The Voice of the Southwest, Spring 2018

The Official Publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup | dioceseofgallup.org | Vol.58 No.1

VOICE of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal:

Vital Support For the Diocese

ALSO: Remembering Fr. Bob Mathieu (1947-2018) V Encuentro: A New Hispanic Ministry Meet Your 2018 Religious Jubilarians

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COVER STORY

NEWS

FEATURES

06 Fr. Bob Mathieu,

08 2018 Jubilarians

2018 Bishop’s Annual Appeal From conception to natural death, from kindergarten through retirement age, all of these people are aided through the Church’s mission of promoting life, and in answer to a modern world that all too often overlooks the poor and the needy.

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CALENDAR 18 Events/Classifieds Events and notices for the months of April, June and July

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1947-2018

In remembrance of a longserving Diocesan pastor.

20 New Retreat Center Director

With Sr. Rene Backe’s retirement, Sr. Sofia Lee steps in to take the helm

06 V Encuentro Introducing a new Hispanic ministry to the Diocese of Gallup

Meet the four religious sisters who are celebrating service milestones in 2017-2018

15 “I am Catholic” Marie Allen, the first known person to ever officially speak Navajo in St. Peter’s Basilica

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Voice

of the

Southwest

Publisher

The Most Rev. Bishop James S. Wall

Editor

Suzanne Hammons

Advertising/Office Manager Ella Roanhorse

Where to find us

The Voice of the Southwest can be found in any parish, mission, or Catholic school in the Diocese of Gallup. To receive a subscription to your home, contact us at media@dioceseofgallup.org or 503 W. Historic Highway 66, Gallup NM 87301

Contributors

SCHOOLS 22 Schools Receive Major Grant

$200,000 will go towards the long-term investment and viability of Catholic Schools

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Superintendent Resigns Jeanette Suter will step down from her position in June of 2018.

COLUMNS 23 The Way of the Cross Why do Catholics hold the Stations of the Cross, especially during Lent?

Bishop James S. Wall Dr. Jean Lee

Email comments to:

designoffice@dioceseofgallup.org

Write to:

Voice of the Southwest PO Box 1338, Gallup NM 87305-1338

Cover Photo

Bishop James S. Wall greets Noah Chavez, a student at St. Teresa of Avila School, Grants, after the annual 2018 Catholic Schools Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

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FROM THE BISHOP:

Promoting the gospel of life My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am writing to you today to announce the beginning of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for 2018. Each year, a different theme for the Appeal is chosen in order to highlight the many missions and causes carried out by the Church on a local level.

The year 2018 marks two very significant anniversaries. First, it is the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, one of the greatest papal encyclicals of the 20th century. Second, and tragically, it is also the 45th year since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States.

In keeping with the message of Pope Paul VI, who wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968, our theme for this year’s Appeal is “Promoting the Gospel of Life”. In his encyclical, Paul VI foresaw the great damage that would be done to any society that embraced abortion, contraception, and the breakdown of the family. He knew that a society that did not value life from conception to natural death would eventually erode and experience the degradation of the human person in all stages of life, from the poor and homeless, to the sick and disabled, to the weak and elderly.

When you contribute to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, through your prayers and donations, you are actively taking a voice in helping the Catholic Church to promote the Gospel of Life. Fifty years ago, Pope Pius VI urged people of all nations that “there must be no relaxation in the programs of mutual aid between all the branches of the great human family.” Programs of mutual aid carried out here in the Diocese of Gallup include five Catholic Charities agencies which provide food, shelter,

clothing, and emergency assistance to people who struggle financially and have nowhere else to turn. Many of our outlying churches and missions require yearly heating and maintenance costs. Our priests and religious sisters, who have given their lives to serving our families and parishes, require care and living funds when they reach retirement age. And many of our young students, who otherwise would not be able to afford the tuition to attend the challenging, high-quality learning environment provided by our Catholic schools, receive scholarships and school supplies through the Appeal.

From conception to natural death, from kindergarten through retirement age, all of these people are aided through the Church’s mission of promoting life, and in answer to a modern world that all too often overlooks the poor and the needy.

Near the end of his encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI wrote, “It is an outstanding manifestation of charity toward souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ; but this must always be joined with tolerance and charity, as Christ Himself showed in His conversations and dealings with men.”

I am grateful for the love and support each one of you demonstrates, through your prayers, words, and actions, and I offer my own prayers and efforts to yours as we answer the call to live the Gospel of Life.

I remain, sincerely yours in Christ, Bishop James Wall

Where do contributions go?

Every gift, every prayer helps

In 2016-17, 95% of Bishop’s Appeal monies went toward funding various ministries - the remaining 6% was spent on production costs.

Everyone can participate according to their abilities.

Thoughtful prayer and discernment can help each household consider what is appropriate for them to pledge.

With your generous help, over $396,000 was raised in 2017 for programs including five Catholic Charities agencies which provide food, shelter, clothing, and emergency assistance to people who struggle financially and have nowhere else to turn. Many of our outlying churches and missions require yearly heating and maintenance costs. Our priests and religious sisters, who have given their lives to serving our families and parishes, require care and living funds when they reach retirement age. And many of our young students, who otherwise would not be able to afford the tuition to attend the challenging, high-quality learning environment provided by our Catholic schools, receive scholarships and school supplies through the Appeal.

Each parish benefits from Diocesan ministries. Through support of our clergy, religious education, and charitable works, all Catholics are positively impacted by ministries of the Diocese. The goal for each parish is 100% participation through prayers and offerings.

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From conception to natural death, from kindergarten through retirement age, all of these people are aided through the Church’s mission of promoting life, and in answer to a modern world that all too often overlooks the poor and the needy.

How are Appeal funds

distributed?

Pictured: Students from St. Anthony School in Zuni, NM line up for hugs from their beloved pastor, Fr. Patrick McGuire, following the annual Catholic Schools Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES

22%

MINISTRY

23% EDUCATION

Hospital Ministry, Marriage & Tribunal Ministry, Prison Ministry, Youth Ministry

9% Ministry Formation, Catholic Schools Support, Adult Evangelization, Safe Environment Training

Family Transitional Housing, Emergency Assistance, Counseling & Immigration Services, Domestic Violence Support

VOCATIONS

31% MISSIONS

15%

Seminarians, Clergy Continuing Education, Religious Retirement, Priests’ Health

Building Improvements and Maintenance, Mission Support, Parish Emergency Assistance Voiceofofthe theSouthwest Southwest| |dioceseofgallup.org dioceseofgallup.org Voice

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NATIONAL AND LOCAL NEWS

In Memory of Fr. Robert “Bob” Mathieu On Friday, February 16, the Diocese of Gallup learned that Fr. Robert Mathieu was killed in a car accident in Albuquerque. He had been turning into a busy intersection when another vehicle struck his car on the driver’s side.

Fr. Mathieu was the pastor at Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Snowflake, Arizona, a position he had only held for a few months. He had previously served in many other assignments throughout the Diocese, as pastor in Bloomfield and Blanco, NM, Grants NM, and as the spiritual advisor for a number of religious groups.

He had always wanted his funeral to be held at his last assignment, to be buried in the town he served. And on February 27, hundreds gathered for a final time for his funeral service in Snowflake, Arizona.

