Denver Catholic

5 DENVER CATHOLIC | SEPTEMBER 24-OCTOBER 7, 2016 Around the Archdiocese DISCLOSURE: *APR = Annual Percentage Rate Loans are subject to credit approval and underwriting criteria. Not everyone will qualify. The FREEDOM Mortgage is a 10-year real-estate loan. Qualifying terms include loan amounts not to exceed 60% of the value of the property. Value to be determined by ValueCheck. If no value can be determined, a property appraisal may be required at borrower(s) expense. Other qualifying terms apply. Contact the Credit Union for details. Call: 303.424.5037 Click: www.nufcu.com or Come by one of our convenient locations. Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency NCUA Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency NCUA Uniting Your Faith and Finances 3.00% APR* 10-Year Low Fixed Rate Loan FREEDOM Mortgage Achieve nancial freedom with this loan, which will help you pay your mortgage years in advance. Are you perhaps retired or readying for retirement? This may be just right for you, as it is designed for well- qualied borrowers in a good equity position, who owe $150,000 or less on their mortgage. The low 3.00%* APR interest rate will help you save money while paying o your mortgage sooner. Contact us today. See if the FREEDOM Mortgage is right for you! Purchase Tickets: *Only 2,900 tickets will be sold! grand prize Early bird Prize multi-ticket Prize Refer-a-friend Prize Rome, Italy for 4 Alaska Glacier Cruise for 4 Jewels of Spain & Portugal for 2 New York, NY for 2 7-night stay in Rome at winner's choice of a luxurious hotel just outside the Vatican walls or a Roman countryside castle. DRAWING: Dec. 2016 7-night Alaska glacier cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas in an ocean view stateroom. Purchase by 10.29.16 to qualify. DRAWING: Oct. 29, 2016 7-night stay in Madrid and Lisbon. Guided tours of Madrid, Óbidos and Fatima included. Buy 3 or more tickets to be entered. DRAWING: Dec. 2016 3-night stay at the Grand Hyatt New York, NY in Midtown Manhattan. Buy 1 ticket and refer a friend who buys at least one ticket to be entered. DRAWING: Dec. 2016 Airfare included! Visit RoadToRomeRaffle.com or call 303.433.0296 Raffle License #2016-11151 Proceeds benefit the lives and ministries of the Capuchin Franciscans of the Province of St. Conrad. Buy 1 $50 Buy 3 $135 Buy 5 $220 Buy 10 $400 F ather Steven Voss, the beloved pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Fort Collins, died Saturday, Sept. 10, after a long battle with cancer. He was 37 years old. Steven Voss was born Dec. 14, 1978, in Denver. He was the fourth of fi ve chil- dren and grew up in a family where faith was a priority. He fi rst considered the priesthood in fourth grade, a call he said in his biography on St. Joseph's website was "nurtured and heard more clearly throughout [his] K-12 education in the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic schools." He loved working with children, teaching them about the faith and helping them to know how much Christ loves them. Father Voss had been diagnosed with cancer at 1-year-old and had beaten it twice. Despite his most recent diagno- sis, he always remained upbeat and pos- itive. His youngest sister, Christine Voss, remembered that even though he was in and out of hospitals his entire life and doctors told him there was no hope on many occasions, it didn't once dampen his spirits. "It never once got to him that doctors would tell him that because he really had his own journey," she said. "He was never really scared." Father Voss was ordained a priest May 12, 2007, and was fi rst assigned to be parochial vicar of Spirit of Christ Parish in Arvada. Since 2010, he had served as pastor of St. Joseph's, where the com- munity grew to love Father Voss and his "beautifully crafted [homilies]," said Chris Goes, St. Joseph's Pastoral Council member and friend of Father Voss. "He was, and always will be in my memory, a very sociable, articulate, non-judgmental and clever gentleman who excelled at and happened to be a most holy, kind and loving priest," Goes said. "He fi lled his 'bucket' by being with people." People were drawn to Father Voss because he was real, and his struggle with cancer made him relatable, Voss said of her brother. "He was so real. He would genuinely listen to people. I don't even think it was a challenge for him to empathize with people, it was just his nature," she said. "People who were going through some pretty hard things in life could come talk to him and he actually understood. He was able to relate with people and gave people comfort because he could genuinely say, 'I know how you feel. I know what it's like to be scared.' I think that's what set him apart. "People could relate to his life and therefore follow his path to Christ because it was so real." One of Voss' fondest memories of her brother was four years ago, when he said their mother's funeral Mass. "They were really, really close," Voss said of her brother and their mom. "They had a very special relationship. He strug- gled a lot with her illness and with her death." Still, Father Voss felt compelled to speak about his mother at her funeral. While he was delivering the homily, Voss recalled that her brother stopped midway and acknowledged that he was feeling overwhelmed by his grief and on the verge of breaking down. "He really opened himself up to this vulnerability that so many people in his role or in any public role just don't have the courage to do," Voss said of her brother. "His illness and everything he's gone through obviously demonstrates his courage, but I think that the way that he handled himself in that moment, at our mom's funeral, just showed me that it's OK to be yourself, regardless of what that looks like or what that feels like." "Nothing ever held him back. He was bigger than life," she said. Fort Collins pastor embraced his 'journey' of cancer BY AARON LAMBERT aaron.lambert@archden.org @AaronLmbrt Father Steven Voss

• Cover