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August 7, 2020
Catholic Advance
Those who worked with Father Kent Hemberger praised him for his spiritual guidance Michelle Carlini, director of Stewardship for St. Vincent de Paul Parish, praised Father Hem- berger for the "quiet, gentle, faith- filled way he helped us to grow and transformed us into the church we are today." She said he helped make the parish one where all are welcome, where those interested in the faith are assisted, and where hospitality is practiced. It is a church filled with peo- ple who have the compassion to support those in need in our com- munity and beyond," she said via email. "One of Father's unique gifts was his ability to make every- one feel accepted and important. His homilies were inspiring, it was almost as if he was talking directly to each of us personally, saying ex-
Background of St. Catherine of Siena Parish's name
The Most Rev. Michael O. Jackels was bishop of the Diocese of Wichita in 2008 when St. Catherine of Siena Parish was erect- ed. He was named the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, in 2013. In 1985, as a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Ne- braska, he began doctoral studies at Rome's Pontifical Universi- ty of St. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, earning a doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1989. His dissertation was a study of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a doctor of the church. Bishop Carl A. Kemme succeeded him in 2014.
St. Catherine of Siena nears end of multi-stage church building project
arth said. "The only thing he said was: 'Do you have a garage? I'm 78 and I'm too old to scrape win- dows!' And so he moved in with me and was here five years - saying Mass and being attentive to the people in a way I couldn't because I was going to all of these meet- ings." Msgr. Gilsenan, loved by all who knew him for his warm per- sonality and Irish wit, passed away in 2016. The pastor said parishioners are excited about the new church. He said those who have a favorite pew will be able to sit in exactly the same spot in exactly the same pew after the seating is moved from the current worship space to the new church. The pews will be the same and the view in the church will be sim- ilar, he said. "We're just adding transepts which will take us from a capacity of 800 to 1,200." The project was one of the most difficult in his career, he said, but at the same time, it was easy. One of the things I've learned in 36 years is you don't have to do it by yourself. There are people who have great skills," he said. The greatest compliment any- body ever gave me is they told me I know how to pick good people and I've done that in these committees. I basically got people together, very bright people, very God-lov- Father Kent Hemberger said in a video he recorded shortly before his death that his sudden illness revealed that his "sense of being in control and making life plans" was an illusion." He learned as his illness pro- gressed that he needed a lot of as- sistance from medical personnel, and from friends, family, and pa- rishioners. "All along the way peo- ple have taken over responsibilities I'm no longer able to do." An appointment at the Mayo Clinic was made, a parishioner flew him to the clinic in his private plane, and Father's sister and brother-in- law helped him move into the Priest Retirement Center. "All along the way people offered me their time, energy, gifts. And most importantly the gift of love," he said. The most powerful emotions he felt while dealing with his can- cer weren't grief or anger, Father Hemberger said, they were, in- stead, gratitude and love. These powerful emotions of gratitude and love bring tears to my eyes upon reflection. The depth and intensity of this grati- tude come from both recognizing my absolute need for help and from receiving love." That love was given, he added, knowing he would never be able to return the kindness. We are not self-sufficient or in control of our lives and destinies, Father Hemberger says, and we try to find someone to blame when life doesn't go as expected. "Our expectations are behind the ques- tion, 'Why me?'" Instead, be grateful, Fr. Hem- berger says. Gratitude moves us to pass on the love we receive from God and other people. I challenge you to nurture gratitude in your life," he says. To do so, embrace humility and let go of the illusion of your self-sufficiency and that you con- trol your destiny. "Some things defy our plans and expectations." One can let go of one's expecta- tions and make room for gratitude, Father Hemberger said, or one can cling to one's expectations and
Fr. Hemberger serenely accepted death
Father Kent Hemberger blessed to have done everything he wanted to do in life, blessed to serve in various parishes and places in the diocese, blessed to have the support of so many peo- ple, blessed to have received more than he ever gave, and yes, even blessed to know that the end was near in order to have the time and opportunity to say what he needed to say and do what he needed to do before meeting the Lord." Father Hemberger was a good example of how the faithful should approach life, the bishop said, with a sense of being blessed." Referring to the day's Gospel, Bishop Kemme said Jesus, in his Sermon of the Mount, identified those in the world who are truly blessed: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merci- ful, the clean of heart, the peace- makers and even the persecuted. These are blessed because their sole confidence and strength is in God and God alone," Bishop Kemme said. "Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven be- longs to these." Continued from page 1. Father Hemberger lived those beatitudes in his last few months, the bishop said, because his illness gave him a laser-sharp focus on how much God had done in his life and was now doing through his untimely death: blessing him with a sense of gratitude, hope and measureless love." That is why Father Hemberger called himself blessed and why he could communicate in person, in writing, or by video "that he was truly at peace, for the God of Peace was with him." As St. Paul states, Bishop Kemme said, "Nothing could sep- arate him 'from the love of Christ,' not cancer, not fatigue, not pain or distress, not even death. For in all these things, he conquered over- whelmingly through Christ who loved him and now has called him to take his place at the banquet of eternal life." The bishop closed his homily by saying he spoke to Father Hem- berger two days before the priest's death to thank him for his service to the church. "He received this ex- pression of gratitude with a smile." He then thanked all of those attending the service and all of Fa- ther Hemberger's former parishio- ners for their kindness and good- ness to him. How blessed he was to know, love, and serve all of you as a priest of Jesus Christ. I have no doubt that he is now asking God to bless us with the same sense of blessing he experienced in this life, hoping and praying that in all things, we too will know God's peace and joy." ing people, very dedicated Catho- lic people, to say let's do this, let's do this the right way, let's build something that's going to be here for a 1,000 years." Father Spexarth described it as an adventure. I've had tremendous help from a lot of people. In fact, if people knew exactly how little I've actu- ally done, they would be shocked. It's simply putting people togeth- er turning on the light - let's do something beautiful for God." Adding to the beauty will be the windows. The stained glass windows that will illuminate the church are the seven signs in the Gospel of John: Turning water into wine, healing an official's son, healing at the pool of Bethesda, feeding of the 5,000, walking on water, healing of the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It just worked out that seven windows would be perfect," he said. "Where the other evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke call miracles, John calls signs. They point to something." Fr. Spexarth said he would like the viewer to understand that Jesus wasn't just a nice man or a smart man, but that Jesus is divine. "He's the Son of God and he's here with us. And if that can give consolation and strength to people, not just in this age but for a 1,000 years, then we'll have accomplished what we tried to do."
