The Catholic Telegraph January 2023

MAGAZINE

192nd year | issue 1

bringing faith into the home

january 2023 | catholic schools week | 1

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EDI TOR’S N OTE

All the Little Things I will be the first to admit that growing up with a public school education served me well. I was not Catholic as a child, and my parents did a great job teaching me about Jesus and taking me to Methodist Sunday School on their own time. I was fortunate to live in an area where I could attend a well-funded school and be taught by amazing and compassionate teachers.

So why, then, did I choose Catholic school for our own children? As a convert to Catholicism, I was—and still am—always seeking to know more about my faith. That was the first bread crumb. If I want to know more, I thought, then perhaps I could give our own children a head start by allowing them to spend the majority of their day in a faithfilled environment.

Once we committed to giving Catholic school a try and got through the doors, the little things, more bread crumbs, kept us there (which perhaps shouldn’t be surprising since I was born on the Feast Day of St. Therese!) Before I realized she could do it, our three-year-old memorized the St. Michael Prayer, and that encouraged me to do the same. An All Saints Day project invited my assistance with our second grader’s research on St. Genevieve.

Since I did not grow up Catholic, First Communion prep was a brand new experience for me, and our preparation experiences taught me even more about our faith. In particular, I am humbled and grateful for the Prayer Partner program at our children’s Catholic school that pairs students with parishioners, teaching our kids how important it is to pray for others beyond our family.

As our oldest progresses into the middle school years, I’ve been amazed to witness our tween’s renewed interest in her faith, thanks almost entirely to her outstanding religion teacher, who understands (even better than I) how the 11- and 12-year-old brain works. The way she showed our

child that social justice is intrinsic to the Catholic faith reengaged our daughter and helped her connect to the Church in a way I didn’t think was possible. Our younger son, who has a chronic illness, has classmates and teachers praying for him, and telling him they are doing so. Our second graders brought home Nativity Advent calendars that we open each day during the season, unveiling the story of Christ’s birth.

We see classmates at Mass and pray before volleyball games.

Thus, what started as many little things became very big things. And those big things have helped set our children on the path of faith.

Inside this issue, you will find many stories about adults whose own Catholic education significantly helped them discern their lives’ vocations. As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week in January, I encourage you to take time to notice all the small—and big—ways our Catholic schools are helping to form the next generation in the faith.

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THE CATHOLIC TELEGRAPH 192nd Year No. 1 • January 2023 513-263-6635 • thecatholictelegraph.com

PUBLISHER Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jessica Rinaudo

MEDIA SALES Deacon Graham Galloway

GRAPHIC DESIGN Emma Cassani

PHOTOGRAPHY Margaret Swensen

DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT Dominick Albano

NEW MEDIA EDITOR Greg Hartman

SOCIAL MEDIA Katherine Swanson

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january

A Gentle Place to Learn page 27

news 8 EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL JENNIFER SCHACK

In Our Hearts: We come to know the Lord in the Eucharist 10 LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR EILEEN CONNELLY, OSU

154 years in the archdiocese 16 A GIFT OF PEACE PATRICIA MCGEEVER

Replica cross recovered from Nagasaki gifted to Wilmington College 37 YOUR WORK IN POST-ROE OHIO KATIE SCIBA

What you can do to help the pro-life movement today 40 BLESSED CARLO RELICS MATT HESS

Visit a model of the Eucharistic revival 42 WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS FOR YOUR CHILDREN? DOMINICK ALBANO

Eucharistic revival in the archdiocese

catholic schools week 18 KNIGHTS MARCH TO VICTORY REBEKAH DAVIDSON

Alter High School Band Wins Grand National Class A Championship 20 BUILDING GENUINE CONNECTION ANNE JONES

McNicholas Students Work, Pray and Love During Glenmary Service-Learning Retreat in Appalachia 22 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRANSFORMING HEARTS & SOULS ALLEGRA THATCHER

27 A GENTLE PLACE TO LEARN KARY ELLEN BERGER

30 HOMECOMING JOHN STEGEMAN

Alumni return to work for Catholic alma maters 32 ACADEMICS + FAITH KARY ELLEN BERGER

Catholic school leads to career as OB/GYN

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY: MARGARET SWENSEN

Students learn in the Atrium at Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori School.

4 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

contents

columns 7 QUESTION OF FAITH FATHER DAVID ENDRES

Is sacrifice required for worship?

12 A CLOSER LOOK DR. KENNETH CRAYCRAFT

Time, contingency and the illustion of control 14 CATHOLIC AT HOME KATIE SCIBA

Loving our homes 24 SHINE ON DOMINICK ALBANO

Becoming who God made you to be 34 SEIZE THE MOMENT NICHOLAS HARDESTY

A new charisma for the New Year 44 KIDS’ CORNER St. Thomas Aquinas 46 THEOLOGY OF THE BODY DR. ANDREW SODERGREN

The wounds of sin 50 THE FINAL WORD VERONICA MURPHY

Finding my vocation in Catholic schools

POPE FRANCIS’ PRAYER INTENTION FOR JANUARY For Educators

We pray that educators may be credible witnesses, teaching fraternity rather than competition and helping the youngest and most vulnerable above all.

Seek the Lord ARCHBISHOP DENNIS M. SCHNURR

Throughout January, we celebrate the liturgical memorials of many saints who dedicated themselves to learning and to education. Religious sisters, such as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Angela Merici, formed communities of women committed to the education of youth and families. Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen are celebrated as Doctors of the Church, and their theological studies and writings still help us to better understand the mystery of who God is and who He created us to be. At the end of the month, we will praise God for the life and work of St. Thomas Aquinas who, as both a scholar and professor, is honored for his invaluable contributions to not only the study of theology, but also for his promotion of the coherence between faith and reason.

Each of these women and men understood that the created world reveals God’s goodness to us. As we learn about the world, we uncover the order in which God established it from the first moments of creation. And God established that order with our best interests in mind. God created all things for our benefit, both to foster our flourishing in this life and to lead us to be with Him forever in the next. This combination of appreciating the physical world around us while learning deeper, transcendent truths about God and the spiritual realm is a hallmark of Catholic education.

For centuries Catholic schools and universities have sought to ground human knowledge in the foundation of divine truths. We cannot fully appreciate the beauty of the world around us if we don’t keep in mind that God has both placed us in it and entrusted us with caring for it. In wondering at the created order, we can learn the magnitude of God’s love for us and the richness of our nature as human beings created

in His image and likeness. In this sense, Catholic education acknowledges and fosters the development of every aspect of the person: physical, spiritual, emotional and relational.

Such integral development of the whole human being is the work carried out tirelessly by the thousands of teachers, faculty and staff members of the 112 Catholic grade schools and high schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. All told, more than 40,000 students are formed in these fine schools each year. That work could not be accomplished without the additional support of thousands of parish and school volunteers who serve as coaches, aides or assistants with after school care and other programs. To all of you, I express my sincere gratitude. The commitment you show to our young people opens to them opportunities for a full and successful life in this world and, more importantly, for eternity.

Finally, I acknowledge the parents of our students. You have shown you believe in the value of a Catholic education and make many sacrifices to send your children to Catholic schools. The work to educate your children begins in the home, and the foundations you lay there are built upon by the faculty and staff members to whom you entrust your children each day.

Together we all contribute to the education of our young people, so that they can discover the richness of God’s creation and the plan He has for them within it. God has a definite purpose for each of our lives; let us thank Him for the gift of an education by which each student can discern that purpose and acquire the skills necessary to fulfill it. In doing so, we discover the fullness of life which Christ came to bestow upon us (cf. Jn. 10:10).

S E E K T H E L O R D / JA N UARY 2023 | 5

Busca al Senor ARZOBISPO DENNIS M. SCHNURR

A lo largo del mes de enero, celebramos la memoria litúrgica de muchos santos que se dedicaron al aprendizaje y a la educación. Hermanas religiosas, como Santa Elizabeth Ann Seton y Santa Ángela Merici, formaron comunidades de mujeres comprometidas con la educación de los jóvenes y las familias. Los santos, Basilio Magno y Gregorio Nacianceno, son celebrados como Doctores de la Iglesia, y sus estudios teológicos y escritos aún nos ayudan a comprender mejor el misterio de quién Dios es y a quién nos ha creado para ser.

Al final del mes, alabaremos a Dios por la vida y la obra de Santo Tomás de Aquino, quien, como erudito y profesor, es honrado por sus inestimables contribuciones no sólo al estudio de la teología, sino también por su promoción de la coherencia entre la fe y la razón.

Cada una de estas mujeres y hombres comprendió que el mundo creado nos revela la bondad de Dios. Al conocer el mundo, descubrimos el orden que Dios estableció desde los primeros momentos de la creación. Dios estableció ese orden con nuestros mejores intereses en mente. Dios creó toda cosa para nuestro beneficio, tanto para fomentar nuestro florecimiento en esta vida como para llevarnos a estar con Él para siempre en la próxima. Este doble aspecto, de apreciar el mundo físico que nos rodea, mientras percibimos verdades aún más profundas y trascendentes sobre Dios, y el mundo espiritual, es un sello distintivo de la educación católica.

Por varios siglos, las escuelas y las universidades católicas han tratado de fundamentar el conocimiento humano a base de las verdades divinas. No podemos apreciar plenamente la belleza del mundo que nos rodea si no tenemos en cuenta que Dios nos ha colocado en él y nos ha confiado su cuidado. Al asombrarnos con el orden creado, podemos aprender de la magnitud del amor de Dios por nosotros y la riqueza de nuestra naturaleza como seres humanos creados a su imagen y semejanza. En este sentido, 6 | THE C ATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

la educación católica reconoce y fomenta el desarrollo de todos los aspectos de la persona: físico, espiritual, emocional y relacional.

