August 8, 2008 - Issue #15
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Inspired Alaskans return from Australian pilgrimage
After years of fundraising, applying for visas and preparing spiritually for World Youth Day, an Alaska delegation of nearly 150 people began its World Youth Day pilgrimage to Sydney, Australia last month.
Traveling more than 7,000 miles from Anchorage and then jostling through the heavy crowds of Australia’s capital city, the payoff finally arrived.
“I don’t know if I can even describe it in words, it was so amazing,” said 18-year-old Chris Waetjen. “I was running and jumping up and down, trying to see the pope.”
And then it happened.
“At one point I was about ten to fifteen feet away from the pope, I looked at him, waving my hat and he looked right into my eyes and smiled,” Waetjen described with a sparkle in his eye.
For 14-year-old Holy Cross parishioner Alex Austin, the experience of seeing Pope Benedict XVI was a powerful spiritual experience.
“We were right up against the gate, waiting for the pope to go by,” Austin said. “And when he did, it just hit me, this overwhelming feeling, it’s hard to explain.”
Trip leader Bob McMorrow had a simple way of describing what happened to the youth.
“When they first encountered the pope, it was a true Pentecost moment,” he said. “The youth were so excited, many were hugging and crying, trying to feel and experience the Holy Spirit.”
Fittingly, the Holy Spirit was the theme of this year’s gathering.
“Cardinal (George) Pell talked about the Holy Spirit at the first Mass, saying that you will receive the power when the spirit comes over you and you will be my witness,” Austin recounted. “It overwhelmingly hit me when he talked about that.”
Throughout the entire pilgrimage experience, youth said they could sense the Spirit of God in everything, from the beauty of the Australian outback to being able to share a silent moment in adoration of God in a stadium packed with hundreds of thousands of young people.
The first destination in Australia sent the Alaska group into the tropical rainforests near Cairns to get a glimpse into the Australian outback and experience first hand the power of God’s creation.
“Bob (McMorrow) is a biologist, and he would explain everything to us, but then work in how you can see God’s hand intertwined throughout it all,” said 24-year-old Rita Traugett from Homer.
“Before we went into the rainforest we had a retreat about how even the littlest weed in creation is made by God,” said Lucy De Santiago from Kodiak. “The quote from St. Basil about how he wanted nature to penetrate him with God’s creation stuck with me.”
Whether it was trying to hug a gigantic fish off the coral reef or the chance to play with koala bears and baby kangaroos, participants say they experienced a sense of awe and wonder about creation.
After the tranquil retreat in Cairns, the group headed for Sydney to rendezvous with hundreds of thousands of Catholics at the main World Youth Day events. These events included catechetical sessions and other education opportunities.
Big Lake teenager Justin Bowman was particularly moved by youth who came from countries where Catholics were under persecution.
“The willpower of all those people was amazing, they could be persecuted back home for coming (to World Youth Day),” Bowman said. “But they were standing up for their religion and their Catholic faith.”
In addition to meeting people from around the world, some youth said an aspect not often seen in big crowds especially moved them. They pointed to a sense of true joy and peace, which was especially apparent the night before the closing Mass at the vigil. Close to 400,000 young people packed Randwick Racecourse in Sydney for a candle vigil and prayer before spending the night in the stadium to prepare for the papal Mass.
“I had my candle and I had a sense of the Holy Spirit, that he was there,” De Santiago recalled. “I remember thinking, if only the whole world could be as peaceful as this, all of us sleeping under the stars, if the world could be like that it would be perfect — like we are in heaven.”
“I left World Youth Day more strengthened and sure of my faith,” Waetjen said.
The pilgrimage inspired him to also seriously think about what his vocation might be in life.
Many of the other youth said their experiences were powerful and worthwhile, and they encouraged other youth to attend the next World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain in 2011.
“It’s such an amazing experience there, you really can’t explain it, you have to experience it,” Bowman said.
The youth also say they believe their experiences will have far-reaching effects. De Santiago said she had her most powerful moment when she returned to her home in Kodiak for Mass the following Sunday.
“God is everywhere. I don’t have to go to Australia to experience him,” she said. “He was teaching me that he’s not just at World Youth Day but anywhere you are.”
Mission trip to Native village reveals diversity within Alaska church
“God is out there and he does love us.”
This was the message from 17-year-old Molly Watkins to the Yup’ik Eskimo children of the Alaska Bush.
In order to spread the Gospel, she and four other Catholic teens from the Kenai Peninsula flew across the state last month to conduct a week-long Bible study and retreat for the Native Alaskan children in St. Mary’s village.
St. Mary’s – home to about 500 villagers – is among a handful of remote communities north of the Yukon River, to which groups of Kenai teen missionaries have traveled annually for eight years.
Joining the teens were: Our Lady of the Angels pastor Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Andrew Sensenig, Mercy Sister Joyce Ross, and catechists Christy Franklin and Barb Christian. Jesuit Father Ted Kestler hosted the group at the Catholic mission, Church of The Nativity.
Each day, teen missionaries – the youngest being 14 – prepared and taught lessons on the Bible and the Mass to a group of Kindergarten through 6th-grade Alaska Native children.
At the end of the week, the teens hosted an evening retreat for the older youth.
Watkins noted that most of the Yup’ik children who attended the events had Catholic parents and had seen the inside of a church, but they wanted to know more about it.
Upon seeing a crucifix, for example, children asked, “Why is He hanging there?” Watkins recalled. They also wondered why the Nativity scene included a barn and some “didn’t know how to make the Sign of the Cross,” she said.
As evidence that the annual mission was making a mark, “each day, more and more kids would stay” for the daily evening Mass, Watkins explained.
It was a mission for which the teens were born — or re-born.
According to Father Sensenig, “Helping to proclaim the Gospel is an integral part of faith.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church supports this, stating, “Reborn as sons of God, [the baptized] must profess before men the faith they have received from God through the Church’ and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the People of God.”
Father Sensenig and Father Kestler are living examples of this activity: They both come from religious orders with long histories of daring missionary work.
In the 1600s, French Jesuit priests and brothers introduced Catholicism to the Mohawk people of present-day upstate New York. They were crowned as martyrs for their heroic faith in action.
As the “specialists in difficult missions,” the Oblates of Mary Immaculate minister to the Catholic minority in Northern Europe and preach the Gospel in the former Soviet-bloc countries, South America, and Africa.
Although the Kenai teens’ mission territory is Alaska, it is in many ways a foreign place to them.
Travel into the Native villages is arduous. Supplies, which are barged in when weather permits, are few and prohibitively expensive. A gallon of ice cream is $16. A 16-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola costs $2.75.
Many residents rely heavily on what they can fish and hunt. There is no cellular phone service. One village, Pitkas Point, has no modern water system.
There are “challenges of being in the Bush,” Father Sensenig admitted.
But challenges are something Pope Benedict XVI has been issuing to young people ever since he was elected pope in 2005.
“Do not waste your youth,” the pontiff exhorted teens in Brazil last year. “The church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ.”
According to the Holy Father’s first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est” (God is Love), showing the love of God to others means “not simply” providing material help, “but refreshment and care for their souls, something which often is even more necessary.”
The recent mission trip refreshed both the teens and the ones they served.
According to Father Sensenig, the trip gave teens a chance to experience a “vast diversity of cultures.”
The experience “widens their eyes a bit” to the “rich tapestry of humanity,” to the devotion of Catholics of other cultures, and to the harsh reality of poverty, he said.
Still, differences in culture and socioeconomic status fade in the face of a common baptism. Sister Joyce explained that, “Church doesn’t mean just one’s (own) church, but that it is universal.”
Indeed, in the original Greek, “catholic” is defined as “universal.” In that sense, the distance might not be so great between the Kenai Peninsula and a Yup’ik village.
Catholic schools united to begin new year
Archdiocesan schools prepare for start of school year
There’s an air of excitement in archdiocesan Catholic schools this autumn that transcends even the brand new lunch boxes and the freshly sharpened pencils.
For the first time, the four Catholic schools run by the Anchorage Archdiocese will begin the school year as part of a unified Archdiocesan Catholic School System.
The system, launched under the leadership of Archbishop Roger Schwietz last October, is off and running, said Adrian Dominican Sister Ann Fallon, superintendent of schools.
“The big news from my standpoint is that we begin the year with an in-service day for all the schools,” Sister Fallon said.
Jacqueline Brown, an educator with the Archdiocese of Detroit, will lead a workshop on Aug. 14 for the staff from Anchorage’s Lumen Christi Jr./ Sr. High School and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary, and staff from the Mat-Su Valley’s Our Lady of the Valley School. The workshop then travels to Kodiak Aug. 18 to offer training for staff from St. Mary’s School.
Strong start for Valley school
Our Lady of the Valley is the system’s newest school. Located in a former strip mall in Wasilla, the preschool through 8th grade venture opened last year to an enthusiastic welcome by Valley Catholics, finishing its first year with 50 students. By the end of July more than 60 had enrolled, with principal Suzanne Cyr scheduling more parent interviews almost daily.
“Our inaugural year was a rousing success,” said Cyr, who added that anyone interested in the school is invited to a picnic Aug. 17 from 1-3 p.m.
A fundraiser auction last spring netted resources for brand new playground equipment. The Mat-Su school serves St. Michael Church in Palmer, Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla and Our Lady of the Lake Church in Big Lake.
New leadership for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
At St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in South Anchorage, the year begins with a new administrator. Principal Jim Carden retired last year, but not before ensuring a smooth transition for his successor.
The new principal, Jim Bailey, brings 32 years of public education experience to his new role. Most recently, Bailey served four years as principal and eight years as assistant principal at West High School in Anchorage.
“I’m really enjoying the small community feel, and the tremendous parent involvement at St. Elizabeth’s,” said Bailey. “It’s a privilege for people to have a school like this.”
Well established after 28 years as a parish school, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has a class size limit of 25 and offers music, Spanish and a full-time, certificated physical education instructor.
According to Bailey, there are just a few class spots open, including some seats in kindergarten.
“As a new principal, I would love to talk to any interested parents about our school,” Bailey said.
Kodiak school continues under innovative leader
The third elementary school in the archdiocese is also the oldest. St. Mary’s in Kodiak is another parish school. Pastor Father Ron Licayun is chaplain and does “sacramental preparation and celebration. He said he will also celebrate a weekly Mass this year, which is an increase over last year, when Mass was only celebrated once or twice a month.
This is also the second year for principal Josh Lewis, whom Father Licayun praised for his “resourcefulness, charisma, and love for the children” as well as his many contacts in the community that “bring together people of many religions.”
Last year, Lewis scored points with students by challenging them to sell a certain number of tickets for a fundraiser in return for his promise to spend time on the roof. Eventually, to the delight of the students, the principal spent 24 hours on the school roof.
