Denver Catholic

LOCAL NEWS I 7 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I OCTOBER 22, 2014 458 Uinta Way ∙ Denver, CO 80230 ∙ www.machebeuf.org For more information, contact Admissions at 303-344-0082 ext. 117 OPEN HOUSE Come discover our award-winning academic community of faith Explore our campus on a student-led tour Meet our faculty, staff, administration, and coaches Learn all about the Machebeuf Experience SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2014 (9AM to 1PM) VOTED TOP 50 CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN THE U.S. By e Cardinal Newman Society ∙ 2006, 2007, 2008-2009, 2012-2013 Peru Mission Trip Arrupe Jesuit High School OPEN HOUSE October 26, 10am - 2pm Arrupe Jesuit High School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin. Please join us on October 26th to learn more about how the unique opportunities offered at Arrupe Jesuit High School can prepare you for success in college, and beyond. www.ArrupeJesuit.com We're looking for you! Open House Ad for DCR green.indd 1 10/13/2014 4:35:57 PM Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary 12801 W. 44th Ave. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (303) 425-9511 Mt. Olivet Cemetery 12801 W. 44th Ave. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (303) 424-7785 St. Simeon Cemetery 22001 E. State Hwy. 30 Aurora, CO 80018 (720) 859-9785 • Professional, personalized service • Respectful • Compassionate Caring for the faithful in Northern Colorado since 1893 in their most personal time of need. THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DENVER CEMETERIES AND MORTUARY BY JULIE FILBY Rocky Mountain PBS, Chan- nel 6, will air a 30-minute doc- umentary titled "Pope John Paul II" on an episode of its "Colorado Experience" pro- gram 7 p.m. Oct. 23. Mary Beth Bonacci, a Denver native who addressed 75,000 teenagers from the main stage at Mile High Stadium just hours be- fore the arrival of John Paul II, served as a key narrator for the program that highlights the pontiff's 1993 visit to Denver for World Youth Day. The Denver Catholic Register spoke with Bonacci last week about her World Youth Day ex- perience and how St. John Paul II has infl uenced her life. Q: How did John Paul II's visit impact your life, your faith? A: This visit was a continua- tion: he started impacting my life before, when I was a senior in college and we had a speaker series on theology of the body, and this was very shortly after the talks were delivered, so it was not the 'phemon' that it is now. It just rocked my world, because I thought: I've been living this because it's the rules and I don't want to go to hell, but there's a whole dimension here—this is about love and about fi nding real love and this is something that I want to live now and share with the world. So I immersed myself in it and started speaking, which I never expected to be a big thing but it got big. Q: How did John Paul II's visit impact the wider com- munity in Denver? A: There was a spiritual di- mension on the natural level: people saw him, people were moved; I mean the man just radiated love. If you lived in Denver, you couldn't help but see him, it was all over the news, it was all over every- thing. You can't throw a rock in the Catholic Church without fi nding somebody who found their priestly vocation at World Youth Day in Denver, or whose life was changed one way or another. It just sealed the Cath- olic renaissance in Denver that had already begun. It really took off after that. Q: You've described John Paul II as "the fi rst pope rock star." What do you mean by that? A: I guess it probably start- ed with Elvis or the Beatles, when you have the reaction to rock stars where people scream, there are big crowds. I'd never heard anything about these enormous gatherings of screaming crowds for an old guy who teaches unpopular teachings! And that's exactly what we saw. You're in this sta- dium full of people screaming, crying—I was crying—at the vicar of Christ. It's a reaction to holiness, true holiness on a level we can only dream of. Q: If you could use only three words to describe St. John Paul II, what would they be? A: Holy. Charismatic. Inter- personal. He combined those three things: the charisma of someone who attracts crowds but … he had that gift of giving you the sense you were the only person in the room. A saint walked here PBS special to feature 'fi rst pope rock star' MARY BETH Bonacci, who delivered catechesis at World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, is interviewed for a PBS series. God.'" He added that the course sought to promote "awareness and alertness to a particularly, and often very diffi cult, strug- gle that certain people have— same-sex attraction. And a greater compassion and sense of pastoral charity on how to bring Christ to them." He emphasized to students the dangers of pornography and lust. "A lustful person is someone who's not striving for chastity," Father Check said. "All of us, in one degree or another, have to be alert to those desires or in- clinations or attractions that are pulling away from what is right, virtuous and true." Three days into it, students said the course was having a dramatic effect on the way they view sexuality through- out society and in their own relationships. "In our current culture, it is diffi cult to understand that we're not here to serve our own desires, but to serve one anoth- er," said Anastacio Hinojosa, a teacher at St. Therese School in Aurora. "This course will en- hance my marriage and help me better educate students about God's plan for them. A lot of children really strug- gle with this (issues of human sexuality), and it's something the Church needs to address quickly, and as best possible." Elizabeth Pawelek said the course helped her and others to see persons as "subjects of love," rather than objects for gratifi cation. "I hope it helps me better evangelize our culture," said Pawelek, a recent graduate of Texas A&M University who is pursuing a master's degree at the Augustine Institute. The course also gave her a better understanding of life as a single person. "I'm learning to speak and live the joy of chastity and sin- gleness. I feel such a greater call to my lifestyle," Pawelek said. Wayne Laugesen: 303-715- 3215; info@archden.or.org; www. twitter.com/DCRegister Course From Page 1 COURAGE International apostolate ministering to persons with same-sex attractions and their family and friends Online: http://couragerc.org Denver contact: Father Dan Norick at 720-434-2638 or dnorick@gmail.com WATCH "POPE JOHN PAUL II" When: 7 p.m. Oct. 23 Channel: Rocky Mountain PBS, Channel 6 After Oct. 23: http://vid- eo.rmpbs.org/program/ colorado-experience/ Let RMPBS know what you think about the program "Pope John Paul II" Online: www.rmpbs.org Phone: 303-892-6666 Mail: KRMA-6, 1089 Bannock St., Denver, CO 80204

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