VOL. 71, NO. 9
WWW.CROOKSTON.ORG
MAY 3, 2017
On the way to greater unity READ ABOUT THE 2017 CATHOLIC AND LUTHERAN JOINT THEOLOGICAL DAY ON PAGE 6.
Above: Father John Crossin, former Executive Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the USCCB, speaks to attendees about the last 50 years of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic and Lutheran churches as part of the morning session of the Joint Theological Day at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead April 20. Approximately 180 priests, pastors and lay leaders came together to discuss differences and celebrate agreements between the churches. Pastor Mark Hanson, former Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was the other presenter of the day. Left: Bishop Lawrence R. Wohlrabe, of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA; Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner; Bishop John T. Folda of the Diocese of Fargo and Bishop Terry A. Brandt of the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the ELCA take a photo together after leading closing worship at the Joint Theological Day April 20. (Photos credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
Catholic Daughters from around the state converge on Crookston State Regent, Margee Keller, leads the opening session of the 47th Minnesota Catholic Daughters State Convention on April 21 at the Crookston Inn in Crookston. About 180 CDA members from around the state attended the 2-day event. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
TURN TO PAGE 3 TO FIND OUT MORE.
INSIDE VOL. 71. NO. 9:
Pg. 3 - Brunn to be Ordained Transitional Deacon Pg. 7 - Savre Retiring from St. Joseph’s, Moorhead Pg. 14 - Trinity Dome Special Collection
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May 3, 2017
A
COMMENTARY
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Voice from the Valley BY BISHOP MICHAEL J. HOEPPNER
EASTER CONTINUES The Easter celebration continues. I always find the days of the first weeks of Easter uplifting. In the Scripture readings at Mass, we continually hear about the first days of the Church. We hear from the Acts of the Apostles how the faithful continued to meet and, sometimes, as they prayed together, the place where they met shook (Acts 4:31). The word of God was proclaimed boldly. The Holy Spirit filled the faithful. They worked miracles just as Jesus had, and they were even happy to suffer for the name of Jesus. The Church continued to grow. We hear the encouragement and reminder that Jesus “left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps” (1 Pt 2:21). The word used for “example” in that passage is, in the Greek text, “hupogrammos.” In Greece, youngsters were taught to write using a wax tablet and a stylus. The teacher would make an imprint in the wax, writing a word or sentence
at the top of the tablet with the stylus. The student would then take the stylus and follow the grooves left by the teacher to learn to make the same letters and write the same sentences. The sample sentence was called the “hupogrammos”. A good teacher would even place his hand over the hand of the student as the sentence was traced, guiding the student to make the same letters, to write the same sentence, without a mistake. It is a wonderful thought to know that not only has Jesus left us an example to follow, but his hand is there to guide us to do as he did in living the way of love. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were downcast, walking away from the faith community. They tell Jesus the good news but communicate it as bad news. Jesus joins their journey and helps them understand the good news as good news. Then he sends them back to join the faith community to share the good news. I pray that as we continue to celebrate Easter, you know the presence
About World Day of Prayer for Vocations World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be observed on May 7. It is also known as "Good Shepherd Sunday." The purpose of this day is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). Please pray that young men and women hear and respond generously to the Lord's call to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes. Many resources for promoting a culture of vocations are on the USCCB Vocations Web page at www.usccb.org/vocations.
of the Risen Lord in your daily journey, and that you know his gentle guidance as you follow his example for living and share the good news with others. WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS On May 7, we will celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. On this day of prayer, the word “vocation” is understood as specifically referring to the call to live as a sister
or brother, a nun or a monk, an ordained deacon or priest. I ask that special prayers be offered at the Masses on the weekend of May 6-7, first, in thanksgiving for the many wonderful vocations the Diocese of Crookston has known in our long history. Second, I ask that special prayers be offered asking the Good Lord to continue to bless us with the vocations we need. In his message for this World Day of Prayer for Vo-
cations, Pope Francis encourages “parish communities, associations and the many prayer groups present in the Church, not to yield to discouragement but to continue praying that the Lord will send workers to his harvest.” The Holy Father notes that vocations come from “attentive listening to God’s word” and he highly encourages the “cultivation of a personal relationship with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration, the privileged ‘place’ for our encounter with God.” Indeed, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been shown to be prayer that God truly answers. You have heard me before invite you to make use of the opportunities for Eucharistic adoration in your parish or deanery, and to pray for vocations while you are before the Blessed Sacrament. May the Good Lord bless us with good workers for the harvest here.
BISHOP’S CALENDAR May 6
6:00 p.m.
May 7
10:30 a.m.
May 9
7:45 a.m.
Mass, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Crookston
May 12
9:30 a.m.
Mass and School Visit, St. Michael’s, Mahnomen
May 13
5:00 p.m.
Rite of Confirmation, St. Bernard’s, Thief River Falls
May 14
10:00 a.m.
May 15
8:40 a.m.
May 16-19 May 20
10:00 a.m.
May 21
2:00 p.m.
VICTIM ASSISTANCE STATEMENT
Rite of Confirmation, Sacred Heart, Roseau
(USPS 414-940)
Rite of Confirmation, St. Cecilia, Sabin
Rite of Confirmation, St. Joseph’s, Red Lake Falls
Our Northland Diocese is a semi-monthly newspaper committed to publishing Good News for the purpose of strengthening and furthering the Reign of God in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston.
Subscriptions: $16.34 per year in the diocese, $17.88 per year outside the diocese. Publisher:
The Most Reverend Michael J. Hoeppner Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston
Editor:
Dr. Mark Krejci
Mass and School Visit, St. Philip’s, Bemidji
Associate Editor: Mrs. Janelle C. Gergen jgergen@crookston.org
Good Leaders, Good Shepherds, Detroit Lakes
Editorial Assistant: Mrs. Katrina Genereux kgenereux@crookston.org
Transitional Diaconate Ordination of Nathan Brunn, St. Joseph’s, Moorhead
Proofreader:
Rite of Confirmation, St. Philip’s, Bemidji
If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, your first call should be to law enforcement. If you have been abused by a Catholic priest or another person in Church ministry, the Diocese of Crookston Victim’s Assistance Coordinator is also available to offer you help and healing. Please contact Louann McGlynn at 218-281-7895 (24-hour confidential number) or Lmcglynn@ crookston.org.
Deacon Dan Hannig
For questions about subscriptions or address changes, please contact: Mrs. Renee Tate at rtate@crookston.org Periodical postage paid in Crookston, MN and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to: Our Northland Diocese PO Box 610, Crookston, MN 56716-0610 Phone: 218-281-4533 Publishing dates and submission deadlines for news and advertisements can be found online: www.crookston.org/ond/
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
LOCAL
May 3, 2017
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Catholic Daughters gather for 47th state convention Members ‘Sing of the Lord’s Goodness’ evident in their courts during 2-day event By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND CROOKSTON – Members of the Minnesota Catholic Daughters of the Americas gathered in Crookston for their 47th State Convention. Margee Keller, Minnesota State Regent, estimates 180 court members from around the state gathered for the two-day event. Keller and Jean LaJesse of Court Bishop Schenk, Crookston, co-chaired the convention. The theme was “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness.” The convention opened with a procession, followed by greetings from Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner, State Chaplain since 2015; incoming State Chaplain Father Mark Steffl, pastor of St. Catherine’s, Redwood Falls; and various leaders from the Crookston community. “I pray that you have a wonderful convention, a blessed convention, and that you are renewed in the mission that is so important, so wonderful and so needed in our world today,”
Bishop Hoeppner said. Vickie Feist, the Second Vice National Regent of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas greeted the convention attendees on behalf of the organization’s national leadership. “Conventions are a time of praying together, of working together, of renewing old friendships and making new ones in the Catholic Daughters. May our deliberations this weekend be done in unity and charity; I’m sure in Minnesota, that’s the only way to do it,” she said. “Your convention theme, ‘Sing of the Lord’s Goodness,’ is a theme of faith, gratitude and love. When one sings out about something as wonderful as God’s goodness, we can’t help but to do it with great joy and gladness.” Keller described the state convention as a time to gather and review the work being done by the 29 courts throughout the state. Their focus areas include: family, education, legislation, leadership, quality of life, youth and spiritual enhancement.
Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner blesses a Marian Shrine during the opening meeting of the 47th Minnesota State Convention of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas on April 21. (Photos credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
Each day, attendees had the opportunity to participate in Eucharistic Adoration and Mass. On Friday, a memorial Mass was held to honor members who have died since the
WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO ALMIGHTY GOD The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston joyfully announces the ordination of
Nathan Andrew Brunn son of Leonard and Mildred Brunn to the Sacred Order of Deacons through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit By His Excellency, THE MOST REVEREND MICHAEL J. HOEPPNER, Bishop of Crookston. Saturday, the twentieth of May, in the two thousand and seventeenth year of the Lord at ten o’clock in the morning. ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC CHURCH 218 10th Street South, Moorhead, Minnesota Reception to follow.
last state convention in 2015. A memorial service took place near the end of Mass, during which the names of nearly 150 deceased members were read while crosses were hung in their honor. Keller said many women look forward to gathering for fellowship and reuniting with members from other parts of the state that they only see every two years during the convention. She said another highlight of the conventions are the guest speakers. This year, Bishop Hoeppner, Father Vincent Miller, and Dr. Mark Krejci addressed convention attendees. According to the organization, from it’s beginning in
Laurie Malwitz of Court St. Cecilia, Red Lake Falls, places crosses with the names of deceased members of their court on a memorial during Mass on April 21. The Mass was part of the Minnesota Catholic Daughters of the Americas 47th annual State Convention.
1903, Catholic Daughters of the Americas has grown and developed into the largest organization of Catholic women in the Americas. Its mission is to strive to embrace the principles of faith working through love in the promotion of justice, equality and the advancement of human rights and human dignity for all mankind. The organization’s motto is “unity and charity.” Visit www.mncda.com for more information about Catholic Daughters of the Americas in Minnesota.
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May 3, 2017
COMMENTARY
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Let us ‘speak of love’: Chapter 4 of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a well-known “new media” evangelist from the 1930s through the 60s (when “new media” was the radio and then television) was often complimented for his inspiring talks. He would respond that it was easy to put together his presentations because he had such great ghost writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As I developed a plan for this first year of my column “Praying with the Family” I found ideas in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” as well as the writings of St. John Paul II, Holy Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These sources, plus a few others, have served as my “ghost writers.” For those who have approached me and graciously shared that you have enjoyed my column, let me again say thank you but, like Archbishop Sheen, I access some pretty powerful sources for ideas. Over the next few columns I am going to focus on one source. I will take my readers through Chapter 4 of “Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love)”, in
PRAYING WITH THE FAMILY By Dr. Mark Krejci
Director of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life
which Pope Francis reviews the passage on love from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, 13:47. Let me save you the time of looking it up by sharing it with you now: “Love is patient, love is kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I suppose many of you have heard this reading at wedding celebrations over the years and so believe that Paul is writing to engaged or married couples. To go one more step along this
line of thinking, some of you may believe that these next few columns will not have anything to do with you because you are not married or engaged. But 1 Cor 13:4-7 is meant by Paul to apply to all Christians because all are expected to be a reflection of God’s love in the world. While my words will focus on married couples given the focus of Chapter 4, we are all called to love God and to love our neighbors. So with this in mind, the love that Paul is writing about is not the understanding of love that many will imagine when it comes to couples who are dating, engaged or are new-
lyweds. The culture portrays “romantic love” as the heart of marriage and, while I hope you experience romantic love with your spouse, you probably know that there are other dimensions of love that sustain a marriage. There is the love of a deep friendship, there is the love sacrifice, there is the love when making ourselves a gift to our beloved and there is the love where every part of your being is oriented to loving the other for the good of the other, and not expecting anything in return. All of these dimensions of love come from our God who is love. As others have written, God does not love in the manner of one human loving another, but God is the very act and being of love itself. If you wish to read one of the best explanations of a Catholic understanding of love let me refer you to the work of another Pope, Benedict XVI, who in 2005 signed his encyclical “Deus Caritas Est (God is Love).” A husband and wife are to love each other as God loves us. I shared this idea with a
couple and they responded by saying that this was an unrealistic goal. “Oh come on, no one can live up to that standard!,” he responded (with a tone that made me put an exclamation mark at the end of his quote). They could not imagine how they could ever love each other that much and I was not surprised by their response, for their understanding of love was pretty limited and even selfcentered. No doubt all married couples are on a journey where we should be, in the words of Pope Francis, using the “grace of the sacrament … to perfect the couple’s love.” Love in marriage is a work in progress where we are to grow into deeper and deeper love for our spouse as we should all be growing into deeper and deeper love for our Lord. As I review Pope Francis’ writing on 1 Corinthians 13:47 over my next few columns, it is my hope that couples use the reflections of the Holy Father to better perfect their love for each other, to better reflect God, who is love, to each other and throughout their family.
‘Father, I don’t want to go to heaven ... I’m afraid of heights’ A pre-kindergarten student who was diagnosed with HIV/ blindness, selfishness, greed, LIFE FIRST informed me at Easter, “Father, AIDS. We were friends one lust, envy, gossip and hypocrisy I don’t want to go to heaven ... I’m afraid of heights!” Fear. It paralyzes us. The fear of rejection. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of the unknown. Fear of being who we are. Fear of speaking in front of crowds (or writing columns such as this) nearly kept me from being ordained! Still not sure how I broke that fear other than by the grace of God, of course. Fear of actually having to step onto the field and play in a middle school football game against Menahga in seventh grade was the reason I asked the coach “Isn’t there anyone else?” when he told me to go in for an injured player! I joined the team out of fear from peer pressure but prayed every game I wouldn’t have to go in. It’s funny now, but not at the time! The words “Do not be afraid!” appear 365 times in the Bible. One for every day of the year. As we read the Easter stories of the resurrection, we hear of the absolute fear the disciples lived with as they tried to figure out what happened.
By Father Don Braukmann
Parochial Vicar - St. Philip’s Parish, Bemidji and St. Charles Parish, Pennington
The very people who knew Jesus, lived with Jesus, ate with Jesus and prayed with Jesus stuffed themselves into an airless room somewhere in downtown Jerusalem terrified of what would happen next. Would they be killed? Would they be crucified like Jesus because they were seen in his presence day after day? What should they do? Where could they run? Was anywhere safe? Who could they trust? They had heard Jesus say “Do not be afraid!” many times. And now, in the moment of their greatest fear, they could not move. They were frozen in the mystery of all that had taken place. Days earlier, in the Garden of
Gethsemane, a handful of disciples were with Jesus. What happened the moment the guards showed up and Judas delivered his kiss? They scattered! Fear overtook them. Even Peter, the first pope, ran and did his best to pretend he had never heard of Jesus over and over and over again. Even a rooster accused him of betrayal. Our human nature is filled with fear. There is a saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” 2,000 years ago, when the going got tough, the disciples just kept on going ... right out of sight! Sadly, it seems like not much has changed in 2,000 years. While in school, long ago, there was a man on our floor
day, and I abandoned him the next. He quit school to die. I never spoke to him again. What changed? Fear, ignorance and self-righteousness took over my life. I ran away right when I was needed most. So, too, with the disciples. A week after the Resurrection, even though they had seen the Lord Easter night, they were still breathing stale air, petrified with fear and shaking in their sandals. This time, however, Thomas, the doubter, was with them. So Jesus, stubborn in his determination to save them and us, walks through the walls they had built to keep people out. What were the first words out of his mouth? “Peace be with you!” He knew their fear and accepted them where they were at. He then revealed to them his hands, his feet and his side, each engraved with the mark of devoted love. In an instant he snatched Thomas’ hand and placed it in his own side as if to say, “No more fear Thomas! No more fear! I am real and I am alive!” That is exactly what Jesus says to each of us when we stumble down the aisle in our
... broken and wounded ... filled with old grudges and new. We stand before the foot of the altar, the foot of the Cross and say “Amen” as Jesus comes to rest in our soul. My friends, Jesus says to us all: “No more fear of what the world can toss at you because I have killed death and buried it six feet under. You are good. You are loved. It matters not what the world may say or think or do. Go ahead and weld shut the doors to your heart if you think that will bring you happiness. It won’t because it can’t. I refuse to live without you!” The fears which come from living are many. From North Korea to the clamor over our politics and from sickness and disease to the slaughter of the innocents; so many living so long in so much fear. The lilies may have faded in our homes and churches but may the mighty voice of the Risen One whisper into the deepest recesses of our frail, beautiful souls, “Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid!”
