New Earth July/August 2016

New July/August 2016 | Vol. 37 | No .7

Earth

The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo

One nation, under God Patriotism is the call for Fourth Degree Knights

PLUS

From Bishop Folda: The ongoing struggle for religious liberty

Camino pilgrimage creates physical connection between parish and saint

Jubilee Year of Mercy: “A lot of hands make easy2016 work” NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 1

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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July/August 2016 Vol. 37 | No. 7

ON THE COVER 18 One nation, under God: Patriotism is

the call for Fourth-Degree Knights

Fourth Degree Knights line up outside St. Mary’s

Cathedral after the Chrism Mass on Mar. 22. The Knights hold unwaveringly to what is right and honorable, working to keep God in the civic arena, serving the life of the Church and defending laws that recognize the sanctity of life and true religious liberty.

(Kristina Lahr | New Earth)

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FROM BISHOP FOLDA

4 5

The ongoing struggle for religious liberty Official appointments

5

Pope Francis’ July prayer intentions

FOCUS ON FAITH

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Retrouvaille: Throwing marriages a lifeline

6

Pope Francis’ August prayer intentions

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Ask a priest: When and how did the crucifix with Jesus on it become a physical part of the Catholic religion?

AROUND THE DIOCESE

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Knights of Columbus sponsor Altar Server Night at Redhawks game

9

New Director of Communications for Diocese has North Dakota roots

10 Camino pilgrimage creates physical

connection between parish and saint 12 Roxanne Salonen wins Catholic

Press award for New Earth article 13 First city-wide Eucharistic procession in

Grand Forks celebrates Corpus Christi 14 St. Anne’s Guest Home honors its

patron with week of celebration 16 Healthcare professional Sister Francis

Anne Bellemare dies age 92

FAITH AND CULTURE

17 Tattered Pages: A review of

Catholic books and literature

2

A review of Jef Murray’s “Seer: A Wizard’s Journal”

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NEXT GEN CATHOLICS

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21 JPII Schools Summer Adventure

Program more than just daycare 22 Faith-filled leaders sent forth

from NDSU Newman Center

OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

23 Stories of Faith

The faith story this month tells the unknown story of what happened in Hue, Vietnam during the Vietnam war.

24 Catholic Action

Christopher Dodson discusses the importance of mercy in troubling times.

25 Seminarian Life

Eric Seitz shares his experience serving in Spiritual Pastoral Ministry in St. Paul, Minn.

26 Stewardship

In this month’s column, Steve Schons explains why sending gift cards is comforting to both the sender and receiver.

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2016

y of what ar.

ending r.

ON THE COVER: Fourth Degree Knights make up the Color Corps Honor Guard for the singing of the national anthem at the June 21, 2016 Fargo/ Moorhead Redhawks baseball game. (Paul Braun | New Earth)

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EARTH

(ISSN# 10676406) Our mission is to serve Catholic parishes in Eastern N.D. as the official monthly publication of the Diocese of Fargo.

Publisher

Most Rev. John T. Folda Bishop of Fargo

Editor

Paul Braun

Staff writer Kristina Lahr

Designer

Stephanie Drietz - Drietz Designs

Subscriptions

Parish contributions make it possible for each registered Catholic household in the diocese to receive 11 issues per year. For those living outside the Diocese wanting a subscription, an annual $9/year rate is requested.

Postmaster

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27 The Catholic Difference

Guest columnist, George Weigel, encourages the youth of today to not settle for a mediocre life.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

28 Events across the diocese 30 Life’s milestones 31 A glimpse of the past

U.S. AND WORLD NEWS

32 Their heroic work in America and

throughout the world is saving lives

SPECIAL SECTION: JUBILEE OF MERCY 35 Holy Cross parish, West Fargo, sweats

for their mission in Kansas City

Send address changes or subscription requests to: New Earth 5201 Bishops Blvd S., Suite A Fargo, ND 58104

Contact Information

Use the following contact information to contact the New Earth staff: news@fargodiocese.org (701) 356-7900 Deadline to submit articles, story ideas, advertisements and announcements for the September issue is August 24, 2016.

All submissions are subject to editing and placement.

New Earth is published by the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, a nonprofit North Dakota corporation, 5201 Bishops Blvd. S, Suite A Fargo, ND 58104.

(701) 356-7900.

Periodical Postage Paid at Fargo, ND and at additional mailing offices.

Member of the Catholic Press Association NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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FROM BISHOP FOLDA

The ongoing struggle for religious liberty

O

n July 4, our nation once again celebrated its independence. It was an occasion for all of us to thank God for the many blessings he has showered upon us, and it was a time to recommit ourselves to the high ideals of justice and freedom held by our founders.

One of those ideals is religious liberty, the freedom to practice our religious faith without government interference or coercion.

This is often called the “first freedom,” because it is enshrined in a preeminent way in the First Amendment to the Constitution. In fact, George Washington himself wrote that “the establishment of Civil and Religious Liberty was the motive that induced me to the field of battle.”

As is well known, this right to religious liberty is threatened in the United States. For several years now, people of faith, especially the leaders and members of the Catholic Church, have fought against the unjust mandate of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to require provisions for abortion, sterilization, and contraceptive services, even though these practices run contrary to our long-held moral beliefs. Catholic dioceses, hospitals, universities, schools and even religious groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, are being forced under the threat of crippling fines to participate in actions that violate our religious beliefs. A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court seemed to give a reprieve to the Little Sisters and several other plaintiffs by vacating lower court decisions on this issue. But the issue remains, and there is no certainty that the government will relent in its unjust and, frankly, absurd demand that Catholic institutions should have to participate in the provision of such immoral practices.

But there are other threats as well. The same federal government recently upheld a California regulation that requires all health plans in the state to provide coverage for elective abortions. No exception was granted to religious institutions, as had been the usual practice in the past. So once again, our government, which exists to protect and defend our rights, is content to ignore current law and even strike down the religious rights of those they serve.

And the challenges don’t come only from government officials.

Recently in Colorado Springs, religious advertisements on city buses, paid for like any other ads, were challenged by individuals who found them offensive. They sought to ban all religious advertising in public spaces, thus challenging the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Fortunately, the city officials recognized the blatant discrimination of such a ban and rejected the proposal.

Nevertheless, it is very clear that some influential and zealous people in our nation would like nothing more than to sideline all religious expression and practice, and will work very hard to bend religion to the agenda of secular ideology. We should not be naïve about their intentions. As people of faith, we have a responsibility to work for and fight for the right to religious practice in our communities and in our nation. That right is, quite simply, under attack, and if we become complacent or apathetic, we risk losing the rights that our founders fought for in the establishment of our nation. Whether this happens will largely depend today on how committed we are as citizens to preserving this right given to us by God and acknowledged by our founders.

There are many who lament the state of politics in our nation, especially as we draw closer to this year’s presidential election.

But we should keep in mind that we all have an important part to play in the formation of that political landscape. And in a particular way, our participation in the political process will determine whether or not our freedom of religion is preserved and protected. How we make our choices and cast our votes will decide the fate of religious liberty in this land for decades to come.

We must also acknowledge that we are still very blessed to live in this great nation, where religious liberty still has a foothold. It is estimated that 75% of the world’s population live in countries that suffer from religious oppression, or where freedom of religion is tightly restricted. Many Christians live in constant danger of violence or even death because of their faithfulness to Jesus Christ. We must admit that we don’t even come close to such challenges – yet. But if we truly value these rights, then we must be willing to fight for them and avoid any sign of complacency.

Last September, during his visit to the United States, I was privileged to hear Pope Francis speak powerfully on the subject of religious freedom on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the very cradle of our nation. He said: “Religious freedom is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors…. Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious liberty, by its

“If we truly value these rights, then we must be willing to fight for them and avoid any sign of complacency.” – Bishop John Folda, Diocese of Fargo 4

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

nature, tr families. it is part freedom the freed rise to ri freedom As Po a govern the best openly, and may

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Bishop Folda’s Calendar July 16

nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families. Because religion itself, the religious dimension, is not a subculture; it is part of the culture of every people and every nation…. Let us preserve freedom. Let us cherish freedom. Freedom of conscience, religious freedom, the freedom of each person, each family, each people, which is what gives rise to rights…. And may you defend these rights, especially your religious freedom, for it has been given to you by God himself.”

As Pope Francis says, religious freedom is not a right that can be given by a government and then taken away. It is given to us by God himself. And the best way we can stand up for this freedom of religion is to live our faith openly, joyfully, generously and courageously. May God bless our nation, and may he give us the grace to be true and faithful witnesses of his Son.

9:15 a.m.

July 17

|

10:30 a.m.

Mass at St. Martin, Geneseo

July 24- July 31 World Youth Day, Krakow, Poland

Aug. 8

|

11 a.m.

Putt for a Purpose, Edgewood Golf Course, Fargo

Diocese of Fargo Official Appointments/Announcements July/August 2016

Aug. 11-13 Seminarian gathering in Hankinson

Aug. 14 | 5 p.m.

Most Rev. John T. Folda, Bishop of Fargo, has made the following appointments, announcements, and/or decrees Very Reverend Andrew M. Jasinski will reside at Blessed Sacrament Parish rectory in West Fargo. This change is effective June 29, 2016 and remains in effect ad nutum episcopi.

|

Mass at Carmel of Mary Monastery, Renewal of Vows, Wahpeton

Field Mass, Carmel of Mary, Wahpeton

Aug. 17 | 5 p.m.

JPII Staff Family Picnic, Bonanzaville, West Fargo

Reverend Monsignor Robert Laliberte will reside at Nativity Parish rectory in Fargo. This change is effective June 29, 2016 and remains in effect ad nutum episcopi.

Aug. 21

|

8:30 a.m.

Mass at St. Arnold, Milnor

11 a.m.

Prayer Intentions

Mass at St. Vincent, Gwinner

OF POPE FRANCIS - July

Aug. 25-27

Universal intention: Indigenous Peoples. That indigenous peoples, whose identity and very existence are threatened, will be shown due respect.

Reflection: What are some ways that different cultures have made

the Church a richer community?

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11. To each the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

Evangelization intention: Latin America and the Caribbean.

That the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, by means of her mission to the continent, may announce the Gospel with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

Reflection: What are some ways that the “light of the Gospel” can be brought “into public life, into culture, economics and politics” without being rejected as the imposition of religion to non-believers?

Scripture: 1 Peter 2: 1: 1-12. Keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul.

Bishops’ Regional VIII Provincial Meeting, Alexandria, Minn.

Aug. 27 | 5 p.m.

Mass at St. Edward, Drayton

Aug. 28

|

8:30 a.m.

Mass at St. Edward, Drayton

10:30 a.m.

Mass at Assumption church, Pembina

Sep. 5 Labor Day, Pastoral Center Closed

Sep. 10 | 5 p.m.

Mass at St. Anthony, Selz NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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FOCUS ON FAITH

Throwing marriages a lifeline

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By Paul Braun

ou feel the love has gone out of your marriage. There’s no time for you and your spouse. You’ve grown cold and distant from each other. Jobs, kid’s activities, financial pressures, maybe even distrust from previous hurts have taken their toll, and now you fear there is no hope for saving your struggling marriage. Retrouvaille may be the answer.

Retrouvaille, French for “rediscover,” is a peer-based program designed to help couples in struggling marriages rediscover each other. It gives them a chance to rediscover the love they once had for each other in their marriage. Retrouvaille helps married couples who are struggling to communicate, struggling to stay married, have grown cold and distant from each other, have been hurt through issues that have caused distrust, or are separated or divorced and want to try again. This fall, the Diocese of Fargo is launching the Red River Retrouvaille program, and the first weekend is set for Sep. 9-11.

“Retrouvaille refers to many couples in these situations as married singles,” according to Brad Gray, who is the coordinator, along with his wife, Lisa, for Red River Retrouvaille. “It’s a reality where two people are living in the same house, but are living their own, separate lives. They may share children and some goals, but the focus doesn’t really turn toward each other. Retrouvaille can give couples the tools they need to start communicating and to start discovering each other anew.”

The program begins with a weekend experience. Couples will hear from other couples who have themselves experienced significant troubles in their marriages, but were able to find

Prayer for couples

God of everlasting love, help us to find new joy in the face of routine, to share our needs with an open heart, to acknowledge when we have been wrong, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to love as your son, Jesus, taught us to love. Amen. (anonymous)

Prayer Intentions

healing and renewal through Retrouvaille.

“Couples will learn tools and techniques on how to start a dialogue, how to start communicating with each other again.

It’s not like a group-session where they will be asked to share with others their problems in their marriages. It’s really designed for the couple to work on themselves and to start talking to one another again,” said Gray.

The Retrouvaille weekend experience launches a three-month long process in which couples systematically work to revitalize their relationship through a series of post-weekend sessions. These sessions are crucial to the program, which boasts a 70-percent success rate. But both spouses need to be committed to trying to make the program work.

“Couples don’t want their marriages to fail,” said Gray. “They fell in love, and divorce carries with it an enormous amount of loss and pain. Couples, for the most part, want to sustain and re-energize what they’ve shared, and Retrouvaille helps them to realize that while it often involves hard work, their marriage is worth it.”

Red River Retrouvaille has a $100 registration fee, but no couple is ever turned away because of money. It’s also not just for Catholics. Anyone experiencing troubles in their marriage can benefit from the tools learned through Retrouvaille. For more information on the program, or to register, call the Diocese of Fargo Red River Retrouvaille at (701) 356-7962.

What: Retrouvaille weekend When: Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, Sept. 9-11 Where: Fargo (registrants will be given further

location information)

Cost:

Registration fee of $100, but no couple is turned down if they can’t afford the fee

Contact: Call (701) 356-7962 to register or for

more information.

OF POPE FRANCIS - August

Universal intention: Sports. That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peace in the world.

Reflection: How do sports help or hinder me in my love for others, both friends and enemies?

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4: 7-10. Physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect.

Evangelization intention: Living the Gospel. That Christians may live the Gospel, giving

witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor.

Reflection: How am I living the Gospel in ways that others can read?

Scripture: Colossians 3: 12-17. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Provided by Apostleship of Prayer, www.apostleshipofprayer.org.

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FOCUS ON FAITH

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When and how did the crucifix with Jesus on it become a physical part of the Catholic religion?

his is a wonderful question from one of the readers of the New Earth. Here is a brief overview of the history of the crucifix.

The cross has always been part of Christianity. It is at the very center of the Gospel. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that: “The mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God’s saving plan was accomplished ‘once for all’ by the redemptive death of his Son Jesus Christ” (CCC 571). St. Paul writes “… far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).

The early Church attests to this as well. In the Apostolic Tradition, an ancient liturgical text from around 215 AD, the sign of the cross is made on the forehead of those who were about to be baptized. Devotion to the Cross is also evidenced by the rebuttals of St. Justin Martyr (+165 AD) and Tertulian (+240 AD) to the Roman pagans who saw the cross only as a humiliating torture device and mocked Christians for venerating it.

Although devotion to the cross of Christ has been a mark of Christianity from the very beginning, undisguised images of the cross cannot be found in the first three centuries of the Church’s existence. The absence of depictions of the cross during this era is probably due to the fact that crucifixion was still being used. Because it was such a cruel and shameful kind of death, it would have been difficult for Christians to publicly display the cross as an object of veneration. However, according to some scholars, there are veiled symbolic representations of the cross during this period. The anchor and the Chi-Rho were often carved onto the marble slabs that sealed the tombs in the catacombs. The anchor symbolizes hope in the resurrection, and the chi and rho is a monogram for the name Christ, but in both the figure of the cross can be found.

The 4th century brought about great changes for Christians. In the year 312, before an important battle, the emperor Constantine dreamt he saw the cross and the words “in this sign you will conquer.” He placed the Chi-Rho on his military standard and won the battle. The following year he promulgated an edict of tolerance towards Christians. In the year 326, his mother, St. Helena, traveled to Jerusalem and found the relics of the true cross. She then had magnificent basilicas built in Jerusalem and in Rome to house them. Smaller fragments of the true cross were distributed worldwide. The legalization of Christianity and finding of the true cross paved the way for explicit depictions of the cross of Christ which begin to appear in the 5th century.

In the beginning of the 6th century Christians began to depict the cross with the body of Christ upon it. One of the first of these images is carved into the wooden doors of the church of St. Sabina in Rome. It can still be seen there today.

From the 7th-12th centuries, Christ on the cross is typically portrayed as “Christus Triumphans:” he is gazing outward and appears to transcend human suffering. In the 13th century the crucifix began to

emphasize the human sufferings of Christ (Christus Patiens). He is shown with contorted limbs and a general Ask a Priest accentuation of the Fr. Matthew agony of the crucifix Kraemer ion. There have been developments in the portrayal of Christ on the cross since then, but the basic form of the crucifix as we have it now dates back to this point.

The question of why we as Catholics have crucifixes naturally arises from our interaction with our Protestant friends and neighbors who do not show Christ on the cross. When their first leaders broke away from the Catholic Church in the 1500s the use of the crucifix was already well established. These men each had different doctrines on the propriety of using sacred images, and its historical development is too complex for this article. Rather, we can look at the reasonableness of our own choice to continue to use it.

The crucifix eminently belongs in Christian worship and devotion. It belongs upon the altars of our churches. The Eucharist is not just a ceremonial meal. It is first and foremost a sacrifice. At every Mass the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is made truly present on the altar, and we are invited to enter into communion with Jesus Christ, who died, rose, ascended into heaven, and will come again at the end of time. During Mass the crucifix should be the focal point for both the priest and the congregation. It is an instrument that helps us to enter into the inner reality of the Mass: the contemplation of Jesus Christ, who poured himself out for our sake in the most profound act of love that the world has ever known.

The crucifix is also a vital part of the devotional life of every Christian. It is fitting that it should be attached to the rosary, which is a meditation on the mysteries of the life of Christ, all of which culminate in his Easter mystery which is expressed in the cross.

The crucifix portrays the suffering and death of Jesus, which can be painful to look at. But read in the light of the resurrection, it is an image of hope, “… a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as forerunner on our behalf…” (Heb 6:19-20).

Father Kraemer serves as the Secretary to the Bishop, Master of Ceremonies, Vice Chancellor, and Director of Liturgy for the Diocese of Fargo. He can be reached at matthew.kraemer@fargodiocese.org.

Editor’s Note: If you have a question about the Catholic faith and would like to submit a question for consideration in a future column, please send to news@fargodiocese.org with “Ask a Priest” in the subject line or mail to New Earth, 5201 Bishops Blvd. S, Suite A, Fargo, ND 58104, Attn: Ask a Priest.

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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Bishop John Folda and just some of the 570 altar servers and adults who attended the June 21 Fargo/Moorhead Redhawks baseball game. (Paul Braun | New Earth)

Knights of Columbus sponsor Altar Server Night at Redhawks game

F

By Paul Braun

rom the first pitch to the last out, 570 Fargo Diocese altar servers and their families enjoyed a night of baseball, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus. The Knights sponsored Altar Server and Family Fun Night on June 21. Each Knights of Columbus Council was asked to treat altar servers to an opportunity to join Bishop John Folda in a night of baseball and fun. It was all part of an effort by the Knights of Columbus to show their appreciation to the altar servers and to Bishop Folda for all they do. The Redhawks went on the beat the Sioux Falls Canaries 4 – 2.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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Bishop John Folda is all smiles as he congratulates Josephine Harms of St. Mary’s Cathedral parish. Josephine had the honor of singing the National Anthem before the June 21 Redhawks game.

(Paul Braun | New Earth)

AROUND THE DIOCESE

“Who says you can’t go home?”

New Director of Communications for Diocese has North Dakota roots

By Paul Braun

T

he title of this article sums up my journey back to North Dakota perfectly. In the Bon Jovi song of the same title, he sings “There’s only one place they call me one of their own.” That’s the way my family and I feel about coming back to North Dakota after a nearly 12-year absence. And we couldn’t be more thrilled!

After a 16-year career in television broadcasting that took me to Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot, with a few other stops in Minnesota and Georgia, my career path changed from TV to communications and public information, working for the North Dakota Department of Transportation in Bismarck. That experience, and a loathing of winter weather, took me to Amarillo, Texas and the Texas Department of Transportation as the Public Information Officer there. We soon found out Amarillo gets cold and snow! Lots of it! My experience with winter weather served me well in Texas, but something kept gnawing at us that we needed to return to North Dakota and be closer to family.

Our North Dakota roots go way back. My wife, Mary, was born and raised in Cando on a ranch settled by her grandfather and attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church there. Her family, all of them talented and accomplished musicians, were a big part of the music ministry there and still are. Mary and I met on stage in the 1981 Medora Musical when we were both Burning Hills Singers. Medora was this Minneapolis native’s introduction to the rustic, North Dakota life. We married in 1985 at Sacred Heart Church. After serving my time in the U.S. Air Force, living abroad in the Azores Islands and Turkey, we came back home and moved around… a lot!

Mary is an accomplished Music Teacher and Music Director, having served at three parishes in Bismarck and for the past ten

Fargo Diocese Director of Communications Paul Braun, pictured with his wife, Mary Freund-Braun of Cando and son Hayden, age 8.

(Kim Howard Canada)

years at our home parish in Texas. In 2008, we had the God-given opportunity to adopt a beautiful baby boy. Hayden came into our lives on July 2 of that year. He will be entering 3rd grade this fall.

I am convinced the timing of this job opening and our desire to move back was coordinated and inspired by the Holy Spirit, and I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to serve my fellow Catholics in Eastern North Dakota. I look forward to bringing you stories and articles in the New Earth magazine that I hope will inform, teach and inspire you. God bless you, and if you have an idea for the magazine, drop me a line at paul.braun@ fargodiocese.org.

Give a Gift to Help Keep the TV Mass on the Air

The best gift for those you love who are nursing home residents, shut-ins, or non-practicing CatholicsWDAY, Channel 6, Fargo – WDAZ, Channel 8, Grand Forks 10:30 a.m. Sunday Name_________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________ City/State/Zip_________________________________________ Phone_________________________________________________ A GIFT FOR: Name_________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________ City/State/Zip_________________________________________

“I support the TV Mass because it was an important part of my mother’s life. My husband and I would sometimes watch it with her. I’m thankful that the TV Mass was there for her.” – Helen Bye, Fargo

Or, IN MEMORY OF: Name________________________________________________ I would like this listed at the end of the TV Mass on this date(s): ______________________________________________________ MAIL TO: TV Mass, Diocese of Fargo, 5201 Bishops Blvd., Suite A, Fargo, ND 58104-7605

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Christopher and Rosalie Dodson arrive at Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the tomb of St. James the apostle. (submitted photo)

the starting point for the walking part of our journey. Officially, we started at the city’s cathedral. We took in the beauty of the medieval church — one of many we would visit — prayed and asked for the intercession of St. James. A cathedral representative then stamped our pilgrim credentials. The credential is a booklet that documents a pilgrim’s journey to Santiago. Churches, alburgues, cafes and tourist centers along the way stamp your credential to verify that you have walked the Camino. We said another prayer and started following the yellow arrows which guide pilgrims all the way to Santiago de Compostela.

We were surprised and moved by the faith of the Portuguese.

It is widely reported that while 80% of Portuguese are “nominally” Catholic only about 18% practice the faith and attend mass.

You wouldn’t know that by what we saw walking through the country. Expressions of the Catholic faith were everywhere, and not just as part of the region’s cultural heritage. Even the newest homes had ceramic tiles with religious themes embedded on the sides of houses. Many homes had banners outside celebrating the Easter season. Every time we came upon an open church there were worshipers inside. On Sundays the churches were full. One early evening we came across a packed church where Mass had started. It was a Friday.

Many chapels, shrines and roadside crosses dot the way through Portugal, providing opportunities to rest, drink water and pray. Prayer comes in many forms. As the pilgrimage went on, it seemed that we prayed less verbally and that our steps, sore muscles, breaths — indeed all of our labor — became a form of prayer, accompanied by a choir of raindrops, click-clacking hiking poles and crowing roosters. The physical effort was not trivial. This was not a hike or a sightseeing tour. It was a pilgrimage.

From St. James to St. James

Camino pilgrimage creates physical connection between parish and saint

By Christopher and Rosalie Dodson

“F

ather, we pray for these pilgrims, Rosalie and Christopher, who are soon to leave these shores to travel to the tomb of St. James the Great in Santiago de Compostela.”

With that blessing from Monsignor Jeffery Wald at St. James Basilica in Jamestown, we began a pilgrimage that would take us to two continents, six countries, and a 160-mile journey by foot with rain, sun and hail, through Portugal and Spain. Our destination was the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the tomb of St. James the apostle. Literally, it was a pilgrimage from St. James to St. James.

My wife Rosi first suggested that we walk the Camino de Santiago as a way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and as a way to give thanks for the recovery of our daughter from a two-year debilitating illness. By the time we set off, Pope Francis declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which added another dimension to our pilgrimage.

Porto, Portugal, with its steep hills and narrow streets, provided

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These stones were preserved from the St. James Basilica steps when they were rebuilt. The Dodsons left the stones in the Santiago de Compostela’s cathedral, creating a physical connection between St. James Basilica in Jamestown, and St. James himself. (submitted photo)

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

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Our Camino de Santiago Destination: The tomb of Saint James at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

St. James: Brother of St. John and an apostle of Christ.Tradition holds that he preached in what is now Spain and Portugal before returning to Palestine where he was beheaded in 44 A.D. His body was purportedly brought back to northwestern Spain.

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Origin: Christians began pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in the 9th Century.

Number of Pilgrims: 262,459 pilgrims in 2015 (number only includes those that chose to receive an official pilgrim certification from the archdiocese).

Ways of St. James: There are at least 13 official routes.

Portuguese Routes: There are three routes through Portugal, all of them starting or passing through the city of Porto.

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Distance from Porto to Santiago: 260 kilometers (160 miles).

Means of Travel: Foot.

Duration: Nine and a half days.

Accommodations: Guesthouses, hostels and alburgues. Alburgues are places to sleep that serve only pilgrims.They can be like dormitories or like a family home.

Monsignor Wald blesses Christopher and Rosalie’s packs in St James Basilica in Jamestown at the start of their pilgrimage. (submitted photo)

Find out more at: https://stjamestostjames.wordpress.com.

The experience was, at the same time, often beautiful. We that we were walking the same trails and ancient Roman roads breathed in God’s creation and experienced the people, food and that thousands of saints, sinners, knights, peasants, royalty, drink of that section of Portugal and Spain. We met pilgrims of tradesmen, monks and countless others had used to reach the all ages from other countries. Some were Catholic, some were apostle’s final resting place. Principalities, revolutions, and not. Some did not consider themselves religious, but all were entire economic and political systems had come and gone and yet searching for something. people continue to walk the same paths to the tomb of Santiago.

Many who have completed the Camino say that the journey, Along the Camino people leave stones near crosses and not the destination, is more spiritually rewarding. Perhaps it shrines, representing their sins, burdens, and prayers. Before we comes from the challenge of the journey. Perhaps it comes from left Jamestown, Monsignor Wald gave us two stones that were the humbling simplicity of walking with everything you have preserved from the Basilica steps when they were rebuilt. We on your own back day after day, relying only on the two feet took our stones all the way to Santiago de Compostela and left God gave you, all the while being subjected to the ways of his them in the cathedral’s courtyard, creating a physical connection between St. James Basilica in Jamestown and St. James himself. creation, including the weather.

Through the intercession of Santiago, we asked for God’s mercy Just as moving as the tomb of St. James itself was the realization and continued on the pilgrimage of this earthly life.

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Roxanne Salonen wins Catholic Press award for New Earth article

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By Kristina Lahr

n June 10 Roxane Salonen won First Place in the Catholic Press Association’s “Best Coverage of the World Meeting of Families” for her New Earth articles featured in the October 2015 issue.

The summary of the award read: “This package was the most comprehensive and readable entry. I got a sense of being there. Good to get the bishop’s take on the Pope’s message without getting too lengthy. The first-person place probably the most compelling.”

“The CPA has always been a tough competition,” said Salonen after hearing the results of the awards. “There are so many great Catholic writers out there doing amazing work, trying to serve the world through words and story. It was an honor for me to go to the World Meeting of Families in the first place, to represent our diocese there.

“As a freelancer, I don’t always have a way to measure my work, so the award was especially meaningful, and I hope I gave the diocese some satisfaction too. I am grateful to God and the diocese for the chance to submit my work, and I hope the readers enjoyed the stories that resulted as well.”

Salonen writes for her own website and blog which can be found at roxanesalonen.com. She is also a writer for catholicmom. com and the Fargo Forum.

Roxanne Salonen (Rebecca Raber Photography)

Hurley’s Religious Goods Inc

Serving our faith community Since 1951

Father Dan Musgrave greets parishioners outside of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cando on July 3 during his first weekend as Pastor of Sacred Heart parish. Many parishes across the diocese welcomed their new pastors this month. We pray for all of the new and reassigned pastors and their congregations and wish them well.

(Paul Braun | New Earth)

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

1417 S University Dr - Fargo ND 58103 1-800-437-4338 - info@hurleysrg.com

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

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Father Gerard Braun, pastor of St. Michalis’ parish in Grand Forks, leads the faithful of Grand Forks in a Eucharistic procession. (submitted photo)

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First city-wide Eucharistic procession in Grand Forks celebrates Corpus Christi

n May 29, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Corpus Christi), faithful of Grand Forks gathered for their first city-wide Eucharistic procession.

They started at Holy Family church, passed by St. Mary’s church and arrived at the Holy Door at St. Michael’s, a two-and-ahalf-mile pilgrimage. The faithful prayed the Rosary, sang the Divine Mercy Chaplet and other prayers while they followed behind their Lord carried by local priests and deacons. Flower girls led the procession, along with cross and candle-bearers, color guards, and even a loud megaphone leading the prayers.

As the procession made its way down the streets, quite a number of people took a second look at the commotion in their neighborhood. Most looked from their cars, others stood in their windows or on their lawns and a few could be heard discussing the strange parade making its way down their sidewalk. Several people were more than onlookers and became brief members of the procession by bowing low or genuflecting as we passed.

One young woman even stopped her van and knelt down on the boulevard to honor her Eucharistic King.

Why do we have these processions? Part of the reason is evangelization. These eye-catching displays give witness before the rest of the community that Catholics are present and excited about having Christ in our midst. They strengthen the Catholic culture among our own people. The Catechism mentions that forming the faithful “must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful” like pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, etc. (CCC 1674). Alongside all of these good purposes, we bring glory to God, and increase the knowledge of his presence in the city.

“This was a dream come true,” one lady said during the ice cream social taking place afterward. Let’s relive that dream with processions each year, bringing Christ to the streets!

By Father Greg Haman

Father Dale Kinzler leads a Eucharistic procession for the 111th anniversary of the Celebration of Corpus Christi at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dazey on June 4. (submitted photo)

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

St. Anne’s Guest Home honors its patron by a week of celebration

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By Sister Christina Neumann

St. Anne’s Guest Home provides both basic care (47 beds) and low-rent housing (30 efficiency apartments), aiming to create an environment of living and sharing the Gospel message for the spiritual and physical, as well as the psychological, social and emotional health of the people we serve.

St. Anne’s had its beginnings in Fargo in 1945, when the Franciscan Sisters from Hankinson were asked to open a house to take care of sick, homeless men who were living by riding the trains from city to city. Since that time, the Sisters have been providing services to the elderly and vulnerable. In 1952, they moved the home to Grand Forks at the Bishop’s request.

Over the past 71 years, nearly 90% of our residents at St. Anne’s have been on government assistance. Many of these individuals have no family to help contribute toward their care.

Regardless of their background, we try to provide a friendly, homelike environment for them. Our celebration of St. Anne’s Week is one way of making life a little brighter for all who live and work here.

More information about St. Anne’s Guest Home is available at www.stannesguesthome.org.

Christ the King Retreat Center

Sister Christina Neumann and Sister Elaine Marie Roggenbuck proudly display their favorite sports teams on St. Anne’s Day last year. (St. Anne’s Staff )

Buffalo, Minnesota

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t. Anne’s Guest Home is celebrating its patronal feast this month. The week of “St. Anne’s Day,” July 26, is filled with fun for residents and staff alike.

One special joy this year as we celebrate St. Anne’s Day is the refurbished statue of our patron saint instructing her daughter, the Blessed Virgin. Through generous donations in honor of Roger Kieffer, a long-time friend and supporter of St. Anne’s, Dennis Narlock was commissioned to do the muchneeded refurbishment.

Each year, St. Anne’s Guest Home honors St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus, on her feast day, July 26, since our facility is named in her honor. A few years ago, we started making the celebration a weeklong observance.

One enjoyable part of the week is having themed dress up days, in which both residents and staff participate. Don’t be surprised if you visit St. Anne’s and see people wearing “wacky hats” or decked out in apparel from a favorite sports team. On her feast day, residents and staff will be invited to “wear blue for St. Anne’s,” putting on their blue shirts which were ordered in honor of our 60th anniversary in Grand Forks back in 2014.

Before this year’s celebration, new shirts were ordered for those needing replacements as well as any newcomers who wished to have one. This adds to the fun and solidarity we enjoy in celebrating St. Anne’s Week.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Healthcare professional Sister Francis Anne Bellemare dies at age 92

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ister Francis Anne Bellemare, 92, of Valley City died at the Maryvale Convent June 7.

Her funeral was June 12 in the Maryvale Convent Chapel. Father Donald Leiphon was the celebrant.

Sister Francis Anne (Marie Flore Angele, “Angela”) was born May 12, 1924 in Fargo to Francis and Anna Bellemare. She was the fourth in a family of 12 children living near Wild Rice. She professed her vows as a Sister of Mary of the Presentation Aug. 23, 1944, in Spring Valley, Ill. She began her ministry at St. Cecilia Catholic School, Harvey, in 1944, teaching first and second grade. The next year she attended St. Andrew School of Nursing, Bottineau, graduating as a registered nurse in 1948. She continued her studies at St. Francis Hospital, Peoria, Ill., becoming an operating technician in 1950. She attended St. Luke’s School, Aberdeen, S.D. as a nurse anesthetist in 1953. She obtained her Bachelors of

Science in Nursing from University of Mary in 1966 and clinical pastoral education from Creighton University Hospital, Omaha, Neb. in 1983.

Sister Francis Anne served in many healthcare positions throughout her life including St. Aloysius Medical Center, Harvey; St. Andrew’s Health Care, Bottineau; St. Margaret’s Health, Spring Valley, Ill.; Presentation Medical Center, Rolla; Presentation Care Center, Rolette; St. John’s Hospital, Fargo; and served in hospitality at the Prayer and Education Center, Guernsey, Channel Islands. She retired to the Maryvale Convent in 2006.

Sister Francis Anne was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Max, Henry, Paul, Alfred, John Louis, Edward, Francis, Jr., John and sister Alice Germanson. She is survived by her Religious Community, the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation, her brother Daniel (Linda), her sister Theresa, brother-in-law Ernest, sister-in-law Rosie and nieces and nephews.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

FAITH AND CULTURE

Where mystery and beauty abound

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A review of Jef Murray’s “Seer: A Wizard’s Journal”

By Joshua Gow

TATTERED PAGES

While it may seem counterintuitive, we need more stories like this. Our world is full of evils that need conquering, and as G. K. Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist.

Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” In this short work, children and adults can rediscover what it means to defeat our dragons.

About the Book:

A review of Catholic books and literature

“Seer: A Wizard’s Journal”

by Jef Murray

“Mystery and beauty abound in this work by Jef Murray and will certainly capture the attention of minds thirsting for mystery and a touch of fairy land.” – Joshua Gow

Published by Grail Quest Books.

Hardcover 172 pages.

Available via Barnes and Noble, Amazon and other book resellers.

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he fantasy genre of books is one that does not garner the mass appeal like other reads. Mostly relegated to teenage boys and adult boys who refuse to acknowledge that they have grown old, the genre appeals to a very slim audience. (Not to mention any females who may also be attracted to fantasy, who, upon public recognition of this fact, are treated like royalty amongst their predominately male peers.) Recognizing this, we come to a difficult crossroad: How am I, a person fitting the stereotypical fantasy-lete (in more ways than one) going to write a review to convince you, the average Sunday Mass goer, to read a fantasy book? Read on my friends!

The book in question is titled Seer: A Wizard’s Journal by the late Jef Murray. Murray is an artist by trade who has illustrated numerous works and re-prints by fantasy (and Christian) giants, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. His artistic abilities and affinity for the beautiful shine in this short publication. Hoping to engage more than just the fantasy genre elite, Murray seeks to create a short tome that engages a much wider audience.

Seer does not follow a traditional linear progression of a story, but rather is a compilation of short stories and poems that may or may not contain similar threads throughout. Each mini composition can be read alone in 10 minutes or less, a great night time read for the kids. Even if you are not a fan of the fantasy genre, there are still stories contained within that may peak your interest, stories such as a woman who attends daily Mass and encounters lost souls in purgatory asking for prayers.

The compilation is sure to contain a story or poem for everyone.

Even upon subsequent reads, the book still contains surprises and nuggets of goodness, nuggets ranging from a small spiritual insight to encounters with the divine or beauty. Mystery and beauty abound in this work by Jef Murray and will certainly capture the attention of minds thirsting for mystery and a touch of fairy land.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

17

Fourth Ordina

One nation, under God Patriotism is the call for Fourth Degree Knights

By Paul Braun

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

Fourth Degree Knights line up for the opening procession for the Ordination Mass in 2015 at the Cathedral of St. Mary. (New Earth)

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COVER STORY

ou’ve undoubtedly seen them at your local parish, at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo, at burials, sporting events and conferences. They are the men wearing the plumed hats, colored capes and carrying swords. They are the Color Corps of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus.

Who are these Knights of the Fourth Degree, and what does the Fourth Degree stand for? It seems appropriate during the month of July, when we commemorate the independence of our nation, that we take a closer look at the Fourth Degree.

According to the official website of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Headquarters, the Fourth Degree is the patriotic arm of the Knights of Columbus. Knights of the Patriotic Degree are dedicated to the personal development and continued honor of their brother Knights, offering leadership, guidance and encouragement. They proudly serve their country by glorifying God by serving their communities and nations as though Christ were the one being served. Many Fourth Degree Knights hold or have held senior leadership positions in their local Knights of Columbus councils.

Knights of the Patriotic Degree hold unwaveringly to what is right and honorable, working to keep God in the civic arena, serving the life of the Church and defending laws that recognize the sanctity of life and true religious liberty. The Color Corps is an elective division of the Fourth Degree that presents a visible reminder of their service to the community.

Glenn Wagner of South Heart, N.D. is the Master of the Fourth-Degree in North Dakota. He says being a member of the Fourth-Degree Color Corps is an honor that is open to all Knights, but the honor must be something a Knight strives to obtain. Wagner says membership is open to Third Degree Knights, but they must go through a separate exemplification, or ceremony, to have the honor of “Sir Knight” bestowed upon them.

“The Fourth Degree is the visible arm of the order, supporting the local Bishop,” said Wagner. “Sir knights, as they are referred, also work hard supporting local charities and causes, including the veteran’s homes across North Dakota.”

At sacred and civic events, they are hard to miss. The uniform is based on 19th century naval uniforms. From the black tuxedo and plumed Chapeau, or hat, to the ceremonial swords and multi-colored capes, the Fourth-Degree Color Corps stands out. The color of a Sir Knight’s cape indicates his rank within the order.

The red cape signifies being an honored member of the Color Corps, and is the most widely-seen cape. All members, when starting out, wear the red cape. But some Color Corps members have achieved honors allowing them to be adorned with capes of different colors. For example, the white cape signifies the Knight is or has been a Faithful Navigator for his local Fourth Degree Assembly. The Faithful Navigator is much like a local Knights of Columbus Council’s Grand Knight. Once a Sir Knight has achieved this status, he may wear the white cape for his remaining years in the Color Corps.

The purple cape signifies the Color Corps Commander. The corps commander is an appointed position, and the purple cape is handed off to the next corps commander once the current commander has completed his term. Another appointed NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

19

COVER STORY

Glenn Wagner – Master of Fourth Degree, North Dakota (submitted photo)

Fourth Degree Knights accompany Bishop John Folda at 2015 Walk with Christ fort Life event. (Kristina Lahr | New Earth)

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

position is the Marshall of the Diocese, signified by the green cape. There is one marshall in every diocese. Once his term has ended, the marshall relinquishes the green cape to the next marshall as well.

Some cape colors are seen only on very special occasions.

They signify senior leaders in the state and national FourthDegree. Glenn Wagner wears the yellow cape, signifying his position as District Master of the Fourth Degree for North Dakota. This is an appointed position, and Glenn wears the yellow cape for as long as he holds the office. The Vice-Supreme Master is signified by the light blue cape. This is a regional, appointed position, and there are two past Vice-Supreme Masters living in North Dakota. Only one Fourth Degree Sir Knight is authorized to wear the dark blue cape, and that is Dennis Stoddard, Supreme Master for the Fourth Degree in the United States.

The tenant of the Fourth Degree is national patriotism, but that doesn’t mean standing up for just Old Glory and the red, white and blue. There are Fourth Degree assemblies all over the world, signified by their national colors in the service baldric, or sash, worn by the Color Corps. Sir knights in the USA have a red, white and blue baldric, but in Canada for example, the baldric is red and white. Mexico’s is red, green and white, and so on. But no matter which country a Sir Knight is representing, they all seem to have one common experience.

“Once you are in the Color Corps, no matter where you’re from, you can see the appreciation for what you do,” said Wagner. “You can see that appreciation from the assembled clergy and the congregation, and it makes you proud to serve.”

Last year in North Dakota, there were 364 Color Corps teams assembled, representing the Knights of Columbus at various ceremonies and events. For more information on the Fourth Degree, contact Glenn Wagner at gwkofc@ndsupernet.com.

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Holy Spirit School Summer Adventure Director Renae Vetter leads her campers in practicing a contemporary Christian song.

(Paul Braun | New Earth)

JPII Catholic Schools Summer Adventure Program more than just daycare

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By Paul Braun

ith great care, they spread the white glue all over their wooden blocks. Eventually the block will end up as a gift for a lucky dad on Father’s Day, but right now it’s an icky, gooey mess and that’s half the fun! Summer Adventure day campers get to use their creative talents on a daily basis in a fun, active and faith-centered program for kids in K-6th grade.

Summer Adventure is not just a day care. It is a summer learning experience sponsored by the St. John Paull II Catholic School system in Fargo. Summer Adventure started in 2015 at Holy Spirit School in Fargo and was expanded this summer to include Trinity School in West Fargo, serving the needs of parents in the metro area.

The purpose of Summer Adventure is to provide a day care program for the children of working parents that not only keeps the kids safe and occupied during the day, but also keeps the school learning process going into the summer months, while continuing a child’s faith journey from school year to school year.

Sessions last a full week, Monday through Friday, focusing all week long on such topics as friendship, fishing and camping, experiencing other cultures, science, the arts, careers and more.

Students are also taken on field trips and to local swimming pools.

The cost for a one-week session is $160 per child, and discounts are provided if a child attends for more than four weeks. There still may be time to register a child for the last two sessions scheduled for Aug. 1–5 and Aug. 8–12. Parents should register their children at jp2schools.org and look for the registration form under the quick links tab. A one-week notice is required.

For more information, call (701) 893-3271.

Trinity School Summer Adventure Director Rachel Nistler gives a camper a helping hand with her project. (Paul Braun | New Earth)

A Summer Adventure camper works hard on a Father’s Day present for his dad. (Paul Braun | New Earth)

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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NEXT GEN

Faith-filled leaders sent forth from NDSU Newman Center

By Tara Splonskowski

Matthew Donahue plans to begin his novitiate with the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph this summer.

Matthew has been involved at Newman since his freshman year at NDSU as a lector, Extraordinary Minister of Communion, student missionary, bible study leader and Koinonia director.

Our prayers and hopes go with him as he further discerns religious life with the Dominicans. The Newman Center has sent nine men to seminary in the last three years.

Four students were hired as FOCUS Missionaries for next year and will go forth to other campuses, spreading the fire that started in them at NDSU and sharing the love of Christ with other students. NDSU Newman has generated over 60 FOCUS Missionaries in 12 years.

FOCUS missionaries and NDSU alumni gather for a photo before Sarah Knopik has been actively involved in Peer Ministry, their missions to other college campuses. From left are Joey Fritz, Student Advisory Board, music, student missions, Koinonia Sarah Knopik, Kevin Hackenmeuller, Christy Smith and Andrew and was always there for whatever role needed to be filled.

Hellmann.​ (submitted photo) Kevin Hackenmeuller has also been a tremendous leader, student very year, NDSU’s Newman Center helps hundreds of missionary, bible study leader, RE Catechist and willing college students begin the journey into what it means to volunteer. Joey Fritz has been an active member on the Student be an adult. The college experience is a crucial time when Advisory Board, student missionary, and bible study leader. young adults decide what values will guide them through the Andrew Hellmann has been involved as a Koinonia retreat director, student missionary and bible study leader as well. We rest of their lives.

Recent studies demonstrate that 83% of Catholic students will thank each of them for their faithfulness and ask your prayers leave the Catholic faith during college years. Newman is there for their mission to evangelize. as a home away from home offering many avenues students For these fruits and blessings, we at St. Paul’s Newman Center can take to grow in their faith – the sacraments, bible studies, are truly grateful and give praise to the Lord for another great Koinonia retreats, faith-filled community, activities and faith- year at NDSU – changing hearts, changing lives and forming future leaders in the name of the Lord Jesus! Find out more at based relationships. www.bisonCatholic.org – like us on Facebook and follow us This year St. Paul’s Newman Center continues to be blessed on Twitter. by sending forth extraordinary faith leaders.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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What happened in Hue, Vietnam

By Father Bert Miller

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here is a volunteer at Blessed Sacrament who makes what seems to be hundreds of turkeys every Thanksgiving to feed whoever wants a meal. Last year, there were 2,500 meals served in the dining room or delivered to people’s homes.

For my 12 years there, I wondered what motivates this man.

He has been cooking the Thanksgiving dinners for 37 years!

This spring I gave a homily about questioning orders rather than following orders. Which was the Christian response?

I got a powerful response from the turkey cook, who had been a Vietnamese linguist, translator and intelligence analyst from January 1969 to February 1971. I had not known he was ever in the military, let alone Vietnam.

He writes that what happened in Hue during the North Vietnamese Army’s occupation is one of the great untold stories of modern times. The media barely mentioned it. Very few historical accounts cover it.

The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) sent squads of regular army troops through Hue neighborhood by neighborhood with clip boards and lists of names. The lists were the names of “collaborators.” They were government employees, people who worked for the electric, water and phone companies. Anybody who worked for a government-owned organization. The NVA targeted Catholic clergy. At a convent, they rounded up and executed 100 Catholic nuns.

Many of the people were dragged into the street and executed. Others had their hands tied behind their backs and were marched away. The NVA held kangaroo courts where they convicted people in five minutes or less, took them out and shot them. Other people disappeared. One woman, who was married to an American, was killed in front of her home. Her children were also killed.

After Hue was retaken by U.S. Marines, over 3,000 people were missing. Most of them had been arrested by the North Vietnamese military squads. Most of these people would not be found until the following spring.

In early 1969, helicopter pilots flying over the beaches near Hue reported rectangular patches of lush dark green grass. The beaches were wide expanses of white sugar sand.

Our turkey cook was at the 8th Radio Research Station, Phu Bai (about five miles south of Hue). He had gone to pick up his mail at headquarters when a major grabbed him. He told him to get his rifle and gear. The base commander, a colonel, the major, a corporal and our turkey cook got in a jeep and drove to the beach just south of Hue. The Vietnamese were digging. They found mass graves. The individuals had been executed with their hands still tied behind them and most with hoods still over their heads. The graves found as late as 1975 held over 3,000 bodies.

The temperature was in the 90s and the humidity was close to 100 percent. The stench was indescribable. There were television crews there reporting on the scene. But in America, few remember ever seeing the footage on news programs.

This is the story of one American veteran who served in Vietnam. It is a horrifying story. He admits he still has nightmares about the scene on the beach. Today he works with Vietnamese survivors in the Fargo community.

When it is the day for giving thanks, he does so in a most extraordinary way. He cooks enough birds and organizes enough volunteers to feed an army of other thankful people.

He is a man of great faith, who has survived a troubled time in world history. He has redirected anguish into compassion and care for others throughout all the work of his life. Our salutes to him and our thanks to him for his service to our country and for our freedom.

Father Bert Miller serves as pastor at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Park River and St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Veseleyville.

Editor’s Note: Stories of Faith is a recurring feature in New Earth. If you have a faith story to tell, contact Father Bert Miller at bert.miller@fargodiocese.org.

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

Mercy in anxious times

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hese are anxious times. We have witnessed Catholic orchestrated acts of Action terror so senseless it boggles the mind.

Christoper Dodson Nearly 65 million people are displaced worldwide and there seems to exist no will or agreement to resettle them. Mass shootings driven by hatred, despair or mental instability seem to have become more commonplace. A U.S. Supreme Court driven by abortion ideology has thrown-out decades of legal precedent.

Never before have the presumptive nominees for president been so disliked by the American public. Christians and other religious minorities continue to face persecution and martyrdom around the world. Ideologically zealous bureaucracies are forcing people to embrace “gender philosophies” contrary to their religious beliefs and common sense. Some political candidates seek a return of the use of torture. Others support the use of drone strikes on civilians.

It is enough to think that we are living in W.B. Yeats’ The Second Coming: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

But we’ve been here before. And we will be here again.

Yeats wrote his poem immediately after World War I, a war so violent, deadly, senseless, and sudden that it shook the Western world to its core. A mere twenty years later we experienced another world war.

How do we, as Christians, respond to troubling and chaotic times? Do we withdraw from the world, judging it irredeemable?

Do we embrace the changes, gradually or quickly, “going with the flow” enough so we can still make a difference elsewhere?

Do we let our anxieties and passions overtake us and join a worldly movement fighting in reaction to the changes and chaos? Do we let our resistance become hatred of this world?

St. Paul instructs us to “have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil. 4:6). This does not mean, however, that we should withdraw from society and only pray. We are social creatures created to serve God and others. We serve others not only through individual acts of charity, but also through social and government institutions.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church has this

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“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil. 4:6). to say about times of trouble: “When human authority goes beyond the limits willed by God, it makes itself a deity and demands absolute submission; it becomes the Beast of the Apocalypse, an image of the power of the imperial persecutor “drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev 17:6). The Beast is served by the “false prophet” (Rev 19:20), who, with beguiling signs, induces people to adore it. This vision is a prophetic indication of the snares used by Satan to rule men, stealing his way into their spirit with lies. But Christ is the Victorious Lamb who, down the course of human history, overcomes every power that would make it absolute. Before such a power, St. John suggests the resistance of the martyrs; in this way, believers bear witness that corrupt and satanic power is defeated, because it no longer has any authority over them.” (382) Three points come to mind when reading this passage. First, it relies heavily on the Book of Revelation, which was written during a time when persecuted Christians were tempted to lose hope. Second, the Beast of the Apocalypse, is not necessarily a ruler or world government. It could be a human-made ideology, like many of the false ideologies from the left and the right popular today. Third, the lesson is that, by the cross and resurrection, Christ is victorious and overcomes every contrary power.

The Compendium goes on to note that we humans must perceive these truths and seek to fulfill, in social life, “truth, justice, freedom and solidarity that bring peace.” We cannot withdraw. Nor can we succumb to false man-made “solutions.” Finally, we cannot be overcome by anxiety or despair. Mercy is not served by any of those reactions.

Ten years after Yeats’ Second Coming, T.S. Eliot wrote Ash Wednesday. A passage of the poem expresses this Christian idea of being in the world, caring for the world, but not being of the world, all the while embracing St. Paul’s call to prayer.

