J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C12 Back pew

By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz Catholic News Service

HONOLULU (CNS) -- Father Jan Michael Joncas has com-posed more than 300 liturgical songs, but hisname is widely known for the one that tops a listof favorites: "On Eagle's Wings." The hymn by Father Joncas, 62, a priest of the

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, wasnamed by hundreds of voters as their No. 1 litur-gical hymn in a 2006 poll sponsored by the Na-tional Association of Pastoral Musicians. Since "On Eagle's Wings" was written in 1979, it

has become a staple at Sunday Masses, funeralsand memorial events as a reminder of God's up-lifting presence in times of sorrow. "Most people associate me with this single

piece," Father Joncas told the Hawaii Catholic Her-ald via email. Father Joncas said the song came about when he

was visiting a friend at the major seminary inWashington. One evening, Father Joncas' friend got word that

his father had suffered a fatal heart attack. FatherJoncas wrote "On Eagle's Wings" in the days thatfollowed and it was sung for the first time publiclyat the friend's father's wake service. The song is based on Psalm 91, its lyrics drawing

from the Scripture's descriptions of God's protec-tion and providence. Lyrics include the lines "Youneed not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrowthat flies by day," and "For to his angels he hasgiven a command to guard you in all of yourways." Although there are no mentions of eagles in

Psalm 91, the song's chorus uses the metaphor todepict God's high, secure places the verse de-scribes. "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shinelike the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand." "I have been humbled by the number of times

people have spoken or written to me about howGod has used the song to bring them comfort andpeace," Father Joncas said. The song's colorful imagery is woven together

by a melody with airy highs and a crescendo re-frain. Father Joncas said the verses were meant tobe sung by a cantor capable of handling the widerange of notes. Congregants would join in singing

the simpler chorus. "I have been amazed to find congregations

singing the entire thing, because I think the versesare somewhat difficult," said Father Joncas, who,with fellow composer Marty Haugen, participatedin a liturgical arts conference in Honolulu in thefall. The priest has been composing new material re-

cently, after his recovery from Guillain-Barre syn-drome. The illness paralyzed him in 2003, but hehas recuperated well. Haugen, 63, wrote "Shepherd Me, O God" in the

mid-1980s. It is cherished by many Catholics forits treatment of Psalm 23, which begins, "The Lordis my shepherd, I shall not want." Speaking by phone from his home in Minnesota,

he explained that depicting "shepherd" as an ac-tion instead of a noun brought forth the now fa-mous song. "I have never met a shepherd," Haugen said. "My

wife was finally the one who suggested ... make ita verb. That sort of was a breakthrough." Haugen, who is not Catholic but has worked in

Catholic parishes, was living at an ecumenical re-treat center in Washington state with his familywhen he was commissioned to do a version ofPsalm 23. Haugen said he knew it would be a chal-lenge. "It's hard to write something that everybody

knows the text to," he said. The retreat center community held vespers

every night. Haugen said they would regularly in-tegrate his new music into prayer time. That win-ter, with little else to do on snowed-in evenings,the community helped critique his work. "Shep-herd Me, O God," Haugen joked, is the one of sev-eral versions he wrote that received the leastamount of criticism. "That piece, like everything I wrote up there,

went through the grill of the community," he said."I think that's really valuable." "You don't really know if a piece is going to be

helpful or not until a congregation has sung it anumber of times and they'll tell you," he added. "Shepherd Me, O God" stays close to the words

of the psalm, with verses such as "Surely yourkindness and mercy follow me all the days of mylife; I will dwell in the house of my God forever-more." Haugen's tight lyrical adherence to Scrip-ture comes from a pastoral studies degree heearned at the University of St. Thomas in Min-nesota. "If you're writing liturgical music, your two main

sources are the rite and the Scripture," he said."The more you can know about both, the more youfeel you have something to offer when you startto write." In a song such as "Shepherd Me, O God," where

the words are already familiar to many, Haugensaid "the melody is at the service of the text." "You want people to remember the music be-

cause if they remember it, then they're remember-ing the words," he said.

CNS PHOTO/DIANNE TOWALSKI, THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Father Jan Michael Joncas, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul andMinneapolis, has composed more than 300 liturgical songs, but he iswidely known for the one that tops a list of favorites: "On Eagle'sWings." Father Joncas is pictured in a 2009 photo.

On Eagle’s WingsResponse to popular liturgical hymn over the years humbling for composer

CATHOLICNORTH COUNTRYNORTH COUNTRYThe Diocese of Ogdensburg Volume 68, Number 33

JAN. 8, 2014

INSIDETHIS ISSUEWomen of Grace: source of happiness, peace l PAGE 4

Mom changes herlife after months ofprayer l PAGE 5

POPE WITHTHE JESUITS

Nine Days ofPrayer, Penance and Pilgrimage

Ecumenicalprayer service

Mass honorsnew saint

YOUTH MINISTRY COFFEE HOUSE

ON EAGLES WINGS: An interview with the ‘humbled’ composer... p.12

For the new year...

FULL STORY, PAGE 7

CNS PHOTO/ PAUL HARINGPope Francis celebrates Mass with300 of his Jesuit confreres at theChurch of the Gesu in Rome Jan. 3.The Mass was celebrated on thefeast of the Most Holy Name of Jesusin thanksgiving for the recent can-onization of Jesuit St. Peter Faber.True faith is marked by the daring de-sire to change the world with the lov-ing heart of Jesus, Pope Francis said.

PHOTO BY DAYNA LEADERThe youth ministry office of the Diocese of Ogdensburg sponsored a coffee house Dec. 1 at the Oswegatchie Coffee House inGouverneur. At left is Deacon Brian T. Dwyer of Chateaugay, diocesan director of youth ministry; and right, Ryan Grant, Adams,featured musician for the night. The program also included testimonials from a priest, Father Scott Belina of Ogdensburg, anengaged couple, Zack Leader of Gouverneur and Erin Miner of Watertown; and married couple Seth and Amanda Conklin ofGouverneur, about the need for young people to lead their lives well according to their state in life.

Bishop LaValley will preside at the

annual diocesan Ecumenical Service

Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2p.m. at St.

Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake

Bishop LaValley has en-couraged parishes of the Dio-cese of Ogdensburg toparticipate in “Nine Days ofPrayer, Penance and Pilgrim-age" Jan. 18-26This is a new initiative by

the United States Conferenceof Catholic Bishops (USCCB)in conjunction with the 41stanniversary of Roe v. Wadeand the annual March for Lifein Washington, DC. The bishops note that,

since 1973, “more than 55million children's lives havebeen lost and the lives of mil-lions of their parents havebeen shattered.”

FULL STORY, PAGE 3

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The new yearwill be brighter only if every-one steps outside of theirsafe havens, gets involvedand works together to solvelocal problems with generos-ity and love, Pope Francissaid. As 2013 comes to a close,

let everyone ask God for for-giveness and thank him forhis patience and love, the

pope said as he presidedover a Dec. 31 eveningprayer service in St. Peter'sBasilica. May Mary "teach us to wel-

come God made man so thatevery year, every month,every day be overflowingwith his eternal love," thepope said on the eve of thefeast honoring her as Motherof God.

Leading the annual "TeDeum" prayer service tothank God for his blessingsin 2013 and the gift of salva-tion in Christ, the pope askedpeople to reflect on how theyhave spent the past year --theprecious days, weeks andmonths the Lord has given asa gift to everyone."Have we used it mostly for

ourselves, for our own inter-

ests or did we know to spendit for others, too? How muchtime did we set aside forbeing with God, in prayer, insilence, in adoration?" People should also reflect

on how they used their timeto contribute to their com-munities,” he said.“The quality of life in a

community - depends oneveryone,” he said.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C news 11

OBITUARIESBrasher Falls - Lillian M. (Plaskon) Walker,80; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St.Patrick's Church; burial in St. Patrick'sCemetery.

Brushton – Lawrence H. Mayville, 76; Fu-neral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Mary’sChurch; burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Champlain - Alfred "Sonny" Babbie Jr.,86; Funeral Services Jan. 2, 2014 at St.Mary's Church; burial in St. Mary's Ceme-tery.

Constable - Diana C. (Blair) Lamica, 59;Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St. Francisof Assisi Church; burial in parish ceme-tery.

Deferiet - Mervin P. Piere, 93; FuneralServices Jan. 2, 2014 at St. Rita's Church;burial in Black River Cemetery.

Elizabethtown - Mary T. (Sheehan) Jerdo,83; Funeral Services Dec. 31, 2013 atW.M. Marvins Sons Funeral Home; burialin spring.

Madrid - Loris D. French, 84; Funeral Serv-ices Jan. 4, 2014 at St. John the BaptistChurch; burial in St. John the BaptistCemetery.

Massena - Edith I. McHugh, 90; FuneralServices Dec. 31, 2013 at Church of theSacred Heart; burial in Calvary Cemetery.

Massena - Heinz P. Seipel, 91; Funeral

Services Jan. 5, 2014 at Donaldson Fu-neral Home.

Mooers - Flora M. (Dauphinais) Gauthier,89; Funeral Services Dec. 28, 2013 at St.Joseph's Church; burial in St. RomainCemetery, Hemmingford, Quebec.

Mooers Forks – John P. Surprenant, 67;Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Ann’sChurch; burial in Mooers Riverside Ceme-tery.

Morrisonville - Leonard H. "Cheese" Rock,87; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St.Alexander's Church' burial in parishcemetery.

Newcomb – Raymond Louis Donohue,98; Funeral Services at St. ThereseChurch; burial in parish cemetery.

Norfolk - John J. Plonka, 93; Funeral Serv-ices Dec. 30, 2013 at Church of the Visita-tion; burial in Visitation Cemetery.

Ogdensburg - Hilda M. (Cross) Brassard-Marion, 90; Funeral Services Jan. 2, 2014at Foxwood Memorial Park.

Ogdensburg - Jean W. Sullivan Hayes, 78;Funeral Services Dec. 30, 2013 at NotreDame Church; burial in Calvary Cemetery,Norwood.

Ogdensburg - Ronald R. "Ronnie"Mashaw, 66; Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014at St. Mary's Cathedral.

Ogdensburg - Terry "Mash" Mashaw, 70;Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Mary'sCathedral.

Ogdensburg - Robert P. "RP" McDonaldJr., 67; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 atthe Fox & Murray Funeral Home; burial inSt. Mary's Cemetery.

Plattsburgh - Gerald F. Dupree, 84; Fu-neral Services Dec. 30, 2013 at St. Peter'sChurch; burial in Whispering MaplesMausoleum.

Plattsburgh - Leonard L. "Lenny" Macey,69; Funeral Services Dec. 28, 2013 atBrown Funeral Home.

Plattsburgh - Donald Peter Senecal, 86;Funeral Services Dec. 31, 2013 at St.Peter's Church; burial in St. Alexander'sCemetery, Morrisonville.

Plattsburgh - Helen M. (Plummer) Tusa,89; Funeral Services Jan. 1, 2014 at R.W.Walker Funeral Home; burial in Whisper-ing Maples Memorial Gardens.

Star Lake - Karol J. Daniels; Funeral Serv-ices Dec. 30, 2013 at the Hawley FuneralHome; burial in Oswegatchie Cemetery.

Tupper Lake - Helen "Skipper" (LaFoun-tain) Reandeau, 83, Funeral Services Dec.26, 2013 at Stuart-Fortune-Keough Fu-neral Home; burial in St. AlphonsusCemetery.

The Pontifical Mission Societies of theDiocese of Ogdensburg, Inc.The Society for the Propagation of the FaithSr. Mary Ellen Brett, SSJ, Director

622 Washington St., Ogdensburg, NY 13669(315) 393-2920; fax 1-866-314-7296mbrett@rcdony.org

From Director’s DeskSister Mary Ellen Brett, SSJDiocesan Mission Director

As we begin a new year, the Mission Office also begins itspreparations for our ongoing efforts to benefit the develop-ing lands. I thought I should take an opportunity to tellyou a little bit about where your prayers and gifts go. The Pontifical Mission Societies is the umbrella organiza-

tion for the Society of Propagation of the Faith, MissionaryChildhood Association, the Society of St. Peter the Apostleand the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious. All bap-tized Catholics have the opportunity to participate in theworldwide mission of the Church by offering their prayers,personal sacrifices or financial contributions to the Societyfor the Propagation of the Faith, the Missionary ChildhoodAssociation or the Society for St. Peter Apostle. The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious is a spiri-

tual apostolate for Priests, Religious men and women, cate-chists and lay people.Each year, the celebration of World Mission Sunday pro-

vides an opportunity, within the context of the Eucharist,for Catholics to express their prayerful and financial sup-port of the Church’s worldwide missionary work and the So-ciety for the Propagation of the Faith in particular.Your sacrifices make a difference overseas in helping to

increase vocations, provide food, medical care and shelterfor those who cannot provide for themselves. Funds raisedalso go to support Parishes in developing lands and to chil-dren where they provide mission education materials,school and care for basic needs.Another way that the Missions are introduced to you each

year is through the Missionary Coop Program where “real-life” Missionaries visit our diocese and share their stories inhopes to raise awareness and much needed funds. Here arejust a few ways real life Missionaries have told us whereyour sacrifices have gone; The Sisters of Notre Dame deNamur wrote me thanking for their 2013 Coop donationsand stated the funds would be used “for our Sisters inAfrica and Latin America to continue their Gospel work inclinics and schools….”. The Franciscan Sisters of the Atone-ment sent word that your donations will be used “for assis-tance in Parishes in Brazil and in the Philippines to assistthe poor”…. The Little Sisters of the poor stated that ” thefunds will be used to purchase food and help with theneeds of the elderly poor…”. As you can see, your help makes a difference and the dif-

ference is often made immediately. So when you drop adonation in the basket or one in the mail to our office, knowthat it really is going to a much needed destination wherethere are people who need our help. Thank you for all yoursupport, prayers and sacrifices. God Bless.

Your helpreally does help!

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Well it looks like it’s going toone of those “good old-fash-ioned” winters with onesnow storm after an-other. With heavy snow for

Thanksgiving and anicy mess for Christmas,we’ve already had tobrace ourselves for allthat’s to come in thenext few months.I’m doing my best to

accept it all with joy…or at least a bit of pa-tience.So far, January has

offered us perfect daysfor eating homemade soup andwatching movie marathons

while all wrapped up in ourafghans.

Every day, I’m grate-ful for a warm and cozyhouse and a car thatstarts against all odds.Our family’s biggest

challenge: getting apuppy out four times aday when the tempera-ture is stuck belowzero and “daddy” hasbeen more than heroicwith that.This helps me to be

grateful for a seasonthat’s so sharply differ-ent from what we’ll see

in April and July.The short, cold days of win-

tertime offers us time just tobe, to pray, to think.With brand new resolutions,

many of us are striving to bethe best kind of person, thebest kind of Catholic we canbe.This week’s North Country

Catholic is also different fromwhat we’ll publish in a fewmonths when every week willbe filled with parish and dioce-san activities. In this issue, three of our

writers share personal reflec-tions as they strive to grow infaith and share their faith withothers.The Year of Faith may be

over but the call to live lives of

faith will never end.This week’s NCC also pro-

vides information about twoimportant prayer opportunitiesplanned for the month. As usual, Jan. 18-25 is the

Week of Prayer for ChristianUnity. At the same time, thebishops have asked for NineDays of Prayer, Penance andPilgrimage, Jan.18-26, to markthe 41st anniversary of the Roevs. Wade decision. These aretwo critical ‘causes’ worthy ofour attention.And so with prayer, reflec-

tion, soup - and a cup or two ofhot chocolate - we will surelysurvive, and perhaps find joy,in our snowy gift of January.

