Voice of the Southwest, Fall 2016

Voice Southwest of the

The Official Publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup | dioceseofgallup.org | Vol.56 No.2

Legacy of Love Mother Teresa and the Diocese of Gallup

Columns 4

Bishop James S. Wall

The counter-cultural example of Mother Teresa

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Making Sense of Bioethics

Cremains and Respect for the Human Body

News 6

Legacy of Love The impact of Mother Teresa and her order in the Diocese of Gallup

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06 Cover Story

Fr. Robert Badger Newest Diocesan priest lives vocation courageously

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7 New Principals Discussing the future of Catholic education

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Healing Services List Schedule of healing services to be held in Diocese

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“A Night Under the Stars” St. Joseph School holds annual fundraiser

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Features 14

2 Men Find Home as Deacons “When I received that book of the Gospels, I had tears in my eyes.”

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World Youth Day Farmington young people recall pilgrimage as one of “contagious joy”

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Fr. Terence Rhoades, RIP Remembering Fr. “Yo-Yo”

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Voice

of the

Southwest

Publisher

The Most Rev. Bishop James S. Wall

Editor

Suzanne Hammons

Advertising/Office Manager Ella Roanhorse

Contributors

Bishop James S. Wall Fr. Tad Pacholczyk Cover photo: Mother Teresa Painting by Jackie Cattaneo, hanging in Sacred Heart Cathedral

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designoffice@dioceseofgallup.org

Write to:

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

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Our Chancery Offices are Moving!

Here is the full announcement from Bishop Wall: “Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am writing to you today to announce that our Diocesan offices will officially be moving locations, following the sale of the current chancery building which was finalized in early September. Our new offices will be located on the second floor of the Catholic Indian Center in downtown Gallup. We expect to complete the move by the end of October 2016.

There are several reasons for this move, all of them positive. The first reason is that the sale of the current chancery offices will allow us to make a substantial contribution to our Chapter 11 payment plan, which was set in place to ensure that survivors of abuse receive just compensation.

Currently, two other Catholic entities occupy the Catholic Indian Center: Catholic Charities and the Catholic Peoples Foundation. They will not be displaced by this move, and will be able to continue their important ministries.

Finally, the current chancery building will be turned into a convent for the Sisters of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph. Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Ponce from California purchased the building and will be gifting it to the Sisters as a permanent place to live and work.

This is a very positive development for our Diocese as we move forward, and I would like to ask you keep myself, Diocesan employees, and the people of our Diocese in your prayers, so that we can continue to promote an encounter with the living Christ.

In Christ, Bishop James S. Wall” We’re still undertaking the process of moving, but please note that the address for our new offices is: 503 W. Highway 66, Gallup NM 87301

The second floor of the CIC building will be the new location for chancery offices.

Live Sunday Mass from Sacred Heart Cathedral Sundays at 11:00 AM MST

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From the Bishop: “Mother Teresa lived for God and for others. She was “counter cultural”. She was a light of love in world enveloped in darkness, a darkness that turns a blind eye to our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and marginalized.”

You can watch a video about the ministry of the Missionaries of Charity in the Diocese of Gallup by visiting our YouTube page: youtube.com/ dioceseofgallup

St. Teresa of Calcutta: Model of Love and Humility I served as Vicar for Priests in the Diocese of Phoenix from November 2006 until my ordination and installation as the 4th Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup on April 23, 2009. The position of Vicar for Priests required that I work full time with the priests in the Diocese of Phoenix, primarily working with priests personnel and ongoing formation for the priests. During this time I was able to assist by offering Mass and hearing confessions in a number of parishes throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.

One of my favorite places to assist was the Missionaries of Charity shelter which was attached to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in inner city Phoenix.

Every Tuesday and Friday morning at 7 am I was able to offer Mass for the sisters, volunteers and residents. This gave me in insight into the spirituality of the Missionaries of Charity, as well as the missionary spirit they had as they served the poorest of the poor. You can imagine my delight when I found out there were a number of Missionaries of Charity serving in the Diocese of Gallup. Prior to my arrival in the Diocese of Gallup, one of the Missionaries of Charity said to me “you can never get rid of the Missionaries of Charity, we are ev-

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erywhere”. Thank God! Their presence, serving the poor throughout the world, is a testament to the original calling Mother Teresa received from our Lord in 1950 when she founded the Missionaries of Charity: a call to quench the thirst of the Crucified Christ in the poor.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta is the saint who, in our modern times, put a face on the virtue of charity (love). In this age of communication we are able to recall the pictures, videos, countless stories, or perhaps even a personal story of an encounter with the diminutive saint with a great love for the poor.

These images are a living witness to the words of Christ in Chapter 25 of Saint Matthew’s Gospel: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

Charity is a two-fold grace. Its primary effect is of moving the will to love God fervently above all things, with the secondary effect of intensifying love for our neighbor. It is a fulfillment of God’s commandment “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...You shall love your neighbor

as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39).

Saint Teresa lived the virtues - Theological and Cardinal - for the world to see. She did this not to be “showy”, but as a beautiful witness of her Catholic faith, a beautiful expression of her love for Jesus Christ and His Church. Primary among the virtues she practiced was the virtue of humility. If she were prideful, which is the opposite of humility, then her actions would have been in vain, but because she was humble - serving the poor out of a genuine sense of love for God and neighbor - her actions were animated by the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, if we are prideful, then there is no room for God or others in our lives. However, if we foster the virtue of humility, emptying ourselves of all pride and vanity, then we make the perfect resting place for the Spirit of the Lord.

When St. Bernard of Clairvaux was asked to identify the three most import virtues toward growth in the spiritual life, he replied “humility, humility, humility”. We must never underestimate the necessity of humility in our lives.

The humility of Saint Teresa of Calcutta allowed her to be an icon to the world of the virtue of Charity - especially in her love for the poorest of the poor – and to be a voice for the voiceless, a champion of the unborn.

She was very courageous in the face of much adversity. She lived in a world, as we do today, that does not give value to fostering of virtue, a world which at times even chooses to make up its own “virtues”.

We are all products of the “me generation”, whether we like it or not. Central to the spirit of the “me generation” is the question “what’s in it for me”? A question such as this leads one to think of oneself first all the time. This way of thinking is not new or distinctive only to the present age, as it goes back to the creation of man. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden they essentially said “I don’t care about God or anyone else”. Their actions said “I want what I want now and I don’t care about anybody else but me”. This was selfish then and it continues to be selfish today as many people live by this self-centered way of thinking. Saint Teresa was not one of these people. She lived for God and for others. She was “counter cultural”. She

was a light of love in world enveloped in darkness, a darkness that turns a blind eye to our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and marginalized.

To give into the spirit of the age is to lack love, which Saint Paul tells is the most important of all virtues. “So faith, hope and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13).

If we were to give into the spirit of the age, then we would forget about God and our neighbor, causing us to give into a disorder: love of self. Our Lord said “if anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). We know Jesus is not asking us to literally hate our neighbor, rather he is asking us, as the Rule of Saint Benedict teaches, to “prefer nothing to the love of Christ”. If we prefer others or ourselves above the love of Christ, this would produce a life that is not properly ordered.

This is the spirit of the age, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta lived a life contrary to this. While the world was saying “love yourself” or “what’s in it for me?” she was promoting the virtue of love - love of God and neighbor.

At times the world attempts to manufacture its own virtues. One such worldly virtue is “tolerance”. The spirit of the age promotes a tolerance for all sorts of actions, even if they are sinful. Jesus never tolerated sin, nor should we. The modern age tolerates, and even promotes, the sin of abortion. Abortion is killing of an innocent, defenseless human life in the womb.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta did not tolerate the sin of abortion and spoke out courageously against this assault on human life. In 1994, at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., she gave strong defense of the Church’s teaching on the sanctity and dignity of human life. In the audience there were those who agreed with her, as well as those who strongly disagreed with her and the Church’s teaching on the gift of life.

Mother Teresa said “But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we

persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us.

So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.

And, by abortion, that father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. The father is likely to put other women into the same trouble.

So abortion just leads to more abortion.

Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

We must never tolerate sin. We must love, even when it hurts. Our Lord showed us the perfect act of love on the cross, and Saint Teresa imitated His love through her selfless service to those who were in need, especially the poorest of the poor. This love is one that calls us to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need, those born and unborn, those hungry and living on the streets, those in prison, those strangers to our land. To love is to will the good of our neighbor.

To say “I love my neighbor”, but to tolerate his or her sin, is a false love. To say “I love my neighbor” and to turn a blind eye to their pain is not a true love. Rather, love calls us to go beyond our comfort zone, to be self-sacrificing for the good of our neighbor. Saint Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity showed - and continue to show us - this love, to put a face on the love of Christ, especially to the poorest of the poor.

Our new saint, who enjoys the eternal reward of Heaven, spoke of this love when she said “I am not sure exactly what Heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, He will not ask, ‘How many good things have you done in your life?’ rather He will ask, ‘How much love did you put into what you did?’” VoSW

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D

“ runk Town, USA”. It’s a nickname that will make most residents of Gallup, New Mexico cringe, or roll their eyes, or shrug sadly. They didn’t ask for it, but the name, given to the town by passing motorists in the 1980s, still lingers.

You see, Gallup still has a problem: the presence of homeless, vagrant or wandering people, mostly Native American, nearly all struggling with addiction and alcoholism. Every year, the deaths from exposure, cold, and street injuries reach into double digits. And no one seems to have a concrete solution.

From the day Gallup received its nickname to the present day, the debate carries on.

And in the meantime, you see them on the streets, alone or in groups, each and every day. Often, you can’t run an errand without being approached and given the typical line: “Can you help me out with some change?”

But how to truly respond to the human problem presented by addiction? One group of nuns, unconcerned with the greater debate, has been opening their doors daily to the homeless of Gallup for nearly three decades.

The Missionaries of Charity are instantly recognizable, even to non-Catholics. First founded by Mother Teresa in the slums of India, they wear simple white saris, in the tradition of their native country, with signature blue stripes. Mother Teresa personally founded many of the homes that are now spread in countries across the globe, and came to visit Gallup in the 1980s in order to start a soup kitchen and overnight shelter.

Recently renovated, this shelter, Casa san Martin, serves daily hot meals, provides showers, and has a room with five beds for women and another, larger room with over

Legacy of Love

Missionaries Uplift the Unwanted People of Gallup

40 beds for men. One sign on the wall instructs visitors that no weapons, alcohol or drugs are permitted on the premises, among other hand-drawn signs on cardboard expressing various Catholic prayers. A large crucifix, flanked with the words “I Thirst”, completes the decorations in the dining hall.

There are six sisters here. Most of them are camera-shy, but after a little encouragement, two of the them sit down to be interviewed.

Sister Maria Auxilia is from a small village in northern India – in fact, each of the sisters currently in Gallup come from either India or Bangladesh. Was it hard for her, coming halfway across the world to a country with a different language, culture, sights and smells?

“No, I had so much enthusiasm to go for

A Navajo man, also a military veteran, gets a meal at the shelter while trying to find a ride home.

my mission!” Sr. Auxilia assures me. “Wherever God sends me, I am happy to come!”

She laughs, and continues to laugh, or grin, throughout the interview. This is not a nervous reaction, but her true personality, laid bare and unassuming. All of the sisters here are continually smiling, lightly teasing each other.

I ask if I can take their picture. Excitedly, they line themselves up. But before I can press the shutter, they call out “Wait, wait!” and begin to adjust the hems of their saris, making sure they are straight. When they catch sight of each other, prepping for the camera, they dissolve into laughter.

Their simple joy is infectious, and at first glance, might seem implausible. Like the people they serve, they have no posses-

sions, save the clothes on their back, sandals on their feet, and one or two small religious items, such as a rosary or Bible. Reportedly, they do not even have mirrors in their convents. But with the materialism of the world thus stripped away, they are free to fill their lives with prayer, the company of one another, and the needs of the poor.

Sister Auxilia found this joy when she was allowed to join the order, soon after her schooling was completed.

“I was in 6th grade. Mother [Teresa] was not then that famous. And what happened, I got Mother’s picture, like a stamp, and the picture said ‘token of love’, and she’s holding a little baby on her hand. And I had no idea what is the token of love. But I wanted to do what Mother is doing. So my desire increased...one of the sisters came, and she told me ‘I want to take you.’ And I did not tell her anything about my vocation or anything, but she said ‘I want to take you, would you like to come?’ I said, ‘Yes, Sister, I want to come with you.’ On the way she asked me ‘do you want to be a sister?’ I said ‘Yes, I have long desired to be a sister. But I don’t know how to do it.’ And she took me to the Missionaries’ house.

“So I was so happy, really happy about my vocation, because God gave that sister to read my mind, and that sister took me.”

Now, on one Tuesday evening, Sr. Auxilia and the other Missionaries prepare Casa San Martin for the evening meal, as they do each Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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day. The food they serve is donated or funded by various stores and agencies in the area, and the sisters try to make each serving as generous and nutritious as possible. Tonight’s menu is roast beef, broccoli, pasta salad, and bread. As several sisters busy themselves in the kitchen, two more go to the front door.

First, a moment is taken to say a prayer before a statue of St. Joseph, and then the door is opened.

One sister prepares to search bags for contraband, and the other instructs the crowd gathered outside the door.

“Women first, then the men!” she says.

One man, entering, crosses himself.

“Thank you, sisters! God bless you!” he tells them, before finding a seat.

I’m interested in hearing from these people – I want to know why they are here, what circumstances forced them into this hard lifestyle. But it doesn’t go quite the way I planned in my mind. Of the four people I spoke to, only one was able to answer my questions, and that only sporadically. The others, through a combination of years of alcohol abuse or mental illness, can’t seem to carry on a basic conversation.

One lady tells me of her literal visions of Jesus, and a sinister cabal out to ruin her life, tied to what she calls the “New World Order”.

Another man breaks my heart. He looks to be in his 70s. He has lost all of his teeth except one, and has only one eye. He also seems to be hard of hearing. When I ask him where he is from and what he needs, he only repeats “I’m a veteran”, and talks about tours in Vietnam and Europe. A third man actually makes me uncomfortable at points. It’s clear that

“They’re fallen, so somebody has to pick them up. Mother Teresa always said we are here for the poorest of the poor.”

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Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

“Jamie”, one of the frequent visitors to the soup kitchen in Gallup.

repeated years of alcoholism and homelessness have taken a permanent toll on his body and mind. If I nod at something he says, he might suddenly turn hostile, only to smile again a minute later.

“Jamie”, as he gives his name, is more cognizant than the others. He appears to be transgender, but even after gentle questioning, it is not clear which way he is transitioning. When he first sees me and my camera, his instinct is to duck his head and cover his face with his hands.

“Don’t show my picture!” he says. A short time later he changes his mind, and suddenly gets up and approaches.

“Okay,” he says. “I want to do an interview.”

He’s had a hard life, especially since the recent death of his mother and with her, the crumbling of any kind of emotional support.

So he comes to the shelter often, describing himself as fiercely protective of Gallup’s homeless population.

“These are my people right here,” he says, gesturing to the room. And the Missionaries of Charity? What does he think of them?

“They’re my sisters!” he says, then laughs.

“I see them on the street and I wave to them.

And I love [the Virgin] Mary, and Jesus. Jesus is my brother.”

The exact nature of his relationship with the others is a bit hard to figure out, though.

At one point during the interview, another man approaches, and Jamie immediately snaps at him, “Get away from the camera, this is my interview!” Soon after, a commotion is heard across the room as two men aggressively step towards one another, shouting obscenities. With no hesitation, one of the sisters rushes over.

“Hey! Hey” she says. “No fighting! Sit down.”

Faced by this small, 5-foot-tall woman, the men step back and take their seats, chagrined. Order is restored.

The sisters of the soup kitchen in Gallup.

The situation here is tough to fully comprehend. Many of these people are truly needy, and display gratitude for the kindness they receive from the sisters. Others, however, allow their actions and words to push back against the world. It can be difficult to relate to them with compassion, on a human level. They can be hostile or incomprehensible. Many of them, minds and bodies ravaged by years of neglect and living on the streets, would never be capable of holding any kind of employment, or even living on their own, without constant supervision.

But in each of them, the sisters see the face of Jesus.

“They’re fallen, so somebody has to lift them up, see?” says Sr. Auxilia. “Mother [Teresa] always said ‘we are here for poorest of the poor’, who have no one. Here we have so much [of a] drug problem, alcohol, no? Nobody likes them. For them we are here.”

