MARCH 2016

In This Issue

Grandma’s Tithe

A Struggle for Faith in

Mexico

Snowflakes and

Honeysuckle

HUMILITAS SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH

5024 N. GROVE

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 73122

(405) 789-2595

Website: www.stcharlesokc.org

Then the other disciple

also went in, the one who

had arrived at the tomb

first, and he saw and

believed. For they did not

yet understand the

Scripture that He had to

rise from the dead. John 20:9

Gospel

Easter Sunday

The Resurrection

of the

Lord

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The holy season of Lent has begun. Millions of Christians throughout the world received ashes on

Ash Wednesday. Some of us will give up something for Lent: or perhaps practice almsgiving.

Others may do something extra such as make a special sacrifice. Some of us will try to make a

commitment to come to daily Mass more often or attend Stations of the Cross of Fridays. On

Fridays we abstaining from eating meat and perhaps some might pick a few extra days to fast as

well.

Whether we make small sacrifices or big ones, hopefully we will each experience some change

within ourselves. Lent is a journey of faith, during which we take a closer look at ourselves. We

examine our hearts and minds and draw ourselves ultimately closer to Christ.

Lent originated in the early days of the Church. The ashes we received on Ash Wednesday,

provide us with a reminder that we are both physically and spiritually connected to Christ. On our

Lenten journey, we follow in the footsteps of Christ, where he was led by the Spirit into the

unpleasant place of rocks, sand and cacti for forty days and forty nights. He fasted and was

ultimately tempted and tested by the devil. He grew hungry and tired. We too are tempted and

tested by the things we hold onto. This special time is a time to let go of the things we hold onto

and make room for Christ. If you allow yourself to fully enter into the special season—if you

observe fasting, prayer and almsgiving—you will find within yourself a change of heart and a

sense of renewal.

As a community of faith, I invite you to make this Lenten season a special one. Because we have

entered The Year of Mercy, we can make this season of Lent special by accepting our Holy Father

Pope Francis’ invitation “to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. . .to

open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters. We can do

so when we recall how much God looked upon our own wounds and misery with untellable,

unlimited love and mercy.” (Misericordiae Vultus 10, 14, 15) When we strive with extra effort in

our prayer, fasting and giving, we will be blessed with God’s grace of compassion. This will

enable us to be compassionate toward our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

I invite you to consider a concrete reminder of Christ’s 40 days. Get yourself a cactus. It maybe as

a reminder of your Lenten journey into the desert and the hope of God’s promise. Look for one

with a small flower on it. Which perhaps serve as a sign of hope for you on your Lenten journey.

A simple reminder of the coming days of spring. May your season of Lent be filled with

abundance of graces. God Bless each of you.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Ruckel

Page 2

New Parishioners — January

Adriana Lopez Jose and Reyna Sanchez Jose and Heather Vitteri Marco Hernandez Frank Kirk Andres Limon Juan and Maria Vargas Mario and Ana Esparza Jesus and Alicia Velasco Jose and Delia Camarillo Alfredo Loera Juan and Cynthia Salazar Jesus and Angelica Serna Jorge and Elizabeth Munoz

Anniversaries — March

7 Hector and Judy Tudyk 35 12 Paul and Becky Southerland 33 16 Chet and Sue Bartlett 53 20 E.J. and Alma Natale 29 21 Mike and Paula Murphy 35

Baptisms — January

Kingston Pourroy Julisa Leal Julian Garcia Kevin Marquez Avani Hernandez Aayda Phillips Emma Clark Deaths — January

Mary Fife Beverly Holloway

When Irish eyes are smiling, They’re usually up to something!

Amaze your children on St. Patrick’s Day

add a drop of green food color to the bottom

of a cereal bowl or glass (without them

knowing) then add milk. . .St. Patrick has

been here because the milk will

suddenly be green! So an Irishman walks out of a bar. . . No, really it could happen!

Irish Shortbread 2 sticks (16 oz) butter, softened, extra for buttering pan 1/2 c sugar 1 cup flour 1/2 cup cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter a 9in x 13in baking dish. Place the butter and sugar in a food processor (or mixer) and blend until pale and fluffy.

Add the sifted flour and cornstarch and blend the mixture briefly again, just until thoroughly combined. Place the mixture into the prepared baking tin and, using floured hands, press down so it is level all over.

Pierce all over with a fork (do this carefully, so that you do not disturb the level surface) and then bake for 50 to 60 minutes. What you are looking for is a uniform pale golden color all over. Do not allow it to become golden brown. Remove the shortbread from the oven and dredge with sugar, then cut into squares. Cool for 5 minutes or so, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is great with a good cup of hot tea!

Weddings — January

Ernesto Gonzales and Elizabeth Reyes

Parish Life

Page 3

Sacred family tales: We would love to share with Humilitas readers your favorite

family stories in a series about church-going, religious education, or sacred times in

general. If you have a funny or touching spiritually-oriented story about you or your

family, please share it by e-mailing to tag8894me@cox.net or by calling Monica

Knudsen at 431-9782.

Grandma’s Tithe

Like so many others, the Longen family was very poor during the Great Depression. They lived in the small town of

Gregory, South Dakota in the 1930s and Jacob Longen, my grandfather, supported his family, consisting of wife Mary

and eight children, by working as a butter maker in the town’s creamery. During the hard times, the creamery closed

down and Jacob was forced to take odd jobs like cutting ice for ice boxes (early refrigerators) and shocking (stacking)

wheat.

The family of ten had $8 to live on each week and my grandmother Mary kept it in a sugar bowl in their kitchen. From

that $8, they gave $2 to the church, a tithe of 25%! One day, Grandma went to the sugar bowl and found only $2. Six

dollars was missing. The most mischievous kid in the family, my Uncle Bert, was accused of stealing it. Accusations

and arguments flew back and forth. The mystery was not solved.

When Sunday morning came and the family trooped off to church. In those days, the priest in this little town announced

each household’s weekly donation from the pulpit. (Fathers Tim, how long could you get away with that?) No doubt the

priest may have hoped that adding peer pressure would help the Holy Spirit keep the church afloat during the depths of

the Depression.

Then the priest came to our name and puffed up with pride. A bit breathlessly he said, “. . . and the Longen family

gave $6!” Mystery solved! Eighty years later, we still don’t know how she got her family’s finances so mixed up and

put $6 in the church envelop. However, Uncle Bert was instantly absolved as my grandmother sheepishly pulled her

1930s-era hat over her ears, slumped in the pew and tried not to be noticed.

—Monica Knudsen

Knock, Knock Who’s there?

Warren Warren who

Warren anything green today?

What do you get when you do the Irish jig at McDonalds? A Shamrock Shake!

One estimate suggests that there are

about 10,000 regular three-leaf clovers

for every lucky four-leaf clover.

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about five miles from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab. The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. Today, the castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens. The word blarney has come to mean clever or flattering talk.

Page 4

A Struggle for Faith in Mexico

Mexico, like Italy, seems synonymous with Catholic but revolution and political reform in that country did much to break that connection. For while Mexico is very much a Catholic country, the 20th Century was a trial for practicing Catholics.

Centuries of Spanish occupation (from 1500s) established the Roman Catholic Church as a dominant presence: affluent and influential as well as spiritual. Throughout the 1800s, movements toward independence sought to shake off European rule, and this would include the Church. Democratic-minded Benito Juarez, as president confiscated for the state all church property, except the churches where Mass was said. He also abolished monasteries; made civil marriage official; and outlawed the clergy and nuns from wearing habits in public. This 1860s secularization of the state would become part of the 1917 Constitution; however, a concerted anti-Catholic campaign would not begin until 1925 with President Plutarcho Calles.

Calles sought to rid Mexico of Roman Catholic presence. He attempted to establish a Mexican Catholic Church, a sect beholden to the state and not attached to Rome. For three years, from 1925-28, his administration waged a war on priests and by extension, their parishioners.

Throughout the country, priests were required to seek state approval to keep churches open. Any church built after 1917 was government property. In 1926, his police force closed one church, Sagrada Familia. He arrested the priest and hosed down thousands of women parishioners who stood in protest. When the women reorganized to march, police fired upon them and killed two. Pope Pius XI approved an order “that after July 31 [1926] . . . all religious services requiring the intervention of priest shall be suspended in all churches of the country” (qtd in Kandell 464*). To beat the deadline, of the last week in July, thousands stood in lines to be confirmed, married, and have babies baptized.

The violence begun at Sagrada Familia was only the beginning. The Viva Cristo Rey (Long live Christ the King) movement, called “Cristeros”, rose up. Activating people across the country and violently responding to Calles’ administration. For three years, these Catholic revolutionaries waged guerrilla warfare and naturally the government responded: over 7,000 people were killed.

The armed struggle concluded, in 1928, after the assassination of Former President Obregon by a Catholic zealot, Jose de Leon Toral. Finally, mediation between the government and Cristeros was brought in in the form of U.S. Catholic officials and the U.S. Ambassador.

Acceptance of openly practicing the faith took years to reestablish itself and it seems to have varied between states. In the 1930s, parishioners were still harassed going to and from church by a state sanctioned group called the Red Shirts. It would not be until 1991, that clergy and nuns were even permitted to wear habits in public.

*Kandell, Jonathan La Capital: The Biography of Mexico City. 1988

—Kathy Judge

You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind. —Irish Proverb

A Struggle for Faith in Mexico, Continued: An Interview with Francisca Nuñez Her Memories of this Difficult Time in Mexican History

How quickly did everyday or weekly practice of faith change?

The change wasn’t apparent every day in the beginning, but as the months went by, it became very apparent weekly and eventually yes, daily. There were shootings between the Cristeros and the government and vice a versa that became more frequent as the months passed by, and in certain towns eventually, you would see them or hear them every day. In the beginning it was more the government enforcing the constitution and laws under Calles, but when the Cristeros became organized, the battle was about equal on both sides. People were afraid to come out, in fear of getting shot at by mistake or on purpose. At first, Catholics thinking that it might be a temporary thing would keep practicing as if nothing was happening, but when they started seeing the reality of situation: They started attending church less and less, and stopped completely eventually. That does not mean all of them would stop practicing what they could at their houses privately, or would go out to a rural area to attend mass, of course taking a risk with themselves and or with their family. Going out to rural areas happened less and less as the tragedies increased. Some families were driven as far as changing their faith practices or not having any at all. Some families remained faithful and practiced only privately at home. That was the case of my family. My mom and my aunt told me that when the tragedy was so close to home, my father and mother would hide us in the basement or in a hidden room in the house, and we would read the Bible, get a little bit of catechism in from our parents and pray the Rosary.

What became dangerous to discuss or practice became secretive?

The first thing that became dangerous to do was to try and attend a Mass. There were some Masses still taking place, but you always took the risk of getting caught and killed. Then when the government actually started shutting down the physical buildings, it became dangerous to try and look for a secret place where Mass was being held. Eventually it became dangerous to be seen talking to a priest who would still wear their habits in public, to wear any sort of scapular or anything depicting you might rebelling against the government and even to display any sort of religious items outside and even inside your home.

What actions really didn't change even though they may have been outlawed?

The people with a lot of faith and a lot of courage still went out searching for Masses in secret places and wore and displayed religious items. I guess you could say these people were lucky to not have been caught. Strong Catholic families did continue to practice privately and secretly in their own home. —As told to Carmen Santos, Director of R.E. by her Mother

What do you get when you cross a frog and a bunny? A ribbit!

What do you call a line of rabbits walking backwards? A receding hareline!

What's the best way to catch a unique rabbit? Unique up on it!

How do you catch a tame rabbit?

Tame way, unique up on it!

Page 5

How do bunnies get from one vegetable garden to another? They take a taxi cabbage!

Why is it easy for Easter chicks to talk? Because talk is cheep!

MAY GOD GRANT YOU ALWAYS. . . A SUNBEAM TO WARM YOU, A MOONBEAM TO CHARM YOU, A SHELTERING ANGEL SO NOTHING CAN HARM YOU. LAUGHTER TO CHEER YOU. FAITHFUL FRIENDS NEAR YOU. AND WHENEVER YOU PRAY HEAVEN TO HEAR YOU.

Why are rabbits so lucky? They have four rabbit's feet?

Page 6

How many rabbits does it take to change a light bulb? Only one if he hops right to it!

