A friend recently posted this item to Facebook: “Romeo and Juliet is not a love story. It’s a three day relationship between a thirteen year old and a seventeen year old that caused six deaths. Sincerely, everyone who actually read it.” The humor in the post reflects a deeper truth behind it: instinctively we know that love is not a passing emotion. Love is something of lasting and permanent value that withstands all obstacles and opposition. While love often does lead the lover to give their life for the sake of the beloved, it does not provoke suicide and vengeance. The readings for today provide us the opportunity to reflect on the teaching of Jesus on love.

The basic commandment of the Old Law is the first teaching of Jesus on love: love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Loving our neighbor is the fundamental challenge of our faith. However, the first reading points out the added challenge of Jesus’ teaching: we must also love our enemies, or rather we should regard everyone as our neighbor, not just those of our fellow race or religion. Peter challenges the early Church to accept the stranger into the communion of Jesus. Gentiles too are called by God to have a relationship with him. The reading points out that the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized. Peter baptizes them as an external sign of the internal reality already present in the hearts of the believing Gentiles.

However, the teaching of Jesus on love does not end there. The second reading reminds us to remember that Jesus is present in the hearts of all people, and we must see Christ present in the other so that our love is even more committed to the care of others. In the command of the Old Law, we were instructed to see ourselves in our neighbor and in this way we would show love for them as we would not do anything harmful to ourselves. The new command of Jesus reminds us that Christ himself is present in the other, and in seeing Christ in the other instead of ourselves we purify our love to a greater degree as we forget our own concerns. In the teaching on the final judgment in Matthew 25 the sheep are praised for their love, and God says to them, “For as often as you did it to one of these least ones, you did it to me.” To see not ourselves but Christ in the other is to advance to a greater degree of love than found in the Old Law.

The final step in the perfection of love is found in the Gospel text for today: love one another as I have loved you. In this new command of Jesus we have two elements of fundamental importance. First, we must imitate the love of Jesus in being completely willing to lay down our lives for others. This command means that we should have a complete disregard for our own interests. Even if we are falsely accused or face an injustice, we must embrace it for love of others as Jesus the Lord had done. The second element is that now we no longer see ourselves as ourselves in the act of loving our neighbor. We are to put on the Lord Jesus – to see ourselves as another Christ – and to forget our own identity completely. Hence, it is Jesus living in me and working through me that reaches out in love to Jesus present in the other person to love that person as another Christ.

The first followers of Jesus knew the command of the Old Law. They also heard the challenge of Jesus to love our enemies and to see Christ in others, and they even heard the command of Jesus to love one another as he loved us. Yet, they could not have this perfect love until they saw it lived out in the sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross. This love of Jesus is rewarded in the resurrection, the promised inheritance for those who love as Jesus loved. Our mission as disciples is to live in our own lives the ministry of Jesus: to love others perfectly. Just as the first disciples did not turn away those who were perceived as enemies or unclean, so we must embrace all in our ministry. And just as Jesus forgot his own self, accepting the injustice of false accusation in order to save us, so we must forget ourselves and accept the injustices of the world as we serve others.

As we seek to love more perfectly in our work as disciples of the Lord, we pray together a famous prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who gave up a life of wealth and worldly fame to follow Jesus more perfectly: “Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for reward; save that of knowing I am doing your will. Amen.”

Jude Huntz is Director of the Human Rights Office and chancery chief of staff for the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph.

Daily Scripture Readings

For complete daily Scripture texts, click here.
http://www.usccb.org

Monday, May 14
Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
Psalms 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
John 15:9-17

Tuesday, May 15
Acts 16:22-34
Psalms 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8
John 16:5-11

Wednesday, May 16
Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
Psalms 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14
John 16:12-15

Thursday, May 17
Acts 18:1-8
Psalms 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
John 16:16-20

Friday, May 18
Acts 18:9-18
Psalms 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
John 16:20-23

Saturday, May 19
Acts 18:23-28
Psalms 47:2-3, 8-9, 10
John 16:23b-28

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord,
Sunday, May 20
Acts 1:1-11
Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 1:17-23
Mark 16:15-20

The full text of the Scripture readings for this week and next week can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/

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Lee Hulburt and her daughter, Bridget, with Kosi, the little girl they sponsor, in Kenya during a CFCA mission awareness trip in February 2012. (photo courtesy of CFCA)

By Marty Denzer
Catholic Key Reporter

KANSAS CITY, Kan., — The Christian Foundation for Children and Aging was founded in 1981 in Kansas City, Mo., as a grassroots organization to help support children and the elderly living in poverty in developing countries. Since then, people all over the U.S. have committed to sponsoring more than 650,000 children and aging people through CFCA, and contributing $15 – $30 monthly for their support. Now based in Kansas City, Kan., CFCA, one of Forbes Magazine’s 200 largest U.S. non-profits, reached a major milestone on April 2: they have distributed more than $1 billion in aid to benefit children, the elderly and their families in 22 countries.