Mary Christensen was Fr. Mathieu’s younger sister, one of his 11 siblings. She visited Fr. Mathieu - “Bob”, she calls him – several times, and for this final visit, recalls the vast numbers of people who came to the funeral. Our Lady of the Snows, a modest parish, was filled to standing-room-only capacity.

Hundreds more spilled over into the nearby parish center, watching the service on a livestream.

“I remember someone saying to me that they were expecting 300 people and they were nervous about having enough food, and I offered some money,” she recalls. “And they said ‘back East, that’s the way you do it, but we cook. We’re happy to do that here.’ They told me at the end it was probably

close to 600 people and I noticed there was extra food and it brought the story of the fishes and the loaves to me. Like wow, God really did provide for everybody. That was really special.”

It wasn’t simply the suddenness of Fr. Mathieu’s death, but his long experience in the Diocese and network of relationships, built through the years, that brought people. Fran Palochak, a city councilor in Gallup, NM, grew to know Fr. Mathieu through the local Cursillo program, where he served as a spiritual advisor.

“I found him to be, just a very personable - a very, very nice person. He would joke around with us,” she remembered. “But then when he would speak at the weekends, to the ladies, you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, because he was so spirit filled. He was always encouraging us to be Apostles for the Lord.”

In particular, his teachings about the sanctity of the Mass have stuck with her for years.

“I remember one time we were in Mass and he was explaining the consecration of gifts. And he told us ‘you have to remember that with Jesus there is no time. There is no beginning, there is no end, there’s no time difference. So when I consecrate the gifts, this is just like Jesus telling the Apostles “this is my body that will be given for you” so when you see me or anyone else consecrating the gifts, always remember that’s Jesus telling you.’ And every time I see the consecration of the gifts I remember that so well. That stuck with me forever.”

Bishop Wall blesses the funeral cross for Fr. Bob Mathieu’s sisters

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Fr. Mathieu grew up in the Boston area, the oldest of twelve children. From an early age, he knew he wanted to be a priest.

By the time Christensen was in high school, he had entered the seminary, and was ordained the same week she graduated.

The ten-year difference between them meant that Christensen was a willing participant in many of her big brother’s games.

“When he was in high school and we were younger kids, he would ‘practice’ with us. He kind of had that calling when he was younger and he would buy Necco wafers and he would practice giving communion to us. And we actually didn’t mind, because it was candy, you know?”

And after the funeral, on each and every table where people gathered in the parish community center for a shared meal, Fr. Mathieu’s siblings placed a roll of Necco wafers, a callback to their childhood game, now shared with Fr. Mathieu’s parishioners.

Fr. Mathieu originally only meant to serve in the Gallup Diocese for three years. But despite the distance from family and the East Coast, he soon came to think of the Southwest as his home. He would still visit his parents and brothers and sisters. He married two of his siblings and baptized their children. But always, he returned to the Diocese of Gallup.

Christensen recalls traveling to visit him.

“I came when he was in Page, Arizona many years ago, and then for the 25th [anniversary] in Springerville, and then for his 40th [ordination anniversary] in Grants, just two years ago.

The people just loved him and always said how happy he was, and we loved hearing all the stories about how he touched different peoples’ lives, because, you know he was special to us.”

Although she was unable to attend the funeral, Palochak believes it was a good service for the priest she came to know and appreciate.

“He truly loved Jesus. He truly loved the church. And I think that he - because he was our spiritual director, he brought many women to Jesus. And for that, I think we are more faithful than we would have been otherwise had we not known him,” she said. “I think he would have been very humbled to see the beautiful send off that was given to him.”

Christensen, too, is making her peace with the loss of her brother.

“Being so far away from home wasn’t always easy for him, but he loved the Lord so much. I like to think that he was ready. He was always happy, you know?” she said. “Some of us thought that when Bobby got a little older he might come back, but he decided to stay out that way to retire. He really had found a place there.” VoSW

Photos from the funeral and burial of Fr. Bob Mathieu in Snowflake, AZ Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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Meet Your 2018 Religious Jubilarians

Sr. Marilou Nalangan, left, and Sr. Maria Auxilia, at the soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity in Gallup A special Mass is held each year in the Diocese of Gallup in celebration of consecrated religious who celebrate milestone anniversaries. This year, Bishop James Wall celebrated the Jubilarian Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday, February 03. The honorees enjoyed a brunch before the Mass and afterwards greeted old and new friends alike who were in attendance.

They are: Sr. Marilou Nalangan From: The Philippines Order: Missionaries of Charity Years of Consecrated Life: 25 Time in Gallup: 8 months Voice of the Southwest (VoSW): Did you enjoy the Mass?

Sr. Marilou: Yes, beautiful! Because you’re in the aisle, just like “Yes I am here Lord, I am ready, whatever you want me to be.” It is just like you’re belonging to him. If you belong to him, you give everything to him.

VoSW: What would you like people to know about your work here?

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Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

Sr. Marilou: Being here in Gallup for me is just to see Jesus in the distressing disguise. Because our work here is not so easy, no? But if I have always the eyes of faith, because my thought is “Jesus is there in that distressing disguise”. So I have to really pray with great faith that Jesus is here.

I changed my way of thinking – it is not that man, but it is Jesus. And I feel privileged to serve them.

VoSW: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in 25 years?

Sr. Marilou: I have to love Him more and more each day. He loves me, more than I love myself. That’s why for me, my vocation is really to love Him, each moment, and never, never to separate [from] Him. For me, a vocation is a call. Before, someone asked me “do you want to become a nun?” And I said “Oh no way.” But God’s call is different. It is from the womb, from the beginning he called me. When I was working with my sister in an office, I heard a voice say “I want you to be honest”. And that word repeated so many times. And

also He was telling me “I want you to serve the poorest of the poor”. And I left everything, and that call – I really felt that He called me in that way. For me, it is a great privilege to be a Missionary of Charity. And I am happy.

Sr. Maria Auxilia From: India Order: Missionaries of Charity Years of Consecrated Life: 25 VoSW: What would you like people to know about the work you do?

Sr. Maria: We are here for the poor.

We like Gallup because in America, this is the poorest of the poor.

VoSW: What’s one of the lessons you’ve learned in 25 years?

Sr. Maria: Love of God. Why are there homeless? Because in them we see that rejection – whatever happened in their life. We say God loves us, and we serve the people because God made us in the image and likeness of God. So we see in each of them a child of God. Sometimes they say “We are Zuni, we are Navajo”, but we

say it doesn’t make a difference, race, because we are all God’s children.

Sr. Genevieve Allen From: New Hampshire Order: Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Years of Consecrated Life: 60 Time in Gallup: 55 Years VoSW: Can you tell me a little about the day?

Sr. Allen: For me it was just a beautiful celebration, with the sisters and the brunch and the Bishop. And then, moving over to the liturgy, and so many of my former students there from way back at St. Michaels, especially the class of 1963. I think more than anything I was just touched by the people, by the sisters, by the Franciscans that were there. Just thankfulness, gratitude, for the day, the opportunity to celebrate with all of them.

VoSW: Is it kind of unusual that someone from your order would stay here for 55 years?

Sr. Allen: Yes it is unusual. “God takes us at our deepest desires” has always been sort of a mantra for me.

Growing up I always had a strong devotion to the Eucharist, and I had a deep desire to serve the Native peoples. So when I entered the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1955, in a way my great desire was starting to be fulfilled, and continuing to be fulfilled. In 1961 I was assigned here to St. Michaels. The night I arrived here at St. Michaels – and in 1961 it was a dirt road into the school – the sisters greeted me and then the superior of the house took me upstairs to greet Sr. Honora, who was somewhat of a legend out here. She looked at me and said “I hope you stay here as long as I have” and I said “I hope so too”.

I felt then within my heart the words of Scripture: “I have taken root among an honorable people.”

[After I got my Master’s] I came back here in 1971 and began the Desert House of Prayer. And because of [that ministry] I ended up really rooted right here among the people. So it is unusual for us to stay at a mission for that length of time, but it was unusual to start a House of Prayer, and that has continued until this day.

VoSW: What was your first im-

Sr. Genevieve Allen, left, and Sr. Jean Ryan, center, greet friends before the Religious Jubilee Mass pression of the Southwest?

Sr. Allen: I was just so excited to come out West. I think I would have been excited to go to any mission that involved Native American people, but I had heard a lot about St. Michaels.

We arrived by train – this was 1961.

And oh, when the vista opened up, it was so exciting to me. But the next day, to look out at the beauty that surrounded – that still surrounds – this St. Michaels area….it was like, this is such a beautiful place to live.

VoSW: So what does your every day life look like at the Desert House of Prayer?

Sr. Allen: We have a commitment to prayer, and availability, especially to the people of the local area. There are only two of us now, so sometimes the commitment to three hours of prayer is not always possible, but that is what we try to do for the sake of the people.

We are available – I continue to do spiritual direction, I direct retreats, but most of the ministry is the dayto-day being here, so when somebody comes, we’re here. We do not have a ministry, at this point in time, of going out and doing things, though we help at the parish. But we have a ministry of being here, so that when any-

one comes there’s someone here, to be with them, to talk with them, share with them, pray with them, whatever it may be.

VoSW: As someone who’s been here so long and seen and experienced so much, what would you say is the biggest change from when you first came here to the present day?

Sr. Allen: There’s a lot more tragedy than when I arrived. People were still very much into the traditional way of life, and I saw that even in the students.

But as the years started to progress, even when I was at the school, I began to see that there were issues coming in – in fact, that’s why I went on to get my degree in counseling, because I could see we had issues related to addiction, to poverty, domestic violence, suicide. All the issues that are with us today were beginning to show up at that time in history. What I’ve seen through the years is those issues have just increased, and because there’s so much tragedy, there’s a lot of grieving, and people do not even have a chance to grieve one loss before another loss comes into the picture. So we are here.

We can’t take the pain away, but at least we can be there, to journey with Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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the people as they go through this period of history.

VoSW: What are some things you’ve learned in all your years of ministry that you would like people to know about?

Sr. Allen: In regards to the Native people – because that’s who I’ve served these years – that is to take these tremendous gifts, gifts of creativity, prayer. I want people to know those gifts, and nourish those gifts.

When we come into the kingdom of God through our Baptism we bring great gifts to the Church. I want people to see, and nourish, the gifts of the Native people and the Hispanic people – all the people of this Diocese.

VoSW: Anything else you’d like to add?

Sr. Allen: I just want to say thanks to God, for gratitude, for all these years, and especially that I’ve been able to serve here in this Diocese for all these years.

Sr. Jean Ryan From: Pennsylvania Order: Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Years of Consecrated Life: 50 VoSW: Can I get your impressions about the Mass and the Day of Celebration?

Sr. Ryan: It was very nice. I think the best part was being with people and relaxing at the end of the day.

Even though I’m kind of a stranger in the area, people were coming up to me

that I didn’t even know and it made me feel very much at home.

I actually started in Santa Fe in the 1970s and came in to teach at St. Michaels from 1972-75, so I have a lot of people who are coming to me who are actually grandmothers now. But I had been at the Desert House of Prayer in 1981 and I worked further out on the reservation in Piñon for two years. So I’ve been back and forth – I keep saying to people “I’m like the bad penny, I keep coming back”.

VoSW: So you’ve been back here how many years?

Sr. Ryan: Well, in the meantime, unlike Sr. Genevieve, she’s been here 50-some years, where I traveled to a number of different locations. I think my greatest blessing as a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament was the exposure to so many different cultural groups and peoples. Santa Fe with the Pueblos, and here with the Navajos. I’ve worked in South Dakota with the Lakota people, I was in New Orleans – we had an all-girls black high school there. I went to Haiti for a time because we were looking at the possibility of opening a mission in Florida… with the Haitian community. I’ve traveled and had numerous different experiences with different cultural groups, which I feel have strengthened me and blessed me many different ways.

VoSW: With all of these cultural experiences, how would you compare the Southwest to other places you’ve served?

Sr. Ryan: I think it would be like trying to compare apples and oranges. To me every group has its blessing, it has its difficulties. I am very drawn to the Native American spirituality which I think has stretched my own understanding of God. VoSW: Are there any specific lessons you’ve learned in all your years of ministry?

Sr. Ryan: People are people no matter where you go. They’ve got their gifts, they’ve got their problems that they work with, and I think from my own experiences, I’ve learned it’s not through my successes that God works the most through me but actually my failures. Those are transformative moments, and I think it’s true of cultural groups – we learn and grow the most through times we are aware of the negative attributes and we really work to change them. St. Paul said “It’s in my weakness that God works the best”.

VoSW: What’s the most important work the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament do in the Diocese?

Sr. Ryan: I think just in general it’s being able to be a loving presence. Whether you are working in the schools, whether you are working in a Desert House of Prayer situation – it’s the ability to be present to whoever comes at any time in a loving awareness that they too are a child of God. And I hope that’s something we are able to do not only in this Diocese but wherever we are as a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament. VoSW Sr. Genevieve Allen

Voiceofofthe theSouthwest Southwest| |dioceseofgallup.org dioceseofgallup.org 10 10Voice

What is the V Encuentro?

Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Gallup

Although the Diocese of Gallup was founded to serve a large Native American population, current census data gives a glimpse into the projected future of the Church in America, as Hispanics are now the fastest-growing minority group in America. And while Native American ministry is still a top priority in the Diocese, a new program has been introduced to meet the needs of Hispanic Catholics.

On Saturday, January 27th, delegates from various parishes gathered for a Diocesan V Encuentro, an evangelization workshop in which participants outline goals for Hispanic-specific ministry in the Diocese of Gallup.

It all starts on a parish-by-parish level.

First, a volunteer team reaches out to friends, coworkers, families, ex-Catholics, and other members of their local communities.

“In five different sessions, they prepare themselves as missionaries and they go out to different areas, especially those that are most marginalized and on the peripheries of the parish, either socially or in the Church, and listen,” said Fr. Peter Short, coordinator of the V Encuentro in

the Diocese of Gallup. “[They] try to listen to them to see what their difficulties are, what their aspirations are, what their hope is - if they’ve left the Church, why they’ve left the Church; if they’re not practicing in the church, why are they not practicing in the church.”

Fr. Short is the pastor of the St. Joseph and Madre de Dios parishes in Winslow, Arizona. After decades of ministry in Argentina, he returned home to the United States to serve as a parish priest for the Diocese of Gallup. His years of on-the-ground ministry in Latin America opened his eyes to the needs of Hispanic people on both a local and Diocesan level.

“I realized that in the diocese here, strangely enough, we didn’t have any Hispanic ministry. I approached the Bishop with it - I didn’t approach it as wanting to get involved with the V Encuentro, but rather using the material to see if we could kickstart the Hispanic ministry of the Diocese...as time moved on, it moved into participation in the V Encuentro.”

The next step: using the information

gathered in their local missionary efforts, the teams presented their findings in sessions during the Diocesan Encuentro.

Jessica Olivas, a member for the missionary team from Winslow, described how the outreach process had taught her to be “brave”.

“I didn’t have to go knock on a stranger’s door. I could just go speak to a coworker or a friend that has been away from the Church,” she told the room, first giving her testimony in Spanish, then switching to English. “Even to invite someone back to the church, and when that person said yes, and when that person attended Mass, and now continues to attend Mass because of that one invite.

I received that bravery - to go out and be that apostle that Christ wants us to be.”

Petra Velez and her husband, Art Velez, are the lay coordinators of the Diocesan V Encuentro. Throughout the day, Velez stopped at each table, interacted with groups and facilitated discussions.

“I could actually see the people so involved in the tables, and I think that message got across,” she said. “I think a lot Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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Jose Aguilera, left, and Jessica Olivas, right, gave personal testimonies on the personal impact of the V encuentro movement

of people realized how it’s needed in this Diocese. This Diocese has been more of a Native American diocese, and now, because of the growth in the Hispanic population, we’re bringing some of these people out of the shadows into the light to voice their opinion.”

Velez, along with a few other selected delegates, Fr. Short, and Bishop Wall attended the regional V Encuentro, held in Phoenix in late February. Region 13, which includes the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, is the only region with 100% diocesan participation. From there, an additional group of delegates will be sent to the national V Encuentro in September.

“This year, specifically, this is the fifth one [in the US]. They meet every 8-10 years,” said Fr. Short. Although the Diocese of Gallup entered late into the process, he hopes other parishes will also be able to adopt the process in their own communities.

“In the regional we go and talk to the other Dioceses in the region, with our priorities, with our findings,” he said, adding that “the critical one is this one, the Diocesan one, because this is the one that will most affect us. If we can encourage people to go back to their parishes and encourage the parishes to do the process, it will be very good.”

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Bishop Wall attended the local session in the afternoon, listening in on the presentations and concluding the day with a bilingual Mass.

“I received that bravery - to go out and be that apostle that Christ wants us to be.”

“Central to Pope Francis’ teaching and the Encuentro is a genuine encounter with the living Christ. Not just for a few, but we know that Christ is for the entire world,” he told those in attendance. Bishop Wall also recognized the efforts of Fr. Short, especially the priest’s willingness to take on Hispanic ministry efforts, joking “I kind of thrust it on him - I’m surprised he even talks to me”.

Velez was able to identify several priorities agreed on by delegates for the Diocese of Gallup: more bilingual Masses and activities, especially for youth; training Spanish-speaking people in parish ministries; and Spanish-language education for priests and deacons. In the long-

term, for both Velez and Fr. Short, Hispanic Church leaders are a priority, locally and throughout the United States.

“Under 18 [years old] - I think it’s 60% now are Hispanic in the Church in the United States. So the future of the Church in the United States is clearly going to become more and more Hispanic,” Fr. Short said. “And yet there hasn’t been a corresponding growth in priests and bishops and lay ministers and leaders.”

And while the local and National V Encuentro is happening in 2018, Fr. Short and the V Encuentro participants hope to utilize their newfound efforts and goals into implementing a permanent and thriving Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Gallup.

“From the census data, we have 40% Hispanics in the Diocese, and that’s less than most Dioceses in the southwest simply because we have a strong concentration of Native Americans. And I can understand that our Diocese would be directed specifically towards Native Americans. But to ignore the Hispanics, I think, is wrong. We’re leaving aside a large portion of our parishes. And in speaking with other pastors, I heard some of their concerns, and I thought that would be a good thing. And the Bishop was very encouraging.” VoSW

¿Qué es el V Encuentro?

Ministerio Hispano en la Diócesis de Gallup A pesar de que la diócesis de Gallup fue fundada para servir una población grande de Nativos Americanos, los datos del censo actual nos dan una mirada al futuro proyectado de la Iglesia en América, dado que los Hispánicos/Latinos son ahora el grupo minoritario que crece más rápido en América. Y mientras los Nativos Americanos siguen siendo una prioridad en la diócesis, un programa reciente ha sido introducido para encontrar las necesidades de los Católicos Hispanos.

El sábado, 27 de enero, unos 50 delegados de varias parroquias se reunieron para el V Encuentro diocesano, un taller en donde los participantes buscan metas por el ministerio hacia los Hispanos en la diócesis de Gallup.

Todo comienza en un nivel parroquial. Primero un equipo voluntario busca a amigos, compañeros, familias, ex católicos y otros miembros de sus comunidades.

“En cinco sesiones, ellos se preparan como misioneros y se van a distintos lugares, especialmente a los más marginados y a las periferias de la parroquia, sea socialmente o en relación a la Iglesia, y los escuchan.”, dijo el P. Pedro Short, encargado con la organización del V Encuentro en la diócesis de Gallup. “Ellos buscan escuchar para averiguar cuáles son sus dificultades, cuáles son sus aspiraciones, si han dejado a la Iglesia, el por qué; si no practican su fe, por qué no la practican en la Iglesia.”

El Padre Short es párroco de las parroquias Madre de Dios y St. Joseph en Winslow, Arizona. Después de décadas de ministerio en Argentina, volvió a los Estados Unidos para servir como párroco en la diócesis de Gallup. Sus años de ministerio en América Latina le han abierto los ojos a las necesidades de las personas Hispánicas en el nivel parroquial y diocesano.

“He realizado que aquí en la diócesis, curiosamente, no teníamos un ministerio hispánico. Me acerqué al obispo con esta inquietud, no para involucrarnos con el V Encuentro, sino más bien para utilizar el material que nos proveían para ver si podíamos empezar un ministerio

Hispánico en la diócesis… mientras se evolucionaba, se transformó en participación en el V Encuentro.”

El próximo paso: usando el material juntado en sus esfuerzos misioneros locales, los equipos presentan lo que encontraron en las sesiones del Encuentro Diocesano.

Jessica Olivas, un miembro del equipo de Winslow, describió como el proceso misionero la ensenó a tener más “coraje”.

“No fue necesario golpear la puerta de un extraño. Podía ir y hablar con un compañero de trabajo o un amigo quien había alejado de la Iglesia,” dijo a los demás, en su testimonio en español, y después pasando al inglés. “Aun para invitar a alguien de vuelta a la Iglesia, cuando aquella persona dijo que si, y comenzó a asistir a la Misa, y todavía asiste a Misa a causa de esta única invitación, yo recibí el coraje de ir afuera y ser el apóstol que Cristo quiere que seamos.”

Petra Vélez, y su marido Arturo Vélez son los Coordinadores del V Encuentro Diocesano. A lo largo del día, Vélez se paró en cada mesa, interactuó con los grupos y facilitó las discusiones.

“Podía ver la gente tan involucrado en las mesas, y pienso que el mensaje se llegó,” dijo. “Creo que mucha gente realizó que es una necesidad en la diócesis.