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2017
5
Making sure our water works: Steps to protect waterways that involves not only instituseriously. In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, FAITH There’s a reason scientists tions but the whole of society.” it can be easy to take water IN THE PUBLIC ARENA for granted – it is literally all around us, even more so in the rainy spring. But as the recent water crises in Flint, Michigan, and the state of California should remind us, the accessibility and quality of water can never be assumed, even in the United States in 2017. There may be no known instances of systemic lead contamination in Minnesota water, nor are there major droughts on the horizon, but we face our own share of water challenges, from widespread water pollution to an inadequate water supply in too many rural communities. As Benjamin Franklin once observed, “When the well is dry, we will know the value of water.” With a bit of foresight and ingenuity, though, we can take commonsense steps to protect our clean water supply now, so we need not discover its worth only when we no longer have it. TROUBLED WATERS According to a 2015 report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, half of the lakes and rivers in southern Minnesota are often so polluted that they are unsafe for swimming and fishing. Much of this
By Shawn Peterson
Associate Director for Public Policy Minnesota Catholic Conference
pollution can be traced to phosphorus and manure in runoff from farm lands, and also from other chemicals such as detergent and road salt. These toxins flow into our lakes and rivers and can seep their way into the water supply. To compound the problem, many communities in Greater Minnesota are already struggling to update their aging water treatment and supply systems, which can be prohibitively expensive to improve. As a result, communities are forced to purchase hundreds of thousands of gallons of water from outside sources, doing nothing to increase their own water independence while depleting their ability to develop a long-term solution. This sort of financial burden places undue stress on the already-fragile economies of rural Minnesota.
These seemingly local issues carry with them statewide consequences. If water treatment systems are breaking down or are overwhelmed during heavy rains, polluted water can flow downstream towards our urban centers. If rural Minnesota can’t keep up with basic infrastructure needs, residents could seek greener pastures in other states. And, of course, if Minnesota’s lakes can’t stay clean, our state’s tourism industry and quality of life will be adversely affected. NOT JUST ANOTHER COMMODITY Minnesotans might not be in any immediate danger of losing access to drinkable water. But given the essential role of water in so much of human life, as well as our obligations to future generations, any threat to our water supply must be taken
look for signs of water as a prerequisite for the possibility of life on a foreign planet; there can be none without it. From a human perspective, clean water plays an integral part in nearly every aspect of our lives: we use it to clean ourselves and our clothing, grow and prepare our food, and provide irreplaceable hydration to our bodies. And Minnesotans, in particular, look to water as a medium for recreation. The ubiquity of water in the most essential acts of human life makes it unlike any other substance. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms, “by its very nature, water cannot be treated as just another commodity among many.” Since water is needed for human flourishing, all human beings have an inalienable right to it, by virtue of our God-given dignity. Our public policies and individual actions should contribute to the conditions in which all have access to clean, drinkable water, now and in the future. As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his address for World Water Day 2007, “… the sustainable management of water [is] a social, economic, environmental and ethical challenge
REPLENISHING OUR SUPPLY Thankfully, there are several public policy measures currently being considered at the Capitol that will help us to address our water worries in ways that are consistent with the principles of both subsidiarity and solidarity. We can take steps to protect our waterways and limit the amount of pollution present in them through commonsense environmental protections such as strengthening buffer strip requirements on public waters. We can also use our surplus budget prudently by providing grants to rural communities to update their water supply system, helping them reach a status of self-sufficiency. Finally, we can affirm, as a state, our commitment to providing clean, drinkable water to all Minnesotans. These are solutions that come from all sides of the aisle, reflecting the reality that clean water isn’t a partisan issue, but is a policy goal towards which both political parties should work. Just as all ships rise with the tide, all Minnesotans will benefit with cleaner water and greater access to it.
Keep Lenten prayer habits growing through the Easter season Happy Easter! What a blessing to be able to celebrate the Resurrection for an entire seven week liturgical season. I pray that you are finding ways to continue growing closer to the Lord and building on the habits you established during Lent. Hopefully, you are still living out some of the habits that brought you closer to Christ during those 40 days. What a struggle it is to remain committed to new or different habits we may have started during Lent, I certainly can relate! The hardest part about improving in or starting a new habit or hobby is simply getting started, right? For example, it’s hard trying to learn a sport or skill like photography, gardening, or carpentry. Realistically each of those will take more than 40 days to master. Someone preparing for a half-marathon has probably thought about it more than 40 days in advance! Think about the preparation entailed if you don’t want to fall flat on your face the day of the race. First,
EVERYDAY
DISCIPLESHIP By AJ Garcia
Director of the Office of New Evangelization and Justice
is the day even open on your calendar? Hopefully that is something you’ve considered more than a month in advance. As you move closer to race day, you put in the time and effort to train, you adjust your schedule to make time to exercise. Also, you make sacrifices and adjust your diet for optimal performance. Maybe you’re not a runner, but you get the picture: there is much planning, time, effort, and sacrifice to prepare for a race. In comparison, what we are preparing for as Catholics and followers of Christ is much more important
than a race. We are preparing for eternal life! “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadow boxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:24-27) We are training for an imperishable crown; to be unit-
ed forever with the Father in Heaven. However, we do not train merely for ourselves. Today we are so much more willing to prepare and sacrifice for a half marathon than we are for the REAL race we are running. As Blessed Pope Paul VI said in “On Evangelization in the Modern World”, “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” In pursuing our goal to return to the Father, we have the opportunity and responsibility to bring many more with us! How do we do that? Many people have asked me, “what are some practical things I can do to evangelize, what can I do to start evangelizing?” The answer is something that is essential and I fear we let become cliché: pray. If we want to evangelize, if we want our friends and family to return to the faith, or start living the faith, we must pray! This concept of prayer is often something we, as a community, open ourselves to dur-
ing Lent, but we seem to easily abandon good habits of prayer we formed. Before we go out and represent the Lord and his Church, we have to become more conformed to him. We have to know Jesus if we’re going to talk about him! Being active in evangelization does not mean we have all the answers or that we are perfectly holy, but that we are striving to know Jesus increasingly more and have a zeal to make him known to others. Before we take care of others, let’s not forget to take care of ourselves. Let’s allow ourselves to be evangelized first by Christ and then by holy people around us. Spend time with the Lord every day. Learn to be more like Him so that you can become who he made you to be. In closing, I will share a quote in honor of St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day was celebrated on April 29, “Become who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire.”
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May 3, 2017
LOCAL
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Joint Theological Day meant to foster unity Catholic and Lutheran leaders gather to discuss commonalities, differences By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND MOORHEAD – More than 180 Catholic and Lutheran leaders gathered for a day of study and discussion on April 20. The Joint Theological Day was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead, and focused on a document titled “Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist”. The document was released by the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It examines things held in common by both churches in the categories of church, ministry and Eucharist, as well as existing differences. The document concludes by suggesting ways to move forward toward unity. For the second time, the Catholic Dioceses of Crookston and Fargo, and the Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America sponsored a day of study and dialogue. Priests, pastors and lay ministry leaders were invited to register for the daytime session. A free event was open to the public in the evening. Last year’s Joint Theological Day focused on Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si”. This year, attendees heard from presenters Rev. Dr. Mark Hanson, the former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Father John W. Crossin, a priest of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales who formerly served as Executive Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the USCCB. The presenters jointly facilitated two sessions during the day. The first focused on Catholic and Lutheran dialogue during the past 50 years. The second session focused on the document Declaration on the Way, and steps the churches can take to build and reconcile relationships with the ultimate goal of full communion. The document contains 32 statements of agreement between Lutherans and Catholics in the areas of church, ministry and Eucharist. It also contains 15 items of doctrinal difference in the same focus areas and considerations moving forward.
