The Catholic Spirit - July 21, 2016

Father Tegeder dies 6 • Natural family planning 9 • World Youth Day 12 July 21, 2016 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

‘Today this Cathedral . . . belongs to everyone’ Castile funeral a sign of mercy for family, mourners

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

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f today’s service provides even a tiny measure of peace, then today — this day — will have been a good day,” said Father John Ubel, speaking to thousands of mourners who filled the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul July 14 for the funeral of Philando Castile.

The Cathedral’s rector and a Pope Francis-appointed missionary of mercy, Father Ubel presided over the ecumenical memorial service for the 32-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights July 6.

Although the Castile family is Baptist, Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, asked the Cathedral to hold the service, which followed an adapted form of the Catholic funeral rite outside of the Mass.

In his remarks following the Gospel reading, Father Ubel pointed to Archbishop John Ireland’s hope for the Cathedral when he commissioned it in 1904, noting that the building belongs to all “who seek shelter from the storms of life.”

“My brothers and sisters, today this Cathedral, according to his vision, belongs to everyone,” he said.

Please turn to FUNERAL on page 5

A carriage carrying Philando Castile’s casket leads a procession down Selby Avenue following his funeral at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul July 14. Father John Ubel, the Cathedral’s rector, presided at the ecumenical memorial service, which included welcome remarks from Bishop Andrew Cozzens. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

ALSO inside

Pray for Nice

Caring for the sick

On a mission

Pope Francis expressed his desire to meet with the families of the victims of the July 14 massacre in France.

— Page 7

Parishioners of St. Michael, Prior Lake, reach out to cancer ‘warriors’ with gift boxes and prayer.

— Pages 10-11

Catholics travel far and wide to help others, but say what they gain outweighs what they give.

— Page 13

2 • The Catholic Spirit

PAGE TWO

in PICTURES

July 21, 2016 OVERHEARD “I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of trying to put the faith in a light that made it plausible to people with excellent secular educations, which are often skeptical of the claims of religion.”

Holy Cross Father William Dailey, director of the newly established Notre DameNewman Center for Faith and Reason at Newman University Church in Dublin.

University of Notre Dame officials said the center will “offer a haven for those seeking to reignite their faith, a debating ground for those who have questions, and a magnet for non-Catholics who want to learn about the faith.”

NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit

Novena for chastity and purity underway The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life is leading a Novena for a Rebirth of Chastity and Purity in conjunction with the U.S. bishops to highlight the benefits of natural family planning. The novena began July 18 and will conclude July 26, the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Download the novena at www.archspm.org/ resources_documents/novena-rebirth-chastity-purity.

PLAY BALL From left, Sophie Hayek of St. Columba and Paula Indehar of Nativity of Our Lord, both in St. Paul, prepare for a Catholic Athletic Association women’s softball game July 15 at Edgecumbe Recreation Center in St. Paul. The game, which featured players from the two parishes plus St. Jerome in Maplewood, was the season finale for the league. Mixing players from three teams resulted in Hayek and Indehar being teammates for the game. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Steubenville Youth Conference is July 29-31 in St. Paul A Steubenville Youth Conference will be held July 29-31 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Incoming high school freshmen through graduated seniors may take part in the event featuring music and talks about prayer, chastity, service and the sacraments. For more information, visit www.partnershipforyouth.org/steubenville-st-paul.

Latino Family Day slated for Aug. 13 Latino Family Day will take place from noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. The annual event hosted by the archdiocese’s Office of Latino Ministry will include Mass with Bishop Andrew Cozzens, food, games, music and entertainment. Bring a chair or blanket.

Twins to host appreciation days for altar servers The Minnesota Twins again will offer Altar Server Appreciation Days.

Two are scheduled for September: Sept. 11 (1:10 p.m.) against the Cleveland Indians and Sept. 24 (6:10 p.m.) against the Seattle Mariners. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the Home Run Porch at a discounted rate of $15 per ticket. To order, call 1-800-33-TWINS. Order deadlines are Aug. 26 and Sept. 9.

MILESTONES

GATHERED TOGETHER Viewed on a large screen, Nick Hall, host of “Together 2016,” reads a letter from President Barack Obama to an estimated crowd of 350,000 attendees at the July 16 event in Washington.

Hall, a Protestant, is founder of a student-led evangelism movement called PULSE, based in Minneapolis.

In June, Hall met with Pope Francis, who invited people to attend “Together 2016” via video. The conference included speakers and musicians from different faith backgrounds, and worship and service opportunities. CNS/Ana Franco-Guzman

WHAT’S NEW on social media Polish nuns dance to encourage young Catholics to take part in World Youth Day at the end of July: www.facebook.com/thecatholicspirit Caribou Coffee on Grand Avenue in St. Paul put out a basket for donations for the Little Sisters of the Poor: www.instagram.com/thecatholicspirit

The Catholic Spirit is published bi-weekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 21 — No. 15 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor

• In 1941, the former Universalist Church of the Redeemer in downtown Minneapolis was purchased to serve Catholics in the area as St. Olaf church. On Ash Wednesday in 1953, fire destroyed it, and two years later on Ash Wednesday, the existing church opened again to the Catholic community. It’s known for drawing membership beyond the metro and welcoming many visitors, including President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy, Maria Von Trapp, Flannery O’Connor, Jimmy Durante, Bishop Fulton Sheen and Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata. The parish is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its founding with a variety of events, including “Neighborly Day” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 28 at the parish’s Assisi Park. The feast of St. Olaf on July 29 will be celebrated at all Masses the weekend of July 30-31 with a choir, Scandinavian music group, pancake breakfasts and root beer floats. www. saintolaf.org.

• Sister Mary Catherine Izral, a Servant of Mary, is celebrating 75 years of religious life this year.

CORRECTION In the official in the July 7 issue, The Catholic Spirit misspelled the names of St. Frances Cabrini parish and the Gichitwaa Kateri chaplaincy, both in Minneapolis. We apologize for the errors.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

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July 21, 2016

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP

The Catholic Spirit • 3

In our diversity, we must work together to heal division

O

ut on the East Coast for a family wedding, I found everyone asking about Frogtown and the incredibly rich cultural diversity of the Twin Cities. I had been speaking about this for a year but no one seemed to take note until the New York Times ran an article in last the July 10 edition’s travel section on St. Paul — go figure!

We indeed live in a region that is surprisingly diverse: ethnically, linguistically, religiously and racially. As I heard so often in our listening sessions, there is a great pride in that diversity. At the same time, we are keenly aware of ongoing tensions and prejudices along some of those divides. We recognize that we are very much a “work in progress” as we strive to build a society grounded on mutual respect and tolerance.

As Catholics, we have a great deal to contribute to that effort and discussion. As members of a Church that is truly universal, we’re at our heart multicultural, multilingual and multiracial. We’re part of a Church that’s already engaged in a rich dialogue with other Christians, with the Jewish and Muslim communities, with representatives from the other great world religious traditions and even with non-believers.

When a bishop is assigned to a diocese or a pastor to a parish, he’s assigned to offer pastoral care to all of the “souls” in that territory, not just the Catholics. In his powerful exchange with the Canaanite woman at the well and his preaching on the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives us good examples of the outreach expected of us.

Our Catholic understanding of ONLY JESUS the dignity of the human person, rooted in the assurance that all of Archbishop us are created in the image and Bernard Hebda likeness of God, calls us to be men

En nuestra diversidad tenemos que trabajar juntos para sanar la división Visitando la costa este del país para una boda en la familia, muchos me preguntaban sobre la increíble y rica diversidad cultural de Frogtown y de las Ciudades Gemelas. He venido hablando sobre esto por un año, pero nadie parecía darse cuenta sino hasta que el periódico New York Times publicó el domingo pasado un artículo sobre Saint Paul en la sección de viajes, ¡imaginen eso!

En realidad vivimos en una región que es sorprendentemente diversa: étnicamente, ligústicamente, religiosamente y racialmente. Como lo escucho frecuentemente en las sesiones de escucha y reflexión; existe un gran orgullo en esa diversidad que tenemos. A la vez estamos profundamente conscientes de la tensiones y los prejuicios existentes que se basan en estas líneas divisorias. Reconocemos que “todavía hay mucho por hacer” a la vez que hacemos todo lo posible por edificar una sociedad basada en el respeto mutuo y en la tolerancia.

Como Católicos, tenemos muchísimo que aportar para contribuir a esas metas y a la discusión. Como miembros de una Iglesia que es verdaderamente universal, de corazón tenemos una multiplicidad de culturas, de idiomas, y de razas. Somos parte de una Iglesia que ya está participando en un rico diálogo con otros hermanos y hermanas Cristianos, con otros hermanos y hermanas de la fe judía, con las comunidades musulmanas, así como con representantes de otras grandes tradiciones religiosas mundiales y con los no creyentes.

Cuando un Obispo es asignado a una diócesis o un pastor a una parroquia, él es asignado para ofrecer el cuidado pastoral para todas las “almas” de ese territorio; no está asignado sólo a cuidar a los

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, center, reads a prayer during the Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice at the Cathedral of St. Paul July 8. At left is Deacon Phil Stewart.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit and women who work to heal divisions. St. John Paul II noted that the Catholic Church, which embraces men and women “of every nation, race, people and tongue” (Rev 7:9) is called to be, “in a world marked by ideological, ethnic, economic and cultural divisions,” the “living sign of the unity of the human family.”

Pope Francis similarly keeps reminding us that ours is a Church of inclusion rather than exclusion.

The doors of our churches are wide open, not only so that we can go out to bring the Gospel to the peripheries, but also that all might come to experience our churches as places for encountering our God’s welcoming and transformative embrace.

Our commitment to welcoming others has to be more than lip service. The Holy Father calls us to be proactive in promoting “a culture of encounter, respect, understanding and mutual forgiveness.”

Moreover, we have to be willing to examine our conscience to see where we, whether as individuals or collectively, have allowed the sin of prejudice or unjust discrimination to keep us from being the

Católicos. En aquel intercambio poderoso con la mujer cananea en el pozo de agua y su predicación sobre la buena samaritana, Jesucristo nos da los ejemplos de lo que él espera de nosotros hacia los demás.

Lo que entendemos como Católicos sobre la dignidad del ser humano tiene su raíz en la garantía de que todos hemos sido creados a imagen y semejanza de Dios, y Él nos hace ese llamado a ser hombres y mujeres que trabajan para sanar las divisiones. El apóstol San Juan hace notar que la Iglesia Católica acoge a todos los hombres y mujeres de “todas las naciones y linajes y pueblos y lenguas” (Apocalipsis Capítulo 7, Versículo 9) que somos llamados a ser “en un mundo marcado por divisiones ideológicas, étnicas, económicas y culturales” “la señal viva de la unidad de la familia humana.”

El Papa Francisco similarmente nos sigue haciendo recordar que nuestra Iglesia es una Iglesia de inclusión y no de exclusión. Las puertas de nuestras Iglesias están totalmente abiertas, no sólo para que podamos llevar el evangelio a las periferias , sino que también para que todos puedan sentir que nuestras iglesias son lugares de encuentro con la bienvenida de Dios y su acogimiento transformador.

Nuestro compromiso de darle la bienvenida a otros tiene que ser algo más allá del diente al labio. El Santo Padre nos hace el llamado a promover “una cultura de encuentro, de respeto, de entendimiento mutuo y de perdón.” Además tenemos que estar dispuestos a examinar nuestra propia consciencia, para determinar si nosotros como personas individuales o como un colectivo, hemos permitido el pecado del prejuicio o de la discriminación injusta y si estos nos han impedido ser los instrumentos de la unidad para la que hemos sido creados. . . .

Uno de mis antecesores el Arzobispo Harry Flynn, escribió una carta pastoral muy poderosa sobre el tema del racismo (titulada “A imagen de Dios”) que

instruments of unity that we were created to be. . . .

As noted in paragraph 1935 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design.”

How blessed we are to have a patient God who loves us in spite of our sins.

One of my predecessors, Archbishop Harry Flynn, wrote a powerful pastoral letter on the subject of racism — “In God’s Image” — that seems as relevant today as when it was published in 2003.

I’m grateful that it continues to appear on our archdiocesan website, and I would encourage all of us to read it and re-read it as a helpful examination of conscience as we consider our involvement in sinful discrimination. I’m confident that we can make a difference.

I was recently delighted, for example, to receive a delegation from the African-American community in St. Paul who spoke with great admiration of Father Kevin McDonough’s impact on their community in the course of his 26 years as pastor of St. Peter Claver. I was moved by the fervent prayers of those who came to the Cathedral for the Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice. I was encouraged, moreover, that Philando Castile’s mother would have felt comfortable enough to request that the funeral of her son be held in our Cathedral, and inspired not only by the hospitality of Cathedral Rector Father John Ubel and his staff, but also the generosity of the St. Paul Police, who quietly embraced the logistical challenges that come with an event of that size.

