10 06 23 Vol. 45 No. 9

THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 45, NO. 9 | OCTOBER 6, 2023

COURTESY PHOTO

Mark Huppe, decked out in his favorite Carolina blue, and family stand for the national anthem at a football game between Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park, and St. James Academy, Lenexa, on Sept. 15. Huppe, who coached basketball at both schools, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, was honored before the game. Huppe, who has been battling throat cancer for two years, has been recognized by each school at several sporting events this year.

TO SIR, WITH LOVE

Iconic coach honored by the schools he served

K

BY JOE BOLLIG

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Mark Huppe hasn’t said a word about being honored as a coach, educator and role model by three Johnson County Catholic high schools.

He can’t. Cancer has taken his voice.

However, a single gesture he made while he walked between two teams on the Bishop Miege High School football field said it all. He lifted up his right arm, pointed his index finger toward the heavens, and twirled it around.

All for God; I trust in God. Everyone understood.

A tribute was read over the loudspeakers as he walked between the teams assembled on the field, and it ended with his oft-heard motto: “Let’s get with it today!”

Huppe has the unusual distinction of being the only person who has coached basketball at all three Johnson County Catholic schools, but so much more.

“He has had a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of people across generations,” said principal Maureen Engen of Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park.

In the beginning Huppe, who began his educational career in 1977, was at Bishop Miege from 1983 to 1986, St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park from 1986 to 2003, and St. James Academy in Lenexa from 2009 to 2022, retiring his final year.

He served as principal of St. Ann School in Prairie Village from 2004 to 2009. Many people in Johnson County heard Huppe give sports commentary on cable channel Spectrum Sports for 10 years.

Others knew Mark and his wife Maureen Huppe as longtime parishioners of Holy Spirit Parish in Overland Park.

Huppe was diagnosed with throat cancer about two years ago. As word of his situation became known, the communities of Aquinas, Miege and St. James decided — quite independently of each other — to do something to show their appreciation for Huppe.

St. James Academy honored him at two separate events, said Shane Rapp, principal.

The first was a “Huppe Out” during the varsity basketball game Feb. 3 against Blue Valley North. All fans were asked to dress in Huppe’s favorite color, North Carolina Blue. A tribute was read before the game.

Then, on April 25, the school had a “Walk for Sir” during house time, “Sir” being Huppe’s nickname. He loved to take walks and listen to music, so it wasn’t unusual for the students to see him bouncing a bit as he walked. Students made two laps >> See “A HUGE” on page 11

2 ARCHBISHOP

O

ne of the most exquisite artistic features of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, Kansas, is the stained-glass windows.

The seven windows high on the back sanctuary wall depict biblical events that are relevant to the meaning of the celebration of the Eucharist.

One of the biblical scenes portrayed is an angel preventing Abraham from slaying and sacrificing his son Isaac. This event found in the Book of Genesis is shocking. God had promised Abraham that a great nation would come from his descendants. It was in their old age that Sarah and Abraham had finally conceived a child. Why in the world would Abraham ever consider killing his long-awaited son?

Why would he think this could somehow be pleasing to God? You will recall that God asked Abraham to leave his native land and come to what we today call the Holy Land. It includes modern-day Palestine, Israel and parts of Jordan. The Canaanite tribes that inhabited the land worshiped pagan idols, such as Moloch or Baal. Their religions encouraged promiscuous sexual behavior that in its extreme was exemplified by the immorality of the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Human sacrifice was an integral part of their religious rituals — in particular, the sacrifice of children.

God sent his angel to stop Abraham from

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Abortion is the child sacrifice of our times LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS

ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN following the common cultural practice of child sacrifice to make clear that the one, true God does not desire human sacrifice, but abhors it. Part of the mission of the descendants of Abraham was to cleanse the land from the immorality and iniquity of the fertility cults.

The execution of Jesus on Calvary revealed the depth of God’s merciful love for humanity. What God never asked of us, our sin demanded from our heavenly Father — namely, the sacrifice of the Son of God. The amazing love of God for us demonstrated in the crucifixion of Jesus on Calvary is made present to us at the celebration of each Mass.

For more than 50 years, the Catholic Church in the United States has designated October as Respect Life Month. During October, we are reminded that each and every human life is sacred because we are made in the divine image.

Just gaze upon a crucifix if you want to see a visual portrayal

of the value that God has placed upon every human life — no matter age or stage of development, no matter the level of intellectual or physical abilities, no matter race or ethnicity, no matter rich or poor. In God’s eyes, the embryo in the womb has the same dignity as the elite athlete; the elderly person with dementia is no less valuable than the Rhodes Scholar; the child with Down syndrome has no less worth than a child prodigy. Each and every human life is sacred, not because of what we can do or produce, but because we are a child of God. Sadly, a form of human sacrifice has arisen in Western secularized society. Children are not sacrificed to a tyrannical god, represented in a pagan idol.

We have not returned to fertility cults per se.

In fact, in many ways, secular materialism is hostile to fertility, actually fearing there are too many children.

Child sacrifice has returned. We have formed a couple generations of young people to believe sexual intimacy is about pleasure and not an expression of faithful and committed love or embracing the responsibility of caring for a

child. We have raised a generation of men who believe that their only responsibility to a child they have fathered is maybe to help pay for the child’s abortion. We have taught a couple of generations of young women that giving life to and nurturing a child is a waste of their talents and energy.

Our hedonistic culture relentlessly pursues many forms of pleasure, especially sexual ecstasy, while denying the meaning of sexual intimacy — the complete physical giving to another that can only be honest when it corresponds to a complete giving of one’s life to the other in the marriage covenant. God designed this most beautiful and sacred form of human love as also the means for a man and woman to be co-creators with God of new human life.

The Creator designed this most profound expression of human love not to be trivialized, as it sadly is today in our hookup culture saturated with pornographic images.

The optimum nurturing environment for a child’s growth and maturation is when she has the gift of a mother who loves her father and a father who loves her mother and who together love the child that is a fruit of their love.

Sadly, much of the senseless and oftentimes violent crime in our streets is the result of children growing up without a father to protect and care for them.

Children need the example of a virtuous, nurturing father and mother. I grew up in a single parent home. I have great respect for single parents, but this should be the exception, not the rule.

A little more than a year ago, the people of Kansas failed to pass the “Value Them Both” amendment and thus allowed an absurd ruling of the Kansas State Supreme Court

ARCHBISHOP NAUMANN’S CALENDAR Oct. 6 Bishops’ advisory group Eucharistic Revival Red Mass — St. Thomas More Church, Kansas City, Missouri Oct. 7 Consecrated Life Day Mass and lunch — Savior Pastoral Center St. Francis of Assisi 160th anniversary Mass and dinner — Overbrook Oct. 8 100th anniversary celebration of Assumption Church, Topeka Topeka Region procession Project Andrew — Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Topeka Oct. 9 Faith and Reason professional development for teachers Mass — St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Overland Park Oct. 10 Confirmation — Immaculate Conception, St. Marys Oct. 11 Curia meeting — Savior Pastoral Center Oct. 12 Communio update with Tory Baucum Confirmation — St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, Mission Woods Oct. 14 Pastoral visit — St. Francis de Sales, Lansing Oct. 15 Mass of Innocents — Holy Spirit, Overland Park

to remain. The Kansas Supreme Court asserted that more than 150 years ago, the authors of the Kansas Constitution intended to grant a right for a mother to kill the child in her womb up to the very moment of birth.

What were the consequences of the defeat of “Value Them Both”?

The most recent abortion statistics from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed what supporters of “Value Them Both” projected and feared. Kansas now is a Midwest abortion destination state.

Overall, abortions in Kansas increased by 57%. Abortions performed on minor girls increased by 49%.

Chemical abortions, which are danger-

ous for the physical, mental and spiritual health of women and lethal for the unborn child, increased by 38%. Abortions on out-of-state residents more than doubled, increasing by a whopping 117%.

Many people from other parts of the country have asked me: How is it possible that Kansas failed to pass the “Value Them Both” amendment and has allowed itself to become the Midwest mecca for unregulated and unlimited abortion? The answer is complex.

Next week, I will attempt to at least partially answer this question, as well as propose a path forward.

Stay tuned!

Announcement Father John A. Riley, vicar general/chancellor, announces that the following have petitioned for, and been granted by His Holiness Pope Francis, laicization (loss of the clerical state): Kenneth Billinger, effective June 18, 2023; Shawn Tunink, effective Sept. 1, 2023; and Daniel Weger, effective July 21, 2023. George Seuferling has received laicization by penal precept, effective Aug. 31, 2023.

LOCAL NEWS 3

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Monasteries celebrate anniversaries despite uncooperative weather

By Jill Ragar Esfeld Special to The Leaven

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Rain poured down on the altar set up for an outdoor Mass of thanksgiving at the grotto of Mary, Mother of God Monastery here the morning of Sept. 23.

The Mass, celebrating 15 years of the Community of the Lamb in the archdiocese, was to begin at 11 a.m.

But by 10:30 a.m., the storm was intensifying and the forecast was grim.

Little Brothers and Sisters of the community ran through the downpour to relocate the Mass from its outdoor venue to the chapel of the Little Sisters’ monastery, Lumen Christi, a block away.

Without hesitation or regard for the rain and lightning, friends and neighbors pitched in to help.

God works in mysterious ways.

What could have been a soggy disaster turned into a heartwarming display of people helping one another save the day.

Cozily crowded in the beautiful Lumen Christi chapel and overflowing into the basement, patrons from different cultures and walks of life joined the Little Brothers and Sisters in thanksgiving.

The lightning and thunder were no match for the melodic harmony of the community as they sang the Mass.

“Today the Lord wanted to see how creative the community could be,” said celebrant Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann. “They were up to the task.”

Concelebrant Father Anthony Ouellette knows well how God can take a simple event and transform it into something wonderful.

“I think it’s amazing,” he said. “You plan on things often in your life; you don’t know what God’s going to do.”

