The Catholic Spirit - November 9, 2017

South Dakota saint? 10 • Discerning vocations 11–15 • Father Solanus Casey 16 November 9, 2017 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Molli Hernandez of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul prays for deceased family members during her Nov. 6 visit to the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) shrine at the church, which is put up every year by parishioner Debbie Luna. Day of the Dead honors people who have died. An ancient Latin American festival, it was altered on the calendar to coincide with the Catholic feasts of All Saints’ Day Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day Nov. 2. “I’m here to see my grandfather, my grandparents and my uncle,” said Hernandez, who put their pictures in the display. “It’s touching that she [Luna] does this every year, and we can remember everyone.” Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

ALSO inside

Opioid crisis

Saint’s daughter speaks

Out of this world

Record-high opioid-related deaths and President Trump declaring the epidemic a public health emergency calls for Church response.

— Page 5

Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, daughter of St. Gianna Molla, presents at symposium highlighting end-of-life issues.

Parishioners of St. Hubert in Chanhassen feel anxious but proud of son’s space station stint.

— Page 6

— Page 18

2 • The Catholic Spirit

PAGE TWO

November 9, 2017 OVERHEARD

in PICTURES

“Intolerance and racism will not go away without a concerted awareness and effort on everyone’s part.

Regularly we must renew the commitment to drive it out of our hearts, our lives and our community.”

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington in “The Challenge of Racism Today,” a pastoral letter dated Nov. 1 and addressed to the clergy, religious and laity of the Catholic Church of Washington.

NEWS notes

Give to the Max Day Nov. 16 Catholic parishes, schools and other institutions across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are raising funds through Give to the Max Day, an annual online fundraising event for Minnesota schools and nonprofits, held Nov. 16 this year. To search for a cause or to donate, visit www.givemn.org.

FOR THE WIN Members of the Totino-Grace High School boys soccer team celebrate their Class A State Tournament championship victory Nov. 2. The Eagles won 1-0 against the St. Thomas Academy Cadets at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Totino-Grace (19-1-1) in Fridley finished the season on a 12-game winning streak to claim the program’s first state championship since 2004. St. Thomas Academy (16-2-3) in Mendota Heights was the defending state champion. Courtesy Rich Moll

Catholic teams star in basketball tourney Girls basketball teams from 14 Catholic high schools in Minnesota and Iowa will participate in the second annual Thanksgiving Tip Off Nov. 24-25 at the University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

Participating schools are Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield; BenildeSt. Margaret’s, St. Louis Park; Cotter, Winona; Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul; Cristo Rey Jesuit, Minneapolis; DeLaSalle, Minneapolis; Dowling, West Des Moines, Iowa; Hill-Murray, Maplewood; Holy Family, Victoria; Lourdes, Rochester; Providence Academy, Plymouth; St. Agnes, St. Paul; Totino-Grace, Fridley; and Visitation, Mendota Heights. The event is organized by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.archspm.org/turkeytourney.

St. John Paul II relic to travel to west metro

KNIGHTS CHORUS The Knights of Columbus Chorus sings during Mass at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Minneapolis Nov. 4. Made up of 15 Knights from six councils around the Twin Cities, the choir includes front, from left: Ron Benson, Don Carsten, Scott Lindquist, Dan Fortin, Matt Baltus, Tom Hackenmueller and director Deacon Bruce Bowen; and back, from left: Paul Enck, Paul Donnelly, Richard Gladhill and Jerry Simcoe. Not visible are Michael Miessen, Richard Synstelien, Phil Augustinack and accompanist Matt Sieberg. The choir sings four times a year at the veterans home as well as at nursing homes, choir festivals and Masses at various parishes. The 60-year-old choir began at Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Minneapolis in 1957 and added members from other councils. It recently recorded a CD of its music, 45 years after producing a record in 1972. Knights Chorus member Jerry Simcoe said singing at the veterans home is a way to give back to the veterans for serving their country. The Knights hold charity and patriotism as two of their main tenets. Father Eugene Brown/For The Catholic Spirit

ONLINE exclusives St. Bartholomew Catholic School alumna Lizzy Crist was named NCAA Woman of the Year Oct. 22. She had a standout women’s soccer career with St. Louis’ Washington University Bears and is pursuing a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. She told The Catholic Spirit that an advanced class at St. Bartholomew sparked her love of math.

As Minnesota marks the 30th anniversary of the Twin’s 1987 World Series championship, the 1987 team’s catcher Sal Butera recalls that season and reflects on his Catholic faith. “Everything I do evolves from my faith, primarily because I’m not in control of my life,” said Butera, now a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. “I believe the Lord has a plan for me, and I’m just operating in his plan.”

Read more at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 22 — No. 21 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor

A relic of St. John Paul II will visit St. Hubert in Chanhassen Nov. 29 and Guardian Angels in Chaska Nov. 30 accompanied by Mother Adela Galindo of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. At St. Hubert, Archbishop Bernard Hebda will celebrate a 9:35 a.m. Mass with students of St. Hubert Catholic School, 8201 Main St., followed by veneration of the relic until 11 a.m. That evening, an event including veneration and a presentation by Mother Adela on St. John Paul II will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. A similar event will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Guardian Angels, 215 W. Second St. For more information, visit www.sthubert.org.

CORRECTIONS In “In a Different Light” in the Oct. 26 edition, the number of years Nicholas Markell has been making icons was incorrect. He has been working on icons for 32 years. The article also mentioned his son and implied he was an only child. Markell also has a daughter.

Also in the Oct. 26 edition, “Resurrection Cemetery buries fetal remains” gives the wrong title for Sister Fran Donnelly, who is The Catholic Cemeteries’ director of LifeTransition Ministries. It also provides incorrect information about the organization’s acceptance of fetal remains for its quarterly burial. It does not accept the remains of stillborn babies directly from parents.

“A pastor’s funeral advice for the living: ‘Plan, plan, plan’” incorrectly indicated that The Catholic Cemeteries was a co-sponsor of the Oct. 7 funeral planning event at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. O’Halloran and Murphy Cremation and Funeral Services in St. Paul was a co-sponsor.

And, to clarify information stated in “Cremation trends,” the total funeral and burial costs of a scenario in which the deceased’s body is present for the wake and funeral and later cremated may be around $7,000 or $8,000; the cost of cremation prior to a wake or funeral costs less. However, the Church prefers that if the intention is for the deceased person’s remains to be cremated, that cremation occurs after a funeral in which the body is present.

The Catholic Spirit apologizes for the errors.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Cath­olic Spirit Newspaper.

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FROM THE BISHOP

November 9, 2017

The Catholic Spirit • 3

‘Is Jesus Christ enough for me?’

A

s Jesus traveled around preaching, the Gospels relate that when he saw the crowds “his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). His response was to ask his disciples to pray: “Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest”(Mt 9:38). The Lord personally called his apostles “to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (Mk 3:14-15). Whenever the Gospels describe the calling of the apostles, they always emphasize how they left everything to follow him (e.g., Mt. 4:20, 22).

Over the centuries, countless numbers of men and women have responded to this same call of the Lord to leave everything and follow him in consecrated life or the priesthood. The gift the Church has received from these women and men who have given their whole lives in service of Christ is inestimable. The good news is that, even today, many young people are choosing to live a life of total self-gift through responding to a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.

This year in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, we ordained 10 new priests, and we were blessed that 16 new young men entered the seminary. Although I don’t have exact numbers of women who entered consecrated life, from my informal counting I know that in each of the past three years, approximately 10-15 women have gone to convents from this archdiocese. These young people are proof that Jesus Christ is ever attractive.

ONLY JESUS Bishop Andrew Cozzens

I thought of this last week when I attended the Rector’s Dinner celebrating the great work of our seminaries in the archdiocese. Many in our society would naturally wonder why a young person would make this choice. They give up so much! Not only do they give up a spouse and family, but they also give up careers, freedoms, time and often many material possessions. At that dinner, one young man shared about his discernment. He talked about how he had to face head on the sacrifices that the priesthood asked of him, and he had to ask the question: Is Jesus Christ enough for me?

¿Es Jesucristo suficiente para mí?’

Mientras Jesús viajaba por la predicación, los Evangelios relatan que cuando vio a la multitud “su corazón se conmovió de ellos porque estaban turbados y abandonados, como ovejas sin pastor” (Mt 9:36). Su respuesta fue pedir a sus discípulos que oraran: “Pidan al dueño de la mies que envíe obreros para su mies” (Mt 9:38). El Señor llamó personalmente a sus apóstoles “para que estuvieran con él, y para enviarlo a predicar y tener autoridad para expulsar demonios” (Mc 3, 14-15). Cada vez que los Evangelios describen el llamado de los Apóstoles, siempre enfatizan cómo dejaron todo para seguirlo (por ejemplo, Mt. 4:20, 22). A lo largo de los siglos, innumerables hombres y mujeres han respondido a este mismo llamado del Señor para dejarlo todo y seguirlo en la vida consagrada o el sacerdocio. El regalo que la Iglesia ha recibido de estas mujeres y hombres que han dedicado toda su vida al servicio de Cristo es inestimable. La buena noticia es que incluso hoy en día, muchos jóvenes eligen vivir una vida de entrega total a través de la vocación al sacerdocio o la vida consagrada.

Este año en la Arquidiócesis de St. Paul y Minneapolis, hemos ordenado a 10 nuevos sacerdotes, pero fuimos bendecidos de que 16 jóvenes nuevos ingresaron al seminario. Aunque no tengo cifras exactas del número de mujeres que ingresaron a la vida consagrada, de mi

The good news is that, even today, many young people are choosing to live a life of total self-gift through responding to a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.

After many months of prayer, after experiencing the deep mercy and love of Christ in his life, he could say a firm “yes,” and so he decided to enter the seminary. It was so inspiring to see him describe that he finds Jesus Christ worth giving everything for.

Of course, all of us are called to holiness by virtue of our baptism. The call to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul has no exceptions.

We also know that those who follow the vocation to the sacrament of marriage, or serve God through a generous living as single people, also make many heroic sacrifices as they pursue holiness. But in his own mysterious way, the Lord calls some to follow closely in his own way of life, giving up marriage as he did for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:12), living in poverty with “no place to lay his head” (Mt 8:20), and in obedience, as he said, “I have come not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:38).

My own experience is that what the Lord promises to these people is absolutely true: “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mk 10: 29-30).

Let us pray to the Lord of the Harvest that he will continue to call many to follow him in this generous way.

conteo informal sé que cada uno de los últimos tres años aproximadamente 10-15 mujeres han ido a los conventos de esta arquidiócesis. Estos jóvenes son una prueba de que Jesucristo es siempre atractivo.

Pensé en esto la semana pasada cuando asistí a la cena del Rector celebrando el gran trabajo de nuestros seminarios en la Arquidiócesis. Muchos en nuestra sociedad se preguntan naturalmente por qué una persona joven haría esta elección. ¡Renuncian tanto! No solo abandonan a su cónyuge y a su familia, sino que también abandonan sus carreras, sus libertades, su tiempo y muchas posesiones materiales. En esa cena, un joven compartió sobre su discernimiento. Habló sobre cómo tuvo que enfrentar los sacrificios que el sacerdocio le pidió, y tuvo que hacer la pregunta: ¿Es suficiente Jesucristo para mí? Después de muchos meses de oración, después de experimentar la profunda misericordia y el amor de Cristo en su vida, pudo decir un firme sí, por lo que decidió ingresar al seminario. Fue tan inspirador verlo describir que encuentra que a Jesucristo le vale la pena darlo todo.

Por supuesto, todos somos llamados a la santidad en virtud de nuestro bautismo. ¡El llamado a amar a Dios con todo nuestro corazón, mente y alma no admite excepciones! También sabemos que aquellos que siguen la vocación al sacramento del matrimonio o sirven a Dios a través de una vida generosa como personas solteras, también hacen muchos sacrificios heroicos en la búsqueda de la santidad. Pero a su manera misteriosa, el

Señor llama a algunos a seguir de cerca su propia forma de vida, renunciando al matrimonio como lo hizo por causa del reino de los cielos (Mt 19:12), viviendo en la pobreza con “ningún lugar para establecerse”. su cabeza “(Mt 8:20), y en obediencia, como dijo,” no he venido para hacer mi voluntad, sino la voluntad del que me envió “ (Jn 6, 38). Mi propia experiencia es que lo que el Señor promete a estas personas es absolutamente cierto: “En verdad, te digo, no hay nadie que haya dejado casa o hermanos o hermanas o madre o padre o hijos o tierras, por mi bien y por el evangelio, que no recibirán cien veces más en este tiempo, casas y hermanos y hermanas, madres, hijos y tierras, con persecuciones y en la era por venir vida eterna “ (Mc 10, 29-30).

Recemos al Señor de la Cosecha para que siga llamando a muchos a seguirlo de esta manera generosa.

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments and change of clergy status in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Effective November 1, 2017 Reverend Brian Lynch, appointed pastor of the Church of Our Lady of the Prairie in Belle Plaine. Father Lynch previously served as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Book says nuns found John Paul I dead, could help on path to sainthood Catholic News Service Two religious women may hold the key to clearing up questions still surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I and to overcoming the first hurdle on his path to canonization.

Stefania Falasca, a journalist for Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily newspaper, is the vice postulator of the sainthood cause of the pope, whose pontificate lasted only 33 days in 1978.

The short term of a pope who was

popular and much less formal than his predecessors was enough to set rumors flying when he died Sept. 28, 1978. But Falasca believes the rumors became a fullblown conspiracy theory by a lack of transparency from the first hours of the pope’s death.

“Remember, it was 40 years ago,” Falasca told Catholic News Service Nov. 6. The pope’s priest-secretaries thought it would appear unseemly that women entered his bedroom and found him dead, so instead

of acknowledging that the two women religious working in the household found him, it was reported that the priests did.

Falasca’s book, “Pope Luciani: Chronicle of a Death,” was set for a Nov. 7 release in Italian. Pope John Paul’s given name was Albino Luciani.

Also Nov. 7, the cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes were scheduled to vote on whether to recommend Pope Francis formally declare Pope John Paul venerable.

The cover of the book, “Pope Luciani: Chronicle of a Death,” which was set for release in Italian Nov. 7. CNS

4 • The Catholic Spirit

November 9, 2017 ‘Angel’ among us Rock the collar

LOCAL

SLICEof LIFE

St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Avis Allmaras, center, talks with Rose Carter, left, and Irene Eiden at Peace House in south Minneapolis Feb. 27. Sister Avis goes to the center weekly and visits frequent guests like Carter. Eiden, of Father Michael Daly, is parochial vicar of St. William in Fridley, a lay consociate St.the Stephen in Minneapolis, stepsHouse downis of Carondelet Sisters. Peace from the stage to sing with audience a day shelter for the poor and homeless. members a performance a “It’s a realduring privilege to know thesebypeople priest band called The Second Collection and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I at Archdiocesan Oct.like 28 at could not survive Youth on theDay streets they Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. do. There are so many gifted peopleOther band members were BishopAvis: Andrew here.”

Said Carter of Sister “She’s Cozzens, Nickher VanDenBroeke, an angel. Father She hides wings under that Father JohnShe Paultruly Erickson, Father James sweatshirt. is an angel.”

McConville and Father Joah Ellis.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit “I thought it was really awesome,” said Heather Thompson, a junior at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault and a member of Divine Mercy in Faribault.

National Sisters Week is were “I wasn’tCatholic really expecting it. They March 8-14.

An official component of pretending to stall for Sonar, the band.

Women’s History Month and And, all of a sudden, a bunch of priests headquartered atthey St. Catherine University ran up there and just started in St. Paul, the week celebrates women singing, and I was really surprised by it. religious and their contributions to the I thought it was really cool.” More than Church and society. local events, 1,300 youths from theView Archdiocese of including two art exhibitions, at St. Paul and Minneapolis attended the www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org. event, which also included guest speakers, activities and Mass.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

SLICEof LIFE

Celebrating sisters

Watch a video of the band at www.Facebook.com/TheCatholicSpirit.

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LOCAL

November 9, 2017

Opioid crisis calls for Church’s attention

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit On Oct. 25, about 100 people gathered at Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis to discuss the opioid epidemic’s impact on the Native American community, which the parish serves, and beyond. The town hall-style event, which included presentations on the crisis and a Q&A session, was co-sponsored by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office’s “NOverdose” campaign.

Gichitwaa Kateri held a similar event in 2015. Opioid-related overdose deaths have occurred among the parish’s people, said Shawn Phillips, Gichitwaa Kateri’s parish director and pastoral minister, and the parish has tried to respond.

Phillips sees Gichitwaa Kateri’s efforts through the lens of Pope Francis’ metaphor of the Church as a “field hospital,” although he thinks of it as “the emergency room for the world.”

“We are supposed to be reaching out and trying to heal the brokenness of this world, whether that be through our Eucharist, or in solidarity with the poor or however we might be,” Phillips said. “It’s our call to build the kingdom of God, and according to the Book of Revelation, the kingdom won’t have this brokenness.”

Gichitwaa Kateri assists addicts and their families through prayer and its Medicine Wheel Alcoholics Anonymous group, which is open to narcotics addicts and their families. The parish also collaborates with the White Earth Urban Substance Abuse Program, the Little Earth United Tribes Inc. housing complex in Minneapolis, Natives Against Heroin and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

“We need to be involved because they’re part of our brothers and sisters,” Phillips said.

“There are no strangers in the Catholic Church.”

While Hennepin County sees the highest number of opioidrelated overdose deaths in the state, Phillips knows the opioid epidemic exists well beyond Minneapolis. Before Gichitwaa Kateri, he worked in Twin Cities suburban parishes.

“I think there is a denial that addiction is present in the suburbs,” he said. “Addiction is there. We don’t want to talk about it; we don’t, so it becomes silent.”

Public health emergency The opioid epidemic hasn’t been a stranger to any demographic in Minnesota or the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency Oct. 26.

Opioids range from prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and fentanyl to heroin. According to

A pharmacist holds the prescription painkiller OxyContin. Read about how the national epidemic is affecting addicts, families and government budgets at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.

CNS the Minnesota Department of Health, in 2016 there were 376 opioid-related deaths statewide, the highest number on record.

Meanwhile, there were 2,074 nonfatal, hospital-treated opioid overdoses.

Hennepin County has seen a significant increase in opioid overdose deaths since 2008, when only six heroin-related deaths were reported, according to the Sheriff’s Office. In 2016, opioidrelated deaths in Hennepin County jumped 39 percent from the previous year, to 153 deaths — a “record year.”

“Opioids are the great nondiscriminator,” said Sheriff Richard Stanek of Hennepin County. “We have seen folks as young as 16 and as old as 98 die from opioid-related causes, from every neighborhood, in every city and every socio-economic status.

This crisis cuts across all demographics.”

In Hennepin County’s “NOverdose” campaign, people are encouraged to get rid of unused medications with a drug deactivation pouch or at county medication drop boxes. The campaign also recommends that people ask their doctors to prescribe opioid alternatives, and it promotes prescription monitoring and police training to use and carry naloxone, which can reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

Father Marcus Milless, a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis since July, said he regularly sees opioid addiction among the people to whom he ministers.

“It’s like any other addiction; there’s a darkness that comes with it,” he said.

The sacraments can help in a person’s recovery, especially anointing of the sick, he said.

“That sign is not only for the [overdosed] person, but [also] for the family, that Jesus is walking with them, because often this is felt as a whole family,” Father Milless said.

Father Milless thinks having a

broader program similar to the Minneapolis-based Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge, a Christian-based substance abuse recovery organization, could help the Church minister to the addicted. While serving at All Saints in Lakeville, his previous assignment, he encountered a group of men in recovery from Minnesota Teen Challenge at a restaurant. Seeing his Roman collar, the men invited Father Milless to pray with them. He said he was moved by the depth of their prayer.

Now at HCMC, “my whole mindset coming in there is pray, bring them [addicts] comfort and help them see that Christ is the light in the darkness and that he can bring them out of it,” Father Milless said.

National leaders About 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis, a Catholic hospital in the Diocese of St. Cloud has become a national leader in developing best practices around opioid prescriptions and use.

Before the opioid epidemic took the national stage in 2015, staff at CHI St. Gabriel’s Health realized that narcotics requests were the No. 1 reason for emergency room visits and discovered that Morrison County police were responding to increasing numbers of opioid overdoses.

That prompted St. Gabriel’s to partner with local organizations to form the Morrison County Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention program in 2015. The program educates local communities and helps addicts in recovery. The team has helped 324 patients reduce opioid use, according to St. Gabriel’s.

“It’s a multifaceted approach to helping the addicts,” said Dr. Heather Bell of St. Gabriel’s Family Medical Center. “We also keep a really close eye on them.

We also let them know that we understand that it’s going to be hard and that we understand that they might have struggles.”

Both Bell and Dr. Kurt DeVine, who also practices in St. Gabriel’s family medicine clinic, have spoken to other hospitals and clinics about the program’s effectiveness. In September, they presented their program to the U.S. Congress. They hope to see other hospitals adopt similar models.

DeVine said adequate funding and ignorance of the problem in their communities are the main barriers for hospitals in altering their care for addicts, but he believes that the opioid epidemic “exists in every community.”

“When we started [the program], we just had really no idea the depth of the problem in our county,” DeVine said. “I think our police did, but I think we were pretty much blinded to how big a problem it really was.”

The Catholic Spirit • 5 in BRIEF COTTAGE GROVE

Archbishop, teens heading to NCYC More than 90 high school youths from seven parishes will participate in the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis Nov. 16-18. With them will be Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who plans to celebrate Mass for attendees from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota Nov. 16. Sponsored by the Washingtonbased National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, NCYC is a biannual event that expects to draw more than 22,000 high school-age participants this year. The delegation from parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis includes teenagers from Assumption, Richfield; St. Ann/St. Joseph Hien, Minneapolis; St. Dominic, Northfield; St. Francis de Sales, St. Paul; St. Joseph, New Hope; St. Rita, Cottage Grove; and Sacred Heart, St. Paul. The delegation requests prayers, said Amy Schroeder, pastoral associate for middle and high school faith formation at St. Rita, who is leading the delegation.

MENDOTA HEIGHTS

Former STA teacher charged with buying alcohol for minors A former teacher at St. Thomas Academy, Kristin Vanyo, 45, was charged Nov. 1 on two gross misdemeanor counts for furnishing alcohol to minors and two misdemeanor counts for disorderly conduct for smoking marijuana with students. Vanyo admitted the crimes May 8 and was fired by St. Thomas Academy the next day. According to police investigators, Vanyo said she bought $120 worth of alcohol for students and smoked marijuana with students. As The Catholic Spirit previously reported, she also sent sexually suggestive text messages to students. There was no evidence of sexual contact between the teacher and students, who were 18 at the time, according to police investigators.

ST. PAUL

Archdiocese discloses 19 additional names of men accused of abuse The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis added 19 men Nov. 3 to a list of priests and religious brothers who have served or spent time in the archdiocese and have substantiated claims of sexual abuse of a minor against them. “Eighteen of the men have been disclosed by their diocese or religious order based on alleged abuse outside of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, but had, at some point, served or spent time in this archdiocese,” according to a Nov. 3 statement from Tim O’Malley, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment. The other man, Father Vincent Worzalla, served in the archdiocese until his death in the early 1960s. He was assigned to Holy Cross in Minneapolis from 1915 to 1951, and Holy Trinity in South St. Paul from 1951 to 1962. According to the statement, Father Worzalla’s name is now being disclosed “based on recent interviews with victims/ survivors who courageously came forward.” The men who served or spent time in the archdiocese and were disclosed by other dioceses and orders are: Cornelius DeVenster, OSC; John Gleason; Othmar Hohmann, OSB; Paul Kabat, OMI; Thomas Meyer, OMI; James Moeglein, OSC; Dunstan Moorse, OSB; Orville Munie, OMI; John Murphy; Thomas O’Brien, OSC; Michael Paquet, OSC; James Phillips, OSB; David Roney; Urban Schmitt, OSC; Michael Skoblik; Charles Stark; Emil Twardochleb, OMI; and Pirmin Wendt, OSB.

$1 million added to hurricane relief The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sent $1,033,095 to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to support Catholic Charities USA’s hurricane relief efforts, the Center for Mission in the archdiocese reported Oct. 30. The funds were collected by local parishes through special collections in September. They are expected to benefit victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

6 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

November 9, 2017

Saint’s daughter: Cross can bring joy

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

Dear Friends, As many of you know, I spent 18 years in Rome studying for the priesthood, completing my canon law studies, and working at the Vatican. It is a city that I love.

Before I was named Archbishop here, I was honored to have been invited to join my friend, Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, in leading a Heart of Italy Pilgrimage to Assisi, Siena, La Verna, and Rome from September 20-28, 2018.

In Assisi, a beautiful Italian town mostly untouched by progress, we will walk in the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Clare and visit the cave where St. Francis prayed, the town square where he renounced his station in life, the tiny Portiuncula Chapel where he prayed and died, and celebrate Mass at his tomb at the magnificent basilica consecrated in 1253 in his honor.

In Siena, we will encounter St. Catherine of Siena, a doctor of the Church and a powerful saint known for her mystical encounters with Christ.

We will also visit Borgo Santo Sepolcro to see the famous and long venerated wooden sculpture of the Holy Face (Volto Santo), Greccio, where St. Francis established the tradition of the manger scene and La Verna, where Francis received the stigmata.

Our time in Rome includes a breathtaking tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and Michelangelo’s magnificent Sistine Chapel.

We will celebrate Mass in proximity to the tomb of St. Peter and pray at the tombs of St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII. We will also attend a general audience with Pope Francis, at which he will speak to all the gathered pilgrims, pray with us, and bless religious articles.

In addition to visits to the Cathedral of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, I made sure our itinerary included a stop at two sites connected with the patron of our Archdiocese: the majestic Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where St. Paul is buried; and the Sanctuary of Tre Fontane, where he was martyred. I cannot think of better places for praying for our Archdiocese.

As we receive graces from these sacred encounters, we will travel in the spirit of the early Christian pilgrims. Central to the pilgrimage experience will be the daily celebration of the Eucharist, prayer, inspiring talks, and fellowship. Of course, we will also have ample time to enjoy the art, beauty and food of Italy (the first gelato is on me)!

I have only given you the antipasto for the pilgrimage. For a complete itinerary and more information, visit Franciscan.edu/Pilgrimages or call the Franciscan University Pilgrimage Office at 740-284-5812.

If you are at a station in your life where you feel God might be calling you to a more intense experience of the saints and a richer experience of your faith, this Heart of Italy Pilgrimage will help strengthen you on that journey and deepen your commitment to strive for holiness.

God willing, I look forward to pilgrimaging with you to Italy.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Grace in suffering — in daily living and at the end of life — was highlighted in an Oct. 28 event that featured a keynote address from Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, the daughter of St. Gianna Molla.

While aspects of her mother’s life are well known, Molla also spoke about her father and her experience caring for him before he died in 2010 at age 97. She also shared insights on human dignity she has gained as a geriatric physician.

Molla’s presentation was the highlight of “Take My Hand, Not My Life: Living Moments of Grace at Life’s End,” a symposium that included four other speakers on end-of-life issues. Topics included palliative care and the “art” of accompanying the dying person as practiced by the Little Sisters of the Poor, suffering as an invitation to charity, and concerns around the issue of physicianassisted suicide, also increasingly known as “medical aid in dying.” About 200 people attended the event.

Molla speaks of her mother as her “saint mom” and her father as her “holy dad,” and the two of them as equally yoked in their approach to love, marriage and parenting. In a 30-minute presentation, she drew from their love letters and years of living with her dad near Milan, Italy.

She credits her parents’ devotion to Mary, and Mary’s love in return, to bringing them together in marriage. They were married only six years when Molla’s mother died from complications after giving birth to her.

“I accepted God’s will without understanding,” she said. Her mother was doing much good in the world while she was alive, she said, but has done even more good around the world since her death with the other saints in leading people to Jesus.

“I see that Mama, with her exemplary Christian life and death, prayed and gave glory to the Lord,” she said, “and Mama goes on to pray and give glory to the Lord through her powerful intercession” especially for couples who conceived a child after praying for her help.

As a physician with three children older than Gianna Emanuela, St. Gianna is also admired as a working mother and a devoted wife.

“It is not possible to become a saint in a moment,” Molla said. “She has been defined as a ‘saint of everyday life’ who lived her daily life in an exemplary way.”

St. Gianna was pregnant with Gianna Emanuela when doctors discovered a benign but painful tumor in her uterus that could have hurt her unborn child.

Of the options presented her, she chose surgery to remove only the tumor — the option that was riskiest for her own life, but that offered the greatest chance of protecting the baby. She and the baby survived the surgery, and seven months later, Gianna Emanuela was born April 21, 1962, via cesarean section. St. Gianna developed an infection from the delivery, fell ill and died a painful death at home a week later. She was 39.

She may have had a premonition she would die in childbirth. She famously told her husband shortly before Gianna Emanuela was born, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: Choose the child; I insist on it.”

Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla speaks about her “saint mom” and “holy dad” Oct. 28 at “Take My Hand, Not My Life: Living Moments of Grace at Life’s End,” sponsored by Gianna Homes and other organizations. Maria Wiering/ The Catholic Spirit While St. Gianna is known for choosing to save her baby’s life at the expense of her own, it was her six-year marriage to Pietro Molla that Pope St. John Paul II highlighted at her canonization in May 2004. He called her a “simple but ... significant messenger of divine love” and quoted a letter she wrote her husband a few days before their marriage: “Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.”

As her father’s companion, Molla witnessed his suffering, first from his wife’s death, and second, from the death of his 6-year-old daughter, Mariolina, two years later. In his later years, he also suffered physically. However, he told her often that eternity would not be enough for him to thank the Lord for the graces he received, particularly being able to witness his wife’s canonization.

“My mom and my dad each taught me about the way of the cross,” and that it should be embraced with joy, because it is closely connected to the resurrection, Molla said.

Approaching suffering in that way and accepting God’s will, even without understanding it, “is the only way which allows us to give a full and complete meaning to our lives,” Molla said.

“My saint parents taught me that the way of the cross is certainly the way of joy, of the most true and fruitful happiness,” she said.

The symposium was sponsored by Gianna Homes, Minnetonka-based memory care residences named for St. Gianna, as well as the Order of Malta’s Minnesota delegation, Catholic Medical Association, Curatio, Minnesota Catholic Conference, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Other speakers were Little Sisters of the Poor local superior Mother Maria Francis; Dr. Tod Worner, physician and clinical instructor at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis; Susan WindleyDaoust, associate professor of theology at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona; and Michael Degnan, professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas.

The morning event was held at St. Thomas and included Mass at the St. Paul Seminary chapel celebrated by Bishop Andrew Cozzens. The symposium raised funds for the St. Gianna Beretta Molla International Center in Mesero, Italy, where St. Gianna lived.

November 9, 2017

LOCAL

Past honoree: Deepen pro-life commitment

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Speaking at the St. John Paul II Champions for Life awards banquet Oct. 27, Maddie Schulte compared the decisions to embrace their callings made by two contrasting women: Wonder Woman and Mary.

Presenting as the keynote speaker, Schulte, 21, explained that both women, though different, responded to their missions with an emphatic “yes.”

Wonder Woman, in the 2017 film, worked with determination to end a war. Mary, who didn’t know what the future held, accepted God’s will through the Archangel Gabriel to bear Jesus, despite not being married.

Schulte, who works with Students for Life of America while completing her degree at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, surmised on the alternative course of events if these women didn’t say “yes.” She proposed those dire scenarios would be similar to the outcome of the pro-life movement if people don’t act.

Fifty-nine million babies, she said, have died from abortion in the 44 years since Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in all 50 states.

“We are in a war on women. There’s a war on families, a war on dignity and a war on innocent lives,” Schulte told the audience at St. Peter in Mendota. “Each and every single day that war continues, whether we do something about it or we don’t.”

Sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life, the annual awards banquet celebrates men and women who have dedicated their lives to defending life at all stages.

Schulte, who received the award in 2014, thanked the winners and other attending pro-life leaders for their work, but she also exhorted everyone to continue to say “yes” to defending life.

