Praying to protect ‘all of God’s children’

Celebrating Respect Life Mass, Archbishop Hedba declares: ’Each of us is called to be an evangelizer for life’

By Barb Umberger

The Catholic Spirit

In a nearly full Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, close to 3,000 people gathered for a Respect Life Mass Jan. 22 before many walked in temperatures in the teens to the State Capitol to participate in the 50th annual Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life March for Life.

While hope prevailed June 24 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 high court decision that made abortion legal across the country, many pro-life Minnesotans despaired last week when the Minnesota House passed a bill to place the right to abortion into state law. A vote in the state Senate could come at press time. If it reaches his desk, Gov. Tim Walz has said he would sign the bill into law.

In his homily at the Mass sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life, Archbishop Bernard Hebda noted from the first reading that Isaiah preached to a people who were discouraged and demoralized.

“They saw darkness coming in at every side,” Archbishop Hebda said, “yet Isaiah was able to speak to them about the light that would come — indeed, that a light, that light of the Messiah, would change everything.” Those who believed, who waited for the Messiah, were eventually able to see how everything would change according to God’s plan, he said. “It gave them great hope.”

Archbishop Hebda was in Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 20 national March for Life. He described the “great excitement” celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade, yet at the same time, “we here in Minnesota had our eyes glued to the news to see what would happen at our own Legislature as really draconian rules were being proposed,” he said.

About 180 people, including 140 high school students and young adults, also traveled by chartered buses from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to the 50th March for Life.

The battle for the right to life is not finished, Archbishop Hebda said. “It’s only when we’re going to be able to persist and to persevere that God’s reign is going to prevail,” he said. “We’re reminded by the prophet Isaiah not to get discouraged, and to look for the signs of the light in the midst of darkness. He reminds us to persevere.”

Archbishop Hebda said the faithful need to unite in the “beautiful mission” of proclaiming the dignity of each human life and ask that Christ help bring about unity. The archbishop evoked the image of the Blessed Mother gathering “all of God’s children under her mantle of protection.”

“We bring all life together,” he said. “We strive for that unity.”

The 12 called to be the first Apostles were “normal, human, like all of us,” he said. “And yet when they were able to recognize that, indeed, Christ could

COURTESY BARB HEMBERGER, ST. THERESE

CHAPEL CONSULTANT Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, consults with an architectural team and staff members of nonprofit senior living organization St. Therese as they work on a chapel for senior living center St. Therese of Corcoran in Corcoran. The chapel will take shape as the center is completed in the next 18 months, and officials at St. Therese sought guidance from Father Margevicius as they consider details such as the location of the tabernacle, statues, artwork and Stations of the Cross. As director of worship, Father Margevicius said, he has been assigned by Archbishop Bernard Hebda to guide all Catholic parishes, schools, institutions, clergy and laity in celebration of the liturgy. That broad task can include offering advice on building and remodeling new chapels and churches, and suggesting options for music.

A new, multi-use arena will host Division I hockey and basketball players as well as commencement ceremonies, academic gatherings, speakers and career fairs, among other events, at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. On Jan. 17, university officials announced the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena will be built on the Catholic university’s south campus. “This is about more than just hockey and basketball games — this is a gift that will be transformative for our entire St. Paul campus, enhance the experience of our students, and raise visibility for the university as a whole,” President Rob Vischer said in a statement. The $75 million donation from Lee and Penny Anderson of Naples, Florida, will go toward the estimated $175 million cost for the arena. It is the single-largest monetary gift the university has received, school officials said. “St. Thomas has a higher calling in that it develops graduates who are leaders with strong moral character who believe in the mission to serve the common good. These are the kinds of leaders the world needs now more than ever,” Lee Anderson said in a statement. “Additionally, St. Thomas’ vision for this new arena is not only good for the university, but for all of St. Paul, the Twin Cities and Minnesota.” University officials say groundbreaking is expected in 2024, with a fall 2025 targeted opening.

Seventeen Theology II seminarians from The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul spent two weeks in January ministering to the poor in Mexico City, an annual mission trip. Seminary rector Father Joseph Taphorn and Father Evan Koop (pictured), dean of men, led the group. The seminarians also made a pilgrimage to Guadalupe where they learned about the role of the Blessed Mother in Latino culture and the local Church, and prayed in the presence of Juan Diego’s tilma. On return, the seminarians spent a week ministering to local Latino immigrants, participating in parish life, learning about outreach and evangelization, and accompanying local missionaries and young people, ending with a one-week retreat. Their seminarian brothers at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul spent time in January ministering to the poor in India.

A group of 11th and 12th grade students and two faculty members from DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis spent Jan. 16 — the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day — volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The students and faculty members helped build a home in north Minneapolis for a family in need. They worked with other volunteers to frame, build walls and floors and paint the home. “Service learning” is a graduation requirement at DeLaSalle. The Jan. 16 activity was the third time students at DeLaSalle worked with Habitat for Humanity this school year.

When the carpeting needed to be replaced in the chapel at the Pacem in Terris Hermitage Retreat Center near Isanti (just within the boundaries of the Diocese of St. Cloud), the time seemed right to make additional changes, said Tim Drake, executive director. The staff moved the tabernacle and its stone stand to a more prominent spot in the center of the sanctuary space, “giving Christ that place of centrality,” Drake said. It also seemed appropriate during the Eucharistic Revival being celebrated nationwide, he said. The chapel interior was painted last year. Drake expects renovations to be complete around Feb. 1.

An anonymous donor has given $110,000 to create an endowed scholarship at St. Agnes School in St. Paul honoring a longtime coach and teacher. Four $2,500 scholarships will be awarded each year to students who qualify academically and who are active in athletics. The scholarship honors retired teacher and coach Bob Ercolani, who is a member of the St. Agnes High School Hall of Fame. Ercolani started teaching and coaching at the school in 1969, retiring in 2000. “As coaches, we always knew that our job was not just to win trophies, but to instill in our players faith, reason and virtue,” Ercolani said. “If you do that properly, the winning will take care of itself.” Once awarded, a student can earn the scholarship for ensuing years by remaining in good academic standing.

PRACTICING Catholic

SKIING FOR SOULS Dominican Friar Father Brian Zuelke prepares to ski a snow mound at St. Odilia in Shoreview, where he is parochial vicar, as part of a recent video touting a speaker series at the parish on Catholic moral and spiritual life. From one perspective, moral truths and lessons might seem like a mountain, but from a broader perspective of following Christ in all things, it is more of a snow mound, Father Zuelke says in the video. Titled Law and Order: The God Edition, the speaker series features three professors from the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities: Michael Rota, Teresa Collett and Stephen Heaney, discussing the Church’s understanding of the human person, how that understanding undergirds teachings on sexuality, marriage and family and the Church’s approach to social teaching and action. The series began Jan. 25 with Rota, continues Feb. 1 with Collett and ends Feb. 8 with Heaney. The video can be found at fb watch/i1ib1Uqoqr

On the Jan. 20 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviews Mary Ann Kuharski from Prolife Across America, and Angie Johnson, her daughter and the organization’s marketing director, who discuss continuing the fight for life in a post-Roe vs. Wade world. Also featured are Roger Vasko, founder and president of the St. Joseph Business Guild, who describes the value of the guild’s network of Catholic businesses and entrepreneurs; and Deacon Joe Michalak, director of the archdiocesan Office of Synod Evangelization, with Father Joseph Bambenek, assistant director of Synod Evangelization, who describe multiple ways to receive and interact with Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s pastoral letter. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER