June 1, 2007 - Issue #11
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Bilingual nun bridges the gap
Sister connects Hispanics to larger parish community
If you have any doubts about the vitality of women’s religious communities, put your mind to rest by meeting Adrian Dominican Sister Lorraine Reaume.
The attractive 43-year-old is the new face of religious life — or at least one component of it. A woman with an education and an active career before she entered religious life at 33, Sister Reaume speaks fluent Spanish in an American Church that is approaching 50 percent Hispanic.
She also has a master’s degree in theology with a concentration in Scripture, and a master’s of divinity, both from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
At a recent public hearing, Sister Reaume approached the microphone with a young Hispanic parishioner from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Anchorage. The young woman testified in Spanish about the need for additional funding for Denali KidCare. When she finished, Sister Reaume translated her brief remarks into English.
It’s part of the "ministry of presence" which Sister Reaume provides for the Hispanic community at Our Lady of Guadalupe, a church with the archdiocese’s largest concentration of Hispanic members.
Sister Reaume was born in Windsor, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. As a Canadian citizen, she has something in common with many of her Latino parishioners — a green card which allows her to work in the U.S. She will be eligible to apply for citizenship in 2009.
With a bachelor’s degree in education, and another in English and psychology, she taught school for a few years after college. But when an itch to travel took her on a four-month teaching assignment to the Fiji Islands, the young woman who had "stopped believing" underwent a conversion experience. She doesn’t describe it other than to say "it brought me back to God."
She became a lay missionary for the Scarboro Missions, a small Canadian group of priests and lay missionaries which she describes as "similar to Maryknoll." She spent two years working in Bolivia, living with a Bolivian family and honing her Spanish skills.
She later spent four years coordinating the group’s lay missionary program.
But how does a young Canadian end up in a religious group from Adrian, Michigan?
"It’s kind of mysterious," laughs Sister Reaume.
"Even though I wasn’t thinking of religious life," she mailed in a Vision magazine survey about religious communities. When she got back the information, she tossed it in a drawer.
Later, "I had a prayer experience, and I got back into the drawer."
The details on the Adrian Dominicans filled her with "energy," and she began a journey that led her to the convent at age 33.
In November 2006, Sister Reaume came to Anchorage as part of a new Adrian Dominican commitment to the archdiocese. Three other Dominican sisters also work in evangelization, health ministry and education in Anchorage.
With her experience and her language skills, Sister Reaume was a natural for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church which boasts a large and growing Hispanic population.
There, she "is present at every Hispanic Mass and event," helps with training in Spanish for extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, preaches bilingually at events like the Good Friday service, and coordinates a Friday evening lectionary-based reflection group in Spanish.
Anglo parishioners also seek her out."I’m not a trained spiritual director, nor a professional counselor," she said. "But sometimes all people need is someone to listen."
Appeal supports religious education and other ministries
A top priority of the Anchorage Archdiocese is working with local teachers of the faith to assure that they are grounded in a solid knowledge of the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
A substantial amount of money from this year’s Annual Appeal, "One Bread, One Body," is dedicated to helping bring this education to Catholics across the archdiocese.
Faith formation, evangelization and family life ministries are targeted to receive 21.6 percent of the archdiocese’s total financial goal. Much of that money will help with programs created under the category "evangelization" said Julie Galligan of the Office of Evangelization and Worship.
One of those programs, which began last year and is set to expand, is Scripture and Leadership Training, popularly known as "SALT."
More than 20 people are currently enrolled in the "SALT" program that was developed through Seattle University, a Jesuit institution. The three-year course focuses on both Christian Scriptures and the Hebrew Scriptures in alternating years.
But, said Galligan, it’s much more than just the academics of Scripture scholarship.
"Participants are committed to daily prayer and reflection on Scripture," she said, adding that the program focuses on "inviting people to take on a leadership role as adults."
This leadership training helps produce more adults able to share Scripture education in the parishes, she added.
This year, SALT is offered at Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Anthony churches in Anchorage as well as at Our Lady of the Lake Mission in Big Lake. Next year, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in South Anchorage will start a course.
The evangelization office also sponsors the Alaska MAPS program. This Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies course has 19 participants who meet in Anchorage. Students from as far as Soldotna and Fairbanks participate in classes offered by professors from Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry. Professors fly to Anchorage for intensive weekends and two-week summer sessions.
This three-year Master’s program just completed its first year. Classes are offered in Scripture, theology, and ministry development.
