in this issue - dioceseofjuneau.org€¦ · may 24 the ascension of the lord may 25 memorial day...

MAY 2020 • VOL. 45 NO. 5 WWW.DIOCESEOFJUNEAU.ORG

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In this IssueKnights of Columbus

continue their acts of serviceJuneau Knight collect 1375 pounds of food for local food banks. -1

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Juneau, AK

Bishop Bellisario reconsecrates the diocese to the Blessed Virgin Mary

“With the love of a Mother and Handmaid,

embrace this diocese which we entrust and

consecrate once again to you, together with

ourselves and our families.”

- from the prayer of consecration

BY DOMINIQUE JOHNSONOn April 23rd, Archbishop Jose Gomez, President of the United States

Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced plans to reconsecrate the United States to the Blessed Virgin Mary on May 1st. The archbishop said in a letter to the bishops of the U.S. that the reconsecration “Will give the Church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell, and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus.”

Archbishop Gomez shared a liturgy guide with his brother bishops and encouraged them to reconsecrate their diocese to Mary as well. Bishop Andrew

Bellisario, C.M., took the opportunity on May 1st and reconsecrated the Diocese of Juneau, as well as the Archdiocese of Anchorage, during a livestreamed liturgy at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage.

In his scripture reflection, Bishop Bellisario shared a history of consecrations to the country to Mary. The bishop said, “What is clear is that our Blessed Mother has accompanied us in the United States since the very beginning.”

In this liturgy, the bishop said we “place ourselves in her care and thank our Lord for her.” Bishop Bellisario added that Mary, “unites us more fully to her son. She helps to keep us close to her son.”

Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M. reconsecrates the Diocese of Juneau and Archdiocese of Anchorage to the Blessed Virgin Mary, May 1, 2020 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral.

The Inside Passage2 • May 2020

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The Inside Passage is published monthly by the Diocese of Juneau.415 Sixth St. #300, Juneau, Alaska 99801 www.dioceseofjuneau.org

USPS 877-080Publisher: Most Reverend Andrew E. Bellisario, C.M. 415 Sixth St. #300, Juneau, AK 99801Editor: Dominique Johnson email: [email protected](907) 586-2227, ext. 32Editorial Board: Anjanette Barr, Dcn. Mike Monagle, Dcn. Charles Rohrbacher and Fr. Pat Travers, Staff: A Host of Loyal Volunteers According to diocesan policy, all Catholics of the Diocese of Juneau are to receive The Inside Passage; please contact your parish office to sign up or to notify them of an address change. Others may request to receive The Inside Passage by sending a donation of $30. Periodical postage paid at Juneau, Alaska.

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In This Issue Church

Calendar&Celebrations

May 14

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

May 24

The Ascension of the Lord

May 25

Memorial Day

May 26Saint Philip Neri, priest

May 31

Pentecost

June 1

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

June 5Memorial of

Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

June 7

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

June 11

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Ordination to the Priesthood

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, the Diocese of Juneau joyfully announces and invites you to the ordination of

James Wallace to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood through the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit by the

Most Reverend Andrew Bellisario, C.M., Bishop of Juneau.

June19, 2020 at 6 p.m.St. Paul the Apostle Church, Juneau

Vespers: June 18 at 6 p.m.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Making spiritual communion Page 4 How we can be in union with the Lord when we cannot receive communion.

Making Friends with isolation Page 7 Using time in quarantine to improve your spiritual life

Priest continue to pray for their parishioners Page 9 Messages from some of our priest about how they continue to pray for their flock.

The Inside Passage May 2020 • 3

A letter from Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M. regarding

Holy Name Catholic School


Spiritual Communion: Union with our Lord when we cannont receive the Holy Eucharist

BY FATHER PAT TRAVERS PASTOR HOLY NAME PARISH, KETCHIKAN

Of all the limits on our activities imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, for many Catholics, one of the most distressing has been their inability to participate at Mass and receive our Lord in Holy Communion.

Indeed, the vehemence and anger that some of our brothers and sisters express when confronted with this situation has for me, been quite remarkable, with bishops and priests being accused of endangering the salvation of their people by not offering Holy Communion to them on demand, whatever the risk. Of course, receiving our Lord in Holy Communion is the greatest gift that he has left us, and one that is essential to our lives as Catholic Christians.

For me, as a priest, celebrating the Mass and offering the Eucharist to Christ’s people gives meaning to my life. But it is also important to remember that the Christian life and the attainment of salvation do not necessarily require the frequent reception of Holy Communion to which most American Catholics have long been accustomed.

In fact, in many times and places, Catholics have lived holy lives despite receiving Holy Communion only rarely, either by choice or due to the circumstances in which they have found themselves. For example, in many small remote communities in rural Alaska, a priest can fly or sail in to celebrate Mass less than once every month or two. Our Catholic brothers and sisters in situations of persecution have often in the Church’s history been deprived of the Holy Eucharist, and continue to be to this day in many parts of the world. Yet, they have clung to their faith heroically, offering examples to all of us of true holiness. For many centuries in the medieval and modern periods, Catholics—including a large number

of saints-- refrained from receiving Holy Communion more than a few times a year.

Here in the United States, when I was growing up, and in several countries such as Poland, even now, many Catholics have not received Holy Communion without first having received the Sacrament of Penance a short time before. They believe it to be necessary to obtain fresh pardon for their sins before each reception of the Eucharist. Also, when I was growing up, the three-hour fast required before Holy Communion would, if mistakenly broken, be an obstacle to receiving the Sacrament. (I still remember how, on

the morning of my First Communion, my Mom left a prominent sign on the breakfast table warning me: “DON’T EAT!”. It was easy to forget!)

In circumstances such as these, Catholics over the centuries who could not receive sacramental Holy Communion developed a pious practice known as the act of Spiritual Communion. We learned about it very early in our Catholic education during the 1950s and 1960s. The Baltimore Catechism from which so many of us learned of our faith assured us: “A spiritual communion is an earnest desire to receive Communion in reality….Spiritual Communion is an act of devotion that must be pleasing to God and bring us blessings from Him.”

In Spiritual Communion, we consciously and deliberately direct our desire to receive sacramental Communion to share in the graces of the Masses being celebrated anywhere in the world.

Saint Teresa of Avila wrote: “When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a

most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you.”

S a i n t T h o m a s Aquinas taught that Spiritual Communion “is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received him.”

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Saint John Vianney, Saint John XXIII, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Saint Josemaria Escriva, Saint John Paul II, and many other saints have shared their own experiences of the benefits of Spiritual Communion in their teachings and writings.

