INFORMEDmoreSt. Thomas More Catholic Parish Newsletter December 2015

The Year of MercyReflection of mercy, love & forgiveness

Miraculous TilmaImage of Our Lady of Guadalupe Tilma comes to STM

Answering God’s Call You never know when He’ll call again

Our Best-Kept Secret Bible & Beyond

Seeing Pope FrancisTeen shares experience of pilgrimage

Comfort After DivorceNew ministry for divorced Catholics at STM

Stewardship of Faith& PrayerBecoming a way of life

Love for Our Own PoorTeens discover Christ’s love on inner-city mission trip

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info content

deadlineDecember 1 for the February 2016 issue and February 1 for the April 2016 issue. Articles submitted may be edited for clarity and space.

17 Christmas Tree Blessing By Claudia Cangilla McAdam

18 Financial Report

19 Charitable Contributions

20 Our Best-Kept Secret By Kelly Westover

21 New Year’s Eve Celebration

21 Recipe from the Rectory By Renee Heinemeyer

23 Mane Event a Huge Success!

24 Adventures Seeing Pope Francis By Aline Cervantes

25 Discovering Love for Our Own Poor By Miriam Miller

27 The Making of Saints By Maryanne Carter

28 Christmas Mass Schedule

3 Share His Gift of Mercy By Msgr. Thomas Fryar

4 The Year of Mercy 5 Miraculous Tilma By Robin Herbka

7 Sanctity of Life

7 March for Life Denver

8 Celebrate with Joy

9 A Way of Life By Steve Hyatt & John Christian

11 Finding Comfort After Divorce By Lori Ugran 12 Answering God’s Call Now By Marge Fenelon

13 A Powerful Pilgrimage By Jo Holt

14 Living the Liturgy

16 Grace for Discipleship II By Linda Enloe

MOREINFORMEDPublished by the St. Thomas More Office of Communications six times a year. Its mission is three-fold: to proclaim the Gospel, to build up community by keeping them informed, and to call the community to worship and service. Copyright 2015 - St. Thomas More Parish

St. Thomas More Catholic Parish8035 South Quebec Street Centennial, CO 80112 303.770.1155www.stthomasmore.org

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editor: Carly McGillick

contributing editors: Therese Beaudette Deacon Bob Cropp Kitty Kolody Barb Monark Jerry Nix photographers: Bob Bartlett Deb DesMarteau Dave Rich

director of communications: Irene Lindemer

pastor: Msgr. Thomas Fryar

parochial vicars: Rev. Israel Gonsalves, O.C.D. Rev. Greg Lesher Rev. Rohan Miranda, O.C.D. deacons: Deacon George Brown Deacon Bob Cropp Deacon Tim Kenny Deacon Alan Rastrelli, M.D. Deacon Gary Rogge Deacon Steve Stemper

December 2015 3

our pastor’s message

Share His Gift of Mercybe an instrument of mercy

In William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, we hear these beautiful words: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: it blesses him that gives and him that takes.”

This month, on December 8, we begin the Year of Mercy, a special Jubilee Year called by Pope Francis to invite us all to prayerfully reflect, take advantage of and share the gift of God’s Mercy.

We all desire it, especially when we are honest with ourselves and others about the nature of our sinful lives. We know that the scriptures are true in testifying that we are not worthy of the great love Christ showed in dying for our sins, while we were still sinners! We have not, nor are we capable of earning so great a love from God. Yet in His mercy, in a desire that we be with Him for all of eternity, He became one of us, in all things but sin, and died in our name to free us from sin and death. We celebrate part of that salvation event in the remembrance of the birth of Jesus this Christmas.

I believe the true depth of meaning regarding mercy is hard for many of us to comprehend since we live in a time and culture in which we often deceive ourselves into thinking that if we want something enough, we can find a way of attaining it. This might be possible for many material things. But as for forgiveness, it is impossible in our limited endeavors to overcome the weight of our own sinful nature. That is where God’s mercy truly stands out.

I am reminded of a story I heard once of a mother whose son was due to be executed by the governing authorities.

He had been caught carrying out subversive activities, the consequence of which was death itself. She made her way to the ruling officer and, throwing herself on the ground before him, pleaded for mercy for her son, that he not be killed. The officer asked what reason she could present to prevent the execution. Her reply was: “None. That is why it would be your mercy giving him life. There is no other reason for it to happen.”

In the same passage of the above play, the Bard writes of mercy: “It is an attribute to God himself. And earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.” Just as all true love originates from God, so to mercy. He who has first been merciful to us enables us to similarly show mercy to others.

A common plea of exasperation is found on the tongue of child and adult alike. THAT IS NOT FAIR!! We often can spot behaviors, situations and responses that don’t appear to reflect justice. We most often feel that justice is our right. It is a tough lesson for parent and child alike to learn that justice is not always attainable. It is a harder lesson still to learn that it is not always the desirable.

When considering whether we want to receive our “just rewards” for a life we may feel has been well lived, we should recall this additional passage from the play: “Though justice be thy plea, consider this — That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation. We do pray for mercy, and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.”

In this Year of Mercy we will have presentations at the parish on topics around this virtue. We have the almost daily experience of it in the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation. We will have a special parish mission next spring. We will be sending off many of our youth to the World Youth Day and offering a chance for others to join on a special pilgrimage to Poland and Italy next October to celebrate the Year of Mercy, going to the site of St. Faustina (Divine Mercy visionary) and Pope St. John Paul II’s early roots. We will have a chance to renew our own commitment to be a people of mercy in the weekly celebration of the Eucharist.

... He who has first been merciful to us enables us to similarly show mercy to others.

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I would invite you to prayerfully reflect on how the Lord offers you to be an instrument of mercy in the lives of others in these coming months. Not something that is earned or expected, but nonetheless a sign that you have been moved to share that grace of God. It might be reaching out to an estranged relative, friend, neighbor, fellow parishioner. It might be forgiving a debt that is a burden for the debtor, and would be for you too. It might be taking extra time in the Adoration Chapel, praying for special intentions of people who you will never see, but who could be blessed from your efforts. It could be bringing a dish to help with the funeral dinners for families that you do not even know.

Take time this year to look at both the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. See if there are some that you could be taking up more deliberately and encouraging your family and friends to do likewise. Take time to read the materials coming out of Rome this year regarding the call to be merciful. And take time to remember anew the mercy of the one who died for us, and asks us to trust in Him.

May the God of all Mercy and Love fill your hearts and home this holy season with His grace and blessings. May you know His protection, and trust His providential will. u

Pope Francis has called for a worldwide Year of Mercy beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2015, and continuing to November 20, 2016, the Solemnity of Christ the King.

The motto will be “Merciful Like the Father,” highlighting God’s immeasurable love and forgiveness. We in turn are to reflect His mercy, love and forgiveness in our own lives.

Our pope announced this holy year, an extraordinary jubilee, as a way for the Church to “make more evident its mission to be a witness of mercy,” Catholic News Service reported. “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy,” Pope Francis said.

The year provides opportunities for all of us to strive to be more merciful toward others we encounter in our own lives and to tangibly express mercy to those in need.

The Vatican is asking bishops and priests around the world to conduct “gestures of communion with Pope Francis” and his vision of reaching out to those on the margins, Catholic News Service reported.

One aspect of this special year will be sending “missionaries of mercy” throughout the world to forgive

The Year of Mercyeven very serious sins, Pope Francis wrote. These missionaries will be specially selected priests known for their patience, preaching and being “good confessors.” They will have been granted “the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See.”

The Holy Year of Mercy will be a time to encourage all Christians to meet people’s “real needs” with concrete assistance, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, an Italian titular archbishop.

The archbishop emphasized the importance of living the Holy Year as “a true pilgrimage” with the proper elements of prayer and sacrifice. “We will ask pilgrims to make a journey on foot, preparing themselves to pass through the Holy Door in a spirit of faith and devotion,” he said.

As part of this extraordinary jubilee, over a dozen individual jubilee celebrations are scheduled for 2016, which will include:

� February 2 for consecrated men and women, to close the Year of Consecrated Life

� February 22 for the Roman Curia � April 3 (Divine Mercy Sunday) for those devoted to the spirituality of Divine Mercy

� September 5 (Blessed Mother Teresa’s feast day) for “workers and volunteers of mercy”

� November 6 for prisoners � Other separate jubilees for teenagers, deacons, priests, catechists and the sick and disabled

The Year of Mercy has an official prayer and logo. The logo (shown above at left) features Jesus, the Good Shepherd, taking “upon His shoulders the lost soul, demonstrating that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of His incarnation culminating in redemption,” explained Archbishop Fisichella, as reported by the Catholic News Service.

