Thursday, 04 April 2013 09:14
The view from the rectory window
By Fr. Ken Van Haverbeke
There are very few disconcerting things than a sanctuary lamp whose light has gone out. Few things will upset or cause parishioners to call or be certain to inform the pastor ASAP. A running toilet, a broken door, or how a Eucharistic Minister dresses cause a certain amount of restlessness and beaten down path to the pastor’s door, but nothing like a burned out sanctuary lamp.
A sanctuary lamp shines forth indicating to the church “Christ is present!” It is a beacon, like a lighthouse, summoning parishioners to come forward amidst life’s rocks in adoration, to express their thanksgiving, and to pour forth their petitions. The undimmed light from a sanctuary lamp gives comfort like no other lamp in the world.
No matter what country, what language, or what culture, upon entering a Catholic Church and seeing the lighted sanctuary lamp, you recognize you are home. Fumbling, bumbling, and jostled by the foreign language of the country, when you enter a Catholic Church, and the language is the same. No longer Latin, but still of love. The loving presence of our Lord proclaimed by a lamp.
Thursday, 04 April 2013 09:12
By Fr. Van Haverbeke
Profile: He begins his day and ends his day in the hands of Jesus and Mary – literally! Every day I see him, and others, but specifically, I see “Bernie,” (not his actual name).
I minister at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita. At the center’s entrance is the Cana Garden, a group of sculptures portraying the Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2). These life size sculptures depict three scenes of the story: Mary interceding with Jesus that they have ran out of wine; Mary’s Gospel scene; and finally the head steward informing the bride and groom the wine being served is greater than the first wine served!
This second scene I titled “Mary’s Gospel” illustrates Mary informing the wine steward “Do whatever He (Jesus) tells you.” This verse from Mary’s lips is often termed “Mary’s Gospel,” for in five words, Mary sums up the four gospel’s instruction.
Back to Bernie. Every day, before and after work, he prays before the Blessed Sacrament in the retreat center’s chapel, petitioning the Lord to bless the works of his mind and hands. As he leaves the center, he places his hand into the hand of Mary and Jesus, looking into their sculptured faces in prayer.
Bernie recognizes and receives our Lord in both the Blessed Sacrament and in the sculptured features of Jesus and Mary, so he can now share his day and gifts with others in love of God and neighbor.
Mary’s Gospel in action. An act of Stewardship.
For more information about the retreat center go to www.slcwichita.org.
Fr. Van Haverbeke is director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship.
Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares these gifts in love of God and neighbor.
Thursday, 04 April 2013 09:11
By Tom Racunas
April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder, also known as ASD, are general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. The disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviors. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination, difficulties with attention, and physical health issues such as gastrointestinal disturbances and sleep. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math, and art.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is the fastest growing significant disability in the United States with as many as 1 in every 84 children now identified with this disorder. This is a 600 percent increase in prevalence over the past two decades. Studies show that autism is three to four times more common in boys than girls.
It is safe to say that every parish has autism-affected families. It is the mission of the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities to help each parish keep all parishioners actively involved in parish life regardless of type, severity or age of onset of a disability. Visual supports, visual schedules and social stories can be created to support a person with ASD in attendance at Mass. These supports can be individually designed and constructed to meet the unique needs of each person.
For more information, contact the office of the ministry at (316) 269-3900 x 143 or x 157.
Racunas is director of the diocesan Ministry with Persons with Disabilities.
Thursday, 04 April 2013 09:10
By Michael Christopherson
How often have you reviewed the beneficiaries of your wills, trusts, life insurance policies, or retirement plans? Some of you have probably been very faithful and reviewed them every five or six years. Odds are that some of you may not have done this since the will, trust, life insurance or retirement plan was first written.
You’re not alone. In fact, only about 30 percent of the population ever reviews their initial selections, which could ultimately lead to many surprises for your heirs. In my travels throughout the Diocese of Wichita, I frequently encounter surviving family members who are now wishing their parents had done things differently. Or, there are those blended families where many good intentions fell by the wayside only to find that those most important to them had never been added as beneficiaries.
Thursday, 04 April 2013 09:08
By Erin Connelly Marceau
Facebook has added a new element to marriage and has created an abundance of questions. “Can I be friends with my ex?” “Should we have each other’s passwords?” There is much to consider when it comes to having a Facebook and a healthy marriage.
The most important first step is to talk about Facebook and each other’s expectations. Make sure to respect each other’s thoughts and feelings. Here are a few topics you will want to cover:
Thursday, 14 March 2013 09:51
Samour studied engineering, spent time in the seminary
By Christopher M. Riggs
Jake Samour always thought he would move north after working for a few years for the marriage and family life office of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, but north to him meant Denver, where his family is, not Wichita.
His three children were not yet school-age – it wouldn’t be so disruptive – so he flew to Denver to speak to Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, who as Father Aquila, was his supervisor when he worked for the Archdiocese of Denver years before.
