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IS A PRECIOUS GIFT
A Catholic education teaches more than strong academics; it teaches lessons for life. The well-rounded curriculum leads children to become faith-filled, productive and generous adults.
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MARCH
22, 2026
BUILDING STUDENT LEADERS
Students from across the diocese gathered at Servite High School for a day of leadership.
ST. CECILIA STUDENTS THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
The Catholic school held a STEM night for families.
AROUND OUR DIOCESE
Attend a youth choral festival and visit St. Timothy Parish’s new wailing wall.
LENTEN REFLECTION — A TIME OF HOPE
Fr. Christopher Smith, rector emeritus of Christ Cathedral, led a Lenten retreat at St. Cecilia Parish in Tustin.
ORANGE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kathleen Hurtt takes the reigns of the charitable organization, succeeding Steve Cameron.
14 THE COURAGE TO START OVER AGAIN
An important part of faith is remembering that it is a journey we begin again and again.
ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC
MISSION STATEMENT
The Orange County Catholic Newspaper seeks to illuminate and animate the journey of faith for Catholics within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange – building solidarity among the faithful and inviting a deeper understanding and involvement in the mission of Christ – through the timely sharing of news, commentary and feature content in an engaging, accessible and compelling format.
ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC
The Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Diocese of Orange Pastoral Center, 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove 92840
Publisher: The Most Reverend Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange
Director of Custom Content: Caroline Wong, cawong@scng.com
SCNG CUSTOM CONTENT
Managing Editor: Caitlin Adams Art Director: Ryann Beveridge
Delivered weekly to parishes and homes throughout Orange County, Calif., Orange County Catholic is published by SCNG Custom Content, a division of Southern California News Group that offers content development and design expertise to businesses and nonprofit institutions. The Orange County Catholic editorial staff and editorial council are responsible for the content contained herein. Events and products advertised in Orange County Catholic do not carry the implicit endorsement of the Diocese of Orange or SCNG Custom Content.
ROSARY BEADS
READER CALL-OUT
This Rosary was brought along during my family’s pilgrimage to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year. We passed through three of the four Holy Doors and touched all four of them. The Rosary was also blessed by Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. They are now in possession of my grandmother.
—Augustin V.
If you would like to share a photo of your Rosary Beads with our readers, please send a photo and brief description (include your name and parish) to: Editor@occatholic.com
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
MONDAY
DANIEL 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 OR 13:41C-62; PSALM 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6; JOHN 8:1-11
GENESIS 17:3-9; PSALM 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; JOHN 8:51-59
FRIDAY
JEREMIAH 20:1013; PSALM 18:2-3A, 3BC-4, 5-6, 7; JOHN 10:31-42
SATURDAY
EZEKIEL 37:21-28; JEREMIAH 31:10, 11-12ABCD, 13; JOHN 11:45-56
SUNDAY
MATTHEW 21:1-11; ISAIAH 50:4-7; PSALM 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 2324; PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11; MATTHEW 26:14—27:66
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUGUSTIN V.
REACHING NEW LEVELS OF STUDENT SUCCESS
BY BRITNEY ZINT
IMPLEMENTING A NEW teaching model, innovative educational technology and constant cross-campus collaboration are helping a network of Orange County Catholic schools reach new levels of student success.
Leadership of Pax Christi Academies — comprising St. Barbara, La Purísima, St. Anne, St. Joseph (Santa Ana) and St. Justin Martyr schools — is pointing to these factors as evidence that the once-struggling schools can rise above. Since the start of this school year, 144 students in reading and 192 in math have moved from below grade level, to at or above grade level, according to student test data.
“When we first visited our schools, we recognized an opportunity to approach things differently,” said Claudia Garcia, vice president of academic excellence and leadership. “Our students deserve an experience that inspires their learning and growth.”
Key to that success, achieved in under two years of concerted effort, is the implementation of the Station Rotations teaching model. This strategy prioritizes instruction where students need it most, breaking the student body down to flexible groups of those who need extra support, are right on target or are ahead and ready for enrichment.
