Pope’s trip to Czech Republic takes him to the most highly secularized nation in Europe
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(CNS PHOTO/ETTORE FERRARI, REUTERS)
By Carol Glatz
Pope Benedict XVI, who travels to the Czech Republic Sept. 26-28, is shown meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus earlier this year at the Vatican.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI is traveling to the Czech Republic this weekend, making a threeday visit to a nation that is widely viewed as Europe’s least-religious country. The Sept. 26-28 trip coincides with the feast of St. Wenceslas – a 10th-century prince who is credited with bringing Christianity to the Czech people. It will be a religious pilgrimage for the pope, who will make stops in the capital to see the Infant of Prague at the Church of Our Lady of Victory and in Stara Boleslav to celebrate the feast of St. Wenceslas, patron saint of Czechs. Pope Benedict also will speak to political and cultural leaders in Prague and meet with President Vaclav Klaus. It will be his first papal visit to the Czech Republic – a nation with a population of 10 million people – and his 13th trip outside Italy He will reach out to the country’s Catholics with Masses in Brno and Stara Boleslav, hold meetings with bishops and celebrate vespers with religious and lay groups. He also will address ecumenical representatives, young people and scholars. These occasions offer the pope numerous opportunities to draw on recurring themes of his pontificate: the importance of reviving Europe’s
Christian roots, the relevance of a millenniums-old faith for addressing today’s current ills, and the need to promote a political and social culture based on love, hope and solidarity. The 82-year-old pope has made it a custom to visit a Marian pilgrimage site in Europe every September. This year he will visit Stara Boleslav – a town 15 miles northeast of Prague and home to the Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The highlight of the trip will be the Sept. 28 Mass and feast day celebration of St. Wenceslas. The gathering coincides with the country’s national pilgrimage to Stara Boleslav, which attracts the attention and interest of the whole nation, including political and cultural leaders. Sept. 28 is a day when patriotic sentiment and religious devotion merge as the country celebrates Czech statehood. The national pilgrimage to Stara Boleslav – the town where St. Wenceslas was murdered by his brother – has become an extremely popular event over the past decade and has turned into “a manifestation of unity in a common Christian spiritual tradition,” according to the Czech bishops’ Web site. Like the Church in other former communist nations, the Church in the Czech Republic suffered under Soviet control after World War II. Church properties POPE’S TRIP TO CZECH, page 18
Pastor praises parishioners for their faith and prayers Father Larry Goode celebrated 45 years as a priest June 15. The Redwood City native has recently been appointed to his second six-year term as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in East Palo Alto. “I’m happy about that,” Father Goode told Catholic San Francisco in the dining room of the parish rectory. “I like it here.” The parish is large with 1,800 families and almost 700 baptisms a year. Prominent ethnicities include Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and African-American. Several of the weekend Masses are packed, Father Goode said, particularly those in Spanish. “The 9:30 Mass is filled to the brim,” Father Goode said. “The
people are up in the choir loft and out into the hall all the way down the aisle” Similar crowds attend some of the other weekend Masses, too, Father Goode said. Four Spanish choirs and a Tongan choir are among parish song groups. While parishioners tend to gather among similar backgrounds, participation by all parishioners is noteworthy, Father Goode said. “The people kind of travel on parallel lines,” Father Goode said but “are anxious to take part.” The nationalities blend, Father Goode said at major celebrations where attire of homelands is encouraged. “The Tongan women and men dress beautifully and the people really love it,” Father Goode said.
Father Larry Goode, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in East Palo Alto, says “I’m a priest who keeps on trying.”
Fluent in Spanish for more than 40 years, Father Goode said immigrant parishioners are among those being hit hardest by the economy. “A lot of them have been hit by job loss, foreclosure and deportations but they have handled it very well,” he
observed, offering that the resiliency in no small way comes from their faith. “I think relying on God is a major thing that gets them to the other side of that sadness.” “The best thing about this parish is the YEAR FOR PRIESTS, page 7
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Fr. Damien’s SF connection . 6 Notre Dame’s pro-life effort . 7 Immigration reform . . . 11, 19 Archbishop’s Journal. . . . . . 14 Scripture and reflection . . . 16
Iraq to Nicaragua ~ Page 3 ~ September 25, 2009
Power pitcher ~ Page 7 ~
Touch-screen Bibles ~ Pages 12-13 ~ ONE DOLLAR
Media and Datebook. . . 20-21
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 11
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School to retiring kindergarten teacher, Judeth Chiolo and kindergarten aide, Loretta Cavallero. Judeth has been a member of the faculty for 21 years and “has taught many young children numerous things most importantly a love for school,” said Judy Cosmos, principal. Loretta has been an aide for 20 years. Both will be “remembered for years to come by students, parents, faculty and staff,” Judy said. Welcome aboard to new kindergarten teacher, Colleen Mumford, who holds an undergraduate degree By Tom Burke in child and adolescent development…. St. Timothy Parish says ‘thanks’ to Presentation Sister Constance Madden, who has served the parish as minister to the Happy 60 years married to Enes and Elio Ciardella sick, homebound, grieving, and church environment. of Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame. A “We ask God to shower his choicest blessings upon her,” trip to Pasta Moon in Half Moon Bay with daughter, a bulletin said….St. Peter’s in Pacifica said ‘Goodbye’ Nancy Thompson, son-in-law, Michael, and grand- to Youth Minister, Lauren Bergesen, who moved to Southern California where sons, Bob, Roy and her husband, Joe, is attendRick marked the mileing graduate school…. At stone……Congrats to St. Matthias in Redwood new officers and trustCity it’s ‘thanks so much’ to ees of the San Mateo Marion Jehle and Suzanne Serra Club. The panel Schaffner who started the was installed at a recent parish Prayer Tree 20 Mass of Thanksgiving. years ago and now turn Prayerful best wishes the ministry over to new for Tom O’Donnell, folded hands….In Fairfax, President, Lee Severe, St. Rita Parish thanks the Vi c e P r e s i d e n t f o r many “donors, patrons, and P r o g r a m s , Je a n e t t e volunteers of its ‘Second Barrett, Vice President Benedictine Father Pius Horvath and Jack Healey at Collection Thrift Shop’” for Vocations, Chris Our Lady of the Wayside outdoor Mass. with special recognition to Devcich, Vice President manager, Sondra Engle for Membership, Jamie Casey, Vice President for Communications, Inge “the backbone of the endeavor.”… It was outdoor O’Donnell, Secretary, Deacon Jim Shea, Treasurer prayer, food and fun Sept. 6 for parishioners of and trustees, Greg Miller, Bob Schroeder, Roland Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Portola Valley. Bianchi, Joan Casey, John Barrett, John Keller, “Families, longtime friends and parishioners from Dave Nazzaro, Mike Felix and Mike Peterson. The Woodside, Menlo Park, and Portola Valley gathered to Serra Club works to encourage vocations to the priest- practice their faith and enjoy their religious community hood, diaconate and religious life. ….Farewell at in a peaceful setting,” said Silvia Vonderlinden, who
On The
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The Serra Club of San Francisco honored newly ordained priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco at a luncheon Sept. 10. From left: Father Michael Quinn, now serving at St. Brendan Parish, and Father Joseph Previtali, now serving at St. Veronica Parish, with Serra program chair, Neal McGettigan, Father Tom Daly, vocation director for the Archdiocese, and Serra Chaplain, Msgr. Edward Mc Taggart. Not available for the photo was newly ordained Father William Thornton, now serving at St. Anthony Parish in Novato.
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Rosemarie and Ario Gregori longtime parishioners of Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame celebrated 50 years of marriage at the annual Anniversary Mass at St. Anne of the Sunset Parish in San Francisco. Auxiliary Bishop William Justice was principal celebrant.
with her husband, Gary, has belonged “to this wonderful church” for the last six years. Silvia is an extraordinary minister of Communion and member of the Pastoral Council, and Gary a lector. Father Jose Shaji, pastor of St. Denis Parish in Menlo Park of which Our Lady of the Wayside is a part, was principal celebrant of the morning Mass. Father Tom Moran who looks after the Our Lady of the Wayside flock, Sulpician Father Gene Konkel, and Benedictine Father Pius Horvath from nearby Woodside Priory School and who Silvia said “has served this community for over 30 years,” were also present. Thanks to Sharyl and Jack Healey, Cheryl and Rich Alfano, and Helen and Ken Vicks who were among the event organizers. The outdoor liturgy was Father Shaji’s idea, Silvia said…. This is an empty space without you. Send items via e-mail to burket@ sfarchdiocese.org and by ground to “Street,” One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Electronic photos should be jpegs at 300 dpi. No zip files, please. Hard copy photos are also welcome sent to the Peter Yorke Way address. I can be reached at (415) 614-5634.
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Iraq to Nicaragua: Combat vet Richard Hackett’s quest “to be a larger help�
Richard Hackett served two tours of duty in a combat company in Iraq, center, where he helped save a wounded fellow platoon member’s life by providing first aid and learned the harsh reality of public health – especially for children – in a country with few resources. Developing an interest in a career in public health, he enrolled in nursing school at the University of San Francisco. He has just completed an 11-week immersion program at a hospital in Nicaragua, right, where public health conditions reminded him of what he experienced in Iraq.
By Rick DelVecchio Legions of teens and young adults go abroad on short mission trips, hoping to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Fewer immerse themselves in the host country long enough to learn just how complicated making a difference can be. It takes training, not to mention inner strength, to perform in the face of what might seem to be overwhelming odds that one person can change things. Richard Hackett is one young adult who is taking the longer, harder, way. A nursing student at the University of San Francisco, Hackett is considered by his professors to be a prime example of a young adult in formation for service in sustainable development modeled on Catholic social teaching. He is part of a
USF pre-professional program that has just that aim in mind for a number of top students. Hackett recently returned from an 11-week immersion service learning tour in Nicaragua. He worked at a public hospital and sent insightful blog posts that repaid his professors’ faith that he could move forward toward a service career. They noted that not only could he do a tough job but that he could do it while seeing deeply into power and justice in the host culture. Hackett, 27, has a familiarity with power that most people his age lack. He served two tours in a combat platoon in Iraq, driving a Humvee in Baghdad at the war’s height. He saw enough misery on and off the battlefield to give him a strong idea of what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
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He was afraid at times, outraged at others. He acted in the moment whether he felt ready to or not. When a soldier riding behind him in his Humvee was badly wounded by a roadside bomb, he applied first aid, assured the injured man that everything would be OK and drove to the hospital as fast as he could. “I don’t know what the guy’s impression of me was,� Hackett, who lives in Emeryville, told Catholic San Francisco. “But inside I just felt complete panic. ‘This guy can bleed to death right in front of me, I don’t know how to stop it.’ I was just progressing through a few basic steps I was taught, and that’s about it. It gave me the feeling that there’s so much more I could learn in situations like that, I could be a larger help. It's something that stuck with me from that day forward.
Hackett put all his Iraq experiences and feelings together and decided he wanted to become a nurse, working in emergency medicine or public health. Hackett finished his second tour, for which he had volunteered so married soldiers would not have to go back. He came to the Bay Area to enter nursing school at USF. He sought a degree but also wanted to continue his education in the real world. He got his chance when a USF committee looked at his record, and especially his writing, and unanimously picked him to go to Nicaragua to live with a family in Masaya and work at the local hospital. The 82nd Airborne vet worked in all the departments at Hospital Dr. Humberto Alvarado and earned the respect of the IRAQ VETERAN, page 9
Catholic San Francisco
NEWS
September 25, 2009
in brief (CNS PHOTO/KEVIN LAMARQUE, REUTERS)
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Notre Dame president vows to lead Mass for life WASHINGTON – With President Barack Obama’s controversial May commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame several months past, the president of the Indiana school has forged ahead with plans for a national discussion on abortion. Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins has announced the formation of a task force “on supporting the choice for life,” and he has pledged to lead a Mass for life in Washington this coming Jan. 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide. This Mass for life would also coincide with the annual March for Life in Washington. Father Jenkins’ decision to invite Obama to deliver the commencement speech and present him with an honorary law degree set off a firestorm of criticism by at least 70 U.S. bishops, and ignited a national debate on the university’s status as a Catholic institution. Critics of Obama said his support of legal abortion and embryonic stem-cell research made him an inappropriate choice to be commencement speaker at a Catholic university. Father Jenkins’ supporters countered that Notre Dame was not condoning Obama’s support for legal abortion or embryonic stem-cell research, and that students at the university should be honored to have the first black U.S. president speak during their graduation.
Catholic Charities sees recession increases need WOODBRIDGE, Va. – In a time of recession, Sondra knows she and her 4-year-old daughter Hope could be on the street. With no where else to turn they found a home at St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional Residences in Woodbridge. The need for this type of housing service as well as emergency shelter and permanent housing jumped 12.4 percent in 2008 as the economic recession gained momentum, reported Catholic Charities USA in its 2008 annual survey of services. Released Sept. 15 during a nationwide teleconference from the agency’s Alexandria headquarters, the report shows that Catholic Charities agencies served nearly 600,000 people in need of some type of housing assistance in 2008. Overall, the 142 Catholic Charities agencies responding to the survey – about 85 percent of the nationwide Catholic Charities network – reported serving more than 8.5 million people in 2008, a 10 percent increase from 2007. Without being able to offer specifics, Father Larry Snyder, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, said the demand for
housing and other social services continued to climb as the recession deepened during 2009.
Tool of religious extremists WASHINGTON – Blasphemy laws have been used as a tool by extremists like the Taliban and al-Qaida to advance their own agendas and to victimize religious minorities and other Muslims in Pakistan, said a Pakistani government official. Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic, told a Washington press conference that these religious extremists are not following Islam, because no religion condones the use of violence. All Pakistanis are equal and “no one should be discriminated (against) or treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan based on religion,” Bhatti said Sept. 17. He spoke at the offices of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal watchdog agency. Under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, desecration of the Quran is punishable by life imprisonment, and insulting the name of the prophet Mohammed carries a mandatory death sentence. Bhatti said he is committed to bringing change to Pakistan and strengthening interfaith harmony.
