The Catholic Spirit - February 23, 2017

February 23, 2017

istock

Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

FISH FRY

AND LENTEN MEAL

GUIDE

Where to eat from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday 2017

2A • The Catholic Spirit

Albertville St. Albert — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 3 and April 7 at 11400 57th St. NE. Cost TBD. Includes fried fish, potatoes, vegetables, rolls and dessert.

Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.churchofstalbert.org.

Annandale St. Ignatius — Baked fish dinner, 4–7:30 p.m.

April 7 in the parish dining hall at 35 Birch St. (wheelchair accessible). $10 adults, $5 ages 12 and under. Includes cheesy potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner roll and carrot cake. www.stignatiusmn.com.

Anoka St. Stephen — Fish fry, 5:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 525 Jackson St. $8 adults, $4 children, free ages 3 and under. Includes baked or deep-fried fish, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, dinner roll, apple crisp, coffee, milk or lemonade. www.ststephenchurch.org.

Bayport St. Charles — Shrimp dinner, time TBD March 3, 10, 17, 24 and April 7 at Campbell Hall, 409 N. Third St. Cost TBD. www.stcharlesbayport.com.

Belle Plaine Our Lady of the Prairie — Baked fish fry, 4–6:30 p.m. March 17, 24, 31 and April 7 in the parish hall at 200 E. Church St. Free-will offering. Includes baked fish, rice, salad, bread and water or coffee.

Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. www.ourladyoftheprairie.com.

Blaine St. Timothy — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24 and Fridays during Lent except Good Friday in the Hospitality Center at 707 89th Ave. NE. $12 adults, $9 seniors, $5 children, free ages 5 and under. Includes baked or deep-fried fish, French fries or baked potato, coleslaw, baked beans, bread and beverage. www.churchofsttimothy.com.

Bloomington Nativity of Mary — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 10 and April 7 at 9900 Lyndale Ave. S. Cost TBD. www.nativitybloomington.org.

St. Bonaventure — Fish dinner, 4:30–7 p.m.

March 10 and April 7 in Ambrose Hall at 901 E. 90th St. $10 adults, $4 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under. Includes ocean perch, au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, buns, beverage and dessert. www.saintbonaventure.org.

St. Edward — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 24 at 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S. Advance: $10 individual or $30 family; at the door $12 individual or $35 family.

Includes fish and chips or macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, dessert and beverage. Music and raffles. www.stedwardschurch.org.

Brooklyn Park St. Vincent de Paul — Lenten dinners 5:30–7 p.m.

Fridays during Lent except Good Friday in Regan Hall at 9100 93rd Ave. N. March 3: soup, gourmet breads and dessert; March 10: breakfast for supper; March 17: soup, gourmet breads and dessert; March 24: pasta dinner with white and red sauce options, and garlic bread; March 31: breakfast for supper; April 7: soup, gourmet breads and dessert.

Suggested donation $7. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.saintvdp.org.

Buffalo St. Francis Xavier — Fish fry, 4–5 p.m. March 3 at Bison Creek Bar and Dining, 1207 N. Highway 25. $11 adults, $8 ages 10 and under. www.stfxb.org.

February 23, 2017

Hopkins The Catholic Spirit contacted every parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for the following comprehensive guide of fish fries and Lenten meals. View the meals by map at www.thecatholicspirit.com/nomeat.

Burnsville Mary, Mother of the Church — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m. March 10, 17, 24, 31 and April 7 at 3333 Cliff Road. $15 adults, $6 ages 11 and under, $3 macaroni and cheese. www.mmotc.org.

Lent except Good Friday at 11001 Hanson Blvd.

NW. $10 adults, $6 ages 5-12, free under 5.

Includes baked or fried tilapia (Guinness and regular batter) and pizza, baked potato or tater tots, coleslaw, applesauce, dessert and beverage. www.epiphanymn.org.

Cannon Falls

Crystal

St. Pius V — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 410 Colvill St. W. $10 adults, $5 ages 5-12, free age 4 and under, $30 family.

Includes fried or baked pollock (gluten-free), variety of fresh relishes, gluten-free side dishes. Stations of the Cross at 4:30 p.m. www.stpiusvcf.org.

St. Raphael — Fish dinner, 5–8 p.m. March 17 at 7301 Bass Lake Road. $8 adults, $4 children under 10. Includes French fries, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, toast, coffee and lemonade. Take-out available. www.straphaelcrystal.org.

Cedar Lake St. Patrick — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 31 at 24425 Old Hwy 13. $12 adults, $5 ages 4-12, free 3 and under. Includes French fries, au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, beans, rye bread, macaroni and cheese, and bars. Beer available. www.stpandc.mn.org.

Centerville St. Genevieve — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at Don Schoeller Memorial Fish Fry, St. John site, 14383 Forest Blvd. N., Hugo. $11 adults, $ 9 seniors 60 and over, $7 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes fried cod, baby red potatoes, French fries, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, pickles, rolls, cookies, milk, coffee, pop and water. Ages 6-15 eligible for bike drawing. www. stgens.org.

Chanhassen St. Hubert — Fish fry, 4:30–6:45 p.m. March 3, 10, 24 at 8201 Main St. $30 maximum for family, $11 adults, $5 children, $9 seniors; cost subject to change. www.sthubert.org.

Chaska Guardian Angels — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. March 3 and 31 in the school gym at 215 W. Second St. $12. Raffle. www.gachaska.org.

Clearwater St. Luke — Soup supper, 5:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 17545 Huber Ave. NW. Free-will offering. Includes soup, crackers, bread, coffee, milk and dessert. www.churchofstlukes.com.

Cologne St. Bernard — Fish fry, 4–8 p.m. March 10 and 24 at 212 Church St. E. $11. Cash raffle. www.stbernard-cologne.org.

Columbia Heights Immaculate Conception — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m.

March 10 and April 7 in the fellowship hall at 4030 Jackson St. $10 adults and seniors, $5 children’s menu. Includes pan-fried tilapia, a different side dish each week, coleslaw, roll, dessert and beverage. Kid’s menu will change each week. Also showing movies “Life of Jesus, Part I” from “The Bible” miniseries, 3:30 and 7 p.m. March 10 and “Life of Jesus, Part II,” 3:30 and 7 p.m. March 24. www.iccsonline.org.

Coon Rapids Epiphany — Fish fry, 4:30–6:30 p.m. Fridays during

Deephaven St. Therese — Fish fry, 6:15–7:30 p.m. March 10 and April 7 at 18323 Minnetonka Blvd. Cost TBD. www.st-therese.org.

Eagan St. John Neumann — Fish fry, 5-7 p.m. March 17 and April 7 at 4030 Pilot Knob Road. $10 adults, $5 ages 4-17, free under 3. Includes fried or baked fish, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and ice cream. www.sjn.org.

Eden Prairie Pax Christi — Soup and bread dinner, 12:30 p.m.

March 1 after Mass. Soup and bread supper from 5–6:45 p.m. Free. Fish bake, 5:30–7 p.m. March 24.

12100 Pioneer Trail. Free. www.paxchristi.com.

Edina Our Lady of Grace — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 17 at 5071 Eden Ave. $12 adults, $6 ages 10 and under. Includes Tin Fish-battered cod, Buca di Beppo pasta, baked potato, bread and cake. Father Finnegan’s Pub includes Guinness on tap, microbrews and wine for an additional charge. Live music and raffle. Drive-through available. www.olgparish.org/olg-mens-club.

St. Gabriel the Archangel — Fish tacos, 5–7 p.m.

March 3, 17, 31 at 6 Interlachen Road. $25 family, $10 adult, $5 children. Sponsored by the Hispanic community. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stgabrielhopkins.org.

Inver Grove Heights St. Patrick — Baked fish or grilled cheese sandwiches, 5–7p.m. April 7 at 3535 72nd St. E. $10 fish dinner, $5 grilled cheese dinner, $40 family.

Includes fish or grilled cheese, au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, roll, cookie and beverage. www.churchofstpatrick.com.

Jordan St. John the Baptist — Fish fry, 4:30-7 p.m. March 10, 17 and April 7 at 313 E. Second St. Cost TBD. Includes beans, salad, rolls and dessert. Take-out available. www.sjbjordan.org.

Lake St. Croix Beach St. Francis of Assisi — Community supper, 6–7 p.m. March 10 and 31 at 16770 13th St. S. March 10: soup supper. March 31: meal served by confirmation candidates. Free-will offering. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.catholic-church.org/st-francis.

Le Sueur St. Anne — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. March 10 at St. Anne’s School, 511 N. Fourth St. $12 adults, $6 ages 5-12, free under 5. Includes baked potato, green beans, coleslaw, bun and beverage.

Lindstrom St. Bridget of Sweden — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 13060 Lake Blvd. $11 adults, $9 seniors, $6 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes fried cod and baked fish, French fries, coleslaw, beverage, dessert and meatless spaghetti. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stbridgetofsweden.org.

Lino Lakes

St. Patrick — Fish fry, 6–9 p.m. March 17 at 6820 St. Patrick’s Lane. $10 adults, $5 children. Pub night includes a cash bar, raffle and singalong. www.stpatrick-edina.org.

St. Joseph — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m., March 3, 17, 31 and April 7 at 171 Elm St. $10 adults, $5 children.

Pan-fried or baked fish, potato, corn, tomato soup, coleslaw, homemade desserts, coffee and milk. Fish sticks and macaroni and cheese available for kids.

Beer and wine extra. Soup supper, 5–6 p.m. March 7, 14, 21, 28 and April 4. Free-will offering for social justice initiatives. Includes homemade soups, desserts and beverage. Mass at 6:30 p.m. www.mystjoes.org.

Farmington

Little Canada

St. Michael — Soup supper before 7 p.m. Mass March 1; Fish fry, 5–9 p.m. March 24 at 22120 Denmark Ave. Free-will offering. www.stmichael-farmington.org.

St. John the Evangelist — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m.

April 7 at 380 Little Canada Road. $10 adults, $9 seniors, $8 ages 12 and under, $30 family. Includes fried or baked pollock, coleslaw, grilled cheese sandwiches, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, ice cream, coffee milk and lemonade. Soda, beer and wine extra. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stjohnsoflc.org.

Forest Lake St. Peter — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1250 S. Shore Drive. $7 adults, $3 kids. Includes fried cod and baked tilapia, potatoes, coleslaw and dessert. Alternative kids’ vegetarian dish. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stpeterfl.org.

Long Lake

Golden Valley

St. George — Soup dinner, 5:30–7 p.m. March 8.

Fish fry, 5:30–7:30 p.m. April 7 at 133 N. Brown Road. Free-will offering. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. www.stgeorgelonglake.org.

Good Shepherd — Fish fry, time TBD April 7 at 145 Jersey Ave S. www.goodshepherdgv.org.

Lonsdale

Hamel St. Anne — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 10 at 200 Hamel Road. $5. Includes Atlantic cod fillet, coleslaw, pickle spear, dinner roll and beverage.

Additional fillet for $3. www.saintannehamel.org.

Immaculate Conception — Fish dinner, 4–8 p.m.

March 3 at Lonsdale American Legion, 115 Second Ave. NW. $13 adults, $4 children, free 4 and under.

Includes cheesy potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, rye bread and cakes. Take-out available. www.churchoftheimmaculateconception.net.

February 23, 2017 The Catholic Spirit • 3A Madison Lake

Medina

Immaculate Conception — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m.

April 7 at 27528 Patrick St. (Marysburg). $10 adults, $5 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, rolls and dessert. www.maryschurches.com.

Holy Name of Jesus — Seafood buffet, 5–8 p.m.

March 10 at 155 County Road 24, cost TBD. www.hnoj.org.

Mendota

St. Jude of the Lake — Fish dinner, 5:30–8 p.m.

March 31 at 700 Mahtomedi Ave. Baked tilapia or breaded cod, macaroni and cheese, potato, coleslaw and brownies. $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 ages 12 and under. www.stjudeofthelake.org.

St. Peter — March 1 soup supper, 5–7 p.m., free-will offering; March 3 and March 24 fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m., $10 adults, $7 children under 12, free under 2 with paid adult; includes macaroni and cheese, potatoes, buns, desserts and beverages; April 7 fish dinner, 5–7 p.m., free-will offering. All at 1405 Sibley Memorial Hwy. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. www.stpetersmendota.org.

Maple Grove

Mendota Heights

St. Joseph the Worker — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m.

March 10 and 24 at 7180 Hemlock Lane N. Free-will offering. www.sjtw.net.

Holy Family Maronite — Fish dinner, 4–7 p.m.

Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1960 Lexington Ave. S. $10 per person. Includes crispy baked pollock, green beans in tomato sauce served over a bed of Lebanese rice, fried cabbage, Lebanese salad, flat bread, garlic sauce, homemade desserts and beverages. Stations of the Cross at 4 p.m. www.holyfamilymaronitechurch.org/mn.

Mahtomedi

Maplewood Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Soup supper, 5:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1725 Kennard St. Free-will offering (supports Pastoral Emergency Fund). Includes soup, bread, cheese, peanut butter, milk, juice and coffee.

Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. followed by adoration and benediction. Living Stations by Presentation youth 7 p.m. April 7. www.presentationofmary.org.

St. Jerome — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m. April 7 at 380 Roselawn Ave. N. $9.50 one piece-meal, $11.50 two piece-meal and $13.50 three piece-meal.

Includes fried cod, French fries, coleslaw, baked beans, applesauce, dessert and beverage.

