music is the prayer the heart sings - st. mary of the

Music is the Prayer the Heart Sings

INTERVIEW WITH THE BISHOP P.2

RACIAL JUSTICE IN CHURCH P.3

PASTOR'S LETTER P.4

CATHOLIC CONTRIBUTIONS P.5

CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS P.6

CHRIST OUR LIFE P.7

ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE P.8

St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Churh NEWSLETTER

CONTENTS

August 2020 Volume 12

Charles Brungardt, John Maxwell, and Kirk Phillips have come up with different and

wonderful ways to share their musi-cal talents with others – in spite of the musical safety restrictions that are currently upon all diocesan liturgical celebrations.

“I thought it would be fun to play my clarinet outside with friends, and Fr. Steve graciously let us play in front of St Mary’s rectory. So Kirk Phillips and I played a couple of times there for a small crowd of friends and passersby.” stated John Maxwell.

When John began preparing for retirement from his dental practice five years ago, he also began preparing to start playing the clarinet again. “I have been receiving so much joy since I returned to music. I can’t think of life without it!” John exclaimed. “And anything good I do, of course, comes from God. I am so grateful to Him.” Kirk Phillips has played the trumpet for about 60 years, starting with summer lessons before entering 3rd grade. Kirk is currently a trumpeter and cantor at St. Mary’s. “A Holy Cross Sister -- Joelle Maurer, taught me that playing music in church is a form of prayer. I have never forgotten that,” smiled Kirk.

In May, Kirk came up with the idea to have his and John’s Jazz band entertain the frontline healthcare workers on the outside patio of Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. “Our band is called Brickstreet Jazz Band, which is a bunch of friends with regular day jobs in business and work at the university,” shared Kirk. “We enjoyed rehearsing weekly before the COVID-19 pandemic, and we played the Iowa City Summer of the

Article By: Patti McTaggart

Charles Brungardt, John Maxwell, and Kirk Phillips play their instruments in front of St.

Mary's rectory

Arts program, Jazz Festival, and other gigs. We wanted to thank and celebrate the work of the frontline healthcare workers. The nurses, social workers, housekeeping, physicians, and so many other professions are working intensely to maintain the health of our community. Also, we had been cooped up too long with the pandemic shutting down most live music around town and the world!”

Parishioner Charles Brungardt is a St. Mary’s Choir member, a harpist, and the “parish programmer” for the St. Mary’s carillon bells. I’ve played the harp for a little more than ten years,” shared Charles. During this pandemic Charles missed singing with the St. Mary’s Choir. So he thought the best way to stay connected would be to play for friends and neighbors.

“I would like to think that the Holy Spirit instilled my soul with the gift of music. But I’m sure the Holy Spirit worked through my mother Angela, who often kept classical music records and radio going in the house; my older sister Catherine, who first started me on the piano; and my childhood piano teacher Ailene Atwood. I would also especially like to credit St. Mary’s Choir directors Glenn Jablonski, Jim Berry, and Nathan Gibbs, who each helped nurture my love of church music.”

During these trying days of COVID-19, parishioners Charles Brungardt, John Maxwell, and Kirk Phillips, have brought joy and smiles to many people through their gifts of music. There is little doubt that smiles of appreciation pervade across the faces of Saint Gregory and Saint Cecilia (Patron Saints of Music) in heaven as well. Deo Gratias, gentlemen, Deo Gratias!

ST. MARY’S NEWSLETTER VOL. 12

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The year of 2020 has brought us challenges, mostly related to the

coronavirus pandemic, such as health concerns from COVID-19, i so lat ion of working and staying at home, and economic hardships from lost jobs/commerce. Further, our society has grappled with social justice and systemic racism. While these issues have made life difficult, they also have provided an opportunity to receive God’s blessings to help us bear the crosses we have gained in this time. As we moved into the summer of 2020, we interviewed Bishop Zinkula to get his reflections on the year that has passed so far and yet to come.

