamb in Kansas City, Kan. The Axtell Knights of Columbus, Council 1163, will host their annual boiled shrimp and smoked pork chop dinner at the Axtell Community Building on March 22 from 5 - 8:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $15 in advance; $17 at the door. The cost to attend for children ages 6 - 13 is $7 in advance; $8 at the door. For tickets, call Craig Ronnebaum at (785) 268-0393, Bill Buessing at (785) 736-2390, any K of C member, Peschel’s Food Mart, CJ Express, Henry’s Liquor Store, or Hometown Lumber. All proceeds will benefit various charities.

Queen of the Holy Rosary Church, 7023 W. 71st St., Overland Park, will host a fundraiser for Honor Flight KC on March 22 from 6 - 9:30 p.m. Music will be provided by Harvest Moon. Food and drink will be available, plus a silent auction.

Honor Flight KC flies veterans to Washington, D.C., for a free to visit to reflect on war memorials. Bring a veteran, honor a veteran or come have a good time. All proceeds of the event will benefit Honor Flight KC.

23

Annunciation Parish, Frankfort, will host a fried chicken dinner and country store on March 23 from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The cost

to attend is $9 for adults; $4 for children ages 10 and younger. Takeout meals will be available by calling (785) 292-4351 the day of the dinner, or by calling the parish office in the morning at (785) 292-4462.

The Legion of Mary — Spouse of the Holy Spirit Curia invites all active and auxiliary members, both adult and junior, to attend the annual Acies ceremony on March 23 at 3 p.m. in the Holy Angels chapel, 15408 Leavenworth Rd., Basehor. The ceremony will conclude with Benediction and will be followed by a reception in Father Quinlan Hall. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Legion of Mary is also invited to attend.

Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Avenue, Kansas City, Kan., will present a workshop, entitled “Recognizing a Gambling Problem,” on March 24 from 1:30 - 3 p.m. To register, call (913) 906-8990.

24

The winner of the 6th-grade essay contest on vocations will be announced and will present his or her essay at noon on March 26 at the KCK Serra Club meeting. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5th and Minnesota, Kansas City, Kan.

26

Scripture study, Bible sharing and reflection, lectio and journaling is a regular weekly series facilitated by pastoral minister Heather Neds, and is offered at Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kan., on Wednesdays from 9:30 - 11 a.m. There will be time for reflection, sharing and journaling. To register, call (913) 906-8990.

A grief and loss support program for persons encountering the loss of an infant — due to miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, or early infant death — is being offered on four upcoming Thursday evenings (March 27, April 3, 10 and 24) from 7 - 9 p.m. Couples or individuals are welcome. For more information or reservations, contact Mary Helen Dennihan at (913) 491-4268 or send an email to: dennihan6@kc.rr.com.

27

The Christian Widow and Widowers Organization will host a potluck dinner on March 27 at 5 p.m. in the Formation Room at Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish, 17th and Stone, Topeka. There is no cost to attend. For more information, call (785) 2720055.

The Axtell Economic Development Committee/Pride is sponsoring its annual community fish fry at the Axtell Community Building on March 28 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Axtell community scholarships and the Axtell Harvest Festival.

The cost to attend is: $7 for adults; $5 for grades 6-12; $3 for grades K-5; and free for children younger than kindergarten. There will also be a silent auction.

28

A women’s day of reflection, “Unleashing the Power to Conquer Your Demons: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving,” will be sponsored by the Daughters of Isabella on March 29 from 8 a.m. to noon in the Social Room at Holy Trinity Church, 9150 Pflumm, Lenexa. All women are invited

29

to be a part of this Lenten opportunity to pray, listen and reflect. The guest speaker will be Troy Hinkel, an instructor with the School of Faith. The cost to attend is $10 per person; $15 at the door. Send payment by mail to: Pat Wineland, 8914 Renee, Lenexa, KS 66215. For more information, call (913) 219-4731.

The Cathedral of St. Peter will host a traditional Mexican taco dinner from 5 - 9 p.m. on March 29 in the parish center.

The cost to attend is $8 for adults; $4 for children under the age of 12. There will be traditional music and a 50/50 raffle.

Cristo Rey Kansas City High School will host the 8th annual Dancing with the Kansas City Stars at 6 p.m. on March 29 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center. To reserve a seat or to vote for a star, visit the website at: www. dancingwiththekansascitystars.org. For more information, call Meghan Tallman at (816) 457-6044.

The Catholic Men’s Conference of Wichita will be held March 29 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the St. Francis of Assisi Parish gym, Wichita. The featured speaker will be apologist and Holy Land travel guide Steve Ray. Also speaking will be Jake Samour and James Lewis. The cost to attend is a suggested donation of $25, which includes lunch. To register, visit the website at: catholicmenICT2014.eventbrite.com.

For more information, call Rick Riggs at (316) 461-6481.

Father Kent O’Connor will present the “Jesus” concert, a multimedia presentation of music, reflections, and images about the person of Jesus Christ on March 31 at 7 p.m.

The concert will be held at Sacred Heart Church, 2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kan. There is no cost to attend; however, a collection will be taken up for Our Lady of Unity School. All are invited to attend.

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April Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers, Inc., is in need of volunteers and will be offering a volunteer informational meeting on April 1 from 7 - 9 p.m. at 11644 W. 75th St., Shawnee. For more information on volunteering in this ministry or to RSVP, contact Mary Newcomer at (913) 962-0200 or send an email to: volunteer@adviceandaid.com.

1

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University classes will be held at St. Joseph Parish, 5901 Flint, Shawnee, from April 1 - June 10. For more information, send an email to Ginger McCormick at: gingerjmccormick@ gmail.com or call (816) 588-2245 (evenings or weekends).

Corita’s Corner Sandwich Ministry will be the recipient of a 2014 Peace Builder Award from the Topeka Center for Peace and Justice on April 3 at the second annual Peace Party and Award Dinner, Ramada Inn, Topeka. A reception for the nominees begins at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $25 per person.

Tickets are available through March 28.

For more information, send an email to: tcpjpeaceawards@cox.net or call (785) 235-0203.

3

The women of Holy Cross Church, 8311 W. 93rd St., Overland Park, will sponsor a soup and salad buffet from 5 - 7 p.m. on April 4.

The cost to attend is $6 for adults; $3 for children. At 7:30 p.m., Our Lady & St. Rose gospel choir and Heritage House Dance Ministry will perform. For more information, call Margi Foley at (913) 381-8145.

4

A free estate planning informational workshop will be held on April 5 from 9:30 a.m. - noon at the Bishop Ward High School cafeteria, 708 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kan. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served. Reserve your spot by calling Mary at (913) 371-6901 or send an email to: mspangler@wardhigh.org.

For a complete list of presenters and topics, visit the website at: www.wardhigh. org/estateworkshop.

5

St. Joseph Parish, Olpe, will host its annual spring festival on April 6 at 307 Iowa St. The dinner and kids’ games will be held from 3 - 6:30 p.m. Bingo begins at 6:45 p.m. in the Knights of Columbus Hall. A ham and roast beef dinner will be served. The cost to attend the meal is $8 for adults; $3 for children ages 10 and under. Carryout meals are also available. There will also be a raffle along with many more cash and merchandise prizes. Raffle tickets are available from St. Joseph CCD students or on the day of the festival. All proceeds benefit St. Joseph Parish religious education ministries.

6

Solemn vespers and Benediction will be held at 4 p.m. on April 6 at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 143rd and Nall, Leawood. Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony will be sung by resident archdiocesan choir Sursum Corda. Public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will begin at 1 p.m. All are welcome.

Sophia Spirituality Center, Atchison, will host a retreat, entitled “A Lenten Journey With Jesus,” on April 10 from 9 a.m. 3:30 p.m. Follow Jesus closely during his passion, and learn what sustained him and how you can have this power in your own life. The retreat will be conducted by Sister Marie Ballmann, OSB, a spiritual director, member of the Sophia staff and a leader of both private and group retreats and workshops. For more information or to register, call (913) 360-6151 or visit Sophia Spirituality Center’s website at: www.sophiaspiritualitycenter.org.

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Summer Saint Thomas Aquinas High School offers a variety of camps for grades K-8. Sports-related camps include baseball, football and strength training, basketball, soccer, cross-country, cheer, speed and agility, volleyball (individual and team) and wrestling from June 2 - Aug. 9.