Visitation questionnaire sent to US religious orders WASHINGTON (CNS) – Questions about membership, living arrangements, the ministries in which members participate and spiritual life, including the practice of prayer and the frequency of Mass, are included in a questionnaire sent Sept. 18 to 341 congregations of women religious in the U.S. Distribution of the questionnaire opens the second phase of a comprehensive study of U.S. institutes of women religious ordered by Cardinal Franc Rode as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Divided into three parts, the questionnaire reveals more about the depth of the study, known as an apostolic visitation. One part of the questionnaire, designated “Part A”
U.S. President Barack Obama watches as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shake hands during a meeting in New York Sept. 22. Obama called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with a sense of urgency to get formal peace negotiations back on track.
and encompassing eight pages, seeks data about membership, living arrangements, governance and ministries of the members of the religious orders. A second section, designated “Part B” and encompassing six pages, seeks information related to the operation of a religious order including its origins, identity and charism; governance; vocation promotion, admission and formation policies; spiritual life and common life; mission and ministry; and finances. The third part, designated “Part C” and one page in length, asks for contact information for the major superior responsible for completing the questionnaire.
Pope announces synod on Middle East for 2010 VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was convening a Synod of Bishops for the Middle East to be held in October of 2010, to address the trials and tribulations of the Christian population in the region. The pope said the synod would look at the various problems faced by the minority Christian communities in Middle Eastern countries, from migration to interreligious dialogue. He announced the initiative at a meeting Sept. 19 with patriarchs and other church leaders from the region. After the encounter at the papal residence outside Rome, the pope hosted the prelates at a working lunch. The synod will be held Oct. 10-24, 2010, on the theme “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness: `The community of believers was of one heart and mind.’” The quotation is a description of the unity of the early church from the Acts of the Apostles. “During this brotherly meeting, from your speeches will surely emerge the issues that beset you and the orientations toward their proper resolution,” the pope said. He told the church leaders that he was praying for them and their communities daily. A Vatican statement said the informal discussion between the pontiff and the Eastern church representatives focused in particular on problems related to migration, ecumenical relations and interreligious dialogue, and highlighted NEWS IN BRIEF, page 5
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September 25, 2009
Catholic San Francisco
5
‘It is mercy I desire!’
(PHOTOS BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
Holy Spirit Conference
The 12th annual Holy Spirit conference, sponsored by the Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, was held Sept. 18-20 at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco. At left, the dance group Aliento a Adoración from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Redwood City performs before Mass Sept. 19. At top, two members of Lord’s Flock, a charismatic prayer group at St. Andrew Parish in Daly City, clasp hands during their musical performance at the Mass. At right, conference speaker Samia Zumout talks about her experiences as a Catholic woman in the Middle East.
News in brief . . . n Continued from page 4
the church’s efforts to promote peace in the region. As he often does during synods, the pope gave an impromptu talk at the end of the encounter to summarize the various points that were made.
Rapid urbanization said to pose serious threat in Africa WASHINGTON (CNS) – The rapid urbanization of African cities is creating a shortage of resources, poor sanitation, social and political unrest and environmental issues. Urbanization is such a problem that bishops of southern Africa hope to bring it up as a topic at the Oct. 4-25 Synod of Bishops for Africa at the Vatican, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, South Africa, told U.S. bishops in late August. U.N.-Habitat, the agency for human settlements, said unsustainable growth in African cities is
leading to lack of housing, services, employment opportunities and infrastructure to support the population. “The State of African Cities,” a 2008 report by U.N.-Habitat, expressed concern that cities are becoming more and more dysfunctional in terms of access to basic resources and livelihoods for their inhabitants. “History has shown that high urban growth rates in Africa tend to translate into significant urban informal settlement and slum formation,” the report said. It said that by 2030, the African urban population is expected to more than double its 2007 level of 373.4 million.
charitable agency Caritas in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. “The issue is not Zelaya,” Donaghy told Catholic News Service in an e-mail Sept. 22, a day after Zelaya’s return. “It’s a system that has kept the poor down for years. Zelaya has been seen by many as a sign that someone in power cared for the poor.” Canadian-born Bishop Real Corriveau, retired bishop of
Choluteca who now lives in Tegucigalpa, said there had been rumors that Zelaya would return, “but people didn’t really believe it.” When word got out Sept. 21 that Zelaya had taken refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, supporters gathered outside the building. The government subsequently imposed a curfew and the protests broke up, the bishop said.
Honduras conflict between poor, wealthy WASHINGTON – Although ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned to his country, the situation is not simply a matter of a conflict between two politicians, said an American lay missionary in Honduras. The real conflict in Honduras is between the poor and wealthy, said John Donaghy, assistant director of the church
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
February 1936: Father Damien’s connection to San Francisco remembered On Oct. 11 San Franciscans and much of the Catholic World will turn their attention to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where Pope Benedict XVI will solemnly canonize Father (Joseph) Damien de Veuster, SS.CC., the “Leper Priest of Molokai. The famed missionary died in his mission at Kalawao, Molokai, 120 years ago. Some San Franciscans still recall the enthusiastic reception of his remains when the S. S. Republic, carrying them from Honolulu, called here in February, 1936. For five days The City of St. Francis accorded Blessed Damien a memorable reception. The Archdiocese of San Francisco on Oct. 15 will add its solemn tribute to the newly-canonized saint when a relic of Father Damien will receive public veneration in St. Mary’s Cathedral. In Oakland’s Christ the Light Cathedral the relic will be displayed again on October 16 before finally resting in a newly-constructed reliquary in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu later in the month. The impetus for the transfer of Blessed Damien’s remains from Molokai to Belgium resulted from King Leopold’s inconsolable grief over the death in 1935 of his thirty-year-old Queen, Astrid, killed when thrown from their American convertible in a one-car accident on the shore of Lake Lucerne. He believed he would find peace of soul in having the holy man re-buried in Belgium. The Roosevelt Administration and Archbishop John J. Mitty of San Francisco, whose Metropolitan See included the Hawaiian Islands, granted the request of the distraught King in the spring of 1936. The remains of the saintly missionary of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus Fathers) would finally repose in a handsome crypt in the Order’s Church in Louvain (Leuven), Belgium. Archbishop John J. Mitty Damien’s beloved lepled the Archdiocese of San ers of Kalawao, Molokai, Francisco from 1935-1961. however, where he had been buried close to his Church of St. Philomena, were not happy about the removal of their cherished priest from his resting place of 47 years. Some recalled a Hawaiian kapu (taboo) that held that disturbing a body in the grave would result in the loss of another life. Following a tearful farewell liturgy in the Honolulu Cathedral on February 3, 1936, a battalion of Coast Artillerymen and their marching band escorted Damien’s casket in a procession to the
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By Gordon Seeley, Ph.D.
Blessed Damien de Veuster is pictured with youngsters at the settlement for those with Hansen’s disease, or leprosy, on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. The Belgian-born missionary priest ministered to the isolated community on the island’s Kalaupapa Peninsula from 1873 until his death in 1889.
harbor during a heavy downpour. The Military Sea Transport S. S. Republic received it there for the voyage to San Francisco. For many Hawaiians, the heavy rain served to affirm a Hawaiian legend that “the skies weep when an alii (nobleman) leaves Hawaii.” The San Francisco story had an eerie beginning. The Republic, on the morning of February 10, lay some 30 miles outside the Golden Gate awaiting entry to the Bay. About 5:15 a.m. Captain Edgar S. McLellan appeared on the bridge in his pajamas, checked the ship’s position and condition, and asked to be called again when the ship was “abeam the lightship.” Later that morning, when the vessel had reached the lightship, some 12 miles off “The Gate,” a steward called at the Captain’s quarters. There was no response. After three complete searches of the ship, the 61-year-old Captain, a native of Pasadena and a Master for 26 years, could not be found. Had the violation of the Hawaiian kapu against disturbing a body claimed its prophetic
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victim? Many native Hawaiians would surely have agreed. The Republic docked at Fort Mason, where Archbishop Mitty received Damien’s koa wood casket with great reverence. Behind twelve motorcycle policemen, he led a solemn liturgical procession of priests, attired in cassock, surplice, and biretta, twelve blocks west on Van Ness Avenue to St. Mary’s Cathedral. In the cortege were Thomas A. Connolly, later Archbishop of Seattle, and John J. Scanlon, who became the Bishop of Hawaii, and such well-known priests as Harold E. Collins, later of St. Cecilia’s, Cornelius Kennedy of St. Paul’s, and Ralph Hunt of St. Peter’s. Father Edgar Boyle led the priests’ choir in the Miserere as the procession made its way to the Cathedral. During its stay, Damien’s casket lay in state in the old “Modern Romanesque” red-brick church on Van Ness Avenue, dedicated in 1891 by Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan and destroyed by fire in September, 1962. Probably no other set of observances ever held there rivaled the elaborate liturgies accorded to the first resident of the Hawaiian Islands to be proudly enrolled in the canon of the Saints. Damien’s body reposed before the Gothic high altar from Monday through Friday. A steady stream of visitors paid their respects to the “Martyr of Molokai.” Always present was a six-man honor guard of soldiers, firemen, and police. Dr. Charles Miller, as a young acolyte, served at the Masses. In an interview he explained that the guard was not simply ceremonial. Guardsmen often had to restrain overly-demonstrative visitors from taking as relics pieces of the casket pall, the black, scarlet, and gold flag of Belgium. During the five days of the Damien visit, the San Francisco press in news stories and editorials declared him to be a hero, martyr, and, in the popular mind, a saint. The San Francisco Chronicle, typical of the City’s four dailies, called him “one EVENTS of the world’s greatGALA heroes.”AUCTION Uncertain whether Damien would DAMIEN’S SF CONNECTION, page 10 GALA AUCTION EVENTS
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Catholic San Francisco
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Playing softball is an important part, but not all of, this teen’s life year round,” Caitlin said. Her regimen also includes lifting weights twice a week and runSeeing herself in Sports Illustrated maga- ning with a teammate or her brother. zine’s “Faces in the Crowd” earlier this year Caitlin’s social life also takes a hit somewas a big honor for Caitlin McCann, pitcher times from her pressing sports schedule. “It on the varsity softball team at Notre Dame does make a pretty significant impact, but it’s High School in Belmont. a commitment I’ve made so I do everything I “I was so surprised that I can to make it work,” she said. was actually in the magazine,” “It’s not always easy. Balance the now-junior said. “We is the key and help from mom weren’t even sure I would be and dad.” Softball has also included until right before the expanded Caitlin’s social life. issue was published.” “I have friends from all over Caitlin’s reference to “we” the Bay Area and have been includes her mother, Jenny, able to travel to cities throughdad, Jim, and her 13 yearout the West.” old brother, Conor, an eighth Caitlin says her circle of grade student at St. Matthew friends mostly includes people Elementary School, from involved in extracurricular which Caitlin graduated two activities or sports. “The years ago. friendships I have with my Caitlin McCann “A lot of people did see teammates are different than it,” Caitlin told Catholic San Francisco of the my other friendships,” Caitlin pointed out, saySports Illustrated April issue. “My religion ing that with teammates there is a “deep level teacher actually asked me for my autograph.” of trust and it brings you closer together. You Also saying “I saw you in SI” were boys at depend on them on the field and off.” a camp where Caitlin worked for the first Caitlin says her years at Notre Dame have time this summer. “They told me they called been and continue to be rewarding. “Notre me ‘the girl who was in Sports Illustrated,’” Dame has been a great experience – very she said. positive and enjoyable. What stands out Caitlin has been playing softball since she most is winning the CCS Division II Softball was five years old and pitching – her current Championship last spring.” English and favorite position – since she was eight. Though Biology have been among her favorite subjects not always easy to balance the practice and and both the class work and the teachers, Clare time for school, family and friends, she finds Wadbrook and Kristi Kelly “have made an a way, she said. “I practice with my dad, work impact on me.” with my pitching coach and play just about A goal for Caitlin is to play softball in
By Tom Burke
Year for Priests . . . ■ Continued from cover people,” Father Goode said. “We hardly have to pay for anything. Parishioners see a crack in the wall and say, ‘I do marble. May I fix that?’ They help from the ground up. We had one man who cleaned and polished our church cross to a shine.” Father Goode has taken the ‘Year for Priests’ to heart. “The way I see it is not a time to praise priests but a time for priests to be challenged and get off the dime,” he said with a chuckle. “We should be people of prayer, at least as much as the laity, and
sometimes I think they do better than we do.” The challenge also includes “taking time for reading and study and to really be priests and be available to the people. It is a time for the laity to be aware of the goodness of priests but also a time for priests to do some work. If we act in the person of Christ, we have to be Christ-like. When I say ‘This is my body’ or ‘I absolve you from your sins’ I realize this is something much bigger than me.” A graduate of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School, Father Goode said priests who influenced him toward the priesthood include Father Eugene Duggan retired
Caitlin McCann’s fastball has been clocked at 60 mph. The right-hander throws a drop, rise, curve, and changeup. Her most reliable pitch is her drop and her favorite pitch is her rise ball.
college. “I love the sport,” she said, adding that playing for a “big softball school” like UCLA “would be “amazing” but whether she wants to attend a “big or small school” is still a question. “Getting a scholarship would be great,” she said, noting that this year is when “things really get started.” Career paths are still uncertain, Caitlin said. “I’m not quite sure what I would like to do after school,” Caitlin said. “However, last year in biology we learned Marine Biology and I loved it. I like English, too.” Faith has a big spot in Caitlin’s life, the St. Matthew parishioner said. “It helps keep me level-headed and reminds me of what’s really important on and off the field,” she said.
“My favorite athlete is Cat Osterman” Caitlin said. “She is an amazing pitcher! She played for the University of Texas Longhorns and on the U.S. Olympic Team. She’s been a great role model. She’s dedicated, in control of her emotions on the field and is very focused.” Caitlin’s encouragement to students aspiring to high school and college sports is simple. “My best advice is stay on top of your schoolwork. That and practice, practice, practice. Overall it really comes down to learning how to balance your school and sports life. Strive to do what you feel is right. If playing a sport is important to you and you enjoy it, stick with it.”
pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Sausalito. “He was one of many good priests we had there,” Father Goode said. When asked for suggestions for the laity in this ‘Year for Priests’ Father Goode said “Pray. Priests need a lot of prayer.” Priests are people, too, Father Goode reminded. “We can always use encouragement,” he said. “I’m a priest who keeps on trying,” Father Larry Goode said about himself. “My priesthood is everything to me. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing. This is who I am.”
St. Francis of Assisi Parish Festival is Oct. 2, 3, and 4 featuring a parade Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. from Bay Rd. and East Bayshore and ending at the parish for an outdoor Mass and Blessing of Animals plus seatings at 6 and 7 p.m. for spaghetti and pozole dinner. Oct. 4: Feast of St. Francis with Mananitas at 6 a.m. in the church with food, games and entertainment after. For more information and to purchase tickets call the rectory at (650) 322-2152 or e-mail sfofassisi@ sbcglobal.net.
Dinner with Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone ADSAD
Presented by the Catholic Professional & Business Club
Announcing the 2009
PUBLIC SQUARE ROSARY CRUSADE America is at a historic crossroad. Secularists are trying to push God from the public square. They reject His beneficial action upon society. But without God, where will our leaders get the wisdom to solve the great problems we face? We must stop the secularist advance and pray to God for help. He will hear us, if we pray through the intercession of His Blessed Mother. That’s why we’re launching the 2009 Public Square Rosary Crusade. In The Secret of the Rosary, Saint Louis de Montfort said: “Public prayer is far more powerful than private prayer to appease the anger of God and call down His mercy, and Holy Mother Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, has always advocated public prayer in times of public tragedy and suffering.”
Join the 2009 Public Square Rosary Crusade Today! Led By: Father John Jimenez What: The Holy Rosary Where: United Nations Plaza (8th Market & Hyde St., S.F.) When: October 10, 2009 at 12:00 noon (Saturday) For more information, contact: Juanita Agcaoili… … 415.647.7229 Helen Rosenthal……415.661.1991 Linda Ibarra… … … 415.351.8750 (cell) Coordinated nationally by Tradition Family Property and its America Needs Fatima campaign: ANF@ANF.org: www.ANF.org
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 5:30 pm
About Bishop Cordileone, new Bishop of Oakland Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone was born in San Diego, California. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1978 from the University of San Diego. He then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a Bachelor’s in Sacred Theology in 1981. He returned to the Gregorian and received a doctorate in canon law in 1989. In the summer of 1995, he returned to Rome to work as an assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial body in the Vatican under the pope. He was raised to the rank of Chaplain of His Holiness in 1999. On July 5, 2002, Cordileone was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego byPope John Paul II. Cordileone was later named the fourth Bishop of Oakland by Pope Benedict XVI on March 23, 2009. Bishop Cordileone serves on the episcopal advisory board of the Institute for Religious Life. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he sits on the Bishops’ and Presidents’ Committee on Catholic Education.
September 9, 2009 – 5:30-7:30pm
Topic – Practical Considerations for Living One’s Faith in the Workplace Ceasar Italian Restaurant • 2299 Powell Street at Bay Street “Practical Considerations for Living One’s Faith in the Workplace According to Principles of Catholic Social withfollowed Specialby Reference to Pope Benedict Latest Caritas Registration startsTeaching, at 5:30 p.m. networking. Program beginsXVI’s at 6 p.m. andEncyclical, ends by 7:30 p.m. in Veritate” Includes The talkCeasar’s will outline theserved key principles CatholicNo Social antipasti throughoutfrom the evening. host Teaching, beverages. which have specific application to various sectors of society. It will then apply them to the question of ethics in the workplace, highlighting the difference between a workplace environment based on these principles and values, and one characterized by the more common utilitarian approach taken nowadays. Pope Benedict XVI’s recent Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (“Charity in Truth”), makes a timely contribution to this discussion.
Event Details – Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Location: Caesar’s Italian Restaurant, 2299 Powell Street at Bay Street Format: Registration begins at 5:30pm followed by networking. Program begins at 6pm, ending by 8pm. Includes a dinner banquet with salad, pasta, dessert and choice of Chicken Parmigiana, Veal Milanese or Combination Sea Food plate. No host beverages.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yes, I would like to attend the Event on 10/14/08. Check one: $32 _______ I am a member . Event cost is $37 per member $39 _______ I am Not a member. Event cost is $47 per non-member Annual Membership is $45.00 per person. NAME: _______________________________________ PHONE: __________________ ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________ PARISH: ________________________ E-MAIL ________________________________ BUSINESS NAME or TITLE: _________________________________________________ Mail this form & a check payable to “CPBC-ADSF” to: CPBC, Attn: Mary Jansen, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109-6602. To register online, www.cpbc-sf.org and click on the link to our Eventbrite online invitation. Payment must be received by October 14th to reserve your spot!
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Notre Dame leader forms pro-life panel, vows to lead Mass for life said using a single issue as a litmus test to be honored at a Catholic university is a troubling concept. WASHINGTON (CNS) – With President Barack “Coming out of the vigorous discussions surrounding Obama’s controversial May comPresident Obama’s visit last spring, mencement speech at the University I said we would look for ways to of Notre Dame several months past, engage the Notre Dame community the president of the Indiana school with issues raised in a prayerful and has forged ahead with plans for a meaningful way,” Father Jenkins national discussion on abortion. said in a September letter. Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins “As our nation continues to has announced the formation of a struggle with the morality and legaltask force “on supporting the choice ity of abortion, embryonic stem-cell for life,” and he has pledged to lead research and related issues, we must a Mass for life in Washington this seek steps to witness to the sanctity coming Jan. 22, the anniversary of life,” he added. of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe The Task Force on Supporting v. Wade decision, which legalized the Choice for Life was formed to abortion nationwide. recommend ways that the university This Mass for life would also can support the sanctity of life, he coincide with the annual March for said. Life in Washington. So far the panel has started lookFather Jenkins’ decision to invite ing at how to foster discussion about Obama to deliver the commencea reasonable conscience clause, ment speech and present him with the most effective ways to support an honorary law degree set off a pregnant women, and the best polifirestorm of criticism by at least 70 Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, cies for facilitating adoptions, Father U.S. bishops, and ignited a national president of the University of Notre Dame. Jenkins said. debate on the university’s status as “Such initiatives are in addition a Catholic institution. to the dedication, hard work and Critics of Obama said his support of legal abortion and leadership shown by so many in the Notre Dame family, embryonic stem-cell research made him an inappropriate both on the campus and beyond,” he said. “The task force choice to be commencement speaker at a Catholic univer- may also be able to recommend ways we can support some sity. of this work.” Father Jenkins’ supporters countered that Notre Dame Father Jenkins acknowledged that Obama’s presence on was not condoning Obama’s support for legal abortion campus last spring generated divisions among Catholics and or embryonic stem-cell research, and that students at the in the Notre Dame community. university should be honored to have the first black U.S. “I hope that we can overcome divisions to foster conpresident speak during their graduation. structive dialogue and work together for a cause that is at Several Catholics who supported the Obama invitation the heart of Notre Dame’s mission,” he said. (CNS PHOTO/MATT CASHORE, COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME)
By Chaz Muth
Bishop William Justice will be the principal celebrant at an English-Spanish Mass at Mission Dolores Basilica to raise awareness of domestic violence Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The Mass, timed to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness month, was organized by the group Ministers of Light, a lay organization devoted to providing pastoral care for survivors of domestic violence. Marisela Sookraj, founder of the group and a Mission Dolores parishioner, told Catholic San Francisco the Mass is intended both to raise awareness among Catholics about domestic violence and as an opportunity for survivors to find healing. “As far as we can tell there has never been a Mass like this,” Sookraj said. “It’s an opportunity for the Church to say cwe care about this issue.” Mary Kellogg, a parishioner at St. Gabriel Parish in San Francisco and a member of the Ministers of Light, said she hopes the Mass will increase awareness of the Ministers of Light in the archdiocese. “It will be a prayerful situation, where we can pray for the victims of domestic violence and the perpetrators, for those who survived and those who did not survive,” Kellogg said. “We will give a message of help and support for people in those situations.” Mission Dolores Basilica is located at 3321 16th St. in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.ministersoflight.org, e-mail ministersoflight@ gmail.com or call (415) 625-2710.
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September 25, 2009
9
Iraq veteran seeks to put experience to good use in helping others staff, who had not had another visitor from the north stay that long. Hackett had seen what civilians deal with in war and how they suffer because basic resources, like sanitation, are not in place. One of his most vivid memories from Iraq, other than the bomb blast, is of children in shorts walking barefoot through open sewage. The hospital was familiar: people streamed in and resources were so meager that the saying was that the staff worked con clavos – with nails. “Once I arrived in Nicaragua, especially in the rural areas, it was definitely reminiscent,” Hackett said. “Children with no option but to live out on the street. Mothers with small children begging for food to eat. Even with the opportunity I had working in the hospital, even though the people have access to health care, they don’t always have the medicine needed to treat conditions. You have people suffering from conditions that here in the United States might be easily managed but down there, without the economic resources, it just becomes a severe problem. It seems unjust in so many ways.” Hearts and minds In its second year, the Global ServiceLearning program, known as Sarlo Scholars, is a project of USF’s Office of Service Learning and Community Action in partnership with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. Students live with host families in Nicaragua or Uganda. Before and after they travel, they are in the classroom learning history, politics and basic development economics. “We think it’s connected to the university’s mission and the Catholic mission, educating hearts and minds to change the world,” said Professor Julie Reed, the director of the office. “I believe strongly that they have
to get involved in the work – they have to understand the complexities and messiness of social justice work.” The idea is that students who complete the program would be able to work for a humanitarian or social policy organization and immediately be effective even though there would be minimal on-the-job training. “We don’t want to run the risk of giving them an experience of cultural tourism, a drive-by of the poor people,” Reed said. “We want those real social justice lessons to be learned by sustained involvement.” The program’s benefactor, venture capitalist and philanthropist George Sarlo, also is inspired by that idea. He, his sister and his mother were the only members of their family to survive the Holocaust when the Nazis invaded Hungary. Two Catholic men helped them escape.
program. The committee took a chance in sending a military vet to Nicaragua, a country still suffering from the aftermath of civil war. “We had plenty of reason not to send someone with military experience there,” Reed said. “But his experiences so clearly reflected that he understood those power dynamics, understood social justice issues, had a hunger to learn more.” Building relationships Hackett immediately found his Iraq experience relevant. Perhaps what impressed him most about his time in both countries was the disparity. Resources, whether material goods like medical equipment or moral ones like freedom and justice, were unevenly distributed. What’s more, he saw that disparity was profound. He tried not be surprised or judgmental.
We don’t want to run the risk of giving them an experience of cultural tourism, a drive-by of the poor people. – Professor Julie Reed Sarlo is interested in whether the compassion that saved his life is innate to some people or whether it must be taught. His support for the service learning program is one of his many efforts to try to answer the question. “We decided to try this method, to see what, if any, impact this will have on their life later on – on their studies and choice of profession,” he said. “We don’t know if we can find concrete proof but we’re hoping it will become evident after a few years.” Hackett, who grew up in Chino and dropped out of high school, was a USF committee’s first choice for this year’s
On his blog, Hackett reflected on an illiterate, pregnant preteen girl he had seen at the hospital. “It is perfectly possible that in the community she comes from, literacy may not be a necessary tool of daily life,” he wrote, “and I am sure that there are necessary skills in her community that I do not possess.” Hackett learned that many people in Nicaragua do not have access to education. Those who do may not have time to take away from work. He met a woman who works 12-hour days, six days a week, as a housekeeper to earn $80 a month, which averages out to a quarter an hour. He learned that middle-class people are not exempt from economic hardship. He found that “what upsets people most” is that the majority of Nicaraguans endure these burdens while
tax-funded, politically appointed elected officials receive far higher wages, paid in U.S. dollars But Hackett also found that economic hardship teaches a lot of people to be more resilient and resourceful in ways that would be less common in the United States. “And having less economic capital makes many of the people more appreciative of things that are more substantial and important, such as family relationships,” he said. The former soldier also looked into the impact of war on Nicaraguans, as part what he called the “continuing history lesson” that began with his enlistment in 2002 to fight in Iraq because he felt the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein. He toured a fortress on a hill over Masaya, called Forteleza de Coyotepe – Coyote Hill. There, the dictator Anatasio Somazo Debayle had imprisoned dissidents. Some of the cells let in no light. A guide told Hackett that the dead were likely disposed of below and there is no way to know how many people disappeared. Hackett noted in his blog that in 1979, the last phase of the Somoza family dictatorship, the government used the hill to shell rebel strongholds in neighborhoods below. That was not so long ago, as Hackett discovered. The head of household in his host family was a woman with strong views about war. The resulting conversations were an education in themselves. The woman’s family lost relatives in the fighting, Hackett said. “It was hard for her to talk about,” Hackett recalled. “I was kind of edgy for awhile. I remember one time we were sitting on the patio and it was a time when a lot of fireworks were going off. I was nervous. She said, ‘Oh yeah, it gets me the same.’ She told me there was a war here, too. “The most important moments there were the times we spent on the patio and just kind of conversed,” Hackett said. “Week after week, you build up a relationship.”
