Unleash the Gospel Magazine: Winter 2020/21

ONE BODY WINTER 2020/21 A MAGAZINE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT

Old St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church | Downtown Detroit-Greektown

646 Monroe, Detroit 48226 313-961-8711 oldstmarysdetroit.com rectory@oldstmarysdetroit.com

Daily Mass (Mon thru Sat) 12:15 p.m.

Saturday vigil Mass 5:30 p.m.

Sunday Masses 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. Latin, noon First Friday Tridentine Mass 7 p.m.

Confessions 30 minutes prior to all Masses

Free secure parking in our church lot

December 24, 2019 Christmas Eve: Masses at 5:30 p.m. (music begins at 4:30 p.m.) and midnight (music begins at 11 p.m.)

For more information, please visit oldstmarysdetroit.com

December 25, 2019 Christmas Day: Masses at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. (Latin) and noon

WINTER 2020/21 VOLUME 2: ISSUE 3 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 M A N AGI N G E DITO R

Casey McCorry

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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

Hope Acquilano Diego Diaz Meg Prom Zach Stuef

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

P HOTO GR A P HE RS

Marek Dziekonski Matthew LaVere Melissa Moon James Silvestri Valaurian Waller Grant Whitty

FE ATU R E S 8

CO N T R I B UT ING W RIT E RS

Robert Calleja Beth Collison Susan Cummins Daniel Gallio Father Grayson Heenan Father Boniface Hicks, OSB Dr. Daniel Keating Joyce Kilmer Richard Lane Kate Lochner Mary Massingale Father Bob McCabe Father Brian Meldrum James Silvestri Kathleen Wilson Sister Rita Clare Yoches, TOR

Patrick O’Brien

LIVING WITNESS A heart in service

12 REAL TALK Who are your models of sainthood?

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ONE BODY A royal priesthood connected by worship

20 ONE BODY Brothers and sisters in holy arms 24 ONE BODY The transformative power of self-giving

P R ES I D E NT AND C E O

Elizabeth Martin Solsburg V I C E P R ESIDE NT AND E DITO RIAL D IRECTOR

Rachel Matero GR A P HI C DE SIG NE R

Innerworkings PRINTING

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

CU LTU R E 28 POETRY As winds that blow against a star

Kacharitomene

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

Unleash the Gospel (USPS XXXXX) is a membership publication of the Archdiocese of Detroit, published quarterly by the Archdiocese of Detroit, 12 State Street, Detroit MI 48226-1823. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Pending in Detroit, MI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Unleash the Gospel, 12 State Street, Detroit, MI 48226-1823. ©2020 Unleash the Gospel, Archdiocese of Detroit.

32 SACRED PL ACES Seven shrines for seven pilgrimmages 38 OUR HISTORY Sacred Heart Major Seminary sows seeds of untiy among racial strife

P R AYE R 42 CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD Strength in community 44 PRAYER 101 Unceasing prayer 46 PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH FATHERS St. Cyprian of Carthage

D I S CI P LE S 50 FAMILY CHALLENGE The family that sings prays twice 54 GOING DEEPER

A family of divine love 56 PURSUING HOLINESS Grounded in silence

D E TR OI T 62 UNLEASHED QUESTIONNAIRE Sister Rita Clare Yoches 64 PHOTO ESSAY Pope Francis Center

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UnleashTheGospelWinter2020.indd 1

9/25/20 3:59 PM

TO GET TO KNO W OUR CONT RIBU T I NG WRIT ERS BET T ER, WE ASKED T H E M:

What is your favorite Chrstmas memory?

ONE BODY WINTER 2020/21

D R. DA NI EL K EATI NG : One of my favorite Christmas memories is also my earliest. I was four to five years old. We were required to stay upstairs on Christmas morning until all the gifts were laid out under the tree. And then the word was given, and we (the kids) hurtled down the stairs with incredible joy and anticipation to open the gifts set aside in our own “pile” under the tree.

A MAGAZINE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT

DESIGNED BY MEG PROM

THE COVER “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Rom 12:4-5) The theme of this issue, One Body, is about our call to encounter Christ as a faith community. We should witness Christ as individuals, but also as a community — just as Jesus sent out the apostles in groups of two.

The cover design shows how we all have our own unique lives and experiences, and yet we are all one Church, one community.

We are stronger as a faith community than as individuals.

FATHER BONI FACE HI CK S , OS B : I grew up celebrating Christmas, but not as a Christian. We did the Christmas things (tree, gifts, etc.) but I did not have the faith to go with it. That changed after I came to know Jesus personally.

I remember weeping when I was 19 years old on my first Christmas after professing my faith in Jesus and starting to go to Mass.

FATHER G RAYS ON HEENA N: Every year Grandma spent the night at our house.

It was a special feeling having her there, and having the whole family together around a fire, sharing the joy of Jesus’ birth.

RI CHA RD L A NE: My favorite memory of Christmas was 1976. I was 11 years old and wanted a 10-speed bike for Christmas. I opened the presents under the tree and was very grateful to my mother for them. Later that afternoon, I looked outside and saw what looked like bicycle tracks in the snow, leading around to the backyard! I screamed and my mom told me to look on the back porch and there was my red, white and blue, 1976 bicentennial 10-speed bike!

KATE LOCHNER: One of my favorite Christmas memories is spending Christmas morning with my grandparents when I was a kid. My three cousins and I wouldn’t be allowed by the Christmas tree until the adults were ready to hand out gifts. When it came time, all of us would open our presents simultaneously, exclaiming to our parents what we got from across the room. As a kid, it felt like pure magic, was total bliss and was probably the first time I experienced total and unfiltered joy.

FATHER B RI A N MELD RU M: One of my favorite Christmas memories is breaking and passing the Polish Christmas wafers with my dad’s family. We pass them around oldest to youngest, starting with my grandma and great-aunt, through the aunts and uncles in my mom and dad’s generation, to my cousins and me, and finally to the next generation of great-grandchildren.

FATHER BOB MCCA B E: I remember when I was in Kindergarten; everyone in our class made a jar of cranberry sauce to give to our parents as a Christmas present.

I recall sitting next to the lit Christmas tree a few days before Christmas, looking forward to the time when my parents would open the present. It was probably the first time I made my parents a Christmas gift. I really experienced the joy of giving in that little gift.”

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

DEAR JOYFUL

MISSIONARY DISCIPLE! “ F O R J U S T A S W E H AV E M A N Y M E M B E R S I N O N E B O DY A N D A L L T H E M E M B E R S D O N OT H AV E T H E S A M E F U N C T I O N , S O W E , W H O A R E M A N Y, A R E O N E B O DY I N C H R I S T, A N D I N D I V I D U A L LY M E M B E R S O N E O F A N OT H E R .” ( R O M 1 2 : 4 - 5 ) For two millennia, Christians have worshipped together in memory of Christ’s promise, “where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

(Mt 18:20) These gatherings became parishes, which exist today to serve as centers of evangelization for the entire community. As some of us begin to return to Mass following health guidelines to keep us and our families safe, we do so as members of the body of Christ — a community of joyful missionary disciples who come together to encounter Christ, to grow as his

disciples and to witness his love and mercy to all those around us.

This is the foundational truth of our transition in the Archdiocese of Detroit to Families of Parishes. Just as the faithful have for generations come together to pray and worship, our parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit are uniting in pursuit of our shared mission to unleash the Gospel. And just as the first disciples were sent forth two-bytwo as brothers, our parishes are going forth together, not isolated but accompanied.

You may have recently heard

— or will hear soon — the list of parish groupings that we will utilize to transform our diocese into a community of parish families. It is my prayer that each of these families — and the faithful within — will see in themselves a reflection of Christ’s first disciples, who came together, sharing their gifts and talents to spread their faith to the ends of the earth.

Our walk in faith was never meant to be a solitary journey. As our diocese continues to follow in the footsteps of the first disciples, we offer this issue of Unleash the Gospel in celebration of our belonging to the eternal community, the body of Christ. Like the earliest Christians, we are recipients of God’s abundant grace and have been sent forth together to proclaim Christ’s message of salvation. Thanks be to God!

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LI VING WITNE SS

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A R C HDIOCE SE OF DET ROI T

KATE LOCHNER, WRITER • MATTHEW LaVERE, PHOTOGRAPHER

IT WAS WITH A SIMPLE SIGNATURE THAT CAMILLE GRAVES WAS REAFFIRMED IN HER CALLING TO SERVICE. THIRTY YEARS AGO, AFTER GETTING INVOLVED IN HER MOTHER’S (OR, AS CAMILLE CALLS HER, “MOMMA’S”) DETROIT HOMETOWN CHURCH, THE MEANING OF HER NAME, TEMPLE SERVANT , STRUCK HER. IT WENT BEYOND A SIMPLE LATIN TRANSLATION. FOR CAMILLE, TEMPLE SERVANT DEFINED HER; IT’S WHO SHE WAS, HER PLACE AT THE TABLE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. SHE HAD FOUND “WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.”

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LED BY EXAMPLE

REBORN BY FAITH

UNITED WE GIVE

Camille Graves, a cradle Catholic and native to northwest Detroit, was born to a woman who lived and breathed the community around her. Raising Camille and her five siblings on her own, Classie Graves, Camille’s mother, was a known prominent figure in their neighborhood growing up. “The neighbors knew if there was a need, they’d go over to Ms. Graves’ house, and she was going to send them away with a bag full of groceries,” Camille recalls. Dedicating her own life to service, Classie spent the working days of her career caring for children in youth homes. And following the 1968 disturbance, when civil unrest overtook the streets of Detroit after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., she, along with another mom, banded together and were inspired to reach out to the community. “They took one of the classrooms in the then-abandoned (St. Leo’s) grade school, and they did mega-shopping, just fantastic shopping. And they were able to feed people. They bought the food, they cooked the food, they served the food and it just grew.” This community outreach effort, initiated by two moms, turned into the long-running soup kitchen at St. Leo’s in Detroit.

It was when Classie fell ill that Camille left her professional career in a small town outside of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with her “God is going to provide” attitude and moved back to Detroit into the home she grew up in to take care of her momma.

Camille grew up Catholic, baptized in the Church. Her children were baptized in the Church, but her faith journey wasn’t entirely unilateral. “The irony is God was always close to my heart, but when I got out of school, I was one of them roamin’ Catholics. I stopped going to church. Church wasn’t my priority. God was, but church wasn’t.

But when I came home, my mom was a member of Madonna, so I started coming to church with her. And I guess I was reborn.”

The parish Camille attended, the Church of the Madonna, would later be renamed St. Moses the Black in 2013.

Camille’s rekindled love of the faith led her to say “yes” when a parish member asked her to join the parish council and then work in the office as an administrative associate.

During her time working as an administrative associate, she helped the church focus on their food pantry. Working in collaboration with Focus Hope, operating off the Church of the Madonna’s porch, Camille and the parishioners began feeding 12-15 households a week.

When the church clustered with a neighboring church, St. Gregory, the efforts of the newly founded community outreach program expanded. And when the church, by then renamed St. Moses the Black, ultimately clustered with the Cathedral of Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, which at the time didn’t have a community outreach program, it was feeding families from four different Detroit parish communities every week.

In recent years, the soup kitchen at St. Moses the Black has typically helped feed 40-50 families a week. But earlier this year, when COVID-19 shook the globe and left no community untouched, that number increased by 400 percent.

“That first week, cars were lined up from the front of the church all the way down the street. In the first 10 cars, we had at least six people get out of their cars and come to help us,” Camille says. Suddenly Camille and her volunteers, mostly people who live near the church, became frontline workers themselves and were feeding 250 families weekly.

With aid from the federal government and local Catholic charities, most notably the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, their soup kitchen was able to meet the needs of the community, allowing them to feed 400 families through most of the summer. Each family received meat, fresh produce, canned goods, cereal and other groceries. “They drive away from the front of our church with around 50 pounds of groceries,” Camille explains.