Over the past fifty years, as the availability of frequent sacramental Holy Communion has become the norm for most Catholics in the Western World, Spiritual Communion has faded in prominence in our catechesis and religious practice. Now, however, with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that have become necessary to inhibit its spread, sacramental Communion has once again become unavailable to most Catholics who had become used to receiving it frequently. Recognizing this, Pope Francis has urged us to revive the practice of Spiritual Communion.

Indeed, during Communion time at his live-streamed Masses from the Vatican, he reads a prayerful act of Spiritual Communion for the benefit of those watching from afar, imploring the Lord to allow us to possess him in spirit. This is something that we can all do, recognizing that our Lord is always present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit we received at Baptism and that he can do wonderful things in us if only we open ourselves to receive his many gifts.

We hope, of course, that it will not be long before we can once again participate in the Eucharist and receive Holy Communion as readily as in the past. Perhaps, however, this experience of separation can help us to recognize more fully the wonderful gift that Holy Communion is: the gift, too often taken for granted, of our Lord’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity; the gift that offers us a taste of eternal life here on earth.

Father Pat Travers


At Catholic Community Service (CCS), even as we find ourselves on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, we persist in our mission to provide compassionate care for the most vulnerable in our communities.

As some other nonprofits have found, this challenging time has led them to reduce or eliminate some services to elders and those who are ill. Catholic Community Service is working to not only continue our good works but reach out and start new efforts to support those in need!

NEW EFFORTS

Catholic Community Service and Interfaith Council Prayer Book

As part of our Hospice program, we provide chaplaincy support and counseling to those who are grieving. During this challenging time, we recognized the need to support our health care workers, first responders, and those affected directly and indirectly by this pandemic. As part of this effort, we have partnered with the Juneau Interfaith Council to create a nondenominational prayer book that we will be making available to everyone we can. We will also be letting parishes and partners order printed copies at cost.

Public Education Ad Campaign on Preventing & Identifying Child Abuse During Social Distancing

Nationally and locally, domestic violence (and therefore child abuse and child witnessing of violent crime) is climbing dramatically during this time of social distancing. Yet the number of children referred to Catholic Community Service’s SAFE Child Advocacy Center (for evaluation and help with healing and recovery from trauma) has dropped dramatically. This is because most children who are abused experience that at home and are identified by trusted, caring adults, including teachers, coaches and neighbors. We are developing a media campaign to educate people and encourage them to check on the children they know and be aware of the signs of abuse they might identify as they Zoom. Our goal is to help individuals across Southeast join our efforts to protect children from abuse and help them heal.

Friends of Seniors Volunteer Program As fewer services are available to seniors and those

who are ill during this time, and interest in volunteerism increases, Catholic Community Service is working to start a new “Friends of Seniors” volunteer program. The program will help seniors, especially those with health and safety risks, get the extra help they need with chores, cleaning and errands to allow them to live safely at home.

But of course, those same challenges of safety and social distancing, are affecting our efforts as well. And as we’ve purchased PPE and extra supplies for safety, and transitioned to delivering “Meals on Wheels” (in containers we purchase to keep lunches warm) instead of offering meals at our senior centers, our costs have gone up… while our revenue from donations and fundraising is going down.

We have had to cancel many of our annual fundraisers, like the Heart of Hospice Fun Run, the Juneau Senior Center Alaska Day Pancake Breakfast, our Hospice Mother’s Day Whale Watch, to name a few.

And since it’s unclear when we will be able to hold publicly attended fundraising events again, we are developing a new donor initiative.

NEW FUNDRAISING EFFORT FOR A TIME OF SOCIAL DISTANCING

Because you are already a part of our mission and ministry as the corporal works of mercy of the Catholic Church, we are telling you all about our new effort before anyone else. We hope you will consider joining us as we work to provide aid throughout Southeast Alaska. Our message is: Join us as a Catholic Community Service CHAMPION!

This is a new annual membership initiative to help us organize support for the charity care we provide in Southeast Alaska. It is hard to ask for donations now, as we are not alone in our concerns regarding financial security. If you can support us in a way that is comfortable, you will be helping us help our communities in a big way.

As a bonus for participating in support of the work we do, Alaska Airlines has generously offered 2 round trip tickets to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies. (They are very flexible about scheduling due to the coronavirus, so if you win, you can wait until it’s safe to travel.) Anyone who donates to Catholic Community Service between now and the end of June will be entered into the CCS Championship prize drawing on June 30. Not to mention, any donation $30 or over (which can be made in small monthly payments like $2.50 per month, automatically drawn throughout the year) will receive a free CCS Champion Campaign T-shirt!

TO DONATE, CALL(907) 463-6161 Or donate online at ccsjuneau.

org/donate.All donations are welcome. Even by supporting

us with as little as $1 per month, you are a CCS Champion. Together, with an army of Champions, we can keep Catholic Community Service strong and in good financial health. The work we are doing now must continue into the foreseeable future.

And if it’s not a good time for you to donate, please consider volunteering, and as always, please keep us in your prayers!

Be well and God bless,Erin Walker-TollesExecutive DirectorCatholic Community Service

Erin Walker-Tolles

New efforts from Catholic Community Service to help those in need


John Updike, after recovering from a serious illness, wrote a poem he called, Fever. It ends this way: But it is a truth long known that some secrets are hidden from health.

Deep down we already know this, but as a personal truth this is not something we appropriate in a classroom, from parents or mentors, or even from religious teaching. These just tell us that this is true, but knowing it does not itself impart wisdom. Wisdom is acquired, as Updike says, through a personal experience of serious illness, serious loss, or serious humiliation.

The late James Hillman, writing as an agnostic, came to the same conclusion. I remember hearing him at a large conference where, at point in his talk, he challenged his audience with words to this effect: Think back, honestly and with courage, and ask yourself: What are the experiences in your life that have made you deep, that have given you character? In almost every case, you will have to admit that it was some humiliation or abuse you had to endure, some experience of powerlessness, helplessness, frustration, illness, or exclusion. It is not the things that brought glory or adulation into your life that gave you depth and character, the time you were the valedictorian for your class or the time you were the star athlete. These did not bring you depth. Rather the experience of powerlessness, inferiority, is what made you wise.

I recall too as a graduate student sitting in on a series of lectures by the renowned Polish psychiatrist, Kasmir Dabrowski who had written a number of books around a concept he termed, “positive disintegration”. His essential thesis was that it is only by falling apart that we ever grow to higher levels of maturity and wisdom. Once, during a lecture, he was asked: “Why do we grow through the disintegrating experiences such as falling ill, falling apart, or being humiliated? Would it not be more logical to grow through the positive experiences of being loved, being affirmed, being successful, being healthy, and being admired? Shouldn’t that fire gratitude inside us and, acting out

of that gratitude, we should become more generous and wise?”

He gave this response: Ideally, maturity and wisdom should grow out of experiences

of strength and success; and maybe in some instances they do. However, as a psychiatrist, all I can say is that in forty years of clinical practice I have never seen it. I have only seen people transformed to higher levels of maturity through the experience of breaking down.

Jesus, it would seem, agrees. Take, for example, the incident in the Gospels where James and John come and ask whether they might be given the seats at his right hand and left hand when he comes into his glory. It is significant that he takes their question seriously. He does not (in this instance) chide them for seeking their own glory; what he does instead is redefine glory and the route to it. He asks them: “Can you drink the cup?” They, naïve as to what is being asked of them, responded: “Yes, we can!” Jesus then tells them something to which they are even more naïve. He assures them that they will drink the cup, since eventually everyone will, but tells them that they still might not receive the glory because being seated in glory is still contingent upon something else.

What? What is “the cup”? How is drinking it the route to glory? And why might we not receive the glory even if we do drink the cup?

The cup, as is revealed later, is the cup of suffering and humiliation, the one Jesus has to drink during his passion and dying, the cup he asks his Father to spare him from when in Gethsemane he prays in agony: “Let this cup pass from me!”

In essence, what Jesus is telling James and John is this: There is no route to Easter Sunday except through Good Friday. There is no route to depth and wisdom except through suffering and humiliation. The connection is intrinsic, like the pain and groans

of a woman are necessary to her when giving birth to a child. Further still, Jesus is also saying that deep suffering will not automatically bring wisdom. Why not? Because, while there is an intrinsic connection between deep suffering and greater depth in our lives, the catch is that bitter suffering can make us deep in bitterness, anger, envy, and hatred just as easily as it can make us deep in compassion, forgiveness, empathy, and wisdom. We can have the pain, and not get the wisdom.

Fever! The primary symptom of being infected with the coronavirus, Covid-19, is a high fever. Fever has now beset our world. The hope is that, after it so dangerously raises both our bodily and psychic temperatures, it will also reveal to us some of the secrets that are hidden from health. What are they? We don’t know yet. They will only be revealed inside the fever.

-Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher, and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com. Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

RON ROLHEISER, OMI

Fever

THE INSIDE PASSAGE considers submissions for publication that may include: interviews, stories, event coverage, photos and artistic responses that represent a local Catholic viewpoint.

Please submit content for possible publication or questions to [email protected], or phone 907-586-2227 ext. 32.

Online at www.akseac.com and Facebook • www.dioceseofjuneau.org

“There is no route to Easter Sunday except through Good Friday. There is no route to depth and wisdom except through suffering and humiliation.”

Affirm your faith in your Will

You can express your commitment to the principles of Christian stewardship by having the following statement

included in your Will or Trust: “I leave the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau (or Catholic Parish of _______) the sum of $ ________ or ______% of my estate.”

For more information on the needs of the diocese and of your parish, please contact Deacon Mike Monagle at

[email protected] or (907) 586-2227 x 27


“A brother came to Scetis to visit Abba Moses and asked him for a word. The old man said to him, ‘Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

- Sayings of the Desert Fathers

For the past eight weeks, it sometimes seems as though I’ve been conscripted (along with 700,000 other Alaskans) into an old school retreat under the direction of the Governor and his public health director, Dr. Ann Zink. I’m not sure that they would consider themselves retreat directors. Still, nonetheless, since the middle of March, they have provided us retreatants daily conferences, a rigorous regimen of spiritual exercises (Stay home! Maintain six feet distance from others! Wash your hands! Wear a mask! Don’t touch your face!) and plenty of unstructured time and the solitude to ponder the big philosophical and spiritual questions.

For those of us who aren’t working full-time as essential workers (God bless every one of them!), the shutdown has opened a lot of time for those of us sheltering in place, even if we are working from home and caring for our children or grandchildren. People in our community and around the country have found creative ways to fill their days. Some are sewing cloth face masks for our healthcare workers and each other. Others are gardening, taking up envelope-and-stamp letter writing, learning a new skill like bread baking or a new language, finally getting around to reading “Middlemarch” or “Anna Karenina,” and spending hours on social media.

Despite not choosing any of this, we’re embracing the “new normal” as our necessary part in “flattening the curve” of the spread of the virus and protecting our most vulnerable neighbors from a pandemic that has already claimed some 75,000 dead nationwide (as of May 9th). But I’ve been pondering how this period of isolation and separation, (even from each other in the celebration of the Eucharist) might not be something to simply put up with or get through, but as an opportunity to grow spiritually as unique as the moment we all find ourselves living through.

By suggesting that this time might be an opportunity for spiritual growth, I don’t mean to make light of the

truly tragic circumstances so many of our brothers and sisters are living through. But we live the spiritual life amid history as it unfolds and are called, as St. Ignatius of Loyola taught his followers, “to find God in all things.”

In particular, I’ve been thinking of how this time might be an opportunity to make friends with solitude. I know that Jesus spent time alone from his public commitments (the crowds) and from his closest friends and family members (the disciples) to pray in solitude in deserted places. What freedom Jesus had, what discipline, what a surrendered heart!

Yet I struggle to accept his invitation to draw closer to the Father in solitude. Every day is a struggle to put into practice Jesus’ command to go into your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. [Mt.6:6]. But in this new normal, what might have seemed ideal to strive for as I look for ways to schedule time alone with God in prayer into my busy routine has now become an actual, daily possibility while sheltering-in-place.

Circumstances have opened the door to the inner room and the invitation is there to cross that threshold and spend prolonged time alone with God. The starting point, at least for me, has been to make friends with solitude, with time spent alone. For me, this has had two requirements and four graces: silence that is present, not absence, patience with distraction, an unshakable sense of communion, and fervent intercession.

The first requirement is simple: a place to be silent and alone. A room of one’s own is nice but not essential. A chair in the living room before or after other people in your life wake up or go to bed—a place to sit in the yard or the porch. Out in the car, preferably looking at something other than the garage door.

