11 19 21 Vol. 43 No. 16

THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 43, NO. 16 | NOVEMBER 19, 2021

ADVENT

W

ith Advent just around the corner, Beth, 5, left, and Lilly Clement, 2, practice their candlelighting skills on the traditional Advent wreath. They are the daughters of Annie and Adam Clement, members of St. Joseph Parish in Shawnee. Advent begins on Nov. 28.

PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

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ARCHBISHOP

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

We needn’t wait to thank God for answering our prayer if we trust his will

R

ecently, Mike Scherschligt devoted one of his Holy Family School of Faith daily rosary meditations to the spirituality and example of Blessed Solanus Casey, a Capuchin Franciscan friar who lived from 1870-1957.

Solanus Casey was ordained a priest but given very restricted faculties (not allowed to preach or hear confessions) because of the judgment by his religious superiors of his limited intellectual ability. Father Solanus served as a porter (door keeper) for the friaries where he was assigned.

People came to the friaries with many problems and prayer requests. Father Solanus always received visitors with great respect and compassion.

He promised to pray for their intentions but also urged them to thank God ahead of time.

There are many miracles attributed to the prayers of Father Solanus. Blessed Solanus Casey was convinced that God hears and answers every prayer, but not always with the immediate outcome that we hoped and desired.

St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans coun-

ARCHBISHOP NAUMANN’S CALENDAR Nov. 19 Chancery staff Thanksgiving Mass and recognition breakfast — Savior Pastoral Center

LIFE WILL BE VICTORIOUS ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH F. NAUMANN sels: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God ” (8:28). His confidence that God makes all things work for the good for those who love him was the reason why Blessed Solanus encouraged visitors of the friary to thank God ahead of time. We need not wait to see how God answers our prayer, if we believe that God is always orchestrating events for our good.

It is amazing how many miracles (physical, emotional and spiritual healings) are attributed to the intercession of Blessed Solanus.

However, whether the specific prayer request was granted or not, people who heeded Father Solanus’ encouragement to

entrust their burdens to God, confident in Our Lord’s love for them, received an incredible peace.

If “all things work for good for those who love God,” then no matter what happens we will have the peace that comes from trusting in God’s protective and caring love.

Even when we do not receive what we hoped for, we will experience the serenity that comes from trusting that God desires to work some greater good from what appears to us to be an adversity.

Jesus provides us with a great example of confident trust in our heavenly Father with his institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday night, the eve of his passion and death. Jesus gave thanks to the Father, even though he was keenly aware of the great suffering that was imminent. From

St. Cecilia Mass and reception — Holy Angels Church, Basehor Nov. 20 Divine Winefest — Fiorella’s Event Center, Overland Park

BY MAHATMA GANDHI, CC BY-SA 3.0, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Blessed Solanus Casey was a Capuchin Franciscan friar who lived from 1870-1957.

Although he was ordained a priest, he was given very restricted faculties (not allowed to preach or hear confessions) because of the judgment by his religious superiors of his limited intellectual ability. his passion and crucifixion, God drew forth the greatest good — our redemption from sin and death.

As we enter into our culture’s great time of Thanksgiving, let us recall all of God’s blessings in our lives, all of the miracles of his grace that we have already experienced.

However, at the same time let us entrust to God all of our personal worries and needs, all of our concerns for family and friends, all of our anxieties over the problems and struggles in

Nov. 21 Crosier Mass and brunch — Savior Pastoral Center Mass and presentation of the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Award and reception — Sacred Heart, Mound City Nov. 22 Confirmation — St. Dominic, Holton, and St. Francis Xavier, Mayetta Nov. 29 Archdiocesan Finance Council board meeting Nov. 30 Confirmation — St. Gregory, Marysville, and St. Malachy, Beattie

our nation and world.

Let us thank God ahead of time, confident that he hears our prayer and that he makes all things work for the good for those who love him.

In his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8, St. Paul poses the questions: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but

handed him over for us all, how will he not give us everything else along with him? What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?” (8: 3132, 35).

This Thanksgiving, let us thank God in advance!

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LOCAL NEWS

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Giving Tuesday helps parishes fund needed projects

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood hopes to raise $25,000 in its GivingTuesday campaign to build a drainage system for St. Athanasius Church in Mawuuki, Uganda. A priest at St. Athanasius is a summer fixture at St. Michael, helping out the parish in any way he can.

By Dean Backes Special to The Leaven

L

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

The bell tower at St. John the Evangelist Church in Lawrence sits above the north entrance to the church. When it rains, the roof leaks onto the wooden floor beneath it. Peeling paint, water stains and rust spots are visible on days when it’s not raining. The parish hopes to raise $50,000 on GivingTuesday to fix the roof.

“

“

EAWOOD — Always looking out for others, Father Simon Peter of St. Athanasius Church in Mawuuki, Uganda, may soon be receiving a little help from some friends.

The longtime, long-distance friend of St. Michael the Archangel pastor Father Brian Schieber visits his seminary ally in Leawood for about a month every summer, helping out around the parish.

“He offers Mass. He will give talks.

He pretty much does anything that an American priest does,” said St. Michael the Archangel Parish administrator Rob Lisch. “He’ll go into hospitals and anoint the sick. He offers baptism. He helps out with just about anything that a priest would encounter if they were a priest in residence.”

Father Simon Peter has been making his annual summer journey for some years now and has gotten to know many St. Michael parishioners. It should come as no surprise, then, that the parish is looking forward to raising money for St. Athanasius Parish in late November when GivingTuesday kicks off its 2021 campaign.

While donors can throw money at their favorite school, parish or ministry ahead of time, GivingTuesday lands on Nov. 30 this year. The online leaderboard at the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas website — cfnek.org — will track gifts from Nov. 21 through Dec. 5 this year.

Created in 2012, GivingTuesday was established for the purpose of encouraging online giving for good causes.

Today, it’s become a global movement.

For a number of years now, the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas (CFNEK) has participated in the day, making it easy for archdiocesan entities to highlight their needs.

St. Michael Parish, for example, hopes to raise $25,000 in its GivingTuesday campaign to build a drainage system for Father Simon Peter’s church.

St. John the Evangelist Church in Lawrence already kicked off its GivingTuesday campaign on Nov. 1. It is asking for $50,000 to repair a leaky roof, which has led to a falling ceiling in its choir loft, and water seeping into the basement.

OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE OUR CLIENTS WITH AN INTUITIVE AND EASY-TO-USE ONLINE DONATION PLATFORM THAT SERVES TO INCREASE NONPROFIT FINANCIAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY. JANE SCHMITT MARKETING COORDINATOR OF CFNEK

If the parish reaches its goal, a generous donor will match the $50,000 with an equal amount.

Gratia Plena House of Discernment for Women, meanwhile, is working

toward a goal of adding a eucharistic adoration chapel inside the house of discernment. Funds raised from the event will go toward the construction, furnishing and ongoing expenses of the chapel.

Faith-based nonprofits now receive the largest percentage of GivingTuesday online donations, with the online average gift amount exceeding $134.

Overall, online giving rose 21% in 2020 with 17% of online donations coming from those donating from mobile devices. Last year, a total of $2.47 billion was generated for nonprofits on GivingTuesday.

Jane Schmitt, the marketing coordinator of CFNEK, said that the spirit of GivingTuesday fits neatly with the CFNEK mission to “collaborate with parishes and institutions to develop additional resources and support.”

“Our goal,” Schmitt said, “is to provide our clients with an intuitive and easy-to-use online donation platform

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; fax: (913) 7215276; 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 $21/year. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, KS 66109.

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

Senior Reporter Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

that serves to increase nonprofit financial health and sustainability.”

For donors that are tech savvy, giving is easy. They can give online with a credit card by texting the organization’s text-to-give phone number and keyword, or by scanning a QR code that takes the donor directly to an organization’s crowdfunding page.

If they are in possession of a public giving page direct URL, donors can go that route, or they can walk into a participating school, parish or ministry with a check or cash.

Donors hoping to track the progress of their favorite charity can go online to: cfnek.org to access the Joy of Giving leaderboard. Once there, donors can find their favorite charities by scrolling down and clicking on the drop-down menu. Donors will then be able to see where their money is going by accessing the participating organization’s crowdfunding page.

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

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LOCAL NEWS

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Wealth of varied experience will inform new Hispanic minister’s work

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

K

ANSAS CITY, Kan. — The new director of Hispanic ministry thought he might have a career in business or even theater.

But God had other plans.

Father Ramiro Sanchez Chan, CS, was completing his last year of studies for a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Guadalajara when his parish sponsored a youth group mission to a small town in Mexico.

The experience changed him.

“I saw the chance of being a priest, and I took it,” said Father Ramiro.

“I never thought I would become a priest. I was a theater actor for three years in my youth, and then I was a clown for a year. I felt the call and decided to respond.”

Father Ramiro assumed the position of director (formerly animator) of Hispanic ministry for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas on Oct. 11. He will work with Father Michael Hermes, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Olathe and vicar for Hispanic ministry for the archdiocese.

Father Ramiro, a member of the Scalabrini religious order, was born and raised in Guadalajara, in the State of Jalisco, in west-central Mexico.

After graduating from the University of Guadalajara in 1990, he became a Scalabrinian and began seminary studies in 1993. He took his first vows in 1997. He came to the United States and studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 1998 to 2003. Father Ramiro was ordained a priest on Aug. 16, 2003, in Guadalajara.

Father Ramiro was a vocation director for his order from 2003 to 2008, and then formation director from 2008 to 2017, at the order’s seminary in Los Angeles. Additionally, from 2014 to 2017, he was executive director of the Villa Scalabrini retirement facility. He was pastor from 2017 to 2021 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Chula Vista, California.

He is no stranger to the archdiocese, however.

“I’ve known Father Ramiro for 20 years — ever since he was a Scalabrini seminarian in Chicago,” said Father Hermes. “He came to St. Joseph-St. Benedict — All Saints — Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, multiple times [in 2001] to help over Christmas break, during Holy Week and even stayed with us for an entire summer.

“We became friends back then and I find it providential that we have been reconnected in ministry 20 years later.”

The Scalabrinians minister in 35 countries, focusing on migrants and refugees. They have had a tremendous impact on the development of Hispanic ministry in the archdiocese.

