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OURANCIENTBONDOFBLOOD

Also inside: A new day dawns atthe Church of the Resurrection

The ritual of sacrifice, made perfect by Jesus

MISSIONARIES OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

C P P SWINTER 2011

T O D A Y


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In this issue of

C.PP.S. Today

WINTER 2011C.PP.S. Today is published by the MISSIONARIES OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD,Cincinnati Province, 431 E. Second St., Dayton, OH 45402937-228-9263 [email protected] our website, www.cpps-preciousblood.orgOn Facebook:www.facebook.com/Missionaries-of-the-Precious-Blood-Cincinnati-Province

Page 2: Marked by the BloodWhat sets us apart as people of the PreciousBlood? We hope that the world can seesomething different about us. Between theLines by Fr. Larry Hemmelgarn, provincialdirector of the Cincinnati Province.

Page 3: Our Ancient Bond of Blood

Fr. Ernie Ranly, C.PP.S., and Fr. Tom Hemm,C.PP.S., explore the biblical history of theblood sacrifice made perfect by Jesus.

Page 10: A Whole New FamilyWe are born into one family, but makeconnections with others throughout ourlives. Call and Answer by Fr. Vince Wirtner,

C.PP.S., director of vocation ministry.

Page 11: A New Day Dawns at the Church ofthe ResurrectionFour urban parishes in Cincinnati mergeinto one new parish, where Missionariesminister.

Page 15: Chapter and VerseNews about C.PP.S. people and places.

Page 17: A God of ShootsIn a row of heirloom geraniums lies a signof Gods persistence. At Our House by JeanGiesige, editor of C.PP.S. Today.

Servers with fourprocessional crossesawait the opening ofthe new Church of theResurrection.

Photo:istock.com


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In our cover story in this C.PP.S. Today, we examine the ancientscriptural roots of blood sacrifice. The Hebrew people followedGods instructions, passed down through Moses, on how to make

these offerings in a way that would be pleasing to their heavenly Father.In this we, as Precious Blood people, find the very beginnings of ourreverence for the Blood of Christ. It is the Blood of Christ that binds usand the power of that Blood to console and heal that gives us hope.

Observant Jews continue to follow the laws set down for them in theTorah, the first five books of what we commonly call the Old Testament.The Torah includes the dietary laws called Kashrut, from which the morefamiliar word kosher is derived. For a Jewish family to keep a kosherkitchen requires a high level of commitment. There are certain foods that

are forbidden altogether (pork, rabbit and shellfish, for instance). Thereare other foods that are permissible, but cannot be eaten together; meatand dairy must be strictly separate. Not only must the foods themselvesbe eaten apart, but they cannot be prepared with the same utensils.Many Orthodox Jewish cooks keep two sets of kitchen utensils, one formeats and the other for dairy.

The Torah gives no reason for many of the dietary rules found inKashrut. For some Jewish people, it is enough that the Torah says so.

Others speculate that one reason for the strict dietary rules is that it setsthe Jewish people apart from the world and makes them mindful of thepresence of God in their everyday life. Keeping kosher is an outwardsign of an inner faith.

I admire that level of commitment. I hope that we people of thePrecious Blood are also set apart from the world. I hope that the worldcan sense something about us that is different. What are the outwardsigns of our inner faith? When we forgive others, when we draw people

together, when we seek solutions to thorny problems, we show theworld that we believe in the power of the Blood ofJesus to heal and reconcile his people. (You can find agood example of Precious Blood spirituality at work inour story on page 11 about the merger of fourCincinnati parishes into one new parish.)

We have a wonderful tradition of reverence andawe for God and all Gods works. Its right there in oursacred scriptures. But the tradition is not enough. Wemust live in such a way that we show we are marked bythe Blood that Jesus shed to save us. If people cant see iton us in some way, as plainly as if it was sprinkled on usin an ancient sacrifice, we are not fully livingout our call to be Precious Blood people.

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Betweenthe Lines

by Fr. LarryHemmelgarn,

C.PP.S.

