COVER STORY What do you do with the gifts you've been given? Dree was given a home by MSU's famed football coach, Duffy Daughterty. Now, she's giving back - giving a home to children from Romania. Duffy's Daughter By Elizabeth Johnson
	Feature Because of his confirmation, Judge Smith thinks he is stronger in his faith. "The Holy Spirit is working in me more now as I enter my older years." Judge Smith's Tough Love By Christina Kirsh
	Feature Joe Forlenza has lead the largest Catholic high school in the diocese - Flint's Powers Catholic - for 28 years. This icon of Catholic education is retiring this spring. Meet the man who has inspired so many. the force behind Powers Catholic By Duane Ramsey
	Culture Confirmation is the sacrament of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's presence is often represented by fire. Consider celebrating this wonderful sacrament with one or all three of our fiery recipes. Flaming Foods Put us in the spirit of the Holy Spirit By Patricia Majher
	Web Exclusive Fr. Tom Helfrich, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Adrian, takes us to the parish near the crash site of Flight 587 in Belle Harber, N.Y. Finding God Wherever You Are By Fr. Tom Helfrich, OSFS

Duffy's Daughter

By Elizabeth Johnson | Photography by James Luning

"I was confirmed when I was 12 years old. I remember that I chose my patron saint carefully. I used to read and reread Lives of the Saints for Girls and Lives of the Saints for Boys. At the time of my confirmation, I was most impressed with St. Irene. She was a real princess and she and her beau gave lots of money to the poor people in their kingdom. I guess I wanted to be a princess, too - remember, I was only 12!"

This is a love story that began 48 years ago at Lansing's St. Vincent Home and came full circle at a Romanian orphanage in October 2000. It begins with an infant girl not born to royalty but who, instead, was given up for adoption. She became a princess in the eyes of a loving mother and father who opened their hearts and home to her. The little girl grew up with dreams of giving to others, just like the real-life princess, St. Irene. Through faith and confirmation in the power of love, she has accomplished just that in more ways than she could have ever imagined ...

Dree Elizabeth Daugherty was born on Feb. 7, 1954, to a mother who made the decision to place her child up for adoption through the St. Vincent Home for Children. Hugh "Duffy" Daugherty, who had just been named head football coach at Michigan State University, and Frances, his wife, were attending a celebration in Duffy's hometown of Barnesboro, Pa., when they got the news that the baby they were waiting to adopt had been born.

"This was big news - they left Pennsylvania right away so they could get home and meet me," says Dree, remembering an oft-told family story. "I know my parents went to a lot of trouble to adopt me, and I've always known that I was lucky and special. I've always wanted to give that same gift back to someone." She just didn't know when or how it would happen.

Dree grew up in East Lansing, where her family belonged to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. St.Vincent Home continued to be a part of her life. Msgr. John Slowey, head of St. Vincent while Dree was growing up, was a close family friend and was often at the Daugherty home for dinner. Dree remembers taking toys she had outgrown to the children at St. Vincent's. "We visited there, we took our Halloween candy there, we brought Christmas presents. St. Vincent's was a matter-of-fact part of my life," she recalls.

Dree graduated from East Lansing High School in 1972, the same year her popular father ended his tenure as head football coach at MSU. She traveled to California to attend college at Stanford University. She took pre-med courses with the intention of going to medical school, fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor.

Dreams Take a Detour

In her freshman year, Dree met her future husband, Charlie Hudson. The two made plans for their life together and were married just before their graduation in 1976. Charlie got a job with the Chrysler Corporation, but Dree decided not to pursue medical school.

"I had been focused my whole life on becoming a doctor, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to do both motherhood and med school, so I put it off and got a job as a chemist," she explains. Charlie's job took them back and forth between California and Michigan, and they eventually settled in Bloomfield Hills, a suburb of Detroit. A few years after they were married, the children began to arrive: Ryan in 1980, Paul in 1981, and Michael in 1983. Dree and Charlie were thrilled with their little boys, but they also wanted a girl.

"Charlie and I had always talked about adopting a child - it was something I always wanted to do, a gift I wanted to give," says Dree. But when they looked into adopting a little girl from Korea, they discovered that agencies wouldn't place girls with families that already had children. So, just as with medical school, Dree put her dream of adoption onto a back burner.

