Planning is fine, but you’re better off learning how to roll with the punches.

Bro. Mark Ligett has this idea down pat. The life he envisioned last year when he left Kentucky for Ava., Mo., is not the life he got. But talk to him about Our Lady of the Angels Friary, the neighbors, the work they’re doing, even his health, and he sounds as happy as all get-out.

“I’m wonderful,” he says, asked how his energy is holding up in the face of thrice-weekly dialysis and an impending kidney transplant. “The last blood report I had, the doctor said, ‘Are you sure you’re sick?’” In the 45 minutes we talk on the phone, he doesn’t sound sick. He sounds like a guy who is taking things one day at a time and enjoying every minute. There’s a good reason:  “In the midst of all this (hospitalization and treatment), I saw lots of other people who were worse off than I was.”

 The ministry and the setting—the house is surrounded by woods on a 4,000-acre property owned by the Trappists—obviously agree with the friars. Mark and Fr. Michael Jennrich (formerly in retreat and parish work in Sacred Heart Province) are developing a cottage industry in their 60-by-35-foot weaving studio. “Our goal is to have two lines of sales,” Mark says. “Michael does mostly tapestry weaving,” a time-consuming process that requires hand-laying of threads and produces elaborate designs similar to those in Navajo rugs. “I do horizontal weaving,” with a shuttle process, creating rugs, placemats and vestments. Bro. Josef Anderlohr is focusing on his floral artistry; “for him, it’s a prayerful thing.” Among other projects, former missionary Fr. Fred Radke (also from SH), is using his talents as a liturgist and as a translator on a project for St. Anthony Messenger Press.

“We have a pretty regular routine,” Mark says, asked what life is like in an interprovincial house of prayer. Three days a week, he rises at 3:30 a.m. to get to dialysis by 5:30. Morning prayer is at 7, followed by breakfast, followed by Mass. “We have a work period until noon,” when either Mark or Fred cooks the day’s major meal. “After dishes, we do midday prayer. From 1:15 to 5:30 is a time given over to quiet—reading, prayers, the arts—whatever you need to do.”     

Solitude is the norm, but contact with neighbors is not unusual. A Trappist hermit lives next door. The friars’ house sits on the eastern side of the property; the Trappist monastery (with eight residents) is in the center. “On Sundays, we join the monks for Mass.” A cluster of female hermits—two Poor Clares, two Servants of Mary and one “Pink” Sister (Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters)—lives on the far western side of the property. “On the Feast of St. Francis, we decided to invite the monks and the hermits,” Mark says. “Much to our surprise, the hermits came.” Adding to the mix, Mark has two of his cats from Kentucky and a new friend named Benji. “On June 29, the day I moved in, the guest mistress said, ‘I have a gift for you,’ ” Mark recalls. She walked to her car, opened the door, and out jumped a tan-and-white mutt who promptly made himself at home. “Benji thinks he’s lived here all his life. He’s just a sweetheart.” For now, Mark’s schedule is built around his dialysis, but the care of company will consume more time after the adjacent guest house (renovation started Jan. 15) is completed. It will add two extra bedrooms, as well as separate area with kitchen, bedroom and bath.

Thanks to a brother willing to donate a kidney, “My transplant is still in process,” Mark says, with more tests ahead and a consultation scheduled for May 15 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. They’ve done more than 2,400 transplants since 1985 and have the lowest rate of rejection in the world. Part of the protocol for transplant patients is an optional telephone survey with the National Kidney Foundation, designed to assess emotional readiness for this life-changing surgery. Last week after Mark took the survey, the questioner told him he was definitely prepared.

At this point, he says, “I’m feeling like I’m in pretty good shape.”

Fr. Dan Kroger sent this e-mail in the wake of questions about Fr. Harold Geers’ safety following the catastrophic mudslide on Leyte Island in the Philippines: “About your question, I must tell you that I talked to Harold on the phone to tell him that (Fr.) Carl (Kemphues) had died. Harold is quite far from that part of Leyte. He is in the northern part and Ginsaugon, St. Bernard, Leyte, is in the south. I would estimate the distance at around 250 miles or so, though I don't have a map handy. So, I assure you that Harold is fine and safe.” Dan also said he informed Cardinal Vidal of Cebu about Carl’s death (Carl was his confessor for years) as well as the other friars. As a result, “All the friaries and chapels of the friars had Masses for Carl.”

