The MirrorVol. XLX, No. 7 DIOCESE OF SPRINGFIELD—CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI July 25, 2014

418As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death; and inclined to sin. (This inclina-tion is called “concupiscence.”)

The Catechism in brief

The Catechism of the Catholic Church compiles the living tradition of the Catholic Church and divides it into four sections: What Catholics believe (the Creed), how the faith is transmitted (worship and sacraments), how Catholics are called to live (moral life), and prayer.

By Tom Ehrich

Christians are an extraor-dinarily diverse assembly of believers. However, I think there are a few com-mon words we would say.

1) We would say the name “Jesus.” We might mean different things by that name, but he is the center, the reason we exist.

2) Allowing ample room for our diversity, we would say what we mean by faith in God. Not how right we are and how wrong others are, but an I-message: Here’s why I believe in God.

3) We would tell stories about God’s impact on our lives. Not grand doctrines, not airtight theories, not definitions of who’s inside the circle and who’s outside, but stories of personal encounter.

4) We would listen to other stories, respectfully, not defensive-ly, eager to hear what our fellow Christian has to say.

5) We would each tell as hon-estly as we can how we are trying

8 things Christians have to say

ECUMENISM

The next issue of The Mirror will be Aug. 8, 2014.If you would like to receive the diocesan newspaper via Email in digital format, please contact Angie Toben at (417) 866-0841, or Email her: atoben@dioscg.org.

See 8 Things / 9SERVICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS—In addition to the service performed with Resurrection Catholic Missions, Notre Dame Regional High School’s June 16-21 trip to Montgomery, AL, held such highlights as: a visit to Dexter Av-enue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr., was pastor; the Rosa Parks Library, Museum, and Children’s Wing; the Civil Rights Memorial; and Freedom Rides Museum, and a chance brush with Rev. Bernice King. (Photo Notre Dame Regional High School)

See Mission Trip / 8

Mission trip reaps lessons on civil rightsBy Ruth Campbell Cape Girardeau

Notre Dame Regional High School’s recent mission trip to Montgomery, AL, held an added bonus for the 35 participants—a chance to meet the Rev. Bernice King, youngest daughter of Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

During the June 16-21 trip, the group of students and adult chaper-ones worked in service with Resurrec-tion Catholic Missions in Montgom-ery. They performed outreach work for the parish’s grade school and clean-ing apartments for elderly residents in the community. They also did some painting and even delivered Meals on Wheels, among other tasks. Most of the projects were carried out in the morn-ing so the group could visit civil rights museums and sights in the afternoon.

Among the highlights: the group went to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr., was pas-tor when he lived in Montgomery; the Rosa Parks Library, Museum, and Chil-dren’s Wing; the Civil Rights Memori-al; and Freedom Rides Museum. It was at the Civil Rights Memorial that the group met King, a lawyer, who also is CEO of the King Center in Atlanta.

The whole experience, Notre Dame campus minister Sarah Strohm-eyer said, was “very, very powerful”—and fitting with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act falling on July 2.

Strohmeyer said she knew about Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott,

but she hadn’t heard much about the freedom riders, who forced integration of public transportation.

Brush with historyThe Notre Dame mission group

was watching a movie as part of its tour of the Civil Rights Memorial when their tour guide said they needed to leave because the next group coming in was being led by Bernice King. King was leading a group of high school stu-dents to various civil rights sites around the South, to teach them peaceful con-flict resolution.

Strohmeyer asked the tour guide if King would talk to the Notre Dame group, too. He said, “Well, you can ask her.”

Strohmeyer then explained to King what the group was doing in Montgomery and the additional bonus of learning about civil rights in the af-ternoon. Strohmeyer said it would be a privilege if King could say a few words to the group in the hallway.

During this stint through the me-morial, King spoke about her father’s legacy and the photo of her on her

As of July 24, 2014, 83 parishes

have reported 8,102 pledges

to the Diocesan Development Fund totaling $2,285,596, or 91 percent of the

$2,500,000 goal.Thank you!

Ecumenism as Evangelization

2 The Mirror July 25, 2014COLUMNS

Commentary: Insights of these 3 religious thinkers may be antidote to ‘feel-good’ faithBy A. James Rudin

Buber, a Vienna-born Jewish philoso-pher (1878–1965), was the “Father of Religious Dialogue.” Despite writing in a difficult German idiom, Buber achieved fame with his book I-Thou. One of Buber’s best-known teachings is “all real living is meeting.”

When we encounter another person, Buber taught, we must not perceive that person as simply “you,” an object, but

rather as “thou,” a creation of the divine worthy of respect and not something to be manipulated for financial, sexual, political or egotistical rea-sons. Buber’s I-Thou relationship is the hallmark of authentic dialogue between different religious communities, and any use of psychological coer-cion or hidden conversion motives destroys the “Thou-ness” of other persons and different faith traditions. He maintained that God is the “Ulti-mate Thou” in human lives.

While Buber’s influence on religious think-ing was extraordinary, his I-Thou concept also influenced psychology, physician-patient, parent-child and teacher-student relationships. It’s no surprise Buber’s teachings are either negated or neglected by the current “Me Generation,” whose symbol is the “selfie”.

In 1938, Buber, a committed Zionist, fled Nazism and spent the last 27 years of his life as a Hebrew University faculty member in Israel. Because significant religious teachings never die, Buber’s concepts of dialogue and authentic hu-man encounters can provide spiritual strength in today’s chaotic world.

De Chardin, a French Jesuit priest (1881–1955), was a scientist in the fields of geology and paleontology. After serving in the French army dur-ing World War I, de Chardin spent many years in China, India and Java studying evolution and the development of the human species.

In addition to his scientific ca-reer, de Chardin, a

member of the French Academy of Sciences, wrote that secular work was equal in value to religious studies. All human activity fed into what he termed “the divine milieu,” and he taught that science and religion were not only compatible, but necessary components of God’s world.

However, the church banned de Char-din’s teachings, he was forbidden to teach in Catholic institutions and his writings were not available in Catholic bookstores. But beginning in the 1960s, a decade after his death, several Catholic leaders, including Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, publicly recognized de Chardin’s com-mitment to both faith and science. It marked the beginning of his rehabilitation within the church.

In one important way, de Chardin’s thinking paralleled Buber’s. The French priest wrote: “No evolutionary future awaits anyone except in association with everyone else.”