“CFCA was founded as and remains a grassroots organization,” said Martin Krause, Director of Finance. “Our founders, Bud, Bob and Jim Hentzen, their sister Nadine Pearce, and their friend Jerry Tolle, worked to build and maintain an organization with high standards of accountability.” CFCA doesn’t depend on government or corporate funding to continue its mission, he added.

He said he spoke with Nadine Pearce shortly before her death in January to congratulate her on the organization’s upcoming accomplishment. “She said to me, ‘$1 billion, that’s great, but there’s still a lot to do. We’re not finished yet.’ And we’re not,” Krause said. “There are a lot of families in Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Africa that live in incredible poverty. CFCA works to help them help themselves out of poverty.”

Helping the poor and marginalized in developing countries was not a new idea for Bob Hentzen or Jerry Tolle. Hentzen, a former Christian Brother, had served as a missionary in Colombia from 1959 – 1963, and in Guatemala from 1967 – 1973. He later taught at the high school and university levels, but never forgot the experiences he’d had serving and living side by side with the poor.

A desire to return to those missionary roots and live in solidarity with the poor led him to found CFCA with three of his siblings and Jerry Tolle. After discussions, brainstorming and reflections on Catholic social teaching, they decided that a sponsorship program would benefit not only children and old people living in poverty, but benefits would also rebound on the sponsors. Monthly contributions would help provide food, education and medical care to children and the elderly and, through letters and photographs, connect sponsors to the families their contributions were helping, forming lasting friendships.

“CFCA started in a basement office in one of the Hentzen’s homes in November, 1981,” Krause said. “Our founders used a personal Christmas card list to start recruiting sponsors. Nadine once told me that when they started CFCA they didn’t know what they were doing.”

They must have figured it out quickly. “Hope for a Family” sponsorship program provides basic resources and encouragement to children, their families and the elderly. The sponsorship experience proved so powerful and gratifying that more and more individuals and families committed to sponsoring at least one child or older person. Loretta Shea Kline, CFCA Director of Communications, said that over the past 30 years, 628,000 people helped better the lives of approximately 650,000 children and old people.

CFCA believes that by empowering the poor, they can transform their lives and effect change in the world. Sponsorship helps children from preschool through high school, college or technical training, by providing for fees, books, school uniforms and supplies. It helps families put more nutritious food on the table and supplements a family’s income; making medical care and better living conditions more accessible.

Sponsorship is a powerful thing, Kline said. “CFCA sponsors have helped 650,000 kids complete school, have nourishment and other things they need like medical care. Their parents and families are able to improve their lives — through livelihood programs they become self-sustaining, empowered. They can begin to save a little bit, and through small business loans they can begin a business that will help make them able to meet day-to-day needs better.”

CFCA grew. In the 1980s, about $4 million was sent to help sponsored children and families in developing countries. In the 1990s, about $110 million was sent and, during the 2000s, $669 million was sent overseas to sponsored children and elderly in 22 countries. The remaining $217 million has been contributed and distributed since 2010, totaling $1 billion, Krause said. It is important to note, he added, that 94 percent of every dollar contributed goes to the programs supporting the families and children. The remaining 6 percent covers administrative expenses and fundraising costs.

Krause displayed a graph of CFCA’s growth, explaining that there has been steady growth since about 1998. He attributes that to the priests and ministers with CFCA sponsors in their parishes. “The presence of people you know goes a long way toward interesting you in becoming part of the effort,” he said.

Carlos Casas, CFCA’s Public Relations Manager, said, “Without the support of the Church and its social teaching, we wouldn’t be growing as much as we are.”

Krause said that in the Kansas City area, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 sponsors of children in the CFCA project countries. “Our sponsors really connect,” he said, “with the children and their parents. It’s been brought home to me again and again that in so many ways, they’re just like us. They have hopes and dreams of a better future for their children, very much like our dreams for our children. We find so much in common.”

Sponsorship, he said, is a practical and trustworthy way to live out the Gospel call.

CFCA staff members, both in the field and at the office, strive to tailor benefits to the children and elderly. “We work very hard to personalize our benefit programs to fit each child, older person and family,” Krause said.

Encouragement from sponsors is the other part of it, Kline said. “Sponsors’ letters, and photographs encourage children to stay in school and study hard. They begin to realize that somebody believes in them!”

Casas added, “It’s a ripple effect. Sponsors empower children, who in turn empower their families, which empowers the community and widens to benefit the nation.”

Krause said, “We would love to have more sponsors join us in the movement to help more people in more communities. Poverty is a huge issue. CFCA will continue to work at alleviating poverty, one child and one family at a time.”

Aware of the poverty, violence and discouragement that exists even in the U.S., Krause said, “Here in America, CFCA partners with local organizations and institutions like the Rose Brooks Center and Cristo Rey High School to help break the cycle of poverty and violence.”

