The Catholic Spirit - July 25, 2019

thecatholicspirit.com

July 25, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

LEADING

with

FAITH

G o o d Wo r k

•

In Christ

Faith in the workplace

Summer vocations

The Catholic Spirit honors eight men and women who live their faith in the workplace. Special section also highlights a guidebook for business leaders and a new guild for Catholics in business.

— Pages 1B-12B

Forming school leaders New program is underway to form principals and aspiring principals who make decisions in a Catholic context and help shape school communities into witnesses of the faith.

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Grandparents pilgrimage Archdiocese offers trip to the Holy Land as a way for older Catholics to deepen their faith and pass it on to future generations.

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DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Reading kids to sleep Local author pens children’s book to aid parents in creating a peaceful, prayerful bedtime routine.

— Page 7A

From left, Sister Emy Ychikawa of Pro Ecclesia Sancta in St. Paul talks with Mary, Catherine and Clare Kracht of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, Lydia Hapka of Epiphany in Coon Rapids and Mary Row of the Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Winona July 21 at the start of Quo Vadis Vocations Camp at Dunrovin Christian Brothers Retreat Center near Stillwater. The camp gives young men and women the chance to explore vocations and meet members of religious communities in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Pro Ecclesia Sancta sisters led the camp for young women, while the camp for young men was led by Father David Blume, director of vocations for the archdiocese, Father Nicholas Hagen of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul and Nick Vance, a seminarian at The St. Paul Seminary. Quo Vadis, a Latin phrase meaning “where are you going,” took place July 21-24.

Bishop Pates retires; plans Oct. 1 return to archdiocese

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit St. Paul native Bishop Richard Pates is retiring in Des Moines, Iowa, and he plans to return in October to live and help serve in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“I look forward to it — pretty exciting, and I’m all set to move,” Bishop Pates said July 19 of his return to the archdiocese.

“I enjoyed the ministry (in Des Moines).

It was a very active ministry, wonderful community, a great diocese. But, I welcome the opportunity to retire and begin a new chapter in my life.”

Bishop Pates’ resignation, accepted by Pope Francis, who also named as the bishop’s successor Father William Joensen, a priest in the Archdiocese of Dubuqe, Iowa, was announced July 18 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States.

“

I welcome the opportunity to retire and begin a new chapter in my life.

Bishop Richard Pates Bishop Pates, 76, submitted his resignation in February 2018 when he turned 75, which is required by canon law. His service in Des Moines will end officially Sept. 27 with the episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect Joensen.

He will return to the Twin Cities area Oct. 1, where he will reside at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights at the John R. Roach faculty residence. He plans to celebrate Masses at St. Thomas Academy and at Visitation School next door, and help where needed in the archdiocese, including confirmations.

Bishop Pates went to Des Moines in 2008, after being appointed its ninth

bishop by Pope Benedict XVI. Prior to that, he had served in the archdiocese since his ordination to the priesthood in 1968 in Rome. Parishes where he served include St. Ambrose in Woodbury, Our Lady of Peace in Minneapolis and Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul. He also served as rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary from 1981-87.

He was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese in 2001.

Bishop Pates also has served at the national level, as a former chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. Since leaving that position he has taken a leading role in advocacy for the environment. He also serves on the immigration committee for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and will continue to do so in his retirement. He said he is “very passionate” about ministry to immigrants, and hopes to PLEASE TURN TO BISHOP PATES ON PAGE 6A

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JULY 25, 2019

PAGETWO

“

Wen came into Planned Parenthood to move Planned Parenthood out of the political arena and into actual health care.

She lasted only eight months.

American Life League President Judie Brown, on news that Dr. Leana Wen was fired by Planned Parenthood as its president. Brown and several other pro-life leaders remarked that the organization was upset the physician had emphasized the need to expand Planned Parenthood services beyond abortion.

NEWS notes

$3.1 million

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SOAP’S ON Madeline Sazama, front left, and Nora Dileva, right, of St. Michael in Prior Lake wash a car July 11 as part of the parish’s Summer Stretch program. Boys and girls who are entering sixth through eighth grade in the fall participate in the program, which takes place Thursdays for seven weeks and involves service activities in the morning and fun activities in the afternoon. It creates opportunities both for serving the community and socializing with peers. Boys and girls entering grades nine through 12 serve as leaders.

About 70 youths participated, according to Brittany Seaburg, parish marketing and communications coordinator.

The amount Our Lady of the Lake in Mound hopes to raise in its Stepping Forward in Faith capital campaign. Donors already have pledged more than half the goal. The public phase began in late June. Three years after constructing and donating a building for a local food shelf and thrift store it long has supported, the parish now is committed to upgrading its church and parish center with a new heating and cooling system, security cameras and a resurfaced parking lot, updated restrooms and restoration of the church’s bells and original terrazzo floor. Work at the parish school will include creating a new science classroom and lab, renovating bathrooms, expanding the child care area and upgrading the electrical system to meet technology needs. The parish also expects to retire debt and invest in an endowment for future capital improvements.

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The number of entities signing an agreement June 27 to collaborate in pursuit of social justice and the common good through community engagement and student formation.

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul agreed the collaboration will evolve over time, but the shared commitment is to help individuals be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to create opportunity for all in pursuit of the common good.

125th

The anniversary celebrated July 6 at a Mass in St. Paul of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver’s founding in Austria. The religious order, which supports missions around the world, arrived 81 years ago in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Archbishop Bernard Hebda presided at the Mass at Transfiguration in Oakdale. During the Mass, six novices professed their first vows, all from countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Transfiguration, said the religious sisters live and work near the church, and parishioners “are pleased they are part of our parish family.”

4 CNS

VATICAN BONES Workers inspect an ossuary at the Teutonic Cemetery at the Vatican July 20. The ossuary was opened in the hope of finding the missing remains of a German princess and duchess and possibly the remains of Emanuela Orlandi, who disappeared in 1983. Thousands of bones were found in the ossuary, according to a representative of the Orlandi family who was present for the search.

CORRECTIONS In the July 11 story, “‘The Right Reverend New Dealer’: Msgr. John A. Ryan at 150,” independent scholar Arthur Meyers’ last name was misspelled.

In the same issue, the story “Forum touts Catholic education benefits,” the number of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the archdiocese was incorrect. There are 91 schools.

And in the story “Crowning Glory,” details for the national Miss America competition were incorrect. NBC will air the competition Dec. 19 from Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Catholic Spirit apologizes for the errors.

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 24 — No. 14 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief

The number of high school students representing St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights who were invited to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to meet with engineers and scientists to share student-designed and wearable radiation countermeasures, learn about engineering and tour the facility. A total of five teams from across the country were invited to the NASA center in August. Schools were selected through a competitive process in which they submitted designs via video to NASA scientists and engineers. The St. Thomas Academy team includes senior Jenna Westlake (home school student and daughter of Mark Westlake, faculty adviser and director of the St. Thomas Academy Innovation Center) and STA juniors Wil Applebaum, Will Hoppe and Daniel Staelgraeve. The other faculty adviser is Caroline Little, science teacher at Visitation School in Mendota Heights.

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The height in feet of two statues dedicated at St. Therese in Deephaven July 21 by Bishop Andrew Cozzens. They depict Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of the church’s namesake, St. Therese of Lisieux, who was canonized in 1925. The statues were hand-carved out of linden wood in Italy and installed in the church narthex, or entrance. The pastor of St. Therese, Father Leonard Andrie, said he thinks these might be the first statues of the two saints in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

They were canonized together by Pope Francis in 2015 and became the first spouses to be canonized as a couple.

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JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3A

FROMTHEARCHBISHOP ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Trip to Cambodia and Laos proves ‘spiritually fruitful’

I

recently traveled with a small group from our Archdiocese to Cambodia and Laos to learn more about the work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). It was my first experience in Asia and my first CRS trip since having been elected to the CRS board by my brother bishops.

CRS was formed by the bishops of the United States 75 years ago to carry out their shared commitment to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Many of us may be familiar with CRS from the popular Lenten program, Operation Ricebowl, or from their high profile work in providing disaster relief on behalf of the Church (some well known examples would be their efforts in Haiti after the earthquakes or in the Philippines after tropical cyclone Haiyan). They also engage in longer-term projects around the globe, always acting in collaboration with the local Catholic Church.

In Cambodia and Laos, CRS is doing phenomenal work in the areas of education, nutrition and health.

While our visit was based in three cities (Phnom Penh, Savanakket and Vientiane), we learned firsthand about projects throughout those countries. I was particularly interested in their work helping rural schools integrate children with disabilities. Their work to uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life was inspiring. Even the non-Christians on the staff seemed to be adept at articulating and modeling the principles of our Catholic social teaching.

While the trip was primarily educational, it was spiritually fruitful as well. It continues to prompt deep reflection concerning both the cost

of discipleship and the call to radical dependence on Jesus. I was amazed by the commitment and generosity of the CRS teams, who clearly serve at great personal sacrifice, without access to the healthcare and educational resources that we take for granted here in Minnesota, now raising families half way around the world from the more comfortable places they once called home.

The trip also encouraged me to go deeper in my appreciation of solidarity, a concept that was near and dear to the heart of Pope John Paul II. Our group had the chance to meet informally with the Bishop of Savanakket. While to some in Laos, CRS may be just another non-governmental agency, for the bishop it seemed to be a concrete and important expression of solidarity between Catholics in the U.S. and the members of the Church that he serves. I don’t think that he let go of my elbow the whole time that we spoke, brother to brother. I have been praying for him and his flock daily since returning to Minnesota.

I was particularly grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the recent history of both countries and to gain insights into the ways in which that history continues to have ripple effects stretching from Southeast Asia to the Twin Cities.

Both countries were deeply affected by the military conflict in Vietnam and its regional consequences.

Our visit to the COPE Visitors center in Vientiane, for example, highlighted the ongoing impact of unexploded ordnances on life in rural Laos. It was inspiring to hear of the work that is being done to rid communities of that menace and to assist those who have suffered as a result of the inadvertent detonation of these devices.

Similarly sobering was our visit to the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, once a detention center operated by the Khmer Rouge regime. It is hard to believe that the atrocities documented at that facility could have occurred in my lifetime.

While the Cambodian community in our Archdiocese is relatively small (there are about 8,000 refugees who have made their home in Minnesota), there are 10 times that number who have come from Laos, the majority of them Hmong. As a result of the trip, I believe I now have a slightly better appreciation of the factors that may have led them to come half way around the world in search of a new life.

In his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees (Sept. 29, 2019), Pope Francis notes that “the presence of migrants and refugees — and of vulnerable people in general — is an invitation to recover some of those essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity that risk being overlooked in a prosperous society.” He reminds us that “opening ourselves to others does not lead to impoverishment, but rather enrichment, because it enables us to be more human: to recognize ourselves as participants in a greater collectivity and to understand our life as a gift for others; to see as the goal, not our own interests, but rather the good of humanity.”

As I drive to the office each day, I am reminded of Minnesota’s long tradition of welcoming refugees and immigrants, whether they be from Scandinavia, Ireland, Africa, Latin America or Asia. Please join me in praying that our immigrant brothers and sisters might continue to call forth from us solidarity, help us be more human, and lead us to see our lives more clearly as a gift for others.

El viaje a Camboya y Laos demuestra ser ‘espiritualmente fructífero’

la santidad y la dignidad de toda la vida humana fue inspirador. Incluso los no cristianos del personal parecían ser expertos en articular y modelar los principios de nuestra enseñanza social católica.

Si bien el viaje fue principalmente educativo, también fue espiritualmente fructífero. Sigue propuzándose una profunda reflexión sobre el costo del discipulado y la llamada a la dependencia radical de Jesús. Me sorprendió el compromiso y la generosidad de los equipos de CRS, que claramente sirven con gran sacrificio personal, sin acceso a los recursos sanitarios y educativos que damos por sentado aquí en Minnesota, ahora criando familias a mitad del mundo de la lugares más cómodos que una vez llamaron hogar.

El viaje también me animó a profundizar en mi aprecio por la solidaridad, un concepto que estaba cerca y era querido en el corazón del Papa Juan Pablo II. Nuestro grupo tuvo la oportunidad de reunirse informalmente con el obispo de Savanakket. Mientras que para algunos en Laos, CRS puede ser sólo otra agencia no gubernamental, para el obispo parecía ser una expresión concreta e importante de solidaridad entre los católicos en los Estados Unidos y los miembros de la Iglesia a la que sirve. No creo que me soltara el codo todo el tiempo que hablamos, hermano a hermano. He estado rezando por él y su rebaño todos los días desde que regresé a Minnesota.