The second requirement is a bit more challenging but not insurmountable: establish a rule of prayer. Pick a method of prayer to start with that is not too complex, but that is personally a good fit and that can be done every day. (For me as a deacon that’s the Liturgy of the Hours). The rosary, Lectio Divina, the Jesus Prayer are all good: the critical thing is settling on a way of prayer and stick to it.

The graces are simple but indispensable. Since they are graces, they can’t simply be summoned up at will, but I can ask God for them.

The first grace to ask for is to experience silence and solitude, not as absence and emptiness, but as the experience of God’s living and loving presence. I want to make friends with solitude and silence, not for their own sake, but because that is where Jesus encountered his Father.

The second grace to ask for is patience with distraction in prayer. It’s inevitable. I find distractions discouraging, because I’m embarrassed that my attention span is so short, and my thoughts are so undisciplined. Same with falling asleep, which happens from time to time. But if God can somehow be patient with my limitations, I suppose I should too.

The third grace to ask for is for an unshakeable conviction that whenever I spend time alone with God, I am doing so in communion with Mary, all the angels and saints and with the entire Church, past, present and future. Being alone in solitude doesn’t mean being separated from those I love and who love me. Their support in prayer is a profound consolation.

Finally, the fourth grace to ask for is for fervent intercession. Solitude in prayer is an opportunity for me to call to mind those who need prayer and to pray for them (unworthy as I am). What works for me is to start with the daily intercessions from the Divine Office and then consult the list I’ve made of those I need to pray for or who have asked me to pray for them.

So while I look forward with longing when we will all be together again, in person, at the table of the Lord, I’m grateful for the opportunity to become better acquainted with solitude and to spend more time in the “inner room” Jesus directs us into. May my ‘cell’ teach me all that I need to know.

ROHRBACHER

Along the Way

Deacon Charles Rohrbacher

- Deacon Charles Rohrbacher is the Office of Ministries Director for the Diocese of Juneau.

Phone: 907-586-2227 x 23. Email: [email protected]

Making Friends With Solitude


BY DOMINIQUE JOHNSON Holy Week usually is celebrated with large church gatherings to commemorate

Christ’s passion. This year, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Masses that are usually full were celebrated privately and livestreamed online. One parishioner at St. Gregory Nazianzen parish, got creative to help bring the community together while practicing social distancing.

Inspired by bear hunts, where citizens placed stuffed animals in their windows as an activity for children, Angie DelMoral applied the same concept for Good Friday Stations of the Cross. DelMoral typically serves her parish as a sacristan and assists with decorating the church for significant holy days. With public celebrations for Holy Week, she wanted to find a way to celebrate the faith and bring people together. “The stations of the cross on Good Friday are a ritual and I was happy to continue the tradition,” she said.

DelMoral shared her idea with Father Dwight Hoeberechts, who approved the event if people practiced social distancing and stayed in their cars and homes. After getting the go-ahead, DelMoral asked parishioners if they were interested in participating. “I sent out a text and immediately everyone responded yes,” DelMoral said.

13 households participated in the driving stations of the cross. The 12th station

was hosted by the parish and was located at the crucifix accessible in the church’s parking lot. For the remaining stations, parishioners created or printed artwork of their assigned station and placed them in their window.

DelMoral coordinated the route, so the stations and houses flowed from one to the next and the addresses were shared among parishioners on social media and the parish website. The route took about an hour to complete while stopping and reflecting on each station.

Making the drive was, in a way, a pilgrimage DelMoral shared and though people were socially distancing, there was a sense of community. “As you were making your way, you would see parishioners in their cars or their windows. You were able to make that connection and it was really meaningful,” she said.

DelMoral recalled how while she was driving to the store, she saw one of the stations in a family’s window and it moved her to tears. “I saw the hand-drawn image in the window and I just envisioned that family with their children making that together.”

Holy Week celebrations are important to the faith and being able to honor the solemnity of Good Friday, while at a distance made an impact on DelMoral and St. Gregory parishioners. Not being able to come together for Mass had been hard for many people DelMoral said, “Everyone felt hungry for something,” and being able to drive the stations of the cross “gave us the sense of feeling well-fed.”

Sitka parish gets creative to participate in Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Stations of the cross located in parishioners’ homes in Sitka on Good Friday (Photos provided by Angie DelMoral).


Priests of the Diocese share their prayers during this unprecedented time

We are indeed having a difficult time, but “difficult” doesn’t always mean “bad.” By following measures such as social distancing or wearing facial coverings, we can protect the life of our neighbors. Our Lord Jesus has never said, “Love yourself.” Instead, He said, “Love your neighbor” and “Love

one another” as the New Commandment.Maybe we’ve been focusing on protecting

ourselves, but the lesson learned from this pandemic should be our new normal, which could correspond to the New Commandment of Jesus: “Protect your neighbor,” as we are learning how to protect the life of our neighbors like ours. I sincerely appreciate your patience and love. Hopefully, we have celebrations of our Lord soon. May the love of Jesus protect you and your families.

Fr. Augustine Minn, KMS

The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed many things in our lives in Sitka, Alaska. Normally on Saturday at 7:00 AM, I join up with several men from St. Gregory’s Parish for coffee at McDonald’s, and we take time to have some conversation and faith sharing.

Well, the coronavirus quickly changed life for

everyone, including our Saturday morning coffee routine, since the dining area was closed down to customers. We could have easily said, “we will not meet until the pandemic is all over,” but one of the men suggested we get some coffee and take time to walk around Sitka and pray.

Since March 24th, two other men and I have gotten to take our Saturday morning coffee and have prayed the rosary for many organizations and people in the City of Sitka. We have chosen five places on our walking route to pray a decade of the rosary, and include specific intentions, which covers the whole city in prayer. We stop in front of a local hardware store, the city roundabout, the fire station, St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church on Lincoln Street and finally at Totem Square, which places us in front of the harbor, the Pioneers Home, and City Hall.

This time of prayer has been unique and special for each of us. For me, it is a Marian way to pray for the needs of my Parishioners at St. Gregory Nazianzen Church under the patronage of Our Lady of Sitka.

I cannot wait for the day when all of us at the parish can get back together for prayer and the celebration of Mass. May our Risen Lord Jesus Christ give each of us the Peace, Joy and Love during this unique Easter Season of our time.

Fr. Dwight Hoeberechts, OMI

We at this time in our country and throughout the world are facing a crisis that hit us unexpectantly and entirely out of the blue. Because of this critical situation, we are now facing a critical time in each of our lives.

