03 31 17 Vol. 38 No. 32

THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 38, NO. 32 | MARCH 31, 2017

NO BRIDGE TOO FAR

CNS PHOTO/ABDALRHMAN ISMAIL, REUTERS

An airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, left much of the city in ruins. As a result, funds are desperately needed for the refugee centers providing aid for those displaced by the violence in Aleppo. Maur Hill-Mount Academy senior Christopher Rziha has organized a concert at Benedictine College in Atchison to raise funds for the war-torn city. The concert will be held April 8 at 8 p.m.

Atchison teen organizes concert for Aleppo

By Erin Hunninghake Special to The Leaven

A

TCHISON — It is 6,396 miles from Atchison to Aleppo, Syria.

Not far enough for one Maur Hill – Mount Academy senior to decide it wasn’t his problem.

When Christopher Rziha’s mother forwarded him an email from a woman named Danielle Blosser and an organization named Questscope, he read it with interest.

The email was soliciting emergency funds for the refugee centers providing aid for those displaced by the violence in Aleppo.

Rziha wanted more information — about the problems in the war-torn country and what Questscope was doing about it.

So, Rachel Stone, Questscope communications officer, explained its work in an email to the Atchison resident.

“For over 25 years, Questscope has worked inside Jordan and Syria and the MENA region with young people and their communities whose lives have

we can use the talents of our commubeen devastated by war and poverty,” nity and parish,” said Father Jeremy.

Stone wrote. “We provide alternative education, mentorship (including “We knew there was a lot of musical spiritual formation and psychosocial talent here.

“Christopher basically support) and emergency assistook it from there.” tance.

Father Jeremy said he has “In the current crisis inside been impressed with the seSyria, Questscope has supnior’s initiative to take on a ported over 600,000 people project of this magnitude. who have been made homeless “He really took the lead on (internally displaced) by this this and showed what we can conflict in over 100 locations all do if we put our minds to throughout the country.” it,” said Father Jeremy. “He’s “Our team of 300 staff and done such a good job with it 1,500 volunteers,” Stone concluded, “provides food, water, Christopher Rziha all.”

The concert, which will be medicine, sanitation, psychosocial counseling and support, nonfood held April 8 at 8 p.m. in Atchison’s Beneitems (primarily clothing) and educadictine College O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium, will feature local music groups, tion for out-of-school children. We are currently among the largest distribu- including the MH-MA show choir and jazz band, Atchison High School’s Adrentors of emergency food aid in Aleppo, aline, the Shiloh Baptist Church band and where one third of our Syria team curthe Benedictine College men’s choir. rently operates.”

That was enough for Rziha.

Nadia Schroeder, a professor of He took the idea of raising money Arabic at the University of Kansas in for Aleppo to St. Benedict Parish pastor Lawrence, will also be in attendance Father Jeremy Heppler, OSB. Together, to make opening remarks. Schroeder they brainstormed ideas. has worked actively with Questscope “We were leaning more toward how and will provide more insight into the

Admission to the Aleppo Crisis Benefit Concert is free with donations accepted. For more information, send an email to: Christopher Rziha at: crziha17@mh-ma.com. Those unable to attend but who would like to donate can send a check to: Questscope, 615 1st Ave. N.E., Suite 500, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

current situation in Aleppo.

Rziha said the response from the participating groups has been very positive.

“I think people are excited because it’s local and for a good cause,” he said.

“It’s a way for our community to come together to support an organization that needs this money.”

Rziha said those in attendance can expect the concert to be of high quality and very diverse.

“The music groups in Atchison are very talented,” he said. “There also won’t be a lot of crossover between the genres, which will keep it interesting.” >> See “MIX” on page 7

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

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Busy Rome visit included chat with Pope Francis

uring my recent trip to Rome, in addition to spending time with our North American College seminarians and meeting with their formators, I also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the convents of three of the women religious communities who serve in our archdiocese.

The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, more popularly known in Kansas as the Sisters, Servants of Mary, have their international headquarters in Rome. The charism of the Sisters, Servants of Mary, is to go at night into the homes of the seriously ill to provide spiritual comfort and nursing care for the sick, while at the same time allowing their family caregivers the opportunity for some much needed rest. The Sisters, Servants are truly angels of mercy who bring the love and the hope of the risen Lord to the dying and their families.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters, Servants of Mary, in Kansas City, Kansas.

I wanted to visit their generalate, their international headquarters, to express in person my profound gratitude for the Sisters, Servants amazing ministry in the archdiocese for the past century. Before there was such a thing as hospice care, the Sisters, Servants of Mary, have been accompanying those near death with love, compassion, joy and hope.

I also was able to celebrate Mass and vespers with the Apostles of the Interior Life. The Apostles of the Interior Life only have houses in Rome; College Station, Texas; and Lawrence and Overland Park.

There are several young Americans in formation with the Apostles in Rome who study at the pontifical universities.

I was able to thank personally their founder, Father Salvatore Scorza, who is a retired diocesan priest of Rome. Father Scorza is 90 years old

LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN and will celebrate the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination this year. Father Scorza quipped that the Sisters are making a big deal out of his 65th because they do not think he will be around for his 70th.

Father Scorza, as a parish priest, had the wisdom to realize that if he was able to inspire his parishioners to desire holiness alone, he could not possibly adequately mentor his people. He envisioned a group of well-trained religious women who could serve as spiritual directors as well as do evangelization in the secular society, particularly at universities.

The Apostles of the Interior Life, in addition to providing spiritual direction for students at KU as well as several adult leaders in the archdiocese, are also forming spiritual mentors who are being equipped to assist others to develop a stronger and more vibrant life of prayer.

They also conduct parish missions, assist with the formation of our permanent deacons and provide formation for laypeople who are striving to adapt the charism of the Apostles to the circumstances of their lives as laity.

It is always a joy to pray and share a meal with the Apostles of the Interior Life. Their passion for holiness and the joy of the Gospel they exude is both refreshing and contagious.

Recently, while attending a bishops’ meeting in Washington, D.C., I was approached

by another archbishop asking my assistance in convincing the Apostles to bring the spiritual mentorship program to the East Coast. There are many other American bishops who would love to have the Apostles of the Interior Life serving in their dioceses.

During my days in Rome, I also had the opportunity to have lunch at the convent of the Little Sisters of the Lamb. While the Little Sisters were helping me run some errands, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the personal friendships they have with many of the poor beggars on the streets of Rome. Unlike many, the Little Sisters do not see the poor as pests to be avoided, but as icons of Jesus to be reverenced and cherished.

It was in Rome that Father Anthony Ouellette, at the time a student at the North American College, introduced me to the Community of the Lamb. For me, it was love at first sight. I was immediately captivated by the purity with which they strive to live the Gospel by their simplicity of life and their complete dependence on divine providence. I was also enthralled by the beauty of their liturgical prayer.

Before departing for Rome, the Little Sisters in Kansas City gave me a photo of their chapel at the Lumen Christi Monastery on Boeke Street, just off Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.

The back of the photo contained a handwritten note to Pope Francis assuring him of their prayers for him and his ministry. I presented the

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Archbishop Naumann hands Pope Francis a handwritten note from the Little Sisters of the Lamb assuring him of their prayers for him and his ministry. photo to Pope Francis when I had the opportunity to greet him at his general audience on Wednesday, March 15.

Pope Francis, when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, invited the Little Sisters of the Lamb to establish a monastery in Argentina. Pope Francis has a great affinity, affection and admiration for the Community of the Lamb.

He was delighted to receive the photo and note from our Little Sisters in Kansas.

The Archdiocese is blessed to have several other communities of religious women serving in our local church.

Each religious community brings special gifts to the Archdiocese.

Religious life, when it is lived well, enlivens the entire church with the beauty and purity with which religious Sisters attempt to live the Gospel.

In many ways, it is more countercultural for a young woman to discern a call to religious life than for a young man to discern a call to priesthood. All of us need to encourage young women to consider the possibility of a call to religious life. There is a group exploring the possibility of opening up a house for young adult women who are discerning a call to religious life. Please contact Father Scott Wallisch if you are interested in helping with

ARCHBISHOP NAUMANN

Confirmation — St. Michael the Archangel, Leawood

April 1 Institute for Missionary Activity Symposium — Benedictine College

April 7 Eucharistic adoration — Hayden High School, Topeka

April 9 Palm Sunday Mass — Cathedral of St. Peter, Kansas City, Kansas

April 2 Pastoral visit — St. Paul, Olathe April 3 St. Paul Parish confirmation — St. James Academy, Lenexa April 4 Installation to the ministry of reader — Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis April 5 Mass — Maur Hill Academy, Atchison Donnelly College corporate board meeting Catholic Radio Network radiothon April 6 Religious Alliance Against Pornography conference call Eucharistic adoration — Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park

this endeavor.

Our Archdiocese is extraordinarily blessed with the many religious women who serve our local church with such dedication. If you are looking for something positive to do as part of your Lenten observance, I encourage you to write a note to a religious Sister thanking her for

ARCHBISHOP KELEHER April 2 Mass — Federal prison camp April 3 St. Paul’s Outreach Mass — St. Agnes, Roeland Park April 4 Catholic Radio radiothon April 6 Confirmation — St. Michael the Archangel, Leawood April 9 Mass — Federal prison camp Confessions — Church of the Nativity, Leawood

the gift of her vocation. Please pray for an increase of vocations to religious communities, particularly those serving in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

As St. Thérèse of Lisieux once described her own vocation, religious women are love in the heart of the church.

MARCH 31, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

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NEVER TOO LATE

LEAVEN PHOTO BY DOUG WELLER

Loretta and Tony Wiseman will be among the Catholic Church’s newest members this Easter. It’s been a long journey for Loretta, who was taught by Ursuline Sisters in the 1930s.

Couple converts to Catholicism in their 80s

By Doug Weller Special to The Leaven

W

EA — Loretta Wiseman’s encounter with the Ursuline Sisters at Queen of the Holy Rosary School here in 1939 left a lasting impression.

Now, 78 years later, she will join the faith that was at the core of those Sisters’ devotion.

Loretta, 83, and her husband Toby, 88, are among 13 members of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults class at Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in northeast Miami County. They are likely among the oldest of the thousands of converts nationwide who will join the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil this year.

Loretta said she always has remembered the generosity and love the Ursulines showed her, and, in times of need, she returned to pray at the church in tiny Wea, located about 16 miles northwest of the couple’s home in Freeman, Missouri.

“All through my life, every time someone was ill, I was here praying in this church. As I grew older, I just knew I had to become a Catholic. It was something I had to do,” she said.

The only thing unusual, said Toby, was that it took this long.

“I was surprised she wasn’t a Catholic by the time she was out of elementa-

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

ry school,” he said.

“I think my mom was afraid I’d become a nun,” Loretta explained.

But once she decided, Toby was in lockstep beside her.

“Mine’s a lot shorter story,” he said of his conversion journey. “If she was going to become Catholic, I had to be, too.”

Loretta’s conversion story begins when she was 5 years old. Ready to begin classes but turned down by the local public school because she wasn’t yet 6, her father learned of the Catholic school in Wea and asked if the Sisters would take her.

Not only did principal Sister Ursula Mertz agree to, but, when her father’s precious job with an oil pipeline company during the Great Depression required him and her mother to spend long days away from her, the Sisters offered to board Loretta at their convent.

All through elementary school, Loretta lived weekdays with the Ursulines, learning to cook, garden and raise chickens, as well as attending school.

After graduating from a public high school, she enrolled at Ursuline College in Paola, where she earned enough credits to obtain a teaching license and, eventually, a bachelor’s degree.

She went on to teach school for 40 years, most of it in Grandview, Missouri, while Toby worked for 43 years for the same oil pipeline company that had employed her father.

They’ve lived at her parents’ place for most of their 60 years of married life.

The Ursulines’ kindness and devotion stayed with her always, she said.

“I can’t ever begin to tell you how good they were to me,” she said. “No one could have had a better childhood than I.” She stayed in touch with the Sisters long after they left Wea and eventually retired at the Ursuline convent in Paola.

And when Loretta received an excellence in teaching award in 1988, she told the crowd during her acceptance speech that the honor belonged to those Sisters at Queen of the Holy Rosary School.

Last year, she decided it was time to join the church and met with Father Gary Pennings, pastor of Wea and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

At their first RCIA gathering, headed

by Deacon Tom Rothermich, they met his wife Kathy, who agreed to be the Wisemans’ sponsor.

“It was lucky for me,” said Kathy. “I just happened to show up at RCIA. I had been a teacher, too. We’re so compatible.”

Loretta said Kathy and the parish helped ease their concern about becoming Catholic at their age.

“Here we are, so elderly,” she said.

“I was worried I didn’t have anything to offer the church. But we’ve learned there are things we can do.”

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Father Pennings said that, given the couple’s ages, he had planned to have them start RCIA, provide some private catechesis and then receive them into the church well before Easter. But the Wisemans said they enjoyed the RCIA class so much they wanted to continue.

However, in January, Loretta was hospitalized, and Father Pennings suggested they be received into the church at that time. A longtime friend of the Wisemans, Father Vince Rogers — who is pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gladstone, Missouri — then offered the couple the sacraments.

Father Pennings said he plans to give the Wisemans a special blessing during the Easter Vigil in Wea. “They’re a wonderful, dear couple,” Father Pennings said.

Father Rogers said he met the couple about 20 years ago and was pleased that Father Pennings allowed him to offer them the sacraments.

“They’re super, super people,” he said. “They’ve been Catholics in their hearts. It just took them their whole lives to get to it.”

Loretta said her conversion has brought her full circle and knows her Ursuline benefactors would be pleased — and not the least bit amazed.

Sister Ursula “wouldn’t be surprised,” Loretta said. “I have felt her presence when I’d be praying to the Virgin Mary.

I always felt she was up there in heaven beside the Virgin Mary.”

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MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

4

Lawrence Knights clean historic Franklin cemetery

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

L

AWRENCE — Truly, the old cemetery on the east edge of Lawrence was haunted, but not by ghosts.

Rather, the Franklin Catholic Cemetery was haunted by lost history and chronic neglect. Portions were choked by brush and trees. Here and there, headstones were shattered or toppled.

That changed when members of Knights of Columbus Council 1372 from St. John the Evangelist Parish, and a few others from Corpus Christi Parish, both Lawrence churches, began to restore the cemetery last fall.

From adjoining Kansas Highway 10, the unmarked cemetery looks like just another hillside pasture topped by a clump of weather-ravaged trees. Occasionally, homeless persons established campsites in the thickets.

It’s safe to say that few of the thousands of persons speeding past the plot, which lies between the Kansas and Wakarusa rivers, are aware of the site’s significance and history.

For Brian Walter, a trustee with his council, cleaning up the pioneer cemetery was just an interesting service project — until he found his great-grandfather.

As part of the project, he obtained a list of known burials from the Watkins Community Museum in Lawrence.

“One name stood out — William Grauel,” said Walter. “I thought, ‘That name sounds familiar. How do I know that name?’

“Then I remembered that my mom and dad used to talk about Uncle Bill Grauel.”

When he asked his parents, they told him that their Uncle Bill’s father, William Grauel, was buried in a cemetery east of Lawrence.

In the course of clearing brush, Walter found his grave: William Grauel, Feb. 8, 1850 – Sept. 15, 1899.

Members of St. John the Evangelist and Corpus Christi parishes joined forces in spring 1994 to clear the cemetery, but no provision was made for maintenance.

Over the course of the 20 years that fol-

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE BOLLIG

Brian Walter, a member of the Knights of Columbus and St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence, inspects one of the tombstones uncovered while clearing brush in the Catholic cemetery at the former settlement of Franklin, east of Lawrence. lowed, nature ran riot again. Only a portion was kept clear, and that by a local farmer who continues to cut and bale hay on the land.

The Catholic cemetery and the nearly disappeared Protestant cemetery on the next hill to the east are all that remain of the former territorial era pro-slavery stronghold of Franklin.

The site, near where the Oregon Trail fords the Wakarusa River, was recorded as a squatter claim in 1853. A post office was established in 1855 and, soon afterward, the town of Franklin was incorporated.

It was inevitable that clashes would occur between pro-slavery Franklin and neighboring Free State Lawrence.

In response to the sacking of Lawrence on May 21, 1856, the firebrand John Brown led Free State forces to attack Franklin on June 4, 1856. This battle was

only two days after the Battle of Blackjack in southern Douglas County. The second attack on Franklin occurred on Aug. 12, 1856.

After Kansas joined the ranks of loyal Union states in January 1861, the fortunes of Franklin declined. People moved away and the town disappeared.

There never was a Catholic parish in Franklin, said Walter. The land was deeded as a cemetery in 1870, but the oldest tombstone is from 1869. Walter found references to burials in 1863, after Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence. It’s possible the cemetery began as a small, family burial plot.

Just how many bodies are buried in the Franklin Catholic Cemetery is hard to say.

Records indicate burials as late as 1915, although the latest gravestone the Knights found is from 1911. There are

52 known burials in the cemetery, but they’ve been able to find only 17 stones containing 22 names. Records indicate that some graves were moved to Mount Calvary Cemetery in Lawrence. Both cemeteries are owned by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

Walter hopes to gather groups of Knights on a semiregular basis to keep the cemetery from getting overgrown again.

“In the future, Mount Calvary Cemetery won’t have any more room,” said Walter. “At some point, this cemetery will be used by Lawrence as a new Catholic cemetery.”

“There are future plans to use it,” he concluded, “and, fortunately now, there are plans to maintain it to the best of our ability.”

Serra contest winners pen vocations inspiration

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — If you wanted inspiration and hope about vocations, then a good place to start was at a recent meeting of the Kansas City Kansas Serra Club.

At that March 22 meeting held at the clubhouse of Painted Hills Golf Course, the Serrans honored winners of their annual 6th-grade vocation essay contest, school representatives and their parents.

Last September, 6th-grade students at Catholic schools in Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties were invited to submit essays, between 300 and 400 words, on the perennial topic: “Why are priests, Sisters, deacons and Brothers necessary for the mission of the Catholic Church?”

Preliminary judging was done at the schools, followed by a final judging of the top essays by a panel of Serrans.

The first-place boy and girl winners each received $100 for both themselves and their schools. The runner-up boy and girl winners received $50 for both

themselves and their schools.

Each student read his or her essay at the event and received a plaque and check from Msgr. Michael Mullen, Serran chaplain, archdiocesan co-director of seminarians and pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Kansas City, Kansas.

The first-place girl was Betsy Goodenow, from Holy Trinity School in Lenexa. With her were parents Stephanie and Andy Goodenow, teacher Cayleigh Shaw and principal Scott Merfen.

The first-place boy was Joseph Staker from St. Ann School in Prairie Village. With him were parents Christy and David Staker, teacher Allie Foster and principal Mike Riley.

The runner-up girl was Rylee Hadel from Queen of the Holy Rosary School in Wea. With her were her parents, Linda and Greg Hadel.

The runner-up boy was Will Caesar from Queen of the Holy Rosary School in Wea. With him were his parents Teresa and Greg Caesar.

The two runners-up were also accompanied by teacher Ann Pivarnik, principal Nick Antista and pastor Father Gary Pennings.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE BOLLIG

Sixth-grade Catholic school Serra vocations essay contest winners were: (left) first-place Joseph Staker, runner-up Will Caesar, (foreground) runner-up Rylee Hadel and first-place Betsy Goodenow.

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

5

Abbot’s Table features celebrity bishop and influential alum

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TCHISON — Like a good scout for the major leagues, Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher has an eye for promising prospects.

And he knew he had a winner when Bob showed up at his seminary.

At the time, Archbishop Keleher was rector of the University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. As the rector got to know him, Bob the seminarian made quite an impression.

“It was clear that this young man was highly intelligent, but very down to earth,” said Archbishop Keleher. “He had a marvelous insight into our Catholic tradition, but was always very approachable.”

Bob was ordained. And eventually became rector of the seminary. Then he became a bishop.

The guy known as Bob the seminarian is now known as Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He’s also known for his books and videos, and as founder of Word On Fire Catholic Ministries.

On April 22, Abbot James Albers and the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison will present the Lumen Vitae medal to Bishop Barron and Elmer Fangman at the fifth annual Abbot’s Table, to be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Kansas City’s Crown Center.

Fangman, now retired, was the longtime dean of students at Benedictine College in Atchison.

“We’re humbled and delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of Elmer and Bishop Barron,” said Abbot Albers. “And we are grateful for the generosity and support of the abbey by the many who will

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (left) and Elmer Fangman, longtime dean of students at Benedictine College in Atchison, will receive the Lumen Vitae medal on April 22 from Abbot James Albers and the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison. attend this event.”

Bishop Barron and Fangman will speak at the Abbot’s Table. Bishop Barron will be the main celebrant and homilist at a Mass prior to the event.

Abbot Albers praised Fangman as a pioneer of the new evangelization before Pope John Paul II coined the phrase.

“Elmer was out on the front lines doing it — whether it was at the college or in the offering of his wise counsel, which many sought — he was always there building relationships that would bring others closer to Christ,” said the abbot.

Fangman graduated from St. Bene-

dict’s College in 1958. After a brief stint as a teacher, he earned his master’s degree at the University of Kansas and returned to Benedictine to serve as dean of students. During his tenure, Fangman oversaw the merger that formed Benedictine College, built up the school’s athletics, and created the student life program still used by the college.

Benedictine president Stephen Minnis said Fangman’s work is still evident today.

“There are certain people that, if they hadn’t come along, Benedictine College would not be here,” said Minnis. “Elmer had a vision for a student life program that was different . . . that combined community, faith and scholarship.

“He also had the vision to build up athletics, which greatly enhanced enrollment at a time when we needed it most.”

Fangman and his wife Ann raised nine children in Atchison, just blocks from the college, and have always been great friends of the monks. Since his retirement, he served as a counselor at the All-Faith Counseling Center in Atchison.

He continues to serve on various boards and has been instrumental in assisting the monks in the advancement of their community.

Having a chance to meet and hear Bishop Barron is a great opportunity for those attending the Abbot’s Table, according to Archbishop Keleher. “[Bishop Barron] has a magic about him,” said the archbishop. “He has insights into church teaching that others wouldn’t think of, that go beyond normal understanding, and he truly arrests your attention.”

“In encountering the priests that were educated by [Bishop Barron],” continued the archbishop, “you can feel the impact that he has had on this archdiocese, and I’m sure many others.”

Bishop Barron, in addition to his work in formation and education of seminarians, is host of “Catholicism,” an award-winning documentary about the Catholic faith. He is a number one Amazon.com best-selling author and is one of the most followed Catholics on social media with more than 18 million views on YouTube.

There is still time to participate in the Abbot’s Table. For reservations, sponsorships or information, call (913) 360-7908, or go to the St. Benedict’s Abbey website at: www.kansasmonks.org.

Archbishop talks marriage, family in annual ‘fireside chat’

By Brianna Sluder Special to The Leaven

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TCHISON — Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann traveled north to Atchison on March 2 to visit with Benedictine College students. It is a trek he makes many times a year, but this one is to meet with a singular group — the college’s theology and philosophy seniors.

“After a visit to Benedictine College from Cardinal Christoph Schonborn in 2010 and his discussion of the opportunity to have deep discussions with Pope Benedict XVI as a student,” said Benedictine president Stephen Minnis, “Archbishop [Naumann] suggested that we gather the senior theology and philosophy majors together to discuss topics of the day.”

Since then, Benedictine has hosted the archbishop every spring, calling the event the Archbishop’s Fireside Chat.

“I think it is a wonderful opportunity for our senior majors to have a discussion with our archbishop on various topics,” said Minnis.

This year, the topic was Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia,” and the importance of marriage and families. Archbishop Naumann explained that one of the main goals of the archdiocese’s 10-year vision is to strengthen marriage and family life.

“We just launched the Joyful Marriage Project . . . inviting every couple to do some sort of marriage enrichment this year,” said Archbishop Naumann. It is married couples, he reminded the students, that are called to choose daily to

PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAIRE PETERSON

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann gives a talk to Benedictine College’s theology and philosophy seniors on March 2 at the college in Atchison. lay down one’s life for one’s spouse, and he stressed the importance of constantly working to strengthen marriages.

Emily Kane, a senior theology major, expressed her appreciation for the evening.

“He is truly a shepherd to us, and the fact that he takes time out of his busy schedule to be with college students is a real witness to me,” said the Minneso-

ta native. “To be reassured of the truth by him was exactly what we students needed to hear.”

Archbishop Naumann described marriage as a “vocation to heroic love” and offered suggestions for marriage enrichment.

“In Chapter Four of ‘Amoris Laetitia,’” he said, “Pope Francis gives a beautiful reflection on St. Paul’s famous canticle

on love. This could be a great tool for married couples to read and ponder.”

Put simply, the archbishop said, “Family is the foundation of society, culture, the nation and the church. Marriage is the foundation of family.

That’s why, he concluded, “The health and vibrancy of marriage is important to all of us.

“We all have a stake in marriage.”

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

WORKERS thein VINEYARD

TOOLS FOR FAMILIES Growing as Disciples of Jesus

Keep Holy Week holy

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s we prepare for Christ’s passion this season with our families, let us enter into Holy Week with even greater sacrifice and reverence: • Prepare your home — Put away the bunnies and baskets for a week. Drape your mantle in purple and place a crucifix there. A simple vine wreath and ARTWORK BY NEILSON CARLIN, 2015 candles remind us of this holy season.

• Step up your fasting — Offer up television and media. Instead, use the time for prayer, spiritual reading or time with your family.

• Participate in the Paschal Triduum — Make these three days a tradition in your family. This may seem daunting to parents of young children, but participation in this holy sacrifice helps children understand the power and beauty of the Resurrection in a way like no other. Consider attending Mass at the cathedral, especially on Holy Thursday.

— Jennie Punswick LEAVEN PHOTO BY MOIRA CULLINGS

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CHURCH OF THE WEEK

Mary Lew McCarty stands in front of a crucifix at Duchesne Clinic where she has volunteered for 20 years. McCarty’s role at the clinic has changed over the years, but her dedication to its mission remains constant.

Nurse volunteers to ensure uninsured have medical care

By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

Sacred Heart, Paxico Address: 22298 Newbury Rd., 66526 Phone: (785) 636-5578 Pastor: Father Michael Peterson Mass Time: Sunday, 10:30 a.m.

Email: wbcocath@wamego.net Website: http://www.sacredheartpaxico.com MORE PHOTOS AND A VIDEO TOUR of this church can be seen online at: www.theleaven.org

WEBSITE EXCLUSIVE

GAME OF THE WEEK

GIRLS SOCCER

St. Thomas Aquinas vs.

Liberty High School St. Thomas Aquinas High School defeated Liberty High School 10 to 0 on March 27 in the first round of the Bob Durig Memorial Mo-Kan Challenge. Leaven photographer Doug Hesse caught all the action. Go to: www.theleaven.org for all the action.

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Mary Lew McCarty still beams with joy as she volunteers at Duchesne Clinic here.

But even after 20 years of volunteering, “I don’t think I do enough,” said McCarty.

“I have no idea what [the patients’] challenges are,” she said. “I’m just glad to feel like I’m a drop in the bucket.”

Duchesne Clinic is a primary care doctor’s office that serves low-income, uninsured residents of Wyandotte County.

Patients who come to the clinic have no insurance and no way to pay for their care.

Volunteers like McCarty breathe life into the clinic, welcoming patients and facilitating their access to the care they might not otherwise receive.

McCarty’s work at Duchesne Clinic began in the late 1990s.

Although she was a registered nurse, McCarty had three children in three different schools and stopped working in her profession to focus on her family.

But McCarty’s interest in the medical field never waned.

And she became particularly curious about the avenues that were actually more effective in providing certain types of patient care — avenues that avoided the chaos of the emergency room.

“And I heard Sister [Janet Cashman, SCL] talking about the clinic in Kansas City, where they tried to do just that,” she

“

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT [THE PATIENTS’] CHALLENGES ARE. I’M JUST GLAD TO FEEL LIKE I’M A DROP IN THE BUCKET.” Mary Lew McCarty, Duchesne Clinic volunteer

continued. “So I thought I could volunteer.”

Initially, McCarty worked with patient histories and took blood pressure, as well as finger sticks if the patient had diabetes.

“But I couldn’t talk to them because they [spoke] Spanish,” she said.

The working knowledge McCarty had from her college Spanish classes wasn’t enough, so she joined a club called La Causerie in Kansas City, Missouri, where she could learn more of the language.

“I was able to brush up, and then I took a course at [Johnson County Community College] so I could learn grammar,” she said.

Although her Spanish was shaky at first, she felt encouraged by the kindness of the patients and staff at the clinic.

“People were so friendly,” she said. “They weren’t making fun of me.”

McCarty’s work went from documenting histories to checking medications to helping with paperwork, which is now her primary focus.

Every year in the month of their birth, Duchesne Clinic’s patients must bring in certain documents to continue receiving care at the clinic.

McCarty spends about three hours each week at Duchesne — sometimes longer depending on the need — helping patients fill out that paperwork.

The clinic is not her only volunteer effort. She recently joined the Ladies of Charity and continues to volunteer at the Seton Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

But the most challenging part of her volunteer work is to be found at the clinic — and it isn’t the time she puts into it.

It’s “when people need so much,” she said.

“They come in and they don’t have a permanent address because they got kicked out, or they just arrived and have these overwhelming health issues and all of their medical records are from Mexico,” she said.

McCarty wishes there was more she could do. But 20 years of volunteering always pays off — when she sees the patients get better.

The values Duchesne Clinic embodies are a big reason McCarty has stayed as a volunteer for so long.

“I think all of our staff have a faith in God and in the presence of Jesus,” she said. “That’s part of why I’m here instead of another clinic.”

6

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

Mix of genres promises lively evening >> Continued from page 1 Rziha and Father Jeremy both expect the night to be a bit of an eye-opener, as well, for those unfamiliar with the conditions in Syria.

“I think it will be a very enjoyable night that will cause people to think about their life and what they have in relation to others who may not be able to enjoy all the comforts of home or may not even have a home,” Rziha said.

“I’m hoping for awareness, a good time at a concert and generosity in supporting this organization,” said Father Jeremy.

Although this is the first time Rziha has planned a large event, he feels the support he has received has carried him through.

“I’m really grateful for the support I’ve received in putting this all together,” he said. “It helps me to know that it’s God’s will when it all falls into place so perfectly.

“Stuff I would have never even dreamed being able to do — all the people that were in my life at the right time — I’m grateful to God for that.”

Wagner’s Mud-Jacking Co.

Specializing in Foundation Repairs Mud-jacking and Waterproofing.

Serving Lawrence, Topeka and surrounding areas.

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

Ken and Mary Lou (Schmelzle) Gudenkauf, members of Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Topeka, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on April 1 with a Mass, followed by dinner with family and friends.

The couple was married on April 8, 1967, at St. Patrick Church, Corning, by Father Robert Poole. Their children are: Lisa Todd, Kevin Gudenkauf and Keith Gudenkauf. They also have four grandchildren.