Estaba particularmente agradecido por la oportunidad de aprender más sobre la historia reciente de ambos países y de obtener información sobre las formas en que esa historia sigue teniendo efectos de ondulación que se extienden desde el sudeste asiático hasta las Ciudades Gemelas. Ambos países se vieron profundamente afectados por el conflicto militar en Vietnam y sus consecuencias regionales. Nuestra visita al centro de visitantes de COPE en Vientiane, por ejemplo, puso de relieve el impacto continuo de los artefactos explosivos sin detonar en la vida en la zona rural de Laos. Fue inspirador escuchar el trabajo que se está haciendo para librar a las comunidades de esa amenaza y para

ayudar a aquellos que han sufrido como resultado de la detonación involuntaria de estos dispositivos.

Del mismo grave, fue nuestra visita al Museo del Genocidio en Phnom Penh, una vez un centro de detención operado por el régimen de los Jemeres Rojos. Es difícil creer que las atrocidades documentadas en esa instalación pudieran haber ocurrido en mi vida.

Mientras que la comunidad camboyana en nuestra Arquidiócesis es relativamente pequeña (hay alrededor de 8.000 refugiados que han hecho su hogar en Minnesota), hay 10 veces ese número que han venido de Laos, la mayoría de ellos Hmong. Como resultado del viaje, creo que ahora tengo una apreciación un poco mejor de los factores que pueden haberlos llevado a venir a media savuelta del mundo en busca de una nueva vida.

En su mensaje para la Jornada Mundial de los Migrantes y Refugiados de este año (29 de septiembre de 2019), el Papa Francisco señala que “la presencia de migrantes y refugiados – y de personas vulnerables en general – es una invitación a recuperar algunas de esas dimensiones esenciales de nuestro existencia cristiano y nuestra humanidad que corren el riesgo de ser pasadas por alto en una sociedad próspera. Nos recuerda que “abrirnos a los demás no conduce al empobrecimiento, sino al enriquecimiento, porque nos permite ser más humanos: reconocernos como participantes en una mayor colectividad y entender nuestra vida como un don para los demás; para ver como el objetivo, no como nuestros propios intereses, sino más bien de la humanidad”.

Mientras conduzco a la oficina todos los días, recuerdo la larga tradición de Minnesota de acoger a refugiados e inmigrantes, ya sean de Escandinavia, Irlanda, Africa, América Latina o Asia. Por favor, únanse a mí para orar para que nuestros hermanos y hermanas inmigrantes continúen invocando de nosotros solidaridad, nos ayuden a ser más humanos y nos lleven a ver nuestra vidas más claramente como un regalo para los demás.

R

ecientemente viajé con un pequeño grupo de nuestra Arquidiócesis a Camboya y Laos para aprender más sobre el trabajo de los Servicios de Socorro Católicos (CRS). Fue mi primera experiencia en Asia y mi primer viaje de CRS desde que fui elegido para la junta de CRS por mis hermanos obispos.

CRS fue formado por los obispos de los Estados Unidos hace 75 años para llevar a cabo su compromiso compartido de ayudar a los pobres y vulnerables en el extranjero. Muchos de nosotros podemos estar familiarizados con CRS del popular programa cuaresmal, Operación Ricebowl, o de su trabajo de alto perfil en el suministro de socorro en caso de desastre en nombre de la Iglesia (algunos ejemplos bien conocidos serían sus esfuerzos en Haití después de los terremotos o en el Filipinas después del ciclón tropical Haiyan). También participan en proyectos a largo plazo en todo el mundo, siempre actuando en colaboración con la Iglesia Católica local.

En Camboya y Laos, CRS está realizando un trabajo fenomenal en las esferas de la educación, la nutrición y la salud. Mientras que nuestra visita se basa en tres ciudades (Phnom Penh, Savanakket y Vientiane), aprendimos de primera mano sobre proyectos en todos esos países. Estaba particularmente interesado en su trabajo ayudando a las escuelas rurales a integrar a los niños con discapacidad; su trabajo para defender

4A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 25, 2019

LOCAL

SLICEof LIFE

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Garden Party

Eva Huebl, left, takes a closer look at a milkweed plant during the Garden Party at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center in Prior Lake July 14. She attended with her mother, Lori, second from left, and sisters Tasha, right, and Brittany (not pictured). Brittany and Tasha work at the retreat center, and Eva helps there throughout the summer. Brittany, the head of housekeeping and website manager, said she enjoyed the chance to spend an afternoon walking the grounds with her sisters and mother. She finds the atmosphere peaceful and prayerful. This year marks the first time the center held an event during the summer. With so many visitors during the winter months, the staff wanted people to see the grounds during the summer months when the flowers are in bloom. The Huebl family belongs to St. John the Evangelist in Union Hill, part of the New Prague Area Catholic Community.

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LOCAL

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5A

Archbishop encourages first class at new Institute for Catholic School Leadership

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Encouraging the first class of an initiative offering Catholic formation for principals and aspiring principals, Archbishop Bernard Hebda reminded the 20 participants that their work as teachers and school leaders goes beyond meeting students’ academic needs.

“It’s important that we give ourselves over to it as a vocation, and also that we’re administering it within the Church as part of Jesus’ (teaching ministry),” the archbishop said at a July 10 dinner meeting with the cohort at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

“It requires that we prepare ourselves in a very particular way,” the archbishop said. “This is something that the Lord and the Church are calling you to perform.”

Launched in January as a joint venture of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for the Mission of Catholic Education and The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, the Institute for Catholic School Leadership offers a 14-month, graduate-level Certificate in Catholic School Leadership.

Human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation are key aspects of the institute’s work, said its founding director, Merylann Schuttloffel, known widely as “Dr. Mimi,” a national expert in Catholic school leadership.

The goal is to form school leaders who place reflection and decisionmaking in a Catholic context, and who help shape their school communities into witnesses of the Catholic faith, Schuttloffel said. It’s what she refers to as “contemplative leadership.”

JOE RUFF / THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Archbishop Bernard Hebda addresses the first class of the Institute for Catholic School Leadership at a July 10 dinner at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Leadership and influence on faculty and students also can extend to students’ parents, who entrust their children to Catholic schools for academic and faith formation outside the home, Archbishop Hebda told the group.

“You are the infantry in the work that we as the Church have to do, you and our parish priests,” the archbishop said.

The institute is an important part of the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education’s Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education, also announced in January, which will guide and coordinate the strategic approach of the archdiocese to Catholic schools over the next several years.

Archbishop Hebda; Auxiliary Bishop

Andrew Cozzens, vicar for Catholic education; and Jason Slattery, director of the education office, helped shape the archdiocese’s Roadmap, which focuses on five areas affecting Catholic elementary schools: talent management and leadership intiatives, including the Leadership Institute; curriculum and metrics; access and sustainability; mission schools and their governance; and governance of Catholic schools.

An initial summer session for the cohort was held June 15 through July 19, with the group living at The St. Paul Seminary and learning through classroom instruction and faith formation. During the academic year, participants will receive mentoring and complete online courses remotely, then

Lay board’s meeting highlights synod, efforts at healing

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Dale Lieb stepped away July 17 from his second Lay Advisory Board meeting with Archbishop Bernard Hebda determined to help spread the word about prayer and listening events set to begin this fall in preparation for the 2021 archdiocesan synod.

“We’re inviting everyone to attend these events,” Lieb said.

“This whole thing is being guided by the Holy Spirit.”

Archbishoip Hebda announced the synod last month and planning is well underway as the archbishop prepares over the next two years to hear suggestions from people about the pastoral needs of the local Church. The synod itself will gather delegates from all facets of the archdiocese to help the archbishop discern and shape pastoral priorities for the five to 10 years that follow.

To begin the process of discernment, 20 prayer-infused listening sessions will be held across the archdiocese between Sept. 24 and March 14. Eleven other sessions will be held for focus groups such as clergy and college students.

And the 19 members of the Lay

Advisory Board, in their second quarterly meeting with the archbishop and other archdiocesan officials at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul, were encouraged to help spread the word and urge people to participate.

Lieb and others on the board, for example, will discuss the initiative with parish representatives in their deaneries, or geographic regions in the archdiocese. They also will help with welcoming and hospitality as they participate in the prayer and listening sessions planned for their areas.

Alisha Coury, representative for Deanery Two on the Lay Advisory Board and a member of St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, said she is ready to share the good news of the prayer and listening sessions.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity the archbishop is setting up for priests to hear directly from their parishioners about the needs of the archdiocese, and how that will bubble up” through the deaneries and into the archdiocese as planning continues for the synod, said Coury, who also is a member of her parish council.

Lieb, who represents Deanery One and is president of the

leadership council of his parish, St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake, said he will discuss preparations for the synod at his council meetings, which include members of each of the parish’s ministries. Lieb said he will answer people’s questions, take in their suggestions, and encourage participation. Bulletin announcements and other avenues also will be used to spread the news, Lieb and Coury said.

Announced as an initiative last fall, the Lay Advisory Board meets quarterly with the archbishop.

Board members are an important source of advice for the archbishop, and they share information about their deaneries with the archdiocese, and vice versa.

Other items discussed at the July 17 meeting included a continued need for healing in the archdiocese in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, and progress being made in ensuring safe environments for youth and others; and reports from board members about suggested priorities for the archdiocese, as well as initiatives that appear to work well.

The next board meeting will be Oct. 9 at the Catholic Center.

return to the seminary for a second, month-long summer program next year.

Applications are being taken now for a second 20-member cohort to begin the cycle anew during the first group’s closing summer session.

Members of the first cohort include four religious sisters, three priests and 13 lay people. Three of the sisters and one lay person are from outside the archdiocese. One goal of the institute is to expand its influence into the Church province that includes Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, Schuttloffel said.

“We are very pleased with how it’s going,” she said of the initial summer session. Students are finding it is rigorous and laying a solid foundation for leadership roles, she said.

Institute officials were delighted to have the archbishop join the cohort as part of its weekly dinner and speaker series, Schuttloffel said.

“He has been such a terrific supporter of the institute since it first was proposed,” she said.

One participant, Troy Newlove, said he is attending the institute in hopes of using his formation in the faith to help other people, to learn about the potential of being a leader in Catholic schools and to effectively integrate Catholic teaching into all aspects of the classroom.

It was great to hear the archbishop’s affirmation of the leadership program and of Catholic schools in general, he said.

“His words of affirmation and praise and support struck a good chord in my heart,” said Newlove, who teaches band and seventh-grade religion at Nativity of Our Lord School in St. Paul.

Parish’s lecture series honors late pastor

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit A lecture series featuring speakers who proclaim the Gospel with clarity, force and joy begins next month at Transfiguration in Oakdale, in honor of the parish’s late pastor, Father William Baer.

Widely known as a powerful homilist and leader who drew people into the faith, Father Baer died unexpectedly in January last year at age 60. He had served since 2011 at Transfiguration. He was rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul from 1999 to 2010, and in his first assignment as a priest he served at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul from 1996 to 1998.

Father Baer is greatly missed, and the Father William Baer Memorial Lecture Series is a way to honor him and encourage others to embrace and preach the faith, said Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Transfiguration.

The inaugural talks will be on three evenings, each at 7 p.m. at the church, beginning Aug. 1 with Faith: Praying Well, with Father Francis “Rocky” Hoffman, executive director and CEO of Green Bay, Wisconsinbased Catholic talk radio network Relevant Radio.

On Aug. 15, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt Torres of Hartford, Connecticut, a former vice rector of formation at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, will address Hope: Dying Well; and Aug. 29, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will discuss Charity: Loving Well.

Father Baer spoke with clarity of expression, joy and truth in ways that also demanded change in people’s lives, Father Erickson said.

“All of these speakers have those qualities in abundance,” he said.

LOCAL

6A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Grandparents invited to visit the Holy Land

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit Kim and Shawn Doyle of St. Joseph in Rosemount celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary July 20. They went extra large on gifts to mark the occasion.

“Shawn and I have wanted to go to the Holy Land,” Kim, 62, said. “And, that’s our gift to each other — to go together to the place where Jesus walked, and grow closer together in our faith and be able to have that experience together.”

They signed up for a Grandparents Pilgrimage to the Holy Land organized by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Evangelization that will take place Jan. 7-16. Kim is part of a core team of the grandparents ministry in the archdiocese that came up with the idea two years ago. Father Joseph Bambenek, the ministry’s chaplain, will serve as chaplain of the pilgrimage. Crystal Crocker, director of the Office of Evangelization and a grandmother of three ages 2 and under, also will make the pilgrimage. Deadline for registration is Aug. 10.

“This pilgrimage is meant to be an intimate group... centered around grandparenting,” said Crocker, who will be joined by her husband, Tracy. “We want the pilgrims to be able to be connected with each other. One of the things on a pilgrimage is that we learn how much we do need each other, and that we can share stories and pray for each other on this pilgrimage.”

