New Earth September 2017

New September 2017 | Vol. 38 | No.8

Earth

The Magazine of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo

Rural Catholic Schools The struggle and benefits to keeping them open

PLUS

From Bishop Folda: The scourge of racism

Fundraising for new Holy Cross Church is underway

Contemporary Christian music artist Matt Maher wows Fargo crowd

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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NEW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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September 2017 Vol. 38 | No. 8

ON THE COVER 16 Rural Catholic schools are vital for

the future of small communities

In a small community that can boast a Catholic school, the building itself can be a local icon, but the graduates it produced are contributing to communities all over the nation. But now once thriving rural Catholic schools are finding it much harder to keep their doors open due to several factors, including dwindling enrollment, out-migration, and most disturbingly, a growing apathy for the Catholic faith and what it teaches.

FROM BISHOP FOLDA

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The scourge of racism

FOCUS ON FAITH

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Pope Francis’ September prayer intentions

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The faith of children

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Ask a priest: Honor – what is it?

AROUND THE DIOCESE

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Fundraising for new Holy Cross Church is underway

10 Beloved teacher, Sister Margaret

Rose Pfeifer, SMP, dies age 90 11 St. Joseph’s school, Devils Lake, hires new principal 13 God in the fields: Roadside Mass

prays for bountiful harvest 14 Contemporary Christian music artist

Matt Maher wows Fargo crowd

FAITH AND CULTURE

20 Tattered Pages

A review written by Rebecca Raber for “How the Choir Converted the World: Through Hymns, With Hymns, & In Hymns” by Mike Aquilina.

NEXT GEN

21 Brother Francis Reineke, FMI, professes first vows

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13 OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

22 Stories of Faith

A long time healing

23 Catholic Charities Corner

What does Catholic Charities do anyway?

24 Catholic Action

As Catholics, we can and should do better

25 Seminarian Life

Pastoral year highlights joy of the priesthood

26 Stewardship

September: A recommitment to stewardship

27 Word on Fire

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NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

Charlottesville and America’s original sin

ON THE COVER: Sister Mary Ruth teaches a class at St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church in Rugby. (Paul Braun | New Earth)

NEW

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

Assistant editor 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

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

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21 WHAT’S HAPPENING

28 Pro-life events 29 A glimpse of the past 30 ‘Friends Night Out’ with FirstChoice Clinic 31 Life’s milestones 32 Events across the diocese

U.S. AND WORLD NEWS

34 For Christians, life always has meaning –

even when it’s hard, Pope says

SPECIAL SECTION – SIDEWALK STORIES

35 Tomb reminds us the aborted are real people

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 October issue is September 20, 2017.

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 SEPTEMBER 2017

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FROM BISHOP FOLDA

The scourge of racism

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he last few weeks have been difficult ones for our nation, and we have seen some images of hatred and violence that are, quite frankly, shocking. Just last month a rally in Charlottesville, Va. turned violent, and one woman was killed while many others were seriously injured. The motive for the violence was race.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: “The abhorrent acts of hatred on display in Charlottesville are an attack on the unity of our nation and therefore summon us all to fervent prayer and peaceful action.”

Racism is, and has always been, a stain on our nation and our society. Horrendous evil has been perpetrated throughout history because of racist philosophies and activities, most infamously in the era of slavery in the U.S. and during the Nazi era in Europe. Some of those evils occurred right here in North Dakota against the native peoples of this region.

We would all like to think that such backward ideas are a thing of the past, but alas, no. The demonstrators in Charlottesville were white supremacists and neo-Nazis. In our own state, too, there are some who openly proclaim racial superiority over others, and tragically, this becomes a thin façade for attitudes and acts of racial hatred. Let us not be deceived either by socalled “pro-white” advocacy, or any other form of nationalism that asserts racial superiority.

At the very least, it sets up an adversarial situation where one racial group is pitted against another, and historically this has been a launch pad for wars and campaigns of violence all around the world. This is not the way of Jesus Christ, who came to save people of all nations. The Church is “catholic,” universal, and encompasses brothers and sisters of every race and nation.

We must be absolutely clear about this: there is no justification anywhere in the Gospel or in Catholic teaching for racism or racially motivated hatred or violence. None. Let no one ever use the Gospel or the Catholic Church as a cover for such ideas, words, or actions. Members of the Church might err in this regard, but hatred or denigration of others is a sin, and racism

has no place in the teaching or living of our faith.

Nearly 40 years ago, the bishops of the United States wrote a Pastoral Letter on Racism. Among many other things, they wrote that “Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.” At its most fundamental level, racism is a lie sown by the Evil One, a lie that undermines peace and unity through fear and hatred.

This is a fragile moment in our nation, and we dare not let it pass without notice. Our first response should be an unequivocal rejection of racism in all its forms. For every follower of Jesus Christ, who incarnates God’s love for all people, racism should be unthinkable. There is no place in the Church, and there should be no place in our hearts or in our American society, for racism or for any prejudice that is based on race or nationality. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God, and we are all equal in the dignity we have as children of our loving Father.

As members of the human family, we are bound to one another no matter our race or nation of origin. Our response must also include a rejection of violence. Unfortunately, some counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville also resorted to violence, and the result was predictable. Hatred and violence only beget more hatred and violence.

Our Christian response to racism must always be rooted in prayer. Let us first pray for the victims of violence committed in the name of racism. Let us pray for healing and the restoration of unity in our land of many races. And finally, let us pray for the conversion of hearts – starting with our own – to Christ and his Gospel of love.

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia wrote this: “If we want a different kind of country in the future, we need to start today with a conversion in our own hearts, and an insistence on the same in others. That may sound simple. But the history of our nation and its tortured attitudes toward race proves exactly the opposite.”

Rather than working against each other, or trying to divide people, our task should be to unite and to reconcile. Pope Francis challenges us to build bridges with our neighbors, and this person-to-person contact can wipe away the fear that fosters racism.

May we all recognize the dignity of our brothers and sisters, and realize that each person – of any race – is loved by the God who sent his only Son to redeem us. Confronted by the ugliness of racism, the Christian response can only be love. All disciples of Jesus Christ must work to build a civilization of love, founded on the Gospel of mercy. The Church is called in this moment to be a sign and instrument of healing and unity, and each one of us must play our part.

“At its most fundamental level, racism is a lie sown by the Evil One, a lie that undermines peace and unity through fear and hatred.” – Bishop John Folda 4

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

Official Appointments/Announcements August 11, 2017 Most Rev. John T. Folda, Bishop of Fargo, has made the following appointments, announcements and/or decrees.

Reverend Prabhakar Marneni is appointed Parochial Vicar at St. Therese the Little Flower Parish in Rugby, North Dakota. This appointment is effective August 12, 2017, and continues ad nutum episcopi.

Reverend David M. Maria Michael is appointed Parochial Vicar at Nativity Parish in Fargo, North Dakota. This appointment is effective August 4, 2017, and continues ad nutum episcopi.

Reverend Jack B. Herron is granted permission to retire from active ministry as a priest of the Diocese of Fargo effective August 1, 2017. He will enjoy all the faculties generally held by a priest of the Fargo Diocese so he may assist in priestly ministry as his health allows.

Reverend Leo C. Kinney is granted permission to retire from active ministry as a priest of the Diocese of Fargo effective July 31, 2017. He will enjoy all the faculties generally held by a priest of the Fargo Diocese so he may assist in priestly ministry as his health allows.

BISHOP FOLDA’S CALENDAR

Diocese of Fargo

Sept. 12 | 11:30 a.m.

Caritas Award Luncheon, Catholic Charities, Sts. Anne and Joachim, Fargo

Sept. 14 | 5 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Social Care and Thrift Store 20th Anniversary, Grand Forks

Sept. 15-17

Equestrian Order, St. Louis, Mo.

Sept. 19 | 3 p.m.

Diocesan Finance Council, Pastoral Center, Fargo

Sept. 20 | 5 p.m.

500th Anniversary of the Reformation, Ecumenical Service of Worship, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

Sept. 21 | 9 a.m.

Catholic Schools Principals and Pastors Meeting, Pastoral Center, Fargo

Sept. 23 | 10 a.m.

Beatification of Venerable Servant of God Rev. Stanley Rother, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Sept. 27 | 3 p.m.

JPII Schools Board Meeting, Pastoral Center, Fargo

Sept. 28-30

Permanent Deacon Retreat, Maryvale, Valley City

Oct. 1 | 12 p.m.

Prayer Intention of Pope Francis September

Parishes:

That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.

Mass for Walk with Christ for Life, Cathedral of St. Mary, Fargo

1 p.m.

Walk with Christ for Life, Fargo

Oct. 1-4

Presbyteral Days, Jamestown

Oct. 8 | 12 p.m.

Mass for 25th Anniversary of Ordination for Rev. Raymond Courtright, Cathedral of St. Mary, Fargo

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FOCUS ON FAITH

The faith of children

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By Ashley Grunhovd | Director of Evangelization for Diocese of Fargo

ver the years, I’ve run across many people who have devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, commonly called ‘The Little Flower.’ She was a humble yet profound saint who was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997, even though she died at age 24 from tuberculosis, at the time virtually unknown to anyone outside her French Carmelite convent. Eventually through her writings, particularly her autobiography Story of a Soul, the world fell in love with Thérèse and her ‘Little Way.’ Something not many people realize about Thérèse is that she was a lay catechist before entering the convent. When she was 14, she took up the task of teaching two girls, both under the age of six, whose mother was ill.

Thérèse, a gifted storyteller, spent hours talking about God with the girls, who sat with rapt attention. Years later when writing her autobiography, she reflected on the experience and said, “God gave me the consolation of contemplating the souls of little children.” As many catechists discover, Thérèse grew in her own understanding of the faith as she taught others, which planted the seeds of her profound understanding of spiritual childhood, which is a pillar of Thérèsian thought. Her spirituality and writings are marked with the childlike themes of trust, abandonment to God’s will, and humility.

I’m not sure what her exact observations were while teaching the two young girls, because she didn’t include them in her writings, but I can add one story from my own experience.

I am currently the director of the Young Disciples program for the Diocese of Fargo, but I spent a few summers as a Young Disciple missionary. I remember giving a church tour to kindergartners. Toward the end of the tour, I explained the sanctuary and the tabernacle, and asked the children, “Because Jesus is right here with us, what do you think we should do?” The little flock of kindergartners shout-whispered back, “we should say hi!” “Good idea,” I responded, “Let’s say hi and pray with him.”

St. Thérèse of Lisieux as a child.

After leading them through a few short prayers, I gave them some time to talk to Jesus, silently in their hearts.

All of a sudden, I felt a sharp little elbow in my side, followed by “Pssssst!” I attempted to keep praying, but then I heard even louder, “PSSSSST! How does he fit his legs in there?!” I glanced at the boy, a bit dumbfounded. Before I could answer, the little girl behind him pointed to the tabernacle and said, “Shhh! He’s sleeping!” Finally, a third little girl raised her hand and asked, “So, if he wants to go away for the weekend, does he blow out the candle to let us know?”