I’m grateful that the archdiocese had the opportunity not only to share in a family’s grief but also to play a small role in bringing together men and women of many faith traditions, races and experiences to pray for a more vibrant unity, grounded in honesty and justice. May the Lord, in his mercy, hear those prayers.

es relevante hoy, así como lo era cuando fue publicada en el año 2003. Estoy agradecido que continua estando en nuestro sitio arquidiocesano en la red electrónica, quiero instarles a que la lean y la vuelvan a leer, ya que es útil para el examen de nuestra consciencia, a la vez que reflexionamos sobre nuestra participación en el pecado de la discriminación. Tengo confianza en que podemos hacer la diferencia.

Estoy muy agradecido por la oportunidad que tuvo la arquidiócesis no solamente de compartir el luto de una familia, pero también por tener la oportunidad de desempeñar un pequeño papel para congregar a los hermanos y hermanas de diferentes religiones, de diferentes razas y experiencias para orar por una unidad más vibrante basada en la honestidad y la justicia. Que el Señor con su misericordia escuche esas oraciones.

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis: Effective July 12, 2016 Reverend Thomas O’Brien, appointed chaplain to Regina Hospital and Senior Living in Hastings. Father O’Brien is returning to ministry after a leave of absence.

Reverend Christopher Shofner, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Marysburg and the Church of the Nativity in Cleveland. This is in addition to his current appointment as pastor of the Church of Saint Mary in Le Center.

Reverend Vaughn Treco, appointed sacramental minister of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Marysburg and the Church of the Nativity in Cleveland. This is in addition to his current appointment as chaplain to Providence Academy in Plymouth.

4 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

July 21, 2016

SLICEof LIFE

Shared service

From left, Sharidiana Galvan, a recent graduate of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis, and Adriana Malagon from Bogotá, Colombia, play with children at the Northside Child Development Center in Minneapolis July 7. After Cristo Rey students visited students in Colombia in November 2015, they invited the Colombian students to the U.S. for 10 days. Both trips were made possible by the local organization Pathways to Children, which helps children in extreme poverty in developing countries. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Congratulations

to The Catholic Spirit’s 2016 Leading With Faith winners

We will honor the winners at the Leading With Faith Award luncheon, Thursday, Aug.18, at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

For details, visit www.archspm.org/leadingfaithlunch • FREE on-campus parking and shuttle service available Presented by

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Call or email Mary Gibbs for your reservation. 651-251-7709 or gibbsm@archspm.org

July 21, 2016

LOCAL

The Catholic Spirit • 5

Archbishop calls for unity at Mass for peace and justice

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Archbishop Bernard Hebda focused on the need for unity and healing in the Twin Cities and country during a Mass for peace and justice July 8.

“Sacred Scripture reminds us that nothing is impossible with God,” he said at the Mass, which drew about 250 people to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

“We come before him at this Eucharist to ask him to heal the divisions that weaken us as community,” he said, “that he strengthen us when we tend to lose hope, that he enlighten us when we fail to see his image in one another, and that he use us, his Church, as the field hospital he desires to tend the wounds of those who are hurting at this difficult time.”

The Mass was offered in response to the July 6 shooting death of St. Paul resident Philando Castile by a police officer. During the liturgy, Archbishop Hebda prayed for the people most affected by Castile’s death.

Castile, who was black, was shot in his car four times by a police officer in Falcon Heights during a 9 p.m. traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the passenger seat and broadcasted the aftermath of the shooting via Facebook Live. Castile’s shooting came a day after police shot and killed a black man outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooting deaths sparked Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country, including in Dallas, where, on July 7, a sniper shot and killed five police officers and wounded others.

The Mass, which was held during the Cathedral’s regular 5:15 p.m. daily liturgy, was a special Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice found in the Roman Missal. The prayers focused on peace, unity, and hope amid darkness and suffering. The Gospel reading was the Beatitudes.

Archbishop Hebda began his homily with the first part of 1 Corinthians 12:26: “If one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it,” and tied it to those suffering from the deaths of Castile and the Dallas officers.

He said people feel the pain of those who are treated differently because of their race or country of origin, and of police officers “who feel that they are being

Sharon James-Abba of St. Paul listens to Archbishop Bernard Hebda during the Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice at the Cathedral of St. Paul July 8. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit misjudged and underappreciated.”

“Feeling that pain in our community and beyond, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless, anxious, and yet it is precisely in those moments that we know our own weakness that we have the opportunity to make known the love and strength of our God, a God that offered a great hope to his people at a time when they were hopeless,” he said.

He said that for people of faith, Mass is “the way we know best” to come before God, “to seek his consolation, his guidance, his strength, asking him to use us as repairers of the breach and restorers of streets to live in.”

He urged the faithful to work toward peace and unity by first examining their consciences and asking for forgiveness for the times they have caused division and misjudged others.

He pointed to a pastoral letter on racism Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn wrote in 2003.

“He noted that resisting racism requires that we examine our basic instincts and assumptions about race, how these assumptions shape our daily lives,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Are we able to see Jesus in

people whose skin color is different than ours?”

Archbishop Hebda reminded the congregation that it is the Year of Mercy and “we have a God that not only forgives us, he bestows his Spirit upon us . . . and leads us on the path of righteousness and in the way of peace.

He can truly make all things new.”

At the end of Mass, Archbishop Hebda asked people to continue to pray for community leaders as they make difficult decisions.

Concelebrating the Mass were Father John Ubel, Cathedral rector; Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan, rector of the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul; and Father Michael Creagan, pastor of St. Joseph in West St. Paul. Assisting at the Mass was Deacon Phil Stewart.

Eleni Demissie, a health care data analysist and Cathedral parishioner, said she regularly attends daily Mass at the Cathedral, but it was meaningful to have that evening’s liturgy respond to Castile’s death.

“I’m saddened by what’s going on right now,” she said. “It’s really a privilege to be able to offer up whatever we’re going through. One thing I know to do is pray, so I’m glad to be able to contribute that way.”

Asked whether being a woman of color affected the way she responded to Castile’s death, she said, “I approach it as a Christian.”

Sitting a few pews behind Demissie was Sharon JamesAbba, who was wearing a white T-shirt with “Philando Castile” printed on the front.

She said she received the T-shirt the night before at a vigil organized by Black Lives Matter that began outside J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul, where Castile worked as a cafeteria supervisor, and evolved into a protest at the governor’s mansion six blocks away.

Wearing the T-shirt was a sign of support, she said.

James-Abba, who is Baptist and lives near the Cathedral, said she heard about the Mass on the news and was looking for a place to be quiet.

“It’s just too much,” she said of Castile’s death and other violence in the city and country. As a black woman, mother and grandmother, the recent events made a deep emotional impact on her.

“I just needed to come and hear something uplifting,” she said of the Mass.

Funeral an expression of Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy, openness Continued from page 1 In remarks at the beginning of the service, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens said that “we stand together as brothers and sisters before our loving God united in prayer,” and linked the funeral to the Year of Mercy.

“In this year we are asked in a special way to try and show forth the merciful face of our God to those in need, those who mourn, those in need of healing, and to welcome into our churches all who hunger and thirst for the Lord’s tender mercy,” he said. “And so today, as we come before our loving God to ask for mercy, we ask the Lord to show his mercy to Philando, welcoming him to that place where every tear is wiped away.”

The Rev. Steve Daniels Jr., pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in St. Paul, delivered a eulogy, where he called for unity, change and conversion.

“We need the Lord like never before,” he said, also calling for respect for the law, an end to racial profiling, and that Castile’s death not be in vain. “We cannot continue to survive if we don’t make a change.”

In short remarks before Scripture and poetry readings, family members remembered Castile as a respectful, caring man who was self-sufficient and loved his work as cafeteria supervisor at a St. Paul school.

Following the service, Bishop Cozzens said he was moved by Daniels’ words during the eulogy when he “spoke like a father” and said “we’ve got to come together or we’re not going to make it.” One of the gospel hymns with the lyrics, “God’s going to turn it around,” resonated with him, he added.

“That’s our prayer,” he said.

Responding to some Catholics’ criticism of holding a non-Catholic funeral at the Cathedral, Bishop Cozzens said “the Cathedral is a house of prayer for everybody.

We agreed to do the funeral because it would honor God and the role the Cathedral has in the community.”

In a July 13 statement, Archbishop Hebda said that “the archdiocese was honored that Philando Castile’s mother, desiring that her son’s funeral be an opportunity for ‘people to come together in a new way,’ thought our Cathedral could be a fitting setting for an ecumenical service at which our community could unite with her family to pray for peace and reconciliation.”

He pointed to Pope Francis’ Sept. 9, 2015, general audience, in which the pontiff said, “The assembly of Jesus takes the form of a family and of a hospitable family, not an exclusive, closed sect.”

“At this difficult moment we feel privileged to have the opportunity to offer hospitality to the Castile family and to our hurting community,” Archbishop Hebda said. “We are praying that our Cathedral might serve as a place where all might encounter a God who offers consolation and hope.”

Canon law permits a bishop to grant Catholic funerals for people who are not Catholic, but baptized. It also does not prohibit a Catholic church from being used for non-Catholic funerals or other events, as long as they are not contrary to the holiness of the sacred space.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, other public servants and clergy from a variety of denominations attended the funeral, as did several priests, seminarians and Little Sisters of the Poor.

Mother Maria Francis Pale, local superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Paul, attended the service because she believes it’s important for people to stand together in times of joy and in times of pain.

Sister Dorothy Struzinski said she and other members

of her community attended the service “to give strength to the family and let them know we’re with them.”

“We were all taken aback by what had happened,” she said. “We’re all in this together. . . . We have to start being together, being united, working together. That’s so important. The violence in this country is never going to change unless we respect each other.”

Billy Critchley-Menor, 20, a first-year Jesuit novice, was out of the country when the shooting occurred.

Living across the street from the governor’s mansion on Summit Avenue, where demonstrations have taken place in the days following, Critchley-Menor and other novices took the opportunity to talk to people.

“The community, America, is just in such need of healing, and especially of reconciliation, when it comes to issues of race, when it comes to issues of violence.

And the death of Philando Castile is a wake-up call to many of us that we need to continue to work for justice, to work for peace, to work for reconciliation,” said Critchley-Menor, who’s from Duluth.

He attended the memorial service with a handful of other novices. Being the Year of Mercy, he felt the need to grieve and pray with people who mourn their dead, he said.

“I think the funeral today was an absolutely beautiful expression of reconciliation, of unity and diversity, of bringing people together who otherwise would not be together,” he said. “When I looked around the Cathedral today, it was just so clear that God was present. It just looked like God. People who were so different from each other sitting, standing, clapping, praising, being happy, being joyful, together.”

— Jessica Trygstad contributed to this story.

6 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

July 21, 2016

Two church communities remember Father Tegeder as listener, unifier

in BRIEF ST. PAUL

Parishes report minor damage following July 5 storms

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit Father Michael Tegeder embraced the community of Gichitwaa Kateri and its blending of American Indian culture with the Catholic faith. He even took classes to learn the Ojibwe language, spoken by many of the American Indians to whom he ministered.

And as pastor of both the American Indian chaplaincy and St. Frances Cabrini, both in Minneapolis, he was the first priest to help establish a relationship between the two churches, located about 6 miles apart, said Chris Kosowski, a longtime parishioner and liturgist at St. Frances Cabrini.

Now, the church communities are coming together to mourn Father Tegeder’s death. He died July 9 in hospice care.

“I’m just so grateful for that wisdom from him in the midst of it [cancer],” Kosowski said. While parishioners were praying for a miracle, Father Tegeder eventually told her there are many kinds of miracles, sensing that a cure wouldn’t be one of his. somebody.”

Father Tegeder, 67, had been in Responding to people’s needs hospice since June after being included tragic situations, Larry said, diagnosed with an aggressive form of noting how many young people have cancer in February. He celebrated his been dying of drug overdoses and last public Mass Easter Sunday at suicide, both in the Twin Cities and on St. Frances Cabrini. reservations.

After he entered hospice, his sister, “Father Mike was just very, very Katharyn Dawson, posted on his good at relating to those tragic stories CaringBridge site June 29 that he no in people’s lives,” Larry said. longer could receive visitors.

Part of Father Tegeder’s ministry A funeral Mass was scheduled for involved the Going Home Project, July 20 at St. Edward in Bloomington, taking the bodies of people who had with a vigil service July 19 at died to a reservation for St. Frances Cabrini burial. He often would with the Gichitwaa stay to conduct the Kateri community. services, but always Parishioners of St. “He just took to made it a point to offer Frances Cabrini and his condolences to Gichitwaa Kateri, the customs and family members, Larry where Father Tegeder said. had been pastor since ceremonies with The Martins believed 2011, hosted a prayer Father Tegeder was well gathering July 6. such zeal.” suited for Indian There they ministry because he Richard Wright distributed prayer listened well and cards with an image wanted to learn of Black Elk, a people’s needs from medicine and holy them. He also saw the man of the Oglala connections between the traditional Lakota tribe and Catholic convert who and Catholic components of how died in 1950. On the cards was a American Indians practice their faith. prayer written by Larry Martin, 73, a longtime parishioner and musician at Working to advance Black Elk’s Gichitwaa Kateri. sainthood cause, just as he’d done with Martin said Father Tegeder dedicated St. Kateri Tekakwitha, was one of the much of his time to the “small, active” ways Father Tegeder delved into the unique position of pastoring Catholics American Indian chaplaincy. Martin who remain deeply attached to their and his wife, Claire, said it was cultural traditions. common for him to receive a call from someone in need and drop everything Father Tegeder never passed up an to respond personally. opportunity to participate in a sweat “He wouldn’t say, ‘I’ll put it on my lodge ceremony, said Richard Wright, a calendar and get to it,’” said Martin, a longtime member of Gichitwaa Kateri member of Wisconsin’s Lac Courte and member of the Minnesota Oreilles Ojibwe tribe and professor Chippewa Tribe. In the two-hour emeritus of American Indian studies at ceremony, he explained, everyone the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. silently prays to “share a special “It immediately became his focus no moment with God,” while water is matter what.” poured over heated rocks to make “In a very effective way,” Claire steam. Afterward, they perform a pipe added. “He didn’t delegate it to ceremony.

Father Michael Tegeder is pictured at an outdoor Mass in 2012. Father Tegeder, who had been pastor of Gichitwaa Kateri, the American Indian chaplaincy, and St. Frances Cabrini, both in Minneapolis, died July 9 in hospice.

Courtesy St. Frances Cabrini “He just took to the customs and ceremonies with such zeal,” Wright said.

In the broader Catholic community, Father Tegeder was known for his public opposition to some local Church leaders and aspects of Church teaching. But Gichitwaa Kateri members say he never spoke openly about criticisms there.

“In some sense, I think he wanted to shield the Gichitwaa Kateri parish from issues of controversy,” Wright said.

Larry Martin agreed.

“We asked him one time about that, and he said, ‘You know, Indian people have problems of their own. They don’t need to hear about this.’ He just never said a word about it,” Martin recalled. “He wasn’t going to let that mix with his role at Kateri. . . . I think he wanted to be thinking about our needs and our issues.”

Father Tegeder also served as chaplain for the Office of Indian Ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Born July 11, 1948, in Minneapolis, Father Tegeder went to St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley. He attended Ascension Catholic School in Minneapolis and graduated from DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis in 1966.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville in 1970, he entered the St. Paul Seminary. In 1978, he was ordained by Archbishop John Roach.

His first priestly assignment was associate pastor of the Cathedral of St. Paul, a role he held until 1981, when he pursued graduate degrees in moral theology until 1983.

Father Tegeder also served at St. Andrew in Elysian, St. Stephen in Minneapolis, St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, Our Lady of the Lake in Mound and St. Edward in Bloomington.

Three parishes reported minor damage following a storm system that impacted the Twin Cities metro area July 5.

St. Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran reported two downed trees and shingle damage from strong winds. The parish community of St. Bridget and St. Austin in Minneapolis reported water in its former school building on the St. Bridget campus. At St. Joseph in Red Wing, a tree fell on a former convent building on the parish campus. The parishes filed claims with Catholic Mutual, with whom they are insured.

Dayton Building sold to Cathedral Heritage Foundation The Catholic Spirit A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved July 14 the sale of two Cathedral Hill properties from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to the Cathedral Heritage Foundation and a subsidiary, 244 Dayton LLC, for $900,000.

The archdiocese announced in June its plans to sell to the foundation 244 Dayton Ave., home to the archdiocese’s Office of Communications and Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, and a vacant lot at 250 Dayton Ave. “We appreciate the court’s favorable ruling on this transaction and we are looking forward to closing on the purchase on schedule,” the Cathedral Heritage Foundation said in a July 15 statement.

The properties are the last the archdiocese plans to sell as part of its Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. It has also sold its chancery and archbishop’s residence on Summit Avenue, an office building on Kellogg Boulevard and a residence near Northfield, with sales totaling $9,040,000.

The archdiocese plans to relocate its Cathedral Hill offices to a leased space in St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.

The Cathedral Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit that provides support for and education about the restoration and preservation of the Cathedral and its campus. The Dayton Building, as 244 Dayton Ave. is known, sits directly behind the Cathedral and abuts the Cathedral rectory.

In a June 20 statement on the sale, the Cathedral Heritage Foundation said it planned to buy the 94-year-old office building and nearby vacant lot because “the properties share infrastructure with the Cathedral and have an historic connection to the campus.”

The Cathedral Heritage Foundation plans to lease the properties to the Cathedral. Funds for the purchase were raised specifically for the purpose of the sale, and the sale is not expected to impact the foundation’s other activities.

July 21, 2016

U.S. & WORLD

The Catholic Spirit • 7

Bishop feels ‘deep ache in my heart’ after fatal shootings of police Catholic News Service

A woman prays as she attends Mass July 15 at the Nice cathedral in France to pay tribute to victims killed in the Bastille Day attack. Pope Francis prayed that God gives comfort to grieving families and foils the plans of those who wish to harm others.

CNS/Eric Gaillard, Reuters

Pope offers to help, meet families following massacre in Nice

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Pope Francis offered his help to the people of Nice in a surprise phone call following a deadly attack during Bastille Day celebrations, said the head of an association of Italians living in France.

Paolo Celi, president of the France-Italy Friendship society, told Vatican Radio that he was shocked upon answering his phone and hearing, “Paolo, I am Pope Francis.”

“There was a moment of silence from my part. Then he asked me to impart to the entire city of Nice, to all the families of the victims, his message of solidarity and comfort saying, ‘What can I do,’” Celi said in an interview published July 18.

Celi also said the pope expressed his desire to meet with the families of the victims of the July 14 massacre.

“We also spoke for quite some time over the phone about a meeting in Rome in the near future without setting a date,” he said.

The pope also spoke on the phone with Christian Estrosi, former mayor of Nice and president of the

Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, Celi said. The call, he said, gave Estrosi “the necessary strength in this situation.”

Celi, who had left the promenade shortly before the attack, also said he was “greatly comforted” by the pope’s gesture.

“With his words, with his comfort, the Holy Father can alleviate this awful memory to restore the vigor and desire for hope of all these people,” Celi said.

The July 14 attack took place when 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck through the crowds celebrating Bastille Day along Nice’s seaside promenade, leaving 84 dead and more than 100 wounded.

In his remarks following the recitation of the Angelus prayer July 17, the pope led pilgrims in a moment of silent prayer for the victims of the massacre “in which so many innocent lives, even many children, were mowed down.”

“May God, the good father, receive all the victims in his peace, support the wounded and comfort the families; may he dispel every plan of terror and death so that no man dares to spill his brother’s blood ever again,” he said.

Leaders focus on children ahead of AIDS conference Catholic News Service

Catholic organizations.

One-third of HIV-positive children “die before their first birthday, and half before their second birthday,” so Catholic groups are advocating for changes in treatment, said Msgr. Robert Vitillo, Caritas Internationalis special adviser on HIV and health.

In a telephone interview from Durban, South Africa, where Catholic groups met before the July 18-22 International AIDS Conference, Msgr. Vitillo also said groups were concerned about eliminating the stigma attached to AIDS. About 70 people from Catholic groups who provide diagnosis, care and prevention programs for people living with HIV attended the July 15-17 meeting, organized by Caritas Internationalis and other

Archbishop Peter Wells, papal nuncio to South Africa, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban and Dominican Sister Alison Munro, director of the AIDS office for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, were among the speakers at the meeting that drew participants mostly from African countries, including Cameroon, Uganda and Swaziland.

The combination of antiretroviral drugs and their dosages are different for adults and children, Msgr.

Vitillo told Catholic News Service. He said lack of access and information is severely harming infected children. Diagnostic tests for children are more expensive than those for adults and often are unavailable, he added.

Baton Rouge Bishop Robert Muench renewed a call for a diocesan-wide week of prayer, fasting and reflection after the latest fatal shootings in the Louisiana city, which this time took the lives of three law enforcement officers.

He urged all to “work toward a lasting peace in our communities.”

Early July 17, a former Marine fatally shot three police officers, and wounded three more, one critically, less than a mile from the city’s police headquarters. The gunman, later identified as Gavin Long of Missouri, was killed at the scene, officials said.

Baton Rouge was still reeling from the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, by police during an altercation outside a convenience store July 5. The first week of July also saw the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, 32, in suburban St. Paul, by police officers July 6, followed by the sniper shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers July 7.

“Words cannot express the emotions we feel for those who have lost loved ones in the tragic events of this day,” Bishop Muench said in a statement. “Their entire lives have been unexpectedly and terribly turned upside down.”

He said he and the diocese’s vicar general visited two of the families affected by the shootings later that afternoon to share “prayer and support in the midst of their shock, horror and grief.”

“Prayer is a powerful path to follow when tragedy happens, but even the most devout of us sometimes question: ‘What good could come of this?’” the bishop said. “Only the word of God has the answer to the questions that shake our faith: The answer is our Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus, hope ultimately triumphs over despair; love ultimately triumphs over hate; and resurrection ultimately triumphs over death.”

In the neighboring Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Bishop Shelton Fabre said that “our tears are still falling and our fresh and fervent prayers are still ascending to God” over the earlier violence and loss of life in Louisiana when the law enforcement officers were ambushed in Baton Rouge, a diocese “very close to home for us.”

“As a native of New Roads and a priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge for 17 years, I feel a deep ache in my heart because of recent violence that has happened there,” said Bishop Fabre in a reflection posted July 17 on his Facebook page.

“My sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones today or in the past weeks in the violence that has occurred in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, Dallas, Istanbul and Nice,” he said. “Unfortunately, I fear that we as a nation and a world are becoming too accustomed to the tragic events of violence and loss of human life . . . .”

He said in such times, he is drawn to the Lord’s words to the prophet Isaiah: “Comfort my people.” He said he also chose those words for his episcopal motto “because I feel that deep within the heart of God is a desire to comfort us in our pain.”

In a July 18 statement, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered his prayers for the officers and families “affected by the horrible shooting in Baton Rouge.”

“We find ourselves amid a prolonged prayer of lament as we join to console the grieving and support the suffering,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky. “People are suffering because their uniform is blue, suffering because their skin is black and suffering simply because of their station in life.”

The “temptation to respond to violence with violence is strong,” he said, noting that even St. Peter lashed out about Christ’s arrest. “Jesus’ response was clear: ‘Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”

“As followers of Christ, let us always embrace love and ask ourselves how we can best invite all people of goodwill to live with us in peace,” he said.

8 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & WORLD

July 21, 2016

in BRIEF WASHINGTON

Poll: Hispanic Catholics back Clinton; white Catholics split Hispanic Catholics are solidly behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, while white Catholics are more closely split between Clinton and her presumed Republican challenger, Donald Trump. The news comes from a poll released July 13 by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life. According to the poll, 77 percent of Hispanic Catholics are backing Clinton while 16 percent support Trump, with 5 percent either not sure or not saying. White Catholics, meanwhile, shade toward Trump by a 50 percent-46 percent margin, according to Pew, with 4 percent undecided. Among all Catholics, the edge goes to Clinton, 56-39, with 5 percent undecided. In the overall poll, according to Pew, Clinton leads Trump 51 percent-42 percent. Pew estimates that Catholics make up 20 percent of the electorate this year, 13 percent being white, 5 percent being Hispanic, and 2 percent being “other.” By contrast, 21 percent of all voters are religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew. They are behind Clinton by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, 67 percent-23 percent, with 10 percent undecided.

VATICAN CITY

Pope taps Chicago archbishop as member of Congregation for Bishops Pope Francis has named Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the pope on the nomination of bishops around the world. Archbishop Cupich, 67, takes the place left vacant by U.S. Cardinal William Levada, who turned 80 in mid-June and automatically ceded his membership. The congregation is led by

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, its prefect. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington also serves as a member.

In a statement from Chicago, Archbishop Cupich said: “I am humbled by the Holy Father’s trust and confidence in me. While my primary responsibility remains here in the Archdiocese of Chicago, I look forward to joining other members of the Congregation for Bishops to serve the pope and the church in this ministry.” Nuncios, or Vatican ambassadors, around the world conduct the initial search for priests suitable for the office of bishop and forward their names to the congregation.

Congregation members review the biographies of potential candidates and comments and recommendations collected by the nuncios before making their recommendations to the pope.

Pope signs decrees in causes for U.S. bishop, martyr of Nazi regime Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of a U.S. bishop who ministered to California farmworkers and the poor, and recognized the martyrdom of an Italian layman, who died en route to a Nazi death camp after refusing to recite allegiance to Adolf Hitler. The pope also recognized the martyrdom of seven Missionaries of the Sacred Heart who were killed during the Spanish Civil War and he recognized the miracle needed for the beatification of French Father Antoine-Rose Ormieres — founder of the Congregation of the Guardian Angel Sisters. The pope approved the decrees during an audience July 8 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of the late Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos of Sacramento, California, known as the “bishop of the barrio” because of his work with the marginalized and the “lowrider bishop’’ because of his support for members of local modified-

car clubs. He was particularly concerned about the poor, uncatechized young people, migrants and other people who lacked support from the community, and he often spent his summer vacations living with farmworkers in California’s Central Valley. A member of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Bishop Gallegos was born in 1931 and died in 1991.

