The Catholic Spirit - April 28, 2016

Target Field Masses 5 • Dorothy Day sainthood? 9 • Minneapolis Catholic Workers 19 April 28, 2016 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Governor praises Ascension School during visit

By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit

M

Gov. Mark Dayton talks with first-graders at Ascension Catholic School in north Minneapolis April 22.

Observing the conversation are Archbishop Bernard Hebda, left, and Bishop Andrew Cozzens. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

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• Why Ascension Catholic School works • Ascension principal retiring after nearly 30 years

innesota Gov. Mark Dayton toured Ascension Catholic School in north Minneapolis April 22, quizzing sixthgraders as they worked on an art project, listening to the choir and sitting down on the floor with first-graders for a Q&A session.

School officials presented the governor with facts that illustrate Ascension’s success in educating children from poor and minority families.

Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda joined the governor for the tour, and he asked the first-graders what they were learning at school.

“Be kind.” “About Jesus.” “About church,” the children said.

Dayton said “the learning environment” was what most impressed him about Ascension.

“All the children were so engaged in the learning process and so enthusiastic about whatever their class was working on,” he said.

The governor and Archbishop Hebda also sat down for a roundtable discussion with people connected to Ascension School, including students, former students, parents, a teacher and a volunteer from Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, which has partnered with Ascension for decades in the “Hands Across Town” program.

The tour of Ascension School also provided an opportunity for the governor and Archbishop Hebda to get to know one another.

Along with visiting classes together, they were joined for a short, closed-door meeting by Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who has focused on Catholic education.

As he made his way toward students’ loud, cheering farewell, Dayton told The Catholic Spirit, “As a former teacher myself, I can’t say enough about the dedication of the men and women to commit their lives to such an outstanding school.”

Read more about the governor’s visit at and see videos at www.facebook.com/TheCatholicSpirit. www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

ALSO inside

Catholic social teaching

Shared sorrow

Ready to run

University of St. Thomas’ Catholic Studies director and Sen. Bernie Sanders among attendees at Vatican conference.

— Page 7

Eagan parish and school host support group for grieving kids and their families.

With a teenage pregnancy years behind them, family gears up for Abria Pregnancy Resource’s walk and 5K.

— Pages 10-11

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2 • The Catholic Spirit

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in PICTURES

April 28, 2016 OVERHEARD “We cannot understand what the poor experience until we ourselves share some of those moments of anxiety and despair. Then we will be able to theologize, not only using our intellectual faculty alone, but also with our heart, which is moved with ‘karuna’ (compassion) and disturbed by injustice suffered by the poor.”

Presentation Sister Shalini Mulackal, president of the Indian Theological Association, speaking April 20 during the Congress of Asian Theologians in Cochin, India.

NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit

Theologian to discuss ‘Laudato Si’’ at UST May 4 Theologian Erin Lothes will speak on “The Church of Pope Francis: Theological and Practical Responses to ‘Laudato Si’” 7 p.m. May 4 in Woulfe Alumni Hall of Anderson Student Center on the University of St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus. Lothes, a theology faculty member at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey, will address the significance of the pope’s encyclical on the care of creation, particularly magisterial teaching regarding energy ethics. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.stthomas.edu/icc/iccannuallecture.

‘GO ASK YOUR FATHER’ Relevant Radio’s Father Francis Hoffman, aka “Father Rocky,” takes questions from middle school students at Shakopee Area Catholic School April 15 during a live broadcast. To hear the archived broadcast, visit bit.ly/TCSsacs. Courtesy Shakopee Area Catholic Schools

Franciscan Retreats to present international award Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center will present its annual Franciscan International Award at a dinner May 5 to Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative. The Twin Cities-based nonprofit will be honored for its work to end homelessness through housing development, the Families Moving Forward shelter program, and advocacy for public funding and policies. Franciscan Retreats, along with St. Michael parish, both in Prior Lake, participate in the Families Moving Forward program. For more information, visit www.franciscanretreats.net/fiadinner.aspx.

Vis student recognized in national art contest Lizzie Dudley, an eighth-grade student at the Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights, received an honorable mention for her artwork “Mother of Creation” as part of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development national Multimedia Youth Arts Contest. Dudley had won first place in the regional contest, sponsored by Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ social justice office. CCHD is the domestic antipoverty program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

MILESTONE

ANNIVERSARY MASS Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda blesses the new Center for Faith Formation at St. Rita in Cottage Grove April 17 after its 50th anniversary Mass and celebration. Beside him is Deacon Steven Koop, and behind him is pastor Father Rick Banker. Dianne Towalski/For The Catholic Spirit

WHAT’S NEW on social media

In 1916, a small group of Catholics in Long Lake petitioned Benedictine Father George Scheffold of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina to establish a Catholic church in their community. A small brick church was built in 1917 and christened St. George Catholic Church. Initially a mission church, St. George became an official parish of the Archdiocese of St. Paul in 1948.

In the early 1960s during the Second Vatican Council, a new church was built; St. George was the first in the archdiocese to have an altar that faced the congregation. St. George celebrated its centennial year with a Mass and community pig roast April 23, the feast of St. George. www.stgeorgelonglake.org.

CORRECTION

Hacky Sack at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, spring in bloom at the Cathedral of St. Paul and Father Rolf Tollefson quoting Prince in his homily at St. Hubert in Chanhassen — all featured at www.instagram.com/thecatholicspirit.

The Catholic Spirit is published bi-weekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 21 — No. 9 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor

Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba was mistakenly identified in the March 31 issue as a former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He was vicar general of the archdiocese when named to the Duluth See. The Catholic Spirit regrets the error.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Cath­olic Spirit Newspaper.

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April 28, 2016

FROM THE BISHOP

The Catholic Spirit • 3

For archdiocese, let’s take a page from pope’s prayer book

I

must admit that when I received the news that Archbishop Bernard Hebda had been named archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I was moved to tears with overwhelming gratitude in my heart.

With all the difficulty and struggle that we have walked through as an archdiocese for the past two and a half years, this news was such a welcome joy. I have gotten to know Archbishop Hebda so well these past months, and I know him to be a humble, intelligent, generous and loving man who is just the sort of shepherd we need right now.

This news also brought a sense of stability; with a permanent archbishop we can begin to move forward into the new day the Lord desires to bring. While we can never simply put the past behind us — not forgetting what we have learned in this struggle — we can go forward to grow into the Church Christ wants us to be.

The cross can give way to the resurrection.

Even as we slowly move forward, we are still dealing with serious legal struggles. The archdiocese is still in bankruptcy and working hard to reach a financial resolution for the victims of clergy sexual abuse. The archdiocese is also still involved with civil protocols and criminal charges. With this, hopefully victims will receive a fair compensation from our bankruptcy, and the civil agreement with Ramsey County is helping us FROM THE BISHOP move forward with transparency and accountability.

Resolving the criminal charges and the bankruptcy will be important steps that allow us to go forward.

Bishop To that end, I’d like to invite us to redouble our efforts Andrew Cozzens in prayer for the archdiocese as we prepare for our new

archbishop. Many biographers of Pope Francis have noted that he has a strong devotion to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots. He discovered this image of Mary during his time of study in Germany in the mid-1980s. It shows Our Lady untying the knots of a ribbon handed to her by angels.

Pope Francis has made this prayer his own and handed out this image on the holy card he made when he was ordained a bishop. The theology of the devotion goes back to the second century. St. Irenaeus wrote that, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.”

As a bishop in Argentina, Pope Francis encouraged people to bring to Our Lady Undoer of Knots the most difficult problems in their lives. I’m praying this prayer that the legal knots in which the archdiocese finds itself will be undone with justice and truth for all involved. Please join me daily in praying this prayer, attributed to Pope Francis, until these knots are untied.

Holy Mary, full of the presence of God, during your life you accepted with great humility the holy will of the father, and the devil was never able to entangle you with his confusion. Since then you have interceded for all of our difficulties as you did at the wedding feast of Cana. Full of kindness and patience, you have given us an example of how to untangle the knots of our life. By remaining forever our mother, you make clear and firm the ties that unite us to our Lord.

Holy Mary, mother of God and our mother, who untie with a maternal heart the knots of our life, we ask you to receive into your hands the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and deliver us from the chains and confusion that restrain us.

Through your grace, your intercession and by your example, deliver us from evil, and untie the knots that keep us from being united to God. So that free of all sin and error, we may find him in all things, may have our hearts placed with him, and may serve him always in our brothers and sisters. Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us. Amen.

Para la arquidiócesis, tomemos una página del libro de oraciones del papa

D

ebo admitir que cuando recibí la noticia de que el Arzobispo Bernard Hebda había sido nombrado arzobispo de St. Paul y Minneapolis me conmovió hasta las lágrimas con abrumadora gratitud en mi corazón. Con toda la dificultad y las pruebas a través de las que hemos caminado como Arquidiócesis durante los últimos dos años y medio, esta noticia fue bienvenida con una gran alegría. He llegado a conocer Arzobispo Hebda tan bien estos últimos meses y sé que él es un hombre humilde, inteligente, generoso y amoroso, que es justamente el tipo de pastor que necesitamos en este momento. Esta noticia también trajo un nuevo sentido de estabilidad, con un arzobispo permanente podemos empezar a avanzar hacia el nuevo día que el Señor nos quiera dar. Mientras tanto, no podemos simplemente dejar el pasado detrás de nosotros. Sin olvidar lo que hemos aprendido de esta prueba, podemos ir hacia adelante para crecer en la Iglesia que Cristo quiere que seamos. La cruz puede dar paso a la resurrección.

Incluso, a medida que avanzamos lentamente, estamos todavía negociando con luchas legales graves.

La Arquidiócesis está todavía en quiebra y trabajando duro para llegar a una solución económica para las víctimas de abuso sexual del clero. La Arquidiócesis

OFFICIAL His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bernard Hebda, has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Effective April 19, 2016 Reverend James Devorak,

appointed temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Gerard in Brooklyn Park, replacing Reverend John Long, who previously served as administrator. The current pastor, Reverend Bradley Baldwin, TOR, is on a leave of absence.

también está siendo involucrada en protocolos civiles y cargos criminales. Esto no es del todo malo ya que se espera que las víctimas reciban una compensación justa de nuestra quiebra y el acuerdo civil del condado de Ramsey nos está ayudando a seguir adelante con transparencia y responsabilidad. Sin embargo, la resolución de los cargos criminales y la quiebra serán pasos importantes que nos permitirán ir hacia adelante.

Con ese fin, me gustaría invitarlos a redoblar nuestros esfuerzos en la oración por la Arquidiócesis mientras nos preparamos para nuestro nuevo Arzobispo. Muchos biógrafos del Papa Francisco han señalado que tiene una fuerte devoción a la Virgen Desatadora de Nudos. Él descubrió esta imagen de María durante su tiempo de estudio en Alemania a mediados de la década de 1980.

La imagen muestra la Virgen desatando los nudos de una cinta que le entregaron los ángeles. Francisco ha hecho esta oración suya y ha entregado esta imagen en la tarjeta que hizo cuando fue ordenado obispo. La teología de la devoción, en realidad, se remonta al siglo II. San Ireneo escribió que, “El nudo de la desobediencia de Eva fue desatado por la obediencia de María; lo que ató la virgen Eva por su incredulidad, la Virgen María lo desató por la fe.” Como obispo en Argentina, Francisco animó a la gente que llevara a la Virgen Desatadora de

Nudos los problemas más difíciles en sus vidas. Yo estoy rezando esta oración para que los nudos legales en los que la arquidiócesis se encuentra, se puedan deshacer con justicia y verdad para todos los involucrados. ¿Se unirán a mí diariamente en esta oración atribuida a Francisco hasta que estos nudos queden desatados?

Santa María, llena de la presencia de Dios, que durante tu vida aceptaste con gran humildad la santa voluntad del Padre y el diablo nunca fue capaz de enredarte con su confusión. Desde entonces haz intercedido en todas nuestras dificultades como lo hiciste en las bodas de Caná. Llena de bondad y paciencia, nos haz dado un ejemplo de cómo desenredar los nudos de nuestra vida. Al permanecer siempre como nuestra Madre, haces claros y firmes los lazos que nos unen a Nuestro Señor. Santa María, Madre de Dios y Madre nuestra, que desatas con un corazón maternal los nudos de nuestra vida, te pedimos que recibas en tus manos a la Arquidiócesis de St. Paul y Minneapolis y nos libres de las cadenas y la confusión que nos limitan. A través de tu gracia y por tu intercesión y ejemplo, líbranos del mal y desata los nudos que nos impiden estar unidos a Dios. Para que, libres de todo pecado y error, podamos encontrarlo en todas las cosas, y tengamos en Él puestos nuestros corazones, y podamos servirle siempre en nuestros hermanos y hermanas.

Madre del Buen Consejo ruega por nosotros. Amén.

Installation events for Archbishop Bernard Hebda

Eventos para la Instalación del Arzobispo Bernard Hebda

Thursday, May 12 • Celebration of welcome and evening prayer 7 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis A reception will follow in Teresa of Calcutta Hall, lower level of the church.

12 de mayo • Celebración de bienvenida y oración vespertina 7 p.m. en la Basílica de Santa María, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis Seguida por una recepción en el salón Teresa de Calcuta, nivel inferior de la iglesia.

Friday, May 13 • Installation Mass 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 1:45 p.m. procession • Public reception 4–6 p.m. at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, 550 Albert St. S., St. Paul

13 de mayo • Misa de Instalación 2 p.m. en la Catedral de St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 1:45 p.m. procesión • Recepción abierta al público 4-6 p.m. en Cretin-Derham Hall High School, 550 Albert St. S., St. Paul

Watch and listen •O n May 13, Eternal Word Television Network will broadcast the Installation Mass live on cable. It will also be broadcast locally on channel 16.2 (St. Michael Broadcasting).

•A live stream of the Installation Mass will be posted at www.archspm.org, courtesy of Town Square TV and EWTN. • Listen to the Installation Mass live May 13 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.

Para ver y escuchar • El 13 de mayo, la red de Televisión Eternal Word emitirá la Misa de Instalación en vivo por cable. También será transmitido localmente en el canal 16.2 (St. Michael Broadcasting).

• Una transmisión en vivo de la Misa de Instalación se publicará en www.archspm.org, cortesía de Town Square TV y EWTN. • Escucha la Misa de Instalación en vivo el 13 de mayo por la estación de radio Relevant Radio 1330 AM.

For more information: installation@archspm.org, 651-291-4486 or www.archspm.org.

4 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

April 28, 2016

SLICEof LIFE

Rosary at recess

From left, second-graders Ivan Lam, Grace Hire, Lillian Thuente, Haydee Walz and Jill Wohlever of Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Paul pray the rosary at recess April 20, a practice they started in March after classmate Josephine Hover brought her grandmother Mary Hover to school to talk about Our Lady of Fatima. “It is pure innocence; it is pure love for Jesus,” said their teacher, Susie Hiemenz. “It was totally started by them. I didn’t tell them to do it. They took it upon themselves to do it.” Watch a video of the students praying at www.facebook.com/ TheCatholicSpirit. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

l ! h! ay nitia unc d o rI yL ll T ou r Ca le y nta e u d im pl he Sc om C r& u To

Join us for a celebration of Welcome and Evening Prayer

with Archbishop

Bernard Hebda

Announcing St. Therese Southwest is now THE GLENN CATHOLIC SENIOR COMMUNITIES Independent Living · Assisted Living · Memory Care · Care Suites Adult Day Services · Short Term Living Suites

Thursday, May 12 • The Eve of the Installation Mass • 7 p.m.

The Basilica of Saint Mary 1600 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota Reception immediately following in the Teresa of Calcutta Hall, The Basilica’s Lower Level.

Basilica of Saint Mary Mass times: Saturday: 5 p.m., Sunday 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

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April 28, 2016 in BRIEF ST. PAUL

MN school organization honors two Catholic school teachers Teachers from Risen Christ Catholic School and DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis were named Honor Teachers for K-8 and high school education, respectively, by the Minnesota Independent School Forum April 24. The highest honors of the annual Private and Independent Education Awards were granted to Diane LaBeau, a second-grade teacher at Risen Christ, and David Pearson, a math teacher and cross country coach at DeLaSalle. The awards dinner was held at the University of St. Thomas.

Diaconate ordination May 14 Nine men are expected to be ordained transitional deacons for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis 10 a.m. May 14 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. The men and their home parishes are Paul Baker, St. Peter, Mendota; Bryce Evans, St. Thomas the Apostle, Corcoran; Nicholas Froehle, the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul; Matthew Quail, Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul; Timothy Sandquist, St. Boniface, St. Bonifacius; Matthew Shireman, St. Therese, Deephaven; Brandon Theisen, Epiphany, Coon Rapids; Chad VanHoose, St. Joseph, West St. Paul; and Ben Wittnebel, St. Joseph, West St. Paul. As deacons, the men will be able to preach and assist at the altar during Mass and will focus on a “ministry of charity.” The men are expected to be ordained priests of the archdiocese next year.

MINNEAPOLIS

Block Party announces lineup Death Cab for Cutie, Ryan Adams and Phillip Phillips are among the 20 bands playing the 2016 Basilica Block Party, July 8-9 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. The 22-year-old music festival raises money for the 100-year-old Basilica’s preservation. Cities 97 and The Basilica Landmark, a nonprofit supporting the Basilica’s preservation, announced the lineup April 15. Tickets are on sale.

Other bands performing on the Block Party’s three stages over two nights are American Authors, X Ambassadors, Matt Hires, Gary Clark Jr., Cold War Kids, Andra Day, Gospel Machine, Fort Wilson Riot, Step Rockets, The Fray, Matt Nathanson, Ron Pope, Milky Chance, Craig Finn, Farewell Milwaukee, Holidae and Eric Mayson. The annual Block Party has raised millions of dollars to support the building’s preservation and restoration.

MCC takes stand for immigration policy brought before high court Minnesota Catholic Conference Executive Director Jason Adkins spoke April 18 in support of two immigration policies under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. Standing alongside immigration advocates at a press conference organized by Asamblea De Derechos Civiles at Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Adkins said the MCC “vigorously agree[s] that the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold the legality of DAPA and the expansion of DACA.” The court heard arguments April 18 in the case of United States v. Texas, which examines the 2014 executive orders that expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and created Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was among 24 religious organizations that filed friend of the court briefs to support DAPA and DACA. “As the faith communities note, family separation can cause great emotional, economic and social harm to families,” Adkins said.

The Catholic Spirit • 5

Twins latest team to add game-day Masses

By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit Celebrating Mass in the press conference room at Target Field in Minneapolis April 17, Father Nels Gjengdahl preached about prayer to the 30 to 40 people at a pre-game liturgy before the Minnesota Twins took on the Los Angeles Angels.

Ballplayers and coaches from the Angels and members of the Twins front office and stadium staff attended the first of what is planned to be a regular Mass on Sundays when the Twins have a home game.

Twins players and coaches were not notified in time to attend.

“I just preached what I would have preached at any parish,” said Father Gjengdahl, who is a teacher and chaplain at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights.

“Since the Gospel was about the Good Shepherd, I talked about taking time out to listen to Christ because he is the Good Shepherd. Through all the busyness and hubbub of life, I said, we need to listen to what the Good Shepherd has to say to our souls.”

Father Gjengdahl said that after he celebrated a pre-game Mass last August for the Oakland Raiders football team when they were in town to play the Minnesota Vikings, his name apparently got on a list that Catholic Athletes for Christ was compiling of potential celebrants for Masses at Target Field.

A rotation of priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will be presiding at the ballpark liturgies, said Eileen Bock, a project manager with the archdiocese who, as a volunteer with CAC, serves as a liaison for the group with the ball team.

Ray McKenna, CAC president, said the 11-year-old organization was elated to add the Twins to the two dozen other Major League Baseball teams that have made Mass available on Sunday game days, helping the Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit fulfill its mission “to help Catholic athletes practice their faith in-season and out-of-season,” McKenna said.

“So often because of the rigors of the schedule, Catholic athletes aren’t able to get to Mass,” he said.

“What we find, too, and it happened again Sunday in Minneapolis, is that many of the people at Mass were

A bronze baseball with the Twins logo stands outside Target Field. iStock stadium workers who [had to be at the ballpark early and] weren’t able to get to Mass at their parish.”

McKenna credited Twins president Dave St. Peter and general manager Terry Ryan, who were at the April 17 liturgy, for helping to make Mass at Target Field possible, and gave a nod, too, to Bock for her liaison efforts.

Along with professional baseball and football, CAC serves other professional sports, plus Olympic, college and high school athletes.

Legendary Los Angeles Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully, who is a reader for CAC Masses held at Dodger Stadium, has recorded the telephone message for Catholic Athletes for Christ headquarters, and McKenna said Scully is recording a reading of the mysteries of the rosary that will be available on iTunes soon.

‘Rebuilt’ authors share best practices at formation day

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit After realizing the programs they were feeding to parishioners were making “religious consumers” rather than disciples, Father Michael White and parish staff member Tom Corcoran decided to scrap the programs and start anew at the Church of the Nativity north of Baltimore.

That endeavor meant turning to faith communities — even Protestant mega-churches — whose membership and engagement were growing. Father White and Corcoran wanted to learn churchs’ success stories with hopes of implementing best practices at their own parish. Their research turned into a book: “Rebuilt: The Story of a Catholic Parish” (Ave Maria Press, 2013).

Through their efforts over several years, weekend attendance has almost tripled, from 1,400 to more than 4,000. Nativity recently launched a capital campaign to expand its space.

Parish leaders attending Spring Formation Day April 14 at Pax Christi in Eden Prairie heard from the authors about the three key pieces it took to rebuild Nativity: music, message and ministers. With this approach, the focus shifts from people already in the pews to people who aren’t, creating an environment the latter would want to come to.

Music, the authors said, is worth the time, money and investment, even if that means reassigning roles in the music ministry.

“Music does what words alone can’t do,” Corcoran said. “It is the music that can touch and change people’s hearts for better or for worse.”

Considering preachers’ spiritual messages could potentially reach thousands of people, they need to

invest time in their homilies, he added.

At their parish, Father White and Corcoran started a variety of ministries to get members involved in their faith.

“The message begins in the parking lot,” Corcoran said.

With parking attendants, information tables, greeters and hosts, they created “layers of welcoming.” By adding a comprehensive children’s ministry during Masses, parents have a chance to focus on the liturgy and message rather than taming restless children.

And technology can’t be ignored. They made the parish’s website primarily for newcomers, not parishioners. On it, visitors can read Father White’s pastor blog and watch live streams of Masses.

But ultimately, the authors said, the experience is about building relationships.

Corcoran noted that each parish needs to figure out who they’re trying to reach and the necessary steps to reach them.

“Your ZIP code is your mission field,” Corcoran said.

He added that change can be difficult.

“Growth is always outside of our comfort zones,” he said.

Spring Formation Day, sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was the conclusion of a three-part series launched last year with the aim to “inform, inspire and equip” pastors, parish staff members, trustees and volunteers.

Attendees also heard from Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Hosffman Ospino, assistant professor of Hispanic ministry and religious education at Boston College.

For more information about “Rebuilt,” visit www.rebuiltparish.com.

6 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

April 28, 2016

Ascension proves poor, minority kids can excel in school

By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit Pupils at Ascension Catholic School — “scholars,” their principal calls them — know better than to turn in homework with raggedy edges from being torn out of a spiral notebook.

No teacher will accept papers like that, not at Ascension.

That’s part of “The Ascension Way,” the doctrine that makes the Catholic school on the northside of Minneapolis with an enrollment that’s 96 percent students of color a model of academic achievement.

“Sloppiness is not acceptable,” explained Dorwatha Woods, Ascension’s principal, and there’s a reason for that.

“We know, especially for children of color, they’re going to be judged first by their color,” she said, “so their skills and their habits have to be exceptional.”

A block off Broadway at 18th and Dupont Avenues, Ascension School is the education outlier in one of the poorest areas in the city, just blocks from where, during the current school year, racial tension erupted over the shooting death of Jamar Clark by police.

While Minneapolis public high schools graduate approximately 60 percent of their students, a study of Ascension’s eighth-grade graduating class of 2011 showed that 100 percent of the class graduated from high school in 2015, and 90 percent are in college.

For the 2014-15 school year, nearby public elementary schools ranked 790th and 817th, respectively, out of 820 schools in the state.

Many of Ascension’s students are black, Hispanic and Hmong and from economically challenged families; 77 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Despite their socio-economic disadvantages, the school successfully educates those children.

All those children.

“No child is turned away from Ascension because of their inability to pay,” said Father Dale Korogi, Ascension pastor.

Of the 281 students currently enrolled, only 34 pay the full tuition of $1,400, and 247 (88 percent) receive financial aid from the school. Those scholarships average approximately $200 per pupil, with nearly one-in-five receiving anywhere from $500 to full tuition. Per pupil cost is $7,200, and Ascension fills the gap between that number and the tuition fee through gifts and fundraising.

Despite its efforts to make education affordable, Father Korogi says some families might think Ascension is out of reach.

“Because we’re a private, Catholic school, families may not consider us an option for their child’s education,” he said. “They may presume that ‘private’ means ‘elite’ and ‘unaffordable,’ and that ‘Catholic’ means ‘exclusive.’”

Tax credit for tuition could help families Proposals before the Minnesota Legislature aim to help families across the state — not just in the urban core — more easily afford the education they want for their children. (See box this page.)

A bill that would expand the current state education tax credit to include the cost of tuition would have a lasting impact both for individual students and for the community at large, said Michael Rogers, president of Risen Christ Catholic School in south Minneapolis.

“For a school like Risen Christ, where 99 percent of our students are children of color and rely on tuition assistance, a tuition tax credit would make a world of difference,” he said.

Risen Christ bases tuition on a sliding scale, with most families paying $800 per student per year, Rogers said. Under the current proposal, almost all of the school’s students would receive a direct tax credit for tuition paid.

“Expanding access to Risen Christ and other nonpublic schools allows more children to benefit from a high-quality education,” Rogers said.

It would also help close the achievement gap between white students and students of color, he said, a continuing concern in Minnesota.

‘There were things God wanted me to do here’

Dorwatha Woods, principal at Ascension School in north Minneapolis, talks with sixth-graders Nicole Johnson, left, and Jazzlyn Muriziq during class April 22.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Current proposals House File 798 / Senate File 1224: Expand the current state law providing Education Tax Credits and Deductions for educational expenses and include private school tuition as an allowable credit. Would help nearly 95,000 Minnesota families with the average family qualifying for just over $1,000 in direct tax relief.

HF 1369 / SF 1396: Equity and Opportunity Scholarship Act. Would allow individuals and businesses to receive a tax credit for donating to charitable entities that award K-12 scholarships to children from income-qualifying families.

HF 1529 / SF 1313: Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).

Would allow parents of children with disabilities to select a school of their choice based on the needs of the student. An estimated 127,000 students in Minnesota who receive special education services could qualify for the ESA program.

No excuses, no prejudices Woods, who is retiring in June after 29 years as Ascension’s principal, said what Ascension is doing right comes from values she and teachers developed, including Catholic values.

“All children can learn at high levels and can be taught to be good citizens,” Woods said, “but you have to have no excuses and no prejudices.

“They need a solid education, they need religious instruction as exciting as Jesus Christ was and is, and they need good teachers to deliver it, good teachers who say, ‘I know you have it in you.’”

Father Korogi sees multiple reasons for the school’s success, but one stands out.

“I think the heart of the matter,” he said, “is that we firmly believe that each and every child is a beloved child of God, each with unique gifts, every one of them with the ability to learn and the potential to grow in faith.

“Some may think that children who live in poverty are less able than others to learn and achieve their goals,” Father Korogi said. “We have very high expectations of our scholars and surround them with many resources they need to succeed. And they do.”

Woods said it wasn’t difficult to find teachers who wanted to teach in the impoverished environment of north Minneapolis; however, prospective teachers sometimes came with the attitude of “missionaries,” as she put it, coming to “save” poor children.

“I had a hard time finding teachers who had the ability to teach in this environment,” Woods said.

“Our families don’t need ‘saving’; they need respect and certain supports. They need teachers who have an understanding of people of color and embrace not just the child, but the parents.”

Ascension trains teachers to move away from the “Minnesota Nice” attitude that assumes everyone is the same, Woods said. “Because we’re all different, we have to teach from the multi-dimensions the children Please turn to ASCENSION on page 17

Twenty-nine years after she started a job she never wanted, Dorwatha Woods knows it was in God’s plan for her to be the principal of Ascension Catholic School on the northside of Minneapolis.

Raised Baptist, she was in college at Hampton Institute in Virginia when she converted to Catholicism.

“God was setting me up,” Woods said with a chuckle.

“I knew [the Catholic Church] was Work honored where God wanted me,” she said, and her A reception is planned to honor strong Baptist and thank Dorwatha Woods for scriptural knowledge her years of service to Ascension has served her well at Catholic School: Ascension as she • 6-8:30 p.m., May 6; welcomed students Ascension School Choir, from non-Catholic 6:30 p.m., program families and 7 p.m. conversed with their • Basilica of St. Mary, parents.

Teresa of Calcutta Hall “I could relate to their Baptist • RSVP at www.ascension tradition,” Woods schoolmn.org/dorwatha/ or call said. “I could give 612-424-6214. them the bridge to the Catholic faith.”

A self-described Army brat, Woods, 58, was born in Germany when her father was stationed there. When her dad retired, the family settled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was an education major at Hampton when she joined the Church.

“I liked the fact that Catholics stand for things,” she said. “I liked that priests had college educations, the grandeur of the Mass when the liturgy is rich, and the layout of the Scriptures from one Sunday to the next.”

She earned a master’s degree in special education at the University of Michigan and married a Minnesotan. She had been the director of religious education at St. Joan of Arc in south Minneapolis for four years when she was invited to apply for the principal’s position at Ascension.

“I said, ‘No, no,’” Woods recalled. “I never aspired to be a school principal. I loved St. Joan of Arc. My daughters were just 1 and 3, and I was working on my second master’s at the time at the University of St. Thomas. But they kept calling, and it made me get on my knees and talk to God about it.”

When she toured the northside campus with Father Raymond Monsour, Ascension pastor in 1987, Woods found that he had been honest with her.

“The good stuff was true,” Woods said, “and the horrible stuff was true, too.”

She took the job anyway.

As she sat at her desk in the classroom-turnedprincipal’s office at Ascension nearly three decades later, Woods said, “God called me here, he truly did.

There were things God wanted me to do here.”

Father Dale Korogi, Ascension’s pastor, said Woods’ vocation and ministry as an educator rise out of her deep faith in Jesus Christ.

“She sees every child with the eyes of Jesus, loves each of them with the love of Jesus, reminding them every day of the dignity they bear as beloved children of God,” Father Korogi said.

“She has wonderful relationships with our scholars and their families. Ms. Woods has spent her life living out the conviction that every child has the right to an excellent education, and she has been a leader in making that happen.”

When Woods arrived in 1987, Ascension’s enrollment had fallen to 163 and the school was in the midst of consolidation talks that would have it merge with other struggling Catholic schools on Please turn to ICON on page 17

LOCAL

April 28, 2016

UST prof: Diversity, dialogue aim of Vatican conference that included Bernie Sanders

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit A two-day April symposium at the Vatican drew international attention not for its focus — the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical “Centesimus Annus” — but its guest list, which included U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Also present were two socialist South American presidents, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist.”

Given the Church’s historically critical stance on socialism, the prominent socialists’ presence caused a media stir, one witnessed first-hand by Michael Naughton, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Naughton was among the 36 conference attendees at the April 14-15 symposium, “‘Centesimus Annus’: 25 Years Later.”

Michael Sponsored by the Pontifical NAUGHTON Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California, the conference wasn’t designed to highlight or favor one economic structure over another, but rather to re-create the diverse, cross-cultural sharing that went into creating “Centesimus Annus” ahead of its 1991 release, according to conference materials.

Presenters included Russell Hittinger, a philosopher from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Margaret Archer, Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences president; and Daniel Finn, an economics professor at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville.

Organizers stressed the event would not be “a commemorative event but a serious academic discussion” focusing on questions surrounding economic, political and cultural changes since “Centesimus Annus,” and how Catholic social teaching has engaged the world since with an eye to the future.

The presence of prominent socialists at the conference — despite the diverse views represented by other symposium participants — was an unfortunate distraction, Naughton said.

“This was an academic conference to foster dialogue, to foster a conversation and debate,” he added. “I think it’s very important to bring in people of practical life . . . but when you bring in presidents and you bring in a presidential candidate and you bring in a lot of press, it’s hard for that conversation to take place.”

Naughton doesn’t think organizers intended for the symposium to take on political overtures, but that perception was unavoidable with Sanders, whose participation may have “concealed rather than reveal” the symposium’s purpose to a wider audience, he said.

However, Pope Francis “is trying to push us in ways that some of us may get a little uncomfortable with.

He’s trying to get us better connected with the poor, better connected with those who are marginalized,” he said. “We should be trying to engage the poor, and people who may not be aligned with our personal political parties or a bit on the edge may have something to tell us, and maybe we should hear from them.”

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The Catholic Spirit • 7

Archbishop to students: Pope a model for leadership

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Coined in the 1990s, the acronym BHAG — a big, hairy, audacious goal — is familiar in the business world, but Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda applied the concept to the work of the Church as he reflected on Pope Francis’ leadership style April 19 at the University of St. Thomas.

“There is no goal that is bigger, harrier or more audacious than what’s been envisioned by Pope Francis,” he said.

More than 300 students, mostly undergraduates, filled the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on the university’s St. Paul campus to listen to Archbishop Hebda, who will be installed as the archdiocese’s next archbishop May 13. He has served as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator since June 2015.

Pointing to the pope’s vision for human ecology outlined in “Laudato Si’” and his wanting “a poor Church for the poor,” Archbishop Hebda described Pope Francis as a leader who “is willing to dream big,” and cited accolades in business publications including Forbes, Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal.

The pontiff has been applauded for collaboration, communication skills and transparency, he said, but often overlooked is the “heart” of his leadership style: his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Citing anecdotes from a friend who frequently stays in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican City guesthouse where the pope lives, Archbishop Hebda described the significant time Pope Francis spends in prayer in the house’s chapel at the beginning of his day.

He also noted that Pope Francis has told priests to “learn the language of the Gospels.”

“If we are to speak convincingly about Christ, we must know him,” Archbishop Hebda said.

Addressing leadership in general, Archbishop Hebda encouraged students to look to people with a “mutually shared vision.”

“As Catholics, the paradigm for leadership has to be Jesus himself,” he said. “If we’re looking for leaders to follow in the world, we need to discern those leaders who have aligned themselves with the mission of Christ, the Good Shepherd, and his Church.”

To do that, he said, people need to know Christ, which comes from a life of study, prayer and service.

He held up Pope Francis as a model for listening, humility and living “a consistency of life,” where his actions coincide with his words.

The hourlong event was hosted by Tommie Catholic, a collaboration of St. Thomas Campus Ministry, St. Paul’s Outreach and the Center for Catholic Studies.

During his presentation, Archbishop Hebda expressed a particular love of working with young people. He served as a campus minister at a state college in Pennsylvania and has lived for three years in a college dorm at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, as he served as coadjutor archbishop of Newark, a position superseded by his March appointment to St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Hebda said he first became familiar with the University of St. Thomas from its Catholic Studies in Rome program during the years he was working at the Vatican.

Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda speaks with students at the University of St. Thomas following a presentation on Pope Francis’ leadership style April 19. Courtesy Michael Ekern/University of St. Thomas “I would be going to the Vatican bookstore, and I would hear students as they’re looking at the various publications there [say] ‘Ratzinger — cool!’ and I knew that was somebody from Catholic Studies,” he said, drawing a laugh from the audience.

Archbishop Hebda is also acquainted with the work of St. Paul’s Outreach, a national Catholic campus evangelization apostolate based in West St. Paul, because of SPO missionaries at Seton Hall. Prior to speaking, he had dinner with about 15 men at an SPO household on Grand Avenue.

After his 40-minute presentation, Archbishop Hebda took student questions. Undergraduates asked for his thoughts on evangelization, the pope’s new document “The Joy of Love,” and building better relationships with people of different beliefs.

One student asked what the archbishop would like to see from them as Catholic university students.

“Open your hearts to the grace that Christ wants to give to you,” he said. “When we do that, we can respond. We have a God who is interested in what we do. We’re able then to really see that, ‘Yes, Lord, you have a plan for me.’ . . . Everything that we do has some relevance, some importance in this great plan of what God has for the world.”

Several students said they appreciated that Archbishop Hebda pointed to the way Pope Francis sees individuals, not issues or labels.

“The thing that stuck with me is that he said don’t give up on proclaiming Christ and don’t give up on being on mission and proclaiming the Gospel, because that’s what Christ asked us to do, and those were his parting words to us,” said Rosalinda Rosales, a sophomore from Eagan studying business communications. “I loved how [Archbishop Hebda] stressed that we do that in a loving way, especially here on campus when we do have so many different people and different walks of life.”

Milad Audi, a freshman from Crystal studying mechanical engineering, said he regularly goes to Tommie Catholic events, and was struck by what Archbishop Hebda said about prayer. “You have to have that prayer life,” he said. “Jesus has to pour his love into you for you to spread it to everyone else. . . .

I know that in my life, that’s what I need.”

8 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & WORLD

Pope: With happiness, there’s no app for that

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Happiness “is not an app that you can download on your phones, nor will the latest update help you become free and great in loving,” Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers at the Vatican.

Youth from around the world flocked to Rome for a special Year of Mercy event for teens aged 13-16. The celebrations began April 23 with confessions in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope caught many off guard as he made an unannounced visit to the square. After greeting several people, he placed a purple stole over his shoulders and sat down, joining more than 150 priests offering the sacrament of reconciliation.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the pope “listened to the confessions of 16 boys and girls,” spending more than an hour in the square.

Celebrating Mass with the young people April 24, the pope told them true freedom is priceless and comes from making the courageous decision to do good and not from the mediocre belief that happiness can be easily obtained through worldly possessions and fashion.

A person’s happiness “has no price and cannot be bought,” the pope told them during the Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Gray clouds looming over St. Peter’s Square did little to deter an estimated 100,000 teens and pilgrims from attending the final Mass of the jubilee youth celebration.

In his homily, the pope encouraged the youths to carry out the “enormous responsibility” entrusted to the disciples by Jesus in the Sunday Gospel reading: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love, he said, is the “only valid ‘document’ identifying us as Christians” and the only path to happiness.

True love is free “without being possessive” of people or worldly things,

Catholic schools that voluntarily set up gender-neutral toilets or changing rooms to accommodate increasing numbers of transgender students could be sued in the event of a sex attack, a Catholic lawyer in England warned.

Neil Addison, director of the Liverpool-based Thomas More Legal Centre, said schools that adopted such arrangements voluntarily would leave themselves open to legal action if a crime was committed because of their policy. Britain does not have a law that would force schools to set up such facilities.

His remarks came just days after Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector schools and head of Ofsted, the government body regulating standards in state schools, suggested head teachers might introduce gender-neutral facilities.

“I don’t see why schools should not have that [gender-neutral facilities] if it’s

Austrian bishop says ‘no’ to border fence on church property Catholic News Service

Pope Francis welcomes a young pilgrim before hearing confession April 23 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Youth from around the world flocked to Rome for a special Year of Mercy event for teens aged 13-16. CNS/Angelo Carconi, EPA he said. “There is always a temptation to let our affections be tainted by an instinctive desire to take, to have what we find pleasing; our consumerist culture reinforces this tendency. Yet when we hold on too tightly to something, it fades, it dies, and then we feel confused, empty inside,” he said.

The freedom that comes from love, he continued, does not come from “doing whatever you want,” which only makes people “self-centered and aloof,” but is a gift that comes from “being able to choose good.”

“Be skeptical about people who want to make you believe that you are only important if you act tough like the heroes in films or if you wear the latest fashions. Your happiness has no price; it cannot be bought,” the pope stressed.

The first day of the celebration ended late April 23 with music and testimonies at Rome’s Olympic Stadium for an estimated 70,000 youth. In a video message played at

the rally, Pope Francis compared the absence of Jesus in one’s life to being somewhere without a cellphone signal, making it impossible to connect with each other.

“Just remember that if Jesus is not in your life, it is as though there was no signal,” he said. “Let’s always place ourselves where we have the signal — the family, the parish, the school — because in this world we will always have something to say that is good and true.”

Reminding them of the importance of simple gestures in carrying out works of mercy, the pope said that to be merciful with others, one must first be able to forgive. Resentments or the desire for revenge are like a worm that “eats away at the soul and does not allow us to be happy,” he said.

“Let us forgive and forget the wrong done to us; in this way we can understand the teaching of Jesus and be his disciples and witnesses of mercy,” he said.

Gender-neutral facilities debate underway in Britain

By Simon Caldwell Catholic News Service

April 28, 2016

well-policed and well-supervised and well-monitored,” he said in an interview with London-based LBC Radio.

“As circumstances change and . . . perhaps more parents want this, then obviously head teachers will try and accommodate that where possible,” said Sir Michael, a Catholic and former head teacher.

However, Addison, a former senior prosecutor who has advised the English and Welsh Catholic bishops on legal matters, said such arrangements would be reckless.

“We are getting cases of young children getting arrested for sexual offenses even below the age of criminal responsibility,” he told Catholic News Service.

“What happens if you have a genderneutral toilet and a sex attack of some sort takes place? Could the school be liable? I think the school could be,” he said.

Addison said if gender-neutral toilets were made compulsory by the

government, schools would be protected from legal action following an assault because they would have been “only obeying the law.”

But if a head teacher had chosen to introduce the facilities, then the school could be “in breach of a duty of care if something happened in these mixed toilets.”

The Catholic Education Service, an agency of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, declined to comment on the possibility of Catholic head teachers introducing genderneutral toilets.

“Every pupil, regardless of what gender they identify as, is treated with the same dignity and respect,” the service said in an April 18 statement emailed to CNS. Similar debates are underway in other parts of Europe where “gender theory” — which asserts that gender is determined by the individual rather than biologically — is starting to take root.

An Austrian bishop said the government may not use church property to build a border fence to keep out refugees.

“A border fence contradicts both the Gospel and the clear appeal of Pope Francis to Europe,” said Bishop Agidius Zsfikovics of Eisenstadt.

“This is especially true in our diocese, which functioned in the shadow of the Iron Curtain. In recent months, we’ve done everything to open our doors to people needing help, giving them not only a roof over their heads, but also guaranteeing them dignity with an open heart,” the bishop said.

In an April 23 interview with Austria’s Kurier daily, the bishop said he had no objection to police and frontier-guard supply vehicles parking on Catholic parish territory.

However, he added that local churches had sheltered many of the 200,000 refugees who crossed the border at Nickelsdorf, Austria, in 2015, and could not agree to the new controls, especially during the Year of Mercy.

“It’s impossible for me, in every fiber of my body, to enter the 21st century agreeing to build fences,” said Bishop Zsfikovics, who coordinates refugee assistance for the Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community. “I grew up with the Iron Curtain and experienced the humiliations at the border crossing. . . . We must resist them in the name of humanity.”

The Austrian Catholic news agency Kathpress said April 25 that Bishop Zsfikovics’ refusal to allow controls on church land would leave a gap in the fence at Moschendorf, on the border with Hungary.

In November, Austria began constructing new fences on its southern frontiers with Italy and Slovenia, despite European Union warnings the move could violate the 1985 Schengen Agreement on free cross-border movement. In mid-April the government announced plans for a six-mile fence with Hungary.

The Eisenstadt diocesan spokesman, Dominik Orieschnig, confirmed April 24 the diocese had received “angry feedback from so-called Catholics” after Bishop Zsfikovics’ decision, but said the move would contradict the pope’s “clear and precise” appeal against borders during his recent visit to Lesbos, Greece.

“The refugee crisis has been a trial by fire for Christianity,” Orieschnig told Vatican Radio.

Austria’s bishops’ conference is running a website to coordinate shelter for refugees by Catholic parishes and religious orders, with help from Caritas, which is currently housing more than 43,000 refugees.

U.S. & WORLD

April 28, 2016

The Catholic Spirit • 9

in BRIEF NEW YORK

Inquiry into Dorothy Day’s life next step in sainthood cause A canonical inquiry into the life of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, will begin soon and extend to the end of the year, according to the Archdiocese of New York, which is sponsoring her sainthood cause and is where Day oversaw Catholic Worker houses. The Dorothy Day Guild, established in 2005 to promote her life and works, said on its website that the names of 256 people had been submitted as potential eyewitnesses to Day’s life. Of those, 52 have been chosen for interviews. Some of the interviewees’ memories go back to the 1940s. From the interviews, the archdiocese will gather the evidence and present it to the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes and to Pope Francis. If, after examining the information, the Vatican congregation and the pope recognize Day’s heroic virtues, she will be declared “venerable,” the next step in the canonization process. She now has the title “servant of God.”

WASHINGTON

Wuerl: Politically correct ‘choice’ rhetoric hides ugly truth of abortion One day after Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, spoke at Georgetown University, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl celebrated a University Mass for Life for college students at a nearby Catholic church, encouraging them to stand up for God’s gift of human life. A Georgetown student group’s invitation to Richards, the head of the nation’s largest abortion provider, to speak April 20 at the country’s oldest Catholic university drew nationwide criticism and was countered by a week of pro-life activities at the school.

The events included a talk by Abby Johnson, the former

director of a Planned Parenthood clinic who is now pro-life and speaks out about the reality of that agency’s abortion practices. In his homily at the April 21 Mass at Epiphany Catholic Church, Cardinal Wuerl warned about a powerful politically correct movement and environment “all around us. . . . It says to set aside such things as the value of human life and substitute the politically correct position that actually you should be free to choose to kill the unborn child. But the word of God says to us, ‘Don’t conform yourself to this age.’”

PLAYA PRIETA, Ecuador

Young nun, postulants among Ecuador earthquake victims Six members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, including a young nun from Northern Ireland, are among the dead in the strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador since 1979. Sister Clare Theresa Crockett, 33, of Londonderry, died while leading children to safety in a school, according to the Spain-based order. Her body was found under rubble April 18, about 36 hours after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Pacific Coast region of the country. Five Ecuadorean postulants were among at least 272 people who died in the massive earthquake that struck communities in the northern part of the country. Authorities reported that nearly 3,000 people were injured.

ROME

Rescued refugees report hundreds drowned in Mediterranean Sea The same day Pope Francis brought 12 Syrian refugees to Rome from Greece, a merchant ship rescued 41 refugees, including a 3-year-old child. They told human rights workers they saw as many as 500 others drown when the refugees’ boat sank. The U.N. Refugee Agency

reported April 20 that its personnel interviewed the rescued men and women who said they were being transferred to a large, overcrowded boat, which sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy. The survivors — 23 Somalis, 11 Ethiopians, 6 Egyptians and a Sudanese — were rescued April 16, the same day the pope visited refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Taken to Kalamata, Greece, the survivors told U.N. staff that they had been part of a group of between 100 and 200 people who departed from Libya the previous week.

“After several hours at sea, the smugglers in charge of the boat attempted to transfer the passengers to a larger ship carrying hundreds of people in terribly overcrowded conditions,” the U.N. Refugee Agency said in a statement. “At one point during the transfer, the larger boat capsized and sank.”

OSLO, Norway

Norwegian bishop: To avoid same-sex marriage, no more civil weddings A Norwegian bishop said the country’s clergy will no longer officiate at civil weddings, after the predominant Lutheran Church’s governing synod voted to conduct gay marriages in Norway. Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo told Catholic News Service he would have to seek permission from the Vatican, but added, “It’s clear we must distinguish our own church marriages from others. This is a matter of liturgy, so it doesn’t necessarily reflect broader change in our society’s moral values. But politicians may now get aggressive toward churches who resist these weddings, so the best option is for us to stop conducting marriages on the state’s behalf.” He said Norwegian Catholics “hope to maintain good relations with the Lutheran Church,” but said they would “make it clear we don’t understand their decision and hope they’ll still reconsider it.”

— Catholic News Service

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10 • The Catholic Spirit

Acts o

Walking

through grief

At parish’s support group, families experiencing loss find a safe place to share Part six in a 14-part Year of Mercy series highlighting local Catholics who live out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

I

By Jessica Trygstad • The Catholic Spirit Photos by Dave Hrbacek • The Catholic Spirit

n 2014, Veronica Rosa and her family were hit hard. Three months after their divorce, her exhusband died.

Rosa, 40, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist in Savage, sought help for her grieving 12-year-old son. She found it in Partners Around Loss through Support, or PALS, a bereavement group primarily for children sponsored by St. John Neumann in Eagan.

Debbie Gonsioroski, 43, also brings her 8-year-old son, Max, to PALS. Her husband committed suicide in their home five years ago.

“Max has a lot of friends that come from a two-parent household [and] a lot of friends that have single parents.

But he doesn’t have any friends who’ve lost a parent to death, so he can’t really talk to anybody about it,” said Gonsioroski, who also has two daughters, ages 22 and 19. “And it’s just a place that he can come and talk.”

Gonsioroski said Max doesn’t generally talk to her about his dad’s death or his feelings. But after leaving Faithful Shepherd Catholic School in Eagan, where PALS sessions take place, he opens up to her about his anger, grief, sadness and even happiness.

“This is just another piece to the puzzle to help Max in his grieving process,” said Gonsioroski, who attends a Christian church. “There’s just a new way to do grief, and it’s not about hiding your feelings and being sad alone,” she added, noting how expressing grief has changed since she was Max’s age. “It’s about being allowed to be sad with other people, but also to be happy and rejoice. Grief is so complicated.”

The PALS sessions also prompt conversations for Rosa and her son, whom she asked The Catholic Spirit not to name, usually on the ride home afterward.

“We are closer from everything that’s happened,” Rosa said.

And while she sees how the group has helped her son, she said she’s also benefitting from talking to other parents about trying to manage grief — her son’s and her own — amid daily life.

“For me, it’s been the only thing,” said Rosa, who has also seen a psychologist. “I don’t want to be the crier anymore. It was definitely comforting. At least I’m not alone.”

“They’re so great here,” Gonsioroski said. “I feel like they’re family. They’re really good people.”

Delving in Alongside the families of PALS are the facilitators, a handful of dedicated women and men from St. John Neumann and St. Thomas Becket, also in Eagan, who devote hours of their time to comforting the sorrowful, regardless of religious affiliation.

Leading the charge is Bonnie Serio, 72, a parishioner and pastoral care specialist at St. John Neumann.

In 2002, Serio left her job as director of a grief program through the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to become the faith formation director at St. John

Veronica Rosa and her 12-year-old son, parishioners of St. John the Baptist in Savage, share a moment after receiving prayer shawls during a session of PALS March 3.

Neumann. She brought Rainbows, an international, Christian-based program, with her, but transitioned it to PALS in 2014 to avoid what she thought was unnecessary red tape and to make the program more engaging for youth. She had brought Rainbows to a number of parishes in the archdiocese, starting with All Saints in Lakeville in the 1980s. The Rainbows program in those parishes has since dissolved, Serio said, which she calls a “shame.”

Although not every family PALS serves is Catholic or even Christian, Serio identifies the program as Christian.

The Serenity Prayer, she said, has become its mantra.

“You truly have to delve into your own faith and your own heart and your own life,” she said. “The Catholic faith — that presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit — is ever present. I think you have to have life experiences that would draw you to something like this. My sadness is for people who don’t [have faith].”

Gearing up for the evening sessions, Serio, who has a master’s degree in education, prepares the lesson plans.

She also screens and trains facilitators, and works with her parish to ensure PALS is using resources wisely. The program is offered free of charge, but they ask for a freewill offering for some meals. Participants must sign a confidentiality agreement and abide by PALS guidelines.

She said she’s grateful for support from pastors, too.

But there was a time when Serio was ready to quit. She changed her mind after meeting with a former participant who interviewed her for a high school psychology class assignment.

“I had no idea what effect we had on this kid,” said Serio, adding that many former participants ask to return as facilitators to “pay it forward.” Facilitators must be 21 or older.

Serio knows firsthand how important support can be during difficult life events, especially when that support comes from a faith community.

“I have, frankly, healed through so many grief issues that I didn’t even realize I had as a child, due to my faith and due to the experience of working with kids,” she said. “I think that’s God’s miracle working through these people. They are all such wonderful people.”

Shared sorrow Serio also lines up donated meals for the families who attend.

“Families would usually be rushing, not having a chance to eat supper,” Serio said. “Or, they’d eat junk.”

Serio and the other facilitators didn’t realize how important providing a meal would be to the group dynamic.

Miranda Noll, 33, a parishioner of St. Thomas Becket, said she feels more connected to the parents when she sits down for a meal with them. The parents become more comfortable with the facilitators, so they’re willing to share information that’s helpful for the facilitators as they work with the children.

“Their lives, their situations are in flux,” said Noll, a mother of three who’s volunteered with PALS for four years. “So, everything is constantly readjusting. We’re as flexible as we can be, and I think that’s comforting.”

While grief is the common denominator among the kids, they go to PALS for a variety of reasons, mostly divorce, death or mental illness in the family. With those issues come pressure, worry and frustration.

This past year, 12 kids ranging in age from 4 to 14 attended the hour-and-a-half sessions one night a week from October to March. With their group leaders, they went through a variety of topics; a specific emotion served as each evening’s theme. Using age-appropriate games, crafts and the occasional science experiment, the kids talked about how to deal with their feelings. At the end of each session, the kids took home a trinket to

The Catholic Spirit’s Acts of Mercy series is mad National Catholic Society of Foresters. Learn abo

of

Mercy

April 28, 2016 • 11

Comfort the sorrowful

By Father Michael Van Sloun LEFT Bonnie Serio, a parishioner and pastoral care specialist at St. John Neumann in Eagan, comforts 8-year-old Max as he hugs his mom, Debbie Gonsioroski, during a March 3 session of Partners Around Loss through Support, or PALS, a support group sponsored by the parish and Faithful Shepherd Catholic School in Eagan, where the group meets.

BELOW A family creates labyrinth art March 3 during a session of PALS.

to block it out of my memory. I didn’t want to revisit it,” said Christine, who was 10 when her father died. “But I think the kids made me realize that some of the worst experiences you go through can be tools to help others.”

A prayerful walk forward

remind them of the lesson: a deflated balloon representing letting out steam when angry, or a plastic candle to show how they can “let their light shine.”

“The biggest thing with this program is the fact that these kids feel different because of their loss,” said Annmarie Tenhoff, 60, who has volunteered alongside Serio since 2003 and also is a St. John Neumann parishioner. “And when they are in these groups with kids who have suffered the same loss, it’s finally an environment where they can talk about it because they’re not different in that group. So, it’s kind of heartwarming to see that.”

As a wellness practitioner specializing in stress resilience, Tenhoff leads the parent group, an addition to the PALS program. She knows what some of them are going through. Her own husband died in 2001 when her three kids were in grade school and middle school. She said having the opportunity to talk about challenges and strategies is valuable for single parents, who are “in a club they never wanted to be in.”

“I think they’re finding there’s a lot of comfort in that,” she said. But for facilitators, she added, “It’s all about listening, and not advising. And I think that’s the difference. We’re all equipped to listen.”

Tenhoff’s daughter, Christine Tenhoff, 24, has a passion for working with kids. But the St. John Neumann parishioner was hesitant to become a PALS facilitator because she thought the experience would trigger her own emotions.

She was right.

“When I went through that whole grief process, I tried

de possible in part through a grant from the out the organization at www.ncsf.com.

By the looks of PALS’ last meeting March 3, one would have a difficult time guessing the families gathered in the cafeteria at Faithful Shepherd Catholic School were there for grief support.

A group of boys huddled together, laughing. Parents showed each other and facilitators pictures on their smartphones. Their evident bond was a culmination of the opening meals and conversations they had shared over the months. The group’s last meeting went through the familiar order: meal, craft and lesson.

But this night was special.

First-year participants received a prayer shawl from St. John Neumann’s prayer shawl ministry. Parents gently wrapped the shawls around their children’s shoulders and vice versa. Families who had been in the program the previous year received an olive wood cross.

The night ended ceremoniously with families walking a labyrinth to symbolize their path forward together in prayer and gratitude. Parents and children who embraced in the center of the labyrinth shed tears, proving the exercise was powerful.

“You’re never going to get lost in a labyrinth,” Serio said. (See related story on page 20.)

The families departed with a Serenity Prayer card.

Many plan to return next year.

For facilitator Sean Davy, 28, the last night brings sadness and hope.

“When I’m driving home, I think these poor kids are carrying around this heavy, heavy weight, [and] I just have had to pray, ‘Jesus, it’s you who’s helping them; it’s you who’s there for them,’ and just try to remember that at PALS, I’m there for an hour or so to help them carry it for a little bit,” said Davy, a St. John Neumann parishioner who’s a former leader with the Catholic organization NET Ministries. “You can’t fix it, you can’t take it away.”

“At the end, I’m so relieved we got through it, but then I wonder what’s going to happen to these dear folks from March till October,” Serio said. She gives families her phone number, so if they request to contact their facilitator, she’ll connect them.

Parents usually exchange information and get together in the off-season, Serio added.

“Even these moms, these parents, don’t realize that what they’re doing are works of mercy,” she said.

The fourth spiritual work of mercy is to comfort the sorrowful. It is also known as to comfort the afflicted. Sorrow is mental suffering when there is grief, sadness or mourning. It is deepest and most painful at the death of a loved one.

Sorrow comes as the result of innumerable other things: betrayal by a friend, the end of a valued relationship, unfair treatment, feeling alone, a disappointment or a failure, something regrettable that we have done, something mean or evil that has been done to us, a disability, or the losses associated with aging Father Michael — just to name a few.

When it comes to sorrow, VAN SLOUN Jesus truly has a compassionate heart. Jesus conducted a ministry of presence with those who were grieving a death. He went to be with mourners. When the widow of Nain lost her only son, he went to her and “he was moved with pity for her” (Lk 7:13). When the daughter of Jairus died, Jesus went to the home of her parents who were weeping and mourning (Lk 8:51). When Martha and Mary lost their brother, Lazarus, Jesus went to Bethany to be with them, and he wept with them (Jn 11:35).

Jesus comforted countless others who were sorrowful. When he encountered a dejected woman who had been crippled for 18 years, he comforted her, saying, “You are free of your infirmity” (Lk 13:12); when the criminal pleaded for mercy, Jesus comforted him saying, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43); and when the disciples were embarrassed about abandoning their master, Jesus comforted them saying, “Peace be with you” (Lk 24:36).

The role of comforter belongs not only to Jesus, but also to the entire Trinity. God says, “I will console and gladden them after their sorrows” (Jer 31:13b). The Holy Spirit is the comforter (Acts 9:31), the one who brings the divine gifts of consolation and peace.

God asks us to be angels of mercy who bring comfort to the sorrowful. When there has been a death, consolation is extended through personal presence. Go in person. Attend the wake or the funeral. Visit their home. Offer a kind word, but be careful about what is said. While people have the best intentions, I have heard people say some dreadful things: to parents who had lost a child, “at least you have the other children”; to a mother of a son who committed suicide, “God never gives us more than we can handle”; and, “I know just how you feel,” when, even if we have had a similar experience, we cannot know all of their trials and worries.

If we do not know what to say, it is better to say nothing at all. Speak with gestures. Smile. Offer a hug. Or give simple, sincere encouragement: “I love you.” “I’m praying for you.”

People are sorrowful for many reasons, and we can be angels of consolation by listening. A comforter is totally present mentally and focuses completely on another’s troubles. It is best not to interrupt or change the subject. Ask follow-up questions. Take time. Be patient. Treat them with reverence.

Comfort can be extended in multiple other ways: a card, a phone call, an email, flowers, a little gift, a home-cooked meal, help on a task, companionship, or a prayer on their behalf. We are the face, the voice and the love of God when we comfort the sorrowful.

Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata.

12 • The Catholic Spirit

FROM AGE TO AGE

April 28, 2016

Retirees put expertise into service with Ignatian Volunteer Corps

By Sam Patet For The Catholic Spirit After graduating with a degree in civil engineering in 1966, Tom Foley didn’t want to dive into the corporate world right away. Instead, he wanted to give of himself to those most in need.

So he joined the Peace Corps. He taught civil engineering to college students at a Catholic university in Chili.

Little did he know that 45 years later he’d be putting his teaching and Spanish skills to use with a new group of students. For five years, Foley has been volunteering twice a week at Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis.

He tutors sixth- through eighth-grade students in math, using his Spanish skills to communicate more easily with them. Approximately 75 percent of the student body is Spanish-speaking, Foley said.

“I felt that was perfectly suited to my interests and talents, so I thought I’d benefit being there,” he said. “And it has proven to be the case. I really enjoy it. I think the kids enjoy having me, and [the] faculty is very receptive to having volunteers.”

Foley, 72, has been able to do this thanks to the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, a 21-year-old program that pairs retirees with volunteer opportunities that fit their skills, interests and schedules.

“After very busy work lives, adults now have the time to use their life experiences in a meaningful way for others and take the time to explore and deepen their spirituality,” said Kathleen Groh, regional director of IVC’s Minneapolis-St. Paul branch. “IVC combines these two needs by partnering with nonprofits that serve those who are poor and vulnerable and introducing the IVC volunteers to Ignatian spirituality.”

Ignatian Volunteer Tom Foley works on math with eighth-grader Gissele Olivos Aguilar April 25 at Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit IVC was founded by two Jesuit priests in Baltimore in 1995. They wanted to give retirees meaningful volunteer experiences that would make use of the many skills and talents they had gained over their careers. So they began establishing partnerships with local organizations that needed help in a variety of areas.

More than 20 years later, the organization has spread to 18 cities across the U.S. It came to the Twin Cities in 2002 as Catholic Charities was discontinuing its Servant Corps

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program and seeking to integrate those volunteers into a similar program.

When Groh took the helm in 2011, there were nine IVC volunteers. Today, there are 23.

Among them is 64-year-old Cheryl Dugan, a parishioner at Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville. After retiring from a corporate job in 2009, she began looking for a volunteer opportunity. Not only did she have a Master of Business Administration degree and years of managerial experience, but she also was a registered

pharmacist. That’s why IVC appealed to her.

“I wanted to really use the skills I had developed in my work life and my personal life,” Dugan said.

In 2011 she began volunteering at the Minnesota Internship Center, a set of four charter schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul that cater to high school students who haven’t been able to succeed in traditional school settings.

For four years, Dugan tutored students in mathematics and science. She also created and implemented a drug awareness program, and she helped organize the schools’ food and nutrition programs.

“It’s made me so much closer to all of God’s people, all of this world. I am different,” Dugan said. “I’ve gotten some gifts from God that others haven’t, and I want to share those.”

IVC is based heavily on Jesuit founder St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spirituality, which emphasizes finding God in experiences of everyday life. That’s why in addition to volunteering one to two days a week, IVC volunteers meet monthly to reflect on their experiences together.

“You become part of a group and meet on a regular basis . . . to review your volunteer work as well as read books together and grow spiritually together,” Dugan said. “That was very attractive.”

Like Dugan, Foley finds these meetings rewarding.

“I’ve told some touching stories about dealing with kids and how the kids so disarm you with their . . . own lives and their perception of what’s going on at school,” he said.

For more information about the Minneapolis-St. Paul branch of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, visit www.ivcusa.org/ivc-offices/msp.

FOCUS ON FAITH

April 28, 2016

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

The Catholic Spirit • 13

Sunday, May 1

Jeff Hensley

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Readings

• Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 • Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 • Jn 14:23-29

A special measure of the Holy Spirit The college student I was interviewing for an article in the North Texas Daily at the University of North Texas had retained his Jewish identity when he converted to an evangelical mode of Christianity.

Ron was very late to our appointment, and I found out why once he arrived.

People kept stopping him along the way and engaging him in conversations

about his newfound faith.

I’ve always thought it had something to do with a giftedness he had for sharing the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

In the May 1 Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

I’ve always thought Ron had a special measure of the Holy Spirit that caused him to draw people to himself, so he could share the wisdom of God’s love, the wisdom Jesus was talking about here.

On that first meeting with him, we began walking around the journalism offices on campus where I got to witness firsthand how God used Ron to communicate his love.

Person after person whom we greeted got into long, deep conversations about

God and Jesus. People with slender faith backgrounds were eager to discuss faith with this exceptional guy.

While I had started out to get a factual story about Ron, it turned into a faith-filled feature story that ran in the secular campus newspaper.

Hmm, Holy Spirit at work?

This Catholic News Service column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, May 1 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 Jn 14:23-29 Monday, May 2 St. Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church Acts 16:11-15 Jn 15:26—16:4a

Tuesday, May 3 Sts. Philip and James, apostles 1 Cor 15:1-8 Jn 14:6-14 Wednesday, May 4 Acts 17:15, 22—18:1 Jn 16:12-15

Friday, May 6 Acts 18:9-18 Jn 16:20-23 Saturday, May 7 Acts 18:23-28 Jn 16:23b-28

Thursday, May 5 Acts 18:1-8 Jn 16:16-20

Father Michael Schmitz

How can we keep our faith in the face of death?

Catholic school who just died. He was so young, and all of us students loved him so much. We all miss him so much. I am beginning to doubt my faith in all of this. What can I do?

A. Thank you so much for asking this question. There are times when “an answer” is not necessarily “the answer” that we need. This might be that time.

You asked the question of what you can do to keep your faith in the face of death and loss, but there are real wounds in your heart and in the hearts of the people around you. I think that wounds first need healing, not lecturing.

I am going to talk about what faith is and the role of faith. I am also going to offer some thoughts on how we look at death. But please be patient with me. I am a (relatively) old man who has been thinking and praying and living with things like suffering, death and faith for a long time. I think I may have started

Monday, May 9 Acts 19:1-8 Jn 16:29-33 Tuesday, May 10 Acts 20:17-27 Jn 17:1-11a

SEEKING ANSWERS

Q. There is a teacher at my

Sunday, May 8 Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Eph 1:17-23 Lk 24:46-53

diving into these realities when I was about 15 years old. Because of that, I sometimes forget to be patient and gentle with others who may not have encountered death before. I sometimes am too quick to give an answer rather than to remember that your encounter with death is not simply your reflecting on the concept of death; you have lost a significant person in your life. At this moment, death is very personal for you.

Your sadness, your grief, your loss — this is personal. And I think that this is a good place to start. Faith is personal as well.

I don’t merely mean to say that “faith is one’s personal belief.” I am saying that Christian faith is not faith in an idea. Christian faith is trust in a Person.

Too many people will reduce their faith to a set of beliefs. Of course, those beliefs are absolutely essential. The Creed is necessary, since it encapsulates the “stuff” we believe about God. But faith isn’t merely believing in a list of “whats.” Faith is trust in a “Who.” If faith were no more than hoping for

Wednesday, May 11 Acts 20:28-38 Jn 17:11b-19 Thursday, May 12 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Jn 17:20-26 Friday, May 13 Acts 25:13b-21 Jn 21:15-19

an outcome (“I have faith that everything will work out”), then it would be incredibly tenuous. At the first sign that we didn’t get what we wanted, at the first moment when we experienced loss, at the first major obstacle in life, we would be dangerously poised to abandon a faith that “didn’t deliver.” But as Christians, our faith is not hope for an outcome.

Our faith is trust in a Person.

We have faith in the God who created all that is. We have faith in the God who is the source of all that is good and loving and true. We have faith in the God who loves us and was even willing to redeem us through his own work of becoming human, suffering and dying for us. We have faith in the God who has proven that we can trust him even when all appears darkest. This whole thing is about trusting the God who has proven that he is trustworthy — even in the face of death.

For you to have faith, then, might look a certain way. It doesn’t mean that you can’t be sad. In fact, the more we love someone, the more their absence in our life hurts us. It doesn’t mean that you don’t grieve. We mourn any number of things when someone dies.

We grieve over what might have been.

We weep for all of the lives they could have touched and made more joyful.

We are heartbroken for all of the things we should have done for them or said to them. Sometimes death is the only thing that reminds us how special other people are.

But we also have hope. And faith.

Remember, our faith is trust in the

Saturday, May 14 St. Matthias, apostle Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 Jn 15:9-17 Sunday, May 15 Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23

person of Jesus. Jesus has conquered death and has made it possible for us to live with God forever. Your teacher knew Jesus. Your teacher had faith in Jesus. You can therefore have faith that the same Jesus who rose from the dead can also raise up your teacher. While our hearts are broken, and while we grieve over the loss of this good person and over our various regrets, if we love them, we also have joy. Your teacher had faith in Jesus. Now your teacher doesn’t need faith anymore. Your teacher has Jesus.

You asked, “What can I do?” We know that most of those who die in Christ are not fully prepared to enter into the fullness of God’s presence.

Most of us will need to experience some kind of purification. You can actually help your teacher by praying for him.

Offer up your holy Communion for his soul. Offer up praying the rosary for him and for all the souls in purgatory.

When you walk by his classroom, rather than merely be reminded of your loss, also be reminded to pray for him.

Pray for your teacher and for every person who has died. And when you do this, know that your faith will gain ever greater strength, because you will be exercising it. Every prayer you utter will be an exercise of trust in the person of Jesus Christ.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@ gmail.com.

14 • The Catholic Spirit

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

EVERYDAY MERCIES

Alyssa Bormes

Finding a bold friend in St. Catherine of Siena With her April 29 feast day right around the corner, it seems like a good idea to talk about a friend.

I met her in 2002. It was my first pilgrimage, and I had no idea what to expect. We were in Siena, Italy, visiting the relics and following in the footsteps of St. Catherine of Siena. Other people on the trip seemed to already know her, but I had just come back to the Church and didn’t really know any saints, except for a little about Mary.

My fellow pilgrims would say things like, “Don’t you just love St. Catherine?”

I nodded, because I was certain that I did

love her. It was great to hear the stories of how she had interceded in their lives.

When someone asked if I had a devotion to her, I was a little shy about saying that I didn’t really know her, but came to know her through my companions and the city.

Who is Catherine of Siena? Well, she’s a saint! She was born in 1347 and died shortly after her 33rd birthday. She knew from a young age that she would be consecrated to Christ. At 16, she became a Dominican Tertiary and began a life of solitude. A few years later she began to help the sick and poor. This continued,

although her life became much more public. She helped the papacy return to Rome. As she preached, confessors accompanied her, as those who heard her came home through the sacrament. She wrote and dictated her visions, and her writings are still accessible today. In short, Catherine was a bold woman of the Church.

As I said earlier, she is a friend. Perhaps what attracted me was her boldness.

Having been away from the Church for 17 years, I had the mistaken idea that everyone in the Church was more of a quiet kind of holy. This was troubling to me; once someone told me that even when I am quiet, my soul is loud. Did the Church have a place for a bold gal like me?

Yes. And Catherine showed me the way. First, she calmed me a bit with, “I am the fire, and you are the sparks.” She is speaking of God as the fire. I felt a fire within me, and Catherine made it clear that my own spark was welcomed.

She reminded me of God’s forgiveness: “Isn’t God more ready to forgive than we are to sin? And isn’t he our doctor,

April 28, 2016

“Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”

St. Catherine of Siena and we the sick ones?”

And then she kept calling to me with, “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” It has only taken 50 years for me to understand that I should do what I love. It seems far too early to say that I have set the world on fire, but the spark is there, and mixed with your spark, and her spark, we can set the world ablaze with the love of God. St. Catherine of Siena, thank you for being a great friend. Please, pray for us!

Bormes, a member of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, is the author of the book “The Catechism of Hockey.”

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA

Jonathan Liedl

‘The Joy of Love’ and family policy In his recently released exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis affirms the family as the foundational unit of society, the place where children are nurtured and formed in love and where spouses grow in self-giving. “The welfare of the family,” the Holy Father says, “is decisive for the future of the world and that of the Church.”

Later in the document, the Pope tells us that “[f]amilies have the right to be able to count on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains.”

Pope Francis is reminding us that “family policy” expands far beyond any limited set of issues. Instead, “family policy” should be a description of all good public policy. In other words, all laws and policies ought to contribute to — or at least not prohibit — the conditions that allow family life to flourish.

That the well-being of the natural family should be the focus of all social policy is a truth that animates the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s advocacy work at the Capitol. Below are some selections from Pope Francis’ exhortation with clear policy implications and related actions we’re taking to promote the conditions needed for family flourishing here in Minnesota.

— accessible and of good quality — which they wish to give their children in accordance with their convictions” (84).

Pope Francis reminds us that parents are the “primary educators” of their children. In order to expand the rights of parental choice in education to lowincome households throughout Minnesota, legislators should add tuition as an eligible expense to the K-12 education income tax credit.

Parental choice in education

“The problems faced by poor households are often all the more trying” (49).

Pope Francis tells us that poverty

“Parents themselves enjoy the right to choose freely the kind of education

Surrogacy “We cannot overlook the use of surrogate mothers and the exploitation and commercialization of the female body in the current media culture” (54).

Every child has the right to be conceived, carried in the womb, brought into the world and brought up within marriage. Surrogacy arrangements sever these crucial bonds while exploiting women and commodifying human life. MCC is asking legislators to create a legislative study commission to conduct a bipartisan, fact-finding analysis of the surrogacy industry to make sure our state is protecting the well-being of vulnerable women and children in Minnesota.

Assistance to low-income working families

Protect vulnerable women and children from surrogacy Ask your state representative to support a surrogacy commission A bill to create a much needed surrogacy study commission has made it into the State Government Finance omnibus bill. If passed into law, this legislation would establish a factfinding, bi-partisan body to study the potential risks associated with commercial surrogacy.

However, the surrogacy industry is proposing a task force instead of a commission. This approach would be less impartial and less effective in protecting vulnerable women and children.

We need to ensure that the Legislative Surrogacy Commission bill stays in the State Government Finance omnibus bill. Please call your state representative and share this message: “Please ensure that Legislative Surrogacy Commission (HF 437, Scott) stays in the State Government Finance omnibus bill (HF 3168). The news is full of disturbing stories of commercial surrogacy arrangements gone bad, and I want to make sure we’re doing all we can to protect vulnerable women and children.”

Don’t know who represents you or how to reach them? Visit www.gis.leg.mn/imaps/districts or call 651-296-8338.

takes “its toll on the serenity of family life.” This is why MCC is advocating for a $100 increase in the monthly cash assistance given to low-income working families through the Minnesota Family Investment Program. This rate hasn’t been raised in 30 years, despite significant increases in inflation and the cost of living.

Physician-assisted suicide “The family protects human life in all its stages, including its last. . . .

Similarly, the Church . . . feels the urgency to assert the right to a natural death, without aggressive treatment and euthanasia” (83).

A proposal to legalize physicianassisted suicide in Minnesota was successfully blocked earlier this year, but it will return again next year. We’re continuing to spread the word that this practice could endanger the elderly, undermines the dignity of people with disabilities and has no place in a state with world-class health care.

Immigration “[The dedication and concern shown to migrants serves] as a test of our commitment to show mercy in welcoming others and to help the vulnerable to be fully a part of our communities” (47).

The stability of families and the wellbeing of children need to be central concerns of immigration policy. This is why MCC continues to call for federal immigration reform, supports the federal deferred action programs to keep immigrant families together and advocates for the creation of a provisional driver’s license to allow undocumented people better access to work, church and school — all essential for family flourishing.

Liedl is communications manager at the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Church in Minnesota. To learn more about the implications for public policy in “The Joy of Love” and how to support MCC’s family-focused endeavors, visit www.mncatholic.org.

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

April 28, 2016

The Catholic Spirit • 15

THE LOCAL CHURCH

Father John Paul Erickson

Year of Mercy enhances annual rosary procession Pilgrimage is an apt image of Christian discipleship. Indeed, the earliest disciples were known to be “on the way.”

What is this “way?” It is the way home to the mansions of the Father and into the heart of God himself, that place of rest to which we are all called. This heart of the Father is truly the holiest of the “holy doors” of which Pope Francis speaks, and we are invited to enter with confidence into this great sanctuary of burning love. How fitting to be led through this door by the Mother of Mercy herself, our mama Mary, and on Mother’s Day of all days.

On May 8, Bishop Andrew Cozzens will lead thousands of Catholics from around the archdiocese on pilgrimage from the State Capitol to the beautiful Cathedral of St. Paul, accompanied by the pilgrim image of our Lady of Fatima through the Holy Doors in this jubilee Year of Mercy. For close to 70 years, Catholics from around the archdiocese have joined together for the May Day Rosary Procession, a public declaration of faith and devotion. But this year’s procession takes place within the great jubilee called by Pope Francis, and thus provides Catholics with an opportunity to reap the great spiritual fruits

unleashed by our Holy Father.

A special mercy available Throughout the jubilee year, a plenary indulgence is available to all pilgrims who pass through the Holy Doors in a spirit of contrition and openness to the mercy of God. An indulgence is a particular kind of divine mercy, where all temporal punishment due to sin is remitted.

The Church teaches that every sin not only offends God, but also does damage to the body of Christ. This damage must be healed through restitution of some kind. By means of an indulgence, the damage is healed through the application of the prayers, sufferings and works of the members of the Church, and not necessarily through the repentant sinner’s own efforts to “make things right.” The conditions of a plenary indulgence include being in a state of grace, receiving holy Communion, making a sacramental confession, praying for the intentions of the Holy Father and striving to be detached from all sin.

Some pious act or prayer is also necessary, such as making a pilgrimage or passing through the locally

This heart of the Father is truly the holiest of the “holy doors” of which Pope Francis speaks, and we are invited to enter with confidence into this great sanctuary of burning love.

designated Holy Doors of the Cathedral or Basilica. Every diocese has such a set of doors during this great year of grace, and they represent an especially powerful way in which the Holy Father invites us to experience the mercy of the Father.

All Catholics are invited and strongly encouraged to join us for this special day of grace. Pilgrims will gather at the Capitol at 1:30 p.m., and will begin the walk to the Cathedral at 2 p.m. Those unable to make the journey are encouraged to gather at the Cathedral to pray for the pilgrims as they make their journey up the hill. A brief prayer service

and a special message, delivered by Bishop Cozzens, will take place when all pilgrims have arrived at the Cathedral.

The day will close with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Celebrate Mother’s Day by making a pilgrimage and opening the doors of your own heart to the graces of this great jubilee.

Father Erickson is the director of the Office of Worship of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. For more information about the rosary procession, visit www.archspm.org/events.

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN

Deacon Jim Bauhs

Catholic Watchmen aims to meet men where they are at On Saturday, Feb. 27, I had the privilege to serve as deacon at the Mass for the Archdiocesan Men’s Day at the University of St. Thomas fieldhouse.

From my vantage point, seated between Bishop Andrew Cozzens and Father Bill Baer, I was able to look out over the sea of more than 1,700 men. That view gave me great hope. These men, our brothers in Christ, gathered together to learn about the Catholic Watchmen movement that has begun in this archdiocese. They accepted the challenge to become Catholic Watchmen, pledged to exercise the seven disciplines of the Catholic Watchmen movement and to support each other, and they were initiated as Catholic Watchmen by Bishop Cozzens.

You may be saying, “Well, deacon, that’s great for those 1,700 guys, but I’m just not sure if that’s for me right now.” My response is: “That is perfectly fine.” God wants to meet you exactly where you are at. But, he does not want

to leave you there. He has so much more planned for you. Are you being called to be a Catholic Watchman?

God created you to provide for, protect and lead your family. Sin entered the world when Adam failed to protect his family, Eve. In Genesis 3:6b we read, “So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Adam was right there. He did not protect Eve from Satan. Don’t let that happen to your family.

How can you prepare to better provide, protect, and lead your family?

By committing to the seven disciplines of Catholic Watchmen: • Daily: Praying, reading sacred Scripture and being a spiritual father.

• Weekly: Be fully engaged at Sunday Mass, and be a witness to your family and community.

• Monthly: Go to confession and attend parish-based meetings with

These men will support you; they will also challenge you to become a more perfect version of yourself.

other Catholic men.

Successfully exercising these seven disciplines will help you become a better version of yourself.

Becoming a better man This movement has been structured to meet men wherever they are at on their individual journey. You can gather with your Catholic brothers in social settings to get to know each other and enjoy fellowship. These men will support you; they will also challenge you to become a more perfect version of yourself. For Jesus also challenges us in Matthew 5:48: “So be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Your fellow Catholic Watchmen will help you meet this challenge.

I see a great potential in the Catholic Watchmen movement because of the many similarities to my own personal experience. Entering into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through the study of Scripture, spending time with him in prayer and adoration, and surrounding yourself with other men who are on the same journey who will challenge you, hold you accountable

and support you, parallels my formation and life as a permanent deacon. Exercising the seven disciplines, like the deacon formation program, will make you a better man, husband, father, son, Christian and Catholic. You can become the best version of yourself.

A wise friend of mine shared the following quote from Jim Rohn: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Who are the five people that you spend the most time with? Do they lift you up? Or do they drag you down? The Catholic Watchmen movement is providing opportunities to associate with men who will lift you up. Will you make Jesus one of your five?

Your Catholic brothers are waiting and wanting to meet, challenge, and support you.

A member of Bishop Cozzen’s Catholic Watchmen Vanguard, Deacon Bauhs was ordained in 2010 and ministers at Guardian Angels in Chaska. He also serves as director of mission and outreach at St. Hubert in Chanhassen.

16 • The Catholic Spirit

CALENDAR

April 28, 2016

Crafters spring sale — April 30-May 1:

Please note Because The Catholic Spirit is publishing a special installation issue of Archbishop Bernard Hebda May 26, there will be no calendar events published in that edition. Events will continue to be posted at www. thecatholicspirit.com/calendar.

11 a.m.–6:30 p.m. April 30 and 8 a.m.–1 p.m. May 1 at 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. www.guardian-angels.org.

CALENDAR submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated date of publication.

St. Genevieve Madonna luncheon, “500” cards and cribbage — May 2: noon at the parish

community center, 6995 Centerville Road, Centerville. 651-429-7937.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it when describing your event.

St. Bonaventure garage sale — May 3-5:

5:30–7:30 p.m. May 3 preview sale, 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

May 4, and 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 5 in Ambrose Hall, 901 E. 90th St., Bloomington. 952-884-3145.

ITEMS MUS T INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar:

St. Victoria Catholic United Financial Council matching grant rummage sale — May 5-6:

Music St. Catherine Choral Society Spring Concert — May 1: 3 p.m. at 515 S. Albert St., St. Paul. www.stkate.edu/arts/music-and-theater

Ongoing groups Faithful Spouses support group — Third Tuesday of each month: 7-8:30 p.m. in Smith Hall (second

floor) of the Hayden Building, 328 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul. For those who are living apart from their spouses because of separation or divorce.

651-291-4438 or faithfulspouses@archspm.org.

Career Transition group meeting — Third Thursday of every month: 7:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus

Catholic Community, 155 County Road 24, Medina.

The Career Transition Group is for people looking for work, changing careers, or looking to improve skills and network. www.hnoj.org/career-transition-group.

Dementia Support Group — Second Tuesday of every month: 7-9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center

at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. 651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Parish events 4–8 p.m. April 28, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. April 29 and 9 a.m.–noon. April 30 at 3637 11th Ave. S., Minneapolis. 612-724-5465 or www.churchoftheholyname.org.

St. Gabriel Women’s Club rummage sale — April 28-30: 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m. April 28, 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m.

April 29 and 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. April 30 at 1310 Mainstreet, Hopkins. www.stgabrielhopkins.org.

St. Mary of the Lake rummage sale — April 28-30:

5–8 p.m. April 28, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. April 29 and 8 a.m.–noon. April 30 at St. Mary of the Lake Parish Life Center Gym, 4690 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake. 651-429-7771.

All Saints Spring Gala — April 30: 6–10 p.m.

at 19795 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. www.allsaintschurch.com.

“April in Paris” gala fundraiser — April 30:

6 p.m. at 7025 Halifax Ave. N., Brooklyn Center. www.stalsgala2016.weebly.com.

• Contact information in case of questions ONLINE: www.thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul MN 55102

St. Bridget rummage sale — May 5-7:

9 a.m.–7 p.m. May 5, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. May 6 and 8 a.m.–noon May 7 at 4050 Upton Ave. N., Minneapolis. www.stbridgetnorthside.com.

Cinco de Mayo taco sale — May 7: 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe, 401 Concord St., St. Paul. 651-228-0506 or www.olgspchurch.com.

A note to readers As of Jan. 1, 2016, The Catholic Spirit no longer accepts calendar submissions via email.

Please submit events using the form at www.thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions.

St. Michael Spring Fling — May 13:

4–9 p.m. at 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington. www.stmichael-farmington.org.

Schools

Transfiguration garage sale — May 13-14:

Benilde-St. Margaret’s garage sale — April 29-30:

9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 13 and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. May 14 at 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. www.TransfigurationMN.org.

Taste of St. Mary’s — May 15: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at 261 Eighth St. E., St. Paul.

Epiphany Springfest — May 20-21: 5–11 p.m. May 20 and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. May 21 at 1900 111th Ave. NW, Coon Rapids. www.epiphanymn.org/spring_fest_2016.aspx.

Prayer and worship Contemporary music Mass — May 8:

Holy Name rummage sale — April 28-30:

• Time and date of event • Full street address of event • Description of event

7 a.m.–7 p.m. May 5 and 7 a.m.–3 p.m. May 6 at St. Victoria parish center, 8228 Victoria Drive, Victoria.

10:30 a.m. at St. Edward, 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S., Bloomington. 952-835-7101 or www.stedwardschurch.org.

Archdiocesan Rosary Procession with Bishop Andrew Cozzens — May 8: 1:30 p.m. in lower level

mall of State Capitol, St. Paul. www.archspm.org.

Taize prayer — May 20 and third Friday of each month: 7– 9:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery,

2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. 651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Retreats Celebration of Mothers, Grandmothers, Daughters, Sisters and Friends with Susan Stabile — May 7: 9

a.m.–3 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. 763-682-1394.

Half-day retreat on spiritual warfare with Father Michael Miller — May 14: 8 a.m.–noon at

Immaculate Conception, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. 763-788-9062 or www.iccsonline.org.

“To change the world, we must be good to those who cannot repay us.”

Pope Francis

Nominations for the 2016 Leading With Faith awards are being accepted through May 2 at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.

Call 651-251-7709 for more information.

April 29 preview sale, 4–8 p.m.; April 30, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. in the Haben Center, 2501 Highway 100 S., St. Louis Park.

Queen of May dinner and auction to benefit Immaculate Conception School — May 6:

5:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception School, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights.

763-788-9062 or www.iccsonline.org.

Blessed Trinity Catholic School golf tournament — May 16: Noon at 6300 Auto Club Road,

Bloomington. www.btcsmn.org/about/ golftournament.htm.

Conferences, seminars, workshops

Come Spirit Come — May 12: 7–9 p.m. at

St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. 651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Other events “Lejeune’s Legacy: The Contested History of the Discovery of Trisomy 21” by David Wright — April 28: 6:30 p.m. OEC Auditorium, University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. www.stthomas.edu.

Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center’s Franciscan International award dinner — May 5:

6–8:30 p.m. at Wilds Golf Club, 3151 Wilds Parkway NW, Prior Lake. 952-447-2182 or www.franciscanretreats.net/fiadinner.aspx.

“Growing through Loss” — Thursdays through May 12: 6:45–9 p.m. at St. Joseph of the Lakes,

Abria Pregnancy Resources’ Life is Wonderful Fun Run/Walk and 5K race — May 7: 9 a.m. at

171 Elm St., Lino Lakes. www.growingthroughloss.org.

Raspberry Island, 1 Wabasha St. S., St. Paul. www.supporters.abria.org.

Stephen Ministry Workshop — April 30:

Project Life – annual Life Walk — May 7:

9 a.m.– 1 p.m. at St. Edward, 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S., Bloomington. 314-428-2600 or www.stephenministry.org/workshop.

9:30–11:30 a.m. at Valley View Park, Oak Park Heights. 651-439-5964 or www.stillwaterprojectlife.org.

April 28, 2016 The Catholic Spirit • 17

Ascension: an educational way that works

Icon on northside retiring

Continued from page 6

Continued from page 6

have. Classrooms need to be lively, the lessons need to resonate with the culture. Otherwise, you’re not going to reach them.”

Test scores, behavior and support services all are constantly monitored to see what needs to be improved, Woods said.

Students who fail to turn in work on time learn what Woods called “survival lessons.”

She advised some seventh-grade scholars who had missed a deadline how they might have better handled the situation by apologizing to their teacher and asking for more time to complete the assignment.

“I told them none of us is perfect, but if you’ve made a mistake, you have to fix it,” she said. “You will be held accountable.”

Woods said Ascension doesn’t shy away from its Catholic tradition, even though 67 percent of its students are non-Catholic. The fact that all Ascension students attend Mass and learn Catholic teaching and traditions isn’t a barrier to parents of other faith traditions, the principal said.

“There’s no escaping the Christianity and Catholicity of Ascension School,” Woods said. “It’s in your face every time you turn around. We expect children to learn, and, at the same time, to be exposed to the blessings of the Catholic Church and the Christian faith.

“We want them to be asking, ‘What is my purpose in life? What does God expect of me?’”

Recently, during her regular morning message, Woods reminded her scholars that their talents are “jewels” God has given them to help others.

Woods takes satisfaction in watching Ascension graduates achieve success in life, people like Jamil Payton who has followed her into the education field.

“I’m really proud of him,” Woods said of the

assistant principal at North View Middle School in Brooklyn Park.

She doesn’t hesitate in spelling the name of Seleeke Flingai, a more recent Ascension graduate.

Flingai, originally from Liberia, went on to the Massachusetts Institue of Technology and just this month earned a doctorate degree from the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. A biomedical researcher, he is focusing on vaccine access for people in developing countries, Woods said.

Along with taking satisfaction in how Ascension impacts young people, she’s seen how the school has affected the northside community.

“It’s exciting to see parents turn their lives around because the child has become more Christ-centered,” Woods said. “We’ve had parents come off the streets from prostitution, come off drugs. We’ve had families stabilized. Parents [have] gone back to college.”

The impact of his parish school isn’t lost on Ascension’s pastor.

“Catholic schools in north Minneapolis have a 100-years-plus history of educating those for whom a quality education was otherwise unavailable,” said Father Korogi, himself a graduate of one of those northside parish schools, St. Phillip.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who has focused on education in his ministry as auxiliary bishop, said offering a tuition tax credit to parents of limited incomes and increasing incentives to education donors would help the Catholic Church and other institutions that provide nonpublic education to continue their outreach to people most in need.

“The proposals before the Legislature right now are a profound opportunity to help poor families choose an education that helps their children get a step ahead,” he said. “If those families could get a tax break it would really make a difference.”

Minneapolis’ northside.

Populated with mostly white students, those schools were more interested in the financial subsidies tied to Ascension’s students than the students themselves, Woods charged.

“I recommended we go it alone and trust that God will supply our needs,” she said. Under Woods’ watch, Ascension enrollment has regularly remained at 250 or above, reaching as high as 300.

It hasn’t always been easy for her personally.

Minnesota is “the most racist place I’ve ever lived,” said Woods, who is black. Among her reasons is the chilly reception she received upon becoming Ascension’s principal.

Hired too late to attend the annual pre-school year meeting of Catholic school principals, Woods missed getting the packet of information each school leader received. When she called what was then the Catholic Education Center to ask that it be mailed, a staff member said she would deliver it personally.

“The first thing she said when she got here was, ‘From under what rock did they find you?’” Woods said.

Jamil Payton was an eighth-grader when Woods arrived. Now an assistant principal in the Osseo district, Payton worked in administration and counseling at Ascension for five years.

“I truly learned what it means to be a servant leader,” he said, “to work not only for the students but for the staff, and really caring about students and student achievement.”

After retirement, Woods plans to keep her hand in education. She said she is negotiating with a Catholic university to supervise teachers. And, Woods said with a smile, she expects to be spending lots of time with her first grandchild, due this summer.

— Bob Zyskowski

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18 • The Catholic Spirit

FAITH & CULTURE

April 28, 2016

After teen pregnancy, family unites in pro-life advocacy Family gears up for Abria’s May 7 walk/run

Three generations of the Spinharney family of Holy Family in St. Louis Park plan to participate in the Life is Wonderful Family Fun Run/Walk and 5K race May 7 on Raspberry Island in St. Paul in support of Abria Pregnancy Resources. From left, Sharon and Bob Spinharney, son-inlaw Jeremy Miller, granddaughter Taylor Miller and daughter Kara Miller.

Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit

By Jessica Weinberger For The Catholic Spirit Kara Miller knew she had choices.

Shocked and scared to find herself pregnant at age 18, this cradle Catholic knew that abortion was an option at the clinic she visited, but she knew it wasn’t an option for her. But as Miller sat crying with her boyfriend, they wrestled with the remaining choices — should they put the baby up for adoption or raise the baby themselves as a young, unwed couple?

She called out to God for a lifeline.

“I prayed and said, ‘If you want me to keep this baby, you need to start providing me with a crib and the stuff I need, because I’m basically on my own here,’” Miller, 36, recounted.

The simple tokens of a donated crib and a diaper bag served as God-directed signs that Miller and her boyfriend, Jeremy, were called to set aside their own plans for the future and begin a new family of three.

That baby, Taylor, is now 16, and Kara and Jeremy, now married, are raising their five children in Shakopee and advocating for pro-life ministries that show soon-to-be parents faced with unexpected pregnancies that abortion is not the only option.

The Millers, parishioners at Holy Family in St. Louis Park, will be participating in the “Life is Wonderful” Family Fun Run/Walk and 5K May 7 on Raspberry Island in St. Paul in support of Abria Pregnancy Resources. Opened in October 2015 in St. Paul, Abria offers medical and personal support services, as well as material assistance, for Twin Cities women and couples facing unexpected pregnancies.

Kara’s parents, Bob and Sharon Spinharney, also parishioners at Holy Family, will be walking alongside the family at the event, just as they did with Kara during her journey from a college freshman with hopes of becoming a teacher or business

professional to a pregnant teen and young mother.

Called to love Admittedly angry and upset by the news of Kara’s pregnancy, Bob and Sharon spent the first several weeks trying to understand how to live with this new reality in their family, which included two younger siblings at home.

“I went to a spiritual director, who helped me realize that I had to stop and think this through and realize that we are called to love everyone no matter what mistakes they’ve made,” said Bob, 67, a former sales executive.

Day by day, they worked to release their pride and identify ways they could help their daughter prepare for their first grandchild. Sharon offered to watch the baby full-time, and they turned to prayer with a specific focus on Mary to guide them and maintain their unity as a family.

“When it would be time to go to Mass on Sundays, we would bring our pregnant daughter,” said Sharon, also 67 and a full-time homemaker. “I was really wounded as a mother and felt betrayed, but I still had to walk in, proud of my family.”

As Jeremy was taking his high school finals, Kara went into labor and soon welcomed Taylor into the world. The couple married two years later, and by the time Kara was 23, she was at home full time with three children as Jeremy completed his college degree.

Financially tapped and emotionally exhausted, they struggled navigating adulthood, life as newlyweds and raising three young children. It was a difficult time in their marriage until they surrendered it to Christ through prayer and time in the adoration chapel.

Hope for the future As they became more established as a family, they started taking a more active role in the pro-life movement, speaking at parenting classes, participating in Rosaries for Life and praying in front of a Robbinsdale abortion clinic with Taylor at their side. Jeremy, an Internet technology recruiter, also serves as a sidewalk counselor for Pro-life Action Ministries.

“When I was a kid, there weren’t as many pro-life options where people will encourage you to look into keeping the baby or adoption instead of abortion,”

Kara said. “We want to be involved so people know they have another option.”

Their participation in the Abria event is a testament to how far their family has come, in both choosing life more than 16 years ago and in a different struggle for life — her father’s fight with an aggressive cancerous brain tumor they discovered on New Year’s Eve 2014.

Following radiation and chemotherapy, they received confirmation this March that the tumor had stopped growing and they could stop his intense treatment plan.

Bob plans to honor his daughter and wife by walking alongside them in support of Abria’s work.

“We need places like Abria that are positive and in the area where a lot of this is happening to give them an alternative,” Sharon said.

Kara hopes their story shows soon-tobe parents that despite any mistakes they’ve made, a beautiful blessing is in store if they choose life.

“This kid deserves every chance, and there’s so many people out there that want to give you and that baby a chance,” she said. “Don’t be afraid.”

April 28, 2016

FAITH & CULTURE

The Catholic Spirit • 19

Minneapolis Catholic Workers Erica Sherwood and Joe Kruse outside the Rye House.

Maria Wiering/ The Catholic Spirit

Mpls. Catholic Workers back Black Lives Matter

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

Founded in 2011, the Minneapolis Catholic Worker operates out of two houses: the Rye House in the Phillips neighborhood and the On April 11, Black Lives Matter activists Park House on nearby Park Avenue. Not all reportedly shut down intersections and a light members are Catholic, but they share a rail station near Target Field during the commitment to the Catholic Worker vision, Minnesota Twins’ home opener against the explained Kruse, who is Catholic.

Chicago White Sox. In 2014, the Rye and Park Houses officially Demonstrating with them were more than affiliated with the Catholic Worker 70 members of the Catholic Worker movement. Nine members live in the two movement from across the Midwest. Their houses. participation was the culmination of a fourMost of the Minneapolis Catholic Workers day Faith and Resistance Retreat on racial are white, Kruse said. The question of how a justice hosted by the Minneapolis Catholic predominantly white Worker in collaboration with movement becomes useful to Black Lives Matter leaders. a racial justice movement was Local Catholic Workers have central to the Faith and been supporting Black Lives “There’s all of Resistance Retreat, Kruse said.

Matter as the organization has It’s a question they’ve explored protested the death of Jamar this Catholic before; last year’s retreat was Clark, a black man who died held in St. Louis, where after being shot by white [social] teaching Catholic Workers had police officers in November. responded to the unrest in Recent Black Lives Matter that’s calling us Ferguson, Missouri, following efforts, including the Twins Michael Brown’s policegame demonstration, have to action.” involved shooting. focused on contesting the “It’s listening to the voices Hennepin County Attorney’s Joe Kruse of black people,” said March 30 announcement that Sherwood, a Catholic. “It’s charges would not be filed learning to hear their struggle. against the officers involved in I’ll never know what it’s like to the shooting. be black in America, but I’ve come to trust the Minneapolis Catholic Workers Joe Kruse, people who are a part of that movement so 27, and Erica Sherwood, 26, say working with much. I have so much love for them.”

Black Lives Matter is a natural fit for the She added: “This isn’t my struggle . . . so it’s Catholic Worker movement. not my place to choose how to respond to it. I “Since its inception, the Catholic Worker need to choose to follow the people whose has been outspoken around American racial struggle it is, and that might be injustice,” Kruse said. “It has never been a uncomfortable.” primary focus for the movement. . . . [But] Kruse is aware of the growing criticism that that’s one thing we’re really motivated [about] Black Lives Matter’s disruptive tactics are in our house — and I think there are Catholic ineffective in achieving racial justice. He Workers in other cities who feel strongly — pulled up a Washington Post chart of a 1961 that it can and should be a large part of our Gallup poll on the Freedom Riders, civil rights work.” activists who challenged segregation with Founded in 1933 by Peter Maurin and sit-ins and other demonstrations. The Dorothy Day — whose sainthood cause majority of respondents said the Freedom entered a new phase April 19 (see page 9) — Riders’ work harmed desegregation efforts. the Catholic Worker movement emphasizes The Freedom Riders’ impact despite simple living, serving the poor, hospitality negative public opinion signals to Kruse that and nonviolence.

Black Lives Matter can also make a long-term Communities are autonomous; a Catholic difference.

Worker website lists 13 communities in Minnesota affiliated with the movement.

Kruse noted that activists from a variety of “Dorothy Day didn’t set up any centralized Christian denominations have shown support way a Catholic Worker should be, or some for Black Lives Matter, but Catholics have not sort of blueprint about ‘these are the things demonstrated in large numbers. He’d like to that you have to do,’” Kruse said. “But, it is see more Catholic leaders involved, he said. fair to say that there are common charisms or “There’s all of this Catholic [social] teaching things that are emphasized.” that’s calling us to action,” he said.

Robert Du Fresne 2015 Large Business Honoree

“To change the world, we must be good to those who cannot repay us.”

Do Pope Francis’ words describe someone you know? Someone who has the courage, humility and spirit of service to Lead with Faith at their workplace? The Catholic Spirit is celebrating the 15th year of our Leading with Faith Awards, which recognize women and men in the archdiocese whose Catholic values shape their work ethic and service to others. We have been honored to include among our past winners Robert Du Fresne, owner and founder of Du Fresne Manufacturing Company in Vadnais Heights, who believes turning to God was instrumental in helping his business survive hard times.

Nominations are being accepted through May 2 at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com or by calling 651-251-7709 for more information.

20 • The Catholic Spirit

THE LAST WORD

April 28, 2016

Peaceful path Labyrinth prayer ‘a calming, healing process,’ retreat director says

“It’s really an emptying. As you focus on just walking and whatever intention you bring in there, everything else just moves off to the side.”

Brother Bob Roddy

The design of the labyrinth in Chartres cathedral in France. iStock

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

T

he words “labyrinth” and “maze” are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing, Lisa Moriarty said, holding up paper examples of each.

A maze, she explained, is designed to trick and confuse, prompting the application of problem-solving skills.

A labyrinth, on the other hand, may look confusing, but it has only one path to the center, as winding as it may be.

“All you need to do is put one foot in front of the other and stay on the path, and you will get to the goal,” she said.

A labyrinth designer from Stillwater, Moriarty spoke to about 35 people at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center in Prior Lake April 20 on “Labyrinths, Ancient Paths of Peace.” As part of the retreat center’s 50th anniversary, its leaders have commissioned Moriarty to design and install a labyrinth on its grounds in May. Despite their contemporary appeal, labyrinths’ use in Christianity is centuries old. Catholic churches adopted the ancient art forms in the Middle Ages, and scholars theorize that they may have symbolized a person’s spiritual journey and even served as micropilgrimages for faithful who couldn’t venture to Jerusalem. Among the most famous is the one inlaid in the floor of Chartres cathedral in France, but others

were constructed in churches in Algeria, Spain and Italy.

Although most people associate labyrinths with walkability, most of the earliest labyrinths — which predate Christ by as many as 2,000 years — were small carvings. They appeared in cultures around the world, from Russia and Egypt to Peru and Nepal. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that they regularly became spaces in which people could move, Moriarty said.

Medieval walkable labyrinths were also used outside of Christian contexts, Moriarty explained, pointing to Swedish fishing communities where fishermen walked labyrinths for luck or to superstitiously trap trolls who they believed could interfere with their catch.

This past and current use outside a Christian context has raised concerns among some that contemporary labyrinths are solely New Age tools.

Catholic experts say that while labyrinths can be used for non-Christian purposes, their appropriateness for Christian prayer depends on the context and user’s intentions.

Contemporary research into labyrinths as prayer tools has sparked a revival of interest and construction. The Twin Cities has more public labyrinths than any other metropolitan area in the world, Moriarty said.

While Catholics aren’t more likely to commission labyrinths than other Christian denominations, several can be found in local Catholic churches —

including the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, St. Patrick in Edina and St. Thomas Becket in Eagan.

Others are in parks, hospitals and cemeteries. Some local schools use labyrinths to teach conflict resolution skills, Moriarty said.

A Lutheran and consociate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Moriarty emphasized that there’s no right way to pray in a labyrinth. Typically, a person choses an intention, prays as he or she navigates the path, and upon reaching the center, pauses for more prayer before reversing the route.

Conventual Franciscan Brother Bob Roddy, Franciscan Retreats’ director, said the graces he’s received from praying in labyrinths inspired him to commission one for the center’s retreatants.

“I’ve done it many, many times on retreats and find it just a really calming, healing kind of process,” he said. “It’s really an emptying. As you focus on just walking and whatever intention you bring in there, everything else just moves off to the side.”

The labyrinth at Franciscan Retreats will include a grassy path outlined with bricks in a spot already shaded by an arc of trees. The center is looking for about 25 volunteers to help construct it May 14.

“It will just give people another tool to enhance their prayer experience here — to calm themselves, to focus and to listen,” Brother Bob said. “We’re surrounded by so much noise . . . so finding ways where people can experience quiet and can slow themselves down is so critical.”