August 12, 2021 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
thecatholicspirit.com
LARGER THAN LIFE
Minneapolis native makes Italy-bound frescoes in Uptown warehouse — 7A
LEADING
FAITH 2021 HONOREES, AWARDS’ CHANGES AHEAD — Pages 1B-12B
G o o d Wo r k
• In
Christ
‘ANGELS UNAWARES’ 4A | LITURGY COVID PROTOCOLS 5A | HEAT AND HOMELESSNESS 6A CHICAGO STREET MASSES 8A | HIGH SCHOOL BALANCE 9A | MEANING IN SUFFERING 16A
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AUGUST 12, 2021
PAGETWO NEWS notes University of St. Thomas law school professor Teresa Collett has co-authored three friend-of-the-court briefs in a U.S. Supreme Court case in support of a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Pro-life advocates like Collett hope the court will uphold the law and overrule key abortion cases. Collett co-authored one brief in her role as director of the University of St. Thomas Prolife Center in St. Paul; another with the Minnesota Family Council’s initiative True North Legal in Minneapolis; and a third with the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., on behalf of 240 women scholars, professionals and pro-life feminist organizations.
COURTESY DAVE DEGROOD
SMART RIDERS A group of bicycle riders stand together at Minneopa State Park near Mankato during an event called SMART (Southern Minnesota Alternating Route Tour) Ride, a July 29-31 fundraiser for Bethlehem Academy in Faribault. The annual ride was started in 2012 by a school alumnus, Joe Burgess (class of 1992), and has raised more than $450,000 in tuition assistance. This year’s group of 11 riders featured four alumni, with the riders covering 150 miles over three days.
A new organ at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis will be dedicated and blessed by Archbishop Bernard Hebda 3 p.m. Aug. 15. The ceremony will include a concert featuring the organ, parish choir section leads, a string quartet and a guest soprano. It will be the closing of a circle begun in the late 1990s by St. Paul organ builder Tim Patterson, who started putting the organ together with the parish in mind at the request of then-pastor Father William Ward. After Father Ward’s unexpected death, Patterson finished the organ. “I had no idea where it would go,” said Patterson, who also built his first organ for OLL and was the organist at the parish from 1972 to 1981. Patterson was tuning his old organ in the church when officials mentioned they were looking for a replacement. He told them the story, they looked at the new organ and the deal was sealed. Called the Ralph Strangis Memorial Pipe Organ in honor of the late Strangis, a longtime parishioner and trustee, the purchase was supported financially by Strangis’ widow, Grace. It’s a state title after three runner-up seasons for the boys’ lacrosse team at BenildeSt. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park. Sporting just one loss in the regular season, the team went unbeaten in the June 15-19 state tournament, including a 16-6 win over two-time defending state champion Prior Lake in the title game. Benilde-St. Margaret’s was runner-up in 2019, 2018 and 2017. A former member of Divine Mercy in Faribault, who was a missionary for two years with West St. Paul-based NET Ministries and worked part-time in college with the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, professed perpetual vows at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York with five other women Aug. 6 to the Sisters of Life. Sister Magnificat Rose, 32, baptismal name Jillian Wayland, will serve in Phoenix this fall. Loralean Jordan, a parishioner of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul, received the Make a Difference Award for Social Justice at the 105th annual national convention of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary. Jordan earned the award for her work as co-chair of the National Social Justice Committee’s Dignity of Black Lives subcommittee. The convention was held virtually this year July 22-25. In addition, the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary Court 256 at St. Peter Claver won a third-place Expansion Award for the Northern States District.
COURTESY TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION | CNS
NEVER FORGET Frank Siller, a Catholic and chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, waves his hat outside of a fire station in Arlington, Va., Aug. 1 as he and other participants start the “Never Forget Walk” in memory of the nearly 3,000 lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The 500-mile-plus walk began near the Pentagon, was headed to Shanksville, Pa., and is scheduled to end Sept. 11 in New York City at “ground zero,” site of the former World Trade Center’s twin towers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Siller’s brother, Stephen, was a New York City firefighter who died after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Catholic school students, alumni, administrators, teachers, staff and parents are invited to respond to our next question: How has your relationship to a Catholic school deepened your faith? Please send answers of 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@ archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line. Your reflection may be included in a future edition of The Catholic Spirit.
PRACTICING Catholic On the Aug. 6 “Practicing Catholic” show, host Patrick Conley interviews retired Delta Airlines executive Bill Lentsch, who starts Oct. 1 as the archdiocese’s chief operating officer. Also featured are licensed financial advisor Diane Wieneke, who shares budgeting tips for young adults and newlyweds, and Dianne Johnson, retired registered nurse and founder of the Curatio apostolate, who is joined by Katherine Haik, Curatio president. Listen each week on Fridays at 9 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. Find interviews after they have aired at practicingcatholicshow.com, soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic or tinyurl.com/practicingcatholic.
The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
United in Faith, Hope and Love
Vol. 26 — No. 15 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor
About 100 pre-kindergarten-to-eighth-grade Catholic school teachers and principals in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are receiving materials and instruction on mental health and wellness resources as they prepare for the school year. One day-long session was held Aug. 10 at St. Peter in Mendota Heights. Another will be held Aug. 17 at St. John Neumann in Eagan. The sessions are part of Edina-based Catholic Schools Center of Excellence’s “Peace of Mind” initiative launched last year at no cost to schools to help students, parents and educators meet challenges they face every day that have been exacerbated by COVID-19. A mortgage-burning party is set for Aug. 21, the feast of St. Pius X, at St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. After 20 years, the parish has paid off its debt. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at a 4 p.m. Mass, followed by a celebration in the parking lot, which was redone with funds from the parish’s most recent capital campaign. The celebration’s theme is Great is Your Faithfulness, highlighting the faith of parishioners. The party also will help the parish segue into preparations for next year’s Archdiocesan Synod, posing the question: “Where do we go from here?” Early bird tickets are available until Aug. 22 for the Cities 97.1 Basilica Block Party, Sept. 10-11 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. This year’s line-up includes Motion City Soundtrack, The Avett Brothers and Spoon. One-day, early bird general admission is $70; two-day is $125. Other ticket pricing and full lineup information is at basilicablockparty. org. The annual event wasn’t held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It raises funds for the century-old Basilica’s restoration and historic preservation. ON THE COVER Artist Mark Balma adds some brushstrokes to one of the frescoes in his “Women of Faith” series July 19 at his studio in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper. Subscriptions: $29.95 per year; Senior 1-year: $24.95. To subscribe: (651) 291-4444: Display Advertising: (651) 291-4444; Classified Advertising: (651) 290-1631. Published semi-monthly by the Office of Communications, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106-3857 • (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106-3857. TheCatholicSpirit.com • email: tcssubscriptions@archspm.org • USPS #093-580
AUGUST 12, 2021
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3A
FROMTHEBISHOP ONLY JESUS | BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS
Jesus still calls!
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rchbishop Hebda and I had the privilege of spending the last weekend in July with our 54 seminarians for our annual seminarian expedition. The weekend included a chance to welcome the 12 new seminarians who will begin formation for the priesthood this fall. You might remember we had 14 new seminarians enter last year. I am always edified by the opportunity for us to gather for prayer and fellowship as the seminarians share the graces from their summer formation experiences. I know I speak for Archbishop Hebda when I say how inspired I am by the fact that Our Lord continues to call such quality young men to discern a priestly vocation. Last Friday I had the opportunity to celebrate the Mass of investiture with the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus of the Diocese of New Ulm. In that ceremony, six young women received the religious habit and a new religious name as they entered formally into their novitiate, which is a two-year formation process before temporary vows. I couldn’t have been prouder, because one of those young women was my own niece, who grew up in Holy Family parish in St. Louis Park and attended Providence Academy. The sister of our own Father Timothy Wratkowski of Holy Name in Medina was another. Additionally, the Handmaids expect six more young women to enter this August as postulants (the first year of life in the convent before novitiate), and they will live with some other professed sisters at their new convent in Hopkins at St. Gabriel the Archangel parish. Also, our Carmelite sisters at Demontreville have already accepted one new postulant for this fall with the possibility of three more
¡Jesús todavía llama!
E
l Arzobispo Hebda y yo tuvimos el privilegio de pasar el último fin de semana de julio con nuestros 54 seminaristas para nuestra expedición anual de seminaristas. El fin de semana incluyó la oportunidad de dar la bienvenida a los 12 nuevos seminaristas que comenzarán la formación para el sacerdocio este otoño. Quizás recuerden que el año pasado también ingresaron 14 nuevos seminaristas. Siempre me edifica la oportunidad de reunirnos para la oración y el compañerismo mientras los seminaristas comparten las gracias de sus experiencias de formación de verano. Sé que hablo en nombre del arzobispo Hebda cuando digo lo inspirado que estoy por el hecho de que Nuestro Señor sigue llamando a jóvenes de tanta calidad a discernir una vocación sacerdotal. El viernes pasado tuve la oportunidad de celebrar la misa de investidura con las Siervas del Corazón de Jesús de la Diócesis de New Ulm. En esa ceremonia, 6 mujeres jóvenes recibieron el hábito religioso y un nuevo nombre religioso al ingresar formalmente en su noviciado, que es un proceso de formación de dos años antes de los votos temporales. No podría haber estado más orgullosa, porque una de esas jóvenes era mi propia sobrina, que creció en la parroquia Holy Family en St. Louis Park y asistió a la Academia Providence. La hermana de nuestro propio P. Timothy Wratkowski de Holy Name Parish fue otro. Además,
What do these young people have in common? They have discovered that Jesus is a real person, and his love is real and that happiness is found in following his call for their lives. in the next six months. And the Carmelite hermits at Demontreville are expecting a new postulant. None of this takes into account the young women and men from our archdiocese who will join religious communities outside of our area this year, or those in the area that I don’t know about. One could also point out the many other wonderful young people who are answering God’s call in other ways. Some are entering strong Catholic marriages with a desire to raise their children in the faith. Some work for the Church in our Catholic schools or religious education programs. Others are finding ways to evangelize in the world through their careers. We are experiencing difficult times in our society, as we are still struggling with a pandemic that doesn’t seem to end, and living in an ever more divided society that is also rapidly becoming more secular. Again last month, studies showed that fewer Americans believe in God and go to church. More discouraging is that the numbers seem highest in the younger generations. This is certainly why in our Synod process, one of our three focus areas is specifically about the need to pass on the faith to our young people.
las Siervas esperan que 6 mujeres jóvenes más ingresen este agosto como postulantes (el primer año de vida en el convento antes del noviciado) y vivirán con otras hermanas profesas en su nuevo convento en Hopkins en la parroquia de San Gabriel. También nuestras Hermanas Carmelitas en Demontreville ya han aceptado un nuevo postulante para este otoño con la posibilidad de 3 más en los próximos 6 meses. Y los ermitaños carmelitas de Demontreville también esperan un nuevo postulante. Nada de esto tiene en cuenta a los hombres y mujeres jóvenes de nuestra Arquidiócesis que se unirán a comunidades religiosas fuera de nuestra área este año, o aquellos en el área que no conozco. También se podría señalar a los muchos otros jóvenes maravillosos que están respondiendo al llamado de Dios de otras maneras. Algunos están entrando en matrimonios católicos fuertes con el deseo de criar a sus hijos en la fe. Algunos trabajan para la Iglesia en nuestras escuelas católicas o programas de educación religiosa. Otros están encontrando formas de evangelizar en el mundo a través de sus carreras. Estamos atravesando tiempos difíciles en nuestra sociedad, ya que seguimos luchando contra una pandemia que no parece terminar y viviendo en una sociedad cada vez más dividida que también se está volviendo más secular rápidamente. Una vez más, los estudios del mes pasado mostraron que menos estadounidenses creen en Dios y van a la Iglesia. Más desalentador es que los números
However, it is important to also see the good news. Despite these often disturbing statistics, there are still today many young people who not only believe in Jesus Christ and his Church, but are willing and desirous of offering their whole lives completely to his service. These young men and women, who could do many things with their lives (my niece graduated from Harvard!), are giving up promising careers and sometimes sacrificing marriage and family in order to follow Jesus Christ in a life of undivided service. I wish you could all meet them and see the quality of young people who are answering God’s call. What do these young people have in common? They have discovered that Jesus is a real person, and his love is real and that happiness is found in following his call for their lives. They have come to see the beauty of the Church despite her flaws and human sins, and they want to serve the mission of growing his Church. It is a wonderful testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ and his Church are ever attractive, and we should not be ashamed to propose the full truth of the Gospel to young people, even the beauty of giving up everything to follow him in a consecrated life. Despite the difficulties of our modern world, we must be faithful to the Lord’s own invitation to prayer: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:37-38). Praise God he is answering this prayer for vocations, which has been prayed by so many so fervently in our archdiocese. And because of the generosity of these young people, there will be laborers to spread the good news in the future. May God grant them perseverance and make their work fruitful.
parecen más altos en las generaciones más jóvenes. Ciertamente, esta es la razón por la que en nuestro Proceso del Sínodo una de nuestras tres áreas de enfoque es específicamente sobre la necesidad de transmitir la fe a nuestros jóvenes. Sin embargo, es importante ver también las buenas noticias. A pesar de estas estadísticas a menudo inquietantes, todavía hoy hay muchos jóvenes que no solo creen en Jesucristo y su Iglesia, sino que están dispuestos y deseosos de ofrecer toda su vida por completo a servicio. Estos hombres y mujeres jóvenes, que podrían hacer muchas cosas con sus vidas (¡mi sobrina se graduó de Harvard!), están renunciando a carreras prometedoras y, a veces, sacrifican el matrimonio y la familia para seguir a Jesucristo en una vida de servicio indiviso. Ojalá todos pudieran conocerlos y ver la calidad de los jóvenes que están respondiendo al llamado de Dios. ¿Qué tienen en común estos jóvenes? Han descubierto que Jesús es una persona real y su amor es real y que la felicidad se encuentra en seguir su llamado para sus vidas. Han llegado a ver la belleza de la Iglesia a pesar de sus defectos y pecados humanos y quieren servir a la misión de hacer crecer su Iglesia. Es un testimonio maravilloso de que Jesucristo y su Iglesia son siempre atractivos y no debemos avergonzarnos de proponer a los jóvenes la verdad plena del Evangelio, incluso la belleza de dejarlo todo para seguirlo en la vida consagrada. A pesar de las dificultades de nuestro mundo moderno, debemos ser fieles
a la invitación del propio Señor a la oración: “La mies es abundante pero los obreros son pocos; Por tanto, pídele al dueño de la mies que envíe obreros para su mies” (Mateo 9:37-38). Alabado sea Dios, está respondiendo a esta oración por las vocaciones que tantos tan fervientemente han rezado en nuestra Arquidiócesis. Y gracias a la generosidad de estos jóvenes habrá obreros para difundir las buenas nuevas en el futuro. Que Dios les conceda perseverancia y haga fructificar su trabajo.
OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointment in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Effective July 13, 2021 Reverend Albert Backmann, assigned as parochial administrator of the parish of Saints Joachim and Anne in Shakopee. Father Backmann succeeds Reverend Douglas Ebert, who has been serving as parochial administrator while the pastor, Reverend Erik Lundgren, has been on a leave of absence.
Effective August 2, 2021 Reverend Thomas Luu Duc Vu, CRM, assigned as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Anne-Saint Joseph Hien in Minneapolis. Father Vu is a priest of the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer.
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4 • The Catholic Spirit 4A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
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AUGUST 12, 2021
SLICEof LIFE
Angels arrive
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LOCAL
4 • The Catholic Spirit
Craig Schulz works to uncover a statue at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis July 30 that arrived that morning and will be on display on the front plaza through Aug. 30. Called “Angels Unawares,” the 3.5-ton bronze sculpture was created by Canadian, Catholic artist Timothy Schmalz, and is the second casting of the sculpture. March 9, 2017 The first was commissioned by Pope Francis and installed in 2019 at the Vatican in St. Peter’s Square. “We’re pleased and excited that it’s here,” said Father John Bauer, Basilica rector. “Hopefully, it’ll be a testament of hope as we look forward to the future and remindSt.ourselves that we Sister Avis Joseph of Carondelet Allmaras, talks with Rose Carter, are all immigrants in one waycenter, or another left, and Irene Eiden at Peace House in coming to this country, and immigrants south Minneapolis Feb. 27. Sister Avis in this world as we journey to heaven.” goes to the center weekly and visits guests like Carter. Eiden, of Johan van Parys, thefrequent Basilica’s director St. William in Fridley, is a lay consociate of sacred arts and liturgy, noted that it is Peace House is of the Carondelet Sisters. positioned near another a daySchmalz shelter for statue the poor and homeless. “It’s a real to know these people called “Homeless Jesus” thatprivilege depicts and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I Jesus as a homelesscould person, covered not survive on the streets like they by a blanket on a parkdo.bench. “It’s beengifted people There are so many here.” Said Carter of Sister Avis: “She’s very exciting to wait for it and plan around an angel. She hides her wings under that it,” van Parys said of sweatshirt. the newlyShe arrived truly is an angel.” Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit sculpture. “We’ve studied it, and I have given lectures on it, but I had never seen it in person. And so now, to see it in person Celebrating sisters is just amazing. You can touch it, you canWeek is National Catholic Sisters 8-14.are An official interact with it. All theMarch figures very component of Women’s History Month and expressive — each face and the hands.” headquartered at St. Catherine University
‘Angel’ among us
SLICEof LIFE
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5A
Priest in Brooklyn Center was ‘heart’ of Hispanic ministry By Joe Ruff and Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Redemptorist Father Tony Judge, 68, a parochial vicar at St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center described as the “heart and soul of Hispanic ministry” at the parish, died unexpectedly Aug. 5. A rosary and memorial Mass were set for Aug. 12 at the church. His funeral Mass was scheduled for 1 p.m. Aug. 14 at St. Alphonsus Ligouri “Rock” church in St. Louis. Burial will take place at a later date at the Redemptorist Cemetery in Liguori, Missouri. A native of St. Louis, Father Judge served at the Brooklyn Center parish for six years with a FATHER Redemptorist community of seven TONY JUDGE other priests that includes the pastor, Redemptorist Father John Schmidt. Father Judge’s ministry also included 10 years as a missionary in Brazil and multiple stops in Spanish-speaking communities across the western half of the United States. “He was the heart and soul of the Hispanic ministry at this parish,” said Redemptorist Father Bill Peterson, who lived and served with him at St. Alphonsus. Father Judge heard confessions, celebrated Masses, served as a counselor, Father Peterson said. While Father Judge suffered from health problems, Father Peterson said, “I never heard him ever complain, not one time.” Father Judge also was an avid University of Notre Dame football fan, Father Peterson said. “If ever you wanted to get on the wrong side of him, you just had to sit in a room with a Notre Dame football game on and cheer for the other team,” he said. Redemptorist Father Marcel Okwara, also a member of the parish’s Redemptorist community, said he found Father Judge on the floor and unresponsive in his room at the rectory, which is attached to the church. Paramedics arrived but could not revive
him, Father Okwara said. Father Judge will be greatly missed, particularly in the Hispanic community, he said. “I don’t know how we can replace him,” he said. By early Aug. 9, at least 160 people had left messages, about half in Spanish, on the parish Facebook page expressing their grief and gratitude for his ministry. “I loved his loud laugh,” posted Kris Gentilini Reynolds. “He was a gentle soul.” In Spanish, Edwin Mendoza said, “Rest in peace … our Latino Community Pastor.” Redemptorist Brother Laurence Lujan, whom Father Judge had mentored in Denver and then ministered with in Liberal, Kansas, said Father Judge was a large man with a heart as big as his stature. “He was like the Gospel in living form — a brother, a friend and one of the kindest people I have ever known,” said Brother Lujan, now provincial consultor of the religious community’s Denver province. Father Judge was down to earth, listened without judgment, laughed and told stories, all to communicate what he believed and lived for, the redemptive love of Jesus Christ, said Brother Lujan, 57, adding that Father Judge’s example prompted him to choose to join the Redemptorist Congregation. “His death has left a great hole in my heart,” Brother Lujan said. “But I know I am a better Christian today because of his friendship. I can truly say Tony was a friend of Jesus.” Father Judge’s ministry outside of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis included his years in Brazil’s Amazon region and 10 years as a parish priest in Greeley, Colorado, and pastor of a largely Hispanic parish in Denver. He was the bilingual coordinator with a Redemptorist Hispanic ministry at a parish in Oakland, California, and the superior for seven years with a Hispanic missionary project in the Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas. From 2008 until 2015, when Father Judge began ministering at St. Alphonsus, he was a member of the Redemptorist mission team living in Chicago.
More pre-COVID liturgical practices resume in archdiocese By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Baptismal fonts and holy water stoups in Catholic churches can be filled again in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and as COVID-19 vaccinations continue to take hold, distribution of the Blood of Christ from a common chalice can resume. These recommendations and more are outlined in a July 28 memo to parishes and institutions in the archdiocese written by Father Tom Margevicius, director of the Office of Worship. Father Margevicius also notes in the memo that the delta variant of the coronavirus remains a threat, and because each parish has unique demographics, pastors can determine their own best practices for minimizing the virus’ spread. Parish responses and practices may vary. As always, if people are sick, they are encouraged to stay home, the memo notes. Vaccines are encouraged by health officials and the Catholic Medical Association because they have been proven to be effective, and face masks are encouraged for those who are not vaccinated, the memo states. The Office of Worship oversees only liturgical matters. Pandemic accommodations that might be necessary in Catholic schools, religious education, parish festivals, and other areas of parish and ministry life are not covered in the memo. The liturgical changes follow a July 1 return to the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, which had been suspended for 16 months because of the pandemic. Also resuming: archdiocesan confirmation liturgies, and effective Sept. 6, the expectation that weddings will be celebrated inside a church or other approved indoor space. In a letter to priests with the memo attached, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said pastors in April 2020 were temporarily allowed to administer confirmation to Catholic youth from their parish. Now, the
Holy water font at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony. DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
archbishop said, pastors once again must write to him requesting the faculty when a parish celebration appears to be necessary or more appropriate. Likewise, in May 2020, the archbishop said, he extended permission for weddings to be celebrated outside. But the need to limit indoor gatherings appears to have ended, the archbishop said. “Weddings that have already been scheduled to take place outdoors may continue, but I ask that you no longer schedule these without specific permission from the Archdiocese.” Other changes outlined in the memo include: uNo restrictions on singing; although the memo notes that the Minnesota Department of Health has safety recommendations for singing and the environment in which it is done, such as urging unvaccinated people to wear a mask. uPhysical distancing is no longer required, but some people might feel safer in an area that retains seating six feet apart and/or requires masks. uThere are no restrictions on how many deacons, servers, lectors, cantors, ushers or Communion distributors might serve in the liturgy. Those not vaccinated are urged to wear masks when not singing or proclaiming Scripture. uCommunion distribution can return to prepandemic norms.
Former Demontreville director temporarily returns to limited ministry By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit A former director of the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House gained permission to resume limited ministries at the retreat house beginning last month, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis recently announced. Jesuit Father Patrick McCorkell had not been permitted to minister in the archdiocese since last May. Jesuit Father Tom Lawler, Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House’s current director, shared the latest news with its retreat community via email July 29. The Demontreville team was informed by Jesuit Father Karl Kiser, provincial superior of the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, the email said. Father McCorkell’s faculties for ministry were removed last May due to an allegation, which the archdiocese later determined to be true, that the priest had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a woman. According to Tim O’Malley, the archdiocese’s director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment, Father McCorkell recently requested permission to engage in limited ministry at the retreat house, which offers retreats year-round for men. After reviewing documentation of efforts to address his misconduct, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, in consultation with the Ministerial Review Board, granted his request. As of July 15, the priest has had permission to engage in ministry, which is restricted to certain activities at the retreat house, “such as greeting the men upon their arrival, providing short presentations and leading a morning prayer service,” O’Malley said. “He is not permitted to engage in any sacramental ministry, in any ministry with women or in any ministry away from the Retreat House,” O’Malley said. The archbishop’s permission for the priest to reengage in ministry is temporary and it “will last until the Ministerial Review Board conducts a comprehensive review of Father McCorkell’s situation in September,” O’Malley said.
St. Catherine, St. Thomas require student, staff COVID-19 vaccinations By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Students at the two Catholic universities in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis need to add one more item to their to-do list: Get a COVID-19 vaccine. And soon. With some exceptions, including health or religious belief, the University of St. Catherine and the University of St. Thomas, both based in St. Paul, are requiring that students, faculty and staff be fully vaccinated before classes begin this fall. At St. Kate’s, that means by Aug. 16. They join colleges and universities across the country establishing COVID vaccine guidelines. More than 600 of the approximately 4,000 college campuses in the U.S. have imposed a vaccine mandate, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. St. Kate’s website defines full vaccination as two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson — or another vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or World Health Organization. Vaccination is a personal choice, but “the university believes this requirement is in the best interest of our community,” St. Kate’s said on its website. St. Thomas said it will continue to encourage people on campus who aren’t vaccinated to wear face coverings indoors. Vaccination details can be found on the universities’ websites, stkate.edu and stthomas.edu.
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Catholic Charities, other groups help the homeless as record heat takes toll By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit
HOW TO HELP
The months of June and July in Minnesota were filled with unrelenting heat and humidity — the kind that makes life difficult, particularly for the homeless. And there is more summer to come. Catholic Charities, parishes and other groups provide important services in times like these, with members of St. Stephen in Minneapolis and groups like RADIAS Health and People Incorporated in St. Paul distributing supplies to people on the street and in encampments throughout the Twin Cities, said Chris Michels, director of housing stability and opportunity for Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “They’re doing welfare checks on individuals, bringing in supplies as they’re able to and encouraging individuals to get into cool, indoor spaces,” she said. “I’m extending invitations for them to come into the day center spaces and the shelter spaces. So, we’re actively working with our outreach partners to make sure that our doors are open.” Catholic Charities has provided emergency shelter in the Twin Cities every day through the pandemic. It operates two facilities in St. Paul: Higher Ground, which offers a place to stay for people experiencing homelessness, and, across the street, the St. Paul Opportunity Center, a day service center for people at risk of becoming homeless, or working to move up and out of homelessness. “One of those buildings is always open 24 hours a day,” Michels said. In Minneapolis, Catholic Charities’ Higher Ground facility and opportunity center operate in a similar fashion. Shelter is particularly important this summer. As of July 28, the Twin Cities had 22 days this year with highs at 90 degrees or above. The first 10 days of June were the hottest recorded for that period in the state’s history, according to the University of Minnesota Extension Office, based on the average of temperatures taken at all
The volunteer page on Catholic Charities’ website is robust with opportunities for people who want to help, said Chris Michels of Catholic Charities. As volunteers deepen their understanding of issues related to homelessness, they also can advocate for funding streams to better meet the need for services, which is critical. “Any way people can educate themselves and get involved and then advocate is tremendous,” she said.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT From left, Ken Koss, program manager at Catholic Charities, smiles and talks with Sean Haines as Haines enjoys a cup of water at a station set up outside of the St. Paul Opportunity Center in St. Paul.
of the state’s climate stations. Highs in the 90s several of those days meant temperatures were up to 23 degrees above normal. Thermometers often stayed in the 70s overnight, allowing little cool down. Heat and humidity can be difficult for anyone outside for short periods, but they take a real toll on people who cannot escape the high temperatures, making indoor air-conditioned spaces like homeless shelters and drop-in centers critical for good health, Michels said. The real solution is an increase in affordable housing, she said. Extreme cold hits people hard and fast, with frostbite and hypothermia. Prolonged heat can bring dehydration, heatstroke and flare-ups of preexisting conditions, she said. Catholic Charities always provides water and other beverages at its locations, but increases supplies when it is hot, with large dispensers inside and outside. Bottled water — about 250 extra gallons a week — is distributed to all programs based on need, for residents and guests. Another big challenge in the heat is irritability, Michels said. “When you’re living in a space where
Donating supplies is important, “even the really small things that people don’t recognize are important,” Michels said, like a clean T-shirt, especially in the summer heat. Financial donations also help — one reason is that Catholic Charities can often purchase items in bulk at cheaper prices. To donate financially or through gifts of clothing, household goods and personal care items, visit cctwincities.org donate. you’re surrounded by people, and you’re irritable, that just makes things more difficult to manage,” she said. Providing the space people need to decompress and regulate body temperature is important, she said. When it’s hot, people who come to Dorothy Day Place in St. Paul for a meal tend to linger to take advantage of the air conditioning, grab a shower or do laundry, Michels said. There was an uptick in services over the last few weeks in July, a time that also coincided with the end of the month, when Catholic Charities tends to see an increase in numbers, she said. Catholic Charities’ work with the homeless is important winter and summer, Michels said, because it’s always difficult “when you don’t have a place to be and you’re unsheltered, or even if you’re sheltered and residing in an emergency service location.” For people who receive services during extreme weather, Michels said, “it’s just yet another thing that’s already stacked upon a ton of challenges.”
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Artist draws on tradition, adds fresh take in fresco series for Italian church By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit As an artist, Mark Balma is up to big things, but that’s also how he got started, after all: on large pieces of paper from the religious sisters who taught him at Ascension Catholic School in Minneapolis. They knew the grade-schooler had a talent for art, so sometimes they’d ask him to create something for special occasions, like St. Joseph’s feast day. For him, the chance to do large-scale drawing was a real treat. “In those days, there were no places to get big pieces of paper” outside his classroom, he said. Once he got a commission from the sisters, “I’d go home and I’d probably work on it over the weekend … and that got me thinking big scale.” Now, at 64, he’s working on his largest commission yet, both in scale and breadth: A series of frescoes, destined for the walls of a recently restored church, Immaculate Conception in Terni, Italy, about 65 miles south of Rome. He’ll eventually fresco the church’s ceiling, too. It’s not only the size of the commission, but the subject matter that thrills him: women from Scripture, a subject that he says has never been explored on this magnitude. On scaffolding he built himself, in the second-floor atrium of a Minneapolis office building, hang three 20-by-15-foot frescoes: the beleaguered Hagar, recently cast out by Abraham; Adam and Eve, awash in cosmic color; and an elderly Sarah, standing with Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael, her deeply lined face a stark contrast to her infant son Isaac. “This is the most interesting subject” he’s ever worked on, Balma said. “It feels just very timely. It feels like I’m really connected with our age right now in this sense.” The works’ biblical themes touch contemporary issues: immigration, scientific discovery, the role of women in society. For him, the stories don’t feel ancient, but new. When Balma accepted the parish’s commission, he never imagined he’d begin it in Uptown. He expected to work directly on the Terni church’s walls, the normal place for fresco. Unlike painting, making frescoes involves a process of mixing pigment with plaster, so the image becomes part of the wall. Balma now lives in Assisi, but was back in the United States last year, gathering supporters and securing funding for the project, when COVID-19 hit Italy, closing, at first, its ports, making it difficult to transfer back some art supplies he had stored in Minneapolis. When it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to return to Italy in the midst of the pandemic, those stored supplies proved providential. He had what he needed to get started here, however unconventionally: He had to make a fresco that could travel. Thankfully, Balma’s mentor, fresco artist Pietro Annigoni, who trained him as a young man in Florence, had taught him an ancient but now rarely used technique: frescoing on sailcloth. Using a thin layer of plaster on the flexible surface allows for the works to be
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Artist Mark Balma talks about his project painting women from Scripture in his art studio in Minneapolis July 19. rolled up and shipped. It was a method the ancient Greeks used to transport their art as they established outposts around the Mediterranean. Balma had worked with the technique early in his career, and he didn’t want to lose the momentum the project had gained. “What we can do is create these frescoes here, roll them up and send them there,” he said. He asked around about studio space large enough for the work, even inquiring about the Cathedral of St. Paul’s basement. (It was unavailable.) Then, through a series of connections, he found the MoZaic East building on Lagoon Avenue, with an empty atrium with two levels of natural light. It ended up being the perfect place for Balma to create his frescoes, especially as Minnesota entered its own period of pandemicrelated social restrictions. He worked daily, alone with his paint and plaster, using a scissor lift to reach the top of his canvases.
While different than working on site with a team, he has enjoyed it. He keeps in touch via Zoom with parish leaders at Immaculate Conception so they can follow his progress. Balma plans to finish the three frescoes he began here and ship them to Italy by the end of August. He’ll wait to start the seven others on site, but he’ll stick with the method, painting the frescoes on high-grade cotton muslin to be adhered to the wall. He hasn’t fully settled on the series’ 10 subjects. He expects to add Ruth and Naomi, an allegorical scene from Song of Songs, the Blessed Virgin Mary with Jesus at the Wedding at Cana, the Woman at the Well, Mary and Martha, and the Last Supper, with women in the Upper Room along with the Apostles. As he prepared to depict the women of the first three frescoes, he explored Christian, Jewish and Islamic interpretations of Eve, Sarah and Hagar.
All three religions include the Book of Genesis — which chronicles those three women’s lives — among their sacred Scriptures. That also speaks to one of the project’s goals — to make art that promotes interfaith dialogue. “After the works are up there, (the plan is) to invite this ecumenical group of people, writers and theologians, and to discuss and let people explore this,” Balma said. One of the misconceptions he hopes will be addressed is Hagar’s frequent dismissal as only a slave girl. His work intends to acknowledge her as an important figure in her own right, especially in the Islamic tradition. Balma expects the 10 panels to take about three years, and then he’ll undertake the church’s ceiling. He’ll paint that as traditional fresco, just as he frescoed the seven cardinal virtues on the atrium ceiling of the Founders Hall on the University of St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus, finishing in 1995. He also frescoed portraits of some of the university’s supporters. Balma’s other local commissions include two large frescoes in the Cathedral of St. Paul, as well as work in the Huber Funeral Chapel in Excelsior and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. He is also a sought-after portrait artist whose subjects in oil include George H.W. Bush, who sat for the work after he left office. The portrait is part of the collection at his presidential library in College Station, Texas. As a medium, fresco has a luminosity not found in paintings, Balma said, and that’s emphasized by light elements he’s worked into each of the women’s scenes. “In these frescoes, the thing that will tie them all together is light,” he said, noting that light can be understood both scientifically and spiritually. Working through his nearly completed panels, Eve, Hagar and Sarah, he said, “You have the light of creation and the beginning of light. Then you’ve got the light of an angel at night, and then you’ve got the light of a bright, sunny day in the desert. … All of these works will be unified by some sort of light.” Learn more about the series at womenoffaithfrescoes.com.
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NATION+WORLD Street Masses bring church to Chicago neighborhood By Michelle Martin Catholic News Service For the neighbors who came out for a recent street Mass in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, blessings abounded. The weather held, with no rain and a breeze to lift the heat. Cicadas sang and birds twittered in the trees, offering entertainment for babies and toddlers in their parents’ arms as Father James Kastigar, associate pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia parish, celebrated Mass in Spanish July 22 to mark the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. The Mass was one of several outdoor street Masses hosted by parishioners this year, resuming a tradition that had to be put on hold in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Masses have been celebrated for about 20 years. “We continue to gather as a community and welcome the opportunity to pray for the end to violence and continued to push for peace,” said Father Don Nevins, parish pastor. “This is also an opportunity to let people know we are open for business and are welcoming people back to Mass after the pandemic.” The Masses are organized by parishioners who participate in Misión Guadalupana, said Carmen García, one of the organizers for the San Augustin sector that hosted the Mass. The group divides the parish into 10 sectors and hosts at least one Tuesday or Thursday evening Mass in each sector, planning for months ahead of the July celebrations. “We want to offer the presence of our God and celebrate the Mass so people can experience it where they live,” García said. For each Mass, volunteers find a host family to provide electricity for the sound system, and water and light refreshments after the liturgy. Leslie Dominguez, 17, was part of the host family for the celebration. “It’s really important to have a Mass where you live,” Dominguez told Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper. “God transcends everywhere, but this is God at our home.” Each family is a “domestic church,” Father Kastigar said, and bringing the Mass to parishioners’ neighborhoods emphasizes that. “Each house is a little church, and that’s where the faith should grow, in each house.” In the past, that has meant going out two by two, García said, just as Jesus’ disciples did, and knocking on
u Police investigating source of letter containing ammunition addressed to pope. News reports said the stamp on the letter’s envelope indicated it came from France, and the ammunition was 9mm Flobert-shot shells. Reportedly, there was a message inside making reference to the Vatican’s financial operations. The envelope had writing on it in pen and with poor handwriting: “The pope. Vatican City. St. Peter’s Square in Rome.” The envelope was flagged by employees at a mail sorting facility near Milan in the early hours of Aug. 9 and was handed over to Italy’s military police as authorities coordinated their investigation. KAREN CALLAWAY, CHICAGO CATHOLIC | CNS
Father James Kastigar gives the homily during a street Mass in Chicago July 22. St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Church in Chicago held several street Masses in June and July in an effort to bring the Gospel message of peace and hope to city neighborhoods and pray for an end to the violence that has plagued the streets of Chicago in 2021. doors. This year, because of the pandemic, organizers hung flyers in the neighborhood. Those who attended were asked to wear face masks and bring their own chairs. Participants can also bring religious articles or water to be blessed at the end of Mass, Father Kastigar said. He blessed all the children present, and offered a special blessing for a girl celebrating her 15th birthday. “Usually somebody brings a cat or a dog or something,” Father Kastigar said after the Mass, noting that the only four-footed guest was a cat that wandered through the congregation on its own. “And that’s fine, too.” The Masses also offer an opportunity for people to pray for an end to violence, García said, noting that street violence can be a problem in Little Village. “Once people are touched by the mercy of God, they can help stop the violence,” she said. Mass concluded with announcements — “It’s not a Catholic Mass without a collection and announcements,” Father Kastigar joked — including one encouraging parishioners to return to church as COVID-19 restrictions have eased. “It’s important for us to bring the Church to the people in the neighborhood,” he said. “But it’s also important for the people to come to church.”