"Discipleship Days" is yet another popular tool for education and community building. This fall’s Discipleship Days runs Sept. 27-29 at Lumen Christi School in Anchorage and will mark the third year of an event dedicated to workshops in theology, stewardship, and ministry. Everyone is welcome to Discipleship Days, said Galligan.
Another important function of the Office of Evangelization and Worship centers on keeping ministry leaders in touch with each other.
Galligan said the office hosts a monthly meeting for youth ministers and faith formation directors "so that we can reach out to parish leadership which in turn touches the people in the parishes."
All parish leaders – pastors, parish directors, ministry directors – meet monthly during the school year for "Pastoral Days," where leaders from throughout the archdiocese can compare notes, discuss issues, or hear about important news or changes.
The evangelization office also coordinated the recent five-year Pastoral Plan process and oversees the Alaska Native and Hispanic ministries.
Catholic education draws students and parents to Lumen Christi School
Graduate: ‘I feel closer to God here’
Last month, as tens of thousands of students prepared to graduate from public schools across the state, nervous laughter filled an empty hallway at Lumen Christi High School.
Inside a nearby classroom, 16 students in shiny blue caps and gowns waited to face an energized crowd of parents, relatives and friends who waited for them in a packed school gymnasium. They held balloons, waved banners and prepared to photograph and record the final moments of the 2007 graduating class.
Unlike their public school counterparts, however, most of these students and their families had gathered to celebrate a synthesis of faith and learning that has become a hallmark of Catholic education.
Pausing from last minute preparations, several students and parents shared their thoughts on Catholic education with the Anchor.
"I feel close to God here," said Jose Florez, an 18-year-old graduate who transferred from a public school earlier in the school year. "We pray a lot here and go to Mass like twice a week."
After four years at Lumen Christi, 17-year-old Milenlie Isaza agreed with her classmate that faith had definitely colored her education.
"We have to have theology in our schedule," she said. "I’ve learned a lot about my faith – especially church history."
The spiritual emphasis, however, is coupled with an academic rigor that Isaza found difficult when she transferred from public school at the start of high school.
"There is a lot more homework here," she said. "I do it but it’s a lot more to keep up with – it’s more challenging."
According to a former troubled student like Paul Barras, the challenge is exactly what he needed to get back on track.
After years of academic failure in elementary school, Barras came to Lumen Christi in the seventh grade.
"Honestly, before I came here, I wasn’t doing too good," he recalled. "I was diagnosed ADDHD to the fullest. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t do my work. I didn’t pay attention and my grades were bad. The decisions I made and the people I hung out with were really poor."
Things changed once he enrolled at Lumen Christi, he said.
"They definitely disciplined me really well since I got here," he said, while also crediting the small class sizes for enabling him to get needed one-on-one time with teachers.
"We’ve got one teacher to 10 or 12 students here, rather than one teacher to 30 or 40," he said. "They are tough too – they challenge you pretty well. I had to really pick it up."
Lumen Christi is the only Catholic high school operated by the Anchorage Archdiocese. Holy Rosary Academy, a private Catholic school that operates with Archbishop Roger Schwietz’s permission, also offers high school but Catholic graduates are still rare in Alaska.
Waiting in the bleachers for the graduation ceremony to begin, Shirley Pegues said she and her husband decided go against the flow and send their daughter to Lumen Christi so she could be grounded in the Catholic faith.
"We are both working parents," she said. "So this is the best education for her where she can learn the Catholic faith."
Pegues admitted, however, that attendance at Lumen Christi does come with sacrifice.
For starters there’s not as many opportunities for athletics or extra-curricular activities and the tuition runs at about $5,000 a year.
Pegues said Lumen Christi has cost her family about $15,000 in three years but she doesn’t regret one penny spent.
"It’s worth it and they do provide scholarships too," she said.
Karl Kjelstad is married to a Catholic but isn’t one himself. Still, after looking at the education options available, he thought Lumen Christi was the academic fit for his two daughters.
"It’s a small school and when we met the teachers we thought it was a good place," he said.
The fact that the school teaches religion but doesn’t require students or families to be Catholic was an important factor for Kjelstad and his wife Suzanne Crusey-Kjelstad.
"I wanted them to be exposed to the Catholic religion. They can make their own decisions after that," Crusey-Kjelstad said.
After four years at Lumen Christi, 18-year-old Nikelle Kruger said her faith was bolstered by the mixture of Catholics and non-Catholics.
"You have all the theology classes but then you also have all the people who aren’t Catholic in your classes and getting that diverse opinion just strengthens your faith even more," she said.
Church history was especially helpful in working out her faith, she said.
"That was the best class I ever had because it helped me know all the things that led to our faith," she explained. "It’s been strengthened by far."The 16 students who received diplomas May 17, marked the largest graduating class in Lumen Christi’s 10-year history.
News & Notes
Catholic Daughters
New members of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court #1866 were formally received during Mass held at Holy Spirit Center May 12. From left, the new members are Barbara Hrubes, Michelle McCLain, Dorothea Prescott, Hope Chorsey and Pamela Whitefogg. Financial secretary Dona Boschee stands at the far right. CDA is an international organization of Catholic women, which strives to participate in religious, charitable and educational apostolates of the Catholic Church.
The next local meeting for CDA will be a potluck on June 13, 6:30 p.m., at St. Benedict Parish Hall in Anchorage. For more information about the local chapter of CDA, contact Marcy Adkins at marlon@alaska.com.
Archbishop invites all to climate change conference
Stating that he firmly believes "our Catholic faith compels us to initiate a dialogue on climate change and its consequences," Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz invited Catholics from across the state to join in a one-day meeting in Anchorage.
On June 2, all three of Alaska’s Catholic bishops plan to join scientists, theologians, business professionals and others for a daylong conversation at the Dimond Center Hotel.
The forum is part of a nationwide series sponsored by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change in Washington, D.C. The group operates under the auspices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The purpose of the meetings is to assist the USCCB in implementing their statement on climate change from 2001.
John L. Carr, the USCCB’s secretary for social development and world peace, is the keynote speaker for the conference. Joining him is forestry professor Dr. Glenn Juday, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Anna Thomas, from Alaska Conservation Solutions and Jim Powell, from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The morning features the keynote speaker and the afternoon consists of panel discussions, where dialogue from participants will be encouraged.
Registration forms for the event are available online at www.archdioceseofanchorage.org. For more information, people may contact Mary Gore at (907) 297-7750 or Colleen Leibert at cceibert@aol.com.
Talk to address tension between religion, science
Recently the modern culture finds itself embroiled in a clash between the ideas of Charles Darwin and those who take the position of "intelligent design." In order to address this conflict, the Anchorage Archdiocese’s Theology on Tap program has invited Dr. Thomas J. Kaiser, a biologist, philosopher and theologian to speak June 14.
While the Catholic Church’s teaching authority is limited to matters of faith and morals —not science, the philosophical ideas behind much of modern science, however, are powerful and have far reaching consequences in theology. For this reason, the church continues to closely examine the philosophical ideas behind modern theories of biological evolution. The upcoming event will specifically address the idea of DNA and the impact it has on natural science. The talk will be held at the Snow Goose Restaurant in Anchorage, beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, contact coordinator Arthur Roraff at (907) 360-2323.
Anchor wins more newspaper awards
The Catholic Anchor took home more honors and awards at the 2007 Catholic Press Association’s annual gathering in New York last month.
Competing against Catholic newspapers from around the country, the Anchor writers took home three awards and one honorable mention.
Father LeRoy Clementich repeated as the top winner for writing the best regular Scripture column.
Judges said Father Clementich’s columns "offer important lessons in a warm, conversational style that is wise yet unpretentious."
The Anchor also won second place in the best news writing on a local issue. Former editor John Roscoe won that distinction with his careful coverage of the deadly plane crash that took the life of a local parishioner during a youth group outing last July.
Anchor columnist Jeanne Bench received honorable mention in the best regular column category on spiritual life and Anchor writer and columnist Effie Caldarola won an award for columns she wrote for the Catholic News Service.
Judges called Caldarola’s columns "deeply personal" yet able to connect on a "human and spiritual level."
Vocation day set for women
Daughters of Charity will sponsor a vocation discernment day on July 14 for single women between the ages of 18 and 45. For more information, contact Sister Kathleen Powers at (907) 333-5283.
Columns
Celebrating Mass: The Mass is a true sacrifice, a ritual meal
Last time we talked about how to prepare for Mass. This week, let’s look at two essential aspects of the Mass.
Quite frankly, the Mass is the most important thing that human beings can do. It is a real participation in the one true, eternal sacrifice of Christ on the cross and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. The Mass is both a true sacrifice and a shared, ritual meal.
