Blog (Page 7)

For Carmelo Cayetano, the greatest spiritual questions have to do with the mystery of the Cross.  “Why did Jesus save us?  Do we really know?” he asks.  “How can we understand Christ’s suffering for us?” Carmelo has sought answers to these questions in many ways.  Carmelo joined St. Damien Parish eight years ago.  At first, he was satisfied to attend Mass along with everyone else.  Then, he was asked to be a Eucharistic minister.  “I did not feel ready for…

Every night, Bob and Barbara Lautenschlager say the Prayer of Spouses for Each Other. “We have our discussions like everybody else,” Barbara explained, but when they conclude the prayer by asking God to Let our love grow to perfection, it is clear that their 60-year-marriage is the fulcrum of their faith. The Lautenschlagers have attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Church since 1970, the year that they moved to Ocean City from Northern Virginia.  Their service to the parish has…

Every Sunday morning, sacristan Chris Devaney enters a dark and quiet St. Augustine Church.  He prays, then starts down the east side of the church, visiting the Stations of the Cross before opening the doors.  “St. Thérèse is back there, so I spend some time with her,” he said.  He is sometimes joined by an early arriver, who shares in what Chris calls the “blessed time” before the first Mass. The peace that Chris experiences now as a Catholic adult…

The next time you pass through the parking lot of St. Frances Cabrini Church, imagine it as a schoolyard.  It was the schoolyard for Carmela Rosch, a native of Ocean City who was born in 1929 and attended the original St. Augustine Catholic School in a building that once stood at Second St. and Atlantic Ave.   “The school had four classrooms,” she explained.  “Two grades to a classroom; one nun taught both grades.”  Because the school doubled as a summertime…

A visitor to the home of Maria Cayetano will be greeted first by an outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother.  The statue was put there by the previous residents, but when it was time to move, the statue could not be loosened from the ground, so it stayed behind.  Now, the Blessed Mother stands protectively by the Cayetano family garden, where Maria’s husband, Rene, grows tomatoes, herbs, and quelites, a slender Mexican green. Maria has lived in Ocean City for…

Few people could trace a Christian lineage as far back as Father Thomas Kochalumchuvattil. He was born in the state of Kerala in southern India, where St. Thomas the Apostle is believed to have brought the Gospel between 48 and 58 A.D.  “We are called St. Thomas Christians,” he said of his home community, which has remained a center of Catholicism in India across the centuries. Like his namesake, Fr. Thomas has traveled long distances in the service of Christ,…

When Robert Malfitano volunteered to become an altar server at St. Augustine Church, he thought it would help him stay more alert during Mass. “I did get a little bored sometimes,” he smiled, “and I knew I wanted to help the church.” Now, beginning his third year as an altar server, 12-year-old Robert experiences a deep spiritual engagement as he performs his duties.  “I feel the closer I am to the priest, the more engaged and connected I am,” he…

When Francis McCormac attended an Ocean City High School football game a few years ago wearing his World War II Veterans cap, little did he know that he was about to be drafted. History teacher Andrew Bristol spied the cap and asked Francis if he would be willing to visit his classroom to talk firsthand about his war experience.  Of course, Francis agreed.  Saying yes to service has been a constant in his 98-year life. Francis Xavier McCormac was born…