“Each one shared their gifts and talents to help grow the ministry and take it to a higher level,” said Father Hermes. “We are very grateful to the Scalabrini community for

Rito and Jeannie (Mar) Saenz, members of Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish, Topeka, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov. 20. The couple was married on Nov. 20, 1971, at St. Catherine Church in Emporia. Their children are: Tanya Laster Saenz (deceased) and Rito Saenz. They also have six grandchildren.

Mike and Marie Mahoney, members of St. Paul Parish, Olathe, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov. 26.

The couple was married at St. Joseph Church, Shawnee, on Nov. 26, 1971,

by Father John Erickson. Their children are: Heather Phelps and Sarah Kennedy. They also have six grandchildren.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

Father Ramiro Sanchez Chan, CS, the new director of Hispanic ministry for the archdiocese, is pictured here outside his office. He will work with Father Michael Hermes, vicar for Hispanic ministry for the archdiocese. their support over the years. We would not be where we are without them.”

In his position as director, Father Ramiro will help support the 12 parishes in the archdiocese that are designated Hispanic ministry serving parishes. He will support the priests and lay staff at these parishes with the training of lay leaders for marriage preparation, youth ministry and vocational promotion.

“I will work more at the archdiocesan level . . . in helping to integrate the Hispanic ministry into the archdiocesan ministries,” said Father Hermes. “A Hispanic ministry that models best practices serves the entire church from the archdiocesan ministries. We will try to make this structural change over the next several years.”

The big project for archdiocesan Hispanic ministry in 2022 will be the creation of a new pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry in the archdiocese.

Father Ramiro’s own family and personal background informs his approach to ministry to migrants and immigrants within the parishes.

His grandparents on his mother’s side were Chinese immigrants to Mexico and faced many challenges in their new country.

“There was a moment [of understanding] when I met the Scalabrinians in my quest for the call I received from God — all the stories I heard from my family about how they came to Mexico, all the struggles they had with the language and writing because it was a different kind of writing,” said Father Ramiro.

The struggles his immigrant grandparents experienced, his own experiences while a seminarian in Chicago, and ministry on both sides of the Mexico-United States border with immigrants in difficult straits gave him an understanding of what migrants and immigrants face.

“All the things I’ve been doing as a priest have shaped the way I see how I can serve the migrant community, even here in Kansas City,” said Father Ramiro.

Father Hermes is very pleased that Father Ramiro is another in a series of excellent Scalabrinians who have come to minister in the archdiocese.

“We are blessed to have Father Ramiro as the new director of Hispanic ministry,” he said. “We look forward to benefiting from his love of the church, plus his new ideas, his sense of humor and his incredible energy.”

Ralph and Barbara (Bielecki) Richardson, members of St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee, are celebrating their 60th anniversary. The couple was married on Nov. 25, 1961, at St. Casmir Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Their children are: David Richardson, Chris Richardson, Tim Richardson, Terry Richardson, Angela Siefkes and Cynthia Hazelrig. They also have 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They are celebrating with a family dinner and a card shower from friends.

Gregory and Christine Smith, members of Immaculate Conception Parish, St. Marys, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov. 27 with a Mass and family dinner.

The couple was married Nov. 27, 1971, at St. Nicholas Parish, Kinsley.

They have two sons: Jason Smith and Kelly Smith. They also have five grandchildren.

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NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

LOCAL NEWS

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Archbishop dedicates new offices of Catholic hospice ministry

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

L

ENEXA — He tries to remain impartial. But if Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann has a favorite ministry, it just might be the one he visited on Nov. 1.

Surrounded by staff members and volunteers, Archbishop Naumann blessed and dedicated the new offices of Catholic Community Hospice.

Welcoming “the new birth of hospice,” he recounted how his own mother, who died in 2020, was cared for by Catholic Community Hospice.

“I had a chance to witness firsthand the beauty of the ministry you do,” said Archbishop Naumann. “Thank you for helping us as a church to be present where we really need to be, with those who are dying and with their families . . . bringing the best comfort care we can bring, but [also] bringing the truth of Jesus’ victory over death.”

For so many, said the archbishop, the hospice helps transform those final hours “into moments of hope and blessing . . . and [create the opportunity to] heal relationships within families, making these moments of great grace.”

The new offices are in Suite 220 on the second floor of the CoreFirst Bank & Trust Building, located at 16201 W. 95th St. in Lenexa, just off Interstate 435.

Catholic Community Hospice was founded in 1998 as part of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.

In May, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced the reorganization of three major health care ministries sponsored by the archdiocese. The Northeast Kansas Catholic Healthcare Services, Inc., was created to place Catholic Community Hospice and Villa St. Francis Catholic Care Center of Olathe under a common governance model.

“We have the same mission and goals we always had at Catholic Community Hospice,” said Deacon Jim Lavin, hospice

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann blessed and dedicated the new offices of Catholic Community Hospice on Nov. 1. The offices are in Suite 220 on the second floor of the CoreFirst Bank & Trust Building, located at 16201 W. 95th St. in Lenexa chaplain. “But now with this new entity, we are part of an organization in the church that is experienced, from the management on down, in providing the compassionate medical, spiritual care and senior care that [our patients need].”

Catholic Community Hospice occupies about 3,000 square feet of rented office space, consisting of six offices, a conference room, break room, supply room and reception area. If needed, there is room for expansion to other parts of the second floor.

The new offices provide more space

and great highway access, said Rodney Whittington, CEO of Catholic Community Hospice and Villa St. Francis. “[The offices] are very modern,” he said. “They updated all the finishes for us. We’re really excited for the fresh start for the employees and the organization.”

The new offices will house the work of administration, training, meetings, volunteer orientation and supplies distribution. Catholic Community Hospice serves a territory covering a one-hour driving time from the new offices, said

Duke Onkoba, clinical director.

Catholic Community Hospice has 47 employees, 10 of them office staff, and about 40 volunteers.

Deacon Lavin sees a great future of growth and collaboration, and possibly even expansion.

“We can work together as a unit to support each other, Villa St. Francis and Catholic Community Hospice, and whatever future organizations may be a part of us someday,” he said.

Ministry provides women space in which to discover their vocation

By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill.esfeld@theleaven.org

Gratia Plena House of Discernment

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ENEXA — “Everyone needs to recognize the fact that we’re discerning something at every point and time in our lives,” said Kathleen Fox, director of Gratia Plena House of Discernment for Women here.

“But are we inviting God into the decision we’re making?” she asked.

“That’s what we focus on here, helping people understand that process, helping people see this is possible — knowing what God wants in your life.”

Gratia Plena, unique in its support of women discerning vocations to religious life, was founded in 2017.

Adult Catholic women who feel they may be called to consecrated life live in the house in community while deepening their faith, growing in holiness and discerning God’s call with greater clarity.

Situated adjacent to Holy Trinity Church in Lenexa, the house provides easy access to places for prayer, meditation and reflection.

During the pandemic, communal living became unfeasible and Gratia Plena pivoted its ministry to include offering virtual and hybrid events to a wide range of people.

The house also began hosting nonresidents at any stage in life who desire a peaceful, quiet place for

Gratia Plena is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization. The ministry does not exist without contributions from the faithful. GivingTuesday offers the perfect opportunity to support its goal of adding a eucharistic adoration chapel to the house of discernment.

Funds raised from this event will go toward the construction, furnishings and ongoing expenses of the chapel.

To learn more about how to help Gratia Plena, participate in a day of recollection or arrange for a personal retreat, visit the website at: www.gratia plenaks.org.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JILL RAGAR ESFELD

Kathleen Fox is the director of Gratia Plena House of Discernment for Women. Adult Catholic women who feel they may be called to consecrated life live in the house in community. prayer, spiritual guidance, mini retreats and quarterly days of recollection.

The pivot has enabled many women to discover in this little house an oasis of spiritual support and enrichment.

Twelve women gathered here on Oct. 30 for a day of recollection and found Gratia Plena lived up to its name as a place of grace.

Warm and cozy with a comfortable chair in every corner, the house is accessed by a side door that leads into a kitchen filled with smells of baked goods and coffee.

There is no judgment here, no intellectual intimidation — just director Fox welcoming guests with her warm smile and genuine joy.

More participants attended virtually,

some from as far away as Rome.

The recollection day focused on St. Teresa of Avila’s book “The Interior Castle.” It began with a virtual presentation by Catholic spiritual mentor Carol Kleinert, followed by time to reflect and a luncheon.

After lunch, participants prayed together and then unpacked and discussed all they had learned.

“I believe the process of discerning, prayerfully seeking what God wants you to do, is not well known to a lot of women,” said participant Malleson >> See “HOUSE” on page 7

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FAMILY LIFE

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

There is something magical about gratitude spoken aloud

By Shemaiah Gonzalez Catholic News Service

I

have a theory. It is very unofficial. I haven’t done any scientific research on it. I wouldn’t even know where to begin — well, especially since I am not a scientist.

Here’s my theory: Those people who go around the table and say what they are thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner — they are happier than those who don’t.

There is something magical about hearing gratitude spoken aloud: It breeds more gratitude. As we listen to our loved ones share the people and moments that are special to them, we begin to look at our own life in this light.

You might be saying to yourself, “But you don’t have to eat dinner with my cousin Chad who hates my politics and chews with his mouth open.”

And I’m telling you, change the conversation. Gratitude creates unity and couldn’t we all use some of that right now? By demonstrating a thankful posture, you encourage this view in others.

One year, my family celebrated Thanksgiving with friends, a “Friendsgiving,” if you will. The host family established this tradition of going around the table and sharing what we were thankful for.

We were, of course, starving, after a morning of fasting for the big meal but as each person shared, we found ourselves sitting taller, finding ourselves fortified.

I remember my son, then preschool age, shared something simple in his small mousy voice. Across the table my normally cynical urbane friend wiped tears from his eyes. This act set the tone for the rest of the meal. We each knew we had much to be thankful for.

St. Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians, reminded them (and us) to our call to unity. He writes, “[I] urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” (4:1-3).

This past year, or two, or three, we have focused on what we were missing out on, in-person this and unmasked that.

We began to look at others as whether they were in our group or not; our

CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC

Family and friends gather for a Thanksgiving Day feast featuring foods from local farms, ranches and purveyors in Arizona. Thanksgiving is the perfect moment on the calendar to remind us to return to a thankful posture. political persuasion, vaccinated or unvaccinated, our ethnic background, until the divisions became so bewildering, one wondered if any people agreed enough on any topic to be a group.

It is so much easier for us to concentrate on what we do not have or what is different between us instead of living “in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received” through Christ Jesus.

To agree to work toward unity?

That’s the kind of radical behavior we as Catholic Christians are called to be a part of. Just as God reconciled us to him, we too are to be reconciled to each other.

Thanksgiving is the perfect moment on the calendar to remind us to return to a thankful posture. Gratitude opens the door for this behavioral adjustment.

St. Paul appeals to us to treat each other with humility, gentleness, patience and love. What if our Thanksgiving table was filled with these character traits instead of tension, strife and conflict?

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

Missionary Elisabeth Elliot said, “Thanksgiving is a spiritual exercise, necessary to the building of a healthy soul.” Elliot knew something about this revolutionary change in heart. Her husband Jim was killed on the mission field.

Instead of turning to hatred or division, Elliot knew the boundless love and grace of Jesus and returned to serve the very same people who had killed her husband. She knew that the love of Jesus was transformative.

I like the idea of gratitude as a spiritual exercise. Exercise is difficult at first. The first time you try to run or to lift a weight, it is not so easy, but as you get stronger, you are able to perform the exercise more easily.

Same with spiritual exercises. At first, it is awkward and challenging, but as you practice, you find yourself able to be grateful, to see the world through that new lens . . . and to see people in this light, too.

ACROSS 1 Charged particle 4 Christ 9 Food and drug administration (abbr.)

12 Greek god of war 14 1997 Madonna movie 15 Story line 16 Artist Chagall 17 Withered 18 __ your neighbor 19 Glances at 21 Biblical Greek word for love 23 Territory held in fee 25 Sailors “hey” 26 Piers 29 Licensed practical nurse 31 Tribe of Israel 35 Wing 36 Explored carefully 39 Hubbub 40 Liberal (abbr.)

41 Crippling disease 42 Middle 43 Soviet secret police 44 Biblical unit of length 46 Expert 47 Ridiculing (remark) 49 Escudo 50 Musical “slow”

Elliot said thanksgiving “takes us out of the stuffiness of ourselves into the fresh breeze and sunlight of the will of God.” I don’t know about you, but when I walk in my own will, I am unable to see beyond Cousin Chad’s politics or the way he chews with his mouth open.

When I walk in the “sunshine of the will of God” I see my cousin, my co-worker, my enemy, in a new light: Jesus the light of the world.

Honestly, this is the only way I can live in a manner worthy of the call of Christ. I cannot do it on my own. Unity seems like a huge, lofty, pie-in-the-sky sort of goal right now, but I am willing to take that one step forward, by learning to be grateful.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m asking: What are you thankful for? Go ahead.

Say it aloud. I’m listening.

Gonzalez is a freelance writer. Her website is: www.shemaiahgonzalez.com.

52 Foray 54 Pull 56 Greets 58 Award 61 Pocket bread 62 Home 66 Revise 68 Astringent 69 Brother of Moses 70 Biblical word for You idiot!

71 Slide on snow 72 Statement of beliefs 73 Males DOWN 1 A name of God 2 Spoken 3 A Roman emperor 4 Father of King David 5 Adam’s wife 6 Mr. 7 Southwestern Indian 8 Wife of Abraham 9 Unsuccessful 10 Bird; symbol of Holy Spirit 11 Dined 13 Jeer 15 Dramas 20 How Judas betrayed Jesus 22 Instrument to guide oxen

24 Dumbfounded 25 Paul preached here 26 Hikes 27 Adjust 28 Jewish teacher 30 Tugs 32 Villain in book of Esther 33 Decree 34 Cowboy show 37 Central processing unit 38 Long, long time 44 Accomplishment 45 Cement 48 How God sometimes communicates 51 NT church leader 53 Son of Abraham 55 Make right 56 A land flowing with __ and honey 57 Decorative needle case 59 First man 60 Plague of Egypt 61 Old-fashioned Dads 63 Forbid 64 Unrefined metal 65 Buck’s mate 67 Convert into leather Solution on page 4

LOCAL NEWS

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

7

Santa Marta’s app keeps family, residents connected Special to The Leaven

O

LATHE — Fostering meaningful relationships is an important element of living a happy, healthy lifestyle.

That’s why the Santa Marta senior living community in Olathe is always exploring new ideas to evolve and improve communication and engagement among residents, families, associates and community leadership.

Nearly a year ago, the community implemented K4Connect — a new technology app that makes it easy for people to communicate and share information, all within a private, secure system. Community leadership has organized support to help residents and associates download the app and has provided training sessions to teach the features and how to access and send information.

“We understand the significance of maintaining connections and delivering timely information that creates simpler, healthier and happier lives for all,” said Gina Zwickel, director of operations at Santa Marta. “This technology is really easy to use and is just another way

PHOTO COURTESY OF SANTA MARTA

Santa Marta lifestyles assistant Hana Bozick, right, trains a resident on the features of K4Connect and how to use the platform to improve the residential experience at Santa Marta. our residents can access community information and communicate with each other or with family members. The residents love it!”

Members of the community (including resident family members) simply download the app to a tablet or smartphone and can instantly begin accessing information and communicating with one another. The technology is used to share community news, activities

schedules and updates to dining menus, and can even alert residents and associates when a special event is occurring. There is also a directory so residents can easily communicate with each other and welcome new residents when they move in.

“Here at Santa Marta, we are all one big family,” said resident Bill Poehling, who’s lived at Santa Marta since 2009. “I like to know when we have new residents so

I can introduce myself. My loved ones like to know what’s happening at the community. This app makes it really easy to do all of that and more.”

Another important aspect of the app is the security feature, which includes 256-bit encryption and de-identified personal data to address privacy concerns across all databases. Smart devices are locally managed through the K4Connect Home Hub, providing a more secure experience when compared to Wi-Fi-only systems.

Communication within K4Community is a closed system, meaning residents can only be contacted by staff members, family members they authorize or their fellow residents.

Finally, when asked what he likes most about the app, Poehling didn’t hesitate.

“Oh for sure, it’s the dining menus!” he said. “We have great culinary professionals who are constantly adding new, delicious options to the menu. It’s likely to be the first thing I look at every day. Also, another feature I use daily is the resident directory. I can call fellow residents with a touch of a button, no matter where I am.”

House helps women discern their purpose >> Continued from page 5 Emmerling, who has been involved with Gratia Plena since its inception.

She credits Fox with setting a beautiful example of discernment as she facilitates women in the process.

“Kathleen lives this rule of life that is necessary to discerning,” she said.

“And that life consists, number one, of daily prayer.”

In addition, she and the women who live with her attend daily Mass and eucharistic adoration.

Though Gratia Plena serves at the pleasure of the archbishop, it is independent of archdiocesan support.

“This ministry does not exist without contributions from the faithful because it is not supported financially by the church,” said Fox. Gratia Plena’s board of directors is striving to compensate Fox with a just wage and benefits, but it is nowhere close to being able to do that yet.

Therefore, Fox has to work outside the ministry to provide for her own personal financial needs. This takes time away from her desire to develop programming that will help women learn to discern.

Fox believes that “every person who experiences Gratia Plena for whatever length of time [will be helped to] take the next right step in their life, in their discernment — whatever it may be, big or small.”

“God has created us for a purpose,” she added. “And when you can find that, by becoming docile to the will of the Holy Spirit, God will bring peace to your heart.

“There is nothing that exceeds that experience this side of eternity.”

Family Owned and Proudly Serving Our Community Since 1929 During this pandemic, we are still able to make arrangements and conduct services to honor your loved one in a meaningful way. Arrangements and Advanced Planning can be completed virtually or in the comfort of your own home. We are here to guide you every step of the way.

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PREP GIVES ‘THE TOOLS’ TO WEAT

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

Tanya and Kevin Kirr, members of Sacred Heart Parish in Shawnee, visit with a couple during a marriage preparation session. Married since 2004, the Kirrs have been involved in marriage preparation since 2016.

Couple finds unexpected ministry during weekend retreat

S

HAWNEE — Checking something off his to-do list.

That’s how Kevin Kirr, a parishioner of Sacred Heart Parish in Shawnee, viewed marriage prep initially.

Seventeen years later, he and his wife Tanya serve as marriage prep leaders within Johnson County.

In February 2015, Kevin and Tanya, who had three young children, were looking for a weekend getaway. Some friends recommended “Living in Love,” a retreat designed to “energize the romance and renew the joy of being in love through a practical application of St. John Paul II’s theology of the body.”

“As we were going through these sessions, we were both thinking that if we had known some of this stuff before we got married or early in our marriage, it would have made us understand each other and where disagreements were coming from,” Tanya said.

Learning of their enthusiasm, leaders Dutch and Kathy tenBroek suggested the Kirrs become a mentor couple for those preparing for marriage within the church.

While the Kirrs loved the idea, a temporary move to California delayed their first opportunity for mentoring until March 2016.

But then, they began ministry in earnest — tackling topics like communication styles within families of origin and how they can impact a marriage.

“There are so many things ingrained in

“

“

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

WE ENCOURAGE [COUPLES] TO FOCUS ON THE OPENNESS. YOU HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY OPEN WITH EACH OTHER. I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF HOT-BUTTON ISSUES THAT MAYBE COUPLES DON’T WANT TO ADDRESS, BUT THIS KIND OF FORCES THOSE CONVERSATIONS. KEVIN KIRR MARRIAGE PREP LEADER

you that don’t even realize,” Tanya said.

Take the holidays, for example. If couples don’t understand each other’s family traditions and holiday expectations early on, it can lead to sustained conflict. Within her family of origin, she became the first one not to return home for the holidays every year.

It was a decision she and Kevin made together and one they felt strongly about, especially as they started having children and wanted to establish their own family traditions.

Still, how they would spend the holidays was not something they had considered previously.

“I feel like if we would have had those

conversations early on, it would have made the holidays less stressful,” Tanya said.

These days, they encourage other couples to think about holiday expectations, especially as they lead them through the seven-week course now known as “Evermore in Love.” Preparing for marriage, they said, involves a paradigm shift from pleasing one’s family of origin to focusing on your spouse.

“It’s harder for some than others to make that transition,” Kevin said.

While holidays can point to one potential area for conflicts, Tanya said so can the wedding.