It is, therefore, not uncommon for all of us from one time or another to suffer from unwanted fears, anxieties or worries, especially during this time of the COVID-19 crisis. It is also not uncommon for these fears or worries to affect our lifestyle, possibly leading to loss of sleep or appetite or just the opposite during this time of isolation and being apart from each other.

Due to these situational anxieties, psychological stress and worries, it is reasonable to understand why Holy Scripture has warned us in hundreds of scripture verses not to worry. The very reason that God’s Word encourages us not to worry is because God wants to reassure us that he will always be with us, even in times of trouble, crisis and an epidemic as we are facing today. I would also like to reassure you that all of you are in our prayers throughout the day and especially during our daily online Masses.

As Pastor of St. Paul’s, I decided to have our Masses stream-lined on our St. Paul’s website, not for just our own private Mass to be shared, but mostly for each one of you, so that you can pray the Mass in unity with us. Remember always that we are keeping all of you in our prayers each day and especially at the Sunday Celebration of the Holy Mass. Know that we very much miss and love all of you.

We look forward to the day when we can all return to our beloved Church as one family again, praising, glorifying and thanking God for all His blessings even

in the face of danger. I pray our heavenly Father will always bless you and my blessing goes out to everyone.

Fr. Mike Galbraith, PastorFr. Marino Cho, Parochial Vicar

I have found that during this period, all of us are drawn to a closer relationship to both the Most Holy Trinity and Our Blessed Mother and as we draw closer to them, we are given much spiritual growth.

As most of you know, I am the pastor of both Skagway and Haines and have tried to keep in touch with both parishes. When this first started, I created a calling list for both parishes and once a week, I called each member to chat with them and see how they are doing.

A few days ago, I decided to try something new, at least for me and that was to use YouTube and by the grace of God, that was a great success. Then I decided to adventure a little further and try to livestream my masses and again praise God that has been very successful.

Scripture says we are supposed to go and preach to all the nations and now that I have discovered another way of ministering to my little flock of both Haines and Skagway. I plan on continuing to livestream daily mass.

It is amazing what happens to all of us when we seek both help and guidance from The Most Holy Trinity and Our Blessed Mother. Perhaps after reading this short article, you may decide to say a rosary for our Blessed Mother’s intentions. Please be assured of my prayers for all of you.

Fr. Perry Kenaston


BY DOMINIQUE JOHNSONOver the last month, we’ve seen priests of our diocese take to the use of social

media to livestream Mass for parishioners quarantined at home due to COVID-19. While the quarantine has continued, parishioners have been longing for connection to their church communities and some ministries have stepped up to help bring people together during this time.

In Juneau, the Marriage Enrichment ministry utilized YouTube to continue its ministry. The ministry began a year ago and is led by Annie and Greg Albrecht. Annie shared that the purpose of the ministry was to bring couples together, “so the restrictions against gathering pretty much undercut the main vision that Greg and I had for the group.”

The couple didn’t plan to move their ministry online at first, being overwhelmed with using digital platforms to help their children complete their school year from home. However, as the weeks went on, “we were feeling like we really still wanted to be able to connect with other couples and families, and wanting to provide something in case others were feeling the same,” Annie said.

The Albrechts brainstormed ideas for people with different schedules and children at home. Ultimately they decided to ask couples to record YouTube videos to share their experiences during quarantine and how it has impacted

their marriages, as well as their faith. The idea of sharing experiences came from Jim and Martha Stey, who gave a presentation in November on how they use hospitality to share their faith. Annie gave the Steys a call to see how they were doing. “This led to wondering how others in our group were doing and how their lives have changed.” She added that “Sharing stories has become a keystone aspect of our marriage enrichment group, and it seemed like this could translate pretty well to videos.”

So far, three couples have shared their quarantine experience on YouTube and the feedback she has received has been “really positive.” Albrecht did say that the downside to using technology is that “it is so difficult to know where people are at right now and what they need unless they tell you.”

Albrecht said she is glad they found a way to bring people together during this time because it has given the couple the opportunity to, “reach out to various couples to ask if they are willing to share their stories,” and “to check in with them and see how they’re doing - whether or not they feel like sharing a video with the group.”

You can view the Marriage Enrichment videos by searching Marriage Enrichment - St. Paul’s, Juneau, on YouTube.

Unable to gather in person, Juneau marriage ministry goes online

(Left) Annie and Greg Albrecht share their quarantine story with members of their marriage enrichment ministry on YouTube; (center) Nick and Kelley Polasky share their quarantine experience; (right) Dominique and Christine Johnson during their quarantine YouTube video (photos are screenshots from YouTube).


In Service to One, In Service to All.

www.kofc.org

Considering Priesthood in the

Diocese of Juneau?Please contact:

Father Mike Galbraith, Vocation Director

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (907)789-2648

DIOCESE OF JUNEAU, OFFICE OF VOCATIONS

www.dioceseofjuneau/vocations

BY ANDY KLAUSNERAs individuals, few of us have ever

experienced a pandemic. Though as a Church, the Body of Christ, we have walked this road many times before. The Knights of Columbus have been the strong arm of the Church during numerous crises and now again answer the call to step into the breach.

At the outset of COVID-19, Knights of Columbus Order-wide have been encouraged to serve and sacrifice for those around them. There are many people and places that require urgent help. Our food banks, blood centers, and other essential services have been depleted of their vital supplies. Personal preparations for quarantine have also coincided with a reduction in donations to local food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.

Lent is usually the time of the year when the Knights at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church organize the 40 Cans for 40 Days food drive, aligned with the Church’s tradition of accompanying fasting with giving alms. When public Masses were canceled and the physical church building closed, the opportunities for parishioners to donate were greatly diminished. The Knights recognized this circumstance and, once able to organize and get up-and-running on all the various web-conferencing and social media tools available, brainstormed remedies. We decided the best social distance-minded option was to host a drop-off-style collection event at the parish.

By that time, Fr. Mike Galbraith, the chaplain for Council 11757, had already begun utilizing social media to celebrate the Mass and had become quite proficient in reaching out to his people in this new environment; he offered to announce our drive at the end of Divine Mercy Sunday Mass. We called St. Vincent de Paul and Southeast Alaska Food Bank to understand their greatest needs, highlighting those items in our announcement. And with that, we ran the food drive and then were blown away by the generosity which came pouring in during that quick, four-hour shift, completely smashing our goal.

Fr. Mike captured our sentiment in his report to the parish,

I sincerely want to thank you for your generous support and contributions that were donated during our Food Drive that was held from 1:00 – 5:00 pm yesterday. It was beyond a tremendous success, a far greater response than we had anticipated. We had hoped to bring in at least 500 pounds of food for St. Vincent de Paul and the Food Bank. What was donated and brought in was as follows: 1375 lbs. of food, donated by 38 people, as well as $250.00 in checks.

Even after the drive, Knights continued to collect and deliver food and monies received from donors who could not make the initial drive or heard about it after the fact.

During this quarantine time, the Knights of Columbus of Juneau remain active by checking in with our elderly; reviewing applications for our High School Scholarship; making headway on grounds improvement projects at the church (removal of the rectory’s old underground storage tank and beautification of the wooded areas); receiving new members into the order and planning other efforts to take care of our neighbors in the community. We even finished up another successful year of the annual Bison Hunt Raffle amid all the hunkering!

With so many cinematic portrayals of post-apocalyptic society primed in our minds, it is easy to get pulled into even the slightest self-preservation-driven mindset. This time in our lives truly is an opportunity to make an offering of ourselves. There is much joy in giving, and I witnessed it in each of the faces which came to drop off food at the church – even behind their many-assorted and colorful masks!

On behalf of the Knights of Columbus, thank you for helping us serve Christ by feeding His hungry, physically and spiritually. God bless.

Vivat Jesus!

Andy KlausnerGrand Knight, Council 11757Knights of Columbus

Juneau Knights go ‘into the breach’ to serve their community


The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Juneau hires

Dave Ringle as new general manager

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Juneau is pleased to announce the appointment of David Ringle as our next General Manager. Ringle will lead the organization in our mission to provide material and spiritual charity and work for social justice for all. St. Vincent de Paul is known as the “landlord with a heart” managing low-income housing for seniors, families and individuals. Additionally, we have partnered with the CBJ to operate the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter for the homeless, which operation has been extended into the summer as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We provide direct aid to the homeless and vulnerable in our community and operate a thrift store as both a source of revenue and a place to shop for those with limited resources.

Ringle comes to St. Vincent de Paul as a long-time community member who has recently retired with a 30+ year teaching career primarily at the middle school level. While one wouldn’t think of this as a foundation to lead a charitable non-profit, as it turns out, it is the perfect background. Ringle had been serving his first term on the Board of Directors when he stepped up to serve as the interim general manager and then answered the call to apply for the permanent position.

Ringle shared that when he was named interim general manager, he

didn’t plan on applying for the permanent position. Still, after seeing the impact the organization’s staff and volunteers made in the community, he felt called to apply. He said he learned during an ACTS retreat that, “God doesn’t call the prepared, he prepares those he calls,” and that God was preparing him to lead this organization.

Ringle brings his classroom management skills to play in working

with the board, staff, community partners and the friends we serve.

In his short time as interim general manager, Ringle said he has seen how St. Vincent de Paul has helped its clients move from shelters to permanent housing. He said he wants to “continue to have success with our guests and our clients.”

Ringle has demonstrated servant leadership with his long history of community involvement in a wide array of groups including being an ACTS Retreat team member and ACTS Missions Retreat Board member, Juneau Freewheelers bicycling club member, volunteer coach for parks and recreation soccer and basketball, recently serving as Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus, and as a past board member for the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay.

Dave and his wife Val, also a retired teacher, have raised their family in Juneau and are now proud grandparents.

Dave Ringle

BY GREG ERLANDSON CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

It is always impressive to hear the stories of people who rush toward danger when others are fleeing. Remember Ven-tura County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus? He lost his life when without hesitation he rushed into the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, to stop a mass shooter.

Remember Lt. Jason Menard, a mem-ber of the Worcester Fire Department in Massachusetts? He died while trying to save residents in a burning building as well as members of his own crew.

This is what heroism looks like in normal times. But in this time of pan-demic, we have come to recognize how widespread bravery is, and how it resides in places we don’t always think to look.

Like my own family. My oldest sister, Mary Agnes, runs a Catholic Charities Center in Los Angeles. She serves the homeless, the undocumented and, in growing numbers, the unemployed. In one day, she and her team feed more people than they used to feed in a week.

It is difficult to do social distancing in such a setting, and she certainly isn’t locked down. What drives her each day is the great need she sees and what she feels is her responsibility to meet that need. She rushes toward those who are suffering.

My sister is one of thousands of Catho-lics serving in parish food pantries and Catholic charity centers. They are joined by volunteers bringing food and medicine to shut-ins or helping neighbors who are isolated and lonely. These are people who rush to serve.

I think of the many Catholics work-ing in hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units, people like Sister Mary Catherine Redmond. A Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she is also a physician assistant in a New York hospital that treats the

underserved, a hospital swamped by COVID-19 patients.

Surrounded by the seriously ill and the dying, with too few means to help them, she kept working. “Our days are filled with stress, and our loved ones worry terribly about us,” she wrote. “People we have worked with have died, and each death makes the threat real.” Still, she rushes to serve.

Or hospital chaplains like Father Paul Marquis in Portland, Maine, who in the midst of the pandemic gives the anointing of the sick to the grievously ill people in his hospital. Dressed in safety gear, he has to take great care when anointing them that he neither becomes infected nor inadvertently infects others. Sometimes he can’t even enter the room. Still, he rushes to serve.

Our heroes are all about us, staffing our emergency medical services and our grocery stores, maintaining supply chains, doing medical research, even burying the forgotten dead.

Many of these stories are being told by the Catholic press. Being a Catholic journalist sometimes means reporting the bad stuff, the stories of abuse or neglect of duty, the stories of persecution and suffering. But it also means reporting about the bravery in our midst.

And these are the stories of our church. Our church is more than just its institutions -- its hospitals and hospices, its pantries and shelters and schools. Our church is first and foremost its people. And it is the great honor of the Catholic press to remind us that for every bad story, there are a thousand good ones.

We aren’t promised an easy ride in this life. Our faith, in fact, challenges us to rush toward need, not away from it. But it is important to know that in our small acts of kindness or huge acts of bravery, we are not alone. These are the grace notes in a time of plague.