Dreams Can Come True

By the time Ryan was in second grade, Dree was again feeling the call to go to medical school. With Charlie's support, she applied to Wayne State University and began the long process of becoming a doctor. "It was a family project; everyone had to sacrifice to get me through med school," says Dree. "Charlie had to take care of the kids and the house, the boys had to give up their sports activities. Everyone focused on helping me get my degree." To celebrate her graduation, the entire family went to Disney World.

Next came three years of residency and finally Dree's dream was a reality - she was an emergency room physician at Crittendon Hospital in Rochester Hills. The boys were active in school and sports, Charlie was busy with his job as a Chrysler marketing executive, and Dree was happily pursuing her career.

Then, in 1997, the family got a big surprise - Dree was pregnant at age 43! Little Mark was born on his big brother Michael's 14th birthday - a very special gift, indeed. The family couldn't have asked for a more easy-going, sunny-natured child. His parents and big brothers doted on Mark, who quickly became the center of attention in the family.

"This was way too easy, raising this little boy who thought the world revolved around him," recalls Dree. "We came to the decision that he needed siblings his own age so he wouldn't turn into a little prince."

"The boy had three big brothers who were almost on their own, and two little cats in a happy, loving home. But he needed someone else to be just his own size; to run and jump and kick a ball, to learn and share his life."

Another Dream - Times Two

"Not too long ago, in a land across the sea, lived a darling little girl with twirling, dancing feet, and a quiet little boy with round, puppy-dog eyes, who were waiting to be loved for all of their short lives."

Once again, Dree and Charlie looked into international adoption. This time around, having other children wasn't an issue, but their age was. Now in their mid-40s, Dree and Charlie were considered too old to be adoptive parents by most countries. Eastern Europe was about the only place where age wasn't a barrier. Surfing the Internet, they discovered that the pictures of Romanian children available for adoption looked remarkably like their own children. Soon they found an agency right in Bloomfield Hills that specialized in Romanian adoptions. Val and Nancy Cocariu helped the Hudsons through every step of the process.

"We took a family vote about adopting," recalls Dree. "The older boys thought that Mark should have a brother, because they loved growing up with brothers, but Charlie and I wanted a girl. Secretly, I asked Nancy to let me know if any little girls were available."

Val Cocariu thought that a 3-year-old boy named Nicosur (Romanian for Nicholas) would be a good match for the Hudsons, and the family began the process of adopting him. Then Nancy brought Dree a picture of a little girl who looked enough like Mark to be his sister. With a picture of 3-year-old AlinaMarie in hand, Dree drove to find Charlie, who was cheering on Michael at a high school basketball game.

"See this girl - we have to adopt her!" she told him. And that's why, in October 2000, Dree, Charlie, and Mark flew to Romania and brought home not one, but two, new children for their family. Kathryn Alinamarie Hudson and Jason Nicosur Hudson, were a dream come true - times two.

Not Quite Triplets

Only seven months separate Katie, who turned 5 in April, from Mark, who will be 5 in November. (Jason will be 5 in August.) With their light brown hair and deep brown eyes, the three youngest Hudsons could be triplets, and Dree often finds herself having to explain the siblings' unique relationship.

At first, Dree was reluctant to tell strangers that Katie and Jason were adopted. "They're my kids, not my 'Romanian' kids or my 'adopted' kids," she says. "I knew I was adopted from the time I was 3 years old, and I knew that made me special. I'm comfortable with who I am. But for some reason, I didn't want to put that label on them."

Eventually, Dree came to see that she could also be comfortable with Katie and Jason's status as adopted children. "It's been a real growth process for me," she explains. "Their lives before they came to us were real, that's a precious part of who they are. I don't want to wipe away their Romanian heritage, and brushing aside their adoption was ignoring that part of their lives."

While Dree's dad never got to meet his youngest grandchildren (he passed away in 1987), Dree's mom is thrilled with them. "She's pretty excited about these grandkids - they're a bonus for her," laughs Dree. She noted that her mother has told her that in addition to remembering the St. Vincent Home in her will, she has also added the Romanian orphanage where Katie and Jason lived before the Hudsons adopted them. "She's tickled to be able to do that. Both of those places are so important in the history of our family. They're part of our story," says Dree.

This June, the family of Dree Daugherty and Charlie Hudson will celebrate a number of family milestones: Katie and Jason's baptism, Michael's high school graduation, Ryan's college graduation, and Ryan's wedding.

"This is a time of blessings for us," says Dree. "We've had so many gifts. God has touched our lives in so many ways. He has helped us to make our dreams happen."

"Now the quiet little boy with round, puppy-dog eyes, and the darling little girl with her twirling, dancing feet, have joined their hearts as children in that loving family. They are part of something special. Now the circle is complete. They have a little brother with a laughing, smiling face. They have three big brothers to follow and embrace. They have a momma and a daddy to care for them at last. So now and forevermore, the Hudsons will be blessed."

Judge Smith's Tough Love
By Tina Kirsh
Photography by Christine Jones

In the office of Hillsdale County Circuit Judge Mike Smith, drawings from his younger children taped to the wall behind his desk seem almost out-of-place
amid the framed degrees and dark wood bookshelves filled with law texts. Yet when one hears of his main concern as a judge, they seem entirely appropriate.

Smith is pro-life and pro-family. Sixty percent of the cases he hears are domestic related - divorce, child custody and abuse cases, among others. In a legal system that strongly emphasizes the separation of church and state, it is not always easy to live out his Catholic convictions in the courtroom. But he's trying.

While he says he has no conflict with his faith when granting divorces, Smith tries to do what is best for children involved.

"It's a legal issue," he says. "I think even the Church realizes there's going to be divorces. That's why it has the annulment process.

"Our main emphasis (in his court) is on the children."
He says being Catholic probably makes him more aware of family-related issues.

Smith estimates approximately 90 percent of the felons he sees between the ages of 19 and 24 are from families with divorced parents. He often sees the effects of those who come from broken homes played out in alcohol or drug abuse and criminal activity. It is in cases such as these that he wrestles with his decisions in court.

"As a Catholic you don't want to see the disintegration of the family," he says. "I'm seeing the aftermath of what I'm granting as a result in many cases of divorce. That's why we're so strict regarding the support of the children."

Smith will not tolerate non-payment of child support or abuse of parenting time (also known as visitation). He tries as much as possible to make sure a family maintains a relationship outside the confines of divorce, allowing plenty of parenting time to provide continued close contact between parent and child.

Smith, 49, is a cradle Catholic. He grew up in Ann Arbor and received his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan. He attended the University of Detroit School of Law and came to Hillsdale County fresh out of law school in 1979 to become assistant prosecutor. He held that position until 1981 when he was elected to serve as prosecutor until 1984. He went into private practice from 1984 to 1989, when he again ran successfully for prosecutor. He served as prosecutor until 1996, when he ran for circuit court judge. He is just finishing his first six-year term.

Smith and his wife, Mary Jo, live in Jonesville with their six children, who range in age from 4 to 19 years old. They attend St. Anthony Catholic Church in Hillsdale.

"It's interesting because you don't find a lot of six-children families," he says. "I think it gives me more experience in dealing with family issues (in the court)." He has four boys and two girls, so he can relate to the challenges parents in his courtroom face when raising boys or girls.

When asked if he thinks there is something more the Church could do to support Catholic views in the current legal system, Smith cites the obvious difficulties between the separation of church and state. But he thinks an ecumenical effort for some type of pre-marital counseling requirement for couples before they can obtain a marriage license would be helpful. The effort would not have to be church-related and would be the responsibility of many different faiths to impress upon a legislature.

"I think if we placed more emphasis on the pre-marital (aspect), there would be fewer problems," he says. "There would be less divorce and marital crises."

Outside his courtroom, Smith is further challenged to be a witness to his faith - this time by seventh-graders. This year he decided to teach seventh-grade religious education at St. Anthony Parish.

"They're a great group of kids," he says, his face brightening. He finds it a challenge to keep the kids interested (especially with one of his sons in the class) while still passing on the tenets of the faith. He breaks the group into smaller ones and even played "Jeopardy" using Church teachings as the categories.

"It's interesting," he says. "You can still tell the kids who come from strong families and the ones who don't."

Because of his confirmation, Smith says, he thinks he is stronger in his faith. "The Holy Spirit is working in me more now as I enter my older years," he says. "I realize the necessity to effectuate change, using the gifts of knowledge and wisdom. I can incorporate them through my work, certainly, but also with the students I teach at catechism."

Ministry Focus

Religious Education

Busy people like Judge Smith somehow find the time to give back something they've been given - faith. If you are interested in sharing your wisdom and experience, consider helping your parish's religious education program. Contact your parish or call Peter Ries at (517) 342-2486.

The Force Behind Powers Catholic

By Duane Ramsey
Photography by Christine Jones

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Name: Joseph Anthony Forlenza
Family Life: Married to Patricia for 40 years. Children: Joe, 39; Jim, 37; Theresa 35; Robert, 30 and 8 grandchildren
Career: 41 years involved in Catholic education, including

• Principal, Powers Catholic High School, Flint
• Principal, O'Sullivan Model School, Flint\
• Principal/Administrator, Donovan North Middle School, Flint
• Assistant Principal and Coach, Powers Catholic H.S., Flint
• Teacher, Coach and Athletic Director, St. John Vianney H.S., Flint
• Teacher/Coach, Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago

Joseph Forlenza has fostered the spirit at Powers Catholic High School in Flint, serving as its principal for the past 28 years. For someone who got involved in education to earn some money while pursuing law school, Forlenza will complete a 41-year career in Catholic education when he retires in June.

"I fell in love with teaching and coaching. Working with young people has been a tremendously rewarding experience for me," says Forlenza explaining why he chose teaching instead of studying law as he had planned.

As his career journey nears its end, Forlenza is proud of the academic, athletic and spiritual environment provided for the 825 students, faculty, and staff at Powers Catholic.

"Powers is not just a building or place. Powers is people with a spirit and tradition that will continue to grow," Forlenza says. "That spirit fosters an environment where students and staff strive for excellence. It is a place where faith and knowledge meet. The values learned here are learned for a lifetime."

Forlenza has seen a spirit of dedication, commitment and willingness to sacrifice in the students, staff, parents, and alumni of Powers Catholic. He believes they have created a school where young people can learn and grow in a challenging, friendly and supportive faith-based environment.

"I feel privileged to have been a part of this ongoing experience. I only hope that I have given back as much as I have received," he says.

As a product of Catholic education, Forlenza made an obvious choice to work back through the Catholic system. He said his faith was evolving in a positive way when he chose to teach. He believes in living the Gospel message by helping others stay in touch with their faith.

During his tenure at Powers Catholic, Forlenza has seen two generations of students pass through the hallowed halls. He also has perceived a difference in the beliefs of those generations. The older generation believes because they were told that's the way it was. The younger generation wants to believe, but have to go through the process so they can understand and witness what they believe, according to Forlenza. High school is part of that process of evolving, he added. Confirmation is a faith commitment. The Catholic school experience serves as a "moral compass" and helps to determine how they will live the rest of their lives.

"If that occurs, we helped them realize how to use their God-given talents to help others," Forlenza says. "Students are willing to get involved and help others if you just ask them. The students have a great vitality and are the most enjoyable part of the job."

Forlenza said Powers Catholic has produced so many outstanding students in so many fields including a number of priests and sisters, mayors, heads of medical facilities, professional athletes - even NFL players - leaders in business, education and the military. One alumnus of Powers is in line to become a general, he added.

The frustrating part of the job is the constant challenge to be everything to everyone, according to Forlenza. "You just can't do enough. You have the vision but can't quite get there. However, we're further ahead than if we hadn't tried," he said.

Forlenza thinks the biggest challenge facing Catholic education today is the financial responsibility for it has fallen solely on the users rather than on the Catholic community as a whole. It is due to a big change in attitude within the Catholic community and has created a greater burden on parents for the cost of education, he said. Other challenges for Catholic education to remain competitive are curriculum, facilities, staffing and technologies.

Forlenza said that Powers Catholic has a tremendous reputation academically, athletically and spiritually. The fine arts program is widely acclaimed and the athletic teams have been successful evidenced by the girls' basketball and boys' golf teams winning state championships last fall.