Catholics and Lutherans from each state were seated at round tables and given questions to discuss together throughout the presentations. Father John Cox, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate, is pastor of St. Ann’s, Waubun; St. Anne’s, Naytahwaush, and St. Frances Cabrini, Big Elbow Lake. He was part of the planning committee for the event. “I think that we will leave here not only having learned about points of agreement in a dialogue … but with new relationships, new ministerial friends and some ideas for projects we can undertake together to advance the welfare of the people we serve in the Dakotas and Northwest Minnesota,” he said. He is glad to have the opportunity to meet the Lutheran clergy serving in churches in the area of his parishes. He said in many small towns, churches are the only institutions available to support people as they deal with issues from water quality to a high percentage of unemployment to high cancer rates. “I think we play a role as organized bodies rooted in the Gospel to not only be finding points of agreement in terms of power, authority and structure of the Church, but also in the faith that acts on behalf of
Father JohnMelkies Suvakeen, Pastor of St. Mary’s, Fosston and St. Joseph’s, Bagley, leads his table in prayer during the Joint Theology Day held in Moorhead April 20. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
people,” Father Cox said. Father Craig Vasek, pastor of St. Patrick’s, Hallock and Holy Rosary, Lancaster, came to the event with a unique perspective. He has been assisting with pastoral care at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hallock since Good Friday 2016 in light of their being without a pastor. “My desire from the very beginning – and I was very up front and frank about it – is that the Body of Christ be reunited fully,” Father Vasek said. He brought a parishioner from St. Patrick’s and a member of Holy Trinity to the Joint
Theological Day. He believes participating in the day will lead to further discussions. “That’s already a conversation piece that, in a small town, is going to bear a lot of fruit,” Father Vasek said. “It’s going to stir people up to say, you know, these guys were going somewhere to talk about the Body of Christ coming back together … the fact that this day existed is something to bring home.” Father Vasek said there are
communal initiatives in the works among the churches he serves, including prayer, fellowship, summer catechism for youth and small group study. “Jesus wants his Church to be one. It is the deepest desire of his heart and precisely because he wants it, it is possible. I am convinced of that,” Father Vasek said. To read the Declaration on the Way, go to www.nwmnsynod.org/ontheway.
CORRECTION: Joel Savre’s name was misspelled in a retirement party announcement printed in the April 19 edition of OND. See Page 7 for a corrected version of the press release.
Our Northland Diocese apologizes for the error!
Fourth Grade Teacher Needed St. Bernard’s Catholic School, Thief River Falls, is looking for a full time 4th grade classroom teacher for the 2017-2018 school year.
wants your news and advertisements! Find 2017 publishing dates and submission deadlines on the web: www.crookston.org/ond The next OND submission deadline is: Wednesday, May 10 by 12:00 p.m. E-mail: Janelle C. Gergen, Associate Editor jgergen@crookston.org
Applicants should send resume, current MN teaching license, and credentials/letters of reference to: St. Bernard’s Catholic School ATTN: Mr. Randy Schantz 117 Knight Ave. North, Thief River Falls, MN 56701 Or email: randy.schantz@stbernardstrf.com
The application deadline is May 19.
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Retirement party planned for teacher who spent 42 years at St. Joseph’s It is with mixed feelings that St. Joseph’s School announces the retirement of Joel Savre. Savre has been the Phy-Ed teacher at St. Joseph’s School for 42 years, and he has decided that the time has come to retire. His contributions to the school during these 42 years will not be forgotten. There will be a retirement party in Savre’s honor on May 21, from 2-5 p.m. in the St. Joseph’s School Gym.
Joel Savre
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May 3, 2017
Catholic singer, evangelist will present at Walker Magnificat event Our Lady of the Lakes Magnificat invites you to attend a Magnificat event featuring Annie Karto, a Catholic singer and evangelist on June 17 at St. Agnes Parish, 210 Division Street, Walker, Minn. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with breakfast served at 9 a.m. Cost for the event is $20. Following her morning testimony, a light lunch will be served. At 1 p.m., Karto will give a concert. A love offering for the concert is appreciated. Karto is an award winning Catholic singer/songwriter and inspirational speaker. Called the “Catholic Joan Baez” by her contemporaries, she has traveled the globe these past 15 years weaving her songs in and out of her testimonies. Over 20 years ago, after a deep conversion experience be-
Annie Karto
fore the Eucharist, Karto was given the penance to spread the Lord’s Divine Mercy. She uses her gift of voice and speaking skills to evangelize wherever the Lord calls her. A highlight in her ministry was writing and singing a song she wrote for Rwandan
genocide survivor, Immaculee Ilibagiza, leading to a trip to Immaculee’s village in Rwanda in August of 2011. Karto has been invited to major conferences, and also shared at Magnificat Breakfasts, Divine Mercy retreats and Days of Reflection. Karto wrote a song for priests, “You are a Priest Forever”, that has been featured on EWTN for many years. This song has received two apostolic blessings, one from Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI. The registration deadline is June 12. Make checks payable to Magnificat and send them to Lorri Henning, 3080 20th Ave. NW, Hackensack, MN 56452. For more information, call Lorri Henning 218-507-0953 or Jean Bauerly 218-547-3111, or visit www.ololmagnificat.com.
Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner is pleased to announce the first of what will be a yearly Mass at
CALVARY CEMETERY, CROOKSTON, on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 at 5:15 p.m. This Mass will be for deceased bishops, priests and deacons of the Diocese of Crookston; religious and faithful who are laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery. Calvary Cemetery is located on the west end of Memorial Drive in Crookston.
As of April 25, the following Diocese of Crookston parishes have met their goal:
STATUS REPORT Thank you for supporting your parishes and the youth. If you have not yet made a gift to the 2017 DAA, you may do so by visiting www.crookston.org/daa
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St. Mary, Badger
St. Patrick, Hallock
St. Joseph, Red Lake Falls
Assumption, Barnesville
Holy Family, Halstad
Sacred Heart, Roseau
St. Joseph, Beaulieu
St. Patrick, Kelliher
St. Cecilia, Sabin
St. Elizabeth, Dilworth
St. Lawrence, Mentor
St. Stephen, Stephen
St. Mary, Euclid
St. Francis de Sales, Moorhead
Holy Trinity, Tabor
St. Philip, Falun
St. Peter, Park Rapids
St. Williams, Twin Valley
St. Mary, Fosston
St. Charles, Pennington
St. Mary, Two Inlets
St. John, Georgetown
St. Theodore, Ponsford
St. Mary, Warroad
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Catholic leaders warn against changes to health care bill WASHINGTON (CNS) – U.S. Catholic leaders are warning that proposed changes to the American Health Care Act will harm poor people. “It is deeply disappointing to many Americans that, in modifying the American Health Care Act to again attempt a vote, proponents of the bill left in place its serious flaws, including unacceptable modifications to Medicaid that will endanger coverage and affordability for millions of people,” said Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, similarly said an amendment to the legislation would “take significant funding allocated by Congress for health care for very low-income people and use that money for tax cuts for some of our wealthiest citizens.” The proposed amendment to the health care legislation was approved by the House Freedom Caucus April 26, a group of conservative representatives who rejected the House plan to repeal President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in March when it was withdrawn by House Republicans because it fell short of the necessary votes for passage. Changes to the bill were introduced by Rep. Tom MacArthur, R- New Jersey, who co-chairs the Republican caucus known as the Tuesday Group, along with Rep. Mark Meadows, R- North Carolina, Freedom Caucus chairman.
