A Father's Forgiveness

Bud Welch. Photo courtesy Nebraskans
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. 

Currently Nebraska has no means to carry out an execution because state officials have not replaced their supply of one of three drugs needed for lethal injection.

Bud Welch, whose daughter was killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, would say that’s good news.

The 74-year-old travels around the country to speak out about against the death penalty. He was in Nebraska last fall giving presentations about forgiveness and abolishing the death penalty, and he spoke with me over the phone a few days before his Omaha presentation.

“That year was just awful,” Bud said, referring to the year his 23-year-old daughter Julie was killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

In the months after Julie’s death, Bud said he went from supporting the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who were found guilty of the terrorist attack, to taking a public stand against it.

“I was full of retribution at first to the point that I didn’t even want to have a trial. I just wanted them fried.”

Eventually he forgave the two men, and even met and developed a friendship with the family of McVeigh, who was executed in 2001 for his part in the bombing.

Test of faith

The day of the attack, Bud and his youngest son were at home about eight miles away from the federal building when they heard and felt the explosion. About 15 minutes later they learned it was the building in which Julie worked – and eventually were told Julie was dead.

Julie had been working at the federal building as a Spanish translator for the social security administration in Oklahoma City for eight months when the bombing happened. Strong in her faith and a graduate of Catholic school, she often went to week-day Mass and invited her dad to go with her.

“Julie was very devout and at that time I didn’t go to Mass all that often. She didn’t hammer me on that, she’d call me and invite me to Mass and usually I would go with her,” said Bud, who is divorced from Julie’s mother.

After her death, Bud said he started drinking and smoking heavily and was trying to self-medicate. 

“Most of that first month is a blur,” Bud said.

While he practiced his faith, Bud, a member of St. Therese of the Little Flower Parish in Oklahoma City, said he still struggled with feeling of anger after Julie was killed.

“I spent a period of time after her death angry at God because, in my opinion, he let this happen,” Bud said. “And then I was angry at myself because I always encouraged Julie to pursue foreign languages.”

His healing process took almost five years, he said. By then, he reached a point where he could forgive McVeigh and Nichols.

“When you forgive, it’s not an event, it’s a process,” he said. “Forgiveness is not doing a thing for the people who killed your child. You’re only doing something for yourself. When you’re finally able to forgive, it’s you that gets released; not the other people.”

Bud said so many years later, he enjoys talking to others about his experience because it brings comfort to others who have been through similar situations. He now speaks out publicly against the death penalty and has helped many other victims of violence find forgiveness and reconciliation.

Stacy Anderson, executive director of Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said it was a privilege to have Bud speak at the organization’s annual reception and silent auction last September.

“We were privileged to hear Bud recount his journey from tragedy and anger to forgiveness and healing,” she said. “His personal story caused many to reconsider whether the death penalty was the best we could do for victims’ families in the wake of violence and loss.”

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, senior writer/reporter.

Spiritual Resolutions

With the new year here, it’s time to think about resolutions. Each year I make a concerted effort to make both physical and spiritual goals, and this year isn’t any different.

Like most people, I hope to get in better shape physically in 2014 by eating better and exercising regularly. I want to run a 5K sometime this year, too. I also want to focus more on the blessings in my life, so I’m going to keep a thankful journal and write in it each night before I go to bed.

It’s equally important that I grow in my spiritual life this year. So I plan to read the Bible for 10 minutes and pray a decade of the rosary every day and go to the sacrament of reconciliation at least once a quarter.

Father Robert Barnhill, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Beatrice, said both physical and spiritual resolutions are great to consider each new year.

And you can combine them.

Physical well-being resolutions regarding food intake or exercise could include a spiritual component, such as praying a rosary during the exercise time, he said. You also could fast with a spiritual focus by not eating a dessert as a form of self-denial.

“Deny yourself some sensual or appetite pleasure each day,” Father Barnhill said. “The late Bishop (Glennon Patrick) Flavin taught me to leave the last bite of your favorite food on your plate as an act of self-denial.”

Some people might want to select one thing to focus on, such as the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation or Mary, and form their spiritual resolution around that, he said. You could focus on the Eucharist by regularly attending Mass on a weekday, visiting to the Blessed Sacrament or making a Holy Hour, Father Barnhill said. Or concentrate on the sacrament of penance by going to confession once a month and making an examination of conscience each night before bed, he said. Those who want to focus on their relationship with Mary could pray the rosary, carry a rosary in their purse or pocket and pray a decade of the rosary each day, Father Barnhill said.

Whatever you choose as your spiritual resolution, keep it simple, said Missionary Benedictine Sister Carole Ann Clark of Norfolk.

“You may quit any of your resolutions by March if the resolution is not made with the Holy Spirit to bring you to deeper intimacy with God,” she said. “And that should be the motive for anything you may choose to do this year.” 

Sister Clark had several suggestions for spiritual resolutions, including trying to live your day with the “grammar of gratitude, not the mumble of grumble.”

She also encouraged people to meet everyone with hospitality.

“Remember Christ is in each person, friend or enemy,” Sister Clark said.

Another recommendation was to make an examination of your day to see where you could do better at the good you already do. This will help you automatically improve inner attitudes at your job and your family life, she said.

Sister Clark suggested setting aside time for journaling. Perhaps one of the readings at Mass was powerful for you. How? Why? Write it down, she said.

Another option is to practice living in the presence of God, practice the “Jesus Prayer” – “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” – sit for a set time in Centering Prayer, pray an hour of adoration each week, or pray the rosary regularly, she said.

There are so many little ways to pray and become more intimate with God, Sister Clark said.

“To become holy, we just need the resolve to do them, and be grateful for the grace to even begin.”

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, Senior Writer/Reporter

A Miraculous Healing

Dr. Ed and Jeanne Gatz of Omaha are proof of the ongoing relationship between the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory and the living on earth.

About 24 years ago, Jeanne and a priest friend prayed to Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor in France who died in 1879, to ask God in heaven to cure Ed from terminal cancer. And the church – after an extensive investigation – determined that through Jeanne Jugan’s intercession, God healed Ed.

In fact, Ed’s healing of esophageal cancer was the final church-approved miracle needed for the 2009 canonization of Jeanne Jugan.

The Gatzes, members of Christ the King Parish in Omaha, admit they are just like everybody else when it comes to everyday living. For years, Ed was an anesthesiologist at Bergan Mercy Hospital, and he and Jeanne raised their son, Bart, in their Rockbrook neighborhood home.

But God chose to use them to do something extraordinary.

Praying through the diagnosis
In 1989, 51-year-old Ed became concerned about multiple, tiny bumps on the back of his hands, and how his skin had become unusually thick and coarse. 

A dermatologist believed the changes could be a hidden cancer and referred him to his internal medicine physician. For eight weeks, tests and consultations were conducted, but a diagnosis of cancer could not be confirmed. 

After an upper and lower scoping by a gastrointestinal doctor at Bergan Mercy in Omaha, he was diagnosed as having esophageal cancer and told he probably had six months to live. His wife sought consolation from the late Jesuit Father Richard McGloin at Creighton University, who encouraged her to pray “every day without fail” a novena prayer to Blessed Jugan to intercede for a cure. 

Father McGloin, who died in 2005, knew about the novena prayer because he had been the chaplain at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Milwaukee.

His tumor was removed during a palliative surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, but chose not to have chemotherapy or radiation done to remove the cancer because neither would cure him nor would they guarantee to prolong his life.

But at every three-month checkup over the next year, he was cancer free. 

Ed and Jeanne Gatz of Omaha share Ed’s story of miraculous
healing during a visit to the Spirit Catholic Radio studios Nov. 6. 

When Ed was still alive and well two and a half years later, the Gatzes’ insurance company conducted an investigation, claiming possible fraud because he had far outlived the original six-month estimate. Their investigation revealed Ed actually had an especially wild type of cancer and should’ve lived only four months.

The Gatzes continued on in their day-to-day lives and Jeanne continued to pray daily the prayer to Jeanne Jugan. 

But after 13 years since the diagnosis, Father McGloin encouraged the couple to report the healing to the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose closest monastery was in Kansas City. He also told Jeanne that Ed was the first of five cures he knew of that resulted from his prayers to Jeanne Jugan.

The superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor asked them to write their story and mail it to them. She also told Jeanne she thought Ed’s healing would be the final miracle needed for Jeanne Jugan’s canonization.

Formal documentation of the cure began in 2002, and Ed believes his extensive background in science and research helped him document the case and later be declared a miracle.

After a thorough investigation, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints acknowledged the miracle through the intercession of Jeanne Jugan in December 2008, and the Gatzes attended her canonization in Rome in Oct. 11, 2009. 

“We have gratitude and we realize that it was a gift and a great blessing that God granted,” Jeanne said.  “It had nothing to do with us,” she said. “I can understand why he chose a good person like Ed but anyone could have gotten that blessing.”

By sharing their story, the Gatzes hope people will foster relationships with the saints in heaven and, as a result, strengthen their relationship with God.

“We believe it’s an obligation to share this huge blessing,” said Jeanne, who gets requests for copies of the novena. “It gives hope to so many people.”

Read more articles related to this story on the Catholic Voice website, catholicvoiceomaha.com.

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, Senior Writer/Reporter

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Faith Alive: Fr. Jose Chavez

Nov. 15-16 is National Donor Sabbath, a time when faith leaders around the United States discuss with their congregations the importance of organ donation and saving lives.

Father Jose Chavez of the Diocese of Grand Island recently shared his story of receiving a heart and kidney transplant with Spirit Catholic Radio on Bruce Prenosil’s Faith Alive series. His story will rerun next Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7:35 a.m. on Spirit Mornings.

The following is Father Chavez’s story:

Father Jose Chavez said he sees life in a new way after undergoing heart and kidney transplants last year in Omaha.

The pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Elk Creek, St. John Capistran Parish in Amherst and Holy Rosary Parish in Overton said almost losing his life to complications from diabetes and a congenital heart syndrome has made him more compassionate, more present to others and more grateful for God’s blessings in his life.

Fr. Jose Chavez 
Photo courtesy of The West Nebraska Register.

“Each day is a gift from God. Regardless of how I feel, if I wake up and can wiggle my toes, I am thankful,” Father Chavez, 46, said.

Before his transplants April 25, 2012, Father Chavez was on dialysis three times a week because of kidney failure, had developed anemia and was often nauseous. Despite his health struggles, he continued to serve as pastor of three parishes, but was extremely weak and needed help from priests and deacons to do his ministry.

He initially went to the hospital in the spring of 2011 to see if his heart was strong enough for a kidney transplant. But his cardiologist, Dr. Ioana Dumitru, at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha discovered that the priest’s heart was too weak for the surgery and that it also would need to be transplanted or Father Chavez would die within six months.  

Father Chavez said he was stunned by the news and became angry, sad and depressed. He felt helpless and hopeless, he said, but started to re-evaluate his life.

“I realized that I cannot just sit here and let my life go before me…So I decided that I was going to do something about it,” he said.

He planned some trips to visit friends throughout the country, but during the next six months, his health continued to decline. His kidneys shut down and he went on dialysis to remain alive.

Father Chavez said he relied on support from family and friends to help him stay positive, and to continue his priestly ministry. His parents left their home in Scottsbluff and moved into the rectory to help, and Bishop William Dendinger appointed a deacon to assist at Father Chavez’s parishes.

People throughout the Diocese of Grand Island offered prayers for Father Chavez.

“Once the prayers started coming through, I started realizing I was much stronger than what I thought,” he said. “One of the toughest things I had to learn was that humility is a very beautiful thing. When you see the support, you see the prayers, you see the encouragement of others and continue to live out each day basically thanking God for that moment.”

Father Chavez said he noticed his bouts of depression weren’t lasting as long and through praying the rosary, he realized he wasn’t alone – God was with him. He also often prayed to Blessed John Paul II, who also continued his priestly ministry while he was ill, Father Chavez said.

As his faith deepened, Father Chavez said he surrendered everything to God. It happened when he became sicker and had to be taken to the hospital. The doctors weren’t very optimistic, he said, and told the priest his heart was too weak.

“At that point I thought, Abandonment. St. Ignatius. Total abandonment of body, heart and spirit,” Father Chavez said.

He forgave and asked for forgiveness, and let go of negative things he had held onto throughout his life, he said.

“I said ‘Lord, I’m ready. If you want to take me, go ahead. I’m ready. You’ve given me a great life, you’ve given me a great family, you’ve given me great friends. Thank you very much, and if it is your will for me to go, then I shall go,’” Father Chavez said.

Even though he accepted God’s will, Father Chavez said he was still hopeful he would receive a heart and kidney transplant.

In March 2012, his name was placed on the national waiting list, and about six weeks later, the call came that a donor heart and kidney were available. Two priest friends drove him from Elm Creek to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha for the transplant surgery.

It’s been a year and a half since the double transplant, and Father Chavez is doing well and has returned to ministry as a full-time pastor.

Although he hasn’t met his donor’s family, Father Chavez said he’s grateful to his donor and the donor’s family and hopes to one day be able to express his gratitude for their gift.

“Thanks be to God and to the donor, I’ve been given a new lease on life. I’ve been given a second chance,” he said. “I’ve been given a miracle of life, and so it’s become so much more beautiful and I want to share that with people. I want to help them see that with God, all things are possible.”

 Blogged by Lisa Maxson, Senior Writer/Reporter

Heartland Catholic Women's Conference

This past weekend Spirit Catholic Radio was happy to be a co-sponsor of the Heartland Catholic Women’s conference in Omaha. More than 400 people – including several Spirit Catholic Radio staff members – came to be inspired in their faith and to grow in fellowship with other women.

Sharon Doran speaks at the conference.