Father Ouellette came to know the Community of the Lamb when he was a seminarian in Rome.

“My relationship with the Little Sisters when I was in Rome was so beneficial to me,” he recalled. “It gave me a place where I could go on my day off and work in their backyard and just have a little bit of peace and quiet, pray with them.

“It was very much of an oasis for me.”

Father Ouellette’s first Mass serving as a deacon was at the Little Sisters’ Roman chapel. That’s when Archbishop Naumann first encountered the order.

“I was entranced by the beauty with which the Little Sisters pray and celebrate the liturgy, by their simplicity and by their joy,” he said. “I did not come to Rome in search of a religious community for the archdiocese; this was not in my mind.”

Despite that, the archbishop said the Holy Spirit moved him to tell the community’s foundress, Little Sister Marie, that he would welcome them if they ever considered establishing a

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JILL RAGAR ESFELD

The rain pouring outside was no match for the Little Sisters of the Community of the Lamb as they sang during the Mass of thanksgiving for 15 years in the archdiocese.

TODAY THE LORD WANTED TO SEE HOW CREATIVE THE COMMUNITY COULD BE. THEY WERE UP TO THE TASK. ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN foundation in the United States.

Members of the Community of the Lamb came to Father Ouellette’s ordination to the priesthood in 2006 and visited the archbishop, hitchhiking through Kansas to give him a gift of a loaf of bread, their community tradition.

“It was a year later that Father Anthony encouraged me to write to Little Sister Marie and formally invite the community to come to the archdiocese in Kansas City,” said the archbishop.

In the spring of 2008, the original Kansas Little Sisters of the Lamb, as well as additional Sisters and Brothers, came to Kansas to establish their first and so far only order in the United States.

“It was not just to have a house of God,” said Little Sister Judith. “But we needed also to be temples of God — living monasteries.”

At the end of the Mass, as the sun began to shine for the remaining festivities, Little Sister Judith expressed

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JILL RAGAR ESFELD

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann was the celebrant at the Mass in Lumen Christi chapel to celebrate the Community of the Lamb’s 15th anniversary in the archdiocese — 10 years of the Little Sisters’ monastery and five years of the Little Brothers’ monastery. gratitude to the community patrons.

“Thank you to all those who made these monasteries possible,” she said, “by your offering, your prayer, your support, your friendship.”

Father Ouellette had many plans for his life other than meeting a community of Little Sisters.

“So, it just seems interesting to me,” he said, “how God took something so normal, ordinary — just a place where

President Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann

Publication No. (ISSN0194-9799) Published weekly September through May, excepting the Friday the week after Thanksgiving, and the Friday after Christmas; biweekly June through August. Address communications to: The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. Phone: (913) 721-1570; or email at: sub@ theleaven.org. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Leaven, 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109. For change of address, provide old and new address and parish. Subscriptions $24/year. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, KS 66109.

Production/Business Manager Todd Habiger todd.habiger@theleaven.org

I would go on my day off — and turned it into this.

“It’s beautiful all these people that have been touched in ways by the community — so many different people, different backgrounds, languages, cultures.

“It’s a beautiful expression of the greater church.”

Editor Rev. Mark Goldasich, stl frmark.goldasich@theleaven.org

Senior Reporter Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

Managing Editor Anita McSorley anita.mcsorley@theleaven.org

Advertising Coordinator Beth Blankenship beth.blankenship@theleaven.org

Social Media Editor/Reporter Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

4 LOCAL NEWS

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Selah Home offers resources, hope to mothers in need

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

Selah Home in Lawrence provides housing and services for unwed mothers. Four days after it was blessed, it welcomed its first two clients and has since received many inquiries from women or their advocates.

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

T

OPEKA — It rested on Lois Pfeifer’s dining room table for weeks.

“It” was an article (“Number of abortions in Kansas reaches highest point in more than two decades”) from the July 28 issue of The Leaven.

Every day, Pfeifer, a member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in Topeka, walked past that table.

She kept thinking about the overall increase in abortions (57%) and in abortions performed on women from other states (117%). But what truly bothered her was increase in abortions for minor girls (48%).

In prayer, Pfeifer told the Lord she felt helpless to do anything. One day, though, that changed.

“I was in adoration praying about this, and it hit me that if I were to die tonight and came face-to-face with my Lord, I just didn’t want to say that I was afraid. I wanted to say I tried,” she said.

One Sunday, a bulletin insert caught her attention. Insight Women’s Center (IWC) in Lawrence was opening a home for single pregnant women and their children. As one of the state’s 50-plus pregnancy resource centers, IWC offers free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and parenting classes, among other services.

Known as Selah (a word which means “sacred pause”) Home, its vision was, according to promotional materials, “birthed out of the growing need in our community for safe, permanent housing for single women and their children” and would provide “a safe, Christ-centered residence where pregnant women and their children can grow physically, spiritually and emotionally on a hope-filled journey towards healing and independence.”

Inspired, Pfeifer called IWC for more information.

On Sept. 11, she and her husband John hosted a dinner at their home for 30 to 40 friends. During the evening, Bridgit Smith, executive director of IWC, and Catelin Curnes, house director, shared their hopes and dreams for Selah Home.

Having served as IWC’s executive director for 10 years, Smith said she’s seen the need for homes for unwed mothers

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, with the assistance of master of ceremonies Father Anthony Saiki, blesses Selah Home in Lawrence, a new site for single, pregnant, adult women and children on Aug. 31. Selah Home is a part of Insight Women’s Center, a pregnancy resource center in Lawrence. Pictured next to Father Saiki is Bridgit Smith, the CEO of Insight Women’s Center. and their children. It’s no longer teenagers, she said. IWC is seeing many women who are homeless or vulnerable to homelessness.

About 18 months ago, IWC’s board agreed to “expand the ministry” to include opening such a home and included it in the long-range plan.

“We just didn’t dream it would go as fast as it has,” Smith said.

Last November, IWC’s housing committee met with Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, explaining the need. Later, IWC received seed money in the form of an archdiocesan grant.

It didn’t take them long. The archbishop blessed the home on Aug. 31. Just four days later, the home welcomed its first two clients, and according to Curnes, has already received more than a dozen calls from other women or their advocates in Lawrence and Topeka.

Services provided at the home include — among others — a safe and loving home, nutritional meals, loving support and supervision of house parents (24/7), spiritual guidance, professional counseling, individually tailored care plans, transportation and referral to other support programs and agencies.

Curnes said the goals, among others,

are to help the women “reestablish their self-esteem and value in God’s eyes as well as their own, receive quality health care for themselves and their child, learn everyday skills and get on their feet financially.”

Both clients (who prefer to remain anonymous) said the home has blessed them.

“This house is giving me the opportunity to break the cycle when it comes to postpartum depression and my addiction,” said one mother. “I am no longer alone, and for that I am grateful. Now I’m not fighting just to live, I feel like I am alive!”

“Having the Selah staff here to remind me to put God first,” said the second mother, “has brought peace throughout my storm.”

House mother Cindy Young, a fulltime volunteer along with her husband, said she’s already watched the mothers grow by leaps and bounds.

“The biggest challenge has been getting them to trust us and believe we really care for them, and to help them let go of fears of being judged and rejected,” she said. “I love watching them let down their guard and begin to trust us as we love, support and build a meaningful relationship with them. It

has been amazing seeing them confide in us.”

Stories like these, said those who attended the evening, illustrate why archdiocesan Catholics should support Selah Home.

Christ the King, Topeka, parishioner Annie Lackey said although she’d prayed for the unborn, she’d not previously attended any pro-life gathering, but was now glad she had.

“I was overwhelmed with the effort the organization and these people have put forth in regard to having a home for unwed mothers,” she said. “I was highly impressed.”

Her husband Rich Lackey agreed.

“I really see the need for it to blossom,” he said. “People need to stay involved and support it.”

Perhaps it was Karen Lewis, another Christ the King parishioner, who summarized the trio’s feelings best about all of those involved with Selah Home.

“Their hearts are in it,” she said, “and I hope they succeed.”

For more information about Selah Home, or to volunteer or donate, call (785) 764-6651 or go online to: facebook. com/selahhomelawrence.

LOCAL NEWS 5

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Correction In the article entitled “A simple recipe for a dynamic faith group” about the Christian Family Movement (CFM) in the Sept. 22 issue of The Leaven, the parish affiliation was incorrect. CFM is affiliated with Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish, Wea. The Leaven regrets the error. To learn more about CFM, contact Deacon Tom Rothermich by email at: trothermich@gmail.com.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

Dueling pianists (below) from Howl at the Moon KC provide entertainment to a crowd of approximately 150 during Sabetha’s Sacred Heart Parish “Quo Vadis” celebration held Sept. 16. The event was designed to allow others from beyond the parish to “come and see” what Sacred Heart has to offer in terms of space and fellowship. Parish leaders hope those who attended the Howl at the Moon event might be inspired to sign up for a Bible study class at the church, participate in a retreat and/or come to Mass.

Sabetha parish looks beyond itself

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

S

ABETHA — Bold.

That was how Shannon Stapleton, a resident of Sabetha, described Sacred Heart Parish’s invitation to the community and surrounding region to come and join parishioners for an evening of fun and relaxation.

As a member of First United Methodist Church in Sabetha, it’s not often he participates in events hosted by the Catholic church. Still, on Sept. 16, he — along with more than 125 others from the parish, nearby parishes and the community at large — found himself sitting in a lawn chair on the west side of the church, listening to dueling pianos from Kansas City-based Howl at the Moon as they took requests from the audience.

Requests ranged from Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” to Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” While enjoying the music, those in attendance had the opportunity to purchase refreshments served by Christian Motorcyclists Association Chapter 858.

Known as Shepherd of the Road, the chapter is based out of Hiawatha. For Troy Lay, chapter vice president, the event provided a perfect opportunity for Christians to come together.

“It came to us,” Lay said of the event.

“We felt it a blessing to be asked,” Lay said later. It was easy to say yes.

Founded in 1975, the Christian Motorcyclists Association is a nondenominational nonprofit organization whose members love God even more than the motorcycles they ride.

“As Christians, we are walking alongside each other,” Lay said. At a time when marriage and family values are under attack, it’s important that Christians work together to preserve the God-given sanctity of

the family as well as values of hard work and discipline.

The event, according to Annie Deters, director of faith formation for Sacred Heart Parish, grew out of the parish’s wish to invite others to “come and see” what the church has to offer the community.

But it was also an outgrowth of Sacred Heart’s “Quo Vadis” celebration in the spring, which brought parishioners together to celebrate the “year of graces” the parish had just completed. That year had been one of discerning its mission and hosting retreats, Bible studies, etc., all aimed at helping parishioners grow in holiness as individuals, couples and families.

Held in the parish hall, the “Quo Vadis” celebration simply couldn’t accommodate the entire parish. So for the community-wide event they were planning, organizers searched for a place where they could not only bring the entire parish together, but also the community at large. In February, the Sabetha Chamber of Commerce had hosted a similar event in which hundreds of people participated, so according to Deters, the thought was: “What if we had [the event] back here? What if we could make the church the center of community life?”

Organizers got right to work, and through the past several months,

personally invited people from other churches, distributed fliers around the community, advertised on Facebook and put notices in the community’s newspaper, The Sabetha Herald.

The result?

According to Greta Heiman, one of the organizers, the “opportunity to bring people onto our campus” provided those within the parish and those within the community at large to simply enjoy an evening together.

“We want everyone to know they are welcome here,” Heiman said.

It seems as if the event accomplished its mission in the minds of at least two people.

Like Stapleton, Martin Mishler is Methodist. Sitting in a lawn chair up front near the dueling pianos, he sat back in his chair, scanned the crowds and pronounced the evening a success in fulfilling its goal — that of bringing people together — as he saw scores of people from the parish and the community at large talking, laughing and singing along (with a few dancing) to the music.

Yet, it was perhaps Stapleton who offered the best take on the evening.

“I wish every church would be bold enough to invite the community to an activity like this,” he said.

Carol (Cummings) and Daniel Runnebaum, members of St. Patrick Parish, Scranton, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 15 with family and friends with a lunch at the ELM building in Carbondale. The couple was married Oct. 13, 1973, at Assumption Church in Topeka

by Father Donald Cullen. Their children are: Eric, Topeka; Brenda, Lenexa; Sister Mary John Paul, PC, Rockford, Illinois; and Amy VanDorn, Vienna, Virginia.

They also have nine grandchildren.

Elsie and Bill Sunneberg, members of Holy Family Parish, Summerfield, will celebrate their 70th we d d i n g anniversary on Oct. 15 with a Mass and brunch with family and close friends. The couple was married on Oct. 10, 1953, at Sacred Heart Church, Baileyville.

Their children are: Ed Sunneberg, Dan Sunneberg, Deb Habegger, Kathy Johnson, Jon Sunneberg, Kristi Meyer and Jeris Marrin. They also have 22 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

Bill and Francie (Breitenstein) Locke, members of Divine Mercy Parish, Gardner, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 18. The couple was married at St. Anthony Church in Kansas City, Kansas. They celebrated with a surprise party hosted by their children after Mass at Divine Mercy on July 8 where they renewed their vows with Father Adam Wilczak. Their children are: Jeff Locke, Gardner; and Sarah Gartner, Burleson, Texas. They also have seven grandchildren.

SOLUTION

6 LOCAL NEWS

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Ursuline Sisters celebrate jubilees

M

G

eorge Godfrey (top right), a tribal member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, addresses those gathered at the St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park in Centerville about the Potawatomi Trail of Death. The deadly journey began in 1938 when the U.S. militia forced 859 members of the Potawatomi Nation to leave Indiana and march to reservation lands where the park now resides.

During the 600-mile journey, more than 40 Potawatomi died. Every five years, the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association leads a caravan that retraces this trail. Godfrey is president of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association, a group that promotes awareness of the trail. Beside Godfrey is Jon Boursaw of Topeka. He is the Citizen Potawatomi Nation legislative representative for the state of Kansas. Father Barry Clayton (left), pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Mound City, celebrated Mass at the park at the end of the caravan’s journey. Godfrey presented Father Clayton with a gift — a book titled “Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium”

by Sharon Hoogstraten. Father Clayton said that the book would be kept in memory and honor of the Potawatomi people.

— Photos by Mark Govea

COPYRIGHT © BY CLIFF LEITCH, THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE REFERENCE SITE, WWW.CHRISTIANBIBLEREFERENCE.ORG. USED BY PERMISSION

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APLE MOUNT, Ky. — Two Ursuline Sisters who ministered in Paola are celebrating anniversaries of religious profession in 2023. The Ursuline Sisters of Paola merged with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in 2008.

Sister Grace Swift is celebrating 75 years of religious life. She was a teacher at St. Patrick School, Paola (1949); Holy Name School, Kansas City, Kansas (195055); Holy Angels School, Garnett (1956-57); and Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park (195862, 1965). She served as a history professor at Loyola University in New Orleans from 1966-98. She was elected to the UrSister Grace Swift suline Council (19982002) and served at the Paola motherhouse until 2009. She served as a master gardener at the motherhouse until 2019.

Sister Kathleen Dueber is a graduate of St. Agnes School and Bishop Miege High School in RoSister Kathleen eland Park. She was Dueber a teacher at St. Philip Neri School, Osawatomie (1965); Holy Trinity School, Paola (1967-68); and St. Agnes School (1966, 1969-74, 1978-84).

She served as assistant principal (198485) and principal (1985-89) of Queen of the Holy Rosary School, Overland Park.

She worked at the Paola motherhouse as bookkeeper (1974-78), director of Monica Hall (1989-96), massage therapist (19972009), sacristan (2000-09), medical claims handler (2002-09), vocation director (2006-08) and property manager (201819). She served on the Leadership Council (2002-08) and corporation board (200209). At Maple Mount, she served on the leadership council (2010-16).

Congratulations may be sent to Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.

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Solution on page 5

LOCAL NEWS 7

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Infant loss leaves grieving grandparents, too

By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

O

VERLAND PARK — When Deacon Michael Schreck and his wife Melanie lost their fifth child through miscarriage, the pain was

deep.

“Not only losing a child, but also seeing your wife suffer,” said Deacon Schreck of Holy Spirit Parish in Overland Park. “I know that our faith made a huge difference in helping [us deal] with this cross.

“It didn’t lessen the pain or loss, but at least we knew that we could entrust our child to the loving arms of Jesus.”

The couple took comfort in the Mass of Innocents, which they’ve attended many times over the nearly two decades since they lost their baby.

The annual Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann will take place this year on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. at Holy Spirit.

“It commemorates the lives of children who died before or shortly after birth,” said Libby DuPont, consultant for the archdiocesan office for marriage and family life.

For the first time, one of the readings will be proclaimed in Spanish, and the archbishop’s homily will be translated into Spanish using headsets.

Everyone is invited to attend — even those who haven’t experienced a miscarriage or infant loss, and those whose loss was long ago.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

During the Mass of Innocents, families who’ve experienced miscarriage or infant loss will have the opportunity to write the name of their child or children in a Book of Remembrance.

“We’ve got families that come every year,” said DuPont. “There are families that it’s part of their family tradition of keeping that sibling alive for the rest of the kids.”

Deacon Schreck has noticed one group attending the Mass more and more frequently: grandparents who have lost a grandchild through miscarriage or infant loss.

“I can only imagine,” he said, “not only their grief, but also the pain they must be experiencing in watching their child lose their child.

“In that sense, there is a double grief

for the suffering of your child and for the loss of your grandchild.”

DuPont and her husband Brad have experienced firsthand the impact this type of loss can have on the entire family.

Two of their children died in early infancy.

“Our parents suffered with a double grief — a grief of losing their grandchild and then the grief of watching their children suffer was really difficult for them,” said DuPont.

Often, grandparents who lose their grandchild to miscarriage grieve alone.

“A lot of times if you’re a grandparent, your friends don’t necessarily know that you’re grieving the loss of this child that you never got to hold or buy cute baby things for,” she said.

Deacon Schreck agreed that they’re uniquely impacted by the loss.

“It is so hard to see those we love suffer,” he said, “perhaps much more than enduring suffering ourselves.

“That, too, is a great fruit of the Mass of Innocents. It provides an opportunity for us to not only pray for the children that we as a church family have lost, but also to pray for one another and to offer our love and support to one another.”

During the Mass of Innocents, families who’ve experienced miscarriage or infant loss will receive a prayer card.

They’ll also have the opportunity to write the name of their child or children in a Book of Remembrance. “[The] archbishop takes those books and keeps them in his chapel for the month of November when we commemorate the dead,” said DuPont. “He prays with the names of those children for the month.”

She encourages everyone to attend the Mass of Innocents as a way to observe Respect Life Month, held each October.

“We want people to know that everyone is welcome to come,” she said. “You don’t have to have experienced a loss. It doesn’t have to be recent.

“The Mass really is open to everyone.”

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

From left to right, Anne Rueb, Debbie Kolarik, Father Bill Bruning, Liz Crane, Pam Carter, Emma Heinen (back of her head in the blue T-shirt), Henry Heinen (in the stroller), Brogan Heinen and Joey Crane — all parishioners of Queen of the Holy Rosary in Overland Park — walk part of the route in the neighborhood surrounding Queen of the Holy Rosary Church.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Catholics around the archdiocese find ways to start Walking with Moms in Need

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

O

VERLAND PARK — Some 40 walkers took to the streets here Sept. 30 in the first-ever Walking with Moms in Need (WWMIN) walk. Organizers hope the walk will become an annual event. The walk started on the grounds of Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish and went into the neighborhood with a dual purpose — that of educating the community about what the Catholic Church is doing to assist women facing unexpected pregnancies and to celebrate the pro-life ministries offered across the archdiocese at its parishes.

The idea for the walk came from Emma Heinen, a parishioner of Queen of the Holy Rosary. She found the WWMIN initiative to be quite a different approach.

“We want to do what people don’t think people who are pro-life will do,” she said. “Give them resources, gain community, etc.

“That really spoke to me.”

Many women don’t know where to go and/or don’t have the means to get to the resources. That’s when Heinen suggested having a walk to show women “there are a lot of people out there who want to help you and who want you to be a mother.”

In a November 2021 meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann put forth a challenge to his brother bishops: “The vision of WWMIN is that a pregnant or

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

From left, Suzy Novotny, Connie Ehrlich and Bridgit Smith build love boxes the evening of Sept.

28 at St. John the Evangelist School in Lawrence as part of the archdiocese’s newest pro-life initiatives: Embrace Grace. Novotny and Ehrlich are members of the parish. Smith is the executive director of Insight Women’s Center, a pregnancy resource center in Lawrence. parenting mother in need can turn to any local Catholic parish and be connected with the life-affirming assistance and accompaniment that she needs.”

It seems parish-based groups across the archdiocese are meeting that challenge.

Called to leave her comfort zone Cindy Durbin is a case in point. A member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

in Emporia, Durbin said that after growing quite discouraged in June 2022 over the polling on the “Value Them Both” amendment, she was led by the Holy Spirit to leave her comfort zone.

“He led me to my parish office,” she said. “I will never forget this. I just drove to the office, and I just felt like I had to talk to someone. I really had no idea what that meant or who I would express my concerns to.”

That’s when she met Shawn Gerleman, the parish’s director of evangelization.

“Shawn said that he was just praying

that morning for someone to come into his office and say the things I had just said.”

Gerleman encouraged Durbin to learn about WWMIN. A retired teacher, Durbin took to the task, reading and taking notes on everything she found.

By August, Durbin had formed a regional core team with leaders from the three Emporia parishes of St. Catherine, Sacred Heart and the Didde Catholic Campus Center at Emporia State University. The group also includes representatives from St. Mary Parish in Hartford and St. Joseph Parish in Olpe.

The group’s first event was called Donuts for Diapers. For every package of disposable diapers donated, Durbin and the team doled out donuts at the regional parishes. The diapers and wipes were then delivered to Shiloh Home of Hope for Heaven (www.shilohhomeof hope.org).

Now the WWMIN group meets monthly. One month, the group invited the director of Lyon County’s public transportation who, Durbin said, was so impressed that he stayed the entire meeting, leaving behind a dozen passes for moms needing transportation.

“We just try to meet the local needs however we can,” Durbin said.

And meeting the local needs is what another group is trying to do in the Kansas City area.

‘A really big ask’ As a client advocate at Advice & Aid Pregnancy Center, Katie O’Hara, a

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

From left, Llara Baska, Christine Bial, Suzy Novotny and Janet Gripka lead the participants in prayer over the love boxes for the women who will receive them. Baska, Novotny and Gripka all belong to St. John Parish in Lawrence, while Baska is a member of Corpus Christi Parish there. member of Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park, said she saw a lot of assistance available for clients who decided to parent or place their children for adoption, but none connected to a parish.

“That’s how you really form community is to be in a parish,” she said. “So, that’s what kind of spurred me to revisit the WWMIN that I had heard of in 2020.

“A lot of people when they are having trouble don’t go to the church because they think they’ll be judged. That’s what we’re really trying to break down. . . .

Jesus is up on the cross because he wants us to come to him. . . . I want them to feel welcome to come back.”

Initially, two dozen parishioners signed up after she placed an invitation in the bulletin, but that number keeps growing.

For example, about 40 to 50 people now take turns providing meals when families welcome a new baby.

Beth Guerra, a member of the parish’s WWMIN group, said she personally found the meal train “very, very helpful” and noted many of the people providing meals have young families of their own.

“I was just kind of shocked and surprised that they were able to cook for me and for my family as well,” she said.

“So, yeah, I think it would be great to just echo: We know there are a lot of good cooks in this parish.

“For example I know, within my own family, when the kids left the house, my mom was trying to readjust and my dad, too. How do you cook for only two?

Well, maybe go ahead and cook for six and bring that meal to a young couple learning how to take care of a newborn.”

Another person who benefited from the parish’s meal trains is Lyedi Guiterrez Alegria, an immigrant from Chappas, Mexico.

Having moved to the area in February as a result of her husband’s work, she knew no one in the United States.

Already expecting, she attempted to get care at an emergency room. Doctors wouldn’t see her. So, she kept praying and researching services available to her.

Eventually, she found Advice & Aid Pregnancy Centers and was given an ultrasound there. That’s where she met Susie Boster, a volunteer from Church of the Nativity in Leawood.

and the parish immediately welcomed Guiterrez, offering to throw her a baby shower.

“I was lucky enough to take her to the hospital when it was time. It was such a blessing,” Boster said.

O’Hara, meanwhile, found a dresser for the baby and organized a meal train.

Speaking through Romo, Guiterrez said she’s been grateful for the emotional support she’s received from WWMIN. So are her parents and husband.

Of her parents, Guiterrez said, “They are thankful to God that there still exist people like that.”

But the baby shower was just a start.

As a speech therapist at a public school, Abbie Hughes said when she visited a single mother and her three boys, she was saddened to learn how little the single mother and children had in terms of furniture, clothes and food.

So, she showed up at her very first WWMIN meeting in July with “a really big ask.”

When members were discussing what project should follow the baby shower, she piped right up.

“Please help ‘my’ family next,” Hughes said.

Within a week, Erin Hayes, another WWMIN group member, had created an online sign-up for a list of things the family needed. It included everything from food and clothes to shoes and furniture. Within the course of four weeks, nearly everything on the list had been given to the family.

O’Hara said she continues to be amazed by the graces God has showered upon the ministry.

And grace is what a new archdiocesan pro-life ministry is all about.

Embracing a new ministry of grace

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

Katie O’Hara, coordinator of the Walking with Moms in Need group at Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park, and her daughters — Adelaide, 10, and Rose, 8 — talk with Father Bill Bruning, pastor, before the parish’s first-ever Walking with Moms in Need awareness walk Sept. 30.

About 40 participated in what organizers are hoping will become an annual event.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

Patti Fisher, a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence, writes a letter for one of the love boxes. The box also contains a personal invitation to a church-based support group, a journal with writing prompts, a “Best Gift Ever” onesie and a book of testimonies.

Guiterrez doesn’t know how to drive, and she and her husband have just one car. So, she needed transportation to doctors’ appointments.

“We looked for Spanish-speaking [individuals], but I couldn’t find anyone. So,

I drove, and we used Google Translate,” Boster said.

Eventually, Boster found O’Hara who connected her with Arlette Romo, a member of Queen of the Holy Rosary’s group. The two became instant friends,

About 18 months ago, Suzy Novotny, a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence, received some information about a program called Embrace Grace.

Founded in Texas in 2008 by Amy Ford and Salina Duffy, Embrace Grace, according to its website, “exists to help inspire and equip the church to love and encourage single and pregnant young women and their families.”

The premise is simple: A single woman facing an unplanned pregnancy is given a love box. Each box includes a personal invitation to a church-based support group, a letter of hope and encouragement, a journal with writing prompts, a “Best Gift Ever” onesie and a book of testimonies. Each recipient is then invited to participate in a 12-week Bible study program, after which the parish throws the women a baby shower.

Novotny approached her pastor about initiating the program at St. John. Eventually, the pro-life office of the archdiocese also came on board and started rolling it out, first with St. John the Evangelist and Corpus Christi parishes in Lawrence and then across the archdiocese.

“There is no limit to where we are going to go with this message that says, ‘If you know anybody that is single and pregnant and needs some love and support, we are doing this ministry at St. John’s,” said Novotny.

“It leads these girls to a 12-week Bible study that we’ll do in hopes of sharing our faith with them and also leading to their own personal relationship with Jesus and a whole congregation and community of a faith family,” she added.

For more information about the Walking with Moms in Need initiative, visit the website at: www.walkingwith moms.com or call the archdiocesan prolife office at (913) 647-0350.

10 LOCAL NEWS

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

U.S. News ranks Benedictine College in Top 10

A

TCHISON — Benedictine College here has jumped into the Top 10 in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of “America’s Best Colleges” and is ranked No. 8 in the Midwest. The rankings, published by U.S. News Media Group, list 74 colleges in the Midwest Division of Best Regional Colleges. Benedictine College has been a U.S. News “Best College” since 2007 and is currently the highest-ranked Catholic college in the division and the highest-ranked college or university in Kansas. U.S. News & World Report also lists Benedictine College as a Best Value school and a top performer in social media.

The annual rankings — in which U.S. News groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching — provide a resource for parents and students considering higher education opportunities.

Benedictine College’s peer reputation is at an all-time high with record enrollment, the announcement of an agreement to build an independent medical school on the Atchison campus and construction already underway on a new college library that will triple the space of the old facility. Recently, the college also completed construction of Westerman Hall, a top-rated science and engineering facility, as well as two new row houses and a new men’s residence hall.

At the same time, Benedictine has earned full ABET accreditation for its mechanical, chemical and civil engineering programs and its nursing school was named the best in Kansas.

Benedictine College has nearly doubled in enrollment in the past 10 years and is now the largest private college in Kansas, according to the Kansas Independent Colleges Association, and the best private college in Kansas, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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LOCAL NEWS 11

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

‘A huge advocate for kids who needed extra support’ >> Continued from page 1

around the track while some of Huppe’s favorite tunes were blasted over the loudspeakers.

Aquinas, meanwhile, paid tribute to Huppe on Aug. 25 during the Aquinas-St. James soccer game at Aquinas.

And Miege honored the coach during soccer and volleyball games on Sept. 14, and then again during the Miege-St. James varsity football game on Sept. 15 at Miege.

Each time Huppe was honored, he was accompanied by Maureen (herself a noted, longtime archdiocesan educator), some of their seven children and some grandchildren as well. Other family support included his brother Joe Huppe, Miege’s varsity assistant soccer coach, and nephew Nat Huppe, Miege’s assistant athletic director and head soccer coach.

Engen, who also taught with Huppe at St. James, said he made a point of getting to know people’s names.

“He’s really humble,” she said. “He does a lot of pointing up in the air and wiggling his finger. When he could talk, he’d say one of two things to everyone he met, ‘Let’s get with it today’ or ‘We missed each other.’

“When he points up like that, he’ll tell you he really does trust Jesus. And he gives the glory to God. “And he’s so authentic. He knows everyone’s name and doesn’t forget it.

Part of his message was get out there and learn someone’s name.”

Always positive Craig Moss, principal of Aquinas, met Huppe when he arrived in 1999 to teach math and coach football and track. Once, on the way to a professional development event at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas, Huppe drove the “new guy” Moss there, and drove him around to the important Catholic places.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been around someone so positive and believed we could do things if we set our minds to it in the way Mark is,” said Moss. “It had

COURTESY PHOTO

Mark Huppe points to the heavens and twirls his finger as he walks between the Bishop Miege and St. James Academy football teams on Sept.

15 at the game at which he was honored.

IT HAD A HUGE EFFECT ON ME AS SOMEONE NEW. . . .

I BEGAN TO SEE MY JOB AND VOCATION IN LIFE DIFFERENTLY. CRAIG MOSS PRINCIPAL OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS HIGH SCHOOL

a huge effect on me as someone new to Kansas City, new to teaching in Catholic schools and new to the archdiocese. I began to see my job and vocation in life differently.”

Rapp said Huppe was an advocate for students who struggled.

“He also was a huge advocate for students who needed extra support, whether they were kids who made some mistakes in their past, came from tough family situations or had disabilities and

who needed extra support,” said Rapp.

“He was an advocate for them even to the point of having students live with him for various periods of time because of their family situations or something they were going through.

“He went to bat for kids who might be someone we weren’t excited to give a second or third chance to. He’d advocate for them and take personal responsibility for their success. There are multiple instances of kids who wouldn’t have graduated from high school or had a healthy, thriving life without Mark stepping in and helping them succeed.”

Greg Wilson taught Latin and coached cross country and track at Aquinas until he retired in 2017. Huppe is one of his best friends.

“I operated the clock at all the home games. The clock is next to the bench, so I was able to eavesdrop on everything he said and did for years,” said Wilson.

“I think he was a great coach. He never played the ‘us against them, chip on your shoulder’ kind of chip some coaches do,” he continued. “He was always ‘prepare, respect the game,

respect your opponent, play as hard as you can and have fun.’

“Those are qualities I as a coach tried to emulate and Mark’s a big reason why I tried to be that way myself. Mark was a good coach.”

Mark and Maureen have a great love story, too, added Wilson. They met when they were both teachers at Queen of the Holy Rosary School in Overland Park — and the late Sister Kathleen Condry, OSU, was their matchmaker.

Forever grateful Mark and Maureen are both grateful for the way these three Catholic high schools have demonstrated their love.

“What I thought was so wonderful was how they all came together to recognize Mark,” said Maureen, now teaching special education for EMBRACE through Benedictine College in Atchison.

“I was so proud of our whole Catholic community for coming out and recognizing all that he’s done,” she said.

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Staff job openings - Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, has the following staff job openings available: admissions counselor, director of development.

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Safe environment program coordinator - The Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph seeks to fill a safe environment program coordinator position for the office of child/youth protection. This position works directly with parishes and schools to implement diocesan-approved educational programs and to ensure compliance with safe environment requirements for employees and volunteers working with minors. This position is full time and officed in the chancery building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. To see full job description and apply, go to: www.kcsjcatholic. org and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Employment,” then scroll down and click on “Click here to view and apply for current openings” and then scroll down to “Safe Environment Coordinator.”

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In-home caregiver - We are looking for an engaging in-home caregiver for our son with special needs in western Shawnee. He loves music, interacting with others, reading books, and is learning new life skills.

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Garage Door Repair New Garage Doors A Total Door - KC family owned since ‘83. www.ATotalDoor.com or (913) 236-6440 A Total Door (913) 236-6440.

(913)205-0926 cell

Full-time custodian - The Church of the Nativity Parish School has immediate openings for full-time and parttime custodians. Qualified applicants should have prior custodial experience, specifically in a school environment. Maintenance experience would be a plus. The full-time position is scheduled to work M-F from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the part-time from 4 to 8 p.m. M-F. Some holiday work is expected. Applicants must have a compatible work history, references, dependable transportation and be willing to participate in a background check. The Church of the Nativity expects to pay market compensation commensurate with experience and qualifications. Nativity has a history of retaining its employees, who enjoy the advantages of working at a vibrant, collaborative, faith-based place of worship and education. Nativity Parish School is located at 3700 W. 119th, Leawood. Nativity offers a comprehensive benefit program including medical, dental, vision, vacation and 401(k). Interested applicants should send resumes and work history to: mhyde@kcnativity.org. No phone calls please.

Haus to home remodeling - Let’s give that room a nice face-lift! Specializing in affordable room remodeling. From small projects to bathrooms and basements. We have lots of other services, too: tile, paint, carpentry, wood rot, decks, drywall, etc. Free estimates. For photos of our projects and to find out more about our company, visit us at: Haustohomekc. com or call Cole at (913) 544-7352.

Catholic counseling - Counseling for individual, couples, families, adolescents and young adults. Sam Meier, MA, LPC, (913) 952-2267.

Faculty and adjunct faculty job openings - Donnelly College, Kansas City, Kansas, is a Catholic college offering higher education for those who may not otherwise be served. Faculty job openings include nursing school faculty. Adjunct faculty job openings: clinical nursing and psychology pool, math and English both at Lansing Correctional Campus. Find job descriptions and details at: www.donnelly.edu/careers.

EL SOL Y LA TIERRA *COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL *LAWN RENOVATION *MOWING *CLEANUP AND HAULING *DIRT GRADING/INSTALLATION *LANDSCAPE DESIGN* FREE ESTIMATES HABLAMOS Y ESCRIBIMOS INGLES!!

CALL LUPE AT (816) 252-1391

SERVICES Double A’s lawn service Lawn mowing, mulching, gutters, leaf removal, brush removal and hedge trimming Free estimates, insured and insured.

Alex Spoerre (913) 488-5195

ACT Prep - Founded by a Bishop Miege graduate, pathway Prep has helped over 250 students during the last four years improve their scores. In-person or virtual sessions available. For more information, visit: pathwayprepkc.com and contact Alex Pint at (913) 991-8217 or: alex@pathwayprepkc.com.

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

Memory quilts - Preserve your memories in a keepsake quality quilt, pillows, etc. Custom designed from your T-shirt collection, baby clothes, sports memorabilia, neckties . . . Quilted Memories. (913) 649-2704.

Stone painting - We are offering FREE ESTIMATES to any and all that are interested in painting this summer! We do interior, exterior house painting along with decks, fences, and much more. At Stone Painting we ensure professional quality and cheap services tailored to your needs. Call now at (913) 963-6465, or go online to: stonepaintingkc.com.

Masonry work - Quality new or repair work. Brick, block and chimney/fireplace repair. Insured; secondgeneration bricklayer. Member of St. Paul Parish, Olathe. Call (913) 271-0362.

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

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.

REAL ESTATE We are local people who can buy your house - Big companies from all over the nation come here buying houses, but that’s not us. We are parishioners of Holy Trinity Parish and we enjoy giving you personalized service. We can offer you a fair price and are flexible to your needs. If I can help, call me, Mark Edmondson, at (913) 980-4905.

We buy houses and whole estates - We are local and family-owned, and will make you a fair cash offer.

We buy houses in any condition. No fees or commissions and can close on the date of your choice. Selling your house has never felt so good. Jon & Stacy Bichelmeyer (913) 599-5000.

FOR SALE For sale - Double companionship lawn crypt at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Located in section 10 L - 19. Everything included except headstone and the service. Valued at $8667.00, asking $6000.00. Call Patty at (913) 217-5497.

For sale - Two plots at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Olathe. Lot 25, plots 3 and 4. One burial vault and one interment fee. Current value is $6200, asking $3500. Seller to pay conveyance fee. Call Bob at (913) 768-0668.

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 - Single plot suitable for regular burial or cremation. Mt. Calvary Cemetery, KCK. Section 11, lot 80, space 3-A. Valued at $2200. Sell for $2100 and I pay conveyance fee. Contact David at (913) 980-0042.

CAREGIVING Family member with dementia or need help at home? - We specialize in helping seniors live SAFELY at home, where they want to live! We also offer free dementia training and resources for families and caregivers. 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.

Caregiving - We provide personal assistance, care management, transportation and much more. We specialize in dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. We will provide a loving family environment for your loved one, while giving them the proper care/ companionship that they need and deserve. Please call Mike or Krystyl at (913) 219-5880.

CNA - Can provide home care for those needing assistance. Available Monday - Friday. Serving Johnson County, Kansas. 20 years experience. Call Serina at (913) 526-0797. >> Classifieds continue on page 13

CALENDAR 13

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

DAVE RAMSEY’S FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY St. Joseph Parish 5901 Flint St., Shawnee Tuesdays starting Oct. 3

Learn how to get out of debt, save money and become a millionaire with the Financial Peace University, the No. 1 personal finance class in America. To register, go online to: www.financialpeace.com/app/.

FALL AND HOLIDAY CRAFT AND BAKE SALE 501 S. Willow Dr., Olathe Oct. 6 and 7 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Come to do shopping for Christmas and other upcoming holidays. Cash or check only. All proceeds will be donated to the Olathe Pregnancy Clinic.

ASSUMPTION PARISH 100TH ANNIVERSARY/RE-OPENING Mater Dei/Assumption Parish 204 S.W. 8th Ave., Topeka Oct. 6: 6 - 8 p.m.

Oct. 7: 1 - 3 p.m.; trivia: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Oct. 8 at 8 a.m.

On Oct. 6, there will be an open house for tours. On Oct. 7, there will be tours (from 1 - 3 p.m.) and a trivia contest from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in Rossiter Hall. The cost for the trivia contest will be $120 per team of 3 - 8 persons. On Oct. 8, there will be Mass with Archbishop Naumann, followed by a continental breakfast. Please call (785) 232-7744 to register your trivia team or for a guided tour.

GERMANFEST St. Joseph Parish 747 Osage St., Leavenworth Oct. 7 at 4 p.m.

The event will begin with a German Mass. After Mass, come to the gymnasium for a meal of sauerbraten, German potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut, brats and desserts. Dinner will be served from 5 - 8 p.m. Adult tickets are $12 and kids tickets are $5 (for a meal of hot dog and chips).

There will also be music from the FesthausMusikanten German band. There will be raffles for a quilt, money and a German food basket. The pumpkins that decorate the tables can be purchased for $5.

HOG & GROG FOR SCHOLARSHIPS Our Lady of Unity School 2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas Oct. 7 from 4:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Parish (attached to Our Lady of Unity School) followed by a tour of the school. Drinks, dinner and entertainment will follow. Live music will be provided by Stranded in the City. Attire is casual. Funds raised benefit Our Lady of Unity. Visit the website at: olucs.org/hog-andgrog for tickets and more information.

LIVING ESTATE AUCTION Father Earl Dekat’s home 11010 Myers Valley Rd., St. George Oct. 7 at 10 a.m.

There will be a living estate auction at Father Earl Dekat’s home. Come see what treasures you can find and purchase.

FALL BAZAAR AND DINNER St. Aloysius Parish 615 Wyandotte, Meriden Oct. 8 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

There will be a ham and turkey dinner with all the fixings, plus dessert. The cost is $14 for adults; $8 for kids ages 5 - 12.

Carryout meals will be available. There will also be children’s games, prize drawings, a country store, silent auction baskets and a money drawing.

SOUP SUPPER AND AUCTION St. Bede Parish (hall) 7344 Drought St., Kelly Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.

There will be chili, chicken noodle soup, vegetable beef soup, ham sandwiches, hot dogs, pie and cake. There will also be an auction of handmade quilts and many other items. There will be games for all ages, a country store and refreshments.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS St. Michael the Archangel Parish (Father Porter Hall) 14251 Nall Ave., Leawood Oct. 9 from 7 - 9 p.m.

This is part one of a two-part series on human trafficking in Johnson County.

Learn how victims get brought into human trafficking, how survivors get out and the signs that someone is being trafficked or groomed for trafficking. Join St. Michael the Archangel and our friends from REHOPE for this two-part series where you will hear from survivors and organizations that are battling human trafficking.

ARE YOU CALLED TO BE A PRINCIPAL? Chancery 12615 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, Kansas Oct. 10 from 4 - 5 p.m.

Come learn about the principal’s role in the mission of Catholic education. Please RSVP online at: archkckcs.org/register.

‘THE WAY OF A PILGRIM’ SILENT RETREAT Christ’s Peace House of Prayer 22131 Meagher Rd., Easton Oct. 13 - 14

The retreat will begin on Oct. 13 at 5:30 p.m. and end on Oct. 14 at 4:30 p.m. The Jesus prayer is an ancient form of prayer that teaches us how to pray always. On this silent retreat, we will be putting into practice the ancient tradition of walking while praying this simple and powerful prayer. There are conferences, eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and time for walking. Cabins/courtyard rooms are $170 single, $250 couple. Single guest rooms are $100 (meals included). To attend, fill out the retreat reservation form online at: ChristsPeace.com.

BINGO NIGHT Sacred Heart Parish 2646 W. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

The Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus will be hosting bingo. Refreshments will be sold. Cash prizes. Questions? Call Bob at (913) 850-3348.

FRIED CHICKEN DINNER AND BINGO St. Patrick Parish 1066 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.

There will be a dinner of two pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, roll and drink for $10. Play 10 games of bingo for $10. Call Fritz at (913) 515-0621 if you have any questions.

WOMEN’S RETREAT Sacred Heart Parish (hall) 104 Exchange St., Emporia Oct. 14 from 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The Sacred Heart Altar Society in Emporia is sponsoring the retreat. The theme is: “Pig Wallows & Stardust.” A freewill donation lunch will be provided. RSVP online to Paula Roper by Oct. 9 at: paularoper@att.net.

NUPTIAL CHARITY RETREAT Benedictine College 1020 N. 2nd St., Atchison Oct. 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Join Benedictine College’s Center for Family Life on a one-day retreat led by marriage and family expert Father José Noriega, DCJM. Father José will explore the Holy Spirit’s role in the marriage covenant through four lectures. There will also be a talk from an experienced couple about how they have seen the Holy Spirit working

throughout their marriage. Find out more and register online at: benedictine.edu/ NuptialCharity.

HARVEST MEAL St. Mary Parish 9208 Main St., St. Benedict Oct. 15 from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The menu includes pulled pork, cheesy potatoes, baked beans and cookies. Dinein or carryout. The cost is a freewill offering.

FALL FESTIVAL Sacred Heart Parish 426 S. Cedar St., Ottawa Oct. 15 from noon - 4 p.m.

This event is hosted by the Ladies’ Guild.

McDevitt Hall is in the basement and is elevator accessible. The bazaar will have more than 50 tables with hundreds of gifts and craft items. Lunch is available at a nominal fee. Raffle tickets will be sold for an outdoor Nativity silhouette with solar flood light, and a large fall mum will be included.

LIVING FLAME St. Pius X Parish 5500 Woodson Rd., Mission Oct. 21 (first of seven gatherings)

There will be Mexican food, barbecue, pumpkin sales and decorating, homemade ice cream, cake and pie. There will also be a musical cakewalk (someone wins every time), a magic show, balloon artist, bingo with prizes and kids games.

Living Flame Contemplative Outreach offers Living Flame, seven once-a-month half-day retreats focused on deepening one’s centering prayer practice and related spiritual practices. This ecumenical experience is offered in-person. The cost is $140 for all seven sessions. For information and registration, go online to: https:// contemplativeoutreachkc.org, then scroll over to “Living Flame Registration.”

OMELET BREAKFAST St. Pius X Parish 5500 Woodson, Mission Oct. 15 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

BINGO AND CHILI Sacred Heart Parish 1100 West St., Tonganoxie Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

The Knights of Columbus, Bishop Miege Council 843, will be having an omelet breakfast. Everyone is welcome to gather for an omelet made “your way” and for great fellowship and a cup of coffee.

Breakfast also includes biscuits, sausage and fresh fruit. Freewill donations will be collected with proceeds being used by Knights Council 843 for charitable works such as scholarships, Bibles for SOR and RCIA and other giving throughout the year.

FALL FESTIVAL St. Matthew Parish 2700 S.E. Virginia, Topeka Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Join us for a traditional dinner of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry salad, coleslaw, roll and dessert. The cost is $12 for adults; $6 for children. There will also be games and booths open until 2:30 p.m. including bingo, baked goods, religious items, cake spin, kids games, concessions and a 50/50 raffle. For more information or raffle tickets, go online to: www.saintmatthews.org; send an email to: parishoffice@saintmatthews.org; or call (785) 232-5012.

ROSARY RALLY St. Andrew the Apostle Parish 6415 N.E. Antioch, Gladstone, Missouri Oct. 15 from 3 - 4:30 p.m.

We will pray the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the rosary. Benediction will follow, as well as an opportunity for attendees to enroll in the brown scapular. For more information, visit the website at: www.rosaryrallieskc.org.

CATHOLIC ADVISORS NETWORK CoreFirst Bank & Trust Conference Facility 701 S.W. 31st St., Topeka Oct. 17 from 5:30 - 7 p.m.

Ryan Hellmer, SVP, trust officer, will speak on “Estate and gift planning staples for changing times.” RSVP online at: https://www.cfnek.org/events/estate-andgift-planning-staples-for-changing-times; send an email to: jschmitt@archkck.org; or call (913) 647-3060.

WILL AND TRUST WORKSHOP Holy Spirit Parish 11300 W. 103rd St., Overland Park Oct. 18 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Join us for a workshop on wills and trusts. The presenter will be estate planning attorney Casey Connealy. Register online at: cfnek.org/events.

GIFT AND CRAFT BAZAAR St. Joseph Parish (McDevitt Hall) 11311 Johnson Dr., Shawnee Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

There will be bingo as well as chili and soup. The cost is $10 for dinner and $10 for 10 games of bingo. Cash prizes only.

FALL DINNER BAZAAR AND AUCTION St. Philip Neri Parish Osawatomie City Auditorium 439 Main, Osawatomie Oct. 21 from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

There will be homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, salad, green beans, bread, desserts, and coffee and tea. The cost is: $12 for adults; $6 for kids ages 6-12. There will also be a raffle, country store and bingo, as well as a live silent auction at 10 a.m. at 514 Parker, Osawatomie.

‘GOSPEL OF NONVIOLENCE: LIVING THE WAY OF JESUS’ Keeler Women’s Center 759 Vermont Ave., Suite 100-B Kansas City, Kansas First and third Wednesdays From 1 - 3 p.m.

In a world where bullets enter homes and violence disrupts neighborhoods, where the news seems to report more and more killings and war, come experience the message of nonviolence preached by Jesus. Register by calling or texting (913) 689-9375.