Niebuhr (1892–1971) was born in Missouri and in his early years as a Protestant minister he worked on behalf of the American trade union movement in Detroit, where he publicly battled the Ku Klux Klan and the hate group’s anti-Catholicism. In later years Niebuhr, a vigorous foe of anti-Semitism, renounced all Christian attempts to convert Jews. He

actively opposed both Nazism and Communism and was a strong supporter of the state of Israel.

‘Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.’ —Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr

In 1928 he joined the Union Theological Seminary faculty, and his tough-minded view of the sinfulness of human nature was termed “Christian realism.” Niebuhr wrote: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes de-mocracy necessary.” He influenced many lead-ers, including Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. Niebuhr believed justice was more important than love, and he scorned Christian pacifism as an insufficient response to systemic evil.

A spiritual injection of Buber, de Chardin and Niebuhr could represent a bracing antidote to the shallow optimism of today’s “feel-good” religions. ©RNS

Rabbi A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Com-mittee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the author of the recently-published Cushing, Spellman, O’Connor: The Surprising Story of How Three American Cardi-nals Transformed Catholic-Jewish Relations.

When people utter the mantra “I’m moving on,” it usually means they are leaving behind a crisis, conflict or con-troversy. But “moving on” sometimes results in abandoning valuable lessons of the past.

This is especially true in religion. When spiritual leaders don’t deliver instant inner

fulfillment, people quickly “move on” and em-brace new teachers or gurus who promise their followers blessedness. It is a depressing and disillu-sioning process that creates holy burnout.

I have a modest proposal for those who constantly “move on” in their quest for authen-tic faith: “Move back” and explore the insights

of three major religious thinkers whose once “radical” teachings are receding into the mists of forgetfulness.

During the mid-20th century, Martin Buber (Jewish), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Roman Catho-lic), and Reinhold Niebuhr (Protestant) influenced the religious scene.

‘Move back’ and explore the insights of three major religious thinkers whose once ‘radical’ teachings are receding into forgetfulness.

July 25, 2014 The Mirror 3COLUMNS

Road Rally Revival a Tour de Faith

such a vision after a process like this, an event is held in a central location. Given the geography of our diocese and the distances between parishes, I decided to take a different approach: to come to you instead. While my regular schedule brings me to all of our parishes and missions over the course of time, I am excited to visit all of our faith communities all at once, in rapid succession. I be-lieve this will allow all of us to rally around the great blessing of being Catholic Christians in Southern Mis-souri, to renew our joy and zeal in living as disciples of Jesus, and to get energized in fulfilling our mission to fully live our faith and invite others to meet Jesus and His Church.

The Bishop’s Road Rally Revival

ON THE WAY

Bp. James V. Johnston

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Mt 28:19-20

These past few weeks, the greatest cycling event in the world, the Tour de France, has taken place. It covers a bit over 2,000 miles. Next month, over the course of 17 days and a little over 2,000 miles, I intend to visit every parish and mission in our dio-cese—84 locations—in what might be called a Tour de Faith. I speak of what has been titled the Bishop’s Road Rally Revival, the 17-day event that will allow me to personally an-nounce our diocesan vision, priori-ties, and goals for the next few years. This is the fruit of what my Envision-ing Team and I have been working on over the past 13 months with the assistance of The Catholic Leadership Institute.

Typically, when announcing

Thu., Aug. 7 Mass and Procession, Marian7-10 p.m. Days, Carthage, MO

Fri., Aug. 8 Bp.-Emertus John J. Leibrecht’s birthday

Mass and Staff Meeting, The Catholic Center, Springfield

Sat., Aug. 9 Procession, Pontifical Mass,5-10 p.m. Marian Days, Carthage

Sun., Aug. 10 Mass to open Annual11:15 Seminarian Gathering, St.

Peter the Apostle Church, Joplin

Mon., Aug. 11- Seminarian Gathering, JoplinWed., Aug. 13

Tue., Aug. 12 Back-to-School Mass,8 a.m. Springfield Catholic Schools

Faculty and Staff, Immaculate Conception Church, Springfield

Thu., Aug. 14 Catholic Leadership Institute follow-up meeting

Fri., Aug. 15 ROAD RALLY REVIVAL8 a.m. Mass, St. Eustachius School,

Portageville

11 a.m. St. Cecilia Parish, Kennett

1 p.m. Sacred Heart Parish, Caruthersville

2:15 p.m. Immaculate Conception School, New Madrid

5:30 p.m. Mass, St. Ann Parish, Malden

Sat., Aug. 16 ROAD RALLY REVIVAL8 a.m. St. Teresa Parish, Glennonville

11 a.m. St. Benedict Parish, Doniphan

1:30 p.m. Sacred Heart Parish, Poplar Bluff

6 p.m. Mass, Sacred Heart Parish, Dexter

Sun., Aug. 17 ROAD RALLY REVIVAL8 a.m. Mass, St. Henry Parish,

Charleston

11 a.m. after Mass, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Sikeston

1 p.m. Guardian Angel Parish, Oran

2:30 p.m. St. Denis Parish, Benton

4 p.m. St. Lawrence Parish, New Hamburg

5:30 p.m. St. Augustine Parish, Kelso

Public calendar

begins on August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Vir-gin Mary, and it ends on August 31. During this Tour de Faith, I will move from east to west, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Each day, I will visit four or five different parishes or missions to praise God, announce the vision and how we intend to get there, and then celebrate the gift of our faith in Jesus Christ. The sched-ule for when I will be at your parish or mission will be posted not only in The Mirror, but also will be in your parish bulletin. While each of my stops will be necessarily brief, I hope that you will be able to join me upon my arrival and not only be a part of this event, but also be a participant in building up God’s Kingdom at this point in our history. As we strive to meet our goals with God’s grace and help, we will take some risks, try some new things, and not be afraid. We will challenge ourselves to grow as Christians and be more intention-al about being Jesus’ disciples.

I ask you to remember me in your prayers as I embark on the road rally and those who will be assisting me. Pray also for the Diocese during this time, that this will be an occa-sion of grace, and that God will bless and help us with His divine assis-tance as we strive to do his will. ©TM

One of the first things we learn about our Catholic Faith is that there are seven sacraments instituted by Christ to help us grow spiritually, to assist us in our salvation. Sometimes we have a tendency disconnect the sacraments from each other. Actu-ally, there is a very close connection between all of the sacraments. They all find their source and origin in the Holy Eucharist and should lead us to the Eucharist, Jesus Christ himself.