Though the lockdown to limit the spread and consequences of the coronavirus pandemic has been difficult, some positive things have emerged. As many of us have adjusted to working at home, we have learned to use technology to communicate for our job (e.g. Zoom meetings). Some people have used such technology to reconnect with loved ones by holding regular family/friend online meetings to socialize. During Lent my wife and I participated in Stations of the Cross with a small group using Zoom. Another use of technology has been live streaming Masses on the internet to keep us engaged in God’s Word while unable

Challenges and Blessings in 2020An Interview with Bishop Zinkula

Article By: Bill Doucetteto attend in person. Bishop Zinkula believes the Diocese will continue to utilize some new technological activities after the pandemic is over. For example, greater use of online meetings can save travel time/costs for Diocese clergy and staff. In addition, expanded use of technology can help parishioners connect with their clergy and each other to help live their faith.

Our country has experienced a lot of unrest triggered by the death of George Floyd. People have protested about systemic racism that is present in all parts of our society. We are called to respond to the racial inequities present in our country. We can embrace social justice, which is a core part of Catholic doctrine. On the Diocese of Davenport web site (davenportdiocese.org), Bishop Zinkula has posted a letter he wrote on racism. He notes that our response should include prayer for peace and healing and learning about racism. The Diocese’s Office of Social Action has materials for learning more about this topic. Further, the Bishop encourages us to get involved with social justice in our community, learning from our brothers and sisters who have experienced racism and working together to overcome it.

As we have faced our challenges in 2020, Bishop Zinkula has seen blessings across the Diocese. One example is that people with lower risk of COVID-19 have been helping those who are at higher risk. This assistance can simply be calling to talk for a while to limit isolation and loneliness. In addition, people have helped others by going shopping or running errands for those at risk from coronavirus. During the pandemic people have been reaching out to friends and family through new ways, such as group texts or calls. Use of

parks has increased as people seek peace in God’s wonderful natural world. Finally, as we have had to face risks in this world, some people have become more reflective and prayerful – moving closer to God.

There is an ongoing need for vocations in the Diocese, as more priests retire than new priests get ordained. In addition to asking us all to pray for vocations, Bishop Zinkula has recently expanded the number of priests working on vocat ional act ivi t ies . Father Ross Epping is now the Vocations Director, and is in charge of promoting vocations throughout the Diocese. Father Jake Greiner, Director of Seminarians, coordinates the discernment and experiences of our seminarians. Father Joseph Sia, Director of Newly Ordained, will work to continue the spiritual formation of priests during their first five years following ordination into the priesthood. Father Thom Hennen and Father Jeff Belger will continue to serve as Associate Vocation Directors. It is hoped that prayer and the work of this expanded group of priests will result in God blessing us with more seminarians and ordained clergy.

Bishop Zinkula asks that we all keep evangelization in mind. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations (MT 28:19-20), and Pope Francis has encouraged us to live the New Evangelization. We can work to develop our personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, Scripture and living our faith. These actions will bring us joy and give us authentic faith that can be shared with others. This work can help us be disciples of Jesus by living and spreading the Gospel to all people.

Bishop Thomas Zinkula


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On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American, was murdered by Minneapolis

police officer Derek Chauvin. During the arrest, Chauvin knelt upon the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes and 46 seconds, subsequently asphyxiating him to death. Floyd’s murder sparked outrage and inspired the country and the world as a whole to investigate and evaluate racist tendencies within every aspect of humanity, from systemic racism to deep-seated racism that we have subconsciously consumed and fostered over the years.

As a Catholic organization, we are not exempt from such introspection. To examine racist tendencies we might be harboring, it is important for us to first clarify what racism is. In November 2018, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote the document “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call To Love, A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.” The letter opens with a description of how racism is manifested in stating, “Racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that, because all humans share a common origin, they are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and—all too often—hatred." The USCCB letter goes on to describe some of the varying forms racism has taken within America by stating that, “Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants, and refugees. We read the headlines that report the killing of unarmed African Americans by law enforcement officials. In our prisons the number of inmates of color, notably those who are brown and black, is grossly disproportionate. Despite the great blessings of liberty that this country offers, we must admit the plain truth that for many of our fellow citizens, who have done nothing wrong, interactions with the police are often fraught with fear and even danger.”

On June 3rd, in response to the death of George Floyd, Pope Francis addressed the people of the United States saying, “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye

Racial Justice and EqualityWithin the Catholic Church

Article By: Jeanette Roush-Krafka

to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.” That day, Pope Francis joined every Church in the United States, “in praying for the repose of the soul of George Floyd and of all those others who have lost their lives as a result of the sin of racism.”

Closer to home, Bishop Zinkula wrote in a letter to the Diocese of Davenport proclaiming that, “Our first response to hatred and violence should be prayer. Beyond prayer I invite all of us to learn more about racism. Prejudice can lurk unnoticed in our minds and hearts. It can feed on the fear of what is different and grow into overt racism." Beyond prayer and learning, Zinkula asks us to, "please consider becoming actively involved in your community. Gathering together with people from other faiths and all people of goodwill conveys to everyone in the community that all members have the right to be and to feel safe and secure.As Christians, we are called to listen and know the stories of our brothers and sisters. We must create opportunities to hear, with open hearts, the tragic stories that are deeply imprinted on the lives of our brothers and sisters, if we are to be moved with empathy to promote justice.”

To begin this conversation on racism within our own community, we interviewed Richard Couch. He is an army veteran, a private pilot, an avid bicyclist and builder of model airplanes, fluent in German, a loving husband to Jennifer and father to two children. He has been a parishioner at St. Mary’s since 2001.

Richard states that, “What we perceive as racism is nothing more than another manifestation of one of the many ways we fail to love one another as ourselves.” Richard is thankful to assert that he has never experienced racism within the Catholic Church. “In fact,” he said, “(Church) is the one place where I have not experienced racism. Not in St. Mary’s and not in any other Catholic Church I have attended. I have never felt anything other than welcome anywhere that I’ve gone when I’ve stepped through the doors of a Catholic Church.”

When asked how we, as the congregation of St. Mary’s, might improve our approach toward racial justice and equality, Richard proposed that we all, “keep the idea of the Golden Rule (the principle of treating others as you want to be treated) in mind,” he said, “It’s simple, you can carry it with you wherever you go. You don’t need an internet-accessible device to access it. You just keep it with you.” Beyond abiding by the golden rule, Richard advised that we be more welcoming and hospitable to newcomers. For example he suggested, “If I were an absolute stranger at St. Mary’s, what I would want to see is for someone to not just say "Hello, how are you?", do the usual, perfunctory, cursory courtesies, but to make a genuine effort to show that they are interested in me as a person, that I am genuinely welcomed. I think it’s incumbent upon us to go the extra step to say if there is anything we can do to make your visit more pleasant, more comfortable, don’t hesitate to let us know because we’re glad that you’re here and we want you to come back.”

At the crux of racism is a failure to love. Our role as Catholics is to learn the lessons Jesus taught us on how to love perfectly. This labor toward a more perfect love is ceaseless and perpetual. We combat the absence of love that is racism by educating ourselves on the history of racism in the United States. We must bring to light racist tendencies that have been harbored consciously or subconsciously within our hearts, and within every aspect of our lives. Only once we have acknowledged where we have failed to combat racism can we strive toward a truer love through anti-racist endeavors.