Marked by the Blood


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Blood has been precious to the people

of God since Moses brought the law

down from the mountain.Jesus gives a new meaning to the

ancient ritual of sacrifice.by Jean

Giesige

hen I was 11, I put my armthrough a plate glass window.I didnt mean to do it; orrather, I put my arm throughto prevent my face going

through. It seemed like a moreprudent course at the time.Quickly and efficiently, thebroken glass cut my arm openfrom wrist to elbow.

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OURANCIENTBONDOFBLOOD


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Immediately, blood poured out.I can remember standing for

a moment in utter amazementand quiet awe at the sight ofwhat had been a perfectly

normal arm just a secondbefore, now turned nearlyinside out. It overwhelmed mylittle sister, who was rightbehind me. Blood! Blood!Blood! Blood! she screamed,until my mother came runningfrom the kitchen.

As sometimes happens infamily life, the kid who ismaking all the noise is not thekid who is hurt, so it took amoment or two to sort it all out.Soon after that, my mother hadwrapped my arm in a cleantowel and we were on our wayto the doctor. I was grateful forthe towel and so was my littlesister, as we had seen quiteenough of the red stuff for oneday.

Most of us have a visceraland at least partially horrified

reaction to the sight ofunexpected blood. Some of uslook away as quickly as we can.Some of us pass out. Some of uscan gaze upon it with calmcompetence, and these peoplehave a job for life, if they wantit, in taking care of the rest of us.

Placed within us long before weare born is a deep respect, aweand perhaps even fear of andaversion to the liquid that keepsus all alive.

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An Ancient Belief

A religious congregation thatdevotes itself to the Blood ofJesus cannot avert its eyes from

the sight of blood. TheMissionaries of the PreciousBlood have long studied andlived out the deep connectionbetween blood and life, betweenblood and God.

It began long before Jesuswas born, in the days of the

ancient Jews. Blood is life. Inthe Old Testament there is avery clear and strongrecognition of this, said Fr.Tom Hemm, C.PP.S., who lastfall teamed up with Fr. ErnieRanly, C.PP.S., to give a retreaton the spirituality of the Bloodof Christ to lay associates of theMissionaries of the PreciousBlood.

When we say that ourspirituality is a spirituality ofthe Blood, it is profoundlybiblical. Again and again in the

Old Testament, we see bloodoffered in sacrifice as a veryimportant ritual. If all life andblood comes from God and isholy and sacred, a bloodsacrifice recognizes the God ofcreation and returns the bestthere is among us to God

himself.In the book of Exodus, God

himself described to Moseswhat was to be done: Take oneof the rams, and after Aaron and


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sacrificial animal was pouredout reverently on the groundand covered with earth . . . Toassist at a sacrifice must havebeen a very moving experience

for the priest and for all thepeople.He points out the difference

between the two types ofsacrifice described in the OldTestament. A holocaust was asacrifice in which the animalwas completely consumed by

fire andoffered to theLord. In asacrifice ofcommunion,the animalwas dedicated

to the Lordthen roastedon a fire. Thebetter cuts of

meat became the foundation ofa holy feast for the people ofGod.

The Lord of life had

received the sacrifice, but nowhe was sharing the sacrificewith his people, Fr. Ranlywrites.

The Awe Remains

Its hard to imagine blood

being sprinkled on a moderncongregation gathered forSunday worship. But theancient reverence for bloodremains strong among the

his sons have laid their handson its head, slaughter it. Theblood you shall take and splashon all the sides of the altar. Cutthe ram into pieces; its inner

organs and shanks you shallfirst wash, and then put themwith the pieces and with thehead. The entire ram shall thenbe burned on the altar, since it isa holocaust, a sweet-smellingoblation to the Lord (Exodus29: 1518).