She’s not simply referring to food and shelter. The Missionaries of Charity view physical needs as secondary next to spiritual needs. Of course, physical needs are neglected, but the sisters’ true goal is bringing salvation to people cast aside by society.

“We try to lift them up, not only materially, but also spiritually or emotionally, yeah?

Because you see, nobody has talked to them,” observes Sr. Auxilia. “But whenever they see us, they always ask us, they always come close to us, always wave to us. They need somebody to help them, see?”

Another sister adds “we are hoping in the future they will come up, by the help of the Holy Spirit, so they can come up from their alcoholism. So that is our future goal, to help them to go to Heaven. That is our main aim, is salvation. Mother Teresa says always, ‘We send them to Heaven’.”

The sisters are, of course, overjoyed that their foundress, who many of them met and knew personally, is now officially recognized as a saint. The canonization is not a surprise to them, however.

“The Church recognizes her higher level, no?” says Sr. Auxilia. “But Mother actually, she doesn’t want to be high, she wants to be humble, see? She wants to stay humble. But it’s not Mother’s intention, but God, and God is raising her up.”

In Gallup, the debate regarding homelessness and alcoholism continues. The sisters who followed Mother Teresa from across the world are not interested in debate. For them, the path forward is clear.

Every day, they open their doors. VoSW

DID YOU KNOW...

Mother Teresa visited the Gallup Diocese twice, once in 1984 and once in 1988 (pictured above, with Bishop Hastrich).

Gallup is one of the smallest cities in the United States where the Missionaries of Charity are present. Most of their homes are found in places like New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Phoenix.

In their mission to serve the “poorest of the poor”, Mother Teresa’s homes were some of the first places to serve those affected by diseases that others were too afraid to confront. In Calcutta, where the cure for leprosy had not yet reached, the Missionaries opened their doors to lepers, and in New York, at the height of the AIDS crisis, a home was opened to minister to people specifically infected with AIDS/HIV. Mother Teresa chose St. Therese of Lisieux as her patron saint.

There is a mens’ branch of the Missionaries of Charity, called the Missionaries of Charity Fathers or Missionaries of Charity Brothers.

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She is here, from a distant land...

...on her last visit to this beautiful, enchanting area: Here to pray for us...

...to speak to us.

I seek a quiet place, a place where there is stillness and silence...

...a place where I can be alone in recollection to be receptive to her when she speaks...

...for she is truly here.

Pushing the heavy, wooden door into the Bishop’s courtyard, I enter. It slams loudly behind me as I see her praying her white rosary underneath the majestic tree. She is deep in prayer...

...so deep she seems to be unaware of my presence and booming, crashing entrance. I take a seat in an old medal chair a few rows to the left of her. Sitting slowly upon it, the chair creaks with a screeching sound in the midst of this silent, sacred place. But she continues deep in prayer beneath the stately branches of the old, magnificent tree. Watching her so deep in prayer, I momentarily feel a desire to converse...

...but now is not the time, as she continues her contemplative conversation with God through the timeless, beautiful prayer of the Holy Rosary.

So I decide to quietly watch her pray, and this is what I observe: She is totally still and silent beneath His loving look, alone with Him in deep silence and prayer. She prays with strong Faith and powerful love. Her fingertips move tenderly over each head as her lips move gently, vocalizing inaudibly each word of every prayer; her eyelids flutter slightly as she meditates on each mystery; her entire being is immersed in deep, contemplative prayer.

I feel irresistibly drawn into her prayer as the moments gracefully pass...

...Suddenly, I hear a strong, driving sound coming from the East. It gradually grows in volume, as it moves steadily in our direction. “Oh, it’s a train moving through Gallup” I surmise. But no; not a train but the wind; a powerful gust of wind which suddenly reaches us, crashing with tremendous force against the branches of the noble tree.

She looks up. I look up as hundreds of little spring leaves fall merrily upon us in the sacred silence.

She lifts her head and hands joyfully and radiantly smiles as I lift mine and unite my smile to hers.

Instantaneously she returns to deep prayer, fingertips moving tenderly over each bead as her lips move gently, vocalizing inaudibly each word of every prayer; eyelids fluttering slightly as she meditates on each mystery; her entire being immersed in deep, contemplative prayer.

The voices of the other priests boom cheerfully in the distance; the heavy wooden door crashes open; my brothers come rumbling in to the courtyard. She stands, rosary in hands, smiling sweetly; a Mother to her sons!

By Father Jeff King, Spring 1988

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Newest Priest Lives Vocation Courageously On June 4, 2016, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Bishop James Wall ordained seminarian Robert Badger to the priesthood.

At the beginning of his homily, Bishop Wall reminded the congregation of the unique role the priesthood plays in the life of the Church.

“The ordained priesthood is necessary, and priests must live out their ministry in a self-sacrificing manner, in order that the world might come to know Jesus Christ and His Church in an intimate and life-changing manner.”

Self-sacrifice is not a new practice for now-Fr. Robert Badger, who had to give up much that was familiar before achieving ordination.

Raised in the Mormon faith, Fr. Badger converted to Catholicism at the age of 19, and later felt the first calling to his vocation while serving Mass in Salt Lake City. Many of his family members are still active Mormons, but Fr. Badger describes them as supportive of his priestly calling.

“It was very difficult at first,” he recalls. “My family has been in the Mormon religion since the very beginning. My dad’s mother was a Romney. My mom’s family is related to the Smith family, the founding family of Mormonism. With such a long family history of practicing Mormonism, my conversion to Catholicism was controversial.”

His mother and father, brothers and sisters and other relatives were present at the ordination, and even from a brief glance, it’s easy to see where Fr. Badger gets his engaging and welcoming personality from. Many of the family members readily lined up to receive a blessing from Fr. Badger at the reception after the ordination, and spent much of their time engaging in happy conversation, and even some light teasing and joking with the Catholics in attendance.

The next day, Fr. Badger said his first Mass at the Cathedral.

At the end, before giving the final blessing, he paused for a moment. Then, thoughtfully and movingly, he spoke of his love for his family.

“Though I was not given a Catholic upbringing, it is said that the first seminary is the home. And it was indeed in the home that I learned to pray and was given an atmosphere where

prayer was very much a part of our lives. I’m very thankful for all that my family does for me and for their presence in my life, and their presence here this morning.”

Having served as a deacon for several months prior to his ordination, Fr. Badger was already familiar with the ritual of Mass, but saying Mass for the first time as a priest was a stunning experience, especially when it came to the Eucharistic prayers.

“It felt very natural to say Mass. I didn’t feel nervous. I had very good training in the seminary and had practiced a great deal. Still, it was an amazing experience to say those words for the first time as a priest and realizing what was going on.”

Fr. Badger now looks forward to serving the people of Grants, NM and its surrounding communities, where he has been placed by Bishop Wall for his first official assignment. This placement will no doubt keep him busy, but in his down time, Fr. Badger says two of his biggest interests are books and music. An organist and pianist, he especially enjoys classical music, and reads lots of history and literature, including books by Sir John Mortimer and J.R.R. Tolkien.

And each day, he’ll continue along the same path of selfsacrifice that let him to the priesthood in the first place.

During his first homily as a priest, Fr. Badger spoke at length on the unique call that each person receives from God, and asked those present to listen to that call, to fearlessly pursue a loving encounter with Christ.

“My first charge to you as a priest, much like St. [Pope] John Paul, open wide the doors to Christ. Open wide the doors of your heart. Hear the words of eternal life. Do not be afraid to encounter Christ.” VoSW

Selfsacrifice is not a new practice for Fr. Robert Badger

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Meet Your 7 New Principals A Q&A With Catholic Educators

Only a month into the new school year, and already big changes are underway at Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Gallup.

Seven principals have moved into new positions, and the Voice of the Southwest was able to sit down for an interview with each principal about their thoughts on Catholic education, career paths for young people, and promoting quality schooling in a mission Diocese.

The seven new principals are: Sr. Marsha Moon, RSC at St. Anthony School in Zuni, Rosalia Beyhan at Sacred Heart School in Farmington, Tracie Lee at St. Bonaventure in Thoreau, Angela Plummer and Brother Maynard Shurley, OFM at St. Francis School in Gallup, Angela Brunson at St. Teresa School in Grants, Tom Sorci at St. Michaels School in St. Michaels, AZ. What are your goals for the school?