Acts of bravery are the pandemic’s grace notes


CNS News Briefs • www.catholicnews.comChurch wasn’t prepared, either, for pandemic, nuncio to U.S. saysWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Just like billions of people throughout the world, “the church was not prepared” for the coronavirus pandemic, said Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States, in a May 6 interview with Catholic News Service. “We are also people in an organization” beyond just a religion with adherents, Archbishop Pierre said in the interview, which was conducted via Zoom. “The other day I was with an archbishop who was telling me, ‘Today, we have 16,000 people to give salary to, people who work for the church, and we have a huge organization.’” In response, “we have to innovate. We have to be creative,” Archbishop Pierre said. He warned, though, of another malady that could strike the church. “We live in a drastically changing time,” Archbishop Pierre said. “May I say, in our church at times we take for granted what we have until it disappears. The empty church will not just be covered with vines, the empty church is provoked by another virus: the loss of faith, the lack of transmission of faith in the family, in the schools, in the society. A lot of the young people who have not had any belonging to the church. They have not received the gift of faith. They have not been invited to follow Jesus.” The nuncio said he has heard from some “protesting” people that “the bishops have closed the churches, there is no access to the sacraments, and so forth.” But “we suffer what they suffer. The spiritual dimension of the meaning, maybe, of God’s presence in the world is being rediscovered.”

Three U.S. bishops condemn racism in context of COVID-19 pandemicWASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairmen of three boards of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a joint statement expressing their deep concern about incidents of racism and xenophobia against Americans of Asian and Pacific Island heritage amid the coronavirus outbreak. The May 5 statement was released by Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Church; Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs; and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. “The pandemic resulting from the new coronavirus continues to sweep across the world, impacting our everyday behavior,

practices, perceptions, and the way we interact with one another,” the statement said. “While we have been heartened by the countless acts of charity and bravery that have been modeled by many, we are also alarmed to note the increase in reported incidents of bullying and verbal and physical assaults, particularly against Americans of Asian and Pacific Island heritage,” the bishops said. They pointed out that “a high percentage of Asian Americans work in the health care sector -- risking their own health to save lives” and that “some have experienced rejection and requests to be treated ‘by someone else.’”

Pope encourages people to rediscover the need for prayerVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The coronavirus pandemic is a “favorable time to rediscover the need for prayer in our lives; let us open the doors of our hearts to the love of God our father, who will listen to us,” Pope Francis said. At his weekly general audience May 6, the pope began a new series of audience talks about prayer, which is “the breath of faith, its most appropriate expression, like a cry arising from the heart.” At the end of the audience, which was livestreamed from the papal library in the Apostolic Palace, the pope offered a special prayer and appeal for justice for “exploited workers,” especially farmworkers. Pope Francis said that May 1, International Workers’ Day, he received many messages about problems in the world of work. “I was particularly struck by that of the farmworkers, among them many migrants, who work in the Italian countryside. Unfortunately, many are very harshly exploited.” An Italian government proposal to grant work permits to immigrant workers in the country without proper papers has shined a spotlight particularly on farmworkers and their long hours, poor pay and miserable living conditions while also highlighting their essential role in ensuring an adequate supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the country.

Reconsecration to Mary: Continued from page 1

Following his Gospel reflection, the bishop led those viewing the livestream in praying the fifth sorrowful mystery of the rosary, the Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord. Bishop Bellisario then reconsecrated both dioceses to the Blessed Mother, renewing “the act of consecration and entrustment carried out by those who have gone before us.” He also prayed for those suffering from the coronavirus and working to find a cure.

The liturgy concluded with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Economic stagnation, ongoing sanctions, food shortages and reduced funding all risk making life in a post-pandemic world more dangerous and deadly than the coronavirus itself, said the Vatican-based international network of Catholic charities. “Unfortunately, the aftershock of the pandemic” is proving to be “even more complicated and more deadly than the impact of the virus itself, especially for the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries,” Caritas Internationalis said in a statement May 6. It urged the international community and donor countries “to take courageous and immediate action” or else millions of vulnerable people will face worsening malnutrition or starvation. The U.N. World Food Program estimates that the number of people on the brink of starvation worldwide “will double as a result of COVID-19 and could reach 230 million people,” it said. “Africa is the worst affected continent, experiencing food shortages due to the lockdown, as well as a diversity of disasters such as floods, drought, locust invasion and poor harvest. Many countries in the Middle East, Latin America and in Asia are already on the verge of a severe food crisis leading to child malnutrition and starvation” among adults, Caritas Internationalis said.

Global action needed to alleviate

hunger crisis, Caritas says

14 • May 2020 The Inside Passage

If you have any questions about the Diocesan Policy

for working with children in ministry please contact:

Victim Assistance Coordinator and Safe Environment Coordinator for the

Diocese:MS ROBERTA IZZARD 907-586-2227 ext. 25

EMAIL: [email protected] Environment Policies:

www.dioceseofjuneau.org/victim-assistance-coordinator

Protecting our Children

National Shrine of St. Therese

JUNEAU, ALASKA

Facility reservations online at www.shrineofsainttherese.org

907-586-2227 x 24

“The world’s thy ship and not thy home.”

– St. Therese of Lisieux

Is it too late to pray?

I have a question that is personal. I haven’t been to church in a while; and I don’t usually pray, although recently I have begun to. Will God accept me still, if I start going to church at this point in my

life? (I want to get close to him and I hope that it’s not too late.) (Anaheim, California)

It is never too late. God’s love for us is deep and everlasting. The Second Letter of Peter (3:9) tells us that the Lord “is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all

should come to repentance.”Think of the criminal on the cross who turned to Christ

only hours before his death and was promised that, that very day, he would be with Jesus in paradise. And think, too, of St. Augustine, who lived a dissolute life as a young man, fathering a child out of wedlock and who, for years, followed various philosophers only to become disillusioned with their teachings.

When he was in his 30s, Augustine was inspired to pick up a Bible and “chanced” upon these words from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (13:14): “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” Soon after, he was baptized by St. Ambrose and became one of our greatest saints.

Later, reflecting on his experience, Augustine made this keen observation: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Thank you for your question, and I will pray for you on your journey back to prayer and Catholic practice.

History of confession

When I was a Protestant, I never went to confession, and no such practice existed in any of the churches to which I belonged over the years. Now, as a Catholic, I’ve been told that confession

is based on a passage in the Letter of James (5:16) that says, “Confess your sins to one another.”

But that verse to me seems more like a general instruction to admit it when we’ve done a person some wrong and ask each other’s forgiveness than it does a mandate to have a confessional in every church. Can you explain? (New Middletown, Indiana)

I have always learned that the church’s power to forgive sins was based primarily on a different scriptural text from the one you cite. This passage comes from the Gospel of

John (20:22-23); on the night of the resurrection, when the risen Jesus appeared to the apostles who were huddled in fear, he said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

The exact form in which that forgiveness is dispensed has varied considerably over the years, as detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 1447). In the early centuries, reconciliation for particularly grave sins consisted of a one-time-only public profession of guilt and a course of manifest penance, sometimes for a number of years, before readmission into the eucharistic community of the church.

