September 19, 2008 - Issue #17
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Singing priest spreads faith in Kodiak school
“Father Friday” a hit at St. Mary’s
Each Friday, a Filipino priest in a Roman collar strides through the halls of St. Mary School in Kodiak with guitar in hand. Meet “Father Friday” — otherwise known as Father Ron Licayan.
He is a harmonious mix of catechism, music and a priestly presence that inspires students’ faith.
Every week, “Father Friday,” visits each of St. Mary’s pre-K to 8th grade religious education classes to teach the students a Christian virtue or principle of faith that complements the day’s lesson. To reinforce the theme, he might show a short film or lead the students in song.
The musically-talented priest is “just great at pulling out a smorgasbord of music to express the themes we’re working on,” says principal Josh Lewis, who accompanies Father Licayan on the “Father Friday” tours.
This year, in concert with the Catholic Church’s celebration of the 2000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birthday, Lewis said the students will study — and certainly sing about — the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Father Licayan calls his school visits an “activity” rather than a program. The whole event is geared to bring the new pastor, installed in 2007, and his littlest parishioners together.
Father Licayan said he knows, first hand, how personal interaction with a priest can inspire faith. He grew up in parochial schools where he always “enjoyed the presence of the priest in the classroom.”
Now Father Licayan — ordained in 1997 — is trying to continue the tradition of the Catholic Church, to teach, serve and sanctify.
In addition to teaching and reinforcing the students’ catechism, Father Licayan is also trying to nurture a knowledge and love of the liturgy as well, he said.
For many years, students rarely had the opportunity to go to Mass during the week at St. Mary’s. There were Masses for only “special” occasions, says Lewis, like All Saints’ Day, Christmas and Earth Day.
According to Lewis, Father Licayan said the school could “do more.”
So Father Licayan offers Mass every week, on Tuesday morning. When he cannot be there, he arranges for another priest to come, says Lewis. St. Mary students assist at Mass as servers and readers.
Lewis explains that the increased exposure to the liturgy gives students a chance to understand the Mass and learn about its various parts. Weekly school Mass also help youngsters prepare for and look forward to Mass on the weekends, he said.
“It’s been a wonderful thing,” Lewis concluded.
The focus on Christian service has intensified also since “Father Friday” arrived.
After Tuesday Mass, Father Licayan spends three hours with the 6th, 7th and 8th-graders on their religion lessons, which includes both faith and works components. The time block gives students a chance to go into the community to perform works of charity and service.
For example, after a textbook lesson on Revelation and an explanation of Catholic social teaching — which in part, directs the faithful to care for God’s creation — the students adopted a trail along a salmon-spawning stream. They removed obstacles for salmon headed upstream and helped renovate dilapidated bridges.
With another lesson on the Trinity, students learned about the dignity of the human person, explains Lewis. As a service project, students visited the elderly confined to an extended care facility in Kodiak.
Lewis wants students to know that the faith “should be making a huge difference in our lives”. Father Licayan adds that the impact of faith should extend to the world.
Catholic education – which Father Licayan believes is “very relevant in our time” – counters the pop culture and helps build a culture of life and peace. The aim is “the betterment of the world in general,” he said.
Lewis observed that it is “the greatest thing to have the opportunity for a priest to be very actively involved” at the school. This regular interaction with a priest gives a solid perspective on the faith, Lewis added.
Father Licayan said he hopes the presence of a priest will “hopefully inspire (students) in their faith and inspire vocations, also.”
If student reactions are any indication, “Father Fridays” are having a positive impact so far, Lewis observed.
“Our students are excited when they see Father Ron coming.”
Nearly 400 students enrolled in Catholic schools
The four Catholic schools run by the Anchorage Archdiocese began the 2008-2009 school year last month with nearly 400 students enrolled among them.
Our Lady of the Valley School in Wasilla reported a record 60 students. That up from the 50 enrolled at the end of last year – the school’s first year in existence.
“We are doing real well on enrollment,” said Suzanne Cyr, principal at Our Lady of the Valley. She added that most classes at the pre-K through 8th grade school are at capacity. New classes will be added, however, as additional students express interest in attending the school.
In Anchorage, Lumen Christi Jr./Sr. High School, is under new leadership with Principal Colleen Larson. Larson joined the 7-12th grade school in August and comes with a many years experience working in public school education. She was also instrumental in helping to launch Our Lady of the Valley School in Wasilla last year.
Enrollment at Lumen Christi has grown steadily this fall and is now up to 75 students, according to Adrian Dominican Sister Ann Fallon, the Anchorage Archdiocese superintendent of schools. Fallon said there is still room, however, for more students and enrollment at the school remains open.
Also in Anchorage, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School remains the most populated school in the archdiocese with 157 students — exactly the same number they finished with last year.
Principal Jim Bailey said he expects enrollment numbers to climb even higher in January for the K-6th grade school.
“We still have some space available and we have three more students registered now to start in January,” he said.
In Kodiak, St. Mary School saw their numbers rise slightly, from 104 at the end of last year to 107 this year. This occurred despite the fact that roughly 20 eighth graders graduated from the school last year.
Inspired by a joint schools summit last year, in which all four Catholic schools participated, St. Mary launched a pre-Kindergarten program for three and four year olds this year.
Principal Josh Lewis said the new program was inspired partly by a similar program at Our Lady of the Valley School in Wasilla. St. Mary now has 10 children in their pre-school program.
In addition to several new programs, such as a journalism class now offered at Lumen Christi and new musical education opportunities at Our Lady of the Valley, each of the four schools reported having weekly Mass, student clubs and strong parental involvement.
For more information about Catholic schools in the Anchorage Archdiocese, contact Sister Fallon at 297-7790.
Faith shapes legal professionals
In a time when many leave their Catholic faith at the doorstep of the office, a small but growing number of Anchorage lawyers are letting their faith inform their profession.
In monthly luncheons at the Anchorage Archdiocese chancery building, members of the local St. Thomas More Society are attempting to become credible role models in an increasingly complex moral climate.
|
Who is St. Thomas More? St. Thomas More was a Catholic lawyer, author and statesman who died for his faith in England in 1535. As Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Commons, More was a political star. He was universally well-respected for his brilliance, judiciousness and equanimity. The scholar Erasmus said, “In serious matters no man’s advice is more prized.” Indeed, those skills earned him the position of Lord Chancellor, the highest political position in England, second only to King Henry VIII. But at the height of his career, More faced a choice that would put all his worldly success on the line. Henry sought to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon. When the pope upheld the legitimacy of the marriage, Henry refused to accede. He divorced (and later executed) Catherine, and “married” Anne Boleyn. He then declared himself head of the church in England, thus establishing the Anglican church. Henry’s decision ruptured the history of Christendom, but More held fast. Rather than deny the pope’s proper authority and support the schism, More resigned from his position as Lord Chancellor. His family’s livelihood and the esteem of long-time friends disappeared. When Henry insisted the English people recognize as rightful heirs to the throne any children from his illicit union with Anne – as well as recognize Henry as the supreme head of the church in England, More respectfully refused to swear the oath. So Henry had him imprisoned in the Tower of London. After 15 months alone in a dark, damp cell, More was tried for high treason and sentenced to death. Just before his beheading, More declared, “I die the king’s good servant, but God’s first.” While his peers yielded to political expedience, More sacrificed everything for the truth. In 2000 Pope John Paul II said, More “distinguished himself by his constant fidelity to legitimate authority and institutions precisely in his intention to serve not power but the supreme ideal of justice.” More was canonized in 1935 and is the patron saint of lawyers, statesmen and politicians. |
It is daunting, explains estate lawyer Christina Passard because “you always have to deal with clients who want you to do something unethical or something you don’t believe in” – like facilitate an adoption by a homosexual couple or prepare a so-called “living will” that denies an incapacitated person food and water.
“Everything has a moral or spiritual component,” explained Father Thomas Brundage, JCL, the Anchorage Archdiocese’s lawyer for ecclesiastical matters. “In conscience, a lawyer has to wrestle with what he or she is counseling.”
The St. Thomas More Society is a Catholic association of attorneys, statesmen and politicians which aims to foster in its members the moral integrity, good judgment and courage exemplified by the group’s namesake — a Catholic lawyer, author and statesman who was martyred for his faith in England in 1535 (See article below). There are local societies across the country.
The Anchorage group — which is open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike — meets every first Thursday of the month at the archdiocesan chancery for Mass with Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and a luncheon round-table discussion on legal issues of moral import.
Also, annually the society sponsors the traditional “Red Mass” — a Mass at which the church especially seeks the Holy Spirit’s guidance for members of the legal profession.
The weekly luncheons are geared to help nurture members’ ability to judge and guide.
Although “the courts have a pretension of moral lawmaking,” says attorney Robert Flint, “there are no forums on important issues.”
He adds, “We argue in front of judges or groups of people. We need to shape our minds. It’s a good idea to sit down with peers and clergy and share insights. We come out of it better for it,” he says.
In past meetings, the group has discussed the Alaska Supreme Court’s decision to mandate same-sex benefits for public employees. They’ve also tackled questions of estate planning, health care and the prison system.
Flint says the the better informed lawyers can then provide “practical” guidance to the church, their clients and the area’s faithful.
For example, the St. Thomas More Society lawyers brought their legal expertise to the church’s aid last year when Father Brundage was barred from carrying sacramental wine into an Alaskan prison, which is necessary to celebrate Mass for Catholic prisoners. The letter they helped draft to the government cleared the path for Father Brundage.
Also, the St. Thomas More Society attorneys crafted an advanced health care directive that helps protect an Alaskan resident’s right to food and water when he or she is incapacitated by illness, injury or age.
The dehydration and starvation of brain-injured Terri Schindler Schiavo in 2005 created a new awareness and urgency about the issue. Planning for such contingencies is “something clients love to talk about,” said Passard, a local attorney who led the project.
What is a Red Mass? At the “Red Mass” – which is annually celebrated around the world — the Catholic Church seeks the Holy Spirit’s guidance for attorneys, judges and others in the law profession. The clergy wear red vestments at the Mass to recall the Holy Spirit’s descent on the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire. The Red Mass tradition dates back to the 1200s, when the sacred liturgy was offered on behalf of the supreme court of the Catholic Church, the Roman Rota. The most well-known Red Mass in the United States takes place at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C., just before the U.S. Supreme Court convenes in October. Many dignitaries attend, including the high court justices, the U.S. attorney general and the president. The Anchorage Archdiocese’s Red Mass will take place this year on September 28 at 9:30 a.m., at Holy Family Cathedral. The public is encouraged to attend, and judges wearing judicial robes are invited to join the procession. A brunch lecture will follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Hotel Captain Cook. The Honorable Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will speak on “The Curious Case of Free Exercise,” religious freedom and the First Amendment. For more information, contact the St. Thomas More Society at 297-7729. |
Typically, so-called “living wills” do not characterize food and water as a patient’s right. In contrast, Passard’s advanced directive helps clients “make sure they’re in accordance with what the church teaches,” she explains.
And the group’s service to the community may soon reach prisoners directly. Father Brundage says the society may develop a Dismas Ministry program, through which members would visit prisons to “help provide better and more frequent [pastoral] coverage for Catholic prisoners.”
But most of the lawyers’ time is spent in their offices, where the practice of their faith can require serious sacrifice.
As Catholics, they must “deal with people with basic honesty and fairness, no matter what,” Flint explains. Passard adds, that means despite “the drive to bill and generate money.”
Beyond that, faithfulness might also mean refusing cases when they’re “outside the circle of acceptance,” Flint explained. For example – the adoption lawyer who refuses to arrange surrogacy adoptions or who doesn’t attend legal seminars on assisted reproductive technologies — like in vitro fertilization — that are morally illicit.
Father Brundage speaks of one lawyer who “used to do divorce law, but gave it up after some bad experiences, and after careful reflection and prayer.”
But becoming a “cohesive Catholic” and moral leader has always been hard work — and the financial and political costs can be high. To those who would hesitate, Father Brundage says, “Everybody pays a price for their faith. Maybe this is what God is asking of you.”
Archdiocese retools marriage ministry
Evenings to highlight resources, foster collaboration
It’s often said that committed marriages are an infinite blessing. Getting there, however, is sometimes tricky.
With this in mind, the Anchorage Archdiocese is rolling out a series of “Marriage Information Night” presentations to spread the word about various marriage programs offered locally. These laity-run ministries include Engaged Encounter, Worldwide Marriage Encounter, Natural Family Planning, and Retrouvaille.
Respectively, they deal with marriage preparation, marriage renewal for healthy marriages, sexuality within marriage, and help for hurting relationships.
Information Nights Oct. 3, 7 p.m., Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Soldotna Oct. 7, 7 p.m., St. Michael Church, Palmer Oct. 10, 7 p.m., Holy Cross Church, Anchorage |
While none of the ministries are new to the archdiocese, they have tended to work independently from one another in the past. The informational nights are an attempt to highlight them and foster greater collaboration.
In past years, the ministry heads of each outreach knew the others existed but had no real concept of the inner workings of the other groups, said Worldwide Marriage Encounter co-leader Shaharriet Houchins.
“By working in collaboration, they can more completely help people,” Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz said. “They will have a broader vision,”
Informational nights are scheduled for Oct. 3 in Soldotna, Oct. 7 in Palmer and Oct. 10 in Anchorage. They will consist of short presentations by each group.
In addition, Father Tom Brundage, judicial vicar for the archdiocese, will talk about the theological basis for Catholic marriage. He plans to address the differences between valid and invalid marriages from the Catholic Church’s perspective.
Father James Oberle, director of the Office of Evangelization and Worship Services for the archdiocese is helping coordinate the events. A major goal, he said, is to let pastors know about the resources available.
Marriage resources A weekend retreat designed to give engaged couples a chance to dialogue honestly about their prospective lives together, their strengths, weaknesses, desires, goals and attitudes toward sex, children, family, church and society. Contact 346-2279 for more information. Presentations on the methods approved by the Catholic Church for achieving, postponing or avoiding pregnancy, based on observation of naturally occurring signs of fertility. For more information contact 770-0444 (Billings Ovulation Method) or 243-8168 (Sympto-Thermal Method). For church teaching on NFP, visit www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/ Weekend to revitalize already healthy marriages by emphasizing communication between couples and allowing them to focus on their relationship to each other. For more information, call 644-8677 or 230-5589. Weekends designed for couples in hurting marriages. This is for couples thinking of divorce or for couples who have already divorced but want to reconcile. For more information, call (800) 470-2230. |
“A lot of people, even pastors, don’t know about them,” he said. “We want to let people know how to access these resources.”
He added that it is a responsibility of the church to strengthen and support marriages.
In carrying out that mission, however, the church relies on movements from the laity, Archbishop Schwietz added.
“We bishops in this country are embarking on efforts to strengthen family life in our country,” he said. “And we want to encourage those lay movements, which are our allies and coworkers, in their efforts to strengthen marriage.”
Father Brundage’s talks at each event will focus on the theological basis for sacramental marriage.
“I find that many people are not aware of the richness of the Catholic theology of marriage,” he told the Anchor. In particular he mentioned the teachings of Pope John Paul II in his work “Theology of the Body.”
The talk will also emphasize the traditional Catholic belief, that marriage is between one man and one woman, Father Brundage said.
“There are many different states right now that are beginning to legalize same sex marriages,” he added. “I want to reemphasize the dignity and the centrality of marriage to the life of the church.”
The second part of Father Brundage’s talk will address different marriage situations that need resolution.
“For example, after a divorce, what is needed to nullify a marriage if there are grounds to do that,” he explained.
A large number of Catholics leave the church after a divorce and a remarriage, simply because they do not understand church teaching, Father Brundage said.
“Many of them falsely believe that there isn’t anything they can do about their situation,” he said. “If anything, just the opposite is true. We want to draw people closer to the church when they are going through a divorce. In most instances canon law will have some solution to their situation that will allow them to remain practicing Catholics.”
For more information about the Marriage Information Night presentations, call 297-7710.
Life is high adventure for new Cathedral pastor
Communist oppression, high-seas adventure and a steady faith lie behind the easy smile and small frame of the new pastor at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.
Dominican Father Francis Hung Le arrived in Anchorage last month to embark on the next phase of an already extraordinary life.
In an interview with the Anchor, the 45-year-old Vietnamese-American looked back to his childhood in war-torn Vietnam as he tried to gain perspective on his new assignment in Alaska.
One night, 33 years ago, Father Francis’s older sister roused him from a deep sleep in their home in South Vietnam. It was 1975 and the United States had recently pulled out of his country, leading to a massive invasion by the North Vietnamese communist government.
Father Francis was a young teenager in a large devout Catholic family at the time. His parents decided to send him and his older sister into the night to catch a fishing boat with 135 fellow South Vietnamese. Their mission was to escape the communist government, once and for all.
“I had no notion of what was happening until we got on the boat,” Father Francis told the Anchor last month. “Eventually I figured it out.”