Both families have expectations of how the big day should look and feel. Unless couples are open and honest with each other and their families, seemingly minor things can escalate into bigger issues down the line as couples try to navigate the journey from engagement to wedding day to living as husband and wife.

Throughout the past five years, the Kirrs have mentored dozens of couples, sometimes two or three at a time, but they prefer a one-on-one approach in which a couple meets with them in their home.

The approach allows them to follow the curriculum, but also personalize it for each couple.

“Now that we’ve seen a variety of couples and where the hot spots are in their lives, we try to make sure to focus and tailor each session to the couple versus reading through the checklists and curriculum. So, it’s becoming really cognizant of where the couple is at in the relationship and where the challenges might be,”

Kevin said.

Their tailored approach allows them to get to know each couple better and affords the more introverted ones the opportunity to ask questions and/or share in a smaller setting.

“We encourage them to focus on the openness. You have to be completely open with each other,” Kevin said. “I think there’s a lot of hot-button issues that maybe couples don’t want to address, but this kind of forces those conversations.”

Both Kevin and Tanya pointed out that no couple is ever forced to share with them, but only with each other. In fact, at times they will leave the room and allow the couple to talk privately.

Throughout the course, the Kirrs meet once weekly with the engaged couple.

Each 90-minute session is packed with conversation topics, writing exercises and homework assignments.

For example, during a session on love languages, the Kirrs visit with the engaged couples about the five different languages couples use and the importance of understanding your spouse’s love language.

Couples are then sent home with a particular assignment.

“We tell them, ‘Your job for the next week is to affirm your fiancée every day using the other person’s love language every day,’” Tanya said.

Kevin agreed.

“The course builds upon itself,” he said, “and they work this stuff into their daily habits and routine.

“There’s going to be challenging times ahead. It’s just making sure they have the tools to get through them.”

S COUPLES ATHER TOUGH TIMES

Leawood couple shares ‘what worked for us’

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

Do you want to mentor engaged couples?

L

EAWOOD — For seven years, Dan and Gretchen Carrigan of St. Michael Parish here have shared an unusual ministry: They provide marriage prep to couples in which at least one of the spouses-to-be has a child from a previous relationship.

The ministry was not something either ever anticipated doing; instead, the ministry literally found them after their first marriages ended in divorce.

Married in November 2014, the Carrigans’ love story began 10 years earlier with their first date. At that time, both had young children — Gretchen with three, and Dan, two — and they didn’t even tell their children they were dating until four years into their relationship. But those years were full of the families getting together often for meals and activities.

By the time they started their marriage prep, therefore, the couple had already navigated a lot of issues facing blended families.

Mike and Dorothy O’Boyle, a couple with a blended family themselves and members of St. Michael Parish, directed their marriage prep. At one of their sessions, the O’Boyles asked for participants to share their stories and/or ideas for successfully blending families.

“By nature of having dated so long, we had already navigated a lot of stuff,” Gretchen said. “We shared our story, and after that class, Mike and Dorothy reached out to us.”

Dorothy told the couple that their experience was instructive, and that if the Carrigans were willing, sharing it could benefit other couples.

The invitation resulted in the couples pairing up as the O’Boyles ministered to other couples who, like the Carrigans, were blending families in some way or another.

Although the O’Boyles continued to

According to Linda Porter, marriage preparation coordinator for Johnson County, the archdiocese is always in need of lead couples.

These are couples who are willing to share their experiences of marriage and family life with others as part of a ministry to help other couples develop strong and healthy marriages.

Couples considering a ministry to engaged couples and newly married couples should spend time in prayer, discerning whether God is calling them to the ministry, and then check with their pastor as to the next steps.

LEAVEN PHOTO BY MARC ANDERSON

Gretchen (red sweater) and Dan Carrigan, members of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood, review material with Jackie Pickett and Kelly Barber during a marriage preparation session. The Carrigans married in 2014 and have been involved in marriage preparation since then. lead the courses, the Carrigans were there to share strictly from their own experience.

“We’re not experts. We’re not licensed, but we lived through it,” said Gretchen.

“We can share what worked for us.”

Eventually, the O’Boyles decided to step back from the ministry and asked the Carrigans if they’d consider taking over. Now, for the past two or three years, the Carrigans have been one of, if not the only, lead couple in the archdiocese helping to prepare couples like themselves for marriage.

And it’s a ministry they both said they find rewarding.

The Carrigans prefer a one-on-one approach, simply because it’s easier to tailor sessions to the couple’s specific needs. For example, they said, a couple with children in grade school is different from a couple in their 60s with grown children. To date, they estimate they’ve

Congratulations, you’re engaged. So, what’s next?

• Your marriage preparation starts with a call or visit to your parish priest at least six months prior to your wedding day.

• Your parish priest will send a short biographical sketch to the marriage prep coordinator within your pastoral region.

• The marriage prep coordinator will match you with a lead couple.

• Even though you might be eager to get started, your wedding date will determine the timing of your marriage preparation course.

• Please be patient with the marriage preparation coordinator in your region as he/she works to match you to an available time. In the Johnson County region alone, the coordinator schedules at least 200 to 300 couples annually.

• Ideally, you will finish your marriage preparation at least one month prior to your wedding day; however, if you are getting married in another diocese, more than likely you’ll finish no later than two months

prior to the wedding.

• Your pastoral region has its own lead couples, all of whom have been trained by the archdiocesan marriage and family life office.

• The archdiocese prefers that you and your future spouse participate in the sevenweek course known as “Evermore in Love”; however, that might not work for you. Don’t worry. There are other options like weekend retreats, and in some regions, even an online option.

• In addition to the marriage preparation course, you and your future spouse will also participate in an introductory course about natural family planning and its benefits within the context of marriage. More than likely, that course will be online.

• No matter what course you and your future spouse participate in, the objective is the same: to help you both develop a strong and healthy relationship, one that will stand the test of time.

met with or mentored 50 to 60 couples.

“Every story is different,” Dan said.

Blending families creates unique challenges — from navigating relationships with the ex-spouses and the children’s grandparents, to disciplining children or even developing relationships with adult children.

The Carrigans said successfully blending families depends on a solid marriage, one built on communication.

“Communication is key to everything,” Gretchen said.

The couple also have a saying — a motto of sorts — to guide their decisions.

“It’s God, spouse, then everyone else,” they believe. Which also means that they think a united front in any marriage is one of the keys to success.

“We communicated and agreed early that whatever decision we were handling with the children we would agree [on]

behind closed doors and then not waver from that,” she said.

“Again, we don’t have all the answers, but we’re just being honest,” she added.

“What worked for us may not work for somebody else, but if they could take away one thing that helps, then we’ve done our job.”

Both of the Carrigans said they feel called to their ministry and believe their story can help others realize they are not alone.

After their divorces, both were in unique positions within their own large Catholic families of origin, families in which no one had ever gotten divorced.

“My family loves me dearly, but they’ve never divorced or had a blended family,” Gretchen said.

And it can be tough.

Dan feels their mentorship of other couples like themselves has been appreciated by the couples they serve.

“They feel more comfortable because we’ve been through it,” he said simply.

10

WORLD

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

Pope calls for the poor to be ‘given back their voice’

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

A

SSISI, Italy (CNS) — With a pilgrim’s staff and mantle, Pope Francis entered Assisi’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels with 500 economically or socially disadvantaged people and the volunteers who walk alongside them.

The pope’s pilgrimage to Assisi Nov. 12 was dedicated totally to the poor in preparation for the celebration Nov. 14 of the World Day of the Poor.

A France-based charity, Fratello, brought 200 poor pilgrims from France, Poland, Croatia, Switzerland and Spain. The Jesuit Refugee Service’s Centro Astalli brought refugees from Congo, Angola and Nigeria. The Community of Sant’Egidio brought the residents of a shelter for the homeless located just outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. And Italian diocesan Caritas volunteers brought hundreds of the people they work with each day.

Six of them shared their stories with Pope Francis — stories of crime and prison or of drugs and alcohol, stories of being forced to flee their homeland or living on the street, but especially stories of steadfast or newfound faith, of finding a helping hand and of learning to see the face of Christ in the poor.

The crowd kept applauding to encourage Sebastián, a Spaniard, as he struggled with sobs to tell his story of drug addiction and prison. He said he was convinced “that my sins could not be forgiven because I had done so

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Pope Francis greets Afghan refugees Qadery Abdul Razaq and his wife, Salima, during a meeting with the poor at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, Italy, Nov. 12. The visit was in preparation for the celebration of the World Day of the Poor. much evil” until he met a priest, who introduced him to the charismatic renewal movement.

Qadery Abdul Razaq, an older Afghan refugee who had worked with the Italian army, thanked the government for getting him and his wife to safety and Caritas for providing housing and food and help with their resettlement.

But, he said, “we thank them most of all for treating us like their parents and not like children.”

His voice, like Sebastián’s, broke as he pleaded with the pope and the Italian government to help get his adult

children to Italy as well.

Marianna, 43, a Romanian widow, told the pope she came to Italy in search of work but became ill and now relies on her children and, often, Caritas for what she needs.

“Even before praying to God to give me health, I ask him to give me the strength to keep going,” she said.

Pope Francis embraced each of those who shared their stories and thanked all of the poor for “this experience of encounter and of faith.”

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels is built around the Portiuncula, the small chapel where, Pope Francis

explained, “St. Francis welcomed St. Clare, the first brothers and many poor people who came to him.”

“He received them simply as brothers and sisters, sharing everything with them,” the pope said. “This is the most evangelical expression we are called to make our own: hospitality,” which means opening the door, “the door of our house and the door of our heart, and to allow the person who knocks to come in and feel welcomed, not ashamed.”

“An open heart and outstretched hand” is always the first step in creating a true encounter, he said. It also is the way to experience the truth that “every one of us needs the other, and that even weakness, if experienced together, can become a strength that will make the world better.”

If people don’t learn how to encounter each other with sincerity, he said, “we’ll move toward a very sad end.”

For too many people, the presence of the poor in their cities is “an annoyance,” he said. “Sometimes we hear it said that those responsible for poverty are the poor — an added insult!”

“So as not to carry out a serious examination of conscience on one’s own actions, on the injustice of certain laws and economic measures, on the hypocrisy of those who want to enrich themselves excessively, blame is laid at the feet of those who are weakest,” Pope Francis said.

“It is time for the poor to be given back their voice,” he said.

