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Show outdoor stone altar with a brush-shade over the heads of the congregation, all of whom sat on the ground for services. Next came a stone building, which remained roofless for a time, and sometime later a log ch urch was built. Fifteen years later it burned to the ground, and the only items to survive the fire were a statue of the Virgin Mary, and the silver chalice and paten that had been given to Fr. Liebler when he was ordained to the priesthood. Fr. Liebler's greatest problem in the begin ning was to make the Gospel understandable to his Navajo friends. Although they listened to his simple sermons with respect , he sensed that the Good News of Jesus was not reaching them. As the first Good Friday at St. Christopher's approached , he mulled over the problem of trying to explain to people who don't like to talk about death that their God had died on a cross to redeem the world from sin and death. Suddenly an answer - not perfect, but an answer - suggested itself. Since sand paintings are a recognized part of many standard Navajo ce remonials, why not use a sand painting to tell the story of the cru cifixion and res urrection of Jesus? Using the Franciscan Father's Catechism, Fr. Liebler read short selections of the Good Friday story, and between the readings he drew the picture with the colored sands while others of the missionary team sang hymns. First he drew the Gross in black sand, iirttl then the figure of the Crucified in beige-colored sand. Then came the figures of St. Mary and St. John on either side of the Cross. The sun was represen ted by a disc of yellow sand above the Cross . When he told of the darkness spreading over the land , he obli terated the sun with black sand. Unaware that this was a rai n-making ceremony, Fr. Liebler thought little of the heavy rain that came down that night. The next day , a white Bluff neighbor called out, " Gee, Father, that must have been a hell ofa good sandpainting you made - bringing all th is rain!" The event was enough to establish for the priest a reputation for having influence with the Powers Above. The reservation grapevine carried the news far and wide and fast. A white man had made a sand painting! All day long, groups came to see it and talk about it in hushed voices. It was a breakthrough, and it proved Canon Douglas' theory was right. From that moment on, nobody at St. Christopher's ever thought of trying to turn the Navajos into white men. As the years passed , Fr. Liebler's "congregation" grew until it covered most of the Navajo reservation within Utah. With the growth of the congregation came growth of the Mission itself, largely because it did not take the Navajo people long to realize that these peculiar outsiders really cared about them - about their bodies and their minds as well as their spiri tual needs. And so , as contributions arrived to make building possible, the missionaries started with what became known as the Mission House, which grew one wing at a time. When Fr. Liebler became convinced he ought to re tire at the age of 77, St. Christopher's also had - besides the church and the Mission House - a vicarage , an eight-bed clinic , a schoolhouse , and several work buildings and dormitories. Many years before, Fr. Liebler had bought for his reti reme!1t yea rs a small piece of land in Hat Rock Valley, some 60 miles southwest of Bluff, so he could remain on the THE CHRISTIAN CHALLENGE, JANUARY, 1977 reservation but would not be in the way of the priest who would succeed him at St. Christopher's. With the intention of building a shack where he could "end my days in happy service to my people," Fr. Liebler headed for Hat Rock Valley in 1966. But, again, he was not alone. Three members of the mission staff - which numbered about 20 at the time - decided to go with him, and before any of them realized what was happening, they were back at the usual task of building. This time, they thought their efforts were being directed toward the creation of a retreat center, to which clergy and laypeople from all over the western United States could come. But the Navajo people came too, and the little hoghan Church of St. Mary of the Moonlight was soon bursting at the seams with its growing congregations. By 1970, it became evident that the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center had become another worship center for people living in that part of the Navajo reservation , and the Church of St. Mary of the Moonlight would have to be enlarged . Once again, sand and rock were ha uled in from the area , and the missionaries and their friends were busily building. On October 3, 1974, people came from far and wide to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Fr. Liebler's ordination to the priesthood . It was a glorious and happy occasion, but Fr. Liebler's reac tion to the big event was, typically, " All I did was get old , and anybody can do that if he's got the time!" Today, the Dese rt Priest is 87 years old , but he has never quit trying to bring the Gospel of Christ to the Navajo people , although he no longer does it on horseback or by Jeep. In fact , it has long been the custom for the Navajo people to walk many miles to come to him. In a recent "Message," sent irregularly to friends and contribu tors, the staff at the Retreat Center reported the arrival, just before Mass, of an Indian family - a man, woman, and six children of assorted sizes, from cradle-board to teenager. They announced they had "just come to visit." And visit they did, for several hours, talking over old times when they had first met the missionaries at St. Christopher's Mission. Suddenly the man said, "I brought my wife and kids because we thought we'd like to get married." After a moment of shock, the missionaries realized he meant they wished to marry in church, and they inquired about baptism because Fr. Liebler had baptized the bride back "in the old days." The groom said he had been "thinking about it." In the end , there were four baptisms and a nuptial Mass - and a few weeks later, the family repeated the 200-mile trip to bring the rest of the children into the Body of Christ. So, instead of being ,an independent group of semiretired missionaries, Fr. Liebler and his companions at Hat Rock Valley have become an independent mission of the Diocese of Utah . Except for money to pay the salary and req uired benefi ts to the vi car at St. Mary of the Moonlight , no financial support is given by St. Christopher's Parish , the diocese or the national Church . After thi rty-three years of living in the land of the avajo , Fr. Liebler knows th at if he and his missionary frie nds continue trying to serve God and His people, He will see to their earthly needs. Ed. Note: Tax-exempt contributions to Fr. Liebler 's work should be sent to: Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center, Monument Valley, Utah 84536. |