Additional fish $2 per piece. $5 pasta meal. Raffle.

Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m.

Soup supper, 6 p.m. March 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 380 Roselawn Ave. N. Free-will offering. www.stjerome-chruch.org.

Miesville St. Joseph — Corned beef and cabbage dinner, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. March 12 at 23955 Nicolai Ave. E., Hastings. $12 adults, $5 ages 6-12, free under 6.

Includes corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, homemade Irish soda bread, dessert, beverage and hot dogs for kids. Take-out available. Wine and beer extra. Silent auction. www.stjosephmiesville.com.

Minneapolis Annunciation — Fish fry, 5:30–7:30 p.m. April 7 at 509 W. 54th St. $9.50 adults, $8.50 seniors, $35 family, $7.50 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes deep-fried fish, coleslaw, baked potatoes, bread, cookies and beverages. Grilled cheese for kids. Pop available for purchase. www.annunciationmsp.org.

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Feast of St. Casimir & Oblates Anniversary Celebration Sunday, March 5 The Feast of St. Casimir & the Oblates’ 100th Anniversary Celebration with Archbishop Schwietz, OMI, is Sunday, March 5 at the Church of St. Casimir, 929 E. Jessamine Ave., St. Paul.

Polka Mass featuring Nate’s Old-Time Band at 9 a.m.

Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast (all-you-can-eat pancakes with scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes, sausage links, coffee, orange juice or milk)

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. in the New School Hall.

Breakfast prices: $8 adults, $5 kids (6-12), ages 5 and under are free, family rate $25.

For more info, call 651-774-0365

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Basilica of St. Mary — Ash Wednesday soup supper following 5:30 p.m. Mass March 1 at 1600 Hennepin Ave. in Teresa of Calcutta Hall. Free. www.mary.org.

Ave. N. (March 10, March 24, April 7). Free-will offering. Includes bread, beverages and dessert.

Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stbridgetnorthside.com.

Holy Cross — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1621 University Ave. NE. $10 ages 12 and older, $3 ages 3-11, free 2 and under.

Includes all-you-can eat fish, French fries or potato, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, beverages and dessert. Beer available for a donation. www.ourholycross.org.

St. Joan of Arc — Soup and bread supper, 5:30 p.m. March 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 4537 Third Ave. S. Free-will offering. www.stjoan.com.

Holy Name — Soup and bread supper, 6:30 p.m.

Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 3637 11 Ave. S. Free-will offering. Stations of the Cross. www.churchoftheholyname.org.

Our Lady of Lourdes — Fish fry, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

March 3, 17 and 31 at the Great Hall, 1 Lourdes Place. $10 adults, $5 children. Includes fried fish, French fries, coleslaw, coffee and lemonade.

Stations of the Cross at 5 p.m. www.ourladyoflourdesmn.com.

Our Lady of Peace — Fish fry, time TBD March 3 and 24 at 5426 12th Ave. S. Cost TBD. Soup and bread supper, time TBD Fridays during Lent except March 3 and 24. A variety of soups served. Beer extra. www.olpmn.org.

Our Lady of Victory — Soup supper, following 5:30 p.m. Mass Wednesdays during Lent except during Holy Week at 5155 Emerson Ave. N. Free-will offering. Includes bread, beverages and dessert.

St. Albert the Great — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m.

Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 2836 33rd Ave. S. $12 adults, $6 ages 6-12, free 5 and under.

Pay by check or cash only. Live music, bingo, raffles and themed baskets. www.saintalbertthegreat.org.

St. Bridget/St. Austin — Soup supper, 5:30 p.m.

Fridays during Lent at 3811 Emerson Ave. N. (March 3, March 17, March 31, April 14) and 4050 Upton

St. Thomas the Apostle — Soup supper, March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 2914 W. 44th St. Sold out. Call the parish at 612-922-0041. www.sta-mpls.org.

Minnetonka Immaculate Heart of Mary — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m.

March 3, 10 and 24 at 1350 Excelsior Blvd. $11 adults, $6 ages 12 and under. www.ihm-cc.org.

Montgomery Most Holy Redeemer — Fish fry, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4–7:30 p.m. March 3 at Montgomery American Legion, 102 Elm Ave. SW. $12 adults, $6 ages 5-10, free under 5. Includes baked and breaded cod, cheesy potatoes, green beans, coffee, bread, coleslaw and homemade bars. $6 cod fish sandwich with chips or fries available from 11 a.m.– 2 p.m.

Take-out available. www.hredeemerparish.org.

Mound Our Lady of the Lake — Shrimp dinner, 4:30–7 p.m.

March 3, 17, 24 and April 7 at 2385 Commerce Blvd. $10 adults, $6 ages 6-12, free 5 and under.

Includes shrimp, baked potato or French fries, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, roll, cookie and beverage. www.ourladyofthelake.com.

New Hope St. Joseph — Baked and fried fish, 5–8 p.m. March 17 at 8701 36th Ave. N. $8 adults, $4 children under 10. Includes baked fish, French fries, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, toast, coffee and lemonade.

Take-out available. www.stjosephparish.com.

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4A • The Catholic Spirit

New Prague St. Wenceslaus — Fish fry, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. and 4:30–7:30 p.m. March 10 at 215 Main St. E. $10 in advance, $13 at door. Includes coleslaw, rolls, cheesy potatoes, cookies and dessert. www.npcatholic.org.

Northfield St. Dominic — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. March 31 at O’Gara Hall, 104 Linden St. N. $13 adults, $7 ages 5-12, free under 5. Includes fried or baked cod, macaroni and cheese, scalloped and baked potatoes, full salad bar, vegetables, bread, dessert, coffee, water and orange drink. Served buffet-style.

Take-out available. www.churchofstdominic.org.

North St. Paul St. Peter Church — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m. March 1, 17, 24 and April 7 at 2620 N. Margaret St. $10 adults, $9 seniors, $3 ages 7-12, free 6 and under. Includes fish, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, vegetables, bread, applesauce and beverages. Soda extra. Music. www.churchofstpeternsp.org.

Norwood Young America Ascension — Fish fry, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. March 3 at 323 Reform St. N. $11. Take-out available. www.ascensionnya.org.

Oakdale Guardian Angels — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 10, 24 and April 7 at 8260 Fourth St. N. $13 adults, $11 seniors, $7 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Take-out available. Includes fish, red potatoes, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, green beans, dessert and beverage. Beer and wine for purchase. www.guardian-angels.org.

Transfiguration — Fish fry and fish tacos, 5–7 p.m.

March 3, 10, 17, 24 and April 7 at 6135 15th St. N.

$10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 ages 12 and under, $30 per household. Includes fried or baked fish along with fish tacos, coleslaw, grilled cheese, French fries, baked potatoes, lemonade, coffee and dessert. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.transfigurationmn.org.

bread, fish sandwich and green beans, personal cheese pizza and applesauce. $30 maximum family rate. Take-out available. www.shrmn.org.

Pine Island St. Michael — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 451 Fifth St. SW. $10 adults, $5 ages12 and under, $35 family. Includes fried or baked fish, roasted potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, rolls, dessert and beverages. Stations of the Cross at 7:30 p.m. www.stpaulstmichael.com.

Mary Queen of Peace — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 10, 24 and April 7 at Church Hall, St. Martin campus, 21304 Church Ave. $11 ages 14 and older, $6 ages 5-13, $2 ages 4 and under. Includes fried or baked fish, macaroni and cheese, baked potato, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner roll, cookie and beverage. $1 extra fish serving . www.mqpcatholic.org.

Prior Lake

Rosemount

St. Michael — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. March 3, 24 and 31 at 16280 Duluth Ave. SE. $12 adults, $10 seniors 65 and older, $6 ages 5-13, free 4 and under. Includes fried Alaskan pollock, potato wedges, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, green beans, homemade rolls, dessert and beverages.

To-go orders available. www.stmichael-pl.org.

St. Joseph — Soup supper, 6 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at 13900 Biscayne Ave. Free-will offering.

Includes three different kinds of soup, salad and bread. Speaker series from St. Joseph pastor and staff. Fish fry, 6 p.m. March 10, 24 and April 7 at 13900 Biscayne Ave. Free-will offering. Includes fried or baked cod, potato, vegetables, bread and dessert. Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. www.stjosephcommunity.org.

Red Wing St. Joseph — Soup supper, 5:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 426 Eighth St. Free. Stations of the Cross at 5 p.m. www.stjosephredwing.org.

Robbinsdale Sacred Heart — A variety of fish dinners, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 4087 W. Broadway in the school gym. $10 adults, $9 seniors 65 and older. Includes fish fillet, baked potato, green beans, coleslaw and garlic bread; $10 fish sandwich, spaghetti and coleslaw; $10 fish fillet, cup of soup, green beans and garlic bread; $9 large spaghetti and garlic bread; $5.50 bowl of soup and baguette. Children’s meals $5.25 ages 4-10, free 3 and under. Includes spaghetti and garlic

Rogers

Savage

St. John the Baptist — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 10 and April 7 at 4625 W. 125th St. Free-will offering.

Includes fried and baked fish, coleslaw, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, bread, dessert, water, milk and coffee. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stjohns-savage.org.

South St. Paul St. John Vianney — All-you-can-eat fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday in the Mother Teresa room at 789 17th Ave. N. $12 Adults, $10 seniors 62 and older, $5 ages 12 and under. Includes salad, green beans, baked potato or French fries, roll, beverages, desserts and specialty side dishes. Beer and wine available.

Stations of the Cross at 4 p.m. www.sjvssp.org.

Stillwater St. Michael and St. Mary — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m.

Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 611 Third St. S., Stillwater. $10 adults, $9 seniors, $5 children. Includes beer-battered cod, parsley buttered potatoes, coleslaw, green beans, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips for children. www.stmichaelstilwater.org and www.stmarystillwater.org.

St. Louis Park Holy Family — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 5900 W. Lake St. in Father Moorman Hall. $8 adult size, $4 kid size.

Includes macaroni and cheese, garlic cheddar biscuit, coleslaw or green beans. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.kofc3949.org.

St. Paul Holy Spirit — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m. March 3 and 31 at Howley Hall, 515 Albert St. S. $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 ages 5-12. Includes fried walleye and sides, beer or wine. Macaroni and cheese extra $3.

Soup and sandwich lunch following Stations of the Cross at 11 a.m. Fridays. $5. www.holy-spirit.org.

Nativity of Our Lord — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. March 3 and 31 at 1900 Wellesley Ave. $12 adults, $9

February 23, 2017

children, $40 family. Fried or baked fish, choice of potato, vegetable, coleslaw and cookie, with cheese sticks for kids. Drive-up window at the garage on Wellesley Avenue. www.nativitymen.org/fish-fry.

Our Lady of Guadalupe — Enchilada dinner, 11 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 401 Concord St. Large meal $10, small $6, one dozen $20. Includes cheese enchiladas, rice, beans, beverage and homemade dessert. Beer and wine served after 3 p.m. for extra charge. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. www.olgspchurch.com.

St. Mark — Soup supper, 5:30-7 p.m. March 3, 10, 17, 24 and April 7 at 1983 Dayton Ave. Free-will offering for soup suppers. St. Mark’s Catholic School fish fry 5–8 p.m. March 31. Adult plate: beer-battered cod, jojo fries, coleslaw and cookies.

Kid plate: macaroni and cheese with apple and cookies. Craft beer and wine available. $10 adult plate, $5 kid plate. Stations of the Cross at 7:30 p.m. www.saintmark-mn.org.

St. Mary — Dinners in the Spirit, following 5:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 261 Eighth St. E. Free-will offering. Includes soup and sandwiches with fruit and beverages. April 14 light lunch and movie following noon service and Stations of the Cross. www.stmarystpaul.weconnect.com.

St. Matthew — All-you-can-eat fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 510 Hall Ave. $11 adults, $10 seniors, $6 ages 5-12, free 4 and under with paid adult. Includes baked or fried fish, baked potato, vegetable, coleslaw, roll, coffee or milk, and dessert. Beer, wine and pop extra. Stations of the Cross following. www.st-matts.org.

St. Pascal Baylon — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at Brioschi Social Hall, 1757 Conway St. $12 ages 12 and over, $5 ages 6-11, free 5 and under. Includes fried or baked cod, coleslaw, steamed mixed vegetables, macaroni and cheese, au gratin potatoes or seasoned fries, and chocolate or vanilla pudding. Milk, bottled water and assorted pop extra. Raffle and baked good sale. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. www.stpascals.org.

Waconia St. Joseph — Fried or baked fish, 4–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 41 E. First St. $11 adults, $5 ages 5-12, free 6 and under. Includes fried fish, choice of potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, bun, cake, ice cream and beverage. Take-out available.

March 3 only: Winterblast — additional cost for bingo, super bingo, raffle, heads or tails, and beer. www.stjosephwaconia.org.

White Bear Lake St. Pius X — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at 3878 Highland Ave. $12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes fried or baked fish, baked potato, coleslaw pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, roll and drink. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day meal includes green beer for extra charge and Irish music. www.churchofstpiusx.org.

Woodbury St. Ambrose — Soup supper, 6:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 4125 Woodbury Drive. Free-will offering. Includes bread, salad, water, coffee and milk. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. www.saintambroseofwoodbury.org.

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

Start submitting your 2017 nominations today at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com/LeadingWithFaith or by calling 651-251-7709 for more information.