>> Continued from page 12

WANTED TO BUY Wanted to buy - Do you have a car or truck that you need to get rid of? If you do, CALL ME! I’m a cash buyer. We’re Holy Trinity parishioners.

My name is Mark. (913) 980-4905.

Wanted to buy - Antique/vintage jewelry, paintings, pottery, sterling, etc. Single pieces or estate. Renee, (913) 475-7393. St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee.

Cash paid - for old tools, old jewelry, old furniture, military items, fishing lures, hunting items, old crocks, arrowheads and old signs. I buy all kinds of older things — house or barn contents, an estate or just one item. Call Patricia any time at (913) 515-2950. Parishioner at Holy Trinity Parish in Lenexa.

Wanted to buy - I buy coin collections, military items, pocket watches, jewelry, class rings, old toys, holiday items and more. Cash in hand. Call Kirk at (913) 2139843.

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.

PILGRIMAGE Pilgrimage to Medjugorje - Dec. 27, 2023 - Jan. 4, 2024. Come ring in the New Year with us! Hosted by visionary Mirjana Soldo. For details, call Grace Legaspi at (913) 449-1806.

14 COLUMNISTS DAILY READINGS TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Oct. 8 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Is 5: 1-7 Ps 80: 9, 12-16, 19-20 Phil 4: 6-9 Mt 21: 33-43 Oct. 9 Denis, bishop, and companions, martyrs; John Leonardi, priest Jon 1:1 – 2:2, 11 (Ps) Jon 2: 3-5, 8 Lk 10: 25-37 Oct. 10 Tuesday Jon 3: 1-10 Ps 130: 1-4, 7-8 Lk 10: 38-42 Oct. 11 John XXIII, pope Jon 4: 1-11 Ps 86: 3-6, 9-10 Lk 11: 1-4 Oct. 12 Thursday Mal 3: 13-20b Ps 1: 1-4, 6 Lk 11: 5-13 Oct. 13 Friday Jl 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2 Ps 9: 2-3, 6, 8-9, 16 Lk 11: 15-26 Oct. 14 Callistus I, pope, martyr Jl 4: 12-21 Ps 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12 Lk 11: 27-28

PASCHAL BAYLON 1540-1592

Born to a Spanish shepherd family, Paschal was said to have taught himself to read while tending sheep. At age 21, he joined an austere group of Franciscans, devoting himself to prayer and charity. He was sent on a dangerous mission to French Franciscans, and a shoulder wound he received caused him pain for the rest of his life. Long hours of prayer on his knees before the Eucharist earned this lay brother the honor of being patron of Catholic eucharistic congresses.

His emblem in art is a monstrance.

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OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Will you dare to think outside the box?

teacher in elementary school wrote the figure 8 on the whiteboard and asked the class, “What is half of 8?”

Excitedly, a little boy raised his hand and shouted out confidently, “Half of eight is zero!”

“How did you come up with that?” asked the teacher.

The boy went to the whiteboard and drew a horizontal line through the 8 so that it now looked like two zeroes stacked on one another.

“That’s not right, silly,” chimed in a little girl. “The right answer is three!”

Seeing the puzzled look on the teacher’s face, she went to the board, erased the horizontal line the little boy drew and made a vertical line down the 8, so it now looked like two 3’s facing each other.

The teacher just shook her head and said, “And here I thought the only answer was 4!”

S

cripture is filled with almost lyrical images for the divine human relationship.

Sunday’s first reading offers one such poetic passage as the prophet Isaiah uses the image of a grape harvest.

In vine growing areas, the grape harvest is a time of rejoicing — especially when the harvest is good. When the crop fails, harvest day is a time of anxiety and frustration.

Perhaps the memory of a disappointing harvest inspired Isaiah’s words.

The vineyard is a biblical image for the people of Israel. It is also an image of the church to which we each belong, by virtue of our baptism. 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.

You’ve got to love the creativity of children.

They seem to have a real gift for seeing things from a different perspective. Sadly, it’s something that we often lose as we get older.

For example, little kids are confident in their ability to draw, dance, play sports or sing. They do so with abandon. The older they get, though, they begin

to compare themselves with others and come to the realization that they’re not “as good” at those activities as others. Gradually, their spark of creativity dims, then dies.

Is it possible, though, that we can be open to a spirit of creativity as we get older? The answer could be “yes” as shown in the following story: A man had a terrible fear of someone hiding under his bed at night.

He sought out a psychiatrist for a cure.

“Put yourself in my hands,” said the psychiatrist. “Come talk to me three times a week for a year and we should

be able to get rid of that fear.”

“How much do you charge?” asked the man.

“Eighty dollars per visit,” said the doctor.

“I’ll sleep on it,” said the man.

Six months later, the psychiatrist met the potential patient on the street. “Why didn’t you come to see me about the fear you had?” he asked.

“Well, $80 an hour, three times a week for a year is $12,480,” replied the man. “My bartender cured me for $10! I was so happy I saved all that money I went out and bought a car.”

“Is that so?” scoffed the doctor. “And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?”

“Simple,” said the man. “He told me to cut the legs off the bed.

Ain’t nobody under there now!”

Can you use an infusion of creativity?

I like to think it’s the Holy Spirit at work in us whenever we experience freshness and

newness in life. It’s the Spirit that invites us out of the “boxes” where we so often live.

To rediscover some creativity, try some of the following activities: • Doodle, draw or color. (Maybe even go outside the lines.)

• Listen to a podcast or explore an audiobook.

• Travel.

• Head outside to savor the beauty of autumn.

• Audition for a role in a community theater or take a dance class.

• Go on a retreat.

Still stumped for ideas? Head then to something tried and true, in honor of a saint whose feast we just celebrated. See how many creative ways you can find to live the Prayer of St. Francis: Sow love where there’s hatred, bring light to darkness, replace sadness with joy, etc.

These will help you — and the world — experience a breath of fresh air!

Is your life bearing the fruit of faith?

JEM SULLIVAN Sullivan is a professor at The Catholic University of America.

like the vine-keeper, the Lord plants choice vines that are tended with care. From time to time, though, instead of a good harvest, the vine produces wild grapes. The Israelites were chosen to bear

good fruit. Isaiah’s words serve as a challenge to them, and to us, to persevere daily in making the fruits of justice, compassion and love of God a reality.

In the same way, St. Paul encourages the Philippians with words that still speak to us today: “In everything, by prayer and petition and thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.” In so doing, the Philippians will experience the peace of God that passes all understanding, particularly in times of trouble.

We live in an age of Christian martyrdom.

That may surprise us if we think the word “martyr” refers only to Christians in the early

centuries. It is a historical fact that in the last century and into our own day, Christians have been, and continue to be, persecuted violently to the point of martyrdom for faith in Jesus Christ.

Followers of Jesus who willingly die for their faith are a powerful witness to Christian discipleship.

They follow the example of Jesus himself who loved each one of us to the point of death on the cross. Christian martyrs sow seeds of faith and bear good and abundant fruit in lives of faith, hope and love of God in their witness.

Few of us will be expected to give our lives for the faith. But we are called to witness to

Jesus. We may not face the threat of violent martyrdom, but we are called to follow the example of Jesus’ selfless love to bear fruit that will last forever.

The world tells us to “be successful.” In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to bear fruit that will last forever. The fruitfulness of love is the heart of the divine/ human relationship.

Will we accept God’s gracious invitation to let God’s word bear fruit in our lives?

Jesus tells us that if we fail to bear the fruit of faith, God’s love and peace will be harvested by those who do. To bear good fruit that lasts for eternity we rely on God’s grace and pray in faith, “Speak to me, Lord.”

Hope must be restored in communities, young people, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Hope and fraternity must be kept alive, organized and coordinated into concrete action so every crisis can be read as an opportunity and dealt with positively, Pope Francis said.

“Hope needs to be restored to our European societies, especially to the new generations,” he told people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience Sept. 27.

The pope followed

his usual practice of speaking about his latest trip at the first general audience after his return. The pope went to Marseille Sept. 22-23 to highlight the challenges and opportunities across the entire Mediterranean region and to focus on the plight of migrants crossing its waters.

The pope explained he went to Marseille to take part in the conclusion of the “Mediterranean Meetings,” which brought together bishops, mayors, young people and others from the Mediterranean area

to look toward the future with hope.

“This is the dream, this is the challenge: that the Mediterranean might recover its vocation, that of being a laboratory of civilization and peace,” the pope said.

Communities, which are so often “sickened by individualism, by consumerism and by empty escapism, need to open themselves; their souls and spirits need to be oxygenated, and then they will be able to read the crisis as an opportunity and deal with it positively,” he said.

COLUMNISTS 15

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Going to Mass with kids can be tough — so go prepared!

M

y oldest daughter gave birth recently to a 10-pound, 13-ounce baby boy, her fourth child.

She, my son-in-law and the whole family are thrilled, but we all know that the real work has just begun. I have six grandchildren; their parents work so hard caring for the bodies and minds of their kids, and praise the Lord, they work even harder caring for their eternal souls, passing on the faith. Modeling and mimicking are foundational ways that we all learn, even in spiritual development.

I am so inspired by the parenting example of my married kids, and the tidal wave of young and faithful par-

R

SEEKING CHRIST’S HEART

DEACON DANA NEARMYER Deacon Dana Nearmyer is the director of evangelization for the archdiocese.

ents in the archdiocese.

Three great opportunities for parents to pass on the faith are: 1. Pray with your kids 2. Worship with your kids

3. Build awe and wonder of Jesus Christ through eucharistic devotion Bedtime and meals are key times for prayer in the home. Praying both rote prayers and spontaneous prayers with kids models our reverence and intimate access to our loving Lord. The Hallow, Liturgy of the Hours, iBreviary and the Holy

Family rosary meditation apps can all be tools that strengthen our prayer life and pass on the faith.

