Archive for

2009

  • Father Tom O’Connor 2010 Light of Christ Award:

    Encouraging the next generation of servants
    FORT WAYNE — St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Fort Wayne, in cooperation with the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Father Tom O’Connor Light of Christ Award.

    This award is presented each year in March to an individual whose work reflects the strong values exemplified by Father O’Connor during his many years as a priest. This year the award committee invites nominations of persons of faith whose work among the disadvantaged encourage a just society and peaceful resolution of conflict. The award carries with it a gift of $1,000 given in the name of the recipient to his or her designated project, school, faith community or nonprofit organization. In the words of Bishop John M. D’Arcy, the Father Tom O’Connor Light of Christ Award has been designated to encourage “the next generation of Father Toms.”

    Father O’Connor, who died March 17, 2004, at the age of 74, served as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish for 34 years and is considered by many to be an icon of Catholic faith in action.

    Father Tom believed that providing food to the hungry was a matter of both justice and charity. He was instrumental in the creation of the St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen that has operated since opening on Jan. 22, 1975, the Matthew 25 health and dental clinics, St. Mary’s Thanksgiving Day dinner, and an annual Christmas box distribution that helps more than 500 families each year. He was also part of the steering committee that created Vincent House/Vincent Village Transitional Housing.

    Father O’Connor was actively involved in ecumenical and interfaith activities and was a strong advocate for peace both locally and in the wider community. He was also a strong advocate for civil rights.

    Father O’Connor was honored during his lifetime with many awards and accolades, including the prestigious national Catholic Extension Society’s Lumen Christi Award, which was described by the society’s president as “the church’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.”

    Father Tom O’Connor Light of Christ Award nominations are open to persons of all faith traditions. Previous award winners are Cliff Kindy, 2007, for his work in nonviolence; Sister Janet Gildea, M.D., 2008, for her efforts among diverse cultures, and William Critell, 2009, for his dedication to education among the disadvantaged.

    Nomination guidelines
    Each year the Father Tom O’Connor Light of Christ Award committee seeks nominations of persons of faith, high-school age or older, whose activities serve as an example and encouragement to youth. One category is designated each year in which to receive nominations, and only one nominee in the designated category will be selected as the winner. The committee may defer selecting a winner in any given year. Application information is available from the St. Mary’s Church Office, (260) 424-8231, and is available online at www.stmarysfw.org and www.diocesefwsb.org.

    For the 2010 award the committee is seeking nominations of persons whose work among the disadvantaged serves to encourage a just society and peaceful resolution to conflict locally, nationally or globally.

    How to apply
    1. Nominations are to be made by letter from someone who knows the nominee well.

    2. Nominees must come from a strong faith background and be of good character. Nominations are open to persons of all faiths.

    3. The nomination must include the following information in the order listed:
    • Nominee’s name
    • Contact information
    • Age and school or occupation
    • Faith affiliation
    • Where the cash award is to be directed, should the nominee receive the award
    • Name and contact information of the person submitting the nomination
    • Names and contact information of three references
    • A brief narrative no more than two pages in length explaining why the nominee should be considered for the award

    4. E-mail submissions (Word document attachment) are preferred and should be sent to jan.stmarys@verizon.net with Father Tom Award in the subject line. E-mail nominations must be received no later than 4 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2010

    5. Letters of nomination may be mailed to Father Tom O’Connor Award Committee, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, P.O. Box 11383, Fort Wayne, IN 46857-1383, and must be received no later than Jan. 22, 2010

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to:

  • Decatur parish blesses new gymnasium

    Bishop John M. D’Arcy joins students from St. Joseph School, and parishioners and donors of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Decatur to bless the new $1 million gymnasium.

    Bishop John M. D’Arcy joins students from St. Joseph School, and parishioners and donors of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Decatur to bless the new $1 million gymnasium.

    By Tim Johnson

    DECATUR — After an escorted tour with Father David Voors, pastor, to bless the new gymnasium at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish and St. Joseph School in Decatur, Bishop John M. D’Arcy praised all involved who made the effort possible.

    The $1 million facility is located across the street from St. Joseph School and replaces a smaller gym in the school building which dates to 1925. Construction funds were used from an over- $3 million campaign that included the gymnasium and a parish hall, which now is in the planning stages, according to St. Joseph School Principal Karla Hormann, who also serves on the building committee.