“It is deeply disappointing to many Americans that, in modifying the American Health Care Act to again attempt a vote, proponents of the bill left in place its serious flaws, including unacceptable modifications to Medicaid that will endanger coverage and affordability for millions of people.” – Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS
Cardinal Timothy Dolan (CNS)
Cardinal Dolan slams DNC pledge to support only pro-abortion candidates WASHINGTON (CNS) – New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan described the recent pledge from the Democratic National Committee’s chair to support only pro-abortion
candidates “disturbing” and “intolerant.” The cardinal, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged members of the Democratic party to “challenge their leadership to recant this intolerant position.” The cardinal’s April 26 statement was in reaction to recent comments by DNC chair Tom Perez who said: “Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body and her health. That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state.” Perez went on to say in an April 21 statement: “At a time when women’s rights are under as-
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sault from the White House, the Republican Congress, and in states across the country, we must speak up for this principle as loudly as ever and with one voice.” Perez’s statement came after a DNC “unity tour” rally in Nebraska, where another DNC leader and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, appeared April 20 with a former state senator, Heath Mello, the Democratic mayoral candidate in Omaha. The DNC tour was sharply criticized by pro-abortion groups for joining forces with Mello, who sponsored a 2009 state Senate bill requiring that women be informed of their right to request a fetal ultrasound before having an abortion.
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Justice Department holds on to Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate WASHINGTON (CNS) – Groups that legally challenged the Affordable Care Act’s contraception requirement for employers still do not have clear direction on how to move forward because nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court sent their cases back to the lower courts, the Justice Department is still appealing some of them. On April 24, the Justice Department asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for 60 more days to essentially pause the ruling in favor of East Texas Baptist University and several other religious groups that had objected on moral grounds to providing contraceptive coverage in their employee health plans. In its petition to the Fifth Circuit, the Justice Department said it was asking for more time because the issues “presented by the Supreme Court’s remand are complex” and several department positions remain unfilled. But the request is a particularly surprising move for religious groups who were
confident the mandate would be done away with under the Trump administration, especially because he promised that during his campaign.
Catholic leaders decry fourth Arkansas execution in eight days WASHINGTON (CNS) – After Arkansas executed its fourth death-row inmate in eight days April 27, Sister Helen Prejean, a longtime opponent of capital punishment, said “future generations will look back upon the events unfolding in Arkansas tonight with horror. The barbarity is overwhelming.” Sister Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, tweeted that message 30 minutes after Kenneth Williams was pronounced dead. His lawyers unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, saying the inmate should not be executed because three health care professionals had determined he was “intellectually disabled.” Relatives of a man killed by Williams in a crash during his 1999 escape from prison also pleaded with the governor to call off his ex-
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ecution. “There is nothing prolife about the state-sanctioned killing of an intellectually disabled man,” was just one of the many messages Sister Prejean tweeted during Williams’ final hours. Catholic Mobilizing Network in Washington, an advocacy group seeking to end the death penalty, similarly sent Twitter updates the night of the execution and each of the eight days when other inmates were executed, including two executions April 24. The social media messages urged people to pray for those facing execution, their families, the victim’s families and even the prison guards. “There is nothing prolife about the statesanctioned killing of an intellectually disabled man.” -Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ
Society of Catholic Scientists meets for firstever conference CHICAGO (CNS) – “Origins,” the first conference of the Soci-
ety of Catholic Scientists, gave more than 100 participants the opportunity to learn about everything from the birth of stars to the beginnings of human language and to reflect on how their faith and work inform each other. But perhaps the most important benefit of the conference and the fledgling society that sponsored it was the chance for Catholic scientists to connect with one another as they met April 21-23. Darlene Douglas, a teacher at Willows Academy in Des Plaines, Illinois, who has a doctorate in genetics from the University of Chicago, said she left science as a career after it became too difficult to find labs in which she could work without violating Catholic ethics about working with human embryonic stem cells or cell lines derived from aborted fetuses. Douglas said one of her ethics professors told students that it was impossible to believe in both God and evolution. That is not the position of the Catholic Church, but many scientists who are not Catholic do not know that. Part of the problem, said Stephen Barr, society president, is that Catholic scientists often are not aware of how many of their
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peers share their faith.
St. Padre Pio is depicted in a stained-glass window in Smithtown, N.Y. (CNS)
St. Padre Pio relics to tour U.S. marking 130th anniversary of his birth NEW YORK (CNS) – Relics of St. Padre Pio, a Capuchin priest who bore the stigmata of Jesus, will be on public display in several U.S. dioceses and archdioceses in May and again in the fall. The Saint Pio Foundation announced that the tour corresponds with the 130th anniversary of the Italian-born saint’s birth. The tour will include 12 locations nationwide starting May 6-8 at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.
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Unmask violence posing as holy, pope tells religious leaders in Egypt By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
CAIRO – Calling his visit to Egypt a journey of “unity and fraternity,” Pope Francis launched a powerful call to the nation’s religious leaders to expose violence masquerading as holy and condemn religiously inspired hatred as an idolatrous caricature of God. “Peace alone, therefore, is holy, and no act of violence can be perpetrated in the name of God, for it would profane his name,” the pope told Muslim and Christian leaders at an international peace conference April 28. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was in attendance. Pope Francis also warned of attempts to fight violence with violence, saying “every unilateral action that does not promote constructive and shared processes is, in reality, a gift to the proponents of radicalism and violence.” The pope began a two-day visit to Cairo by speaking at a gathering organized by Egypt’s al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s highest institute of learning. He told reporters on the papal flight from Rome that the trip was significant for the fact that he was invited by the grand imam of al-Azhar, Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb; Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi; Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II; and Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak of Alexandria. Having these four leaders invite him for the trip shows it is “a trip of unity and fraternity” that will be “quite, quite intense” over the next two days, he said. Greeted with a standing ovation and a few scattered shouts of “viva il papa” (long live the pope), the pope later greeted conference participants saying, “Peace be with you” in Arabic. He gave a 23-minute talk highlighting Egypt’s great and “glorious history” as a land of civilization, wisdom and faith in God. Small olive branches symbolizing peace were among the greenery adorning the podium. Religious leaders have a duty to respect everyone’s religious identity and have “the courage to accept differences,” he said in the talk that was interrupted by applause several times. Those who belong to a different culture or religion “should not be seen or treated as en-
Pope Francis embraces Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University, at a conference on international peace in Cairo April 28. The pope was making a two-day visit to Egypt. (Photo credit: CNS/ Paul Haring)
emies, but rather welcomed as fellow travelers,” he said. Religion needs to take its sacred and essential place in the world as a reminder of the “great questions about the meaning of life” and humanity’s ultimate calling. “We are not meant to spend all of our energies on the uncertain and shifting affairs of this world, but to journey toward the absolute,” he said. He emphasized that religion “is not a problem, but a part of the solution” because it helps people lift their hearts toward God “in order to learn how to build the city of man.” Egypt is the land where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which include “Thou shalt not kill,” the pope said. God “exhorts us to reject the way of violence as the necessary condition for every earthly covenant.” “Violence is the negation of every authentic religious expression,” he said. “As religious leaders, we are called, therefore, to unmask the violence that masquerades as purported sanctity and is based more on the ‘absolutizing’ of selfishness than on authentic openness to the absolute.” “We have an obligation to denounce violations of human dignity and human rights, to expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of
religion and to condemn these attempts as idolatrous caricatures of God.” God is holy, the pope said, and “he is the God of peace.” He asked everyone at the alAzhar conference to say “once more, a firm and clear ‘No!’ to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God.” Not only are faith and violence, belief and hatred incompatible, he said, faith that is not “born of sincere heart and authentic love toward the merciful God” is nothing more than a social construct “that does not liberate man, but crushes him.” Christians, too, must treat everyone as brother and sister if they are to truly pray to God, the father of all humanity, the pope said. “It is of little or no use to raise our voices and run about to find weapons for our protection,” he said. “What is needed today are peacemakers, not fomenters of conflict; firefighters, not arsonists; preachers of reconciliation and not instigators of destruction.” The pope again appealed for people to address the root causes of terrorism, like poverty and exploitation, and stopping the flow of weapons and money to those who provoke violence.