Parish planning 5B • Archbishop ‘grilled’ 11B • Preparing for Lent 13B February 23, 2017 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

movingOUT movingFORWARD

&

Suddath movers carry furniture Feb. 16 from the chancery on Summit Avenue in St. Paul to a van for delivery to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ new headquarters in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood on the east side of St. Paul. In 2016, the archdiocese sold its three longtime office buildings and the archbishop’s residence on Cathedral Hill to help compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse as part of its Chapter 11 Reorganization. The central corporation is now leasing the former 3M headquarters. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

ALSO inside

Global grass-roots work

Back to basics

Church architect

Path of discernment

In letter to assembly, Pope Francis encourages people to confront terror with love in interest of peace.

— Page 7B

Parishes across the archdiocese finding new ways to catechize adults.

Exhibition at the University of St. Thomas showcases work of E. L. Masqueray, Cathedral and Basilica mastermind.

— Page 10B

At retreat, young women hear from religious sisters, bishop as they process their vocational calling.

— Page 12B

— Pages 8B-9B

2B • The Catholic Spirit

PAGE TWO

February 23, 2017 OVERHEARD

in PICTURES

“Prayer is powerful. Prayer defeats evil.

Prayer brings peace.”

Pope Francis during an evening parish Mass in the Diocese of Rome Feb. 19 at which he encouraged the congregation to pray for their enemies in order to grow in holiness.

NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit

Genocide survivor and priest to offer healing Masses Father Ubald Rugirangoga will celebrate healing Masses and offer prayers of healing at three parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and one in the Diocese of St. Cloud Feb. 23-28. His schedule includes: 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, 3 p.m. Feb. 26 at St. Raphael in Crystal, 7 p.m. Feb 27 at St. Michael in St. Cloud and 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at St. Anne in Hamel. Father Rugirangoga lost 45,000 parishioners and more than 80 family members during the 1994 genocide. For more information, contact Chris Ciccone at christineciccone@yahoo.com.

Annulment questions answered Ash Wednesday DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS A demonstrator yells into a loudspeaker during a “Day Without Immigrants” protest Feb. 16 in Washington. The nationwide protest called for immigrants, whether naturalized citizens or undocumented, to stay home from work or school, close their businesses and abstain from shopping. A march was also held in St. Paul. To read about parishioners of Incarnation in Minneapolis who participated in the day, visit www.thecatholicspirit.com. CNS/Aaron P. Bernstein, Reuters

The archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal will confidentially answer questions about the annulment process from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 1 in the main entrance area of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. At least one Spanish-speaking tribunal staff member will be available. For more information, contact Father Michael Johnson, judicial vicar, at 651-291-4466.

40 Days for Life returns to St. Paul 40 Days for Life begins March 1 at Planned Parenthood, 671 Vandalia St. in St. Paul. The prayer vigil to end abortion will run 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through April 9. To sign up, contact Brian Walker at brian.walker@plam.org.

St. Agnes’ Lent lecture series on ‘recapturing culture’ St. Agnes in St. Paul will host “Reclaiming Catholic Culture,” a Friday lecture series on how Catholics can “recapture the arenas of art and architecture, cinema, work, food and farming, and masculinity and femininity,” according to promotional materials. The talks will be March 3, 10, 17, 23, 31 and April 7 in Schuler Hall at 535 Thomas Ave. W. following 7 p.m. Stations of the Cross. For more information, visit www.churchofsaintagnes.org/events.

Priest to lead Lenten Ignatian retreat at UST Father Timothy Gallagher, a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, will lead an Ignatian retreat at the University of St. Thomas 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

March 4-5 in the Wolfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Called “Discerning the Will of God,” the retreat is co-sponsored by St. Thomas’ Office for Spirituality and Catholic Studies’ master of arts program. Cost is $15 for students; $40 for alumni, faculty and staff; and $50 for general public. For more information, contact Sarah Farnes at 651-962-6488 or skfarnes@stthomas.edu.

Local Scripture scholar to lead Lenten Bible study ICE CREAM BREAKFAST From left, third-graders Zohra Maya and Isabella Courtney of St. Jerome School in Maplewood eat ice cream at the start of the school day Feb. 17 during a school-wide event to raise awareness of pediatric cancer. Looking on is classmate Izzy Votel. Courtesy St. Jerome School

Father John Echert will lead a Lenten Bible study 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 8, 15, 22, 29 and April 5 and 12 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Father Echert, pastor of Holy Trinity in South St. Paul, serves as a Scripture expert for EWTN.com. Register at events.archspm.org/lenten-bible-study.

Archdiocesan Men’s Conference March 18 WHAT’S NEW on social media The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has made its new home at 777 Forest St., St. Paul, the former headquarters of 3M. See a gallery of photos at www.instagram.com/thecatholicspirit.

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 22 — No. 4 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor

The archdiocesan Men’s Conference will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 18 at the University of St. Thomas’ Anderson Fieldhouse, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Hosted by the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, the event includes breakfast, Mass, keynote speaker Archbishop Bernard Hebda, a eucharistic procession with the archbishop and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, and opportunities for adoration and confession. Cost is $25, $10 students. Register at events.archspm.org/mens-conference-2017.

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February 23, 2017

FROM THE MODERATOR OF THE CURIA

The Catholic Spirit • 3B

This Lent, give up taking the season too lightly

T

he “lite” has come into the world. We prayers that I may be lighter with my neighbor have lite music on lite FM, lite fermented and then lighten up by rewarding myself with a beverages, lite microwave dinners, lite trip to the refrigerator to get a lite yogurt as part salad dressings and lite salt. Even the word of my Lent-lite fast. “light” is lighter — it is spelled “L-I-T-E”.

Ah, Lent-lite. I could make this Lenten season When we see food advertised as “lite,” it so easy by giving up chocolate-covered generally means that it is not so heavy; not so rutabagas, say an extra prayer here and there, filling; not so full of calories, cholesterol and and toss a few extra coins into some box for other weighty stuff. But, because they are some good cause. But is that what is meant by a I could make this Lenten season so season of fasting, almsgiving and prayer? “lite,” they are supposed to be better for us.

Perhaps all this hype about “lite” has us Did our Lord go into the desert of easy by giving up chocolatebelieving that we are to also have a “Lent- lite” temptations to simply suffer indigestion from — you know, get rid of all that heavy stuff. hunger, daydream about riches and power, and covered rutabagas, say an extra Lent used to be so heavy — so purple, so then cross his fingers in a presumptive wish filled with all those extra times to go to church that if anything heavy happened, angels would prayer here and there, and toss a with heavy kneeling and heavy praying. The save him anyway? homilies during Lent used to be so heavy, too few extra coins into some box for A reflective look at the temptations of Jesus — all that stuff about our sins, the sins of the in the desert reveals that our Lenten season is world, our need to go to confession, our need some good cause. But is that what no lite romp down some well-worn path of for repentance and conversion, habit. If all we do is give up candy, then our our need for God. is meant by a season of fasting, Lenten season will bring us to a basket of But “Lent-lite” is different. chocolate rabbits and jelly beans, delighting almsgiving and prayer?

When I do Lent-lite, I use mauve only our sweet tooth. so that it’s not so heavy. I like lite There is time before the Lenten season begins homilies about God’s love and a to prepare for a season where our fasting is bit of forgiveness for those few done with purpose, our almsgiving done with little sins I have. I give up the heavy foods like chocolate intentional sacrifice, and our prayers made more fervent as the cross of and meat, but keep the inner journey lite. I examine those Good Friday looms large, casting its shadow on our own mortality. things that need lite change, but I dare not get too heavy As our catechumens and candidates prepare in earnest for the about it. After all, most of my problems aren’t my own fault sacraments of initiation, their repentance and conversion is an example anyway. for all of us who seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and a blessed Lent-lite means that I get to think about the sin of the season of spiritual growth as disciples. A real Lent will bring us to real world, but I don’t want to do anything heavy like see my Easter joy. own personal responsibility in any of it. Lent-lite is a time to think about how the big, bad, wicked world out there We are invited to not accidentally do Lent-lite. It is good to take a really needs to change — so I better be good to myself and moment or two and make sure that we have not mistakenly gone on a only think about little lite things so that my life is lighter. spiritual diet. It is a time to honestly reflect on our spiritual needs before ONLY JESUS Lent-lite means that I get to do lite-reflection — look at a the Lenten season begins so that we do not take God’s life-giving offer ... too lightly.

Father Charles Lachowitzer few lite things in my life when I get time, say a few lite-

Época de Cuaresma, no la viva tan a la ligera

L

o “ligero” ha llegado al mundo. Tenemos música ligera en la frecuencia FM de la radio, tenemos bebidas fermentadas ligeras, cenas ligeras para calentar en el horno microondas, tenemos aderezos ligeros para las ensaladas y hasta sal ligera. Aún la palabra “ligera” es ligera — se pronuncia “L-I-G-E-R-A.” Cuando vemos los anuncios de comida “ligera” generalmente quiere decir que lo que se anuncia no es muy pesado, que no llena demasiado, que no tiene tantas calorías, ni colesterol ni otras cosas muy pesadas. Pero, porque son “ligeras” ¿se supone que son mejores para nosotros?

Tal vez toda esta exageración publicitaria sobre cosas “ligeras” nos está haciendo creer que también hay que tener una “Cuaresma ligera” — usted sabe, deshacernos de todo aquello que es pesado.

La cuaresma solía se pesada. Todo con color tan purpura, lleno de tiempo extra para ir a la iglesia, poniéndonos pesadamente de rodillas y rezando pesadamente. Las homilías durante la Cuaresma solían ser muy pesadas –toda esas cosas sobre nuestros pecados, los pecados del mundo, que necesitamos confesión, sobre nuestra necesidad de arrepentimiento y conversión, sobre nuestra necesidad de Dios.

Pero “La Cuaresma Ligera” es diferente. Cuando observo la Cuaresma ligera, yo me pongo algo de color púrpura ligero, para que no sea tan pesado. Me gustan las homilías ligeras sobre el amor de Dios, un poco de perdón por esos pocos pecados que cometo. Me abstengo de comer pesado como el chocolate y la carne, pero mantengo ligera mi experiencia spiritual. Examino los cambios ligeros que necesito hacer, pero no voy mucho más a fondo, ya que después de todo la mayoría de mis problemas no son mi culpa.

La Cuaresma ligera significa que pienso en el pecado del mundo, pero no quiero hacer nada más pesado, ni ver que mi propia responsabilidad es parte de ese pecado. La Cuaresma ligera es el momento para pensar sobre el gran

mundo, tan malo y malvado que necesita cambiar. ... Así que es mejor ser bueno conmigo mismo y sólo pensar las cosas a la ligera para que mi vida sea menos pesada y más ligera.

La Cuaresma ligera significa que reflexiono a la ligera — que examino unas cuantas cosas ligeras en mi vida cuando tengo el tiempo, rezo a la ligera y soy ligero con mi prójimo; y a ligera voy yendo al refrigerador para premiarme con un yogurt ligero como parte de mi ayuno ligero.

Ah, la cuaresma ligera. Puedo hacer que esta época de Cuaresma sea muy fácil, absteniéndome de comer nabos cubiertos de chocolate, decir una oración más por aquí y por allá y dejar unos cuantos centavos de limosna para alguna causa buena. ¿Pero en realidad es ése el significado de la época de ayuno, de limosna y de oración? ¿Nuestro Señor fue al desierto de la tentación para simplemente sufrir de indigestión por el hambre, fue a soñar con riquezas y poder; y de allí curzó los dedos con un supuesto deseo de que si algo muy duro sucede, de todos modos los ángeles lo salvarían?

Una mirada reflexiva de las tentaciones al Señor Jesús en el desierto, revelan que nuestra época de Cuaresma no es un baile o diversión a la ligera por el camino de nuestros hábitos de siempre. Si todo lo que hacemos es abstenernos del comer golosinas, entonces lo que nuestra época de Cuaresma nos traerá es una canasta con chocolates, conejitos y frijolitos confitados para satisfacer nuestra gulosidad.

Todavía hay tiempo antes de que comience la época de Cuaresma para prepararnos para una época en que nuestro ayuno sea con propósito, para que la limosna que damos sea con intensión de sacrificio, para que nuestras oraciones sean mas fervientes y que la cruz del Viernes Santo sea inminente al proyectar la sombra de nuestra propia mortalidad.

A la vez que nuestros catecúmenos y candidatos se preparan con ansia para los Sacramentos de Iniciación; su

arrepentimiento y conversión son un ejemplo para todos nosotros que estamos en la búsqueda de una relación mas profunda con Nuestro Señor Jesucristo; y que estamos en búsqueda de una época bendita de crecimiento espiritual como discípulos de Dios. Una Cuaresma verdadera que nos trae la alegría y el gozo real de la Resurrección.

Estamos invitados a no tener accidentalmente una Cuaresma ligera. Es bueno tomar un momento o dos para asegurarnos de que no nos hemos puesto accidentalmente bajo una dieta spiritual. Éste es el momento de reflexionar honestamente sobre nuestras necesidades espirituales antes de que comience la época de Cuaresma para que no tomemos muy a la ligera ... el ofrecimiento de la fuente vida eterna de Dios.

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis: Effective February 12, 2017 Reverend Peter Richards, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Albert in Albertville. This is in addition to his current appointment as pastor of the Church of Saint Michael in Saint Michael. Father Richards previously served as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Effective February 28, 2017 Reverend Michael Daly, appointed parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis. This is a transfer from his current assignment as parochial vicar of the Parish of Saints Joachim and Anne in Shakopee.

4B • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

February 23, 2017

SLICEof LIFE

Swing dance under the dome Jonathan Frenz of Our Lady of Peace in Minneapolis takes a turn on the dance floor with Maureen Reynolds of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis during a Valentine’s Swing Dance at the Cathedral of St. Paul Feb. 11.

There were hearts aplenty in the basement of the Cathedral for the event, which was sponsored by Cathedral Young Adults. People of all ages, including children, turned out for the dance, which featured lessons at the beginning. The group also hosts dances in the spring and fall. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit

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Your Church.

Your stories.

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February 23, 2017

LOCAL

Committee addressing unresolved parish planning recommendations

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

The 2010 planning process was the first time the whole archdiocese had been examined strategically.

The final plan affected more than 40 percent of the Seven years after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and parishes. In the past seven years, the number of Minneapolis began implementing the mandates of a parishes was reduced from 213 to 187 through mergers. comprehensive strategic planning process, a new Other parishes clustered or began to share resources. committee is working to reassess parts that never took The 2010 planning process considered projections for effect. It plans to meet with pastors and leaders of priest availability, changing demographics, geography, parishes considering merging or clustering, and changing ministry expectations and parish finances. A recommend solutions to Archbishop Bernard Hebda variety of factors, however, led to some mandates not and his consultative councils. coming to fruition.

Called the Strategic Plan Implementation Group, or “Father Lachowitzer and SPIG, the committee is under the Archbishop Hebda are leadership of Marilou Eldred, absolutely committed to retired president of the Catholic bringing this to some closure,” Community Foundation and St. Eldred said.

Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Archbishop Hebda said it’s “This is a time for us Indiana, who served on the 2010 important for archdiocesan strategic planning task force. to hear the facts of the leaders to respond to parishes Most of the committee’s that request help, but that he members are lay Catholics who situation from parish waited until he had “a better are geographically and racially feel for the archdiocese” before diverse and have different areas leaders.” moving forward with parish of expertise, including finance, planning. parish leadership, parish Marilou Eldred “We have a few parishes who planning and business. have been asking for assistance A parishioner of Assumption in or direction for the future, and I St. Paul, Eldred said that the didn’t feel that it would be just committee is looking at about 20 to wait any longer in addressing parishes that the 2010 process their needs,” he said, adding that the goal is to help identified for clustering, merging or another “our parishes to be dynamic evangelizing communities relationship with a different parish. In some cases, focused on the Church’s perennial mission.” pastors have asked archdiocesan leadership to reIt’s also important for the planning processes to get address their parishes’ situations and provide direction. ahead of potential pastoral or financial crises, Father “We’re not starting over; we’re building on what was Lachowitzer said. “Through good consultations done before,” she said. between pastor, parish leadership and parishioners, The committee plans to meet with parishes’ pastors, some of the stress that comes with clusters and mergers trustees, finance councils and pastoral councils, and is abated, and the parishioners feel part of the process,” listen to their challenges and ideas, and review essential he said. information before preparing recommendations. It is Catholics’ emotional resistance to change can be beginning with parishes with the most urgent among the greatest roadblocks to achieving successful situations, in which pastors or leaders have asked parish transitions, Eldred said. archdiocesan leadership for help.

“It’s parishioners’ strong attachment to their parish “We’re there mainly to listen, and we’re going to that may go back many generations of families,” she make that very clear from the outset,” Eldred said of said. “It may be difficult to look beyond that to see how the parish meetings that will help inform the parishioners from parish X could become a part of recommendations. “This is a time for us to hear the parish Y, or even cluster with parish Y, not to mention facts of the situation from parish leaders.” merge.”

Committee members include John Allgaier of Holy While the 2010 process was confidential, Eldred said Name of Jesus, Medina; Judy Berger of St. Genevieve, the current process is going to “be as transparent as it Centerville; Dorice Law of Ascension, Minneapolis; can be” without harming the deliberation process.

Salvador Suarez Medina of St. Francis de Sales, Archbishop Hebda wants to receive short-term and St. Paul; Deacon Steve Maier, archdiocesan director of long-term recommendations as the committee reaches parish and clergy services; Deacon George Nugent of them and is expected to announce changes as he All Saints, Lakeville; and Philip Paquette of St. Bernard, determines them, rather than reveal all of the parish St. Paul. changes on a single weekend, as was the case in 2010.

“The goal of each plan is to best serve the people in SPIG was to begin its parish work Feb. 21 in a living out their Catholic faith while at the same time meeting with leaders of Our Lady of Lourdes and exercising prudent stewardship with available and St. Boniface in northeast Minneapolis. The 2010 plan limited resources,” said Father Charles Lachowitzer, the slated St. Boniface to cluster with All Saints in archdiocese’s vicar general and moderator of the curia.

Minneapolis, but that changed when the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter began serving All Saints in 2013.

Completing the plan By 2015, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Boniface were working toward a merger. Father Daniel Griffith, pastor Financial instability, aging parish buildings, a of Our Lady of Lourdes and parochial administrator of shortage of priests available for ministry and changing St. Boniface, asked the archdiocese to reassess their demographics are among the factors driving SPIG’s situation. work, Eldred said.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is not “Our goal is to hear from the parish leaders about unique in prioritizing strategic planning, Eldred said, how they are perceiving the state of things at their adding, “I think this is just a regular ‘modus operandi’” parish, considering the financial situation, the Mass attendance, the geographic proximity to other parishes, in most dioceses.

She advises parishes that are flagged for change to [and] the condition of buildings and their building find a way to celebrate the transition, especially if there usage,” she said.

In 2014-2015, Eldred worked with Father John Bauer, are feelings of loss.

“As you anticipate a major change in the parish, think rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, and a about how you’re going to bring closure to what you’re 10-person committee to follow up on the 2010 plan’s leaving or giving up, and how you’re going to celebrate progress and make recommendations. They submitted the new opportunity that this presents,” she said. a 19-page report to Bishop Lee Piché in June 2015 just Eldred advises Catholics who are wondering if their days before he and Archbishop John Nienstedt parish may be affected to review the 2010 strategic resigned. Their report was tabled as the archdiocese plan, available at www.thecatholicspirit.com. transitioned leadership.

The Catholic Spirit • 5B in BRIEF MINNEAPOLIS

Bankruptcy judge appoints future claims representative In a move that further enhances the chances a $14 million settlement secured by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis with Catholic Mutual Insurance will become available to victims, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kressel approved a future claim representative in the archdiocese’s ongoing Chapter 11 Reorganization case at a Feb. 9 hearing. The Catholic Mutual settlement is part of an estimated $155 million settlement fund put together by the archdiocese. Catholic Mutual was granted the motion to have retired Judge Michael Hogan from Oregon be responsible for representing people entitled to bring claims, after Reorganization, against the archdiocese for alleged abuse occurring before confirmation of a plan of Reorganization. There was no opposition to the motion. The settlement is part of the estimated $155 million settlement fund that will become available to victims only if the archdiocese’s proposed plan of Reorganization is accepted by sexual abuse claimants or confirmed by the court.

SAN FELIX, VENEZUELA

Archdiocesan priest temporarily leading Venezuelan diocese Father Greg Schaffer, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and longtime pastor of the archdiocese’s mission parish in San Felix, is temporarily leading the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana as it awaits Pope Francis’ appointment of a new bishop. The diocese’s previous bishop was named to another Venezuelan diocese in October 2016. Father Schaffer has served as the diocese’s vicar general since July 2016. The Diocese of Ciudad Guayana covers 20,701 square miles and serves about 850,000 Catholics, the same number that live in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

ST. PAUL

First Latina Knights auxiliary begins at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seven women were installed as officers of the Knights of Columbus Women’s Auxiliary during Mass Feb. 10 at Our Lady of Guadalupe. The group is the first Latina Knights of Columbus Women’s Auxiliary in Minnesota. The parish’s Knights of Columbus council began in 2013; it’s also the first Spanish-speaking council in Minnesota. The auxiliary, typically made up of wives and daughters of Knights of Columbus, assists the council in its activities and also conducts its own activities.

Catholic comedian Gaffigan to take State Fair main stage Comedian Jim Gaffigan, a Catholic who uses his faith tastefully in his routines, will perform at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand 8 p.m. Aug. 26. He is known for his cleanstyle comedy, TV show and books, with a focus on fatherhood, marriage and food. He performed for Pope Francis during the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015. Gaffigan and his wife, Jeannie, have five children and live in New York. Tickets range from Jim $50-60 and go on sale Feb. 24 GAFFIGAN at www.etix.com.​

6B • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

February 23, 2017

Solidarity, education draws for Catholics at the Capitol

Short web survey gives pastors insight into strengths, weaknesses

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

In the past, Lucy Johnson might have waffled about attending the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s Catholics at the Capitol event March 9, but not now.

“It’s a different year,” said Johnson, 59, a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul and a former Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women president.

She wants to accompany a like-minded group with the potential to make a big impact, she said. She liked the idea of the local Women’s March in St. Paul Jan. 21, but she did not attend because she felt her pro-life beliefs were not welcome.

The energy around the march, however, made her wish she could join in something similar, but in the context of her Catholic faith. She hopes to find it in Catholics at the Capitol.

Held for the first time, Catholics at the Capitol includes both education and advocacy, with a focus on key issues gaining traction in the State Legislature: physician-assisted suicide, poverty relief for families and school choice. The 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. event includes a morning program at the St. Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul with prominent Catholic speakers, and an afternoon opportunity for Catholics to apply what they learned in meetings with state lawmakers.

Participants aren’t going to the Capitol as a lobbying group, but rather as individual citizens representing their legislative districts, said Father John Ubel, rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

“I don’t see this as an arm of the Church as much as an initiative in which lay people become well informed about a variety of issues,” he said. “This gives an opportunity to put a name and face together for us to be seen, and our hope ... is that the individual legislators will clearly meet with their constituents whether or not they’re in agreement with issues that people bring forward.”

Father Ubel plans to attend and has encouraged his parishioners to go and represent their districts.

Rosie Huray, who lives in Ham Lake, also noted that distinction. She will represent state District 31B, which includes her city but not her parish, St. John the Baptist in New Brighton. She recognized that Catholics as a whole need to improve their civic engagement

after working in 2012 for an ultimately unsuccessful push to defend Minnesota’s legal definition of marriage.

“We were not instrumental [enough] in getting our message out about why we believe that marriage was the union of one man and one woman,” she said.

She hopes Catholics at the Capitol will give Catholics the tools to examine public policy from a Catholic perspective and to articulate how those positions aren’t just for Catholics, but for the common good.

Education is a big draw for many Catholics planning to attend, including Beth Wollerman, a parishioner of Holy Childhood in St. Paul. As her parish’s pro-life chairwoman, she has dedicated many years to educating women about abortion.

“I’m real thrilled about it,” Wollerman said. “I think that our Legislature has to know the pro-life issues, which I think probably many of them do. But, I think it’s a wonderful way of us getting to know our legislators up [close] and personally.”

With Catholics at the Capitol, MCC has extended a particular invitation to young adults by waiving the $25 registration fee for ages 22 and younger. Susanna Bolle, a millennial who works in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, said the event is attractive.

“I see the importance of public advocacy, and I think it is especially important for young people to go and speak out on the issues that matter to us,” she said.

“Oftentimes, millennials fall into complacency and comfortability.”

The more Johnson learns about the Church, the more she appreciates the wisdom behind its social teaching, she said.

“We are a Church that has social justice values.

We’re a Church that speaks out against this immigration ban. … We’re also very pro-life, so sometimes we’re left out of the [wider political] conversation,” she said. “I think it’s important to stand up and demonstrate what you believe.”

For more information, visit www.catholicsatthecapitol.org.

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In 15 minutes or less, parishioners can give their pastors a comprehensive look at their ministry’s health.

With the work of Father Mike Tix and five other pastors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the archdiocese now has a web survey for pastors to get a “snapshot” of their parish. After a conversation between Father Tix and Deacon Rip Riordan about the idea, Father Tix gathered a development and pilot group of pastors to form the survey in 2016.

“I think that pastors want to do the best job that they can in serving the people that they’re blessed to serve,” said Father Tix, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage.

“And this gives a good snapshot of how that’s [going] for them.”

Deacon Riordan, who serves as director of Parish and Clergy Services at the chancery, said his office “had inquiries from pastors recently for a means to gather feedback from the parishioners.”

“Everyone wants and needs feedback on many areas, beginning with the question: Are you connecting with others?” Deacon Riordan said.

The team that created the survey included pastors with a variety of experience, parish sizes and parish demographics. They included Father Michael Byron of St. Pascal Baylon in St. Paul, Father Paul Feela of Lumen Christi in St. Paul, Father David Hennen of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings, Father Nathan Laliberte of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano and Father Ben Little of St. Michael in Farmington. Father John Bauer, rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, also served on the team.

“I just thought it was a great collaborative effort to try to make sure that all of the points and questions that were proposed to a parish would in the end, end up helping the priest,” Father Laliberte said.

The survey has 39 multiple choice questions and fields for comments. Topics include communication, leadership, administration, homilies, liturgies, pastoral care, community building, stewardship and vocations.

Father Hennen found the survey comments — all 35 pages worth — particularly helpful.

“A lot of people wrote comments,” he said. “They would show me areas where maybe I could grow or where I was not doing as well.”

February 23, 2017

U.S. & WORLD

Pope to grass-roots groups: ‘No people is criminal, and no religion is terrorist’

There is so much more online!

Full calendar of events Catholic Hotdish blog Photos and videos Search the archives www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

in BRIEF KATY, Texas

Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade dies Norma McCorvey, who was the Jane Roe in the Roe v.

Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all U.S. states in 1973, died Feb. 18 of heart failure at an assisted living facility. She was 69.

McCorvey never had an abortion, despite being the plaintiff in the case. She had three children and eventually became a pro-life advocate who pushed to overturn the Roe v. Wade court ruling. She called her role in the case the biggest mistake of her life.

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service Pope Francis congratulated more than 600 representatives of grass-roots organizations for responding with mercy to society’s hurting people during the opening of the four-day U.S. regional World Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto, California.

In a letter to the assembly Feb. 16 read alternately in English and in Spanish, the pope said the work of the organizations and the people involved “make your communities thrive.”

Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, read the pope’s message in English. The letter encouraged wide-scale community organizing because it achieves social justice.

The pope expressed hope that “such constructive energy would spread to all dioceses because it builds bridges between peoples and individuals. These are bridges that can overcome the walls of exclusion, indifference, racism and intolerance.”

The message earned applause at points throughout its delivery, especially when the pope reiterated that “no people is criminal, and no religion is terrorist” and as he encouraged people to “defend creation” in the face of “disturbing warming of the climatic system.”

“Christian terrorism does not exist, Jewish terrorism does not exist and Muslim terrorism does not exist.

They do not exist. No people is criminal or drugtrafficking or violent,” he said.

He encouraged people to confront terror with love in the interest of peace.

Pope Francis’ interest in promoting the work of grass-roots organizations can be traced to his time as cardinal in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he often visited priest friends, struggling families and low-paid workers in poor neighborhoods spread across the city.

Since 2014, three international World Meetings of Popular Movements have been held.

The pope’s letter also cited the biblical good Samaritan as an example of someone who responded with mercy to a man, robbed and beaten, in dire need of help when others chose to ignore him. He said Jesus entrusts those who are afflicted in body and spirit to the Catholic Church along with “the Christian community, people of compassion and solidarity, and social organizations.”

The work of grass-roots groups coming together is vital to helping people overcome social injuries brought on by an “economic system that has the god of money at its center,” the pope’s letter said.

“Globalized society frequently looks the other way with the pretense of innocence,” the pope wrote.

“Under the guise of what is politically correct or

The Catholic Spirit • 7B

VATICAN CITY

Fatima visionary’s cause advances Attendees cheer a statement about justice for immigrants Feb. 16 during the opening program of the U.S. regional World Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto, California.

CNS/Dennis Sadowski ideologically fashionable, one looks at those who suffer without touching them. But they are televised live; they are talked about in euphemisms and with apparent tolerance, but nothing is done systematically to heal the social wounds or to confront the structures that leave so many brothers and sisters by the wayside. This hypocritical attitude, so different from that of the Samaritan, manifests an absence of true commitment to humanity.”

Jesus encouraged people not to “classify others in order to see who is a neighbor and who is not,” Pope Francis continued. “You can become neighbor to whomever you meet in need and you will do so if you have compassion in your heart. That is to say, if you have that capacity to suffer with someone else, you must become a Samaritan.”

Topics related to housing, labor, land and the environment, migration and racism were on the agenda for the meeting sponsored by the dicastery, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the PICO National Network of faith-based organizing groups.

In comments after reading the pope’s letter, Cardinal Turkson commented that the topics were chosen months before the outcome of the U.S. election for president in November. Without mentioning the name of President Donald Trump, he said the gathering was not meant to criticize any particular office holder “and the fact that things happened the way they happened is just a coincidence.”

“Pope Francis wants us to recognize the structures that create exclusion in society,” the cardinal explained.

The pope also wants people to understand that “we are the protagonists of change ... that we are actors in this. We are not simply passive objects waiting for things to happen to us.”

The Diocese of Coimbra, Portugal, concluded its phase of the sainthood cause of Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the three children who saw Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. Bishop Virgilio Antunes of Coimbra formally closed the local phase of investigation into her life and holiness Feb. 13 in the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Coimbra, where she resided until her death in 2005 at age 97. The ceremony included the sealing of 15,000 pages of evidence and witness testimonies detailing the life of Sister Lucia. The documents sealed at the ceremony were to be shipped to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes at the Vatican.

WASHINGTON

Priest offers to swap U.S. citizenship A Vietnamese-born Salesian priest has offered to President Donald Trump that he would trade his own U.S. citizenship to allow into the U.S. someone from one of the countries Trump listed in his Jan. 27 travel ban. Father Chuong Hoai Nguyen, a Salesian of Don Bosco who is serving in California, came to the United States as one of the Vietnamese “boat people” following the 1975 collapse of South Vietnam. His citizenship offer came in an open letter to Trump Jan. 27, the same day the president issued an executive order that aimed to suspend the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days and ban entry of all citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. Father Nguyen said he has heard nothing from the White House.

Novak, noted theologian, dies at 83 Michael Novak, a Catholic philosopher, theologian and author who was highly regarded for his religious scholarship and intellectual independence, died Feb. 17 at his home. He was 83. His daughter, Jana Novak, told The Washington Post the cause of death was complications from colon cancer. In 1958 and 1959, Novak studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and had lectured there several times prior to last year’s appointment as a faculty member.

— Catholic News Service

8B • The Catholic Spirit

B

Three parishes take fresh approach to adult faith formation

By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit

B

rad Parent, 27, doesn’t usually talk during Mass, but one Sunday he spent much of the liturgy whispering to a friend. It wasn’t a conversation. The friend was searching for that something the world cannot give, and his search had led him to St. Mark in St. Paul with his Catholic friend. Parent, an active parishioner and well-catechized Catholic, wanted to make sure his friend understood what was going on. But after Parent had passed on all the knowledge he had, he realized there was still so much he didn’t know.

That real-life scenario could take place in any parish on any given Sunday. To meet the needs of adults in all stages of faith, three parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are experimenting with new ways of delivering adult catechesis.

‘The Mass Explained’ All Massgoers need a reason to attend, said Brother David Hottinger, a member of the Pro Ecclesia Sancta community that serves St. Mark and a seminarian at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Understanding the meaning and reason behind the hourlong chain of rites and prayers helps people have a better “why” to motivate their commitment to weekly Mass attendance.

This can either reinforce an already formed habit or help people make Sunday Mass a regular part of their life.

“Our experience is that people want to know why we do this,” Brother David said. “The Mass gives you a sense of the meaning, but there is a mystery there. They can see there is something going on here that is more than meets the eye.”

Parent’s experience with his friend dovetailed with Brother David’s observation. It also inspired him in his work on the planning committee of St. Mark’s young adult ministry, and he proposed that the parish offer a teaching Mass.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal allows for timely explanations during Mass, and a teaching Mass — a valid Mass with interjections of catechetical commentary — exploits the full potential of the instruction. Only the eucharistic prayer may not be interrupted. At St. Mark, a teaching Mass has been part of the preparation for children making their first Communion, but “The Mass Explained,” as the event was titled, was the first time the parish offered it to adults.

Parent and the planning committee prepared by taking a survey about what young adults wanted to know about the Mass. Brother David then wrote commentary based on the wide variety of survey responses. People are curious about the Mass, he noted, since many of the rites were formulated long ago. While not ignoring interesting details, he kept the focus on the overarching mystery.

A lay minister and Father Alvaro Perez, a Pro Ecclesia Sancta priest who presided at the Mass, read the commentary at appropriate times.

“Before Mass we had the prompter say what the Mass is — the spiritual sacrifice of Christ, the redemption applied to our own lives — and how important that is, and how we have to take advantage of that for ourselves and others,” Brother David said.

“The goal was to help people enter more deeply and to know the mystery contained.”

The teaching also emphasized the importance of the offertory as a moment to bring all of one’s intentions and concerns onto the altar, not only a time for song. The event also took participants into aspects of the Mass they don’t usually get to see. Father Perez invited everyone into the sacristy while he vested, prayed aloud the prayers associated with each vestment, and explained their symbolism and history.

Held Dec. 15, the mid-week event attracted about 30 people, despite cold weather and Christmas preparations. It was geared toward young adults, but a few older adults and Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults candidates also participated. A 30-minute Q-and-A period in the church followed the Mass. Afterward, the group gathered for refreshments in the parish hall, where the questions continued.

“Father [Perez] was surrounded by people and being peppered

with questions. I got the impression we really only scratched the surface of what people wanted to know,” Brother David said.

Besides hitting an area of deep interest, Brother David attributes the evening’s success to the interactive, participatory format.

“Comparing it to a standard event like a talk with a social, it had something people were familiar with and could be active in.

It wasn’t being talked to for 40 minutes,” he said.

In-depth formation On the rural edge of the archdiocese, Father Nate Meyers is meeting another need and challenge: in-depth faith formation in a practical location. Many of his parishioners at St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo were interested in the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institutes’ two-year program, but the nearest cohort location was a 45-minute drive.

“I thought we should offer something further west to meet that need,” he said.

So Father Meyers created his own program. He calls it CREED: Catholic Religious Education Engaging Discipleship. It incorporates many of the same principles as the Catechetical Institute, but not wanting to compete with the CI, Father Meyers’

program has its own characte four sections of the Catechism Meyers based CREED on anot Over the course of two year semesters of 10 classes — he p Church’s scriptural theology, theology and moral theology consulting with other priests adding creative names for the Topics are both fundament on Scripture, for instance, inc Deuterocanonical books and Bibles differ slightly. Other to formation of Europe into Chr the family, just war theory an end times and afterlife.

Father Meyers wants to imb understanding that the Chur message about humanity’s pr “There is a need for people consistency of Catholic teach seem like one voice among m

Back

to basics

February 23, 2017 • 9B

LEFT Father Nate Meyers, pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, presents his CREED program (Catholic Religious Education Engaging Discipleship) Feb. 2 using a curriculum he wrote.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit BELOW LEFT Laura Schumacher of St. Francis Xavier engages in discussion with other attendees.

BELOW CENTER Father Nate Meyers talks to those attending the CREED program.

BELOW RIGHT From left, Shannon Grossman talks with Tammy Sorensen and her daughter, Samantha, during small-group discussion.

Quick catechesis

eristics. Since the CI is based on the m of the Catholic Church, Father ther set of four: the four theologies. rs — with each year divided into plans to cover the basics of the historical theology, dogmatic y. He wrote the curriculum himself, and friends on what to cover and e lessons. tal and general interest. The section cludes a lecture on the why the Catholic and Protestant opics include Charlemagne and the ristendom, the domestic Church and nd eschatology, or the theology of the

understand that this isn’t just one voice among many, the more people will turn to their faith to let it guide them.”

bue his students with the rch has been speaking the same roblems for 2,000 years. e to understand the depth and hing,” he said. “Catholic teaching can many. The more that people can

Classes first began September 2016, and the second semester started the first week of February. Though all the initial students were from St. Francis Xavier, Father Meyers also invited Catholics from other parishes in the deanery and found the other pastors were enthusiastic about the idea. He is still perfecting the program, but it’s something he hopes can be used in other parishes.

Father Meyers also wanted to structure the program so that it would serve a wide audience, Catholic or not. CREED runs on a drop-in basis. There is no registration. The classes build on each other, yet Father Meyers structures them so that someone dropping in would not be lost.

Like the CI, the classes combine socializing, learning and praying. The evening starts with an icebreaker, followed by a 30-45 minute lecture. Afterward, there is a break and socializing. The evening ends with prayer, often in a format connected to the lecture, such as eucharistic adoration or lectio divina. The goal of prayer time is to help attendees internalize the lecture, “so they can take it and have it shape their own life of discipleship,” Father Meyers explained.

If people arrive at the St. Austin campus of St. Bridget in north Minneapolis a little early for Mass some Saturday evening, they might have the impression they’re late. There is a good chance that Father Paul Jarvis — senior associate pastor of St. Bridget, which merged with St. Austin in 2012 — would already be up front preaching. It’s his “mini-teaching,” an initiative to inject easily accessible and far-reaching adult catechesis into the parish.

He started it in December, giving a 20-minute presentation before each Mass during Advent. The short class has been well received.

“It’s helpful. People really seem to enjoy it,” said Carol Wolney, a parishioner since 1977. “It started with just a few of us, but now there’s a lot.”

Father Jarvis started the short talks in response to the needs parishioners expressed in a survey. They wanted more education and formation in the faith, but had difficulty making time for it.

They requested something that coincided with their Sunday Mass routine. Father Jarvis noted that even well-attended faith formation events only draw a fraction of parishioners.

“Today it’s really difficult for people to find time for faith formation. We’re so overscheduled. Our best chances are the people who make the effort to come to Mass,” he said. “I think people are thirsting for knowledge, and you start with the people who are already coming, and then they bring others.”

Having a short teaching can also be part of the process of evangelization or “re-evangelization” of Catholics who are distant from the Church. For someone coming to Mass for the first time — or for the first time in a long time — the talk can help them understand what they are seeing, instead of feeling estranged by an unfamiliar ritual.

Regular attendees also learn something new each week that draws them more deeply into worship. Father Jarvis’ quick class reminded regular Massgoers Mary Dass and Alice Wortman of things they had forgotten from their childhood catechism, and it also provided fresh insights.

“They are informative and it makes Mass more meaningful. It makes you more aware, brings it more to life,” Dass said.

Father Jarvis sees the class as a teaser to entice someone to clear their schedule for the two-hour, mid-week faith formation night.

He also believes this method may be particularly effective for reaching consumer-savvy, time-managing millennials.

“Millennials want to know if an expenditure is going to be worth their time. No judgment on that,” he said, adding that early Christians adapted their evangelizing tactics to the reality of their era.

With the mini-teaching, millennials and everyone else can immediately witness the lesson in action in the Mass. Father Jarvis has thus far taught about the Mass itself. In his experience, adults have a deep desire to understand the meaning and theology of the Mass and its rituals. At the same time, the way the Church worships communicates what it believes, he said.

“Pointing out a symbol in the church or in the Church’s ancient prayer helps hook the concept in the parishioner’s brain. After all, it was why the symbols were often created, especially during eras in which most people were illiterate,” he said. “They work just as well for 21st century-moderns to understand, make connections and remember. And, later on, teach to younger and newer members.”

10B • The Catholic Spirit

FAITH & CULTURE

February 23, 2017

Remembering Masqueray

If you go WHAT: “E. L. Masqueray, Architect,” an exhibition of Masqueray’s work at the University of St. Thomas and beyond.

WHEN: Exhibition on display through May, with a panel discussion and reception 6-8 p.m. March 13. Panel includes Alan Lathrop, Larry Millett, Celeste Raspanti and Johan van Parys.

WHERE: O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium and lobby gallery, University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

University of St. Thomas shines spotlight on Cathedral, Basilica architect 100 years after his death

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

“

M

r. Masqueray was the chosen child of art — the child of art in every throbbing of soul, in every penciling of finger. From his mind and his heart, art sprung as from native fount,” pronounced Archbishop John Ireland during a 1917 funeral liturgy.

He was eulogizing Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, his friend, architect and fellow visionary who had helped him realize the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and what would eventually be known as the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

Masqueray died in May 1917 after an uremic attack he suffered while riding a streetcar to work. He was 55.

His funeral Mass was at the Cathedral, his first commission in St. Paul and the beginning of an impressive portfolio of buildings, many of them churches, in Minnesota and elsewhere in the Midwest.

Among them was the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on the campus of the College of St. Thomas, then a Catholic military college for men. He also designed two dormitory buildings — Ireland Hall, built for the college, and Grace Hall, built for the St. Paul Seminary, annexed by the college-turned-university in the 1980s.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the architect’s untimely death, Masqueray’s work at the University of St. Thomas is the subject of an exhibition at the university in conjunction with its annual Sacred Arts Festival. On display in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center lobby are more than 40 objects, including blueprints, architectural renderings and watercolors from Masqueray’s hand. Also on view through May are Masqueray’s drafting tools, a 2016 painting of the Cathedral by local artist Mark Balma, and historic and contemporary photographs of St. Thomas’ Masqueray buildings.

Like several of Masqueray’s commissions including the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, St. Thomas’ chapel was unfinished at the time of his death. His assistant Edwin Lundie was instrumental in both buildings’ completion. Lundie went on to become

The exhibition and panel are sponsored by St. Thomas’ Department of Art History as part of the Sacred Arts Festival. They are free and open to the public.

E. L. Masqueray, third from left, in a studio with unidentified draftsmen and his valet, Purcell Haskins, far left. The image is on display through May in “E. L. Masqueray, Architect” at the University of St. Thomas. From the collection of the Northwest Architectural Archives at the University of Minnesota. a well-regarded architect in his own right, as did Frank Abrahamson and Fred Slifer, Masqueray’s other chief assistants.

Masqueray was born in 1861 in the Normandy region of France and studied architecture at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. A former classmate, John Carrère, recruited him to work for his small firm in New York. Masqueray worked for Carrère and his partner, Thomas Hastings, for five years before joining the office of Richard Morris Hunt, one of the top American architects of his time. Masqueray remained with Hunt’s studio after his death and likely helped Hunt’s son finish New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was commissioned to be chief of design for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where he likely met Archbishop Ireland. The archbishop hoped to replace the Cathedral of St. Paul, then downtown, with a larger one on a hill. In 1905 he opened a competition for architects to submit drawings, but within three months, the competition had been scrapped, and Masqueray was the chosen architect. Beyond his World’s Fair contributions, the Cathedral was the first permanent commission Masqueray landed in his own right.

Soon he had two huge projects, with the addition of the Pro-Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception — renamed the Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. He also took on the design of smaller churches, including St. Louis King of France, St. Paul (1909); St. Martin of Tours, Rogers (1912); Holy Redeemer, Marshall (1915); and

St. Francis Xavier, Benson (1917). When he died, he was working on Incarnation in Minneapolis.

Informed by his training at the Ecole, Masqueray’s designs included elements pulled from Classical, Renaissance and Baroque styles, with an emphasis on proportion and appropriateness to the building’s use.

Despite the architect’s prominence in St. Paul, there exists no biography or coffee-table collection of his works. The most comprehensive description of his life is the article “A French Architect in Minnesota” historian Alan Lathrop published in 1980 in “Minnesota History,” the Minnesota Historical Society journal.

Retired curator of the Manuscripts Division at the University of Minnesota Libraries, Lathrop will participate in a March 13 panel at St. Thomas on Masqueray’s work, along with architecture writer Larry Millett, Cathedral archivist Celeste Raspanti and Basilica liturgy director Johan van Parys.

Lathrop is also lecturing on Masqueray as part of Musique et Masqueray, which the Rose Ensemble is performing in four Masqueray churches.

“It’s an honor that he would be honored and commemorated at this point, 100 years on,” Lathrop said of Masqueray. “I’m really hoping that ... the public becomes more informed about his work, and a greater appreciation of what he did will emerge.”

Wiering holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of St. Thomas and served as the guest curator for the exhibition.

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FAITH & CULTURE

February 23, 2017

Archbishop survives being ‘grilled’ at Theology on Tap

By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit Questions ran the gamut from Vikings fandom to young adult ministry to suffering, and Archbishop Bernard Hebda fielded them all Feb. 8 at a Theology on Tap event in St. Paul.

Hosted by Cathedral Young Adults, the young adult group of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, the event was the fourth in a six-week speaker series that brings catechesis to O’Gara’s Bar and Grill. A regular feature of CYA’s semiannual Theology on Tap series, “Grill the Archbishop” — or priest or bishop — is always a popular evening, CYA leaders said, since it gives attendees a chance to hear Church leaders speak off-the-cuff on a variety of topics. This event was the first time Archbishop Hebda had spoken at a CYA Theology on Tap. Before turning to more serious matters, one young adult wanted to know if Archbishop Hebda would offer a dispensation from Lenten Friday abstinence to allow the faithful to enjoy a corned beef dinner on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, which this year falls on a Friday during Lent. With a smile, the archbishop asked for a show of hands of who wanted to eat corned beef in honor of the Irish saint. When only a few hands went up, he jokingly encouraged the crowd to save their dispensations for better fare.

And, he added, even with a dispensation, an act of penance must still be made.“When you get a dispensation — and I think it’s coming — you should do penance on another occasion,” he said. “So it’s like a get-out-of-jail-free card, but you have to pay sometime.”

Archbishop Hebda was also asked what the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is doing to engage young people. He reminded the young adults that they are the primary missionaries to their age group. “We find that young people respond best to their peers,” the archbishop said.

He encouraged the young people not to be passive but to “recognize that all of us are called to construct the Church.” He also acknowledged that the Church

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needs to support young adults. “Young people need community so that they don’t feel alone when trying to respond to Christ’s call,” he said.

Archbishop Hebda also shared the story of his path to the priesthood, which began in his Pittsburgh elementary school with the example and encouragement of Capuchin friars. As an eighth-grader, he wanted to enter the high school seminary. For support, he brought the Capuchins’ vocations director home to propose the idea to his parents.

“Mom took the vocation director upstairs to my bedroom and said, ‘Look at this disaster; if his bedroom isn’t in order, how can he go to the seminary?’” he recalled.

After high school, he applied again to the Capuchin seminary, but was again turned down, this time because the seminary “was a mess.” It was “the turbulent ’70s,” he explained, and the Capuchins encouraged him to go to another school. But after four years at Harvard, the priesthood seemed “not very useful.” Wanting to be useful, the archbishop went to law school.

Providentially, Columbia University in New York had a chapel right next to the law school. The archbishop found that he could attend daily Mass and still make it in time for lunch without anyone missing him. During law school, he started to appreciate the work of the Church around the world and wanted to give himself to that mission, he said.

Unfortunately, he was loaded with student debt, so he moved home and took a job at a law firm until he had paid off enough of his loans to be accepted into the seminary. Even many years after he first broached the idea, his vocation to the priesthood surprised his parents no less than it had when he was a messy eighthgrader, he said. Though they had always prayed that one of their three sons would become a priest, he said, they never thought it would be Bernard.

Young adults appreciated the archbishop’s openness and depth of response. “I was really impressed,” said Michael Larson, a Cathedral parishioner. “He gave very thoughtful answers, he didn’t compromise on Church teaching, and he spoke with charity.”

Pilgrimage to Fatima & Lourdes Sept. 26 – Oct. 6, 2017

Visiting Fatima, Coimbra, Santiago de Compostela, Salamanca, Avila, Madrid and Lourdes Hosted by Fr. Dave Barrett New Prague Area Catholic Community For more information call Fr. Dave Barrett at 651-470-0970 visit https://npcatholic.org for a brochure.

Rome + 100th Anniversary of Fatima-Miracle of the Sun • Oct. 2-14, 2017 Spiritual Directors: Fr. Andrew Jasinski, Fr. Peter Anderl, Fargo Diocese and Fr. LeRoy Schik, St. Cloud Diocese Deposit of $300 non-refundable due by March 20th, due to Fatima Anniversary/Hotel Availability Fatima for 100th Anniversary + Lourdes, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela • May 8-18, 2017 Fr. Todd Schneider, Fr. Dan Walz, Spiritual Directors, St Cloud Diocese Enchanting Ireland – July 30 – August 8, 2017 Spiritual Directors – Fr. Jerry Mischke, Fr. David Grundman, St. Cloud Diocese Holy Land • October 16-26, 2017 Fr. Robert Fitzpatrick, Spiritual Director St. Rose of Lima and Corpus Christi Parishes, Roseville, MN Our Lady of Guadalupe…Mexico City • September or October date TBA

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The Catholic Spirit • 11B

Abortion supporters’ robust counter-rally a sign pro-lifers need to take off ‘cruise control’

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Thousands of Planned Parenthood supporters confirmed Feb. 11 that pro-life advocates don’t have an easy road ahead.

At a pro-life rally calling for the discontinuation of federal funding for Planned Parenthood held in front of its Vandalia Street location in St. Paul, abortion supporters in a counter-rally vastly outnumbered pro-life advocates. The St. Paul Police Department estimated there were 5,000 abortion supporters and 550 pro-life advocates.

St. Paul-based Pro-Life Action Ministries organized the local Defund Planned Parenthood rally — one of 228 rallies in 45 states that day — and its executive director Brian Gibson notified volunteers in advance about potential for vulgar counter-rallying, which he thinks discouraged families with children from attending. He said Planned Parenthood supporters gave a big showing because of a “very real threat” to losing federal funds.

Gibson also said the “post-election lag” lessened pro-life advocates’ turn-out. President Donald Trump describes himself as pro-life and last month reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which bans tax dollars from funding groups that promote or perform abortions in other countries. Vice President Mike Pence also became the highestranking U.S. official to speak in person at the National March for Life when he addressed the crowd Jan. 27.

“There’s a little bit of cruise control that people set themselves on afterwards,” Gibson said. “And that makes it a little bit difficult to get the 3 or 4 or 5,000 out that we’ve had in the past.”

He expects PLAM’s Good Friday prayer service outside Planned Parenthood to be well attended.

12B • The Catholic Spirit

FROM AGE TO AGE

February 23, 2017

Retreat helps young women discerning religious vocation

By Melenie Soucheray For The Catholic Spirit Alexandra Hamar has been weighing her vocational options for at least four years.

“I was on a retreat,” recalled Hamar, a graduate student in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, “[and] I had always been open, but not actually. But then this little voice said, ‘You should actually think about this. Maybe God really is wanting you to start walking down this road and see what happens.’ From that point on, the desire really grew.”

Hamar was among about four dozen young women who attended the second annual Women’s Discernment Retreat Feb. 18 at Nativity of Mary in Bloomington. The day’s program included the sharing of personal stories as well as a brief exploration of the decision-making process outlined in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

Participants interacted with young religious sisters representing several religious orders, as well as a consecrated virgin. They also heard from a woman who once belonged to a religious community.

During the opening Mass, Bishop Andrew Cozzens laid the groundwork, reminding retreatants that there are different ways to come into union with Jesus. He said that just as only selected disciples were invited to be present at Jesus’ transfiguration, not all people are called to a consecrated life. Bishop Cozzens said the discernment process allows each person to hear how Jesus calls him or her to live in relationship with him.

Hamar said she is taking Bishop Cozzens’ advice to reflect on Scripture, including Psalm 37:4, Luke chapter 18 and Matthew chapter 6. “[Bishop Cozzens] talked a lot about the importance of knowing your desires, your inner spiritual life and discernment,” she said. “Our desires lead us to God, and they need to be purified in prayer. And it’s through prayer that God will reveal the deepest desires of our hearts to us. I really think God wants me to just kind of

An Le, right, of St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center in Minneapolis, talks with Sister Marie-Lys Penambou of the Sisters of Mary Morning Star in Ghent Feb. 18 at the Women’s Discernment Retreat at Nativity of Mary in Bloomington. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit simplify, just meditate on these Scripture passages and leave him room to speak.”

In his 18 months as director of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Vocations, Father David Blume has come to believe that the discernment process is more difficult for women because they have so many options. That’s a challenge for women and for his office, he said.

“The goal of the vocations office is to create a path for women who are sensing the Lord is calling them to a consecrated life,” he said.

Father Blume has marshaled the office’s resources to provide options that support everyone who is discerning. These include websites such as the vocations office’s website www.10000vocations.org, and www. vocationnetwork.org, a site of the National Religious Vocation Conference.

Speaker Annie Hermanson was a member of the Michigan-based Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of

the Eucharist. When she was preparing to take final vows, she discussed her disquiet with her mother superior. With spiritual guidance, Hermanson decided to change her life in relationship with God. Today, she is a wife and mother of a young child.

“Discernment is a process,” she said. “God allows us to learn about ourselves.”

Dominican Sister Magdalena Dudenhoeffer, a teacher at St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, spoke of her experience of being a “bride-disciple” of Jesus. She reminded the group that, “Whatever your vocation is, he’s asked you to love him and follow him with all your heart. Consecration is a gift. It’s not something you take, but something that you receive.”

Attendee Virginia Lee grew up Catholic near Milwaukee. She’s studying agriculture engineering at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. And, she’s thinking about mission work in South America.

“I’m just beginning my discernment,” she said. “My faith has always been very important in my life. I’ve always thought religious life would be beautiful, but I’m beginning to actually explore it for myself.”

Sister Magdalena’s imagery of God, oneself and others inscribing one’s “life page” resonated with Lee. “What was important to me, today, along with [understanding] the desires, is letting him write on your page and let him help you write your own page,” she said. “[And allowing yourself] to be a part of that questioning, and have a conversation with him, instead of just asking him questions and expecting an answer straight up.

“The process is not just a decision you make one day,” she continued. “It’s definitely a journey that you take.

You’re not alone, which is the beauty of [the retreat].”

Hamar was thankful for all the sisters who came to the retreat to speak and pray with participants.

She said, “It was really cool, for me at least, to be able to explore and to just talk to them as people, not just someone you read about online.”

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FOCUS ON FAITH

February 23, 2017

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

Jeff Hedglen

When the world becomes too much I will be showing my age and possibly run the risk of losing many Generation X and millennial readers when I use this example, but sometimes when I feel at the end of my rope, or look around at the state of the world or even look at how my day-to-day life can seem out of control, I often think of a 1970s television show called “Hee Haw.” There was a recurring segment that featured a song with the lyric: “Gloom, despair and agony on me/ Deep, dark depression, excessive misery/ If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all; Gloom, despair and agony on me.”

The Catholic Spirit • 13B

The song was meant to be comedic, but there are times in my life when I take this lyric quite literally.

We all go through times of doubt, worry and despair.

For some, this state of mind can be persistent. There are no simple answers or one-size-fits-all remedies. Even the powerful words of the holy Scriptures are not some kind of divine magic formula that, when read, come with a guarantee to ease all symptoms and launch us into euphoria. Yes, miracles happen, but they are not the sole guarantee of God’s presence in our life.

God is present and aware of every moment of our life.

While he does, from time to time, step in and dramatically impact the created order, more often than not God chooses to walk with us through the hard times to help us grow in holiness.

This week’s readings give us some hope and some advice as to what to do when our world becomes too much.

First, the hope: The prophet Isaiah says: “Can a mother forget her infant? ... Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

Then, Jesus reveals what we should do when we are overwhelmed: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” He means, stop focusing on yourself and the temporal world and look to him and his kingdom.

Sunday, Feb. 26 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings • Is 49:14-15 • 1 Cor 4:1-5 • Mt 6:24-34 But not only that; also seek to be righteous or holy like he is holy. Then, and only then, will there be perspective and peace. We might feel lost, but we are not forgotten.

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

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Feb. 26 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 49:14-15 1 Cor 4:1-5 Mt 6:24-34

Wednesday, March 1 Ash Wednesday Jl 2:12-18 2 Cor 5:20–6:2 Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Saturday, March 4 Is 58:9b-14 Lk 5:27-32

Tuesday, March 7 Is 55:10-11 Mt 6:7-15

Friday, March 10 Ez 18:21-28 Mt 5:20-26

Thursday, March 2 Dt 30:15-20 Lk 9:22-25

Sunday, March 5 First Sunday of Lent Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Rom 5:12-19 Mt 4:1-11

Wednesday, March 8 Jon 3:1-10 Lk 11:29-32

Saturday, March 11 Dt 26:16-19 Mt 5:43-48

Monday, Feb. 27 Sir 17:20-24 Mk 10:17-27

Friday, March 3 Is 58:1-9a Mt 9:14-15

Monday, March 6 Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 Mt 25:31-46

Thursday, March 9 Est 4:12, 14-16, 23-25 Mt 7:7-12

Sunday, March 12 Second Sunday of Lent Gn 12:1-4a 2 Tm 1:8b-10 Mt 17:1-9

Tuesday, Feb. 28 Sir 35:1-12 Mk 10:28-31

LENT

Liz Kelly

Readying your heart for Lent If you practice regular meditation with Scripture, you know that St. Ignatius and other spiritual masters recommend that you read through the chosen passage the night before your prayer time. However simple it sounds, spending just a few minutes with the passage before bed seems to implant the verse somehow. It’s almost as if the Holy Spirit reads this tiny act of preparation as his sign to go to work, to begin to breathe that verse into your very being, sending out its spiritual oxygen, revitalizing the blood with new understanding and engagement even as you sleep.

You find that as you begin to pray, the verse is already there somehow, in the blood, bringing its holy oxygen to your heart.

It is an obvious principle that simple preparation helps to assure the fruitfulness of the prayer — or any worthy activity. Romano Guardini writes that “No one with a serious task before him will approach it unprepared, but will concentrate on the demands he has to face.” He likens it to showing up at a music concert at the last minute, “allowing for no transition between the noise and the unrest of the street and the opening bars of the concert.” Instead, if we really want to receive it, “We shall be there in good time and hold ourselves ready for the beautiful experience before us.”

We can apply the same principle to our Lenten

practices. How can we prepare ourselves better, assuring the fruitfulness of this holy season? How do we transition from ordinary time and “hold ourselves ready for the beautiful experience” of Lent?

Perhaps you might build some transition into your schedule. One simple tool is to reread the Passion narratives — maybe as a family — quietly, slowly, without much commentary or to do, simply allowing the Passion to root and then wait for the Holy Spirit to “spirit.”

Leaving your Lent on the altar As a child, I can remember my parents and grade school teachers helping us to prepare for the liturgical season. They’d ask us to think about what we might give up — television or sweets or a favorite game. We would fill our “rice bowls” with our pennies and take a certain pride and childish possessiveness in being able to give something up. Lent was like a spiritual exercise I performed well or poorly. It’s embarrassing to admit how long that childish mentality stayed with me.

Lent is a gift, as sure as any other liturgical season, as sure as any other grace from God. And it does not belong to me. Lent is the Lord’s to do as he wishes.

We do not solely take up Lenten practices in order to achieve a certain effect; we enter this holy season with fervor and determination to fast, pray, repent, and give of ourselves because we love the Lord and because he has asked us to. We want to receive well and in holiness every good gift he might like to bestow and in whatever way he might like to bestow it. Lent belongs to the Lord. Any outcome must be left up to him.

Take a little time this week to prepare. As you read through the Passion narratives or make an extra holy hour, ask the Lord what he desires of you in it, in your prayer, your fasting, your almsgiving. Then on Ash Wednesday, place your Lent on the altar, and trust that the Holy Spirit is already at work revitalizing in

Lent is the Lord’s to do as he wishes. We do not solely take up Lenten practices in order to achieve a certain effect; we enter this holy season with fervor and determination to fast, pray, repent, and give of ourselves because we love the Lord and because he has asked us to. you all that is most precious to heaven.

Let’s be there “in good time” and “hold ourselves ready” for the beautiful experience of Lent.

Kelly is the author of six books, including “Jesus Approaches: What Today’s Woman Can Learn about Healing, Freedom and Joy from the Women of the New Testament” (Loyola Press, 2017).

14B • The Catholic Spirit

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA

Jason Adkins

The rosary and the renewal of politics Exactly one 100 years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children outside of Fatima, Portugal, sharing with them some extraordinary messages and prophecies. But Our Lady of Fatima’s most urgent plea was for repentance — on behalf of ourselves, sinners and entire nations — as well as for people to pray the rosary. In the end, she promised, her Immaculate Heart would triumph.

As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his homily at Fatima in May 2010, “[W]e would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete.” Although great calamities seem to have been averted during the 20th century due to her intercession — nuclear annihilation, Communist hegemony and the assassination of Pope John Paul II — the world continues to be beset by deep conflicts between man and God, creation, other people and within himself, all of which portend our destruction just as much as the threats of the last century.

None of us alone can thwart these trends or renew society. And no politician or political program will do so, either. The first and most urgent need to restore all things in Christ and bring peace to the social order is a Church full of faithful citizens — faithful citizens who repent for their own sins, make reparation for the offenses against God perpetrated each day, and pray the rosary fervently for renewal.

Mary’s option for the poor In her various apparitions during the past 500 years, Mary seems to choose to visit the most humble of people, whether children like St. Bernadette Soubirous

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN

Vincenzo Randazzo

The price of fraternity A dentist, an IT buff and a radiation therapist walk into a bar. They each pay $2 for two beers and they make a toast to Our Lady.

This isn’t a joke; it happens at 5 p.m. every Tuesday at a bar in northeast Minneapolis, and it’s been a tradition for more than four years. They are usually there together with a financial advisor, a businessman, two canon lawyers, a writer, a carpenter and others.

Many are married, some are fathers. It’s not uncommon for 20 men to meet there to share a pint at this simple weekly tradition.

It started with two men celebrating a feast day.

Now, it feels almost as obligatory as Mass. Most of the men are Catholic, but it’s not on any parish calendar or in any bulletin. It has never been tweeted, hashtagged or written about until now. But that’s not because it is a secret or some sort of exclusive boys’ club. These men are friends, and that’s why they meet up. And the happy familiarity of the patrons and staff at the bar seems a testament to how good and unvarying their friendship is.

For many of them, gathering on Tuesday evening is the highlight of the week. It shows no sign of stopping, and I would credit its longevity to four of the friends and their steady attendance. Despite being

Register for Catholics at the Capitol WHO: You, along with the bishops of Minnesota, dynamic speakers and Catholics from across the state.

WHAT: A day of inspiration and advocacy as we delve into faithful citizenship and bring a Catholic voice to the State Capitol.

WHY: Minnesota faces urgent challenges, from the threat of legalized assisted suicide to persistent family poverty. Our faith calls us to protect life and human dignity.

WHEN: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. March 9 (doors open at 7 a.m.).

WHERE: The RiverCentre and State Capitol in St. Paul.

Registration is required. Visit www.catholicsatthecapitol.org or call 651-227-8777. at Lourdes and Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto at Fatima, or the socially downcast, such as St. Juan Diego and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, indigenous converts to the faith, whose people had lost much after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Indeed, the rosary, the presence of which has figured strongly in the apparitions at Lourdes and Fatima, is an object of popular piety and devotion particularly among the poor and those of simple, yet profound faith — faith as trusting as that of children.

By contrast, the Blessed Virgin has not appeared in recent times to clergy, social and political elites, or theologians. Justly so, perhaps, as oftentimes Marian piety and devotion to the rosary have been objects of derision from many enlightened proponents of a more “modern” faith.

Yet, modernity continues to run frenetically after various fads, revolutions, products and politicians that busy with wives, children and work, they die to themselves — and their wives do, too — in order to live Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.”

Fraternal benefits All these beer-drinking men would testify to the spiritual benefit these Tuesdays have provided over the years. Their wives agree. They have grown in friendship, grown as men and even grown in prayer.

The sense these men have of the importance of intentionally taking time for good brotherhood speaks to an important need in our local Catholic culture.

What does fraternity look like at your parish? It’s so often the case that faithful Catholic staff pine for a program to revitalize their parish culture. But, in comparing some programmatic approach to fraternity to these men at the bar, it’s no question which one has more spiritual fruit: the dollar-pint Tuesday.

My sense is that would-be evangelists too often embrace the latest Catholic fad or scramble in search for the right formula for good community, good catechesis and, for my purposes here, good fraternity.

But I think they miss the mark, and I believe St. John Paul II thought so, too: “We are certainly not seduced by the naive expectation that, faced with the great challenges of our time, we shall find some magic formula. No, we shall not be saved by a formula, but by a person, and the assurance which he gives us: I am with you!”

If we want true, lasting spiritual fruit — let alone good fraternity — then we need to empty ourselves and put on Christ.

Whether you are a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus or a recent graduate trying to fit in at the parish, men know cultivating fraternity is essential to growing in holiness. From the board room to the battlefield, men need to be a part of something greater

February 23, 2017

provide fleeting hope for change but then inevitably end in disappointment.

The world, and sometimes the Church, forgets the basic message of our Savior — “repent!” Our Blessed Mother comes to us as our protector and intercessor, reminding us of the need to repent, and she gives us a wonderful gift, the rosary, with which to bind ourselves to her and to meditate as she did on the great mysteries of her son.

The lesson of Fatima is that there is no salvation and no renewal, ecclesial or social, that is not rooted in deeper friendship with Jesus Christ. Mary’s message of repentance and the exhortation to pray the rosary bring us closer to him.

And it is the humble faith of the poor and little children, not sophisticated programs, that is our model.

Rosaries in the rotunda Try as we might to renew public life as faithful citizens, we will have trouble without the gift of the rosary. All of the policy arguments, all of the meetings and all of the latest advocacy tools will not change the public discourse without the intercession of Mary to prepare the way so that the seed can fall on fertile ground in hearts softened by God’s mercy.

That is why, when the bishops of Minnesota host Catholics at the Capitol March 9, an important component of the day will be praying the rosary in the Capitol rotunda.

As attendees make their legislative visits and suggest policies that promote life and human dignity, other participants will pray that our legislators’ hearts and minds are opened to the truth; that they serve the common good and not special interests; and that they protect the life and dignity of every person, from conception to natural death. And we will pray for our whole state — that amid all of its prosperity, it will always seek first to protect the poor and vulnerable, those little ones closest to Mary’s heart.

We come confidently and joyfully to St. Paul March 9, knowing that whatever the outcome of our legislative activity, Mary’s Immaculate Heart will triumph.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. than themselves. But I will argue that the best kind of fraternity happens when one or two men — possibly without fully recognizing what they are doing — emulate Christ by gathering men of faith together for regular opportunities where they can support one another, lest they grow weary in a demanding world.

Practically put, that means regularly sacrificing time to be with friends.

You recall the words of our Lord, “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.”

Honestly, that might mean something as simple as regular beers with regular men of faith.

I’d advise a man to spend at least one hour a week with a few others who are striving for holiness. And while that might be a sacrifice, it’s not unlike steady prayer or regular Mass, or a weekly private dinner with your wife — you will see the fruit over time. Of course, don’t do it to the neglect of your obligations, but rather as a benefit to them. Be prudent. This might seem like something that is unimportant or merely for pleasure. But real friends know that their time together means something much more substantial. And one hour a week to grow in friendship with a brother who shares your joys and struggles can be the difference between life and death in the spiritual world.

For good fraternity, you don’t need a fancy logo, a developed system and a Twitter account. If you have determination for regularity, the will to sacrifice and the support of your family, then all you need are a few good men, prayer and a reason to celebrate.

And probably some beer.

Randazzo is an evangelization manager in the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and director of development at St. Stephen in Minneapolis.

CALENDAR

February 23, 2017 Dining out

Ecumenical Taize prayer — first Friday of the month through May 5: 7:30 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com/first-fridays.

Dad’s Belgian Waffle Breakfast — Feb. 26: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 835 Second Ave. NW, New Brighton.

Farmington Knights of Columbus chili cook-off and bingo — March 11: 5:30–9 p.m. at St. Michael, 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington.

Music Éigse CIM, A Gaela Event — Feb. 25: 5–10 p.m. at The Celtic Junction, 836 Prior Ave. N., St. Paul. www.centerforirishmusic.org/gaela.

Retreats Encountering God in Everyday Life — March 3-4, April 7-8 and May 5-6: 5–6 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Prayer workshop retreat — Feb. 25: 9 a.m.–noon at St. Albert, 11400 57th St. NE, Albertville. Free registration: 763-497-2474 or taketimeforhim@tds.net.

Parish events Alpha at Guardian Angels — Tuesdays through April 4: 6:30–8:45 p.m. at 218 W. Second St., Chaska. www.gachaska.org.

St. Michael Lenten mission with keynote speaker Marcellino D’Ambrosio — March 5-7: 7–9 p.m. at 11300 Frankfort Pkwy. NE, St. Michael. www.stmcatholicchurch.org.

St. Odilia presents “The Wizard of Oz” — Feb. 24-26: 7 p.m. at 3495 Victoria St. N., Shoreview. www.stodilia.org.

Lenten retreat hosted by the lay Dominicans — March 11: 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. at Holy Rosary, 2424 18th Ave. S., Minneapolis. bit.ly/3OPRetreat.

St. Helena CCW spring tea — Feb. 26: 2–4 p.m. at 3204 E. 43rd St., Minneapolis. Lucy at 612-729-9445 or www.sainthelena.us.

Mardi Gras pancake breakfast and Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda — Feb. 26: 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com.

Knights of Columbus bingo — March 5: 1 p.m. at Mary Queen of Peace-St. Martin campus, 21201 Church Ave., Rogers.

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

Recurring or ongoing events must be submitted each time they occur. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar.

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

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event • Full street address of event • Description of event • C ontact information in case of questions.

(No attachments, please.)

Schools

Open houses at Holy Cross — Feb. 23 and March 16: 3:30–5 p.m. at 6100 37th St. W., Webster. www.holycrossschool.net.

Conferences/seminars/ workshops

Prayer/worship

Working with Clay as a Spiritual Practice — Mondays, March 6-April 6: 6:30–8:15 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Taize prayer — Third Friday of each month: 7 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Catholic Divorce Survival Guidance — Mondays, Feb. 27-May 22: 7–8:15 p.m. at St. Edward, 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S., Bloomington. www.stedwardschurch.org.

Singles Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sundays: The group usually meets in St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-482-0406.

Singles group at St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park — ongoing second Saturday each month: 6:15 p.m. at 9100 93rd Ave. N. Gather for a potluck supper, conversation and games. 763-425-0412.

Speakers Morning of reflection: God Loves Completely — March 4: 9 a.m.–1 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. www.guardian-angels.org/ event/921176-2017-03-04-womens-club-morning-ofreflection.

Conversion of the Heart: A Poet’s Spiritual Journey — March 12: 11:30 a.m. at St. Edward, 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S., Bloomington. www.stedwardschurch.org.

Other events

FAX: 651-291-4460

School of Lectio Divina — Feb. 24 and March 1: 1 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

St. Agnes Lenten lectures — Fridays in Lent: 7:45–9 p.m. at 538 Thomas Ave., St. Paul. www.churchofsaintagnes.org/events/2017lenten-lecture-series.

The Catholic Spirit • 15B

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

Women with Spirit Bible study — Tuesdays through April 4: 9:30–11:30 a.m. at Pax Christi, 12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie. www.paxchristi.com/wws.

A note to readers The Catholic Spirit does not accept calendar submissions via email. Please submit events using the form at www.thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions.

Art exhibit: Seeing God — Through March 3: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s spring plant sale — Feb. 22-April 4: 9 a.m.–noon at 2501 Highway 100 S., St. Louis Park. www.bsmschool.org/plants.

More online

Highland Catholic used book sale — Feb. 25-26: at Lumen Christi, 2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul. Donate books at Highland Catholic or Lumen Christi. www.highlandcatholic.org.

Bio-Spiritual Focusing Basics — March 10: 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

St. Paul Lenten Mission — March 5-8: Noon– 2:45 p.m. at 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake.

Jona Winkelman at jona@churchofsaintpaul.com or www.churchofsaintpaul.com/events-1.

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16B • The Catholic Spirit

THE LAST WORD

February 23, 2017

‘Everyone deserves the love of a family’ Monticello couple supports orphans, adoptive families after loss of infant daughter

By Jessica Weinberger For The Catholic Spirit

E

ach year, Matt and Katrina Witschen host more than 150 friends and family members for an Oktoberfest party at their hobby farm outside Monticello. And each year, they’ve quietly placed a bucket out for party-goers to donate to a worthy case, whether it’s a local family facing a cancer diagnosis or an organization that supports orphans or children with special needs.

They knew they could do more, and they did, after a personal tragedy compelled them to start their own nonprofit.

In March 2013, Katrina learned she was expecting identical twin girls, their sixth and seventh children and their second set of twins. Doctors discovered that the babies were in the same amniotic sac and found that one had anencephaly, a serious birth defect that would prevent her from surviving more than a few minutes or hours outside of the womb.

“The doctor explained it to us, but you go into this denial,” said Katrina, 42, a patent attorney and parishioner of St. Michael in St. Michael. “There’s no way that you’re telling me that my baby will not live.

No way.”

Through this challenging diagnosis and pregnancy, the family renewed their commitment to life in all forms, which motivated them to start a nonprofit in their daughter’s honor to support orphans and adoptive families.

Every life has value “For the first time in my life, I felt completely helpless,” remembered Matt, 45, a construction manager, about that fateful 10-week prenatal visit.

“There wasn’t anything I could do for my little girl. I couldn’t fix her. I couldn’t put a Band-Aid on, give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be OK.” They named their daughter Laurencia Rachel, a nod to her godmother and Katrina’s sister, Laura Nielsen, with the root of Laurencia meaning “victory” and Rachel meaning “lamb.” They named her twin sister Valencia, which means “healthy” and “strong.”

While overwhelmed by the reality of Laurencia’s life expectancy, in addition to the risk of chord entanglement in utero, they immediately bypassed an option that would sacrifice her life in the womb for assurances of Valencia’s safety. Weighing the value of each child’s life and determining the right course of action could have been difficult for some, but for this pro-life family, it was simple.

“Every life has value no matter what that looks like, and we can’t put a value on that. It’s just infinite,” said Katrina, who has appeared in promotional videos for Prenatal Partners for Life, a Maple Grove-based

Front row, from left, Valencia and Maebelina Witschen hold a picture of Laurencia, Valencia’s twin sister who died at birth in 2013.

Other members of the family are, back row, from left, Paulina, Gabriella, Matt, Katrina, Anabella and Wyatt.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit organization that supports families facing an adverse diagnosis for an unborn child.

The twins were born at 32 weeks gestation Aug. 26, 2013, a day the couple regards as holy and sacred. Laurencia was born first, and a sense of peace filled the delivery room as they found her heart was beating. Laura held her in her arms and baptized the newborn with her tears. Valencia soon followed, and as they placed the two babies together for a photo, their hands crossed, and Laurencia’s heart stopped.

“It all tested our faith in a way we couldn’t have even imagined,” Katrina said.

Victory over death In the months that followed, the family navigated their complex grief journey while prayerfully considering ways to transform their raw emotion into action. That spring, they began to revisit their original plans for transforming their next Oktoberfest celebration into an official fundraiser.

“We all felt so helpless,” said Laura, 44, who — with much of Katrina’s extended family — also attends St. Michael. “We could pray and pray until our rosaries wore out, but it wouldn’t fix what had happened with Laurencia.”

While neither Katrina nor her five siblings — who, among them have 32 children — have adopted, they decided to form a nonprofit to support orphaned children and adoptive families. They see the care of children as an extension of their call to pro-life ministry and a way to honor Laurencia’s life.

“There’s nothing more that I could do for her here on earth,” Katrina explained. “She doesn’t need any of that because she’s in heaven where she doesn’t need anything else. But there is something we can do for those kids that need something.”

They named the organization Laurencia’s Victory to show that even through death, Laurencia was victorious and now reunited with her creator. They completed the paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and began planning their first event — a 5K race they affectionately call the L.O.V.E. Run, held in August near the twins’ birthday.

Now in its third year, the L.O.V.E. (Laurencia’s Orphans Victory Event) Run has drawn nearly 175 runners, including 50 children, who complete the race before singing “Happy Birthday” and enjoying a slice of cake in Laurencia’s honor.

The majority of the funds raised go toward $2,000 grants to adoptive families for assistance with adoption costs. The family uses any remaining funds for individual needs, such as hearing aids or specialty

medical equipment, that come to their attention through social media or their network of orphanages around the world.

The $10 race registration also benefits Mustard Seed, a mission in Jamaica that provides care to children and adults with disabilities, as well as young mothers in crisis.

Father Peter Richards, St. Michael’s pastor, said that the mission of Laurencia’s Victory flows from the call to serve the larger Catholic family and the message of the Church.

“Their work ties into the message of the cross and resurrection,” said Father Richards, who blessed the Witschen family in the hospital. “The crosses we experience can be turned into new life.”

Guided by the Holy Spirit This year, Laurencia’s Victory has provided grants to four families to assist with adoption costs. To qualify, families must complete a short form on the nonprofit’s website, demonstrate financial need, have a child already referred to them and complete a home study.

Becky Wangerin, 37, and her husband, Eugene, 49, were overjoyed to receive assistance from Laurencia’s Victory. They have five children, including three girls whom they adopted — Alina, 9, who came from Ukraine in 2010, with another daughter, Anna, following from Ukraine in 2012. Their youngest, Zoey, came from China in January 2016. Each daughter has cerebral palsy and other medical needs.

“Getting the grant was amazing,” said Becky, a homemaker in Becker whose husband serves with the National Guard. “We were really struggling, and their generous help took a huge financial burden off our shoulders.”

The Witschen family and the many family members and friends who support Laurencia’s Victory wish they could cover all adoption costs for the families, but for now, they are humbled by the contributions they can make. While respect life initiatives often center on protecting the unborn, they hope that Catholics and non-Catholics alike expand that call to include all innocent life.

“Everyone deserves a home. Everyone deserves the love of a family. More importantly, everyone deserves life,” Katrina said. “Any child, no matter what their disability, no matter their station in life, has the right to life and to be cherished.”

Learn more about Laurencia’s Victory at www.laurenciasvictory.org.