Costs range from $50 to $100. There are also several non-athletic camps from May 28 - July 27, including: “Act Like a Saint,” designed for aspiring actors entering grades 5-8; chess for grades 3-8; and two cooking classes — cake decorating for grades 5-12 and kids in the kitchen for grades 3-8. Costs range from $35 to $85.

For information, call (913) 319-2416 or send an email to: www.stasaints.net/summer camps.

14 commentary Scripture Readings

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

March 23 third SUNDAY OF LENT Ex 17: 3-7 Ps 95: 1-2, 6-9 Rom 5: 1-2, 5-8 Jn 4: 5-42 March 24 Monday 2 Kgs 5: 1-15b Pss 42: 2-3; 43: 3-4 Lk 4: 24-30 March 25 THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD Is 7: 10-14; 8: 10 Ps 40: 7-11 Heb 10: 4-10 Lk 1: 26-38 March 26 Wednesday Dt 4: 1, 5-9 Ps 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20 Mt 5: 17-19 March 27 Thursday Jer 7: 23-28 Ps 95: 1-2, 6-9 Lk 11: 14-23 March 28 Friday Hos 14: 2-10 Ps 81: 6c-11b, 14, 17 Mk 12: 28-34 March 29 Saturday Hos 6: 1-6 Ps 51: 3-4, 18-21b Lk 18: 9-14

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cef centered

mark my words

third week of lent

A

Strive to be sincere, not sinful

re you without wax?

That’s a colorful way of asking if you’re a sincere person.

Although just a folk tale, it’s said that the word “sincere” comes from two Latin ones: sine, meaning “without,” and cera, “wax.” The story is that dishonest sculptors, when creating busts, would occasionally slip up and maybe chip off part of a statue’s nose. Rather than throw the whole thing out, these wily people would put some stone- or marble-colored wax on the statue to hold the nose in place. All looked great until the customer got his creation home and the summer’s heat or that of a candle would loosen that wax, causing the nose to drop off. As a result, customers began to ask upfront if their statue was “sine cera,” without wax. They wanted to be sure that what they were seeing was what was they were really getting.

You’ve got to be just as careful about things today.

Take, as an example, this cautionary tale: A businessman needed some same-day dry cleaning before he left on a trip. He remembered one store with a huge sign — “One-Hour Dry Cleaners” — that he’d once passed on the other

Father Mark Goldasich Father Mark Goldasich is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989. side of town. So, he drove way out of his way to drop off his suit.

After filling out the tag, he told the clerk, “I do need this in an hour.”

She replied, “I can’t get this back to you until Thursday.”

“But,” the guy sputtered, “your sign says you do dry cleaning in an hour.”

“Oh,” said the clerk with a laugh, “that’s just the name of this store.”

From this tale, Pastor Ed Rowell of Tennessee says the same confusion results from people who only bear the name of Christian, but don’t act like one. (Adapted from “Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion,” by Craig Brian Larson and Drew Zahn.)

If most of us are honest with ourselves, we’ve all got some wax issues when

it comes to being a Christian. It’s much easier to talk about our faith, study it or even pray about it than it is to live it. Lent is a time to clean up our act, to get rid of the wax and become the saintly people that the Lord has created us to be.

Someone who has always been an inspiration to me of both conversion and sincerity is Archbishop Oscar Romero. He was born in a small town in a remote part of El Salvador, Central America, in 1917. He was apprenticed to a carpenter at age 13 but, because he wanted to become a priest, entered the seminary a year later. He was eventually ordained a priest and named archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. The rich, ruling families of the country, who were guilty of grave injustices against the poor, welcomed his appointment.

These families didn’t expect any trouble from this shy and rather conservative prelate.

However, Archbishop Romero underwent a profound conversion after the assassination of Father Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit priest who was an activist for the poor. Shaken by his friend’s murder, the archbishop could no longer overlook the sufferings of the poor

and soon became “a voice for the voiceless.” His sermons against the mistreatment of those trapped in poverty were broadcast on the radio, endearing him to these campesinos, who supported and inspired him.

At the same time, the archbishop began to get death threats, yet he refused to be silenced. Eventually, he was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass in a chapel of the Carmelite Sisters’ cancer hospital where he lived.

Before his death, he said, “I rejoice, brothers and sisters, that our church is persecuted precisely for its preferential option for the poor and for seeking to become incarnate in the interests of the poor. . . . How sad it would be in a country where such horrible murders are being committed if there were no priests among the victims.”