On one hand, I was stifling giggles hearing the series of comments. On the other, it struck deep in my heart. Those innocent little kindergartners heard a teaching; that Jesus, present in the Eucharist, is reserved in the tabernacle. While they didn’t understand the logistics of how that works, they believed in their little hearts that Jesus was in fact in the tabernacle. Granted, they missed when I explained that he doesn’t look like we do, with fingers, legs, and hair, but their little minds did grasp what was important: that he was there with us.

That moment with the kindergartners was a glimmer of the faith of Mary at the Annunciation. She too didn’t understand the technicalities of how God would accomplish his plan, but she had complete faith and trust in him and his goodness.

Years later, thinking about that story still consoles my heart.

From working with children over the past decade, I’ve realized that stories like that happen all the time. If we give our children the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ, they will teach us how to love him with our entire heart and to trust in him. Praying with children and teaching them about Jesus is transformative: both for them, and you.

As catechists and parents, we need to ask the Holy Spirit not only to speak through us while instructing the children, but also that our hearts would be open to the lessons we can learn from them. May your heart be a sponge to soak up the goodness, joy, and faith of the little children.

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NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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FOCUS ON FAITH

Honor – what is it?

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he fourth commandment says we are supposed to honor our fathers and Ask a Priest mothers. The fourth Father James Ermer commandment goes on to list a number of promises if a person keeps this commandment. No other commandment makes any such promises. This provokes the question — what is so special about honoring father and mother?

In a theological article on the fourth commandment, Michael Sales wrote, “Honor is the form love takes with respect to whose love has preceded us and it dominates us by its gratuity and humility.” I believe this deeply captures the meaning of honor.

Obviously, each of us has received the gift of life through our mothers and fathers, and we are grateful. However, birthing is just the beginning. It is what comes after birthing that gives rise to honor.

In the honor due our mothers and fathers, we deeply recognize what they have done for us and our only response is thanksgiving, which springs from gratefulness. Honor is a shade away from praise and deeper than respect. It is the reason children stand silent before the graves of their fathers and mothers. That silence is a recognition that someone beyond themselves is the measure of the good and holy. More than the giving of life, mothers and fathers pass on the living tradition of God and the salvation that has come in Christ. This is the deepest task God has entrusted to mothers and fathers. Honor belongs to them who have done this well.

This is how one is to understand Christ’s hard words in Luke’s Gospel when he declares, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother ... (they) cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:26). Obviously, fathers and mothers give good things to their children, but no gift trumps passing on the gift of faith. This also seems to explain Jesus’ remark to Mary and Joseph when they could not find him in the caravan as they were returning to Nazareth after one of their temple visits. Upon returning to the temple and finding Jesus in the midst of teachers listening to them and asking questions, Mary expresses the distress that she and Joseph had experienced. Jesus responded quizzically that he was surprised they did not know he had to be about his father’s business. Obviously, Joseph and Mary had been performing the primordial task of parenting.

Pope Paul VI referenced the Holy Family as a school in the Gospel when he gave a talk at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth in early January 1964. As faith-filled parents, Joseph and Mary did their ministry as parents by making their family a school in the Gospel. This is the ministry of every family, and when that is done, one honors their father and mother.

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From this perspective, one begins to understand why the fourth commandment stands at the head of the second tablet of the Law, i.e., to love your neighbor as yourself. The remaining six commandments flow out of this fourth commandment. It is in the family that one discovers the sanctity of life (the 5th commandment); the holiness of sexuality (6th commandment); the rightful use of created goods (7th commandment); how truth in speech and deed gives access to the interior life (8th commandment); seeing things and people as blessings and not “stepping stones” to other ends (9th and 10th commandments).

The fourth commandment is pregnant with the possibilities of the spiritual life and explains why this commandment has promises connected to it – long life, prosperity and land. When mothers and fathers have both lived and passed on the story of God in their lives, children are the beneficiaries of eternal life (long life), of the Beatific Vision (prosperity) and of heaven (land). What more could a person want?

Thanks Mom and Dad! Father James Ermer serves as pastor of St. Leo’s Church in Casselton and St. Thomas Church in Buffalo. He may be reached at james.ermer@ fargodiocese.org.

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Fundraising for new Holy Cross Church is underway

By Paul Braun

Architectural rendition of the exterior of the proposed Holy Cross Catholic Church in West Fargo. (submitted photo)

A

fund-raising campaign to raise roughly $12 million to massive bell tower on the northeast corner of the new building. build a new church sanctuary at Holy Cross Parish in Father Meyer says the tower will be grand, one of the tallest West Fargo is underway. A Mass was held on Sept. 14, in the area, speaking to those who see it as marking a place to which is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Mass find God. was celebrated on the grounds where the new church will be “Our call to worship within the building is a very unique built, which is adjacent to the north wall of the current parish approach as the saints will be very present to us,” says Father administrative building. Mass was followed by an ice cream Meyer. “Those attending Mass will walk through the parking lot, float social. where we intend to have five saints, and then as they proceed According to Father James Meyer, Pastor of Holy Cross, the inside the church they will be walking with the saints on either new church is the culmination of a long-range plan of growth side as we journey to the new and heavenly Jerusalem.” by the relatively new parish.

Plans for the new church are still being finalized and reviewed “We began to look at the needs we have at Holy Cross and before approval by Bishop Folda. Father Meyer says the fund-raising have found that we need more space, and most importantly, a campaign will be at a grassroots level, and construction cannot place to find solitude with the Lord,” says Father Meyer. “The begin until all of the money needed is pledged and half of it proposed church is a perfect refuge to rebuild the relationship raised and available. we need with Jesus. The good people of Holy Cross Parish have seen a state of growth for many years now, and with this growth came the plans for new development. The last piece in the grand puzzle is the new church space.”

Masses at Holy Cross are currently held in what will become the parish social hall. The new church will also feature a large gathering space as you enter. Some items from the current church will be brought over to the new church as well.

“The crucifix will be the one used presently and will be within the triumphal arches, says Father Meyer. “The area will feature gold leaf, and Mary and John will adore the cross with us. This image will help us to desire the presence of Christ and we will want to join them in our journey. Our souls are ever being refined and this journey is no different. The building will speak to us as the roughness of the exterior will give way to a transitioning wall of refinement and polished look as if it were The proposed interior altar-area. Designers intend for the roughness of the church’s exterior to give way to a wall of our very souls.” refinement and polished look. (submitted photo) What will make the new church stand out in particular is the NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Beloved teacher, Sister Margaret Rose Pfeifer, SMP, dies age 90

S

ister Margaret Rose Pfeifer, SMP, age 90 of Fargo, died Aug. 22 at St. Aloisius Medical Center in Harvey. A funeral mass was celebrated Aug. 25 at Maryvale Convent Chapel in Valley City.

Sister Margaret Rose (Willis Marie) Pfeifer was born Sept. 2, 1926 to William M. and Ida G. (Zimprich) Pfeifer in Cooperstown. She made vows of consecrated chastity, obedience, and poverty to God with the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation, Aug. 29, 1945.

She lived a long and fruitful life as a teacher and leader. Sister Margaret Rose taught 5th and 6th grade in Wild Rice from 1945-48 and taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in Lisbon from 1948-49.

She taught 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 8th grade and was the Principal at St. Cecilia’s Catholic School in Harvey from 1950-60. In 1957 she received a Bachelor’s Degree from Great Falls University, Great Falls, Mont. with a Major in Mathematics and Education and Minors in Chemistry, Biology, and English. She taught High School at Notre Dame Academy, Willow City, from 1960-68. In 1968, she received her Master’s Degree from Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. with a Major in Biology and Chemistry and a Minor in Secondary Education.

In 1968, she began teaching at St. Catherine’s School in Valley

City where she taught High School and later all grades and levels until 1973.

Sister Margaret Rose served as the Social Director at Presentation Medical Center, Rolla, for a time while also teaching at Belcourt and Rolla High Schools. She taught at Turtle Mountain College, Belcourt, from 1979-84. She was on the leadership council of the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation beginning in 1968. In 1976, she was Provincial Councilor. In 1990, she was the Master Teacher for Instructors for early childhood and parents in the Comprehensive Child Development Program at Little Hoop Community College, Fort Totten.

From 1992-96 she was the Provincial of the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation. In 1997, she began serving with SMP Health System and had been a lobbyist at the North Dakota Legislative sessions.

She is survived by her Religious Sisters of Mary of the Presentation, her sister Arlene (Frank) Heinz, Cooperstown; nieces Brenda (Jan) Von Bank, West Fargo; and Barbara (Phil) Kameo, Sauk Rapids, Minn.; and nephews Michael (LuAnn) Heinz, Ellendale; Jeffrey Heinz, Cooperstown; and numerous great-nephews and great-nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents..

ND Catholic Daughters select new officers

North Dakota Catholic Daughters of the Americas recently elected new state officers for the 2017-2019 term. Catholic Daughters of the Americas participate in the religious, charitable and educational Apostolates of the Church. They engage in creative and spiritual programs that provide its members with the opportunity to develop their God-given talents that positively influence the welfare of the Church and all people throughout the world. Pictured l to r: Treasurer Deb Johnson, Fargo; Secretary Sue Judd, Valley City; 2nd Vice State Regent Bonita Erickson, Langdon; 1st Vice State Regent Mary Baer, Belfield; State Regent Laurel Ann Dukart, Grand Forks; and State Chaplain Father Frank Miller, Harvey.

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

St. Joseph’s school, Devils Lake, hires new principal

By Patricia Traynor | Originally published in Devils Lake Journal – reprinted with permission

entering St. Joe’s fourth grade class. “She makes people smile.”

Sylvia Freidig, a sixth grader there this school year, said she thinks Mrs. Clouse “will be a great new principal because she has God in her heart, and she’s nice, kind and sweet, and she loves children.”

Michelle Clouse is the

The St. Joseph’s pastor, Father Chad Wilhelm, said “I enjoyed new principal of St. Joseph’s working with Tom, and I’m enjoying working with Michelle.

Catholic School in Devils St. Joseph School was in good hands for many years, and I Lake. (submitted photo) appreciate the dedication of Mr. Burckhard’s long service. I look forward to Mrs. Clouse as principal because she has the knowledge, strength and energy we need. Our school needs to grow and look forward to the future. Mrs. Clouse and her staff will grow our school and strengthen its viability to serve our rs. Michelle Clouse, a former student of St. Joseph Cath- community for years to come.” olic School, is now the new principal there, replacing The St. Joe’s School Board President Aleta Vetsch and Home Mr. Thomas Burckhard, who retired from the school & School President Kristi Hogness said they are excited to work after more than 30 years. with Mrs. Clouse, and they look forward to a wonderful school year.

She said cleaning out the teachers’ and staff lounge at the “Michelle brings valuable experience from her career in education,” school brought back happy memories, and even a poster that said Ms. Vetsch, “But as a former St. Joseph School parent, she is now hangs on the back of her bathroom door. also well aware of the values and traditions that are so important “Everybody’s been so warm and welcoming,” she said with to both our school and school families.” a smile, “I’m really excited to be here, happy to be here. I love Mrs. Clouse is quick to credit her supportive family. this school. This is my school – where I went to school. It’s like “I’ve had such great support from my family,” she said, coming home.” enthusiastically. My mom [Linda Culmer], dad [Tom Culmer], Mrs. Clouse began teaching in the early 1990s in a one-room husband [Phil Clouse] and kids have already put in many hours schoolhouse outside of Hettinger, N.D. There, the children at the school getting ready for the first day of classes.” ranged from kindergarten through eighth grade.

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “Miss Heisler was my first grade teacher, and I remember telling her I was going to be a teacher. Here I am!”

She stayed home with her five children while they were young and ran a daycare. Then she went to work at Sweetwater Elementary School in town, where she served as a “Title” teacher Grand Forks, ND | normanfuneral.com | 701.746.4337 who helped children struggling with reading and math and BRANDT CONTRACTING, INC. also as an instructional coach.

(701) 284-7504 or (701) 331-0519 (cell) She said that Dr. Deb Follman, the Sweetwater School prinTOLL FREE 1-888-284-7504 cipal, encouraged her “to keep learning and to keep growing, www.steeplerepairs.com and to start sharing” what she’s learned with others.

Teacher mentoring, she said, is “close to my heart.” She said she enjoys “working with instructional strategies to best fit the needs of the kids.

“I just know everybody can learn. You form a strong relationship with the kids, and they get to know you. When you form that trust, anything can happen with learning.

“The one time I got in trouble [while at St. Joseph’s], Sister Jean Anne brought me into her office to pray with her,” she said.

Now Mrs. Clouse said she looks forward to “being able to share” her faith and to “talk about faith in everything” that happens.

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN NEW EARTH? “I want the children to feel that peace in their hearts in the Contact Kristina Lahr at (701) 356-7900 or teachings about Jesus in their day-to-day learning,” she said. newearthads@fargodiocese.org “I think Mrs. Clouse is going to be a great principal because she is really nice to everybody,” said Izhavel Nelson, who will be

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AROUND THE DIOCESE

Bishop John Folda celebrated Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church Aug. 27 as the parish celebrated 125 years of serving Catholics in the Hillsboro area. Over 300 parishioners, former parishioners and guests helped commemorate. After Mass, those in attendance gathered for a champagne lunch, where Pastor Father K.S. “Casey” Kopacz toasted their first 125 years, as well as the next. St. Rose of Lima was established in 1892, and a wood-frame church was built. The parish grew to the point that a new church and rectory was built in 1914, then remodeled in 1942. The current church was built and dedicated in 1979. (Paul Braun/New Earth)

St. Anne’s Guest Home in Grand Forks celebrated 65 years of service in Grand Forks with a week of celebrations July 23-29. The week included Sports Day, St. Anne’s Monopoly, Hat/Wacky Hair Day, and Patriotic Day. (submitted photo) On July 16, about 50 people attended the Annual Deacon Summer Picnic hosted by Deacon Ken and Vickie Severinson at Ruger Park in Devils Lake. The Deacons and their wives were blessed to have some local priests along with the Deacon Candidates and their families join the community.

Here Father Alex King celebrates a victory over Father Dale Kinzler in a round of minnow racing. (submitted photo) 12

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

AROUND THE DIOCESE

God in the fields: Roadside Mass prays for bountiful harvest

By Andrew Haffner | Originally published in the Grand Forks Herald – reprinted with permission

If the sermon reflected the truths of the congregation that gathered to hear it, the chapel itself provided the ideal setting.

The roadside church was built in 1907 as an extension of the wayside shrine culture of eastern Europe, a style brought to the Red River Valley by Polish settlers in the 1800s. Today, St. Joseph’s stands complete with a steeple, which is dwarfed by the trees that surround it.

Before the Mass began, church goers raised dust as they trickled in, parking cars and pickups on the sides of gravel roads. Most carried folding camp chairs to sit on. Some stood on the road or in the grass.

The faithful gather in a field near Warsaw in front of a tiny John Bishop, a farmer who owns the land the chapel now chapel to celebrate a Mass for the harvest. (Grand Forks Herald) stand on, was among those gathered before the chapel and has been the caretaker of the building since it was moved to s the soft light of evening mingled with the sweet smell of his property in the 1960s. Decades before that, he attended his a late summer’s field, voices raised in prayer and hymn first Mass there as a child in the 1930s. as Father Brian Moen asked for God’s blessings from a Bishop’s daughter, Gloria Wippler, sat beside him on a folding camp chair. She had grown up with the roadside chapel in country church hardly bigger than its altar.

The Thursday night Mass on Aug. 17 at rural St. Joseph’s her yard and had spent youthful days cleaning the place with her mother. She said the annual Mass has long held a special Chapel, a tiny steepled church set in the middle of the rich meaning for the people of the local farming community. farmlands near Warsaw was the first in seven years at what supporters claim is the smallest chapel in the country. His- “It’s always been here,” she said. “It’s something everyone torically, the outdoor Mass was held in June, but Moen said should experience.” this year’s late-summer occasion was a “celebration of the When Father Moen opened prayer, he appealed to the power harvest” in the northern fields. The timing was apt—as the con- of God to influence humanity in and beyond the fields. He gregants sought out God from the shoulder of a country road prayed for the safety of those laboring on the farms and—most a literal stone’s throw away from the sluggish Marais River in of all—he prayed for a bountiful harvest.

When the Mass ended and the parishioners began to drift Walsh County.

Many commented that attendance was driven down by the back to their vehicles to drive home, Gary Babinski was among those mingling on the short lawn between the chapel and the road. number of those already pulling crops from the field.

Father Moen, who is the pastor of St. Stanislaus Church in Before he, too, left to return to his fields, he laughed with a Warsaw and Sacred Heart Church in Minto, grew up on a family friend after she commented on what she thought had been a farm in Park River, 25 miles west of his parish today. Thus, he sad look on his face during the Mass. knew full well the trials and glories of the local farmer when “I was just praying hard,” he answered. “I’ve got a beautiful crop, and I want to get it in the bin.” he began the night’s prayer.

“I think a farmer, in some way, has a greater closeness to God,” Moen said. Despite the increasing ability of man to control the earth, he continued, farmers are unique in their reliance on God “because there’s one thing they can’t control—and that is the weather.”

Last year, the farms around the chapel were hit repeatedly by summer storms that dropped about 50 inches of rain, drowning out much of the local crop. This year, the area has been parched at times by drought conditions that have dried out the western side of the state.

Due to their lack of control over that most essential element, Moen said farmers share a unified purpose with God that also speaks to those who never set foot in the field.

“They are cooperating with God in the continuation of the creation of life,” he said.

A

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

13

Minstrel for Christ Contemporary Christian music artist Matt Maher wows Fargo crowd

By Paul Braun

Matt Maher uses his musical platform as a way to evangelize and spread the Gospel of Christ around the world.

(Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

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NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

I

t took a year of planning, but the hard work of the staff of the Diocese of Fargo paid off on Aug. 12 when contemporary Christian musician Matt Maher and his band took the stage at Scheels Arena in Fargo to bring their brand of music and worship to an enthusiastic crowd of 1,800.

The Fargo Diocese sponsored the concert as a way to reach out to Catholics, Protestants and non-denominational Christians in a spirit of ecumenical praise and worship, and to raise money for two very important charities in the region – Catholic Charities North Dakota and Churches United for the Homeless.

“It was wonderful to be able to partner with the diocese and Catholic Charities on this event,” said Pastor Sue Koesterman, Executive Director for Churches United. “To have the opportunity to explain what our organization does, and to praise God and sing together as one, was awe-inspiring.”

Earlier in the day, Matt Maher made a visit to the Churches United shelter in Moorhead, Minn, where he met with staff, clients, and did a little volunteer work.

“The whole day was truly a wonderful experience,” said Maher.

“The opportunity to spend time seeing the work Churches United is doing and to hear the stories of people impacted was my favorite part of the day, along with moving mattresses of course!”

Before he took the stage, Matt expanded on his thoughts of what that afternoon’s experience meant to him.

“I’m still thinking about it,” said Maher. “How alienated poverty makes people, and how that must lead to so much risk and vulnerability towards isolation and detachment from one another. We must, as Christians, fight that tendency.”

Bishop John Folda opened the night with a blessing for the crowd and for the success of the event itself. Sonar, a praise band from the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul, kicked off the show with 25-minutes of high-energy music. A new Christian music artist, Jamison Strain, brought the crowd to their feet with his blend of gospel hymns and contemporary Christian music. However, it was Matt Maher the crowd came to see, and he didn’t disappoint. He and his band took the crowd through 90 minutes of music, prayer, and reflection. At times it was just Matt on stage alone, performing some of his best-known songs acapella and sharing with the audience his message of unity and solidarity in Christ.

“I absolutely loved the ecumenical nature of it,” said Maher.

“It is paramount that these sorts of efforts be not about one denomination but about the entire Body of Christ (as fractured as it is) working together to address larger systemic problems in our society and communities.”

That “Body of Christ” came through for the two charities involved in the show. Ticket sales took care of the costs of bringing Maher to Fargo. In addition, a free-will donation collected over $7,200, split evenly between Catholic Charities of North Dakota and Churches United. Some donors wrote checks directly to the charities, and those were distributed to the designated organizations as well.

“The event was excellent, very spiritually uplifting and gave us the opportunity to work together with many people,” said Diane Nechiporenko, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of North Dakota. “The ability to share our mission with such a diverse audience helps us reach our goal of helping those in need no matter what their religious belief.”

Nearly 100 volunteers from the diocesan office, parishes, Catholic Charities, the Knights of Columbus and Churches United, worked as ushers, in concession and merchandise sales, and hospitality throughout the concert. Shanley Deacon football players, Shanley Service Club members, and students from the NDSU St. Paul Newman Center volunteered to haul equipment in and out of Scheels arena and to change sets between bands.

As for the event itself, Bishop Folda says the outreach and evangelization effort paid off.

“It was exciting to see so many people gather and enjoy the concert,” said Bishop Folda. “There is a deep spirituality in Matt’s music, and he does a great job of weaving together the Scriptures, stories of the saints, and the daily challenges we all face. His message is full of joy and hope, and we all need these on our journey of faith. I’m glad we were able to bring Matt to the Diocese of Fargo, and I hope he will come again.”

To which Matt replied; “Sure thing — let me know when!”

Matt Maher and his band take the stage. (Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

Bishop John Folda blesses the more than 18-hundred concertgoers at Scheels Arena Aug. 12. (Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

Matt Maher helps to change newly donated mattresses at the Churches United for the Homeless shelter in Moorhead, Minn. before the concert. (Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

Matt Maher takes time out to meet and greet a select group of fans before his Fargo concert. (Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

The enthusiasm of the crowed, especially among the younger set, was evident at Scheels Arena. (Kristina Lahr/New Earth)

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

15

COVER STORY

The entire 47-member student body of K-8th graders and their teachers at St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Langdon. (Paul Braun/New Earth)

C

Rural Catholic schools are vital for the future of small communities

By Paul Braun

hances are the building has been standing longer than half the homes in town. Residents use it as a landmark to find other areas in town. Many residents probably attended class there, as did their children and their children’s children. In a small community that can boast a Catholic school, the building itself can be a local icon, but the graduates it produced are contributing to communities all over the nation.

But times change, and once thriving rural Catholic schools are finding it much harder to keep their doors open due to several factors, including dwindling enrollment, out-migration, and most disturbingly, a growing disconnect for the Catholic faith and what it teaches.

“To parents who have maybe chosen not to send their kids to Catholic school or are still on the fence, I would say an opportunity is being missed if we do not provide a faith-element to a child’s education and the formation of a student.” That according to Father Phil Ackerman, pastor of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Langdon, and administrator for St. Alphonsus Catholic School. St. Al’s, which was also once a high school, is down to 47 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade.

There are about five to six students per class on average. That is small by public school standards, but for some parents, the student-to-teacher ratio is a blessing.

“If you look at our public school honor rolls, a majority of St. Alphonsus kids are usually on the A and B honor roll,” says 16

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Jackie Kram, school secretary, former student, and a parent of two former St. Al’s students. “I think that is because of our small class sizes. Problem areas are easily identified and kids can get the extra help needed.”

But for Jackie, providing her two children with the tools needed to succeed academically was just one draw for sending her kids to St. Al’s. The other was the opportunity for her children to learn other important life-lessons.

“They get Christian and faith values, with school Mass every week and religion class,” says Jackie. “But I feel they also learned to treat people the way they want to be treated. I’ve had many teachers, especially their high school teachers, that said they wish they had more kids with the respect that they showed.

Parents can teach that as well, but when they get it here every day it reinforces what is being taught at home.”

“The public schools do an excellent job, especially here in Langdon,” says Father Ackerman. “But what I see is the spiritual depth of our children. Recently I was able to discuss with our seventh and eighth graders the subject of morality and making good choices. We had a very honest and open discussion, and that just wouldn’t have happened in a public school setting.”

Before his arrival in Langdon, Father Ackerman served at Holy Family Church in Grand Forks. Holy Family-St. Mary’s Catholic School is part of the parish. He says the challenges are the same for many urban Catholic schools as well, as he saw

COVER STORY firsthand. However, rural schools seem to have an additional hardship to overcome than their urban counterparts.

“When a teaching position opened in a place like Grand Forks, we would get several more applications,” says Father Ackerman.

“In Langdon a few years ago we had an opening for a teacher and there were no applicants. We asked a retired teacher to come in and take the class, and we were fortunate that person was able to do so, otherwise we would have had a problem.”

Father Ackerman says the future of St. Al’s school is promising, as there have been a number of young families arriving to the area and having more children over the past few years. He also says the school has adjusted to having smaller class sizes and staff.

Just over 100 miles to the west, Little Flower Catholic School in Rugby is facing many of the same challenges as St. Al’s, and it’s putting financial stress on the school’s operating budget. However, according to Principal Jorgen Knutson, Little Flower’s enrollment has stayed relatively stable at around 50 students.

“Loyal families is the reason,” says Knutson. “Parental involvement through the PTO [Parent Teacher Organization] and other activities has been fantastic and they are right there to help, and other parents and grandparents see that loyalty and the value of a Catholic Education. The true blessing of having a Catholic school operating, especially in a small community, is the opportunity to work on our faith and instill it in our children. To have that strong faith is very important to our parish, families and community.”

But smaller numbers tell an all-too-familiar tale. With enrollment down, finances are an issue at rural Catholic schools, including at Little Flower. Father Thomas Graner, Pastor of St. Therese the Little Flower Church in Rugby, would like to eventually develop some sort of stabilization fund to keep the school operating with a stable, yearly income. Until that happens, he says Little Flower’s biggest selling point over the fine public schools in Rugby is forming a child’s faith and moral compass.

“We need a space for God that only our school can supply in our lives and education program. In general, I think we have less appreciation nowadays of faith and religion in our lives than previous generations had. We talk about forming citizens and forming saints. We’re trying to get people on the track of not just passing your ACT and SAT exams at some point in your life, but so you also can become an upright and God-fearing person.”

Father Graner also says convincing parents to send their children to Catholic school, and pay the tuition required, can’t come from the pulpit alone. It must be a message sent from family to family as well. He is grateful to those families who have made a commitment to Little Flower School.

“We build on the foundation set by the support of the parents.

They’ve made the decision to send their kids to Catholic school and they are invested in it, and I think that’s the primary reason why our kids go on to academic achievement and honors later in the public schools. Our parents chose us, and I think that says a lot about the intention and priority that parents put on education, and Catholic education in particular.”

Father Thomas Graner, Pastor of St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church in Rugby, hands out welcome-back pins to returning students of Little Flower Catholic School on the first day of school August 23. (Paul Braun/New Earth)

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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COVER STORY Many rural Catholic schools partner with their public school counterparts in areas of athletics, fine arts, and other activities.

In small towns like Langdon and Rugby, kids from the Catholic and public schools know each other, play with each other, and compete with each other. The perceived stigma that Catholic school children are being held back socially by attending a smaller school really isn’t the case, according to Jackie Kram.

She says she had no troubles transitioning to public school as a child, and neither did her children.

“In Langdon, we co-op with the public schools for everything, and being a small community our kids know the other kids and grow up with them all through their high school years, so the transition from Catholic school to public school isn’t an issue.”

Her message to those parents who resist sending their kids to Catholic school or who are on the fence.

“We have great schools, we have great teachers. Parents should be open-minded and give it a try.”

So what does the future hold for our diocesan Catholic schools?

In urban areas it appears very bright. According to Michael Hagstrom, President of St. John Paul II Catholic Schools in Fargo, attendance is on the rise, reflecting a five-year growth plan for the school system. Urban Catholic schools have the fortunate advantage of drawing from a larger and younger population.

However, for rural areas, the future may not be as optimistic.

Father Ackerman fears that dwindling enrollment may force the closure of some rural Catholic schools, which he feels would be a detriment to rural communities and families.

“Closing a Catholic school in a community is devastating. It not only takes away the opportunity of a religious education, but most importantly the opportunity of formation of a child’s spiritual life. And because our children are here and learning, their parents are catechized. The kids are bringing the messages they are learning home. It spreads to the family and it reinforces what they are teaching and what we are teaching. It’s a great partnership.”

Thank you to all who sponsored the 11th annual Putt 4 a Purpose golf scramble held August 7 at Rose Creek Golf Course in Fargo.

This year 104 people participated to raise funds to benefit seminarian education and youth programs throughout the Diocese of Fargo.

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19

FAITH AND CULTURE

Evangelization through beauty

By Rebecca Raber - Director of Music Ministry at the University of Mary/Assistant Professor in Music & Catholic Studies

TATTERED PAGES

A review of Catholic books, movies, music

“S

t. Augustine is reported to have said: ‘Those who sing pray twice.’ Music is sacramental. It has the power to evoke the mysteries of life, both human and divine. It has the ability to use objective words and musical forms to reach a place in the human spirit and soul simply beyond description.

A sacrament, or sacramentals, symbolize and effect grace. Music can both symbolize and cause people to dance, rejoice, and weep tears of sorrow and joy. It can do what words can only point to.

Words can point to a reality. Music can usher people through the door into actual experience.”

This excerpt from Mike Aquilina’s latest book, “How the Choir Converted the World,” is compelling, indeed. It makes one stop and consider music’s gentle power to occupy both heart and mind. Aquilina states that the Church Fathers were keenly aware of the strong relationship between music (the arts, as a whole) and theology, and used it to great advantage to instruct and inspire worshippers throughout history.

“The [Church] Fathers knew the power that music had over our minds—power over thoughts and feelings—and they respected that power. They knew that beautiful music could change the world. It makes us remember, it moves us to virtue, it heals us, and it makes us one.”

Singing was regarded as not only beautiful and inspirational, but also instructive. In an age when illiteracy was widespread, music and art provided the Church a means of reaching out with a religious and spiritual education that was accessible to all people each week—even every day, through Mass. Beautiful music has value in and of itself, but it’s also a very effective “delivery system” for words and finds a quick route to the intellect and the soul. In fact, Aquilina asserts that music was, “perhaps the most effective way of spreading the Gospel in those early centuries.”

Music was able to present and reinforce Church doctrine.

Furthermore, it was an opportunity to evangelize and revive the Church! “Part of that revival can come through great music that is fully engaging for folks who want to worship God in a way that both reflects and stirs the spirit and soul. We want to rejoice and dance in holiness through the gestures of the liturgy!”

It’s beautiful to realize that this “work of music” in the Church is still going on, just as it has for centuries!

Mike Aquilina maintains that he is not a musician. He is, though, an expert on theology, Church History, and scripture.

This perspective affords him an objective, informative, and engaging 20

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approach to the subject for all readers, not just musicians. His writing style is pertinent and clear.

“How the Choir Converted the World” is a quick read, full of interesting, and sometimes little-known, facts. It is captivating, in terms of stirring the imagination. He intersperses his commentary on music and the development of the Church with meaningful quotes from Church Fathers on music and singing. When the reader is this easily engaged, a beautiful thing happens: the mind is magically transported back five or six centuries, and suddenly, through our imagination, we are all somehow connected through time, common belief, and shared devotion.

“How the Choir Converted the World” is recommended to all readers who love and are inspired by the Catholic Liturgy, as well as the mystical manner in which music works to elevate the beauty and dignity of the Mass. Musicians will especially enjoy this read, but it is accessible and engaging to those of all disciplines. This book is about the past, but also the present, and the future, as we hope to continue praying and praising “Through Hymns, With Hymns, and In Hymns.”

“How did those illiterate come to know Jesus so well...and love him so deeply? The Fathers couldn’t reach them through philosophical treatises or canons of the Church councils...they reached them through beauty. They celebrated a beautiful liturgy, decorated beautiful churches for worship, and filled those churches with beautiful music. It was beauty that saved the world.”

Aquilina will be visiting the University of Mary Nov. 2-3 to speak on campus about “the early history of hymnography, and how the Christians of the first four centuries went about sanctifying the work of singing. It will be non-technical, filled with stories of the giants of that era: Ephrem, Hilary, Ambrose, Augustine.” You are invited to join us at these events. Please email me if you are interested at rlraber@umary.edu.

About the Author: Mike Aquilina and his wife live in the Pittsburgh area with their six children. He is author or co-author of forty books about Church History, scripture or other related subjects, including books written with Cardinal Wuerl and Scott Hahn. He has hosted eight series on EWTN and serves as the Executive Vice President of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio.

About the Book: How the Choir Converted the World: Through Hymns, With Hymns, & In Hymns”

by Mike Aquilina

NEXT GEN

Brother Francis Reineke, FMI, professes first vows Brother Francis is clothed in his Franciscan habit by Father Christensen.

(Kristina Lahr | New Earth)

“I

By Father Joseph Christensen, FMI

, Brother Francis Reineke, profess Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience for the duration of one year…” he made through Bishop Folda to God on Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fargo.