He wrote: Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Christopher Dodson is executive director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference. The NDCC acts on behalf of the Catholic bishops of North Dakota to respond to public policy issues of concern to the Catholic Church and to educate Catholics and the general public about Catholic social doctrine. The conference website is ndcatholic.org.

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

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hy aren’t you coming back to Fargo?” That was the response I often received when I informed people of my summer assignment. Being outside of our home diocese for another summer during seminary formation struck them as incredibly odd. For a while, it struck me as odd too.

Why am I in St. Paul doing a hospital chaplaincy internship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center? Why can’t I stay in my home diocese? Yet, midway through the summer, I know that I am exactly where God wants me to be.

“When I enter into a [hospital] room, Our Lord, who identifies Himself with the poor and suffering, is there waiting to meet me.”

– Eric Seitz, Fargo Diocese seminarian

The SPM X-Perience

not a pigsty. Yet we have a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.

From my experience Seminarian of the seminarians Life here in St. Paul, I am confident that the Eric Seitz future of the Church is in good hands.

As I am writing this, I am halfway through the program. I know that God has given me a great number of blessings already, and I am certain that he has more on the way. By the time I hit the streets of North Dakota as a priest, I should be well prepared to serve the Church in part due to this program.

Spiritual Pastoral Ministry (SPM) is a summer program run by the St. Paul Seminary. It is designed to give seminarians ex- Eric Seitz is a Theology II student studying at St. Paul Seminary in St. perience with comforting the sick and suffering. It arose out of Paul, Minn. He is originally from Fargo. When he has a free minute or two, a need to give seminarians a program more suited to our needs he enjoys playing basketball and football. What he enjoys most about the as future pastors. The standard program for hospital chaplaincy, seminary is living in fraternity and genuinely Catholic culture.

Clinical Pastoral Experience (CPE), is focused towards training hospital chaplains.

Editor’s Note: Seminarian Life is a monthly column written by current Diocese of Fargo seminarians. It gives New Earth readers It is a long, intense program, that involves long hours in a glimpse of what these discerning young men are experiencing. both classes and hospital rooms, and overnight vigils with the Please continue to pray for them. emergency room pager. Many considered this to be overkill for a parish priest. Plus, it often excludes time for personal prayer and daily mass. CPE is also an interfaith program, which meant that the teaching in the classroom might not line up with our faith. These issues lead the St. Paul Seminary to create SPM several years ago. about I am enjoying the program greatly. My favorite part of any day is visiting the patients. The VA hospital is dedicated to the our idea of integrated care. This means that the hospital staff sees Real members of a Catholic United household my position as another member of the medical team. After with our my astute training with Father Damien Schill, who is a Fargo priest serving at the VA in St. Paul, I am able to write notes in More than $475,000 given in grants and the patient’s chart, sit in on the ward rounds and communicate special needs to the nurse at hand. scholarships to the Diocese of Fargo!

The greatest benefit I can give is listening to the patients as they process their pains and their struggles, and praying with Jeff Reisenauer FICF, LUTCF them, asking for the Lord’s intercession. The patients, in their Wahpeton & nearby own way, give back to me, too. As Jesus says, “That which you did for the least of my brethren, you did unto me.” When I enter 701-260-0758 into a room, Our Lord, who identifies himself with the poor and suffering, is there waiting to meet me.

Joshua Volk FIC Another aspect of the summer that I enjoy greatly is the Life Insurance Bismarck, Mandan, opportunity to live in community. We live in the old convent at Strasburg Annuities St. Mark’s Catholic Church in St. Paul. There are twelve of us IRAs* in SPM, and about another dozen younger men from St. John 701-321-2423 Retirement Planning Vianney Seminary (also on the campus of St. Thomas) who are in other programs.

Charitable Giving Philip Zubrod FIC In a short time, we have been able to establish a bond of true Estate Planning Grand Forks & nearby communion. We share common meals in the dining room, cooked Final Expenses by the younger seminarians (we help with cleaning up), and we 701-840-8560 © 2016 Catholic United Financial , St. Paul, MN are all responsible for keeping the house clean. With a couple dozen bachelors in the house, it’s a miracle that this place is NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016 25

Feeling good

uniting finances faith

OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

Sympathy cards and memorial gifts comforting for both sender and receiver

T

here was a Steve Schons is director of stewardship and development for the Diocese of time when I Fargo and president of the Catholic Development Foundation. He can be hesitated to reached at steve.schons@fargodiocese.org or (701) 356-7926. send a sympathy card when I heard Stewardship someone’s loved Steve Schons one or friend had passed away. Or maybe I should say it’s not so much that I hesitated to send one, it was more that I wondered if it would be helpful in any meaningful way. I tended to think such cards were completely inadequate and too trivial to make much of a difference during time of loss.

Even the words “sympathy card” seemed ill-chosen to me.

People who are grieving want compassion, understanding and empathy. I don’t think they’re really looking for sympathy.

After my dad’s death fifteen years ago, naturally my family received a fair number of sympathy cards. Much to my surprise, I discovered looking at them and reading the words, especially the hand-written words, was very comforting. It really helped to know others acknowledged my loss, empathized with it and The Catholic Development Foundation provides free even shared in the loss with me. sympathy cards with an opportunity to make donation Death can be one of those topics people struggle to deal with, to whichever Catholic Church where the deceased was a so unfortunately the topic is often avoided altogether. When parishioner. If you would like a 3-pack sent to you, please a loved one passes away, other people struggle with what to forward me your contact information. We would be more say and what to do. Awkwardness and fear of saying or doing than happy to send these out. the wrong thing too often keeps them from saying or doing anything at all.

Name:____________________________________________ One of the simplest things you can do for someone who is Address:_________________________________________ grieving is to send them a card or hand-written note. Don’t worry about searching and sending the perfect card with the perfect City:__________________State:______ Zip:___________ message. It doesn’t exist anyway. The simple act of sending a card or making a memorial gift can be comforting for both the Or email your request to steve.schons@fargodiocese.org sender and the receiver.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

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On not settling for mediocrity

racow. With World Youth Day 2016 [underway], thoughts naturally turn to Pope St. John Paul II and his pilgrimages to his Polish homeland.

The first, the Nine Days of June 1979, in which the Pope ignited a revolution of conscience, was the pivot on which the history of the late twentieth century turned in a nobler direction. In 1983, as Poland suffered under martial law, John Paul reignited hope and gave a new jolt of life to the Solidarity movement, then struggling to survive underground. On his third pilgrimage, in 1987, John Paul began to lay the moral foundations of a renovated Polish civil society and democracy, speaking of solidarity-the-virtue while that distinctive, jumbly-red lettering, “Solidarnosc,” was seen in public once again, on banners held high throughout the country.

1987 was also the first time John Paul was allowed to go to Solidarity’s birthplace in Gdansk – a concession from the communist regime on which he insisted, against the advice of more cautious churchmen. While he was on Poland’s Baltic seacoast, he went to Westerplatte, the thin peninsula where World War II in Europe began on September 1, 1939. There, a small Polish force of fewer than 200 was shelled by German warships – and then held out against invading German marines and Stuka dive-bombers for six days. During a liturgy of the word at Westerplatte, John Paul had some things to say to a vast gathering of Polish young people – a kind of World Youth Day in miniature. And what he said bears very much on 21stcentury Catholicism.

The Pope, who vividly remembered September 1, 1939, and Luftwaffe bombs crashing down on Cracow, used the image of those brave young Polish soldiers on Westerplatte as a metaphor for the moral life, in his challenge to the youth of Poland: “Even if others do not demand much from you, you must demand of yourselves….

“Each one of you…will find in your life your own Westerplatte. A task…you must assume and complete. Some just cause, in which it is impossible not to fight. Some duty, some obligation, from which [you] cannot escape, and from which it is impossible to desert. A certain order of truths and values you are obliged to maintain and defend…In such a moment (and there are many of them, for they are not something exceptional), remember: Christ is passing by you and saying ‘Follow me.’ Do not abandon him. Do not run away. Hear that call...”

That summons to strive for heroic virtue – don’t settle for second-best; no matter what others ask of you, ask the best of yourself – was one facet of John Paul II’s remarkably magnetic appeal for young people. From his years as a university chaplain, he knew that young souls yearn for heroism, including religious and moral heroism. He also knew that striving often fails – that we are all less than we strive to be. But that didn’t seem to John Paul a reason to lower the bar of expectation.

The answer to failure was not resignation, settling for second- or third-best. The answer was to recognize that Christ was down there in the dust with you, as he had fallen along the Way of the Cross. So get up, seek forgiveness and reconciliation, and

try again; with the help of grace, and answering the call, “Follow me,” strive The Catholic to be someone of character, compassion Difference and conviction.

George Weigel Over the past several years, voices in the Church have sometimes described the Gospel and its demands as an “ideal.” The implication, however unintended, is that the “ideal” is impossible to achieve, so demands should be blunted and the bar of expectation lowered. Some might imagine this as a consoling message, given that we all fail.

But imagine if John Paul had turned the lesson of Westerplatte inside-out and said to those young people, “Look, enough Polish romanticism. Those young soldiers were outnumbered. They didn’t have a chance. They should have surrendered.” Would that message have stirred young hearts and souls to finish the job of finishing off communism, and to take up the task of building a free and virtuous society?

It seems unlikely. No, check that: it seems impossible.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Events across the diocese St. Catherine School, Valley City, to celebrate 100th anniversary

DirectTV customers “blacked out” from Sunday Mass broadcast

St. Catherine Elementary School, Valley The Sunday Mass, which is sponsored by the Diocese of Fargo City will be kicking off a year of celebration and airs each Sunday morning across eastern North Dakota on for its 100th anniversary. The celebration WDAY/WDAZ TV, is watched by thousands of loyal viewers begins with an open house at the school each week, many who are unable to go to Mass on their own. on Sept. 9 from 5-7 p.m. On Sept. 10 there But as of June 1, viewers who rely on DirecTV for their television will be a St. Catherine Alumni and Friends service have been “blacked out,” so to speak, from all WDAY/ Golf Scramble at Bjornson Park Public Golf WDAZ TV programming, including the Sunday Mass.

Course in Valley City. Registration begins In a statement, management at WDAY/WDAZ maintain, at 9 a.m. On Sept. 11 Tony Melendez will “Our stations’ current carriage agreement with DirecTV expired perform a concert at the Hi-liner Activity March 31, 2016, but to accommodate DirecTV and avoid a disCenter at 4 p.m. Melendez, who was born ruption of service to DirecTV subscribers, we granted DirecTV without arms, is known for playing the an extension of our old agreement through May 30, and we guitar with his feet. Contact Barb Stangeland at (605) 692-2946 granted DirecTV another extension through June 1. Unfortunately, notwithstanding our best effort to reach a new agreement, or stkates100@gmail.com.

DirecTV is choosing not to provide you with our award-winning, highly-rated stations.”

The statement also informs DirecTV viewers how they can get a free, over-the-air antenna in order to receive WDAY/WDAZ’s

Come away for a day of retreat at Presentation signal. The entire statement may be read at www.wday.com/ Center (Maryvale), Valley City on Aug. 26 news/4046410-attention-directv-customers. or Lake Metigoshe Ministries, Bottineau on Aug. 27 where Father Andrew Jasinski Until the issue is settled, DirecTV customers who wish to will direct a retreat with a series of talks view Sunday Mass could check the Eternal World Television on Pope Francis’ motto, “Pitiable and yet Network (EWTN) listings for Mass times and tune to DirecTV Chosen,” which is also the theme for the channel 370, or tune in at 7 a.m. to the Hallmark Channel 312.

Catechist Retreat August 26, Valley City or August 27, Bottineau

Jubilee of Catechists. This is a retreat for anyone who is involved in Catechesis. There will be time for Mass, lunch, sharing, reflection and a chance to enjoy the beautiful grounds.

The day will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. We must have a minimum of 12 retreatants registered for each retreat or it will be canceled. Deadline to register for both retreats is August 17.

Registration fee is $20 per person. Register at www.fargodiocese. org/catechistretreat. Contact mary.hanbury@fargodiocese.org.

All invited to the 60th Carmelite pilgrimage near Wahpeton

The Carmelite Nuns invite you to the 60th anniversary of the Annual Pilgrimages to Our Lady of the Prairies Shrine at the Carmelite Monastery in rural Wahpeton on Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. St. Boniface parish in Lidgerwood is sponsoring this year’s event. Their pastor, Father Jason Lefor, is the guest speaker.

Come and share in the afternoon of prayer in gratitude for all God’s blessings in loving devotion to Our Blessed Mother. The day includes a rosary procession, confession, Mass at the Shrine with Bishop Folda and a picnic provided by the Knights of Columbus.

Bring your needs and intentions to the Carmelites who will earnestly include you in their prayers each day. The Sisters are here for you and daily take to heart all your prayer requests.

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Wild Rice parish hosting Financial Peace class

Want to learn how to better manage your money? Are you

newly married and learning to share finances with your spouse?

Struggling with debt? Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program is a Bible-based way of managing money, sticking to a budget and giving generously. All will benefit from his simple approach to avoid debt and build wealth. Classes will be held on Wednesdays starting Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Benedict’s parish, Wild Rice. Contact Dave McNeil at (701) 367-5743, dmcneil7@yahoo. com or visit www.daveramsey.com. .

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www.fargodiocese.org

Pilgrims throughout the Diocese of Fargo will be attending World Youth Day events in Krakow, Poland July 25-31. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @fargodiocese for updates

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Get Fired Up and take part in our 10th Fargo parish celebrates 11th Annual annual 40 Days for Life campaign Father Didier Memorial Mass 40 Days for Life will take place Sept. 28–Nov. 6 across our nation. You are invited to join in the N.D. effort by attending a Fire Up meeting Sep. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Pastoral Center at 5201 Bishops Blvd., Fargo. The Fire Up meeting will be an opportunity to learn about the fall campaign, side-walk counseling tips and how you can involve your church in this year’s efforts to save our state’s unborn children from abortion.

The 40 Days for Life campaign is a three-fold effort of prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil. The N.D. 40 Days for Life effort will be begin at 8 a.m. on Sept. 28, in front of the abortion facility, 512 1st Ave. No., Fargo. Our campaign will provide a peaceful, prayerful presence in front of the abortion facility from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the campaign. For more information or to sign up for an hour of prayer visit www.40daysforlifend. com or contact the Pregnancy Help Center at (701) 284-6601 or phc@ polarcomm.com.

Join Bishop Folda for the Walk with Christ for Life Oct. 2

Bishop Folda invites the faithful to join him in the annual Eucharistic procession, Walk with Christ for Life, on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 2. The day’s events will begin with Mass at noon at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo. This will be followed by a prayerful, peaceful procession to the state’s only abortion facility.

A lunch will be served by the Cardinal Muench Council Knights of Columbus in the Cathedral social hall after Benediction. The Walk is sponsored by the Diocese of Fargo Respect Life Office.

Contact Rachelle at (701) 356-7910.

Youth called to March for Life in January 2017

Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fargo invites you to attend the 11th Annual Father Darin Didier Memorial Mass on Sep. 5 at 5:20 p.m. A meal will follow in the social hall where a free-will offering will be collected to fund the Father Didier Memorial College Scholarship Fund at Holy Spirit. Contact Cecelia O’Keefe at (701) 232-5900.

Father Didier was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fargo on June 4, 2005 and served as parochial vicar at Holy Spirit church until his death on Sep. 6, 2005. Visit www.fatherdarin.com.

Pilgrimage to the Marian shrines of Wisconsin

Join Monsignor Joseph Goering for a pilgrimage to the shrine

of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wis. and Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis., the only approved Marian Apparition in the U.S., and also Rudolph Grottos Sept. 2428. The price is $770 per person and includes coach bus transportation from St Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo, hotels and most meals. Registration forms are available online at www.cathedralofstmary.com.

CORRECTION

An extra sentence was added to this anniversary announcement in the June 2016 issue. We apologize for the confusion this error may have caused.

Ted and Eleanor Harles celebrate 60th wedding anniversary

Ted and Eleanor Harles celebrated 60 years of marriage on June 6 with their family of 10 children, 18 grandYouth in grades 9-12 are invited to the annual March children and 15 great-grandchildren. They lived on for Life in Washington D.C. a farm for many years and now live in Lidgerwood. on Jan. 27, 2017. The pilgrim- They have been parishioners of St. Boniface parish age begins in Fargo Jan. 23 in Lidgerwood for 60 years.

and returns Jan. 29. Father Greg Haman, Parochial Vicar for St. Michael’s Church, Grand Forks, will be our spiritual director. In addition to participating in the March for Life and Vigil Mass for Life at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, youth will travel to Emmitsburg, Md. to visit the Mother Seton Shrine and the sites of D.C. Cost is $850 and includes air and ground travel, lodging, meals and tour fees. Registration deadline is Oct. 10. Contact Rachelle at (701) 356-7910, rachelle.sauvageau@ fargodiocese.org or go to www.fargodiocese.org/respectlife.

Diocesan policy: Reporting child abuse

The Diocese of Fargo is committed to the protection of youth.

Please report any incidents or suspected incidents of child abuse, including sexual abuse, to civil authorities. If the situation involves a member of the clergy or a religious order, a seminarian or an employee of a Catholic school, parish, the diocesan offices or other Catholic entity within the diocese, we ask that you also report the incident or suspected incident to Monsignor Joseph P. Goering at (701) 356-7945 or Larry Bernhardt at (701) 356-7965 or VictimAssistance@fargodiocese.org.

For additional information about victim assistance, visit www.fargodiocese.org/victimassistance.

NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

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Life’s milestones

Joseph & Janet Banisch celebrate 50 years of marriage

Joseph and Janet Banisch will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on July 30. They were married at St. Louis Catholic Church (now Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church) in Dunseith and are now parishioners of Holy Cross parish in West Fargo. They have three sons.

Clare & Richard Elless celebrate 65th wedding anniversary

Clare and Richard, parishioners of Holy Cross parish in West Fargo, were married Aug. 20, 1951 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Crosby, Minn. They’ve been blessed with six children, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and eight extra grandchildren, family friends that see them as their grandparents.

Hornungs celebrate 69 years of marriage

Robert and Amelda Hornung celebrated 69 years of marriage June 24. They were married in 1947 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Walhalla and are longtime parishioners there.

They’ve been blessed with five children, 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. They now reside in Walhalla after retiring from farming.

Ernie and Rose Misialek celebrate 65th wedding anniversary

Ernie and Rose Misialek celebrated 65 years of marriage June 25 with family and friends. They lived on a farm near Minto for many years and now live in Grand Forks, where they are parishioners at Holy Family parish. They have eight children, 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

Wanzeks celebrate 60 years of marriage

Marvin and Donna Wanzek celebrated 60 years of marriage June 19. They are parishioners of St. Mathias, Windsor and St. James Basilica, Jamestown and were married at the basilica. They have six children, 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Glyndon and Dorothy White celebrate 68th anniversary

Glyndon and Dorothy White will celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary Aug. 2.

They were married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Carrington in 1948 and have four children.

Julia Brossart celebrates 90th birthday

Julia Brossart celebrated her 90th birthday June 4.

She was married to Frank J. Brossart for 61 years before he passed away in 2007. She has 11 children, 18 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She is a former parishioner of Little Flower parish, Rugby, and St. Mary’s parish, Knox, and now lives in Grand Forks. She has a twin sister, Anna Burckhard of Minot.

Eugene Holzer celebrates 80th birthday

Eugene Holzer celebrated his 80th birthday July 16. He is married to Kitty Holzer and is a parishioner of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Wishek.

Share Life’s Milestones As a way to celebrate life and love, we encourage parishioners throughout the Diocese of Fargo to send photos of anniversaries of 60 or more years, or birthdays of 80 or more years to: New Earth, Diocese of Fargo, 5201 Bishops Blvd. S., Suite A, Fargo, ND 58104-7605 or news@fargodiocese.org.

Barbara Jerolimek celebrates 100th birthday

Barbara was born July 19, 1916 in Pisek. She was a parishioner at St. John Nepomucene church until she married Steve Jarolimek in 1943 when she became a parishioner of St. Luke’s church in Veseleyville. They returned to Pisek in 1984 when they retired from farming. Barbara and Steve are blessed with six children, 22 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. Steve and Barbara were married for 53 years when he passed away in 1996.

Lolo Lorenz celebrates 100th birthday

Lolo Lorenz, parishioner of St. Alphonsus parish in Langdon and formerly of St. Edward’s parish in Nekoma, celebrated her 100th birthday July 14. She was married to the late Victor Lorenz for 68 years. They have four children, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Alice Stahl celebrates 105th birthday

Alice Bertina Stahl celebrated her 105th birthday June 23 at the Nelson County Care Center in McVille. She lived and farmed in rural Pekin with her husband Francis Michael Stahl. They were married 43 years when he passed away. Together they have two sons, five grandchildren and 10 greatgrandchildren.

Til Tellinghusen celebrates 90th birthday

Til Tellinghusen of Fargo will celebrate her 90th birthday Aug. 23. A family celebration will be held with Ron, her husband of 47 years, and their two daughters and sons-in-law, Kathy and Joe Axtmann and Jane and Steve Metzger and their families. Til has seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Til has been a parishioner of St. Mary’s Cathedral parish in Fargo for 65 years.

Irene Vandrovec celebrates 102nd birthday

Irene Vandrovec, parishioner of St. Catherine’s parish and life-long resident of Valley City, will celebrate her 102nd birthday Sept. 2. She was married to Anton Vandrovec for 36 years until his passing in 1973. She has eight children, 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

A Glimpse of the Past

These news items, compiled by Dorothy Duchschere, were found in issues of the Diocese of Fargo newspaper, New Earth, and its predecessor, Catholic Action News.

50 Years Ago....1966

Open house for the new Cardinal Muench Seminary will be held August 13, 14 and 15 according to Fr. Edward Arth, seminary rector. Dedication of the Seminary will be August 22, with Bishop Leo F. Dworschak presiding. The bishop will also speak at the dedicatory ceremonies. Area State and city officials are expected to attend, along with religious leaders from the region. The new seminary is located directly south of the Edgewood Golf Course in north Fargo.

- 1966 July/August Catholic Action News

20 Years Ago....1996

Bishop James Sullivan presided at the 36th Annual International Peace Garden Field Mass on Sunday, July 14. The Field Mass and Family Day, celebrated every year on the second Sunday of July, usually draws several thousand people. Since its inception in 1960 by the North Dakota and Manitoba Knights of Columbus councils, the Mass has been a celebration of the family and long lasting peace between Canada and the United States. - 1996 July New Earth

10 Years ago....2006

Parishioners of the Basilica of St. James in Jamestown will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the parish on July 30th at the Jamestown Civic Center with Mass beginning at 4 p.m.

Bishop Samuel Aquila, Bishop of Fargo and Bishop Thomas Donats of Newark, NJ, the titular bishop of Jamestown will preside at the Mass. Jamestown became a parish in 1881. The first Mass was celebrated in the first church in Jamestown in 1883. Jamestown was officially designated the See of the Diocese of North Dakota in 1889 and Father John Shanley was consecrated first bishop of Jamestown in 1889. Bishop Shanley moved the See to Fargo in 1891. Ground was broken in 1910 for the present-day church building. It was consecrated

by Bishop James O’Reilly. St. James was elevated to the status of a Minor Basilica in 1989 by Pope John Paul II and was the 34th church in the United States to be designated as a Minor Basilica. - 2006 June New Earth

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US & WORLD NEWS

Their heroic work in America and throughout the world is saving lives

By Tom Ackerman | University of Mary

said Grossu, the director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council. “My areas of expertise are abortion, women’s health, bioethics, pornography, sex trafficking and assisted suicide.”

Grossu has been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, EWTN and CBN, in USA Today, The Hill, Fox News, National Review and many others. She has lectured at the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to use my knowledge and training to help shape public policy,” said the 33-year old Grossu from Washington D.C. “Scientific and medical technologies can be ethical, unethical or neutral. It is important to distinguish the bioethical implications of technologies: do they uphold the dignity of human life and improve it, or do they use or destroy human life? Science and medicine must be always at the service of human life and must use only ethical means to achieve its purpose.”

Suter is the Senior Nurse of Medical Planning and Preparedness and an experienced disaster relief nurse on the Emergency Response Team of International Medical Corps (IMC). She is always on standby to deploy to a crisis as a nurse team leader or a field site manager.

“My most recent deployments include the war in South Sudan, the Ebola outbreak in Liberia and Sierra Leone, an earthquake in Nepal and Ebola preparedness in Guinea Bissau,” said Suter, a Kelly Suter putting an IV in a sick man in Nepal. Suter is the native of Petoskey, Mich. “The line between right and wrong is Senior Nurse of Medical Planning and Preparedness and an often blurred and difficult for even the most stringent moralist experienced disaster relief nurse on the Emergency Response to distinguish. I have the responsibility to understand what is Team of International Medical Corps (IMC). moral and ethical. Relief work often places health care workers in high stress situations, with few resources and limited support. especting and valuing all human life as God intended is During those times, it can be especially difficult to distinguish the core of what Arina Grossu and Kelly Suter do each what is ethical from what is unethical. More than once I have had day in their careers. While one is helping shape public to help a fellow healthcare worker understand why hastening policy on Capitol Hill, the other is helping mankind on the the death of a suffering and near-death patient is not an act of compassion — even in the midst of war, disaster or crisis.” frontlines of crises around the world.

Grossu’s and Suter’s daily witness to what Pope Saint John Last year, in the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Suter, 30, Paul II called the “culture of death” not only helped provide a documented her thoughts in an impressive weekly diary. “It firsthand account of current bioethics issues but also the extraor- didn’t take long to learn that fear is actually a friend here in West dinary essay content needed for this prestigious scholarship. The Africa, as it leads to vigilance,” she wrote. “That fear, combined essays, along with a minimum 3.0 GPA, earned each a $1,500 with the inability to let your guard down for even a moment, is scholarship from among 23 students enrolled in University of like carrying a gorilla on your back all day.”

Mary’s Master of Science in Bioethics program — one of only When 60 Minutes reporter Lara Logan interviewed Suter in two offered in the United States.

Liberia, Suter admitted there are good days and bad days.

This inaugural bioethics cohort at University of Mary, In her Catholic upbringing, as the second oldest in a large Bismarck will graduate in April 2017 and consists of professionals family with five other siblings, caring for others comes naturally. in fields such as healthcare, public policy, law, coaching and the She remembers picking out toys for underprivileged children, priesthood. Because of its popularity, the University of Mary packaging Christmas boxes for kids in Africa, visiting nursing had to create a waiting list for next year. homes and raking leaves for elderly neighbors. Suter’s caring “I speak, write about, and represent human dignity issues for others became very personal when her youngest sibling was ranging from conception to natural death in the public square,” born with Down syndrome.

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Arina G in Wash Dignity

People wanting to learn more about the University of Mary bioethics program should contact the Director of Bioethics, Dr. Karen Rohr, at kmrohr@umary.edu or (701) 355-8113. Anyone interested in the free August 12-13 two-day bioethics seminar at the University of Mary with world-renowned speakers Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Dr. John Brehany, Dr. John Di Camillo and Dr. Marie Hilliard of the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) or would like to register for the event online can do so at www.umary.edu/bioethics.

Arina Grossu speaks at the Hobby Lobby Victory at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Grossu is the director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council. (University of Mary)

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“The first time I had to defend my little brother because of his disabilities, I was 8, I was determined and I was terrified to oppose an adult,” said Suter, a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier in Petosky. “That was the first time I saw a human being decide another life was of less value than their own and I was determined to never allow that to happen again.”

Suter and Grossu have both witnessed humanity at its worst and finest. Still, their Catholic faith is strong and their spirit is selfless.

“Even though I know that I could get sick, and that I could be one of them that doesn’t survive, I’m OK with that because I’d rather be here helping than home and safe,” Suter told 60 Minutes.

“I am committed to standing up for the most vulnerable

people in our society,” said Grossu, who’s been involved in standing up for women and their preborn babies since high school. “As Pope Saint John Paul II said so eloquently, ‘A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members: and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying.’”

Suter’s essay “Euthanasia and the Compassionate Care of the Critically Ill,” and Grossu’s “The Medical and Ethical Consequences of the Three-Parent Embryo Creation,” are powerful testimony to the need to engage with modern-day bioethics issues in the light of truth. Both believe the University of Mary’s strong Catholic identity and its partnership with the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), mean that the scholarship they received will deepen their knowledge of bioethical issues at a world-class level.

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NEW EARTH JULY/AUGUST 2016

“A lot of hands make easy work” Holy Cross parish, West Fargo, sweats for their mission in Kansas City

By Kristina Lahr

A

Teens of Holy Cross parish, West Fargo, work to build a barn for the Alpha Christian Children’s home, an orphanage in Kansas City.

Despite above average temperatures, the parish persevered in their mission to help those in need. (Gannon Schlader)

Father Meyer hauls a load of wood to the main house while a few students enjoy the ride. (submitted photo)

fter hours of hot bus rides and hard labor, 33 parishioners of all ages from Holy Cross parish in West Fargo returned from a mission trip to the Alpha Christian Children’s home, an orphanage in Kansas City. This was the third summer the parish joined together to help the orphanage with their needs.

The relationship with the orphanage started when Father Steven Meyer, pastor of Holy Cross, was looking for mission work in a nearby state. What started as a work relationship has now flourished into a friendship. Because the orphanage isn’t government funded, it relies heavily on volunteers.

“We help with whatever they need,” said Jeanine Peyerl, who went on the mission with her daughter. “The past two years I helped with logging, chopping firewood for the winter, built barns and helped with painting.”

Victor Heitkamp, who went on the mission with his son and daughter, was on the team in charge of building a barn for the goats this year.

“Not being a construction worker, it was an interesting challenge,” said Heitkamp. “One thing I learned is that when you put your heads together, anything is possible. I think the kids really saw that. Even the chaperones would ask, ‘now we’re supposed to do what?’ Just seeing what we were capable of was so rewarding.

I think my kids got to see a different side of their dad, too.”

“A lot of hands make easy work,” said Peyerl. “I was proud of what we accomplished going out of our comfort zone. I went there recognizing some parishioners, but I left with real friendships, and I know the kids of our parish so much better.”

As with many mission trips, the parish experienced a few unexpected hardships, such as the above normal heat.

“The kids [of the parish] were just awesome,” said Heitkamp.

“It’s a different kind of warm in Kansas. We were there at one of the hottest times even for them. Going there as a chaperone, it was easy for me to say that it’s too hot, but it’s up to everyone to build each other up to keep going.”

“It was hard work,” said Kristin Aswege, one of the students on the mission. “I don’t think I’ve sweat so much in my life. We all enjoyed doing it and we kept going back each day. My favorite part was meeting the kids at the orphanage. They’ve had a lot of heartbreak and struggles in their life. I enjoy knowing we did something to help them achieve their goals and have faith.”

“I want my daughter to know that there’s so much that we can do as individuals in other peoples’ lives,” said Peyerl. “Serving them and God is our purpose in life. We take so many things for granted. How important it is to serve those in need.”

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NEW

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Catholic Diocese of Fargo 5201 Bishops Blvd, Ste. A Fargo, ND 58104

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