In one of his writings entitled “Dominicae Cenae” (“On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist”), Pope John Paul II acknowledges the close link between the Sacrament of Pen-ance and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

As Pope John Paul notes: “It is not only that Penance leads to the Eucharist, but that the Eucharist also leads to Penance. For when we realize who it is that we receive in Eucharis-tic Communion, there springs up in us almost spontaneously a sense of unworthiness, together with sorrow for our sins and an interior need for purification.” He continues: “But we must always take care that this great meeting with Christ in the Eucharist

does not become a mere habit, and that we do not receive him unwor-thily, that is to say in a state of mortal sin. The practice of the virtue of pen-ance and the Sacrament of Penance are essential for sustaining in us and continually deepening that spirit of veneration which man owes to God himself and to his love so marvel-ously revealed” (#7).

As Catholics, we sometimes tend to associate the Sacrament of Penance merely with the liturgi-cal seasons of Advent and Lent. For many of the faithful, these are the two times throughout the liturgical year in which they make use of God’s grace and mercy shared with us in this sacrament of spiritual healing. Pope John Paul II, and really all of his successors, have reminded us that the Sacrament of Penance is a “sacrament for all seasons!” The opportunity to

come to the Lord in reconciliation is “in season,” throughout the entire liturgical year. Any hour of any day is the right time to celebrate the Sacra-ment of Penance!

The grace we receive in the Sac-rament of Penance helps change our attitude toward the Holy Eucharist. Penance spiritually prepares us for the Eucharist and gets us into the right state and mindset. When we celebrate the Mass, we should do so with the mind and heart of Christ. It is very easy for us to approach the Holy Eucharist with an “it’s good enough” attitude, whether it be our spiritual disposition, what we wear, or how we participate in the Sacred Liturgy. Rather, we should approach the Holy Eucharist with the attitude that “I’m going to give, use, wear, and do my very best to glorify God.” Christ gave His very best for us on the Cross. Can we not do the same for Him?

Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance better prepares us to meet our Lord in the Eucharist. When God looks at each of us, when He created us, I’m sure He doesn’t say: “It’s good enough,” but rather He says: “This is the very best I can do and I have done well!” ©TM

A sacrament for all seasonsLIVING THE LITURGYFr. David J. Dohogne

For a complete Road Rally Revival schedule, log on to

www.dioscg.org.It will be printed again in its entirety in the next

issue of The Mirror, dated Aug. 8.

4 The Mirror July 25, 2014

The Mirror: Newspaper of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau USPS Publication 117-330 Publisher: Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. Editor: Leslie A. EidsonProduction: Glenn Eckl Circulation/Advertising: Angie Toben, atoben@dioscg.org

Published every other week except the last week in December at 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143. Address all communications to 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143; Telephone (417) 866-0841; FAX (417) 866-1140; Email atoben@dioscg.org

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Mirror, 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806-3143. When giving change of address, state both old and new address, also old and new parish. Subscription price, $14 per year.Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, MO, and additional mailing offices. Vol. XLX No. 7 July 25, 2014 Single copy price, $0.50

Copyright © 2014, The Mirror, CNS, CNA, USCCB, The Vatican, as noted. The Mirror OnLine: www.dioscg.org

Catholics do to help the world whereas non-believers really don’t have a basis in the same way that reli-gious people do, especially Catholics.”

In his book, Vogt chose Blessed Mother Teresa and St. Peter Claver to highlight this principle.

Mother Teresa not only dedicated her life to serving the poor, but she also brought them dignity by seeing them as Jesus in the “distressing disguise of the poor.” Simi-larly St. Peter Claver, who ministered to African slaves in South America, saw each person as a reflection of God and dedicated his life to living as “the Slave of the Slaves.”

REVIEWS

Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World By Brandon Vogt Our Sunday Visitor, 2014

Dignity of the human person, solidarity and care for creation are just a few topics author Brandon Vogt discuss-es in his new book, Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Chang-ing the World.

“I hope that this book is a ringing call to saintliness for all readers to say, ‘I want to be a saint and here’s the game plan for doing it,’” Vogt said in a recent interview.

The book focuses on seven basic themes of Catho-lic social teaching—life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; dignity of work and the rights of workers; solidarity; and care for creation.

It uses examples of the saints to show how those themes can be lived out in daily life.

“There’s lots of books on Catholic social teaching that are helpful in terms of the theoretical principles

they provide, but most of them are very abstract. That’s what makes Catholic social teaching difficult—it’s hard to apply.”

By providing readers with examples of how real people practiced the princi-ples of Catholic social teach-ing, he hopes that readers will be able to more easily live them out themselves.

Vogt first became inter-ested in learning more about the Church’s teaching on social justice when he con-verted from Protestantism in 2008. Like many young Evan-gelicals, he was “extremely enthusiastic” about social justice.

When he brought up these ideas to his fellow Catholics, he quickly realized that there were many nega-tive connotations attached to the idea of social justice.

“The more I started reading and learning, I discovered that over the last several decades, these words and phrases have really been twisted and hijacked for all sorts of purposes, but why that worried me was that one of the things that led me to the Catholic Church was so-cial teaching,” he explained.

In reading Church

teachings, writings of the saints, and encyclicals, he found a “disconnect” be-tween what the Church actu-ally taught and how certain words and phrases were inter-preted “on the street.”

“I wanted to fix that, I wanted to sort of reclaim Catholic social teaching and give it an authentic presenta-tion and I figured the best way to do that was by avail-ing the lives of the saints,” Vogt said.

For each of the Church’s teachings on social justice, Vogt chose two saints whose lives highlighted a particular principle.

Dignity of personsThe most important of

the Church’s social teachings is belief in the dignity of the human person, which Vogt called “the first and most fundamental principle.”

“We believe that, for instance, it’s wrong to kill an unborn child, or an el-derly person constrained to a wheelchair, because every person has inviolable dignity that was a result of them be-ing created in the image and likeness of God,” he said.

“It’s that principle that drives everything that

Vogt said he also wanted a wide variety of saints in his book so a wide audience would find them relatable. He chose single or married mem-bers of the laity as well as religious and clergy of various ages and times in history to highlight the different parts of Catholic social teaching.

“We often times see the saints as museum pieces on pedestals that are unap-proachable and unattainable, but really when you read this book and you read the stories of their own struggles, their own travails, their own diffi-culties and challenges, they’re in many ways a lot like us,” he explained.