Like the Doyles, Crystal and Tracy Crocker are making their first trip to the Holy Land. Crystal hopes everyone who comes will, in turn, share the experience with their grandchildren.

Kim Doyle already has plans to do so.

She will make prints of photos she takes and create an album, which will include text. She and has done this before after trips and shown photos to her six grandchildren, all of whom live in the Twin Cities. Along with pictures, Kim and Shawn talk about their trips and provide details of their experiences.

“They love to hear the stories,” she said of her grandchildren, all 10 and under. “And, this is going to be a beautiful way for us to be able to tell the stories of Jesus and where he walked.”

The trip will feature professional tour guides leading daily trips to sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Organizers say the timing is ideal, as temperatures and the number of tourists normally are moderate in January. They also noted that there are no security risks for the trip, despite ongoing military conflicts in the region.

Father Bambenek is making his second trip to the Holy Land. He first went in 2009 while he was studying for the priesthood at The St. Paul Seminary.

“My personal feeling is that any Catholic who has the means should see the Holy Land once in their life,” he said, “because that is where God came and walked on Earth.”

For more information and to register, visit archspm.org/grandparents-pilgrimage.

JULY 25, 2019

BISHOP PATES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A find ways to serve the immigrant community once he returns to the archdiocese.

“They contribute so much to us,” he said of immigrants.

“I think it’s a question of justice that we have to deal with.

We have to deal with them humanely and not in a way that is taking children from their parents. That’s not really apropos to who we are as Christians and what we’re about.”

Although he has not had specific conversations with Archbishop Bernard Hebda about possible ministry areas, Bishop Pates looks forward to the chance to serve in the archdiocese. He likes what he has seen under the leadership of Archbishop Hebda.

“He is the man of the hour and he came at the right time,” Bishop Pates said of Archbishop Hebda. “He has led the archdiocese through some very difficult times. … And, he’s just very warm and friendly. I think he’s obviously been a tremendous asset through all of this.”

With 20 cousins in the Twin Cities, Bishop Pates looks forward to the chance to reconnect. He also would like to travel, and has trips planned to Rome and Brussels, Belgium. Then, there’s the hobby that he hopes to give more attention to.

“I’m going to try and see if my golf game can be improved at all,” he said with a laugh. “(But) nobody’s ever asked me for lessons.”

Catholic News Service contributed to this story

COURTESY KELLY MESCHER COLLINS

Bishop Richard Pates talks about his retirement during a news conference July 18 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Crookston diocese announces $5 million settlement with sexual abuse survivors

By Janelle C. Gergen Catholic News Service The Diocese of Crookston announced July 17 it has reached a $5 million settlement with victims/ survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

The settlement resolves 15 lawsuits for sexual abuse claims filed between April 2016 and May 2017 because of the Minnesota Child Victims Act. The legislation lifted the statute of limitations on abuse cases in Minnesota, opening a three-year window that allowed victims an opportunity to file civil claims even on cases alleged to have happened decades ago.

“To all victims and survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, as the bishop of Crookston I apologize for the harm done to you by those entrusted with your spiritual care. Although you can never be fully compensated for your suffering, we are thankful this

litigation has now come to a good end and are hopeful this settlement offers you justice and will be helpful for healing,” Bishop Michael Hoeppner said in a letter to Catholics of the diocese.

“To you, the faithful of this local church, I say thank you for your continued prayer: for victims of sexual abuse; for a fair resolve to these cases,” he wrote. “Let us all now, humbly, offer prayers of thanksgiving.”

According to the diocese, most of the costs associated with the settlement came through insurance proceeds; $1.55 million came from the property sales of Camp Corbett in Big Elbow Lake in 2018 and Holy Spirit Newman Center in Bemidji in 2016, as well as two nonrestricted estate gifts in 2017.

Also, in preparation for the settlement, the diocese said two open staff positions were left unfilled. The diocese did not have to finance any

portion of the settlement through loans. According to Bishop Hoeppner, no Diocesan Annual Appeal funds were used for the settlement.

Because of the settlement, the Diocese of Crookston has been able to avoid bankruptcy protection, it noted.

“All other dioceses in Minnesota have filed or announced their intent to file for financial reorganization in recent years,” the diocese said in a statement.

The Crookston Diocese also said it will not experience layoffs and “can steadfastly continue its mission of serving God’s people in the 14 northwest counties of Minnesota.”

It also urged anyone who has been a victim — or knows of someone who has been a victim — of sexual misconduct “on the part of a priest, deacon, or individual representing the Diocese of Crookston, its parishes or its schools” to contact the diocesan victim assistance coordinator at 218-281-7895.

Twin Cities Polish Festival to add outdoor Mass

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Amid the perogies, Chopin music and Polish egg decorating, the Twin Cities Polish Festival will include — for the first time — an outdoor Mass during its Aug. 9-11 celebration in northeast Minneapolis.

The Mass in English with Polish music will be 9 a.m. Aug. 11 at the festival’s cultural stage, under a large tent. The festival committee organized the Mass primarily to accommodate festival volunteers, but they are making it open to the public, too.

“It also embodies the spirit of just how central the Catholic faith is to Polish identity and how central the Catholic faith is in the continued ... celebration of Polish culture,” said Father Spencer Howe, pastor of Holy

Cross in Minneapolis, who will preside at the Mass.

A visiting Polish choir will sing at the Mass. Ed Rajtar, 63, festival committee co-chair, anticipates a few people wearing traditional Polish attire will be involved in liturgical ministries. He also expects at least 100 people to attend among volunteers and vendors alone.

A member of Holy Cross, Rajtar and a group of mostly fellow parishioners started the festival 11 years ago as a celebration of Polish culture and heritage. The festival is an independent nonprofit not affiliated with Holy Cross, but the parish’s Saturday Polish School, a language and cultural program for children, receives funding from festival revenue.

The festival features Polish food, beverages, art, crafts, music and

dancing. Drawing 15,000 to 19,000 people per year, the festival takes place at Father Hennepin Park along Old Main Street by the Mississippi River in northeast Minneapolis near the St. Anthony Main neighborhood.

“We’ve had steady growth in the last three years,” said Rajtar, an insurance coordinator, who also serves as president of the board of directors of the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Northeast Minneapolis has deep Polish roots dating back to the 1870s.

Polish immigrants started Holy Cross in 1886. Other Polish parishes such as St. Hedwig and All Saints sprouted up in northeast Minneapolis during the early 1900s.

For more information about the festival, visit tcpolishfestival.org.

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT •7A

FROMAGETOAGE

St. Paul author brings faith, family memories to children’s book

By Doug Hovelson For The Catholic Spirit

S

eeking to give every child a fair shake at getting a good night’s sleep, St. Paul native Rose Duffy recently published her first children’s book, “I Thank God for You.” The 42-page, word-and-picture book chronicles a nightly ritual shared by a mother and child (a girl or a boy, depending on the book version) as the child prepares to be tucked into bed for the night.

“Mommy, who tucks you in at night?” the child in the book asks.

You do, in a special way, her mother answers. Reciting some of the gifts her child shares with her — gifts such as a cluster of freshly picked yellow flowers, drawings, even the simple act of making a silly face — the mother also whispers a blessing after each memory: “I thank God for you!”

The mother in the book also incorporates a simple way to shake off any frustration of the day that may have come between her and her child. It involves shaking the bedcovers as a way of symbolically releasing sad or even angry feelings that can ruin a good night’s sleep. The idea is to forgive and let go.

“I love this message of forgiveness,” Duffy said. “It teaches children to never go to bed angry. This message will stay with them into adulthood.”

The book offers families “a fun and impactful way to pray together,” she said.

Duffy sketched out illustrations for the book years ago when she first wrote it, using her two youngest children — she has three, all adults now — as models for the main characters. She prowled the Internet to find an artist to provide the final illustrations, ultimately choosing Ros Webb, a British-born, Ireland-based book and fashion illustrator and artist. Webb’s vibrant

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DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Rose Duffy reads a copy of her children’s book, “I Thank God for You,” to a friend’s grandchildren, Caroline, left, and Teddy Punton in their St. Paul home July 16. watercolor illustrations bring the book to life.

With its messages of love, gratitude, forgiveness, confidence, faith in God and humor, “I Thank God for You” is a book that parents, grandparents and family friends can buy, give away and read aloud to young children, said Duffy, 60, a member of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul who plays jazz and blues saxophone in two local bands and works as a legal secretary for a downtown Minneapolis law firm.

She also wrote and sang a song to accompany her book. Fellow Twin Cities musician Scottie Miller pitched in to produce, play piano and handle musical

arrangements for the song, and Steve Kaul worked the sound board for the recording session at Wild Sound Recording Studio in Minneapolis. She cut two versions of the song — one an upbeat, daytime pick-me-upper and the other slows down at the end in lullaby fashion.

“Together, the book and song make for an endearing bedtime ritual, which will help tuck little ones into bed with that ‘feel-good’ feeling,” Duffy said.

Music inspired her even as a child, she said, and some of her fondest memories from her grade school days at St. Luke’s School (now St. Thomas More) in St. Paul are of learning to sing hymns such as “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.”

Duffy applied her gift for music to the tenor saxophone, and years ago she played with some of the great jazz and blues artists, including four shows with Etta James and sitting in at Wilebski’s Blues Saloon in St. Paul with Buddy Guy, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, James Cotton and Koko Taylor. Now, she plays saxophone in two local bands — Armadillo Jump, a rhythm-and-blues band, and Big Bob and the High Rollers, a variety dance band. She also chimes in on vocals for both bands.

Duffy said because of her busy schedule she can’t be as active in church affairs as she was when her children were younger. But for the past eight years she has volunteered as a motivational speaker in a religion class for high school seniors that focuses on social justice, vocations and service at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul. She hopes to continue in that role with this Catholic school in the future.

Duffy’s book retails at $15 and can be purchased through her website, roseduffycreations.com. She also offers to sign and personalize each book with an inspirational note addressed to each child, and a music download card of her songs is provided. “I Thank God for You” also is available at Amazon and St. Patrick’s Guild in St. Paul.

8A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER MICHAEL JONCAS

Pleading to a patron: An ancient view of prayer If we understand prayer as communication with a divine power that has charge over life and its details, it becomes clear why many contemporary U.S. citizens, even some Catholic Christians, have difficulty with prayer. Taking pride in scientific and technological achievements, our culture has tended to reduce the areas of life in which God is in charge, whether the issue be the economy, politics, health, weather or personal relationships.

So it is helpful to ponder this weekend’s Scriptures, which give us such strong witnesses to the need for and power of prayer.

To appreciate the Abrahamic negotiation in the Genesis passage (Gn 18:20-32), the confident assertions of the sacred poet in the psalm (Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8) or Jesus’ instructions to us about praying as his disciples (Lk 11:1-13), it helps to remember that in the Near East described in these biblical texts, the vast majority of the population were peasants who knew that they were in charge of very little in their lives. “Mother Nature” controlled the weather and climate that circumscribed their agriculture.

As the equivalent of serfs, peasants were told by the landowners, whose acreage they worked, what they were supposed to plant and how much of the crop they could keep for their own use. Surpassing the power of the landowners, the Roman Empire determined the taxes-in-crops peasants should pay.

In light of these social constraints, peasants could pray — that is, seek from a power controlling some aspect of their lives, benefits for themselves and their families. One prayed to influence the decision of a patron, someone who would acknowledge the social ties between the one praying and the patron, someone who would treat the client as if they belonged to the patron’s family.

Peasants prayed to God because they believed that ultimately God controlled “Mother Nature” and the social structures in which they lived, hoping that they would be treated as if they belonged to God’s family.

Notice how this framework illuminates the way Abraham pleads with God about the fate of Sodom. Abraham’s whittling away of God’s resistance strikes us as impertinent or even laughable, but his

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

The Eucharist as remembrance

Jesus asked his Apostles and those who would follow to continue the eucharistic celebration that he began. Paul was the first to record the specific request that Jesus made. After Jesus took the bread and broke it, he said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in memory of me” (1 Cor 11:24). Likewise, after Jesus offered the cup he said, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in memory of me” (1 Cor 11:25).

Luke is the only evangelist to include the explicit instruction, “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19), and the only New Testament writer to record how the early Church complied, how each Sabbath the community gathered together and devoted themselves “to the breaking of the bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

An unforgettable memory. Jesus wanted his disciples to hold forever in their minds and hearts the momentous occasion when he broke bread and shared the cup with them. The bread as his body and the wine as his blood are priceless gifts, and the eucharistic meal at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and his sacrificial death on the altar of the cross on Good Friday must never be forgotten. Rather, they must be cherished by every disciple as a treasure of immeasurable worth, and they must be repeated regularly in commemoration of Jesus by the community of believers.

Remembering at meal time. Meals are a time for storytelling.