This celebration of Brother Francis’ Vows marks a great advancement for our new Franciscan Religious Community, since he is the first member to do so, with hopes, as Bishop Folda mentioned at the conclusion of Mass, “that there would be many more young men to follow.”

This is truly a cause for celebration and blessing from God that we grow not only in number but more importantly in holiness.

Brother Francis is a model Franciscan and a true gentleman; he is one who would attract other similar vocations in order to lead a prayerful, saintly life. We need this in our world today to be lights “to shine before men that they may see your good deeds and give praise to your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:16).

Our charism is evangelization, especially to the youth and through devotion to Mary Immaculate, and evangelization succeeds in proportion to the holiness of one’s life.

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STORIES OF FAITH

A long time healing

By Father Bert Miller

T

here can be great healing in the most tragic events in the life of a parish.

This happened for me at one of my assignments.

I had gone eagerly to the new assignment and its many challenges. When I got there, I found that the youth minister had gone with the pastor to his new assignment. Here I was without a youth minister and many young people to nurture.

I knew an energetic young woman graduating from college.

I interviewed her, offered her the job and sometime before September, she accepted.

Then I had a meeting with the youth committee. I informed them I had hired someone. I thought committee members would be pleased that we would be starting the school year with a youth minister. They were not pleased. They wanted to know why they were not included in the interview process. I said that the Youth Minister works 40 hours a week with me and she/ he needed to be compatible with me. The committee members would work with the youth minister two-four hours a month.

When I said the youth minister’s salary would be $10,000 for the year, I thought the walls of the room would explode!

One said: “$10,000 – church workers should not think they are going to get rich in these jobs.” That woman left the meeting and never came back – as far as I know.

The next time I encountered this woman was at the Altar Society; I think she was an officer! About six months later, my seminary scripture professor came to give a mission. This member of the Altar Society and a friend served the snacks and coffee following the mission talks.

Snacks and coffee were served out of the kitchen window; many participants would hold up the line while they visited with the women inside the kitchen. I wanted the food pickup to move quicker so participants could discuss questions about the mission at their tables.

At the end of the night, I suggested a different way to serve the snacks and coffee. The two Altar Society women said no!

After the second night of the usual service, I said I would serve the snacks the next night. The women rolled their eyes. When they came, I was ready to serve snacks from a table in the middle of the room. The youth committee/altar society lady left!

I would watch for her… at church and around town. Some said she was going to a nearby Catholic Church. I was dismayed.

How could such simple things cause someone to leave their church and church family?

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It was about a year later, on a cold, dark Sunday night – when my TV watching was interrupted by the chilling ring of the phone. The police dispatcher asked me to get on my warm winter gear and go stand outside by my garage. She said the police chief would be picking me up. He would explain.

I got ready. By the time I was outside, the police chief was there.

He said we were going to make notification of a shooting to a young man’s parents. He explained the situation and I realized that the two families involved were members of my parish. I called a co-worker and asked her to stay with the family until I could get there.

As the police chief and I arrived at the second family home, I realized that he was not making notification to the parents, but that I was. I had never done this before. We rang the doorbell; the mother came to the door and as soon as she saw the two of us, she called her husband. There we were, the four of us. I was explaining to them that their youngest son had shot himself in the driveway of his girlfriend’s house on Valentine’s Night.

They were shocked. They grabbed their things and we drove to the hospital, where I anointed the young man and prayed with the parents. An ambulance came to take the young man to a larger facility; the parents followed.

I got my coat and walked down the street to the white house across the street from the church. As the door creaked and I walked through it, the woman of the house looked at the door, ran over and hugged me tight. She said: “I was afraid you would not come.” I locked eyes with her and said: “You are my family, I am your family, I will always be here for the joys and the sorrows and tonight, the tragedy. Whatever we have disagreed or bickered about means nothing in this moment.”

I had coffee and heard the story of the tragedy. I spent many hours with these two families in the weeks following.

After the funeral, the woman from the white house across from the church hugged me again and said: “Whenever you need something done and you don’t know who to call, call me and I will get it done.” I called her twice in the remaining years of my stay in that parish.

And it was not just this woman who stopped resisting change.

The whole parish came to trust the pastor.

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.

OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

B

What does Catholic Charities do, anyway?

efore I joined Catholic Charities, I didn’t really know what it did either. I had maybe heard of people adopting through Catholic Charities, but that’s all I knew. I didn’t know about the AASK program, or Guardianships for adults with intellectual disabilities, or all the Counseling Services offered. I didn’t know that Catholic Charities provided numerous volunteers to sandbag during the flood in Fargo and over $1,000,000 in assistance to those affected in Minot. My hope (and observation) is that the level of awareness is greatly improving through events such as Catholic Charities Sunday. However, there are still too many people in need who don’t know about us, and many others still waiting who are counting on us.

Matt Maher concert

We were blessed to be chosen by Bishop Folda to be one of two organizations featured at the Matt Maher concert along with Churches United for the Homeless. We each received half of the offering from generous concertgoers and were able to share our message about helping those in need with over 1,800 attendees from many Christian faiths. By the time you read this we will also have presented our Fall Caritas Award to Mike and Shawn Hagstrom for inspiring youth to live out their faith through serving others; in May we recognized Joyce and Roger Sand for their work running a food pantry at Our Lady of Grace in Minot.

Catholic Charities Sunday

On Sept. 23-24, we will celebrate our third Catholic Charities Sunday here in North Dakota. The idea was new to us, but not an original idea. A number of dioceses in the United States celebrate a yearly Catholic Charities Sunday (or even a Catholic Charities Month!) to raise awareness and support with a second collection. Note Catholic Charities North Dakota and its counterparts elsewhere are blessed to have a close relationship with, and receive benefits and assistance from, the national Catholic Charities USA organization, but we remain independent as a separate nonprofit organization. The funds raised are used to support our programs locally.

Origin and history

as needed.

Adults Adopting Special Kids

The AASK program is a collaboraCatholic tion between CathCharities olic Charities North Corner Dakota and Path ND, Inc. AASK finds perChad Prososki manent homes and stable families for children in foster care in the State of North Dakota child welfare system. Last year 158 kids found their forever family. Over 40 North Dakota kids are looking for a family to call their own.

Every child deserves a family.

Pregnancy, parenting and adoption services

Our social workers meet with women and men experiencing an unintended pregnancy, offering them education and support including parenting resources and adoption information. Social workers also work with families interested in adoption, offering options to adopt within North Dakota, from out of state, and internationally. Last year 31 women experiencing unintended pregnancies were supported throughout their journey.

Counseling services

Our clinical therapists work with individuals, couples and families on relationship issues, stress, anger management, and anxiety or depression. Clients may receive as few or as many sessions as needed. Last year 337 clients had hope restored while struggling with life’s challenges. With your support, no one is turned away because they can’t pay.

Guardianship services

Our professional staff serve as court-appointed guardians for adults with intellectual disabilities to ensure they have an appropriate place to live, receive proper medical attention and obtain necessary support services. Last year 467 adults with intellectual disabilities received services to live their best life!

However 103 adults with intellectual disabilities are still waiting to have their needs met.

We were formed through the Fargo diocese, parishes and members, and are a living expression of our faith in action and living out the Lord’s call to love our neighbors in the world They count on us, can we count on you? today. For over 90 years Catholic Charities North Dakota has served members of all faiths with programs for children, families, This year during Catholic Charities Sunday, we are excited to individuals with intellectual disabilities, and others in need of share a new, shorter video with you introducing our staff who do hope and healing. Each year we serve over 2,000 people directly such great work. We also created handouts you can take home and touch the lives of countless more through education and and share with anyone who might be in need of our services.

Our main message though, that we ask you to consider, is this: outreach across the state of North Dakota.

They count on us, can we count on you?

Our North Dakotan Bishops have called Catholic Charities one of the best-kept secrets in the Church. This is great, except Chad Prososki is the Director of Development and Community Relations we shouldn’t be kept a secret! Often called “the Social Arm of for Catholic Charities North Dakota. For more than 90 years, Catholic the Church” we follow the Catholic Social Teachings. Guided by Charities North Dakota and its supporters have been putting their faith our values, Catholic Charities North Dakota serves those in need in action helping people, changing lives. You can reach Chad at info@ and advocates for the common good of all. We do this by providing catholiccharitiesnd.org or (701) 235-4457. four primary programs, and other services such as disaster relief NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

As Catholics, we can and should do better

F

ollowing the events in Charlottesville, Car Catholic dinal Daniel N. Action DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Christoper Dodson President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Fla., Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, stated: “We stand against the evil of racism, white supremacy and neo-nazism.”

Many Catholic leaders, lay and cleric, made similar statements.

The social media-popular Bishop Robert Barron posted on Facebook:

her or she is making.

Tu quoque appeals appear in response to almost every statement issued by the bishops on public policy matters. When the bishops speak against abortions, someone will ignore the statement because it did not mention the need for health care reform.

When the bishops speak in favor of universal health care, they are attacked for not emphasizing abortion enough. When they talk of subsidiarity, they are criticized for ignoring solidarity.

When they talk of solidarity, they are criticized for ignoring subsidiarity. And so it goes.

The work of Bishop Folda and Bishop Kagan through the North Dakota Catholic Conference is not immune. Some say our positions align with the Democratic Party. We are told by others that we are in lock-step with Republicans.

That “snapshot” critique illustrates another problem with Tu quoque claims: They are often based on incomplete pictures, particularly when it comes to Catholic responses to public policy Friends, there can be no equivocation or nuance when it comes to issues. For example, I sometimes receive complaints from readers racism. The Church’s teaching is clear: “It is necessary to guard that I did not address a particular issue in these columns. If the against the rise of new forms of racism or xenophobic behavior which person had made an effort to look, the reader would have seen attempt to make our brothers and sisters into scapegoats” (St. John that I addressed that issue in the previous month’s column.

Paul II). We must vehemently oppose the resurgence of an “insane, Catholic social doctrine is comprehensive. It would be racist ideology born of Neopaganism” (Benedict XVI). The Church impossible for a bishop or a bishops’ conference to discuss stands against and condemns all racist ideologies, and warns those every issue in every statement. Not mentioning an issue does who would propagate such horrors to repent. not mean that the bishop is ignoring or downplaying it. Indeed, These statements repeat well-established Catholic teaching Catholic social doctrine is a whole. Emphasis on one part always and basic principles of justice. They should be non-controversial. implicitly includes the rest, and people of good faith, particularly With the exception of racists themselves, most people, presumably, Catholics, should always presume that implicit inclusion. would not debate them. Nevertheless, the airwaves and social The use of tu quoque appeals, especially appeals to inconsistency, media are filled with attacks on these and others who spoke is pervasive in politics. Too often a lawmaker or politician’s positions against the hatred displayed in Charlottesville. are attacked not because of the rightness or wrongness of the For the most part, these attacks do not overtly defend the racist position, but because of the person’s alleged inconsistency. It is a nationalism on display that tragic day. Instead, they indirectly do symptom of the growing focus on personalities and partisanship so by attempting to undermine the statements and motivations instead of good statesmanship. of the bishops and other Catholic leaders. They made comments Christians should know better. As I’ve written before, consistency like: “What about condemning communists?” “No mention of eludes the human condition. It comes from being descendants of the unborn . . .” and “The bishops have no credibility if they the Fall. No one is always consistent, even if we try. We should do not also criticize Trump.” not judge a proposal or position, therefore, on other things its These are examples of the tu quoque logical fallacy. Tu quoque proponents say or have done. literally means “you also.” It is an appeal to alleged hypocrisy Politics is an exercise of reason, guided by faith. Personal attacks, or inconsistency. partisanship, biases, and personal agendas are inconsistent with The Tu quoque “argument” follows the pattern: faith. As a result, they cloud our thinking. Flawed “arguments,” like tu quoque attacks, slip into our political dialogue. As people 1. Person A makes claim X. of faith, we can think and do better.

