Denver Catholic

LOCAL NEWS I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I MARCH 5, 2014 RECEIVING GOD'S CALL The three seminarians recently shared their first calling to the priesthood with the Denver Catholic Register. Gregory Louis Lesher, 29, was born in Chicago and raised in Bolingbrook, Ill., a southwest suburb of the city. He first felt a call to the priesthood at about 12 but "ran away" from the vocation. He felt God spoke to him again while attending graduate school at the University of Denver. "I still stubbornly tried to run away for another two years but God gradually convinced me to apply to seminary in my second year of graduate school," he said. Joseph Marc McLagan, 28, was born in Kansas City, Mo., and reared in Grandview, Mo., and Littleton. A grad- uate of the University of Northern Colorado, he began questioning his identity while in college and got involved in ministry and Bible studies on campus. "With my questions receiving answers and my prayer life growing, I began to trust in the Lord," he said. Franklin Anastacio Sequeira Treminio, 33, was born in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and grew up in Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua. Before he entered the seminary, Treminio worked part-time as a taxi driver for his grand- father in Ciudad Dario and was studying business administration in the Universidad de las Americas. He was 15 when he first heard God calling him to the priesthood. "One of the aspects that influenced my calling to the priesthood is the fact of having been raised in a Catholic family that introduced me at 13 to an itinerary of Christian formation, the Neocate - chumental Way," he said. BY NISSA LAPOINT The Little Sisters of the Poor spelled out their objections to the federal birth control man- date Feb. 24 by filing a detailed 74-page appeal in Denver fed- eral court. The Catholic nuns, who op- erate nursing homes national- ly and in Denver, were granted a temporary injunction from the federal Health and Human Services mandate that is a part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The requirement to provide contraceptive coverage in em- ployee health plans is contrary to their religious beliefs, the appeal states. "The sisters just want to be able to do what they have been doing and offer gener- ous health benefits that don't include drugs the sisters can't help provide," said attorney Adele Keim of the nonprofit Becket Fund, which is repre- senting the sisters. Mother Patricia Mary, L.S.P., of the Little Sister's Denver Mullen Home for the Aged, was unavailable for comment. The appeal argues the HHS mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment that guarantee freedom of religion. At issue is a waiver form the sisters could sign to receive an exemption from the mandate, but the appeal states that it "would make them morally complicit in sin, would contra- dict their public witness to the value of life, and would immor- ally run the risk of misleading others." The form in fact would only authorize a third-party to provide the services they find morally objectionable. A district court in December denied the sister's motion for protection from the mandate, saying they read "too much in- to the language of the form." But the Becket Fund fired back saying it's not for the dis- trict court to disagree with the moral line the Little Sisters draw. Regardless of what the "gov- ernment thinks the Little Sis- ters should believe, the un- disputed fact is that they do believe their religion forbids them from signing (the form)," the appeal states. The Little Sisters filed an appeal the same day and also filed an emergency injunction with Supreme Court Justice So- nia Sotomayor. The Obama administration refuted the injunction saying the sisters only need to sign the form to "secure for themselves the relief they seek" … "with the stroke of their own pen." The Supreme Court grant- ed the injunction pending the outcome of the appeal. An appeal hearing date be- fore the Denver federal court has yet to be set. Keim said the Little Sisters are only asking for something the government has given oth- er religious employers. "The government has al- ready exempted thousands of other American businesses from complying with the con- traceptive mandate and it's already exempted thousands of churches from complying with the mandate. The Little Sisters simply want their reli- gious objections to be treated the same way as the religious objections brought forward by these thousands of churches," she said. If the sisters do not win the appeal, they would be fined $6,700 a day and nearly $2.5 million a year, which is a third of its $6 million budget. The Little Sisters of Denver employ about 67 full-time employees. Don't tell religious sisters what to believe, attorneys tell court The penitential season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednes- day (March 5), and continues through Holy Thursday (April 17). Easter, the commemoration of Christ's resurrection, is April 20 in the Latin rite this year. The following Lenten regulations are from the Office of Liturgy for the Denver Archdiocese. Abstinence from meats is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one's needs, but eat- ing solid foods between meals is not permitted. The special pas- chal fast and abstinence are pre- scribed for Good Friday and en- couraged for Holy Saturday. By the threefold discipline of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the Church keeps Lent from Ash Wednesday until the evening of Holy Thursday. All of the faith- ful and the catechumens should undertake the serious practice of these three traditions. Failure to observe penitential days totally or a substantial number of such days must be considered serious. The U.S. bishops issued a state- ment on penitential observance: "On Weekdays of Lent, we strong- ly recommend participation in daily Mass and self-imposed ob- servances of fasting. In light of grave human needs which weigh on the Christian conscience in all seasons, we urge particularly during Lent, generosity to local, national and world programs of sharing of all things needed to translate our duty to practice penance into a means of imple- menting the right of the poor to their part of our abundance." Fasting rules to aid your Lenten observance PHOTO BY DEACON MICKEY WEBRE THE DEACONS of the Denver Archdiocese held a convocation with Archbishop Samuel Aquila on Feb. 22. The day started with Mass in Christ the King Chapel at the John Paul II Center in south Denver presided by the archbishop, after which the deacons met in Bonfils Hall for a talk by the prelate. Other speakers for the day included St. John Vianney Theological Seminary professor Sean Innerst who spoke on "Prayer, the Scripture and the Catechism," Deacon-Dr. John Volk spoke on end-of-life decisions and Larry Smith, CEO of Catholic Charities, spoke on diaconal involvement in the many services Catholic Charities offers. Deacons share fellowship, learning in convocation PHOTO BY DANIEL PETTY/DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER the Spanish speaking seminari- ans at Redemptoris Mater, which includes seminarians from some 13 countries. The archbishop thanked the seminarians' par- ents—including Deacon Trem- inio's parents, Anastacio and Lid- ia, in Spanish—for raising their children in the Catholic faith and giving their sons to the Church. The couple from Nicaragua pre- sented the gifts with fellow semi- narian parents, Donald and Nat- lie Lesher, and Greg and Christie McLagan. "In the way you formed them, you allowed their hearts to be open to the call," the archbishop said to the parents. Father Rodriguez-Lasa chant- ed the Gospel accompanied by a guitar player, and the choir from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary Schola provided music with cantor Marisa Walsh. "Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose these, our brothers, for the order of the diaconate," Archbishop Aquila prayed. He encouraged them to rely on the Holy Spirit for the "gift of fortitude" while they preach and teach. DCR FILE PHOTO A LITTLE Sister prays.

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