This Lent Discover God's Love In A Retreat - St. Augustine Catholic
This Lent Discover God's Love In A Retreat - St. Augustine Catholic
This Lent Discover God's Love In A Retreat - St. Augustine Catholic
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The Gift of the Irish • Heavenly Tails • ICARE/Action Network • 1999-2000 Financial Report<br />
www.staugcatholic.org<br />
February/March 2001 • $2.00<br />
<strong>This</strong> <strong>Lent</strong><br />
<strong>Discover</strong><br />
God’s <strong>Love</strong><br />
<strong>In</strong> A <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
Let Go And Let God<br />
What Makes<br />
Blended<br />
Families Work?<br />
Prayer:<br />
A Journey<br />
<strong>In</strong> Faith<br />
Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.<br />
JOHN 7:37B
that support to benefit your parish, a <strong>Catholic</strong> school<br />
or other ministry such as <strong>Catholic</strong> Charities in our<br />
diocese!)<br />
There’s more...<br />
Some things ARE forever!<br />
A charitable gift annuity gives forever ...<br />
first by providing fixed payments to you for life<br />
then by providing income for your church perpetually.<br />
Here’s how it works...<br />
• You transfer an asset (usually cash or appreciated<br />
securities) to The <strong>Catholic</strong> Foundation.<br />
• The <strong>Catholic</strong> Foundation gives you a signed agreement<br />
guaranteeing specific payments each year to you (and/or a<br />
person you designate) for life.<br />
• At the end of the contract, the residual gift goes into The<br />
Foundation’s general funds where it will support Christ’s<br />
work throughout our diocese (and YES, you may restrict<br />
• The transaction is easy to execute.<br />
• You receive an immediate charitable contribution<br />
deduction.<br />
• You also save on future taxes (some of your payment is<br />
tax free).<br />
• You have no management fees or responsibilities, and no<br />
investment worries about “the market.”<br />
• You can defer the start date of your payments to get even<br />
higher pay rates and boost your retirement income.<br />
Here are a few examples of the return rates<br />
One-life Agreement: Two-life Agreement:<br />
Age Rate Age Rate<br />
55 6.1% 65/60 6.3%<br />
65 7.0% 70/65 6.7%<br />
70 7.5% 75/70 7.0%<br />
75 8.2% 80/75 7.5%<br />
80 9.2% 85/80 8.4%<br />
82 9.6% 90/85 9.6%<br />
For a personal illustration (without obligation), please<br />
contact our Planned Giving Office. You may use the<br />
coupon below to request information or call:<br />
904-262-3200, ext. 166, or 1-800-775-4659, ext. 166.<br />
■ Please send additional information on the Charitable Gift Annuity.<br />
■ I am already aware of the benefits of a Charitable Gift Annuity and I would<br />
like an illustration for:<br />
■ a one-life agreement: beneficiary birthdate: _________<br />
■ a two-life agreement: beneficiaries’ birthdates: ________ and ________<br />
Please return to:<br />
Ms. Denis M. Plumb<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Foundation<br />
P.O. Box 24000<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32241-4000<br />
Name _____________________________________Phone ______________<br />
Address _______________________________________________________<br />
City __________________________<strong>St</strong>ate ____________Zip ___________<br />
THE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF THE DIOCESE OF ST. AUGUSTINE, INC.
contents page<br />
February/March 2001 Volume X Issue 4<br />
The <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> is the official magazine of the Diocese of Saint<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong>, which embraces 17 counties spanning northeast, and north central<br />
Florida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The diocese covers<br />
11,032 miles and serves 132,000 registered <strong>Catholic</strong>s.<br />
The Brady Bunch<br />
of the 70s is long<br />
remembered as the<br />
perfect blended family.<br />
Turn to page 14 for tips<br />
on how you can make<br />
your blended family<br />
work today.<br />
19 Heavenly Tails<br />
by Elizabeth Dorsey-Culkeen<br />
A novel form of therapy is being dispensed with the<br />
wag of a tail at All Saints <strong>Catholic</strong> Nursing Home<br />
and Rehabilitation Center. Meet Jake, the retired<br />
champion Cardigan Welsh Corgi and his owner<br />
Deacon Joe Johnson.<br />
20 Fighting Poverty<br />
by Chelle Delaney<br />
For the past 30 years, the <strong>Catholic</strong> Campaign for<br />
Human Development has helped groups like ICARE –<br />
<strong>In</strong>terchurch Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and<br />
Empowerment. And one young lady by the name of<br />
Kate Luby is leading the way to help build a stronger<br />
and just community.<br />
26 Father Felix Varela<br />
Courtyard Dedicated by Margo Pope<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder dedicated a courtyard at<br />
the Cathedral-Basilica in honor of Cuban-born<br />
Father Felix Varela. He was also named one of the<br />
Great Floridians 2000 by the <strong>St</strong>ate of Florida.<br />
Corbis<br />
On March 17 th Saint Patrick’s Day will<br />
be celebrated. But do you really know<br />
the story behind the man? Turn<br />
to page 10 for a look at this<br />
historical figure and read what<br />
youngsters think of him today.<br />
features<br />
6 Let Go And Let God by Father Cletus M.S. Watson, TOR<br />
Are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they’ve<br />
hurt you and let you down? Do you blame God when bad things happen to you?<br />
<strong>This</strong> <strong>Lent</strong>, begin to let go and let God’s powers help you forgive and love again.<br />
10 Who Was Saint Patrick? by Susan Woods<br />
We are all familiar with March 17th as a day that is celebrated in honor of Saint<br />
Patrick. But did you know that Saint Patrick was once a slave taken to Ireland as<br />
a young boy? Did you know he converted the Irish people to Christianity and<br />
fought against slavery and warfare? <strong>Discover</strong> the man behind the title.<br />
12 Prayer: A Journey <strong>In</strong> Faith by Natalie R. Cornell<br />
Psychologists today are finding more and more evidence that supports the<br />
notion that prayer does help heal those who are suffering. But will it take a<br />
serious illness before you take advantage of the spiritual benefits of prayer?<br />
14 Yours, Mine And Ours by Linda Gilbertson<br />
Remember television’s popular family the Brady Bunch? They were the ultimate<br />
blended family of the 70s. What has changed for blended families today and<br />
how can we successfully navigate the bringing together of yours, mine and ours?<br />
16 Making A <strong>Retreat</strong>:<br />
Rediscovering God’s <strong>Love</strong> by David E. Nowak<br />
A new year has just begun. You made your resolutions and you vowed to<br />
spend more time with your family, work less hours, and become healthier. But<br />
have you considered taking a retreat? Find out how a retreat can help you<br />
rediscover God’s love in everything you do.<br />
On The Cover:<br />
A view of the <strong>St</strong>. Johns River from Marywood<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong> and Spirituality Center in Jacksonville.<br />
Photo by Terry Wilmot<br />
Culver Pictures, <strong>In</strong>c./Super<strong>St</strong>ock<br />
Member of the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Press<br />
Association<br />
departments<br />
2 Editor’s Note<br />
3 Reader’s Thoughts<br />
4 Bishop’s Message and<br />
Capital Campaign Update<br />
8 Cultural Diversity: Celebrating<br />
the Gift of the Irish<br />
22 Teen Voices<br />
24 1999-2000 Bishop’s<br />
<strong>St</strong>ewardship Appeal<br />
Annual Report<br />
27 Around the Diocese<br />
30 Calendar of Events<br />
32 A Hopeful Heart: Spiritual<br />
Self-Esteem<br />
A Courtyard at<br />
the Cathedral-<br />
Basilica has<br />
been dedicated<br />
in honor of<br />
Father Felix<br />
Varela. Turn to<br />
page 26 for<br />
the story.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 1<br />
Margo Pope
editor’s notes<br />
What Makes A Website <strong>Catholic</strong>?<br />
Publisher<br />
Most Reverend John J. Snyder<br />
Last month, the Communication<br />
Directors and information specialists for<br />
the seven dioceses in Florida met to<br />
discuss the future of the church and its<br />
use of technology – primarily its use of<br />
the <strong>In</strong>ternet.<br />
It is mind-boggling how fast technology<br />
is advancing and the number of<br />
people using the <strong>In</strong>ternet today.<br />
All seven dioceses have a website, but<br />
we are now exploring how we can provide<br />
a uniform system for providing official<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> resources to the public.<br />
One of the many benefits of the<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternet is the almost unlimited access we<br />
have to resources. On the flip side<br />
however, we are also exposed to unlimited<br />
access to questionable information.<br />
When it comes to searching the web<br />
for <strong>Catholic</strong> resources to help us on our<br />
journey of faith, reliability and accuracy<br />
are critically important. I have had a<br />
number of people email me through our<br />
diocesan website (www.dosaonline.com)<br />
asking for additional resources on the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> faith. And I am always careful to<br />
direct them to sites that I know have<br />
official status in the church as well as a<br />
wealth of information.<br />
As we discussed in our meeting, anyone<br />
can create a website and call itself an<br />
official <strong>Catholic</strong> website or even imply<br />
that it is a bastion of orthodoxy by the<br />
images it uses. The technology that provides<br />
us with so many benefits prevents<br />
the church from authorizing each of the<br />
hundreds of sites, or even keep up with<br />
the ever-changing landscape of sites that<br />
are added or changed each day.<br />
So what are we to do, then, when<br />
given materials from these sources, or<br />
directed to sites for information? Cackie<br />
Upchurch in the spring issue of the Little<br />
Rock Scripture <strong>St</strong>udy Newsletter (Liturgical<br />
Press) has these suggestions:<br />
1. Read the material with a critical<br />
mind. How does what you are reading<br />
“gel” with your own experience in the<br />
church? How<br />
does it fit into<br />
what you have<br />
been taught as<br />
an adult?<br />
Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
2. Is the material factual? Is it an<br />
opinion? Is it an opinion informed by<br />
correct factual information?<br />
3. Ask yourself what the purpose<br />
seems to be of those who printed the<br />
material online. Does the material draw<br />
you into a deeper relationship with<br />
Christ? Does it add to your faith or<br />
diminish it?<br />
4. If you are in doubt about what you<br />
have read, share it with someone in your<br />
church whom you respect and admire as<br />
a disciple of Christ. Do they find the<br />
information solid, helpful, uplifting?<br />
5. Talk with your pastor or religious<br />
education director to see if you are getting<br />
the whole picture. Learning about our<br />
shared faith should be an experience of<br />
growth. We should look for what builds<br />
up the Body of Christ and discard what is<br />
divisive or disrespectful.<br />
The Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> is<br />
very careful to link to only those sites<br />
that have official status in the church.<br />
Here are three sites that are listed on our<br />
homepage that can provide individuals<br />
with accurate information on the<br />
teachings of the church and church<br />
documents: www.nccbuscc.org (the<br />
National Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Bishops), www.flacathconf.org (the<br />
Florida <strong>Catholic</strong> Conference), and<br />
www.vatican.va (the Vatican homepage).<br />
Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
Editor<br />
Editor Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
Associate Editor Chelle Delaney<br />
Contributing Writer Natalie R. Cornell<br />
Editorial Assistant Jennie Myers<br />
Advertising Manager J. Michael Lenninger, APR<br />
Production The Saratoga Group<br />
Printer Allied Printing, <strong>In</strong>c.<br />
Diocesan Editorial<br />
Board<br />
Diocesan<br />
Communication<br />
Commission<br />
Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
Sister Lucille Clynes, DW<br />
Chelle Delaney<br />
Msgr. James Heslin<br />
Patrick McKinney<br />
Father Victor Z. Narivelil, CMI<br />
Evelyn Tovar<br />
Art Marshall, chair<br />
Rev. Ralph Besendorfer, J.C.D.<br />
Mary Ann Christensen<br />
Dean Fiandaca<br />
John Halloran<br />
Msgr. R. Joseph James<br />
Patrick McKinney<br />
Kate Romano-Norton<br />
The <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> Magazine<br />
is published bimonthly (six times a year) by the<br />
Diocese of <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Office of Communications<br />
P.O. Box 24000<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32241-4000<br />
(904) 262-3200, ext. 110<br />
Fax: (904) 262-2398<br />
E-Mail: KTBAGG@aol.com<br />
Visit the <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> online<br />
at www.<strong>St</strong>Aug<strong>Catholic</strong>.org<br />
To learn more about the diocese, see our<br />
homepage at: www.dosaonline.com<br />
2 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
eader’s thoughts<br />
Helping Men Return to Faith<br />
I’m a 46 year old man who returned to<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong> Church six years ago.<br />
My answer to the question of “Why<br />
men aren’t attracted” by parish activities, is<br />
because those activities are run by<br />
unreasoned emotionalism. An example in<br />
the article “Men Seeking Direction”<br />
(Oct./Nov. issue) is the line “They were<br />
charismatic <strong>Catholic</strong>s so they prayed in<br />
tongues.” Tongues? No reasoning man will<br />
stick around to listen to that kind of<br />
quackery!<br />
Another example in the article says, “We<br />
debate whether the sight of a beautiful<br />
woman caused the same reaction in Jesus as<br />
it does in us.” It’s striking to think this is the<br />
author’s profoundest example of what’s being<br />
pondered in these meetings to direct men!<br />
Until the local parish returns to teach<br />
the faith, the doctrines, the whole truth<br />
and the things that made the martyrs give<br />
up their bodies to torture, you won’t find<br />
many men seeking an “empty direction.”<br />
Peter M. Vega<br />
Miami Beach, Fla.<br />
Father Morgan A Gifted Priest<br />
Thank you for publishing Father<br />
Terrence Morgan’s letter on Project Rachel<br />
in your last issue.<br />
He is an exceptionally gifted priest and<br />
his excellent communication skills should<br />
be utilized more.<br />
My first meeting with Father Morgan<br />
occurred a few years ago, when he said<br />
Mass at <strong>St</strong>. John’s, Mayport. He would<br />
arrive early to hear confessions and talk to<br />
the people. One Saturday before the Vigil<br />
Mass, he taught us the blessing that God<br />
taught Moses.<br />
<strong>In</strong> my humble opinion, Father Morgan<br />
has the ability to win back inactive<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s and interest others.<br />
Don Bottini<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Paul Parish, Jacksonville Beach<br />
We welcome letters. They should be brief and<br />
include name, address and daytime phone<br />
number. Send to editorial offices or by E-Mail:<br />
KTBAGG@aol.com or Fax (904) 262-2398.<br />
Letters may be edited for length and clarity.<br />
Dispelling Common Myths<br />
About ADHD<br />
Recently, <strong>St</strong>. Joseph’s Parish Home and<br />
School Association invited “pop” psychologist<br />
John Rosemond to speak to a<br />
group of parents. When he presented on<br />
the topics of the “Frantic Family” and<br />
general parenting concerns, he offered<br />
solid, relevant information. However,<br />
when he strayed into a definable<br />
psychiatric condition known as Attention<br />
Deficit Hyperactivty Disorder, he<br />
provided very misleading and potentially<br />
harmful information (especially with<br />
regard to medicine), which he offered as<br />
fact.<br />
Mr. Rosemond’s “facts and opinions”<br />
are contradicted by some of the most prestigious<br />
institutions in the world: The<br />
National <strong>In</strong>stitute of Mental Health,<br />
Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts<br />
General Hospital. He had<br />
indicated that there soon would be a book<br />
published that would “blow the cover off<br />
Ritalin,” a significant medication used<br />
in the treatment of ADHD. The implication,<br />
of course, was that there would<br />
soon be some individual’s contention<br />
forthcoming that would indicate the<br />
non-effectiveness or danger associated<br />
with psychostimulants.<br />
However, what he failed to mention<br />
was that the National <strong>In</strong>stitute of Mental<br />
Health (NIMH) had recently conducted<br />
and published the most comprehensive<br />
and scientifically rigorous study ever<br />
involving the use of psychostimulants and<br />
