April 23, 2020 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
thecatholicspirit.com
Front lines A hospital chaplain reflects on inspiration; a local nurse treats New York City patients. — Pages 10-11
Triduum overview In large numbers, Catholics joined virtual retreat, sought Easter drive-by blessings. — Page 5
Feeding the hungry Archbishop Hebda serves Easter Sunday dinner to homeless in St. Paul. — Page 6
Distance learning Teachers, parents, students still adjusting to learning at home. — Page 12
MASS PRODUCTION DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Father Joseph Johnson, pastor of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, delivers the homily during Mass April 14 in the church’s adoration chapel that was recorded and livestreamed. With public Masses suspended in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, priests like Father Johnson are coming up with creative ways to serve their congregations. Seeing a growing need to offer spiritual content during these times, Father Johnson pulled out some camera equipment and began shooting video of both daily and Sunday Masses. Parishioner Martin Gawarecki, right, does the filming, and is part of a group that includes an acolyte, cantor and deacon. For more on what Father Johnson and other priests are doing, see story on page 13.
Rural worries Catholic farming leaders reflect on economic impact on food and work. — Page 14
Pandemic hymn COVID-19 prompts Father Joncas to compose new hymn drawn from Psalm 23. — Page 19
Priest team in works for COVID anointings By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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s the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota continues to climb, Bishop Andrew Cozzens is leading efforts to build a team of priests who can respond to requests for anointing of the sick for people who may be in danger of death from the novel coronavirus. On April 17, he and Archbishop Bernard Hebda sent a letter to priests seeking volunteers, and by the next day, the response had already been generous, he said. “Basically, we want to be prepared for the worst, even though we’re hoping for the best,” he said. “The Church always has special care for the dying, and we especially want to give them peace of conscience, and the sacraments can do that.” The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis already has about 10 chaplains who regularly minister in hospitals, but the archdiocese’s leaders thought it was wise to expand that team during the pandemic. Following the lead of the archdioceses of Boston, Indianapolis and Chicago, these priests will be specially trained to properly wear personal protective equipment and follow protocols to anoint in a way that minimizes their risk of contracting the virus or spreading it to others. Archdiocesan leaders plan to identify 10 to 15 priests for the team. Candidates must be under 50 PLEASE TURN TO COVID TEAM ON PAGE 8
Pope: Now is time to build a just world By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a risk it will be struck by an even worse virus — that of selfish indifference, Pope Francis said. This dangerous virus is “spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress,” he said in his homily at a Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 19. The current pandemic instead must compel people to prepare for a “collective future” that sees the whole human family as one and holds all of the earth’s gifts in common in order to be shared justly with those in need, he said. “This is not some ideology: it is Christianity,” and it mirrors the way the early Christian community lived, the pope said at the Mass, celebrated privately at Rome’s Church of the Holy Spirit, which houses a shrine dedicated to Divine Mercy. The Mass was celebrated on the 20th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s declaration that the Sunday after Easter would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy movement was founded in the early 1900s by Polish St. Faustina Kowalska, who said Jesus told her he wanted a feast of Divine Mercy as a refuge and shelter for all souls. In his homily, Pope Francis noted that St. Faustina said Jesus told her, “I am love and mercy itself; there is no human misery that could measure up to my mercy.” The Lord always patiently and faithfully waits for people to recognize their failings and sins and to offer them to him “so that he PLEASE TURN TO JUST WORLD ON PAGE 9