The Catholic Spirit - August 22, 2019

August 22, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Local synod history A look back at nine previous synods in archdiocese shows that the twoyear effort leading up to 2021 synod will be unprecedented.

— Page 5

thecatholicspirit.com

SCHOOL READY?

Minnesota pride Local members of the Knights of Columbus successfully host national convention that draws more than 2,000.

— Page 8

A time to celebrate Archbishop Bernard Hebda reflects as he marks his 30th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, 10th anniversary as a bishop and 60th birthday.

— Pages 10-11

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Touchdown Jesus?

Eucharistic adoration and confession on the football field score points among youth and parents at a camp run by former Viking Matt Birk.

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We’re taking a summer break!

Look for our next issue Sept. 12.

Anna Plum looks to her mother, Megan, for feedback as the two shop at Donald’s Uniform in St. Paul Aug. 8. Megan took her six children to the store that day along with her mother, Terry McMahon. The family tradition of uniform shopping at Donald’s dates back to when Megan, 41, was a kindergartner at St. Joseph’s School in West St. Paul. “It’s great; I enjoy it,” Megan said. “This store is a staple for us as a Catholic family going to a Catholic grade school and high school. We love Donald’s.” Anna, 13, will be an eighth-grader at Nativity of Our Lord School in St. Paul. Also attending Nativity are her three younger brothers — George, 9, Eddie, 7, and William, 5. Her two older brothers — Jack, 16, and Charlie, 14 — attend Cretin Derham-Hall high school in St. Paul. School begins Sept. 3 for most Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. For Back to School coverage in this edition of The Catholic Spirit, see Pages 12-14.

Survey points to lack of belief in Real Presence

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

A

new study about the level of Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist showed that a majority of Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine used at Mass become the body and blood of Christ.

The findings drew a strong statement from Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles, who posted Aug. 6 on Twitter: “It’s hard to describe how angry I feel after reading what the latest @pewresearch study reveals about understanding of the Eucharist among Catholics. This should be a wake-up call to all of us in the Church.”

The Pew study, issued Aug. 5, showed that 69% of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the bread and wine used at Mass are not Jesus, but instead “symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” The other 31% believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, known as transubstantiation.

“Most Catholics who believe that the bread and wine are symbolic do not know that the Church holds that

transubstantiation occurs,” said Gregory Smith, associate director of research at Pew Research Center in Washington. “Overall, 43% of Catholics believe that the bread and wine are symbolic and also that this reflects the position of the Church.

“Still, one in five Catholics — 22% — reject the idea of transubstantiation, even though they know about the Church’s teaching,” Smith said.

The survey results “deeply saddened” Father Michael Van Sloun, pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata, who has been writing a regular column on the Eucharist in The Catholic Spirit for more than a year (his most recent column appears on Page 16). While skeptical of the survey’s 69%, he acknowledged that belief in the real presence has consistently been in at least the 40-50% range nationally and locally for the last 50 years.

“It’s because we’ve failed to catechize the sacrament,” he said.

Father Van Sloun has tried to educate his parishioners on the Real Presence. He has compiled his writings and created a booklet that is available to those who come to St. Bartholomew. He also preaches

about the Real Presence every year on the feast of Corpus Christi, which was June 23 this year and will be June 11 in 2020.

The most important way for people to learn and embrace the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, he said, is for them to experience Christ in eucharistic adoration. While he served at St. Stephen in Anoka, the parish built an adoration chapel in 1999. He noted that 700 people regularly came for perpetual adoration.

St. Bartholomew has adoration every Friday, which he started three or four years ago.

“If people understood the sacrament, they would hold it in higher regard and they would stay closer to the Mass and the Church. If they considered it the treasure that it really is, they could never leave (the Church),” he said.

Mass attendance also seemed to play a role in belief in the Real Presence. The number of survey respondents who believe in transubstantiation was higher among Catholics who go to Mass at least once a week. About five of every eight churchgoing Catholics believe in the Church’s PLEASE TURN TO REAL PRESENCE ON PAGE 9

2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

PAGETWO

“

You cannot be a Catholic and sit on the sidelines. To be a member of the Church means you’ve got to get in and get your hands dirty in the mix of the whole arena of faith from what we believe and profess to how we live and treat one another. ... You can’t not invest yourself into this family.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory Aug. 13 at DC Catholic’s monthly Theology on Tap for young adults in Washington, D.C.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FIRST PROFESSION Matthew Bjorklund, a St. Paul native, kneels in the sanctuary of St. Thomas More in St. Paul Aug. 10 as he makes his first profession of vows to the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.

He was one of five men who professed first vows during the Mass. He attends St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis and is assigned to Loyola University in Chicago.

NEWS notes

2,000

The number of care kits for the homeless Gather4Good, a service program of St. Paul-based Catholic United Financial, hopes to assemble Sept. 15 with the help of community volunteers at Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights. Starting at 11 a.m., volunteers will pack the kits with soap, toothpaste, washcloths and other personal care items. Refreshments, live music and kids’ activities will be provided.

Agencies that help the homeless will pick up and distribute the kits. Partners in the project include Catholic Charities’ Higher Ground shelter in Minneapolis.

$33,000

The amount of money reported stolen since last November to May of this year from St. Peter in Mendota. A former director of parish operations, Christopher Paul Seiple, 48, was charged in the case Aug. 15 with four counts of theft by swindle, the Pioneer Press in St. Paul reported. Seiple’s first court appearance is set for Oct. 7 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings. Father Steven Hoffman, pastor, and other parish officials notified parishioners in a July 26 letter, saying a former employee appeared to be involved. The parish’s insurance company was notified and a consultant is helping make operational changes at St. Peter to further protect parish funds, the letter said.

CHEWING THE EXTRA MILE Goats consume buckthorn shrubs and other unwanted vegetation at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Appleton, Wis., July 13.

Twelve goats help rid the cemetery of the invasive species of shrub, thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. Using goats for weed control is becoming popular around the country. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has used goats in state parks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Nebraska Department of Transportation and various fire departments in California also have turned to goats to clear weeds and brush.

2

The number of days the office at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul will be staffed each week through Oct. 15. The office at 753 Front Ave., 651-488-8806, will be open Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. People also can continue to dial the Calvary number Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or call Catholic Cemeteries’ headquarters at 651-228-9991, or visit the headquarters in person at 2105 Lexington Ave. S. in Mendota Heights. The new hours at Calvary Cemetery will continue next year, with the St. Paul office staffed Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 15 through Oct. 15.

6

The number of women who made first profession of vows to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee, Aug. 10. Among them was Shannon Conroy, now Sister Amara, a native of the Twin Cities who joined the order in 2017. A graduate of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood in 2011 who also attended St. Jude of the Lake Catholic School in Mahtomedi, the 26-year-old will attend Aquinas College in Nashville, run by her order, in September to pursue a masters in education. The Dominican SISTER AMARA Sisters are a teaching order, with three teaching at St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater and one serving as principal.

CNS

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 24 — No. 16 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief

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AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEMODERATOROFTHECURIA ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER

One small step — or leap — of faith

I

t was the summer of 1968. In May of the same year, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. In June of the same year, presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam War raged on. Throughout our nation, it was a summer of riots, protests and great unrest.

In this same year, NASA’s Apollo program was well underway. On Christmas Eve of 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the moon, the astronauts observed the rising of the earth. To mark this historic sight, the astronauts took turns reading from the opening of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. “Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light” (Gn 1:3). The astronauts of Apollo 8 gave us a Christmas gift that was truly a light of hope for so many people.

The following summer, with unrest still tearing at the social fabric of America, we gathered around televisions to witness the first human feet to stand upon the surface of the moon.

It would be many years later that I would read several accounts about how Buzz Aldrin, the one who followed Neil Armstrong as the second person on the moon, himself a Presbyterian, had privately and intentionally consumed bread and wine as his first food and drink on the moon. In these communion elements, Aldrin sensed his communion with the whole earth.

It is to be noted that when Armstrong said those memorable first words on the moon — “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” — he did not take a small step and then, because of low gravity, take a giant leap. No, the historic feat of this first step was the giant leap. So too, Buzz Aldrin’s use of bread and wine was one small step made in faith and became for him one giant leap into the mystery of Jesus Christ.

An ancient proverb reminds us that a 1,000-mile

Un pequeño paso o salto de fe

E

ra el verano de 1968. En mayo del mismo año, el reverendo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fue asesinado. En junio del mismo año, el candidato presidencial senador Robert F. Kennedy fue asesinado. Mientras tanto, la guerra de Vietnam continuó. En toda nuestra nación, fue un verano de disturbios, protestas y grandes disturbios.

En este mismo año, el programa Apollo de la NASA estaba en marcha. En la víspera de Navidad de 1968, cuando el Apolo 8 orbitaba la luna, los astronautas observaron el surgimiento de la tierra.

Para marcar esta vista histórica, los astronautas compartieron en la lectura de la apertura del primer capítulo del Libro del Génesis. “Entonces Dios dijo: Que haya luz, y hubo luz” (Gn 1, 3). Los astronautas del Apolo 8 nos dieron un regalo de Navidad que era realmente una luz de esperanza para tanta gente.

El verano siguiente, con los disturbios aún desgarrando el tejido social de Estados Unidos, nos reunimos alrededor de los televisores para presenciar los primeros pies humanos que se pararon

“

An ancient proverb reminds us that a 1,000-mile journey begins with the first step.

This is how it is with God.

iSTOCK | JAKKAPAN21

journey begins with the first step. This is how it is with God. Through the person and real presence of Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit, by grace, our small steps become giant leaps. u One small step toward the protection of one life is one giant leap to the sanctity of all life. u One small step toward forgiveness becomes one giant leap into the mercy of Jesus. uOne small step of reconciling differences becomes one giant leap into a more unified world. uOne small step toward the wounded becomes one giant leap in healing and reparation. uOne small step toward a greater care for our earth becomes one giant leap to cleaner air, water and land. uOne small step of social outreach to those most in need becomes one giant leap in the vision of

sobre la superficie de la luna.

Muchos años más tarde, leí varios relatos devarios relatos sobre cómo Buzz Aldrin, el que siguió a Neil Armstrong como la segunda persona en la luna, él mismo un presbiteriano, había consumido en privado e intencionalmente pan y vino como su primera comida y bebida en la luna. En estos elementos de comunión, Aldrin sintió su comunión con toda la tierra.

Cabe señalar que cuando Armstrong dijo esas memorables primeras palabras en la luna: “Ese es un pequeño paso para un hombre, un gran salto para la humanidad”, no dio un pequeño paso y luego, debido a la baja gravedad, dio un paso salto gigante. No, la hazaña histórica de este primer paso fue el salto gigante. Así también, el uso de pan y vino por parte de Buzz Aldrin fue un pequeño paso en la fe y se convirtió para él en un gran salto hacia el misterio de Jesucristo.

Un antiguo proverbio nos recuerda que un viaje de 1,000 millas comienza con el primer paso. Así es con Dios. A través de la persona y la presencia real de Jesucristo y la obra del Espíritu Santo, por gracia, nuestros pequeños pasos se convierten en saltos gigante. u Uno pequeño paso hacia la protección de una vida es uno salto gigante a la santidad de toda vida. u Un pequeño paso hacia el perdón se

eliminating poverty and homelessness. uOne small step toward justice becomes one giant leap into the peace for which we all long. uOne small step of participation in our community of faith becomes one giant leap into a more vibrant and dynamic parish. uOne small step toward the heaven that is yet to come becomes one giant leap into the heaven that is already here.

St. Theresa of Calcutta once said, “We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” One small step made in love becomes one giant leap into the mission of the Church.

One small step toward Jesus becomes one giant leap into the way and the truth of eternal life.

convierte en un salto gigante a la misericordia de Jesús. u Un pequeño paso para reconciliar las diferencias se convierte en un salto gigante hacia un mundo más unificado. u Un pequeño paso hacia los heridos se convierte en un salto gigante en curación y reparación. u Un pequeño paso hacia un mayor cuidado de nuestra tierra se convierte en un salto gigante hacia un aire, agua y tierra más limpios. u Un pequeño paso de alcance social para los más necesitados se convierte en un gran salto en la visión de eliminar la pobreza y la falta de vivienda. u Un pequeño paso hacia la justicia se convierte en un salto gigante hacia la paz que todos anhelamos. u Un pequeño paso de participación en nuestra comunidad de fe se convierte en un gran salto hacia una parroquia más vibrante y dinámica. u Un pequeño paso hacia el cielo que está por venir se convierte en un salto gigante hacia el cielo que ya está aquí.

Santa Teresa de Calcuta dijo una vez: “No todos podemos hacer grandes cosas.

Pero podemos hacer pequeñas cosas con gran amor ”. Un pequeño paso hecho en el amor se convierte en un gran salto en la misión de la Iglesia.

Un pequeño paso hacia Jesús se convierte

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Effective July 9, 2019 Reverend Douglas Ebert, appointed canonical administrator of Faithful Shepherd Catholic School in Eagan. This is in addition to his current assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint John Neumann in Eagan and as parochial administrator of the Church of Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis.

Effective August 1, 2019 Reverend Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan, appointed formation advisor for the seminarians from the Saint John Vianney Seminary who are living in Rome at the Pontifical Irish College. Msgr. Callaghan previously served as Minister to Retired Priests.

For more commentary: CatholicHotdish.com

4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

SLICEof LIFE Feet first into fall sports

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

From left, senior McKenzie Huyen, sophomore Cat Duffy-Shaw, senior Sophia Nimsger and senior Chloe Johnson of the Academy of Holy Angels girls soccer team battle for the ball during practice Aug. 14 at the Richfield school. Fall sports kicked off for prep teams statewide Aug. 12, the official start date set by the Minnesota State High School League. The Stars are excited about this season, with most starters returning from last year’s team, which reached the State Class A tournament. They also are motivated by the U.S. women’s soccer team that won the Women’s World Cup July 7. “Obviously, it hypes us up after seeing our women’s team go all the way,” said senior Gia Aleman, one of three team captains and a fourth-year varsity defender.

“The big goal is to win state. But, each day, we have to get better and better to get there.” In the background at left is senior Megan Kelley.

AUGUST 22, 2019

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

Mutual listening, Holy Spirit’s presence key to synod

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit When people gather to pray and share with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens and other archdiocesan leaders at events that begin next month and run through March, they will be part of an unprecedented, two-year effort in the 169-year history of the archdiocese.

Coming together in synodality, what Pope Francis calls “reciprocal listening, in which everyone has something to learn,” and praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, each person attending the threehour events will have a hand in preparing for an archdiocesan synod in 2021 that will help the archbishop establish pastoral priorities for the ensuing five to 10 years.

Everyone is invited, Bishop Cozzens said. “The doors are open at these events, and we want lots of people to come.”

Nine synods have been held in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, seven of them in its earliest years as a diocese under Bishop Thomas Grace — 1861, 1863, 1867, 1873, 1875, 1877 and 1878, archival documents and other records indicate.

Based on medieval church law that encouraged synods be held annually to help local bishops promulgate norms to the presbyterate, each of the seven synods were one-day events held on the last day of the annual clergy retreat. The synods dealt with organizational details, rules and regulations such as establishing deaneries, liturgical procedures, priestly dress, behavior and stipends, according to a history by James Michael Reardon, “The Catholic Church in the Diocese of St. Paul.”

An eighth synod was held in 1893 under Archbishop John Ireland. No records of the archbishop’s have been found detailing what happened, but the Catholic newspaper at the time, the Northwestern Chronicle, reported it was convened Aug. 26, said Allison Spies, archives program manager for the archdiocese. During that synod, Msgr.

Louis Caillet, then pastor of St. Mary in St. Paul, was appointed vicar general of the diocese, the newspaper reported.

The new Code of Canon Law of 1917 revised and formalized synod rules and reduced the frequency synods were held, Spies said.

A synod held under those rules in 1939 with Archbishop John Murray lasted three days, involved nominations to multiple formal synod roles and committees, and resulted in 137 official decrees, Spies said. But this synod, too, dealt largely with policies and procedures, such as “no member of the clergy shall meddle in political matters” and “no member of the clergy shall accept membership in secular organizations without the consent of the Ordinary,” according to records kept by the archdiocese.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law prompted further changes in how synods are conducted, particularly in encouraging more participation and input by the lay faithful.

So now, 80 years after the last synod in the archdiocese, the upcoming synod will be different than anything that has come before, said Bishop Cozzens, chairman of the 19-member executive team commissioned with determining and executing the logistics of the presynod process and the synod itself.

“This is a pastoral synod, more than it’s about legislation,” Bishop Cozzens said.

“Oftentimes, especially in the past, synods were used as a consultative tool to establish legislation in the local Church that needed to happen,” he said. “Since the establishment of other consultative bodies, which came from the Second

Vatican Council, there’s been less need of that,” he said, such as the Presbyteral Council and the archdiocese’s Corporate Board.

Archbishop Hebda also noted that the synod will be the first in the archdiocese since the Second Vatican Council.

“It is my hope that our synod will reflect the insights of the Second Vatican Council, particularly concerning the universal call to holiness and role of the lay faithful, and take advantage of the flexibility that is offered to the diocesan bishop by the revised (1983) Code of Canon Law,” the archbishop said.

“I think that our prior synods were hugely important for bringing order to our life together,” he said. “My hope is that this synod will build on that order in a way that re-energizes us and sets us on a common course for moving forward.”

Helping the archbishop discern the pastoral priorities of the archdiocese, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, will be the focus of activity before and during the synod assembly on Pentecost weekend 2021, Bishop Cozzens said.

The pre-synod process will include 20, three-hour, prayer-infused listening events across the archdiocese, and more than a dozen similar events for particular focus groups, such as priests and parish staff, Catholic school principals, youth and college students. In the second year of preparation, people will gather at the parish and deanery levels. Each gathering is designed to help inform the themes chosen for the synod and the archbishop’s discernment as he determines from the synod a pastoral direction for the archdiocese, Bishop Cozzens said.

Archbishop Hebda said pastoral priorities could address such themes as learning about and passing on the faith through Catholic schools, faith formation, communications and youth ministry; the sacraments as moments of encounter with Christ, including liturgy; works of charity and justice and Catholic social teaching; engaging as missionary disciples in the work of evangelization; and living out vocations, such as

marriage, family, consecrated life, the diaconate and the priesthood.

Important to the process is deep, mutual listening, the archbishop said, “in a way that helps us to recognize that there are people who have different experiences and outlooks than I might; that there can be people who disagree with me but who still love the Church deeply and pray beautifully; that there are people who need to know what is in my heart and need me to explain why I do what I do.”

Bishop Cozzens said the goal is to bring Christ more deeply into people’s personal lives and into the world.

Establishing what that means at this time in the archdiocese will require discerning hearts alert to the call of the Holy Spirit, he said.

“I want to go in (to the prayer and listening events) with the attitude of discernment, which is, ‘of all the things that come forward, where is the Holy Spirit seen most clearly?’” Bishop Cozzens said. “We want to determine where God is leading, where God is speaking, not just which voice is loudest, or which voice has the most emotion behind it. Or even which voice is most prominent or what is said most frequently. That’s all important data. But in and through all that, where is God speaking,” the bishop said.

Questions raised during a prayer and listening event could include where do people see Christ acting in powerful ways in their parish, or in the archdiocese, he said. And what challenges and opportunities exist to cooperate more fully with the grace of God. “I fully expect the Holy Spirit is going to surprise us,” Bishop Cozzens said. “I learned in my life as a spiritual director that when surprises come up, that’s often the hand of God. I fully expect that will happen in the synod process. There’s going to be things that surprise us, and we’re going to know, ‘well, that’s what God wants.’”

Prayer and listening events in September: Sept. 24, 6-9 p.m., St. Victoria in Victoria; Sept. 28, 9 a.m.noon, St. Michael in St. Michael.

9100 93rd Ave N. Brooklyn Park

9100 93rd Ave. N. Brooklyn Park 763-425-2210 Sunday, September 15 11:00 – 6:00 763-425-2210 Join Us for a Day of Family Fun! Sunday, September 15th 11:00 – 6:00 th

Don’t forget to check out the

Bingo, Kids & Teen Games, Inflatables, Food, Raffles, Music

Join Us for a Day of Family Fun!

2019 Parish Festival Guide

Bingo • Kids & Teen Games • Inflatables • Food • Raffles • Music

at TheCatholicSpirit.com/festivals Corrections: St. Odilia • Sept. 6-8 Holy Cross • Sept. 13-15

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6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

AUGUST 22, 2019

LOCAL

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

‘Alienated America’ and how to respond in faith will be focus of MCC Fall Study Day Public is invited to learn and discuss alongside Minnesota bishops

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit When Tim Carney, commentary editor of the Washington Examiner, traveled the United States, he found areas facing marked declines in marriage, voting, church attendance and volunteer work.

People appeared to be facing their problems alone, without civic and faith engagement. The research he conducted and the data he collected became a book published this year, titled “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse.”

The book and the issues it raises, with Carney as keynote speaker, will be the TIM CARNEY focus of Minnesota’s bishops when they gather Sept. 4 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Carondelet Center in St. Paul for their annual Fall Study Day. The public is invited to attend the discussion, which will include four local panelists offering their thoughts on the fracturing of public life, challenges of building vibrant communities and opportunities for faith communities to address the issues.

“We are delighted to have an outstanding journalist and engaging young Catholic like Tim Carney keynote the Fall Study Day,” said Jason Adkins, Minnesota Catholic Conference executive director. “‘Alienated America’ is one of the most talked about political books of 2019, and we think it has a lot to tell us about reaching those on the social and economic

50th

“

‘Alienated America’ is one of the most talked about political books of 2019, and we think it has a lot to tell us about reaching those on the social and economic margins, as well as the existential peripheries of our day.

Jason Adkins

margins, as well as the existential peripheries of our day.”

All seven Minnesota bishops, including Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, along with Adkins and lay and religious MCC committee members will attend the presentation. The conference is the public policy arm of the state’s bishops.

The panelists will be Laura Bloomberg, dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota; Charles Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns, based in Brainerd; Deacon Steve Pareja, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud; and Brad Finstad, Minnesota state director of rural development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Bishops John LeVoir of New Ulm, Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, John Quinn of Winona-Rochester, Paul Sirba of Duluth and Donald Kettler of St. Cloud will join Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens.

The event is free but online registration is required. For more details and to register, visit MNCatholic.org/AlienatedAmerica.

Basilica looks to future with comprehensive study of buildings, grounds

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit The Basilica of St. Mary and The Basilica Landmark organization said Aug. 9 that a design firm will lead a study of the Basilica’s buildings and grounds in downtown Minneapolis, looking to meet the needs of the people it serves now and into the future.

“The master plan will prepare us for the next 100 years of service to the Basilica and to the city,” said Father John Bauer, rector and pastor.

HGA of Minneapolis will lead a team that also includes historic preservation specialists at Beyer Blinder Belle of New York City and experts in urban strategy at Duval Companies and landscape architecture at TEN X TEN, both in Minneapolis.

A committee of parishioners began working on a vision for the campus early last year. Selecting a team to help put ideas into action was an important next step, Father Bauer said. The Basilica Landmark, a nonprofit organization that brings awareness and raises funds for the Basilica, is funding the study.

An update on the design teams’ progress could come late this year or early next, said Mae Desaire, the Basilica’s director of marketing and communications. The study will help point to future fundraising needs at the Basilica, she said.

Buildings on campus include the Basilica, the rectory, a former convent now used for office space, and a school that is used for faith formation and leased to a Montessori school, Desaire said.

Johan van Parys, director of liturgy and the sacred arts at the Basilica, said the buildings generally are in good shape, so it’s an opportune time to look carefully at long-term needs.

Areas that will need updating include accessibility to worship areas of the Basilica, such as people moving from the main body of the church to the sanctuary, he said.

“People who use a walker or a cane shouldn’t be forced to do it any differently than those who don’t,” he said.

Renovating inside the Basilica while ensuring that any changes look as though they have always been there is part of the difficult design process, van Parys said.

“We trust that HGA will come up with a solution while still respecting the space,” he said.

ANNUAL WILD RICE FESTIVAL AND CHICKEN DINNER

Germanfest at St. Mary’s Church

Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 Food, Beer, Music 5:00 p.m.~10:00 p.m.

21 and older Celebrate 150+ years of our German national parish on the Friday before the Wild Rice Festival outside under the tents and stars!

St. Mary’s Church

423 S. 5th St., Stillwater

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 Dinner served from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Adults $10 • Children 4-10 $5 • 3 & under FREE • Wild Rice • Chicken • Potatoes • Relishes • Rolls • Fruit Pie Kids and Teens Games, Crafts, Homemade Quilts, Bingo, Silent Auction

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(Walk Where Jesus Walked) Father Leroy Scheierl – Spiritual Director February 10 – 21, 2020 Father Scheierl

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8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

AUGUST 22, 2019

Minnesota Knights pitch in as convention hosts

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit When Marc Peters of St. Joseph of the Lakes in Lino Lakes became the state deputy of the Knights of Columbus two years ago, he had no idea part of his job would entail standing on the pitcher’s mound at Target Field in Minneapolis poised to make the first pitch in an August game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals.

The pitch itself was not memorable — he “one hopped it,” he said — but on Aug. 6 he focused on the pitch the Knights of Minnesota were making at the 137th annual Supreme Convention in his home state.

Three years ago, the national board of directors made it official that Minneapolis would be the site of this year’s convention. It marks the fourth time the convention has been held in Minnesota. The last time was in 1999, also in Minneapolis.

As Peters reflected on three years’ worth of preparations during an interview after the convention’s opening Mass, he said local Knights came through in their efforts to welcome and host more than 2,200 members from across the U.S., Canada and 12 other countries around the world.

“It is a great privilege for us to be given an opportunity to put this on... and to give us the opportunity to show what Minnesota can do,” Peters said. “And, I think we nailed it. We’re very proud of what we’ve done. All we’ve heard is just great compliments from the Supreme Council.”

One of the goals for the Aug. 6-9 gathering, Peters said, was to make this year’s convention “Minnesota Nice,” and Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis carried that theme forward as he celebrated the opening Mass. He began his homily with some geographical humor about the state’s flat terrain.

“Even though we locals boast that (Olympic gold medalist and Minnesota native) Lindsay Vonn is the

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

David Novack, right, of St. Thomas Becket in Eagan and member of Father William Finley Council 4374, and his wife, Polly, stand for the prayers of petition during the opening Mass of the 137th annual Supreme Convention Aug. 6. most decorated female downhill skier in history, I can assure you that no one comes to the Twin Cities for our mountains,” he joked. “The highest point in this county — Hennepin County — is only 1,100 feet above sea level. That’s barely a hill, let alone a mountain.”

Yet, he said, the Knights of Columbus have a calling from Christ to climb a mountain — a reference to the Gospel passage about the Transfiguration read during the Mass — and be a source of inspiration and service to the Church. And Archbishop Hebda, himself a Knight, praised Knights for the work they are doing.

“I am so grateful for the Knights of Columbus and for the encouragement you so consistently offer to one another to make the climb with Christ,” he said. “I love how the men of this order challenge one another to spend time with Christ; how you hold each other accountable for making the commitment to growth in

the spiritual life; how you remind one another that it’s possible to lead a life of virtue as long as we are journeying with the Lord and responding to his invitation.”

Some Knights, like Greg van der Hagen of St. Anastasia in Hutchinson, make the trip to the convention every year. He has been to the convention 28 or 29 times, including the ‘99 convention in Minneapolis, he said, and he looks forward to connecting with other members.

Meanwhile, other Knights are much newer to the national experience of fraternity celebrated each year.

Tom Villardi of Las Vegas was making his second trip to a Supreme Convention. He is a delegate from Nevada and became a Knight four years ago.

“I came last year (to the Supreme Convention in Baltimore) as a non-delegate on my own dime and had such a wonderful, wonderful time, my wife (Georiganna) and I,” said Villardi, 67, who hopes to take his oldest granddaughter next year. “We said we’ve got to come back this year.”

Originally from New York City, Villardi has been to Minnesota many times in his career as a truck driver.

“I love Minnesota,” he said. “And, I love the people.

They’ve been just so friendly in all the places we’ve gone to (during this year’s convention).”

In Minnesota, there currently are 41,000 Knights in more than 280 councils statewide, Peters said, with about half living in the seven-county metro area.

Nationally and around the world, there are nearly 2 million.

“The Knights of Columbus are so important to our Catholic religion,” Villardi said. “We need to keep the Knights strong, and these kind of conventions help generate a groundswell of men to join the Knights. ...

Once they come join us, they see the things we do on a worldwide basis (and) think, ‘Wow, there’s some good energy here and we can become part of that.’”

Supreme Knight highlights global effort

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit Five years after the Islamic State invaded northern Iraq and began systematically persecuting the country’s Christians, the Knights of Columbus are continuing their work of supporting Iraqi parishes that are rebuilding, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in his annual report Aug. 6 at the Knights’ 137th Supreme Convention in Minneapolis.

“The road ahead for our Christian brothers and sisters is long and dangerous,” Anderson said, telling the 2,200 Knights, family members, clergy and others in Minneapolis about the order’s new “Adopt a Parish” program, encouraging Knights councils to commit to two years of directly supporting parishes across Iraq. The initiative is in addition to the $25 million already committed to helping the Middle East region and its displaced and threatened people since 2014, he said.

Six cardinals, 75 bishops and more than 115 priests attended the convention. Attendees represented 14 countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

Anderson honored the bravery of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, who gave his life while protecting his classmates during a May shooting at his Denverarea high school. After Anderson’s report, the order posthumously named Castillo an honorary Knight.

Emphasizing that the Knights’ nearly 2 million members are “Knights of Unity,” Anderson also outlined new

efforts to reach Native Americans in the U.S. and First Nations people in Canada and to help refugees at the southern U.S. border.

In partnership with the diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, and the Southwest Indian Foundation, the organization broke CARL ANDERSON ground Aug. 11 on a new shrine to the first Native American saint — St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th century Algonquin-Mohawk laywoman. As many as one in four Native Americans in the United States are Catholic, Anderson said.

The Knights also will seek new ways to work with the Church’s Black and Indian Mission office and encourage local Knights councils to become more engaged with Catholics living on reservations and tribal land, he said.

Looking toward the U.S. southern border, the Knights will commit at least $250,000 in humanitarian aid to assist refugees there, Anderson said. The decision is not a political statement, he said, but represents an extension of the order’s assistance to refugees around the world.

“As Catholic men and family men, we are all deeply concerned for the plight of the refugees who have fled their homelands into ours,” Anderson said. “Their need is great — but the compassion of our brother Knights is greater still.”

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

NATION+WORLD El Paso priest: ‘So many funerals’

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service Father Fabian Marquez was the right priest at a very wrong time.

He was among several priests in El Paso, Texas, summoned to help where they could in the hours after an Aug. 3 assault at a Walmart store in the Texas border town that left 22 dead and dozens wounded.

Father Marquez’s role was to go to an elementary school in the city that was set up as a “reunification center” for the loved ones of those who might have been in harm’s way during the massacre.

Father Marquez, by his own count, was there for 48 hours.

It fell upon him to console family after family when police told them that a spouse, child or parent was among the dead.

As a result, Father Marquez has celebrated many funeral Masses, even of Catholics who were not members of his church, El Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd) in Sparks, Texas, just outside El Paso, where he has served as pastor for the past four years.

He spoke with Catholic News Service Aug. 16, when he was hours away from presiding at the funeral Mass of Andre Anchondo. He and his wife, Jordan, were killed — allegedly by Patrick Crucius, according to police — as they shielded their infant son, Paul, just 2 months old, from the hail of gunfire.

Jordan Anchondo was laid to rest a week earlier. Father Marquez said Andre Anchondo’s family is mourning the loss of a brave and loving man.

“After having so many already — I’ve been to so many funerals — we get to experience and share with the family the loss of a young man, a young man who showed us the greatest sacrifice, the greatest love. The message I sent yesterday (is) there is no greater love than to give your life for one’s friend — and that’s basically what he did,” Father Marquez said.

Father Marquez said he has been bearing up fairly well in the two weeks since the mass shooting.

“It’s been hard for all of us. Hard for all of us to see this tragedy come to our society. It really shook us. The shooter

REAL PRESENCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 teaching of transubstantiation, according to the survey.

Split among the 37% who don’t believe that the Communion bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ are 23% who don’t know what the Church’s teaching is, and 14% who know the Church’s teaching but don’t believe it, Smith said.

According to Pew’s figures, a majority in all age groups believe the bread and wine used at Mass are symbolic, and the majority grows larger as the age group grows younger. Catholics with a high school education or less are less likely to believe in transubstantiation, Hispanic Catholics believe in it less than whites, and women believe in it less than men.

Bishop Barron sounded astounded by the findings. “Any Catholic worth his or

Planned Parenthood decides to withdraw from Title X program Court cases continue over Trump administration rule

By Catholic News Service

CNS

Father Fabian Marquez addresses the congregation during Andre Anchondo’s vigil service at Perches Funeral Home in El Paso, Texas, Aug. 15. Anchondo was buried the next day following his funeral Mass celebrated by Father Marquez. came to our city to divide. But we’re stronger than ever. We’ve united in prayer, united in faith. We are stronger.

El Paso strong,” he told CNS. “With Christ, everything has been stronger. It’s been long days.

Ministering to people, journeying with people, praying with people, but very rewarding to see that in the midst of our tragedy, God is with us. It is truly a blessing to see that God is with us as we journey together in this tragedy.”

Father Marquez said he received many supportive messages from parishioners for his role in counseling grieving kin, but said he thought to himself, “I’m only doing my job. I’m only doing what a priest needs to do.”

That job has not ended. Before the day would turn to night, Father Marquez was headed to the wake of another massacre victim, 63-year-old Marge Reckard, before a funeral the following day.

“That one is also very special, because this is a couple. The husband, Tony, has no family. They both have no family in El Paso. Our family is going to be with him. The funeral has been opened to the community to join them, to share with them,” Father Marquez said.

her salt knows this is a central teaching,” he said in the video. “It’s a basic tenet of Catholicism.”

He said some are bound to react, “Oh, well, who cares? As long as they’re committed to the poor, or committed to social justice. Isn’t that important?” But Bishop Barron called that “a reduction of religion to morality, which is repugnant to Catholicism.”

He cited a list of saints and holy people — among them Dorothy Day, St. Katharine Drexel, Jacques Maritain and St. Vincent de Paul — whom he said had “a profound understanding and love for the Eucharist, and said if someone asked them, “‘Isn’t the Eucharist a nice symbol of Jesus?’ you’d have open rebellion.”

“You take away the central teachings of our Church at the doctrinal level, and trust me, you will take away our commitment to the poor,” Bishop Barron

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced Aug. 19 it is withdrawing from the federal Title X program over the Trump administration’s “Protect Life Rule” barring these funds from being used for promoting or providing abortion as family planning.

Planned Parenthood called the rule a “gag order” on its operations that needed to be lifted. It said Aug. 14 it would withdraw from the program if it did not get “emergency judicial relief” in the form of an injunction from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the new policy from taking effect.

The San Francisco-based court did not do that.

The administration “is trying to force us to keep information from our patients. The gag rule is unethical, dangerous, and we will not subject our patients to it,” Planned Parenthood said in its Aug. 19 statement. It will no longer receive $60 million of the $286 million allocated annually through Title X. Pro-life groups’ reaction to the Planned Parenthood decision was swift.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national Susan B. Anthony List pro-life organization said: “Today, Planned Parenthood showed its true colors by prioritizing abortion over family planning, refusing to comply with the Protect Life Rule and dropping out of the Title X program.”

President Donald Trump’s policy “is a huge victory for the majority of taxpayers who reject taxpayer funding of abortion,” she said. “The Protect Life Rule does not reduce family planning funding by a single dollar, it simply directs taxpayer funding to family planning providers who stay out of the abortion business.”

March for Life echoed Dannenfelser’s statement, saying: “Planned Parenthood, our nation’s largest abortion provider, today made a choice

said. “It belongs together as a whole.”

Father Van Sloun called the effects of disbelief in the Real Presence “devastating.” He said such an attitude causes a decline in Mass attendance and, for some, leaving the Church altogether.

That’s why he will continue to educate people about the Eucharist.

“I’m on a bit of a catechetical mission,” said Father Van Sloun, who has been pastor at St. Bartholomew since 2013 and was at St. Stephen the previous 18 years,

not to separate its abortion operation from Title X services, and in doing so declined Title X funding.”

