The Catholic Spirit - November 11, 2021

November 11, 2021 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

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Handmaids in Hopkins Successful move for the Handmaids of the Heart of ­Jesus — Page 10

SPECIAL FOCUS: RESPONDING TO THE CALL National Vocation Awareness Week — Nov. 7-13 Taking first vows — Page 10 Joining a secular institute — Page 11 Seminary’s new preparation year — Page 20

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT UP 5 | GOODBYE, ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL 6 | CONNECTING YOUNG ADULTS TO PARISHES 7 QUILTS FOR RETIRED PRIESTS 12 | ST. MARTIN PILGRIMAGE 13 | CALVARY CEMETERY WALK 15

2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

PAGETWO I am sure that all of those who went with goodwill (to war), called by their country to defend it, are with the Lord. But we, who are journeying (on earth), are we fighting enough so there will be no more wars, so there will be no more domestic economies fortified by the arms industry?

Pope Francis, celebrating Mass on the feast of All Souls, Nov. 2, at the French Military Cemetery in Rome.

NEWS notes

NEAL ABBOTT | COURTESY ST. AGNES SCHOOL

ALL SOULS Archbishop Bernard Hebda visits with fourth-graders of St. Agnes School in St. Paul during their visit to Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul Nov. 2. Archbishop Hebda happened to run into the students during his own All Souls Day visit to one of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ oldest cemeteries to pray for the dead, including his predecessors buried there such as Bishop Joseph Cretin (who led the then-Diocese of St. Paul from 1850-1857), Bishop Thomas Grace (1859-1884), Archbishop John Ireland (1884-1918) and Archbishop Austin Dowling (1919-1930).

Catholic schools in Minnesota won’t mandate that their students receive a COVID-19 vaccine, education officials in all six of the state’s dioceses announced Oct. 29. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a two-page memo from the archdiocesan Office of the Chancellor for Civil Affairs and Office for the Mission of Catholic Education informed school leaders that, “as with all vaccines, (COVID-19) vaccination of school-age children is a decision of parents and is not mandated by Catholic schools or the Archdiocese.”

The memo was addressed to pastors with Catholic schools, canonical administrators of Catholic schools and heads of Catholic schools. It was issued the morning of Oct. 29, after a Federal Food and Drug Administration advisory panel endorsed Oct. 26 Pfizer’s vaccine for use in children as young as age 5. That same afternoon, the FDA announced that it had authorized the vaccine for that use. In the memo, the offices restated that Church teaching from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “affirms that ‘all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience’ and it is ‘morally acceptable’ for Catholics to take a COVID-19 vaccine.” The memo went on to quote the CDF: “At the same time … practical reason makes it evident that vaccination is not, as a rule a moral obligation, and that therefore, it must be voluntary.” The memo was also shared with school leaders in the dioceses of Crookston, Duluth, New Ulm, St. Cloud and Winona-Rochester.

More than 200 people stopped by the Visitation Sisters’ open house at their new monastery in north Minneapolis Oct. 24. The sisters had used two nearby houses but decided to consolidate and include a larger chapel and greeting area for neighbors. The north Minneapolis monastery is one of a dozen Visitation monasteries in the U.S., and the only one with a direct ministry of prayer and presence in an inner-city setting. Members of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, the sisters’ ministries include regular evenings with neighbors for conversation, potluck and fellowship. They also conduct an annual women’s retreat and sponsor the stay of neighborhood children at Catholic Youth Camp.

COURTESY ST. RAPHAEL CATHOLIC SCHOOL

RAKE-A-THON Third-graders Joseph Tupy, left, and Efosa Iyawe and Iyawe’s second-grade brother, Odosa, place leaves in bags Oct. 30, along with third-graders Charlotte Pixley and Iyawe sibling Osaro, during the 16th annual St. Raphael Catholic School Rake-A-Thon in Crystal. Gathering pledges for their work and helping local homeowners clean up their yards, 150 teachers, students and parents raised $17,760 toward this year’s goal of $20,000 for St. Raphael’s general operating fund. Crystal Mayor Jim Adams and his wife, Liz, also helped. The day started with Mass and ended with a luncheon. “The Rake-A-Thon is a wonderful service project and communitybuilding activity,” said Geri Cox, chair of the fundraiser and parent of a St. Raphael student. From 2008 to 2020, the Rake-A-Thon has raised $255,339 for the school.

PRACTICING Catholic On the Nov. 5 “Practicing Catholic” show, host Patrick Conley interviews Abe Gross and Connor Flanagan about how they’re seeking to harness the power of music for Jesus in founding the Dayton Avenue Music Label. Also featured are Patty Rosno, who describes Elevate Life’s mission to assist, equip and enable a network of pregnancy resource clinics, and avid hunter Dave Hrbacek from The Catholic Spirit, who describes where hunting, love of the outdoors and faith intersect. Listen each week Fridays at 9 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. Listen to interviews after they have aired at practicingcatholicshow.com, soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic or tinyurl.com/practicingcatholic.

ON THE COVER Sister Mary Pieta of the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus prays Oct. 29 with postulant Lydia Shields and others in a recently renovated convent at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Hopkins. Twelve sisters of the New Ulm-based community moved into the convent in August. Read more about the Handmaids in Hopkins on page 10. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

United in Faith, Hope and Love

Vol. 26 — No. 21 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor

It was a hit last year, and from Dec. 15 through Dec. 19 the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul is bringing it back, while expanding the experience of Luxmuralis’ light and sound show, which illuminates the façade of the Cathedral itself. This year’s show will include an immersive indoor presentation titled “Starry Night,” in addition to an outdoor show, “The Beginning.” Last year’s outdoor show — which was the U.S. debut of Great Britainbased Luxmuralis — was “Cathedral Illuminated: The Manger,” and it drew thousands of people. This year’s outdoor gatherings are free, while the indoor presentations will be $15 per person and $40 for groups of three or more. Indoors, people will be required to wear masks to help prevent spread of COVID-19. The shows are hosted by the Cathedral Heritage Foundation, which helps preserve the Cathedral as a historic monument and supports it as a venue for the arts and education.

Cretin-Derham Hall celebrated completion of its Ryan STEM Center with a ribbon cutting on its St. Paul campus Nov. 8. Made possible by a generous gift from Ron Ryan, a 1962 graduate of the school and former owner of RJ Ryan Construction, the center includes a new design lab and science, technology, engineering and math lab, office space and more. The new construction at the school supplements its science and engineering lab and classroom space.

Has Bishop Andrew Cozzens touched your life in the past eight years he’s served as an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis?

Tell us your story in 100 words or less. Please email submissions to CatholicSpirit@archspm. org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line.

Reflections may appear in a special edition of The Catholic Spirit celebrating Bishop Cozzens’ installation in the Diocese of Crookston.

Deadline for reflections to be considered for print is Nov. 26.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Cath­olic Spirit Newspaper.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEBISHOP ONLY JESUS | BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS

Gratitude — in the growing, giving and goodbye “H The Lord, ow shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will fulfill in the presence of all his people” (Ps 116:12-14).

Whenever I reflect upon my life with God, I am filled with gratitude and often reminded of these words of Psalm 116. I remember well the moment of my own ordination to the diaconate, the moment when I would make my definitive commitment of my life to the Lord through a promise of celibacy and obedience. I was lying on the floor in St. Mary’s Chapel at The St. Paul Seminary during the litany of saints, and the thought that went through my head was: “Lord you have been so very good to me in my life, I am sorry that all I have is one life to give you back, but I give it all to you.”

The Lord, in his goodness, took me at his word when I surrendered my life to him. With his grace and by his invitation, he has taken me to places I would never have imagined, and now he is taking me to Crookston.

When I was 23, I served as missionary with our own NET Ministries (the National Evangelization Teams) in the Diocese of Crookston. My team did about 20 retreats all over the diocese. If you would have told me then that one day I would return to Crookston as the bishop, I would never have believed you. However, as we should know, with the Lord nothing is impossible.

The day that my appointment as the eighth bishop of Crookston was announced, many people whom I met that day said, “Thank you for saying yes.” I have to admit that the thought of saying no never occurred to me. Did St. Peter get to say no when Jesus met him by the shore of the sea of Galilee and said to him, “Come and follow me, I will make you a fisher of men”?

Was Mary tempted to say no when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and said, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus”?

What about Pope John Paul II or Pope Francis when they were chosen to succeed St. Peter? How different the world would be if these figures had said no to God. Do we not know in faith that each of us has an irreplaceable part in God’s plan, that the world would be different if you or I said no to God? This is the incredible mystery of how God works through us, that he makes us part of his plan for the salvation of the world. And there are people in the

Gratitud — En el creciente, dando y adiós

“¿C

ómo regresaremos al Señor por todo el bien que nos ha hecho? La copa de salvación que tomaré, y llamaré al nombre del Señor. Mis votos al Señor cumpliré en presencia de todo su pueblo” (Sal 116, 12-14).

Siempre que reflexiono sobre mi vida con Dios, me lleno de gratitud y a menudo me acuerdo de estas palabras del Salmo 116. Recuerdo bien el momento de mi propia ordenación al diaconado, el momento en que haría mi compromiso definitivo de mi vida con el Señor a través de una promesa de celibato y obediencia. Estaba tirado en el suelo de la Capilla de Santa María en el Seminario de San Pablo durante la letanía de los santos, y el pensamiento que pasó por mi cabeza fue: “Señor, has sido tan bueno conmigo en mi vida, lo siento, que todo lo que tengo es una vida para devolverte, pero te la doy todo”.

El Señor en su bondad me tomó la palabra y cuando le entregué mi vida, con

world right now who are depending on you to say yes to God. Just as we depend on Peter, Mary, St. John Paul II, Pope Francis, Archbishop Hebda, your priest, your parents, your friends, etc. We depend on each other as we all make up this incredible web which is the salvation of the world. Many people can and do say no to God, and the world is so poor because of those responses. But many others can and do say yes to God, and God’s love pours into the world through each of us every time, every day, that we say yes to his will, especially when it is difficult, as it is difficult for me to say yes to leaving the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been my home since I moved here to serve on a NET team in 1991. I served on the home team doing retreats for young people around our archdiocese. This made it easier for me to decide to settle here the year after NET when I joined a fledgling group of men seeking to develop a communal way of life for diocesan priests called the Companions of Christ. These small communities of diocesan priests now serve in many of our parishes. After being ordained, I was assigned to our Cathedral, where I learned to love the beauty of the liturgy and the opportunity to offer the sacrament of confession to so many in need of his mercy. Then I was transferred to Faribault, where I was part of joining three churches into the one parish of Divine Mercy.

I have so many fond memories of working with the young people there.

After two years, I was sent to Rome to do doctoral studies. There not only did I get to know Mother Teresa’s sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, but I was present in St. Peter’s Square for the death of St. John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Upon returning to the archdiocese in 2006, I began teaching at The St. Paul Seminary. I was blessed with the privilege of walking with men as they prepared to give their own lives to God as priests, and teaching them about the incredible beauty of our faith and the gift of the priestly vocation. Even though I was made an auxiliary bishop at a difficult moment in the history of our archdiocese, I was blessed by God to see how he used those painful experiences to bring about so much healing and good.

I sense profoundly that God is doing something wonderful in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, through the Synod, the incredible vibrancy of our young adult community, the vibrancy and diversity of our parishes and people, our many seminarians and wonderful seminaries. I see the Holy

su gracia y por su invitación, me ha llevado a lugares que nunca hubiera imaginado y ahora me lleva a Crookston. Cuando tenía 23 años, serví como misionero con nuestros propios Ministerios NET (los Equipos Nacionales de Evangelización) en la Diócesis de Crookston. Mi equipo realizó unos 20 retiros en toda la diócesis.

Si me hubieras dicho entonces que algún día regresaría a Crookston como obispo, nunca te hubiera creído. Sin embargo, como debemos saber, para el Señor nada es imposible.

El día en que se anunció mi nombramiento como octavo obispo de Crookston, muchas personas que conocí ese día dijeron: “Gracias por decir que sí”.

Debo admitir que la idea de decir “no” nunca se me ocurrió. ¿San Pedro llegó a decir que no cuando Jesús lo encontró a la orilla del mar de Galilea y le dijo: “Ven y sígueme, te haré pescador de hombres”? ¿María sintió la tentación de decir que no cuando el ángel Gabriel se le apareció y le dijo: “concebirás en tu vientre y darás a luz un hijo, y le pondrás por nombre Jesús”? ¿Qué pasa con el Papa Juan Pablo II o el Papa Francisco cuando fueron elegidos para suceder a

in his goodness, took me at his word when I surrendered my life to him.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, bishop-designate of Crookston, preaches at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul during the annual Candlelight Rosary Procession Oct. 1.

Spirit at work to renew his Church in ways that already impact not just our archdiocese but the broader Church in the United States and the world. I feel so blessed to have had a front row seat to the goodness of God in all these circumstances. I am sorry for all the imperfections and failures, which are many, but also grateful to God that he has at times used me to make present his love.

I could and should thank many people, but I cannot go without thanking Archbishop Hebda publicly for his many kindnesses to me, and the way he has witnessed to me patience, charity, wisdom, forgiveness, courage and love in so many circumstances. He is truly a man who is open to the good and wants to see it flourish in all its beautiful diversity. I will always be grateful for how he has allowed me to join with him as a brother in leading this archdiocese. I always felt like a valued collaborator. The rest of you who have played such an important role in my life here these 30 years, please know that I carry you in my heart with gratitude and prayer.

How shall we make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for us? Let us keep saying yes to him — and fulfill our vows to the Lord in the presence of his people.

San Pedro? Qué diferente sería el mundo si estas figuras le hubieran dicho que no a Dios. ¿No sabemos en la fe que cada uno de nosotros tiene una parte insustituible en el plan de Dios, que el mundo sería diferente si usted o yo le dijéramos que no a Dios?

Este es el increíble misterio de cómo Dios obra a través de nosotros, que nos hace parte de su plan para la salvación del mundo. Y hay personas en el mundo en este momento que dependen de ti para decirle que sí a Dios. Así como dependemos de Pedro, María, San Juan Pablo II, el Papa Francisco, el Arzobispo Hebda, su sacerdote, sus padres, sus amigos, etc. Dependemos unos de otros ya que todos formamos esta increíble red que es la salvación de el mundo.