Vogt is not only writ-ing about social justice, he is also seeking to live it out, as evidenced by his decision to donate all royalties of the book to Catholic Charities.

“I’m in a position where I have a job, I have food, I have drink, and I have a home, so I didn’t necessarily need the money,” he said. “I figured I’d put into prac-tice what I was advocating throughout the entire book.”

Saints and Social Justice is available at local Catholic book stores, among other places. ©CNA

Lives of the saints model Catholic social teachingBook Review

Douglas/Keaton: Romance in one’s sixtiesAnd So It Goes Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton Clarius

The indignities of romance in one’s 60s entwine with a mortifyingly weak and implausible script for two aging actors in “And So It Goes” (Clarius).

Michael Douglas, who plays grumpy widower and real estate agent Oren, and Diane Keaton as lissome widow and aspiring singer Leah, are engaging as they go through their paces. It’s just that director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Mark Andrus have nothing new to say about either the vicissitudes of aging or the need to connect with family members.

It’s a mostly moral story told in the style of a “family” film, although so weakly, its intended audience isn’t even clear. Adults won’t mind it. Anyone under the age of 20 probably won’t be interested.

In leafy Fair-field, CT, Oren, whose wife died 10 years ago, has been trying to sell his mansion for $8.6 million, but has found no takers, in part because of his occasional racial insensitivity. He’s staying in a small apartment building he owns, along with Leah, whose late-life singing career stalls because she bursts

into tears whenever she men-tions her dead husband and the love they shared.

Into this comes Oren’s son, Kyle (Austin Lysy), with a granddaughter, Sarah (Ster-ling Jerins), that Oren didn’t

even know he had. Kyle fathered the girl, who’s about to turn 10, back in his drug-addiction days. He’s about to serve a jail term—not for narcotics, but on a trumped-up charge related to his boss being investigated for insider trading.

Oren makes a single at-tempt to return Sarah to her junkie mother, an episode that seems tacked on. More troubling, Oren makes no at-tempt to get the woman into any kind of rehab program. Once her addiction is evi-dent, he simply takes Sarah away.

Formula takes over after this. Sarah teaches her caus-tic granddad the importance of compassion. This, in turn, helps him come up with a

way to set Leah’s singing on a more lucrative path, and Oren and Leah both stumble into the perils of a physical relationship.

Ambling, philosophical stories about adult romances in pretty settings can be en-joyable. But here, the philos-ophy is reduced to wisecracks and the ambling obstructs reality. Fairfield, however, has never looked lovelier.

The film contains implied premarital sexual activity, a scene of childbirth, a few uses of profanity and fleeting crass language. The CNS classification is A-III—adults. The MPAA rating is PG-13—parents strongly cau-tioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. ©CNS

Movie Review

Reviewed by Kurt Jensen

‘And So it GoeS’

M i c h a e l D i a n e

July 25, 2014 The Mirror 5ANNOUNCEMENTS

Belleville, IL—The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows will present a healing day of reflection entitled “When Life Goes Off the Road: Dealing with Grief” with Byron Loy, Sat., Aug. 2, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Loy’s presentation will not only include his own experiences, but will also pres-ent tools on how to overcome any type of grief or loss, explaining the differences between grief and depression. Cost: $30 (lunch included). Pre-registration is required. For more information, or to register, call (618) 397-6700, ext. 6270; or (314) 241-3400, ext. 6270, or visit www.snows.org/healing.

Branson—The Youth Ministry at Our Lady of the Lake Parish invites all youth (grades seven-12) to participate in the annual “Our Lady Celebrates Youth” conference, Sat. & Sun., Sept. 6 & 7, 2014. Advance registration is $65 per person. For more information, please contact Pat Hutcheson at mspat1024@gmail.com or visit the Youth Ministry page of the diocesan Web site, www.dioscg.org.

Ozark—St. Joseph the Worker Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW) will hold a garage sale, Fri., Aug. 1, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sat., Aug. 2, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., in the church hall. Satur-day is bag day—(all other half price). Clothing, furniture, antiques, electronics, appliances, knick knacks, linens, toys, crafts, and more. For more information, contact Jeanette Curtiss at (417) 725-6404.

Springfield—Sacred Heart Parish will host Festival of the Nations, Sat., Aug. 30, 6-9 p.m., in the parish hall. The festival will feature live per-formances of contemporary and folklore dances, music, and art from the many different countries represented. Visitors will also be able to explore the richness in food, unique beverages, and activi-ties and traditions of each country. Parking avail-able; admission is free. For more information, call (417) 869-3646.

Springfield—Through Aug. 8, St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Springfield, is offering a FUN summer-long day camp open to all students entering preschool-fourth grade. St. Joseph Day Camp consists of games, crafts, music, educational, and religious activities. Held on the grounds of St. Joseph Catholic Academy, regular hours are Mon. through Fri., 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., with extended hours until 6 p.m. Regular care is $15 a day/per child; extended care is an addition-al $5 per day. For more information or to sign-up,

log on to www.stjosephdaycamp.webs.com.

Springfield—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Par-ish will host Harvest Home Festival, Fri., Sept. 5, 5-11 p.m, and Sat., Sept. 6, 2 p.m.-midnight. Home-cooked dinner will be served Fri., 5-9 p.m., and Sat., 4-8 p.m. Adults: $10; Senior: $7; chil-dren (ages 10 and under): $4. There will be car-nival rides for $5-$7 each. Friday only, purchase an unlimited ride band for $25 (does not include laser tag). There will be games, laser tag, washer tournament, photo booth, silent auction, and a teen dance for seventh-12th grades. No charge for the entertainment tent featuring Lonesome Hollow Bluegrass Band, the Big Iron Band, The Guise, and dueling pianos featuring Mike Tet-tamble, Jr., and David Pyck. For more information, contact Paul Boeckman, (417) 894-9819 or (417) 883-9575, or Rebecca Hallinan, (417) 894-2444 or (417) 883-9575.

Springfield—St. Agnes Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW) will hold a garage sale, Fri., Aug 1, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sat., Aug. 2, 8 a.m.-11 a.m., in the St. Agnes School gym. Great prices. All proceeds benefit parish projects. For more information, contact Iris Bounds, ibounds2@gmail.com.