Casas said the organization wants to continue growing. “Our next effort is a documentary about the programs, sponsors and the children. Rise and Dream premiers in Kansas City on June 30, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.”

Kline added, “Our hope is that by our sponsors and families sharing their stories on the big screen, more people will want to join us. The documentary is our invitation to them.”

Rise and Dream, a documentary about 13 teenagers and their families living in poverty in the Philippines, premiers at 7 p.m., June 30, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City. Admission is free.

To learn more about the sponsorship program and Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, visit www.hopeforafamily.org.

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Father Joe Sharbel, pastor of St. Gabriel Archangel Parish, and Angela Garcia, parish pastoral associate, talk to a “tribe” of students in St. Gabriel School’s Prayer Garden, during their “Journey with Jesus” April 26. (Marty Denzer/Key photo)

By Marty Denzer
Catholic Key Reporter

KANSAS CITY — What child would say no to a virtual type of trip to a land he or she has heard about all their life? Students at St. Gabriel Archangel School “traveled” through the Holy Land, via PowerPoint presentations, maps, speakers and food tastings — a Journey with Jesus. The journey was held April 26 in classrooms, the gym and the outdoor prayer garden.

Carol Davidson, second grade teacher at St. Gabriel School, coordinated the journey. “Today is Take your Children to Work Day,” she said, “and we wanted to do something special for the kids who didn’t go to work with mom or dad. Last year we held an all-school retreat, ‘A Day in the Life of Jesus,’ and the students enjoyed it. So this year, we decided to have our students ‘walk’ where the events in the life of Jesus took place.”

St. Gabriel principal Judy Marsh explained how the day was coordinated. “The kids are gathered in groups of nine,” she said. “They become members of a tribe for a day, like the Tribes of Israel. The tribal leader is a seventh or eighth grader who leads their group to each of nine activity stations. The students all have passports that they have decorated and those get stamped by a teacher when their tribe leaves the station.”

Stations included Bethlehem, where Jesus was born; Nazareth, where he spent his childhood; Capernaum, where he began his adult ministry, and Jerusalem, where he was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. The River Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, the Last Supper, and scenes of other major events in Jesus’ life were also included.

The River Jordan and other sites were transplanted to Kansas City through PowerPoint and interactive scenes and maps in the third grade classroom. Students were able to see illustrations and art showing the Jordan as it was in biblical times juxtaposed with photographs and action scenes of the Jordan as it is today. After seeing the computer presentation and discussing what they had seen, the students engaged in an activity related to what they learned.

“The Jordan is the river where Jesus was baptized, and people still walk in it today,” said seventh grader Lawson Kalaiwaa. “Seeing the presentation on it makes you reflect on how it would be to actually see the Jordan and other places Jesus visited, kind of walking in his footsteps.”

Fellow seventh grader David Stewart said, “This is cool. We’ve traveled around the Holy Land, clicking on real, actual places where Jesus lived and walked.”

The Last Supper was a supper, featuring samples of lamb, unleavened bread, herbs and other foods Jesus and his disciples would have eaten at that meal.

The Prayer Garden is a brick patio surrounded by roses, flowering trees and flower beds across the parking lot from the school. Father Joe Sharbel, pastor of St. Gabriel’s parish, asked the arriving tribe where in the Holy Land they had visited that morning.

“We went to Jerusalem,” several children answered in unison.

“Ah, the place of Jesus’ passion and resurrection,” Father Sharbel said. “While we’re thinking about Jesus, and his dying for our sins and rising from the dead, let’s talk about prayer. We pray in our classrooms, at Mass, and many of us pray with our families. But do you have a favorite place where you can be all by yourself and be alone with God?”

Hands waved like branches in the wind. “My backyard.” “My room.”

Father Sharbel nodded. “I like being outside with God, like in this garden, where I can see the flowers blooming, hear the birds singing and smell the flowers. God’s alive here.”

Angela Garcia, pastoral associate at St. Gabriel’s, and tag teammate of Father Sharbel in the Prayer Garden station, added, “There are different ways of praying. Think of these four letters, A…C…T…S. What does that spell? ACTS, like the Acts of the Apostles.

A stands for adoration — praising and loving God. C stands for contrition — telling God we’re sorry for our sins and asking him for forgiveness. T stands for thanksgiving — thanking God for our blessings. And S stands for supplication — asking God for help, for our families, for our friends, for our country, for ourselves.”

She gave the students another acronym, JOY, Jesus, others and you. “When you pray,” Garcia said, “pray to God and his son Jesus for others and for yourself. By praying for each other, maybe someday we can change our world.”