Mucha gente puede decirle que no a Dios y lo hace, y el mundo es muy pobre debido a esas respuestas. Pero muchos otros pueden y dicen que sí a Dios, y el amor de Dios se derrama en el mundo a través de cada uno de nosotros cada vez, todos los días, que decimos que sí a su voluntad, especialmente cuando es difícil, como es difícil para mí decirlo sí a dejar la arquidiócesis.

La Arquidiócesis de St. Paul y Minneapolis ha sido mi hogar desde que me mudé aquí para servir en un equipo NET en 1991. Serví en el equipo local haciendo retiros para jóvenes en nuestra arquidiócesis. Esto me facilitó la decisión de establecerme aquí el año después de NET cuando me uní a un grupo incipiente de hombres que buscaban desarrollar una forma de vida comunitaria para los sacerdotes diocesanos llamados Compañeros de Cristo. Estas pequeñas comunidades de sacerdotes diocesanos ahora sirven en muchas de nuestras parroquias. Después de ser ordenado, fui destinado a nuestra Catedral, donde aprendí a amar la belleza de la liturgia y la oportunidad de ofrecer el sacramento de la confesión a tantos necesitados de su misericordia. Luego me trasladaron a Faribault, donde formé parte de unir tres iglesias en la única parroquia de la Divina Misericordia.

Tengo muy buenos recuerdos de trabajar con los jóvenes allí.

Lea una versión más larga de esta columna en español en TheCatholicSpirit. com.

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4 • The Catholic Spirit 4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

SLICEof LIFE ‘Spooktacular’ reflection

SLICEof LIFE

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4 • The Catholic Spirit

Sam Backman, director of sacred music and liturgical life at Holy Cross in northeast Minneapolis, plays the organ during a concert Oct. 30 at the church called “Ars Moriendi: A ‘Spook-tacular’ Concert withMarch 9, 2017 a Theological Message.” He is joined by Aaron James, left, who sang a piece by Franz Schubert. The event featured organ music, poetry and reflections designed to help people contemplate life, death and life after death, and engage in the feasts of All St. Joseph Carondelet Saints (Nov. 1) and All Souls (Nov.of2).

PeopleSister Avis Allmaras, center, talks with Rose Carter, were encouraged to come in costume.

“Ars left, and Irene Eiden at Peace House in Moriendi” is Latin for “the artMinneapolis of dying”Feb. — 27. a Sister Avis south goes to theitcenter weekly Catholic understanding of what means to and visits guests like Carter. Eiden, of have a good death. “Thefrequent very concept of St. William in Fridley, is a lay consociate death is contrary to our human instincts, andPeace House is of the Carondelet Sisters. a day shelter the poor and homeless. rightly so — when God created theforhuman “It’s a real privilege to know these people race, he did not intend for to be partSister of Avis said. “I anddeath hear their stories,” the picture. Nevertheless, through ouronown could not survive the streets like they There are many gifted people sin and disobedience, it do. entered thesohuman here.” Said Carter of Sister Avis: “She’s condition,” Backman said.

“As Christians, an angel. She hides her wings under that however, we believe what St. Paul says sweatshirt.

She truly is an angel.”

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit in his First Letter to the Corinthians about death being ‘swallowed up in victory.’

Celebrating sisters ‘Where, O death, is thy sting?’ we might ask.

National Sisters Week is At Halloween, we, like St. Paul,Catholic can mock March 8-14. An official component of death and mimic the macabre, for we know Women’s History Month and that it does not have the headquartered final word.”at St. Catherine University

‘Angel’ among us

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

Archdiocesan Catholic school enrollment boost continues after ‘COVID year’

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit A growing number of students entering Catholic elementary and high schools in 2020-2021 reversed an extended enrollment decline, a feat accomplished even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents seeking safely conducted, in-person instruction for their children are believed to have been a driving force, archdiocesan education leaders say.

Kindergarten through high school enrollment in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis stood at 25,010 total students in 2019-2020, according to the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, as reported yearly in the Archdiocesan Schools Report, with an annual Oct. 1 reporting date. Enrollment grew 4.4% to 26,101 in 2020-2021, and another 3.5% to 27,014 this fall.

Emily Dahdah, director of educational quality and excellence in the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, said the reasons are complex and cannot be pinned to a single cause, such as in-person learning. Catholic schools in the archdiocese provided in-person and hybrid learning last year, while many metro-area public schools continued pandemic-related distance learning.

“But, certainly during the time of uncertainty, Catholic schools have provided, and they continue to provide, parents with that steady partner in the education of their children,” Dahdah said. “And the overwhelming majority of families who choose Catholic schools stay in Catholic education year over year, including those students we first welcomed last year.”

The archdiocese has a long history of Catholic education, Dahdah said.

In 2019, with the publication of the archdiocese’s Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education, it laid out the local Church’s strategic direction for Catholic education, charting a course for talent management, particularly leadership development; curriculum and assessments; access and sustainability; mission schools; and governance.

“It’s that work that has really helped strengthen the educational quality and excellence in Catholic education at all levels,” she said. “If I look at the data that we’re seeing as the Roadmap becomes (further) implemented, families are

first and second grades for the entire year.

Other grades switched to virtual learning after Thanksgiving until February. “So, we saw these increases even without inperson learning,” Menzhuber said.

The school has attracted several families from Ecuador who were looking for a school where their children can learn English, “but learn it in a way that’s very kind,” Menzhuber said.

Other families choosing St. John Paul II in recent years had children in public, charter or Spanish immersion schools and realized they were not receiving the academic support they needed to learn English and remain at grade level. St. John Paul II maintains communication with its graduates, and has a 100% high school graduation rate, Menzhuber said.

Holy Family, Victoria BARB UMBERGER | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Eighth-grader Kate Cubalchini, left, and sixth-grader Anna Michels enter St. Hubert in Chanhassen Nov. 4. The school has seen enrollment increase from 513 in the 2019-2020 school year to 592 this fall. more and more recognizing our schools and choosing to want to have them as partners.”

Higher enrollment also points to the effort of Catholic school leadership— including principals, pastors and chaplains — to provide a high-quality Catholic education, with Jesus Christ at the center, Dahdah said.

Schools increasing enrollment, Dahdah said, include St. Hubert Catholic School in Chanhassen, St. John Paul II Catholic School in Minneapolis and Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria.

St. Hubert, Chanhassen At St. Hubert, K-8 enrollment in 20192020 was 513. It grew by 23 students in 2020-2021 and by another 56 to hit 592 as of Nov. 4. Preschool enrollment, which starts at 16 months, brought an additional 125 children to the school this year. David Sorkin, head of school, attributed three factors to St. Hubert’s enrollment increases: In-person learning during the pandemic; the closing of Guardian Angels School in Chaska at the end of last school year, which brought 31 students to St. Hubert; and discontent among some parents with the local public school district.

Families are telling their friends they didn’t realize what was missing in their

child’s education and their child is happier, he said. And some students from non-Catholic families are asking their parents to take them to church. “We’re seeing kids who are reaching out to say, ‘I’d like to receive my sacraments and families who have reached out to say, ‘Well, we’re kind of inspired by my kid.’

And they’ve started going to church.”

St. John Paul II, Minneapolis Kindergarten through eighth-grade enrollment at St. John Paul II in 20192020 was 124. Last year, it grew to 143 and this fall reached 158. When Ascension Catholic Academy formed five years ago — with St. John Paul II joining Ascension Catholic School in north Minneapolis and St. Peter Claver Catholic School in St. Paul — enrollment at St. John Paul II was 103, said Principal Tricia Menzhuber.

Human resources, finance and development are part of the academy’s centralized operations, Menzhuber said, and school staff can prioritize parent and family engagement. “My staff in the building, we just take care of the people,” she said. “We can focus where we need to focus — on the teachers and the scholars and the families.”

Last year during the pandemic, the school was in-person for kindergarten,

Enrollment at Holy Family has grown from 383 in 2019-2020 to 456 in 20202021. This fall it reached 525.

Michael Brennan, school president, said the majority of Catholic schools that experienced enrollment increases in 2020-2021 likely wondered if it was “a one and done.”

“We didn’t have a crystal ball,” he said, but having 525 students in the building today is significant. “I think it speaks to the bigger story here, which is, I don’t want to give the pandemic all the credit,” he said.

In late winter and early spring last year, Holy Family surveyed families whose children transferred to the school as sophomores, juniors and seniors, and families of freshmen who decided “later in the game (July or August) to come to Holy Family,” Brennan said.

The school learned that in addition to a boost from in-person learning at a time when many public-school campuses remained closed, parents had reevaluated their values and the value proposition of Catholic schools, he said. “We found a place where we feel supported, not just by a school’s administration, not just by teachers, but we’re supported in that proverbial village sense of all the other parents here share the same values,” Brennan said of survey results.

“Society is opening its eyes and realizing that, after reflection, that their values are aligning with the values of Catholic schools,” he said.

Annual CCHD campaign helps local, national anti-poverty efforts

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Over the past 14 years, people served by Minneapolis-based workers’ rights organization CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos in La Lucha) have recovered $2.7 million in lost wages, said Jilian Clearman, its director of development.

“Sometimes that’s a couple hundred dollars that was missing from one person’s paycheck,” Clearman said. “Sometimes it’s a huge settlement that involves six figures and big groups of workers who’ve been systematically ripped off for years.”

For the 2021-2022 grant year, CTUL is one of three organizations in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that applied for and is receiving national funding from the annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the anti-poverty program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The others are the Ostara Initiative which, in Minnesota, supports incarcerated pregnant women

and new mothers through the Minnesota Prison Doula Project, and St. Paul Youth Services, a nonprofit that focuses on helping youth improve in school, stay out of the juvenile justice system and resolve family conflicts without police intervention, hospitalization or removal from the home.

On the weekend of Nov. 20-21, parishes will collect money for CCHD. Of that collection, about 25% will be distributed locally during the 2022-2023 grant year through a Christian Sharing Fund managed by the Center for Mission with the assistance of an archdiocesan advisory board. Seventy-five percent of the collection will be distributed by the CCHD to organizations across the country.

Local groups compete well in the national program and, on average, receive about $3 in grant funding for every dollar submitted to the CCHD, said Adam Fitzpatrick, social mission outreach coordinator at the Center for Mission From the money collected at parishes last November, six organizations in the archdiocese are

accessing a total of $255,000 in funding.

The three organizations receiving money for 2021-2022 through the Christian Sharing Fund are Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County, which advocates for just and equal treatment in housing, safety and immigration rights; St. Paul-based Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH); and All Square, a Minneapolis nonprofit social enterprise that works with people being released from prison through strength-based coaching and entrepreneurship courses, optional therapy and an entrepreneurial fellowship: a craft grilled-cheese restaurant.

As a current recipient, Clearman said the additional funds are helping CTUL meet its mission of furthering workplace rights, education and leadership development for low-wage workers. The organization helps develop the ability and confidence people need to defend their rights and participate in policy campaigns for such initiatives as paid sick days and raising the minimum wage, she said.

6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LOCAL

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

St. Joseph’s Hospital changes mark end of an era for CSJs

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit For 133 years, St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul was owned by its founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. In 1986, the hospital merged and ownership shifted to HealthEast Care System, but it remained a Catholic hospital.

When HealthEast merged with Fairview Health Systems in 2017, and Fairview later merged with University of Minnesota hospitals and clinics to become M Health Fairview, St. Joseph’s retained its name and its status as a Catholic hospital.

Sometime in the middle of 2022, however, both the hospital and its status as a Catholic institution are expected to end. M Health Fairview announced a transition Oct. 27 that will close the hospital to create the Fairview Community Health and Wellness Hub. That will leave the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis with two Catholic hospitals, according to the 2021 Official Catholic Directory: Regina Hospital, part of Allina Health, in Hastings, and St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee.

The changes at St. Joseph’s will include a no- to low-cost primary care health clinic, additional health and wellness services, and education. It will include outpatient mental health and addiction services, adult day services for seniors, and as early as this fall, a Second Harvest Heartland food storage, distribution and popup food shelves with support from other hunger relief organizations.

“For generations, we’ve witnessed the community health indicators for those living in and around our most racially diverse neighborhoods decline,” said James Hereford, president and CEO of Fairview Health Services, in an Oct. 27 statement. “Today is an important step for Fairview as an organization and as a member of this community in thinking about health holistically and proactively addressing the outsize role factors like race, income and ZIP code have on a person’s opportunity to be healthy.”

M Health Fairview’s plans have the blessing of the religious sisters, who have remained involved with pastoral care at the hospital and helped with the transition, which began three years ago with the closing of St. Joseph’s maternity ward and included the Dec. 30 closing of the hospital’s emergency room.

“We will forever be grateful for the place St. Joseph’s Hospital holds in our hearts and in this Twin Cities community, even as its name is retired,” said Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Margaret Belanger, 88, who was an administrator at the hospital in the 1980s and in

Sister Alice Bear works in St. Joseph Hospital’s pharmacy in 1963. Sister Alice was director of pharmacy from 1940 to 1951 and from 1958 to 1967.

PHOTOS ABOVE AND BELOW, COURTESY THE ARCHIVES OF THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH, ST. PAUL PROVINCE DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

The statue of St. Joseph outside St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul.

Once owned and run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the facility is being transformed into a health and wellness hub and will cease to be a Catholic entity sometime in the middle of 2022. recent years has been involved with pastoral care at the hospital and with transition discussions with Fairview officials.

“We also highly respect what Fairview is trying to do,” Sister Margaret said. “Their efforts to create a Community and Wellness Hub based on the social determinants of health is responding to the needs of the time, which has always motivated the CSJs. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with Fairview as it seeks to serve the needs of the St. Paul community.”

Sister Suzanne Herder, 76, a member of the sisters’ leadership team for the St. Paul Province, said the religious order is “very excited” about the change.

“Financially, (St. Joseph’s) couldn’t stay open. And it wasn’t meeting the needs of the times,” as preventive care takes on a greater role, she said. “How can we meet the health care needs of people today? Hospitals are not always the answer.”