Esta diócesis ha sido siempre una diócesis orientada hacia los Nativos Americanos, y ahora, con el crecimiento de la población Hispana, estamos sacando de las sombras y a la luz estas personas para expresar su opinión.

Los Vélez, junto con unos pocos otros delegados seleccionados, el P. Short y el Obispo Wall, atenderán el V Encuentro Regional que tomara lugar en Phoenix al final de febrero. La Región 13, que incluye los estados de Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona y New Mexico, es la única región con 100% participación de las diócesis. Desde ahí, un grupo adicional de delegados serán enviados al V Encuentro nacional en Septiembre en Grapevine, Texas.

“Esta es la quinta vez que el Encuentro se reúne. Se reúne cada 8 a 10 anos”, dijo el P. Short. A pesar de que la diócesis entró tarde en el proceso, espera que otras parroquias podrán incorporar el proceso en sus propias comunidades.”

En la regional vamos a hablar con otras diócesis de la zona, con nuestras prioridades, con nuestros aportes,” dijo, añadiendo que “el Encuentro más importante es este, la diocesana, porque será la que nos afecta más. Si podamos animar la gente a volver a sus parroquias y hacer el proceso en sus comunidades,

Fr. Short blesses a delegate at the Mass following the Diocesan Encuentro.

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seria muy bueno.”

El Obispo Wall asistió al Encuentro diocesano en la tarde, escuchando las presentaciones y concluyendo la jornada con una Misa bilingüe.

“Central a la enseñanza del Papa Francisco y el Encuentro es un encuentro genuino con el Cristo viviente. No es solo para algunos sino sabemos que Cristo es para el mundo entero”, dijo a los presentes. El Obispo también reconoció los esfuerzos del P. Short, especialmente la voluntad del padre a tomar sobre si los esfuerzos del ministerio hispano, bromeando: “¡más o menos yo se lo tiré encima – me sorprende que aún siga hablando conmigo!”

Vélez fue capaz de identificar algunas prioridades que buscaron los delegados por la Diócesis de Gallup: más Misas y actividades bilingües, especialmente para la juventud; entrenamiento para gente de lengua española en los ministerios parroquiales; educación en la lengua española para diáconos y sacerdotes. A lo largo, sea por Sr. Vélez y el P. Short, los líderes Hispanos en la Iglesia son una prioridad, en lo local y por todos los Estados Unidos.

“De los que tienen menos de 18 anos

14

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

– creo que ahora son 60% Hispanos en la Iglesia en los Estados Unidos. Por eso, el futuro de la Iglesia en los Estado Unidos claramente va a ser más y más Hispánico, dijo el P. Short. “Y, sin embargo, no ha habido un crecimiento correspondiente entre los obispos, sacerdotes o ministros laicos o lideres”.

Y mientras el V Encuentro Nacional y local sucede en 2018, el P. Short y los participantes del V Encuentro esperan utilizar sus esfuerzos y metas nuevas para promover un Ministerio Hispano permanente y viva en la Diócesis de Gallup.

De los datos del censo, tenemos unos 40% de Hispánicos en nuestra diócesis, y esto es menos que otras diócesis del suroeste simplemente porque tenemos una concentración fuerte de americanos nativos. Entiendo porque nuestra diócesis por tanto seria dirigida en gran medida hacia los americanos nativos. Sin embargo, ignorar los Hispános, yo pienso sería un error. Estaríamos dejando de lado una porción grande de nuestras parroquias.

Hablando con otros párrocos, escuché algunos de sus preocupaciones, y pensé que esto sería una cosa buena. Mientras tanto, el obispo me animó mucho.” VoSW

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“This Is What I Believe.

I AM CATHOLIC” In November 1988, Marie Allen stood at the lectern and presented the official petitions at the beatification Mass of St. Katharine Drexel. As far as anyone knew, her reading of the petition was the first time the Navajo language was ever spoken in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Now, nearly thirty years later, Allen sits like a small beam of concentrated sunshine in the basement of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Ft. Defiance, Arizona. She’s waiting here, like every Sunday after Mass, for her Confirmation students to arrive. Today she’s preparing several adults to be received into the Church in Spring of 2018, but Allen has been a common sight in both the Catholic and Navajo communities surrounding Fr. Defiance for many decades.

In 1900, her father, Hosteen Tso, was one of the first six people baptized into the Catholic faith in St. Michaels, Arizona. His home was Hunter’s Point, a small nearby village, where he lived raising crops and sheep along with his wife and five children. It was young Marie’s whole world, until the day her father decided to send his children to the Catholic boarding school at St. Michaels.

Hosteen would visit his children at least once a week, and soon he forged a friendship with the Franciscan priest who ran the post office at the school and had learned enough Navajo to hold a conversation. This relationship soon proved useful when Allen, at age eleven, decided she wanted to officially become Catholic.

“The priest said ‘you’re taking religion classes, but if you want to become Catholic, it’s open to you.

If you want to be baptized and receive the Sacraments, we have to get your parents’ permission,’” Allen recalls. The religion taught to the students by the Franciscans seemed a natural fit for her, a child who was raised to rise at dawn each day to pray with her parents.

Her parents had no formal education and could not read, but after conversations with his daughter and the postmaster priest, Hosteen agreed.

“He said ‘well, we’ve taught you in the traditional way of prayer and ceremonies and blessings.

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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“

So if you go to the Church, you have to learn just as much as you learn regarding traditional culture. You would need to study and learn all about what you’re joining. You just don’t go when you want to. You have to go - and you have to know - everything. Everything you need to know about the Church, you find out and you have to live it. So just tell the Father that I said it was okay,’” Allen remembers her father saying.

Allen’s three older brothers graduated from the 8th grade and returned home to help with the demands of farming, but she would continue on to become the first person in her family to graduate high school, and eventually college, obtaining a health degree from St. Anthony College in Denver.

In this, too, her relationship with her father forged a career path.

“My father’s been my tremendous influence. When I was going to school, he always encouraged me. He said ‘I never went to school but I really want you to go all the way through high school. I understand that there’s higher education. Go through it. Your people need you in the community.

The people go to the hospital only when they’re very sick, but they’re sick at home, where they die and nobody knows.’”

Allen could have moved anywhere

It’s our Creator who you need to get to know through the Church. We believe in the Creator and we pray, but we know that eventually, after death, we turn back to spiritual beings. It seems like the Catholic Church will give you more.

in the country with her newfound knowledge and degree, but she returned home, to work in various hospitals around Ft. Defiance. She also immediately got involved with the local Catholic parishes in any way she could, teaching classes and catechism.

This was the litmus test when she met the man who would become her husband. Perry Allen, a marine who was awarded the Purple Heart for his service during the Second World War, would become the prosecutor for the Navajo Nation in the 1960s. But for Marie, one thing mattered above all else – her faith.

“I don’t make any excuses about anything. My children know - even my husband knew before I married him. I said ‘this is what I do, this is what I believe. I am Catholic. I go to Church and

”

I teach in Church and I want to continue that.’” She laughs, remembering.

“Before I got married I said ‘I’m committed to this, and if you don’t want me involved, then you’re not marrying me.’”

But Perry Allen was amenable, and was received into the Church by the priest who then married the couple.

Throughout Marie’s career, she learned to handle sickness and, often, death, as she visited homes and hospital rooms in her ministries.