Este desarrollo integral de todo el ser humano es el trabajo que realizan incansablemente los miles de profesores, facultades y los miembros del personal de las 112 escuelas primarias y secundarias católicas de la arquidiócesis de Cincinnati. En total, más de 40,000 alumnos se forman cada año en estas magníficas escuelas. Ese trabajo no podría llevarse a cabo sin el apoyo adicional de miles de voluntarios en las parroquias y en las escuelas que sirven como entrenadores y asistentes con el cuidado de niños después de la escuela y otros programas. A todos ustedes, les expreso mi sincero agradecimiento. El compromiso que muestran con nuestros jóvenes les brinda oportunidades para que tengan una vida plena y exitosa en este mundo y, lo que más importa, para toda la eternidad.

Por último, expreso mi reconocimiento a los padres de nuestros alumnos. Ustedes han demostrado que creen en el valor de una educación católica y hacen muchos sacrificios para enviar a sus hijos a las escuelas católicas. La labor de educar a sus hijos comienza en el hogar. Los maestros y los miembros del personal, a los que ustedes confían sus hijos, cada día construyen sobre los cimientos que ustedes ya han puesto.

Todos juntos contribuimos a la educación de nuestros jóvenes, para que puedan descubrir la riqueza de la creación de Dios y el plan que Él tiene para ellos dentro de ella.

Dios tiene un propósito definido para cada una de nuestras vidas; agradezcámosle el regalo de una educación mediante la cual cada estudiante pueda discernir ese propósito y adquirir las habilidades necesarias para cumplirlo. Al hacerlo, descubrimos la plenitud de vida que Cristo vino a otorgarnos (cf. Jn. 10:10).

QUE ST IO N O F F A IT H

Is Sacrifice Required for Worship?

I have heard that sacrifice is required for worship.

Consequently, the Mass is worship, while other forms of prayer are not. Is this correct?

The word “sacrifice” is derived from the Latin for “making sacred.” According to the Church’s understanding, acts of worship have a sacrificial component, though the form that sacrifice takes varies according to the kind of worship.

ANCIENT ROOTS

The connection between sacrifice and worship has ancient roots. When the people of Israel worshiped God, they offered a sacrifice, usually an animal that was ritually offered. In doing so, they took something common (an animal) and dedicated it to God (what they called korban, meaning “to bring forward or offer”). The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the latter part of the first century ended animal sacrifice in Judaism, prompting sacrifice to take on other forms.

JESUS’ SACRIFICE

Within Christian belief, the ultimate sacrifice is the death of Jesus; therefore, the Temple sacrifices, which prefigured Jesus, are continued in His sacrifice. As the Letter to the Hebrews explains, in reference to Jesus: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (5:1). Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is therefore meant to be remembered and commemorated as the sacrifice that offers salvation to the world.

THE MASS

Recognizing the Mass as a participation in the sacrifice on the cross, the Church Fathers, who taught in the first centuries of Christianity, clearly connected the Mass to sacrifice. This idea endured, remaining largely uncontested until the Protestant Reformers questioned whether the Mass was necessary. Was His sacrifice on the Cross not enough? The Church responded

that His sacrifice, made once and for all, is represented in an unbloody manner in the Mass, by which the Church follows the Lord’s command to “do this in memory of me” (Lk. 22:19).

As the Church developed its liturgy, the concept of anamnesis— by which Jesus is not just remembered but made present and real—was vital. This is how we engage in the sacrificial nature of worship, not simply continuing our forbears’ practices but participating in a representation of God’s saving deeds so that they may be living and effective today.

THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS

Sacrificial worship may take other forms. When members of the Church pray the psalms as part of the Liturgy of the Hours, it is a continual “sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15) by which the Christian offers the day back to God. It is sacrificial in terms of the time devoted to prayer and the discipline of ordering the day so as to pray at fixed times: in the morning, during the day, in the evening, and at the day’s conclusion.

This prayer of the Church sanctifies the day and is linked to the sacrifice of the Mass, for which it prepares the believer and from which it flows.

ONE SACRIFICE

When the Church prays, whether the Mass or Liturgy of the Hours, it makes an offering in imitation of Christ. As St. Paul reminds us, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1). All worship, therefore, has a sacrificial element, whether overt or not. Though sacrifice can be expressed in different ways, worship is participation in the sacrifice of Christ.

FATHER DAVID ENDRES is professor of Church history and historical theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology.

Q U E S T IO N O F F A IT H / JA N UARY 2023 | 7

EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

In Our Hearts We Come to Know the Lord in the Eucharist

BY JENNIFER SCHACK Jennifer is the Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. She spent 16 years working in broadcast television before discerning a call to serve God and the Church through the work of media relations. Jennifer and her husband, Jason, have three children.

Eucharistic Fact!

The primary Scripture passages that support the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence come from both the Gospels and the epistles. Jesus tells his disciples that he is “the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh. . . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (Jn. 6:51,53).

8 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

“It is in the heart that the Holy Spirit makes the believer know that Jesus is alive and real in a way that cannot be expressed by reasoning and that no reasoning can overcome.”

This line from the book This is My Body

by Raniero Cantalamessa sums up some of the great struggles all Catholics face: contemplating the depths of our faith and exploring our own belief in the True Presence of the Eucharist. I find it interesting that both come back to the heart—a place from where we draw our understanding and strength to press on in faith during difficulties, and where we meet the Lord in the Eucharist and let Him change us. I can only conclude that it is our heart that urges us to grow in the love of the Lord.

A common point of demarcation in each person’s spiritual journey is faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus’ teachings on the bread of life were a challenge—even a scandal—to His disciples, and they continue as a challenge to us 2,000 years later.

Speaking for myself, belief in the True Presence is, at times, personally challenging. But I take comfort in Cantalamessa’s words about coming to know Jesus as real. They embrace my unknowing by reminding me of the Holy Spirit’s work in my heart. At times, my mind wants to “logic my way through” an understanding of the Eucharist. But my greatest conviction in the True Presence is always in worship of the Lord, spending time in prayer with Him; offering Him my thoughts, words and actions; and sharing with Him the cares and concerns of my heart.

I remember the first time I began exploring the Mystery of the Eucharist as an adult. Even though I received First Communion at age seven, there I was at age 32, and I was suddenly gobsmacked at my lack of understanding. I had allowed the routine of receiving Communion to become commonplace. I felt as if I’d followed along blindly, and suddenly I had so many questions.

One evening I began journaling about

the Eucharist, letting questions pour out of me. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know the right answers, the first step was asking the questions. The first step in growth was admitting I’d gotten lost, then opening myself up to more. (Isn’t that how the Lord works? All we need to do is crack open the door and the Lord comes rushing in? When we finally approach the Lord, admitting our faults, His mercy washes over us.)

In the years that followed, I began to pray more. I rekindled my practice of frequent daily Mass, and I began reading books about the Eucharist (including This is my Body). In part, I was searching for answers to those questions that stirred up my heart that feverish night. But, more than always finding theological answers to those probing questions, my exploration of the Mystery of the Eucharist was taking me closer into my love of the Lord. This is

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“It is in the heart that the Holy Spirit makes the believer know that Jesus is alive and real in a way that cannot be expressed by reasoning and that no reasoning can overcome.”

The Lord is available to us in the Eucharist at every Mass. Let’s pray today that our hearts may be strengthened in our love of the Lord in the Eucharist, so that we may each come to better know Jesus, who is both “alive and real.”

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154 YEARS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE

Little Sisters of the Poor

It’s more than a retirement facility. It’s a real home, a family, a place where all are treated with love, compassion, dignity and respect, and all are welcomed as if they are Christ Himself.

That’s how the Little Sisters of the Poor, staff, residents and residents’ family members and visitors describe the Saint Paul’s Archbishop Leibold Home.

In May 2022, with great sadness, and their characteristic practicality and trust in God, the Little Sisters of the Poor announced their withdrawal from the Home. Lackawanna Healthcare Associates will purchase the facility and maintain it as a senior living residence.

Mother Loraine Marie Clare Maguire, provincial superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor, explained: “As part of a strategic plan aimed at strengthening our ministry and the quality of our religious and community life, we Little Sisters have recognized the need to withdraw from a certain number of Homes in the United States, while at the same time dedicating our resources to much needed upgrades and reconstruction projects in several others.”

Since 1868, the Little Sisters have served in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, where they established their second foundation in the U.S. at the request of Archbishop John Baptist Purcell and philanthropist Sarah Worthington Peter. By mid-20th century, the Sisters served 435 residents between the city’s two homes. They ministered at the original building on Riddle Road from 1886 until 1975, when the current Home opened and replaced the Florence Avenue and Riddle Road locations.

“One hundred and fifty-four years is quite a history,” said Mother Marie Edward Quinn, superior of the Home. “I often think if I wrote a book, the last chapter would be titled ‘Gratitude.’ We could never have served all these years here without all of the support, both spiritual and financial, of the 1 0 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

people of God. It’s because of His grace and the prayers and generosity of the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati that we’ve been able to carry out the mission of our foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan.”

Mother Marie Edward said countless residents, family members, staff and volunteers shared what sets it apart from other retirement facilities. “It’s the family spirit,” she explained. “You can feel it. It’s the spirit of charity to all who dwell here. It’s the presence of the Lord.”