For more information and a link to the Jubilee of Mercy’s website, visit our website at www.stthomasmore.org. u

December 2015 5

By Robin Herbka

Throughout history, the Virgin Mary has appeared in towns and villages in various parts of the world. Most Catholics have a “favorite” apparition. It might be Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, La Salle or Guadalupe. No matter which one you prefer, they are all the Virgin Mary, the Christ-bearer, and they all bring messages of love.

Advent is special this year at St. Thomas More. We will host the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from December 3 through December 10 during the holy day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the beginning of the Year of Mercy, and on the feast of St. Juan Diego, the man Our Lady of Guadalupe visited in Mexico.

STM begins the Year of Mercy by bringing Our Lady of Guadalupe’s messages of love, mercy and the protection of life to our community by hosting the Missionary Image. She is an important part of our Advent preparations.

Our Lady of Guadalupe & St. Juan Diego

In 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in Mexico as the pregnant Mother of God to St. Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian, on December 9, 10 and 12. She asked Juan Diego to visit his bishop and request that he build a church for her on the barren hill of Tepeyac, which is now part of Mexico City. Not having seen Our Lady, the bishop asked Juan Diego for a sign from her.

On December 12, when Our Lady again appeared and Juan Diego asked for a sign for the bishop, she provided a miraculous one. She instructed Juan Diego to pick the Castilian roses that wondrously appeared on the hill. Our Lady arranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, or cloak, and instructed him to bring them to the bishop.

When Juan Diego returned to the bishop and opened his cloak, the roses tumbled out and the bishop fell to his knees. He was first drawn to the Spanish roses, knowing that they do not bloom in winter or in Mexico, and then he looked at Juan Diego’s tilma. He saw the Image of Our Lady, as though printed on the cloak.

The bishop built the church as Our Lady requested, and over the next seven years, eight million natives converted and were baptized in the one true faith. The tilma is still venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Tilma

The tilma is made of cactus fiber and its normal useful life-span is 20–30 years. Now, 484 years later, it looks just as it did when Juan Diego showed it to the bishop, even after an attempt to blow it up with a bomb. There is no breakdown of the fabric, there are no brush strokes, and to date, it cannot be explained by science. It is a miraculous image, painted by God.

The Missionary Image is an exact photographic replica

of the original miraculous image Our Lady left on St. Juan Diego’s tilma.

image of Our Lady of Guadalupe tilma visits STM

Miraculous Tilma

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It is only in this apparition of Mary that she is pregnant with the Christ child. The image is an Aztec pictograph that was read and interpreted by the Aztec Indians. This means that parts of the image are special messages known to the Aztecs. A few examples are: Mary is standing in front of the sun, indicating she is greater than the Aztec Sun God; the leaves and floral designs on her robe match the topography of the Mexican land; the stars on her mantle are in the constellation pattern of the stars on that day – December 12, 1531; and the maternity band around her waist was the sign of a pregnant woman, a mother who is about to give birth indicating that Someone is yet to come.

The Missionary Image

You could go to Mexico City to see the original tilma or you can see the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Thomas More. The Missionary Image is an exact photographic replica of the original miraculous image Our Lady left on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. The Image was blessed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to bring about conversions, a reverence for life, sanctity of the family and solidarity of the Church in America.

The Missionary Image has traveled throughout the United States and the world. Thousands of Masses, confessions, hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and rosaries have been in the presence of the Image.

Through the veneration of the Image, God has worked many miracles: women choosing life over abortion; abortion facilities closing down after the Image has been in their city; seeing the Image cry; and hearing or feeling from the Image, Mary’s and the unborn Jesus’ heartbeats.

The Lady of Tepeyac Hill reminds us that all of us are to be bearers of Christ. Just as Our Lady carried Him in her womb, we carry Him in our hearts because we each have a role bringing Christ to the world. St. John Paul II named Our Lady of Guadalupe as Queen and Mother of the Americas and established December 12 as her feast day.

“Like Juan Diego, we are living at a time of cultural crossroads. … We need Our Lady of Guadalupe. … We should imitate her love and her respect for the dignity of all human persons. … Imitation of Our Lady of Guadalupe most especially means holding out hope that Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, will renew all things in Himself – He will enable us to love one another with the generous love of His mother,” wrote Archbishop Samuel Aquila in his 2012 column.

Join St. Thomas More Parish as we celebrate and venerate the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And as we approach Christmas, follow Our Lady’s example and be a Christ-bearer to your family, friends and neighbors and seek her maternal intercession in your lives. u

Missionary Image EventsWednesday, December 2

� Missionary Image arrives at STM

Friday, December 4 � 6:20am in McCallin Hall 2: Men for All Seasons presentation by Deacon Steve

� 6:00pm in the church: Healing Mass with Father Israel

Saturday, December 5 � 10:30am: Rosary procession with the Image � 12:00pm in the church: Presentation on Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Tilma by Efra Pruneda

� 12:30–2:30pm in the church: Veneration of Image � 2:30pm in the church: Confessions

Sunday, December 6 � 10:00am in McCallin Hall: Faith & Family presentation by Paul & Colleen Lum Lung

Monday, December 7 � 7:30pm in the church: Holy Hour for Life & the Family with Deacon Steve

Tuesday–Wednesday, December 8–9 � 9:00pm–1:00am in Adoration Chapel: National Night of Prayer for Life (see page 7)

Wednesday, December 9 � 9:00am: Mass for the Feast of Juan Diego � 9:30am: Rosary � 10:00am in the church: Presentation on Juan Diego by Dick Altman

� 6:30pm in the church: Presentation on Our Lady of Guadalupe & Marian Devotion by Paul & Colleen Lum Lung

Thursday, December 10

� Missionary Image will leave STM

A Prayer to Our LadyFather, you gave the human race eternal salvation through the motherhood of the Virgin Mary.In your mercy may we experience the help of her prayers in our lives,For through her we received the very source of life,Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,One God for ever and ever.

For the Litany of Our Lady of Guadalupe to pray, visit our website at www.stthomasmore.org.

December 2015 7

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and the unborn, first appeared to St. Juan Diego. The National Night of Prayer for Life, sponsored by Priests for Life, bridges the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with the Feast of St. Juan Diego in a special way to honor Our Blessed Mother and to pray for the sanctity of all human life. Each year, the National Night of Prayer for Life takes place beginning at 9:00pm on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and ending at 1:00am on December 9, the feast of St. Juan Diego. This is a total of four hours of prayer.

During the Hour of Unity (midnight–1:00am EST on December 9; for us at STM, 10:00–11:00pm MST on December 8), we will be united with churches across the country in prayer to end abortion and to restore God’s blessings of life and religious liberty in America. This hour is when all time zones will be participating in an overlapping hour of prayer.

Each parish in the U.S. is asked to join in praying on this holy occasion. At St. Thomas More Catholic Parish, the

event is extra special this year, because the Missionary Image of the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be with us in the Adoration Chapel as we pray! (See pages 5 & 6 for more information.)

To sign up for an hour of prayer in the Adoration Chapel, please contact respectlife@stthomasmore.org.

For more information, visit www.nationalnightofprayerforlife.org. u

Come to the second annual March for Life in Denver! Stand up in defense of the dignity of human life at every stage and every age. Bring family & friends!

11:30am Mass at the Cathedral12:30pm Procession to the Capitol

For more information, stay tuned to the weekly bulletin or visit our website at www.stthomasmore.org.

MARCH for LIFE denver 2016

Saturday, January 16

1:00pm Rally at the Capitol steps2:00pm March around the park

two feasts combined in prayer

Sanctity of Life

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let’s have another amazing Christmas

Last Christmas at St. Thomas More was truly amazing. Parishioners of all ages joyfully accepted the invitation to each do something special to make the Masses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day welcoming and beautiful for everyone gathered to worship and give glory to our newborn King.

Inspired by this marvelous success, individuals and families are invited to reach out and make a difference again this year. We encourage last year’s wonderful volunteers to help again this year as well as new volunteers who would like to join in the fun!

Perhaps you will share a smile and a “Merry Christmas!” as an indoor or outdoor greeter. Or maybe you would like to help people find a seat as an usher. As a parking lot attendant, you could assist people finding a space to park or who are being dropped off. (We even have new vests for you to wear this year!) You could become a Singing Shepherd, dressing as a shepherd from the first Christmas and joyfully singing Christmas carols as people arrive for Mass. There is something for everyone!

We also need more of our current liturgical ministers, such as altar servers, music ministers, Extraordinary Ministers

Celebrate with Joy

of Holy Communion and lectors, to serve at the additional Masses being celebrated. You might choose to serve twice on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or once each day.

Prayerfully consider how you can use your gifts of time and talent this Christmas to touch the hearts of all those who come to worship our Lord. After Mass on Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, be sure to stop by the tables in the narthex to sign up to volunteer.

We look again to the story of Mary and Joseph searching for a room that first Christmas as we plan to welcome our many guests and visitors this Christmas. Maybe you will choose to park across the street so others can have closer parking spaces. You might opt to go to Mass either in the school gym or in McCallin Hall, which will be delightfully transformed into sacred spaces worthy of the Baby Jesus.

This very special day provides endless opportunities to be warmly welcoming and hospitable to all who sit near you as we come together to rejoice at our Savior’s birth. Help everyone feel the Christmas spirit of joy and cheer!

Last Christmas, there was “room at the inn” for all. Let’s make room at the inn again this year! u

Choosing Your Christmas MassThis info may help you decide which Mass to attend:

Christmas Eve

7 4:00pm Masses in the Church, McCallin Hall and School Gym: We will have 3,000 people on our campus. The church parking lots are full by 3:15pm. Family Mass will be in the School Gym, hosted by Parish School.

7 7:00pm Masses in the Church, McCallin Hall and School Gym: These will be full Masses. Youth Mass will be in the School Gym.

Christmas Day

7 12:00am Midnight Mass in the Church: Typically has seating available.

7 7:00, 8:30 and 10:30am Masses in the Church: Typically have seating available.

7 12:30pm Masses in the Church and School Gym: These have been full Masses.

December 2015 9

stewardship of faith & prayer

A Way of Life

Editor’s Note: The following is a reflection on the impact of Stewardship of Faith by Steve Hyatt, parishioner and member of the Stewardship Committee. He and his wife Susan have been parishioners for 24 years. They have three adult sons, all of whom graduated from STM Catholic School and Regis Jesuit High School.

When I ask myself how have I grown in my faith, I recognize that my early faith journey was at a near stand-still; I didn’t do much to speed it up. The good news is that God had been working on my heart for a long while and eventually I began to wake up to His grace. In fact, up until the last eight or nine years, my faith life was on auto-pilot and I was just checking the boxes. I began to change when the men’s ministry program, That Man Is You was introduced to our parish. It was my first experience of gathering weekly with a large number of men for a faith-based program. Not only was the content challenging and powerful, the small group table discussions were inspiring. During the sessions I learned that men need other men to help one another grow and understand the seriousness of the spiritual battle we are facing in ourselves, our homes, and in our culture.

It was also during this period that I began falling in love with Jesus in the Eucharist. I discovered the 6:05am Communion service at STM fit perfectly with my morning schedule at the time. Jim Davis, who prepared the service, noticed me sitting in the back day after day. One morning he came up to me and said: “You need to get out of the back of the bus, and start driving the bus.” That encouragement led me to become a Eucharistic Minister. What incredible blessings have flowed from that decision!

In my personal experience, just having mere knowledge of the faith really has little impact on faith development; in fact, there is little desire to know more until one has a personal encounter with Jesus. One of the biggest reasons my wife and I are involved in the Christ Renews His Parish ministry is because we came out of that weekend on fire for our faith. We encountered the Lord through the Holy Spirit for the first time. Our hearts were set on fire and as a result our marriage completely transformed.

Another key moment in my faith journey was attending two talks by Dr. Tim Gray, “Psalms of Advent” at our parish. After those two evenings, everything on my journey changed. I had no idea what the Psalms were about even though I heard them at every Mass. Dr. Gray cracked open the Psalms and that lit a fire in my heart. I had to know more about the scriptures. Those talks eventually led me to the Denver Catholic Biblical School’s four-year program. I would recommend biblical school for every Catholic. We simply cannot know our faith without knowing the scriptures. It seems so logical and simple to say, but as a post-Vatican II, poorly catechized Catholic, I had no clue. Simple as that!

Truly, God began to call me into a deeper relationship. In the past I always cringed when I heard an evangelical friend or relative challenge me with, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior?” Through daily reception of the Eucharist, I can now say “yes.” I can also add, “I know His mother too!”

I suppose it looks like a lot of time is given to the pursuit of the faith life. It has taken me awhile to understand the “one thing necessary” which is growing in our relationship with Jesus. God is never outdone in generosity. Giving Him our first fruit of time multiplies the day and the important things always get done.

God is not finished with me; my faith journey is a work in progress. St. Thomas More has a wealth of programs and opportunities for everyone to grow in our faith.

Those that I have found most beneficial in my journey are Christ Renews His Parish, the Friday morning Men For All Seasons, Consecration to Mary, Called and Gifted program and the numerous gifted and holy guest speakers we bring to the parish! I also want to mention the Knights of Columbus, a band of brothers focused on giving back to the Church and the community. Men sharpen men as iron sharpens iron. Every Catholic man should seriously consider being a Knight of Columbus.

On a recent retreat I heard this challenging phrase, “our faith of yesterday is not our faith of today. Each day renew your faith!” It seems clear that we grow, or not, by our choices. There is an abundance of grace for each of us and it starts by asking Him to remove the obstacles to receiving that grace. He only wants our eternal happiness in bringing us home to Him. We just have to learn how to get out of the way. u

(Stewardship of Faith & Prayer continued on next page)

... our faith of yesterday is not our faith of today. Each day renew your faith!

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STEWARDSHIP of FAITH & PRAYER commitment weekend Saturday & Sunday, January 9 & 10

(continued from previous page) Editor’s Note: John Christian is a member of our Stewardship Committee, and he and his wife Laurie have been parishioners since 1997. They and their three children have served in many ministries at St. Thomas More parish. The following is John’s sharing of his prayer life as a steward of God. Over the years, my prayer life has definitely evolved. Aside from Grace before meals, the prayer I have said most consistently is a bedtime prayer (“Now I lay me down to sleep…”). I stopped saying that for a while as a teenager but picked it back up in college and still say it every night. It seems to get longer and longer as I add people to pray for, especially friends and relatives who have passed away.

Several years ago I decided I needed to pray more and so decided one Lent to start saying the rosary daily. This has gradually become something I say almost every day. Later I added the LIturgy of the Hours, inspired during an Advent season.

After learning about Lectio Divina, I decided to try that every day (again probably during Lent). I decided to use the daily Mass readings as the scriptural source, and so now I read, meditate, and pray about the daily readings every day.

In Lectio Divina I learned that God speaks to each of us, individually, in the scriptures. For example, if I pay attention while reading the daily readings or the Psalms and prayers in the Liturgy of the Hours, passages will jump out at me. This is God speaking to me, in effect telling me what to pray about, and/or providing the answer to that prayer. This has become a very important part of my prayer life.

Praying regularly has absolutely made a difference in my life. Adding all those prayers has strengthened the relationship I have with God. I generally feel more calm and at peace. And I definitely feel like something is missing when I neglect praying.

The Catechism lists five types of prayer : Blessing and Adoration, Petition, Intercession, Thanksgiving, and Praise. – CCC 2626–2643 Most people who don’t pray often (including me back then) only think of prayer as Petition, or possibly Intercession — “God give me this. Help me with that. Intercede for her.” We overlook Adoration, Thanksgiving and Praise.

If you are old enough to read this, then you are old enough to start moving beyond merely prayers of petition and or intercession. For example, as part of my morning prayer I thank God for all He has given me – family and certain friends by name, talents, indoor plumbing, socks, Chuckle’s (yummy candy), whatever comes to mind, big or small.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thes. 5:18

I admit that some mornings are tougher than others in coming up with things for which to be thankful. But it always helps me to spend the time doing it anyway.

The point is, if the only prayer we do is prayer of petition, where we are expecting an immediate positive answer from God, we are not always going to get it. We will often need to develop the virtue of patience. And see if God’s apparent non-answer is really in and of itself an answer. If we maturely add the other forms of prayer, then we aren’t always asking for things and left waiting for an answer.

Thinking about what is offered at St. Thomas More, I have found adoration to be most fulfilling. I have been doing adoration for about 15 or 16 years. I love it.