Inpatient mental health services will remain at St. Joseph’s until at least July, but closing those services will sever the last remaining link to operations as a hospital, said Fairview spokeswoman Aimee Jordan.

However, the legacy of increasing access to care for the underserved that was started at St. Joseph’s Hospital by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet will be an important part of the Community and Wellness Hub, Jordan said.

The sister’s legacy began in 1853, when the religious order staffed a temporary hospital — the first hospital in Minnesota — in the midst of a cholera epidemic. In 1854, the sisters opened St. Joseph’s Hospital, the first stone building in St. Paul. The hospital was torn down

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who staffed St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1897. and replaced in 1890, and renovated and expanded numerous times. In 1953, for example, the Sisters of St. Joseph decided to raise funds for a new building, and Archbishop John Gregory Murray was a strong supporter. According to a May 8, 2003, article in The Catholic Spirit commemorating the hospital’s 150th anniversary, pledges for the new building totaled $2.3 million — at that time, the largest private campaign in the history of St. Paul.

The religious sisters have always responded to the needs they see around them, Sister Margaret said. In terms of Fairview’s developing plans for St. Joseph’s campus, how that might play out is not immediately clear, she said. In another area of health care, the sisters now run St. Mary’s Health Clinics, setting up temporary health screenings, medical care and educational opportunities in parishes and community centers.

Staffed by volunteers, the clinics serve low-income and uninsured patients.

It is a service M Health Fairview is interested in supporting, Jordan said. “There is a gap in care in the south metro,” Jordan said, as an example. “We are talking about meeting that need together.”

Aim Higher raises $11.5 million in initial phase of campaign for student scholarships

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit With Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop Andrew Cozzens and other backers of Catholic education at its ninth annual fundraising dinner Oct. 8, the Aim Higher Foundation announced a public campaign to boost its ability to offer low-income families $1,000 scholarships for their children to attend Catholic elementary schools.

A silent launch to the Aim Ever Higher Campaign began in 2019 and already has borne fruit, raising $11.5 million in commitments, Jean Houghton, president of the St. Paul-based nonprofit, told the gathering of 400 people at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront hotel.

That includes more than $800,000 raised that very evening, at the Night of Light, she said.

“We are enormously grateful for those who have helped us lay such a solid foundation for this campaign,” Houghton said. “Over the next several months, if we haven’t spoken to you already, we will invite all of you to join this effort.”

Founded in 2011, Aim Higher has urged annual donations. In the campaign set to run in a concentrated fashion through spring 2022, the foundation is seeking multi-year commitments, from three to five years.

That will help the organization continue to renew scholarships annually through eighth grade, based on need, even if students transfer to another Catholic school, Aim Higher officials said.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS The Aim Higher Foundation is accepting applications for the 20222023 school year from November 2021 through Feb. 22, 2022; and May 31, 2022, through Aug. 6, 2023. Go to aimhigherfoundation.org or visit a Catholic elementary school and ask about Aim Higher.

Aim Higher also is creating a similar, $1,000 scholarship fund particularly for students who attend one of the 10 schools that are part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Drexel Mission School initiative aiding inner city schools. Donations can be designated for that fund, said Ricky Austin, Aim Higher vice president of advancement and operations. Potential donors also can help supplement the foundation’s endowment fund, from which interest earned is used for $1,000 scholarships.

School leaders have affirmed that $1,000 scholarships often give parents the confidence to enroll in a Catholic school or seek additional aid if necessary, Austin said.

He told those gathered at the Night of Light that their support is critical, because too many families “don’t have access to the quality of education they deserve.

Too many families seek the benefits Catholic schools offer and can’t make the finances work.”

That’s where Aim Higher comes in, Houghton said.

“The Aim Higher Foundation does one thing: We work to provide tuition-assistance scholarships for children to access Catholic schools,” she said.

The desire from families to educate their children in Catholic schools for quality academics and spiritual and moral development is strong and growing, particularly in light of the online and in-school teaching offered throughout the pandemic, Houghton said.

For the 2021-2022 school year, Aim Higher received nearly 6,500 applications from families seeking more than $20 million in tuition assistance. The foundation was able to support nearly 2,100 families with a total of $2.1 million in scholarships, foundation officials said.

In his remarks, Archbishop Hebda said Aim Higher is more than a program or organization.

“The work of the Aim Higher Foundation is nothing short of a movement, a movement to inspire and mobilize all of us around the very soul of our future Church and nation: our children,” the archbishop said.

Aim Higher emphasizes its mission by stating “we do one thing,” the archbishop said. “While we should all appreciate this laser focus, it’s imperative to note that the impact of the Aim Higher Foundation, the impact of your donations tonight, are one thing that set into motion a cascade of positive changes” in helping parents and their children, and “providing confidence to school leaders to continue the holy work they do.”

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

Growing ministry connects young adults to parishes, one another

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit The seed of an effort to attract young adults to the Church and its parishes was planted in 2017 with MSP Catholic — an online hub listing Catholic events in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, particularly in the Twin Cities.

With its regular updates on the Catholic Softball Group, Vespers at Lourdes and Catholic Beer Club, MSP Catholic drew the attention of Frank Kiesner, a 76-year-old retired entrepreneur and member of St. Patrick in Edina, who has a heart for the Church, young adults and seeing both grow.

“It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the future of the Church, and the growth of the Church, is communicating with young people in the modern world,” Kiesner said.

On top of a desire to reach young adults online, Kiesner began talking with friends about ways to invite people ages 20 to 40 to become leaders and supporters of parishes in the archdiocese.

Parishes are building blocks of the Church and vital to its health, he said.

The result is CEND, or the Center for Evangelization and Discipleship, founded in 2020, with an office and recording studio in St. Patrick’s parish center, said Kiesner, who also is chairman of CEND’s five-member board.

In addition to acquiring MSP Catholic, CEND has hired a part-time operations manager and digital marketing specialist, Annie Tracy, who is overseeing MSP Catholic, setting up in-person and online events, and is eager to help parishes bring more young adults and their families into parish communities. CEND’s chaplain is Father Nels Gjengdahl, who is also chaplain of Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria and sacramental minister for Sts. Peter and Paul in Loretto and St. Thomas in Corcoran.

The organization’s theological adviser is Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who will remain as an adviser even after being installed Dec. 6 as the bishop of Crookston, Kiesner said.

Father Allen Kuss, St. Patrick’s pastor, said Kiesner approached him about workspace at the parish, and he was happy to help.

“It’s so important to evangelize young people,” said Father Kuss, adding that he plans to draw on the group’s expertise to help “engage with young adults, (a group) which is always difficult to capture.”

CEND also has contacted the leadership team of the Archdiocesan Synod, Kiesner said, in hopes CEND can assist as the archdiocese works toward a Synod Assembly in June that will help flesh out three themes for the archdiocese’s immediate future, including forming “youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.”

“A lot of parishes are well-oiled, with a bulletin, people come to Mass. But with the demographics of young adults, we need to reach out to where they are,” Kiesner said. “They are on websites, social media.”

Through its program Making Parish Home, CEND hopes to help parishes integrate digital tools into their programs, respond to new parishioners’ needs, and get excited about their own potential for growth, Kiesner said.

Young adults and parents care deeply

CEND EVENTS The Center for Evangelization and Discipleship, housed at St. Patrick in Edina, is taking a threepronged approach to involving young adults in the Church: Events and speakers, social media hub MSP Catholic and a program called Making Parish Home.

MARY PAT THUNE | COURTESY CEND

Young adults pose with Matt Birk, center, at an Oct. 6 Center for Evangelization and Discipleship event at St. Patrick in Edina that drew about 200 people, including 100 young adults. about “Christ’s preaching and healing,” he said. “(CEND) is just a new envelope to carry that message.”

Tracy, 26, is a 2016 marketing graduate from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul who was involved with St. Paul’s Outreach ministry as a student on campus. After graduating, she worked for about four years in Minneapolis as a digital marketing strategist with a large technology consulting company.

“I was pulled kicking and screaming into the corporate world, but I learned a lot,” said Tracy, who was more attracted to a small business environment and felt called to work closely with the Church.

Approached by the group forming CEND, Tracy, a member of Holy Cross in northeast Minneapolis, agreed to become its operations manager. Unlike Mendota Heights-based SPO, which runs a college campus ministry, and St. Paul-based NET Ministries, which offers retreats to high schoolers, CEND is striving to reach recent college graduates and tie them into parishes, as well as young parents and others up to age 40, Tracy said.

“We wanted to form an apostolate outside the archdiocese, but connected to it, with the archbishop (Archbishop Bernard Hebda) always informed,” she said.

CEND continues to learn the needs and wishes of parishes and young adults, Tracy said. It advertised an online survey at the end of March through April and received 73 responses from young adults in the archdiocese. The results indicated young adults are looking to feel invited into a parish, with some reflecting that it took a long time for people to introduce themselves, she said. Young adults also are looking for regularly available sacraments, including Mass and confession, and they seek out young adult groups and young married couples with whom they can relate, Tracy said.

CEND also learns from and shares ideas with its seven-member advisory committee of young adult ministers and others, including Tim Cahill of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, the founder of MSP Catholic who now runs that site and CEND’s blog; Chris Kostelc, director of mission and faith formation at Holy Name of Jesus in Medina; and Jonathn Liedl, a writer for the National Catholic Register and columnist for The Catholic Spirit.

Their feedback has been instrumental in shaping how CEND hopes to help parishes increase young adult involvement in the Church, Tracy said.

Molly Schorr, 40, a member of CEND’s board who was in faith formation ministry in the archdiocese for 18 years, including 12 years as youth minister and director of parish life and evangelization at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, also is important in the parish involvement efforts, Tracy said. Now director of religious education at a parish in Sarasota, Florida, Schorr is in regular contact with CEND and returns to the Twin Cities to help. She also wrote and promotes a program titled “Return,” designed to help parents have fruitful conversations with adult children who have left the Church.

“The archdiocese has a lot of great young adult opportunities and communities,” Schorr said. “But how do you draw young people into the life of a parish? I mean, that’s what Christ calls us to do.”

Many parishes want to offer young adult ministry, “but they don’t know what that looks like,” Schorr said. “CEND is a gift because it can help bridge that gap.”

CEND has not entered into the work of a parish yet with Making Parish Home, but it hopes to meet with parish leaders,

CEND’s Joe Davis Speaker Series, named in memory of a St. Patrick parishioner who was a senior executive at General Mills, and funded in part by Davis’ family, kicks off with noted Catholic author and speaker Chris Stefanik (pictured), 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at St. Patrick church.

Tickets $25, $15 for students at catholiccend.org.

On Oct. 6, CEND hosted an Evening with Matt Birk, active Catholic and Super Bowl champion, that also featured Bishop Andrew Cozzens. And on April 24, the organization held a one-day gathering with the GIVEN Institute, a leadership and faith formation organization for women of all ages. Both events were at St. Patrick.

staff and parishioners of parishes that hire the organization to help determine strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in young adult ministry, Tracy said. It will seek to learn about young adults in each parish, what they are looking for and what they need. If necessary, CEND will help a parish build a young adult mission team with an introductory retreat, practical steps to take and a year of back-up support, she said.

“The parish is the community and the space where we come to understand our role in the body of the Church,” Schorr said. “It offers the sacraments, celebrates the Eucharist, shares the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is the truest form of the essential Church that Christ built with his disciples at the Last Supper.”

We’ve moved

…but just down the street!

May the Gospel move your heart to consider life as a Visitation Sister in our ministry of prayer and presence.

Contact Sr. Katherine Mullin, kathfmullin@gmail.com.

Visit us at www.visitationmonasteryminneapolis.org.

8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

NATION+WORLD Draft statement stresses Eucharist’s importance, not a need to deny it

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service At their June assembly, when the U.S. bishops debated a proposal to draft a statement on the Eucharist, some bishops asked if it would address denying Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion. The draft of the statement sent to the bishops in October seems to put this question to rest, at least for now.

The statement has not been made public by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in advance of the Nov. 15-18 assembly of bishops. It was obtained by The Pillar and published Nov. 3 by the Catholic website.

Titled “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” the statement is at once both a reflection on the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the Catholic Church and a teaching document on what the Church has taught over the centuries. The 26-page statement is heavily footnoted.

In addition to the document on the Eucharist, the bishops are planning a National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative that will culminate in a National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. As chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, bishop-designate of Crookston, is leading the effort.

The statement, at least in this current draft, does essentially what Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort WayneSouth Bend, Indiana, told bishops it would do.

In a recorded video this fall produced by the USCCB to further explain the document and the planned upcoming revival on the Eucharist, Bishop Rhoades said the document will focus on how “the Eucharist is our greatest treasure as Catholics” and will look at different aspects of the Eucharist, particularly how it illustrates Christ’s sacrifice and is the real presence of Jesus, not just a symbol. The document, in its current form without amendments, does not specifically call out Catholic politicians who support abortion, including President Joe Biden, the second U.S. Catholic president, whose name came up during the June virtual meeting.

When the statement was first proposed to the body of bishops at their June assembly, some bishops said a strong rebuke of the president should be included in it because of Biden’s recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access, while others warned that

BOB ROLLER | CNS

A priest prepares to distribute Communion during Mass in Washington in this 2011 photo. this would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.

At the end of their June discussion, Bishop Rhoades, who is chair of the Committee on Doctrine, said the document would not focus on denying Communion to people but on the importance of the sacrament.

He said the second half of the document will emphasize what Catholics should do with this deeper understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist, from more active participation at Mass to participating in devotions such as adoration and renewing their commitment to serve others.

And that is how the drafted document looks. It explains the importance of Communion, calling it a gift, and uses references from Scripture, prayers of the Church and Second Vatican Council documents to back this up. It also explains, citing words of the saints, how Communion is the real presence of Christ.

This transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the document says, is “one of the central mysteries of the Catholic faith” and a “doorway through which we, like the saints and mystics before us, may enter into a deeper perception” of God’s presence.

The document notes, almost halfway through, the Vatican II document “Lumen Gentium” (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) describing the Eucharist as

“the source and summit of the Christian life.”

It notes that as Catholics understand what the Eucharist means, they should more fully participate in Mass and also reach out to serve those in need, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says: “The Eucharist commits us to the poor.”