Springfield—International High School Exchange Students seeks host families in and around Springfield for visiting students, ages 15-18, for the upcoming 2014-15 academic school year. Students come from around the world, including Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Thailand, for both the Fall semester and/or the full school year. Host families serve as mentors and a home base for their student. Visiting students participate as active members of the family and integrate into their host’s daily routines and traditions. Hosting an international student is a great way to explore a new culture and promote a sense of lifelong learning and adventure. iE-USA, the sponsoring program, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education and understanding through intercul-tural and academic exchange. iE-USA is certified by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel and strictly adheres to all US Department of State Student Exchange Pro-gram regulations and guidelines. To learn more about how to make the dream come true for an international high school exchange student, con-tact Missouri representative Cynthia Rouillard at c.rouillard@international-experience.net, or call (729) 315-2723.

ScheduleThe next safe environment in-servic

e opportunities will be held at the

following locations:

Mon., Aug. 4 7-10 p.m. . . . . . . . .. . . . . St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Joplin

Wed., Aug. 6 6-9 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Immaculate Conception Parish, Jack

son

Thu., Aug. 7 9 a.m.-noon . . . . . .. . . . . St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Spri

ngfield

Sat., Aug. 9 1-4 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . St. Patrick Parish, Greenfield

Tue., Aug. 12 6-9 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Our Lady of the Cove Parish, Kimb

erling City

Wed., Sept. 3 5-8 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . St. Ann School, Carthage

Tue., Sept. 9 6-9 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . St. Teresa School, Glennonville

Mon., Sept. 22 6-9 p.m. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Brans

on

Preregistration is necessary; go to www.virtus.org and click on “registrat

ion” on the left

or call your parish/school office for assistance; or call Ken Pesek at The

Catholic Center,

(417) 866-0841; or Email him at kenpesek@dioscg.org. Participants mus

t be present for

the entire training. Training sessions are for adults only. Schedules may

be found on the

diocesan events calendar at www.dioscg.org, or at www.virtus.org.

KHJMCatholic radio for Southeast Missouri

89.1 FM

From Jackson to the Bootheel, KHJM 89.1 FM brings the heart of Catholic

Radio to the area.Heart of Jesus and Mary radio

Job Openings in Joplin & Springfield OfficesCatholic Charities of Southern Missouri currently has one job opening based in the Joplin area and one based in the Springfield area:• Donation Coordinator in Joplin, MOThe Donation Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of dona-tion management including donation pick-ups, receiving donation drop-offs, processing donation paperwork for both donor and GoodFinds, organizing/inventorying of donations, and getting do-nations ready for retail sales floor. Must have a commitment to the mission of Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri (CCSOMO) and a commitment to service to those in need. For more informa-tion , please visit the CCSOMO Web site www.ccsomo.org.

• LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home Support Staff (p art-t im e, weekends o n l y, Saturday 5 p . m . -11 p. m . and Sunday 9 a. m . -9 p. m .)Support staff will help manage the daily living operations of LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home and oversee the home when the Director and Family Strengthening Coordinators are not present. The support staff must have a commitment to the mission of Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri (CCSOMO). For more information , please visit the CCSOMO Web site www.ccsomo.org.

Full job descriptions are available at www.ccsomo.org. Email re-sumes to crobinson@ccsomo.org or mail to Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, 424 E. Monastery St., Springfield, MO 65807.

Catholic Charities of Southern Missouriemployment opportunities

6 The Mirror July 25, 2014DIOCESAN NEWS

‘GOD IS …’Steubenville 2014 emphasizes necessity of trust in God

By J.B. Kelly Springfield

Over 7,000 youth and chaperones traversed to Springfield from sev-eral states over the course of two weekends this July for the annual Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Youth Conferences held on the campus of Missouri State University. Around 20 parishes in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau were represented by the 447 teens and chaper-ones registered for the July 11-13 and July 18-20 spirit-filled events.

Focusing on the Scripture verse found at Isaiah 12:2, the conference speakers exhorted the Catholic youth to strive to live with a greater trust in God.

“These events are fantastic opportu-nities for our young people to share faith, meet other young Catholics from across a several-state region, hear amazing witness from national speakers, enjoy great Chris-tian music, experience liturgies that they

will remember forever, and encounter Christ in life-changing ways!” said Troy Casteel, diocesan Director of Family Ministries and Coordinator of Youth Ministry in Spring-field-Cape Girardeau.

God’s willChris Padgett, the host of the second

weekend of the youth conference, spoke on Saturday evening, July 19, about the need to recognize that “things of this world” won’t bring about the authentic fulfillment that can only be found in a trusting surrender to God’s will.

“He is the satisfaction of our hearts,” Padgett said.

Other con-ference speakers, including Jason Evert, Paul George, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Cooper Ray, and Mary Bielski, among others, expressed similar messages through talks themed on the

topics of “God is Real,” “God is in Suffer-ing,” and “God is in the Day-to-Day.” A key to seeing God’s hand in all things, they said, was to trust in the Lord and stay close to Him through prayer and the sacraments.

Profound presenceAmong the thousands called to re-

spond to these invitations to greater trust were dozens of youth from parishes across southern Missouri. First-time attendee Madelynne Ohmes, 14, of St. Mary of the Annunciation Cathedral Parish in Cape Girardeau, said that she’d been excited to attend a Steubenville conference ever since

VOCATION DISCERNMENT—Aux. Bp. Edward Rice of the Archdiocese of St. Louis prayed over a group of young men who stepped forward toward the end of the closing liturgy of the Steubenville Youth Conference held Sun., July 20, to express their openness to a calling to the ordained priest-hood. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

CONFERENCE HOST—Chris Padgett, host of the second weekend of the Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Conferences held in Springfield, led medita-tion based on the quote, “Be all that God made you to be, and be that perfectly well,” attribut-ed to St. Francis de Sales. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

ADORATION—Fr. Mike Schmitz carried the monstrance through the crowd during a period of Eu-charistic Adoration on Saturday night, July 12, at the Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Conferenc-es held in Springfield. The gather-ing of over 3,500-plus youth and chaperones included 447 from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Gi-rardeau. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

SPIRIT-FILLED PRAYER—Attendees at the Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Youth Conferences lifted their hands in prayer during a ‘praise-and-worship’ session prior to Eucharistic Adoration on Satur-day night, July 19. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

July 25, 2014 The Mirror 7DIOCESAN NEWS

In Missouri, w ell over 900,000 people live below the federal poverty line . These individuals and families must often choose between buying food or paying for other basic needs like housing, heating, or healthcare. The Supplemental Nutri-tion Assistance Program ( SNAP ) helps these families buy nutritious food and allows them to use their financial resources for other necessities.

