WEST LIBERTY OUTREACH IS THERE

ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE CATHOLIC CHURCH APRIL 2018 Non Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Hamilton, Ohio 45011 Permit No. 241 EST. 1989 EST. 1989 THE MODERN 5720 Hamilton-Mason Road Liberty Township, Ohio 45011 SAINT Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish is a Roman Catholic Christian community which unselfishly ministers to all people through hospitality, prayer, formation, and service. Eucharist centered and led by the Holy Spirit we strive to be grateful stewards of all God s gifts. LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR... WEST LIBERTY OUTREACH IS THERE The popular jingle from an insurance company reminds us that Like a good neighbor Did you grow up in a neighborhood? Do you have someone to call for that missing ingredient for dinner? Do you have someone to reach out to in times of need? For some of us, our neighbors are the people we reach out to for a cup of sugar, to retrieve our mail or maybe when we are really in need. ST. MAX CLIMATE SURVEY Love St. Max? Wish that something could be improved? Take the 2018 Climate Survey at www.saint-max.org/survey. LITURGY SCHEDULE MASS TIMES Saturday Vigil 4:30 PM Sunday 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM SEND US AN UPDATE Have you moved, or do you have a new phone Monday-Saturday 8:30 AM number or new email address? Please contact the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE office at 513.777.4322 ext. 101 or Saturdays after 8:30 AM Mass & 3:00-4:00 PM cgroh@saint-max.org to give us an update! Thursdays after 8:30 AM Mass & 6:00-6:45 PM A group at St. Max is defining what it means to be a good neighbor and reach out! West Liberty Outreach is a group of men and women that bring a Catholic presence to rural Kentucky. WLO works with the Glenmary Sisters in the West Liberty area and organizes two mission trips per year to complete home improvement projects. This group has been active at St. Max Parish for over twelve years and members like Lisa Schafer and Nancy Prince are grateful for the opportunity to help others. WLO encourages people with all or no skills to join and strongly encourages couples to become involved. It strengthens relationships, four-year member Nancy says. She and her husband, John, joined WLO when they were travelling for work a lot and needed time to reconnect. The three day mission starts on Friday with a work day followed by a prayer service and potluck. Day two, continues the work project and ends with pizza and fellowship. Day three starts with Mass and tying up loose ends. Some of the home improvement projects have been simple. The addition of a wheelchair ramp enabled one West Liberty neighbor to get to doctor visits, church and spend time outside in his garden. The group follows best practice guidelines to ensure that the improvements they do are structurally sound. Another project involved the Continues On Page 5 West Liberty Outreach volunteers work to help stabilize a wrap-around porch for a couple in need. When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers so many caring people in this world. from The World According to Mister Rogers

A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR A MEAL AND A PRAYER MINISTRY FR. MAXMILIAN KOLBE ANOTHER CENTENARY AND A LIFELONG WITNESS GIVING BACK TO OUR PRIESTS So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. My dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, Having celebrated the 100th anniversary of his founding of the Militia Immaculata last October, this month we remember two other 100th anniversaries in the life of our patron saint. On Saturday, April 28, 1918, Conventual Franciscan Friar Maximilian Kolbe was ordained a priest in Rome, and then celebrated his First Mass (also in Rome) the following day, Sunday, April 29, 1918. Thus, this year, to commemorate this double anniversary of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe we will be celebrating our spring large group First Communions the weekend of April 28-29, 2018 for those families who have chosen that option. Most of us know the story of our patron saint most especially the circumstances of his martyrdom at Auschwitz on August 14, 1941. Yet I sometimes think that we forget to take the 30,000 foot view of his life. Fr. Kolbe s death, certainly an act of hallowed heroism, was perhaps not as sudden or last-minute as it seems. Fr. Kolbe s whole life was a preparation for his death only a lifetime of holiness and concern for others could poise a man to act as he did, volunteering to die by taking the place of a condemned husband and father. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe s passion in life was to bring the whole world closer to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, his beloved Immaculata, was his lifelong inspiration. Having founded the Militia Immaculata in 1917 (whose purpose was to fight evil with the witness of the good life through prayer, work, and suffering) he dreamed of and then founded the Knight of the Immaculata, a religious magazine under Mary s protection to preach the Good News to all nations. For the work of publication he established a City of the Immaculata, Niepokalanow in Poland which housed 700 of his Franciscan brothers and later founded another such city in Nagasaki, Japan. Both the Militia Immaculata and the magazine 2 ultimately reached the one-million mark in members and subscribers! Thus, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe is considered one of the patron saints of evangelization. Thus, as we honor him as our patron, we, too, as individuals and as a parish must be about the work of evangelization both in witnessing an openness for ourselves to continue on our journeys of faith as well as in our resolve to share our faith with those who do not know the Lord Jesus. For those who are regularly involved in the life of the parish, I encourage you to continue to take one more step in your faith journey by exploring some aspect of parish life that perhaps you have not experienced for a while. For example, if you are involved in liturgical ministries, when was the last time you took advantage of an adult education opportunity? For those who due to circumstance or choice have not been regularly involved in the life of the parish, I encourage you to take one more step in your faith journey by choosing one aspect of parish life prayer, education, service or social and giving it a try. And for everyone, don t be afraid to simply talk about our faith with someone you know who doesn t know about Jesus at all. Some are afraid to do this because they feel inadequate or no knowledgeable enough. All we need to do is simply tell others about where you are in your relationship with Jesus that is the best witness any of us can give to those who do not know the Lord. As we celebrate these great fifty days of Eastertide, perhaps such thoughts of evangelization taking just one more step to bring ourselves and others closer to God might permeate our prayer and our actions as we remember the life and witness of our patron saint. And don t forget, like St. Maximilian Kolbe, look to the Blessed Virgin Mary for guidance and motivation. A blessed Easter season to you and your families God bless one and all! Fr. Geoff New this year, we are earmarking the funds we receive from Kroger Rewards to provide childcare at no cost to our parishioners during certain events, meetings and more! We are excited to offer this great service for free to our families with young children! The no-charge childcare at St. Max has been such a blessing for my family. Recently, my husband Andy and I enjoyed the Knights of Columbus Valentine s Dinner as a couple. We have also been able to participate in many Marriage Enrichment events which have helped strengthen our marriage. Our three boys enjoy all the activities planned by the wonderful childcare providers. We are so grateful for this ministry at St. Max! -Teresa Long The Kroger Community Rewards Program is so easy. All you need is a Kroger Plus card. Once you ve designated St. Max as your charity of choice, St. Max automatically starts earning money! Visit kroger.com to enroll! Reading the passage from Paul s first letter to the Corinthians, one tends to think of those who give of themselves in the name of God, or one might think of food and drink. Maybe Paul was thinking of the members of the Meal and a Prayer Ministry at St. Max who combine food and prayer for the glory of God and the delight of our priests! The Meal and a Prayer Ministry started over 22 years ago to provide a weekly meal for the priests serving St. Max. Ministry chairperson, Lori Lutz, remembers delivering food to Fr. Porter to the back door of the rectory and today she leads a group of over twenty who cook for our priests on a weekly, monthly or occasional basis. Members simply log in to an online sign up and choose a day or days to deliver the meals, which are currently delivered every Tuesday to the three priests residing at the rectory. Lori says she has been devoted to this ministry because, The priesthood is so beautiful and important. Everyone wants to be cared for and the priests are caring for so many, it s wonderful to give some care back to them. Over the years, Lori has learned what each priest s likes and dislikes are but says that they are not very particular. I choose meals like meat/potato/veggies that are easy to transport. They do not need to be fancy or complicated, just simple. Providing meals is just one way that Lori shows her appreciation. St. Paul said not to neglect hospitality. I learned from my parents that hospitality is important. Over the years, all of the members of the Lutz family have assisted in meal preparation and continuing the tradition of hospitality. They have shared many dinners at home and holiday meals with the priests of St. Max, making sure no one spends a holiday alone. This building of fellowship has helped the Lutz family in numerous ways over the years. It is a real blessing having the priests sit beside us as we go through various struggles. We appreciate them so much, Lori says. In addition to preparing the meal, volunteers are encouraged to say a decade of the rosary or another prayer of their choice for priests and religious vocations as meals are being prepared. Showing glory to God comes in all shapes and sizes, even in meat and potatoes! To sign up to become part of this ministry to provide a meal to our priests email Lori at MealAndAPrayer@saint-max.org. Summer months are especially in need. 7

OUR FAITH ALIVE: LIVING WATERS MINISTRY PREPARING TO HEAR THE GOSPELS The Church has always venerated the divine scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God s Word and Christ s Body. Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation), 18 November 1965, #21 Rain Praise Band singing at our annual parish picnic at Neiderman Farm 1 Peter Chapter 1 says, Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy. We as Christians are called to be holy and although this calling can be difficult, God didn t leave us unaided. He gave us many gifts to help us on our journey to holiness. That is what the Living Waters Ministry here at St. Max aims to do. Steve Conner, who leads the ministry with his wife, Elizabeth, says, Living Waters focuses on that personal call to holiness and assisting our brothers and sisters in that call. The Conners got involved in the Living Waters Ministry when they first moved to Liberty Township. Steve had just begun to get involved in the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church when he and his family were living in Houston. Then a job transfer brought them to Cincinnati. Steve tells the story of his family s decision when trying to find a house in the area. They had narrowed the search to a few suburbs, but one Sunday, while visiting St. Max, he saw a Living Waters Life in the Spirit seminar sign and they made their choice that day. God led Steve to that Life in the Spirt seminar. My faith was being challenged by non-catholics, says Conner, So I started digging into my faith, but I was struggling with what I was reading in the new testament. I didn t understand why the Holy Spirit was so active in those days, and yet today I was not seeing it. My big question was, Why am I not seeing my faith alive? For Steve, the Life in the Spirit seminar and the Living Waters Ministry renewed his knowledge of God working in his life. When I dug into it I realized it had a lot more to do with me and my blindness to God moving in my life. Steve concluded. After attending a Life in the Spirit seminar and getting involved with Living Waters, Steve found himself with a greater understanding and love of his faith. Going through that helped me fall in love with the faith that I was born with and taken for granted my whole life, he explains. Although a Life in the Spirit seminar has not been hosted here at St. Max in a few years, Living Waters has offered different options for parishioners to deepen their faith and grow in holiness. On the first and third Sunday of every month they host a Praise and Worship night. Also, on months where there is a 5th Sunday they host a healing service. Living Waters has their very own praise band called Rain that leads people in praise not only at St. Max but throughout the Cincinnati area. The Rain Praise Band leads the praise and worship session twice a month. People of the parish come together on these nights to praise God in song. Sunday, April 8 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY) John 20:19-31 WHAT IS THE 1% CHALLENGE? 1% OF YOUR DAY is 14 min and 24 sec. JUST 1% OF YOUR DAY given to God in focused prayer will change your life. We would like to challenge you to spend just 1% (lets round up to 15 min) OF YOUR DAY EVERY DAY PRAYING with Scripture through a Catholic tradition called lectio divina TIP OF THE MONTH The healing services that happen on the fifth Sundays offer a safe space for people to bring their needs to God and have other members of our faith community pray with and for them. Sometimes things including lack of forgiveness, doubt, grief and even physical ailments separate us from a closer relationship with God and these events seek to help bring God s healing grace into the lives of those who gather. If you are having trouble finding a word or phrase that stands out to you, focus on the nouns and verbs in the passage. We are all on a journey to holiness and the Living Waters Ministry is just one resource here at St. Max to help you on your journey. Consider joining them for one of their praise and worship nights or healing services. They want to support and pray for all of us as we strive to deepen our relationship with God and grow deeper in holiness. Text 1percent to 42828 Want To Receive The 1% Challenge Daily Email With Suggested Reading? More info on the 1% Challenge can be found on our website at saint-max.org/takethechallenge To learn more about Living Waters contact Steve Conner, LivingWaters@saint-max.org or visit www.saint-max.org/livingwaters 6 Hiding in fear behind locked doors on that first day of the week after Jesus crucifixion, the Risen Lord appears to His disciples and says, Peace be with you, transforming their fear into joy. And just as God breathed new life into Adam at the beginning of creation, Jesus breathes new life into them granting the authority to forgive sins. Sunday, April 15 THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Luke 24:34-48 The two disciples whom Jesus had accompanied on their journey to Emmaus (and to whom He revealed Himself in the Scriptures and in the breaking of the bread) are quick to tell others of their experience with the Risen Lord, yet when He appears to them again they are still incredulous. Sunday, April 22 FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER John 10:11-18 Founded in the failed leadership of Israel in the Old Testament when God promised to lead His people, Jesus is presented as the one Who will lead and meet the needs of His flock. Jesus is not just a good shepherd but The Good Shepherd. Sunday, April 29 FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER John 15:1-8 This passage contains Jesus final I AM saying in John s gospel. God the Father is the vine grower, Jesus is the true vine and the branches are the community of Jesus followers. Bearing fruit (i.e. doing the work of love) is the trademark of the faithful in glorifying God. 3

VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER: During Eastertide we pray that we may effectively witness our Lord s words to Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) THE SEJAS FAMILY Encouraging your children to try new things can sometimes be challenging. New foods, new styles of clothing and new places to visit can take some nudging before the inevitable happens they like it! Amy Sejas decided to take her children to a local nursing home to pray the rosary after being nudged by her own mother to try something new. She was nervous about the kid s reactions but with a gentle nudge the inevitable happened they loved it! One resident of the nursing home has, in her own way, provided the Sejas family with a sort of motto. Amy says, We were saying the rosary and this lady kept nodding her head and repeating, This is good, this is good, which we still say all the time with a smile on our face. The Sejas family is one to be admired and emulated. David and Amy, married for 19 years and their three children, Anna(16), Matthew(14), and Brad(11) believe the key to community is volunteering. The family is like many families, running kids to school (their kids are in 3 different schools) and activities (altar serving, Eucharistic minister, lacrosse, track, soccer, basketball) but they have made a commitment to honoring Christ as a family. Amy and David, both Ohio natives, moved to the area in 2005 and heard about St. Max from Amy s sister and soon found ways to become active in the St. Max parish community. Volunteering makes our community smaller and less like a big church, David says. Amy continues We have met so many people through the different ministries at St. Max that they have become family. We know their struggles and they know ours and this helps all of us to lend support where it is needed. For the last 10 years, the Sejas family has volunteered with RASKALS. This outreach ministry at St. Max (Random Acts of Simple Kindness Affecting Local Seniors) is a volunteer effort to help local seniors. Twice a year, typically every spring and fall, volunteers help older adults by doing outdoor chores such as raking leaves, trimming shrubs, washing windows and cleaning up yards. When we started with RASKALS, our son Brad was pretty young, but we kept him occupied with a snack and a movie, and as the kids grew older they continued helping. Involving their children in the ministries is very important to this family. The kids help their parents when serving the homeless with the Tender Mercies and CHOSEN ministries. The children especially like CHOSEN because they have been able to serve and share 4 PRAYER FOR EVANGELIZATION The Sejas family: David and Amy and children, Anna (16), Matthew (14), and Brad (11) a meal with those struggling with homelessness. They learn of the struggles these people are facing, Amy says. Kids don t overthink, David says, We should all have faith like a child. When visiting the nursing home, Amy believes that the children could see the joy they brought with their visits on the faces of the residents. Even though they have a lot of family in the area (Amy s mom is one of fourteen kids) the nursing home residents became like bonus grandparents. One night a week, the Sejas family celebrates one of their most important family traditions, attending Eucharistic Adoration. They are thrilled that St. Max offers the opportunity for one hour of reflection for their family. At first we thought, how are we going to fill a whole hour and keep the kids occupied? We brought quiet toys and books to keep them entertained, but now that they are older, they enjoy the hour of quiet and pray with us, Amy says. They start the time with a quick dinner at a local deli then on to adoration. Amy adds, Every week now, after adoration, our children tell us, Thank you for bringing us to adoration. The Sejas family has found the key to knowing the parish is volunteering with the ministries offered at St. Max. We literally have to drag the kids away after Mass because they have formed so many friendships through the events and ministries, Amy says. David adds, Volunteering makes the church your family. This is good, this is good! Merciful God, you made our patron St. Maximilian Kolbe one of the foremost Catholic evangelists of the difficult twentieth century. Through the Militia Immaculata movement which he founded, the truths of the Immaculate Conception and your merciful plan for us are spread and implanted in hearts, moving us to conversion in faith and hope, to more perfect obedience and union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to an all-embracing observance of the New Covenant. Through Mary s intercession, give us the strength and grace to follow his example to effectively evangelize by our words and witness so that all of humanity every person, family, society and culture of our time and of all time to come may be brought to you and secure the reward of everlasting life. Amen. West Liberty Outreach volunteers working hard on home improvement projects in rural Kentucky. West Liberty Outreach, Continued from Page 1 stabilization of a wrap-around porch for a couple in need. This particular couple used to be very active in helping others in the community but were now finding themselves in need of a good neighbor. They were so grateful for our work and treated us to a homemade Cajun meal. They were so happy and despite having little to no money, still found a way to thank us, Lisa says. Lisa and Nancy reflected on a particular weekend mission when helping a family whose teen daughter was celebrating a birthday. We went to town and bought her a cake and a new wallet. She was so grateful for the celebration and the wallet! The WLO group has learned that despite the poor surroundings of the people in eastern Kentucky, the families are always together. One project involved the refurbishment of an old house into a church/ community center. The WLO group was involved in fixing windows and painting the outside of the building. WLO member, John Prince, took on the task of building a cross for the new church. He worked on the cross at home before he travelled on the mission trip. His wife, Nancy, shares that building the cross is one of his favorite memories. Our neighbors would stop by and ask what he was building and he got to share the meaning behind the cross, WLO and our Kentucky neighbors. In addition to the two mission trips, WLO organizes two clothing drives to collect items to support the Glenmary Outreach Center. These collections occur before the mission trips in May and September/October (watch for a St. Max bulletin announcement for collection dates). One trip is all you need to be involved, Lisa and Nancy say. To become involved, contact westliberty@saint-max.org and find out about their next trip. 5

OUR FAITH ALIVE: LIVING WATERS MINISTRY PREPARING TO HEAR THE GOSPELS The Church has always venerated the divine scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God s Word and Christ s Body. Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation), 18 November 1965, #21 Rain Praise Band singing at our annual parish picnic at Neiderman Farm 1 Peter Chapter 1 says, Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy. We as Christians are called to be holy and although this calling can be difficult, God didn t leave us unaided. He gave us many gifts to help us on our journey to holiness. That is what the Living Waters Ministry here at St. Max aims to do. Steve Conner, who leads the ministry with his wife, Elizabeth, says, Living Waters focuses on that personal call to holiness and assisting our brothers and sisters in that call. The Conners got involved in the Living Waters Ministry when they first moved to Liberty Township. Steve had just begun to get involved in the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church when he and his family were living in Houston. Then a job transfer brought them to Cincinnati. Steve tells the story of his family s decision when trying to find a house in the area. They had narrowed the search to a few suburbs, but one Sunday, while visiting St. Max, he saw a Living Waters Life in the Spirit seminar sign and they made their choice that day. God led Steve to that Life in the Spirt seminar. My faith was being challenged by non-catholics, says Conner, So I started digging into my faith, but I was struggling with what I was reading in the new testament. I didn t understand why the Holy Spirit was so active in those days, and yet today I was not seeing it. My big question was, Why am I not seeing my faith alive? For Steve, the Life in the Spirit seminar and the Living Waters Ministry renewed his knowledge of God working in his life. When I dug into it I realized it had a lot more to do with me and my blindness to God moving in my life. Steve concluded. After attending a Life in the Spirit seminar and getting involved with Living Waters, Steve found himself with a greater understanding and love of his faith. Going through that helped me fall in love with the faith that I was born with and taken for granted my whole life, he explains. Although a Life in the Spirit seminar has not been hosted here at St. Max in a few years, Living Waters has offered different options for parishioners to deepen their faith and grow in holiness. On the first and third Sunday of every month they host a Praise and Worship night. Also, on months where there is a 5th Sunday they host a healing service. Living Waters has their very own praise band called Rain that leads people in praise not only at St. Max but throughout the Cincinnati area. The Rain Praise Band leads the praise and worship session twice a month. People of the parish come together on these nights to praise God in song. Sunday, April 8 SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY) John 20:19-31 WHAT IS THE 1% CHALLENGE? 1% OF YOUR DAY is 14 min and 24 sec. JUST 1% OF YOUR DAY given to God in focused prayer will change your life. We would like to challenge you to spend just 1% (lets round up to 15 min) OF YOUR DAY EVERY DAY PRAYING with Scripture through a Catholic tradition called lectio divina TIP OF THE MONTH The healing services that happen on the fifth Sundays offer a safe space for people to bring their needs to God and have other members of our faith community pray with and for them. Sometimes things including lack of forgiveness, doubt, grief and even physical ailments separate us from a closer relationship with God and these events seek to help bring God s healing grace into the lives of those who gather. If you are having trouble finding a word or phrase that stands out to you, focus on the nouns and verbs in the passage. We are all on a journey to holiness and the Living Waters Ministry is just one resource here at St. Max to help you on your journey. Consider joining them for one of their praise and worship nights or healing services. They want to support and pray for all of us as we strive to deepen our relationship with God and grow deeper in holiness. Text 1percent to 42828 Want To Receive The 1% Challenge Daily Email With Suggested Reading? More info on the 1% Challenge can be found on our website at saint-max.org/takethechallenge To learn more about Living Waters contact Steve Conner, LivingWaters@saint-max.org or visit www.saint-max.org/livingwaters. 6 Hiding in fear behind locked doors on that first day of the week after Jesus crucifixion, the Risen Lord appears to His disciples and says, Peace be with you, transforming their fear into joy. And just as God breathed new life into Adam at the beginning of creation, Jesus breathes new life into them granting the authority to forgive sins. Sunday, April 15 THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Luke 24:34-48 The two disciples whom Jesus had accompanied on their journey to Emmaus (and to whom He revealed Himself in the Scriptures and in the breaking of the bread) are quick to tell others of their experience with the Risen Lord, yet when He appears to them again they are still incredulous. Sunday, April 22 FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER John 10:11-18 Founded in the failed leadership of Israel in the Old Testament when God promised to lead His people, Jesus is presented as the one Who will lead and meet the needs of His flock. Jesus is not just a good shepherd but The Good Shepherd. Sunday, April 29 FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER John 15:1-8 This passage contains Jesus final I AM saying in John s gospel. God the Father is the vine grower, Jesus is the true vine and the branches are the community of Jesus followers. Bearing fruit (i.e. doing the work of love) is the trademark of the faithful in glorifying God. 3