Sandy (Stretz) and Vince Sola, members of Prince of Peace Parish, Olathe, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on April 1. The couple was married at St. Ann Parish, Prairie Village, on April 1, 1967. Their children are: Mike Sola, Jim Sola, Debbie Straub and Rick Sola. They also have 13 grandchildren.

In addition to a small family celebration on their anniversary, a trip to Branson, Missouri, with all of their children and their families is planned for this summer.

Sister of Charity community director elected delegate

S

ister Constance Phelps, community director of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, and Sister Patricia Siemen, prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, have been elected as the new U.S. delegates to the International Union of Superiors General. Sister Toby Lardie, pastoral leader (major superior) of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, has been chosen as the alternate delegate.

UISG is a worldwide, canonically approved organization of superiors general of institutes of Catholic women religious.

Headquartered in Rome, UISG promotes an understanding of religious life.

Sister Constance has served as SCL community director since July 2016. She spent most of her professional life in higher education as a professor of sociology and college administrator.

Women’s conference set for April 22 OVERLAND PARK — The “Living in Truth” Catholic Women’s Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 22 at Church of the Ascension here, located at 9510 W. 127th St. Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann. The speakers will

be Sue Ellen Browder, who wrote “Cosmo Writer to Catholic Mom,” and Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. The cost to attend is $25 for early registration; $30 at the door. To register, go the website at: www.livingintruthkc.com.

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7

Pat and Bob Pfeiffer, members of Holy Spirit Parish, O ve r l a n d Park, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on April 1.

The couple was married at Sacred Heart Church, Sedalia, Missouri, on April 1, 1967.

Their children are: Staci McKenna, Julie Elliott, Michael Pfeiffer and Tammy Medlock. They also have five grandchildren.

A celebration with family and friends is planned for May.

Corrections In the March 24 issue of The Leaven, Father Jonathan Dizon was incorrectly identified as chaplain of Hayden High School in Topeka. Father Dizon is the chaplain of the Catholic Campus Center at Washburn University, Topeka. The Leaven regrets the error.

The article “Archdiocesan council discusses special needs ministry” in the March 24 issue of The Leaven contained statistical errors. It should have read that there are 7 to 14 million Catholics with special needs in the United States. In the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, out of an approximate population of 180,000 Catholics, there are an estimated 18,000 Catholics with disabilities. Specifically, there are between 400 and 800 Catholics in the archdiocese who are deaf or blind.

LET GOD HUG YOU: GO TO CONFESSION

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. —

But if you’re putting it off because you’ve

We’re on the cusp of the

been away from the sacrament for a while,

Fifth Sunday of Lent, but

you’re in luck. Here you will find everything

you still haven’t received

you need to know to make a good confession

the sacrament of reconcil-

— from some do’s and don’ts, to an examina-

iation?

tion of conscience, to a copy of an act of con-

Don’t fret yet. There’s still time.

Many parishes across the archdiocese have

trition.

As Pope Francis said, “Confession is the

week or next, or have confessors available on

sacrament of the tenderness of God, his way

Wednesday nights.

of embracing us.”

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

W

hether you go to confession frequ or are doing so after a long perio sence, it is important to prepare to ebrate the sacrament. We do this by praying to Holy Spirit to help us recognize our sins and h true contrition and by making an examinatio conscience.

Two traditional formats for the examination of science are meditations that use the Ten Command ments and the precepts of the church, which can b found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos.

2042 and 2043).

Another version using the Ten Commandments is contained in the pamphlet, “A Primer for Confession” (see sidebar at far right).

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Lenten reconciliation services scheduled this

STEP BY STEP

Examination of Conscience

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

The penitent enters and kneels at a screen or sits in a chair. The priest greets the penitent, and both the priest and the penitent make the sign of the cross.

The penitent may begin with the traditional formula, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

It has been (indicate time) since my last confession.”

The priest invites the penitent to place his trust in God, and then confess his sins.

The penitent receives some advice, encouragement and a penance from the priest.

pe his an so pra pra so ten

DO’S AND DON’TS OF CONFES DO

remember that during Lent, parishes throughout the archdiocese will be making the sacrament of reconciliation available from 6-7 p.m. every Wednesday.

DO

prepare for the sacrament by doing what’s called an examination of conscience. You can use the guide that appears here, another one you found elsewhere or just a sober mental review of your sins since your last confession.

DO

remember to start by telling the priest how long it’s been since your last confession. It’s OK if you don’t remember exactly.

DO

remember to limit your confession to a discussion of your sins. Spiritual direction, marriage problems, struggles with addictions, etc., are more appropriate for an appointment you make with your pastor.

DO

come as early as you can and wait as patiently as you can. Avoid coming in at the last few minutes that confessions are being heard, if at all possible.

DO

confess all mortal sins and the number of times committed.

Act of Contrition

O my God,

I am heartily sorry for having offended thee,

uently od of abo celo the have on of

and I detest all my sins,

f condbe

they offend thee, my God,

because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life.

Amen.

PRIMER FOR CONFESSION

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

Honor your father and mother.

STEP 5

STEP 6

The priest asks the enitent to express s sorrow by praying n act of contrition or ome other appropriate ayer. The priest then ays the prayer of abolution, and the penint responds, “Amen.”

The priest dismisses the penitent using one of the formulas found in the ritual, often “Go in peace.” The penitent goes forth to live and continue the celebration of the sacrament by doing his or her penance.

SSION DON’T

avoid the sacrament because you’ve forgotten how to go to confession or you can’t remember an act of contrition. The sacrament is an encounter with Christ the healer, not a memory test. Ask the priest for help.

DON’T

worry if you cannot remember the exact number of times you’ve committed a certain venial sin. You can use “often” or “occasionally” or other such terms to distinguish frequency of recurring venial sins.

DON’T

forget to end your confession with the words “I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life,” or something similar, so the priest knows you’re done.

DON’T

confess other people’s sins. Putting some time into acknowledging your part in arguments with your spouse, kids or boss prior to making your confession, for example, will help you recognize and admit your own responsibility in the matter.

DON’T

treat the sacrament as a get-out-of-jail-free card so you can receive Communion — then deliberately commit the same sins again. Pray to accept the grace of the sacrament to strengthen you to do better.

DON’T

hold back for fear the priest will think less of you. This is the time to lay your sins before the Lord; the priest is only his representative. Remember that the priest goes to confession as well; he knows the courage it takes to confess those things you are most ashamed of.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife.

You shall not desire your neighbor’s goods.

• Do I seek to love God with my whole heart and soul? Does he truly hold the first place in my life?

• Have I been involved with the occult or superstitious practices?

• Have I ever received holy Communion in the state of mortal sin?

• Have I ever told a lie in confession or deliberately withheld confessing a mortal sin?

• Have I insulted God’s holy name or used it lightly or carelessly?

• Have I wished evil on anyone?

• Have I missed Mass deliberately on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, or on holy days of obligation?

• Do I try to keep Sunday as a day of rest?

• Do I honor and obey my parents? Do I care for them in their old age?

• Have I neglected my family responsibilities to spouse and children?

• Is my family life centered around Christ and his teaching?

• Have I murdered or physically harmed anyone?

• Have I had an abortion? Have I encouraged an abortion?

• Have I abused drugs or alcohol?

• Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization?

• Have I encouraged others to have themselves sterilized?

• Have I harbored hatred, anger or resentment in my heart toward anyone?

• Have I given scandal to anyone by my sins, thereby leading them to sin?

• Have I been unfaithful to my marriage vows in action or thought?

• Have I practiced any form of contraception in my marriage?

• Have I used fertility treatments condemned by the church?

• Have I been engaged in sexual activity with a member of the opposite sex or the same sex?

• Have I indulged in pornographic material?

• Am I pure in my thoughts, words and actions? Am I modest in dress?

• Am I engaged in any inappropriate relationships?

• Have I taken what is not mine?

• Am I honest with my employer/employee?

• Do I gamble excessively, thereby robbing my family of their needs?

• Do I seek to share what I have with the poor and needy?

• Have I lied, gossiped or spoken behind anyone’s back?

• Have I ruined anyone’s good name?

• Do I reveal information that should be confidential?

• Am I sincere in my dealings with others or am I two-faced?

• Am I envious of another’s spouse or family?

• Have I consented to impure thoughts?

• Do I try to control my imagination?

• Am I reckless and irresponsible in the books I read and the movies I watch?

• Am I envious of the possessions of others?

• Am I resentful and bitter over my position in life?

(SOURCE: “A PRIMER FOR CONFESSION WITH AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE,” PAMPHLET NO. 4005, FAITH GUILD, ST. MARTIN DE PORRES LAY DOMINICAN COMMUNITY, NEW HOPE, KY 40052)

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

NATION

10

Hawaii votes to defer suicide bill

H

CNS PHOTO/ARMANDO ARORIZO, EPA

Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, who started Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles to help young people escape a life of gangs, drug abuse and street violence, is pictured in a 2005 photo. Father Boyle will receive the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal during commencement ceremonies at the university May 21.

Homeboy Industries founder to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal

N

OTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, who started a social enterprise in Los Angeles to help young people escape a life of gangs, drug abuse and street violence, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal.

Father Boyle, 62, founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, will be honored during commencement ceremonies at the university May 21.

“For nearly 30 years, Father Boyle has served men and women who have been incarcerated and involved with gangs, and, in doing so, has helped them to discover the strength and hope necessary to transform their lives,” Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, university president, said in a statement.

“Father Boyle’s solidarity with our sisters and brothers at the margins of society offers an inspiring model of faith in action. We are grateful for the witness of his life and honored to bestow this award on him,” Father Jenkins added.

The Jesuit priest expressed gratitude for being named the recipient of the award after it was announced by the university on Laetare Sunday, March 26, the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Homeboy Industries was started in 1988 in response to gang violence and the toll it was taking on young people in the community around Mission Dolores Parish in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles, where Father Boyle was serving as pastor. Father Boyle, the parish and community leaders worked together to develop social enterprises and alternative opportunities for young people, including an alternative school and day care program and seeking out legitimate employment.

“At Homeboy, we try to hold up a mirror and say, ‘Here’s who you are. You’re exactly what God had in mind when he made you. Then you have this moment with people when they become that truth,” Father Boyle said in a statement from the university.

Homeboy Industries has grown

to become a worldwide gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program, annually working with 15,000 men and women.

The university established the award in 1883 as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor that dates to before the 11th century. The medal has been awarded annually at the university to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrates the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity.

