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SUPREME CHAPLAIN’S CHALLENGE
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A monthly reflection and practical challenge from Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?� (Gospel for Sept. 8, Lk 14:27-28) In more than four decades as a priest and bishop, I’ve been involved with building a number of new churches and
H O LY FAT H E R ’ S P R AY E R I N T E N T I O N
schools. We often start by “dreaming big.â€? Then reality hits: What are we willing to spend? Jesus is asking each of us a similar question about our life of faith. In our lifelong journey to become saints, are we regularly sitting down to consider the cost and fully prepare ourselves to pay it? My brothers, above all other things, may we always prepare to carry our crosses and give our entire lives to Christ. Challenge by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: This month, I challenge you to learn more about the life of one of the martyrs and how he or she was prepared to pay any price to follow Christ. Second, I challenge you to participate in the Faith in Action Into the Breach program or read Into the Breach on your own with a particular eye toward how we can best prepare to carry our crosses.♌
C AT H O L I C M A N O F T H E M O N T H
Nicholas Black Elk (circa 1863-1950)
That politicians, scientists and economists work together to protect the world’s seas and oceans.
L I T U RG I C A L C A L E N DA R Sept. 3 St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Sept. 9 St. Peter Claver, Priest Sept. 13 St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Sept. 14 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Sept. 16 St. Cornelius, Pope, and St. Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Sept. 20 Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gĹ?n, Priest, Paul ChĹ?ng Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs Sept. 21 St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist Sept. 23 St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest Sept. 27 St. Vincent de Paul, Priest Sept. 30 St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
A NATIVE AMERICAN BOY in Wyoming named Black Elk had a vision: “I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle ‌ and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father.â€? This experience of unity marked the rest of his life, first as a healer among his Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe and later as a Catholic catechist. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Black Elk became a medicine man. He also joined his elders — including his cousin Chief Crazy Horse — in defending their territory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Together with 176 Lakota people, he signed a petition in 1885 supporting Kateri Tekakwitha’s canonization. Black Elk then traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show in the eastern United States, Canada and Europe for several years. He returned in 1889 to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where he was injured during the Wounded Knee Massacre the following year. He married Katie War Bonnet in 1892, and when she later became
Catholic, all three of their children were baptized. Following Katie’s death, Black Elk converted to the Catholic faith and was baptized Dec. 6, 1904, the feast of St. Nicholas. He took the name Nicholas Black Elk, and later married Anna Brings White, a Catholic widow with two children. Together, they had three more children. Black Elk was known for his love of Scripture and collaborated with Jesuit missionaries to evangelize several reservations. Over his 46 years as a catechist, he was instrumental in the conversion of some 400 people. He died Aug. 17, 1950, at Pine Ridge. His cause for canonization was opened in 2017.♌
SEPTEMBER 2019
♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 5