After Trump’s May 2 announcement on the new Title X rule — which included an expanded “conscience rule” to protect health care workers who oppose abortion and sterilization — 20 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and several advocates of legal abortion, including Planned Parenthood, filed suit. They sought an emergency stay on the rule.

On July 11, the 9th Circuit in a 7-4 decision said that even as court cases challenging it proceed, the rule could take effect. The ruling let stand the court’s June 20 decision lifting injunctions blocking enforcement of the rule.

On July 15, HHS announced it would begin implementing the Trump administration’s rule.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs, the Trump administration’s “Protect Life Rule” is based on the most accurate interpretation of the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970, which enacted Title X. Section 1008 of this act states that “none of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

HHS said the rule requires “clear financial and physical separation between Title X funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning. This separation will ensure adherence to statutory restrictions, and provide needed clarity for the public and for Title X clinics about permissible and impermissible activities for Title X projects.”

Dannenfelser said women have the most to gain from Planned Parenthood withdrawing from Title X. “With community health alternatives vastly outnumbering Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide, on average, these health centers would see an additional two clients per week. This is a huge win for women’s health,” she said.

dating back to his ordination in 1995.

“Vatican II said that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, and that the Eucharist is the most important of the sacraments. That’s why we get to receive it over and over again.

It’s nourishment for our life of faith. ... If there’s anything that people need to understand, it would be the Eucharist.”

Dave Hrbacek of The Catholic Spirit contributed to this article.

SEEKING NEWS REPORTER/STAFF WRITER Are you a driven journalist who knows the Catholic faith?

The Catholic Spirit has an opening for a news reporter to write news stories, news and trend analysis, feature stories, news briefs and other stories as assigned for The Catholic Spirit newspaper and TCS online.

For a complete position description and to apply, visit careers.archspm.org/jobs/reporter-staff-writer.

10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A pastor

Archbishop Hebda reflects on 30 years as a priest; 10 years a bishop; turning 60

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

I

t’s a big year for Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

He turns 60 Sept. 3.

He celebrated 30 years as a priest July 1, and Dec. 1 marks 10 years as a bishop.

As leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis the last four years, including one year as apostolic administrator, he guided the archdiocese through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, resolved in December, that stemmed from the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

Opportunities for healing for victims/survivors and others impacted by the crisis are growing under his care and direction. In addition, being part of the lives of people in parishes and schools, ministries and religious orders, as well as the wider community, appears to come naturally to the archbishop.

Now, he is leading the faithful toward a 2021 archdiocesan synod to help discern the call of the Holy Spirit and meet the pastoral needs of the archdiocese.

Recognizing the archbishop’s lineup of milestones this year, The Catholic Spirit asked him to reflect on his call to the priesthood and his years of service. The conversation is edited for length and clarity:

Q. You mark several milestones this year.

How do you plan to celebrate?

A. It’s interesting that they all come together in

one year. I’ve already celebrated my 30th anniversary in the priesthood. We had a wonderful celebration on the actual day of the anniversary at the Cathedral of St. Paul’s 5:15 Mass with members of the Serra Club. It was a moment to give thanks to God for these three decades in the priesthood. It was great to be there with people who are so supportive of vocations and vocational discernment. I was blessed that my sister came as well to represent our family. Birthdays, I don’t normally celebrate. But this year, obviously, 60, that’s kind of significant. I’m feeling like I’m on the brink of getting old. I think I’m going to have an opportunity to celebrate with my family.

And as for the 10th anniversary as a bishop, I haven’t really given that a whole lot of thought yet. I certainly am grateful for those 10 years. I’ll use the anniversary to reflect on the blessings that I’ve received in those 10 years and to be mindful of how the Lord is asking me to serve in the years ahead of me.

Q. Looking back on your priesthood, what were your expectations and your desires as you were ordained? Have those been met?

Any surprises?

A. I remember I was so excited to be ordained.

I didn’t really know what priesthood would be.

But I had already come to trust the Lord had beautiful plans for me, as he does for all of us.

And I was trusting in that regard. Having already worked as a lawyer, I was very much looking forward to doing work that would be more pastoral and not administrative. And interestingly enough, in the course of my priesthood the Lord has given me a number of administrative assignments. I worked for 13 years in Rome, for example, in an office in the Vatican. So that would’ve been something I would have never expected. Certainly, it wouldn’t have been something that would have attracted me to the priesthood when I was first ordained. But I really feel blessed in those 30 years with a variety of assignments that I’ve had. You know, I loved working in a parish.

I loved working with college students at the Newman Center (at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania). And I came to love, as well, even my assignment at the Vatican, and especially the opportunities it presented for pastoral work with seminarians at the North American College and then also with English speaking sisters in Rome.

Q. I have a feeling the pastoral role doesn’t

disappear even with all the administrative work. You maybe keep in touch with old classmates, you counsel people in some fashion even now. Is there a way to reflect on that … that being a priest is being a priest, no matter what your office?

A. I’m glad you mentioned that. And in fact,

that’s what we have to bring. A priest has to bring a pastoral heart to whatever task is before him. Even if it’s an administrative position, he has to bring to that a pastoral heart. And that was one of the real blessings for me in Rome.

When I first arrived there, I bristled at the thought of leaving behind a ministry with college students, which was so life giving.

I came to recognize, though, that it was in the

ABOVE Archbishop Hebda warmly greets elementary school students at a school-focuse

UPPER LEFT Archbishop Bernard Hebda reflects July 16 on some of his experiences as a work that I was doing (at the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, responsible for interpreting Church law), even though it was very technical, legal work, that I was being given an opportunity to really participate in Christ’s priesthood. Granted, it was a little bit more in the shepherding area than in the teaching or sanctifying areas, but it was nonetheless priestly work. And certainly, I found in my office interactions with my brother priests and lay colleagues at the Vatican, that there were plenty of opportunities to exercise my ministry.

Q. How have your experiences as a priest

shaped you as a person? And how have they shaped your priesthood?

A. I can tell you, it’s very difficult for me to

separate being a priest from being a person, because I really have a strong sense that God created me to be a priest. We speak about how he calls us from our mother’s womb and the Lord has a plan for each one of us. And I’m

pretty confident that his gave me life was that I w And so being a person an really all that distinct for seeing the way in which calls forth certain gifts, I now that I would not ha ago, and seeing the way continues to call me to h brothers and sisters and think that helped me to that way. It’s the priestly that desire to be with th

Q. Based on your own

discerning that call — I birth apparently in som have general advice for women who might be t whether they have a ca

A. Just a little clarificatio

knew that the Lord was c

AUGUST 22, 2019 • 11

ral heart

lives. We love God and we love our neighbor.

It’s a way in which we’re also going to have our hearts expanded so that we can serve others, too. I really am so grateful for the way in which the Lord has helped me in loving him and loving his Church. Also to have some wonderful relationships, not just with my family — I come from a great family — but also I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends at each stage of my life.

I feel that the Lord has really, really blessed me in that way, and that he calls me then to go forward and to share that love, that experience with others.

Q. What particular lessons or things have you learned in your four years here?

A. I am really grateful for these four years. I

think they’ve been an opportunity for me to go out of my comfort zone. I didn’t really know people here when I arrived, but I really learned how important it is to listen to the experiences of others and to trust that the Holy Spirit is indeed working in his Church. And that means that while I am called to lead, I’m also called to listen very carefully to what the Spirit might be saying through others. I think in these four years I really have come to appreciate the resilient nature of our faithful, who have undergone trials and who nonetheless persevere in being joyful Catholics.

Q. When you were ordained and installed in 2009 as bishop in Michigan, do you recall any expectations or desires as you took on that leadership role? Were those met? Any surprises?

A. I can tell you, I was pretty much in shock PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK / THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

a bishop and a priest.

experience of I guess right from me fashion — do you r young men and trying to discern all to the religious life?

on. It’s not like I always calling me to be a priest.

thing the Lord wants from any of us, whatever our vocation?

A. I think he wants us to put him first in our

ed Mass of the Holy Spirit at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Oct. 10, 2018.

s plan for me when he would serve as his priest. nd being a priest isn’t r me. But certainly h the priesthood itself I see myself doing things ave imagined 30 years in which the Lord have concern for my all those in need. I expand my heart in y ministry that shapes hose in need.

Q. What do you see as the most important

In hindsight I think he created me to be a priest and gave me that gift of life. But it wasn’t something I was sure about and I took a little bit of a circuitous path, you know. It wasn’t until after I had already graduated from college and law school and worked for a bit as a lawyer that I entered the seminary. But in terms of giving advice to young people who might be hearing the Lord calling them to priesthood or consecrated life, it’s really to be trusting of the Lord’s great love for us. To be trusting of the ways in which he speaks in our heart. It’s important, I think, for all of us to pursue those instincts and insights that we have and really to do that with others, too.

So to be able to share something with a good spiritual guide, whether it be a parish priest or a friend or someone that we just trust. That we know that they’re a good person of prayer, I think, to be able to speak about our inklings.

That maybe the Lord is calling us to a particular vocation, to a particular way of serving him and serving the Church. I think to be able to articulate that and discuss that with others is something that helps us to get greater clarity.

10 years ago. I had always lived in cities, and pretty good size cities. When the Holy Father assigned me to Gaylord (Michigan) I thought, “this is really unusual. I wonder if he knew what he was doing?” The town has only 3,600 people. And it’s a very rural area right around Gaylord. There are a lot of potato farms in the diocese. There were a lot of cherry orchards and vineyards. It was a very different pace of life than what I was accustomed to in Rome, which is so chaotic. And so as I began my ministry as the chief pastor there I didn’t really know what to expect. But one of the things that was a blessing was recognizing that being a pastor of a diocese is a little bit like being a pastor of a parish. It’s the same desires that you have for being able to make Christ known, being able to serve people, being able to bring the presence of Christ not only through the sacraments but also through God’s word. I’m hoping that the synod process that we’re just beginning will help me to go deeper into understanding this local Church and coming to know the people, who are such a blessing.

Q. Beginning Sept. 24, there will be

20 prayer and listening events across the archdiocese to prepare for the synod, and other, similar events for particular focus groups including priests, deacons, Catholic school principals and others. How do you see

yourself interacting with those sessions and what do you hope will come from them?

A. I mentioned being somewhat at sea or out

of my element when I went to the diocese of Gaylord, and one of the great realizations was that I couldn’t really handle the responsibilities that were given to me alone. That I needed to find collaborators. And I was really blessed at that time that our diocese got a grant from Catholic Extension and from the Catholic Leadership Institute to engage in a program called Good Leaders, Good Shepherds and to do some pastoral planning with their assistance.

Part of that process was doing some listening events around the diocese as we tried to really assess the pastoral needs. And so that was my first experience on a larger scale of trying to really listen well enough to discern the movements of the Holy Spirit. And as I mentioned to you, Gaylord was a smaller diocese, so it was easier to scale to do that. But I found it to be very productive to be listening in that way. And so I drew from that experience the desire to do that here. This is about more than gathering information. It’s also about building relationships and about really entering into a longer term dialogue.

Q. Do imagine yourself attending each prayer and listening event?

A. That’s the goal. You never know what might happen, but at least we’ve tried to schedule in the hope that I would be physically present at each session. I know that (Auxiliary) Bishop (Andrew) Cozzens is always available, too. He has a great set of ears.

Q. What are your hopes for the archdiocese as these events begin in September?

A. My hope is that we might, together, be able to

detect the presence of the Holy Spirit. That we would find reassurance in that. We would be reinvigorated by that realization, as well. You know we’ve gone through some difficult times over the past years. I think knowing what the Lord has planned for us, knowing that his Spirit is indeed working among us, that should give us some hope as we move forward. That’s fundamentally what I’m hoping for. But I also am trusting that the process will help us to identify priorities for moving forward in a way that’s reflective not only of my own thinking but also the thinking of the faithful of the archdiocese, whether it be our priests, whether it be our lay faithful, whether it be men and women in consecrated life, it will all have a chance to shape the next steps we take as an archdiocese.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add?

A. I’m really grateful for this opportunity.

A number of people have asked, “is there some way that we can mark these anniversaries?”

Certainly I am always grateful for prayers and for whatever folks can do to continue to support their parishes and the archdiocese.

I know that the archdiocese is still looking for funding for our newly established Outreach Coordinator for Restorative Justice and Abuse Prevention and that is certainly near and dear to my heart.

