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DECEMBER 2017 • VOL. 7 NO.12SERVING CHRIST AND CONNECTING CATHOLICS IN THE DIOCESE OF JUNEAU WWW.DIOCESEOFJUNEAU.ORGCATHOLIC

Southeast Alaska

BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICEWASHINGTON (CNS) -- While most Catholics know

the season of Advent is roughly four weeks before Christmas, they might not know it has two parts.

Technically, Advent, the time of preparation before Christmas, begins on the Sunday that falls on or closest to Nov. 30 -- which this year is Dec. 3 -- and ends on Christmas Eve.

But right in the middle, Dec. 17, Advent changes gears.Jesuit Father Bruce Morrill, the Edward A. Malloy

professor of Catholic studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee, said that up until Dec. 17, the tone of Advent is anticipating Christ’s second coming, which is particularly reflected in the Mass readings from the Old and New Testaments. Other prayers in the Mass those first weeks also are about the second coming.

But by Dec. 17, the emphasis shifts to Jesus’ birth, which is why Father Morrill said when he was young, his family

began their Christmas decorating at this time. This also is when some people start singing or listening to Christmas carols.

Timothy Brunk, an associate professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, outside of Philadelphia, explains the breakdown of Advent this way: “Christ who has come is also coming. Advent, like Christmas, looks back but also looks forward.”

He said in an email to Catholic News Service that even though Advent is about preparation for Christmas, it also is about “assessing how one has welcomed the Christ who has come and one’s readiness for the Christ who is coming.”

The third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete” Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”) when the Advent candle and priests’ vestments are pink or rose. “This is the church’s way of further heightening our expectation as we draw ever nearer to the solemnity of Christmas,” according to resource material

provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Advent and available at http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/advent.

This year, the USCCB resources include liturgical notes on the season and prayers and blessings for it. It also offers printable bilingual Advent calendars including one specifically for families with daily suggestions for prayers and activities to prepare for Christmas such as making a Jesse Tree, blessing the family Nativity or taking time to learn about Advent traditions around the world.

Advent calendars have a special appeal, Father Morrill said, because everyone loves a countdown.

And Paulist Father Larry Rice, director of the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas at Austin, said Advent calendars range from those with daily Scripture verses to daily chocolate and even whiskey treats. The point is, Advent is about “waiting and joyful anticipation,” he said.

Advent: liturgical season

with two parts

The Southeast Alaska Catholic 2 • December 2017

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USPS 877-080Publisher: Most Reverend Andrew E. Bellisario, C.M. 415 Sixth St. #300, Juneau, AK 99801Editor: Dominique Johnson email: [email protected](907) 586-2227, ext. 32 Staff: A Host of Loyal Volunteers According to diocesan policy, all Catholics of the Diocese of Juneau are to receive The Southeast Alaska Catholic; please contact your parish office to sign up or to notify them of an address change. Others may request to receive The Southeast Alaska Catholic by sending a donation of $30. Periodical postage paid at Juneau, Alaska.

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In This Issue

The Hail Mary Club Page 6 Father Steve Gallagher encourages parishioners to pray one Hail Mary a day

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd on Prince of Wales Page 7 St. John’s by the Sea parish opened its atrium this fall

The Advent Season at Home Page 10 Begin new traditions at home during Advent

Church

Calendar&Celebrations

December 8Solemnity of the Immaculate

Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

December 12Feast of

Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 25Christmas Day

December 27Feast of St. John the

EvangelistPatronal Feast of

St. John-by-the-Sea parish, Klawock

December 31Feast of the Holy Family

Patronal feast of Holy FamilyMission, Gustavus

Fr. Patrick Casey, OMI37th anniversary of priestly

ordination (1980)

January 1Feast of Mary, Mother of God

January 2Memorial of St. Gregory

Nazianzen,Patronal feast of St. Gregory

Nazianzen Parish, Sitka

January 3:Memorial of the Most Holy

Name of Jesus,Patronal feast of Holy Name

Parish, Ketchikan

January 7Epiphany of the Lord

Special Collection December 10th, 2017

The Southeast Alaska Catholic December 2017 • 3

You and your family are cordially invited to

the Bishop’s Christmas ReceptionFriday, December 15th

4:30-7PM

at

St. Ann’s Hall - Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

430 5th St, Juneau, AK

Enjoy an evening with Bishop Andrew, parishioners, family and friends.

December 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us always!

I want to thank everyone for the most warm and gracious welcome that I received upon my arrival in southeast Alaska. I am grateful to everyone who traveled from near and far to attend my ordination and installation as the 6th Bishop of the Diocese of Juneau. I extend a special word of thanks to all of those who prepared the ceremonies, receptions and guest services: the staffs and volunteers from the Chancery, the Cathedral and St. Paul the Apostle Church. A lot of hours were offered and volunteered by so many to make the celebrations prayerful and joyful.

I am enjoying these first months of my ministry. It is a joy meeting so many wonderful people who make up our local communities in Southeast. I had the opportunity to travel to Sitka the week after the ordination. I spent several days visiting St. Gregory Nazianzen parish and the city of Sitka. Father Andy Sensenig, OMI and Father Peter Gorges were gracious hosts and made sure that I received the full tour of the parish and the local community. The following weekend I traveled to Ketchikan where I received a special welcome at the airport from the first-grade children of Holy Name School, followed by a tour of the school and a special school lunch of hotdogs, chips and popsicles in honor of my mother. That was just the beginning of several days visiting Holy Name parish and, like in Sitka, Father Patrick Travers made sure that I met just about everyone.

In early November, I traveled to Ithaca, New York to celebrate with my family who were not able to attend the ordination in Juneau. Although I am originally from southern California, my parents were from upstate New York. It was one of the joys of my life to return to the church of my baptism, Immaculate Conception, to celebrate the Eucharist as a bishop with my family, and the local parish community who hosted a reception following the Mass. I then made my way to Baltimore to attend my first meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

During the last two weekends in November, I spent one at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other at St. Paul the Apostle Church, both here in Juneau. While I have celebrated occasional Masses at both parishes, this gave me the opportunity to celebrate all the Masses and to meet, once again, just about everyone. At the Cathedral, we had receptions after each Mass and at St. Paul’s the Knights of Columbus provided a delicious pancake breakfast. I extend a special word of thanks to Father Pat Casey, OMI and Father Mike Galbraith for hosting me. In the New Year, I look forward to visiting all of our parishes and missions.

As we begin the Season of Advent please be assured of my prayers for you as we await the coming of our Lord. May our good and gracious God bless you with his love, peace and joy!

Sincerely in Christ,

+Most Reverend Andrew Bellisario, C.M.

December Letter from

Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M.


BY: DAN AUSTIN AND MIKE MONAGLE FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Regardless of your personal spiritual identity (or lack thereof), the joy and light of this season cannot fail but infect most of us with the blessing and warmth of a month-long celebration—a wonderful party that comes but once a year.

Recently a friend, Deacon Mike Monagle, related a story found in Matthew 22, verses 1-14. This was when Jesus was confronting the Pharisees—you know, those arrogant, self-obsessed policy makers--the “important people.” Jesus recited a parable commonly called the Wedding Feast. The story goes like this:

The King sent his servants out to invite all the “important people” to an upcoming wedding feast. The King prepared a most bountiful meal and celebration. The servants return with the disappointing news that none of the “important people” would have the time or inclination to attend—they were all too busy with their land and businesses and servants. In fact, one of the “important people” captured some of The King’s servants, abused and killed them.

The King was enraged. He took revenge on the offender by burning his city.

Then, The King sent his servants into the country to invite EVERYONE to the feast—rich, poor, healthy, disabled, young and old. On the appointed day, the Great Hall was filled. The celebration and the joyous feast commenced. The party goers must have felt blessed indeed to be attending one of The King’s wonderful events!

I was struck by the fact that the Holidays are a party to which we are ALL invited. Some of us are so fortunate, while many others struggle every day, whatever the season, just to survive. Yet, we are all invited to share the bounty and the generosity that springs from this celebration of faith and love. Whatever our status in life. Whatever faith we profess, or deny. Whomever were our parents. Wherever we were born. Whatever our past.

And then the story takes a twist. The King entered the Great Hall and

observed all the guests feasting and reveling in the joy and goodwill of the event. However,

The King sees that one person at the party has not dressed appropriately (nor is he likely, I believe, to have brought a gift). The King approaches the person and asks, “Why are you not dressed for the feast?” The individual is speechless. The King orders him bound and thrown out into the street. The parable ends with, “Many are called; few are chosen.” I found this disturbing and not exactly representative of The King I revere.

This is where I had to ask Mike for help understanding the parable.

The King of course is God. The Feast we understand by many names—

heaven, salvation, the great transition, self-realization—all the blessings that await us and infinitely more. Now, what about the clothes? What is so important about what you wear to this party?

D e a c o n M i k e points out, “God has been inviting us for a long time (thousands of years) to the banquet, so we too have had plenty of time to dress ourselves appropriately.

The ‘garment’ we are to adorn ourselves with is righteousness. Later in Matthew (chapter 25, verses 31-46), we learn that our ‘cloak of righteousness’ is fitted by how we treated the least among us. In other words, did we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, nurse the sick, visit the imprisoned? We are all invited (called) to the banquet (heaven), but only those who cloak themselves ‘appropriately’ will be allowed in (chosen). Note, it is not God who chooses - it is us. He lays out the invitation, but we choose whether or not to accept it.” We can put on the cloak of righteousness or not. We can BE the prayers we speak or simply recite them.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded 185 years ago by a small group of young Catholic students at Sorbonne University, Paris. As their inspiration, they took the words of Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Let’s rejoice again this year that we still receive the eternal invitation. Let us not forget the rest of the family during this wonderful party. God bless us all!

We’re all invited to this party!

As our Church begins a new liturgical year, our community is concluding a Year of Kindness and reflecting on the impact a year of kindness events during 2017 had on ourselves, each other and our commu-nity. I made a personal choice to choose kindness and it has made a difference. On a recent hike out to the Boy Scout camp I was reminded of my commitment. Along the trail there are markers with the Boy Scout Law. #6 of Boy Scout Law is ‘A Scout is Kind’. “A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated”. Also, the Boy Scout slogan is, Do a Good Turn Daily!

There are about forty verses on kind-ness found in scripture. In Colossian 3:12 we read, “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and pa-tience…” Our saints also were very mindful of the Joy of the Gospel and showed us practical ways to practice joy and kindness in our daily lives. Mother Teresa states, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

Pope Francis’ Letter, Evangelli Gaudi-um, The Joy of the Gospel, was proclaimed in 2013 at the conclusion of the Year of Faith. This past summer the U.S. Bishops and Diocesan leaders met in Orlando, Florida for a Convocation, The Joy of the Gospel in America, to reflect and discuss ways to implement this apostolic e x h o r t a -tion in our country, our dioceses and our own lives. There are links for the keynote presenta-tions of the convocation here: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/get-involved/meetings-and-events/convocation-2017/convocation-2017-live-stream.cfm.

The Diocese of Broken Bay, Australia published a pastoral letter that includes

a list of Fifty ways to Live the Joy of the Gospel.

#2 on the list is, “Start and end each day with a prayer of praise.”

#27 is, “Increase the ‘joy’ level at home. Be quick to praise and slow to criticize. Choose to be enthusiastic when you least feel like it.”

#35 is, “This week, greet others with stronger handshakes, warmer hugs, more welcoming words.” You can find their complete list here: https://www.dbb.org.au/_uploads/_ckpg/files/The%20Joy%20of%20the%20Gospel%20(6).pdf.

Since October, Chancery staff, includ-ing three of our diocesan delegates who at-tended the convocation, have been meeting for fifteen minutes each work day to pray, read and reflect on a couple of paragraphs of The Joy of the Gospel. You can read the Pope Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation online for free or the National Shrine of St. Therese has hard copies available for $3.00 and purchasing information and a study guide is provided on the Diocese website at: http://dioceseofjuneau.org/the-joy-of-the-gospel/.

As we prepare for Christmas and Easter this liturgical year, the Southeast Alaska Catholic Conference Planning Committee would like to suggest that as you prepare for the conference you read, reflect, and pray

with, The Joy of the Gos-pel, either by yourself or in a small parish group or with your family. Planning is al-ready in pro-cess for the 2018 South-east Alaska Catholic Con-ference: Liv-ing and Shar-ing the Joy of the Gospel,

September 28, 29, & 30, 2018. More details on the Conference will be coming in future issues of the Southeast Alaska Catholic. Remember, be kind and spread the joy of the Gospel!

Peggy MattsonCo-chair of the Planning Committee

Living and Sharing

the Joy of the Gospel


ROHRBACHER

Along the Way

Deacon Charles Rohrbacher

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.

Collect for the First Sunday of Advent In recent years Americans appear fascinated by

the end times and coming of the apocalypse. Is the election of President Trump (or Obama, take your pick), the proliferation of social media or the decline of the use of the Oxford comma a sure sign that the end is near? There are plenty of people ready to tell you that we are just days or weeks away from the rapture or the coming of the anti-Christ or the pre-or post-millenarian tribulation, despite the fact that even Jesus himself told his disciples that only the Father knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Given a lot of the sheer craziness surrounding the end of the world, we might be tempted to give little time or thought to the second coming of Christ. Yet the season of Advent is all about the eschaton, that is to say, the fulfillment of the divine plan at the end of time and the parousia, the Second Coming of Christ.

The readings and prayers for the final weeks of Ordinary Time and the first three weeks of Advent are intended to re-orient us each year to this eschatological horizon, that is, to the end of time, when “all will be all” in God (1 Cor 15:28). Then, during the last week of Advent and throughout the Christmas season, we are in-vited to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation and rejoice in the birth of Jesus and his first coming among us as man.

The name of this season of Advent is derived from the Latin root words ad venire to come or to arrive. Pondering the past, present and future coming of Christ, Ad-vent suggests three themes related to his present and future coming for reflection, prayer and action.

• The coming of Christ at the end of world

• The coming of Christ at the end of our lives

• The coming of Christ in the person of our neighbor, especially the poor and those in need.

One the earliest Christian prayers is this Aramaic phrase, “Maran atha” (1 Cor 16:22), which can be translated either as “O Lord, come!” or “The

Lord has come!” The latter translation is a declaration of faith in the Lordship of Jesus, whose first coming has already occurred. The former is a prayer of hope, imploring the Lord to come soon.

In contemporary parlance, apocalypse has come to mean a cataclysmic event, resulting in the collapse of civilization, the destruction of the human race, the end of the world. So why would we as Christians pray for the apocalypse, for the end of the world? To see why, we need to first recover the original meaning of the word apocalypse as used in sacred

scripture, which means to reveal or uncover. Which is to say, at the end, with the coming of the Lord, the saving plan of God for our salvation and redemption will be fully and definitively realized and brought to fulfillment.

On that day, the glory of the Lord will be revealed to the nations when God vindicates the poor and those accounted as nothing in this world.

Symbolized in the scriptures by images of temporal destruction (the sun, moon and stars falling from the heavens, trials and tribu-lations), our idols and illusions about ourselves will come crash-ing down and our true allegiances will be uncovered and revealed. The fearful images we encounter in the apocalyptic books of sacred scripture are intended to under-score the seriousness of what is at stake in choosing either to accept the abundant and merciful love of God or to remain mired within the narrow confines of misplaced self-love. What is truly frightening is not the encounter with Jesus at the end – he is the One, after all, who came, not to condemn us but to save us. He loves us with infinite mercy and compassion. Rather, what should and must frighten us is the possibility that through our own folly, pride, obsessions and

sinfulness, we might succumb to the temptation to reject the abundant gift of God’s love and choose self-love instead.

For while nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, we can definitively choose to reject his love.

Traditionally, Advent has about it somewhat of a peni-tential character. I think in part this is because Advent is a time during which we prepare for the particular judgement each of us will undergo when our life draws to a close in death. Encountering Christ face-to-face, looking upon us with love, will we be prepared to return that love? During Advent, we pray that God will grant us the time to change our hearts and our lives so as to be ready to meet the Lord.

The change of heart that Jesus calls us to is exemplified in the gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the year before this Advent began. We heard proclaimed the apocalyptic parable from Matthew’s gospel of the Last Judgement (Mt.25:31-46). In this parable, Jesus revealed to both the righteous and the evildoers the criterion for judgement – whether or not they have acted with love toward the neighbor, who, in Christ’s teaching is the equivalent of himself.

The gospel presupposes that both the righteous and the unrighteous already know the greatest commandment – to love God with one’s whole heart, strength and mind, and to love the neighbor as one’s self. But what is revealed to them is that every encounter with the neighbor, including the poor, including even the enemy, is an encounter with Jesus himself.

Which is to say, once the Word of God becomes incarnate in the person of Jesus, to truly love God with one’s whole heart, strength and mind can no longer be separated from love of the neighbor, who incarnates Jesus for us. Thus, for each of us, there is a present coming of Christ which we must attend to. Our self-love must give way to love of God, made real in the sincere love and service of our neighbor.

What will be uncovered on the last day will be this: have we chosen to love and obey God through our love of the neighbor or have we failed to love God and obey him by failing to love our neighbor? Let us resolve then, while given the grace and time to do so, “to run forth to meet Christ with righteous deeds at his coming” and so be worthy to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, Lord Jesus!

- Deacon Charles Rohrbacher is the Office of Ministries Director for the Diocese of Juneau. Phone: 907-586-2227 x 23.

Email: [email protected]

Icon of Christ the Teacher


BY: FATHER STEVE GALLAGHERHave you ever given any serious

consideration to the words of the Hail Mary? In our Catholic world it is a well-established and easily recognizable prayer in which we simply ask the Mother of God for her intercession on our behalf. Sometimes I chuckle to myself when I contemplate this prayer because I cannot begin to count the amount of times when I would ask my dad for something and he would say, “Ask your mother.”

This is exactly what we are doing, we are asking our heavenly mother, the Mother of the Church and the Mother of God, for help in our day-to-day lives. I receive so many different prayer requests in many different ways that sometimes it can be hard to keep up with them let alone remember them all. When I find myself getting over-whelmed by the number of requests I receive I always “Ask my mother.”

Consider for a moment the three parts to the Hail Mary. The first one is a supernatural message delivered to Mary by a messenger from God, the angel Gabriel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” This “Annunciation” is so validly recognized that the liturgical calendar of the Church celebrates this great mystical event on March 25th.

The second part of the Hail Mary, inspired by our heavenly Father is: “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” These are the words of Elizabeth to her cousin Mary and we celebrate this as the Feast of the Visitation on May 31st. In the first salutation we see an angel of God greeting Mary while in the second she is greeted by another woman.

The third part of the Hail Mary was given to us at the Council of Ephesus in 431AD to combat the evil of Nestorianism. And then, over the years, the Church, in her love and wisdom, added the names of Jesus and Mary as a way to clarify our own, personal petition.

Mary most pure, who is of human origin, was chosen by the Divine to bring his Divine Son into this troubled world for our salvation. Since God the Father deemed it necessary to use Mary as a remedy for our salvation, may we consider recognizing her intercessory power in our lives. “By way of showing the sovereignty and supremacy of Mary as Mother of God and the Queen of All Saints, we may pause to think of the millions

and millions and millions of Catholics who have died under her protection, saved their souls, been purified in Purgatory, and are now in the Beatific Vision, adoring God and singing the praises of His mother”. And this is exactly what it is about, saving souls from the fires of hell.

Recognizing the holy dignity which God has bestowed on Mary and his desire in using a mere human being to bring our savior to us, let us, in humble faithfulness, also go to Mary so that this world of our day may be brought to Christ. Her role – her only role – is to lead others to Christ her son. At Cana she said, “Do whatever he tells you.” She is the one, sure, immaculate and most direct way that will lead individual souls and nations back to Christ.

The purpose of the Hail Mary Club – “One a Day” is threefold:

• For an increase of vocations to our diocese.

• For the needs and intentions of all those who join the club.

• For the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Take a minute to reflect on the immense power of the entire Diocese of Juneau all united as one for these intentions. A spiritual army of the faithful petitioning the Mother of God on a daily basis is a significant show of faith. Let us be grateful children of God and ask for her daily intercession.

Ideas on how to use these little cards, that are available at each parish in the Diocese:

• Put them in your Christmas cards.• Put them in birthday cards,

anniversary cards.• Put them in the bills you mail.• Pass them out to friends.• Give one to each of your children.• Carry them in your wallet or purse. • Put them on the visor of your car.• Put them on your refrigerator.• Use your imagination – they are a

tangible reminder.

The Hail Mary Club – “One a Day”

BY: DOMINIQUE JOHNSONHow do you share your faith and

cultural traditions when you are thousands of miles away from home?

For over 20 years, Gloria Bodron has helped the Hispanic community at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Juneau share their tradition of celebrating the Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe.

The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated December 12th, marking the day in which the image of Our Lady appeared on the tilma of St. Juan Diego, when presented to the bishop of Mexico. The apparition helped spread the Gospel throughout Mexico, and within nine years of Our Lady’s appearance around nine million Natives converted to Catholicism. The tilma from 1531 is still perfectly intact and many pilgrims flock to see it every year at the basilica near Mexico City.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico and her feast day is a Holy Day of Obligation in the country. For those from Mexico and Latin America the feast day is an important day to celebrate.

At St. Paul’s in Juneau, the Hispanic community celebrates an evening Mass on the feast day, followed by a play, which retells the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill.

“We have a play, so our children can learn how it is celebrated in Mexico,” Bodron said.

Planning and preparation for the celebration begins a month in advance Bodron explained. In the middle of November Bodron and others in the community meet and discuss who will be in the upcoming play. They also begin cooking to feed those who attend the Mass and play.

“We make about 500 tamales,” she said. The tamales are served with atole, a traditional Mexican drink, and bunuelos, a Mexican sweet bread.

Though reenactments aren’t necessarily part of the tradition in Mexico, Bordon finds retelling the story an important part of sharing culture when living far away from Mexico, “We want our children to know the story, so they know it if they are asked about Our Lady of Guadalupe.” She

added that most of the young people in the community are willing to be a part of the celebration.

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is also a chance for evangelization as many Hispanic people know the importance of the celebration.

“Some move up here and decide to go to a different church for different reasons, but on the 12th of December everybody comes to St. Paul’s,” Bordon said.

She said that on December 12th all are welcome to attend Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and watch the play. The celebration starts at 7 PM at St. Paul’s.

Bodron, who has visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe multiple times, shared that it is always a powerful experience, seeing those who have traveled from all over the world and are moved by the miracle. She hopes that by sharing the story others will also be moved by the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Celebrating the feast of

Our Lady of Guadalupe


BY: CATHY BOLLING WITH STEPHANIE HASELTINEIt’s amazingly quiet and peaceful on a Sunday afternoon inside the Atrium at Saint John

by the Sea Parish in Klawock. The Liturgy has been celebrated and parishioners have visited over coffee and hospitality. The adults retreat to their religious education gathering in the social hall and some of the youngest members- ages 3-6, head to the Atrium, a classroom transformed through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

The Parish opened its Atrium this fall. Parishioner Stephanie Haseltine attended training in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in Juneau in 2016 and welcomed Nicole Miller and Hillary Hilson of Holy Name to Prince of Wales later that year, when they provided additional help.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd sprung from a book written in the mid-1950s by then Hebrew Scholar Sofia Cavaletti, based on her and collaborator Gianna Gobbi’s work with children and the Catholic faith. The Catechesis is Montessori-based, meaning it is designed based on the child’s stage of development and their needs. It centers around helping the children recognize and nourish their relationship with Christ.

“Help me fall in love with God myself” is the main theme, said Haseltine.In the Early Church, catechumens would wait in the Atrium before being fully received

into the church.“In the (present-day) Atrium it’s not about us just telling them that God loves them

and here is why you should believe that,” she said.“It’s about recognizing the dignity of each child, recognizing that each one of us is born

with a deep love for the Father- it is our job as catechist to help the child discover that love that is planted in his or her heart, to nurture it, to water it, to let it grow and bloom in their hearts. We simply provide tools and the environment to best allow that to happen.”

The combination of low light and Haseltine’s soft voice help the children slow down and stay calm. Quiet helps them center to open themselves to hear God, she said.

The room is decorated with religious art- photographs and statues of Jesus, Mary and

the saints. They use the same Bible as at Mass, not a children’s Bible. And you won’t find childish cartoon-like images in the Atrium.

The children choose from a variety of independent tasks, like transferring water between vessels, tracing liturgical shapes, and setting up the prayer table. Haseltine takes turns working individually with each student, demonstrating the different activities and saying, “Let me show you how to get this ready for the next child.”

One Sunday she is working with her not quite 3-year old son, Skipp. They are setting up the model altar. A small cupboard holds miniature versions of candles, altar cloth, Roman Missal, Lectionary, chalice and paten. She uses the analogy of setting up for a “fancy dinner” as she explains the uses for the items.

“When you set the table, you use a tablecloth (altar cloth), and what do you eat on? A plate. We call it a paten. And what do you need to drink with? A cup? Here at Mass we use a chalice.”

With Haseltine’s supervision, the children light the altar candles and use an old-fashioned snuffer to extinguish the flame.

She brings the children together with the sound of a very quiet chime. They gather before her and she pulls out a globe and other tools and teaches about where Jesus was born, lived and died. Jesus is presented as a real person, in real time and in real places.

“Think about Jesus…being born…spending time with friends…” she says.Afterward, they move to the prayer table. One of the children sets it up, with cloth,

candle, statue, prayer card and enthroned Bible.“Think about the name of Jesus,” Haseltine quietly encourages.“Say it out loud or in your heart.”She models how to pray out loud and asks the children who or what to pray for.Before leaving, they sing songs from the CGS collection, including “Holy Ground.”“God’s in this place and so this place is holy. God’s given us holy ground.”Haseltine loves the way CGS is set up. She favors the Montessori method and has used

it with her daughter Sophia.But she also loves that the children are learning the Mass, about God’s unfailing love

for us, about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.“They connect the dots on their own that the Good Shepherd, who will lay down

his life for his sheep is in fact He who calls us to His Table every time we celebrate the Eucharist. It’s beautiful.”

Haseltine is so moved by the presentations of the Catechesis that it is hard not to cry.“It stirs my soul,” she said.She often thinks of how much adults could learn and get from the same presentations.“In taking the training for CGS, I really can appreciate what our Lord meant when

he said we need to become like the little children…we must always remember to take the time and become little children again- the Atrium allows me to do that.

She is grateful for the instruction and assistance she has received from others in the Diocese with bringing CGS to life at Saint John by the Sea. She is especially thankful for the help of Miller and Hillson, who shared their expertise, helped plan the parish’s Atrium and traveled to Prince of Wales to instruct parents in the catechism. What’s more, they even made an extra set of Atrium aids when they were preparing their own for Holy Name.

“Without Holy Name’s help this task would have been insurmountable,” she said.When setting up the Atrium, Haseltine posted a list of items needed. The Atrium uses

only natural things like wood, ceramic and glass. People would come and ask her what she needed and offer to make things. One of the parish’s talented carpenters made tables and other items for the Atrium, while others sewed, painted, made prayer cards or donated items. Several odds and ends found around the parish were useful as well.

“It helps because the parish feels invested,” she said.The Atrium’s needs will change as the stations change and the Liturgical Year progresses.For more information, visit the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good

Shepherd website, cgsusa.org.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Arrives on Prince of Wales

Stephanie Haseltine explains what a prayer card is as children gather around the Atrium’s prayer table.

The Southeast Alaska Catholic 8 • December 2017 The Southeast Alaska Catholic 8 • February 2016 The Southeast Alaska Catholic 8 • December 2017

St. Vincent de Paul Juneau distributes 383 food baskets for Thanksgiving

(Photos Clockwise from top left) Daniel Piscoya hands frozen pies to a volunteer on Sunday, Nov. 19, outside the Riverbend Apartments as part of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thanksgiving Basket Program, Steve Scott, left, and Jeff Fultz make the rounds in the Juneau Senior Center Mountain View Apartment Complex during the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thanksgiving Basket Program, Patrick Kearney smiles as he accepts a Thanksgiving basket from Steve Scott and Jeff Fultz at the front door of his apartment in the Juneau Senior Center Mountain View Apartment Complex, and the group of volunteers who helped prepare the food baskets for delivery. (Photos by Nolin Ainsworth and Bridget Goertzen)

The Southeast Alaska Catholic December 2017 • 9October 2013 • 9The Southeast Alaska Catholic February 2016 • 9October 2013 • 9The Southeast Alaska Catholic December 2017 • 9

St. Vincent de Paul Juneau distributes 383 food baskets for Thanksgiving


BY: DOMINIQUE JOHNSONAs we enter the season of

Advent it is easy to get caught up in the Christmas festivities that seem to begin the day following Thanksgiving.

In its Latin root ad-venire, meaning approach, Advent is meant to be a season of awaiting. We are to await and prepare for the arrival of Christ on Christmas day.

In our Churches and homes, we light the four candles as we prepare for the birth of Christ. The three purple candles symbolize a time of prayer and penance. The pink candle which is lit on the third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday symbolizes a time of Joy, a time to celebrate as our waiting is almost over.

During this period as we prepare for Christmas, it is a good time for us to grow deeper in our faith with our families and loved ones. In doing so, you may also start traditions that may be passed down and remembered as children and relatives grow.

A simple way to celebrate Advent is by having an Advent wreath in your home placed in a significant location. Every night you can light the appropriate candles and pray as a family. This time of prayer helps to break away from the hustle and bustle in our lives to reflect on the anticipation of Christ’s coming.

There are also many Advent devotionals available that you can use to go deep on your own, with a spouse, group or family. In my own family, this year we will be utilizing The Children’s Little Advent Book, which has daily reflections and coloring pages geared towards children ages 4-7.

There are also Feast Days to celebrate in the month of December leading up to Christmas. I fondly remember celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas when I was growing up. Every year on December 6th my family would share the story of St. Nicholas and my siblings and I would put our shoes by the door before we went to bed and wake up to a small gift.

St. Therese of Lisieux also recalls celebrating the feast of St. Nicolas with her family in Story of a Soul, “I knew that when we reached home after Mass I should find my shoes in the chimney-corner, filled with presents, just as when I was a little child . . . Papa, too, liked to watch my enjoyment and hear my cries of delight at each fresh surprise that came from the magic shoes, and his pleasure added to mine.”

Other feast days during Advent include the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th (a Holy Day of Obligation), the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th and the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th. In sharing and learning about the lives of the Saints, we can deepen our love for God by their example.

These are just a few examples you can try or you can search for other ways to celebrate Advent and prepare for Christ this season at home. You can find resources from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/advent/index.cfm.

After we are done waiting and we celebrate the birth of Christ, we should remember that the celebration doesn’t end on December 25th. As Catholics, the Christmas season doesn’t come to a close until the Baptism of our Lord, celebrated on January 8th during this liturgical year. So, feel free to leave up your Christmas tree and Nativity set and continue to play Christmas music until the season officially concludes.

The Advent Season at Home

Strengthening marriages and families is the theme to this years “Families Fully Alive” Conference sponsored by the Diocese of Fairbanks taking place in February.

A member of the planning committee for the conference said the idea for the event came after parishioners had attended other Catholic conferences in other parts of the country.

“We thought that maybe this is something we can do here, that might be a benefit to Catholics and others interested living in Alaska,” said Mike Kramer, conference committee member.

The idea for this year’s theme came from Pope Francis’ encyclical Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love, with the hope of strengthening marriages and families.

The three-day conference will feature many nationally known speakers including Archbishop

Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, who hosted the Pope in his Archdiocese for the World Meeting of Families and was a delegate to the 2015 Synod on the Family in Rome.

Each day of the conference will begin with Mass and throughout the weekend there will be opportunities for confession and adoration. There will be keynote addresses for all to attend and the breakout sessions will be more age specific.

The conference is held the weekend before Lent, February 9-11 at Catholic Schools of Fairbanks. For those in Southeast who are interested in attending the conference, discount codes for flights, rental cars and hotels are available.

If you register before January 31st, the cost for ages 11-17 is $65 and ages 17 and up $85. For large families, the max price is $200, which includes childcare for children 3-11.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n on the Diocese o f Fa i r b a n k s “Families Fully Alive” conference and to register v i s i t b i t . l y /FaiFamConf2018.

Diocese of Fairbanks

hosts conference on Families


BY: TIFFANY BORGES - CATHOLICANCHOR.ORGGrowing up in Southeast Alaska, Carl Fundeen didn’t know he had a possible Catholic

saint in his family tree.Since then, he has doubled down on learning as much as he can about the life and

character of his great uncle — the now Blessed Father Solanus Casey.Fundeen’s grandmother was the youngest sibling of the much loved 20th century

Capuchin priest. As the Catholic Church inched closer to recognizing Father Casey as one of her official saints, Fundeen grew more interested.

Fundeen, now 75, is a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage. These days he is pleased to ponder the extraordinary life of his great uncle.

On Nov. 18 Father Casey was officially beatified or recognized as “blessed” by the Catholic Church. This means the church has established that he lived a holy life of heroic virtue and that at least one miracle has come about through his intercessions. The title of blessed is the last stage before canonization, the point at which the church affirms that a person was indeed a saint.

Father Casey’s recent beatification took place in Detroit, Michigan, the city where he co-founded the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in 1929, and where he served as the kindly doorman at Detroit’s St. Bonaventure Monastery for more than two decades.

Although Fundeen wasn’t able to travel to Michigan for his uncle’s beatification, he was pleased that many other relatives made the trek.

Fundeen has visited the monastery in Detroit where Father Casey served the last half of his priesthood. He has also met Brother Leo, Father Casey’s fellow Capuchin friar and the vice postulator (or main promoter) for the church to publicly recognize him as a saint.

The night before the beatification, Fundeen attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral, which showed a film on Father Casey’s life, followed by a discussion about the inspiring and humble priest.

Fundeen has plenty of reason to believe his uncle is a man close to God. In particular, he has three relics of Father Casey’s — a whisker, a cloth touched by his body and a yellow ribbon blessed by the priest, which have taken on heightened significance after Fundeen had a close brush with death in 2009. A pilot of 37 years, his single-engine plane crashed during a takeoff in Anchorage.

“I attribute the wreck to my own error, and the containment (of fuel), and recovery to the first responders and doctors, of course,” he said. “But ultimately I believe it was Father Casey’s prayers for my protection.”

He had been carrying the relics with him, but has since preserved them more permanently by matting and framing them.

Fundeen noted the inspiration his family has drawn in learning more about their holy relative.

“If I had been aware of his perseverance and humility, perhaps I really would’ve considered a religious vocation,” Fundeen mused.

Fundeen spent his childhood on Annette Island, in Alaska’s Southeast Panhandle, and

was taught by Jesuits from nearby Ketchikan.“They were so eloquent, just so well-spoken. Based on that alone, I think I pushed it

out of my mind as a possibility for me,” he recalled.But learning of how Father Casey overcame academic struggles in a pursuit of his

vocation to the priesthood was an eye opener for Fundeen.“He was a farm boy,” Fundeen explained. “When he was finishing grade school, his

peers were finishing high school.”“He spoke English, and the seminaries available to him at that time were run in

German,” he added. “He had to learn German in order to learn Latin!”Father Casey finished near the bottom of his class and was eventually ordained with

the Capuchins as a simplex priest, meaning he could offer Mass but was not to expound on church teaching. He then headed to Yonkers for the first two decades of his priesthood, assigned as a porter, where he became known as ‘the Brother who said Mass,’ given that the position of porter was normally reserved for religious brothers rather than priests.

Those who became acquainted with the Irish priest began to seek his counsel informally, however, with well-chronicled crowds gathering to hear the Gospel offered in his trademark style.

“He had no prestige, but deep wisdom,” Fundeen explained. “He spoke as if he was in direct contact with God.”

Fundeen noted that Father Casey’s popular appeal went beyond Catholics — with government leaders, Jews and others often assembling in lines to get a few moments with the priest. His spirituality was renowned for its simplicity.

Fundeen’s favorite stories about his great uncle reveal a man of Irish wit and uncommon humility.

One of Fundeen’s favorites was recorded by a visitor who witnessed Father Casey’s long hours spent kneeling in prayer. The visitor expressed concern for the priest, asking, “Don’t your knees get sore?” “Oh no, I found the soft boards,” assured the holy man.

Another story Fundeen shares highlights Father Casey’s unwavering faith while staffing a Depression-era soup kitchen. His fellow workers became panicked when they realized they were out of food. Father Casey suggested they pray the Our Father. A delivery truck appeared as if summoned, and the driver was

stunned to see the quantity of food unloaded, claiming it was impossible due to the truck’s limited capacity.

With scores of similar stories about Father Casey, Fundeen said his extended family’s appreciation of the priest continues to deepen through the years. While they cherish the familial ties, they hope to share his message with everyone: a message of faith and perseverance.

“Keep going,” Fundeen said. “Answer the call to the priesthood for those who have it, and remember that the church doesn’t say that the proud will go to heaven first.”

Blessed Solanus Casey was beatified during a Mass Nov. 18 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Capuchin Franciscan friar is pictured in an undated photo. (CNS photo/The Michigan Catholic)

Anchorage man’s uncle – Fr. Casey – beatified by the Catholic Church


BY: JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES - CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICETo foster vocations, the church must trust young

people who, “despite belonging to the ‘selfie’ generation, look for full meaning in their lives, even when they do not always look for it where it can be found,” Pope Francis said.

“This is where we, consecrated men and women, have an important role: to remain awake to wake up young people, to be centered on the Lord to help young people center themselves in him,” he said in a message to participants in a two-day conference on vocational ministry and consecrated life.

Pope Francis said those in charge of ministering to youths must know the world and the current generation while looking for ways to announce the good news and proclaim “the gospel of vocation.”

If this does not happen, he added, “we would be giving answers to questions that no one is asking themselves.”

In a message sent Dec. 1, the pope told the conference that helping young men and women discover their vocation should be at the heart of the evangelization and action in the church. He said young people need a clear, dynamic and complete formation on vocational discernment that isn’t “closed in on itself.”

“This can turn into proselytism and can also lead to falling into the temptation of an easy and hasty recruitment,” the pope said.

Vocational ministry, the pope said in his message, means that every pastoral action of the church is geared toward “vocational discernment,” which helps young Christian men and women discover the “concrete path toward the plan of life to which God calls them.”

Discerning one’s vocation to the priesthood and religious life shouldn’t be passed on at the end of a youth ministry program or to a particular group of young people “that are sensitive to a specific vocational calling,” he said.

Instead, “it should be reflected on constantly throughout the entire process of evangelization and the education of faith to adolescents and youths,” the pope said.

Prayer, he continued, is the “first and irreplaceable service” that is important in fostering vocations within the church, since the vocational calling and the response to it “can only resonate and make itself be heard through prayer.”

“Whoever truly prays for vocations tirelessly works to create a vocational culture,” the pope said.

Pope Francis said Christians must also live out their faith with conviction and prove through their lives that a vocational calling is something “beautiful and lovely that gives meaning to an entire life.”

“Only then can a vocational ministry be a convincing proposal. A young person, like many of our contemporaries, doesn’t believe in teachers anymore, but instead wants to see witnesses of Christ,” the pope said.

Considering Priesthood in the Diocese of Juneau?

Please contact:Rev. Edmund J. Penisten,

Vocation Director

P. O. Box 245 • Klawock, AK 99925 Email: [email protected]

Phone: (907) 755-2345

DIOCESE OF JUNEAU, OFFICE OF VOCATIONS

www.dioceseofjuneau/vocations

To foster vocations, trust young people,

pope tells conference

When the Haines Ministerial Association decided to cancel the community Thanksgiving Dinner, concerned persons contacted Sacred Heart Parish. With the help of community members and the Salvation Army, a community meal was offered at Sacred Heart Church. Over 70 meals were served and delivered. Diana Lapham (left) and Tonya Clarke (right) serving Thanksgiving dinner in Haines. (Photo by Deacon Vince Hansen)

Eternal rest grant unto them,O Lord.

And let perpetual lightshine upon them.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the

mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

National Shrine of St. ThereseColumbarium

(907) 586-2227 ext. 24 cell - (636) 628-7270


CNS News Briefs • www.catholicnews.comTests offer new information on date of site believed to be tomb of Christ

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Scientists who helped restore a shrine above the site believed to be the place where Christ was buried say testing of samples has dated the tomb to at least the fourth century. The new information published recently by National Geographic is consistent with historical accounts that say Constantine, the first Roman emperor to stop persecuting Christians and who became one, began protecting the tomb around the year 326. In the fourth century, Constantine is said to have sent a team from Rome to the Holy Land in search of the site, and after the group believed they had located it, they tore down a pagan temple on top of it and protected the tomb. Over the centuries, the structures above the tomb have been the victims of natural and human attacks. At some point, a marble slab was placed on top of the tomb, perhaps to prevent eager pilgrims from taking home pieces of it. .

Pope arrives in Bangladesh, praises country’s welcome of RohingyaDHAKA, Bangladesh (CNS) -- The government and people of Bangladesh have shown exemplary generosity in welcoming hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, despite great demands placed on already limited resources, Pope Francis said. Arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar Nov. 30, Pope Francis wasted no time in mentioning the plight of the refugees who have been a source of concern for him for more than two years. While he spoke diplomatically in Myanmar about the obligation to protect the rights of all people and ethnic groups, he was more specific in Bangladesh, referring to the “massive influx of refugees from Rakhine state” in Myanmar. He did not, however, use the word “Rohingya,” which is how the refugees identify themselves. Providing shelter and basic necessities to the refugees “has been done at no little sacrifice,” the pope said. The eyes of the world have watched Bangladesh take the refugees in, he said, but clearly the situation is still dire. “None of us can fail to be aware of the gravity of the situation, the immense toll of human suffering involved, and the precarious living conditions of so many of our brothers and sisters, a majority of whom are women and children, crowded in the refugee camps,” he said.

Archbishop Warda of Iraq celebrates memorial Mass for victims of genocide

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil, Iraq, spoke about the blessings that can be found in the midst of persecution. He made the comments in his homily during a Nov. 28 Chaldean Catholic memorial Mass for victims of genocide at the hands of Islamic State fighters. The Mass was celebrated at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and was a part of the Week of Awareness for Persecuted Christians sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Relief Services, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and Aid to the Church in Need. Archbishop Warda was the principal celebrant of the Mass, and was joined by Father Salar Kajo, a parish priest in Teleskof, a town in the Ninevah region of Iraq that was just liberated from Islamic State control. As the two celebrants entered the shrine at the beginning of the Mass, they chanted prayers in Aramaic. The majority of the Mass, including the eucharistic prayers and the Our Father, also was prayed in that language, which Jesus spoke as he lived 2,000 years ago in the same region of the world where Christians are being persecuted today.

Cardinal Cupich to pay visit to Puerto Rico on behalf of Pope Francis

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, who heads the Archdiocese of Chicago, will make a pastoral visit to Puerto Rico Dec. 3-6 on behalf of Pope Francis. The cardinal also is chancellor of Catholic Extension, which was established as a papal society when it was founded in 1905. The Chicago-based national fundraising organization is charged with strengthening the Catholic faith and providing resources to poor communities in the U.S. A Nov. 27 announcement from the Archdiocese of Chicago said Cardinal Cupich will “make a fraternal visit to Puerto Rico in the days before Christmas, as a means of drawing close to the people and their pastors as they undergo the crushing trials following the recent devastating hurricanes, Irma and Maria. Pope Francis has asked Cardinal Cupich to express his deep concern, as a father would have for his sons and daughters suffering in his family, and to let the people and pastors know that their situation weighs heavily on him,” it said.

Sister Marie Ann Brent, SHFNovember 18, 1934 – November 22, 2017

Sister Marie Ann Brent, SHF, died peacefully and suddenly at the Mother-house of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Fremont on November 22, 2017, at the age of 83. She was born on November 18, 1934, in Oakland, California, and entered the Sisters of the Holy Family from St. Andrew’s Parish there on January 6, 1953, at the age of 18.

Sister Marie Ann served in day homes and religious education in parishes in southern California, the Bay Area and Texas until the early 1970s when she went to Alaska to help out in summer religious education programs. The rest is history! The Alaska tourism commission has a saying, “Once you come to Alaska, you never go all the way home.” This was certainly true of Sister Marie Ann.

She served in Southeastern Alaska, in Sitka and in the smallest missions and villages in the scattered islands. She also served in the remote Aleutian Islands, far western Alaska, and most recently as pastoral administrator of the parish in Valdez. In addition to pastoral and liturgical activities, she was also deeply involved in emergency medical service and chaplaincies with first responders.

In 2014, Sister’s medical and physical conditions forced her to return to California where she could receive the care she needed among her Sisters of the Holy Family.

A Mass of Resurrection was celebrated on Wednesday, November 29, at the Holy Family Motherhouse in Fremont. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Sisters of the Holy Family, PO Box 3248, Fremont, CA 94539.


BY ELISE ITALIANO CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

I can still feel the thick plastic cover over the checkered tablecloths under my fingers, still smell the faint aroma of almond extract mixed with something like mothballs in my nose.

The week leading up to Christmas was the same every year of my childhood. In less than 24 hours, my brother and I made the rounds with my parents to the kitchen tables of every living great-aunt and great-uncle we had in New Jersey, and to the homes of a few “paisanos,” who I later learned were not actually of any blood relation to us.

I remember looking forward to the annual tradition. As soon as we stepped into each successive house, a fresh plate of cookies was placed on the table. I will never forget the anticipation of my mother lifting the standard limit on sweets for a whole day.

Looking back now, I appreciate so much more. It was a dedicated time that my parents set aside for us to learn about our family’s history. It shaped our own sense of identity and what we learned to value as adults.

My relatives would laugh so hard with one another, reminiscing about their own youth. We still tell some of the stories that we heard around those tables, as if we had witnessed the events firsthand.

Looking at the ways in which the church can hear the voices of young people has been the primary focus of this column -- but it is also worthwhile to turn that question on its head. One such way is through a promotion of intergenerational solidarity. It’s a challenging message for a culture that idolizes youth, and one in which older family members often live independently or in the care of people outside of a family.

One of Pope Francis’ favorite messages to young people has been to remember the elderly, to draw near to

them and to learn from them. Earlier this year, Pope Francis pleaded with young people not to keep the elderly “in the closet” and encouraged them to foster intergenerational dialogue and relationships.

It’s for this reason that Pope Francis has very often stressed the importance of grandparents -- “Your grandparents have the wisdom, and furthermore, they have the need for you to knock on the door of their hearts to share their wisdom,” he said this September to the Shalom Catholic Community. He himself keeps a note from his grandmother in his breviary that he uses every day.

Yet the pope has also said that young people should go out of their way to encounter and welcome the elderly

who are not their family members. This will require proactive measures on our part, perhaps requiring us to go to the peripheries of our churches and communities to find them.

We should also ask our priests and pastoral staff where we can find them. Too often they

go unnoticed but are beckoning for company and community.

It will certainly require more listening than it does talking. It may involve awkward silences and patience and walking a little bit slower than usual. But isn’t the whole point of accompaniment to share in someone else’s journey, no matter its current direction or pace?

Pope Francis has reminded us that “the church regards the elderly with affection, gratitude and high esteem. They are an essential part of the Christian community and of society.”

As the 2018 synod on vocational discernment aims to put the realities of young people front and center for the church, we’d also be wise to heed the wisdom of those who have prepared the way ahead of us.

This column gives young people a voice leading up to the 2018 world Synod on young people.

Fasting and holy Communion

I’ve heard several different takes on the rules with regard to fasting before receiving Communion. On the one hand, I’ve been told that we are not to ingest any food or

drink within one half-hour of a service. But I’ve also heard that water or even coffee are not included in this prohibition. Someone had mentioned to me also that this fasting doesn’t apply if there are health issues involved. It seems to me that older parishioners take a stricter view on this and younger parishioners, a more relaxed one. Can you clarify for me what the real rules are? (southern Indiana)

The current rules on fasting before holy Communion are simple and clearly expressed in the Code of Canon Law. They provide that one must

abstain for one hour from all food and drink, with the exception of water or medicine, prior to receiving the Eucharist (Canon 919).

But that same canon notes that “the elderly, the infirm and those who care for them can receive the most holy Eucharist even if they have eaten something within the preceding hour.” Perhaps the fact that these rules have changed several times within my own lifetime may explain why, in your words, there are “several different takes.”

For centuries, Catholics were required to abstain from all food and drink (including water) from midnight of the evening before. (Since my family usually went to one of the later Masses on Sunday morning, I can tell you that this rule was something of a challenge.)

In 1953, Pope Pius XII decided that water or medicine no longer broke the fast. Four years later, that same pontiff -- anxious to make the Eucharist more easily available while still wanting to maintain proper reverence for this sacred gift -- reduced the time period; no longer would you have to fast from midnight but, instead, for only three hours.

Then, in 1964, Pope Paul VI reduced it even further -- to only one hour -- and that is still the rule. Note that fasting is required for one hour before the actual reception of Communion, not one hour before the start of Mass. (And note, too, that coffee drinkers do not get a pass; coffee does break the fast!)

Pray for Judas Iscariot? Does it make sense to pray for salvation for Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus? It seems that throughout the history of Christianity, he has been vilified and no

one has mentioned that, hopefully, he could have been forgiven for his sin. (Petersburg, Indiana)

It does no harm to pray for the salvation of Judas, and I admire your compassion. The church has never said definitively that any particular person is now in

hell. It is possible, I suppose, that Judas repented for his sin and, in the silence of his heart, sought God’s forgiveness. Matthew’s Gospel (27:3-5) says, in fact, that following the betrayal, Judas “deeply regretted what he had done” and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests, saying “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” Of course, he then “went off and hanged himself,” but even that does not translate automatically to the loss of eternal salvation. (Note that the church now offers a funeral Mass for a suicide victim -- on the possibility that the person’s desperate state of mind may have precluded full responsibility.) The problem, though, with Judas is that Jesus did say of him (both in Mt 26:24 and Mk 14:21) that “it would be better for that man if he had never been born” -- which suggests to me that Judas never did achieve eternal happiness. I believe, though, that prayers are never wasted -- and if the Lord cannot apply your prayers to Judas Iscariot, he will surely find someone else (who will be grateful for your efforts.)

questions&answersBY FATHER KENNETH DOYLE, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

A call for intergenerational solidarity

Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at [email protected] and 30 Columbia Circle Dr. Albany, New York 12203.


Jesus tells us that in the end we will be judged on how we dealt with the poor in our lives, but there are already dangers now, in this life, in not reaching out to the poor

Here’s how Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy, teases out that danger: “I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we condemn others.”

What needs to be highlighted here is what we do to ourselves when we don’t reach out in compassion to the poor. We corrupt our own decency. As Stevenson puts it: An absence of compassion corrupts our decency – as a state, as a church, as family, and as individuals. How so?

St. Augustine teaches that we can never be morally neutral, either we are growing in virtue or falling into vice. We never have the luxury of simply being in some neutral, holding state. There’s no moral neutrality. Either we are growing in virtue or sliding into virtue’s opposite. That’s true for all of life. A thing is either growing or it’s regressing.

So too with our attitude towards justice and the poor: Either we are actively reaching out to the poor and being more drawn into concern for them or we are unconsciously hardening our hearts against them and unknowingly sliding into attitudes that trivialize their issues and distance ourselves from them. If we are not actively advocating for justice and the poor, it is inevitable that at a point we will,

with completely sincere hearts, downplay the issues of poverty, racism, inequality, and injustice.

It’s interesting to note that in the famous text on the final judgment in the Gospel where Jesus describes how God will divide the sheep from the goats on the basis of how they treated the poor, neither group, those who did it correctly and those who didn’t, actually knew what they were doing. The group who did it right state that they didn’t know that in touching the poor they were touching Christ; and the group who got it wrong protest that had they known that Christ was in the poor, they would have reached out. Jesus assures us that it doesn’t matter. Mature discipleship lies simply in the doing, irrespective of our conscious attitude.

And so we need to be alert not just to our conscious attitudes but to what we are actually doing. We can, in all sincerity, in all good conscience, in all good heart, be blind towards justice and the poor. We can be moral men and women, pious church-goers, generous donors to those who ask help from us, warm to our own families and friends, and yet, blind to ourselves, though not to the poor, be unhealthily elitist, subtle racists, callous towards the environment, and protective of our own privilege. We are still good persons no doubt, but the absence of compassion in one area of our lives leaves us limping morally.

We can be good persons and yet fall into a certain hardness of heart because of kindred, ideological circles that falsely affirm us. Within any circle of friends, either we are talking about ways that we can more effectively lessen the gaps between rich and poor or we are talking, however unconsciously, about the need to defend the gaps that presently exist. One kind of conversation is stretching our hearts; the

other is narrowing them. Lack of compassion for justice and the poor will inevitably work at turning a generous heart into a defensive one.

We all have friends who admire us and send us signals that we are good, big-hearted, virtuous persons. And no doubt this is substantially true. But the affirmation we receive from our own kind can be a false mirror. A truer mirror is how those who are politically, racially, religiously, and temperamentally different from ourselves assess us. How do the poor feel about us? How do refugees assess our goodness? How do other races rate our compassion?

And what about the mirror that Jesus holds up for us when he tells us that our goodness will be judged by how we treat the poor and that the litmus test of goodness consists is how well we love our enemies?

An absence of compassion in even one area subtly corrupts the decency of a community, a state, a nation, and that eventually turns our generosity into defensiveness.

-Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher, and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com. Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

If you have any questions about the Diocesan

Policy for working with children in ministry

please contact:Victim Assistance Coordinator

and Safe Environment Coordinator for the Diocese:

MS ROBERTA IZZARD 907-586-2227 ext. 25 EMAIL: [email protected]

Safe Environment Policies:www.dioceseofjuneau.org/victim-assistance-

coordinator

Protecting our Children

RON ROLHEISER, OMI

A Threat to our Decency

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National Shrine of St. Therese

JUNEAU, ALASKA

Facility reservations online at www.shrineofsainttherese.org

907-586-2227 x 24

“The world’s thy ship and not thy home.”

– St. Therese of Lisieux

“If we are not actively advocating for justice and the poor, it is inevitable that at a point we will, with completely sincere hearts, downplay the issues of poverty,”


Advent A time of PrePArAtion

(Clockwise from top left) Advent wreath at the lodge of the National Shrine of St. Therese used during their silent Advent retreat, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary altar in purple for Advent and Father Steve Gallagher blessing the Advent wreath at St. Rose of Lima parish in Wrangell.

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