When a family gathers around the dinner table after a full day, the father has had one set of experiences, the mother another, and each of the children have had their own. Everyone has something

“

That God responds to our petitions because of the mediation of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit is a foundational belief of Christian faith.

JULY 25, 2019

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, July 28 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Gn 18:20-32 Col 2:12-14 Lk 11:1-13

iSTOCK | ARKIRA

persistence is actually characteristic of a client pleading with a patron until the patron gives a favorable response. Similarly, the psalmist thanks God as the patron who has heard the prayer of the client: “when I called, you answered me” and “the LORD will complete what he has done for me.”

This theory of patronage also illuminates Jesus’ gift of a model prayer to his disciples, what we call the “Our Father.” First, he instructs them to address God as “Father” (Abba), considering God as one who is near to those who pray to him, treating them as members of his “family.” Since a patron can provide clients with materials (or better terms on materials) that they cannot obtain by their own abilities, calling on God as “Father” sets the context for five petitions found in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. For God to hallow God’s name is to manifest himself as he truly is: father, patron, ultimately in charge of life. For God to bring about his kingdom is to achieve his royal sovereignty definitively over all aspects of life. The next three petitions, formulated in the plural (highlighting the communal dimension of life in the ancient Near East in contrast to the individualism of our culture), follow on the opening praise of God-aspatron. They petition for the present (our daily sustenance), for the past (forgive our already committed sins) and for the future (preserve us from the temptation to apostasy).

Though the social conditions for Jesus’ disciples have changed over the last two millennia, the structure and content of the prayer Jesus enunciated can continue to inspire those who seek God as their ultimate patron. How God responds to our petitions calls for acute discernment, but that God responds to our petitions because of the mediation of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit is a foundational belief of Christian faith.

Father Joncas, a composer, is an artist in residence at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

to share about their day, especially whatever was most important to them. It is a family remembering of the day. When the relatives get together for a special occasion like a wedding or the Fourth of July, whether they gather at a banquet table or a picnic table, it is common to reminisce about the good old days and retell the family tales. It is a collective remembering.

Remembering at Mass. Likewise, when the Body of Christ, the Church, gathers together for Eucharist, it is a time to remember.

The remembrance takes place around a table, the altar, and begins with the Liturgy of the Word, Scripture readings that recall the marvelous works of God and retell the major events of salvation history, all of which point to the Gospel, which brings to mind all that Christ has done for us (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1103). It is a spiritual trip down memory lane — a remembering. The Mass continues with the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which culminates with the consecration, the community’s remembrance of the first Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Remembering at Mass continues. The Memorial Acclamation comes immediately after the consecration, a remembering that encompasses the entirety of time: “We proclaim your death, O Lord” (the past), “and profess your Resurrection” (the present), “until you come again” (the future). The Eucharistic Prayer continues with the “anamnesis” which means “memorial,” and it recollects the most significant events in the life of Jesus as well as the Paschal Mystery. Eucharistic Prayer I resumes, “Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ, your Son, our Lord,” or Eucharistic Prayer II says more succinctly, “Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection,” while Eucharistic Prayer III also includes the future dimension, “As we look forward to his second coming.”

The Mass fulfills Jesus’ request at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me.”

Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. This column is part of an ongoing series on the Eucharist. Read more of his writing at CatholicHotdish.com.

Monday, July 29 St. Martha Ex 32:15-24, 30-34 Jn 11:19-27 Tuesday, July 30 Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 Mt 13:36-43 Wednesday, July 31 St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest Ex 34:29-35 Mt 13:44-46 Thursday, August 1 St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church Ex 40:16-21, 34-38 Mt 13:47-53 Friday, August 2 Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37 Mt 13:54-58 Saturday, August 3 Lv 25:1, 8-17 Mt 14:1-12 Sunday, August 4 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ecc 1:2, 2:21-23 Col 3:1-5, 9-11 Lk 12:13-21 Monday, August 5 Nm 11:4b-15 Mt 14:13-21 Tuesday, August 6 Transfiguration of the Lord Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 2 Pt 1:16-19 Lk 9:28b-36 Wednesday, August 7 Nm 13:1-2, 25–14:1, 26a-29a, 34-35 Mt 15:21-28 Thursday, August 8 St. Dominic, priest Nm 20:1-13 Mt 16:13-23 Friday, August 9 Dt 4:32-40 Mt 16:24-28 Saturday, August 10 St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr 2 Cor 9:6-10 Jn 12:24-26 Sunday, August 11 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 18:6-9 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 Lk 12:32-48

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9A

COMMENTARY YOUR HEART, HIS HOME | LIZ KELLY

To witness, we must have wounds

A spectacular young, single woman — intelligent, articulate, lovely, poised — comes to visit with me to talk about prayer and how she can go deeper in healing. She has suffered a number of serious traumas, and they have created some sizable wounds. And while much healing has already taken place, and she has fearlessly and responsibly pursued healing from many angles, she’s a little concerned about her past, especially with respect to a future spouse. How much can these wounds really be healed? Is she just “damaged goods”?

Healing is a complex maneuver, full of surprises, delays and more pain than we’d like. And often enough, deep healing doesn’t look the way we think it will.

When I was young, I thought healing in Christ meant a scar-free existence, a kind of blissful annihilation of all wounds — those I’d received and those I’d created in others. After all, there is no way to partially raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus touched lepers and they were cured completely — no scar or indication of any kind was left behind that they had once suffered such an illness.

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA | SHAWN PETERSON

Promoting the common good is not a spectator sport

After five very blessed years as associate director for public policy with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, I have decided to pursue a new opportunity with Catholic Education Partners, an organization whose mission is to advance public policies that empower families and children to enjoy the benefits of a Catholic education. I firmly believe that giving more children the opportunity to receive a great Catholic education through parental choice is one of the best ways we can spread the Gospel, bring more people to Christ, and build a better and just society.

As I leave, I wish to share some reflections on our work at the Conference. Looking back, I am reminded of two key truths: A few committed people really can influence the political process, and the Church has a necessary and effective voice in public policy. Consider the following three pieces of legislation for which MCC advocated in recent years.

Small things add up to big change First, consider the Prenatal Trisomy Diagnosis Awareness Act, a law which now requires doctors to provide expectant parents with accurate, and often more positive, information regarding the outcomes for babies diagnosed with trisomy conditions. This law, now in effect, counteracts the pressure on vulnerable mothers to seek abortions rather than choose life. This bill passed because a small group of passionate moms of children with trisomy conditions (Down syndrome, for example) went to the Capitol to share their stories, to be a voice for the voiceless children who are at risk of being discarded because of a disability.

Second, there is the New Farmer Tax Credit, which supports and encourages new farmers to take up the vocation of farming and help rebuild our rural communities. Its success was largely due to a group of young farmers who took time away from their fields to come to the Capitol and meet with legislators to share

Scripture specifically notes that the lame walked, and in some cases danced, after Jesus had healed them. There is no mention of them limping away with a cane.

But for most of us, healing does not come all at once but in bits and pieces, in waves and occasional storms.

This side of heaven, some of our wounds may not be completely healed. What are we to make of it when Jesus does not close up our wounds or remove every evidence of its ever having existed?

I will not speculate about what the glorified body of Christ is, but we can safely say that if Jesus’ wounds from the crucifixion were still apparent even after his resurrection ­— as we know they were, for the doubting Thomas needed to place his hand in Christ’s side — if the wounds of Jesus were still visible and even open, even en route to his ascension, then ours might remain so, too. We needn’t fear the scars that the wounds we suffer on this earth leave behind.

No doubt the fullness of healing in heaven far exceeds and completes what we experience on earth, but wouldn’t it be just like Jesus to use our wounds in the same way he used his own, so that doubt is put to rest and new fervor and faith can take its place? We must be credible witnesses — not just to Jesus — but to the resurrected Christ. To witness as he witnessed, open wounds and all.

Catherine Doherty writes that today’s youth will seek out Christians specifically “in search of the wounds of Christ which alone can heal them. Our modern generation must touch before it will believe. We must have those wounds to show them, so that they can touch them and be touched and healed by Christ.”

their experiences. This type of personal advocacy made the difference.

Third, is a bill to combat the epidemic of pornography in our culture by exposing its link to human trafficking. MCC worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Breaking Free, an organization that helps rescue victims of sex trafficking. This group of brave women came forward and shared their very painful stories in a public forum so that others might not have to experience what they did.

All three of these bills perfectly illustrate how a small group of people willing to give their time and energy can make a big difference in society. As Pope Francis has often said, “Politics, though often denigrated, remains a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good.”

These laws also show that the day-to-day work of politics is not always about the issues you hear in the media. Often, it is about concerned citizens working for incremental change that protects human dignity and promotes the common good. Even though we may not feel capable of accomplishing “great” things, it does not mean we cannot do smaller things with great love.

Church influence in the public square In addition to the crucial role that citizen involvement plays, I have also witnessed the effectiveness of the Church’s institutional voice in public advocacy.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent passage of a $100-per-month increase for struggling families enrolled in the Minnesota Family Investment Program. MCC has supported this legislation for many years, but in the last two years it has strongly prioritized it and included it as one of the marquee bills for Catholics at the Capitol in 2017. In a single day, more than 1,000 Catholics united their voices to let legislators know this issue was a priority for Minnesota Catholics.

Not only that, but the bishops of Minnesota personally advocated for this issue with House and Senate leaders and the governor. After 33 years of inaction and partisan divide, both parties came together to pass a long-overdue increase for struggling families, which I believe is in no small part thanks to the Church’s efforts.

How will you participate?

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the Church in this corner of the vineyard, and I leave you with this, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as you consider how you might participate in this work

“

No doubt the fullness of healing in heaven far exceeds and completes what we experience on earth, but wouldn’t it be just like Jesus to use our wounds in the same way he used his own, so that doubt is put to rest and new fervor and faith can take its place?

Jesus wasn’t damaged goods on Good Friday, nor on the morning of Easter. He was on his way to full glorification. Maybe, in that mystical way in which we all participate in the body of Christ, my young friend is too. And maybe one day soon, someone will need the witness of her woundedness that hopes in future glorification. Her wounds will point us in the direction of, not the hatred that put Christ on the cross, but the power, glory and immanent love that brought him forth from the tomb complete with holes in his hands, feet and side.

Lord, there is an unexpected, delicate work of mercy in the wounds we suffer. Help me to offer those wounds I still carry in such a way that the doubting and indifferent may be moved to faith and greater healing.

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

Support comprehensive immigration reform The divisive rhetoric surrounding immigration continues to escalate and create further fractures. While political leaders and pundits on both sides of the aisle would have you believe it is the “other side” that is causing our immigration system to be more broken than ever, the need remains the same. We need comprehensive federal immigration reform.

This will require both sides to bravely step out of their deeply dug ideological entrenchments, set down their divisive and dangerous rhetoric, and step onto common ground so that the United States can once again be a place that defends life, dignity and the common good.

In 2012, Minnesota’s bishops released a statement on the need for federal immigration reform. Now, more than seven years later, the message of “Unlocking the Gate in Our Hearts” continues to be relevant. We encourage you to read that statement once again. Then reach out to your members of Congress to demand they step up and work together to bring about just and compassionate reforms of the nation’s immigration system. Tell them that those in government must undertake an examination of conscience as to what they have done and have failed to do when it comes to offering real solutions to this humanitarian crisis.

Read “Unlocking the Gate in Our Hearts” at mncatholic. org/2012-immigration-statement-from-the-minnesota-catholic-bishops. for the common good: “It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person. ... As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life.”

Peterson is director of policy and outreach for Catholic Education Partners; he completed his service July 12 as Minnesota Catholic Conference associate director for public policy.

10A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD

Embrace the grace of happiness as the family of God

Family reunions are fun. I donned an old T-shirt this morning from a prior reunion that come August will be going 11 years strong. It carries on its back a quote from St. John Paul II: “The family is the center and the heart of the civilization of love.” Above the quote is a cross, shaped by the names of all the family members on my wife’s side, starting with her parents and ending with the youngest greatgrandchild. That is, the youngest at the present reunion moment.

Summer is an opportune time to nurture relationships at family gatherings with those who live near and far away. That’s why families often do this annually or at least every few years.

What perhaps is unique about this relatively young annual reunion of ours is how it started. It was not instigated by the sons, daughters or a remote blood-relative genealogist, but by the next generation — the grandchildren.

After their grandparents passed on in life, they truly desired that their own children continue to connect with their closest relatives to experience a domestic “civilization of love.” And not just for the nostalgia of the family farm venue — albeit a nice touch — but more to harness and grow the relationships at hand.

It was so encouraging to know that the grown-up, married grandchildren wanted their own children to experience some family happiness through the weekend’s integration of games, chatter, laughter, food, fireworks and faith. Those body, heart, soul and mind activities resonate when the clan parts ways until next time. They’re activities that make us happy.

God is all about happiness. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “God put us into the world to know, love, and serve him, and so come to [the happiness of] paradise.”

Catechism often references me to this truth, “of joy and beatitude over receiving our vocation as creatures: a sharing in the divine nature and vision of God.” Being “Joyful Catholic Leaders” — the happy motto of The Seminaries of St. Paul — inspires many, and it may most certainly be a driver for us all.

This inspiration starts with the grace of happiness that God provides to us to embrace within family life. True happiness still may be very difficult to describe because knowing, loving and serving God takes it far beyond a feeling. And the grace of happiness, as with any grace of God, is not earned.

His gift of love to us as his adopted sons and daughters,

COMMENTARY

JULY 25, 2019

LETTER

“

[God’s] gift of love to us as his adopted sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of Jesus, is that we are his family.

It is the purest love with which God in his divine providence may allow us to cooperate. iSTOCK | GO_AHEAD

brothers and sisters of Jesus, is that we are his family. It is the purest love with which God in his divine providence may allow us to cooperate.

Perhaps that is why the sacraments have this “spiritual order” to which I heard Bishop Robert Barron speak some time back in a homily, with the “birth of the spiritual order” being baptism. When parents, other family members and friends bring children in to be baptized, the sanctuary illuminates with joy and happiness — I challenge anyone to find a lasting frown.

And holy baptism — the gateway to the Christian life — is just the start of true happiness as a child of God. To help the fallen human condition, God also gives us the Eucharist as spiritual food, penance to get it right, confirmation to confirm our baptism and witness to the faith, matrimony and holy orders to live out our vocation, and anointing of the sick for spiritual and physical healing. We live sacramental lives in communion and in reunion with the family of God. Jesus instituted these sacraments to help us go about our lives to know, love and serve God — and our neighbor.

“We must endure many trials before entering God’s kingdom” (Acts 14:21). Today, it is difficult to deal with those experiences that do not tend to help us behave good-naturedly.

Throughout life we are left to wrestle with our own afflictions and challenges as well as with those for whom we love and care.

We talk about those things at family reunions. That is not as much fun. Yet, it can be healing.

We have in our arsenal of encouragement the impact of the life, death and resurrection of Christ to give us hope. The apostles learned this through Jesus’ ministry and experienced it in the early Church — as a family of God. Hence, they would strengthen each other through times of tribulation with prayer, giving of self and works of mercy — spiritual, material and physical. “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Pt 4:13).

Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount, All Saints in Lakeville, and assists the Catholic Watchmen movement of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization. Reach him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com. Learn about the archdiocese’s Catholic Watchmen initiative at thecatholicwatchmen.com.

Questionable review Overall the content of the Catholic Spirit has been informative and in line with Catholic teaching.

The Catholic Spirit’s “Summertime and the reading is easy” section (July 11, 2019) states, “the following books make for some fine summer reading.” “Sydney and Calvin Have a Baby” by Adrienne Thorne is about rape, pornography and casual teenage sex and birth control. Really! Fine summertime reading? There are so many good quality books for teens which could have been reviewed. The Catholic Spirit missed the mark on this one.

Tricia Kawakami St. Bonaventure, Bloomington Share your perspective by emailing CatholicSpirit@archspm.org. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

The Catholic Spirit

wishes to congratulate our 2019 Leading with Faith winners!

May God Bless you as you continue to serve him and others.

Looking for past stories? ‘Print archives’ at TheCatholicSpirit.com

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11A

CALENDAR Music

FEATURED EVENTS National Night Out — Aug. 6: 5-8 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, 777 Forest St., St. Paul. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis invites its neighbors in Dayton’s Bluff and Beacon’s Bluff to a National Night Out celebration at the Catholic Center. Free food and refreshments, games and activities for kids, music and more. National Night Out is sponsored by the St. Paul Police Department and the City of St. Paul.

Confirmation Classes for Persons with Disabilities — Aug. 10 and Aug. 24: 9:30-11:30 a.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. For candidates age 16 and older; both classes are mandatory for guardians and candidates. To register or for more information, contact Deacon Eric Gunderson or Sonya Flomo at 651291-4488 or flomos@archspm.org.

Registration forms will also be available at 8:30 a.m., before the first class Aug. 10.

Grief to Grace: Healing the Wounds of Abuse Retreat Program — Aug. 18-23: Five-day, overnight spiritual and pyschological journey in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area providing safety and support for anyone who has suffered degradation, neglect or violation through physical, emotional or sexual abuse, including abuse by a member of the clergy. Created by Theresa Burke, PhD, the process combines Living Scripture Exercises with group activity and discussion, therapeutic facilitation, cognitive restructuring and journaling in an effective process for grief work grounded in Jesus Christ.

Cost: $1,500. For more information, email Diane@grieftograce.org or call 612-440-7247.

Libera concert — July 26: 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul.

Internationally-acclaimed London boys’ choir. libera.org.

Friends of St. Thomas More Summer Organ Concert Series — Aug. 1: 7–8 p.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Performer Christopher Stroh. morecommunity.org.

Ongoing groups Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholic alcoholics. Kathy at 651-330-3387. calixsociety.com.

Dementia support group — Second Tuesdays: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. RSVP sarnold@benedictinecenter.org.

Grieving with Hope — Second and fourth Tuesdays: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury. LeAnn at 651-768-3009. saintambroseofwoodbury.org.

— Sundays through Labor Day: noon–2 p.m. at St. Peter, 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway, Mendota. stpetersmendota.org.

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

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

Grandparents Apostolate feast day celebration — July 26: 8:45 a.m. at Nativity of Our Lord, 1938 Stanford Ave., St. Paul. nativity-mn.org.

Vacation Bible Camp: Super Heroes of the Bible — July 29-Aug. 2: 9 a.m.–noon at Pax Christi, 12100 Pioneer Trail. Eden Prairie. paxchristi.com.

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

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

Vacation Bible School: Who is My Neighbor?

— July 29-Aug. 2: 9 a.m.–noon at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. guardian-angels.org.

All Saints Catholic Church garage sale — Aug. 7-10 at All Saints, 19795 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. allsaintschurch.com.

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

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

Refreshments following. benedictinecenter.org.

ONLINE: thecatholicspirit.com/ calendarsubmissions

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

Retreats Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat — Aug. 2-4 in Prior Lake. Retreat for healing after abortion. www.rvineyardmn.org.

Singles

Silent retreat weekend — Aug. 8-11 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. franciscanretreats.net.

Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — Sundays. Usually meets in St. Paul.

Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-439-1203.

Meditation retreat — Aug. 9-14 at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecenter.org.

Singles group — Second Saturdays: 6:15 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park.

Potluck supper, conversation and games. 763-425-0412.

Career transition group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. hnoj.org.

Life in the Spirit Day — Aug. 10: 8:30 a.m.– 4:45 p.m at Immaculate Conception Church, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. ccro-msp.org.

Other events

Healing Hope grief support — Second and fourth Thursdays: 6 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. N.E., Blaine. Facilitator Bob Bartlett, licensed therapist.

No fees or required registration. churchofsttimothy.com.

Conferences/workshops

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

Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) — Third Sundays: 1 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 1200 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis. Learn about this lay group of Catholic men and women, following the example of St. Francis. 952-922-5523.

Walk for Life — Aug. 3: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Eastview High School stadium, 6200 140th St. W., Apple Valley.

Sponsored by Knights of Columbus. Proceeds to Pregnancy Choices Life Care Center. knightsforlifemn.org.

Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Bob at bob.sjtw@gmail.com. sjtw.net.

CARITAS cancer support group — Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m.–noon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, second floor, maternity classroom 2500, 45 W. 10th St., St. Paul.

Parish events St. Peter’s historic church open house

thecatholicspirit.com

Marketplace • Message Center Classified Ads Email: classifiedads@archspm.org • Phone: 651-290-1631 • Fax: 651-291-4460 Next issue:8-8-19 • Deadline: 3 p.m. 8-1-19 • Rates: $8 per line (35-40 characters per line) • Add a photo/logo for $25 ACCESSIBILITY SOLUTIONS

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CEMETERY LOTS Calvary Cemetery, single flat-marker grave (east end): value $1815; price $1000 (651) 739-8402.

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES The Trojack Law Office, P.A. is looking for a well-organized bookkeeper to work part-time in our small law firm. Please contact our office by email and request details from John E. Trojack using John.Trojack@TrojackLaw.com.

Church of the Assumption-Richfield is looking for a True Disciple of the Lord to be our Director of Development/Stewardship Full Time Salaried Position Bilingual (English/Spanish) Communication Skills preferred BA Degree/2-4 yrs experience Practicing Catholic Cover Letter & Resume to joel@assumptionrichfield.org

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HANDYMAN WE DO 1,162 THINGS AROUND THE HOME! Catholic Owned Handyman Business: We will fix/repair and remodel almost anything around the home. Serving entire Metro. Call today.

Mention this ad and receive 10% off labor.

Handyman Matters (651) 784-3777, (952) 946-0088. www.HandymanMatters.com

HARDWOOD FLOORS

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IT’S SUMMER! Spruce up your home with new or refurbished hardwood floors: 10% off labor. Sweeney (651) 485-8187.

PAINTING For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND. COM or call (651) 699-6140.

Merriam Park Painting. Professional Int./ Ext. Painting. WP Hanging. Moderate Prices, Free Estimates.Call Ed (651) 224-3660.

Michaels Painting. Texture and Repair.

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PRAYERS

NOTICE: Prayers must be submitted in advance. Payment of $8 per line must be received before publication.

VACATION/FAMILY GETAWAY Knotty Pines Resort, Park Rapids, MN. 1, 2 & 3 bdrm cabins starting at $565/week. www.knottypinesresort.com (800) 392-2410.

Mention this ad for a discount!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES HOUSEHOLD MANAGER The Stillwater Catholic Worker Community is seeking a mature woman to manage and live at Our Lady Queen of Peace House, a home for women and their children in transition. Room and board included with this volunteer position.

Details available at STMICHAELSTILLWATER.ORG or by calling Kim Barnhart (651) 270-1918

WANTED TO BUY Estate & Downsizing: I buy Van Loads and Bicycles. Steve (651) 778-0571.

To advertise here, email classifiedads@archspm.org

12A • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 25, 2019

THELASTWORD

The

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

IDEAL captain

Kim Smolik, a St. Paul native, has helped more than 50 dioceses across the country, including the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, through her role as CEO of Leadership Roundtable in Washington, D.C.

a

Kim Smolik steers national organization to train Church leaders and heal from crisis

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit A St. Paul native mentored by a legion of local Catholic women is at the helm of an urgent mission to train church leaders and help them respond to the sex abuse crisis.

Kim Smolik has served for nearly three years as CEO of Leadership Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based organization of laity, religious and clergy working together to promote best practices in the management of the Catholic Church. She is uniquely prepared for the role thanks to her extraordinary work experience and education, much of which took place in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Smolik, 45, took an early interest in leadership — evident from her command of the playground before the independent firstborn had even started school — and her faith has always informed her thinking. She belonged to St. Pascal Baylon on St. Paul’s East Side and attended its grade school. Her fifth-grade teacher left a lasting impression by modeling servant leadership and demonstrating the joy that comes from doing work that aligns with one’s deepest values, Smolik said.

That same joy was evident when Smolik attended Catholic Youth Camp north of the Twin Cities near McGregor and observed the leadership skills of a beloved camp counselor.

“She taught me that our faith is as much an exciting adventure as exploring through the woods and waters of northern Minnesota,” Smolik said.

She wrote school reports on changemakers and experienced firsthand the impact of servant leaders. As she advanced her career, Smolik developed a successful track record for the

strategic oversight of Catholic nonprofit organizations. Her time at Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis was particularly influential. There she worked for Nancy Utoft, a member of St. Olaf in Minneapolis who has served on a number of Catholic boards and directed multiple nonprofits.

Catholic Charities also introduced Smolik to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in [St. Paul, whose heart for social justice and young adults inspired her.

“Being with them was as natural for me as breathing,” she said. “They were another set of mentors with wisdom, spunk and humor.”

Catholic Charities encouraged Smolik to continue her education, so she earned a doctorate in education from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, churning out a 500-page dissertation on racial injustice in the workplace, adult learning and organizational development.

She built her own independent study to observe women leaders of faith, examining their leadership styles and abilities to create change.

Her repository of mentors — all outstanding Catholic women in leadership roles — deepened, steadily preparing Smolik for the job of a lifetime as CEO of Leadership Roundtable.

Time and again, Smolik had studied and experienced the power of leadership development. She knew how to define a good leader: positive, perceptive, vulnerable, intuitive. She knew that leaders aren’t born but trained. She realized that Americans mistakenly expect people with one area of expertise to be good leaders. And all that held true for the Catholic Church, where theology majors — clergy and lay alike — are unwittingly turned into business managers and human-resources directors.

Smolik’s passion for developing leaders perfectly aligned with the mission of Leadership Roundtable, which was founded in 2005 in the wake of the clergy sex abuse crisis gripping the Archdiocese of Boston. During her tenure, its work has taken on added urgency with another wave of painful revelations of clergy sex abuse breaking last summer. Since then, more than 50 dioceses have reached out to Leadership

Roundtable for help.

Smolik describes the organization’s focus as addressing the Church’s “twin crises of abuse and leadership failures that covered up the abuse” through a host of training and consulting programs for clergy and lay Catholics.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has utilized three popular services from Leadership Roundtable. Priests from various dioceses participated in its Toolbox for Pastoral Management program. Multiple parishes underwent its consultant training to prepare in-house facilitators who can carry on its principles. And a cohort of diocesan leaders, including Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, underwent its customizable Catholic Leadership 360 program. (He is one of 11 bishops nationwide to participate in the program.)

Bishop Cozzens said Leadership 360 was affirming and challenging, and helpful in part “because it attempts to accompany the participant as they grow and improve.”

Leadership Roundtable measures its impact through follow-up surveys and an annual report. This year’s 41-page report lays out a plan to create “a new culture of leadership” to “heal the body of Christ.” It calls for greater accountability and less clericalism, expressing the need for more “clergy-lay collaboration and co-responsibility.” In order to make bishops more accountable, for instance, that “coresponsibility” requires two steps: to “engage laity, including women, on personnel boards for clergy” and to “involve women in initial and ongoing clergy formation.”

These pointed conclusions resonate deeply with Smolik, who experienced the impact of lay women again and again in St. Paul. There is much to be done to restore the Church, but her work fills her with optimism.

“I’m grateful I get to apply my particular set of gifts to serve the faith, God, the Church in this way,” she said. “I’m a naturally hopeful, glass-overflowing kind of person. I’m also a pragmatist. Those two things together help me get the work done. You can’t just hope it’s going to happen. You have to move to action.”

July 25, 2019 • Page 1B

FA I T

H&

JU

S TI

CE

Eight honored for Leading with Faith estaurant owners and bank officers, an advertising director and a chiropractor, an eye doctor and an attorney ... .

All have enriched their professions and personal lives by setting their sights on Christ and his call to serve in faith and justice — just ask their peers, employees and others whose lives have been touched by their gracefilled presence.

Testimonies to their faith and hard work were shared with The Catholic Spirit, which in turn honors them as this year’s Leading with Faith Award recipients in a tradition that began 17 years ago.

We are honored to recognize this year Emily and Elliott Benincasa, retired owners of Emily’s F&M Cafe; Steve Blum of Star Bank; Dr. Richard Endris of Endris Chiropractic; Vicky Iacarella of Target Corp.; Mark Novitzki of Premier Banks; Dr. Michael Richie of Richie Eye Clinic; and John Trojack of Trojack Law Office.

Our eight winners will receive their awards from Archbishop Bernard Hebda at an Aug. 1 luncheon at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

As in years past, The Catholic Spirit asked our awardees to share how they lead with faith. Their edited responses appear on the following pages, and online at TheCatholicSpirit.com.

— The Catholic Spirit

2B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

Awardees’ ‘True North’: Jesus

O

ut of the many Archdiocesan events I participate in each year, the Leading with Faith awards celebration is always one of my favorites, as it honors courageous and humble women and men, most of whom would much rather stay anonymous than be recognized. I am grateful that these individuals have accepted our invitation to stand up on this occasion and be recognized for living their Catholic faith in the workplace so that others might be inspired to do the same.

The Leading with Faith logo/artwork features a compass pointing north toward faith and justice. In reflecting on the award, and reading about those who are being honored this year, it seems to me that they share in common the discovery of their “True North” — that which guides them in their business decisions as well as their personal lives. As Catholics we know that Jesus is our “True North.” As long as we have our gaze fixed upon him, we can be certain that we are headed in the right direction, which is always to love him and serve him here on

earth, so we may one day be happy with him in heaven.

Each year I am impressed by how our recipients quietly and steadily make a difference in people’s lives and how they daily live out Jesus’ call to “serve and not to be served.” Our brothers and sisters feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, visit the sick and prisoners, give alms to the poor and bury the dead. They lead as Jesus leads. You will read about restaurant owners who ARCHBISHOP always made sure people had BERNARD HEBDA something to eat — regardless of their ability to pay; doctors who use their gifts and skills free of charge to heal and help others; bankers who treat customers and employees like family; a corporate executive who is a prayer warrior and mentor in the workplace; and an attorney who focuses first on his clients getting to heaven.

I hope this year’s Leading with Faith award recipients inspire you as much as they inspire me. No matter our vocation, they have much to teach us. Please join me in congratulating them and thanking them for their commitment to Christ and his Church. If you know someone who leads with faith, please consider nominating him or her for next year’s awards.

LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3B

Steve Blum Chief financial officer and director, Star Bank Age: 50 Parish: St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Spouse: Kimberly Children: Nicholas, Caroline, Kelsey Education: St. John’s University, 1991 Number of years with company: 6 years For Steve Blum, “leading with faith” means weaving that goal into every facet of life, from raising a family to serving in parishes to guiding organizations. Chief financial officer and director of Star Bank in Eden Prairie and chairman of his parish’s pastoral council, he is humble, team-oriented and generous, and he treats people with care and empathy.

Q Describe your business.

A Star Bank is a family-owned, independent

community bank with 10 branch offices in Minnesota. Nine out of 10 of these branch offices are located in towns with populations of less than 3,000 people and we are proud to be a vital member of the communities we serve.

Q Describe your position and role.

A I serve as the chief financial officer and director of the bank. I oversee the internal audit manager, information technology officer and physical security officer.

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A When our lives are centered in our Catholic faith,

“leading with faith” becomes a natural part of all the facets of our lives. Our faith becomes interwoven into who we are and it grounds us as we lead our families, serve in our parishes and help guide the organizations that we work for.

QH ow do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?

A I devote time to daily prayer and weekly adoration and incorporate the management and financial decisions that need to be made for our business into that prayer life.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Steve Blum, right, chief financial officer of Star Bank in Eden Prairie, with Harry Wahlquist, CEO.

Q P lease tell a story about a time when living out

QW hat achievement at work are you most

A

A With all sincerity, this Leading with Faith Award

your faith at work really made a difference.

I have been very supportive of an assistant who has had many challenges in her personal life and have tried to be as patient, thoughtful and understanding as I could be for her. I have shared my faith with her on many occasions and she knows that I have been praying for her. It has been remarkable to see all the ways that her life has changed over the past several years for the better and how someone who was going through a very critical time could be lifted up and guided through the grace and virtues of our Catholic faith.

Q Who or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A My wife, Kim, has been an inspiration to me and

so many others in our family and has really been at the center of it all! I prayed for almost three years that I would meet and marry an amazing, faith-filled Catholic woman before meeting her at the Basilica of St. Mary in 1997. There have been so many blessings that have come to us and our family of three since then, and all of them point back to that initial blessing when we first met.

Kim has always encouraged me to live out my faith at church, in our home as a husband and father, in social settings with friends and family, and at work.

proud of?

has been the most significant achievement in my career to date and will remain so for the rest of my career!

Q In what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

A God desires to be rooted at the center of our lives

and that includes living out our faith in the workplace. There are so many opportunities to live out the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the workplace (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord). God is present each time in the way that we interact with a customer, lift up a coworker, or show that we care about the concerns and needs of those we supervise.

QW hat advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?

A Have the courage in today’s secular world to not

leave your faith at home each day you go to work.

Bring it with you and incorporate those principles into the decisions of your career. My experience has been that you will find that the business world needs principled leaders who are grounded in faith.

4B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

Emily and Elliot Benincasa Retired owners, Emily’s F&M Cafe Age: Emily, 79; Elliot, 82 Parish: St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove;

St. Bridget, Minneapolis

Children: Elliot Jr., Michael, Mary Machado Education: High school Number of years with restaurant: 37 years

First-generation Italian-Americans, Emily and Elliot Benincasa developed their restaurant into an important fixture on Minneapolis’ Northside. Their Christ-like giving included never turning away anyone who came in hungry and providing second chances, such as employing formerly-incarcerated individuals. Now named Emily’s Eatery, the restaurant remains in the family, with a niece and her husband the new owners. For the Benincasas, “leading with faith” in part means “we get up in the morning and thank the Lord.”

Q Describe your business.

A We ran a restaurant with American and Italian

breakfast and lunch food. We bought it in 1983, and it was open 17 hours a day. Eventually, it became just breakfast and lunch.

Q Describe your position and role.

A We were working owners. Emily was the chef of

home-cooked meals. Elliot did his part as cook on the grill and the paperwork.

Elliot and Emily Benincasa inside the restaurant they owned for 37 years.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A We get up in the morning and thank the Lord. We never turned anyone away who came in hungry.

We shared as much as we could. We treated everyone as a brother and sister.

Q How do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?

A We’ve lived a life that went along with goodness,

but we are also sinners. We live every day striving to live as Christ would want us to.

mother superior in a convent close to Rome, and his father had studied for the priesthood. St. Catherine of Siena gave us inspiration. Our priest friend Father Paul Jarvis has also been an inspiration.

Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?

A We are most proud of raising our children and

being married for 60 years. Elliot notes that Emily makes everything happen.

QW ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith

QW hat advice do you have for others who want to

A Our family was very religious. Elliot’s aunt was a

A Be good and honest to (those) you deal with.

to the marketplace?

lead with faith?

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LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5B

Dr. Richard Endris, DC President, owner, Endris Chiropractic Age: 50 Parish: St. Joseph, West St. Paul Spouse: Ann Children: Theresa, Veronica, John, Patrick, Juliana, Mary, Joseph, Samuel, Christopher, Lucia Education: Northwestern Health Sciences University, 1994 Number of years with company: 25 years

Placing the Lord at the center of his life, Dr. Richard Endris relieves pain through his chiropractic care in West St. Paul, and turns no one away who seeks care.

He volunteers with the Cub Scouts at his parish, and as a Third Order Carmelite, he prays throughout the day. To those who want to lead with faith, he says, “lean on God and include him in everyday activity, whether it is simple or complex. God enjoys being our companion on our journey.”

Q Describe your business.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

includes praying throughout the day as I work and offering my work to God as a gift.

Q How do you concretely apply your faith and

A Endris Chiropractic has been in business since

1996. We deliver chiropractic care to all ages. We are a family-oriented/wellness-based practice. We adjust the spine and extremities as well has help people with nutritional advice.

Q Describe your position and role.

A I am the owner and chiropractic doctor of Endris Chiropractic. I have the privilege to lead the five employees who work with me. We serve people from all over the Twin Cities and beyond.

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A Leading with faith means placing the Lord at the

center of your life and to live for and with him on our journey to heaven. It means to value the things the Lord values, which of course includes valuing the people we live with, the people we work with and the people we serve. It means to not be afraid to pray for and with others you encounter each day. As a Third Order Carmelite, for myself it

Catholic values at work?

A I start my day with a prayer, which includes daily

Mass, to offer my work to God. With the very first patient of the day I ask God to bless them and heal them as well as each person I encounter that day.

There are many opportunities to relieve people’s physical suffering and to listen to them.

QW ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A I began in college as a music major, and tried

various other majors before feeling like I didn’t know what to do with my life. I decided to ask God in prayer and felt called to do this work. So when I graduated with my doctorate in chiropractic I asked God to help me become successful. God has blessed me abundantly and I thank him often.

QW hat achievement at work are you most proud of?

Congratulations All Winners on Your Leading with Faith Award

May you continue to spread God’s great news to everyone you meet!

God Bless, Larry & JoAnn Lawinger LCI_LAWINGER CONSULTING, INC www.LCI-online.com

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Dr. Richard Endris in his office at Endris Chiropractic.

A There is no one achievement that I am most proud

of. Seeing the healing results people receive is the most rewarding aspect of my work and I celebrate their wins by giving God thanks and I often thank the person for allowing me to be a part of their healing process. I am also proud of the fact that we are nearly 100 percent referral based.

Q I n what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

A I experience God’s presence when I ask God to show

me what a person may need to get better. I experience God’s presence in the smiles I receive from those I serve. I always tell them their smiles are better than gold. I experience God’s presence when people get better, especially after suffering a condition for a long time. It is a fun and very rewarding job.

QW hat advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?

A The one piece of advice I would give to others who

wish to lead with faith is learn to lean on God and include him in their everyday activity, whether it is simple or complex. I believe God enjoys being our companion on our journey to him. It is about relationship. It is about sharing and giving of ourselves for the betterment of others.