Sr. Marsha (Zuni) - My goals are to help the teachers shape these young people so that we have very upright Christian and Zuni young people leaving our school who are able to go on for higher education and make a difference in our world.

Rosalia Beyhan (Farmington) - My goal is communication with the staff and students and parents. [In recent years] there was no communication whatsoever, or very little, and that was the one thing they were asking for, so that is my biggest goal, is to make sure that we’re all communicating.

Tracie Lee (St. Bonaventure) - Right now, I want our school to be a math magnet. We’re sending our current 8th

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Angela Plummer and Brother Maynard Shurley, OFM, are co-principals of St. Francis School in Gallup.

graders and 7th graders to the local college fairs at the high schools, so they can see that “hey, this is something I can do, and I’m not limited because I can earn these scholarships, I’m pretty talented with this and pretty smart in this.”

Right now I’m doing an entrance inventory with our 8th grade, then the younger grades, to see exactly where their interest lies in the subject of mathematics. From there I want us to start a math club, which will be like a math lab, where a lot of the hands-on activities and different types of careers that tie specifically to math that they can explore.

Angela Plummer/Br. Maynard (St. Francis in Gallup) –

whole, that the students aren’t exposed to, especially in this area. They’ve never been to a lot of the mission schools like Zuni or St. Joseph or St. Michaels or any of those. They’ve mainly been here and they only know St. Teresa, so that’s my other goal is to get them exposed to the other youth in the Diocese, and then of course exposed to the Church in a much more broader and worldly sense.

We’ve always been very strong in science, we’ve always had students compete in the State level at science fairs.

I definitely want to make sure that we keep that up and I’m very glad that the previous principal, Maria, who was also the science teacher, stayed on as the science teacher.

(Brother Maynard) To keep the school open. *laughs* And to really provide a really good, quality Catholic education for our students.

(Angela Plummer) Absolutely.

(Brother Maynard) And also to provide a good environment for our teachers and the staff there, and to work together, and to discuss and work things out where maybe we have some disagreements. That’s my goal, is to really make this a good year for everybody else.

Tom Sorci (St. Michaels) - I’d like to strengthen the science and engineering programs, the STEM programs. We have instituted a robotics class. Also we’ve joined the MESA program, which is the Arizona science and engineering program run out of the university of Arizona at Tucson. So we’re gonna hopefully send a team down to the science fair in the spring.

Angela Brunson (Grants) - My biggest thing I want to accomplish is to increase enrollment. I think that there’s so many opportunities in Catholic education and in the Diocese of Gallup as a

Sr. Marsha (Zuni) - I think it’s the fabric of the school here. The Catholicity is part of what makes us who we are, because we’re teaching the values we have as Catholics and as Christians and at the

What does “Catholic Education” mean to you?

atmosphere of family. As opposed to public school, we are able to teach them how to be a family, how to love, how to integrate God into their every subject. So not only do we teach religion during the time we have the subject, but religion is implemented throughout our whole day. Throughout math lessons, throughout reading lessons, so no matter what we teach the kids we’re always trying to show them that God has an effect on it.

Sr. Marsha Moon, RSC is the new principal at St. Anthony School in Zuni.

same time we’re trying to parallel with the Zuni values. So to me being Catholic means we have the sacraments and we have the religion, obviously, but more important I think it’s a sense of social justice, in the sense of who we’re meant to be as Catholics in our world today.

Rosalia Beyhan (Farmington) - I’ve got a lot of answers for that, it’s hard to pin it down. *laughs* Catholic Education to me means that the students and staff are fully engaged in being a Christian and being Catholic, in being prepared as a Catholic to move forward, and not just our academics. It’s making the children understand that this is who we are.

Angela Plummer/Br. Maynard, St. Francis in Gallup – (Brother Maynard) For me it means that you get a well-balanced, quality education. Not only with the academics, but again, bringing in the Catholic religion, or the spirituality, component of that. Because kids these days, a lot of them, don’t have that, the spirituality portion of it. So I think that kind of balances out what they’re dealing with at home, before they get there. So for somebody to smile at them or hug them or say that God loves them, I really believe that does make a big difference. The other thing is, since it’s a small school, there’s a lot of personal interaction, which you don’t get at a public school. You’re just part of this big group, but in a Catholic school there’s a lot of interaction between the teacher and the student. There’s a lot more 1-on1 experience.

(Angela Plummer) Being that we are a smaller school, we are able to create that

Angela Brunson (Grants) - Getting the opportunity to evangelize to everybody in the community as a school. Whether you’re Catholic or a different Christian denomination, you get the opportunity to put the word out there about God and bring people closer to God. That’s what I think is the biggest goal of Catholic education, bringing people to God. Tom Sorci (St. Michaels) - Trying to love according to the Gospel values that are established by the Catholic Church, and also to do service work, to help others, to get out of ourselves to reach out and do the corporal works of mercy in the local community. Like helping, for example, the local food back try to feed the hungry, clothing drives, try to clothe those who need clothing, any other needs in the local community.

What excites you about your school?

Sr. Marsha (Zuni) - [The Zuni people] have been incredible welcoming to me but I’ve also learned about their prayer and how it’s different from ours, and I’ve learned that there are taboos, some of which I’ve been taught about and some of which they’re teaching me. They’re going to give me a book on it. And I’m learning that they’re just a wonderful people, very proud of their core values. So I think I’m going to be really happy here.

When the Franciscans founded [the school], they founded it to make sure the Zuni people could get a good education. It’s one of those guarantees, as the pastor says, “whether they can afford it or not, they will be given an education”, and I really like that, because as a sister of charity we have a fourth vow of service to the poor.

Rosalia Beyhan (Farmington) - This is a very rich staff, as in wealth of knowl-

edge. We have mostly retired teachers who have come into our school, and they bring a lot to the school. Whether they are Catholic or not, they are so willing to help in any way they can.

Angela Plummer/Br. Maynard (St. Francis in Gallup) – (Brother Maynard) What I like to do every morning is I try to make my rounds to all the classrooms, just to greet the teachers and the students, and that’s very uplifting for me. Last week I went into the pre-K class, and they must have had a discussion on creation or something. This little boy walks up to me, just serious on his face, and says “did you make me?” *laughs* I think little things like that just makes it really worthwhile working there, it’s the little kids’ way of looking at the world and the way they perceive God and I think that’s - at least for me - it really refreshes me. I might have had a bad morning, but when a little kid says that to you, you know, it’s worth it.

(Angela Plummer) Well since I grew up there, it’s always been in my heart. So I always knew I wanted to go back to the school and I wanted to teach and then last year I saw that it needed the extra push.

Angela Brunson (Grants) - Everybody who sends their kids here sacrifices to do it, and we don’t get very much assistance from really any outside benefactors or anything like that. So we do a lot of our own fundraising and have a lot of the older parishioners that are very generous with our school. Everybody that comes here, they sacrifice to send their kids here, and it’s definitely not easy for any of them - it’s something we work tirelessly to help them on, to keep these kids coming here.

Tom Sorci (St. Michaels) - We have a strong enrollment. We actually have a waiting list at the 6th grade level and we have opened up a preschool and the kindergarten level. We still are accepting new students in some grades. We have 24 seniors who will be graduating.

We hope that they get into the college of their choice, including some quite demanding colleges in terms of how selective. VoSW Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

13

Two Men Find New Home as Deacons One after the other, as their names are called, John Cormack and Ed Schaub slowly approach the Cathedral altar. There, they receive the Book of the Gospel from the Bishop James Wall. With the eyes of friends, families, and strangers on them, these men are officially ordained deacons for the Diocese of Gallup.

Cormack will only spend a short time as a deacon, as this marks the final year of preparation before his ordination as a priest in 2017. For Schaub, this is the culmination of four years of intense preparation – he will be a permanent deacon, and return to serve his small community in southern New Mexico.

Neither man had an easy path to this ordination. For some, the call to a vocation is heard early and followed directly. But Cormack and Schaub each had to find their way first to a vocation, and then to the Gallup diocese. They came from outside its borders, finding their journey’s end after long years of searching.

Perhaps the first thing you notice about Cormack is his accent. Born and raised in County Mayo, Ireland, his accent is strong – his words quick and lilting.