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

NATION

Laudato Si’ Action Platform set to integrate encyclical into church life

11

CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH

Raindrops spot the leaves of a tree branch April 26, 2020, on a trail near Bladensburg, Maryland.

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service

T

he Vatican’s seven-year plan to widen the reach of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment is just what the church needs in a time of global climate change in the mind of Father Emmet Farrell, a retired priest living in San Diego.

“The church is very serious about what we need to do to address climate change,” Father Farrell, volunteer director of the Creation Care Ministry of the Diocese of San Diego, said of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform that launches Nov. 14.

The pope introduced the initiative in a video May 25, asking the world to join a new global grassroots movement to create a more inclusive, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world.

Coordinated through the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, the platform is “a seven-year journey that will see our communities committed in different ways to becoming totally sustainable, in the spirit of integral ecology,” the pope said.

“We need a new ecological approach that can transform our way of dwelling in the world, our lifestyles, our relationship with the resources of the earth and, in general, our way of looking at humanity and of living life,” he said.

Father Farrell is working on the effort with a team of lay leaders. The diocesan ministry has developed a “Creation Care Action Plan” that includes numerous actions — from the simple to more complex — that individuals, parishes and wider society can take to promote sustainability.

The ambitious San Diego plan falls in line with the dicastery’s aspiration of building an integrated global effort to protect creation for future generations. The Vatican platform is meant to help those who want to increase their commitment to bringing the encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” to life by promising to carry out a set of actions for seven years.

Father Farrell told Catholic News Service Nov. 11 his diocese joined the pope’s initiative because failing to act to protect Earth is not an option.

“Laudato Si’ is a spiritual and moral document. It’s not political. It’s spiritual and very moral, so the church has to be active,” he said.

The priest described the initiative as “a church-based model for community organizing.”

“The Vatican really is a leader in the world. In my more than 50 years as a priest, I have never seen the church

CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

People tour a solar house Oct. 13, 2009, during the biennial Solar Decathlon sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington. The house, constructed by students at Jesuit-run Santa Clara University in California and the California College of the Arts, finished third in the competition. doing what it’s doing with this platform. They’re saying it’s not good enough to read it (the encyclical), but to say something has to be done and here is the plan,” he said.

The platform calls for integrating actions across different sectors, such as universities, parishes, dioceses, religious orders, community organizations, neighborhoods, businesses and health care institutions.

The launch originally was to occur Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

However, dicastery officials decided to delay it for six weeks to allow for a period of prayer and for more time for church entities to determine whether to commit to a seven-year mission.

The initiative has seven goals rooted in the encyclical: responding to the cry of the Earth and environmental degradation; responding to the cry of poor and vulnerable people; creating an ecological-sustainable economy; adopting simple lifestyles; supporting ecological education; promoting ecological spirituality; and building community awareness, participation and action.

Salesian Father Joshtrom Kureethadam, coordinator of ecology and creation at the dicastery, said when the initiative was introduced that choosing the biblical time frame of seven years “enables us to work slowly but surely

without being obsessed with immediate results.”

The first year will be dedicated to building community, sharing resources and developing action plans for each Laudato Si’ goal. Implementing the plans will follow for the next five years, followed by a year of sabbatical “to praise and thank God,” Father Kureethadam said.

The Catholic Climate Covenant is coordinating the U.S. involvement with the global platform.

Executive director Jose Aguto said dozens of Catholic entities have committed to work toward achieving the initiative’s goals. Its own initiative, called “We’re All Part of God’s Plan(et),” provides resources, ideas and a gathering place for those seeking to integrate Laudato Si’ into daily life.

“The covenant wants to make available to interested institutions and individuals access to the people who are working in the respective communities and sectors to implement integral ecology in prayer, word and deed,” he told CNS. “We seek to offer to U.S. faithful and institutions not just a website with resources to implement Laudato Si’ but also hands-on expertise to help accompany them in doing so.”

He said that in addition to San Diego, 16 other U.S. dioceses have developed

plans before the platform launch. He expects others to follow.

The covenant also has distributed dozens of small grants to institutions to help them implement the platform.

Funds were made available through a $50,000 gift from Our Lady of Victory Mission Sisters of Huntington, Indiana, and a matching amount from donors.

Additional funding is being sought to continue supporting local efforts, Aguto said.

The university and college sector has 80 institutions worldwide onboard, said Michael Schuck, a professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago who is co-director of the International Jesuit Ecology Project.

Each school has committed to developing its own action plan, he said.

Institutions are located in 25 countries including Australia, Benin, Columbia, India, France, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua and the United States.

After the launch, the schools will be assembled into small groups from widely dispersed geographic areas.

Schuck said they will then regularly meet online, allowing for the exchange of ideas with the chance to learn from each other.

“The journey,” he said, “is about pushing and changing and incentivizing and moving ahead.”

CLASSIFIEDS

12 EMPLOYMENT Academic advisor - Donnelly College, located at 608 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, has an opening for a full-time academic advisor who will work directly with Donnelly students to provide academic advising, as well as needs-based counseling assistance to students, to ensure students reach their educational potential.

This opportunity requires an individual who works well with a diverse array of constituencies and possesses effective communication skills. A master’s degree and practicing Catholic are preferred. This is an on-site, M - F, daytime position; annual salary range $38,000 - $43,000. A full job description is available upon request. To apply, please email your cover letter, resume and references to: hr@donnelly.edu with “Academic Advisor” in the subject line.

Live-in or live-out caregivers (assistants) - Looking for purposeful volunteer or paid work? Live-in or liveout caregivers (assistants) needed for all shifts, flexible hours available, with adults with intellectual disabilities (core members) in residential group homes (community). Old Overland Park area. Duties include, but are not exclusive to: learn and know the charter of L’Arche; welcome guests, families, volunteers, new assistants and core members to the home; be responsible for the overall growth and direction of the home; foster appropriate relationships between all members of the home; foster positive and supportive relationships with families and professionals; attend community nights and other community events. Qualifications: a person who has lived or worked in a community with persons with disabilities preferred; a person with good organizational skills; a person committed to the philosophy of L’Arche; a person with good communication skills; a person with the ability to deal with conflict objectively; have a valid driver’s license; a high school diploma or equivalent; pass all required background checks; pass required preemployment readiness evaluation. Training required: (all provided after being hired) CPR/first aid; medication administration; rights and responsibilities; abuse, neglect and exploitation training; emergency preparedness, documentation training. Interested candidates, please submit a letter of interest, a current resume and references with contact information to the L’Arche Heartland discernment/search team at: heartland@ larcheks.org. Position open until filled.

Community care coordinator - Looking for a leadership role where you can use your office skills to help in a nonprofit organization that serves adults with intellectual disabilities? L’Arche Heartland is seeking a community care coordinator. Experience with case management is strongly preferred. The role of community care coordinator is to be an advocate and ally to our seventeen residential core members (adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities) who require assistants (caregivers) for activities of daily living. Requirements include but are not limited to: collaboration with L’Arche Heartland team and leaders; attend and actively participate in house team meetings, professional services meetings and other meetings as needed to efficiently support high quality care and provision of services for the core members; advocate on behalf of the core members with service coordinators, families, consultants and other professionals to ensure the individual needs and desires of core members are met.

Collaboration with community nurse and assistant’s coordinator. Interested candidates, please submit a letter of interest, a current resume and references with contact information to the L’Arche Heartland discernment/ search team at: heartland@larcheks.org. Position open until filled.

Catholic elementary school principal - St. Michael the Archangel Catholic school in Leawood is seeking an elementary school principal beginning with the 202223 school year. Candidates must demonstrate strong leadership skills and success in an academic setting.

The principal ensures successful completion of learning objectives for students and creates/executes the school budget. The principal also serves as manager for the preschool director and coordinates activities and priorities with the pastor and parish staff. The successful applicant will be a faith-filled, practicing Catholic, understand the mission of Catholic education,and have or be eligible for Kansas licensure in educational leadership. Apply online at: www.archkckcs.org (then select “Employment”) and send resume and credentials to Superintendent Dr. Vincent Cascone, Catholic schools Office, Archdiocese of Kansas City , Kansas, 12613 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66109, or email to: vcascone@archkcks.org.

Accounting assistant – Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas (CFNEK) is seeking a full-time accounting assistant. This position provides accounting and administrative support to the controller, marketing and operations coordinators. This role is responsible for assisting with financial statements, recording and reconciling investments, posting to the GL, year-end preparation.

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting or related field required and at least one year of relevant work experience. Must be a practicing Catholic in good standing.

Application deadline Nov. 8. To apply, please visit: www.archkck.org/jobs.

Director of health services - The monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey are seeking a qualified nurse to serve as the director of health services. This full-time role will lead a team in providing for the health and wellness of the monastic community. Learn more and apply at: Kansasmonks.org/jobs or call (913) 360-7908.

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

House coordinator (caregiver/assistant leadership) - Looking for a leadership role where you can fulfill meaningful purpose providing direct care for adults with intellectual disabilities in their homes? L’Arche Heartland is seeking to hire two house coordinators to support the overall quality of life for up to five residents with developmental disabilities (core members) who require direct service/support professionals (assistants) for activities of daily living. Core members reside together in a designated home as house mates with assistants (some who live-in and some who live out). While aligning with the mission and charter of L’Arche, house coordinators provide direct support as well as oversee the management and administrative responsibilities within the home. The role coordinates daily routines and activities (community life) within the home to foster a healthy, respectful and compassionate living environment among house mates and assistants.

The house coordinator is a member of the leadership team and works in close collaboration with the team to fulfill their role responsibilities. Responsibilities and qualifications: assists in the planning and facilitating of community night activities, holiday gatherings, retreats, trips and fundraisers; facilitates weekly team meetings (formations) and participates in regular formations and training to develop a relationship of trust and collaboration; serves as a liaison between assistants and the coordinators to ensure that the personal and spiritual needs of assistants are being met; with the assistants coordinator, ensures that the home and vehicles are maintained and that safety precautions are followed and documented; in cooperation with the assistant and community care coordinator, monitors home environmental needs and coordinates repairs and purchases as needed with the approval of the community leader/executive director; ensures that household finances and spending are organized and in agreement with the designated budget. Training provided. Experience as a live-in assistant (caregiver) with adults with intellectual disabilities strongly preferred. Interested candidates, please submit a letter of interest, a current resume and references with contact information to the L’Arche Heartland discernment/search team at: heart land@larcheks.org. Position open until filled.