    Despite a tough economy in Decatur where the unemployment rate was as high as 18 percent, Hormann told Today’s Catholic. “We’re just about done collecting (money for the parish hall), so it’s all come in very well and everybody’s still giving, even if they’ve already (completed) their pledge.”
    Planned gifts assisted the building campaign known as BOOH, Building On Our Heritage, and anchored with the diocesan-wide Legacy of Faith campaign drive. “If it wouldn’t have been for all the parishioners in this area and giving, even after they had passed on, and remembering the school, we wouldn’t be here,” Hormann told Today’s Catholic after the gymnasium blessing on Dec. 18.

    From studies, the parish determined a new gymnasium, a parish hall and work on the preschool facilities were priorities. The parish’s daycare and pre-kindergarten program has almost 100 children. But a donor provided the funds for the upgrades to the preschool facilities, so BOOH money was not used for those improvements.

    “Think of all these people and many others who gave money so you can have this gym and grow up to be like Michael Jordan, and LeBron James and all those great players,” Bishop John M. D’Arcy told the students of St. Joseph School, parishioners and donors from St. Mary of the Assumption Parish. “So we thank (the donors). They are a sign of God’s love.”

    In a brief homily at the blessing, Bishop D’Arcy reflected on a reading from St. Paul.

    “Paul knew all about sports,” Bishop D’Arcy said. “He said everybody runs and only one wins the prize. Run to win the prize, the prize of eternal life.”
    “We hope that you always will play fair,” he told the students and families gathered in the new gymnasium, “that your time in this gym and in the church always is seen as preparing you for life. Every day, if you have gifts — in studies, in art, in music, in athletics — you thank God for those gifts and foster them.”

    Bishop D’Arcy encouraged the students to enjoy the wonderful years of youth “and to prepare yourselves for life to be married, single, priests or religious. We hope that everybody is trying to find what God wants them to do in their life.”

    “Study hard, play hard. It’s a joyous gift to be young. You are only young a short time,” he said. “Learn to love God early and pray to him every night.”
    Bishop D’Arcy proceeded with the blessing of the building, going from room to room and sprinkling the facility with holy water.
    “With praise and thanksgiving, let us ask God, through whom all things are accomplished, to bless this new building and bless all who will use it, especially the children,” he prayed.

    The gymnasium, which seats 300, will be used strictly as an athletic facility. It could be rented out for tournaments.

    “And hopefully we’ll see a lot more CYO games down here too,” Hormann said. “We have a nice gym, come on down.”

    St. Mary Parish dates to 1840. The first school building opened in 1881 and the present-day school facility was built in 1925.

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to:

  • Angel Tree program connects children to the parent in prison

    Gifts are placed in the sanctuary of St. Henry Church Dec. 19 at the beginning of a prayer service.

    Gifts are placed in the sanctuary of St. Henry Church Dec. 19 at the beginning of a prayer service.

    By Lauren Caggiano

    FORT WAYNE — For more than 100 children in the area, there will be one less person at the Christmas dinner table due to incarceration. However, thanks to the Angel Tree program, more children can feel connected to their parent(s), even when prison bars separate them.

    Locally, Mark Michuda, of the Knights of Columbus Anthony Wayne Assembly 4th Degree, is responsible for introducing the program to the diocese. Last year, he and some St. Aloysius, Yoder, parishioners participated in a prison ministry program called Christmas Behind Bars whereby they went to several prisons to visit inmates. It was a pivotal moment there that spurred his dedication to the cause: “I walked by the visitation room to see a woman greeting probably her husband as he entered the room in his orange jump suit,” he recalled. She started crying uncontrollably as they embraced, I sensed the pain and hardship that woman must be going through.

    Inspired to take action, he asked a fellow volunteer about the availability of other prison ministry programs. She told him about the national Angel Tree program, which strives to keep children connected to their parent in prison.

    While it’s important to minister to the inmates, the children are often the most vulnerable parties in the situation. In Allen County alone, Michuda noted there are 1,000 children who have a parent away in prison or jail.

    Michuda justified the need for this ministry: “It’s the children who suffer and they have done nothing wrong,” he said. “Statistics show that children who have a parent in prison become high risk. Many end up in prison themselves.”

    Last year Michuda worked with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish to serve 30 families of inmates. This paved the way for the larger scale event at St. Henry Parish on Dec. 19. Families of inmates were invited to the parish center for an afternoon of activities, including a prayer service, gifts, lunch and card making. Children received personal messages from their parent and had an opportunity to reciprocate the action through the Christmas cards to be sent back to the parent.

    The ministry does not stop here, however, according to Michuda. The group intends to do a follow-up with the families and offer support groups, counseling and spiritual direction if they desire.