Fr. Hemberger videos online
Father Kent Hemberger vid- eotaped a moving testimony about his illness shortly before his death. It is available at St. Vincent De Paul Parishs Face- book site. Father Hemberger's funeral was live-streamed and recorded. It is available at You- Tube.com/DioceseOfWichita.
Fr. Hemberger says in last video our sense of being in control is an illusion
dwell in self-pity. I find myself feeling grateful for all the people surrounding me with love, especially as I become more keenly aware of my need for their help," he says. "Also, grate- ful to God for all the great years of life I've had. I'm grateful for all the ways I've experienced God's love directly in prayer. And for the amazing people God has placed into my life." He ends the video by praying that God helps the viewer find gratitude in their lives.
Father Hemberger remembered for his compassion, ability to connect with all
actly the words we needed to hear at that time." Carlini said Father Hemberger recognized the staff's talents and matched them to the needs of the parish. Whenever he had a problem he needed to solve, he would ask us for our thoughts and ideas," she said. "He was a good listener and a great observer. Even though he was extremely busy, he always had his door open and everyone felt comfortable stopping in and say- ing 'Father do you have a minute or what do you think about this?'" Susie Wilson, the parish's fa- cilitator of Faith Formation, de- scribed her pastor as "one of the kindest, most humble, gentle peo- ple I have ever known and it was my privilege to work for him as well as call him a friend for the last nine years." She said via email that Fr. Hemberger loved to joke around, a quality most people probably didn't get to see. You had to be careful doing anything embarrassing around him as he was quick to make a joke and made sure to never let you live it down," she said. "He would go around and visit with each of his staff informally - just to check-in. Your conversa- tion would be both work-related and personal." In one of the last conversations she had with him, they discussed the direction of faith formation at St. Vincent's. She said he told her: 'Look at where people are grow- ing in their faith and that is where you need to spend your time and energy.' I will always remember these words of wisdom and he will be dearly missed by me and my family."
Father Hemberger remembered
Continued from previous column. Continued on next column. Margaret DeWitt Margaret DeWitt, the parish's business manager, said Father Hemberger always had time to lis- ten about the troubles or the good things going on in your life. She said he trusted her to do her job and communicated well with all the parish employees. "He truly made you want to come to work every day." When it came to building re- pairs or a project he was passion- ate about, DeWitt said Fr. Hem- berger would sit down with anyone who would listen and describe to them, in detail, the intricacies of the project. I remember one night I came to the church to get some work done. It was dark outside and I found Fr. Kent on a ladder in- stalling a new light over some outer doors, a project that had only been brought up the day before," she said. " I asked him very nicely to get down from the ladder and go home to bed. I was scared that he could have fallen and no one would find him until morning! He just laughed and as- sured me that he would be okay." Kathleen Gideon Kathleen Gideon, St. Vincent de Paul's secretary, said she re- members getting a call from Fa- ther Hemberger at 3 p.m. on a Saturday asking her if she was busy. She replied that she was think- ing about getting ready for Mass. Perfect," he replied, explaining that his bicycle chain had broken and asked her to come and rescue him on North Greenwich. He was a pitiful sight, the tem- perature was probably 105 plus and he was drenched," she said. Gideon also shared a sweeter memory. She said her grandchil- dren love dark chocolate, as did Father Hemberger. "When they would come into the office, they would always yell 'I smell dark chocolate.' Father Kent would come out of his office with dark chocolate for them." Shelby Wasinger Shelby Wasinger, the facilitator of Youth Ministries for the par- ish, said she is mourning the loss of an "incredible man and priest" who was as humble as he was quick-witted. I'm sure there are hundreds of stories that could fill many books," she said. Wasinger described him as a hero for everyday people, someone who looked out for the poor, cared for the incarcerated, embraced the marginalized, and loved, even more, the whole of God's creation - with the possible exception of geese!
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