During the seventh century, Irish missionaries brought to the European continent the practice of the private confession of sins to a priest, opening the way to the regular use of the sacrament for both mortal and venial sins -- and this has continued as the basic structure of the sacrament up to the present day.

questions&answersBY FATHER KENNETH DOYLE, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at [email protected] and 30 Columbia Circle Dr. Albany, New York 12203.


BY NANCY DE FLON CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Today’s responsorial psalm uses brief excerpts from the lengthy Psalm 104, a paean to God’s work as Creator. In keeping with the theme of Pentecost, the selected verses highlight the Holy Spirit who not only creates but also renews.

The first stanza reads as if a blind person had suddenly received sight and been given a whirlwind tour of the entire earth. In contemporary terms we could sum up the spontaneous reaction as “Wow! Awesome!”

What response could be more natural for a psalmist than to compose and sing a song of praise? He hopes it will be pleasing to God: May the glory of the Lord -- the glory manifest in the beauty and sublimity of creation -- endure forever.

Much as you or I might be pleased with a creation of ours, such as a work of art or an exceptional meal, so too may the Lord be glad in his works. For the psalmist, in turn, the Lord and his works are the cause of his rejoicing.

Inevitably, things die. It’s part of the cycle of life -- death, then rebirth, as the earth is renewed by the resurgence of new life in spring. The force that brings about this renewal is God’s Holy Spirit.

The Spirit that, in Genesis, moved over the waters of chaos at the dawn of creation and brought about order and the awesome diversity of life on earth is the same Spirit that renews the face of the earth -- on a regular basis with the annual return of spring and after natural or humanmade disasters such as wildfires, tsunamis and pandemics.

As the Jesuit poet Father Gerard Manley Hopkins observed, “There lives the dearest freshness deep down things.”

The Lord has risen. By his passion, death and resurrection, he has freed us from our ancient captivity to sin and all that enslaves us, and throughout the Easter season we process all that this means.

During the last 50 days we have been living with, and trying to process, the tension between the good news and the not-so-good news. How do we receive the good news through the filter of a devastating pandemic that has in countless ways affected every imaginable area of human life?

Perhaps better put, how do we view the endless torrent of bad news through the lens of the Gospel -- God’s good news that assures us of a risen Lord who has fought a cosmic battle between life and death and emerged victorious?

Christ is risen. As Christians we cling to this statement and to all it implies. We don’t need to wallow in the negativity and doomsday messages of social media. Christ is truly risen.

He is the word of God who “spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets” (Heb 1:1) and in other ways: notably, “concealed in the storm cloud” (Ps 81:8, Grail version), for example. He has something to say to us in good times and not-so-good, in times of rejoicing and times of sorrow.

Jesus’s resurrection points to a renewal of life. It rejects destruction and negativity. The Book of Revelation promises a new heaven and a new earth and assures us that God will wipe away all our tears and that death and suffering will be no more (Rv 21:4).

All will be redeemed -- renewed, changed into something even better. By living and expressing our own faith and resisting the contemporary currents of pessimism and blame, we can -- we must -- be agents of renewal in our own time.

The bearers of the good news have that power to ensure that our present sufferings don’t descend into an apocalyptic mess, but rather that we uncover the “dearest freshness” of which Father Hopkins wrote.

This Pentecost more than ever we are called to express our firm faith in the Holy Spirit as renewer, who promised more than once, “I make all things new.

Holy Spirit, bringer of hope

BY MAUREEN PRATT CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

The pandemic has overshadowed much of the “usual” news in the world, but there is one thing it cannot, abso-lutely must not, take the spotlight from: Mother’s Day!

In fact, remembering Mother’s Day this year gives us the opportunity to reflect on just how amazing the abilities of mothers are and how grateful we are that through their care we are able to weather this current crisis with more strength, resilience and, especially, love.

The very nature of mothers speaks to how unique and wonderful a gift they are. No other individuals have harbored us so closely and carefully, and no one knows us quite as well.

Although sometimes we might cringe at just how well our mothers know us -- very little escapes their view! -- there is nothing like the insight of a mother at a time of discernment or doubt to give us rich food for thought and keep us centered in optimism for the future, to remind us that “this too, shall pass” and “it’ll be all right.”

In this technologically advanced world, mothers are masterful multi-taskers. But in this time of pandemic, they have assumed more roles within the family, working alongside fathers as engineers in coordinating domestic logistics, creative chefs in the face of short supplies and long lines at the supermarket and educators as school days have come home.

No task is too small, no territory too unknown; these days have proved mothers to have creativity and problem-solving skills galore, and oh, how we are grateful!

Another amazing attribute of mothers that shines in the darkness of today’s imposed isolation is the ability to anticipate and know how to fulfill needs. Need to know how to help a neighbor? Mom does. Need to find out about the

best way to sew a face mask or clean it? Mom, again. Need a particular prayer or just a hug? Mom’s there, probably ahead of the request, and not with one hug, but at least two.

As we reflect on all of the things mothers do and know, we might wonder how they get to be so wise and resource-ful. What “school” prepares someone for such an awesome vocation?

The education gap among mothers is shrinking, according to recent Pew Research Center reports. That’s a good thing, when it comes to occupational opportunities and other advancements. Still, I don’t think it tells the whole story. There’s something deeper here, something richer. A “God thing,” a gift.

Moms have an innate sense of know-ing that goes beyond anything learned in a book or in a classroom. God blesses mothers with this life intelligence, and so blesses us. God won’t give us more than we can handle, so (my conclusion) God gives us mothers.

Of course, our mothers are human. They have insecurities, fears and imper-fections. But this makes their presence in our lives all the more inspiring, from one generation to the next.

Some young women might wonder how they could fulfill the heavy respon-sibility of being a parent, endure nine months of pregnancy, the excruciating pain of labor, the uncharted waters of protecting and nurturing a vulnerable life or lives in today’s rocky world. It isn’t that they do not want to be moth-ers, but they wonder if they would be capable, if they “have what it takes.”

“I wondered if I could do it,” say some women in reply. “But, you learn.”

“You’ll make mistakes,” say others.“But it’ll be all right.”Encouragement from the heart,

strength for today.God bless mothers for all you do

and help us to appreciate them, now and always.

Unique times for a really unique person: Mom

in this issue - dioceseofjuneau.org€¦ · may 24 the ascension of the lord may 25 memorial day...

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