To understand the Mass as a true sacrifice, it helps to remember that Christian worship has its origins in Hebrew worship. Early Christians viewed the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ in light of the temple sacrifices and the Feast of Passover. These Hebrew rituals gave context and form to Christian rituals.
In ancient times, for a valid sacrifice, you needed four things: an altar, an offering, a priest, and a reason. Typically, sacrifices were performed for four reasons: to establish covenants, to give thanks, for the forgiveness of sins and for sacred remembering. In each case, the priest laid hands on the victim brought before him. Then the victim was slaughtered and its blood was poured out in the proscribed manner. Certain parts were given to the priest, while others were immolated and offered to God by being burned. The rest you ate with family and friends in a "sacrificial banquet."
So the notions of sacrifice and ritual meal have always been inseparable. This is especially true of the Mass. Like all ritual meals it takes place in a special environment, with special food, special gifts and special words, which must be said or sung for the experience to be valid. Don’t believe me? At the next child’s party you attend, don’t bring a present and try to keep everyone from singing "Happy Birthday." See how far you get! Children have a great sense of ritual.
The Church understands that all previous sacrifices offered to God were perfected in the one, perfect sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. At Mass our sacrifice and ritual meal are the means by which we truly participate in his one, perfect offering. Here we come to give thanks, remembering the new covenant of grace in which our sins are forgiven. Our gifts of bread and wine, of time, talent and treasure, indeed our very selves, are offered to the Father in Christ on the altar through the ministry of the priest. They are changed into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ, so that, "when we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." (1 Cor. 11:26)
This true sacrifice, this ritual meal, this Mass is the most important thing that human beings can do.
UP NEXT: In the following issue of the Anchor Fr. Walsh explores the question: "So when does the Mass actually begin?"
Liturgy of the Hours – the untold treasure (part two)
I looked into several Web sites to learn a bit more about the history of the ancient prayer — Liturgy of the Hours.
My research took me through the vast history of this time-honored practice.
The Hours (also known as the Breviary, the Divine Office, or The Canonical Hours), like so many of the church’s liturgies and practices, grew out of Old Testament Hebrew practices. Jewish prayer as far back as 1000 BC contained Scripture reading and Psalm praying at set times throughout the day. The Apostles maintained that tradition by praying four times a day: Terce (9 a.m.), Sext (12 p.m.), None (3 p.m.), and midnight.
Over the years the prayer evolved to take a form that it largely holds today.
The current Liturgy of the Hours’ structure consists of the following prayers: Lauds (sunrise), Terce (mid-morning), Sext (mid-day), None (mid-afternoon), Vespers (evening), Compline (sunset), and the Office of Readings, which retains a nighttime flavor.
With the exception of Prime, the prayer that once occurred at 6 a.m. and was suppressed by Vatican II in order to make the Hours more accommodating to modern life, today’s structure mirrors that established by the early church in the second and third centuries. In regards to the content, the prayer retains even more of its ancient flavor.
Since it’s Hebrew beginnings, the Liturgy of the Hours has always consisted of Scripture readings, prayers with short prayer antiphons, and a reading from teachers of the faith. Today’s Hours incorporates the same content. The Office of Readings contains Psalms, a day-by-day reading of a specific book in the Bible and a second reading from a church Father or church document. As Lauds (the morning prayer) and Vespers (the evening prayer) are the "hinges" of the Hours, these prayers include numerous Psalms, a canticle appropriate for the time of day, and a short reading.
In my research I noticed the heavy use of Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours. The Psalms are, and have always been, the main prayer of the Hours. Throughout history, the cycle of the 150 Psalms varied from as frequent as a weekly cycle to today’s monthly cycle. An individual praying the current full Liturgy of the Hours will say 98 percent of the Psalms in a month.
In the next issue of the Anchor we will explore what it takes to actually start a discipline of daily prayer.
The writer is a parishioner at St. Michael Church in Palmer, Alaska.
Our very lives are soaked with the presence of God
I am happy to share with readers periodically a column on our life in Christ.
Relatives and friends, academic and priestly relationships have shaped my thinking and responses. I love the Church in which God redeems, forgives and nourishes us and where he made me a priest to share this good news with others.
I thank God for my call and pinch myself to make sure I really am a priest. It seems too good to be true.
If through these columns, readers are enriched with some sacred insight, with more faith and hope, and are moved to respond more generously to God’s love and to the needs of others, then I shall rejoice.
We have seen people walking on the moon. Even the stars now seem within reach. Space probes reemphasize that our reaching and hunger is for something more personal than cosmic dust. And we need not look beyond the touch of a hand because God saturates us with creative love. We are steeped, soaked in the personal presence of this God who breathes not only human life into us, but even God’s own eternal life.
Let’s face it: To be a person and not a thing, is to be uniquely and personally loved by this God who longs to be our Father (or Abba, as Jesus called God).
God will not force our acceptance of his offer. He will not coerce our gratitude of personal response.
To face reality eagerly and honestly is a sign of maturity. Only children can afford to spend much time weaving worlds of make-believe. All that is not God is God’s gift, loved into existence and held in his love.
Evil is always a missing ingredient in that gift. Moral evil is never a result of God’s decision but of our own disordered choices.
We are at our mature best when we embrace the reality of our total dependence, when we face this God in our existential poverty and admit that God is our creator, whose love gives us being and life. Welcome him into your life. Welcome, Jesus our redeemer and Lord. Welcome the Spirit of God, whose own breath makes us his sons and daughters.
God deserves our conscious and grateful response to his creative presence. This is prayer at its simplest and best. It is a matter of maturity.
The author works at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in the Anchorage, where he directs spiritual retreats.
Catholic ritual locks into our consciousness
It has long been my personal persuasion that Catholic adults, whether or not they are presently active in their church, love to talk and write about the Catholicism of their youth. The number of such books and essays continue to surface on a regular basis. There is something about our Catholic rites that lock into the depths of our consciousness. Some of those memories may not be all that happy, of course, but they are remembered nonetheless and often must be recalled, whether in conversation or print.
Fortunately, having been a Catholic since the day of my baptism, I have a storehouse of these memories, mostly happy: The smell of incense, the feel of starched communion cloths. Being gently "slapped" by the bishop at confirmation. Wearing a black cassock and surplice to serve Mass for the first time. One of the rites that always come to mind in summer is the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. We called it Corpus Christi then whether or not we knew the translation.
In our small country church of St. Henry, this was truly a feast of great importance. After the solemn Mass in mid morning, the celebration of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament continued outside at seven small altars scattered across the open field surrounding the church. The celebrant, accompanied by four stalwart men holding a canopy above the Blessed Sacrament, celebrated Benediction seven different times before returning to the church to sing the final Latin verse of the hymn, "Tantum Ergo Sacramentum."
That was high liturgy, indeed! Not many liturgies will match it today!
It did not occur to me then that this might be somewhat repetitious inasmuch as we had already celebrated and received the Eucharist at solemn Mass. Now we were invited to adore the Blessed Sacrament seven times. It was simply the custom of the age, no questions asked.
It is interesting to note that Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is not celebrated outside as frequently today, perhaps it is because we live a more urban than rural environment.
My hunch, however, is that a change in emphasis may also have occurred in our eucharistic theology. It was not unheard of in my generation that Benediction should be celebrated immediately after each Sunday Mass, even though, as I say, we had already celebrated the Lord’s Supper and been nourished with Christ’s Body and Blood.
It is not a matter of saying that one theology is wrong and the other right. Rather it is a matter of reflecting on the Lord’s words at the Last Supper: "Take this bread and eat it… Take this cup and drink from it, all of you… Whenever you do all this, do it in my memory." No reference to adoration there of course. Adoration was simply a devotion that arose, and appropriately so, over a later period of time.
Nonetheless, there is still something to be said about the appropriateness of liturgical customs that arise out of the Catholic’s desire to honor Christ in his Body. Some call it "theology from below", from the hearts of the Catholic faithful. There is a certain Catholic authenticity about that. Why would Catholics, for instance, continue to recall such devotions from their youth if they had no theological significance?
Whether or not I understood the theological importance of what I was doing in those long-ago days of my youth, the spiritual meaning and memory still hangs with me — locked into the depths of my consciousness.
The writer is archdiocesan director of Pastoral Education. He also serves as canonical pastor and coordinator of parishes without resident pastors.
Directors can guide our spiritual journey
When I ask Mary Cartwright what led her to become a spiritual director, she leans close, narrows her deep blue eyes, and speaks softly, as if she’s about to share a secret that surprises even her.
"My entire life I’ve been someone people want to confide in."