2. Person B asserts that A’s actions or past claims are inconsistent with the truth of claim X. Christopher Dodson is executive director of the North Dakota Catholic 3. Therefore X is false.

Conference. The NDCC acts on behalf of the Catholic bishops of North Dakota to respond to public policy issues of concern to the Catholic The fallacy of the line of thinking should be obvious. What Church and to educate Catholics and the general public about Catholic Person A did or failed to say has nothing to do with the claim social doctrine. The conference website is ndcatholic.org.

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

S

Pastoral year highlights joy of the priesthood

ome already knew that last school year I took advantage of doing a pastoral year. For those of you who do not know, a pastoral year is a time where a seminarian takes a break from the rigorous academic life of the seminary and takes part in the life of a parish. This last year at Holy Spirit Church in Fargo, where I had the great pleasure to live, was filled, by God’s goodness, with many blessings, but none greater than seeing the zeal and joy of our priests.

These past few years as a seminarian, I had a tendency to see the priesthood as a far off goal. The seminary itself teaches many wonderful things about priestly life. However, the very thing the pastoral year gave me was an experience of the joy of the priesthood. In spending time with these men of God, I saw the great love they have not only for our Lord, but also for their priestly vocation. There was a great brotherhood I experienced within our priests; a general love, respect and support for each other in the priesthood.

I remember distinctly coming into the rectory one day after lunch and finding three to four priests in the kitchen teasing, laughing and sharing stories with one another. There were many other occurrences like this one. Whether it was observing the priests administer the sacraments, seeing them being present to those in the parish, or being the butt of a practical joke committed by a particular priest, who for his sake will remain nameless (you know who you are), I was able to observe the blessings the priesthood had to offer. Indeed, all these moments ministered to my heart the joys of the priesthood.

As I mentioned, as a seminarian, this had a great impression on me. It brought me an encouragement that was very much needed. There began a desire in me to join this band of brothers.

I desired to share in this priestly vocation they all possessed, to likewise find joy Seminarian in ministering the sacraments and aidLife ing others to foster Christopher their relationship Savageau with God. And, if God wills it, I will.

This reality should not dismiss the fact that the priesthood does have its challenges. There are challenges in any vocation. Nevertheless, the love and support that our priests have for one another is deeply encouraging. I know that if, in God’s providence, I become a priest, they will be there for me as well.

I am now back at the seminary at Mount St. Mary’s in Emittsburg, Md. I have no doubt that my experiences with these priests are some of the reasons I am back studying for God’s holy priesthood. It is an honor to study for the Fargo Diocese and I hope to one day be a part of this brotherhood of priests.

Savageau is a Theology II student studying at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. Editor’s Note: Seminarian Life is a monthly column written by current Diocese of Fargo seminarians. It gives New Earth readers a glimpse of what these discerning young men are experiencing.

Please continue to pray for them.

“…the very thing the pastoral year gave me was an experience of the joy of the priesthood.” – Christopher Savageau, Fargo Diocese seminarian Join us on for

September 23 - 24, 2017

Catholic CharitiesNorth Dakota Sunday

Catholic Charities North Dakota

Weekend dedicated to bringing awareness & support to the services we provide to those in need.

CatholicCharitiesND.org

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

September: A recommitment to stewardship

S

ummer’s end brings with it nostalgia for carefree days, long nights, fun Stewardship weekends at the Steve Schons lakes, reunions with families, and summer road trips.

However, in our parishes, autumn brings a burst of new life that makes September feel almost like spring. Why? For the Christian steward, fall brings a renewed sense of commitment.

Literally, many of us make our commitment of time and resources to our parish during September or soon after.

Stewardship events such as fall dinners bring a sense of excitement to our parishes. Witness talks remind us of the good work that needs to be accomplished. Renewed calls for lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and sign-ups for Eucharistic Adoration are issued, and kids are everywhere – in our Catholic schools and in our faith formation programs – filling us with hope and enthusiasm for our young Church.

This is the time when we re-examine and reconfirm our stewardship.

If you found yourself away from your parish this summer for whatever reason, now is the time to be reacquainted. Your parish is your primary faith community, where relationships are built based on shared values and sacramental life, and September is a wonderful way to come home to that community.

Steve Schons is director of stewardship and development for the Diocese of Fargo.

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NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

Some things that will draw you closer to your faith community during September • Visit, or better yet help with, the fall dinner or other events. Spend time with people you may not have seen due to summer travels, and “meet and greet” any newcomers you spot.

• Make sure you go to your parish school’s Back to School night if you have kids enrolled, or visit your child’s faith formation class and introduce yourself to the teacher.

• Consider a new ministry this year. Think of something that will reinvigorate you, provide the greatest service, bring out your best talents, and help you to meet more of your fellow parishioners.

• Maybe a new pastor or associate pastor has arrived over the summer. Now’s the time to introduce yourself and issue a dinner invitation.

• Find out what adult faith formation classes or presentations are offered for the fall and commit to one.

• Take inventory of your financial giving.

Did you sometimes neglect the parish offertory during the summer months?

Find out if your parish has online giving, or automatic withdrawal, so that your year-round stewardship helps provide the parish with a stable income.

• Make Sunday Mass your top weekend priority, ahead of sports, school activities, or other temptations.

OUR CATHOLIC LIFE

I

Charlottesville and America’s original sin

vividly remember my first visit to Charlottesville, Va. It was about 20 years ago, and I was on vacation with a good friend, who shared with me a passion for American history and for Thomas Jefferson in particular.

We had toured a number of Civil War battlefields in Maryland and Virginia and then had made our way to Jefferson’s University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Finally, we ventured outside the city to the little hilltop home that the great founder had designed and built for himself, Monticello. It was a glorious summer day, and the elegant manse shone in all of its Palladian splendor. We took in its classical lines, its distinctive red and white coloration, the understated beauty of its dome, its overall symmetry, balance, and harmony. On the inside, we saw all of Jefferson’s quirky genius on display: scientific instruments, inventions, books galore. Just outside the house was the simple, unpretentious grave of Jefferson, the tombstone naming him as the author of the Declaration of Independence. There was no question that the very best of the American spirit was on display in that place.

But then we noticed something else. Below the sight-lines of Monticello, literally underground, were the quarters of Jefferson’s slaves. These were hovels, really little more than caves, with bare earth floors and flimsy roofs, not even a hint of the elegance, comfort, and beauty of the great house. Jefferson had brought some of his slaves to France with him when he was the American ambassador to that country, and he had taught them the fine art of French cuisine. When he entertained at Monticello, these servants, dressed in the finery of courtiers at Versailles, would serve the savory meals that they had prepared. Afterwards, they would return for the night to their underground hovels. A woman, who had been invited to stay for a time at Monticello, recorded in her diary that she woke up one morning to the sounds of horrific screaming. When she looked with alarm and concern out her window, she saw the author of the Declaration of Independence savagely beating one of his slaves.

Jefferson the morally upright sage; Jefferson the merciless slave-owner. Splendid Monticello; its sordid slave-quarters underground. One could literally see at this great American house the divide, the original sin that has bedeviled our nation from its inception to the present day. The framers of the Constitution fought over slavery and race; the issue preoccupied the politics of America for the first half of the nineteenth century and finally drove the country to a disastrous and murderous civil conflict; it perdured in somewhat mitigated form in the segregation, both sanctioned and unofficial, that reigned in America in the decades following the Civil War; it came to a head during the great civil rights struggle of the mid-twentieth century, culminating in landmark legislation and in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; it continued to assert itself in the Detroit riots of 1967, the Watts uprising, the unrest after the beating of Rodney King, the street violence in Ferguson, Missouri, and in many other events.

For me, it was weirdly fitting that its most recent manifestation would be in Charlottesville, Va, where, 20 years ago, I had so vividly seen the moral contradiction at the heart of American

Originally published at WordOnFire.org

history. Thomas Jefferson’s principle that “all men are created equal and are endowed by Word on Fire their Creator with certain inalienable Bishop Robert Barron rights” came face to face, on the streets of Charlottesville, with representatives of the most nefarious ideology of hatred and racial superiority. God knows that, since Jefferson’s time, many, many battles have been won in this struggle, but the events in Charlottesville proved that the war is not yet over, that the original sin of America has not been thoroughly expunged.

I have been using the term “original sin” on purpose, for it is my conviction that both the problem and its solution are best articulated in theological categories. Our awful tendency, up and down the ages and in every culture, to divide ourselves into opposing camps, to demonize the other, to scapegoat, to take away fundamental human rights is a function of the denial that all people are made in the image and likeness of God. It is, first and last, a sin.

The answer cannot be a matter of political machination but only of grace. No one saw this more clearly than St. Paul, who was dealing with the very same issue within the cultural framework of the first century: Jews and non-Jews were at odds, Romans dominated and everyone else obeyed, slavery obtained throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, etc.

Paul came to understand that, strangely enough, a crucified victim of the tyrannical Roman authorities provided a way out: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

It would require a lengthy theological tome fully to unpack the meaning of that phrase. Suffice it to say that the crucifixion of the Son of God disclosed the entire range and universality of human dysfunction: stupidity, violence, injustice, cruelty, victimizing, etc.: “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” And the resurrection of Jesus revealed the entire range and universality of the divine mercy: “Where sin abounds, grace abounds the more.” In a word, we are all sinners upon whom an amazing grace has been poured out.

So let us stop playing games of domination, us against them, racial superiority, masters and slaves. In Christ, all of that has been exposed as fraudulent and swept away.

This is the saving word that the Christian churches can and should bring to this age-old and still festering wound in the body politic of our nation.

Bishop Barron is a theologian and evangelist, known for his Word on Fire ministry. He serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

NEW EARTH SEPTEMBER 2017

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Get involved with Pro-life events and ministries 40 Days for Life ND starts Sept. 27

Mark your calendars for the National 40 Days for Life campaign Sept. 27-Nov. 5! You are called to be part of this important prayer effort to end abortion across our nation and world. The North Dakota 40 Days for Life effort will be begin 8 a.m. on Sept. 27, 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. Persons can sign up for an hour of prayer by contacting the Pregnancy Help Center at (701) 284-6601 or phc@polarcomm.com or visit www.40daysforlifend.com.