Poll: Religious differences in acceptance of COVID vaccine By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service A poll whose results were released Aug. 5 by the Public Religion Research Institute showed large differences between religious groups in their attitudes toward getting the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves or for their children. Forty percent of white Catholics and 48% of Hispanic Catholics said they have gotten or will get their children vaccinated, but only 18% of white evangelical Protestants and 27% of Hispanic Protestants said they will do the same. The two Protestant groups are the least likely to do so of all the groups surveyed in the poll. Among other groups, 33% of white mainline Protestants, 35% of Black Protestants and 35% of the religiously unaffiliated “are vaccine acceptant for their children,” PRRI said. Earlier this year the Food and Drug Administration approved — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the move — the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines to be administered to children as young as 12, and testing is taking place among younger children to determine a safe dosage level for them. With the school year starting soon amid growing controversy about mask and vaccination mandates — and the surge of the delta variant of the virus that sparked the mandates — the results are instructive. “Faith-based approaches supporting vaccine uptake can influence parents to get themselves and their children vaccinated,” said PRRI in its report, “Back to
HEADLINES
School: Parents, Religion and COVID-19 Vaccination.” Examples of faith-based approaches the report gave included a religious leader trusted by respondents getting a vaccine or encouraging them to get a vaccine, a nearby religious congregation hosting a pop-up “clinic” where vaccines would be available, and a local religious community providing people assistance in getting an appointment to get a vaccine. PRRI said 48% of unvaccinated parents hesitant to get their kids vaccinated would be “amenable” to faith-based approaches, and 24% of those who say they will not get their children vaccinated say they could be swayed by faith-based approaches. Among those who do not attend religious services, 21% of unvaccinated parents who are hesitant about vaccinating their children, and 3% of unvaccinated parents who will not get their children vaccinated, say faith-based approaches could help sway them to get vaccinated themselves, the report said. The percentage of those who believe religious exemptions should be in place for COVID vaccinations is growing. Last January, 73% opposed religious exemptions for children attending public schools, compared to 27% who supported them. The PRRI poll, conducted June 2-23, found that opposition to exemptions had shrunk to 57%, with support rising to 42%. The number rises still further to 50% for parents of school-age children. Among parents, 69% of Republicans are in favor of religiously based vaccine refusals, as are 49% of Independents and 36% of Democrats.
u Bishops’ migration committee chairman objects to ‘fasttrack’ deportations. Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, raised objections in an Aug. 7 statement to a July 26 announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that it would begin “expedited removal” proceedings, or fast-tracking deportations, of some immigrant families who entered the U.S. illegally and do not qualify for asylum. The measure, known as Title 42, is a provision of U.S. public health law and was activated by the Trump administration. The Biden administration has kept it in place, saying it has done so under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep the pandemic at bay as the nation experiences a surge of the delta variant. u Vatican: ‘Killer robots’ pose threat to innocent civilians. The potential of having “swarms of ‘kamikaze’ mini drones” and other advanced weaponry using artificial intelligence raises “serious implications for peace and security,” the Vatican permanent observer mission to U.N. agencies in Geneva said in a statement Aug. 3 to the 2021 Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). For years the Vatican, particularly the observer mission in Geneva, has warned against the use and development of LAWS, which include military drones, unmanned vehicles and tanks, and artificially intelligent missiles. u Charity, Knights’ highest calling, ‘demands’ renewed focus, says top Knight. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, elected CEO of the Knights of Columbus this spring, called on Knights to find creative solutions to adapt to the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the cultural challenges facing Catholics and the societal pressures on their values. He made the remarks in his first annual report to the Knights of Columbus, delivered during the Knights’ 139th annual convention, held virtually Aug. 3-4. u Congo’s bishops want an end to attacks on Catholic Church, its leaders. Catholic bishops in Congo called for an end to attacks on the Church and its leaders, acts they believe are linked to the Church’s persistent call for democracy and national cohesion. The bishops said the Archdiocese of Kinshasa has been targeted as well as places of worship — including parishes, Marian grottoes, altars and sanctuaries — in the Diocese of Mbujimayi. u Black Elk wins Catholic leadership award from FADICA, will receive in Minneapolis. Maka Akan Najin Black Elk, a leader in Native American and Catholic education for truth, healing and reconciliation, was unanimously selected by FADICA’s board of directors as the recipient of the organization’s Distinguished Catholic Leadership Award. Black Elk, a citizen of Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota, is expected to receive his award during FADICA’s 2021 symposium and spiritual retreat, to be held Oct. 7-8 in Minneapolis. FADICA, an acronym for Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, noted Black Elk’s leadership in addressing historical trauma and racial justice at Red Cloud Indian School, a Jesuit institution on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. u Police charge McCarrick with assault in case dating to 1970s. The Boston Globe reported July 29 that police have charged former cardinal Theodore McCarrick with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in a criminal complaint filed in Massachusetts. A summons has been issued ordering McCarrick, now 91 and living in a facility in Missouri, to appear at the court for arraignment Aug. 26. The crimes for which McCarrick is charged allegedly took place in 1974, when he was a New York archdiocesan priest. — Catholic News Service
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SERVANT leadership Eight men and women, honored this year for Leading with Faith, put others before themselves.
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wardees include a funeral home director who, on his busiest days, takes time to help families dealing with the saddest of circumstances, and the general manager of a television station who was concerned about the community’s needs in the midst of the pandemic. She dropped three hours of Sunday paid programming to televise Mass and other church services. Honorees include a dentist who offers to pray with patients, visits the sick to fix their teeth and donates his services in programs like Give Kids a Smile, and the owner of a powder coating company who helped a long-time, suddenly COVID-19stricken employee with full wages while he was away from work and assisted with his medical bills.
Each of these and four others are servant leaders, bringing Christ’s love to others through word and deed even as they grow their businesses and forge successful careers. Recognition of their faith-filled leadership included an Aug. 11 Mass and awards ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, with Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding, followed by an ice cream social. Read more about all eight of The Catholic Spirit’s awardees, as well as the nearly 20-year history of Leading with Faith, its own path into the future, and the names and workplaces of nearly 200 past winners, pages 2B-12B. — The Catholic Spirit
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Light for the world
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ith my family living on the west side of Florida, I’ve grown to love sunsets. I’m pretty sure that our Minnesota sunsets, however, can measure up to the best; there is something special about enjoying a beautiful sunset on one of our many lakes, and I’m even enthralled by the sun as it sets over the St. Paul and Minneapolis skylines. It’s always an opportunity for a review of the day and a recollection of how our loving God has been present to us in the past 24 hours. While watching the sun set, I sometimes think of one of Jesus’ teachings captured in three of the four Gospels: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5: 14-16). Those passages came to mind recently ARCHBISHOP when I was reviewing the names and BERNARD HEBDA stories of the eight 2021 Leading with Faith award recipients. Talk about light for the world! I am so grateful for the commitment these women and men make every day to serving our Lord, his Church and his people. We often talk about these leaders “bringing Christ into the marketplace.” We know, however, that this isn’t wholly accurate. Christ is always in the marketplace, in every workplace, in every business exchange, in every difficult decision, in every success, in every celebration — even when he’s not acknowledged. These honorees, however, remind us to live in a way that recognizes that Christ is with us always, even when his presence might otherwise feel hidden or even unwanted. When Leading with Faith was launched nearly 20 years ago, The Catholic Spirit never imagined the award would gain the traction it has. The event has grown beyond the focus and capacity of The Catholic Spirit and the Archdiocesan Communications Office to the point that we now realize Leading with Faith will only be able to grow and expand if business leaders themselves are at the helm. That’s why I’m excited to announce that after this year, we will be entrusting the administration and organization of the Leading with Faith awards to the St. Joseph Business Guild, a growing organization in the archdiocese that is fully dedicated to helping Catholics find good work and then do their work well, in a way that embraces our Catholic values and the virtues. Launched just two years ago, the Guild now has more than 350 members, many of them under age 35, with energy and a shared expectation that our faith will significantly inform how they approach their work. The synergy between Leading with Faith and the Guild is quite promising. It is my hope that under the Guild’s direction, the awards will continue to be a source of hope, inspiration and aspiration for years to come. Please join me in both congratulating the 2021 Leading with Faith award recipients and thanking the St. Joseph Business Guild for agreeing to carry on the important work of recognizing men and women who strive each day to have the Catholic faith guide their personal and professional lives.
Congratulations
to Assumption parishioner Tim Milner On receiving a 2021 Leading With Faith Award We are grateful to your service to the parish!
Alma Moreno and Gabriel Corona inside their Edina restaurant. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
GABRIEL CORONA & ALMA MORENO
Q Please tell a story about a time when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
Owners, Los Padres Mexican Food Edina Age: Corona, 44; Moreno, 40 Parish: Sts. Joachim and Anne, Shakopee Spouse: One another! Children: Claudia, 22; Sergio, 19; Emiliano, 18; Gaby, 17; Magdalena, 8 Number of years with company: 4 Sharing the faith with customers and employees in their restaurant in word and deed, with religious statues and artwork gracing the walls, Gabriel Corona and Alma Moreno make evangelization part of their work. They also volunteer in parish activities and service, such as ushering at Spanish and bilingual Masses, serving as sacristans and helping with events. Their children have been altar servers, and they have volunteered at parish food sales, events and youth gatherings.
Q Describe your business. A Small, family, over-the-counter restaurant. Q Describe your position and role. A Owners. We do everything — cook, prep, clean. Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you? A Putting God first in our daily lives and talking about our faith with other people.
Q How do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?
A By having Christ on the cross and the Virgen de
Guadalupe statue visible, Our Father in Latin on the wall, Catholic radio on in the kitchen and listening to daily Mass during work. Talking about and inviting people to Mass, evangelizing.
A Many times talking to people at work makes people
aware that we are Catholics. Many of our customers have asked us to pray for a family member who is sick, in the hospital or having a procedure done. But, in particular, one lady who helped us in the kitchen needed love and support one day. Her son had just told her that he had a brain tumor and was having surgery soon. She was very emotional, and scared for her son. After talking to her about Jesus and us telling her we would pray for her son, she felt a lot better. We offered her our help and prayers for her and her son. He came out of the surgery in good health. We still keep praying for him as he continues with surgeries. She has faith that whatever happens is God’s will.
Q Who or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the “marketplace”?
A Nowadays people need to see more of God. It’s our way of letting people know that all (is) with God. We are proud to have him be our guide in this world.
Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?
A Bringing people here for a meal, seeing families
and friends pray over the food. Seeing priests come over to eat and bring the seminarians, friends and family.
Q In what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A When the restaurant first opened, on multiple occasions homeless people showed up asking for a meal. For us that was a sign from God. He was sending us Jesus to feed him.
Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?
A Do not be afraid to show your faith.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul Congratulates and Thanks parishioner
Paul Kuhrmeyer
of Innovo Automation and all 2021 Leading With Faith Award Recipients for making Jesus Christ known and loved in the workplace and in the greater community of our Archdiocese
LEADINGWITHFAITH
AUGUST 12, 2021
DAN DELMORE Funeral director and owner, Gearty-Delmore Funeral Chapels Robbinsdale Age: 67 Parish: St. Bartholomew, Wayzata Spouse: Mary Children: Hugh, 24; Clare, 21 Education: University of Minnesota Number of years with company: 45
A Every one of us exhibits our faith
every day, in every walk of life, often without realizing it. Funeral directors have a bit of a head start, for what is more central to our faith than talking about resurrection and eternal life? Catholic funeral directors are often asked to explain the rituals of our faith, what they mean and their importance in the Catholic burial rites. In business practice, at home and in parish life, it means to live your faith in your conduct and morals. It is also important for me to attempt to live my faith with joy and compassion for all.
Dan Delmore takes pride in serving individuals and families with Christian care as director and owner of a funeral home — just one example of his “leading with faith.” He notes that funeral directors will “bury a CEO one day, and a person with no family and no personal funds the next,” and in all cases the service is a corporal work of mercy. Delmore serves people and the Church in other ways as well: as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion and liturgy commission member in his parish, as a Catholic Cemeteries board member and board chairman of St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Maple Grove, and as a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Q How do you concretely apply your
Q Describe your business. A Gearty-Delmore Funeral Chapel has
years, it has been helpful to have a strong knowledge of our faith traditions for funerals when dealing with families where some or many members have left the faith. They will question whether a Catholic funeral liturgy is needed or desired. Being able to explain what the Church does and why, and to explain in a welcoming way, has led to full rituals being held for a deserving soul. I have met with many people over the years who have made their wishes known with the expectation that those wishes would be relayed to their family when their day arrives.
been in operation for nearly 100 years. The original location is in Robbinsdale, with locations added over the years in St. Louis Park and Plymouth. It is a funeral home that serves all faiths, with a significant number of Catholic families.
Q Describe your position and role. A I am one of 11 funeral directors on
the staff. I began working for my father, Bob, for the first 15 years or so, and have been the president of the company for the remaining years. I oversee the operations and meet with families for funeral arrangements. I direct many services and interact with many parish staffs to facilitate funeral Masses.
Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3B
Dan Delmore outside his funeral chapel in Robbinsdale.
faith and Catholic values at work?
A
I try to apply my faith each day in the way I treat people, those I serve and those I work with. Funeral directors need to show compassion to the grieving, gently guide them, keeping to a timeline. I coordinate with many different parishes with many variations of our one faith. I try to keep to the philosophy of the word “catholic” translating to “universal.”
Q Please tell a story about a time
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
A On a number of occasions over the
Q Who or what has inspired you to
bring your faith to the “marketplace”?
A My parents were very strong in their faith and provided a good foundation for their four children. I was raised in a very tight-knit, small Catholic parish, Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park. We
lived close to church, and those of us who attended the parish school have been close all of our lives. We still gather for family members who have died, now at neighboring parishes, since ours merged with Our Lady of Grace. It is a great blessing to be able to assist them. I have also been fortunate to work with countless priests, deacons, pastoral ministers and musicians over the years. Many have taught me how to quietly rely on personal faith to serve.
Q In what specific ways have you
experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A Funeral homes can be extremely busy at times, with many services to conduct and little sign of slowing down. The process of arranging and conducting can become automatic. God has a way of reminding us of the importance of assisting each family. In the midst of the busiest times, a family will arrive who
have the saddest of circumstances or need additional time and care. It is as though God is saying, “Remember to see this task through the eyes of the ones experiencing a great loss and profound sorrow. That is what you are called to do.”
Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?
A In a world that focuses on the
immediate and self, realize that the rich traditions and history of our faith go back thousands of years. Our faith is based on prayers and sacraments that are direct signs of Christ becoming man and saving us. It is not about us, but about the lineage of saints that includes our parents, grandparents and millions who have gone before us. Think of our own actions and how we live our lives based on the knowledge that many have walked the same path before us, and others are certain to follow.
We are proud of our dad for receiving the 2021 Leading With Faith Award. Congratulations Papa!!
JIT Powder Coating Company Congratulates our Owner Tim Milner on his 2021 Leading With Faith Award
LEADINGWITHFAITH
4B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
DR. JAMES KOLLER President, James Koller Family Dentistry North St. Paul Age: 58 Parish: St. Peter, North St. Paul Spouse: Denise Children: Nina, 32; Emma, 26; Grace, 24 Education: University of St. Thomas, University of Minnesota Number of years with company: 20 Business owner, employer, dentist treating patients of all ages. Those are among roles Dr. James Koller fills as he seeks to live life as a blessing and to lead with faith through prayer and service. He also is a lector and cantor at his parish, a member of the pastoral council, a Family Service Center volunteer, a mentor with his wife for engaged couples, and a youth and high school boys lacrosse coach.
Q Describe your business. A We are a private practice general
dental office treating patients of all ages. I am carrying on the tradition of at least five other dentists who treated patients in North St. Paul before me. I am working in the community that I was born and raised in. We treat three and four generations of some families in our practice.
Q Describe your position and role. A I am not only a dentist. I also am
the business owner and employer. I purchased and took over the practice from Dr. Gene Kelley in August 2001. Since then, I have stewarded the practice from a one dentist, one hygienist and one assistant office, to a team of three dentists, four assistants and five hygienists. While I am responsible for all the final decisions at the office, I am blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful and skilled team. Fairness and honesty are paramount in all my encounters with
AUGUST 12, 2021
patients and employees alike, as well as government entities and insurance companies.
Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?
A “Leading with faith” begins with
recognizing that all I have comes from God. It is all blessing. I was challenged more than a dozen years ago by a Cursillo friend to come up with a “breath prayer.” Breath prayer is a statement of faith than can be expressed in a single breath. My breath prayer is “I’m living a blessed life.” I express it often to patients when they ask me how I’m doing. It immediately reminds me how blessed I am. I try to never lose sight of the fact that my whole purpose as a dentist is to serve and help others. Other ways of leading with faith can be as simple as taking time to pray with a patient, or just listening to their burdens and struggles. I try to be the person God calls me to be.
Dr. James Koller with a patient in his dental office.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
faith and Catholic values at work?
times, I have comforted a grieving spouse or a lonely senior. I sometimes offer to pray with them right there, if they are open to it. Other times I promise to pray for them later. Most importantly, I always try to see Christ in others. I always try to treat the least among us with dignity and compassion.
A I have prayed with patients. I have
Q Who or what has inspired you to
Q How do you concretely apply your taught patients about St. Apollonia the martyr, patroness of dentists and dental problems. I have visited the sick, a corporal work of mercy, to fix their teeth or a broken or lost denture. I have made house calls to sick or disabled patients. I have donated tens of thousands of dollars of free services to programs such as Donated Dental Services and Give Kids a Smile.
Q Please tell a story about a time
when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
A I have opportunities weekly, if not
daily, to share my faith. There have been many times when I took time out of my day to just stop and listen to a person who was overwhelmed with something going on in their life. Sometimes they were struggling with a health crisis for themselves or a family member. Other
bring your faith to the “marketplace”?
A On my initial Cursillo retreat
25 years ago, I learned how other Catholic men were living out their faith throughout the workweek, and not just on Sunday mornings. I felt the gentle challenge to bring my faith into the office and improve my prayer life. My continued involvement in the Cursillo movement has repeatedly inspired me to evangelize my environments. My weekly men’s group keeps me grounded and inspired to strengthen and spread my faith. Some of my Catholic patients continue to challenge me to go even further in bringing my faith into the office. A pilgrimage to Lourdes a few years ago has given a boost to my interest in sharing the healing message of God and our Blessed Mother.
Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?
A I am most proud of the relationships
we have built, with both patients and staff. I am proud of the loyalty patients have shown me. I have patients who have followed me to different offices for 30 years and continue to travel from across the Twin Cities and distant suburbs to seek my treatment. Some are now bringing in their grandchildren to see me. I am blessed with a staff that shares in my loving concern for our patients. One recently hired dental assistant, who had years of experience in other offices, was amazed to see the connections we make with our patients.
Q
In what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A I have experienced God many times
in the interactions with my patients and co-workers. I have been blessed to have patients ask me to sing at their funerals.
Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?
A Do it. Seek ways to strengthen and
deepen your own faith. Step out in faith. You will be rewarded.
“May we be in this world a ray of light that shines forth, bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all...” Pope Francis
The Church of St. Peter in North St. Paul would like to
Congratulate Dr. Jake Koller
Congratulations Dr. James Koller & All Leading With Faith Honorees! Thank You For Your Leadership & Example.
for his Leading With Faith Award
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AUGUST 12, 2021
Previous Leading with Faith honorees 2002
Chuck Anderson, President and Owner Midwest Rubber Service & Supply Company, Plymouth St. Raphael, Crystal Bill O’Neill, President and CEO William J’s Pink Commercial Office Furniture, St. Louis Park St. Hubert, Chanhassen Randy Roskowiak, Owner Randy’s Sanitation, Delano Delano Catholic Community
Editors note: The following information represents the awardee’s business position and parish at the time he or she received the Leading with Faith Award.
Respectively, P&D Mechanical, Robbinsdale Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale
Fabric Supply, Minneapolis St. Bridget, Minneapolis
Roger Pocta, Civil Engineer Larson Engineering, White Bear Lake St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove
Corrine Kaminski Director of Administration CRESA Partners, Minneapolis St. Olaf, St. Edward and Pax Christi
2004
Laura J. Hawkins, CFO Disciplined Growth Investors, Minneapolis Holy Redeemer, Maplewood
Brad Schraut, CEO Audio Video Planners, Oakdale St. Michael, Stillwater
Mark, John & Greg Tinucci Owner/Operators Tinucci’s Deli’s Catering and Banquets, Newport and Woodbury St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul Park, and St. Ambrose, Woodbury
Dr. David Uppgaard, Dentist Uppgaard Dental, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony
Roger Vasko, Vice President/Owner Vasko Disposal Solutions, St. Paul St. Peter, North St. Paul
Dr. Mark Druffner, Family Physician Lakeview Hospital Stillwater and Hudson Medical Center St. Mary and St. Michael, Stillwater
Jerry Wind, Owner/President Home Traditions, St. Paul Holy Spirit, St. Paul
Albert Eiden, Division Manager Cenex Harvest States, St. Paul St. Patrick, Inver Grove Heights William Nelson Director of Correctional Services Volunteers of America, Minneapolis St. Mathias, Hampton Guy Schoenecker, Chairman, CEO and Chief Quality Officer Business Incentives, Inc., Minneapolis Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Michael Thielen, Sales Director PreferredOne Administrative Services, Golden Valley St. Michael, Stillwater
2003
John Holmboe Financial Accounting Supervisor RBC Dain Rauscher, Minneapolis St. Jerome, Maplewood ReBecca Roloff, Senior Vice President American Express, Minneapolis Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Verne Elke Computer Systems Administrator Select Comfort, Minneapolis St. Bernard, Cologne Gary Sauer, President Tiller Corporation, Maple Grove St. John the Evangelist, Little Canada Jessie Nicholson Deputy Executive Director Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Mark Rauenhorst, President and CEO Opus Corporation, Minneapolis Holy Name of Jesus, Medina Tim McGuire, Editor Star Tribune, Minneapolis St. Joseph, New Hope Eugene Mach Jr., Owner and Operator Bud’s Standard Service, Kilkenny St. Canice, Kilkenny Carol McKenna, Nursing Director Regions Hospital, St. Paul, Parish Nurse St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Paul Joe Konrardy, Market Vice President Metrocall, Minnetonka Our Lady of the Lake, Mound Ron Rygwalski, Owner Ron’s Towing and Service, Maplewood St. Mary, St. Paul Bill & Mary Daugherty President and Office Manager
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5B
George T. Zirnhelt, President/CEO Power Systems Research, Eagan St. Peter, Mendota Edward Bohrer, Attorney Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, Minneapolis St. Luke, St. Paul
Michael Wise, Funeral Director Ellis-Wise Funeral Home, Hastings St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings Theresa Carr, Executive Director American Indian Neighborhood Development Corp., Minneapolis Our Lady of Grace, Edina John P. Kingrey, Executive Director Minnesota County Attorneys Association, St. Paul Nativity of Our Lord, St Paul Cy Laurent, Executive Director The Laboure Foundation, St. Paul St. John Neumann, Eagan Ed Lucas, Chief Operating Officer Urban Ventures, Minneapolis St. Hubert, Chanhassen
2006
Mark Boll, Risk Manager Apogee Enterprises, Minneapolis St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove
William P. DeSanto Jr. Building Project Manager Xcel Energy, Minneapolis Visitation, Minneapolis
Rick Casper, Owner/Operator Cherokee Sirloin Room, West St. Paul/Eagan and Hankerings, Blaine St. Joseph, West St. Paul
Donald B. Regan, Chairman of the Board Premier Banks, Maplewood St. Peter, North St. Paul
Sara Gavin, President Weber Shandwick Worldwide, Minneapolis St. Peter, Mendota
Don Schoeller Finance Consultant/Manager Northstar Resource Group, St. Paul and Minneapolis St. John the Baptist, Hugo
Jim Oricchio, CEO and President Coordinated Business Systems, Burnsville St. Peter, Mendota
Harry Sweere, Chair and Owner Ergotron, Inc., Eagan Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis Lucy Albino, Business Administrator Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul Jesse Bethke-Gomez, President CLUES, St. Paul Guardian Angels, Oakdale James T. McInnis, Principal Cedarcrest Academy, Maple Grove St. Charles Borromeo, Minneapolis Rose M. Schaffhausen Founder/Executive Director Minnesota Friends of the Orphans, Minneapolis St. John the Evangelist, Little Canada, and St. Rose of Lima, Roseville Daniel M. Siebenaler, Police Chief City of Farmington St. John the Baptist, Vermillion
2005
Jim Burt, Owner and CEO Reclaim Center Inc., St. Paul Holy Spirit, St. Paul John M. Hunt, Treasurer Billman-Hunt Funeral Home, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony John Jelinek, Founder and President Jelinek, Metz, McDonald, LTD and Hopkins Financial Advisors, Hopkins St. Joseph, Hopkins Michael B. Smeby VP/Commercial Loan Officer University National Bank, St. Paul St. John Vianney, South St. Paul Thomas A. Dooher President and Staff Representative Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers St. Gerard, Brooklyn Park Thomas J. Green Director of Special Projects and Employment Ministry Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, and St. Olaf, Minneapolis
David T. Dinger, Owner CLT Floor Coverings, South St. Paul St. Joseph, West St. Paul
Pat McHale, Nurse Manager North Side Life Care Center, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony
Thomas B. Kosel, Campus President Herzing College, Crystal Holy Family, St. Louis Park
Tom Simonson, Assistant City Manager/ Community Development Director City of Shoreview St. Odilia, Shoreview
Paul J. Wagner, President & CEO Minnesota Wire & Cable, St. Paul St. Joseph, West St. Paul Jim Waldvogel, General Manager Crown Plaza Hotel, Minneapolis St. Joseph, West St. Paul J. Michael Dady, Founding Partner Dady & Garner, P.A., Minneapolis Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis Deacon Richard Heineman, Owner
2007
John Duffy, President & Owner Duffy Development Company, Inc/ Northstar Residential, LLC, Minnetonka St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove Joseph Kueppers, Attorney/Shareholder Kueppers, Hackel and Kueppers P.A., St. Paul St. Joseph, West St. Paul
Christopher Kelly Schneeman Principal/CEO Seven Hills Benefit Partners, Inc., Bloomington St. Joseph, West St. Paul Bruce Wolf, President Bank of New Prague, New Prague St. Wenceslaus, New Prague Steve Hayes, Senior Vice President Director of Client Services BBDO Minneapolis Holy Name of Jesus, Medina Tom Merrill, President Faribault Transportation Company, Inc. Divine Mercy, Faribault Patrick Regan President/Owner/Entrepreneur Minnesota Coaches, Inc. dba Hastings Bus, Minneapolis, St. Paul St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings Jim Ryan, CEO Ryan Companies US, Inc, Minneapolis. St. Therese, Deephaven, St. Olaf and Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis Patrick Croke, Vice President Administration Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province St. Joseph, Rosemount Michael McGovern President/Chairman of the Board Catholic Aid Association, St. Paul St. Dominic, Northfield Carol Oldowski Parish Nurse/Psychotherapist Nativity of Mary, Bloomington Ramona de Rosales, Founder/Director Cesar Chavez Charter School, St. Paul Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul
2008
Roger Green, Vice President of Strategy Policy & Communications HealthEast Care System, St. Paul Transfiguration, Oakdale Daniel Warner Lewis, President Dalco Roofing, New Brighton Epiphany, Coon Rapids Tom Tierney, President/CEO Tierney Brothers, Inc., St. Paul St. Olaf, Minneapolis and St. Michael, Stillwater Mark Chronister, Office Managing Partner, Twin Cities Office PricewaterhouseCoopers (retired), Minneapolis St. Bonaventure, Bloomington and Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Beverly Aplikowski, Owner CEO/CFO Lakeside Homes, Inc, New Brighton St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Thomas Bengtson, Owner CEO NFR Communications, Minneapolis Holy Family, St. Louis Park Greg and Kay Wacek President & Secretary/Treasurer HOSSNPAT Construction, St. Louis Park Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Mary Ann Kuharski, President Prolife Across America, Roseville St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Jill M. Reilly, President Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, and Risen Savior, Burnsville Lisa Shaughnessy Director of Advancement Convent of the Visitation School, Mendota Heights Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis PLEASE TURN TO HONOREES ON PAGE 7B
LEADINGW
6B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
For nearly two decades, Leading with Faith has honored By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit
I
n the wake of corporate corruption in the early 2000s, Bob Zyskowski decided it was time to show the positive side of the business world. He came up with the idea of honoring those who practice their faith in the marketplace with an awards program called Leading with Faith. Since 2002, The Catholic Spirit has chosen men and women from a pool of nominees each year to receive an award from the archbishop or bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This year’s eight awardees will be honored Aug. 11 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Bernard Hebda followed by a program and ice cream social outside on the Cathedral grounds. “The idea of honoring business leaders came as a result of watching business people taking it on the chin with some of the scandals that were happening at the time; Enron is probably the poster child for that,” said Zyskowski, who served as associate publisher of The Catholic Spirit at that time and has since retired. “And, I thought that there were a lot of good business people doing really good things in the community and for the community, and for their employees, and that we should be able to lift up to our readers those people who are expressing their Christianity in the workplace.” The first awards luncheon took place Sept. 16, 2002, at the Town and Country Club in St. Paul with 10 honorees. Including this year’s winners, a total of 202 business leaders have been honored with the award. In formulating the program and awards luncheon, Zyskowski worked with Mary Jo Sherwood, The Catholic Spirit’s marketing director at the time, and the
newspaper’s board of directors. Zyskowski said he did not necessarily envision the program lasting this long, but he is not surprised that worthy candidates are still being nominated by friends, coworkers, family members and priests. Over the years, people working in nonprofits, large corporations and small businesses have received their awards at a luncheon. Zyskowski remembers one auto repair owner whose business was located in a small town with an address that he had trouble finding on a map. Bringing people like that from the outer reaches of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and into the spotlight has been one of the many rewards for Zyskowski during the years he oversaw the program with great help from Mary Gibbs, his longtime assistant at The Catholic Spirit, also now retired. Zyskowski recalls watching the luncheon outgrow smaller facilities and having to find larger venues, a problem he felt was good to have. Another highlight was bringing on board a talented and highly-regarded emcee for the awards luncheon — Tom Hauser, a political reporter for KSTP TV, who has supplied a high level of professionalism, along with a dash of humor. A former intern for The Catholic Spirit’s predecessor newspaper, Hauser started emceeing the Leading with Faith program in its early years, and he continued all the way through the most recent Leading with Faith luncheon in 2019 (last year’s event was postponed until this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic). “He’s such a great, veteran news person … so comfortable in front of a microphone,” Zyskowski said. “And, you know, I replaced Tom when I first moved to Minnesota. I took his desk (at the thenCatholic Bulletin), and so he had to go get a real job because he had been an intern for — I don’t know — five or six years, I think.
PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
ABOVE In this file photo from 2009, Bob Zyskowski, associate publisher of The Catholic Spirit, talks with Mary Gibbs, his administrative assistant. The two worked together annually to plan the Leading with Faith awards program and luncheon. INSET Archbishop Harry Flynn presents a Leading with Faith award to Carol Oldowski in 2007. He was just always so gracious with his time (in serving as emcee at the luncheon), and just so professional in how he operated — and just a fun, fun human being.” Most honorees brought to the luncheon family, friends, co-workers and even priests from their parishes, some of whom have been nominators. Vicki Iacarella, a 2019 winner, called her award “clearly the most significant event of my professional career.” She said it “has strengthened my desire to lead with faith and to encourage others to do the same.” Iacarella, a creative director at Target Corp. in downtown Minneapolis, tries to
strike a balance between talking about her faith in the workplace and simply living it, with more of an emphasis on the latter. She said leading with faith is all the more important in today’s culture, where the moral compass can appear to be lost amid the tensions and political divide that have created, in some cases, open hostility and even violence. In Iacarella’s mind, having the annual gathering of likeminded business leaders who acknowledge each other’s efforts to bring faith to their workplace is encouraging and can counterbalance the cultural tensions.
St. Joseph Business Guild builds organization, reputatio By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit
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n spring 2020, freelance graphic artist and web designer Emily Abe was looking for work. While searching online for Catholic-related businesses and nonprofits — her specialty area — one of the first search results was for the St. Joseph Business Guild. “I looked it up, contacted Roger (Vasko), and the rest is history,” she said. Abe, 26, a parishioner of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, said she has received a few business leads through the guild, and some people have sought her out because she is a Catholic business owner. She values the guild’s professional development, too, and participates in two sub-groups: one set up for women, the other for young adults. The guild is for individuals as well as businesses, she noted. Guild members are business owners, entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, students and other individuals — businessmen and women committed to helping one another flourish professionally and spiritually, said Vasko, who founded
the guild in March 2019. The guild’s ultimate goal is helping Catholics provide for their families, he said. It helps the unemployed and under-employed find jobs, people maneuver through career changes, start a business or find help with one, he said. An experienced business owner himself, Vasko bought his father’s refuse removal business at 28 and, with his younger brother, expanded its client base sevenfold over 18 years. Besides the Twin Cities, Vasko Rubbish Removal added two central Minnesota markets, in St. Cloud and Mora. “Our business in St. Cloud was built from scratch, from the ground up, and we had 10 trucks when we sold,” Vasko said. Annual revenue for the three locations was about $10 million a year, he said. Now retired, Vasko said as a small business owner, he was involved in day-to-day operations, including sales and marketing, human resources and managing employees. “I’ve had a lot of nuts and bolts experience operating a business,” he said, with businesses of different sizes. In just over two years, the North St. Paul-based guild has grown from
Vasko and three friends to more than 350 members. And next year, the guild will assume responsibility for The Catholic Spirit’s 20-year project, the Leading with Faith awards, which recognizes and honors executives, owners and managers — and others who leverage their sphere of influence — in secular businesses and nonprofits in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who are motivated by their Catholic faith and express that in the workplace. Vasko credited the guild’s growth to “a thirst for networking among Catholics.” “That’s kind of what’s driving it,” he said. “People will join just because they want to meet and network and talk to other Catholics.” One person told Vasko he didn’t care if he made any more money; he just wanted to connect with other Catholics, Vasko said. Members access the guild database for networking information and job boards to find work, employees and mentors. Its business directory also advertises guild businesses. Members can participate in networking events, workshops, talks and other in-person and online events.
Vasko, a parishioner of St. Peter in North St. Paul, said connecting the bonds of faith with business is “very powerful.” “We’re helping people, and what’s happening is that they’re the ones getting us the new members,” he said. Vasko has mailed brochures as a way to generate interest, but, he said, the guild doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Abe said she attended an April 29 talk by Bishop Andrew Cozzens, “Building on the Firm Foundation of Jesus to Stand Against the Storms of Secularism.” She recalled hearing about the need for Catholic businesses and Catholic values, and not being afraid to stand up for those values. “It was just a very inspiring, very encouraging talk,” she said. As a business owner, Vasko said it was a priority to treat employees the way he would want to be treated. “And we would try to limit overtime to a reasonable amount,” he said, to make sure employees were there for their families. Vasko, who attended 6:45 a.m. Mass weekdays at a St. Paul church near his office, said the business donated 10% of its profits to charity.
Dirk Meyer, 29, a paris St. Peter in Mendota, earn in civil engineering in 20 while, he felt called to so different, and in 2016 ser missionary with the Fello of Catholic University Stu full-time at the Naval Aca Annapolis, Maryland, lea studies, meeting with mi for one-on-one peer men helping lead retreats. He worked briefly at c pregnancy center Wood Options for Women, wh of the owners is a guild Learning Meyer’s backg the owner recommende become part of the guil another guild member h Meyer find a job as a de driver for Amazon. He l found his current job at Engineering in Northfie through its owner and g member, Jeremy Baer. “(The guild) really help to find work that fits my and, also, find a compan really good values and a company culture, too,” h The guild’s spiritual of varied, including Mass, e
WITHFAITH
AUGUST 12, 2021 • 7B
Catholics in the workplace “I think it (Leading with Faith program) helps bring visibility to faith and work, and the connection between faith and work and how important it is, and even more so with what’s been going on in the world,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about that. You can’t separate your faith from your work life. And, I think that happens a lot. We compartmentalize. But, I think this (program) brings visibility to the idea that they are one and the same.” Now in its 19th year, the Leading with Faith program is preparing for a new chapter. Starting next year, it will transition from the oversight of The Catholic Spirit and will be run by the St. Joseph Guild, whose director, Roger Vasko, received a Leading with Faith Award in 2004. Vasko was part of the largest group of winners the program has seen — 17 (including a set of three brothers nominated together). One thing that has sustained the program for nearly two decades is awardees’ efforts to nominate others they know who lead with faith. Many have continued to attend the awards luncheons, and some have helped with nominee selection and event planning. One of them is Linda Harmon, who won the award in 2014, and right away turned around to offer her time and talent to keep the program going. She has sponsored tables at subsequent awards luncheons, served on the selection committee for two years, and coordinated nominations for people in her parish, St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, including one of this year’s winners, Stephanie Waite, an executive assistant at Medtronic. Waite will be the ninth member of St. John the Baptist to
receive the award. “To recognize people who are bringing Christ to the workplace is important for people to see,” said Harmon, a financial adviser who owns and operates her own business. “I’m passionate about it (and) it’s right here on my keyboard. Bev Aplikowski, who was a Leading with Faith winner, gave this to me probably eight or nine years ago. It’s a bookmark. It says: ‘When God gets a grip on our lives, nothing remains untouched.’” Another winner who continues to give back is Joe Kueppers, who won in 2007 and currently serves on the selection committee. At the time, he was an attorney with his own law practice. Now, he is the chancellor for civil affairs for the archdiocese. “The candidates are getting better and better, just amazing people in the community that are being nominated for the awards,” he said. “And, it’s a tough decision. The committee puts in a lot of time and effort into … determining the winners. So, it’s been an honor to have won it back in 2007 and then work on the nominating (selection) committee in recent years. It’s a great inspiration to me and my faith because these people are so devout, so inspiring as Catholics in the community. We’re really blessed to have these people in our community, and it’s great that we’re honoring them because they certainly deserve some recognition.” Zyskowski no longer has a hands-on role in Leading with Faith, but he continues to follow the program from his home near Green Bay, Wisconsin, and he stays in touch with those who have been a part of it. “These are people who were doing really good things, and we were able to shine a spotlight on them for at least a little while,” he said. “And, that makes it all worthwhile.”
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HONOREES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5B
2009
Bruce Koehn, General Manager Brownsworth, Inc., Plymouth Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Larry Lawinger, CEO/Owner Lawinger Consulting, LCI, St. Paul St. Vincent de Paul, Osseo Jean Delaney Nelson, SVP/CIO Securian Financial Group, Inc., St. Paul St. Michael, Stillwater Ted Brausen, President Brausen Enterprises, Inc., Roseville St. Joseph, Lino Lakes Thomas C. Frazer, Owner/Manager Frazer Automotive Service, White Bear Lake St. Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake James D. Hegland Financial Representative Foster, Klima and Company, LLC, Minneapolis Holy Family, St. Louis Park Deanna and Jeff Lichtscheidl Owners/Managers Forest Lake Cycle and Skate, Forest Lake St. Peter, Forest Lake Steve Long, Manager/Master Electrician Kilian Electric Co., St. Michael St. Michael, St. Michael Allison Boisvert, Social Justice Minister Pax Christi Catholic Community, Eden Prairie Pax Christi & Kateri Tekakwitha, Eden Prairie Joe Cavanaugh, CEO Youth Frontiers, Inc., Minneapolis St. Joan of Arc, Minneapolis Anne Marie Hansen, President & Founder Gianna Homes, Plymouth & Minnetonka Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Joyce Renee Norals, VP & Chief Human Resources Officer Lutheran Social Services, St. Paul St. Olaf, Minneapolis Dave and Mary Standing Outreach Coordinator/Resource Coordinator PROLIFE Across America, Roseville “The Billboard People” St. Charles Borromeo, Minneapolis
2010
Jim Cahill, Founder and President Marketing Roundtables, Inc., Burnsville St. Bonaventure, Bloomington Edward and Kathy Gorman Owners/Operators Gorman’s Restaurant, Lake Elmo Blessed Sacrament, St. Paul
COURTESY LISA MATTSON, MATTSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Seven members of the St. Joseph Business Guild network at the inaugural meeting Oct. 22, 2019, before dinner and a presentation by guild chaplain, Father Byron Hagan. Fifty-five members attended the first meeting. adoration and Benediction at many quarterly meetings, spiritual resources on its website, virtual Saturday morning prayer via iBreviary and speakers at quarterly dinner meetings, many of whom address spiritual topics. A recent speaker was Joe Masek, executive director of the Cana Family Institute. The nonprofit institute, which began in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2012, offers programming to build a strong family life. Meyer has participated in guild spiritual events such as adoration, Mass and a talk at a parish in northeast Minneapolis about “living our holiness in our work.”