Themed “Women at the Well,” the Nov. 2 conference focused on conversion and discipleship through an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Speaker Sherry Weddell, author of “Forming Intentional Disciples,” talked about the journey to discipleship and about charisms, or gifts, given by the Holy Spirit.

Crystalina Evert, a national chastity speaker, shared her story of conversion.

Weddell, co-director of the Catherine of Siena Institute in Colorado Springs, Colo., invited those gathered to reflect on where they are on their journey to discipleship. She encouraged them to be open to spiritual and personal change, to beginning the journey to discipleship again and to grow closer to Jesus in the midst of his church.

Charisms, she said, are given at baptism and confirmation to help people in their Christian mission. They are not natural talents or chosen by the person, and they are always used for the sake of others. They are instruments of healing and evangelization that help reveal Jesus to others.

There are an unlimited number of charisms but they include hospitality, service, mercy, administration, music, writing and craftsmanship, she said.

To discover your charism, Weddell said a person should explore possible charisms, experiment with them through action and examine your experience. She also said you should evaluate your effectiveness and look for feedback from others.

Read more about Weddell and these topics at siena.org.

Evert, a wife and mother of seven, shared her life story of growing up in a broken home, falling away from the church as a teen by living an unchaste life, and coming to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

She said even though she has a strong relationship with Christ now, she continues to work through the effects of sin in her life. She regularly meets with a counselor, participates in Eucharistic adoration and goes to the sacrament of reconciliation.

You can find out more about Evert at her website, womenmadenew.com, and at chastityproject.com, a ministry she and her husband, Jason, founded.

Friend of Spirit Catholic Radio, Sharon Doran, of the Seeking Truth Catholic Bible Study, spoke at the conference as well. Her talk was focused on the woman at the well from John 4. 

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, Senior Writer/Reporter

A Superhero at Spirit Catholic Radio

A few weeks ago, we had a real superhero in studio.

John Short, a fifth-grader at St. John School in Lincoln, stopped by Sept. 30 with his dad, Bill, to talk about saving his sister’s life.

John Short

About a month earlier, 10-year-old John donated his bone marrow to his 11-year-old sister, Kim. In July, she discovered she had severe aplastic anemia, which causes her bone marrow to stop producing blood cells, and needed a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. The best match for the transplant was a sibling, and John said he was eager to be tested and hoped to be a match.

He even wanted to be tested first so that if he was a match, his two other siblings –Katie, 13, and brother, Matt, 8 – wouldn’t have to go through the pain of being tested, John said. 

“I think God helped me with the decision,” John told Spirit Catholic Radio, adding that he wasn’t scared because he saw his sister already go through two bone marrow biopsies.

“We were really scared for Kim and very proud of John,” Bill said.

The Aug. 28 surgery, which took place at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, involved doctors making four small incisions near John’s hip bones and pelvis and extracting stem cells with 25 needles.

“The bag of cells they removed … that’s what life looks like,” Bill said. “I was literally going to see life poured into my daughter from my son.”

The surgery was successful and John’s recovery was quick. He spent two weeks at home to recover and build up his immune system before returning to school Sept. 3. Kim, who was released from the Med Center Sept. 23, is home in Lincoln and still recovering from the transplant. Her family is concerned with her catching an infection, Bill said, so she will remain out of school for some time.

When John returned to school, his teacher, Gina Steele, and his classmates surprised him with a party, cake and superhero cape.

Steele said she was impressed with the magnitude of John’s good deed and asked some moms from her classroom to sew the cape. A classmate designed the cape’s logo.

Steele said she begins every school year with a lesson on bullying and about what it means to be a good friend. Then her students spend the year doing random acts of kindness as a class. She said she used John as an example in these lessons of what it means to be a hero, or a good friend, by doing what needs to be done without expecting payment in some way. 

“I think this deed that John did for his sister is one of the biggest good deeds anyone could do,” Steele said.

Bill said that good deeds are something he tries to foster in his children, especially through scouting.

John Short and Bill Short

“The three tenants of scouting are duty to God and country, duty to others and lastly, duty to self. We try to instill that in our kids as character builders,” he said. “This is a pretty good example of someone putting someone else above their own needs … really fulfilling their duty to others.”

Bill said his faith and the faith of others have helped him and the family during this trying time. He admitted that before his daughter’s diagnosis, he was struggling in his faith. Divorced and raising four children, he said he was losing hope and “not feeling happy with my life.”

But once the news got out that Kim was sick, family and friends, including those from St. John Parish, where the Shorts have been members for 15 years, showered them with support and prayers, he said.

“The outpouring of support and thoughts and prayers from the St. John community and people at work has been wonderful and has renewed my faith,” Bill said. 

Blogged by Lisa Maxson, Senior Writer/Reporter.