Homeboy Industries employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises. The program also provides other therapeutic and educational services, tattoo removal and work readiness and job training.

Past recipients of the award have included President John F. Kennedy, Dorothy Day, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Civil War Gen. William Rosecrans, labor activist Msgr.

George G. Higgins and jazz composer Dave Brubeck.

ONOLULU (CNS) — The House Health Committee of the Hawaii Legislature March 23 unanimously voted to defer a bill that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

The move by the seven-member committee, which took place after hours of what news reports described as “intense debate,” essentially means no further action will be taken.

On March 7, the Hawaii Senate passed the measure, called the “Medical Aid in Dying” bill, or S.B. 1129, with 22 votes in favor, three against. Two of the affirmative votes were cast “with reservations.”

During their consideration of the bill, House Health Committee members, led

by Rep. Della Au Bellati, the chair, said they were concerned about a lack of specifics, enough safeguards to protect vulnerable people, and what training physicians would receive about prescribing lethal drugs to terminal patients.

The proposed bill, based on a law in Oregon, would have allowed an adult Hawaii resident diagnosed with a terminal illness and determined to have six or fewer months to live, to request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication to be self-administered to end his or her life.

The Catholic Church in Hawaii actively opposed the bill.

In testimony Feb. 24, the Hawaii Catholic Conference, the public policy voice for the Catholic Church in Hawaii, stated that legal assisted suicide “can undermine the physician’s role as healer, forever alter the doctor‚ patient relationship, and lessen the quality of care provided to patients at the end of life.”

The Catholic conference pointed out the incongruity of the state promoting and facilitating suicide for one group of persons, calling it “dignified and humane,” while “recognizing suicide as a serious statewide public health concern in all other circumstances.”

The conference organized a statewide petition against the measure that collected thousands of signatures.

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva, in a letter to Catholics in the statewide diocese, called the effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and “another manifestation . . . of the ‘culture of death.’”

The bishop countered the argument that terminal illness “diminishes” a person’s dignity or “true humanity.”

“It costs a tremendous amount of time and money to care for someone who is very sick,” he said. “Yet true compassion means ‘suffering with’ someone — or allowing others to suffer with us — and while it is very humbling, the most intimate bonds of human caring can be nurtured in just such circumstances.”

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

WORLD

11

Teens promise pope to never be bullies

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

R

OME (CNS) — Pope Francis asked 45,000 children preparing for confirmation to promise Jesus they would never engage in bullying.

Turning stern during a lively and laughter-filled encounter March 25, Pope Francis told the youngsters he was very worried about the growing phenomenon of bullying.

He asked them to be silent and reflect on if there were times when they made fun of someone for how they looked or behaved. And, as a condition of their confirmation, he made them promise Jesus that they would never tease or bully anyone.

The pope ended his daylong visit to Milan by participating in an expanded version of the archdiocese’s annual encounter for pre-teens preparing for confirmation. An estimated 78,000 people filled the city’s famed San Siro soccer stadium; the archdiocese expects to confirm about 45,000 young people this year.

A boy named Davide asked the pope, “When you were our age, what helped your friendship with Jesus grow?”

First of all, the pope said, it was his grandparents. One of his grandfathers was a carpenter, who told him Jesus learned carpentry from St. Joseph, so whenever the pope saw his grandfather work, he thought of Jesus. The other grandfather taught him to always say something to Jesus before going to sleep, even if it was just, “Good night, Jesus.”

His grandmothers and his mother, the pope said, were the ones who taught him to pray. He told the kids that even if their grandparents “don’t know how to use a computer or have a smartphone,” they have a lot to teach them.

Playing with friends taught him joy and how to get along with others, which is part of faith, the pope said. And going to Mass and to the parish oratory also strengthened his faith because “being with others is important.”

CNS PHOTO/ALESSANDRO GAROFALO, REUTERS

An image of Jesus is seen as youths perform for Pope Francis during his meeting with confirmation candidates at San Siro stadium in Milan March 25.

CNS PHOTO/STEFANO RELLANDINI, REUTERS

Pope Francis greets the crowd during an encounter with confirmation candidates at San Siro Stadium in Milan March 25.

Young candidates for confirmation attend an encounter with Pope Francis at San Siro stadium in Milan March 25. The pope was making a one- day visit to Milan.

A couple of parents, who introduced themselves as Monica and Alberto, asked the pope’s advice on educating their three children in the faith.

Pope Francis borrowed little Davide’s question and asked the parents to close their eyes and think of the people who transmitted the faith to them and helped it grow.

“Your children watch you continually,” the pope said. “Even if you don’t notice, they observe everything and learn from it,” especially in how parents handle tensions, joys and sorrows.

He also encouraged families to go to Mass together and then, if the weather is nice, to go to a park and play together.

“This is beautiful and will help you live the commandment to keep the Lord’s day holy.”

An essential part of handing on the faith, he said, is teaching children the meaning of solidarity and engaging them

CNS PHOTO/MASSIMILIANO MIGLIORATO

in the parents’ acts of charity and solidarity with the poor. “Faith grows with charity and charity grows with faith,” he said.

Before going to the soccer stadium, Pope Francis celebrated an afternoon Mass for the feast of the Annunciation in Milan’s Monza Park.

The annunciation of Jesus’ birth to Mary took place in her home in a small town in the middle of nowhere, which is a sign that God desired to meet his people “in places we normally would not expect,” the pope said in his homily.

Just as “the joy of salvation began in the daily life of a young woman’s home in Nazareth,” he said, God wants to be welcomed into and given life in the homes of all people.

God is indifferent to no one, the pope said, and “no situation will be deprived of his presence.”

Tens of thousands of people gathered on a warm spring day for the Mass amid the new leaves and fragile buds on the trees of the park.

Pope Francis used Milan’s Ambrosian rite, a Mass that differs slightly from the Latin rite used in most parts of the world. Some of the differences included the pope blessing each of the readers and not only the deacon who proclaimed the

Gospel, and the Creed being sung after the offertory, rather than after the homily.

In his homily, the pope said that like Mary at the Annunciation, people today naturally wonder how God’s promises could be fulfilled. “But how can this be?”

Mary asked.

The same question arises “at a time so filled with speculation. There’s speculation on the poor and migrants, speculation on the young and their future,” the pope said. “While pain knocks on many doors, while young people are increasingly unsatisfied by the lack of real opportunities, speculation is abundant everywhere.”

Finding and living the joy of the Gospel, he said, is possible only by following the path the Angel Gabriel led Mary on when he told her she would bear God’s son. People must remember the great things God has done and remember that they belong to the people of God, a community that “is not afraid to welcome those in need because they know the Lord is present in them.”

Finally, he said, they must have faith in the “possibility of the impossible,” demonstrating the same “audacious faith” that Mary showed.

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT Freelancers needed - Great for retired journalists, and writers/photographers looking to supplement their income! The Leaven, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, is looking for freelance reporters and photographers to assist staff in covering this busy beat. Story and photo shoots are assigned on an as-needed basis. Applicants from all parts of the archdiocese welcome. For freelance reporting, a working knowledge of the Catholic Church and excellent writing and reporting skills are a must. Actual professional journalism experience is a plus. For photography, a diverse portfolio with a working knowledge of the Catholic Church is required; experience in low-light photography and professional photojournalism experience is a plus. To be considered for freelance reporting, send a letter of interest, a simple resume and published clips or links to what you’ve written. To be considered for freelance photography, send a letter of interest, a simple resume and samples of your work or a link to an online portfolio. Send all materials by email to: freelanceforleaven@gmail.com.

Web manager – The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is accepting applications for a full-time web manager.

Duties include managing and maintaining internal websites and managing the digital media center. The ideal candidate will be a practicing Catholic in good standing.

Position requires bachelor’s degree in related field, and the candidate must have past experience in web design and management. Knowledge of Blackbaud Net Community a plus. A complete job description and required application are available on the archdiocese’s website at: www. archkck.org/jobs. Interested individuals should mail cover letter, resume and application to: Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Office of Human Resources, Webmaster, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109, or send via email to: jobs@archkck.org.

Director of special events and development - The Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) seeks to hire a director of special events and development (cefks.org). The director will work with the executive director and staff of the CEF to envision, plan and execute events and to develop and cultivate donor and community relations in support of CEF’s mission of providing scholarships for students in need in targeted Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The director of special events and development should have highly polished marketing and presentation skills, a charismatic communication style, exceptional organizational abilities, the capability of working with limited direction, and the ability to speak authentically about the importance of Catholic education. The director will facilitate, plan and manage all aspects of CEF fundraising events, including: advertising and promotion; preparing event budgets and tracking event finances; securing event sponsors and donors to meet event budget goals; coordinating event-related internal and external communication; recruiting and managing event volunteers; and coordinating event-related donor relations.

The director will also assist the executive director with CEF general development activities, including: prospecting and cultivating new donors; coordinating existing donor relations; and maintaining accurate development databases. Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree or higher; demonstrated success in event planning, sales and/or fundraising and donor development; and competency with Microsoft Office. A working knowledge of Catholic school operations is preferred. Must be a practicing Catholic in good standing. Individuals interested in this full-time position should send a cover letter and resume to: CEFAdmin@archkck.org.

Full-time openings - Padre Pio Academy in Shawnee, which offers a classical curriculum, has full-time openings for the 2017-18 school year. For more information and details, contact Joanne at (913) 530-6553.

Teacher assistant - Special Beginnings, Lenexa, is seeking full- or part-time after school teacher assistants at all locations. We are looking for a teacher assistant candidate who has an excellent work ethic, heart for children and a willingness to learn more about early childhood education.

Experience and/or education is a plus, but we will train the right candidate. Teacher assistants will work with the lead teacher to care for and educate the children. Primary responsibilities include assisting the lead teacher with: care and supervision of children, lesson plan implementation, parent communication, and cleanliness and organization of classroom. Starting hourly pay ranges based on experience and education. Pay increases are based on job performance. Opportunities for advancement are available, as the company prefers to promote from within. Apply by sending an email to: chris@specialbeginningsonline.com or in person at 10216 Pflumm Rd., Lenexa, KS 66215.

Principal - St. Peter’s Middle School/McAuley Catholic High School in Joplin, Missouri, is looking for a principal.

Requirements: active Catholic with a passion for Catholic education; Missouri (or other) educator certification.

Master’s in education administration (or in progress) and administrative experience, especially in Catholic schools, preferred. Send resume with three professional references to Georgiana L. McGriff, director, Joplin area Catholic schools at: gmcgriff@jacss.org.

Librarian/media specialist - Saint Thomas Aquinas High School has the following opening for the 2017-18 school year: librarian/media specialist. Qualified candidates must have or be able to obtain the proper Kansas teaching license for the position. If interested, send a letter of application and resume to Dr. William P. Ford, President, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, 11411 Pflumm Road, Overland Park, KS 66215 or send an email to: wpford@ stasaints.net.

Drivers - Assisted Transportation is now hiring caring and reliable drivers to transport K-12 students to and from school and other activities in company minivans.

Positions are now available in Olathe, Overland Park and Kansas City, Kansas. Competitive wages and flexible schedules. CDL not required. Retirees encouraged to apply. Call (913) 262-3100 or apply online at: Assisted Transportation.com. EEO. Administrative Assistant - Chad Equipment is seeking an individual who can provide administrative and clerical support to others to maintain an efficient office environment on a part-time basis (approximately 20 hours/week). Primary job responsibilities include: maintaining the office files; input data for customer and vendor item cards; assist with customer and vendor purchase order entries; answer and screen incoming telephone calls and direct to the appropriate person.

Candidates should have a high school diploma or equivalent, competent computer skills including MicroSoft Office or equivalent; internet skills including use of emails; group messaging and data collection.

Chad Equipment, a division of Birko Company, is located at 19950 W. 161st St. in Olathe. Chad manufactures food safety equipment which is sold throughout North America. Interested individuals call Michelle Roe at (913) 764-0321 or email resumes to: mroe@birkocorp.com.

Head cheer and pom coach and assistant - Bishop Miege High School is seeking a head cheer and pom coach and an assistant cheer and pom coach for the 2017-18 school year. Call Mike Hubka, athletic director, at (913) 222-5802, or send an email to: mhubka@ bishopmiege.com.

Principal - St. Ann Elementary School in Carthage, Missouri, has an open position for principal. Requirements: active Catholic with a passion for Catholic education; Missouri (or other) educator certification; master’s in education administration (or in progress) and administrative experience, especially in Catholic school, preferred.

Send resume with three professional references to: Father J. Friedel, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 812 Pearl Ave., Joplin, MO 64801.

Service technician – Looking for a qualified part-time or full-time candidate in the science field. Job candidate must be mechanically inclined and have dependable transportation. Travel required. Send resume to: yourcareer101@ gmail.com.

Drivers - Special Beginnings Early Learning Center is seeking part-time drivers for its school-age program located in Lenexa. Candidates must be able to drive a 13-passenger minibus, similar to a 15-passenger van.

CDL not required, but must have an excellent driving record. Candidates would pick up children from area schools and then work directly with them when arriving back at the center. Experience preferred. Must have strong work ethic and the ability to work with children.

Insurance provided. Background check will be conducted. Great opportunity for retired persons or those seeking a second job. Job responsibilities include: ensuring safety and well-being of children who are being transported at all times, including loading and unloading.

Driving short, round-trip routes to elementary schools in Lenexa/Olathe area. Summer only: Driving short, roundtrip routes to two Lenexa city pools. Maintaining mileage log. Keeping interior of vehicle clean. Apply by sending an email to: chris@specialbeginningsonline.com or in person at 10216 Pflumm Rd., Lenexa, KS 66215.

Early childhood director - Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe seeks a director for our Early Education Center with strong leadership, communication and motivational skills.

This is a full-time year-round position. The program has full-time child care/preschool, part-time preschool and afterschool care for children 2 to 12 years. Applicant must be a practicing Catholic, have a degree in ECE, taught for a minimum of three years or have administrative experience in early childhood. Full job description and application details may be found at: www.popolathe.org.

SERVICES 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. Please do not wait until life seems hopeless before getting good quality legal advice that may solve your financial stress.

WATKINS TEAM Honest, reliable home selling for over 50 years Parishioner of Queen of the Holy Rosary, Overland Park Doug (913) 593-6362 | watkinsd@reecenichols.com Dirk (913) 219-2965 | dirkw@reecenichols.com Reece Nichols Real Estate 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: mike@mikehammermoving.com.

Rodman Lawn Care Lawn mowing, aeration, verticutting, fertilizing Hedge trimming, mulching, leaf removal, gutter cleaning Fully insured and free estimates John Rodman (913) 548-3002

Professional window cleaner - Residential only, fully insured. Over 40 years experience. Free estimates. Contact Gene Jackson at (913) 593-1495.

Tree Trimming Tree Trimming/Landscaping Insured/References Free Estimates/Local Parishioner Tony Collins (913) 620-6063 Doll dresses - First Communion dress sets for 18” or American Girl dolls. Includes dress, veil, shoes, tights and cross necklace. Full line of doll clothes and accessories in south Johnson County. Call Patty at (913) 345-9498.

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 Swalms organizing - downsizing - cleanout service – Reduce clutter – Any space organized. Shelving built on-site. Items hauled for recycling and donations. 20 years exp.; insured. Call Tillar at (913) 375-9115. WWW. SWALMSORGANIZING.COM. 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!! www.elsolylatierra.com Call Lupe at (816) 935-0176 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.

Local handyman - Painting int. and ext., staining, wood rot, power wash, decks, doors and windows, masonry, hardwood floors, gutter cleaning, water heaters, toilets, faucets, garbage disposals, ceiling fans, mowing and more!! Member of Holy Angels Parish, Basehor. Call Billy at (913) 927-4118.

DRC Construction We’ll get the job done right the first time.

Windows - Doors - Decks - Siding Repair or replace, we will work with you to solve your problems. Choose us for any window, door, siding or deck project and be glad you did.

Everything is guaranteed 100% (913) 461-4052 www.windowservicesoverlandpark.com drcconswindows@gmail.com 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.

Kansas City’s Premier Deck, Fence & Concrete - We repair, power wash and stain wood decks and fences.

We power wash and seal concrete drives, walkway, pool decks and more. Call Brian at (913) 952-5965. Member of Holy Trinity Parish.

Thank you for another great year - Through your support, my family has been blessed and my business has grown. We do windows, trim, siding, doors, decks, interior and exterior painting, wood rot, bathroom renovations, tile and sheetrock. If you need work done around your home, we can do it. Josh (913) 709-7230.

HARCO Exteriors LLC Your Kansas City fencing specialists Family owned and operated (913) 815-4817 www.harcoexteriorsllc.com NELSON CREATIONS L.L.C. Home remodeling, design/build, kitchens, baths, all interior and exterior work. Family owned and operated; over 25 years experience. Licensed and insured; commercial and residential. Kirk and Diane Nelson.

(913) 927-5240; nelsport@everestkc.net 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) 579-1835. Email: smokeycabin@hotmail.com.

Member of Holy Trinity, Lenexa.

Rusty Dandy Painting, Inc. – We have been coloring your world for 40 years. Your home will be treated as if it were our own. Old cabinets will be made to look like new. Dingy walls and ceilings will be made beautiful.

Woodwork will glow. Lead-certified and insured. Call (913) 341-9125.

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Custom countertops - Laminates installed within 5 days. Cambria, granite, and solid surface. Competitive prices, dependable work. Call the Top Shop, Inc., (913) 962-5058. Members of St. Joseph, Shawnee.

Handyman/remodeler - Quality service with references. Kitchens, baths, tile, painting, garage doors and openers, decks and wood rot repair. Call Jeff at (913) 915-4738.

CAREGIVING Looking for assisted living at home? - Before you move, call us and explore our in-home care options. We specialize in helping families live safely at home while saving thousands of dollars per year. Call today for more information or to request a FREE home care planning guide. Benefits of Home - Senior Care, www.benefitsofhome.com or call (913) 422-1591.

Caregiving - We provide personal assistance, companionship, care management, and transportation for seniors in their home, assisted living or 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, Pat or Gary.

Experienced CNA - Excellent references, flexible schedule, light housekeeping, cooking, errands. Can assist with medications and distribution; can also provide transportation to and from doctor appointments. Can cut and style hair as well as do massages and shaves.

Call Chris at (913) 548-7656.

FOR SALE Residential lifts - New and recycled. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. St. Michael’s parishioners. KC Lift & Elevator at (913) 327-5557. (Formerly Silver Cross - KC) For sale - Serta adjustable-base twin bed, frame and mattress. Like new. Mattress pad and sheets included. Asking $1250. Call (913) 342-4027.

For sale - Religious articles – pictures, statues, rosaries. A large assortment. April 1 and 2 from noon to 4 p.m. at 1545 N. 85th Pl., Kansas City, Kansas.

For sale - Double niche at Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa. Holy Family Mausoleum, Jesus Son of God corridor, tier A. Includes bronze diamond companion urn. Current price $6690, selling price $5000. Call (913) 897-6433.

REAL ESTATE For sale - Maintenance free home. Backs up to Ascension Catholic Church. Two bedroom, 2.5 bath, study, open floor plan. Great for entertaining. Call for appointment. (913) 669-8178.

ROOMMATE Roommate wanted - Female seeking female roommate in Overland Park home. $400 per month plus one-third of the utilities. Furnished three-bedroom home. Six minutes from Oak Park Mall. No pets. Call (913) 599-5574.

WANTED TO BUY 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.

Will buy houses in any condition - We pay cash and you sell as-is with no warranty. You can leave anything behind if you don’t want to move it. My name is Mark and my family is part of Holy Trinity Parish. I hope I can help you. (913) 980-4905.

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 Wanted to buy - Cucina LLC is an entity that buys commercial real estate. Lou Serrone, a member of Good Shepherd, and Tom Disidore, a member of St. Agnes, are members of Cucina LLC. Tom and Lou are licensed brokers in both Kansas and Missouri. If you are a seller of commercial real estate, call Lou at (913) 219-9924.

WANTED TO RENT Wanted to rent - Quiet, responsible 43-year-old Catholic schoolteacher seeking small house or carriage housetype space to rent in Roeland Park, Merriam or Kansas City, Kansas. Nonsmoker. Call (785) 580-7953.

TRAVEL Catholics to Branson - Join a Kincaid Tour May 19 - 21. A must-see production of “Moses” at the Sight and Sound Theater; a dinner cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle, featuring a glamorous musical of the golden age; shopping. Go to Mass at Our Lady of the Lake. Two nights plus four meals. To book soon, call Ken Decker at (913) 432-0820.

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

CALENDAR WHITE ELEPHANT AUCTION St. Patrick Parish 1066 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 2 at 1 p.m.