When I started adoration I would typically go in and just spend an hour asking Jesus for things – prayers of petition. I would say the rosary and meditate on things in my life… it became a meditation about ME, not about events in Jesus’ life. It gradually dawned on me that this was not the Petition chapel, but the Adoration chapel! So I have tried to do more adoration (but still some petition. C’mon!). I am still envious of people that can just come in, sit still, and meditate quietly for an hour. That is a goal I am working towards.

I have found that the biggest thing to organize my prayer life was to set specific times to pray and stick to it. That is part of the beauty of the Liturgy of the Hours – they are meant to be said at certain hours.

When I started saying the rosary during Lent I would mostly put it off all day long until it was the last thing standing between me and bed. There were times when it would be 11:55pm and I would think, “Does it count it if I at least start it today?” When I decided to start praying the Liturgy of the Hours, it helped force me to set aside certain times for the prayers.

The prayers don’t take very long – each of the prayers of the Liturgy only take about 5 or 10 minutes, the rosary about 20 minutes. Getting in the habit of praying at more or less set times is actually liberating. And I absolutely feel God talking to me through the scriptures.

With a Stewardship mentality, we realize that what time we have is a gift from God, and we need to give some of that time back to him in thanksgiving. I have found that spending time praying – not just petition! – is a very fulfilling way to deepen my relationship with God and give thanks. u

December 2015 11

spiritual guidance, support and healing

Finding Comfort After Divorce

By Lori UgranOffice of Marriage & Family Life

Are you a Catholic who has experienced a divorce? Have you felt abandoned and unsupported by the Catholic Church?

“For many divorced Catholics, the Church’s approach [to the indissolubility of marriage] raises an existential question,” said Helen Alvaré, a law professor at George Mason University: “What is my place in the Church, and do I feel welcomed?’” 1

At St. Thomas More, we want to help you answer this question by discovering your place in the Church and feeling welcome in the parish.

The Office of Marriage and Family Life is starting a new ministry for divorced Catholics in January 2016. We will be following a program developed by Rose Sweet, titled The Catholic’s Divorce Survival Guide. The Catholic Church takes seriously her responsibility to support every family with their unique challenges of living the Catholic faith and raising Catholic children, regardless of circumstances or family structure.

Cardinal Tagle recently spoke at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, saying that our wounds make us vulnerable to bitterness, despair, evil and sin. We experience interior division and division in our relationships, which leads to alienation as we lose our sense of belonging and we have no home. We experience homelessness. However, the Church is a home for the wounded heart, a place of comfort and healing because Christ, the wounded One, brings us healing.

Deacon Tim and Mary Sue Kenny and I will be facilitating this new ministry, providing spiritual guidance and support. As a member of the Office of Marriage and Family Life, I want to share my personal passion for ministering to families wounded by divorce. As a child, I experienced the challenges and pain of my parents’ divorce, and have suffered with my siblings as they have experienced their own divorces, in spite of their deep desire to keep their families intact. I understand the sense of isolation and abandonment that often accompanies a Catholic family faced with divorce. But I also believe that there is hope for families to heal and find a new path of faith. It is my desire to help divorced Catholics renew their relationship with Christ and rediscover their place in the Catholic Church through this

program of healing that helps “you find peace, power, and passion after divorce.”

Join us Wednesdays for 12 weekly sessions beginning Wednesday, January 13 in Peregrine Hall from 7:00–9:00pm. We will watch a video, have time for small group discussion and reflection, and receive “take home tips” for the week. Watch the bulletin for further details.

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” – Jer 29:11

For more information, please email divorceministry@stthomasmore.org or call 303.221.9235. u

1 www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/us/as-vatican-revisits-divorce-many-catholics-long-for-acceptance.html?r=0

12 More Informed

for you never know when he’ll call again

Answering God’s Call Now

By Marge Fenelon

We never know when we’ll be called.

That’s the message that rang true in my heart as I meditated on Pope Francis’ homily during his private Mass with bishops, clergy and religious at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

The Holy Father cited the example of St. Katharine Drexel’s calling by Pope Leo XIII. He related the story of Katharine approaching the elderly Pope and expressing her concern about the needs of the missions.

Pope Leo’s wise and thoughtful response to St. Katharine was, “And what about you? What are you going to do?”

Those words made Katharine realize that she was being called to do her part, changed her life and set her on the road to sanctity.

But it’s not only the canonized saints who are called to do their part. It’s you and me as well.

“‘What about you?’ It is significant that those words of the elderly Pope were also addressed to a lay woman,” Pope Francis said to those present at the Mass. “We know that the future of the Church in a rapidly changing society will call, and even now calls, for a much more active engagement on the part of the laity.

“The Church in the United States has always devoted immense effort to the work of catechesis and education. Our challenge today is to build on those solid foundations and to foster a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility in planning for the future of our parishes and institutions.

“This does not mean relinquishing the spiritual authority with which we have been entrusted; rather, it means discerning and employing wisely the manifold gifts which

the Spirit pours out upon the Church. In a particular way, it means valuing the immense contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make, to the life of our communities.”

Indeed, what about you? What about me?

Our family recently had the funeral of my husband’s sister. She was a mere 50 years old and in vibrant health.

Then one night, she simply passed away. The cause still has not been determined, even after an autopsy.

During the eulogy and homily, it was told how Therese had touched the lives of others – as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, catechist, lector, school teacher, avid lover of literature and follower of Christ.

Therese lived only a short time yet had, in many ways, answered the call, “What about you?”

Someone said of her death that it almost seemed as though God came, put his hand on her shoulder and escorted her home.

And what about you? What are you going to do?

December 2015 13

By Jo HoltDirector of Marriage & Family Life

In September, Msgr. Tom and seventy-two St. Thomas More parishioners embarked on a pilgrimage to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. This event occurs once every three years, and this year it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is also home to many shrines and churches and is the birthplace of religious freedom!

It was an amazing trip, filled with wonderful memories, new friends and many blessings from the pope.

One of the first stops in the STM pilgrims’ journey was a trip to the Shrine of St. John Neumann, where they saw the first class relic of St. John Neumann (his body). Then they traveled to Our Lady of Czestochowa. This shrine was blessed by St. John Paul II and is recognized as the national shrine for Polish Catholics. On the grounds they discovered many chapels, in addition to a museum dedicated to St. John Paul II. Finally, that evening they visited the Vatican Art exhibit in Philadelphia where they saw many artifacts from Rome, including relics, pieces of St. Peter’s tomb and the chalice of St. John Paul II.

The trip was building with anticipation as the STM pilgrims attended Mass with Archbishop Aquila and then viewed the first class relic of St. Maria Goretti (her body, which was on tour from Italy). Then they visited the many historical landmarks in Philadelphia including the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’s home, Benjamin Franklin’s tomb and museum and the Old Courthouse.

Then the following two days, the STM group joined pilgrims from around the world to attend the Festival of

Families and Sunday Mass with Pope Francis. This included camping outside to get a close spot along the parade route and viewing His Holiness up close!!

STM is already looking forward to the next World Meeting of Families, which will be held in 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Please plan to come enjoy this exciting event! u

photograph by Jodi Lieske

pilgrims & pope in philly

A Powerful Pilgrimage

That’s a beautiful image and also a stark reminder that we may not have much time in which to follow Pope Francis’ advice and answer the call, “What about you?”

We just never know when God will call us home, and so we dare not put off serving him and his people in every possible way while we’re still here.

In this rapidly-changing society, the Church is calling for a renewed engagement on the part of the clergy and religious and a far more active engagement on the part of the laity. Pope Francis’ urgency is warranted, and there is no time to waste. The Church needs all of us to engage in her mission. Now. Today.

In a way, it’s a call within a call.

We must answer the call to action now because we have no idea when we’ll be answering the call to go home with the heavenly Father.

And what about you? What are you going to do? u

Reprinted with permission: National Catholic Register, September 27, 2015. www.ncregister.com/blog/mfenelon/answer-gods-call-now-for-we-never-know-when-hell-call-again/. The author, Marge Fenelon, is a Catholic wife, mother, author, award-winning journalist, columnist, blogger and speaker.

14 More Informed

celebrating the church’s feasts & seasonsBy Jeff McGarrity, Director of Liturgy & Music

December

Living the Liturgy

The Missionary Image is an exact size and color digital copy of the original tilma of St. Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared. It will be displayed at St. Thomas More beginning today through Thursday, December 10. See page 6 for a complete listing of the activities.

Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe Arrives

wed2

The feedback from last year’s Christmas Masses at STM was overwhelmingly positive. By focusing our efforts on providing a welcoming and beautiful setting for the many guests and visitors who attend Mass at Christmas, dozens of parishioners experienced Christmas in a new light, serving as Greeters, Ushers, Parking Lot Assistants and Singing Shepherds. This weekend, we will have sign ups for these positions and more in the narthex after all Masses.

Volunteer Sign-ups for Christmas Masses

s & s5&6

Leave shoes at your front door before bed on Saturday, December 5 for St. Nicholas to place candy, coins or small toys in. Tell your children, godchildren or grandchildren the story of St. Nicholas. We hope that the saintly bishop will be in the narthex to greet everyone after the Masses at STM this weekend.

St. Nicholassun6

In Case You Didn’t Know...

Confessions are being heard from 8:00 to 9:00am Monday through Friday at St. Thomas More.

Beginning today, the weekly Holy Hour for Vocations will take place on Thursday evenings in the church from 6:30–7:30pm, the same time as confessions. As part of your Advent preparation for Christmas, take a break during the week and spend five minutes or an hour adoring our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Holy Hour for Vocations New Day & Time Begins

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“Prepare the Way of the Lord” by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation! At least 12 priests will be here for confessions on December 17. (The Holy Hour will not take place.) We will have additional priests for 6:30pm Confessions on Thursday, December 10 as well as Saturdays, December 12 & 19.

Parish Advent Confessions

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This solemnity is a Holy Day of Obligation. The origin of the word “holiday” is from the Old English phrase meaning “holy day” and at different times in different countries, these days have been celebrated as “holidays” or days without work. So let’s look at Holy Days of Obligation more from the “Holy Day/Holiday” perspective than from the “obligation” perspective. In addition to coming to Mass, find a way to make this a holiday in your home: Go out to eat, have a special dessert or take time after to dinner to play a board game or watch a movie. See the bulletin for the Mass schedule.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

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December 2015 15

January

Be part of the second annual March for Life in Denver and defend the dignity of human life at all stages. See page 7 for more information.

March for Lifesat16

RelicsSt. Thomas More Parish is the custodian of numerous relics. On the feast day of the saint, the relic will be exposed for veneration after 6:30am & 9:00am Masses on weekdays; 7:30am, 4:00pm & 5:30pm Masses on Saturdays or all Masses on Sundays.

December 7 St. Ambrose10 House of Loreto 14 St. John of the Cross

Today has been designated by the U.S. Bishops as a day of prayer for life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through abortion. Attend 6:30 or 9:00am Masses or a special Mass at 7:00pm at STM; choose an act of penance or pray with your family for the end to abortion.

Day of Prayer for Legal Protection of Children

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Masses for today’s Holy Day of Obligation will be at 7:00am, 8:30am, 10:30am and 12:30pm.

Mary, the Mother of God

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Come to a Mass on Christmas Day rather than braving the parking on Christmas Eve! The first Mass of Christmas Day is the Midnight Mass, which will begin at 12:00am with a selection of carols and choral preludes beginning at 11:30pm. This Mass typically has seating available,

so begin a new tradition this year and come to Midnight Mass “at midnight!”

The 7:00, 8:30 and 10:30am Masses in the church have had seating available in recent years. At 12:30pm, Masses will be held in the church and the school gym.

Christmas Dayfri25

Anticipated Masses for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, a Holy Day of Obligation, will take place today at 5:30pm, prior to the STM New Year’s Eve Celebration. See page 27 for details.

Holy Day Anticipatory Mass & New Year’s Eve

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This year, as in the past, 4:00pm Masses will take place in the church, McCallin Hall and the school gym (4:00pm Mass in the school gym is a “family Mass” hosted by families from our parish school, STM Catholic.)

Note: There is a change from recent years. There will be three Masses at 7:00pm: In

the church, McCallin Hall and the school gym. (The 7:00pm Mass in the school gym will be the Youth Mass, hosted by our STM Youth Department.)

Plan to arrive 90 minutes or more before the Masses for seating in the church or “make room in the inn” and arrive a little later and head straight to McCallin Hall or the school gym. Once the parking lots are filled (typically 45 minutes or more before Masses) vehicles can drive onto campus to drop off but drivers should allow time to park off campus and walk back for Mass.

There will not be confessions or Holy Hour tonight.

Christmas Evethu24

January 4 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton 5 St. John Neumann24 St. Francis de Sales

Attend 12:30pm Mass and program afterward to show your appreciation to the clergy serving our parish.

Clergy Appreciationsun31

16 More Informed

By Linda EnloeOffice of Catechesis

This is the second of a series on Restored Order. In the October issue of the More Informed, we explained what Restored Order is and when it is coming to St. Thomas More. To recap, the term “Restored Order” refers to reordering the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation to Baptism, Confirmation and then Eucharist. This will begin in 2016–2017 here at St. Thomas More. (To read the full article online, visit our website at www.stthomasmore.org, click “More Parish Publications” and then click on the PDF for the October 2015 More Informed.)

Sacraments of Initiation

The Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Baptism is the first Sacrament we receive. It is through baptism that we become members of God’s family. Original sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve is wiped clean from our souls, and our souls receive an indelible mark. In the waters of Baptism, we are sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection; as a result, we are ceremoniously plunged underneath the waters to spring forth as new creations in the Lord. This “plunging” into the water symbolizes our burial into Christ’s death, from which we rise up by resurrection with Jesus, as a new creation. – CCC 1214

Baptism is always associated with faith. What we often don’t remember is that Baptism also involves the Holy

understanding the sacraments of initiation

Grace for Discipleship II

Spirit. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38. In CCC 1227, we read “The baptized have ‘put on Christ.’” – Gal 3:27 Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies.” Since we have received the Holy Spirit for the first time in Baptism, it logically follows then that Confirmation, with its gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, would be the next Sacrament of Initiation that we receive.

“The reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For ‘by the Sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” –CCC 1285 This rich paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church encompasses all that we have come to understand Confirmation to mean. We receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit; we are more bound to the Church; we are to be witnesses of Christ and thus, spread His message to the world throughout our lives. Unfortunately along the way, Confirmation has also been used as a means by which we are told that we are confirming our faith; we are agreeing to be Catholic, but this is erroneous thinking. Since we received an indelible mark on our souls at Baptism, we are Christian, members of the Catholic Church, we are already claimed for Christ;

we are members of God’s family from the moment of our Baptism forward. Confirmation is NOT our chance to agree to our infant Baptism. Confirmation completes our Baptism.

Since in our lifetimes, our experience in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church has been that Eucharist comes before Confirmation, we have lost sight of

December 2015 17

the close ties that Baptism and Confirmation have to each other.

During the reception of both sacraments, we are anointed with oil, the Sacred Chrism. This aromatic oil reminds us that we are to give off “the aroma of Christ.” – 2 Cor 2:15 Through both sacraments, we receive the Holy Spirit. Both sacraments mark our souls. Both sacraments are received once in our lifetimes. They really do mirror each other, giving us a firm foundation for our life in Christ. But our initiation is not over yet. These two sacraments prepare our souls and strengthen us for the reception of the next Sacrament of Initiation – Eucharist.

Eucharist – the actual Body and Blood of Christ. The Sacrament of Initiation that we get to receive over and over and over again. Having received Baptism and Confirmation, our souls have been cleansed of original sin, marked for Christ, and strengthen with the Holy Spirit. We are now uniquely ready to receive our Lord and Savior in the Eucharist. If we really take time to comprehend Whom we are receiving, we become keenly aware that we are not worthy vessels to actually consume our Lord. But as Christ’s followers, as members of God’s family, we can trust that our souls have been prepared through the reception of Baptism and Confirmation to receive this third and final step in our initiation – Eucharist. Now we all know that we fail at times, and Jesus offers us Reconciliation, a sacrament of healing to renew our souls and cleanse them of sin. We need the graces of Reconciliation in and of themselves to reconcile our relationship with God. We also need to receive reconciliation so that we are worthy to receive other sacraments, most especially to continually receive the Eucharist. Reconciliation is the gift we can turn to, over and over and over again, so that we can be forgiven of our sins and be in a state of grace. No wonder we have so closely tied the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist together. Both can be received multiple times and one properly prepares us to receive the other.

To be clear, we are to avail ourselves of Reconciliation before receiving any sacrament after Baptism, whether is it Confirmation, Holy Orders, Marriage or Eucharist. Anointing of the Sick is unique in that Reconciliation is often a component of the reception of that sacrament.