Two brick paths lead in and out of the prayer garden. Father Sharbel pointed to the paths, saying the road to the garden separates. “Which road looks harder?” A small girl pointed to the longer, more winding path. “That one.” Father Sharbel nodded and asked “Which one do you want to take?” She pointed to the path again. “That one, I like hard things.” Chuckling, Father Sharbel said, “Well, think of the road to heaven. Is it easy?”

Fifth grader Josh Wright said, “No, you have to work hard to get to heaven.”

Garcia explained the prayer garden activity: “We are making a joy prayer bracelet. You will each get three strands of different colors and braid them together. The teal (blue green) stands for Jesus, the fuchsia (pink) stands for others and the yellow stands for yourself. We’re going to braid them together to remind us that all three, Jesus, others and yourself, should be part of your prayers.” Older students helped younger ones braid and tie the bracelets. The “Our Father” was recited, passports stamped and it was time to move to another station.

Which one? It would be up to the tribe’s leader to lead them to another scene from Jesus’ life.

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5. En la Iglesia Hay Lugar y Trabajo Para Todos

This weekend I have the occasion to participate in the Commencement Exercises of our two Catholic Universities: Avila and Rockhurst. At Conception Seminary a special Mass similarly will mark the completion of the school year and bestowal of degrees in Philosophy. May and early June brings the end of the school year for thousands of our young people. I wish to offer prayerful best wishes to all of our students and school administration, faculty and staff. Congratulations to those who have reached milestones in their education: graduates of 8th grade and high school, college, and the completion of graduate degrees.

With God’s help you have persevered in realizing these significant accomplishments, and I pray you will continue to be guided in your next endeavors with a living faith. I commend our school leaders and teachers for the dedication and expertise by which you seek to form our youth. I thank you for regarding our students as holy persons who need and desire your best example and encouragement to grow intellectually, spiritually, and as mature and responsible men and women.

This weekend is also Mother’s Day, a wonderful occasion to reflect on the vocation of Mothers (and Fathers) who give their children life and faith. Parents are entrusted with a blessed dignity to protect, provide for, and form the lives of God’s precious children. They are not only caretakers of their children in a material sense. They must also be attentive to the eternal salvation and spiritual welfare of their sons and daughters.

A vital part of the care of our young people is their education and formation. Parents are the first educators and primary teachers of their children. The Church also has a role in the work of educating children. She must support and guide parents in this primary responsibility. I am grateful for the dedication of many of our parishes with schools and for the constant and significant support they provide for this important work. Many of our other parishes also fulfill pledges of financial support for these schools. They commit large portions of their parish income to prosper the program of Catholic education. They are parishes with the same bills and worries as other parishes. Alongside the parents, who make great sacrifices to keep their children in Catholic schools, these parishes accept heroic commitments to keep our schools going strong. I know it isn’t easy. I thank the pastors and contributing parishioners.

I cannot stress enough how the endeavor of Catholic education and the support of parents in the formation of youth is essential to the work of the Church. Without Catholic schools the Church would be more limited in fulfilling her mission of evangelization and catechesis. Statistics make clear that students who attend our schools are more likely to be actively engaged in the life of their parishes as adults.

As the school year draws to a close I thank you for all you do to help our schools fulfill their work of assisting parents and families.

On behalf of us all who are supremely grateful to God for the grace of our earthly Mothers, I extend a “Happy Mothers Day” to all our Moms.

Congratulations to our graduates, and to the administrators, faculty and staff of our schools. May you enjoy some rest and recreation this summer!

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En la vida de todas las personas se dan momentos particulares en los que Dios concede especiales gracias para poder encontrarle. La inminencia de la vuelta del destierro del pueblo de Israel supone uno de esos momentos privilegiados de cercanía con el Señor. En los textos de la liturgia de la misa de este domingo, la Iglesia nos recuerda el misterio de la sabiduría de Dios, siempre unido a unos deseos de redención para con nosotros. “yo soy la salvación del pueblo, dice el Señor: si me invocan en la tribulación, los escuchare, y seré siempre su señor.” (Antífona de entrada). De igual manera en el Evangelio el Señor quiere que consideremos como esos planes redentores están íntimamente relacionados con el trabajo en su vina, no importando cual sea nuestra edad o las circunstancias en que Dios se ha acercado y nos ha llamado para que le sigamos.

Dentro de las realidades que encierran la vida de los Cristianos hoy en día, está el que son pocas las personas que de verdad, con intimidad y fe verdadera, conocen a Cristo, y lamentablemente muchos quizá mueran sin saber apenas que Cristo vive y que El trae la salvación para todos. La verdad es que en buena parte dependerá de nuestro empeño el que muchos hombres y mujeres busquen y encuentren a Cristo, especialmente por nuestro buen ejemplo de vida. En esto cociste la invitación que Jesús hoy en el Evangelio de San Mateo nos está haciendo de ir y trabajar en su vina.

