Welcome to Summer! I have been asked to write about what I have learned in thirty years of priesthood. Summer is a good time to reflect upon this. Some good friends gave me a quote which states: "Don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers." I did this during the Easter Season, especially the lilies placed at the altar in our chapel at SOH.

My thoughts go back to a young boy who came to Kansas City, Kansas at the tender age of nine years, with a heavy Southern accent, from Macon, Georgia. His heart was heavy as well. He had just lost his dad from a cerebral hemorrhage, gave up his play mates, left his dog, Tippy, a golden cocker spaniel, and was terrified at the thought of entering a new school, making new friends and taking a job to help support himself and the family. But what he clung to was Jesus.

When things got tough at school, like some bitter fights with classmates or he had a bad cold, he would leave the recess grounds and spend time in the parish church before the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Our Lady. One of his favorite clubs was the St. Dominic Savio Club. The motto of this saint was: "Death rather than sin." To this day I credit St. Dominic Savio as a real hero in my journey to priesthood.

That boy was me, and my days at St. Anthony’s Grade School went by fast and I soon found myself attending Bishop Ward High School. It was the friendships that I had developed over these eight years that got me to thinking more about priesthood. I wanted to let my friends know that whatever we were facing in our lives,  Jesus could easily help us and forgive us.

At Ward there was a club called, "Young Christian Students. "This helped me expand my horizons and see a need to reach out to the wider community and bring a Christian witness to bear on life in general.  We lost some very dear classmates to death at Ward and it helped me to see that life is precious and we must be grateful for the years God is giving us.

After two years at Donnelly College and being under the inspiration of Sr. Mary Faith Schuster, OSB, I knew that it was time to begin seriously thinking of going to the seminary. I wanted to be a Franciscan priest, but the disease Osgoodslatter had me wait until after Junior college. By then I had met some very fine diocesan priests and wanted to follow in their footsteps. One of them was my logic teacher at Donnelly College, Fr. John Rossiter. He used to sing a song at class that God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.

In the seminary at St. Thomas College in Denver, Colorado, I learned to eat food I had never eaten before and a host of others experiences came my way.  I will never forget the night that my best friend, Fr. Fred Bellotti, had me pray with him while we were still in theology school.  When I went back to my room , down the dark corridor, I knew Fred was at peace, but I was shaken by the whole experience (Fred speaking in tongues).  I saw the bust of Jesus on my bulletin board and I knelt down before it and heard the words: "Dennis, you be my hands and my feet." The tears just came rolling out.

I’ve heard it said that God permits all kind of circumstances in life, so that one day my life may touch another’s for good that no one else could ever do...Wow!  This came to me most dramatically when I got to go to Europe for the first time and in London saw the musical: "Abelard and Eloise."  It took the love of Eloise for Abelard in order for him to open his heart to God.  And when the final scene came and the Sisters of the Convent (Eloise now being the Mother Superior) are about to turn it over to the monks (Abelard now being the Abbott), she says to him: "Now love God for me...now love God for me."  This they both did.

I thought I would never make it thru the seminary, that I would never be able to organize much of anything. But thru the love of friends and family in Kansas and in Colorado (family meals at the Kosmicki home) and a spiritual director that helped me see so much about literature and life, Fr. Spitzka, CM, I found myself entering St. Anthony’s Church to be ordained a priest, like Melchizedek of old. I didn’t even hear the joint choirs of the Benedictine Sisters and monks singing. The date was May 26, 1972.

In my priesthood today, the only thing I'm sure of is that Yahweh called me to serve His people.  The words of Hebrews, chapter five, ring out in my whole being:

Every high priest is chosen from his people and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings for sins. Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes. And because he is himself weak, he must offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for his own sins.  No one chooses for himself the honor of being a priest.  It is only by God’s call that a man is made a high priest...You will be a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek...You are my Son, today I have become your Father.