Bring a salad to share. Crackers, rolls and drinks will be provided. We will have “mystery bags” as well as unwrapped gifts in the auction. We accept all new re-gifted items.

PREGNANCY AND INFANT LOSS SUPPORT GROUP Keeler Women’s Center 2220 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas First Tuesday of each month (April 4) from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

This support group is for families who have recently or some time ago experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss.

TAIZE PRAYER Annunciation Chapel 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth April 6 at 7 p.m.

EAT BREAKFAST WITH THE EASTER BUNNY Strawberry Hill Museum 720 N. 4th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 8 from 8 - 11 a.m.

Stop in for breakfast and photos with the Easter Bunny. The cost for breakfast tickets is $6 for adults; $5 for children under the age of 10. The cost for photos with Mr. Bunny is $5.

Proceeds support the museum.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Prince of Peace Parish (Marian Room) 16000 W. 143rd St., Olathe April 15 from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Meet with financial advisers who will explain the Able Act and share their guidance on how to establish a special-needs trust.

For more information, call Tom Racunas, the archdiocesan lead consultant for special needs, at (913) 647-3044 or send an email to: tracunas@archkck.org.

Taize prayer is a meditative, candlelit service that includes simple chants sung repeatedly, silence and prayer of praise and intercession.

These prayer services emerged from an ecumenical community of monks in Taize, France.

For more information, call (913) 680-2342 or go to the website at: www.marillaccenter.org.

This jewelry/accessory fundraiser will be held to benefit the Wyandotte County Pregnancy Clinic. Cash or checks only will be accepted at the sale. For more information, call (913) 4381404.

‘MYSTIC RETREAT: RELEASING THE MYSTIC IN YOU’ Sophia Spirituality Center 751 S. 8th St., Atchison April 6 from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

A mystic is one who has had a direct experience of God. In this retreat, we will focus on your life experiences and different kinds of contemplative prayer: guided meditation, centering prayer, lectio meditation and private reflections. For more information or to register, call (913) 360-6173 or go to the website at: www.sophiaspiritualitycenter.org.

Our Lady of Unity will host and proceeds will go to the school. Each car, truck and cycle entry is $20 until April 14 and $25 after that date. The entry fee includes a T-shirt and goody bag for the first 100 entries; dash plaques for 150 entries. There will be food booths and vendors.

Entry is free.

The run begins on the museum grounds. The cost is $35 and includes a T-shirt. Enroll online at: www.strawberryhillmuseum.org before the race, or at the race by 7 a.m. There will be refreshments, aid stations and volunteers along the race course. Proceeds support the museum.

The program will honor Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron and Elmer Fangman with the presentation of a Lumen Vitae medal for their service and leadership in sharing the light of Christ. For more information, to make reservations or for sponsorship options, call (913) 360-7908 or send an email to: Kansasmonks.org.

This Beginning Experience grief support program meets each week for seven weeks to help those who have lost a loved one due to death, divorce or separation. For more information or to register, call Michelle at (785) 640-1177.

‘LIVING IN TRUTH’ CATHOLIC WOMEN’S CONFERENCE Church of the Ascension 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park April 22 from 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Naumann. The speakers will be Sue Ellen Browder, who wrote “Cosmo Writer to Catholic Mom,” and Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. The cost to attend is $25 for early registration; $30 at the door. To register, go the website at: www.livingintruthkc.com.

SYMPTO-THERMAL METHOD OF NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING Topeka April 22 at 7 p.m.

A reasonable course fee is charged and online registration is required at: www.ccli. org. Call Dana or Eric Runnebaum at (785) 380-0062 for more information or go to the website at: nfptopeka.blogspot.com.

Step away from everyday life and enter into a day of prayer, adventure, outdoor activities and time to reconnect. Opportunities include horseback riding, canoeing, rope activities and time for prayer. Register online now at: www.archkck.org/ranch or contact the team at (785) 746-5693.

STRAWBERRY HILL 5K Strawberry Hill Museum 720 N. 4th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 22 at 8 a.m.

ABBOT’S TABLE Sheraton Crown Center 2345 McGee St., Kansas City, Missouri April 22 - Mass at 4 p.m.

Social hour at 5:15 p.m.

Dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.

COPING WITH LIFE ALONE Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish 2014 N.W. 46th St., Topeka April 18 from 7 - 9 p.m.

DRESS LIKE A DIVA ON A DIME Holy Spirit Parish (Martha/Mary Room) 11300 W. 103rd St., Overland Park April 6 at 7 p.m.

FIFTH ANNUAL CAR, TRUCK AND CYCLE SHOW Sacred Heart Campus 2626 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas April 22 from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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SMOKED PORK CHOP DINNER Annunciation Parish Cigna Center 402 N. Maple, Frankfort April 23 from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The cost to attend is: $10 for adults; $5 for kids ages 10 and under. There will be special kids meals available. Takeout meals will be available, as will delivery in Frankfort.

Call the parish office during morning hours (M-F) at (785) 292-4462. There will be baked goods, crafts and much more.

FAMILY DAY Prairie Star Ranch 1124 California Rd., Williamsburg April 23 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

SUMMER LEADERSHIP CAMP University of Saint Mary 4100 S. 4th St., Leavenworth June 10 - 21

Young women entering sixth, seventh and eighth grades are invited to the Summer Leadership Camp hosted by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison. The registration fee of $125 covers lodging, meals, special activities and a T-shirt. Partial scholarships are available. Registration deadline is April 1. For more information, call Sister Vicki Lichtenauer at (816) 718-2660; send an email to: vickiL@ scls.org; or visit the website at: www.scls.org for a brochure with registration form.

SYMPHONY DESIGNERS’ SHOWHOUSE 816 Gleed Terr., Kansas City, Missouri April 25 from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The Ladies of Charity of Metropolitan KC will host a private showing of the 2017 Symphony Designers’ Showhouse. Tour the 108-year-old home and enjoy a box lunch, raffle and shopping the KCSA boutique. The cost for a ticket is $30 per person and helps support the Duchesne Clinic, Seton Center and Villa St. Francis.

To register, mail a check payable to “Ladies of Charity” before April 15 to Karen Camarata, 5508 W. 129th St., Overland Park, KS 66209.

For more information, call Marnie Robinett at (913) 451-2484.

‘ABUNDANT LOVE’ WOMEN’S RETREAT AT CAMP TEKAKWITHA Prairie Star Ranch 1124 California Rd., Williamsburg April 28 - 30

This is a retreat for women ages 21 and over.

There will be space to relax, rejuvenate and reconnect. There will also be speakers, fellowship, large and small groups, individual reflection and free time. Mass, eucharistic adoration and reconciliation will also be offered. More information can be found online at: www.camptekakwitha-womensretreat. com.

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

COMMENTARY FIFTH WEEK OF LENT April 2 FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT Ez 37: 12-14 Ps 130: 1-8 Rom 8: 8-11 Jn 11: 1-45 April 3 Monday Dn 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 Ps 23: 1-6 Jn 8: 1-11 April 4 Isidore, bishop, doctor of the church Nm 21: 4-9 Ps 102: 2-3, 16-21 Jn 8: 21-30 April 5 Vincent Ferrer, priest Dn 3: 14-20, 91-92, 95 (Ps) Dn 3: 52-56 Jn 8: 31-42 April 6 Thursday Gn 17: 3-9 Ps 105: 4-9 Jn 8: 51-59 April 7 John Baptist de la Salle, priest Jer 20: 10-13 Ps 18: 2-7 Jn 10: 31-42 April 8 Saturday Ez 37: 21-28 (Ps) Jer 31: 10-13 Jn 11: 45-56

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14

We have a winner . . . or do we?

e’re down to the Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Fans of those teams are rejoicing — for now — while thousands and thousands of fans of the other 64 teams are tearful (me included).

Being a sports fan, especially here in the Heartland, is almost always frustrating. My favorite teams regularly leave me disappointed. And it’s not just sports. Rather than having the Midas touch where everything turns to gold, I seem to have the Midas touch where everything turns into a muffler! Whether buying lottery tickets or raffle tickets, my luck ends the moment I hand the money over.

Wouldn’t it be great, I find myself occasionally thinking, to win every time? Then I remember “The Twilight Zone.” As a kid, the show scared me silly with its haunting, repeating four notes and then that creepy, floating eyeball. Only years later did I come to appreciate the deeper life lessons that many of the episodes contained.

A memorable one originally aired on April 15, 1960. It was called “A Nice Place to Visit,” and

MARK MY WORDS

FATHER MARK GOLDASICH Father Mark is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989.

starred Larry Blyden and Sebastian Cabot. Here’s Rod Serling to introduce it: “Portrait of a man at work, the only work he’s ever done, the only work he knows. His name is Henry Francis Valentine, but he calls himself “Rocky,” because that’s the way his life has been — rocky and perilous and uphill at a dead run all the way. He’s tired now, tired of running or wanting, of waiting for the breaks that come to others but never to him, never to Rocky Valentine. A scared, angry little man.

He thinks it’s all over now, but he’s wrong. For Rocky Valentine, it’s just the

beginning.”

The show opens with Rocky robbing a pawn shop, then being gunned down by a policeman as he attempts to escape and shoots at him. A few moments later as he’s sprawled on the ground, he hears his name being called by a portly gentleman dressed all in white, named Mr. Pip. Pip is a friendly, elderly man who tells Rocky that he’s been instructed to guide Rocky and give him anything he desires.

As the story unfolds, Rocky is given a lavish apartment, delectable food and the company of beautiful women. Eventually, he realizes that he was actually killed by the policeman but now, because of all the perks he’s enjoying, figures he’s made it to heaven with Pip as his guardian angel.

Rocky heads off to a casino and wins — every time — at the roulette

wheel and the slot machine. He’s over the moon with glee. But because Rocky can’t figure out what he’s done to be so lucky to enjoy heaven, Pip takes him to the Hall of Records to see his file.

Rocky is amazed that the file shows only his sins.

But he figures if God isn’t bothered by them, then neither is he.

After a month, though, it’s a whole different story. Rocky has had it with all of the winning and with having everything that he wants. He tells Mr. Pip, “If I gotta stay here another day, I’m gonna go nuts! Look, look.

I don’t belong in heaven, see? I wanna go to the other place.”

“Heaven?” says Mr. Pip. “Whatever gave you the idea you were in heaven, Mr. Valentine?

This is the other place!”

He then breaks into a sinister laugh as Rocky unsuccessfully tries to get out the door.

Serling closes with: “A scared, angry little man who never got a break.

Now he has everything he’s ever wanted — and he’s going to have to live with it for eternity — in ‘The Twilight Zone.’”

This powerful episode puts things into perspective. It would honestly be hell to win every time or to have whatever you wanted, whenever you

wanted. Initially, it might seem ideal, but over time, it would become deadly boring.

In Christian terms, there’s no Resurrection without the cross. In fact, it’s the absence of something that often makes us appreciate it more.

Think back to the Royals winning the World Series in 2015, for example. Do you think that it would have been as sweet or as appreciated if they won it every year without fail?

When a sense of mystery is removed — will we win or lose? — so, too, goes a sense of excitement.

I’m not saying that we should go out and look for sadness and crosses in our lives in order to better appreciate our lives without them. But, when the crosses inevitably do come into our lives, they can be an opportunity to grow into an awareness of how much we depend upon God every moment of our lives and how much we often take for granted. Our Lenten disciplines want to teach us this lesson.

You know, I’m not so bummed anymore that my favorite team lost.

Just wait till next year!

While a world of constant winning might be a nice place to visit, I sure wouldn’t want to live there.

‘Seeing’ can both confirm and feed our faith

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hich comes first, the chicken or the egg? Which comes first, seeing or believing? Or are the two the same thing? After all, the saying goes, “Seeing is believing.”

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jn 11:1-45, Jesus tells Martha, the sister of Lazarus who has recently died, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” But then, only a few verses later, after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, the Gospel tells us: “Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.” We are getting a mixed message. And we are back

POPE FRANCIS

THE GOSPEL TRUTH

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

where we started.

Perhaps the answer is a bit more complicated than a simple one or the

Not listening to God’s voice can distance Christians from him and lead them instead to seek solace in worldly idols that offer only doubt and confusion, Pope Francis said. When Catholics are “deaf to the word of God,” their hearts are hardened and “they lose the meaning of faithfulness,” the pope

other. Faith can open our eyes and our minds to the possibilities of God’s working in our midst that we would otherwise not see. In that sense, believing enables us to see God’s glory.

On the other hand, seeing some of the amazing things that God does can strengthen us in our faith. It might be on a smaller

scale than raising a dead person to life of course. Perhaps it is a wonder of nature or an event in our life.

In any case, seeing it helps us to believe.

Most likely, faith involves a back and forth between seeing and believing — many small steps that lead to a deepening of faith.

The more willing we are to trust that God can do wonderful things, the more likely it is that we will see them. And the more that we see, the stronger our faith becomes. It grows through a cumulative effect of the decisions we make and the love that God has for us.

Ultimately, faith is the bottom line for Jesus. That is why he performs the great sign

said March 23 in his homily during morning Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae.

The pope began his homily by reflecting on the day’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah in which God laments the unfaithfulness of his people who “walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.” The pope said: “Not listening to and turning our

of raising Lazarus from the dead. That is why he does not rush back to the invalid Lazarus to heal him, but allows him to die, to enable the miracle.

As he tells the disciples: “Lazarus has died.

And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe.” That is why he tells Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Faith in Jesus Christ will lead to the resurrection of Lazarus.

More importantly, it will lead to resurrection to eternal life for all who believe in him.

backs — which hardens our heart — takes us on that path of unfaithfulness.” In the reading, “the Lord says: ‘Faithfulness has disappeared,’ and we become unfaithful Catholics, pagan Catholics and, even worse, atheist Catholics” without the necessary reference to the love of the living God, the pope said.

— CNS

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

COMMENTARY

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Healing marriages from the destructive impacts of pornography

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here are three new resources available to help Catholic marriages heal from the destructive effects of pornography.

The first is a new pamphlet that my wife and I wrote for the U.S. bishops about pornography. The second is an upcoming national webinar about pornography’s destructive impact on marriage. The third is a three-day counseling intensive workshop that is being offered in Kansas City in July.

In 2016, my wife and I were asked to write an article about pornography’s effects on marriage by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. The article was

PROTECTING FAMILIES FROM PORNOGRAPHY

SAM MEIER Sam Meier is the consultant for the My House Initiative. For more information about protecting families from pornography visit www. archkck.org/myhouse

printed in a pamphlet called “Pornography’s Effects on Marriage and Hope for Married

Couples.”

Beth and I shared our testimony, along with practical ways for married couples to find support and healing.

This pamphlet was in a five-part series that the U.S. bishops published as a follow-up to their powerful 2015 document called “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral

Response to Pornography.” The pamphlet can be ordered on the U.S. bishops’ website at: www.usccb.org.

There is an upcoming national webinar that will take place on May 9 at 11 a.m. and on May 18 at 7 p.m. about pornography’s impact on marriage, which is being hosted by a dynamic group called the Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP).

Archbishop Naumann is on the board for RAAP, along with other Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, Orthodox, Mormon, Jewish and Muslim leaders. It’s great to see religious leaders working together to change our hypersexualized culture.

Beth and I, along with Dr. Albert Rossi from

St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York, will be giving the presentations.

Beth and I will present research about pornography’s impact on the brain and sexual intimacy, along with sharing our testimony and discussing practical ways married couples can find hope and healing.

The webinars are free and registration information is available online at: www.ReligiousAlliance.org.

The third opportunity for healing marriages is a counseling workshop on July 13-15 in Kansas City.

It is called the “My House Workshop for Men,” a three-day confidential, intensive workshop for men striving to overcome and heal from unwanted sexual behaviors.

The workshop includes a “whole person” approach from modern brain science to the emotional and spiritual underpinnings of compulsive sexual behaviors.

The presentations and small-group discussion will be led by top Catholic and Christian experts, including Dr. Todd Bowman, Father Sean Kilcawley, Michael Ciaccio and myself.

This will be the third My House workshop that we have offered in Kansas City. The feedback from men who attended the first two workshops has been incredible, and more information and registration information are available online at: www.archkck. org/MyHouse.

MARCH 31, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

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‘NOTHING DOWN ABOUT IT' St. James Academy celebrates Down Syndrome Day

By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

L

ENEXA — Approximately one in every 700 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome.

And students at St. James Academy in Lenexa want everyone to know that there’s “Nothing down about it.”

On March 21, to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, St. James instructor Audrey Amor and her life skills class hosted a Mass for families of children with Down syndrome to show them just what a true light they are to the world.

“I really was hoping they would see this as a celebratory thing,” said Amor.

“They’ve all been through some struggles,” she continued. “It’s not easy at times for them, but [we wanted to show] unity and the fact that we’re all celebrating [them as] an awesome part of the community.”

‘Nothing down about it’ Amor’s life skills class currently includes two students with Down syndrome — sophomore Bella DeBrevi and junior Jack Farnsworth.

The rest of the class is made up of three peer mentors — Megan Thomas, Alicia Koehler and Parker Kelley, all in their junior year.

“My peer mentors are amazing,” said Amor. “They’re like superheroes in the school.”

Amor and the mentors work with DeBrevi and Farnsworth to master skills for everyday tasks like washing dishes, doing laundry and shopping for groceries.

The purpose of the class is to help students with special needs flourish outside of school.

The class also carries out a larger project each semester to help the students grow in a constructive, supportive environment.

This semester, the task was to plan a celebration that included Mass for families of children with Down syndrome, followed by a casual reception.

“I know [DeBrevi and Farnsworth] were very excited and happy to celebrate,” said Thomas. “Jack has been my good friend since kindergarten and Bella is on my cheer team.”

“And they bring me so much joy,” she added.

So Thomas and her peers did all they could to make the day special.

The class spent two months preparing and conducting research on Down syndrome so DeBrevi and Farnsworth would understand what it is and how it affects their lives.

“We talked about how this is a day to celebrate the things that are hard, the things that come easy to us, and just the beauty that’s in it,” Amor continued, “even though sometimes people would think the diagnosis is negative.”

When it came to the planning, DeBrevi and Farnsworth did everything from designing buttons that said “Nothing down about it” — which they handed out to families and fellow students after the Mass — to communicating with teachers about the celebration.

LEAVEN PHOTOS BY MOIRA CULLINGS

Above, Toby Cook holds his daughter Caroline, 6, during a World Down Syndrome Day Mass at St. James Academy in Lenexa on March 21.

Hosted by Audrey Amor’s life skills class, the Mass was part of a larger celebration to show those with Down syndrome and their families what a positive light they are in the world.

Left, junior Jack Farnsworth and sophomore Bella DeBrevi sit with their life skills teacher Audrey Amor (center) following a Mass and reception at St. James Academy. The two students, with help from three peer mentors, spent two months planning the celebration.

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“IT’S NOT EASY AT TIMES FOR THEM, BUT [WE WANTED TO SHOW] UNITY AND THE FACT THAT WE’RE ALL CELEBRATING THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE AN AWESOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY.”

“My students handwrote letters and sent them out to the families that we were inviting,” said Amor.

Everyone who was invited was connected to St. James in some way, but Amor hopes in the future they can expand the invitation to other high schools and families in the archdiocese.

‘Even more of a blessing’ All three of the peer mentors have found their experience with DeBrevi and Farnsworth to be an incredible gift.

“My experience in the class has truly changed my life,” said Koehler.

“I’ve found a love for working with Bella and Jack and am looking to continue a profession in special education because I feel I grow as a person when I’m around them,” she said.

Koehler isn’t alone in that desire.

Kelley also feels a pull toward special education in his future.

“My experience so far has been really good and I have learned a lot,” he said.

The students portrayed the love and appreciation they have for their fellow classmates through a video presentation during the reception.

Produced by the life skills class and the St. James advancement team — a group of students who help the school in a variety of ways — the video fea-

tures DeBrevi and Farnsworth alongside their peers and staff members.

Those featured share how the two have impacted their lives and the school as a whole.

As it played, DeBrevi and Farnsworth lit up with joy.

Amor hopes everyone who sees the video walks away knowing that we all have our own unique crosses.

“Some are a little more evident than others,” she said.

“But this day was about celebrating who [DeBrevi and Farnsworth] are and the effect they have on our community,” she added.

Kelley hopes the celebration opened people’s eyes to the happiness his classmates bring to the world, and that those with Down syndrome don’t feel isolated “because every single person is different in their own way,” he said.

Koehler has one message for those with Down syndrome.

“They should be confident in themselves,” she said. “There is nothing down about Down syndrome.

“If anything, it makes them even more of a blessing to others in their lives.”

To view the video, go online to: www.facebook.com/theleavenkc.