“We all feel that way,” said Vince La Sita, a resident for 18 months. His wife of 68 years, Judy, has lived there for four years, but La Sita’s connection to the Little Sisters goes back much further, to 1938. “I was born and raised three blocks away. When I was a student at St. George School, we would come and sing for the sisters and they would give us 7 UP and cookies,” he recalled fondly. “When you left, you just felt like you had a clean soul. You just felt like God is there, and it still feels that way. That’s the difference.”

Fellow resident Sue Stewart has lived at the Home for seven years and will move to the Little Sisters’ St. Augustine Home in Indianapolis. “In all of the Homes, you become part of the family,” Stewart said. “You know that you’ll always get the care you need and that the Sisters will pray with you and be with you when you’re dying. That’s very reassuring.”

Father Rob Waller has long had a special place in his heart for the Sisters and Home. He ministered at the Riddle Road site and celebrated his first Mass there after his ordination in 1975. Just six months later, his father, Roy, had a stroke; for the next 19 years his father was in the Little Sisters’ care.

Father Waller’s family came to know, love and respect them.

It was no surprise, he said, when his mother, Isabelle, was ready to move to the Archbishop Leibold Home. She said simply, “It’s time.”

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“She felt safe. That was huge for me and my brothers and sisters,” Father Waller said.

He noted that, in addition to the three traditional vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience, the Little Sisters profess a fourth vow—hospitality—which contributes to the sense of family and faith at all of their Homes. “They welcome others as they would welcome Christ if He were to walk into the lobby of their home,” he said. “They are so authentic in what they do. They take care of the elderly, the poor, and they do it well and with great love.”

As part of their mission, when possible, no resident passes away without a Little Sister present. As a Sister once said to Father Waller, “Besides assuring the person and their family… that they are not alone in this moment, it is such a grace and blessing for the Sisters. Imagine: my face might be the last face that they see before they look into the face of God.” A Mass to honor the Little Sisters’ faith and ministry and to bid them farewell, will be celebrated Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church in downtown Cincinnati, with Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr as celebrant and Father Waller as homilist. The buyers will take over the Home’s operations on Feb. 1, 2023, pending the State of Ohio’s approval. The Sisters will then depart.

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“For more than 150 years, the Little Sisters have been vigilantly caring for elderly seniors, here in Cincinnati,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “Their faith-filled work has brought dignity and respect to the poor, sick, elderly and dying and their ministry has been a visible witness to our Lord’s call to love our neighbor. The Little Sisters have been a tremendous blessing for countless families and individuals and with great affection we pray for them during this time of transition.”

N E W S / JA N UARY 2023 | 11

A CLO SE R LO O K

Time, Contingency and the Illusion of Control Over the past two months I completed two milestones: my 60th year of life and my 20th consecutive year of sobriety.

Coming on the cusp of a new calendar year, these two anniversaries present the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at time, contingency and hope. As many of us consider New Year’s resolutions, it’s also an appropriate time to think about the two faces of human fragility: resolve and regret.

Hope for what might occur is often in reference to regret for what already occurred.

My adventure in sobriety is something of an object lesson in that perennial human experience.

I choose not to drink alcohol. An event that I cannot foresee may occur, but it will not occur because I took a drink. I can make a choice that affects my time, even if I cannot control that time.

But what does it mean to say that we can “affect” time? Aren’t we really saying that we affect our relationship to time? A more interesting irony of our lives is that what we most want to control are things over which we have absolutely no power: time and duration. We use the phrases “time management” and “organizing our time,” but we are no more able to do these things than I would probably not to manage the wind or have reached 60 years organize the sunset. Time without the sustained, But what does it mean marches on, indifferent daily discipline of the to our desire to impede to say that we can latest 20. There is a deep or channel it. Thus, the “affect” time? Aren’t irony in this. While I best we can do is make we really saying cannot control the aging choices that affect our process, every day I make relationship to time. We that we affect our a decision that makes it to control time, relationship to time? pretend more probable that I’ll we manage and organize live another day. Today is things within time; but the day I choose not to drink. Tomorrow time itself remains indifferent to our efforts will (probably) come, without my consent, and, in fact, has absolute control over us. and I’ll have to make another choice not to drink. And so forth. In other words, I Indeed, the emotional state of regret is cannot control time; but I can control my deeply rooted in time’s callousness to our decisions and actions such that my time is, efforts to control it. Therefore, the solution to some degree, “affected.” to regret must involve giving up on trying to effect changes that cannot be completed.

Counterfactuals are a tricky business. On What is more innervating, after all, than one hand, we can sometimes conclude that trying to accomplish something that is effect X occurred as a proximate result of impossible to achieve? Only slightly more cause Y. However, we cannot necessarily discouraging is presuming we can make say that X would not have occurred if Y did absolute commitments in defiance of our not happen, because an unforeseen event moral lives’ contingency. In theological Z could have caused X to occur. Despite terms, our annual pronouncement of contingencies, we all make choices intended grand, sweeping resolutions is, to some to affect both our use of time and the degree, an assertion that we are God, who duration of our lives. Which is why, today, alone is Lord over time and duration. When 1 2 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

we say we will never choose this action again, or we will always make that choice going forward, we presume to be able to control the contingencies that make folly of such pronouncements. We try to break the shackles of time and cast off its chains, and “the one enthroned in heaven laughs” (Ps. 2:3-4).

The better, more hopeful encounter with the New Year— and with time and contingency—will be to surrender our presumption that we can control time and the selfdefeating conceit that goes with it. Or, as Our Lord instructs us, “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself ” (Matt. 6:34). Worrying about tomorrow, thinking we can control it, is the formula for failing today. Surrendering that worry is what we alcoholics mean by taking one day at a time. So, I close by wishing you a blessed Wednesday, or happy three o’clock.

Let Thursday, 3:01 and 2023 take care of themselves.

DR. KENNETH CRAYCRAFT is an attorney and the James J. Gardner Family Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology.

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CATHO LIC A T H O ME

Loving Our Homes “Oh Lizzie, it’s such a pleasure to run my own home!” My favorite line from Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice film is delivered with joyful zeal by Mrs. Charlotte Collins. A new bride in 2008, I was dripping with Charlotte’s same joy. I put flowers on the mantle, made everything from scratch and spaced towels evenly in the closet. Our tiny apartment had its quirks, but I was determined to make it a charming home.

Fifteen years later, that enthusiasm needs a little fanning. Our 1940s house is sweet and small. Though it’s sure to feel smaller as the children grow, I’m determined to live out the rest of my days here. Because of its modest size and high population density, the whole place can be destroyed in no time. The pressure I feel to have a clean house right this minute is mighty enough to compel every man and beast to roll up his sleeves.

When I see only the mess, I know my perception is off; reality is distorted and my typical joy is non-existent. So, I made a list for myself so I see broader than the momentary struggles, and thus find my misplaced joy.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

It’s a peaceful experience to be in any home that feels tidy.

Without clutter, I feel like I can breathe and truly relax in any room. Consider the cluttered areas that drive you crazy—what if they weren’t there silently screaming at you? What if you kept only the clothes, books, toys and decorations that have meaning or use instead of collecting things to fill spaces? Visualize your home cleared of excess. With this image in mind, approach your house knowing the end goal is joyful living.

I’ve long reveled in simplicity and minimalism from a Catholic approach. Keeping what we need to carry out God’s call for our particular lives and cutting distractions yield a freedom I didn’t anticipate. Now, every year I methodically go through each room and rid them of the unnecessary. The best part is when I find rooms made new that beckon me to sit and remain.

KNOW THE HOLY PURPOSE OF YOUR HOME

BE GRATEFUL

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15)

Look beyond the kitchen crying out for renovation and see the place where you feed your family. The worn floors are evidence of lively toes. Your home doesn’t have to sparkle to reveal its sweet features.

Hospitality is a gift that comes from the heart, not only clean corners and shelves. With humble appreciation and simplicity, I’m eager to make my home a blessing to both guests and the souls who live here. Conversely, when I feel burdened by our house—blinded by ingratitude and buried under extra stuff— I’m anxious about others just stopping by.

Take a cue from St. Josemaria Escriva to up your gratitude: “Get used to lifting your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving…

Because he gives you this and that. Because you haven’t what you need or because you have. Thank him for everything…”

Thank God for your home by making a list of what you love about it, from functions to features. Ask your family what they like, too! Every house comes with a “to do list,” but so few have a “What I Love About You” list. Ingratitude blinds us to reality; it leads me to believe there isn’t much in my house to be happy about, but cultivating thanksgiving within myself opens my eyes to the Father’s abundant grace. Living in thankfulness, we might finally see that the challenges in our homes are lesser when compared to their more significant blessings.

1 4 | THE CATHOLIC TELE G RAPH

For the family, a home is a blessing from the Lord and we can delight in it more freely when it’s received and treated with gratitude. Mrs. Charlotte Collins was giddy serving tea to Lizzie Bennet simply because her space was her own. As for me, I’ll be doing my best to live in gratitude, working toward hospitality to serve our Lord—returning to Him the gift He bestowed on an occasionally ungrateful heart.

KATIE SCIBA is a national speaker and Catholic Press Awardwinning columnist. Katie has been married for 14 years and is blessed with six children.