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to:

  • Bishop D’Arcy celebrates Christmas

    Bishop John M. D’Arcy stands in front of the Nativity scene at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend at the 4 p.m. Christmas vigil Mass.

    Bishop John M. D’Arcy stands in front of the Nativity scene at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend at the 4 p.m. Christmas vigil Mass.

    By Karen Clifford

    SOUTH BEND — It was a Mass that combined elements of the past and future into an afternoon of celebration, song, praise and reminiscence for all in attendance.

    Bishop John M. D’Arcy celebrated his 25th and final Christmas vigil Mass at St. Matthew Cathedral as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend at 4 p.m.

    Bishop D’Arcy said the Incarnation “shows God at his merciful best, condescending from the very center of the Trinity, sending his Son to live among us, transform us, and to make us children of God. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church it says that with the coming of John the Baptist, the forerunner, the predictor, finally the restoration of man to the likeness of God has begun.”

    According to St. Matthew Rector Msgr. Michael Heintz, the 4 p.m. vigil is one of the best attended of the Christmas Masses at the cathedral. The number of families in attendance with small children contributed to the atmosphere of joy and innocence in the celebration of Christ’s Incarnation.
    Four second graders were selected to carry the baby Jesus on a platform processing to the front of the church where Bishop D’Arcy placed Jesus in the manger. The children’s participation in the procession was a part of their preparation for their first Communion in May.

    One of the second graders participating in the procession, Luke Krizman, shared his excitement about the Christmas vigil Mass: “This Mass is important to me because Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’ birthday. I go to Mass with my family and sing songs for Jesus, along with the children’s choir.”

    In his homily Bishop D’Arcy spoke of making time for Christ in a technology-driven world. He joked that Blackberry cell phones are nick named “crackberries” because of their addictive nature. He reminded the congregation that Pope John Paul II said that “technology was for the dignity of the person not vice versa.”

    The bishop then challenged the congregation to find Christ’s divinity in their lives by prayers, thanksgiving and giving witness to others. “One of the ways we witness is joy. If the Holy Trinity is within you, that is the source of peace and it gives you strength.”

    Bishop D’Arcy spoke of a number of ways that we can keep the transformation of the Incarnation in our lives year round. “Maybe there is someone here who has been away from church. Christ is asking you to complete it. But he gives you free will.”

    “Maybe someone is being called to be a priest or a religious to complete it not for themselves but for others. Maybe God is calling people in a difficult or trying marriage to forgive. Maybe young people are being called to turn away from a way of life that includes drugs and alcohol. He will strengthen us if we pray and through the sacraments,” Bishop D’Arcy emphasized.

    “We are called upon to believe two things about Jesus Christ; that he is the Son of God and he is the Eternal Word and became man for our salvation. He came as a savior to die on the cross for us. Let us love him with our whole heart and look for ways to complete his mission in our souls and in our lives,” he concluded.

    The children’s choir captured the purity of the occasion with their singing of Christmas carols. Julie Considine, who has been a music teacher at St. Matthew’s School for 27 years, also directs the children’s choir for this Mass every year.

    “The church is filled with the families of children we teach and the choir loft is filled with our present students and older brothers and sisters who have chosen to sing with us,” says Considine. “The sense of excitement in the rehearsals and at the Mass itself is electrifying.”

    Midnight Mass
    Bishop D’Arcy returned to Fort Wayne to celebrated the midnight Mass and the Christmas day Mass, both televised live on WISE-TV, Channel 33.
    At the midnight Mass, Bishop D’Arcy reflected on how difficult it is find time to reflect and ponder the words spoken to her, as Mary did, and to find contemplative time to think about “a fresh wonder at Christmas — the coming of God in the flesh, made man for our salvation.”

    He said the moment of Christmas flies by with activities — mostly good such as preparing meals, greeting visitors, and “doing all these beautiful things that we do at Christmas — thinking of others and buying gifts,” he said.

    He spoke again of the “omnipresent” technology, and how recently the Blackberries went blank across the hemisphere. “Maybe (it’s) God’s way to say we need more time to ponder,” Bishop D’Arcy noted, “and turn off the Blackberries.”

    Bishop D’Arcy asked the faithful in the cathedral and watching on television to take a few moments to ponder: What does it mean — what was waited for all of the centuries; talked about by prophets; spoken about by John the Baptist who called all to repentance.

    “It’s the coming of God becoming man, showing the condescension, mercy and love of God. Christmas shows us who he is. One who cares and loves and gives the ultimate gesture — becoming our brother — to offer himself for our salvation. God in the flesh.”