“I always tell people I’m from here. I say ‘Can’t you tell? I’m from the Navajo tribe!’ and they say ‘No, you’re not!’” he laughs.

He had been studying for the priesthood for the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, an international group, but discerned that he was being called to serve in a different capacity. He still wanted to pursue the priesthood, but where to go? Eventually a friend told him of the need for priests in the Diocese of Gallup. After a meeting with Bishop Wall and several months of acclimating to life in the diocese, Cormack decided to stay, and was officially accepted into the vocations program in December of 2015.

He refers to himself multiple times as “blessed”. But the Diocese of Gallup is a long way from Ireland, and the culture and environment where he grew up. For many people, that kind of lifestyle change would be too taxing, but not Cormack.

14

Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

Once Lost, N

“Since I arrived here, I’ve felt so much at home. The transition was really like home for me. I got so involved with running the groups here in the Cathedral, and the support of me and my vocation, that’s the thing I notice most. Also I notice a great sense of missionary spirit, and that’s what touched me in a special way.”

Indeed, it would be hard to refer to Cormack as anything other than a “glass halffull” kind of guy. Constantly smiling, greeting people, or engaging in small jokes, he projects an air of quiet enthusiasm. Again and again, he mentions the people he’s met, the connections made within the community.

“No matter where you go in the world, I always call it ‘CFS’, ‘Catholic Family Spirit’. It’s a great welcoming. Only Jesus could found a church like that,” he says. “Obviously the food is much different, the language, the culture.

My stomach has become very Catholic, very universal, it’s adjusted to all the different types of food. It’s also nice to get to know the different cultures here, their ways and their sayings and traditions. It’s beautiful.”

Ed Schaub was already familiar with the culture of New Mexico, having been raised near Albuquerque, and now living along the National Forests and ranching communities near Silver City. He too is full of a peaceful sort of happiness, despite the suffering that marked much of his early life. As a young child he lost his father to a long, lingering bout of tuberculosis. He and his wife left the Church for many years, but slowly found their faith again, in part because of the love and prayers of some women in his life.

“Probably about 15 years ago, one of my

youngest sisters and her daughters - they’re a bunch of women warriors, man they’re awesome - they kept praying for me and got us back to church,” Schaub recalls.

He began to meet with a spiritual advisor, who slowly reacquainted him with his faith.

But his sister wasn’t done yet – she had one more seed to plant.

“She asked me one day, ‘have you ever thought about being a deacon?’ I thought ‘no, I’m not deacon material!’ From that one little question over three or four years it kept boiling in the back of my mind.”

He knew that a priestly vocation was unlikely, calling his wife of 43 years his “best friend”. But a call to be a deacon? He considered it, slowly, and finally worked up the courage to apply in the Diocese of Las Cruces, where he lives, just over the border from the Diocese of Gallup.

But this proved difficult – partly because of his age. When he applied, he was in his 60s.

He tried in the Diocese of Tucson, with similar luck, never getting a clear answer one way or the other.

“One day I met Bishop Wall and half-kidding around asked ‘Bishop, you don’t need a deacon in your diocese, do you?’ and he said ‘Are you kidding me? I can use all the help I can get.’ The next week he sent me an application packet. I had to get a domicile waiver so I could be incardinated in the Diocese of

t, Now Found

Gallup.”

Then came four years of college-level courses in theology and philosophy.

“I was an engineer, a mechanical engineer.

I’ve got a good mind, but I hadn’t had to study philosophy and theology. It was incredible difficult for me because I’m old.” He gives a hearty laugh.

Through it all, he relied on his wife and his community for support. He jokes that Bishop Wall is getting a “two-for-one” deal, adding, “My wife works harder than any ten people I know. She’s my better half.”

Down in the southernmost reaches of the Diocese, the nearest parish to Schaub is Glenwood, a tiny mission of the parishes at Reserve and Aragon, over an hour’s drive from Schaub’s home. Serving this community won’t be easily because of the vast distances, but Schaub draws on the close friendships and community of the people who live there, Catholic, Mormon, Protestant or otherwise.

When he told his neighbors he was pursuing the vocation of a deacon, they expressed nothing but excitement, even if they didn’t necessarily know was a deacon was.

“What the call of a deacon should be is service to his neighbor. This community lives that. So on top of my family, I was amazed at the support of good people behind someone completing something like this,” he says.

Finally, the day of the ordination arrived.

Weighted with the support of their communities, both men approached Bishop Wall, ready to become deacons.

“When I received that book of the gospel, I had tears in my eyes,” Schaub recalls.

Even now, just speaking about that day, his voice begins to break. “I don’t know, it chokes me up every time I think about the good people who really took a lot of joy in the fact that this wasn’t just my ordination, this was the grace of God working in His people.”

Cormack’s emotion at thinking of the ordination is a bit more subdued, thoughtful.

“The thing that shook me most was the goodness and love of God. I’ve seen such an outpouring of Gods love, in preparation for the diaconate, and also during the entire Mass that day, and afterwards the Deacon Ed people were so supSchaub, left, portive. It’s great to and Deacon see such love for John Cormack, right, at their the diaconate and ordination the Church today, Mass. it’s powerful to experience that in these times. I was also deeply touched by how good God is to bestow a vocation on a sinful man, really.”

With his priestly ordination less than a year away, Cormack hopes to dedicate his time

as a deacon fully to the people he’s met, to this place that has become his home. And he hopes that other men might take that step towards considering a vocation to the diaconate or priesthood.

“Trust that Jesus will be with you and lead you, that’s the most important thing of all.

He’ll give you all the graces you need, to equip you fully to do what he calls you to do. Never fear. Step out. Never be afraid. Step out. The vocation is a call, is a gift from God, so always have the courage to step out.”

As a permanent deacon, Schaub says he hopes to be a good preacher, or to lend his support to families at funerals. As a father himself, he also loves children.

“I can’t imagine any greater gift, any more humbling, than to baptize a child,” he says.

Now they will go forth in their new roles, to give back the love they’ve received.

“I’m just ever so grateful, it’s hard to put in words the generosity and love of the people here, that’s been so good,” says Deacon Cormack.

Deacon Schaub expresses similar feelings.

“I just really think that the whole ordination process - I have no doubt that it’s a work of God. To sense that support, I think it’s the hand of God.” His sense of humorous selfdeprecation crops up again as he chuckles, adding, “Maybe he knows I need all the help I can get.” VoSW

V t

Calendar of Events/Classifieds October 27 30

#324 Women’s Cursillo Place: Sacred Heart Family Center

415 E. Green Ave

Gallup, NM 87301 Contact: gallupcursillo.com

28 30

Diocesan Deacons’ Retreat Place: Sacred Heart Retreat Center

Gallup, NM 87301 Contact: 505-863-4406

30

St. Jude Parish Picnic Place: St. Jude Parish

Tuba City, AZ Contact: 928-283-5391 St. Jude Parish in Tuba City will hold its annual Parish Homecoming Picnic on Sunday, October 30th. Following 11:00 am Mass, a pot-luck picnic buffet is held in the gym welcoming back former parishioners who still reside in our Gallup Diocese and/or Flagstaff area.

This annual event is always held on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Jude which is celebrated this year on Friday, October 28th. Any and all former parishioners are welcome to join.

December of Pilgrim Statue of Our 02 - Visit Lady of Fatima Throughout the Dio15 Place: cese - see back cover for details and full schedule. To commemorate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, the worldfamous pilgrim statue will be visiting Diocesan parishes.

16 18

Ministry Formation Weekend Place: Sacred Heart Retreat Center

Gallup, NM 87301 Time: 6:00pm - 10:30pm Contact: 505-722-6755

Want to see your event here or online?

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

The King’s House Scottsdale & Garson’s Albuquerque Are teaming up for a Food Drive benefitting our local communities Saturday November 19th

All Saints’ Day Holy Day of Obligation Chancery Offices Closed

07 11

Chancery Offices Moving Our urgent phone number during this week will be: 505-7263451.

18 20

Ministry Formation Weekend Place: Sacred Heart Retreat Center

Gallup, NM 87301 Time: 6:00pm - 10:30pm Contact: 505-722-6755

16 Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

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.

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 victimsassistance@dioceseofgallup.org

Nosotros le ayudaremos.

Su confidencialidad será protegida.

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

November 01

Promise to Protect

New Priest Assignments

Bring in non-perishable food items & receive a FREE Gift!

Come enjoy refreshments, shop store specials on new Advent/Christmas selections & enter to win give aways!

Watch for details - search & find us on:

King’s House Catholic Store Garson’s Catholic Store

Garson’s

2415 San Pedro Dr. NE

Albuquerque 505-255-7092 Hours M-F 9:30-5:30; Sat 10-4:30

The King’s House

7460 E. McDowell Rd • Scottsdale 480-947-9205 Hours M-F 9 - 5; Sat 9:30 - 4:30 Open until 6pm Nov. 19th

Retail Divisions of F.C. Ziegler 1-800-331-4117 • www.zieglers.com

Father Peter Short, pastor of St. Joseph and Madre de Dios parishes in Winslow, has been appointed as Vicar General. In this position he will join Fr. Matthew Keller, also the Vicar General for the Diocese of Gallup. A Diocese is not limited to one vicar general, especially in Dioceses whose territory includes two states. In this position, Fr. Short and Fr. Keller will be able to assist the Bishop in ministering to the needs of the Diocese as his chief deputies.

Father Matthew Keller has also been appointed as Moderator of the Curia. In this capacity he will assist the Bishop in administrative duties and supervision of Diocesan offices.

Schedule of Healing Services 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 privately meet with survivors.

“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.

Sacred Heart Cathedral Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Our Lady of Guadalupe St. Rita St. Francis of Assisi (Lumberton) Sacred Heart Parish and

Sacred Heart School Our Lady of Fatima Immaculate Heart of Mary St. Jude St. Teresa of Avila Madre de Dios St. John the Baptist Holy Trinity Our Lady of Sorrows St. Peter St. Anthony St. Mary (Bloomfield) St. Bonaventure St. Joseph Our Lady of the Assumption Our Lady of the Snows San Rafael (Concho) St. Michael St. Isabel St. Rose of Lima St. Catherine St. Mary of the Angels San Rafael (San Rafael) Our Lady of Light, St. Joseph, and

St. Joseph School St. Paul and Risen Savior St. Patrick and Good Shepherd Christ the King St. Mary (Farmington) Immaculate Conception Santo Niño de Atocha St. Francis (Gallup)

Saturday, November19, 2016 at 7:00 PM Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 6:30 PM Friday, December 02, 2016 at 7:00 PM Friday, December 09, 2016 at 6:30 PM Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, January 20, 2017 at 6:30 PM

415 E. Green, Gallup NM 173 Main St., St. Defiance AZ 212 E. Arizona St., Holbrook AZ 1400 E. Owens, Show Low AZ 3760 Sandhill Dr., Lumberton NM 414 N. Allen Ave, Farmington NM

Friday, January 27, 2017 at 6:30 PM Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 6:30 PM Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 1:00 PM Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, February 24, 2017 at 7:00 PM Saturday. February 25, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, April 28, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, May 12, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, May 19, 2017 at 6:30 PM Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 5:00 PM Friday, June 02, 2017 at 6:00 PM Thursday, June 08, 2017 at 6:00 PM Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM Friday, July 21, 2017 at 6:30 PM Saturday, July 22, 2017 at 6:30 PM Friday, August 11, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, August 18, 2017 at 7:00 PM Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 1:00 PM Friday, September 15, 2017 at 6:00 PM Friday, September 29, 2017 at 6:00 PM Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 10:00 AM Friday, October 06, 2017 at 6:00 PM Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 6:00 PM

Navajo Rt. 7, Chinle AZ 455 S. Lake Powell Blvd, Page AZ 100 Aspen Dr., Tuba City AZ 500 East High St., Grants NM 1015 Central St., Winslow AZ 203 E Commercial St, St Johns AZ 42 Rd 3520, Flora Vista NM Old State HWY 279, Seboyeta NM 203 E Apache St, Springerville AZ 260 Block N Hwy, McNary AZ 307 N. Church St, Bloomfield NM 25 W Navarre Blvd., Thoreau NM 220 W. 2nd St., Winslow AZ 3048 Hwy 277, Overgaard AZ 1654 Main St, Snowflake AZ 35411 US 180A, Concho AZ 24 Mission Rd., St. Michaels AZ 105 St Isabel Lane Lukachukai AZ 307 N. Hwy 64, Blanco NM Human Services Rd, Cibecue AZ 1915 S. Penrod Ln, Pinetop AZ 100 Guadalupe Plz San Rafael NM Water Canyon Road, Cubero NM

Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 6:30 PM Thursday, November 02, 2017 at 6:30 PM Friday, December 01, 2017 at 6:30 PM Friday, January 19, 2018 at 6:30 PM Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 3:00 PM Saturday, February 3, 2018 at 4:00 PM Friday, February 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM

268 Crownpoint Dr, Crownpoint NM 547 Cousins Rd, Vanderwagon NM US Hwy 64, Shiprock NM 2100 East 20th St, Farmington NM 6440 Main St, Cuba NM 155 Hwy 435, Aragon NM 214 W. Wilson, Gallup NM Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

17

You Can’t Keep a Good School Down St. Joseph Provides Quality Education in the Heart of NM

you’re a mission school in W hen one of the poorest Dioceses in

the country, raising the money just to keep the doors open can be a fulltime activity. So it’s safe to say that for Antonio Trujillo, principal of St. Joseph School in San Fidel, a lot of hopes and dreams were riding on the success of his school’s biggest annual fundraiser.

“A Night Under the Stars” is just what it sounds like: a weekend gala, art and wine auction, held outside on the school grounds. In the weeks leading up to the event, a record number of tickets were sold, and the school was expecting its biggest turnout ever. On the day of the gala, the tables were set, the art was in place, and students stood ready to give personal tours of their school to guests.

Then it began to rain.

“We had put this amazingly beautiful event together for outside,” said Krysty Ronchetti, the gala’s main organizer.

“And it rained, like cats and dogs.”

She recalls her deep disappointment, especially since she was married to one of the event’s emcees, Mark Ronchetti, a weatherman for KRQE in Albuquerque.

“We were prepared for the worst, but I’m telling you, we got there, and Antonio was like ‘Hey! We love rain, rain is good, we’re gonna roll with it!’ So he actually brought the mood up for everybody.”

18 Voice of the Southwest | dioceseofgallup.org

And indeed, looking back, Trujillo could not be happier with the turnout, despite the weather. Everything was moved inside to the school cafeteria, and the rest of the evening went off without a hitch.

“It was a blessing despite the downpour that we had,” he said. “The food was great, the entertainment was great, the kids did a phenomenal job or articulating and presenting what they’re learning here at St. Joseph Mission School. It was phenomenal.”

Even the guest speakers were unphased by the weather.

“We had the Governor of Acoma, Kurt Riley. He’s an alumni of St. Joseph School,” Trujillo said. “He came here from 1960 to 1966, and talked about how the education here prepared hum to become a pharmacist later on in his life, and now to be a leader here at Acoma, as their Governor.”

Ronchetti, too, views the event as a success. She’s not Catholic, but she describes “falling in love” with the school after a friend brought her along to an open house event at the school, and after receiving a tour from students.

“That’s what sold me on it, was seeing these kids in action, was seeing their school and how proud they are,” she says.

“Even the families of these students are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met.

It’s a genuine place, which is what God calls us to do with our tithing, he calls us to put it towards the good of people. And I believe this is the perfect example of a place to do that.”

For Trujillo, the whole purpose of a Catholic education is to form the mind, body, and spirit of students, which is why, even with local public schools available, parents return each year to the school as the provider of their children’s education.

“We offer a sense of allowing God, through our Catholic traditions, to enter our hearts first, before anything else begins, and that’s how we’re different, that we allow spirituality, the spirit of each individual, grow, so that it permeates the way they think, the way they study, the way they act towards each other, the way they are respectful, and how that proclaims Jesus in the world. We’re basically bringing these children to know God intimately first, so that it permeates everything else they will do, and the gifts that they’ve been given by God.” Ronchetti, who runs a marketing firm that has worked closely with the “New Mexico True” campaign, believes that this spirituality symbolizes the heart and soul of the people of New Mexico.

“I volunteer in the public schools all the time, and those kids don’t jump up, and greet me, and look me in the eye, and say ‘thank you for coming’, or tell me how their day is or welcome me.