“I went to see him this past summer but at same time this job opened up and it would have been foolish not to at least apply,” Samour said last week from his office in the St. Joseph Pastoral Center next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Although he leaned toward moving to Denver because his family still lives there, he said, “When you give your life to God, don’t ask where He leads you. It is that kind of relationship I feel I have with the Lord, and that trust. It’s not about me.”
It also didn’t hurt that his wife, Ramie, is from Marion. They met while they were studying at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C., where they both received master of theology degrees in marriage and family.
Thursday, 14 March 2013 09:46
The Stations of the Cross have a long history in the church, but didn’t become common until the end of the 1600s, likely due to the indulgences attached to the prayers.
The series of scenes corresponding to Jesus’ walk to his crucifixion were originally established as a substitute for those who were unable to travel to the Holy Land to walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which had been marked from the earliest times of Christianity.
Although today there are 14 stations, the number of stops has varied throughout the history of the Stations of the Cross. A book published by a Catholic priest in 1584 details 12 stations, however, that correspond with the first 12 stations used today.
According to New Advent, the online Catholic encyclopedia, some Stations of the Cross had Christ falling seven times. The contemporary version has Christ falling on the third, seventh, and ninth stations. The falls were likely dropped by four other stations of incidents that coincided with the falls: his meetings with his Blessed Mother, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the women of Jerusalem.
Thursday, 14 March 2013 09:37
The view from the rectory window
By Fr. Ken Van Haverbeke
The first time it happened, I was young, but not in his eyes. Home from the seminary for the summer, I worked for a delivery company working 60- to 70-hour weeks. In the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer book priests and religious daily pray, is a petition asking God’s blessings on those who earn their living by the “sweat of the brow.” I value those sweat-filled summers as a seminarian, allowing me to understand fully what I now pray.
I had gone to a music store in the mall. I saw a condescending look in his eyes. He was my junior by less than a few years, a teenager. It was the first time I felt out of place, and old.
Thursday, 28 February 2013 10:10
By Father David K. O’Rourke
Many years ago I was trained and then licensed in California as a family counselor. Still, over the years, I have always made clear that I am a priest. The medical school training in counseling was an exposure to a wonderful and honored profession, as well as another useful lens through which to look at pastoral situations.
But when local officials in a small town need help with troubled folks and you happen to be one of the available professionals in their community, they don’t always worry about which hat they see you wearing. This happens rarely, but for me it has included dealing with family court and social welfare officers.
These experiences have made me more aware of the fundamental differences between counseling and the sacrament of reconciliation, or confession, as some know it.
As an example, I think of a very unusual situation from the past. A man had been referred to me by the court. He was ordered to meet with a licensed counselor. The exact details are not that important, but he had rolled destructively through the lives of people close to him and even some of his co-workers. The history of human pain he left in his path, if I recall, was the reason why the official ordered the meeting.
Thursday, 28 February 2013 10:09
By Father Ken Van Haverbeke
Profile: When Juanita retired, she was unsure where the Lord would led her, but kept an attentive ear to the ground, so when at a parish function she heard about a ministry visiting parishioners and others at the nearby nursing home, she thought, “That’s something I can do!”
Giving it a try, she became hooked, recognizing her need to give in this simple way. What gifts does she share? The gift of conversation and time. Something as a retired person she had in plentitude.
Now the first Wednesday of every month Juanita and another parishioner, Vernie, visit the nursing home near the parish church of Saint Cecilia in Haysville. Saint Cecilia is the patron of music, but because a piano is too big to lug from one room to another, Juanita and Vernie use their normal conversation to make music in the ears of the residents!
Praying the rosary as a group weekly and celebrating Mass once a month with their pastor, this small group of St. Cecilia’s parishioners have built up relationships not only with the residents of the nursing home, but in the past, they have had grade school students from the parish school to assist, creating bridges between generations.
“The residents love to see the children,” Juanita said, “and we make such good relationships with the residents. It’s hard to see them leave when the Lord calls them home to Him, but I know they appreciate us!”
When asked what she recognized in herself to be a part of this ministry, she said, “it hit home for me.”
“My parents were in a nursing home and I remember how much they appreciated visits. Many of these people we visit now don’t have family or anyone to visit. Having a fellow parishioner, a face that is familiar to them, they so much look forward to it!”
Mother Teresa often remarked “Find your Calcutta in your own town!” It is not necessary to travel far to find a place to share our gifts in love of God and neighbor. Perhaps it’s a nursing home just down the street or your own home. One doesn’t have to be a musician to play a beautiful song. All it takes is a willingness to spend time to listen and talk. Something most all of us can do. Why don’t we?
Fr. Van Haverbeke is director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship. For more information about St. Cecilia’s go to http://stceciliahaysville.org/
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