    Citing the Magnificat prayer, a prayer which he said should be our prayer at Christmas, Bishop D’Arcy encouraged the faithful to “recount what God has done for us. We also recount what he’s has done in our individual lives. We recount the goodness of our parents who brought us to be baptized. We recount our holy marriage day. We recount the day we are made priests or bishops. We recount all the good people he gave us to set us for life. We recount his forgiveness for sins. (The Magnificat) is the perfect prayer. It brings us out of ourselves and focuses us on God.”

    Near the conclusion of the homily, Bishop D’Arcy said, “We make our act of faith, in God becoming man — in every way man except sin — in every way God transforming us, purifying by his blood our sins. How could we not give thanks? How could we not change? How could we not complete the work of the Incarnation in our souls?

    “This is the joy to which everyone is called,” he said. “We’re incomplete. But at Christmas he gives us the chance to complete his work in our souls.
    “Love asks love,” he concluded. “Each one returns it in his or her own way. … The One asking us for the completion of the work of redemption in our souls is our God, who is also our Savior. Let us respond to him with all our hearts.”

    Tim Johnson contributed to this article.

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to:

  • A history of the new temple built by King Herod the Great

    The history of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where King Herod’s temple stood, goes back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish religion, in the 18th century B.C. On this mount where God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, God intervened and a ram was sacrificed instead. This event sanctified for all time the steep rocky summit we call the Temple Mount.

    Eventually King David (1000-970 B.C.) captured Jerusalem and placed there the ark of the covenant, a portable chest on top of which the presence of God dwelt between two angels facing each other. This ark was housed in a tent. When King David built himself a beautiful palace, he felt the ark should not just be housed in a small tent, but in a grand temple. David’s son Solomon (970-930 B.C.) eventually built the first temple for the Israelites. This temple was destroyed by the Babylonians from southern Iraq in 587 B.C. Many Israelites were taken into exile in Babylon.

    When the Persians from Iran conquered Babylon in 538 B.C., they allowed the Israelites who wished to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This new temple of Zerubbabel, a Judean prince who organized the rebuilding, was begun in 537 B.C. and dedicated in 515 B.C.

    Father John McKenzie says the temple of Zerubbabel was of the same dimensions and structure as the temple of Solomon, but much inferior in the richness of its decorations. Eventually, with the Jewish conflict with their Seleucid or Syrian rulers like Antiochus IV (175-164 B.C.), the temple was probably severely damaged. This temple stood until the beginning of Herod the Great’s new temple in 19 B.C.

    The temple of Herod was built on massive quarried blocks still visible today at the Wailing Wall or Western Wall in Jerusalem where many Jews congregate to pray. Often they write out a prayer intention on a small piece of paper and place it in a crack in the wall. Baedeker says that politically Herod wanted to gain the favor of his Jewish subjects, so he rebuilt the temple by combining the requirements of the Jewish religion with elements of the Graeco-Roman style. He extended the area of the temple to its present size of 985 feet by 1,575 feet.

    The outer forecourt was for temporal business and open to anyone. The inner forecourt was on a higher level and only Jews were allowed access. It was divided into three parts: the Women’s Courtyard, the Courtyard of the male Israelites with the incense offering, and the Priests’ Courtyard with an altar on which animals were sacrificed. In the center was the temple with a white marble façade and golden capitals. The temple of Herod maintained the threefold division of Solomon’s temple: the vestibule, the holy place and the holy of holies.

    The holy place contained the altar of incense, the seven-branched lampstand, and the table of the shewbread or consecrated unleavened bread. The holy of holies was empty and dark and entered only by the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement, the 10th day of the seventh month.
    Father McKenzie says King Herod put 10,000 men to work and trained 1,000 priests as masons so they could work on the most sacred parts of the temple. The building was begun in 19 B.C. and finished in 10 years, but the work of decoration was not completely finished until A.D. 64. Six years later in A.D. 70, the Romans burned down and destroyed the temple at Jerusalem and it has never been rebuilt since.

    Later on the Christian emperor Justinian (A.D. 527-564) built a church to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Temple Mount. The Muslim caliph Al Walid I (A.D. 705-715) turned Justinian’s church into the El Aqsa Mosque that is there today. Earlier his father the Muslim caliph Abd el Malik (A.D. 687-691) built the Dome of the Rock over the spot where Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. This golden-domed structure is there today. The Muslims say that from this rock Mohammed ascended into seven heavens and then returned to Mecca.

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to: