The Courier - January 2024

The

COURIER

Baptism of the Lord January 7

January 2024

Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN | dowr.org

Pope: Celebrating the Incarnation, U.S. Bishops'

Remember Bethlehem, T

President Pleads oo for Peace in Land of Jesus' Birth From usccb.org

Pope Francis greets people taking part in a living Nativity scene in Rome after an audience Dec. 16, 2023, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

By CINDY WOODEN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - When St. Francis of Assisi staged the first Nativity scene 800 years ago, he did so to remind people of the powerful, awe-inspiring truth that God became human in Jesus, Pope Francis said.

Nativity scenes are not simply works of art or folk art, the pope told hundreds of people involved in staging a live Nativity scene at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome Dec. 16.

Dressed as angels, shepherds, the Holy Family and the townspeople of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, the amateur actors met Pope Francis in the Vatican audience

hall just a few hours before their performance began.

When St. Francis staged a similar living Nativity in 1223, the pope said, he wanted "to represent in life the birth of Jesus to inspire in friars and in the people emotion and tenderness toward the mystery of God born of Mary in a stable and laid in a manger."

The live setting, he said, was designed "to give substance to the representation - not a painting, not statues, but people in flesh and blood, in order to highlight the reality of the Incarnation."

As St. Francis knew, "the purpose of the living Nativity scene is to reawaken wonder in the heart

Bethlehem, cont'd on pg. 2

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2023 - In the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, news reports emerged today that two women were killed, and others injured when a Catholic church and convent in Gaza City were attacked. Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pleaded for peace: “At this holy time of Advent in anticipation of the birth of the Prince of Peace, it is with great sadness and horror that we continue to witness the death and destruction of innocent people in the land of Our Lord’s birth. Such violence must not continue. Following the mistaken killing of Israeli hostages and now, the killing of two Christian women and the wounding of others inside Holy Family Parish in Gaza, we call for an immediate cessation of all hostilities, the release of hostages, and for earnest negotiations towards a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

“We resolutely join our voices with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminding all parties in this conflict, that war is never the answer but always a defeat. We plead, ‘peace, please peace!’”

According to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, a majority of Christian families have taken refuge inside the Catholic parish located inside Gaza City since the start of the war.

INSIDE this issue

Witness to Jesus, 'Hope of the World' page 4

The Works of Mercy Keep Us on the Path to Heaven page 6

Doubling Down on Gratitude

page 9

Bethlehem, cont'd from pg. 1

The Courier Insider

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before the mystery of God who became a child."

Pope Francis said that especially this year people should keep the people of Bethlehem in mind when they see a living Nativity scene or a crèche in a home or church. "For them, it promises to be a Christmas of suffering, of mourning, without pilgrims, without celebrations."

"And naturally this extends to all the inhabitants of the land where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again," he said. "We know the situation caused by the war, the consequence of a conflict that has lasted for decades."

Immediately after meeting the living Nativity characters, Pope Francis held an audience with musicians who would perform that evening in a Christmas concert at the Vatican to raise money for Catholic education.

The pope spoke of the importance of songs as ways to hand down "stories and prayers" and express what people are thinking and feeling in a way words alone cannot do.

"Just think of all those teenagers who sing the songs of their favorite artists by heart because those words and music combine to evoke in them a powerful blend of emotions and associations," he said.

Down through the ages, he said, Christmas has inspired a treasure trove of songs among people of all ages and all cultures.

And performers, lending their voices and vocal interpretations to those melodies become part of the tradition, he said.

"There is something beautiful about this," the pope said. "We have a message, ancient yet ever new, that of the birth of Jesus, the Savior, and different voices, from all over the world, that come together to make it heard."

Christmas songs are never "uniform, homogenized," he said. "Christmas carols are to be sung with that art that comes from the heart."

Articles of Interest

Witness to Jesus, 'Hope of the World'________4 Small Group Spiritual Multiplication_________5 Catholic Schools News____________________6-7 The Lord Calls, and We Must Follow______8 Who Do You Desire?_____________________8 Doubling Down on Gratitude_______________9 January Stewardship Reflection_____________10 Diocesan Headlines_______________________11 Inside the Capitol_________________________12

The Holy Father's Intention

Bishop Barron's Statement on Fiducia Supplicans Dec. 20, 2023 - On Monday, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval of Pope Francis, published a declaration entitled Fiducia Supplicans, which has given rise to a good deal of commentary and controversy. The document allows for the possibility of blessing those in irregular or same-sex relationships.

Despite some misleading reporting in the media, Fiducia Supplicans in no way sanctions irregular bonds or changes the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. It further specifies that no liturgical blessing can be offered to those in such unions, but rather an informal

pastoral blessing. This latter benediction is a calling forth of the divine grace to help those who receive it to live more fully in accord with God’s will and to enhance whatever is good, true, and beautiful in their lives.

I believe that the declaration is very much congruent with the pastoral instincts of Pope Francis, who always wants to remind those who are living the Christian life in a less than perfect way that they are, nevertheless, loved and cherished by God. To all of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, the Church should never fail to be a source of welcome, compassion, and blessing.

for

January 2024 For the Gift of Diversity in the Church Let us pray that the Spirit help us recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian community, and to discover the richness of different ritual traditions in the heart of the Catholic Church.

Vatican Note on Blessings Opens Door The Most Rev. Robert Barron, Bishop of the Diocese of to Those Seeking God, Official Says Winona-Rochester, announces

By CINDY WOODEN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's declaration on informally blessing same-sex couples or other nonmarried couples is a reminder that the Catholic Church and its pastors never close the door on people seeking God's help, said a commentary published in Vatican media.

"The heart of a shepherd cannot remain indifferent to the people who approach him, humbly asking to be blessed, regardless of their condition, their history or the path of their life," said the commentary by Andrea

Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication.

"The shepherd's heart does not extinguish the flickering light of one who senses their own incompleteness, knowing they need mercy and help from on High," Tornielli wrote in a piece published Dec. 18 in multiple languages on the Vatican News website and in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

The doctrinal dicastery's document, "Fiducia Supplicans" ("Supplicating Trust") was approved by Pope Francis during an audience

The Courier is the official publication of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester 55 West Sanborn, P.O. Box 588, Winona, MN 55987 Vol 115 - 1

Most Reverend Robert E. Barron, Publisher Nick Reller, Associate Editor Telephone: 507-858-1257 Fax:507-454-8106 E-mail: nreller@dowr.org Publishing Schedule: Monthly - Deadline for advertising & articles is the 10th of the month prior.

(ISSN 0744-5490)

January 2024 w The Courier w dowr.org

Blessings, cont'd on pg. 12

Officials

Where to Find The Courier

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Hard copies are distributed at DOW-R parishes

the following:

on the first weekend of

Senior Status

each month.

Rev Timothy Reker: granted Senior Priest Status, effective July 1, 2024.

Chaplain

Rev. Michael Churchill: appointed Chaplain for Together Encounter Christ (TEC) for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, effective January 1, 2024.

Child Abuse Policy Information

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester will provide a prompt, appropriate and compassionate response to reporters of sexual abuse of a child by any diocesan agent (employees, volunteers, vendors, religious or clergy). Anyone wishing to make a report of an allegation of sexual abuse should call the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 507-454-2270, Extension 255. A caller will be asked to provide his or her name and telephone number. Individuals are also encouraged to take their reports directly to civil authorities. The Diocese of Winona-Rochester is committed to protecting children, young people and other vulnerable people in our schools, parishes and ministries. The diocesan policy is available on the diocesan web site at www.dow.org under the Safe Environment Program. If you have any questions about the Diocese of Winona-Rochester’s implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, please contact Mary Hamann at 507-858-1244, or mhamann@dowr.org.

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To be added to the home delivery list free of charge, readers should send their names and addresses to: Diocese of Winona-Rochester The Courier 55 W Sanborn St. Winona, MN 55987 or nreller@dowr.org

Epiphany: A Meditation on Faith and Reason

Bishop Robert Barron

� ne of the great battles up and down the centuries is that

between faith and reason, between religion and science.

Frankly, from both sides of this fight, silly and problematic things have been said, and in some extreme cases, violent disputes have broken out. For some, the mere mention of the name “Galileo” summons up all of the irrational opposition to science that characterizes

that “religion” and “science” were at odds, they would have been puzzled in the extreme.

Well, their science led them on a quest to find the new-born king and when they discovered him they opened their gifts and honored him. As Pope Benedict pointed out, it is extremely significant that Jesus is referred to in Christian revelation as the Logos, as divine reason. All of science is based upon the fundamental assumption that the universe is intelligible, that it is endowed, in every aspect of its existence, with logos.

Otherwise, they would never go out to meet it with any sort of rational confidence.

These two ideas cohere perfectly. St. John tells us “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…” and “through this Word all things came to be.”

This means that the universe is not dumbly there; it has been spoken into existence. Jesus is none other than this personal word of God made flesh, the rational pattern of existence now expressed in human form. Therefore, all battles between religion and science, from a Christian perspective, are silly and based upon false assumptions. What is on display

in Jesus is the culmination of what every scientist is searching for.

The Church fathers—Justin, Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine—grasped this principle very clearly. And that is why they interpreted all of the achievements of science and philosophy as congruent with faith in Christ, anticipations if you will, of what was fully revealed in Jesus. Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle could bring their philosophical riches and lay them at the feet of Christ. Herodotus, Seutonius, and Plutarch could bring their historical research and present it as a gift to Christ. Homer and Virgil could bring their poetry to him. And so why can’t we say that Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, and Steven Hawking are bringing their astrophysics to him? And why can’t we say that Shakespeare, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, and William Faulkner are bringing their dramas and stories to him? And why can’t we say that Kant and Hegel and Heidegger are not, at least indirectly, searching for him?

The shepherds in the Christmas story might represent the yearning of simple people for Christ, those who are hungry

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for food and shelter and the basic necessities, those that want to get through the day. But the Magoi represent the longing of the sophisticated for the same Christ: the yearnings of poets, scientists, philosophers, and intellectual seekers.

The point is this: both groups—the simple and the sophisticated— must come to him and offer what they have.

What we have witnessed in modern times is precisely the separation of science and religion, something which has redounded to the deficit of both religion and science. Religion can come to seem superstitious and uncritical; and science can come to seem cold, analytical, and flat.

The Magi stand for a properly constituted reason which knows how to surrender itself to the source of reason.

From the Bishop

Non Nisi Te Domine

religion at its worst. And today, the names “Hitchens, Dawkins, and Hawking” summon up for religious people all that is most aggressive and intolerant in some forms of science.

Can I suggest that one of the many ways that one can read the feast of Epiphany is as a commentary on the relation between faith and reason.

Epiphany says, in a nutshell, that the deepest aspirations of the scientist and the person of faith meet in Christ. We’re not quite sure who these Magoi (Magi) were, but we can hazard a pretty good guess. In the Chaldean culture of Jesus’ time, there was a highly sophisticated practice of astronomy. By our standards, it would have combined elements of astrology, but nevertheless for its time it was a high expression of analytical reason.

They would measure and catalogue the stars and planets, using the most advanced techniques of the time. But they knew something that too many scientists of our own time have forgotten: that the very orderliness and intelligibility of the heavens indicates that they had an intelligent designer. And therefore, they looked into that starry sky for signs of God. If you had suggested to them

-Most Rev. Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester

Epifania: Meditación sobre la Fe y la Razón (Reyes Magos), pero podemos la revelación cristiana se haga científico busca. menos indirectamente? � na de las grandes batallas a atrevernos a hacer una buena referencia a Jesús como el Logos, Los padres de la Iglesia Los pastores de la historia lo largo de los siglos es la que como la razón divina. Toda la Justino, Ireneo, Orígenes, de Navidad podrían representar se libra entre la fe y la razón, entre la religión y la ciencia.

Francamente, desde ambos lados de esta lucha se han dicho cosas tontas y problemáticas, y en algunos casos extremos han estallado violentas disputas.

Para algunos, la mera mención del nombre "Galileo" evoca toda la oposición irracional a la ciencia que caracteriza a la religión en su peor forma.

Y hoy en día, los nombres de "Hitchens, Dawkins y Hawking" evocan para la gente religiosa todo lo que hay de más agresivo e intolerante en algunas formas de ciencia.

Me permito sugerir que una de las muchas maneras en que se puede leer la festividad de la Epifanía es como un comentario sobre la relación entre la fe y la razón. La Epifanía dice, en pocas palabras, que las aspiraciones más profundas del científico y de la persona de fe se encuentran en Cristo. No estamos seguros de quiénes fueron estos Magoi

conjetura. En la cultura caldea de la época de Jesús existía una práctica muy sofisticada de la astronomía. Para nuestros estándares, habría combinado elementos de la astrología, pero sin embargo para su tiempo era una alta expresión de la razón analítica. Medían y catalogaban las estrellas y los planetas, utilizando las técnicas más avanzadas de la época. Pero sabían algo que demasiados científicos de nuestro tiempo han olvidado: que el propio orden e inteligibilidad de los cielos indica que tuvieron un diseñador inteligente. Y, por lo tanto, miraban al cielo estrellado en busca de señales de Dios.

Si se les hubiera sugerido que "religión" y "ciencia" estaban reñidas, se habrían quedado perplejos en extremo. Pues bien, su ciencia les llevó a buscar al rey recién nacido y, cuando lo descubrieron, abrieron sus regalos y lo honraron. Como señaló el Papa Benedicto, es sumamente significativo que en

ciencia se basa en el supuesto fundamental de que el universo es inteligible, de que está dotado, en todos los aspectos de su existencia, de logos. De lo contrario, nunca saldrían a su encuentro con ningún tipo de confianza racional.

Estas dos ideas son perfectamente coherentes la una con la otra. San Juan nos dice "en el principio era el Verbo y el Verbo estaba con Dios y el Verbo era Dios..." y "por medio de este Verbo todas las cosas llegaron a ser". Esto significa que el universo no está ahí tontamente; ha sido llamado a la existencia. Jesús no es otra cosa que esta palabra personal de Dios hecha carne, el modelo racional de la existencia expresado ahora en forma humana. Por lo tanto, todas las batallas entre la religión y la ciencia, desde una perspectiva cristiana, son tontas y se basan en suposiciones falsas.

Lo que se muestra en Jesús es la culminación de lo que todo

Crisóstomo, Jerónimo, Agustíncaptaron este principio muy claramente. Y por eso interpretaron todos los logros de la ciencia y la filosofía como congruentes con la fe en Cristo, anticipaciones, si se quiere, de lo que se reveló plenamente en Jesús. Sócrates, Pitágoras, Platón y Aristóteles podían traer sus riquezas filosóficas y ponerlas a los pies de Cristo. Heródoto, Suetonio y Plutarco podrían aportar sus investigaciones históricas y presentarlas como un regalo a Cristo. Homero y Virgilio podían llevarle su poesía. ¿Y por qué no podemos decir que Galileo, Copérnico, Newton y Steven Hawking le llevan su astrofísica? ¿Y por qué no podemos decir que Shakespeare, James Joyce, Marcel Proust y William Faulkner le aportan sus dramas e historias? ¿Y por qué no podemos decir que Kant, Hegel y Heidegger no le buscan, al

el anhelo de la gente sencilla por Cristo, los que están hambrientos de comida y cobijo y de las necesidades básicas, los que quieren superar el día.