SNAP works Research has shown that participating in SNAP plays a critical role not only in fighting hunger but also in improving the diet and health of participants.

Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri ( CCSOMO ) screens for eligibility, assists in completing SNAP applications, and provides education and resources about the application process.

You may qualify if your income and other resources are under certain limits. New changes to the food stamp program have increased the maximum income lim-its, allowed a higher utility deduction, and have eliminated some assets from the calculation. You can have a car, a house, and/or some savings and still be eligible. If you are undocumented and have children who are US citizens, you can apply for food stamps on their behalf.

Please call the Catholic Charities office nearest youCape Girardeau – (573) 335-0134Joplin – (417) 624-3790Sikeston – (573) 481-0659Springfield – (417) 720-4213Van Buren - (573) 323-4044

Do you qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps)?

www.ccsomo.org

‘GOD IS …’Steubenville 2014 emphasizes necessity of trust in God

topics of “God is Real,” “God is in Suffer-ing,” and “God is in the Day-to-Day.” A key to seeing God’s hand in all things, they said, was to trust in the Lord and stay close to Him through prayer and the sacraments.

Profound presenceAmong the thousands called to re-

spond to these invitations to greater trust were dozens of youth from parishes across southern Missouri. First-time attendee Madelynne Ohmes, 14, of St. Mary of the Annunciation Cathedral Parish in Cape Girardeau, said that she’d been excited to attend a Steubenville conference ever since

her parents first went as chaperones five years ago, but that shortly before finally at-tending this year, she felt she had “drifted away from God.” By the end of the weekend, the conference proved to be a profoundly moving experience for her.

“I went to Steubenville not wanting to be there and not interested,” Ohmes said. “However, when we had Adoration on Saturday night, I truly felt God’s presence for the first time in my life. I mean, I’d always believed in Him, but (during Adoration) I felt so close to Him, and never wanted my time face-to-face with Him to end.”

Ohmes said she felt that attending the

Steubenville conference “truly did change,” her, and she looks forward not only to attending the conference again, but looks forward to living out her Faith back home, attending Mass more devoutly even if it doesn’t have the charismatic ‘feel’ of the liturgy at Steubenville.

“This weekend was a great and exciting experience,” she said.

“Adult Catholics, when asked, universally say that meeting the needs of our youth should be a top priority for the Church,” Casteel said. “The Steubenville conference is one of the best ways we have to impact the youth of the diocese in a pro-found way.”

Pray, know JesusIn his homily at the closing

liturgy on Sun., July 20, Aux. Bp. Edward Rice of the Archdiocese of St. Louis spoke about how moving the weekend was for him, too, having the opportunity to hear confessions and

witness the youth spending time in prayer.

“God has had His hand on this weekend,” he said, commenting on how he could see how the confer-ence-goers had been affected. He also challenged the youth to not simply leave the experience behind them, but to live as true disciples in these days of the “new evangelization.”

“We are called to take what we have experienced and bring it to oth-ers,” Bp. Rice said, “taking God into the normal messiness of life, taking the Gospel out into the street, bring-ing Jesus into the everyday, so that the ordinary can become holy. That’s our mission.”

Bp. James V. Johnston, homilist for a Saturday morning liturgy dur-ing the youth conferences and our own bishop, has made this point on more than one occasion, Casteel said: “We don’t just want young people to know about Jesus; we want them to know Jesus.” ©TM

THE THUNDER—Alex Neumeier of Holy Trinity Parish youth group in Aurora joined in singing with hundreds of other young men during a moment of prayer at the Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Confer-ences on Sat., July 19. Worship leader Adam Bitter likened the voices of the young ladies to the ‘sweet voices of angels,’ but said that the young men ‘bring the thunder’ to sung prayer. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

PRAISE AND WORSHIP—Members of the St. Joseph Parish youth group from Springfield participated in a ‘praise-and-worship’ session led by Adam Bitter and his band during the first weekend of the Steu-benville St. Louis/Mid-America Conferences held July 11-13 on the campus of Missouri State University, Springfield. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

SPIRIT-FILLED PRAYER—Attendees at the Steubenville St. Louis/Mid-America Youth Conferences lifted their hands in prayer during a ‘praise-and-worship’ session prior to Eucharistic Adoration on Satur-day night, July 19. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

8 The Mirror July 25, 2014DIOCESAN NEWS

Fr. Mark Binder honored as co-founder of Camp Re-NEW-AllCassville, MO

Camp Re-NEW-All cel-ebrated 40 years with its 2014 season. Sum-mer after summer, Camp Re-NEW-All brings Catholic youth together dur-ing eight sessions for com-munity, the sacraments, good summer fun, and Christian formation, a gathering of youth not often realized in a diocese as geographically spread-out as the mission Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

Camp co-founder, Fr. Mark Binder, was recently honored for his contribu-tion to Camp Re-NEW-All. While attending a session of camp at Roaring River State

Park in Cassville, Fr. Binder was surprised on July 10 by receiving episcopal blessings from both Bp. James V. John-ston and Bp.-Emeritus John J. Leibrecht framed together with a papal blessing from Pope Francis. The blessings commemorate Fr. Binder’s contribution and dedica-tion to the much-beloved diocesan ministry he helped establish.

Among other gifts he re-ceived, Fr. Binder was present-ed a book of photos created by Rhonda Payton of various Camp Re-NEW-All photos over its 40-year history.

Fr. Binder is the pas-tor of Holy Trinity Parish in Marshfield and Sacred Heart Parish in Conway.

Camp 2014What began in 1974 with

50 youth attending, Camp Re-NEW-All has grown to eight sessions in two location and is overseen by the diocesan Of-fice of Youth Ministry. This season’s three sessions of camp experience saw 485 camp-ers (grades 5th-9th); 179 high school staffers (grades 10th-12th, under age 18); 38 young adult staff (ages 18-20); and 99 adult staff (ages 21 and over).

Office of Youth MinistryTroy Casteel, CoordinatorKim Sellers, Camp Director, FredericktownLeAnn Verhoff, Camp Director, CassvilleRosie Francka, Administrative Assistant ©TM

CO-FOUNDER HONORED—Troy Casteel, diocesan Director of Family Ministries and Coordinator of Youth Ministry, presented Fr. Mark Binder (left) three framed blessings commemorating his co-founding of Camp Re-NEW-All and his 40-year dedication to its mission. (Photos by Rhonda Payton)

mother’s lap at her father’s funeral.

“It was unbelievable that we had that opportuni-ty,” Strohmeyer said. She not-ed Notre Dame participates in mission trips every sum-mer, but kids normally work three full days and have only one day of sightseeing. This time, with so much to learn, they made the trip not only service-oriented, but also his-torical and educational.

“The kids did really hard, difficult, hot work in the mornings, and then just learned a lot about stuff that they knew nothing about, ex-cept [what they knew] from history books,” she added.

Strohmeyer teaches a social justice class for seniors at Notre Dame, a course that covers Parks and the bus boycott.

“[The trip] has certainly enriched my understanding of what was happening and what was going on at the time, and how things trans-pired. It will certainly enrich my teaching,” Strohmeyer said.

Lenny Kuper, a Notre Dame math teacher who went on the trip, said it greatly affected him. Ku-per also is the swim coach and director of music at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, in Cape Girardeau.

“I think all of us, ev-eryone in the group, was deeply moved by the in-justices that were depicted at the different museums that we visited,” Kuper said. “Our visit to Montgomery definite-ly heightened our awareness of equal justice issues that I think we’re kind of sheltered from up here.”

Lasting impressionsKatie Sellers, who will

be a freshman at Missouri State University in Spring-field, MO, in the fall, and Ty-ler Allen, who will be a senior at Notre Dame, said the trip certainly made an impression on them.

Sellers, 18, said this was her first year going on a mission trip and she learned things she didn’t read about in books. One day, the group visited the Equal Justice Ini-tiative, a private, not-for-profit

organization that provides legal representation to indi-gent defendants and prison-ers who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system. Sellers said she also learned about current civil rights issues and real-ized there are still things that need to be fixed.

Allen, 18, learned from the experience: “It kind of gave me a shock ... knowing how good I have it up here. ...”

Loretta Prater, former dean of the college of Health and Human Services at South-east Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, grew up in Chattanooga, TN. She lived through the civil rights move-ment and experienced it per-sonally, having had to leave home to attend college because

of the color of her skin.“There’s a cliche. ... If

you don’t know your past, then you tend to repeat it,” Prater said. Through her teaching experience, she found that many young people don’t know about the past.

“A lot of the history of the civil rights movement, and prior to that, a lot of that was never, ever taught; and a lot of it isn’t being taught now. We were just kind of left out of the textbooks, except for indications about slav-ery,” Prater said.

Prater said she told her students about how students in Chattanooga got hand-me-down textbooks from white students, but still had to take the ACT and SAT tests. Black

teachers also were paid less than white teachers, she said.

Those most upset about that, she said, seemed to be white students.

“They just couldn’t fath-om that,” Prater added.

She said more discus-sions about race relations are needed, and if we don’t get race relations right, that will be America’s downfall.

“ ... If we talk about hu-man relations and freedoms and rights and go around the world fighting for this, we need to get it right here as well,” Prater said. ©TM

This article originally appeared in the Southeast Missourian. It is reprinted with permission and edited for use in The Mirror.

Mission trip reaps lessons on civil rightsFrom Page 1

July 25, 2014 The Mirror 9DIOCESAN NEWS

Sikeston, MO

BUDS, which stands for Building Un-derstanding, Developing Success, is a new mentoring program being of-fered by Catholic Charities of South-ern Missouri (CCSOMO) in its Sikeston office. The BUDS program works with vol-unteers ages 21 and older to mentor at-risk youth ages 9-17, within the four-county area of Mississippi, New Madrid, Scott, and Stoddard counties. Youth are matched with volunteers who live nearby and have similar interests.

Many studies show that effective men-toring programs help at-risk youth to ac-tively participate in society. Having mentors exposes the youth to healthy relationships

with adults—something the younger person may not have thought possible. Mentoring can lead to positive changes in attitude, be-havior, and academics. It also reduces at-risk behaviors such as skipping class, dropping-out of school, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and gang involvement.

The beauty of mentoring is that the youth are not the only ones changed by the relationship; mentors feel rewarded by help-ing others and making a difference in the life of a young person.

Be a BUD!There’s no question that mentoring is

important but caring adults are needed to get involved. If you can spend just two hours a week mentoring, you can have a meaning-ful influence on the life of an at-risk youth.

Please call the Sikeston Catholic Chari-ties office at (573) 481-0659, to inquire about the BUDS Mentoring Program, to volunteer, or to refer a youth to the program. ©TM

BUDS program in Sikeston mentors at -risk youth ages 9 -17

Marshfield, MO

Holy Trinity P aris h in Marsh-field hosted a “Saints Alive!” summer event for parish children and young adults. The program was written and coordi-nated by parish volunteers on Sun.,

Saints come alivein Marshfield

I am so glad when articles from Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, appear in The Mir-ror. He always seems to hit the nail on the head in terms we can all understand. His article in the July 11, 2014, edition (“Disciples: many faces but all-in,” p. 2) on the inclusiveness of discipleship is absolutely perfect for our small parish, Our Lady of the Ozarks, in Forsyth . We have parishio-ners who participate in prac-tically every activity we have. They either take charge, help plan, contribute to, and/or attend parish functions. They are great community build-ers, and yes, deeply loved by God. We know that our homebound parishioners are powerhouses of prayer and treasured family mem-bers. We also have many who we see only at Sunday Mass. They come faithfully. They are an essential part of our parish, and they, too,

are deeply loved by God. Fr. Rolheiser truly confirmed that we are all disciples each in our own way responding to the call of Jesus to be holy, and to pray with and for each other. Thank you.

Janet Mantsch Forsyth, MO

Letters to the Editor may be sent to Editor, The Mirror, 601 S. Jefferson Ave., Springfield, MO 65806-3143, or via Email, leidson@dioscg.org. Letters will be verified so please provide your name, daytime phone number, or Email address. Preference is given to letters that are direct, concise, and no longer than 250 words. Let-ters are published at the discretion of the editor and subject to editing. Readers’ letters are limited to one per person in a 60-day period. u

LETTER TO EDITORFrom Our Readers

Column resonates reality for small parish

to lead our lives in the light of our encounters and stories. We would sketch the bridge with words, faith, and action.

6) We would tell what we see in the world—not in the “woe-is-me, sky-is-falling, Satan-is-winning” manner people expect from many Christians, but just what we

see and how we think God cares about it.

7) We would speak of hope, a durable, rock-solid hope that God is God, and God can work through us to make a difference.

8) We would talk of joy. Not giddiness, not even hap-piness, as the world under-stands happiness, but that deeper response to God that

8 things Christians have to sayfeels whole and peaceful.

Personally, I think these eight things are what we ache to say. They are why we walked in the door of a church in the first place. They are why we stay, despite abundant reasons for leaving.

Everyone has a theory about “why people are leaving the church,” “why millennials don’t come to

From Page 1

PIZZA AND CATECHESIS— Youth of Holy Trinity Paris h in Marshfield made a St. Benedict Medal design on pizzas with pepperoni and cheese. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

SAINTS ALIVE— Lydia McCall portrayed St. Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16) during the “Saints Alive!” event at Holy Trinity in Marshfield. McCall is a member of the parish youth group. (Photo by J.B. Kelly)

church,” “why churches are dying,” and “what’s wrong with society.”

Personally, I think we should stop worrying about institutional outcomes and try instead just to be hopeful, joyful, active people of faith.

I think we should take our parts in the great political debates—power and wealth, after all, were the primary concern of Jesus—but then agree that, whether X or Y gets elected, we will all have much work to do as believers.

Whatever the label—progressive or conservative, contemporary or traditional, denominational or nonde-nominational—we will each have something unique and necessary to contribute.

There is more binding us than dividing us. For divi-sion comes from our small and selfish places. Binding comes from God. ©RNS

Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant, and Episco-pal priest based in New York.

June 29. Catechesis focused on the lives of several saints, including St. Bernadette of Lourdes and St. Francis of Assisi . It also featured activities in-cluding a ‘Make-Your-Own St. Bene-dict Medal Pizza,’ a saints memory card game, and witness portrayals of saints by high school youth. ©TM

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12 The Mirror July 25, 2014DIOCESAN NEWS

Recovery of the crucifix termed a ‘God-incidence’

PARISH PLANT DESTROYED—Bp. James V. Johnston surveyed the rubble of what physically remained of St. Mary Parish and School in this 2011 photo taken after Joplin’s EF-5 tornado. The crucifix miraculously was found amid the debris. Also of note: the iron cross, seen here still standing at St. Mary Catholic Church, remains at the site of the church’s former address near 26th Street and Moffet Avenue. It has become an oft-photographed memorial and icon for storm survivors and others in Joplin. (Photo by Leslie Anne Eidson, The Mirror)

By Rich Brown Joplin, MO

The original crucifix at St. Mary Catholic Church, Joplin, has come home.It had hung behind the

altar since 1968, until the 2011 EF-5 tornado destroyed the church and nearly every-thing in it. Also destroyed was the nearby rectory, school, parish center, and more.

The tornado hurled the crucifix about half the length of the church. A few days later, volunteer parishioners sifting through the rubble found it beneath a mountain of debris.

Last month, after be-ing repaired, the crucifix was placed on top of a new wood-en stand and returned to its place inside St. Mary Church, albeit the temporary church at 1230 E. Seventh St. A final move is planned when con-struction of the new St. Mary Catholic Church and Elemen-tary School, at 3025 Central City Road, is complete.

The Rev. Justin

Crucifix returns to St. Mary Parish after three-year absence

Monaghan, pastor of St. Mary Church, said he will never forget how he felt upon being reunited with the crucifix.

“Emotions ran high when I saw it,” he said. “It is just something that connect-ed us to the past … a great memory and a great treasure.”

It would prove the latest of several moving moments for parishioners involving the crucifix.

A longtime parishioner and cabinet maker, Wilfred Yust, was asked by the church to craft the ash cross. The basswood corpus that would be placed upon it was shipped from Italy.

“My dad worked on that cross on nights and week-ends,” said Anna Patton, daughter of Yust, who died in 2009 at the age of 96. “The only thing that ever bothered him was when he nailed the corpus to the cross.”

A few days after the 2011 disaster, parishioners Ivan Eck and Louie Ochsenbein were in the process of sift-ing through the rubble when they spotted the crucifix.

“When I first saw it, it was amazing,” Ochsenbein said. “I could not believe it was not demolished, espe-cially after being buried under a wall.”

Eck agreed, add-ing that the cross and crucifix, which stands more than six-feet-tall, had to be thrown 50 to 75 feet in the air before landing in the area of the church where the congregation sat.

“Before that cross went down, it took a lot of beating,” he said, noting that small bits of debris became em-bedded in the wooden cross and the corpus from the tornadic winds. The right arm and wrist were broken, but otherwise it was intact.

Eck said looking for the crucifix was like trying to find a person. He spied it beneath a steel beam that had come down and had to crawl around and

remove a lot of rocks to get close.

Eck’s wife, Susan, used the term “God-incidence”—a coincidence guided by the hand of God—to describe the recovery.

Although her husband would nor-mally never have a floor jack with him, on that day he had put one into the back of his pickup. And that was the only de-vice that could have lifted that beam in or-der to free the crucifix.

Ochsen-bein and Eck’s son, who is also named Ivan, assisted in carrying the cru-cifix outside. Bob Boulware, a carpenter from Oswego, KS, offered to make the repairs. Inside the cross, Yust had left reminders of the time, in-cluding a prayer book and a church bulletin from 1968.

Boulware told Eck that the cross was an inspiration

to his family and that he con-sidered it a privilege to make the repairs.

“When he worked on the cross, he would never turn the radio on because it was such an amazing feel-

ing and he could not have all the noise,” Eck said.

Boulware said he is not ac-customed to see-ing a crucifix in the Christian church he at-tends, but he was inspired by it as he made repairs.

“It was a vi-sual representa-tion that I am not used to having around. I was very much affected by the great repre-sentation of what Christ did for

us on the cross,” Boulware added.

Eck added: “It was just great seeing it at Mass. There are so many people who thought it was gone.” ©TM

This story originally ap-peared in The Joplin Globe. It is reprinted with permission.

CRUCIFIX REPAIRED AND BACK TO PARISH—Louis Ochsenbein, Fr. Justin Monaghan, pastor, and Ivan Eck paused after getting the newly-repaired crucifix into its new stand at the temporary loca-tion of St. Mary Catholic Church, Joplin. The crucifix, the original that had hung in St. Mary’s sanctuary since 1968, was unearthed in the 2011 tornado debris, astonishingly only mildly damaged. (Photo by Anne Brown, Joplin Globe)