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Actor of ‘Damien’ play at Cathedral Oct. 15 inspired by saint’s dedication Casey Groves keeps his eye on Broadway but his heart is leaders including a Catholic Bishop, Groves said. “He listened with a priest soon to be the Church’s newest saint. The actor will to his heart and lived from love no matter what the cost.â€? Groves, who holds a graduate degree in perform “Damienâ€? at St. Mary’s Cathedral Oct. Spirituality from Holy Names University in 15 for young people in the afternoon at 1:30 Oakland, also respects the human side of the p.m. and scenes from the play during a prayer man who will be canonized Oct. 11 by Pope service at 7:30 in the evening. Benedict XVI. A man who he says is “like “I have been doing this play for nine years all of usâ€? imperfect. “But in the end,â€? Groves because I am drawn to Father Damien’s story,â€? noted, “it is his deep faith that he developed Groves told Catholic San Francisco via e-mail. through his disciplined prayer life that enables He sent the communiquĂŠ amid a week in New him to face the prolonged suffering of the York that would have him playing a “cop on disease and to finally move through the doubts the soap opera `One Life to Live’â€? among other into a great trust.â€? tasks related to a life in show business. Damien’s “boldness, determination, and Groves first performed “Damienâ€? as a selfless serviceâ€? are among the qualities that student at De La Salle High School in New have kept Groves a fan of the priest for almost Orleans. “I decided to revisit the play as an Casey Groves two decades. adult when I first moved to New York in 2000,â€? “Now with the canonization, I’m thankful for the opportunities Groves recalled. That year he did his first off-Broadway run of “Damienâ€? and now has added more than 100 performances of that are arising for performances all over the country. My time with the show through a second off-Broadway run and more than 20 the show put me in a position of deep understanding of this man and his life at a time when it’s very important to reveal the truth of locations throughout the country. Damien was “a rebel with a cause,â€? Groves said. “He saw who he is. The research I’ve done on Damien and on leprosy, the what was happening on the island of Molokai and had the faith, acting techniques I have used preparing for the role, getting to know determination, and physical stamina to transform the suffering the members of his order, walking in Damien’s footsteps through on that island into lives of dignity and pockets of joy for the the Hawaiian islands, and performing the play for the remaining patients.â€? One of Father Damien’s most appealing traits was patients on Molokai puts me in an excellent position to be a vehicle that he was not deterred by the negative judgments from island for his story at this critical time for his voice to be heard.â€?
Groves is Catholic and says he attends Mass frequently. He attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through college. “I do pray to Father Damien,� Groves said, “and I feel that he is with me when I do the performances.� Damien is a good role model according to Groves “because he brought his great faith to bear on this horrible suffering day by day until more and more, little by little, person by person the darkness of the settlement began to be filled with light.� His “compassion that knew no borders� and was given to “whomever was right in front of him� has made Damien a hero in Hawaii and around the world, Groves said. “He gave himself body, mind and soul,� Groves said. “�He fought for others’ human rights. He fought to bring light to the darkness.� The “Damien� script is by Aldyth Morris who lived in Hawaii and worked on the play for 25 years, Groves said. The writer died in 1995. On Oct. 15, ceremonies are planned surrounding the arrival of a relic of St. Damien at St. Mary’s Cathedral on its way to a permanent home in Hawaii. Events of the day include a 1:30 p.m. performance of “Damien� by Casey Groves for chaperoned student groups. Contact Janet Carrillo at (415) 567-2020, ext. 215 or e-mail jcarrillo@stmarycathedralsf.org. At 7:30 p.m. there will be a prayer service in the Cathedral for the faithful to venerate the relic of the newly canonized St. Damien of Molokai. More information is available from the Cathedral at (415) 567-2020.
Damien’s SF connection . . .
aloha to the simple Belgian priest who had captured the admiration of so many in the world. Again, according to Hawaiian lore, when an alii was leaving San Francisco, “the skies wept.� As the ship cleared the wharf, the sound of her mournful, deep-pitched horn replaced the tones made by the Islanders’ traditional conch shell. Upon arrival in Panama, the Republic transferred Damien’s casket to the Belgian training ship Mercator for the final leg of the journey “home.� The most prominent figures of church and state in Belgium, including King Leopold III, Premier Paul van Zeeland, and Jozef-Ernest Cardinal van Roey, greeted Damien on his return to Belgium when the Mercator docked in Antwerp on May 4, 1936. His casket, covered in the Stars and Stripes, was taken to the square before the Cathedral, where it lay in state. Thousands of the faithful silently passed by to pay homage to a son of little Tremelo who had become esteemed throughout the world. High praise came from the legendary Mahatma Gandhi, whose work among the poor in India shook an Empire. He declared Damien’s life story, “the inspiration for his work.�
n Continued from page 6
meet the Church’s prescription for canonization, the editorialist argued that “Father Damien meets the layman’s idea of a saint. He was a martyr in the cause of relief of human suffering.� The San Francisco News found Damien “something special in the way of heroes.� The “Monarch of the Dailies,� the San Francisco Examiner, acclaimed Damien “a martyred priest of the lepers and uncanonized saint.� Annie Laurie, the popular Examiner columnist, wrote that the “stupidest and most lethargic human being in this city of ours� would one day say, “I was in San Francisco when the body of the great saint went through, on the way to Belgium to the little village [Tremelo] where he was born.�
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Seminarians from St. Patrick’s Seminary sang a solemn Pontifical Mass of Requiem celebrated by Archbishop Mitty on Thursday morning, February 13, 1936. Father James McHugh of St. Patrick’s Church delivered the homily. Students of the Archdiocesan schools together with their teachers attended. The most elaborate ceremony was the final solemn Pontifical Mass of Requiem celebrated by the Archbishop on Friday, February 14. Civic, consular, and clerical dignitaries filled the Cathedral. An estimated 500 priests were present. Father Thomas F. Burke, pastor of the Paulists’ Old St. Mary’s, delivered the homily, in which he noted that “the spiritual influence that went out from the soul of this apostle of charity is the spirit that comes from Him, who was the inspiration of Father Damien himself.� Led again by a police motorcycle escort, a procession of the clergy formed to accompany the remains of Damien from the Cathedral to the waiting S.S. Republic. Attired formally, as before, the clergy were pelted by a driving rain during the milelong walk to Fort Mason. There, San Franciscans spoke their final
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
11
Bishops say health reform should include all immigrants, legal or not By Chaz Muth
Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, joins faith leaders during an immigration prayer service on Capitol Hill in Washington Sept. 15.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Though Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., concedes there’s no political will in Washington to include illegal immigrants in health care reform, he believes it’s the country’s moral obligation to ensure that everyone in the nation receives proper medical care.
That includes those who enter the country illegally, he told Catholic News Service in mid-September. “I agree that there is a special problem with those who have entered here without the permission of the United States, and that has to be looked at,” said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “But that’s a problem unto itself.” Most U.S. Catholic bishops who have spoken publicly about health care reform have expressed the opinion that one of the richest countries in the world should find a way to guarantee that everyone within its borders has access to medical care, from conception to natural death. Several Hispanic bishops met with members of the House and Senate Sept. 17 to convey their concern that immigrants – legal and illegal – might be left out of health reform.
(CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER)
See related story, page 19
Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., said that in addition to President Barack Obama’s pledge not to provide governmentfunded care to people in the country illegally, concerns have been expressed that even legal immigrants might be left out of the system. Bishop Soto said the exclusion of government-supported insurance for undocumented immigrants is an issue with which the bishops might disagree, but could concede as a political necessity. But the legislation “has to include at a minimum some kind of safety net for the undocumented,” particularly if the goal of a nationwide health care reform plan
San Francisco Interfaith action on immigration reform Sept.26 Immigration reform advocates will gather Sept. 26 at St. Mary’s Cathedral for an interfaith “Faithful Action for Just Immigration Reform.” Sponsoring the event are the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, the San Francisco Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the San Francisco Organizing Project. The event, hosted by San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William Justice, will focus on dignity and justice for immigrants and will call for an end to workplace and home raids that are resulting in the separation of families.
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is to improve the overall health of society, he said. “We realize it’s a very contentious issue,” Bishop Soto said. “But there has to be some kind of a safety net.” If undocumented immigrants cannot participate in health insurance, he added, “they will end up in emergency rooms.” Bishop Murphy said Catholic hospitals will not turn illegal immigrants away if they don’t have medical insurance, but he believes it will be more cost-effective if the undocumented are given an opportunity to buy into an affordable health insurance plan. On “the issue of health care, if it leaves out immigrants, it is doing what some people want it to do in terms of the unborn,” he said. “How can we say that we’re a country of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
September 25, 2009
Catholic San Francisco
13
America studies the Bible: Library of Congress and New York’s Museum of Biblical Art Interactive display at Library of Congress makes Bible come alive It would be impossible to connect all the library’s Bibles to an interactive machine, since the facility’s collection conWASHINGTON (CNS) – Separation of church and state is tains thousands of Bibles in more than 150 languages, about enshrined in the U.S. Constitution but that doesn’t mean the 1,500 of which are considered significant editions for their Bible can’t be admired and appreciated by a public or governrare or historic value, said Mark Dimunation, chief of the ment institution. library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Take the Library of Congress in However, modern technology Washington. It has an immense Bible has allowed the library to give collection, one augmented with modern the public greater access to all technology. kinds of books, research materiThe interactive equipment available als and archives – as well as the in the Library of Congress is making Scriptures – but it’s also provided the Scriptures accessible to a highcurators with a tool to better pretech generation, said Robert M. Sokol, serve historic editions for future project manager for the “New Visitors generations. Experience” program at the largest “Any kind of artificial light will, library in the world. over time, damage them, so we The most celebrated Bibles in the have to have very low light settings collection are the Gutenberg Bible and on them, which also affect accesthe Giant Bible of Mainz – proudly sibility in a way, because you can’t featured in the library’s Great Hall. really see that much,” Sokol said. The Giant Bible of Mainz is one “The interactives, obviously, being of the last great handwritten Bibles of backlit, show a great deal more. Europe and it represents hundreds of Plus, within the interactive, you can years of work disseminating the word zoom in, you can really examine the of God, according to the library’s details, which highlights things like Web site. the illuminations.” The Gutenberg Bible is the first Though Dimunation told CNS This Bible, pictured at the great book printed in Western Europe the interactive and digital techfrom movable metal type and it marks nology is a fascinating aspect of Library of Congress in a turning point in the art of bookmaking the library’s collection, he said Washington, was used and consequently in the transition from researchers and book enthusiasts when Abraham Lincoln was the Middle Ages to the modern world, are more attracted to the beautifully sworn in as president of the Web site reads. bound Bibles in these collected the United States in 1861. To give the public greater access works that date back to the 13th When President Barack to the enormous glass-encased – and century. centuries old Bibles – the Library of Some of those rare books Obama was sworn in as the Congress installed the interactive sysinclude the Bible collection of 44th president of the United tem in 2008, allowing visitors to use a the United States’ third president, States, he took the oath of touch screen to flip through the pages Thomas Jefferson. The first Bible office with the same bible. and read the text. printed in America is also housed Sokol, the library’s lead expert on in the Library of Congress, as is the the interactive equipment, told Catholic Lincoln Bible – the same book used News Service the technology not only teaches visitors about to swear in Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th president, the history and artistry of these books, but also gives the public the first black man to hold that office. closer access to them, since actually touching the volumes is The excitement generated by the high-tech apparatus next out of the question. to the two famous Bibles in the Great Hall is exactly what “When we show manuscripts and printed material, especially library officials hoped for when they first set them up last in book format, you can only see two pages at any given time,” year, said Erin Allen, a staff member in the Public Affairs he said. “So the first thing we wanted to do with the interactives Office of the Library of Congress. was allow people to be able to virtually turn the pages and flip Visitors tend to react differently to the Bible interactive through to see more.” displays, depending on their age, Sokol said. The interactive machines placed by the historic Bibles allow “The younger people usually go to the interactives first, visitors to use a touch screen to see the pages, zoom in, get and then check out the actual Bibles,” he said. “And the detailed information about the text, and really inspect the artwork, older people tend to check out the actual Bibles first, and type and handwritten passages on the historic manuscripts. then go to the interactives to learn more about them.”
A painting titled “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” by an unknown artist, at the museum of Biblical Art in New York
By Chaz Muth
The first Bible to be printed in the native Algonquin language, produced in 1663 by colonial clergyman John Eliot. The edition is a holding of the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress.
(CNS PHOTOS/NANCY WIECHEC)
A Bible in Italian and one in the extinct language from the Isle of Mann sit next to each other in the stacks of the Library of Congress. The library’s Rare Books and Special Collections Division includes thousands of Bibles in more than 150 languages.
Visitors surround the display containing the Gutenberg Bible in the dimly lit Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington. Likely finished in 1455, the Gutenberg Bible is the first complete book printed in the West using moveable type. Its printing marked a turning point in bookmaking and the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times.
In the 16th century, the Netherlands was one of “the most prolific, excitWASHINGTON (CNS) – Among ing centers for printed images,” Ena Heller’s favorite moments at Heller said, and that was happening New York’s Museum of Biblical Art at the same time as the religious is when visitors look at the treasures turmoil of the Reformation. in its galleries and say, “That’s not The exhibit – according to a comwhat I expected!” panion book edited by James Clifton “If we can create moments like and Walter S. Melion – “studies the that, then we have done our job,” crucial role played by scriptural prints she told Catholic News Service. in the complex processes of religious Heller is executive director of a self-formation that dominated early museum created to foster an undermodern European culture.” standing of art inspired by the Bible “Prints were the primary mediand its legacy through the centuries um for the invention and disseminaby showcasing the relationship tion of biblical imagery that gave between art and religion in the viewers new ways of relating to Jewish and Catholic traditions. Scripture,” it adds. “MOBIA is about biblical art, “It is a period and a place in not religious art in general,” she which there is this virtual explosion told Catholic News Service in a teleof printmaking and the disseminaphone interview in late August. tion of visual images,” making “The premise for the museum them accessible to the masses, said was there is this one book – the Clifton, who is director of the Sarah Bible – that is more important, more Campbell Blaffer Foundation at foundational to Western civilization Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts. than any other,” Heller explained. This profusion of illustrated “The point of view we come Bibles, devotional books and prints from is not a religious point of allowed ordinary people, not just view, but you cannot understand the rich and educated classes, to buy A sculpture titled “Prodigal literature, art history, this country such items to use in their homes for Son” by American artist Karen (and) the movement for religious their own “devotional purposes,” he Swenholt is displayed at the freedom” without understanding told CNS in a phone interview. Museum of Biblical Art. the Bible, she said. “I believe you After Sept. 27, “Scripture for cannot be fully educated without the Eyes” moves to the Michael C. knowledge of the Bible.” Carlos Museum at Emory University Located at the headquarters of the American Bible Society, in Atlanta. Clifton will be one of the exhibit’s curators. the museum grew out of a gallery that Heller started there in Past shows at the New York museum have included: “Reel 1997. The museum was founded in 2004 and opened to the Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film,” “Chagall’s Bible: public in May 2005, drawing some 60,000 visitors since then. Mystical Storytelling,” “Albrecht Durer: Art in Transition” and It has two galleries and a learning center. “Images of the Prodigal Son: The Art of Forgiveness.” “One of the things we try to do is show the extraordiOpening Oct. 16 will be an exhibit titled “Tobi Kahn: nary variety” of biblical art, Heller said. “I think everybody Sacred Spaces for the 21st Century,” followed by “An Uneasy thinks they know what biblical art is but they don’t know Communion: Jews, Christians and the Altarpieces of Medieval for sure.” Aragon,” which starts Feb. 19. People “usually have a definition but it is usually narrow,” Besides exhibitions, the museum sponsors tours, lectures, and the museum wants to help its visitors “stretch the definiconcerts and other events for the general public and scholars. It tion,” she added. also has special programs for children and families. The museum’s current exhibit – “Scripture for the Eyes: It has received funding from a wide range of private, public and Bible Illustration in Netherlandish Prints of the 16th Century” individual sources including various charitable trusts and founda– really “illustrates some of the most important connections that tions, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City this museum is trying to make,” she said. “It brings together Department of Cultural Affairs and the American Bible Society. two very important movements – in the history of art and the “We really are devoted to the image of the heavenly banquet, history of religion.” where everyone is invited and everyone is welcome,” said Father Paul Tabor, a New York priest who is the Museum of Biblical Art’s director of exhibitions. Cover of The museum also has a place in ecumenical dialogue, he said, “Scripture for because even as religious factions can so often disagree in today’s the Eyes: Bible world, “one of the important doorways into that discussion and Illustration in mutual respect of religions is through the arts.” “A person is led into a deeper appreciation of the religion that Netherlandish inspired those artworks,” he told CNS. Prints of the Editor’s Note: More information about the Museum of Biblical 16th Century.” Art is available on its Web site, www.mobia.org.