St. Mary's Parishioner Richard Couch


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BAPTISMS

SAMANTHA NOEL

GAVIN BAILEY

SOPHIA WITALKA

NOLAN KIBWANTIAKA

CALEB HOGGE

CORA VAUGHN

NEVA SCHISSEL

TRUMAN SCHISSEL

LAWSON KETELSEN

MADELYN WARD

BRENT BUSHAW

BRUCE SONNIER

RUTH RAUSCH

ALLIANCE-RAOUL MUKUTA

ADAM EVANOVICH

CHANNING CLAVEY

TEAGAN CLAVEY

MARRIAGES

EVAN WALSH AND EMILY HENNINGSEN

KYLE WALSH AND MADELYN RASOR

BRANDON SCHUTZ AND KATHERINE SCHAAF

ZACH RIES AND MARIE SCHNOEBELEN

ARTURO ESPINOZA AND DANIELLE REINERT

Pastor's Letteron taking time to reflect

Article By: Fr. Steve Witt

My beloved friends.

Let me begin by saying how much I have missed you and continue to miss you.

This last 18 or 19 weeks has been for me an experience of deep iso-lation. In the last few weeks I have begun again to experience the life of church in community, but for very good reasons the community is not of the same scale it was prior to the onset of this awful disease. We celebrate either on computer or television with music, or in person with scant crowds and no music, or we don’t celebrate at all. None of those options even comes close to what we desire as normal, yet because we believe and are commit-ted, we tolerate what few options there are until such a time comes when the situation improves and gets better. Hopefully, in the time that we have endured we will learn something about ourselves; about our community; and will recognize in returning our need to change; to make improvements to the way we do Church. Indeed I look forward to that day with great hope.

You know, that hope extends to the recognition of other situations that we face as a community of believ-ers. During this extended period of time George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, was murdered and his death set off a national and then an international movement to acknowledge a need for change in all of our communities. St. Mary of Iowa City has always been noted for its sense of justice and was the catalyst of many social programs in this city and in Johnson County that have benefited the poor, the

immigrant and the homeless, but I think it is time to look again at how we approach the whole of race relationships; to examine again the motives and fears that possess us in our dealings with other people. We sometimes ignore the basic factors that go into our dealings with oth-ers. Maybe now is the time to reflect on all the things that motivate our actions. Maybe now is the time for us to pray for peace and justice in our time. Blessings dear friends,Fr. Steve

Fr. Steve Witt

IT IS TIME TO LOOK AGAIN AT HOW WE APPROACH THE WHOLE OF RACE

RELATIONSHIPS; TO EXAMINE AGAIN THE MOTIVES AND

FEARS THAT POSSESS US IN OUR DEALINGS WITH OTHER

PEOPLE.

HOPEFULLY, IN THE TIME THAT WE HAVE ENDURED WE WILL LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT OURSELVES; ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND WILL RECOGNIZE IN RETURNING, OUR

NEED TO CHANGE; TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE WAY DO CHURCH.

Your Input RequestedIf you have any comments,

concerns, suggestions, ideas, or if you would like to write for the St.

Mary’s quarterly newsletter, please contact Jeanette Roush-Krafka at

[email protected]


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Catholic Contributionsto American Life

Although the role of the US Catholic Church in education and charity is

well documented, its contributions over many centuries to American life are broader in scope and depth than is generally recognized. These contributions required overcoming profound anti-Catholicism in the early 20th century. This article provides some examples of important contributions of Catholics to education, healthcare, social justice, and charity. Much credit is due to Catholic nuns who led the efforts to serve society in each of these categories.

EducationNearly three centuries ago (1727) the Ursuline Sisters founded an academy for girls that graduated the first female pharmacist and first woman of literary merit. It was a free school, and the first school for African American slaves, women of color, and Native Americans. Moreover, during that century, Georgetown, the first Catholic university in the US was founded in 1789 by Jesuits who played a critical role in both early and subsequent American education. A century later many primary and secondary Catholic schools and universities were established, including Notre Dame. By 1920 there were over six thousand elementary schools, of which most were the responsibility of nuns, and about 1,500 Catholic high schools. One impetus for founding Catholic schools was the fear of the anti-Catholicism often present in public schools. A major obstacle of establishing Catholic schools was the Compulsory Education Act of

1922 amending an Oregon law aimed at eliminating parochial schools. However, the Society of Sisters and an outraged Catholic laity were successful in bringing the issue before the Supreme Court, which declared the law unconstitutional. Catholic schools continue to serve the needs, both spiritual and academic, of people from all walks of life.

HealthcareThe Ursuline Sisters, as in education, were also pioneers in healthcare in the United States. They initiated non-profit healthcare in the early 1700s. Throughout the centuries Sister Nurses of many orders have distinguished themselves by caring for the general public, especially for those shunned by the society. In addition to caring for health, their care also included reading to the illiterate, singing to the lonely, and teaching children their letters. During the civil war they cared for both Union and Confederate soldiers, and did not differentiate between Caucasian and African American, or Catholic and non-Catholic soldiers. In the late 1880s Mother Alfred Moes dreamed that she would establish a world class hospital in Rochester, MN with Dr. W.W. Mayo, who had asked for her help. Their discussions led to the building of Mayo Clinic with the inclusion of St. Mary’s Hospital, that opened in 1895. It was Sister Mary Ignatia Gavin of St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, OH and Dr. Robert Smith (a recovering alcoholic) who founded Alcoholics Anonymous in the late 1930s. Currently there are about 600 U.S. Catholic hospitals. In 2016, 45 of them served communities where no other hospital was available.

Social Justice and Human RightsPerhaps less known is the Catholic Church’s role as the

Article By: Robert Tomanek

major institution to challenge temporal authority. Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker Movement that began in 1933, during the Great Depression, offered a religious perspective regarding contemporary social issues by providing houses that provided shelters and food for the homeless and serving the “non-deserving” (prostitutes, drug addicts and alcoholics). This movement reflected the earlier work of nuns. U.S. Catholic bishops continue to support immigration reform and justice for immigrants, the rights of workers to join unions, and criminal justice. They have emphasized the many aspects of human rights, e.g., dignity of work and workers' rights, options for the poor and vulnerable, care for God’s creation, and the right and dignity of life.

CharityCatholic Charities USA & Affiliates have served Americans in numerous ways, i.e., disaster relief, immigration, affordable housing, food and nutrition. During the last few years they have contributed more than 10 million dollars annually in support of the needy. St. Vincent de Paul in the U.S. is an example of unique person-to-person work with their 85,811 active members visiting people in hospitals, homes, eldercares and prisons. In 2017 they provided payments and goods to 5.4 million people. These examples of works of charity demonstrate a clear message of Christian service and love provided to all American residents regardless of race, gender or religion.

Taken together, the many contributions of Catholics to American life reveal that the teachings of the Church have guided our faith to be expressed by works that have strengthened our country and underscored the principles of human dignity.

St. Katharine Drexel interacting with children


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CONFIRMANDS

SAMANTHA NOEL

GAVIN BAILEY

JACOB GATES

BRET BUSHAW

ADAM EVANOVICH

Funerals

VIVIAN KLEINSCHMIDT

GRACE BOMPEMPELI

ROSE RITTENMEYER

BARBARA NICKNISH

EMMA DUFFY

FRANK PERSON

JOYCE DIXON

RICHARD MURPHY

Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Craigie #94

Answers Call to Sew Masks During Covid Article By: Gwen Thompson

A huge “Thank You” goes out to the Catholic Daughters of Americas (CDA) members who participated

in sewing masks for healthcare workers, the elderly and vulnerable. Per Linda Aker of CDA, there were 3 Iowa City area nonprofits that came together to investigate the need for face masks at the very beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. They were: The Preemie Project, Days for Girls Iowa City Chapter and Old Capitol Quilt Guild. With the help of a group of nursing home administrators in Johnson County, it was decided that they would use the combined might of these nonprofits, all of which sew. Their objective was to make masks for the “least among us” and Johnson County Public Servants. As a part of the Catholic Daughters Court Craigie #94 group that sews for Little Dresses for Africa (LDFA), Linda reached out to Diana Cox about what supplies the LDFA group might have to contribute to this cause. Diana sent the information of need out to the CDA members asking for sewers to join in sewing or to search their personal sewing supplies for elastic, which was in short supply. (CDA Court Craigie #94 has members from St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. Wenceslaus, and St. Thomas More.)