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| 15

{ a gift of }

peace

Replica Cross Recovered from Nagasaki Gifted to Wilmington College

BY PATRICIA MCGEEVER

A symbol of international friendship that is on display at Wilmington College was hand delivered by a delegation who traveled more than 11,000 miles from Nagasaki, Japan. It’s a wooden replica of a cross recovered from Nagasaki’s Urakami Cathedral after an atomic bomb destroyed the church during World War II. Of the nearly 11,000 Catholics living in the valley where the bomb was detonated, 8,500 were killed.

“Urakami Cathedral was ground zero for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. So, the fact that this wood cross survived was remarkable,” explained Tanya Maus, Ph.D., Director of the Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College.

The cross’s replica was a gift that arrived after the college returned the original sacred artifact in 2019. Archbishop Emeritus Mitsuaki Takami of the Archdiocese of Nagasaki, the Urakami Cathedral rector and four parishioners, including a WWII veteran, brought the replica from Japan in September.

“Three of those four suffered the atomic bombing.

It was very special for us that they traveled in a plane, for 13 hours, amid Covid, in their eighties,” said Maus. “It was pretty remarkable. One of [the delegate’s] fathers started making the replica. He was a master woodworker, craftsman, and then became ill, and his son completed it.”

U.S. Marine Walter G. Hooke pulled the original cross from the ruins, formally received it from 1 6 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

Yuji Nishimura with Mary Jean (Hooke) Gerken and John Gerken (husband of Mary Jean). Photo / © Claude Baillargeon, 2022

Nagasaki’s Bishop Paul Aijiro Yamaguchi and displayed it for decades in his home. In 1982, Hooke donated it to Wilmington College’s Peace Resource Center, one of the largest archives in the U.S. dedicated to the human experience of nuclear war. It primarily focuses on events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When Maus came to the Center, she considered returning the salvaged cross. The emotional reaction of visitors from Nagasaki when they saw it at the Center sealed the deal. Maus said she knew it needed to be returned.

“They eventually found pictures of it in the ruins,” she said.

“They had forgotten that the cross had existed.”

This is one of two artifacts salvaged from the bombed cathedral; the other is the head from a statue of the Blessed Virgin, over which hung the cross. Maus led the group that repatriated the cross in 2019, at the Aug. 9 Commemoration Mass for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. This summer she learned a delegation would bring the replica.

“It generated a new sense of community and a sense of shared movement toward a world without nuclear weapons,” said Maus.

“My hope is when we create these new connections and ties, it makes it more difficult to go to war with each other.”

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Knights March to Victory Alter High School Band Wins Grand National Class A Championship

BY REBEKAH DAVIDSON

Archbishop Alter High School’s marching band, the Marching Knights, won the title of Bands of America Grand National Class A Champions on Nov. 12, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. Their winning performance was titled “Overjoyed,” based on Stevie Wonder’s music.

“We treated the performance like a concert,” said Todd Tucker, the Marching Knights’ band director. “We wanted it to have that kind of feel. Instead of your normal marching band show, we wanted it to be a little bit more engaging with the audience.

That tends to work with smaller bands.”

Some students warmed up the audience before the performance to get them excited. “We decided to make it as interactive as possible,” said Tucker. “We encouraged people at the beginning to … clap, stand up, dance, sing along …. We wanted them to be invested in the performance like we were.”

Bands of America annually hosts the Grand National Championships, with each band competing in a division based on its school’s size. The Marching Knights are six-time Bands of America Grand National Semi Finalists and earned their ninth Mid-States Band Association Championship during this season. They also received awards for Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding General Effect.

“Those were two awards that, at a national level, we had never won,” said Tucker. “So, it was icing on the cake for sure. To be in those top couple of bands at the end of the season is an honor in itself, and when we get recognized for being ‘outstanding’ at particular things … we were super thrilled.”

The Marching Knights’ success has been a call for celebration for all of Alter and its community.

“The school response has been pretty incredible,” said Tucker.

“Our principal drove over to see our final performance and to be able to hang medals around the kids’ necks. The community support has been astounding. People have been so wonderful about reaching out. It’s super thrilling for [the kids]. They put in all the really, really hard work, and for them to be recognized at the absolute highest level is like the ultimate achievement for 1 8 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

them. There’s lots of smiles around here, that’s for sure.”

Having worked with Alter High School for 16 years, Tucker experienced the same excitement as his students. “For me, as the director, it really is kind of overwhelming in the best of ways,” said Tucker. “I’ve just been trying to take it day by day and enjoy the nice notes and emails. It is certainly, of my accomplishments with the band, the highest that I’ve had and certainly the highest that our group here has had. We’re just really thrilled and trying to stay humble and grounded. We [want to] make sure we enjoy this accomplishment.”

Even though the band season just ended, Alter has already begun planning for next year.

“Coming off a year where you win a national championship, it does feel like there could be some pressure,” said Tucker. “We had some really good conversations about how we wanted to proceed. In that process, we discovered that we found a pretty good identity with the kind of music we play and the kind of show that we put forth to audiences. So, we’re just [going to] stay the course and be who we are.”

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Building Genuine Connection McNicholas Students Work, Pray and Love During Glenmary ServiceLearning Retreat in Appalachia

BY AN NE JONES

During a six-day service immersion retreat, 12 seniors from Archbishop McNicholas High School visited eastern Tennessee to serve the rural poor and build a community both among themselves and with the people in the Appalachian Mountains.

This marks the 41st year that McNicholas traveled to Appalachian areas in conjunction with Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic organization dedicated to serving the poor and establishing a Catholic presence in rural areas of the United States.

completing multiple renovation and maintenance tasks for community members.

Senior Bella Mastruserio felt a unique joy and peace in actively serving the community, “Encouraging one another while working on the more difficult tasks, doing a small chore around the house when no one else is looking and getting to know the members of the community we had the opportunity to serve were just a few ways that I saw this group bonded together during this special time in our lives.”

Being with those 12 seniors

“It was especially powerful for me to witness key moments during which the Retreat leader and McNicholas Director helped to renew my seniors present took a genuine ownership of Mission & Ministry, Jeff Hutchinsonsense of hope for what is of their faith,” Hutchinson-Smyth said.

Smyth, said, “It was so powerful to be back at Joppa Mountain and to introduce to come in our school and “Being with those 12 seniors helped to renew my sense of hope for what is to our young people to the amazing work in our Church. come in our school and in our Church.” of Glenmary. It is a joy and a privilege to help them to witness the face of our First offered to McNicholas seniors in 1981, the experience Church in a context that’s very different from what many was started by now-retired theology teacher Mr. John McNick students experience daily, even though we’re only Norman. Kay Clear Jabin ‘82, mother of senior Maria Jabin, two states away.” attended the first Appalachian Retreat to the Glenmary Farm in Vanceburg, KY. Managers live and work with volunteer groups at the Glenmary House on Joppa Mountain. During their week Mrs. Jabin said, “I have very fond memories of my trip back on “Toppa Joppa,” students worked hard, chopping and in 1981…I think many of us were humbled by the resilience delivering firewood to neighbors in need; cleaning and of the families we met and how content they were despite landscaping at the two mission parishes in Grainger and their poverty. It was also an opportunity to spend time with Union counties; playing with children, painting, and powerclassmates that I didn’t know very well and to see a side to washing at Kingswood Children’s Home; maintaining trails them that wasn’t always visible during school hours.” and prayer spaces at Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center; and 2 0 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

Mastruserio left the mountain with a profound sense of calm and connection with her surroundings. “This time served as a great reminder that true fulfillment only comes with disconnection from the fast-paced environment of everyday life, and instead allowing yourself to reconnect with nature and build genuine human connection,” she said. “After being back home for a little over a week, I now see the moments in life where it’s important to slow down and find the space to feel deep gratitude for your surroundings.”

faith formation academic excellence compassionate leadership

Hutchison-Smyth is grateful for the opportunity to lead students on such a powerful faith experience. “This retreat epitomizes the commitment to compassionate leadership that our students come to embrace over the course of their time at McNick. Spending a week with grounded, salt-ofthe-earth people who wake up each day and put their faith and their love into action in humble, yet powerful, ways is inspiring to me.”

Mastruserio added, “I have felt the light of Christ in the love from my classmates who went with me on this retreat, who I know will continue to spread that love and joy that comes from serving one another with the rest of the McNick community.”

Learn more at www.mcnhs.org

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Tr a n s f o r m i n g HEARTS & SOULS

BY ALLEGRA THATCHER

JACOB SCHMIESING

“I was six years old when I first wrote, ‘I want to be a priest,’ in the same sentence as ‘I want to be a fighter pilot or a dump truck driver,’” said II Theology seminarian Jacob Schmiesing.

It wasn’t until years later, after experiencing the liturgy and sacraments at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney, that Schmiesing realized the priestly vocation might actually be his. He was home-schooled before attending Lehman.

“My time at Lehman definitely influenced a major range of my later activities: soccer, chemistry, priests, close friends … it set me up for the next several years in a positive way in every regard,” he said. And it was chaplain Father Jim Riehle’s daily presence that inspired his vocation.

“More so than anything else, it was seeing Father Riehle there, day in and day out, getting to know a diocesan priest on a personal level, and the example he set… He showed all the good sides of what a diocesan priest in a high school setting should be.”

2 2 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

Schmiesing began praying the Liturgy of the Hours regularly in the school chapel from a book his grandparents gave him. It was there that he experienced consistent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for the first time. “I was pretty aware at the time that it was a really good place to be, and the good things it was doing for me,” he said.

During his senior year of high school, Father Riehl gifted Schmiesing the book To Save a Thousand Souls, which, paired with a visit to Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary in Indianapolis, solidified the priesthood as a real option for him.

He first detoured to Franciscan University in Steubenville where he earned a chemistry degree, pouring himself into his craft—and studying philosophy. He says he

“He was a tangible witness of faith meaning something to the point of the legitimacy of the truth—just by the passion he brought to the classroom each day.” learned valuable lessons and grew abundantly while there, returned to daily Liturgy of the Hours while studying abroad as a junior and determined shortly before graduation that God was calling him to discern priesthood at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.

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TONY SANITATO

Tony Sanitato, a III Theology seminarian who will be ordained to the transitional diaconate in spring 2023, also found the path to priesthood through influence from his earlier education.

He attended St. Ursula Villa from Kindergarten through eighth grade.

Some earliest memories of his faith center on altar serving during those school years and the joy he experienced at serving beside a priest. Similar to Schmiesing, he was inspired by his school chaplain’s consistency.

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“Altar serving is a fertile ground in which the Lord plants seeds,” he said. “The Lord might give you many fond memories to look back on based on enjoying serving, especially if you’re gifted with a priest that you see over the course of your time at the school.”

Sanitato also attributes to a junior high religion teacher a consistent and “transformational” role in his path: “He was a tangible witness of faith meaning something to the point of the legitimacy of the truth—just by the passion he brought to the classroom each day.”

This influenced Sanitato’s perspective of his faith. He went on to attend St. Xavier High School, where a heart for service is key and the motto is “Be a man for others.” “We reflected upon the faith challenging you to a way of life … it’s not just an activity, and therefore the demands are going to be all the more that which affects your daily life,” he said.

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The camaraderie he experienced from the community of brothers set him up well for the seminary life of community prayer, study and recreation. He reflected on what a gift it is to currently have an abundance of prayer time and community life, which was tendered in his younger days and has now come full circle. Although Sanitato attended a public university for supply chain management and marketing, he eventually found a call to seminary and priesthood.

He described the interlocking between his two Catholic school experiences as a “gift from God.” CA T H O L IC S CH O O L S W E E K / JA N UARY 2023 | 23

SHINE O N

Becoming Who God Made You to Be Shane was afraid of who he would grow up to be. He hadn’t seen his mother in years; mental and emotional challenges transitioned her in and out of hospitals during his childhood.

He lived with his father, who provided a roof over Shane’s head and a fridge full of food—or at least paid for their delivered dinner—but spent most of his after-work time at home watching TV alone, in the living room.

While a sophomore at a Catholic high school, Shane had a few good friends, got along with most people, raised a little mischief but never too much and did well enough in his classes to stay off the radar. In short, he was getting by.

On his sophomore retreat, he shared with his campus minister that he was afraid of who he would grow up to be. Would he end up like his mom? Would his life be empty like his dad’s?

He felt his life was on the fast-track to nowhere, and he didn’t know what to do about it. What was the point of his life?

PURPOSE AND POSSIBILITY

Purpose unlocks life’s possibilities. Find someone who doesn’t know their purpose, and you will often find someone who is adrift and afraid. Find someone who knows their purpose, and you will find someone filled with passion and ambition.

There is a reason everyone—no matter their education, religious affiliation, wealth or position—will, at some point in their life, raise their eyes to heaven and ask the age-old questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What am I meant to do with my life?

The great advantage Catholic schools have—the one thing they can offer that no other school can—is the right answer to those questions. Any school can give an answer, but only Catholic schools can provide the answer: That we are the beloved sons and daughters of God. That our purpose in this life is to know and love God now and be with Him in Heaven.

This is the ultimate purpose of Catholic education. In fact, it is the ultimate purpose of everything we do in life. Each act and choice either affirms our belief that we are a beloved 2 4 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH

child of God or denies it, and either aligns with our purpose to know and love God or rejects it.

We might be tempted to look at our Catholic schools and proclaim their high test scores, their service, their strong school community or many other virtues. And those are, of course, all good and noble accomplishments. But they are not the very best thing about our Catholic schools.

I send my four sons to Catholic school and hope their school will help me form them to be men of virtue, with strong intellect and great personal relationships. But more than anything, I hope their Catholic school will help me impress on them their purpose. I hope their Catholic school will help me with the thing that no other school can: Teach my boys that they are God’s beloved sons and that their lives’ purpose and meaning is to know, love and serve God in this life and to be with Him in the next.

Shane was afraid of who he was becoming. His life had no purpose. Any school could educate him. Any school could help him form strong friendships. Any school could preach to him about character, values and the importance of being a good person. But it was his Catholic school that required him to go on a retreat as a high school sophomore and sent a Campus Minister to minister to him. It was his Catholic school that taught him the most important accident. God has a great plan for his life. God loves Him. He is God’s son. His life has a purpose—to know, love and serve God and be with him.

Learning that on his sophomore retreat at his Catholic school changed Shane’s life. And it’s the reason he is known as Father Shane at his parish today.

DOMINICK ALBANO is The Catholic Telegraph’s director of digital engagement, an author and national speaker. He and his wife have been married for 15 years and have four sons. dalbano@catholicaoc.org

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Please visit www.CatholicBestChoice.org for more details and instructions on how to apply.

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eels like heaven.” “A gentle place.” “It feels like you are right there with God.” That is how children at The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori School (GSCM) in Madisonville describe what they feel while in their school’s Atrium.

to Learn

Founded in 1998 by Dan Teller, GSCM is the only Pre-K through eighth grade school in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati that offers a Montessori education with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Leading the school as its first principal, Teller wanted to connect both a Catholic school and Montessori education to build a strong spiritual formation.

“Having Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as an integral part of a wider Montessori environment complements and completes the holistic approach to education that is foundational in the Montessori philosophy,” said Anne Marie Vega, GSCM’s current principal. “The spiritual needs of the child are approached and met in the same way that the child’s intellectual, emotional, social and physical needs are met. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd’s themes and the emphasis on contemplation and enjoyment of God can be integrated into the Montessori classroom and all other aspects of the school’s atmosphere.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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T H E S E L I T T L E P E O P L E A R E C A PA B L E O F H AV I N G

their own relationship with God CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

Children learn and reflect on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in the Atrium, whose creation connects back to Maria Montessori. “Montessori envisioned a specialized environment for the religious formation of the child and even started one such experiment in Barcelona, Spain, in the early 1900s,” said Vega. “She called her environment an ‘atrium’ and developed some materials for learning and integrating the faith. However, it was Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi who began working with children in 1954 and developed the approach as we know it today.”

“In the Atrium, children fall in love with the Good Shepherd, the One who calls us by name and leads us into deeper contemplation and enjoyment of God and His kingdom,” said Cindy Wurzelbacher, Atrium catechist and liturgy coordinator at GSCM. “It is my hope that the peace and joy experienced through pondering scripture and liturgy continues the journey for a life-long dynamic relationship with the Lord.”

“The Atrium has genuinely been a place for my own spiritual growth in that time,” said Catherine Lopez, a GSCM volunteer. “I have come to love Christ more deeply, understand scripture and the Mass in new ways, and I constantly learn from the wisdom of the children.”

2 8 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

“In the Atrium, the History of the Kingdom of God works parallels, enhances, and looks to the root of all the other subjects: God,” said Wurzelbacher “One thing that makes the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd unique is that, in the style of Montessori, the curriculum is determined by the child,” said Vega. “Sophia and Gianna observed what images and themes resonated most with the child at various stages and worked to set in front of the child those topics which met their spiritual needs and encouraged contemplation and reflection.”

Reflecting on how children spend their time in the Atrium, Lopez said, “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd approaches these little children as people who are capable of having their own relationship with God. As a catechist, our job is to make space for them to encounter God on their own.”

Wurzelbacher added, “Providing an environment for a child to, ‘Help me come closer to God by myself,’ begins the journey of formation of a personal relationship with Christ that will be life-long. Isn’t this what we want for our children?”

You can learn more about The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori’s Atrium by visiting their website: gscmontessori.org

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Homecoming Alumni Return to Work for Catholic Alma Maters

BY JOHN STEGEMAN

High school is a formative part of the American adolescent experience. Whether that experience is pleasant depends a great deal on the school’s culture. When toxic, people can’t wait to leave. When wonderful, they sometimes come back.

In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, many Catholic high schools are swarming with alumni faculty, staff and coaches, although no official list exists to determine which school has the most.

“Whatever the next phase of life, Elder students are prepared to excel. The school’s curriculum challenges them to push themselves, learn to problem-solve and develop good work and study habits,” Ruffing said. “As a result, young men develop holistically in mind, body and spirit to become productive members of society.”

While alumni compose a big part of Elder’s workforce, Ruffing said the trend is organic. They first and foremost look to hire the best candidate for a job, but with the solid high school education Elder provides, it’s no surprise that the appreciate the best person for the job is often a Panther.

Elder High School in Price Hill has 44 alumni faculty and staff, Elder grads not including coaches who don’t Catholic education they work at the school. “Elder grads appreciate the Catholic education received—the values, work Across the city in Reading, at Mount Notre Dame High School, President they received—the values, work ethic ethic and accountability Judy Back Gerwe sees a similar trend of and accountability that was ingrained that was ingrained in them graduates returning. The school boasts in them during their four years— during their four years...

39 alumnae teachers and staff, more and end up feeling the desire to give than 20% of its employees. back to their alma mater,” said Kurt Ruffing, principal and Elder Panther, class of 1981.

“I think being an all-girls school certainly has its benefits academically, but also socially,” she said. “The girls form While every school has its own culture, the Purple Pride lifelong friendships from their high school days. You know has a reputation of being ingrained for life. Each Friday how it is in Cincinnati. You ask where someone went to is Purple Friday, when students wear the school’s colors. school and they mention high schools, not college… It’s a According to Ruffing, many Elder grads continue the safe space. It’s a sacred space. It’s a home away from home for Purple Friday tradition throughout their life, no matter most of our girls, and they want to keep that connection.” where they live.

3 0 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

The alumnae who come back to work at Mount Notre Dame stick around, and former students enjoy teaching alongside their former mentors. Gerwe, MND Cougar, class of 1978, said a staff member when she was a student is now a colleague.

MND’s alumnae employees span 50 graduating years: the main office manager, Darlene Meyer Santel, graduated with the class of 1968 and the most recent alumna hire, social studies teacher Abby Renneker, graduated with the class of 2018.

“We refer to it here as ‘The Sisterhood.’ I think the biggest thing is the charism that we share with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,” Gerwe said. “Their founder, St. Julie Billiart, is known for saying ‘How good is the good God?’ She’s known as the smiling saint. So, you often hear about Mount Notre Dame that it’s a joyful place. It’s a very welcoming atmosphere.”

Creating Women of Impact since 1860

Gerwe noted that the school fosters a relationship with its 10,000 alumnae, inviting them back for events and staying in contact via newsletters.

Pictured: Elder High School alumni Mitch Ward ’16; Scott Ridder ’87; Kevin Espelage ’91; Kurt Ruffing ’81; Brian Hiles ‘03

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AC A D E M I C S + FA I T H

Catholic School Leads to Career as OB/GYN

BY KARY ELLEN BERGER

When studying to become a doctor, medical students might make an oath to practice medicine with integrity, honesty and compassion to best meet the patients’ needs.

With this in mind, mastering both the academics and compassion for others made Kristin (Reeve) Renner the doctor she is today.

Moving to the Dayton area with her family at 12-yearsold, Renner attended Incarnation School in Centerville from sixth through eighth grades, then attended Alter High School. “The science curriculum I received in school, particularly some of the more advanced biology classes offered at Alter, helped foster my interest in how the human body worked,” said Renner.

After participating in advanced science classes and extracurricular activities, which included being a sports medicine student aid and Science Olympiad member, she was excited to see what her future held. That future became Ohio State University for a Bachelor’s degree, then four more years of medical school.

“I had an interest in science and medicine from a young age, but I did not make the final decision to apply to medical school until I was in college,” said Dr. Renner. “But having the science educational background—as well as the faith formation—of my years at Catholic school made it an easy decision to make ... and I have not regretted it.”

Following medical school, Dr. Renner trained in both 3 2 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

OB/GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine (high risk obstetrics) and completed a Master’s degree. She now lives in Louisville, KY, practicing maternal-fetal medicine, care for pregnant women and their babies when either has high-risk complications.

“My faith helps create a frame of reference for all my daily activities,” said Dr. Renner. “If I am frustrated and things aren’t going according to ‘my’ plans, it is helpful to take a step back and remember that God has a perfect plan, of which I am only seeing a small part right now.

This perspective helps me in everything, from minor inconveniences like traffic making me late to work, all the way to caring for a critically ill patient in the ICU who isn’t getting better despite my best efforts.”

“On the opposite side of the coin, my work also helps strengthen my faith,” said Dr. Renner. “The more I have learned about the human body and all the ways things can go wrong, the more I appreciate the miracle of when things go right—and they usually do!”

She noted that some may not connect a medical profession and faith-based mindset, but the combination is indeed truly possible. “When I realized God was calling me to be an OB/GYN, probably one of the most ethically challenging medical specialties for a practicing Catholic, I was initially terrified. But I have been blessed to have many people in my corner, and their support and prayers have helped make my vocation very fulfilling.”

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S E IZ E T H E MO ME NT

A New Charisma for the New Year As a new year dawns, most of us consider resolutions for living, thinking and feeling better. We can capitalize on the waking up of the world that typically occurs around this time. But, since improvement requires taking a hard look at where we fail, it’s easy to get discouraged and not even try. As a possible remedy, I propose we focus on our strengths, particularly our spiritual ones. Every Christian has spiritual strengths—they’re called charisms, and they provide direction and purpose not only for the new year, but for our entire lives.

WHAT IS A CHARISM?

The word “charism” comes from the Greek word charisma, which means “divine favor or gift.” The root word is charis, which means “grace.” But this is not the grace that makes you holy. This is a grace for the other, for the building up of the Church. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Or, as Peter reminds us, “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pet. 4:10). A varied grace, for the common good, employed for the other—that’s a charism.

A CHARISM’S KEY CHARACTERISTICS

There’s so much to be said about these extraordinary gifts; however, let’s consider these six characteristics: 1. Every baptized person has charisms. Along with many other gifts and graces, Baptism also imparts certain charisms.

From her comprehensive research of Church teaching, Sherry Weddell identified 23, and most people have between two and five. Examples are: administration, craftsmanship, evangelism, healing, leadership and teaching.

2. Charisms equip you to fulfill your vocation. God has a plan for how every person is meant to devote his or her life to the building up of others and the betterment of the world. Thankfully, this calling also comes with the strength to discern and to follow it. Charisms provide that strength.

3 4 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

3. Charisms emerge through relationship and need.

Powerful, inspirational things happen when your relationship with Jesus becomes personal and when a need arises that draws out your charism—which is your way of meeting the need.

4. Charisms are whole-life gifts you take with you everywhere. This doesn’t mean they always emerge. Sin or selfishness can thwart their fruitfulness, but charisms are always with you. You can’t lose them. They can also emerge in secular settings; a teaching charism changes lives just as well in the boardroom as in the Catholic school.

5. Charisms are not irresistible. They aren’t superpowers.

When Cyclops opens his eyes, lasers shoot out, whether he likes it or not. But with charisms, we must choose in faith and with pure motives to do what God is calling and has equipped us to do. God doesn’t force us to do anything.

6. You can’t use charisms to do evil. Charisms are powerful, but you can’t use an administration charism to organize a vast, evil empire. God doesn’t work that way.

HOW TO DISCERN YOUR CHARISMS

At this point, you’re probably wondering what your spiritual strengths might be. If you’re ready to go all-in, try Weddell’s three-step process for charism discernment that begins with a “Called & Gifted” workshop. Until then, consider these three questions: What makes you come alive? What ways do your friends and family say you are uniquely gifted? What’s a need in the world that bugs you the most?

Take these questions to prayer and two things will happen: Jesus will slowly reveal your charisms, and you will step towards a life of spiritual strength and power.

NICHOLAS HARDESTY is the associate director of Adult Evangelization and RCIA for the Center for the New Evangelization. | nhardesty@catholicaoc.org

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YO U R WO R K I N

Post-Roe Ohio

BY KATIE SCIBA

On the morning of June 24, 2022, the long prayed-for overturn of Roe v. Wade came to pass, dissolving federal protection for abortion and moving its regulation to the states. It’s a giant step in the right direction, although abortion remains prevalent across the U.S., including in Ohio. Right here at home, preborn children are aborted at up to 20 weeks gestation, many times because their mothers don’t know how much help is available.

We can be part of that help. Equipped by God’s grace and love for our neighbors, not only will abortion end for one mother and one family at a time, joy and peace will replace it. Whom the Lord calls, he enables to bring real help and hope to abortion-minded mothers and fathers. Here are ways you can, right now, act to end abortion in our archdiocese.

40 Days for Life is “an internationally coordinated 40 day campaign” of prayer and fasting while maintaining a peaceful, round-the-clock vigil at abortion facilities throughout the U.S. This simple movement’s power is in its peaceful prayer. When 40 Days for Life participants are present on sidewalks outside abortion facilities, their silence proclaims that God is present. Planned Parenthood reported that scheduled abortions decrease by up to 75% on the days vigil holders are there. This quiet effort saves lives, and praying with other participants builds a loving unity that strengthens the heart in the face of evil acts.

To join our local campaigns, visit 40daysforlife.com/ cincinnati or 40daysforlife.com/dayton.

A faithful participant in 40 Days for Life, Lauren Muzyka, Esq. ached to speak with the mothers entering abortion centers. But what to say? Teaming up with CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

| 37

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

exists unbeknownst to those who need it most. Dozens of pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in the researchers, Muzyka found answers and began Sidewalk Archdiocese of Cincinnati have faith-filled volunteers Advocates for Life (SAFL) in 2014, whose mission willing to walk with mothers through—and well beyond— is “to train, equip and support communities … in their pregnancies. Women receive access to ultrasounds, sidewalk advocacy” by imitating Christ. Trained Sidewalk doctors, financial support, counseling and Advocates speak love into the crises of more. They can find everything they need to abortion-bound mothers and fathers, not just survive, but truly thrive. PRCs can bringing them life-affirming options. provide so much support because of their Holding love at the heart of their work, Trained Sidewalk caring employees and volunteers. Consider Sidewalk Advocates offer kindness over Advocates speak this your official invitation to become one: condemnation, connecting families love into the crises Visit the PRC nearest you and ask how you to local pregnancy resource centers of abortion-bound can help. Donate baby supplies, teach a class and abortion workers to And Then There Were None, a ministry for mothers and fathers, for expecting mothers or simply answer the phones. Every helping hand empowers PRCs those wanting to leave the industry. bringing them lifeto keep helping others.

Since 2014, SAFL has supported affirming options.

18,300 mothers in their choice for In addition to prayer and in-person help, life and assisted 85 abortion workers financial support sustains the Pro-Life Movement. who quit the business. To learn more about SAFL’s work Many ministries rely on donations to fund their full-time in our archdiocese, contact the local coordinator at staff, location start-ups and training. Help from local sidewalkadvocates.org/locations.

PRCs is free to women in need because of others’ generous financial and material contributions. Regular donations of When SAFL encounters families needing help, they any amount keep the movement going and growing. refer them to local resources—a superabundance of help

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Born and Unborn

Let us also not forget those who are already suffering from the effects of an abortion. Project Rachel (PR) is a confidential, post-abortive ministry in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati that serves all those affected by abortion.

PR helps women and men journey to hope and healing by discovering God’s love and grace through a network of spiritual counselors, advocates and peer-to-peer ministry. When you discuss the tragedy of abortion, also remember those who are suffering, and mention the hope and healing available through Project Rachel. Go to ProjectRachelOhio.org for more information and even printable resources to use at your parish.

The Pro-Life Movement has a place for everyone. Whether the Lord calls you to pray or practice outreach at abortion centers, roll up your sleeves at your PRC or share your treasure to support it. God blesses the efforts of those who lend a hand. Using our God-given gifts, passions and time, together, we can effectively combat the greatest injustice of our time.

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VISIT A MODEL OF THE

Eucharistic

Revival

Blessed Carlo Relics to Visit Petersburg Parishes

BY MATT HESS

The Church in the U.S. is experiencing a national Eucharistic Body and Blood of our Lord help readers better understand revival—a time to reflect more deeply on who we encounter Eucharistic reception at Mass. Carlo accomplished this and receive at Mass. While it’s a national movement, it starts before the age of 15, when he died of leukemia. in our local parishes, through prayer and education. The visit of a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis is one opportunity coming He is an inspiration for the Eucharistic revival in our own to St. Joseph Church in Wapakoneta, country. As a young lay person on fire with of the Petersburg Family of Parishes in his faith—he is not someone we usually the northern part of the Archdiocese of expect. He started small, with his family.

Cincinnati.

Through his enthusiasm for the Blessed Father Wilson hopes Sacrament, he encouraged them to attend “Catholics around the area Father Sean Wilson, Pastor of the Mass and pray before the Tabernacle. His come to venerate the relic, Petersburg Parishes, said, “Blessed hobby, creating a Eucharistic Miracles learn about Eucharistic Carlo Acutis is a Millennial who shows website, began as a way to connect two of us that the Eucharist is still vital for our Miracles, and grow in love of his passions and went on to reach more lives. From him we learn to marvel at people than Carlo could have imagined.

Jesus in the Eucharist.” the Eucharist.”

His accomplishment illustrates how one person on fire with a Eucharistic faith can inspire not just his Born in 1991, Carlo had a special devotion to the Blessed or her church, but the whole Church.

Sacrament. As an amateur computer programmer, he used modern technology and his website to compile descriptions Father Wilson hopes “Catholics around the area come to of Eucharistic Miracles and spread the word about Jesus venerate the relic, learn about Eucharistic Miracles, and grow present in the Eucharist. These intimate encounters with the in love of Jesus in the Eucharist.”

4 0 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEGRAPH

The Petersburg Parishes are planning several events to ignite hearts over the week that Blessed Carlo’s relic, a piece of his heart muscle, will be enshrined in St. Joseph Church. It will be welcomed on Monday, Jan. 30, after which the church will remain open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily for people to come and pray with the relic. Mass will be celebrated most evenings at 6 p.m. Young adults are invited to a Holy Hour at St. Joseph on Friday, Feb. 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Petersburg Parishes invite school and parish groups to make a pilgrimage in the mornings and early afternoons throughout the week of Jan. 30.

Three talks are planned, each presented at both 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Matt Hess, director of ministry at the Maria Stein Shrine, will talk on Monday about the importance of Holy Relics and give a sketch of Blessed Carlo’s Life. On Tuesday, Father Michael Willig, parochial vicar of the Petersburg Parishes, will present on the Eucharist. Sister Ignatia, a Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, will speak on Thursday about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration. Relic veneration and confession will be available in the church after each talk.

A Eucharistic Miracles display features moments when the Eucharist lost the appearance of bread to reveal flesh. It will be hosted at the Parish Life Center next to St. Joseph Church throughout the week. It chronicles these miracles throughout history and the globe. The display of miracles that fostered Blessed Carlo’s devotion to our Lord in the Eucharist, will again be presented after Mass on Sunday, Feb. 5 (coffee and donuts will be served).

The Petersburg Parishes are excited to offer this unique opportunity to local Catholics. Be sure you make it to some part of the celebration! Check out their website, petersburgparishes.org, for more information and a detailed schedule of events. We pray this local event might, through the intercession of Blessed Carlo, bear fruit with the national Eucharistic revival we are experiencing.

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W HAT ARE Y O UR

Dreams Children?

FO R Y O UR

BY DOMINICK ALBANO

It’s hard to imagine a heartbreak worse than losing a child.

When a young Catholic speaker gave a Lenten parish mission, he shared with the audience his dreams for his children. “I pray that they will be happy, healthy and, most importantly, holy.”

After the talk, a gentleman with the gray hair and lined-face signaling hard-won wisdom approached the young speaker, thanked him for the presentation, and shared some of his own wisdom.

“When I was a young man, I too prayed that my children would be happy and healthy. But now that I am older, I know that holiness is the only thing that matters. My children all think they’re happy. They’re all healthy. But all of them have left the faith. Please, will you pray for them?”

In fact, this was the prayer request the speaker heard most often: Parents seeking prayers for their fallen-away children.

There is unspeakable pain in losing a child, but these parents’ desperation is also something none of us wish to experience.

An old proverb says: Your children are your only gift you can take with you to heaven. But what if you were afraid your children weren’t going to join you?

People are drifting away from the Catholic faith. Countless national surveys from reputable institutions validate this, but none of those are more convincing than our own experience. Each of us knows someone—and probably a handful of people—who left Catholicism, or at least stopped practicing it.

Some stop attending Mass because they are angry—a personal experience or news story drives them away—but many simply drift away. Family obligations and 9 a.m.

4 2 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

Sunday morning out-of-town sports tournaments turn weekly attendees into every-now-and-then attendees. Before you know it, families who finally find a rare weekend with a little bit of breathing room just want to sleep in on Sunday mornings rather than get up and go to Mass. Covid sure didn’t help, but it’s not the root of the problem.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “I came that you might have life and have it to the fullest,” but let’s be honest: many of those who drift away don’t find the fullness of life when they attend Mass. They’re more likely to say something like, “I just don’t get anything out of Mass.”

It’s a tragedy, and—thinking of all those heartbroken parents—I mean this quite literally. Something has to turn the tide.

Responding to this need, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr is calling on all Catholics across the archdiocese to join him in a special study of The Mass, an inspiring and beautiful video series from Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Ministries. Each Sunday, from January 8 through February 12, Archbishop Schnurr will email a 25-minute episode from the series along with his own brief insights. Why? Because he deeply desires that every Catholic would come to know the Mass as God’s great gift to us, the source of the fullness of life that Jesus promised.

It’s a new year—the time we think about doing new things and living life a little differently, a little better. Visit catholicAOC.org/theMass, sign up for this special study, and spend 25 minutes a week to see how it can help invigorate your Mass experience. Encourage your spouse to join you and maybe watch it with your kids or talk with them about the videos during dinner. It costs only a little time, but that’s not much when you think of what Jesus promised in return: The fullness of life.

“I don’t get anything out of Mass.”

This is what many people say who have drifted away from the Church. But Jesus told us He came so that we might have “life to the fullest” … and that life is found in communion with Him in the Mass.

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Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr invites you to join him in exploring the wonder of the Mass through a special video series featuring Bishop Robert Barron. Each Sunday from January 8 through February 12, Archbishop Schnurr will email you his own brief insights along with a 25-minute episode from Word on Fire’s The Mass.

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Sign up for free at CatholicAOC.org/theMass

| 43

Thomas was born in a castle to parents who were wealthy

He wrote constantly on many faith topics, especially the

and important. Although his brothers went into the military,

Eucharist. Not only did he discuss the Real Presence in

Thomas’ family planned for him to follow his uncle’s path and

his famous Summa Theologiae, Thomas also wrote several

enter the Benedictine monastery. While in school, however,

hymns for Eucharistic Adoration. In 1264, Pope Urban

Thomas was influenced by the Dominicans and resolved to

IV had Thomas compose a celebratory Mass for the new

join them. Because this was against his family’s wishes, they

feast of Corpus Christi.

held him as a prisoner in their castle for a year to prevent him from joining the Dominicans. His mother eventually

Near the end of his life, his fellow friars witnessed

helped him escape.

something miraculous while Thomas prayed in their Naples friary chapel. He was lifted into the air, and they

After joining the Dominicans, Thomas studied philosophy

heard a voice from the crucifix say, “Thou has written well

and theology and worked as a professor. He wrote many

of me, Thomas. What reward will thou have?” He said,

important documents, including liturgies and documents for

“Nothing but you, Lord.”

the Pope and the famous Summa Theologiae for beginning students. The Dominicans moved Thomas to many places—

St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day is January 28. He is the

including from Paris to Naples—in order to teach.

patron saint of schools and students.

4 4 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

St. Thomas Aquinas Craft Directions thecatholictelegraph.com/ thomas-aquinas-craft

Craft Video thecatholictelegraph.com/ thomas-aquinas-video

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

Aquinas Castle Crucifix Dominicans Friar Levitate Professor Real Presence Thomas Writer K ID S ’ CO R N E R / JA N U ARY 2023 | 45

POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II’S THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

The Wounds of Sin In our last two reflections, we explored the nature of the sin that occurred at the beginning of human history, when Satan tempted our first parents to mistrust their Creator and seek to supplant Him. Being deceived, they grasped at divinity, thinking they could determine right from wrong and become gods themselves. In so doing, they broke faith with God, rejected their creaturely status, and allowed sin to enter the visible world. Let us reflect on the effects that this original sin had on our first parents and continues to have on their children.

Prior to the Fall, our first parents existed in a sinless state marked by the four harmonies. When they accepted Satan’s lies and rebelled against God, those four harmonies were all disrupted. As the fathers of the Second Vatican Council said, “Refusing to acknowledge God as his beginning, man has also disrupted his proper relationship to his own ultimate goal as well as his whole relationship toward himself and others and all created things” (Gaudium et spes, no. 13).

Most fundamentally, original sin effected a fundamental break in our first parents’ graced friendship with God. “In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned Him” (CCC 398). As representatives of the entire human race, our first parents’ act of rebellion resulted in the loss of divine grace and the preternatural gifts, not only for themselves but also for their descendants. As John Paul II taught, “The first human being (man and woman) received sanctifying grace from God not only for himself, but as founder of the human family, for all his descendants.

Therefore, through sin which set man in conflict with God, he forfeited grace (he fell into disgrace) even in regard to the inheritance of his descendants” (Sept. 10, 1986).

The first and most important wound of original sin, then, is our alienation from God. However, the legacy and multiple effects of our first parents’ sin remain and extend to our very essence. Now, we inherit a human nature that is not only deprived of grace, but is itself deeply wounded. As the Catechism describes, original sin damages the essence of man in the unity of his body and soul. In our fallen human nature, 4 6 | THE CATHOLIC TELE GRAPH

man’s intellect is darkened, his will is weakened, and his passions become rebellious. Even the unity of body and soul is wounded such that we are now vulnerable to a myriad of sicknesses and disorders and will ultimately succumb to the separation of body and soul, which we call death. Due to the uncorrupted quality of human nature and the abundance of God’s grace and gifts prior to sin, man was immune to these maladies and the inevitability of death. Clearly, our situation after the Fall is radically different.

All of us inherit this fallen (i.e., wounded) human nature. We experience sickness, decay, and eventual death. We experience interior conflict rather than harmony, and we struggle to know what is right, freely choose it, and follow through in action while our impulses and desires pull us to go astray. St. Paul expressed well our conflicted, fallen existence in his lament: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do…. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:15, 18b, 22-24).

All is not lost. Our human nature, though wounded, is not wholly corrupt. It is still essentially good and capable of being redeemed, sanctified and glorified. Just as we can join in St. Paul’s lament over our fallenness, we can also join with him when he immediately exclaims, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:25). For God did not abandon us to the power of sin and death but pursued man down the centuries, sparing nothing to bring about our Redemption; even taking up our human nature to heal and restore it and, through His resurrection, re-open the path to eternal life.

DR. ANDREW SODERGREN, MTS, PSY.D. is a Catholic psychologist and director of psychological services for Ruah Woods. He speaks on the integration of psychology and the Catholic faith. He and his wife, Ellie, have five children.

Find

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FATHER IN HEAVEN, when the Spirit came down upon Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan, You revealed Him as Your own Beloved Son. Keep me, Your child, born of water and the Spirit, faithful to my calling. May I, who share in Your Life as Your child through Baptism, Follow in Christ’s path of service to people.

Let me become one in His Sacrifice and hear His word with faith. May I live as Your child, learning, and following the example of Jesus, teaching.

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out & about in the Archdiocese

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2) Scientific Journal Publishes Manuscript by two Summit Grads Two alumnae of The Summit Country Day School now have a manuscript published in the Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI). “The presence of Wolbachia in Brood X cicadas” was co-authored by 2022 graduates Cecilia Hasan and Reagan Sutton and their mentor, Dr. Jessica Replogle, as part of the Schiff Family Science Research Institute (SRI) at The Summit.

2 1) University Eucharistic Procession The Newman Center at Miami University in Oxford, OH, hosted a Eucharistic procession to the center of Miami’s Campus on Nov. 6. Part of the closing ceremony for the 40 hours devotion that weekend, it included students and a faculty member.

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4) Bengals Visit DePaul Crist Rey Cincinnati Bengals players and their Who Dey mascot roared into DePaul Cristo Rey High School on Nov. 15. They visited classrooms, posed for photos and signed autographs. Before leaving, they stopped in the Bruin Café to grab a lunch to go.

4 3) Faith in Action at Saint Ursula Academy Saint Ursula Academy students participated in the first of four “Faith in Action” days in November. Students learn more about the Ursulines’ foundress, St. Angelia Merici, volunteer in the community, learn more about their faith and deepen their understanding of their God-given talents. In these photos, students were volunteering with BLOC Ministries in their “Horses on the Hill” program.

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ACROSS 1 Recent pope, affectionately 5 Writable storage media, briefly 9 Doctor Mirabilis, Franciscan friar and early advocate for the scientific method 14 Pull down 15 Rattletrap 16 Lyric poem 17 Cat command 18 Suggestive 19 Novices have to learn them 20 Save for later use 22 The Israelites wandered here 23 Builds 24 Delineation 26 Bye bye 28 Plantations 32 700, to Caesar 35 Rachel’s maid 37 It is immortal 38 Land where Moses died 40 Immoral 41 Long ago 42 Inflict on 43 Counter forces 46 Unchanted Tridentine Mass 47 Person who accompanies another preparing for Confirmation

49 Tears 51 “Heavenly ___ sing alleluia…”

53 Drinks to one’s health 57 Saint who translated the Bible into Latin 60 Pertaining to ships 62 You may be out on one 63 Coconut husk 64 California valley 65 Eli 66 Secret Chinese society 67 Proceed on foot 68 Scoff 69 Trial fig.

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DOWN 1 Rod of ___ 2 AMC vehicle 3 Angry 4 Whole 5 Corpus ____ 6 “…come to judge the living and the ___.”

7 Ran swiftly 8 Engage in espionage 9 Deprived 10 Denial of faith 11 Floor length vestment

12 River in central Europe 13 Make a home 21 Thrust with a knife 22 Make haste 25 Lector 27 Catholic sovereign of Monaco (with II) 29 Implement 30 Continental money 31 Killed, old biblical style 32 Molar drs.

33 Poultry enclosure 34 Roman statesman 36 OT prophetic book 39 Geniality 43 Patron saint of the Philippines 44 Mass 45 Notice 48 Gloomily dark 50 Canonized ones 52 Snob 54 Frighten 55 Reduce gradually 56 Quench 57 Songbirds 58 Dash 59 Vex 61 Is not (slang) 63 Windy city transport initials

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JA N U ARY 2023 | 49

THE FINAL WORD with Veronica Murphy

Finding My Vocation in Catholic Schools As Catholics, we believe God has a plan for every person.

We are reminded in the archdiocesan vocation prayer: “Almighty Father, you have created us for some definite purpose...” Where did I first discover my purpose—my vocation? Definitely, in Catholic school! My Catholic high school principal in Maryland took me under her wing and several times asked, “What do you believe God is calling you to do with your life?”

At the time, I thought I would be a doctor because I loved science. Neither she nor I anticipated I would one day be a Catholic educator and principal! Perhaps my principal saw something in me that prompted her to ask this question. While I am not sure, I know my vocation grew out of Catholic schools’ mission to form each student and call them to discern God’s plan for their lives.

In Catholic schools, we understand profoundly that each person is called and has a purpose, thus, we take seriously the commitment to “form” each student. Rigorous academics and helping students be good citizens are not enough. While these are good aims, it is not the Catholic school’s primary mission. We want our students to know Christ, discover God’s plan for their lives and equip every student to go into our world, share Christ with others and make the world a better place. We believe that when our students discern and follow the plan God has for their lives, they will be full of joy!

Recognizing that God created in me a profound love of learning and the talent to teach others helped me to hear the call to be a teacher. From grade school through college, the process of learning to discern my vocation 5 0 | THE CATHOLIC TELE G RAPH

was developed in Catholic schools. I owe a great deal to many of my teachers and principals who helped me.

More profoundly, I also learned to discern the higher vocation to marriage. I recall the same principal, a Daughter of Charity, asking me, “Have you considered being a sister?” As an “all-knowing teenager,” I confidently answered, “Sister, you have to be kidding. I have six sisters in my family and I do not intend on living with any more sisters.”

Joking aside, her question stuck with me. Was God calling me to be a sister? How could I make a difference in the world? Where do I fit in? These questions swirled as a theme through my mind for several years. It made me ponder, pray and talk to God, seeking God’s will for my pursuit of a religious or married life. The Lord always provides when we listen and follow. While the road to marrying the love of my life is too long a story for this article, I will say God is amazing and provided for me an incredible, faith-filled husband who is also happy I serve in Catholic schools.

As I reflect on the “path God has planned for us in this life,” I find pure joy in my memories of attending Catholic schools! I know the painstaking preparation and love my teachers gave me so that I could be who I am today.

Catholic schools made ALL the difference in my life!

VERONICA MURPHY is married to her husband, Bruce, and served as teacher and administrator at St. Rita (Dayton), Mother Maria Anna Brunner, Purcell Marian and Royalmont Academy Catholic schools. She is currently the Director of Religion Curriculum and Resources for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

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