5
7
CONTENTS
DANCING FOR JOY
From a young age, Christy Hernandez found joy in dance.
12 AND THE WINNERS ARE ….
Announcing the winners of the annual OC Afar Photo Contest.
14 A MODEL GENTLEMAN
Spotlight on restaurateur Antonio Cagnolo, longtime participant in the annual Gentlemen’s Haberdashery fundraiser.
DEVOTION TO THE ROSARY
The month of October is dedicated to the Rosary.
ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC MISSION STATEMENT
The Orange County Catholic Newspaper seeks to illuminate and animate the journey of faith for Catholics within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange – building solidarity among the faithful and inviting a deeper understanding and involvement in the mission of Christ – through the timely sharing of news, commentary and feature content in an engaging, accessible and compelling format.
ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLIC
The Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Diocese of Orange Pastoral Center, 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove 92840
Publisher: The Most Reverend Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange
Executive Editor: Jarryd Gonzales
Managing Editor: Patricia Mahoney, editor@occatholic.com
News Ideas: editor@occatholic.com
Delivery Problems: occatholicsupport@occatholic.com
ADVERTISING
Director of Custom Content: Caroline Wong, cawong@scng.com
SCNG
CUSTOM CONTENT
Managing Editor: Caitlin Adams Art Director: Ryann Beveridge
Delivered weekly to parishes and homes throughout Orange County, Calif., Orange County Catholic is published by SCNG Custom Content, a division of Southern California News Group that offers content development and design expertise to businesses and nonprofit institutions. The Orange County Catholic editorial staff and editorial council are responsible for the content contained herein. Events and products advertised in Orange County Catholic do not carry the implicit endorsement of the Diocese of Orange or SCNG Custom Content.
Rosary Beads
If you would like to share a photo of your Rosary Beads with our readers, please send a photo and brief description.
Include your name and parish to: editor@occatholic.com
To report sexual abuse by clergy or church personnel please call: 1 (800) 364-3064
Healing and Hope After Abortion: 1 (800) 722-4356
New Hope Peer-to-Peer Support Line | Mon - Fri 7:30 AM - 9:30 PM | Sat - Sun 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM: 1 (714) NEW-HOPE or 1 (714) 639-4673
điện thoại miễn phí sau đây: 1-800-364-3064, và đồng thời báo cáo cho nhà chức trách địa phương.
ROSARY BEADS
READER CALL-OUT
This is a rosary we had made for my father’s funeral 64 years ago. Originally, it was done with real rosebuds. However, as they deteriorated, we had them replaced with silk rosebuds. As you can see, it is quite large, and one of the rosebuds has come loose.
—John Rockwood, Holy Family Parish, Leisure World.
If you would like to share a photo of your Rosary Beads with our readers, please send a photo and brief description (include your name and parish) to: editor@occatholic.com C
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
MONDAY
JONAH 1:1–2:1-2, 11; JONAH 2:3, 4, 5, 8; LUKE 10:25-37
“ Amid life's trials, our hope is inspired by the firm and reassuring certainty of God's love.”
— Pope Leo XIV
SAINT PROFILE
BLESSED MARIE-ROSE DUROCHER 1811-1849
EULALIE DUROCHER WAS THE YOUNGEST of 10 children in a pious Quebec family; three brothers became priests and two sisters also became nuns. Because of ill health, Eulalie attended school sporadically and was rejected by several religious orders. For 12 years she helped one of her priest-brothers in his parish, organizing charitable works and the first Confraternity of Mary in Canada. In 1843, with two friends and episcopal permission, she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary to educate poor youths, especially in the countryside. As Mother Marie-Rose, she led the congregation until her early death; she was beatified in 1982. Holy Names' sisters serve today in Canada, the United States, Lesotho, Peru and Brazil.C
PHOTOS: CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE, SHUTTERSTOCK
TUESDAY
JONAH 3:1-10; PSALM 130:1B-2, 3-4AB, 7-8; LUKE 10:38-42
WEDNESDAY
JONAH 4:1-11; PSALM 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10; LUKE 11:1-4
THURSDAY
MALACHI 3:1320B; PSALM 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6; LUKE 11:5-13
FRIDAY
JOEL 1:13-15; 2:1-2; PSALM 9:2-3, 6 AND 16, 8-9; LUKE 11:1526
SATURDAY
JOEL 4:12-21; PSALM 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; LUKE 11:27-28 SUNDAY 2 KINGS 5:14-17; PSALM 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-13; LUKE 17:11-19
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN ROCKWOOD
DANCING FOR JOY
BY GREG MELLEN
FROM A YOUNG AGE Christy Hernandez found an ineffable joy in the expression of dance.