The act of sacrifice was aprofound religious activity,wrote Fr. Ranly, a theologianand missionary who recently

published The Spirituality of theBlood of Christ. The slaughter ofthe sacrificial victim was carriedout with great care, and theblood was carefully set aside.The slaughtered animals werecarefully laid over the firewoodon top of an altar. At times the

blood of the sacrificed animalswas sprinkled upon the veryaltar of sacrifice. Sometimes theblood was sprinkled upon thepeople, or the blood of the

The act ofsacrifice wasa profoundreligiousactivity.


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Jewish people to this day. TheTorah (what Christians know asthe first five books of the OldTestament) prohibits theconsumption of blood

(Leviticus 7: 26-27; Leviticus 17:10-14).Observant Jews eat only

kosher meat, which has beenslaughtered according to aritual described in the Torah.Kosher methods insure that theanimal dies by a humane

method and that as much bloodas possible is drained from themeat.

Ritual slaughter is knownas shechitah, and the person whoperforms the slaughter is calleda shochet, Tracey Root writes

on her website, Judaism 101.The method of slaughter is aquick, deep stroke across thethroat with a perfectly sharpblade with no nicks orunevenness. This method ispainless, causesunconsciousness within two

seconds, and is widelyrecognized as the most humanemethod of slaughter possible.Another advantage of shechitahis that it ensures rapid,complete draining of the blood,which is also necessary torender the meat kosher.

The shochet is not simply abutcher; he must be a piousman, well-trained in Jewish law.In smaller, more remotecommunities, the rabbi and the

shochet were often the sameperson.

The recognition that life issacred, a gift from God, andthat all life is holy, is part of a

righteous life, said Fr. Hemm.It can be difficult for us toimagine participating in the sortof sacrifice we read about in theOld Testament, but those of us

who remember homebutchering know that it comespretty close, he said. We takeanimals that we have raised,that perhaps we love, and weacknowledge that they have tobe given up to feed the family.To do that with a sense of the

It can be difficult for us to

imagine participating in asacrifice, said Fr. Tom Hemm,C.PP.S.

(Photo by Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S.)


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Now, if you kill a duck, its notquite like killing a chickenIcan still see the eye of the duckturning back in its head as I wassaying, Im sorry, Im sorry,

he said.Most of us dont have anexperience of bloody sacrifice.Its just not a part of our culture.How many of us havebutchered a hog or chicken,dressed down a deer, gutted afish, or even cut up a chicken

for the pot? Yet for every pieceof meat we eat, there has beensacrifice. In a sense, we shouldexperience the sacrifice directly.There is no meal, no party, nosharing of food, withoutsacrifice.

A New Sacrifice

Its no wonder that we havesuch deeply complicatedfeelings toward blood. Its asign of both life and death. Its avessel of everything we need to

stay alive. Its how we areidentified; its how our health isgauged. From the beginning ofthe stories of the twelve tribesof Israel to the present day, it iscentral to our beliefs and to ourrituals.

In the Old Testament in the

giving of sacrifice by the highpriest, the animal was takingour place, said Fr. Hemm. Weare the sinners and our sins areupon this animal. This sacrifice

God of creation brings us atremendous internal sense ofgiving, of respect, of love andadoration.

He recalled a time when, as

a missionary in Chile, he wascalled upon to participate in acommunity meal in a way thatwas a little more direct andpersonal than he might haveliked.

I was asked to go out backand slaughter a duck that

would be cooked for our meal.

7

Most of us dont have

an experience of

bloody sacrifice. Its

just not a part of our

culture. How many of

us have butchered a

hog or chicken,

dressed down a deer,gutted a fish, or even

cut up a chicken for

the pot? Yet for every

piece of meat we

eat, there has been

sacrifice.