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

BACKTOSCHOOL

Steps forward in Roadmap for Excellence point to promising future

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

A

s students prepare for another school year, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for the Mission of Catholic Education is placing concrete steps along what it calls a Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education.

Announced in January after 18 months of work and preparation, the Roadmap is helping chart a course in five areas of strategic importance for Catholic schools: Talent management, particularly leadership development; curriculum and assessments; access and sustainability; mission schools: and governance.

Five teams, one for each area, have identified best practices and created recommendations that have been presented to Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the archdiocese’s Vicar for Catholic Education, said Emily Dahdah, associate director of the education office. Now, stakeholders including the Presbyteral Council and a working group of Catholic school leaders are being consulted about setting priorities and implementation over the next three to five years. The archbishop and Bishop Cozzens will set the agenda, Dahdah said.

Additional action also has been taken, she said, particularly in the area of talent and leadership development.

The Institute for Catholic School Leadership, which offers a 14-month, graduate-level Certificate in Catholic School Leadership to principals and aspiring principals, was launched the same month the Roadmap was More online announced.

For a list of new school A joint venture of the leaders in the archdiocese archdiocese’s education — 16 principals and one office and The St. Paul interim headmaster — go to Seminary School of TheCatholicSpirit.com Divinity in St. Paul, the institute this summer began teaching its first class of 20 at the seminary. That first cohort will receive mentoring at their schools this school year and complete online courses. They will return to the seminary next summer for a second, month-long summer program, even as another 20-member class begins the cycle anew.

In addition, a Catholic school leader orientation for new principals was held Aug. 5 at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul. Nonprofit partners in

DAVE HRBACEK / THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education by the archdiocese’s Office for the Mission of Catholic Education will help guide Catholic schools for the next three to five years. In this file photo, second-graders at St. Jerome School in Maplewood study U.S. geography during class Sept. 6, 2018. education including the Aim Higher Foundation, Catholic Schools Center of Excellence, the Catholic Community Foundation, Catholic Finance Corp. and GHR Foundation addressed the group, as well Jason Slattery, director of the education office, and Bishop Cozzens, who also presided at a Mass.

Other important areas of talent management being fleshed out include providing training and support for pastors who help oversee schools, and identifying the best ways to recruit, interview and hire strong leaders for the Catholic school system, Dahdah said.

Proposals in other areas: uCurriculum and assessment team members developing a framework for the archdiocese to define and track excellence in Catholic elementary schools, including strong academics and formation in moral virtues and spiritual lives centered on Christ. Recommendations include developing actionable data to assess and promote excellence.

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uAccess and sustainability efforts focus on providing a common model for school and parish financial vitality; developing a handbook of questions and issues to consider when setting tuition costs; and implementing new strategies for school funding in areas of high need for tuition assistance. uMission schools of the archdiocese, which are in areas of higher poverty where parents need particular assistance meeting tuition and other costs, should have common criteria and metrics so their needs can be readily understood by stakeholders and major donors; a system should be developed for recognizing when schools rotate on and off mission school status; centralized management of mission schools should be explored. uGovernance goals include adopting a common and unified approach to the organization of parish, regional and private Catholic schools and strengthening the role of the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education.

BACKTOSCHOOL

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

St. Agnes celebrates second year of merger with faith-based Montessori

By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit

W

hen St. Agnes School opens its doors in St. Paul Aug. 26, it will welcome its second year of 3- to 5-year-olds attending St. Agnes Preschool.

It also will be serving more students, growing from 17 last year in preschool to 24 students this school year.

A result of merging Seton Montessori in West St. Paul into St. Agnes School last school year, the preschool combines the Montessori method of experiential learning with the hands-on teaching methods emphasized by the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd faith formation program.

“To get Seton Montessori set up for the next phase of growth, the decision was made to move the school to St. Agnes,” said Bill Faulkner, former director of the Montessori school’s board and a major contributor to the school.

“Seton had outgrown its space, and we had learned that St. Agnes was looking to open a preschool.”

The changes at St. Agnes track well with the strategic priorities outlined in January by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, said Jason Slattery, the office’s director.

Access and sustainability are among the strategic priorities in the Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education, Slattery said.

“We want to make sure that mothers and fathers seeking a Catholic education for their children have an excellent partner today and a hundred years from now — expanding options for family access to early education is paramount,” Slattery said.

“Prekindergarten programs strengthen Catholic schools,” Slattery said. “St. Agnes has educated children for over a

COURTESY ST. AGNES SCHOOL

Kevin Ferdinandt, headmaster of St. Agnes School in St. Paul, cuts the ribbon last August to celebrate the opening of new preschool space to accommodate Montessori learning. hundred years. A century later, they are finding new ways to partner with families. It is terrific.”

Seton Montessori was founded in 2011 by the original Montessori lead guide, or teacher, Elizabeth Trojack, with the support of Faulkner and his wife, Erica.

“As the school was looking to grow, it was important that we be authentic to our mission, making sure we were aligned with the archdiocese, as well as communicate directly and overtly that we are indeed Roman Catholic, and everything we do is aligned with that basic premise,” Faulkner said. “The partnership with St. Agnes was a providential extension of that goal.”

Kenna Millea’s 3-year-old son, Trey, attends St. Agnes Preschool; Trey’s two older siblings attended Seton Montessori.

“The Montessori method resonated with the way we saw our children learning at home, and also had

profound respect for the growing intellect and spirit of our children,” Millea said. “To find that pedagogy within a joyful, Catholic environment was exactly what we were hoping to find for our children.

“I saw immense goodness and beauty in Seton Montessori before, and am amazed at how much the school has gained through its new placement at St. Agnes,” she said. “Clearly the hand of the Lord is upon this school.”

The preschool’s faith formation focuses on nurturing a relationship with Jesus, said Meggie Langlois, lead guide for its Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program.

“Materials and presentations on the life of Christ and his teachings help to make the great mystery of who God is more understandable for children,” Langlois said. “Through geography, the words of the prophets, and infancy narratives, Jesus is established as a real person. The Paschal narratives are

treated similarly, using model cities of Jerusalem, empty tombs and Last Supper cenacles (or ‘upper room’ used by Christ and his Apostles the night before his death).”

To add the preschool, St. Agnes remodeled a large area to accommodate Montessori learning. It held a ribbon cutting for the new space Aug. 31, 2018.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd had been offered at St. Agnes Church since the fall of 2016 for children ages 3-6.

Participants included younger siblings of current school children, home schoolers from the parish and families outside the parish and school.

“It was a natural fit to add a Montessori preschool that would support the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as the interest was already there,” said Michael Adkins, director of St. Agnes’ prekindergarten through sixth grades and dean of academics at St. Agnes.

To better accommodate the program, a classroom near the preschool was converted into what the Catechesis program calls the Atrium, used exclusively for prayer, study and religious experience. Parish faith formation students and students at St. Agnes School are sharing the Atrium for the Catechesis program.

“Having the Atrium outside of the regular classroom environment distinguishes it further as a sacred space to learn about Jesus, the good shepherd,” Adkins said.

Along with parish faith formation students, preschool and kindergarten students at St. Agnes School used the Atrium last year. First-graders are being added to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program this school year and the school plans to add second-graders in 2020-21, along with preparation for the sacraments of reconciliation and first Communion.

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14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

Program seeks to close literacy gap

By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit

H

oly Spirit School Principal Mary Adrian enjoys viewing graphs showing the tremendous impact of a literacy program implemented to improve reading fluency at her school.

“To see the progress our students have made has been truly inspiring,” Adrian said. “Our data shows that students who initially test below grade level are often, by the end of the school year, performing above grade level. Students are excited about reading, proud of their ability to read ‘hard words,’ and show increased confidence.”

The school in St. Paul partnered with Groves Academy in St. Louis Park, a school that specializes in helping struggling students, to offer Grove’s three-year literacy curriculum, starting in fall 2017 with kindergarten and first grade; second grade was added last fall.

“Over time, we had seen some students who did well in the early grades really begin to struggle in fourth and fifth grades, when there is a shift from learning to read to reading to learn,” Adrian said.

“Reading seemed to be the issue – specifically reading fluency.”

The Groves initiative, which has also been implemented at St. Peter Claver School in St. Paul and Our Lady of Grace School in Edina with similar results, was funded by a $75,000 grant from Michael and Mary Cole, members of Holy Spirit and longtime MORE ONLINE supporters of their parish See a complete list of and Cretin-Derham Hall Catholic elementary high school, both in schools participating in St. Paul.

Believe and Read at Now, the Catholic TheCatholicSpirit.com Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE) in Edina is forging a partnership with Groves Academy, funded with a $1 million grant from Cretin-Derham Hall, that will expand the program to 17 more Catholic elementary schools this school year. Within five years, CSCOE hopes to expand the program to all 79 elementary schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Officials with CSCOE note that 14 to 18 percent of Catholic school students in grades K-2 are not reading at grade level. With the new Believe and Read initiative, the organization hopes to lower that percentage and close the literacy skills gap.

“The people at Groves are experts in the literacy field, not just locally but nationally, and they work well within the Catholic school environment where we address the whole child — body, mind and spirit,” said Gail Dorn, CSCOE president, while noting the generosity of CDH. Groves Academy is widely known for its programs for students who have a learning disability, such as dyslexia and attention disorders. It also offers a center for literacy instruction, education and advocacy.

The Groves curriculum provides an evidence-based

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Michael Gerard, manager of the Lending Library at the University of St. Thomas, shows examples of what Catholic schools can borrow for their classrooms: dash robots and a microscope.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Reading is the focus of an initiative available to Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. literacy structure that focuses on the mechanics of reading and spelling, helping schools track data and plan for interventions to meet the needs of moderate or high-risk students.

“We are wired to acquire language by being immersed in it, but not wired to read automatically,” said Katharine Campbell, director of Groves’ Institute for Professional Learning.

Through CSCOE’s Believe and Read initiative, five Groves literacy coaches will spend time in the 20 schools, working alongside K-2 teachers for 30 minutes a week to help emerging readers and build relationships with the teachers, so that by the end of the first year, the teachers are implementing the program.

“In year two, we continue coaching, adding third grade and working with intervention teachers on how to impact the struggling readers,” Campbell said. “In year three, we develop a coach in each building, as our goal is for the schools to be self-sustaining.”

Michael Cole, who is heading CSCOE’s fundraising campaign to expand Believe and Read, said he has a special empathy for children who struggle to read.

“I was one of those kids well over 55 years ago, and I’ve done volunteer work at the high school level to help kids catch up,” Cole said. “Every year literacy issues are left unchecked, the problem intensifies.

“I am fueled by the sacredness of this cause; God has his hands all over this. Let’s be spiritual warriors and see if we can annihilate illiteracy in our Catholic schools.”

Frank Miley, president of CDH, notes that preparing students to succeed in every level of education is core to the school’s mission.

“CDH is not normally in the business of being a donor, but we are excited to support CSCOE and Groves with Believe and Read as a socially responsible investment for our future students as well as the archdiocese,” Miley said.

Lending Library brings unique STEM experiences

By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit Housed in the school of engineering at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul is a special library chock-full of robots, telescopes, virtual reality goggles and more.

These items aren’t, however, for the college’s engineering students. They make up the Lending Library, available at no cost to Catholic school elementary teachers for use in their classrooms in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The Lending Library originated from a partnership between the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence in Edina and UST’s school of engineering.

“The goal of the Lending Library is to expose students to engineering projects,” said Michael Gerard, manager of the UST/CSCOE C-STEM library. “These resources offer a different kind of hands-on learning that gets kids excited about STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.”

Christina Robb, kindergarten teacher at St. Peter Claver School in St. Paul, uses Lending Library kits.

“I’m able to look ahead at our curriculum and every few weeks bring in something new from the Lending Library,” she said. “The kids love opening up the kits.”

The library has 42 kits teachers can borrow. Each kit contains classroom materials and lesson plans for an engineering project; half come with lessons on You Tube that give teachers a good idea of how to use them.

“The least expensive kit is about $700 and most are in the $9,000 range,” Gerard said. “For many of our Catholic schools, that’s just not affordable. We purchased the kits through a grant from CSCOE, and we drop off/pick them up at no charge to the schools.”