There have been so many rewarding experiences in his career that Forlenza hesitates to identify them. He does recall when students, parents and staff surprised him on both his 50th and 60th birthdays and he didn't know about it beforehand.
"It was a tremendous affirmation for me," Forlenza said. "In education, you just hope you've made a difference in somebody's life."

"Any teacher will tell you the real appreciation or affirmation comes from out of the blue in the form of a simple 'thank you' from a student or alum for what you did," he says. "I have seen so many acts of kindness by students, adults and staff over the years."

Forlenza believes the spirit at Powers Catholic will continue to thrive without him. In retirement, he plans to relax, renew his interest in golf and fishing, travel to spend more time with his eight grandchildren, and continue to stay involved in the community in some way.

Ministry Focus: Catholic Schools

The Diocese of Lansing has Four Catholic high schools and 38 elementary schools. Dedicated priests, religious, teachers and faculty work to provide a place where knowledge and faith meet. For more information Catholic schools, contact the Diocese of Lansing's Department on Education at (517) 342-2482.

Flaming Foods
put us in the spirit of the Holy Spirit

By Patricia Majher
Photography by Philip Shippert

Among the symbols of the Holy Spirit which are mentioned in the Bible - e.g., clouds and light, water and fire - perhaps the most enduring of these is fire. "Fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions," says the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and cites as examples the experience of the prophet Elijah who "arose like fire" and whose word "burned like a torch" and, of course, the tongues "as of fire" which rested on the disciples' heads at Pentecost - the first confirmation of the early Church.

In honor of the inaugural celebration of this sacrament, we bring you recipes that incorporate fire and bring a dramatic conclusion to any meal. Two of these are ice cream dishes and can be made in a matter of minutes. The last recipe - apricot rum cake - must be baked, brushed with an apricot glaze, and then flamed. Plan on starting this dessert at least two hours before you want to serve it. If you like, you can even bake the cake several days ahead of time, and flame it later.

Fire Safety Tips:

• Use an 80-proof liquor
• Never pour spirits from a bottle into a pan that is near an open flame.
• Ignite fumes above the liquid not the liquid itself
• Let the flame disappear (all alcohol has burned off at this point)
• Have a fire extinguisher handy

Apricot Rum Cake

Yield: 8 servings
1/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup light rum
1 16 oz. can apricot halves,
drained
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
2 Tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1 12-oz. jar apricot preserves

In a small bowl, combine dried apricots and 1/2 cup of the rum; let this stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. In a blender or food processor, purée the apricot halves. Stir in the dried apricots, which have been soaked in the rum. In a large bowl, beat eggs, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and the apricot mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto a metal serving platter with a rim.

Next, heat the preserves. Strain and stir in 1/2 cup of the rum. Brush this glaze over the cake, repeating every few minutes while the cake is cooling until all the glaze is used. When ready to serve, warm the remaining rum until the fumes rise. Ignite with a long match and carefully pour over the cake. When the flaming is complete, cut and serve the cake.

Cherries Jubilee

Yield: 8 servings
2 lbs. fresh cherries
1 1/2 cups cherry juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 Tsp vanilla
1 cup brandy
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

Wash and de-stem cherries, but save 16 of the best-looking cherries whole, with stems, for garnish. On a cutting board with a paring knife, roll the cherries under the knife to cut them in half cleanly, and remove the pits. Put the cherries into a stainless steel skillet with the cherry juice, orange juice, and vanilla. Over medium-low heat, cook the cherries for about 10 minutes until they are softened. Taste a few of them; if they seem sour, add up to 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Spoon the ice cream into 8 bowls and place two of the perfect-stemmed cherries in each for garnish.

Pour the brandy into a measuring cup, and then carefully into the pan with the cherry mixture. Let it heat for 30 seconds, then touch a long match to the fumes above the pan and flame them. After the flames have disappeared, spoon the cherry mixture over the ice cream and serve immediately.

Bananas Foster

Yield: 8 servings
10 Tbsp butter
8 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp banana liqueur
8 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved
1/2 cup light rum
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

Melt butter in a stainless steel skillet. Add sugar, cinnamon, and banana liqueur and stir until sugar melts. Add bananas to sauce and sauté until bananas are soft and browned. Add rum and heat until just bubbly, then flame the fumes above the mixture with a long match.