UNITED NATIONS

Panel examines causes, solutions for ‘growing scourge’ of trafficking One goal of a July 13 event at the United Nations on human trafficking was “to make real the faces of the nearly 2 million children and youth who are presently being trafficked,” said the Vatican’s U.N. nuncio. Another was for participants to discuss “what’s working, what’s not working and what needs to be done to free them, help them recover, and prevent other young people from suffering as they have,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, who heads the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission at the U.N. He made the comments in his opening remarks at the event, titled “Eliminating the Trafficking of Children and Youth.” It was sponsored by Vatican U.N. mission along with the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, the Salesian Missions, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and ECPAT-USA, an organization that advocates for federal and state legislation that prevents exploitation of children.

Speakers called for greater awareness and stronger policies to combat the roots of human trafficking among children and youth. They also discussed the best methods to combat what they say is a growing scourge of children and youth who are trafficked for sex or work.

“Listen to your elder’s advice.

Not because I’m always right, but because I have more experiences of being wrong.”

Announcing St. Therese Southwest is now The Glenn Catholic Senior Communities.

With age comes wisdom. And an opportunity to define the next chapter. At The Glenn, you are not only part of a welcoming Catholic community, but you also have the ability to modify your living arrangement from independent to assisted or memory care to suit your needs. If you’re looking for a place that inspires a more active lifestyle and provides daily spiritual support, we welcome you.

TheGlennHopkins.com | 952-467-8498 TheGlennMinnetonka.com | 952-314-5292

— Catholic News Service

July 21, 2016

FAITH & CULTURE

The Catholic Spirit • 9

Local study: More NFP education needed for medical professionals

By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit One day on her run, Abigail House Tierney’s mind wandered to her future as a physician assistant student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She appreciated what she had learned from shadowing at the AALFA Family Clinic in White Bear Lake, a pro-life medical practice that applies the Creighton Model of natural family planning to women’s health care. But she wondered what further NFP education she would receive.

Starting the program in September 2013, she soon discovered she wasn’t the only one interested in NFP. With three of her fellow classmates, she turned her query into a thesis on the dissemination of NFP knowledge among PA students. They concluded that not just the quantity, but, more important, the quality of NFP education needed to improve in order to increase physician assistants’ advocacy of it.

Sarah Slattery, one of the collaborators and now a PA at the AALFA clinic, hopes it fills a gap in NFP research.

“It seemed to us a lot of doctors don’t mention NFP, and there is a huge gap in research [about] how much NFP is taught in medical curriculum,” said Slattery, a parishioner of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul.

Marissa Enfield and Marta Khan, both PAs, were the other researchers.

What they discovered coincided with their own experience.

“The results were predictable, but it’s good to have the data,” said Tierney, now a PA in emergency and urgent care at HealthEast and a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis.

Prior knowledge prevails The four students surveyed the interest, knowledge, attitudes and amount of NFP education among PA students in three local programs — St. Catherine University, Augsburg College in Minneapolis and Bethel University in St. Paul. They found that these programs gave students comparatively less education about NFP than artificial contraception, and that their professional training had little impact on the attitudes and understanding of NFP that students brought with them into the program. The amount of knowledge the students had about NFP prior to starting PA school was the main predictor of their willingness to mention it to their future patients.

They also found that students who had heard about NFP through their church were more likely to be knowledgeable about NFP before starting PA school.

Among students who reported knowing nothing about NFP prior to schooling, 100 percent said it was unreliable.

Those with more knowledge before PA school were also more likely to report they would mention NFP to patients in the future. Those with less knowledge of NFP before their training were less likely to do so.

More instruction needed

Sarah Slattery, left, physician assistant at AALFA Family Clinic in White Bear Lake, talks with patient Becca Kempenich, who was there with her husband, Dan, and newborn son, Xander.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

National NFP Awareness Week July 24-30 Natural Family Planning Awareness Week is a national educational campaign of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The dates highlight the anniversary of Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae” (July 25), which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love and responsible parenthood. The dates also coincide with the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26), Mary’s parents.

“I felt like there was some kind of filter that went through their [PA students’] heads based on preconceptions of their own,” Tierney said.

While 89 percent of PA students were familiar with NFP through both prior knowledge and their PA training, of those who were “well educated” about NFP before starting PA school, 67 percent believed it reliable for avoiding or achieving pregnancy.

Students with a basic knowledge of NFP were split: 43 percent were unsure of its effectiveness in avoiding or achieving pregnancy, 31 percent saw it as unreliable, and 26 percent believed it to be reliable.

It struck the researchers that respondents’ professional training didn’t seem to affect their attitudes and understanding of NFP one way or another. They concluded that the instruction on NFP was too thin to overcome the perceptions about NFP that PAs brought into the program, whether positive or negative.

In their four-week course on women’s health at St. Catherine University, two hours were spent on contraception and one hour on NFP. Tierney also found it odd that the pharmacist who lectured on contraception also gave the lecture on NFP, which is not a pharmaceutical practice. Tierney characterized their NFP training as “neither positive nor negative. It was just vague.”

Those surveyed in the thesis also generally received two hours of lectures on contraception and one hour or less on NFP. Slattery, Tierney and their other two collaborators finished their thesis in time for their graduation in December 2015.

Slattery hopes to soon complete training to become certified as a Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) practitioner. NaPro applies the Creighton Model to women’s health care. For women seeking this kind of health care, the website www.onemoresoul.com lists several certified practitioners in the metro area.

Despite the study’s findings, Carolyn Haberman has noticed that physicians are starting to appreciate how NFP relates to women’s health. A parishioner at Nativity of Our Lord and an NFP instructor with the Couple to Couple League, Haberman has gone to of few physicians in the Twin Cities’ health care systems who aren’t specifically trained in NFP. “They kind of knew what I was talking about when I showed them my charts. They have understood there is a difference between the old [rhythm] method and the new methods and the science behind the new methods,” Haberman said.

For women, getting the kind of health care they want is a matter of advocacy, she advises, but for NFPbased treatment of specific women’s health problems, she has found that the best option is a specially trained physician.

May God’s Blessings Be Upon You! We welcome you to the Basilica of Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, located in southeast Wisconsin. The Shrine’s Neo-Romanesque Church sits atop a glacial hill, and is surrounded by 435 acres of breathtaking scenery.

Long recognized as a National Shrine, Holy Hill was designated a “Historical Landmark and an Architectural Masterpiece” by the Governor of Wisconsin in 1998. In 2006 Pope Benedict XVI declared Holy Hill a “Minor Basilica.”

Since its dedication to Mary Help of Christians in May 1863, Holy Hill has been a beacon of hope and healing.

Many come to Holy Hill as “tourists,” only to find that they have been touched by something deeper than natural beauty or curiosity. We know that God is truly present on this Holy Hill, and we invite you to come and share with us this Presence!

1525 Carmel Road | Hubertus, Wisconsin 53033 262-628-1838 | www.holyhill.com

www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

10 • The Catholic Spirit

Acts o

The

good fight

In Prior Lake, cancer ministry arms ‘warriors’ with prayer, cards and care packages Part nine in a 14-part series highlighting local Catholics who live out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

By Jessica Weinberger For The Catholic Spirit

I

t was Rhonda Zweber’s lowest day.

She had just returned home after undergoing a double mastectomy in August 2007. Nauseous from the anesthesia and faced with a lengthy treatment plan to fight her breast cancer, she was unsure of what the future would hold for her and her husband, Val, and their three young daughters.

But when a breast cancer survivor from a nearby Lutheran church delivered a hat box filled with small mementos and words of encouragement, she felt a sense of peace, comfort and hope.

“That hat box lifted me out of a dark place,” said Zweber, 51, a parishioner of St. Michael in Prior Lake. “I thought, we need to provide this for somebody else.”

With fellow parishioner and breast cancer survivor Jan Vaughan, Zweber formed her own breast cancer ministry, Pink Prayer Warriors, at St. Michael in 2010. With a team of nearly 15 volunteers — many of whom are breast cancer survivors — the Pink Prayer Warriors send personal cards of encouragement to those in treatment; manage prayer requests; and deliver care packages in their local community, across the country and even overseas.

This circle doesn’t use the label “cancer patient.” Men and women in treatment are “warriors,” and Zweber estimates that more than 300 warriors have received support since the group’s inception. While the group is focused on breast cancer because of the volunteers’ personal experiences, they’ll never turn down a prayer request, she said.

“As a ministry, it’s an opportunity to go out of our comfort zone and evangelize and pray for somebody else, or reach out to somebody we don’t know at all,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that ‘I don’t want you to pray for me.’”

The support from an organization like Pink Prayer Warriors wasn’t available when Vaughan, 56, was diagnosed at age 49. Her husband had died in a car accident five years prior, and she and her three children had just moved from Kansas to be near family in Prior Lake.

She leaned on her faith as she underwent a lumpectomy, four rounds of chemotherapy and 36 rounds of radiation. Like Zweber, she felt God tug on her heart to begin a ministry that would encourage others through relationships and prayer.

“The biggest thing is knowing that there is someone out there praying for you that has been through this,”

Vaughan said.

The Pink Prayer Warriors’ shared scars and stories serve as powerful bonds that unite each ministry member and warrior.

“We’re that group that can be somebody to fall back on,” she said. “We’re ordinary women, moms, sisters and brothers that have gone through something that they’re going through.”

Not your average box Like each warrior’s cancer journey, every care package is unique. Within each hat box or photo box, warriors discover an assortment of carefully selected items, including prayer cards, rosaries, handmade bracelets, crosses, coffee and journals for taking notes at doctor appointments. Oftentimes they also contain donated lotions, aloes and sunscreen that are fragrance-free and hypoallergenic for those undergoing radiation.

Zweber personally delivers many of the local packages, often giving them to patients at the cancer center where she continues to receive chemotherapy treatments every other week.

The Pink Prayer Warriors also partnered with St. Michael’s prayer shawl ministry to include a prayer shawl in each box. It has been one of the most meaningful items for many recipients, including Kristin Casanova.

Casanova, 49, a St. Michael parishioner and a registered

nurse at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in January. She was familiar with the Pink Prayer Warriors through her parish and the hospital, and before her diagnosis she had recently started making tie blankets for patients.

She keeps the purple prayer shawl in her car at all times to combat the bone-chilling cold she’s felt since her diagnosis.

“I feel so wrapped up in love when I wear it,” said Casanova, a mother of two.

In addition to the prayer shawls, Zweber hopes to one day receive a grant to include copies of the book she published in 2009, “Mommy’s Hats.” She wrote the book to document her cancer journey for her youngest daughter, Sally, then 5. Available on Amazon, the book explains cancer and cancer treatment to young children in relatable terms.

“If you don’t know anything about cancer, how would you know what a port is? How would you know what tissue expanders are?” Zweber said.

“For the tissue expanders, I called them ‘water balloons.’ She understood that concept.”

Now Zweber is finalizing a second book about her journey of faith through cancer, weaving in Bible verses and messages she hopes will connect with readers facing their own struggles.

“I want people to find Jesus along the journey of whatever cross they’re carrying,” she said.

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

of

s

Mercy

July 21, 2016 • 11

Care for the sick

By Father Michael Van Sloun

“I want people to find Jesus along the journey of whatever cross they’re carrying.”

Rhonda Zweber

ABOVE Hat boxes containing carefully selected items are delivered by Pink Prayer Warriors to people with cancer.

LEFT Rhonda Zweber of St. Michael in Prior Lake uses a rosary and prayer shawl in her own battle with cancer and to deepen the faith that inspires her to serve others with the disease.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Expressing mercy

Different chapter

For caregivers, friends or family who want to support the sick and suffering in their community, Zweber suggests asking if the individual would like a particular prayer prayed for them. She also urges people to respect each patient’s time in the hospital and rely on emails, text messages and voicemails whenever possible.

A heartfelt message in a card can leave a lasting impression, she added, recalling cards she’s kept from nine years ago.

Simple acts of kindness such as delivering a homemade meal, offering to clean the house, or stepping in to shuttle younger children to school or activities can also show support for caregivers.

“Don’t forget the rest of the family,” Zweber said. “It affects every single one of them, and it’s really important to them to feel like they’re being prayed for and thought of as well.”

While cancer patients may not be able to enjoy the meals due to their varying appetites, food still meets a key need for families living with a chronic illness, she said.

“What these people are doing is they’re feeding the rest of the family, so I don’t have to worry about making a meal, and Val doesn’t have to worry about making the meal,” she explained. “That’s where those amazing, merciful acts are really appreciated.”

Just before Easter, Zweber was told the breast cancer that had spread to her bones and stomach lining in 2013 was no longer identifiable, but the good news didn’t last.

In July, doctors found cancer again. Meanwhile, her mother, Audrey Kaiser, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Now Kaiser, 77, is receiving support from the Pink Prayer Warriors as well as her daughter, whom she considers her guardian angel.

“All of the prayers and well wishes from Pink Prayer Warriors is unbelievable,” said Kaiser, who is also a St. Michael parishioner. She recalled the care package Rhonda delivered with a prayer shawl in teal — the color for ovarian cancer awareness.

As the number of warriors continues to grow, Zweber hopes that the Pink Prayer Warriors ministry becomes the go-to resource for those newly diagnosed. She also hopes to plan more events for warriors to meet the ministry members.

Most important, she and each of the volunteers aspire to give back what they’ve received through their own journeys — unconditional love, support and prayer.

“We’re all in the body of Christ. We’re all one Church,” Zweber said. “We love you no matter whether you’re a boy or girl, [have] ovarian or breast cancer, [or are] Catholic or Lutheran. Everybody has a cross to bear, and prayers can help and give you hope.”

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

The fifth corporal work of mercy was given by Jesus in his discourse on the judgment of the nations: “For I was … ill and you cared for me” (Mt 25:35, 36). Other interchangeable terms include to visit or to comfort the sick. The original Greek verb could also be translated “you looked after me” or “you nursed me.”

There are a number of examples of care for the sick in the Old Testament.

Through the prayers of Moses, his sister Miriam was Father Michael cured of a scaly infection (Nm 12:10-15) and those VAN SLOUN bitten by the seraph serpents recovered (Nm 21:6-9); and through the power of God, the prophet Elisha cured Naaman’s leprosy (2 Kgs 5:8-14), the prophet Isaiah cured Hezekiah’s boils (2 Kgs 20), and Raphael and Tobiah healed Tobit’s blindness (Tb 3:17; 11:10-14).

The ministry of Jesus stood on several pillars. He came to teach, reconcile and save, and along with these, he came to care for the sick. He is the Divine Physician (see Lk 5:31), and out of his compassion for the ill he performed this corporal work of mercy over and over again. He relieved a fever, cleansed lepers, healed a paralytic, restored a withered hand, cured a blood disorder, opened the ears of the deaf, removed a speech impediment and gave sight to the blind.

Jesus gave the sick such high priority that he often dropped what he was doing to give them his full and immediate attention. Once he was teaching in someone’s home and a paralytic was lowered through the roof; he stopped the lesson and cured the man. Another time he was preaching in a synagogue and saw a woman who had been crippled for 18 years; he interrupted his sermon and cured the woman. While he was making his journey to Jerusalem, he came upon 10 lepers; he interrupted his trip and cured them.

Even at Gethsemane as he was being apprehended, he interrupted the arrest to heal the right ear of the high priest’s servant.

When it comes to care for the sick, often we are busy with other important duties. Jesus shows us how to put other responsibilities on hold and to care for the sick the moment the need presents itself.

The first apostles continued Jesus’ care for the sick. Peter cured a crippled beggar at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:7), the sick who were laid on cots along the street (Acts 5:15) and a paralytic named Aeneas (Acts 9:32-34). Paul cured a man who was lame (Acts 14:8-10).

Many saints have shown great love for the sick.

St. Francis of Assisi was riding his horse and came upon a disfigured leper. He dismounted, embraced the man and immediately the leper’s face was changed into the face of Jesus. St. Camillus de Lellis founded hospitals, St. Peter Claver cared for sick slaves and St. Damian of Molokai cared for lepers.

Some care for the sick as a profession. It is a high calling to be the face, hands and voice of Jesus to one’s patients as a doctor, physician assistant, nurse, physical therapist or paramedic.

Care for the sick is not reserved for professionals; it is for everyone. It starts at home with the care for a sick family member, and it includes changing clothing and bedding, administering medications, bathing, bringing food and water, or sitting at a bedside to keep company.

It also includes visits to hospitals or nursing homes, or giving a ride to a doctor’s appointment.

Care for the sick is care extended to Jesus himself.

Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. Read more of his reflections at www.catholichotdish.com.

12 • The Catholic Spirit

TRAVEL & PILGRIMAGES

July 21, 2016

Called to Krakow

Young people from Brazil, left, pass on the World Youth Day cross to youths from Poland, right, at the conclusion of Pope Francis’ celebration of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 13, 2014. The next international Catholic youth gathering will be July 25-31 in Krakow, Poland.

CNS/Paul Haring

Local Catholics joining Pope Francis at World Youth Day

By Josephine von Dohlen For The Catholic Spirit

A

n estimated 2 million youth will gather in Krakow, Poland, July 25-31 for the 14th International World Youth Day with Pope Francis. Among them will be 49 pilgrims on a trip organized by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Dozens of other local Catholics traveling alone or with parish-organized groups are also making the 4,750-mile journey.

“As a young person, I was drawn to World Youth Day because it is really exciting to be surrounded by so many young people on fire for their faith, and to encounter Christ in that,” said Megan Healy, an 18-year-old parishioner of St. Anne in Hamel, who plans to attend World Youth Day for the first time.

That encounter will take place in what World Youth Day organizers are calling “the land of mercy.” There, in the 1930s, Polish nun and mystic St. Faustina Kowalska had a vision of Jesus as Divine Mercy, a devotion promoted by the Polish St. John Paul II. Pope Francis has linked World Youth Day to the Jubilee Year of Mercy underway, with Matthew 5:7 as the World Youth Day theme: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Inspiring youth Founded by St. John Paul II in 1986, World Youth Day is an international event for young people ages 16-30 held every two or three years. It features prayer, confession, catechetical sessions and Mass, including a prayer vigil and final Mass with the pope. An estimated 3.7 million people attended World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens plans to attend World Youth Day 2016 with the archdiocesan group as their spiritual advisor. This will be his fourth World Youth Day, with his first being the 1993 event in Denver.

Bishop Cozzens believes it’s important for young people to attend the international event.

“Firstly, it allows the young to experience that the Church is universal, and this unites the Church from around the world. It is beautiful to experience that on our own,” he said. “Secondly, it is important to encounter Jesus as a young person because through that you discover his plan for your life.”

Archbishop Bernard Hebda will also attend the event in Poland and lead a prayer service hosted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for English-speaking pilgrims July 28. The 45-minute service will take place at Holy Trinity Dominican Church in Krakow, before the relics of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a patron of young adults.

Grace Zangel, a 19-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of Grace in Edina, went to World Youth Day 2013.

“It was very inspiring to meet a variety of different

“We go to encounter God, who, in turn, encounters us.”

Justin Stroh

people my own age that worshiped in the same way,” she said. “Going to an event and meeting people who lived in different countries, I felt a connection because we worshiped the same God and believed the same things.”

Justin Stroh, the director of faith formation at Divine Mercy in Faribault and leader of the archdiocesan pilgrimage, agreed that World Youth Day can be extremely influential upon the young people who attend. The 49-year-old has attended seven previous World Youth Days.

“I think Pope Benedict XVI said it well when he said that the Church is young, it is alive,” Stroh said. “The Lord himself approached the young, [such as] his apostle, John. The Blessed Virgin Mary was herself a teenager when the Lord descended upon her, and she is the image of the Church.”

Returning to its founder’s roots This year’s event marks the second time the event has been held in its founder’s homeland; the fourth World Youth Day gathering was held in 1991 in Czestochowa, Poland.

“Poland is the land of the crucified people of both world wars, but their death is tied to a triumph because today it is the most Catholic nation,” Stroh said.

According to the U.S. State Department, more than 96 percent of Polish citizens identify as Roman Catholic.

Bishop Cozzens is looking forward to visiting Poland because of its connection to St. John Paul II. “My first World Youth Day was with John Paul II and he had such a profound influence on my life, and now I am going to his home” he said.

Poland is also home to St. Maximilian Kolbe’s cell at the Auschwitz concentration camp, as well as the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa at the Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa. Both sites are on the archdiocesan pilgrimage itinerary.

John Sondag, a parishioner of St. Helena in Minneapolis, is leading a group of 85 pilgrims with

Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth.

“Within Poland, there is a society that was devastated because of World War II, and yet saints like John Paul II, Faustina and Maximilian Kolbe were able to rise up,” Sondag said. “Beneath an awful natural history, there was a remarkable supernatural history.”

Like Stroh, Sondag hopes the event will impact the youth who attend and society as a whole.

“Seeing this culture that produced great saints can bring great hope to our culture, which can be considered hopeless,” he said.

Pilgrimage, not vacation Before the official World Youth Day begins, pilgrims have the opportunity to participate in Days in the Diocese, days of mission work where groups collaborate with a parish in Poland. The archdiocesan group will be placed at a parish in the Polish capital of Warsaw, 180 miles northeast of Krakow.

“I am looking forward to meeting people that live there and immersing into the Polish culture, but most of all looking at parish life in another country,” Healy said.

Despite the intriguing cultural destination, Stroh emphasized the sacrificial aspect of the journey.

“It is a pilgrimage, a journey of faith; it is not a trip,” he said. “There are elements of a vacation, but it is not one. We go to encounter God, who, in turn, encounters us.”

The week will include catechetical classes with other English speakers, as well as a 9-mile walk to a vigil and final Mass with Pope Francis.

This pilgrimage, however, comes with a large sticker price. Each pilgrim will pay $3,725 to attend the 10-day trip, July 19-Aug. 4.

“They know that this is going to be the journey of a lifetime. They are willing to make real sacrifices because it is worth it,” Stroh said.

Not all preparations are financial. Healy is reading “City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s Krakow” by the pope’s biographer, George Weigel (Image Books, 2015). Then Karol Wojtyla, St. John Paul II attended university in Krakow, was ordained a priest in 1946 for the Archdiocese of Krakow, and served as its auxiliary bishop and, later, as its archbishop.

“I really like learning how so many people from Poland who were in John Paul II’s life helped him grow in his faith,” Healy said.

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TRAVEL & PILGRIMAGES

The Catholic Spirit • 13

To serve and be served Catholics seeking to improve lives on mission trips say they’re changed as well

By Clare Kolars For The Catholic Spirit

O

n July 5, Jeff Reither left with a group from his parish, St. Anne in Hamel, to spend two weeks in a small village in Uganda, Africa.

Since 2001, the group has worked with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with whom group members have formed strong bonds.

“It’s uncomfortable how well we’re treated,” said Reither, 40, a stay-at-home dad. “I remember asking a sister to stop feeding us and to give the money to other people, and she got so mad. She said, ‘You cannot deny us the chance to be Christ to you. If you deny us this opportunity, then what else do we have?’”

The sister’s words made an impact, he said, teaching him to bear his pride, become humble and allow others to be Christ to him.

This mentality is reflected throughout the small village of Busolo, located 2 miles west of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

“When you first arrive, you notice the external poverty,” Reither said. “But after three days, you only notice the true joy. They put their faith in the afterlife.

“This reflects in the Mass and how they pray,” he continued. “We sit around for hours talking about how we’ve lost that.”

He added: “We are in a rural area, so we’re forced to know the individual person, and I dare say, the Christ in that person.”

Children from the Los Chaguites community in Jinotega, Nicaragua, give Sue Kellett a chicken in August 2015 as a token of their appreciation. “I felt bad taking this chicken,” Kellett said. “I had to humbly accept it, so they could feel the pleasure of giving.” Courtesy Sue Kellett

A partnership in improvement For Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, mission trips have become a popular way to serve others around the world.

Pointing to an 80-year-old man who had a heart stent procedure so that he could make the trip, Reither said it’s important to prioritize mission trips.

“People should take the perceived risk and just go,” he said.

Reither was influenced by his mother, Carol Reither, who started going to Busolo in 2001. This year, Reither brought three siblings, seven nephews and his 70-yearold mother.

“I saw the impact these people were on my mom,” Reither said. “I signed up for the 2009 trip and kept going.”

Ultimately, Reither and his team want the people they serve to be self-sustaining. They bring sewing machines and carpentry tool kits with hopes they can help villagers improve their living conditions.

“We want to be part of it, but we want the locals to invest in the project, too,” Reither said. “We can’t be the change — they have to be.”

“I’ve had people ask me why we go when there’s so much to do here [in the U.S.],” Reither added. “I understand their concern, but our government has a

fall-back. In Uganda, if you don’t have money to pay for lunch, you don’t eat.

“As one of the sisters said, ‘Anyone can write a check.

But once you come, you leave a part of your heart here.’” (Read Reither’s reflection on asking for help on page 15.)

Encountering Christ It’s not only in Africa that lives are being changed. St. Edward in Bloomington sends a group to Central America a few times a year to continue a 30-year-old relationship with its sister parish.

Parishioner Sue Kellett has been traveling to Los Chaguites, a community in Jinotega, Nicaragua, to visit Nuestra Senora de los Angeles — Our Lady of the Angels — since 1991.

Regardless of the group’s size from year to year, Kellett said the missionaries focus on meeting others and looking into their eyes.

“When you look into someone’s eyes, you’re looking into the eyes of God,” she said. “What’s a better way to connect with others?”

Besides partnering with Feed My Starving Children, building chapels and wells, and installing solar ovens,

“I’ve had people ask me why we go when there’s so much to do here [in the U.S.]. I understand their concern, but our government has a fall-back. In Uganda, if you don’t have money to pay for lunch, you don’t eat.”

Jeff Reither

Kellett said the best part is jumping into the back of a pickup truck and traveling to the rural chapels to sing and worship.

“Everyone in the village says it’s not our presents that matter, but our presence,” Kellett said.

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14 • The Catholic Spirit

TRAVEL & PILGRIMAGES

July 21, 2016

Young adults hit the road to take pro-life message across country

Deacon: Two parts to every mission trip include work, reflection Continued from page 13 and charity, the people of Los Chaguites thrive in their Christian faith, Kellett said.

“We often end up telling the villagers they do so much more for us, and they show us what it’s like to be true and faithful Catholics,” she said.

“In every house, the most important thing is their altar, adorned with images of Jesus, Mary and the saints,” she said. “We always leave in tears.”

Kellett explained that the people they help actually give far more than they receive.

“They show us how to smile in the midst of suffering,” she said.

Kellett believes mission trips should raise awareness and understanding of social justice when others see the disparity between their lifestyle and of those living in extreme poverty.

“This is what Pope Francis is calling us to do — to go out into the world and help those who are suffering,” she said.

Crossing borders Deacon Mickey Friesen, director of the Center for Mission, which serves the archdiocese, said missionaries intend to bring Christ to people abroad, but they often discover that Christ is already present where they arrive to work.

He said, “Every mission trip [group] should ask themselves, ‘Is this calling me to encounter Christ?’”

While Deacon Friesen highlights the importance of traveling to other countries, he also recognizes the needs of people across the street.

“If you turned on the TV right now, you would see we have a lot of work to do to cross the borders of fear keeping us apart from those living right next to us,” he said.

Some of those neighbors can be found in nearby states. Tim Cooper, a religion teacher at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, takes a group of juniors and seniors 900 miles southeast on Interstate 94 to Hazard, Kentucky, to do the same kinds of mission work happening in other countries.

This year, Cooper, 34 students and eight chaperones rebuilt and refurbished homes, visited a local homeless shelter and helped in a daycare.

By Ana Franco-Guzman Catholic News Service The path for a group of young adult pro-lifers this summer is about 10,000 miles long.

That’s the collective mileage Crossroads walkers will complete by Aug. 11 or 12, walking from the West Coast to the nation’s capital.

The mission of Crossroads is to “witness to the dignity and sanctity of all human life, especially the unborn. So, we like to reach people at a very grassroots level and meet people where they are,” said walk leader Sydney Donovan, 25, who is from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Donovan, a two-time walker of Crossroads, spoke to Catholic News Service while leading the southernmost team across the nation.

Now based in Arlington, Virginia, Crossroads was founded in 1995 by Steve Sanborn, then a student at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. The now-international organization was launched in response to a call by St. John Paul II during World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 — that youth around the globe take an active role in the pro-life movement “to establish a culture of life.”

For several years, the organization has sponsored three simultaneous pro-life walks/pilgrimages across the United States; a fourth takes place in Canada. A fifth walk took place in Australia in January, and a sixth has started in Spain.

This year’s three U.S. walks — northern, central and southern — started May 21-22 in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. The U.S. walkers will end their sojourn Aug. 11-12 in Washington, with a pro-life rally to take place Aug. 13.

The pro-lifers walk in pairs of two from sunrise to sunset Monday through Friday in a relay fashion. The pairs walk for about 3 miles, then other walkers in a “support van” get out and take their place.

On Saturdays, they pray outside an abortion clinic.

On Sundays, they speak at a parish about their mission and ask for the congregation’s prayers and financial support, which is how they raise money along the way.

In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a Crossroads group visited at least one parish, St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony, while in the Twin Cities July 2-3.

Father Eliar Pineda gives a homily in August 2015 at Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, the sister parish of St. Edward in Bloomington, in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Courtesy Sue Kellett A group goes for a week at the end of every school year, and Cooper said his goal is to immerse students in hard work and culture.

“They learn just how drastic poverty can be,” he said. “They see a different kind of poverty than they see in their lives here in a major metropolitan area.

“In the end, they experience every imaginable kind of growth — spiritual, emotional and empathetic growth.”

An incoming senior at Hill-Murray, Jenna Schwartz described her experience as something she will never forget.

“What surprised me the most was how open people were with sharing their lives and stories,” she said. “I talked to a man in a wheelchair for over an hour about his life story and how he grew up.”

Deacon Friesen said there are two parts to every mission trip: the actual mission trip and what happens when participants return home.

“Every missionary will experience this reverse mission,” he said. “They should ask, ‘Now who am I? How am I different?’”

He added: “Mission trips are a way to express our faith, meet others and learn together.”

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FOCUS ON FAITH

July 21, 2016

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

Deacon Bryce Evans

God longs to give us his greatest gift “We would sooner grow weary of receiving God’s gifts than he would grow weary of bestowing them upon us.”

When I first encountered these words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I found them difficult to believe. Creatures, after all, deserve nothing from God. And sinners deserve only punishment. How then could God justify such lavishness?

Abraham thus shows a reasonable caution in questioning the Lord in our first reading for July 24. He treads carefully, like a child concerned not to enrage an angry father.

Yet something gives him confidence to pursue his bold line of investigation: “Will you sweep away the innocent with

the guilty? Suppose there were 50 innocent people in the city. Would you spare it? . . . 40 . . . 30 . . . 20 . . . 10?” He dares not proceed any further. This is enough to show God’s forbearance. It would be presumptuous to ask anything more; out of place to press the question to its logical conclusion, though our hearts might whisper it: “Would you spare the city even for the sake of five innocent people? . . . What about one?”

Surely not. This is out of the question.

Mercy must have its limits if justice is not to be undone. God cannot simply spare the whole for the sake of one innocent.

This would fly in the face of all proportion. And even if God were so

The Catholic Spirit • 15

unreasonably generous, it would make no difference. If Sodom and Gomorrah are any indication, there is no such innocent person to spare us anyway. “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). If God wished to spare us, he would have to supply the just man himself. But this would be preposterous.

And yet, God does precisely this. He supplies the innocent man for us, by sending his son. As Sunday’s second reading states: “Even when you were dead in transgressions . . . he brought you to life along with him . . . obliterating the bond against us . . . nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14). Jesus entered into such solidarity with us that he allowed himself to be counted a sinner on the cross so that we could be made just, being spared by his innocence.

So marvelously does God’s mercy outstrip every human thought.

It is this that allows the saints their audacious expectations. If God has gone so far for us, what can we not rightly expect. “He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?” (Rom 8:32). This also accounts for Jesus’ words in Sunday’s Gospel: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find . . . For

Sunday, July 24 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings • Gn 18:20-32 • Col 2:12-14 • Lk 11:1-13 everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds . . .” (Lk 11:9-10). If we ask with the confidence of children, God will be sure to give us the finest gifts.

If we wish to honor God, then we can do no better than to ask him for outrageous gifts. Not a Ferrari or a jet, but rather for something even more audacious: that we might become saints.

That is the greatest gift possible, and he longs to give it, if only we would ask him with sincerity and faith.

Deacon Evans is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. His teaching parish is St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, and his home parish is St. Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, July 24 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Gn 18:20-32 Col 2:12-14 Lk 11:1-13 Monday, July 25 St. James, apostle 2 Cor 4:7-15 Mt 20:20-28

Tuesday, July 26 Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Jer 14:17-22 Mt 13:36-43 Wednesday, July 27 Jer 15:10, 16-21 Mt 13:44-46 Thursday, July 28 Jer 18:1-6 Mt 13:47-53

Friday, July 29 St. Martha Jer 26:1-9 Jn 11:19-27 Saturday, July 30 Jer 26:11-16, 24 Mt 14:1-12 Sunday, July 31 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23

SEEKING ANSWERS

Father Kenneth Doyle

Conversion of Islam; women and Vatican vote Q. Long ago, as a child, I remember

saying prayers aloud for “the conversion of Russia” after every Mass.

Why, in our troubled world, are we not doing the same thing now for Islamic extremists, who are surely in need of our prayers? And where would such a directive come from?

A. The prayers to which you refer were recited by the priest and people after every low Mass from the years 1884 to 1965. Technically called the “Leonine prayers” because they were introduced under Pope Leo XIII, their original purpose was to pray for the sovereignty and protection of the Holy See. In 1930, following the Lateran Treaty that stabilized the relationship between the Vatican and the Italian state, these prayers were redirected by Pope Pius XI

to be offered instead for the people of Russia.

Although popularly believed to have been “for the conversion of Russia,” they were actually said, in the words of Pius XI, “to permit tranquility and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia.” The prayers were discontinued in 1964 through a Vatican instruction (“Inter Oecumenici”).

The Church stills welcomes converts from other religions and believes that the Catholic Church alone embraces fully the central truths that Christ came to proclaim. Each year, just in the United States, thousands of adults are received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil liturgy.

However, the Church promotes unity among all religions and nations. The Second Vatican Council’s declaration

Col 3:1-5, 9-11 Lk 12:13-21 Monday, Aug. 1 St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church Jer 28:1-17 Mt 14:13-21 Tuesday, Aug. 2 Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22 Mt 14:22-36

Wednesday, Aug. 3 Jer 31:1-7 Mt 15: 21-28 Thursday, Aug. 4 St. John Vianney, priest Jer 31:31-34 Mt 16:13-23 Friday, Aug. 5 Na 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 Mt 16:24-28

“Nostra Aetate” (1965) states that the Church “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other religions and “regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men” (No. 2).

In the same document, the Church specifically mentions its “esteem for Muslims” and notes that Muslims “value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting” (No. 3).

The Church does pray, strongly and consistently, against violence — particularly violence done in the name of religion.

Q. I read in a National Geographic that there were only two countries in the world that don’t allow women to vote. One was Saudi Arabia, which for centuries treated women as second-class citizens — not permitting them to be seen in public, for example, except for their eyes, and prohibiting them from driving cars. The other place was Vatican City. Since that article appeared, Saudi Arabia has now extended voting rights to women, leaving the Vatican City State as the only exception. How do you explain that?

Saturday, Aug. 6 Transfiguration of the Lord Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 2 Pt 1:16-19 Lk 9:28b-36 Sunday, Aug. 7 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 18:6-9 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 Lk 12:32-48

A. Your question is a legitimate one, but a bit misleading. In fact, the only election held at the Vatican is the one to choose a new pope, and since the 11th century, only cardinals of the Church have been eligible to vote. So, if you’re one of the 800 citizens of Vatican City State, you don’t get to vote even if you’re a man — unless you happen to be one of the cardinal electors.

The good news, though, is that the number of women working at the Vatican has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, according to a recent study conducted by Vatican Radio. In 2012, a laywoman was named to the position of undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the first laywoman to hold such a high-ranking post in the curial leadership.

Recently, Pope Francis has appointed several women to the International Theological Commission, which assists the Vatican in reviewing doctrinal issues, and, in May 2016, the pope announced his intention to set up a commission to study the matter of women deacons.

Father Doyle writes for Catholic News Service. A priest of the Diocese of Albany, New York, he previously served as director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Questions may be sent to askfatherdoyle@gmail.com and 40 Hopewell St., Albany, NY 12208.

16 • The Catholic Spirit

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

EVERYDAY MERCIES

Alyssa Bormes

The Camino will provide There is a saying that “the Camino will provide.” Having completed our second week on the Way of St. James in Spain, my stepsister, Brenda, and I have found this to be true.

Here are a few examples. Brenda walked the first, most grueling day.

Right near the end of the nine-hour trek, she hurt a muscle in her back. She was afraid it would hurt for some time.

However, sitting at our table that evening was a physical therapist. He worked on her back, which gave her nearly immediate relief, and it hasn’t

been a problem since.

There was a day when I was spent.

And the question comes, “What am I doing here?” Then I met Pilar, a Spaniard living in Mexico. She helped with little things, like teaching us how to get bottom bunks at the “albergues” for the night. But more important, we had a conversation in which we each found an answer to old questions.

Oddly, we left without getting each other’s contact information; unless I see her on the Camino again, it may just be that we were only to meet briefly.

However, at times the Camino provides gifts that are more difficult to identify. After my first day’s trek, which was Brenda’s second day, I went to the cafe nearby to get sandwiches for our next day’s journey. Since it was just a short walk, and in town, I didn’t take my walking sticks. (To those who know me, they are already saying, “Oh, no!

You fell, didn’t you?”) That’s right, I fell.

It had been raining for at least two days, and I was going down some steps carved into a small hill. The grassturned-mud was anything but stable, and down I went.

My knee twisted beneath me. Luckily, the fall didn’t immediately hurt that much. The next day’s hike began at 6 a.m. so we could make it to Sunday Mass in the next town, which was to be at 11 or 11:30 a.m. At 9:42, I had 3 kilometers to go, and it was downhill, so it should have been easy.

But it wasn’t.

July 21, 2016

What we didn’t know was how much the fall had hurt me. It took me two hours to navigate the steep decline.

Much of it was on large slabs of uneven rock all pointing down. When I heard the 11 a.m. church bells ring, my heart sank, but I held out hope that Mass was actually at 11:30. But later, those bells rang as well, causing more sorrow while I was in so much pain.

When I arrived in Zubiri, Brenda, who had gone ahead to find the church, met me at the edge of the small town saying, “You must live right. Mass is at 12:15!” In addition, the church was right where we were standing. I was never so happy!

After Communion, I began crying.

The Camino had provided the Mass after five and a half hours of walking to get there. It was a consolation that was all gift, all mercy.

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

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA

Jason Adkins

Debt, sustainability and solidarity As we commemorate the passing of one year since Pope Francis released his encyclical “Laudato Si’” (“On the Care for Our Common Home”), it is worth reminding ourselves how the pope’s representation of Catholic social doctrine through the lens of “integral ecology” can help us address some of the most challenging socio-political problems of our day, especially as we evaluate candidates in this election season.

Integral ecology is an ethic that respects both persons and the environment and does justice to both.

In other words, it seeks to foster right relationships between people and communities, as well as between humans and the created order with which God has blessed us.

Being in right relationship with others includes being in right relationship with future generations — not saddling them with challenges that will burden their well-being, and embracing the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it.

Sadly, a culture of instant gratification and ideological rigidity has blinded us to our inter-generational responsibilities, and has led us to pile debt in various forms upon those who will come after us. Both our national debt and the accumulating ecological debt are regularly (and rightly) described as “unsustainable,” and both pose grave threats to future generations and to the planet itself.

Mass consumption By one measurement, the U.S. government had $76.4 trillion in debts, liabilities and unfunded obligations at the end of fiscal year 2015. That

amounts to $237,284 for every person living in the U.S., and $613,531 for every household in the U.S. This is a major policy crisis for the American public. According to a 2014 report by the Congressional Budget Office, some potential consequences of unchecked government debt include reduced “future national income and living standards,” “higher inflation” that decreases “the purchasing power” of citizens’ savings and income, and increased “probability of a fiscal crisis in which investors would lose confidence in the government’s ability to manage its budget.”

Similarly, our ecological debt — the disparity between how much we use and waste and how much our local environment can produce and absorb — is staggering. Not only do our consumption patterns entail the creation of an excess of greenhouse gases that may contribute to climate change and a host of accompanying problems, but they also rely on extracting natural resources from developing countries, harming their natural environment while leaving them with few returns.

As Pope Francis notes in “Laudato Si’” (51-52): “A true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global north and south, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment, and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time.” As a result, “the developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of nonrenewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programs of sustainable development.”

Engage your local candidates Help end political homelessness Given the state of national politics, many Catholics are frustrated and feel a sense of “political homelessness.” Neither major party seems like it advances a consistent ethic of life, and it can be difficult to see where Catholics of principle fit in. Catholics should always have a sense that their views don’t fit neatly into either party in a two-party system, but it need not be the case that Catholics are so alienated by the parties that they cannot work prudentially within them for the common good.

Now, the Minnesota Catholic Conference is giving you the tools to help change this dynamic in the place that matters most: your own community.

The entire Minnesota Legislature is up for election this year. This means that a united Catholic voice in Minnesota can have a real impact on our state’s political landscape. We can use this election as an opportunity to end political homelessness in our own backyard.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference has developed an entire resource center to help you engage with your candidates, including: • A questionnaire to help you find out where Catholics stand on the most important issues facing Minnesota • Tips for having effective conversations with candidates • Easy ways to share the results of your conversations with MCC Access these resources and more at www.mncatholic.org/engage-your-candidates.

Seeing the whole Unfortunately, public officials tend to see the potential impact of only one form of debt, and sometimes they minimize the impact of other forms.

And there is often an unwillingness or inability to make a connection between the national debt and the ecological one, limiting their ability to address either. Our attachment to ideologies, along with our own biases and limited horizons, often prevent us from seeing the right solutions.

By contrast, Catholic social doctrine, deepened by the discussion of integral ecology in “Laudato Si’,” helps us see the connectedness of things, and beyond the dis-integrated politics of

half-truths and either/or solutions.

Seeing the whole may lead us to restrain both government spending and consumption patterns (even though they might benefit us materially today) to preserve our common home for future generations.

The earth, its people and its goods are God-given gifts. They are not ours to spend as we see fit, but instead are given to us to steward — to till and to keep. We’ve done too much tilling and not enough keeping.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. Learn more about “Laudato Si’” and integral ecology at www.mncatholic.org.

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

July 21, 2016

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, is pictured at the Vatican in this Oct. 9, 2012, file photo. Cardinal Sarah, the Vatican’s liturgy chief, has encouraged priests to begin celebrating the Eucharist facing east, the same direction the congregation faces.

Cardinal Sarah made his request during a speech at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London July 5. Read more at www.thecatholicspirit.com.

CNS/Paul Haring

THE LOCAL CHURCH

Father John Paul Erickson

Whatever priest’s posture, eucharistic prayer about God A few weeks ago at a liturgical conference in England, the cardinal prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah, created quite a stir by enthusiastically and publicly advocating for the widespread use of “ad orientem” within the Catholic Mass beginning this coming Advent.

“Ad orientem,” or “toward the East,” is the term used to describe the orientation of the priest when he stands facing the same direction as the people during the eucharistic prayer.

Cardinal Sarah’s remarks have become the focus of great debate and discussion within the Catholic blogosphere and among liturgists, despite some clarifications issued by the Holy See, as well as by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ own liturgy office, indicating that the cardinal’s words are in no way to be understood as an official declaration of a new liturgical norm, and no bishop or priest should feel bound to follow the cardinal’s recommendation on this matter. Still, why did his eminence feel compelled to advocate, even unofficially, a change in the posture at

the Mass?

The position of the priest “ad orientem” — oftentimes pejoratively described as celebrating Mass “with his back to the people”— was the common posture of the priest for centuries in most Catholic churches around the world prior to the Second Vatican Council’s liturgical reforms. In light of the grave importance that the liturgical reform placed on the full and active participation of the people of God within the Mass, it was thought that turning the priest around to face the congregation during the celebration of the eucharistic prayer would provide greater access to the mysteries being celebrated.

But contrary to widespread opinion, the celebration of the eucharistic prayer “ad orientem” has never been abolished, and indeed it remains a legitimate option for celebrants praying the current form of the Roman Mass.

Those who advocate for its widespread return and mourn its nearly universal loss do so out of a desire to keep all — priest and people alike — mindful of the one to whom the Mass is directed — God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. The

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN

Jeff Reither

Men, think you don’t need help? Jesus showed otherwise on Calvary In January, I was on a men’s retreat in the Boundary Waters and had to leave early for a family emergency. My 6-yearold son Isaiah, who had a congenital heart defect and other serious health issues, was admitted to the hospital for his 50th — and last — time. He died the following Friday while holding my hand.

During Isaiah’s fragile life, men were Christ to me. They would visit the hospital often, prayed for my family, took me out to dinner, mowed my lawn, watched my kids, fixed my vehicles and provided much needed financial support. For my son’s funeral, they read the readings, ushered and served the meal following the burial.

They never ran and hid. They were men of courage and valor.

Most men would act in the same manner as the men in my life. We want to help those in need; it is instinctual. If

something, or someone, is broken, we have a desire to help fix it.

But what about when we are broken?

Do we turn to our fellow men and seek their love and support, or do we withdraw from those whom God has placed in our lives to help?

Jesus showed us how to be men. He showed us with his words. He showed us with his prayer life. And he showed

The Catholic Spirit • 17

posture of the priest “ad orientem,” which merely imitates the posture of the assembly, signifies in a powerful way that the priest is not the center or focus of the Mass. Rather, he, like the people of God from which he comes and whom he serves, must keep his eyes fixed on the Father to whom he addresses and to whom the people pray.

Regrettably, the posture of the priest “ad orientem” has become associated in the minds of many with all that the Second Vatican Council’s liturgical reforms sought to correct, especially a distancing of the priest and the people in the offering of the sacrifice of the Mass.

Because of this, and because of the widespread familiarity with Mass celebrated “facing the people,” a return to Mass “ad orientem” requires extensive explanation and catechesis, more than is possible in a brief newspaper column. Pastoral prudence

must also be exercised. Furthermore, changes in how we pray the Mass should never be undertaken lightly, as they directly impact the life of faith of the people of God, as Pope Benedict XVI so wisely pointed out. Stability in worship is a good to be preserved and guarded, even at the cost of other great goods.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and conversations about how we pray it are important.

But whether or not we worship “ad orientem” or “versus populum” (toward the people), we must keep the eyes of our heart fixed upon the Most Merciful Father, whom we worship through Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. I hope we can all agree on this.

us when he humbled himself to be helped by another man. In the Gospels, Jesus was struggling to carry his cross.

He fell. He got up and fell again. In his immense suffering, he reached out to console the weeping women.

Jesus is God. He could have done anything. He didn’t need help. He could have walked the journey to Calvary carrying the cross on his shoulders and never once winced in pain. But Jesus didn’t choose to do it this way. He chose to do it in a way where he could feel the physical pain being administered to him that holy day.

He chose to do it in a way we could relate.

Not only did he see the effects of his sins, but he also physically felt the weight of those sins.

Simon may have been an unwilling participant, but Christ knew it would cause Simon to have a conversion of heart, which allowed him to grow deeper in love with the Lord.

Accepting another’s generosity is often a harder task than giving generously. It is easier to be Christ to others than it is to allow others to be Christ to us. When we deny the help of others, we deny them the chance to be Christ, and we deny ourselves the chance to grow in humility.

I am blessed to have good men in my life. These men are faithful. They love the Lord, love their spouses and love their children. These men were Christ to me during Isaiah’s short life. They have rejoiced with me during moments of celebration and have cried with me during the most difficult time of my life.

As men, we must allow other men to be Christ to us. This is much more difficult than it sounds. When we allow others to be Christ to us, we both grow in love for the Lord. We are called to humble ourselves — like Christ did on that dark, glorious day — and allow God to work not only in our own heart, but also in the hearts of the men who are helping us.

Example of humility Because of the struggle of carrying the cross and the physical toll it took on him, Jesus allowed a man to help him and showed us men a great example of humility. Simon of Cyrene entered into the passion of Christ like no other man.

We are called to humble ourselves — like Christ did on that dark, glorious day — and allow God to work not only in our own heart, but also in the hearts of the men who are helping us.

Father Erickson is the director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and pastor of Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul.

Reither is a parishioner of St. Anne in Hamel and a member of the Catholic Watchmen.

18 • The Catholic Spirit

CALENDAR

Music Summer Concert - Swingin’ the Bard — July 24: 7-8:15 p.m. at 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. www.guardian-angels.org.

Summer Concert - A Night in Rio — July 29: 7:30-8:45 p.m. at 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. www.guardian-angels.org.

Summer Sunday organ recital — July 31:

2–3 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. www.mary.org.

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

Hall (second floor) of the Hayden Building, 328 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul. For those who are living apart from their spouses because of separation or divorce. 651-291-4438 or faithfulspouses@archspm. org.

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

Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Medina. www. hnoj.org/career-transition-group.

Dementia Support Group — Second Tuesday of every month: 7-9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. 651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Parish events Lourdes Northeast Block Party — July 23:

July 21, 2016

6–10 p.m. at One Lourdes Place, Minneapolis. www.ourladyoflourdesmn.com.

Into The Deep summer retreats — Aug. 1-5; Aug. 8-12; Sept. 17-21: www.idretreats.org.

Nativity Grandparents Apostolate - Mary McClure presents “The Church Saved Me” — July 26: 8:45–10 a.m. at Nativity of Our Lord,

Singles

1900 Stanford Ave., St Paul.

Basilica of St. Mary pool party — July 27:

5 p.m. at 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Call Marilyn, 736-541-9393, by July 20. www.mary.org.

Our Lady of Guadalupe garage sale — July 29-31: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. at 401 Concord St., St. Paul.

651-228-0506 or www.olgspchurch.com.

Fun Fest-Summer Jam Festival at Immaculate Conception — Aug. 5-7 at 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. 763-788-9062 or www.iccsonline.org.

Prayer/worship First Friday Day of Prayer — Aug. 5, Sept. 2, Oct. 7, Nov. 4 and Dec. 2: 8 a.m.–8 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com/ first-fridays.

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

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

Retreats Dunrovin Retreat Center for Youth cruise fundraiser — July 25: 6–9:15 p.m. at 525 S. Main St., Stillwater. mary.meeds@dunrovin.org or

www.dunrovin.org/give.

Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sundays: The group usually meets in St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. Mary at 763-323-3479 or Al at 651-482-0406.

Singles group at St. Vincent de Paul — ongoing second Saturday each month: 6:15

p.m. at 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. 763-4250412.

Young adults Cathedral Young Adults Sports Night — Fridays through September: 6:30–9 p.m. at Rahn Athletic Park, 4440 Nichols Road, Eagan. www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/cya.

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.

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 • Contact information in case of questions.

(No attachments, please.)

Other events

FAX: 651-291-4460

Father Cletus Basekela 45th anniversary — July 31: 10:30 a.m. at St. Jerome, 380 E.

MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit • 244 Dayton Ave. • St. Paul, MN 55102

Roselawn Ave., Maplewood. www.stjerome-church.org.

A note to readers

Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office Annual Summer Conference — Aug. 5 (9 a.m.–8 p.m.) and Aug. 6 (6–9:30 p.m.) at St. Peter, 2600 N. Margaret St., North St. Paul. 763-571-5314 or www.ccro-msp.org.

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

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

Film about Benedictine nuns a story of hope amid darkness, says director

By Allana Haynes Catholic News Service Anne Fontaine, director of “Coco Before Chanel” and “Gemma Bovery,” released her most recent work, “The Innocents,” about a group of Benedictine nuns in Warsaw, Poland, raped by soldiers after World War II and the doctor who comes to their aid.

The film is centered on French Red Cross doctor Mathilde (Lou de Laage), who is stationed in a Warsaw clinic and is found there by a panicked Benedictine nun, begging her to come back with her to the convent.

There, to the doctor’s surprise, she finds a sister about to give birth and others in their final stages of pregnancy.

Mathilde, a nonbeliever, enters into the sisters’ strict religious community, abiding by the principles of the order and Mother Abbess (Agata Kulesza). Fearing exposure, the women conceal the hostility forced upon them by Soviet troops, causing an inward battle between their faith traditions and their reality.

A scene from “The Innocents.” CNS In the winter of 1945, mass rape occurred in major Polish cities taken by the Red Army. The nuns were not spared as soldiers rampaged through the convent.

Fontaine said she was inspired to tell the story after looking through the diary of the French doctor.

To produce an authentic story, Fontaine said she worked with a Polish historian who could help piece together the forgotten elements.

“The Innocents,” she said, tells an important story about deep faith.

“It’s about survival,” Fontaine said. “Even if the facts are dark, very emotional and very difficult, the characters have a possibility to live. Life is more important than anything. Even if it is as traumatizing as that.”

Despite being a film about World War II, Fontaine said that “The Innocents” takes a different approach.

“The approach is completely from the inside,” said Fontaine. “It is not from a historical point of view. It is from inside the Benedictine community.”

Locally, the film is showing at the Landmark Edina 4 Theatre.

Church of the Immaculate Conception Lonsdale, Minnesota

Church Bazaar Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016

New this year!

• Pork & Dumplings • French Fries • Corn on the Cob • Pie & Ice Cream • Bean Bag Tournament by Knights of Columbus • Games for TEENS

Food Stand opens at 10:30 CONTINUING WITH OUR FAVORITE STANDS OF . . .

• Games for Kid • Refreshments • Ice Cream Stand • Raffle Wheel • Book of Prizes • Used A Bit • Chance Booth Split the Pot • Bingo-Homemade Czech Baking-Country Market and Crafts in airconditioned Civic Center (New Location)

Live Entertainment featuring the Jolly P’s Drawing at 5 p.m.

Masses: Saturday – 5 p.m. • Sunday – 8 a.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. Polka Mass featuring the IC Church Choir

July 21, 2016 The Catholic Spirit • 19

Priest’s prayer reminds GOP convention of importance of all human life

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service When Msgr. Kieran Harrington delivered the invocation on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, it wasn’t just a coincidence that he ended up on the same stage where high-scale politics would dominate for four days.

The priest from the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, told Catholic News Service that he worked for the Republican National Committee for five years in the 1990s and was known to some of the party’s highest-ranking officials.

The process was not planned far in advance, and his on-stage appearance was finalized only days before the convention began, he said. Things happened so quickly that Msgr.

Harrington ended up driving from Brooklyn to Cleveland, arriving at 3 a.m. July 18, about 17 hours before offering the prayer.

“The way I look at it is I’m here to bring the Gospel. It’s very important to hold up a mirror to let people know what their deliberations really are about,” said Msgr. Harrington, chairman of the diocese’s DeSales Media Group and pastor of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn.

The invitation came after he inquired about the status of press credentials for the staff of the diocese’s New Evangelization Television cable TV network. Msgr. Harrington received a call from Sean Spicer, communications

“The way I look at it is I’m here to bring the Gospel.”

Msgr. Kieran Harrington

director and chief strategist for the Republican National Committee, who not only confirmed the credentials, but invited the priest to offer the prayer.

Msgr. Harrington cleared the request with Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and began coordinating his short appearance at the convention.

Aside from Bishop DiMarzio, few knew about Msgr. Harrington’s part at the convention until he told St. Joseph parishioners at Masses the weekend of July 16-17.

“I told them, ‘I don’t want you to be surprised. You may see my on TV. I want to tell you I believe you bring the Gospel everywhere and anywhere,’” he recalled.

Lasting about three minutes, the prayer referenced the example of the Good Samaritan as told in the Gospel of Luke, which had been read at Masses the weekend of July 9-10.

“To me, the Good Samaritan was important especially because, I think, of the great issues our country faces. The perennial issues on human life. To me, I

Msgr. Kieran Harrington, vicar of communications for the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, delivers the invocation July 18 during the first day of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. CNS/Tannen Maury, EPA don’t think there is any way around saying this is the greatest evil our nation is engaged with at the moment.

To take the life of a child in the womb is barbaric,” he said.

“At same time, as people who stand for human life, we understand life

begins at conception, but it doesn’t end when the child is born. There are people who are vulnerable and who are here in this country and are strangers.

To my mind I wanted to hold that up because the rhetoric can be unneighborly to say the least,” Msgr.

Harrington told CNS. The prayer included a request for blessings and inspiration for the delegates and party leaders that their deliberations “might be earnest and fruitful.”

Msgr. Harrington’s career in politics lasted from 1994 to 1999. It began when he decided to take a year off from studying for the priesthood. He wanted to get a job and better understand the lives of people who go to work day in and day out so he could be a better priest. He joined the RNC doing research and working in campaign operations. One year stretched to five as he took on more responsibilities and became an aide to Jim Nicholson, thenparty chairman, who later became U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and then secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Msgr. Harrington said today that he is a registered Democrat, but he did not offer any reason for his change in political allegiance.

When it comes to prayer though, he said, politics does not matter.

“Frankly, in my time,” he said, “I find most people who are involved in the political process are extraordinarily earnest and really do want to accomplish good. So, I think it was appropriate [to offer the prayer].”

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20 • The Catholic Spirit

THE LAST WORD

B

ehind the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, visitors will find a small courtyard with a bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a place to pray and reflect — or earn “gear” for Pokémon Go, the mobile app that launched July 6 and has quickly surpassed other popular apps, including Twitter, Netflix and Spotify.

The game draws on the longstanding popularity of Pokémon, cartoon monsters that, since their creation in 1995, have spawned video games, trading cards and TV shows. Pokémon Go’s novelty lies in the fact that players — aka “trainers” — use GPS and Google Maps to “catch” Pokémon who — via a mobile device’s screen — appear in real places, including parks, landmarks and Catholic church campuses. The game includes GPStagged “Pokéstops” — places where players can amass supplies — and “gyms” — places players can battle their Pokémon against other Pokémon.

As with many churches, the exterior of Good Shepherd in Golden Valley is a Pokémon gym, and its pastor, Father Luke Marquard, has noted Pokémon hunters while on walks. He hasn’t noticed people going in the church to hunt, he said, and would discourage it if he did. The game doesn’t recognize a difference between public and private property.

Overall, Father Marquard is undecided about Pokémon Go. He supposes that something that draws people to a church door offers opportunities for evangelism, but he is also concerned that inviting trainers to hunt Pokémon inside Good Shepherd would detract from the sacredness of the space.

“I’m just worried that we have this generation of kids who could name all the different levels of Pokémon and all the different species or characters, but wouldn’t be able to tell you what the host or the monstrance is,” he said. “I suppose there’s some sense of accomplishment and meaning they get out of the whole thing, and we’d like to say, ‘Listen, you don’t have to look that hard, he’s [Jesus] here. He’s always here. He does your battle for you.”

Father Marquard has toyed with downloading the app to explore ways he could leverage it for parish outreach, but for now has decided against it.

July 21, 2016 Flocknote to parishioners described the three Pokéstops on the church’s campus and asked players to “proceed reverently.”

Concerns for safety, respect

Not all parishes want to lure Pokémon — or their trainers — to their campuses.

In Shakopee, a July 13 Facebook post from the Shakopee Police Department noted that Sts. Joachim and Anne church and cemetery “are private property and should not be entered to catch Pokémon or visit Pokéstops.” It added: “Please be respectful of this sacred ground.”

Julie Bennett, the parish’s business administrator, said the issue is about respect and safety. Recently, the volunteer curator for the church’s cemetery witnessed several groups of players in the cemetery, some jumping around and looking behind headstones. He told the groups they could get hurt if a piece of a monument were to fall on them.

“They’re heavy monuments,” Bennett said. “We just can’t have the risk.”

While admitting she’s not entirely familiar with the game, Bennett requested that her children, ages 13 and 15, not play it because she’s concerned about potential harm, including predators luring players to dangerous places.

In an effort to maintain respect for private, sacred property, Epiphany in Coon Rapids has requested that its church campus be removed as a Pokémon Go destination.

Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, meanwhile, has

By Maria Wiering • The Catholic Spirit endorsed its evangelical opportunities via Twitter. “#PokemonGo is drawing people to churches. Great! What an excellent opportunity to share the love and mercy of Jesus in this Year of Mercy!” he tweeted July 12.

His diocese’s resource guide notes that the game “is fostering relationshipbuilding between parents and children, neighbors and even among strangers.”

That’s proven true for Sean McDonough, assistant chancellor for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who hunts Pokémon with his 11-year-old son, William.

The pair have gone out three or four Outreach opportunity? times in their Stillwater neighborhood, The Department of Evangelization in the which includes Sean’s childhood home Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has a and different take. Earlier this month, it issued a St. Michael’s parish. Its streets are four-page resource guide with FAQs to help walkable and bikeable, he said, and he’s parishes respond to the craze and hopefully enjoyed seeing the neighborhood in a direct some players to the pews. different way, through the game’s bird’s Alec Richardson, Brennan Moore, Adam Salman and Blake Koelz hunt Pokémon stops “Many parishes are reporting massive eye view.

July 14 around the grounds of Assumption Church in St. Louis. CNS increases in foot traffic around their He acknowledged that he looks to buildings and on their grounds,” the guide William for direction. “There’s a sort of stated. “Unlike with other video games, part of it, and if so, what parts of the property are likely humbling aspect of the game, where I players encounter each other out in their communities to be most frequented. have to turn to him and say, ‘How do I do this, what’s — face-to-face.”

It also advises parishes to engage players with signs or next?’” McDonough said. “He’s at that age where I directions; meet players’ needs with restrooms, water or Rather than paint the game as an inconvenience to haven’t had to ask him that a lot.” phone recharging; use the game to attract Pokémon to parish life, the document quotes St. John Paul II’s 1990 McDonough chuckled about a moment when he and draw more people; and post signs to welcome players encyclical, “Redemptoris Missio” (“The Mission of the William were walking near his childhood home — two Redeemer”): “Missionaries . . . must immerse themselves and outline expectations for the property’s use. blocks from their house — and he reminisced aloud It includes examples of signage from parishes in in the cultural milieu of those to whom they are sent, about racing his brothers home after Mass at St. Michigan, Maryland and Indiana inviting trainers to moving beyond their own cultural limitations. Hence Michael. they must learn the language of the place in which they text prayer requests, drop in parish offices to speak to a Then he noticed that William wasn’t listening; he was priest, pause to pray for the dead in a cemetery, or ask work, become familiar with the most important looking at his screen for Pokémon. for Mary’s intercession at a statue of Our Lady. expressions of the local culture, and discover its values McDonough’s overall Pokémon Go experience has “The key is to build bridges of trust and break down through direct experience. been positive, he said, although he has safety concerns barriers for those who may not be regular church Only if they have this kind of about his son looking at his phone and not the street. visitors,” the guide states. awareness will they be able to Game time is also restricted by William’s regular In Brooklyn Center, St. Alphonsus leveraged its bring to people the knowledge summer screen-time limits. position as a Pokémon gym to invite people to its of the hidden mystery in a “The real miracle is when your son says, ‘Hey dad, annual Fun Fest July 15-17. “Bring all your friends to a credible and fruitful way.” let’s go out and do this,’” said McDonough, a Fun Fest Friday night for laser tag, battle of the bands, The resource guide offers five parishioner of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul. “I really like great food, ice cream and a Pokémon battle,” read a July the outdoor and doing-this-together aspect of it.” tips for parishes, starting with 13 post on the parish Facebook page. downloading the game to At St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony, a July 15 determine if its campus is — Jessica Trygstad contributed to this story.

Pokémon Go

— or no?

Parish response mixed to new mobile game craze

“#PokemonGo is drawing people to churches. Great!

What an excellent opportunity to share the love and mercy of Jesus in this Year of Mercy!”

A tweet from Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay