Catholic News Around Indiana
Compiled by Brandon A. Evans
Diocese of Evansville
Sister Anna Marie: The Night Nurse 'angel'
By Greg Eckerle (Special To The Message)
Dianne LeDuc’s life changed forever when she woke up in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Huntingburg, Ind., more than 40 years ago and looked up into the eyes of Benedictine Sister Anna Marie Brosmer.
LeDuc was a freshman student from Alabama at Marian Heights Academy in Ferdinand when she became very sick and was rushed to the hospital.
“When I woke up and looked up, there was this angel in white over me with beautiful blue eyes,” LeDuc said. “It was Sister Anna Marie (she wore an all-white habit at the time). She took care of me for a month. I remember her flitting around and always being so positive and cheery. I was 14, scared, and homesick. She was just so kind; I knew I was going to be OK. She exuded from her being that I was going to be all right, and that God was with me, and she was taking care of me. I was so afraid and she was my port in the storm.
“I just admired her and what she did for me, in her nursing profession as well as in her spiritual life,” LeDuc added. She’s the reason I’m a nurse now – because of her generous, loving care. I wanted to be like Sister Anna Marie. I wanted to have her knowledge, I wanted to have her love of the job, her dedication.”
Now 55, LeDuc is the nurse practice manager for Allergy Partners of Northern Virginia. She reconnected with Sister Anna Marie about a year ago, attending retreats at Ferdinand’s Monastery Immaculate Conception, and is planning to become a Ferdinand Oblate. So she still sees Sister Anna Marie in action as a night nurse at Hildegard Health Center in the monastery.
“I see how hard she works,” LeDuc said. “I see she’s always willing to take care of the sisters in the infirmary, even beyond what her job hours call for. She did the same for me. There are people that stand out in your life as heroes – she has always been mine.
“She’s still a go-getter. I know I can’t keep up with her when I go to the monastery. She’s 72, and I’ve never seen such an energizer bunny in my life. She’s just go, go, go.”
She endearingly calls Sister Anna Marie “my Florence Nightingale of the night,” comparing her dedication to the 19th century heroine who made the rounds of wounded soldiers at night during the Crimean War and is often called the founder of modern nursing.
Sister Anna Marie spent 30 years in healthcare ministry in Huntingburg. She then moved to the monastery infirmary in 1989. For the past 10 years, she has worked most often with Christine Kelley, a certified nursing assistant who, eerily like LeDuc, describes Sister Anna Marie as a “walking angel, she’s so kind to everybody.”
Kelley points to the close relationship that Sister Anna Marie has with every Hildegard patient because they are all Benedictine sisters she has known for years.
“She knows them better than any of us,” Kelley said, so she is usually able to make a connection, even if they have dementia.
“She’s just a very upbeat, very loving person. And being a Benedictine sister allows her to use her personality and her traits in a more positive way. She’s there for anybody who asks. She just tries to lighten everybody’s load.”
Photo caption: Benedictine Sister Anna Marie Brosmer takes the blood pressure of Sister Mary Victor Kercher in the Hildegard Health Center at Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand.
(For news from the Diocese of Evansville, log on to the website of The Message at www.themessageonline.org)
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
No news briefs are available this week
(For news from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, log on to the website of Today’s Catholic at www.todayscatholicnews.org)
Diocese of Gary
Chapel dedication ‘celebrates fact that Christ is with us’
By Steve Euvino
EAST CHICAGO—The sign outside a former meeting room at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish bears this message: “Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of God.”
That room is now the Chapel of the Incarnation, a perpetual adoration chapel that Bishop Donald J. Hying blessed on Dec. 24.
“You did a beautiful job,” Bishop Hying told Father Carlos Martinez, noting the significance of the blessing on La Noche Buena (the Good Night) – the birth of Jesus.
Celebrating the evening Mass for the Vigil of Christmas prior to the chapel blessing, the bishop called this a “perfect night,” combining the celebration of the Eucharist and the dedication ceremony.
“For us, the Eucharist brings together everything about Jesus and our faith,” Bishop Hying said.
The chapel project was started three months ago, Father Martinez said. The worship area is accessible from the parish office or from the outdoors. The main wall is made of stone and features a monstrance in the shape of the Blessed Mother, with the Blessed Sacrament inside her womb. A water fountain will also be part of the chapel’s main wall. A Nativity scene is located across the hallway from the chapel and will be a permanent display.
Just as Jesus came more than 2,000 years ago and remains through the Eucharist, Bishop Hying commented on the new chapel, “That same Jesus will be here always. That same Jesus that gave us the Eucharist and died on the cross lives in East Chicago. What a gift that is. We celebrate tonight the fact that Christ is with us.”
Following Mass, Bishop Hying processed with the Blessed Sacrament around the church, with rose petals lining the floor and white handkerchiefs waving as the procession made its way to the new chapel.
The bishop congratulated the faith community of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the flourishing of the parish. “Each one of you brings Christ, takes Christ out to the world,” he said.
Alternating English and Spanish, Bishop Hying said, “Somos el pueblo de Cristo (we are the people of Christ). Christ is here in a new manner. For me, this is a noche de gran alegría y honor (night of great joy and honor).”
In a world of sadness and violence, the bishop continued, “The Light [of Christ] is brighter this evening in Our Lady of Guadalupe. I thank you for your witness of faith.”
Bishop Hying blessed some of the 360 “adoradores” (adorers) who have committed to praying 24/7 in the chapel.
Photo caption: Bishop Donald J. Hying incenses the new perpetual adoration chapel at Our Lady of Guadalupe in East Chicago on Dec. 24. (Steve Euvino photo)
(For news from the Diocese of Gary, log on to the website of the Northwest Indiana Catholic at www.nwicatholic.com)
Diocese of Lafayette
It’s priests vs. seminarians in a spirited game of basketball: First ‘Cassock Classic’ a big winner
By Caroline B. Mooney
NOBLESVILLE — Priests and seminarians of the Lafayette diocese tipped off before a crowd of nearly 950 enthusiastic fans in the first annual “Cassock Classic” basketball game held on Jan. 3 at St. Theodore Guerin High School. The event was organized by the Frassati Society.
“Remember this is the Year of Mercy,” said Father Richard Doerr, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carmel, who served as announcer — and was unabashedly biased toward the priests. He booed and gasped, added his personal commentary on many plays, and in the fourth quarter said that all the priests’ baskets were worth five points each. It wasn’t enough.
The final score was seminarians 46, priests 41. Seminarian Elliot Zak led the game scoring with 11 points, while Father Brian Dudzinski had the most points for the priests with nine.
The event was organized by Luis Paiz, director of the Frassati Society.
“We had a crowd we didn’t expect – it was amazing, a beautiful first event,” he said. “I had heard of a similar event in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend that sounded like a good idea. I wanted to put together a fundraiser with three goals: to support the Frassati Society, to highlight our priests and seminarians; and to encourage young adults to get in involved in their parish communities.”
The Frassati Society, established in 1996, is a fellowship and community service group for 18- to 35-year olds in the diocese. The group is based on the life and teachings of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who demonstrated a special love for God through prayer and service to the poor.
“This is a beautiful event to set up for our young adult ministry but even more than that I hope our communities can enjoy the gift of being together,” said Rebecca Paiz, who helped organize the event. “There’s so much to celebrate here – our families, young adults and vocations. We are very blessed to have so many faithful seminarians and priests in our diocese. Then to just come and have fun together is exciting.”
Photo caption: Priests and seminarians of the Lafayette diocese get set for the jump ball to start the first annual “Cassock Classic” basketball game. A crowd of nearly 950 fans turned out for the Jan. 3 event, organized by the Frassati Society. (Photo by Bob Nichols)
Author’s journey of faith reflected in tale of ‘Aletheian Journeys’
By Caroline B. Mooney
CARMEL — “The Aletheian Journeys: The Arrow Bringer” — an adventure and fantasy allegory about salvation, friendship, love and sacrifice — is the first novel by Lisa Mayer, a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish.
“I wrote this book because I want to spread Jesus’ message of mercy and love,” she said. “I hope to share what I have learned in my 10 short years of really loving Jesus. Because, within these pages, is my story of finding God. And I hope that it can help someone else find him.”
The new book revolves around the protagonist Evangeline, who has learned she has leukemia. Reeling from the diagnosis, she finds herself in Aletheia — a world she knows from a lifetime of dreams. Now it has become real and a mysterious being called the Arrow Bringer has brought the news that it is up to Evangeline to help save Aletheia from a great evil. She says, “No,” and condemns an innocent world to death.
A few days later, she learns the consequences of her actions led to Shawn Lawrence, the closest thing she has to a friend, disappearing into Aletheia. A king has betrayed his people; and his son has inherited a fallen kingdom. Her new friends in this land need to find hope amidst untold danger.
Evangeline has to make a decision while embarking upon a mission to save the world she betrayed.
“In 2005, I went to see ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ movie, and it was one of the most beautiful stories I had ever heard,” she said. “After that, I asked for C.S. Lewis’ entire Narnia series for Christmas and fell in love with it. For the next five years, I dreamed of journeying to Narnia.
“I am most inspired by C.S. Lewis. I relate a lot to him,” Mayer said. “He was an atheist who found Jesus and it changed his life. I was never an atheist, but I lived a long time without really knowing or loving God. My book was inspired not only by Narnia, but by the way C.S. Lewis reached out to people to bring Jesus to them. I hope to always do that as well.”
In 2010, she decided to write an allegory inspired by Narnia, and in 2012, actually began writing the storyline.
“The story changed a few more times, but every time it did it was for the better,” Mayer said. “The more I prayed, the more I felt the Holy Spirit working in me. I learned that I’m a far better writer on my worst day with God, than I am on my best day without him.
“Even if I don’t change the world with this book, I hope to at least change one person’s world,” she said. “The message of the Gospel is within the pages, but so is an adventure, and a story about self-sacrifice, hope, friendship and salvation. I invite everyone to journey with me into Aletheia.”
The book is available on Createspace and Amazon for $10.58 and Amazon Kindle for $9.99. For updates, go to the Arrow Bringer’s official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thealetheianjourneys or the official blog page http://thealetheianjourneys.weebly.com.
(For news from the Diocese of Lafayette, log on to the website of The Catholic Moment at www.thecatholicmoment.org)