Although Mary, a forty-something soccer mother of five, saw from an early age that this gift for empathetic listening was a "sacred trust," it didn’t occur to her until recently that the church had a special place for her to use this gift. Even now, she smiles when she agrees that it’s her "calling."
Spiritual direction is as old as the Desert Fathers, indeed as old as the church. But only recently have more lay people awakened to this ministry.
What is spiritual direction? Here’s what it’s not: It’s not counseling, it’s not therapy and it’s not advice-giving. Indeed, says Mary, it’s almost a misnomer to call it "direction" – it’s more of a companion on the journey.
A spiritual director, says Mary, "is for someone who has a prayer life or wants to have one. It’s to discern how the Holy Spirit is actively moving in your life."
The director actively listens – "the art of prayerful listening," as Mary calls it.
"In our society, we give very little time to really listening. We’re all hungry to be heard," says Mary. "It’s a rare thing to find someone to be present to you."
She likes to recall this analogy she heard during the 18-month spiritual direction program she completed at Holy Spirit Center: In spiritual direction, a person’s life is holy ground. The director helps the person sift through the soil of this ground to find the gems.
In April, Mary attended the Spiritual Directors International annual get-together, held this year in Vancouver. There, she encountered directors from all over the world and from almost every faith: Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist and Muslims.
"What was so important for me, I saw the Holy Spirit working through all these people despite the differences in their faith traditions."
Like many Catholics, Mary gets discouraged with the dissension she sees in her own church – including in Anchorage.
"If we (the various denominations) could be in dialogue despite our differences, it gave me a glimmer of hope."
"Everyone there was seeking God and trying to follow a path of holiness. I was acutely aware of our differences – I know much separates us – but I was able to see beyond that. I think God sees beyond that."
Mary and I have known each other for years – we had kids in the same class at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School. Now those "kids" are 25, and both of us are moving on to "what’s next."
We’re both pursuing Master’s degrees through Seattle University, a Jesuit institution. Professors from the School of Theology and Ministry travel to Anchorage for intense weekends and summer sessions.
Mary, once a college journalism major, knows the theology and scripture emphasis will give her a better foundation in her Catholic faith for spiritual direction.
Spiritual directors must be prayerful people and in direction themselves. They must also be under "supervision," which in Mary’s case means peer supervision monthly.
Mary’s motto is from St. Therese of Lisieux: "Be present to the people in your life; look at them well and do it with great love."
I’ve had a spiritual director for years, and it’s been a source of grace and growth in my life. If you’re interested in direction, someone at Holy Spirit Center (346-2343) could answer your questions or give you a list of well-trained directors available in the archdiocese.
The writer is a freelance writer, preschool teacher and mother of three. She lives in Anchorage.
Editorials
High school’s over, now the greatest test begins in earnest
First of all, a warm congratulations to all young men and women who recently walked across an elevated stage to accept their high school diplomas.
Now the real work begins. Everything – all of eternity – hinges on this next task.
It’s been well documented that many young men and women leave their Catholic homes, head to college and rarely darken the door of a church again for many, many years. Some come back, many others never do.
Keeping faith alive and vibrant is simple but not easy. Leaving the family, church and spiritual community of childhood is a triple whammy that often strikes a mortal blow to the faith of young adults.
No one is prohibited from practicing their Catholic faith after they leave home, but the social dynamics of college life and newfound independence does not always encourage it.
So what is the secret? What’s the new policy or exciting program that will revamp and bolster Generation Y’s faith?
There isn’t one really. It comes down to the same old practices that have maintained the Catholic Church for 2,000 years.
College, work or adventure-bound young adults must strike out and find parishes and faithful Catholic communities wherever they go. Faith doesn’t fair well when stripped of spiritual community and regular Mass attendance.
Spiritual decline often starts innocently enough – skipping Mass or failing to find a nearby Catholic church. As the weeks and years roll by, however, spiritual momentum eventually grinds to a halt unless young adults take a stand and draw close to the life and work of Christ and his church.
A recent presentation at the Catholic Press Association’s annual meeting in New York highlighted several keys for young Catholics.
Last month, the communications director of the Diocese of Rockville Center, N.Y. told a group of Catholic journalists that young adults who join Catholic campus ministries and build relationships with fellow Catholics stand a much greater chance of keeping the faith of their parents and grandparents.
These young men and women are more likely to support each other when their faith is challenged because they tend to practice their faith in spiritual devotions, missionary outreach and social justice. In a world of attractive distractions, it’s easy to forget or neglect the faith and yet it is the very purpose of this whole life.
Elevate summer break time
As Alaska’s schools break for summer, thousands of school-age children face a familiar dilemma: "What to do with all this free time?"
Over the course of 12 or 13 years, this annual three-month break from school is long enough to constitute about three full years of childhood.
Many children spend these months at family vacations, outdoor trips, summer camps, vacation Bible schools and day care or youth centers.
Even with all the activity, many youngsters undoubtedly face countless summer hours where nothing is demanded of them. Determining how to fill this time is key to redeeming the summer.
In some ways, summer break is a microcosm of the human lifespan. Vacations well spent bring gratification as they draw to a close, whereas a sense of longing and regret accompany the vacations that are frittered away.
Catholic families have a unique opportunity to redeem this time and elevate it beyond idle entertainments, video games and television shows that can so easily fill up the days.
Families that plan to travel can merge vacation time with pilgrimages to holy sites, cathedrals, monasteries, convents and the graves of holy men and women. There’s no reason why a trip to Disney Land or a family reunion can’t also include a mini-pilgrimage.
And learning needn’t end just because school closes. Summer reading and research projects can deepen a child’s knowledge and love for Christ and his church.
Of course parents have a key role in elevating vacation to something more than the absence of homework. Parents can suggest service projects or ministries to the poor, elderly and needy. They can offer guidance for reading programs or outdoor adventures.In the end, a summer well spent reflects a life well spent. We were not made for our own but for God. When we live for him, we look back fondly on the brief yet blessed time we had. The years add up quickly – one summer vacation at a time.
Summer entertainment can sharpen and inspire the mind
Summer is also a time when many kids consume considerable amounts of entertainment. Summer blockbusters are opening in theatres everywhere. Likewise, computer and video-game sales are usually popular, as are DVD rentals.
Unbridled entertainment can saturate kids with misconceptions about who they are and offer questionable role models to emulate. These are not reasons, however, for parents to become entertainment prohibitionists.Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, recently spoke of the need to instill in people the ability to critically enjoy entertainment (See article on page two). People should know how and why commercials work the way they do. They should know what vision of humanity is latent in the latest popular CD or television series. What kind of message, covert or obvious, lies behind recent movies and video games? These are great questions that can ignite a child’s imagination and sharpen their critical thinking skills. Catholic families have right and privilege to measure the tidal wave of summer entertainment against the truth of Christ as revealed to his church. This approach to entertainment serves to sharpen the mind rather than dull the senses.
What is just immigration law?
In recent weeks, elected politicians, church officials and others have wrestled with how the United States should address the problem of illegal immigration.
Last month, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, of Orlando, Fla. urged members of the U.S. House of Representatives to do away with temporary worker programs and institute a new "worker visa program" (See related article on page 3). The new program should require that migrant workers receive the same wage levels, benefits and worker protections that other workers are granted, he said. In addition, migrant workers should be able to sue in federal court for violations of their rights and be able to earn permanent residency over time, he added.
Perhaps the most important point Bishop Wenski made was that family members of undocumented and illegal immigrants should not be forced to separate from each other.
These are all noble ideas and yet, Bishop Wenski acknowledged that there is a need to balance the rights of nations to control their borders with the basic human rights to work and support a family.
A recent article in the monthly periodical First Things illustrates just how difficult the immigration question is. Peter C. Meilaender, a professor of political science at Houghton College and the author of "Toward a Theory of Immigration," draws a distinction between the United States’ moral obligation to immigrants and it’s obligation to official residents.
As the country attempts to strike the just balance between immigration and border control, the welfare of the whole country must be discussed, Meilaender says.
"We have obligations to children whose education suffers as teachers struggle with classrooms of students whose command of English varies widely, and to doctors and nurses whose ability to serve their communities is strained by the need to treat poor and uninsured migrants requiring emergency care."
He goes on to say that we "have obligations as well to bequeath to future generations both a political order that has nurtured liberty across centuries and the cultural heritage that has sustained it (and – not coincidentally – enabled us to absorb large numbers of immigrants over time)."
The professor ends with a call to recognize the image of God in every human being.
"(W)e owe something to each person simply by virtue of his or her humanity," he adds. "But we also stand in particular relationships to certain persons for whom we bear special responsibilities: sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, fellow citizens. These special relationships channel our potentially endless obligations and make them practicable."
Letter to the Editor
There are no letters to the editor for this issue.