Archbishop Romero not only called the church to be sincere, he practiced what he preached.

This Lent, let’s all ask God to at least clean the wax out of our ears, so that we may clearly hear his voice in the cries of the poor around us and become more sincere people: Christians in both name and deed.

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In the beginning

S

Moses’ staff represents God’s powers to help or harm

omeone who has trouble standing might use a walking staff as a cane to lean on. But a wizard might use his staff as an instrument to project his magical powers.

J.R. Tolkien shares that possibility with us in his novel, “The Two Towers,” of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

“The staff in the hand of a wizard may be more than a prop for age,” he wrote.

Like the wizard Gandalf, Moses, acting through his assistant Aaron, wields his staff as an instrument of power. He stretches it toward the Egyptians to inflict upon them the ten plagues, to convince them that they should allow the Hebrews to leave slavery in Egypt.

For the first plague, Moses is to instruct Aar-

commentary 15

march 21, 2014 | theleaven.com

Father Mike Stubbs Father Mike Stubbs is the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Overland Park and has a degree in Scripture from Harvard University. on: “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt — their streams and canals and pools, all their supplies of water — that they may become blood. Throughout the land of Egypt there will be blood, even in the wooden pails and stone jars” (Ex 7: 19).

Similarly, other plagues

Pope francis The world doesn’t need a lesson in “theoretical poverty” from Catholic priests, Brothers and nuns, but it needs a living example of how to be careful with money, live simply and share with others, Pope Francis said. Every Christian is called to be a wise steward of resources and generous in helping others, but with their vow of poverty and their pledge to put God and their brothers and sis-

follow where the staff figures prominently: Ex 8:1; 8:12; 9:23; and 10:13.

This staff is the same one that Moses relied on as a shepherd, to ward off wolves, to protect the sheep.

He could use the staff as a weapon, as well as a walking stick to lean on. It can work either to harm or help, depending upon the need.

In Sunday’s first reading, Ex 17:3-7, God uses Moses’ staff to work a miracle.

While the Hebrews are traveling through the desert, they complain about the lack of water. To satisfy their thirst, God tells Moses to strike the rock with his staff, so that the rock may produce water: “Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.”

ters first, members of religious orders must be especially attentive to what they do with money, the pope said in a message to the treasurers of religious orders. The goods of a religious order must be “administered with care and transparency,” and religious “cannot tolerate waste,” he said in the message to religious attending a symposium organized by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life March 8-9. Religious orders “always have been a prophetic voice and

In the instruction to Moses, God refers back to the first of the ten Plagues: “. . . holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river.” In that plague, the water of the Nile River turned into blood, making it unusable for the Egyptians.

Once again, Moses’ staff is making a connection with water. But this time, the staff will serve as an instrument to make water accessible to the Hebrews, instead of making it unusable for the Egyptians.

The staff will represent God’s power to bless and help, instead of God’s power to punish and harm. It can go either way. It all depends on how it will serve God’s plan.

a vivacious witness of the newness found in Christ and of conformity to him who made himself poor to enrich us with his poverty,” the pope said. “This loving poverty is solidarity, sharing and charity,” Pope Francis told the religious. The vow of poverty must be “expressed in simplicity, in the search for justice” and in being happy with just the essentials in order “to guard against the material idols that obscure the authentic meaning of life.”

— CNS

Running the numbers reveals more kids need our help

M

any of you are thinking about a spring break destination.

Or you are at your spring break destination. Or, possibly, you are on your way back from your fave (this makes me cool) spring break destination fun spot.

Good for you! I know all of you are deserving of this break.

With this article I want to bring you back to reality!

I am sure you have heard the old saying: “It is just a numbers game.” If you have not, prepare yourself for a dose of CEF numbers reality!

In my young life, I have heard it said in the corporate business world, “We

Michael morrisey Michael Morrisey is the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation. You can reach him at (913) 647-0383 or send an email to him at: mmorrisey@archkck.org. need to reduce our workforce”; in the small business world, “We don’t have enough business to justify that piece of equipment.”

And oftentimes in the sports world, we hear: (in football) “We need to stay under the salary cap” and (in baseball and basketball) “We have set budgets to manage.” I could go on and on. The application for this saying in our

During the current school year, our foundation has distributed $1,155,156 to our CEF schools to provide scholarships for children in need.

daily lives is endless, both on and off the field.

It also can be said in our CEF world.

First, I want to share some CEF numbers with you. (After all, it is a numbers game).

1. During the current school year, our foundation has distributed $1,155,156 to

our CEF schools to provide scholarships for children in need.

2. The average scholarship provided is $841. We are helping 1,373 students from 867 families. All record numbers!

3. We are working through our budget process for 2014-15 and are set to increase our school allocation by 9 percent. I want to point out that the commitment to our CEF schools is not just one year. It must be sustainable from one year to the next.

4. Our principals tell us that if CEF was not providing scholarship assistance, over 80 percent or 1,098plus students would not be attending our Catholic schools.

So, it truly is a numbers game!

However, as the dose of

reality sets in, it is not a game for our CEF parents and their kids. In many cases, they are not sure if they have a job from one day to the next. They are not sure when the next meal is coming. They are not sure how they are going to pay the rent, etc.

In many cases, their biggest number concern is how they are going to keep their kids in our Catholic schools.

Concluding with the numbers, our principals have identified over 200 additional kids that want to attend our Catholic schools but are not able to do so because they/we do not have the resources to allow them that opportunity.

That, my friends, is the part of the CEF numbers game we need to win!

ordinary joe

Y

Trying to find time to pray this Lent? Just do it!

ou may have heard about Father Larry Richards, a priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pa.

He gives lots of talks, and, a couple of years ago, he showed up at a Men Under Construction retreat to give his talk, “Be A Man.” Father Richards is a nice guy, but when it comes to spiritual reality checks, he might as well swing down to the ambo on a rope, wearing a patch over one eye and a parrot on his shoulder. Like a pirate of old, he takes no prisoners.

“The reality is, gentlemen, that you’ve got to be a man,” said Father Richards.

“And I am sick and tired of the wimpiness of Catholic men!”

Aaarrrgh, Father Rich-

joe bollig Joe Bollig is the senior reporter for The Leaven. He can be reached at: joe@theleaven.com. ards! Swing that cutlass!

Aaarrrgh!

(Check out Father Richards online at: www.the reasonforourhope.org.)

He told the men that day to place their Bible next to their bed. The first thing they should do upon waking was to read it.

Don’t ever tell him you “try” to have a daily prayer life.

Don’t. Ever. Do. It. If you do, wear body armor.

Do you eat? Do you watch

TV or check your email?

Then you’ve got time for prayer, said Father Richards.

I like one of his little sayings, which is also used

by Scott Hahn and a lot of Protestants: No Bible, no breakfast; no Bible, no bed.

It’s a matter of priorities, said Father Richards. It’s also about planning.

Do you have a long commute? Put the car on cruise control (if applicable) and pray the rosary, or buy a rosary CD or MP3 and pray along as it plays. No time for a full rosary? Do one decade.

Another possibility is singing along with your favorite hymns or religious songs. I’ll admit it — I own a “Godspell” CD. Keep a Bible by your bed.

Keep one on your desk at work, or in the car or truck.

Keep a New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs in your purse. When waiting somewhere, or on your lunch hour, pull that out to read

and pray a psalm.

Be intentional. Set aside a definite, nonnegotiable time for prayer. It can also help to have a “prayer place” — the breakfast nook, a picnic table in the yard, a chair on the porch — anywhere.

Grab opportunities for “micro-prayers,” short and quick prayers done on the fly. They can be as heartfelt and sincere as any long, formal prayer you may care to make.

The first kind is the informal kind that springs from the heart (or your gut) in times of your greatest need or anxiety. They are a quick response to the grace and inspiration that God sends us all the time. Feel that urge to pray? Do it — that’s God knocking.

The second kind is called an aspiration, or in the pre-Vatican II church, an ejaculation. It is a short, memorized prayer that you can repeat all day long,

usually done in rhythm with your breathing. One of the great traditional aspirations is the Jesus Prayer, very popular with Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Rite Catholics: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

I know this all makes it seem easier than it really is.

I get it. Carving out some time for prayer isn’t so easy.

I fail at it, too, all the time.

For the rest of Lent, will you come along and struggle with me?

Remember: priorities, planning, place, opportunities, discipline and intentionality. Write them down if you have to.

Make up your mind that you will indeed carve out some time for prayer this Lent. Let’s borrow a little bit of wisdom from the world: Just do it.

And, Keep doing it.

16 LOCAL NEWS

theleaven.com | march 21, 2014

Leaven photo by Lori Wood Habiger

Abbot Barnabas Senecal, OSB, and Tim Mispagel, a member of Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe, chat at the CEF Futures’ Art Event on Feb. 27 at Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, Mo.

Talent on display at CEF art event

By Jessica Langdon jessica@theleaven.com

K

ANSAS CITY, Mo. — You don’t have to be an art expert to recognize the beauty in the work the Catholic Education Foundation does.

Its beauty walks the halls of Catholic schools every day in the shape of the students who are able to attend, thanks to CEF scholarships.

And now — through a unique event — colorful reminders of CEF’s beauty are gracing the walls of local homes and businesses in the form of paintings and other pieces of art.

The second year for the CEF Futures’ Art Event drew a crowd to the third floor of Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 27.

Attendees bid in a silent auction on artwork created by local artists.

And a raffle gave winners a chance to select for themselves a masterpiece created by a student in one of the 20 CEF schools in the archdiocese.

The CEF Futures is a group of young professionals in their 20s to 40s that supports CEF’s mission of providing scholarships to help children in low-income families attend Catholic schools.

Many of the attendees went through Catholic schools themselves, said Stephanie Goodenow, who was part of the planning committee for the event and is a CEF board member.

“It’s easy to send this message to them to give back, because Catholic education gave them a network, gave them an extended family,” she said.

“And the mission of CEF, it’s just very

“

It’s really fun to see their creativity and all the different directions they’ve gone with their projects.”

Erica Kratofil, CEF grants and social media manager simple: We want every child to be able to enjoy what we enjoyed, regardless of their resources.”

‘Holy vibe’ The art event sold out for a second year in a row, and Alicia Kirkpatrick, who was part of the planning committee, was thrilled when 6:30 p.m. arrived and people started trickling in.

“We get to see the product of all our hard work over the past several months and really see the people in here having fun,” said Kirkpatrick.

“It’s a great vibe, a happy vibe, a holy vibe.”

Jane Wilson, who also served on the planning committee and worked with the local artists that donated pieces, was excited to see many artists not only giving of their talent, but also attending the event.

“This event is fun, exciting — it’s a great way to get involved for young

Learn more

Anyone interested in more information about the Catholic Education Foundation or in becoming involved may visit the website at: www.cefks.org, or call Michael Morrisey, CEF executive director, at (913) 647-0383.

individuals,” she said.

And it helped share CEF’s mission with more people.

In addition to the art, guests enjoyed musical entertainment. Some even posed as a caricaturist sketched away.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann welcomed the crowd to the art event and said it was wonderful to see the works of professional artists on display.

He was also impressed by the younger artists.

“We have some great talent in our young people in our schools,” said Archbishop Naumann.

The display gave the CEF schools an opportunity to shine.

“Through the art aspect, we get to see inside each of these schools. Each school has chosen a special piece to donate,” said Kirkpatrick.

Students’ works range from still lifes to landscapes to a child’s rendering of Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”

“It adds the element that we’re not this separate group raising money to give to them, but it makes them a part of this night,” said Kirkpatrick.

And the schools have happily lent

a hand in other ways.

“We have with us tonight several of the principals and staff at our CEF schools — they’re serving the food, they’re bussing the tables,” said Goodenow.

Supporting scholarships Erica Kratofil, CEF grants and social media manager, had the initial inspiration for the art event and has been excited to see so many people become involved and want to take part over the past two years.

“I think people are really excited about the event, about the opportunity to support CEF scholarships and to be in a fun space and see cool art from kids and local artists,” she said.

She enjoyed watching all the pieces of art come in ahead of the event, waiting to be displayed.

“It’s really fun to see their creativity and all the different directions they’ve gone with their projects,” she said.

While final figures were still being tallied, the event was expected to have brought in more than $20,000 to fund 22 scholarships for kids.

“It’s a wonderful way to show our donors what we do in a simple way,” said Patty Morrisey, CEF director of development. “It’s great. They can take a piece home with them and remember CEF that way.”

“I think we can all see this continuing many years into the future,” said Kirkpatrick.