other treatment modalities for ADHD.<br />
While there were numerous implications<br />
of the study, perhaps the most<br />
compelling finding was that, with regard<br />
to the treatment of specific ADHD<br />
symptoms – inattention, overactivity, and<br />
impulsivity – no other treatment was<br />
more effective than the use of medication.<br />
It is the ethical responsibility of a<br />
psychologist to accurately portray scientific<br />
information, especially in a public<br />
forum.<br />
Michael Sisbarro, Ph.D.<br />
Certified and Licensed School<br />
Psychologist, Jacksonville<br />
Special Gifts<br />
for<br />
Confirmation<br />
First Communion<br />
THE SHRINE<br />
-GIFT SHOP-<br />
Only <strong>St</strong>eps from America’s<br />
first Marian Shrine<br />
27 OCEAN AVE.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL 32084<br />
(904) 824-2809<br />
MARYWOOD<br />
BOOKSTORE<br />
1714-5 <strong>St</strong>ate Road 13<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32259<br />
(904) 287-2525<br />
FAX 287-9738<br />
A GREAT SELECTION!<br />
• Gifts • Books • Icons<br />
Find the classics, as well as new<br />
arrivals, in Marywood’s bookstore.<br />
Besides impressive, fully-stocked<br />
shelves of <strong>Catholic</strong> and other<br />
Christian books, you will find<br />
rosaries, crucifixes, and<br />
worthwhile gifts for all occasions.<br />
Books for families, children,<br />
singles, retreats, scripture and<br />
theological study, catechetics,<br />
and general spiritual growth<br />
are all available.<br />
A Service of<br />
Marywood Center for<br />
Ministry and Spirituality<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 3
ishop’s message<br />
Diocese Meets Growing Needs<br />
My dear friends in Christ,<br />
One of the hallmarks<br />
of being a<br />
stewardship diocese<br />
is accountability<br />
for the resources<br />
entrusted to us.<br />
Part of my service<br />
to the people of<br />
the diocese includes<br />
the challenge to<br />
make wise and effective<br />
decisions about the use of the gifts our<br />
people have so generously given to the church<br />
in Northeast Florida.<br />
The financial information displayed in<br />
this issue of the Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> on<br />
pages 24-25, is provided so you can see how<br />
your generous gifts are being used by the<br />
ministries and agencies funded through the<br />
Bishop’s <strong>St</strong>ewardship Appeal. You can also see<br />
that the Appeal funds are only part of the<br />
financial story. Appeal funds in some<br />
instances are more than matched by other<br />
funding sources such as grants, donations<br />
and fees. <strong>In</strong>formation on the fiscal year which<br />
ended June 30, 2000 is prepared by the<br />
diocesan Fiscal Office. A copy of the auditors’<br />
report on all funds of the Diocese of Saint<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong> is available upon request.<br />
I am assisted in meeting the challenge of<br />
managing the finances of the diocese by the<br />
diocesan Finance Council. <strong>In</strong>formation<br />
about the structure and membership of the<br />
council is included with the financial<br />
information on page 25 of this magazine.<br />
During the year 2000, the Finance Council<br />
and diocesan staff helped develop the Jubilee<br />
debt reduction plan which enabled the<br />
diocese to remove nearly a half million dollars<br />
of parish debt due the diocese. You may read<br />
more about this plan on the following page.<br />
As I conclude my service with the diocese<br />
by serving as diocesan administrator, I reflect<br />
on my gratitude for the opportunity to have<br />
served over 21 years as bishop of the Diocese<br />
of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong>. I am especially grateful for<br />
the good will and generosity of our clergy and<br />
laity in Northeast Florida. Through the goodness<br />
and generosity of all, we have been able to<br />
meet the ongoing needs of a growing diocese.<br />
May our God continue to bless you and<br />
your families in the future and bring you the<br />
peace and joy of Christ.<br />
With kindest regards and every good<br />
wish, I am<br />
Sincerely yours in Christ,<br />
Diocesan Administrator<br />
Former Bishop of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
An Opportunity of a Lifetime<br />
Capital Campaign Update<br />
As of Jan. 22, $18 million has been<br />
pledged as part of the Opportunity of a<br />
Lifetime capital campaign. A total of<br />
$3.4 million has actually been paid.<br />
One project that is underway and will<br />
benefit from the campaign is <strong>St</strong>. Joseph’s<br />
Academy in <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong>.<br />
Last fall, Bishop John J. Snyder broke<br />
ground at the academy for an expansion<br />
and renovation project that is expected<br />
to cost $4.1 million.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy, a college preparatory<br />
high school serving the entire<br />
southern region of the Diocese of Saint<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong>, is the oldest <strong>Catholic</strong> high<br />
school in the state of Florida.<br />
The expansion projects in Phase I<br />
include: a new cafeteria/auditorium with<br />
an outdoor patio area; renovation of the<br />
gymnasium with a wood floor, new roof,<br />
air conditioning and locker room facilities;<br />
expansion and renovation of a<br />
media center/library; covered walkways,<br />
and new offices for Guidance and<br />
Campus Ministry. Projects in phase I of<br />
the renovation will be<br />
completed in time for<br />
opening of school this fall.<br />
For more up-to-date figures<br />
“Brothers and sisters, let us ask God, our allpowerful<br />
Father, that the work we begin<br />
today will contribute to the building up of his<br />
kingdom and join us in faith and love to<br />
Christ, who is the cornerstone,” said Bishop<br />
John J. Snyder at a groundbreaking ceremony at<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy, Nov. 20. Faculty, students,<br />
administrators and special guests joined Bishop<br />
Snyder for the event.<br />
and information on the campaign, please<br />
visit the diocesan website at<br />
www.dosaonline.com and click on the<br />
Opportunity of a Lifetime campaign logo.<br />
Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
4 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
Diocese Forgives Nearly<br />
$500,000 <strong>In</strong> Debt<br />
<strong>In</strong> his Apostolic Letter,<br />
On the Coming of the<br />
Third Millennium, Pope<br />
John Paul II outlined his<br />
plan for the preparation<br />
and celebration of the<br />
Great Jubilee 2000. <strong>In</strong> it he reminded us of<br />
the Jubilee tradition of the Old Testament<br />
to emancipate all those in need of being<br />
free and canceling debts in accord with the<br />
established norms.<br />
The pope restated the church’s<br />
preferential option for the poor and, as a<br />
sign of Jubilee Justice, asked wealthy<br />
nations to consider “reducing substantially,<br />
if not canceling outright, the international<br />
debt which seriously threatens” struggling<br />
nations. Additionally, he challenged the<br />
church to find ways to extend forgiveness,<br />
exercise charity, and cancel debt in order to<br />
model the action to which he called the<br />
leaders of government.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder was committed<br />
to this Jubilee plan of debt forgiveness<br />
and during the Jubilee Year asked the<br />
Finance Council and staff of the diocese to<br />
develop a plan for debt forgiveness. They<br />
reviewed the outstanding parish obligations<br />
to the diocese for property and<br />
liability insurance, Bishop’s <strong>St</strong>ewardship<br />
quotas and parish loans extended for<br />
purposes other than construction.<br />
A plan was submitted by the Finance<br />
Council to Bishop Snyder for his approval.<br />
Last October, eight parishes received notice<br />
that some or all debt to the diocese would<br />
be canceled. The total amount of debt that<br />
was canceled was nearly $500,000.<br />
These faith communities in our diocese<br />
were encouraged by this sign of care<br />
and concern for parishes, which have not<br />
been able to meet obligations in the past.<br />
—Irene Puleo<br />
Fiscal Officer<br />
Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
The Way It Should Be.<br />
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ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 5
<strong>In</strong> the terrorist bombing of a jet<br />
aircraft a few years ago, the<br />
parents of a young boy from the<br />
Midwest were killed. A memorial<br />
service was prepared for them but the<br />
orphaned boy asked for an addition. He<br />
asked that they all pray for those who were<br />
responsible for his parents’ deaths, asking<br />
God to give the terrorists a change of<br />
heart.<br />
That’s forgiveness, to pray for a change<br />
of heart in those who injured you. That’s<br />
what Jesus is asking his disciples to do. It<br />
is true conversion.<br />
Father John Powell, a Jesuit theologian<br />
and psychologist, tells us, “Our lives are<br />
shaped by those who love us and by those<br />
who refuse to love us.”<br />
We all sin; we’re all hurting; we all need<br />
forgiveness. And it is through forgiveness<br />
that we can become healed.<br />
Sin has been described in contemporary<br />
moral theology as “a refusal to<br />
love.” Therefore, we are sinners when we<br />
refuse to love.<br />
How do we sin by not loving? Are we<br />
sinners of commission — doing things we<br />
shouldn’t do? Or are we sinners of<br />
omission — not doing things we should<br />
have done?<br />
We sin by omission when we could<br />
have responded in love and did not. When<br />
we could have been present for another,<br />
when he or she was needing support,<br />
comfort or affirmation, we were too busy.<br />
We probably don’t know anybody who<br />
is starving or dying of thirst or who is<br />
homeless, but we all know people who are<br />
starving for affection, who are thirsting for<br />
compassion, who need shelter from<br />
loneliness. We are often too busy to reach<br />
out as we should; and, we, too, need to be<br />
forgiven.<br />
So before learning to forgive others, we<br />
must first learn to forgive ourselves. What<br />
do you do? We have to learn to let go. “Let<br />
go and let God” is an expression we’ve all<br />
heard at one time or another.<br />
Martin Luther concluded that all we<br />
needed was faith in God and we would<br />
be redeemed from our sinfulness. We<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s believe this as well but realize<br />
that our faith then motivates us, urges us,<br />
as <strong>St</strong>. Paul says, to do good works. <strong>In</strong> other<br />
LET GO AND LET<br />
By Father Cletus M.S. Watson, TOR<br />
Photo by<br />
6 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
words, redeemed people must act like<br />
redeemed people.<br />
So, we not only need to forgive<br />
ourselves for our failures at loving, we<br />
should resolve to do more, to develop a<br />
new attitude, to change our behavior.<br />
How can we forgive others? On the<br />
cross, having been tortured, taunted and<br />
humiliated, Jesus says: “Father, forgive<br />
them, for they know not what they do.”<br />
What about us? How like his is our<br />
forgiveness of others?<br />
We could be consumed with anger and<br />
hatred toward someone who has wronged<br />
us. Understandable? Yes, certainly. But<br />
Christian? Certainly not!<br />
When we want those who wrong us to<br />
“pay” for what they’ve done, we should<br />
instead leave that person to God. Jesus set<br />
the example. He forgave those who killed<br />
him. He calls us to “Let go and let God.”<br />
One of Jesus’ sayings has to do with<br />
how often we should forgive. His disciples<br />
ask him, “Tell us teacher, how often<br />
should we forgive others: seven times?”<br />
Now for the Jews, “seven” represented the<br />
perfect number.<br />
So, Jesus followers thought they were<br />
really doing something special or being<br />
heroic by forgiving seven times. Yet, Jesus<br />
responds to his followers – then and now<br />
– in this way: “I say to you, you must<br />
forgive seventy times seven times!” And<br />
Jesus didn’t mean 490 times. He meant we<br />
must forgive an infinite number of times.<br />
If we wish to be forgiven, we may be called<br />
to forgive, every day of our lives.<br />
And we should learn to “forgive” God.<br />
At first, the idea of forgiving God may<br />
seem strange, perhaps even somewhat<br />
blasphemous.<br />
But the idea isn’t new. There’s a whole<br />
series of “complaint literature” in the Bible<br />
where, for example, the psalmists complain<br />
to God about his silence, his seeming nonaction<br />
on their behalf in the midst of<br />
adversity. Over and over again the<br />
psalmists ask God, “How long, O Lord,<br />
how long, must we wait?” and “Why, O<br />
God, why do you let our enemies<br />
overcome us?” The book of Job is a<br />
powerful and moving response to the<br />
question, “Why do good people suffer?”<br />
The Book of Job tells us, “People are born<br />
to trouble as surely as the sparks fly<br />
upward.” Trouble isn’t a gate-crasher. It has<br />
a passkey to every home in the land.<br />
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote his<br />
best-selling book, When Bad Things<br />
Happen to Good People, at a time when he<br />
had to redefine his concept of God<br />
because his young son was afflicted with<br />
the horribly painful and fatal disease,<br />
progeria, the aging disease. He writes:<br />
“The conventional explanation, that<br />
God sends us a burden because he knows<br />
that we are strong enough to handle it, has<br />
We sin by<br />
omission when<br />
we could have<br />
responded in<br />
love and did not.<br />
it all wrong. Life, not God, sends us the<br />
problem. When we try to deal with it we<br />
find out that we are not strong. We are<br />
weak; we get tired; we get angry, overwhelmed.<br />
We begin to wonder how we<br />
will ever make it through all the years. But<br />
when we reach the limits of our own<br />
strength and courage, something unexpected<br />
happens. We find reinforcement<br />
coming from a source outside of ourselves.<br />
And in the knowledge that we are not<br />
alone, that God is on our side, we manage<br />
to go on.”<br />
But who is this God who is on our side?<br />
Whether we’ve reflected on it or not, all of<br />
us have some kind of image of God.<br />
For some God is a “divine judge” who<br />
rules every aspect of our lives.<br />
For others, God is the “divine Santa<br />
Claus” who gives us everything we pray for.<br />
But, I believe, most of us would like<br />
God to be a “divine Superman,” that is,<br />
a God who saves us in the “nick of time,”<br />
who sees that nothing terrible happens<br />
to us.<br />
However, the “image” of God that Jesus<br />
gave us is God as a loving parent who, just<br />
like a loving human parent, can’t always<br />
shelter us from life with its pain and<br />
suffering, but who is there with us and for<br />
us and even suffers along with us.<br />
At the end of his book, with a new<br />
image of God, Kushner writes, “<strong>In</strong> the<br />
final analysis, the question of why bad<br />
things happen to good people translates<br />
itself into some very different questions.”<br />
For example: Are you capable of<br />
forgiving and accepting a world that is not<br />
perfect, a world in which there is<br />
unfairness and cruelty, disease and crime,<br />
earthquakes and accidents? Can you<br />
forgive the world’s imperfections and love<br />
it because it’s capable of containing great<br />
beauty and goodness, and because it’s the<br />
only world we have?<br />
Are you capable of forgiving and loving<br />
the people around you, even if they’ve hurt<br />
you and let you down by not being<br />
perfect? Can you forgive them, and love<br />
them, anyway, because there aren’t any<br />
perfect people around?<br />
And so, are you capable of loving and<br />
forgiving God, as Job did, despite the bad<br />
things that may happen to you?<br />
And if you can do these things, will you<br />
be able to recognize that the ability to<br />
forgive and the ability to love are the<br />
powers God has given us to enable us to<br />
live fully, bravely, and meaningfully in this<br />
less than perfect world? Let us pray that<br />
each of us can.<br />
Father Cletus M.S. Watson, TOR, is pastor<br />
of Crucifixion Parish in Jacksonville. He also<br />
is the author of two booklets: “The Concept<br />
of God, and the Afro-American” and “<strong>Love</strong><br />
and the Human Person: An ongoing<br />
Perspective.”<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 7
cultural diversity<br />
The Gift of The Irish<br />
By Father Terrence Morgan<br />
o us F.B.D. (Florida Before Disney)<br />
locals, who were here in the Sunshine<br />
<strong>St</strong>ate during the boom of the 1950s<br />
and the early 1960s, the Irish priests and<br />
sisters were: steadiness, reliability, great fun,<br />
great severity, and the pillars who built the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Church in Florida on solid rock.<br />
