Quote
“It was not our goal to inspire others, although we may have. … You never know who you will touch or connect with.”
| Christina Jackson, the mother of 16-year-old Kara Jackson, an altar server from Middleton, Ohio, who is on a mission to serve at Mass in all 50 states. Kara, who has been to 18 states since her quest began in 2013, has Down syndrome. Her parents, Christina and Rick, admitted they were skeptical when Kara first approached them with her idea, but after receiving the blessing of their parish priests they helped Kara begin her quest.
Profile
Mary Jean Bega
Coordinator of youth and young adult ministry, Kula Catholic Community
- Favorite food: Italian
- Holiday: Christmas
- Island: Maui
- Prayer: The Lord’s Prayer
- Best church: Holy Ghost
- Most memorable priest: Father Eric Castro. He’s kind, compassionate, selfless and a hard worker.
- PC or Mac: Mac
- Potato salad or mac salad: Neither; I don’t eat mayo.
Saints under 40
Blameless target
Catholics were not immune from the violence of World War II. One courageous example of this was Blessed Tarsykia Matskiv, a Ukrainian sister who was shot dead by a Soviet soldier simply because of her faith.
She was born Olha Matskiv in 1919 in Chodoriv, Ukraine, the oldest of four children. Her faith was strong from an early age; she was in church often and loved to pray.
At age 19, despite her mother’s wishes, Olha joined the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. She assumed her religious name of Tarsykia and in 1940 pronounced her first vows.
In 1944, the Soviet Union attacked the city where Sister Tarsykia was serving her mission. The bombardment drove her and her fellow sisters to hide in the basement of their novitiate.
Sister Tarsykia’s death came just a day after the Soviet attack began. The hidden sisters, waiting for a priest to arrive to celebrate a liturgy, heard their gate bell ring; Sister Tarsykia went out to greet who she thought was the priest. Instead it was a Soviet soldier, who shot and killed Sister Tarsykia. A martyr, she was beatified by St. John Paul II in 2001. Her remains eventually were returned to her hometown in 2007. (www.ssmi.org)