I was asked recently, what Iwas reading these days. It did-n’t take me long to answer – itseems like every day PopeFrancis gives me something toread: a homily he gave thatvery day, an interview that hemade with some reporter orjournalist or something he haswritten or something that iswritten about him. He neverfails to catch my attention.Today, I would like to share

with you a little of his Christ-mas message – this is the “Urbiet Orbi” message that eachPope makes each year onChristmas Day.This year’s message by Pope

Francis fits into an importantNew Year’s theme of peace –peace in the world – peace forall people. In this Christmas message

Pope Francis makes a strongand challenging call for peacein our world. He begins byspeaking of the Birth of Christ,the Prince of Peace, and thenasks us to pray for peace. New Years is that time for

resolutions – this year thereshould be a resolution from allof us to make our lives morepeaceful in the spirit of ourHoly Father, Pope Francis.In his Christmas message,

Pope Francis begins by sayingthis, “Peace calls fur daily com-mitment, starting from God’s

gift, from the grace which hehas given us in Jesus Christ.”By making Jesus our guide andour friend, we begin to bringpeace to our part of the world.Pope Francis prays in his

Christmas message for thosewho suffer most: “Looking atthe Child in the manger, theChild of peace, our thoughtsturn to those children who aremost vulnerable victims ofwars, but we think too of theelderly, to battered women, tothe sick…Wars shatter and hurtso many lives.”Pope Francis calls attention

to the sad conflicts in Syria, theCentral African Republic, SouthSudan, Nigeria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – he madeit clear he knows of the manyconflicts happening in ourworld.Pope Francis’ prayers for

peace are passionate, “You,Prince of Peace, in every placeturn hearts aside from violenceand inspire them to lay downarms and undertake the path

of dialogue. So what am I sup-posed to do? Pope Francis urges us to pray

for peace in the world and Iwill. Pope Francis asks me tostand up for peace, to speakout that my country may be aforce for peace in this worldand I will. Yet, what must I do myself to

make this world a more peace-ful place? I must make thisNew Year a more peaceful time.I must do what I can to makethe world a better place bymaking my own life a life thatspreads peace, by living in thespirit of the Prince of Peace.

When I bring happiness toanother I have made the worldmore peaceful. Each time, I help the poor or

the needy personally; I havemade the world better andmore peaceful.Pope Francis adds this prayer

to his Christmas talk, “God isfull of love: to him be praiseand glory forever! God ispeace: let us ask him to help usto be peacemakers each day, inour life, in our families, in ourcities and nations, in the wholeworld. Let us allow ourselvesto be moved by God’s good-ness.”

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C2 Diocesan Life

REV. JOSEPH A. MORGANVice President

SR. JENNIFER VOTRAW, SSJSecretary-TreasurerMARY LOU KILIAN

Editor/General Manager

BISHOP TERRYR. LAVALLEYPresident

EDITOR’S NOTE

Embracing the ‘time’ of wintertime

A PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE

New Year’s resolution: be a peacemaker

Mary LouKilian

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C10 around the diocese

FRIENDSHIP VOLUNTEERSLake Placid - Mercy Care for the Adiron-dacks is recruiting new volunteers andhas scheduled a Friendship VolunteerTraining Program.Date: Feb. 4 & 11, Lake Placid; Feb. 18 &25, Tupper LakeTime: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Features: New volunteers will joinMercy Care’s 90+ Friendship Volunteersfrom Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, andLake Placid who are helping elders stayconnected to their communities. If youare able to give some of your time tomake elders’ lives a little easier, helpingfor them to live independently, pleaseconsider becoming a Mercy Care Friend-ship Volunteer. Contact: Sheila Schneck at 518-523-5583

MARCH FOR LIFE Plattsburgh – Champlain Valley Right tolife has made final plans for its 2014March for life. Date: Jan. 12Time: 1:30 p.m. Place: March starts at The NewmanCenter and ends at St. John's Church(Signs will be provided.) Features: The march will be followed bya prayer service with Kathleen Gallagheras our Guest Speaker. She is the directorof pro-life activities for the New YorkState Catholic Conference and the co-founder of the non-denominationalgroup, New Yorkers for Life. Attention all: Finger foods and dessertsare needed for the reception at St. John'sChurch following m. To donate food,please call Kathleen at 563 -2943.

CVRTL MEETING Plattsburgh - Everyone is invited to theChamplain Valley Right to Life Meeting.Date: Jan.9Time: after 8 a.m. Mass at Our Lady ofVictory ChurchPlace: OLV Basement Program: Share coffee and donutswhile making final plans for the Marchfor Life Jan. 12.

PANCAKE BREAKFASTTreadwell Mills – St. Alexander & St.Joseph’s Church will hold a PancakeBreakfast.Date: Feb. 2Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Place: St. Joseph’s Church Parish HallCost: Adults, $6; Children 12 and under, $3; under 5, Free

Menu: All you can eat pancake, realmaple syrup, sausage, scrambled eggs,home fries, coffee, orange juice or milk.

CHARITY FUND RAISING DINNERPeru - St. Augustine’s Knights of Colum-bus Council 7273 will host an all you caneat spaghetti dinner.Date: Jan. 11Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6:30Place: St. Augustine’s Parish CenterCost: Adults, $7.50; Children 6-12, $2.50;under 5, free; families, $20; take-outs

HEALING MINISTRY Morrisonville - The Catholic Communityof St. Alexander's and St. Joseph's an-nounces the addition of Living WatersHealing Ministry to the Parish. Date: First Thursday each monthTime: 6:30 p.m.Place: St. Alexander’s ChurchFeatures: Healing Mass, Sacrament ofthe Anointing of the Sick, Exposition ofthe Blessed Sacrament, and an opportu-nity to receive individual prayer.

QUILT SHOP OPENEllenburg Center - Lost Sheep Quilt andFabric Shop is now open! Place: Our Lady of the AdirondacksHouse of Prayer, Hours: Tues. - Sat, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Evenings and other times by appointment. Phone 594-3253 or emailolaprayerhouse@gmail.com to come atother times

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONPlattsburgh – Eucharistic Adoration is

held throughout the year every Wednes-day, Thursday, and Friday.Place: St. John’s “Holy Family” AdorationChapel, downstairsTime: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m Contact: call 518-561-5083 or email

Sjohnsadoration@aol.comFeatures: May be pre-ordered startingon Nov. 4 by calling 518-529-6580.

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL DINNEREvans Mills – The Indian River Knights ofColumbus Council 7471 will be sponsor-ing a spaghetti & meatball dinner.Date: Jan. 18Time: 4 p.m.Place: St. Mary’s Parish CenterCost: Adults, $7; Senior Citizens, $6; Chil-dren under 12, $5; under 5, Free

SPAGHETTI SUPPERWatertown – St. Anthony’s Altar RosaryChurch will be having Spaghetti Supper.Date: Jan. 30Time: 4:30 p.m. to 7 Place: Msgr. Sechi HallCost: Adults, $8; children $4.50; under 3,free; sauce, $5 per quart meatballs are$.75Features: Take-out orders begin at 4p.m. Please bring your own containers

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONWatertown - Holy Family Church is hold-ing holy hours of Eucharistic Adorationfor VocationsSchedule: Monday through Friday fol-lowing the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Family

Church (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.),

LIFERIGHT MEETINGWatertown - Liferight of Watertownmeets third Wednesday of the Month.Time: 4 p.m. Place: 312 Sherman St.Features: The office has materials oninfanticide, assisted suicide, euthanasiaand chastity. Contact: Phone 315-788-8480; website:www.liferight.org.

BUS TO WASHINGTON MARCHThe Lewis County Right to Life andKnights of Columbus would like to inviteyou to participate in their annual Rightto Life Bus Trip to Washington DC.Schedule: The bus will be leaving theevening of the January 21st and travel-ing through the night to Washington DCfor the Right to Life March on January22nd. The bus will be returning mid-morning on January 23rd.Cost: Adults, $50; Youth, FreeContact: For more information pleasecontact Paul Campeau at (315) 346-6575 or (315) 486-7928.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUPMassena – Sacred Heart/St. Lawrenceholds a Bereavement Support Group lastTuesday of each month.Time: 2 p.m.Place: Sacred Heart ConventFeatures: A gathering of those whohave had a recent loss of a loved one.Contact: 315-769-3137

NOVENA FOR MILITARYOgdensburg - Notre Dame Church isholding a Weekly novena for the safetyof U.S. military personnel at a new time.Date: Tuesday afternoonsTime:1:30 p.m.

LATIN MASSPotsdam– A Tridentine (Latin) Mass iscelebrated each Sunday with Msgr.Robert H. Aucoin as the celebrantTime: 12:30 p.m.Place: St. Mary's Church

COMMUNITY FREE LUNCHOgdensburg – The Knights of ColumbusCouncil 258 is starting its communityfree lunch program again.Date: Every WednesdayTime: NoonFeatures: Free hot lunch

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONMassena – St. Mary’s & St. Joseph’s holdBenediction and Adoration every Fridaymorning.Time: 9 a.m. to NoonPlace: St. Mary’s Family Room

HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONSOgdensburg - St. Mary’s is holding amonthly Holy Hour for Vocations.Date: Thursday before the First FridayTime: 7 p.m. concluding with Benedic-tion at 8 p.m.Place: Deacon Winter Chapel

DIOCESAN ECUMENICAL SERVICESaranac Lake - The annual Diocesan Ecu-menical Service is set.Date: Jan. 12Time: 2 p.m. Place: St. Bernard’s ChurchFeatures: The service is held in advanceof the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,Jan. 18-25

PILGRIMAGE TO SPAINFather Donald Robinson, pastor of St.An-thony’s and St. Patrick’s in Watertown,will be leading a pilgrimage “Best ofSpain and Portugal”.Dates: Feb. 18-28, 2014Cost: $2899 per person from NYC Included: Roundtrip Air from NY, FirstClass/Select Hotels, Most Meals, Compre-hensive Sightseeing and much more.Features: Madrid, Salamanca, Lisbon,Seville, Granada & ToledoContact: Fr. Robinson at 315-782-1190or e-mail donrob4@twcny.rr.com

2014 BUS FOR LIFEPlattsburgh - The Lake Champlain 2014bus to Washington D.C. for the nationalMarch for Life is setDate: Jan. 21-22Schedule: Meet at St. Peter’s Church inPlattsburgh on Tues. Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.Arrive in Washington, D.C. early morningJan. 22; Free Time in the morning to at-tend Mass, sightsee, lobby representa-tives, etc; Rally and March start at noonon The National Mall; Meet at St. Peter’sChurch in Washington at 4:45 p.m. forthe trip homeCost: Reserve a seat on the bus is $30Contact: To reserve a seat or to obtainmore information, please contact KarenSmith at 518-566-6229. To sign up for aseat on the bus or to make a dona-tion—please mail your check to St.Peter’s Church 114 Cornelia Street Platts-burgh, New York 12901. Make a note onthe memo line: “Bus for Life.”

The North County Catholicwelcomes contributions to “Around the Diocese”. Parishioners are invited to send information about activities to:

North Country Catholic, PO Box 326,Ogdensburg, NY 13669; fax, 1-866-314-7296;e-mail news@northcountrycatholic.org.

Items must be received in the NCCoffice by the Thursday before publication.

ADIRONDACK

CLINTON

JEFFERSON

LEWIS

ST. LAWRENCE

DIOCESAN EVENTS

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C diocesan life 3

Bishop Terry R. LaValleyhas encouraged parishes ofthe Diocese of Ogdensburgto participate in a new initia-tive by the United StatesConference of Catholic Bish-ops (USCCB) in conjunctionwith the 41st anniversary ofRoe v. Wade and the annualMarch for Life in Washington,DC. “Nine Days of Prayer,

Penance and Pilgrimage" willtake place Jan. 18-26 acrossthe United States.A message on the bishops’

website reads:

On January 22, 2014 ournation will remember the41st anniversary of Roe v.Wade. Since that tragic deci-sion, more than 55 millionchildren's lives have beenlost to abortion, and the livesof millions of their parentshave been shattered.Inprayerful recognition, "NineDays of Prayer, Penance andPilgrimage" will take placeJanuary 18-26.Suggestions and resources

for this time period can befound atwww.9daysforlife.com.

They include:• A nine-day novena for

life in parishes between Jan-uary 18 and 26 • One night of prayer,

penance and pilgrimage in aparish or deanery • A Holy Hour for Repara-

tion and Healing on Sunday,January 26th (or other appro-priate day…such as, January22nd which is observed as aDay of Prayer and Penancefor sins against Human Life)A number of prayer re-

sources are listed on thewebsite.

Michael Jablonski and Alex Pacelli, two of the seminarians of the diocese, show off anewly donated resource to help promote vocations of the priesthood - Father BrettBrannen's To Save A Thousand Souls. The Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Assem-bly 0756 of Ticonderoga gave the Vocations Office a donation to purchase 25 of thesebooks.

Nine days for life

Massena's Pomainville's Collision gave Trinity Catholic School an early Christmas gift this year. Mike and Keely Pomainville donated$1000 to the school's cafeteria. Pictured above are head chef, Joanne Lawrence; cafeteria manager, Michele Chartand; school princi-pal, Kathy Behrens; Keely and Mike Pomainville and their daughter, TCS sixth-grader, Jessey Pomainville.

GIFT FOR TRINITY

PROMOTING VOCATIONS

HOLY BUCKET

The students at Seton Academy in Plattsburgh are participating in the Holy Bucketprogram of the Missionary Childhood Association. A kindergarten student is making acontribution as a fourth grader, Alex Siouffi, hold the bucket. The program helps thestudents to be more aware of their responsibility to help children who are not as for-tunate as they are.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C4 Diocesan Life

A VOICE OF FAITH

By Tracy LeonardContributing writer

Each Wednesday evening,as I gather with the otherWomen of Grace at St. An-thony’s in Watertown, I amquickly reminded of what itmeans to live a happy,healthy and whole life.Sitting around the table

are women from variouswalks of life who long to bespiritual, full of grace andlive life abundantly.Unique to each in the

group, is their awareness ofand love for the Lord. Through my weekly inter-

actions with these women, Ihave become more awarethat God has placed great

value, significance, and im-portance in every one of us.We must remind ourselvesevery day that we are nothere by accident, rather weare created in the image ofGod and our lives are full ofpurpose. Not only does our pur-

pose involve our own ac-complishments and destiny,but it also involves bringinggood and adding value tothe people around us. As Johnnette Benkovic

(founder of Women ofGrace) states, “our gifts andtalents, our personalitytraits and temperament, ourenergies and inclinations,even the timing of our birth-all of these have been or-dained by God so that wemight be a vessel of His lovein the world today.” The Women of Grace dis-

cussion and prayer grouphas helped me to grow in re-lationship with God by ulti-mately growing inrelationship with thewomen He created.By openly sharing our sto-

ries and supporting one an-other in prayer, God hastransformed me by increas-ing my awareness of, andreceptivity to the HolySpirit.I thank God for using

these women as an instru-ment of peace in my life.Similar to tossing a stoneinto a pond and seeing theripples across the water, thespiritual and devout lives ofthese women has rippledout and influenced me insubtle, yet profound ways.They have produced an

effect without apparent ex-ertion. In other words, just by liv-

ing a life of prayer and holi-ness, they are producing aneffect- POWERFUL! Acknowledging God’s

hand in this and honoringHim, has in turn, reflectedinto the lives of others thevalue He has placed in me.Simply put, our lives are

being used as a billboard forthe world to see...the waywe live our life matters. How are you living yours?