“Only by bringing into the light of day the murky maneuverings that feed the cancer of war can its real causes be prevented,” he said. Education and a wisdom that is open, curious and humble are key, he said, saying properly formed young people can grow tall like strong trees turning “the polluted air of hatred into the oxygen of fraternity.” He called on all of Egypt to continue its legacy of being a land of civilization and covenant so it can contribute to peace for its own people and the whole Middle East. The challenge of turning today’s “incivility of conflict” into a “civility of encounter” demands that “we, Christians, Muslims and all believers, are called to offer our specific contribution” as brothers and sisters living all under the one and same sun of a merciful God. The pope and Sheik el-Tayeb embraced after the sheik gave his introductory address, which emphasized that only false notions of religion, including Islam, lead to violence. The grand imam expressed gratitude for the pope’s remarks in which he rejected the association of Islam with terror. The sheik began his speech by requesting the audience stand for a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of terrorism in Egypt and globally,
regardless of their religions. “We should not hold religion accountable for the crimes of any small group of followers,” he said. “For example, Islam is not a religion of terrorism” just because a small group of fanatics “ignorantly” misinterpret texts of the Quran to support their hatred. The security surrounding the pope’s arrival seemed typical of many papal trips even though the country was also in the midst of a governmentdeclared three-month state of emergency following the bombing of two Coptic Orthodox churches on Palm Sunday. The attacks, for which Islamic State claimed responsibility, left 44 people dead and 70 more injured. Egypt Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and other Egyptian officials warmly greeted Pope Francis on the airport red carpet after the pope disembarked from the plane. They walked together, chatting animatedly, to the VIP hall of Cairo International Airport, then the pontiff was whisked off to the presidential palace to meet el-Sissi at the start of his brief 27-hour visit. Pope Francis repeated his calls for strengthening peace in his speech to hundreds of officials representing government, the diplomatic corps, civil society and culture. “No civilized society can be built without repudiating every ideology of evil, violence and extremism that presumes to suppress others and to annihilate diversity by manipulating and profaning the sacred name of God,” he said. History does not forgive those who talk about justice and equality, and then practice the opposite, he said. It is a duty to “unmask the peddlers of illusions about the afterlife” who rob people of their lives and take away their ability to “choose freely and believe responsibly.”
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
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Pope, Coptic patriarch honor martyrs, urge unity for peace By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
CAIRO – Placing flowers, lighting a candle and praying at the site where dozens of Coptic Orthodox Christians were killed by an Islamic State militant last year, Pope Francis and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II paid homage to those who were killed for their faith. Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros walked in a short procession to the Church of St. Peter, where 29 people died and 31 were wounded Dec. 11. The faithful chanted a song of martyrs, and some clashed cymbals under the darkened evening sky. Inside the small church, the leaders of several other Christian communities in Egypt as well as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople sat before the congregation, which included family members of the victims. A portion of one wall of the complex was splattered with blood, and pictures of those killed – many with bright smiles to the camera – were hung above. Some of the church’s stone columns were pock-marked from the debris or shrapnel sent flying from the explosion. Each of the eight Christian leaders seated before the congregation, beginning with Pope Francis, read a verse from the beatitudes in the Gospel of St. Matthew. Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros then each said a few words in prayer, and everyone shared a sign of peace. Led by Pope Francis, the eight leaders went to the back of the church, where each lit a small candle and placed white flowers beneath the photos of the martyrs. Pope Francis leaned low to touch the bloodstained wall and made the sign of the cross. Earlier, in a historic and significant move toward greater Christian unity, Pope Tawadros and Pope Francis signed an agreement to end a longtime disagreement between the two churches over the sacrament of baptism. The Coptic Orthodox Church had required new members joining from most non-Coptic churches – including those who had previously been baptized as Catholic – to be baptized again. The Catholic Church recognizes all Christian baptisms performed with water and in
“the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Orthodox who enter the Catholic Church are received as full members, but not baptized again. In the joint declaration, the two leaders “mutually declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our churches for any person who wishes to join the other.” The document was signed during a courtesy visit with Pope Tawadros at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral April 28. In his speech to Pope Tawadros and other Coptic Orthodox leaders, Pope Francis said, “The innocent blood of defenseless Christians was cruelly shed.” He told them it was that innocent blood “that united us.” “Your sufferings are also our sufferings,” he said, the first day of a two-day visit to Egypt’s capital. “How many martyrs in this land, from the first centuries of Christianity, have lived their faith heroically to the end, shedding their blood rather than denying the Lord and yielding to the enticements of evil or merely to the temptation of repaying evil with evil,” he said. He encouraged Catholic and Orthodox to work hard to “oppose violence by preaching and sowing goodness, fostering concord and preserving unity, praying that all these sacrifices may open the way to a future of full communion between us and peace for all.” Pope Tawadros, in his speech, said Pope Francis was following in the footsteps of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, who came to Egypt nearly 1,000 years ago to meet Sultan al-Kamel and engage in “one of the most important experiences of intercultural dialogue in history – a dialogue that is renewed today with your visit.” Calling Pope Francis one of the symbols of peace “in a world tormented by conflicts and wars,” the Orthodox leader underlined that the world was thirsting for sincere efforts of spreading peace and love, and stopping violence and extremism. Pope Tawadros said Pope Francis’ visit “is a message for the rest of the world,” showing Egypt as a model of mutual respect and understanding. Despite Christianity’s deep roots in Egypt, which was evangelized by St. Mark, Christians have lived through some
Pope Francis, accompanied by Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, lights a candle outside St. Peter’s Church in Cairo April 28. The pope lit the candle in remembrance of victims of a December 2016 bombing inside the church. (Photos credit: CNS/Paul Haring)
“How many martyrs in this land, from the first centuries of Christianity, have lived their faith heroically to the end, shedding their blood rather than denying the Lord and yielding to the enticements of evil or merely to the temptation of repaying evil with evil.” – Pope Francis
difficult and turbulent periods, he said. But that only made people’s desire to love even greater, showing that “love and tolerance are stronger than hatred and revenge and that the light of hope is stronger than the darkness of desperation.” “The criminal minds” behind all the violence and threats hurting Egypt will never be able to break or weaken the hearts of its citizens who are united and showing an example for future generations. Later in the evening, Pope Francis was scheduled to go to the apostolic nunciature, where he was staying, and greet a group of children who attend a Comboni-run school in Cairo.
Pope Francis poses with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, during a visit in Cairo April 28. The pope was making a two-day visit to Egypt.
After dinner, he was expected to greet some 300 young people who came from outside Cairo to see him. The majority of the 82.5 million Egyptians are Sunni Muslims. Most estimates say 10-15
percent of the Egyptian population are Christians, most of them Coptic Orthodox, but there are Catholics, Protestants and other various Christian communities in the country as well.
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Why be afraid when God is always showing the way, pope says at audience By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY – Christians always have hope, no matter how bleak, bad or uncertain the journey, because they know God is always by their side, Pope Francis said. In fact, “even crossing parts of the world (that are) wounded, where things are not going well, we are among those who, even there, continue to hope,” he said at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square April 26. Just a few days before his visit to Cairo April 28-29, the pope continued his series of talks on the nature of Christian hope, saying it is rooted in knowing God will always be present, even to the end of time. The Gospel of St. Matthew, he said, begins with the birth of Jesus as Emmanuel – “God with us” – and ends with the risen Christ telling his doubtful disciples to go forth and teach all nations, assuring them that “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” The apostle shows how “ours is not an absent God, sequestered in a faraway heaven. Instead he is a God ‘impassioned’ with mankind,” so tenderly in love that he is unable to stay away, the pope said. Human beings are the ones who are really good at cutting
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 26. (Photo credit: CNS/Paul Haring)
off ties and destroying bridges, not God, he said. “If our hearts get cold, his remains incandescent,” the pope said. “Our God always accompanies us even if, through misfortune, we were to forget about him.” In fact, the decisive moment between skepticism and faith is “the discovery of being loved and accompanied by our Father,” the pope said. Life is a pilgrimage, a journey in which “the seduction of the horizon” is always calling the human “wandering soul,” pushing people to go and explore the unknown, he said.
“You do not become mature men and women if you cannot perceive the allure of the horizon – that boundary between heaven and earth that asks to be reached” by those who are on the move, he said. Christians never feel alone “because Jesus assures us he not only waits for us at the end of our long journey, but accompa-
nies us every day,” even through dark and troubled times, he said. God will always be concerned and take care of his children, even to the end of all time, he said. “And why does he do this? Quite simply because he loves us.” The pope said the anchor is one of his favorite symbols of hope.
“Our life is anchored in heaven,” he said, which means “we move on because we are sure that our life has an anchor in heaven” and the rope “is always there” to grab onto. So if God has promised “he will never abandon us, if the beginning of every vocation is a ‘Follow me,’ with which he assures us of always staying before us, why be afraid then?” the pope asked. “With this promise, Christians can walk everywhere,” even in the worst, darkest places. “It’s precisely there where darkness has taken over that a light needs to stay lit.” Those who believe only in themselves and their own powers will feel disappointed and defeated, he said, “because the world often proves itself to be resistant to the laws of love” and prefers “the laws of selfishness.” Jesus promising “I am with you always” is what keeps the faithful standing tall with hope, believing that God is good and working to achieve what seems humanly impossible.
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Portuguese shepherd children Lucia dos Santos, center, and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, are seen in a file photo taken around the time of the 1917 apparitions of Mary at Fatima. (CNS)
Pope to canonize Fatima seers May 13; October date for other saints VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The U.S. bishops in a pastoral reflection released March 22 called all Catholics to do what each of them can “to accompany migrants and refugees who seek a better life in the United States.” Titled “Living as a People of God in Unsettled Times,” the reflection was issued “in soli-
darity with those who have been forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict or fear in their native lands,” said a news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “To live as a people of God is to live in the hope of the Resurrection,” said the reflection, which was approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee on the first day of a two-day meeting in Washington. The 37-member committee is made up of the executive officers of the USCCB, elected committee chairmen and elected regional representatives. It acts on behalf of the nation’s bishops between their spring and fall general meetings. “To live in Christ is to draw upon the limitless love of Jesus to fortify us against the temptation of fear,” it continued.
Mercy opens the door to understanding the mystery of God, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Mercy is
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a true form of knowledge that allows men and women to understand the mystery of God’s love for humanity, Pope Francis said. Having experienced forgiveness, Christians have a duty to forgive others, giving a “visible sign” of God’s mercy, which “carries within it the peace of heart and the joy of a renewed encounter with the Lord,” the pope said April 23 before praying the “Regina Coeli” with visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “Mercy helps us understand that violence, resentment and revenge do not have any meaning and that the first victim is the one who lives with these feelings, because he is deprived of his own dignity,” he said. Commemorating Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis said St. John Paul II’s establishment of the feast in 2000 was a “beautiful intuition” inspired by the Holy Spirit. God’s mercy, he said, not only “opens the door of the mind,” it also opens the door of the heart and paves the way for compassion toward those who are “alone or
marginalized because it makes them feel they are brothers and sisters and children of one father.”
In TED talk, pope urges people to make real connections VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While searching for a connection today often means looking for Wi-Fi, Pope Francis said real connections between people are the only hope for the future. “How wonderful would it be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation would come along with more equality and social inclusion,” he said in a video talk played April 25 for 1,800 people attending TED 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and posted online with subtitles in 20 languages. “How wonderful would it be, while we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters orbiting around us,” the pope said in the talk that TED organizers had
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been advertising as that of a “surprise guest.” Pope Francis spoke to the international conference about combating the current “culture of waste” and “techno-economic systems” that prioritize products, money and things over people. “Good intentions and conventional formulas, so often used to appease our conscience, are not enough,” he said. “Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the other is not a statistic or a number. The other has a face.”
“How wonderful would it be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation would come along with more equality and social inclusion.” – Pope Francis
Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) Endowments and Memorials General Endowment
St. Joseph, Beaulieu.........................................5,168.24
Our Lady of the Pines, Nevis............................5,615.50
Reverend Eugene Connelly..............................5,086.87
Bishop Balke...................................................15,000.00
St. Philip, Bemidji............................................90,063.39
St. Michael, Northome.......................................1,200.50
Mrs. Gladys Burlingame....................................1,000.00
Bishop Corbett.................................................20,000.00
St. Joseph, Benwood...........................................626.00
Most Holy Redeemer, Ogema...........................4,933.10
St. John Vianney...............................................3,000.00
Bishop Glenn...................................................10,000.00
St. Frances, Big Elbow Lake.............................1,189.77
St. Francis Xavier, Oklee...................................5,440.56
Bernard & Frances Crummy..............................2,500.00
Bishop Peschges.............................................20,000.00
St. Ann, Blackduck............................................1,873.75
St. Joseph, Oslo...............................................6,308.00
Henry and Ida Ricard......................................25,000.00
Bishop Povish..................................................10,000.00
St. Joseph, Brooks............................................7,340.00
St. Peter, Park Rapids.....................................14,889.53
Mr. & Mrs. R.W. Maves.....................................3,400.00
Dorothy Howard................................................5,045.62
Assumption, Callaway.......................................4,949.25
St. Charles, Pennington.........................................57.50
Total................................................................205,489.21
Edward P. Herold.............................................25,000.00
Cathedral, Crookston......................................55,750.85
St. Theodore, Ponsford.....................................1,288.50
Newman Ministry
Frank A. & Mabel Mallinger.............................78,920.01
Holy Rosary, Detroit Lakes..............................67,943.50
St. Joseph, Red Lake Falls.............................29,292.92
John Newman.................................................29,132.92
George E. Nemzek........................................250,000.00
St. Elizabeth, Dilworth.......................................1,552.50
St. Mary’s Mission, Red Lake...........................5,024.25
Total..................................................................29,132.92
Gertrude Niehoff............................................ 27,533.04
Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks.....................71,209.00
Sacred Heart, Roseau.......................................6,816.37
Youth Ministry
John Kowalski...................................................6,217.69
St. Mary, Euclid.................................................6,431.25
St. Cecilia, Sabin...............................................7,140.00
St. John Bosco................................................11,308.00
Margaret Widman..............................................5,000.00
St. Philip, Falun....................................................434.25
St. Stephen, Stephen........................................5,372.92
Total..................................................................11,308.00
Msgr. John D. Stearns.....................................23,696.15
St. Joseph, Fertile.............................................4,507.50
Holy Trinity, Tabor..............................................6,218.85
Special Designation
Reverend Jeremiah Sullivan...........................18,380.92
St. Francis, Fisher.............................................2,591.25
St. Bernard, Thief River Falls..........................73,066.88
Joe and Olga Merkens....................................28,458.02
Reverend John Merth........................................5,854.33
Assumption, Florian..........................................9,188.19
St. William, Twin Valley......................................5,271.25
Sacred Heart, Frazee, Cath............................40,449.76
Reverend John O’Toole Memorial...................27,523.38
St. Mary, Fosston............................................10,417.50
St. Mary, Two Inlets...........................................3,952.75
KC Frazee Catholic Edu.................................24,500.00
Reverend Louis McMahan..............................10,000.00
Sacred Heart, Frazee......................................23,861.50
Sts. Peter & Paul, Warren...............................14,278.83
John J. Arouni Catholic Education................356,000.00
