Yet, there are success stories, thanks in part to Catholics in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, who have seen with their hearts. She spoke of a nutrition center constructed with funding from an archdiocesan parish, and a community of small concrete homes rebuilt and relocated after a hurricane.
Seeing with your heart, said Sr. Fran, allows you to not only see the needs in the world, but moves hearts to compassion, lest they follow the example of the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 who ignored the beggar who lived outside his home.
Anyone who has traveled to a Third World country knows it’s impossible not to be changed by the experience.
Our 17-year-old daughter, Marisa, traveled to Ecuador in June and spent two weeks at the Working Boys Center in Quito. It was life-changing for her and has left her with a goal of returning to the center after college to spend perhaps as much as a year working with the poor in Ecuador. The smiles and love she received, especially from the many children at the center, were infectious and allowed her to see with her heart the possibilities for them and the ways in which she can help.
Seeing with their hearts has no doubt driven Drs. Paul and Terese Bauer, members of St. Sebastian Parish, Milwaukee. The young couple, both medical doctors, traveled to Uganda last summer with Mission Doctors Association and Lay Mission Helpers and spent six weeks serving as missionaries. It’s not the couple’s first medical mission trip, and they don’t plan on it being their last. What makes it somewhat unique, however, is the fact that they took one of their young children along for the experience, and in the future, plan to take all four children, currently under age 8.
During this month in which the Catholic Church places the spotlight on mission work around the world, read about this local couple who, as parents, are putting their faith into action through medical missionary work on Pages 6 and 7.
You’ll be able to keep up with the lives of the Bauers through our publication, as well. Beginning this issue on Page 8, we introduce Paul Bauer as one of our two new “dad” columnists. In upcoming issues, he and Joseph Pirillo, a librarian and member of St. John the Baptist Parish, Plymouth, will share the writing duties for our”As Dad Sees It” column.
Regular readers of Catholic Herald Parenting may have noticed the absence of James Pankratz’s Friends of the Family column last month. His column has been a regular part of our publication since its inception in 1996 and we are grateful for all his insights and parenting observations from the perspective of a Catholic dad and marriage and family therapist for Catholic Charities. But as Pankratz’s two sons have grown older, he’s decided to put down his pen, so to speak, and discontinue the column. Best wishes, Jim, and thanks for your years of dedicated writing!
And, welcome aboard to Paul Bauer and Joe Pirillo. We’re certain you’ll find their writing equally informative and entertaining!