La invitación que nos está haciendo el Señor hoy es que en su campo hay lugar y trabajo para todos: Este campo es la Iglesia peregrina en el mundo que está abierta para todos, jóvenes y viejos, ricos y pobres, para hombres y mujeres que se encuentran en la plenitud de vida, así mismo para quienes ven ya cerca su atardecer. Para los que tienen mucho tiempo disponible y a la vez para los que cuentan con solo un poquito y hacen grandes sacrificios por estar ahí cuando se les llama a servir.

Por consiguiente, se impone a todos los Cristianos la dulcísima obligación de trabajar para que el mensaje de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, sea conocido y aceptado por todos los hombres de cualquier condición social raza o lengua, la verdad es que no hay escusa para trabajar en la vina del señor como uno de sus evangelizadores. Pero lo más importante al aceptar este reto, este llamado que viene inmerso en nuestro ser desde el día de nuestro Bautismo es que lo debemos empezar en nuestra propia familia primero.

De nosotros depende que nadie que pase junto a nosotros en la vida deberá decir que no se sintió alentado o invitado por nuestro ejemplo y por nuestra palabra de amar más a nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Ninguno de nuestros amigos, ninguno de nuestros familiares deberá decir al final de sus vidas que nadie se ocupo de ensenarles la fe o de hablarles a cerca del mensaje de salvación. Esta es la vina y este es el campo donde el Señor quiere que estemos. Es Cristo por medio de la Iglesia y de sus ministros los Obispos y sacerdotes quienes tienen la misión de recordarnos esto. Esta es la misión de la Iglesia trabajar en conjunto con los laicos, los bautizados en Cristo en transformación de nuestra sociedad, en la edificación del Reino aquí en la tierra.

Cristo nos está llamando a ir a su vina, El nos está llamando a ser uno de sus obreros, de sus jornaleros, esta es una vocación y una gran misión para la cual nos estamos preparando, ser evangelizadores en el mundo moderno desde nuestra situación particular de vida, estamos siendo llamados a ser otros Cristos, fermento de fe para la sociedad Americana del nuevo siglo XXI.

P. Jorge Ramirez, Administrador de St. Patrick Church, St. Joseph MO

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Jordan Schiele, holding son Nathaniel, and Jessie Schiele at far right stand with Jerusalem Farm board members Bill Cordaro, Ben Cascio, Jude Huntz, Dave Armstrong and Regina Staves to receive a blessing from the congregation that celebrated the welcoming Mass May 1 as Jerusalem Farm prepared to open its mission of service to the poor and prayer. (Kevin Kelly/Key photo)

By Kevin Kelly
Catholic Key Associate Editor

KANSAS CITY – At least for Dave Armstrong, it was a no-brainer.

As Avila University’s director of Campus Ministries and Mission Effectiveness, he had been leading students on mission and retreat trips to Nazareth Farm in Appalachia for a decade.

When the opportunity presented itself just last August to bring the work-and-prayer experience to inner city Kansas City, he seized it.

On May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Armstrong, Avila University President Ronald Slepitza and provincial leadership team member Sister of St. Joseph Helen Flemington were among the dignitaries to open Jerusalem Farm and welcome its first directors, Jordan and Jessie Schiele – and one-year-old son Nathaniel – to Kansas City.

It happened fast, Armstrong admitted at a Mass celebrated by Father Bob Stone for the nearly 100 guests, crammed into what will be the dining room of the urban farm.

All three Schieles had arrived just two weeks earlier with other Nazareth Farm volunteers in tow, but much work had already been done on repairing the nine-bedroom former convent on Garfield Avenue, building and filling the first compost bins, and tilling and planting what this summer and fall will be Jerusalem Farm’s first crop of organic vegetables.

There will soon be chickens – just like many of their northeast Kansas City immediate neighbors already have. And there will be work to be done, mirroring the work done in and around Salem, W.Va., in repairing the homes of the area’s poor.

But will it work? That’s where faith comes in, said Armstrong.

“Our mission is to be in right relationship with God, ourselves, others and the earth,” Armstrong said. “We come as humble neighbors. We don’t come to speak. We come to listen. The challenge is not in recognizing who our neighbor is. The challenge is being the neighbor to others.”

Jerusalem Farm will operate on the same four “cornerstones” of Nazareth Farms, which has been a host to literally thousands of college students looking for a better way to spend spring break than on a beach.

Those cornerstones begin with prayer. Every day begins and ends with community prayer. There is also prayer before every meal, and prayer while working. There is also professionally led spiritual retreat, in Kansas City led by Sister of St. Joseph Rose McLarney.

The second cornerstone is simplicity. There are no cell phones, no laptops, no television. Jordan Schiele also promises that the convent that last served the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth who staffed the former St. John the Baptist parish and school that is now the Don Bosco Center will be one of the “greenest” houses in Kansas City. Everything will be recycled and reused, and there are plans underway to install solar panels to provide the building’s heating, cooling and power needs.