All communication about the effort was sent out via the Old Capitol Quilt Guild. They put together an email list and sent out email updates for those wanting to be kept up to date on the effort. Sewers made masks from their own fabric or picked up “kits” from organizers. When the masks were complete, they were then delive-red to specified agencies, hospitals, and nursing homes per their requests for the

masks. There were a number of Court Craigie members that went way above and beyond helping to fill the needs for masks. Jo Myers-Walker, who lives in the downtown Ecumenical Towers (ET), commented that she made many masks for her fellow elderly residents and fa-mily members visiting ET as well as ET workers. She said “I kept sewing until I broke my machine and the elastic ran out. I felt really good helping my fellow residents, and I hope it helps to keep them safe.”

According to Linda, the CDA stopped counting donations after over 7,000 masks were made. Group members continued to sew on their own and deli-ver the masks to organizations on the “Ongoing Needs List” that still express a need for masks. Some of the CDA members who made these incredible masks were: Linda Aker, Diana Cox, Monica Maloney-Mitros, Carole Olney, and Denna Osvald. CDA also assists in providing a once a month meal at the Catholic Worker House (CWH). Monica Maloney-Mitros made masks for some of the CWH residents and workers.

If you are interested in joining Catholic Daughter of Americas, all are welcome! You can contact Joann Page via email at: [email protected] or by phone at: 319-855-2709

A handful of the members of CDA Court Craigie #94

Masks made by the CDA


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family, elevate morals, recover lost ground, and win souls for Jesus Christ, we need to bring St. Joseph onto the battlefield. He is the Terror of Demons!"; Sr. Miriam James, SOLT, with her message on how "all are worthy of the Father's authentic love"; and Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and CEO of Mary's Meals who will tell about the great work the Lord's ministry is doing around the world. Mary's Meals is supported quarterly by our parish through the Sacrificial Giving process facilitated by our Peace and Justice Commission.

The Christ Our Life regional conference draws thousands of people from all four Dioceses in Iowa and from the surrounding states, so if you go you will probably see someone that you know. This year the conference is on September 26 & 27, 2020, and it includes an in-person possibility at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as a live streaming option for those who cannot attend in-person. To order tickets (in-person or live stream) for the Christ Our Life Conference or to find out more about the featured speakers please go to the conference website at: https://www.christourlifeiowa.com.

You never know who you might run into at the Christ Our Life Conference. When our family went in 2014 my son, Matthew, and I went to the backstage area to try to meet Cardinal Timothy Dolan. It was not the first time that Matthew and Dolan had met. We heard him speak at St. Ambrose University in 2007 when Matthew was a baby and Dolan was Archbishop of Milwaukee. There was a picture of Matthew playing with Archbishop Dolan's pectoral cross published in The Catholic Messenger. At the Christ Our Life Conference

Christ Our Life is a Catholic regional conference that has happened every two

years since 2010 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa in late September. The conference features internationally known Catholic speakers from around the world. Past speakers have included Bishop Bob Barron of Word on Fire Catholic Ministies speaking on Catholic apologetics, Fr. Larry Richards of The Reason for Our Hope Foundation sharing his hard-hitting talk on the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), and Immaculée Ilibagiza, survivor of the Rwandan genocide and best selling author of her story, Left to Tell!

This year the Christ Our Life Conference includes Fr. Donald Calloway, author of the new book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, "St. Joseph was the first missionary. Today, he desires again to bring Jesus to the nations. In order to defend marriage and the

Christ Our LifeCatholic Conference 2020

Article By: Dan Teets

in 2014 Matthew gave Cardinal Dolan a signed copy of the photo and got Cardinal Dolan's signature on a copy of the original photo, and then we got an updated photo with the Cardinal. Two days later my son received a card from Cardinal Dolan in honor of the Feast of St. Matthew. Matthew then received a Christmas card from Cardinal Dolan that year. The two have been exchanging Christmas cards ever since.