Women of Grace:instrument of peace

Johnnette Benkovic, founder ofWomen of Grace, is returning to theDiocese of Ogdensburg for a June27-29 retreat at Wadhams Hall inOgdensburg. The registration form isprinted below.

WOG RETREAT

ON RETREAT

Amanda Conklin, campus minister for St. Mary’s Church in Canton, joined ten collegestudents for the Canton Newman Club's Fall Womens Retreat held in Morristown onthe St. Lawrence River. Pictured, back, from left are Paige Henson; St Lawrence Univer-sity; Stephanie Mergen, SLU; Devin Gosselin, SUNY Canton; Anna Padovani, SLU; MorganLesser, SLU; Alice Antoniou, SLU; and Katherine Kolber, SLU; front, Morgan Jackson, SLU,Stephanie Kustos, SLU, Mrs. Conklin and Sylvie Choiniere, SLU. Father Doug Lucia wasthe priest for the weekend and Father Jay Seymour joined the group to hear confes-sions.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C entertainment 9

AT THE MOVIES

By John Mulderig Catholic News Service

"The Secret Life of WalterMitty" (Fox) receives its title,the name of its main charac-ter and his principal attrib-ute -- a tendency to engagein extravagant daydreams --from a classic 1939 shortstory by humorist JamesThurber. But there the simi-larities pretty much end. Helmed by and starring

Ben Stiller, this strangeblend of comedy, drama andtravelogue is, by turns,claustrophobic and sprawl-ing, puerile and sweetlyemotional. Early scenes showcase

humor about awkwardworkplace situations and ex-ecutive bullies; later onespresent a serious study inself-realization. At least the outline of the

plot is fairly easily sketched:Soft-spoken, office-bound

photo editor Walter Mitty(Stiller) takes great pride inhis work for a fictionalizedversion of Life magazine, apublication whose credo, in-scribed on a lobby wall, hehas learned by heart. But otherwise his exis-

tence is so mundane that hefrequently escapes into fan-tasies. These often revolvearound his imaginary ro-mance with Cheryl Melhoff(Kristen Wiig), the fetchingco-worker for whom he se-cretly pines. When a crucial negative

sent in from the field byLife's leading photographer-- and Walter's idol -- SeanO'Connell (Sean Penn) goesmissing, Walter is facing un-employment unless he canrecover it. Thus begins a series of

globetrotting expeditionsthat will transform Walter'sdelusions of grand adven-ture into reality. One of the movie's most

enjoyable subplots chartsWalter's interaction with re-cent divorcee Cheryl's teenson, Rich (Marcus Antturi). Aformer skateboarding whiz,Walter gains Rich's attentionand respect by giving himskating tips, and laterbrings him back an appro-priate memento from one ofhis far-flung journeys. When circumstances sug-

gest a possible reconcilia-tion between Cheryl and herex, moreover, Walter re-spectfully steps back fromhis timid wooing of her.

To the degree that the un-stable proceedings have amoral core, it can be foundin Sean. Mellow, weather-beaten, appreciative of na-ture and of Walter's steady,self-effacing work behindthe scenes, Sean is part NewAge guru, part dispenser ofsocial commentary on be-half of the unsung 99 per-cent. Indeed, the satisfaction

viewers derive from thisshape-shifting movie --which, although not suitablefor teens, involves relatively

little that would be prob-lematic for adults -- will de-pend in large part on howmuch they share Walter'sadmiration for Sean. The film contains brief

but harsh violence, at leastone use of profanity and afew crude and crass terms.The Catholic News Serviceclassification is A-III --adults. The Motion PictureAssociation of America rat-ing is PG -- parental guid-ance suggested. Somematerial may not be suitablefor children.

CNS PHOTO/FOX Ben Stiller and Sean Penn star in a scene from the movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

THE SECRET LIFEOF WALTER MITTY

ALSO PLAYING

(CNS PHOTO/PARAMOUNTAndrew Jacobs stars in a scene from the movie "Paranormal Activity: The MarkedOnes." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, filmswhose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture As-sociati on of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parentor adult guardian.

CNS PHOTO/OPEN ROAD FILMSRyan Good and Justin Bieber star in a scene from the movie "Justin Bieber's Believe.," chronicling the star’s second World tour. TheCatholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG --parental guidance suggested.

By Kristina DeanStaff Writer

One could say that I’vechanged drastically thispast year. And, one couldsay I have stayed the same.Eighteen months ago, onJune 26, after lots of prayersto our Lord, I underwentweight loss surgery. Today, Iam down 128 pounds and alot healthier. Praise God!

Having weight loss surgery is an extremely personal decision; one that I would not push on anyone. Ispent about 18 months

debating over it

Commonly known as gas-tric bypass surgery, I hadthe “golden standard” typeknown as “roux en y” sur-gery. During this procedure,most of my stomach wascut away, a smaller “pouch”created and stapled while asection of my small intes-tines was removed and theremaining part attached tomy smaller pouch stomach.Sounds hideous, doesn’t it?It took me a very long

time to come to the decisionto rearrange my digestivesystem. And I did a lot ofpraying.In 2008, after the birth of

my third child, a “delicate”10 pound 5 ounce child, mydoctor informed me Ishould not have more chil-dren. He also said I wouldbecome diabetic within thenext ten years. He based this advice on

my medical history becauseduring all three pregnanciesI was diabetic, a conditionthey call gestational dia-betes which can cause com-plications to the baby if notcontrolled. After unsuccessfully try-

ing to control it throughdiet, so much so that I lostweight during my first preg-nancy and gaining only sixpounds total, I was forced toinject insulin twice a day

and check my sugar bypricking my finger fourtimes per day. This I did forall three pregnancies. Three years after having

my youngest son Gabriel,my fasting numbers (bloodsugar numbers checkedthrough a blood test beforeeating) were considered dia-betic, and I knew it was justa matter of time. The doctorwas correct in his predic-tion. Diabetes was a cer-tainty in my future.Having weight loss sur-

gery is an extremely per-sonal decision; one that Iwould not push on anyone. Ispent about 18 months de-bating over it. And I prayed.I prayed for God to lead mein the right direction.I asked Him to make sure I

was doing it for the rightreasons. I examined my rea-sons to make sure I wasn’tdoing it to fit into a certainsize or be a certain weight. Iwanted to be sure that it

was to be healthy.I asked God for guidance.

At one point when I wasmore certain, I told Him thatI was going to go ahead withit. If this wasn’t His will forme, I asked for Him to showme that. No, I didn’t hear any giant

voice or feel a strong wind,but in my heart knew it wasright.The way I figured – I

could either face conse-quences or complications ofmajor surgery and the heal-ing period afterward, or Icould wait and face compli-cations down the road of di-abetes, of which I wascertain it would in someway cause my life to beshortened. And I need to bearound. I have three veryenergetic boys. They needtheir mom with them, andnot just a couch potatomom. They need one whocan keep up with them, takethem hiking, biking, to the

beach. They need a healthyme.I had a lot of fears. Mostly,

I worried that I wouldchange who I was, or worse,people would assume that Iwas different. One I couldcontrol, one I couldn’t.I gave my worries over to

God. I knew that He wouldalways recognize me in mysoul, no matter how Ichanged. And those wholove me would do the same. The day of surgery, I was

so blessed. I had an amaz-ing “prayer team” that in-cluded a priest, a nun andtwo Carmelites, all four ofwhom are wonderfulfriends. As I went into sur-gery they began the Rosary,and concluded it just as Icame out. My first memory coming

out of surgery is having myRosary pressed into myhand. I gripped it tightly. Iwas in pain, and under-standably groggy and con-fused. As I was wheeled intomy room, I thought they putme in a closet. I clearly“saw” cardboard boxesstacked in the corners. Myhusband and I laughedabout that the next day,when he asked me why I re-peatedly questioned himabout boxes in the room.(There were no boxes).My journey has been in-

teresting. Most people havebeen wonderful, very sup-portive and encouraging.My husband has been thebiggest supporter. He has al-ways said that he loved meno matter what I weighed. After my surgery, he

seemed to understand whenI needed encouragement,and when I needed reassur-ance. Recently, he told mehe thought I was beautiful -this must be love, as I amnot! There have been a few

strange reactions. I havelost a couple friends. Some-times it is a little over-whelming, and I become alittle bit embarrassed by allthe attention. But I am thesame me inside; I am just alittle smaller.

I have discovered that wekeep a picture of what wethink we look like in ourheads.

And I prayed. I prayed for God to lead me in the right direction

There have been severaltimes I have caught aglimpse of myself, in therearview mirror for instanceand have stared, trying tomatch up the picture I seewith the picture in my head. After years of being over-

weight, sometimes I forgetthat I’ve lost weight, andwhen I remember, it’s won-derful, if a bit strange.There are times I still gointo the plus sized sectionof the store and when theclothes are too big, I laughat myself.I have had some minor

side effects, the worst ofwhich was losing a lot ofhair. My hair became verythin. It is growing back nowand actually looks kind offunny, all these wisps stick-ing out over my head. Butthis is a small price to payfor becoming healthy.My weight loss journey is

not complete: I have about20 more pounds to lose be-fore I meet my goal. I havebecome more active, exer-cising regularly, and tryingto do more outdoor activi-ties with my boys. Last sum-mer, my family hiked BakerMountain in Saranac Lakeand Mount Arab near Tup-per Lake. I even did a 5Krun/walk in August! My fast-ing numbers are normal, myblood pressure is down, andall my test results have beenfantastic. With God’s help, Iwill stay active, keeping theweight off and stayinghealthy. Every day I thank God. I

give all the credit to my suc-cessful surgery and recov-ery to the prayers said forme. God is wonderful, andlistening. All we need to do is ask

him for help.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C diocesan life 5

A VOICE OF FAITH

Mother of three makes life-changing decision

PHOTO SUPPLIEDAfter much prayer, Kristina Dean of Antwerp made the decision to undergo gastric by-pass surgery 18 months ago. Today, she says, “I’m down 128 pounds and a lot health-ier.”

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C8 commentary

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Today’s feast of the Bap-tism of the Lord marks theend of the Christmas sea-son. For thosewho have care-fully preparedthrough Adventfor a joyful cele-bration of Christ-mas andEpiphany, it’s witha sense of sadnessthat we let go ofthe childhood ofJesus. Mary andJoseph must haveseen all of thiscoming as theyhear Jesus’ excuseafter their three-day searchfor him in the Temple. “Didyou not know that I must bein my Father’s House?” And now, some years

later, Joseph is dead, andMary’s soul a sword has

pierced as she bids goodbyeto her Son. The first reading today

from Isaiah foretellsthe coming of a mes-siah who will bringforth justice for thenations, firmly lead-ing them from dark-ness to light: “Abruised reed he shallnot break, and asmoldering wick heshall not quench,until he establishesjustice on the earth”.As Jesus leaves

home, he must havebeen aware of this

prophecy of Isaiah. Hemust, too, have been ex-cited and a little fearful atbeginning his great mission. His steps have taken him

to the banks of the Jordanwhere a crowd surrounds a

man in strange attire. Jesus beholds his own

cousin with whom he hadplayed as a child. Theymeet in solemn moment asall see John stare, then greetJesus warmly. And Jesusasks John for baptism!What? “That’s for sinners!” John protests, and Jesus,

seeking full solidarity withsinful humanity, urges John,“Give in for now”. And Johndoes! As the water ispoured over him, the Spiritdescends from the sky.From the sky comes thesame words as Isaiah hadproclaimed hundreds ofyears before: “This is mybeloved Son. Listen to him!” And Jesus, rising up from

the waters, assumes the roleof Prophet of justice, truth,and love. He begins togather other men and

women who can share Hismission. And, in turn, he urges on

them His own baptism, inwater and the Holy Spirit. The second reading today

is from the Acts of the Apos-tles, Peter is preaching tothe house of Cornelius, theGood News, and, as theSpirit descends on them,baptizes the whole house-hold in the waters of salva-tion. Reluctantly thisSunday, we let go the gentle

child Jesus, and we our-selves with Jesus must takeup the burdens of the Manwith a Mission-- to free allcaptives from sin, to bringjoy and hope to the down-hearted, to bring salvationto ourselves by helping oth-ers toward theirs.This is the message of

Pope Francis in his Apos-tolic Exhortation, The Joy ofthe Gospel. The time isnow, the world is headingtowards a deeper darknessunless we all become awareof our own Baptismal prom-ises, and heed the voice ofJesus commanding us to doas He Himself did, (and asPeter did for the house ofCornelius). Jesus’ mission is not ac-

complished until all peoplehear the Good News and ac-cept it.

MonsignorPaul E.Whitmore

Feast of the Baptism of the LordREADINGS

Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7 Acts 10:34-38

Matthew 3:13-17

Jan. 12

‘This is my beloved son; listen to him’

OUR READERS WRITEClarification on CDA MassIn early fall a picture of the July20,2013, Diocese of OgdensburgCatholic Daughters of the AmericasPast Regents Chapter annual MemorialMass for Deceased Members was pub-lished, but was incorrectly identified

as being held in Ogdensburg. The Mass was held at St.Bernard`s

Church,Saranac Lake and the lunch-eon was held at the Red Fox restau-rant. The event was hosted by RegentCarey Sayles and CDA Court St Bernard# 787,Saranac Lake.

Thank-you for allowing me this clar-ification.

SINCERELY,ANNA E. LUCIA

PRESIDENT PAST REGENTS CHAPTER DANNEMORA

ANGELUS ON THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as peoplemust never ignore the plightof today's immigrants andrefugees, they must also re-member today's "hidden ex-iles" -- the elderly and otherrelatives who are abandonedor forgotten by their ownfamilies, Pope Francis said. "One sign for knowing how

a family is doing is to seehow they treat children andtheir elderly" relatives, thepope said at his noon bless-ing at the Vatican Dec. 29, thefeast of the Holy Family. Remembering how Jesus,

Mary and Joseph had to livein exile, seeking escape inEgypt, Christians must alsothink about the tragedy of"migrants and refugees whoare victims of rejection andexploitation, who are victimsof human trafficking and

slave labor," he said beforepraying the Angelus with vis-itors gathered in St. Peter'sSquare. "But let us also think about

the other 'exiled,' I would callthem the 'hidden exiles,'those exiled by their ownfamily: the elderly, for exam-ple, who sometimes aretreated as a burden," he said. The pope said today's fam-

ilies should be inspired bythe Holy Family's simplicityand way of life, so they, too,can become "communities oflove and reconciliationwhere one experiences ten-derness, helping one anotherand mutual forgiveness." God wanted to be born in a

human family and "wantedto have a mother and father,like we" have, the pope said. Jesus also wanted to be-

long to a family that had togo through many hardships"so that no one would feel ex-cluded from God's loving

closeness." The Holy Family's forced

exile shows that "God iswhere people are in danger,where they suffer, wherethey flee, where they experi-ence rejection and abandon-ment," he said. But God is also where there

is hope -- hope in returningto one's homeland, in beingfree and being able to build alife of dignity for oneself andone's family, he said. The pope reminded people

that the key phrases for cul-tivating peace and joy inone's family are "May I; thankyou; and I'm sorry," so thateveryone treats each otherwith respect and generosity. Families must also recog-

nize how important they arefor the church and society,he said. "The proclamation ofthe Gospel, in fact, is pro-moted above all by familiesso that it then reaches thedifferent areas of daily life."

Pope: Don't forget peopleabandoned by own families

We welcome letters from readers ofthe North Country Catholic.•Due to space limitations, we askthat the number of words belimited to 300. •We cannot accept letters whichsupport ideas which are contrary tothe teachings of the CatholicChurch.•Send letters to North CountryCatholic, PO Box 326, Ogdensburg,NY, 13669 or e-mail tonews@northcountrycatholic.org• Join the conversation!

Letters to the Editor

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C6 Diocesan Life

This week marks the anniversary of the deaths of the following

clergymen men who have served in the Diocese of Ogdensburg

Jan. 8 – Rev. Michael Moris, 1893; Rev.Frederick C. Hatch, 1961; Msgr. RobertJohn Arquette, 1969; Rev. Leo Mc-Carthy, O.S.A., 1975; Rev. RolandGaulin, O.M.I., 1984; Rev. Anthony F.Pease, 1997; Msgr. Morris L. Dwyer,2004Jan. 9 – Rev. Joseph Edward Doyle,1958; Rev. Jeremiah A.O’Brien, 1974Jan. 10 – Rev. Christopher C. Poulin,1904; Msgr. James O’Driscoll, 1913;Msgr. Frederick P. Diviney, 1961Jan. 11 – Msgr. John Andrew Cotter,1964; Msgr. Anthime D. Charbonneau,1976; Most Rev. Walter P. Kellenberg,1986Jan. 12 – Msgr. Francis JosephMaguire, 1978Jan. 14 – Rev. Benedict Scharff,O.F.M.Conv., 1964; Deacon FrancisBradley, 2000

Rest in Peace

Jan. 9 – New York State Catholic Con-ference Board Meeting in New York

Jan. 11 – 4 p.m., 100th AnniversaryMass at St. Rita's Church in Deferiet

Jan. 12 – 8 a.m., Mass at St. Mary’sCathedral2 p.m., Ecumenical Service at St.

Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake

Jan. 14 – 10:50 a.m., Mass at St.Joseph’s Home in Ogdensburg

Bishop’s SchedulePope Francis’s address on Jan. 1 onWorld Day for Peace states that “. ..weare called to exercise a responsiblestewardship over it.(Nature). Yet sooften we are driven by greed and bythe arrogance of dominion, posses-sion, manipulation and exploitation;we do not preserve nature; nor do werespect it or consider it a gracious giftwhich we must care for and set at theservice of our brothers and sisters, in-cluding future generations.”When G.K. Chesterton was asked towrite an essay about what is wrongwith the world?, he simply wrote “Iam.” In answer to what is right withthe world? Each of us can also say “ Iam.” Our daily choices regarding theconsumption and use of natural re-sources make up our ecological foot-print that impact the health of theplanet and heath of our brothers andsisters.Ways to reduce our footprint:*Weatherproof your home; eliminatedrafts with caulking, weather strips,along windows and outside doors*Unplug your electronics when not inuse. Use a power strip. Even whenturned off, items like computer,toaster, coffee pots sip power.

Environmental Stewardship

The Diocese of Ogdensburg hasscheduled sessions for ProtectingGod's Children for Adults.Pre-registration online is required inorder to participate. Participantsmay preregister at www.virtus.orgby selecting the registration buttonand following the directions. All employees and volunteers whoparticipate in church sponsored ac-tivities with minor are required toparticipate in this training. Further information is availablefrom Atonement Sister Ellen Don-ahue, 315-393- 2920, ext. 1440.Upcoming programs:Jan. 30- 8 p.m., Wakefield RecitalHall/SUNY Potsdam, Room C-224.

Protecting God’s Children

If you have a complaint of suspectedmisconduct involving diocesanclergy, religious, employees or volun-teers, contact Victims Assistance Co-ordinator, Terrianne Yanulavich, Adult& Youth Counseling Services ofNorthern New York, PO Box 2446,Plattsburgh, NY, 12901; e-mail: ayc-snn@yahoo.com; Phone: 518-569-0612; Fax: 518-425-0401 or Father James Seymour, the Epis-copal Vicar for Clergy at 315-393-2920 , ext. 1340

To Report Abuse

Call Christine315-608-7556

To Advertise in the NCC

A VOICE OF FAITH

By David DufraneContributing writer

Although I am in my first year as a cate-chist at Malone Catholic Parishes, I am a 16year high school English teaching veteran.Yet, when my pastor asked me to teachingseventh grade religious education, I was ini-tially dubious. And, as I pondered whetherto do it, I reflected on the fact that I had nottaught a middle class in almost ten years.

While I am new to catechesis and have much to learn, I enjoy sharingthe Catholic faith with youngsters.

Nonetheless, the idea of teaching the faithwas something that appealed to me. As Isought to have some sort of ministry withinthe Church, I knew that teaching would bethe natural fit, for I love nothing more thanthe act and art of teaching. And, in looking back over the past few

months, I am glad that I took the challenge.I have found my seventh grade studentshighly energetic and motivated AND verycurious. When I did a lesson on the origins of the

Bible, they were shocked, almost amazedthat the Church had such a nuanced andtextured approach to biblical interpretation. Recently, I did a brief lesson on why God

exists and how students can handle thechallenge from the “new atheists” who as-sume that we believe in a “sky-god” andread every word of scripture literally. Again,the kids had questions. I am not sure that Ianswered them all, but at least the ques-tions came! The more questions they ask, the better!

That means that they are interested!Because of this, I thought that my lesson

Dec. 8 should focus on the most essentialof the Sacraments—the Holy Eucharist. Yes,the Eucharist in which Jesus comes to us,“Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.” Many Catholics do not understand the

depth of the Church’s teachings in the RealPresence and Transubstantiation. And,while many of our Protestant brethren ac-cept the Real Presence in some form, theirunderstandings of it differ from Catholicteaching. Furthermore, many Evangelical and Fun-

damentalist denominations treat the Lord’sSupper as a symbol only.So, my plan was to make the kids under-

stand the Eucharist and the tremendous

power that it brings to our spiritual lives. In consultation with Samantha Fazioli, our

director of Christian formation, and withapproval (and some much needed instruc-tion ) from our pastor, Father Joe Giroux, Iturned the Gospel of John, 6 into a dramaticscript. I did not change the text; rather, I just ma-

nipulated it so that it looked like a script. Samantha brought in some great cos-

tumes to create a realistic effect of thetimes; all of the students had speakingparts. Through this, they saw and experienced

how Jesus was mocked, even rejected be-cause of the “hard saying”; clearly, Jesussaid what He meant and meant what Hesaid! We must eat His flesh and drink Hisblood which comes to us in the outwardform of bread and wine. To supplement this, I brought in some

saltine crackers and red grape juice. I didthis because it added a touch of realism andhelped to make the activity more memo-rable, but I was careful to remind the kidsthat what we were doing was merely an in-structional activity and that the Church hasspecific norms for the Eucharist which iscelebrated in the context of Mass. We were not celebrating the Eucharist; we

were simply acting out a part of the processto give the kids a better appreciation ofwhat happens in this climactic part of theMass. Accepting the Eucharist means that we ac-

cept not magic but a miracle. I wanted mykids to know that when Father places hishands over the bread and wine, a miracletakes places. If Jesus had meant that thebread and wine were merely symbols, thebiblical writers would have recorded that assuch. Jesus was never averse to clarifyingas He did to Nicodemus in John 3 in the“born-again” discourse. All in all, I think my students walked

away with a good understanding of the Eu-charist. I pray that they will think very care-fully about it as they walk in thecommunion aisle and hear the priest say,“The Body of Christ.” I want them to see this as a serious spiri-

tual responsibility. While I am new to catechesis and have

much to learn, I enjoy sharing the Catholicfaith with youngsters. We must also makethem understand why they are Catholic andwhat the Catholic faith means.If we convey to them the teachings of the

Church and challenge them, they will taketheir faith seriously.

High school teacher findsthe ‘act and art of teaching’works well to pass on faith

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - True faith ismarked by the daring desireto change the world with theloving heart of Jesus, PopeFrancis said. The zealous proclamation

of the Gospel must never becoupled with "inquisitionalclobbering, with condemna-tion. No, the Gospel is pro-claimed with kindness,fraternity and love," he toldmore than 300 of his fellowJesuits Jan. 3. The pope celebrated the

feast of the Most Holy Nameof Jesus at the Church of theGesu, the Jesuits' mainchurch in Rome. It was thefirst Jesuit pope's third visitas pontiff to the churchwhere St. Ignatius of Loyolaand other Jesuit leaders areburied.The Mass was also a cele-

bration of thanksgiving forthe recent canonization of St.Peter Faber, who, with St. Ig-natius and St. Francis Xavier,was a founding member ofthe Society of Jesus and thefirst of the Jesuits to be or-dained a priest. In his homily, Pope Francis

said that one of things thatstood out with St. Faber washis desire to "empty himself"and let Christ fill his heartand life. The 16th-century priest

possessed a restlessness forGod, an understanding of hisdreams and desires, and theability to act with determina-tion, the pope said. "An authentic faith always

entails a deep desire tochange the world. This is thequestion we must ask our-

selves: Do we, too, have agreat vision and impulse?Are we audacious? Does ourdream soar high? Does ourzeal consume us?" the popeasked.

In a message to 300 of his fellow Jesuits

"Or are we mediocre andwe content ourselves withour laboratory of apostolicprograms?" Instead, people need to re-

member "the strength of thechurch does not reside in it-self and its organizationalabilities, but hides in thedeep waters of God," thepope said. These "deep waters stir up

our desires and these yearn-ings widen the heart," hesaid, citing St. Augustine,who saw prayer as a way tofuel the desire to widen one'sheart to God. St. "Faber was consumed

by the intense desire to con-vey the Lord" to others and"if we don't have the sameyearning, then we need tostop and pray and, withsilent fervor, ask the Lord forthe intercession of ourbrother Peter (the apostle) toreturn to fascinate us -- thatappeal of the Lord that ledPeter to all that apostolicmadness." Only with Christ at the cen-

ter of one's life can people goto the ends of the earth forGod, he said. The Jesuits must be willing

to empty themselves andfeel, think, love, see and walklike Christ, the pope said. "This means doing what he

did with the same feelings ofhis heart," he said.

The Society of Jesus mustbe centered on Christ and hischurch and on always beingopen and searching the hori-zon for "God who always sur-prises us." "If the God of surprises is

not at the heart, the Societygets disoriented." Though he did not men-

tion it in his homily, 2014marks the 200th anniversaryof the restoration of the Soci-ety of Jesus by Pope Pius VIIafter it had been suppressedfor 41 years starting in 1773by Pope Clement XIV. To avoid losing his way,

the pope said, a Jesuit mustbe "a person whose thinkingis incomplete, whose think-ing is open, so that he alwaysthinks looking at the horizonthat is the always greaterglory of God who endlesslysurprises us," he said. At the end of the Mass, Fa-

ther Adolfo Nicolas, superiorgeneral of the Jesuits world-wide, thanked the pope forcelebrating Mass with themand for the canonization ofSt. Faber, saying "each time aJesuit becomes a saint is anopportunity for all of us todeepen our vocation." Father Nicolas also recalled

the joy he felt when PopeFrancis called him immedi-ately to say "I just signed thedecree" declaring Faber asaint. The decree, signed on the

pope's birthday, Dec. 17, wasan "equivalent canonization,"in which the pope inserts thename of the new saint in theuniversal calendar of saintswithout verifying a miracleperformed through his inter-cession and without holdinga formal canonization cere-mony.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C world/nation 7

AT A GLANCE

CATHOLICWORLDCourts give some last-minute relief from HHS contraceptive mandate WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) -- In the midst of their New Year's Eve celebrationwith low-income elderly residents, the Baltimore-based Little Sisters of the Poorlearned that the Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily protectingthem from the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. The order by JusticeSonia Sotomayor, issued within hours of the mandate taking effect at midnightJan. 1, applies to the Colorado-based Little Sisters of the Poor and their co-plain-tiffs - Christian Brothers Services and Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust- in a lawsuit against the federal government. The same evening, a three-judgepanel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued anemergency stay for Catholic organizations in a lawsuit filed by the Archdioceseof Washington, including The Catholic University of America, Archbishop CarrollHigh School in Washington; Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park,Md.; and Mary of Nazareth Catholic Elementary School in Darnestown, Md.

More than 6.6 million attended Vatican events with pope in 2013 VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the first nine and a half months of Pope Francis' pontif-icate, more than 6.6 million people participated in papal events at the Vatican,including weekly general audiences, group audiences, liturgies and recitationsof the Angelus and "Regina Coeli" on Sundays and holy days. The statistics, com-piled by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and released Jan. 2, do notinclude figures from Pope Francis' trip to Brazil for World Youth Day in July 2013,or his visits to Italian locations outside the Vatican. From his election March 13until the end of 2013, at least 1.5 million people attended Pope Francis' 30 gen-eral audiences; more than 87,000 participated in group audiences; almost 2.3million participated in papal liturgies in St. Peter's Basilica or St. Peter's Square;and more than 2.7 million joined the pope for the Angelus or the "Regina Coeli"in the square. The numbers are approximate, based on tickets issued or esti-mates of crowd size, depending on the event.

USCCB president asks for exemption from fines over ACA compliance WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishopsasked President Barack Obama to exempt religious institutions from fines re-lated to health insurance requirements while legal challenges work their waythrough the courts. "The administration's flexibility in implementing the (Af-fordable Care Act) has not yet reached those who want only to exercise whathas rightly been called our 'first freedom' under the Constitution," wrote Arch-bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky. In a Dec. 31 letter, he asked Obama to ex-tend the same kind of temporary exemption from penalties for noncompliancewith the ACA that the administration has allowed for small employers and indi-viduals whose current insurance plans will be canceled. The letter describedthose allowances as "actions to advance the ACA's goal of maximizing healthcoverage, while minimizing hardships to Americans as the act is implemented."Archbishop Kurtz said a whole category of Americans "has been left out in thecold: those who, due to moral and religious conviction, cannot in good con-science comply with the (Health and Human Services) regulation requiring cov-erage of sterilization and contraceptives. This mandate includes drugs anddevices that can interfere with the survival of a human being in the earlieststage of development, burdening religious convictions on abortion as well ascontraception," the letter said.

True faith is driven byzeal to change world withGod's love, pope says

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C6 Diocesan Life

This week marks the anniversary of the deaths of the following

clergymen men who have served in the Diocese of Ogdensburg

Jan. 8 – Rev. Michael Moris, 1893; Rev.Frederick C. Hatch, 1961; Msgr. RobertJohn Arquette, 1969; Rev. Leo Mc-Carthy, O.S.A., 1975; Rev. RolandGaulin, O.M.I., 1984; Rev. Anthony F.Pease, 1997; Msgr. Morris L. Dwyer,2004Jan. 9 – Rev. Joseph Edward Doyle,1958; Rev. Jeremiah A.O’Brien, 1974Jan. 10 – Rev. Christopher C. Poulin,1904; Msgr. James O’Driscoll, 1913;Msgr. Frederick P. Diviney, 1961Jan. 11 – Msgr. John Andrew Cotter,1964; Msgr. Anthime D. Charbonneau,1976; Most Rev. Walter P. Kellenberg,1986Jan. 12 – Msgr. Francis JosephMaguire, 1978Jan. 14 – Rev. Benedict Scharff,O.F.M.Conv., 1964; Deacon FrancisBradley, 2000

Rest in Peace

Jan. 9 – New York State Catholic Con-ference Board Meeting in New York

Jan. 11 – 4 p.m., 100th AnniversaryMass at St. Rita's Church in Deferiet

Jan. 12 – 8 a.m., Mass at St. Mary’sCathedral2 p.m., Ecumenical Service at St.

Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake

Jan. 14 – 10:50 a.m., Mass at St.Joseph’s Home in Ogdensburg

Bishop’s SchedulePope Francis’s address on Jan. 1 onWorld Day for Peace states that “. ..weare called to exercise a responsiblestewardship over it.(Nature). Yet sooften we are driven by greed and bythe arrogance of dominion, posses-sion, manipulation and exploitation;we do not preserve nature; nor do werespect it or consider it a gracious giftwhich we must care for and set at theservice of our brothers and sisters, in-cluding future generations.”When G.K. Chesterton was asked towrite an essay about what is wrongwith the world?, he simply wrote “Iam.” In answer to what is right withthe world? Each of us can also say “ Iam.” Our daily choices regarding theconsumption and use of natural re-sources make up our ecological foot-print that impact the health of theplanet and heath of our brothers andsisters.Ways to reduce our footprint:*Weatherproof your home; eliminatedrafts with caulking, weather strips,along windows and outside doors*Unplug your electronics when not inuse. Use a power strip. Even whenturned off, items like computer,toaster, coffee pots sip power.

Environmental Stewardship

The Diocese of Ogdensburg hasscheduled sessions for ProtectingGod's Children for Adults.Pre-registration online is required inorder to participate. Participantsmay preregister at www.virtus.orgby selecting the registration buttonand following the directions. All employees and volunteers whoparticipate in church sponsored ac-tivities with minor are required toparticipate in this training. Further information is availablefrom Atonement Sister Ellen Don-ahue, 315-393- 2920, ext. 1440.Upcoming programs:Jan. 30- 8 p.m., Wakefield RecitalHall/SUNY Potsdam, Room C-224.

Protecting God’s Children

If you have a complaint of suspectedmisconduct involving diocesanclergy, religious, employees or volun-teers, contact Victims Assistance Co-ordinator, Terrianne Yanulavich, Adult& Youth Counseling Services ofNorthern New York, PO Box 2446,Plattsburgh, NY, 12901; e-mail: ayc-snn@yahoo.com; Phone: 518-569-0612; Fax: 518-425-0401 or Father James Seymour, the Epis-copal Vicar for Clergy at 315-393-2920 , ext. 1340

To Report Abuse

Call Christine315-608-7556

To Advertise in the NCC

A VOICE OF FAITH

By David DufraneContributing writer

Although I am in my first year as a cate-chist at Malone Catholic Parishes, I am a 16year high school English teaching veteran.Yet, when my pastor asked me to teachingseventh grade religious education, I was ini-tially dubious. And, as I pondered whetherto do it, I reflected on the fact that I had nottaught a middle class in almost ten years.

While I am new to catechesis and have much to learn, I enjoy sharingthe Catholic faith with youngsters.

Nonetheless, the idea of teaching the faithwas something that appealed to me. As Isought to have some sort of ministry withinthe Church, I knew that teaching would bethe natural fit, for I love nothing more thanthe act and art of teaching. And, in looking back over the past few

months, I am glad that I took the challenge.I have found my seventh grade studentshighly energetic and motivated AND verycurious. When I did a lesson on the origins of the

Bible, they were shocked, almost amazedthat the Church had such a nuanced andtextured approach to biblical interpretation. Recently, I did a brief lesson on why God

exists and how students can handle thechallenge from the “new atheists” who as-sume that we believe in a “sky-god” andread every word of scripture literally. Again,the kids had questions. I am not sure that Ianswered them all, but at least the ques-tions came! The more questions they ask, the better!

That means that they are interested!Because of this, I thought that my lesson

Dec. 8 should focus on the most essentialof the Sacraments—the Holy Eucharist. Yes,the Eucharist in which Jesus comes to us,“Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.” Many Catholics do not understand the

depth of the Church’s teachings in the RealPresence and Transubstantiation. And,while many of our Protestant brethren ac-cept the Real Presence in some form, theirunderstandings of it differ from Catholicteaching. Furthermore, many Evangelical and Fun-

damentalist denominations treat the Lord’sSupper as a symbol only.So, my plan was to make the kids under-

stand the Eucharist and the tremendous

power that it brings to our spiritual lives. In consultation with Samantha Fazioli, our

director of Christian formation, and withapproval (and some much needed instruc-tion ) from our pastor, Father Joe Giroux, Iturned the Gospel of John, 6 into a dramaticscript. I did not change the text; rather, I just ma-

nipulated it so that it looked like a script. Samantha brought in some great cos-

tumes to create a realistic effect of thetimes; all of the students had speakingparts. Through this, they saw and experienced

how Jesus was mocked, even rejected be-cause of the “hard saying”; clearly, Jesussaid what He meant and meant what Hesaid! We must eat His flesh and drink Hisblood which comes to us in the outwardform of bread and wine. To supplement this, I brought in some

saltine crackers and red grape juice. I didthis because it added a touch of realism andhelped to make the activity more memo-rable, but I was careful to remind the kidsthat what we were doing was merely an in-structional activity and that the Church hasspecific norms for the Eucharist which iscelebrated in the context of Mass. We were not celebrating the Eucharist; we

were simply acting out a part of the processto give the kids a better appreciation ofwhat happens in this climactic part of theMass. Accepting the Eucharist means that we ac-

cept not magic but a miracle. I wanted mykids to know that when Father places hishands over the bread and wine, a miracletakes places. If Jesus had meant that thebread and wine were merely symbols, thebiblical writers would have recorded that assuch. Jesus was never averse to clarifyingas He did to Nicodemus in John 3 in the“born-again” discourse. All in all, I think my students walked

away with a good understanding of the Eu-charist. I pray that they will think very care-fully about it as they walk in thecommunion aisle and hear the priest say,“The Body of Christ.” I want them to see this as a serious spiri-

tual responsibility. While I am new to catechesis and have

much to learn, I enjoy sharing the Catholicfaith with youngsters. We must also makethem understand why they are Catholic andwhat the Catholic faith means.If we convey to them the teachings of the

Church and challenge them, they will taketheir faith seriously.

High school teacher findsthe ‘act and art of teaching’works well to pass on faith

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - True faith ismarked by the daring desireto change the world with theloving heart of Jesus, PopeFrancis said. The zealous proclamation

of the Gospel must never becoupled with "inquisitionalclobbering, with condemna-tion. No, the Gospel is pro-claimed with kindness,fraternity and love," he toldmore than 300 of his fellowJesuits Jan. 3. The pope celebrated the

feast of the Most Holy Nameof Jesus at the Church of theGesu, the Jesuits' mainchurch in Rome. It was thefirst Jesuit pope's third visitas pontiff to the churchwhere St. Ignatius of Loyolaand other Jesuit leaders areburied.The Mass was also a cele-

bration of thanksgiving forthe recent canonization of St.Peter Faber, who, with St. Ig-natius and St. Francis Xavier,was a founding member ofthe Society of Jesus and thefirst of the Jesuits to be or-dained a priest. In his homily, Pope Francis

said that one of things thatstood out with St. Faber washis desire to "empty himself"and let Christ fill his heartand life. The 16th-century priest

possessed a restlessness forGod, an understanding of hisdreams and desires, and theability to act with determina-tion, the pope said. "An authentic faith always

entails a deep desire tochange the world. This is thequestion we must ask our-

selves: Do we, too, have agreat vision and impulse?Are we audacious? Does ourdream soar high? Does ourzeal consume us?" the popeasked.

In a message to 300 of his fellow Jesuits

"Or are we mediocre andwe content ourselves withour laboratory of apostolicprograms?" Instead, people need to re-

member "the strength of thechurch does not reside in it-self and its organizationalabilities, but hides in thedeep waters of God," thepope said. These "deep waters stir up

our desires and these yearn-ings widen the heart," hesaid, citing St. Augustine,who saw prayer as a way tofuel the desire to widen one'sheart to God. St. "Faber was consumed

by the intense desire to con-vey the Lord" to others and"if we don't have the sameyearning, then we need tostop and pray and, withsilent fervor, ask the Lord forthe intercession of ourbrother Peter (the apostle) toreturn to fascinate us -- thatappeal of the Lord that ledPeter to all that apostolicmadness." Only with Christ at the cen-

ter of one's life can people goto the ends of the earth forGod, he said. The Jesuits must be willing

to empty themselves andfeel, think, love, see and walklike Christ, the pope said. "This means doing what he

did with the same feelings ofhis heart," he said.

The Society of Jesus mustbe centered on Christ and hischurch and on always beingopen and searching the hori-zon for "God who always sur-prises us." "If the God of surprises is

not at the heart, the Societygets disoriented." Though he did not men-

tion it in his homily, 2014marks the 200th anniversaryof the restoration of the Soci-ety of Jesus by Pope Pius VIIafter it had been suppressedfor 41 years starting in 1773by Pope Clement XIV. To avoid losing his way,

the pope said, a Jesuit mustbe "a person whose thinkingis incomplete, whose think-ing is open, so that he alwaysthinks looking at the horizonthat is the always greaterglory of God who endlesslysurprises us," he said. At the end of the Mass, Fa-

ther Adolfo Nicolas, superiorgeneral of the Jesuits world-wide, thanked the pope forcelebrating Mass with themand for the canonization ofSt. Faber, saying "each time aJesuit becomes a saint is anopportunity for all of us todeepen our vocation." Father Nicolas also recalled

the joy he felt when PopeFrancis called him immedi-ately to say "I just signed thedecree" declaring Faber asaint. The decree, signed on the

pope's birthday, Dec. 17, wasan "equivalent canonization,"in which the pope inserts thename of the new saint in theuniversal calendar of saintswithout verifying a miracleperformed through his inter-cession and without holdinga formal canonization cere-mony.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C world/nation 7

AT A GLANCE

CATHOLICWORLDCourts give some last-minute relief from HHS contraceptive mandate WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) -- In the midst of their New Year's Eve celebrationwith low-income elderly residents, the Baltimore-based Little Sisters of the Poorlearned that the Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily protectingthem from the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. The order by JusticeSonia Sotomayor, issued within hours of the mandate taking effect at midnightJan. 1, applies to the Colorado-based Little Sisters of the Poor and their co-plain-tiffs - Christian Brothers Services and Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust- in a lawsuit against the federal government. The same evening, a three-judgepanel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued anemergency stay for Catholic organizations in a lawsuit filed by the Archdioceseof Washington, including The Catholic University of America, Archbishop CarrollHigh School in Washington; Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park,Md.; and Mary of Nazareth Catholic Elementary School in Darnestown, Md.

More than 6.6 million attended Vatican events with pope in 2013 VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the first nine and a half months of Pope Francis' pontif-icate, more than 6.6 million people participated in papal events at the Vatican,including weekly general audiences, group audiences, liturgies and recitationsof the Angelus and "Regina Coeli" on Sundays and holy days. The statistics, com-piled by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and released Jan. 2, do notinclude figures from Pope Francis' trip to Brazil for World Youth Day in July 2013,or his visits to Italian locations outside the Vatican. From his election March 13until the end of 2013, at least 1.5 million people attended Pope Francis' 30 gen-eral audiences; more than 87,000 participated in group audiences; almost 2.3million participated in papal liturgies in St. Peter's Basilica or St. Peter's Square;and more than 2.7 million joined the pope for the Angelus or the "Regina Coeli"in the square. The numbers are approximate, based on tickets issued or esti-mates of crowd size, depending on the event.

USCCB president asks for exemption from fines over ACA compliance WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishopsasked President Barack Obama to exempt religious institutions from fines re-lated to health insurance requirements while legal challenges work their waythrough the courts. "The administration's flexibility in implementing the (Af-fordable Care Act) has not yet reached those who want only to exercise whathas rightly been called our 'first freedom' under the Constitution," wrote Arch-bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky. In a Dec. 31 letter, he asked Obama to ex-tend the same kind of temporary exemption from penalties for noncompliancewith the ACA that the administration has allowed for small employers and indi-viduals whose current insurance plans will be canceled. The letter describedthose allowances as "actions to advance the ACA's goal of maximizing healthcoverage, while minimizing hardships to Americans as the act is implemented."Archbishop Kurtz said a whole category of Americans "has been left out in thecold: those who, due to moral and religious conviction, cannot in good con-science comply with the (Health and Human Services) regulation requiring cov-erage of sterilization and contraceptives. This mandate includes drugs anddevices that can interfere with the survival of a human being in the earlieststage of development, burdening religious convictions on abortion as well ascontraception," the letter said.

True faith is driven byzeal to change world withGod's love, pope says

By Kristina DeanStaff Writer

One could say that I’vechanged drastically thispast year. And, one couldsay I have stayed the same.Eighteen months ago, onJune 26, after lots of prayersto our Lord, I underwentweight loss surgery. Today, Iam down 128 pounds and alot healthier. Praise God!

Having weight loss surgery is an extremely personal decision; one that I would not push on anyone. Ispent about 18 months

debating over it

Commonly known as gas-tric bypass surgery, I hadthe “golden standard” typeknown as “roux en y” sur-gery. During this procedure,most of my stomach wascut away, a smaller “pouch”created and stapled while asection of my small intes-tines was removed and theremaining part attached tomy smaller pouch stomach.Sounds hideous, doesn’t it?It took me a very long

time to come to the decisionto rearrange my digestivesystem. And I did a lot ofpraying.In 2008, after the birth of

my third child, a “delicate”10 pound 5 ounce child, mydoctor informed me Ishould not have more chil-dren. He also said I wouldbecome diabetic within thenext ten years. He based this advice on

my medical history becauseduring all three pregnanciesI was diabetic, a conditionthey call gestational dia-betes which can cause com-plications to the baby if notcontrolled. After unsuccessfully try-

ing to control it throughdiet, so much so that I lostweight during my first preg-nancy and gaining only sixpounds total, I was forced toinject insulin twice a day

and check my sugar bypricking my finger fourtimes per day. This I did forall three pregnancies. Three years after having

my youngest son Gabriel,my fasting numbers (bloodsugar numbers checkedthrough a blood test beforeeating) were considered dia-betic, and I knew it was justa matter of time. The doctorwas correct in his predic-tion. Diabetes was a cer-tainty in my future.Having weight loss sur-

gery is an extremely per-sonal decision; one that Iwould not push on anyone. Ispent about 18 months de-bating over it. And I prayed.I prayed for God to lead mein the right direction.I asked Him to make sure I

was doing it for the rightreasons. I examined my rea-sons to make sure I wasn’tdoing it to fit into a certainsize or be a certain weight. Iwanted to be sure that it

was to be healthy.I asked God for guidance.

At one point when I wasmore certain, I told Him thatI was going to go ahead withit. If this wasn’t His will forme, I asked for Him to showme that. No, I didn’t hear any giant

voice or feel a strong wind,but in my heart knew it wasright.The way I figured – I

could either face conse-quences or complications ofmajor surgery and the heal-ing period afterward, or Icould wait and face compli-cations down the road of di-abetes, of which I wascertain it would in someway cause my life to beshortened. And I need to bearound. I have three veryenergetic boys. They needtheir mom with them, andnot just a couch potatomom. They need one whocan keep up with them, takethem hiking, biking, to the

beach. They need a healthyme.I had a lot of fears. Mostly,

I worried that I wouldchange who I was, or worse,people would assume that Iwas different. One I couldcontrol, one I couldn’t.I gave my worries over to

God. I knew that He wouldalways recognize me in mysoul, no matter how Ichanged. And those wholove me would do the same. The day of surgery, I was

so blessed. I had an amaz-ing “prayer team” that in-cluded a priest, a nun andtwo Carmelites, all four ofwhom are wonderfulfriends. As I went into sur-gery they began the Rosary,and concluded it just as Icame out. My first memory coming

out of surgery is having myRosary pressed into myhand. I gripped it tightly. Iwas in pain, and under-standably groggy and con-fused. As I was wheeled intomy room, I thought they putme in a closet. I clearly“saw” cardboard boxesstacked in the corners. Myhusband and I laughedabout that the next day,when he asked me why I re-peatedly questioned himabout boxes in the room.(There were no boxes).My journey has been in-

teresting. Most people havebeen wonderful, very sup-portive and encouraging.My husband has been thebiggest supporter. He has al-ways said that he loved meno matter what I weighed. After my surgery, he

seemed to understand whenI needed encouragement,and when I needed reassur-ance. Recently, he told mehe thought I was beautiful -this must be love, as I amnot! There have been a few

strange reactions. I havelost a couple friends. Some-times it is a little over-whelming, and I become alittle bit embarrassed by allthe attention. But I am thesame me inside; I am just alittle smaller.

I have discovered that wekeep a picture of what wethink we look like in ourheads.

And I prayed. I prayed for God to lead me in the right direction

There have been severaltimes I have caught aglimpse of myself, in therearview mirror for instanceand have stared, trying tomatch up the picture I seewith the picture in my head. After years of being over-

weight, sometimes I forgetthat I’ve lost weight, andwhen I remember, it’s won-derful, if a bit strange.There are times I still gointo the plus sized sectionof the store and when theclothes are too big, I laughat myself.I have had some minor

side effects, the worst ofwhich was losing a lot ofhair. My hair became verythin. It is growing back nowand actually looks kind offunny, all these wisps stick-ing out over my head. Butthis is a small price to payfor becoming healthy.My weight loss journey is

not complete: I have about20 more pounds to lose be-fore I meet my goal. I havebecome more active, exer-cising regularly, and tryingto do more outdoor activi-ties with my boys. Last sum-mer, my family hiked BakerMountain in Saranac Lakeand Mount Arab near Tup-per Lake. I even did a 5Krun/walk in August! My fast-ing numbers are normal, myblood pressure is down, andall my test results have beenfantastic. With God’s help, Iwill stay active, keeping theweight off and stayinghealthy. Every day I thank God. I

give all the credit to my suc-cessful surgery and recov-ery to the prayers said forme. God is wonderful, andlistening. All we need to do is ask

him for help.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C diocesan life 5

A VOICE OF FAITH

Mother of three makes life-changing decision

PHOTO SUPPLIEDAfter much prayer, Kristina Dean of Antwerp made the decision to undergo gastric by-pass surgery 18 months ago. Today, she says, “I’m down 128 pounds and a lot health-ier.”

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C8 commentary

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Today’s feast of the Bap-tism of the Lord marks theend of the Christmas sea-son. For thosewho have care-fully preparedthrough Adventfor a joyful cele-bration of Christ-mas andEpiphany, it’s witha sense of sadnessthat we let go ofthe childhood ofJesus. Mary andJoseph must haveseen all of thiscoming as theyhear Jesus’ excuseafter their three-day searchfor him in the Temple. “Didyou not know that I must bein my Father’s House?” And now, some years

later, Joseph is dead, andMary’s soul a sword has

pierced as she bids goodbyeto her Son. The first reading today

from Isaiah foretellsthe coming of a mes-siah who will bringforth justice for thenations, firmly lead-ing them from dark-ness to light: “Abruised reed he shallnot break, and asmoldering wick heshall not quench,until he establishesjustice on the earth”.As Jesus leaves

home, he must havebeen aware of this

prophecy of Isaiah. Hemust, too, have been ex-cited and a little fearful atbeginning his great mission. His steps have taken him

to the banks of the Jordanwhere a crowd surrounds a

man in strange attire. Jesus beholds his own

cousin with whom he hadplayed as a child. Theymeet in solemn moment asall see John stare, then greetJesus warmly. And Jesusasks John for baptism!What? “That’s for sinners!” John protests, and Jesus,

seeking full solidarity withsinful humanity, urges John,“Give in for now”. And Johndoes! As the water ispoured over him, the Spiritdescends from the sky.From the sky comes thesame words as Isaiah hadproclaimed hundreds ofyears before: “This is mybeloved Son. Listen to him!” And Jesus, rising up from

the waters, assumes the roleof Prophet of justice, truth,and love. He begins togather other men and

women who can share Hismission. And, in turn, he urges on

them His own baptism, inwater and the Holy Spirit. The second reading today

is from the Acts of the Apos-tles, Peter is preaching tothe house of Cornelius, theGood News, and, as theSpirit descends on them,baptizes the whole house-hold in the waters of salva-tion. Reluctantly thisSunday, we let go the gentle

child Jesus, and we our-selves with Jesus must takeup the burdens of the Manwith a Mission-- to free allcaptives from sin, to bringjoy and hope to the down-hearted, to bring salvationto ourselves by helping oth-ers toward theirs.This is the message of

Pope Francis in his Apos-tolic Exhortation, The Joy ofthe Gospel. The time isnow, the world is headingtowards a deeper darknessunless we all become awareof our own Baptismal prom-ises, and heed the voice ofJesus commanding us to doas He Himself did, (and asPeter did for the house ofCornelius). Jesus’ mission is not ac-

complished until all peoplehear the Good News and ac-cept it.

MonsignorPaul E.Whitmore

Feast of the Baptism of the LordREADINGS

Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7 Acts 10:34-38

Matthew 3:13-17

Jan. 12

‘This is my beloved son; listen to him’

OUR READERS WRITEClarification on CDA MassIn early fall a picture of the July20,2013, Diocese of OgdensburgCatholic Daughters of the AmericasPast Regents Chapter annual MemorialMass for Deceased Members was pub-lished, but was incorrectly identified

as being held in Ogdensburg. The Mass was held at St.Bernard`s

Church,Saranac Lake and the lunch-eon was held at the Red Fox restau-rant. The event was hosted by RegentCarey Sayles and CDA Court St Bernard# 787,Saranac Lake.

Thank-you for allowing me this clar-ification.

SINCERELY,ANNA E. LUCIA

PRESIDENT PAST REGENTS CHAPTER DANNEMORA

ANGELUS ON THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as peoplemust never ignore the plightof today's immigrants andrefugees, they must also re-member today's "hidden ex-iles" -- the elderly and otherrelatives who are abandonedor forgotten by their ownfamilies, Pope Francis said. "One sign for knowing how

a family is doing is to seehow they treat children andtheir elderly" relatives, thepope said at his noon bless-ing at the Vatican Dec. 29, thefeast of the Holy Family. Remembering how Jesus,

Mary and Joseph had to livein exile, seeking escape inEgypt, Christians must alsothink about the tragedy of"migrants and refugees whoare victims of rejection andexploitation, who are victimsof human trafficking and

slave labor," he said beforepraying the Angelus with vis-itors gathered in St. Peter'sSquare. "But let us also think about

the other 'exiled,' I would callthem the 'hidden exiles,'those exiled by their ownfamily: the elderly, for exam-ple, who sometimes aretreated as a burden," he said. The pope said today's fam-

ilies should be inspired bythe Holy Family's simplicityand way of life, so they, too,can become "communities oflove and reconciliationwhere one experiences ten-derness, helping one anotherand mutual forgiveness." God wanted to be born in a

human family and "wantedto have a mother and father,like we" have, the pope said. Jesus also wanted to be-

long to a family that had togo through many hardships"so that no one would feel ex-cluded from God's loving

closeness." The Holy Family's forced

exile shows that "God iswhere people are in danger,where they suffer, wherethey flee, where they experi-ence rejection and abandon-ment," he said. But God is also where there

is hope -- hope in returningto one's homeland, in beingfree and being able to build alife of dignity for oneself andone's family, he said. The pope reminded people

that the key phrases for cul-tivating peace and joy inone's family are "May I; thankyou; and I'm sorry," so thateveryone treats each otherwith respect and generosity. Families must also recog-

nize how important they arefor the church and society,he said. "The proclamation ofthe Gospel, in fact, is pro-moted above all by familiesso that it then reaches thedifferent areas of daily life."

Pope: Don't forget peopleabandoned by own families

We welcome letters from readers ofthe North Country Catholic.•Due to space limitations, we askthat the number of words belimited to 300. •We cannot accept letters whichsupport ideas which are contrary tothe teachings of the CatholicChurch.•Send letters to North CountryCatholic, PO Box 326, Ogdensburg,NY, 13669 or e-mail tonews@northcountrycatholic.org• Join the conversation!

Letters to the Editor

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C4 Diocesan Life

A VOICE OF FAITH

By Tracy LeonardContributing writer

Each Wednesday evening,as I gather with the otherWomen of Grace at St. An-thony’s in Watertown, I amquickly reminded of what itmeans to live a happy,healthy and whole life.Sitting around the table

are women from variouswalks of life who long to bespiritual, full of grace andlive life abundantly.Unique to each in the

group, is their awareness ofand love for the Lord. Through my weekly inter-

actions with these women, Ihave become more awarethat God has placed great

value, significance, and im-portance in every one of us.We must remind ourselvesevery day that we are nothere by accident, rather weare created in the image ofGod and our lives are full ofpurpose. Not only does our pur-

pose involve our own ac-complishments and destiny,but it also involves bringinggood and adding value tothe people around us. As Johnnette Benkovic

(founder of Women ofGrace) states, “our gifts andtalents, our personalitytraits and temperament, ourenergies and inclinations,even the timing of our birth-all of these have been or-dained by God so that wemight be a vessel of His lovein the world today.” The Women of Grace dis-

cussion and prayer grouphas helped me to grow in re-lationship with God by ulti-mately growing inrelationship with thewomen He created.By openly sharing our sto-

ries and supporting one an-other in prayer, God hastransformed me by increas-ing my awareness of, andreceptivity to the HolySpirit.I thank God for using

these women as an instru-ment of peace in my life.Similar to tossing a stoneinto a pond and seeing theripples across the water, thespiritual and devout lives ofthese women has rippledout and influenced me insubtle, yet profound ways.They have produced an

effect without apparent ex-ertion. In other words, just by liv-

ing a life of prayer and holi-ness, they are producing aneffect- POWERFUL! Acknowledging God’s

hand in this and honoringHim, has in turn, reflectedinto the lives of others thevalue He has placed in me.Simply put, our lives are

being used as a billboard forthe world to see...the waywe live our life matters. How are you living yours?

Women of Grace:instrument of peace

Johnnette Benkovic, founder ofWomen of Grace, is returning to theDiocese of Ogdensburg for a June27-29 retreat at Wadhams Hall inOgdensburg. The registration form isprinted below.

WOG RETREAT

ON RETREAT

Amanda Conklin, campus minister for St. Mary’s Church in Canton, joined ten collegestudents for the Canton Newman Club's Fall Womens Retreat held in Morristown onthe St. Lawrence River. Pictured, back, from left are Paige Henson; St Lawrence Univer-sity; Stephanie Mergen, SLU; Devin Gosselin, SUNY Canton; Anna Padovani, SLU; MorganLesser, SLU; Alice Antoniou, SLU; and Katherine Kolber, SLU; front, Morgan Jackson, SLU,Stephanie Kustos, SLU, Mrs. Conklin and Sylvie Choiniere, SLU. Father Doug Lucia wasthe priest for the weekend and Father Jay Seymour joined the group to hear confes-sions.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C entertainment 9

AT THE MOVIES

By John Mulderig Catholic News Service

"The Secret Life of WalterMitty" (Fox) receives its title,the name of its main charac-ter and his principal attrib-ute -- a tendency to engagein extravagant daydreams --from a classic 1939 shortstory by humorist JamesThurber. But there the simi-larities pretty much end. Helmed by and starring

Ben Stiller, this strangeblend of comedy, drama andtravelogue is, by turns,claustrophobic and sprawl-ing, puerile and sweetlyemotional. Early scenes showcase

humor about awkwardworkplace situations and ex-ecutive bullies; later onespresent a serious study inself-realization. At least the outline of the

plot is fairly easily sketched:Soft-spoken, office-bound

photo editor Walter Mitty(Stiller) takes great pride inhis work for a fictionalizedversion of Life magazine, apublication whose credo, in-scribed on a lobby wall, hehas learned by heart. But otherwise his exis-

tence is so mundane that hefrequently escapes into fan-tasies. These often revolvearound his imaginary ro-mance with Cheryl Melhoff(Kristen Wiig), the fetchingco-worker for whom he se-cretly pines. When a crucial negative

sent in from the field byLife's leading photographer-- and Walter's idol -- SeanO'Connell (Sean Penn) goesmissing, Walter is facing un-employment unless he canrecover it. Thus begins a series of

globetrotting expeditionsthat will transform Walter'sdelusions of grand adven-ture into reality. One of the movie's most

enjoyable subplots chartsWalter's interaction with re-cent divorcee Cheryl's teenson, Rich (Marcus Antturi). Aformer skateboarding whiz,Walter gains Rich's attentionand respect by giving himskating tips, and laterbrings him back an appro-priate memento from one ofhis far-flung journeys. When circumstances sug-

gest a possible reconcilia-tion between Cheryl and herex, moreover, Walter re-spectfully steps back fromhis timid wooing of her.

To the degree that the un-stable proceedings have amoral core, it can be foundin Sean. Mellow, weather-beaten, appreciative of na-ture and of Walter's steady,self-effacing work behindthe scenes, Sean is part NewAge guru, part dispenser ofsocial commentary on be-half of the unsung 99 per-cent. Indeed, the satisfaction

viewers derive from thisshape-shifting movie --which, although not suitablefor teens, involves relatively

little that would be prob-lematic for adults -- will de-pend in large part on howmuch they share Walter'sadmiration for Sean. The film contains brief

but harsh violence, at leastone use of profanity and afew crude and crass terms.The Catholic News Serviceclassification is A-III --adults. The Motion PictureAssociation of America rat-ing is PG -- parental guid-ance suggested. Somematerial may not be suitablefor children.

CNS PHOTO/FOX Ben Stiller and Sean Penn star in a scene from the movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

THE SECRET LIFEOF WALTER MITTY

ALSO PLAYING

(CNS PHOTO/PARAMOUNTAndrew Jacobs stars in a scene from the movie "Paranormal Activity: The MarkedOnes." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, filmswhose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture As-sociati on of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parentor adult guardian.

CNS PHOTO/OPEN ROAD FILMSRyan Good and Justin Bieber star in a scene from the movie "Justin Bieber's Believe.," chronicling the star’s second World tour. TheCatholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG --parental guidance suggested.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C10 around the diocese

FRIENDSHIP VOLUNTEERSLake Placid - Mercy Care for the Adiron-dacks is recruiting new volunteers andhas scheduled a Friendship VolunteerTraining Program.Date: Feb. 4 & 11, Lake Placid; Feb. 18 &25, Tupper LakeTime: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Features: New volunteers will joinMercy Care’s 90+ Friendship Volunteersfrom Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, andLake Placid who are helping elders stayconnected to their communities. If youare able to give some of your time tomake elders’ lives a little easier, helpingfor them to live independently, pleaseconsider becoming a Mercy Care Friend-ship Volunteer. Contact: Sheila Schneck at 518-523-5583

MARCH FOR LIFE Plattsburgh – Champlain Valley Right tolife has made final plans for its 2014March for life. Date: Jan. 12Time: 1:30 p.m. Place: March starts at The NewmanCenter and ends at St. John's Church(Signs will be provided.) Features: The march will be followed bya prayer service with Kathleen Gallagheras our Guest Speaker. She is the directorof pro-life activities for the New YorkState Catholic Conference and the co-founder of the non-denominationalgroup, New Yorkers for Life. Attention all: Finger foods and dessertsare needed for the reception at St. John'sChurch following m. To donate food,please call Kathleen at 563 -2943.

CVRTL MEETING Plattsburgh - Everyone is invited to theChamplain Valley Right to Life Meeting.Date: Jan.9Time: after 8 a.m. Mass at Our Lady ofVictory ChurchPlace: OLV Basement Program: Share coffee and donutswhile making final plans for the Marchfor Life Jan. 12.

PANCAKE BREAKFASTTreadwell Mills – St. Alexander & St.Joseph’s Church will hold a PancakeBreakfast.Date: Feb. 2Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Place: St. Joseph’s Church Parish HallCost: Adults, $6; Children 12 and under, $3; under 5, Free

Menu: All you can eat pancake, realmaple syrup, sausage, scrambled eggs,home fries, coffee, orange juice or milk.

CHARITY FUND RAISING DINNERPeru - St. Augustine’s Knights of Colum-bus Council 7273 will host an all you caneat spaghetti dinner.Date: Jan. 11Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6:30Place: St. Augustine’s Parish CenterCost: Adults, $7.50; Children 6-12, $2.50;under 5, free; families, $20; take-outs

HEALING MINISTRY Morrisonville - The Catholic Communityof St. Alexander's and St. Joseph's an-nounces the addition of Living WatersHealing Ministry to the Parish. Date: First Thursday each monthTime: 6:30 p.m.Place: St. Alexander’s ChurchFeatures: Healing Mass, Sacrament ofthe Anointing of the Sick, Exposition ofthe Blessed Sacrament, and an opportu-nity to receive individual prayer.

QUILT SHOP OPENEllenburg Center - Lost Sheep Quilt andFabric Shop is now open! Place: Our Lady of the AdirondacksHouse of Prayer, Hours: Tues. - Sat, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Evenings and other times by appointment. Phone 594-3253 or emailolaprayerhouse@gmail.com to come atother times

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONPlattsburgh – Eucharistic Adoration is

held throughout the year every Wednes-day, Thursday, and Friday.Place: St. John’s “Holy Family” AdorationChapel, downstairsTime: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m Contact: call 518-561-5083 or email

Sjohnsadoration@aol.comFeatures: May be pre-ordered startingon Nov. 4 by calling 518-529-6580.

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL DINNEREvans Mills – The Indian River Knights ofColumbus Council 7471 will be sponsor-ing a spaghetti & meatball dinner.Date: Jan. 18Time: 4 p.m.Place: St. Mary’s Parish CenterCost: Adults, $7; Senior Citizens, $6; Chil-dren under 12, $5; under 5, Free

SPAGHETTI SUPPERWatertown – St. Anthony’s Altar RosaryChurch will be having Spaghetti Supper.Date: Jan. 30Time: 4:30 p.m. to 7 Place: Msgr. Sechi HallCost: Adults, $8; children $4.50; under 3,free; sauce, $5 per quart meatballs are$.75Features: Take-out orders begin at 4p.m. Please bring your own containers

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONWatertown - Holy Family Church is hold-ing holy hours of Eucharistic Adorationfor VocationsSchedule: Monday through Friday fol-lowing the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Family

Church (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.),

LIFERIGHT MEETINGWatertown - Liferight of Watertownmeets third Wednesday of the Month.Time: 4 p.m. Place: 312 Sherman St.Features: The office has materials oninfanticide, assisted suicide, euthanasiaand chastity. Contact: Phone 315-788-8480; website:www.liferight.org.

BUS TO WASHINGTON MARCHThe Lewis County Right to Life andKnights of Columbus would like to inviteyou to participate in their annual Rightto Life Bus Trip to Washington DC.Schedule: The bus will be leaving theevening of the January 21st and travel-ing through the night to Washington DCfor the Right to Life March on January22nd. The bus will be returning mid-morning on January 23rd.Cost: Adults, $50; Youth, FreeContact: For more information pleasecontact Paul Campeau at (315) 346-6575 or (315) 486-7928.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUPMassena – Sacred Heart/St. Lawrenceholds a Bereavement Support Group lastTuesday of each month.Time: 2 p.m.Place: Sacred Heart ConventFeatures: A gathering of those whohave had a recent loss of a loved one.Contact: 315-769-3137

NOVENA FOR MILITARYOgdensburg - Notre Dame Church isholding a Weekly novena for the safetyof U.S. military personnel at a new time.Date: Tuesday afternoonsTime:1:30 p.m.

LATIN MASSPotsdam– A Tridentine (Latin) Mass iscelebrated each Sunday with Msgr.Robert H. Aucoin as the celebrantTime: 12:30 p.m.Place: St. Mary's Church

COMMUNITY FREE LUNCHOgdensburg – The Knights of ColumbusCouncil 258 is starting its communityfree lunch program again.Date: Every WednesdayTime: NoonFeatures: Free hot lunch

EUCHARISTIC ADORATIONMassena – St. Mary’s & St. Joseph’s holdBenediction and Adoration every Fridaymorning.Time: 9 a.m. to NoonPlace: St. Mary’s Family Room

HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONSOgdensburg - St. Mary’s is holding amonthly Holy Hour for Vocations.Date: Thursday before the First FridayTime: 7 p.m. concluding with Benedic-tion at 8 p.m.Place: Deacon Winter Chapel

DIOCESAN ECUMENICAL SERVICESaranac Lake - The annual Diocesan Ecu-menical Service is set.Date: Jan. 12Time: 2 p.m. Place: St. Bernard’s ChurchFeatures: The service is held in advanceof the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,Jan. 18-25

PILGRIMAGE TO SPAINFather Donald Robinson, pastor of St.An-thony’s and St. Patrick’s in Watertown,will be leading a pilgrimage “Best ofSpain and Portugal”.Dates: Feb. 18-28, 2014Cost: $2899 per person from NYC Included: Roundtrip Air from NY, FirstClass/Select Hotels, Most Meals, Compre-hensive Sightseeing and much more.Features: Madrid, Salamanca, Lisbon,Seville, Granada & ToledoContact: Fr. Robinson at 315-782-1190or e-mail donrob4@twcny.rr.com

2014 BUS FOR LIFEPlattsburgh - The Lake Champlain 2014bus to Washington D.C. for the nationalMarch for Life is setDate: Jan. 21-22Schedule: Meet at St. Peter’s Church inPlattsburgh on Tues. Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.Arrive in Washington, D.C. early morningJan. 22; Free Time in the morning to at-tend Mass, sightsee, lobby representa-tives, etc; Rally and March start at noonon The National Mall; Meet at St. Peter’sChurch in Washington at 4:45 p.m. forthe trip homeCost: Reserve a seat on the bus is $30Contact: To reserve a seat or to obtainmore information, please contact KarenSmith at 518-566-6229. To sign up for aseat on the bus or to make a dona-tion—please mail your check to St.Peter’s Church 114 Cornelia Street Platts-burgh, New York 12901. Make a note onthe memo line: “Bus for Life.”

The North County Catholicwelcomes contributions to “Around the Diocese”. Parishioners are invited to send information about activities to:

North Country Catholic, PO Box 326,Ogdensburg, NY 13669; fax, 1-866-314-7296;e-mail news@northcountrycatholic.org.

Items must be received in the NCCoffice by the Thursday before publication.

ADIRONDACK

CLINTON

JEFFERSON

LEWIS

ST. LAWRENCE

DIOCESAN EVENTS

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C diocesan life 3

Bishop Terry R. LaValleyhas encouraged parishes ofthe Diocese of Ogdensburgto participate in a new initia-tive by the United StatesConference of Catholic Bish-ops (USCCB) in conjunctionwith the 41st anniversary ofRoe v. Wade and the annualMarch for Life in Washington,DC. “Nine Days of Prayer,

Penance and Pilgrimage" willtake place Jan. 18-26 acrossthe United States.A message on the bishops’

website reads:

On January 22, 2014 ournation will remember the41st anniversary of Roe v.Wade. Since that tragic deci-sion, more than 55 millionchildren's lives have beenlost to abortion, and the livesof millions of their parentshave been shattered.Inprayerful recognition, "NineDays of Prayer, Penance andPilgrimage" will take placeJanuary 18-26.Suggestions and resources

for this time period can befound atwww.9daysforlife.com.

They include:• A nine-day novena for

life in parishes between Jan-uary 18 and 26 • One night of prayer,

penance and pilgrimage in aparish or deanery • A Holy Hour for Repara-

tion and Healing on Sunday,January 26th (or other appro-priate day…such as, January22nd which is observed as aDay of Prayer and Penancefor sins against Human Life)A number of prayer re-

sources are listed on thewebsite.

Michael Jablonski and Alex Pacelli, two of the seminarians of the diocese, show off anewly donated resource to help promote vocations of the priesthood - Father BrettBrannen's To Save A Thousand Souls. The Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Assem-bly 0756 of Ticonderoga gave the Vocations Office a donation to purchase 25 of thesebooks.

Nine days for life

Massena's Pomainville's Collision gave Trinity Catholic School an early Christmas gift this year. Mike and Keely Pomainville donated$1000 to the school's cafeteria. Pictured above are head chef, Joanne Lawrence; cafeteria manager, Michele Chartand; school princi-pal, Kathy Behrens; Keely and Mike Pomainville and their daughter, TCS sixth-grader, Jessey Pomainville.

GIFT FOR TRINITY

PROMOTING VOCATIONS

HOLY BUCKET

The students at Seton Academy in Plattsburgh are participating in the Holy Bucketprogram of the Missionary Childhood Association. A kindergarten student is making acontribution as a fourth grader, Alex Siouffi, hold the bucket. The program helps thestudents to be more aware of their responsibility to help children who are not as for-tunate as they are.

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C news 11

OBITUARIESBrasher Falls - Lillian M. (Plaskon) Walker,80; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St.Patrick's Church; burial in St. Patrick'sCemetery.

Brushton – Lawrence H. Mayville, 76; Fu-neral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Mary’sChurch; burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Champlain - Alfred "Sonny" Babbie Jr.,86; Funeral Services Jan. 2, 2014 at St.Mary's Church; burial in St. Mary's Ceme-tery.

Constable - Diana C. (Blair) Lamica, 59;Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St. Francisof Assisi Church; burial in parish ceme-tery.

Deferiet - Mervin P. Piere, 93; FuneralServices Jan. 2, 2014 at St. Rita's Church;burial in Black River Cemetery.

Elizabethtown - Mary T. (Sheehan) Jerdo,83; Funeral Services Dec. 31, 2013 atW.M. Marvins Sons Funeral Home; burialin spring.

Madrid - Loris D. French, 84; Funeral Serv-ices Jan. 4, 2014 at St. John the BaptistChurch; burial in St. John the BaptistCemetery.

Massena - Edith I. McHugh, 90; FuneralServices Dec. 31, 2013 at Church of theSacred Heart; burial in Calvary Cemetery.

Massena - Heinz P. Seipel, 91; Funeral

Services Jan. 5, 2014 at Donaldson Fu-neral Home.

Mooers - Flora M. (Dauphinais) Gauthier,89; Funeral Services Dec. 28, 2013 at St.Joseph's Church; burial in St. RomainCemetery, Hemmingford, Quebec.

Mooers Forks – John P. Surprenant, 67;Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Ann’sChurch; burial in Mooers Riverside Ceme-tery.

Morrisonville - Leonard H. "Cheese" Rock,87; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 at St.Alexander's Church' burial in parishcemetery.

Newcomb – Raymond Louis Donohue,98; Funeral Services at St. ThereseChurch; burial in parish cemetery.

Norfolk - John J. Plonka, 93; Funeral Serv-ices Dec. 30, 2013 at Church of the Visita-tion; burial in Visitation Cemetery.

Ogdensburg - Hilda M. (Cross) Brassard-Marion, 90; Funeral Services Jan. 2, 2014at Foxwood Memorial Park.

Ogdensburg - Jean W. Sullivan Hayes, 78;Funeral Services Dec. 30, 2013 at NotreDame Church; burial in Calvary Cemetery,Norwood.

Ogdensburg - Ronald R. "Ronnie"Mashaw, 66; Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014at St. Mary's Cathedral.

Ogdensburg - Terry "Mash" Mashaw, 70;Funeral Services Jan. 4, 2014 at St. Mary'sCathedral.

Ogdensburg - Robert P. "RP" McDonaldJr., 67; Funeral Services Jan. 3, 2014 atthe Fox & Murray Funeral Home; burial inSt. Mary's Cemetery.

Plattsburgh - Gerald F. Dupree, 84; Fu-neral Services Dec. 30, 2013 at St. Peter'sChurch; burial in Whispering MaplesMausoleum.

Plattsburgh - Leonard L. "Lenny" Macey,69; Funeral Services Dec. 28, 2013 atBrown Funeral Home.

Plattsburgh - Donald Peter Senecal, 86;Funeral Services Dec. 31, 2013 at St.Peter's Church; burial in St. Alexander'sCemetery, Morrisonville.

Plattsburgh - Helen M. (Plummer) Tusa,89; Funeral Services Jan. 1, 2014 at R.W.Walker Funeral Home; burial in Whisper-ing Maples Memorial Gardens.

Star Lake - Karol J. Daniels; Funeral Serv-ices Dec. 30, 2013 at the Hawley FuneralHome; burial in Oswegatchie Cemetery.

Tupper Lake - Helen "Skipper" (LaFoun-tain) Reandeau, 83, Funeral Services Dec.26, 2013 at Stuart-Fortune-Keough Fu-neral Home; burial in St. AlphonsusCemetery.

The Pontifical Mission Societies of theDiocese of Ogdensburg, Inc.The Society for the Propagation of the FaithSr. Mary Ellen Brett, SSJ, Director

622 Washington St., Ogdensburg, NY 13669(315) 393-2920; fax 1-866-314-7296mbrett@rcdony.org

From Director’s DeskSister Mary Ellen Brett, SSJDiocesan Mission Director

As we begin a new year, the Mission Office also begins itspreparations for our ongoing efforts to benefit the develop-ing lands. I thought I should take an opportunity to tellyou a little bit about where your prayers and gifts go. The Pontifical Mission Societies is the umbrella organiza-

tion for the Society of Propagation of the Faith, MissionaryChildhood Association, the Society of St. Peter the Apostleand the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious. All bap-tized Catholics have the opportunity to participate in theworldwide mission of the Church by offering their prayers,personal sacrifices or financial contributions to the Societyfor the Propagation of the Faith, the Missionary ChildhoodAssociation or the Society for St. Peter Apostle. The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious is a spiri-

tual apostolate for Priests, Religious men and women, cate-chists and lay people.Each year, the celebration of World Mission Sunday pro-

vides an opportunity, within the context of the Eucharist,for Catholics to express their prayerful and financial sup-port of the Church’s worldwide missionary work and the So-ciety for the Propagation of the Faith in particular.Your sacrifices make a difference overseas in helping to

increase vocations, provide food, medical care and shelterfor those who cannot provide for themselves. Funds raisedalso go to support Parishes in developing lands and to chil-dren where they provide mission education materials,school and care for basic needs.Another way that the Missions are introduced to you each

year is through the Missionary Coop Program where “real-life” Missionaries visit our diocese and share their stories inhopes to raise awareness and much needed funds. Here arejust a few ways real life Missionaries have told us whereyour sacrifices have gone; The Sisters of Notre Dame deNamur wrote me thanking for their 2013 Coop donationsand stated the funds would be used “for our Sisters inAfrica and Latin America to continue their Gospel work inclinics and schools….”. The Franciscan Sisters of the Atone-ment sent word that your donations will be used “for assis-tance in Parishes in Brazil and in the Philippines to assistthe poor”…. The Little Sisters of the poor stated that ” thefunds will be used to purchase food and help with theneeds of the elderly poor…”. As you can see, your help makes a difference and the dif-

ference is often made immediately. So when you drop adonation in the basket or one in the mail to our office, knowthat it really is going to a much needed destination wherethere are people who need our help. Thank you for all yoursupport, prayers and sacrifices. God Bless.

Your helpreally does help!

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Well it looks like it’s going toone of those “good old-fash-ioned” winters with onesnow storm after an-other. With heavy snow for

Thanksgiving and anicy mess for Christmas,we’ve already had tobrace ourselves for allthat’s to come in thenext few months.I’m doing my best to

accept it all with joy…or at least a bit of pa-tience.So far, January has

offered us perfect daysfor eating homemade soup andwatching movie marathons

while all wrapped up in ourafghans.

Every day, I’m grate-ful for a warm and cozyhouse and a car thatstarts against all odds.Our family’s biggest

challenge: getting apuppy out four times aday when the tempera-ture is stuck belowzero and “daddy” hasbeen more than heroicwith that.This helps me to be

grateful for a seasonthat’s so sharply differ-ent from what we’ll see

in April and July.The short, cold days of win-

tertime offers us time just tobe, to pray, to think.With brand new resolutions,

many of us are striving to bethe best kind of person, thebest kind of Catholic we canbe.This week’s North Country

Catholic is also different fromwhat we’ll publish in a fewmonths when every week willbe filled with parish and dioce-san activities. In this issue, three of our

writers share personal reflec-tions as they strive to grow infaith and share their faith withothers.The Year of Faith may be

over but the call to live lives of

faith will never end.This week’s NCC also pro-

vides information about twoimportant prayer opportunitiesplanned for the month. As usual, Jan. 18-25 is the

Week of Prayer for ChristianUnity. At the same time, thebishops have asked for NineDays of Prayer, Penance andPilgrimage, Jan.18-26, to markthe 41st anniversary of the Roevs. Wade decision. These aretwo critical ‘causes’ worthy ofour attention.And so with prayer, reflec-

tion, soup - and a cup or two ofhot chocolate - we will surelysurvive, and perhaps find joy,in our snowy gift of January.

I was asked recently, what Iwas reading these days. It did-n’t take me long to answer – itseems like every day PopeFrancis gives me something toread: a homily he gave thatvery day, an interview that hemade with some reporter orjournalist or something he haswritten or something that iswritten about him. He neverfails to catch my attention.Today, I would like to share

with you a little of his Christ-mas message – this is the “Urbiet Orbi” message that eachPope makes each year onChristmas Day.This year’s message by Pope

Francis fits into an importantNew Year’s theme of peace –peace in the world – peace forall people. In this Christmas message

Pope Francis makes a strongand challenging call for peacein our world. He begins byspeaking of the Birth of Christ,the Prince of Peace, and thenasks us to pray for peace. New Years is that time for

resolutions – this year thereshould be a resolution from allof us to make our lives morepeaceful in the spirit of ourHoly Father, Pope Francis.In his Christmas message,

Pope Francis begins by sayingthis, “Peace calls fur daily com-mitment, starting from God’s

gift, from the grace which hehas given us in Jesus Christ.”By making Jesus our guide andour friend, we begin to bringpeace to our part of the world.Pope Francis prays in his

Christmas message for thosewho suffer most: “Looking atthe Child in the manger, theChild of peace, our thoughtsturn to those children who aremost vulnerable victims ofwars, but we think too of theelderly, to battered women, tothe sick…Wars shatter and hurtso many lives.”Pope Francis calls attention

to the sad conflicts in Syria, theCentral African Republic, SouthSudan, Nigeria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – he madeit clear he knows of the manyconflicts happening in ourworld.Pope Francis’ prayers for

peace are passionate, “You,Prince of Peace, in every placeturn hearts aside from violenceand inspire them to lay downarms and undertake the path

of dialogue. So what am I sup-posed to do? Pope Francis urges us to pray

for peace in the world and Iwill. Pope Francis asks me tostand up for peace, to speakout that my country may be aforce for peace in this worldand I will. Yet, what must I do myself to

make this world a more peace-ful place? I must make thisNew Year a more peaceful time.I must do what I can to makethe world a better place bymaking my own life a life thatspreads peace, by living in thespirit of the Prince of Peace.

When I bring happiness toanother I have made the worldmore peaceful. Each time, I help the poor or

the needy personally; I havemade the world better andmore peaceful.Pope Francis adds this prayer

to his Christmas talk, “God isfull of love: to him be praiseand glory forever! God ispeace: let us ask him to help usto be peacemakers each day, inour life, in our families, in ourcities and nations, in the wholeworld. Let us allow ourselvesto be moved by God’s good-ness.”

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C2 Diocesan Life

REV. JOSEPH A. MORGANVice President

SR. JENNIFER VOTRAW, SSJSecretary-TreasurerMARY LOU KILIAN

Editor/General Manager

BISHOP TERRYR. LAVALLEYPresident

EDITOR’S NOTE

Embracing the ‘time’ of wintertime

A PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE

New Year’s resolution: be a peacemaker

Mary LouKilian

J A N . 8 , 2 0 1 4N O R T H C O U N T R Y C A T H O L I C12 Back pew

By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz Catholic News Service

HONOLULU (CNS) -- Father Jan Michael Joncas has com-posed more than 300 liturgical songs, but hisname is widely known for the one that tops a listof favorites: "On Eagle's Wings." The hymn by Father Joncas, 62, a priest of the

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, wasnamed by hundreds of voters as their No. 1 litur-gical hymn in a 2006 poll sponsored by the Na-tional Association of Pastoral Musicians. Since "On Eagle's Wings" was written in 1979, it

has become a staple at Sunday Masses, funeralsand memorial events as a reminder of God's up-lifting presence in times of sorrow. "Most people associate me with this single

piece," Father Joncas told the Hawaii Catholic Her-ald via email. Father Joncas said the song came about when he

was visiting a friend at the major seminary inWashington. One evening, Father Joncas' friend got word that

his father had suffered a fatal heart attack. FatherJoncas wrote "On Eagle's Wings" in the days thatfollowed and it was sung for the first time publiclyat the friend's father's wake service. The song is based on Psalm 91, its lyrics drawing

from the Scripture's descriptions of God's protec-tion and providence. Lyrics include the lines "Youneed not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrowthat flies by day," and "For to his angels he hasgiven a command to guard you in all of yourways." Although there are no mentions of eagles in

Psalm 91, the song's chorus uses the metaphor todepict God's high, secure places the verse de-scribes. "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shinelike the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand." "I have been humbled by the number of times

people have spoken or written to me about howGod has used the song to bring them comfort andpeace," Father Joncas said. The song's colorful imagery is woven together

by a melody with airy highs and a crescendo re-frain. Father Joncas said the verses were meant tobe sung by a cantor capable of handling the widerange of notes. Congregants would join in singing

the simpler chorus. "I have been amazed to find congregations

singing the entire thing, because I think the versesare somewhat difficult," said Father Joncas, who,with fellow composer Marty Haugen, participatedin a liturgical arts conference in Honolulu in thefall. The priest has been composing new material re-

cently, after his recovery from Guillain-Barre syn-drome. The illness paralyzed him in 2003, but hehas recuperated well. Haugen, 63, wrote "Shepherd Me, O God" in the

mid-1980s. It is cherished by many Catholics forits treatment of Psalm 23, which begins, "The Lordis my shepherd, I shall not want." Speaking by phone from his home in Minnesota,

he explained that depicting "shepherd" as an ac-tion instead of a noun brought forth the now fa-mous song. "I have never met a shepherd," Haugen said. "My

wife was finally the one who suggested ... make ita verb. That sort of was a breakthrough." Haugen, who is not Catholic but has worked in

Catholic parishes, was living at an ecumenical re-treat center in Washington state with his familywhen he was commissioned to do a version ofPsalm 23. Haugen said he knew it would be a chal-lenge. "It's hard to write something that everybody

knows the text to," he said. The retreat center community held vespers

every night. Haugen said they would regularly in-tegrate his new music into prayer time. That win-ter, with little else to do on snowed-in evenings,the community helped critique his work. "Shep-herd Me, O God," Haugen joked, is the one of sev-eral versions he wrote that received the leastamount of criticism. "That piece, like everything I wrote up there,

went through the grill of the community," he said."I think that's really valuable." "You don't really know if a piece is going to be

helpful or not until a congregation has sung it anumber of times and they'll tell you," he added. "Shepherd Me, O God" stays close to the words

of the psalm, with verses such as "Surely yourkindness and mercy follow me all the days of mylife; I will dwell in the house of my God forever-more." Haugen's tight lyrical adherence to Scrip-ture comes from a pastoral studies degree heearned at the University of St. Thomas in Min-nesota. "If you're writing liturgical music, your two main

sources are the rite and the Scripture," he said."The more you can know about both, the more youfeel you have something to offer when you startto write." In a song such as "Shepherd Me, O God," where

the words are already familiar to many, Haugensaid "the melody is at the service of the text." "You want people to remember the music be-

cause if they remember it, then they're remember-ing the words," he said.

CNS PHOTO/DIANNE TOWALSKI, THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Father Jan Michael Joncas, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul andMinneapolis, has composed more than 300 liturgical songs, but he iswidely known for the one that tops a list of favorites: "On Eagle'sWings." Father Joncas is pictured in a 2009 photo.

On Eagle’s WingsResponse to popular liturgical hymn over the years humbling for composer

CATHOLICNORTH COUNTRYNORTH COUNTRYThe Diocese of Ogdensburg Volume 68, Number 33

JAN. 8, 2014

INSIDETHIS ISSUEWomen of Grace: source of happiness, peace l PAGE 4

Mom changes herlife after months ofprayer l PAGE 5

POPE WITHTHE JESUITS

Nine Days ofPrayer, Penance and Pilgrimage

Ecumenicalprayer service

Mass honorsnew saint

YOUTH MINISTRY COFFEE HOUSE

ON EAGLES WINGS: An interview with the ‘humbled’ composer... p.12

For the new year...

FULL STORY, PAGE 7

CNS PHOTO/ PAUL HARINGPope Francis celebrates Mass with300 of his Jesuit confreres at theChurch of the Gesu in Rome Jan. 3.The Mass was celebrated on thefeast of the Most Holy Name of Jesusin thanksgiving for the recent can-onization of Jesuit St. Peter Faber.True faith is marked by the daring de-sire to change the world with the lov-ing heart of Jesus, Pope Francis said.

PHOTO BY DAYNA LEADERThe youth ministry office of the Diocese of Ogdensburg sponsored a coffee house Dec. 1 at the Oswegatchie Coffee House inGouverneur. At left is Deacon Brian T. Dwyer of Chateaugay, diocesan director of youth ministry; and right, Ryan Grant, Adams,featured musician for the night. The program also included testimonials from a priest, Father Scott Belina of Ogdensburg, anengaged couple, Zack Leader of Gouverneur and Erin Miner of Watertown; and married couple Seth and Amanda Conklin ofGouverneur, about the need for young people to lead their lives well according to their state in life.

Bishop LaValley will preside at the

annual diocesan Ecumenical Service

Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2p.m. at St.

Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake

Bishop LaValley has en-couraged parishes of the Dio-cese of Ogdensburg toparticipate in “Nine Days ofPrayer, Penance and Pilgrim-age" Jan. 18-26This is a new initiative by

the United States Conferenceof Catholic Bishops (USCCB)in conjunction with the 41stanniversary of Roe v. Wadeand the annual March for Lifein Washington, DC. The bishops note that,

since 1973, “more than 55million children's lives havebeen lost and the lives of mil-lions of their parents havebeen shattered.”

FULL STORY, PAGE 3

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The new yearwill be brighter only if every-one steps outside of theirsafe havens, gets involvedand works together to solvelocal problems with generos-ity and love, Pope Francissaid. As 2013 comes to a close,

let everyone ask God for for-giveness and thank him forhis patience and love, the

pope said as he presidedover a Dec. 31 eveningprayer service in St. Peter'sBasilica. May Mary "teach us to wel-

come God made man so thatevery year, every month,every day be overflowingwith his eternal love," thepope said on the eve of thefeast honoring her as Motherof God.

Leading the annual "TeDeum" prayer service tothank God for his blessingsin 2013 and the gift of salva-tion in Christ, the pope askedpeople to reflect on how theyhave spent the past year --theprecious days, weeks andmonths the Lord has given asa gift to everyone."Have we used it mostly for

ourselves, for our own inter-

ests or did we know to spendit for others, too? How muchtime did we set aside forbeing with God, in prayer, insilence, in adoration?" People should also reflect

on how they used their timeto contribute to their com-munities,” he said.“The quality of life in a

community - depends oneveryone,” he said.