“Not to just admit you’re pro-life, not to just pray for an end of abortion — although I hope you’re doing both — but to actively and passionately say ‘yes’ to

Jack Jezreel didn’t want any archdiocesan or parish staff members to be in their comfort zone Oct. 26 at Fall Formation Day at Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville.

Jezreel proposed a radical shift in how parishes do ministry — to focus on reaching out to the people in the community outside of the church walls, rather than the people who already show up. The founder of JustFaith Ministries, a Kentucky-based initiative to help people evangelize and serve the poor, didn’t come up with the idea out of thin air. Pope Francis has been calling for this, Jezreel said.

Using quotes from “The Joy of the Gospel,” Jezreel said Pope Francis calls a parish to be a “community of missionary disciples,” reaching out to all people in their respective cities.

He explained that Vatican II recognized that lay people have been called to engage the world in the Catholic faith. He said the council indicated that ministry is to happen “everywhere,” and all Catholics are called to witness Christ to the world.

Jezreel reminded the audience that Jesus “spent time with the wounded.”

He highlighted some of the major problems in society, such as poverty and the prevalence of sex trafficking in the United States. He said that “one out of six children doesn’t know if they can eat” on any given day. Such issues call for Catholics’ action, he said.

“Knowing when to stand, kneel and sit isn’t going to get it done,” Jezreel said.

Most parish programs take place on parish property, he said, illustrating that parishes become too parishfocused instead of ministering in their respective communities. He also pointed out that a parish is responsible for all the souls in its community boundaries — not just Catholics.

Foundation’s forum series to address education, millennials, women’s poverty

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit

Maddie Schulte speaks on defending life at the St. John Paul II Champions for Life banquet Oct. 27 at St. Peter in Mendota.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit saving babies and their mothers,” said Schulte, a parishioner of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi.

The 2017 Champions for Life winners were Jack Dorcey of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake; Sharon King of St. Agnes in St. Paul; Jo Tolck of St. Raphael in Crystal; and Brad and Sarah Hackenmueller, and Dana and Shelly Zahler of St. Michael in St. Michael.

Dorcey, the youth and young adult winner, serves as a sidewalk counselor at several abortion centers around the metro and chaperones annually for the archdiocese’s trip to the National March for Life. King, the pro-life volunteer winner, serves as a full-time housemother with Philomena House in St. Paul, which cares for pregnant women at risk for homelessness and abortion.

Tolck, the pro-life professional winner, serves as executive director for the Human Life Alliance in Minneapolis. The Hackenmuellers and Zahlers — who won the couples, family or Catholic-affiliated group award — are longtime volunteers of the St. Michael Foundation in St. Michael, which serves children and adults with special needs.

Formation Day speaker: Reach beyond parish walls

By Matthew Davis and Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit • 7

Organized by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Fall Formation Day brought together ordained and lay ministers from around the archdiocese to reflect on ideas shaping their work. The event also included Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, and a presentation by Ann Garrido on “Redeeming Conflict.” About 450 people registered to attend.

Garrido, an associate professor of homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and author of “Redeeming Conflict” (Ave Maria, 2016), told attendees that conflict doesn’t have to be a bad thing in the Church — or in parishes.

“Conflict can be a sign of life,” she said. “People only argue about what they care about, and if no one in your parish is arguing, that’s a bad sign.”

In an 80-minute interactive presentation, Garrido encouraged her audience not to avoid argument, but to elevate the argument so that its participants can understand what’s actually being said. She called this “developing first aid skills” to help people engage in conflict in a way that people involved don’t get hurt.

What constitutes a difficult conversation varies, she said, but they all involve three of the same elements: getting the story right, strong feelings and personal identity.

Garrido suggested people involved in conflict address the first aspect — getting the story right — by asking questions such as, “Tell me what you think I’m missing?” or “What is it that you’re worried about here?” She also suggested to name the emotion and understand people’s “identity triggers.” These are core values people hold to be true about themselves, and when they’re questioned, people usually react strongly.

Catholics seem to equate tension with sin, but that’s not necessarily the case, Garrido said. Tension, she explained, seems to be “built into the fabric of creation,” and Catholics need to look for a “unity in our diversity” that “molds us into a communion.”

The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota is launching a three-part forum series to address societal issues that align with its educational, spiritual and social mission areas in hopes that participants will learn about local needs and get involved.

The first forum of “Giving Insights” will look at how urban Catholic elementary schools can close the achievement gap and be selfsustaining. The Nov. 14 panel includes representatives from the Healey Education Foundation, AIM Higher Foundation and GHR Anne Foundation, and the principal of Ascension Catholic School CULLEN MILLER in Minneapolis. Barry Lieske, president of DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, will moderate.

“Urban Catholic elementary education is a huge way that we can share our faith and grow our Church community,” said Anne Cullen Miller, CCF president. “And there are such extreme needs. … It’s also an area of great interest to donors.”

In devising the series, Miller said CCF took insights from its donors, who often ask about the community’s greatest needs and how they can respond to them with their time, talent and treasure. With each of the panels, CCF — which Miller noted is the largest Catholic community foundation in the U.S. — hopes to connect people in the Catholic community with similar interests who can help bring about systemic changes.

“We’re a community foundation; we’re not just an investor of charitable assets, [and] we’re not just a grant maker,” Miller said. “We consider ourselves a convener. One of our strong assets is our network and our ability to help [people] understand what the needs are in the Catholic community and then introduce people who might be able to help and support and meet those needs.”

The second forum will address how Catholic millennials engage in their faith, and the third forum will explore how to support young mothers and their children in crisis. Citing donors’ high interest in the topics, Miller said the organization wants to provide an opportunity for people to listen, learn and support.

The series leads up to CCF’s 25th anniversary and will culminate with an April 26 celebration featuring Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who has presented across the country.

Ultimately, Miller hopes the series will increase awareness of CCF’s work and mission, and bring people together to achieve common goals.

“We want to celebrate the good things that are going on in our Catholic community, despite some of the distractions, and show people there are good reasons to be hopeful for our future as a local Church,” Miller said.

The first forum will take place 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Our Lady of Grace in Edina. Registration is required for the forums, which are free of charge and open to the public.

For more information and to register, visit www.ccf-mn.org/forums.

8 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & WORLD

Catholic leaders decry mass shooting in Texas Catholic News Service The U.S. Catholic Church stands “in unity” with the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and the larger community after a shooting during Sunday services took the lives of at least 26 people and injured at least 20 others.

Those who died ranged in age from a toddler to 72 years old, and included 14-year-old Annabelle Pomeroy. Her father, Frank Pomeroy, is pastor of the church, but he was not at the service.

“We stand in unity with you in this time of terrible tragedy — as you stand on holy ground, ground marred today by horrific violence,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

With San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, “I extend my prayers and the prayers of my brother bishops for the victims, the families, the first responders, our Baptist brothers and sisters, indeed the whole community of Sutherland Springs.”

Law enforcement officials told CNN that a lone gunman entered the church at about 11:30 a.m. while 50 people were attending Sunday services. Almost everyone in the congregation was shot. Sutherland Springs is 30 to 40 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press the suspect was Devin Kelley, described as a white male in his 20s. He parked at a gas station across the street from the church, crossed the street and allegedly began firing as he walked toward the church and then continued firing once inside. He was wearing black tactical-type gear and used an assault weapon, AP reported.

After he left the church, he was confronted by a local resident who had a rifle “and engaged the suspect,” AP said, quoting Freeman Martin with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The suspect was later found dead in his vehicle some distance away.

Police said Kelley died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Kelley had been in the Air Force but was discharged for bad conduct, allegedly for domestic abuse, and served a 12-month sentence in confinement after being court-martialed in 2012. His in-laws were members of the First Baptist Church.

“We need prayers!” Archbishop Garcia-Siller said in a Nov. 5 statement. “The evil perpetrated on these [families] who were gathered to worship God on the Lord’s Day — especially children and the elderly — makes no sense and will never be fully understood.

Disbelief and shock are the overwhelming feelings; there are no adequate words. There can be no explanation or motive for such a scene of horror at a small country church for families gathered to praise Jesus Christ.”

He added, “Let’s help these brothers and sisters with prayers; they need us. Also, pray fervently for peace

Catholic universities need to study the root causes of forced migration and ways to counter the discrimination and xenophobic reactions it provokes in so many traditionally Christian nations, Pope Francis said.

“I would also like to invite Catholic universities to teach their students — some of whom will become leaders in politics, business and culture — a careful reading of the phenomenon of migration from the point of view of justice, global co-responsibility and communion in cultural diversity,” he said.

The pope made his remarks during an audience Nov. 4 with members of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, who were attending a world congress in Rome Nov. 1-4 titled “Refugees and Migrants in a Globalized World: Responsibility and Responses of Universities.”

Pope Francis praised the organization’s efforts in the fields of research, formation and promoting social justice. He called for more study “on the remote causes

in BRIEF VATICAN CITY

‘Victims’ charter’ is next step in fighting trafficking, academy says

Law enforcement officers investigate a mass shooting Nov. 5 at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

CNS amidst all of the violence, which seems to be overwhelming our society. We must be lights in the darkness.”

Pope Francis also offered prayers, calling the mass shooting an “act of senseless violence.” He asked the local Catholic archbishop to convey his condolences to the families of the victims and to the injured.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, also sent assurances of the pope’s prayers in a message to Archbishop Garcia-Siller.

“When we go to church to worship God, we enter a world that is what we dream life will be,” said Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in a Nov. 5 statement.

Those murdered in the church, he added, “have given the ultimate witness.”

Bishop Seitz said, “As with any act of terror, we must not allow evil behavior to make us fearful or to prevent us from doing what is right. Ultimately, we know that the love of God will be victorious.”

“Our nation struggles to comprehend, to understand, to face another moment that demands that we address the root causes of such horrendous brutality,” said a Nov. 6 statement from Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta.

“Among the causes that must be confronted are easy and unrestricted access to military-style firearms, the lack of similarly unrestricted access to effective mental health care for too many emotionally fragile citizens, and the proliferation of hatred and vitriolic material on social and mass media that often radicalizes people who then act in ways that harm and terrorize us all.”

“We must come to the firm determination that there is a fundamental problem in our society,” Cardinal DiNardo said in his statement. “A culture of life cannot tolerate, and must prevent, senseless gun violence in all its forms. May the Lord, who himself is peace, send us his spirit of charity and nonviolence to nurture his peace among us all.”

Pope: Teach students role of justice in migration

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

November 9, 2017

of forced migrations with the aim of finding practical solutions” because people have a right to not be forced to leave their homes.

“It is also important to reflect on the basic negative — sometimes even discriminatory and xenophobic — reactions that the welcoming of migrants is provoking in countries with a longstanding Christian tradition” in order to develop programs and ways to better form consciences, he said.

Pope Francis also called on Catholic universities to develop programs that would allow refugees living in camps and holding centers to take distance-learning courses and to grant them scholarships.

Efforts also are needed, he said, to recognize the academic degrees and qualifications migrants and refugees have earned in their homelands so that their new countries may better benefit from their knowledge.

Catholic universities, as leaders in promoting the social good, could do more, he said, by encouraging students to volunteer to assist refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.

Victims of human trafficking spoke to reporters at the Vatican Nov. 6 during a conference on ways to better assist victims of trafficking. They described the industry of buying and selling human beings for forced labor, prostitution, exploitation and even organ harvesting.

The Nov. 4-6 gathering was organized by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences and Global Alliance for Legal Aid, a U.S.-based association of jurists providing legal aid to the poor in developing countries. The success stories and tragedies of victims and survivors offer the next clue in an effective fight against traffickers and in helping those who get caught in their snares, said Margaret Archer, president of the pontifical academy. Archer added that the meeting was meant to come up with a “victims’ charter” — concrete proposals gleaned from victims and their advocates to act as a framework for prevention, healing and resettlement.

The International Labor Organization estimates human trafficking grosses $150 billion a year and is rapidly growing, with profits beginning to match those made in the illegal drug and arms trades.

Pope condemns ‘murderous folly’ of terrorism after attacks Pope Francis prayed for victims of the terrorist attack in New York, as well as victims of other terror attacks, and condemned the murder of innocent men and women in the name of God. After praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 1, the pope said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack in New York Oct. 31 that left at least eight people dead and 11 others injured when pedestrians and bicyclists were mowed down by a driver in a pickup truck. “We ask the Lord to convert the hearts of terrorists and free the world from hatred and from the murderous folly that abuses the name of God to spread death,” he said. Police in New York identified the suspect as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, who has been in the United States on a visa since 2010.

Pope Francis also prayed for victims of recent terrorist attacks in Somalia and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON

HHS looks into removing barriers to program funding for religious groups The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Oct. 25 that it is looking for ways to ensure that faith-based and religious groups are not blocked from receiving HHS funding for their programs. The department’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, issued what is called a request for information, seeking comment for 30 days from religious and faithbased groups about ways they have been blocked from receiving funding. “Faith-based organizations have historically been a crucial component of HHS’s efforts by delivering charitable care to Americans in need,” the HHS document said, noting that the agency awarded more than $817 million in grant funding to faith-based organizations in 2007.

Senate confirms Notre Dame professor as federal judge The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame law professor, to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The 55-43 vote for the nominee included all Republican votes and three Democrats. At her nomination hearings in September, Barrett, who is Catholic, was grilled about the impact her faith would have on her interpretation of the law. President Donald Trump nominated her in May to fill a vacant seat on the 7th Circuit, a jurisdiction that covers Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The court is based in Chicago.

— Catholic News Service

U.S. & WORLD

November 9, 2017

The Catholic Spirit • 9

U.S. Justice Department says it was misled in immigrant teen’s case Catholic News Service In a petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 3, the Justice Department said it had been misled by lawyers representing a pregnant immigrant teen about the timing of her abortion.

In its petition, the Justice Department said it was about to appeal a lower court decision allowing the teen to have an abortion when it realized she had already had the procedure early that day.

“Disciplinary action may therefore be warranted” against the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the teen, the petition added, saying ACLU lawyers had told the government the abortion was scheduled to take place a day later.

ACLU’s legal director, David Cole, said in a statement that the government’s charges were “baseless” and a means to deflect blame for failing to appeal the court’s ruling in time.

The teenager, identified as Jane Doe, had an abortion Oct. 25, the day after the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit cleared the way for it in a 6-3 vote. The court’s action overruled an Oct. 20 decision by a three-judge panel of the court that had blocked the teen’s abortion until the Department of Health and Human Services found a sponsor by Oct. 31 to take custody of the teenager, such as an adult relative.

The case reached the circuit court when the Trump administration appealed a ruling by a federal judge that the teenager had the right to get an

“No one — the government, private individuals or organizations — should be forced to be complicit in abortion.”

Texas bishops

abortion. The administration had argued that the government is not obligated to facilitate an abortion for someone in the country without legal documents.

Attorneys general from nine states, including Texas, Missouri and Ohio, had backed the federal government in that appeal, stating in a court filing that there is no “constitutional right to abortion on demand.”

“Federal and Texas state officials are to be commended for defending the life of an innocent unborn child in a recent case involving an unaccompanied pregnant minor in federal immigration custody,” the Texas Catholic bishops said in their statement.

Lawyers for the ACLU are representing the teen, who is from Central America and is under federal custody in a shelter in Brownsville, Texas. She

Priest resigns as consultant on doctrine after letter to pope Catholic News Service After publication of his letter to Pope Francis questioning the pontiff’s teachings, Father Thomas Weinandy has resigned from his position as consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine.

The Capuchin Franciscan priest is former executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Doctrine and Canonical Affairs, serving in the post from 2005 until 2013. He expressed loyalty to the pope, Father Thomas but at the same time told the pope that “a chronic confusion WEINANDY seems to mark your pontificate.”

He released his letter to several Catholic and other media outlets Nov. 1, including Crux. The priest told Crux, a Catholic news outlet, he did not write the letter in an “official capacity,” and he was solely responsible for it.

In a statement, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, said the departure of Father Weinandy as a consultant “gives us an opportunity to reflect on the nature of dialogue within the Church.”

“Throughout the history of the Church, ministers, theologians and the laity all have debated and have held personal opinions on a variety of theological and pastoral issues,” the cardinal said. “In more recent times, these debates have made their way into the popular press. That is to be expected and is

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“However, these reports are often expressed in terms of opposition, as political — conservative vs. liberal, left vs. right, pre-Vatican II vs. Vatican II. These distinctions are not always very helpful.”

In his letter, Father Weinandy outlined five areas of concern where he said confusion may result among the faithful: the pope’s 2016 apostolic exhortation “The Joy of Love”; his portrayal of doctrine “as dead and bookish”; the pope’s appointment of some bishops “who seem not merely open to those who hold views counter to Christian belief, but who support and even defend them”; the push for decentralization in the Church, which weakens Church unity; and finally, Father Weinandy accused the pope of restricting criticism of his pontificate despite calls for transparency and invitations to all people, especially bishops, to speak openly.

He concluded the letter by offering his prayers for the pope.

In an interview with Crux and an explanation about his letter published by Catholic World Report, Father Weinandy said he felt divine inspiration for writing the letter to the pope.

Cardinal DiNardo, in his statement about the nature of dialogue in the Catholic Church today, said that “Christian charity needs to be exercised by all involved.”

“In saying this, we all must acknowledge that legitimate differences exist, and that it is the work of the Church, the entire body of Christ, to work toward an ever-growing understanding of God’s truth,” he said.

entered the United States in September and was in her 15th week of pregnancy when the circuit court made its ruling. Texas bans most abortions after 20 weeks.

The ACLU argued that under the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, the immigrant teenager is entitled to have an abortion that she would pay for.

In an Oct. 20 statement released by the Texas Catholic Conference in Austin, the state’s bishops had argued against requiring “the government to facilitate and participate in ending the innocent life of the unborn child,” saying it would diminish “the historic promise of our nation to serve as a beacon of hope for all.”

A White House statement said the Trump administration “stands ready to expedite her return to her home country.” Federal officials have said the teenager could voluntarily leave the country or find a sponsor in the United States to take custody of her.

The Texas bishops said the ACLU’s case — “compelling others to perform, facilitate or pay for abortion who do not wish to do so” — is unconscionable.

“No one — the government, private individuals or organizations — should be forced to be complicit in abortion,” they said.

They also pointed out that the Catholic Church in Texas has provided assistance and shelter to unaccompanied immigrant minors, refugees and pregnant mothers for decades.

Toronto cardinal urges Parliament to keep religious provisions in place Catholic News Service Parliament would be sending a “disturbing message” to Canada’s religious community if it eliminates a law that currently makes it an offense to disrupt a religious service, Cardinal Thomas Collins told a parliamentary committee.

“More than ever, we need to legislate protection for religious services taking place,” the Toronto cardinal told the House of Commons Justice Committee.

Speaking by video conference Oct. 30, Cardinal Collins expressed a “grave concern” shared by Canada’s bishops over Bill C-51. It proposes to remove a section of the Criminal Code that makes it an indictable offense to threaten or obstruct clergymen or ministers from celebrating services or going about their work.

Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops who attended the Ottawa hearing, told the committee: “We believe attacks on religion are not like other attacks against public safety — they are not only more grave, but threaten the essence of democracy itself. ... This is because religious freedom is the cornerstone of human rights.”

The government introduced Bill C-51 to remove what it calls redundant and archaic laws covering a range of issues.

But the existing law “covers conduct not otherwise covered” in the Criminal Code, Cardinal Collins said, citing silent protests, unfurling a banner and blocking a procession as examples of preventing communal prayer and worship.

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10 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & WORLD

November 9, 2017

Mass formally opens canonization cause for Black Elk Catholic News Service During a Mass to formally open the sainthood cause for Nicholas Black Elk, the Native American was described as someone who merged the Lakota and Catholic culture in a way “that drew him deeper into the mystery of Christ’s love and the Church.”

Black Elk’s love for God and Scripture led him to become a catechist, fulfilling the mission of all disciples, said Bishop Robert Gruss of Rapid City in his homily at the Oct. 21 Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

The bishop said that for 50 years Black Elk led others to Christ, often melding his Lakota culture into his Christian life. “This enculturation can always reveal something of the true nature and holiness of God,” he said, adding that Black Elk always “challenged people to renew themselves, to seek this life that Christ offers them.”

Bishop Gruss said Black Elk’s life as a dedicated catechist, spiritual leader and guide “inspired many to live for Christ by his own story.” With the formal opening of his cause, Black Elk now has the title “servant of God.” Black Elk was born sometime between 1858 and 1866.

He died Aug. 19, 1950, at Pine Ridge.

The bishop said the process for the sainthood cause for Black Elk is a long one. First, he must show a reputation for holiness that spread to others.

The first phase involves gathering testimony about his life and his virtues. Bishop Gruss said Black Elk’s public and private writings are currently being collected and examined. This documentary phase can take many years.

“Where the process ends is now up to the Holy Spirit and Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Our task now is to continue to gather more information [and] testimony about his life, and to pray that he is found

worthy to have his cause moved forward,” he said.

The road to canonization involves three major steps: First is the declaration of a person’s heroic virtues, after which the Church declares the person “venerable.”

Second is beatification, after which he or she is called “blessed.” Third is canonization, or the declaration of sainthood.

In general, two miracles must be accepted by the Church as having occurred through the intercession of the prospective saint; one must occur before beatification, and the other after beatification.

The bishop also encouraged the congregation to follow Black Elk’s example, stressing that all Christians are called into the missionary field.

“Like Black Elk, if we are docile to the Lord’s will, devoting our lives to him, we will be out working for his kingdom of mercy, love and peace,” he said.

The bishop also stressed that today’s Catholics should not live “isolated religious lives” but instead should recognize they are called to be “God’s servants and instruments of Christ’s love in building and advancing his kingdom. Each of us has to decide how we can participate.”

Last February, Bishop Gruss appointed Bill White as the diocesan postulator of Black Elk’s sainthood cause.

White is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Deacon Ben Black Bear from St. Francis Mission is translating some of Black Elk’s writings from Lakota to English.

Deacon Marlon Leneaugh, Rapid City’s diocesan director of Native Ministry, described Black Elk as a revered holy man among the Lakota who bridged the gap between traditional native spirituality and Catholicism.

“He showed his people that you did not have to choose between the two, you could be both. He did not abandon his native ways when he became a Christian.

To him it was together — praying to the one God.”

Nicholas Black Elk is pictured in an undated historical photo teaching a girl how to pray the rosary. Bishop Robert Gruss of Rapid City, S.D., celebrated an Oct. 21 Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Pine Ridge, S.D., to open the sainthood cause for the Native American. CNS

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Pray to the

Lord of the Harvest

National Vocations Awareness week • Nov. 5-1 1

New house serves women seeking vocation

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

A

painting of Jesus with Martha, Mary and Lazarus in Bethany hangs in the living room of a former-convent-turned-women’s discernment house in northeast Minneapolis.

It’s an image of how the residents see themselves: like Mary of Bethany, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening.

The house is named Bethany House for this very reason.

“This is about discerning God’s will, and that’s the goal ... wherever God may lead them,” said Father David Blume, vocations director for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

On Labor Day weekend, five women discerning consecrated religious life moved into Bethany House, a new initiative of the Office of Vocations in partnership with the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, a religious community based in New Ulm that recently established another convent in St. Paul. Three of Bethany House’s residents are working jobs, one is in graduate school, and one is in her senior year at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

All are in different places in their discernment process, but they are dedicating the academic year to prayer, quiet and spiritual direction while living in community with like-minded women.

Bethany House’s first residents are Jen Andrysczyk, 23; Catherine Bittner, 24; Alex Bosch, 23; Lauren DeZelar, 23; and Emily Meuer, 22. They all learned about the house from the Handmaids, but — if they choose religious life — most haven’t determined which community they’d like to join. In the meantime, they’re grateful to live with women who are also discerning their call.

Some of the inspiration to establish the house came to Father Blume after one of his office’s regular Miriam Dinners for women discerning religious life. A woman attending the event said she thought that men had an easier time discerning because they have minor and major seminary available to them, along with formation and spiritual directors. Father Blume recalls her saying, “Our men have a path, but for us women, we don’t have a path — we have 500 paths, and it’s kind of confusing.”

“To me, that was very, very insightful, and it helped me understand what it is like to be a woman who thinks God might be calling her, but then not to have specific resources, [and] to have 500 paths,” Father Blume said. “I thought, in the archdiocese, we’re going to create a path that can take some sort of confusion out of it.”

Father Blume knew of the Mater Redemptoris House of Formation, a discernment house in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, run by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. He thought he could launch something similar in the Twin Cities, and he turned to the Handmaids for help. The Office of Vocations takes care of the house’s administrative aspects, and the Handmaids oversee the formation and pastoral aspects.

Handmaid Sister Mary Joseph Evans, the community’s local superior whose home parish was St. Joseph in West St. Paul, visits a few times each month with Handmaid Sister Amata Crain to offer support and friendship.

“We make it very clear that this is in no way a Handmaid discernment house,” Sister Mary Joseph said. “They have total freedom to discern any community. ... Because we’re diocesan sisters, part of our role in our service of the diocese is to walk with young women in general, in helping them know and discern and embrace the Lord’s will, just like a diocesan priest would for the men.”

She added: “We’ve found that discernment houses

11

Vocations Holy Hours coming to a parish near you

By Father David Blume For The Catholic Spirit

From left, Jen Andrysczyk, Emily Meuer, Catherine Bittner, Alex Bosch and Lauren DeZelar stand in front of Bethany House, which is on the grounds of Holy Cross in northeast Minneapolis. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit can be so helpful, especially for young women, because religious life can be such a radical step even just to enter postulancy. ... [A time of discernment] brings an incredible freedom to know that they really asked the Lord this question and have given him this time, and if it’s not what he has [planned], then we are right there with them, saying, ‘Go in peace, fully embrace whatever it is that he has for you.’ ... The point of this year is ... to be with Jesus.”

Located next to Holy Cross church in Minneapolis, the building was home to three octogenarian religious sisters — two Franciscans and a School Sister of Notre Dame — until earlier this year, when they returned to their respective motherhouses. The building was originally a Franciscan convent and could hold as many as eight women, said Father Blume, who has been vocations director since 2015. He sees Bethany House as complementing the Miriam Dinners and annual women’s discernment retreat the Vocations Office organizes.

Residents commit to nine months of common living — including sharing groceries and chores — as well as a weekday schedule that includes a 5:45 a.m.

Holy Hour with morning prayer in the parish’s adoration chapel, also in the house. The women then attend daily Mass before heading to classes or work.

They share three evening meals each week and pray night prayer together each night. Then they observe “grand silence” — no talking — until after Mass the following day. Weekends are typically unstructured.

Each woman also meets with a spiritual director and agrees not to date during this time of discernment.

DeZelar, a University of Minnesota graduate who works with people with autism, said Bethany House “is more of a place to be, a place to listen to the Lord. ... There really isn’t a stipulation for where you are on your walk of discerning vocation. ... I’m on one end of the spectrum, really just starting and trying to be open, and Jen [Andrysczyk] is on the other end of the spectrum, like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ So, I think it’s a really good place to be and learn to be where you’re at with Jesus.”

Andrysczyk, a youth minister at Maternity of Mary in St. Paul, agrees.

“Discernment can be a scary thing, but I think that hopefully this wouldn’t be a scary thing,” she said.

“Being able to come here and let Jesus love you should be something that would fill you with joy. ... It’s a really no pressure environment where you can come and be.”

Bittner, a registered nurse, described Bethany House as “a retreat.”

“And that’s how they really set it up to be,” she added. “We’re retreating to Jesus, and Jesus is really retreating to us more, I feel like, because he wants to be in our hearts.”

This year, the Office of Vocations has chosen as its theme “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest,” a direct reference to the words of Jesus telling his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Jesus does not make this as a suggestion, but rather a command that we ask, or pray “to the master of the harvest” for more laborers.

To foster vocations, we can Father David create many types of events — all BLUME important and helpful in their own right — but the words of Jesus are so clear that we are to pray for more laborers for the harvest. To this end, the Office of Vocations is sponsoring a Holy Hour at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. Every month, it will be held at a different parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the sole intention is to bring the faithful together specifically to beg the Lord to send us more workers for the harvest — those who are called to become priests, deacons, consecrated men and consecrated women — that they would step forward to lay down their entire lives to serve the Church.

These Holy Hours will take place throughout the archdiocese. Please consider attending one and invite others to do the same. For more information, visit www.10000vocations.org.

Nov. 14 Dec. 12 Jan. 9, 2018 Feb. 13 March 13 April 10 May 8 June 12 July 10 Aug. 14 Sept. 11 Oct. 9 Nov. 13

St. Timothy, Maple Lake St. Stephen, Minneapolis Epiphany, Coon Rapids St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony St. Michael, St. Michael St. Michael, Stillwater St. Peter, Forest Lake Divine Mercy, Faribault Holy Spirit, St. Paul St. Therese, Deephaven All Saints, Lakeville Cathedral of St. Paul

Father Blume is the director of the Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat Dec. 29-31 (6:30 p.m. Friday to 1 p.m. Sunday) at Christ the King Retreat Center, Buffalo For men who are seniors in high school to age 50. Includes Mass, talks, prayer, reconciliation, overview of seminary formation, recreation and meals with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Father David Blume, archdiocesan director of vocations.

Women’s Discernment Retreat Feb. 17, 2018, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Location to be determined.

For women ages 16 to 35 who are discerning consecrated life, with Bishop Andrew Cozzens and consecrated women from a variety of religious orders, as well as Annie Hermanson, a wife, mother and homemaker in West St. Paul, and former member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Hermanson has a master’s degree in pastoral ministry.

For more information and to register, visit www.10000vocations.org.

Pray to the

Lord of the Ha

2017-2018 Sem

Deacon Aric Aamodt

Deacon Colin Jones

Deacon Toulee (Peter) Ly

Joseph Connelly

Louis Floeder

St. Odilia Shoreview

St. Charles Borromeo St. Anthony

Cathedral of St. Paul St. Paul

Cathedral of St. Paul St. Paul

St. Louis, King of France St. Paul

Vinh-Thinh (Timothy) Tran

James Bernard

William Duffert

Brian Fischer

David Kirsch

St. Joseph West St. Paul

St. Stephen Anoka

Cathedral of St. Paul St. Paul

Cathedral of St. Paul St. Paul

Theology IV

Paul Hedman

Nathan Schuster

St. Raphael Crystal

Church of St. Paul Ham Lake

Theology II

Philip Conklin

Theology II

Kyle Etzel

Theology II

St. Anne/St. Joseph Hien Minneapolis

Theology IV

Theology I

Theology IV

Theology I

Theology III

Theology I

Theology III

Theology I

Luke Larson

Jonathan Liedl

Jacob Hornecker

Connor McGinnis

Joseph Nguyen

Maternity of Mary St. Paul

St. Mark St. Paul

St. John the Baptist Excelsior

All Saints Lakeville

St. Anne/St. Joseph Hien Minneapolis

Pre Theology I

Pre Theology I

Max Mauch-Morff

Sean Mulcare

Christopher Yanta

Stephen Arachtingi

Francis Floeder

John Kluge

Joseph Lemmer

St. Patrick Oak Grove

St. Peter Forest Lake

St. Timothy Maple Lake

Holy Family St. Louis Park

St. Louis, King of France St. Paul

St. Genevieve Centerville

Ascension Norwood Young America

Ryan Sustacek

Joseph Wappes

Matthew Larson

Alexander Marquette

Zachary Ochsenbauer

Andrew Scherber

St. Michael St. Michael

St. Charles Borromeo St. Anthony

Holy Name of Jesus Wayzata

St. Timothy Maple Lake

St. Peter Forest Lake

St. Francis Xavier Buffalo

St. Charles Borromeo St. Anthony

Junior

Sophomore

St. Hubert Chanhassen

Junior

Sophomore

Pre Theology I

Junior

Freshman

Pre Theology I

Sophomore

Freshman

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Sophomore

Freshman

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Freshman

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Father David Blume Director of Vocations

OFFICE OF VOCATIONS • 10000VOCATIONS.ORG • (651) 962-6890

arvest

minarians

Joseph Gifford

Andrew Zipp

Austin Barnes

Tyler Ferry

Clayton Forner

Matthew Goldammer

Nathan Hastings

Church of St. Paul Ham Lake

St. Michael St. Michael

Holy Trinity South St. Paul

St. Michael St. Michael

Guardian Angels Chaska

All Saints Lakeville

St. Joseph West St. Paul

Theology III

Theology III

Theology II

Theology II

Theology II

Theology II

Theology II

Matthew Maile

Michael Reinhardt

John Rumpza

Josh Salonek

Nathaniel Whipple

Samuel Gilbertson

Michael Selenski

St. John the Baptist New Brighton

Basilica of St. Mary Minneapolis

Nativity of Our Lord St. Paul

St. Michael St. Michael

St. Mark St. Paul

St. Thomas the Apostle Corcoran

Church of St. Paul Ham Lake

Dominic Shovelain

John Utecht

Cullen Gallagher

Ryan Glaser

Jose Hernandez

William Kratt

David Maslow

St. Michael St. Michael

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Hastings

St. Timothy Maple Lake

St. Michael Prior Lake

St. Stephen Minneapolis

Divine Mercy Faribault

Nativity of Our Lord St. Paul

Timothy Lyngdal

Michael Maloney

Alexander Rasset

Michael Richards

Mathias Rotstein

Zachary Siebenaler

Randall Skeate

Church of St. Paul Ham Lake

St. Charles Borromeo St. Anthony

St. Francis Xavier Buffalo

St. Louis, King of France St. Paul

Holy Family St. Louis Park

St. Pius V Cannon Falls

St. Patrick Oak Grove

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ehind and before every vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life there is always the strong and intense prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a community... Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer; and only through prayer can they persevere and bear fruit. ~Pope Francis

J

esus is counting on you to step forward when He calls. Pray daily, allow the Lord to strengthen you through the sacraments, and know that there are plenty of parents, consecrated women and men, deacons and priests who would love to talk to you about their vocation and yours. However Jesus may be inviting you to serve, be not afraid! ~Archbishop Bernard Hebda

Pre Theology II

Junior

Sophomore

Pre Theology II

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14 • The Catholic Spirit

VOCATIONS

November 9, 2017

Local clergy, religious say prayer, conversations aided in discernment The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit asked the following clergy and consecrated religious to share a part of their discernment process, what brings them joy in their vocation and their advice for others considering a religious vocation. Their responses were edited for clarity.

Brother Conrad Richardson, 44 Franciscan Brothers of Peace, St. Paul Final vows in 1998 What prompted you to consider becoming a religious brother?

Father Alex Carlson, 34 Pastor of St. John the Baptist, Excelsior Ordained in 2010

Initially, I felt called to the diocesan priesthood, but early in my discernment I had opportunities to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity and the Franciscans, and I was attracted to their communal life of prayer, fraternity and service to the poorest of the poor. I began discovering that Jesus was calling me to follow him unreservedly through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience with brothers who lived, prayed and served together.

What prompted you to consider becoming a priest?

What did your discernment look like?

The example of all the priests that served at the parishes I attended over the years. Be it as a kid or in high school, it seemed like every priest truly was doing something he loved, and that was conveyed through their living out of their vocation.

By way of our Lord’s divine mercy, I had rediscovered my faith in a powerful way and in turn discovered my vocation as a religious brother. Along the way, God provided me with many guides to assist me in working through the various highs and lows that come when discerning God’s will for your life. It was a particular blessing to have lived in a house of discernment for a year in the Archdiocese of Denver, where I’m from. After reaching out to and visiting three different Franciscan communities, I had the greatest sense of belonging with the Franciscan Brothers of Peace.

What did your discernment look like?

I discerned entering the seminary out of high school, but I Father Alex decided to go to Bemidji State University. During my freshman year, I felt God calling me to go to St. John Vianney College CARLSON Seminary in St. Paul. While both at SJV and the St. Paul Seminary, I continued to discern diocesan priesthood, and God continued to call me toward the priesthood, with me eventually saying yes.

Brother Conrad RICHARDSON

What gives you joy in your vocation?

I receive great joy in helping people encounter God, most especially through the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession. I also have great joy in seeing people grow in their faith and being a small help on their spiritual journey.

Including my initial formation of postulancy, novitiate, first vows and perpetual vows, I have been in religious life for over 20 years. With certainty, I can say that ultimately no other way of life could bring me more joy and fulfillment than the one I live now. Have there been challenges? You bet! Have I ever doubted my vocation? Uh-huh! The blessed assurance that I receive from God when I surrender myself to him with repentance and trust sustains my joy of knowing that I am right where I am supposed to be. On top of all that, my brothers and I have an absolute blast together, and when we are able to share the love of Jesus with others, especially those most in need, nothing else beats it.

What advice do you have for others discerning a religious vocation?

What advice do you have for others discerning a religious vocation?

Obviously pray — that is the most important thing. Also, talk to other people about it. One of the greatest helps of my discernment was talking to friends about what I was thinking. They always had great advice and helped me see things I could not see myself.

The most frequent command in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” St. John Paul II echoed those words of Christ so many times during his pontificate. It is not necessary to have absolute certainty that you have a calling to the religious life in order to have a genuine vocation. A curiosity may be enough to see whether you are called. The best way to have greater certainty is to visit religious communities in person, as well as your diocesan vocations office. The internet is a good start, but it will fall short without personal contact. Even if you were to formally enter a community as a postulant, you do not take perpetual vows for a number of years into religious life. The postulancy and novitiate periods are considered times of ongoing discernment, and a person is free to leave at any point if they feel God calling them elsewhere. “Do not be afraid.”

What gives you joy in your vocation?

Deacon Tom Michaud Jr., 45 Divine Mercy, Faribault Ordained in 2010 What prompted you to consider becoming a deacon?

As I started to return to the Catholic Church, I learned my faith, got my questions answered and went on retreats. I fell in love with Jesus and his Church, but I never thought of becoming a deacon; I had other plans for my life. So, the quick answer is, the Holy Spirit prompted me. Once I felt the call, I discerned for two and a half years.

What did your discernment look like?

Deacon Tom For the first year of my discernment, I prayed, I read everything I could about the diaconate, and talked with MICHAUD JR. deacons about the program and asked them what they did as a deacon. I then told my wife what I felt called to do. Her response was, “I was wondering when you were going to tell me.” We then talked and prayed about this for the next year.

What gives you joy in your vocation?

So many things: knowing that this is God’s will and I am just responding to it.

When I am in the prisons, hospitals, Extreme Faith Camp, Steubenville retreats at St. Thomas or in Rochester, being on the altar proclaiming the Gospel and giving homilies. This is just a small list of what gives me joy in my vocation.

What advice do you have for others discerning a religious vocation?

Pray. If you are married, talk with your wife, pray with your wife while you are discerning, talk with as many deacons as you can, read about it, go to the inquiry sessions that we have throughout the year, go to a deacon ordination, and if you have children, talk with them about it. The Institute for Diaconate Formation in St. Paul is also a good resource.

Sister Magdalena Dudenhoeffer, 28 Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Fifth-grade teacher at St. Croix Catholic School, Stillwater Final vows in 2015 What prompted you to consider becoming a religious sister?

I had an experience as a 5-year-old during Mass in which I felt a call from the Lord. That moment left a deep impression in my soul and thoughts of a religious vocation remained in my mind and grew in intensity. My parents always presented religious life in a positive light.

What did your discernment look like?

I visited and communicated with multiple orders from Sister Magdalena eighth grade through high school. I felt the beauty of each DUDENHOEFFER order, but none felt like the place that God wanted me to stay. When I visited the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, I felt immediately that I was coming home.

What gives you joy in your vocation?

What gives me the most joy is belonging to Jesus as his bride. I also find so much joy in my students and in seeing the Lord reflected in their hearts.

What advice do you have for others discerning a religious vocation?

To trust Jesus with everything. He has the plan for your vocation and your happiness — let him reveal it to you. If you are open to his grace and deepening your relationship with the Lord, he will show you the path and lead you to holiness and joy.

November 9, 2017

VOCATIONS

The Catholic Spirit • 15

Carmelites recall path that began in Twin Cities

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

T

wo Carmelite sisters who discerned their vocations in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis returned to the Twin Cities to share their stories and encourage young women discerning religious life.

The sisters, members of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles who are involved in apostolic work on opposite coasts, co-led a Come and See retreat at St. Peter in North St. Paul Nov. 3-5. Sister Elizabeth Therese of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the community’s vocation directress, came from the Alhambra, California, motherhouse, and Sister Catherine Marie of the Trinity joined her from Miami, where she teaches high school math.

Both former Twin Cities residents, they first met in the community, which they entered almost five years apart.

Ahead of the retreat, they spoke about discovering and pursuing their vocation, desiring marriage before responding to God’s call, and leaving Minnesota for their new home in California.

Growing up in Rochester, New York, Sister Elizabeth Therese wanted to be a religious sister like her sister, Nancy Shively, now a Poor Clare sister in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, but she didn’t think much more about it until she was in her early 30s.

Her desire to work and live in Minnesota brought her to the Twin Cities in 1990. She became active at St. Lawrence Church and Newman Center in Minneapolis and Inver Grove Heights-based St. Paul’s Outreach, where her personal relationship with Christ developed through the Catholic campus ministry.

“It’s not until you have a personal relationship with the Lord, whether you’re called to religious life or marriage, that you’re going to be able to know what your vocation is,” Sister Elizabeth Therese said.

Before becoming a religious sister, she was engaged, but the prospect of marriage didn’t bring peace. She started thinking again about religious life while she was also exploring Carmelite spirituality through a third-order Carmelite group.

In her two years of discernment, Sister Elizabeth Therese visited several orders before trying the Alhambra Carmelite

Sister Elizabeth Therese of the Most Blessed Sacrament, left, and Sister Catherine Marie of the Trinity spoke at a Come and See retreat for women discerning religious life at St. Peter in North St. Paul Nov. 3-5. Both are former Twin Cities residents. Courtesy St. Peter Church community in 1997. She said she benefited from monthly discernment dinners in St. Paul offered by the Sisters of Mercy, adoration, and her network of friends and fellow parishioners at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony. She entered the Carmelite community in 1998.

Like Sister Elizabeth Therese, Sister Catherine Marie thought she’d get married, having grown up in a close Catholic family in Bloomington. Her home parish was Nativity of Mary, and one of her brothers is an archdiocesan priest, Father James Adams, associate pastor of Immaculate Conception in Marysburg and Church of the Nativity in Cleveland. As she completed degrees at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, she felt the Lord calling her through the Eucharist and adoration.

After considering a religious vocation for 10 years, Sister Catherine Marie seriously pursued it for six months.

During her discernment, she taught math and theology at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul and other schools. Sister Catherine Marie visited many orders and felt drawn to the Alhambra community, but it seemed too far away. When she finally visited, she said, “It was as if Jesus was saying to me, ‘Welcome home, I have been waiting for you.’ Inside my heart I felt myself responding, ‘Finally, I am home.’”

Something about Carmelite spirituality resonated with Sister Catherine Marie, and although she hadn’t formally studied it, she hungered for more. She entered the community in 2002.

At first, both women’s families found it difficult to accept them being so far away in California, the sisters said. Leaving Minnesota and their friends in the archdiocese was also difficult for the sisters. Their faith, however, has helped to bridge the distance.

“As we grow in relationship with [the] Lord and our religious vocation, we see that the bonds are so much deeper than a [regular] phone call, [and] how the Holy Spirit brings our friends and families to mind,” Sister Elizabeth Therese said.

Distance wasn’t the only challenge.

Educational debt prevented Sister Catherine Marie from entering the community until she met Laboure Society founder, Cy Laurent. The Eaganbased organization helps men and women raise money to pay off education debt so that they can enter priesthood or consecrated life. The organization has helped more than 240 aspirants since 2003.

Sister Elizabeth Therese advises young people to be open if they sense God calling them.

“If you’re feeling called to religious life, say ‘yes’ and really commit yourself to exploring ... God’s will,” she said. “You won’t regret it, but you could regret later on — wondering if.”

Sister Catherine Marie suggested women take time daily to listen to the Lord, especially before the Blessed Sacrament, and if they hear him calling, “Do not be afraid to say, ‘yes’ to Christ,” she said. “He takes nothing away and gives you everything your heart could desire.”

Show me a sign

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The Church of the Holy Cross Serving N.E. Minneapolis

16 • The Catholic Spirit

VOCATIONS

November 9, 2017

Soon-to-be Blessed Father Solanus Casey lived in Stillwater

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

F

ather Solanus Casey and two of his brothers made an unusual threesome as they walked together at the College St. Thomas in St. Paul in the summer of 1937: He and Father Maurice Casey wore brown Capuchin Franciscan habits while Father Edward Casey donned the black clerics of an archdiocesan priest.

The vacationing priests had arrived in St. Paul after what Father Solanus later described in a letter as the “exquisite pleasure” of revisiting childhood sites, reconnecting with family and friends, and presiding at Mass in rural western Wisconsin. Their family of 16 children, though no longer based in Prescott or Hudson, Wisconsin, was not forgotten.

The brothers said their goodbyes near the St. Paul Seminary, where Father Maurice and Father Edward had been ordained a quarter century earlier. Father Solanus, his birth name Bernard Casey Jr., made his way back to Detroit, where he was already a well-known and loved doorkeeper at the Capuchin Monastery of St. Bonaventure.

For the example of his holy life, healing and wise counsel that touched thousands, Father Solanus will be beatified Nov. 18 during a Mass at Detroit’s Ford Field. He died in 1957 and was declared venerable in 1995. Pope Francis’ approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession was the next step needed for his beatification. Another miracle, after his beatification, is necessary for him to advance to sainthood.

Less visibly and in their own ways, his priest brothers and other relatives with archdiocesan connections also courageously lived their Catholic faith.

Information from archdiocesan records and other sources has helped in developing sketches of these family members.

Three years older than Father Solanus, Father Maurice Casey struggled to become a priest and find his place in ministry. He left St. Francis de Sales Seminary near Milwaukee and was diagnosed with a nerve disorder. He worked a series of jobs, including one

with the U.S. Railway Mail Service.

Father Solanus’ ordination as a Capuchin priest in 1904 rekindled Father Maurice’s desire for priesthood. He completed his theology studies at the St. Paul Seminary and at age 44 was ordained for the Diocese of Helena, Montana, in 1911.

He spent 10 years in Montana, including on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

In 1921, Father Maurice returned to the archdiocese and was assigned to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. He Father Solanus served as a chaplain CASEY at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and at two other parishes before leaving the archdiocese in 1929 to join Father Solanus’ community, the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph. In the early 1940s, Father Maurice returned to serve in the archdiocese until his death in 1949.

Also serving in the archdiocese was Father Edward Casey, nine years younger than Father Solanus. Father Edward attended the St. Paul Seminary and was ordained in 1912. For the first two years of his priesthood, along with serving at St. Mary in St. Paul, Father Edward was assistant editor of the Catholic Bulletin, now The Catholic Spirit.

Father Edward was assigned to Fort Snelling, St. Thomas Military Academy and was founding pastor of St. Therese in St. Paul, which in 2006 merged with other parishes to become Lumen Christi.

In 1928, Father Edward left Minnesota to serve first in Australia and then near Manila, Philippines. In 1938, Pope Pius XI gave Father Edward the title “monsignor” for his work with Filipino parochial schools.

During the final year of World War II, Father Edward was a Japanese prisoner of war. When he returned to Minnesota, he raised money for the Diocese of Lipa, Philippines, and later he was a hospital chaplain in Superior, Wisconsin, until his death in 1962.

The priest-brothers’ Irish immigrant

Local brother strives to emulate fellow Franciscan Although Brother Conrad Richardson doesn’t share Father Solanus Casey’s namesake, the Franciscan Brother of Peace in St. Paul had submitted the name as an option upon professing vows in 1998. While in his early 20s living in a discernment house near Denver, Colorado, a friend’s picture of the bald-headed, bearded Capuchin Franciscan caught Brother Richardson’s attention. He soon came to revere Father Casey, who’ll be beatified Nov. 18 in Detroit. Brother Richardson will attend the event with fellow Franciscan Brother Pio King.

“This will be a real dream,” said Brother Richardson, 44. When he joined the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, he was excited about living in an area with close ties to Father Casey.

Initially attracted to Father Casey’s humility, Brother Richardson describes him as an “unsung hero.” He strives to emulate the potential saint by listening to people and being attentive to their needs.

“Just as God is with each one of us, I think Father Solanus is a beautiful example of loving every person — Catholic, non-Catholic, atheist — as we encounter people of many walks of life in our apostolate and outreach,” he said.

“It’s so important to keep that principle of treating everyone with love and respect.”

— Jessica Trygstad maternal grandmother, Brigid Shields Murphy, brought her family to Minnesota after she was widowed, settling in Hastings with four of her five children around 1860, according to

“Father Solanus Casey” by Catherine Odell (Our Sunday Visitor, 2017). One of Brigid’s sons was ordained a priest for the Diocese of St. Paul in 1869. The Casey brothers’ uncle Father Maurice Murphy served more than 20 years as pastor of St. Michael in Stillwater; it was under his direction they all were confirmed.

Father Murphy became pastor when he was 23, according to “Church of St. Michael, Stillwater, Minnesota, 18532003” by Rita Lammers (2002). Under his leadership, the parish built its present church, a rectory and school, as well as installed bells, established a lay advisory board and organized temperance societies, Lammers wrote.

In 1886, the 15-year-old future Father Solanus journeyed from Hudson to Stillwater to seek work. He didn’t live in his uncle’s rectory, but he was in his care.

In Stillwater, Father Solanus worked at a lumber mill, brick kiln and a penitentiary, and as a streetcar motorman, according to Odell. Today, a stained glass window in St. Michael’s atrium depicts Father Solanus, and Stillwater’s Knights of Columbus council and Catholic Worker house bear his name.

In 1949, the three Casey brothers’ paths converged again in Minnesota for the last time upon Father Maurice Casey’s death. Father Edward presided at his brother’s funeral, held at Holy Rosary in Graceville, which was then part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul but is now in the Diocese of New Ulm. Father Solanus gave the homily.

A priest known for his great faith, humility and compassion and for his ministry as spiritual counselor, Father Solanus helped establish the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in 1929 to feed the hungry during the Great Depression, a work that continues in Detroit today. Hundreds of healing miracles were attributed to him during his life and after.

Father Solanus will be the second American-born male to be beatified, after Father Stanley Rother, a North American priest from Oklahoma who was beatified Sept. 23. He also will be the first person from Michigan to receive the designation.

— Catholic News Service contributed to this story.

November 9, 2017

In new book, Father Joncas reflects on suffering from rare disorder In 2003, prolific composer, professor and priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Father Michael Joncas was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system. He wrote about the experience in “On Eagle’s Wings: A Journey Through Illness Toward Healing,” released last month by Twenty-Third Publications. The Catholic Spirit interviewed him by email. The responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Q. In a nutshell, what’s this book about?

A. The book uses my experience of suffering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome in 2003-2004 to explore catastrophic and chronic illness under five headings: Chaos and Confusion, Diagnosis, The Abyss, Therapy and A New Life. For each heading I give a fairly detailed account of what I remember from that stage in the process, reflections on how undergoing that stage impacted my spiritual life, and links to one of my compositions written since the experience that I believe arises from and mirrors that stage.

Q. What compelled you to write it now?

A. Three things. First, according to my doctors, I have now reached a plateau in recovery and so will most probably live with some residuals from GBS for the rest of my life. Second, I’ve made a few presentations on my bout of GBS and so have a sense of what might be helpful for other people. And third,

FAITH & CULTURE Book signing Father Joncas will read from “On Eagle’s Wings: A Journey Through Illness Toward Healing” and sign copies of the book 4–6 p.m. Nov. 28 in the O’Shaughnessy Room of the O’ShaughnessyFrey Library at the University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

I wanted to offer mature reflections on the experience before I forget too many details.

Q. What do you hope readers take away from your story?

A. That suffering can be a time for deepening one’s Father emotional and spiritual life; that Michael it can teach new ways of praying; JONCAS that one’s family and friends can become incredibly important as advocates and supporters during the onslaught; that an “attitude of gratitude” can become an almost permanent result of having gone through an ordeal; and that just as the experience has given me new insights for my ministry, so illness can deepen one’s empathy for other human beings.

Q. How did autobiographical writing compare to other things you have written?

The Catholic Spirit • 17 A. I’ve written five earlier books, but they are all on fairly technical topics in liturgy and music. This is a very different kind of writing for me, more like a conversation than an academic treatise, and with a new kind of writing comes all sorts of insecurities: Have I presented my experience accurately, will anyone be interested, will any of my insights be useful for other folks? I think I just decided it was about time to take the plunge into a different form of sharing.

Q. Why did you choose to express your story in writing, and not in song?

A. I chose to write about the experience because I hope struggling with language to describe the experience and its meanings will reach more people than the indirect focus on suffering, transformation and healing that is communicated in my music. But as I mentioned, the book invites a reader to listen to some of my compositions to get a different perspective on how GBS and its aftermath affected me.

Q. What other projects are you working on?

A. Almost too many to count. In terms of musical

compositions, I’ve just finished a new Mass and hymn in honor of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. I’m about one-third of the way through a project where I am writing a hymn text based on the lectionary readings for three-year cycle of Sundays and Solemnities, and about two-thirds of the way through a similar project trying to write a responsorial psalm for each of these feasts as well. Future writing might include reflections on Psalm 23, a history of Roman Catholic liturgical music in the 20th century and exploring artistic representations of Christ on the cross as a key to understanding shifts in piety. I’m happy to say that I continue to make presentations on a variety of topics both within the archdiocese and in other parts of the country.

18 • The Catholic Spirit

FAITH & CULTURE

Cosmic

‘Good morning, good evening’ The pope linked up live for 20 minutes from the Vatican with the six-man International Space Station crew Oct. 26 as they orbited 250 miles above Earth.

experience

“Good morning, good evening,” he said at 3 p.m. Rome time, “because when you are in space, you never know” what the real time is. Pope Francis said they were like a tiny United Nations, in which the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Thanking them for their work, he said they were “representatives of the whole human family” working on such an important project in space.

Son’s space station stint evokes St. Hubert parishioners’ anxiety, pride

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

T

om and Mary Vande Hei have gone out to the backyard of their Chanhassen home a few times in recent weeks to look up at the night sky, but they haven’t been looking for stars, comets or the northern lights.

They want to catch a glimpse of their son Mark. He is a NASA astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station with five other astronauts. A 1985 graduate of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, he and the crew launched Sept. 13 in Kazakhstan.

Tom and Mary have been closely following their oldest son’s journey, and they keep track of when the space station orbits overhead. Mark, 50, is married with two children and lives in Houston.

“Tom has an app on his phone to tell us when the space station is going over Minnesota or going over Chanhassen,” Mary said. “And, we’ve run outside and watched it. We’ve done that a couple times to see it go over. That’s very touching to us. It’s very real, then. You can see it very clearly. It’s bright and it’s fast.”

Tom and Mary, who belong to St. Hubert in Chanhassen, said they feel a mixture of pride and anxiety about their son’s space travels. They said he did not look healthy right after the launch. But, he has since improved, and they are hoping the effects of weightlessness won’t cause any further trouble as he orbits more than 200 miles above earth.

Mark will be in space for about five-and-a-half months, with his landing set for sometime in late February. The highlight of the trip so far for his parents was a video conference with him in early October.

“We actually had a few people over to our home and we had him up on the TV downstairs,” Mary said.

“People were able to ask him questions, and he could talk to us. That was really nice to actually see him for more than an hour, interacting and looking good. ...

Just seeing him, truthfully, was the most wonderful

November 9, 2017

When the pope asked what brought them joy during their long mission, Commander Randolph Bresnik from Fort Knox, Kentucky, told the pope that it was being able to see every day “God’s creation maybe a little bit from his perspective.”

ABOVE Pope Francis speaks from the Vatican to astronauts aboard the International Space Station Oct. 26. Mark Vande Hei is standing in back row, first from left. CNS

Bresnik, a Baptist, said, “People cannot come up here and see the indescribable beauty of our earth and not be touched in their souls. ... And you see the thinness of the atmosphere and it makes you realize how fragile our existence here is.”

His fellow crew members are also Christians: two Russian Orthodox and three Catholics.

— CNS

RIGHT NASA portrait of Mark Vande Hei, a Benilde-St. Margaret’s alumnus.

thing. It didn’t matter what he said.”

Tom and Mary went to Kazakhstan in September for the launch. Back home, BSM students and staff made watching the launch an after-school event. Principal Sue Skinner was happy to give her students that opportunity.

“Watching the launch was amazing,” she wrote in an email. “We were so proud to know that a Red Knight was heading up to space. It was exciting to watch the launch live at school. Mark was pleased to know that we made it an event.”

Skinner said she is working to schedule a video conference with Mark while he is in space. Mark is also able to communicate by email and phone.

One significant caller was Pope Francis. Mark had made a special request to hear from the pope, and the Vatican said yes. Tom and Mary watched it on YouTube.

“That was pretty awesome,” Tom said. “This whole experience has been so surreal, and this was just another example of that.”

During the Oct. 26 call with Pope Francis, Mark made

a prayer request for his dying uncle, Reggie.

“The day after the video conference with the pope, my brother had an unbelievably good day,” Tom said.

“He was very weak, but he could smile and speak a little bit, move his legs and arms. He was pretty immobilized and non-responsive for a while [before that].”

Reggie died peacefully the following day, Oct. 29.

His uncle’s death could have made Mark feel the vast distance between himself and his family, but he was able to make a surprising visual connection.

The family’s relatives live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and shortly after Mark learned of his uncle’s death, he was looking through the Space Station’s cupola and realized they were over Green Bay. “He took a photo and emailed it to us, and we’re going to bring it to the family when we go to the funeral,” Mary said. “We just have felt the Holy Spirit through all of this, truly. It’s just a beautiful thing.”

Tom said Mark called the timing of his passing over Green Bay shortly after Reggie’s death “a miraculous opportunity.”

Tom and Mary look forward to their son’s return to earth in February. He will land in Kazakhstan and eventually head back to Houston. His parents would like him to make a trip to Minnesota.

“We certainly hope he comes here,” Mary said. “[But] it’s going to take a while. It takes a long time for them to recuperate.”

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FAITH & CULTURE

Author: Reformation continues to shape world

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service

M

odern society — largely defined by capitalism and consumerism, burgeoning technology, religious-like allegiance to nation and the rise in secularism — has its roots in the Protestant Reformation, says historian Brad S. Gregory. And both are intertwined much more than a lot of people think, he said.

The Reformation can be traced to Oct. 31, 1517, when, the story goes, Augustinian friar Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. That seminal event opened the way for communities across Europe to experience new understandings of the Bible, spawning political and religious conflicts and a cultural revolution that continues to shape the world, Gregory said.

“If you can’t understand the Reformation and what followed in its wake, you can’t understand the world that we’re living in today and why it is the way it is,” Gregory said.

Gregory, a professor of early modern European history at the University of Notre Dame, examines the impact of Luther’s seemingly noble act in “Rebel in the Ranks” (HarperOne), published this fall as a nonacademic work for readers interested in history, the Reformation and understanding the world as it exists today.

“The thrust of the book is that the ironic overriding outcome of the Reformation, which sought to make society more Christian, and the Reformationists thought it was, ended up unintentionally in the long run secularizing society,” Gregory said.

The book places Luther’s action within the context of the religious and political realities of early 16thcentury Europe. He explores the allegiances between Church leaders, including the pope in Rome, civic leaders and ruling families and how they shaped the Catholic Church as the Middle Ages were ending.

Gregory’s work explains that Luther was tormented by his desire to live according to established religious rules and thought others should too. Luther wrestled with what he saw were his failures to obey God; the more he struggled, the harder his struggles became.

Gregory describes Luther as being in a “spiritual quicksand.”

A rather anonymous friar until writing his theses, Luther hardly saw himself as starting a revolution or

undermining Church authority, Gregory wrote. Even after Pope Leo X excommunicated him in January 1521, Luther continued to wear his Augustinian robes and lived in the friary in Wittenberg.

Following his theses, Luther developed a series of theological reflections on the nature of Brad S. faith. His writings reinforced a GREGORY central theme: “No one can be justified except by faith.”

Gregory’s book explains that Luther held firm to the belief that nothing any single person does can make up for their sins in the sacrament of penance to receive Communion, and that only trust in God’s promise of forgiveness can atone for sin.

That reasoning inspired millions across Europe. Despite his popularity and kick-starting the Reformation, Gregory maintains that Luther never had control of the movement. As a result, it diverged into various Protestant denominations, leading to religious conflict, intermittent ethnic violence and wars across much of the European continent for decades.

The Thirty Years’ War, primarily fought in central Europe from 1618 to 1648, was fought over religion and resulted in 8 million deaths, including a third of all Germans. From such violence, allegiance to country became a substitute for allegiance to religion by the 19th century, Gregory explained. Such loyalty to country has become an ever more deeply held value today.

The Reformation set in motion a world that Luther would likely reject today and seek to reform as he did the Church in the 16th century, Gregory said.

“Christianity is not supposed to be separate from how power is to be exercised,” he said. “It is supposed to be part of life. [It’s supposed] to shape politics and how political leaders exercise power. So, too, with the family and institutions. The Christian message is supposed to be carried out. It’s supposed to limit appetite for stuff and profit.”

The Catholic Spirit • 19 MOVIES

Melissa Leo stars in a scene from the movie “Novitiate.” The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive.

CNS

“Novitiate” (Sony Classics) At a time when the reforms of Vatican II caused some nuns to leave the convent, a wide-eyed young woman (Margaret Qualley) decides to enter, having fallen in love with God. There, a rigid tyrant of a mother superior (Melissa Leo) lords it over her new charges, making it her mission to scrutinize them to see if they are up to the rigors of life in the order.

Writer-director Margaret Betts follows the novices as they struggle with faith, sexuality and the effects of change in the Church. An artistic drama with compelling performances, the film nonetheless reveals its creator’s lack of familiarity with Catholicism and ultimately takes a stand viewers of faith are bound to reject. Strong sexual content, including full nudity, same-sex kissing, implied masturbation and lesbian sexual activity, one use of profanity, several instances of rough language, at least one crude term. The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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20 • The Catholic Spirit

FOCUS ON FAITH

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

Jacqui Skemp

Replenishing our flame As the liturgical year comes to a close, the Church draws our attention to the ends and beginnings.

The Gospel reading for Nov. 12 is a reminder of the end of times and the glory of what is to come. More than that, it is a reminder of the present and what needs to be done here and now to prepare us for Christ the bridegroom.

I often find myself stumbling when I read one of Jesus’ parables, perhaps because I am dense to the truth being mirrored in a particular Scripture. I understand the symbolism of Christ as the bridegroom who arrives

November 9, 2017

in the night, and the virgins as the Church waiting in hopeful anticipation for the return of our Lord. What makes me pause in this particular reading is the harshness of the wise virgins toward the foolish virgins.

But then I am reminded that parables are stories that are cast alongside a truth. What truth is Jesus revealing to us here?

The Gospel reading is filled with literary chiaroscuro: the heavy darkness of midnight and the warmth of the oil-burning lamps. The joy of seeing the arrival of the bridegroom, and the sorrow of not having enough oil to keep the lamp light aflame. The celebration of the wedding feast, and those who were locked out. The wise and the foolish. A bounty of oil to maintain the burning flame, and the failure to keep it alive.

The light they keep is the light of faith, a faith that needs to be sustained, or it will fade into the darkness.

Our faith life begins with the flame of a small baptismal candle. Enlightened by Christ, that flame is protected by those surrounding us until we become adults, when the work becomes ours. And like the oil used to replenish the wise virgins’ lamps, we must also replenish our flame. Prayer, spiritual readings, regular confession and frequent reception of the Eucharist are

Let us recommit ourselves to nurturing our spiritual flame, for we “know neither the day nor the hour.” iStock/EvBuh ways we can do this.

Let us recommit ourselves to nurturing our spiritual flame, for we “know neither the day nor the hour.”

Skemp is a devotional writer for Blessed Is She, a ministry for Catholic women, and blogs at www.mexicandomesticgoddess.com. Skemp, her husband and their three sons are parishioners of St. Agnes in St. Paul.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Nov. 12 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 6:12-16 1 Thes 4:13-18 Mt 25:1-13 Monday, Nov. 13 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin Wis 1:1-7 Lk 17:1-6 Tuesday, Nov. 14 Wis 2:23–3:9 Lk 17:7-10

Wednesday, Nov. 15 Wis 6:1-11 Lk 17:11-19

Sunday, Nov. 19 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 1 Thes 5:1-6 Mt 25:14-30

Thursday, Nov. 16 Wis 7:22B–8:1 Lk 17:20-25 Friday, Nov. 17 St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious Wis 13:1-9 Lk 17:26-37 Saturday, Nov. 18 Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9 Lk 18:1-8

SEEKING ANSWERS

Father Michael Schmitz

When long liturgies keep family from attending Mass Q. My family refuses to go to Mass because there are too many “extras” (like baptisms), too much singing and too many announcements. Why can’t we have a “low Mass” without all of that stuff? Isn’t the Church supposed to adapt and keep up with all the people?

A. There are a couple of elements in your question that I would like to address individually.

If you are asking whether or not it is possible to celebrate a beautiful and reverent Mass without music, announcements and other sacraments, then the answer is very straightforward: Yes. A number of parishes I am familiar with offer a more “simple” Mass like you described. Sometimes this is the Saturday evening Mass or the early Sunday morning Mass.

Of course, not all parishes are able to offer this, since there is an increasing number of situations where a pastor is responsible for more than one parish. Because of this, there are sometimes fewer Masses offered on the weekend. In those cases, it would make sense that, due to the reduced number of liturgies, a parish would want to celebrate as full and as beautiful a Mass as possible for the Lord and for the people.

Monday, Nov. 20 1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43 54-57, 62-63 Lk 18:35-43 Tuesday, Nov. 21 Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Mc 6:18-31 Lk 19:1-10

Wednesday, Nov. 22 St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31 Lk 19:11-28 Thursday, Nov. 23 1 Mc 2:15-29 Lk 19:41-44 Friday, Nov. 24 St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest, and companions, martyrs 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 Lk 19:45-48

But the simple answer is: Yes, it is possible to have Mass without the elements you described.

If you are asking why we occasionally have baptisms as a part of Mass, I would say that it is because a human being becoming an adopted son or daughter of God is something worth celebrating. And not merely with that child’s family, but with the entire community. This is obvious, unless I don’t care about the other people who make up the body of Christ or if I dislike the extra five minutes it takes to witness the miracle of a person becoming a child of God. I truly understand liking less singing. I prefer less singing as well. I will rarely use chant at Mass because it doesn’t help me pray, and because I think there are other ways to pray the Mass that are just as beautiful. I can find it annoying or excessive.

Yet, I wonder if the issue has less to do with the “extras” and more to do with something deeper. While I don’t know your family members, I would say that the issue has more to do with their minds or hearts than it does with singing or announcements.

As you briefly described it, the issue is one of two deficiencies. Either your family doesn’t care that much about God, or your family doesn’t understand what the Mass is. I write this tentatively, since I know neither the mind nor the heart of your family members. I have been to plenty of Masses where I was annoyed by the homily, the music (why do you insist on singing all of the verses, choirmaster?) or some other element that I found distracting or distasteful. I, too, have found it difficult to focus, to pray, or even to appreciate the efforts of those involved during those times. I think I know where you’re coming from.

But here is the critical piece: That doesn’t lead me to refuse to go to Mass. If a person refuses to go to Mass because they don’t like the style, there is a serious problem. There is a difference between not liking the “extras” and refusing to go because of the “extras.” Your email did not describe the case of people who love God and desire to worship him at the Mass, but who wrestle

Saturday, Nov. 25 1 Mc 6:1-13 Lk 20:27-40 Sunday, Nov. 26 Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Ez 34:11-12, 15-17 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28 Mt 25:31-46

with certain elements of the liturgy. You said that your family refuses to go to Mass.

If I know that God has commanded that we worship him in the Mass, but I refuse to do it because I don’t like singing, what other conclusion is there? Either I don’t love God much, or I don’t understand what the Mass actually is.

I wonder where the idea that Mass should be “an hour or less” originated. As St. Josemaria Escriva said, “You say the Mass is too long ... . I say your love is too short.” He went on to say, “Isn’t it strange how many Christians, who take their time and have leisure enough in their social life (they are in no hurry), in following the sleepy rhythm of their professional affairs, in eating and recreation (no hurry here, either), find themselves rushed and want to rush the priest, in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted to the most holy sacrifice of the altar?”

We all need to be reminded at times that the Mass is not about us. It is worship. And worship must always be directed toward God. But how many times do we hear someone complain that they just “don’t get anything” out of Mass? Now, aside from the fact that we get the word of God proclaimed to us, we get to receive Jesus himself in the Eucharist, and we get the chance to worship God (which is no small privilege!), I always want to stop someone who makes this complaint to highlight the fact that that is literally the point. The point of worship isn’t to get anything; it is to give.

When there are added elements of the worship by way of singing or baptisms that are annoying, you get to give God your annoyance and those extra five minutes as another sacrifice of love for the One who died and rose for you.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@gmail.com.

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

November 9, 2017

The Catholic Spirit • 21

FAITH AT HOME Laura Kelly Fanucci

The Lord hears the cry of the newborn It’s as loud as a fire alarm (except it goes off 20 times a day). It screeches like fingernails down a chalkboard. And rather than fleeing to escape it, we’re supposed to run right toward it.

A baby’s cry.

Our baby shrieks like any other newborn: when he is hungry, tired, wet, lonely or otherwise annoyed. But after many new babies in our home, I admit that my husband and I have slowed in our response time. We used to leap at the slightest sniffle from our first, but now we know that babies sometimes quiet themselves right back to sleep.

(Also, we’ve got four pots boiling on the stove for dinner and three kids asking questions that need to be answered right now, including two who are probably lunging at each other’s throats.)

But the baby’s brothers? They can’t let him cry. Not for one single second.

They look up in alarm as we’re sitting down to eat and wails erupt upstairs: “He’s crying! We have to go get him!” As soon as he squawks from his car seat, they lunge over their own seats to comfort him. “Poor buddy! It’s OK! We’ll help you!”

I smiled at this quietly for the first few weeks of his life, delighted that the siblings had accepted a new number into their ranks with such love and attentiveness.

But then I realized they were calling me out, too.

Trying to wake me up, like biblical prophets from the back seat.

Because hearing the cries of the neediest is what I’m supposed to be doing all the time.

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” We sing the

TWENTY SOMETHING

Christina Capecchi

No baby, but still giving thanks Even before she was married, Emily Stimpson Chapman asked for baby prayers.

“I’d be in an antique store buying little trinkets for the wedding decorations, and I would be asking strangers: ‘Pray that we have a baby!’” she said.

“If I’ve talked to you over the past two years, I’ve asked you to pray for us to have a baby,” she added.

“Every conference I go to, every talk I give.”

The Pittsburgh-based Catholic writer — a petite redhead with short hair and a huge smile — had long yearned to enter into motherhood. So when the love of her life got down on bended knee, she began dispensing prayer requests. She was 40, and math was not on her side.

Emily and Chris tried to make up for lost time, dating 13 months and engaged for merely five.

Although her hormone levels appear excellent and she’s taking progesterone and working closely with a NaPro doctor, after 16 months of trying to conceive, Emily is still not pregnant.

“I am not handling this well,” she recently admitted on her blog.

Each passing month feels like a year. Just when she

iStock/Halfpoint refrain to Psalm 34 at Mass. And we read this truth over and over again in Scripture: “This poor one cried out and the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him” (Ps 34:7). “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, take heart! For the Lord hears the poor” (Ps 69:33-34).

Our cooing, gurgling, squalling newborn is the “poorest” one in our family — the one who has the least and who needs the most. My mom always says that God made babies’ cries impossible to ignore for good reason: that we would always attend to them.

The three big brothers remind me what it means to act like the God I love. To respond without hesitation to cries of need. To drop everything else and rush to comfort. To live with ears inclined toward the poor.

God is known throughout Scripture by hearing and seeing. He hears Hannah’s lament at the temple over her infertility. He sees Hagar weeping when she and her son Ishmael are cast out into the wilderness.

We, too, see with God’s eyes when we behold our spouse, children, friends or family with eyes of love.

We hear with God’s ears when we hear the needs of those in poverty and those on society’s margins.

The cry I can never ignore is a hungry baby howling to nurse, especially when I’m stuck somewhere (like rush-hour traffic) where I can’t reach out and pull him to me. In those anguished moments, I feel my pulse quicken in my ears, my blood pressure rising as every cell in my body longs to pick up my child and give him what he needs.

This whole-body response is what I imagine God might feel when we cry out in need. Every impulse of God’s being lunging toward us in love.

The Lord hears the cry of the poor — and the newborn. Do we?

has stitched together a pocket of hope, her period returns. “On that day,” she wrote, “barren isn’t just the state of my womb. It’s the state of my soul.”

Now comes the national holiday that echoes the Catholic Church’s daily exhortation: Give thanks.

Emily has contemplated the spiritual underpinnings of this invitation deeply and turned her insights into a beautiful book released one year ago, “The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet.”

The book lays out a Catholic view of food, which sees it as a symbol of the Eucharist, a gift that helps us grasp the great mystery of the sacrament.

“Everything food does on a natural level,” she said, “the Eucharist does on a supernatural level — it nourishes, comforts and strengthens.”

Emily challenges Catholics to eat liturgically, virtuously and joyfully.

“Bacon is proof that God is good,” she writes. “It’s better to be a happy, healthy, energetic size 6 (or 8 or 10 or 12), than it is to be a crabby, crotchety, underfed size 2.”

The book examines our disordered relationship with food and a culture that has made a mockery of mealtime: breakfast in the car, lunch at the desk and dinner in front of the TV. “Our busyness and technology interfere with the

natural rhythm that God established for life,” Emily said.

Food is meant for fellowship, which means we must open our hearts and homes, Emily writes. Making a distinction between entertainment and hospitality can help us more readily swing open the front door.

“Entertainment is about impressing people. Hospitality is about loving people.”

Entertainment is for Instagram.

Hospitality is for every real-world, road-weary Christian. “Letting people into your home when you know it’s not perfect is a call to die to yourself and to love the other,” Emily said. “I have never regretted answering that call.”

These days, she’s reminding herself that she can care for her body, but not control it. She is trusting in God’s plan even though it does not make sense right now.

She will gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving and count her blessings. And even if she’s feeling empty, she will look for the abundance in her midst.

“A Catholic table is groaning under this feast of delicious food and wine, surrounded by friends and lively, joyful conversation, people receiving the gift of food and making a gift of themselves through conversation,” she said. “It’s where you want to be.”

Fanucci, a parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is a mother, writer and director of a project on vocation at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville.

She is the author of several books, including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting,” and blogs at www.motheringspirit.com.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

22 • The Catholic Spirit

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

GUEST COMMENTARY

Greg Erlandson

Harvey Weinstein’s not alone Harvey Weinstein is a pig.

It’s not language I would normally use in a column, but the cascade of revelations about his treatment of women and men, most particularly his twisted and apparently constant sexual advances, demands a blunt assessment. The accusations that have toppled this modern-day film mogul make for disturbing reading every morning at the breakfast table.

The exposure of his predatory bullying in this age of predatory bullies has had at least a few benefits, however.

First, it has ignited an explosion of confessions on the part of women in the entertainment industry as well as other professions. I might say all professions. The #MeToo hashtag makes for harrowing reading, a rolling tide of upsetting, at times horrifying, anecdotes that can easily fill the reader with a deep despair for man’s inhumanity to woman.

While many of us make our way through our days without harassing or being harassed, it is clear that many of our sisters (and some of our brothers) are not so fortunate. That so many have felt it necessary to remain silent for so long speaks not just to fear of the abuser’s retaliation, but also to the fear that the rest of us will turn away.

As we Catholics have seen in the clergy sexual abuse crisis, this fear is not unfounded. Of course, we must be sensitive to the risk of false allegations, which is why we need due process,

WORD ON FIRE

Bishop Robert Barron

The least religious generation in U.S. history Jean Twenge’s book iGen is one of the most fascinating — and depressing — texts I’ve read in the past decade. A professor of psychology at San Diego State University, Twenge has been, for years, studying trends among young Americans, and her most recent book focuses on the generation born between 1995 and 2012. Since this is the first cohort of young people who have never known a world without iPads and iPhones, and since these devices have remarkably shaped their consciousness and behavior, Twenge naturally enough has dubbed them the “iGen.” One of her many eye-opening findings is that iGen’ers are growing up much more slowly than their predecessors. A babyboomer typically got his driver’s license on his 16th birthday (I did); but an iGen’er is far more willing to postpone that rite of passage, waiting until his or her 18th or 19th year. Whereas previous generations were eager to get out of the house and find their own way, iGen’ers seem to like to stay at home with their parents and have a certain aversion to “adulting.”

Now there are many more insights that Twenge shares, but I was particularly interested, for obvious reasons, in her chapter on religious attitudes and behaviors among iGen’ers. In line with many other researchers, Twenge shows that the objective statistics in this area are alarming. As recently as the 1980s, 90 percent of high school seniors identified with a religious group. Among iGen’ers, the figures are now around 65 percent and falling. And religious practice is even more attenuated: Only 28 percent of 12th-graders attended services in 2015, whereas the number was 40 percent in 1976. For decades, sociologists of religion have been arguing that, though explicit affiliation with

but not no process or a sham process.

Second, the Weinstein scandal is a reminder that no party or ideology is somehow immune to such behavior. Weinstein was a great supporter of liberal causes and portrayed himself as feminism’s friend.

We’ve seen hypocrisy among so-called pro-life politicians and so-called progressive politicians, among both blue and red. We as a nation even gave a pass to highly offensive “locker room talk” by a presidential candidate (though as an adult I have been in many locker rooms and not heard such language).

Third, one is left to marvel at all the self-righteous prattle and exaggerated breast-beating that is spilling out of Hollywood in the wake of Weinstein’s rapid fall. This is an industry that has helped to hypersexualize our nation. The steady coarsening of humor, the increasingly graphic scenes, the relentless titillation embedded in everything from “family comedies” to historical epics, suggest that reality is a nonstop orgy.

Fantasy is increasingly portrayed as reality, and the impact on our culture has been predictably devastating — not just in the dens of the sophisticates, but in the suburbs and the small towns, in rural and urban areas. We are drowning in the fantasies of a thousand Harvey Weinsteins.

All of this is a reminder of our fallen nature. Whereas “reality TV” is not real, sin is. The great insight of Christian realism is that we are all sinners. It is only the sin of pride that makes us think we are somehow immune to its corruption.

This realism is what undergirds the solid pastoral wisdom in the Church about avoiding temptation — not putting ourselves into situations of moral risk.

For all of us, single or married, chastity is a virtue worth pursuing, even though that surest antidote to piggish behavior sounds terribly old-fashioned. Recognizing the Godgiven human dignity of all our sisters and brothers is what is demanded of men (and women also) if we are to take a stand against the further Weinsteining of America.

Erlandson is director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service. religious institutions was on the decline, especially among the young, most people remained “spiritual,” that is to say, convinced of certain fundamental religious beliefs.

But Twenge indicates that this is no longer true. Whereas even 20 years ago, the overwhelming number of Americans, including youngsters, believed in God, now fully one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds say they don’t believe. We find a similar decline in regard to acceptance of the Bible as the word of God: One-fourth of iGen’ers say the Scriptures are a compilation of “ancient fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by men.” Twenge’s dispiriting conclusion: “The waning of private religious belief means that young generations’ disassociation from religion is not just about their distrust of institutions; more are disconnecting from religion entirely, even at home and even in their hearts.”

Now what are some of the reasons for this disconnect? One, Twenge argues, is the iGen preoccupation with individual choice. From their earliest years, iGen’ers have been presented with a dizzying array of choices in everything from food and clothes to gadgets and lifestyles. And they have been encouraged, by practically every song, video and movie, to believe in themselves and follow their own dreams. All of this self-preoccupation and stress upon individual liberty stands sharply athwart the religious ideal of surrendering to God and his purposes. A second major reason for iGen dissatisfaction with religion is one that has surfaced in lots of surveys and polls, namely, that religious belief is incompatible with a scientific view of the world. One said, “I knew from church that I couldn’t believe in both science and God, so that was it. I didn’t believe in God anymore.” And a third — also attested to in lots of studies — is the “antigay attitudes” supposedly endemic to biblical Christianity. One survey stated the statistical truth bluntly enough: 64 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds believed that Christianity is antigay, and for good measure, 58 percent of those iGen’ers thought the Christian religion is hypocritical.

Dismal stuff, I know. But Twenge performs a great service to all those interested in the flourishing of religion, for she lays out the realities unblinkingly. Furthermore, though she doesn’t tell religious educators and catechists how to respond, she unambiguously indicates what is leading this most unreligious generation in our history away from the churches.

Her book should be required reading for those who wish to evangelize the next generation.

Bishop Barron is an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

November 9, 2017 LETTERS

Checking agendas Unlike the reader (Letters, Oct. 12) who expressed heartbreak over your Sept. 28 feature on the many aspects of transgenderism (“Switching Sexes?”), I found the article trenchant, compassionate and scientifically sound. A subsequent letter (Oct. 26), cites the Southern Poverty Law Center as an authority in discounting its scientific claims as emanating from an “anti-LGBT hate group.”

Readers should be aware that the SPLC opposes all conservative, orthodox Catholic, evangelical and other groups that dare to differ with the radical left-wing social and political agenda.

Truth does hurt sometimes; nonetheless, it is what it is.

Wishing and wanting prove ineffectual in altering reality.

The Oct. 12 writer claims 21 murders of transgendered persons in 2017, offering no proof of this statistic and no evidence that the sole or direct cause of the alleged murders was the victims’ sexuality.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, after his conversion to Catholicism and confession to committing thousands of abortions, revealed that he and attorney Lawrence Tribe made up statistics to convince a skeptical public of the “dire need” for legalized abortion.

Opponents were (and still are) portrayed as heartless and bigoted morons. Sixty million-plus dead babies later, the moral and spiritual carnage destroying our country serve as reminders that compassion does not always lead to good places.

Anne Callopy St. Augustine, South St. Paul

‘Above and beyond’ The Oct. 26 issue of The Catholic Spirit just arrived in my office, and I picked it up with the pile of other newspapers I receive on a neardaily basis. I barely glanced at the day’s front pages … but your paper caught my eye with the cheery, bright photo of the Kopp family and the playful “Life with a quad squad” text. I returned to my desk and immediately opened the paper to pages 12-13, and read the story from beginning to end. What can I say but “well done!” The colorful layout and fun photos coordinated perfectly with the incredibly unique, well-written story. I’m very impressed with The Catholic Spirit in general, but this story went above and beyond what I usually see from your team. Great job, and keep up the good work.

Elizabeth Wong Barnstead Editor, The Western Kentucky Catholic 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.

CALENDAR

November 9, 2017 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.

Sausage supper and turkey bingo — Nov. 19: Noon–5:30 p.m. at St. Mary, 8433 239th St. E., Hampton. www.stmarysnewtrier.com.

Holiday sale to support Quilters for a Cause — Nov. 18: 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at St. Jerome, 380 E. Roselawn Ave., Maplewood.

Nov. 19: 4–6 p.m. at Our Lady of Presentation Chapel, 1880 Randolph Ave., St Paul.

Music

Turkey bingo with sloppy joe dinner — Nov. 18: 5:30–9 p.m. at St. Michael, 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington.

Catholic Deaf Community weekend retreat with Father Mike Depcik — Nov. 10-12 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 701 Fillmore St. NE, Minneapolis. 7-9 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with lunch and 11 a.m. Sunday Mass. www.olmcmpls.org.

Benefit concert for Syrian refugees — Nov. 12: 3–5 p.m. at Our Lady of Grace, 5071 Eden Ave., Edina. 612-343-3390 or www.olgparish.org.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions.

If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission.

Contemporary Christian concert with Abe Gross and Luke Spehar — Nov. 17: 7–8:30 p.m. at St. Pius X, 3878 Highland Ave., White Bear Lake. www.churchofstpiusx.org.

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

Parish events St. Boniface Christian Mothers Guild Christmas Bazaar — Nov. 11: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at St. Boniface, 629 Second St. NE, Minneapolis. www.facebook.com/saintbonifacecatholicchurch.

calendarsubmissions

FAX: 651-291-4460 MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106

Fair and ethical trade sale — Nov. 11: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at St. John Neumann/St. Thomas Becket, 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan.

Festivals: thecatholicspirit.com/festivals

Dining out Knights of Columbus Lumberjack Breakfast — Nov. 12: 8:30 a.m.–noon at Mary Queen of Peace Church Hall, St. Martin Campus, 21304 Church Ave., Rogers.

Waffle breakfast — Nov. 12: 8:30 a.m.– noon at Our Lady of the Prairie, 200 E. Church St., Belle Plaine.

The Catholic Spirit • 23

Fall Festival spaghetti and bingo — Nov. 11: 6–9 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com/fallfestival.

Turkey bingo — Nov. 11: 6:30–8:30 p.m. at St. Odilia, 3495 N. Victoria St., Shoreview. www.stodilia.org.

Christmas bazaar — Nov. 11-12: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at St. Joseph of the Lakes, 171 Elm St., Lino Lakes. www.mystjoes.org.

All-you-can-eat pancake breakfast — Nov. 12: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at St. Odilia, 3495 N. Victoria St., Shoreview. www.stodilia.org.

Christmas bazaar — Nov. 11-12: 8:30 a.m.– 7 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Sunday at St. Alphonsus, 7025 Halifax Ave. N., Brooklyn Center.

Fall Festival pancake breakfast — Nov. 12: 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com.

Turkey bingo — Nov. 12: 2–5 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1630 Fourth St. NE, Minneapolis. www.ourholycross.org.

Turkey bingo — Nov. 18: 7–10 p.m. at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1725 Kennard St., Maplewood. 651-777-8116.

Holiday bazaar and bake sale — Nov. 18-19 at St. Margaret Mary, 2225 Zenith Ave. N., Golden Valley. 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Sunday. www.smm-gv.org.

“Gifts for All Seasons” craft and bake sale — Nov. 18-19 at Our Lady of Guadalupe, 401 Concord St., St. Paul. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Sunday. www.olgspchurch.com.

Fall bazaar — Nov. 18-19 at Our Lady of Victory, 5155 Emerson Ave. N., Minneapolis.

9 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday and 9–11 a.m. Sunday.

Bingo and turkey raffle — Nov. 19: 12:30–3:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. www.parish.iccsonline.org/news/turkey-bingo.

Homeless Jesus sculpture dedication — Nov. 19: 1 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. www.mary.org.

Men’s Club turkey bingo — Nov. 19: 5 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist, 380 Little Canada Road E., Little Canada.

Prayer/worship Prayer for the Common Good — Nov. 14: 7–8:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury.

Come Together prayer vigil for peace —

Retreats

Conferences/seminars/ workshops What Should You Do? Start From Within! — Nov. 11: 1–3 p.m. at Loyola Spirituality Center, 389 Oxford St. N., St. Paul. For 17- to 23-year-olds. www.loyolaspiritualitycenter.org/where-should-i-beginstart-from-within.

Deepening Spirituality Series, Benedictine Tradition — Nov. 13 and Dec. 12: 6:30–8:30 p.m. at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., Coeur de Catherine Conference Room 362, St. Paul.

Speakers Restoring Resilience with author and psychiatrist Dr. Henry Emmons — Nov. 11: 1 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 1600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. www.mary.org.

Viet Thanh Nguyen Reading and Lecture — Nov. 14: 7–8 p.m. at the University of St. Thomas, O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul. www.stthomas.edu/ english/events/201740nguyencclecture.

Young adults Cathedral Young Adults barn dance — Nov. 11: 6:30–10 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Hayden Hall, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/cya.

Marketplace • Message Center Classified Ads Reach nearly 70,000 homes with Minnesota’s largest paid semi-monthly newspaper Email: classifiedads@archspm.org • Phone: 651-290-1631 • Fax: 651-291-4460 Next issue: 11-23-17 • Deadline: 3 p.m., 11-16-17 • Rates: $8 per line (35-40 characters per line) • Add a photo/logo for $25 To advertise in the classifieds, call 651-290-1631.

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Catholic Charities-Diocese of Des Moines, IA seeks a full-time Executive Director.

Reporting to the Board of Directors and Bishop of Des Moines, this position will provide administrative leadership and overall direction to advance the agency’s vision, mission, strategy, annual goals, and long-term objectives. Graduate degree in Human Service, Mental Health, Social Work, Public Administration or related field required. MBA with relevant experience may also be considered. Minimum 10 years’ experience in the health and human service field with progressive leadership, operational and nonprofit management experience. Must be practicing Catholic in good standing. For confidential consideration, send resume and cover letter to HR@CatholicCharitiesDM.org.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Executive Director: Please see Archdiocese of Omaha ad on page 19 of this edition. Thank you.

Part-time Law Office Receptionist in West St. Paul, Minnesota: Administrative support to attorney, paralegals, and office manager. Description, required qualifications, and skills listed at www.TrojackLaw.com. Contact Signe Betsinger (651) 451-9696.

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24 • The Catholic Spirit

THE LAST WORD

November 9, 2017

shot down WWII vet recalls ordeal inside German prison camp

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

S

imon Velasquez of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul can’t tell you off the top of his head how tall he is.

But, he can say this: He was small enough to fit neatly inside a ball turret on a B-17 bomber during World War II. Few soldiers can make this claim. The half sphere located at the bottom of the plane measures only 39 inches in diameter, and the door to get in from the body of the plane is only 18 inches wide.

His decision to crawl from the ball turret through that narrow door at just the right time is what saved his life April 13, 1944, when he was 24.

Velasquez, 97, the son of Mexican immigrants, was flying his 27th mission that day as a ball turret gunner. A master sergeant, his job was to inspect the plane before takeoff to make sure all was right with the guns and bombs.

Then, he would climb through the opening and into the turret, creating what he felt was a safe space on board the aircraft. He believed the spherical shape deflected bullets, a theory he tested on every mission, including this one.

vvv Velasquez is among 558,000 World War II veterans still living, which represents about 3.5 percent of the 16 million who served, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Recently, he recalled details of his time overseas, including the beautiful weather after dawn broke that April morning at RAF Kimbolten airfield in England. He even remembered meadowlarks singing as he and his nine other crew members took their places for takeoff.

But, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would hear the explosions of antiaircraft fire as their plane roared across the English Channel on its way to Schweinfurt, Germany, where it was on a mission to bomb and destroy the country’s largest ball bearing factory.

Velasquez was filling in for a ball turret gunner who got sick that morning, and he learned after the bomber was airborne that this was the first mission for the other nine crew members.

He instructed them to stay on their toes, then braced himself for the flak that was sure to come. Deep into central Germany, his B-17 finally encountered the enemy. Fierce fighting followed, and Velasquez soon ran out of ammunition.

At the same time, he was getting annoyed after realizing that the other gunners in the plane weren’t firing back.

“They tried to break my spirit, but they never could.”

He soon discovered why. He popped the lid on his ball turret and scrambled into the body of the plane to get more ammo.

“I got up [into the fuselage] and found out that everybody in the plane was dead,” Velasquez said. “I was the only one alive up there at 30,000 feet. So, I figured it was time for me to get the hell out of there.”

He strapped on his parachute and headed for the door. It wouldn’t open.

With a running start, he rammed it with his shoulder and broke through.

That’s the last thing he remembers, as he briefly blacked out following his narrow escape from the plane. He thinks the plane exploded as he jumped out and blew him clear of it.

His adventure was only beginning.

After a brief time, he pulled the rip cord of his parachute and started his slow descent into enemy territory. The jet stream carried him about 100 miles from the impact, but not quite into France. He landed on the German side of the Rhine River and had to think on his feet about how to avoid capture.

He had some supplies, including a compass and map. His first order of business was to hide from the quickly converging search party of German soldiers and civilians that surely had seen him parachuting from his plane. A small bush provided just enough concealment, as some of the Germans came within 20 feet of him.

He spent the next six or seven days trying to work his way to freedom. He reached the Rhine and stole a canoe to try to cross. He didn’t know how to swim, so paddling was his only option.

The current proved too strong, however, and it brought him back to the German bank. The Germans captured him shortly after he beached his canoe.

vvv This began the next and final phase of his military service in World War II — living as a prisoner of war. He was sent to the infamous Stalag 17, which held more than 5,000 American POWs. Strangely, Velasquez didn’t fear for his life while in the POW camp. He knew the conditions would be rough — and they were — but he also carried the simple belief that he would survive.

That belief was buoyed by a faith he had held since childhood. It was tested.

Beatings and getting thrown into solitary confinement — for days or even weeks at a time — were part of the ordeal. The Germans used these tactics to extract information, but all Velasquez would ever give were his name, rank and serial number.

“It was hell,” he said. “They tried to break my spirit, but they never could.”

The initial interrogations soon gave way to the daily struggles and boredom of life in Stalag 17. The hardest part, he said, was the constant hunger. The men were fed only a warm cup of water in the morning, then one cup of barley soup around noon. At first, Velasquez did not want to eat the soup because it was full of worms. But, when it came down to a choice between eating it and starving, he chose to swallow his displeasure along

Simon Velasquez holds the Purple Heart he earned for the injuries he suffered when his B-17 bomber was shot down during World War II. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit with the worms.

The Germans stocked up on books, so there was no shortage of reading material for the prisoners. There also were some musical instruments, along with decks of cards. Velasquez spent much of his time playing bridge, and he and another airman became bridge champions at the camp.

Prayer, especially the rosary, was also a part of Velasquez’s daily routine. The Germans allowed church services on Sundays, which he attended weekly.

vvv The final trial of his captivity came in the spring of 1945, a year after his capture, with the Americans and Russians advancing into Germany. One morning, the prisoners were informed they would be moving. So, everyone grabbed a blanket and assembled for roll call.

Their captors then led them on a march that would last nearly 50 days.

They scrounged for food along the way — as the German guards offered them nothing — and they slept in open fields at night. Some of the men died during the journey.

Sensing that the guards were losing their diligence, the men got bold in veering off the path to obtain food and water throughout the march. Finally, in their last week of captivity, several men spotted a large warehouse with food while passing through a town, and returned at night to make a raid. They found boxes full of pudding packets, and brought them back to the camp to make pudding for all the men.

Within a matter of days, as they continued their march along the Inn River in Austria, they learned that forces commanded by Gen. George Patton were just on the other side. They were hopeful but nervous, fearing Patton’s army would think they were German soldiers and launch an attack.

That fear was assuaged when Patton, detecting movement across the river, sent

a few men across at night to identify who was there. Once they learned of the POWs, they quietly built a bridge under cover of darkness and brought their forces across.

The next day, May 3, 1945, Velasquez and the other men who survived the march were liberated. He met Patton and other generals, and was fed doughnuts and coffee that came courtesy of the Red Cross.

After a brief hospital stay, Velasquez was sent back to the U.S., landing in New Jersey and eventually returning to Minnesota, where he had moved shortly before enlisting. A fellow POW made good on a promise to find him a job, and Velasquez ended up working as a mechanic at Southview Chevrolet, where he later became a service manager, a job he held until his retirement in 1985.

About two years after the war, he got married, and he and his wife, Beatrice, had two daughters, Eva and Anita. For much of their lives, he said little about his experiences, not even telling Beatrice he had been a POW until their second year of marriage.

But, things changed when he decided to do an interview with the Minnesota Historical Society in 2003. The transcript contains extensive and vivid details of his military experiences in World War II. No doubt, they will become more valuable with the passage of time.

Velasquez, who was born in Delores, Texas, and had three brothers who also served in the war, still talks vivdly about his experiences. After years of silence, his outpouring of thoughts and emotions bring his recollections of World War II to life. Family members enjoy the stories, and he also has been interviewed by parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

More than 70 years have passed since his liberation from the German POW camp, but the sights and sounds remain clearly etched in his memory.

“It never goes away,” he said.

“Something like that you never forget.”