Thomas & Patricia Hilger............................... 59,510.04
St. Peter, Gentilly...............................................2,166.25
St. Mary, Warroad..............................................4,956.57
Total................................................................449,407.78
Veronica ‘Roni’ Stainbrook..............................10,025.00
St. John, Georgetown........................................4,602.50
St. Ann, Waubun...............................................5,831.55
St. Joseph, Moorhead
Total................................................................627,706.18
St. Ann, Goodridge............................................1,212.50
St. Benedict, White Earth..................................1,697.00
School Operations Endow.............................138,363.02
Catholic Education
Blessed Sacrament, Greenbush.......................6,159.25
St. Joseph, Williams.............................................900.00
Sr. Mary Ann Welsch Endow.........................126,969.00
God’s Green Acre.............................................1,326.77
St. Clement, Grygla...........................................3,526.25
Sacred Heart, Wilton.........................................4,703.77
Parish Operations Endowment.......................54,532.00
Hartmann & Reimann Families.........................4,000.00
St. Patrick, Hallock............................................2,066.25
Total................................................................870,037.98
School Scholarship Endowment.....................63,055.00
Julia B. Musil...................................................38,018.32
Holy Family, Halstad..........................................4,893.75
Priests’ Retirement
Setter School Scholarship.............................385,955.84
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton................................650,500.00
St. Andrew, Hawley..........................................16,013.75
Rev. Ed Nistler Endowment..................................505.00
J. & K. Altobell School Scholarship.................21,255.00
Total................................................................693,845.09
St. Edward, Karlstad.............................................295.00
Leo Osowski Endowment................................10,000.00
RE & Youth Ministry.........................................14,090.33
Faith For Tomorrow-Catholic Education
St. Patrick, Kelliher............................................2,908.75
Joe and Jenny Prosby.......................................5,000.00
M A Ellis Building Fund.................................100,000.00
Capital Campaign Proceeds......................2,278,478.94
St. Francis Xavier, Lake Park...........................3,286.75
Frank Reid Endowment...................................49,372.86
SSG Andrew P. Nelson Scholarship...............14,510.00
Elvern Vanyo...................................................20,969.22
Holy Rosary, Lancaster..........................................77.50
Bishop Schenk.................................................11,250.00
Sr. D. Charest Parish Nurse............................31,019.00
Total.............................................................2,303,264.12
St. Mary of the Lk, Lake Eunice Tns.................9,981.25
John Stoltman Endowment...............................5,000.00
Alice Bartels Teacher Salaries.......................115,400.00
Parish Catholic Education
St. Theodore, Laporte.......................................1,600.00
Total..................................................................81,127.86
Msgr. Michael Foltz School Schol...................13,110.00
St. Joseph, Ada.................................................6,075.82
St. Michael, Mahnomen...................................11,670.00
Continued Education of Priests
Msgr. Michael Foltz Child & Youth FF.............13,645.00
St. John the Baptist, Alma....................................399.34
St. Lawrence, Mentor......................................33,778.38
St. Stephen’s...................................................20,000.00
Total.............................................................1,091,904.19
St. Rose of Lima, Argyle....................................6,784.58
St. Joseph, Middle River...................................1,422.50
The Orville J. Woeste......................................11,605.00
St. Mary, Badger...............................................1,887.00
St. Francis, Moorhead.....................................35,006.35
Dorothy Howard Estate...................................14,184.16
St. Joseph, Bagley...........................................11,299.50
St. Joseph, Moorhead.....................................92,333.82
Andrew & Frances Ignaszewski Mm.................5,000.00
Assumption, Barnesville....................................5,252.50
St. Anne, Naytahwaush.....................................2,069.70
Eva Charest Memorial...................................110,713.18
Sacred Heart, Baudette...................................21,558.70
St. John, Nebish................................................2,355.25
Leon & Irene Pribula.........................................4,000.00
This endowment listing will be printed again on July 12, 2017.
Want to know more about endowments and memorials within the Catholic Community Foundation? Do you have questions about the endowments published above? Contact Joe Noel, CCF Director, at 218-281-4533, ext. 453 (office) or 218-280-6858 (mobile). Joe may also be reached at: jnoel@crookston.org.
14
May 3, 2017
NATIONAL
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
COMMENTARY
WORD to LIFE May 7
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Gospel: John 10:1-10
Psalm 23:1-6;
1 Peter 2:20b-25
By Jeff Hedglen Catholic News Service I clearly remember Captain Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” looking at a contraption on a wall and saying, “Tea, Earl Grey, hot.” The machine would beep, then magically a steaming mug of tea would appear on a shelf. The first time I saw this, I was amazed that all he had to do was say what he wanted and it appeared. Now, voice recognition software is a part of most smartphones and many computers. If I push a button on my phone and say, “my hot wife,” a few seconds later I am speaking to my wife. I can also say, “Play Beatles,” and the next thing you know my phone is playing music. Sometimes modern technology really blows my mind. But voice recognition software is not a new thing. It is built into our DNA. We know some people’s voices so well that we do not need caller ID to tell us who is on the other end of a phone call. Yet, there are many more people whose voices we could not pick out if our lives depended on it. The most important use of voice recognition is the theme of today’s Gospel. Jesus says the Good Shepherd walks ahead of his sheep, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. Hearing the voice of God is simple, but it is not easy. It is simple because it is no different from recognizing the voice of a friend. The more we get to know a person, and the more time we spend with that person, the easier it is to distinguish that friend’s voice.
May 3, 2017
15
FOR FAITH-SHARING GROUPS
May 14
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts 6:1-7; Gospel: John 14:1-12
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19;
1 Peter 2:4-9
By Jeff Hedglen Catholic News Service
The difficulty comes in that we do not get to hear God’s voice with our ears. Another complication is that the best way to learn to recognize his voice is to study his word. This takes time and effort, but if we learn the way he speaks in the Bible, we will learn to differentiate among the voices we may hear in our mind. There are three possible voices in our head: God’s, ours and the voice of the world. Each one is vying for our attention, but it is the voice of God that is calling us forward all the way to the green pastures of heaven.
Questions: Was there ever a time when you clearly heard the voice of God? What was that like? What are some obstacles to hearing the voice of God? How can we overcome them?
"HE WALKS AHEAD OF THEM, AND THE SHEEP FOLLOW HIM, BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE HIS VOICE." – JOHN 10:4
I was 19 when my cousin came to live with my family. He was just out of the Marines. He was not doing very well and was lost in many ways. When we were children we had been close, but it had been a few years since we had seen each other, and trying to re-establish our friendship was hard. To complicate things, my faith was becoming very important to me, and he rarely darkened the door of a church. I took this in stride though. We had many conversations about the meaning of life, God and faith in general. He had a lot of opinions, but he was not ready to believe that God existed, much less believe that God loved him and wanted a relationship with him. Try as I might, I could not get him to budge. One night while we were lying in our bunk beds talking about life and faith, almost arguing, he finally said in an exasperated tone, “I’m not going to believe in God unless he comes down here and shakes my hand.” I had no idea what to say to that. I simply stared at the bottom of the top mattress with my mouth open and my mind empty. I realize now that my cousin was no different from the first disciples. They had been with Jesus for three years and still did not completely understand who he was. At the Last Supper Philip said to Jesus: “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus responds rather incredulously, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
Twenty-five years ago, lying in that bunk bed, I felt the same way. Didn’t my cousin know Jesus had already come and revealed himself ? He grew up Catholic and had heard all the same readings I had heard. What was I to say to this lack of belief ? No words came, so I did the only thing I could think of; I silently asked God to come down and shake his hand. I wish I could say that the next day he experienced a divine handshake, but though the hand of God was continually offered to him, it would be many years before he grabbed hold.
Questions: How would you have responded to the challenge, “I’m not going to believe in God unless he comes down here and shakes my hand”? How does Jesus reveal the Father to us?
"MASTER, SHOW US THE FATHER, AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR US." – JOHN 14:8
16
May 3, 2017
NATIONAL
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE