Denver Catholic

BY JULIE FILBY Five-year-old Joseph was near death when his mother Ag- nes brought him to an orphan- age near their home in western Uganda. Both were HIV-posi- tive and severely malnourished. Dying of AIDS caused by HIV, his mother had sought out the home, Manna Rescue Home, to care for the two of her seven children that were HIV-positive: Joseph and his older sister, Joselyn, now 13. Joselyn had been able to sus- tain reasonable health, while Joseph suffered a distended belly, a terrible cough and after a while, no longer responded to medication. Treatment was stopped; he was given last rites and a call was put out: "Some- one, adopt him quick." That call reached Jess and Ben Wiederholt in Arvada, who had been considering adopt- ing a second child with HIV, af- ter adopting a young Ethiopian boy, Abiti, about a year and a half earlier in October 2011. An estimated 3.2 million children worldwide were living with HIV in 2013, most in sub-Sa- haran Africa, according to the World Health Organization. The majority acquired the dis- ease from their infected moth- ers during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. "Joseph could die tomorrow, or a year or two from now," Jess Wiederholt was told. "I'm a person that leads with my heart," she said. "No, we weren't ready, but God was ready." They needed to raise $30,000, and quickly. In addi- tion to Joseph's urgent medical needs, the adoption courts in Uganda were closing for the year in July. "OK God, if we're supposed to do this, we'll get there," be- came their motto. The family—Jess, Ben, their three biological children: Sam- uel, Luke and Abe, now 10, 8 and 5; and their new brother Abiti, now 8—had garage sales, sold T-shirts, made Lenten sac- rifi ces and reached out to their parish community at Spirit of Christ in Arvada. The stew- ardship committee supported them with $5,000. "Spirit of Christ is a very giv- ing parish," Jess said. "We were blown away. We felt so sur- rounded by our community. It was something so much bigger than us—it was so beautiful." The seemingly impossible was becoming a reality: they raised the funds needed, then jumped on a plane with high hopes but no actual court date. Five weeks later, the adoption process for Joseph and Joselyn was complete. One day, while still in Ugan- da, Jess was praying for Agnes with the children when Joselyn asked: "Mom, why don't you pray for Lillian?" "Who's Lillian?" Jess asked. Lillian, now 11, is Joselyn's younger sister. She had been left with the girls' father about two years earlier, though he was unable to care for her. "I really want to say good- bye," Joselyn pleaded. They spent fi ve hours driving and hiking through remote mountain areas looking for Lillian. They fi nally found her, in dire conditions, living with another family member—her head was shaved, she was mal- nourished and unknowingly suffering with malaria. "All Jos did was cry," Jess said. "They were only together for 10 minutes. There were no words. There was only grief. I didn't expect it." They uttered their goodbyes and Jess and Joselyn started their journey back, hearts bro- ken over Lillian. Jess called Ben, back in Ar- vada, taking care of the other children. "Can we adopt her?" Ben asked. "I don't know. I'll fi nd out," she said, thrilled that he had asked. Following a complex process of permissions, approvals and legalities, in September 2013, they received confi rmation they could adopt Lillian. Spirit of Christ Parish provided addi- tional support of $10,000. "I've never seen Joselyn so happy," Jess said. "God needed them to be together." The entire family traveled to Africa to bring Lillian home last June. The Wiederholts grew from a family of fi ve to a family of nine in just three years. Their new additions are learning the culture and language—plus subjects such as math, history, reading and religion—along with their siblings, through home-schooling. At this point, under the care of their parents and Denver doctors, HIV is "undetectable" in Abiti, Joseph and Joselyn. EVERYDAY CATHOLIC I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I NOVEMBER 19, 2014 consecrated life and the contri- butions religious make to soci- ety. Upcoming events include men and women in religious formation giving their testimo- nies at colleges, an increase in the number of discernment activities offered and a series of public lectures next spring. The talks will be given by Sister Nickel, a professor of sacred theology, on Vatican II's "Perfec- tae Caritatis," the Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life. (See information box for details.) The Year of Consecrated Life, noted Sister Nickel, also marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and its documents, "Perfectae Carita- tis" and "Lumen Gentium," the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. "We'll go back and look at what the Second Vatican Coun- cil gave us," she said. "For reli- gious, it's a call to wake up the world for joy. We are to be a wit- ness to the hope and mercy of Christ." In "Lumen Gentium," she added, the council fathers re- covered the Church's universal call to holiness. "Before the council, many people thought priests and religious were called to ho- liness, but no one else. That was completely wrong," Sister Nickel said. "We are all called to holiness." "Religious men and wom- en," she explained, "are those set apart— consecrated—to be holy. It's a particular call, a par- ticular vocation." Those who are consecrated pursue lives of perfect charity through the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience. Their apostolates include teaching, caring for the sick, the elder- ly and the homeless, running parishes, and offering retreats and spiritual direction. There are many forms of con- secrated life, including living as a member of a religious order in a convent or monastery as reli- gious sisters, brothers or priests, or living as a consecrated wom- an either in a community or alone—who may work for the Church or in the world, or living life as a hermit. Contemplatives, nuns and monks who spend their lives praying for the Church such as the Discalced Carmelites in Littleton, the Poor Clares in Denver, the Benedictines in Virginia Dale and the Trappist monks in Snowmass, were giv- en a special task for the year. "Pope Francis has asked them to pray for many graces and blessings for religious," Sister Nickel said. The special year offers an opportunity for religious and laity to refl ect on their individ- ual vocation and shared call to holiness, Sister Nickel said. "Every vocation in the univer- sal call to holiness has a tremen- dous effect on the whole body of Christ," she said. "I don't have a spouse or a family, but my vo- cation is to serve those who do. And laity are called to foster vo- cations to consecrated life and to marriage." "St. Paul says we all have a part and a mission in this great body of Christ," she continued. "It's important to ponder that, and to work in collaboration with one another for the new evangelization." Roxanne King: 720-771-3394; editor_king@icloud.com; www. twitter.com/RoxanneIKing Call From Page 1 YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE OPENING MASS When: 10:30 a.m. Nov. 30 Celebrant: Archbishop Samuel Aquila Where: Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, 1530 Logan St., Denver LECTURE SERIES Topic: "Decree on the Renew- al of Religious Life" Presented by: Sister Esther Mary Nickel When: 7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 25, April 30 Where: Bonfi ls Hall, St. John Paul II Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver RESOURCES Visit www.archden.org to link to resources including prayer cards and a video. PRAYER FOR THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE O God, throughout the ages you have called women and men to pur- sue lives of perfect charity through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. During this Year of Consecrated Life, we give you thanks for these courageous witnesses of Faith and models of inspiration. Their pursuit of holy lives teaches us to make a more perfect offering of ourselves to you. Continue to enrich your Church by calling forth sons and daughters who, having found the pearl of great price, treasure the Kingdom of Heaven above all things. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen —USCCB SECRETARIAT OF CLERGY, CONSECRATED LIFE AND VOCATIONS PHOTO COURTESY OF REFLECTING LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY THE WIEDERHOLT family, standing from left: Abiti, 8; Luke, 8; Joselyn, 13; Samuel, 10 and Lillian, 11; and sitting from left: Joseph, 7; Ben; Abe, 5 and Jess. Arvada family follows God's call to adopt See Wiederholt, Page 5

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