Gerard says Lending Library kits were used 400 times by 55 schools last year; 20 new kits are being added to grow the program.

stjerome-church.org

Sacred ChurchFall Fall Festival SacredHeart Heart Church Festival/ 840 Kermesse 6th StreetdelE,Sagrado St. Paul,Corazon MN 55106 Sunday, September 2019 Sunday, September 10,8, 2017 10:00am-3:00pm 10 de Septiembre, 2017

Kids andEast Adult Games Sixth & Arcade Streets • Raffles Mexican and American 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Food Live Entertainment General Authentic Mexican food &• American food Store Comida Mexicana y Americana Garage Sale music, dancers, children & adult games, jewelry sale, pull tabs, raffle & more.

Musica, danzas, mago, juegos para ninos y adultos

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St. Jerome Church Fall Festival, Swing Dance,Booya & Car Show

2 DAYS: Saturday and Sunday, September 14th & 15th Saturday • Sept 14 • 4:30 Mass in the tent • 5:30 Food trucks, craft beer and other beverages • 6:30 – 8:30 SWING DANCE

Sunday • Sept 15 • 10:30 Mass in the tent • 11:30 Booya and Car Show • 12:30 Talent Tent • Food, games, fun all afternoon

FREE and family friendly!

• 200 gallons of our famous Booya will be available for take-out at 6:00 a.m. Sunday, until gone. Bring your own non-glass container.

St. Jerome is located at 380 E. Roselawn Ave. (at 35E) • Maplewood

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15

FROMAGETOAGE

Scientist reflects on career showing people the stars

By Mary K. Tilghman Catholic News Service

J

im O’Leary has spent the past 44 years looking up into the heavens — a space-age kid who grew up watching astronauts rocketing into the great beyond.

“It fascinated me to no end that we were going into space,” O’Leary said of the NASA effort that reached new heights 50 years this July 20 with the Apollo 11 moon walk. A parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Fullerton, Maryland, in Baltimore County, he recently retired as the Maryland Science Center’s senior scientist.

O’Leary says his appreciation for the heavens fits in perfectly with his Catholic faith, something he often addresses in his public speaking.

“Science is about explaining the natural world and understanding the way things work,” he explained.

Religion, he said is “more spiritual.”

“They can cross over,” he added.

“They’re certainly not mutually exclusive.”

He cited a 2009 Pew Research Center survey of scientists that found 51% of scientists believe in a higher power.

And he quotes Galileo — twice — as the authority on religion and science: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use” and “The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go.”

After college, he knew he wanted to share his love of the skies as a space educator. After an internship and a short stint at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, O’Leary came to Baltimore. Rose Ann, the young woman he would marry, was one reason. The other was the still-unfinished Maryland Science Center.

In 1975, the brick building was one of the few on the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. The city’s World Trade Center was only partially completed. The National Aquarium and Harborplace were still years away.

O’Leary took on some big projects of his own during his tenure.

The first was overseeing the final construction of the Davis Planetarium.

He also shepherded its upgrade to digital projections 11 years ago.

He’s overseen the rooftop observatory with its 1927 telescope bought by the Maryland Academy of Sciences.

“It’s fun to watch people’s reactions,” he said. When a visitor sees something like the rings of Saturn for the first time, they always ask, he said, “Is that real?”

O’Leary also led the opening of the IMAX theater in the 1980s, even serving as an IMAX executive producer on several films. He endured 126-degree temperatures in the Mongolian desert filming paleontologists for “Dinosaurs Alive 3D,” a film produced with the American Museum of Natural History.

He got a National Science Grant for a film on the human body produced in

More news and commentary at thecatholicspirit.com.

CNS

Jim O’Leary, a member of St. Joseph Church in Fullerton, Maryland, July 10. He recently retired as the senior scientist at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. cooperation with the BBC. For the bicentennial of the “Star Spangled Banner” he was co-executive producer of “Star-Spangled Banner: Anthem of Liberty,” which recreated the Battle of Baltimore and was shot at Fort McHenry.

What he really likes to do, though, is show people the stars. “That’s what I’ve done basically my whole life,” he told the Catholic Review, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “I’ve always liked it. I’m fascinated by everything.”

In addition, he has led development of NASA-approved workshops for teachers and for 12 years was co-host of “Skywatch,” a weekly astronomy program that aired on WYPR radio.

He has many reasons for loving the view above him: “the beauty of the sky, the possibility of life, how long it’s been here, the fate of the universe.”

He grew up near Worcester, Massachusetts, and points to the example of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary sisters who taught him at St. Bernard’s School, and his parish priests, Fathers Tony Marteka and Joe Ash. They inspired him to become an altar server and member of the parish Scout troop.

After he and his wife were married, they joined St. Joseph. While caring for his aging mother, he was forced to scale back, but for many years O’Leary’s parish activities included serving on the parish council and acting as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.

His parish has “done a good job welcoming people of various cultures, specifically the Filipino and AfricanAmerican communities,” he noted.

“I see that as a microcosm of what our nation and world should be like.”

16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER TOM MARGEVICIUS

Striving for heaven

I read somewhere (maybe Dale Ahlquist can find it) that GK Chesterton wrote, “Modern man has stopped longing for heaven and now takes it for granted that he will get there.”

It’s hard to argue, “in the end everyone gets to heaven,” in light of this Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus’ words unsettle us. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough” (Luke 13:23–24).

Matthew’s version is even starker: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13–14). Seven years ago, Dr. Ralph Martin wrote a book entitled, “Will Many Be Saved?” In it he explains that Vatican II does not teach “universal salvation,” as some have supposed; Jesus’ words still hold.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 1817 defines hope as “the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” According to CCC 2091, there are

“

two ways to sin against hope: despair, and presumption. Despair is loss of hope; presumption says hope is not necessary, because everyone gets saved anyway. CCC 2092 describes “two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit).” Sunday’s Gospel counteracts presumption.

Some have called hope “the forgotten virtue” because no one really knows what it is, or why we need it. That’s not surprising in an age wherein we are accustomed to instant gratification: fast food, faster internet, immediate answers. That sounds like the “broad road” Jesus warns about. It’s not easy to deny ourselves instant pleasure today for the sake of better rewards later.

Hope is hard work. We have to strive. This is not the same thing as “earning our salvation,” as some Reformers accused of Catholics; with them we agree that salvation is a grace God gives freely, and we cannot earn it: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast” (Eph 2:8–9). But God also expects us to do our part: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).

Next weekend is Labor Day. Most of us take a day off from work, maybe visit the State Fair, and enjoy summer one last time. As we honor the American worker, let us also remember the most noble and important work of all: striving for heaven.

Father Margevicius is director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, August 25 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 66:18-21 Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 Lk 13:22-30 Monday, August 26 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10 Mt 23:13-22 Tuesday, August 27 St. Monica 1 Thes 2:1-8 Mt 23:23-26 Wednesday, August 28 St. Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church 1 Thes 2:9-13 Mt 23:27-32 Thursday, August 29 Passion of St. John the Baptist 1 Thes 3:7-13 Mk 6:17-29 Friday, August 30 1 Thes 4:1-8 Mt 25:1-13 Saturday, August 31 1 Thes 4:9-11 Mt 25:14-30 Sunday, September 1 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a Lk 14:1, 7-14 Monday, September 2 1 Thes 4:13-18 Lk 4:16-30 Tuesday, September 3 St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church 1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11 Lk 4:31-37 Wednesday, September 4 Col 1:1-8 Lk 4:38-44 Thursday, September 5 Col 1:9-14 Lk 5:1-11

iSTOCK PHOTO | CHATRI ATTANATWONG

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Reverence for the Eucharist

Imagine for a moment a personal audience, not with the president, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, a Nobel laureate or a highly acclaimed author — but with Jesus himself, the Son of God. What an awesome privilege. Nothing could be better. This privilege happens every time we are in the presence of the Eucharist or receive holy Communion. As we would hold a person of high stature in great esteem, all the more should we offer our utmost respect and reverence to Jesus in the Eucharist. There are ways to express that reverence: Predisposition expresses reverence. If we were going to see a very important person, we would be excited, find something special to wear, and be on our best behavior. Similarly, we should look forward to going to Mass or eucharistic adoration with eager anticipation, dress smartly, and be well-mannered.

Attentiveness. Imagine being with a celebrity and looking disinterested or bored, eyes wandering elsewhere, or not engaged in the conversation. We would never do this with a big-time star, and it should be unthinkable with Jesus. We respect the Eucharist when we are delighted to be in Jesus’ presence, are fully alert and focused, give him our complete and undivided attention, and engage him in personal private prayer, both listening and speaking to him from the depths of our hearts.

Posture. We honor the Eucharist with a variety of postures at Mass: genuflection upon entering and leaving; kneeling during the

Eucharistic Prayer, the consecration, after the Lamb of God, and in meditation after receiving holy Communion; standing during the beginning of the Communion Rite; and hands folded anytime.

Gestures. The manner that the priest, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, or Communion recipient handles the Eucharist makes a powerful statement. The elements of the Eucharist should be raised, lowered, presented, or received slowly and gracefully and in a dignified manner, not hurriedly, haphazardly, carelessly or unthinkingly.

The reception of holy Communion. While in the Communion procession, it is wise to be fully conscious of who we are about to receive and to have a joyful spirit of expectation. Then, when before the Eucharist, a slight deferential bow offers profound respect, and to say “Amen” with sincerity and conviction is a powerful profession of faith.

Hymns. There are many traditional hymns that honor the Eucharist: “Tantum Ergo,” “O Salutaris Hostia,” “Panis Angelicus,” “Holy God We Praise Thy Name” and “O Jesus, We Adore Thee,” and contemporary hymns such as “Take and Eat,” “I Am the Bread of Life” and “One Bread, One Body.”

Prayers and rituals. The Eucharist is venerated by Benediction, the “Divine Praises,” the offering of incense, the “Anima Christi,” the “Pange Lingua,” processions such as those conducted on Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi, Forty Hours devotions, prayers before and after Mass and visits to the church.

Furnishings, vestments and vessels. Reverence for the Eucharist is expressed in the beauty and placement of the altar and tabernacle; the arrangement of candles and candelabras, sanctuary lamp and vigil lights; the use of attractive vestments, chasubles and dalmatics, copes and humeral veils, possibly decorated with eucharistic symbols such as a host and chalice, wheat and grapes, or loaves and fishes; canopies for processions; and the best possible sacred vessels, chalices and patens, ciboria, communion plates and cups, monstrance and luna, and pyxes, made with precious metals worthy of the Lord.

Friday, September 6 Col 1:15-20 Lk 5:33-39 Saturday, September 7 Col 1:21-23 Lk 6:1-5 Sunday, September 8 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 9:13-18b Phmn 9-10, 12-17 Lk 14:25-33 Monday, September 9 St. Peter Claver, priest Col 1:24—2:3 Lk 6:6-11 Tuesday, September 10 Col 2:6-15 Lk 6:12-19 Wednesday, September 11 Col 3:1-11 Lk 6:20-26 Thursday, September 12 Col 3:12-17 Lk 6:27-38 Friday, September 13 St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14 Lk 6:39-42 Saturday, September 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross Nm 21:4b-9 Phil 2:6-11 Jn 3:13-17 Sunday, September 15 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 1 Tm 1:12-17 Lk 15:1-32

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

COMMENTARY YOUR HEART, HIS HOME | LIZ KELLY

Taking our part

A dear friend, calls; he’s at his wits’ end. Looking at the world, it looks like evil is winning.

Among the crippling issues on his mind are: corruption in our government, media and banking practices; religious persecution here and abroad; terrorism generally speaking; and to go ahead and break the camel’s back, the absolute lunacy that you can shoot a pregnant woman and be charged with not one, but two counts of murder, and yet, that same mother could abort that same child and we call it “her right.”

It’s true, the evil that parades through our streets, whether dressed up as willful ignorance or outright malice and greed, is astounding. The temptation is to imagine that we are powerless over such malignant forces and that we must succumb to its unrelenting undertow that threatens to yank us under.

But that is to forget who we are in Christ and what he has established for us in the Church.

For example, the Church gives us feast days, and lots of them. August is especially robust in remembering some of the most courageous among us.

We celebrate this month the feast of St. Augustine and his long-suffering-inprayer-mother, St. Monica; the Passion of St. John the Baptist; and two saints murdered at Auschwitz, Sts. Edith Stein and Maximilian Kolbe — to name a few.

Add to these credible and compelling witnesses our Marian feasts: the Assumption and Coronation. Let’s not forget that Mary is not some hapless spectator lost in history or a pale-faced beauty painted too daintily on too many canvases; she is Queen of Heaven

and Earth. Her soul is so pure that her prayers are as stealthy and as commanding a weapon for justice, goodness and mercy as any known to man. We have recourse to the unending arsenal of her purity and mediation as Theotokos, and as our spiritual mother.

And let’s not forget what the saints teach us about spiritual warfare. How we can flank the enemy with prayer and an extra holy hour in the middle of the night — he hates that. We can attack him with mortifications great and small, almsgiving, suffering or any number of difficult moments throughout our day joined to the work of the Cross — the devil really, really hates a fasting ambush. When evil tries to crush our hope, we must remember who we are and what grace is granted us in the sacraments, in prayer, in every little, unseen good work or act of kindness. We’re not powerless pawns bobbing aimlessly on a sea of evil because Jesus is almighty, all merciful, and though the answer to our prayers may be baffling and painful at times, he is all good and he has an eternal plan for us, body and soul.

The day of this writing just happens to be the Feast of the Assumption. And in her beautiful book, “Intercessions for Mass,” the Carmelite sister Mary Grace Melcher invites the Church to pray: “That we who celebrate Our Lady’s Assumption . . . may renew our hope in our own resurrection, taking our part in the struggle to destroy every sovereignty and power that opposes God’s victory in our lives.” Oh yes, almighty Father, hear this prayer.

Take up your part, little or great, painful or just annoying, hidden or known, with fasting and prayer and penance and join Jesus and his army of saints in destroying the evil around you

COMMENTARY | GREG ERLANDSON

Do we really believe in the Real Presence?

When Pope Francis recently said that every time we receive Communion, it should be like our first time, it reminded me of a friend’s story.

He had left his thenyoungest son in the pew while the rest of the family went up to receive Communion. Upon his return, his son was missing. Looking around to see where he went, he suddenly saw his little boy racing down the aisle shouting, “I got one! I got one!”

I’m not sure how many of us can equal that excitement, but what do we feel when we receive Communion? What are we thinking when the priest says the words of consecration?

A longtime editor in the Catholic press, himself a convert, once confessed

that the hair on the back of his neck stood up every time the priest uttered those words, so powerful was his sense that God really and truly became present in a unique and tangible way.

For 2,000 years, this has been the teaching of the Church. But what do most Catholics believe these days about the real presence of Christ under the forms of bread and wine?

A recent survey by Pew Research Center (story, Page 1) suggested that a majority of Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. In fact, Pew said 69% thought the host and wine were only “symbols” of Christ’s body and blood.

The polling results stirred a great deal of breast-beating, and accusations flew about who was to blame for this sorry state of affairs.

Immaculata Prayer, St. Maximilian Kolbe O Immaculata, Queen of heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most

loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.

I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you

to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your

possession and property.

Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life,

death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to

accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and “You

alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.”

Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for

introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many

strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the

blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in

holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from

the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.

Amen iSTOCK PHOTO | SEDMAK

one spiritual ambush at a time.

Jesus, help me to know and to take up my part in the struggle against evil — whether that be a life of quiet holiness, a martyr’s death, or something in between. Help me remember, even in the midst of

But one must always approach such surveys with caution, as Mark Gray from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, known as CARA, subsequently pointed out in his blog named 1964.

Gray noted that Pew gave Catholics the following choice: The bread and wine (a) actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, or (b) are symbols of the body and blood of Christ.

The results are significantly different from a 2011 survey in which 63% believe in the Real Presence (46% of whom knew what the Church teaches.)

The earlier survey asked the question this way: “Which of the following statements best describes the Catholic teaching” on the Eucharist: (a) The bread and wine really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, or (b) the bread and wine are only symbols of the body and blood.

The difference is the use of the phrase “really become” versus “actually become.” “Actually,” Gray suggests, may make it sound like something that could be empirically observed.

Instead, the Church describes the Real Presence as “an inexhaustible mystery,”

persecution or injustice, I belong to you and you will never surrender your claim to my soul.

Kelly is the author of six books, including “Jesus Approaches” and the “Jesus Approaches TakeHome Retreat.” Visit her website at lizk.org.

and that the “substance” of the bread and wine are changed at consecration, but “the ‘accidents’ or appearances of bread and wine remain.”

Past CARA surveys, Gray said, used the wording “Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist,” or the “bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present.”

Gray hopes to test this hypothesis further, but I suspect he is onto something. As one theologian told me when a similar survey came out years ago, Catholics may not be able to articulately define the “Real Presence,” and the phrase “transubstantiation” may be obscure to them, but in their reverence and demeanor, they demonstrate their belief that this is not just a symbol.

What all of these surveys underscore, however, is the Church’s great need for adult faith formation. A few years of religious education classes as children is not sufficient, and we are paying the price for this neglect now.

Erlandson, director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, can be reached at gerlandson@catholicnews.com.

18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA | JASON ADKINS

Can Catholics disagree on policy positions of bishops?

This session, the Catholic bishops of Minnesota advocated in favor of a policy that would allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally in Minnesota. The bishops and Minnesota Catholic Conference staff have received plenty of feedback from Catholics throughout the state, in many instances expressing their disagreement with that policy proposal.

This issue raises an occasion for asking what many of these Catholics are wondering: “Are we ‘bad Catholics’ for disagreeing with the bishops on this or other matters?” Or, perhaps, “Are the bishops overstepping their authority by taking such specific positions?”

The key to answering these questions is to clarify the way in which the public policy positions of bishops are binding on the faithful. This is particularly vital at a time when society needs the perspective of the Church to bring the light of the Gospel to the polarized political debates of our day. The laity must consider carefully the policy positions proposed by bishops and work to make them their own insofar as they are built on the foundation of Gospel principles.

A bishop, whose authority is given to him by virtue of apostolic succession, has the great commission to be the herald of the Gospel in his diocese. He is the shepherd of all the souls in his diocese, not just Catholics, and is entrusted with their pastoral care.

The most basic witness of the Gospel is to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor. One way in which we love our neighbors is to advocate for laws and policies that promote their well-being. Bishops must speak out in defense of the dignity of every human person, not because they are Catholic, but because we are.

A bishop who, seeing injustice being done to persons in his diocese, and who did not speak out in their defense, would be weakened in his ability to be a herald

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD

Learning about relationships from the best of teachers

Essential to any thriving business, team, organization or organism worth its salt is that they provide opportunities for continuous learning, development and growth.

This also applies to the family.

As the new school year approaches, faithful parents are asking that their prayers “be counted as incense” as with the psalmist they lift their hands in petition to God (Ps 141:2).

Appealing for the growth, development, health and safeguarding of their children is top of mind. No matter what the age of their girls and boys — preschool on up through college — pleas resound annually from the first teachers of these students.

The first and the greatest teachers indeed! In the final blessing and dismissal of the rite of baptism for children, parents are not only blessed as “the first teachers of their child in the way of faith.” The onus of the blessing compels that they “may be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do, in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Responsibility and accountability are in tall order here, yet the good news is that parents will have their children’s early years and then some to press,

COMMENTARY of the Gospel.

The bishop then, by virtue of his teaching office, has a responsibility to speak to the public about human dignity, as well as identify for the faithful specific local matters that affect the common good. And, because important laws are made that affect his diocese at the state and federal level, he will join with other bishops in a “conference of bishops,” such as the Minnesota Catholic Conference, to collaboratively engage public officials with one voice.

Certainly, not every policy proposal advocated by the Minnesota Catholic Conference is embraced by legislators. Neither are they embraced universally by every Catholic. The effect of such disagreement requires clarification and reflection. The Code of Canon Law (canons 750-53) spells out the duties of Catholics regarding their adherence to the Gospel and the teaching authority of the Church.

In brief, there are certain doctrines that one must believe “with the assent of faith” in order to be a Catholic. These include everything within “the one deposit of faith” and anything proposed by the Magisterium as divinely revealed—for example, the dogma of the Trinity, or the Virgin Birth.

A second category of teachings calls for the “religious submission of the intellect and will” on the part of the faithful. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains that religious submission is required “when the Magisterium, not intending to act ‘definitively,’ teaches a doctrine to aid a better understanding of Revelation and make explicit its contents, or to recall how some teaching is in conformity with the truths of faith, or finally to guard against ideas that are incompatible with these truths” (Doctrinal Commentary, 35). Many aspects of the social doctrine of the Church fall into this category.

Most of the policy positions taken by the bishops of Minnesota (unless they involve opposition to legislation sanctioning an intrinsic evil like redefinition of marriage or assisted suicide) fall into neither of these two categories. They belong to what is called “ordinary prudential teaching on disciplinary matters,” which involve teachings that are contingent upon time and circumstance and which, unlike the first two categories, are subject to error insofar as they are decided upon by fallible human beings.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has described how bishops “do not claim to make these prudential judgments with the same kind of authority that marks our declarations of principle. But we feel obliged to teach by example how Christians can test and improve their teaching skills. And the family of God helps keep watch at the breach.

Parents come to know that occasioning the time and skills of dependable and reliable godparents, grandparents, neighbors, friends and relatives to help nurture the development of their children is certainly fair game. Plus, it can be a beneficial tactic in teaching them about the value of relationships. As technology competes to displace personal engagement, it is difficult to build relationships unless a couple of things are happening: Communication that cuts both ways and the presence of a real person.

I recall the words of a savvy learning and development leader of a company for which I worked, who early on in my career once told me that effective communication requires listening skills. OK sure, I thought. Yet, he wasn’t finished. And, he said, “listening is not simply waiting for your turn to speak.” Being attentive to the other not only shows that you care; it carries the benefit of learning more than you knew before — through building relationships.

Certainly, there are eucharistic connotations and opportunities in much of life’s learning if we allow for it. In the sacraments of initiation — baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist — God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier. Hence, the importance early on in life of experiencing the true, real and substantial presence of Jesus at the Mass, where children can learn that he is spiritual nourishment. Jesus speaks to us, teaches us and sanctifies us in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In word and sacrament we are strengthened in holiness — in and outside of Mass.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains the value of eucharistic devotion outside of Mass: “Indeed, only in

AUGUST 22, 2019

In some parts of the United States, life seems to be getting worse because citizens are facing their problems alone. These communities have seen declines in marriage, voting, church attendance and volunteer work.

Join the Minnesota Catholic Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 4 from 9 a.m.-noon at St. Catherine University for a keynote address from Tim Carney, author of “Alienated America.” His research shines a light on why failing social connections are responsible for the great divide in America.

Plus, a distinguished panel of local respondents offers their thoughts on alienation in America and opportunities for faith communities in addressing some of these issues.

This event is free, but online registration is required at MNCatholic.org/AlienatedAmerica.

undertake concrete analysis and make specific judgments on economic issues. The Church’s teaching cannot be left at the level of appealing generalities” (Economic Justice for All, 20).

But this does not mean that the policy positions proposed by the bishops should be treated as just another political opinion among many to be considered. Catholics should take their bishops’ political positions seriously, acknowledging that the Church’s guidance in these matters “is an essential resource for Catholics as they determine whether their own moral judgments are consistent with the Gospel and with Catholic teaching” (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, 33).

Bishops are not perfect, nor is every pastoral judgment they make always the correct one. Still, Jesus Christ has invested bishops with his teaching authority, a charism on which Catholics can rely in good conscience to shape their work in the public arena, even if sometimes they may ultimately disagree on matters of prudential judgment.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. adoration can a profound and genuine reception mature. And it is precisely this personal encounter with the Lord that then strengthens the social mission contained in the Eucharist, which seeks to break down not only the walls that separate the Lord and ourselves, but also and especially the walls that separate us from one another.”

Those words might not be the first teaching iteration to use on a child to explain adoration. Simply taking them to adore the Blessed Sacrament early in life — postfirst Communion — may be efficacious for the young to learn to listen patiently in the real presence of Jesus.

Adoration can be a prayerful, insightful way to have a conversation with the person of Jesus Christ, which may indeed strengthen them in their “social mission.”

Our behaviors are our beliefs in action. The way we behave in speech and action will likely gain more attention and retention of everyone with whom we have a relationship, especially the young.

The Woodstock era was not exactly a stellar decade of example. But many expressed a strong belief in the ‘60s that we should love one another unconditonally and live in peace. The burning question was how to do that, and one answer was expressed in the line of a song performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, “teach your children well.”

