Resurrection Magazine Christmas 2020 Vol 1:3

RESURRECTION MAGAZINE CHRISTMAS 2020 VOL. 1:3

GOD WITH US

GREETINGS FROM SEMINARY

WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD

FR. STEVE REFLECTS ON THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS AND THE NEARNESS OF GOD IN THE CHRIST CHILD.

THOMAS CROWLEY WRITES TO THE PARISH OFFERING A GLIMPSE INTO COLLEGE SEMINARY LIFE.

THE STORY OF HOW DOUG AND JONI GUENTHER FOUND THEIR HOME AT RESURRECTION.

MISSION DRIVEN

AUTHENTICALLY CATHOLIC

SUPPORTIVE OF FAMILIES

WHO WE ARE Located in the heart of the city of Lansing, the Church of the Resurrection exists to help everyone in our parish family live in the light and hope of the resurrection.

IN THIS ISSUE GOD WITH US FR. STEVE MATTSON

4

GREETINGS FROM SEMINARY THOMAS CROWLEY 6 LIBERATED AND LOVED A BEAUTIFUL THING

LAURA DEMKO 8

GINNY JOY 9

WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD THE MISSION CONTINUES

BEN POHL 10

RICH BUDD 12

THE END OF EDUCATION DOMINIC IOCCO 14 HOPE ALIVE

ANA BRAGA-HENEBRY 15

COVER: THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS The first half of the 17th Century saw many artists throughout Europe take up the style of the famous Italian Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

One of the finest works of these "Caravaggisti" is this nativity by the

Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst.

It is housed in the Wallraf–Richartz Museum in Cologne, Germany. For more on this magnificent piece, visit tinyurl.com/honthorst.

EDITORIAL

I

n this issue of Resurrection Magazine, Fr. Steve considers how we find the Lord in the Christmas season and into the new year, and the challenges of living out our Christian life today.

Ginny Joy shares her inspiring account of the Lord’s faithfulness in the midst of anxiety and health issues. Ginny is living proof that the Lord can bring us peace and joy by placing our trust in Him, even as we face suffering and anguish.

In November, the Church of the Resurrection hosted the John Paul II Healing Center team for a women’s “Undone” retreat. Laura Demko relates how the presenters laid out God’s plan for womanhood, and expresses her gratitude for the opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the feminine soul through the powerful testimonies of the presenters.

Our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program has seen a steady stream of participants in recent years. Rich Budd, who teaches this course, explains how the class of 2020 overcame the restrictions imposed by the virus to bring candidates to the Sacraments of Initiation; his story challenges us to reach out to those who may be open to becoming Catholic.

Also, in this issue, editor Ben Pohl interviews Doug and Joni Guenther about their remarkable journey of faith and what brought them to engage

EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR SEAN O’NEILL MANAGING EDITOR

BEN POHL

Page 3

in the RCIA program, which led them to become full members of our parish.

We currently have three sons of the Church of the Resurrection attending Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota: Thomas Crowley, Mason Abbott, and Brandon Amburn. Thomas shares how they have grown spiritually during their time away, and encourages us to continue to pray for them as they study for the priesthood.

Dominic Iocco, President of Lansing Catholic High School (LCHS), gives a stirring defense of Catholic education in the face of the increasing secularization of society, and explains what LCHS is doing to partner with parents to nurture missionary disciples within the school community.

And lastly, Ana Braga-Henebry, Latin teacher at Resurrection School, provides a commentary on Robert Southwell’s poem: “The Nativity of Christ.” Ana shrewdly points out the timeliness of Southwell’s sentiments in the current moment.

It is inspiring to read how all these individual witnesses have been faithful throughout a difficult time of life, and it is an encouragement to us to “fight the good fight” and not to give up hope. May the Christ child bless each one of us abundantly in this season of peace and goodwill to all.

GOD WITH US FR. STEVE MATTSON

D

espite the fact that we’re still under a bit of a “shut-down” in the state, I’m very grateful that we were able to have public Masses to celebrate the birth of Jesus. He has come. He is born. Alleluia! In my internet-less rectory, I’ve found myself listening to more music, and I recently listened to the entirety of Handel’s Messiah. It is a masterpiece, showcasing in song the entire salvific life of Jesus the Messiah. We often hear a few pieces from the oratorio around this time of year, especially the Hallelujah Chorus -- a regular finale of Christmas concerts for choirs, which also sometimes serves as a postlude to the celebration of Midnight Mass.

Handel’s Messiah is a marvelous meditation on the prophetic words concerning Christ and their fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery, culminating in the Resurrection. If you haven’t taken the time, you might consider listening to it in its entirety. One nice thing is that work was originally written in English, and the libretto is masterful.

The first part focuses, as one would expect, on the coming of Jesus as a child: laid a manger in Bethlehem one December long, long ago.

This year, despite the challenges, we are invited once again to welcome the little baby Jesus, the Son of God, who willed to come among us as a little baby to reveal to us the love of the Father. Born of Mary, Jesus came in the fullness of time, to manifest love, to confirm our faith, and to give us hope, even in the messiness of coronatide.

Covid has not been our only concern, either individually or collectively. Politically and culturally, we are living in what is obviously a very divided nation. Add to that what Ralph Martin calls A Church in Crisis in his new book of the same name, and things can begin to look quite bleak. The challenges we are facing make us pause, and (hopefully, at least) invite us to pray. Given those challenges -- or perhaps all the more so because of them -- as we celebrate Christmas, let us be sure to remind ourselves and each other that the Lord is near. He is Emmanuel, God with us, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus. Our “Little Lord Jesus” invites us to come without fear to the manger where He lies: as real, vulnerable, and needy as any newborn.

Page 5

COME WHAT MAY...

PASTORAL REFLECTIONS ON LIVING OUT THE CATHOLIC FAITH Check out Fr. Steve's new blog where he offers reflections on current events and eternal concerns in aid of those who are striving to discern what faithful discipleship looks like in our current age: comewhatmay.blog.

It’s all about love. Receiving love, and giving love away. Loving well is the surest measure of a full, good life, come what may.

Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh, came among us as one like us: not to intimidate or condemn, but to win our hearts to love; He invites us to come to Him, to see Him, to hold Him, and to wonder at His presence. Jesus, the Eternal Son, came into the world—and is here now—for you, for me, for us all.

He came in love. Out of love. For love. And that’s what He wants for us: love.

Through our baptism, we are given the gift to participate in the Trinitarian life of love. Empowered by the Spirit, we are called by Love to be love in the

Our “Little Lord Jesus” invites us to come without fear to the manger where He lies: as real, vulnerable, and needy as any newborn. world—right now, in this year of Covid—by shining as lights for the world to see and to wonder at our life together. It’s all about love. Receiving love, and giving love away. Loving well is the surest measure of a full, good life, come what may. May 2021 be a year marked by love of God and neighbor for us all.

May we each know the love of God and share that love with others.

The way that we can love well this year is to draw strength from time spent with the One who is love.

Let us be nourished daily by the Word of God and regularly receive the sustenance of love: the Blessed Sacrament. The more we come to Him, spending regular time with Him in prayerful meditation, contemplation, and adoration, the more we will be able to emulate His life, and so serve as witnesses

to others of what it means to be Christian in the twenty-first century.

Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh, came among us as one like us: not to intimidate or condemn, but to win our hearts to love As we pause this Christmas like little children, amidst all the “grown-up concerns” of the moment, let us aim to do the simple things well. Let us draw near to Jesus, the very approachable, even irresistible, baby in the manger, and open our hearts to his love: that will make all the difference.

If we do that, those with eyes to see will know that God is, in fact, with us, because they will recognize Him in us. Merry Christmas!

GREETINGS FROM SEMINARY Thomas Crowley

G

reetings from St. Paul, Minnesota! My name is Thomas Crowley and I am one of three seminarians from our parish currently attending St. John Vianney College Seminary. On behalf of myself, Mason Abbot, and Brandon Amburn, I want to personally thank you all for your prayers and support. The prayers of a parish are truly a powerful force and we need your prayers as we strive to do the Lord’s will.