Snowflakes and Honeysuckle

A lifetime ago, being Catholic was harder than it is today, especially before

churches were air-conditioned and rules for fasting before Communion

relaxed. Children fainting and fighting nausea from lack of food, or sitting in

churches without air-conditioning was not an uncommon experience. A strict

interpretation of the rules was also a cause for concern. At a recent Humilitas

editorial meeting, volunteers lovingly and humorously recalled their own or their

parents’ experiences that today make us smile in remembrance.

Before 1957, fasting before Communion was much like preparing for a medical

procedure: no food or drink after midnight (not even water). Monica Knudsen’s father,

Ed Longen turned 70 years old many years ago. His children contacted his classmates,

co-workers, family and friends for a “This Is Your Life” birthday greeting/scrapbook.

Half of his classmates wrote the same thing, “We would go to Mass on First Fridays and

hear a loud bong in the back of the church and there would be Ed passed out on the floor.” Dad didn’t think it was so

funny but we did.

Sue Bartlett had the opposite problem. For First Communion, the nuns provided their own dispensation for the 2nd

grade class to eat a breakfast so they wouldn’t faint. Sue was never a breakfast eater but forced down the food at

mother’s command. Unfortunately, at the worst possible time, breakfast came back up all over the little boy in front of

her.

Sue also remembers her mother lugging big cans of fruit cocktail to her class so kids could have a snack after their

school Mass. On the menu was a donut and bowl of fruit cocktail. She laughed to think about its effect on behavior.

“Of course, we were totally wired on all that sugar until lunch time.”

Catholic guilt put some long-ago children in a quandary. Kathy Judge said as a child, her father walked to church one

day, lifted his eyes to the sky and let some tempting snowflakes fall on his tongue. Oh no! He had broken the fast!

Kathy said it caused him a lot of anxiety, because he wasn’t sure he could then take communion. Margaret Phipps’

downfall was backyard honeysuckle. “Oh, Mom, I forgot!” was her reply after she snipped and sipped the nectar of the

flower and broke her fast.

Cradle Catholics “of a certain age,” we were certain things would never change. At the risk of sounding like Grandpa’s

“back in my day” lecture, we are thankful that the fasting rule went from three hours in 1957 to one hour after Vatican

II in 1964. By the time we drive to church today and sit in Mass 45 minutes or so, our fasting obligation has been met

and the churches are nice and cool as well. Jesus was fond of children and hopefully He too is happy that they aren’t

fainting, overstimulated, or losing their breakfast on His behalf anymore.

—Monica Knudsen

Page 7

How did the frozen chicken cross the road? In a shopping bag!

Why did the chicken cross the beach? To get to the other tide!

Why did the frog cross the road? He was following the chicken!

Why did the rooster cross the road? The chicken was sick.

Knock, knock Who's there? Bach Bach who?

Bach, Bach I'm a chicken.

MARCH DATES OF INTEREST

3 St. Katharine Drexel 4 St. Casimir

6 Fourth Sunday of Lent 7 Ss. Perpetual and Felicity

8 St. John of God 9 St. Frances of Rome

Forty Holy Martyrs 13 Fifth Sunday of Lent

15 St. Louise de Marillac 17 St. Patrick 18 St. Cyril of Jerusalem

19 St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary 20 Palm Sunday

Vernal equinox First Day of Spring 23 St. Turibio de Mogrovejo

Anniversary of the death of Oscar Arnulfo Romero 24 Holy Thursday

25 Good Friday Joseph of Arimathea

26 Holy Saturday 27 Easter

We submit this issue with thanks to God and humility, your Newsletter Team for this month: Sue Bartlett, Florence Botchlet, Greg Brunsman, Kathy Judge, Monica Knudsen, Andrea McCoy, Margaret Phipps, Charlene Smith.

May neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you! —Irish Toast

Page 8

Knock, Knock! Who’s there? Chuck Chuck who?

Chuck-olate Bunny!

AN EASTER PRAYER

Of all of God's gifts

Easter shows us our fate

Forgiven we will rise

And pass through Heaven's gate

This Easter remember

The sacrifice of a Son

And through His resurrection

Eternal life we have won

This Easter I pray

That the love of God

Is resurrected

Reborn, renewed

Inside your heart

God Bless You!

—Anonymous