Pilgrimage memories still resound

Mark My Words

Father Mark Goldasich

a man’s car that stalled in heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him only made matters worse.

Eventually, the guy got out of his car and walked back to the driver behind him and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there and give it a try,

I’ll stay here and blow your horn for you!”

(Found in “Illustrations Unlimited,” edited by James S. Hewett.)

I can’t tell you how many times I was tempted to offer my horn-honking services to the irritated drivers. It looked like fun!

Seriously, though, I continue to ponder my pilgrimage experience. There were 35 of us in our group from several different states: Kansas, Connecticut, Ohio, Iowa, Arkansas and Florida. Most of us were strangers when we first gathered in the Tel Aviv airport but, over the course of our time together, we be- came not only friends but family. Since coming back to the States, a slew of emails and plenty of photos have been shared already.

In addition to seeing so many of the physical sites mentioned in the Bible, we were privileged to experience the “living stones” of the Holy Land as well: the Christians who live there.

One stop was at the Hogar “Niño Dios” (Home “Divine Child”), a facility in Bethlehem administered by the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, that houses some 36 adults and children with physical and mental disabilities. Since special services are almost nonexistent in the area, these people often have nowhere to go. I had tears in my eyes the entire time. The dedicated staff there, through their compassion and joyfulness, works hard to develop each resident’s potential.

Our group was also blessed — in groups of five or six — to share a meal at the homes of some Bethlehem Christian families and hear their stories. The delicious meal was only out-done by the warm welcome we received.

The injustices these people endure every day could not smother the deep faith and hopefulness they exude. Because making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land might not be possible for most people, I’d recommend an excellent substitute: a book, written by Stephen J. Binz (our pilgrimage leader and a longtime friend of mine), titled “Holy Land Pilgrimage.”

It features scads of beautiful photos, informative descriptions, meditations, Scripture suggestions and prayers. It’s published by the Liturgical Press and sells for $24.95. Writing about the Holy Land has made me nostalgic. I think I’ll head to my driveway now and honk my horn!

How can we laypeople exercise our baptismal priesthood?

In those early days of the global pandemic in spring 2020, our parish food pantry saw an unexpected and dramatic increase in the number of families in need of food assistance.

The pandemic lockdown had resulted in loss of employment for many people who worked for local businesses that were forced to close.

JOHN OF AVILA 1500-1569

Born near Toledo, Spain, John was sent by his wealthy parents to study law in Salamanca. But, renouncing such a career, he instead lived as a hermit for three years and was ordained in 1525, after his parents had died. Though he hoped to be a missionary in Mexico, his archbishop sent him to Andalusia, where he preached successfully for nine years. He was imprisoned briefly by the Inquisition for rigoristic preaching, then continued evangelizing for the rest of his life. Many of his letters survive. A holy priest and mystic, he was a friend of St. Ignatius Loyola and an adviser of St. Teresa of Avila and several other Spanish saints. He is a patron saint of Spain.

Our parish food pantry coordinator, Doug, is “a saint next door.” He dedicates hours to ensuring that the pantry is wellstocked, clean and organized.

Each Sunday our pastor, Father Roberto Cortes-Campos, would remind the community to see the face of Jesus Christ in these brothers and sisters in need, and parishioners responded generously with weekly donations of food, clothing and volunteer hours. Yet as the pandemic lingered on, the needs of the poor far exceeded the abilities of even the generous giving of the parishioners.

As we journey through the Easter season, we follow the growth of the early Christian community, built on the faith and preaching of the apostles. We read of how the needs of the poor and the widows outpaced the ability of the apostles to care for them. They had to prioritize prayer and the preaching of the word of God. Saint Luke tells us that the Twelve Apostles said to the assembled community, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task.” Thus, the first deacons were selected, and the apostles prayed and laid hands on them. Their service enabled the word of God to spread like wildfire as the community of disciples of Jesus increased greatly.

The apostle Peter, in Sunday’s second reading, reminds the first Christians (and us), to draw near to Jesus, “a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God.”

Peter urges the first disciples to be “like living stones,” building up the community with acts of faith and good works. He says, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

How do we exercise our baptismal priesthood as “living stones,” who build up the community of believers, the spiritual house of the church today? Jesus shows the path as he responds to Thomas’ question, “Master . . . how can we know the way?” He responds with these powerful words, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In the power of the resurrection, we, too, can offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ as we draw close to the word of God, live our faith and serve the poor among us. Then we can pray with confident Easter faith, “Speak to me, Lord.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The life and ministry of the Catholic Church is enriched by listening to everyone, especially those who are often excluded by society, and by including their experiences and perspectives, Pope Francis said.

“For the church is like a rich tapestry, made up of many individual threads that come from various peoples, languages and cultures, yet woven into a unity by the Holy Spirit,” he told a delegation from Catholic Extension.

The pope greeted the delegation during an audience at the Vatican April 26. He thanked Catholic Extension, which had a delegation in Rome April 23-28, for its work “providing assistance to missionary dioceses, particularly in the United

States, and in caring for the needs of the poor and most vulnerable,” especially in Puerto Rico “following the various hurricanes and earthquakes which brought such devastation to the island in recent years.”

“By giving a voice to those who are frequently voiceless,” he told the delegation,”you bear witness to the God-given dignity of every person.”

Legislature overrides governor’s veto on Kansas ‘born-alive’ bill

TOPEKA (OSV News) — Lawmakers in the Kansas Legislature voted April 26 to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a “bornalive infants protection act.”

The Kansas House voted to override the veto in a vote of 87-37, while the Kansas Senate voted 31-9 to override the governor’s veto. The bill aims to protect infants born alive, regardless of whether the intent was to abort them, and marks the first abortion-related legislation enacted in the state since Kansas voters rejected an effort to strip abortion protections from their state constitution last year.

It is scheduled to go into effect in July. The bill, HB 2313, would require physicians to provide infants born alive as the result of a failed abortion procedure the medical care appropriate to their gestational age, and to report data to the state about any such incidents. The Kansas bill also would apply to instances where doctors induce labor to deliver an unborn child that is not expected to survive outside the womb.

Women will be voting members of Synod of Bishops

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At least three dozen women will be voting members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October, Pope Francis has decided.

In a decision formalized April 17, “the Holy Father approved the extension of participation in the synodal assembly to ‘non-bishops’ — priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, laymen and women,” the synod office said in a statement April 26.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the synod, told reporters that about 21% of the synod’s 370 members would not be bishops and at least half of that group would be women. Adding women and young people to the membership will make sure “the church is well represented” in the prayer and discussions scheduled for Oct. 4-29 at the Vatican, the cardinal said.

Vatican revives centuries’ old school for artisans

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Alice Fantoni specialized in fine arts in high school, the question people posed over and over was, “But what will you do with that?” What she did, she told Catholic News Service, was keep pursuing her passion of working with marble and stone, and she enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy; and still people keep asking, “So, you want to be an artisan . . . but where will that get you?”

Turns out, it got Fantoni, 21, privileged access to the private workshops, corridors and nooks of St. Peter’s Basilica, where she is one of 20 students at a unique new school dedicated to encouraging young people to practice traditional crafts and skills that risk dying out. She has found important support, she said, thanks to people like Pope Francis and others who wanted to establish the School of Fine Arts and Traditional Trades of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.

The school offers three specialized six-month-long programs: woodworking; masonry and decorative and ornamental plastering; and stonework and carving. Starting in the fall, the school will add programs for mosaics and metalworking.

Pope talks about Ukraine, returning artifacts

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM HUNGARY (CNS) — The Holy See has a project underway related to peace between Russia and Ukraine, but Pope Francis told reporters he could not talk about it yet.

“There is a mission underway that is not public yet; when it is public, I will tell you about it,” Pope Francis told reporters traveling with him from Budapest, Hungary, back to Rome April 30.

He also said discussions already were underway with Indigenous communities in Canada for the repatriation of cultural artifacts held in the Vatican Museums. Pope Francis had been asked whether, after giving three fragments of the Parthenon marbles to the Orthodox Church of Greece in March, he was planning to do the same with artifacts that have been traced to the Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities of Canada.

“This is the Seventh Commandment: If you have stolen something, you must give it back,” he said. “The restitution of Indigenous articles is underway with Canada — at least we had agreed to do it,” the pope said.

On his way back to Rome from Budapest, Pope Francis spent about 20 minutes answering questions. Other topics included his health, his travel plans and his discussions in Budapest with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and with Russia Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary.

Sharon (Darraugh) and Nick Hilger, members of Holy Cross Parish, Overland Park, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 28. The couple was married on April 28, 1973, at St. Joseph Church, Shawnee. Their children are: Dan Hilger, Overland Park; Laurel Sharpe, Winchester, Virginia; and Janelle Hilger, Kansas City, Missouri. They also have three grandchildren.

Eugene and Clara (Flint) VanderStaay, members of Immaculate Conception-St. Joseph Parish, Leavenworth, will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on May 7, with a 10:30 a.m. Mass at Immaculate Conception Church. The couple was married on May 11, 1953, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Leavenworth. A reception hosted by their children and families for family and friends will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on May 7 at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, 320 S. Esplanade, Leavenworth. Your presence is requested. Their children are: Theresa Smith, Mark VanderStaay, Rebecca Manderscheid and Kathleen Poppe. They also have 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Chris and Janet (Wessling) Wilborn, members of Holy Cross Parish, Overland Park, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 28. The couple was married at St. John Regis Church in Kansas City, Missouri, by Father Jim Healy. Their children are: Jimmy Wilborn (deceased), Katie Starling, Matthew Wilborn, Nicholas Wilborn, Mark Wilborn and Anne Brown. They also have seven grandchildren. A large family vacation to Arkansas is planned to celebrate.