After getting lost at sea and running out of food and water, the refugees finally arrived off the coast of Malaysia, where they were forced to stay in the ocean for two months before being permitted to land on a remote island.
After literally carving out a new life on the island for several months, a Catholic Church from Ohio paid for Father Francis and his sister to relocate to the United States. Eventually, the siblings settled in Santa Barbara, California.
“I grew up there, finished high school and went to college and got an engineering degree in electrical and computer engineering,” Father Francis recounted.
Despite a strong calling to the priesthood ever since childhood, he embarked on an engineering career in Silicon Valley.
“I wanted to help my mother and my family back home,” he said. “I also wanted to give my sister a break. She had been caring for me for so long.”
In the midst of a successful career, Father Francis kept praying that God would make a way for him to enter the priesthood.
When his sister eventually married, he finally began to pursue his priestly calling and joined the Western Dominican province in Oakland at age 33.
“I fell in love with the tradition and the monastic life,” he said. “The fraternal charity is strong there among the brothers and I was excited to be a part of that.”
In 2004, at age 41, he was ordained to the priesthood.
Father Francis’s casts his journey to the priesthood in the context of his Catholic heritage.
As a child in South Vietnam, he grew up in the shadow of the local Catholic Church. In a region where less than one percent of the population was Catholic, his local parish stood on ground donated years before by his grandfather.
“The parish had a very strong faith,” Father Francis recalled.
“I was an altar server all my life and I used to notice the older priests,” he said. “I looked at them as I was serving Mass and I realized that one day these guys are going to die and somebody has to pick up the baton.”
In pointing to the vibrancy of his childhood parish, Father Francis notes that his younger brother was the 26th priest to be ordained from the parish. He was number 27.
Father Francis recently finished his first assignment in Antioch, California, where he served as associate pastor and led teams on medical missions to impoverished countries.
After four years his provincial asked him where he’d like to go next.
“I had no preference,” Father Francis told the Anchor. He only wanted to serve the order’s needs.
“When people found out I was sent to Alaska, they said, ‘wow, Alaska, that’s too far,’” he said. “But you know, I escaped from Vietnam, halfway around the world. To come to Alaska is nothing.”
In fact, Father Francis sees his transient life as preparation for the priesthood.
“I’ve been exposed to the itinerant life my whole life,” he continued. “Even from childhood, I was used to being displaced.”
At Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, Father Francis is the spiritual leader to his fellow Dominicans, Father Dominic DeMaio and Father Vincent Kelber.
His initial assignment is for three years but that could be extended, he said.
While in Alaska, Father Francis hopes to concentrate on religious education, catechist formation, liturgy and evangelism at the cathedral.
“We are already a good parish but we can be better,” he said.
A natural teacher, Father Francis said he wants to introduce parishioners to the rich teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Teaching is fitting work for a priest, but one that is often difficult to make time for, he added.
“In general, in the United States, there is a lack of priestly involvement in teaching the faithful,” he observed. “It seems like priests are so busy doing administration. I’d like to see priests focus on teaching the faith, celebrating liturgy, and sharing the vision of the parish. Then we can inspire the laity to come share their gifts.”
And when he’s not teaching? Father Francis wants to explore his new stomping grounds and learn how to ski and ice skate.
“People say the winters are dark but that’s just part of the beauty of Alaska,” he said. “Whether it is winter or summer, if we keep Christ as our light, we’ll be okay.”
New Dominican priest excited to begin his ministry
This is the second Alaska go-around for the newly-ordained Dominican priest at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.
Father Dominic DeMaio, the tall young priest with curly red hair, is back in the Last Frontier to start his priestly ministry. Ordained this past May in California, he was last in Alaska as a seminarian in training in 2004 – also at Holy Family Cathedral.
“I’m thrilled to be back in Alaska,” Father DeMaio said in an interview with the Anchor last month. “I’m hoping to learn a lot as a new priest on my first assignment. I want to serve the people as best I can.”
The 31-year-old priest has already drawn praise for his homilies from several parishioners who attend weekday Masses at the cathedral.
His duties in Alaska will be two-part. Half his time will be ministering to the Hispanic community in the archdiocese. The rest of his work will focus on Holy Family Cathedral.
Father DeMaio’s Alaska assignment is four years but could be extended. Initially, he said he wants to get acquainted with the needs of those he will serve.
“I’d like to do a lot of listening right now,” he said. “I have all sorts of ideas but there are a lot of Latinos in Alaska and I want to hear their needs before I try to implement something.”
So far, he’s heard people express a need to support families and married couples. There’s also a need for greater access to simple resources in Spanish.
While the specifics of his work are still coming together, part of Father DeMaio’s duties will be to collaborate with others who already work in Hispanic ministries in local parishes. He said he also looks forward to forming relationships with fellow priests and sisters who serve the archdiocese.
In his first month in Alaska, Father DeMaio said it has been a joy to preach and share the sacraments with the Hispanic community, in Spanish.
Father DeMaio said his journey to the priesthood began at a young age.
He grew up in a devout Catholic family with an older brother and two younger sisters. He was very involved in youth ministry from seventh grade all the way through high school.
“I spent a lot of time going on youth retreats and participating in those events,” he recalled. Ultimately it was those experiences that inspired him to think about the priesthood.
“Through those experiences, I started to grow spiritually and I had a real desire to serve,” Father DeMaio explained.
At first, he thought about working as a youth minister. “But then over those years, I had some experiences at Mass and on retreats where I had a strong desire to be celebrating the Mass like the priest was,” he said. “I know I was thinking about that at least from high school.”
He attended the University of Oregon for four years, studying Spanish and International Studies. It was there, where he met Dominican friars at the Cardinal Newman Society on campus. Those encounters eventually inspired him to quit college studies and enroll in seminary in 2000 at age 23.
It is a decision his family backed.
“They have always been very supportive,” he said, adding that eight years of life in the seminary was a “true gift.”
“My life has been transformed,” he said. “It is a great joy and satisfaction.”
During his time in Alaska, Father DeMaio said he also hopes to engage his love for the outdoors through hiking, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing and other adventures.
More blessed to volunteer
Young Anchorage Catholics take time to give back
While many recent college graduates scramble to score high paying jobs in a tight market, several young adults in the Archdiocese of Anchorage are bucking the trend. Instead, of following the money, these young Catholics are offering job skills in return for a meager stipend.
Meghan Dooley, from St. Benedict Parish, and Ann Gumpert, from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, are volunteering a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.
Dooley, who graduated in the spring from the University of San Diego, a Catholic school in California, said she felt compelled to “give back to the community” and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps fit well with her goals. The Corps has four core values that inform a volunteer’s year: simple living, spirituality, community, and social justice.
Dooley’s assignment will be at a L’Arche farm and garden project in Tacoma, Washington. L’Arche is an international organization founded by Canadian Catholic Jean Vanier, which establishes homes where people with and without disabilities live in community.
Dooley won’t live in a L’Arche community, but she will assist with the group’s produce project, which provides both food and income for the community. Dooley will live in a JVC community with three others.
Gumpert, a 2008 graduate of Jesuit-run Gonzaga University in Spokane, is off to an Indian reservation to teach kindergarten. Stationed at St. Paul’s Mission School in Hayes, Montana, Gumpert will live with three other volunteers: the first grade teacher, the reading clinician, and the librarian.
Gumpert described her upcoming assignment as “the best time to do something like this,” fresh out of college with no other commitments and a year to give to others.
Both girls said they gave some thought to the Peace Corps, but the longer time commitment of the Peace Corps, coupled with the values of JVC, convinced them to go with the Jesuit program.
The JVC:Northwest places volunteers around Alaska, and Gumpert said she hoped for Juneau, Sitka or perhaps Bethel. But she was willing to fill the Corps’ need for teachers in Hayes.
In an era when many young people are often accused of being materialistic, both Gumpert and Dooley expressed a similar attraction to the “simple living” component of JVC.
“One of the things that appealed to me is that you don’t get a big stipend,” said Dooley. “I like the idea of a simple lifestyle.”
Gumpert also cited simplicity, when asked what attracted her to the Corps. “It helps you to focus on what’s really important,” she said.
Dooley is the daughter of Vince and Bridget Dooley. Gumpert’s parents are John and Jane Gumpert.
Another product of Catholic faith formation in Anchorage is off this fall for a month of volunteer work with “Cross Cultural Solutions.”
Hannah Hillebrand, daughter of John and Margaret Hillebrand of Holy Family Cathedral, is a graduate of the University of Portland, a Holy Cross school in Portland, Oregon, and works for the Providence Health System there.
Paying her own way to Africa, Hillebrand is using her vacation time to volunteer at an orphanage/hospital/clinic complex in Tanzania on Africa’s east coast.
“I feel that global and cultural exchanges are essential to the survival of humanity,” said Hillebrand. “I hope to bring back and share my perspectives with others.”
Adding to the list of volunteers from the archdiocese are two parishioners from St. Mary Church in Kodiak. Father Ron Licayan sent parishioners Bryan and Yvonne Cleary off to the Peace Corps in Jamaica with a blessing during a June 29 Mass.
The couple will serve over two years in educational work on the island, and Father Licayan said they will continue to be remembered by parish at the prayers of the faithful during that time.
Jesuit departs Alaska with fond feelings
After three years directing Ignatian retreats at the Holy Spirit Center in the Anchorage Archdiocese, Father Armand Nigro, SJ will soon conduct spiritual ventures from Washington state. On Sept. 18, Father Nigro moved to the Jesuit Regis house in Spokane, Washington.
For 52 years, Father Nigro has led retreats for religious and lay people all over the world. He has also taught at Jesuit universities and seminaries across the U.S. and Africa.
In a Sept. 3 interview with the Anchor, he said leading retreats all started as a “spiritual hobby.”
Ordained in 1956, Father Nigro said this latest move to Washington is “fine with me,” adding, “as a Jesuit, we never ask for an assignment.”
He explained that, “there isn’t a place I wouldn’t be happy because wherever you go, people are there.” And because people are “hungry for God,” there is an opportunity to help them “meet, relate to and deepen his life in them.”
From Spokane, Father Nigro plans to continue his spiritual work. Requests for retreats come from all over the country, he said. Already he is planning trips to Texas, California and back to Anchorage, where he will lead three more retreats at the Holy Spirit Center in March and August next year.
“I’m available,” says Father Nigro, noting the “God-given excellent health and excellent energy” which allow him to keep up his schedule. The only caveat: The self-effacing priest says he’s “just a little slower and more forgetful.”
Regarding his time in Anchorage, Father Nigro said he is grateful for the chance he had to serve. Besides giving retreats at the Holy Spirit Center, he offered Sunday Masses and brought sacraments to local parishes when priests were absent. He took scriptural and prayer programs to those churches, as well.
In his new assignment, Father Nigro looks forward to having more time to write. The prolific priest has “written a few hundred articles,” he said, and would like to continue writing on prayer and Christian spirituality.
All the while, Father Nigro said he aims to continue growing in his own contemplative prayer, which he says “becomes simpler as I grow older.”
“At this time in life which is coming close to its end, I want to be habitually, continually aware of God’s presence,” he said.
Creighton joins program tackling Alaska’s health care shortage
A class of eight students will be the first to participate in a doctoral occupational therapy program sponsored jointly by Omaha’s Jesuit-run Creighton University and the University of Alaska at Anchorage.
The pilot program intends to address the lack of occupational therapists in Alaska, bringing students to the Anchorage campus for the next four and a half years to earn a doctorate in occupational therapy.
“If successful, it could serve as a national model for addressing shortages of health care professionals in Alaska as well as other rural underserved areas in the United States and worldwide,” said J. Chris Bradberry, dean of the Creighton School of Pharmacy and Health Professions.
Cheryl Easley, dean of the College of Health and Social Welfare at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, said Alaskans pursuing degrees like occupational therapy, physical therapy and pharmacy have to attend out-of-state schools, and many of these students do not come back to their home state to practice — one reason for Alaska’s scarcity of health care professionals.
“The distance-delivered program that Creighton offers increases the likelihood that the graduates will remain in Alaska to work,” she said.
Students came to Omaha for four days in mid-August for an orientation about the school’s policies and procedures, to be trained in distance-learning technology and to learn about Creighton’s Jesuit identity. They were not expected to return to the Creighton campus until graduation in nine semesters.
While Creighton is hiring adjunct professors to supervise lab clinics and a full-time program director at the Anchorage campus, classes, lectures and course work will be conducted online at times and locations chosen by each student.
“Our goal is to create a learning environment, in collaboration with the University of Alaska at Anchorage, that mirrors, as closely as possible, what the students would experience on Creighton’s campus,” said Brenda Coppard, who chairs Creighton’s occupational therapy department.
Creighton has been offering a doctorate in pharmacy studies through distance learning since 2001.
News & Notes
European American Folk Mass
On Friday, Sept. 19, St. Patrick Church will hold a European American Folk Mass at 7 p.m. People of Polish, German and Czech heritages will be praying in their musical idiom. National clothing is encouraged. A collection will be taken for the St. Patrick Senior Projects. Following the Mass, there will be a Knights of Columbus Polka Dance in the Parish Hall. All are invited.
Homeschoolers’ gym time
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton hosts an open gym time for home school students on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The gym times run 10-11:30 a.m. with children’s adoration led by Deacon Dez Martinez at 11:30 a.m. on the 3rd Thursday each month. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church is located at 2901 Huffman Road. All are invited to come. For more information, contact Lana Persson at or call 349-4399.
Marriage in the Catholic Church
The Archdiocese of Anchorage Family Life Ministries is hosting information sessions on marriage in the Catholic Church. Representatives from Engaged Encounter, World Wide Marriage Encounter, Natural Family Planning and Retrouvaille, along with local priests, will answer questions on issues such as marriage preparation and counseling. Father Thomas Brundage, JCL, Judicial Vicar at the archdiocese’s marriage tribunal, and Father James Oberle, SS, the Director of the Office of Evangelization & Worship will make presentations. The sessions, which begin at 7 p.m., will take place on October 3 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Soldotna, October 7 at St. Michael in Palmer and October 10 at Holy Cross in Anchorage. For more information call Julie at 297-7710.
Weekend of spiritual renewal
Koinonia weekend will be offered at Holy Spirit Center beginning Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. and ending Sunday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. Various meditations on Scripture and on the life of faith will be offered. In addition, Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and Father Dan Hebert will celebrate the Eucharist. Presenters include lay people, Sisters and priests. For reservations call 346-2343 or email at www.holyspiritcenter.org. For more information call 248-9881.
Catholic family conference nears
October 10-12, the Anchorage chapter of Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) will host the Alaska Catholic Family Conference. The conference will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. For more details, including registration forms and speaker and concert information, visit akcatholicfamily.org or e-mail cufanchorage.com. For registration questions call Karen at 245-5270, or for general information call Catherine at 375-8909.
Calling adoptive parents-to-be
Catholic Social Services will host its summer adoption workshop weekend October 17-19. The workshop provides information on adoption, including programs at Catholic Social Services. The fee — $300 a couple – covers the cost of the program, lunches and snacks. The workshop will take place at Catholic Social Services, 3710 East 20th Avenue. For more information and to register, visit cssalaska.org or call 222-7314.
School Sister of St. Francis from Milwaukee, WI
Religious Profile
School Sisters believe that the mission of Jesus is their heritage and hope. They believe their identity is expressed in the values of the Gospel. They are motivated by dedication to the fields of health care, social justice and education.
Sister Camilla Menting is the only sister from her community in Alaska at this time. In the 1980s Sister Margaret Kwiatkowski worked as an educator in the Diocese of Fairbanks.
More than 125 years ago, three sisters founded the community by opening an orphanage in Germany. The government drove the sisters out of the country after the sisters refused to remove their habits while working in schools, hospitals or on the streets.
The sisters left Germany, and following the advice of their spiritual director, they moved to the United States and began a new community in the Diocese of Milwaukee, where the community’s motherhouse is still located. Originally, most of the sisters were teachers or nurses. Today, the sisters can choose a career of their choice.
Sister Camilla Menting is an avid artist who spends some of her free time painting. Many people around the archdiocese, including Father Leo Walsh, are proud to have an “original Menting” in their home.
Sister Menting plans on continuing her ministry in Alaska
Contact Sister Joneen Kueler at 1501, S. Layton Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53215 or email at jkeuler@sssf.org. Locally, contact Sister Camilla Menting at 907-694-2170.
Editor’s note: This is the 15th in a series of profiles that highlight religious communities in the Anchorage Archdiocese.
Alaskan Columnists
Editor’s note: The Anchor welcomes back Father LeRoy Clementich as a fulltime columnist. This past spring, the Holy Cross priest moved from Alaska to his order’s headquarters in Notre Dame, Indiana. He has agreed to once again write regular columns for the Anchor.
I searched for this odd word “flip-flop” in my ancient Websters — no luck. Then I went to Google where I found: “Shower sandals.” Then I remembered something from the last presidential campaign. Suddenly, there it was! “flip-flopping: Individuals who easily change their minds.” That’s what I was searching for.
I got to wondering about the words, “flip-flop” after having read the Gospel for this Sunday in which Jesus tells the story of two sons who were politely asked by their father to head out for the grape arbor and trim vines. “You bet’cha,” says the elder of the two, “I’m off.”
Thinking it over, however, he said to himself, “Ah gee, it’s too hot out there today, I think I’ll just sit around the house.”
So, he sat in the den all day drinking iced tea and watching NFL football.
Having failed in his appeal to the elder son, the father approaches the younger (wiser) son and asks same question.
“Well, it’s pretty hot out there,” says the son “and I’m not particularly interested in grapes, but, you’re the boss and it’s our vineyard.”
So, he changes his mind and heads out for the fields. All this is a moral and theological story, of course. But now comes the question to the scribes, the elders: “Who did the right thing?” Jesus asks the biblical scholars?
“Obviously, the younger who had the good sense to change his mind,” they reply.
“Got’cha,” Jesus says. “You people compare well to the elder son. Forever the prophets have been urging you to change your minds and your lives, and yet, you people have never changed your life’s habits; you probably never will.” You listened well to the story. Case closed!
So, what of our age and the question of flip-flopping? Some feel it is a sign of weakness. However, Jesus does not seem to agree. Indeed, if he were asked, he would probably say: “It’s smartest thing you can do in your life.”
We are seldom absolutely sure of our answers to many of life’s mysteries; circumstances are constantly changing. The intelligent thing to do is to re-think our lives each day and be humble enough to say: “Wow, that was a dumb thing I did!”
Every change of mind, every re-thinking, is rewarded with deeper wisdom, more intelligent human and spiritual insight. Could it be called “grace?”
If we believe with St. Paul that God speaks to us in life’s human events, the earthly, the historical, perhaps, we could add that God also speaks to us as we are changing our mind.
But, if we simply say, “Hey, I’m always ok; I don’t need to flip-flop.” That may one day become an embarrassment to us. The spiritually wise person, on the other hand, is always re-thinking, always reflecting on his/her life’s ways.
During the Lenten season of our liturgical calendar, we often hear the word metanoia, to change, to turn, to “flip-flop.” Given that, one might say we should make Lenten metanoia the model for all-life’s experiences. It may take awhile, but in the end we will be wiser and happier for it.
I have no idea what sorts of sandals y’all wear to the shower. Actually, I usually go barefoot. But, I have also been changing not only my shoes but my mind and heart for the better part of 85 years. Time will tell if I am any better for it.
The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives and writes in Notre Dame, Indiana.
We cannot ignore our social justice tradition
Catholic Social Services’ food pantry for St. Francis House desperately needs more food for the increasing number of poor who come there for help.
At my parish, I think there would be universal agreement that our food drive for St. Francis House is a good thing, and indeed, we should all throw something extra in our carts at Costco to contribute to the hunger stalking our city.
But suppose we got a forum together at our parish to talk about why this poverty exists in our city in the first place.
Is it tied to minimum wage? Tax structure? Increasing health care demands that take so much income away from the working poor? Is it the burgeoning housing costs in Anchorage? The soaring cost of heating fuel? And what can be done to address the root causes of poverty?
Ah, now we might not have such friendly agreement. We’d have a cacophony of opinions. We would also need to call in the poor and ask them about their experience and consult with experts about tax policy and energy costs and whatever in the world we should do about affordable health care for all Americans. We might even hear someone say indignantly, “Why is the Church talking about this?”
In short, our parish would have gone from doing charity to the hard work of doing justice.
The Catholic Church has a long and admirable history of doing charity really well. And we should be proud of it. Throughout the nation, and here in Alaska, the Catholic Church has been the leader in charitable endeavors.
But we also have an obligation to promote social justice. From the prophet’s voice, “Let justice roll down like water,” (Amos 5:24) to the religious and laypeople who marched in the civil rights movement, we have a justice tradition.
Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” is considered the first modern social encyclical. It shook things up when it was released in 1891 and set an agenda for what would become an evolving Catholic social outlook.
Leo XIII saw a world which was rapidly industrializing after centuries of agrarian lifestyle. He focused on the relation between capital and labor, employee and employer, the wealthy and the poor. This pope’s encyclical was so ground-breaking that new social encyclicals are usually released on Rerum Novarum’s major anniversaries.
Notice that this was 1891, and already our church leadership was pointing towards a need to be involved in the dynamics of society. Why is it we don’t hear much about that aspect of our church’s teaching?
Popes and bishops’ conferences have emphasized such imperatives as the dignity of human beings, the right to work and health care, the right to organize, the right to immigrate if necessary. John Paul II talked about “the structures of sin” and insistently decried the consumerism and materialism that is so much a hallmark of Western and especially American culture. We don’t hear much talk about consumerism either — it’s not a very comfortable subject when our own feet are held to the fire.
The Office for Social Justice of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis offers these distinctions between charity and social justice: “Charity is directed at the effects of injustice, its symptoms. Love mops up...Justice is directed at the root causes of social problems. Justice tries to make sure the mess isn’t made to begin with...Charity is private, individual acts. Justice is public, collective acts. Examples of charity: homeless shelters, food shelves...examples of justice: legislative advocacy, political action.”
The writer is a stewardship and hospitality coordinator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Anchorage.
Evangelization is not just knocking on doors
Q — Why do we hear so much about “evangelization” these days? Whenever I hear the word “evangelization,” I think of Bible-thumping door-knockers who try to take me away from my Catholic faith. What is “evangelization” anyway? Why is it important?
You are right. The word “evangelization” does get used much more these days, and for good reason. It is an ancient word used to describe the spread of the gospel and was popularized in recent decades by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical “Evangelii Nuntiandi” (The Gospel Must Be Proclaimed).
John Paul II continued to develop our understanding of the term in his many writings in which he described the “New Evangelization.” A good description of the New Evangelization was written by Dave Notar of Christlife Ministries. See his full text at: http://www.christlife.org/evangelization/articles/C_newevan.html. In short, the New Evangelization has six distinctive characteristics.
1. It is Christocentric. Namely, it is founded on the proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ. It is not merely about teaching doctrine but about a personal encounter with the living Christ.
2. It is the responsibility of the entire people of God. It used to be that if one wanted to participate in the apostolic mission of the church, he or she had to be a priest, nun or brother. One of the insights of the Second Vatican Council was that the ability to participate in the apostolic life of the church flows from one’s baptism. Remember, you may be the only Gospel another person ever hears.
3. The New Evangelization is not just for the foreign missions. In “Redemptoris Missio” (The Mission of the Redeemer) John Paul says that there are three situations which must be distinguished. There is still a need to proclaim Christ to those who have not heard of him, but there is also the need to continue to nurture mature Christian communities. There is also the need for the “re-evangelization” of traditionally Christian areas which have fallen into secular humanism.
4. The New Evangelization is directed to individuals and to whole cultures. As one church leader said, it is the not the inculturation of Christianity, but the Christianization of culture!
5. The New Evangelization is not limited to the presentation of the basic Gospel message, but is a comprehensive process of Christianization. It is a life-long process. One is never done.
6. The New Evangelization calls for a missionary spirituality. I have often said that if your entire life is spent bringing only one other person to Christ, then it is a life well lived.
As you can see, evangelization involves not just door knocking, but really it affects every aspect of the life of the church. As U.S. bishops have said, “It is the vocation of the Church.”
The writer is pastor at St. Andrew Church in Eagle River and a lifelong Alaskan. To send Father Leo Walsh a question, e-mail him at lwalsh@caa-ak.org
Editorials
In the name of justice
The current crop of political candidates all seem to be fighting for justice these days. They talk about justice for the unborn, the immigrant, the poor, the aged and the disabled. They talk about justice for children, refugees, women, minorities, and the working class.
Too often, however, campaign rallies and even the debates ignore the very foundation for social justice. This often reduces calls for social justice into pithy clichés, amounting to little more than crafty ways for the political savvy to win popular support.
Social justice is not necessarily about getting what we want or what we’d like. Sometimes it requires sacrifice, simple living, and service to others. These aren’t popular themes for the campaign trail and they’re not likely to draw cheers or approving chants from the sign wavers.
To get at real justice, we need to take a close look at what human beings are created for.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that, “Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man. The person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to him.” (CCC 1929)
Now that doesn’t tell us which social program or policy to support but it does point in the right direction. Social justice respects “the transcendent dignity of man.”
What dignity?
The Catechism explains:
“Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.” (CCC 1934)
This goes for everyone: every U.S. resident and immigrant, the youthful and the aged, rich and poor; and every man, woman and child – born and unborn.
In order to honor this dignity in each person, the church calls us to respect the rights that flow from it.
“These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it,” the Catechism affirms. “They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy.” (CCC 1930)
The Catechism then states that, “It is the Church’s role to remind men of good will of these rights and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims.”
This still doesn’t lay out the specifics of just legislation, but we can begin to make a few observations.
Justice is not seeking to live however we want, so long as we’re not harming anyone else. No, justice carries an obligation to actively support the dignity of every person.
Justice is not sealing off our borders so that no one else can tap into our nation’s wealth. Rather, justice seeks to lift people up and grant them the basic means to raise a family and live a dignified life – even if they come to us from another country.
Justice is not treating our bodies or those of others however we please by redefining marriage, aborting children, enabling pornography or experimenting with human embryos. Justice recognizes that people are most complete when they recognize and follow the design that God has for them.
Justice does not dismiss or ignore the needs of the poor or the homeless.
As the political rhetoric heats up this election season, let us not forget the basic principals of justice. In fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to weigh the political chatter against the rich teachings in the Catechism. Paragraphs 1928-1948 are a good place to start. They lay out the foundations of social justice and our obligations to follow the principle of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need.
- Joel Davidson, Anchor editor
Letter to the Editor
Invites to join Knights should be seen as honor
The other day I attended our church picnic thinking it would be an excellent opportunity to recruit for the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic men’s organization.
Founded in 1882 by Fr. Michael J. McGivney, the Knights formed to help men adhere to their Catholic faith and serve God by serving their Mother Church, priests, families and the less fortunate.
Most Catholics I know perform a variety of charitable works, either individually or within a small group; usually formed in their parish. But the Knights of Columbus offers men a multitude of ways to help those downtrodden and neediest of God’s children. Their dues alone help fund communications through Catholic Advertising in major publications. Dividends from any insurance policy they may own help defray costs for the pope’s charities, restoration of the Vatican, Vatican offices in the U.N., Satellite broadcasts of Christmas Masses, funding for Special Olympics and too many other projects we haven’t space to list.
Imagine my shock and dismay when three ideal candidates gave me the same reason for not joining. They explained they did not want to join because they couldn’t devote their whole energy and time. In short, they claimed they wouldn’t feel right not being able to become totally immersed into this organization because of time constraints.
Charity begins at home and the Knights understand this implicitly. No knight has a more pressing mission than to his family. But families are included in most everything we do and are encouraged to work side-by-side with their father knights. In fact, when a knight’s family is in trouble, we are bound to help whenever possible, strength and unity in numbers.
The next time you are asked to join this prestigious group of men, know that you are being asked because we think highly of you and believe you have what it takes. Not all men are Knights of Columbus material.
Wasilla