LEADINGW

6B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Seven years later, guidebook for

Catholic business leaders remains

hidden gem

By Christina Capecchi • For The Catholic Spirit

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARIA WIERING | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

WITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019 • 7B

A

guidebook for business leaders that was developed largely by local Catholics and released as an official Vatican document in 2012 made a big splash around the world, but it remains largely unknown in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Seven years later, its proponents say it is more relevant than ever, and one is preparing to take it to the masses, beginning with a class this fall at his Chanhassen parish.

A small team at the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Catholic Studies in St. Paul took the lead in developing the groundbreaking 30-page reflection titled “Vocation of the Business Leader,” with Director Michael Naughton at the helm. The document marked the first time that the Catholic Church affirmed business as a vocation. Its indispensable role in providing for the common good and promoting human dignity was highlighted ­— a stark contrast to the mercenary nature of business often implied by theologians.

The document is broken into 87 short sections — many a single paragraph — and concludes with reflection questions. The introduction lays out a central premise: “Obstacles to serving the common good come in many forms — corruption, absence of rule of law, tendencies towards greed, poor stewardship of resources — but the most significant for a business leader on a personal level is leading a divided life. This split between faith and daily business practice can lead to imbalances and misplaced devotion to worldly success. The alternative path of faith-based ‘servant leadership’ provides business leaders with a larger perspective and helps them to balance the demands of the business world with those of ethical social principles, illuminated for Christians by the Gospel.”

The document was born of a 2011 seminar held at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome in collaboration with UST’s Center for Catholic Studies. There, business leaders and professors from a range of disciplines — from philosophy to management — attempted to interpret Pope Benedict’s 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) for the marketplace.

“There was some puzzlement about: What does that mean for business?”

Naughton said.

The seminar was so fruitful that he proposed to Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the council, that they create a follow-up “handbook” for faithbased business leaders, whom they defined as executives and business owners along with influential lower-level employees.

An intense year The cardinal’s green light began an intensive year of cross-country collaboration and conference calls filtered through Naughton’s keyboard. The father of five rose early, pouring over extensive notes, conflicting opinions and copious coffee to develop the document in the office of his St. Paul home, sharing early drafts with his wife and students.

“I certainly think the Holy Spirit was there,” said Naughton, a member of Holy Spirit in St. Paul and a 2018 Leading with Faith Award winner.

His education — a doctorate in theology and an MBA — equipped him well to steer the drafting committee. As challenging input streamed in and new drafts emerged, Naughton’s collaborators said they came to appreciate his critical thinking and diplomatic touch.

“Mike did a remarkable job of shepherding this whole thing through,” said Robert Kennedy, a Catholic Studies professor who contributed to the document and belongs to Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. “He can move something forward without alienating people.”

One contributor who helped keep the document practical for busy executives was Pierre Lecocq, a Catholic father in Paris who had served as CEO of a large European printing service supplier.

Power can corrupt, Lecocq said. “It’s a drug — running fast, making decisions every day. You have to step back and say: ‘Hey, wait a minute. Am I doing this because I really have to, or because I love doing it?’”

Being a Catholic business leader does not mean you will never fire employees, Lecocq said. Rather, it means you approach it with as much sensitivity as possible, being transparent about workplace changes so a lay-off does not come as a complete surprise and then helping that person find new work.

Naughton synthesized all these thoughts, and the result was a reflection that is both deep and palatable. It challenges business leaders to create goods that are good and services that truly serve. It also calls for subsidiarity to enable employees to exercise their gifts and feel empowered as “co-entrepreneurs.”

Global reach “Vocation of the Business Leader” delighted its commissioner, Cardinal Turkson, the jovial Church leader from Ghana, who promoted it widely. Unlike similar Vatican documents that have seemed to die on the branch shortly after being issued, this one grew legs. It was translated into 15 languages and embraced throughout parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and South America.

Also rare: It generated four new editions updating the initial one, further proof it had become a living, breathing document.

The latest edition, spearheaded by Naughton and released in March, incorporates insights from Pope Francis on sustainability and the technocratic paradigm, the modern inclination to dominate the natural world through technology. All told, the revisions have spanned nearly eight years. Naughton said he expects a pause for now but he could envision another edition inspired by a new pontiff or some other notable influence.

The document has had a profound impact. Pope Francis has referred to it on

Michael Naughton, shown in this 2018 file photo, hopes to help business leaders apply faith to the marketplace with a 30-page reflection titled “Vocation of the Business Leader” that he worked on with a team at the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Catholic Studies, where he serves as director.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

multiple occasions. The International Christian Union of Business Executives took it on as part of its cause, disseminating it through its farflung chapters. And it inspired local Catholics at the Catholic Rural Life office in St. Paul to write “Vocation of the Agricultural Leader,” a reflection published in 2016 by the International Catholic Rural Association in Rome.

And yet, for its remarkable reach, “Vocation of the Business Leader” remains relatively unknown in the archdiocese where it was born.

“Oddly enough, this document hasn’t had the impact in the United States that it’s had in other parts of the world,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been really surprised that it’s had almost no attention in this archdiocese. That’s partly our fault. We’ve been busy and haven’t had the chance to work hard to encourage parishes to do programs or encourage other events in the archdiocese.”

Naughton agrees with his colleague. He said he is aware of a few business courses at St. Thomas that use the document. Since its 2012 release, Naughton has given “several” talks on it, he said, including one to a local gathering of Legatus, an organization of Catholic business leaders. However, it has never been the subject of the quarterly talks held at St. John Vianney College Seminary through the Virtuous Business Leaders group, when local Catholic business people join the seminarians for Mass, supper and reflection.

“I would guess of those 60 men that show up, there’s a chance none of them have seen this,” said Rich Chapman, a member of Our Lady of Grace in Edina. Chapman works as managing director at Chartwell Financial Advisory in Minneapolis and learned about “Vocation of the Business Leader” when Naughton showed him a draft.

“I think this document has been underutilized,” Chapman said. “Why don’t we have it in the hands of every Catholic business leader and create a venue to discuss and grow?

The document is a hidden gem.”

For Chapman, “Vocation of the Business Leader” reminds him to re-examine secular standards of success. “Speed is almost worshipped in business — how quickly can you complete a project or penetrate a market,” he said, noting that Chartwell is a fast-growing business. “My prayer life would be: God, help me discern when speed is compromising something.”

A higher call When business leaders see their work as a vocation, they are inspired to provide servant leadership and, ultimately, evangelize the

workplace, Chapman said. “The business leader has to be attuned to the opportunity to help form people in virtue. And virtue in the workplace is a gateway to the Gospel. That’s how I’ve always viewed my work: This is a calling for me, it’s an opportunity to do God’s work.”

Bill Bojan, a member of St. Hubert in Chanhassen, shares that view. A director in business risk services at the Minneapolis accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, Bojan has worked at other firms that spiraled into crisis.

The trouble, he said, comes from focusing on management — how a ship is run — versus governance, where it’s being steered.

Bojan said he has developed a practical application for “Vocation of the Business Leader” based on biblical governance. “I’ve been on a 10-year mission to take all my experiences and expertise and create the ‘how’ to this beautiful ‘what,’” he said.

Bojan built a website (solomon365.com), recorded podcasts and is starting a class this fall through St. Hubert’s men’s ministry team to study and embrace the vocation of the business leader. He’s eager to take his pilot program to other parishes and begin a speaking circuit.

The authors of “Vocation of the Business Leader” consider their document more needed than ever, given the pace and pressures of today’s workplace and growing economic inequalities.

“Businesspeople have a crucial vocation in society and the Church if we are to reinforce what is good and overcome what is bad, to create a truly human and sustainable economy,” said Sister Helen Alford, a Dominican who worked with Naughton to coordinate the document’s creation and serves as dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Indeed, Naughton said, the stakes are high: Business leaders with a sense of vocation meet the needs of the world, compelled by a keen sense of purpose.

“The document reminds us that we have been called and there’s a dignity to that call, and the call is getting to the deepest purpose of who we are,” Naughton said. “Our achievements and our money and our rewards are all going to betray us. They’re nice to have, but they’re not the place we want to locate our meaning.”

Read the most recent version of “Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection,” which incorporates Pope Francis’ teachings on key topics, at tinyurl.com/vocationbusinessleader.

8B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

Vicky Iacarella Creative director, Target Corp.

Age: 62 Parish: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Minneapolis;

St. Olaf, Minneapolis

Spouse: Mike Education: Archbishop Flynn Catechetical

Institute, 2019; Augsburg University, 2018;

University of St. Thomas, 2007;

St. Catherine University, 2005;

Metro State University, 1999

Number of years with company: 13 years Vicky Iacarella has a poster in her office that reads: “Work hard and be kind to people.” She tries to live by that simple motto in her work as creative director at Target Corp. in Minneapolis. She attends daily Mass, prays for others at work and meets weekly with fellow Catholics at work to discuss Scripture. She is a volunteer in the community and in her parish, including leading a book club for deaf and hearing parishioners, and she helped start with her husband the eMentor program between Target and Edison High School in Minneapolis.

Q Describe your business.

A Target Corp. is a retail company.

Q Describe your position and role.

A Lead and inspire a promotional team of associate

creative directors, art directors, copywriters and creative production team to create and execute promotional content including print, digital media, social, broadcast and direct to guest. Support creative vision and connect the work to strategic goals through collaboration across the organization.

Q What does leading with faith mean to you?

A Leading with faith is about integrating your faith

values into everything you do at work. It’s about inspiring and motivating others to be their best to achieve common goals. It’s about doing what is right and good for the team. For me, it’s about being a leader who is honest, just and compassionate.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

QH ow do you concretely apply your faith and

Vicki Iacarella, creative director at Target, in front of the downtown Minneapolis Target store.

A One specific way I have experienced God’s presence is

Catholic values at work?

A I have a poster in my office that reads, “Work hard

and be kind to people.” It’s a simple motto I try to lead by. God has given us the dignity of work to reach our potential and serve others, so it’s important to work hard. And being kind, or loving others, is a core value of our Catholic faith. I have to admit I am not always successful at it, but it’s what I strive for in my daily interactions with my team and coworkers, in how I lead and participate in meetings, in the decisions, big and small, I make every day.

QW hat achievement at work are you most proud of?

A Helping others exercise their gifts and talents and

develop and grow in their personal and professional lives is one of my strengths and something I really enjoy doing. I have been able to help others do this throughout my professional career through mentoring. I have mentored others and have been a mentee, and it has always been a valuable and beneficial experience. An achievement that I am proud of is participating in the Edison High School/ Target Business eMentor program. My husband, who is a teacher at Edison, and I helped start the program 18 years ago. The program is still going today and a few of the students that were part of this program while in high school have since graduated from college and now have successful careers at Target.

Q I n what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

We

through the connection with other Catholics at Target. Through a providential encounter, God led me to a small group of fellow Catholics who meet weekly to discuss and debate God’s word, and with whom I can find encouragement and good advice. I also experience God’s presence in the people on my team, who truly care for each other, and support each other through all the ups and downs each day brings.

Q W ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A In my search for my leadership style I have realized

that my faith is a major part of who I am, yet the workplace today can be a challenging environment in which to be open about my beliefs. Sometimes I leave my values at the door and am not the authentic leader I want to be. I have a spiritual director who first inspired me and gave me the push intellectually and spiritually that I needed to rekindle my faith. The small group at Target also inspires me and helps keep me on track in the workplace.

QW hat advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?

A Pray and ask God to give you what you desire. Be

clear about your own values so you can lead authentically and effectively. Consider being a mentor to help others grow in their professional development and help build character strengths and virtues that are so needed in today’s workplace.

Congratulate

the individuals honored with the 2019 Leading With Faith Award from THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT. For your daily Gospel-based servant leadership, we thank you.

JULY 25, 2019

LEADINGWITHFAITH

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9B

Mark Novitzki President, Premier Banks Age: 58 Parish: St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Spouse: Caroline (Nina) Children: Mike, Joe Education: University of Wisconsin, 1996; University

of St. Thomas, 1986; University of Notre

Dame, 1983 Number of years with company: 36 years Mark Novitzki, president of Premier Banks in Maplewood, leads with faith-filled “integrity, impeccable values and a strong spirit.” He shares his prayer life in the workplace, visits co-workers and others in the hospital and at other difficult or joyful times in their lives and is always ready with a kind gesture, a special accommodation or a creative solution. A volunteer in his parish, with Meals on Wheels and other organizations, and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Novitzki helps those in need. To others who want to “lead with faith,” he suggests, “be a servant leader, be humble, care about others and lead by example.”

Q Describe your business/organization.

A Premier Bank was founded in 1974 by Don and

Jean Regan (Don Regan was a 2004 Leading with Faith Award recipient). Today, the family of Premier Banks combined is the ninth largest community bank in the state and spans three generations of the Regan family.

QD escribe your position and role.

A I have worked with and for the Regan family for 36 years, as president and CEO for the last 17. This past January, I stepped down from the CEO position and am now more able to concentrate on what I love most about banking: getting out to visit clients and prospective clients in their offices, plants and facilities. My primary focus is in deposit-gathering and new account relationships.

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A Mine is a unique situation in that I am the third

recipient of this award amongst the Regan family and their related businesses (a Regan son, Pat, won in 2007), and the sixth recipient from our

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

St. Charles Borromeo community. For me, it’s more like “carrying the torch” others have lit before me, by trying to use my strengths where they are most needed to live a life of service to those in need.

QH ow do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?

A Everybody at the bank knows I am not in my office from 7:50 a.m. until 8:40 a.m. because I am at Mass. I wear ashes and abstain from eating at “working” lunches during Lent. I attend as many client and employee family member funerals as possible. I started as a trainee at the bank back in 1983, so I try not to ask anyone to do something I am not willing to do myself. If the sidewalk needs shoveling, some weeds need pulling, a customer needs assistance to their car or with a door, I do it.

Q P lease tell a story about a time when living out your faith at work really made a difference.

A On Aug. 15, 2008, the bank was expecting a very

important phone call. At lunch, I went to the adoration chapel at St. Peter in North St. Paul.

When I returned, Mr. Regan was excited to show me the message about the call we were expecting.

It was great news. The call came in at 12:55 p.m. I was kneeling in front of our Lord at 12:55 p.m.!

Mark Novitzki, president and CEO of Premier Banks in Maplewood, with a colleague in his office.

QW ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A I have had many mentors: my parents, Len and

Ruth (Feely) Novitzki, the entire Regan clan, Father Francis Kittock from St. Charles, the totality of my Notre Dame experience, and my family.

Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?

A I have made loans of many millions of dollars. The ones that have made me feel the best are the small ones to people who had nowhere to turn. I made a difference in their lives.

Q I n what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

A One night, in 1989, the Regans were working on a plan to buy several banks. There were only two people in the room who were not named Regan. I was one. Things were not going well. At about 2 a.m., Don called for a break. He asked the Blessed Mother for guidance and whether we were doing the right thing. We all prayed the rosary. We then went back to work, and we got it done! In hindsight, it was one of the best and most rewarding decisions we have ever made.

QW hat advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?

A Be a servant leader, be humble, care about others, and lead by example.

Congratulations and Thank you to the 2019 Leading With Faith award recipients Emily & Elliot Benincasa Vicky Iacarella Steve Blum Mark Novitzki Dr. Richard Endris Michael G. Richie, MD John E. Trojack, JD

Matt Saxe Chevrolet Buick 909 Enterprise Drive • Belle Plaine, MN 56011 952-873-2234 • www.saxechevybuick.com Hours: Monday and Thursday 8:00 am – 8:00pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00 am – 6:00pm Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00pm

LEADINGWITHFAITH

10B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 25, 2019

Dr. Michael Richie Ophthalmologist, founder and medical director, Richie Eye Clinic Age: 60 Parish: Divine Mercy, Faribault Spouse: Mary Children: Katie, George, Nora Education: University of Minnesota Medical School,

1984; internship, residency, 1988;

St John’s University, 1980

Number of years with company: 19 years

For Dr. Michael Richie, “leading with faith” means setting the right priorities and putting people first. The ophthalmologist and medical director of Richie Eye Clinic in Faribault is known for treating his employees and patients as family and serving those in need, such as purchasing glasses for a terminally ill woman who lost hers and couldn’t afford new ones, and restoring sight to an impoverished man suffering from cataracts.

Richie also has been on medical mission trips to Haiti and served on community-improvement efforts.

Q Describe your business.

A Richie Eye Clinic is a full-service eye clinic located in Faribault with myself and five optometrists that provides a full range of services from routine exams to surgery. We strive to serve the whole person, providing an ear to listen and a hand to hold.

Q Describe your position and role.

A As the founder and medical director, my main role,

in addition to providing the medical and surgical part of our practice, is to set the tone for how we work, set the course for the future, and provide the “why.” Our “why” is simple: We exist to serve. This includes our patients, our community, our staff, each other and our families.

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A

I t’s all about priorities, understanding what moves you, what motivates you and what is really important. You must then consistently behave in such a way that those around you can see your faith, they will start to trust it, then emulate it. In business, as in life, putting people first will always lead to a better end result.

QH ow do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?

A I think Mathew Kelly says it best … to paraphrase: do what’s right, every time. And when you fail, do the next right thing. I tell our team, I have taught my

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

kids, and I try to live this every day: Whenever you are confronted with a situation or a problem, treat others as if they are your grandmother, or as if your grandmother is watching.

Q P lease tell a story about a time when living out your faith at work really made a difference.

A We recently encountered an immigrant patient in his

50s who came to our attention through the local free clinic, HealthFinders. He had lost vision over an eight-week period. An exam showed dense white cataracts, leaving the gentleman essentially blind and unable to work or care for himself. He clearly needed care, so we expedited his cataract surgery even though we had long ago reached our HealthFinders committments. Doing what is right for the patient gave this man back his sight, and his life.

QW ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A My mother has been the most influential person in

my life. Widowed at 36 with seven small children age 2-12, she was always there for us, doing whatever needed to be done, taking on the role of mother and father. A very faith-filled person to begin with, she grew in her faith throughout my life and instilled in us that faith and family are the most important things in life.

Congratulations to our parishioner Steve Blum of Star Bank on receiving a 2019 Leading With Faith Award

We are proud of you!

Dr. Michael Richie, owner and medical director of Richie Eye Clinic in Faribault, with a patient.

Q What achievement at work are you most proud of?

A I am most proud of the team we have built at work.

Our team understands our core values of “Respect the Patient, Respect Each Other and Respect Ourselves” and lives those values every day. As our Team Playbook describes, they understand that we exist to serve and that we behave in a positive fashion that allows us to laugh and have fun helping patients and each other. We lead with morals, doing the right thing, always serving as our patients’ advocate and treating everyone as if they are family.

Q I n what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

A I feel God’s presence in our workplace with every warm smile and kind touch, be it from staff or patients.

Q. W hat advice do you have for others who want to “lead with faith?”

A To me, leading with faith is easy … be true to

yourself, be kind to others, and do what is right.

Sometimes you will go against conventional wisdom, putting people ahead of profits, but those times are rare and pretty easy to identify. Once again, if you take care of the people, the bottom line will take care of itself.

LEADINGWITHFAITH

JULY 25, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11B

John Trojack CEO, Trojack Law Office Age: 73 Parish: St. Agnes, St. Paul, and St. Joseph,

West St. Paul

Spouse: Mary Jo Children: Anne Marie Schniederjan, Joseph,

Elizabeth Carbone, Catherine

Education: William Mitchell College of Law, 1976

University of Minnesota, 1968

Number of years with company: 27 years From advertising his services as an attorney in West St. Paul specializing in health care directives, probate, wills and trusts, to a plaque with a Bible verse displayed in his offices, John Trojack makes clear that faith guides his work. He is involved in several other parish and community organizations, including conciliation court. For Trojack, “leading with faith” includes striving for the highest levels of honesty and integrity.

Q Describe your business.

A We are a law firm concentrating its practice in

probate, trust planning, wills, powers of attorney and health care directives with end-of-life issues discussed from a Catholic perspective.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

John Trojack, attorney and owner of Trojack Law Office in West St. Paul, at his desk.

Q Describe your position and role.

Q Please tell a story about a time when living out

QW hat achievement at work are you most

A Senior attorney and manager.

A This has happened a number of times when

A Everyday counseling that allows me to help people.

your faith at work really made a difference.

Catholic clients want to do planning that takes into account their faith. They might want their trust to indicate the request for Gregorian Masses or that any long-term care facility should provide access to the sacraments. They might want a specific health care directive that requires reception of the sacraments in the case of terminal illness.

Q What does “leading with faith” mean to you?

A One leads with faith according to the teachings of

the Catholic Church and, therefore, provides an example in performing daily duties, always striving for the highest levels of honesty and integrity.

QH ow do you concretely apply your faith and Catholic values at work?

A The estate planning that we focus on in our law

QW ho or what has inspired you to bring your faith to the marketplace?

A My upbringing by my good Catholic parents and

C

practice is done from a Catholic perspective.

my wonderful wife have been a great inspiration for me.

proud of?

Q In what specific ways have you experienced God’s presence in your workplace?

A Every day I work with great people who show forth the goodness that is God.

Q What advice do you have for others who want to lead with faith?

A Each person should carry out their duties no matter what trivial act might be involved, in order to try to be in union with God’s will. That will be an example to others of where faith should lead.

r a ts g n o to Leading with Faith winners, Emily and Elliot Benincasa,

for creating Minnesota’s own version of “Cheers.”

Emily’s Cafe in Minneapolis’ Northside.

“Grazie mille” from the Northside Knights of Columbus ... from your fellow parishioners at St. Bridget’s ... and from tens of thousands of diners.

Don’t forget to check out the

2019 Parish Festival Guide at TheCatholicSpirit.com/festivals

Corrections: Our Lady of Lourdes • July 27

Holy Cross, Minneapolis • Sept. 13-15

LEADINGWITHFAITH

12B • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JULY 25, 2019

Congratulations

to Vicky Iacarella,

a change leader of our nonprofit, once serving as board president.

She guides with her heart for children.

An empowering voice for adoption that connects, inspires and transforms.

Join us at our Bellis Blast on Oct. 6!

Visit mybellis.org to learn more.

CONGRATULATIONS DR. RICHIE! WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY!

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Retired business owner Roger Vasko of St. Peter in North St. Paul hopes his new organization will help connect the faith and business worlds.

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Catholic entrepreneur launches St. Joseph Business Guild

By Sam Patet For The Catholic Spirit

L

ike any good entrepreneur, Roger Vasko has a knack for getting businesses to thrive. At age 28, he bought his father’s business — Vasko Rubbish Removal — with his younger brother and proceeded to expand its client base sevenfold over the next 18 years, from 150 businesses to 1,100.

Now retired, Vasko, 60, is focused on a new opportunity that, if successful, is poised to help Catholic business owners, workers and organizations thrive in an uncertain economy. In February, he and three friends from St. Peter in North St. Paul launched the St. Joseph Business Guild.

“This is something I’m used to doing,” Vasko said about launching the guild.

“It’s kind of like building a business.”

According to its website, the guild seeks to connect “Catholic business owners to workers and customers” and provide its “members with opportunities for professional and spiritual growth.”

Vasko and his colleagues founded the guild after hearing multiple stories of Catholics who were struggling to make ends meet.

“Families … were struggling financially, whether it was inability to live on one income, trouble saving for a down payment or worrying about affording another child,” he said. “It became clear that Catholic families needed help.”

One of Vasko’s partners in launching the guild is Bret Sutton, 40, who serves as director of development and stewardship at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.

“We believe strongly in the dignity of the human person, entrepreneurship and strengthening the family,” he said in an email.

Like other professional networking groups, the guild will provide its members with resources to help them succeed, whether they’re business owners looking for employees or freelancers on the hunt for new opportunities. Vasko said these resources will include an online job board and business directory, quarterly networking meetings, mentorship opportunities and classes on

a variety of topics, including how to develop a business plan, motivating employees and interviewing for a job.

Unlike other networking groups, the St. Joseph Business Guild will provide its members with opportunities for spiritual enrichment — something that’s needed now more than ever, Sutton said.

“What I’m most excited to see is businessmen and women … bringing together these two powerful worlds — faith and business — to energize and rejuvenate not only our Church but (also) our greater society,” he said.

The group’s spiritual focus is why Vasko and Sutton chose to call it a guild.

Their website notes that guilds are “association(s) of workers for collaborative aid and self-help inspired by spiritual values.” During their heyday in medieval Europe, guilds existed for all sorts of workers, including weavers, dyers and merchants. Naming it after St. Joseph also was intentional, as he’s the patron saint of workers.

Some of the spiritual components they plan to offer include having Mass at their quarterly meetings, hosting an annual retreat and providing links on their website to Church documents, book reviews and other resources that focus on the nature of work.

Membership in the guild is open to Catholics who are registered at a parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and who agree with the guild’s statement of faith and values.

There are seven membership types, including ones for business owners, salespersons and mentors. Four membership types have dues, which range from $25 to $200 annually, and three types have no dues, including one for Catholic parishes and nonprofits.

Vasko knows he and his colleagues have their work cut out for them in getting the guild off the ground. But he’s confident their big idea will carry the project forward.

“It’s already starting to work,” Vasko said, referring to the guild’s early successes. “So I know on a bigger scale it will really go.”

For more information about St. Joseph Business Guild, visit sjbusinessguild.com.