To the Irish missionaries, we Floridians<br />
were: invigorating, enthusiastic, sponges<br />
eager to soak up knowledge of the faith,<br />
and pioneers in our own right. But Florida<br />
was not just warm sunshine and palm trees<br />
swaying in the breezes.<br />
Irish-born priests of the diocese (l-r), top row: Denis O’Regan,<br />
Joseph Meehan, Thomas Walsh, Michael Larkin, John Lenihan,<br />
William Kelly, Patrick Madden and Tom Cody. Bottom row:<br />
Mortimer Danaher, William Mooney, James Heslin, Daniel<br />
Logan, Dan Cody, T. Leo Danaher, Brian Carey and<br />
Noel Cox, CCSp. Not pictured: Patrick Carroll, CCSp,<br />
Patrick Cooke, CCSp, Brian Eburn, Joseph Finlay, Luke<br />
McLoughlin, John O’Flaherty, Seamus O’Flynn, Edward Rooney,<br />
and Donal Sullivan.<br />
Ask Father Bill Ennis, who arrived at<br />
the rectory of Assumption Parish in Jacksonville<br />
direct from his flight from Ireland,<br />
one rainy night in September, 1964.<br />
Within 15 hours, he was thrust in front<br />
of 35 sophomore boys (including your<br />
humble reporter) at Bishop Kenny High<br />
School. Perching, cool-priest style, on top<br />
of the front of an unoccupied student desk,<br />
he asked his new charges, “Have you hord<br />
(Irish for heard) of the Beatles over here?”<br />
The students had no chance to reply to<br />
Father Ennis’ male-bonding overture, as<br />
their new teacher was flying head over<br />
heels and being unceremoniously dumped<br />
on the classroom floor by cruel Florida<br />
gravity.<br />
“Can I take that as a Yes?” he asked<br />
dusting off his trousers and his pride.<br />
Father Ennis howls with laughter at<br />
the still-fresh memory. Thus began the<br />
glamour of my missionary adventure, he<br />
says. Who could forget a first day like that?<br />
It was a wonderful parable of lofty dreams<br />
and the Lord’s down-to-earth challenges.<br />
His parishioners in Holy Family Parish<br />
in Orlando say he’s never lost that downto-earth<br />
quality, and that sentiment is<br />
echoed by the thousands of people Father<br />
Ennis has ministered to over the years – in<br />
Jacksonville, Sanford, and Deland.<br />
His life these past 36 years has been a<br />
reflection of the lives of hundreds of Irish<br />
priests and sisters who left familiar surroundings<br />
and family for the adventure,<br />
and the pain, of growing a church by the<br />
sweat of their brows.<br />
One such group is the Irish Mercy<br />
Sisters (aka the RSMs) at Sacred Heart<br />
Parish, Jacksonville. Msgr. Leo Danaher,<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
8 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
an Irish missionary to our diocese,<br />
recruited four Irish Mercies in 1960 to<br />
assist in his tiny, new parish.<br />
The convent grew with the area, and<br />
with the parish, and while many Navy<br />
families came and went, the Mercies were<br />
the one stable element of the parish.<br />
Two of the original members of the<br />
community – Sister Mary Ethna Blackwell<br />
and Sister Mary Paul Noonan – remained<br />
in service to Sacred Heart from Msgr.<br />
Danaher’s recruiting days to the day they<br />
died, last year.<br />
Just making the trip over here was<br />
heroic, remembers Sister of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph<br />
Thomas Joseph McGoldrick, a native of<br />
New York-Irish parentage, who accompanied<br />
Mother Anna Joseph Dignan to<br />
Ireland in 1953 to recruit for the Sisters of<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Joseph. And when they got here, they<br />
never knew what was waiting for them:<br />
blazing weather and high humidity (full<br />
habits and all!), classrooms of 40 to 60<br />
children, and convents that were hardly life<br />
at the Hilton.<br />
That was really the third wave of Irish<br />
Sisters of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph. The first wave arrived<br />
on our shores in the late 1800s,<br />
supplanting and eventually replacing the<br />
original French sisters who arrived in 1866.<br />
The second wave came in the 1930s,<br />
when Florida was just beginning to look<br />
like a boom state (and when schools were<br />
opened in Miami, Tampa, Orlando,<br />
Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Jacksonville).<br />
Some sisters from this group are still with<br />
us. <strong>In</strong> fact, of the eight Sisters of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph<br />
– 80+ years old – all eight are Irish<br />
missionaries!<br />
Most of our senior Irish pastors come<br />
from the Hurley recruitment era. These<br />
were the days when Archbishop Joseph P.<br />
Hurley, accompanied by Msgr. John P.<br />
Burns, regularly visited the great Irish<br />
seminaries – <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s in Carlow, <strong>St</strong>.<br />
John’s in Waterford, <strong>St</strong>. Kiernan’s in<br />
Kilkenny, <strong>St</strong>. Peter’s in Wexford, and All<br />
Hallows in Dublin – urging what was then<br />
an abundance of prospective priests to<br />
come to Florida.<br />
“We got more than golf and sunshine,”<br />
Msgr. John Lenihan remembers. “We got<br />
thrown into responsibilities, quickly.”<br />
Msgr. Lenihan, who was named a<br />
pastor and director of <strong>Catholic</strong> Charities<br />
within three years of ordination, said, “You<br />
learned by flying by the seat of your pants.<br />
And you just didn’t worry about how<br />
things would turn out. You were too busy<br />
keeping up with your jobs.”<br />
They gave us more than the celebration<br />
of Mass and confessions. And their colleagues<br />
in the convents contributed more<br />
than lesson plans and tests.<br />
Whether it was personally laying the<br />
bricks for a school addition, or making<br />
themselves a high profile part of virtually<br />
every hospital in the diocese by their<br />
frequent visits to the sick; whether it was<br />
teaching our lads the other football or<br />
giving our <strong>Catholic</strong> school students a break<br />
from <strong>Lent</strong> on March 17 so the children<br />
could remember that, when all is said and<br />
done, life in God is a life of joy, these<br />
mighty men and women brought so much<br />
of the Isle of Saints and Scholars to our<br />
state and our diocese.<br />
And, in letting some Florida sand settle<br />
in their shoes, they have become beloved<br />
members of our <strong>Catholic</strong> family.<br />
Father Terrence Morgan, pastor of the Cathedral-<br />
Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong>, has roots in Ireland, too.<br />
Irish-born Sisters of Mercy serving in the diocese, top row:<br />
Josephine O’Leary, Patricia O’Hea, Mary of Mercy Casey,<br />
Mary Murphy and Carmel O’Callaghan. Front row: Mary<br />
Regina Fahy, Eithne Lowther, Anne Campbell and Bridie<br />
Ryan. Sisters of Mercy not pictured: Ambrose Cruise, Enda<br />
Egan, Therese Horan, Maria Maxwell and Emmanuel<br />
Gilsenan. Sisters of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph not pictured: Eugenia Crowley,<br />
Hannah Daly, Eileen and Mary Esther Flanagan, Marie<br />
O’Beirne, Louis Angela O’Donovan, Geraldine O’Flynn,<br />
Emmanuel O’Keefe, Mary Camillus O’Mahoney, Ethelburga<br />
O’Shaughnessy and Liguori Pierse. Also not pictured are: Anne<br />
Conlon, CSJP, Nancy O’Reilly, OP and Martha Costello, OP.<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 9
WHO WAS<br />
Saint Patrick?<br />
By Susan Woods<br />
It’s impossible to think about Saint<br />
Patrick without evoking images of<br />
shamrocks, parades, Irish music and<br />
dancing. March 17th has become an occasion<br />
to celebrate the Irish culture and, for<br />
many, an excuse to party to excess. But the<br />
man who is celebrated as the quintessential<br />
Irish icon was not Irish at all. <strong>In</strong><br />
fact he was kidnapped as a youth and<br />
enslaved by the Irish, people he would<br />
later embrace.<br />
He suffered years of privation as a<br />
shepherd in the Irish hills. Like all holy<br />
people, Patrick endured his harsh<br />
circumstance by turning to prayer. He<br />
wrote in his Confession: “Tending flocks<br />
was my daily work, and I would pray<br />
constantly during the daylight hours. The<br />
love of God and the fear of him<br />
surrounded me more and more – and faith<br />
grew and the Spirit was roused.”<br />
Patrick eventually had a dream in<br />
which he was told a ship was waiting to<br />
take him home. He followed the dictates<br />
of his dream and eventually escaped<br />
captivity. Not too many years later, it was<br />
another dream that called him to leave<br />
home again and return to Ireland. After<br />
his ordination, that’s what Patrick did.<br />
Patrick’s devotion to the Irish is<br />
remarkable for so many reasons. First, is<br />
the obvious fact that these were the people<br />
who had enslaved him and deprived him<br />
of his youth. Second, Ireland at the time<br />
was a barbaric land untouched by the<br />
civilizing influence of the Roman Empire.<br />
Patrick voluntarily returned to a land<br />
where human sacrifice, slavery and constant<br />
warfare were prevalent. But he was<br />
able to impress this warring community<br />
with his unshakable faith in God and his<br />
uncanny ability to connect his message to<br />
their deepest concerns. Patrick not only<br />
converted the island to Christianity, but<br />
he improved the lot of the Irish people by<br />
discouraging slavery and reducing<br />
warfare.<br />
Patrick’s mission to the Irish became an<br />
enduring legacy. His followers became the<br />
most zealous of all missionaries to the<br />
world. And today, more than 1500 years<br />
after his death, the example of Saint<br />
Patrick continues to inspire and instruct.<br />
Continuing Saint Patrick’s work is part<br />
of the mission of <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
School in north Jacksonville. “We teach<br />
the children that we all have a mission in<br />
life,” says Sister of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Carmel<br />
O’Callaghan, principal of the school. All<br />
the grades at <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s collect toys and<br />
money to benefit children at Sulzbacher<br />
Shelter and Wolfson Children’s Hospital<br />
in Jacksonville. But the seriousness of<br />
mission is balanced with a joyous<br />
celebration on <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s Day complete<br />
with a parade, Irish music and dancing<br />
and a corned beef and cabbage dinner.<br />
At <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s <strong>Catholic</strong> School in<br />
Gainesville, children see Saint Patrick as a<br />
role model. “We teach the children that<br />
Saint Patrick was a person who felt God’s<br />
calling and followed it,” says Principal<br />
Elaine Baumgartner. “God will guide you,<br />
too, if you just keep your heart open.”<br />
Susan Woods is a member of San Jose Parish,<br />
Jacksonville.<br />
<strong>St</strong>udents from <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s School,<br />
Jacksonville:<br />
Bobby Maldonado, 8th grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick listened to<br />
God and returned to<br />
Ireland to convert the<br />
people who had made<br />
him a slave. He used<br />
the shamrock to teach<br />
about the Trinity.”<br />
Brockni Lee, 5th grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick was a<br />
slave who prayed<br />
and became a<br />
missionary. Our<br />
school is very<br />
festive on <strong>St</strong>.<br />
Patrick’s Day. I<br />
like the parade<br />
and the Irish dancing.”<br />
Felicia Mosley, 6th grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick had<br />
many powers and<br />
gifts. The priest<br />
who baptized him<br />
was cured of his<br />
blindness.”<br />
10 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
Leah Farmer, 5th grade<br />
“I feel very close to<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Patrick because<br />
I was born on<br />
March 17th.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Patrick was<br />
brave, caring,<br />
forgiving, wise and<br />
religious.”<br />
<strong>St</strong>udents from <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s School,<br />
Gainesville<br />
Alex Flinchum, 4th grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick is a<br />
man who believed<br />
in God and in<br />
return for his love,<br />
got a lot of help<br />
from God when<br />
he needed it.”<br />
Oscar Vazquez, 3rd grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick means<br />
to me kindness<br />
because he was a<br />
very gentle person.<br />
He also had<br />
courage to go<br />
through a lot of<br />
bad things so he<br />
could do all the things he believed.”<br />
T.J. Arndt, 3rd grade<br />
“<strong>St</strong>. Patrick to me<br />
means faith. He<br />
taught others faith<br />
and prayer instead<br />
of violence. He is<br />
important because<br />
he is a saint and<br />
never used<br />
violence.”<br />
Sarah Lewis, 5th grade<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Patrick is<br />
important and<br />
means a lot to me<br />
because he helped<br />
free the Irish from<br />
slavery. I am<br />
happy about that<br />
because I don’t<br />
like slavery.”<br />
Culver Pictures <strong>In</strong>c./Superstock<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 11
“The more people<br />
pray and meditate,<br />
the less fear they<br />
have…Fearlessness is<br />
a quality that people<br />
develop the more<br />
they pray and<br />
meditate.”<br />
By Natalie R. Cornell<br />
I<br />
s there a crisis in your life? Do you feel<br />
overwhelmed by your present<br />
circumstances? Maybe it’s an opportunity<br />
for spiritual healing. Maybe it’s a<br />
call from God. <strong>This</strong> is something that<br />
even the field of psychology is recognizing<br />
and beginning to pay attention to.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the area of counseling, Mark Young,<br />
professor of Counselor Education at the<br />
University of Central Florida says, “There<br />
is a great deal of research that shows if you<br />
include a client’s religious or spiritual<br />
background in your treatment, it’s going<br />
to be more effective.”<br />
Michael McCullough, associate<br />
professor of Psychology at Southern<br />
Methodist University, says, “Matters of<br />
transcendence are just too important to<br />
what it means to be a human being, so<br />
some psychologists have now begun to<br />
take them quite seriously.” As the lead<br />
investigator of a recent study published in<br />
Health Psychology, a journal of the<br />
American Psychological Association,<br />
McCullough found that there is a definite<br />
association between church attendance<br />
and longer life.<br />
Sometimes people think of spiritual<br />
healing as occurring only in an instantaneous<br />
and miraculous sense, but doesn’t<br />
healing also mean having a more fulfilling<br />
existence because of God’s action in your<br />
life? And, isn’t health a by-product of that?<br />
That’s how Betty Crowell, R.N.,<br />
coordinator of the Parish Nurse program<br />
at <strong>St</strong>. Vincent’s Health System, talks about<br />
healing. “<strong>In</strong> my personal experience,<br />
healing is a life-long process – it is a<br />
journey in faith.”<br />
<strong>In</strong> 1989, Crowell coordinated a retreat<br />
for nurses. She says, she expected God to<br />
bless her, but instead, two weeks later she<br />
seriously injured her back and shortly<br />
after that she was diagnosed with breast<br />
cancer. “God was trying to get my<br />
attention,” said Crowell.<br />
Over the course of two years, “I started<br />
just being, listening, and seeking Jesus. I<br />
learned how to be a Mary sitting at the<br />
feet of Jesus rather than a Martha running<br />
around getting everything done,” she said.<br />
Crowell attributes her new attitude as<br />
playing a significant role in her healing<br />
process. She, of course, had medical<br />
treatment, but says she “became totally<br />
open to God, letting God’s love and<br />
mercy fill my emptiness.”<br />
It was through the celebration of Mass<br />
and the Eucharist, Crowell says, she felt<br />
the presence of Christ in a “powerful<br />
way.” Community also played a big part<br />
in her healing. A member of Sacred Heart<br />
Parish in Jacksonville, Crowell points out,<br />
“It’s in community that you share your joy<br />
and your sorrow. The parish is the place<br />
where people attain wholeness and<br />
healing through faith in God.”<br />
Crowell says she has been free of cancer<br />
for 11 years and while she still has severe<br />
limitations due to her back injury, she is<br />
able to walk and continue working.<br />
Someone who has seen the effects of<br />
prayer up close is James Gallagher, M.D., a<br />
critical care physician at Shands Hospital in<br />
Gainesville and chairman of the diocesan<br />
Bioethics Commission. “I have seen<br />
conditions turn around because of prayer,”<br />
said Gallagher. However, his patients often<br />
cannot pray for themselves because they are<br />
in various stages of trauma.<br />
12 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
A Journey <strong>In</strong> Faith<br />
He describes an incident when he<br />
thought a patient had about 10 minutes<br />
to live. The priest chaplain at Shands came<br />
in and began praying with the family<br />
around the man’s bedside. Gallagher said,<br />
within a few minutes, the man’s blood<br />
pressure came up and he rallied.<br />
The man died three weeks later, but it<br />
was, Gallagher said, a “pretty powerful<br />
thing to see everyone around his bedside<br />
praying and for that to<br />
happen when there<br />
wasn’t a medical reason<br />
for it.”<br />
Gallagher says there<br />
have been numerous<br />
cases where medically,<br />
people should have<br />
died, but lived. And in<br />
most of those cases the<br />
families were “praying<br />
hard for their recovery.”<br />
Gallagher says the<br />
vast majority of cases<br />
wind up the way you’d<br />
expect them to from a<br />
medical standpoint. He<br />
points out that there is<br />
only so much a doctor<br />
can do. Adding, he<br />
often prays that families<br />
will have the strength to<br />
handle the death of a<br />
loved one.<br />
Acceptance is one of<br />
the fruits of prayer.<br />
Professor Young talks<br />
about the serenity<br />
prayer of Saint Francis<br />
and says people who<br />
pray learn to surrender<br />
and learn that one must<br />
accept things that can’t<br />
be changed.<br />
Another benefit of<br />
Photodisc, <strong>In</strong>c.<br />
prayer is relieving stress. Having to be in<br />
control causes emotional stress. And<br />
Young points out that control means,<br />
“you must be constantly vigilant.”<br />
Prayer involves “surrender” and one<br />
learns to let go.<br />
Crowell says she reached the point in<br />
her illness when she could accept whatever<br />
it was God wanted for her. She says,<br />
“It was in facing death that I truly<br />
learned to live. I learned acceptance,<br />
forgiveness, and my priorities changed<br />
overnight.”<br />
But what if someone is afraid to pray?<br />
Young says, “The more people pray and<br />
meditate, the less fear they have…<br />
Fearlessness is a quality that people<br />
develop the more they pray and<br />
meditate.”<br />
People may be afraid they will have to<br />
change. And Young says, “You will be<br />
changed by your connection with God.”<br />
But he reassures us that we don’t have to<br />
retire to a cave, like Saint Francis, for<br />
change to occur. “God is in control,” and<br />
we don’t have to worry.<br />
Perhaps healing begins with a call by<br />
God to walk with Him — and with our<br />
response of faith and courage to whisper<br />
that first prayer. While miracles may<br />
prove that God can’t be put in a box,<br />
perhaps it is through prayer, scripture,<br />
the Eucharist, and community that many<br />
healings occur in our lives. Perhaps our<br />
walk with the Lord and all that entails is<br />
the greatest healing of all.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 13
By Linda Gilbertson<br />
By the year 2010, stepfamilies will be<br />
the predominant type of family in<br />
America. Commonly referred to as<br />
“blended” marriages, such unions, which<br />
often include children from both sides,<br />
bring with them unique problems not<br />
faced by first marriage families.<br />
“I think the term ‘blended marriage’ is<br />
a good metaphor because people going<br />
through it say that it feels like they’ve been<br />
put through a big blender,” said David<br />
O’Byrne, a marriage and family counselor<br />
with <strong>Catholic</strong> Charities, and a stepparent<br />
himself.<br />
“<strong>This</strong> is a time of great upheaval for<br />
everyone involved. They’re being tossed<br />
around a lot.” However, he stops at describing<br />
remarriages as being actually “blended.”<br />
<strong>In</strong>stead, O’Byrne said, the family<br />
created by remarriage is better thought of<br />
as two families living in harmony. It’s<br />
important that each maintain its separate,<br />
distinct identity.<br />
Peggy and Chris Hildreth agree. A<br />
blended family since 1994, they give talks to<br />
new and prospective stepfamilies about the<br />
pitfalls and triumphs of step parenting,<br />
drawing on their own experiences bringing<br />
their two families together.<br />
An <strong>In</strong>timate Outsider<br />
<strong>St</strong>epparents often attempt to create the<br />
same kind of family as the first marriage<br />
family, one in which the new parent is<br />
accepted as a full member by the children.<br />
<strong>In</strong> reality, however, it rarely happens that<br />
way.<br />
O’Byrne faced a particularly difficult<br />
challenge when he married Nancy seven<br />
years ago in that he, a former priest,<br />
Corbis<br />
The family portrayed in the hit television show,<br />
“The Brady Bunch,” was considered the quintessential<br />
blended family of the 1970s.<br />
14 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
hadn’t taken on the responsibilities of<br />
being a parent. He said he came into the<br />
role of stepfather with the same<br />
unrealistic expectation a lot of people<br />
have, that of instantaneous acceptance by<br />
the children. It didn’t take him long to<br />
realize it wouldn’t be that easy.<br />
“<strong>In</strong> my first two years as a stepparent, I<br />
was invisible,” said O’Byrne. “They just<br />
looked right past me.”<br />
But it wasn’t because of anything he had<br />
done to alienate his three stepchildren. It’s<br />
simply that it would take time for them to<br />
accept him as a full part of the family.<br />
“<strong>Love</strong> comes slowly, if at all,” he said of<br />
the stepchild’s feelings toward the new<br />
stepparent. “You’ll be an intimate outsider.<br />
You want to get close but you’ll always be<br />
on the outside. And that’s OK.”<br />
Separate But Equal<br />
The hierarchy of the family unit<br />
provides the children with a unique sense<br />
of who they are based on their birth order.<br />
That positioning should continue with the<br />
blended family, even if the numbers don’t<br />
add up.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the Hildreth’s case, they each had a<br />
son who was the oldest member of the<br />
family and a daughter as the youngest.<br />
When they married, chronologically<br />
Peggy’s son was no longer the oldest and<br />
Chris’s daughter was no longer the baby of<br />
the household.<br />
But, in the family’s spirit, each child’s<br />
station didn’t change when the two families<br />
came together. That’s an important<br />
consideration for each family to make,<br />
since a child’s identity is tied to his or her<br />
place within the family structure. It’s easier<br />
to accomplish if the families maintain a<br />
sense of separateness and individuality.<br />
“We really feel that we do have two<br />
separate families,” Chris said. “It’s better if<br />
you respect the two families as they are.”<br />
Despite this apparent dichotomy, the<br />
two families will be able to function as<br />
one, the experts maintain. But the integration<br />
of the two<br />
families into a<br />
cohesive unit is<br />
a slow process.<br />
And, O’Byrne<br />
cautions, it is<br />
an outcome that<br />
may never take place.<br />
“At the outside, it takes two or more<br />
years to settle down,” he said. “You have to<br />
ask yourself, are you ready to wait?”<br />
The Unbreakable Bond<br />
Understanding the needs of each of the<br />
children in a remarriage is a vital part of<br />
creating a harmonious atmosphere. The<br />
children need to feel that the relationship to<br />
their own parent is just as strong as it ever<br />
was, even with the addition of a new parent.<br />
“Remember, that parent/child relationship<br />
predates your relationship,” O’Byrne said.<br />
Peggy Hildreth said she realized early in<br />
her marriage to Chris that she could not<br />
bend the bond he had with his daughter,<br />
nor, she discovered, did she want to.<br />
During a family vacation, Chris’s<br />
youngest daughter kept trying to<br />
physically wedge herself<br />
between the couple, taking<br />
her dad’s hand and forcing<br />
Peggy to walk behind them.<br />
At first, Peggy felt as if she<br />
were being pushed away. Then<br />
she realized that her stepdaughter<br />
was just taking her rightful place next to<br />
her father, the place she had belonged<br />
since she was born.<br />
“I’m really an outsider in that relationship,<br />
big time,” Peggy said. “I finally<br />
realized I had to let her have him. It was<br />
just a war and I wasn’t going to win.”<br />
For Peggy’s son, who, at age nine, had<br />
been the “man of the family” since his<br />
parents’ divorce, the addition of Chris into<br />
the family meant his place was going to be<br />
supplanted by a new father. It was not a<br />
role he was prepared to relinquish.<br />
“He told me, ‘Chris can’t take care of<br />
you like I do,’” Peggy said. “He didn’t<br />
think I needed to marry Chris.”<br />
“All I saw was the back of his head for a<br />
few months,” Chris said of his stepson’s<br />
initial reaction to him. Over the years,<br />
however, their relationship has changed<br />
and improved.<br />
Making Discipline Work<br />
Maintaining discipline in the blended<br />
family is one of the most troubling aspects<br />
of step parenting and the one that causes<br />
the majority of serious problems in new<br />
marriages.<br />
Peggy says her discipline style is akin to<br />
“still waters run deep” – she’s calm but<br />
firm. Husband Chris admits he is a<br />
screamer.<br />
For them, the key to successful discipline<br />
is to present a united front,<br />
allowing the natural parent to lead the way,<br />
with backup provided by the stepparent.<br />
That’s not to say that the stepparent<br />
has to delay discipline if the natural parent<br />
isn’t available, however. The stepparent<br />
needs to discipline in a way the child<br />
responds to, if that’s possible. <strong>In</strong> Chris’s<br />
case, it’s often not easy for him to remain<br />
calm in the face of misbehavior by his<br />
stepchildren.<br />
“I go out in the backyard and do my<br />
Yosemite Sam, and then it’s OK,” Chris said.<br />
As long as the discipline is consistent, as<br />
long as the children understand the rules<br />
of the household, they should be able<br />
to take discipline from either parent.<br />
The Couple Connection<br />
For families struggling with the issues<br />
of remarriage, coping with problems,<br />
the first few years may make the future<br />
seem bleak. Communication between the<br />
husband and wife at all levels can serve to<br />
keep the marriage strong, despite problems<br />
with the children or other outside forces.<br />
“It’s essential to communicate well,”<br />
O’Byrne advises newly married couples.<br />
“That will help the marriage bond and<br />
reduce the stress you’re going through.”<br />
He added that the couple connection is<br />
one of the most important to maintain<br />
and the one that gives stability to the<br />
family.<br />
“Remember there’s a reason you got<br />
married in the first place,” advises Peggy.<br />
“When the kids are all gone, it’s going to<br />
be us who are still there.”<br />
“Our relationship is what’s most<br />
important,” Chris added. “That’s what we<br />
spend the bulk of our work on.”<br />
Linda Gilbertson is a Jacksonville-based<br />
freelance writer.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 15
Making A <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
Rediscovering<br />
God’s <strong>Love</strong><br />
“Being in one place for four days<br />
straight is...a pure gift.”<br />
– A Guided Scripture <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
“<strong>This</strong> program fulfills a longing<br />
and need in my life.”<br />
– A Mid-Life Directions <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
“The retreat leader made you fall in<br />
love with God all over again.”<br />
– A Guided Scripture <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
“I enjoyed the wisdom<br />
of other women.”<br />
– A Women’s Recovery <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
“She led us through an experience...<br />
She led us to discovery.”<br />
– A Celtic Spirituality <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
By David E. Nowak<br />
These comments, from participants<br />
in recent Marywood retreat<br />
programs, remind us of the importance<br />
of quiet places for prayer<br />
and reflection. We need, from time to<br />
time, to temporarily withdraw from our<br />
everyday routine when, as English Poet<br />
William Wordsworth wrote, “<strong>This</strong> world<br />
is too much with us.”<br />
More and more people are discovering<br />
how retreats help us take a fresh look at<br />
life. The experience of making a retreat<br />
teaches us, simply, the value of taking the<br />
time to sort things out: to ask how things<br />
are going; to ask where things are going;<br />
and to rediscover God’s love in everything<br />
around us.<br />
<strong>St</strong>ill, many wonder whether making a<br />
retreat is for them. Some believe you must<br />
already be holy, or at least well on the way<br />
to holiness, before making a retreat.<br />
Others have difficulty deciding what kind<br />
of retreat is appropriate for them. And<br />
some struggle to justify the apparent<br />
luxury of giving up so much time.<br />
<strong>This</strong> article will briefly review the<br />
historical context of the <strong>Catholic</strong> retreat<br />
movement in this country; identify some<br />
of the most common kinds of retreats<br />
available at retreat centers; and, perhaps,<br />
remind us how important it is to grow in<br />
the joy of God’s love shining in and<br />
through us.<br />
The American <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
Movement<br />
The history of the American <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
<strong>Retreat</strong> Movement dates back 150 years. It<br />
began in the middle 19th century when<br />
most <strong>Catholic</strong>s believed retreats were<br />
reserved for those who were ordained or<br />
vowed religious, whose lives are completely<br />
dedicated to spiritual growth and<br />
ministerial service. Even today, church law<br />
requires members of religious orders to<br />
observe an annual period of retreat.<br />
Emerging in the latter half of the 19th<br />
century, however, is a <strong>Catholic</strong> evangelical<br />
reform movement called, “Revivalism.”<br />
<strong>This</strong> was a mass movement of missionary<br />
priests who traveled the United <strong>St</strong>ates and<br />
Canada addressing the needs of struggling<br />
North American churches. Religious orders<br />
sent preachers and teachers throughout the<br />
country to support the new growth of<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> communities.<br />
<strong>This</strong> early experience with parish<br />
renewal led to the development of new<br />
retreat programs and the first retreat centers<br />
sponsored by several religious orders. The<br />
Redemptorists (1852), Passionists (1860),<br />
Religious of the Cenacle (1893), and others<br />
provided various parish mission and retreat<br />
programs. And in 1875 the Dominican<br />
Sisters founded a center for women’s retreats<br />
in Pennsylvania focusing on <strong>Catholic</strong> social<br />
teaching.<br />
16 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • JANUARY 2001/FEBRUARY 2001
Within the first two decades of the 20th<br />
century, although retreat directors were still<br />
usually priests, lay people began to organize<br />
and promote their own retreats.<br />
Lay men and women were beginning to<br />
recognize the importance of regular spiritual<br />
retreats for all the faithful and initially<br />
sought to share the spirituality of religious<br />
communities.<br />
Lay retreat leagues were developed and<br />
looked to religious communities for ways to<br />
adapt their particular charism and<br />
spiritual practices to everyday life.<br />
Finally, in the period of time<br />
immediately before and following<br />
the Second Vatican Council, the<br />
importance of developing a<br />
spiritual life received a new<br />
emphasis and breadth in the<br />
church.<br />
Vatican II’s Dogmatic<br />
Constitution on the Church<br />
proclaimed that all believers are<br />
called to the “fullness of Christian<br />
life and the perfection of love.”<br />
No longer only an obligation of<br />
clergy and religious, now the<br />
church called all the faithful to<br />
grow in holiness and to witness to<br />
God’s presence in the midst of<br />
their lives.<br />
<strong>This</strong> new and more expansive<br />
vision of <strong>Catholic</strong> spiritual life<br />
raised many important questions<br />
about the role of retreats. If<br />
retreats are not just a spiritual<br />
exercise for those with a special<br />
call to religious life, retreat<br />
ministry must now serve a much<br />
wider audience with a more<br />
diverse range of experiences and<br />
expectations.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the 21st century, retreat<br />
centers will need to continue to<br />
adapt old retreat models and develop new,<br />
more accessible ones to help us reflect on<br />
the extraordinary presence of God in the<br />
ordinary experiences of our life. Their<br />
mission will be to find and offer many<br />
different ways of sharing the “good news” of<br />
God’s promise with everyone.<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong> Programs<br />
<strong>In</strong> recent years the challenge to develop<br />
programs to meet the spiritual needs of all<br />
the faithful has resulted in a much greater<br />
variety of retreats. There is an increasing<br />
appreciation among retreat leaders and<br />
participants that different types of retreats<br />
are necessary to support many different<br />
spiritual journeys.<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong> centers have found that no<br />
single kind of retreat can address every<br />
important topic; provide every spiritual<br />
exercise; or focus on every life issue which<br />
may concern retreatants.<br />
Linda Frano said she needed to get away to prepare for Christmas. She<br />
signed up for a Silent <strong>Retreat</strong> at Marywood and took full advantage of<br />
the beautiful surroundings to become closer to God.<br />
Even the context may change. At times<br />
retreatants need to be quiet and alone. At<br />
other times group discussion is more<br />
suitable. Even the length may vary from a<br />
day to more than a week depending on<br />
personal availability and program<br />
intensity. All retreats can only be judged,<br />
finally, by how well they provide a safe<br />
place to explore the unique revelations of<br />
the Spirit in our daily lives.<br />
Although retreat centers are continually<br />
expanding the kinds of retreats they offer,<br />
most retreats fall into one of the following<br />
categories.<br />
The most common type of retreat is a<br />
Preached or Conference <strong>Retreat</strong>. <strong>This</strong><br />
retreat format is especially good for large<br />
groups centering around a theme like<br />
prayer, scripture, Jesus, or particular life<br />
issues. At this type of retreat a presenter or<br />
retreat leader provides one or more talks<br />
with periods of individual or group<br />
reflection. It often lasts for a<br />
weekend, but it may be shorter<br />
or conducted in a series of<br />
shorter meetings over two or<br />
more weeks.<br />
Another popular kind of retreat<br />
is called a Vocational, Lifestyle,<br />
or Commitment <strong>Retreat</strong>.<br />
Most often identified with<br />
Marriage Encounter and<br />
Engaged Encounter programs,<br />
this type of retreat focuses on<br />
the experiences and needs of<br />
one or more persons in a vowed<br />
relationship. While similar in<br />
structure to thematic retreats,<br />
these retreats are based more on<br />
the life situations and skills<br />
necessary to meet the demands<br />
of long term commitments.<br />
Some retreatants prefer meeting<br />
with smaller groups of five to 10<br />
persons for a Guided <strong>Retreat</strong>.<br />
Guided <strong>Retreat</strong>s typically invite<br />
participants to gather for a daily<br />
conference and then spend the<br />
rest of the day on their own. A<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
spiritual director may be<br />
available for personal<br />
consultation, but there are no<br />
other individual or group<br />
meetings.<br />
Another familiar retreat context is<br />
the Directed <strong>Retreat</strong> or <strong>In</strong>dividual Directed<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong>. <strong>This</strong> is primarily a more extended<br />
retreat experience lasting from five to 30 days.<br />
It focuses on personal or individual spiritual<br />
needs and experiences with daily meetings for<br />
spiritual direction. During one or more<br />
sessions each day the director facilitates<br />
individual prayer and provides reflection<br />
material for individual meditation.<br />
A combination of elements from both<br />
Continued on page 18<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 17
Continued from page 17<br />
guided and directed retreats has also been<br />
integrated into the Group Directed<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong>. <strong>This</strong> kind of program offers both<br />
daily group conferences and regular<br />
opportunities for individual spiritual<br />
direction. <strong>This</strong> format may also allow<br />
everyone to benefit from the personal<br />
insights of an individual through group<br />
discussion or faith sharing.<br />
Another more recent development is<br />
retreats designed to focus on particular age<br />
or life phase groups. These include Youth<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong>s, Mid-Life <strong>Retreat</strong>s, and Senior<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong>s. Each of these retreat programs<br />
acknowledges the special concerns and<br />
challenges of a particular time of life. They<br />
all provide a complete context of<br />
formational and, sometimes, recreational<br />
components to affirm and challenge each<br />
group’s spiritual growth through that<br />
period of their life.<br />
The <strong>Retreat</strong> Experience<br />
All of these retreat models, old and new,<br />
remind us of the importance of taking time<br />
to listen to God’s Word in the midst of our<br />
lives. Whether we have only a few hours or<br />
a few days, they offer us experiences of<br />
prayer and reflection to increase our<br />
awareness of the Mystery surrounding us.<br />
God dwells in all that we are and do.<br />
<strong>Retreat</strong>s simply help us to sharpen our<br />
vision and open our hearts to the Divine<br />
Presence already alive in us.<br />
Making a retreat is a careful way to look<br />
at the events of our lives from a sacred<br />
perspective. The fleeting moments of life<br />
require us to stop and appreciate, by<br />
looking back and remembering, their<br />
sacred meaning and ultimate goal. <strong>Retreat</strong>s<br />
provide us with a structured and<br />
purposeful pause in our lives to restore our<br />
feel for God’s joy and to renew our<br />
confidence in God’s faithful love.<br />
David Nowak is director of Marywood <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
and Conference Center in Jacksonville.<br />
Turn to the Calendar of Events on pages 30-31<br />
for information on upcoming retreats at<br />
Marywood. To obtain the Marywood<br />
Newsletter with a schedule of programs and<br />
retreats, call (904) 287-2525.<br />
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and stock brokers to reach this high quality audience. Advertising rates<br />
are reasonable. For a free quote, call J. Michael Lenninger, advertising<br />
manager, at (904) 262-3200, ext.188.<br />
MISSION NEWS<br />
Thanks…<br />
“I<br />
don’t know how we<br />
would survive without<br />
your help. <strong>This</strong> is why we are<br />
indebted to you. Be assured<br />
of our daily prayers so that<br />
God will bless your intentions<br />
and good works. Please, do not grow tired of<br />
reaching out to us.”<br />
Father Felix Kumani, Rector<br />
Seminary of <strong>St</strong>. Peter the Apostle, Nigeria<br />
Today there are more than 28,000 young men in the Missions<br />
who want to serve their people as priests. With the help of your<br />
prayers and your gift to the Propagation of the Faith / <strong>St</strong>. Peter<br />
Apostle, many more can continue to answer “Yes!” to the<br />
Lord’s call to follow Him.<br />
✁<br />
The Society for the PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH<br />
...all of us committed to the worldwide mission of Jesus<br />
Father Brian Eburn: Attention Dept. C<br />
P.O. Box 908, Crescent City, FL 32112<br />
(904) 698-2055<br />
❏ $100 ❏ $50 ❏ $25 ❏ $10 ❏ $________(other)<br />
Name __________________________________________________________<br />
Address ________________________________________________________<br />
City _____________________________<strong>St</strong>ate _______Zip ______________<br />
Please remember the Society for the Propagation of the Faith<br />
when writing or changing your Will.<br />
18 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
Heavenly<br />
Tails<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
By Elizabeth Dorsey-Culkeen<br />
Deacon Joe Johnson and his dog Jake share some tender loving care<br />
with All Saints Nursing Home resident Hazel Goodwin.<br />
Anovel form of therapy is being<br />
dispensed with the wag of a tail<br />
at All Saints <strong>Catholic</strong> Nursing<br />
Home and Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville.<br />
To the residents and staff, visits<br />
by Deacon Joseph Johnson and his retired<br />
champion Cardigan Welsh Corgi Jake are,<br />
in this case, just what the doctor ordered.<br />
While Deacon Joe conducts communion<br />
service in the chapel, Jake waits<br />
patiently for his opportunity to meet and<br />
greet his friends throughout All Saints.<br />
Afterwards, Deacon Joe clips on the leash<br />
and Jake is off to spread his own special<br />
form of treatment in exchange for pats,<br />
scratches and love from his admirers. Jake<br />
and Joe travel the halls stopping along the<br />
way to say hello to all.<br />
The benefits of interaction with pets are<br />
many. Visits with therapy-pets encourage<br />
reminiscences and social interaction, and<br />
result in stress relief and incidental physiotherapy.<br />
Medical studies suggest that blood<br />
pressure may be lowered and hospital stays<br />
shortened when patients have access to<br />
pets. Often, a visit with a pet can be the<br />
high point in a shut-in’s day, bringing<br />
happiness and a sense of well being.<br />
Due to complications from diabetes,<br />
walking for Deacon Johnson is difficult.<br />
His son thought that a dog and daily<br />
walks might be the medicine his father<br />
needed. He adopted Jake and the<br />
infamous partnership of the Deacon and<br />
the dog was born.<br />
Deacon Johnson, who was ordained in<br />
1988 in the Diocese of Cleveland, remembers<br />
a patient in the Lodi (Ohio)<br />
Hospital who hadn’t spoken in days.<br />
Shortly after a visit from Jake, the patient<br />
began to speak again, asking when the dog<br />
would be coming back. The Deacon is<br />
still in awe over the occurrence.<br />
Deacon Joe Johnson and his wife, Joan,<br />
moved to Jacksonville three years ago.<br />
Deacon Joe assists at Sacred Heart Parish<br />
and All Saints Nursing Home, where he<br />
conducts a communion service three days<br />
a week.<br />
The residents of All Saints look<br />
forward to the visits from Jake so much,<br />
that if Deacon Joe doesn’t bring him,<br />
people stop and ask where their little<br />
friend is. It still amazes the deacon when a<br />
resident, who is unable to remember<br />
where the chapel is located, remembers to<br />
ask when Jake will be coming in again.<br />
Yvette Bybak, the activities director at<br />
All Saints, often brings her dog, Topsy, to<br />
work with her. Between Topsy and Jake,<br />
the residents are able to spend time with<br />
the pets regularly.<br />
The nursing home visits aren’t the only<br />
job “assigned” to Jake. The first grade at<br />
Sacred Heart School has a special class<br />
every year on pet care and responsibility<br />
“taught” by Jake and his master. Deacon<br />
Joe teaches the children that feeding, exercising<br />
and caring for a pet are enormous<br />
responsibilities. Enormous, even when the<br />
pet is as agreeable as Jake.<br />
Jake has been involved with his own<br />
brand of pet therapy for over six years. <strong>In</strong><br />
addition to the visits at the nursing home<br />
and the school, Jake often accompanies<br />
Deacon Joe on communion calls to<br />
Sacred Heart’s shut-ins.<br />
At age 13, Jake is slowing down a bit<br />
but still seems to enjoy his calling. He is a<br />
gentle soul who asks so very little and<br />
gives so very much in return. A pat on the<br />
head or a nice little scratch behind the ear<br />
and the rewards are bountiful for all God’s<br />
creatures, great and small.<br />
Elizabeth Dorsey-Culkeen is a Jacksonvillebased<br />
freelance writer and member of San<br />
Juan del Rio Parish in Jacksonville.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 19
FIGHTING POVERTY<br />
How the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Campaign for<br />
Human<br />
Development<br />
Fights Poverty<br />
By Chelle Delaney<br />
B<br />
everly Coffey is a 47-year-old single<br />
mom who lives on Jacksonville’s Northside<br />
with her son, Gordon, 12.<br />
Coffey is a good example of what the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Campaign for Human Development<br />
(CCHD) is all about. She’s one of<br />
those who, diocesan CCHD Director<br />
Father Edward Rooney says, “have discovered<br />
the power to make improvements<br />
in their lives and their neighborhoods.<br />
They learn organizational skills and how<br />
to deal with issues. They learn how to<br />
open avenues for self-improvement and<br />
empowerment.”<br />
That’s Coffey. She has testified passionately<br />
before local school board<br />
officials and state leaders in Tallahassee<br />
about teaching young children to read<br />
and making their neighborhoods safe for<br />
play and improving their overall quality<br />
of life.<br />
It began four years ago, when her son<br />
got 11 referrals that he and his mother<br />
needed to meet in the school principal’s<br />
office — all during one six-week period.<br />
Coffey says, “I didn’t know what I was<br />
going to do.”<br />
But ICARE brought Direct<br />
<strong>In</strong>struction, a method of teaching<br />
reading, into the schools and it wasn’t<br />
long before she saw the results.<br />
“It helped change Gordon’s whole<br />
outlook,” Coffey says. “His reading<br />
skyrocketed, his vocabulary became<br />
broader and he was able to stay focused.<br />
He also went from making Cs and Ds to<br />
As and Bs.”<br />
What is ICARE?<br />
Behind the acronym, which stands for<br />
<strong>In</strong>terchurch Coalition for Action,<br />
Reconciliation and Empowerment, there<br />
are 35 churches representing 12 different<br />
denominations, and racially diverse<br />
congregations. All told, there are at least<br />
1,300 people involved in ICARE which is<br />
supported by CCHD and others.<br />
Last November, the executive director<br />
of national CCHD Father Robert J.<br />
Vitillo spoke at a CCHD luncheon in the<br />
diocese and thanked the people of the<br />
diocese for having contributed $546,714<br />
since the campaign began.<br />
Since then some $348,000 in national<br />
funds has been allocated to projects in the<br />
Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong>.<br />
Nationally, CCHD has just approved<br />
a $550,00 grant for a nationwide<br />
immigrant empowerment project.<br />
Jeff Chenoweth, director of the national<br />
consortia projects division of the<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Legal Immigration Network,<br />
<strong>In</strong>c., says, “There’s been a growing sentiment<br />
within the church that immigrants<br />
are not faring as well as we thought. They<br />
are at a crossroad. The rhetoric is hotter<br />
and meaner.”<br />
Almost simultaneously with the grant<br />
to help immigrants, the CCHD approved<br />
the allocation of $1 million to fund<br />
educational and community-based<br />
organizing efforts related to crime and the<br />
criminal justice system. <strong>This</strong> emphasis<br />
recognizes that people living in poverty are<br />
more often the victims of crime and,<br />
when they are the perpetrators of crimes,<br />
they often receive more severe penalties.<br />
CCHD has given ICARE $125,000<br />
in national grants since 1997. And the<br />
diocesan CCHD office awarded the<br />
church-based group $5,000 five years ago<br />
to help launch their efforts. Another<br />
20 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
CCHD Announces Multi-Media<br />
Arts Contest for Diocesan Youth<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
The <strong>Catholic</strong> Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Multi-<br />
Media Arts Contest is open to students in grades 7-12. Contestants can win<br />
prizes of $500, $250 and $100 and win matching grants for their parish<br />
programs. <strong>St</strong>udents can work individually or in a group to tell the story of<br />
what CCHD is doing to help low income people join together to reverse the<br />
root causes of poverty. The artwork can be in any of three categories: visual<br />
arts, literature, or audio-visual.<br />
Teachers are encouraged to help their students explore <strong>Catholic</strong> social<br />
teaching and the root causes of economic poverty.<br />
Entries must be submitted by April 30, 2001. Entries should be mailed to<br />
CCHD, Providence Center, 134 East Church <strong>St</strong>reet, Jacksonville, FL 32202.<br />
For further information go to: www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/index.htm<br />
and visit “Multi-Media Youth Arts Contest.” Or, call (904) 358-7409 or<br />
(904) 282-0439.<br />
Kate Luby, an ICARE staffer, and members<br />
of the church-based group develop strategies so that<br />
their concerns are heard loud and clear at City Hall<br />
and the School Board.<br />
Terry Wilmot<br />
national grant of $30,000 was awarded<br />
to Gainesville’s NCFISC (North Central<br />
Florida <strong>In</strong>terdenominational Sponsoring<br />
Committee) for a project that is in its<br />
start-up phase and similar to ICARE.<br />
What does the money do for ICARE<br />
and NCFISC?<br />
It helps show the “invisible poor” how<br />
they can make themselves seen and<br />