Without giving away his plans, Lewis told the Anchor, “We look forward to the second annual ‘Raise the Roof’ fundraiser.
Eighth graders at the K-8 school went on an East Coast tour last spring, including a meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington and a workshop on social justice issues.
High school extends invitation
The archdiocese’s junior/senior high school, Lumen Christi, is located on the grounds of St. Benedict Parish in Anchorage. The school is accredited through the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.
Last year’s small but successful senior class included scholarship winners, two students who became Senate pages, and a national speech competitor.
Sister Fallon said a certified, well-educated staff, a newly enhanced library, and a great teacher-student ratio make the school a solid choice for secondary education.
Boosting enrollment remains a struggle for Lumen Christi, once referred to as the archdiocese’s “best kept secret” by a school board member. Both last year and this, enrollment has hovered around 80 with a goal of 100.
Sister Fallon has taken on marketing for the school, and devised a 12-month marketing plan, including banners near traffic areas, flyers, more parish bulletin announcements and a well-advertised open house and picnic Aug. 7 for interested students and their parents.
Young adults called to follow Holy Spirit
Anchorage event unites with pilgrims from Sydney
Nearly two dozen young adults from Alaska united electronically and in spirit with more than 200,000 of their peers who were 7,000 miles away in Sydney, Australia celebrating World Youth Day.
Billed as “World Youth Day, Alaska Style,” the Archdiocese of Anchorage held a day-long retreat and fellowship on July 19 as a way for 20 and 30-somethings to connect with World Youth Day pilgrims Down Under.
A live satellite television feed allowed participants at the Holy Spirit Center in Anchorage to hear the pope’s homily in Sydney. But more important than technology was the role of the Holy Spirit.
“Part of the whole purpose of World Youth Day is to help young people experience the universal church,” Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz said. “Part of that sense is for us to be united in spirit with people so far away.”
Holy Cross parishioner Claire Blant, who traveled to the 2000 World Youth Day in Rome, wanted to re-live the experience again.
“I wanted to experience World Youth Day again and join in spirit,” she said. “Being here keeps us connected, even though we aren’t there doing the same things.”
Fittingly, the focus of the Alaska event, like those in Sydney, was on the Holy Spirit. The day began with a catechetical talk on the Holy Spirit by Father Bill Fournier of Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla.
“Often times the Holy Spirit doesn’t get the attention he deserves,” Father Fournier said. “The Holy Spirit is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Holy Trinity.”
Part of that comes from the easy images people have of God the Father and Jesus, the priest explained.
“Some of us picture an old man with long hair as God the Father, and with Jesus, there is no problem with the imagery,” he said. “But the Holy Spirit is more challenging.”
Father Fournier challenged those gathered to focus on the Spirit and not discount his role within the Trinity.
“It is the Spirit that leads us and allows us to shout out to the Lord and be like God,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the Spirit, there would be no church and no community.”
After the talk, participants had an opportunity for prayer during a quiet procession of the Stations of the Cross through the forested grounds of the retreat center. Later, there was also a reconciliation service.
The highlight of the day came during a special Mass with Archbishop Schwietz, which included a pause to hear Pope Benedict’s homily at the World Youth Day Celebration in Australia.
The event concluded with an outdoor barbeque and social, complete with live music.
Inspired by the message of the Spirit, some local participants said they hoped to kindle that flame into greater participation within the local church.
“I’m here in part to get young adults more involved,” said Ryan Shelley, one of the young adult organizers of the event. “We wanted to bring people this year and hopefully organize groups again to do different types of activities, because we are all (children) of God.”
The face of disaster relief
Catholic Charities president speaks to Alaskans
The face of disaster is all too familiar to Catholic Charities.
The national organization of more than 1,700 local agencies is often front and center to provide help when calamity strikes.
These efforts became especially poignant after Hurricane Katrina, Father Larry Snyder told a gathering of Alaskans July 30 at a meeting in Anchorage with Catholic Social Services. Father Snyder is president of the Catholic Charities USA. He flew north to share ideas and collaborate with Catholic Social Services in Anchorage.
“Katrina taught us many lessons,” Father Snyder told the group of priests, religious and lay leaders at the Brother Francis Shelter. “As a result of that we are the early responders of disasters, along with other faith-based organizations.”
He spoke about the role Catholic Charities played in helping victims of the recent Hurricane Dolly in Brownsville, Texas as well as victims of wildfires in Texas and California earlier this year.
“When I called to see how operations were going in Brownsville, the national media was reporting that 50,000 people were homeless,” Father Snyder recalled. “When I spoke with the local Catholic Charities, they told me the number was around 350,000.”
The reason the number was so much higher was that many of the victims were undocumented workers in the United States, he said. As a faith-based organization, Catholic Charities was able to help where other groups might have hesitated.
A similar situation happened with the recent California wildfires. Father Snyder recalled one incidence in which Red Cross set up a shelter for those affected.
“But Border Patrol agents set up guard just outside the shelter,” he said. “Fortunately, the Red Cross called us up and asked for our help.”
Catholic Charities promptly set up shop five miles down the road and served thousands of people who otherwise would not have received assistance.
“It brings to light the serious challenges we have with immigration,” Father Snyder said. “It’s a difficult conversation, but one that we need to have.”
In addition to meeting immediate needs, Catholic Charities also works as an advocate for other Catholic social justice issues.
“Throughout our history in America, from the works of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and other great leaders, the mission of our organization has been to be an attorney or voice for the poor,” Father Snyder said.
While Catholic Charities works closely with local organizations, it also provides help for individuals and parishes as well.
