01 23 26 Vol. 47 No. 21

Camp Tekakwitha registration is right around the corner START PACKING YOUR GEAR!

By John Sorce john.sorce@theleaven.org

KANSAS CITY, Kan. –

While much of the winter has felt like spring, summer will be here before you know it.

For students entering fifth through 12th grade in the fall, that means Camp Tekakwitha is around the corner.

This will be the camp’s 29th summer of operation with over 45,000 campers over that time.

The idea for a youth camp in the archdiocese originally came from Msgr. Thomas Tank in the late 1960s but did not become a reality until decades later, when he approached Deacon Dana Nearmyer and his wife Deborah with the idea.

“We are constantly looking for the deepest faith experiences that help individuals as they grow up, and we also have family camps to keep people strong in the faith for a lifetime,” Deacon Nearmyer said. “That’s our goal.”

Camp Tekakwitha is held annually at Prairie Star Ranch, which sits on just under 300 acres of sprawling prairie, wooded forests and clear blue lakes in Williamsburg.

While part of the goal is to get kids outdoors, the main reason remains

Registration opening dates

Jan. 27 at 9 a.m.

High School Extreme (campers entering 9th-12th grades in fall 2026) and all Family Camps

Feb. 3 at 9 a.m.

Jr. High/Middle School Camps (campers entering 7th/8th grade in fall 2026)

Feb. 10 at 9 a.m.

Kateri Camps (campers entering 5th/6th grade in fall 2026)

To register, go online to: archkck. org/camp-tekakwitha.

rooted in growing the campers’ spiritual lives.

“Camp Tekakwitha’s zip lines, mountain bikes, water slides, kayaks and campfires are only part of the story,” Deacon Nearmyer said.

“The reason people come year after year is the closeness that they feel to God and the Catholic community,” he added.

A big reason for that is the staff, many of whom

>> Continued on page 7

ARCHBISHOP MCKNIGHT

Jan. 23

Tour of Halo Care Collective — Olathe

Jan. 25

Mass — University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth

Jan. 27

Red Mass — Mater Dei Parish, Assumption Church, Topeka

Executive meeting with Kansas bishops — Kansas Catholic Conference, Topeka

Meeting of bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Kansas — Topeka

Knights of Columbus social hour and dinner — Kansas Catholic Conference, Topeka

Jan. 28

IGNITE for Life Rally — Topeka Performing Arts Center

Mass for Life — Topeka Performing Arts Center

Jan. 29

All School Mass — Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa

Catholic Cemetery board of trustees meeting — chancery

Jan. 30

Reception for Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See — Washington, D.C.

Feb. 1

Mass — St. Joseph Parish, Olpe

Mass — St. Francis Xavier Parish, Burlington

Feb. 3

Archdiocesan Lay Leadership deanery meetings — virtual

Feb. 4

Mass with chancery staff — chancery chapel

Meeting with Rabbi Mark Levin, founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Torah of Overland Park — chancery

Feb. 5 - 7

Installation ceremonies of Most Rev. Ron Hicks as archbishop of New York — New York City

Feb. 8

Recently ordained priests Super Bowl gathering — Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Shawnee

Feb. 10

Priest Personnel board meeting — chancery

Annual high school presidents and principals Mass and dinner — Savior Pastoral Center

ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS NAUMANN

Jan. 23

Mass with archdiocesan pilgrims — St. Dominic Church, Washington, D.C.

March for Life — Washington, D.C.

Jan. 28

IGNITE for Life Rally — Topeka Performing Arts Center

Mass for Life — Topeka Performing Arts Center

Jan. 31

Fan Into Flame retreat confessions — Prairie Star Ranch, Williamsburg

Feb. 2

National Catholic Bioethics Center bishops’ workshop — Dallas

Feb. 5

Installation of Most Rev. Ron Hicks as archbishop of New York — New York City

Religious Alliance Against Pornography leadership board meeting

52nd annual Snow Ball tops $6 million

By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill.esfeld@theleaven.org

OVERLAND PARK — The 52nd annual Snow Ball benefiting Catholic Charities Foundation of Northeast Kansas raised $6,149,584 on Jan. 17.

The total was announced by Snow Ball presidents Ray and Sarah Evans and Kevin and Debbie Wilkerson.

“Snow Ball is a true celebration of generosity, family and religion,” said Sarah Evans. “Many of you in this room have given from your heart to help people in our community that most of us will never meet.”

Two thousand guests attended this year’s event, including 175 “Snowflakes” — young people committed to being the next generation of Snow Ball supporters.

Save the date

Each year, funds raised through Snow Ball provide critical services of relief, recovery and renewal to families of all faiths across the 21 counties of the archdiocese. Celebrate the 53rd annual Snow Ball on Jan. 16, 2027. Next year’s event will be hosted by copresidents Brian and Lynn Dunn and David and Christy Staker. For more information, go online to: snowballgala.org.

Among the first-time attendees was Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who told the Snow Ball committee, “I have to say, you truly know how to throw a party!”

The archbishop thanked all the volunteers and donors who made the evening

possible, saying, “Your generosity turns compassion into action.”

He told the audience that Pope Leo reminds us charity is not an ideal but a responsibility lived out in service to our neighbor, and he read a message from the Holy Father in the form of a letter from the pope’s ambassador to the United States.

In the message, the Holy Father “expressed his heartfelt esteem for the mission and charitable service of Catholic Charities.”

Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann was also in attendance and was named honorary president in acknowledgment of his decades of steadfast leadership and devotion to protecting life.

Opening the evening’s celebration, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas president and CEO Lauren Solidum

quoted the Gospel of Matthew: “Whatever you did for the least one of these, you did for me.”

“This is not simply a verse he wrote,” she said. “This is a mission we are called to live.

“And together in Christ, we form an extraordinary community of love and action.”

Solidum went on to discuss future strategic plans, including expanding access to services, building financial resiliency for long-term impact and responding to emerging needs with creativity and innovation.

She specifically mentioned Our Lady’s Sanctuary of Grace, a new home for expectant mothers, and the opening of a new TurnStyles store in Overland Park.

Solidum thanked supporters for being “the hands and hearts of Christ.”

Hayden Eagle Scout just wants to ‘keep moving forward’

By Marc and Julie Anderson mjanderson@theleaven.org

TOPEKA — “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

So writes St. Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians.

If there’s one student at Hayden High School who lives by that verse, it’s senior Evan White.

An honors student, tutor, swimmer and cross-country runner, White lives life to the fullest. The only difference between him and other students is that he’s blind.

At two months old, White did not pass the red reflex test used to detect visual impairments in infancy. Thus began a lifetime of doctor’s appointments and at least three dozen surgeries, as well as trips to medical providers in Kansas City, St. Louis and Detroit.

And while the family has never received a complete explanation for his impairment (doctors think it might be due to a collagen disorder), White

seems to handle what others might perceive as a “limitation” as merely a guideline.

A member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish in southwest Topeka, White earned his Eagle Scout award this past November.

The highest award available to youth members of Scouting America, one of the award’s final requirements is for the Scout to plan and carry out a service project benefiting any organization outside Scouting itself.

Because White has received services from the Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB) in Kansas City, Kansas, since he was a preschooler, he chose to build a sensory box for the school.

“I wanted to do a project for [KSSB] because it’s a community I wanted to give back to,” White said.

When the school provided him a list of nearly two dozen projects for which it had a need, White said, the idea of building a sensory box appealed to him.

“Sensory experiences are so import-

ant,” he said. “A lot of kids who are visually impaired have multiple disabilities, so the sensory experiences help with not only the visual impairment, but also the cognitive impairments that some kids might have.”

Throughout the process, White sought the input of Anne Gurss, a teacher of visual impairments who has taught him since he was 4.

“We talked about a lot stuff,” Gurss said of the project, including the addition of a Lego panel.

“Lego has made Braille Legos,” Gurss said. “A student who has the ability can put the Braille Legos on the panel and create words or whatever.”

“I knew it was working,” said White, “because while we were building it, I was playing with it. . . . I knew we were onto something.”

Children who are blind, White explained, often move around, shake or rock back and forth. That’s because 80% of one’s sensory stimulation comes from visual cues.

“The sensory cart helps, you know,

give it kind of an outlet for kids to feel carpet or artificial turf or to play with a lock or to build Legos on or something like that,” he said.

The cart even has a miniature xylophone, White added.

“It’s designed for all age groups,” he noted. “There are all kinds of things for everyone to do on it. . . . Most people can find something that they find fun to mess around with on it. And the cabinet also opens to be storage, so they could store sensory tubs and stuff like that in there if they so choose.”

Having lived with blindness his whole life, White said, has taught him to embrace who he is.

“A huge part of the School for the Blind’s mission is getting people involved in careers and not just staying home existing,” he said. “The whole culture up there is that it’s like, we’re not doing it for you. You got to do it yourself.”

“We’re going to do it and just figure things out and keep moving forward,” White said.

BATTLE of the BRAINS

By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

LEAWOOD — On Jan. 14, Burns & McDonnell rolled out the red carpet for students at Nativity Parish School here as part of a special surprise.

A team of 10 sixth and seventh grade students found out they placed in the top 20 of the organization’s Battle of the Brains competition out of 710 entries.

As they walked out of Nativity’s front doors, they were greeted with cheers by a team from Burns & McDonnell, their classmates and teachers.

“We are so proud of them,” said principal Luke Jennison to the group. “We are so proud of our STREAM program. Thank you all for celebrating with us.”

Battle of the Brains is a K-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) competition that invites teams of students to create an exhibit concept for Science City at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

The winning team will see its concept come to life.

Nativity’s students competed in the secondary division of the competition for grades 7-12.

According to Maeve Tung, Nativity’s STREAM (science, technology,

religion, engineering, arts, math) director, the students spent their lunch breaks during the first semester of school working on the project together.

Their proposal, “Nature Knows Best: The Science of Biomimicry,” explores how studying nature and its designs and patterns can create sustainable solutions for human problems.

In their cover letter, the students shared how their inspiration came from researching science museums.

“While many celebrated nature itself, very few showed how humans can use nature’s ideas to innovate,” their letter said. “We wanted to fill that gap and highlight how biomimicry connects to real STEM careers and creative problem-solving.”

Tung is grateful her students are being honored for their work.

“One of the goals of our STREAM program is to inspire wonder and awe in God’s creation,” she said, “and as Battle of the Brains finalists, these students are now sharing that sense of curiosity, gratitude and inspiration with learners across the city.

“We are so proud of their hard work!”

The Battle of the Brains awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 4. To learn more, visit the website at: botbkc.com.

How to get more comfortable with being less comfortable

Picture your favorite place to sit. A cozy recliner near the TV, a reading spot on your couch or your usual chair at the kitchen table. Remember how your body sinks into that space without a second thought. After a long day, there’s nothing better than settling in where we feel most at home.

Now picture the place where you usually sit at Mass. You might have a regular pew, a certain side of the church you love or the same exact seat every Sunday. Why do you pick this spot?

Maybe that’s where your family or friends have always sat. Maybe you like the view or the acoustics: You can see and hear well here. Or maybe you’re simply a creature of habit!

There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite place. In a chaotic, ever-changing world, our nervous systems sigh with relief at routines. We need the expected. Even Jesus liked to recline at table with his friends.

But in this in-between stretch of Ordinary Time, between the high feast of Christmas and the solemn preparation of Lent, we find ourselves in a new place as we settle into the new year. What will 2026 hold, the good and the bad? Who

Kelly Fanucci is an author,

might we become by year’s end?

At home, at church, in our communities and in the wider world, we can find ourselves seeking what is comfortable. We like this kind of food, that style of worship, this grocery store or that politician. We feel at home in our particular camp.

Yet Christ came both to comfort (with God’s mercy) and challenge (with God’s justice). His call to discipleship is always prophetic, asking each of us to leave behind the nets of our comfort zones and venture into the deep.

As a parent of children ranging from kindergarten to high school, I find myself thinking often about the home as a place

Catholics often have a regular spot they sit during Mass because it’s familiar and comfortable. What if we took one step out of our comfort zone in 2026? It might be a small change, like sitting in a different pew, to meet new parishioners in our community and see our physical church home from a new perspective.

of comfort — but also challenge. I want our family home to be a space of safety, solace and love for our kids, but I also know it must be a source of difficult lessons: how to forgive, how to change and how to do the right thing even when it’s hard.

In 1902, humor columnist Finley Dunne coined a famous phrase about the duty of journalism, writing that the role of the newspaper is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Catholics sometimes say the same about the mission of the church,

too. We need only look to the Gospels to see how Jesus comforted the suffering and spoke out strongly against the wealthy and powerful who did not care for the poor and vulnerable.

Where we stand (or sit) determines our view — of our home, church and society. If we stand with the least among us as Christ did, we will see things very differently than if we side with the powerful, the popular or the strong.

What if we took one step out of our comfort zone in 2026?

It might be a small

change, like sitting in a different pew, to meet new parishioners in our community and see our physical church home from a new perspective.

It might be a big change, like deciding to volunteer as a family with a local food shelf, to get to know our neighbors in need and serve them with our time and energy. Or we might devote this short season of Ordinary Time to deeper prayer, asking God to lead us further in faith even when it gets uncomfortable.

When we know we have safe spaces where

we can return — like our family home, our favorite chair or our regular parish pew — we can strike out in good faith and courage to do whatever challenging work that God calls us to do. I pray this for my children when they leave the house each day, that God might go with them and lead them home safely. I pray the same for each of us: that we will always remember there is nowhere we can go, even the farthest leap from our comfort zone, where God has not already gone before us.

Town hall leads to collaboration on FASD bill

By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.

— Kathryn White looked down from the gallery of the U.S. Capitol here on June 4, 2025, soaking in a moment that was years in the making.

The House of Representatives passed the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 2483), which includes provisions for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) — a cause she has been advocating for on behalf of her son for the past five years.

On Dec. 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.

“I think anyone would do this for their kid,” said White. “Anyone would fight for their kid. It just so happens that mine has a brain-based disability.”

Raising awareness

White is a parishioner of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Shawnee, a foster care ministry coordinator for the archdiocesan pro-life office and a photographer.

She and her husband Daniel have six children, and one was diagnosed with an FASD.

FASD can occur in individuals exposed to alcohol before birth. Effects can include mental health conditions, learning disabilities, sensory issues and physical impairments.

White quickly realized how few resources exist for those with FASD.

“I would say the majority of individuals with FASD seek an autism diagnosis because they have autistic tendencies,” she said.

Although these individuals don’t have autism, some of their symptoms overlap, and many more resources are available for those with autism.

“This [bill], I believe, will change that,” said White, “because I believe that schools, doctors and therapists will learn about FASD and then start understanding how to treat and support [individuals] better, so they don’t have to try to get a different diagnosis for support.”

White said many women aren’t aware of the impact alcohol consumption can have during pregnancy, and that even early on it can permanently change the baby’s brain chemistry.

As she learned more, she was moved to take action.

“My understanding is that the autism world started out very grassroots,” said White, “with parents like me fighting for understanding of their kids’ brain-based disability.”

Garnering support

Five years ago, White joined two producers who were working on a film called “The FASD Project.”

“They started traveling through the United States, because what they learned was that women self-reported binge drinking during the pandemic,” said White.

The goal of the film was to raise awareness of the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

White joined the production team as a photographer, capturing B-roll footage of families in Kansas and Colorado impacted by FASD.

She also began working with the national nonprofit FASD United and advocating for the FASD Respect Act,

which was designed to raise awareness and provide resources, education and research programs.

She and her oldest daughter Hannah attended a town hall meeting with Sen. Jerry Moran in Topeka, where they asked for his support.

About a week later, White received a phone call from Moran telling her that he believed in the work she was doing and would cosponsor the FASD bill.

White has also met with Rep. Sharice Davids, Gov. Laura Kelly and Sen. Kellie Warren, who have all expressed support for the bill, which initially stood on its own during the 117th, 118th and 119th congresses.

“Last year, the bill went for what’s called a hotline,” said White, “and so, if no one objects to the bill, then it’s signed into law.”

It was presented to Congress, and just one senator — a self-proclaimed obstructionist — voted against it.

Eventually, the bill was tucked into the larger reauthorization act and

passed last year.

Looking ahead

As part of the provisions for FASD, each state will be able to open a Center for Excellence and receive funding to support FASD prevention through screenings, public awareness campaigns and trainings.

The centers will also offer resources to individuals and families affected by FASD.

Warren introduced a bill to open a Center for Excellence in Kansas, which White hopes will pass.

For now, she continues to advocate for FASD awareness.

“I would’ve never known anything about FASD had it not been for [my son] in my life,” she said. “I would not have been on this journey of political advocacy.”

“I’m excited that individuals can have a voice,” she added, “and people with FASD can be understood.”

This year’s camp theme will focus on Sacred Heart of Jesus

>> Continued from page 1

are former campers themselves.

“The high school and college students that are on staff are so mission-focused,” Deacon Nearmyer said. “It creates this incredible opportunity for our campers to let their guard down and really explore some of the deeper questions that they have.”

Each June and July, the camp hosts approximately 1,700 campers in various sessions, while the ranch welcomes nearly 18,000 guests and hosts over 100 retreats each year.

Some improvements made to the campgrounds for this summer include the painting of several dorms as well as adding more accessible sidewalks

and restrooms.

Heather Brulez, parishioner of Holy Trinity Parish in Lenexa, has sent her three kids through the program and was surprised by what impacted her oldest son — normally one to never sit still — the most.

“I knew he’d love the activities, but I was genuinely surprised when he told me his favorite part of camp was [eucharistic] adoration two years in a row,” she said. “Hearing that from him was powerful.”

There will be 10 different camp sessions this year: one high school, three junior high, three fifth and sixth grade and three family camps.

One family camp session will be for people with special needs, and another

will be in both English and Spanish.

The central theme for Camp Tekakwitha in 2026 as selected by Archbishop Shawn McKnight will be: “The Sacred Heart of Jesus and our Mission to be Sanctuaries of Love and Mercy.”

The U.S. bishops have called for the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart in June.