In January The Bayou Catholic devoted a center-page spread to photos from the 60th anniversary celebration at St. Lucy Parish in Houma. Bishop Sam G. Jacobs presided, and friars Joe Rigali, David Kohut and Reynolds Garland concelebrated.

As a prelude to the Super Bowl, the Jan. 27 issue of the Michigan Catholic focused on the problem of homelessness in inner-city Detroit. Profiled were St. Al’s Warming Center and Oasis Detroit (former friar Jamie Ebaugh is now a program manager), two of the agencies working to find a permanent solution to the problem. Another article (featuring a photo of Fr. Mark Soehner holding a football) talked about special preparations needed to shuttle parishioners to their churches because of expected parking congestion from the Super Bowl.

Friars Bruce and Bryant Hausfeld were pleased and relieved when sentencing came down last month for 16-year-old Cody Posey in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Cody, convicted of killing his father, his stepmother and his stepsister in 2004 on newsman Sam Donaldson’s ranch, was sentenced as a juvenile and will be held in state custody until he turns 21. He was 14 at the time of the slayings and had reportedly been abused by his father. Bruce and Bryant launched a petition drive, arguing that the teen-ager should not be sentenced to prison as an adult. “Please thank all the friars for their prayers” on Cody’s behalf, Bryant says.

Fr. Duane Stenzel of Radio Maria in Alexandria, La., is working with Fr. John Quigley of Franciscans International to produce a new radio program called Franciscans at the UN. “This is a one-hour program that has me interviewing John in his office in Switzerland,” Duane says. Topics so far have included FI’s position paper on human trafficking and the work of Franciscans International among the Muslims of Pakistan. “We are so pleased to have such a gifted and articulate friar proclaiming the Gospel and the values of St. Francis worldwide,” Duane says of John. The programs are recorded on CD and available at no cost (donations are welcome). If you’d like a copy, contact Kelly Hatcher, assistant program director, at 888-408-0201.

St. Mary of the Angels Church will reopen under the care of the friars but its school will not, according to a “Pastoral Plan for the Next Stage of Recovery” announced Feb. 9 by Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans. Under the plan, seven parishes in the archdiocese will close and others will be gradually reopened over the next two years. The plan establishes six centralized elementary schools including St. Peter Claver, which will absorb students from St. Mary of the Angels and St. David schools. St. Mary of the Angels will become one of several cluster parishes and will include the territory of St. Philip the Apostle. “Please note that this plan is not cast in stone,” the Archbishop said in his report. “It has built-in flexibility which allows for gradual adjustment depending on the number of returning parishioners and the viability of parishes.” The Pastoral Plan, which will be reviewed in 18 months, calls for the reopening of the Catholic Charities Center at St. Mary of the Angels “as soon as possible.” In Algiers-Plaquemines Deanery, St. Jude Parish will close and the territory will be given to St. Patrickin Port Sulphur. “St. Patrick in Port Sulphur and Our Lady of Good Harbor in Buras, while remaining canonical parishes, will not reopen at this time.” Likewise, mission churches St. Ann in Empire and St. Anthony in Venice are not scheduled to reopen “at this time.” The plan is effective March 15.

Fr. Hilarion Kistner was once again interviewed by the British media (on Feb. 26) for an upcoming television special on the life of Tom Cruise, aka Tom Mapother when he attended St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati. The first interview, aired in October of 2004, was part of a BBC entertainment series called Liquid Assets. For the latest interview, TV personality Alex Stanger again met Hilarion at Mercy Community at Winton Woods, the former seminary. They spent about 45 minutes in the chapel discussing Tom’s school career and the Catholic Church (Cruise has since embraced Scientology.) At Hilarion’s suggestion, Stanger also interviewed Don Weller, a classmate of Cruise’s who remembered Tom as “a good kid” who generally stayed out of trouble. No word on when or where this new interview might be shown.

Marian College in Indianapolis is seeking a Roman Catholic priest (preferably a Franciscan) to serve as a full-time college chaplain. Sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis (Oldenburg), the school is a coeducational liberal arts institution serving 1,600 students from diverse faiths, cultures and life experiences. Previous college ministry experience and campus ministry certification are preferred. The position is available July 1. If you are interested, send a cover letter, resume, and three letters of recommendation to Sr. Christa Franzer, Director of Human Resources, Marian College, 3200 Cold Spring Road, Indianapolis, IN 46222.

Fr. Carl Kemphues was one of those people you could pick out of a high school yearbook 50 years after he graduated. The same Bugs Bunny grin shows up in photos from grade school through college, from ordination through decades in the Philippines. “Steadfast” aptly describes Carl: At his Feb. 25 funeral at St. Clement’s, his grade-school classmates remembered the skinny kid who was as loyal to his friends back home as he was to the people he served overseas.

Whenever Carl returned to the States, “He would contact us and we would get together for lunch,” said Mary Lou Lawall, who attended the funeral with Loraine Schoenfeld and Rita Clark, two other alums of St. Monica’s who have been friends since kindergarten. All three huddled around the “memory boards” on which were posted pictures of Carl in an exotic locale identified by colorful maps. The Philippines is a place we know of, but don’t know much about. Carl knew it well; he was deeply devoted to the people of the islands and their simple way of life.

“All those years he was in the Philippines, he would come home and announce he was staying,” said Rita, with Mary Lou adding, “But he couldn’t stand the pace here.” When he did visit Cincinnati, “We talked about the old times: school days, family, proms,” said Mary Lou. You could always count on Carl, a point driven home by Fr. Paul Desch in his eloquent homily based on Luke 12. (“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.")

“In our Gospel this morning Jesus is describing his kind of people,” said Paul, “people who really see things the way he does.” He calls them, “good waiters, because they know how to wait on other people, especially those whom the Lord has entrusted to their care. They spend their whole lives looking after the people in their lives.” They’re “good waiters” for another reason, Paul said: “They really believe that life is a good gift, and it’s always coming from our Father in heaven, moment by moment by moment, that the Father is going to continue to give that good gift on the other side of life. They always leave an ear cocked” so that they will be ready when the Lord arrives.

“I’m sure there is one thing all of us agree on this morning. Carl Kemphues was that kind of good waiter Jesus is talking about in the Gospels.”

Paul remembered his first glimpse of Carl as “this wiry little fellow in a black suit with a spring in his step, striding up the path to Mt. Airy. At the time, we knew nothing about him.” Paul later learned that he had spent “three years slogging over half of Europe” with the Army infantry in World War II. “We had five guys from the service in our class. We looked up to them. They had seen the ‘real’ world.”

He also discovered that “Carl was what you would call a ‘plugger.’ Once he found out what he had to do, he just did it.” Some of that sticktuitivity came from his family. “Carl admired his three older brothers so much.” In the novitiate, “He got the nickname ‘Shorty,’ the little guy who was right there, always working hard, always ready to help at whatever you did.” In theology school at Oldenburg, Carl and Paul were hiking buddies, spending “long afternoons swinging around the byways around Oldenburg,” eventually collaborating on a 3-dimensional version of the hiking map. “The thing that really struck me was underneath Carl’s quiet exterior, there was really something tough. He really believed God was calling him to serve other people.”

Too soon, “It was all over. We were ordained. Our next 50 years, we seldom saw each other. But I was never surprised at reports of what a dedicated missionary he was in the Philippines.” Carl was hoping “that he could find a people he could pour his heart out for. That’s what he did.” It is fitting that he spent his last night on earth “anxiously watching television, worrying about his people in the Philippines” after the devastating mudslide on Leyte Island. “That’s where his heart was.”

Although Paul said he sometimes regrets that he and Carl couldn’t spend more time together, “There was always one thing holding us together, the same Lord who loved us both and for whom we are still waiting.” For Carl and for each of us, the waiting is indeed worthwhile.

“A Catholic church and convent in Benghazi, Libya, were plundered and burned just days after anti-Italian protests in Libya turned violent,” according to a story filed Feb. 24 by Catholic News Service. “The Feb. 20 attacks against the two religious properties forced the apostolic vicar of Benghazi, the rest of his Franciscan community, and the religious men and women who lived and worked in the diocese to be evacuated to the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Bishop Sylvester Magro of Benghazi told Vatican Radio Feb. 23 that ‘everything has gone up in smoke.’ Everything inside the church and friary was destroyed; ‘everything that could be set on fire was set on fire,’ he said.

“The blaze came just a few days after protests Feb. 17 targeting the Italian Consulate in Benghazi left at least 10 people dead,” according to CNS. The demonstration stemmed from a recent incident in which an Italian government minister unbuttoned his shirt on Italian television to display a T-shirt bearing an image of one of the Danish cartoons that have sparked violent demonstrations in many Muslim communities.

by Sr. Donna Graham, OSF

After almost 24 hours of travel, Bro. Phil Robinette and I arrived safely in Uberlandia, Brazil, on Jan. 29 to participate in the Order’s II International JPIC Congress. Our first hint that it was summer in Brazil was the planeload of Brazilian teenagers on our 9½-hour flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo. They were returning from their summer vacation in the U.S., full of energy! Once we arrived, hot, humid weather, flowering trees and frequent rainstorms all confirmed that we were clearly in a different region of the world.

Francis’ embrace of the leper and his conversion in this encounter was the theme of the 10-day Congress. We heard that many friars, especially those in regions of great poverty, have dedicated their lives to embracing the excluded, living in inserted communities, experiencing solidarity with the marginalized and learning from them. Many others are committed to working for systemic change. We also heard time and time again how the U.S. government and many of our corporations are contributing to the problems in the Amazon, the Congo, other parts of Africa, etc.

The Order’s Secretary of Formation, Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, and Secretary of Evangelization, Nestor Schwertz, OFM, joined us to express their commitment to collaboration with the JPIC Office, seeing the necessity of integrating JPIC values into the life and ministry of the friars. Jose Carballo, OFM, the Minister General, also made it very clear that JPIC values are integral to the Franciscan life. He said that each province should have at least one fraternity living among the poor, since “solidarity is to go among” and “this is the mission of every friar.” He also pointed out a gap between initial and ongoing formation. He said that friars are formed in good values and then often move into houses where these values aren’t always lived well. “The problem is not with formation, it is with us.”

We had many opportunities to experience the Brazilian culture: the food, the tiny grocery stores, horse-drawn carts, the Samba School and guitar concert, the noisy traffic and lack of adherence to traffic laws, the “simple” restroom facilities and university classrooms, the landless camps, and much more. But what stood out most for me was the graciousness of the hotel staff, the joy of those serving our food, the energy and commitment of the Brazilian friars (and those of many other countries as well) and the faith of the people. Worship in Brazil is truly a community celebration! Our opening and closing Masses were in two different parishes, but the energy and emotion was the same, truly inspiring!

The fact that I am not a friar did not keep me from experiencing the fraternity that is so evident when friars from all parts of the world come together in worship, dialogue, and celebration. In spite of language barriers, somehow there is communication. In spite of cultural differences, somehow there are shared values. There is joy and laughter and prayer and commitment.

There is no doubt in my mind that we Franciscans have an incredible gift to share. We have values that are so desperately needed in our world today. We are the ones who, like Francis, can embrace the excluded as well as the wealthy. We can live and value the simple life rather than consumerism. We value the gifts of all, and reverence the God in all of creation. Many speakers reminded us of the necessity of constantly asking ourselves, are we allowing the poor, the excluded, the marginalized, the lepers of our day to transform us? Do we open ourselves to this conversion? Are we really following the path of Francis, who experienced conversion because he was willing to risk embracing that which he had feared?

Read more about it: Numerous articles and pictures from the Congress can be found at the Rome JPIC web site, www.ofm-jpic.org/ofmjpic/congress2006/index.html . The Minister General’s presentation can be found at www.ofm-jpic.org/ofmjpic/congress2006/docs/MinGen/Abbracciare_en.pdf.