Pillar of Hospitality

Mission Of The Family - By Jon Leonetti

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The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

On October 4th, the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, I enjoyed presiding over our first
annual Blessed Sacrament pet blessing. Around 20 dogs and one cat paraded their owners
around in the Douglas Street parish parking lot as ominous clouds threatened to change our
plans and reduce the ritual to the shortened form, i.e., without the readings. I was hoping
that the rain would stay away long enough for us to celebrate the entire blessing, including
the readings from scripture and, of course, my homily. I even had doggy treats ready to share
with the shaggy group. Well, God’s providence prevailed, as it always does, and we were able
to celebrate the pet blessing with scripture, homily and all. Happy day!

Honestly, my interest in the pet blessing was highly motivated by the acquisition of a dog
named Daisy from the Humane Society. If you have been attending Mass at B.S. over the
past several months there is no doubt that you have heard me mention the name of Daisy.
Daisy is a three-and-a-half year old Dalmatian and Australian Cattle Dog mix. She used
to be the only dog living at the rectory with Fr. Green and myself until Fr. Green acquired
Hobbes, a purebred lab. Hobbes has been nick-named “Chaos”. Need I say anymore?
We all know that St. Francis of Assisi had a great solicitude for the entirety of God’s
creation. " is was one of the reasons that Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio chose the name Pope
Francis I on the evening of his election as the 266th Pope, or has he refers to himself, the
Bishop of Rome. In Pope Francis’ homily for the Mass beginning his Petrine ministry he
stated, “It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis
tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and
respecting the environment in which we live.”

The ritual blessing for pets includes several scripture readings about God’s creatures and
their place in this world. In my homily I referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
which speaks beautifully of the relation of animals to human beings. The catechism states,
“Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere 
existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the 
gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals” (CCC,
2416).

The word that caught my attention from the catechism was “kind.” Because animals are
created by God and give glory to God by their mere existence, we owe them kindness.
Although we certainly embrace a hierarchy of life and being, kindness must be a primary
virtue in our stewardship way of life. " is is certainly a challenge in what Pope Francis calls
a “throwaway culture.” Based upon God’s command to give dominion over the entirety of
creation, e.g., you might say that kindness is the cardinal virtue of a Christian steward.
I hope to see you and your pet at next year’s pet blessing on the Memorial of St. Francis of
Assisi. Daisy will be ready to greet you.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam,
Fr. John Francis Jirak

Time, Talent & Treasure

I had one month to find schools for my 3 kids when I moved to Wichita in the summer of 2012.  I had heard a rumor that the Diocese of Wichita graciously and generously funds their Catholic schools; all of them, through the stewardship of Parishioners. Not really knowing what that meant, I marched into the office of Brandon Martin and Renee Riter to register for the Parish as a family and get my kids in the schools.  I truly believed I would write a check for the 2012-2013 school year but also get a “break” on tuition if I was a part of Blessed Sacrament and I continually tithed 10% of our income each week.  This was simply not to be.  There was something much bigger and better in store for the Marino family.

I grew up in Connecticut and moved around after college through work, the most recent city being Cincinnati, Ohio.  The Dioceses in each city I have lived in could learn a lot from Wichita. Catholic schools are being shut down everywhere. The cost of a Catholic school in Greenwich, Connecticut is around $28,000 a year.  Many families just cannot afford to put their children in Catholic schools.  But, here? The Catholic schools are THRIVING.   Since 2002, all of the Dioceses’ schools are without tuition.  11,000+ kids are being educated by 120,000 (and growing!) Parishioners.  This is incredible.

Renee Riter heard that I owned a social media company and asked if I would consider using my “talent” as my stewardship at Blessed Sacrament – keeping up with Facebook.  This, plus, our 8% tithing would cover my 10^th, 8^th and 4^th grader tuitions.  I jumped at the chance – but not sure that I could live up to the expectations….in fact, I wasn't even sure what I would be posting about. Didn’t think I could ever live up to the families in this Parish.  NO way. 

I grew up Catholic.  But, the minute I went off to college, I turned from the church. Back and forth I would go – depending on what I ‘needed’ in my life.  Married.  Baptisms.  First Communions. Confirmations. Kids to CCD on Sundays. Maybe take them to Mass.   Never taking it seriously until my family went through hardship 5 years ago.  My home away from home became St. Gertrude’sChurch in Cincinnati, Ohio and after my first confession since 2^nd grade, my favorite Priest said, “Welcome home”. I haven’t looked back.

Still, not that religious, I am learning. I still fumble at what the readings mean, or what is meant to be learned. It’s very humbling. In the past year, I have put BS on facebook, twitter, Instagram, google+, tumblr and Pinterest.  My mission statement (to myself!) is based on the fact that the Parishioners of Blessed Sacrament are already in love with BS. I want to reach people like ME, who left for one reason or another and are on the fence about coming back. I want to reach them through social media. OH!!  I want to move the Parishioners, but I want to make the person on the street, who may see us on any of the social platforms, stop in their tracks.  Think.  Stop in.  Test it out, again.  Meet Father Jirak or Father Green.  Fall in like and then in love. 

I have taken this “job” very seriously. I want to introduce every corner of this Parish to the world. If you are in charge of a Ministry, I want your picture.  I want your story.  I want your background. Just short blurbs to throw out there! I want people to feel that they “know” you and can shake your hand; join your group, simply from the smile in your picture.  I have been known to show up at your meetings, rosaries, Christmas parties and watch you smoking hams.  I have been called the “Parish Stalker” and that’s GOOD.  I want to showcase this Parish, and I want people to feel like they simply “MUST” be a part of our family. 

Join me, in lighting a fire in Wichita and beyond!  We are a lucky group of people and because I am new to town, I can see it and don’t take it for granted.  Not one day do I not thank God for putting me right in the middle of College Hill, Blessed Sacrament and all of you.  How very lucky my children are to be educated by such a fine group of people.  Thank you.  

~Randi Marino / randi222@gmail.com

The Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

"I can see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.  I see the church as a field hospital after battle.  It is usless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else."
~ Pope Francis, "America" interview. 

It's actually been kind of interesting for me to read "Pope Approves Gay Marriage" or "Why Pope Francis May be a Catholic Nightmare".  I think that a talent all humans have is hearing what they want to hear.  Pope Francis is stirring the pot, but he's not teaching anything new, or contradicting our founder.  Reading his famous quotes from the plane interview, and the very well written "America" interview, I am struck by this incredibly intelligent and humble man.

How is Francis stirring the pot?  Well, no one can read his comments honestly without feeling a twinge of guilt.  For those that seek to further an agenda Francis reminds us, "Ours is not a 'lab faith', but a 'journey faith', a historical faith.  God has revealed himself as a history, not as a compendium of abstract truths.  I am afraid of laboratories because in the laboratory you take the problems and then you bring them home to tame them, to paint them artificially, out of their context.  You cannot bring home the frontier, but you have to live on the border and be audacious"  For those that write columns in bulletins, or try to synthesize the rich quotes of our Holy Father, "when it comes to social issues, it is one thing to have a meeting to study the problem of doing drugs in a slum neighborhood and quite another thing to go there, live there and understand the problem from the inside and study it."  He is hitting people on every frontier, and reminding us not to limit ourselves to a few issues.  "Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent"  The ones who quit sometimes do it for reasons that, if properly understood and assessed, can lead to a return.  But that takes audacity and courage."

The Pope is making news, stirring hearts, and prompting questions; these are not bad things.  It is important that we hear what he says, not what we want him to say.  If you have 15 minutes, read that interview in America Magazine.  I think you will find that Pope Francis is not out to make headlines, or to cause scandal, he is searching for God and leading us as well.  I look forward to more from him. 

"Christian hope is not a ghost and it does not deceive.  It is a theological virtue and therefore, ultimately, a gift from God that cannot be reduced to optimism, which is only human.  God does not mislead hope; God cannot deny himself.  God is all promise." ~ Pope Francis

-Fr. Benjamin Green