From the President
“Preach the Gospel by the way we live our lives.” How profound and how simple. As I write this Journey column it is the feast of the Ascension, May 21, 2009. Actually many Diocese celebrate this Holy Day on Sunday, May 24. According to a web site I referenced, this Holy Day is called a movable Holy Day, so I guess either day could be appropriate. I didn’t want to start my column with an error so I guess I started it with an explanation. As I travel to work in the morning I sometimes have the opportunity to listen to the daily Mass broadcast on the Catholic Channel of XM radio. The Mass is celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and often the celebrant is Archbishop Timothy
Dolan, former Archbishop of Milwaukee and a true spiritual leader. He reminds me of the late Bishop Paul Dudley in his love for the Church. On the Feast of the Ascension, after the reading and the Gospel, the homily referenced the two men dressed in white who stood next to the disciples after the Lord ascended into the clouds. You can just see the disciples standing there with their mouths open, looking up and wondering, “Wow, what do we do now?” The two men in white, who appeared next to them and who are mentioned in Acts 1:10–11, basically told them to get to work. The Lord had already told them that their job was to be His witness throughout the world. As the homilist put it, “they were called, as we are, to preach the Gospel by the way they live their lives.” “Preach the Gospel by the way we live our lives.” How profound and how simple. These words to live by present a clear path to follow that should create little if any confusion as we travel through life. There has been much written recently about the clear path the Catholic Church is on and those who disagree with it. For example, recent comments about President Obama speaking and receiving an honorary degree from the Catholic University, Notre Dame. despite his support for the Freedom of Choice Act. There
On the Cover On the Cover
Catholic Aid Association President/Chairman Michael F. McGovern, Northfield Senior Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer Harald Dennis Borrmann, L. Olson, Vadnais St. PaulHeights Lead Director Frances M. Barten, Union Hill Board of Directors Bernard B. Bastian, North Mankato; George Gmach, Rogers; Joseph F. Kueppers, Mendota Heights; John W. Maile, Cold Spring; Deborah M. Pauly, Jordan; Gary E. Polaczyk, Woodbury Magazine Staff Publication No. 093500/Official Publication of the Catholic The Catholic Aid Association
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Publisher Michael F. McGovern Editor Jared Roddy Marketing Director ofManager Marketing Steve Steve Wendorf Wendorf
Staff Susan Detlefsen, Rebecca Redlin
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May/June 2009
Photo: Bob Pearle
Jason Seidl tosses a pitch to his son Joshua Photo: Kelsey Smithas his wife, Joleen, and their John Nelson of Yankton, other children, Megan, S.D., and his aunt, Elsie, Kyle and Matthew, play organized a holiday food in the outfield of Johnson drive for a food shelf in Park in New Ulm, Minn. November (see page 6).
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