“We find that many parishes are looking at getting more involved, but they don’t know where to start,” he said.” One of our biggest responsibilities is (making sure) that people have resources on Catholic identity as well as the administrative type training.”
That Catholic identity is crucial, he added, because of the Gospel challenge of charity.
“Pope Benedict talks about the formation of the heart, this is one more way to look at that,” Father Snyder said.
In praising Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical “Deus Caritas” (God is Love), Father Snyder said “it is powerful for those who work in the church. It stresses the importance of not neglecting charity.”
For more information about Catholic Charities USA, visit www.cssalaska.org.
Upcoming Feast Days
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on Friday, Aug. 15. Also called Pausatio or Nativitas, the Assumption honors Mary’s death and bodily Assumption into heaven.
According to Catholic Encyclopedia online, little is known about the Blessed Virgin Mother’s death and assumption. Historians estimate that it happened between 3-15 years after Christ’s Ascension. It is commonly believed that the assumption took place in Jerusalem, where there is a chapel with a tomb honoring Mary’s assumption. Both Eastern and Western Catholics believe in the corporeal (or bodily) assumption, that Mary’s soul and body both were assumed into heaven. In Central American countries, Catholics celebrate the coronation of Mary on Aug. 18.
-Sources CNS and Catholic Encyclopedia Online.
Archdiocese receives aid for rural parishes
Catholic Extension Society’s awarded close to $150,000 for rural parishes in the Anchorage Archdiocese to use for winter renovations. The society contacted Office of Stewardship Director Jim Caldarola last year with a proposal for running an appeal for the winterization of parishes. Caldarola then contacted rural parishes to determine their needs.
The money will be used for repairs such as adding thermal windows and insulation. St. Francis Xavier Church in Valdez will use some of the funds for a snow-sliding roof that can keep snow away from the entrance to the church, Caldarola said.
“This money is in addition to the $225,000 they send to us on a regular base,” he added. “The Catholic Extension Society continues to be an important source of support for the archdiocese, and we are grateful for all they do.”
Since 1905 the society has donated more than $400 million dollars to mission dioceses across the nation. More information about the society is available at www.catholicextension.org.
New victim assistance coordinator
Rosemary Insley will replace Sister Barbara Scanlon as the new Victim Assistance Coordinator for the Anchorage Archdiocese. Archbishop Roger Schwietz named Insley to the post, which she began Aug. 1.
As Victim’s Assistance coordinator, Insley will provide services to those individuals who may have experienced sexual abuse by any church employee or volunteer. Insley is a licensed, clinical social worker with years of experience.
“I am grateful to Ms. Insley for accepting this challenging position,” Archbishop Schwietz said in a statement. “ I am confident that the people of the archdiocese will benefit greatly from her expertise as well as her deep faith and compassionate presence.”
The Victim Assistance Coordinator is an integral aspect of the archdiocese’s effort to provide a safe environment for young people and vulnerable adults. Former coordinator, Sister Scanlon, is retiring and moving closer to family in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston
Religious Profile
Editor’s note: This is the 13th in a series of profiles that highlight religious communities in the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Enflamed with the compassion of God, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston are women of the church, rooted in the Gospel and together with their associates, they are impelled by the active, inclusive love of God to: deepen their relationship with God and neighbor without distinction. The sisters are further called to foster prophetic communion and journey into the future with the Sisters of St. Joseph and associates throughout the world, with all of God’s creation.
Sister Barbara Scanlon is the only Sister of Saint Joseph serving in the Archdiocese of Anchorage. Sister Scanlon has worked in Anchorage since 1998, mainly in an outreach capacity. In the Diocese of Fairbanks there are three Sisters of Saint Joseph, one sister from Connecticut and two from Pennsylvania.
In 1650, a small group of six women, together with Jesuit missionary Jean Pierre Medaille, founded the Congregation in Le Puy, France with the goal to form a simple, self supporting congregation that would work “with their feet in the street” to serve the Gospel.
Because of political upheaval in the 18th century with the French Revolution, the community disbanded. The sisters were imprisoned or forced into hiding. Five sisters lost their lives at the guillotine before the violence of the revolution subsided. The sisters regrouped in Lyons, France in 1807. In 1836, seven Sisters of Saint Joseph came to the United States. The sisters traveled and settled in many areas of the country as various religious and charitable institutions were built. In 1873, four sisters came to Boston to establish a school for girls. Sisters from the past have bequeathed to present Sisters of Saint Joseph courage to respond in the most difficult situations, humility to let God be with people through the sisters, and fidelity to God and to one another.
After serving Alaska since 1998, Sister Scanlon will return home to Boston this summer to live with her sister. As for the order, Sister Scanlon writes that, “In the present days which are marked by paradox and tension, the Sisters of St. Joseph place their unwavering trust in the providence of God who cares for the lilies of the fields and the swallows of the air.”
Contact the Sisters of St. St. Joseph of Boston at their Web site: www.csjboston.org.
News & Notes
Traditional Mass moves forward
On July 7, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued the apostolic letter, “Summorum Pontificum,” which expanded the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII.
In order to make this more traditional form of the Mass available for Catholics in the Anchorage Archdiocese, Father Thomas Brundage, Moderator of the Curia and Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Anchorage, is scheduled to receive training at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago in September.
According to Father Brundage, the Anchorage Archdiocese hopes to begin offering this Mass (also known as the Tridentine Mass) by Fall 2008. The location and frequency of the Mass, however, are yet to be determined.