So, get out there and be inspired at the Christ Our Life Conference by the speakers who share their testimony and their Catholic Faith!

NOTE: Due to concerns about safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, if you are considering participating in the Christ Our Life Conference in Des Moines, the Diocese of Davenport recommends using live stream rather than in-person attendance.

Cardinal Dolan, Matthew Teets, and Dan Teets

ISAAC DOUCETTE: "CHRIST OUR LIFE CONFERENCE IS AN

OPPORTUNITY TO DEEPEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

THROUGH ENGAGING DOWN TO EARTH YET DEEP AND

TRANSCENDENT SPEAKERS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE ON FIRE.

JULIA BLAKE: "THE POWERFUL WITNESS OF IMMACULÉE

ILIBAGIZA AT MY FIRST CHRIST OUR LIFE CONFERENCE GAVE ME A

WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON FAITH, AND ON LIFE. HER

EXPERIENCE OF RELYING ON HER FAITH AS A TEENAGE GIRL IN

HIDING FROM THE MASSACRE OF HER FAMILY AND THOUSANDS OF

OTHER TUTSI'S GAVE ME A DIFFERENT CONCEPT OF HOPE THAN I HAD EVER IMAGINED."

TIM BLAKE: "MY FIRST CHRIST OUR LIFE CONFERENCE WAS IN 2012,

AND I HAVEN'T MISSED ANY SINCE. IT IS ALWAYS ONE OF THE MOST

SPIRITUALLY FULFILLING ACTIVITIES I DO WITH MY FAITH JOURNEY. AND THE BEST PART IS THAT EVERY CONFERENCE FEELS LIKE NEW, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

ALWAYS HELPS ME FIND NEW WAYS TO GROW CLOSER TO GOD

AND JESUS!"


Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. Our Lady appeared to him holding a white crown and a red crown. He later related, “She asked if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.” He entered

the Franciscan novitiate in 1910 and was ordained in 1918. While in Rome, Maximilian founded the Militia Immaculatae (MI) Catholic evangelization movement. Its purpose was to bring about the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by encouraging each and every soul to make a total consecration of themselves to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. “Through the Immaculata to Jesus” was a lifelong motto. He returned to Poland in 1919, with doctorates in philosophy and theology, and he had contracted tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he immediately began spreading the MI Catholic Evangelization and in January of 1922, began publishing the monthly magazine, Knight of the Immaculata.In 1927 he founded a religious house near Warsaw called Niepokalanów, the City of the Immaculate, from which to expand his evangelization efforts. Kolbe’s method of evangelization through the sponsorship of Mary was a major development of the

Franciscan charism, stimulating considerable growth in the Franciscan Order itself. Father Maximilian took four brothers to Japan and founded another City there.He returned to Poland in 1936, for treatment of advanced Tuberculosis, and reassumed direction at Niepokalanów – by then the largest Catholic publishing center in Poland, possibly in the world. Two years later, in 1938, he started a radio station at Niepokalanów, Radio Niepokalanów. He held an amateur radio license, with the call sign SP3RN.After the outbreak of World War II, Kolbe was one of the few friars who remained in the monastery, where he organized a temporary hospital. After the town was captured by the Germans, he was arrested by them on 19 September 1939, and they imprisoned him in Auschwitz. As prisoner #16670, he eventually laid down his life for another prisoner on August 14, 1941.By the late 1940’s the cause for Fr. Kolbe’s beatification had begun. He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and canonized by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1982. The National Shrine of Saint Maximilian Kolbe is at Marytown in Libertyville, Illinois, about thirty miles north of Chicago. He is the patron saint of families, prisoners, journalists, political prisoners, drug addicts, the pro-life movement and amateur radio operators.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) Feast day: August 14th Article By: Julia Blake

St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church

302 E. Jefferson St. Iowa City, IA 52245

music is the prayer the heart sings - st. mary of the

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