Many people ask: what is seminary like? On a typical weekday, we pray a holy hour and Lauds (Morning Prayer) before the Blessed Sacrament beginning at 6:30 am.

Then it’s off to classes at the University of St. Thomas between 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, followed by Evening Prayer and Mass at 5:00 pm. The schedule varies slightly, but a daily holy hour, mass, and morning and evening prayer are foundational to the life of the seminary.

Our schedule throughout the week also includes regular meetings with the men on our building floor, spiritual conferences, dedicated hours of study, fraternity and recreation, and much more.

We also take time to have fun, whether playing ultimate frisbee, football, a board or card games, watching movies, singing...I could go on and on. As

Our chapel is the true home of every man here, and from that place of intimacy with Jesus flows everything else. This allows us to truly love each other as brothers and helps us build each other up in holiness.

Brandon said to me recently, there is a surprising and incredible diversity of men in the seminary: basically any type of personality you can think of is represented. Even with the incredible diversity of people, the seminary helps us develop a strong sense of brotherhood. Mason calls it a “beautiful genuineness,” and we all agree that this incredible brotherhood exists because Jesus Christ himself is at the center.

One of my favorite parts of seminary is the abiding presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Our chapel is the true home of every man here, and from that place of intimacy with Jesus flows everything else.

This allows us to truly love each other as brothers and helps us build each other up in holiness.

One of our priests often tells us that the seminary is like a “spiritual greenhouse,” designed to facilitate our growth. Seminary has helped me grow in greater reliance on Christ. As one who struggles with pride, it’s been tough learning that I

Page 7

FALL ISSUE Did you miss VOL 1:2 of Resurrection Magazine?

Don’t worry!

You can view and download previous issues at corlansing.org/magazine.

can’t truly do anything on my own. But it has also been an incredibly freeing experience, learning the Lord’s personal love for me and how He desires to carry me through life in His loving arms. For Brandon, the Lord has been helping him grow in charity. He shared that in high school he struggled with gossip, but that since he’s been here through a growth in prayer life, grace from the Lord, and conviction and support from his brothers, he’s grown in charity and developed a capacity to love others more authentically. The Lord has also been drawing Mason into a deeper relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he’s been preparing to make a total consecration to Mary with the help of the book 33 Days to Morning Glory.

So, that is a little peek into our life as seminarians and the transformation the Lord is working in us.

I want to thank you once again for your prayers as the three of us continue to discern and grow. Please continue to pray for us and all of those young men at Resurrection who may be considering the call to the priesthood. We would not be where we are without you; know that we carry you in our hearts and prayers as we see you all in the Eucharist each morning. We wish you all a very blessed and Merry Christmas and our hope and prayer for you all is that you invite Christ to dwell in each of your hearts as we strive to do the same!

ST. JOHN PAUL II ON THE PRIESTHOOD "By his very nature and sacramental mission, the priest appears in the structure of the Church as a sign of the absolute priority and gratuitousness of the grace given to the Church by the risen Christ. Through the ministerial priesthood the Church becomes aware in faith that her being comes not from herself but from the grace of Christ in the Holy Spirit.

from Christ, the head and shepherd, are placed with their ministry - in the fore front of the Church as a visible continuation and sacramental sign of Christ in his own position before the Church and the world, as the enduring and ever new source of salvation, he 'who is head of the Church, his body, and is himself its savior' (Eph. 5:23)" (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 16).

"The apostles and their successors, inasmuch as they exercise an authority which comes to them

- Visit tinyurl.com/pastoresjpii to read the complete Apostolic Exhortation.

LIBERATED AND LOVED LAURA DEMKO

I

f there is one thing we can count on at Resurrection, it is opportunities for deepening our faith. The recent “Undone” retreat offered just that: an invitation for women to encounter God’s original design and purpose for our hearts.

This most recent offering by the John Paul II Healing Center invited attendees to examine “woman” through God’s lens.

The first evening focused on Eve, the climax of God’s creation, made for relationship, receptivity and beauty. Our second night brought us to The Fall, when woman’s feminine identity became distorted by sin. In the third and fourth sessions, Mary entered the picture as our model and gave us the opportunity to reunite ourselves with God’s love; to undo any sin and shame, any “knots,” we experience as God’s daughters. Through a series of honest testimonies by the Undone presenters, small group discussions, adoration, prayer experiences, live praise and worship music and reconciliation, retreatants were given unique opportunities to enter into God’s invitation for healing and grace.

Perhaps you are like me, unsure if you are a “retreat” kind of person, but certain you are in need of healing. After attending Undone, I am grateful for the opportunity to step out of the busyness of raising young children, and focus on

my identity as a daughter of God. One defining moment of the experience came as we examined our God-designed identities and relationships as daughter, sister, bride, and mother. As the presenters helped us realize, all women are called to these roles, even though they may not all seem to fit. God’s original design for woman, as His “finishing touch” of creation, was for her to be inherently different from man. God created woman for beauty, openness, and relationship; to give life.

As St. John Paul the Great once said, “You are not who they say you are. Let me remind you who you are.”

Our modern world is speaking untruths about what it means to be a woman, just as Eve encountered the lies of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. We are told to be equal with man, that we have to be the same. We are taught that instead of complimenting man, we are meant to compete with him. We are told that motherhood can keep us from our dreams. How good that God offers us Mary’s unfailing and beautiful example.

How good that she calls us back to our Father and to our true identities as His beloved daughters.

How good that she gave her YES! I am grateful for the opportunity to reexamine who God has called me to be: free and personally loved by Him.

A BEAUTIFUL THING

Page 9

GINNY JOY

T

his past July, my husband was hospitalized for two weeks. He was in a lot of pain, and I spent most of each day sitting with him, praying for him, and offering whatever help I could. I came home each evening and crashed into bed, exhausted.

A well-meaning, faith-filled friend who knew about the situation told me that anxiety was normal -- that it was okay to admit it. But the truth was: I had no anxiety at all! Every day, despite the intensity of the situation, I experienced the miraculous presence of Jesus, who was always by my side, telling me I could trust Him with my cares. This did not happen because of something I did: it happened because Jesus is truly merciful, and his mercy served to shield me from worry. Psalm 91 tells us that if we walk close to the Lord, He will save us from the snares of our enemy, the devil. During this time of trial, Satan baited a trap of anxiety for me, but I was saved from it, ever aware of the beauty of the love of Jesus.

"He will shelter you with his pinions, and under his wings you may take refuge; his faithfulness is a protecting shield" (Ps 91:4).

After a few weeks, my husband was home, recuperating. Though facing a lengthy recovery and in need of constant care, he was doing well. Life began to return to normal, which also

meant that the pace picked up. One night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I was bombarded with a flurry of thoughts: How will I find time to finish making my granddaughter’s First Communion dress? I need to finish preparing a presentation for a women’s retreat and I don’t know where to start. The house is a mess! I’m overwhelmed by the thought of all the clutter.

Suddenly, I was assailed by anxiety, the trap that Satan had laid weeks before now stood directly in my path, and I was close to putting my foot in it! But in that moment, I whispered to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress. I trust in you.” The Holy Spirit reminded me of Psalm 91: “My refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” Eventually, the anxiety dissipated and I was able to sleep, but the same thing happened two or three more times, always at bedtime. Each time, as I felt anxiety well up inside of me, I repeated the words from Psalm 91, and the fiery darts of the devil were quenched.

I was delivered from the snare and experienced the powerful truth of God’s love, of how truly beautiful it is.

Sometimes it takes hindsight to see God’s hand.

But it was apparent to me from the start that He was present: protecting, consoling, and guiding me. This is the miracle of the presence of Jesus, and I am so blessed to have experienced it.

WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD BEN POHL

D

oug and Joni’s paths came together in 2006.

Joni had been working in real estate for a few years and Doug had just returned to Michigan after doing some consulting work in Silicon Valley. He moved back to avoid the “dot com” bust and to be closer to his son in Williamston. He decided to pursue a real estate license and attended a training that Joni’s company was putting on.

When Joni’s company relocated in 2008, Doug suggested she look for work in Lansing.

They eventually married in 2015.

At the time, Joni’s only exposure to the Catholic Church had been at a Catholic school, which she attended in the fourth grade. Doug had never even been inside of a Catholic Church. Joni grew up Baptist, the daughter of a minister, and Doug was Lutheran. “After Doug and I got married, I’d been having this longing that we need to get back in church; we need to find a church. So we tried Baptist churches, we tried Lutheran churches, and we couldn’t really find anything that we liked.”

They started going to a non-denominational church, but never felt that they fit. “We left there one Sunday morning and I was in tears and I told Doug, ‘We’re not going back there, I can’t go back there, it’s just like we’re not even going to church at all. I’m getting nothing out of it.’”

“So we were heading home and [Doug] pulled the car over and I said, ‘Why are we stopping?’ And he said, ‘We’re gonna pray.’ And we prayed, and that was Sunday.” Doug and Joni prayed that day for

a home. A community where they felt they could belong and encounter God. The Lord was listening, and had an adventure in store for them.

Not long before that Sunday, Joni had been working for a local cemetery and was looking for a change. She saw a job posting for a position at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. “When I applied the description on the website said that they preferred a practicing Catholic. At that time I was working at another cemetery in the area and I told my husband, ‘You know what? I don’t care, I’m applying anyways, and if that’s where God wants me, that’s where He’ll put me!” After a few interviews, Joni was offered the position and accepted.

After crying out to God from their car on that Sunday, Doug and Joni didn’t have to wait long for an answer. They would do plenty of waiting in the future, but not yet. The following Saturday, St. Joseph’s hosted a service for the unborn where Joni met a couple from Resurrection. “We got to talking about churches and she asked me where we attend, and I said, ‘Well, we were going to this church, but we decided we’re not going back there, so I hate to say we’re actually going to be shopping around for a church.’” They invited Joni to come to Mass. She explained that she and Doug weren’t Catholic, but the couple insisted they should just come and see if they like it.

“On the whole ride home, I thought: Doug is gonna think I’m totally crazy and tell me, ‘No, we’re not

Page 11

Catholic, we’re not going to Catholic Mass.’ So I came home and I told Doug, ‘I just told a family that we would be [going] to Mass tomorrow morning at Resurrection.’ He said, ‘Okay, that sounds good.’”

Joni was shocked, but Doug had not forgotten the prayer they made the Sunday before. The next day they went to Mass at Resurrection. They continued to attend week after week and soon the parish was starting an Alpha course. Joni and Doug joined and began to experience Resurrection Church and their own faith in a deeper way. In particular, the Alpha “Day-Away” brought about a profound shift in Doug: “When we did that, that was where we got in touch with the Holy Spirit and I felt the Holy Spirit come over me. There were issues in our life, not in our marriage, but in our life that were just becoming overwhelming. When the Holy Spirit came over me, it just changed my attitude about everything.”

No one wants their marriage to end in divorce and everything. I was just feeling really down on myself and like God wasn’t forgiving me and that God wasn’t loving me. We went to a [Healing Encounter] and I was just sitting in my seat, bawling my eyes out, praying. A lady came down and sat next to me.

I have no idea who this lady was, and she said, ‘The Lord told me to come up here and tell you that He loves you, you are His child, you are good enough, and He has forgiven you for everything that you’ve done. He wants you to stop beating yourself up. You are His.’ When she was telling me this, I just felt something go through me. I went up to pray and I was touching the humeral veil and I just felt something wash over me…it was like it just poured over me when I was praying.

I didn’t know if I wanted to cry, or I wanted to laugh, that’s how happy I was. I went to get up, I could hardly even stand!”

After Alpha, Joni and Doug decided they wanted to make Resurrection their home and began attending RCIA. But their enthusiasm was tinged with fear. They had both experienced difficult prior marriages and had heard that the annulment process could be challenging. The paperwork and the waiting would last a few years.

Joni recalls, “For both of us, it brought up a lot of painful memories because our previous marriages

For Doug, the thought of confession was hanging over him from the time they decided to start RCIA. Prior to his time in Silicon Valley, Doug had worked in anti-terrorism intelligence in Europe. “We were watching for [terrorists]…and stopping them. My unit was to stop them permanently. That was heavy on me. I would have nightmares, and I’m thinking [this] condemns me to, beyond purgatory. So I think, okay, here’s my confession, Fr. Steve. And I said, ‘I’m sinful like any other human, but here’s the one that’s bothering me, I can’t get beyond this.’ My first confession released me from a lot of horrors, a lot of fears, and a feeling of being unworthy. In my background as a Lutheran, we didn’t have that opportunity to go to a priest and receive absolution. There was this thing that was horribly haunting me, and now it’s gone.”

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God” (Ps 40:1-2). weren’t the best situations and that’s why we left them…but we look back at it now and would do it all over again.”

During the waiting, Joni and Doug attended RCIA twice (the second time because they enjoyed it so much the first time) and made their first confessions.

For both of them, and in different ways, the grace of the sacrament of mercy was especially powerful.

Joni recalls: “I was really feeling bad about myself.

This past summer, Doug and Joni’s annulment was finally processed, and on August 23, 2020, in “the year of waiting,” their wait was finally over. They celebrated the sacraments and were received into the Catholic Church. They had found their home.

The Lord had heard Doug and Joni’s prayer, set their feet upon rock, and placed a beautiful song of praise in their mouths: “For both of us, it’s just been more than we can comprehend.”

THE MISSION CONTINUES RICH BUDD

O

n March 1st of this year, we celebrated the First Sunday of Lent. For our parish, and for Catholics world-wide, this was the beginning of a particularly long Lent. For those of our parish preparing to become Catholic through The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.), that day also marked the Rite of Election, the end of their formal catechesis and the beginning of a final stage of prayer and purification in anticipation of the Easter Sacraments. The Rite of Election takes place every year at the beginning of Lent and is an opportunity for Bishop Boyea to meet with the Catechumens and Candidates, to offer them his blessing, and share words of encouragement as they begin the final stages of their initiation. COVID-19 came so swiftly that very few that day considered what the future would bring, or how it would affect the final leg of their journey.

Our class included men and women, college students and people well into their careers, single people and married folks with kids. Each had a wide array of experiences, knowledge, and hopes for what their future life in the Church would look like. We became a close-knit community, sharing struggles, insights, and laughing together. Then, almost without warning, we were separated.

For those in RCIA, Lent is a time of increased

prayer, reflection, and synthesis of everything they’ve learned and gone through to get to that point. Preparing for the Easter sacraments among friends is very important to the process and yet, we were left praying, sharing, and reflecting on scripture through our computer screens.

A world-wide pandemic might have thrown a bump in the road or rerouted their journey to the Church, but even it could not stop the work of the Church, the work of our very own Church of the Resurrection, from bringing new souls to Christ.

Ultimately, even Easter was taken from us and we had to watch the Vigil from home, not knowing when the day of grace would finally come. And so we waited. We kept meeting, kept sharing, kept praying together. We asked God to bring to completion our long journey.

Finally, the group got word that we’d be receiving “Easter” sacraments on Pentecost. What an amazing gift! The day on which the Holy Spirit was first poured out upon the earth and the Church was commissioned to go out to all nations was the day our “Long Lent” would finally come to an end.

The Pentecost Vigil Mass was a reminder that the Church has been through a lot in her 2000-year history. We’ve seen wars, famine,

Page 13

WHAT IS THE RCIA? The RCIA, or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is the process whereby someone can learn more about the Catholic Church in a low pressure environment with others who have similar questions, and interests.

Preparation to receive the sacraments typically begins in the fall. In the Spring, at the Easter Vigil, Catechumens (those seeking Baptism) and Candidates (those seeking full communion with the Church) receive their sacraments. For more information, please visit corlansing.org/rcia.

and the rise and fall of many powers; still, She continues on that mission of making disciples and going out to all the world, even the very local world of our city. And so, a world-wide pandemic might have thrown a bump in the road or rerouted their journey to the Church, but even it could not stop the work of the Church, the work of our very own Church of the Resurrection, from bringing new souls to Christ.

This fall, a group of eleven individuals came forward to seek a deeper and more complete relationship with our Lord. This time around, we know a bit more about the virus and have had more time to prepare so we can meet in person with all of the precautions of social distancing, masks, and sanitization. Please pray for these members of our community who are seeking the Lord. In a few short months, they will be full members of the Body of Christ, and will join us at the altar to receive His precious Body and Blood.

Also, please pray for the parish staff who are given the great gift of journeying alongside them, that they might be filled with the creativity of the Holy

Spirit in helping these future brothers and sisters to know the Lord. The Church has seen darker times than these, and we will continue, even in the midst of uncertainty, to bring souls to Christ.

Finally, no one comes to the Lord on their own.

Each one of us could make a list of the people who assisted us in coming to know our God. The same goes for the people who approach our parish for RCIA. Take some time over the coming weeks and months to think about who in your life you could invite to know the Lord in a deeper and more meaningful way. Who out there might be ready to join the Catholic Church if only they had someone courageous enough to reach out and ask them about their faith, to invite them to explore more, and to show them where they could find answers to the deep questions they have?

If you know someone like this, help them contact me or Susan Bartold at the parish office. We would love to help them journey closer to our Lord, even in the time of pandemic. God Bless!

THE END OF EDUCATION DOMINIC IOCCO

T

he American education system is broken. I saw this first hand running a company, where all too often, the graduates we hired from respected universities were completely unprepared for a career. I also saw it first hand as the Provost of a Catholic University. We routinely welcomed students who were not ready for university education. As a country, we’ve dumbed down education, focused on politically correct indoctrination, and our measure of success has become a standardized test score - and even on those, we’ve made no progress.

We should not be surprised. When God was removed from the classroom, no other result was possible. How can we educate students when we’ve lost sight of the ultimate purpose of the person we are trying to educate? If I want to build a house, I need a blueprint. If we want to form a person, we must start with the end in mind. Education must begin with understanding our ultimate purpose. We are sons and daughters of God, and true happiness is found in knowing, loving, and serving Him. At a time when depression and anxiety are at all-time highs, especially among young people, we need to remind our students why we are here and what leads to authentic happiness.

Thankfully, Catholic schools in this diocese are well on their way to restoring Catholic education. At Lansing Catholic, our mission is to form students spiritually, intellectually, and socially into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. This mission is critically important. That is why I moved my family back home to Michigan, honored to accept the role of LCHS President.

We know that families are the fundamental building block of society. Parents are the primary educators of their children. Family time matters. Schools must partner with parents, not contradict them, and education must focus on the whole person: spirit, mind, and body. We take seriously the intellectual and moral virtues in order to prepare students for a fully human life, one lived in the service of others.

Education should seek to cultivate in students a love for learning and a desire for wisdom. Lansing Catholic refuses to operate as a “factory” for the learning of various skills and competencies, even though we do equip our graduates with enviable skills. Education is what’s left after the content is forgotten. We aim to liberate students from the “dictatorship of relativism” – which cripples all genuine education by eliminating the objective truths of reality. We take seriously both faith and reason as we educate “in the truth.”

We strive to cultivate a community marked by true friendship. We aim to form in our students those virtues that will enable friendships and community to flourish. Ultimately, we recognize that none of this is possible unless we ourselves are missionary disciples: for we cannot give what we do not have. Every day, we try to imitate more closely the perfect example - Jesus Christ. At Lansing Catholic, we believe that forming saints is the true object of Catholic education. The only way to fix education is to start with the end in mind: and our end, our true aim, is eternal life.

For more information about Lansing Catholic High School, visit lansingcatholic.org.

HOPE ALIVE

Page 15

ON ST. ROBERT SOUTHWELL'S THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST ANA BRAGA-HENEBRY

N

early five centuries after its posthumous publication in 1595, “The Nativity of Christ,” a short poem by the English Catholic martyr St. Robert Southwell, SJ, comes to our aid.

Curious: that a poem about the Nativity would speak of despair and weeping, deafness and dumbness, death and darkness. Yet these themes surround us in 2020. Let us remember that Southwell’s own age was one of fear, darkness, sickness, and more: persecution, torture, and execution.

These realities loomed daily in the life of Fr. Southwell and the other missionary priests, who dared to teach and practice the Catholic faith in Elizabethan England.

The poem, which Southwell wrote in prison while awaiting execution, brings us today what he was able to bring then to his readers, mostly fellow prisoners: hope. He and countless others were martyred for their beloved Catholic faith, in a time and place when religious liberty was all but snuffed out. Southwell brought this hope to life in his verses.

The first stanza ponders the mystery of Christ incarnate, born a tiny baby and laid upon the hay, feeble. We see the saving action of God at work through the mire and mess of our human condition.

What can bring greater hope than the Nativity of Christ? To recall that God is acting still in the very messy world as this dreadful year closes! He is here, now, everywhere. With eyes of faith, we see Him

The weight of darkness, of numbness, of despair: none of these are a match for the joy of salvation.

in our homes, in our neighbors, and in the myriad opportunities He opens for us.

Joy overcoming darkness jumps at us in the very first line of the second stanza. In how many ways does the joy of salvation insist on overcoming death! The weight of darkness, of numbness, of despair: none of these are a match for the joy of salvation. The poet juxtaposes despairs with repairs—a perfect reminder of the essence of the Nativity.

The third stanza examines Christ as a gift from God. “God” and “gift” in alliterative rhythm jump from line to line, pressing the point that no higher gift can ever be given or received. God sends us the very gift of Himself; we, in turn, can be our best gifts by laying our lives and our wills at His feet. God mends our lamentable condition, transforming us “from beast to man.”

Southwell closes the poem with two earth-bound lines: Oh happy field wherein this fodder grew/ Whose taste doth us from beasts to men renew! In what better manner could the poet bring us such comfort and hope? He reminds us that we are able to transcend our quotidian existence, rooted in soil and in time—the happy field where the fodder grew. As we contemplate the Nativity with faith and hope, we are remade from beasts to men!

Coming to us through the wheels of the ages, these words penned by the prison-bound saint are indeed timely, reaching across centuries from his dark hours to our own, breaking the bonds of fear and sin. May we all take his message to heart this Christmas season.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST ST. ROBERT SOUTHWELL

B

ehold the father is his daughter’s son, The bird that built the nest is hatch’d therein, The old of years an hour hath not outrun, Eternal life to live doth now begin, The word is dumb, the mirth of heaven doth weep, Might feeble is, and force doth faintly creep.

O dying souls! behold your living spring!

O dazzled eyes! behold your sun of grace!

Dull ears attend what word this word doth bring!

Up, heavy hearts, with joy your joy embrace!

From death, from dark, from deafness, from despairs, This life, this light, this word, this joy repairs.

Gift better than Himself God doth not know, Gift better than his God no man can see; This gift doth here the giver given bestow, Gift to this gift let each receiver be: God is my gift, Himself He freely gave me, God’s gift am I, and none but God shall have me.

Man alter’d was by sin from man to beast; Beast’s food is hay, hay is all mortal flesh; Now God is flesh, and lies in manger press’d, As hay the brutest sinner to refresh: Oh happy field wherein this fodder grew, Whose taste doth us from beasts to men renew!

www.corlansing.org

1505 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48912

(517) 482-4749