Walk with Christ for Life on Respect Life Sunday

Bishop Folda invites the faithful of the diocese to join him for the annual Eucharistic procession, Walk with Christ for Life on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 1. The event will begin with Mass at noon at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo, followed by a prayerful, peaceful procession to the state’s only abortion facility. A short prayer service will be held outside the abortion facility followed by Benediction at the Cathedral. The Cardinal Muench Council Knights of Columbus will serve lunch. The Diocese of Fargo Respect Life Office sponsors the walk. For more information, call Rachelle Sauvageau at (701) 356-7910.

“Step Up” for those facing unplanned pregnancy

Join FirstChoice Clinic on Oct. 7 to Step Up and walk for those facing an unplanned pregnancy and for all life. This easy two-mile walk starts at Red River Zoo at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25. Register the day of the walk or at teamfirstchoice.com.

All proceeds go to the mission and ministry of FirstChoice Clinic.

Join the adult pilgrimage to the March for Life

visit www.fargodiocese.org/respectlife or contact Rachelle at (701) 356-7910 or rachelle.sauvageau@fargodiocese.org.

Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat set for Oct. 20-22

If you or someone you know has suffered from the physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of a past abortion, there is hope for healing. Rachel’s Vineyard offers a safe, non-judgmental and confidential weekend retreat for anyone: women, men, grandparents, and siblings, who struggle with the feelings of loss that can accompany an abortion experience. The weekend begins on a Friday night and concludes on Sunday afternoon. The next Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat is scheduled for Oct. 20-22. For more information, or to register, contact Ruth Ruch at (701) 219-3941 or at ruch@i29.net. All calls are confidential.

Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., coming to Fargo area Oct. 25

Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is coming to the Fargo area Oct. 25 for a “100 No More” Prayer Rally. For the last 100 years, Planned Parenthood has left a legacy of death, eugenics, and racial oppression. It’s time to unite in prayer by saying “100 No More.” The rally will be held from 1-2 p.m. in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic on 803 Belsly Blvd. along US-75 in Moorhead, Minn. Dr. Alveda King has stated many times, “Abortion is racism and takes away the civil rights of unborn babies.” The event is sponsored

by Concerned Women for America of North Dakota and is open to all who want to see the end to abortion. Families are encouraged to attend. Contact State Director, Linda Thorson, at (701) 331- 9792 for more information, or go to nd.cwfa.org.

Mass for God’s Children set for Nov. 7 in Wahpeton Bishop John Folda will offer a Mass for God’s Children on Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., at St. John’s Church in Wahpeton. This Memorial Mass for children who have died before baptism is offered for families as a way to remember and celebrate the lives of children who have been lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, infant or young-child death. A memorial rose and naming card will be provided for families who have lost a child. If you would like to reserve a rose, please contact Rachelle before Nov. 1 at (701) 356-7910 or rachelle.sauvageau@ fargodiocese.org, or go to wwww.fargodiocese.org/respectlife and complete the registration form under “Mass for God’s Children.” All are welcome to attend including parents, grandparents, siblings and those who care.

The Respect Life Office is hosting an adult pilgrimage to the March for Life Jan. 15-20, 2018 in Washington D.C. Pilgrims will make a one-day bus trip to Emittsburg Md. to tour the Mother Seton Shrine, Gettysburg, Pa, and visit the St. John Paul II National Shrine. They will also attend the Vigil Mass for Life, participate in the March for Life on Jan. 19, and tour Washington D.C. Cost is $1,330–$1,880 depending on hotel occupancy and includes airfare from Fargo to Washington D.C., ground transportation, accommodation and tour fees. Post abortion care group meets monthly Pilgrims will pay for their own meals and airline baggage fees.

Project Rachel offers a post-abortion care group that meets Registration is open until Oct. 15. Space is limited. To register, on the 4th Monday of every month at a Fargo location. Women

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A Glimpse of the Past - September who have begun their healing journey either through the Sacrament of Reconciliation or at a Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat come together at a designated location to pray and share about the specific issues related to post abortion healing.

These monthly gatherings consist of a half-hour prayer time followed by discussion. Registration is required, but will be confidential. To register and to learn the location of meetings, please call (844) 789-4829.

Life Issues Survey: Bishop Folda wants to hear from you!

If you have not yet done so, your or someone you love will eventually bump into the kinds of life challenges which require difficult decisions; situations like infertility, withholding treatment options or addressing chronic pain. The Diocese of Fargo is conducting a Life Issues Survey to explore your understanding of these matters so that we can better serve you when the time of need arises. To participate in this online survey, visit www.fargodiocese.org/lifesurvey between Oct. 8 and Nov. 12. Hard copies are also available after Oct. 8 through your parish, or by calling Rachelle at (701) 356-7910.

These news items, compiled by Dorothy Duchschere, were found in New Earth and its predecessor, Catholic Action News.

50 Years Ago....1967

Bishop Leo F. Dworschak has appointed Fr. Dennis Schue retreat director for the Diocese of Fargo. On September 10, Bishop Dworschak will formally dedicate the Queen of Peace Retreat Center during the closing of the first men’s retreat. Queen of Peace is located at 1310 Broadway, Fargo.

This building, the former Sacred Heart Convent, has been completely renovated and comfortably furnished to accommodate 40 retreatants in private rooms. The first retreat will be September 8-10 for men.

20 Years Ago....1997

Victims of the devastating spring floods in the Red River Valley are “God’s rainbow, a witness of courage,” Bishop James Sullivan said. The bishop addressed the comment to nearly 1,000 Grand Forks residents at a Thanksgiving Mass September 30 in the city’s University Park, which had stood under several feet of floodwater just a few months ago. After the Mass, Bishop Sullivan presented a framed montage of flood scenes to Mayor Pat Owens, a member of Holy Family parish. Following the Mass, the entire community was invited to enjoy a picnic.

10 Years ago....2007

Bishop Samuel Aquila made a pastoral visit to St. Cecelia’s Church of Velva and Sts. Peter & Paul Church of Karlsruhe September 15 & 16. As part of his visit, the parishioners of St. Cecilia’s celebrated the 50th anniversary of the completion and dedication of their present church. Auxiliary Bishop Leo Dworschak celebrated Mass September 1, 1957 to dedicate the newly constructed church.

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29

WHAT’S HAPPENING

‘Friends Night Out’ with FirstChoice Clinic to feature Gianna Jessen

by Roxane B. Salonen

Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen will speak in Fargo and Bismarck in November to share her powerful story at FirstChoice Clinic’s new fall “Friends Night Out” social events. Jessen also will speak at the Devils Lake fall banquet the same week.

Her appearance will help launch FirstChoice Clinic’s new social gatherings to provide an opportunity for supporters of the mission to visit, meet staff, hear a great speaker, and enjoy delicious appetizers.

Starting in 2018, FirstChoice Clinic’s annual spring fundraising banquets for Fargo and Bismarck will be moved to the fall.

Rather than waiting 18 months between events to connect with friends, the organization has added a fun fall evening this year.

The Devils Lake “Every Life is a Gift” banquet will take place as it has traditionally in the fall, from 7 to 9 p.m., Nov. 9, at the Devils Lake Knights of Columbus Hall. The Fargo event will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Bismarck will host its evening Nov. 7 at the Ramkota Hotel.

“Moving to the fall lines up with the original Devils Lake banquet event and helps us to balance our bigger events throughout the year and have a condensed banquet season for all three clinics,” says FirstChoice Clinic Executive Director Angela Wambach.

Keynote of all three events, Gianna Jessen powerfully represents the face of the abortion culture. In speaking about her survival of a saline abortion her mother sought, she conveys the possibilities of overcoming obstacles.

Two months premature and weighing just two and a half pounds, Jessen spent her first months of life in a hospital, eventually entering the foster care system. Calling herself “God’s girl,” she notes that the failed abortion provided her the “gift” of cerebral palsy. “It allows me to really depend on Jesus for

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everything.”

It also labeled her a hopeless case, an infant who was a ward of the state and for whom the expectations of achievement were extremely low. Doctors predicted Jessen would never even lift her head. But by age three, she began walking and now has grown into a woman who has run marathons.

Since 2012, she has spoken to millions. In September 2015, Jessen testified at a U.S. Congressional hearing investigating Planned Parenthood’s practices regarding fetal tissue donation, following the undercover videos controversy.

While the obstacles she’s overcome have provided information to many, Jessen also has become a living, breathing face to the horrors of abortion. She’s one of the rare survivors who speaks for those who can’t speak for themselves.

FirstChoice Clinic is a nonprofit, faith-based clinic that provides education and health services to empower individuals to make healthy, life-affirming choices. It accomplishes this within the context of its “three sites one mission;” a main clinic in Fargo, as well as its satellite locations in Bismarck and Devils Lake.

To register for any of these events, in Fargo or Devils Lake, contact Mona at mona.franck@firstchoiceclinic.com or (701) 237-5902 or in Bismarck, Shelle at shelle@firstchoiceclinic.com or (701) 751-4575.

Monday, November 6 • Fargo, Hilton Garden Inn 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Devils Lake Every Life is a Gift Banquet Thursday, November 9 • Knights of Columbus Hall 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Both events featuring Guest Speaker Gianna Jessen Visit www.teamfirstchoice.com to learn more

Call Mona at 701.237.6530 for reservations

LIFE’S MILESTONES John and Mary Burgard were married Nov. 25, 1952.

They have nine children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Pictured l to r are the five generations: Linda, John, Autumn, Mary, Robin and Baby Daxton.

Anton and Jane Kuntz celebrated their 65th anniversary June 10. They were married in 1952 in Balta, farmed near Orin and eventually moved to Bottineau where they are parishioners of St. Mark’s Church. They are the proud parents of 12 children, 22 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

Iona and Edwin Goeser celebrated their 60th anniversary on July 6. Edwin is a lifetime parishioner of St. Mary’s Church in Munich, and Iona has been a parishioner for 60 years. They have been blessed with five children, 10 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren with one great-grandchildren on the way.

Gerry and Marge Ruder will celebrate their 60th anniversary on Sept. 28. They have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. They are parishioners of St. Mary’s Church in Grand Forks.

Bob and ArDeen Haas will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on Sept. 30. Their six children will host an open house at the Lidgerwood Museum in Lidgerwood.

Larry and Carol Holweger, parishioners of St. Michael’s Church in Grand Forks, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Oct. 21. They have two children and five grandchildren. They were married at St. Michael’s by Father Duaine Cote.

Mary T. Herbeck, parishioner of St. Mary’s Church in Grand Forks, celebrated her 88th birthday on Aug. 1. Mary is blessed with eight children, 20 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. She met her newest great-granddaughter, Charlotte, in July when the family celebrated Mary’s 88th birthday early.

Irene Vandrovec celebrated her 103rd birthday on September 2. She is a parishioner of St. Catherine’s parish and a lifelong resident of Valley City. She was married to Anton “Tony” Vandrovec in 1937 and they raised eight children. She has 14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

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 anemployee 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 orVictimAssistance@fargodiocese.org.

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

Get Connected Find more stories and information about the diocese at:

www.fargodiocese.org

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Events across the diocese

Parishioners of St. Mary’s parish in Dazey prepare sauerkraut for their annual Fall Supper in the fall of 2016. (submitted photo)

Connect with parishes at fall festivals

The following is a list of fall dinners and festivals submitted to New Earth.

Horace: St. Benedict’s Church in Horace will hold its Annual Fall Dinner Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dinner includes their famous baked ham, special cherry sauce, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, corn, and homemade pumpkin and apple desserts. The days includes a silent auction, bake sale, and activities for kids.

Grand Forks: Join St. Mary’s Church in Grand Forks

for a Chicken & Meatball Dinner on Sept. 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Medina: Join St. Mary’s Church in Medina for a

Chicken Dinner at the Medina Legion Hall on Sept. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Fargo: St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fargo is hosting

their annual Fall Bazaar Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be held at Shanley High School, 5600 25th St S, Fargo this year due to renovations at the church. A turkey dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities include a raffle, silent auction, bingo, baked goods, costume jewelry, plant, craft, and used book sales, and lots of fun games for the kids.

Dazey: All are welcome to attend St. Mary’s Fall Supper

Oct. 1 from 4-7 p.m. Parishioners are working hard to prepare their homemade German sauerkraut to accompany the turkey dinner. There is also a quilt raffle, unique gift baskets, along with fall gourds and pumpkins for fall decorating.

Fingal: Holy Trinity Church in Fingal will hold a Turkey

Dinner and Bake Sale from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8.

Menu includes Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, vegetables, cranberries, buns, dessert and beverage.

Milnor: St. Arnold’s Church in Milnor will hold their

annual Chili & Pie Supper Oct. 11 from 5-7 p.m. at the church social hall. Takeout meals will be available. Quilt raffle tickets will be for sale as well.

West Fargo: Join Holy Cross Church on Oct. 22 for

their annual Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day includes a full turkey dinner, children’s games, raffle, chance baskets, silent auction, bingo, cork pull, Yards of Cards, 50/50 chance raffle, country store, jewelry, silent auction, punch game and more.

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Register for the Middle School Youth Extravaganza in Jamestown

All middle school students 6th-8th grade are invited to the Middle School, Youth Extravaganza at St. John’s Academy in Jamestown. Stacey-Sumereau Jackson will be a guest speaker for this all-day event, which will also include workshop time for adults and students, Q & A with Bishop Folda, Reconciliation, Adoration, Mass and a dance from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Cost is $35 per student and $15 per chaperone.

Register through your parish by Sept. 27.

St. John’s Bible exhibition headed to Moorhead, Minn.

The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is featuring 68 original folios of the first illuminated and handwritten Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in 500 years, The Saint John’s Bible.

The exhibition, Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible, will bring those original folios from all seven volumes of The Saint John’s Bible, along with tools, sketches, materials, and rare books, to the Fargo-Moorhead community. They will tell the story of this monumental creation, a gift of art, history, and faith to the new millennium.

The Saint John’s Bible will be on display at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minn. Oct. 1 – Dec. 31. To book a group tour, help support this project, or for more information, contact the Hjemkomst Center at (218) 299-5511, ext. 6739, or SJB@HCSmuseum.org.

Friends of Chimbote Fall Gala Celebration set for Oct. 7

On Oct. 7, Friends of Chimbote will host their 6th Annual Fall Gala Fundraising Celebration at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Fargo. Help support the amazing life-changing transformation taking place in the lives of thousands living in poverty in Chimbote, Peru. The evening will also honor the 2017 Starfish Award recipient, Nativity Church in Fargo, and will broadcast Peruvian friends live from Chimbote. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a Pisco-Sour social and Peruvian market. Dinner, program, and auction begin at 7 p.m. Register now at www.friendsofchimbote.org or by calling (701) 364-0162.

Diocese invites young adults to Panama for World Youth Day 2019

Young adults ages 18 and older are invited to join the Diocese of Fargo Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the next World Youth Day pilgrimage in Panama City from Jan. 20-28, 2019. Current price is $3,550 but could come down depending on airline ticket price and World Youth Day fees. Contact Kathy Loney at (701) 356-7902 for a brochure and with questions regarding this pilgrimage. To register, submit a completed application form and $1,000 deposit by Nov. 15, 2017.

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U.S. AND WORLD NEWS

For Christians, life always has meaning – even when it’s hard, Pope says

By Elise Harris | Catholic News Agency

O

n Aug. 23, Pope Francis said going through life downcast as if it has no meaning is not the attitude of a Christian, who has the assurance that even when things look grim, there is always new hope found in Christ.

“It is not Christian to walk with your gaze turned down, without raising your eyes to the horizon. As if our entire path expires here, in the palm of a few meters of the journey,” the Pope said.

To live “as if in our lives there was not destination and no landing place, and we were forced to an eternal wandering, without any reason for our many labors; this is not Christian,” he said.

Rather, as Christians “we believe and we know that death and hatred are not the final words pronounced in the parable of human existence,” he said, adding that to be a Christian “means a new perspective: a gaze full of hope.”

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for his weekly general audience, continuing his catechesis on Christian hope.

In his address, Francis turned to the day’s reading from Revelation, in which God, seated on his throne in heaven, says, “I will make all things new.”

Turning to the last pages of the bible, the Pope said they show us the final goal for all believers, which is the heavenly Jerusalem, described as “an immense tent, where God will welcome all men to live with them permanently.”

“This is our hope,” Francis said, noting how the bible goes on to describe how God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”

He urged those present to reflect on the passage “not in an abstract way,” but in light of all the sad news published in recent days such as the terrorist attack in Barcelona and natural disasters – news “which we all risk becoming addicted to.”

Pointing to the many children who suffer from war, youth whose dreams are often destroyed and refugees who embark on 34

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dangerous journeys and who many times are exploited, Pope Francis noted that “unfortunately life is also this.”

However, returning to the day’s scripture passage, he stressed that “there is a Father who weeps with tears of infinite mercy toward his children.”

“We have a God who knows how to weep, who weeps with us,” he said, adding that he is also a Father “who waits to console us, because he knows our sufferings and has prepared for us a different future.”

God, the Pope said, “did not want our lives by mistake, forcing himself and us to long nights of anguish.” Rather, “he created us because he wants us happy. He is our Father, and if we here, now, experience a life that is not what he wanted for us, Jesus guarantees us that God himself is working his ransom.”

Some people believe that all of life’s happiness lay in youth and in the past, and that living “is a slow decay.” Still others hold that the joys we experience “are only episodic and passionate,” and that the life of man “is writing nonsense,” the Pope noted.

But as Christians, “we don’t believe this. We believe instead that on man’s horizon there is a sun that illuminates forever.

We believe that our most beautiful days are still to come.”

“We are people more of spring than autumn,” he said, and urged those present to ask themselves: “Am I a man, woman, child of the spring, or the fall? Is my spirit in the fall or the spring?”

There are always problems in life, such as gossip, war or illness, but in the end “the grain grows and in the end, evil is eliminated,” he said.

Pope Francis closed his address saying Christians have the knowledge that in the Kingdom of God, grain grows “even if in there are weeds in the middle.”

“In the end evil will be eliminated,” he said. “The future does not belong to us, but we know that Jesus Christ is the greatest grace of life: he is the embrace of God who waits for us at the end, but who already accompanies us and consoles us on the journey.”

Sidewalk Stories

By Roxane B. Salonen

L

Tomb reminds us the aborted are real people

ast September, my friend Ann and I joined a group of others at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Fargo for the Fourth Annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.

At that event, Susan Richard of the Sts. Anne and Joachim Respect Life Committee reminded us that the 100 babies buried at the designated gravesite there were found in a dumping ground in Illinois and, later, tenderly transported back to their home state for burial.

“These children reached their eternal home early,” she noted.

“They would have been 28 years old today.”

Thinking of these babies at the ages they would have been, had they been allowed to live, put things into focus for me rather dramatically. Suddenly, I wasn’t at the grounds of a meaningless tomb, but the gravesite of real souls whom God had in mind for something incredible.

Recognition of the efforts that had been taken to bring them back to North Dakota touched me deeply. Obviously, there was an expense involved in doing so, yet someone felt these little people were worthy.

And now, 29 years later, they are before us again as a reminder.

Though this year’s event – the fifth annual of its kind, part of a national remembrance – happened last weekend, those who missed it might want to consider coming next year, since it’s an annual observance.

At last year’s gathering, I was prompted to pause to consider those wee ones’ unrealized futures. Would some have been parents themselves? Very likely. It hurt to think that not only have we lost out on them, but their offspring as well. Whole family lines halt permanently when abortion happens. It’s not just about that one life.

We’ve come so far technologically, taken so many leaps to advance our world, and yet in all our intelligence, we have yet to be creative and caring enough to come up with a way other than death to deal with a life that is announced at an “inopportune” time.

I don’t want to minimize how hard it is for those unprepared parents who receive news of a life in motion before they’re emotionally ready. Each life’s worth brings with it similarly weighty consequences.

And yet, each also holds unfathomable potential, which we

often fail to consider. Instead, in our panic and lack of trust in God, we think only short term, and kill what is beautiful and pure.

Praying and singing for those babies that day, and watching their grave being blessed with holy water by Father Kyle Metzger, brought them each to life in my heart. I imagined them as young adults, living and breathing, making mistakes along the way but producing untold blessings through the very act of trying.

As their faces appeared before me in my imagination, one by one, my heart lurched.

Father Metzger reminded us then that “What God creates he never ‘un-creates,’ he never destroys,” and that our value comes not from what we do or accomplish in this life, but simply by having been made in God’s image and likeness.

Susan Richard added fittingly, “Thank God there is still controversy over abortion,” noting that the day the controversy subsides while abortion still exists, we’ve lost.

It’s been a year since that beautiful day at the cemetery. But I really think that is the day this column began to percolate in my heart. As those children became real to me, so did a nagging of conscience that we need to continue presenting them to the world, to remind ourselves, and others, that their lives deserve honor.

Their time on earth may have been cut short, but they are still with us, because they are eternal.

Some Sidewalk Stories unfold on Wednesdays, when our local abortion facility is open for business. But others happen offsite, and in the quiet moments of our hearts, at events such as the remembrance gathering.

Though this year’s memorial has just passed, many pro-life events are happening in our area in the coming weeks. Seek them out and invite a friend to join you. Even if you cannot pray on the sidewalk, other opportunities in our diocese to honor these wee ones abound.

Finally, continue to pray unceasingly that we might all recognize life for what it is.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, for the battle is real. And we can only win it if we’re aware it’s taking place.

Roxane B. Salonen, a wife and mother of five, is a local writer, and a speaker and radio host for Real Presence Radio. Roxane writes for The Forum newspaper and for CatholicMom.com. She serves in music ministry as a cantor at Sts. Anne and Joachim Church in Fargo. Reach her at roxanebsalonen@gmail.com.

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NEW

EARTH

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

This ornate altar can be seen in one of the churches in the diocese. Where in the Diocese are we?

The answer will be revealed in the October New Earth.

Where in the diocese are we?

Last month’s photo is of the sanctuary in St. Rose of Lima’s Catholic Church in Hillsboro.

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