Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION NOVEMBER 27, 2013 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER GEORGE WEIGEL Focused on the New Evangelization There's a lot for U.S. Catholics to be thankful for at Thanksgiving 2013: seminaries that have turned the corner from the doldrums of the immediate past and are now full, or getting close; a reform of the liturgical reform that is bringing a new sense of the sacred back to Catholic worship; a pope who's put a new face on the Church while holding fast to the Church's settled teaching; the finest multimedia exposition of Catholic faith ever produced, Father Robert Barron's "Catholicism" series; strong leadership from our bishops in meeting challenges to religious freedom and moral reality; a burgeoning men's movement that draws thousands to witness for Christ; a new feminism that rejects a unisex approach to life and that is robustly pro-life. And then there is FOCUS: the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. Founded by Curtis Martin 15 years ago at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., FOCUS's genius is peer-to-peer evangelization and catechesis: FOCUS missionaries offer the Church two or more years of their lives after college graduation, returning to campus as agents of the New Evangelization after intensive training. The missionaries go with the approval of the local bishop and work with the already-established Newman Center or campus ministry—and support themselves by their own fundraising, making FOCUS a value-added addition to campuses large and small. I've run into FOCUS missionaries on dozens of campuses in recent years and spoken to several of their regional jamborees, and I never come away from those encounters without having my own spiritual batteries recharged. (If you've never heard a FOCUS missionary, back home in Rapid City, S.D., tell tales of opening evangelical conversations in Harvard Yard by inviting the denizens of America's oldest university to play Ultimate Frisbee, you haven't explored the full range of the New Evangelization.) But don't just take my word for it, when it comes to measuring FOCUS's effectiveness; look at the numbers. From that single start-up outside Kansas City 15 years ago, FOCUS is now present on 83 campuses from sea to shining sea: big state schools like Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin; independent schools like Northwestern, Tulane, Boston University, Columbia, New York University, Baylor, George Washington, MIT, and the aforementioned Harvard; Catholic schools including Ave Maria University, Loras College, Mount St. Mary's Emmitsburg, Belmont Abbey College, and Franciscan University; and two service academies: the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Hundreds of Catholic couples have found their vocation to marriage through FOCUS activities. Almost 300 young men have entered the seminary after getting involved with FOCUS, and over 100 FOCUS-influenced young women have entered religious life. And that's just measuring by vocational choice. How many thousands more have taken a FOCUS formation into business, the professions, and academic life? Many thousands, is a safe bet. Curtis Martin and FOCUS are not resting on their laurels. On the contrary, in that spirit of "putting out into the deep" to which John Paul II called the Church at the end of the Great Jubilee of 2000, FOCUS's strategic goal is to be present on 100 campuses in 2015 and 134 campuses in 2017, "growing" its corps of missionaries from 406 this year to 736 in four years' time. Those 736 young missionaries, according to the strategic plan, will engage almost 21,000 students in 2017 and inspire in that year 157 religious vocations. It's all, ultimately, a work of the Holy Spirit. But if it's true that we cannot service God and Mammon, it's also true that serving God as FOCUS does requires resources, for FOCUS is determined to remain a value-added apostolate for dioceses and their campus ministries, not a burden to already-strapped local churches. Those now pondering their end-of-the-year charitable giving might well consider helping FOCUS (P Box 33656, Denver, CO 80233) get to its goal of .O. 100 campuses by 2015—an investment in the New Evangelization that, on past performance, promises a serious return. BY PETER WESTHOFF The influence of the Church on France A quiz on Catholic things under the patronage of the "Doctor of Prayer," St. Teresa of Avila. For each question there is one right answer, but the answer for one question is "None of the Above." Having completed the Year of Faith, today we begin a quiz tour of Western Europe to see the great influence the Catholic faith has had on culture. We start in France with questions on writing, music and art. 1. In Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables," what gift from the bishop given to the thieving Jean Valjean marks a turning point in this main character's life? A. a topaz ring B. a jade elephant C. dinner for two at La Chapelle Aquila From Page 2 how attempts are being made to set God aside in favor of the anti-values of atheism, consumerism, busyness, gluttony and greed. This stands in opposition to the message of the manger: the message of littleness, meekness, contentment 4. In the French nursery melody of "Frere Jacques" often rendered in English as "Are You Sleeping, Brother John," what is Frere Jacques being commanded in the line "Sonnez les matines"? A. "Strike the harp and join the chorus." B. "Rise from your slumber." C. "Ring the matins bells." 1. None of the above - The bishop gave Jean silver candlesticks, 2. B, 3. A (This is known as Paschal's Wager) 4. C (Matins is part of the liturgy of the hours. It is prayed in the early morning hours before dawn.) 5. A (It is known as the Huron Christmas Carol. Brebeuf was a French Jesuit missionary.) 6. A (From "roi" or "roy" we get the English word "royalty") 7. C THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE 5. Who wrote the Christmas 2. In Alexandre Dumas' "The carol whose first verse begins Count of Monte Cristo," who with these words in the English reveals to Edmond Dantes the translation? "Twas in the moon location of a fabulous treasure of wintertime/ When all the on the island of Monte Cristo, birds had fled/ That Mighty Gitand where is this revealed to chi Manitou/ Sent angel choirs him? instead …" A. some nuns of Savoy on their A. St. John Brebeuf way to Ars when they cross "There paths with Dantes B. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is only this one B. the Abbe Faria C. Pere Jacques man in the world whom when both Dantes Marquette she (the Church) orders us and the priest are to undeceive, and she binds imprisoned him to an inviolable secrecy. 6. What does the C. Pierre DuCan we imagine anything more title of the hymn bois, godfather "Christ, le roi du charitable and pleasant?— of Dantes, when monde" proclaim Blaise Pascal, "Pensees" Dantes finds him on about Our Lord? ("Thoughts") on his deathbed in the confession A. that he is the "king slums of Paris of the world" B. that he is the "joy of mankind" 3. Who argued in his book C. that he is the "prince of "Pensees" ("Thoughts") that peace" rationality requires one to wager for maximum utility. Therefore, 7. In Jean-Francois Millet's one should wager that God exists since to do so offers infinite painting of "L'Angelus" two peasants are praying in a field gain versus finite loss. To wager over a basket of the crop that that God does not exist is to is being harvested. What is the risk infinite loss versus finite harvested crop? gain. A. cabbage A. Blaise Paschal B. strawberries B. Rene Descartes C. potatoes C. Etienne Gilson and interior conversion. Our society needs to see Christians transformed with the real joy caused by the good news of Christmas and Jesus' entrance into our history. People are wondering who is right. Did Jesus really come at Christmas? Did the all-powerful God truly become a helpless child to save us? Or is Christmas just another holiday that gives us a chance to shop and make big meals? May all of us spend this Advent purifying our hearts so that we can welcome Jesus at Christmas with joy and thanks for his love for us, and may we proclaim his message with boldness and humility in our world, following the example of the little child who changed history forever when he was born in Bethlehem. ARCHBISHOP AQUILA'S SCHEDULE Nov. 27: Memorial Mass for Father Michael Walsh, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Denver (11 a.m.) OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS Rev. Anthony Ariniello, C.B., appointed part-time chaplain of Campus Ministry at Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., effective immediately, ad nutum archiepscopi. This is in addition to his duties as parochial vicar, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Denver, Colo. The following assignment by Rev. Christopher Popravak, O.F.M. Cap., provincial minister, Capuchin Province of Mid-America, Denver, Colo., is confirmed by Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L. Rev. Charles Polifka, O.F.M., Cap., granted presbyteral faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver and appointed chaplain of Catholic Charities, Denver, Colo., effective Nov. 1, 2013, until his ministry in the archdiocese is completed. He will be in residence at St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Denver, Colo. The following assignment by Most Rev. John J. Myers, archbishop of Newark, N.J., is confirmed by Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L. Rev. Tobias Rodriguez, granted presbyteral faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver and appointed rector of Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, Denver, Colo., effective Nov. 25, 2013, ad nutum archiepiscopi. He will be in residence at Redemptoris Mater Seminary. Rev. Scott Traynor, J.C.L., appointed chaplain of Legatus, Denver Chapter, effective Dec. 12, 2013, ad nutum archiepscopi. This is in addition to his duties as adjutant rector, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, Colo.

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