JANUARY 2019 • VOL. 44 NO. 1 WWW.DIOCESEOFJUNEAU.ORG

Every Life: Cherished, Chosen, Sent

Families at the 2018 Rally for Life at the Capitol building in Juneau. The 2019 rally will be held on Tuesday, January 22, more information on the back cover of this month’s issue.

The Inside Passage2 • January 2019

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

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In This Issue

Sanctity of Life and the Catholic Church Page 5 Juneau parishioner shares how Catholic teaching on life helped her conversion journey

Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed Page 6 Holy Name Catholic school gears up for Catholic Schools Week

U.S. bishops approve pastoral letter on racism Page 11 At their November meeting the USCCB approved and released letter on racism

Church

Calendar&Celebrations

January

Poverty Awareness Month

January 14 - 22

9 Days for Life Novena

January 17 - 22

Christian Unity week of prayer

January 21

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 22

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn

Children

January 25

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Patronal feast, St. Paul the Apostle, Juneau

January 27 - February 1

Catholic Schools Week

January 27

Special Collection Holy Name Catholic School

February 2

World Day for Consecrated Life

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 3

January 1-8: Bishop’s Retreat, Mundelein Seminary, Chicago

January 20-27: Spanish studies and family visit, Guatemala, Central America

February 8 (Friday): Holy Hour at the Cathedral, begins with Adoration at 6:00 p.m. and concludes with Benediction at 7:00 p.m. Bishop’s prayer intention: for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.

February 12-14: Course for new bishops sponsored by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, Washington D.C.

February 18-20: State of Alaska priest’s convocation, Anchorage

February 21: Diocese of Juneau Presbyteral Council meeting, Anchorage

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Looking backwards in gratitude for the past year was an appropriate thing to do as we came to the final days of December. When we take the time to do so, it is relatively easy to discern what we should be thankful for in our lives, in our families and in our community.

As for the year ahead, we have no idea what it holds in store for us, but we can pray with confidence that our Lord will be with us every step of our journey into 2019. In addition to prayer, the practice of making resolutions for the new year is a positive exercise. No matter what is coming around the bend to surprise us, either with joy or sorrow, we do have a pretty good idea of what we need to do to become the better version of ourselves.

Each new year begins on January 1st with the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. From antiquity, Mary has been called “Theotokos”, or “God-Bearer” (Mother of God). The month of January ends on the 31st with the memorial of Saint John Bosco (1815-1888), “Father and Teacher of Youth.” He dedicated his life to the betterment and education of children and disadvantaged youth. In between these bookends of January are the national holiday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 21, and the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, on January 22.

These four January events can help us focus on becoming better people and better Catholics. It’s not that we aren’t already striving to live good lives, but Jesus always calls us to grow in holiness and faith. It requires humility to accept that we are sinners before God and with great sorrow to “…firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Why? Because our sins “…offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.” Hence, new year resolutions can be good tools for turning away from sin and towards loving God with our whole mind, our whole heart and our whole soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Recognizing my own sinfulness, need for repentance, and need to grow in grace following Christ more closely, I want to share with you some of my personal resolutions for the new year.

• I resolve to be more kind, gentle and loving towards all people. • I plan to be more respectful in discourse and presence with everyone, including those who do not

treat me in the same manner. • I plan to listen more and to judge less. • I will add one public holy hour a month to my daily private holy hours and invite the faithful and

my brother priests and deacons to join me. • And yes, I plan to exercise more and lose weight.

There is an old Catholic custom in some countries to begin the new year with the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit). I’m drawn to the final petition of the hymn:

Bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray, give them virtue’s sure reward; give them your salvation, Lord; give them joys that never end.

These petitions are good resolutions for the new year. We all need to bend our hearts to God’s will. To melt our frozen resentments and forgive others. To warm our cold indifference, especially towards the poor and those in need. To be led back to the path of gospel living. To grow in virtue and holiness, which is our salvation and our joy, in this life and in the next.

Sincerely in Christ,Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M.

January Letter from

Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M.Bishop’s

Schedule Highlights

Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M. celebrates Christmas Midnight Mass at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau.

The Inside Passage4 • January 2019

BY: DOMINIQUE JOHNSONIn 2009 the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus

set forth the initiative to donate one thousand ultrasound machines by 2019 to encourage mothers to choose life and to support local pregnancy centers.

In Juneau, the Bishop Kenny Council 11757 has teamed up with the Juneau Family Health and Birth Center to help support pregnant women in the community by providing the resources they need to choose life.

Dave Ringle, Grand Knight of the Bishop Kenny Council, said that the Knights in Juneau have always supported pro-life causes and working on the ultrasound initiative is a chance for the local Knights to support expectant mothers and provide them with resources.

The Juneau Birth center already provides many resources for women in southeast Alaska including parenting classes, free clothing for mothers and babies and donated healthcare. Christine Johnson, Office Manager for the Birth center says, “The addition of the ultrasound machine will help us on our mission to empower and inspire families through access to midwifery care, education, and a network of support.”

The local initiative came about when Christine Johnson, also a parishioner at St. Paul’s in Juneau, approached Dave Ringle last spring at the Knight’s monthly pancake breakfast to find out more about the national ultrasound initiative. After the first conversation, both sides researched the program and began filling out initial paperwork.

Working at the Birth Center and being a mother, Johnson said she has seen how difficult it can be to get an ultrasound in Juneau, “It often involves at least one general appointment prior to the ultrasound if not more,” she added, “The cost of the ultrasound alone could deter a family from receiving care.”

Madi Grimes, Executive Director and Midwife at the Juneau Family Health and Birth Center, expressed how time sensitive and expensive ultrasounds can be, “Families qualifying for social services, such as Medicaid, will not always receive verification of coverage early enough to get their ultrasound and miss out on this due to concerns regarding payment.”

Grimes continued saying, “Financial stress is a key factor in many women’s decisions regarding their care in pregnancy. Reducing this stress helps new mothers to bond with their unborn baby more fully and leads to healthier moms and babies.”

Ringle said when he brought the proposal to the local council he let them know, “We have two young women who are spearheading this, and it’s good to see the young blood interested in helping promote the faith.” With the support of the local council, the Birth Center and the Knights moved forward on the Ultrasound initiative.

To qualify for the initiative the Juneau Birth Center went through a diocesan evaluation to ensure that their practices and policies were in line with Catholic teaching. On November 19th, 2018 the local council received confirmation from the Supreme Council that the Birth Center qualified for the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative.

N o w , b o t h organizations have the task of raising funds to purchase the ultrasound machine. The Supreme Council will match the local council’s contribution fo r the $35 ,000 machine. The Knights along with the Birth Center staff will be hosting fundraisers to help reach their $17,500 goal.

“ We h a v e a c o m m i t m e n t f o r $12,000 from the Knights ,” Ring le shared. He added that some came from anonymous donors who found out about the opportunity to support a pregnancy center in Juneau at last

year’s state convention and “made generous offers.” The hope is to raise the remaining funds locally with

help from the council at the Cathedral and, “To let members of our church know this is where the Knights are putting our faith into action.”

Once the funds are raised and the ultrasound machine is purchased the Juneau Family Health and Birth Center will house the machine and provide the staff to operate equipment. Both the Knights and the Birth Center hope to offer ultrasounds to expectant mothers later this year.

If you would like to help support the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound initiative you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Juneau Family Health and Birth Center online at www.juneaubirthcenter.org.

Putting faith into action: Knights of Columbus and Juneau Birth Center team up for ultrasound initiative

In Service to One, In Service to All.

www.kofc.org

Juneau Family Health and Birth Center office manager Christine Johnson, daughter Adelaide and Birth Center executive director Madi Grimes.

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 5

BY: ANJANETTE BARRA dozen years ago I worked at a Protestant-run pregnancy

resource center. I spent my days listening to the difficult stories of women and families who were unexpectedly expecting, and I did my best to offer Godly encouragement and advice. The latter was the more challenging by far. I was newly married, without children, and there are very few established guidelines in the contemporary Protestant culture that speak definitively on the issues of life and reproduction.

Our organization had a beautiful ethos centered on God’s love for every person – no matter how tiny - and everyone genuinely cared for each client that came through the doors. Working there was a joy in almost every way, but I quickly found that I needed to do some independent study if I wanted to feel confident in the answers I gave these families.

Among the gospel tracts, Focus on the Family brochures, and pregnancy books in our library, there was a thin white book labeled, “The Custody Dispute Over Seven Human Embryos: The Testimony of Professor Jerome Lejeune.” (The text of this book can also be read in the Ignatius Press book “The Concentration Can.”) My director hadn’t read it, and had no idea where it had come from, but I found it so compelling that I read many sections to her aloud.

Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the French geneticist who discovered that Downs Syndrome is caused by extra genetic material in chromosome 21, testified in 1989 in the custody dispute of a divorced couple. It was Dr. Lejeune’s task to offer scientific evidence as to whether the seven cryogenically

frozen embryos the couple created were persons or property. His testimony, rooted in both science and his Catholic

faith, was so confident and articulate that I read every word wide-eyed, with my heartbeat pounding in my ears. He had seen, over and over again, that human life is nothing less that that – uniquely human, and very much alive – from the moment of conception. Reading a description of the works of our infinitely creative God from the perspective of a man who had spent decades studying life’s tiniest building blocks, DNA, forever changed the way I spoke and thought about the miracle of pregnancy and birth.

As my husband and I examined our own plans for growing our family, we realized that we had been largely following the path of least resistance. Catholic teachings on conception, contraception, and abortion were not the easiest to implement, but they were usually the most logical. Perhaps they were illogical if our end goal was to optimize our own existence at the expense of others’, but because our hope was instead to live our lives for God’s glory, we couldn’t escape the consistency of the reasoning offered by the Catholic Church.

Catholics have unique resources available to us that are absolute treasures. Heroes of the faith like Dr. Lejeune and Pope John Paul II have written eloquently on contemporary issues that Christians are called to consider if we want to practice true religion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also provides thoughtful and comprehensive answers to questions about the beginning and end of life, and our

responsibilities in these matters. We even have more Scripture to read than our Protestant friends. I felt very blessed to open the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom a few days ago and find a reminder that God does not delight in death. He created us in His image to be eternal, and His creation is good.

I turned to these resources time and again, long before my conversion, as a steadfast foundation to build monumental life decisions upon. I was jealous for my Protestant family that we didn’t have wisdom like this to call on in our own traditions, and relying so much on Catholic teachings in this area no doubt planted the seeds of trust that would eventually grow into my full communion with the Church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops puts a special focus on the issues surrounding sanctity of life during the month of January. Many of our brothers and sisters will gather in the nation’s capitol for a prayer vigil and other activities on January 17th, and January 22nd is a special day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. Consider taking this day to pray, fast, give alms, and learn what the Church has to say about the value of every human being.

We have a legacy of true compassion and holistic advocacy to be proud of in the Catholic Church. We can and should be known in the world as people of wisdom. A wisdom, as Dr. Lejeune would say, “that man did not invent… that is summed up in one sentence that explains everything. That answers everything. That tells everyone at every moment what they should or should not do. This sentence is very simple. It has been taught by the Master of all of us: ‘What you have done for the least of my brethren, you have done for me.’”

Anjanette Barr is a parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle in Juneau, Alaska. She is a wife, mother, writer, and recent convert to the Catholic Church. Anjanette can be reached at www.anjanettebarr.com

Thoughts from a Convert on the Sanctity of Life

The Inside Passage6 • January 2019

BY: REBECCA MIKEEach year at the end of January Catholic Schools across

the country set aside a week to celebrate Catholic education. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2019 is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” Holy Name will be observing the annual event with activities that celebrate our students, families, staff and volunteers, our heroes, and our nation. These events give us a chance to highlight the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our community, and our nation.

The week kicks off with a celebration of mass on Sunday where kids will serve our parish by participating in various ministries and sharing a dance performance that they have prepared. On Monday we will celebrate our families by inviting parents to join us for a complimentary breakfast bar while students show off their favorite team attire. Tuesday sees us celebrating our students with a day of fun field trips to show off their school colors at the bounce house and the rec center for roller skating! On Wednesday students will dress as real-life heroes when we celebrate our nation by honoring the many heroes who keep us safe. The day begins with the Coast Guard flag ceremony followed by an opportunity for kids to explore a police car, ambulance, and fire engine. Thursday we will be celebrating vocations with kids dressed as a favorite career or religious vocation. On funky Friday we celebrate our staff and volunteers as the kids come dressed in their wild and wacky attire.

The journey concludes on Saturday as we gather to celebrate our community with a service project.

Holy Name Catholic School is a vital part of the mission of Holy Name Catholic Church. We provide a Christ-centered community of faith, knowledge, and service designed to educate the whole child: body, mind, and soul.

A Community of FaithOur students and staff gather every morning to begin

their day joined together as a family in prayer. Christian attitudes, morals, and actions are integrated into each aspect of our students’ time here. Weekly, each student is blessed to spend time experiencing the Montessori-based religious education program known as the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The room that this formation takes place in is called the “Atrium” and it is a scared and special area that has been specifically prepared for the child’s developmental stage. “The atrium is a community in which children and adults live together a religious experience which facilitates participation in the wider community of the family, the church, and other social spheres. It is a place of prayer, in which work and study spontaneously become meditation, contemplation and prayer.” from cgsusa.org. We at Holy Name are dedicated to the ongoing formation and spiritual growth of the next generation. This is done in order to prepare students to live out the Gospel and to meet their full potential in a life of service as living witnesses of Christ in society as we help

raise the next generation of world changers.A Community of KnowledgeOur educational philosophy is to teach as Christ taught.

We strive to incorporate timeless teachings in a changing world. Holy Name Catholic School provides superior academic opportunities through a challenging curriculum designed to meet or exceed both national, state and local requirements. A strong team of dedicated and caring staff members help us to ensure that we are meeting the needs of each child. Strong foundations are enriched with a variety of hands on projects and experiences that lead to deeper understanding.

A Community of ServiceStudents from preschool through 6th grade participate

in regular ongoing service opportunities as they learn to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who humbled himself to serve others. Monthly, students go out into the community to feed the hungry and comfort the sick. The preschoolers make regular visits to the “grandmas and grandpas” in the Pioneer home, while the older classes take turns to share a performance and fellowship with those housed in Long Term Care at PeaceHealth hospital. The 5th and 6th graders participate together with a group of dedicated parishioners when it is Holy Name’s turn to prepare and serve a meal at the soup kitchen.

Holy Name Catholic school is a place of joy and peace, where children come to learn and to be nurtured. We are so fortunate to have a haven of high quality Catholic education right here in Ketchikan! And so it is with glad hearts that we take the time to celebrate this sweet place during Catholic Schools week!

You can learn more about Holy Name Catholic school support Catholic education in the Diocese of Juneau by visiting www.holynameschoolketchikan.org

A Holy Name student working in the atrium

Holy Name Catholic school gears up for Catholic Schools Week

Holy Name students serving at the soup kitchen

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 7

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” Luke 4:18 January is Poverty Awareness Month, an

annual initiative of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). During the entire month, we are invited to learn more about the realities of poverty in our nation (and here in Alaska) and to join the efforts of CCHD and others who work with poor individuals, families and communities to change unjust systems and policies in our society that keep them in poverty.

For example, according to the US Census Bureau, in 2017, an estimated 39.7 million Americans were living in poverty, that is, at or below the Federal poverty level (an income at or below $25,100 for a family of four.) The good news is that the poverty rate has declined since 2012, the peak of the “Great Recession” that followed the 2008 financial crisis.

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) reports that 15 million children nationwide, as of 2017, are living in families at or below the Federal poverty level. NCCP notes that an income that is twice the Federal poverty threshold is necessary to cover basic expenses for individuals and families. Using this standard, they estimate that 43% of American children are living in low-income families. In Alaska, NCCP reports that there are a total number of 90,198 families and 182,952 children. 15% of Alaskan children (26,542) live in poor families. A disproportionate number of Alaska Native children [30%/9,410] live at or below the poverty line.

A majority of children in poor families in our state have at least one parent who has full-time employment (16%) or seasonal or part-time employment (56%). However, even though most Alaskans living at or below the poverty-line are employed, the work they do does not provide them with a living wage. Instead, they are either employed or under-employed in low-wage jobs that do not provide enough to support their families.

Even if most jobs pay more than the $9.84 per hour minimum wage in our state they do not offset the high cost of living in Alaska, especially in rural areas. For families living on the poverty line in our state and around the country, finding and staying in housing that is affordable is a particular challenge. And because low-wage jobs and/or underemployment make it difficult if not impossible to save, families living in poverty struggle to cover all of their monthly expenses, much less accumulate savings. Which means that they are one lost paycheck or medical emergency away from losing their housing or being able to feed themselves and their children.

For so many poor families struggling to get by each month, just one problem can cascade into a catastrophe.

A vehicle breaks down and there is no money to repair it, making it difficult or impossible to get to work. Or a family member without health insurance or without good insurance is diagnosed with a serious illness that racks up thousands of dollars in medical bills. Or a parent’s hours are cut back at work or is laid off.

Any of which might be manageable by themselves, but for a family struggling to make ends meet, on a poverty level income without savings might mean the difference between living in an apartment or trailer and trying to survive living in their truck or car. Or between children being fed or having to go without.

These are acute crises, but poverty has chronic, long term effects as well,

especially on children. Poor children often end up in poverty as adults. One of the main causes is education. Whether because of substandard schools, unstable home life or because their parents don’t have the time or the resources to help them to achieve in school. The Urban Institute reported in 2017 that only 62 percent of children who lived in poverty for at least half of their lives graduated from high school (in contrast to the 90% graduation rate of children who never experienced poverty.

The same report found that nationally only 3% of young people from the minority of those from “persistently poor backgrounds” who attend college ever graduate.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Growing up poor makes everything harder. For many children, being raised poor limits their ability to reach their greatest potential.” Some of the physical and mental health effects of poverty for children can include:

Low birth weightBabies born with low birthweight, caused by poor

nutrition and smoking during pregnancy, have a higher rate of growth problems, sickness, learning problems and developmental delays than normal birthweight children. Low birthweight babies are also at an increased risk of dying during the first twelve months of life.

Chronic diseases such as asthmaSubstandard housing and second-hand smoke contribute

to childhood asthma in poor children. Obesity and high blood pressureChildren living in poor neighborhoods often lack access

to safe playgrounds, parks or organized sports. Many families living in poverty, especially in urban areas, are unable to access fresh, nutritious and healthy food.