heard.<br />
Kate Luby is a 23-year-old college<br />
graduate who is working for ICARE. It’s<br />
work she calls exciting.<br />
“It’s people from really diverse<br />
neighborhoods coming together for a<br />
common purpose. Parents have been<br />
testifying. To see them tell their story in<br />
their words and that it really matters, has<br />
been a real leap for these people. They<br />
say, ‘<strong>This</strong> is what happened to my child<br />
and my child deserves the best that the<br />
school system can offer.’”<br />
Thanks to ICARE, 15 inner-city<br />
schools are now teaching by Direct <strong>In</strong>struction,<br />
a straightforward method in<br />
which teachers explain directly what<br />
students need to learn and then teach<br />
and demonstrate those skills.<br />
Kate Luby says, “The Direct <strong>In</strong>struction<br />
program was introduced at ICARE’s<br />
urging. It’s had some really amazing<br />
success.”<br />
As Beverly Coffey knows.<br />
Luby adds, “ICARE’s mission is not<br />
just helping get things done but also<br />
striving for the Kingdom of God.”<br />
And that’s what CCHD has been<br />
working on for the past 30 years, ever<br />
since it was founded by the National<br />
Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops<br />
(NCCB) in 1969.<br />
<strong>In</strong> all its activities, the CCHD has a<br />
double purpose.<br />
First, to give the poor the power to lift<br />
themselves out of poverty. And second,<br />
to recruit all <strong>Catholic</strong>s in the campaign<br />
to change unjust conditions.<br />
<strong>In</strong> other words, CCHD is working<br />
to get us to realize that the poor, the<br />
minorities, the immigrants, the undocumented<br />
aliens, and we, are all God’s<br />
children.<br />
<strong>In</strong> January, to make us all aware that<br />
poverty still exists, CCHD released a<br />
survey showing that, in 1999, some 11.8<br />
percent of the total U.S. population, or<br />
32.3 million people, found themselves<br />
living in poverty – defined as those<br />
whose annual cash income is less than<br />
the federal government has defined as<br />
essential for minimal nutritional<br />
subsistence and basic living costs. For a<br />
family of four, the poverty threshold in<br />
1999 was $17,184.<br />
Who are the poor?<br />
Just 11 percent of the total<br />
population, but:<br />
• 23 percent of African-American<br />
families.<br />
• 20 percent of non-naturalized<br />
immigrants.<br />
• And almost 17 percent of all<br />
children.<br />
By the way, Beverly Coffey’s son<br />
Gordon is now a sixth-grader at the<br />
LaVilla School of the Arts, where he’s not<br />
only an exemplary student but knows<br />
how to play six instruments and is in<br />
several musical groups. Like his mother,<br />
Gordon is making himself heard.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 21
teen<br />
voice<br />
Cheating is a type of dishonesty that is very common in today’s society. <strong>In</strong><br />
a recent national poll, 40 percent of U.S. teenagers said they would<br />
cheat if they knew they could get away with it. A 1994 survey of<br />
students in Who’s Who Among High School <strong>St</strong>udents revealed:<br />
✺ 70 % had cheated at one time or another,<br />
✺ 67 % copied another student’s work,<br />
✺ 40 % cheated on a test or quiz, and<br />
✺ 25 % used plot summaries to avoid reading an assigned book.<br />
We asked teens from <strong>St</strong>. Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish in Macclenny<br />
and <strong>St</strong>. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Palm Coast –<br />
?<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephanie Moreland – Yes it is morally wrong to cheat. It all depends when<br />
and where you are, but overall, no under any circumstances.<br />
Bryan Jenkins – It is definitely wrong to cheat. There is no reason<br />
why a person should cheat. When a person cheats, they are<br />
stealing in some way from other people. When a person wants<br />
Kristen<br />
IT’S ALL<br />
ABOUT FAITH:<br />
Is it morally wrong to cheat?<br />
Under what circumstances if any, is it okay?<br />
<strong>This</strong> is what they had to say:<br />
to achieve a goal, they should put their own work into it and<br />
not take from other people. I don’t believe that a person could<br />
cheat in a good way. Although cheating may be easier, it is<br />
wrong.<br />
Kristen Burnham – Yes it is wrong to cheat because if you don’t<br />
learn to do it yourself it will be harder on you in life.<br />
Jeff McGraw — Cheating on anything is very wrong and I think that<br />
cheating should be against the law. But the only time you should cheat is if you<br />
have a gun pointed at your head. But cheating is always wrong.<br />
Wendy Nguyen – Yes it is wrong to cheat because if you cheat you will<br />
keep on doing it and you will never learn right from wrong.<br />
Laura Jenkins – Cheating is breaking the Seventh Commandment, “Thou<br />
shalt not steal.” By cheating you’re stealing from yourself and others. There<br />
Laura<br />
Feb. 4 – Diocesan Youth Rally<br />
For youth in 9 th -12 th grades<br />
Sunday, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s, Gainesville<br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
Feb. 9-11 – SEARCH <strong>Retreat</strong> #72<br />
For Juniors and Seniors in High School<br />
and College Freshman<br />
Cost: $40<br />
Camp <strong>St</strong>. John, Switzerland<br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
Feb. 16-17 – Journey <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
For youth in 9 th -10 th grades<br />
Friday, 7:30 p.m.-Sunday, 8 p.m.<br />
Marywood <strong>Retreat</strong> Center<br />
Call (904) 287-2525<br />
is no good enough excuse to cheat. You have to do everything for yourself to<br />
succeed.<br />
Julie Feder – The problem with cheating is the illusion behind it. Cheating brings instant<br />
gratification – a good grade on a test, sexual pleasure, or victory in a game. But it encourages<br />
long-term disappointment and damage. When you think about things solely on a short-term basis,<br />
cheating seems to be the way to go. After considering the long-term effects, it is obvious that<br />
cheating is not worth it.<br />
22 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001<br />
CALENDAR<br />
Feb. 17 – Diocesan Youth Rally<br />
For youth in 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grades<br />
Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Matthew Parish, Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
March 18 – Scout Recognition Ceremony<br />
With Bishop John J. Snyder<br />
Sunday, 3 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
April 16 – Annual CYO Golf Tournament<br />
Fundraiser for Youth Ministry<br />
San Jose Country Club, Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephanie<br />
Wendy<br />
Bryan<br />
April 20-22 – SEARCH <strong>Retreat</strong> #72<br />
For Juniors and Seniors in High School<br />
and College Freshman<br />
Cost: $40<br />
Camp <strong>St</strong>. John, Switzerland<br />
Call (904) 355-1100<br />
Julia<br />
April 28 – Kingdom Bound Concert<br />
Featuring Christian Artists: Newsboys,<br />
Scarecrow and Tinman, Third Day,<br />
Rebecca <strong>St</strong>. James and more.<br />
Saturday All Day with a Vigil Mass.<br />
Spirit of Suwanne Park, Live Oak<br />
Call Pete Blay for more information including<br />
transportation (904) 355-1100<br />
Jeff
THE CHOICE COMPUTER GAME<br />
A Review By Matt DeSalvo<br />
The Choice Game is a new<br />
computer game that aims to teach<br />
teens how to make smart and moral<br />
decisions about real life situations.<br />
The game takes you on an<br />
interactive journey where teens can<br />
explore the consequences of their<br />
decisions, while “angels” keep tabs.<br />
Some of the role-playing situations<br />
you can choose from are: dating, teen<br />
pregnancy, depression, peer pressure,<br />
drugs among others. These topics are<br />
very effective because they are areas<br />
where teens have many questions.<br />
The game is fairly easy to play<br />
once you get started, due to the<br />
simple to use buttons and sounds.<br />
Each scene contains three choices to<br />
choose from, and various scenarios<br />
that you can choose or ignore and<br />
listen to what the “Angel” or “Demon”<br />
Beginning this issue we<br />
are introducing a new<br />
column for teens called<br />
Did You Know????<br />
We want to highlight<br />
the many accomplishments,<br />
honors, awards<br />
and special recognitions<br />
that teens throughout the<br />
Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
have recently received.<br />
So brag a little to peers<br />
and send us your good<br />
news — the following<br />
teens did!<br />
Did You Know…<br />
Torey Rodriguez, a<br />
senior at Clay High School<br />
in Green Cove Springs<br />
For more<br />
information about<br />
Youth Ministry and events<br />
in the diocese, call<br />
Pete Blay at<br />
(904) 355-1100.<br />
have to say.<br />
Other helpful tools include a<br />
side bar with links to websites<br />
that are related to the topic at<br />
hand. Once you have selected<br />
your choice to the scenario, you<br />
will see and hear the answer<br />
used in the next stage.<br />
Depending on the choice you<br />
select, you are awarded points.<br />
Technological needs to play<br />
this game are somewhat<br />
demanding. Some components<br />
required include Windows 95, a sound<br />
card with speakers, 32MB of RAM<br />
minimum, and <strong>In</strong>ternet Explorer 5. The<br />
game does include a FAQ (Frequently<br />
Asked Questions) page on their<br />
website for additional help.<br />
My verdict on the game: It’s a<br />
good game that is cool enough to be<br />
DID YOU KNOW?<br />
and a parishioner at<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Luke Parish in<br />
Middleburg was named<br />
First Runner Up for Miss<br />
Clay High School?<br />
Torey competed with<br />
22 girls in five different<br />
categories: <strong>In</strong>terview,<br />
speech, walk, impromptu<br />
Hey<br />
Teens…<br />
question and talent.<br />
As First Runner-up<br />
orey received a $500<br />
college scholarship.<br />
She also won the Best<br />
Overall Talent Award.<br />
Congratulations Torey!<br />
William Curtis, a<br />
parishioner of Sacred<br />
Heart in Green Cove<br />
Springs just earned the<br />
honor of Eagle Scout for<br />
the Boy Scouts of America.<br />
William is one of five<br />
young scouts from this<br />
parish to receive this<br />
award in recent years.<br />
Boys have until their<br />
18th birthday to complete<br />
the requirements of Eagle<br />
Scout. William built a sign<br />
played by teens, and is also a great<br />
game to play with a group of friends.<br />
If your youth group<br />
would like to try the game, a copy<br />
is available through the<br />
Diocesan Youth and Young Adult<br />
Ministry Office, (904) 355-1100.<br />
for Sacred Heart Parish<br />
that can be seen at the<br />
new church on Highway<br />
17. As part of his project<br />
he had to come up with a<br />
plan, obtain donated<br />
materials, and solicit help<br />
from fellow scouts who<br />
can then help implement<br />
the project.<br />
Congratulations William!<br />
Deadline for the next Did You Know column is February 9.<br />
Brag a little and tell us about your recent awards, special honors, and achievements.<br />
Write to: Teen Voice, P.O. Box 24000, Jacksonville, FL 32241-4000;<br />
email KTBagg@aol.com or Fax (904) 262-2398.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 23
1999-2000 Fiscal Year<br />
Bishop’s <strong>St</strong>ewardship Appeal<br />
Education and Formation<br />
Campus Ministry<br />
Diocesan Advisory Board of Education<br />
Catechetical Ministry<br />
Christian Formation<br />
Curriculum Coordinator<br />
Education / Guidance<br />
Educational Services<br />
Marywood<br />
Ministry Formation<br />
Morning <strong>St</strong>ar School<br />
BSA Allocation<br />
59,507<br />
280,000<br />
45,000<br />
94,976<br />
49,969<br />
53,400<br />
115,180<br />
218,442<br />
69,296<br />
186,125<br />
Other <strong>In</strong>come<br />
820<br />
–<br />
–<br />
3,350<br />
6,800<br />
103,000<br />
11,700<br />
646,951<br />
47,685<br />
547,967<br />
Total income<br />
60,327<br />
280,000<br />
45,000<br />
98,326<br />
56,769<br />
156,400<br />
126,880<br />
865,393<br />
116,981<br />
734,092<br />
Expenses<br />
60,148<br />
280,000<br />
44,861<br />
94,876<br />
56,795<br />
156,414<br />
126,905<br />
827,171<br />
119,845<br />
714,454<br />
Subtotal:<br />
$1,171,895<br />
$1,368,273<br />
$2,540,168<br />
$2,481,470<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities Bureau<br />
Aging Services<br />
AIDS Task Force<br />
Apostleship of the Sea<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities - Central<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities - Gainesville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities - Jacksonville<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities - <strong>St</strong> <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Disabilities Ministry<br />
Farmworker Services<br />
Health Task Force<br />
Justice and Peace<br />
Justice and Reconciliation<br />
Legalization<br />
New Hope Program<br />
Parish Social Ministry<br />
Religious Education for the Deaf & Blind<br />
21,376<br />
1,109<br />
44,000<br />
141,972<br />
79,990<br />
289,418<br />
98,644<br />
92,954<br />
34,076<br />
1,109<br />
65,929<br />
96,023<br />
25,069<br />
15,000<br />
37,155<br />
78,500<br />
6,588<br />
1,175<br />
–<br />
11,029<br />
194,177<br />
1,232,329<br />
110,983<br />
115<br />
49,401<br />
–<br />
5,044<br />
870<br />
7,824<br />
47,127<br />
–<br />
9,167<br />
27,964<br />
2,284<br />
44,000<br />
153,001<br />
274,167<br />
1,521,747<br />
209,627<br />
93,069<br />
83,477<br />
1,109<br />
70,973<br />
96,893<br />
32,893<br />
62,127<br />
37,155<br />
87,667<br />
28,054<br />
1,056<br />
44,230<br />
153,001<br />
260,826<br />
1,289,699<br />
206,508<br />
92,065<br />
54,594<br />
194<br />
78,353<br />
100,799<br />
32,893<br />
62,124<br />
35,094<br />
79,763<br />
Subtotal:<br />
$1,122,324<br />
$1,675,828<br />
$2,798,152<br />
$2,519,252<br />
Outreach Programs<br />
African/Native American<br />
Family Life<br />
Hispanic Ministry<br />
Liturgical Commission<br />
Rural Life Ministry<br />
Vocations Office<br />
Youth Ministry<br />
61,933<br />
120,342<br />
90,764<br />
52,000<br />
1,500<br />
35,733<br />
63,891<br />
1,324<br />
53,211<br />
28,262<br />
–<br />
–<br />
31,480<br />
71,097<br />
63,257<br />
173,553<br />
119,026<br />
52,000<br />
1,500<br />
67,213<br />
134,988<br />
63,548<br />
173,553<br />
101,040<br />
48,780<br />
221<br />
67,445<br />
131,555<br />
Subtotal:<br />
$426,163<br />
$185,374<br />
$611,537<br />
$586,142<br />
24 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
Central Services<br />
Archives<br />
Building Administration<br />
Commissions for Religious<br />
Communications<br />
Ministry Support Services<br />
Planned Giving<br />
Priest Retirement/<strong>Retreat</strong>s<br />
Respect Life<br />
<strong>St</strong>ewardship Office<br />
Tribunal<br />
Vicar for Religious<br />
Vicar for Priests<br />
BSA Allocation<br />
40,052<br />
71,523<br />
3,183<br />
334,396<br />
88,172<br />
40,539<br />
46,000<br />
35,254<br />
158,880<br />
62,608<br />
21,400<br />
36,577<br />
Other <strong>In</strong>come<br />
–<br />
76,884<br />
–<br />
52,171<br />
–<br />
–<br />
–<br />
42,027<br />
27,435<br />
88,489<br />
416<br />
–<br />
Total income<br />
40,052<br />
148,407<br />
3,183<br />
386,567<br />
88,172<br />
40,539<br />
46,000<br />
77,281<br />
186,315<br />
151,097<br />
21,816<br />
36,577<br />
Expenses<br />
5,596<br />
135,158<br />
1,999<br />
386,567<br />
99,273<br />
40,106<br />
50,231<br />
77,282<br />
187,007<br />
127,854<br />
21,816<br />
24,748<br />
Subtotal:<br />
$938,584<br />
$287,422<br />
$1,226,006<br />
$1,157,637<br />
Diocesan Administration & Other<br />
Administration / Legal<br />
$424,288<br />
$131,231<br />
$555,519<br />
$467,291<br />
Legal & Professional Fees<br />
Legal Fees<br />
USCC & FCC Assessments<br />
48,000<br />
74,000<br />
–<br />
–<br />
48,000<br />
74,000<br />
61,444<br />
78,253<br />
Subtotal:<br />
$122,000<br />
–<br />
$122,000<br />
$139,697<br />
Grand Total:<br />
$4,205,254<br />
$3,648,128<br />
$7,853,382<br />
$7,351,488<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities Bureau<br />
Education & Formation<br />
Outreach Programs<br />
Central Services<br />
Diocesan Administration<br />
Legal & Professional Fees<br />
10%<br />
22%<br />
27%<br />
A copy of the author’s report for the fiscal year<br />
ending June 30, 2000, is available upon request by writing to the:<br />
Fiscal Office, <strong>Catholic</strong> Center • P.O. Box 24000 • Jacksonville, FL 32241-4000<br />
28%<br />
10% 3%<br />
Diocesan Finance Council<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder as administrator<br />
of the diocese is assisted in meeting the<br />
challenges of fiscal administration by a<br />
Finance Council composed of pastors and<br />
lay people from across the diocese.<br />
Members of the Finance Council are:<br />
Dr. Gaston Acosta-Rua<br />
Ms. Maria Allen<br />
Father Keith R. Brennan<br />
Mr. Neil Cronin<br />
Mr. Robert A. Devereux<br />
Monsignor Vincent J. Haut<br />
Mr. Nathaniel Herring, Jr.<br />
Father William A. Kelly<br />
Mr. Clyde E. Lower<br />
Father Robert McDermott<br />
Mrs. Mary V. Sieredzinski<br />
The work of the council consists of<br />
reviewing the financial condition of the<br />
diocese, the diocesan budgets and the<br />
financial ability to meet additional present<br />
and future needs.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 25
Father Felix Varela, the 19th-century<br />
Cuban patriot-priest, has a courtyard<br />
of his own at the Cathedral-Basilica of <strong>St</strong>.<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong>.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder honored Varela<br />
in November, by naming the east courtyard<br />
of the Cathedral-Basilica in his honor. “It<br />
is not just an empty symbol,’’ he said. “It<br />
allows us to bring to life the memory and<br />
the teachings of Father Varela.’’<br />
Vaela spent his early years in <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
and then returned here in the mid-<br />
1800s. He ministered to the parish between<br />
1849 and the time of his death in 1853.<br />
Varela wrote and spoke about social<br />
reform and human dignity. He was<br />
ordained in Cuba and then elected to the<br />
Spanish Cortes (parliament). Later, he<br />
became vicar general of the Archdiocese of<br />
Snyder said. “Last week (in November),<br />
the American bishops made a statement<br />
on immigration. Father Varela reached out<br />
to immigrants. The bishops called us to be<br />
advocates of justice and human dignity,<br />
just as Father Varela did.’’<br />
The east courtyard was chosen by the<br />
parish as the site of the Varela memorial<br />
because it is the documented location of<br />
where Varela’s house was located next to the<br />
VARELA COURTYARD<br />
DEDICATED AT CATHEDRAL-BASILICA<br />
By Margo C. Pope<br />
Cathedral-Basilica. The house’s location<br />
was unknown until 1996 when Miami<br />
educator Alberto Martinez-Ramos found<br />
documents in the Library of Congress<br />
showing the site.<br />
The dedication drew more than 400<br />
people including more than 200 from<br />
South Florida’s Cuban-American community.<br />
Many came under the auspices of<br />
the Padre Felix Varela Foundation of<br />
Miami.<br />
Early in 2001, the courtyard will<br />
include a life-sized bronze statue of Varela.<br />
It presently bears the blue emblem of the<br />
Great Floridians 2000 from the Florida<br />
Department of <strong>St</strong>ate and the Florida<br />
League of Cities.<br />
Amalia Varela de la Torre, Ph.D., president<br />
of the Varela Foundation, thanked<br />
Bishop Snyder for setting aside the<br />
courtyard in Varela’s honor. She predicted<br />
it will become “a place of pilgrimage and<br />
praise. Father Varela affected the<br />
development of his country and is called<br />
the founder of the Cuban nationality.”<br />
She said he called for the creation of a<br />
commonwealth 50 years before England<br />
implemented it and advocated freedom of<br />
slaves in Cuba 40 years before Abraham<br />
Lincoln freed slaves in the United <strong>St</strong>ates.<br />
He also championed day care and trade<br />
schools for young women.<br />
Monsignor Octavio Cisneros of the<br />
Diocese of Brooklyn, the American vice<br />
postulator for the cause of canonization,<br />
said “Varela is a Servant of God, a step in<br />
canonization.”<br />
There is no indication if or when<br />
canonization will be accorded, Cisneros<br />
said, because it requires a miracle<br />
attributed to Varela’s intervention.<br />
Bishop Agustin Roman, auxiliary<br />
bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and<br />
himself a Cuban exile, said he first saw<br />
Tolomato Cemetery in the 1970s.<br />
Varela was buried in Tolomato<br />
Cemetery in 1853. <strong>In</strong> 1911, the Cuban<br />
community returned his remains to<br />
Havana.<br />
Roman said then — <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Bishop Paul Tanner told him, “‘<strong>This</strong><br />
person must be a very significant man to<br />
the Cuban society to have so many friends<br />
remember him 150 years after his death.<br />
He must be very special.’”<br />
Margo Pope is a freelance writer in<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> and a parishioner of the<br />
Cathedral-Basilica.<br />
Margo Pope<br />
Christopher Liguori, seminarian, and Father James<br />
Moss, pastor of San Jose Parish in Jacksonville, hold a<br />
life-size board of the Father Felix Varela statue<br />
coming this spring from Italy.<br />
New York. He fled Spain for the United<br />
<strong>St</strong>ates because he was under attack from<br />
the Spanish government for his stand on<br />
human rights.<br />
“He (being Cuban) was an apostle to<br />
the Irish. There were no boundaries to his<br />
proclaiming of the Gospel,’’ Bishop<br />
REASONS I’LL WORK HARDER FOR YOU<br />
10<br />
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hard d J. Miller, CLU<br />
Ph (904) 992-8131<br />
Fax (904) 992-8134<br />
Suite 801<br />
13500 Sutton Park Dr. S.<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32224<br />
Life • Auto • Disability<br />
Long Term Care<br />
Home • Annuity<br />
26 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
AROUND THE DIOCESE<br />
The Order<br />
of Augustin<br />
Verot<br />
he <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
TFoundation<br />
has established<br />
The Order of<br />
Augustin Verot,<br />
formerly called<br />
the Codicile<br />
Club. The<br />
name was<br />
changed to<br />
better express<br />
the dignity and<br />
importance of gifts from those who have<br />
included the church in their estate plans.<br />
Augustin Verot served as the first Bishop<br />
of the Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> from 1870<br />
to 1876. His name was selected because of his<br />
commitment to the growth of <strong>Catholic</strong>ism in<br />
the diocese through education and<br />
encouragement of vocations.<br />
There are myriad ways to provide deferred<br />
gifts to the church. Currently there are 273<br />
members in the Order of Augustin Verot –<br />
people who have thoughtfully provided for<br />
the church with a bequest, an insurance<br />
policy, charitable gift annuity, charitable<br />
remainder trust, retirement plan or other<br />
instrument.<br />
For more information on the Order of<br />
Augustin Verot and the <strong>Catholic</strong> Foundation<br />
call (904) 262-3200, ext. 166.<br />
Frantizek Zvardon<br />
Celebrate <strong>Lent</strong> With Operation Rice Bowl<br />
n Ash Wednesday, Feb. 28, <strong>Catholic</strong> Relief Services will kick off its <strong>Lent</strong>en program<br />
O– Operation Rice Bowl – in parishes of the diocese.<br />
<strong>This</strong> year the program asks, “Who is Your Neighbor?” and highlights the interconnectedness<br />
of the human family and the responsibilities U.S. <strong>Catholic</strong>s have for their<br />
neighbors around the world.<br />
“By participating in<br />
Operation Rice Bowl,<br />
individuals and faith<br />
communities reaffirm their<br />
commitment to those in the<br />
developing world through the<br />
concrete act of giving and the<br />
spiritual act of standing in<br />
solidarity with those in need,”<br />
said Bishop John Ricard,<br />
president and chairman of<br />
the Board of CRS and<br />
Bishop of Pensacola-<br />
Tallahassee.<br />
Parishes have been given<br />
packets that include a rice<br />
bowl and a participation<br />
guide. The Community and<br />
Parish Guide is designed to<br />
assist parishes and other faith<br />
communities to plan activities<br />
for raising awareness of the<br />
poor in developing countries.<br />
For more information contact<br />
your parish office or CRS at<br />
(410) 625-2220 or online at<br />
www.catholicrelief.org.<br />
Special<br />
Home Built <strong>In</strong> Honor of Katherine Kelly<br />
ore than 300 <strong>St</strong>. Paul Parishioners in Jacksonville Beach<br />
Mparticipated in the building of a new home for Lorelei Forrest and<br />
her two daughters, Beth and Lisa. The home was the third home built<br />
by members of the parish as part of the Beaches Habitat ministry.<br />
<strong>This</strong> particular home was built in honor of the late Katherine Kelly,<br />
mother of Father<br />
William Kelly<br />
who is pastor of<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Paul Parish.<br />
At the<br />
dedication ceremony<br />
for the<br />
Forrest home,<br />
Beaches Habitat<br />
President Haywood<br />
Ball, said<br />
the contributions<br />
made<br />
by <strong>St</strong>. Paul’s<br />
parishoners<br />
help build at<br />
least four new<br />
homes each year<br />
for families<br />
in need.<br />
Father Bill Kelly with Lorelei Forrest, to his left,<br />
and her two daughters, Lisa and Beth, during<br />
dedication ceremonies at their new home<br />
at 730 Third Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach.<br />
Chelle Delaney<br />
Parishes Near Goal For Capital Campaign<br />
ore than $18 million has been raised so far<br />
Mfor The Opportunity of a Lifetime capital<br />
campaign that got underway in September.<br />
The goal is to raise $30 million for projects<br />
that include two new diocesan high schools (one in Gainesville<br />
and one in Jacksonville) and expansion of <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy<br />
in <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> and Morning <strong>St</strong>ar School in Jacksonville.<br />
Funds collected will also benefit the Guardian of Dreams<br />
scholarship program, the seminarian education fund and parish<br />
religious education programs.<br />
“As we began the planning process for this effort, we<br />
organized the campaign into two phases: leadership gifts and<br />
parish campaigns,” said Jose DeJesus, executive director of the<br />
campaign.<br />
The parish campaigns are separated into three blocks. The<br />
first block of 19 parishes and missions completed their<br />
campaigns last fall. Several parishes in block one met their goal,<br />
including: Assumption, Our Lady of the Angels, Sacred Heart<br />
and <strong>St</strong>. Pius V Parishes in Jacksonville; Our Lady of Good<br />
Counsel, Mill Creek; <strong>St</strong>. Patrick in Gainesville; <strong>St</strong>. Paul in<br />
Jacksonville Beach; and <strong>St</strong>. Philip Neri in Hawthorne. <strong>In</strong><br />
addition, <strong>St</strong>. Ambrose in Elkton has raised more than 90<br />
percent of their goal. Resurrection Parish in Jacksonville and<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Madeleine in High Springs have raised more than 80 percent<br />
of their goal.<br />
DeJesus says block two of the capital campaign is now<br />
underway with 20 parishes expected to complete their goals<br />
by Easter.<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 27
AROUND THE DIOCESE<br />
DEDICATIONS<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder blessed and dedicated a new<br />
House of Prayer in November. Located across the street from<br />
Mission Nombre de Dios and the Shrine of Our Lady of<br />
La Leche in <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong>, the House of Prayer will serve as a<br />
spiritual center for<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong>s in the<br />
diocese. Msgr.<br />
Harold Jordan<br />
directed the construction<br />
of the<br />
facility and serves<br />
as the spiritual<br />
director of the<br />
House of Prayer<br />
and the<br />
Charismatic<br />
Renewal Center.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder blessed the All Saints <strong>St</strong>rolling Garden at a dedication ceremony<br />
Nov. 1. The Knights of Malta and their wives joined Bishop Snyder for the festivities.<br />
All Saints <strong>Catholic</strong> Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center<br />
dedicated a “<strong>St</strong>rolling Garden” in November. The beautiful garden was<br />
built to provide residents a place where they can walk, exercise, and visit<br />
with families and friends in private. It includes an elliptical-shaped five-foot<br />
sidewalk and 20 smaller garden areas with benches, two gazebos, water<br />
fountain and nature pond.<br />
Alice Wilbur, administrator of All Saints, said the garden was built with<br />
a $50,000 grant from the Riverside Foundation, $15,000 donated by 48<br />
friends of All Saints and $7,000 from the All Saints Ladies Auxiliary.<br />
All Saints is a 120-bed, state-of-the-art, skilled nursing facility<br />
that was originally started by Franciscan Sisters in 1956 on Riverside<br />
Avenue in Jacksonville. It re-opened in April 1992 next to Sacred Heart<br />
Parish and school.<br />
Jim Dolan<br />
Chelle Delaney<br />
Msgr. Harold Jordan, Father Frank Haryasz,<br />
Bishop John Snyder and Msgr. Frank Sprecace.<br />
Special<br />
At the dedication were (l-r): Pastor of Queen of Peace Parish,<br />
Father Jeffrey McGowan, Father John Patrick, <strong>Catholic</strong> School<br />
Superintendent Patricia Tierney, Principal Sister Nancy Elder,<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder and Father Timothy Lindenfelser.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder dedicated<br />
Queen of Peace Academy in<br />
Gainesville on Oct. 29. The<br />
academy becomes the second<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> grade school in Gainesville.<br />
The other being <strong>St</strong>. Patrick<br />
<strong>In</strong>terparish School. <strong>In</strong> 2004, a<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> High School will be<br />
opened to serve students from both<br />
schools and surrounding areas.<br />
Queen of Peace Academy, under the<br />
direction of Principal Sister Nancy<br />
Elder, IHM, will serve 200 students<br />
in grades K-8. <strong>St</strong>udents will begin<br />
attending classes there this fall. The<br />
facility cost $1.2 million.<br />
Jennie Myers<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder joined Father Jack O’Flaherty Nov. 3 for the dedication of the new church for<br />
Santa Maria del Mar Parish in Flagler Beach.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder dedicated a new<br />
church for Santa Maria del Mar Parish in<br />
Flagler Beach November 3. The new<br />
church, which seats 800 people, was<br />
designed by Junck and Walker Architects<br />
and built by White Construction Company.<br />
The Spanish-style building cost an estimated<br />
$2.4 million.<br />
The late Bishop Paul F. Tanner<br />
established Santa Maria del Mar Parish in<br />
1970. It serves the growing community in<br />
the southernmost city of the Diocese of<br />
Saint <strong>Augustine</strong>.<br />
28 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
AROUND THE DIOCESE<br />
Couples Celebrate 9,320 Years Of Marriage<br />
ore than 200 couples, representing more than 9,320 years of<br />
Mmarriage, were honored at the diocese’s Anniversary Celebration<br />
at <strong>St</strong>. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Palm Coast last November.<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presided at the Mass where long-term marriages<br />
were recognized and couples renewed their wedding vows and reaffirmed<br />
their love and commitment to each other.<br />
“Be grateful for the gift of a lasting marriage,” Bishop Snyder said in his<br />
homily. “Always be aware<br />
of Christ’s presence and<br />
His working in your marriages.<br />
You are witnesses to<br />
marital commitment in<br />
our society.” He urged the<br />
couples to “continue to<br />
walk the journey with each<br />
other and the Lord.”<br />
Bishop Snyder extended<br />
his blessing to all<br />
the couples who could not<br />
attend, including Maria<br />
and Frank Filacchione of<br />
San Juan del Rio Parish in<br />
Jacksonville who have<br />
been married 75 years.<br />
It was the 19th year<br />
that Diocesan Center for<br />
Family Life had sponsored<br />
the Anniversary Mass.<br />
Lucille and Ted Corby from Assumption Parish<br />
in Jacksonville attended the Anniversary Celebration<br />
last November where Bishop John J. Snyder<br />
honored their 62 years of marriage.<br />
Kathleen Bagg-Morgan<br />
Jubilee of Mary Celebration<br />
Members of the Vietnamese Community carry a statue of Our Lady<br />
of Lavang as part of the Jubilee of Mary celebration Dec. 9.<br />
arishioners representing the various cultures of the Diocese<br />
Pof Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> gathered at <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Church in<br />
Jacksonville Dec. 9 to celebrate the Jubilee of Mary. Bishop<br />
John J. Snyder presided at the celebration and entrusted the<br />
protection of the Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> to Mary.<br />
On Dec. 8 – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception –<br />
Pope John Paul II entrusted humanity and the third<br />
millennium to the protection of the Virgin Mary. The pope<br />
pronounced the solemn words before the original image of the<br />
Virgin of Fatima, which was brought to <strong>St</strong>. Peter’s Square in<br />
Rome for the occasion.<br />
Chelle Delaney<br />
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS…<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder was awarded the<br />
2000 Peacemaker Award at the Mary L.<br />
Singleton Memorial Day Breakfast Dec. 7.<br />
The award, established three years ago,<br />
honors an individual who has made<br />
significant contributions to promoting peace<br />
throughout the area.<br />
Mary Alice Phelan, community relations<br />
director for <strong>St</strong>. Vincent’s Health System and<br />
member of the Mary L. Singleton Memorial<br />
Day Breakfast Committee, said, “It is an<br />
honor to give Bishop Snyder this award for<br />
his tireless efforts in promoting the diversity<br />
of persons in North Florida and for the many<br />
ministries he has supported.”<br />
Father<br />
Edward F.<br />
Rooney was<br />
honored<br />
for his<br />
commitment<br />
to the<br />
mission of<br />
the <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Campaign<br />
for Human Development and for fostering<br />
the growth of the CCHD annual parish appeal.<br />
<strong>In</strong> November at <strong>St</strong>. Catherine Parish in<br />
Orange Park, Bishop John J. Snyder joined<br />
Father Rooney for the annual CCHD<br />
luncheon. The annual gathering recognizes<br />
the work of CCHD, an agency of the National<br />
Conference of <strong>Catholic</strong> Bishops that supports<br />
groups who are struggling to overcome the<br />
root causes of poverty.<br />
(See related story on pages 20-21)<br />
Chelle Delaney<br />
diocese at the Jubilee for Catechists in Rome<br />
Dec. 9-10.<br />
There were 8,000 catechetical leaders<br />
from all over the world (80 from the United<br />
<strong>St</strong>ates) attending the two-day conference.<br />
“One of the major recurring themes in the<br />
presentations, as is found in most of the post<br />
Vatican II documents, was the intimate<br />
relationship between evangelization and<br />
catechesis,” said Sister Lucy. “The General<br />
Directory for Catechesis (1997) refers to<br />
catechesis as but a moment in the<br />
evangelizing mission of the church.”<br />
Mary Alice Phelan presents Bishop John J. Snyder<br />
with the 2000 Peacemaker Award. Seated is Mia<br />
L. Jones, chair of the annual Mary L. Singleton<br />
Memorial Day Breakfast Committee.<br />
Jon Peters<br />
Daughter of Wisdom Sister Lucille Clynes<br />
was among a select group of 30 people who<br />
celebrated Mass with Pope John Paul II in his<br />
private chapel in December. Sister Lucy,<br />
director of Christian Formation for the<br />
Diocese of Saint <strong>Augustine</strong>, represented the<br />
Pope John Paul II greets Sister Lucille Clynes,<br />
DW, after a Mass he celebrated for a select few<br />
of those who were attending the Jubilee<br />
for Catechists in Rome.<br />
Special<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 29
calendar of events<br />
FEBRUARY<br />
5 Ministry Formation Program<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation Night<br />
Learn more about the diocesan<br />
3-year certification program.<br />
Monday, 7:30-9 p.m.<br />
Our Lady of Consolation, Callahan<br />
Call (904) 287-2525<br />
6 Ministry Formation Program<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation Night<br />
Learn more about the diocesan<br />
3-year certification program.<br />
Tuesday, 7:30-9 p.m.<br />
San Jose Parish, Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 287-2525<br />
9- Mid-Life Directions Workshop<br />
11 Leaders: Srs. Anne Brennan and<br />
Janice Brewi, CSJ<br />
Friday, 7:30 p.m.-Sunday, 11a.m.<br />
Marywood <strong>Retreat</strong> Center<br />
To register call (904) 287-2525<br />
9- Youth SEARCH #71 <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
11 For all 11th, 12th graders and<br />
College freshman<br />
Friday-Sunday<br />
Camp <strong>St</strong>. John, Switzerland<br />
To register call (904) 355-1100<br />
Are you homebound and unable to physically<br />
participate at Mass each week due to illness or<br />
age? <strong>St</strong>ay connected and join us each week for<br />
the TV Mass:<br />
Fernandina Beach - AT&T Cable Ch. 7<br />
Fridays at 9:30 a.m.<br />
Gainesville - Cox Cable Ch. 8<br />
Saturdays at 5:30 p.m.<br />
Gainesville - WCJB-TV Ch. 20<br />
Sundays at 11:30 a.m.<br />
Jacksonville - AT&T Broadband Ch. 7<br />
Sundays at 5:00 p.m.<br />
Palm Coast - Moffat Cablevision - Ch. 8<br />
Sundays at 9:00 a.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> - Time/Warner Cable Ch. 3<br />
Sundays at 8 p.m.<br />
A free weekly missalette to celebrate the Mass is<br />
also available. Call us at 1-800-775-4659, ext. 108.<br />
15 Ministry Formation Program<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation Night<br />
Learn more about the diocesan<br />
3-year certification program.<br />
Thursday, 7 p.m.<br />
Holy Family Parish, Williston<br />
Call (904) 287-2525<br />
15 Ageless Beauty, Ageless<br />
Wisdom: Hidden Treasures of<br />
the Psalms<br />
Leader: Anne Coyle<br />
Thursday, 7-9 p.m.<br />
Marywood <strong>Retreat</strong> Center<br />
To register call 287-2525<br />
16- Journey <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
17 For youth in grades 9-10<br />
Leaders: Linda Knight, Onie<br />
Rodriguez, Trish Kee<br />
Friday, 7:30 p.m.-Saturday, 8p.m.<br />
Marywood <strong>Retreat</strong> Center<br />
To register call (904) 287-2525<br />
16- <strong>Catholic</strong> Revival Conference<br />
18 Come, Let Me Heal You<br />
Saturday-Sunday<br />
San Jose Parish, Jacksonville<br />
All are welcome!<br />
Call (904) 355-5144<br />
Television Mass<br />
1 7 1 5 th Annual <strong>Catholic</strong><br />
Charities Dinner<br />
Saturday, 6:30 p.m.<br />
Sheraton Hotel, Gainesville<br />
Call (352) 372-0294<br />
17 Gathering for Parents of Gay<br />
and Lesbian Children<br />
Saturday, 1-3 p.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> location<br />
To register and for location call<br />
Sr. Marlene Payette, SSJ at<br />
(904) 354-4846, ext. 229<br />
17 Diocesan Junior High Youth<br />
Rally<br />
For all 6th-8th grade youth<br />
Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Matthew Parish, Jacksonville<br />
To register call (904) 355-1100<br />
19- Annual Rural Hispanic <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
22 For those responsible for rural<br />
pastoral ministry for SE Region.<br />
Monday-Thursday<br />
Camp <strong>St</strong>. John, Switzerland<br />
Call Alba Orozco (904) 353-3243<br />
20 Good Samaritan<br />
Awards Dinner<br />
Hosted by <strong>Catholic</strong> Charities Bureau,<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong>.<br />
Tuesday, 7 p.m.<br />
Casa Monica Hotel, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Call for tickets (904) 829-6300<br />
20 Ministry Formation Program<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation Night<br />
Learn more about the diocesan<br />
3-year certification program.<br />
Tuesday, 7:30-9 p.m.<br />
Resurrection Parish, Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 287-2525<br />
28 Ash Wednesday<br />
MARCH<br />
3 Gathering for Parents of Gay<br />
and Lesbian Children<br />
Saturday, 1-3 p.m.<br />
Gainesville location<br />
To register and for location call<br />
Sr. Marlene Payette, SSJ at<br />
(904) 354-4846, ext. 229<br />
30 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
3 Annual Fashion Show and<br />
Card Party<br />
Fundraiser for All Saints Nursing<br />
Home and Rehabilitation Center<br />
Saturday, 11 a.m.<br />
<strong>St</strong>. Matthew Parish, Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 772-1220<br />
4 RCIA: Rite of Election<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presiding<br />
Sunday, 3 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Parishes are assigned seating<br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 117<br />
10 RCIA: Rite of Election<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presiding<br />
Saturday, 2 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Parishes are assigned seating<br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 117<br />
11 RCIA: Rite of Election<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presiding<br />
Sunday, 2 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Parishes are assigned seating<br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 117<br />
17 <strong>St</strong>. Patrick’s Day<br />
See related story page 10<br />
18 Scout Award Sunday<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presiding<br />
Sunday, 3 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Call Pete Blay (904) 355-1100<br />
25 Respect Life Pilgrimage<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder presiding<br />
Sunday, 1-5 p.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 126<br />
26 Annual Teacher Recognition<br />
For <strong>Catholic</strong> Schools<br />
Monday, 8 a.m.<br />
Bishop Kenny High School<br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 116<br />
30- Sacredness of Self <strong>Retreat</strong><br />
31 By MOMS Ministry<br />
Friday, 7 p.m.-Saturday, 4 p.m.<br />
Speaker: Fr. John Tetlow<br />
Sacredness in Journaling: Sandra<br />
Coyle, Ph.D.<br />
Holiday <strong>In</strong>n, Orange Park<br />
To register call Donna Simons<br />
(904) 745-4881<br />
30- Annual DCCW Convention<br />
4/2 “Here I Am, Lord…Send Me”<br />
Friday-Monday<br />
Marriot Hotel, Jacksonville<br />
To register call (904) 398-7545<br />
31 Adjusting to Life’s Transitions<br />
Workshop<br />
Sponsored by Hospice and<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong> Charities<br />
Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-Noon<br />
Hospice of North Central Fla.<br />
4200 NW 90th Blvd., Gainesville<br />
To register call <strong>St</strong>eve Henneka,<br />
(352) 372-0294<br />
APRIL<br />
3 <strong>St</strong>ewardship Day<br />
Speakers: Bishop Theodore Schneider<br />
and Dr. Jean Morris Trumbauer<br />
Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.<br />
Baymeadows Holiday <strong>In</strong>n,<br />
Jacksonville<br />
Call (904) 262-3200, ext. 129<br />
8 Palm Sunday<br />
11 Chrism Mass<br />
Bishop John J. Snyder and the<br />
priests of the diocese<br />
Wednesday, 11 a.m.<br />
Cathedral-Basilica, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
Open to all<br />
15 Easter Sunday<br />
16 CYO Golf Tournament<br />
Proceeds go to Youth Ministry<br />
Monday<br />
San Jose Country Club,<br />
Jacksonville<br />
Call Pete Blay at (904) 355-1100<br />
25 “Jesus: The Teacher Within”<br />
Lecture<br />
Presenter: Laurence Freeman, OSB<br />
author and spiritual director of<br />
the World Community of<br />
Christian Meditation<br />
Wednesday, 7:30-9:15 p.m.<br />
Call Gene Bebeau (904) 346-3816<br />
Director of Faith Formation for a<br />
progressive, family-oriented parish in<br />
Southwest Florida with 1500 families.<br />
Parish staffed by Oblates of <strong>St</strong>.<br />
Francis de Sales. Faith Formation program<br />
is lectionary based, restored<br />
order of sacraments is celebrated and<br />
RCIA process is year-round. Desire<br />
someone with educational and experiential<br />
background in faith formation.<br />
Position available summer 2001.<br />
Applicants should send resumes by<br />
Feb. 28, 2001 to Search Committee,<br />
5362 Sunrise Dr., Fort Myers, FL 33919<br />
Call Us For Quick Service<br />
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Chevron Oils, Diesel Fuel, Gasoline,<br />
and All Grades of Heating Fuel<br />
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Atlas Distributor &<br />
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MAHONEY<br />
Consulting Engineers, <strong>In</strong>c.<br />
P.O. Box 175<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong><br />
829-2251<br />
7400 Baymeadows Way,<br />
Suite 106<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32256<br />
(904) 448-5300<br />
fax: (904) 448-0401<br />
Foxwood Center<br />
Suite D<br />
1730 Kingsley Ave.<br />
Orange Park, FL 32073<br />
(904) 264-1377<br />
fax: (904) 278-8469<br />
email stonejoca@aol.com<br />
Site Design and Development<br />
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Environmental Permitting<br />
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Full Service Video Production<br />
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Fax: 389-3744<br />
455 Edgewood Ave. S.<br />
Jacksonville, FL 32205<br />
www.sevideo.com<br />
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 31
hopeful heart<br />
Spiritual Self-Esteem<br />
Robert J. Wicks, Ph.D.<br />
We are all loyal to at least one negative view of ourselves. It<br />
is the deep negative belief that cognitive therapists speak<br />
about or the driving unconscious force from early in life<br />
that the dynamically-oriented psychotherapists focus on in their<br />
work. Depression often occurs when we have forgotten to love<br />
the presence of God in all living things — including, maybe<br />
especially, in ourselves.<br />
A spirituality that recognizes<br />
we are always special<br />
in the eyes of God and that<br />
the so-called “specialnessin-the-eyes-of-the-world”<br />
is<br />
non-existent, or at best,<br />
fleeting, helps us to appreciate<br />
what failure, rejection,<br />
and crisis can teach us.<br />
Robert Frost once made the<br />
comment: “Education is<br />
the ability to listen to<br />
almost anything without<br />
losing your temper or your<br />
self-confidence.”<br />
We are very tied to our<br />
image, and often we don’t<br />
even know it or for that<br />
matter appreciate how temporary<br />
and illusory trying<br />
to hold onto or put faith in<br />
our image can be. I<br />
remember a small event<br />
that happened several years<br />
ago which I try to recall<br />
anytime I feel myself losing<br />
perspective with respect to<br />
my own image.<br />
I had been asked by a colleague to give a workshop at a<br />
government installation for Veterans’ Administration<br />
employees. After a longer drive than I had expected, I arrived<br />
at the base feeling a bit annoyed. But all of my annoyance<br />
lifted and was replaced by pride when I noticed a large<br />
marquee by the front gate which bore the following message<br />
in three-foot letters: WELCOME DR. ROBERT WICKS! I<br />
“Reflection of the Sun in the Sea” – Nickolas Tarkoff (1871-1930)<br />
thought to myself: “Oh, how I wish I had a camera so I could<br />
take a picture of this for my mother.” (Never mind my wife;<br />
I regressed all the way back into childhood!) then I drove over<br />
to a large theater which looked as though it could hold<br />
thousands. As I got out and walked toward the large hall, I<br />
thought to myself: “I didn’t realize how famous I was; this<br />
important address to such a<br />
large group could be my<br />
finest hour.” Then when I<br />
got inside, there were only<br />
twelve people waiting for<br />
me to speak. I guess God<br />
was trying to keep me and<br />
my inflated ego in<br />
conversation!<br />
Self-awareness and healthy<br />
self-love go hand in hand.<br />
If anything, spiritual selfawareness<br />
is really a religious<br />
way of viewing selfconfidence<br />
because it is<br />
a self-confidence not built<br />
on lies we have told<br />
ourselves, but on an appreciation<br />
of the footprints of<br />
God in our own peronality<br />
and an understanding of<br />
how we often block these<br />
footprints from becoming<br />
clear to ourselves and<br />
others. When we love what<br />
God has given us and share<br />
it with others naturally and<br />
without expectations for<br />
gratitude we are truly<br />
people who have spiritual self-confidence and compassion;<br />
and isn’t that a great way to live?<br />
Dr. Robert J. Wicks is on the faculty of Loyola College of<br />
Maryland and author of the books Simple Changes, Sharing<br />
Wisdom, and Everyday Simplicity. He can be emailed at<br />
rwicks@loyola.edu.<br />
Christi’s Images/Superstock<br />
32 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
JEWELS ON PAPER: Art of the Medieval Book<br />
JANUARY 25 THROUGH MARCH 25<br />
See extraordinary handmade manuscripts from the twelfth through<br />
the fifteenth century used for meditation and prayer. Painstakingly<br />
written on the finest parchment, these manuscripts were elaborately<br />
decorated by artists with rare pigments and valuable gold leaf, giving<br />
them a precious, jewel-like quality. These works give us a glimpse of<br />
the role that devotional books played in daily Christian life.<br />
Madonna, Mary, Virgin, Mother:<br />
The Changing Roles and Images of the Virgin Mary<br />
from the Late Medieval through the Renaissance<br />
SCHULTZ GALLERY-PERMANENT COLLECTION<br />
Explore ornate paintings, intricate sculptures<br />
and unique prints in our newly-renovated<br />
gallery that illustrate the shifting perceptions<br />
of Mary from the Late Medieval period to<br />
the early Renaissance.<br />
<strong>In</strong>spiring.<br />
Enduring.<br />
Transforming.<br />
Expressions of Faith.<br />
ADMISSION<br />
Members, FREE • Adults, $6<br />
Seniors & Military w/ID, $4<br />
<strong>St</strong>udents, $3 • Children 5 & under, $1<br />
ABOVE: Two leaves from a Book of Hours; Circle of Coëtivy Master; French, Paris, ca. 1460; Tempera, gold and ink on vellum;<br />
Collection of Ron McCarty; Photograph courtesy of Terry Schank.<br />
RIGHT: detail, Agnolo Gaddi, Italian, ca. 1350-1396; Madonna of Humility with Angels, mid 1390s; Tempera on panel,<br />
34 1/2 x 20 3/4”; Bequest of Ninah M. H. Cummer.<br />
829 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32204<br />
(904) 356-6857
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