God’s pure act of love is his only Son, given to us to save us. Jesus is the master of relationships — as we stand or as we fall. He is the best of teachers.

Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount, All Saints in Lakeville, and assists the Catholic Watchmen movement of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization.

Reach him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com. Learn about the archdiocese’s Catholic Watchmen initiative at thecatholicwatchmen.com

AUGUST 22, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

CALENDAR FEATURED EVENTS Catholic Grandparent Conference — Aug. 24: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Epiphany, 1900 11th Ave. NW, Coon Rapids. Gain ideas to strengthen relationships with grandchildren (and adult children). Speakers, music, worship, adoration of the Eucharist with Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

Cost: $30 per person. (Includes morning coffee, granola bars, lunch buffet and afternoon snack.)

For more information or to register online go to archspm.org/events.

Voices of a Generation: Reflecting on Religious Life in a Changing World — Aug. 25: 2-4 p.m. at St. Catherine University 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, in Coeur de Catherine Building, Henrietta Schmoll Rauenhorst Ballroom. Women religious of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and their guests are invited to hear nationally recognized speaker Sister Mary Pellegrino, CSJ. Heavy hors d’oeuvres, socializing to follow. Free. Parking: Campus parking permit enforcement suspended Aug. 25. Guests may park in areas normally designated for permit holders.

Twin Cities Prison Ministry Activity Overview — Sept. 7: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Sojourner Truth Academy, 3830 Emerson Ave. N., Minneapolis. The parish community of St. Bridget coordinating with Twin Cities Prison Ministry offers information about volunteer opportunities inside and outside prison walls. All are welcome, lunch is provided (free-will offering). Pre-registration requested, but not required. Free. For more information call Linda at 612-588-1171 or email TCPM.LRR @gmaill.com.

Annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities — Sept. 8: 3 p.m. (Sing-along begins at 2:30 p.m.) at St. Mary’s Chapel, Seminaries of Saint Paul, 2260 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Mass celebrant will be Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Light refreshments after Mass.

Music Friends of St. Thomas More Summer Organ Concert Series — Aug. 28: 7–8 p.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Performer Christopher Stroh. morecommunity.org.

Ongoing groups Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A group of men, women, family and friends

supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholic alcoholics. Kathy at 651-330-3387. calixsociety.com.

The Prophets: Messengers of God’s Mercy Bible Study — Mondays or Tuesdays Sept. 9-Nov. 12 at Transfiguration, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. Mondays 7-8:45 p.m. or Tuesdays 9-10:45 a.m. 10-part Bible study. transfigurationmn.org.

St. Peter’s historic church open house — Sundays through Labor Day: noon–2 p.m. at St. Peter, 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway, Mendota. stpetersmendota.org.

Swing dance and dinner — Aug. 24: 5:30–11 p.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul, 150 Railway St. E., Loretto. saintsppta.org.

Prayer/worship Practice-based spiritual formation group — Second Tuesdays Sept. 9-Dec. 10: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecenter.org.

Taize prayer — Third Fridays: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Simple chants based on Scriptures and periods of silence.

Refreshments following. benedictinecenter.org.

Retreats

Men and women’s silent weekend retreat — Aug. 23-25 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Premiere of “Broken, Blessed and Sent” presented by King’s House Preaching Team. kingshouse.com.

Women’s silent weekend retreat — Sept. 6-8 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo.

“Broken, Blessed and Sent” presented by King’s House Preaching Team. kingshouse.com.

Prayer shawl retreat — Sept. 6-8 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. franciscanretreats.net.

Women’s silent midweek retreat — Sept. 10-12 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo.

“Broken, Blessed and Sent” presented by King’s House Preaching Team. kingshouse.com.

HUGG retreat for those in grief — Sept. 13-15 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. By Hope United Grief Group. franciscanretreats.net.

Women’s silent weekend retreat — Sept. 13-15 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo.

“Broken, Blessed and Sent” presented by King’s House Preaching Team. kingshouse.com.

Conferences/workshops

CALENDAR submissions

Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) — Third Sundays: 1 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 1200 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis. Learn about this lay group of Catholic men and women, following the example of St. Francis.

952-922-5523.

Healing Hearts grief support group — Wednesdays through Sept. 18: 1:30–3 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8261 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. R.S.V.P. to mpotts@guardian-angels.org. guardian-angels.org.

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

We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission.

Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

Schools

50th Reunion Regina High School Class of 1969 — Sept. 14: 5 p.m. at Airport Marriott Hotel, 2020 American Blvd. E., Bloomington. Register before Aug. 21.

Karen at 612-729-3500. classcreator.com.

50th Reunion Archbishop Brady High School Class of 1969 — Sept. 28: 5 p.m.–midnight at 317 on Rice Park Event Center, 317 Washington St., St. Paul.

Reservations are now being accepted. Mary at 651- 600-9826. classreport.org.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: uTime and date of event uFull street address of event uDescription of event uContact information in case of questions ONLINE: thecatholicspirit.com/

Pilgrimages Grandparent’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land — Jan. 7-16. Registration open. archspm.org.

calendarsubmissions

MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106

Other events

Knights of Columbus bingo — Wednesdays 6–9 p.m. at Solanus Casey Council Hall, 1910 S. Greeley St., Stillwater.

St. Mary’s Cemetery: Open House & Historic Tour — Aug. 22 and 23 at 4403 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis.

Aug. 22, 1–4 p.m. and Aug. 23, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. 651-4888866. catholic-cemeteries.org.

Potluck picnic for widows and widowers Aug. 24: 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at Church of St. Peter, 1250 S. Shore Drive, Forest Lake. R.S.V.P. by Aug. 19 to 651-982-2200. stpeterfl.org.

Friday Night Youth Hang-Outs — Aug. 30: 6–8 p.m.

Updated listings of parish festivals — at

TheCatholicSpirit.com/festivals

St. Richard’s Catholic Church, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. Side by Side Ministries. sbsyouth.org.

Transfiguration Holy Soles 5K — Sept. 7: 10 a.m. at Transfiguration, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. transfigurationmn.org.

Holy Cross Alumni and Community Golf Outing — Sept. 13: 1 p.m. at CreeksBend, 26826 Langford Ave., New Prague. Proceeds to Holy Cross Catholic School. holycrossschool.net.

Saturday, September 7

Friday, September 6

$12 5

6

$6

Phone: 952.854.4733 abreitbarth@comcast.com

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES News reporter/staff writer and member of the Office of Communications of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis in St. Paul, MN. Primary duties are to report and write news stories, news and trend analysis, feature stories, news briefs and other stories as assigned for The Catholic Spirit newspaper and TCS online. Reports to TCS editor-in-chief/publications manager and works closely with the news editor. For education, experience, other requirements, and how to apply, please see https://rebrand.ly/TCS777 Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester seeks an Executive Director in its Winona MN office. The Executive Director is responsible for the overall design, implementation, and oversight of all social service and social justice programs of Catholic Charities for the 20 southern counties of Minnesota.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES (cont.)

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Please email a resume and cover letter with your interest to info@ccsomn.org or mail to Catholic Charities; Attn: HR; PO Box 379; Winona, MN 55987. Position is open until filled.

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 22, 2019

THELASTWORD

Father Michael Daly of St. Odilia in Shoreview holds a monstrance with the Eucharist during the beginning of adoration Aug. 7 at Faith and Football Camp at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul.

Story and photo by Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Y

Faith and football

oung boys dressed in T-shirts and shorts gathered on the sideline of the football practice field at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul Aug. 7.

Their chatter fell silent as they waited for the football camp’s afternoon session to start.

What they heard next was not a coach’s whistle, but small bells being carried across the field by Jim Weiland of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee. Walking right behind him was a priest, Father Michael Daly of St. Odilia in Shoreview. He was not holding a football.

He was holding the Eucharist. With the 85 boys attending the inaugural Faith and Football Camp kneeling on the artificial turf, Father Daly placed a consecrated host in a gold monstrance on a plastic folding table. He recited a few prayers, then circled around the table to kneel down with the boys.

Fifteen minutes of silence followed. Several boys remained just a few feet from the table, while others pulled back a football’s throw away. Observing the boys — and preserving the silence — was Matt Birk, former Minnesota Vikings center and Super Bowl winner with the Baltimore Ravens who played football for Cretin-Derham Hall in the 1990s.

Birk and several others came up with the idea of a camp for youth combining faith and football. It’s part of an organization they formed in 2018 called For His Glory. They wanted to make a concrete connection between the athletic life and the spiritual life.

“Matt Birk and some of us realized it was time to reinvest in our sports in our Catholic schools,” said Weiland, who has three children and has coached them in youth sports. “There’s so many of the virtues that we learn through the Catholic faith that can be taught really well through sports.”

The three-day camp that began Aug. 5 featured football drills and scrimmages, mixed in with Mass, rosary, Stations of the Cross and adoration. There also were speakers, including Glenn Caruso, head football coach at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Brooks

Bollinger, retired Minnesota Vikings quarterback, and Chad Greenway, retired Vikings linebacker. Father Daly heard confessions on the camp’s final day. He set up two chairs along a chain link fence at the edge of the field.

Organizers watched 30 boys line up to receive the sacrament.

“I really wasn’t expecting that many kids to step up” for confession, said Birk, 43, who belongs to St. Joseph in West St. Paul with his wife and eight children. “It really warmed my heart because that’s a sacrament that none of us really like going to, in a certain way. It’s intimidating, but these kids popped up and did it. For them to do that just showed a lot of courage. I was just so pleased.”

The camp was planned just six weeks before it happened, Birk said, and he wasn’t sure what kind of response it would get. He was pleasantly surprised to have 85 boys sign up, a sign that parents want a different kind of youth sports experience for their children.

Birk does, too, which is why three of his sons came to the camp — Grant, 11, Cole, 9, and Brady, 7. His children play youth sports, and he says winning often is the driving force. He recalls getting emails from coaches explaining that when kids commit to playing on their teams, they are not allowed to take weekends off for family activities like going up north to a lake cabin.

“There’s pressure,” he said. “You have to commit to four or five times a week. ... I mean, these are 10- and 11-year-olds. We’re just spending too much time, we’re putting an inordinate amount of time and energy into sports, which is the focus. It’s a race to nowhere, if you ask me.

“And statistics show that. Kids are dropping out — 80 percent of kids are dropping out of organized sports by middle school. And, the number one reason is they’re not having any fun.”

In response to this shift, Birk and camp organizers tried to dial up the fun and dial back the intensity. They kept the drills light, and did not have the boys wear pads or helmets. Scrimmages were held, but without keeping score. Adults, including Birk, would play quarterback and have all of the boys on offense go out for a pass. Birk smiled often as he scanned the field and

tossed passes to the boys. It resembled the sandlot games the boys’ parents and grandparents played when they were young.

Camp was held six hours each day, with plenty of breaks and free time. Near the end of the day, parents showed up in the bleachers to watch. The spiritual component definitely was a draw for them in registering their sons for the camp.

Becky Miller of St. Odilia found out about the camp through social media and signed up her son, Parker, 8, who will be a third-grader in the fall.

“I just love the faith and the athletic component of it,” she said of the camp. “I thought it would be a really neat experience, given that (Parker) had just completed first Communion ... in May. He had a really great teacher who really got him into the rosary and learning about the sacraments. And I just saw him excited about his faith in a way I hadn’t seen before. I thought this (camp) was really cool.”

Likewise for Kelene Skrypek of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, who registered her son, Tommy, also 8 and going into third grade. They found out about the camp because one of Tommy’s friends had signed up.

“It’s been a fabulous camp,” she said. “I’m hoping they do it again or do it a couple times throughout the summer. That would be great.”

Birk said he plans to do the camp again next year. He also hopes to add other sports, with soccer likely being the next one. And, he now has at least one priest who will join with him to promote faith and sports. Father Daly, who played high school hockey at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, said he hopes to someday bring the Eucharist out onto the ice. He thinks events like Faith and Football Camp are an important way to spread the Gospel in a culture obsessed with sports.

“I think if the boys aren’t coming to the church, we’ve got to go to them and meet them where they’re at — literally, on their football field,” Father Daly said.

“Bringing Jesus onto the sports field is a great sign and witness to them that we can integrate our faith in all that we do, including sports, that sports isn’t the goal but it’s a training ground for learning virtue and striving for the heights of holiness in heaven.”