Lack of school readinessChildren living in poverty often do not have school

supplies or books in the home. Low parental education and single-parent families also factor into school readiness.

Toxic stressLiving in poverty is stressful for parents and their

children. Stress causes damage to the developing brains of children and affects their physical and mental health as they become adolescents and adults.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)Children living in poverty have a higher rate of Adverse

Childhood Experiences and Violence than children living above the poverty line. These stressful experiences can include homelessness, food insecurity, emotional neglect, long-term or permanent separation from a parent due to incarceration, hospitalization or death or family breakup.

As Catholics, we are committed both to the good work of charity, that is, helping individuals and families living in poverty with their immediate needs: shelter, food and clothing. But CCHD’s Poverty Awareness Month is intended to bring to our attention the realities faced by poor people and the communities they live in; the underlying structural causes of poverty in our nation and our state; and then act in accord with the Gospel and the principles of Catholic Social Teaching with the poor and other people of good will to create a more just and equitable society and economy.

Support for the advocacy and service work of Catholic Community Service throughout the diocese; the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Juneau and other faith-based and community initiatives are good ways to do our part to assist and advocate for our neighbors who are living in poverty.

For more information about poverty in the United States and Poverty Awareness Month please visit: www.povertyusa.org

Bringing our attention to the realities faced by the poor

- Deacon Charles Rohrbacher is the Office of Ministries Director for the Diocese of Juneau. Phone: 907-586-2227 x 23. Email:

commissions@dioceseofjuneau.org

AlaskaOverall Poverty Rate: 9.3%

Deep Poverty Rate: 4.7%

Senior Poverty Rate (65+): 5.1%

Poverty Rate for People with Disabilities: 13.6%

Poverty Rate for Women: 10.9%

Poverty Rate for Men: 9.5%

ROHRBACHER

Along the Way

Deacon Charles Rohrbacher

The Inside Passage8 • January 2019 The Southeast Alaska Catholic 8 • February 2016 The Inside Passage 8 • January 2019

Christmas Mass Celebrations in the Diocese of Juneau

(Above) Fr. Perry Kenaston blesses the creche in Sacred Heart parish in Haines on Christmas Eve.

(Below) Fr. Steve Gallagher reading the Nativity Story to the children at St. Rose of Lima in Wrangell. (Above) The children’s choir at the Cathedral leads the congregation during the Christmas Eve family Mass.

(Below) St. Therese in Skagway decorated for Christmas Mass celebrated by Fr. Peter Gorges.

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 9October 2013 • 9The Southeast Alaska Catholic February 2016 • 9October 2013 • 9The Inside Passage January 2019 • 9

Christmas Mass Celebrations in the Diocese of Juneau

(Above) The children’s choir at the Cathedral leads the congregation during the Christmas Eve family Mass.

(Below) St. Therese in Skagway decorated for Christmas Mass celebrated by Fr. Peter Gorges.

(Above) Fr. Mike Galbraith celebrates Christmas Eve Mass at St. Paul the Apostle in Juneau.

(Below) Fr. Pat Casey celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at the National Shrine of St. Therese in Juneau.

The Inside Passage10 • January 2019

As your local Catholic charity, Catholic Community Service’s mission is to live out the corporal works of mercy of the church. It’s been such an honor and privilege to continue good works with Christ’s love and your support.

It’s been a wonderful year for us at Catholic Community Service, and part of what made it wonderful was the chance to share our efforts to help those in need with parishes across the Diocese. This summer and autumn I had the chance to visit some of the parishes and talk with you about the services we provide:

• Our Southeast Senior Services with 11 senior centers helping more than 3,500 seniors with congregate meals, meals on wheels, and “Care-a-Van” rides, as well as other services like case management and caregiver supports.

• In Juneau, we provide Home Health, and Hospice services regardless of ability to pay.

• SAFE Child Advocacy Center services to children and families across Southeast, interviewing children who have experienced abuse, and supporting them and their family to pursue justice in the courts, safety and healing.

We provide care to all those we can, showing compassion to *everyone* regardless of who they are, because of who *we* are and the faith we have in our mission, our calling, and because we are rooted in Catholic social teaching.

We get to live out that unconditional love by ensuring *all* seniors age 60 and older are eligible for Senior Services, regardless of income or ability to contribute. Our staff provides hospice care to patients in their home day or night, sun or snow, to meet their need during their last days. And we are always on-call to provide Child Advocacy, to be sure abused children get help to move towards safety and health as soon as possible.

And you are all a part of it! Your prayers make such a difference. Your time volunteering to help us with

services and to raise funds makes a real impact. And your generosity during the Diocese Special Collection this Fall was humbling—together you donated $20,000!

So, THANK YOU for all you do in helping us continue in our mission to live the corporal works of mercy. And thank you for welcoming me to your parishes. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

God Bless,Erin Walker-TollesExecutive Director, Catholic Community Service

It’s a new year and a great time to help Southeast Alaskan’s with

dignity, care and compassion

Erin Walker-Tolles

Cathedral raffle raises over $15,000Last fall the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed

Virgin Mary in Juneau sponsored a raffle to help raise funds to repair the 109 year old church’s foundation.

The raffle raised $15,355. The drawing was held on New Year’s Eve at St. Ann’s Hall at 10 PM. The grand prize winners Al and Joanne Steininger won two round trip tickets on Alaska Airlines.

The second prize winner Theresa Shanley won $1,000 and third prize winner Carl Uchytil Sr. took home $500.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary extends a grateful thank you to it’s Parish Council, Jo Betts, Cathy Price and Ted Burke in bringing this raffle to a very successful conclusion.

Rotted wall framing in the Cathedral. Funds rasied from the local raffle will help pay for costs to make repairs to the church.

Eternal rest grant unto them,O Lord.

And let perpetual lightshine upon them.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the

mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

National Shrine of St. ThereseColumbarium

(907) 586-2227 ext. 24 cell - (636) 628-7270

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 11

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a pastoral letter against racism Nov. 14 during their fall general meeting at Baltimore.

The document, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love -- A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” passed 241-3 with one abstention. It required a two-thirds vote by all bishops, or 183 votes, for passage.

“Despite many promising strides made in our country, racism still infects our nation,” the pastoral letter says. “Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love,” it adds.

Bishops speaking on the pastoral gave clear consent to the letter’s message.

“This statement is very important and very timely,” said Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky. He appreciated that the letter took note of the racism suffered by African-Americans and Native Americans, “two pieces of our national history that we have not reconciled.”

“This will be a great, fruitful document for discussion,” said Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, in whose diocese the violence-laden “Unite the Right” rally was held last year. Bishop Knestout added the diocese has already conducted listening sessions on racism.

Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham, Alabama, what he called “ground zero for the civil rights movement,” said the pastoral’s message is needed, as the civil rights movement “began 60 years ago and we’re still working on achieving the goals in this document.”

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, said he was grateful for the pastoral’s declaration that “an attack against the dignity of the human person is an attack the dignity of life itself.”

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix said the letter will be welcome among Native Americans, who populate 11 missions in the diocese, African-Americans in Arizona -- “I think we were the last of the 50 states to be part of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday,” he noted -- and Hispanics, who make up 80 percent of all diocesan Catholics under age 20.

“This is very important for our people and our youth to know the history of racism,” he added.

Bishop Shelton T. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said an electronic copy of “Open Wide Our Hearts” would be posted “somewhat immediately,” with a print version available around Thanksgiving.

“Also, there will be resources available immediately” now that the pastoral letter has been approved, including

Catholic school resources for kindergarten through 12th grade, added the bishop, who also is chair of the bishops’ Subcommittee on African American Affairs.

“’Open Wide Our Hearts’ conveys the bishops’ grave concern about the rise of racist attitudes in society,” Bishop Fabre said Nov. 13, when the pastoral was put on the floor of the bishops’ meeting. It also “offers practical suggestions for individuals, families and communities,” he said.

“Every racist act -- every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity or place of origin -- is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God,” it adds.

“Racial profiling frequently targets Hispanics for selective immigration enforcement practices, and African-Americans, for suspected criminal activity. There is also the growing fear and harassment of persons from majority Muslim countries. Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants and refugees.”

“Personal sin is freely chosen,” a notion that would seem to include racism, said retired Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Nov. 13, but “social sin is collective blindness. There is sin as deed and sin as illness. It’s a pervasive illness that runs through a culture.” Bishop Fabre responded that the proposed letter refers to institutional and structural racism.

An amendment from Bishop Ramirez to include this language in the pastoral was accepted by the bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the

Church, which guided the document’s preparation.Bishop Curtis J. Guillory of Beaumont, Texas, said

Nov. 13 the pastoral “gives us a wonderful opportunity to educate, to convert,” adding that, given recent incidents, the document should give “consideration to our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Bishop Fabre replied that while anti-Semitism is mentioned in the document, future materials will focus on anti-Semitism.

A proposed amendment to the pastoral to include the Confederate battle flag in the pastoral alongside nooses and swastikas as symbols of hatred was rejected by the committee.

“Nooses and swastikas are widely recognized signs of hatred, the committee commented, but “while for many the Confederate flag is also a sign of hatred and segregation, some still claim it as a sign of heritage.”

“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love” is available to read on the USCCB website at www.usccb.orgissues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/index.cfm.

Bishops overwhelmingly approve pastoral against racism

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La., speaks Nov. 13 at the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Prayer to Heal Racial Division

We thank you, O Lord, For in your loving wisdom

You created one human family With a diversity

That enriches our communities.

We pray to you, O Lord,That we always recognize

each member of this human familyAs being made in your image and beloved by you,

With worth and dignity.

We pray to you, O Lord,That we may envision a way forward

To heal the racial divisions That deny human dignity and

the bonds between all human beings.

We pray to you, O LordThat we may affirm each person’s dignity

Through fair access for allTo economic opportunity, housing,

Education, and employment.

We pray to you, O Lord,That we may have eyes to see

What is possible when we reach outBeyond fear, beyond anger,

To hold the hand of our sisters, our brothers.

We thank you, O Lord,For your call and challenge to us

That we may reveal your teachings and your loveThrough our actions to end racism

And to proclaim that we are all your children,heirs to your sacred creation.

Amen.

The Inside Passage12 • January 2019

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although the weeklong retreat for U.S. Catholic bishops emphasized quiet reflection, several bishops spoke out on social media during the retreat and after it wrapped up Jan. 8 with positive reaction about it and to give shoutouts to the retreat leader, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who has preached to popes and top officials of the Roman Curia for nearly 40 years.

One bishop said listening to Father Cantalamessa was akin to being in the presence of the early Christian theologians. “Clear, intensely filled with the Holy Spirit, and all for the Kingdom of God,” Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Boulette of San Antonio said in a tweet. “Let us continue to pray for one another, our church and our world. A blessing to be here!”

Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage, Alaska, tweeted that the retreat leader was a “true instrument of the Lord” and that the Holy Spirit was at work during the retreat.

Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of Erie, Pennsylvania, described Father Cantalamessa’s talks and homilies as “powerful and engaging.”

He tweeted that he was glad they had time to reflect and pray about their role as shepherds, stressing: “We must start there to be able to offer healing. I am taking this very seriously but feeling positive.”

Boston Auxiliary Bishop Mark W. O’Connell said it was a “truly blessed experience” to be on retreat with Father Cantalamessa and fellow U.S. bishops.

“The Holy Spirit was powerfully present, and I was quite moved,” he tweeted. He also thanked the pope for giving the bishops this gift.

Pope Francis suggested the bishops hold the retreat and offered the services of the 84-year-old Father Cantalamessa, who has served as preacher of the papal household since 1980. The time of prayer Jan. 2-8 at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake near Chicago was planned largely in response to last summer’s revelations of allegations of sex abuse that reached the highest levels of the U.S. church.

In a Jan. 8 column for Angelus News, the archdiocesan news outlet of Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said the bishops’ retreat leader focused “our attention on the vocation and responsibility of bishops in

this moment in the church.”“We are praying together as a visible sign of our unity as

bishops and our communion with the Holy Father. There is a collegial spirit here and a firm commitment to address the causes of the abuse crisis we face and continue the work of renewing the church,” he added.

The archbishop said Father Cantalamessa asked them to “trust more in the Holy Spirit. We need to have confidence that we are always living in God’s loving presence.”

Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, wrote a few blog posts about the retreat with some reflection about the retreat leader’s message.

He said they heard about the need to emphasize in their preaching the fundamental belief in Jesus before delving into his message and teachings.

He also said Father Cantalamessa emphasized the need to root out “love of money” and all that it implies, including material possessions, honor or power.

“If this pursuit for ‘money’ needs to be rooted out from our Christian lives, then we need to embrace a true spirit of detachment,” the bishop wrote, adding that he would add more to that topic in the days ahead.

The theme of the U.S. bishops’ retreat was “the mission of the apostles and of their successors” drawing from Mark 3:14, which says Jesus “appointed 12 -- whom he also named apostles -- that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach.”

Reflections from the retreat do not seem to be about the crisis in particular, maybe for a reason.

In an email to Catholic News Service weeks before the retreat, Father Cantalamessa said he would “not talk about pedophilia and will not give advice about eventual solutions; that is not my task and I would not have the competence to do so.”

“The Holy Father asked for my availability to lead a series of spiritual exercises for the episcopal conference so that the bishops, far from their daily commitments, in a climate

of prayer and silence and in a personal encounter with the Lord, can receive the strength and light of the Holy Spirit to find the right solutions for the problems that afflict the U.S. church today,” he added.

In a Jan. 9 column for the Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper, Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said the pope’s intention for the retreat went beyond “this particular moment or challenge facing us bishops.”

“We are not leaving this retreat with all the answers to the important questions facing the church in these days,” he wrote, but he said the bishops now have a renewed sense of the importance of taking their cues from “Christ’s spirit rather than our own efforts.”

Another blessing from the week, he said, was being drawn closer to each other and to the pope.

“I have no doubt that just as the early church relied on Peter’s unique ministry to meet the challenges of the day, so we will draw strength and insight from our unity with his successor,” he said.

Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the official preacher of the papal household, delivers the homily to U.S. bishops during Mass Jan. 3 in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Mundelein Seminary during the bishops’ Jan. 2-8 retreat at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Bishops describe their retreat as inspiring, Spirit-filled

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 13

CNS News Briefs • www.catholicnews.comVatican abuse summit will underline need to end cover-ups, official saysVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The aim of Pope Francis’ February meeting on abuse and safeguarding is to clarify and underline what must and must not be done with allegations and make sure no more cases are ever covered up, said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director for the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. “The presence of bishops from all over the world, called together for the first time to address this painful plague which has been, and is, a source of enormous suffering for victims and of counter-witness to the Gospel, will help to increase everyone’s awareness of the seriousness of the crisis,” he said. The abuse of minors and vulnerable adults, “the horrific experiences of the victims, the procedures to be applied in the face of accusations and the indications to ensure a safe environment for children and young people will thus be examined from a perspective that is not solely European or American,” Tornielli said about the Feb. 21-24 meeting, which will bring presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences, the heads of the Eastern Catholic churches and leaders of religious orders to the Vatican. “The purpose of the meeting is very specific: to ensure that everyone taking part in it can return to their own country being absolutely clear about what must -- and must not -- be done with regard to addressing these cases,” he said in an editorial published Jan. 10 on Vatican News and on the front page of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

Trump visits Texas migrant center at invitation of nun on front linesMCALLEN, Texas (CNS) -- President Donald Trump got a brief look at the work of a well-known Catholic Charities-run refugee center in South Texas during a daylong trip to the border. His visit to the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen Jan. 10 came less than a day after Sister Norma Pimentel welcomed the president to the border and invited him to see the work of staff and volunteers assisting people from throughout Central America who are seeking asylum in the United States. The invitation from Sister Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, appeared in an op-ed she penned for The Washington Post. The president also joined a roundtable presentation on the situation facing migrants and those who serve them during his visit to the center. The column explained the work of the center since 2014, when tens of thousands of people mostly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras made their way northward to flee violence and poverty in their homeland.

U.S. can both secure border and treat migrants humanely, says bishopWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Securing borders and humane treatment of those fleeing persecution and seeking a better life “are not mutually exclusive,” the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration said. “The United States can ensure both and must do so without instilling fear or sowing hatred,” Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, said in a Jan. 10 statement. He called on President Donald Trump and

leaders of Congress to come up with a solution that addresses the border, ends the partial government shutdown and at the same time “protects the sanctity of human life” by recognizing the dignity of all people regardless of their immigration status and those federal employees suffering a loss of pay because of the shutdown, now well into its third week. “We will continue to advocate for immigration reform to advance the common good and address these issues,” Bishop Vasquez said. He urged Trump and congressional lawmakers, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, to come together and look beyond rhetoric to come up with a solution. Trump and other Republican leaders met Jan. 9 at the White House with Pelosi, Schumer and other congressional Democrats over solutions to ending the shutdown and meeting Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall and implement other security measures on the southern border of the U.S.

Pope offers practical tips for keeping track of one’s love of neighborVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis offered a checklist for Catholics to keep track of how they measure up to the biblical admonition: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar.” Preaching Jan. 10 about the passage from the First Letter of John, the pope said the devil is defeated by Christians loving their brothers and sisters. To see how one is doing in the battle, the first question to ask is: “Do I pray for people? For everyone, concretely, those whom I like and those I don’t like, for those who are friends and those who are not?” the pope said during morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The second thing to check, he said, is how often “I feel inside me sentiments of jealousy, envy, and I start wanting to wish something bad would happen to him or her -- that is a signal that you do not love. Stop there. Don’t let those feelings grow. They are dangerous.”

Trump signs law to pump $430 million into anti-human trafficking effortsWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Nationwide efforts to confront human trafficking received a boost in the new year as President Donald Trump signed a bill reauthorizing federal expenditures for prevention and assistance programs across the federal government. The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act allows $430 million in federal funds for trafficking prevention and education, victim protection and stronger government prosecution of traffickers through 2022. The president of the U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking welcomed the Jan. 8 signing of the law, for which it had advocated with members of Congress. “This comprehensive bill allocates funding for a number of projects that address the acute need for increasing awareness across a variety of sectors, prevention efforts and services for victims of both commercial sex and forced labor trafficking,” said Sister Anne Victory, a member of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, told Catholic News Service Jan. 9. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was among supporters of the measure.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Faith isn’t something learned just by studying the catechism but rather is a gift passed on to children by the example of their parents, Pope Francis said.

Although children learn the tenets of the Catholic faith in catechism class, it is first transmitted in the home “because faith always must be transmitted in dialect: the dialect of the family, the dialect of the home, in the atmosphere of the home,” he said before baptizing 27 babies.

The pope celebrated the Mass and baptisms Jan. 13, the feast of the baptism of the Lord, in the Sistine Chapel.

“The important thing is to transmit the faith with your life of faith: that they see the love between spouses, that they see peace at home, that they see that Jesus is there,” Pope Francis said during his brief and unscripted homily.

As the lively sounds of babies’ squeals and cries filled the frescoed Sistine Chapel, the pope said babies often cry when they are “in an environment that is strange” or because they are hungry.

Repeating his usual advice to mothers of infants, the pope urged them to make their children comfortable, and “if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them.”

Children “also have a polyphonic vocation: One begins to cry, then another makes a counterpoint, then another and in the end, it is a chorus of cries,” he said.

Offering a piece of advice to parents, the pope called on them to pass on the faith by letting their children see their love and refrain from arguing in front of them.

“It is normal for couples to argue, it’s normal,” he said. “Do it, but don’t let them hear, don’t let them see. You don’t know the anguish a child has when he or she sees parents fighting. This, I may add, is advice that will help you transmit the faith.”

Later, after praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis asked those gathered to pray for the newly baptized babies and their families. He also asked them to “keep the memory of your own baptism alive.”

“There you will find the roots of our life in God; the roots of our eternal life that Jesus has given us through his incarnation, passion, death and resurrection,” he said. “Our roots are in baptism.”

Faith is passed on at home, pope tells parents

at baptism

14 • January 2019 The Inside Passage

BY: LAURA KELLY FANUCCI CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

January dawns, fresh and clean. The beginning of a new year.

Although Advent is technically our new year in the church, January offers another jump-start -- a chance to change and a renewed resolve to eat better, exercise more or waste less time online.

Making time for prayer is a common resolution. We might try to read more Scripture, make a Holy Hour each week or start praying the rosary.

But what if we looked for small moments each day -- in the midst of what we’re already doing -- to turn to God?

Here are 10 pockets of prayer to dig into for the new year. Times and places where we can meet God between work and home, kids and commute, chores and rest.

Try one and see where it leads.-- Pray when you wake up. Start

each day with the sign of the cross, or pray the words of Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Rise 10 minutes before the kids get up and sit with a cup of coffee to center yourself in prayer. Let the word of God be the first thing your eyes see each morning.

-- Bless your spouse. Say a prayer together before you each begin your daily work. Or light two candles while you’re getting ready in the morning: one to remember your spouse’s callings and one to pray for your own. Recall your marriage vows as you say “I do” for a new day.

-- Pray while washing. Let the warm water of your shower (or the baby’s bath) remind you of baptism: your belovedness before God.

-- Bless before school. When you hug or kiss your kids goodbye, add a quick prayer to your morning routine. At the school door, bus stop, daycare drop-off or kitchen table, pray for each one of your children in turn. Give thanks for teachers, staff and coaches, too.

-- Pray while cleaning. While doing laundry, pray for each person in your family as you fold his or her clothes.

While scrubbing dishes or sweeping floors, ask God to make clean what has been darkened by sin in your life. No task is too small to be made holy by prayer.

-- Recharge on your lunch break. Read the day’s Gospel while you eat. Try midday prayer from the monastic tradition (available online). Or simply pray the Our Father with your table grace, to give thanks for “daily bread” with your noon meal.

-- Maximize waiting. Time in the car need not be spent idling. While waiting to pick up kids, read or listen to the daily readings with an app on your phone. Remember you only need 10 fingers to pray a decade of the rosary. Let waiting become a spiritual practice.

-- Take a coffee break. Sit in silence for a few moments in the middle of your day. Turn off the radio and commute in quiet. Let five minutes refuel your relationship with God.

-- Give thanks while cooking. While grocery shopping or making dinner, pray for farm workers, truckers and all whose hands brought food to your table. Remember those who are often forgotten while you do work that is often overlooked.

-- End the day with God. Try a short Ignatian “examen” to reflect on your day through the lens of faith. Notice where you saw God, ask forgiveness for moments of sin and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you tomorrow.

Let this new year bring small moments of powerful prayer.

Fanucci is a mother, writer and director of a project on vocation at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota. She is the author of several books, including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting,” and blogs at www.motheringspirit.com.

Mary ever-virgin

Would you please explain the apparent contradiction in the verse in Matthew’s Gospel (1:25) that says, “He (Joseph) had no relations with her until she bore a son,

and he named him Jesus”? The use of the word “until” would seem to indicate that conjugal relations may have occurred after the birth of Christ. This is confusing to those of us who have constantly heard Mary referred to as “ever-virgin.” (Freehold, New Jersey)

You are correct on the Catholic teaching: that Mary remained always a virgin -- before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The Catechism of the

Catholic Church quotes St. Augustine, who said that Mary “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at the breast, always a virgin” (No. 510).

As regards the verse to which you refer (Mt 1:25), current usage of the word “until” often does imply that the action in question did happen later on, but that is not the meaning of the original language. The Greek word that is translated “until” in Matthew (“heos”) says nothing one way or the other about what happened afterward.

Note that it is the same word used in the Greek translation of 2 Samuel 6:23, where we read that “Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children until the day of her death.” (We are not to assume, of course, that she had children after her death!)

But to avoid the understandable confusion that you point out, I myself prefer the translation in the New Jerusalem Bible: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do; he took his wife to his home; he had not had intercourse with her when she gave birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.”

Incensed by incense

Our pastor is very old-school and loves elaborate liturgy. He uses incense frequently, and my wife -- who is seriously affected by the smoke -- is at the point of not going to Mass at all. (She never knows

when he might fire up the censer.) I also find that the stink -- and that is the word for it -- of burning charcoal extremely irritating. (I am always left with a clogged nasal passage.)

I don’t believe that I should have to medicate because I went to Mass, and I wonder why the church continues this archaic and off-putting practice. When Pope John XXIII wanted to “open the windows” of the church, that might not have been necessary if this terrible practice had been done away with at Vatican II! (Henrico County, Virginia)

Frankly, I don’t think that your wife has a valid excuse for “not going to Mass at all.” If your own pastor is so wedded to incense, why not just try

a different Catholic parish? (I Googled “Catholic churches in Henrico County, Virginia” and found seven parishes listed.)

As for having “this terrible practice done away with,” a bit of background might be helpful. Incense was common in Jewish worship; in Chapter 30 of the Book of Exodus, the Lord instructs Moses to build a golden altar for the burning of incense. That practice was carried over into Christian liturgy, the smoke from the incense being seen as a symbol of the prayers of the worshippers rising to heaven.

Strictly speaking, there is no requirement that incense be used at any particular Mass, but parishes commonly use it on feasts of particular solemnity and at funerals to reverence the body

of the deceased.You raise a legitimate point about

the sensitivities and allergies some in the congregation might have, and for that reason I think it wise for parishes to let it be known when incense might be used. As an example, the parish of Blessed Sacrament in Madison, Wisconsin, notes on its website that, except for Easter

Sunday, “Incense may be used only at the 11:00 a.m. Mass.”

questions&answersBY FATHER KENNETH DOYLE, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Ten pockets of prayer for the new year

Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at askfatherdoyle@gmail.com and 30 Columbia Circle Dr. Albany, New York 12203.

The Inside Passage January 2019 • 15

We all struggle to not give in to coldness and hatred. This was even a struggle for Jesus. Like the rest of us he had to struggle, mightily at times, to remain warm and loving.

It’s interesting to trace this out in the Gospel of Luke. This is the gospel of prayer. Luke shows Jesus praying more than all the other gospels combined. Moreover, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples were intrigued by his prayer. They sensed something extraordinary about Jesus, not because he could walk on water and do miracles, but because, unlike the rest of us, he could in fact turn the cheek. He was strong enough not to give into coldness in the face of hatred, so strong that it threatened his very life. In every situation, no matter how bitter, he could be understanding and forgiving and never doubt that love and grace are what’s most real.

His disciples sensed that he drew this strength from a hidden source, some deep well of sustenance which he called his Father and which he accessed through prayer. For this reason, in Luke’s gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. They too want draw sustenance from this source.

But we see too in Luke’s gospel that this doesn’t always come without struggle. Sometimes things seem easy for Jesus; he meets love and understanding, and his ministry is joyous and easy. But when things begin to collapse, when the forces of hatred begin to encircle him, when majority of his followers abandon and betray him, and when his own death becomes imminent, then like the rest of us, fear and paranoia threaten to overwhelm him. This is in fact the essence of his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, his so-called agonia.

Simply put, it’s easy enough to be understanding, loving, and forgiving when you are bathed in them. It’s quite another thing when your very adherence to them is making you the object of misunderstanding, hatred, and murder. And so, in Gethsemane, we see Jesus

prostrate, humanly devastated, on the ground, struggling mightily to cling to a cord of sustenance that had always sustained him in trust, love,

and forgiveness and had kept paranoia, hatred, and despair at bay. And the answer doesn’t come easy for him. He has to pray repeatedly and, in Luke’s words, “sweat blood” before he can regain his balance and root himself again in that grace that sustained him throughout his ministry. Love and forgiveness are not easy. Not giving into to anger, bitterness, self-pity, hatred, and the desire for vengeance didn’t come easy for Jesus either.

And that’s our ultimate moral struggle: to not give into to our natural reaction whenever we are not respected, slighted, ignored, misunderstood, hated, or in small or large ways victimized. In the face of these, paranoia automatically takes over and most everything inside us conspires to create an obsessive pressure towards giving back in kind, slight for slight, disrespect for disrespect, ugliness for ugliness, hatred for hatred, violence for violence.

But there’s another possibility: Like Jesus, who himself had to struggle mightily to not give in to coldness and hatred, we too can draw strength through the same umbilical cord that nurtured him. His Father, God’s grace and strength, can nurture us too.

In his famous movie, The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson focuses on the physical suffering Jesus had to endure during his passion and death. Partly this has some merit since Jesus’ sufferings were in fact pretty horrific. But mostly it misses the point, as we see from the gospels. They make it a point to minimize any focus on the physical sufferings of Jesus. For the gospels, Jesus’ passion is not a physical

drama but a moral one, indeed the ultimate moral drama. The real struggle for Jesus as he sweated blood in Gethsemane was not whether he would allow himself to die or invoke divine power and escape. The question was only about how he was going to die: In bitterness or love? In hatred or forgiveness?

That’s also our ultimate moral struggle, one which won’t just confront us at the moment of death but one which confronts us daily, hourly. In every situation in our lives, small or large, where we are unfairly ignored, slighted, insulted, hated, or victimized in any way, we face a choice of how to respond: Bitterness or understanding? Hatred or love? Vengeance or forgiveness?

And, like Jesus struggling in Gethsemane, we will have to struggle to continue to cling onto something beyond our natural instincts, beyond common sense, beyond our cultural dictates. Doing what comes naturally will not serve us well. Something beyond our DNA needs to be accessed.

The first word out of Jesus’ mouth in the Synoptic gospels is the word metanoia. Among its other meanings, it’s the opposite of paranoia. It means to trust even in the face of distrust. Paranoia is natural to us, metanoia isn’t; it requires struggling to draw sustenance from a deeper source.

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

If you have any questions about the Diocesan

Policy for working with children in ministry

please contact:Victim Assistance Coordinator

and Safe Environment Coordinator for the Diocese:

MS ROBERTA IZZARD 907-586-2227 ext. 25

EMAIL: vac@dioceseofjuneau.orgSafe Environment Policies:

www.dioceseofjuneau.org/victim-assistance-coordinator

Protecting our Children

RON ROLHEISER, OMI

Struggling for Sustenance

THE INSIDE PASSAGE considers submissions for publication that may include: interviews, stories, event coverage, photos and artistic responses that represent a local Catholic viewpoint. Please submit content for possible publication or questions to communication@dioceseofjuneau.org,

or phone 907-586-2227 ext. 32.

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

National Shrine of St. Therese

JUNEAU, ALASKA

Facility reservations online at www.shrineofsainttherese.org

907-586-2227 x 24

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

– St. Therese of Lisieux

“And that’s our ultimate moral struggle: to not give into to our natural reaction whenever we are not respected, slighted, ignored, misunderstood, hated, or in small or large ways victimized.”

The Inside Passage16 • January 2019

2019

Rally for Life

On National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Tuesday, January 22nd

at Noon

On the steps of the State Capitol Building in Juneau

Keynote address by Pat Martin,

head of Alaska Right to Life