These kids – it’s ingrained in them already. You can see the difference. This is one of the poorest schools I’ve ever walked into, ever. And it is obvious they need our help. And we are a state that supports – we want to be proud of New Mexico? This is an actual situation where we can be really proud of people who were born here in New Mexico, who are trying to make this a better place to live, and these kids are going to be the next generation, here in New Mexico.”

Trujillo recalls that as the gala drew to a close, people still lingered, with smiles on their faces. Despite the weather, the wine and art auction was a huge success and spirits were high.

For this little school in a remote corner of New Mexico, the call to educate and to serve continues to be answered.

VoSW

WYD16: An Experience of “Contagious Joy”

“You’re with 2 million friends you didn’t know you had”

Rain. Mud. No reliable public transportation to speak of. But despite the conditions, the millions of young Catholics gathered in Poland for World Youth Day 2016 were all smiles and laughter, full of joy.

That’s because they were here, not on vacation, but on pilgrimage.

“Everybody had songs they were singing.

Everywhere you went you just got in this sea of people having a great time. And the vibe was so good even when buses got shut down, trams got shut down, when it started to rain, or you couldn’t get to where you wanted to go as quick as you thought. It was okay, because you were just among friends the whole time, like 2 million friends.”

Fr. Joshua Mayer was the chaplain for a group of 42 people from the Diocese of Gallup who traveled to Poland for World Youth Day. The week-long event is an international Catholic gathering held once every two or three years in various host countries, and millions of youth from nearly every country on earth attend each time.

The group from the Diocese came primarily from St. Mary Parish in Farmington, NM, and was comprised of 28 young people and 14 parents. Norm Georgina is the leader of the youth group at St. Mary, and has led a pilgrimage to each of the past four World Youth Days. For two years leading up to the event, he has the young people fundraise to get the money to go, and he makes sure everyone realizes the true purpose of the trip.

“This one we set up more as a true pilgrimage than the rest of them. It wasn’t so much sightseeing, and just the reaction from kids in years past has been overwhelming... it’s something that you can’t get in the parish, you know? They meet millions, thousands of kids from all over the world, and it’s really something else.”

For Father Mayer, a young priest in his second year since ordination, the main challenge presented by the trip was the effort of keeping everyone focused spiritually. It’s a challenge he says he reflected on and addressed head on, day after day.

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“At World Youth Day the program is already set by the Pope and everybody who’s planning it, and by the Lord. The Lord has something that he wants for all the people that are making the pilgrimage to Krakow and back. So it seemed to me that the job of a spiritual director is to highlight what that program is, to help the pilgrims identify ‘what are we doing today and why?’”

There was a special significance to setting the event in Poland. 2016 is part of the Year of Mercy, called for by Pope Francis. And it was in Poland that a message of Divine Mercy was conveyed to a nun, now Saint Faustina, in the early 20th century. So too was this country home to Saint John Paul II, the Pope who would spread this message of mercy, and under whose papacy World Youth Day was first started in 1985.

Along with visiting the convents where St. Faustina lived and the square where John Paul II would deliver audiences when he was Archbishop of Krakow, the group stopped at various shrines and monasteries, and made a morning trip to the Holocaust site at Auschwitz. Father Mayer called this portion of the trip a “heavy day”.

“Entering into the darkness that can come out of the human person and entering into the evils that we’re capable of, that was where having a spiritual director on the trip was really necessary, because I was able to help our youth and grownups and myself kind of process what we’d been through. Just being witnesses to the atrocities that occurred there, and helping us pray with that and bring that up to the Lord.”

Francine Briones also remembers the somber visit to the former death camp.

“I’ve been asked to describe that since coming back. I have said that I wanted to leave, every moment that I was there I wanted to get out. But I knew that I had to stay because I knew that it was important that I saw what happened. It was heavy, but everyone was very somber, and I think it was very impactful, and I think it was a good stop.”

Briones is a junior at the University of New Mexico, but she’s belonged to the youth group at St. Mary for nearly her whole life.

She made the journey to World Youth Day with her parents and two siblings. After the event’s conclusion, the whole group made their way to Italy for a few days, and Briones recalls a moment in Rome, on the last day, where she became aware of the beauty of shared experiences with loved ones.

“We had time to go off on our own - you know, we could break off and have free time.

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So obviously all of us kids could have split off and gone with our friends, and we did that sometimes, but we also took the opportunity to go off as a family and eat or go to Mass together...Our family went off and we went to dinner at this cute little Italian pizzeria that we found up a side street. We just sat there and we talked for about 3 hours, just reminiscing about the trip so far.”

Billy Pat Heinen also made the trip with his mother and two of his siblings. For him, family represented a bittersweet aspect of the pilgrimage. They received news of his grandmother’s death as they were on their way to Poland, and it nearly caused his mother to back out at the last minute.

“My dad said no! That is exactly what Mom would have wanted. And I’ll tell you one thing, my grandma was 90-something years old.

She had Alzheimer’s or something like that.

But she still remembered how to say her

prayers, how to receive Communion, how to go to Confession, and she remembered all of that, that’s how strong in faith that woman was. So she would have said ‘I am so glad that you are going to this pilgrimage, and I hope you have the best time ever, hon’. That’s what she would have said.”

Still, he remembers feeling awful on the flight to Poland; trying to sleep, not wanting any more bad news. Something else added to his dark mood – aside from his friends, the plane was filled with a huge group from Puerto Rico. They were loud and didn’t speak in a way he could understand.

But then, something special happened.

The Puerto Ricans started singing.

“They start praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet in Spanish, which I woke up to part of it and it was beautiful. It was amazing,” he recalls. “You’d always know where the Puerto Ricans were, because they were so joyful.

Thousands gather for the Mass in English.

“you couldn’t help but smile, and laugh, and sing, and act maybe a little crazy.

But that’s what the Catholic Church and religion is all about, is joy. You’re here, God gave you life!”

And it kind of spread. The Puerto Ricans, and the Italians man, they were just so happy, and it was so contagious that you couldn’t help but get that way, you know? It was just - so much joy there.”

This joy soon turned infectious, to the point where every person in the youth group noticed. It swept them up and carried them for the rest of the trip. This sense of joy stayed, even when it began to rain in Poland, and keep raining, turning the ground and fields to mud. Then, the presence of so many people effectively shut down the transportation system in Krakow, so that most traveling had to be done by foot. Fr. Mayer recalls many days where the group walked over 12 miles, tolerating blisters and empty stomachs before reaching their next meal or place of rest.

But if you were to watch these young people, or any of the millions of young Catholics, you would never see a hint of despon-

dency.

“That’s a condensed experience of life.

And just to see, with my group, and a lot of groups from all over the world experiencing the same thing, like these are the people I would love to walk this path with all the time,” said Fr. Mayer. “The experience there really is just meeting almost 2 million of your family that you didn’t know you had.”

Each person from the group had a favorite moment, although they all note the day when Pope Francis led all of the attendees in the Stations of the Cross, with actors performing each station live for all to see. On another day, the group attended a two-hour evening session of Adoration, music, and reflections led

by American Bishop Robert Barron.

Father Mayer laughs as he recounts the words of Pope Francis one night.

“He would also make these unscheduled appearances at John Paul II’s window in Kra-

kow, and he would address the youth that were on the street right there. And something that he kind of said repeatedly - the first time he showed up that Wednesday night, it was unplanned, and he said ‘youth, your job is not to go to sleep tonight, your job is to create chaos in the city, but chaos in the name of Christ.’”

Of course, this was not meant to be physical chaos, but a kind of spiritual and emotional exuberance.

“So basically this invitation he always has for us just to love radically, and to love whoever we see in front of us, and to see Christ in all people, and to see Christ in every circumstance,” says Father Mayer. “Seeing the Lord in front of you, chasing him, and loving him, and not worrying about maybe all the practicalities that can weigh us down in the society we’ve built up around us.”

Sure enough, the group from Poland followed this invitation to chaos, to joy, in spreading the Gospel message of love and mercy, even as they returned to normal life in the United States.

Now back at college in Farmington, Heinen has taken the spirit of World Youth Day to heart.

“It was such a joyful experience that you couldn’t help but smile, and laugh, and sing, and act maybe a little crazy. But that’s what the Catholic Church and religion is all about, is joy. You’re here, God gave you life! That’s something to be happy about in itself!”

Briones, too, feels rejuvenated.

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In 1963, Jet Magazine wrote an article about Captain Edward Dwight, a Catholic African-American astronaut trainee.

Capt. Dwight returned to his alma mater, Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, to give a commencement speech. Fr. Terence was on hand to meet him and his family.

Remembering Fr. Terence Rhoades, OFM Fr. Terence Rhoades, OFM, passed away on July 11, 2016. He faithfully served as a Franciscan priest for over 75 years. Fr. Rhoades spent his final retirement years at Villa Guadalupe, the home in Gallup, NM run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.

In 2010, Fr. John Mittlestadt, OFM, wrote the following reflection after celebrating Fr. Rhoades’s 75th anniversary as a priest: “I am sure you know by now that I like to write about Franciscans – they are a local endangered species.

“On August 6, 2010, a group of us Franciscan friars and sisters, Franciscan partners, youth group, and a few others descended on Casa Guadalupe (the Little Sisters of the Poor) in Gallup. We were eager to celebrate the 94th birthday of Father Terence Rhoades, the oldest priest in the Diocese of Gallup.

“We presented him with a singing birthday card to which the young people danced in rock-and-roll fashion.

Father Terence enjoyed it so much he began to sing German songs and I joined him. We both had the same German teacher in the seminary in Cincinnati 20 years apart. We had cake and ice cream and were visited by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Perhaps they thought we were making too much noise.

“On August 15, we brought Father Terence to his beloved Saint Mary Mission in Tohatchi, New Mexico. We celebrated his 75th anniversary as a

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Franciscan Friar, a record for our Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “There will be no big shots there,” he told me beforehand. Our bishop and provincial wanted to be there, but had to go to Santa Fe to help celebrate the city’s 400th anniversary. I was celebrant and homilist making sure that Father Terry was in the spotlight. Brother Maynard Shurley had some humorous postscripts. The Legion of Mary, which he founded, honored him and sang the Hail Mary in Navajo chant. It was quite a liturgy!

“We had a dinner afterwards, catered for the most part by a parishioner, Manuel Carl. We had beautiful and meaningful decorations, featuring a lot of photos of Father Terence through the years. One parishioner, Barbara Badonie, presented him with a necklace featuring the colors of the four sacred mountains of the Navajos. So many people pitched to make this one of the best celebrations we have had in my 21 years at Tohatchi.

His two nephews, Peter and Terence Rhoades, from Michigan carried him up the steps of the greenhouse o he could see his beloved project in all its glory of fruits and flowers.

“The first time I met Fr. Terence was in the summer of 1949. I was preparing to go to Saint Francis High School Seminary in Cincinnati. He visited our home and saw me carrying in a sack of crawdads, which my friend and I proceeded to clean and cook. We ate them all ourselves. Father Terence to

this day complains that I did not give him any.

“Father Terence was a dynamic priest for minority people in the Kansas City area for 32 years. He lived through the desegregation of schools, hospitals, and other institutions.

“He was right in the middle of the violence of race riots. He nurtured people and roses, watched and fed the birds, and became one of the best ornithologists in the U.S.A. There were hundreds of converts to his churches among the minorities of the metropolis.

“He came to Gallup to serve at the cathedral briefly, then on to Zuni and Tohatchi.

“He used to refer to himself as Father Yo-Yo. But he was loved by the people of both missions. At both places, he did great gardening and helped to plan the present greenhouse at Tohatchi. He was gardening at Tohatchi when he tripped and damaged his leg.

He could not live independently. He ended up with the Little Sisters of the Poor, where he has a birdfeeder outside his window.

“The great thing about Father Terence is his fidelity – faithful for 75 years to God, the Catholic Church, his Franciscan way of life, and God’s little unimportant people. What an honor it is to have him as a member of our Franciscan Province, our diocese, and our own little community.”

Fr. Terence Rhoades, rest in peace.

Making Sense Out of Bioethics:

Cremains and Respect for the Human Body

by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk In the famous story of David and Goliath, Goliath boasts to the young David that after he kills him, he will give his flesh “to the birds of the sky and beasts of the field.” He conveys his profound disdain for David by speaking this way, deprecating even his corpse.

This offends our sensibility that dead bodies should not be desecrated, but should instead be respectfully buried. Proper disposition and care of another’s body also manifests our Christian faith in the resurrection of that body on the Last Day. Church view of cremation Over time, this has evolved into a deeper understanding about the handling of corpses, including regulations surrounding cremation.

For Catholics, cremation is considered an acceptable form of handling the human body after death, although as noted in the Order of Christian Funerals, cremation “does not enjoy the same value as burial of the body . . .

The Church clearly prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites, since the presence of the human body better expresses the values which the Church affirms in its rites.”

Moreover, cremation can lead to problematic practices, which Cardinal Raymond Burke references in a pastoral letter to the faithful in the Diocese of La Crosse in the year 2000: “With the growing practice of cremation, there has also developed a certain lack of care for the cremated remains of the dead.

Funeral directors who have been asked to store the cremated remains report that those remains often are left unclaimed by family or friends.

“Those charged with the arrangements for the funeral rites of the deceased should see that the cremated remains are interred or entombed at the earliest possible time. . . . It is not permitted to scatter cremated remains over a favorite place, and it is not permitted to keep cremated remains in one’s home or place other than a cemetery. . . .

‘The cremated remains of one deceased person may not be mixed with the cremated

remains of another person. It is not permitted to divide the cremated remains and inter or entomb them in more than one place.”

“David Slaying Goliath”

by Peter Paul Rubens

Respect the dead These clearly articulated concerns remind us of our obligation to respect the remains of the dead, even in their ashen state. By becoming lax in our approach to handling cremains, we can easily betray the respect that is owed.

A story comes to mind involving a friend of mine who works as a pilot. He was asked to take up a passenger in a small plane for the “final repose of ashes” into the ocean. As they were taking off, he told the passenger, “Just be sure that you don’t ever open that urn! It needs to be thrown overboard when I open the hatch window and give you the signal.”

The passenger, however, was determined to do it his way, and when the pilot opened the window, he popped off the top of the urn and tried to scatter the ashes at sea. Instead, the ashes were seized by the violent air currents and scattered throughout the internals of the airplane, among all the instrumentation and dials, and in the hair and clothing of both the pilot and the passenger.

Burial site Another reason to bury cremains in the earth or inter them in a mausoleum, rather than scattering them abroad, is to establish a particular place to be able to visit and pray for the soul of that person, in the physical presence of their mortal remains.

The burial site serves as a point of reference and connection to the embodiment of that individual, rather than reducing them to a kind of vague and wispy nothingness.

Keeping Grandma’s ashes on the fireplace mantle or up in the attic alongside the antique

paintings is another problematic practice that can easily end up downplaying or denying her human dignity, tempting us to treat her mortal remains as just another item to be moved around among our various trinkets.

It can be helpful to encourage the family, and all who are involved with cremains, to think about ashes in a manner similar to how we’d think about a full body. Would we keep a casket and corpse at home for a few weeks? If not, then we shouldn’t do the same with someone’s ashes.

Regrettably, many people are not thinking about cremains as the revered remnants of a fellow human being, but more as something to be disposed of whenever it’s convenient for our schedule and budget.

We don’t approach full-body caskets that way because we recognize more clearly the duty to bury our beloved dead. The sacred memory of our departed family and friends, in sum, calls us to carefully attend to their remains with authentic and objective gestures of respect.

Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., and serves as the director of education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

See www.ncbcenter.org

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starting:

ending:

dec. 02, 2016

dec. 15, 2016

national pilgrim statue of our lady of fatima visit to the diocese of gallup

visitation dates december 02 - sacred heart cathedral, Gallup NM December 03 - Madre de dios, winslow AZ december 04 - Our lady of guadalupe, holbrook AZ december 05 - our lady of the assumption, overgaard az december 06 - our lady of the snows, snowflake az december 07 - saint john the baptist, St. johns az

december 08 - st. john vianney, gallup nm december 09 - St. Mary, tohatchi nm december 10 - st. mary, farmington nm december 12 - st. mary, bloomfield nm december 13 - immaculate conception, cuba nm december 14 - st. vivian, milan nm december 15 - st. teresa of avila, grants nm

For more information, call 505-863-4406 voiceofthesouthwest.org/fatima