There wouldn’t be room to write down all the experiences I have had the honor and privilege to be a part of in my thirty years.  The faces and events are etched in my heart and in the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

I would say that I have learned, painfully and joyfully, that it is better to have tried to love and to have failed, than to have never loved at all.  When I made my retreat for priesthood in Canyon City, Colorado, I heard a term that kept me aware of true celibacy. I was told watch out for "castrated celibacy." Dennis, don’t become bitter.  I know I, like others committed to a celibate vocation, need human love.  That is why I have reached out to embrace all of life and let myself be embraced as well.

I heard Paul Harvey conclude a recent newscast with this story: "There was a man so afraid and anxious about all the war and violence going on today in the world that he even couldn’t enjoy a piece of pie, unless the pointed end of the pie were turned away from him."  Wow!

Well, let me tell you, I could have easily ended up being that man. But because of Jesus Christ, the only true and rightful Priest of the New Covenant, and because of many of you reading this article now and due to my brother priests and brothers and sisters in ministry everywhere; I became the man I am today.

Now I stand in a forest, with Sheba, my golden retriever, still with sandals on my feet, still so happy to be a priest, there is a path less traveled on and I so desire to take it now.  I enter it with the community of Sanctuary of Hope; people of all faiths, backgrounds and cultures; my Father in Heaven and my dad and mom too; with the woman Mary whom I have now come to call, affectionately, Our Lady; where no one is marginalized nor left out; where people are given a free choice in their life vocations and are not forced; where the only norm is God, doing the Father’s Will, like Jesus. I stand with my family, my brothers and their wives, with my nephews and nieces, my cousins; my dearest friends, the parishes that have shaped me and formed me.  I stand in the fields, in the creeks, in the large expanse of the flint hills.  I was asked once if "Kansas City, Kansas, is big enough for you?" And I said: "yes." And I stand with another woman who has become a mother to me over these more recent years of priesthood.  Her name is Willie Etta Jennings. With her I say loudly: "God is able, God is able, God is my Everything."

Con mi amor y mis oraciones, Padre Dennis, tu hermano y amigo.

Imagine a Place for a Fall Vacation

By Eugene Lipscomb

Sanctuary of Hope (SOH) has again received a donation of a timeshare at Treetop Village Resort located in Lake Ozark, MO which it will use to raise funds to continue renovation of the facility. The donors suggest you simply have to "imagine a place."

Imagine a place nestled in the woods surrounded by tall oak and cedar trees overlooking a lake with calm ripples that gently hug the rock cliffs and tree shoreline.

The unit is fully equipped consisting of two bedrooms and three bathrooms with accommodations for six people. The week starts on Friday, September 27th and ends on Friday, October 4th. The Treetop Village Resort includes tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pools (one indoor) and more. The resort has shopping nearby, including the Outlet Mall consisting of 112 stores located in Osage Beach, MO.

Booklets of tickets can be mailed to you on request, or you can Send your check ($1 per chance) and we'll return the completed ticket stubs to you.  To be eligible for the drawing, your checks and completed raffle ticket stubs must be received at SOH by   July 12, 2002.  They should be sent to: 

SOH Timeshare                                                                              2601 Ridge Avenue                                                                                       Kansas City, KS 66102.  

Please mark the envelope and check "Timeshare".  Thank you for your continued support of SOH!

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Run the Good Race III 

A Success Story!

The third annual race/walk and pancake breakfast was held at Sanctuary of Hope on Saturday, April 6, 2002.  In the running community, road races are usually evaluated by the strength of the field, how many participants there were and how much money was raised. In all those categories our event has shown steady improvement.  Mike Scannell and Julia Frailey were the overall male and female winners again this year but there were significantly more strong runners.  Over 10% of the field finished in less than 22 minutes on a really demanding course, including three in the 50-59 age bracket. (The results are available at www.runwithrus.com )   One hundred and fifty-four people finished the race, about 10% more than last year.  And while the figures aren’t final yet, it looks like SOH received a slightly greater financial benefit than last year.

These are encouraging results but we are not trying to have just a road race.  We want people to come to Sanctuary of Hope, see what it is, and gain a desire to come back again.  In that regard, the weather was excellent and the facilities were shown off to good effect. There was an impromptu flag raising just before the race began and the disk jockey, Kitty Hawk, sang the National Anthem for us.  Marty Thoennes and his kitchen crew fed over 200 people an excellent breakfast.  Without the breakfast, the participants would begin drifting away as soon as they finished. The meal is a feature which gives people a chance to stay and visit and promotes fellowship, which is an important part of this event.

The day went smoothly because we had lots of volunteers, to wit, Ron Fitch and his SACS group were well represented and we had a number of Bishop Ward students who helped as well. All of us at SOH are very grateful for this outstanding help.

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By Bernadine Asher

 What does a person do on a retreat?  To Retreat means to step back & to rethink.  Who needs it?  The answer is All of us!  In our busy lives we don't seem to have time to stop and think, to ponder, to remember,  time to sort out the troubled spots or think over problems.  Rarely are we noise-free, hurry-free, or duty-free.  You can retreat alone, with family or friends, or with a group from your church or social group.

You can find a place to retreat wherever you are but we believe that, in Kansas City,  Sanctuary of Hope is the ideal place to Retreat.  It is a peaceful place with a home style (at times even a bit old-fashioned) environment!  Prayerful days and soft nights. Prayers/meals/Mass with the staff, with your group, or on your own.  Places to be alone, to spend time in nature, to hold relaxed and prayerful group meetings and meals.  The front porch calls one to sit on the swing or go to the garden house to read a book. Walking paths and an outdoor classroom call out for you to come and explore.  Sleep late if you like.  Pray all night in the chapel if you want to.  Get out of the fast lane, and....pull over on the shoulder, God’s shoulder.  SOH welcomes you to spend a day or a weekend or more.

Our facilities offer four primary meeting areas: a large, sunny Dining Room which can comfortably seat 60 at tables; a windowed Day Room which can accommodate 60+, depending upon the seating arrangement; the Living Room which can seat 20 on sofas and chairs; and the Chapel which can seat up to 100.  We can send you information on rates for using the facilities, talk with you on the phone or email information to you and your group. 

We also have a screened Garden House built by donations from the former residents of SOH when it was the Mount Saint Joseph Nursing Home; and a large Front Porch with seats, swings and ceiling fans for a breeze on calm days and nights.  Either spot could be a cozy meeting space for 20 persons during the late Spring, Summer, and early Fall.  Our private Meditation Room can accommodate 6 seated on chairs and sofa.  

In addition, Sanctuary of Hope has 32 acres of grounds providing a lovely and peaceful opportunity to enjoy God’s gift of nature. Walking trails encircle the facility with 10 shrines scattered along the trails and plenty of resting places along the way. We also have two large fields that have been used for such events as Boy Scout camping, kite flying and games.

At the present time, Sanctuary of Hope has space for up to 31 guests in 21 overnight bedrooms, with some rooms arranged for double occupancy and some for single. Our typical cost for individual overnight guests is $45 per night per person including meals with the staff; but we partner with all our guests to allow for retreats to occur to the extent you can afford.  Portions of the main building date back to 1896 and it is nearly two thirds renovated.  Rooms are comfortable with extra pillows, good rockers and reading lamps.  Some rooms have AC and/or private baths.  Most have shared baths.  However, with minimal air conditioning at this time, we have reduced usage of the facilities during the summer.  Meals with the staff are first class and we are gaining local fame for our homemade style cookies. A handicap accessible entrance is located near the elevator at the East door of our building

For suggested donations for use of the facility, to reserve a date, or to schedule an appointment to tour the facility please contact SOH at 913 321-HOPE (4673) and ask for Julie Elwell, our secretary, or Kelly Ashton our Retreat Coordinator. 

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Father Dennis Wait is Celebrating