Denver Catholic

INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 Call to Charity ...................................3 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Nun of the Above quiz ....................4 World/Nation.....................................6 Bulletin Board ................................. 14 Service Directory ...................... 14-15 113 Years of Service to the Gospel www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on INSIDE CATHOLIC LIFE Volume LXXXIX - No. 35 OCTOBER 23, 2013 Live with faith, die with faith New end-of-life apostolate aids holy, peaceful deaths White Mass honors health care workers BY NISSA LAPOINT PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY FAITH JOURNEYS Faithful invited to canonization pilgrimage PAGE 2 SOCIAL MINISTRY Broncos team with Knights to beat poverty PAGE 3 EXERCISE YOUR MIND Turn to Page 13 for the Crossword and Word Search puzzle page Sponsored by It's inevitable—everyone will meet their maker after death. The new Denver apostolate Divine Mercy Supportive Care was formed to help people prepare for that meeting. The nonprofit end-of-life care ministry was founded last year to arm Catholics and all people with the knowledge and medical care needed to prepare for the next life. "It's coming to us all whether we like it not. It's how we prepare for it that matters," said Kevin Lundy, president and CEO of Divine Mercy Supportive Care. "How we live our lives as Christians and how we prepare for death as Catholics makes all the difference." Health care in the United States is rapidly changing with the dawning of Obamacare. The time is ripe for the apostolate to provide the dying with spiritual care and medical attention, especially to those in danger of being neglected or overlooked during the changes, Lundy said. Using figures from the Denver Archdiocese and U.S. census in 2012, of the 4,100 Coloradans eligible for hospice care through Medicare, some 2,000 Catholics don't receive benefits from an organization that adheres to Church teaching. PHOTO BY TODD WOLLAM FOR THE DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER NEARLY 200 people gathered Oct. 19 at St. Thomas More Church in Centennial for the annual White Mass honoring health care professionals. Many of those professionals—doctors, nurses, dentists and others—are pictured here with Archbishop Samuel Aquila after Mass. Following Mass, most attended the ensuing Gospel of Life Conference organized by Respect Life Resources of Catholic Charities (see story on Page 7). CHURCH TEACHING To learn more about Church teaching on end-of-life care, visit www.usccb.org and search for "end-of-life." SENIORS Rather, care comes from those services that are atheistic and believe euthanasia is a personal choice, the apostolate said. "It's caused a lot of uproar, it's caused a lot of upheaval, but what it's really caused is a lot of uncertainty," Lundy said. "Where do these people have to turn to at this time in their lives if they don't have a Catholic organization supporting them?" Divine Mercy's approach is three-fold: provide educational forums, offer charitable See Apostolate, Page 11 YEAR OF FAITH: LIFE 'There was everything I needed, except parents' PAGES 10-11 Life refers to both God's gift of created human life and his divine life given to us. Beyond its ordinary meaning of human life, Jesus used "life" to signify a share in his own divine Trinitarian existence, which becomes possible for those who respond to his invitation to turn from sin and open their hearts to God's love. Eternal life signifies that this gift will last forever in heaven. This gift of God begins with the "life" of faith and "new life" of baptism, is communicated in sanctifying grace, and reaches perfection in the communion of life and love with the Holy Trinity in heaven.—Catholic Biblical and Catechetical schools

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