In his own words

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

After his April 11 episcopal ordination at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Bishop Michael Izen sat down with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for a show that debuted April 21 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. In an email interview April 18, Bishop Izen answered questions posed by The Catholic Spirit. The bishop’s responses are combined here in Q&A form. The exchanges have been edited for length and clarity.

Q What a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony for your ordination. Please share with us some of your thoughts and impressions.

A It was marvelous, as you know. Everything just went so well. I’ve processed in (at a church) at a lot of these events, whether it’s a priestly ordination or a bishop ordination. And you always see the archbishop standing there, at the doorway along with the other big names. And now, I’m one of those! I kind of was torn, as I (wondered) should I be front and center, as all the priests walk in? But I did want to see them. I’m glad I did, because that was the only time I saw some of them, because there were so many people.

To see of course, my closest friends, classmates, but anybody from the archdiocese, but then also some men from other dioceses who I was in seminary with. I grew up in the Winona diocese (now WinonaRochester). My priest, who’s the pastor for my sister and brother down in Fairmont, I invited him, and he made it up. And some priests from the New Ulm diocese, from Duluth, even from Iowa. It was great. Q It was astounding how packed the Cathedral was.

A Yes, that was humbling. The Cathedral holds 2,500 people, and I don’t have that many friends. But obviously, a lot of people come out who maybe don’t even know me, because it’s a great day for the Church. One of the other things I want to mention: In the choir stalls, (at the front of the Cathedral) two retired priests who were my part-time retired helpers when I first got here, Father Jack Donahue and Father Robert Valit, and they were both able to make it. Father Valit is 95, Father Donahue is 88.

Q Have you and Archbishop Bernard Hebda had time to work out your principal roles as an auxiliary?

A The archbishop is such a good man and such a good father. He called me yesterday and I was ready to ask him, “OK, what’s like, on the immediate docket that you want me to start doing?” And his call was just to basically see how I was doing, making sure I was feeling all right.

Q I’m sure he has plenty of ideas.

A I know he’d like to see me involved with the Catholic schools. Yeah, I think that’s one thing he mentioned. I think he’s looking forward to me having more of a presence at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center (in St. Paul).

Q You continue to be the pastor of the Churches of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater and an administrator at St. Charles in Bayport and at St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater. Will that change, do you know?

A We just announced that to our people this past weekend. So, July 1, I will move down the street just a little bit to a little town called St. Croix Beach. It’s where St. Francis of Assisi is. And it’s a smaller parish, and they’re in need of a pastor. The archbishop likes his auxiliaries to have a parish, although I’ve kind of warned them I’m not going to be there every Sunday. I’m going to be representing the archbishop across the archdiocese. But I (will be) their pastor, and it’s a place for me to call home.

Q You are a man of prayer. What time of day is it best for you to pray and why? Do you have a particular place that you pray, or a particular part of the Liturgy of the Hours you treasure?

A Good question. First thing (in the morning), I will often drink a bottle and a half of water. And then, even before I shower, I’ll go and pray a Holy Hour. We have a chapel right here in the rectory in Stillwater, so it is literally next door to my bedroom. Father Austin Barnes is my associate. We will do a Holy Hour together once or twice a week. But usually, we kind of come and go. We might overlap. But I pray an hour and that always includes the Office of Readings. I love the Psalms, but I also love those two readings that come with the Office of Readings.

Q How might we uphold you in prayer? How can we support you?

A Thank you. It seems pretty simple. Just pray that I’d be a good, holy bishop. Brave, and doing the Lord’s will.

Q Please let me set this question up. You have IN HIS OWN WORDS CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE sends our prayers and warmest congratulations to Bishop Michael J. Izen on your ordination as Auxiliary Bishop. We look forward to continuing to work with you to spread the Gospel.

Congratulations Bishop David D. Kagan and the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Bismarck offer sincere congratulations to Bishop Michael J. Izen and a promise of prayers on his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In His Own Words

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE humbly said that you weren’t certain you had the gifts to be a bishop, but that you would trust the Church and accept the ministry. You entered studies for the priesthood after nine years in the professional world and took a school year off the year before your ordination to carefully discern whether it was right for you. And now, just 18 years into priesthood, you are a bishop. What do you make of this progression? Do you see the Lord’s hand in it?

A I think there’s something to the idea that the Lord calls the weak and makes them strong. That’s not a direct Scripture quote, but perhaps a paraphrase from 2 Corinthians 12. I do think — with me at least — that the Lord has used plenty of opportunities to remind me that I can’t do this without him. So, when I pause and think to myself, “I’m not bishop material, I can’t do this,” perhaps the answer is, “Of course I can’t, but God can do it through me.” When I reflect, as I had the opportunity during my canonical retreat, I see how this has been so true in my priesthood. Even with something that people think I’m good at. For example, my love for Catholic schools and our school children. Our heavenly Father has been working through me on that as well. For a dear little first grader at St. Croix Catholic School, it’s not that Father Izen loves them — or now, that

Bishop Izen loves them. That really wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Rather, it’s that our heavenly Father loves that first grader through me. I get to show little Vivian, or Gino, or Bernadette the love of the Father. In fact, the Father loves all 285 of our students through me. Some days I do a better job of letting the Father work through me than other days.

Q The archdiocese is at the beginning stages of a Synod implementation process that is focused on 1) Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2) Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and 3) Forming youth and young adults for a Church that is always young. Have you seen fruits of this process so far? What do you see as your role in the Synod implementation?

A My role in the Synod still needs to be worked out between Archbishop Hebda and me. I can tell you that I have enjoyed the process so far as a pastor. The School of Discipleship was a great gift, and I had been doing well in the 40 Day Challenge, up until April 10. You may recall that my life was particularly busy that week. But just yesterday, I returned to the challenge and completed three days’ worth of the challenge. I find the Lectio Divina in the challenge, and relating that to each day, to be very helpful. I hope to catch up.

Q In the weeks leading up to your ordination you spent March 20-25 at a canonically required retreat. You went to your sister Mary’s lake cabin near Dassel. Can you share with us some of the fruits of that time for you?

A A week of silence and prayer is always going to be a great thing. But the requirement for a retreat before ordination is so wise . . . even just practically speaking. The weeks before March 20 I had been focused on seven different ordination events, what they would look like, and who should be invited to them. Add to that the necessity of completing a coat of arms, designing a ring, coming up with an episcopal motto, purchasing the different cassocks, miters, finding the right crozier, etc. You can see that there’s not a whole lot of time to actually, prayerfully prepare for ordination. This is what the retreat allows for. I mentioned that Bishop Don DeGrood (a priest of the archdiocese who is now the bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota) was my director, and he was great. It was in those prayer hours that I was reminded, or in some cases actually inspired, with much of what I have shared with you today and shared with the people of God last week. It was during the retreat that I realized that I can’t complete these bishop duties by myself, but the Lord can complete them through me. That’s just one example. I think in general, what the Lord gives you in a retreat like this is a realization of how much he loves you. As Archbishop Hebda said to me after the retreat, “Isn’t it amazing how the Lord gives you exactly what you need?!”

Quick Takes

In the weeks before his ordination, Bishop Michael Izen shared a few of his favorite things:

Favorite meal of the day: breakfast, lunch or dinner: “Dinner”

Favorite food: “Lebanese. I’m half Lebanese. Although, it’s hard to beat any pasta.”

Mac or PC: “PC and iPhone. Sometimes I wish I had a Mac.”

Best restaurant: “Emily’s in northeast Minneapolis, a Lebanese deli.”

Favorite dessert: “Strawberry shortcake.”

Salty or sweet: “Salty.”

Favorite pastime: “Sports”

Favorite sport: “To play, basketball. To watch, football.”

Star Wars or Star Trek: “Neither.”

Best place ever traveled: “Rome.”

Bucket list of places to go: “Australia, Alaska.”

Favorite book: “St. Augustine’s ‘Confessions.’”

Favorite musician or band: “The Outfield. 1980s.”

Favorite movie: “The Passion of the Christ” and “Tommy Boy.” The latter for its humor. Tommy: “A lot of people go to college for seven years.”

Richard: “Yeah, they’re called doctors.”

Favorite saint or devotional: “Mary and St. Michael, being a Michael, and St. Therese of Lisieux.”

— The Catholic Spirit