In addition to the networking being “super helpful,” he values the community aspect of the guild in “striving to be saints in our daily lives.” “That’s very apparent,” Meyer said. “And it’s really inspiring to be a part of a group that’s striving after that.” “I would say the guild is much more than just a network and a directory,” Abe said, “even though that in of itself is a powerful thing.” Overall, “it’s a community,” she said. Learn more about the St. Joseph Business Guild, view its business directory or apply for membership at sjbusinessguild.com.
Dr. Thomas Keane Jr. DDS, Oral Surgeon Esthesia Oral Surgery Care, Bloomington Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Paul Piazza Sr., President/Owner Minnesota Produce, Inc., Minneapolis Our Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis John Kelly, Vice President Tax UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka St. Joseph, West St. Paul Emery Koenig, Senior Vice President Cargill, Wayzata St. Joseph, Waconia Patricia Washatka, VP Control Services Prudential Insurance St. Michael, St. Michael Margaret Ahles, Administrative Assistant St. Jerome, St. Paul St. Jerome, Maplewood
St. Joseph Hospital/HealthEast Care System, St. Paul Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Robert Wills, Manager Teen Center, Sharing and Caring Hands and Mary’s Place, Minneapolis St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park
2011
Bob Balk, Owner St. George Catholic Books & Gifts, Blaine St. Paul, Ham Lake William S. Bojan Jr., Founder and CEO Integrated Governance Solutions, Bloomington St. Hubert, Chanhassen Jackie Jacobs Gibney President and Co-Owner Jacobs Marketing, Minneapolis St. Therese, Deephaven Jim Reinhardt, Owner Minnesota Rehabilitation Services, Burnsville Holy Family, St. Louis Park Robert J. Strachota, President Shenehon Company, Minneapolis Our Lady of Grace, Edina Martin D. Schutz, Attorney and Partner Flower and Schutz, New Brighton St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Paul Leighton, Partner North Star Financial, Minneapolis St. John Neumann, Eagan Larry LeJeune, Chairman and CEO LeJeune Investment, Minneapolis St. Bartholomew, Wayzata Mark Dienhart, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer University of St. Thomas, St. Paul Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul Richard R. Engler, President/Principal Cretin-Derham Hall High School, St. Paul St. John Neumann, Eagan Gay L. Jacobson, Operations Director Metro Cable Network, Minneapolis Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights John LeBlanc, Director of Development, Marketing and Communications St. Therese of New Hope and Oxbow Lake, New Hope Christ the King, Minneapolis
2012
Dr. Stephen Dalseth, Owner Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Apple Valley Church of the Risen Savior, Burnsville Angela Mannella-Hoffman, Owner/Artistic Director, Moore Than Dance, Fridley St. Charles Borromeo, St Anthony William Schroeder, Co-Owner, Marketing and Dealer Contact SuperMax Tools, Eagan, Minneapolis Holy Family, St. Louis Park Warren Weber, Co-Owner, Product Development/Tech Support SuperMax Tools, Eagan, Minneapolis Corpus Christi, Roseville Yvonne Houle-Gillard Consumer/Office I.T. Manager, 3M, St. Paul St. Peter, Mendota Kenneth M. Schaefer Senior Vice President/ Chief Lending Officer University National Bank, St. Paul Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul Joe Clubb, Group Director Mental Health/Addiction Services HealthEast, St. Joseph Hospital, St. Paul St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Minneapolis
Marilou Eldred, President Catholic Community Foundation, St. Paul Assumption, St. Paul
Steven E. Koop, M.D. Medical Director/Physician Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul St. Rita, Cottage Grove
Phyllis Novitski, RN, Executive Lead/ Associate Administrator
PLEASE TURN TO HONOREES ON PAGE 12B
LEADINGWITHFAITH
8B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
PAUL KUHRMEYER President, Innovo Automation Centerville Age: 60 Parish: Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Spouse: Ursula Children: Christopher, 32; Andrew, 30; Hans, 25 Education: University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas Number of years with company: 5.5
processing, industrial/manufacturing, municipalities and recreation.
Q Describe your position and role. A I am the owner of the company,
but my business card says “general manager.” This means that in our unique organization, I am responsible for oversight of financials, production, strategy, personnel, work-flow and communications.
Q How do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?
Paul Kuhrmeyer has seen God at work in his family, employees and in his own prayers. He says leading with faith in the workplace means being rooted in Christian values and Catholic doctrine, and “every quote, invoice, phone call, email and meeting is linked to faithbased communications fastened to morals, integrity and respect.” A convert to Catholicism, Kuhrmeyer also serves on the Cathedral Heritage Foundation, as a University of St. Thomas Catholic Studies board member, a lector at his parish, volunteer with Catholic Charities and an auxiliary member of the Order of Malta.
A Owning a small business is not easy.
Q Describe your business.
Q Please tell a story about a time
A We are a full-service systems
integrator. This means that our organization of 10 employees can design, draw, program, build, install, and service electronic controls that manage and monitor operations of specialty production or processing equipment. Our markets include food
AUGUST 12, 2021
We have experienced a great deal of stress over the past four years. Most mornings, I come into work early (prior to any other employees) and pray the rosary or the Chaplet of Mercy. This has become my special time to speak with our Lord on timely and relevant items facing our business. I try to interpret the prudence I receive directly to our employees as examples of perseverance, patience, stamina and optimism. In turn, this has generated new customers and a culture centered around confidence and gratitude. when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
A We are a family business with all
members contributing in various ways. Our collective prayers related to the business have been answered many times. We all feel the Holy Spirit working in our daily activities and
HillCongratulations Murray 2X6.75 to Hill-Murray Alum (Class of 1981) Dr. James Koller
He’s a 2021 recipient of The Catholic Spirit’s Leading With Faith Award.
Paul Kuhrmeyer with his son Hans.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A Clearly the development of a
we try to relay instances of divine intervention to our employees as often as possible. This is part of our strategic objective to evangelize and spread the word of God’s good work to all employees.
comprehensive, updated strategy was long overdue. This has guided our business for over four years now and is working well. We have also changed our name to Innovo Automation, hired scrupulous employees, and shifted our primary market focus to industrial/ fabricators.
Q Who or what has inspired
you to bring your faith to the “marketplace”?
Q In what specific ways have you
A Originally, my parents are
responsible for my solid Christian values. We attended church every Sunday and worshipped God faithfully. Additionally, my wife, Ursula, has been instrumental in cultivating my journey. Then, I witnessed a woman praying at St. Agnes long after the Mass had ended back in the spring of 2012. I received this incident as a sign to examine my faith more deeply. Was this woman the Virgin Mary? I believe so. Then in the fall of the same year, I participated in the RCIA program at the Cathedral and my sponsor was (“Practicing Catholic” radio show host) Patrick Conley. He was also very motivating. Finally, my three sons have also converted to Catholicism and together, we have all adopted an unyielding love of the faith.
Q
What achievement at work are you most proud of?
experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A We witness God’s presence
through the gift of dedicated, focused employees, who are honest and respectful at all times. We have also enhanced our customer base significantly over the past three years. This is clearly a divine intervention. But most importantly, the gift of working with my family and growing a business in a harmonious manner is the ultimate indication of God’s presence.
Q What advice do you have for
others who want to lead with faith?
A Be transparent, encourage faith
discussions among all employees, uphold moral convictions and embody faith in your vision, mission, purpose and core values — always.
Congratulations Sheila Oliver
We thank you for your many years of service and dedication to our parish community.
The Catholic Spirit wants to hear your take. Letters to the Editor should be limited to 150 words and sent to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line. Please include your name, parish and daytime phone number in case we need to contact you.
In addition, thank you KMSP/Fox 9 for your partnership in broadcasting our weekly livestream Sunday Mass at Noon.
www.olgparish.org
952-929-3317
LEADINGWITHFAITH
AUGUST 12, 2021
TIM MILNER
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9B
Q What does “leading with faith”
Owner: JIT Powder Coating Company Farmington
mean to you?
Age: 61
your neighbor as yourself” in all aspects of my life, but especially in our business. I believe that people learn as much, if not more, by observing actions than by just listening to words. It is important that a business owner visibly shows what is important in life through their actions and words. Witnessing one’s faith that way hopefully allows others to come to know the Lord better — or maybe even to decide to let the Lord enter into their lives.
Parish: Assumption, St. Paul Spouse: Donna Children: Sarah, 37; Stephanie, 33; Paul, 32; Matt, 31 Education: University of St. Thomas Number of years with company: 28 Tim Milner sees God in the faces of those with whom he works, and counts helping a long-time employee through a debilitating bout with COVID-19 as one example of living out his faith in the workplace. His proudest work achievement is getting his company and its employees through the Great Recession, the pandemic and other financial challenges. He serves on several trade association boards. At his parish, he is a lector, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, hospitality minister and a mentor couple leader. A council member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, he is serving as the Northern Lieutenancy webmaster and North American communications manager.
A I try to apply Jesus’ teaching “love
Q How do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?
A This is a hard question to answer.
Q Describe your business.
I really don’t apply my faith any differently at work than what I do everywhere else in my life. Too many businesses focus solely on the financial outcomes, not recognizing the value of the people working in the business. I just want everyone to be treated with kindness and respect, and be appreciated for who they are and what they do for the business. I believe that if the owner shows that, the rest of the organization will, too.
A JIT Powder Coating Company
Q Please tell a story about a time
provides metal finishing services to a variety of manufacturers in the greater Twin City Metro Area. Powder coating is an environmentally friendly way to apply a paint to a metal surface for both decorative and rust prevention. As of June 2021, JIT employs 67 people with average production wages of $22 an hour with health and other benefits supported by the company.
Q Describe your position and role. A I am the business founder and owner. My role is key account management, new project engineering and strategic planning. Currently, I am focused on mentoring the next generation of leadership as part of a succession plan.
Tim Milner with Ann Franson, vice president of finance and administration.
when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
A Something very recent. We had an
older, long-time employee contract COVID-19 near the start of the pandemic. He spent (more than) 30 days on a ventilator. He is still slowly recovering and may not be able to return to work. But during his time away, we paid him his full wages, helped him get short-term disability, helped with doctor and medical bills, and supported his family. His wife came in just a few weeks ago to sign some papers for long-term disability. She thanked us for “saving his life.” We obviously did not save his life — his health care teams did that. But it made everyone proud that our business
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
was able to make such a huge impact for a family in their time of need.
than anything else, this is my biggest source of pride.
Q Who or what has inspired you to
Q In what specific ways have you
bring your faith to the “marketplace?”
A It’s not so much as inspired as it was
a natural outflowing of how I was raised. Parents who were very faith and family focused, always ready to volunteer at St. Joseph in West St. Paul. Teachers at St. Thomas Academy and St. Thomas College who encouraged living a faithful life serving others. My chemistry lab partner who became my wonderful wife. It created a foundation that I have simply chosen to continue in my business career.
Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?
A In JIT’s history, through some very
difficult times (bankruptcy of our largest customer, 9-11, the recession in 2008, COVID-19), we have been able to avoid layoffs and made sure that every employee continued to receive their weekly wages and their benefits. More
experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A I see God’s presence at JIT every day
in the faces of the people working here. Seeing how they work together and treat each other. How they enjoy each other. How they work hard to overcome the daily challenges at work and in life. For me, that is the fruit of God’s love made possible through his divine presence in each one of us in the workplace he has helped me create.
Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?
A Leading in faith and being successful
in business are NOT mutually exclusive! You can do both! It truly does not cost you anything to lead in faith. Plus, the blessings from Our Lord that we receive in doing so are truly amazing!
TS
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10B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
SHEILA OLIVER Senior vice president, general manager, KMSP Fox 9 / WFTC Fox 9+ Eden Prairie Age: 61 Parish: Our Lady of Grace, Edina
AUGUST 12, 2021
our business, while maintaining our important role in bringing news and information to the general public in the Twin Cities.
Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?
A It’s pretty simple — I believe in
Spouse: Bill Children: Madeleine, 30; Nick, 25 Education: Michigan State University Number of years with company: 19 (Editor’s note: Oliver was recently promoted to run the Fox owned-and-operated stations located in Seattle, so the following applies up to May 24.) As the general manager of local television stations concerned about the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives, Sheila Oliver led with faith by bringing recorded Masses and church services into people’s homes and workplaces. In the aftermath of the policeinvolved death of George Floyd last year, she began a “Voices for Change” program that still continues. She is on the board of trustees of Sioux YMCA and once served on the general board of YMCA Twin Cities. She also served on the parish stewardship council from 2010-2017, and she was a visiting extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Aurora, an assisted living center in Edina, from 2016-2020.
Q
Describe your position and role in your business.
A I manage two television stations,
KMSP, Fox 9 and WFTC, Fox 9+, which are Fox owned-and-operated stations, located in the Twin Cities, which have a reach that extends to Wisconsin and northern and southern Minnesota, including Brainerd. There are 175 employees at Fox 9 and Fox 9+. Between the two stations we air 72 hours per week of local news and programming, as well as producing digital news and livestream news on our digital platforms. As the SVP/GM, I have the honor and responsibility to create an employee culture and strategic focus on growing
servant leadership and humility on the job and understanding the role that each person plays in accomplishing great things. Each and every employee is equally important in getting the job done well.
Q How did you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?
Sheila Oliver at the Fox Station in Eden Prairie.
A When the pandemic struck, I became
aware that people had lost an important connection with their faith, the physical church and Mass, which was something that at the same time was so necessary to help us navigate uncertain waters and fearful times. The once normal ability to visit our places of worship was taken away so suddenly. My role as a eucharistic minister at Aurora in Edina taught me that especially in an individual’s twilight years, the sacrament of the Eucharist is so important. And in March 2020, the world changed and so did this important part of life. I made the decision that rather than air three hours of paid programming advertising on Sundays as we always had, we should turn the programming over to our religious communities, free of charge. The people at Our Lady of Grace, especially Ben Franske, made this decision easy because he had already designed and implemented the livestream that aired at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays. We simply grabbed that livestream on tape and played it over the TV airwaves at noon on Sundays. It was fun because at the beginning, I picked up the tape from Ben at 10:30 a.m. from the church and “cycled” it to Fox 9 for the airing at noon on Fox 9+. (That’s an oldschool way of getting shows on the air!) The result was that early on in March of 2020, families could gather with
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
their loved ones, and those who were suddenly in lock-down could watch Our Lady of Grace’s Mass on their television conveniently. It made it easier for those who are not as technically savvy but also allowed many people to gather before a bigger screen. Other church communities were contacted and they volunteered their livestream, including St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Stillwater and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, creating a three-hour “faith” block on Sundays.
Q Tell a story about a time when
living out your faith made a difference at work.
A After the murder of George Floyd, I
realized that I was in a position to make a difference in helping to create a voice for racial injustice in our community. We reach a lot of people on a daily basis. At Fox 9, we formed a campaign called “Voices for Change” which continues today. This program helps to give voice to people of color in our community and to bridge the communication gap and inform our viewers about important issues surrounding diversity and
inclusion. There are special segments, promotional spots and documentaries that support the overall campaign. We have planned a town meeting to take place in the fall to include important local minority leaders.
Q In what specific way have you
experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A During the last year there were so
many signs that God played a role in something that ultimately turned out well that, at first, didn’t look that way. Timing is never something that we can control, as we know. I think if you asked the Fox 9 folks, they would tell you that in many ways 2020 was one of the best, in a different way, an unexpected way. We came together as a work family more than ever before.
Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?
A Humility is underrated and the truth will set you free. Always be looking for the angels in your midst.
Congratulations to our parishioner
Stephanie Waite
Medtronic on receiving a 2021 Leading With Faith Award
The local members of
We are proud of you!
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Congratulate Our Members Dan Delmore and Tim Milner on their Leading With Faith Awards
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AUGUST 12, 2021
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11B
STEPHANIE WAITE Executive administrative assistant at Medtronic Minneapolis Age: 64 Parish: St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Spouse: The late Mark Waite Children: Jennifer, 51; Jeannie, 49; Sueann, 47; Melanie, 39; Melissa, 37; Ronald 36 Education: Bethel University Number of years with company: 19 Stephanie Waite prays for coworkers’ needs, believes her job helps change lives and gives thanks to God in all things. She is a sacristan at her parish, a member of the Altar Guild, chairs the annual golf tournament and turkey dinner, is a Reach More group facilitator and core team member of a devoted women’s group. She also is co-chair of her parish’s efforts this fall regarding the Archdiocesan Synod.
Stephanie Waite works on her computer at home.
Q Describe your business. A At Medtronic, we believe in the
power of medical technology to improve lives. Seven decades ago, our co-founder, Earl Bakken, invented the battery-powered pacemaker. Today, we are among the largest medical device companies in the world. With operations in 150 countries, our products treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, cranial and spine robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems and more. Our therapies help 72 million people a year and support our mission to alleviate pain, restore health and extend life.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
by asking the Holy Spirit every morning through my prayer and most appropriately the Morning Offering — “you are the source of every grace and blessing, … I offer you my prayers, works, joys and suffering of this day …” and that trust always placed me at the right time to share the Good News.
Q How do you concretely apply your Q Who or what has inspired faith and Catholic values at work?
A As an administrative assistant, I
President of Sales, the Regional Vice President for the Midwest and their teams for the Cardiac Rhythm Business.
have the ability to make arrangements for meeting space so we could gather at our lunch hour to share the Gospel. As a coworker, I feel that (in) helping people to achieve their work responsibilities, we must help each other get things done and especially when someone doesn’t know where to go or what process to use to get the job accomplished.
Q What does “leading with faith”
Q Please tell a story about a time
Q Describe your position and role. A I support the US West Area Vice
mean to you?
A Leading with faith means to always
find Christ in the work you do whether you are at home, work or at play. We take for granted daily what gifts have been given to us from God, but I would always try and see opportunities
allow God to help you make difficult decisions. We often would pray by my cube because I had my tiny shrine there with my Catholic calendar (with the saint(s) of the day to intercede), prayer cards and a rosary to use if needed. It offered a visual place to remind us of who is actually in charge.
when living out your faith at work really made a difference.
A One of my coworkers was struggling
with a personal problem and I would offer prayer and consolation, but most of all I would continue to remind her that prayer will provide the answers and
you to bring your faith to the “marketplace”?
A Believe that for everything we
must give thanks to God, and that includes our day at work. On my first pilgrimage, we learned so much about the great teachers of our faith so deeply because we went to where they prayed, built and lived — and every moment was for God and this struck me so deeply and I began to form my own need to remember every day is a gift, to be thankful and allow him to give me abounding compassion to do my best work.
Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?
A My ability to be inclusive; I never
want anyone to feel left out or unloved.
Gabriel Corona & Alma Moreno Owners of Los Padres Sts. Joachim and Anne, Shakopee
Celebrating
our Leading with Faith
honorees with us.
Daniel Delmore Gearty-Delmore Funeral Chapels, Inc. Owner and Funeral Director St. Bartholomew, Wayzata
Paul Kuhrmeyer Innovo Automation Owner Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Tim Milner J. I. T. Powder Coating Company Owner and President Assumption, St. Paul
Dr. James Koller James Koller Family Dental Owner and Dentist St. Peter, North St. Paul
The Catholic Spirit celebrated our Leading with Faith honorees Aug. 11 with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Bernard Hebda at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, followed by an ice cream social.
Q In what specific ways have you
experienced God’s presence in your workplace?
A At Medtronic, we have a mission
that speaks volumes for people with a range of health issues, and their testimonies are proof that every day you are helping people achieve a better tomorrow. During our annual company holiday party, we actually have patients come in and tell their story, and there is never a dry eye — this helps drive each of our employees to understand that you don’t need to be the surgeon or doctor, but you can be anyone that helped provide in ANY way through the work you do to save and improve their lives.
Q What advice do you have for
others who want to lead with faith?
A Always pray to start your day asking God to give you what you need to do HIS Will in your day, and always thank God at the end of your day for the successes and the things you learned from. “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.” St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
Sheila Oliver Senior Vice President and General Manager of KCPQ Q13 Seattle, Washington; formerly of KMSP – Fox 9 Local News Our Lady of Grace, Edina Stephanie Waite Medtronic Executive Assistant and Sales Project Manager St. John the Baptist, New Brighton
LEADINGWITHFAITH
AUGUST 12, 2021
HONOREES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7B
Roger & Karen Millner President and Vice President M & M Bus Service, Inc., Annandale St. Ignatius, Annandale
Paul Martodam, CEO (retired) Catholic Charities, St. Paul & Minneapolis St. John Neumann, Eagan
Robley Evans, Director of Business Affairs St. Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights St. Joseph, West St. Paul
Charlotte (Cappy) Moore Social Justice Coordinator St. Patrick, Edina
Jeremy Stanbary Founder/Executive Director Epiphany Studio Productions/ Open Window Theatre, Inver Grove Heights St. Joseph, West St. Paul
2013
Jeff Berg, President/Owner Integrated Wealth Advisors, Edina Holy Family, St Louis Park
John Barrett, COO Davanni’s, St. Paul Holy Spirit, St .Paul
Rick DesLauriers, Founder/President Recruiters of Minnesota, Minnetonka St. Therese, Deephaven
Dr. Peter Daly, Medical Director Summit Orthopedics, Woodbury Lumen Christi, St. Paul
Dan & Barb Massman, Station Owners KDWA Radio, Hastings St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings
Jeff Wertz, Senior VP & National Sales Manager TCF Equipment Finance, Minnetonka St. Bartholomew, Wayzata
Christopher Zeman Vice President/Co-Owner Zeman Construction Co. Inc., Golden Valley St. Joseph, New Hope
2015
Paul Archambault, Owner Stinson Electric, Inc., New Brighton St. Olaf, Minneapolis
Jim & Debbie Hannigan, Owners J & J Distributing, St. Paul Assumption, St. Paul Tim Rethlake, Sales Training Vice President Hearth & Home Technologies, Minneapolis & St. Paul All Saints, Lakeville Marguerite Dummer Dean of Health Sciences Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie St. Joseph, Waconia
Cary Becker, Owner Becker Building & Remodeling LLC, New Brighton St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Robert Du Fresne, President & CEO Du Fresne Manufacturing Company, Vadnais Heights St. Genevieve, Centerville
Mike Haasl Global Solidarity Coordinator Mission Office, Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis St. Gerard Magella, Brooklyn Park
Jose Angel Martinez, Branch Manager US Bank, St. Paul St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Mark Mischke, Registered Representative Mischke – Mischke & Associates, Eagan Lumen Christi, St. Paul
Tom Redman Director of Parks & Recreation, City of Chaska Guardian Angels, Chaska
William (Bill) Sonntag, Owner Abbey Suburban Floor Covering, White Bear Lake St. Pius X, White Bear Lake, and St. Peter, North St. Paul
Rosemary Rockwell, Vice President Birthright of Minneapolis St. Richard, Richfield
James (Jim) Zenk, President & Owner SYNERGY HomeCare, Woodbury Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul
2014
John E. Cleveland, Partner The Cleveland Company, Bloomington St. Therese, Deephaven Linda Harmon, Financial Advisor/Co-Owner Harmon & Hartmon Financial Group, LLC, St. Paul St. John the Baptist, New Brighton
2016
Steven M. Arndorfer, Owner SMA Construction, Inc., Hugo St. John the Baptist, New Brighton
The Staff of The Catholic Cemeteries congratulates
Dan Delmore as a recipient of the 2021 “Leading With Faith” award and thank him for his wit, wisdom and support to us and the families we serve.
Where remembrance begins catholic-cemeteries.org | 651.228.9991
Welcome back! backtomassmn.org
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 12B
Roger Bona, Owner/President (retired) St. Anthony Mobil, St. Anthony Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights Father Marty Fleming Founder & Chairman Emeritus Trinity Sober Homes, St. Paul St. Olaf, Minneapolis LaDonna Hoy Executive Director & Founder Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners (IOCP), Plymouth St. Bartholomew, Wayzata Kathleen Groh, Regional Director Ignatian Volunteer Corps St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi Dan Moran Senior Financial Advisor Managing Director, Wealth Management, Merrill Lynch, Bloomington Our Lady of Grace, Edina
2018
Mike Bangasser, President-Owner Best Technology Inc., Plymouth Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Luke Cahill, Managing Principal REAL Insight Inc., Minneapolis St. John the Baptist, Savage Timothy Mezzenga, Owner Tracy Printing, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Michael Naughton, Director Center for Catholic Studies University of St. Thomas, St. Paul Holy Spirit, St. Paul Dr. Mary Paquette, MD, Physician AALFA Family Clinic, White Bear Lake St. Joseph, West St. Paul Joe Seidel, Teacher St. Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights St. Thomas More, St. Paul
Robert Murphy, Chairman Japs-Olson Co., Minneapolis St. Olaf, Minneapolis
Joe Stanislav, President/CEO Our Lady of Peace, St. Paul Transfiguration, Oakdale
2017
2019
Julie & Tom Hurley, President & Co-Owner, Preferred Management, St. Paul St. Joseph, West St. Paul Kieran McNulty, Professor University of Minnesota St. Michael, Stillwater John Norris, President/CEO Atscott Manufacturing & Tower Solutions, Pine City St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Rosemarie Reger-Rumsey Executive Director, Listening House, St. Paul Assumption, St. Paul Matt Saxe, Owner Saxe Chevrolet Buick, Belle Plaine Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine Robert Stefani Wealth Management Advisor Northwestern Mutual, Minneapolis Holy Trinity, South St. Paul David Tucci Executive Director, Owner/Operator, Consolidated Sales Network Dunn Brothers Coffee, New Brighton St. John the Baptist, New Brighton
Emily & Elliot Benincasa, Owners (retired) Emily’s F&M Café, Minneapolis St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove and St. Bridget, Minneapolis Steve Blum, Chief Financial Officer Star Bank, Eden Prairie St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Dr. Richard Endris, Chiropractor/Doctor Endris Chiropractic, St. Paul St. Joseph, West St. Paul Vicky Iacarella, Creative Director Target Corp., Minneapolis Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Minneapolis, and St. Olaf, Minneapolis Mark Novitzki, President Premier Banks, St. Paul St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Dr. Michael G. Richie, MD Owner and Medical Director, Richie Eye Clinic and Crossroads Surgery Center, Faribault Divine Mercy, Faribault John E. Trojack, JD, Owner/Attorney Trojack Law Office, P.A., St. Paul St. Agnes, St. Paul
Congratulations and Thank you to the 2019 Leading With Faith award recipients Emily & Elliot Benincasa Vicky Iacarella Steve Blum Mark Novitzki Dr. Richard Endris Michael G. Richie, MD John E. Trojack, JD
Matt Saxe Chevrolet Buick 909 Enterprise Drive • Belle Plaine, MN 56011 952-873-2234 • www.saxechevybuick.com Hours: Monday and Thursday 8:00 am – 8:00pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00 am – 6:00pm Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00pm
AUGUST 12, 2021
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9A
FAITH+CULTURE ‘Someone’s got to stand up for what’s right for kids’ By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit This summer Melissa Dan officially took the helm as president of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, a position that brought the longtime educator back to her home state after a decade away — and close to her parents, in-laws and best friends from grade school, the now-closed Holy Childhood in St. Paul. A mother and a member of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, Dan is eager to implement the school’s new strategic plan.
Q What excites you about the new strategic plan?
A It’s very student-focused. A key
component is transformational learning — where you’re transformed by the learning, you’re inspired to keep learning, not just regurgitate information. We’re big proponents of project-based learning that lets kids go deeper on certain subjects. Research shows that experiential learning is crucial for the adolescent brain. We provide this in every subject.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Q That’s a worthy goal, but it’s not
psychologist on staff full-time. Having her expertise is great.
easy to do in a busy school day!
that’s not OK. You’re not going to be your best when you come here the next morning.
A We’re on a modified block schedule,
Q Would you consider setting a policy to limit homework?
initiatives or beef up current programs to bolster student wellness?
A The homework here is
A We’ll be prioritizing that and likely
with one day a week allowing for all seven classes in shorter periods. We also have time built into our week — four of the five days — for WIN time, which stands for What I Need. It’s an open 35-minute period when you can work on a club, get academic help or delve deeper on something. Making sure we give kids time every day to dive into their passion projects is crucial.
Q That sounds like Google’s 20
percent policy — which was predated by 3M’s 15 percent policy, a tradition that gave birth to innovations like the Post-It Note!
A It gives the students more
ownership. It also helps ward off burnout.
Q Wellness is a cornerstone of your strategic plan.
A The health and wellness of our
teenagers is now more critical than it ever has been. We educate the whole child. I want our students to know we prioritize academic growth, but just as important is your physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. In order to do that, the kids need to see adults prioritizing that in our lives, not running around from meeting to meeting, stressed. If they see me on a walk during my lunch break or when they see us praying, that’s a good example. We want them to learn in these most formative years what it’s like to feel good, to feel healthy and to feel confident.
Q I hear from high schoolers who are up till midnight doing homework.
A We have a Benedictine tradition and
balance is a key value. We talk about it a lot. If you’re staying up till midnight,
developmentally appropriate and meaningful. Our students remind us if it gets to be too much, and the teachers work well together to adjust. One of the first indicators of a healthy school is looking at how much the kids are sleeping. That’s one of the first questions we ask them at the beginning of the school year.
Q Where do well-intentioned
Catholic high schools go astray, when it comes to developing the whole student?
A There’s a lot of competition in
schools. I’ve seen schools go astray when they’re communicating to their students that they’re a commodity, that it’s about their grades and where they go to college. It becomes a race to nowhere. You’re not your poor test performance. I think the key is resilience, teaching kids to persevere. Grit. That’s why I was so interested in the Hill-Murray position. There’s a grit that is part of Hill-Murray’s DNA. I’ve seen that lacking in a lot of kids.
develop some new initiatives. We’re looking at our curriculum to address that mind-body-soul connection across the board.
social media, it’s a Pandora’s Box. We only have a little bit of time to keep them young. I always tell parents: You won’t regret waiting. There’s research showing how it negatively impacts kids’ self-esteem. Someone’s got to stand up for what’s right for kids. I’ve had parents (at previous schools) who work for Google and high-tech companies, and their kids aren’t on social media because they’re well aware of the danger.
Q Social media is linked to mental
Q That tells you something!
Q Do you plan to create new
illness, especially with teens.
A We talk about social media a lot.
I’ve seen students getting cell phones at younger and younger ages. It can be a discipline issue, and at a private school we can hold kids accountable — it’s not acceptable to talk to their peers in certain ways. At larger public school districts, they have no chance of keeping up with that. We do role playing — let’s say you get this text from a boy. What do you do? We’re counseling them on social media.
Q Do you wish more parents would wait to provide phones?
A When you open up a cellphone to
A It does. You can start by providing a
phone with limited functionality and then scaffold technology, adding social media later.
Q What does self-care look like for you?
A I love to read! Right now I’m reading “The Rule of St. Benedict” and “Wake Up Grateful.” We bought a house in St. Paul, and we planted a pollinator garden. I’ve seen more butterflies in my backyard than I ever have before. On a Saturday, I like to dig in the dirt. That helps me relax. And I think that’s very Catholic: How are we using our environment?
Q Those pressures relate to mental
illness, which is a widespread issue among teens.
A I worry some of that is related, when
kids are on a race to nowhere with needless amounts of homework. We make sure they know their well-being is our priority, not how many APs they’re taking. We’ve done a number of surveys over the last few years, and they’re very frank in giving us their feedback, anonymously. We know what’s going on in their lives and how they’re feeling. Our counseling program continues to evolve. We have a clinical
It’s not divine intervention.
Did you know that most of The Catholic Spirit readers receive subscriptions through their parishes? To keep up-to-date on the Synod and other news and events in our local church, contact your parish office today!
10A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
AUGUST 12, 2021
FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER NICK FROEHLE
Mary’s Assumption: a sign of hope
In our first reading this weekend of Aug. 14-15, we experience the fantastic imagery found in Revelation 12, where a woman gives birth to her son, while the dragon stands by, waiting to devour the child. The son, however, is “caught up to God and his throne,” and “the woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God” (Rv 12:5b-6a). They both escape the grasp of the dragon! The woman, clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars, is revealed as a cosmic queen. Her child is destined to rule all the nations. Thus, the Church has fittingly seen this pairing as an image for Mary and her son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The dragon, an ancient image of Satan, stands waiting to destroy. Additionally, it is fitting to see in the image of the dragon all that Satan brings with him: sin, death, confusion, division. It is readily and easily acknowledged that Jesus Christ would rise above these things and conquer them. The rest of humanity, since Adam and Eve fell, however, had been in the grasp of Satan. Christ rescued us from Satan’s power through the cross. Unfortunately, we still struggle with sin, we experience the corruption of death, it is difficult to always discern the way forward with clarity, and there are often divisions among ourselves. Yet, the woman in Revelation 12 escapes the dragon entirely. She has a place prepared by God in the desert. Our Lady, through a singular
FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN
Marriage as a solemn covenant
The sacrament of marriage is a covenant between a husband and wife patterned on the covenant between God and the human race. God entered a pact with every living being through Noah after the flood (Gn 9:8-17). God promised to be faithful to the people of the earth, to love them and provide for them, and that it would be an “everlasting covenant” (Gn 9:16): perpetual, permanent and binding forever. God is reliable and true, and always upholds his side of the agreement, while the people, on the other hand, through their stubbornness, sins and failings, broke the covenant repeatedly. God was offended and disappointed, but instead of annulling the covenant, extended mercy and forgiveness out of his deep compassion. He provided a new beginning and reestablished the covenant. God cannot go against his divine nature. God is love and is ever faithful. The Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures provide a list of covenant renewals that confirm God’s faithfulness. The people would sin and break the covenant, and God would try again. After the people built the Tower of Babel (Gn 11), God renewed the covenant through Abram (Gn 15:17-18 and 17). Subsequently, God renewed the covenant with Moses at Mount Sinai (Ex 24:3-8), and after the people worshipped the golden calf, again with the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic law (Ex 34:10-26); with Joshua (Jos 24:16-28); David (2 Sm 7:8-17; 23:5); Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-34); and Ezekiel (Ez 36:24-28; 37:26). God’s constant and unshakable promise is this: “You will be my people, and I will be your God” (Ez 36:28b). Throughout history, God demonstrates continuous, never-ending, enduring love. Jesus is the final reestablishment of the covenant broken by previous generations. When he offered a cup of wine at the Last
privilege of grace, was preserved from the contagion of sin and its consequences. Thus, it is fitting that she also remains utterly free from the grasp of the dragon. The feast of the Assumption celebrates this fact with a particular focus on Mary being preserved even from the corruption of death. When her earthly life was completed, our Lord brought her immediately, body and soul, into the Heavenly Kingdom, to that place prepared for her by God. This is good news for us! For, our Lady experiences preemptively what we long for at the fulfillment of the age. St. Paul this weekend will talk about how “(Christ) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor 15:25-26). In this present day and age, we live still experiencing many effects of the Fall. Christ has come, conquering sin and death through his cross. The victory is his, yet the definitive fulfillment of this victory is not yet here. Mary serves as a sign of hope to us Christians now. Her preservation from sin was a foreshadowing of the grace of the cross; her Assumption serves as a foreshadowing of the bodily resurrection that we long for at the end of the age. As we celebrate Mary’s Assumption this weekend, we recall how the “Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people” (Preface for the Assumption), and we pray that we “through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom (Christ) assumed into heaven, we may be brought to the glory of the resurrection” (Prayer After Communion for the Assumption). On this feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, let us look to Mary so that we may remain hopeful in the Lord’s promise to guard and protect us from Satan’s grasp, and that the Lord will raise us up on the last day. Father Froehle is pastor of St. Michael in Farmington. He can be reached at pastor@stmichael-farmington.org.
Supper, Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20), and it was sealed with the blood that he shed on the cross. Jesus is the embodiment of the covenant, and he is constantly faithful to his bride, the Body of Christ, the Church (see Eph 5:25b-27, 32; Rv 19:7; 21:9). He is the definitive expression of God’s everlasting bond of love with every person. When a man and woman enter the sacrament of marriage, they establish a covenant of love that is sealed by God (Mk 10:9), and they pledge to be faithful to each other in the same way that God is always faithful. If one should ever violate the vows of marriage and sin, the other promises to show the mercy and compassion of God, extend forgiveness and renew the covenant. It is God’s desire that the covenant of marriage be indissoluble. The sacrament of marriage is a spiritual bond — a covenant, not a contract. A contract is written on paper, a covenant is written on the heart. A contract has fine print with terms and conditions, a covenant is unconditional. A contract is closed with signatures, a covenant is sealed with the spoken word. A contract is for a specific amount of time, a covenant is everlasting. A contract may have penalties if specific terms are not met, a covenant, when violated, extends forgiveness. A contract may have an escape clause, a covenant is binding forever. A contract is designed to protect one’s own rights, a covenant seeks what is best for the other person. A contract makes no mention of God, a covenant is based on faith in God. A contract relies on human energy, a covenant relies on grace. And a contract is executed before a civil official, a covenant is established before a minister who represents God. Sometimes people wonder whether God is faithful, because God is unseen. A married couple remaining true to their wedding promises is a visible witness of covenantal love. A wedding anniversary is an excellent time for the Church to reflect upon their fidelity, to celebrate the high ideals of marriage and to declare, “This couple is proof and a beautiful example of the eternal love of the God of the covenant.” Father Van Sloun recently retired as pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. This column is one in a series on the sacrament of marriage. Previous series on the Eucharist and confirmation can be found at TheCatholicSpirit.com.
KNOW the SAINTS ST. ROSE OF LIMA (1586-1617) Born in Lima, Peru, the infant Isabel de Flores got her more familiar name from an Indian maid who said she was “like a rose.” As a child, Rose was given to fasting and mortification. After her parents refused to let her enter the convent and she refused to marry, she lived at home in seclusion. At 20 she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, using a backyard hut for prayer and caring for poor children and sick elderly in a one-room infirmary in her parents’ home. She died at 31, and was declared the first saint from the Americas in 1671. She is the patroness of St. Rose of Lima parish in Roseville. Her feast day is Aug. 23. — Catholic News Service
DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Aug. 15 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab 1 Cor 15:20-27 Lk 1:39-56 Monday, Aug. 16 Jgs 2:11-19 Mt 19:16-22 Tuesday, Aug. 17 Jgs 6:11-24a Mt 19:23-30 Wednesday, Aug. 18 Jgs 9:6-15 Mt 20:1-16 Thursday, Aug. 19 Jgs 11:29-39a Mt 22:1-14 Friday, Aug. 20 St. Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church Ru 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22 Mt 22:34-40 Saturday, Aug. 21 St. Pius X, pope Ru 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17 Mt 23: 1-12 Sunday, Aug. 22 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32 Jn 6:60-69 Monday, Aug. 23 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10 Mt 23:13-22 Tuesday, Aug. 24 St. Bartholomew, apostle Rv 21:9b-14 Jn 1:45-51 Wednesday, Aug. 25 1 Thes 2:9-13 Mt 23: 27-32 Thursday, Aug. 26 1 Thes 3:7-13 Mt 24:42-51 Friday, Aug. 27 St. Monica 1 Thes 4:1-8 Mt 25:1-13 Saturday, Aug. 28 St. Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church 1 Thes 4:9-11 Mt 25:14-30 Sunday, Aug. 29 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Dt 4:1-2, 6-8 Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
FOCUSONFAITH
AUGUST 12, 2021
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11A
ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA | REBA LUIKEN
Ebb and flow of Catholic school buildings
Anwatin Middle School and Bryn Mawr Elementary sit at the western edge of Laurel Avenue in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis. Currently, they are part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. But a mosaic of St. Margaret of Scotland on the exterior of the building suggests a different history. In fact, the school building was opened in 1960 as St. Margaret’s Academy, a high school for girls run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. St. Margaret’s Academy was originally located in a pair of mansions at 1301 Linden Ave. in Minneapolis. Beginning in 1907, young ladies were prepared for life as well-educated housewives, mothers and women religious, studying music, drawing, foreign languages, history, English, religion, math and science. Although the mansions’ interiors were transformed into a space for training young women, many of the homes’ charms remained. When the sisters and approximately 420 students moved to their new building, they left behind rosewood paneling, tapestried walls, a ballroom, a mahogany staircase and tiled fireplaces. Lack of space was an ongoing issue in the older building, but the construction of Interstate 94 ultimately forced the move. Like many Catholic schools in the 1950s, St. Margaret’s needed more space to make room for more students. In 1950, seven new Catholic elementary schools opened across the then-Archdiocese of St. Paul. New schools and additions continued, but they could not keep up with the “baby boom.” Many Catholic schools dropped kindergarten and first grade classes altogether, sending those students to neighboring public schools. Similarly, there were not enough teaching sisters and nuns. Lay teachers had to be recruited. The need for more space in Catholic high schools came a few years later. In 1958, the archdiocese contributed a total of $1.8 million to expanding and building secondary schools. DeLaSalle, Benilde, Cretin and Our Lady of Peace high schools were expanded. Archbishop Murray School and St. Margaret’s were under construction. Four other high schools were being proposed, including Hill School for Boys. Still, new schools and classrooms struggled to keep up with an influx of new students. St. Margaret’s Academy followed the trend. When it opened in 1960 on the edge of Theodore Wirth Park, the new building featured 45 classrooms with space for 1,000 students, a chapel and a convent for 40 teaching nuns. It was designed by the same architect as nearby Benilde High School for boys. Ultimately, this made the Benilde building somewhat familiar to the young women who became part of the joint Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in 1974. By the 1970s, the growth trend had shifted. Catholic schools were facing a steep decline in enrollment, and Benilde and St. Margaret’s student bodies together barely filled Benilde’s St. Louis Park building. St. Margaret’s Minneapolis building had become
WHY DO CATHOLICS DO THAT? FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON
Lighting candles Q Why do Catholics light candles? A There are many instances in sacred
Scripture in which the Divine Presence is communicated by means of fire. These include the burning bush of Exodus, where God speaks to Moses in and through the fire that rages but does not consume, as well as the great battle on Mount Carmel between the prophet Elijah and the evil prophets of Baal, in which Elijah proclaims prior to victory that “the god
The Catholic Spirit asked our readers “What pilgrimage experience made a difference in your life and why?” The following is a selection of their responses. At Notre Dame Academy, our eighthgrade students participated in a threeday pilgrimage in April. Their amazing journey began at NDA with an early morning Mass with Father John Bauer, who also accompanied us on our trip. We then drove to Our Lady of Guadelupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. We enjoyed the beautiful grounds, amazing Votive Chapel, relics in the main chapel as well as its Memorial to the Unborn. We next traveled to Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin. We spent the following day immersing ourselves in the experience of Mary’s visit to Adele. Our group walked from the Church of St. Joseph into the shrine grounds while praying a rosary. We enjoyed Mass, adoration, confession and meditation in the crypt as well as purchased sacramentals, which Father John blessed for us. Our final day included time at the National Shrine of St. Joseph (so special during the year of St. Joseph) and a Mass and tour of the St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere. While on their pilgrimage, our NDA students enjoyed time for fellowship and fun, but, most significantly, they truly embraced the opportunity to get to know their faith and Jesus in a more personal way. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A mosaic depicting St. Margaret of Scotland is located on the exterior of a building that was formerly St. Margaret’s Academy run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, before the girls school merged in 1974 with the all-boys Benilde High School in St. Louis Park. superfluous. Other schools followed a similar pattern. After Hill High School merged with Murray in 1971, its building became Mounds Park Academy. Derham Hall merged with Cretin in 1987, and Expo Magnet School moved in. As the need for urban Catholic schools has declined, many have similarly become home to charter schools and other educational institutions. Usually, the traces of their Catholic origins remain but are less obvious than St. Margaret watching over Bryn Mawr. Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.
who answers by fire is the true and living God.” And then of course there is the fact that Christ speaks of himself as the light of the world, which at the time of the Messiah’s earthly ministry would have presumed fire of some kind (no incandescent bulbs in 33 A.D.). And don’t forget the Holy Spirit himself, who appears to the Apostles on Pentecost as tongues of fire. The burning of candles during sacred worship or private devotion and prayer is therefore a reminder of the presence and power of God. In addition, a candle, like Christ, gives light and life through death — as the candle provides light, it is destroyed, as its wax and wick are burned up. Candles are therefore a powerful reminder of the mystery of Christ himself, who saves through self-gift, and invites us all into this same mystery. Father Erickson is pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale. Send your questions to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why Do Catholics Do That?” in the subject line.
Bonnie Jungels, principal Notre Dame Academy, Minnetonka In college, I went on a trip to Alabama to help build houses after a hurricane. On arrival though, it turned out that only some of us would be at the actual job site, and I was not in that group. I was so disappointed, as I had gone on this trip with visions of myself framing walls, windows and doors. But then my group got to help just this one family with little jobs in their damaged house, like tearing out insulation and painting a bedroom a deep bright blue — just simple things to help them put their lives back together, to bring some hope and happiness. We got to share a meal together, and they brought us to meet a man who spent his days repairing fishing nets. It was so meaningful to get to know them and spend time with them, way better than pounding in nails. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there was so much beauty in the unexpected on that trip, and that was God’s will, not mine. That’s the lesson that’s stuck with me. Bryanna Reinsberg St. Thomas Becket, Eagan “Readers Respond” is a new feature in The Catholic Spirit. Catholic school students, alumni, administrators, teachers, staff and parents, please respond to our next question: How has your relationship to a Catholic school deepened your faith? in 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line.
12A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
AUGUST 12, 2021
COMMENTARY TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI
Life is just beginning: expansion at any age I recently submitted two articles for publication, and moments after I hit send, I was struck by the parallel. Sure, they both involved Catholics who, in their retirement, were pouring hours into lifegiving, creative work. But in my focus on the nature of their work DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT — the intricate toothpick sculptures of a Minnesota grandpa, the winsome travel guide written by a New Jerry Hackett works on a toothpick sculpture in 2020. Mexico single — I’d nearly overlooked the common thread. part of the church, and I can’t go back to sleep,” said Both had discovered a round-about way to fulfill Jerry, a member of St. Mark (Sts. Joachim and Anne) their lifelong dreams. in Shakopee. Jerry Hackett always wanted to be an architect but Marion Amberg, meanwhile, harbored starry-eyed opted for a practical path and worked ambitions of being a detective. She as an accountant. He quietly provided planned to study law enforcement. for his six children. Then one day in There was just one problem: She Our options do retirement, the 70-something recalled a couldn’t stand the sight of blood. school project his child had done back not narrow with Instead, she began writing for in the ‘80s: toothpick assembly. her local newspaper. The work Soon, Jerry was looking up the the ticking clock. entailed plenty of sleuthing. “Part dimensions of the Eiffel Tower and We may find a of reporting is connecting the dots,” squirting Elmer’s Glue-All. Now 81, he’s she said. “You see patterns.” created dozens of toothpick sculptures new passion — or Her latest book, “Monuments, — bridges, windmills, churches — and Marvels, and Miracles: A Traveler’s generated a good deal of press. He works a new version of Guide to Catholic America,” delivers in his porch while listening to polka an old one that a national tour of religious sites music, and he creates each sculpture to based on meticulous research. scale. There is a great deal of measuring: doubles the joy. One inch of toothpick represents four “Even if it’s on a church website, feet. you can’t take it as Gospel truth,” Turns out he became an architect after said Marion, a member of the all — a toothpick architect. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe. “I’ll wake up at night thinking about how to do this “I tried to verify every single fact.”
SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY
Cardinal virtues help manage hard times
With at least some restoration in sight of what appears to have been our previous experience of normalcy, we may have some hope for a better, healthier, calmer future. For those who have been fully vaccinated, many are often no longer wearing masks. For those who are able to attend Mass as a gathered community again, we know we have never missed anything so much in our whole lives. For students who hope to return to the school building in some routine fashion that represents their attendance prior to the pandemic, great anticipation of an uninterrupted school year awaits them. In fact, as we see signs of normalcy everywhere we look, we feel a sense of positivity and optimism. Moving forward after these past nearly 18 months, we will be remiss if we do not pause and acknowledge that we are largely more resilient than we were in March 2020. We let things go more quickly and easily. We find ourselves making an insightful comment regarding an inconvenience by saying, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me, I think I can handle it.” In the past, we may have gravitated toward annoyance or anger, and now we simply regard it as a nuisance.
We would never want to say the pandemic was good for us, because it has taken a devastating toll, individually and collectively. We can say, however, that we have learned a great deal through the challenges it presented to us. Albert Einstein, the famed physicist, is credited with the statement that adversity introduces us to ourselves. Additionally, Froma Walsh, a social worker and psychologist, explains that our belief systems “enable us to organize our experience in the social world so as to make sense of crisis experiences.” During this post-pandemic era, it will benefit us to examine our belief systems and what helped us manage the adversity we experienced. Reflection on adversity is one way to gain from the hardship we endured. Through reflection, experience becomes more than an event that happened to us, for, through the benefit of insight, the hardship becomes foundational to our belief system. It helps us see that we can persevere in the face of adversity. The reflective stance allows us to step back and evaluate the experience mindfully, articulating what we learned through the suffering we faced. As Catholics, our faith is aptly positioned to assist us in this endeavor. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that it is through the fruits of the Holy Spirit that we are formed for eternal glory. The fruits of the Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. We develop these gifts through habitual virtuous living, which is a firm disposition to do good. Reflecting on our belief system assists us to see more clearly how the hardships of the pandemic have strengthened us, as we are enabled to develop the fruits of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming a more virtuous person. The fruits of the Spirit can be grouped into the four cardinal virtues: prudence, which predisposes us to practical reason; justice,
Lo and behold, this 60-something is now a detective — and no blood is involved! “Your dreams may change as you get older, but they don’t end,” she said. “I feel like the 60s are just the beginning of my life.” Immediately I thought of my late grandpa, who started writing an autobiography he’d titled “Life Begins At 70.” At 73, he taught himself to play clarinet, putting numbered tape on keys to correspond with his fingering chart. Weeks later, he was playing the second movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Then I recalled an amusing story a Jesuit priest recently told me. Father Chris Collins was reading a program and saw his name listed as a jubilarian. He assumed it was a mistake. How could it possibly be 25 years of priesthood already? “I can’t believe I’m almost 50,” he said, “because it feels like I’m just getting going.” These Catholics demonstrate that our Creator is a God of surprises. We may resuscitate a long-lost dream — as an architect or detective or cupcake maker. We can start in one direction and circle back. We might face a closed door and then discover: There is another way. Our options do not narrow with the ticking clock. We may find a new passion — or a new version of an old one that doubles the joy. Talents coalesce and converge in unpredictable ways. God is good. He wants us to be happy and hopeful, to possess the “joyful optimism” named as a virtue in Salesian spirituality. And in pursuing our passions, we make a sacred offering. As St. Augustine wrote: “The desire of your heart is itself your prayer.” That heart keeps beating — at 60, 70 and 80. It whispers: I’m just getting going. Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights. The two stories she refers to were Q&As published last month in The Catholic Spirit: “Toothpick church: Retiree finds beauty in the quarter inch” (July 15), and “Catholic travel guide by Minnesota native a labor of love” (July 29).
ACTION STRATEGY u Take time this month to reflect on what you learned during the pandemic. Realize that with busy schedules, it might be difficult to find time to do this. Do your best with no judgment. u Investigate your favorite saints and learn about the struggles they faced during their lifetime. Identify the virtues they lived and attempt to imitate some aspect of their virtuous lives.
which consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due; fortitude, which ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good; and temperance, which moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides balance in the use of created goods. Our Catholic faith also promotes the recognition of the importance of the saints, to whom we turn for examples of virtuous living in the face of seemingly impossible situations. When we turn to these holy, remarkable people to learn about living a virtuous life, we can be assured their struggles were not in vain, for they provide an example of strength and perseverance through their committed lives. Therefore, rather than quickly removing any reminder of the pandemic, it would be wise to embrace all that we learned through our struggles over the past year and a half, which will ideally help us develop virtue. Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. She holds a master’s degree in theology from The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul and a doctorate in educational leadership from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
COMMENTARY
AUGUST 12, 2021
ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL
Greek (Freak) philosophy
Giannis Antetokounmpo is known for being a 6’11 athletic “freak,” with all the rarified basketball prowess such a unique combination of size and ability entails. And during this year’s NBA Finals, which concluded last month, it was on full display. The “Greek Freak” dunked, shotblocked and dominated his way to per game averages of 35 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks over the six-game series, leading his Milwaukee Bucks to a four-games-to-two victory over the Phoenix Suns. It was one of the all-time great NBA Finals performances, and Giannis deservedly earned MVP honors for the series. (Full disclaimer: I am an avid Bucks fan, and was at Game Four in Milwaukee. Go Bucks!) But in addition to bringing home Milwaukee’s first NBA championship in 50 years, No. 34 delivered off the court as well. At a media availability session, while speaking about how he keeps an even keel, even on basketball’s biggest stage, the Athens-born forward shared a philosophical soliloquy that would’ve made Socrates proud. “When you focus on the past, that’s your ego,” he said. “‘I did this.’ ‘We were able to beat this team 4-0.’ ‘I did this in the past,’ ‘I won that in the past.’” “And when I focus on the future, that’s my pride. ‘Yeah, next game, I’m going to do this and this and this. I’m going to dominate.’ That’s your pride talking. It doesn’t happen, (because) you’re right here. “I try to focus in the moment, in the present. And that’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting expectations. That’s going out and enjoying the game and competing at a high level.” Giannis’ gem of a life lesson went viral as soon as he delivered it. Already distinguished by his unassuming persona and dogged loyalty in a league dominated
by me-first superstars, the 26-year-old’s words were a refreshing dose of down-to-earth wisdom for all aspiring athletes. But Giannis’ insight has a broader application than sports and, I’d argue, a deeper, even spiritual foundation. The Greek Freak, after all, is an Orthodox Christian who gives glory to God in small but noticeable ways. And while he’s not yet a saint, his press conference philosophizing encapsulated a tried-and-true principle at the heart of the spiritual life: to humbly live in the grace of the present moment. We might not normally connect these two elements, humility and “being present,” but that might be because we often misunderstand what humility is. Humility is about more than deflecting praise and shying away from the big stage. Fundamentally, humility is about accepting reality — including ourselves and our conditions — as it is, as Giannis beautifully alludes to. When we are humble, when we are receptive to reality as it comes to us in the present moment, we are open to receiving what God wants to give us. In basketball speak, this is called “letting the game come to you.” The opposite of this is “forcing things” on the court: trying to make things happen that simply “aren’t there,” like a player taking tough shots even though he’s been cold all night, or running the same offensive plays even though the opponent has already successfully adjusted. We force things in life, too, sometimes because we’re holding on to how things used to be, or because we’re obstinately committed to how we want them to be going forward. Giannis astutely speaks of these tendencies as forms of pride and egotism, the opposite of humility. Rather than receiving things as they are, pride wants to control reality, and impose its own ideologies and abstractions upon it. This was the error of Adam and Eve, who impatiently reached for divinization instead of waiting to receive it, and also of Judas, who wanted the Messiah to be a conquering warrior, not a suffering servant. In contrast, Jesus tells us that we must “turn and become like children” in order to enter the kingdom of God; we must humbly receive everything from God, through — not in spite of! — the unique circumstances of our lives. When we’re in a prideful and controlling kind of mindset, we can’t accept the grace God wants to give
GUEST COMMENTARY | JOHN GARVEY
Who’s your Daddy?
In Plato’s “Republic,” Socrates discusses a society in which the state arranges marriages among its best citizens and assigns their offspring to nurses chosen for the job, “employing every device to prevent anyone from recognizing her own infant.” The state then carefully supervises the children’s education so that they form opinions “desirable for them to hold when they are grown up.” We have had our flirtations with Plato’s theory. A century ago, Oregon passed an initiative requiring all children to attend public schools. Proponents of the measure (the Ku Klux Klan and other anti-Catholic organizations) argued that it was necessary to preserve a homogeneous American culture. A society of Catholic nuns who ran orphanages and schools sued to enjoin the law, which would have put them out of business. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the Supreme Court rejected the idea that the state could monopolize the upbringing of orphans. It held, “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” The idea that children belong to the state is in vogue again. It was before the Supreme Court in Fulton v. Philadelphia in June. And it is the inspiration for the American Families Plan that the Democrats would like to push through the Senate. The issue in Fulton was the custody of foster children. Pennsylvania, like a lot of states, claims a monopoly over foster care. The state assigns custody of such children to local authorities, who put them in homes or facilities the government deems appropriate. If a private organization wants to help, it needs a contract from the authorities. If the children really do belong to the state, it can set the
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13A
JEFF HANISCH, USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS | CNS
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrates with the NBA Finals MVP Trophy in Milwaukee July 20, following Game Six of the 2021 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. Antetokounmpo led the team to its first championship since 1971. us. And we can’t follow him down the path he wants to lead us. Humbly living in the moment doesn’t mean we can’t set goals. Giannis, after all, had the goal of winning a championship early in his career. But despite his lofty ambitions, the Greek Freak never took his eyes off the present moment, knowing he could only achieve the former by means of the latter. “I’m thinking day-by-day,” he said, when asked at only 19 years of age how he planned to bring an NBA championship to title-starved Milwaukee. “But if you don’t play hard now or tomorrow or the next tomorrow, it can’t happen.” The same is true for each of us as we strive after holiness, and our ultimate goal of heaven. We can’t enter into a blissful, eternal union with God if we don’t presently respond to his invitation to relationship. And we can’t become holy and shine like the saints unless we put aside our pride, accept reality as it is, and receive the grace and simple calls to holiness God is giving us today. Liedl writes from the Twin Cities.
terms of the contract. In 2018, Philadelphia told Catholic Social Services that it had to place children with same-sex couples if it wanted to be part of the system. This wasn’t about increasing foster care opportunities. Catholic Social Services was a major source of foster homes for the city. It was about placing children where they will form what Plato called “desirable opinions,” and maybe about getting Catholics to think differently about marriage. The Supreme Court ruled for Catholic Social Services on rather sophisticated First Amendment grounds. But I wish it had just said these children don’t belong to the government, so it has no business deciding how to bring them up. The American Families Plan is another idea Plato would have liked. It doesn’t require turning the care of children over to the government. Instead, it pays people to turn them over. As Susan Rice, head of the Domestic Policy Council, told The New York Times, “We want parents to be in the workforce, especially mothers.” The plan accomplishes this by spending $225 billion to increase the wages of child care workers, and to help parents pay someone else to watch their children. When kids reach age 3, the plan would provide free preschool (at a cost of $200 billion). The plan doesn’t say what they would learn in preschool, but the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, supports both the president and the plan. It resolved this month to publish a study that “critiques empire, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, racism, patriarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, anthropocentrism and other forms of power and oppression.” Kids are now getting this in elementary school. It will trickle down. As an academic I blush to say this, but it’s an unhealthy thing when the party in power starts to get ideas from philosophy books. Garvey is president of The Catholic University of America in Washington. Follow him on Twitter @catholicpres. Catholic University’s website is cua.edu.