Early childhood educators – With multiple locations in Johnson County, Special Beginnings Early Learning Center provides high quality child care in a safe, loving Christian environment. Our classrooms are full, and we are looking to add to our amazing team. We are looking for both full-time and part-time teachers for all ages of children. If you have an excellent work ethic, a heart for children and a willingness to learn more about early childhood education, we would love to meet you. For more information or to apply, call Carolyn Andruss at (913) 894-0131, ext. 102.

Choir director - Sacred Heart Church, Shawnee, is seeking a part-time choir director. This person is responsible for recruiting and sustaining membership to our choirs and to actively engage our parish community in song at weekend Masses, holy days of obligation, Triduum and other parish events that occur. He/she will work in collaboration with the pastor and liturgy coordinator to provide an overall inspiring worship experience. For a full job description and to apply, please go online to: shoj.org/about-us/employment-opportunities/.

Popcorn ceiling texture removal Interior wall painting specialist.

Jerry at (913) 206-1144. 30 years’ experience.

Member St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee.

Drivers and aides - Assisted Transportation is now hiring safe drivers and aides to transport students with special needs in Johnson, Wyandotte and Clay County, Missouri, in company vans. Drivers earn $14 - $16 per hour. Aides earn $12 per hour. Part-time and full-time schedules available.

CDL not required. Retirees encouraged to apply. Make a difference in your community by helping those in need. Call (913) 521-4955 for more information. EEO Caregivers - Daughters & Company is looking for several compassionate caregivers to provide assistance to seniors in their home, assisted living or in a skilled nursing facility. We provide light housekeeping/light meal preparation, organizational assistance, care management and occasional transportation services for our clients. We need caregivers with reliable transportation and a cellphone for communication. A CNA background is helpful, though not mandatory. We typically employ on a part-time basis, but will strive to match up hours desired. Contact Gary or Laurie at (913) 341-2500 if you want to become part of an excellent caregiving team.

FOR SALE Residential lifts - New and recycled. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. St. Michael’s parishioners. KC Lift & Elevator at (913) 327-5557. (Formerly Silver Cross - KC) For sale - Double plots at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Section 4, lot 189, spaces 3 and 4.

Valued at $2000 each, asking $1750 each. Call Pat at (913) 909-5680.

For sale - Two cemetery plots at Chapel Hill Gardens in Kansas City, Kansas; lot 102B, spaces three and four.

Asking $1695. Call Ernest at (913) 706-5958 or email: ecowden11@yahoo.com.

For sale - Two plots at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri; Assumption Garden, lot 2, section D, spaces 3 and 4 near the paved roadway. Asking $4000 total. Call Peggy at (913) 685-4363 or email: peggyflucke@gmail.com.

For sale - Double crypt at Resurrection Cemetery inside the Beautiful Queen of Heaven mausoleum and chapel; tier A-1, crypt 111. Beautiful finished wood exterior on lower level. Today’s value is $16,000. Make offer. Call (816) 215-2000.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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

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

Everything is guaranteed 100% (913) 461-4052 www.windowservicesoverlandpark. com drcconswindows@gmail.com Concrete construction - Tear out and replace stamped, stained or colored patios and drives. Retaining walls, footings, poured-in-place safe rooms, excavation and hauling. Asphalt drives and lots. Fully insured; references. Call Dan at (913) 207-4371 or send an email to: dandeeconst@aol.com.

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

Call Lupe at (816) 252-1391

Minister for marriage, family life and vocation – Church of the Ascension, Overland Park, has a full-time ministry position open. The minister for marriage, family life and vocation (MFLV) is the key collaborator with the pastor and the pastoral associate for adult formation.

The minister serves as the staff point person in matters related to marriage, family life and vocational awareness and discernment. This position exists to equip and support couples so they can fruitfully live Christian marriage and experience family life illuminated by the truth, beauty and goodness of the Gospel. Additionally, the minister for MFLV works with the parish vocation committee, the parish school and the parish YFF program to help young people discern God’s call in their lives and to promote vocations to sacramental marriage, holy orders, consecrated life or other specific ways the Lord might call someone to live out their baptismal call to holiness.

For a full job description or to send your cover letter and resume, email: sweems@kcascension.org.

STA (Sure Thing Always) Home Repair - Basement finish, bathrooms and kitchens; interior & exterior repairs: painting, roofing, siding, wood replacement and window glazing. Free estimates. Call (913) 579-1835.

Email: smokeycabin@hotmail.com. Member of Holy Trinity, Lenexa.

Financial representatives - Knights of Columbus has full-time openings in northeast Kansas and western Missouri for full-time financial representatives. Ideal for determined, disciplined, professional, high-expectation individual desiring to serve others. We work exclusively with the families of brother Knights and Catholic gentlemen who are eligible to join the Knights. We have established territories where agents devote their working day to the needs of the members in their assigned councils. Excellent, multi-tiered training and benefits are provided, allowing the successful field agent to earn a professional level income. This is a career opportunity that may be the right fit at the right time for you, or possibly for someone you know. For further information, contact John A. Mahon, general agent, at (785) 4088800 or email: john.mahon@kofc.org.

SERVICES

Local Handyman - Painting int. and ext., wood rot, masonry (chimney repair), gutter cleaning (gutter covers), dryer vent cleaning, sump pump (replace, add new), windows, doors (interior and exterior) honey-do list and more! Member of Holy Angels Parish, Basehor. Call Billy at (913) 927-4118.

Garage Door Repair New Garage Doors Platinum Amarr dealer, Elite Home Advisor top rating.

Call Joe, mention The Leaven discount.

A Total Door (913) 236-6440.

Senior Care Authority - Navigating senior care options can be overwhelming. We’ll help you sort through and understand all your care and living options and point you to vetted resources. Placement assistance is FREE. We do a thorough assessment, do all the research and walk with you as you make these big decisions for you or your loved one. Call (913) 359-8580.

Painting - Diamond Paining, (913) 648-4933, residential/commercial, exterior/interior. Free estimate, affordable, decks. DiamondPaintKc.com, KCMO/Overland Park Metropolitan area.

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.

Handyman - I wanted to let you all know that we do basement finishes, deck building, bathroom and kitchen remodeling. This includes tile work, cabinet refinishing, and any sheetrock work. We also do all things flooring, siding, windows, doors, covered porches, sheds and much more. I really appreciate all your support. Please call Joshua Doherty at (913) 709-7230.

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.

Win disability benefits - Disabled and no longer able to work? Get help winning Social Security disability benefits. Free consultation. Eight years’ experience. No fee unless you win. Call (785) 331-6452 or send an email to: montemace2000@yahoo.com or visit http://www. montemacedisability.org.

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: path wayprepkc.com and contact Alex Pint at (913) 991-8217 or: alex@pathwayprepkc.com.

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 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 as is never felt so good. Jon & Stacy Bichelmeyer (913) 599-5000 Whole Estates Need to sell a home and everything in it?

We buy it all at once in as-is condition.

Call (816) 444-1950 or send an email to: www.wholeestates.com.

CASH FOR YOUR HOME (913) 980-4905 Any condition in the metro area Mark Edmondson - local parishioner http://www.buykcproperty.com Tired of being a landlord?

I’ll buy it.

Call Mark Edmondson (913) 980-4905 Local parishioner.

CAREGIVING 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.

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.Benefits ofhome.com or call (913) 422-1591.

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 Maderak, (913) 475-7393. St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee.

Wanted to buy - Cemetery plot in section 2 of Mount Cavalry Cemetery. Call Frank at (404) 542-7860 or (678) 464-3023, or email: FCooper316@gmail.com.

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.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING The Leaven reaches approximately 50,000 subscribers.

Cost is $20 for the first five lines, $1.50 per line thereafter.

To purchase a Leaven classified ad, email The Leaven at: beth.blankenship@theleaven.org.

CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

TOPICAL VIDEO SERIES Precious Blood Renewal Center 2120 St. Gaspar Way, Liberty, Missouri Ongoing

Precious Blood Renewal Center has resources available to those who wish to view them. There are videos on topics including respect life topics (mothers who have lost children, elder abuse, gun violence), meditations, cooking and spirituality, family matters, Taize prayers and resources for spiritual development. Go online to: www. pbrenewalcenter.org and click on “Meditations.”

CHILI AND BINGO Holy Angels Parish (hall) 15438 Leavenworth Rd., Basehor Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

There will be an all-you-can-eat chili dog and nacho bar. The suggested donation is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Beer, wine and soda will be available for an additional donation. Bingo cards are $5 each with 20 games played. Winners receive a frozen turkey. Come support the Knights of Columbus and our three seminarians.

RAFFLE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS Our Lady of Unity School 646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas Nov. 20- Dec. 10 (online)

Win cash prizes of $1,000, $500 or $250 and help fund scholarships for Our Lady of Unity School. Tickets are: $10 per ticket; $25 for three. Tickets are available online until Dec. 10, or can be purchased at the school. Winners will be announced on Dec. 16. To purchase online, go to: member ship.faithdirect.net/events/details/7554.

For more information, send an email to: development@olukck.eduk12.net.

BEREAVEMENT MINISTRY Curé of Ars Parish 9405 Mission Rd., Leawood Nov. 20 at 8 a.m.

The Bereavement Ministry will have a grief support meeting in the Father Burak Room after the 8 a.m. Mass. The topic will be: “Giving Thanks During Grief.” For more information, call (913) 649-2026.

DAUGHTERS OF ISABELLA LITTLE FLOWER CIRCLE Christ the King Parish (Yadrich Hall) 5972 S.W. 25th St., Topeka Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.

The annual memorial service will be followed by the business meeting and social time. If anyone knows of a member or family member of the Daughters of Isabella in need of the circle’s prayers, call Diana Ortiz at (785) 554-4256.

BLOOD DRIVE St. Joseph Parish (Knights of Columbus Hall) 11221 Johnson Dr., Shawnee Nov. 22 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Support our local blood drive. In addition to shirts from the Chiefs being given to donors, incentives will include drawings for four free Kansas City Chiefs stickers and a parking spot for a December game, as well as a gift card from the Rally House. Appointments are needed. To make an appointment, contact Virginia Wiedal, St. Joseph blood drive coordinator, by email at: vwiedel63@gmail.com or call (913) 268-3874.

