Beyond the frosted window pane early on a Sunday morning in late winter, the familiar figure of Fr. Earl Kurth, SJ, climbs into a car and heads out to celebrate Mass at one of the remote parishes on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Unable to drive due to his failing eyesight, Fr. Earl has again quietly sought out one of the other Jesuits in the community or another generous soul willing to take him where people need him.

As I watch, I am reminded of the poignant lines Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote regarding the power of the incarnation and the graced vocation that is ours as men and women of faith, disciples of Jesus Christ:

For Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his to the Father through the features of men’s faces.

These days, you do not know quite what you will see when you look out the window and catch a glimpse of Fr. Earl at Red Cloud Indian School. He may be making his way over to the church to celebrate a Mass for the elementary students. Or you may see him with shovel and hoe slung over his shoulder, walking to one of the gardens he tends. At 85, his steps are a bit less steady and his gait a little slower, but the determination of those steps is as strong as ever.

Fr. Earl first came to Red Cloud Indian School and Holy Rosary Mission in 1965, arriving among the Lakota Sioux people already seasoned in the ministry of the Church to American Indian people. He had spent 10 years among the Arapahoe and Shoshone people at St. Stephen Mission on the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming.

In his long years of ministry at Red Cloud, Fr. Earl has walked many paths and worn a variety of hats. Under his leadership and hard work, the 3 schools and 16 parishes serving Lakota children and their families have grown and undergone significant changes. Amidst the new buildings he helped make possible and improvements to the quality of education and service, Fr. Kurth’s embrace of the magis— the pursuit of the greater glory of God—has been a constant.

Now as he journeys through his 86th year of life, slowed some by his eyesight and other health troubles, he cannot do all the things that his younger years allowed – a cross no easier for him to bear than it is for any of us. However, those struggles of life have not diminished his desire to be of service in whatever ways he can.

When the schools are in session and the children present, Father is the chaplain to Red Cloud Elementary School students and celebrates Masses for each of the grades. If there is a school activity, the bleachers in the gym seem empty if Fr. Earl is not among the crowd.

When summer vacation arrives, his energies are directed toward the gardens where he plants trees and cultivates flowers. Summer or winter, when a family has lost a loved one and wants to pick out a spot in the cemetery on the grounds, Fr. Earl is the

Fr. Kurth strolls across the Red Cloud Indian School campus to Holy Rosary Church to celebrate Mass.

person they contact. In years past, he would walk steadfastly with the family up the hillside to the cemetery, offering comfort along the way. Today he is more likely to ask a family member to drive up the hill. Regardless of the mode of transportation, the grieving are met with deep concern and care.

One can understand a seemingly tireless enthusiasm and deep fervor to serve others in a younger disciple. In youth, the pursuit of the magis is more naturally accommodated by one’s energy and passion. To watch Fr. Earl still determined and still enthusiastic at 85 is a marvelous gift and a real inspiration.Whatever brings life and makes this world a better place – that is Fr. Earl’s obsession and vocation. His age may restrict his choices, and it is always a challenge to admit one’s own limitations, but Fr. Earl’s desire to assist and contribute is unflinching.

A bit of heaven has touched our earth at Red Cloud Indian School with the presence of Fr. Earl, who always wants the best for those to whom God sends him.

That is a real grace! During one of his many Masses with Red Cloud Elementary School students in 1999, the kids surprised Fr. Earl with a special plaque. They knew he was celebrating his 50th anniversary as a Jesuit priest, a priesthood that had touched each of their lives and so many of their families. The plaque (shown right), on which a small basketball shoe is mounted, reads simply:

Your daily walk alongside children has taught them how to walk, and by your example… where to walk. Your footprints will be the stepping stones to their future.

When the children presented the plaque to Fr. Earl with their thanks, he replied with simple words, filled with the faith of his life.Words delivered with a crack in his voice and gentle tears in his eyes.

“My only request,” he said, “is that you will pray that God will give me many more years to walk with you!”

A bit of heaven has touched our earth at Red Cloud Indian School with the presence of Fr. Earl, who always wants the best for those to whom God sends him. In his generous service and commitment, the people he has met over the years have come to see something of the face of God about which Hopkins wrote. And while Father may not have played in 10,000 places in his more than 50 years of priesthood, he has shown us how to be Christ for others and lives in far many more than 10,000 hearts.