When asked about what has struck her most during this time when the soup kitchen has become a lifeline for many in the Detroit community, she notes, “We’re still feeding 250 families a week, the line just isn’t going away.” She adds, “It hurts because we get our regulars, our walk-ups, but we also get the recently unemployed, we get people pullin’ up in brand new 2020 vehicles that are now a part of the food insecure. It’s just that combination of people we’re serving and that’s not changing.” Yet a song of hope and gratitude remains, “we get so many ‘thank yous’ ... people are so appreciative of what we do.”

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 children.

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WE ARE CALLED For Camille, being a Catholic means giving; it means service.

Actively serving her community is integral to her faith and how she carries out her own beliefs.

In talking about Jesus’ call for all Christians, Camille says, “He definitely straight up told us to take care of each other,” and for her, it’s as simple as answering that call. Aside from working as Christian service coordinator at St. Moses the Black, she holds the same role at the Most Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit.

“It’s where my heart is, in service,” Camille says. And pulling from the strength from her surrounding communities, she’s humbled by the people, not necessarily all Catholics or parishioners, who come together to make the running of the soup kitchen possible.

Nearing her third act, Camille

has spent the entirety of her second act giving her time, her talent and her heart to her brothers and sisters in Christ, guided by her mom, who she calls her “guardian angel,” and standing tall and firm in the role she has claimed to be her’s. A woman who is “very proud to be a Black Catholic,” Camille carries a sentiment with her that helps form her attitude of service as she approaches the curb every week to hand out food, “We’re all his children,” she goes on, “Every man-made boundary you’re going to come up with, we’re just going to go right past it and do the Lord’s will. He told us to take care of each other, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Camille, temple servant to the Lord, server to so many, and a daughter who wants to “emulate her momma in all that she does” will continue to do just that.

Prior to the pandemic, St. Moses the Black received donations from established relationships throughout Metro Detroit, from St. Anastasia’s in Troy to St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores and stores like Forgotten Harvest. But since these programs are almost entirely run by seniors, and the donations came to a screeching halt at the height of the pandemic. In recent weeks, parish programs have started to slowly come back. Still, it’s soup kitchens like the one at St. Moses the Black that need our help to continue to help feed the growing number of the food insecure in the wake of COVID-19. If you feel called to donate and support the soup kitchen, please consider visiting the “Give Now” page at catholicfoundationmichigan.org.

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RE A L TA LK My Father has blessed me with many saints. I won’t call them by name but they know exactly who they are and how blessed and grateful that I am to have them be a part of my life. A saint, or saint, is someone whom you admire, has qualities you want to emulate and has shown that they are still human. My saints pray for me, uplift me, inspire me, take care of me, fight for and with me, call me out when I’m wrong, praise me when I’m right and always seem to surprise me with their kindness. I would have fallen so many times without their steady hands. I would have given up if not for their words of affirmation and encouragement.

My saints have gone above and beyond for me and sometimes I feel undeserving. But my Father has always put them right where he needed them to be for me. It makes me look to the heavens and say, “Really, Father?” My saints have been not only my friends, but have been like my blood sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, aunts ... not like, they are. I love them with all I have in me and I pray for them and go out of my way for them because they have shown me the true meaning of friendship and family.

WHO ARE YOUR

- JOI L. HUNTER, ST. CHARLES LWANGA, DETROIT

MODELS

The saints in my life are my little girls: Sophia (4), Anastasia (3) and Valencia (newborn). I can see God’s face in their joy, their growth and their struggles. In every season, God reveals new facets of joy (babies’ sweet gurgling, a toddler’s insatiable laughter) and struggle (temper tantrums, poor health, changing diapers — I swear I have an especially sensitive nose, my personal cross).

Sophia recently convinced me to take her bug hunting; she loved it and half of the bugs we found were totally new to her. She was enthralled. It reminded me that God’s universe is infinite and unknowable.

As adults, we feel we know everything. But we know nothing! We can be in awe each day of his plan. With Valencia, born three days ago, I’ve always been placing markers in my mind like she will be born Friday or her jaundice will subside Sunday. Through her, God has been reminding me I’m not in control. Man plans, God laughs.

It’s been humbling and freeing to be reminded of my need to surrender to him by my daughter.

- MICHAL FILIPOWSKI, ST. ANASTASIA, TROY

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While I have a list of my favorite saints, my ministry as a deacon at St. John the Baptist and St. Mary parishes in Monroe has opened my eyes to the little saints that faithfully, day in and day out, strive their best to be a Catholic in a culture and world filled with so many demands and responsibilities. For me, being in the parishes since June after my diaconate ordination, I have been inspired by two groups of little saints. The first are the parishioners who I see at daily Mass, day in and day out, regardless of weather and even regardless of the demands of our pandemic. Their faith and love for Jesus and the Eucharist are truly inspiring to me. The second group includes the outstanding administrators of our schools at St. Mary’s and Monroe Catholic Elementary Schools. Our president and principals work tirelessly with all the countless demands and responsibilities their job entails, with joy and faith. Amidst the difficulties of social distancing, masks and trying to make difficult decisions regarding student safety and health during a time of pandemic, they are passionate and dedicated tirelessly to raising their families, and always committed to the mission of evangelization and education. These two groups of people, among many others, are the saints in my life that inspire, encourage me and give me hope that there are little saints all around us.

- DEACON ZAID CHABAN, ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST AND ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, MONROE

OF

SAINTHOOD?

The little “S” saint in my life is Father Norman Thomas.

His homilies continue to remind us of God’s grace and mercy and consistently reminds us to strive to be like Jesus — especially when it comes to being an advocate for the poor and those often overlooked by society. There are different ways for us to become more Christ-like; Father Thomas seems to know them all and diligently tries to match those ways with the gifts of each member of his parishes. Whether it be with a kind email, a soft word of encouragement, a gentle nudge or hard push, Father Thomas encourages and wants us to cultivate, nourish and blossom in our relationship with God. Another little “S” saint is Molly Peterson, teacher at Most Holy Trinity. I have had the fortune of both my sons being educated by Ms. Peterson. The passion and love she exhibits toward the children of the school are amazing.

When schools went virtual earlier this year, Ms. Peterson would record herself reading a children’s book and send the families a link. That helped bring a sense of normalcy to an extremely abnormal situation. My family will forever be grateful.

- CHE BRIAN PETERSON, SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH, DETROIT

MELISSA MOON, PHOTOGRAPHER

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We have had the privilege of being friends with Joyce and Paul David Shock for more than 50 years. As a couple, they have exemplified the characteristics of “Living Saints.”

Joyce has overcome cancer (four years ago), and Paul has had back surgery that resulted in him having to use a walking stick because he’s lost strength in the nerves of his Achilles tendons. They have supported each other during their times of personal hardships.

Throughout these grueling years, including the present, they have cared for Paul’s 93-year-old mom, and his dad, who recently passed away. Almost daily they visited them and cared for their needs — and made sure his dad got to Sunday Mass. As if this is not enough, they selflessly help care for their granddaughter when needed. Their grown children and friends can count on them in any emergency. Nothing is too little or too big a task. Knowing them has been a cherished blessing for us. Truly, they are what “saints” are made of.

- RALPH AND SYLVIA ZIOLKOWSKI, ST. ISAAC JOGUES, ST. CLAIR SHORES

I have a lot of people in my life who are saints. The first to come to my mind is Ms. Jenifer, my previous youth minister.

She is a very nice person. She is good at coming up with prayers on the spot. In youth group, one of my favorite parts was when we would read Bible verses and share what part stood out to us and why. She is good at coming up with inventive ways to teach us about the saints and other things like when we played a detective role-playing game about St. Thomas Becket. One of my favorite activities was when we made essentials bags for the homeless. Ms. Jenifer is one of many saints I have in my life. I am blessed to know them all.

- KATERI FAITEL, ST. ANTHONY, BELLEVILLE

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ONE BODY

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD CONNECTED

BY WORSHIP Christ unites us to one another while uniting us all to himself WHEN I WAS 22, I MADE THE DECISION TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. I WAS ATTRACTED TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECAUSE OF THE JOY-FILLED FAITH OF THE YOUNG STUDENTS I MET AT ST. MARY STUDENT PARISH IN ANN ARBOR. THE BEAUTY OF THE EASTER VIGIL LITURGY CAPTIVATED ME. MOST OF ALL, I WAS DRAWN BY THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION. I EXPERIENCED TANGIBLY WHAT IT MEANS TO ENCOUNTER CHRIST IN THE COMMUNION OF THE ALTAR AS HIS FAITHFUL PEOPLE GATHER TO GIVE THANKS AND COMMEMORATE THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF THEIR SAVIOR. As human beings, we are created to be social beings. It is natural for us to live in families and to form civic and religious communities.

As Christians, through baptism, we are brought into God’s family and made part of a supernatural community. We read in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you announce the praises of him who brought you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” In our secular and individualistic society, the

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experience and understanding of family and community have been distorted and watered down. For most of us, the words from 1 Peter are almost indecipherable. Yet our understanding of what it means to be God’s people is key to our understanding of the celebration of the Eucharist.

During the COVID-19 lockdown and the months of restrictions that followed, many people were unable to share in the eucharistic celebration. There were laments, most of them focused on not being

able to personally receive the grace and nourishment of the body and blood of Christ. This was a genuine loss. We are personally nourished and strengthened by the graces we receive at Mass, in particular through the reception of the body and blood of Christ, however, our concerns should extend beyond the lack of personal spiritual nourishment and missing out on seeing our friends at Mass. The loss of the freedom to gather for corporate worship strikes at the very essence and underlying purpose of the celebration of the Eucharist.

Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, states, “The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows.” (10) The primary focus of the Mass is that we gather together as the people of God to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus and to offer our worship to God as a royal priesthood.

Every time we gather together for the celebration of the Mass, we encounter Christ in his word, on the altar, in the priest and in one another.

Our God is a God of relationship.

Through the sacraments, we are incorporated into the loving relationship of the Holy Trinity.

This is not an analogy; it is a reality.

We are part of a spiritual family that transcends the natural. When we gather to worship on the Lord’s Day, or on any other day, we enter into the worship of heaven, and we are connected to all who worship in spirit and truth. (Jn 4:23-24) As we worship, we are nourished and strengthened individually and our unity with our fellow worshipers is

SUSAN CUMMINS, WRITER • ZACH STUEF, ILLUSTRATOR

S U SA N C UMMINS, based in southwest Detroit, is a member of St. Francis of AssisiSt. Hedwig Parish, an international association of consecrated women living in the world, and The Word of Life Community. She has worked for the Catholic Church for the past 20 years in various capacities, including as a high school teacher, director of a bilingual religious education program, regional coordinator of evangelization and catechesis for the Archdiocese of Detroit and adjunct faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. She has served for many years giving retreats, training and spiritual direction to leaders of Catholic charismatic communities throughout the world.

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“The works of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan are the corporal works of mercy.

We are not principally a social service agency, but an instrument of God’s love and mercy.”

— The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron Archbishop of Detroit

BE A BLESSING TO YOUR NEIGHBORS IN NEED As the charitable arm for the corporal works of mercy throughout the six counties of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan provides critical services including feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing companionship to the lonely, caring for the sick, and more – serving thousands each year.

Your gift will help change the faces of despair, loneliness, hunger, and addiction one neighbor at a time.

HOW WILL YOU BLESS YOUR NEIGHBOR? Donate online and see your impact at CCSEM.ORG/IMPACT

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nourished and strengthened as well.

We may not know the people sitting next to us at Mass. We may not feel particularly close to God during the Sunday liturgy. This does not change the spiritual reality of the importance of our worship as the body of Christ. “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Cor 10:17) It is because of Jesus, the one true sacrifice, that we can come together as one body, one people. In 1 Cor 11, the Apostle Paul rebukes the Corinthians for the divisions and factions that existed among them. He exhorts them to examine themselves in order to worthily receive the body and blood of the Lord.

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to talk with my Uber driver about his faith journey. He had been away from the Catholic Church for many years and wanted to begin practicing his faith again.

He confided that he was hesitant to do so because of the gossip and backbiting that went on in his former parish. I was sad to hear that the stumbling block standing in the way of this man’s return to the Church was not the temptations of the world, but the failure of parishioners to exhibit the love of Christ.

Father Raniero Cantalamessa writes in his book The Eucharist Our Sanctification: “The Christ I receive in Communion is the same undivided Christ the person next to me receives. He unites us one to the other while uniting us all to himself.” (37) Father Raniero points out that while many people are easy

to accept, there will be others who are difficult to embrace. The great and beautiful mystery is that we are loved by God and incorporated into the love of the Trinity; through that union with the Trinity, we are made one with the family of God. This means that the way we live our lives the entire week prepares us to enter into the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday. We are called to love those close to us and reach out to our fellow parishioners.

We must examine our hearts and repent of our sin. There is no place for envy, gossip and division among the people of God. We are weak and we will falter, but Jesus, our great high priest, knows our condition and he will forgive us.

We go to the eucharistic celebration seeking forgiveness and the grace of the sacrament. We encounter Christ in the proclamation of his salvation and the reception of his body and blood. We encounter our brothers and sisters as we partake of the heavenly banquet, and our communion with one another is strengthened. Mystically we share with other believers around the world and all the saints and angels in heaven as we worship at the altar of the living, triune God. Then we are sent out to love again. Ite, missa est. Go forth, the Mass is ended.

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life.

In these challenging times, God is calling us to recover and hold fast to the full meaning of family and community in the natural and in the supernatural sense. As we begin to pick up the pieces and

re-engage fully in the celebration of Sunday liturgy, may we do so with greater appreciation of the solemn and joyful privilege that is ours to worship the king of kings together as members of his royal family and citizens of his holy nation.

“The Church and the world have a great need for eucharistic worship.

Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world.

Let our adoration never cease.”

(CCC 1380)

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ONE BODY

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BROTHERS SISTERS IN HOLY ARMS I STARTED ATTENDING CATHOLIC MASS IN 1984 WHEN I WAS IN THE U.S. ARMY MILITARY POLICE CORPS STATIONED IN FT. BENJAMIN HARRISON IN INDIANAPOLIS. GROWING UP, MY MOM AND DAD WERE LUTHERAN, SO MY MOM DRAGGED ME, KICKING AND SCREAMING, TO THE OUTER DRIVE FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH IN NORTHWEST DETROIT. WE WERE MISSOURI SYNOD LUTHERANS SO THE SERVICE WAS, IN MY MIND, VERY SOLEMN, CONSERVATIVE AND BORING. WHEN I REACHED THE “MATURE” AGE OF 13, I TOLD MY MOTHER, “I AM TIRED OF GOING TO THIS BORING LUTHERAN CHURCH.” IMMEDIATELY SHE RETORTED, “BOY, YOU ARE GOING TO GO TO SOMEONE’S CHURCH!”

RICHARD LANE, WRITER • ZACH STUEF, ILLUSTRATOR

Now, mind you, I was never afraid of my father, who was mammoth of a man: 6 feet 3 inches tall, 360 pounds (after his retirement) and ranked the second-most feared tackler in NFL history (Dick “Night Train” Lane); I was terrified of my mother, so when she told me I was going to go to someone’s church, I said the two magic words: “Yes, Ma’am.” I started attending my friend’s Baptist church, where nearly 2,000 people praised Jesus on their feet, jumping, shouting, singing and dancing. It was a profound experience for me. For the first time, I was celebrating him and truly worshiping him. Previously, I had just gone to church because it was something you were “supposed to do,” yet this was different.

It was a more personal experience.

Fast forward to 1984. In the Army, there was only one Protestant service and one Catholic service. With my mom’s mandate in mind, I went to the Protestant service and did not really care for it, so I went to the Catholic service and thought to myself, “This is similar to what I grew up with.” When I re-enlisted for my second tour of duty, I even changed my dog-tags from Lutheran to Catholic! So, I was Catholic ... or so I thought, Uncle Sam stamped it on my dog-tags! But, I was still living a “worldly life,” partying, drinking, etc., just “attending” Mass on Sundays without taking it very seriously. And I was doing it alone.

In the army, there’s a very powerful fraternity in place.

We are trained for combat. When I meet someone else who has served in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines, I know I have a kindred spirit with them. I know that I can count on that person to be my battle buddy. I know I can go into combat and that person will be with me and fight with me. We are committed to never leaving a fallen soldier on the field of battle. The Catholic life demands a similar fraternity. We have been trained to be able to withstand the temptations and evils that befall us daily, but we can’t do it alone. When one of us falls in sin, we need our battle buddy to pick us up and help us heal. In the Catholic faith, we are already part of a brotherhood, a sisterhood, because we already are the body of Christ.

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GETTY IMAGES / SOLSTOCK

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A COMMON UNION

IRON SHARPENS IRON

We have become a “self-society”: self-seeking, selfserving, self-idolizing. We take “selfies” to show off ourselves to others. We idolize social media. We demand things more personalized and self-serving, even when it comes to our worship. We are in danger of becoming an increasingly self-centered and self-absorbed society; we are in danger of forgetting others. In my more than 15 years of experience traveling the world and preaching, I’ve found that Catholics are hungry for the word of God, hungry for truth, hungry for encounter, but in this time they are particularly hungry for communion: commonunion. For holy friendships where iron sharpens iron, where people come together for a common-union to share in an encounter with a living and visible God, who wants to commune with us.

In 2007, I was invited to attend a nondenominational men’s conference in St. Louis, Missouri. There were more than 15,000 men in attendance and at the end more than 1,000 men answered the call to give their lives to Christ that day. I left inspired by the witness, yet upset that there was nothing like that for Catholic men in St. Louis (where I lived at the time). I went to Archbishop Raymond Cardinal Burke and spoke with him of my disappointment that St. Louis had nothing for Catholic men to respond to God’s call. I left his office with a check for $5,000 and empowered to “get it started.” One year later, the Catholic Men for Christ Men’s Conference was born, and a year after that, the Catholic Women for Christ Women’s Conference. Since 2008, powerful feedback from conference attendees has been shared with me through the years: “This conference saved my life. I was suffering from depression and contemplating suicide and now I feel I can make it through”; “This conference has saved my marriage. I now have the tools in my toolbox to fix my broken issues to heal my marriage”; “I understand more now how important it is to spend quality time with my children”; “Now I can begin to heal myself from the addiction to pornography”; and “Now I feel as if I have brothers who I can call upon for help and advice when I need spiritual guidance.”

During my conversion in the early 2000s, I was surrounded by great Catholic brothers and sisters who helped me in my journey. In addition to an excellent sponsor and incredible director of religious education, I was gifted with a strong Catholic men’s group that was formed at my former parish, a group of about 8-10 Catholic men would meet in the sacristy every Wednesday evening. We would gather with prayer and Scripture and then talk about what was going on in our lives, our personal and deep struggles and fears. We talked about marital issues, children, family issues and even drinking and other addictions. We were a bunch of regular guys not afraid of facing the deep issues together.

During those times, I struggled so much with worldly addictions and my focus was oftentimes not on God. I realized I needed that time each week with strong Catholic men who were older than me, who had gone through what I was going through and could help guide and form me into a better man, better father and a better human being. It was a true brotherhood of men I could count on to lift me up when I was down. Who would, as the Tamela Mann song says, “take me to the King.”

In a secular world that is becoming more polarized on a daily, if not hourly, news cycle, we have become a society infatuated and captivated by devouring the flesh of our brothers and sisters, destroying them and allowing them to die on the field of battle we call life. We have failed to stand up for the lives of our brothers and sisters who suffer injustices and socioeconomic disparities.

Instead, we politicize it. If we continue this path it will certainly be our demise.

The antidote is connection. We need Catholic conferences. We need small groups for men and women formed at parishes. We need Catholic, holy friendships.

Friendships that encourage and lift each other up, that make us men and women of divine strength and courage to truly unleash love and mercy upon this city.

It is through encountering Christ in fellowship with others that we make an indelible impact on this world.

We are one body, one body in Christ, who is the head. It is through his missionary mandate, “Go and make disciples,” that we are charged with not only encountering Christ in the Mass and in the poor, but in the guy sitting in the pew next to you who just may need a friend.

RICHARD LANE, JR., the son of NFL Hall of Famer Dick “Night Train” Lane, is an internationally renowned evangelist who continues to lead parish missions around the world. An expert on Catholic evangelization, Lane continues to focus on the bridging of denomination, race, creed and all that separates us from an encounter with the living and visible sign of our existence, the Eucharist. Lane is a preacher, retreat director, evangelization consultant, television and radio host and podcaster.

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ONE BODY

WHICH RELATIONSHIPS HAVE TRANSFORMED YOUR LIFE? RELATIONSHIPS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE WHEN WE SEE THE OTHER PERSON AS A CHILD OF GOD, AND THEY SEE JESUS IN US. OUR PARENTS, SIBLINGS, OUR SPOUSE, A CLOSE FRIEND MAY COME TO OUR MIND FIRST, BUT WE NEED TO ALSO CONSIDER OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POOR.

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Poverty has many faces. Someone can be financially wealthy and poor spiritually, emotionally or physically.

Each of us has been called by the Lord to love those who are suffering and wounded. This is clearly stated by the prophet Isaiah when he tells us what is considered fasting in God’s eyes: Is this not, rather, the fasting that I choose: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking off every yoke? Is it

not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!” (Is 58: 6-9)

FATHER BOB MCCABE, WRITER • ZACH STUEF, ILLUSTRATOR

FATHER STEPHEN PULLIS, STL, WRITER • MIKE MARSHALL, ILLUSTRATOR

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For many years, I have been struck by this promise found in the word of God: clothe the naked, give bread to the hungry, shelter the homeless, “then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed.” What an amazing promise!

God heals us on many different levels when we show compassion to those who are poor and suffering.

St. Teresa of Calcutta always saw Jesus “in the distressing disguise of the poor.” If we hope to recognize Jesus in this way, we need to be people of prayer. Prayer is the starting point. By God’s grace, we can have our hearts transformed.

That is what God wants to do in each of our lives.

I am passionate about photography, and I have been taking pictures in downtown Detroit since I was 18 years old.

Over the years, I have asked people who are struggling if I could take their picture in order to raise awareness of the poor and homeless.

We normally converse while I take the photos. People who know me know it takes time and many attempts to get a picture that I really think is good. During those 5, 10 or 15 minutes, a friendly conversation unfolds. Sometimes I ask questions, and they share their stories. They are honest, humble and sincere.

Sometimes they tell me the mistakes they have made, their regrets and hopes for a better life. For me, these conversations are transformative.

No longer is this just a man or woman on the streets. This is a person made in God’s image and likeness. This is a person who has infinite value.

It is always sacred when we take time to pray together. This does not happen always, but when it does, it is beautiful and profound.

I remember a woman who one winter’s day was standing in a doorway to block the wind. She had a blanket wrapped around her. After taking her photo, I asked if I could say a prayer for her. She said yes.

Afterwards, I asked if she would say a prayer for me. Again, she said yes.

I was not prepared for the powerful prayer that flowed from her heart. It was a glorious prayer. I must admit, I felt like a “rookie” by comparison.

Unless we slow down and take time to reach out to people who are in need, we will not hear their stories. It is important to have the opportunity to tell our stories whether they are joyous or ones of loss and sorrow. When someone shares and the other listens, both are enriched.

St. Vincent de Paul was a great advocate for the poor. He too saw Christ in those who suffered. His words are powerful and challenging for us today. This is what he wrote concerning service to the poor: Let us go then, my brothers, and work with a new love in the service of the poor, looking even for the most destitute and abandoned among them. Let us recognize that before God they are our lords and masters and we are unworthy to render them our small services.

Let us, my sisters, cherish the poor as our masters, since Our Lord is in them and they in Our Lord.

When we think of all that afflicts the poor, homeless and

struggling, we may feel helpless and overwhelmed. Do not be! No one can do everything, but everyone can do something! Make a sandwich and give it to someone you see on the side of the road when you stop at a traffic light. Have an extra pair of gloves in the car and offer it to someone who has none. Pray for that person and ask him or her to pray for you. If you frequently see the same homeless person, remember his or her name. Address that person by name. This affirms the individual’s dignity and worth.

Our time on this earth is brief.

May we use the gift of our faith and the gift of our time to enrich and be enriched by the people God places in our lives. All of us have so much to give, as St. Teresa of Ávila reminds us in this beautiful prayer: Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

FATH ER BOB MCCABE was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1995.

He is currently serving as the pastor of the Church of the Divine Child located in Dearborn.

Let us pray for one another.

May we be advocates and friends for those among us who are poor.

Recognizing our own poverty, may we still be a blessing to others. In turn, we will be greatly blessed and transformed.

“The poor need us, but the need we have for the poor is no less.”

— St. Teresa of Calcutta

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POETRY

AS W I N DS T HAT B LO W

AGAINST A STAR

Now by what whim of wanton chance Do radiant eyes know sombre days?

And feet that shod in light should dance Walk weary and laborious ways?

But rays from heaven, white and whole, May penetrate the gloom of earth; And tears but nourish, in your soul, The glory of celestial mirth.

The darts of toil and sorrow, sent Against your peaceful beauty, are As foolish and as impotent As winds that blow against a star.

BY JOYCE KI L M E R Joyce Kilmer was a journalist and poet once considered the leading Catholic American poet of his generation. Born in New Jersey in 1886, he was known for his prolific poetry that celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his deep Catholic faith. He married accomplished poet Aline Murray and had five children.

During World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was killed by a sniper’s bullet during battle in France at the age of 31. He was awarded the prestigious Croix de Guerre by the French for his bravery.

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HOPE ACQUILANO, ILLUSTRATOR

KACHARITOMENE A holy Word, who’s moment had come in a word carried far on ancient winds through seas of time, a rising tide of Spirit and sound released

by Gabriel in springtime to Mary.

BY ROB ERT CA LLEJ A Robert is a St. Valentine parishioner and candidate for the ordination to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Detroit. This poem is from his first poetry collection themed around the liturgical calendar.

Purest virgin received the address a trembling acquiescence, a truth made known in angelic tones her title by fiat blest for all human race, Kacharitomene ‌ Full of Grace.

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SACRE D PL ACES

SEVEN SHRINES FOR SEVEN

HOLY HOUSE OF RIVERVIEW Riverview is one of the archdiocese’s lesser-known pilgrimage sites, but that is about to change.

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel in Riverview became an archdiocesan shrine on Oct. 13, 2020 when Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Battersby read the decree from Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron during Mass at the shrine. The date is significant. On Oct. 13, 1917, Our Lady confirmed her appearances to the three shepherd children of Fatima through a miraculous spinning of the sun.

The shrine’s Detroit roots reach back to 1955 when members of The Blue Army of Fatima (now the World Apostolate of Fatima) opened an evangelization center at St. Andrew Parish. The apostolate’s mission: to encourage praying the Rosary, practicing the First Friday and First Saturday devotions and offering up one’s struggles for the conversion of hearts.

Pilgrims have been drawn to the shrine’s Riverview location since 2006. The chapel includes a life-sized statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a reliquary holding a sliver of the tree upon which Our Lady appeared. There is a superbly stocked bookstore and a meeting hall.

“My desire is for pilgrims to receive the same joy and blessings that pilgrims who visit Fatima, Portugal each year experience,” said Leonard St. Pierre, volunteer apostolate president. Spiritual Director Father John Hedges believes it is providential that recognition happened during the Jubilee Year of the Holy House of Loreto.

“Our Lady of Fatima Shrine is a ‘holy house’ of prayer, penance and eucharistic adoration,” Father expressed recently. “This is the time to make our homes ‘replicas’ of the holy house of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”

Visit fatimashrinedetroit.org to learn more.

pilgrimages YES, IT’S GETTING COLDER — MEANING IT’S A GOOD TIME TO LOOK FORWARD TO SPRING, WHEN THE “SWEET BREATH OF APRIL,” AS CHAUCER WRITES IN CANTERBURY TALES, MOVES THE HEART TO “LONG TO GO ON PILGRIMAGES.”

FA

EVEN NOW. ALL SEVEN SHRINES WELCOME PILGRIMS ANY TIME OF YEAR, BUT CHECK FOR TIMES/DAYS OF OPENING AND COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS.

BUEN CAMINO! (HAVE A GOOD JOURNEY!)

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Y RL AD

HOLY TRAVEL. CONSIDER BEGINNING YOUR TRAVELS

OU

AREA SHRINES TO HELP INSPIRE THAT LONGING FOR

OF

HERE IS A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF SEVEN DETROIT

T

H AS IM

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.J OS E PH

DANIEL GALLIO

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

RIN E

FRANCISCAN WORKER OF WONDERS

DANIEL GALLIO, WRITER

NU LA

SO

The spire of St. Joseph Shrine juts 200 feet into the Detroit skyline. The spiritual landmark near Eastern Market is even more stunning now that it has been restored to historically accurate splendor.

The Gothic Revival shrine beneath the spire is equally splendid — as is the traditional Latin Mass celebrated daily by the canons (priests) of the Institute of Christ the King.

“We have a beautiful spiritual reality and a physical reality that draws hearts to St. Joseph Parish and Shrine,” said Canon Michael Stein, rector of the shrine.

The charism of his community, he said, is “bringing the sacred back into the world.”

In 2016, Archbishop Vigneron invited the institute to oversee the parish and care for the historic 1873 building.

The canons immediately began to rehabilitate the church structure and preserve its artistic treasures. These treasures include stained-glass windows designated “of national importance” by the National Register of Historic Places.

“I would encourage pilgrims to allow for that first moment of wonder when they enter the shrine,” Canon Stein said. “Allow the awe of God’s house to seize you, like a foretaste of the beatific vision.”

The institute has rejuvenated the spiritual life of St. Joseph Parish, as well. Membership has grown to 220 families attracted to liturgies and sacraments all celebrated in the traditional Latin rite.

The archbishop rewarded the Institute of Christ the King by elevating St. Joseph to an archdiocesan shrine in March 2020. Shrine doors are open an extraordinary 14 hours daily. Call first for a guided tour.

S

A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN

Archbishop Vigneron ends his pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel, by calling upon a special “companion” for support. That companion is Blessed Solanus Casey, the Capuchin Franciscan who was beatified the same year, 2017, in which the letter was released. A “providential sign,” writes the archbishop.

We are fortunate the shrine of Blessed Solanus is here in Detroit, along with his holy remains. The Solanus Casey Center at St. Bonaventure Monastery is possibly the most professionally designed Catholic shrine in the country.

Pilgrims enter through a landscaped Creation Garden that illustrates St. Francis’s poem Canticle of Creatures.

Cathy, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, is spending part of her Sunday visiting the monastery.

“I stop here when I am in the area because the church is always open. I know I have somewhere to come and worship.”

Cathy is an emissary for her family today, placing their petitions before the tomb of Blessed Solanus.

She lights a candle before an image of Our Lady of Fatima in the Creation Garden and kneels for a short prayer before returning home.

Pilgrims experience Franciscan spirituality by “meeting” individuals who exemplify the beatitudes, such as St. Oscar Romero, through their life-sized statues. An exhibit hall chronicles the ER ENT life of Blessed Solanus through C EY S personal artifacts such as his CA violin and travel trunk — made by outlaw Cole Younger!

Visitors ultimately reach a sacred space: the crypt of Blessed Solanus.

The casket of this wonderworker of healing is visible through a glass dome. A bookstore and dining hall add to the pilgrimage experience at this Franciscan holy house.

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BASIL

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. ANNE DE DETROIT

A ‘PRAYED-IN’ PLACE Blue sky and a breeze warmed by pure sunlight.

A fine morning for attending a late-September Mass at Assumption Grotto Parish, and for visiting the only outdoor pilgrimage site on our list of seven.

The Gratiot Avenue parish, founded in 1832, is the archdiocese’s second-oldest. The shrine dates to 1881, after the parish pastor made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, and pledged to build a replica of its grotto on the parish grounds.

Pilgrims approach the shrine by a dramatic, 100foot-long walkway. The approach evokes a promenade in a park of a European city — except this park is a meticulously landscaped parish cemetery.

The shrine is in the form of an arched alcove, suggesting the grotto at Lourdes. Against the rear wall is a statue of the Blessed Virgin as the Immaculate Conception. A bronze statue of St. Bernadette of Lourdes kneels near a running pool surrounded by roses.

Visiting the cemetery after Mass is a longstanding custom. Today is no exception, as children run among the monuments while adults stroll the promenade.

The cemetery “is a very ‘prayed-in’ place,” said Natalie, a lively woman in her 70s. She recommends visiting on Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption, when there is a healing service. Larry Stump suggests attending the feast day’s spectacular evening Mass when parishioners “process to the grotto holding lighted candles as they do at Lourdes.”

“There have been miracles worked here,” said Charles, a young adult carrying a red missal. “The grotto helps you to realize the importance of God in your life, not just the material things.”

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When Joseph Moss says a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Ste. Anne is like “stepping into history,” he is not exaggerating. “You feel the 300-plus years of history,” said the basilica’s music director. “It permeates the building.”

Walk through the doors of the basilica and enter a parish that extends back 319 years. The first Ste. Anne dates from July 26, 1701, two days after the founding of Detroit. The current structure, the parish’s eighth, was consecrated in 1887.

The magnificent French neo-Gothic basilica — with its pointed arches and star-spangled, vaulted ceiling — is nationally important as the resting place of Father Gabriel Richard. The pioneer priest pastored the parish from 1802 until 1832, when he died ministering to cholera victims. His secular accomplishments, such as serving in the U.S. Congress, are surpassed only by his spiritual deeds. Pilgrims honor Father Richard’s memory by visiting a chapel where his remains lie in his original wooden casket.

The shrine of Ste. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin, is left of the sanctuary. Visitors venerate her first-class relic and admire the precious statue of Ste. Anne lovingly embracing her daughter.

The shrine is renowned as a place of “miracles” for those praying for the gift of children. “It’s really remarkable,” Moss relates. “We have many stories of couples who come back a few months later and tell us they are expecting.”

Someday, pilgrims may honor Father Richard as a saint. Msgr. Charles Kosanke, Ste. Anne’s pastor, is establishing a guild to document Father’s “heroic virtues” to support the case for canonization.

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It is a happy coincidence. It happens to be the feast day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Oct. 1, when I visit the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak. A pilgrim could spend days exploring this art deco masterwork.

Pastor Father Joseph Horn sums up St. Therese’s “Little Way” of holiness: “St. Therese said if she were a part of the mystical body of Christ, she would be the heart, because she wanted to be the love of the Father for the people of God. We want to welcome pilgrims with love, to be the heart of love for the mystical body of Christ.”

The church-in-the-round interior seats an incredible 3,000 worshippers. Suspended above the altar is a gigantic oak canopy lit from within, making its stained-glass panels seem to be on fire.

Side chapels are adorned with painted murals.

Statuaries and plaques are designed by legendary Detroit sculptor Corrado Parducci. Pilgrims should seek out the Martin Room, with its relics of St. Therese’s parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin.

The shrine’s limestone tower with a relief of the crucified Christ is lit up at night, “testifying to our Christian faith,” said Christine Renner, shrine marketing director. “The beacon of light draws you into the shrine. It’s pretty amazing.”

Carmen Scofield is making a visit to the shrine today, accompanied by Orchard Lake seminarian Przemek Rozestwinski. Why does she come so often? “Because I love St. Therese!” she replied.

“You feel holy when you come here.”