From jazz to tap, it spoke to her and flowed through her. And even if she lacked the vocabulary to describe it, she knew intuitively it was something special, spiritual, even sacred.
It’s what led her into professional dancing and choreography and to create the nonprofit Dance 4 Joy Ministries in 2007. It also brought her to Christ Cathedral Academy, where she is in her third year teaching the afterschool liturgical dance class to kindergarteners through fourth-graders.
As she spread flags and ribbons the children will wave during their first lesson, Hernandez meets Nicole Salazar and her daughter, Olivia.
“We’re very excited,” Salazar said of enrolling her daughter. Although Olivia has taken dance in the past, her mom looks forward to a class that can bridge the joyous abandon of dance and the spirit of Catholic education.
“Olivia is learning the faith and I think she’ll make the connections,” she added.
CHRISTY HERNANDEZ, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DANCE 4 JOY MINISTRIES, POSES WITH ONE OF HER STUDENTS, ADELINE GARCIA.
A precocious five-year-old with nonstop energy, Olivia arrives ready in her black leotard and slippers. She is brimming with energy and enthusiasm.
Alternately trying to rein in and release the child’s energy, Hernandez loves it.
“I was exactly like Olivia,” she said. “I want to be here for all the Olivias.”
SPIRITUAL ROOTS
When Hernandez founded Dance 4 Joy Ministries, she began by teaching from her home. Today, Dance 4 Joy
trains upwards of 250 students a week at five studios, as well as in workshops, camps and outreach projects. Classes are offered in ballet, modern, jazz, hiphop, tap and sacred dancing.
The Catholic connection, Hernandez said, came about through a relationship with Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, which has a long history promoting the sacred arts. In 2015, Hernandez was invited for the first time to dance in a Pentecost procession there. She has also taught dance
CHRISTY HERNANDEZ OF DANCE 4 JOY GUIDES HER STUDENTS THROUGH WARM-UP STRETCHES AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL ACADEMY. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
at St. Anthony Mary Claret Catholic Church in Anaheim.
On Friday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m., Dance 4 Joy will host its Transformation Gala at the Calvary Chapel Refuge, 7800 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach. Individual reserved seating is free, and tables can be sponsored. Information is available at dance4joy.org C
CHRISTY HERNANDEZ DEMONSTRATES HOW TO USE THE RIBBON.
TEACHER CHRISTY HERNANDEZ OF DANCE 4 JOY MODELS DANCE MOVES FOR HER CLASS. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
OLIVIA SALAZAR SHOWS HER DANCE MOVES WITH HER MOTHER, NICOLE.
EMMA SANTA MARIA ENJOYS HER DANCE 4 JOY CLASS AFTER SCHOOL AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL ACADEMY.
AND THE WINNERS ARE….
BY PATTY MAHONEY
THANK YOU TO ALL those who submitted their summer travel pics to OC Catholic’s annual OC Afar photo contest. Winners of our summer photo contest will receive Target gift cards.
The paper traveled to beautiful, historical and sacred destinations that span the
globe, as well as special spots a little bit closer to home.
We encourage you to keep sending your OC Afar photos for inclusion in our publication all year long!
Got an interesting photo to share with our readers? Please include a brief description, names of those featured in the photo, along with their home parish to: editor@ occatholic.com
1ST PLACE
2ND PLACE
This summer, Mary and Howard Palter visited the towering Our Lady of the Rockies in Butte, Montana. The fourth tallest statue in the United States is nondenominational and was carved in the likeness of the Blessed Mother. Built out of love and based on a promise from a husband to his wife, the statue is a tribute to mothers all over the world.
—Mary and Howard attend St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Irvine.
Michael and Karen Mudgett, board members of Wells of Life (WOL), located in San Juan Capistrano, visited Fr. Max's church in Bukuya, Uganda. WOL develops and repairs water wells and teaches sanitation and hygiene practices in rural Uganda.
— Michael and Karen Mudgett attend Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach.