The Chicago-based course is available for priests across the country in order to equip them in using the Latin language and more involved rubrics associated with the older Mass. The Mass from the Roman Missal in use since 1970 remains the ordinary form of the Mass, while celebration of the older Tridentine rite remains the extraordinary form.
For more information, contact Father Brundage at tbrundage@caa-ak.org.
Oblates to give mission talk
Half a dozen Oblates of Mary Immaculate, including Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, serve in ministry for the Archdiocese of Anchorage. Later this month, the Oblates will hold a special Mass and information meeting about their order. Several leaders with the Oblates will attend. The public is invited to join the Oblates for the Mass and gathering on Aug. 26, 6 p.m., at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Anchorage. For more information, call the church at 248-2000.
Food shortage at St. Francis House
Catholic Social Service’s food pantry at St. Francis House is facing a serious shortages, due to increased food and fuel costs and a loss in funding.
“St. Francis House has experienced a $48,000 reduction over the next two years (from the previous 2 years) from a major grant source,” said Susan Bomalaski, director of Catholic Social Services. “This budget cut started July 1st and is a grave concern because we are seeing more new families and families returning after a year or more of not needing our services.”
The center will take food donations at 3710 East 20th between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more information call 277-1731.
Columns
Catholic schools share a special character
In a few short weeks the casual and relaxing spirit of summer will suddenly disappear and the familiar scene of backpack burdened students will remind us that a new school year is underway. Here in the Archdiocese of Anchorage administrators, teachers and staff members who minister in the four schools of our newly established Catholic School System, will welcome students into an environment of learning that will offer each youngster numerous opportunities for spiritual, academic, physical and social growth.
I have often mentioned that Catholic schools are an extension of the overall evangelization mission of the church. In its document, “The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School,” Rome’s Congregation for Catholic Education states:
“The mission of the Church is to evangelize for the interior transformation and the renewal of humanity. The special character of the Catholic school, and the underlying reason for its existence, the reason why Catholic parents should prefer it, is precisely the quality of the religious instruction integrated into the overall education of the students.” (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1988, No.66)
Parents who have enrolled their children in Catholic schools have made a commitment to support this important effort and to be fully engaged in providing a healthy future for each of these institutions. I would encourage those who are not aware of all that is happening in our archdiocesan Catholic schools, to take the time to discover the good programs available, the individual attention granted to each child and the faith-centered atmosphere that develops outstanding citizens who will become leaders for our church and, ultimately, make our world a better place for others.
Further, our students are being well prepared for higher education. Over the eight years that I have been here in Anchorage, I have come to know many young people who graduated from Lumen Christi. They are not only well prepared for college or university studies, but have graduated from these institutions with high honors.
A call to any one of our schools will give you entrée to a scheduled visit and an introduction to the best-kept secret in our church. I am personally very grateful to the many generous donors who make financial assistance possible for those unable to handle the full cost of tuition. There is no reason to hesitate, so take a moment to check out:
• Lumen Christi Junior/Senior High School, Anchorage (Grades 7-12) — 245-9231
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Anchorage (Grades K - 6) — 345-3712
• Our Lady of the Valley School, Wasilla (Grades Pre-K – 8) — 376-0883
• St. Mary School, Kodiak (Grades K to 8) — 486-3513
The higher expectations and support of Catholic school parents for their children and there greater involvement in their children’s schools are manifestations of the strong and caring communities present in Catholic schools. The Catholic identity fostered in each school is captured in the following quote from an unknown author:
“Christ is the reason for this school.
He is the unseen but ever present Teacher in its classes.
He is the model of its faculty and the inspiration for its students.”
The writer is the Archbishop of Anchorage.
The good news about sex
I just finished preaching at a retreat for 25 superiors of the Missionaries of Charity in Latvia. The gathering focused on Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Theology of the Body.”
One sister said it was one of the most helpful (and hopeful) retreats she has ever experienced. She recognizes that we live in a sex-saturated society — a society which has grown tired of its own shallowness.
John Paul’s “Theology of the Body,” presents a biblically based, yet contemporary outline of the church’s teachings on sexuality, marriage, celibacy and the purpose and meaning of the sexual embrace.
The good news is that sex is good, the body is good, marriage is good, sexual desires are good and they can all point us to God.
“Theology of the Body” answers the two most important questions of the human person: Who am I? How can I be happy?
This encyclical brings the mysteries of heaven down to earth. The plan of salvation and God’s desire to unite with us in eternity are stamped in our bodies.
As Christopher West says in his book, “Theology of the Body for Beginners,” God wants to marry us — we are made for union. This union of man and woman on earth signifies what we are called to live for all eternity: A deep loving union in God for all eternity — the beatific vision.
Some call Pope John Paul’s writing a new sexual revolution, which affirms that men and women can live differently. This begins by reading our physical bodies as a theology or a place that reveals God. So we ask simple questions like: Why did God make us male and female? What is the body for? Why do I have these desires for the opposite sex? Are these desires just like animals or do they point to something more? Do I repress these desires, pretending to live like an angel without a body? What is lust and how does it destroy the beauty of another person? How do I live my sexual life?
The Gospel and Pope John Paul’s “Theology of the Body” affirm that God has not come to condemn the world but to save it from the confusion and deceptions which distort the great gift of sex. It is not enough to denounce lies. We must invite people to the Christian vision of our bodies.
When we proclaim the Gospel view of the union between a man and woman, then the teachings of the church are better understood on contraception, abortion, indissolubility of marriage, masturbation, homosexual acts, opposition to same sex “marriages,” affirming priesthood and celibacy.
But we can’t just shout out, “Don’t do that!”
Instead we need to look at our bodies and see that a woman’s dignity requires more than just contraception. We will also see why a man’s dignity is wounded by lust for another person.
It is a huge task to bring Christ to the world but it can be done through a simple proclamation of the truth. Do we trust God in the way he created us? Male and female he created us. We need to scatter seeds of hope in a world choked by lies of what it means to be “sexually liberated.”
We have a mission to love the body as God intended it and to evangelize with the deep vision of John Paul II. The body read as God intended, is a place to meet him. We need to take our birth right back as Christians and proclaim the real revolution: the body is blessed, sex is sacred and sexual desires lead us to God.
This is the good news the world longs to hear. It is the good news that both convicts and converts, but mostly it sets us free to love — really love with the freedom of sons and daughters of the Lord.
And when the Son of God sets you free, indeed you are free. For further information about “Theology of the Body,” visit Christopher West’s Web site at www.christopherwest.com.
The writer is pastor of Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia. The church is a mission of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Why do the daily Scripture readings skip around and leave gaps?
Q — I have noticed that most of the time the Psalm selections from Sacred Scripture are not continuous; they skip and hop and leave gaps. For example, for July 6th the Psalm is Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14. Sometimes even the other readings skip: on June 29th, the 2nd reading is 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18. Can you explain this?
Before Vatican II, the use of Sacred Scripture in the Liturgy was of secondary importance. However, in its first document “Sacrosanctam Conciliam,” the Pastoral Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Vatican II Council was very clear that “Sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy.” (Par. 24). The council fathers also required that “In sacred celebrations there is to be more reading from Holy Scripture, and it is to be more varied and suitable.” (Par. 35.1). To achieve this, the council fathers gave the task of revising the Lectionary to experts in biblical and liturgical scholarship. The result is the Lectionary we have today which follows a three-year cycle for Sunday celebrations. (The daily Mass lectionary is on a two-year cycle.)
Basically, if you go to Mass every Sunday, in three years you will have heard the bulk of the Hebrew Scriptures and all of the New Testament. You will also note that the first reading, the Psalm and the Gospel usually follow a common theme. The second reading is sometimes, but not always related. The omission of certain verses was usually done so as not to make the Liturgy of the Word overly long (and, I like to think, to leave extra room for the homily!)
We are very blessed in this archdiocese to have an expert in the Lectionary in Dr. Gina Boisclair, Ph.D., who holds the Cardinal Newman Chair of Catholic Theology at Alaska Pacific University. Each semester she offers a variety of courses on Scripture and the Lectionary. To learn more, check out the Cardinal Newman Chair website at: www.alaskapacific.edu/depts/newman.
Chilly rain invites reflective summer
The sun was shining and that was all that was needed, this cool and cloudy summer, to bring people out to their back yards.
My neighbor was potting something green and leafy. We exchanged greetings and joked about the sun – “You have to take advantage of it while it’s here.” Within an hour, the deck was covered with big dollops of rain, and when I peeked out, the yard next door was empty.
It’s been that kind of Alaska summer. I’ve been here thirty years and I remember many summers like this. I remember years waking up to the sun coming up brilliantly in the eastern sky outside my bedroom window, only to find clouds making their steady advance over the Chugach Mountains by the time I got up.
We’re lucky to see even the morning sun this year, but several times, the sun has emerged brilliantly in the evening sky and suddenly the street outside fills with bikers, walkers, dogs. So rare is the sun that when it shines it’s as if a giant magnet is pulling people from their homes.
For a couple of years, global warming – or simply an unusual weather pattern – gave us hot and sunny summers.
More typical was the summer, over twenty-five years ago, when friends came down from Fairbanks to go camping with us. We headed down the highway and ended up in Seward. I still have a picture from our adventure. I am standing on the beach in Seward, the grey sky distinguished from the grey sea only by the frothy whitecaps that rise ominously behind me. I am clinging to my jacket lest it be stripped from me by the wind.
Later, we found a campground and sat in our old Volkswagen van, watching as torrential rains beat upon the windowpane obscuring our vision of all but the wiper blades. We turned around, headed back to Anchorage, bought some beer and ate at home. For our Fairbanks friends, it only served to confirm the presumption of that city’s residents that in Anchorage there is no real summer at all.
So what is one to do with a summer like this? Okay, maybe we’ll be lucky and it will be sunny while you’re reading this. Oh, wait a minute, if it’s sunny the last thing you’ll be doing is reading this. So let’s say it’s gloomy as you’re reading this.
I suggest this summer serves to make us more introspective, more reflective, hopefully more prayerful. It certainly persuades us to spend time reading, and even if we aren’t doing any overtly spiritual reading (here’s another plug for Jesuit Gary Smith’s “They Come Back Singing”), summer novels allow for introspection, too.
Last night, encamped upon my sofa, letting dusky last light illuminate its pages, “Suite Francaise” held me in thrall. Author Irene Nemirovsky was a Jewish Russian émigré who became a famous novelist in France. Probably because of anti-Semitism, she and her family were baptized Catholic. It didn’t prevent her from dying in Auschwitz. But before she did, she wrote brilliantly of French society and its displacement by the German advance.
Curled up beneath a blanket – yes, a blanket in July! – I sat for a long time thinking about the kind of world which sends people like Nemirovsky to the gas chambers merely for being who they are. How can you not talk to God about that?
So, enjoy the night’s light to read. Linger a little over your morning prayer. The garden will wait – it’s not growing very fast anyway. And when the sun shines, enjoy it all the more.
The writer is a stewardship and hospitality coordinator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Anchorage.
Editorials
Wrestling with a papal letter
A few years back, I thought “The Pill” might come in handy if I ever got married.
I inherited this view from the larger culture and my Protestant upbringing. It’s not that I considered the Pill a license for sexual exploits. Artificial contraception was merely a scientific breakthrough, which allowed couples to control their family size.
As I envisioned my child-rearing years, I predicted a seamless progression through diapers, training wheels, little league games, graduations and then the empty nest. The whole experience might take 25 years, before my wife and I embarked on another chapter.
This vision began crumbling in 2002, just months before I wed the love of my life. The first cracks surfaced when my fiancé and I embarked on a life-changing journey that led us to officially enter the Catholic Church.
During this process, I discovered that nearly all Christian denominations opposed artificial contraception before the 1930s. But then, over about a ten-year period, almost every church lifted its opposition. The fact that the Catholic Church held out puzzled and frustrated me.
As our wedding day approached, I wondered how a marriage without the Pill would play out. Could we successfully limit our family size following the church-approved method of tracking fertility signs and abstaining from sex during certain times of the month or would we wind up generating a massive tribe?
While I always desired a hearty-sized family (perhaps four kids), I also wanted a clear end in sight.
I understood why sex and artificial contraception were wrong for unmarried people, but why limit married couples, who might want to avoid a surprise pregnancy in their late 40’s? Why did the Catholic Church ask us to relinquish control over our fertility?
In some ways, this teaching was more difficult to accept than Catholic dogmas on papal infallibility or the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Contraception was not an abstract theological mystery — it directly impacted my life.
The first two years of marriage, my wife and I faithfully followed church teaching and within 16 months, we had already conceived two babies. These “happy accidents” (a gentle older brother and his sweet little sister) are wonderful, albeit unplanned, gifts from God.
Our children were a delight and we still wanted more, but it was hard to envision a lifetime following the church-approved method when it didn’t seem to work.
In hind site, our initial difficulties were probably a blessing. If we continued to practice the natural method it would be because we truly believed it was God’s will, not because we had a surefire guarantee of how to space our children.
Anxiety over the prospect of generating a massive clan inspired me to investigate why the church called artificial contraception an intrinsic evil and a mortal sin.
After a few Catholic friends struggled to explain this to me, I decided to actually read the controversial papal letter that rocked the modern world in 1968.
Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, “Humanae Vitae,” spelled out, point by point, the church’s position.
Here’s what I discovered.
From the start, the letter states that the whole universe is designed to declare the will of God and faithful observance of his natural and moral laws is a key part of how we journey towards salvation. Just as we need to follow the commands of Christ, we also need to follow the laws of his created universe. And God designed marriage with a power to transform couples and fit them to His design for their lives.
In other words, marriage is not something that individual couples cobble together on their own.
According to the encyclical, God designed marriage as a physical reflection of the union that exists between Christ and his church. As such, couples should freely chose to enter the marriage and their love must be a total sharing of all things between husband and wife. Married love should also be open to bringing new life into the world.
On this point, the pope says, “Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents happiness.”
Without reading any further, one might accuse Pope Paul of urging all good Catholics to crank out as many children as possible. But actually, he acknowledges some legitimate reasons for why couples might avoid pregnancy.
There might be “physical, economic, psychological and social conditions” that make it irresponsible to have more children, he says.
The key, though, is that couples don’t approach the question of family size as something that is entirely theirs to decide. Rather, they are “bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator,” the letter states.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church asks couples to be generous when considering how many children to have. However, when a serious reason to avoid pregnancy arises, Catholics have options.
Pope Paul points out that God designed the marital act so that “new life is not the result of each and every act of sexual intercourse.” In this, he is merely acknowledging that the laws of nature only allow couples to conceive children at certain times of the month. The rest of the time, it is biologically impossible.
Still, I wondered why Catholics were prohibited from using contraception as a backup. How, specifically, did contraception oppose God’s will?
Pope Paul addressed this very point, explaining that every marital act should preserve God’s dual design for sex — to unite married couples while always retaining “its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life.”
The pope explains that human beings do not have “unlimited dominion” over their bodies or their sexual faculties.
In other words, it is not our right to strip sex of its procreative design in order to modify God’s blueprints to suit our plans.
I still wondered, however, what the fundamental difference was between a couple who contracepts and a couple who only has sex when they know there is no chance of conceiving a child? Both methods seemed to achieve the same results.
“In reality, these two cases are completely different,” the pope writes.
Couples that follow church teaching choose to exercise self-control and self-mastery by abstaining from sex during their fertile days, the pope explains. With this approach, couples don’t need to manipulate God’s design in order to enjoy sex on their own terms.
This method (as my wife and I can testify) also requires that couples learn how to practice the natural methods accurately.
About two years ago, my wife and I finally figured out the natural method. We now practice it with confidence. In fact, when the natural method is accurately followed, studies confirm it is 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy without requiring women to ingest monthly hormone pills. That’s better than all forms of artificial contraception.
I attest to this, as my wife and I did not conceive our third child until we were ready, both materially and spiritually.
And this leads to a final thought. The Catholic approach to sex has challenged me to relinquish my preconceptions regarding what my family life and family size should be. Family is now an unfolding adventure – one that requires prayer, observance of God’s natural and moral laws, and faith in God as the designer and author of our entire lives, including our physical bodies.
-Joel Davidson, editor
Anchor in transition
Readers will notice a series of recent changes at the Anchor. In June, we streamlined our Web site (www.catholicanchor.org) and posted links at the end of each article to give readers with an easy way to send letters and comments to the editor.
This month, we bid Assistant Editor James DeCrane farewell as he takes on fulltime teaching responsibilities at Lumen Christi Jr./Sr. High School in Anchorage. Over the past year, James brought a devout Catholic faith and a passion for journalism to his work at the Anchor. We wish him the best and look forward to future articles and column submissions.
While losing James isn’t easy, the Anchor is fortunate to welcome Patricia Coll Freeman as our new assistant editor. Patricia brings a solid Catholic faith and professional strength to the Anchor. Look for the next issue (Sept. 5), when Patricia introduces herself to readers in an upcoming column.
In other news, the Anchor began providing online advertising this month, which gives businesses an opportunity to advertise on our Web site. In our first month of tracking our online traffic, we had more than 5,000 unique visitors log onto to the Web site. Those interested in advertising can contact Sandy Busch at 297-7715.
On a final note, after publishing only once a month during the summer, we will resume publishing twice monthly beginning in September.
— Joel Davidson, editor
Letters to the Editor
Prisoner found genuine faith
A July 18 article (From ‘hard time’ to redemption), states:
“Some people might question the sincerity of an inmate’s conversion. After sharing Jean’s story at St. Michael Church, one parishioner expressed concern to Father Brundage about the prison ministry, stating that she felt inmates shouldn’t have any privileges at all — including Mass.”
The article goes on:
“I had to challenge her that those inmates are God’s creations — despite their shortcomings,” Father Brundage said. “It bothered me that some people see these people as thrown away.”
He went on to talk about the church’s teaching regarding prisoners.
“Christ was very adamant that visiting people in prison is high on the list,” Father Brundage said. “It benefits society to rehabilitate…I’ve yet to see a person fake a conversion or put on the mantle of religiosity. For many it is a stepping stone in their faith.”
As Tim Jean’s sister, I have known him for all but about 13 days of his life. There are things in our past that I am not at liberty to discuss, but which have had a major negative impact on his life. Ending up in prison has saved his spiritual life. Yes, he lost a lot materially and most things we tend to view as our normal life were stripped from him, except time.
During his prison time in Palmer, Tim has sincerely found peace with God. This gives me peace. God has reached out with his love and understanding and has forgiven Tim. His faith is sincere. His love for God is real. God does great things through the prison ministries and Tim is an example of that.
I know him better than even his own mother. This is sincerely a changed man and I think Tim’s transformations have wrought changes not only in our mother, but in myself as well. Like a snowball traveling down a snowy slope, his faith gains momentum with each and every life it touches as his testimony inspires others to see beyond the day-to-day and look beyond our daily problems.
Thank you for sharing a small part of his story. Perhaps it can inspire others who like that parishioner felt that these are discarded people and will remind them of the Scripture from Matthew which states:
“‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink’...Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?...’Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35, 37, 40)
Go to the prisons, the hospitals, the afflicted, the hungry, the poor and homeless and perhaps even your neighbor next door who is crying out silently and share testimony in action, words and love.
Cherryville, Missouri
We don’t confess others’ sins
In Geoff Kennedy’s July 18 guest column, he writes that “Past history” is a poor excuse not to “confess our country’s sins.” Kennedy’s “argument” is that “1970’s murderer Charles Manson would agree with such a sentiment.” So what? What does an individual’s responsibility to atone for their personal actions have to do with the nuttiness of “confessing” someone else’s sins? I have yet to see a guide to examination of conscience that asks what sins my ancestors may have committed. My Norwegian forebears came to America long after slavery ended. Shall I find a priest and “confess” to having ancestors who may or may not have murdered Irish monks a thousand years ago?
My mother used to say the problem with “communal” guilt is that it lets people off the hook for individual responsibility. After reading Mr. Kennedy’s column, I can’t find anything in it to refute Mom’s old-fashioned common sense.
Chugiak
‘Communal sin’ misses mark
Mr. Geoff Kennedy’s July 18 column, “America must confront communal sin,” argues that our country is guilty of collective sins, e.g. war, torture, murder and sexual perversion.
How long are we to do penance for sins committed in the last two hundred years? Are not Indian reservations, Native hospitals, land grants, welfare systems, equal rights laws and school busing acceptable atonement and sufficient reparations for our “communal sins.”
How can Mr. Kennedy compare our “nation’s sins” with the sins of Charlie Manson’s or Tim McVeigh? How can he place America on the same moral level as evil communist empires and rogue terrorist nations which kill, maim and enslave innocents?
America has done more for the poorest of the poor than any other nation in the history of the world. Only the Catholic Church has more hands-on-service. Sure we can do more, but someone has to stay home and watch the fires.
If God’s commandments apply to nations, who is our representative in the confessional? Can I be the one or does it need to be a communal thing?
No, we are not a perfect nation and some of our individuals have made atrocious decisions, but if we all are guilty of America’s communal sins, are we not all guilty of pedophile priests’ sins also?
Are the right people rewarded and the correct evildoers punished with Mr. Kennedy’s view of communal sin? Does such penance stop injustice to innocent people? On the other hand, with God’s infinite mercy, why should innocent individual people participate in needless communal penance?
It seems Mr. Kennedy believes we do not have enough Catholic guilt already.
Wasilla