“I’ve always done ministry,” she says. “Where I went for my clinical training...the priests were there, the sisters were there. I went to Mass and took communion to patients. I think just being with sick people, all the way to the end - every time that they want prayers, I say prayers with them.”

Allen’s sister and mother display a finished rug outside of their hogan.

Allen, center, was the first in her family to graduate from college, obtaining a nursing degree.

16 Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

But the true test of her faith would come when death visited close to home. After her children were raised and living lives on their own, one of her sons had difficulty managing a diagnosis of diabetes, and the disease began to take its toll on his kidneys.

One day, a friend knocked on his door, and received no response.

“He was unconscious when they found him at his apartment,” Allen remembers. “The doctor said he had already been without oxygen, but they didn’t know - nobody knew how long he was. He was too far gone by the time they found him.”

Allen requested that a priest be present to anoint him, and then her son was gone. Since then, Allen weathered the loss of her parents, brothers, and husband. And yet today, she sits here in the basement of the parish, warm and welcoming. No matter where or when you see her, it is impossible to catch Allen without a smile or a sense of quiet, contented happiness.

Her life has had its moments of great joy as well. In 1988, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament received word that their foundress, Katharine Drexel, would be beatified. As Drexel’s main legacy was the number of schools established to serve Native American and African American communities, the sisters wished to choose a Native

American student of those schools to present the petitions at the Mass in Rome. Allen was the person they turned to. She translated the petition into Navajo, and her face lights up at the memory of the beatification Mass.

“I was just so amazed by the Basilica. I went back in after the Pope left and everybody was outside,” she recalls. “I just prayed and thanked the Lord for getting there. I said ‘I never in my life expected to be here’. I was so at peace I didn’t even want to go out.”

She was also able to be present at an audience with Pope John Paul II, where she shook his hand.

“I never planned, I never prayed to go see the Pope or anything - it just happened. It’s all the Lord’s work.”

In 2012, she returned to Rome with a group from the Diocese of Gallup, led by Bishop James Wall, for the canonization Mass of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint.

“I’ve always known about Kateri since high school. I’m a secular Franciscan, and our fraternity was the Kateri Tekakwitha Fraternity. I said ‘when she’s a saint, I am going. I’m gonna be there.’”

Our interview is interrupted as the first student, a middle-aged Navajo woman, opens the basement door.

“Good morning!” Marie beams at her. “Today we’re learning all about

who leads the Church – the Pope and Bishops.”

Have you found a Confirmation sponsor yet? She asks. No, the student replies.

“Well just pray, pray you’ll get somebody,” Marie tells her. “When you become part of RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults], we become a little community. You become like part of the family, here.”

Community, family – both form the essence of Marie’s worldview.

Through life’s hardships and losses of loved ones, her Catholic faith, Navajo beliefs, and indomitable positive outlook has allowed her to create a family from her community. She accepts many invitations to coming out ceremonies for young people and prayer leadings at chapter houses. Whether formally speaking Navajo in front of a Pope and audience of thousands, or leading a small prayer group in a church basement, her Catholic faith guides her through life.

“My dad really stressed that - he said ‘It’s our Creator who you need to get to know through the Church. We believe in the Creator and we pray, but we know that eventually, after death, we turn back to spiritual beings. It seems like the Catholic Church will give you more.’” VoSW

Allen’s father, her “tremendous influence”, with his truck and horses.

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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Calendar of Events/Classifieds April

01 05

Easter Caroling for Inmates You and members of your church are invited to sing and share your Easter joy with the inmates at the Gallup Jail at any of these times: Sunday April 1: 6 to 8 PM Monday April 2: 6 to 8 PM Wed. April 4: 2 to 4 PM Thurs. April 5: 6 to 8 PM Song sheets will be provided. Carolers must be 18 years of age or older, and bring a valid picture ID, and contact Sister Elizabeth by phone by March 30th: 928-606-4737 Place: McKinley County

Adult Detention Center

255 Boardman Ave

Gallup, NM 87301

May (continued) 18

Principals’ Meeting Meeting for all the principals of the schools in the Diocese of Gallup.

Place: Sacred Heart Retreat Center

167 NM-602

Gallup, NM 87301 Contact: Jeanette at 505-8634406

20

Gallup Tri-Parish Confirmation Confirmation for all three parishes in Gallup.

Place: Sacred Heart Cathedral

415 E. Green

Gallup, NM 87301 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM

June

May 01 03 05

Tekakwitha Mini-Conference A mini-conference involving all the Kateri Circles in the Diocese as well as some in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of Phoenix. Fr. Michael Carson will be in attendance as one of the presenters.

Contact: 505-863-4406

18 Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

Annual Spanish Market and Fiesta The 3rd Annual Sacred Heart Spanish Market is a weekend celebration of Spanish and Native American cultural and religious art.

Uniquely New Mexican and proudly continuing the traditional artistic mediums passed down for generations.

Place: Sacred Heart Family Center

555 S. Woodrow

Gallup, NM 87301 Contact: 505-722-6644

June (continued)

09

Priestly Ordination of Mitchell Brown Bishop James Wall will ordain Deacon Mitchell Brown to the priesthood. All are invited to attend!

Place: Sacred Heart Cathedral

415 E. Green

Gallup, NM 87301 Time: 11:00 AM Contact: 505-863-4406

07 10

Women’s #329 English Cursillo Application fee of $60.00 must be returned - 2 weeks advance of Cursillo! Rectora: Mary Cullen Place: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Hall, Holbrook AZ Contact: Mary Cullen at 505-870-4234

15 17

Engaged Encounter Retreat Weekend Engaged Encounter is an investment in the future, a weekend in which an atmosphere is created for each couple to concentrate exclusively on one another, free of the tensions, pressures and interruptions of daily living. It is a quiet weekend, specifically designed to give a couple planning marriage an opportunity to talk honestly and intensively about their future together.

Place: Sacred Heart Retreat Center

167 NM-602

Gallup, NM 87301 Contact: 505-726-2707

Schedule of Healing Services

A new podcast hosted by Bishop Wall, with topics on everything from movies and pop culture to Saints and Scripture. Catch new episodes on Tuesdays on iTunes or voiceofthesouthwest.org/ podcast

Bishop James Wall and the Diocese of Gallup will unite in prayer for a series of healing services. We extend our invitation to attend these healing services to all who have been affected by physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in the Diocese, especially our brothers and sisters who have survived abuse by members of the Church.

Families and friends of survivors, Catholics and community members who are struggling with forgiveness or who have been affected by the sin of abuse, and all people wishing to unite and seek healing; to them we extend the invitation to attend these services as well.

The healing services will consist of prayer, scripture reading, and a reflection from Bishop Wall. The Bishop will also be available after the service to meet privately with anyone who requests it.

“To those survivors, I wish to express my sincere apologies, profound sorrow, and deepest gratitude. I am sorry, first and foremost, that you were abused and betrayed by members of the Church, and that the Diocese betrayed your trust.

I am also grateful to you, for your courage in coming forward, in continuing to seek justice, even when that justice was not given for many years.”

- Bishop James S. Wall If you are unable to attend, please pray, first and foremost, for survivors of abuse, and love them as Christ calls us to love. Please also pray for our Church, that we act with justice, compassion, and vigilance in protecting children and vulnerable persons from abuse.

Rescheduled Services:

Advertise With Us!

Our Lady of the Assumption Tuesday, April 03, 2018 at 5:00 PM 3048 Hwy 277, Overgaard AZ

Want to see your event here or online?

Send notices about upcoming events to media@dioceseofgallup.org or call 505-863-4406

St. Francis (Lumberton) Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 5:00 PM 3760 Sandhill Dr., Lumberton NM

Our Lady of Fatima Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 5:00 PM Navajo Rt. 7, Chinle AZ

Our Lady of the Snows Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 12:00 noon 1654 Main Street, Snowflake AZ

Promise to Protect Si usted o alguien que usted conoce ha sido víctima de abuso por parte de un sacerdote, diácono u otro empleado o ministro de la Iglesia Católica, favor de reportar el incidente a: Elizabeth Terrill Coordinador de Asistencia para Víctimas 505-906-7357

If you or someone you know has been abused by a priest, deacon or other employee or minister of the Catholic Church, please report this to: Elizabeth Terrill Victim Assistance Coordinator 505-906-7357

victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

We will help.

Your confidentiality will be protected.

Nosotros le ayudaremos.

Su confidencialidad será protegida.

victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

Do Háida’bił bee hodozįįł daíigi beeádee haho’dzíí’ Catholic Church dóó éé’ neishoodii yił ndaałnishi’ igíí dóó Baa ndaałah’ igíísh doo há’ atééh’ igoo da, nínįi’ yiyiiłaah’ Dóó’ oóshlí ła’ ísh ákóbí’ diiłyąą go nił beehoozin, Akohootįįngo nił beehoozin’go baahwíí’ diłníi’ Elizabeth Terrill Victim Assistance Coordinator 505-906-7357 victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

19

Sr. Rene Backe Retires as Retreat Center Director community also, said we’ll go to a White Sox game for your jubilee gift [they invited the extended family].

So we’ve had it now ten years, the “Backe Baseball Bash” at White Sox park. We gather two hours before the game starts and have a tailgate party one cousin always brings a grill. Then we go into the game and we do more chattering with each other, catching up on news, than paying attention to the game.

VoSW: Can you tell us a little about your other work, like as Delegate for Religious?

In Fall of 2017, Sr. Rene Backe retired as director of Sacred Heart Retreat Center, the official retreat center for the Diocese of Gallup. She served in that position for eight years.

Sr. Backe has a long history of service in the Diocese - over 30 years. In that time she has been stationed in Farmington and Gallup, and previously she also served as Superintendent.

Though she no longer runs the retreat center, Sr. Rene still coordinates the academic program for the Diocesan Deacon Formation Program and serves as the Bishop’s Delegate for Religious.

Voice of The Southwest: What was your favorite aspect of being the retreat center director?

Sr. Rene: I really, really loved the work. Hospitality is one of our community’s [Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes] charisms, and for me, I saw it as important to make the place - the retreat center - as hospitable as possible so that people could encounter God. Because this is where they come to do that.

They’re seeking peace.

People need to find places to feel peace and to feel commotion with God. I do enjoy giving retreats or giving spiritual direction. That, especially, is a sacred privilege, I think, as people share their journey with God with me.

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I enjoy living here in this physical or natural - beauty. I watch the sun rise every morning and the moonrise every night and the sunset.

VoSW: What do you enjoy doing when you have free time?

Sr. Rene: It’s been awhile (she laughs).

I love photography, I do. Especially traveling up to Colorado. Mountains have fascination for me. When I was in third grade, I got a camera for my birthday, and it was one of those box cameras, and you have to look in it and press it. And then I started saving my money to buy film and have it developed. And since then I’ve loved taking pictures.

[She has a White Sox sign outside her front door] I grew up in Crownpoint, Indiana, which was about 40 miles from Chicago. My parents and uncles were all White Sox fans and so it got into our DNA. When I was in 8th grade, I wanted a White Sox baseball jacket, you know it was just - cost 8 bucks, in those days.

My grandfather had a farm and my uncle did the milking every night, and so he offered to pay us if we would help carry milk from the barn to the milk house into the cans. So I earned my White Sox jacket helping Uncle Herb (laughs).

Once I entered the convent I didn’t get around that much, but for my 50th Jubilee, my cousin, who’s a sister in our

Sr. Rene: It involves kind of being a liaison between Bishop and the sisters, and taking care that their needs are being met.

I’m on the Sisters’ Council. I talk with Bishop before our meetings and say ‘what issues would you like us to address’ and then after the meeting: ‘these are some of the concerns of the sisters’, you know.

I also have to be sure that all the Sisters working in the Diocese are VIRTUS trained.

VoSW: Are there any unique aspects of the Diocese that you will always remember?

Sr. Rene: The richness and the goodness of the people here. Economically, you know, this is a mission Diocese, and economically the people are poor. But their faith -whether they’re Catholic or not - I live to hear about how some people who aren’t Catholic talk about God, and their relationship with God. That’s special too. And just learning so much about people of different cultures - what they value and why that’s important to them. I see the value of family out here.

I love being in this Diocese. I’ve never been anywhere else for 30 years. I see there are a lot of needs, and I think it’s taught me to be satisfied or content with “what is” rather than with stuff working perfectly. I love being here, and there’s a richness here that’s not economic, but it’s in the people.

Meet Sr. Sofia Lee, Your New Retreat Center Director Originally from South Korea, Sr. Sofia has worked for many years in the United States, including time at Trinity Human Service Center, a social service organization in Brooklyn, NY. After relocating to the Diocese of Gallup, Sr. Sofia worked as an administrator for a year at St. Mary Parish in Tohatchi, NM. One day, after receiving a tour of Gallup, she felt a strong attraction to the retreat center, applying for the director’s position when it opened.

VoSW: How did you end up in New Mexico?

Sr. Sofia: One day our provincial asked us - there is opportunity for working with the Native American people in New Mexico. She was asking me if I was interested. For me, whatever God wants, I am available.

[In Brooklyn] I enjoyed the work, helping the poor - about 2000 people a month. Food pantry and clothing and social services altogether. But I didn’t have enough time to pray, so that’s why sometimes I was praying to God - maybe I can go to the desert, to spend more time with God. And then when I heard this invitation from our provincial, I smiled alone - God heard my prayer! So I came and I really enjoyed this place.

I think it was God’s grace to spend my first year there [in Tohatchi], to know more about Native American people’s lives.

Sr. Rene came to me and said she was retiring September 2nd, and she felt I was the right person. So I am very happy.

VoSW: Was it tough to adjust to the Southwest?

Sr. Sofia: Korea is a very small country, like 70% mountains. And our population is very high. We have very high buildings - people live in apartments.

And here, you miles and miles, you don’t see anything except desert. But mostly I compare Brooklyn and here.

VoSW: What are some of your goals for the retreat center?

Sr. Sofia: I hope we can use it more

for the people’s faith or spiritual growth.

I want to make more programs, to invite people so they can come enjoy this beautiful place and experience God’s love.

The buildings are quite old and need some help, so my attention is going to fixing the buildings, so I don’t have much time to create programs. But soon, if I have a little time, I want to make more programs especially for youth. In Tohatchi we had the St. Kateri Youth Circle, so I am very familiar and close to them.

I want to offer more spiritual events, so people can come here and learn something - how to pray, how to experience God’s love, even in a short time or Day of Reflection.

VoSW: What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Do you have any favorite books or movies?

Sr. Sofia: I love cooking [Editor’s note - other people love her cooking, too.

Her homemade vegetable sushi is a favorite among Chancery staff]. I learned it all in community. At home I didn’t do much, but in community, from novitiate, we had to do it ourselves.

My favorite movie is Les Miserables. I saw it so many times. Sometimes when I have difficult times, I watch that movie and that gives me hope and courage to move on. VoSW Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

21

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Superintendent of Catholic Schools in Diocese Announces Resignation Mrs. Jeanette Tobia Suter, M.Ed., who has been serving as Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Gallup for the last five years, has informed Bishop Wall that she will be resigning her position at the end of the school year.

Mrs. Suter’s father has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer; and both he and her mother are in need of more care. She will be returning to California to be closer to her parents and to be able to actively participate in their care. Her last day of work in the Diocese of Gallup will be June 29, 2018. She will take up a new position as principal of St. Anthony of Padua School in Fresno, CA. “This was one of the toughest decisions I have had to make in my professional and personal life,” Mrs. Suter said.

“I love my family, but I have also come to love the people I work with and serve in the Diocese of Gallup. I have a great group of principals and coworkers in the Chancery. I have worked with many priests over my career, and Bishop Wall is the best priest I have ever worked with. It has been a great honor to be his delegate

for the Catholic Schools in the Diocese. I plan to spend the time that I have left here working with the principals to position the schools to continue all of the initiatives and procedures that I have instituted over the last five years. I want the schools to be strong beacons of the Catholic Faith and Educational Excellence long after I am gone.”

The Diocese of Gallup will post an announcement when the search for a new superintendent officially begins.

“Jeanette has faithfully served the Church in the Diocese of Gallup by

Jeanette Suter speaks to students after the 2018 Catholic Schools Mass

leading the Catholic schools and taking them to a new level,” said Bishop James S. Wall. “We are sad to see her go, but understand her fidelity to her family comes first. We send her with our blessing and assurance of prayers. The person who will replace her as Superintendent will have big shoes to fill.” VoSW

Diocesan Schools Awarded Sustainability Grant The Diocese of Gallup is excited to announce the receipt of a four-year grant valued at over $200,000 to support the sustainability of Catholic Schools. As a mission Diocese, the Diocese of Gallup is eligible for support from the Catholic Extension Society. Catholic Extension has partnered with Catholic School Management (CSM), a division of Christian Brothers Services, to offer its Strategic Management and Development Program to the following Catholic schools in the Diocese: Sacred Heart School and St. Francis Preschool in Gallup (these will be paired together); St. Anthony School, Zuni NM; St. Bonaventure School, Thoreau NM; St. Teresa School, Grants NM; St. Joseph School, San Fidel NM; Sacred Heart School in Farmington NM and St. Francis School in Lumberton NM (will be paired together).

“Our Catholic schools are centers of the New Evangelization, where our students, teachers and staff encounter the Living Christ on a daily basis,” said Bish-

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op James S. Wall. “This generous grant helps to further the missionary efforts of the Church in the Diocese of Gallup. I am forever grateful to the Catholic Extension Society.”

The Strategic Management and Development Program is a four-year, onsite consultation service that helps schools to position themselves for long-term viability and vitality through improving the effectiveness of school boards, enhancing school image and communications, raising money, managing enrollment, and marketing themselves more effectively.

“It is so important to us to be able to participate in this initiative as this is something our schools would not otherwise be able to afford to do. Although there is an annual financial commitment required of each of the participating schools, it is nowhere near the true cost or actual value of the services they will be receiving,” said Jeanette Suter, Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Gallup.

This program promises to make a significant difference for participating schools because of CSM’s track record.

99% of more than 3000 schools it has worked with continue to thrive after fully completing this consultation program.

Schools that participate will: • Promote clearly their fidelity to mission, Catholic identity, and academic excellence • Enhance school board and committee operations • Be able to articulate their short and long-term goals – through a formal and collaborative strategic planning process • Significantly increase their fundraising capabilities • More effectively manage enrollment (student recruitment, admissions, and student retention) • Manage their finances transparently • Enhance their marketing and communications efforts • Become more sustainable institutions for years to come VoSW

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SAINTS FOR TODAY

Why Do We Have the Stations of the Cross?

The devotion known as the Stations (or Way) of the Cross was one of many forms of devotion developed during the very late Middle Ages. Politically, culturally, and religiously those were tumultuous and painful times for the vast majority of ordinary people, particularly Christians. Practicing and passing on the Christian faith was enormously difficult.

During the time of the crusades (1095-1270), it became popular for pilgrims to reach the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus on his way to Calvary. In the next two centuries, after the Muslims recaptured the Holy Land, pilgrimages were too dangerous. A substitute pilgrimage, the Stations of the Cross, became a popular outdoor devotion throughout Europe during this time. In the mid-18th century, the Stations of the Cross were allowed inside churches, particularly Catholic churches.

Among others, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Dominic and their followers, helped popularize such expressions of faith and prayer as the Christmas crèche (Saint Francis) and the rosary (Dominicans), and the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross served both as prayer and a sort of catechism about the sufferings of the Lord. Various Franciscan communities, who already held responsibility for the holy places in Jerusalem for Latin Rite Catholics, helped popularize the devotion as well.

The Stations of the Cross once included seven falls under the cross. Another form was a total of 43 separate stations.

But the 14 stations as known today became fairly stabilized

by Pope Clement XII in 1731. Yet, most publications of the Stations of the Cross have included a 15th station, or meditation, calling to mind Christ’s victory over death in the resurrection.

In one of the most familiar and cherished forms of the Stations of the Cross, we find this invitation to prayer: “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.”

To which the people reply: “Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

In this brief invitatory and response, Saint Alphonsus Liguori captures the essence of the article of the creed that proclaims Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” There is much more to this statement of faith than the simple recognition that Christ died. If by his cross Christ had not redeemed us, his death would have little meaning. With the eyes of faith, the apostles and all the believers after them gaze on the cross and see much more than just the instrument on which Jesus hung until he died.

Despite the Stations of the Cross being primarily a Catholic tradition, many non-Catholic churches are integrating the devotion into their religious practices. Originally, Protestantism did not continue with many devotional traditions such as the Stations of the Cross. Several Reformed churches mistrusted the use of pictures or other images in worship

by Dr. Jean Lee

and prayer. The known theology of the time was that the Stations of the Cross have always included incidents which come out of Christian tradition but are not found in the Gospels. Nevertheless, the Stations of the Cross remain one of the richest ways in Christian tradition to meditate in reflective prayer on the Lord’s suffering on the way and eventual death at Calvary.

Jean M. Lee, M.A., D.Min., is a licensed behavioral health and substance abuse counselor. A Catholic revert after 32 years away from the Church, she is devout in the Catholic faith, loves the saints, and lives a deeper spiritual/religious and more joyful life since returning to the Church.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dietzen, Rev. John, M.A., S.T.L. “Catholic Q & A: All You Want to Know About Catholicism.” New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2009.

Dues, Greg. “Catholic Customs & Traditions.” Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2004.

Wuerl, Donald W., Bishop. “The Catholic Way.” New York: Doubleday, 2001.

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