Place ice cream in 8 bowls and top each with 4 pieces of banana and sauce. Serve immediately.

Finding God Wherever You Are
by Fr. Tom Helfrich, OSFS

Does the name Belle Harbor, N.Y., sound at all familiar to you? Way back in June 2001, I knew it only as the site of St. Francis de Sales Church, somewhere around New York City and, therefore, in range of my sister and her family. Every year in June about a dozen of us Oblates of St. Francis de Sales meet to discuss and make plans for leading parish missions/retreats around the country to share the optimistic spirit of our patron, St. Francis de Sales. Past missions have taken me as far away as Oklahoma and California and as close to home as Toledo, Michigan's thumb area and even St. Mary Parish in Adrian where I now serve as pastor. But this year it would be Belle Harbor the first week of Advent. And that was that.

If the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed everything for us Americans, those changes were all the more profound for New Yorkers. And then came Nov. 12 when a flight from New York bound for the Dominican Republic fell from the sky soon after takeoff, killing all passengers and crew, as well as some on the ground. Do you remember the shock of the news as we all suspected another act of terrorism? Well, if the pieces haven't yet fallen into place for you, that plane crashed in Belle Harbor, literally one block from St. Francis de Sales Church where I would soon be visiting.

The organizers of our Salesian parish retreat program made it clear to the folks at the parish that canceling the Advent retreat would be most understandable in the light of these terrible developments. But the parish leadership determined that what the people needed most was to simply get back to normal and they felt strongly that this retreat, focused on the theme of Finding God Wherever You Are, was just what the people needed.

I joined another Oblate, Fr. Tom Landgraff, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Toledo, to lead the retreat and both of us were in awe at the situation we'd be coming into. Here was a church that had lost 12 parishioners in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Here was a church that had to deal with the sudden tragic deaths of six neighbors when Flight 587 fell from the sky literally the day after the 12th funeral for the Trade Center victims. Rescue and recovery crews even used the parish school as a base of operations. And here was an ocean-side community where significant numbers of New York City firefighters make their home. The tragedy, the loss, the grief - all were felt everywhere.

The gracious spirit of the pastor of St. Francis de Sales, Msgr. Marty Geraghty, certainly set the tone for our five days at the parish. Even in the face of such shock and loss, endless days of bringing Christ's compassion to the bereaved, and steadily dealing with the national media, this good man made our welcome the warmest imaginable. Rather than being drained by grief and unanswerable questions, he was instead overwhelmed by the incredible outpouring of kindness, prayer, support and direct assistance from priests and parishes around the country.

The retreat opened with the two of us preaching at all the Sunday Liturgies and encouraging participation in the four evening retreat sessions. In addition to that, Fr. Tom and I also made appeals after communion for sponsorship in the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a dramatically effective Catholic Third World outreach to the needy that helps funds such retreats. In the light of the great needs so close to home, I really didn't expect much response to those appeals. But need engenders generosity. We had far more folks commit to become CFCA sponsors than I've ever seen before.

Our retreat was about finding God - in prayer, in discernment, in relationships and in community. And the people of St. Francis turned out in healthy numbers to listen, to pray and to celebrate the Divine Presence. From our evening retreat sessions, a morning of speaking to the school children and a visit to the parish's annual "Breakfast with Santa," we found a spirit of hope and vitality undimmed even by the darkness of terrorism and tragedy. How amazing it was to talk with a woman who narrowly escaped her home when it was engulfed in flames after the plane crash. Even though she was in her pajamas, she ran right to church to give thanks and to pray for the victims.

I won't claim that things were back to normal, but these people of faith were living in a marvelous light. We came as the bearers of a precious gift and we were certainly blessed with a gift ourselves. Our very presence drew us to open our eyes to God's presence - at the crash site, at the fabulous beach, in the city during a prayerful visit to Ground Zero and in hundreds
of encounters with the faith-filled people of St. Francis de Sales.

For information on Salesian Parish missions/retreats contact: Joann Kinney, De Sales Resource Center, 4421 Lower Mountain Road, Stella Niagara, N.Y. 14144-1001; phone, (716) 754-4948; or, e-mail: desales@desalesresource.org