Going to Mass with kids can be tough on everybody, if we don’t all have a common understanding of why to take kids to Mass. Mass is a divine, sensory, immersive environment: holy water, incense, bells, kneeling, sacred images, singing, receiving the Eucharist and so many other touchpoints that can engage young believers.

Modeling and mimicking the treasured prayers and Scriptures and experiencing the eucharistic feast imprint eternal memories.

In this year of Parish Eucharistic Revival, let’s learn and pass on

the meaning and depth of each segment of the Mass. Kids, and many adults, need to be reminded and refocused regularly on how to take deeper advantage of the grace and peace that are offered in each part of the Mass.

Books like “Father Ben Gets Ready for Mass” and the weekly “MagnifiKid” can be helpful resources.

Eucharist Amazement is best experienced in your parish, but additional opportunities are also available. On May 4 of 2024 , “Behold KC” will be held at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. Both Kansas City dioceses are hosting this free evening of music, Mass and eucharistic adora-

tion for families.

June 25-29, 2024, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is coming to Atchison, Topeka, Leawood and to the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, Kansas. All are invited for Mass, eucharistic adoration, testimony, fellowship, and to enkindle greater love of Jesus.

On July 17-21, 2024, the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis will bring 80,000 pilgrims together to grow as missionary disciples.

Extensive information is available online at: https://archkck.org/ eucharistic-revival/.

Let us pray that our kids and grandkids love Jesus, his church and spread the Gospel!

In life’s ups and downs, trust the Lord with the wheel

iding in a dune buggy with Uncle Logan at the steering wheel was comparable to “hanging 20” off the edge of a surfboard on a hurricane-created wave.

Thrilling moments for his passengers, of which I was one, came on the sand dunes of Mustang Island during a Labor Day weekend campout shortly after our family moved to coastal south Texas in the early ’70s.

Even though my uncle had maneuvered police cruisers during high-speed chases while serving on the Houston police

SET APART

SISTER EVA-MARIA ACKERMAN, FSGM Sister Eva-Maria Ackerman, FSGM, is the Delegate for Religious and Consecrated Life for the archdiocese.

force, he was hardly prepared for the ups

and downs and hidden dangers of driving on the uneven mounds of beach sand, with little or no visibility ahead.

Mom, his oldest sister, was the first to take the plunge and climb into the buggy. As she and Uncle Logan disappeared into sand dunes

on the outer edge of the beach, we heard only a steady stream of screams, the pitch and intensity going up or down according to which part of the dune they were tackling at the moment. I thought she was having a nervous breakdown.

Mom’s hysteria continued long after she moved out of the buggy for the next passenger.

When my turn came, I soon realized what little control I had to stop the vehicle once Uncle Logan began to navigate it bumpily over one dune after another in rapid succession.

Further fortifying my fears and frenzy was that “runaway roller coaster feeling” within. I grabbed the dashboard for dear life. Miraculously, the vehicle didn’t roll over.

By the end of the camping trip, Uncle Logan lost interest in driving the buggy.

The tide of Mom’s panic had subsided.

My white knuckles returned to their regular color, and a certain calm returned to the dunes.

I wonder what went through Simon Peter’s mind when Jesus stepped into his boat, already docked after a fishing venture, and

asked him to “put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch” (Lk 5:4).

Did Peter realize that, by allowing Jesus to step into his boat and determine the next fishing spot, he was about to hand over the helm of his life to the Lord’s direction for the rest of his days?

As the Lord guides us over peaks and down valleys, through the ebbs and flows of everyday life, he encourages us to let go of our need to control, to hang on with dear life and to trust him with the wheel.

Reflections of a white Catholic at the Black Catholic Congress

“W

hen the wind is blowing hard you lean in just so you can stand up straight, and that is what racism feels like when you’re a Black man in America.”

Such a story I recently heard at the National Black Catholic Congress whose mission is to equip “the church in America to evangelize and enhance the spiritual and physical well-being of African Americans as full members of the church and society.”

As a white Catholic, I confess I’m often unaware of the wind or how it blows. I don’t

DO UNTO OTHERS

DEACON BILL SCHOLL Deacon Scholl is the archdiocesan consultant for social justice. You can email him at: socialjustice@archkck.org.

really have to think much about my race in my daily interactions.

So, it really was a blessing to be a part of the archdiocesan delegation to this historic convention of over 3,500 Black Catholics and experience being white as a minority.

Through this dissonance, I discerned that God wants to bless us with understanding

hearts, and the Black Catholic witness shows us how.

At the conference, we were greeted by a gigantic mural of a black-skinned Madonna and child. It was as stunning as it was unfamiliar to me. And so the debate in my head ensued, “Well of course, Mary and Jesus weren’t really black, etc., etc.” But then, “Wait, how do I know, and what do I know?”

I self-queried. “I know Mary wasn’t Mexican but she is Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I know she has appeared as different races. Why?” On this I prayed until in a keynote, Dr. Omékongo Dibinga

asked us all to point to God and then ourselves. He then invited us to notice that we all were pointing at our hearts. I realized that Mary and Jesus really are all races because their hearts seek ours. Heart to heart, as church, we are all Black, we are all white, we are all rich, we are all poor.

In this kingdom, we search with our heart to find other hearts; and if we all will just let God love us and love others, we find our common home of heaven in which I belong to you and you belong to me as we are beloved by God. The divisive racist

perception dissipates into the harmonious racial vision.

This kind of love was modeled by six Black Catholics who are on the road to canonization: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Henriette Delille, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Servant of God Julia Greeley and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman.

At the conference, we learned how, even as winds of racism blew with hurricane force, they loved with the heart of Jesus . . . and so must we all.

LOCAL NEWS 16

OCTOBER 6, 2023 | THELEAVEN.ORG

A CENTENNIAL OF FAITH

Roeland Park parish marks 100 years on Sept. 16

LEAVEN PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

Heavy rain and an overflow crowd couldn’t spoil the outdoor Mass for St. Agnes Parish in Roeland Park’s centennial. While most gathered under a tent, the overflow moved under the awning of the parish’s Katherine C. Roe Parish Center.

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

R

OELAND PARK — No matter where he goes in town, one of the first questions people often ask Father Bill Porter is, “What parish are you assigned to?”

Father Porter’s response is almost always the same. He says he’s assigned to “the best parish.”

When people ask him which parish that is, he replies with the name of St. Agnes. That’s usually, he said, when the real conversation starts.

Almost always, people share with him a tie they have with the parish. For example, their parents were married at the church, they went to the parish’s grade school or their grandparents belonged to the parish.

In fact, it never ceases to amaze him how many people have ties to the parish — although it probably shouldn’t. After all, the parish celebrated its centennial on Sept. 16, and a lot has happened in the life of the parish since its founding in 1923.

For example, the parish community has built a church, a school, a convent and a rectory. Out of the school grew what eventually became Bishop Miege High School. More important, though, is the sacramental life of the parishioners.

In his homily, Father Porter, who currently serves as the parish’s pastor, mentioned the names of the sons of the parish, including Msgr. Tom Tank, along with Fathers Ken Kelly, Jim Ludwikoski and Richard McDonald.

Additionally, two priests from Mexico — Fathers Jerry Arano-Ponce and Augustin Martinez — celebrated their first Masses there, adopting the parish as their own. Father Porter also recognized the concelebrants of the centennial Mass: Msgr. Tank, along with former pastors Fathers Jim Shaughnessy and Tony Lickteig.

Over the years, Father Porter said, the parish has celebrated 8,432 baptisms, more than 7,400 first Communions, and some 3,350 couples have started their new lives together there as husbands and wives.

One such couple is Scott and Carol Porter.

Married in 1976, the Porters have long been a part of the parish. In fact, Carol’s family dates back to the parish’s founding. In 1923, her great-grandfather John Nunnink served as one of the main builders of the church. And for a time, the parish’s first pastor, Father James Ording, lived in the basement of a home owned by Nunnink.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

St. Agnes Parish in Roeland Park celebrated its centennial Mass outdoors on Sept. 16 despite a downpour. From left are: Father Tony Lickteig, pastor Father Bill Porter, Father Jim Shaughnessy and Msgr. Tom Tank. Fathers Lickteig and Shaughnessy are former pastors while Msgr. Tank is a native son of the parish.

In January 1924, the school opened its doors, and until very recently, it even prominently displayed a picture of her grandmother: Margaret Nunnink Schleicher was one of the first two students to graduate from the parish school.

Later, Schleicher became the first parishioner to get married in the secondfloor church, an addition blessed on Oct. 9, 1927. Schleicher’s wedding occurred just three days later on Oct. 12.

For her part, Porter said, she’s mostly lived within the same two-mile radius of the church, the same church in which she was baptized, received the Eucharist for the first time and celebrated her marriage to Scott. She attended the same school that her daughter attended. Today, her brother is sending his children there.

Hearing Father Porter share the parish’s statistics brought back a flood of memories.

“It made me remember all of that — baptisms, weddings and funerals — and how many of my family were a part of those numbers,” she said.

In his homily, Father Porter said he truly appreciated the opportunity to have celebrated the parish’s centennial.

“It’s nice to be able to look back on a parish’s [first 100 years]. Every parish is unique,” he said. “A parish, to me, is one of the most beautiful creations of the Catholic Church because it creates the opportunity to nest and become family.”

Visiting with other friends and family was what they appreciated most about the centennial celebration, said parishioners Kent and Judy Decker.

Married in 1971, the Deckers had their three daughters baptized at the church, later sending them to the parish school. Their girls were also married there, and five of the couple’s 14 grandchildren were baptized at St. Agnes. In 2003, after decades of being an unofficial part of the parish, Judy joined the Catholic Church through the parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

“It’s a big family tradition,” she said.

“It’s our home family church.

“It was really, really nice to see a lot of people that we don’t see very often . . . but we’ve had a long-term connection with.

That was a lot of fun, just visiting with folks.”

LEAVEN PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

A loud thunderclap causes several attendees to cover their ears at St. Agnes’ centennial.