LETTER Liturgical directives In “Mass Change?” published July 29, I noted multiple people quoted oversimplified Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” as being about “active participation.” The same document also insists that “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites” (36), and that “steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them” (54). Regarding appropriate music for Mass, it stipulates: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore … it should be given pride of place in liturgical service” (116). To those passionate about their faith: Read the entire text of “Sacrosanctum Concilium” and work to implement all of its recommendations at your parish. Yes, the congregation should be involved, but the sense of mystery must remain. Ron Draganowski St. Agnes, St. Paul Share your perspective by emailing TheCatholicSpirit@archspm.org. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit.
14A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
AUGUST 12, 2021
Why I am Catholic
G
By Lindalee Miller-Nelson DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
od has been holding my hand and watching
Holy Spirit covering me with his grace and mercy, always
over me all my life. I would start my own
leading me back to the Catholic faith. Having this strong
Catholic faith journey when I started kindergarten at St. Matthew parish in St. Paul. When I reached second grade, for the traditional
first holy Communion celebration, it was discovered that
from my Lord. As I raised my children, two having a traumatic brain injury, worked with the children and parents with TBI,
I was not baptized. So, I was baptized along with my three
wrote and published a book on these journeys, my
younger sisters and my mother. I truly felt the Holy Spirit
God and Catholic faith have been a solid rock to build
in my life.
my house upon. As a lifelong learner, I have recently
Next, we moved to St. Stanislaus parish in St. Paul. As
“
faith through my whole life has been an immense blessing
graduated from the Catechetical Institute, the School of
I started third grade, it was announced that all children
Discipleship, and currently listen to the podcast “The Bible
in third grade through eighth grade would make their
in A Year with Father Mike Schmitz.” I continually renew,
holy confirmation, all on the same
enrich and walk my personal journey with the Holy Spirit
day, and it would be presided over
in my life. The Lord Jesus, my teacher, continually walks
by the archbishop of St. Paul and
with me, holds my hand, teaching me through this life
Minneapolis. I was so honored to be
and continuing to give me direction daily. God’s blessings
asked a question by this holy man. The
to all.
As I grew, my life weaved in and out of the Catholic Church. Each time I fell away, I would feel the hand of God directing me back to the Catholic faith.
Holy Spirit was deeply felt. As I grew, my life weaved in and out
Miller-Nelson, 70, lives in Farmington and is a parishioner,
of the Catholic Church. Each time I
with her husband, Jeffrey, of the Cathedral of St. Paul in
fell away, I would feel the hand of God
St. Paul. They also attend and are involved at Mary, Mother
directing me back to the Catholic faith.
of the Church, in Burnsville. They have eight children and 15
I would travel through life wearing different hats in the
grandchildren. Miller-Nelson recently self-published a book on
Catholic Church. Some of these hats were as a Catholic
children and traumatic brain injury, “Patrick and the Little Red
school teacher, faith formation teacher and St. Paul
Wagon.” She enjoys sewing, learning about the faith and is a
charities youth counselor for troubled teens. I married and
member of WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.
then would bury my first husband in the Cathedral of St. Paul. I would sing in the choir at the Cathedral, raise my children in the Catholic faith, and would marry again at the Cathedral of St. Paul. As this journey has unfolded, I have always felt the
“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why I am Catholic” in the subject line.
AUGUST 12, 2021 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15A
CALENDAR PARISH FESTIVALS SJA Jacs Jam — Aug. 14-15: 4–11 p.m. at Sts. Joachim and Anne (St. Mary of the Purification), 15850 Marystown Road, Shakopee. Aug. 14: 4 p.m. Polka Mass followed by a live band, food, beverage, raffles, games. Aug 15: 9 a.m. Mass with a blessing for the 5K Joachim Jaunt and 5K Donut Dawdle participants. All festival activities to follow. ssjacs.org/sja-festival-jacs-jam St. Genevieve — Aug. 15: 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at St. Genevieve, 6995 Centerville Road, Centerville. Silent auction, raffles, kids’ games, bingo, country store and cake walk. Chicken dinner includes corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, rolls and homemade pie, and is served from 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (takeout noon–3 p.m.). Dinner: Adults $13; ages 10 and under $6. stgens.org St. Thomas the Apostle — Aug. 15: 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle, 20000 County Road 10, Corcoran. Kids’ games, live music, turkey dinner, bingo, cash raffle, face painting, inflatables, lawn games, cake walk, bake sale, farmers market, silent auction. Mass before festival at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. saintsppta.org Veseli Ho-Down — Aug. 15: 11 a.m.–6 p.m. at Most Holy Trinity, 4939 N. Washington St., Veseli. Polka Mass at 11 a.m. followed by a grilled pork, dumpling and sauerkraut dinner. Bake sale featuring Czech favorites, games, silent auction, raffle, country store, food, refreshments and all-day music. Na Shledanou Ve Veseli! (We will see you in Veseli!) mhtveseli.com St. Tim’s Carnival — Sept. 10-11: 5 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine. Sept. 10: 5–10 p.m.; Sept. 11: noon–10 p.m. Games, pull tabs, bingo, food and beverages, entertainment and a silent auction. churchofsttimothy.com Holy Family Maronite Fall Festival — Sept. 11: 11 a.m.–7 p.m. at Holy Family Maronite, 1960 Lexington Ave. S., Mendota Heights. One-day festival with authentic Lebanese cuisine, beer, wine, Lebanese coffee, music, Lebanese dancing, games, bake sale, heritage bazaar, raffle and much more. 4 p.m. Liturgy. Free parking in Mendota City Hall parking lot (not police station). holyfamilymaronitechurch.org Presentation of Mary Parish Fall Festival — Sept. 11-12: 5 p.m., 1725 Kennard St., Maplewood. 5K walk/run, community dinner and food booths, kids’
carnival games, bonfire with outdoor movie, bingo, basket booth and silent auction. presentationofmary.org
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
St. Mary’s Fall Festival — Sept. 11-12 at St. Mary, 303 N. Sixth St., Waverly. Sept. 11: 4 p.m. Polka Mass followed by a pork chop dinner and music by Rod Cerar. Sept. 12: Masses at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. with activities all day. Drawings at 5 p.m. stmarys-waverly.net
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has asked all parishes in the archdiocese to host Synod Small Groups this fall for Catholics to learn, pray and share ideas on three focus areas ahead of the 2022 Archdiocesan Synod. Focus areas are: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young. Small groups will meet for six 2-hour sessions between mid-September and mid-November. Watch for communications from your parish about how to participate in a small group there, and the specific dates and times they’ll meet. Learn more about the Archdiocesan Synod process at archspm.org/synod.
Nativity County Fair 2021 — Sept. 17-19 at Nativity of Our Lord, 1900 Stanford Ave., St. Paul. Annual County Fair (outdoors) on Sept. 17 (5–10 p.m.), Sept. 18 (10 a.m.–10 p.m.) and Sept. 19 (10:30 a.m. Mass, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.). Free. Activities for all ages. nativitystpaul.org Guardian Angels Fall Festival — Sept. 17-19: 8 a.m.–10 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8640 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. Games, dinners, raffles, craft sale, silent auction, bingo, fireworks. guardian-angels.org/fallfestival St. John the Baptist Fall Festival — Sept. 19: 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 313 Second St. E., Jordan. Food, music, raffles, silent auction, Funland for kids. sjbjordan.org/fall-festival
PARISH EVENTS Alpha — through Sept. 1: Wednesdays 6:30–8 p.m. at St. John Neumann, 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. Explore the Christian faith. Meal, video, small group conversations. sjn.org/events/alpha-program-2021
CALENDAR submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date. LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission. Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community. ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: uTime and date of event uFull street address of event uDescription of event uContact information in case of questions ONLINE: TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendarsubmissions
about the community, discernment and Benedictine life. mwestphaln@stpaulsmonastery.org Exultemus — Aug. 14: 7–8 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 680 Mill St., Excelsior. Adoration, praise and worship, brief reflection at 7 p.m. Confessions available. Weather permitting, events on back lawn. sreid@stjohns-excelsior.org
Natural Family Planning (NFP) — Class listing at archspm.org/family or call 651-291-4489. Restorative justice events — monthly: 6:30–8 p.m. via Zoom. Open to all victim-survivors; first Mondays for those abused by clergy as adults; second Tuesdays for friends or relatives of victims of clergy sexual abuse; third Mondays victim-survivor support group; third Wednesdays survivor peace circle; fourth Wednesdays for men sexually abused by clergy/religious. Paula Kaempffer, 651-291-4429. archspm.org/healing
OTHER EVENTS
Rummage Sale — Aug. 12: 7 a.m.–7 p.m. at St. Victoria, 8228 Victoria Drive, Victoria. Clothing, books, garden, electronics, household items, small furniture, toys, games and much more. All proceeds go to Catholic youth education. stvictoria.net Book Discussion: “The Color of Compromise” — Sept. 16: 7 p.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Jemar Tisby’s “The Color of Compromise” addresses ways in which the American Church has been complicit in racism over the last several centuries. Read (or listen to) the book and join the discussion. morecommunity.org/color-compromise
PRAYER+RETREATS Benedictine Discernment Retreat — Aug. 14: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, St. Paul. Join other single women, ages 18-50, and Benedictine Sisters from around Minnesota and learn
Family Bingo Night — Aug. 18: 5–7 p.m. at Presentation of Mary School, 1695 Kennard St., Maplewood. Free night of dinner and bingo (in school gym) for the whole family. Prizes provided for winners. All ages welcome. presentationofmaryschool.org
VIRTUAL EVENTS
CSCOE Open Golf Tournament — Aug. 23: 10:30 a.m. at Southview Country Club, 239 E. Mendota Road, West St. Paul. Join the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence for its CSCOE Open. Enjoy a round of golf with friends, family or colleagues while supporting CSCOE’s mission to enhance excellence and increase enrollment in local Catholic schools. cscoeopen.com
“The art of dying as a remedy for souls” — Aug. 17: 6:30 p.m. Hosted by the Curatio apostolate. curatioapostolate.com/events-2/upcoming-events/minnetrista The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life — Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 15: Nine-month retreat (Sept.-May) 8–9:30 a.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola to help people deepen their relationships with God. This retreat will allow participants to experience the Exercises with a director over the course of nine months. morecommunity. org/spiritual-exercises-retreat
Archbishop Brady High School Class of 1971 50th Reunion — Sept. 23: 5:30–11 p.m. at Mendakota Country Club, 2075 Mendakota Drive, Mendota Heights. An evening of fun, food and entertainment to celebrate the 50 years since high school graduation. Contact Jane (Richtman) Martin at janemartin920@gmail.com. Paid RSVPs required by Sept 2.
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16A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
AUGUST 12, 2021
PAGETWO THELASTWORD Widowed by cancer, then fatally stricken, Burnsville woman offered prayers for others
‘JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU’ Trish Pozarski said her battle with cancer was a blessing in the way it brought herself, her husband and others closer to God. “Cancer teaches you a lot of things,” Pozarski said in an interview a month before she died July 31. “It teaches me to surrender to the Lord. You have to trust in that. Our prayer, Ron and I, was ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’” Other trials can bring people closer to God as well, Pozarski said, such as financial struggles and day-to-day difficulties. “I think surrender can come hard for some people,” she said. “I did the Surrender to Jesus Novena (nine days of special prayers) when I was diagnosed this time. I don’t know, it’s something (surrender) you have to do.”
By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
T
rish Pozarski couldn’t walk very far anymore. She missed her path around a pond near her home in Burnsville. She enjoyed cooking, but she put away her pots and pans and relied on her daughters, Emily Pozarski, an oncology nurse who flew in from California to take care of her, and Alicia McShane, a member of St. Bonaventure in Bloomington, as well as friends who swung by. She wanted to finish a scrapbook in honor of her late husband, Ron, who battled appendix cancer for more than eight years before succumbing in July 2018. But her own fight against leukemia, a battle waged since 2012, had left her too weak. Trish Pozarski, 63, was dying. Confined to a wheelchair or her bed, she needed assistance getting in and out of both. But her spirit was alive, and it had grown in the years she and her husband struggled with their health. Members of St. John the Baptist in Savage, with two grown daughters and two grandchildren, they spent years sharing a daily rosary. Their faith-filled efforts against cancer drew them still closer to Christ as they offered their suffering up for others. Pozarski died July 31. Her funeral Mass was Aug. 5, at the parish church she knew so well. Missionary disciples, Trish and Ron were, according to those who knew them. But in the last 10 years, missionaries reaching out mostly in prayer, while very often confined physically to doctor appointments, church groups and home. “You don’t want to waste your suffering,” Pozarski told The Catholic Spirit in a June interview. “If you can unite your suffering to Jesus on the cross so it’s not wasted, you can offer it up for so many different people.” “We are the body of Christ. We need to keep that in mind,” Pozarski said of her prayers. “We’re all united. What I can offer, can help somebody else.” She prayed fervently for a 17-year-old suffering from lymphoma, her own niece with breast cancer, people at St. John the Baptist and in her Divine Mercy Cenacle, a prayer group built up around St. Faustina’s writings and spirituality, Pozarski said. And there were times in the hospital, when simply, “you hear something next door. You hear something going on, you say a prayer for those in there alone: ‘Oh Lord, be there for them.’” Part of her ministry, she said, was telling her story, encouraging others to learn the power of prayer and surrender to the Lord. The day before her mother’s funeral, McShane told The Catholic Spirit
The journey was not easy, she said. “We certainly had the roller coaster. Things are going great, then you get another shot of something. As you go through it each time and get out on the other side, you see the Lord’s faithfulness. It isn’t easy, but you see his hand in it. “You get to a certain point that things get kind of stripped away. And when it’s stripped away, you realize the only thing you’ve had all along, which is God’s love. Which is a beautiful gift. It’s all you need.” — Joe Ruff COURTESY BRENDA SCHROLL
Archbishop Bernard Hebda presents Trish Pozarski with her certificate of completion for the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute’s program “Pillars: A Journey through the Catechism of the Catholic Church” at her Burnsville home June 5. Pozarski died July 31 after a long battle with leukemia. that she and her mother developed a friendship over the years that included talking about their faith and resources they found helpful. Her mother shared with many people that way, McShane said. “She had a genuine friendship with the Lord, and it came out in genuine friendships with others,” her daughter said.
Special visitor Others noticed her prayer ministry, and that of her late husband. “In my short and COVID-dominated time as pastor of St. John the Baptist, Trish is one of the few parishioners I’ve been able to spend time with and get to know at a deeper level,” said Father Ben Little, the parish’s pastor since 2020. “Her patient embrace of God’s will in physical suffering has been a great inspiration.” “She was dear to many at St. John’s,” said Father Little, who celebrated Mass with Pozarski in her home just two days before she died, and presided at her funeral Mass and gave the homily. “She was a woman of deep prayer who drew others into a life of prayer.” In addition to the Divine Mercy Cenacle, Pozarski was involved with Cursillo spiritual development and solidarity, and most recently received her certificate of completion of the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute’s two-year program, “Pillars: A Journey through the Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Begun in 2017, her anticipated two years of studies stretched to four years. It was interrupted by caring for her husband before he died, as well
as COVID-19’s arrival in Minnesota in March 2020, the return of her own cancer in May 2020 and entering hospice at her home just two months later. But she persevered, and ironically, because of the pandemic and isolation experienced by the entire community to prevent its spread, was able to finish her studies online with fellow students. Kelly Wahlquist, who directs the institute, a 13-year-old program of The Seminaries of St. Paul in St. Paul, said Pozarski and her husband had been an inspiration to everyone there. “They really were witnesses to the faith,” Wahlquist said. “She was always happy, positive and joy-filled. And how her life changed with the institute. She really wanted to come back.” Brenda Schroll, a close friend of Pozarski’s at St. John the Baptist and a class coordinator for the Catechetical Institute, said Pozarski was the most humble and faithful Catholic she has ever known. In addition to the institute, Schroll said, she and Pozarski were part of a four-person “mom’s” group that kept in touch for years with weekly text messages and other means of praying with each other, particularly for their children. “I called her my saintly friend,” Schroll said. “She taught so many people around her, how we are to suffer and how we are to take on our suffering for others.” Pozarski said her husband encouraged her to attend the Catechetical Institute, and she learned a great deal. “He really wanted me to do it,” she said. “He felt like I was always taking care of him. He wanted me to do something for me. “There was so much to learn, and different levels of growth as you go
along.” At the end of her husband’s life, Pozarski said, she felt the need to stay with him, and not be engrossed in the classes. “He was taking a turn for the worse,” she said. “We tried it … but he needed so much attention. He felt more comfortable with me.” Her prayers intensified. “I was praying so much for my husband when he was sick. I saw the conversion of (his) heart day by day. At the end of his life, he was ready. He was ready to be with the Lord.” Pozarski herself was hospitalized with an infection when she missed her class graduation Mass and ceremony May 10. But a special visitor presented her with the certificate of completion at her home in early June: Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who was invited by her pastor. “I was in the hospital when they (Catechetical Institute) handed them out,” Pozarski said. “The next thing I know, the archbishop is in my home. I was so blessed. I was very moved by him. He talked to me and prayed over me.” Father Little was there as well, and recalled it being a very blessed day. “Even though it took place because of Trish’s illness, it was a joyful thing to minister alongside our local shepherd, when Archbishop Hebda graciously met me at Trish’s house (on an oppressively hot afternoon) for a beautiful conversation and celebration of the sacraments,” Father Little said. “We are blessed to have a shepherd who prioritizes such moments when so many other important things could crowd out such encounters on his calendar.” Pozarski said she knew the efficacy of praying for others in part because she felt sustained by people who prayed for her. “I really feel like I’m being lifted,” she said. “When days are tough, and I am feeling the heavy weight, when people are praying for you, it lightens the load. You don’t feel that weight.”