Students’ levels are measured by using i-Ready, a computer program that provides individualized learning and progress assessments. Teachers receive i-Ready’s data each week so they can address each student’s unique needs and make lesson plans accordingly.
“They have the work that will meet them where they are,” said St. Barbara Catholic School Principal Claudia Danzer. “Once they take that diagnostic, it gives them their own path, and they are able to work on those skills and fill in
those gaps that might be missing along the way.”
Pax Christi Academies — a shared governance established in July 2024 with the intent of fixing declining enrollment — is seeing the approach has created an environment that honors each student’s dignity.
“When we look at our students, we see each one as a unique creation of God,” said Garcia, “and they come to us with different gifts. When they work in Station Rotations, we’re allowing them to be who they are.”
In addition to Station Rotations, the five Pax Christi schools work more collaboratively, standardizing their math, English language arts and Catholic virtue curriculums. Each site now has the same materials and training. In effect, they collaborate and speak the same language, according to Anne Parish School Principal Allison Essman.
“That’s the beauty of Pax Christi: They provide what is needed, what is essential, what these kids deserve,” she said.
INSIDE THE CLASSROOM
In every Pax Christi Academies school, Station Rotations happen twice a day: one for reading and one for math. Each classroom utilizes at least three rotations: small group instruction, tech rotation and collaborative rotations.
A typical Station Rotation is in Mrs. Hernandez’s second-grade classroom at St. Anne’s, where she is not in front of the classroom and students are not sitting in rows at desks. Some are on the carpet, the teacher’s table or at a desk. Hernandez is at a back table teaching a small group. Some students are sitting at desks working on “super words” — the most common words students will encounter in reading, but which don’t follow typical spelling patterns.
ST. ANNE PARISH SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS AND THEIR TEACHER, BRITTANY YEZZO, PAUSE FOR A PHOTO DURING THEIR ROTATION STATION. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
CLAUDIA GARCIA, PAX CHRISTI ACADEMIES VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND LEADERSHIP, AND ALLISON ESSMAN, PRINCIPAL OF ST. ANNE PARISH SCHOOL, DISCUSS THE STATION ROTATION PROGRAM WITH BRENDAN MCKEEGAN, A ST. ANN’S SEVENTH-GRADE TEACHER.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
The freedom to work independently, or with a peer, is what St. Anne’s seventh-grader Sheila Perez likes. She said Station Rotations make learning more interesting by granting her movement and independence. She also feels more comfortable asking questions in small groups.
“I think it’s pretty cool because we get to work on our own stuff and then we can also do teamwork,” Perez said. Independence, collaboration and movement are big for all students. Even in Brittany Yezzo’s kindergarten class at St. Anne’s, the students get the same freedom to work independently and collaboratively.
Across Santa Ana at Barbara Catholic School, the same strategy is being utilized. In Alicia Payan’s third-grade classroom, her advanced students sit with her for small-group time.
Third-grader Jacob Benitez, 9, said he likes Station Rotations because he enjoys working and helping his friends. His favorite part is that he is working ahead in math on i-Ready.
“What I like about i-Ready is it teaches me higher stuff and makes me
smarter, so when the teacher teaches our class, I already know it,” Benitez said.
WHY IT WORKS
Station Rotations, combined with weekly data, flexible groupings and targeted teacher small groups, is giving Pax Christi Academies its desired student growth, which isn’t just something talked about between adults, but regularly with each student. Teachers are holding data chats to discuss progress.
Essman and Danzer both said they have seen a change on campus as students feel more in control and have taken ownership of their learning.
“It takes learning from being this thing that the adults oversee to: ‘I’m taking responsibility and I have control over how well I do the next time,’” Danzer said.
In addition to the formal assessment data collected in i-Ready, the small groups allow teachers to collect more informal data. For Hernandez, she has seen the smaller setting allow her shy students to open up and show her what they know.
That information is informing and changing what will be taught, said Brendan McKeegan.
“I think it offers an opportunity to work a little more closely with each individual learner so you can kind of operate in a sense of: What does this one individual child, individual soul, need to grow closer in becoming a better version of themselves,” McKeegan said. At the end of this school year, Pax
Christi will have data to see how everything is paying off.