By Julie Asher
(CNS PHOTOS/BOB ROLLER)
Young visitors to the Library of Congress browse the pages of the Giant Bible of Mainz at an interactive kiosk in the library’s Great Hall in Washington. The institution’s massive collection of Bibles has been augmented with high-tech interactive displays that bring the pages of Scripture alive for visitors.
New York museum’s focus is biblical art in Jewish, Christian faiths
14
Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Archbishop’s Journal
We must be servants of all, especially those in need Archbishop George H. Niederauer delivered the following homily at a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sept. 20, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. Imagine this scene: a mother, about 60, gathers her adult children in her living room. She tells them that she has been diagnosed with incurable cancer, and that painful treatments will soon begin. The mother goes into her kitchen, and the children begin to talk among themselves. She returns and asks them what they have been talking about. There is an embarrassed silence, and then one of them asks, on behalf of all, “Which of us is your favorite? Whom do you love most?” That is like the scene with Jesus and the twelve apostles today, in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus predicts that he will be handed over to men who will kill him, and that three days later he will rise from the dead. Then they all walk home together. When they arrive home, Jesus asks the twelve what they were talking about along the way. After what Jesus had said, they began arguing about who among them was most important of all! How shallow and self-centered can you get? So Jesus tells them what “success” means in the kingdom he has come to establish and proclaim: “If anyone wishes to rank first, he must remain the last of all and the servant of all.” Why is that? Because Jesus himself was the servant of all, all the way to the Cross. To give the twelve apostles credit, at least they are embarrassed by their shallowness: “At this they fell silent. . . .” They didn’t want to tell him what they had been talking about. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how everything looks like it’s true self in front of Jesus Christ? Suddenly their pride and selfishness embarrass them. Even a priest, Jesus Christ’s weak, imperfect human agent gets this “Jesus” treatment: Someone in a group I’m part of starts to tell a story, then suddenly stops, looks at me, and says, “Maybe I shouldn’t really be telling this story in front of You, Father.” I think to myself, “Maybe you shouldn’t be telling it at all.” Of course, everything we say and do is “in front of Christ.” If we make a racist remark, we make the remark about Christ, and to Christ. If we sell drugs, we sell them to Christ. We conveniently forget that–life is so much more comfortable another way. It’s a natural human inclination to operate according to the pleasure/pain principle: seek and do what gives pleasure, or comfort, or even convenience, and avoid the opposite. It’s the way of the world. Jesus came to announce a different way, however – to BE a different way: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” Opposite to the way of the world around us: self, first, last and always. So we must choose.
For instance, the way of the world is to seek out the powerful people who can help you out and make your way easy. Stick with winners; don’t spend any time on losers. What does Jesus teach instead? Listen to the gospel: “Then he took a little child, stood him in their midst, and putting his arms around him, said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes a child such as this for my sake welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes, not me, but him who sent me.’” Why did Jesus choose the little child? Well, children are helpless and vulnerable in this life. Most of the time they can’t make us rich or famous. Children need us: Our help, our example, our care, our patience, our love. So a child is a great example for Jesus to use when he’s showing us that we must be the servants of all, especially those most in need of us. But there’s more to it than that. Kids are naive and inexperienced, but they are more open and flexible than adults, more spontaneous and joyful usually, and, while they constantly have their battles, they are much quicker to forgive and start over again. Contrast all that with what James is talking about in that second reading today: the jealousy, strife and vile behavior among adults in the Church. And he gives a pretty good first-century psychological and spiritual analysis of what is going on when we sin. Listen to it again: “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do no ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” At the end it comes back to being self-absorbed and self-centered, rather than Christ-centered, rather than being open to his love for us and his love for others through us. And that clear choice between self-centeredness and Christ-centeredness brings us to our celebration today, our celebration and our giving thanks for 150 years of the service and witness of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco, seeing and serving Jesus Christ in others, especially the most needy of our sisters and brothers. The St. Vincent DePaul Society was founded in France in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam and other laymen and laywomen. They put their work under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, the seventeenth-century founder of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity. St. Vincent’s devotion to the poor was so great that the Church has declared him the patron saint of all works of charity. (I can never mention St. Vincent de Paul without putting in a plug: rent the video of his life story, “Monsieur Vincent,” a film that won
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Weigel wrong on Kennedy I found Mr. Weigel’s column on the death of Senator Ted Kennedy (Catholic San Francisco, Sept. 18) deeply troubling and extraordinarily offensive. To accuse the late Senator of endorsing programs that support the “welfare plantation” is pure and simple racism. I don’t think I need to explain Mr. Weigel’s intent here. There are many reasons the late Senator opposed welfare reform. Read some of the writings of Marian Wright Edelman, the children’s advocate, for further clarification. The destruction of urban neighborhoods no doubt contributed to the demise of urban family life. However, the greater evil of those times was the drug culture that took hold in urban ghettos throughout this country. And as
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for the voucher system which may have helped a handful of inner city youth at the expense of public education which educates all of the poor, $3,000 is not nearly enough to cover the current costs of a parochial school education. Most parishes have financial aid and scholarships for needy students. Mr. Weigel has every right to dismiss Senator Kennedy’s lifelong advocacy for the poor and his own personal example of atonement and redemption. And I have every right as an Irish Catholic educator of “at risk” youth to disagree with him. The sadness of the column is that Mr. Weigel has really missed the point of Senator Ted Kennedy’s life and work. Ann Hunt Tiburon
On women’s ordination In her letter (CSF Sept. 18) asking what Jesus Christ would think about ordaining priests, Carol McMackin opines that she thinks it will happen sooner than we think and suggests that the Church is ready for a “wake-up call. Does she not know that Jesus Christ “thinks” as the Church thinks, which is why He established it? I suggest Carol Mackin read the letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. In it, the Holy Father not only makes the case for an all male priesthood, he ends it by stating without equivocation: 4. “Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has
the best foreign film Oscar many years ago. Yes, it has subtitles, but you won’t be disappointed!) In 186O, only 27 years after it began in France, the St. Vincent DePaul Society came to San Francisco. Now, Archbishop 150 years later, this George H. Society provides services to over 1,000 Neiderauer men, women and children each day, offering hope and service to the poor and suffering on a direct, person-to-person basis. They battle the cycles of homelessness, substance abuse and domestic violence. Their programs include a detox center for homeless and low-income people; a sobriety-oriented affordable single-room occupancy residence; a free clothing- and grocery-distribution program; the city’s largest continuum of shelters and services for battered women and their children; and the largest homeless shelter in northern California. Every one of these programs means “hope” and “life” for so many people, and every one of them is seriously challenged by these tough economic times. Almost one million people around the world are members of the St. Vincent DePaul Society. We pray for all of them today at this Eucharist, and we give thanks to God for them. Most particularly we give thanks for the women and men of the St. Vincent DePaul Society of San Francisco. They make no distinctions of creed or race or anything else, because St. Vincent did not and neither did Jesus the Lord. At this Mass we offer and receive the Body and Blood of Christ, first offered by him on the Cross. Faith and hope and love empower us to see the Savior beneath the appearances of bread and wine. That same faith and hope and love, deepened and strengthened by Eucharist, empower us to see Christ our loving Lord in the neediest of our sisters and brothers, to see Christ in the poor, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, in “a most distressing disguise.” We pray for the San Francisco Vincentians that they will be strengthened today and all days, so that they may see Christ in those most distressing disguises, and, like the father of the Prodigal Son, that our Vincentians may replace those disguises by means of the ring, the sandals and the finest robe of Christian love and service.
been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force. “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” Thus those who continue to argue for a female priesthood are debating the undebatable, which is a lesson in futility. Thura Straus Belmont
Come pray with us
of John Noonan’s book. What he has just as clearly not read is the book itself. He quotes nothing from the Noonan book and refers only to “many dissenting Jesuits” as his sources. I can only reiterate my high recommendation of the book (CSF “Book” Aug. 21) to readers who can make their own judgments about it. Father Basil De Pinto Oakland
L E T T E R S
From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank your newspaper in helping us promote our public square rosary crusade each year. We are inviting everyone to join us again on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 12:00 noon at the United Nations Plaza (8th St., Market & Hyde St.). Please join with Father John Jimenez and all of us, your readers and many more. This public square Rosary Crusade is nationwide! Helene H. Rosenthal San Francisco
Reviewer replies Robert Johnson (CSF “Letters” Sept. 4) clearly has read Cardinal Dulles’s review
Food for thought
I thank Carolyn Rae Lemon for her response to my letter of Aug. 7 regarding the reception of Holy Communion during times of flu season, and also when there is no apparent danger of contagion. I feel that we are in agreement regarding the sanctity of this holy Sacrament. I do appreciate her concern that the use of individual cups might not be appropriate. I do know that the use of mass produced wafers was not the scene we read in Matthew 26:26 when Jesus took some bread and broke it and gave it to his disciples. It was most likely a loaf of unleavened bread which Jesus blessed and passed around. What has evolved is a practical solution to preparing hosts which the priests can sanctify at Mass and distribute to the participants as well as the homebound or those in hospital, jails or other institutions. The priest alone can transform this bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. I suggested that we might consider also a way of distributing the wine (the blood of Jesus Christ) so that we don’t have to ban it during times of flu or epidemics. Certainly opinions may differ as to how to accomplish this distribution. Mary-Alice Eldon Redwood City Editor’s note: Catholic San Francisco will report on this issue in the near future.