Toward the end, it mentions how Catholics should show reverence in receiving the Eucharist and also recognize that there are some sins that “rupture the communion we share with God and the Church.”

It distinguishes between mortal and venial sins — noting that the latter are the “sins and everyday faults” that do not break the covenant with God. “One commits a mortal sin,” the document says, “by freely, knowingly and willingly choosing to do something that involves grave matter and that is opposed to charity, opposed to love of God and neighbor.”

“One should not celebrate Mass or receive holy Communion in the state of mortal sin without having sought the sacrament of reconciliation and received absolution,” the document reminds Catholics.

Then, repeating what the bishops said in their 2006 document, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper,” this draft document points out that if a Catholic in his or her personal life has “knowingly and obstinately” rejected the doctrines of the Church or its teaching on moral issues, that person should refrain from receiving Communion because it is “likely to cause scandal for others.”

The document concludes with examples of saints who were transformed by their reception of the Eucharist and their deep understanding of what it means. It urges those who have left the Church to come back, saying: “We miss you and we love you.”

Prior to the bishops’ initial discussion of this document, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, urged the bishops in a letter to proceed with caution in developing a national policy “to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils.”

Pope Francis said on a Sept. 15 flight back from Bratislava, Slovakia, that he preferred not to comment directly on the issue of denying Communion in the U.S., but he urged U.S. bishops to take a pastoral approach rather than wade into the political sphere.

Archbishop Gomez: Church must proclaim Christ ‘boldly’ in response to ‘woke’ movements Catholic News Service The Catholic Church must proclaim Jesus Christ “boldly” and “creatively” in the face of new secular movements that promote “social justice,” “wokeness” and “intersectionality,” among other beliefs, as the answer to all of society’s ills, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said Nov. 4.

“We need to tell our story of salvation in a new way, with charity and confidence, without fear,” he said.

Archbishop Gomez made the comments in a videotaped address for the upcoming 23rd Catholic and Public Life Congress in Madrid, which organizers said will focus on political correctness and “the dangers of this mega-ideology,” such as preventing debate and limiting freedoms.

He spoke on “the rise of new secular ideologies and movements for social change in the United States and the implications for the Catholic Church.”

The Church needs to understand these movements “as pseudo-religions, and even replacements and rivals to traditional Christian beliefs,” he said, because “they claim to offer what religion provides.”

“With the breakdown of the JudeoChristian worldview and the rise of

secularism, political belief systems based on social justice or personal identity have come to fill the space that Christian belief and practice once occupied,” he said. “We all know that while there are unique conditions in the United States, similar broad patterns of aggressive secularization have long been at work in Spain and elsewhere in Europe,” he said.

“An elite leadership class has risen in our countries that has little interest in religion and no real attachments to the nations they live in or to local traditions or cultures,” said Archbishop Gomez, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“This group, which is in charge in corporations, governments, universities, the media, and in the cultural and professional establishments,” he said, “wants to establish what we might call a global civilization, built on a consumer economy and guided by science, technology, humanitarian values and technocratic ideas about organizing society.”

“There is no need for old-fashioned belief systems and religions,” he added.

“In fact, as they see it, religion, especially Christianity, only gets in the way of the society they hope to build.”

Secularization means “deChristianization,” as many popes have pointed out, he said. “For years

now, there has been a deliberate effort in Europe and America to erase the Christian roots of society and to suppress any remaining Christian influences.”

Archbishop Gomez noted the congress’ program alluded to “cancel culture” along with political correctness.

“We recognize that often what is being canceled and corrected are perspectives rooted in Christian beliefs — about human life and the human person, about marriage, the family and more. ... The ‘space’ that the Church and believing Christians are permitted to occupy is shrinking,” he said.

Amid the pandemic and government response to it, everyone noticed “dramatic social changes,” he said, but these changes were already at work and were just “accelerated” by the pandemic.

In the U.S., amid the tension and fear created by the pandemic and social isolation, “these movements were fully unleashed in our society” with the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white policeman and the protests that followed in many cities, Archbishop Gomez said. “For many people in my country, myself included, (Floyd’s) tragedy became a stark reminder that racial and economic inequality are still deeply embedded in our society,” he said.

These new movements are part of a wider, “absolutely essential” discussion “about how to build an American society that expands opportunities for everyone, no matter what color their skin is or where they came from, or their economic status,” Archbishop Gomez added.

But people are increasingly turning to these “woke” movements, rather than religion, for “an explanation for events and conditions in the world,” he said.

“Now more than ever,” he said, “the Church and every Catholic needs to know” the Christian story, “and proclaim it in all its beauty and truth.”

Catholics and other Christians, he said, believe “we are created in the image of God ... and we are saved through the dying and rising of Jesus Christ ... (who) calls us to follow him in faith, loving God and our neighbor, working to build his kingdom on earth, all in confident hope that we will have eternal life with him in the world to come.”

“Today’s critical theories and ideologies are profoundly atheistic,” he continued.

“They deny the soul, the spiritual, transcendent dimension of human nature; or they think that it is irrelevant to human happiness. They reduce what it means to be human to essentially physical qualities — the color of our skin, our sex, our notions of gender, our ethnic background or our position in society.”

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

NATION+WORLD

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

Pilgrim’s path: Parsing what the president said the pope said

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service If Pope Francis called President Joe Biden a “good Catholic,” as Biden told reporters, a ceramic tile the pope gave Biden may illustrate what he meant.

The painted 12-inch square tile depicts a pilgrim walking along the banks of the Tiber River toward the Vatican. But he is not there yet.

Pope Francis welcomed Biden to the Vatican Oct. 29, and the two met privately, assisted by two interpreters, for 75 minutes, a record for a papal audience with a head of state.

For more than a year, Pope Francis’ go-to gift for visiting government leaders has been either a plaque depicting a migrant family with the inscription, “Let’s fill our hands with other hands,” or a sculpture of a dove holding an olive branch with the inscription, “Be messengers of peace.”

But for Biden, the pope chose the pilgrim.

As Pope Francis has made clear throughout his pontificate, defining someone as a good Catholic or a good Christian does not mean canonizing them or approving of everything they say and do. Rather, good Christians recognize they are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness and grace, and they are committed to continuing the journey.

After meeting the pope, a reporter asked Biden if he and the pope had discussed abortion. Biden said no, “we just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic, and I should keep receiving Communion.”

Asked if the pope really said that, the Vatican press office — as is normal in such cases — declined to comment, saying the meeting was private.

The Vatican’s official statement on the topics the pope and his secretary of state discussed with Biden included climate change, religious freedom, migration, the COVID-19 pandemic and the promotion of peace.

The statement made no mention of abortion, Communion or the state of Biden’s soul.

The president’s meeting with the pope came just over two weeks before

CNS PHOTO | VATICAN MEDIA

U.S. President Joe Biden talks with Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican Oct. 29. the U.S. bishops are set to discuss a document on the meaning of the Eucharist, which a few bishops have said should include specific language about what constitutes worthiness to receive Communion and how politicians who support legalized abortion are not worthy to receive.

It would be impossible to think Pope Francis did not know the Biden administration supports legalized abortion and perhaps even that Biden renounced his longtime support for the Hyde Amendment, which banned federal funding for most abortions.

Throughout his political career, Biden has acknowledged the tensions between the Democratic Party and the Catholic Church over abortion, which the Church sees as the taking of an innocent human life.

But the president also must have seen the comments Pope Francis made recently when asked specifically about the question of giving Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion.

“Abortion is more than a problem,” he told reporters Sept. 15. “Abortion is murder.”

But the question about giving Communion is not theological, it’s pastoral, he said.

“Communion is not a prize for the

perfect,” but rather “a gift, the presence of Jesus in his Church and in the community. That is the theology,” he said.

“If we look at the history of the Church, we see that every time bishops have not managed a problem as pastors, they have taken sides on political life, on the political problem. In not handling a problem well, they took sides politically.”

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the incoming chair of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee and a consultant to the U.S. bishops’ doctrinal committee, which drafted the statement on the Eucharist, told Catholic News Service that he believes the document will be pastoral.

“I think it would be a beautiful thing if, in November, we were to close ranks and say, ‘We are pastors. We love our people. We want to make this an inviting Church and we want to gather people around the altar of the Lord,’” he told CNS in late October.

While teaching the truth and upholding the sacred dignity of all human life, “the Church is called to be the great sacrament of salvation and the great sacrament of unity. And if ever there were a time we needed to live up to that deeply theological description of what the Church is, it’s right now in our polarized culture,” Archbishop Lori said. “So we have to be careful of not allowing ourselves to go down ... partisan alleys where there is no life at the end of it, no evangelical life, no spiritual fruit.”

HEADLINES u Pope plans Dec. 2-6 visit to Cyprus and Greece. Pope Francis’ planned trip to the eastern Mediterranean in December will focus on migration, Catholic-Orthodox relations and promoting peace in a region known more for its vacation spots than its ongoing political tensions. The pope had made a one-day visit to migrant and refugee camps on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016, but this will be his first visit to the Greek mainland. u Court rejects Catholic hospital’s appeal of transgender patient’s lawsuit. The Supreme Court Nov. 1 turned down an appeal from a Catholic hospital in California that was sued for refusing to perform a hysterectomy on a transgender patient. The court’s decision, issued without comment, sends the lawsuit back to state court and avoids examining whether the hospital can be sued for refusing to provide treatment it said would violate its religious beliefs. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said the court should have taken the case. u Pretrial hearing is held in McCarrick case; second hearing will be Dec. 21. The Dedham, Massachusetts, District Court held a pretrial hearing Oct. 28 in the criminal sex abuse case of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who is facing three counts of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1970s. McCarrick pleaded not guilty to the charges Sept. 3 at the court, but his presence at the hearing was waived. A second pretrial hearing was scheduled for Dec. 21. In September, he was not taken into custody but was ordered to post $5,000 bail and have no contact with the alleged victim or children.

— Catholic News Service

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CATHOLIC MISSION SCHOOLS What role do Catholic mission schools play in creating a more equitable society?

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PANELISTS FROM University of St. Thomas Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Catholic Schools: Drexel Mission Schools Initiative Cristo Rey Network Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools

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10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A commitment Religious

growing number of ways for women to take on consecrated life is present in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: The Handmaids are now established in Hopkins, a Pro Ecclesia Sancta sister took first vows at St. Mark in October and a parishioner of St. Paul in Ham Lake has found a secular institute to be the right fit for her in living out the faith.

For New Ulm-based Handmaids, a new convent, a new opportunity

By Maura Keller For The Catholic Spirit

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

A

Y

oung women dedicating their lives to God as the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus have a new convent in Hopkins to call home.

In August, 12 sisters within the religious community moved into the newly renovated convent at St. Gabriel the Archangel to fulfill a call to work in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“The (archdiocese) has always been home, and it has always been a dream to be here,” said Mother Mary Clare Roufs, who founded the community in 2007 with three other women. “We love the priests and we love the people. It is really home for a lot of our sisters.

As diocesan sisters, we want our sisters to be serving in their home dioceses when and where they can.”

Mother Mary Clare formed the idea for the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus after receiving what she called “the founding grace” in December 2006.

“I was at The St. Paul Seminary and Archbishop (Harry) Flynn was preaching on Mary, and he simply started by saying, ‘Mary.

How beautiful is the name Mary?’ And I just thought that God wanted a new community of sisters,” Mother Mary Clare recalled. “This charism was really being born in my heart, and so I asked a few young women to consider living the life with me, and we started in August 2007 with the permission of Archbishop Flynn. From that day it has been a time in which the Lord just continues to lead us every step of the way.”

The Handmaids lived in the archdiocese for three years before Bishop John LeVoir of New Ulm formally invited them to be established in his diocese in December 2009.

“In March 2010, Bishop LeVoir formally established us as a ‘public association of the lay faithful’ in hopes of us becoming a ‘religious community of diocesan right,’” Mother Mary Clare explained.

To gain that distinction — “a religious community of diocesan right” — there are typically at least 40 members in a community and over half of them should be in perpetual vows, she said.

“The Church wants to see that you are growing, that you are strong with good membership before that would happen,” Mother Mary Clare said. “For most communities, that would be about 20 to 25 years into their life, depending on how they grow. We aren’t there yet because part of what the Church does is she says, ‘Give it a try. Let us walk with you and then in time, if it is right, it will be more formally established.’”

In 2018, the Handmaids expanded by establishing a house in Duluth, where four sisters currently reside. The Handmaids’ New Ulm motherhouse includes 17 sisters, and the Hopkins house has 12 sisters, including five postulants, who are women discerning becoming Handmaids. If after a year they want to continue that discernment process, they will enter the novitiate program in New Ulm. From the rural farmlands of New Ulm to the lakeside environs of Duluth to the urban life of Hopkins, the Handmaids feel called to live in an imitation of Mary as spiritual mothers in a parish family, engaging the new evangelization

UST alumna’s were Pro Ecc Sancta’s first in the U.S.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Sister Mary Pieta of the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus teaches seventh graders Oct. 29 at Holy Family Academy in St. Louis Park. as diocesan sisters. Quite simply, they are spiritual mothers who are complementing the fatherhood of diocesan priests.

“Where you see a priest in a diocesan parish working and serving a parish family, we would work alongside of him, complementing him in our consecrated lives and helping the parish become a family of faith,” Mother Mary Clare said.

The sisters had begun to renovate a building on the campus of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul in 2017, but a series of delays and construction and permit-related red tape impeded that effort, and a year later the Handmaids decided to look for another, more suitable building.

The Handmaids began their journey to downtown Hopkins in 2019, when sisters began working with volunteers to help renovate a convent. The following year, four sisters moved into the empty rectory next to St. Gabriel’s St. Joseph campus as renovation on the convent continued. The remaining sisters moved in August 2021, when the renovations were complete.

“It was a real homecoming when we finally came back and established the house,” Mother Mary Clare said. “It is a fulfillment of God’s goodness. And it is where the original charism and grace was received, and so what a joy it is for us to finally come home.”

The Handmaids’ apostolate differs according to the needs of the local Church in which they serve. Hopkins provides an opportunity for the Handmaids to express their charism in different ways, including at St. Gabriel and, next door, Chesterton Academy in Hopkins, as well as nearby Holy Family Academy in St. Louis Park, the University of Minnesota’s Newman Center and St. Lawrence parish in Minneapolis, and St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul.

Sister Mary Joseph Evans, postulant directress at the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus’ house in Hopkins, has been a member of the community for 12 years. She has lived most of those years in New Ulm, before moving to Duluth three years ago, and finally residing in

the new house in Hopkins.

“It is such a great joy for our community to have a convent in the archdiocese and to be serving here. Many of our sisters are from the archdiocese, and it’s part of our diocesan charism to serve at home,” said Sister Mary Joseph, who grew up as a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul. “To be back serving among the priests and the families and be able to be spiritual mothers is such a great joy and something we’ve been looking forward to for many years. It has been a great gift to have our postulants here in Hopkins, and it allows them to get a good experience of the different ways in which we serve and the richness of life here.”

Mother Mary Clare said she is thankful for the tremendous support of Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop LeVoir and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese who Dec. 6 will be installed as the eighth bishop of Crookston, as the Handmaids’ community has continued to grow.

“After receiving the founding grace for our community, I had approached Bishop Cozzens and asked if he would consider helping us in our formation of our sisters and he agreed generously. From that day on, he has been very generous in teaching our sisters on such things as prayer, the spiritual life, vows and he directs our sisters (on) an eight-day silent retreat every year,” Mother Mary Clare said. “He has been a spiritual father to us and a friend. Although he’s heading up to Crookston, there will be a little bit more distance, but he will always be a part of our family.”

She said that being part of the archdiocese offers beautiful ways in which the Handmaids can express the elements of their charism and live out their “spiritual maternity” because of its variety of schools and its two seminaries.

“Our hope and our mission is to help people discover the joys of living their Catholic faith and having a personal relationship with Jesus,” Mother Mary Clare said. “As we do that together as a family, it will continue to enrich our lives together as we continue to seek him.”

s a young Cat in the norther metro, Sister M didn’t know any So, she attributes the fact t one only to God’s grace an “I’m very happy,” said S professed first vows Oct. 1 Ecclesia Sancta. Her tempo first a woman has taken ou where PES is based.

Being able to profess vo Cities meant that she was family and friends who m able to travel to Lima — an opportunity for them to s many Catholics never per the life of the Church.

The day brimmed with emotion,” said Sister Madd alumna of the University o St. Paul. The superior of PE Mother Naeko Matayoshi, Sister Maddie’s vows. She p during a Mass presided by Cozzens, bishop-designate St. Mark in St. Paul, a paris priests and sisters serve. Co two of her relatives, both p Archdiocese of St. Paul and uncle Father John Floeder Seminary and her cousin F Floeder, associate pastor of Faribault. Frankie Floeder, cousin and a seminarian, s “It was a beautiful mom profess my vows before th promise him to live and tr by living out the evangelic which are poverty, chastit Sister Maddie said. “That w beautiful and intimate mo and the Lord.”

Sister Maddie’s white ve she’s taken temporary vow take final or permanent vo years. She is the second wo Twin Cities to take first vo Laura Holupchinski took h 2018. She is also the fourth take first vows — two othe Luecke and Sister Lynn Lu biological sisters from Ced Sister Maddie grew up a in Ham Lake, and she was until she entered Blaine H PES sisters were the first re Sister Maddie got to know she was somewhat surpris had fun with them, and th but dull. She met them wh meetings of a Catholic wo group her sophomore year She was studying seconda education, and she picture as a math teacher, married However, the PES sisters w loved to laugh, and she wa their mission to serve the devotion to the Sacred He That year she got seriou life, dedicating more and m she described as conversat She began by committing

NOVEMBER 11, 2021 • 11

Choosing ability over disability helps secular institute entrant serve God

’s vows clesia t taken

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

F

tholic growing up rn Twin Cities Maddie Shogren y religious sisters. that she now is nd providence.

Sister Maddie, who 15 as a sister of Pro oral vows were the outside of Peru,

ows in the Twin surrounded by may not have been and the see something that rsonally witness in

“lots of joy, lots of die, a 26-year-old of St. Thomas in ES’ female branch, , was present for professed them y Bishop Andrew e of Crookston, at sh where PES Concelebrating were priests of the d Minneapolis: her r of The St. Paul Father Louie of Divine Mercy in , Sister Maddie’s served at the altar. ment where I could he Lord, and ry to imitate (him) cal counsels, ty and obedience,” was a very oment between me

eil is a sign that ws. She’ll likely ows in four to five oman from the ows with PES; Sister her first vows in th American to ers, Sister Leann uecke, are dar Falls, Iowa. attending St. Paul s homeschooled High School. The eligious sisters w personally, and sed to find that she hey were anything hile attending omen’s leadership ar at St. Thomas. ary math ed her future self d with children. were joyful and was attracted to family and eart of Jesus. us about her prayer more time to what tion with Jesus. g five minutes a

COURTESY PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA

Pro Ecclesia Sancta Sister Maddie Shogren smiles following her profession of first vows Oct. 15 at St. Mark in St. Paul. Her vows were the first a woman has taken outside of Peru, where PES is based. day, eventually growing her daily prayer to a full hour. As she prayed, she felt God asking her to give herself to him as a religious sister.

That was 2015, the year Philadelphia hosted the World Meeting of Families. She traveled to the event with other St. Thomas students, and while there, she was struck by the array of Catholic women’s religious communities. But, she felt God draw her heart to where she first authentically met religious life: Pro Ecclesia Sancta. Her junior year, she told a PES sister that she wanted to join her community, and she told her family what she felt God was calling her to. Her parents and four younger siblings were supportive, she said.

Meaning “For the Holy Church,” Pro Ecclesia Sancta was established in Peru by a Jesuit in 1992. As an “ecclesial family,” the community includes both men and women religious. In the United States, PES members serve in the Twin Cities; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Sacramento, California.

Sister Maddie joined PES shortly after graduation in 2017 and spent a few months as an aspirant, wearing street clothes and entering into their way of life — including speaking Spanish. In 2018 she formally became a novice, and she went to Lima for two-and-a-half years of formation. She was surprised when she was sent back to Minnesota for her pastoral experience prior to first vows. For the past year, she taught religion at Nativity of Mary School in Bloomington and assisted at St. Mark with its Ignite youth program. Now, she continues her work with Ignite and also the parish’s faith formation program.

She lives with 10 other sisters at their convent in Bloomington. Their lives are rooted in prayer, with Mass, the rosary and two Holy Hours the non-negotiable aspects of their day, Sister Maddie said. She still loves to run, she said, and read — especially the lives of the saints. St. Faustina’s diary about Jesus’ divine mercy is among her favorite books, she said.

As she considers what her future with PES might look like, she doesn’t think about whether she’ll spend her years in the Twin Cities, or Peru, or somewhere else the community ministers.

“Every day is a gift from the Lord, and I know that I wake up and I say yes to him again,” she said. “My one desire is to be completely his and do his will.”

ather Paul Baker said he sees Natasha Sager as one of God’s spies — in a good way.

“She’s able to … be more embedded in ordinary life in such a way that she can reach people in a different way” than by being a religious sister or nun, said Father Baker in a homily during a Sept. 14 Mass that included Sager’s first dedication to the Caritas Christi secular institute.

The dedication was equivalent to first profession in a religious order.

Sager is not a religious sister, although some elements of her life are similar. Members of her secular institute, which is a form of consecrated life, live and work in society. They are also self-sufficient, different from religious sisters who live in community. But, like religious men and women, secular institute members share commitments to prayer and the apostolate of their institute.

Sager said members of her institute bring Jesus right into the heart of the secular world because they are meant to be “the leaven in the dough,” impacting people as they encounter them in work and family environments.

“One of the beautiful aspects of our vocation is its hiddenness,” she said. “We blend in with society and bring Jesus to places where priests and religious can’t.”

Sager, 34, completed three years of initial formation before her recent profession. Four years of renewal will follow before her commitment becomes perpetual, she said.

Father Baker, parochial vicar of Epiphany in Coon Rapids and Sager’s spiritual director, said she also dispels any notion that someone with a physical disability is hindered in dedicating his or her life to God. He added that Sager, who uses a wheelchair because she cannot walk on her own, is approachable. She was born with a rare medical condition caused by a small cleft in her brain. Sager said two physicians thought she had an inoperable brain tumor, but a third correctly diagnosed her around age 1 with a rare form of cerebral palsy. “My parents were relieved to find out it wasn’t terminal,” she said.

She said a lot of people want to pray for her.

“People always ask why I’m in a chair, and I feel like God put me in a chair to be a witness in a different way, because I feel like the whole Bible verse about God uses the weak to shame the strong,” she said.

Society looks at people with disabilities as burdens and having no purpose, she said. “It may not look exactly the same as an able-bodied person, but there is a purpose.”

Therese Druart, the national sponsor, or leader of Caritas Christi’s national council in the U.S., attended the Mass. The secular institute has 793 members in 37 countries, with 29 in the U.S., half of whom are at least age 80. Sager is the only member in Minnesota. Born in Belgium, Druart, 75, joined Caritas Christi after moving to the U.S. in 1978 to teach philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Caritas Christi was founded in France in 1937 by Dominican Father Joseph-Marie Perrin, who was blind, and Juliette Molland, whom Druart said walked with a limp. Druart is not certain if their disabilities are related to the institute’s openness to members with physical limitations, but said that, from the very beginning, a disability was not a problem as long as members could sustain themselves financially.

“We have to live this life of ordinary people, with all the risk,” she said.

When Sager sought to join religious life, she feared her options would be limited if not impossible. She

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Natasha Sager (foreground) at her first dedication to the Caritas Christi secular institute during Mass Sept. 14 at Epiphany in Coon Rapids. By her side is close friend Samantha Herrlin, a member of Epiphany. didn’t believe a religious order that lived in community would consider her because of her disability, so she did a lot of searching on the internet for an option. She started discerning with a different secular institute but decided it wasn’t the right fit. And when she saw Caritas Christi’s materials stating that having a physical disability does not necessarily preclude membership, she researched it further.

“Our charism is to love God and to make him loved in all providential circumstances,” Druart said.

“And they vary a lot,” usually because of a member’s professional work. She mentioned “a very good member” who worked as a hairdresser. “Apparently some women confide a lot to their hairdresser,” she said.

Caritas Christi’s members aim to serve God and influence people they meet through their work and relationships, Druart said. “Quite a few are in teaching,” she said, and not necessarily in Catholic schools. The institute has also had a social worker and a woman who worked for an airline, she said. One member was dependent on an iron lung, yet spent a couple hours a day doing computer-aided design. “(St.) John Paul II spoke of ... members of a secular institute being pioneers, because they go in every kind of milieu, even some where the Church usually is not very present,” she said.

Sager lives with her family in Andover. One way she serves God and influences others is through her volunteer service in parishes. Being part of the institute has deepened her prayer life and helped her bring God into others’ lives, she said.

Sager rides with friends each Sunday to Mass at Epiphany, and she attends daily Mass at St. Paul in Ham Lake. She regularly volunteers at St. Paul, most recently facilitating Synod Small Group sessions. She enjoys time with children, and has served as a catechist’s aide in the parish’s religious education program and with the parish’s vacation Bible school program.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sager helped lead a young adult group at Epiphany. Today, she and others from that group meet weekly for Bible study.

Because Sager is experienced in social media, a friend recommended her to Father Kyle Kowalczyk for promoting “Catholic Young Adults: The Musical” on social media. She has also designed vocational materials for Caritas Christi and has helped her community and the U.S. Conference of Secular Institutes with their social media. Last year, Sager helped with the conference’s “virtual booth” for a FOCUS Expo.

Father Baker said Sager’s service through Caritas Christi has provided her a greater opportunity to live out the “fullest flowering” of the identity in Christ she received in her baptism. That’s the case when anyone responds positively to God’s call, he said, “whether that be the universal call to holiness, or a call to following in a closer way as a member of a secular institute, religious community, consecrated life or clergy.”

To learn more about Caritas Christi, visit ccinfo.org.

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

FAITH+CULTURE Wrapping retired priests in quilts and prayers

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a Twin Cities-based ministry dedicated to strengthening the Church by offering up a Holy Hour every day for a specific priest or bishop. Hence, each small group has seven women — one for every day of the week — and the 10-year-old apostolate now claims more than 2,000 groups spanning 23 countries.

Two years ago, Deb Thielen launched “Appreciated and Loved,” a new ministry within the apostolate. The 68-yearold grandma, a retired legal secretary who also worked for the Office of the Archbishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, belongs to St. Michael in Stillwater. She was attending Mass at a silent retreat when inspiration struck.

She was filled with a strong sense of love for the elderly priest celebrating Mass and decided to make him a quilt. Then she heard a message from God: “Not just him, but you will make a quilt for every retired priest in the archdiocese.”

Q This quilt project was born during a moment of

intense love. Do you think divine inspiration comes when a person is filled with love?

A I think so, because God is love. Anytime there is an

Q What is it about quilts? Why are they so wonderful?

A You make it with love. There is an expense, with the

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

them — especially for these retired priests. They’re cramming for the final. They’re getting closer and closer to meeting the Lord

Q Those two words — appreciated and loved — have such an impact.

A These retired priests have given their lives for God

inspiration from God, it’s going to come from love.

and now they could be forgotten. We need to let them know they are loved and appreciated. We try to take these priests to lunch and tell them: “We still remember you! We miss you!”

Q You estimate there are 70 retired priests in the archdiocese. That’s a lofty goal!

A Yes! We’ve made 13 quilts so far and have eight

me some pictures of his horses and didn’t tell him why.

He gave me about 50, and I went home and said, “OK, Holy Spirit, you know which pictures I’m supposed to use. I’m only picking six.” So, I printed six on fabric and sewed them on the back of a quilt. He called me three times to thank me, and he said, “Do you know you picked my favorite horse?”

ready to give, but first we have to find prayer groups for them. Before a quilt is presented, we form a group of seven who will dedicate a Holy Hour a day to the priest receiving the quilt — so he is wrapped in the warmth of a homemade quilt and daily prayers. It’s a spiritual and a corporal work of mercy.

Our priests are under attack. We need to pray for

Q You design each quilt to match the priest’s interests.

A Right! Father Tiffany loves motorcycles, so the back of his quilt is motorcycle posters. One priest at the Byrne Residence loves blue, so his quilt was all blue. Another retired priest used to race horses. I asked him to give

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fabric and the time, but it’s given out of love. Once my husband said, “Deb, this costs a lot of money, and we’re on a fixed income.” I said, “Has God ever refused us?

Have we ever gone without?” God will put on my heart who I’m supposed to make a quilt for.

This woman I walked home from Mass at the Cathedral with, God wanted me to give her a harvest quilt I made. It was the hardest quilt I’ve ever made. I gave it to her, and she sobbed. She said, “This reminds me of when my mother took me to the fair, and I had a dress that was a similar pattern.” This is how God works!

Q Do you believe everyone is creative?

A I think so. We all can do it. Whether you’re a

carpenter building a home or painting a picture or whether you think, “I don’t have any gifts in art” and yet you’re baking a cake. We all have creativity. We just have to ask God how he wants us to use it.

Q What helps you discern God’s will?

A I really try to live in the present moment. I don’t

want to live in the past or the future. I want to live in PLEASE TURN TO PRIESTS’ QUILTS ON PAGE 19

FAITH+CULTURE

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

Pilgrims pray for racial reconciliation on north Minneapolis walk

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

S

eeking the intercession of St. Martin de Porres, a 17thcentury saint who cured many while experiencing racism, pilgrims from different backgrounds prayed for racial reconciliation as they walked through north Minneapolis Nov. 6, stopping where a church bearing the saint’s name once stood.

“We recognize the sickness of racial injustice,” Will Peterson, the main organizer, told more than 130 people gathered at Ascension in Minneapolis prior to the walk. “We work for a cure.

We walk together praying. But ultimately, God heals.”

On an unseasonably warm November morning, many Ascension confirmation students and their families joined parishioners from the Basilica of St. Mary and students from DeLaSalle High School, both in Minneapolis, as well as students from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and others for prayer and dialogue during a more than 2-mile walk from Ascension to the Basilica of St. Mary.

Held three days after St. Martin’s Nov. 3 feast day, the pilgrimage combined the ancient Catholic tradition of walking pilgrimages with opportunities to meet and pray with different groups, said Peterson, cofounder and president of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, a San Diego-based

nonprofit that has led more than 30 pilgrimages since 2017.

In addition to Ascension and the Basilica, St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas and DeLaSalle sponsored the walk.

After a prayer service in English and Spanish, the first stop for reflection was the former site of St. Martin de Porres church, now a parking lot on Bryant Avenue. Built in 1940 and home to Black Catholics, the parish closed in the mid-1950s because of city redevelopment and declining membership. Lutheran churches later used the building. It was demolished in 2006.

St. Martin de Porres was biracial and served for years as a Dominican lay helper in Lima, Peru, because he was not permitted to become a brother. A barber and surgeon, he had the gift of healing, showed charity and service to the poor and eventually professed solemn vows.

The pilgrimage concluded with prayer and lunch in the Basilica’s basement hall, which features stained-glass windows from St. Martin de Porres church.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda was present, and expressed gratitude that different parishes and cultures were honoring the saint’s legacy.

“We know that we live in a society that needs great healing in the area of justice, especially in issues of racism,” the archbishop said. “St. Marin de Porres is such a great example of how it is that we can lead our lives in a way that helps

BOB CUNNINGHAM | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Pilgrims praying for racial reconciliation walk through north Minneapolis from Ascension on their way to the Basilica of St. Mary. other people to work for justice.”

The pilgrimage was designed to be a journey to raise individual consciousness and build bridges between groups to help dismantle racism, said Anne Attea, faith formation and social justice director at Ascension, which has many Latino parishioners. Peterson said he was aware of the pain following the police-related deaths in the Twin Cities of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, who were killed in 2020 and 2021, respectively. He talked to local Catholic leaders about organizing a pilgrimage to foster community healing.

With archdiocesan approval, Peterson led planning for a fall pilgrimage involving Ascension and Basilica parishes. That the visit to the site of the former St. Martin de Porres church coincided with his feast day was the Holy Spirit’s work, Peterson said.

The Basilica and St. Bridget parish in Minneapolis had organized separate north Minneapolis walks for racial reconciliation earlier this year. Including a meal with the St. Martin event helped emphasize relationships, Peterson said.

DeLaSalle student Martina Wolo, 16, said she advocates for racial justice and reconciliation, especially in light of the deaths of Floyd and Wright.

“I feel like when that was happening there was just a lot of fear, so I didn’t feel like there was much I could do, and with this, I feel like a little part of me is protesting, but with prayer,” she said.

Jessica Perez, 17, said she made the pilgrimage in part to be with her Ascension confirmation class. She said as a person of color, she identifies with St. Martin de Porres and hopes “to make people realize that it’s more than just walking. To bring more people together to face racial injustice.”

Basilica parishioners Rick and Kathy Hansen appreciated connecting with members of Ascension’s community.

Sharing the experience could bring change, said Kathy Hansen, 75. “Maybe that sparks conversation and maybe it’s just something little like that, and talking about these issues.”

In Venezuela, Father Dempsey remembered for joy, engagement in people’s lives

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

F

ather Greg Schaffer recalls Father Dennis Dempsey as a man on wheels. “During his second stint at the mission, Denny never drove a vehicle. He moved around solely by walking and riding his bike,” Father Schaffer said. “Denny fearlessly maneuvered through the streets where the traffic laws are not followed or enforced, where the colors on the streetlights are just suggestions to follow and everyone seems to drive aggressively and defensively at the same time.”

Father Dempsey died while cycling Oct. 25 after being struck by a motorist.

The 73-year-old priest had ministered alongside Father Schaffer in Venezuela during the 1990s, and, in July 2019, he went back for two years to serve the people of Jesucristo Resucitado, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ mission parish in Ciudad Guayana.

Although he had formally retired, Father Dempsey returned to the Twin Cities in July to be pastor of Risen Savior.

Ordained in 1980, Father Dempsey served as a missionary priest at Jesucristo Resucitado from 1993 to 1998, and then 6/30/21 asCathSpMM-July-Sept-2021.qxp_Layout the parish’s pastor for 18 months1 in

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1998-1999. He also served as associate pastor and pastor to several parishes in the archdiocese during his ministry.

In an email to The Catholic Spirit, Father Schaffer, Jesucristo Resucitado’s current pastor, called Father Dempsey “a man filled with faith that was demonstrated by the closeness to the people.” He always accepted people where they were “in the moment and drew them closer to God,” he said. He described Father Dempsey as a promoter of vocations, with priests — especially younger ones — having lunch and spending the afternoon talking with 10:5 about the priesthood. Meanwhile, him

Father Schaffer said, “Father Denny was constantly busy with projects. The back patio was a repair shop for repairing bicycles — for priests, neighborhood kids — all for free.”

Father Jose Antonio Brito, a recently ordained priest of the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana, said there was no rectory neighbor who did not at some point visit with Father Dempsey. “Father Denny enjoyed talking about faith, God’s love, the difficult food situation, the politics of the country — whatever the people wanted to talk about,” he said by email.

“Father Denny loved to visit with people in the street.”

14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER TERRY BEESON

A lesson from the fig tree “It’s the end of the world as we know it; it’s the end of the world as we know it; it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

Every year at this time of the year, that R.E.M. tune rattles about my head. As we approach the end of the Church calendar, our readings speak to the End Times.

The first reading for the Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time is from the book of the prophet Daniel and describes Daniel’s vision of the resurrection and the last judgment. In this vision, Daniel presents the apocalyptic struggle between good and evil (spoiler alert: good will triumph).

In the Gospel reading, Jesus paints a picture with words about the second coming. But we must remember he is neither telling us what eternity will look like nor providing a timetable of the future.

It is a frightening picture of a darkened sun and moon, and stars falling from the sky, and the powers of heaven being shaken. The angels will be sent to gather the elect.

Then, Jesus says something that is enigmatic: “Learn a lesson from the fig tree.” While it may seem out of context, this speaks to Chapter 11 of St. Mark’s Gospel, when Jesus and his disciples were going to the temple, encountered a fig tree full of leaves but no fruit because “it’s not time for figs.” Jesus cursed the tree, saying: “May no one ever eat your fruit again.” When Jesus cursed the fig tree, he knew there would be no fruit on it because of the season, but the leaves tell us that summer is near. Then they go into the Temple and Jesus cleanses the Temple of the money changers and livestock. The very next day they encounter the tree again and it is withered to its roots. The withered tree is symbolic of the eventual

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Sacrament of marriage in the Bible The institution of marriage existed before the time of Jesus, and he raised it to the level of sacrament. He did this through his teaching on the ideals of marriage as well as his endorsement of marriage by his attendance at the Cana wedding feast. Moreover, as a child and a young man, he lived with a married couple, Mary and Joseph, and he was greatly blessed by the goodness of their marriage, and he experienced firsthand the beauty of married love.

The sacrament of marriage is a rich source of God’s grace.

Initially, God seals the bond of love between the bride and the groom when they exchange their promises (Mk 10:9a). From that day forward, every day for the rest of their married lives, God provides a constant and uninterrupted flow of grace to help their love grow, intensify and flourish. Then it is up to the husband and wife to cooperate with the graces that God so generously provides.

The teachings of Jesus on marriage are found in the Gospels of Matthew (19:4-6) and Mark (10:6-9), and based upon God’s plan for marriage found in Genesis (1:27; 2:18, 21-24). Jesus explained that the Creator “made them male and female” (Mk 10:6; see Gn 1:24; 5:2), and because it was not good for either to be alone (Gn 2:18), God intended for a man to be joined to his wife (Mk 10:7), that they would be united as one (Mk 10:8; see Gn 2:24), and that their union would be permanent and indissoluble (Mk 10:9).

Jesus upended the ancient culture’s understanding of marriage when he declared that the two become “one flesh” (Mk 10:8). This coincides with the creation account when God took a rib from

Even if the time were to come, having faith and love of God and neighbor, we can say, ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.’ destruction of the Temple. When Peter points out the withered tree to him, Jesus replies by telling the disciples to have faith in God, pray and forgive anyone with whom they have a grievance, so the Father in heaven will forgive their transgressions.

Then Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.” Jesus’ words are eternal. Jesus is the Word who is eternal.

Over the centuries, there has been war after war, pandemic after pandemic, natural disaster after natural disaster. And while war, pandemic and natural disasters have happened in each generation after Jesus, there have been folks prognosticating that the current war, pandemic and natural disaster is a sign of the end of the world, and looking to the predictions of Nostradamus. In the 21st century, we have had the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the bird flu, the swine flu and COVID-19. We have had hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes that have devastated people’s lives and livelihoods.

And the world keeps on turning. Jesus says of heaven and earth passing away, that no one knows the day or the hour.

Let us learn the lesson of the fig tree. Let us bear fruit for the kingdom of God. Let us be full of faith and forgiveness. Even if the time were to come, having faith and love of God and neighbor, we can say, “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

Father Beeson is pastor of St. Pius V in Cannon Falls and St. Joseph in Miesville.

the man to fashion the woman (Gn 2:21-23). Man and woman are made of the same flesh. Then they become one flesh. The ancient mentality was that society is divided into four classes, each superior to and exercising a property right over the class below.

Men were on the top tier, followed by women, children and slaves.

When Jesus declared that a husband and wife are one flesh, he rejected the notion that a husband is over his wife and that he owns her. The good news is that a husband and wife are equals.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus began his public ministry at the Cana wedding feast (2:1-11). It is a statement of his priorities. By beginning at a wedding, Jesus showed that marriage is of utmost importance to him. It is a noble institution created by God. A holy marriage is a tremendous good to the couple themselves, their family, the Church and society. When Jesus attended, he blessed their union, and when he came to their rescue, he gave them his support.

Sacred Scripture features many married couples. The most important is Mary and Joseph. Matthew explains that they were betrothed (Mt 1:18), and after the customary waiting period, they were married. The Bible begins with the first couple, Adam and Eve. Genesis continues with the patriarchs and matriarchs: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel.

Exodus highlights Moses and Zipporah. Other prominent couples in the Old Testament are Boaz and Ruth, Elkanah and Hannah, Tobiah and Sarah, Manasseh and Judith, and Hosea and Gomer, and the other prominent couple in the New Testament is Zechariah and Elizabeth.

The Bible begins and ends with marriage. Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and it opens with Adam and Eve (Gn 3:6b).

Revelation is the last book of the Bible, and it closes with its description of heaven as the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rv 19:7, 9).

Father Van Sloun retired this year as pastor of St. Bartholomew of Wayzata. This column is one in a series on the sacrament of marriage.

Previous series on the Eucharist and confirmation can be found at TheCatholicSpirit.com.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Nov. 14 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Dn 12: 1-3 Heb 10:11-14, 18 Mk 13:24-32 Monday, Nov. 15 1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 Lk 18:35-43 Tuesday, Nov. 16 2 Mc 6:18-31 Lk 19:1-10 Wednesday, Nov. 17 St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31 Lk 19:11-28 Thursday, Nov. 18 1 Mc 2:15-29 Lk 19:41-44 Friday, Nov. 19 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 Lk 19:45-48 Saturday, Nov. 20 1 Mc 6:1-13 Lk 20:27-40 Sunday, Nov. 21 Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Dn 7:13-14 Rv 1:5-8 Jn 18:33b-37 Monday, Nov. 22 St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr Dn 1:1-6, 8-20 Lk 21:1-4 Tuesday, Nov. 23 Dn 2:31-45 Lk 21:5-11 Wednesday, Nov. 24 St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest, and companions, martyrs Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 Lk 21:12-19 Thursday, Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Day Sir 50:22-24 1 Cor 1:3-9 Lk 17:11-19 Friday, Nov. 26 Dn 7:2-14 Lk 21:29-33 Saturday, Nov. 27 Dn 7:15-27 Lk 21:34-36 Sunday, Nov. 28 First Sunday of Advent Jer 33:14-16 1 Thes 3:12–4:2 Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

KNOW the SAINTS BLESSED MIGUEL PRO JUAREZ (1891-1927) This Mexican martyr began life in a large Catholic family. His schooling, interrupted by family moves and a serious illness, ended when he was 15. Following a spiritual crisis and the vocation of a beloved sister, Miguel entered a Jesuit novitiate in 1911. But the anti-Catholicism that attended the Mexican Revolution forced him to study abroad. He was ordained in 1925 in Belgium, where his recurring illness required surgeries. In 1926 he returned to Mexico City and ministered secretly because of the political situation. Though he did not support an armed insurrection, he was arrested and executed by firing squad without a trial. His feast day is Nov. 23.

— Catholic News Service

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

FOCUSONFAITH

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15

ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA | REBA LUIKEN

Cemetery visits prompt prayer, reflections on the past

When I lived a few blocks from Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, I liked to go on walks there when the late evening sun and the faded monuments cast long shadows on warm summer evenings.

The cemetery never felt like a frightening place to be. Instead, I contemplated the lives of the more than 100,000 people buried there. Calvary Cemetery is palpably filled with the presence of generations of Catholics laid to rest there since its founding in 1856.

If the gravestones could talk, some might excitedly tell of one of the most impressive funerals ever to process into the cemetery. On July 31, 1903, Theodore Hamm, president of the Hamm’s Brewing Company, died suddenly of a heart attack brought on by pneumonia. He was 77. As the owner of one of the largest breweries in Minnesota and the nation, Hamm was a wealthy and distinguished member of the community. He also remained a lifelong resident of the Swede Hollow neighborhood, where he established himself as a young German immigrant.

Local newspapers reported that Hamm’s funeral was “one of the largest ever seen in the city,” with over 1,000 attendees at his home, the Church of the Sacred Heart and the cemetery. All of St. Paul’s most prominent citizens came to say their final goodbyes.

There were abundant floral offerings, singers from the Mozart Club and members of local German fraternal organizations.

(Then again, the gravestones might take more of an interest in the more personal visits and people who

WHY DO CATHOLICS DO THAT? FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON

Masses for the dead Q Why do Catholics offer Masses for the dead?

A Our life on earth is all about

learning to love as God loves.

Unfortunately, due to original sin, and our own personal sin, we are

Gravestones at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

have never been recorded in the news.)

Perhaps the only Catholic in St. Paul who was more prominent at the time was Archbishop John Ireland.

Archbishop Ireland liked to walk the cemetery, visiting friends and parishioners who had passed into the next life. He also enjoyed listening to the joyful songs of resident birds. In a homily in November 1897, he meditated on the spiritual practice of visiting a cemetery. “It is indeed for us a holy … thought to remember the dead. The oftener we put ourselves in the society of the dead, the better it is for our souls,” he said.

He went on to explain that the cemetery is an excellent place to gain perspective on what is important in life and to look toward what is true and lasting — immortality with Christ. Archbishop Ireland suggested November, the month of the dead, as an especially good time to visit and pray. He instructed his audience (both in person and in the

newspaper the following day) to visit the cemetery and to ask those buried there to pray for them from heaven (if they were indeed with God in heaven) while also agreeing to pray for those waiting in purgatory. Of course, visitors to a cemetery are unable to distinguish the saints from those still waiting for full purification.

You can still take Archbishop Ireland’s advice to walk in the cemetery to pray and gain perspective on life. My favorite people to visit in Calvary Cemetery are the nuns and sisters who are buried near the archbishop himself. But, you might also stumble upon a few Minnesota Catholics whose names are echoed in familiar businesses, parks and street names.

not terribly good students at times. Christ tells us in the Gospels that we must be “perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So — who in the world would qualify for that? We know, of course, that with God all things are possible. And because of divine grace, especially as it is received through the sacraments of the Church, it is truly possible to live a life that is totally pleasing to God. But if one dies and is not yet perfected in love, the Lord in his mercy provides more time to be formed and shaped into the image of Christ. We call this extra time “purgatory,” though of course how souls experience what we call “time” after death is a mystery. Purgatory is a place of suffering, but it is not a place of eternal suffering as is hell. Rather, it is a place where the souls of the dead suffer for the sake of becoming more and

more like Christ, learning to surrender, to forgive, to acknowledge sin in their own lives, and to have their heart stretched so that they have room within their souls to receive the fullness of God’s grace and life. And we can help these souls in their purification by praying for them. Just like we are called upon to pray for each other in this life, that we might grow in holiness and grace, so too we must pray for the dead. And because the Mass is the most powerful prayer of all, it is only fitting that we should offer Masses for our loved ones who have died.

Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.

Father Erickson is pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale.

Send your questions to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why Do Catholics Do That?” in the subject line.

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16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

COMMENTARY SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY

Saints point the way

We likely all have our favorite saint: our namesake, the saint we chose for confirmation or a saint to whom we reach out due to a specific need. Saints are a staple of the Catholic Church. Nov. 1 was All Saints’ Day (which we celebrated this year at our Sunday liturgy, rather than making a special return to our churches for Mass, on what in other years is a holy day of obligation). With this day, we annually reflect on our devotion to these holy and venerable human beings who provide a map for living a life dedicated to God. I had the privilege to hear the deacon of a local parish explain that saints are not saints because of the actions they took, but rather because they said “yes” to God. How often do we miss this fundamental point of sainthood? The “yes” they gave to God in response to a deep desire in their hearts, one they had come to distinguish as God’s voice speaking directly to them, is how God used these normal human beings in extraordinary ways.

You have probably heard the play on words: We’re “human beings,” not “human doings.” How often do we get caught up in becoming “human doings,” going about the tasks of life with little real investment of our presence in relationships: “I’m here, fulfilling the tasks set before me, doing my best,” and doing this all from a distracted demeanor?

That is not the way to sainthood. Sainthood is about being present, first and foremost with our Lord in prayer. It’s discerning his voice in our heads and hearts, and following his direction faithfully, even when it does not make sense. In fact, when we look at the saints, their actions could more often be seen as foolish, rather than wise. Look at the life of any saint and you see actions that could be mistaken for folly. Sometimes we want to ask, “What were they thinking?!”

And that is the very point here. They were thinking

iSTOCK PHOTO | SEDMAK

ACTION STRATEGY uBefore Advent arrives, with its sometimes-hectic preChristmas to-do lists, spend time in prayer and ask God to speak to you. uDedicate yourself to a holy practice this month. That may be to read Scripture before bedtime, to turn off your podcast in the car and drive in silence, or to offer prayer to your favorite saint.

of saying “yes” to God, rather than the outcome of their actions. They left the outcome to God, knowing that God’s ways are perfect and beyond our ways, and that he sees all of life very differently than we see life.

Saints are more concerned about being obedient to God’s word and directive in their hearts and minds, as they align their wills with his will and simply respond to what they believe he is saying to them about the actions he wants them to take.

I would ask you to think of any saint this month and put them through this “sieve of sainthood” to see for yourself if it is not true. When I taught middle school and high school religion, I found a quote that

TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

Rejection letters and the spiritual life Just as “Tiger King” became a defining show of our early quarantine days and “Bridgerton” carried us through the first COVID winter, “Squid Game” has dominated this fall. It’s not hard to see how the Korean drama resonates more deeply in the pandemic’s long

shadow.

The nine-episode Netflix series depicts a survival game with 456 participants desperate for money. It’s dark and riveting.

Every day new headlines tout the show’s global success, shattering record after record. “Squid Game” became the first Korean show to reach the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Netflix chart. Now it’s poised to overtake “Bridgerton” and become Netflix’s biggest show ever.

Not bad for the show that almost didn’t launch, declined by studio after studio for the last decade.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the writer, started drafting scripts while living with his mother and grandmother.

He had to halt the project when he found himself — like the game’s contestants — strapped for cash. At one point he sold his laptop for $675.

Good things are worth working at and waiting for.

They mean more.

Pitching the show was no easier. Prospective investors and actors found the plotline implausible.

Then the coronavirus brought us closer to our mortality and underscored the public-health repercussions of the wealth gap.

“The world has changed,” Dong-hyuk told The Wall Street Journal. “All of these points made the story very realistic for people compared to a decade ago.”

Dong-hyuk is now in good company, among literary superstars like Louisa May Alcott, Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling, all of whom faced repeated rejection early in their careers.

I’ve been thinking about Dong-hyuk’s story as “Squid Game” continues to make news. It’s hard to admit, but I don’t possess the same kind of persistence.

An exciting new creative pursuit presented itself last spring that, by its nature, has a slow timeline. Not 10 years, but much longer than my typical writing.

And I’ve let it slide to a back burner that conveniently allows denial and good intentions to keep simmering.

The Church teaches that there are four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

Fortitude is defined as forbearance mixed with courage — to bravely press on. It’s a virtue we sorely

simply read: “Saints map out the holiness of their master.” Their master, of course, is Jesus.

During this month of saints, let each of us take time for prayer, asking God to give us the grace to listen to his directive in our hearts and minds and to follow the deep desires of our hearts. Let us each work on the holy skill of discernment, and as Jesuit Father David Lonsdale explains, we must follow consolation rather than desolation when we are listening for God’s will through the practice of discernment.

We are all called to be saints. We will move more closely to this reality through his grace and our willingness to say “yes” to him. Make a commitment to set aside time for prayer this month and ask God to speak clearly to you, quickening the holy desire deep in your heart to serve him. We will be like the disciples on the road back to Jerusalem from Emmaus as we will say, “Were not our hearts burning within us?” (Lk 24:32).

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose of Woodbury.

She holds a master’s degree in theology from The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul and a doctorate in educational leadership from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

lack in this Insta-age: Instagram for an instant telegram, Instacart for an instant grocery cart. We expect same-day deliveries, immediate results, click and procure. Anything slower feels irrelevant.

Isn’t that a shame?

Because spiritual growth doesn’t happen on the first try. Good things are worth working at and waiting for. They mean more.

Jennifer Dukes Lee, a Christian writer from Iowa, is reminding me of this. Her message feels like a permission slip to drop out of the hustle culture: “You were not made for speed.”

Her new book “Grow Slow” and its accompanying Bible study explore this in depth, drawing on the wisdom she’s gleaned from farming.

“This is the important work of cultivation — learning to trust the One who is in charge of the growth,” Jennifer writes. “If you’re like most people, you want things faster, sooner, easier. But life isn’t a reality TV competition where someone is suddenly discovered in front of a live audience. As I reflect on God’s cultivating work in me, I believe that the quality of the fruit I produce is directly proportional to the time God takes to shape me.”

I want God to take his time shaping me. I’m working on the patience and perspective that make way for persistence. I’m trying to see red lights as yellow lights, to hear “no” as “not yet.” Maybe something better is around the corner — when it is ready, when I am ready, when the time is right.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

COMMENTARY

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

ALREADY/NOT YET JONATHAN LIEDL

Visit your dead friends If this was an ordinary year, the Octave of All Saints — the weeklong stretch when the Church offers a plenary indulgence for souls in purgatory, obtained in part by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead — would be over by the time you’re reading this column. The period is typically Nov. 1 through Nov. 8.

This year’s a little different. The Vatican has extended this opportunity across the whole of November.

Which is great. Indulgences are an amazing — though highly misunderstood — aspect of our Catholic patrimony. We should take seriously the opportunity to obtain them for our beloved dead. But as much as November is a month typically dedicated to praying for the dead, it’s also a time to be reminded of the importance of praying for the dead whatever the day or month, indulgences or not.

It is one of the strangest, most beautiful mysteries of our faith. God, who is all-powerful and all-loving

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

and really doesn’t need our help for anything, nonetheless desires our participation in “working out our salvation.” And not only our own, but those of our loved ones. Just as the saints ceaselessly pray for us, we are called to pray constantly for the faithful departed in purgatory, so they might enter into perfect union with God. Again, not because God needs us to, but because we become more godlike in the process.

Visiting the dead can seem like a grandiose event, probably because many of us — myself included — live lives that are all too often neatly and nicely completely separated from them.

But making a trip to the family plot at the cemetery need not be any more dramatic or out-of-the-ordinary than a visit to a friend’s house across town.

Moved by the Church’s timely reminder to pray for the dead, I decided to visit the graves of my grandma and grandpa (and a good number of other Liedls and O’Briens) at Roselawn Cemetery this past week. Because more intercessors are better than one, I also extended the invite to other living family members. My Aunt Kaky, who lives locally, was able to join, and so was my dad, who happened to be in town. My brother David even randomly FaceTimed me during our visit (ironically, dressed in a skeleton T-shirt he’d worn for Halloween), and he and my niece Hazel and nephew Luca joined in our prayers and reminiscing.

At the cemetery, we laid flowers and sprinkled holy water on our family members’ headstones, spent some

At the cemetery, we laid flowers and sprinkled holy water on our family members’ headstones, spent some time fondly remembering them, and then prayed a decade of the rosary, meditating upon Christ’s resurrection and asking God to continue to pour his mercy out on our beloved dead. iSTOCK PHOTOS | MARAKO85

time fondly remembering them, and then prayed a decade of the rosary, mediating upon Christ’s resurrection and asking God to continue to pour his mercy out on our beloved dead. There was something especially powerful about praying for those to whom we, in many ways, owe our own existence.

I was moved to see my dad and aunt praying for their own parents, asking God to give the fullness of life to those who gave them life in the first place.

Those who had received now took their turn in giving.

In many ways, the visit was like a little family reunion — not only with three generations present, but six, from Frederick Lynch all the way down to Luca Liedl. It was short and sweet — we

even ate some apple pie after prayer, which I thought was a little strange at first until my aunt informed me that picnicking among the dead was a common practice when she was growing up.

You don’t have to bring apple pie — but I strongly encourage you to visit your dead friends and family.

Remember them, express gratitude for their time on earth, and pray that they might soon be fully united to God. November’s a great time to make the trip, especially this year with the indulgence period extended — but I’m sure they’d appreciate your visit and prayers whenever you can make them.

Liedl writes from the Twin Cities.

“To touch the hearts and minds of your students with the Christian spirit is the greatest miracle you can perform.”

150

SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE FOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

With humble and grateful hearts, Cretin-Derham Hall honors the Christian Brothers for 150 years of faithful service to our community — a legacy of learning, leadership, and love that has touched the hearts and minds of thousands of students in St. Paul.

Cretin-Derham Hall

In their honor, go forth and serve!

18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

I

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Why I am Catholic

By Jim Cahill DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

remember the day before I was asked to write this

prayed with me that the Holy Spirit would be activated in

reflection, I said to my wife, Norma, “Honey, I love

my heart again. At that moment, something happened.

being Catholic!” Why? I’m an older fellow and I’ve

Something was given to me. I knew I was different. I

lived and loved the unique and changing ways our

began loving in a new way with new strength. The first

Catholic faith is expressed, although there have been

many changes.

As a grade schooler, Catholicism to me was the

difference was that I knew the crucifixion was something I contributed to by my sins. I saw the Father wished for me to be with him as he allowed the death of his Son for me,

Latin Mass, high altars, veils, no meat, fasting starting

for us. I now met Jesus as my friend at Mass, at adoration.

at midnight, no laity on the altar or touching the host,

Confession was one friend telling the other that he messed

Communion at the rail, somber black funeral Masses and

up, and he actually was completely forgiven. The most

lots of candles. Things in church had a heaviness, and lack

dramatic change was the enriched personal sense of the

of joy or celebration — a little like living the Mosaic law.

presence of Jesus Christ living deep in my heart. What a

There was a big focus on the high ritual and liturgy and

difference over the years.

low attention to a personal friendship with Christ. But I did it all so I wouldn’t go to hell.

Then during my two years in the seminary: Vatican II. Look out! English everywhere; genuflecting seemed optional; down with the statues and candles; let’s face the people at the altar; Communion in the hand; priests were actually leaving the priesthood; guitars and drums now; lots of new, upbeat liturgical music; homilies at all Masses; our beloved nuns began to become invisible; fewer seminarians. There was a much different high focus on the liturgy and music, but with low emphasis or guidance on personally loving Jesus. Again, I stayed with it because of my fear of hell, and after all that good Catholic education, you would never leave the Church, even though it was getting to be unfamiliar.

Then, as a 35-year-old adult whose life was not going well, came the huge gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. One night my dear friend Father Tim Nolan (recently deceased)

I love my Catholic faith because all the exterior elements that I mentioned at the beginning are now instruments of the Holy Spirit, and they sustain my friendship with Christ and my Father. It’s now been 50 years, and my Catholic life is alive with the love of God as the Holy Spirit keeps pouring more into my life and ministries.

Cahill, 82, and his wife, Norma, are members of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul. They also belong to People of Praise, an ecumenical Christian charismatic community. They moved to the west side of St. Paul so that they can build Christian community and help people develop a personal relationship with Jesus. They have four children and nine grandchildren, and enjoy making up bedtime stories for their grandchildren.

“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why I am Catholic” in the subject line.

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

CALENDAR MASS OF THANKSIVING Mass of Thanksgiving for Bishop Andrew Cozzens — Nov. 28: Noon Mass at The Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave. St. Paul, followed by a reception for people to greet Bishop Cozzens from 1–4 p.m. He will be installed as the eighth bishop of Crookston 1 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston. archspm.org/bishopcozzensmass

PARISH EVENTS St. Joseph of the Lakes’ Holiday Bazaar — Nov. 13-14 at 171 Elm St., Lino Lakes. Nov. 13: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.; Nov 14: 9 a.m.–noon. Holiday gifts, crafts and decorations. Bake sale with cinnamon and caramel rolls; candies, beef jerky. Purchase lunch. mystjoes.me St. Maron Bake Sale and Rummage Sale — Nov. 13-14: at St. Maron, 602 University Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Don’t miss out on our delicious Lebanese baked goods! Nov. 13: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Nov .14: 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (Bake sale from 11 a.m.– 1 p.m. only.) stmaron.com St. Peter’s All Things Christmas Sale — Nov. 13-14 at 1405 Highway 13, Mendota.

Nov. 13: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; Nov 14: 9:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Donated Christmas items at garage-sale prices.

Cookies and hot cocoa. stpetersmendota.org

PRIESTS’ QUILTS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 every single moment he gives me. If we live in the moment and really focus on, “God, what is your will for me right now?” He’ll show you! Just be open to it.

If he wants me to do something in the future, he’ll show me. I don’t have to worry about it. All I have to do is just live for him right now.

Q Wow. You have such clarity, a sense of surrender.

A If you’d have known me in my earlier years, I was not the same person. I was

St. Peter’s CCW Craft and Bake Sale — Nov. 13-14 at 2600 N. Margaret St. N., St. Paul.

Sponsored by St. Peter’s Council of Catholic Women.

Nov. 13: 2–6 p.m.; Nov. 14: 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Coffee and doughnuts Nov. 14. churchofstpeternsp.org

eight adults compete against each other in a variety of categories. $20 in advance online, $25 at the door.

Pizza and more. Proceeds support 2022 GA Youth Mission Trip to Watertown, South Dakota. guardian-angels.org

St. Joan of Arc Concert Series – Nov. 14, Feb. 20, May 1, June 12: Series package or individual event tickets can be purchased at stjoantickets.com. For additional information, call the parish at 612-823-8205. saintjoanofarc.org

Presentation’s Turkey Bingo — Nov. 20: 6–10 p.m. at 1725 Kennard St., Maplewood. Food 6 p.m., bingo 7 p.m. presentationofmary.org

St. George Holiday Boutique and Pie Sale— Nov. 20: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at 133 N. Brown Road, Long Lake. Merchandise vendors, raffle, homemade Christmas cookies and pies. More information, call the parish office at 952-473-1247. stgeorgelonglake.org St. Jerome’s Holiday Sale — Nov. 20: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn Ave., Maplewood. Kitchen items, pillow cases, baby items and more. Proceeds to Quilters for a Cause. stjerome-church.org Farmington KC’s Turkey Bingo— Nov. 20: 5:30–9 p.m. at St. Michael, 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington. 5:30 p.m. Sloppy Joe dinner, 6:45 p.m. bingo. $10 per person, $5 children 6-12, under 6 is free. Maximum $30 per family. Benefits food shelf. stmichael-farmington.org Guardian Angels’ Trivia Night — Nov. 20: 6–8 p.m. at 8620 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. Tables of

a control freak. But when you grow in your spiritual life, you grow closer to God and you become more like God in the sense of loving people and not judging them or controlling them. Of course, we all struggle with control. Sometimes I try to control my husband on how to drive and what to do. We’re trying to be in imitation of Christ, but we’ll never get there till we’re in heaven.

Q Tell me about your former self.

A I was in corporate litigation at a

high-profile firm. I could handle a lot of stress. Then I started doing retreats,

St. Mary’s Annual Sausage Supper — Nov. 21: Noon–6 p.m. at 8433 239th St. E., Hampton. Drive-up dinner, to-go only. No need to pre-order. Pork sausage, German potato salad, sauerkraut and more. $15 adults 10 and older; $5 kids. stmarys-newtrier.com Sts. Peter and Paul’s Christkindlmarkt — Nov. 27: 12–8 p.m. at 150 Railway St. E., Loretto German Christmas festival with live music. saintsppta.org

PRAYER+WORSHIP Gold Mass for Catholic Scientists — Nov. 15: 7 p.m. at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Celebrate the feast of St. Albert the Great.

Reception to follow. Sponsored by the Society of Catholic Scientists. catholicscientists.org Mass of God’s Children — Nov. 16: 7–8 p.m. at Nativity of Our Lord, 1938 Stanford Ave., St. Paul. An evening of comfort and remembrance for the loss of a baby in a beautiful healing Mass. nativitystpaul.org

and I started changing. We’re never going to change unless we have a prayer life. Every morning I wake up and say, “Heavenly Father, I come before thee, a humble servant, a wretched sinner, so desirous of doing your will. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, that I may have the wisdom and knowledge to know your will and the courage to live it out.

Amen.” I’ve been saying it for so long. I’ll add, “Heavenly Father, I love you above all.” Then I go into it. We have to start off with love.

Q When have you felt appreciated and loved?

CALENDAR submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

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

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

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

RETREATS ACCW Morning of Reflection — Nov. 20: 8:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at Holy Spirit, 515 S. Albert St., St. Paul. Author Liz Kelly will speak about her newest book, “Love Like a Saint: Cultivating Virtue with Holy Women.” Vendors, Mass. To register: secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=vmPmvD

A So many people prayed for me when I

had COVID. I waited at United Hospital for 14 hours in the hallway. They didn’t have a bed. So, they took me by ambulance to River Falls Hospital. The doctor said he’d never seen a worse case of double pneumonia from COVID. One night he called my husband to say he didn’t think I’d make it. But the next morning, I felt the healing hand of God, and I know so many people were praying for me. I felt beloved.

I spoke to Archbishop Hebda (my former boss), and he said: “You’re not going to die.

God has more work for you.” It’s our faith that gets us through and our love for God. If he wants you, he’s going to take you.

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

THELASTWORD New Propaedeutic Year a focused time of growth for men preparing for seminary

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

A

s Dominic Wolters takes this year to prepare to fully participate in priestly formation at The St. Paul Seminary, he’s growing spiritually and discerning more deeply — and he isn’t missing his Twitter feed that much.

Wolters, a recent University of Minnesota graduate discerning priesthood in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, along with 15 other seminary aspirants, are the first to go through the seminary’s new Propaedeutic Year. While fasting from their phones and computers they are focusing on human and spiritual growth, discernment and living in community in St. Paul.

“If you told me three years ago, ‘Hey Dominic, I think you’d be a great fit to live in a house with a bunch of other guys, talk about your feelings and not use your phone,’ I’d have probably looked at you like you were crazy,” said Wolters, 22, whose home parish is St. Casimir in St. Paul. “But now that I’m living in the house with these men, I really couldn’t imagine anything I’d rather be doing.”

Responding to the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy’s 2016 call for a “propaedeutic” preparation stage before traditional seminary formation to foster healthy and holy priests, The St. Paul Seminary’s program seeks to “help aspirants discern where God wants them to grow and detox from the culture,” said Father John Floeder, the seminary’s director of the propaedeutic year and human formation.

He emphasized that the year is designed to help its participants grow in a joyful holiness.

“We want to accompany them, to help them in becoming the man and ultimately the priest (God) wants them to be,” he said. “Too often, priestly training can be seen as just skill acquisition rather than authentic and integral growth.”

“Propaedeutic” means “to teach beforehand.”

The seminary’s program is facilitated by priests, psychologists and theologians. The participants range in age from 22 to 29. Six hope to study for the archdiocese and the others are from five other dioceses. Some of the men are new to seminary formation while others are taking a break from seminary academics to more deeply discern their call.

Away from academic demands, aspirants have space to work on their growth together and continue discernment, Father Floeder said.

“The year is to really help ground them and to help them be able to do some real interior work and human work but without feeling like they’re on a conveyor belt being moved towards priesthood,” he said.

To apply for the program, men must have a college degree and be sponsored by their bishop and diocese.

Program acceptance requires “extensive vetting,” Father Floeder said, including a full psychological assessment.

“The program is intended to be for those who are new to seminary formation or those needing to do some deeper work apart from academic,” he said.

Unlike seminarians, whose work includes studying for academic credit, the propaedeutic year participants attend the seminary’s Catechetical Institute as well as sessions on human growth, intellectual life, spiritual growth and discipleship. They develop habits in daily prayer and Mass while living in a former convent at St. Mark in St. Paul. Father Floeder and two St. Paul Seminary transitional deacons live with the aspirants, and share community life.

Secular culture, through social media and technology, can be an obstacle to growth for young people today more than in previous generations, Father Floeder said. To better hear God’s voice and also form and sustain good habits, aspirants give up their smartphones and computers during the week and typically only use them on Saturdays.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ABOVE Anthony Olmes, left front, of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, Joshua French of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and James Semling of the Diocese of Helena, along with Dominic Wolters, back left, also of the archdiocese, and John Vrochta of the Diocese of WinonaRochester visit in their residence at a former convent at St. Mark in St. Paul.

LEFT Jordan Danielson, left, of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, and Peter Specht of the Diocese of Duluth, participate in some classwork as part of their Propaedeutic Year.

‘A NEW PENTECOST’ “After a couple of months living with these men, it is obvious to me that something special is happening. The combination of all the work we are doing with the silence, space and focused community life is allowing for a new Pentecost. The Lord wants to bless these men. And they are responding. They are doing deep human and spiritual work that the Lord is anointing with tangible peace and joy. This time allows the men to put first things first: Jesus, the Holy Spirit and life as a beloved son of the Father.”

— Father John Floeder, director of the Propaedeutic Formation Program, The St. Paul Seminary Wolters said not having his phone constantly available can be inconvenient, but the “media fast” has helped his discernment and prayer life. Many of the men have shared that they’d rather not have access at all.

Life without media-related distractions has “really kind of pushed us to encounter each other, to engage with each other on a much deeper level than we might initially do right away,” Wolters said. “It’s the sort of thing that’s both challenging but also deeply

enriching and just very bracing.”

The men’s life offline is full, with morning and evening prayer, a daily eucharistic Holy Hour and Mass, along with spiritual, human and intellectual formation sessions.

Afternoons include unscheduled time for reading, prayer or outings.

They also grocery shop, do chores and prepare some meals.

Community recreation includes board games and arm-wrestling tournaments. They see family and friends during the year and plan to go home for the holidays.

Aspirants meet regularly with their spiritual director and with Father Floeder, and they also minister to Latino Catholic youth and young adults in Minneapolis.

The Propaedeutic Year helps men identify the priority of their relationship with God and prepare to enter serious formation, said Jeff Cavins, an executive fellow at the seminary who is giving sessions on Scripture and discipleship.

“Men sign up for seminary, but often they haven’t addressed the first question, and that is not ‘are you called to be a priest?’ but ‘are you called to be a disciple?’” he said in a seminary video. “If you try to prepare to become a priest without being a disciple, that could just be a job for you.”

Wolters said he hopes to minister as a priest, but he’s learning about life in Christ in any vocation. “In many ways,” he said, “this year is focused on providing roots of faith, giving us a strong foundation for whatever state in life God might be calling us to.”