“We’d love to see all of our students show growth and attain grade-level proficiency,” Garcia said, “so that they could go on to the high school of their choice, go on to university and really go out and do great things and live virtuous lives.”C
ST. ANNE PARISH SCHOOL’S KARINA HERNANDEZ TEACHES PHONICS TO HER SECOND-GRADE STUDENTS AT A LEARNING STATION.
ST. BARBARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS ENGAGE IN A SMALL GROUP LEARNING STATION LED BY THIRD-GRADE TEACHER ALICIA PAYAN. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
NATHAN HOANG RECEIVES HELP FROM MARTIN NGUYEN DURING A ROTATION STATION ACTIVITY AT ST. BARBARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
BUILDING STUDENT LEADERS
BY BRITNEY ZINT
ORANGE COUNTY MIDDLE school students came together in the second of a threepart leadership conference to learn how to inspire, speak in public and work together.
More than 250 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students across the Diocese of Orange and Pax Christi Academies recently spent the day at Servite High School in Anaheim to build the strong foundation needed to be a servant leader.
The series will continue with more leadership training in April at Rosary Academy.
“Leaders are born in all shapes and sizes,” Superintendent Dr. Erin Barisano said in her welcoming address to the middle-school students. “I think one of the hallmarks of our Catholic schools is
to recognize those God-given gifts that you have been born with and to bring them out so you can help serve others. That’s what leadership is, so we hope today is a great day.”
The special event, which was sponsored by the diocese’s Catholic Schools department, was hosted by The Association of Catholic Student Councils (TACSC), a nonprofit leadership organization based in Pasadena with a curriculum built on four pillars: servant leadership, effective communication, lifelong mentoring and real-world strategic planning.
“Our student leadership days are all about bringing students together from all around the diocese to work on different leadership skills,” explained Ava Halliday, TACSC program director. “We focus on public speaking, team building and group dynamics, conflict resolution and problem solving and servant leadership. It’s an opportunity for them to develop these leadership skills outside the classroom, meet new people, and to do it in a fun way.”
High school students from Servite and Rosary led the middle schoolers in activities throughout the day. The first activity broke students up into small groups that focused on building leadership skills while also having fun and getting to know one another. Rosary junior Destiny and Servite senior Julien led their group in discussing what it means to be a leader and what guidance they look for in their own lives.
“Can anyone tell me the qualities of being a good leader?” Destiny asked her group. “What do you guys look for in leaders in your life?”
Students shared the traits they see in their own team captains, club leaders, coaches and teachers: good communication, patience and guiding those they lead.
St. Cecilia Catholic School student Valeria Folch, 12, said this is her second
leadership conference. She enjoyed meeting students from different schools and learning how to be responsible even when worried or frustrated. Folch said she wants to build her leadership skills, learn to communicate better and help others — especially now that she’s a seventh grader and has a special responsibility on campus.
“I just wanted to learn about leadership and how to be a good leader, because when you are in seventh grade you get first-grade buddies,” Folch said, “so I want to show them how to be more mature, like when we go to Mass and in general.” C
LIANA LODEVICO, 10, FROM ST. PIUS V CATHOLIC SCHOOL, WORKS ON A SPAGHETTI TOWER DURING A TEAM
EXERCISE AS PART OF A TACSC MIDDLE SCHOOL
DAY AT SERVITE HIGH SCHOOL
27. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
KAYLA TRAN, 13, FROM ST. BARBARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN SANTA ANA, GIVES A SPEECH DURING A TACSC MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT LEADERSHIP DAY AT SERVITE HIGH SCHOOL.
ANTHONY IBASCO, 15, LEFT, A SOPHOMORE AT SERVITE HIGH SCHOOL, WATCHES AS SEBASTIAN SOTO, 12, LEFT, MATTHEW THERRIEN, 13, AND ETHAN NGUYEN, 13, AND OTHER TEAMMATES WORK ON BUILDING A SPAGHETTI TOWER DURING A TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE.
ST. CECILIA STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
BY BRITNEY ZINT
WINDING UP THE pullback toy car, fourth-grader Phoebe Kaiser let it go as her family watched it race across the bridge she had constructed with household materials. Her family cheered as the car made it across, completing the challenge. The first time she tried, the car went off the side of the bridge, which led to an important conclusion for the 10-year-old.
“You have to put on a test car before you put real people on it,” Kaiser explained.
St. Cecilia Catholic School recently hosted its annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) night, dubbed “Explore STEM Around the World,” at its Tustin campus. Students, younger siblings and parents all filled the halls as they moved excitedly from classroom to classroom to try their hand at solving different science, engineering and coding experiments.
“We want it to be a team-building process where the children can demonstrate to mom and dad what they are learning every day, and also create a new project with their families,” said Principal Mary Alvarado, adding that STEM is where students can really get creative. “They love the opportunity to build things, to think differently about learning and to work cooperatively.”
This year’s event was themed after geographic locations with experiments to match, including constructing a house of spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows that could withstand a simulated earthquake for 10 seconds; engineering an aqueduct from cardboard, construction paper, tape and foil that can transport water in Italy; manipulating cardboard, straws, skewers and balloons to create a
FROM LEFT, DALY KAISER, BEATRIX KAISER, PHOBEE KAISER,
FROM LEFT, DALYNA LAM, SEVENTH-GRADE HOMEROOM TEACHER, AND ANGIE NGUYEN, STEM AND MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER, PREPARE FOR STEM NIGHT AT ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN TUSTIN ON FEB. 26. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
moving bullet train in China; and using colored markers to code an Ozobot to go through a maze in Egypt.
It was in England that Kaiser and her family built bridges like those over the River Thames. In France, Rhea Allen and her kindergarten son Cruz were building the Eiffel Tower out of straws, tape and construction paper.
For Allen, she was happy to see that St. Cecilia has such an in-depth pro-
DIOCESAN NEWS
gram; she believes STEM is the way of the future. St. Cecilia has a dedicated STEM lab and classes for all grades.
“I feel that STEM has such an everyday use no matter what you do,” Allen said.
Eighth-grader Brooke Ngo, 13, said she likes that STEM allows her to be creative and get artsy.
“You get to do many projects with items you probably have around your house that you don’t even know what to
do with until you come to STEM night,” Ngo said.
Seventh-grade homeroom, religion and math teacher Dalyna Lam said STEM activities are trying to build students’ critical thinking skills through experiments that have more than one solution. Lam is a Trustey Family STEM Teaching Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, which is a three-year, competitive professional development fel-
lowship for middle-grade school teams focusing on enhancing STEM education.
Lam said STEM teaches students to think outside the box and not quit when an experiment doesn’t work the first time.
“With STEM they get to enjoy fun activities, explore and think critically,” Lam said, “and at the same time, try to solve various problems through that activity.”
THE GARDNER FAMILY PAUSES FOR A PHOTO DURING STEM NIGHT AT ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
BETH ROJO, A SECOND-GRADE TEACHER, CONGRATULATES A STUDENT ON HER PROJECT DURING STEM NIGHT. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
RHEA ALLEN AND CRUZ ALLEN SHOW OFF THEIR STRAW-AND-TAPE TOWER DURING STEM NIGHT AT ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
AROUND OUR DIOCESE
BY STAFF
PUERI CANTORES YOUTH CHORAL FESTIVAL & MASS
More than 350 young singers from 17 different school and parish choirs participated in the annual Southern California Pueri Cantores Youth Choral Festival & Mass at Christ Cathedral on March 7. The children, from grades four to 12, came from around Southern California and Salt Lake City. Here in the Diocese of Orange, the Diocesan Children’s Choir at Christ Cathedral, Irvine’s Raphael Choir and St. John the
Baptist in Costa Mesa participated. The event was organized by American Federation Pueri Cantores, a nonprofit based in Orange that was formed in 1953. It is the official student choral organization of the Catholic Church.
FREE TO BE ERECTS WAILING WALL
This year, for Lent, the Free to Be ministry at St. Timothy Parish erected a “wailing wall” in the parish center where anyone can place their prayers, just as in Jerusalem. Free to Be has over 100 members from St. Timothy and surrounding parishes. The group has been meeting once a week for over 20 years and focuses on service projects, much of it with the Knights of Columbus. C
FOOD & FELLOWSHIP AT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH LENTEN FISH FRY
BY MIKE ZINN
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST Parish kicked off its Lenten fish fry season on Feb. 20 with a feast for the senses: clam chowder, beer-battered cod, fish tacos and more fed hungry parishioners who gathered in Costa Mesa for good food and fellowship.
The parish’s Knights of Columbus Council organized the event, with food service running from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., but a lengthy line formed well before the designated opening time.
“The St. John the Baptist fish fry, hosted by the Knights of Columbus, has been a successful tradition for
many years,” said Fr. Pascal Nguyen, O.Praem, pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. “It is a wonderful Lenten event that brings together many families from both our school and parish.”
Fr. Pascal added that it is great to see so many families stay to attend the Stations of the Cross immediately afterward before heading home.
On a recent Friday, the parish hall was a flurry of activity, starting as early as 3 p.m. with set-up and the start of cooking. Each Friday during Lent, typically, 15 to 20 volunteer Knights assist with the evening’s duties.
Knight Frank Quattrocchi called
THE ANNUAL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUERI CANTORES YOUTH CHORAL FESTIVAL & MASS AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL ON MARCH 7. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“WAILING WALL” WAS ERECTED AT
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MEMBER JUSTIN HILL OF COSTA MESA SHOWS A FISH TACO HE SAMPLED DURING THE FISH FRY EVENT HELD ON FEB. 20 AT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH IN COSTA MESA. PHOTO BY JUANITO HOLANDEZ JR./ DIOCESE OF ORANGE
these events “Knight-powered.”
Additionally, students volunteer to earn service or confirmation hours. The students perform many tasks, including taking individual orders and serving the completed meal.
Over the years, the Knights have developed an efficient process to seamlessly handle all the various functions of the fish fry. There is a full bar run by Knight treasurer John Mourani and his wife Donna, and a dessert table with donated treats from school parents who receive service hours for their donations. To ensure that every food request is met, there is a dedicated to-go station for parishioners who are unable to stay for the meal but want to support the cause and enjoy a delicious dinner.
The kitchen and outdoor cooking area are where the magic happens. A di-
verse menu offers a variety of adult and children's options, quesadillas, French fries and shrimp skewers.
According to Mourani, funds raised from the Lenten fish fry support many worthy causes including the Life Center Santa Ana, Catholic high school scholarships and teacher classroom supplies.
“The fish fry is also a perfect setting for parishioners to come together as a community and forge impactful relationships,” he added.
Fr. Louis Levi Hager, O.Praeum, also spoke about the rich community building the Lenten dinners support.
“It is a great joy and consolation to spend this time with family and friends, especially in this season of Lent when we need to rededicate ourselves to the Unity that we must have as Catholics on our way to God,” Fr. Louis said. C
FR. LOUIS HAGER ENJOYS HIS FRIED FISH DURING THE FISH FRY. PHOTOS BY JUANITO HOLANDEZ JR./DIOCESE OF ORANGE
FR. PASCAL NGUYEN, LEFT, PASTOR OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC CHURCH, IS GREETED BY PARISHIONER RICK HILLES, 83, RIGHT, DURING THE FEB. 20 FISH FRY.
LENTEN REFLECTION
—A TIME OF HOPE
BY MEG WATERS
THE SERRA CLUB OF Orange County’s mission is to build a Catholic culture that fosters religious vocations through prayer at twice-monthly meetings, programs that raise community awareness and efforts to affirm the lives and works of those who have answered the call to religious life. During Lent, the group sponsors events that use this season of prayer, fasting and reflection to inspire and transform.
This year, they invited Fr. Christopher Smith, rector emeritus of Christ Cathedral, to lead a Lenten retreat at St. Cecilia Parish in Tustin.
Drawing from three stories in the Gospel of John—the man born blind, the woman at the well and Lazarus raised from the dead—he guided an audience of about 100 Serra members and guests on a journey of hope.
In the first story, from John 9:1–41, the man born blind, Jesus comes under criticism from the Pharisees for restoring the man’s sight, which upsets the religious authorities.
According to Fr. Christopher, “The challenge for people of faith is to see more, so that we can grow more with God and with each other. When our hearts are touched by Jesus, our capacity to see more than what meets the eye grows. Sight to the heart means that the hard facts of personal suffering can be soothed by letting our gaze fall also on the blessings and the successes in our lives that may have been hardened by the hard facts of the tough things we see in front of us.”
In the second story, from John 4:5–42, the Samaritan woman at the well, Fr. Christopher pointed out how the woman at first put up obstacles and
prejudices, rejecting the gift of living water Jesus offered. Fr. Christopher challenged the group to “think about where we might need to be more honest with ourselves, where we might need to have the courage to be vulnerable or where we might be putting obstacles in the way preventing God’s grace to come into our lives.”
Eventually, the woman allowed herself to see beyond her resistance and consider a new possibility: Jesus, the Messiah. By allowing herself to see beyond her pain and prejudices, everything changed.
The third story, from John 11:1–45, is the dramatic account of Jesus raising Lazarus, who had been dead for four days and buried in the tomb.
“I have stood at thousands of open graves, waiting to conduct the burial rites for someone who has died,” said Fr. Christopher.
“Each time I stand peering down into that deep, open space, I know there is only one reason why it is not just a big, gaping hole: I believe in the promise of eternal life, which makes the grave a sign of hope in eternal life. Death is not the end of things. We can be stuck in the tomb of our own making, which keeps us from going about freely and loving as Jesus wants us to.”
Fr. Christopher closed his reflection with words of encouragement.
“Lent is a good time to look at our good qualities and talents that might have gone dormant in us and revive them—to live again,” he said. “Lent doesn’t have to be dreary.” C
FR. CHRISTOPHER SMITH CELEBRATES MASS AT ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC CHURCH IN TUSTIN BEFORE THE SERRA CLUB OF ORANGE COUNTY’S LENTEN MORNING OF REFLECTION. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
FR. CHRISTOPHER SMITH, RECTOR EMERITUS OF CHRIST CATHEDRAL, POSES WITH MEMBERS OF THE SERRA CLUB OF ORANGE COUNTY FOLLOWING THE LENTEN MORNING OF REFLECTION AT ST. CECILIA CHURCH IN TUSTIN.
THE ORANGE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BY STAFF
THE ORANGE CATHOLIC
Foundation (OCF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kathleen Hurtt as its new executive director. With a deep commitment to service and a passion for strengthening Catholic parishes, schools and ministries, she brings both vision and heart to this important role.
“Meeting inspiring people is the added blessing I get from this remarkable work,” Hurtt said. “We want to help people live out their values, and it is extra special to think this is just the beginning.”
She is no stranger to OCF. She first joined the team in 2021 as the vice president of philanthropy for Catholic Schools and most recently held the title of executive vice president. She has extensive fundraising experience, including working with Diocese of San Bernardino, USC Caruso Catholic Center and Anaheim Family YMCA.
On July 1, Hurtt will assume the role of OCF’s executive director, as Steve Cameron transitions from executive director into becoming a member of the Foundation’s board of directors.
Hurtt shared, “I want to express my deepest gratitude to Steve for his leadership and The Orange Catholic Foundation Board for supporting me as I take this new step.”
Under Cameron’s leadership, OCF expanded its focus on educating donors and building partnerships with parishes and schools to integrate strategic, taxsmart planning into charitable giving. This sparked an increase in transformational gifts of stock, real estate, IRA assets, new endowments and in-will and trust gifts, helping secure stability and
growth for the Catholic parishes, schools and ministries in the Diocese of Orange.
“It’s been an amazing three years at The Orange Catholic Foundation,” said Cameron. “I couldn’t be happier to know that Kathleen is going to become the executive director. When you are looking for someone to run an organization like this, you want someone with a strong Catholic vision, a lot of knowledge in fundraising, a lot of energy and management skills. I know that Kathleen and the team around her are going to do a wonderful job.”
Hurtt’s service to the Church stretches far beyond The Orange Catholic Foundation. Hurtt is an active parishioner at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Placentia, and serves on the parish finance council.
ABOUT THE ORANGE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION
Established in 2000, The Orange Catholic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization supporting Orange County through Catholic philanthropy and the careful stewardship of funds that protect and grow vital ministries.
Interested in discovering taxsmart ways to maximize your income and your philanthropic footprint? OCF will help you explore wealth-enhancing strategies many investors overlook. Before you sell or donate any of your appreciated assets, reach out to the philanthropy team at 714.282.3021 or email info@OrangeCatholicFoundation.org. C
JULY 1,
ON
KATHLEEN HURTT WILL ASSUME THE ROLE OF THE ORANGE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION’S (OCF) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AS STEVE CAMERON TRANSITIONS FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INTO BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE FOUNDATION’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS. PHOTO COURTESY OF OCF
THE COURAGE TO START OVER AGAIN
BY JOAN PATTEN, AO
AT THE BEGINNING OF Lent, we were ready for conversion. We heeded the Church’s invitation to “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” and discerned what Lenten disciplines we would take up. Now, as we are more than halfway through Lent and approach Holy Week, we may be assessing our progress—or lack of it. To our surprise, we keep encountering our own brokenness and weakness. Temptations, attacks from the enemy, a culture that does not encourage Christian virtue and our own weariness in choosing something greater than our passing whims and pleasures all wear down our resolve, and eventually we find ourselves running out of willpower. When this happens, we instinctively begin to measure ourselves by judging our progress and condemning ourselves for our failures.
Recently, my spiritual director offered some helpful advice in this regard. He noted that we tend to look at our lives the way an accountant reviews a balance sheet.
Our virtuous habits, strengths and acts of service are viewed as assets. When we are faithful to prayer and our daily duties, loving toward our neighbors and disciplined in our Lenten practices, we feel like good disciples of Jesus. We believe we are useful and capable of doing good things for Him. However, sometimes we get trapped in the lie that what we do for Jesus determines how He sees us.
On the other hand, we also judge our
weaknesses, struggles and failures as liabilities, that is, the parts of ourselves we believe diminish our worth or stand as barriers to God’s love. Any area where we feel that we “should be better by now,” becomes a place of shame and self-condemnation, and we falsely believe that Jesus views us through this same lens.
The good news is that for Jesus, nothing in our life is a liability. He sees everything in us as an asset. Everything in our human experience, our history, memories, feelings, struggles and even our resistance, is a place where Jesus can encounter us.
We can be with Him “in all these things” because He has gone before us, entered into every dimension of our humanity and suffered all things for us and with us.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”
(Heb. 4:15)
The truth is that desolation and temptation are places where we meet Jesus in His own resistance to them. While we may feel the urge to give up or run away from our struggles, Jesus calls us to acknowledge and embrace our weakness and move forward with Him. The victory is already won in Him. We are called to pick up our cross, entrust our poverty to His mercy and ask for the courage to start over again.
Lenten disciplines are not about following a program of self-improvement; they are at the service of discipleship, which is a relationship with Jesus. We are called to live our lives in Him and allow Him to live His life in us. In this relationship, Jesus does not treat us as projects to be fixed but as people to be loved. He wants to abide with us, especially in places where we feel most unlovable. Seeing ourselves as Jesus sees us reveals our true identity. C
PHOTO BY JAMETLENE RESKP ON UNSPLASH
OC Catholic Afar
Rev. Tuan Pham, Parochial Administrator of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Irvine, led a pilgrimage group from several South County parishes to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, which is the final resting place of newly canonized St. Carlo Acutis. Parishioners from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Kilian, San Francisco Solano and St. John Neumann gathered on the middle level of the three-church, three level basilica. The first stone of the basilica was laid by Pope Gregory IX in 1228, the day following his canonization of St. Francis.
—Martha Schnieders
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