Speaking of grace, it is through sacraments that we receive grace. For those who recall the Baltimore Catechism, Question 136 to be exact, a sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. Notice that it is to give grace. We do NOT earn sacraments; we do not earn grace. God freely gives us His grace through the sacraments. But what is grace? “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of God, adoptive sons [and daughters], partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.” – CCC 1996 Please note though that we do need to be properly

prepared to receive these graces. The church is very clear that there is to be time before the reception of sacraments to be catechized, to pray and to be open and properly disposed to receive the grace-filled gift that comes from the sacraments.

When we implement the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation, it may seem strange to us at first that elementary age children are being confirmed. But if we really look at what is going on in our souls and if we try and understand the graces that we are being given, it does make sense to be baptized, then confirmed, and then receive Eucharist.

Stay tuned for the next issue of the More Informed for a look at the history of Confirmation. Additional information on the Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation can also be found at www.archden.org/saints. u

Christmas Tree Blessing

Achild

of theearth, theChristmas

tree makes agift of itself, OLORD, to thee.

Sign of endless life,branches ever green,

wood of peace pointingto Heaven unseen. May itgive You honor; may You

shower Your grace upon faith-filled people gathered in this place.

Amen.

By Claudia Cangilla McAdam, based on the words of St. Boniface

Part of Claudia’s book Kristoph and the First Christmas Tree, this blessing may be used as you decorate your tree this year! Claudia is a longtime parishioner of St. Thomas More Catholic Parish. She has written two new children’s picture storybooks, released this past fall. Both books, The Mermaid’s Gift and Kristoph and the First Christmas Tree, are available at the STM Gift Shop.

18 More Informed

Revenue: Amount % of Total Offertory $ 5,187,141 52.4%School Tuition, Fundraisers & Other 4,049,925 40.9%Religious Education Programs 222,148 2.3% Other Revenue 170,138 1.7% Religious Goods Store (Net of COGS) 109,851 1.1% ACA Rebate 82,699 0.8% Youth Programs 30,440 0.4% Gifts & Bequests 22,224 0.2%Marriage & Family Life 10,773 0.1%Interest 7,337 0.1%

Total Operating Revenue $ 9,892,676 100.0%

Investment Interest & Gains/(Losses) 54,876 Building Fund Donations 155,245 Total Revenue including Investments & Building Fund $ 10,102,797

Operating Expenses: Amount % of Total Personnel Costs $ (5,554,064) 61.9%Utilities, Maintenance & Insurance (989,092) 11.0%School Operating & Fundraisers (683,936) 7.6% Charity* (474,441) 5.3% Archdiocesan Assessments (552,336) 6.2% Capital Acquisitions - Operations (68,224) 0.8% Other Operating Expense (135,291) 1.5% Stewardship & Communications (222,120) 2.5%Religious Education Programs (132,637) 1.5%Social Concerns & Auxiliary Orgs (81,506) 0.9% Youth Programs (38,271) 0.4%Marriage & Family Life (19,142) 0.2% Religious Goods Store (18,188) 0.2%

Total Operating Expenses $ (8,969,248) 100.0% Capital Acquisitions - Renovations 0Building Campaign Costs (25,037) Investment Expenses (12,518)Building Campaign Debt Interest Payments (57,999)Building Campaign Debt Principal Payments (556,325)Total Expenses including Building Campaign Costs & Capital Acquisitions–Renovation $ (9,621,127)

Finance CouncilTim Balfe

Dave BurlageSteve Corder

Msgr. Thomas Fryar*Dick Girard

Gary Hooper*Vicki MaherDick Rapp*Nick Rotello

Don Smith – ChairDoreen Smith*

*Staff members

Total Operating Revenue $ 9,892,676 Total Operating Expenses (8,969,248)

Net Operating Income $ 923,428 (For additional financial details, contact Dick Rapp at 303.770.1155.)

*(Charity represents a minimum of 10% or a tithe of offertory, which is typically distributed within the fiscal year. Children’s offertory is 100% distributed.)

fiscal year 2014–2015

Parish Financial Report

December 2015 19

General Charity Fund by Cause: Amount % of Total Poor $ 164,013 37% Mission 105,259 24% Religious 104,769 24% Social Concerns 26,000 6% Other 22,500 5%Education 15,925 4% Children 5,000 1%Youth 500 0% $ 443,966 100%

Children’s Charity Fund by Cause: Amount % of Total Poor $ 13,950 46%Children 5,500 18% Mission 4,925 16% Other 3,175 10% Social Concerns 1,675 6% Youth 1,250 4%

$ 30,475 100%

General Charity Fund by Geographical Area: Amount % of Total State $ 258,600 58%International 77,399 17%Local 68,717 16%National 39,250 9%

$ 443,966 100%

Children’s Charity Fund by Geographical Area: Amount % of Total State $ 20,075 66%International 8,075 26% National 1,650 5%Local 675 2%

$ 30,475 100%

fiscal year 2014–2015

Charitable Contributions

20 More Informed

bible and beyond enriches middle schoolers’ lives

Our Best-Kept Secret

By Kelly Westover

What do you see when you look at others—their clothes, age, hair; how they present themselves? What if you first looked at the timeless soul?

We all know middle school is a very challenging time in most of our lives, and those who have lived through it can recall the feeling of becoming an adult, saturated with awkwardness. This is the age I like to call the “Magnifying Glass Age,” where kids are just beginning to think for themselves and reach out to test the bounds of their new, self-given freedom. I love this age.

Quite often I am asked, “Why do you like teaching this age? I just don’t get them.” This is a true statement, in which I find my personal Calcutta, the poorest of the self-esteem and most avoided age. Why? Because most people cannot figure them out because they are trying to figure themselves out. Many tweens are filled with multiple emotions either all at once or in quick succession. They are in a time when social life is important, but the looming clumsiness tends to make them uneasy about themselves. They are trying to figure out how to hide feelings of uncertainty, while getting enough courage to be recognized as a young adult – or what they think an adult should be.

They look for acceptance of others and most often have good family backing, but it is too easy to hear the seemingly broken-record of Mom and Dad’s praises. (Don’t stop, though Mom and Dad). They look for validation elsewhere and for someone who accepts them as the many-faceted gems that they are.

When some of them find Bible and Beyond, a middle school Bible study class, they find so much more. They find a group that loves and embraces them and where they can openly share their thoughts without judgment. They can be themselves and sometimes test the waters in a safe place. We read from one of the Gospels and apply it in everyday life, and that is our success. There are so many answers to our lives, if we bring it to the Bible and see what real people actually said and did. In this, Jesus is the true mentor, although we have attracted the attention of high school and college kids as class mentors, which works well because they are people to whom the middle schoolers can look up. Just this past spring, our high school mentors were the Scholarship Award recipients of the Big Idea Project, in which their winning film was based on mentoring our class.

We have been an active ministry since 2004, when after teaching my daughter’s Religious Education since 1995 and moving up grades as she grew, I was asked if I would like to take on the Bible and Beyond Group, which had never gotten off the ground. I happily accepted, as I was homeschooling my daughter, a middle schooler at the time, so I could connect. With much research, prayer and intercession of the Holy Spirit, I came up with a format and game plan. It took off and evolved and has been going steady ever since.

Our kids consist of homeschool, public school, private school, siblings, cousins, classmates, neighbors, adopted, and one who came to me years later as an adult looking for help of a friend in pregnancy crisis and alone, to which we connect with adoption agencies.

I am simply amazed at the intricacies that this age carries and the rewards it brings, so much unnoticed to the outside. Parents often refer to us as “St. Thomas More’s best kept secret” and kids have called us “Bible Therapy.” It’s simply a place where kids can come and unload their problems, funny stories untold, or comments and input often overlooked. Some of the kids find us because they are seeking to fulfill credit for Confirmation. Many stay for years after.

One kid in particular came to our class as a guest from a guy who joined us in the summer. He was on a baseball team and asked a teammate to come to Bible study with him. (What tween does that?!) Greg, a parishioner from Loreto, began coming and asking many questions. His personality was lively and infectious. Upon first meeting him I can recall thinking, “This little soul is something special – just like all of the rest.” But there was something

New York Yankee Greg Bird, a former Bible & Beyond member, visits with a middle school student and signs a few baseballs.

December 2015 21

particular with this one. I always told the kids I prayed for them every day and kept them in my rosaries and Mass intentions. You could see it cut to their hearts and they felt valid – loved outside their family circle. This one boy and I became very good friends – as well as his mom and I. Our families became infused together as family. I was blessed to see him grow into a young man and I thanked God for allowing all of my kids to remain in my life so I can see what they will become.

Not often does one get to see the fruit of their influence, friendships and prayers, but with middle school, adulthood is right around the corner. Many of my kids have become teachers (my daughter), doctors, engineers, lawyers, housewives, ecologists, economists – we even have a priest in Rome.

What happened to Greg? He now plays professional baseball for the New York Yankees. I have been his Faith Coach and send him inspirations on a daily basis. He came back a few years ago to his beloved Bible study that helped him through those awkward years. Upon getting his first signing bonus, he donated money to our group. He still comes to see us in his off season and talks to the class and signs autographs. We get to share stories with his family not only of baseball, but of how God works through someone in their gifts and talents in life to encourage others on their journey in life. We hear from parents of kids having hope that if they know someone like Greg Bird, once an uneasy, awkward middle schooler who can make a difference in the world, then so can they.

My own daughter, Emily is a kindergarten schoolteacher in a Title One school. Just last week, she had to start school in lockdown. As a parent, I was concerned, but I know that with her faith, she has the confidence to follow God’s will and is given the assurance to care for her Calcutta – the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable.

We all have a mission in life and I think that realization begins most importantly in middle school, when kids are

the RECTORYRECIPE from

just beginning to find themselves. In doing so, they find their purpose and find God. So when I encounter a new student, what do I see? I see a beautiful soul with a future as a place for God to be the light for many. There’s nothing awkward about that. u

Thursday, December 31:6:30–9:00pm in McCallin Hall

Bingo, games, dancing, food & fun!

New Year’s Eve CELEBRATION!

RSVP to Lori Ugran at loriu@stthomasmore.org or 303.221.9235 with the number of adults and children attending.

Monsignor Tom’s Rating:

My Mother-in-Law’s Meatloaf

By Renee Heinemeyer, Rectory Chef

Ingredients: � 1 ½ lbs. of ground beef (drain after cooking) � 1 cup Herb Stuffing (loose stuffing, not cubed) � 1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce � 1 egg, scrambled � 1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Place the mixture into a standard loaf pan (sprayed with Pam spray). Top with parsley. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 60–75 minutes. Remove from oven. Drain fat. Slice and serve. Enjoy with mashed potatoes or green beans. u

� ½ tsp. pepper � ½ tsp. onion powder � ⅛ tsp. garlic powder

22 More Informed

stm catholic school

The Lion’s Roar

Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia this past September was an amazing example of how one event can be inclusive of people with all levels of ability and faith. STM Catholic School was very blessed to have several of our children experience the wonderment of the Papal pilgrimage. The Haas family was even featured on Fox 51 morning show sharing their experience and love for the faith.

Pictured at right: STM students watch Pope Francis visit a NYC Catholic school. See pages 11 and 24 for more coverage of STM pilgrims experiencing the Pope’s visit.

Lessons of Pope’s Visit

STM Catholic’s Beta Team hosted a two-week food drive in October. Students collected almost 2,000 cans and boxes of food – about one ton!

The school teamed up with the parish to donate the food to many different food banks, such as Christ in the City,Denver Inner City Parish, Denver Rescue Mission, Bienvenidos Food Bank, Church of the Ascension in Montbello, and Broadway Assistance Center.

Since the food drive was so successful, the entire school earned a dress-down day!

Feeding the Hungry

Our very own STM parent, Jane Thompson (daughter Kathryn), was selected as the NBC 9News 9Who Cares Winner for her volunteer service at Children’s Hospital and the Gabby Krause Foundation, delivering “bags of fun” to patients. The bags are full of toys to entertain them as they go through treatment. STM Catholic is mentioned in the article. Check out the article and a video at www.on9news.tv/1RNeWex. Congratulations and great work, Jane Thompson!

STM Catholic Parent Leads by Example

December 2015 23

school & parish get together for year of the lamb gala

Mane Event a Huge Success!

The Mane Event is STM Catholic School’s primary fundraiser. This year’s event took place at the Marriott in Park Meadows on November 14. It was open to parents of the school, school and church staff, preschool parents and parishioners.

The theme of the event was “The Year of the Lamb Gala.” The Year of the Lamb is a representation of our faith, and this was front and center throughout the entire event. Instead of using the ram, goat or sheep, the lamb was specifically picked as a representation of our Catholic identity. The lamb is a representation of Christ. In the logo for our event this year (pictured at right), the chalice and Host are drawn inside the body of the lamb. The Year of the Lamb represents us as Christians and most importantly as Catholics to make sure that this year and every year is the “Year of the Lamb.” The event was attended by over 400 people. The evening started off with cocktails and a silent auction. After that, there was a plated sit-down dinner and exciting live auction for which former Bronco runningback Reggie Rivers was the emcee and auctioneer. The night ended with a DJ and guest dancing. The event was run this year by Emily Liedtke and Jill Price, but they could not have done it alone. They had 27 other

men and women who donated their time and talent to chair a Mane Event committee (pictured below) and countless other volunteers who helped in every aspect of getting this huge fundraiser off the ground.

Even the students of STM Catholic got involved in raising money for their Catholic education. They made crosses and lanterns to sell at the auction. Each child made greeting cards that were also sold. Plus, they raised over $4,000 by bringing in spare change from around the house or by hosting lemonade stands in their neighborhood. The Mane Event is truly a way for every member of the school and parish community to get together and help support Catholic education. u

Mane Event Chairpersons: (Back row) Katie Landahl, Cheryl Metzger, Annelie Herrera, Kristin Matteucci, Amy Howarth, Teresa Kennedy, Annette Alvarez, Molly McAlpine, Sherri Edgar, Allsion Uhrig. (Front row) Kylie Snow, Mary Maier, Christina Jordan, Emily Liedtke, Jill Price, Jodi Lieske, and Ann O;Conner. (Not pictured) Chris Gross, Catherine Winter, Eileen O’Brien, Mike Jackson, Angela Haubert, Wendy Barry, Silke Bates, Julie Krager and Kristin Shimanek.

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middle school & high school youth

The Spark

By Aline CervantesSenior at Cherry Creek High School &Middle School Youth Intern

My faith is super important to me. If you took my faith away, I would be like a fish without water or a balloon without air. My parents taught me God’s love, so my family is also extremely important to me. My faith and my family came together when my family, a group of friends and I went to see the pope at the World Meeting of the Families in Philadelphia in September.

We left on Tuesday, September 22 and arrived in Chicago the next day. We visited some sites in Chicago. That night, we got back on the bus and went to New York. New York was fun! We stayed there two days. We got to visit the body of Mother Cabrini, which was so cool and inspiring.

That afternoon was the first time we saw Pope Francis. The first time, I remember seeing him from far away because we did not have tickets for that event, even seeing from far away I felt peace in my heart and I started crying because it was so beautiful.

In New York we stayed in an old church which was one of 50 Catholic churches that had been closed down. We learned that Pope Francis would be passing right in front of that church around 10:00am. In the morning we went to Mass around 6:00am, returned to the church and we waited outside at the church until Pope Francis passed by. He drove by super fast and we could barely see him, so we were super sad.

But around 5:00pm, he drove by again and, since there were not many people, he smiled at me and my parents and waved. That was the third time we saw Pope Francis, and he was super close to us this time!

We then went to our final destination, Philadelphia. When we got to Philadelphia, it was the day when Pope Francis

was talking to the thousands of families that were there. I managed to get all the way in the front of the gate that divided us from Pope Francis. It was getting late but surely enough Pope Francis went by, and I was there front row to see him with my parents.

Seeing the pope up close up has truly been the best thing that has ever happened to me, especially because I got to go with my family after I thought my family would

never be together again due to some past problems. Pope Francis reminded me that there is no perfect family and that loving someone is not a feeling but a decision. Pope Francis transmits peace and makes you feel super fuzzy inside. You truly see the love of God through him; you see his humbleness and the love for the Church.

And let’s not talk about the next day when he gave the Mass because just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. It was beautiful and it made me think, how can people say there is no God? I could go on about how blessed I was to see Pope Francis but that would take me a whole book, so I leave you with this quote from him: “Love is something we learn; love is something we live; love grows as it is ‘forged’ by the concrete situations which each particular family experiences. Love is born and constantly develops amid lights and shadows. Love can flourish in men and women who try not to make conflict the last word, but rather a new opportunity. An opportunity to seek help, an opportunity to question how we need to improve, an opportunity to discover the God who is with us and never abandons us.” – Pope Francis u

Adventures Seeing Pope Francis

December 2015 25

By Miriam Miller Junior in High School

“I really only love God as much as the person I love the least.” – Dorothy Day

This quote was the motto of St. Thomas More’s annual Inner-City Mission Trip during the summer of 2015. I was lucky enough to be a part of this mission into our capital of Denver, Colorado for the second year in a row. This trip consisted of 16 missionaries (12 teens and four leaders) who served the Denver poor for a week.

Throughout the week we worked at various sites including Mullen Home, Father Woody’s Haven of Hope, St. Francis Center, the Gabriel Project and Colorado Vincentian Volunteers. While we spent our days serving, we spent the nights in the chapel of our house, strengthening our small community through prayer, discussion, and music.

One of our main focuses was attempting to define the word “love.” The dictionary defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” But this doesn’t seem sufficient. Love is more than a feeling; feelings fade. We determined that love isn’t exactly a word that can be defined. There is truly only one word that captures everything love is: Christ. So we attempted to bring the Holy Trinity to the poor of Denver by letting God’s love shine through us. The labor we took on was physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. It wasn’t always easy to love the people we served when they got angry with us or declined our help.;

But that’s where Dorothy Day’s quote comes in. Every person is a temple of Christ, and Christ is in every person. So if we failed to love someone, even if they treated us unfairly, then we were really failing to love God. In order to achieve real connection with Christ, we have to love every person not just equally, but limitlessly. Love isn’t a feeling, it’s a selfless and self-sacrificing action.

The poor were all different. There were men and there were women. There were children and there were elderly. They shared something in common though: they had all been denied kindness and love because of their current condition. Pope Francis once said, “I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life… Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else – God is in this person’s life. You can – you must – try to seek God in every human life.”

So maybe the man in the soup kitchen is a drug addict, or maybe the woman with her children at the St. Francis Center was an alcoholic. It doesn’t matter. Christ will never love a person less because of their sin.

Because America is the land of opportunity, we often love our own poor less than the poor of foreign lands because we believe that they had more of a chance to become successful in their lives. But they are often just as deprived of the most important things in life as the poor across oceans: Christ and His love. We have to love our own poor. If we all loved the poor and the forgotten in our community, we wouldn’t need to send missionaries to foreign lands. We need to bring up a generation of youth who will love the poor more than the generations before ever have. That’s what St. Thomas More’s Inner-City

expressing Christ’s love on inner-city mission trip

Discovering Love for Our Own Poor

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and

sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. – St. Augustine of Hippo

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intense heat of the sun, we ended up sitting in the shade underneath a large oak tree and talking to the woman about her life. It turned out she had borne 16 children, served in the military with her husband, and lost both her husband and three of her children throughout her lifetime. She also told us that her other children don’t visit her habitually, and she’s oftentimes lonely. But she ended every story with the same line, “God has been so good.”

Despite losing a part of her family and experiencing such loneliness, she always came back to the same conclusion: “God has been so good.” In the face of being poor financially and poor in companionship, there was something she was so

rich in – it was radiant. Her faith in God and her gratitude for what He had given her overshadowed anything that He had taken away. I don’t know whether this woman has had incredible faith her whole life, or if it developed later in life. What I do know is that the Little Sisters devote their entire lives to serving the elderly poor by showing them Christ’s unfailing love.

I saw so many elderly men and women completely in love with God. So many of the poor in our community aren’t given the love of Christ to fill them up and set them on fire. It is our job to create disciples of all nations and give them the love and the spark of faith they need. The youth of the West have to close this void of God and love as quickly as possible. A nation without love is a nation without God.

While oceans didn’t need to be crossed and airplanes didn’t need to be boarded in order to attend this trip, it was just as important and life-changing as a mission to a foreign country. Mother Teresa once said, “It is easy to love people who are far away, but it is not always so easy to love those who live with us or right next to us.” Love starts in our homes and in our communities. We are all called to love, with the goal of loving with Christ’s unconditional and unfailing spirit. The poor are the most neglected and unloved peoples of our society.

We are all called to share Christ’s love, but too often we become too absorbed in our own needs and our own pain to open our blind eyes to our fellow brothers and sisters who are not only suffering from a lack of physical needs but also of love. Local missions like St. Thomas More’s are fundamental in shaping the hearts and souls of Colorado’s youth. This trip taught me that the most valuable thing you can ever give a forgotten person is simple: love. u

Mission Trip strives to do. They strive to bring in the youth and show them how absolutely pertinent it is to serve the poor and discounted in our community in hopes of making a generation of capable and loving young men and women who will love every single person, no matter their income, sin or physical state.

God is in every human being. It is our mission to bring every soul back to its Creator, so that they might have everlasting peace, happiness, and love. Mother Teresa said, “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved a generation of capable and loving young men and women who will love every single person, no matter their income, sin or physical state.

and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine but the only cure for loneliness, despair and hopelessness is love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty… It is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love as there is a hunger for God.” In this quote, Mother Teresa tells us that the greatest poverty in the West isn’t physical; it’s spiritual and emotional. The poor of the West suffer unbelievable crosses to bear because they deal with both the poverty of the west and physical poverty.

During the Denver mission trip, I had the opportunity to visit Mullen Home, where the Little Sisters of the Poor house and care for the elderly poor of Denver.

One of the most profound experiences I had while visiting was when two other volunteers and I took an elderly woman for a walk through the gardens. Because of the

December 2015 27

our unique path to heaven

The Making of Saints

By Maryanne Carter

“As far as possible, you should pray in quiet silent devotion. Try to have a favorite topic of prayer, such as a devotion to the passion of Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament, awareness of the divine presence: go directly to Jesus without too much fuss.” – St. Peter Julian Eymard

Did you know that each saint had a different pathway to heaven? Did you know that there is one path created especially for you? This path was created with your unique personality in mind and you have been given some great guides to help you along the way. You can learn a lot about your own path to heaven through the writings of the Saints when you turn to them as guides for the journey.

St. Catherine of Siena wrote about living the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori’s writings have guided many souls to consecration to Mary. St. Thérèse of Lisieux introduced a path to heaven called The Little Way.

St. Francis de Sales wrote a series of letters of practices that would lead a person to a devout life grounded in love. St. Francis begins with examples of piety that are not leading to devotion. The person may look holy to others or feel holy to themselves but it is all deceptive. A person who often fasts may feel they are becoming holy yet has a heart filled with hatred. A person may recite a vast number of prayers but uses harmful words when speaking to others. Another may gladly give to the poor but refuses to give forgiveness to a family member or friend. Exterior pious practices will not make a person holy if they are not

willing to honestly look at their interior life and make the changes needed.

If we truly desire to become a saint we must look honestly at everything we do, say, think and desire and consciously work to cut out sinful and undesirable behavior. Then replace the behavior with acts of charity towards others. To grow in devotion we must grow in love of God and love of others. To serve God more we will serve our family, neighbors and co-workers more. To know God we must be willing to honestly know ourselves and change adverse behavior and thoughts to conform with the image of Christ, so that God sees His son in each of us and welcomes us as heirs to the kingdom.

Things to do on the path to heaven: � Start each day with a prayer for the grace to recognize areas of sin before they happen and the grace to change the behavior.

� Each evening think back over the day and look for behavior, thoughts, desires that need to be cut out. Think of ways to replace the behavior with charity.

� Read a book written by a saint – not a biography, but their writings about the spiritual journey.

� Focus on one area that needs to change and on one charitable habit to acquire. Hold yourself accountable to this change.

� Take the Spiritual Self Evaluation in Dan Burke’s book Navigating the Interior Life to identify your root sin.

The destination of heaven is reached one step at a time and with the saints as knowledgeable companions you will have the help and wisdom needed to reach your destination. u

My Own Church gives all STM registered parishioners access to your own personal parish records to view, update and change. You can update your email address, add new family members, check out your giving history, add a family photo and much more!

Make your changes anytime, anywhere. Our parish data manager will review and approve all updates and your updates will be instantly changed!

Visit our website www.stthomasmore.org, click on “My Own Church” and create your own account today! u

Connect Now

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STEW

ARD

SHIP

a w

ay o

f life Merry Christmas

from St. Thomas More!

Christmas Eve Mass ScheduleThursday, December 24 – Mass in the Church*, McCallin Hall & School Gym*: 4:00pm & 7:00pm

Family Mass at 4:00pm hosted by STM Parish School in the School GymYouth Mass at 7:00pm in the School Gym

Midnight Mass: 12:00am*

Christmas Day Mass ScheduleFriday, December 25 – Mass in the Church: 7:00am, 8:30am & 10:30am*

Mass in the Church & School Gym: 12:30pm

*Incense will be used at these Masses.

Come worship with us this Christmas!