Unleash the Gospel Magazine: Summer 2021

LOVE IN THE FAMILY SUMMER 2021 A MAGAZINE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT

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SUMMER 2021 VOLUME 3: ISSUE 1 P U B L I S HER

The Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit EX E C U TI VE E DITO RS

Father Stephen Pullis Edmundo Reyes ED I TO R- I N - C HIE F

Christine Warner

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

M A N AGI N G E DITO R

Casey McCorry A RT D I R E C TO R

Paul Duda

A D V E RTI SING MANAG E R

Michelle St. Pierre I L LU S T R ATO RS

Diego Diaz Caitlin Hottinger Zach Stuef P HOTO GR A P HE RS

Paul Duda Matthew LaVere James Silvestri Naomi Vrazo Valaurian Waller CO N T R I B UT ING W RIT E RS

Maggie Bickerstaff Joe Boggs Patty Breen Adele Pax Collins Dr. Robert Fastiggi Daniel Gallio Debbie Herbeck Peter Herbeck Father Boniface Hicks Father Matthew Hood Deacon Michael Houghton Dr. Daniel Keating Kate Lochner Father Brian Meldrum Dr. Timothy P. O’Malley Joe Pelletier

5 ABOUT THE COVER AND CONTRIBUTORS 7 A MESSAGE FROM THE ARCHBISHOP

FE ATU R E S 8

LIVING WITNESS Many faces but the same heart

12 REAL TALK How has your family inspired your faith?

16 LOVE IN THE FAMILY

The family through the eyes of the creator 20 LOVE IN THE FAMILY The making of a missionary family 24 LOVE IN THE FAMILY The familial strength of our Chruch

Elizabeth Martin Solsburg

P R AYE R 44 CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD The brotherly love of St. Bernard 48 PRAYER 101 Waiting on the Father’s promise: A Novena to the Holy Family 52 WISDOM FROM THE CHURCH St. Bernard of Clairvaux on St. Joseph and the Holy Family

D I S CI P LE S 54 FAMILY CHALLENGE Keeping the faith in when school’s out 60 GRO WING IN VIRTUE Living life ‘for the good of the other’ 64 PURSUING HOLINESS Building a legacy of love

P R ES I D E NT AND C E O

Rachel Matero GR A P HI C DE SIG NE R

EM A I L U S : utgmagazine@aod.org

CU LTU R E 29 POETRY Holy Family

V I S I T U S O NL INE : unleashthegospel.org F O L LO W U S O N FAC E BO O K, INSTAGRAM T W I T TE R AND YO UT UBE : @utgdetroit

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30 MOVIE REVIEW Now playing: The joys and challenges of the family 34 SACRED PL ACES Pilgrimmage of passion 38 OUR HISTORY A home away from home

D E TR OI T 68 UNLEASHED QUESTIONNAIRE Dr. Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon 70 PHOTO ESSAY Downriver Vicariate Family 3

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FATHER BONI FACE HI CK S : Family is part of my identity. It is not just another temporary or useful relationship, it helps to define who I am. It is a lifelong commitment that becomes part of me, as I become part of it. God created the world through a family and he redeems the world through a family (the Holy Family) and through families (yours and mine). Family is a gift, a challenge, a miracle, a grace.

PATT Y B REEN: These people are my anchors, my safe place throughout life.

They see me at my worst, at my best and everything in between. They see me fully and love me for who I am. My family members are my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. I would not be where I am or the woman I am today without them.

D R. ROB ERT FA S TI G G I : We are all offspring of families, and we should give thanks to God for our parents, brothers, sisters, children and extended family members.

Even when there is failure and sin, there are still bonds of familial love that should lead to reconciliation and forgiveness. Catholics are called to be family people.

As followers of Christ, we are privileged to members of the family of faith.

DA NI EL GA LLI O: Seven years ago, a bachelor. Today, I am “GrandDan” to nine grandchildren — ages 11 through three months — thanks to my wife, Sharon, and her three children. Family life is ... livelier.

LOVE IN THE FAMILY SUMMER 2021 A MAGAZINE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT

BY DIEGO DIAZ

THE COVER This issue, Love in the Family, addresses the topics of ministering to families, evangelization within the family and witnessing Christ’s love to others as a family. The blue homes on the cover depict homes that do not know the warmth of Christ’s love and peace, but are witnessing the homes above on fire with the joy of Christ and his Church. The warmth of these families overflows, bringing Christ’s light into the darkness.

D EB RA HERB ECK : Family means everything to us! It is the concrete way we fulfill our vocation as a married couple, as parents and now as grandparents. Family is the means through which we pass on the faith and the legacy of love, not only to our children, but to our grandchildren and the generations beyond them. As the domestic church, we experience family under significant attack and we have an important role to play in this battle.

D EACON MI CHA EL HOU G HTON: My domestic family of my wife and three children mean the world to me. They are my joy and my strength. They are the source of immense love and support to me, and the beneficiaries of my love and support for them. They fill my days with hope, and my nights with peace. While my ministry as a deacon defines much of who I am in the Lord, it is my family which breathes life into my ministry.

D R. DA NI EL K EATI NG : My own family experience was very rich. I grew up with my parents and grandparents in the home, along with three sisters and two brothers (and one dog). When seeking to embrace my brothers and sisters in our faith as my new family members, I try to apply the quality of love and commitment to them that I experienced within my own family.

KATE LOCHNER: Family means loyalty, love without condition, acceptance, understanding, friendship, silliness, freedom to be yourself, the domestic church.

It’s a foundation upon which you have the safety and freedom and comfort to grow, learn and love. A unit where you are seen and heard and can always come back to.

It’s an opportunity for acts of sacrificial love that hopefully serve as stepping stones to heaven. And for me it’s always important to recognize and understand that for many, family can mean pain and suffering, and familial-like bonds can extend outward to friends and mentors.

D R. TI MOTHY O’MA LLEY : Family, for me, is the concrete space where my salvation is unfolding through the Church. I mean this in the least romantic way possible. In that mundane world of flesh and blood sacrifice, where we care for one another in the midst of our limitations, the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. This is family. It is my vocation as dad, as brother, as son, as husband, as a paternal figure in the lives of my students.

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“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

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THE MOST REV. ALLEN H. VIGNERON Archbishop of Detroit DetroitArchbishop @DetArchbishop @DetroitArchbishop

DEAR JOYFUL

MISSIONARY DISCIPLE! “THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY CONSTITUTES A SPECIFIC REVELATION AND REALIZATION OF ECCLESIAL COMMUNION … IT CAN AND SHOULD BE CALLED A DOMESTIC CHURCH. IT IS A COMMUNIT Y OF FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARIT Y.” ( CCC 2204) Our archdiocese is committed to the work of becoming a band of joyful missionary disciples, willing to go out into our communities to share the Gospel of Christ with all. But as we envision how our local church is called to minister in and to the world around us, let us not lose sight of one of the foremost settings in which evangelization takes place: the family.

Under the protection and loving care of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, Christ was nurtured and

raised within the family that has set the standard for all families striving to be “domestic churches” in our world today. As St. Joseph obeyed God and took Mary into his home following the Annunciation, husbands and wives give of themselves in self-sacrificial ways. As Mary and Joseph dutifully taught the child Jesus, mothers and fathers are the principal and first educators of their children. And as 12-year-old Jesus responded to his parents’ anxiety by

“C HR I ST W AS N U RT U R ED A ND R A I S ED WI T H I N T H E FA MI LY THAT HA S S ET THE S TA NDA RD F OR AL L FAM I L I E S S T R I V I N G TO B E ‘ D O M ES T I C C H U R CHES ’ I N OU R W ORLD TODAY.”

assuring them he had been “in [his] father’s house” all along, even young children evangelize their parents through the beautiful simplicity of their faith. As members of a Catholic family receive the love of God and share it with each other in these ways, they become a “living reflection” of the Father, Son and Spirit of love that is our triune God. (Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia, 11) In this issue of Unleash the Gospel, we will immerse ourselves in the beauty and joy of love in the Catholic family — the domestic church — where sacrificial love, after Christ’s own example, is the principle that governs all of life. It is by ministering to families, evangelizing within families and witnessing Christ’s love to others as families that we can light the brightest spark fueling our mission to unleash the Gospel in Southeast Michigan and beyond.

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Bridget and Brian Hanson

LI VING WITNE SS

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KATE LOCHNER, WRITER • MATTHEW LAVERE, PHOTOGRAPHER

BRIDGET AND BRIAN HANSON’S LOVE STORY BEGAN WITH A CHRISTMAS PARTY. A FRIEND AND COWORKER OF BRIDGET’S KNEW BRIAN, AND THEY WERE INTRODUCED TO EACH OTHER ON A FESTIVE DECEMBER EVENING IN 1994. THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS THAT YEAR WAS THEIR FIRST DATE, AND BRIDGET AND BRIAN WERE MARRIED THREE YEARS LATER IN MAY OF 1997.

KATE LOCHNER is a writer and mom. Most of her professional career has been spent in marketing and content creation. She loves exploring her home state of Michigan and currently resides in the Metro Detroit area with her husband and three kids.

Like most newlyweds, Bridget and Brian dreamed of health, happiness and one day starting a family, but as years went by, it became clear God was writing a different ending to their love story. After a string of negative pregnancy tests, the couple underwent extensive fertility testing and sought advice from various doctors, resulting in conversations about different treatments available. But there was a different plan at work.

Facing infertility weighed on them individually and as a couple.

“I remember the time when we were dealing with infertility — it just broke my heart — I remember as clear as day, Brian was sitting in the rocking chair, and he was so upset that he said, ‘I’m just so frustrated I can’t become a father,’” Bridget describes. She continues, “That’s the biggest thing I struggled with too, is knowing that you know, friends talk about having a child grow inside of them, giving birth and that’s something that you really grieve, you grieve for that loss.”

After nearly 10 years of marriage without any luck starting a family “the old-fashioned way,” the idea of adoption came up when a friend Brian had met through RCIA before their marriage described her work with an adoption agency.

“We just felt like God was tapping us on the shoulder and saying, ‘Might not be the path you guys were expecting to become parents, I’m giving you another path — look into it.’” Bridget recalls, “It felt kind of like, ‘I’m giving you an

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“YOU HAVE TO TURN YOUR GRIEF AND LOOK AT THE POSITIVE OF GOD PUTTING YOU DO WN A DIFFERENT ROAD, BECAUSE THESE CHILDREN ARE THE CHILDREN THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR LIFE.”

answer.’” But it wasn’t without hesitation.

Brian especially feared a broken heart.

What if they were to grow attached to a child only for the mother to change her mind? Would they be able to connect to these children as well as they would natural-born children? They wrestled with the thought both spiritually and emotionally as a couple when their friend suggested looking into adopting from Guatemala. It was the nudge they needed.

“You have to turn your grief and look at the positive of God putting you down a different road, because these children are the children that are supposed to be in your life.” Bridget explains.

With that decision, their journey to meet their first daughter, Molly, began in 2005.

Initially, both new to the idea of adoption, Bridget and Brian read up on the program suggested to them and found various aspects that they liked. They liked that the children were in foster homes, and doctors did monthly checkups. Pleased with the program and happy to know the kids in foster homes were well cared for, they remained hopeful and continued on the path that would ultimately lead them to their daughter Molly.

In December of 2006, Molly was born.

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Brian, Bridget and both of their moms hopped on a plane to Guatemala to meet little Molly in July of 2007. Bridget was thrilled both her mom and mother-inlaw could be there: “It was kind of neat to share that experience with them because if they couldn’t be in a room for a delivery of a baby, this was the next best thing we could offer. They spent the week down there getting to know their granddaughter.” Molly’s adjustment to their family was seamless. “She was great on the plane ride home; she slept through the night the first day home. She was truly the ideal baby, and she fit into our family so perfectly,” Bridget recalls.

Molly was home.

Bridget and Brian had hoped to adopt more children from Guatemala, but the state of affairs between the United States and Guatemala was not in good shape, and adoptions from Guatemala were cut off in December 2007. They decided to look at different programs to pursue another international adoption, but weren’t sure any were the right fit. So when a co-worker of Bridget’s suggested foster care, both Brian and Bridget thought that maybe foster care with the intent of adopting again would be a good next step for their family. A short week after getting their

foster care license, they got a call about twins from Detroit in the foster care system. At 6 days old, Nora and Noah were placed under the care of Bridget and Brian, and while it was “a bit crazy” going from one to three children, they felt the love Nora and Noah brought into their home.

Unfortunately, the road to adopting their twins was difficult and presented seemingly impossible challenges. The parental rights were supposed to be terminated not even a month after meeting Nora and Noah, but the judge changed the ruling and ruled for the twins to go back to their biological parents. So, in August of 2012, when the twins were 11 months old, Bridget and Brian had to say goodbye to the babies they had been raising as their own for nearly a year. Their worst fear had come true. But Bridget’s fierce faith and new motherly instinct convicted her with the belief that this was temporary. “I never gave up faith that they would come home.”

Bridget says, “I just felt in my gut these are my babies; this is why God put them in my life, and they’re going to come home.”

She put a box filled with the twins’ clothes under her bed, called it her “October box,” prayed and waited for their homecoming.

Some unforeseen circumstances led to a social worker bringing Noah back to Bridget and Brian in the earliest hours of Thanksgiving morning. When Noah saw Bridget, he put up his arms and cried, “Mama!” Noah was home. And Nora would soon follow. The adoption journey brought Bridget and Brian their three beautiful children, but the road at times was painful and uncertain.

As a multi-racial family, they’ve encountered uncomfortable looks and stares. They’ve faced questions, comments and curiosities, some of which were inappropriate, harmful or unsettling. But, clinging to values from her upbringing and her own Catholic faith, Bridget has found her approach to these situations, “We’re all people created by God, so we try to look at every person as if you’re looking at the eyes of Jesus, no matter how hard that could be.” Despite the challenges, large

or small, Bridget and Brian know this was the path for them. And through their story, faith was their anchor: “The faith that we had to have to stand strong through all of this, the words that were said to us; there’s no way we could have made it without the grace of God and praying a lot. It’s solidified my faith.”

The love they have grown in their family of adoption has been natural. Brian says, “Once you get the family in place, it’s amazing.” Illustrating a picture of the kids, Brian jokes lovingly, “They get along about as well as my brother and I did growing up — not well.” Bridget describes Molly as a total “daddy’s girl,” and Brian explains that he and Molly are on the “same wavelength.”

In their family, it’s essential to Bridget and Brian that they foster a culture of honesty. Molly, Nora and Noah know

they are adopted and are aware of their stories. “If the children have questions, they get the truth,” Bridget says. They’ve found home in a community of diversity, and since they got to know Guatemalan culture when they went to meet Molly, the family stays close to their children’s cultural roots. They even keep in touch with a family who once lived nearby and had adopted a little boy from Guatemala.

Now in South Carolina, they refer to him as “Molly’s Guatemalan brother.”

Today, Molly is an Irish dancer who dreams of one day becoming a doctor or engineer. At 14, she just made her confirmation this spring and will soon be a high school freshman. Nora and Noah are 9. Together, they, like most siblings close in age, “fight like a little, old married couple,” Bridget explains. “They know how to push each other’s buttons, but yet

they’ll say that they’re each other’s best friend. They look out for each other.”

Noah, “all boy,” has a “personality that fills the room when he walks in,” an infectious laugh and a natural talent for sports, especially basketball and football.

As the peacemaker of the group, Nora likes to express herself through dance, is passionate about Barbies and creates her own little pretend YouTube videos, complete with dialogues and storylines.

You’d see typical family life playing out if you were to drop by the Hanson house on any given day of the week, school dropoffs and pick-ups included. Complete with their new goldendoodle puppy, the Hanson family may not have started as Bridget and Brian envisioned it would back in 1997, but they’d agree that they “wouldn’t trade it for anything.” As Bridget says, “We all look very different, but they have my heart.”

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RE A L TA LK As newly converted Catholics, my parents raised seven biological and two adopted children, and did it with the zeal of the faith at their side. Through their example, they laid the foundations of my faith. Their faith continues to inspire me to this day. My four older brothers have each played a significant role in keeping my faith alive. From the eldest brother, Father Nate, who has a great love for the Lord and a deep passion to share the Gospel, he continually exemplifies Christ to me. Then there is Aaron, with his insatiable curiosity and constant pursuit of truth through philosophy and theology. He has shown me the depths of our faith and made me a more knowledgeable Catholic. Our joke is that my brother David is our unwavering conscience. David’s faith is strong and his quest for holiness keeps me in check regularly. Finally, Joseph, husband and father to three wonderful boys, inspires me in his ability to recognize and see the beauty of God from a profoundly new perspective. As brothers, we meet once a month to keep each other accountable and to strengthen our faith. By this, and by my whole family, my faith is strengthened, and I am blessed.

–MARK HARBURG, CATHEDRAL OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT, DETROIT

HO W H A S YO U R FAMI LY My wife Serena and I have been married for almost 37 years. We have five grown children and six grandchildren. Reflecting upon the blessings and challenges of our life together moves me to recall these words of Jesus, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:1213) God gave humanity the gift of marriage and family as one path to the fullness of life and abundant joy he so longs for us to experience. Family life requires one to “lay down one’s life,” to let go of our own desires for the good of the family. When we live out our married vocation while abiding in Jesus, we grow in faith and in all the other virtues. In this context I think family life helped prepare us for ministry.

Serena, who also serves the church as a spiritual director, supports, participates and encourages me in my service as a deacon and I encourage her as she responds to God’s unique calling on her life. My children and grandchildren are a constant source of inspiration. Their differing personalities and life experience expand my worldview. My mom and dad, brother, sister and all my in-laws are a source of unfailing encouragement.

And my parish families at Our Lady of Victory in Northville and St. Edith in Livonia refresh my soul with words of affirmation and appreciation.

–DEACON FRED BILLOTTO, OUR LADY OF VICTORY, NORTHVILLE

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I have a large extended family, but in our home it’s just my husband Andrew and I. We’re going on four years of marriage and have yet to have a baby, so I keep coming back to how my faith has been inspired or changed due to infertility and being a family of two.

This struggle has brought my husband and I so much closer than we ever could have imagined. We’ve prayed together since before we were engaged, but infertility has opened so many avenues for vulnerability in our prayer life. Some days, we just pray for our future, that we’re blessed with children. Other days, our prayers are more unspoken and tear-filled, simply begging God for grace and understanding. We’ve both said many times now that we’re not sure how we would carry this cross without our faith. Without knowing that it’s not in our hands and that it’s not our timing.

We are aware that we may never become parents, but this journey really has helped us grow closer to God, and I think that’s one of the most beautiful blessings that has come from a very dark time.

It’s a constant battle to “let go” and to truly trust God. We often believe in God and his promises but how often are we honestly trusting in him?

–SERENITY QUESNELLE, ST MARGARET OF SCOTLAND PARISH, ST. CLAIRE SHORES

INS PIR E D YO U R FAI TH? The daily presence and relationships I have with my parents, my siblings and my grandparents are some of the most powerful ways in which I have been supported and inspired throughout my faith journey. Half the time, they probably don’t even know that one particular instance in their own life impacted me so strongly, as it often is the little things that move mountains. But seeing my family go through times where they are closer and further away from God and seeing their attitude toward life change vividly shows the impact his hand has in people’s lives. He is not an old man living above us, but a spirit that works wonders in every life he is invited into.

I have noticed that whenever I am unhappy or struggling with motivation, it is because I am not close to God. And just as your family is always there for you in any circumstance, so is God. In addition, my grandfather recently went through RCIA and, this Easter Vigil, he received his first Communion and was confirmed. Watching a man I have known my whole life go through such a life change has inspired me to keep growing and developing my relationship with God. And so it truly is through my family that I have not only learned of Jesus, but also experienced his grace and his goodness!

–JULIA CHRISTIANSEN, ST. PATRICK PARISH, WHITE LAKE

VALAURIAN WALLER, PHOTOGRAPHER

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My family has fostered my faith in so many ways: my parents homeschooled us and later sent us to Catholic school; my Grandma said more prayers for me than I can imagine; my brothers and cousins engage with me in lively conversations about the faith; and every one of my family members has been unbelievably supportive of my decision to pursue priesthood!

However, I want to single out one thing. When I was young, my mom taught us to always look for small ways to give God just a little bit extra. Things like paying visits to the chapel, making the sign of the cross when driving by a church, praying for a few minutes after Mass and genuflecting when entering and leaving church. These small acts of devotion taught me to never be minimalistic with God, but to love him, as Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “With all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

That conviction is the core of my spiritual life, it has inspired and sustained my vocation, and God gave me that gift through my family. Thanks, fam!

–JEREMY SCHUPBACH, SEMINARIAN AT SACRED HEART MAJOR SEMINARY

My faith was primarily inspired by my parents’ commitment to their faith and dedication to living lives of service. They clearly communicated that both prayer and service were essential to making a difference. These lessons instilled the same values in my life that I passed on to my children. My father deeply connected to the word and accepted the call to join the first class of ministers of service in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

My mother worked as a housekeeper in the rectory and maintained the sanctuary. Today, I enjoy being a lector, a parish council member and a volunteer at our pregnancy Crisis center to support whenever possible.

– VALEON WALLER, ST. AUGUSTINE/ ST. MONICA, DETROIT

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LOVE IN THE FAMILY

THE FAMILY

through the eyes OF THE CREATOR

CATHOLICISM PERCEIVES THE PRESENCE OF DIVINE WISDOM IN THE MOST ORDINARY PLACES OF HUMAN LIFE. POPE FRANCIS CELEBRATES THIS FACT IN THE OPENING LINES OF HIS APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION AMORIS LAETITIA (THE JOY OF LOVE): “THE JOY OF LOVE EXPERIENCED BY FAMILIES IS ALSO THE JOY OF THE CHURCH.” (1) Catholics contemplate the family as an agent of divine love in the world. In our homes — no matter how fallen those homes are — the love of Christ is made available to our local parish and the surrounding neighborhood.

Yet how are we to recognize the presence of this love? Theology — when it is at its best — is not just an exercise for intellectual Christians.

Theology gives us images whereby we can perceive the ordinary world, including the family, through the eyes of the Creator.

THE FAMILY AND THE IMAGE OF GOD In the Book of Genesis, the creation of man and woman is a culminating point of God’s creative love. Unique among all the creatures, man and woman are created in the image and likeness of God. What does it mean to say that man and woman are created in the image and likeness of God? Well, think about what God does in the act of creation. God creates the whole world through peaceful

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acts of speech. God does not create because God is lonely or bored, subject to divine listlessness. No! God creates because God is love.

To be created in the image and likeness of God is to be a peaceful co-creator with God, ordered toward self-giving love. The person is created in the image and likeness of God as male and female. To be male and female, as the Scriptures present, is integral to what it means to be a human being.

Marriage, in this sense, is a primordial sacrament in the church.

That is, it is the sacred sign that precedes the incarnation of Jesus Christ. When men and women come together, pledging their lives to one another, they exercise their identity as those created in the image and likeness of God. In marriage, even before children are born, the union of husband and wife is the creation of a family ordered toward communion. Marriage points toward the love of God. In the act of procreation, God’s wisdom once again reveals itself.

The sexual union of man and woman has the potential to bring forth new life into the world. From an embodied act of self-giving love — the true meaning of sex — a child may be born.

This child is to be immersed, according to the wisdom of God in Genesis, in a space of love. Dad, mom and child(ren) exercise their identity as created in the image and likeness of God through sharing communion with one another. The young child, for example, learns about the goodness of the world not through abstract thought but through encountering the mother or father’s smile. The child delights in the love shared by mom and dad alike.

Of course, Genesis also presents the shadow side of family life. Our primordial parents’ sin. Adam blames God and Eve for his sin, fracturing the original communion that marked God’s creation of men and women. Violence enters the world as Adam and Eve’s firstborn, Cain, kills their second born, Abel.

TIMOTHY P. O’MALLEY, WRITER • DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

TIM OT HY P. O ’ M AL LEY is director of digital education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He teaches at the University of Notre Dame in liturgical-sacramental theology, catechesis and marriage and family. He is married to Kara and has two children, ages 8 and 4.

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09.11.21

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The primordial plan for marriage and family may seem to those of us who abide in the shadow side as terribly optimistic. In our communities, relationships between men and women are not always marked by self-giving love. Domestic violence is all too real. Husbands and wives cheat on one another.

Sex occurs outside of marriage.

New life itself is often greeted with indifference by parents and society alike. Children are not always given a space of love where they can flourish.

Despite our experience, the church believes that we can benefit from contemplating the primordial gift of marriage and family life in Genesis. Yes, there is a shadow side.

But as the Gospel of John proclaims, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1:5) Original sin does not destroy the creation of men and women in the image and likeness of God. Even in the darkness, the light of love shines with brilliance. The task of the church is to accompany men, women and children in family life, especially when things are not perfect, inviting them to see the perfect communion to which they are called.

THE HOLY FAMILY The wisdom of divine love implicit in family life is further made evident in the enfleshment of the Word. Jesus Christ was born and entered a family.

Although this family knew the perfect communion of love, they were subject to the shadow side of the fallen world. Jesus was born in an extraordinary manner to a Virgin from Nazareth. Joseph, her betrothed spouse, planned on leaving her in a quiet way. Except through the divine intervention of

dream, Joseph would have carried through with his plan.

Their beloved child, Jesus, was born in a feeding trough because there was no room in the inn. Days after his birth, King Herod sought to kill the newborn Savior of the world.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph escaped into Egypt to avoid death. They returned years later, savoring the hidden life of Nazareth. Jesus, as sacred tradition tells us, was at the bedside of his father Joseph, comforting his mother as her spouse died.

Jesus, the very Word made flesh, lived an ordinary and rather poor existence for most of his life. He was part of a family, the miraculous child of Mary and Joseph. He worked and labored, ate and slept and learned to be a faithful son of Israel from his mother and father.

The beauty of the Holy Family is not in some romanticized understanding of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The true beauty is that God did not shun any dimension of the human condition. Joy and suffering, mundane work and festivals and the love of a child for his parents — God took all this up as an act of love.

Thus, our families are to become spaces where the Word can still become flesh here and now.

Catholicism is not a religion that asks us to escape this world, to leave behind flesh and blood reality. Once again, no! Instead, it is through the materiality of family life in all its mundane messiness that Jesus came to redeem.

THE DOMESTIC CHURCH And yet, the redemption of the family extends beyond the relationship between mother, father and child to the whole world. The term “domestic church” is not a metaphor for the family. The family has a vocation to share in the

“ORIGINAL SIN DOES NOT DESTROY THE CREATION OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD. EVEN IN THE DARKNESS, THE LIGHT OF LOVE SHINES WITH BRILLIANCE.”

communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The family is a concrete, tangible manifestation of the Church’s communion in every neighborhood of the world.

The nuptial blessing of the marriage liturgy forms our imagination to see the family as the domestic church. Through the self-giving love of husband and wife, expressed in sexual union, the Church is adorned with precious children. Whether the birth of children happens or not, the family is to form a space in the world marked entirely by adoration of God. Nourished at the eucharistic altar, the family becomes witnesses to the ends of the world of the tender mercy of God. When the family prays together, welcomes the hungry and homeless into their hearth, seeks forgiveness from those we have wronged and establishes friendships with neighbors, the family performs its identity in the world as the domestic church.

The joy of love experienced by the family is the joy of the church.

And it is this joy that we seek to spread to every nook and cranny of the world. It is perhaps families alone that can perfectly fulfill this missionary mandate.

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LOVE IN THE FAMILY

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THE MAKING OF A

MISSIONARY FAMILY TOWARDS THE END OF HIS 1981 APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION, FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO, ST. JOHN PAUL II WRITES: “THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY PASSES

BY WAY OF THE FAMILY.” THE FAMILY IS AT THE HEART OF GOD’S PLAN FOR THE HUMAN RACE. IN FACT, THE HUMAN FAMILY IS A REFLECTION OF GOD’S OWN INNER TRINITARIAN LIFE. POPE FRANCIS NOTES: “THE TRIUNE GOD IS A COMMUNION OF LOVE, AND THE FAMILY IS ITS LIVING REFLECTION.” (AMORIS LAETITIA, 11) WHAT ROLE, THOUGH, DOES THE FAMILY HAVE IN THE CHURCH’S MISSION TO “MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS?” (MT 28:19)

DR. ROBERT FASTIGGI has been teaching at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 1999. He currently holds the Bishop Kevin M. Chair of Dogmatic Theology and Christology. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married since 1984, and they have three adult children.

DR. ROBERT FASTIGGI, WRITER • DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

In Unleash the Gospel, Archbishop Vigneron reminds us that parents “are the primary evangelizers as well as the primary catechists and educators of their children.”

(Marker 7:2) Vatican II, in its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, no. 11, provides a vivid description of how Christian spouses, united by love in the sacrament of matrimony, establish what may be called “the domestic church:” From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries. The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state.

Evangelization begins within the family, and parents must realize that “there is no greater gift they can give their children than a relationship with Jesus and his Church, which endures throughout eternity.” (UTG, Marker 7:2) This relationship with Jesus must be sustained by prayer, example and the sacraments — especially the Eucharist. Parents must try to mirror the self-sacrificing love of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They must be careful in the way they speak to each other and their children. As Pope Francis teaches, love within a family must be expressed by words such as “please,” “thank you” and “sorry.” (see Amoris Laetitia, 133) The Church teaches that “the matrimonial covenant … is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.”

(Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1601) As a sacrament, marriage is a means of holiness endowed with its own special graces. Vatican II teaches that by virtue of this sacrament spouses “are penetrated with the spirit of Christ, which suffuses their whole lives with faith, hope and charity. Thus they increasingly advance the perfection of their own personalities, as well as their mutual sanctification, and hence contribute jointly to the glory of God.” (Gaudium et Spes, 48)

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The family is missionary by its very nature, and its mission is both inward and outward. The inward missionary call is found primarily in the duty of parents to raise their children in knowledge, virtue and holiness.

The outward missionary call of the family is to reach outward to neighbors, friends, classmates and coworkers as living examples of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. This is especially important with regard to those who do not know Christ or his church. As St. Paul VI explains, “The first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life. … ‘Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.’” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41) Spouses who are not blessed with children of their own can serve as witnesses of Christ in their parishes and places of employment. This is the great call of the laity. As Vatican II teaches, the lay faithful are called “to work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven … especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity.’ (Lumen Gentium, 31) Fathers and mothers fulfill their missionary call when they raise their children in the faith and provide them with living examples of what it means to be a Christian man and woman. In this Year of St. Joseph, we need, as Father Donald Calloway, MIC explains in Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, “the spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph to help us protect marriage and the family.” Fathers should find in St. Joseph a model of Christian manhood — for St. Joseph was chaste, virile and totally committed to the care of the Holy Family.

In his apostolic letter on St. Joseph, Patris Corde, Pope Francis notes that “fathers are not born, but made; a man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child.” (7) The Holy Father also observes: “Children today often seem orphans, lacking fathers.” (ibid) Sadly, all too many families today are missing fathers. This is not only due to untimely deaths but also to desertion and dereliction of duty. Fathers who accept the responsibility of caring for their children and loving their wives contribute greatly to the call of Christian mission. Good parents are not centered on themselves but on the needs of their children. These needs, though, are not only physical but emotional and spiritual.

Fathers should look to St. Joseph as a model because, as Pope Francis teaches, “he did not think of himself, but focused instead on the lives of Mary and Jesus.”

(Patris Corde, 7) Mothers can look to the Virgin Mary

FATHERS AND MOTHERS FULFILL THEIR MISSIONARY CALL WHEN THEY RAISE THEIR CHILDREN IN THE FAITH AND PROVIDE THEM WITH LIVING EXAMPLES OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN MAN AND WOMAN.”

as a model because she nurtured, cared for and suffered in communion with her divine Son. As St. John Paul II notes, Mary “signifies the fullness of the perfection of ‘what is characteristic of woman,’ of ‘what is feminine.’”

(Mulieris Dignitatem, 5) What, though, are some practical ways families can grow in holiness? When children are young, they need to see how important the life of faith is from their parents.

Fathers and mothers should provide structured times of prayer — not only at mealtimes, but also in the evening.

The family rosary is highly recommended. Venerable Patrick Peyton, CSC would often say: “The family that prays together stays together.” Prayer in the home, however, is never sufficient if it does not support a sacramental life centered on the Eucharist and frequent confession. Children should learn to appreciate the liturgical year, the lives of the saints and the seasons of Advent and Lent. Religious devotions associated with different cultural and ethnic traditions should especially be encouraged.

Parents should have images and symbols of the faith in the home such as crucifixes, images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and those of Mary, St. Joseph and other saints.

These images are sources of grace and instruction for children. There should likewise be Bibles in living rooms and bedrooms. As children learn to read, they should be encouraged to read and meditate on passages from sacred Scripture. Parents should introduce the children to religious films that tell the story of salvation. Family trips can be planned that include stops at religious shrines or beautiful churches.

As children get older, parents should talk about the faith and provide suggestions to their children about sharing the faith in a way that is truthful, gentle and respectful. They should remind their children that they must manifest charity and patience with people who attack or ridicule the teachings of the Catholic faith.

This sometimes is difficult, but the teaching of Christ is clear: “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt 5:44) A missionary family also witnesses to the faith by the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Support for causes harmonious with Catholic moral teaching is very important — whether it be praying before an abortion clinic, protesting peacefully against social injustice or volunteering in a soup kitchen. To be authentically Catholic, though, such activities must be nourished by prayer and the sacraments. A Catholic missionary family must be nourished inwardly by the Eucharistic Lord in order to witness outwardly to the love of Christ for all people.

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DEACON MICHAEL HOUGHTON, WRITER • DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

STRENGTH

OF OUR CHURCH TWO YEARS AGO, MY WIFE AND I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING ON A PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND. OUR FIRST STOP WAS THE MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES, THE VERY PLACE WHERE JESUS DELIVERED THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. AS I STOOD ATOP THE MOUNT AND LOOKED DOWN TO THE SEA OF GALILEE, IT WAS EASY TO IMAGINE IN MY MIND THE SCENE WHERE JESUS PREACHED PERHAPS THE GREATEST SERMON OF ALL TIME. AS THE GOSPEL AUTHOR MARK RECOUNTS THE SCENE, JESUS BEGINS WITH THE BEATITUDES, BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS WITH SIMILES OF SALT AND LIGHT TO DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PERSON OF FAITH. “YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH. BUT IF SALT LOSES ITS TASTE, WITH WHAT CAN IT BE SEASONED? IT IS NO LONGER GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT TO BE THROWN OUT AND TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT. YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A CITY SET ON A MOUNTAIN CANNOT BE HIDDEN. DE ACO N M I CHAE L H O U G H TO N was ordained a deacon in 2012.

Since that time, he has served as deacon at St. John Vianney in Shelby Township. Deacon Mike retired from General Motors after a 35-year career and is currently the director of missionary strategic plans for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

NOR DO THEY LIGHT A LAMP AND THEN PUT IT UNDER A BUSHEL BASKET; IT IS SET ON A LAMPSTAND, WHERE IT GIVES LIGHT TO ALL IN THE HOUSE. JUST SO, YOUR LIGHT MUST SHINE BEFORE OTHERS, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND GLORIFY YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.”

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In this description of the life of a disciple, Jesus challenges us not only to be salt and light but also to put those roles to work by seasoning those around us and by sharing our light for all to see.

But how? How do we go about doing this? The answer lies in our relationships with others.

While individual prayer and spirituality bring us closer to God, communal prayer and spirituality bring God closer to others. When we live out our faith in the context of community, we are making disciples; we are sharing the good news; we are evangelizing. This is our call from the great commission.

It is also our call from the Synod 16, that sought to refashion our church toward becoming a better evangelizing diocese.

There are some who have been gifted with the charisms necessary to walk into a grocery store or a football game and easily find acceptable ways to preach to others about their faith. I admire such people. But this is not always the case. Many of us Catholics — myself

“WHILE INDIVIDUAL PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY BRING US CLOSER TO GOD, COMMUNAL PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY BRING GOD CLOSER TO OTHERS.”

included — struggle to do this well. And yet the call remains for us to evangelize. So how can we effectively be salt and light to the community if many of us struggle to personally reach out to others?

The answer lies in the church.

The church is a community of believers who grow in faith together by supporting one another and by collectively reaching out to others.

In the context of the church, the faith of each person supports and affirms the faith of others in the community, and the entire community grows in faith as a result.

In addition, the church provides the structure by which people of faith can evangelize in less daunting ways. As a faith community, we can more readily embrace and lead evangelizing ministries like discipleship formation, engagement, evangelical charity, family ministry and worship.

Thus, within the community that is the church, we are given a comfortable and supportive mechanism to grow in faith together and to evangelize the faith to others.

For many years here in the Archdiocese of Detroit, our faith community has largely been defined by our parish. But as the number of priests has declined, it has become more and more difficult for our pastors to find time to lead our evangelization efforts because they have become unduly burdened by administrative or maintenance tasks.

This is a serious problem, because we exist to be on mission and not to be dragged down by maintenance.

To address these challenges and help all of us become more missionary, Archbishop Vigneron has called each parish to become part of a parish grouping called a Family of Parishes. Not only will Families of Parishes free up our priests and deacons from much of

the administrative burden that they currently carry, but they will also empower the laity to do more in ways that first began to be discussed many years ago at Vatican II. In a domestic family, every member brings their own unique gifts and talents to the table. My wife and children have skills that I do not, and I in turn bring my talents to the family in areas where they may not be as inclined. If we are truly open to each other’s talents and gifts, we are at our best.

The same is true for Families of Parishes. One parish will bring a certain spirituality or ministerial focus to the Family that the others may not have ever experienced. One parish may bring their gifts that result from a particular religious order, or a particular ethnicity, and the others can benefit from it.

A Family of Parishes can form an even larger sense of community in which all of the parishes can grow in faith together by supporting one another, and in an even larger sense, they can collectively evangelize others in solidum. Imagine the power and witness of ever-larger groups of Catholics expressing their faith in the public square!

In the introduction to Unleash the Gospel, Archbishop Vigneron states the following: Jesus Christ makes all things new!

He himself is at work to renew his Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit. He is pouring out his Holy Spirit anew so that every member of the Church may be formed and sent forth as a joyful missionary disciple, so that the Gospel may be unleashed in Southeast Michigan.

May we all embrace the renewal of our Church as we seek to unleash the Gospel through Families of Parishes.

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PO E TRY

If the stars fell; night’s nameless dreams Of bliss and blasphemy came true, If skies were green and snow were gold, And you loved me as I love you; O long light hands and curled brown hair, And eyes where sits a naked soul; Dare I even then draw near and burn My fingers in the aureole?

Yes, in the one wise foolish hour God gives this strange strength to a man.

He can demand, though not deserve, Where ask he cannot, seize he can.

But once the blood’s wild wedding o’er, Were not dread his, half dark desire, To see the Christ-child in the cot, The Virgin Mary by the fire?

G.K . CHE ST E RTO N (1874-1936) was an English writer, poet, philosopher, lay theologian and literary and art critic who converted to Catholicism in 1922.

G. K. CHESTERTON, WRITER • CAITLIN HOTTINGER, ILLUSTRATOR

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MOVIE REVIEW

The joys and challenges of the family FILM IS ABOUT TELLING THE SPECIFIC AND UNIQUE STORIES OF CHARACTERS and, at its best, encourages the audience to discern how much of themselves they see in the individuals on screen. As such, films that tackle the challenges and blessings of family life can be particularly efficacious for us in whatever familial situation we belong to.

Among many things, these films

“LADRI DI BICICILETTE,” PRODUZIONI DE SICA (PDS), 1948

encourage us to grow deeper in appreciation for the joys we’ve experienced in our own families or assist us in reflecting on the trials we’ve faced or are currently facing.

They can also serve as catalysts for positive

(Bicycle Thieves) • 1948 • Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell • Directed by Vittorio De Sica

change and growth within ourselves, should we happen to see our own lapses and shortcomings highlighted in a character.

Film can be an incredibly powerful impetus for growing in personal holiness and better fulfilling the familial role we hold. Fortunately for us, there are many great films that effectively portray the very real challenges and joys of the family and presented here for your discernment is a small selection of those films.

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Often hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, “Bicycle Thieves” chronicles the plight of a poor Italian family as they frantically search for the father’s stolen bicycle, which is required for his new and desperately needed job. The film is overwhelming in its depiction of social inequities and post-World War II alienation, but the real heart of this tragic tale can be found in the relationship between father and son, Antonio and Bruno. The young Bruno serves as the whetstone for Antonio’s shortcomings and hopelessness as the situation grows more desperate and he embodies the reality that in a cruel and callous world, the family remains the great conduit of hope and compassion. **Italian with English subtitles Recommended ages: Teens and up

“COCO,” DISNEY, 2017

2017 • Starring Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt • Directed by Lee Unkrich While the depiction of the afterlife presented here is not one that adheres to Catholic teaching (or claims to, for that matter), the film does explore the importance of generational relationships and of honoring your ancestors in the spirit of Catholic teaching on these issues. “Coco” does all of this in a very palpable and visually engaging way and throughout the story, perhaps inadvertently, it does echo a variety of Catholic eschatological concepts including the communion of saints, the effects of sin generationally and the dignity of the dead. But at its core, the film remains a story about the importance of maintaining connections with elderly family members and keeping the memory of the deceased alive. Visually stunning and thematically bolstered by the wonderful ballad “Remember Me,” “Coco” is a feast for the eyes and ears and a serviceable catalyst for deeper discussions on Catholic family and afterlife teachings.

Recommended ages: Kids and up

JOE PELLETIER, WRITER

1933, 1994, 2019 • Starring Katharine Hepburn (1933); Winona Ryder (1994); Saoirse Ronan (2019) • Directed by George Cukor; Gillian Armstrong; Greta Gerwig While there is no shortage of cinematic adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 classic, these three emerge as best in capturing the spirit of the novel and each offers a uniquely tinted lens into the world of the March sisters. See Cukor’s 1933 film for an enchanting and triumphant adaption made for an audience suffering through the Great Depression; Armstrong’s 1994 version is imbued with tenderness and faithfulness to the Alcott’s vignette-style; and Gerwig’s edition, the most recent entry, is wild and passionate, rearranging the structure of the story to give familiar emotional beats greater depth and impact. What remains in sharp focus throughout all three movies is the palpable love and affection between the March family as they cross from childhood to adulthood and navigate tumultuous periods in their lives.

Recommended ages: Kids and up

“LITTLE WOMEN,” RKO RADIO PICTURES, 1933

“LITTLE WOMEN,” COLUMBIA PICTURES, 1994

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“QUEEN OF KATWE,” DISNEY, 2016

2016 • Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga • Directed by Mira Nair “Queen of Katwe” is based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from a slum in rural Uganda who, through the guidance and mentorship of a young missionary portrayed by David Oyelowo, finds herself to be a prodigy chess player. But the road from the impoverished community of Katwe to the world of competitive chess success is fraught with challenges, even from within her own family. Phiona’s loving mother, in a heartbreaking performance from Lupita Nyong’o, is fiercely determined to protect her family from the overwhelming circumstances of their environment and to not allow them to be crushed by disappointment as she herself has so often been.

But, in life as in chess, “the small one can become the big one” and Phiona’s confidence and determination, bolstered by her loved ones, mentors and neighbors, not only change her world but the world of her family and her community.

Recommended ages: Kids and up

(Tokyo Story) • 1953 • Starring Setsuko Hara, Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama • Directed by Yasujirō Ozu Considered director Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece, “Tokyo Story” follows the visit of an elderly couple to Tokyo to spend time with their children and grandchildren. Despite having not seen their parents in a while and never seeing them often, the adult children quickly become burdened by the visit and the interruptions it causes to their busy lives. Setsuko Hara’s Noriko, the widowed daughter-in-law of the couple, is the film’s great glimmer of hope: her kindness and generosity toward the aging couple mirror the story of Ruth and Naomi and reinforce the idea that devotion to family extends beyond blood relatives.

The film is devastatingly poignant in its depiction of the generational conflict between aging parents and their grown children, and its reflection of the postWorld War II breakdown of the family still resounds nearly 70 years later. **Japanese with English subtitles Recommended ages: Teens and up

“TOKYO MONOGATARI,” SHOCHIKU, 1953

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SACRE D PL ACES

Walk the trail to Calvary, immersing yourself in the landscape of the Holy Land, at the Shrine of Christ’s Passion

DANIEL GALLIO writes from Ann Arbor, where he is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

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DANIEL GALLIO, WRITER • PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE SHRINE OF CHRIST’S PASSION

The shrine’s main feature is a twisting, half-mile trail that connects 18 meditation grottos. Forty life-sized, finely detailed bronze statues depict Christ’s journey to Calvary, along with the Last Supper and the Ascension.

The meticulously maintained grounds feature 1,000 trees planted among rolling hillocks and giant boulders trucked in from Wisconsin. The landscaping evokes the rocky, rugged terrain of the Holy Land.

A new supporter of the shrine is the recently installed bishop of the Diocese of Gary, Most Rev. Robert J. McClory. The Detroit priest who became Gary’s bishop in 2020 calls the Shrine of Christ’s Passion a “spiritual jewel” of his diocese. Its statuary is “magnificent,” he says, and its outdoor setting is a “literal and figurative breath of fresh air for those who need hope and healing.”

MEDITATIVE MUSIC

Suddenly, Father Maletta asked Schilling to pull into the gravel parking lot of a Marian shrine along Route 41.

Father gazed across the farmland behind the shrine. He saw a white farmhouse with a silo and a rise in the land.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“This is the site,” he said to Schilling with certainty.

“This is where we are to build the church.”

Frank Schilling couldn’t believe his eyes, either. The farmland was once the homestead of his grandfather, Frank Wachter. The farmhouse was where his mother, Sylvia, was born. The shrine, with its 15-foot-high statue of the Virgin, had been constructed by his grandfather in 1954.

“Can’t be done,” Schilling told Father. “A real estate developer owns the land. He would never sell it to me.”

But the developer did decide to sell, a seeming miracle.

Schilling donated the hilltop land to the parish, where St. John the Evangelist Church has sat since 2008.

Then Schilling, a man of action, had an inspiration.

LIKE THE HOLY L AND Why not build a simple path from the hilltop to the shrine? Even erect small Stations of the Cross along the way?

From that simple “why not” has evolved the monumentally scaled Shrine of Christ’s Passion. Funded entirely by Schilling and his wife, Shirley, and visited by more than 200,000 pilgrims per year from 40 countries, it is one of the most popular Catholic shrines in the Midwest.

The shrine took seven years of hard work, Paul Anderson explains — and an investment by Frank and Shirley of millions of dollars — before it was ready to receive visitors, in the spring of 2008. Schilling asked Anderson, his longtime friend, to run the shrine as general manager. Anderson sold his business and now manages six full-time and 10 part-time workers, along with 100 volunteers. In 2019, the shrine team greeted 258 buses filled with spiritual seekers.

“Bishop McClory calls us the ‘gem of northwest Indiana.’ I would expand and say the ‘gem of the country,’ says an enthusiastic Anderson. The shrine incorporates innovative technologies that enhance the pilgrim experience.

At each prayer alcove, for example, visitors can listen to a brief spiritual meditation read by renowned Chicago broadcaster Bill Kurtis. As pilgrims wander the trail between stations, original music plays quietly in the background. The music fits the theme of the upcoming station — sometimes melancholy, as at the Agony in the Garden, sometimes pounding, as at the horrific nailing of Jesus to his cross.

The sound control system, stored inside Pontius Pilate’s court building, is incredibly sophisticated.

When Bishop McClory led a Good Friday pilgrimage this year, 2,000 pilgrims along the trail could hear the bishop’s Passion meditations simultaneously through 135 speakers.

The extraordinary detailing of the bronze statuary is another highlight. It took Texas sculptor Mickey Wells three to six months to design and cast each one, especially concentrating on the physical anguish and divine forgiveness in Christ’s facial features. Frank and Shirley discovered the artist by “chance”— meaning by the Holy Spirit — while on a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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PLAN YOUR VISIT Shrine of Christ’s Passion 10630 Wicker Ave. (Route 41) St. John, IN 46373 219.365.6010 shrineofchristspassion.org

PEAK OF MT. SINAI “Totally driven. Always looking ahead” is how Anderson describes Schilling’s motivation to keep developing uplifting shrine additions.

The religious gift shop is an attraction itself. Its products — and square footage — keep expanding and now include more than 17,000 individual items. NonCatholics often come to shop, Anderson adds, and many take time to tour the grounds.

In 2011, the shrine accepted a gift of a monumental, stainless-steel statue, “Our Lady of the Millennium.”

At 33 feet tall, set on a 10-foot pedestal, the image has become a regional landmark and shimmering symbol of Catholic faith along busy Route 41.

Next, Schilling placed a Sanctity of Life memorial near the gift shop entrance, testifying to the humanity of the unborn.

A Moses and the Ten Commandments meditation area opened in 2018. One hundred truckloads of boulders went into its creation, with a burning bush installation visible for a quarter mile. The exhibit pulls a pilgrim’s imagination right to the peak of Mt. Sinai.

Work has just begun on an Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine. It will include an adobe chapel exhibiting a trueto-size replica of St. Juan Diego’s miraculous tilma.

All of this physical activity is meant solely to prompt a response of the spirit, Anderson points out. “Our only purpose is to help visitors relate what happened 2,000 years ago to their lives in 2021. We just want their lives to be blessed — then go out and make a difference.”

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TO UCHING HIS W OUNDS I met many pilgrims on my own visit to the shrine, and communicated with others by email. All say that the Shrine of Christ’s Passion has inspired their spiritual lives.

Emily Birlson is a member of St. John Neumann Parish in Canton, Michigan. She grew up in St. John and watched the shrine develop from its beginnings.

“I love going home to see the new additions,” Emily expresses, but she really enjoys visiting on Good Friday with her family. “There is no more fitting place, other than the Holy Land, to relive that day walking in the footsteps of Jesus.”

Emily is amazed how the shrine makes the Passion so personal. “You can go up and hold Christ’s hand, sit in the garden with him, touch the sharpness of the crown of thorns.”

Kim Tyree is equally moved by her shrine experience, sharing that “I often found myself not being able to speak because I was so tearful.” On her return home to Gaylord, Michigan, she happily handed out brochures of “this magnificent place” to friends at her parish of St. Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s Cathedral.

Carmen Garcia and Maria Guzman, from Chicago, have traveled to the shrine multiple times. Today, they have brought their friend Leticia, who is visiting from Guadalajara, Mexico.

“I give this shrine a 10!” Carmen exclaims. She is an evangelist for the shrine, often bringing people from her parish. “La tranquilidad, la paz” (“the tranquility, the peace”) is what Maria loves the most.

Jennifer Matthew of Valparaiso, Indiana, brings her son Christian, 16, and daughter Eden, 12, with her today.

They stop at each meditation site while Jennifer reads from an account of the Passion as a way to keep the Easter season alive.

My final conversation is with Kate Mulvey and her daughter Abbey Cozzo. Abbey knew that her mother, visiting from southern Illinois, would be touched by this special place.

“My husband passed away last May,” Kate shares.

“This is like a religious closing, since we didn’t have a funeral for him because of COVID.” Kate’s voice begins to tremble, “So, it’s like a healing journey for me.”

BEATING HEART Before leaving for home, I enter the empty tomb again and touch Jesus’ burial cloth. I listen to the pounding drum at the crucifixion scene as it slows and then stops, symbolizing the pounding of the nails but also the beating and fading of the Sacred Heart.

I press the listening button at the Ascension grotto, my final stop, and hear the deeply pitched voice of Bill Kurtis say, “Jesus knew from all eternity you would be here today.”

That is a sure fact for more than 1 million pilgrims who have journeyed to the Shrine of Christ’s Passion since 2008. Why not consider making the journey, too?

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OUR HISTORY

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

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JOE BOGGS AND MAGGIE BICKERSTAFF, WRITERS • PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHALDEAN CULTURAL CENTER

Iraqi-American Community of Detroit Feb. 27, 1947.

THIS PAST MARCH, IT PLACED A SPOTLIGHT ON A DISTINCT GROUP THAT CERTAINLY IS NOT USED TO IT. CHALDEANS — CATHOLICS FROM NORTHERN IRAQ WHO ARE IN UNION WITH THE POPE YET FORM A DISTINCT LOCAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, HEADQUARTERED IN SOUTHFIELD — ARE ONE OF THE OLDEST CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES ON EARTH. THEY TRACE THEIR HISTORIC RELIGIOUS LINEAGE BACK TO THE APOSTLE THOMAS AND MANY STILL CAN SPEAK ARAMAIC, THE LANGUAGE OF JESUS.

The largest contingent of Chaldeans living outside of their ancestral homeland happens to reside in the Metro Detroit area.

Often overshadowed by our region’s large Middle Eastern community, the local Iraqi Catholic population has increased from a couple dozen immigrants to more than 200,000 people in less than 100 years.

What conditions enabled such incredible demographic growth?

Beyond the economic opportunities afforded by a booming Motor City, the Chaldean community in southeastern Michigan was nourished in the 20th century by two fundamental factors: the sacrificial love of family and friends and the generous support of the local Church.

Today’s Detroit-area Chaldeans are the descendants of Babylonian farmers who harvested crops along

the Tigris River more than 5,000 years ago in what is now northern Iraq. In those days, much of the region’s residents were polytheistic, believing in many pagan gods.

Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, Chaldean tradition has it that St. Thomas the Apostle evangelized northern Babylon, along with two other early disciples, St. Addai and St. Mari.

Many Chaldean villages converted to Christianity by the end of the first century due to their efforts.

Fast forward to the early 1900s: Some Chaldean men were being lured away from their ancestral homeland by the prospects of making significant money in America and ultimately bringing it back to Iraq to share with their families.

Mary Romaya, a retired high school history teacher and former

executive director of the Chaldean Cultural Center in West Bloomfield Township, explained that the rise of the Ford Motor Company played a large role in bringing them to Detroit.

“News of the $5 a day wage reached our villages in Iraq and Henry Ford’s advertisements on Ellis Island brought Chaldeans here,” Romaya noted. Reports of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants doing well in the Motor City’s booming industrial landscape provided further hope to Iraqi Catholics considering the move to America.

Immigrating to the United States was difficult for the first 20-25 Chaldean “pioneers” in the early 20th century. The journey began by traveling more than 500 miles from the Nineveh Plain of Iraq, sometimes by foot, to Beirut, Lebanon. There immigrants boarded steamships at the port heading west across the Mediterranean Sea. After picking up more passengers at Marseille, France, these massive boats charted a weeklong course through the Straits of Gibraltar, into the rocky waters of the Atlantic Ocean and ultimately concluding on America’s eastern seaboard.

While some were successfully admitted into the country at Ellis Island or Boston harbor, others were denied entry due to medical

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The Chaldean community celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary at Our Lady of the Fields Camp & Retreat Center (Camp Chaldean) in 2019. Mass took place in the St. George Shrine, followed by a procession with a statue of the Virgin Mary through the camp.

JOE BOGGS, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Monroe, currently serves as the co-chair of the Evangelization & Catechesis Committee for the Monroe Vicariate. He has been married to his wife Bridget for six years and teaches history at a public high school in Perrysburg, Ohio.

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concerns or documentation issues.

Nonetheless, these pioneers were not deterred from making it into America. Most of these Motor City Chaldean pioneers were men, hoping to make some quick cash in a few years and return home to their families with greater financial security. While a few worked in the region’s automotive factories, more decided to work for local grocery shops owned by Lebanese and Syrian families. The grocery industry was a natural fit for Chaldean immigrants, whose farming backgrounds made them familiar with fresh produce and foodstuffs. Moreover, their Middle Eastern employers could communicate with them in Arabic, enabling them to quickly learn how grocery stores were operated in America.

These new immigrants also discovered a welcoming place to practice their Catholic faith. This proved an imperative attraction of the United States later in the 19th century as well, as religious conflict and the persecution of Christians grew more rampant throughout

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the Middle East. During IraqiKurdish conflicts in the middle of the century — some of which lasted even up until the late 1970s — churches were destroyed and entire Catholic villages were decimated.

The Chaldean population in northern Iraq decreased 80 percent during these conflicts; since 2003, more than two-thirds of remaining Iraqi Christians have been displaced.

The United States — and the Motor City — became a place where Chaldeans could openly practice their faith, despite the fact there was not yet a Chaldean-rite Church in the region. The first Chaldeans in Detroit worshipped with a predominantly Middle Eastern Catholic congregation on the east side of the city: St. Maron’s Catholic Church. Built in 1916, St. Maron’s was home to hundreds of Syrian and Lebanese Maronite Catholics, and by all accounts, these newcomers from Iraq were fully embraced as part of the parish’s faith community.

Soon, these Chaldean trailblazers realized they could firmly establish themselves in the grocery business, and, more importantly, Chaldean men knew their Catholic families could be spiritually fed in Detroit.

Yalda Antoun Saroki, Mary Romaya’s father, immigrated to Detroit from Iraq in May of 1929, just a few months before the Great Depression paralyzed the country.

Romaya recalls her dad’s often repeated saying when speaking of the economic hardships of the 1930s: “It was tough, but we made a living.” In spite of the downturn, Chaldeans kept on coming, often with the financial support of other Chaldeans.

Customers of early 20th century Chaldean grocery shops could easily see the deep Catholic roots and strong family bonds that permeated their culture. Often behind the

counter were images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or the Holy Family.

Brothers co-owned stores and frequently brought their wives to work with them. Chaldean kids could be found stocking shelves, working on homework and eating dinner in the storage room. Romaya fondly remembers going to the Eastern Market when she was at most 6 years old. “He would haggle with local farmers for bushels of vegetables and fruit in the early morning hours and then put up by the time the store opened at 9 a.m.”

The Detroit Chaldean population continued to grow in the 1930s and 1940s. With fairly restrictive immigration quotas in place and World War II preventing many from making the journey, a different factor was responsible for the steady increase. Chaldean couples were raising large families, demonstrating their openness to God’s plan for their marital love. And as their families continued to grow with each newborn, Chaldeans made up a significant portion of the baptisms, first Communions, marriages and other sacraments taking place at St. Maron’s.

According to Romaya, Chaldeans were fully welcomed by their Catholic counterparts, regardless of race, in the early decades of the 20th century. “There was never an issue.

Chaldean children, such as myself, were in Detroit Catholic schools along with other Catholic students and we were treated like everyone else. We often went to archdiocesan churches for Sunday Mass … We often attended Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, which is where I started elementary school.”

Nonetheless, in the late 1940s, the Chaldean community felt it was time for their own priest and church in Detroit. In 1947, Father Toma Bidawid answered their prayers when he arrived as the

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CHALDEAN DIOCESE OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE

first Chaldean Rite pastor. Soon thereafter, with the support of the Archbishop Edward Mooney, Mother of God Church was completed on Hamilton Avenue in the historic Boston-Edison Neighborhood.

Situated just a couple of blocks from Most Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, the Archdiocese of Detroit contributed $25,000 towards its construction. Cardinal Mooney emphasized to the Chaldean congregation the importance of the parishioners funding their new parish in its early years.

The Chaldean community, especially its women, came up with creative ways to support their new Church. While their kids played on the playground at Palmer Park, mothers got together to pray the rosary, play rummy and take up collections for the support of their priest and parish. On St. Joseph’s feast day, Chaldean women — particularly those with husbands named Joe — would also sell bread after Mass and donate all their funds raised to the Church.

For a 20-year period starting in the mid-1940s, the Chaldean community grew significantly as a result of the increasing threat to Christianity present in Iraq. In 1943, the population of Iraqi Catholics living in Detroit was just a little more than 900. By 1963, it had more than tripled, with 3,000 Motor City Chaldean residents. Then in 1965, with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Acts, thousands of relatives rejoined their families in Southeast Michigan over the next few decades. Chaldean households were often jam-packed during this time as they took in their uncles, aunts, cousins and extended family as they worked to become financially independent.

Ultimately, many Chaldean families established themselves in the suburbs and their mother parish,

Mother of God Catholic Church, Our Lady of Chaldeans, moved to Southfield in 1980. Today, it is a cathedral and seat for the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit, covering the eastern half of the United States for the Chaldean Rite.

The conflicts the Chaldean community faces, however, continue — even in Michigan. The contingent who sought religious asylum in the United States finds themselves at odds with immigration officials as a result of travel bans and tense international relationships; in 2017, almost 10 percent of Chaldeans in Michigan were detained by ICE. These individuals knew that deportation meant imminent physical danger if sent back to Iraq.

Despite these recent changes, the Chaldean community of Metro Detroit remains rooted in the fundamental elements that make up their unique identity: a fervent Catholic faith and strong family bonds.

Chaldeans continue to grow up in multi-generational homes, where it is not uncommon for grandparents

to teach their grandchildren the faith and important prayers, sometimes in Aramaic. These children, in turn, make up an outsized portion of students attending Catholic schools in Metro Detroit. The largest events in the local Chaldean community still are oriented around the reception of Catholic sacraments, with massive gatherings to celebrate baptisms, first Communions and weddings.

Young Chaldean men discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood typically attend Sacred Heart Seminary, where they take theology classes alongside the archdiocese’s seminarians and learn their ancient ancestors’ language, Aramaic, at a deeper level.

In just a matter of a century, people thousands of miles away from their native country have made themselves a home away from home in Southeast Michigan.

Mary Romaya is not surprised: “You can take the Chaldean out of the village, but their Catholic faith and family will come with them.

And that’s all that matters.”

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Chaldean Mass for Peace in Iraq with Bp. Francis Kalabat at Mother of God Cathedral in 2019.

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CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD

THE BROTHERLY LOVE of ST. BERNARD 44

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FATHER BONIFACE HICKS, OSB, WRITER • ZACH STEUF, ILLUSTRATOR

HOW LONG SHALL I KEEP MY PRETENSE WHILE A HIDDEN FIRE BURNS MY SAD HEART, CONSUMES ME FROM WITHIN? … OVERPOWERING SORROW DISTRACTS MY MIND … FOR WHEN HE WAS TAKEN AWAY, HE WHO ENABLED ME TO ATTEND TO THE STUDY OF SPIRITUAL DOCTRINE SO FREELY AND SO FREQUENTLY, MY HEART DEPARTED FROM ME TOO. (“SONG OF SONGS,” 26:1) These are the words of St. Bernard (1090-1153), founding abbot of Clairvaux and doctor of the Church.

He is famous for his abundant spiritual progeny, having founded 68 monasteries in 35 years and thus being responsible for attracting and forming tens of thousands of Cistercian monks. St. Bernard preached widely and it is said that mothers hid their sons when he came to town, lest his mellifluous words would entice them to join the monastery. As abbot, he was the spiritual father of his monastery and, in that role, he fed his sons with nourishing doctrine as he taught them through regular conferences.

His most famous teaching was an 87 sermon series on the “Song of Songs.” He went through the “Song,” verse by verse, in a monastic style of Lectio Divina. After 87 sermons, now collected in four volumes, he only made it to Chapter Four of the “Song” before he entered into that eternal song at his death on Aug. 20, 1153.

Surprisingly, the quotation above

appeared in the middle of Sermon 26. After a few paragraphs, St. Bernard broke from his script and wailed in loud lamentation over the loss of his beloved brother: “Who would not be moved, even with iron for a heart, at seeing me there living on without my Gerard.” (26:3) He had held back his tears while he celebrated the funeral rites because he had held a false ideal that faith in the Resurrection should preserve him from grieving his brother’s loss.

His tender, human heart had been formed in a loving family, however, and he could not ultimately hold back the sensitive affections and terrible grief over the loss of his brother: “But the sorrow that I suppressed struck deeper roots within, growing all the more bitter, I realized, because it found no outlet.”

(26:3) Then he took the opportunity to pour out his heart to the monks of Clairvaux: “But let it be poured out before the eyes of my sons, who, knowing my misfortune, will look with kindness on my mourning and afford more sweet sympathy.” (26:3)

FATHER BONIFACE HICKS, OSB has been a monk at St. Vincent Archabbey since 1998 and currently serves as the director of spiritual formation and the director of the Institute for Ministry Formation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa. Together with Father Thomas Acklin, OSB, he is the co-author of Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love and Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love, both published

by Emmaus Road Publications.

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St. Bernard was the third of seven children in a very close-knit, noble family. He was raised to be a knight in an era of chivalry, but he became fascinated by the higher ideal of becoming the servant of the one true King. He preached the romance of radical abandonment through monastic consecration so eloquently that he won over his whole family, including his father Tescelin, who joined his son’s monastery after the death of his wife. Tescelin had raised his six sons and one daughter to hold values of high integrity and nobility, while his wife Alethe formed their children with a deep and pious faith. The result was a family of saints, blesseds and venerables without an exception.

In St. Bernard, we discover that a zealous love for God and dedication to prayer, even lived in the context of an austere monastic life, do not diminish the bonds of love and affection that are meant to unite families. Furthermore, those bonds can grow even deeper in religious life and in friendship: “Was he not mine who was a brother to me by blood, a son by religious profession, a father by his solicitude, my comrade on the spiritual highway, my bosom friend in love?” (26:9) St. Bernard received so much from his dear brother and friend, attributing the fruitfulness of his studies to him, even all his progress and all the good he had done. “Whoever loved me as he? … I was frail in body and he sustained me, faint of heart and he gave me courage, slothful and

negligent and he spurred me on, forgetful and improvident and he gave me timely warning.” (26:4) St. Bernard was a man of radical faith who wrote that God is “everything I can desire and love.” (“On Loving God”) His dedication to God was unquestionable and yet that never led him to forsake the beauty of human love and particularly family love. He did not see them as being in contradiction or competition but rather as mutually reinforcing, experiencing divine love through human love. He spoke plainly about his dependence on his brother and the great pain of his loss: “In every emergency, I look to Gerard for help, as I always did, and he is not there. Alas! Then I can only sigh in my misery, like a man deprived of all resources.” (26:6) From this holy fraternal friendship, we get a picture of what family love can grow into.

St. Bernard referenced the beauty of family life in other contexts as well. In another sermon, St. Bernard spoke about the “necessity” of the marriage of Joseph and Mary before the Incarnation could take place in the womb of Mary. (“Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary” II.13) St. Bernard also proposed that St. Joseph’s doubt was in realizing his unworthiness to be in such a holy marriage and to remain in a family that was being entrusted with such sublime mysteries. (II.14) St. Bernard did not shrink from declaring the greatness of marriage and the capacity of the family to

bear so much divine love.

This goes together naturally with one of St. Bernard’s principal themes: the mystical marriage of the bridal soul with the Divine Bridegroom. Yet he can only speak of that lofty, universal vocation by drawing insight from the intimacies of human marriage. The strongest images of the spiritual life are described with imagery that comes from family life: spouse, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother and father. Given the beautiful family life St. Bernard enjoyed growing up that he was able to take with him into the monastery, it is not surprising he was able to preach with such sweetness about these sublime mysteries.

LEARN MORE For those interested in more details, the Trappist Father M. Raymond narrates their family life in a beautiful work of historical fiction: The Family That Overtook Christ.

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PR AYER 101

W A I TI NG ON TH E FAT HE R ’S PROMISE A N O V E N A TO THE HOLY FAMI LY

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FATHER BRIAN MELDRUM, WRITER • PAUL DUDA, PHOTOGRAPHER

A NOVENA IS A PRAYER EXTENDED OVER NINE DAYS, INSPIRED BY THE FIRST CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN 40 DAYS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, INSTRUCTING HIS APOSTLES “NOT TO DEPART FROM JERUSALEM, BUT TO WAIT FOR THE ‘PROMISE OF THE FATHER.’” (ACTS 1:4) THEN, THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON THE APOSTLES ON THE 50TH DAY (ACTS 2:1-4) AFTER THEY “DEVOTED THEMSELVES WITH ONE ACCORD TO PRAYER” FOR NINE DAYS. (ACTS 1:14) The church still prays a novena to the Holy Spirit between Ascension and Pentecost, however, you can set aside any nine days to devote yourself to God in prayer. Ask for a patron saint’s intercession leading up to a feast day and know that prayer unites Christ’s body, the church. Consider an upcoming life event (a job interview, retirement, graduation or wedding) and pray a novena before the big day.

A novena is not about getting all the words exactly right, nor is there anything magical about the number nine (magical no, biblical yes).

A novena’s power is in committing yourself to daily prayer. You might set a notification on your phone or make a calendar event to remind you to pray each day. If you pray a novena with others, especially family members, they can help encourage you and pray for you if you forget.

During the original Pentecost novena, the apostles trusted that Jesus would keep his word by sending the Spirit to renew the face of the earth. (Ps 104:30) If God is asking you to entrust a part of your life to him for renewal, then you should trust that he will also provide the grace to bring about renewal. God will provide the grace; all you need to provide is the space.

Here is a novena in honor of the Holy Family that can initiate a time of prayer for your family.

Devote some time to reflect upon these titles of Joseph, Mary or Jesus, to read the Scripture passage and to respond to God in prayer.

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DAY O NE REFLECT: Joseph, light of patriarchs READ: “When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: ‘Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.’” (Gn 41:55) RESPOND: Good St. Joseph, who provided our Lord with food, pray that my family will be nourished by the true bread from heaven, Jesus.

DAY T W O REFLECT: Mary, cause of our joy READ: “Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing; and she responded to them: Sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.” (Ex 15:20-21) RESPOND: Mother of God, inspire my family to sing a joyful song of salvation in Jesus.

DAY T HR EE REFLECT: Jesus, Savior of the world READ: “Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, ‘Be strong and steadfast, for you shall bring this people into the land which the LORD swore to their ancestors he would give them; it is you who will give them possession of it.’” (Dt 31:7) RESPOND: Lord Jesus, the new Joshua, bring the deceased members of my family into your promised land.

FAT HE R BR I AN M E L DRU M

DAY F OU R REFLECT: Joseph, head of the Holy Family READ: “He made him lord over his household, ruler over all his possessions. To instruct his princes as he desired, to teach his elders wisdom.” (Ps 105:21-22) RESPOND: Good St Joseph, who taught our Lord to pray, pray that my family may gain true wisdom by knowing Jesus.

DAY F I VE REFLECT: Mary, handmaid of the Lord READ: “Mary said: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.’” (Lk 1:46-48) RESPOND: Mother of God, help my family to serve with the humility of Jesus.

DAY S I X REFLECT: Jesus, eternal Word of God READ: “[Jesus] unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.’”

(Lk 4:17-19) RESPOND: Lord Jesus, make the members of my family heralds of your Good News.

was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2015 and served as the associate pastor at Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Waterford. Before attending Sacred Heart Major Seminary, he was a music minister and theater director and member of St. Thecla Parish in Clinton Township. He is currently studying sacred Scripture at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

DAY S E VE N REFLECT: Joseph, renowned offspring of David READ: “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’” (Mt 1:20-21) RESPOND: Good St. Joseph, protector of the Church, pray that my family will forgive each other and know the salvation of Jesus.

DAY E I GHT REFLECT: Mary, morning star READ: “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

(Rv 12:1) RESPOND: Mother of God, guide my family through life’s storms to the safe harbor that is Jesus.

DAY NI NE REFLECT: Jesus, delight of all the saints READ: “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

(Heb 12:1-2) RESPOND: Lord Jesus, make my family holy like your Holy Family.

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WISD OM FR OM THE CHURCH

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ZACH STEUF, ILLUSTRATOR

(1090-1153), FOUNDER OF THE CISTERCIAN ORDER AND A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, WAS WRITING AT THE START OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES WHEN DEVOTION TO ST. JOSEPH AND THE HOLY FAMILY WAS BEGINNING TO FLOURISH. IN HIS SERMONS FOR ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS, HE DRAWS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE VIRGIN MARY AND HER MANY QUALITIES. IN THE MIDST OF PRAISING MARY, HE SPEAKS IN THE FOLLOWING SELECTION ABOUT THE ROLE OF ST. JOSEPH, HER SPOUSE, AND HIS PLACE IN THE HOLY FAMILY. STRIKINGLY, HE LIKENS ST. JOSEPH TO THE PATRIARCH JOSEPH, DRAWING PARALLELS BETWEEN THEIR LIVES AND POINTING TO THE GREAT PRIVILEGES GOD GRANTED TO ST. JOSEPH WITHIN THE HOLY FAMILY AND FOR THE SAKE OF THE WHOLE WORLD.

“It was necessary, then, that Mary should be espoused to Joseph, in order that what was holy might be concealed from the unholy, that the virginity of Mary might be proved to her spouse, and that the Virgin might be preserved from suspicion and her reputation protected. What more wise?

What more worthy of Divine Providence?

“What are we to think of the dignity of Joseph, who deserved to be called and to be regarded as the father of our Savior? We may draw a parallel between him and the great Patriarch. As the first Joseph was by the envy of his brothers sold and sent into Egypt, the second Joseph fled into Egypt with Christ to escape the envy of Herod. The chaste Patriarch remained faithful to his master, despite the evil suggestions of his mistress. St. Joseph, recognizing in his wife the Virgin Mother of his Lord, guarded her with the utmost fidelity and chastity. To the Joseph of old was given interpretation of dreams, to the new Joseph a share in the heavenly secrets. His predecessor kept a store of corn, not for himself, but for the whole nation; our Joseph received the Living Bread from heaven, that he might preserve it for his own salvation and that of all the world. A good and faithful servant was the Joseph to whom Mary, the Mother of the Savior, was espoused; a faithful and prudent servant whom our Lord chose for the comfort of his Mother and the nurse of his own childhood, as well as the only and most trustworthy cooperator in the Divine design.

To Joseph it was given to behold him whom many kings and prophets had desired to see and had not seen, to hear and had not heard. And not only was he allowed to behold him and listen to his words, but he might bear Jesus in his arms, guide his steps, embrace and caress him, feed and protect him.

“Therefore, let Mary and Joseph and the Infant be always found in us, that we may live soberly and justly and piously in the world. For it is for this purpose that the grace of God our Savior has appeared instructing us.”

1

CO M M E N TARY BY D R . DA NI EL K EAT I NG Dr. Daniel Keating is an author and professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

t. Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily 2 on the Missus Est: The Mission S of the Angel, Sermons of St. Bernard on Advent and Christmas (London: R. & T. Washbourne, 1909), 43-46; Homily 4 on Our Lord’s Nativity: On the Shepherds Finding the Lord, 126.

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FAMILY CHALLENGE

KEEP IN G THE FAITH IN WHEN SCHOOL’S OUT 54

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ADELE PAX COLLINS, WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

I N T H E S U MME R , THERE IS A NOTICEABLE SHIFT OF ENERGY IN MY HOUSEHOLD. MY CHILDREN, WHO HAVE BEEN GOING TO SCHOOL AND PLAYING SPORTS DURING THE SPRING MONTHS, ARE ALL HOME TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF. OUR DAYS ARE OPEN, WITH LITTLE MORE THAN A TRIP TO THE POOL ON THE SCHEDULE. AS THE WARM SUNSHINE AND LONG DAYS BECKON US OUT OF THE HOUSE, WE ARE OUTSIDE BAREFOOT UNTIL WE RETREAT TO THE HOUSE IN EXHAUSTION TO REST AND REGROUP UNTIL WE’RE READY TO GO OUT AGAIN. THESE MONTHS ARE FUN, ACTIVE AND EXHAUSTING, BUT THEY ALSO PRESENT THE BEAUTIFUL OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE OUR FAITH TOGETHER IN THE DOMESTIC CHURCH OF OUR FAMILY. WHILE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR OUR FAMILY SCHEDULE CONFORMS TO THE DEMANDS OF SCHOOLS, ACTIVITIES AND JOBS, DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, OUR SCHEDULE IS A BLANK SLATE. IT’S THE PERFECT CHANCE TO LIVE THE LITURGICAL YEAR TOGETHER, WHETHER THROUGH OUR DAILY PRAYERS AND DEVOTIONS, OR THE ACTIVITIES WE USE TO FILL OUR TIME. OUR RICH CATHOLIC TRADITION PROVIDES A VARIETY OF BEAUTIFUL DEVOTIONS AND PRACTICES AROUND WHICH WE CAN FORM AND ENRICH OUR DAYS. HERE ADELE PAZ COLLINS

ARE A FEW THAT WE’VE ENJOYED OVER THE YEARS!

is a Catholic writer, speaker and mother of seven. She can be found on Instagram @simplelifemusings.

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A

THE

ELUS G N Our days naturally yearn for form, and maybe you, like me, can feel in the long days of endless summer like the rug has been pulled out from under your feet. Thankfully, the Church, in her wisdom, knows that we crave this form and provides us with many devotions around which we can structure our day. God created us to desire rhythms and routines — after all, he rightly created our earth with the natural rhythms of days, nights and seasons. We are invited to recite even our prayers themselves at set times.

There are many such devotions to choose from — the Liturgy of the Hours (prayed at set hours throughout the day), the Divine Mercy Chaplet (prayed at 3 p.m.) and also the Angelus.

Traditionally, Catholics around the world would pause their work at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. to pray this simple devotion commemorating the Incarnation. You might be familiar with the beautiful Jean Francois Millet painting, “The Angelus.” In it, we see two peasants, a man and a woman, with their heads bowed in prayer, surrounded by a basket of produce and a tilled field. In the distance is the profile of a church, which we can imagine chiming its Angelus bells to announce the moment of prayer.

Last spring, my family started the devotion of praying the Angelus together in the morning, at lunchtime and at dinnertime. It is simple enough that even my smallest children learned the words and rhythms of the prayer, and I can truly tell you that it provided our family with tremendous graces. It gave us just the right amount of structure around which to build our days.

V. And the Word was made flesh.

R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

ANGELUS:

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V. The Angel of the LORD declared unto Mary,

Let us pray,

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O LORD, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may

by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

V. Behold the handmaid of the LORD.

R. Amen.

R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

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R. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

AM A

KE A M

EN

AN GARD I R

Perhaps you’ve heard of the tradition of the Marian garden. It goes back to the seventh century, when monasteries, churches and families would plant herbs and flowers symbolic of Our Lady within their gardens.

These gardens were used to make tinctures and ointments by monks and laypeople, but also as places of respite and prayer over the course of the day. You might be surprised to know that most common flowers and herbs have special Marian names, based on their symbolism in Marian gardens.

Maybe you don’t have a big yard, but only a little patio or sunny corner of your home. Why not make a Marian garden of potted plants where you can retreat to pray during the day? You can even start a family tradition of leaving a bouquet of fresh blooms, branches or leaves that you gather at the feet of the Blessed Mother over the verdant summer months. You only need a statue of Our Lady, big or small, and a few potted plants to surround her with to get started. Place a candle, a comfortable cushion or seat for sitting and a basket with rosaries to make it the ultimate retreat spot.

When my husband and I were young and newly married, we lived in Boston, and on our frequent walks, we would admire the many Marian gardens on front stoops and patios in our densely packed city neighborhood. Sometimes a family would only have a few square feet of space and yet they had beautiful vines and flowers around a statue of Our Lady. Don’t be intimidated by perfection — start with what you have and go from there. Our Lady, like any good mother, loves us for even our most simple and childlike efforts.

Here are a few common plants with their Marian names which you can incorporate into your garden: • • • • • • • •

Marigold, or “Mary’s Gold” Lily of the Valley or “Our Lady’s Tears” Canterbury Bells or “Our Lady’s Bells” Foxgloves or “Our Lady’s Gloves” Sage or “Mary’s Shawl” Violet or “Our Lady’s Modesty” Juniper or “Our Lady’s Shelter” Or better yet, research the Marian name of your favorite flower or herb! Most have Marian names and associations — many are even associated with a specific mystery of the rosary.

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DE N

A SAINT CH VEGE

E

LES OF SEZ R A BLE GA Z R TA

In the 17th century, throughout Europe, monasteries were the center of village life. All of life buzzed around the busy walls of the monastery. Monasteries were not only the location of Masses and prayers according to the liturgical season and holy days, but served as the center of the village economy. Everything — from the cloth worn on the backs of villagers to the vegetables on their dinner plates — came from within the walls of the monastery. In particular, monasteries were known for their lush vegetable gardens and fields, which nourished not only the brothers themselves but the surrounding villagers.

These monastery vegetable gardens often feature prominently in the stories of the saints. St. Charles of Sezze, a friar who lived in Italy in the early 17th century, worked as the chief gardener in his monastery. He was skilled in his work and took great pride in the production and order of his garden, never wanting to take his eye off the garden for fear that some of his work and order would be ruined by others.

One night, after Brother Charles had been called away from the monastery to care for a sick woman, two bulls snuck into the garden. None of the friars could catch the bulls, and the garden was left in ruins, with several frantic friars trying to catch the two large willful beasts.

After all options were exhausted, the superior summoned Brother Charles to help. Charles immediately saw that the garden was a disaster. We can only imagine his great disappointment! But rather than panic or despair, he simply approached the bulls and said, “In the name of God, stand still.” The bulls instantly stopped and allowed themselves to be peacefully led out of the garden. When the other monks asked how Brother Charles accomplished what they attempted in vain, the superior responded, “This is the fruit of the virtue of holy obedience.” Charles did not want to leave his beloved garden, but he did so in obedience. When he was then asked to rescue it, his obedience bore great fruit.

Summer months offer the perfect opportunity to plant your own vegetable garden, even if you, like me, don’t have a green thumb! Maybe you can read the story of St. Charles of Sezze, and ask for his special intercession for your garden, even if it gets raided by bulls!

In my first year growing vegetables, almost 20 years

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ago, I grew radishes, salad greens and a few stalks of corn, that was it. The tops of radishes make delicious salad greens that are a little spicy and make a delicious addition to a salad of mixed greens. However, I was very surprised to learn that each stalk of corn only yields one single ear of corn! My four corn stalks provided the corn for only a single dinner! Even so, I learned that no food is sweeter than that grown by the sweat of one’s own labor. We relished that sweet corn, and I remember the meal to this day!

There are many books and resources about the best fruits and vegetables to grow in your particular planting zone. Start small, plant a few simple vegetables,and if you have a gardening failure — as I have had many times over the years — think of St. Charles of Sezze the day after the bulls raided that garden. He probably surveyed his previously perfect rows, now decimated, said a prayer and started again.

ŚMIGU

DY S

NGUS

If where you live is anything like where I live in Virginia, summer days are long and hot. There are some days so humid and sweaty that I could happily spend the whole day in the cool shade of my porch without setting foot into the sun. But as long as there is some cool water involved — whether the refreshing water of a pool, stream, lake or ocean — we are there, happy to frolic in the hot sun for hours at a time.

Did you know that there is a national water fight day in Poland? It’s called Śmigus-dyngus, and while it is traditionally observed on the Monday after Easter Sunday, I say it’s a tradition we need to bring back all summer long.

Traditionally on this day, boys sneak up on girls and throw water over them, commemorating the waters of baptism. But don’t think that these celebrations are somber or prayerful! They are known to devolve into a water fight, with girls retaliating and planning their own attacks.

Make your own Śmigus-dyngus day with lots of water balloons, water guns, sprinklers and buckets on hand. Just make sure that your participants are ready with swimsuits and towels!

There is nothing that feels as good as cold water on a hot day, and you can preface your water fight with a renewal of your baptismal vows.

V. Do you reject Satan?

R. I do.

V. And all his works?

R. I do.

V. And all his empty promises?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

R. I do.

V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

Our Father in heaven created us for work and leisure, and in these summer months, we have the chance to live our leisure while glorifying God. I hope that you’ve found some new ideas in these pages about living your faith together in the summer!

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O G E

‘F OR

Living life

TH

GROWING IN VIRTUE

DIFFERENT FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE OFFERED ME FINANCIAL HELP AT DIFFICULT AND STRESSFUL MOMENTS OF LIFE. CLOSE FRIENDS AND MENTORS HAVE SHOWN UP TO WALK WITH AND SUPPORT ME THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. PRIESTS AND MY SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR HAVE PRAYED WITH ME AND HELPED ME DISCERN LIFE DECISIONS AND THE MOVEMENT OF THE SPIRIT IN MY DAILY LIFE.

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THE OTHER F O ’ OD

PATTY BREEN has been working in lay ministry for more than 12 years and writes online at places like Blessed is She, Catholic Match and Verily. She is passionate about messy conversations at the intersection of faith, culture and ministry.

PATTY BREEN, WRITER • PAUL DUDA, PHOTOGRAPHER

A similarity in each of these chapters of my life is the deep generosity people have shown me in both inward and outward ways.

Can you look at your own life and see how others have poured out generosity to you? Where have you generously received through the love and kindness of those around you?

While generosity is a virtue that sometimes can be easily overlooked, it is one I believe we can find and rediscover in our lives right now.

From the time I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with the meaning behind words and understanding them.

Perhaps it came from a love of reading, but I have been a lover of words for as long as I can remember.

As I reflect on what the word “generosity” means and looks like to me, there are varied definitions I see of this word: readiness or liberality in giving, largeness or fullness, a generous act, the spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others, the quality or fact of being generous, an act of unselfish giving. It is this last definition, “an act of unselfish giving,” that most strikes me.

Generosity equals unselfish giving; it is a giving of oneself for the good of others. We can exhibit this virtue in big, medium and small ways in our daily lives and relationships through thought, word and action. The way I do it in life may look different from how you live it out in your own sphere of influence.

Throughout the pages of Scripture, we constantly see a story play out of a generous God who will go to all possible lengths to rescue and draw back his children. God is generous in mercy to us, generous in his loving care and faithfulness to us. He never gives up on us.

We can look to Jesus to see how he continually showed up in generous ways to people through his words and actions.

He met a woman at a well who felt completely isolated from her community and had an honest conversation with her. He came to a large banquet feast at the home of Zacchaeus and spent time with people who were considered “less than” in town. He spent time grieving and recalling memories with Mary and Martha at the death of their brother. He provided an overabundance of food for hungry people and performed healing miracles that forever changed the lives of individuals.

Jesus lived both his public and private ministry in a spirit of generosity. He poured out the love of God unto all people he encountered. As his disciples, we are called to do the same.

What could the virtue of generosity look like in the life of a disciple in 2021? Here are some ideas to get you thinking of what generosity looks like in our words and actions.

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“HOW CAN I PRAY FOR YOU TODAY?” OR, “WHAT CAN I DO TO SERVE YOU TODAY?”

WHEN PLAYING CHARADES, ONE OF THE FIRST CLUES THAT OFTEN SEEMS TO BE GIVEN IS THE PHRASE, “IT SOUNDS LIKE …” WHAT MIGHT GENEROSITY SOUND LIKE IN DAILY LIFE?

SILENCE Spend 10-15 minutes in silence to start your day. Silence is a way we can be generous with God because we are getting out of the way and showing up to be with the Lord. Silence leaves our agenda at the door, while seeking to be more open and receptive. Silence in prayer matters, even if we spend the whole time redirecting our thoughts and mind.

“YOU CAN USE THAT TOY FIRST,” OR, “HOW ABOUT I PUSH YOU ON THE SWING?” These two are great ways we can teach our children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews to be generous with each other. We have all heard the saying, “Sharing is caring.” Teaching our children a spirit of generosity can begin in the smallest of ways like taking turns or sharing toys.

These questions are good for all of us: the roommates in your house, family members you live with, spouses and children, even your co-workers. Joyful missionary disciples are open to where God leads and puts them in daily life. Be brave and look for opportunities where these questions might be a way to connect with others more deeply in the life around you. Not everyone may feel comfortable with sharing a prayer request, but most people would be touched by a thoughtful request of how you might be able to serve them today.

GENEROSITY INSPIRES GRATITUDE When I think of living out the virtue of generosity in daily life, my mind goes to the “Prayer of Generosity” written by St. Ignatius of Loyola. It goes like this: “Lord, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to look for any reward, save that of knowing that I do your holy will.”

One of the marks of Ignatian spirituality is how generosity and gratitude work together. Generosity inspires gratitude, and gratitude inspires generosity. God is generous to us and our generosity, as St. Paul reminds us, gives proof of our gratitude towards God. (see 2 Cor 9:11) When we are generous to each other, our local community, to God, it grows gratitude within us. This is a small, yet impactful spiritual reality that can change our relationship with God and each other.

“HOW CAN I LOVE YOU BETTER TODAY?” The simplest definition of love is to will the good of the other. These questions can cause us to pause and reflect how we are being generous with our spouse or significant other. When we learn how to give and love in a selfless way, the world becomes a little less cold and a bit more loving. These questions are a great way to practice generosity in our more intimate relationships.

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NAOMI VRAZO, PHOTOGRAPHER

WHAT MIGHT GENEROSITY LOOK LIKE IN THE ACTIONS OF DAILY LIFE?

SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH A FRIEND, CO-WORKER, SPOUSE, CHILD, ETC.

SHARING WITH SOMEONE A WORD OF AFFIRMATION OR PRAISE

Quality time is one of the five official love languages and probably one common to many of us. For a married couple, it could be taking 10 minutes to pray and connect before the start of a busy day. In the workplace, it could be treating a co-worker to a lunch of her choice on her birthday. Or as a parent, it might mean letting your middle child stay up an extra 20 minutes after bedtime just to be together.

Don’t you love it when someone praises you or offers a sincere, thoughtful compliment?

Of course you do! So why not bless others, be generous with our words of affirmation and praise? Here are some ideas: I appreciate the delicious meal you made us last night. I love enjoying a good meal with you.

Thank you for listening to my heart when I had big feelings yesterday. It made me feel seen and less alone.

You look handsome (or beautiful!) today!

I love the way your eyes light up your smile.

See how easy it is? Doesn’t that make you want to love the people around you?

OFFERING A WARM SMILE TO EVERY PERSON YOU ENCOUNTER IN YOUR DAY As we begin to see and experience people’s faces again in public, offering a warm smile is a simple way to be generous to people around you. Set up an inner challenge with yourself, decide how many people you will genuinely smile at today. We just don’t know how intentional, simple acts like this can brighten the day of another.

RECALLING YOUR DAY WITH GRATITUDE A spiritual practice I personally enjoy is the Examen, given to the Church by St. Ignatius of Loyola. One of the steps of this prayer practice is recalling the things which you are grateful for from the past 24 hours. I call it “my daily grateful,” where I saw God and experienced his goodness and blessings around me. What this does is it helps us pay better attention to the details of daily life, which we often miss or downplay because we are too busy or hurried.

Slowing down and counting the ways God loves and blesses you is a way to practice generosity with God for all he has given you. When I can name the “daily gratefuls” in my life, it attunes my spiritual senses to be more on the lookout for God in daily life.

God has been and is generous with each of us.

As joyful missionary disciples of Jesus, we have an opportunity to extend that same generosity to each other in thought, word, and action. May each of us be on the lookout for opportunities of how we can generously love and live in the spheres of influence to where God has placed us.

Jesus, teach me to be generous as you have been so generous to me.

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You belong at Notre Dame

You belong at Notre Dame, a place where students can be faithful, challenged, confident, creative and loved.

To schedule a visit or to find out more, go to ndpma.org, or call 248-373-1061.

Join the Catholic Father’s Day Eucharistic Procession Celebrating Fathers in the Year of St.Joseph

During 2021, the Year of St. Joseph, the Guardian of the Holy Family, Catholic families from around the country are gathering together for Eucharistic Processions. We will proclaim Jesus Christ, honor St. Joseph and strengthen Catholic fathers for their mission to be sacrificial leaders, protectors and providers for their families. CatholicFathersDay.com

Join us on Saturday, June 19 in Detroit 1:00 PM St. Aloysius Parish, 1234 Washington Blvd.

Processing to Old St. Mary’s Church Concluding at St. Joseph Shrine Approved by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

PURSUING HOLINESS

of

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VALAURIAN WALLER, PHOTOGRAPHER

HO W DO YOU NAVIGATE YOUR ROLE AS GRANDPARENTS AS YOU WATCH YOUR CHILDREN BEGIN TO RAISE THEIR O WN FAMILIES? We are extremely proud of all four of our children. Three of the four are married, and we have eight young grandchildren and another on the way. First of all, we try to be as engaged as possible in their lives. We do what many grandparents do to practically support our adult children in their role as parents. Although our schedules are still quite full, we make it a priority to spend weekly time with our young grandkids, to develop personal and individual relationships with each one of them.

It’s fun and beautiful to watch our own kids send their young children to us for answers to their budding theological questions like, “Grandpa, what happened to all those people who died before Jesus rose from the dead? Are they still dead?” or, “Grandma, is the devil real?”

WHAT BEST PRACTICES DO YOU TAKE TO MAINTAIN STRONG REL ATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR ADULT CHILDREN?

PETER AND DEBBIE HERBECK live in Ann Arbor and have four adult children and eight grandchildren. Peter is the vice president and director of missions for Renewal Ministries, the co-host for the weekly television show “The Choices we Face” and host of the radio show “Fire on the Earth.” Debbie is the founder and executive director of Pine Hills Girls’ Camp and the founder of the Be Love Revolution.

When we were raising our own children, we often had regular, daily conversations that centered on the person and reality of Jesus. It helped our kids understand that Jesus is real and that he wants to be in every part of our lives. Now as adults, those conversations still happen, and we are able to help them (and their spouses) navigate the challenges of the culture, the concerns in the church, prayer and growing in faith as adults.

It has been a special pleasure and delight to have our youngest daughter, Rachel, working in ministry with us, and this gives us many opportunities to engage in our evangelistic mission together and to have deeper discussions centered on faith.

Our home always had an open door, with guests coming from all over the world to share in our life.

Although our children are grown up, they still bring friends over for dinner, conversation and prayer.

We have seen the fruit of this hospitality as they now open their own homes to others.

Overall, the best practice we know is to just be present to them — in their joys and sorrows, to be available to help in practical ways and to ask the Holy Spirit how we can best love each one of them.

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WHAT HAS LIFE BEEN LIKE HAVING AN EMPT Y NEST? It has been an adjustment to move from the constant activity and noise of a full house of young people to relative quiet. When our kids all moved out of the house, we thought life would slow down.

Although the activities no longer centered on their sports, school and friendships, we had the freedom to respond to more ministry opportunities, to travel, speak and write.

Honestly, we are adjusting to this new phase of life, spending more time together and getting to know one another in new ways. Throughout our married life, Peter always had a home office, but often the demands of daily life with kids would keep us on separate “tracks” throughout the day or week. Now that it is mostly just us at home, we have to be intentional about making sure we have a shared life together and aren’t just doing our own thing.

DO YOU HAVE A DAILY PRAYER ROUTINE? One thing that might surprise people about us is that we don’t have a specific shared prayer time each day. We do have times that we regularly pray together — the rosary, Divine Mercy chaplet, intercessions, Friday morning Holy Hour and lots of lively discussions about Scripture and what the Lord is saying to us. When we were raising our kids, we took one morning a week to discuss our family life and pray for the needs of our family. But we have always taken individual, personal prayer time, and we have worked hard to support each other in making sure this happens for one another each day. The nature of our work in ministry has also provided many opportunities for times of worship, prayer ministry and Scripture study with friends, colleagues and young people. We are grateful for the ongoing expressions of authentic community life that center around prayer and seeking the Lord.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BEST HABITS YOU’VE INCORPORATED INTO YOUR MARRIAGE LIFE TO KEEP YOUR MARRIAGE STRONG? The best advice we ever received and we give often to engaged and young married couples is to put Jesus at the center of your individual and married life and to keep him there! It has helped us tremendously, even in the face of our weaknesses, failings, challenges and disappointments, to remind each other that Jesus is Lord — over our lives and our marriage. We consistently try to entrust everything to him — our finances, children, grandchildren, friendships and our future. In our almost 35 years of marriage, we have tried daily to live according to the wisdom of Scripture and the teaching of the church — to repent and forgive quickly and from the heart and to speak the truth in love. Spending more time together at home during the pandemic also revealed our brokenness, and like many others, we struggled with feelings of sadness, fear and loss of control. Although it has been difficult, our honest conversations as we walked through the empty streets of Ann Arbor, helped us to grow in vulnerability, love, patience and kindness.

ANY THING ENCOURAGING YOU CAN SAY TO PARENTS WHO ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE F OR FAITH AND FAMILY? Although our children are grown, we realize that our job isn’t quite finished. As parents, grandparents and mentors to young people, we see the importance of building a legacy of love and faith that is actively passed on to the next generation and beyond. We do this through intentional conversations and teaching, but we also realize that the witness to God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness is often “caught more than taught.” Throughout our married life, what we valued most was often communicated in simple ways — family meals together, daily prayer, faithful attendance at Mass, generosity and sacrifice. We didn’t often know how it impacted our kids, especially in their teen years. By God’s grace, our feeble, imperfect efforts mattered, and what we lacked as parents (which was a lot), he made up for with the help of friends, teachers, other families and faith-filled environments. A few years ago, our daughter-in-law texted to thank us for the gift of our son, and the joy and confidence it gave her as a wife and mother to see him rise early each morning to pray. Watching our adult children continue to grow in faith, wrestle with the unique challenges of the times, serve the Lord and proclaim the Gospel, choose wonderful spouses and raise their young families to know Christ has brought us great joy and a renewed commitment to help the next generation say, as we did, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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UNLEA SHE D Q UESTIONNA IR E

DR. ISAIAH “IKE” MCKINNON

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DR. ISAIAH MCKINNON BEGAN HIS FIVE-

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

DECADE CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE AS

Caste, The Origins of our Discontents,

by Isabel Wilkerson.

I am most proud of my sons, Jeffrey and Jason.

DEPARTMENT IN 1965. HE HELD MORE

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

THAN 10 DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN

People who use their positions to spread incorrect information.

My first job was cleaning up a neighborhood barber shop. It was fascinating listening to the customers discuss the events of the world.

AN OFFICER WITH THE DETROIT POLICE

THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING PATROL OPERATIONS AND VARIOUS SUPERVISORY,

WHO DO YOU ADMIRE?

ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMAND AND EXECUTIVE

Individuals who help others.

ROLES, BEFORE RETIRING AS AN INSPECTOR

IF YOU HAD UNLIMITED RESOURCES, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

TO START HIS OWN SECURITY FIRM. IN 1993, DR. MCKINNON RETURNED TO

Supply food and water for the entire world.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST CHERISHED POSSESSION? An Easter bunny egg rack that I made in the seventh grade in wood shop at Garfield Junior High School as a special present for my mother. I’ve kept it for 66 years.

THE DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT TO

WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY?

SERVE AS CHIEF. UNDER HIS FIVE YEARS

The ability to listen.

OF LEADERSHIP, HUNDREDS OF POLICE

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY OR PASTIME?

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST RISK YOU’VE TAKEN?

Exploring and reading about any aspect related to world history.

OFFICERS WERE DIRECTED TO GO INTO CITY NEIGHBORHOODS AND INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO RESIDENTS IN AN EFFORT TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION TO SHIFTING THE FOCUS

As a young Detroit police officer, running into a burning building and saving a mother and her young daughter. Years later, the young lady asked me to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

OF THE DEPARTMENT TO COMMUNITY-

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?

DRIVEN POLICING, HE ADVOCATED FOR

At age 5, my mother holding my youngest sibling and saying, “This is Gloria, your baby sister.”

AND IMPLEMENTED TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR OFFICERS RESPONDING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. IN 1998, HE LEFT POLICING AND BECAME A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY.

WHAT VIRTUE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE IN OTHERS?

DEPUTY MAYOR OF DETROIT AND SERVED FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE RETURNING TO TEACH AS A PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY. HE HOLDS A B.A. AND A M.A. FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY COLLEGE, AND A PH.D. FROM MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. HE IS ALSO A GRADUATE OF THE FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY AND THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE SCHOOL.

ZACH STEUF, ILLUSTRATOR

Loyalty and dependability.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Mitch Albom, for his many books and articles.

WHO IS YOUR FICTIONAL HERO? Superman, for so many reasons.

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? The visible anger and lack of humanity being exhibited by some in the world.

Honesty.

WHAT WORDS DO YOU USE TOO MUCH? IN 2014, MCKINNON WAS APPOINTED

WHAT DO YOU VALUE THE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS?

Incredible.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED WHEN YOU DIE? As a great husband, father and friend who made every effort to help others.

WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST HAPPINESS? Spending time with my family.

WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Smile and give thanks to God for another day.

WHAT TALENT OR SKILL DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? The ability to make the world smile.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MOTTO OR MANTRA? To always “stand tall” in life.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Reminiscing and sharing “cop stories” with old friends about our time on the Detroit Police Department and reruns of “Barney Miller” and “The Tonight Show.”

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? Living a life of giving and helping others.

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PHOTO E SSAY

DO WNRIVER VICARIATE

ST. JO SE PH PA R IS H

ST. JOS E PH PA R ISH TREN TON

S T. TIMOT HY PA R ISH TRE NTON

ST. C YPR IAN PA R ISH RIVERVIE W

S T. R OC H PAR IS H FL AT ROCK

OU R L ADY OF T HE W O ODS PAR IS H W OODHAVE N

SAC R ED HE A RT PAR I SH GROSSE ILE

D O WNRIVER VICARIATE FA MI LY 3 IS A FAMILY OF SI X PA R I S HES LOCATE D IN TRE NTON, RI V ERVIE W, FL AT ROCK , W O O D H AVE N AND GROSSE IL L E .

T H E FA MILY’S MODE RATOR I S FAT H ER MARC GAWRON S K I A ND T HE PASTORS WHO SERVE T HE FA MILY ARE FATHE R DAVI D LES NI A K, FR. ROBERT J OHN S ON A ND FR . RAY LE WAN DO W SK I .

T HR OUGH FAMILIE S OF PA R I S HE S, WE ARE RE MIND E D O F O U R ROLE AS BROTHE RS AND S I ST ERS IN FAITH. WE ARE ONE BO DY, THE BODY OF CHRIS T. EACH PARISH IN THIS FAM I LY A ND EVERY FAMILY, MAINTAI NS I T S U N IQUE IDEN TIT Y AND CO MMU N IT Y WHICH WILL B E S HA R ED WITH ALL PARISHE S I N T HE FA MILY AS THE Y BE CO M E O NE COMMUN IT Y OF FAITH.

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St. Joseph Parish in Trenton was founded in 1849.

At its core, St. Joseph is known for outreach and community support through services such as All Saints Soup Kitchen, Angel Tree (Christmas assistance), Right to Life, St. Nicholas Food Drive, Thanksgiving baskets through St. Vincent de Paul and many more.

JAMES SILVESTRI, PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER

S T. T IMOT HY PARI SH, TRENTON

St. Timothy Parish in Trenton celebrated its first mass in 1957, a parish community centered on the Eucharist. The high rafters and skylight windows fill the church with light, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Families attend Sunday morning Mass celebrated

by Father David Lesniak.

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ST. C YPR I A N PA R I SH , R I VERV IEW

The first mass in St. Cyprian’s current building was celebrated in 1956. The main features of the parish environment are light, beauty and color, with many stained-glass windows lining the church walls. St. Cyprian Parish and the people within it are dedicated to the ministry of hospitality — warm Sunday morning greetings, smiles, personally passing out books before mass, etc. When people first enter this church, they are meeting the people of god and feel at ease and welcome.

Father Gary Morelli invites a child to the altar at the end of mass to welcome her and her family to the parish.

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S T. R OC H PA R ISH, FL AT ROCK

St. Roch Parish in Flat Rock was founded in 1956 and is dedicated to the faith formation and spiritual growth of the parish and neighboring communities.

The parish offers several Christian outreach services as well as a meditation garden on its beautiful grounds.

Father Raymond Lewandowski celebrates Sunday morning Mass.

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O U R L A DY O F T H E W O O D S PA R I SH , W O O D H AV EN

Our Lady of the Woods Parish was established in 1975 and is nestled in the community of Woodhaven.

The parish is known for its music ministry, use of modern technology and welcoming spirit.

Masses are a mix of traditional worship with contemporary music.

Father Robert (Bob) Johnson blesses bike riders within the parish community.

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SAC R E D HE A RT PARI SH, GROSSE ILE

Sacred Heart Parish in Grosse Ile Township is the oldest church within the family of parishes. The first mass was celebrated in Michigan south of St. Ignace in 1679. In 1915, a new stone chapel was built, dedicated and named Sacred Heart.

Today, Sacred Heart serves 890 families from Grosse Ile and local communities.

The parish stands as a beacon of light for faith, love, commitment and hope.

Rev. Marc Gawronski celebrates mass as children receive the sacrament of first holy communion.

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C AT H O L I C F U N E R A L & C E M E T E RY S E RV I C E S

"We witness to who our God is by the way we care for our dead."

-Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, Pastoral Note on Christian Burial, October 2018

To request a complimentary pre-planning guide or for more information, call 734.934.0818 or email outreach@aodcemeteries.org.

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