The third cornerstone is community. Jerusalem Farm will be open to individuals and groups, especially organized college and high school student groups, for retreat and manual work experiences that could be scheduled for a day, a weekend or a week. During that week, members will bond through prayer, meals and work without the electronic distractions of the outside world.

The fourth cornerstone is service. Jerusalem Farm will offer simple home repair services throughout the neighborhood, offering free labor, whatever scrap materials and tools they can collect, and asking the homeowner only to pay for other materials as needed on an affordable monthly payment basis.

Armstrong said he has led more than 20 groups from Avila on Nazarath Farm retreat and service experiences over the last decade.

After a retreat there in August, he learned that the Schieles, project coordinators at Nazareth Farm, were planning to leave to establish a Catholic Worker house in Detroit.

Armstrong wanted to find some way to bring them to Kansas City, but had no idea how.

“Two weeks after I got back, I got an e-mail from Jude Huntz (chancery chief of staff of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph) that said Don Bosco was looking for a new use for the convent,” Armstrong said.

He got busy.

“I talked to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (sponsors of Avila University). I talked to Ron (Slepitza). I talked to Sister Rose. I talked to Jude. I said, ‘What do you think of this idea? To bring the mission of Nazareth Farm to an urban area,” Armstrong said.

That was the easy part, he said. Everybody in Kansas City said go for it.

The hard part, he said, was convincing the Schieles.

Armstrong had all the plans in place by October, when he led another group of Avila students to a work-retreat at Nazareth Farm. As soon as he arrived, he presented the plan to the Schieles.

“Jordan said no,” Armstrong recalled. “I said, ‘You talk about it and think it over.’ I knew we needed them to put this together.”

They talked some more, and Armstrong asked that they sleep on it, and they would talk again in the morning. They didn’t have to.

“Jessie told me that first night that they were coming to Kansas City,” he said.

It would be a bold move for seasoned veterans. But Jordan is 26. Jessie is 23. By the standards of the secular world, they know that what they are doing is not your normal career and life path. But it is one they have to take.

The couple met as Americorps volunteers in 2008. Bitten by service to the poor, they soon settled into Nazareth Farm and were married two years later and knew how they would spend at least their young adulthood if not the rest of their lives – in service to the poor, connected deeply to Christian faith.

“I was majoring in non-profit management at a community college, so I wound up in the same place I would be if I were in college,” said Jessie, a native of Gaylord, Mich.

“It is very clear to us that this is what life is supposed to be,” said Jordan, a native of Sacramento, Calif.

The couple immersed themselves in studying the full range of Catholic social teaching – the papal encyclicals, the pastoral letters from national conferences of bishops from around the world, as well as the writings of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement.

“Life doesn’t have to be spent in such an institutional setting,” Jordan said. “We will be spending our time not just on making money, but on things that time should be spent on, in relationships and community.”

And that is why Jerusalem Farm is going to work, Slepitza said. He says the Nazareth Farm experience, located just across the city from the Avila Campus, will be a core part of the Avila education experience.

“I see it as an opportunity for students to engage their neighbors,” he said. “We will all learn what it means to be in relationship with each other.”

Sister Helen said it was also a no-brainer for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet’s leadership team to endorse the Jerusalem Farm project, and just as appropriate to celebrate the first Mass on that site on a major feast of St. Joseph.

“This is our charism,” she said. “This follows the work we have been doing for 175 years in the United States. It’s all about the dear neighbors and how we are serving them and how we are all growing in faith and love.”

Ben Cascio, executive director of the Don Bosco Center, said the center’s board had an easy decision to make.

“When Dave and Jude first came to me to talk about this, it was like a miracle,” he said.

“There is a huge need for this in this community. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. The very best we offer are very simple and very pure. I knew this was good from the beginning.”

In his homily, Father Stone said that the students taking advantage of the Jerusalem Farm experience will receive far more than they will give.

He recalled leading a student group and adult chaperones to a service experience at a huge homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., within sight of the U.S. Capitol building.

“The first thing they did was walk through a group of homeless people waiting outside the shelter. They were afraid,” he said.

“By the end of the week, the students knew most of the homeless by name, and they took down the address of the shelter so they could write to them when they got back. And remember, teenagers don’t write letters.

“They were seeing that they were people just like them,” Father Stone said. “That’s what God calls us to do. That’s what the call for peace and justice in the world is all about. We are all brothers and sisters, and we need to realize that.”

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Page 1 of Key Classifieds - May 4, 2012

Page 2 of Key Classifieds - May 4, 2012

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Cuantas veces en nuestro diario caminar tratamos de resolver problemas cotidianos. Cuantas veces nos sentimos capaces de entender la lógica de los problemas y queremos darles una respuesta, siempre desde nuestro punto de vista. En nuestro tiempo y espacio, la comunidad hispana en los estados unidos enfrenta muchos retos a nivel humano, espiritual y social.