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more will the blood of Christ,who through the eternal spiritoffered himself unblemished toGod, cleanse our consciencesfrom dead works to worship the

living God (Hebrews 9: 1214).As people who recognizethe value and holiness of theBlood of Christ, and of theblood of all Gods people, wecan join in that sacrifice. Inand through Christ, you and Iare the people of God,

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In and through Christ, youand I are the people of God,says Fr. Ranly.

is given to God in our name.Then as now, thats a reallyprofound religious experience:the recognition of oursinfulness and begging of

forgiveness. It was an external,public social rite.It was a rite that allowed the

people to transcend their ownlives, their sinful nature, andjoin themselves to their God. AsChristians we believe that Jesusnow offers the perfect sacrifice

on our behalf. When the deathof Christ on the cross isinterpreted as a sacrifice, Christhimself is the priest who offersthe sacrifice, Fr. Ranly writes.At the same time he is thevictim who is slaughtered and

sacrificed. This is a sacrifice ofholocaust. This is a total givingof ones life, ones body, to theLord of Life. The Last Supperthat Christ shared with hisapostles was a sacrifice ofcommunion.

The sacrifice of the Mass,

which takes place on an altar thatis also a table of communion, isboth a holocaust and a sacrifice ofcommunion, he said.

It was a perfect sacrifice:Jesus entered, not with theblood of goats and calves, butwith his own blood, thusobtaining eternal redemption.For if the blood of goats andbulls and the sprinkling ofheifers ashes can sanctify thosewho are defiled so that theirflesh is cleansed, how much

Fr. Ranly said. In that sacrificewe can see that even among allof the wrong things that go onin the world today, amidst all ofthe violence and strife,somewhere along theline God is still trying tohelp us.


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mis-

sion

&min-

istry

society

issionary

earts

MISSION

AND

MINISTRY

SOCIETY

Become

a member of our

Members of our major gi society help ensure that the

missions and ministries of the Missionaries of the

Precious Blood remain strong and true to Gods call.

Annual gis will be used to educate and train new

priests and brothers; support our rered members; and

increase an endowment for our foreign missions.

M

H

To learn more call the Missionaries office of

mission advancement, 937-228-9263.

St. Gaspar del Bufalo An Annual Gift of $10,000 or moreVenerable Giovanni Merlini An Annual Gift of $5,000 to $9,999Fr. Francis de Sales Brunner An Annual Gift of $2,500 to $4,999Fr. John Wilson An Annual Gift of $1,000 to $2,499Br. Bernie Barga An Annual Gift of $500 to $999

Annual levels of membership

9


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have another family, and its 1,400 miles away from me.My birth family is from Fort Wayne, Ind. The family that has

adopted me is the faith family of St. Paul and Risen Savior parishes of

Crownpoint, N.M.Those two parish missions, administered by the Adorers of the

Blood of Christ (ASC), first welcomed me to their home on the Navajoreservation in New Mexico in 2007, when I was still a candidate information for the priesthood. The first time I went to Crownpoint, Icouldnt put my camera down. I was entranced by the austere beautyof the desert landscape. I spent the summer helping out with music

ministry in the parish.Before long, I felt very connected to the people there. I belong to theMiami people through my mothers side, but even if I had no priorknowledge of Native Americans I would still have been drawn to theNavajo. Because they saw my willingness to serve them, I think theywere drawn to me too. The people cried when I left, and so did I.

Ive returned since, as often as I can. Most recently it was inNovember, when I was able to celebrate Mass on Thanksgiving at the

two parishes, which was a joyous occasion. The people of Crownpointface a lot of challenges, including a very high poverty rate. Yet when Ilook at them, I dont see poverty in their eyes. I see hope, happinessand a commitment to family.

I feel completely at ease there, and how do I explain that? Born andraised in the Midwest, how could I ever be at home among the pionpines? This happens sometimes. People travel to a faraway place, only

to feel that they are right where they belong. I believe that God placescomponents in us that dont click into place until we arein the right place, at the right time. God blesses us withthis wonderful adaptability of spirit, which enables us toopen ourselves to whole new groups of people that wecould not have imagined in our earlier years. Thesepeople then become essential to us, and what a miraclethat is: a whole new family.

I hope that you are able to remain open to all that Godpromises to you. I hope that as you travel to new places,you are amazed by what is different about the people youmeet, but enthralled by what is the same. We can go as faras we like, but all around us, we will see our brothers andsisters.

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A Whole New Family

Call andAnswer byFr. VinceWirtner,C.PP.S.

I


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When people greet thosethey dont know at theChurch of the

Resurrection in Cincinnati, theyoften ask, What church are youfrom? What they mean is, Whichof the four parishes that merged intoResurrection is your home church?

It is a question that PhyllisKelley simply refuses toacknowledge. I tell them Imfrom Resurrection, she said. As

the parishs administrativeassistant, Kelley is at the center ofparish life, where she feels it isespecially important to set a toneof unity and forward thinking.

Everyone thinks that Im anoptimist, but I think its goingvery well, she said of the processto build a new church family outof the four parishes. Weve doneso much so fast. Its been hardwork and weve put in a lot ofhours but things are starting to

gel. Weve had our difficulties butwere working it out.

The four parishesSt.Andrew, St. Agnes, St. Mark andSt. Martin de Porresbegan

discussions on their future nearlyfive years ago, said Fr. DennisChriszt, C.PP.S., who in Augustbecame the first pastor of thenewly merged parish. St. Marksformer pastor, Fr. JerrySteinbrunner, C.PP.S., was one ofthe first to help lead the parishesinto the difficult but necessarydiscussion.

After a lot of conversationsfacilitated by the Archdiocese ofCincinnati, it was decided tomerge the parishes into the site ofwhat was formerly St. Agnes. Fr.

Chriszt said that with the help ofSr. Donna Liette, C.PP.S., he heldlistening circles at each parish togive people the chance to talkabout their sense of loss, but alsoto begin to imagine what lifecould be like at a new parish.

The four parishes, all with

largely African-Americancongregations, formally closedlast summer, with celebrations ateach marking each parishsunique history and the

A New Day Dawns at

THE CHURCH OF THE

RESURRECTIONFour urban

Cincinnati parishes

become one

new faith family.


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in continuing to serve aslectors, Eucharisticministers, greeters, choirmembers or servers, hesaid. We were hoping

for 50 people. There were125 who came. Thatswhen I knew everythingwas going to be all right.

The new parish hasbegun to dream of what ithopes it will become.Parishioners began

talking about the futureshortly after the newparish opened, but foundthat it was too soon.Feelings were still rawand many people weremissing their former

parish family. We put thevisioning process on hold for awhile, Fr. Chriszt said.

Resurrections liturgycommission recommended thatthe parish use Advent 2010 as atime of mourning and healing.The four Sundays of Advent

were assigned a theme: Name It,which means talking about howyour heart has been broken;Claim It, which means sittingwith the pain for a while; Give It,which means give it to God,because God can carry it; and LiveIt, live the dream as Joseph lived

the dream, Fr. Chriszt said. Bythe fourth week, our pastoralcouncil met and decided it wastime to resume our visioningprocess for the future.

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Servers with processional crosses fromfour parishes await the first Mass at theChurch of the Resurrection on August 1.

(Photo by Tess Wilfong)

contributions it had made to theChurch and its community.

It was important to saygoodbye and to respect eachparishs history, especially sincethree of them were over 100 yearsold, Fr. Chriszt said. It wasimportant to give thanks to God

for the past.Once those celebrations were

over, it was also important for theparishioners of the newly formedChurch of the Resurrection toturn their eyes to the present andto the future, he said.

Two weeks before we

opened the new parish, wescheduled a gathering where weinvited anybody who had doneliturgical ministry in any of thefour parishes and was interested


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Fr. Chriszt blesses the congre-gation at the opening Mass.

(Photo by Tess Wilfong)

We have made acommitment tocontinue ourministries in theneighborhoods

where our formerparishes wereserving the people.

Helping with the healingprocess has been pastoralassociate Br. Hugh Henderson,C.PP.S., who has been reachingout to all parishioners, especially

the elderly and those who aresick or homebound.

The Archdiocese ofCincinnati, which has beeninvolved in the process but hasallowed the parishioners to makemany of their own decisions, is

pleased with the progress atResurrection, said DanAndriacco, archdiocesan directorof communications.

Parish closings and mergersare always difficult andemotional because parishes areso important, he said. That was

certainly the case here, and somemembers of one parish inparticular struggled with thedecision. But others realized thatcoming together made themstronger. By all accounts, thanksto a lot of great work by both layand ordained parish leadership,thats exactly what happened.The new parish is off to a healthystart.

There were a lot of aspects ofthe merger that needed specialattention, both spiritual andtemporal. For one thing, the new

parish had three unused churchsites that it needed to clean outand sell. The parish scheduled aseries of sales to dispose of itemsit no longer needed, and began tolist properties for sale.

The first person we hiredwas a property manager, Fr.

Chriszt said. One of theproperties has already been soldand another is close to beingsold. Both will continue to beused as churches. Some buyers


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have expressed interest in thethird property.The former St. Agnes was

chosen as home to the newparish because it was somewhatcentrally located, Fr. Chriszt said,and needed fewer capitalimprovements than the other

parish sites. The Church of theResurrection includesapproximately 600 families whoremain committed to theoutreach ministries of theirformer parishes.

We have made a commitmentto continue our ministries in theneighborhoods where our formerparishes were serving the people,Fr. Chriszt said. We are stilloperating our food pantry andsoup kitchen at St. Mark, for

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The combined choir of the Church of the Resurrection, now 50 voicesstrong. (Photo by Tess Wilfong)

instance. We are currently talkingwith the group that is hoping topurchase St. Mark so that thoseministries can continue.

Other things remain from thefour parishes. The Church of theResurrection is using thebaptismal font and a set of

candlesticks from St. Martin dePorres; the presiders chair fromSt. Andrew; and the ambo from St.Mark. All four processionalcrosses were kept, and theservers choose whichever onethey like to carry, Fr. Chriszt said.

All the Easter candles fromthe four parishes are now in ourchurch, Fr. Chriszt added. Atour Easter vigil this yearwe will bless our Eastercandle.


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C H A P T E R and V E R S EOrdained: The Cincinnati Province celebrates with its CentralAmerican Mission, which in December saw the ordination of twopriests. Fr. Sebastin Argueta Blanco, C.PP.S., 33, was ordained in El

Salvador on December 8,2010. Fr. Rony RobertoDaz Quino, C.PP.S., 35,was ordained onDecember 28, 2010 inGuatemala.

Fr. Argueta obtaineda bachelors degree inbusiness administrationbefore enteringformation with theMissionaries of thePrecious Blood inGuatemala in 2002. Fr.

Diz, a native ofMazatenango,Guatemala, entered

formation in the same year, after receiving his accreditation as anexpert in public management.

In 2006, they began their studies in theology at Xavier University inBogot, Colombia, and graduated in 2010. They were definitively

incorporated as Missionaries of the Precious Blood on December 12,2009, in Guatemala City.

High Marks: Both colleges sponsored by the Missionaries of thePrecious Blood rated a mention in the 201011 rankings of collegesnationwide released last fall by U.S. News and World Report.

Each year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the nations collegesaccording to a variety of criteria and by region. Calumet College of St.

Joseph in Whiting, Ind., was ranked first in racial diversity amongcolleges in the Midwest region. Tied for first in that category wasNortheastern Illinois University in Chicago.

Saint Josephs College in Rensselaer, Ind., was named the ninth bestvalue college in the Midwest and the 25th best college in the Midwest.

The rankings include more than 1,400 schools nationwide.

Fr. Rony Roberto Daz Quino, C.PP.S.,

left, and Fr. Sebastin Argueta Blanco,C.PP.S., right, as deacons.


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In Memoriam: Fr. Gerold Koller, C.PP.S., 87, died onNovember 18, 2010, at St. Charles Center, Carthagena,Ohio. He had been in failing health for some time.

Fr. Koller was born September 5, 1923 in Buffalo, N.Y.,to Peter and Magdelina (Kaelin) Koller. He entered theMissionaries of the Precious Blood in 1937 and wasordained on March 25, 1949.

After his ordination, Fr. Koller served as an assistantpastor and was director of seminarians at St. Charles

Seminary from 1957 to 1963. Later, he was named chaplain of theModesto State Hospital in Modesto, Calif. and also served as achaplain for many years to juvenile and adult offenders in theCalifornia prison system.

Fr. Koller was entirely devoted to his faith and to the people heserved. The inmates at the facilities where he was a chaplain foundhim eminently approachable. Fr. Koller, who was physically fit fornearly all his life, walked the track in the prison yard. Inmates whowanted to talk with him fell in step with him, and in those relativelyopen surroundings found it easier to open up to him. Fr. Koller retiredto St. Charles Center in 1993.

A Mass of Christian burial for Fr. Koller was celebrated November

20, 2010 at St. Charles. Burial followed in the Community cemetery.May he rest in peace.

Fr. Paul Aumen, C.PP.S., 88, died on December 15, 2010, atSt. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio.

He was born January 10, 1922, in York, Pa., to Bernardand Bertha (Smith) Aumen. He entered the Society of thePrecious Blood in 1938 and was ordained March 25, 1949.

Fr. Aumen spent his first years as a priest in parishministry in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1955, Fr. Aumenvolunteered for ministry in the provinces mission in Chile,where he remained for 20 years.

In 1975 Fr. Aumen struck out for Guatemala, where he set out on atireless campaign to establish a Guatemalan mission. He worked for 10years, ministering to the people of Guatemala, establishing a seminary,writing letters back to the United States and to his confreres in Chile,

before he finally received approval for the work he was already doing.His persistence in the face of adversity was legendary, as was hisconcern for the poorest of Gods children.

Fr. Aumen returned to the United States in 1993.A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on December 20,

2010 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Hanover, Pa. Burial fol-lowed in the Sacred Heart Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

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Fr. Koller

Fr. Auman


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A God of Shoots

Resting atop my kitchen cabinets is a row of sickly geranium sproutsrescued from my garden before the first hard frost of this coldwinter. My cousin Gary, the Geranium Master, explained the

procedure to me like this: Break off a portion of the plant. Stick it in dirt.Put it in an out-of-the-way place and water occasionally. Dont worry if itlooks terrible.

Normally I dont make any effort to preserve outdoor plants over thewinter. But these are special geraniums. They are the great (times 100)granddaughters of the plants that my great (times a number unknown tome) grandmother brought with her to this country from Germany.

The descendents of those original plants were kept alive with tendercare by my grandmother, who passed them along to my mother and hersisters, who passed them along to their children, with varying success.With Gary, they thrive. With me, they lead a life of peril.

When Gary shared some starts with me last spring, it began ageranium saga of biblical proportion. Some I planted in a containerwithout proper drainage, and they rotted from the bottom up. Some Iplanted in a spot that was too shady, and they grew tall and spindlywithout blooming. Some were accidentally cut down in their prime with alawn trimmer in the hands of one of our boys. Much of what I found to

keep over the winter came from the vigorous new growth of the plantsthat had been cut down. Perhaps one should take a lawn trimmer to thegarden every July.

If I didnt have so much love and admiration for my grandmother andall she was able to accomplish in her quiet life, I would certainly notbother with these geraniums. Because they are such direct descendentsthey make me think of other things that I have inherited from my people,such as thick ankles, a stubborn worldview, and an abiding faith. Their

belief in a loving God and the goodness of creation was unshakable. Thisthey have passed to me in a golden chalice and some days I feel I havedropped it. I have been careless and neglectful, as with the geraniums.

But as with the geraniums, God promotes strong growth from thatwhich has been cut back. He is persistent, this God ofours. He is hard to eradicate. When it seems thatdeath, denial and destruction are all around, a tinyleaf appears. Our God is a God of shoots.

I am so hoping that the geraniums make it throughthe winter. I am trying to keep my hands off of them toincrease their chances of survival. In the spring I willplant them in a suitable place. I will protect and nurturethem. I will do better this time. Our God is also aGod of completely unfounded yet utterlyattainable hope.

At Our Houseby Jean Giesige


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