3RD PLACE
Left: This summer, Jennifer Bergenholtz and her family took their first family trip to Vietnam. They attended an English Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The impressive Gothic-style cathedral was built in the 19th century and has withstood wars and changing times.
In the attached photo is Brandon (12), Jensen (15), Jennifer and Edward.
—The family attends St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Tustin.
FOLLOWING CHRIST TOGETHER: MY JOURNEY WITH THE VIETNAMESE CHURCH
BY BISHOP KEVIN VANN, BISHOP OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA
Editor’s Note: Bishop Vann’s column centered on World Mission Sunday (Oct. 19), is featured in the October issue of Mission: A Magazine of The Pontifical Mission Societies. The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) “are a worldwide network at the service of the Pope, supporting the missions and young Churches through prayer and charity.”
DEAR FRIENDS IN THE LORD,
My involvement with The Pontifical Mission Societies has been a real blessing of my ministry. Among all the responsibilities I’ve held with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, few have touched me more personally than the opportunity to accompany the Vietnamese people—in prayer, in pilgrimage, and in their missionary spirit. Here in Orange County, we are home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Saigon. A simple walk through Little Saigon reveals a thriving expression of Vietnamese faith and culture. In fact, the rector of our beloved Christ Cathedral, Fr. Bao Thai, is himself Vietnamese American. The Church here is truly universal. And within the vibrant Vietnamese Catholic community, I have come to witness the beauty and strength of a faith refined through suffering, resilience, and hope.
My connection with Vietnam goes back far beyond my visits there in recent years. In fact, it reaches back to the 1960s. I was just a young man when the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Springfield, Illinois, where I grew up, sent two Sisters—Sister Helen Reisch and Sister Rosemary Valcheck—to serve in Vietnam as nurses and medical missionaries. Their courage made a deep impression on the Catholic community, and on me personally. It was one of the first moments I realized the Church’s mission knows no borders.
A decade later, when I began studying theology at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis in the fall of 1977, the Vietnam War still lingered in memory and emotion. That year, I met seminarians from a Vietnamese religious community I had never heard of before: the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix. They had come to the United States as refugees.
Thanks to the vision and generosity of Bishop Bernard Law of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, the entire community was welcomed and given a new home—the former OMI (Oblates of Mary Immaculate) minor seminary in Carthage, Missouri. None of us could have imagined then what God’s providence had in store. That small beginning would eventually blossom into one of the largest Marian Days celebrations in the world, drawing tens of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics to Missouri each summer. But back then, they were simply our brothers in formation, men with stories of unimaginable loss and courage.
We lived with them in the seminary corridors, prayed with them at Mass, and shared our vocations. These were men who had fled war, persecution, and exile, and who carried those wounds with grace and perseverance. For us Midwestern seminarians—many of us of Irish, German, or Polish heritage—it was a humbling encounter with the human cost of war and the power of shared faith. The differences in language and culture faded in the face of a shared call: to follow Christ, and to serve His people.
I remember thinking then, as I do now, that this is what it means to be part of the Body of Christ: to carry one another’s burdens, to listen to one another’s stories, and to walk together in mission. Today, as the Church in Vietnam continues to grow—often in silence, under restrictions and hardships—I give thanks for the faith and witness of the Vietnamese people.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope
and the first in modern times to have served as a missionary priest, recently affirmed the importance of World Mission Sunday, saying:
“We see the importance of fostering a spirit of missionary discipleship in all the baptized and a sense of the urgency of bringing Christ to all people. In this regard, I would like to thank you and your associates for your efforts each year in promoting World Mission Sunday on the second-to-last Sunday of October, which is of immense help to me in my solicitude for the Churches in areas which are under the care of the Dicastery for Evangelization.”
As we prepare to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 19, I invite all of us—priests, religious, lay faithful—to renew our commitment to the Church’s missionary mandate. Let us not forget those communities where the Gospel is still taking root, where Masses are celebrated in secret, and where young people form the heartbeat of the Church.
May we be generous in our prayers and support. And may we learn, as I have, from
the quiet strength and joyful witness of the Vietnamese faithful—both in Vietnam and here in our own neighborhoods.
As I now spend time with the Vietnamese community in “Little Saigon” on many occasions, and as I stop to pray—often late at night—at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang in our diocese, I find myself reflecting on how much we owe to the Vietnamese Catholic faithful. I think of my mother, Theresa, who first introduced us to Mary, and I give thanks for how devotion to the Blessed Mother continues to unite and sustain us across cultures. Witnessing the vitality of Vietnamese Catholic life here in Orange County and across the country, I often ask myself: Where would we be without their witness? Out of the pain, tragedy, and displacement of the late 1960s has come a flourishing of new life, new vocations, and renewed hope. It is yet another reminder to trust always in the mysterious providence and enduring love of God.
Let us go forth together, following Christ as His missionaries, wherever we are planted. C
BISHOP KEVIN VANN IS A BOARD MEMBER OF THE PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES. PHOTO BY THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE
KILT SOCIETY PROVIDES SAFETY, CAMARADERIE AT ST. HEDWIG CATHOLIC SCHOOL
BY GREG MELLEN
AS SOON AS NEWS BROKE on Aug. 27 about the school shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota, some 1,500 miles away in Los Alamitos, California, St. Hedwig Catholic School Principal Chris McGuiness was on the phone.
His second call that morning, after the Los Alamitos Police, was to Mike Jowdy of the school’s Kilt Society.
Composed of St. Hedwig dads, including a number of current and former law enforcement officers and firefighters, the Kilt Society is a parent organization that, among its activities, informally gathers to make sure kids attending the school’s weekly Masses feel safe and are protected.
The day of the Minnesota shooting, in which two children were killed and 21 churchgoers were injured, was also coincidentally the first day of scheduled school-wide Mass at St. Hedwig, a 502-student TK-8 school in northern Orange County.
Soon after McGuiness’ call, Jowdy helped gather about 10 to 15 Kilt Society members to safeguard the campus and the weekly service.
“Within 10 minutes, there were 15 guys here,” McGuiness said.
ON PATROL
Jeff Allee, the school’s volunteer safety and security coordinator, said he is happy to have the Kilt Society on campus.
“It’s amazing to see all the dads involved, and great to see them come out,” he said. “We all get along and mesh well. We all understand the mission.”
At a recent school Mass, Scott Sanzaro, a former firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, was conducting a perimeter sweep and encountered a
homeless man walking down an alleyway while the weekly Mass was underway.
The man posed no risk, and Sanzaro, who is an alumnus of St. Hedwig, was able to guide him off campus without incident.
“About every other month we encounter homeless people (on campus),” he said.
Most are simply searching for aid or services, and Kilt Society members often guide them to nearby providers or link them with a police liaison officer.
Not all of the activities of Kilt dads are so consequential.
Although the Society also provides traffic control and patrols school events,
they also engage in plenty of social activities.
On campus they are perhaps bestknown for running the Beer Garden at the parish’s annual Autumn Festival. Society members proudly note that their booth regularly takes the prize for funds raised at the annual event.
The Kilt Society, which by some estimates has raised about $250,000 since its founding in 2007, donates sports equipment, scholarships and this year also helped support the family of an ailing faculty member.
“Whatever the school needs,” Sanzaro said.
They also get together regularly to
socialize.
“This is a tight community,” said Carlos Sotomayor, the longest-tenured member at nine years. “The dads are always available to help out and volunteer.”
A HAPPY ACCIDENT
The spontaneous and unforeseen origin of the Kilt Society dates back to nearly 20 years. At the time, Brad Hooper, whose daughter attended the school, volunteered to step in as the auctioneer for the St. Hedwig School Gala in Long Beach.
On something of a lark, Hooper showed up decked out in black tie and
MARVIN WAIDER, CENTER, A.D. HALE AND SEAN O’NEILL, RIGHT, MEMBERS OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY, HIGH FIVE STUDENTS AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY INTO MASS ON SEPT. 10. PHOTO BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
kilt. He wore a custom men’s kilt made by Sport Kilt in Signal Hill with a pattern that matched the skirts worn by girls at the school.
When fundraising lagged at the auction, on a whim Hooper offered up not the shirt off his back but the kilt instead, which was delivered a day later to the winning bidder.
“We got $2,500 for the kilt, so that’s how it all started,” Hooper said.
In succeeding years, the kilts became more popular at the auctions and, at the suggestion of fellow dad Eric Kramer, a patch was added to signify the clothing. Gradually the kilt wearers became a formalized group and continued to grow under Matt Knabbe, who helped further brand the group with t-shirts and memorabilia.
“It was really such a spontaneous and creative thing,” Hooper said. “It just happened organically, and fathers became passionate about it as a way to
build community. That’s what makes me so proud and happy.”
The Kilt Society now numbers more than 80 members, including an all-time record class of 12 newcomers this year. The only requirements for men to join are having one or more children enrolled in the school and attending the school gala, where $1,500 buys the distinctive kilt and inclusion.
Membership is also the only ticket to being a volunteer at the Beer Garden, which the dads consider a pretty big perk.
For all the enjoyment club membership draws, recent events have underscored that these dads play an increasingly important role in school life.
“We’re always on high alert,” McGuiness said. “Times have changed, and we’ve had to change with it.”
Arriving on campus the day of the Annunciation shooting was a bit of an epiphany for Jowdy.
“It was an awakening that what we do really does matter,” he said. C
MIKE JOWDY, LEFT, A MEMBER OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY, HIGH FIVES STUDENTS AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY TO MASS AT THE SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10.
MEMBERS OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY STAND GUARD AS STUDENTS LEAVE THE GYMNASIUM AFTER ATTENDING MASS. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
MEMBERS OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY WAIT FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND MASS.
A MODEL GENTLEMAN
BY LOU PONSI
THE ANNUAL GENTLEMEN’S Haberdashery Fashion Show features dozens of notable Orange County men from a variety of sectors, all modeling the latest styles of menswear for a worthy cause.
The philanthropic event, themed “Connecting Generations of Hope,” took place for the 43rd time Oct. 2 at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, and raised funds for the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center in Santa Ana, which is operated by the Sisters of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart.
Over the years, the fashion show has starred entrepreneurs, school administrators, civic leaders and philanthropists, all striding down the runway modeling the newest men’s fashions.
However, there is one man who has modeled the latest styles every single year.
That man is restaurateur Antonio Cagnolo, 74, owner of Antonello Ristorante in Santa Ana and Quattro Caffé at South Coast Plaza.
The Orange County Business Journal wrote that Antonello’s is “likely the longest-running upscale restaurant still overseen by its original owner.”
Prior to the inaugural Gentlemen’s Haberdashery Fashion Show in 1978, Cagnolo was invited by a close friend to participate as a model.
“I asked, ‘what's the Haberdashery?’ And he explained it to me,” said Cagnolo, who opened Antonello’s in 1979. “I asked, ‘what do I have to do?’ He said, ‘you're going to be wearing some stuff from one of the stores.’ I said, ‘yeah, okay I can do that.’ Then he said I have to walk on stage.”
And when he learned that the event was to be a fundraiser for the retreat center, which was operated by sisters,
Cagnolo was thrilled to participate.
In addition to modeling for the fashion show, Cagnolo also hosted children from the retreat center at his restaurants.
“That personal touch and desire to give his time speaks volumes about his kindness and commitment,” said Sr. Paula Sawhill of the Sisters of the Society Devoted to the Heart of Jesus. “We are deeply grateful for the joy and opportunities he continues to bring to our children and our community.”
Cagnolo’s roots in Catholicism trace back to Bistagno, a small town in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.
He attended Catholic schools, where he was taught by sisters and priests, and lived in dorms.
Cagnolo was in high school when he began taking courses in hotel and restaurant management.
ANTONIO CAGNOLO IS THE OWNER OF ANTONELLO RISTORANTE IN SANTA ANA AND QUATTRO CAFFÉ AT SOUTH COAST PLAZA. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELZTER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
ANTONIO CAGNOLO HAS A COLLECTION OF APPROXIMATELY 100 BIBLES. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTONIO CAGNOLO
He continued his studies in the hospitality industry in Germany and went on to work for high-end hotels and restaurants throughout Europe, including the Royal Garden Hotel in London and Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.
While working on a cruise ship, Cagnolo sailed to Los Angeles and ultimately immigrated to the U.S. permanently in 1975 at age 25.
He settled in Orange County and worked in restaurants before opening Antonello’s.
He formed partnerships and opened several more restaurants.
Cagnolo, incidentally, began collect
ing Bibles after moving to the U.S. and today has an extensive collection of Bibles that he has acquired on his travels around the world, many from small bookstores in remote areas.
“Wherever I go, I go to old stores or antique stores,” he said, “Sometimes I just go to my study, and I find a prayer from the 15th century, a prayer book. I love the way it was written.”
He estimates his collection at 100 Bibles.
“I never really counted,” Cagnolo said. “Maybe less, maybe a little bit more, but I can stack them up.”
He added, “I’ve always been fascinated with the Bible, God, the history of
ANTONIO CAGNOLO, PICTURED AT HIS RESTAURANT QUATTRO CAFFÉ, HAS WALKED IN THE GENTLEMEN’S HABERDASHERY
DEVOTION TO THE ROSARY
BY JESSI KARY, AO
THIS MONTH THE CHURCH celebrates the canonization of Blessed Bartolo Longo on Oct. 19.
Nurtured in the faith in his family, he became entrenched in the occult in his university years and struggled with mental illness. The seeds of faith and encouragement of a faithful professor helped him return to the faith with a heroic energy to share the joy and healing he received, especially through his devotion to the Rosary. It is, thus, fitting for him to be canonized in this month of October, dedicated to the Rosary. Many people strive and struggle to incorporate the rosary into family prayer. Children of different ages have varying needs and capacities for silence, attentiveness and reflection. We sometimes have a limited imagination on how the rosary can be adapted to a family’s unique circumstances. A few ideas that may inspire you to experience a more fruitful integration into family prayer may include:
■ Encourage older children to write brief meditations on various mysteries of the Rosary.
■ Select additional moments in the life of Jesus to meditation on (in addition to the traditional 20 mysteries).
■ Give smaller children crayons and paper to draw or coloring pages of the mysteries so that their hands can be busy while their imagination is engaged with the mysteries of Christ’s life.
while praying the Rosary.
■ Utilized different images of the mysteries to help you contemplate the mystery while praying the Hail Mary’s.
■ Walk around your yard or a park
■ Let different family members choose a particular petition for the various decades and lead the decade.
■ Pick a virtue for each mystery and pause to think about (and perhaps share) how you want Mary to help you live this virtue.
These are just a few of the creative ways that families can reverence the
reality of our humanity that can make praying the rosary as a family challenging. The Lord is aware of our limits and wants to inspire us to respond to His invitation of holiness in concrete and practical ways. Ask Mary to inspire you this month so your family can receive the fruitfulness that soon-to-be Saint Bartolo Longo received through the Rosary.
For example, when I say, “the first joyful mystery: the Annunciation,” I should not stop there and just consider the Annunciation, or just think of Mary at the Annunciation, but I should stretch my imagination and think that “Annunciation” means something much deeper – it means that Jesus became
Flesh: “et Verbum caro factum est,” “and the Word became Flesh.”
Therefore, it is good to pause on each of the mysteries and meditate on them, for they form the essence of the Rosary, but at the same time we must realize that the repetition of the Hail Mary provides a special form of prayer of petition. You know that the prayer of petition is the prayer through which we ask. With the Rosary, we turn to Mary and plead: “Pray for us. Pray for us. You, Mary, pray for us, for we do not know how to pray.” Do you think that after we repeated this plea one hundred times, “Pray for us,” Mary will refuse to listen to us? Isn’t this form of petition what Jesus suggested: “Beg and you shall receive?” Remember what we read in the Gospel: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” Ultimately, we must learn to blend the two elements of the Rosary, contemplation and petition, and learn to gaze upon the mysteries with the eyes of Mary, and imitate what they suggest, as Mary did. C
PHOTO BY THE DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Moments in our Journey
This summer, our family made a pilgrimage to Italy for the Jubilee. We passed through all four of the Holy Doors at the major basilicas as well as visited many holy sites with various relics. We also traveled to Assisi, attended Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis, saw his and St. Clare's resting places, and visited the uncorrupted body of St. Carlo Acutis.
The family is standing in the plaza of St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four major basilicas in the city.
Our trip was especially significant because we brought along our children (St. Norbert students ages 4, 5 and 8) and my mother (La Purísima parishioner). We also celebrated our 15-year anniversary (we got married in Amalfi and showed the kids the church where we were wed).
—Jennifer Del Mundo
We want your photos! Send your pictures of “OC Catholic Afar” — of you, family or friends visiting Catholic churches and other interesting places — to editor@occatholic.com. Please include a brief description of the photo, the name of the person(s) featured in the photo and their home parish.