‘SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: AN ADVENT RETREAT’ Sophia Spirituality Center (via Zoom) Nov. 29 - Dec. 2

Christmas hymns originally were written to convey a very specific message, and as many of us know, they have the power to stir potent memories and emotions. The sounds of the season can inspire peace and love, as well as sadness or nostalgia, and even open old wounds. Together, we will explore the potential messages they contain for us in today’s world. Learn more about time, cost and registration online at: www.sophiaspiritualiltycenter.org, click on “Retreats,” then “Program Offerings” and then scroll down to “Sounds of the Season: An Advent Retreat.”

PROJECT CHRYSALIS Via Zoom Nov. 30 from 7 - 8:15 p.m.

Project Chrysalis is a ministry offering hope through sacred Scripture and community to parents or grandparents who have lost a child or grandchild. While this ministry is not a bereavement group, our mission is to offer support and hope through Scripture. For more information and the Zoom invitation link, call (913) 634-4210.

‘HEALING THE DIVORCED HEART’ SUPPORT GROUP St. Michael the Archangel (Gabriel Room) 14251 Nall Ave., Leawood Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

We who have experienced divorce understand. We, too, were sad, lonely, scared and angry. We have found that with God, time and the support of others, healing is possible. Meeting will be held on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. For more information, go online to: www.stmichaelcp.org/divorcesupport.

13 ENKINDLE CONFIRMATION RETREAT Prairie Star Ranch 1124 California Rd., Williamsburg Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Did you miss your parish confirmation retreat? Looking for another to attend?

Look no further. This retreat offers any youth the opportunity to participate in our Enkindle Confirmation Program. We ask all youth participants to have a chaperon present with them during the event, a sack lunch and a completed permission form and waiver. A link will be provided in the post-registration email. Register today online at: www.archkck.org/ranch and then click on “Programed Retreats” or contact the retreat team at: psrministry@ archkck.org or call (785) 746-5693.

ADVENT SILENT RETREAT Christ’s Peace House of Prayer 22131 Meager Rd., Easton Dec. 3 - 5

The retreat begins Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. and ends Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m. There will be conferences, workshops, eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and time for private prayer, reflection and walking. The suggested donation is $170/single or $250/ couples for the cabins and courtyard rooms or $100 for the single guest rooms (meals included). To attend, sign up online at: christspeace.com; send an email to: info@ christspeace.com; or call (913) 773-8255.

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: Noon, Thursday, 10 days before the desired publication date.

SEND SUBMISSIONS TO: beth. blankenship@theleaven.org.

14

COLUMNISTS

DAILY READINGS THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Nov. 21 OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE Dn 7: 13-14 Ps 93: 1-2, 5 Rv 1: 5-8 Jn 18: 33b-37 Nov. 22 Cecilia, virgin, martyr Dn 1: 1-6, 8-20 (Ps) Dn 3: 52-56 Lk 21: 1-4 Nov. 23 Clement I, pope, martyr; Columban, abbot; Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, priest, martyr Dn 2: 31-45 (Ps) Dn 3: 57-61 Lk 21: 5-11 Nov. 24 Andrew Dung-Lac, priest, and companions Dn 5: 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 (Ps) Dn 3: 62-67 Lk 21: 12-19 Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Day Sir 50: 22-24 Ps 138: 1-5 1 Cor 1: 3-9 Lk 17: 11-19 Nov. 26 Friday Dn 7: 2-14 (Ps) Dn 3: 75-81 Lk 21: 29-33 Nov. 27 Saturday Dn 7: 15-27 (Ps) Dn 3: 82-87 Lk 21: 34-36

I

Clement of Rome first century In the revised New American Bible, Clement is listed as the fourth pope, serving 88-97. He is an important witness to the first century of the Catholic Church.

Early Christian writers called him a disciple of the apostles, and he may be the Clement mentioned in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (4:3). As bishop of Rome, Clement wrote an Epistle to the Corinthians that is believed to be the earliest surviving record of an intervention by Rome in the affairs of a local church. Whatever problems prompted the letter, Clement gently urges the Corinthians to reconcile and accept apostolic tradition. Some legends suggesting his martyrdom are discounted. He is the patron saint of marble-workers and stonecutters.

Cheers to an upside-down Advent

thought it was a recent fad.

I’m talking about upside-down Christmas trees. I first read about them in the early 2000s when a catalog offered a seven-foot version for just under $600, complete with 800 lights. Its inverted shape, according to the retailer, “makes it easier to see ornaments, which hang away from the dense needles.”

(This doesn’t seem like a good idea for anyone who has cats in the house.)

Its real selling point, though, seemed to be that it allowed “more room for the accumulation of gifts underneath.”

Instead of rolling my eyes, I did a deeper search and found that the origin of the upside-down tree is probably centuries old.

One legend — likely apocryphal — has it that St. Boniface, a Benedictine monk in the 8th century, came across some pagans in Germany worshiping a giant oak tree. The saint subsequently cut down

D

NOVEMBER 19, 2O21 | THELEAVEN.ORG

uring a bloody persecution of Jews around 165 B.C., a prophet named Daniel received visions showing that God was nevertheless unfolding his plans — a kind of ultimate insider’s view of where things in the world were going.

Daniel saw symbolic representations of God’s conflict with tremendous powers of evil. But the visions communicated a stunning impression of God’s sovereign power.

One vision showed someone “like a son of man” coming to God’s throne and receiving authority over the whole world. But there was no photographic clarity. It was a kind of

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.

the tree and a fir grew in its place. Boniface then used the shape of the fir to teach about the Trinity.

Christians later inverted the fir, causing its shape to look like the Crucifixion. This custom apparently lasted for centuries, especially in Central and Eastern European countries. Who knew?

In any event, you can still get an upside-down Christmas tree from various sellers, including Wayfair, with

options ranging from an unadorned one for $61.99 to one with PVC pine needles and artificial red berries (minus gifts, of course) for $499.99. But I digress.

I mention this because we’re about to enter one of the most difficult seasons in the church year to celebrate: Advent. Granted, it doesn’t begin until Nov. 28 this year, but entering into its spirit takes careful planning. In a nutshell, the church asks us to turn upside-down all the activities and boisterous noise we’re already surrounded by in this holiday season.

Ideally, the days before Christmas should be filled with

quiet, prayerful reflection. The playing of Christmas music should be delayed until Christmas itself and the decorations put up right before Dec. 25. Advent should be a time of joyful anticipation.

Honestly, I’m not a good Advent-er. For example, my Christmas tree is already up. Well, to be perfectly frank, I never took it down from last year. Since it’s a “mini tree” that sits on top of a bookcase, I just left it out . . . along with the decorative Christmas blanket underneath and some Christmas baubles.

My Christmas lights are still up as well. I’ve already started to write a few Christmas cards to the accompaniment of, yes, Christmas music. And I have tickets to three pre-Christmas Christmas performances in Kansas City.

At church, we’re more liturgically proper as far as Advent music and environment, but I’ve stopped feeling guilty about being an Advent failure at home.

Instead of being a

“purist” in this season, I set my own Advent-like agenda. This year, these will include: • abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Advent to remind myself of the poor and hungry in the world • not passing up a Salvation Army bell ringer without putting something into the kettle • making a financial donation to a charity each week of Advent • lighting my Advent wreath each evening and praying for peace • making time daily to do something fun to soothe mind and soul • calling, rather than Christmas-carding, faraway friends So, what can you do to turn upside-down some of your “normal” holiday routines in order to create time for Advent? Plan now because it will be here — and gone — before you know it.

You may find that turning things upside-down in December will set your heart and mind right-side up for Christmas.

In Jesus, God shows himself to us ,

KEVIN PERROTTA Perrotta is the editor and an author of the “Six Weeks with the Bible” series, teaches part time at Siena Heights University and leads Holy Land pilgrimages. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

pixelated image. The figure Daniel saw was “like” a son of man.

And who was he?

Unlike “Messiah,” the

term “son of man” was not a meaningful title in the biblical tradition. It was simply a way of saying “human person.”

The psalmist prayed: “May your hand be with the man on your right, with the son of man whom you made strong for yourself” — “son of man” being another way of saying “man” (Ps 80:18). So, nothing was clear about the identity of this agent who was to play the

key role in the accomplishment of God’s plans for humanity.

Then, about a century and a half later, the blurred picture suddenly came into focus.

Jesus of Nazareth appeared in the villages of Galilee announcing that the kingdom of God was now arriving in the world.

During his ministry, many wondered about his true identity. Jesus finally made it clear just before his death.

He was, indeed, the one like a son of man to whom God had given all authority (see Mk 14:62).

Jesus filled in the blank in Daniel’s vision.

And he filled in what we might think of as a greater blank —

the blank in our minds concerning God. Who is more utterly mysterious than the Creator of all, incomprehensible and inconceivable?

We can only say that he is like this or like that; yet, he is always infinitely greater than and different from anything he is like. There is a whole stream of spirituality that emphasizes God’s unknowability.

But in Jesus — the son of man who is also the son of God — God shows himself. He can be seen, heard, touched and known.

We can open the Gospels at any page and read, and any blank in our minds about God will be filled in with Jesus.

Peace requires global disarmament, pope says in message VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Criticizing the “abused idea” of deterrence through the stockpiling of weapons, Pope Francis called for integral disarmament worldwide in his message sent to the Paris Peace Forum.

The concept of deterrence, which aims to use limited force or the threat of force in order to deter or dissuade an actor from taking a certain course of action,

“does not guarantee the construction and maintenance of peace,” Pope Francis said.

“The idea of deterrence, in fact, has turned out to be false in many cases, leading to far-reaching humanitarian tragedies,” he said in a written message addressed to those attending the forum, both online and on-site Nov. 11-13.

The Vatican released a copy of the message Nov. 11. The annual

forum invites hundreds of speakers from around the world to discuss solutions to challenges and promote collective action.

In his message, the pope repeated his call that the postpandemic world avoid “going back to normal,” when the norm has been severe economic disparity and inequality, “nearsighted” exploitation of natural resources and wasteful consumerism.

COLUMNISTS

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

15

This year, help Catholic Charities be a witness to Christ’s love

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is the season to give help and hope through the ministries of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.

Our ministries change lives. One of the greatest blessings during the pandemic was serving on the frontline with our team and volunteers. I was answering phones at one of our Family Support Centers (FSC) on a cold winter afternoon last December when a woman I’ll refer to as “Katie” called.

Katie was living in Kansas City, Kansas, with her 2-year-old son on a mattress in the back of a tire shop.

They would soon be evicted from a place that wasn’t even a real home. She was

INSIDE CATHOLIC CHARITIES

LAUREN SOLIDUM Lauren Solidum is the executive director of Catholic Charities.

panicked as she was attempting to find refuge for the night.

Our team sprang into action with transportation to our FSC, food, winter clothing and safe housing for the next several weeks.

In addition, after reviewing Katie’s immediate needs, our team assessed that she’d be a great candidate for our employment services and possibly our St. Rita skills training program.

In a matter of weeks, Katie was working in the restaurant industry and inquiring about a health care training program.

We must prioritize the poor and respond as a church.

As the charitable arm of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Charities serves the 21 counties of our archdiocese. Our agency is a large part of how the church responds to the poor. When Catholic Charities responds, the church is responding. By way of your prayers, time, talent and treasure, you too are sharing in the church’s call to serve the poor and vulnerable. You are a witness of Christ’s love.

The need is great.

This past year, Catholic Charities provided $2.38 million in financial assistance to keep families safely housed, fed and clothed during

times of job loss, illness, eviction or disconnection. These efforts were in response to an 89% increase in the need for housing and housing supports.

The need is vast.

Catholic Charities provides over 20 ministries spanning food, clothing, shelter, education and employment. Our services go beyond meeting the immediate needs. We help the single-parent household find a living wage job and attain the skills and education to move past the threat of poverty once and for all.

We can store up treasures for heaven.

A Scripture verse from the Gospel of Matthew beautifully articulates the need to keep our

eyes on the real prize: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (6: 19-20).

Each time we give of our earthly possessions and financial wealth to help someone in need we are, in fact, storing up treasures in heaven.

The same can be said when we provide others the opportunity to give of their earthly possessions and financial wealth.

To learn more, visit the website at: catholiccharitiesks.org.

Search long and hard: You’ll find no substitute for the Mass

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ell, this had to come eventually. The column in which I use the standard “Top 10” format made popular by the “David Letterman Show” beginning in the 1980s.

It worked decently back when I wrote for my high school newspaper. Let’s see how the format has aged on me.

Here’s my Top 10 list of not-so-good reasons for not going to Mass.

10. “I really don’t get anything out of it.”

Maybe that’s because you don’t understand that it’s really about what you put into it.

That’s why we call

AS THE CHURCH PRAYS

MICHAEL PODREBARAC Michael Podrebarac is the archdiocesan consultant for the office of liturgy and sacramental life.

it “offering” Mass.

Something to consider.

9. “Sunday is my only day off.” Understood. Go early

Sunday morning. Then you’ll have the rest of Sunday to enjoy some rest (which God himself invented, by the way).

8. “The homilies are boring.” If so, be as patient and attentive as possible. The message is what matters, not the style.

7. “I don’t need

Mass to experience Jesus.” You perhaps don’t need the Mass to experience Jesus. But you do need the Mass to experience Jesus in the way only Mass can afford you to, and the way that matters the most: sacramentally, as a member of his mystical body, presented to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit, completely. Try topping that.

6. “I drift off and start staring into space.” When this happens, ask God to receive your life and fill it with his love and grace. Ultimately, the Mass is sacrificial in nature. Make an offering of yourself. And try working on your concentration skills:

Start with the Gospel reading, the creed and the eucharistic prayer, and then build up from there.

5. “The people at church aren’t always nice.” Tragically, true sometimes. So reverse the trend, starting with yourself. Remember, this seldom stops you from going to the stadium, or the mall, or a restaurant.

4. “I don’t like the music.” Think about why. Is it because you perhaps see it as an engagement tool, or even entertainment, rather than sung prayer? If it’s poorly presented, that’s certainly another challenge, but not a reason not to go.

3. “The church has

THE SHEPHERD’S VOICE 8:30 a.m. Sundays on 92.9 FM and KEXS AM 1090 Encore Monday at 11:30 a.m.

too much hypocrisy.”

That’s why we need the sacraments, for we are all sinners. And every Christian who sins is, at least for a time, a hypocrite.

2. “I don’t really understand what’s going on.” Take time to learn. Resources abound. Start by following along in the missalette.

And the Number One not-so-good reason . . .

1. “I’m not going to go simply because I’m told to.” Good for you!

Go because you want to. Learn to want to.

Start by considering the Lord’s love for you, and how best you might respond.

SALES Advertising Account Manager Sell ad space for Church bulletins.

Salary, expenses, commission PLUS benefits.

Reply: Recruiting@jspaluch.com www.jspaluch.com

LOCAL NEWS

NOVEMBER 19, 2021 | THELEAVEN.ORG

16

Religious educator finds students to be her vehicles of grace

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Q.

his week, Alice Bordelon, who is director of religious education at her parish in St. Marys, takes Leaven readers inside her ministry.

Who does your ministry primarily serve?

My ministry is exciting because it serves children, youth and adults who want to learn more about their faith.

Q.

Q.

What is your title and where do you minister?

What do you wish everybody knew about your ministry?

A.

A.

I am director of religious education and the safe environment coordinator for Immaculate Conception Church in St. Marys.

I sincerely wish that every parishioner knew that what we give to our children and youth in their faith formation will directly impact the involvement, membership and leadership of the future parish and finance councils, Altar Society and Knights of Columbus memberships, and, more importantly, the interest in religious vocations.

Money and encouragement help, but stepping into roles of teaching, being aides and overall volunteering in religious education programs is the wisest investment a man or woman can make into the future of their parish.

Q.

Please describe your ministry/what you do.

A.

My ministry is to design, direct and coordinate a religious education program that strengthens children and youth from kindergarten through h i g h school. I focus on their safe environment and create a place that feels like another home for them. As a member of a rural parish, I find myself, like others, wearing many hats. Sometimes, I am the Flocknote (texting) lady or the website lady, and other times, I am the phone lady.

Regardless of title or role, I always want to find ways to draw the hearts of our parishioners closer to our faith and to the Lord’s most sacred heart.

Q.

Why does the world need more of what you do, especially now?

A.

Q.

How would you describe how that fits into the larger mission of the Catholic Church?

A.

Strong connections to one’s home parish strengthen the church universally. I sincerely believe that the most important part in my ministry is to create opportunities for others to form a spiritual muscle-memory on our own church grounds, especially before the Blessed Sacrament in our own tabernacle.

When speaking to others who have gone on retreats, conferences or events to other locations, I find that they’ve created a strong spiritual muscle-memory that can’t escape their minds and hearts.

They usually want to return to that location to recapture that closeness to Christ.

Parishes should strive to create similar spiritual experiences. If they offer their own retreats, invite speakers and host Eucharist-centered events, their parishioners will want to “recapture” that beautiful spiritual muscle-memory in their own home parish.

When planning events, I ask myself, “Will this help them remember our tabernacle when they feel close to Christ?

Can this foster a physical memory of how our kneelers feel when they are in perfect joy before Our Lord? Will they think of our altar when they smell the sweet fragrance of incense elsewhere?

Do they feel at home?”

LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

Alice Bordelon is director of religious education at Immaculate Conception Parish in St. Marys. She is responsible for designing and coordinating the parish’s religious education program.

Q. Is this what you set out to do

in life?

A.

I thought I would become a nun and own an orphanage. I have a heart for children who feel alone. I never dreamed that I’d get to run a “school” where the only subject is God and show them that they are never alone.

Q. What road led you to this min-

istry?

A.

Since high school, I always volunteered at my parish as a babysitter or taught preschool or vacation Bible school. Joyfully, I was able to teach religious education while married and raising a family of eight children. I homeschooled them and was free to share Jesus anytime I wanted.

When my children were in high school, I returned to work. I only wanted to work where God was the focus. So, I worked for a nonprofit thrift store called God’s Storehouse, where they serve and support many programs that focus on second chances, emergency relief and community care. We served people from all walks of life that felt lost or were in

need. We gave them more than material goods — we shared God’s love and offered to be his hands. However, when I was asked to serve our parish as the DRE, I knew I was needed more at “home.”

Q.

Did you collect some skills from other jobs along the way that have proved surprisingly applicable?

If so, explain.

A.

Funny enough, the most important thing I learned along the way in my 31 years of mothering was this: Break bread with those you serve. There is something magnificent that happens around the “table of plenty.” We, who eat, are all sinners and are called to share in his bounty. If you want to make progress in helping others grow closer to Christ and in showing them his way, do it over soup.

Q. What would the average Cath-

olic be most surprised to learn about your job?

A.

The depths of our Catholic traditions are infinite. They always contain more purpose and more intention than you expect. It’s an adventure to delve into them.

With regard to children and youth, it is not a matter of them finding answers to their questions or finding arms into which they will fall when they feel lost and alone — it is, simply, into whose arms they will fall and how their worries or questions are answered and furnished. Catholic adults who physically sit with them before the Blessed Sacrament, mentors who pray for others and leaders who unceasingly serve them — that is what we need in multitude.

Q.

What have you learned about people in this job?

A.

The toughest lesson I’ve learned about this job is that there’s always a new wave of children or families who are struggling, even after you’ve experienced a beautiful year of growth and peace. It is only through God that we have work to do. All work without him seems awfully lonely.

Q.

What have you learned about yourself ?

A.

I’ve learned that in a secular sense, I’m terribly broken. Spiritually, though, I know that I am walking toward my healer and that Jesus Christ is my only friend on this journey.

Q.

How has it changed the way you view your identity as a Catholic?

A.

I have always said that my children were vehicles of grace for me. My entire identity revolves around God’s mercies and his graces.

Alice Bordelon is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception in St. Marys, a wife, a mother of eight and grandmother of five.

ANNUAL GOLUMBKI EVENT IN LEAVENWORTH

T

he St. Casimir Men’s Society will be selling packets of individual Golumbki in lieu of its Annual Golumbki Dinner on Sunday, November 21st. Golumbki will available for curb-side purchase and pickup on Cleveland Terrace, the street just to east of the St. Casimir Parish Hall (719 Pennsylvania Avenue), beginning 11 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. Golumbki will be sold in packages of two for $6 or four for $12. Your packaged Golumbki will be delivered in freezer bags at refrigerated temperatures, so that you may reheat them for your Sunday Dinner or freeze them to enjoy at a later date.

AD COURTESY OF DOUG SCALARD, CFP®