Día tras día vemos como los problemas en nuestras familias crecen. Muchas personas han ido emigrando de otros países o de otros estados y existe una constante preocupación en la persona del emigrante sobre el futuro que nos espera. Otras familias viven en la desesperación de la incertidumbre de la educación de sus hijos emigrantes que no tienen la oportunidad de ir a la escuela para obtener una educación superior y así poder ofrecer una estabilidad a su familia y a la sociedad.

Otras familias están batallando mucho con la unión de sus integrantes. Padres y madres, que por varias razones, se han separado y ahora no se encuentra el camino del amor y la reconciliación que afecta de manera considerable a nos hijos y al final también a la misma sociedad.

El secularismo materialista que afecta a nuestra comunidad hispana tampoco se queda atrás. Es muy fácil ver a hermanos hispanos hundíos en el vicio del materialismo. Este materialismo lleva a las personas a consumir productos que algunas veces no son necesarios para la subsistencia.

Pero que está detrás de este materialismo, pues no es más que la búsqueda constante de la felicidad reflejada en objetos que no son ni la fuente ni el fin de la felicidad ansiada. Este materialismo no hace más que atacar la sencillez de corazón y la paz interior.

Otras familias hispanas han perdido el sentido espiritual y religioso que se heredó de nuestros antepasados. Por muchas décadas, la cultura hispana se caracterizó por ser una comunidad de creyentes que vivían y defendían los valores cristianos hasta la muerte. Ejemplo de ello lo encontramos en la persecución religiosa que se vivió en México durante la primera mitad del siglo XX. Cientos de personas como tú y como yo lucharon de varias maneras para conservar el tesoro de la fe en Jesucristo y la Virgen de Guadalupe.

La pregunta en esta reflexión es ¿Por qué en nuestro tiempo, parece que estamos demasiado preocupados y ocupados por el bienestar temporal y hemos descuidado lo que verdaderamente vale, la vida eterna? Lo más interesante es que a pesar que nos preocupamos por los bienes temporales, aún así no podemos ser felices porque siempre queremos más y más sin llegar a una satisfacción plena de nuestro ser.

La respuesta a esta pregunta la encontramos en el evangelio de este domingo. Porque mientras estemos separados de Jesucristo que es el tronco, nosotros como ramas no podremos dar fruto ni encontrar el sentido de nuestra existencia. Solo cuando permanecemos unidos a la fuente de la vida, podremos dar vida. Solo cuando permanecemos unidos a Jesús y al magisterio de la iglesia, podemos dar frutos de verdaderos cristianos.

Por Gustavo Valdez, Director del Ministerio Hispano, Diócesis de Kansas City-St. Joseph

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By Marty Denzer
Catholic Key Reporter

KANSAS CITY — After a 5-year legislative battle, the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, named for a middle school student in the 1980s who was molested and sexually abused by a teacher for more than a year, was passed by both the Missouri Senate and House and signed into law by Gov. Jay Nixon July 14, 2011. By Jan. 1, 2012, all public school districts in the state were to have adopted a written policy concerning teacher-student and employee-student communication, including appropriate use of electronic media such as social networking and other Internet sites and text messages. In his written signing statement, Gov. Nixon cautioned that the Amy Hestir Act would only have limited impact because it requires only public schools to share information. It doesn’t mention parochial or private schools. “All students attending schools in Missouri should be protected. A comprehensive solution to this problem must involve both public and private schools.”

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph was already at work on a Social Media Policy for school administrators and employees, ministry staff and any diocesan employee and volunteer working directly with minors.

The policy, which was modeled on the social media policy of the Diocese of Tucson, was approved by Bishop Robert W. Finn on Nov. 23, 2011, to be effective Jan. 1, 2012. One of the principles underscoring the policy is that Diocesan employees and volunteers who communicate through social media and business networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and Google +, represent the Catholic Church and should, as a matter of course, give witness to the values and teachings of the church.

First and foremost, the policy states, diocesan employees should recognize that any and all information posted to a social network site or online community is or can be public information. It cautions employees and volunteers to remind other members of the network or online community of their position in the church, to never post inappropriate material or comments to their own or any other site, and to promptly remove inappropriate material or comments posted by others from their site. Employees and volunteers should exercise discretion, posts should reflect Church community values and transparency is vital. Users of social networks and online communities should use their own names, not pseudonyms. Ultimately, the policy says, responsibility for personal and professional content resides with the employee or volunteer.

Rebecca Summers, diocesan Communications Director, said the Diocese recognizes that cell phone texting and instant messaging are preferred modes of communication for youth, and teachers and coaches may need to utilize them. The use of social media networks in communication with youth, however, is restricted by the policy, she said.

Social network communication between diocesan employees or adult volunteers with youth under age 18 who are or were under the adult’s care or supervision in an official activity, including school and field trips, sports practices or competitions, retreats or mission trips, should occur only on official sites of the diocese, ministry, parish or school, or through parent or guardian approved contact methods. A written consent form, signed by the parent(s), is required. As with the Amy Hestir Act, parents or guardians of youth in diocesan school, parish or ministry activities must be able to see any and all communication between adults and their youth. Summers added that according the requirements set forth in the policy, one-on-one or private communication, including email, text messages, Facebook postings, text or audio/visual chatroom communications or instant messaging between adult employees or volunteers with minors is prohibited except where permitted by the parents or guardians by a signed permission form. Consent forms will be maintained in a centralized diocesan location and updated annually.

Associate diocesan School Superintendent Pat Burbach said that social media networks will be used by schools to be in contact with their communities (adult alumni as well as current parents). Coaches use it to contact teams, their parents and other coaches. All diocesan policy guidelines have to be adhered to, as stated in the policy, she said. The guidelines state that diocesan employees and volunteers must be transparent in all electronic interactions. “Exercise sound judgment when communicating and establishing relationships with youth, and do not place yourself into a position which could be viewed as compromising or which could have the appearance of impropriety. … follow safe environment guidelines and Codes of Ethical Conduct always. Adults must be vigilant to protect God’s children.”

The guidelines emphasize that employees and volunteers should set personal profile pages to a “private” setting so that youth can not access adult personal information.

“We are now working on a process to add Facebook and a blog to our diocesan site,” Burbach said. As the school office’s website is an official diocesan site, two adult site administrators will monitor the use of the network, the consents and permissions. The site name, administrators’ names and passwords will be registered at a centralized location.

Summers added, “Good boundaries are necessary.”

Jon Schaffhausen, diocesan youth office director said, “The use of social media in youth ministry varies from parish to parish and has evolved just as the technology itself has evolved. Everyone knows that teens don’t communicate by email anymore, so that isn’t effective, and that a teen is much more likely to text a friend than call them. Besides texting, Facebook is the other main way that teens interact electronically.”

Schaffhausen added, “Anyone who works with teens longer than 30 minutes automatically receives a crash course on teens’ use of social media because within that time a teen has probably texted 2-3 times and checked Facebook updates on their phone.”

Like any other technology, he said, social media is neither good nor bad in itself, how it’s used is what matters. “Some youth ministers use social media very effectively but it takes a real commitment to stay on top of things, update them — it’s a lifestyle choice to stay constantly linked to a phone or computer and communicate that way. I don’t think it’s a must though. Because teens are constantly bombarded by quick and meaningless communication, it takes more than one text or Facebook message to get their attention. I think personal invitations and handwritten cards are as effective as ever because they’re so rare, and they show that someone REALLY cares enough to take the time to do that.”

Schaffhausen noted that, “Everything about social media is paradoxical — texting and Facebook allow for uber-connectedness but are actually less relational. Blogs and Twitter keep everyone up-to-the-second but they also foster a culture that changes every 24 hours, rendering yesterday’s trends and news obsolete.”

The diocesan Youth Office has both a website, kcsjyouth.org, and a Facebook page. Invitations to Youth Office events are sent through the Facebook page and it helps get the word out. Even if it didn’t, Schaffhausen said, “We have to have a Facebook page to prove that we’re hip.”

Youth Ministry centers around inviting teens into a community of disciples, he said. “For that, absolutely nothing replaces the impact of a personal, face-to-face invitation. For ongoing program communication, just having information available online along with flyers, mailings and phone calls gets the job done. I think every parish youth ministry should have a website as a basic outreach to the families and teens.”

Schaffhausen said it’s difficult to state which social media network is most used by youth. “I would say that youth definitely text more than anything else, followed closely by Facebook. Not many Twitter and hardly anyone emails. Youth ministry, that is, adults reaching out to teens on behalf of the Church, won’t be using very much Facebook or texting because of the new (diocesan social media) policy (and common sense), although with parental permission it can still happen. It’s essential to keep parents in the loop so emailing to parents is effective in youth ministry, along with personal outreach to both teens and their parents.”

Summers said that according to the latest tallies, there are 700 million Facebook users, actively using the network 700 billion minutes per month. There are 90 million tweets per day on the Twitter network, and more than 2 billion YouTube video views. Even email often goes public — 92 percent of emailers share their content online.

Social media can be a positive means of sharing the Gospel message, she said. It is an affordable communications tool that allows immediate 2-way conversations. Pope Benedict XVI and the U.S. Bishops use social media networks, which reinforces its applications within the Church. It can reinforce authentic messages from the church and set the stage for what occurs in the school, parish or ministry community.

Facebook, texting, email, Twitter and other networks can be valuable tools for people of faith out in the world to use to evangelize.

To read the policy visit http://www.diocese-kcsj.org/_docs/Social-Media-2011.pdf.

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