In concert with the USCCB, Camp Tekakwitha with continue in July to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart as part of the church’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The camp is named after St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American who died at the young age of 24 and had a deep respect for nature.

She also had strong Christian faith in a time and place where it wasn’t easy to do so.

“She was a young person who had a turbulent upbringing, and she really sought Jesus out in an environment that was hostile to Christianity,” Deacon Nearmyer said. “But she had a deep purity of heart in finding the peace of the Lord, and I think our campers really gravitate towards her story.”

After sending her kids to camp, Brulez is most impressed by how the kids return home.

“What stands out most is how they come home: calm, joyful and at peace,” she said. “None of them ask for screens right away. They came back full — in the best sense of the word.”

Not so long ago, Carri Prewitt was a student at Holy Spirit and St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park. Then, in 2009, she joined a cloistered monastery in New Jersey. Now she’s written a book about her experience as a

‘MILLENNIAL BRIDE OF CHRIST’

Story and photos by

JEFFREY BRUNO

Ididn’t expect a day at the beach to turn into a doorway into a cloistered monastery.

The manuscript was thick, intimidatingly so. I tossed it into my bag, with a bottle of water, a towel and the excuse every work-from-anywhere person knows by heart: “I’m going to work . . . at the beach.” Ironically, I actually mentioned this very day in a previous piece.

The “work” was a draft by a cloistered Dominican nun friend from Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery in Summit, New Jersey. The title: “Joy Within His House:

A Cloistered Nun’s Reflections on Following Christ.”

I’d already spent years photographing the community. Thousands of frames of their life behind the grille. But that afternoon, beneath a Marian-blue, sunny sky, with waves crashing on the shore, I journeyed deep into that world through the heart and mind of one of their own, Sister Mary Magdalene of the Immaculate Conception, OP.

By the time the sun started to set, I knew two things.

First: This was not just a “religious book.” It was a brutally honest, surprisingly funny, deeply wise tour through the spiritual life, narrated by a millennial bride of Christ who has lived this vocation long enough to know what it costs and why it’s worth it.

Second: Whatever it took, this book needed to get out into the world.

The Hill in Summit

Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery sits on a hill, a kind of quiet city on a hill, to borrow a biblical image that actually fits. Founded in 1919, the community has prayed there for over a century, with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and a steady stream of women who have left everything to live a hidden life of prayer.

Most people only ever see the grille, or the “public side” as it’s referred to.

You’d come into the chapel. The air smelling faintly of incense and old wood. Light slants in across worn wooden pews. The nuns are behind a screen, chanting the Liturgy of the Hours, present and yet unseen. It’s beautiful and mysterious. You know there is more there, more humanity, more joy, more little moments of grace that never make it past those walls. But for reasons that still feel like pure grace, the community opened that door to me.

Over roughly five years, I photographed what almost no one outside ever sees: work time in the laundry and kitchen; Sisters hunched over sewing projects; recreation with games and laughter; the quiet intensity of prayer in choir. I was present for first vows and solemn vows, for the moment when a young woman lies prostrate on the

floor and offers her entire life to Christ.

As the hard drive filled with thousands upon thousands of images, I said the fateful words photographers say far too easily and far too often: “I should make a book.”

‘Hey, I wrote a book’

And so I did what modern people do when they have an idea: I posted about it. Somewhere on social media, I announced my intention to put together a book about the Dominican nuns of Summit.

Then, like a message dropping in from another world, I heard from one of the Sisters.

“Hey,” wrote Sister Mary Magdalene, “I wrote a book.”

She attached a draft. I opened the file and just kept scrolling. This thing was dense — in the best way. Not saccharine, not pious clichés, not a tourist brochure for cloistered life. It was thoughtful, theologically rich, often humorous, occasionally bracing — a description of her vocation and the daily realities of monastic life.

She wrote about the call to be a bride of Christ in a world that struggles to understand marriage, let alone vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. She wrote about community life, conflict, laundry, silence, prayer that feels dry and prayer that feels like fire. She wrote from inside

the mystery.

Suddenly it hit me: My “book idea” had already been written . . . by a nun. In reality, her book was infinitely better than anything I could even dream, let alone write anyway . . . but let’s not let facts get in the way.

All I had to do was hold up the images to the words.

The long road to print

Around the same time, Rebecca Martin, the acquisitions editor from Our Sunday Visitor, reached out to ask if I’d ever considered writing a book. I said, “Absolutely!” But I also said something else: “You really need to look at this manuscript by my cloistered nun friend in Summit.”

At that point, I felt called and responsible for getting this hidden life in front of people who would never walk through the monastery door.

Then began the waiting, the bouncing around, the mysterious discernment process inside a publishing house.

And the edits . . . Meanwhile, I called in someone who had shaped my own path more than she probably realizes: the legendary writer and editor Elizabeth Scalia. Years earlier, Elizabeth had encouraged/forced me into writing for Aleteia. She gave me my first real platform as a Catholic photojournalist. When I needed an expert for Sister Mary Magdalene’s epic manuscript, she was the obvious choice.

At first, life swallowed her time. The pages sat. Then, in the kind of twist God seems to enjoy, Elizabeth eventually went to work at OSV. And the book she’d once had to set aside ended up on her desk again — this time as its editor.

Fast-forward through design meetings, photo selections and quiet prayers inside the Summit chapel. “Joy Within His House” was finally released through OSV Books and the community’s own Cloister Shoppe, tucked among the soaps and candles like a small spiritual hand grenade waiting to go off in someone’s heart.

Deacon Greg Kandra, a veteran deacon and writer, called it “an instant classic . . . a clear-eyed, hope-filled, wisdom-saturated look into the life of a wonderfully down-toearth Dominican nun.”

He’s not wrong.

The eyes that smiled

What was it like, making the images that now live inside the book? It felt like being handed a key I wasn’t entirely sure I deserved.

You don’t march into a cloister with a camera and start firing away. Every

release of the shutter is an act of trust — and, frankly, of risk for the community. These women live hidden lives on purpose. Allowing a layman, let alone me, into that space is not a small decision. It progressed over time. And somewhere along the way, friendships formed.

One afternoon, I was photographing Sister Maria Lucia as she worked on calligraphy. She was bent over the page, serious, focused — the kind of concentration that makes you hold your breath so you don’t disturb it. I was close beside her, maybe too close, peering through the viewfinder.

The only sound was the gentle scratch of her pen on paper. And then I saw it: her eyes starting to smile.

She was trying to hold it together. I was trying to hold it together. The seriousness of the moment — this hidden life, the sacred work, this photographer bearing witness — all of it suddenly struck us both as ridiculous and wonderful at the same time. We burst out laughing.

That’s an image of cloistered life I carry with me. Not grim asceticism. Not pious distance. A beautiful community living in communion with Christ and each other, doing their work, and then the laughter, breaking through the seriousness of it all.

That’s the tone of the book, too: grounded, honest, breathtakingly oriented on Christ — but never afraid of joy.

A door left open — for you

What I love about “Joy Within His House” is that it does, in words, what I tried to do in pictures: It quietly opens a door.

Most people will never ring the monastery doorbell or sit in the parlor with a grille between them and a nun in full habit. They won’t see the second cup of coffee at breakfast, the Sister who always burns the cookies, the nervous laugh of a novice trying on the full habit for the first time.

But they can pick up this book. They can read a chapter on prayer that explains how cloistered nuns stand at the heart of the church, holding the world’s needs in a silence that would terrify most of us — and yet is the place they meet Christ most deeply. They can see that this life is not an escape from reality. It’s a deeper plunge into it.

I started as a guy with a camera, grateful to be allowed beyond the grille. I ended up as a kind of courier — carrying a cloistered nun’s reflections and a community’s hidden life out into the world.

Every time I flip through its pages and see a familiar face, a chapel corner, a bit of sunlight on a wooden floor, I remember what a gift it was to be let in at all.

I think of that day at the beach, the waves, the thick stack of pages that looked a little overwhelming at first.

It turns out the same is true of the cloister: From the outside, it can feel distant, mysterious, “not for me.”

But once you step inside — even through the pages of a book — you discover something else . . . there’s a deep and abiding joy within those walls.

And we’re all invited into that joy, too.

“Joy Within His House: A Cloistered Nun’s Reflections on Following Christ” is available now at the Cloister Shoppe online at: summitdominicans.org and on Amazon.

If you’ve ever wondered what hidden joy looks like, this is your invitation.

Reprinted with permission of the author/photographer.

A drone view shows a general view of Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 15. Three U.S. cardinals have issued a joint statement urging the creation of a “genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation.” In their statement, the cardinals pointed to “events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland” that “have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace.”

Cardinals call for ‘moral foreign policy’

By Gina Christian OSV News

NEWARK, N.J. (OSV News)

— Three U.S. cardinals have issued a joint statement urging the creation of a “genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation,” as the United States faces “the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.”

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, released the statement Jan. 19, focusing on the “enduring ethical compass” for foreign policy that Pope Leo XIV provided in his Jan. 9 address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited the Holy See.

In their statement, the cardinals pointed to “events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland” that “have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace.”

The United States recently staged a military intervention in Venezuela during which President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and brought to the United States to face federal narcotrafficking and weapons charges. President Donald Trump declared the United States would “run” Venezuela, although the administration has since been working with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez.

In recent weeks, Trump has also vowed to acquire Greenland — a semiautonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark — either through purchase or military force, and has threatened to levy tariffs on several European nations, including Denmark itself, that have opposed the plan.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022,

NEWS FILES/PAUL HARING, CNS/ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, Robert W. McElroy of Washington and Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, are pictured in a combination photo. The three cardinals issued a joint statement Jan. 19 on the morality of U.S. foreign policy, particularly with regard to Greenland, Ukraine and Venezuela.

continues attacks initiated in 2014, and has been classified as a genocide in two joint reports from the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

“The sovereign rights of nations to self-determination appear all too fragile in a world of ever greater conflagrations,” said the cardinals in their statement. “The balancing of national interest with the common good is being framed within starkly polarized terms.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told BBC Radio 4 on Jan. 18 that current U.S. foreign policy showed “a clear conviction that multilateral solutions are not relevant and that what matters is the exercise of the power and the influence of the United States and sometimes in this respect by the norms of international law.”

The three cardinals stressed that “our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination.”

They continued: “The building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.”

Amid the fraying post-World War

‘Morally acceptable’ for troops to disobey ‘morally questionable’ orders on Greenland

By Kate Scanlon OSV News

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The head of the U.S. military archdiocese said in a Jan. 18 radio interview that U.S. soldiers could in good conscience disobey orders to participate in an invasion of Greenland.

The comments from Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services came as President Donald Trump and members of his administration escalated their rhetoric about acquiring Greenland for national security, while refusing to rule out the use of military force to take the Arctic island. The semiautonomous territory is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO ally, and the comments set off alarm in Europe’s capitals.

In an interview on the BBC’s “Sunday” program, Archbishop Broglio said he was concerned the U.S. military personnel under his pastoral care could be “put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something which is morally questionable.”

II order — under which the U.N. Charter recognizes the equal sovereignty of nations, while prohibiting “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state” — the cardinals called for a recalibration according to the “truly moral foundation for international relations” Pope Leo provided earlier in January.

Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News that the conference “was consulted on the statement.”

She added that USCCB president Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City “supports the emphasis placed by the cardinals on Pope Leo’s teaching in these times.”

The cardinals quoted from Pope Leo’s Jan. 9 address to diplomats, in which he had warned that “diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” Pope Leo said in his address, adding that the postwar principle prohibiting nations from violating each other’s borders by force “has been completely undermined.”

“It would be very difficult for a soldier or marine or a sailor, by himself, to disobey an order such as that, but strictly speaking . . . he or she would be within the realm of their own conscience — it would be morally acceptable to disobey that order,” he said. “But that’s, that’s perhaps putting that individual in an untenable situation, and that’s my concern.”

Archbishop Broglio said the prospect of military action in Greenland “tarnishes the image of the United States in our world.”

“Because traditionally, we’ve responded to situations of oppression or situations — it’s not to say that those weren’t sometimes in national interest — but . . . this is certainly very difficult to justify,” he said.

In a text message to Norway’s prime minister first published by PBS Jan. 18, Trump tied his interest in Greenland to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in the message.

The Nobel Committee operates independently of Norway’s government, it says on its website.

Asked if he saw any scenario where taking Greenland by force would satisfy the requirements of a just war, Archbishop Broglio said he “cannot see any circumstances that it would.”

EMPLOYMENT

Please note: The Leaven is no longer able to accept ad submissions over the phone. Please submit ads by email to: olivia.martin@theleaven.org.

School health room specialist - Sacred Heart School in Shawnee is hiring a school health room specialist! If you are a compassionate person who enjoys working with elementary students, with great organization and communication skills, please apply at: www.shoj. org or contact Jennifer Peavler at: jennifer.peavler@ shoj.org.

Building attendant - The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is the Catholic Church in northeast Kansas: growing as disciples of Jesus; making disciples for Jesus. The Savior Pastoral Center is seeking to hire a part-time, live-in building attendant. This position provides hospitality, security, maintenance and custodial services at the Savior Pastoral Center. This position will average 18-20 hours per week; includes a fully paid, spacious one-bedroom apartment; and requires the ability to work evenings, weekends as needed and every other Saturday at the front desk. For more details or to apply, please visit “Employment Opportunities” at: www.archkck.org.

Administrative assistant - St. Agnes Church in Roeland Park seeks a Catholic in good standing with strong tech/communication skills and a welcoming heart. This year-round position offers full benefits and flexible scheduling to support a great work/ life balance around family and school schedules. To apply, visit: www.stagneskc.org or email: church@ stagneskc.org. Questions? Call (913) 262-2400.

Director of Religious Education/Safe Environment Coordinator - Immaculate Conception Church, St. Marys, is seeking a DRE/SEC for our parish. This is a full-time position with salary and  benefits (some evening and weekend work required). This position reports directly to the pastor. Must be a practicing Catholic in good standing with strong knowledge of Catholic doctrine, the sacraments and church teaching. Must have excellent communication, computer, organizational, recordkeeping and leadership skills. As the DRE, will develop and oversee curriculum for K-confirmation (JH/HS); develop a schedule for the school year; coordinate sacramental prep programs (first reconciliation, first holy Communion, and confirmation); biannual IC Work Camp for confirmation students (ICWC); coordinate and chaperone students (when possible) to junior high youth rallies and National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC — during odd years); and all other duties required of the IC DRE position. As the SEC, must collaborate with the diocesan office of protection and care; maintain all applicable records required by the Archdiocese of KCK; lead Safe Environment/Virtus training sessions; be able to handle sensitive issues with discretion and compassion; report suspected abuse or policy violations; and all other duties required of the IC SEC position. This is a very general description of the position. A more complete description will be given to prospective candidates for this position. Please send resumes to: eahn@archkck.org.

Manager assistant - St. Mary’s Food Kitchen has an immediate opening for a manager assistant. Duties include: work closely with the manager; provide support to the day’s coordinator; ensure policies and procedures are followed and operational standards are achieved; participate in the frequency and scope of required daily cleaning tasks; availability to fill in for manager when absent; perform other work-related duties as assigned; and interact with guests for improved service. This position is part time. Weekends and holidays (time and a half). 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the occasional start time of 8:30 a.m. $20/hour.

Safe drivers - Needed to transport young adults with special needs to and from their job locations. This is a substitute position to serve as backup to our regular drivers. Company-owned vehicles. The Mission Project, a not-for-profit organization, is based in Mission, KS. See our website at: www.themissionproject. org. $16 per hour. At least 24-hour prior notification. Perfect for retirees willing to spend occasional time at a reasonable rate. All clients can enter and exit the vehicle independently. Excellent driving record, background checks and references are required. Call Alvan at (913) 269-2642.

Caregiver - Senior caregiver needed for a lady who lives in Prairie Village. Need 2-3 days/wk from 12-5 p.m. Please call or text Jeanne at (913) 415-7696. References must be provided.

Choral conductor - St. Patrick Church in Kansas City, Kansas, is looking for a choral conductor to lead the choir. This opportunity would be a paid, part-time position (4-5 hours per week) and would require a weeknight rehearsal and weekly Sunday morning. The candidate would work closely with our music director to choose liturgically appropriate music. Knowledge of Catholic liturgical music tradition is preferred. For a job description and application, please see our website at: stpatrickkck.org or reach out at: office@stpatrickkck.org.

Administrative assistant - St. Joseph Church in Shawnee is looking for a friendly and organized administrative assistant to join our team. The ideal candidate will provide support to clergy, parish staff, parishioners and visitors. Interested candidates are invited to apply at: https://church.stjoeshawnee.org/ news/697-now-hiring. For more information, contact Melissa Thomas at: mthomas@stjoeshawnee.org or call (913) 631-5983.

Teachers - Nativity Parish School (Leawood) is seeking full-time teachers for the 2026-27 school year: K-5th grade teachers, Spanish teacher, PE teacher; middle school teachers: ELA, reading, math and a full-time K-8th grade reading interventionist. Interested applicants should email principal Luke Jennison at: luke.jennison@kcnativity.org.

Benet House Retreat Center director - Benet House is seeking a full-time director who is responsible for all operations, including programming retreats throughout the year. Benet House Retreat Center is owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, Illinois. It is located on 90 acres with walking paths, a wooded area, a lake and an abundance of wildlife. Benet House “welcomes each person as Christ” (RB) and is open to all faiths. The applicant must have at least 3 years’ experience in retreat ministry. For more information, go to: www.smmsisters.org/retreats or take a tour at: https://smmsisters.org/virtual-monastery. Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume. The cover letter should speak to your qualifications and leadership experience. Please email to: rbussan @smmsisters.org.

Caregivers needed - Daughters & Company is looking for compassionate caregivers to provide assistance to seniors in their home, assisted living or in a skilled nursing facility. We provide sitter services, light housekeeping and light meal preparation, organizational assistance, care management and occasional transportation for our clients. We need caregivers with reliable transportation and a cellphone for communication. We typically employ on a part-time basis, but will strive to match hours desired. Contact Gary or Laurie at (913) 341-2500 if you want to become part of an excellent caregiving team.

Catholic financial planners - The Knights of Columbus Mahon Agency has openings throughout all of NE Kansas and western Missouri, including Kansas City, Topeka, Holton, Wamego, Lawrence, Gardner, Liberty and Chillicothe. We have much to offer professional, disciplined and determined men who would like to share needed life insurance, disability income, longterm care and annuity products with other Catholics. This is a full-time position with excellent, multi-tiered training and benefits, allowing the successful field agent to earn a professional level income. It’s an exciting career opportunity that may be the right fit at the right time for you, or someone you know. For more information, contact John Mahon at (785) 4088800, or john.mahon@kofc.org.

Catholic elementary school principal - St. Matthew School in Topeka is seeking a dynamic and visionary leader with a passion for Catholic education. The principal will continue the school’s tradition of forming disciples, pursuing academic excellence and spiritual growth. The principal will lead by example and inspire a team of dedicated faculty and staff. Applicants must have or be eligible for Kansas licensure in educational leadership. Apply online at: archkckcs. org/apply. For more information, contact Vince Cascone at: vcascone@archkckcs.org.

Catholic elementary school principal - Holy Spirit School in Overland Park is seeking a dynamic and visionary leader with a passion for Catholic education. The principal will continue the school’s tradition of forming disciples, pursuing academic excellence and spiritual growth. The principal will lead by example and inspire a team of dedicated faculty and staff. Applicants must have or be eligible for Kansas licensure in educational leadership. Apply online at: archkckcs. org/apply. For more information, contact Vince Cascone at: vcascone@archkckcs.org.

Part-time kitchen assistant - Nativity School in Leawood is seeking a part-time kitchen assistant, 8 to 15 hours a week. Duties will include prepping food, serving food, setting up/breaking down food service line and garden bar, cleaning and washing dishes. Any candidate hired will need to pass a criminal background check and attend Virtus training as conditions of employment. Applicants should email principal Luke Jennison at: luke.jennison@kcnativity.org.

Office property manager - Edwardsville Court Apartments is seeking an office property manager. We are willing to train you. Inquiries, please call (913) 4416007.

Small equipment cleaning/repair - A locally owned family business is currently seeking part-time candidates to provide cleaning and repair services on microscopes. Expenses paid, work done in the field and each day is different! No previous experience necessary, on-the-job training provided. Needs to be detail-oriented team player, with good time management and customer service skills. Some travel with the team is required. Please contact us at: techneeded23@ gmail.com or call (913) 631-3000.

SERVICES

Pure Touch Cleaning KC - Bringing warmth and comfort back into your home this winter! Locally owned • Women-led • Family-based care you can trust. Deep cleans • Regular maintenance • Move-in/out • Holiday prep. Call/text: Owner Nicole (913) 999-6267. Let us make your home feel fresh, cozy and ready for the season.

Popcorn ceiling texture removal

Call Jerry at (913) 206-1144. 30 years’ experience. Interior painting specialist. Member St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee.

Pro Force Property Cleanout Services - Full home and property cleanouts: furniture, appliances, trash. Yard cleanup including trees or any debris. We do eviction or foreclosure cleanouts, move in, move out. Cleanouts throughout the Greater Kansas City area. Call Michael at (913) 565-5206 or email: MichaelMcMahan012@gmail.com.

Dewfall Media Professional Video Services - We partner with you to tell meaningful and engaging stories through visual media. Holiday sale: 33% off select video packages through January 12. www. dewfallmedia.com. Contact Andrew: (717) 818-5168.

Tutor - Tutoring available from experienced teacher and tutor. Tutor teaches in a fun and meaningful context. For more info, please call/text Kathleen at (913) 206-2151; email: klmamuric@yahoo.com.

Custom countertops - Laminates installed within 5 days. Cambria, granite and solid surface. Competitive prices, dependable work. Call the Top Shop, Inc., at (913) 962-5058. Members of St. Joseph, Shawnee.

Joe’s Decks & More Deck and fence repair, mowing and handyman services Member of St. Joseph in Shawnee (913) 449-9848

Sacred Heart Counseling - Are you looking for counseling from an authentic Catholic perspective? We have offices in Olathe, Leawood and Atchison; openings days, evenings and weekends. Book online at: SacredHeartCounselingKC.com; in-person or telehealth.

TOTAL HOME REPAIR

All aspects of interior home repairs. Retired master plumber. Professional interior painting, general repairs, tile work. Handyman services. Lifetime of experience. Army veteran. Ascension parishioner. (913) 488-4930

MIKE HAMMER MOVING - A full-service mover. Local and long-distance moving. Packing, pianos, rental truck load/unload, storage container load/unload. In-home moving and office moves. No job too small. Serving the KC metro since 1987. St. Joseph Parish, Shawnee, parishioner. Call the office at (913) 927-4347 or email: mike@mikehammermoving.com.

Jack Harrison Heating & Air Conditioning - Proudly serving Johnson County, Kansas, parts of KCK and KCMO, we’re your trusted local experts in residential and light commercial HVAC. Whether you need a repair, seasonal tuneup or full system replacement, we’ve got you covered — with honest advice, quality work and friendly service. We’re a family-owned and operated company, rooted in the community as members of St. Paul Parish in Olathe. Call Jack Harrison Heating & Air today at (913) 308-3131 or visit: www. JackHarrisonAir.com to schedule online. Let our family take care of yours!

Landscaping Design or Renovate! Light tree trimming/gutters Fall cleanup/leaf removal Free estimates; local parishioners. Call Charles or Emily (913) 605-8145.

Two men and a brush - Refresh, repaint, renew your home with painting you can trust! Call for a free estimate on your house, deck or fence! Call John at (402) 763-7244

Double A’s Lawn Service Lawn mowing, Mulching, Gutters, Leaf Removal Brush Removal & Hedge Trimming Free Estimates & Insured Alex Spoerre (913) 488-5195

Bill Dean Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling, Electrical, and Plumbing Furnace, AC and Water Heater Install and Service wmdean14@hotmail.com, billdeanmechanical.com Joco lic. # 2026-0008446, text or call (913) 724-3294

Memory quilts - Preserve your memories in a keepsake quality quilt, pillows, etc. Custom designed from your T-shirt collection, baby clothes, sports memorabilia, neckties . . . Quilted Memories. (913) 649-2704.

GARAGE DOOR REPAIR EXPERTS

New Garage Doors & Openers

A Total Door, Inc. Since ’83. Leaven Discount buffy@atotaldoor.com or (913) 236-6440 www.atotaldoor.com

FOR SALE

For sale - Treasure Lake Luxury Resort & Campground Membership — Branson, MO. $1000 (dues paid for 2025). This private, gated RV resort has over 340 acres with 588 RV sites, mini golf with indoor/ outdoor pools, pickleball/tennis/basketball courts, community room, restaurant, playgrounds and a community clubhouse with activities. This worldclass RV resort is right in the heart of one of the USA’s premier vacation areas Branson, Missouri, close to the cleanest water recreation, professional entertainment venues, shopping, dining experiences and family fun. Treasure Lake requires a transfer fee of $331 (deed recorded at county courthouse/admin fees) paid by buyer and annual renewal of membership of $180 starting in 2026. You pay all fees for transfers. Sold our camper as husband is in nursing home. Phone (785) 221-2738 for info.

Small farm/business operation opportunity - STA Home Repair is moving to another state. Looking to sell property and business assets: 1955 Oregon Road, Princeton, Kansas. 3 buildings, 1 Barndo/Shop, RV hookups – 200 Amp service with portable heat and AC – office, kitchen area – 10-foot garage door and entry door, 1 cabin with wood stove and AC/shop, 1 pole barn, 2 sinks, 1 shower, 1 toilet, stocked pond, boat and equipment storage over half fenced, multiple gardens, minifarm, bring the horses. Great for contractor with trailers, 25-30 minutes to Gardner or intermodal facility; 35-40 minutes to Olathe and Overland Park; and less than 10 minutes to Ottawa. Close to the Hillsdale and Pomona lakes. Asking $290,000. Cash and/ or pre-approved financing. Showing by appointment only. Text name and number to (913) 579-1835.

For sale - Two plots in Resurrection North Cemetery, off of Cookingham Rd., in Kansas City, Missouri. Both plots are located in the Annunciation Garden, lot 185, section D, spaces 3 and 4. Beautiful location, shaded area with benches close by and easy access from the cemetery road. Value is $2095 each, selling both for $3000, which includes perpetual care. Please contact Chuck at (816) 519-9288 and leave a voicemail; I will return your call within the same day.

For sale - Two plots at Mt. Calvary cemetery in KCK, including opening and closing, section 11, lot 119, space 1A-2A. $4500 includes transfer fee. Contact Dave at (913) 302-3924.

Residential lifts - New and recycled. Stair lifts, porch lifts, ceiling lifts and elevators. St. Michael’s parishioners. KC Lift & Elevator at (913) 327-5557. (Formerly Silver Cross - KC.)

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Haus to Home Remodeling - Transform your space with affordable remodeling done right. Bathrooms, basements and everything in between — crafted with honesty and quality. Family-owned with free estimates. Haustohomekc.com | Cole (913) 544-7352.

Father and Son Home Remodeling - We specialize in kitchen/bathroom and basement remodeling, from start to finish. We also do decks, covered decks, porches, sun-rooms and room additions! If you’re not sure we do it, just call. From my family to yours, thank you for supporting my small business. To contact me, call (913) 709-7230 and ask for Josh.

CAREGIVING

Caregiving - Homecare CNA with 15 years’ experience. Monday-Friday. Call (913) 526-0797.

Caregiving - We provide personal assistance, companionship, care management and transportation for seniors in their home, assisted living or nursing facilities. We also provide respite care for main caregivers needing some personal time. Call Daughters & Company at (913) 341-2500 and speak with Laurie, Pat or Gary.

WANTED TO BUY

BUYING OIL & GAS ROYALTIES

Simplify your life. Paying 48 times average last 6 months income. Call Dan (913) 980-0946.

Will buy firearms and related accessories - One or a whole collection. Honest evaluation and top prices paid. Contact Tom at (913) 238-2473. Member of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawnee.

Wanted to buy

Do you have a spare car or truck that you need to get rid of? If you do, CALL ME! I’m a cash buyer. We’re Holy Trinity parishioners. My name is Mark. (913) 980-4905.

$$Paying Cash$$ - Antique Furniture, crocks, tin and cast iron toys, old tools, glassware, American coins, jewelry. Most anything old. Please call Patricia at (913) 515-2950. A member of Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa.

CASH PAID FOR COIN COLLECTIONS! Silver dollar coins, half-dollars, quarters, dimes, old pennies. Cash in hand. Also paying cash for old paper currency. Cash in that old dusty box of coins! Call Kirk (913) 213-9843. Member of Holy Trinity Parish. Please sell to local people.

WANTED TO BUY - PAYING CASH

Antiques & Collectibles: jewelry, military items, railroad items, sterling, OLD holiday/toys & more. Renee Maderak (913) 475-7393 St. Joseph, Shawnee.

REAL ESTATE

Paul O’Toole – Real Estate Agent (KS & MO) Weichert Realtors – Welch & Company (913) 489-1229 (mobile) | (913) 647-5700 (office)

We buy houses and whole estates - We are local and family-owned and will make you a fair cash offer. We buy houses in any condition. No fees or commissions and can close on the date of your choice. Selling your house has never felt so good. Jon & Stacy Bichelmeyer, (913) 599-5000.

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SANCTA MARIA FUNDRAISER

Abe & Jake’s Landing

8 E. 6th St., Lawrence

Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.

Join us for a silent auction, raffle, games, dinner and dancing in support of Catholic Montessori education. Semi-formal attire is required. A $50 ticket includes dinner and two alcoholic drinks. Contact Theresa Clark for more information by email at: raventmf@ yahoo.com or call (785) 727-0942.

BOOK REFLECTION FOR WOMEN

Church of the Nativity (Magi Room)

3800 W. 119th St., Leawood

Jan. 24 from 8:15 to 11 a.m.

The Society of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales invites women to reflect on Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel” and celebrate St. Francis de Sales’ feast day after Mass. All materials are provided, and coffee and light refreshments will be served. RSVP to Ruth Owens online at: rowens4853@ gmail.com. For additional information, visit the website at: www.sfdsassociation.org.

LITTLE FLOWER CIRCLE #503

Christ the King Parish (Yadrich Hall) 5973 S.W. 25th St., Topeka

Jan. 25 at 12:50 p.m.

Join the Daughters of Isabella for a rosary, business meeting and social time. If anyone knows of a member or family member of Daughters of Isabella in need of the circle’s prayers call Shirley Gustafson at (785) 554-3028.

ROSARY RALLY

All Saints Church 811 Vermont Ave., Kansas City, Kansas

Jan. 25 from 3 to 4:15 p.m.

Please join us to honor Our Blessed Mother and Our Lady of Fatima. We will pray the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, followed by Benediction and the opportunity to enroll in the brown scapular. For more info, visit the website at: www.rosaryrallieskc.org.

CFNEK QUARTERLY INVESTMENT WEBINAR

Zoom (online)

Jan. 28 from noon to 12:30 p.m.

Please join the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas (CFNEK) for our quarterly investment update webinar. Chuck Maggiorotto, chief wealth officer of Country Club Trust Company, a division of FNBO, and Derek Lyssy, executive director of the CFNEK, will discuss portfolio review, economic outlook and more. Register online at: www.cfnek.org/events or send an email to: mcorrigan@archkck.org.

IGNITE FOR LIFE RALLY

Kansas State Capitol

8th & S.W. Van Buren, Topeka

Jan. 28

Join the bishops of Kansas and Catholics from across the state for the 2026 Kansas March for Life! IGNITE for Life is a Catholic, pro-life rally for the protection of

unborn children and women facing challenging pregnancies. The event includes live music, inspiring speakers, the celebration of Mass with the Kansas bishops and a ministry fair. Eucharistic adoration is offered from 1 to 3 p.m. at Assumption Church across from the Capitol. Go online to: archkck.org/ignite for details and to register. Registration is free; space is limited.

TRAFFICKING PRESENTATION

St. Michael the Archangel Church 14251 Nall Ave. (parish hall, lower level) Jan. 29 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

With the upcoming World Cup in Kansas City, there is an increased trafficking risk in our backyard. Learn signs, awareness, response and personal safety. Meet a survivor and hear her story. RSVP at (913) 402-3919.

SINGLES DANCE FOR 45 AND OLDER

Church of the Ascension 9510 W. 127th St., Overland Park

Jan. 30 from 7 to 10 p.m.

Come join us for an evening of music and new connections, low key and relaxed, for adults 45 and older. Tickets are $20 and include professional DJ, beer, wine, sparkling water and appetizers. Tickets are available online until noon on Jan. 28 at: kcascension. org. Wallflowers and free spirits — all are welcome to dance, meet and mingle.

CHICKEN DINNER AND BINGO

St. Patrick Church

1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas

Jan. 31 at 5:15 p.m.

The cost of the chicken dinner is: adults, $12; kids, $7; family meal (2 adults and 2 children), $35. Bingo costs $12 for 10 games.

JOURNEY TO JOY RETREAT

Church of the Nativity

3800 W. 119th St., Leawood

Jan. 31 from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Join us for a women’s retreat that will be filled with faith and friendship. It starts with Mass and will include breakfast, talks by Father Luke Doyle and national speaker Kelsey Skoch, and reconciliation. Cost is $25. Register online at: www.kcnativity. org/journey or send an email to Patti at: pbgehring@gmail.com.

BINGO

Sacred Heart Church

1100 West St., Tonganoxie

Jan. 31 at 6:15 p.m.

The 4:ThirTEENs youth group will be hosting their bingo fundraiser. A concession stand will open at 5:30 p.m. A $10 donation for the bingo card plays all night. Regular game prizes are valued between $5 to $10 with multiple winners at each game; cash prizes of up to $100 for the blackout game. Door prizes will be given out throughout the evening.

HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL EXTRAVAGANZA

Topeka Social

518 S.E. Adams St., Topeka Feb. 7 from 5 to 10 p.m.

Cocktail hour starts at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and a program. Funds raised during the event will support curriculum, electronic needs and other school needs. If interested in becoming a sponsor or purchasing event tickets or raffle tickets, visit the website at: holyfamilytopeka.net or call (785) 234-8980.

MARRIAGE RETREAT

Divine Mercy Church

555 W. Main St., Gardner Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Spend the day with your spouse, including free child care and a meal, and walk away with tools to help strengthen your marriage throughout the year. For planning purposes, an RSVP is requested for the retreat and child care. Go online to: divinemercyks.org/adult-formation or call (913) 856-7781, ext. 0105.

SOUP-ER BOWL LUNCH

St. Mary Church (hall)

9208 Main St., St. Benedict Feb. 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

St. Mary’s Altar Society will host its annual soup luncheon, serving chili, chicken noodle and vegetable beef soup, along with dessert and relishes for dine-in or carryout. All for a freewill offering. Everyone is welcome!

SCOTT & KIMBERLY HAHN EVENT

Curé of Ars Church (activity center) 9401 Mission Rd., Leawood Feb. 14 at 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Curé of Ars will be hosting Catholic speakers Scott and Kimberly Hahn beginning with Mass at 8 a.m. (parish activity center), followed by their presentation, “Living in the Love of God: Preparing for Lent.” There is limited seating at $25/ ticket. Visit the parish website at: cure ofars.com for more details and to register.

LAY FRANCISCAN EXPLORATION

Prince of Peace Church (downstairs meeting room) 16000 W. 143rd St., Olathe 2nd Saturday at 9 a.m.

Secular Franciscans are Catholic laymen and women who make a lifelong commitment to following Christ’s example in their daily lives. If you feel called to a life of prayer, conversion, peace and service, we warmly invite you to visit our fraternity. Join us to find support in your spiritual growth and a community committed to bringing life to the Gospel. For more information, send an email to: ols secularfranciscansolathe@gmail.com or call/text Megan at (913) 744-6695.

BINGO NIGHT

Sacred Heart Church

2646 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kansas 2nd Saturdays at 7 p.m.

The Sacred Hearts Knights of Columbus will be hosting bingo for cash prizes. Refreshments will be sold. For more information, call Kevin at (913) 207-0900.

>> Continued from page 12

We are local people who can buy your house - Big companies from all over the nation come here buying houses, but that’s not us. We are parishioners of Holy Trinity Parish and we enjoy giving you personalized service. We can offer you a fair price and are flexible to your needs. If I can help, call me, Mark Edmondson, at (913) 980-4905.

PILGRIMAGE

European pilgrimage - June 22-30. Join Father Willliam Carey, Deacon Tom Doyle and Grace Legaspi on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje and Zadar. Traverse the steps of millions who’ve climbed Apparition Hill. Meet one of the visionaries who continues to allegedly see Our Lady yearly. Celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Simeon of the Presentation of Our Lord in Zadar. Email Grace at: mgracelegaspi@gmail.com for details.

Peru Pilgrimage: Evangelization of the Ancient Incas – July 19-30, 2026. Join us for an unforgettable 11-day journey from Lima to the Sacred Valley, exploring Machu Picchu, Cusco and the lives of saints like St. Rose of Lima. Experience the dramatic encounter between the ancient Incas and the flourishing Catholic baroque of Peru. Space is limited! Early bird pricing until Feb. 19, 2026. For details, email: olivia. stear@viaheritagetravel.com.

Michael and Marlys Haverty, members of St. Ann Parish, Prairie Village, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with immediate family this January. The couple was married at St. Theresa Church, Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 29, 1966. Their children are: Shannon (Haverty) Thrun, Kansas City, Missouri; Michael E. Haverty, Mission Hills; and Ryan M. Haverty, Kansas City, Missouri. They also have 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

University of Saint Mary names new football coach

LEAVENWORTH — The University of Saint Mary here has hired Taylor Calvert as the Spires’ new head football coach. Calvert, a notable alumnus of USM football, takes over the head coaching role with a wealth of experience and a deep personal connection to the university.

Coach Calvert has been an integral part of the Spires’ coaching staff for nine seasons — the last five as offensive coordinator.

Calvert has been married to Britney for 14 years, and has two sons — Crue and Camden — who will turn 13 and 10 this year.

DAILY READINGS

THIRD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

Jan. 25

THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Is 8:23 – 9:3

Ps 27: 1, 4, 13-14

1 Cor 1: 10-13, 17

Mt 4: 12-23

Jan. 26

Timothy and Titus, bishops

2 Tm 1: 1-8

Ps 96: 1-3, 7-8a, 10

Mk 3: 22-30

Jan. 27

Angela Merici, virgin

2 Sm 6: 12b-15, 17-19

Ps 24: 7-10

Mk 3: 31-35

Jan. 28

Thomas Aquinas, priest, doctor of the church

2 Sm 7: 4-17

Ps 89: 4-5, 27-30

Mk 4: 1-20

Jan. 29

Thursday

2 Sm 7: 18-19, 24-29

Ps 132: 1-5, 11-14

Mk 4: 21-25

Jan. 30

Friday

2 Sm 11: 1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17

Ps 51: 3-7, 10-11

Mk 4: 26-34

Jan. 31

John Bosco, priest

2 Sm 12: 1-7a, 10-17

Ps 51: 12-17

Mk 4: 35-41

FOURTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

Feb. 1

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Zep 2: 3; 3: 12-13

Ps 146: 6-10

1 Cor 1: 26-31

Mt 5: 1-12a

Feb. 2

THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

Mal 3: 1-4

Ps 24: 7-10

Heb 2: 14-18

Lk 2: 22-40

Feb. 3

Blaise, bishop, martyr; Ansgar, bishop

2 Sm 18: 9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30 – 19:3

Ps 86: 1-6

Mk 5: 21-43

Feb. 4

Wednesday

2 Sm 24: 2, 9-17

Ps 32: 1-2, 5-7

Mk 6: 1-6

Feb. 5

Agatha, virgin, martyr

1 Kgs 2: 1-4, 10-12 (Ps) 1 Chr 29: 10-12

Mk 6: 7-13

Feb. 6

Paul Miki and companions, martyrs

Sir 47: 2-11

Ps 18: 31, 47, 50-51

Mk 6: 14-29

Feb. 7

Saturday

1 Kgs 3: 4-13

Ps 119: 9-14

Mk 6: 30-34

Some experiences in life have a treasured place in your memory. One of mine is a visit to the Leaven office from managing editor Anita McSorley’s youngest child many years ago. This precocious youngster, maybe 3 years old at the time, began to type on my computer keyboard. What appeared on the screen was line after line of something like: kljjawqdudygllkdkullytldn.

Looking up, the little angel said, “What does this say?”

I answered, “Hm, I really don’t know!”

To which came the disgusted reply: “And here I thought you could read!”

That day made me realize what a blessing it is to be literate. Do you ever marvel at how astonishing it is to be able to read? This story reminds me of how it started:

In ancient times, a king wanted to honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of great wealth was singled out. An-

Can you read this?

MARK MY WORDS

FATHER MARK GOLDASICH

Father Mark is the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. He has been editor of The Leaven since 1989.

other was praised for her healing powers, another for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult.

Finally, the last candidate stood before the king. It was a woman. Her hair was white. Her eyes shone with the light of knowledge, un-

derstanding and love.

“Who is this?” asked the king. “What has she done?”

“You have seen and heard all the others,” said the king’s aide. “This woman was their teacher!”

The people applauded, and the king came down from his throne to honor her. (Story found in Brian Cavanaugh’s “The Sower’s Seeds.”)

I took for granted all the teachers who helped me understand that letters can form words, then sentences, then paragraphs. Reading and writing opened whole new worlds.

Sadly, in the world today 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are

illiterate. According to the National Literacy Institute, some 21% of adults were illiterate in 2024 in the United States, and 54% of adults read below a 6th grade level.

No doubt it’s alarming statistics like this that are the reason the U.N. General Assembly has designated Jan. 24 as the International Day of Education. It asserts that education is “a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. . . . Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.”

I was reminded of how isolating and limiting illiteracy can be when traveling to the Holy Land a couple of years ago. How could people decipher the “squiggles” of the Arabic language or the Jewish script of Hebrew? And how in the world do you learn

to read from right to left instead of the other way around?

Obviously, it’s teachers who are at the forefront of helping people become literate. As illustrated in the story above, teachers truly are some of the greatest — and generally unsung — heroes among us. Take time to sing their praises! By a happy coincidence, Jan. 24 is the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists. His icon sits prominently by my computer. I’m sure that he’s tired of hearing from me each deadline Tuesday . . . but he never fails to help.

Celebrate your ability to read — and Catholic Press Month in February — with The Leaven. Maybe read a page you normally bypass. Or how about teaching a young one how to read using stories in The Leaven. Why read? The beloved Dr. Seuss says it well: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

What was demanded of those first disciples is demanded of us

It’s helpful still to take a step back and see the bigger picture, to understand what the church has been trying to teach us these past several months. For I believe there is, indeed, a message.

In Advent, we sought Christ. At Christmas and at the Epiphany, we adored the Incarnation and contemplated the Lord’s universal sovereignty. The past two Sundays, in the two different accounts of Jesus’ baptism in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John, we reflected on the sacramental closeness of that which we’ve all been seeking and celebrating these past few months — that is,

Joshua J.

Christ the Lord. And now, we come to Ordinary Time; but notice how it begins: with

a story about the calling of the disciples.

Having overcome the devil’s desert temptation, Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Jesus says (Mt 4:17). This is what it means to bring light to the people, to tell them to turn away from darkness.

But then, almost instantly it seems, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They don’t seek a master; rather, the Master seeks them. And the Master is compelling, persuasive and beautiful. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,”

the Master Jesus says to them (Mt 4:19). And immediately, they drop everything and follow him.

They leave their nets; James and John even leave their father behind. Jesus has called them, and they have left the world; that’s what that means, all that leaving of livelihood and family. Being a disciple of Jesus is not something you can do on the side. Being a Christian is not a part-time job.

And so, what was demanded of those first disciples is demanded of us. We are to leave the world behind immediately. If not literally, although some are indeed thus called, we are called to leave our

jobs insofar as we now offer our work to the Lord. If we’re not called to leave our families, although some indeed are thus called, we are called to love the Lord first, before even those dearest to us. Spouses should love Jesus more than they love each other; parents should love Jesus more than they love their children; friends should love Jesus more than they love each other. Now that sounds odd, I get it, but that’s the only way we can love our spouses and our children and our friends properly, by loving their souls and loving what God wants for them more than anything else.

God speaks to the faithful; take time to listen every day, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If Christians are to speak about God, then they must dedicate time each day and week to listening to God’s word in prayer and the liturgy, Pope Leo XIV said.

“We are called to live and cultivate friendship with the Lord” through prayer, he said Jan. 14 during his weekly general audience.

“This is achieved first of all in liturgical and community prayer,

in which we do not decide what to hear from the Word of God, but it is he himself who speaks to us through the church,” he said. “It is then achieved in personal prayer, which takes place in the interiority of the heart and mind.”

“Time dedicated to prayer, meditation and reflection cannot be lacking in the Christian’s day and week,” he said. “Only when we speak with God can we also speak about him.”

Speaking to visitors gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall for the general audience, the pope continued a new series of talks dedicated to the Second Vatican Council. “If Jesus calls us to be friends, let us not leave this call unheeded,” he said. “Let us take care of this relationship, and we will discover that friendship with God is our salvation.”

The Latin phrase “Nemo dat quod non habet” means “you cannot give to others that which you do not possess yourself.”

FROM THE SUPER

The faculty and staff members in our Catholic schools have the awesome responsibility of helping to pass on the faith to our precious young people. The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education (“Gravissimum Educationis”) highlights how teachers are called to be “well-prepared in both secular and religious knowledge, skilled in pedagogy, and serving as witnesses to the faith.”

The Blessed Seelos Institute provides each of our schools in

Virtue is the theme guiding Catholic faculty formation this year Make SPARC a

The beginning of a new year always invites us to pause and take stock, to reflect on where we’ve been and how God may be calling us forward.

At Savior Pastoral and Retreat Center (SPARC), this season has brought welcome signs of renewal. Fresh coats of paint on several interior walls and a beautiful new brick patio, thoughtfully created by an Eagle Scout, are visible reminders that renewal often begins with care and intention.

These outward updates reflect a deeper commitment to ensuring SPARC remains a place that

AT THE HEART OF HOSPITALITY

the archdiocese with faculty faith formation. At the heart of this formation is a simple but demanding truth: God has given us a human nature, and that nature flourishes when it develops virtue. To become virtuous is to become the kind of

being we are created to be. Just as a plant needs certain conditions to flourish, and just as a dog or a cat requires its own particular care, so too, the human person has a definite set of conditions necessary for flourishing.

This is precisely what Catholic education is uniquely able to do in a way no other institution can. One of the touchstones of the conversations with the faculty and staff members of our schools has been the image of Jesus as the master teacher, whose primary lesson is to make us more like God — a transformation that occurs through virtue.

We began the year with a convocation Mass with our new archbishop, followed by an opening talk by Professor Mulholland from Benedictine College in Atchison. In that talk, he introduced this year’s theme of virtue — a topic that will guide our faculty formation for both this year and the next. It was a fantastic introduction to two years of sustained reflection and growth.

The goal in these two years of formation is to allow our understanding of human nature and virtue to give us a clear vision of the human person, and

thereby shape our craft of education.

The Blessed Seelos team consists of Sebastian D’Amico, Jennie Punswick, Dr. Aaron Williams, Deacon Curtis Keddy and Austin Krause. Our hope is that this year and next will continue to give our teachers a shared language as they discern the best means of forming the children of our diocese, so that they may grow in wisdom and virtue and become the people they are meant to be.

Sebastian D’Amico from the Blessed Seelos Institute contributed to this column.

part of your spiritual renewal this year

GREG MIES

Greg Mies is the director of Savior Pastoral and Retreat Center. He can be reached by email at: gmies@archkck.org.

is welcoming and safe — not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. These efforts are about much more than

maintenance. They are an expression of hospitality rooted in our faith. Scripture reminds us: “Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom 15:7).

When a space is cared for, people feel it. A well-tended environment invites guests

to exhale, slow down, and open their hearts more fully to prayer, rest and encounter with God.

Throughout Scripture, we see that God values the spaces where his people gather for worship, mercy and renewal. From the careful construction of the tabernacle to Jesus’ insistence that the house of God be a place of prayer, we are reminded that places dedicated to God’s work should reflect reverence, care and love (cf. Ex 25–30; Mt 21:13).

When we care for spaces like SPARC, we honor the sacred moments that happen within them, moments

of healing, discernment, community and grace.

SPARC is blessed to welcome a wide range of guests throughout the year, including groups from across the archdiocese, other faith communities, nonprofit organizations and community groups.

Archbishop McKnight has encouraged our parishes to be centers of charity and sanctuaries of mercy, and this vision continues to guide our work. Whether someone comes seeking silence, renewal, formation or connection, our hope is that each person experiences the love of Christ made visible through a safe,

beautiful and welcoming environment.

We invite you to be part of what God is doing at SPARC. If you are part of an upcoming gathering at SPARC, please take some time to appreciate all we have to offer. These gatherings offer meaningful opportunities to step away from the noise of everyday life and make space for prayer, renewal and connection. We also invite you to reflect: How are you being called to recommit, renew or refresh your own spiritual life in the year ahead? We hope SPARC can be part of that journey.

Learn to appreciate the unique gift your spouse brings to your union

When our kids were little, Sunday mornings were a disaster. My husband Brad, for whom “on time” means “10 minutes early,” would get himself ready for Mass and then count down how much time remained before we needed to get in the car. Meanwhile, the rest of us ran around the house like headless chickens. Often, we filed into church late, rumpled and annoyed. We’ve since learned that men’s brains are wired for action. They are compartmentalized, allowing them to

FAMILY MATTERS

focus on a task without interruption. Women’s brains are wired for relationship. They are more globally

organized, taking in information 30% faster than men, allowing them to easily assess the needs of those around them. (Source: “Why Gender Matters” by Leonard Sax). Brad had been exercising his masculine strength. Reminders

were his way of helping us focus on the task at hand. Meanwhile, I was exercising my feminine gift of recognizing everyone’s needs. This kid needs a snack, that one a diaper change. Did you brush your teeth? Hang on, I can braid your hair once I’m dressed. . . . From his point of view, I was lollygagging around. Didn’t I care about being on time? To me, he seemed like a drill sergeant barking orders. Didn’t he appreciate the momentous feat it was to get us all ready?

Learning to appreciate the other’s gift was a game changer. Brad

learned from me who needed what, and he channeled his action into filling sippy cups. I learned from him how to stay above the chaos and pace myself. The result was a quicker, more peaceful arrival at Mass.

National Marriage Week is Feb. 7-14 and this year’s theme is: “Man and Woman He Created Them: Together with Purpose.”

It’s a great opportunity to reflect on the fact that men and women are different by design, and that these differences are a good thing!

If you are married, why not make plans

now to do something that will help you get to discover something new about your spouse? This will not only avoid conflict but help you grow in appreciation for the unique gifts that s/he brings to your relationship. Check your parish bulletin, email me (ldupont@archkck. org) for local events or go online to: www. foryourmarriage.org for more ideas, including an at-home email retreat.

If you are not married, practice recognizing others’ differences as gift, and please pray for the married couples in your life.

IT’S IN THE GAME

Corpus Christi esports team wins league in first year

By John Sorce john.sorce@theleaven.org

LAWRENCE — Sports played on a field or court is not the only way to add to a school’s trophy case — as Corpus Christi School here just demonstrated.

The Corpus Christi Saints added a trophy to their collection after winning their esports league in December.

The school won the Verizon Innovative Learning Esports League for the game of Rocket League at the middle school level.

The league, which is sponsored by Verizon, is a “free scholastic esports league for middle and high schools which will enable educators across the country to engage their students in a safe, toxicity-free environment that combines students’ passion for gaming with a focus on well-being and social-emotional learning.”

The team is in its first year of existence after technology director and teacher Zechariah Mickelson pitched the idea after being hired at the school prior to the school year.

Mickelson started a team at his previous job at a school in Texas and has a background with esports as he grew up playing and practicing with professional players.

Not every kid is athletically

gifted, and Mickelson feels that esports can be another avenue to representing your school and making like-minded friends.

“Esports in general is very rewarding for the children who are not very athletic or are maybe not socially accepted,” Mickelson said. “They are able to join a club where they can play video games and experience teamwork, competition and responsibility.”

There are other games where teams can compete in esports like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. and Madden.

But Rocket League, which is described on its website as “a high-powered hybrid of arcadestyle soccer and vehicular mayhem,” separates itself with its teamwork foundation as well as it being an easy game for an adult to supervise.

“With Rocket League, you can see what’s happening and how the kids are practicing,” Mickelson said. “You can set expectations and how to meet them, so that’s a big reason why we’re set on Rocket League.”

Most matches take place in a school classroom, and the team competes online against middle schools from across the country.

The team was also able to attend the Chiefs Game On! Event in October at Arrowhead, where they were able to network with professional Rocket League players from the

Kansas City Pioneers, as well as play against other schools.

Being able to compete against other schools in-person is something that Mickelson is hopeful to experience one day.

“I think it would be fantastic if we could get our Catholic middle schools into a league together,” he said. “One of the biggest challenges is having in-person events, so that would allow us to do that more often.

“To actually wear your school jersey and go out and support your school against another team is a phenomenal experience.”

Mickelson got the approval to start a team with a $1,500 budget. He has worked within that budget and has also gotten the aid of some parents who have donated computers.

He is happy to help anyone who might be interested in starting a team at their school.

“A lot of schools are intimidated by the price because they think they need a tech lab with desktops and monitors, and that can get expensive,” Mickelson said.

“If anybody has questions about budgets or if the computers they already have will suffice, I am more than happy to be the go-to guy,” he said.

To learn more, Mickelson can be reached by email at: zmickelson@ cccparish.org.