September 25, 2009
Catholic San Francisco
15
The Catholic Difference
The remarkable Rose Hawthorne In 2001, when chairman Leon Kass was organizing the President’s Council on Bioethics (which was recently and foolishly disbanded by President Obama), he sent the Council members some interesting homework to read before their first discussion in 2001: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birthmark,” which doesn’t figure in too many high school American literature anthologies these days. Dr. Kass knew precisely what he was doing, however: he was asking those charged with advising the President of the United States about the management of humanity’s new genetic knowledge to think about today’s challenges through the prism of a story about beauty, hubris, and the lethal dangers of the Promethean quest for human perfection. In Hawthorne’s tale, Aylmer, a scientist, has married an exceptionally beautiful woman named Georgiana, whose face is marred (in Aylmer’s view) by a birthmark. Eventually convinced by Aylmer that the birthmark should be removed, Georgiana submits to a procedure, designed by Aylmer, that is supposed to eliminate what her husband regards as a blemish on her beauty. The birthmark disappears but Georgiana dies. Aylmer’s quest to make his wife perfect, as he understands perfection, has killed the women he sought to perfect. I had known about the striking assignment by Dr. Kass to the Bioethics Council for years. But it was only recently that his effort to get America thinking seriously about the moral and human costs of striving for physical perfection brought to mind another member of the Hawthorne clan—
Rose Hawthorne, the author’s youngest child, whose cause for beatification is now underway. Born in Lenox, Mass., in 1851, Rose Hawthorne spent her childhood years in Liverpool, England (where her father was U.S. consul), and Italy before coming home to Concord, Mass., in 1860. At age 20, Rose married George Parsons Lathrop and the couple eventually settled in Boston, where Lathrop worked at the Atlantic Monthly and Rose established her own reputation as a writer, publishing short stories and poems. After five years of marriage, a son, Francis Hawthorne Lathrop, was born; but the lad succumbed to diphtheria when just 5 years old. Rose and George Lathrop were both received into the Catholic Church in 1891, 10 years after their son’s death. But their marriage became impossible; George Lathrop had problems with “intemperance” (as the New Catholic Encyclopedia delicately puts it), which led to his inability to keep a job. With her confessor’s permission, Rose began to live alone and, after taking appropriate training, started work with patients suffering from incurable cancer—a heart-breaking ministry of charity to which she devoted the rest of her life. After George Lathrop’s death in 1898, Rose Hawthorne became a Dominican sister, establishing the Dominican Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, also known as the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. A center for cancer patients was established in Hawthorne, New York, where Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P., as Rose was known in religion, spent out her years, dying there in 1926. As Father Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P., the postulator for her
beatification, once wrote, “service to Christ’s poor did not simply mean that this lady of culture, education, and social status would put on an apron and offer gifts from her abundance. She decided to live among the George Weigel poor, to beg for them as they did for themselves, and to establish a home where they could live in dignity, cleanliness, and ease as they faced their final days on earth. ...There was to be no class system, no ‘upstairs/downstairs’ for her residents. She and her religious sisters would be the servants. The residents would be the object of all their care and concern.” Rose Hawthorne saw in disfigured men and women suffering from horrible cancers what Aylmer could not see in the near-perfection of the beautiful Georgiana in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story: the face of Christ. The Rose Hawthorne Guild (600 Linda Ave., Hawthorne, NY 10532) promotes the cause of Rose Hawthorne; a prayer asking cures and other favors through her intercession is available at www.hawthorne-dominicans.org/guild/nl_gld.3.htm. It would not be misplaced to add a prayer for any future President’s Council on Bioethics in such intercessions. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Potpourri
Unholy nonchalance It’s a beautiful, sunny Sunday punctuated by the lighthearted laughter and chatter of people gathered to share the moment. Most of the teens and many of the adults are dressed for the occasion in jeans, shorts and flip-flops. Friends laughing, sweethearts nuzzling, little tots running to and fro – all of it is casual and carefree. Depending on where you are and how you view this, it could be the gathering of a crowd in a park, in the lobby of a movie theatre – or in many Catholic churches during Mass on Sunday. These days, attending Mass out of town or in some local churches can be simultaneously gratifying and dismaying; gratifying because the members of the Body of Christ are gathered together to worship their Lord and God; and dismaying when all too often reverent conduct is replaced by, or juxtaposed with, rowdy chaos. The remonstrances of the dear nuns who taught us early on to comport ourselves silently and respectfully in the house of God, and unless we have good reason, never to leave Mass before the celebrant does, have become as alien to many as the smell of incense, Gregorian chant, and intellectual awareness of
Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. That’s not to say that the authors of Vatican II did not assure us that Our Lord is also present in the Word, in the Liturgy, in the priest and congregation, but as the venerable Pope Pius XII wrote many decades ago in Mediator Dei, “He is singularly and uniquely present in the Eucharistic species.” If we truly held that belief close to our hearts, we would constantly remind ourselves that “real presence” means Christ is with us in His body and blood, soul and divinity as surely as if He were standing before us. Would we then chatter before or during Mass? Because few, if any of us are equipped with the acquired discipline of concentrated contemplation so unique to the Saints, it’s hard not to be distracted from the holy reality of where we are and who is so intimately with us. In a 2003 Adoremus Bulletin Survey Report, lack of reverence at Mass topped all other concerns. Although there’s no quick fix for the epidemic of bad manners so rife in some of our churches today, the return to good deportment can begin with us. Who fails to notice the Consecration of the priest who holds high, without haste, and adoringly the Divine gifts we are about
to receive? Or those who receive Communion with quiet esteem and m e d i t a t ive s i l e n c e afterward? Can we not emulate their reverent deportment? If each of us were to make an effort to comport Jane L. Sears ourselves properly before God and one another, the hour of unholy nonchalance would become a longed for hour of sacred bliss shared with our priests and our brothers and sisters in the pews. And when our teens and toddlers are adults, our good example will have replaced their boredom with enriched appreciation for the Holy Mass and an acute awareness of Who had condescended to come and gift us with Himself. Jane L. Sears is a free lance writer and a member of Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame.
For the Journey
Fall comes to the North Country Fall has come to the North Country. Although the temperature reached 70 degrees today, a warm day for Anchorage, Alaska, the fireweed is nearly done blooming and the nights are settling into the 30s and 40s. We’ve had a lot of rain, a sure sign of the end of summer. And even though the state fair usually brings a few sunny days, the daylight is receding and darkness is settling in by bedtime. This is a harbinger of the long dark days, with a little over five hours of sunlight by Christmas. The air has that crisp feeling that I, a former Midwesterner, always associate with football on a late-October afternoon. At night, almost like clockwork, I cuddle into bed just as a formation of geese flies over my house heading south. Is there any noise more melancholy thann the farewell of geese at the end of summer?? Like the far-off sound of a train whistle in rb the night or the lone coyote that used to disturb my sleep as a child on the Great Plains, that m o u r n f u l honking lifts me out of where I am and brings me into the presence of something greater, more mysterious. The great theologian Jesuit Father Karl Rahner spoke of God as an infinite horizon. The more we move toward
that mystery, the more it expands and opens its vista ever wider. This idea of God as mystery is hard for some people to accept. A lot of people want absolutes, absol absolutes in the sense that every “t” is cross crossed, every “i” dotted, so that there’s no more searching to be done, all the answers are sspelled out. I always feel sorry for those folks, bec because they, in a sense, have created their ow own God, and they’ve confined God to a box box. Their God, rather than vast, limitless ho horizons, has become a small and easilyde defined-by-human-language God. But don’t we all have a tendency to ddo that to God sometimes? I know Jesus taught us that if we kknock, the door will be opened; if we ask, we’ll receive. I often wonder how many times I need to knock and if I’m standing at the right door at all. Right now, we’re drifting into fall. I realize that drifting, like mystery, can make me uncomfortable. I like beginnings and endings. I appreciate a well-thought-out “to-do” list that has many checkmarks at the end of the day. I prefer a job well-done, not a job half-done.
A friend of mine who is very ill has reported that for many days it feels as if he is taking one step forward, then two steps back. He is struggling to recover from surgery and preparing for chemotherapy. Effie Caldarola But don’t we all feel that way sometimes, as if our lives are not well-scripted, planned ahead with the beginnings and the endings noted in red? Instead, we write out the story as we go and bemoan the two steps backward. But what if backward is where we’ll find the right door, the one on which we need to knock? In Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister’s book “Journal,” she offers the thought: “Everything in life is a potential blessing.” Can we see the step taken backward, the job half-done, the lonely cry of nature’s exodus in the dark sky as “blessing”? Yet those are the moments we most need to pause and say to mystery, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Effie Caldarola writes a column for Catholic News Service from her home in Anchorage, Alaska.
16
Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scripture reflection
Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14 R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just. R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. Though your servant is careful of them, very diligent in keeping them, Yet who can detect failings? Cleanse me from my unknown faults! R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin. R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. A READING FROM THE LETTER OF JAMES JAS 5:1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become motheaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and
that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.
Be open and loving to all
(CNS PHOTO/YANNIS BEHRAKIS, REUTERS)
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF NUMBERS NM 11:25-29 The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, the Lord bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “Moses, my lord, stop them.” But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”
FATHER CHARLES PUTHOTA
A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK MK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”
When Mahatma Gandhi was in South Africa, it is said that he was inspired by the teachings of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount. Gandhi decided to attend a church service one Sunday morning. When he arrived at the front door, he was told by a gentleman that he was not welcome in that church. He was free to go, however, to the church down the road where the natives worshipped. Gandhi’s exclusion raises vital questions: Whom do we include? Who are excluded? On what basis? Answers to these questions could determine how we organize relations in religion, culture, society, politics, and economics–-nationally and internationally. In our faith journey, we might consciously or unconsciously be marginalizing various groups of people. As a result, religions could be manipulated into means of discrimination and exclusion–-a far cry from the unity and reconciliation they are supposed to promote. Some recent surveys have indicated the trend of growing numbers of people in the 21st century who are wary of organized religion. Wars are waged, violence is unleashed, freedom muzzled, ethnic cleansing perpetrated, minorities oppressed–-all because the “other” is considered the enemy. At times, what crimes are committed in the name of religion! The Balkan atrocities, Rwandan massacres, and the 9/11 tragedy are some haunting–-and heartrending–-examples. In the Book of Numbers, the conflict between the insiders and outsiders is demonstrated in the tension between the “tent” and the “camp.” Moses refuses to exclude Eldad and Medad, who did not get up to the tent, but the Spirit of God is given to them all the same. Who are we to question God’s amazing, all-inclusive, unconditional love? In the gospel, John complains to Jesus about an outsider driving out demons in Jesus’ name. John even joins others in trying to prevent him. Jesus’ focus, however, is not on tight groups and allegiances, but rather on the good that needs to be done to others. Anyone filled with goodness toward others cannot be against Jesus, even if that person does not explicitly profess Jesus. Therefore, let us allow and encourage everyone in the world to love and serve others. Everyone who does good does indeed belong to the new community Jesus has come to establish– -the Kingdom of God.
While we are to continue to “go to the whole world and preach the good news and baptize people,” Jesus inspires us to work with people of all backgrounds and cultures to ensure that everyone has access to God’s blessings. We need to seriously reevaluate our concepts of insiders and outsiders, and march toward forging the global community of justice and peace. If God so loved the world that He sent his only son, we too must embrace the whole world, the world of myriad forms of diversity. Jesus’ own attitude toward Samaritans, Romans, Syro-Phoenicians, tax collectors, sinners, lepers, physically handicapped people, prostitutes, and the lost sheep is breathtakingly unambiguous. No one is excluded from God’s Kingdom. No one a stranger! Catholics and members of other denominations, active churchgoers and lax ones, people of diverse religions, believers and non-believers, all have to work together to nurture and nourish the human family because the task is bewilderingly complex and enormous. It takes the whole world to build up every human person. If Mother Theresa had worked only for those who follow Jesus, what would have happened to her ministry? Precisely because she was an authentic follower of Jesus, she had the courage to reach out to the poorest of people, irrespective of religion, race, and culture. Christianity would truly fulfill the Kingdom of God by embracing all of humanity–-the good, the bad, and the ugly– -without insecurity and discrimination. To all those who follow the dictates of their conscience, our ministries are directed; to all who thirst for righteousness, our service is extended. Wherever people are deprived of basic needs and rights, dignity and wellbeing, there is a Christian rallying the support of other religions and cultures to alleviate pain and suffering. In the ultimate sense, as Jesus envisions it, “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Lk 13:29-30). Father Charles Puthota, Ph.D., is pastor of St. Veronica Church in South San Francisco.
Spirituality for Life
The abundance God: a model for generosity The sun is extraordinarily generous, giving huge parts of itself away every second. Scientists tell us that every second, inside the sun, the equivalent of four million elephants are being transformed into light, an irretrievable, one-time gift. The sun is giving itself away. If this generosity should halt, all energy would eventually lose its source and everything would die and become inert. We, and everything on our planet, live because of the generosity of the sun. In this generosity, the sun reflects the abundance of God, a largesse that invites us to also be generous, to have bighearts, to risk more in giving ourselves away in self-sacrifice, to witness to God’s abundance. But this isn’t easy. Instinctually we move more naturally to self-preservation and security. By nature we fear and we horde. Because of this, whether we are poor or not, we tend to work out of a sense of scarcity, fearing always that we don’t have enough, that there isn’t enough, and that we need
to be careful in what we give away, that we can’t afford to be too generous. But God belies this, as does nature. God is prodigal, abundance, generous, and wasteful beyond our small fears and imaginations. Nature too is stunningly overwhelming and prodigal. The scope of our universe, even just in so far as we know it, is almost unimaginable. So too is the abundance and prodigal character of God. We see this, for instance, in the biblical parable of the Sower: The Sower, God, whom Jesus describes, is not a calculating person who sows his grain carefully and discriminately only into worthy soil. This Sower scatters seeds indiscriminately everywhere: on the road, in the bushes, in the rocks, into barren soil, as well as into good soil. He has, it seems, unlimited seeds and so he works from a generous sense of abundance rather than from a guarded sense of scarcity. We see that same abundance in the parable of the vineyard owner, where the owner, God, gives a full day’s wage to everybody,
whether he or she worked the full day or not. God, we are told, has limitless wealth and is not stingy in giving it out. God is equally as prodigal and generous in forgiveness, as we see, in the Gospels. In the parFather able of the Father who forgives the prodigal son Ron Rolheiser we see a person who can forgive out of a richness that dwarfs dignity and calculated cost to self. And we see this same largesse in Jesus himself as he forgives both those who executed him and those who abandoned him during his execution. SPIRITUALITY FOR LIFE, page 17
September 25, 2009
Catholic San Francisco
17
Pope Benedict addresses distinct roles of priest and laity CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) – The special role of priests should be kept distinct from that of lay people even in parts of the world where there is a shortage of ordained clergy, Pope Benedict XVI said in a meeting with Brazilian bishops. Meeting with bishops from the poor and arid northeastern area of Brazil Sept. 17, the pope said the role of the priest “is essential and irreplaceable in announcing the word and celebrating the sacraments.” “It is necessary to avoid the secularization of the clergy and the clericalization of the laity,” the pope told the bishops at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. Dioceses in many areas of Brazil have come to rely on
substantial involvement of lay ministers and other lay people to mitigate a shortage in ordained priests. “It is not a lack of priests that justifies a more active and consistent participation of the laity,” the pope said. Rather, lay faithful should live more fully their own responsibilities and appreciate the “specific and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community,” he said. Catholics should express and live their faith fully in daily life, including in politics, the pope said, warning against participation in politics by priests. “Priests must stay away from a personal involvement in politics, in order to foster unity and communion of all the faithful and to be a point of reference for everyone,” he said.
The pope urged the bishops to continue their efforts to encourage vocations. They should not assume that the present priest shortage is the usual state of affairs, the pope said. “It’s important that the current situation, in which many of you are forced to organize church life with few priests, is not considered normal or typical of the future,” he said. The clergy in the various dioceses should help each other out so that the faithful in all areas can have qualified ordained ministers to guide them, he said. The bishops were meeting with Pope Benedict and Vatican officials for their “ad limina” visits, required of heads of dioceses every five years to brief the pope on the situation in their home territories.
Spirituality for Life . . .
condemn the rich or riches. Rather he makes a distinction between the generous rich and the miserly rich. The former are good because they radiate and incarnate God’s abundance and generosity while the latter are bad because they belie God’s abundance, generosity, and huge heart. Jesus assures us that the measure we measure out is the measure that we ourselves will receive in return. In essence, that says that the air we breathe out will be the air we reinhale. That isn’t just true ecologically. It is a broad truth for life in general. If we breathe out miserliness, we will re-inhale miserliness; if we breathe out pettiness, we will breathe in pettiness; if we breathe out bitterness, then bitterness will be the air that surrounds us; and if we breathe out a sense of scarcity that makes us calculate and be fearful, then calculation and fearfulness will be the air we re-inhale. But, if aware of God’s abundance, we breathe out generosity
and forgiveness, we will breathe in the air of generosity and forgiveness. We re-inhale what we exhale. I have never met a truly generous man or woman who didn’t say that, always, he or she received more in return than he or she gave out. And I have never met a truly bighearted man or woman who lived out of a sense of scarcity. To be generous and big-hearted we have to first trust in God’s abundance and generosity. From God’s abundance we get a sun that is generous and a universe that is too huge and prodigal to be imagined. That’s a challenge not just to the mind and the imagination, but especially to the heart - for it to become huge and generous.
n Continued from page 16
God, from everything we can see, is so rich in love and mercy that he can afford to be wasteful, over-generous, noncalculating, non-discriminating, incredibly risk-taking, and big-hearted beyond our imaginations. And that’s the invitation: To have a sense of God’s abundance so as to risk always a bigger heart and generosity beyond the instinctual fear that has us believe that, because things seem scarce, we need to be more calculating. The gospel of Luke has one of the strongest social justice messages in all of scripture (every sixth line is a direct challenge for justice for the poor) and yet, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus, while warning about the danger of wealth, does not
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Catholic San Francisco
Pope’s trip to Czech . . . ■Continued from cover were confiscated and the problem of restituting or compensating for the seizures still has not been wholly resolved. For example, Prague’s historic St. Vitus Cathedral, where the pope will celebrate vespers Sept. 26, still belongs to the state despite a long legal battle between the church and the country’s courts. In 1946, about 80 percent of the Czech people identified themselves as Catholic, and 50 percent of them went to Mass regu-
September 25, 2009 larly, according to local church statistics. In 1991, two years after the country’s peaceful struggle for independence and democracy with the Velvet Revolution, 38-40 percent declared themselves Catholic. That trend continued to spiral downward to 26-30 percent today, with only 5 percent saying they regularly attend Mass. When the pope’s trip to the Czech Republic was announced in 2006, Martin Horalek, a spokesman for the Czech bishops, said the papal visit would be a great opportunity to rebuild the Catholic faith “at a time when our church’s position has suffered, leaving it weak in numbers.�
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The drastic decline in church attendance has often been blamed on the decades of communist repression and its efforts to blot out religious faith. But some say the crisis of Catholicism includes the church’s failure to seize new opportunities ushered in by the wave of democracy. The Czech ambassador to the Vatican, Pavel Vosalik, said after the fall of communism in the Czech Republic that an overwhelming majority of citizens did identify with Christian values and principles. But as the country got caught up in building a free and democratic nation, those common ideals got lost in the shuffle, and society quickly became secularized, he told Vatican Radio Sept. 14. Vosalik said he believes the country still holds a deep belief in God and religion, but that it has lost its connection to the Catholic Church. Starting in the 1990s, “the church missed the opportunity, missed the momentum when the nation was very open and was willing to communicate� with the Catholic Church, he said. The church especially failed to reach out to young people, who never experienced communist oppression, in a language they
could understand and with a message they wanted to hear, he said. He said he spoke with Pope Benedict about these issues and told him how church leaders needed to look at “how they could improve their communication with the population� and find new ways of getting their message across that would resonate with the modern age. “I see the visit as a very important step toward building and reopening channels for communication between society and the Catholic Church,� the ambassador said. The pope is optimistic about the Czech Republic’s resolve in overcoming obstacles. In an address to Vosalik when he presented his credentials as the new ambassador to the Vatican last year, the pope praised the Czech people’s strong sense of solidarity, which enabled them to overthrow totalitarianism and build a democratic nation. But the pope said true progress can only come about with the values and hope that the church offers every generation – a message he is likely to repeat to the Czech people in person. Many of the pope’s activities in the Czech Republic will be covered by EWTN television on cable outlets.
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Cardinal, others discuss faith-based forces aligning on immigration By Patricia Zapor WASHINGTON (CNS) – The next phase in the drive for comprehensive immigration reform is taking root in parish basements, church sanctuaries and Jewish summer camps. At a Sept. 22 panel discussion sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a Washington research institute, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony was joined by a rabbi, a Methodist minister and the author of a new report on religious activism for immigration to discuss the direction taken over the last few years. The report, “Loving Thy Neighbor,” tells the stories of work for immigrants and immigration reform such as the interfaith efforts that developed in tiny Postville, Iowa, after the May 2008 workplace raid on Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking plant. St. Bridget Church joined forces with local Lutheran and Jewish congregations and their national networks to provide basic services and then more advanced assistance in Postville. Other stories in the report tell about cooking lessons being given by Iraqi refugees in Lancaster, Pa., to thank those who had assisted them; an immigrant detention center near Chicago where two nuns started a prayer ministry; and a 143-mile pilgrimage to where immigrants facing deportation were detained, organized by two Catholics in Washington state. Against that backdrop, Cardinal Mahony and the Rev. Dean Reed, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Stephenville, Texas, told of being jolted into action on behalf of a broad approach to immigration reform. For Rev. Reed, the jolt came from the realization that the Mexican migrants in his town outside of Fort Worth were going
through the same kind of adjustments as did his Irish immigrant ancestors long ago. As a resident of an overwhelmingly conservative county, Rev. Reed said he’s satisfied with working gradually within the minority of people in the community who are sympathetic to immigrants, encouraging them to talk to others and working to open people’s hearts. Cardinal Mahony said the initially quiet passage in the House in 2005 of a sweeping immigration bill introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., caught him off guard. The bill called for a wide range of immigration enforcement measures, including making it illegal to provide humanitarian assistance to people in the country illegally. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’” said Cardinal Mahony. Soon after, he wrote a column in which he said if the bill became law, he would advise his priests to ignore provisions that would have criminalized the act of giving food or other assistance to undocumented immigrants. Ultimately, Cardinal Mahony said he came to consider “that bill was a godsend. It made so absurd how they wanted to deal with the issue.” Anger over that bill helped mobilize millions of people at pro-immigrant rallies around the country in the spring of 2006. Though efforts to pass broader immigration legislation failed that year and the year after, broad alliances and grass-roots organizations have continued their work. Cardinal Mahony said he later told Sensenbrenner that he had done the movement for comprehensive immigration reform a favor. “I told him, ‘Thank you for giving us such an absurd piece of legislation.’ It energized the immigrant and pro-immigrant community.”
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ST. CHARLES BORROMEO PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO ITALY Milan, Padua, Venice, Loreto, Assisi, Rome Spiritual Director: Rev. Fr. Moises Agudo October 20-29, 2009 (10 days) • Cost of tour: $2,800 ***************************************************************************** SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND November 16-25, 2009, • Cost of tour: $2,490 plus airline taxes TBD ***************************************************************************** OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY Germany with Rome, Assisi, Florence, Shroud of Turin, Switzerland May 6-17, 2010 (12 days) • Estimated cost of tour: $3,390 land only, Air cost: $850+air taxes TBD ***************************************************************************** OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY, GERMANY w/ CZECH REPUBLIC, SWITZERLAND Berlin, Prague, Munich, Oberammergau, Vaduz, Lucerne, Zurich June 15-26, 2010 (12 days) • Estimated cost of tour: $3,390 Land only, Air cost: $850+air taxes TBD ***************************************************************************** OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY, GERMANY W/ AUSTRIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, Divine Mercy-Wadowice, Czestochowa-Warsaw May 28-June 8, 2010 (12 days) • Estimated cost of tour: $3,390 land portion only, Air cost $850+taxes TBD
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
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San Francisco’s music scene: previews of coming attractions The new music season is upon us; herewith some notes on what to expect from the many offerings of our two most prestigious San Francisco organizations, the Opera and the Symphony. At his press conference held last spring General Director David Gockley stated unequivocally that with the appointment of Music Director Nicola Luisotti he intended that San Francisco Opera should regain its place as a pre-eminently Italian opera company. Well, five of the nine productions are of Italian works; over fifty percent is not bad. Verdi and Puccini are represented by two operas each, but Donizetti receives the most promising casting, with the highly regarded German soprano Diana Damrau as the star of “The Daughter of the Regiment,” accompanied by the spectacular Juan Diego Florez as Tonio, the man with the nine high C’s. If you lament the absence of the late, beloved Luciano Pavarotti, have no fear. Mr. Florez is one of a group of Hispanic tenors who completely dominate the Italian repertory today, and they are superb. Of the non-Italian works most interest will fall on Salome, featuring the German soprano Nadja Michael. A snippet on YouTube from La Scala reveals an ample voice and keen dramatic sense. This is one to watch, especially since Mr. Luisotti will be in the pit; it is a rarity for an Italian to lead a German opera here. Verdi’s Otello, perhaps the summit of all Italian music, is a must. The casting looks unfortunate to me, but I don’t want to pre-judge. Deborah Voigt takes on her first Minnie in Puccini’s Girl of the Golden West. Salvatore Licitra will be her Dick
young Chinese pianist, Yundi Li, plays the Tchaikovsky First Concerto, but the better half of the concert is devoted to the great Symphony No. 7 by Dvorak. If you only know No. 9, the “New World,” you should treat yourself to this rich, powerful work. In November, the brilliant young French cellist Gautier Capucon plays the Schumann Concerto and that is followed by the Sibelius Fifth Symphony, a welcome reminder of a composer perhaps less esteemed than he once was. After the Christmas break, things heat up again when Mr. Thomas takes on the dual role of pianist and conductor in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, sandwiched between two works of Stravinsky, the Octet and Pulcinella. Before I run out of space: there are visits by two major European orchestras. In November, the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle will treat us to a lot of Brahms with some Wagner and Schoenberg thrown in. These two concerts may already be sold out, but try anyway. Not to be missed if you can help it. In February, the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, one of the oldest in Europe, will present generous portions of Beethoven and that “New World” you might have longed for. And, as they say, much, much more. The Opera for fiscal and other reasons can offer only a small number of works. The Symphony has the advantage of presenting a good deal of variety, something for everybody. An enormously rich season looms ahead. (PHOTO BY KEN HOWARD)
By Father Basil De Pinto
Johan Botha in Otello.
Johnson. If nothing else this will be a wild and wooly affair. I urge you at all cost to avoid the new Ring cycle. I saw the first installment, Das Rheingold, last year and found it utterly repellent. Euro-trash has arrived on our shores. But tearing things apart is half the fun of the opera season. Enjoy. Across the street at Davies Symphony Hall, Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas has prepared a generous assortment of works both old and new. The old includes still another runthrough of Mahler symphonies, but there’s no denying that MTT is a specialist in this music. In October, still another
Father Basil De Pinto is a frequent contributor on the arts.
Catholic League official fights cultural ‘saboteurs’ in new book “SECULAR SABOTAGE: HOW LIBERALS ARE DESTROYING RELIGION AND CULTURE IN AMERICA” by Bill Donohue. FaithWords (New York, 2009). 258 pp., $21.99.
Reviewed by Brian Olszewski If the cultural war requires bare-knuckled brawlers, Bill Donohue might be its undisputed champion. Head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights since 1993, Donohue has been at the forefront of battles that he says provide evidence of the sabotage about which he writes – a
SCRIPTURE SEARCH Gospel for September 27, 2009 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 Following is a word search based on the Gospel th reading for the 26 Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B: A lesson about those who teach the faith truly. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle. TEACHER SPEAK REWARD BE BETTER NECK MAIMED ONE EYE
DEMONS WATER WHOEVER GREAT INTO THE SEA TWO HANDS WORM
MIGHTY DRINK LITTLE ONES MILLSTONE YOUR HAND ENTER QUENCHED
threatened 2002 boycott of the American Red Cross when its Orange County, Calif., chapter banned high school groups from singing patriotic songs at Red Cross events; a nationwide boycott of Wal-Mart in 2005 when the retailer posted Hanukkah and Kwanzaa sections on its Web site, but no “Christmas” section; and a 2007 boycott of the Miller Brewing Company when the brewer’s logo appeared on poster mocking the Last Supper. Donohue takes a chapter by chapter approach in detailing how the sabotage has taken place. In the chapter on multiculturalism, he writes: “Words like tolerance, diversity and inclusion constitute a mantra. They are a holy trinity of multiculturalism.” He states that secular saboteurs see multiculturalism as a “godsend. It gives them all the justification they need to attack our Judeo-Christian roots.” He concludes the chapter on artisticc sabotage by stating that a line from “Jerryy ng Springer: The Opera” – “Nothing is wrong nand nothing is right” – underscores “the central point of this book: the secular sabotage of America is driven by nihilism as much as it is by hate. All of it is deliberate and all of it is intended to offend.” About saboteurs, for whom he uses “extremists,” “radicals” and “nihilists” as synonyms, Donohue writes, “The
goal is not reform: it is an attempt to gut core beliefs and practices. And to a disturbing extent, the secularists have succeeded in turning things upside down and inside out.” Among those he views as “the radical secular activists out to disable America” are th the American Civil Liberties Union, AntiAnti-Defamation League, People for the Ame American Way, National Abortion Rights Defe Defense League, Catholics for Choice and the Democratic Party. Lawyers and Hol Hollywood are named, too. Regarding the latter, he uses films such as “Priest,” “D “Dogma,” “The Golden Compass” and “T “The Da Vinci Code,” and refers to the sh short-lived 1997 TV show “Nothing Sa Sacred.” That chapter also includes aan examination of the controversy th that surrounded “The Passion of the C Christ.” Donohue devotes a chapter each to self-sabotage being done by Catholics and Protestants. Among the former del he delineates damage done by such groups as Catholics for Choice, Cho Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful, to name a few. He chastises Catholic colleges and universities for becoming victims of “religious cleansing” rather than adhering to Catholic teaching and tradition: SECULAR SABOTAGE, page 22
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September 25, 2009
Single, Divorced, Separated Oct. 3, 6 p.m.: The Separated and Divorced Catholics of the Bay Area are having their Annual Gala Dinner. Come and join in at the Lakeside Café, 2529 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco. Tickets are $40, including wine and dessert. No-host cocktail hour begins the evening. A guaranteed good meal and companionship! Call Jack at (415) 566-4230 or Miriam at (415) 992-3657.
Datebook
Sept. 26, 7 p.m.: Archdiocesan Youth Mass at St. Anne of the Sunset Church, Funston at Judah in San Francisco. Auxiliary Bishop William J, Justice will preside. All high school students and eighth grade students in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are invited. For more information, call Janet Suzio at (415) 614-5663, suzioj@sfarchdiocese.org or Vivian Clausing at (415) 614-5654 or clausingv@sfarchdiocese.org.
Sept. 27, 12:30 p.m.: United Irish Societies announce dedication of statue of Robert Emmet at the Golden Gate Band Concourse in San Francisco. Afternoon features Pearce and Connolly Fife and Drum, Irish Pipers, Irish Flags, Irish Dancing Schools plus the famous Speech from the Dock. Entertainment continues into the afternoon by Golden Gate Band. Call Kathleen Manning at (415) 664-0828.
Roman Ursuline Sisters from across the United States gathered in Millbrae in July to continue discussions with regard to joining their four U.S. provinces into one. Ursuline Sisters from China, Italy and Taiwan were also in attendance. “There is strength in numbers,” Ursuline Sister Shirley Garibaldi, now in her fifth year at Glen Park’s St. John Elementary School, told Catholic San Francisco. Sister Shirley, who is Provincial of the Ursuline Sisters Western Province, is a former principal of San Francisco’s St. John Ursuline High School that closed in 1990. Also serving in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are Ursuline Sister Lillian Repak, now in her 15th year at St. John’s, and Ursuline Sister Jeanette Lombardi, pastoral associate at Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Novato. Approximately 350 Ursuline Sisters serve nationwide. The congregation expects to complete the transition to one province in late 2011. Msgr. Jose Rodriguez, pastor of St. John Parish, was principal celebrant of Masses during the four-day congress. then moves downstairs to the Msgr. Bowe Room (facing Cleary Court) until 6:30 a.m. For information, contact Mary Ann Eiler at (415) 567-2020, ext. 224
Trainings/Lectures/Respect Life Sept. 26, 2 p.m.: “Faithful Action for Just Immigration Reform” at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough and Geary St. in San Francisco. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William Justice will be in attendance. Political leaders including U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, have been invited to attend. For more information, call Lorena Melgarejo at (415) 724-4987. The Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns of the Archdiocese of San Francisco is among the sponsors. Oct. 6, Nov. 10, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.: Father David Pettingill, an inspirational, energetic, speaker who helps connect faith with life will speak on documents of the Church and Vatican II at St. Charles Parish, 880 Tamarack Ave. at Belle in San Carlos, His warm style and ease ensure a thoroughly enjoyable experience discovering these aspects of the faith anew. Free admission. Contact Nancy Farrant at (650) 591-7349 or e-mail nfarrant@stcharlesparish.org.
Special Liturgies Wednesdays 7 – 8 p.m.: Meditation Circle at Jane d’Aza Convent, 60 Locust Avenue at Grand Ave. in San Rafael. Women 18-35 wishing to experience a time of prayer and reflection with the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael are invited. For more information, call Dominican Sister Patricia Farrell at (415) 257-4937.
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Sept. 29 and Oct 6, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Sept. 29: Stations of the Cross; Oct.6: Faith Sharing with Scripture. All at Motherhouse Chapel of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, 43326 Mission Blvd. off Mission Tierra in Fremont. Contact Sister Frances Mary Pierson at (5100 933-6335 or e-mail sfmpeace3@ msjdominicans.org. Oct. 2, 7 p.m.: Domestic Violence Awareness Mass at Mission Dolores Basilica, 16th St. at Dolores in San Francisco. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William Justice will preside. Music features Mission Dolores Choir with Anna Maria Mendieta on harp. Sponsored by Ministers of Light. Call (415) 625-2710. Oct. 3, 1 – 4 p.m.: Have you ever considered if God is calling you to live a particular Christian lifestyle? Women are invited to join the Sisters of the Presentation for an afternoon of reflection and prayer at St. Christopher convent, 2304 Booksin Ave. in San Jose. The afternoon will help you explore what you are going to do with your life. The afternoon includes time to reflect on personal gifts, as well as which lifestyle – single, married or religious – to which you may be called. For more information, call Presentation Sister Stephanie Still at (415) 422-5020 or e-mail sstill@pbvmsf.org Oct. 3, 7 p.m.: Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi hosted by the Secular Franciscan Order at Our Lady of Angels Church, 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame. Mass will be celebrated following the commemoration of the passing – Transitus - of St. Francis into Eternal Life. Call (650) 312-1815 for more information. All are welcome to celebrate the feast of the patron saint of the San Francisco archdiocese.
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21
Food & Fun
St. Mary’s Cathedral Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. Call (415) 567-2020 Oct. 1 – 4: Cathedral Festival of Flowers - The International Year. The Cathedral Festival of Flowers was founded in 2007. In 2009, “Cathedral Festival of Flowers – The International Year” will welcome some of the most renowned floral artists from the Bay Area alongside special guest designers from the Northern Ireland Group of flower Arranging Societies, the National Association of Floral Arrangement Societies of England, and the Association of Irish Flower Arrangers. The Festival will conclude on Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. with a Festival of Choirs. A complete schedule of events for the festival can be found at: cathedralflowers.org. Oct. 4, 4 p.m.: The Annual Festival of Choirs at St. Mary’s Cathedral is among closing rites for the annual Festival of Flowers. Choirs from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of San Francisco will participate. The concert will include performances from approximately a dozen choirs plus a combined effort of the entire ensemble of voices. “It’s well over 100 singers,” said Russell Ferreira, director of music at St. Cecilia Parish. Selections include All Creatures of Our God and King, For the Beauty of the Earth (Rutter), Make Me a Channel of Your Peace in honor of the solemnity of the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. Participating choirs represent parishes including St. Thomas More, Mission Dolores, St. Hilary, Mater Dolorosa, St. Bartholomew, St. Cecilia, St. Dominic, Notre Dame des Victories, and San Francisco’s Nativity Parish. Admission is free. Oct. 4, 2 p.m.: Blessing of Animals at neighboring St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell. Please bring pets on a leash and also your own pooper scooper!St. Francis, feast day Oct. 4, (1181 - 1226) founded the Franciscan Order and is the patron saint of San Francisco and of Italy, and of all people who work to protect the environment. St. Damien’s Day at the Cathedral, Thursday, October 15: The Belgian born Father Damien (priest to the lepers of Molokai, later becoming a leper himself) will be canonized on October 11, in Rome. On October 15 his relic will be brought to the Cathedral, en route to Honolulu where the relic will be permanently housed.7:30 p.m.: Reception and Veneration of the Relic of St. Damien of Molokai, Archbishop George H. Niederauer will receive the relic of St. Damien with prayer, word and song led by Bay Area members of the Pacific Islands, all are invited to attend. First Friday 24-Hour Adoration: Friday 8 a.m. to Saturday 8 a.m. in Our Lady’s Chapel, and Msgr. Bowe Room. Weekday Mass Schedule: 6:45 a.m., 8 a.m., 12:10 p.m.; with additional first Friday Mass at 7:30 p.m.. Adoration begins in Our Lady’s Chapel after the 8 a.m. Mass through evening Mass at 7:30 p.m. Adoration
Catholic San Francisco
Sep. 25, 26, 27: 71th Annual St. Philip School Festival and Centennial Parish Celebration- Festivities start with parish dinner Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. Then two days of games, activities and free entertainment Sept. 26, 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Teen dance Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Fun takes place on parish campus at 24th and Diamond Street in San Francisco’s Noe Valley. Visit www.stphilipfestival.org or call (415) 824-8467. Sept. 26, 6 – 10 p.m.: Aloha, an evening at St. Thomas More Church, Brotherhood Way at Thomas More Way in San Francisco, featuring the best of Hawaii - Roast Pig and a Polynesian dinner show. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 6-12 years old. No-host bar. Proceeds benefit the parish. Call (415) 452-9634. Sept. 27, 11 a.m.: Notre Dame Elementary School is hosting its annual Family Mass and Picnic on the elementary school field with the picnic to follow. Friends, family and alumni interested in attending please contact Jodie Penner, jpenner@nde.org or feel free to stop by with your picnic basket! Sept. 28, 10 a.m.: Annual Capuchin Golf Tournament at Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto. Tee off for 18-Hole Scramble at 12:30 p.m. Tickets at $300 include greens fees, cart, time at golf range, lunch, beverages all day, as well as Tee Prizes and cocktails and dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels Parish Hall in Burlingame. Tickets for dinner only are available at $50 each. Proceeds benefit work of Capuchin Friars of the Western America province. For more information, call Mike Stecher at (650) 421-6753 (day) or (650 342-4680 in the evening. Sept. 27, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.: International Food, Music and Dance Festival at St. Thomas More Church, Brotherhood Way at Thomas More Way in San Francisco, featuring unique ethnic cuisine and entertainment. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Admission is $3 per person. Foods from Burma, Brazil, Philippines, Middle-East, plus Greece and U.S.A. Proceeds benefit the parish. Call (415) 452-9634. Sept. 30, 1 – 5 p.m.: Champagne Bingo at St. Peter and Paul Church, 666 Filbert St. on Washington Square in San Francisco. Free parking. Tickets at $20 per person include hot lunch, champagne, and two free bingo cards. No tickets sold at door. Call (415) 885-0567. Sponsored by parish Holy Name Society. No children allowed. Oct. 2, 3: Bingo night at Star of the Sea, Parish, Geary Blvd. at 8th Ave. in San Francisco at 6 p.m. $1 per card or $8 for 10 cards. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Parish Festival, October 3, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Theme honors parish school’s 100th anniversary. Activities include festival games, Touch-A-Truck, bouncehouses and climbing wall, as well as crafts and great food. Star of the Sea Italian Dinner, October 3. Social hour is at 4:30 p.m. with dinner 5:30 -7 p.m. Pasta, homemade sauce and meatballs, salad and ice cream. Live music and raffle, too. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children. Parking is available for all events. Oct. 7, 6 p.m.: Serra Club Sisters and Brothers Appreciation Dinner honoring and thanking the women religious and professed Brothers of the Archdiocese of San Francisco at El Patio Espanol Restaurant, 2850 Alemany Blvd. in San Francisco. Socila at 6 p.m. begins the evening. Dinner Cost; $ 35 per person for dinner. Contact Vivian Mullaney at (415) 239-8280 or e-mail vivianmullaney@yahoo.com for reservations by Thursday, Oct.1 and indicate choice of entree: Salmon, New York Strip, or Pasta Primavera.
Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired. Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633, e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org, or visit www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us.
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Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
Secular Sabotage . . .
variety of sources, but occasionally Donohue will make a statement without attribution or facts to back it up. For example, “It is because so many of the women religious have thrown Catholic doctrine overboard that few young women are drawn to them.” Nonetheless, he raises thought-provoking questions, e.g., “Why is that when Christian groups have concerns over the content of a play or book or movie, it’s called censorship, but when gays or feminists or just about any other group speak up, they are exercising free speech?” and “Does Hollywood hate religion? If not, why does it continue to make movies that bash it?” “Secular Sabotage” reads like a literary version of conservative talk radio. Whether readers like that kind of programming or not, it can be engaging and thoughtprovoking. Many of the issues Donahue addresses, e.g., education, multiculturalism and the sanctity of life are similar to those discussed during those broadcasts. The passion that Donohue brings to the book is evident in every chapter. He states the severity of the sabotage early: “The cultural debris that these secular saboteurs
■ Continued from page 20 “To be sure, there will always be those who respectfully challenge the church to rethink its ways. They are not the problem. The problem lies with those raging Catholics who would like to shove their fanciful ‘Nothing Sacred’ church down the throats of the faithful,” he writes. Even those who have heard or read the stories – e.g., the law school professor whose objection to a Christmas tree on the Indiana University campus resulted in its removal; the student at the College of Alameda (Calif.) who was threatened with suspension and accused of “disruptive or insulting behavior” because she was praying for an ailing professor on campus; and public funding for “artworks” like “Piss Christ” – will shake their heads in disbelief as Donohue uses these as examples of the moral erosion about which he is concerned. The examples of sabotage are well-documented via a
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have created will take decades to clean up, but we people of faith have no other alternative save moral decomposition.” The rest of the book details dozens of examples of moral hazardous waste. Catholic high schools and colleges would do well to incorporate this book into their curriculums. It is suited for theology classes at both levels. Another option would be to include specific chapters, e.g., “Democratic Sabotage,” in courses on history and political science, or “Artistic Sabotage” in art classes. Readers of “Secular Sabotage” should not only expect it to provide an education in how anti-Christianity permeates society, but they should expect to look at the groups and individuals Donohue mentions in a different light. They might find themselves questioning those who undermine Christian values, and confronting them – with bare knuckles.
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September 25, 2009
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Schola Gregorianum, formerly the music ministers of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, is available to provide music for weddings, funerals, and other liturgical rites. The quartet is especially trained in Gregorian chant as well as other early sacred music of the Catholic Church. For rates and more information, contact For ratesmanager, and more information, contact schola Joseph Murphy schola manager, Joseph Murphy atat (415) (415)468-1810 468-1810or orvisit visitwww.sfschola.net. www.sfschola.net.
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N OVEN AS PUBLISH A NOVENA
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE Approximately 2,000 to 10,000 square feet first floor office space available (additional space available if needed) at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco (between Gough & Franklin), is being offered for lease to a non-profit entity. Space available includes enclosed offices, open work area with several cubicles, large work room, and storage rooms on the lower level of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Chancery/Pastoral Center. We also have mail and copy services available, as well as meeting rooms (based on availability). Reception services available. Space has access to kitchen area and restroom facilities. Parking spaces negotiable. Ready for immediate occupancy with competitive terms. Come view the space.
23
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Prayer to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal. You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted. O.S.
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Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked. Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen. This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks. O.S.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail. Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X). Say prayers 3 days. O.S.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail. Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X). Say prayers 3 days. C.O.
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24
Catholic San Francisco
September 25, 2009
SPECIAL EARLY BIRD PRIZE $15,000 (Deadline: Midnight, October 9)