My next stop happens to be the Orchard Lake’s chapel. Przemek offers to be my guide. Another happy coincidence.

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St. Cyril & Methodius Seminary of Orchard Lake Schools trains seminarians from Poland to minister in the United States. Gazing up at the façade of Our Lady of Orchard Lake Chapel, Poland’s love for the Blessed Mother could not be clearer. Suspended above the entrance is a 25-foot-high, copper-plated image of the Queen of Heaven. Inside the chapel is a shrine to another great love of Poland, St. John Paul II. My first thought: “What is a kayak doing in the vestibule?”

On his visit to Orchard Lake Schools in 1976 as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, St. John Paul II rowed this kayak on Orchard Lake.

“The kayak is a sacred second-class relic,” seminarian Przemek Rozestwinski explained, then laughed, “You could say, so is Orchard Lake!”

The Shrine of St. John Paul II flanks the chapel’s sanctuary, where pilgrims venerate the saint’s first-class relic. Another artifact of reverence is a glittering image of Our Lady of Czestochowa that St. John Paul II gifted to Orchard Lake.

The seminary is raising funds for a matching side chapel dedicated to St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun and missionary of Jesus’ Divine Mercy. A first-class relic of St. Faustina — a piece of bone — has just been obtained from St. Faustina’s community in Lithuania.

Pilgrims who wander the campus will discover the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes near the lake, and a memorial to the Poles murdered by the Red Army at Katyn Forest during World War II. “A candle burns at the memorial every day. It is a place,” Przemek said softly, “which is very dear to us.”

I sit before the shrine of St. John Paul II and realize how my whirlwind pilgrimage has come full circle. The shrine’s reliquary holds a piece of cloth saturated in the saint’s blood. I think of how an assassin’s bullet nearly killed St. John Paul II in 1981.

Then I recall how he credited Our Lady of Fatima for deflecting the bullet and saving his life.

A replica of that statue is the crowning image at Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, II UL the first stop on this journey.

PA N Consider visiting the holy OH houses of the Archdiocese of Detroit. May the words of St. John Paul II come true for us all: “How many people have gone to a shrine out of curiosity — and have returned transformed!”

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PLANNING YOUR VISIT For more information about these shrines, visit unleashthegospel.org to read the extended article.

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Our Lady of Fatima Shrine

Graces await you!

MAKE YOUR PILGRIMAGE to O U R L A D Y O F FAT I M A S H R I N E

Venerate relics of the Fatima saints, enjoy the beauty of stained-glass windows and life-size statues depicting Our Lady of Fatima’s apparitions. Discover a large variety of Catholic devotionals in our St Joseph bookstore, receive indulgences and most importantly participate in the celebration of Masses and other Catholic devotions.

fatimashrinedetroit.org 734.281.1445 18637 Ray Street Riverview, MI 48193 Our Lady of Fatima Shrine and St. Joseph Bookstore Open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

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SOWS SEEDS OF UNITY AMONG RACIAL STRIFE

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MARY MASSINGALE, WRITER

“THE SHRILL SIRENS OF THE FIRE ENGINES SOUNDED CONSTANTLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD BACKGROUND. WHEN DARKNESS CAME, THE EERIE SOUND OF THE POLICE AND FIRE SIRENS ECHOED EVER LOUDER THROUGH THE CURFEWEMPTIED STREETS … ”

Visions of civil disturbances from this past summer immediately come to mind: Portland, Oregon; Chicago; Kenosha, Wisconsin.

But those words appeared more than 50 years ago in the pages of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s newspaper, now the Detroit Catholic, documenting five days of turmoil in July 1967 that originated only blocks from Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

A police raid on an unlicensed after-hours club located at Twelfth Street and Clairmount Avenue erupted into days of chaos that were silenced only after the U.S. Army and National Guard patrolled the streets. In the end, 43 were dead (33 Black and 10 white individuals), nearly 1,200 injured, more than 7,000 arrested and up to $144 million in property damaged or destroyed, according to the American Insurance Association.

The reasons for the two summers of unrest set decades apart are varied and complex. But a strong thread of Black inequality weaves the two together in a fabric of societal racism.

Yet Sacred Heart Major Seminary has stood resolute throughout as a caring neighbor to all and remains unscathed by the turbulence — except for one identifying feature.

On that first day of fighting in 1967,

PHOTO BY SPIRIT JUICE

it was discovered the face, hands and feet of the welcoming statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Chicago Boulevard had been painted black.

Then-Rector Monsignor Francis Canfield left the statue as is as a sign of the universality of Christ’s love.

“Most of us here interpreted it not so much as an act of vandalism as a gesture that the Negro wanted to feel Christ was for him as well as for the white man,” he told the Detroit Free Press.

He even ordered the statue to be painted black again when some anonymous painters a few weeks later restored the figure to its original white color.

Seminarians such as current Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit and Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing were not in class during that summer of violence and returned in the fall to find the statue painted black.

Bishop Boyea called the painting a “great blessing” for the seminary.

“It was a sign that we are not somehow immune to what takes place all around us, and it is a call to be engaged,” he said.

Archbishop Vigneron echoed that call to community.

“I thought it was a very significant sign of our neighbors recognizing that we are a Christian community but also reminding us that means we are in communion with them,” he said.

Sacred Heart has long been a forerunner of race relations in the city, as seminarians regularly reach out to their inner-city neighbors as part of their pastoral ministry. And it was the students who provided a key push in February 1965.

Sacred Heart collegians Eugene Fisher and John Clark created the Student Human Relations Education in Action Cell after spending a summer ministering on the south side of Chicago. This new group organized weekends in which a pair of seminarians would make overnight home visits to a Black family and discuss race relations.

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Students and faculty led by rector Msgr. Francis Canfield gathered for social justice on 1965, when marches were held across the country in protest over violence in Selma, Alabama.

MARY MASSINGALE is a freelance writer who recently collaborated with Sacred Heart Major Seminary to write a book chronicling its first 100 years.

She earned national awards as an Illinois public affairs journalist and now serves as director of communications for the Catholic Conference of Illinois.

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After the students spent Saturday night at the family’s home, they and the family would then travel on Sunday to a white family’s home in the suburbs to continue the conversation.

“We knew from experience the best way was to sit down with real people,” Clark told the Detroit Free Press, noting that nearly 90 percent of the seminary’s college students had participated.

The seminarians’ comments about the weekends were enlightening — both to themselves and readers.

“I really began to see people, and not color … ” “One thing was continually running through my mind: These people are just like my family.”

It was no surprise then when Monsignor Canfield a month later led a group of 400 students and faculty members as part of a group of 4,000 Detroit residents marching

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with others across the country in support of civil rights.

“The seminarians bore a large placard pledging themselves to ‘Christian Justice,’” the Detroit News reported.

The nationwide event on March 9, 1965, was organized to show solidarity with peaceful Black and white protesters in Selma, Alabama, who two days earlier had been attacked by state troopers on a march out of the city to the state capital. A total of 17 marchers were hospitalized and 50 treated for injuries in what became known as “Bloody Sunday” in the Black community.

As Sacred Heart students were peacefully protesting in Detroit, three priests who taught at the seminary were in Alabama, joining the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on another attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery.

Fathers Jerome Fraser, William Cunningham and Paul Berg were among the protesters who were yet again turned back — this time peacefully by a federal injunction — but the day was still unsettling.

“My flesh quivered as we passed the spot where the tear gas was used and where the posse had assembled to ride into the praying, kneeling demonstrators on Sunday,” Father Fraser wrote in an essay for the archdiocesan newspaper. “There is real tension here and the stares of people, police and troopers made me feel it.”

But Fathers Fraser and Cunningham refused to retreat from the mistrust provoked by racial strife. Two years later, when the city was still reeling from the five days of unrest, the two priests joined with Catholic laywoman Eleanor Josaitis to collect donations of food and clothing for survivors.

But they wanted to do more to heal the divisions between Black and white residents of the city. They put out a call in March 1968 for priests, seminarians and laypeople to meet at Sacred Heart for a discussion on what the Catholic community could do to root out racial injustice. Nearly 300 people showed up for what was the birth of a new endeavor called Focus: Summer Hope, wrote author Jack Kresnak in his biography of Cunningham, Hope in the City: A Catholic Priest, a Suburban Housewife and their Desperate Effort to Save Detroit.

Word spread about the new initiative so that its first meeting nearly a couple of weeks later at the University of Detroit drew 5,000 people.

“It was like a rally with Scripture readings, folk music and discussions of the Kerner Report findings about the 1967 civil disturbances, the nature of prejudice and Black Power,” Kresnak wrote.

During three consecutive Sundays,

priests spoke about race relations to an estimated 300,000 Catholics.

When Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, no civil disturbances broke out in Detroit.

After the summer of 1968, Focus: Summer Hope evolved beyond its makeshift offices at Sacred Heart Seminary and turned into Focus: HOPE, a well-known Detroit nonprofit targeting hunger, economic disparity, inadequate education and racial divisiveness.

The gestures of unity offered

by Sacred Heart Major Seminary through the years could often be described as bold. But the divine can also be found in the ordinary. Every Halloween, the seminary opens its doors to neighborhood children for the simple fun of trick-or-treating.

“It never is just about candy,” said the current rector, Monsignor Todd Lajiness. “It really is about being with people, praying with people, and letting them know as an institution that we really do care what’s going on in the community.”

IT REALLY IS ABOUT BEING WITH PEOPLE, PRAYING WITH PEOPLE, AND LETTING THEM KNOW AS AN INSTITUTION THAT WE REALLY DO CARE WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY.” — MONSIGNOR TODD LAJINESS

The face, hands, and feet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue on the seminary’s campus were painted black during the 1967 civil disturbance.

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CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD

St. Benedict teaches us how to cultivate a Christian community

STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY 42

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AS I SING THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS IN THE ST. VINCENT ARCHABBEY BASILICA CHOIR STALLS WITH 50 OF MY BROTHER MONKS, I HEAR SEVERAL VOICES THAT ARE NOT ON PACE WITH THE ORGAN. I SING A BIT LOUDER TO MAKE UP FOR THE MONK NEXT TO ME WHO IS NOT SINGING AT ALL AND THE ONE BEHIND ME WHO IS OFF-PITCH. ACROSS FROM ME IN CHOIR, I SEE A MONK WHO HAS FALLEN ASLEEP AND ANOTHER ONE WHO HAS JUST ARRIVED, FIVE MINUTES LATE. I AM TEMPTED TO FRUSTRATION BY THIS CACOPHONY OF INEPTITUDE WHEN I SEE THE PEACEFUL, PATIENT EXPRESSION OF AN OLD MONK WHO HAS BEEN DOING THIS FAITHFULLY FOR THE LAST 70 YEARS.

Then my voice harmonizes with a few others around me and I tune back into the text of the Psalms: “From on high he reached down and seized me; he drew me forth from the mighty waters. He saved me from my powerful foe, from my enemies, whose strength I could not match.”

(Ps 18:17-18) Much greater than the enemy of bad breath, bad pitch or bad timing is the enemy of my pride and the delusion of self-sufficiency.

I am daily reminded by life in community that I need my brothers in Christ and I need the Lord.

St. Benedict is the Patriarch of Western Monasticism and, according to his biographer, St. Gregory the Great, he was a man of outstanding holiness. As a young man, he spent several years in solitude. By his early 20s, he already had a reputation for wisdom and was known for his dedication to God and his intense life of prayer. Fortunately, he did not keep the riches of wisdom to himself but responded to the request of local men to form communities of monks who could strive together for holiness. In his short rule, he intermingles spiritual insight with guidance in virtue along with the details of governance for community life. His rule is marked by the goal of holiness, tempered by a compassionate understanding of the human condition.

For example, he calls the monks to arise at 2 a.m. to pray vigils. At the same time, he recognizes the difficulty in this and asks them to help each other: “On arising for the work of God, they will quietly encourage each other, for the sleepy like to make excuses.” (RB 22:8) Technically speaking, this quiet encouragement violates the grand silence required by the rule. In

normal circumstances, St. Benedict imposed “severe punishment” (RB 42:9) for such infractions, but here he makes accommodations for the weakness of human nature. He makes an exception also for hospitality and the care of guests. Charity is the essential interpretative lens for observance of the rules.

From this, and countless other examples, we learn a Benedictine approach to spirituality that cultivates communal holiness.

St. Benedict wants each monk to become a saint. The Prologue of the Rule, coming from a “father who loves you” (RB Prol:1) is a masterpiece of spiritual encouragement and motivates the reader through an arousing invitation to follow Christ.

For example, he wrote: “What, dear brothers, is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us? See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life. Clothed then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom (1 Thes 2:12).”

(RB Prol:19-21) We need to tune in to the Lord’s call to us, to listen for his voice speaking to us personally in our hearts and then make our personal response.

At the same time, St. Benedict wants each of us to help others to become saints. His dream is stated in the penultimate chapter: “Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.” (RB 72:11-12) Contrary to earlier forms of solitary monasticism, St. Benedict established a rule of communal monasticism, recognizing how important it is that we help each other on the spiritual journey.

FATHER BONIFACE HICKS, OSB, WRITER • DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

Whether it is rousing each other to rise for prayer (RB 22) or correcting each other for committing faults (RB 23) or competing with each other to arrive in the chapel (RB 43) or providing for each one’s needs according to each one’s ability, (RB 34) St. Benedict always envisions a community that is striving together for holiness. At the beginning of the rule, he strongly opposes those monks who try to avoid this by wandering from place to place (called “gyrovagues” in RB 1:10-11) or by trying to establish their own rules and way of life, (called “sarabaites” in RB 1:6-9) while he lauds those who live in community under a rule and an abbot and calls them “the strong kind” of monks. (RB 1:13) Living the Christian life together leads to various points of practical wisdom. One important piece of wisdom is to avoid comparisons.

Jealousy and envy quickly steal our joy. Another is to talk through conflicts sooner rather than later.

When the sun goes down on our anger, it has a way of becoming cold and harder to heal. The young and the old need each other. St. Benedict encourages the young to learn from the example of the old (RB 7:55) while he also calls the old to listen to the young. (RB 3:3) St. Benedict teaches a balance between personal faith and communal prayer: “We believe that the divine presence is everywhere … [b]ut beyond the least doubt we should believe this to be especially true when we celebrate the Divine Office.” (RB 19:1-2) Not everyone can be a monk but everyone can learn wisdom from St. Benedict’s “little rule for beginners” (RB 73:8) to cultivate Christian community and grow in personal holiness.

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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, Pennsylvania.

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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PR AYER 101

THROUGHOUT THE DAY, LITURGY OF THE HOURS GIVES US A MOMENT TO PAUSE AND REDIRECT OUR GAZE TO GOD O GOD, COME TO MY ASSISTANCE O Lord, make haste to help me. (Ps 70:2) With this simple invitation and response, people all over the world pause to pray.

If you have ever seen your parish priest with a leatherbound book with colorful ribbons, chances are he is not catching up on his David Copperfield; he is praying the Psalms. Every day, bishops, priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters and members of the lay faithful pray the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office or the breviary). Liturgy refers to a public work of worshipping God. Liturgy is also God working in his people’s lives when they worship. God makes our acts of worship holy because they are directed to him. In the Liturgy of the Hours, God makes holy even the moments of our day when we pause and

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direct ourselves to him in prayer. The title Divine Office envisions setting aside time and space to be with the Lord. Think of a doctor or professor keeping office hours to be available to help patients and students. The breviary refers to a shortened book of all the many prayers from morning to night that one could conveniently carry with them (or install as an app on a smartphone).

ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (PS 98:3) The Liturgy of the Hours (LOH) is the official daily prayer of the Church outside of the Mass. At the heart of the LOH is the Book of Psalms, the prayer book of the Old Testament. At five times during the day (morning, midday, evening, night and another time one chooses, Christians unite with God and others around the

world in prayer. Your priests, deacons and religious make promises to pray all or a certain amount of the LOH when they are ordained or make a religious profession.

In recent years, a large number of the lay faithful have begun to participate in the LOH on their own or with spouses, family members and co-workers.

The beauty of the LOH is the knowledge that throughout the day someone, somewhere is praying the Psalms. While the seminarians at Sacred Heart gather for morning prayer (7:10 a.m.), a group of religious sisters in Rome pray midday prayer, as a family in India prepares for evening prayer and Archbishop Byrnes in Guam begins night prayer. The Psalms are the inspired words of Scripture that speak to every genuine human emotion and relate it to God in praise, thanksgiving,

FATHER BRIAN MELDRUM, WRITER • NAOMI VRAZO, PHOTOGRAPHER

FATHER BRIAN MELDRUM Father Brian Meldrum 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.

joy, lament, admission of our own faults or trust in God’s care. Even when the way we feel while praying does not match the words of the Psalm, we trust that somewhere in the Church someone is experiencing that Psalm’s emotion.

Hopefully, this encourages us to offer our prayer for them and in union with them.

Finally, the Psalms were the prayers that Jesus himself prayed throughout his earthly life. Mary and Joseph would have taught him the words, and he would have prayed the Psalms constantly with his disciples. St. Augustine said that when we pray the Psalms, Jesus “prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayer as our God. Let us then hear our voices in his voice, and his voice in ours.” (Discourse on Psalm 85)

MY SOUL SINGS PSALMS TO YOU UNCEASINGLY (PS 30:13) Morning and Evening Prayer are the principal prayer times in the LOH. The other prayer times are modeled upon them. At Morning Prayer, after an invitation to prayer and an opening hymn, we pray two Psalms and one Old Testament canticle. Then, we read a short Scripture passage, observe a time of silence and offer a response to the reading.

We pray the words of Zechariah, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” (Lk 1:68-79), every morning, followed by intercessions, the Lord’s Prayer and a closing prayer.

The main difference at Evening Prayer is that the canticle after the Psalms comes from the New Testament, and every evening we pray Our Lady’s Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” (Lk 1:46-55) Morning Prayer is about praising God for the gift of the new day, while Evening Prayer becomes an act of thanksgiving for what God has accomplished in us as the day closes.

THE THOUGHTS OF MY HEART ARE BEFORE YOU, LORD (SEE PS. 19:15) When you first begin to pray the LOH, it can be overwhelming. If you use the book, there are lots of ribbons and page turns to navigate. If you go the digital route, there are apps like iBreviary and Laudate that can help you start navigating your way around the LOH more easily. You will soon find yourself getting into the rhythm of daily prayer which is exactly what the LOH envisions! The most important thing for anyone who is considering starting the LOH is simply that: to start praying the Psalms and “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes 5:17) Ask someone who prays the LOH to pray it with you and teach you (Soon you will be able to invite someone else who does not pray the LOH to join you!) If spouses, engaged couples, men or women’s groups, Bible studies or any parish group are looking for a way to begin praying together, there is no better way than the LOH. The Psalms are arranged in stanzas, which makes recitation between couples or groups ideal. Soon, the Psalms will become a rich part of your daily prayer life, and you will be able to say with the Psalmist, “Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.” (Ps. 139:4)

MORNING AND EVENING RESOUND WITH JOY (SEE PS 65:9) Consider praying a small portion of Morning and Evening Prayer for a week and see how it goes. The apps iBreviary and Laudate provide the entire text for the LOH. The U.S. Bishops have also published a beautiful collection entitled The Abbey Psalms and Canticles. Try to set aside a consistent time in your day, when you know you will be able to have a few minutes of quiet prayer. (For each day, the Benedictus is Lk 1:68-79 and the Magnificat is Lk 1:46-55)

SUNDAY • MORNING: PSALM 63 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 110 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

MONDAY • MORNING: PSALM 42 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 45 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

TUESDAY • MORNING: PSALM 24 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 138 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

WEDNESDAY • MORNING: PSALM 77 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 27 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

THURSDAY • MORNING: PSALM 57 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 72 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

FRIDAY • MORNING: PSALM 51 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 145 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

SATURDAY • MORNING: PSALM 117 AND THE BENEDICTUS; • EVENING: PSALM 116 AND THE MAGNIFICAT

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P RAYING WITH T HE C HUR CH FATHER S

STA N D I N G FAST I N FA I T H

St. Cyprian of Carthage 46

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DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

ST. CYPRIAN ON STANDING FAST DURING A

THE GREATLY BELOVED BISHOP OF CARTHAGE IN NORTH AFRICA, WROTE TO HIS FLOCK IN THE YEAR 252 AFTER A TERRIBLE PLAGUE HAD BROKEN OUT ACROSS THE ROMAN EMPIRE, STRIKING THE COAST OF NORTH AFRICA WITH SPECIAL FEROCITY.

Many Christians were dying in the plague, and so Cyprian responded by circulating a short treatise (On Mortality) to unite the faithful during this time of great crisis, and to give them an eternal perspective on their suffering in the midst of this empire-wide pandemic. Cyprian died as a martyr during the Decian persecution in the year 258, giving his life back to the Lord who had called him.

In the selections that follow, Cyprian shows that the Christian faithful have solidarity in suffering with all around them: We can’t expect to escape the natural calamities that befall the world. Yet we have a great treasure — our faith — that enables us to go through these trials with confidence in Christ.

For Cyprian, the plague they were living through was an opportunity to practice their faith and give a common witness to the world around them. Even more, because our hope is in eternal life — and not in this life — we are able to endure loss and death with hope that we have an eternal home with God. Together, in the body of Christ, the Church, we have the faithful around us, to walk together through hard times and to show the power of God to the world.

time of plague

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It disturbs some that this mortality is common to us with others; and yet what is there in this world which is not common to us with others, so long as this flesh of ours still remains, according to the law of our first birth, common to us with them? Thus, when the earth is barren with an unproductive harvest, famine makes no distinction; thus, when with the invasion of an enemy any city is taken, captivity at once desolates all; and when the serene clouds withhold the rain, the drought is alike to all; and when the jagged rocks rend the ship, the shipwreck is common without exception to all that sail in her; and the disease of the eyes, and the attack of fevers, and the feebleness of all the limbs is common to us with others, so long as this common flesh of ours is borne by us in the world.

And further, beloved brethren, what is it, what a great thing is it, how pertinent, how necessary, that that pestilence and plague which seems horrible and deadly, searches out the righteousness of each one, and examines the minds of the human race. ... Even although this mortality conferred nothing else, it has done this benefit to Christians and to God’s servants, that we begin gladly to desire martyrdom as we learn not to fear death.

Struggle in adversity is the trial of the truth. The tree which is deeply founded in its root is not moved by the onset of winds, and the ship which is compacted of solid timbers is beaten by the waves and is not shattered. ...

When, therefore, weakness and inefficiency and any destruction seize us, then our strength is made perfect; then our faith, if when tried it shall stand fast, is crowned.

What a grandeur of spirit it is to struggle with all the powers of an unshaken mind against so many onsets of devastation and death! What sublimity, to stand erect amid the desolation of the human race, and not to lie prostrate with those who have no hope in God; but rather to rejoice, and to embrace the benefit of the occasion; that in thus bravely showing forth our faith, and by suffering endured, going forward to Christ by the narrow way that Christ trod, we may receive the reward of his life and faith according to his own judgment!

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.

1

yprian of Carthage, On Mortality, 8, 12-14, 16, from Ante-Nicene C Fathers, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), 471-73.

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52 Sundays is the ultimate guide for families to grow in their faith every Sunday in 2021!

Together, you can read the Sunday Gospel, reflect on the lives of the saints, learn some fun faith facts, cook something tasty and more.

CHECK IT OUT NOW: 52 S U N D AYS .C O M

Jesus Christ is the Reason for Catholic Central.

Learn more at CatholicCentral.net, or scan the QR code with your smartphone camera to open a story about our September All-School Mass.

FAMILY CHALLENGE

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KATHLEEN MCNULTY WILSON, WRITER • VALAURIAN WALLER, PHOTOGRAPHER

WHEN OUR CHILDREN WERE YOUNG, WE TAUGHT THEM BY SINGING TO THEM: “YOU BELONG TO JESUS, HE LENT YOU TO ME, I GIVE YOU TO JESUS FOR IN HIM YOU’RE FREE … MAY YOU GROW IN GRACE AND WISDOM, MAY YOU ALWAYS SEEK HIS WAYS, MAY YOU SPEAK HIS NAME BOLDLY AND LOVE HIM ALL YOUR DAYS.” THUS BEGAN THE LULLABY GIVEN TO ME SHORTLY BEFORE WE MISCARRIED OUR SECOND CHILD; OUR FIRSTBORN, DANIEL, WAS APPROACHING HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY. “GO NOW, SOAR WITH HIS SPIRIT, WHILE THE ANGELS ABOVE, SHALL SING TO YOU SWEETLY, THIS NIGHT OF HIS LOVE” BECAME PART OF GOD’S LOVE SONG TO OUR CHILDREN, SUNG TO THEM WHILE THEY DRIFTED OFF TO SLEEP, REMINDING US THAT EACH TREASURE BELONGED TO HIM, GIVEN TO US ON LOAN. GOD “LOANED” US SIX CHILDREN (NOW ADULTS), ONE DAUGHTER-INLAW, A FUTURE SON-IN-LAW AND THREE PRECIOUS ONES WHO RETURNED TO HIM AND ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY’S COMMUNION OF SAINTS. LULLABIES ARE NOW BEHIND US. TODAY, WE ACCOMPANY OUR ADULT “LEAD SINGERS” AS THEY ENGAGE IN AND KATHLEEN MCNULTY WILSON and Jim have been married 36 years, part of a large extended Irish and Lebanese family with all their music, traditions and family lore. Kathleen thrives in bringing their seven grown children together whenever possible from their cities of Bloomfield, Indianapolis, Madison, Mountain View, Royal Oak and San Francisco. Passionate about unleashing the Gospel of life, extending dignity and support to every life from conception to natural death, she serves as the pro-life coordinator in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

EXPRESS THEIR OWN FAITH, AND ADAPT OUR TREASURED FAMILY FAITH TRADITIONS TO THE WIDESPREAD LIVES WE LIVE TODAY.

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SUPPORT EACH SINGER Which child is the “favorite child” is the ongoing tease; the truth is — they each are. In their youth, we had a TLC (tender loving care) chair where they sat, signaling their need for extra loving. Now we have TLC prayer, devoting extra prayers for one of our children each day. We keep their personal intentions in mind from week to week and offer pure thanksgiving for the gift they are.

CHALLENGE: Set an alarm each morning to remind yourself which special child will receive your prayers and sacrifices for them that day. Every morning, pray for him or her with simple words, bits of Scripture, a song or decades of the Rosary woven throughout the day. As you pray for your child on his or her given day, tell them, “We never stop giving thanks for you, we love you and are lifting you in prayer today,” reminding them of God’s personal love and attention as his beloved son or daughter.

SING OF MARY Lying next to my mother as a child, she patiently taught me her beloved Rosary prayer, Hail Holy Queen, that I then taught my own. Visits to Grammie Wilson found her reciting her daily Rosary, novena booklet in hand, grandchildren praying a few Hail Marys clamoring to be her next 54-day novena recipient. A holy priest once said, “One Hail Mary prayed sincerely from a child’s heart will one day pull them back to heaven.” Tuck that consolation away!

CHALLENGE: Consider the 54-day Rosary Novena to Our Lady a powerful answer to your families’ grown-up prayers. Given to the gravely ill daughter of an Italian military officer through the apparition of Our Lady of Pompeii, this novena consists of 27 days of petition and 27 days of thanksgiving (www.54daynovena.com). Pray one decade at a time with your young family. Invite your adult family to join a virtual family Rosary this Advent, taking turns leading a decade with intentions. When concerns choke your peace, invoke our Blessed Mother in St. Teresa of Kolkata’s simple words: “Mary be a Mother to them now.” (Jn 19:26-27) Wherever they are, she will wrap them close in her Mother’s mantle, composing for them her own lullaby.

BECOME THEIR ACCOMPANISTS Take a cue from your child’s spirituality. When we entrust our children to God, praying to increase our trust that he is leading them, then the saints they choose for confirmation and the various religious orders they are drawn to are an invitation for us to learn about different spiritualities. Sharing their spirituality brings an abundance to your family’s faith. Ignatian prayers such as the Examen and Gospel contemplation bring discernment. Regnum Christi ignites missionary disciples, Benedictine spirituality teaches an appreciation of the Liturgy of the Hours and hospitality. Our daughter Irene still leads us in morning prayers after moving away to teach.

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CHALLENGE: Learn the various ways your children like to pray, read the spiritual books they are reading and ask them to teach you about the spiritual giants they are learning from. For those with children away from the Church, find a justice issue of their initiative, read and discuss a book about it, gently making connections to the Gospel when appropriate. Putting mercy into action and serving together provides a faithful melody to which one may continually return and creates a harmony that makes the family richer. (Mt 25)

GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER Connect your dispersed family members with apps like Whatsapp where you can create a family group text for members to check in with one another.

Siblings, children and parents learn to rely on each other for prayers and encouragement for that big meeting, that discernment, that concern — or also to celebrate their successes. “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil 4:6) — and your family!

CHALLENGE: Observe family dynamics, discern when it might be time for a deeper phone conversation, share uplifting humor or a photo post of a glorious sunrise or sunset.

TRADITIONS FOR SHARING Advent harkens back to joyful childhood times preparing for the birth of Jesus and offers an opportunity to reconnect over favorite family faith traditions. When I got married, my mother would drop off new Advent wreath candles each year so the McNulty family tradition could continue with our growing Wilson family. In hectic lives, the simple gesture of the children sitting beside each other, lighting a candle each night at dinner along with the evening’s prayers, illuminated for our family that we belonged to Christ, and together we were filled with anticipation. Our children, no matter their age, still need to be filled with the joyful hope of the Lord’s arrival in their lives, that they may go be a light in the world. (Mt 5:14-16) CHALLENGE: Send your children Advent candles in the mail or in person to enkindle the flame of faithful hope for each of them in a world so in need of their joyful song.

GIVING AND RECEIVING Family life is an invitation to give and receive the gift of self, imperfections and all, and offer forgiveness. One of our Advent traditions was to offer secret kind deeds along with prayers for the Kris Kringle family member’s name we secretly drew, placing a piece of straw in the empty manger for baby Jesus with each small sacrifice or mercy that only he knew.

CHALLENGE: Whether you live miles apart or in the same house, find ways to continue your family’s traditions. While we may not be placing straw in the same manger, we continue to offer up sacrifices, gifts of prayer and simple homemade gifts for the family member’s name we draw.

WORSHIP AS YOUR CRESCENDO We love it when our children join us where we were married and raised our children when they return home, at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica. Rather than expecting our local children to always worship in their childhood spiritual home, though, we often attend our children’s chosen parishes with them, seeing the gifts in them called forth by the priests they love.

CHALLENGE: With families scattered, take turns discussing what speaks to you from the Sunday readings or 52 Sundays. During this unprecedented time, try attending Mass together online with the parish of their choice. As the priest said during the homily at my daughter’s alma mater, “This Eucharist binds us together as one body, gathered across space and time to give God thanks and praise.”

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GOING DEEPER FATHER GRAYSON HEENAN is the associate pastor of St. Damien of Molokai Church in Pontiac.

Ordained a priest in 2017, Father Grayson has missionary experience in Argentina (2010-2011) and completed his STB and STL at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Now 2.5 years into his first long-term assignment as a priest, he is just beginning to teach classes at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

divinelove Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Grosse Point.

THE CHURCH IN PILGRIM, PURIFYING AND GLORIFIED STATES

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Several years ago, some priest friends were locked in debate over the question of whether twins bore a special spiritual connection.

Some genuinely interesting anecdotes were offered. Educated opinions were put up for scrutiny.

Scholastic distinctions were made.

Disagreements were formed. In

short order, we were going nowhere fast and, what’s more, things were slowly getting heated. What makes all this even less inspiring is the fact that it also took place in that soulless 21st-century forum, a sorry replacement for encounter and true dialogue, the “group chat” via SMS. Sidestepping the somewhat

FATHER GRAYSON HEENAN, WRITER • VALAURIAN WALLER, PHOTOGRAPHER

tantalizing though perhaps prideful possibility of being a grand synthesizer, one brother (me) introduced the thought that maybe Scripture could offer some food for thought. Was it not interesting, he (I) noted, how much Jesus downplayed the connections and obligations of family life? “Let the dead bury the dead!” (Lk 9:60) And even more pointedly, Matthew 12: 46-50: While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

As a verified rabbi, Jesus was no stranger to using hyperbole strategically in conversation. It is certainly present in his discourse about family and one’s obligations to it, but the startling truth implicit in his statements is clear. The deepest bond, the ultimate bond, is faith, the loving submission to the will of the Father of us all. Certainly, twins may share a special natural and even spiritual connection, but what value is this if it is not rooted in the living waters?

Our subject matter is the communion of the saints. A deep bond, united by the ultimate bond of faith, connects the pilgrim Church on earth, the Church being purified in purgatory and the Church in glory. These three “churches” are better referred to as the three “states”of the One Church, the One body, human and divine, visible and mystical. (CCC 954) In short, those who raise their eyes to the

Father and say with Christ Jesus, “Abba!” are a new and deeper and lasting family passing from one state of glory to the next. This is not merely a theological point.

Have you not felt this with certain people? A familiarity, a warmth, an ultimate understanding and harmony underneath words and gestures?

I have often reflected on this point and wondered, “Does belonging to this family of divine love do a disservice to our family bonds here on earth?” Sacred Scripture definitely presents a dialectic: We are commanded to “honor thy parents” and yet, as if moved by an unquenchable fire, Jesus tells us, “I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother.” (Mt 10:35) These are strong words! They remind me of C.S. Lewis’ rule in “The Four Loves”: love ceases to be a demon only when it ceases to be a God. Must Jesus destroy the idol of “Family Is Everything” to make way for the disciple to proclaim with Paul “to me life is Christ and death is gain”? (Phil 1:21) Value formation and transformation, and indeed conversion, in the end, might not be a comfortable business.

If we could drive this point even further home, does it not strike you how Scripture time and again seems to suggest that we are both orphans and adopted? Is Grandma’s old joke coming full circle?! (For better or worse, your grandparents may have had a milder sense of humor.) On this score, Scripture repeatedly invites us to a profound examination of consciousness and identity and memory: What of our family life?

Family life determines so much of who we are — nature and nurture — but as the decades pass by, it leaves us orphans, empty nesters, unsatisfied, painfully longing, hurt and, at worst, deeply scarred.

Ungrateful, children leave Mom and Dad behind. Sorrowful, they must watch their children do the same to them. Just as they begin to reappreciate Mom and Dad, dementia sets in before the greater crossing of the line. All this to drive the point home: family life is an intermediate, and not an ultimate value.

Into this space of being orphans, a voice breaks. We become adopted, chosen, “Follow me.” We are introduced into a new family.

Friendship sees us through as the dream of happiness in this life gives way to the divine dream of joy beyond the veil, over the mountain.

“I have called you friends.” “I am preparing a place for you.” The Christian promise that I exist in a communion of saints, that friendship and intercession bear me up on my pilgrim journey, is a promise that cannot fail to bring peace and a deep consolation. We will one day meet the saints we so much admire. We will see the ways they helped us and how it all fit into the Father’s plan of glory. People now unknown to us, in some hidden place, lovingly accept penance for us, if even through a vague prayer, “Father, I offer this up to you in love ... Use it.”

If we believe these truths, they would change the way we see family now. Perhaps we would become less anxious and more trusting. Maybe we would become less controlling of space and more hopeful in the wisdom that time imparts. As I am fond of reminding people in family crisis, the devil is a specialist in the short term. Unfortunately for him, God is a specialist in the long run.

Our communion with him — in the pilgrim, purifying and glorified states — ensures that, in the end, all things work to the good for those who love him. And in loving him first, all our other loves become rightly ordered.

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PEOPLE NOW UNKNOWN TO US, IN SOME HIDDEN PLACE, LOVINGLY ACCEPT PENANCE FOR US, IF EVEN THROUGH A VAGUE PRAYER, “FATHER, I OFFER THIS UP TO YOU IN LOVE ...

USE IT.”

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PURSUING HOLINESS

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ARE SOCIAL MEDIA A BLESSING OR A CURSE? WHAT ROLE DO THEY PL AY IN YOUR LIFE AND WHAT SORT OF GUIDELINES DO YOU SET F OR YOURSELF TO KEEP FROM BEING OVERPO WERED BY THEM? B ET H : Social media are definitely a mixed bag for me. They are a great tool to use for outreach related to the bookstore; being able to highlight new Catholic titles or advertise opportunities for folks to get engaged in one of our outreach projects is a wonderful evangelization tool. However, I use them more cautiously in my personal life. I have watched “The Social Dilemma” a few times and have taken to heart some of what I learned in that documentary.

Like most things, I am striving for a healthy balance and avoiding using social media for gathering news or other commentary. Instead, I am trying to use them more to stay connected to loved ones and as a means to encourage and support people. I also work hard to limit the amount of time I spend on them each day. I am not always successful in limiting my time. A friend challenged our Bible study group recently by asking us to really think about the amount of time we spend on social media in comparison to our prayer time.

Something for me to ponder for sure.

HO W DO YOU STAY GROUNDED AND HOPEFUL IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES? B ETH: Initially in March, fear and anxiety were a real issue for me. There was so much uncertainty.

Having a daughter on the front line, along with being forced to close the store, was a lot for me to process. Once I got my shore legs back (maybe a week or two into it), I began the process of turning my worry and anxiety over to God and leaning into some of my spiritual practices that for years have brought me peace. It is definitely something I continue to work on each day. Limiting my news intake and surrounding myself with faithful friends have been keys, along with praying the Rosary and regularly making my way to outdoor adoration.

Prior to the pandemic, I was fortunate to be able to attend daily Mass. That has become much more challenging, so I have had to find other ways to stay connected spiritually. In August, my husband and I decided to start a backyard Bible study, which proved to be a beautiful way to reconnect with faithful friends and to enrich our knowledge of Scripture. For me, it is important to remind myself daily to pray more, worry less and to trust God is in charge.

ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT? HO W DO YOU HANDLE AND CARE F OR THOSE NEEDS IN YOURSELF? BETH COLLISON is the executive director of Faith @ Work Bookstore in Troy and one of the founders of Mary’s Mantle.

She considers the greatest joy and inspiration of her life her husband of 32 years, Jim, and her three adult children, Jake, Molly and Michael.

VALAURIAN WALLER, PHOTOGRAPHER

B ETH: Strangely I am both. Through my ministry work, I have really been thrust into the life of an extrovert. When I am at Faith @ Work, rarely am I alone or not engaging with customers or our staff.

The same was true when I was part of the Mary’s Mantle family. Both roles require(d) a constant outpouring. Truly it is only because the Holy Spirit has given me the grace to do it that I find great joy in my extroverted world. However, my nature is probably more truly an introvert. I absolutely love quiet time and carving out time alone to read, pray or take a long walk keeps me balanced. Strangely enough, having that quiet time fuels me for my life as an extrovert.

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Sending God’s blessings for a Merry Christmas and a peaceful, healthy New Year!

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WHAT SORT OF SELF-CARE DO YOU FIND A NECESSIT Y? B E TH: My husband, Jim, is like a gentle stream in my life. At times, my life can seem like a canoe rushing down a stream, hitting rocks and branches, tipping over and getting stuck. But Jim has a great way of steadying my canoe, gently guiding it through the turbulent waters of life and bailing the water when necessary. Beyond what I do for myself, he does tenfold for me. Ministry work can have its challenges, so having a spouse who is supportive, encouraging and always looking out for my best interest has been the greatest blessing. Jim and I also spend time each night in prayer together, which we have grown to love. Spending time with Jim and my children is an important aspect of my self-care. They keep me focused on the important things in life. Even though I have been incredibly blessed to have been called to ministry work, the greatest joy of my life has always been my family.

LEARN MORE Faith @ Work is a nonprofit Catholic book and gift store founded in 2008. Its mission is to be a light in the community by offering resources to educate folks about the Catholic faith, to be a place for Christian fellowship and to offer ongoing outreach activities. Since opening, it has raised and donated nearly $160,000 to local charities and families in need.

In 2010, with the help of Father JJ Mech, Lynn Coburn and Tom Murray, Mary’s Mantle was founded after a young pregnant woman came to the store seeking help. Her need inspired the creation of a home for expectant mothers.

Since opening, Mary’s Mantle has served 81 expectant moms and their babies.

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DIEGO DIAZ, ILLUSTRATOR

SISTER RITA CLARE YOCHES, TOR GREW UP IN DEARBORN HEIGHTS AND WAS A “PUNISHING” FULLBACK FOR DETROIT DEMOLITION, THE WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, WINNING FOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND EARNING THE MVP TITLE IN 2005. HER ATHLETIC ASPIRATIONS STARTED AT DIVINE CHILD GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL WHERE SHE WON TWO HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BASKETBALL. SHE EARNED A FULL-RIDE SCHOLARSHIP TO PLAY BASKETBALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROITMERCY, WHERE SHE GRADUATED WITH A DEGREE IN SPORTS MEDICINE AND WENT ON TO WORK WITH ATHLETES AT NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY.

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken.

Playing basketball.

WHO DO YOU ADMIRE? Dorothy Day, my mom and Edith Stein.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEAST DAY? St. Rita, May 22, the saint of the impossible.

WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY? My loud laughter.

WHAT VIRTUE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE IN OTHERS? Temperance and vulnerability.

WHAT WORDS DO YOU USE TOO MUCH? HER FAITH WAS FAR FROM HER MIND DURING THESE YEARS, UNTIL SHE HEARD A HOMILY OF FATHER JOHN RICCARDO’S THAT INSPIRED HER TO GO BACK TO CONFESSION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS. SHE STARTED GOING TO DAILY MASS, READING THE BIBLE, GOING TO CONFESSION AND ADORATION. IT WAS DURING A PILGRIMAGE TO ROME AND ASSISI THAT SHE FELT THE LORD CALLING HER TO RELIGIOUS LIFE. IN 2009, SHE ENTERED THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS T.O.R. AND MADE HER FINAL VOWS IN 2018. TODAY, SHE WORKS WITH THE POOR IN STEUBENVILLE AND IS CURRENTLY A CAMPUS MINISTER AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY OR PASTIME?

Detroit baby! You know what I’m saying!

WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST HAPPINESS? Prayer and the Eucharist.

WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Pray a Holy Hour and morning prayer.

WHAT TALENT OR SKILL DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? Singing and musical instrument ability.

WHAT DO YOU VALUE THE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS? Loyalty and honesty.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Caryll Houselander and Elizabeth Goudge.

WHO IS YOUR FICTIONAL HERO? Princess Anna.

WHICH SAINT DO YOU TURN TO FOR INTERCESSION THE MOST? Mary.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE A “MISSIONARY DISCIPLE”?

Prayer and action, listening to the Lord in prayer and then following what he is telling you to do in order to save souls.

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? Thinking, reading, talking to people, anything, I’m a night owl.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED WHEN YOU DIE? As someone who loved others well

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MOTTO OR MANTRA?

My nieces and nephews.

The Christian life is not an athletic performance, it is a matter of poverty offered to God and transfigured by him.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION OF HEAVEN? Me slam-dunking on Michael Jordan, lots of loud celebration and a ton of praising and worshiping the Lord.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

Myself, I’m one of those people who cracks herself up!

Strength and conditioning coach at the University of Notre Dame.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

WHAT IS YOUR MOST CHERISHED POSSESSION?

Getting back up after you fall, or letting someone pick you up and carry you.

Letters from my family.

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PHOTO E SSAY

F OR HU ND REDS OF DE TROITER S E X PER I ENC ING CHRON IC H O MELESSNESS, THE POPE F RA NCI S CE NTE R HAS BE COM E A BEACO N O F HOPE AND A PL AC E OF COMF O RT AN D HEALIN G. LOCATE D I N T HE CENTER OF DETROIT, T HE CENT E R PROVIDES VITAL S ERV I CES TO THE HOMELE SS E ACH DAY. THE CEN TER, RUN BY E X ECU T I V E DIRE CTOR FATHER TI M M CCA BE, ACTS AS A SAFE PL AC E S ERV I NG A NYON E IN N E E D OF S UPPO RT WITHOUT REQUIRING PAPER W O RK OR IDE NTIFICAT I ON. W I T H A GOAL OF E NDIN G CHR ONI C H O MELESSNESS BY 2 0 3 0 , THE CENT ER W ELCOMES GUESTS M O NDAY T HROUGH SATURDAY F RO M 7–11 A .M. OFFE RING T W O MEA L S, ACCE SS TO HOT S HO W ER S , L AUN DRY SE RVICE S , H O U SI NG ASSISTAN CE, AS W ELL A S ME DICAL, DEN TAL A N D LEGA L SUPPORT THROUGH R OTAT I NG CLIN ICS. A SI D E FR O M THE ALMOST E N D LESS LIST OF SERVICES T HE CENT E R PROVIDES, IT AL S O O FFERS I T S GUESTS A PL ACE TO GAT H ER, TO CON NECT WIT H T HE CO MMUNIT Y, TO REST AND , M O R E I MPORTAN TLY, TO FEEL COMF O RT ED AND SUPPORTED.

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JAMES SILVESTRI, PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER

The Pope Francis Center provides its guests with nutritious meals each day. In order to maintain a healthy social distance meals are prepared in the kitchen of the center and are distributed through a door that leads to the exterior of the building where guests wait in line.

The community has been providing refuge for homeless since 1990: nutritious meals, hot showers and grooming services, laundry facilities, housing assistance and free medical, dental and legal clinics.

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Lines gather outside the center to receive meals prepared by staff.

Two nutritious meals are provided each day.

The center provides its members with necessities such as socks, undergarments, hats and gloves and other items vital to maintaining a proper quality of life.

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“In 2013, I was released after having been in prison for 20 years. I was given the address for the Pope Francis Center and they’ve been a saving grace for me ever since. They’ve been doing amazing things with housing, feeding, and giving personal attention to those in need. They’ve given me a lot of support all the way around and I commend them for all their efforts and their time and patience.”

- Samuel Lewis

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Inside Pope Francis Center.

Volunteers and staff prepare food for distribution to the local homeless.

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The program became an independent nonprofit organization in 2015, when it was renamed the Pope Francis Center in honor of Pope Francis’ deep commitment to the poor. Father Tim McCabe, SJ, is now the executive director and president of the Pope Francis Center.

Today, tents are set up in the parking lot to continue to serve the homeless in a safe way during the pandemic.

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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

Remembering Our Loved Ones This Christmas Visit the cemetery this Advent season to hang a complimentary ornament in memory of your loved one.

We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19

tmases reminisc e on Chris Although it’s sad to in we shall celebrate we knew, this year memor y of you. unshed sorrow with ever y We’ll put aside our te on all the jo y we tear, And concentra re here. shared when you we ristmas taught us what Ch Our time together ber ’s wh at we ’ll remem time is for, and that more. until we meet once

I T ’ S N E V E R T O O E A R LY T O S TA R T P L A N N I N G 313.879.3741 | cfcsdetroit.org Holy Sepulchre | Our Lady of Hope | St. Joseph Holy Cross | Mount Carmel | Mount Hope