Pero los Magoi representan el anhelo de los sofisticados por el mismo Cristo: los anhelos de poetas, científicos, filósofos y buscadores intelectuales. La cuestión es ésta: ambos grupos -los sencillos y los sofisticadosdeben acercarse a Él y ofrecerle lo que tienen.

Lo que hemos presenciado en los tiempos modernos es precisamente la separación entre ciencia y religión, algo que ha redundado en detrimento tanto de la religión como de la ciencia. La religión puede llegar a parecer supersticiosa y acrítica; y la ciencia puede llegar a parecer fría, analítica y chata.

Los Reyes Magos representan una razón debidamente constituida que sabe entregarse a la fuente de la razón.

The Bishop's Calendar is on Page 12.

January 2024 w The Courier w dowr.org

Lay Formation & RCIA

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Witness to Jesus, 'Hope of the World' Todd Graff

Director of Lay Formation & RCIA tgraff@dowr.org

Today there is need for people to be witnesses to the mercy and tenderness of God, who spurs the resigned, enlivens the disheartened, ignites the fire of hope. He ignites the fire of hope! We don’t. So many situations require our comforting witness. To be joyful, comforting people…. We are all called to comfort our brothers and sisters, to testify that God alone can eliminate the causes of existential and spiritual tragedies. He can do it! He is powerful!

-Pope Francis, Angelus Address, Dec. 7, 2014

�reetings of Peace in this New Year!

It was the Second Sunday of Advent, and I was pre-

paring to join the procession to receive Communion.

We were singing the Communion hymn, “Jesus, Hope of the World,” a hymn our parish was singing throughout the Advent season.

And then, quite unexpectedly, tears began to fill my eyes. I was caught off guard, but I realized that the beautiful words and message of this hymn were resonating within me in a deeply powerful way. We sing in the refrain: Jesus, hope of the world, Jesus, light in our darkness, here we await, you, O Master Divine.

Here we receive you in bread and in wine: Jesus, hope of the world.

I have been reflecting often, in these days, on the very troubled and painful realities of our world. While I can wake up in my home and enjoy some time for quiet and prayer, and then something to eat and a hot shower, so many in our world must live without the assurance of these things.

Wars rage in Europe and the Middle East, and in other parts of our world, and countless innocent lives have been harmed and lost due to these conflicts. So many parents are mourning the children who have died from the violence affecting their communities and neighborhoods. So many families have had to flee their homes and communities (and even home countries) to seek safety. So many of our sisters and brothers live in paralyzing fear of the next bomb or round of gunshots to come their way.

And, even in our own country, there is a toxic, angry, and divisive spirit to our public life which is reflected in our social media, in our politics, and even in our churches. Many parents among us are also mourning the lives of children injured and lost to gun violence, suicide, sexual abuse, etc. Many demean the very humanity of the immigrants living here and especially on our southern border.

January 2024 w The Courier w dowr.org

L i ke many of my fellow citizens, I have been dreading this coming election year with its prospect of fomenting more division, anger, and resentment among us.

I don’t like to write about these things, and I certainly don’t like to feel the anxiety and fear that they breed within me. But, we must try to see things as they are - but, also as they could be.

As people of faith, we must be people of joy and of hope. And that is what brought tears to my eyes at Mass on that Sunday morning. The “hope of the world” is not found in politics or in the media, but in Jesus. He is “the light” even, and especially, in this great darkness of our day. In praying and singing this truth of our faith, I could only begin to weep.

And, as I received Communion, I knew that it was Jesus, our Risen Lord, in His “body, blood, soul, and divinity” that I was receiving. And, it is this Jesus who accompanies and walks with me, and with us, through all of the painful and difficult moments of life.

As Pope Francis relates, “The greatest mercy lies in [Jesus’] being in our midst, in our being in his presence and company. He walks with us, he shows us the path of love, he lifts us in our labors, he accompanies us in every circumstance of life” (Homily for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 2015).

So, these two contrasting realities are part of our human experience in the world today – the darkness and seeming despair of a broken and violent world, and the light of hope that comes to us through our faith in Jesus Christ. How can we not close our eyes to the suffering all around us – and, indeed, even be willing to enter into it – and yet still live in the hope and joy of following Christ? How can we be, as Pope Francis challenges us, “witnesses to the mercy and tenderness of God” in our world today? Again, I will turn to our Holy Father for his wisdom…

Rejoicing in Hope (Romans 12:12)

In his Message for World Youth Day 2023, “Rejoicing in Hope,” Pope Francis offers us a beautiful reflection on hope in the context of our present day.

He acknowledges that there is much in our experience that would lead us away from joy and hope.

“When we think of human tragedies, especially the suffering of the innocent, we too can echo some of the Psalms and ask the Lord, ‘Why?’ At the same time, however, we can also be part of God’s answer to the problem. Created by him in his image and likeness, we can be signs of love, which gives rise to joy and hope even in situations that appear hopeless.”

The question is, then, how do we become agents of hope and joy in a time of profound distress.

First, we recognize that the “joy in hope” proclaimed by St. Paul comes not from our “human efforts, plans or skills,” but from our knowing and experiencing God’s love for us. In encountering the Divine Love and Mercy made flesh in the dying and rising of Jesus, and in receiving the “Real Presence” of the Crucified and Risen Christ in the Eucharist, we come to know the power and energy of God’s love.

The Resurrection of Christ gives rise to a hope that this Divine Love which overcomes sin and darkness, and even death, is at work in us who are His presence, His body, in the world today. And, the Risen One is with us “always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). As Pope Francis writes, “Christian hope is not a denial of sorrow and death; it is the celebration of the love of the risen Christ, who is always at our side, even when he seems far from us.”

Second, it is the Holy Spirit who “nurtures our hope.” We cooperate with the work of the Spirit through prayer and by our daily decisions.

In prayer, we “take some time each day to rest in God, especially when we feel overwhelmed by our problems.” Prayer is “the first strength of hope,” and allows us to see beyond the “dark and dreary” around us to the “light and warmth” of God’s love which “envelops us” and is “always there.”

In our daily decisions, we “choose a style of life” and make “concrete choices in our everyday lives” that are “grounded in hope.” Hope is “humble,” a virtue that is built up day by day in our lives. Our Holy Father challenges us. “[E]ach day, try to share a word of hope with others. Try to sow seeds of hope in the lives of your friends and everyone around you.”

Finally, our hope must take root in the present realities of our lives. As Pope Francis teaches, we are not to “flee from the world” in all of its shadows and difficulties, but to “love the times in which God has placed us” and to share the love and grace we have received “with the brothers and sisters that the Lord gives us each day.”

The darkness of our world remains, but our lives even amidst this darkness can take on the light of Christ’s presence. “The light of hope which is Christ … makes us see things in a new way, and in the darkness a certain beauty shines forth.”

As I sang in prayer on that Advent Sunday, with tear-filled eyes, truly Jesus is the “hope of the world.”

Let us, together as his disciples, live in and give witness to our hope in Jesus in this new year of 2024.

Deo Gratias!

When we see things in the light of hope, they appear different. I encourage you, then, to start seeing things this way. Thanks to God’s gift of hope, Christians are filled with a new joy that comes from within. The challenges and difficulties will always be there, but if we possess a hope ‘full of faith’, we can confront them in the knowledge that they do not have the final word. And we ourselves can become a small beacon of hope for others.

-Pope Francis, Message for World Youth Day 2023

Small Group Spiritual Multiplication Susan Windley-Daoust

Friends, many of you know I wrote a book titled The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Parish in a Post-Christian World, published by OSV Press.

The next four months, I am going to talk about each of those ways, patterns of Catholic evangelization that WORK, spiritually emerging from the past 40 years: radical hospitality + first proclamation, small group spiritual multiplication, elevating signs and wonders, and organizational mission re-focus. My argument is that adopting three of these ways forward will create a stable evangelizing parish designed to grow and share the gospel. This month, we begin with small group spiritual multiplication.

� recently asked a friend, who happens to be a

national speaker on leadership: what is the first thing you’d recommend–after prayer–to move toward an evangelizing parish? He said “get them to talk to each other. Especially, get them to talk to each other about what matters. Engage the communion, the brotherhood and sisterhood, we already are. If we don’t have that, few of those invited will stay.”

Almost every parish knows the power of small groups. People create lasting friendships in Christ in faith-sharing groups of all kinds…Bible studies, prayer circles, Cursillo’s Ultreya small groups, RENEW, book studies, third orders, and more. But it’s more than friendships, as important as those are…it’s also about adult discipleship growth.

Spiritual Multiplication

The new “sauce” to small groups in the past 25 years is the addition of a practice called spiritual multiplication. In short, when small discipleship groups are created in a way that fosters leaders to convene new small groups, the impact of small groups multiplies across your entire parish. Let’s assume a small group leads people to active (or deeper, or more exciting) discipleship. That small group of 4 then ends their small group study together and they all go out and “do it again” with new people–at the end of that cycle, you have 16. They do it again and end with 64 active disciples. This is where it gets amazing: they do it again, and they reach 256.

Again? Over 1000 active, deeper, excited disciples. Even assuming that some will drop out of the cycle: after five cycles, can you imagine how that would impact parish life?

This is the model most prominently practiced by FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). On a parish level, it is prominently practiced by Discipleship Quads (Franciscan Outreach). But honestly–it could be practiced by many of the small group possibilities out there (RENEW, various Bible Studies). Begin with the small group deliberately promising each other: let’s plan to do this well, and some of you will help me repeat it with other people next season/year/etc. It is usually possible. But it takes the “spiritual multiplication vision” and commitment.

If you want to warm up your parish to the power of small groups, suggest and offer to help run one of these options during this Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival. And talk to me about how to spiritually multiply your chosen practice!

1. Jesus and the Eucharist video discussion series: This sevensession series was created specifically for the parish year of the Eucharistic Revival and is designed to be easy to implement so people can focus on the content and engaging with each other. It is elegant, thought provoking, beautifully done, available in English and Spanish, and free. See more here: https:// www.eucharisticrevival.org/formation-resources

5 Missionary Discipleship

Director of Missionary Discipleship swindley@dowr.org

We are created for spiritual growth. The body grows, maintains, and slowly declines (it’s true). But we are created with souls designed to grow, grow, and grow! That doesn’t happen automatically. We need the grace of the sacraments, the practice of prayer and good works…and we open ourselves to growth by talking about Jesus. Out loud. With others.

We live in a country that has drawn a distinction between what is called personal and public faith.

Personal faith is considered acceptable (somewhat) and the private faith much less so. Yet that is a cultural custom that isn’t necessary: in fact, our country was founded on the premise of religious freedom–you can practice whatever it is you believe! It also is a custom that isn’t true: our personal faith and public faith are one. If we individually believe that Jesus is Lord, we have to be open to living that truth in public, and sharing it when appropriate. God the Father and his Son did not send the Holy Spirit in order for us to become “secret Christians.”

In an increasingly secular culture, we need to connect these dots for people–that the way we live and how we speak is based on what we believe. But in order to do that, we need to grow in an adult confidence of our own faith, and practice talking about it out loud with a safe group. That is where small groups are genius. They accomplish both spiritual growth and sharing, and you gain good friends in the process.

There is literally no down side.

2. Discipleship Quads: While this is not specifically part of the Eucharistic Revival, it addresses the Christian life in fullness, which includes the Eucharistic life! The spiritual multiplication process is built into this option. Materials are available in English and Spanish, free online or low cost for booklets, and the small group of four meets weekly for one year. https://steubenvilleconferences.com/discipleship-quads/

3. Transformed small group study: This small group study comes from Evangelical Catholic, which focuses on small group formation. Six sessions which focus on how the Eucharist is offered by Christ to transform your life. Can be used in conjunction with the Evangelical Catholic missional method. https://store. evangelicalcatholic.org/products/copy-oftransformed-the-gift-and-challenge-of-theeucharist 4. Eucharist Matters: Designed for parents, guardians, and grandparents of children anticipating receiving the Eucharist for the first time, this seven-session small group series helps parents anchor the Eucharistic Lord as the center of their home. This is a video/booklet series by Catholic HOM (Greg and Lisa Popcak) in collaboration with RENEW Ministries. https://pages.renewintl. org/eucharist-matters

There are many Catholic small groups: the key is to prioritize them and give people encouragement to participate. And pay it forward! I wish you joy in your new friendships in Christ.

Are you seeking recovery from addiction? Please come to one of our 12-Step-based Catholic in Recovery sessions: ROCHESTER Catholic in Recovery (General Recovery group) Holy Spirit Church, Rochester, St. Joseph Room Sundays, 7:30 p.m.

Contact: Peter at flies.pete@gmail.com or 507-696-7437

AUSTIN Catholic in Recovery (General Recovery group) Queen of Angels Catholic Church 1001 Oakland Ave E (School Building, Door 1, first room on right) Thursdays, 7:00 p.m.

Contact: paulonrabbit@yahoo.com; Jane (218-429-1522) or Paul (218-429-1662)

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Catholic Schools

6

The Works of Mercy

Keep Us on the Path to Heaven

By MICHAEL GERARD

�Catholic ast week, the leaders of our diocesan schools were blessed to celebrate

the feast of the Immaculate Conception with Bishop Barron. Afterward, we met with Bishop, who presented us with a challenge. He challenged us to focus on teaching the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy in our schools. I will argue that our world has strayed from these basic tenets of the Catholic Faith. Our society seems like it is lost. Have you ever been lost? I know I have. It is not a good feeling.

Once, I was on a portage between Clearwater Lake and West Pike in the Boundary Waters. It is nearly a mile portage. Before we began the portage, the sun was setting, and the light was growing dim. All the campsites on Clearwater were taken, and we had to go to the next lake to avoid a hefty fine for camping outside of a designated camping area. My father argued that we should risk the fine and camp on the portage. I argued that we should continue. I “won” the argument, and we donned our heavy packs and the canoe. It was a cloudy, moonless evening, and we trudged down the trail into the deep, dark, woods. To make things worse, we forgot to pack a flashlight. As we made painstakingly slow progress, my father left me and returned to the beginning of the portage to retrieve an essential piece of kit we had forgotten. I continued alone in the pitch dark, and it did not take long before I lost the narrow portage trail. I knew I lost the trail because I was beset on every side by branches. I was standing in the thick brush. I had on a heavy pack, was carrying a 70-pound canoe, and could not even see my hand in front of my face. I nearly panicked. Instead, I froze. I was not where I wanted to be. I wanted to return to the trail, likely only a few dozen feet away. I calmly and very slowly began to walk backward until I was out of the brush and on the trail again. As I continued down the dark trail, I was reunited with my father, and we had to hold hands to help each other to keep from falling over the rocks and roots along the way.

Even in the pitch dark we were able to feel our way along the path and make it to the next camping spot.

I'm telling you that story to illustrate a point. I think we all can agree that our world is not on the narrow path that Jesus laid out. We have wandered off the path.

We are in the bushes and can’t see. Let us stop moving forward and take a few steps back to the last place where things were OK. I am not talking about 1956 or 1565. I am talking about the good Christian path. The “you do you” attitude of today is not healthy or helpful.

Many people have wandered into the bushes and can’t see a way out. It would be helpful to have a set of instructions, a path, so to speak, to follow.

Living the Works of Mercy will help keep us on the path to heaven. It will help us to feel better about ourselves. Who doesn't feel better when they help a fellow human? It feels good to help, like scratching an itch on your back.

It feels better when someone else does it for you. We need each other.

We are not called to stoicism. We are called to love. We are called to help each other on the path to heaven.

Bishop Barron is challenging our schools to learn and live the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. He is calling us to follow in the path of Jesus. Care for the homeless, naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, and dead has all declined in recent years. Many see it as someone else's job. Ebenezer Scrooge said, “Why should I give when I am already taxed for such things.” That is the

Deacon Sean Costello

Superintendent of Catholic Schools scostello@dowr.org

problem. We have outsourced these works and often don’t give them a second thought. We have left the path. I am the first to admit that I fall into the category of “needs improvement.” I am not okay as I am, and I can do a lot better. Sometimes, it takes a leader to stand up and call us to battle.

Bishop Barron has given us a mandate and has called us to action. It is up to us to pick up the gauntlet and begin to work together. A call to get out of the bushes and onto the path.

I encourage you to join us in this endeavor. Our schools need you. We need teachers, classroom aids, volunteers, and supporters. Most of all, we need your prayers. Join us in this mission to get back on the narrow path, and let us help each other achieve heaven.

Heaven in short moments here on earth and for all of eternity. Many hands make light work. Join us in our mission today. God bless!

Michael Gerard is the Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.

Spiritual Works of Mercy

Corporal Works of Mercy

Admonish Sinners Instruct the Uninformed Counsel the Doubtful Comfort the Sorrowful Be Patient with Those in Error Forgive Offenses Pray for the Living and the Dead

Feed the Hungry Give Drink to the Thirsty Clothe the Naked Shelter the Homeless Visit the Sick Visit the Imprisoned Bury the Dead

Celebrating St. Lucia at St. Casimir's School Submitted by JINGER WOODRING

�

he kindergarten, first and second grade class of St. Casimir's School in Wells celebrated St. Lucia's Day on December 13 by reading the book Lucia, Saint of Light by Katherine Bolger Hyde, and learning about the life of St. Lucy and how a few countries celebrate the special day. For instance, in Sweden, the oldest girl in the family will dress up in a white gown, wear a crown wreath with candles and bring special treats to family members in the early morning! According to legend, Lucia, or Lucy, would carry food and water to Christians who had been forced to hide out in the catacombs of Rome.

The catacombs were dark, and Lucy needed her hands free to carry supplies. Therefore, she created her own "headlamp" of a wreath of candles placed on her head to light her way. The students re-enacted their own version of this holiday and followed in St. Lucy's footsteps by dressing in white gowns, wearing paper wreaths with candles and singing a hymn as they walked to the principal's January 2024 w The Courier w dowr.org

office to share a treat with Mr. Hengel! St. Lucia's Day celebrates light returning to the long, dark days of winter - especially the winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year.

Jinger Woodring is a teacher at St. Casimir's School in Wells.

On Friday, December 8, St. Mary's School, Madelia, celebrated Mass with many parishioners and then had a procession with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This celebration was in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Holy Day of Obligation holds a special place in our hearts as it is for our namesake, St. Mary. Father Hall makes sure that we have many special activities to celebrate many of the Church’s special days in the calendar year. We also get to fly rockets on Ascension Day. We have a special celebration for Epiphany and of course Advent and Lent traditions.

There is always something to be thankful for here at St. Mary’s School.

Photo and caption submitted by Principal JEN SLATER.

Submitted by ERIC SONNEK

�ike all schools, St. Felix Catholic School serves stu-

dents and families who are dealing with anxiety, fear, and depression. Across the state, 92% of Catholic school principals identified the need for more time from school counselors in order to respond. Thanks

We are so grateful for our community who continues to gather for our annual Christmas Play. Year after year, they are giving new students a chance to spread their wings.

- Principal Eric Sonnek

to the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE), we’ll be able to better serve our school community with mental health and wellness resources through its Peace of Mind initiative.

St. Felix Catholic School is one of 21 local Catholic schools in this three-year Peace of Mind Partner School Initiative that will help us meet the needs of our school community through specific instruction and individualized solutions with support from CSCOE’s partner, Dr. Jules Nolan, and her team at Phoenix School Counseling. The goal: children and adults will gain emotional confidence and grow in competence to handle life’s stressors, big and small, in healthy ways.

As a Peace of Mind Partner School, we will benefit from: • • •

An additional day per week of school counseling services; Specialized training;

A grant to host a middle school experience that grows connections between students and parents;

•

Family resources such as live presentations, webinars, hand-outs and recommended digital apps to build practical skills and learn new strategies.

7 Catholic Schools

St. Felix, Wabasha, Is a Peace of Mind School

We are grateful for CSCOE’s support in providing fresh perspectives and concrete tools to bolster health and balance for everyone in our Catholic school community, and we thank our staff members and families for their partnership.

If you would like to chat about Peace of Mind or hear more about the initiative, please contact Mr. Eric Sonnek at St. Felix Catholic School to see how the benefits of the Peace of Mind program have helped St. Felix Catholic School and how they can possibly help your school.

To learn more about Peace of Mind, visit https:// cscoe-mn.org/initiative/peace-of-mind/

Eric Sonnek is the principal of St. Felix School in Wabasha.

St. Casimir's School Donates to Wells Area Food Shelf Submitted by TERESA CHIRPICH

�

s the Advent project this year for the students of St. Casimir’s School in Wells, the students collected food items for the Wells Area Food Shelf and brought them to the center where they were also given a tour of the facility by Director Pat. The kids had MANY questions, and it was wonderful for them to see how the food they collected will be used and why it is so needed. In fact, Pat shared that in November alone, the center served 230 individuals from 73

households who were provided with a total of 3,599 pounds of food. That is a LOT of kindness shared, and it was great for our kids to experience the virtue of charity within our own communities! If you would like to visit the food shelf, it is located at 10 1st Ave. SW and is open Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. However, if there is an emergent need, please call 507-553-5824.

The students of SCS wish a holy Christmas to all!

Teresa Chirpich is the office manager of St. Casimir's School in Wells.

RCS Spreads Joy Through Operation One More Submitted by KAT BESTOR

ROCHESTER - Hundreds of Rochester families in need are receiving an extra dose of holiday cheer thanks to Operation One More, a volunteer food program supported by Rochester Catholic Schools, where each of their five Early Preschool - Grade 12 schools plays an integral role.

As Mother Teresa once said, "If you can't feed one hundred people, then feed just one." Operation One More embodies this spirit of making a meaningful impact, with a commitment to making a difference one family at a time.

Six years ago, the idea to launch Operation One More was first brought to St. Francis of Assisi School

by RCS Parent, Stephanie Collura, who has always had a deep passion to serve others.

Where better to share that passion than Rochester Catholic Schools, where the spirit of service is an integral part of students’ educational journey?

“Aside from bringing aid to families with young children during the holiday season, my overarching goal has always been to raise awareness among our youth and instill a desire to be helpful and socially aware citizens in our community,” Stephanie said.

Over the past six years, the organization’s overall reach has increased from supporting 35 food-insecure families to now assisting 164 families - more than 800 Rochester residents in all.

Participation has also grown exponentially! Food is now collected at all five RCS schools and three of the area Catholic churches over the course of several months.

The drive includes students in every step of the process from the organization to the coordination to the execution of the project: •

Elementary students gather food needed in the food drives;

•

High school students help with transportation and sorting of non-perishable food items;

•

•

8th grade students pack the grocery bags using care and precision, ensuring that every family receives the same essentials; High school students in Faith Formation for Confirmation participate in hand delivering the groceries.

Depending on the family size, each family receives anywhere from one to three bags of groceries. In addition, families also receive bread, milk, and a $25 gift card to a local grocery store to be used toward the protein of their choice.

The incredible collaboration and support from all school principals and the RCS community has helped make Operation One More more successful each year. Thank you to all who have made this initiative possible, and for helping us spread cheer to Rochester residents in need.

How can YOU (Rochester community members) help? The organization has a goal of raising $4,100 to be used for the purchase of $25 grocery gift cards for each family. Any money raised beyond that will go toward supplemental non-perishables and the purchase of milk. Checks made payable to "Operation One More" may be dropped off at Lourdes High School or Venmo @operation1more Kat Bestor is the marketing & communications manager for Rochester Catholic Schools.

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Youth Ministry & Faith Formation and Diaconate

8

The Lord Calls

and We Must Follow � bout two and a half years ago, I felt the Lord calling me to leave a position

at Pax Christi in Rochester doing a job I loved, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, to be the Director of Youth Ministry and Faith Formation at the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Every time the Lord has called me to something different in my professional life, it has been very clear to me. Oftentimes it is a feeling that I have done all I can do, and it’s time for the next person to come in and take it to the next level. That is exactly how I had been feeling at Pax Christi, and when the opportunity to take the position at the Diocese came up, I felt drawn to it. My desire was to move from discipling young people to discipling the disciplers (our youth ministry and faith formation coordinators). After having been a youth minister for nine years, I remember what it is like to feel alone in ministry, especially those first few years. The Lord has been very good to me, and I have been incredibly blessed to work with such wonderful coordinators for the past two and a half years.

Now, I feel the Lord calling me in a new direction vocationally, which is to be a full-time mother. 2023 was a wonderful whirlwind of a year for me: I got married in May, found out we were pregnant, and I felt called to make the difficult decision to once again leave a job I love. However, there has been much peace through this decision, and I trust that the Lord has already handpicked the person who will replace me in my position.

Another lesson I have learned through multiple ministry position changes throughout the years is that we are all replaceable. I know that sounds harsh, but it is true, and thank God we are! Youth Ministry

and Faith Formation at the diocese is not dictated by or dependent on me. Jesus called me to this position for a time, and He has also called me to something new in His time.

Discernment and trying to listen to the Lord can feel elusive at times, and perhaps in your life it hasn’t been easy to determine what God wants. Although the Lord has made it more obvious in my work life, He definitely took His good ol’ time in my personal vocation. My nickname for God has been (and still is) “last minute God.” I sure hope He isn’t too offended by that! However, the lessons I have learned (and am still learning) from discernment have greatly benefited me while walking with others in their own discernment (especially young people), so I wanted to share a few thoughts in my final Courier article regarding discernment. I am definitely no expert, but I hope it at least can be food for thought.

1. God isn’t trying to confuse you. The Lord works in peace, and the devil works in confusion and unrest. Never make a decision in a time of desolation or lack of peace (those aren’t my words, but the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Rules for the Discernment of Spirits).

2. God can’t drive a parked car. Someone told me that years ago in Spiritual Direction, and I never forgot it. If you feel like you have two good options laid out in front of you and God isn’t giving you a clear “yes” or “no” on something, He may just want you to choose! There are many decisions in life that don’t require intense discernment, and that can also be true regarding multiple good bigger decisions. A prayer of mine when making decisions when things were not clear has been, “God, this is the decision I am making. If it is not right, please put a roadblock in my way and redirect me.”

Who Do You Desire?

so many attractive distractions in technology and its devices. There are so many divided hearts among us now, and so many divided lives! It is time to end all Deacon John Hust of this! It is time to repent. God alone will ultimately Director of the Permanent Diaconate unite us and satisfy our deepest desires. jhust@dowr.org Do we live a distracted divided life, glued to our phones, and addicted to a constant flow of data? Who do we most deeply desire? Is it God who is present, right here, right now within us? He is Emmanuel. Can we remain focused on him?

By DEACON ROBERT YERHOT, MSW Why do you let us wander, O Lord? Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah offer these words to all who seek a deeper relation63: 17a) Do we pray in the same way, with the same ship with God. intensity, and with the same desire, or do we distract Over 30 years ago in my psychotherapy practice, ourselves with what never satisfies?

I and my colleagues were concerned about the impact Maybe we should ask ourselves whom we most screen time and cell phones would have upon the deeply desire. Is it God? Do we love him enough, long brain development and social adjustment of young for him enough, and watch for him enough? Our lives people. Our concerns have been proven well-foundought to ache for his presence, burning in anticipaed. Despite the promise of a greater unity through tion of what happens at every altar at every Mass. The internet connectivity, we have experienced increased heavens themselves open and God comes down to be disconnection within the human family. There are with us, Jesus himself.

�

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Dana Thirstrup

Director of Youth Ministry and Faith Formation dpetricka@dowr.org

3. Discernment takes time. Sometimes way more time than we ever thought it would! For the past 15 years, I went back and forth in my own discernment about whether I felt the Lord was calling me to religious life or married life. I finally got to a place where I realized even if He wasn’t calling me to either, I was happy as a single spiritual mother. I wish I would have gotten to that place sooner, as it would have saved my heart and mind much anguish!

4. Learn to will the Will of God. One of my favorite spiritual guides and authors, Thomas Merton, wrote that and it has always stuck with me. When we don’t think we want or understand the Will of God, sometimes the only thing we can do is try to will his Will. That is a great act of surrender and detachment that the Lord will bless greatly and eventually (in His time) transform our will to His. The Lord has a plan for your life, but He is a gentleman and doesn’t inflict His Will upon us against our will. I truly believe life is a beautiful journey of conforming our imperfect will to His Perfect Will, where we will find lasting peace and joy ultimately in Heaven.

Again, it has been a blessing to be working in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester for the time God has called me here, and there are so many wonderful youth ministry and faith formation coordinators I will miss working with. Our youth are in good hands! God bless you, and know of my prayers for you.

Isaiah felt the ache and the desire. Do we? Isaiah could only anticipate. We can see…. on the altars of our parishes!

We have all heard stories like the one I am about to tell you, but this one is true and personal. Nearly 95 years ago, my grandma longed for the one she loved in the Eucharist. She longed enough to literally walk from the farm north of Waseca every Sunday, year around, to Sacred Heart Parish (about an eight mile round trip) to attend Mass. Nothing kept her away until she died at a young age. I never met Grandma, but the image of her walking remains with me and strengthens my desire for Jesus in the Eucharist.

Our hearts and lives are too distracted, too divided. Many of us have lost our longing and love for the True Presence of Jesus, his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist. We have fallen to the idol gods of technology. We must repent. Our hearts and souls must ache and burn for the One we most deeply desire in life.

Put down your cell phones and pick up Jesus. God bless all of you!

Deacon Robert Yerhot serves the parishes of St. Mary in Caledonia and St. Patrick in Brownsville.

Doubling Down on Gratitude 9 Rev. Jason Kern Director of Vocations jkern@dowr.org

end of my eighth grade year of school that I will never forget. My mom had just been diagnosed with a rare liver disease that the doctors at the Mayo Clinic considered terminal. Additionally, I was preparing to leave the Catholic school that was so familiar to me and enter the public high school which was six times bigger per class. I was feeling overly anxious and insecure about what the future was holding for me and my family, to say the least. One day, by the grace of God, I knelt at the side of my bed and prayed.

I remember my prayer being, “God please take care of my family.” Suddenly and dramatically, I felt a deep peace enter into my soul. The fears and racing thoughts subsided. I was given this jolt of confidence that led me to assert as certain that no matter what happened to my mom, somehow, God was going to take care of us.

I look back on that experience and really do see that in that moment began this pursuit of God and his purpose for my life. I began realizing that God was asking for me to trust in Him and to allow Him to provide for me in ways that I had never considered previously. My life in some sense began in this moment. I look back at that experience and encounter with grace now with a fondness and appreciation for God’s goodness. Over and over again the Lord has renewed His goodness in my life by proving His love for me and taking care of me.

This is the spirit of confidence in the Lord that

Congratulations to Diocese of WinonaRochester seminarians Riley Becher and Cullen Gallagher, who were instituted as acolytes on November 21, 2023, at St. Peter's Church in Hokah!

Vocations

�here was a moment in my life when I was at the

draws my heart this Christmas season and new year. I am experiencing in my prayer an invitation to simply give thanks to God for how He takes care of me and the people in my life. Even when there is adversity and trial, far from being stuck in sadness or despondency, I am moved more and more to trust and to double down on the good God is bringing about in this circumstance.

One of the ways I see God’s goodness in our times is the quality and number of men studying for the priesthood in our diocese. As of this writing, we have given out six applications for the seminary for next fall. This might not sound like a giant number, but there have been times in not-so-distant years where having six seminarians total would have felt like we weren’t doing too poorly. I sincerely do not attribute this number to any one thing we as a

diocese are doing or because we are better in any way than a diocese that is struggling with numbers.

I sincerely regard it as a particular blessing from God and an opportunity to praise His goodness and faithfulness.

The one place we can attribute our results is our concerted efforts to pray with full voice and conviction that God answers our requests. He desires us to call out to Him and beg the Harvest Master to send laborers (Mt 9:38). God wants our complete dependence on Him and the sincerity of this so that we don’t become boastful but we become grateful.

I am doubling down on my gratitude and praise of Almighty God for the gift of our seminarians, each one of them, and then asking God to give us more men who are generous with the Lord and eager to lay down their life for their friends (Jn 15:13).

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January Stewardship Reflection:

Catholic Foundation

10 Exercising Stewarship of God's Gifts in the New Year By the INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (from catholicstewardship.com)

�

anuary is traditionally the time for New Year’s resolutions. It is a time for new beginnings. It’s an ideal time for the Christian disciple to take stock, reassess and recommit to a life lived for and in Jesus Christ. Here are a few suggestions for the important areas of our faith life:

• Stewardship of Prayer: Nothing is more important than cultivating a closer, deeper relationship with God. Make a new commitment to a time each day to listen to God’s voice.

• Stewardship of Family: How often in our busy lives does time with family get short shrift? Resolve to find a special time with each family member each week. Make sure that family meals

•

•

are celebrated frequently. Plan a special family outing once or twice a month, and go to Mass together. Resolve that when your spouse and child speak, you will look at them and truly listen.

Stewardship of Health: Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Without good health, we lack the energy to serve the Lord well. Resolve to make that doctor or dentist appointment. Make one healthy change in your eating habits. Add a few minutes of extra exercise to each day’s routine.

Stewardship of Possessions: Want less.

Live more simply. Do you own your possessions, or do they own you? Challenge yourself to sacrifice something you like but that you know another person needs more than you.

Monica Herman

Executive Director Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota mherman@catholicfsmn.org

•

•

•

•

•

•

Stewardship of the Parish Family: Offer your service to the liturgy or a ministry of your parish in the New Year. Enrich your parish and your parish experience by becoming involved.

Stewardship of Money: Take charge of your budget and your checkbook. Reprioritize your financial goals to ensure that the Lord is coming first in the expenditure of your wealth. Plan your spending and don’t spend reactively or impulsively.

Stewardship of Work: Do your best at your chosen profession. Be honest and faithful.

Resolve to find a class or other forum that will strengthen your knowledge and expertise. Bring a prayerful attitude to your job.

Stewardship of Mind: Resolve to read something regularly that enhances your faith life.

Resolve to learn more about your faith and especially Catholic social teaching.

Stewardship of Neighbor: Be aware of those around you, whether it be your coworkers, fellow parishioners, neighbors, restaurant workers or store employees.

Everyone needs a smile and Christian kindness.

Stewardship of the Poor: Resolve to give support and aid to the poor in some specific way this year. Bring them into your prayer life as well.

Thank you to the following parishes, who met their goals for the 2023 Catholic Ministries Appeal:

All Saints Madison Lake

Holy Spirit Rochester

St. Ann Slayton

St. John the Baptist Minnesota Lake

All Saints New Richland

Holy Trinity Rollingstone

St. Anthony Westbrook

St. John Nepomucene Winona

Immaculate Conception Kellogg

St. Bernard Stewartville

St. Joseph Good Thunder

Assumption Canton Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Winona Christ the King Byron Christ the King Medford Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Rochester Crucifixion La Crescent Good Shepherd Jackson

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Immaculate Conception St. Clair Our Lady of Mount Carmel Easton Pax Christi Rochester Queen of Angels Austin Resurrection Rochester

Holy Family Kasson

Sacred Heart Brewster

Holy Family Lake Crystal

Sacred Heart Hayfield

Holy Redeemer Eyota

Sacred Heart Owatonna

St. Bridget Simpson St. Casimir Winona St. Columba Iona St. Columban Preston St. Finbarr Grand Meadow St. Francis of Assisi Rochester St. Gabriel Fulda St. Ignatius Spring Valley St. John Baptist de la Salle Dodge Center

St. Joseph Lakefield St. Joseph Waldorf St. Luke Sherburn St. Mary Chatfield St. Mary Lake Wilson St. Mary Winona St. Patrick LeRoy St. Peter Hokah St. Rose of Lima Lewiston

Happy New Year from the W-RDCCW

By SHELLY HOLT

Christmas season may have turned over to Ordinary Time. The color of Ordinary Time is green, which to me signifies growth! How are you growing in your faith? How is your Council of Catholic Women organization growing? Now is the time to set goals for the year. Maybe your church does not yet have a Council of Catholic Women’s group, or perhaps your group has grown stagnant or dwindled. By virtue of being a woman in the Catholic Church, you belong!

This month I will focus on the National Council of Catholic Women Leadership Commission. On the national level, the chair is Laurie Ulseth. Our

Leadership is like a handful of water; Lord, let us be the people to share it with those who thirst.

Leadership is not about watching and correcting; Lord, let us remember it is about listening and connecting.

Leadership is not about telling other beings what to do; Lord, let us find out what people want.

As Catholic women, we are called to serve the Lord with our entire life. We are women on a journey, and we want to share our stories. Each of us is a leader in some capacity, whether we want to believe it or not.

Our Winona-Rochester Council of Catholic Women board is looking for a Spirituality Commission Chair. If your passion is spiritual growth, please consider coming aboard.

11

In the Diocese

� appy New Year! The church liturgical year began with Advent, and, by the time you read this, the

Diocesan Leadership Commission chair is Vice President Jeanette Fortier. On all levels, we are focusing on building and retaining membership, both individual and affiliates.

The National Council of Catholic Women has developed many resources to help individuals and affiliates grow, including Regain, Retain, and Grow Your Council (nccw.org/wp-content/ uploads/2023/01/Membership-Brochure-2021-23. pdf).

The National Council provides a Leadership Development Team who will come to your parish, area, or our diocese to provide training on a multitude of topics. Look for more information as the Diocesan Council plans to engage the team to help us grow.

To quote Laurie Ulseth from her article in the Catholic Woman magazine:

You can call or email me at 507-3812842 or shellyholttotalwelless@gmail.com Our next Diocesan Council of Catholic Women member meeting will be on Saturday, January 13, at St. Joseph Church, 103 N Mill Street in Rushford, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with the Rosary, followed by the meeting. Breakfast and lunch are offered. Mass is at 11 a.m. The in-depth speakers will be from the Leadership and Legislative Commissions. Hope to see you there!

Shelly Holt is the president of the Winona-Rochester Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.

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January 2024

Minnesota Catholic Conference

Inside the Capitol Balancing Parenthood and Principles �he desire for parenthood is natural and good. Yet infertility is a cross borne by approximately nine

percent of men and eleven percent of women, and the pain it inflicts prompts many couples to explore assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The Church in her wisdom teaches that there are ethical bounds to the conception of a child that must be safeguarded and that the scientific ability to create a child through various technological means does not make it just for the parents, child, or society.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple … infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses' right to become a father and a mother only through each other." (CCC 2376) With these principles in mind, we find ourselves compelled to address a matter of great concern cur-

Blessings,

cont'd from pg. 2 with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, Dec. 18 and published the same day.

Tornielli explained that it "opens the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations, including same-sex couples. It clarifies that blessing in this case does not mean approving their life choices and emphasizes the need to avoid any ritualization or other elements that may remotely imitate marriage."

"The origin of the declaration is evangelical," Tornielli said, because it draws from the myriad examples in the Gospels of Jesus breaking "traditions and religious prescriptions, respectability, and social conventions. He performs actions that scandalize the self-righteous, the so-called 'pure,' those who shield themselves with norms and rules to distance, reject and close doors."

Everyone who approached Jesus "encountered His gaze and felt loved, recipients of an embrace of mercy given to them without any precondition," Tornielli wrote. And "discovering themselves loved and forgiven, they realized

Bishop's Calendar

*indicates all are welcome to attend January 6-11, SaturdayThursday Region VIII Bishops' Retreat Venice, FL January 13, Saturday 8 a.m.. - Diaconate Aspirants Formation - Alverna Center, Winona January 14, Sunday *8:30 a.m. - Mass - St. John Nepomucene, Winona

rently before the Minnesota legislature. Senate File 1704 and House File 1658 will mandate that health insurance plans, including those provided by religious organizations, cover unethical infertility interventions.

A Problematic Bill

The legislation is broad in scope, requiring coverage of testing and treatment of infertility but also interventions that remove the conception of the child from the union of his or her biological parents, such as in vitro fertilization.

The risks to children conceived through ART are alarming. According to studies, ART-conceived children face higher rates of premature birth, low birth weight, and other health complications compared to naturally conceived children.

It also raises concerns that we as a state are promoting eugenic practices that are often associated with genetic testing. For example, because the bill

what they were: poor sinners like everyone else, in need of conversion, beggars for everything."

In his introduction to the declaration, Cardinal Fernández wrote that it "remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion," but it also explores the "pastoral meaning of blessings" in a way that opens "the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church's perennial teaching on marriage."

The Church "remains firm" in teaching that marriage can be contracted only between one woman and one man, he said, and continues to insist that "rites and prayers that could create confusion" about a marriage and another form of relationship "are inadmissible."

But, Tornielli wrote, the declaration also insists that a priest or deacon with a "shepherd's heart" would see in a couple's request for a blessing "a crack in the wall, a tiny opening through which grace might already be at work.

Therefore, their first concern is not to close the small crack, but to welcome and implore blessing and mercy so that the people before them can begin to understand God's plan for their lives."

January 20, Saturday *5 p.m. – Mass and Installation of Fr. Jeff Dobbs as Pastor - St. John Vianney, Fairmont

The Courier

endorses a “single embryo transfer” for invitro fertilization, genetic testing of that embryo is often integral to the process. This leads to concerns that embryos – the tiniest members of the human race – could be destroyed based on undesirable traits such as being the sex opposite that the parents desire. Let us not repeat history!

If the violations of religious liberty through the insurance coverage mandate or the potential funding of eugenic practices do not prompt you to speak out, perhaps the dollar sign will. The bill does not set limits on the number of embryo transfers in IVF procedures to be covered, leading to concerns about the financial burden and the increased insurance premiums the public will face. With the average cost of one IVF cycle ranging from $15,000 to $30,000, and with three to four cycles often required for a viable pregnancy, the financial implications are staggering, reaching upwards of $120,000 or more. Those costs will be passed onto insurance premiums that will raise insurance costs for employers and employees.

ART Is Not the Answer for Anyone Involved

As individuals rooted in faith and compassion, we must carefully consider all the potential consequences of legislation that will compromise religious liberty and contribute to the resurgence of eugenics practices.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference has been the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota since 1967. The voting members of the MCC's board of directors are Minnesota's Catholic bishops.

The Televised Mass Is Offered Every Sunday

Sioux Falls - ODLT Channel 7 at 7 a.m.

Sioux City - KPTH Channel 44 at 8:30 a.m.

Mankato - KEYC Channel 12 at 7:30 a.m.

Digital Channel 12.2 or Charter Channel 19 NEYC at 9:30 a.m.

Digital Channel 7 (DirecTV) or Channel 11 (DISH) KMNF at 9 a.m.

Rochester/Austin/Mason City KIMT Channel 3 at 7:30 a.m.

MyTV 3.2 at 9 a.m.

Twin Cities - WFTC Digital Channel 29 or Channel 9.2 at 11:30 a.m.

Southeastern MN - HBC Channel 20 at 3 p.m. (repeated Wed. at 3:30 p.m.)

Winona/La Crosse/Eau Claire - WLAX/WEUX Channel 25/48 at 7:30 a.m. and on our website, dowr.org (click "Weekly Mass")

January 24, Wednesday 1:30 p.m. - Holy Half Hour and DOW-R Finance Council Winona January 25, Thursday 3 p.m. - Clergy Personnel January 21, Sunday Committee - Zoom January 17, Wednesday *10 a.m. – Mass for Life - Ss. January 26, Friday 10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Felix, Peter and Paul, Mazeppa 3 p.m. - Visit to the Poor Clares Wabasha Assisi Heights, Rochester January 23, Tuesday January 18, Thursday January 27, Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Holy Hour and 10 a.m. - Bishop's Cabinet - 10:30 a.m. - Deacon Gathering College of Consultors - Winona Winona - St. Francis of Assisi, Rochester January 16, Tuesday 9:30 a.m. - Mass - St. Anne's Extended Healthcare, Winona 11 a.m. - Holy Half Hour and Pension Plan for Priests Board of Trustees - Winona

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January 28, Sunday *11 a.m. – Spanish Mass - St. Theodore, Albert Lea January 30, Tuesday 9:15 a.m. - Pacelli School Mass St. Augustine, Austin

January 31, Wednesday 10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Casimir, Wells