VOL. 69, NO. 10
WWW.CROOKSTON.ORG
MAY 20, 2015
Sharing talents in retirement Msgr. Gerald Noesen “retires” after 28 years of entertaining Irishman’s Shanty guests By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND CROOKSTON, MINN. — “It’s come to an end just this year,” said Msgr. Gerald Noesen. The retired priest of the Diocese of Crookston has now retired from playing keyboard at the Irishman’s Shanty Restaurant in Crookston after 28 years. Msgr. Noesen, a staple for Friday evening dinner guests at the Irishman’s Shanty, added to the ambiance of the dining room with his jazz, big band, and Dixieland tunes. According to Paul Gregg, owner of the Irishman’s Shanty, people would often call the restaurant ahead of time to see if Msgr. Noesen would be there. “There were certain tables they would want to sit at, or they would come out on a Friday night instead of Saturday, just because Father Jerry was going to be here,” said Gregg. “It added to the atmosphere, him being here,” he said. “People enjoyed his presence and the company. Between songs, he would sit and talk and socialize with people. … He has a way about him that allows people to relax … maybe it’s part of being a priest. He enjoys people so much, enjoys the conversation.”
Msgr. Noesen’s talent for playing the keyboard came to light in his childhood home in Crookston, where he was the youngest of eight children. “I started keyboard a long time ago,” said Msgr. Noesen. He recalls the living room at his dad’s home as a stopping place for nickelodeons his older brother repaired. “In the corner was a beatup piano and I would run over there and try to follow them,” he said. The machines played jazz and big band music. “I would go on the piano and try to find it, and it took me awhile, but then I started playing,” he said. When keyboards came out, they added new dimensions to what Msgr. Noesen was able to do. “Electronic keyboards came out and that was the beginning of a whole new experience for me,” he said. “I believe that music really expresses the melody and the rhythm of life and if it’s in us, it has to come out.” “It must have been about 30 years in total that I was on keyboards,” said Msgr. Noesen. Those 30 years have brought him, and his music to a variety of places, including Arizona; Minneapolis; Thief River Falls; Mentor and the Eagles, VFW
Msgr. Gerald Noesen was ordained for the Diocese of Crookston in 1955, and retired in 1999. He recently “retired” from his weekly music service, playing jazz, big band and Dixieland music at the Irishman’s Shanty in Crookston. (Photo credit: Janelle C. Gergen/OND)
and the Irishman’s Shanty in Crookston. Msgr. Noesen got his start at the Irishman’s Shanty after suggesting to Carol Gregg, the manager, that there should be some music in the dining room. “I said, ‘we just love this place,’ and I said ‘you need to
Msgr. Noesen stands behind one of his first electronic keyboards in an old photograph taken at the Maple Lake Pavilion. (Submitted photo)
have some music in the corner,’” said Msgr. Noesen. He recommended that she put in some loudspeakers and play records, but she asked him when he was going to come play. “So I came on a Monday, the quietest night of the week, and I played there a few times and I got to like it, and I didn’t know how to quit,” said Msgr. Noesen. “Twenty-eight years later, I decided it’s time.” He still plays at locations in the Summit Apartments and Villa St. Vincent Nursing Home
in Crookston when they call. Msgr. Noesen retired from active ministry in 1999 after 44 years of priesthood in the Diocese of Crookston. “For 10 years after I retired, I substituted in 50 towns and 14 counties,” he said. He doesn’t substitute in parishes anymore, but he does celebrate Mass at Summerfield Place in Crookston, where he lives, each Wednesday; at the Care and Share on the first Tuesday of
and thanked Father Sundaram, saying, “We thank you for following the true vine of Jesus and being connected to him in the ministerial priesthood. We are very honored to celebrate with you, and thank God for you.” Father Super was pastor of St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s
prior to Father Sundaram’s arrival in 2013. A short program was held near the conclusion of the Mass led by James Martin, St. Joseph’s, Bagley. As he stepped up to the microphone, Martin
RETIREMENT: Continued on Page 7
Father Manny celebrates silver jubilee By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND FOSSTON, MINN. — On May 3, at 5 p.m., laity and priests from around the diocese gathered at St. Mary’s, Fosston, for a Holy Mass of Celebration and Thanksgiving for Father
INSIDE
VOL. 69, NO. 10:
Manuel “Manny” Sundaram’s Silver Jubilee of Priestly Ordination. Mass ended with a short program and was followed by a dinner served by the parishes of St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s, Bagley. Father Sundaram, Father Raul Perez-Cobo, Father Da-
vid Super, Father Joseph Richards, Father Xavier Ilango and Father Johnmelkies Suvakeen concelebrated; Deacon Dan Hannig assisted. Father Super, pastor of St. Michael’s, Mahnomen and St. Joseph’s, Beaulieu, welcomed everyone who filled the church
Pg. 3 - Summer Mass Times Pg. 6 - Sister Rita Marie Bonneprise, CSJ, Obituary Pg. 9 - Bishop Hoeppner Visits St. Michael’s School
JUBILEE: Continued on Page 6
Pg. 11 - Fifth Annual Rosary Convocation Pg. 12 - Word to Life Faith Sharing Commentary Pg. 13 - June Prayer Calendar and Scriptures
2 May 20, 2015
A
COMMENTARY
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Voice from the Valley BY BISHOP MICHAEL J. HOEPPNER
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES! “Thank you God, thank you. I passed my driving test! Thank you for helping me overcome my nerves and to think straight. Please ride with me always and keep me on the right road. Amen.”
Once upon a time, when I was a high school principal, I happened to spy this prayer hanging on the wall of our school’s driving instructor. It really is a good prayer for life. I congratulate all who graduate this year, especially our young people who complete their grade school or high school years. Congratulations to you, and to your parents for guiding you to this important point in your life’s journey. May all our graduates be thankful to God for their success and accomplishments, and may they use well what they have learned to enrich not only their own lives, but the lives of others. PENTECOST Last month, on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, Pope Francis stood before the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and announced that we will celebrate an extraordinary Holy Year, a Year of Mercy, beginning December 8, and continuing through the Solemnity of Christ the King, November 20,
2016. In the Papal Bull announcing the Year of Mercy, the Holy Father said that he chose the opening date of December 8, because of its rich history, noting that he will open the Holy Door on the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, a council which initiated “a fresh undertaking for all Christians to bear witness to their faith with greater enthusiasm and conviction.” Pope Francis said, “The Church feels a great need to keep this event alive. With the council, the church entered a new phase of her history. The council fathers strongly perceived, as a true breath of the Holy Spirit, a need to talk about God to men and women of their time in a more accessible way.” Recalling the words of Pope St. John XXIII opening the council, Pope Francis emphasized that the path we follow in this evangelical task is “the medicine of mercy rather than taking up the arms of severity.” Pope Francis said that he will cross the threshold of the Holy Door confident in the strength of the Risen Lord to sustain us and in the Holy Spirit to lead the way as we “contemplate the face of mercy.” “How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God!,” continued Pope Francis in the Papal Bull. “May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the kingdom of God is already present in
our midst!” Pope St. John XXIII described the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council as “a new Pentecost.” In his prayer for the success of the council, he asked that “the wonders of the Holy Spirit be renewed now in this our day, as a new Pentecost.” Pope St. John Paul II talked about Vatican II’s commitment to evangelization. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the council’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, Pope St. John Paul II said that the moment had come to commit all the Church’s energies to a “new evangelization,” or a “reevangelization.” For this, he said, we rely on “the power of the risen Lord” like the Church experienced at Pentecost, filling the apostles “with a serene courage which impels them to pass on to others their experience of Jesus and the hope which motivates them.” In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced a Year of Faith in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II and Pope Francis concluded that Year of Faith as he issued his apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel’, in which he called the church to “a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality.” As we celebrate Pentecost this year, let us ask for the continued outpour-
BISHOP’S CALENDAR May 24
10:00 a.m.
May 24
4:00 p.m.
May 26
12:00 p.m.
May 30
5:00 p.m.
May 31
10:00 a.m.
June 2
7:45 a.m.
June 3
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
June 7
8:30 a.m.
June 9-12
Holy Spirit artwork hanging above the baptismal font at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Crookston. The piece was executed by Mark McCallister of Hurley’s in Fargo, N.D. (Photo credit: Janelle C. Gergen/OND)
ing of the Holy Spirit to help us bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to our world. Let us humbly ask for “a new Pentecost” in our day. Let us ask for the wisdom and courage to speak to all people of our day and help them come to know Jesus, our Risen Lord, present and active in their lives so that, as Pope Francis says, everyone may know and experience the goodness and tenderness of God. “May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the kingdom of God is already present in our midst!”
(USPS 414-940) 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.
Rite of Confirmation, St. Francis Xavier, Lake Park Graduation, Sacred Heart School, East Grand Forks
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Publisher:
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Rite of Confirmation, St. Andrew’s, Hawley
Editor:
Rev. Robert Schreiner Office of the New Evangelization, Director
Mass, Cathedral, Crookston
Minnesota Catholic Conference, Chancery, St. Paul
Associate Editor:
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VICTIM ASSISTANCE STATEMENT 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 218281-7895 (24-hour confidential number) or Lmcglynn@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: http://www.crookston.org/ond/
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
AROUND THE DIOCESE
May 20, 2015
3
Summer Mass Schedules
in the Diocese of Crookston
WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO ALMIGHTY GOD The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston and the families of Deacon Bryan Kujawa and Deacon Johnathon Christianson cordially invite you to celebrate the Ordination to the Priesthood of
Deacon Bryan Lee Kujawa and
Deacon Johnathon Richard Christianson through the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the Laying on of Hands by
THE MOST REVEREND MICHAEL J. HOEPPNER, Bishop of Crookston. Saturday, the twenty third of May, in the two thousand and fifteen year of the Lord at ten o’clock in the morning
CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 702 Summit Avenue Crookston, Minnesota
Ada – St. Joseph: Sunday, 9:45 a.m. Argyle – St. Rose of Lima: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. (April –June); Saturday, 5:00 p.m. (July-Sept) Badger – St. Mary: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Bagley – St. Joseph: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Barnesville – Assumption: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Baudette – Sacred Heart: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Beaulieu – St. Joseph: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Bemidji – St. Philip: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30, 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. Big Elbow Lake – St. Frances Cabrini: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Blackduck – St. Ann: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Brooks – St. Joseph: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Callaway – Assumption: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Crookston – Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:00 a.m.; Spanish Mass at noon (1st & 3rd Sunday of each month); Life Teen 5:00 p.m. (2nd and 4th Saturday of each month) Detroit Lakes – Holy Rosary: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Detroit Lakes – St. Mary of the Lakes: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Dilworth – St. Elizabeth: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. East Grand Forks – Sacred Heart: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Euclid – St. Mary: Third Saturday of the Month, 5:30 p.m., no Sunday Mass; all other Sundays, 8:00 a.m. Falun – St. Philip: Sunday, 7:15 a.m. Fertile – St. Joseph: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Fisher – St. Francis: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. (May, July & September), 10:00 a.m. (June, August) Florian – Assumption: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. (May - July); Sunday, 8:30 a.m. (August October) Fosston – St. Mary: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Frazee – Sacred Heart: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Gentilly – St. Peter: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Georgetown – St. John the Baptist: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Goodridge – St. Ann: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Greenbush – Blessed Sacrament: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:45 a.m. Grygla – St. Clement: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Hallock – St. Patrick: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Halstad – Holy Family: Sunday, 11:30 a.m. Hawley – St. Andrew: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. (June 7 - Labor Day Weekend) Karlstad – St. Edward: Sunday, 11:30 a.m. Kelliher – St. Patrick: Sunday, 10:15 a.m. Lake Itasca – St. Catherine: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. (through Labor Day) Lake Park – St. Francis Xavier: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Lancaster – Holy Rosary: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Laporte – St. Theodore: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Mahnomen – St. Michael: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday 10:30 a.m. Mentor – St. Lawrence: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (Memorial Day through Labor Day); Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Middle River – St. Joseph: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Moorhead – St. Francis de Sales: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 10:00 a.m.; Spanish Mass, Sunday, 5:00 p.m. (June - August) Moorhead – St. Joseph: Saturday, 5:00 p.m., Sunday, 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. Naytahwaush – St. Anne: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Nebish – St. John: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Nevis – Our Lady of the Pines: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Ogema – Most Holy Redeemer: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Oklee – St. Francis Xavier: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Oslo – St. Joseph: First Saturday of the Month, 5:30 p.m., no Sunday Mass; all other Sundays, 11:00 a.m. Park Rapids – St. Peter: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Pennington – St. Charles: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Ponsford – St. Theodore: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Red Lake – St. Mary’s Mission: Sunday, 10:45 a.m. Red Lake Falls – St. Joseph: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Roseau – Sacred Heart: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Sabin – St. Cecilia: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Stephen – St. Stephen: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. (June); Sunday, 10:30 a.m. (July - September) Tabor – Holy Trinity: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. (June & Aug.); Sunday, 10:00 a.m. (July) Thief River Falls – St. Bernard: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Twin Valley - St. William: Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Two Inlets – St. Mary: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Grotto Mass (weather permitting) Warren – Sts. Peter & Paul: Second Saturday of the Month, 5:30 p.m., no Sunday Mass; all other Sundays, 9:30 a.m. Warroad – St. Mary: Saturday, 6:00 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Waubun – St. Ann: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 11:00 a.m. White Earth – St. Benedict: Sunday, 11:00 a.m. Williams – St. Joseph: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Wilton – Sacred Heart: Sunday, 9:00 a.m.
4 May 20, 2015
COMMENTARY
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Minnesotans want more choice in education
School choice opponents often argue that creating more options for parents will allow non-public schools to skim the cream of students from public schools, leaving everyone else behind. But a recent study underwritten by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice shows that a majority of Minnesotans do not agree that school choice is an “us vs. them” issue; rather, Minnesotans believe that everyone can benefit from more choice in education. School choice advocacy is not about filling schools with high achievers, or padding the enrollment numbers of nonpublic schools. The Church’s advocacy for school choice is premised on ensuring that no one’s future be determined by their ZIP code. It is about student well-being — not institutional well-being. School choice helps disadvantaged kids and promotes social justice by ensuring that everyone has access to the educational opportunities. The Church recognizes that “[p] arents, who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children, must
FAITH
IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE
By Mr. Shawn Peterson Associate Director for Public Policy Minnesota Catholic Conference
enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools.” (Gravissimum Educationis) Catholic schools, for example, have a long history of successfully educating those who struggle academically, as well as helping children and families have access to an education they want, often regardless of religious affiliation, academic aptitude, or ability to pay. The Friedman polling shows that quite a few Minnesotans, regardless of political or religious beliefs, agree with the Church that more educational options serve students and strengthen our communities. WHERE MINNESOTANS STAND ON EDUCATION CHOICE Political parties and geog-
raphy (urban, suburban, and rural) were fairly equally represented in Friedman’s March 2015 phone polling research. Of those polled, 45 percent supported teachers unions and 65 percent have a positive view of our state’s public school system, so they did not favor one type of education model over another. As with every significant poll on education choice that has been conducted in the last several decades, the poll results show Minnesotans overwhelmingly in support of school choice, with most viewing education reform as a top public policy priority. People were polled on several specific education policies, but two sets of data specifically re-
late to legislation currently being advocated by the Minnesota Catholic Conference: Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and Tax Credit Scholarships. Education Savings Accounts allow parents to deposit their child’s state per pupil and special education funds in a stateapproved and monitored account to be used for education options they feel best suit the needs of their child. When voters were asked about ESAs for students with special needs, four out of five voters (80 percent) approved. Tax Credit Scholarships was another education policy surveyed. A Tax Credit Scholarship program would create a framework allowing individuals and corporations to donate funds to non-profit entities that would in turn offer scholarships to qualified students. When asked about this option, 65 percent of Minnesota voters were in favor.
TURNING POLLING INTO POLICY Minnesota voters, by a sizable majority, are in favor of greater school choice options and policies that make those opportunities a reality. To do so requires
that government play a role, as indicated in “Gravissimum Educationis”: “Consequently, the public power, which has the obligation to protect and defend the rights of citizens, must see to it, in its concern for distributive justice, that public subsidies are paid out in such a way that parents are truly free to choose according to their conscience the schools they want for their children.” Education choice matters to a great number of individuals and families. Now it is simply a matter of turning this support into action. Continue to talk to your community members and legislators about the importance of education choice, including access to non-public schools, as a basic right for families and children. You can learn more by visiting the Minnesota Catholic Conference website (mncc.org) or by going to the Friedman Foundation’s website (www. edchoice.org) and clicking on “state research” in the research drop down menu.
“We were made to be courageous.” No, I don’t have children, but I could not be more proud of a group of middle school kids (grades six-eight) who call me “Father” everyday here at St. Philip’s School. Every Friday morning, well before school begins, 55 middle school students gather to pray, sing, and discuss how they are going to BE Christ in the coming week. The group is appropriately called “Friday’s with the Father.” The kids also work on various projects throughout the year hoping to increase awareness in the school, parish and community concerning a particular faith or justice issue. The group then plans a day long retreat and presents it one day in the spring at one of the other Catholic schools in the Diocese of Crookston. This year the theme was homelessness. As part of their year-end activities they recently did a 12mile walk around Lake Bemidji as a prayer and unity walk for and with the homeless of our community and world. At different points in the walk the youth stopped to pray a Station
LIFE FIRST
By Father Don Braukmann Parochial Vicar - St. Philip’s Parish, Bemidji and St. Charles Parish, Pennington
of the Cross which focused on the social justice perspective of the station. For example, the Seventh Station: Jesus Falls a Second Time included reflection upon a picture of a child left homeless (and without family) after a hurricane destroyed her village. The youth reflected on the picture and then offered prayer and song for all those who find themselves in such situations. At one point on the trek around the lake, the youth came across a large cardboard box which had a sleeping bag and flashlight tucked inside. It was one of the many “homes” the homeless create around the lake and in our parks. The box was near the spot
where the group ate lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). The kids did not hesitate to share their food by placing it in the box. They then asked me to pray a prayer of blessing over the “home” and for the person(s) who lived there. I could not have been more proud of their reaction to the plight of a homeless person. It had suddenly become real to them, more than pictures, and they reacted without hesitation to help in any way they could. Throughout the walk, there was not a single complaint about the heat, the distance, the lack of food, the periods of silence or comments about how they could be somewhere else having fun that day. I had
to remind myself these folks were middle school students … I would never have considered such a day of sacrifice when I was their age. It would not have even dawned on me! I realize, as I write, I cannot put into words the power of that day and those kids. Actually, it is hard to put into words the whole Friday’s with the Father experience! When the group returned to the church, they were tired and still had the Saturday night Mass to attend with the rest of the parish. But, they hit the floor in the narthex of the church to pray a final station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb. There was no 15th station proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus and how everyone was off the hook and could now forget about the suffering of the homeless. The stations ended with death. The rest of the story was left to them to write. And from the spontaneous prayers offered from their lips at that moment, it was clear they had started the writing of a new chapter with a new passion. They were and are going to make a difference.
Before joining the rest of the parish for Mass, the adult leaders of the program had the students sit in a large circle, lit some candles, and washed every foot of those modern day disciples. The kids sat silent as the Gospel reading from St. John was prayerfully read, reminding everyone in the room how Jesus had done the exact same thing for the disciples of his day. One of my favorite songs the Friday’s with the Father group knows by heart and sings at the top of their lungs is called “Courageous”. I close with some of the words from the song … just imagine a group of middle school youth singing with all they have: We were made to be courageous. We were made to lead the way. We could be the generation that finally breaks the chains. We are warriors on the front lines standing unafraid. We are made to be courageous and it starts with us tonight. The only way we’ll ever stand, is on our knees with lifted hands. Make us courageous, Lord, make us courageous.
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
COMMENTARY
May 20, 2015
5
As only a mother can: Memories and reflections of a loving influence My mother was born in 1927, and died at the age of 67 from congestive heart failure. This September will mark the 21st anniversary of her death and burial. Not a single one of the past 21 Mother’s Days has gone by without a special remembrance of her, tinged as it is with a bit of the melancholy of still missing her. But for all that, they have been memories filled with so very much gratitude and a great many smiles. Mom’s Catholic faith seems to have been woven into the fabric of her DNA. Born and raised a Catholic, she received the imprint of that very special brand of Catholicism which only pre-Vatican II Catholic schools run by nuns can impart. She was taught at St. Mary’s Cathedral grade school in Fargo and then graduated high school from Sacred Heart Academy, also in Fargo. All that time, she was under the watchful tutelage of the Fargo community of the Presentation Sisters who – not incidentally – have a strong Irish background. Need I say more? There she was – a tiny little girl (her father called her “Peanut”) born of a French Cana-
CREDO
A NEW EVANGELIZATION WITNESS
By Father Robert Schreiner, S.T.L. Director of the Office of the New Evangelization
dian mother and a father of Welsh background – entrusted to the formation of Irish Catholic nuns. To understate it: Her formation was thorough. Among many of the stories of the Sisters’ influence in her life, I recall Mom telling me of her first kiss at the Island Park ice skating rink one winter night. The lad was a fellow Academy student – a year ahead of her in high school. She knew from her friends that he had a special shine for her. But on this one calm winter night, as big puffy flakes of snow were slowly falling, he asked to skate with her. Mom agreed, and to her surprise he gently took her hand as they skated! Shocking as that was, the real shocker came when they finished skating. Coming off the ice, the young fellow must have been
overcome with the romance of the night and he spontaneously kissed her on the cheek! The initial look on both their faces revealed the complete spontaneity of the event. But then, instantly, his face turned white with horror and he blurted out: “Please don’t tell the Sisters!” Growing up in little Felton, Minn., there wasn’t a Catholic grade school option. And my exposure to nuns as I was growing up was practically zero. But Mom managed just fine in her formation of me as a Catholic. In her own way, it was quite as thorough as her own. Just different. For example, I remember complaining a great deal when I was old enough and Mom started to make me kneel during Mass and not just sit in the pew. (After all, I enjoyed taunting
my two older kneeling brothers while I reclined in the pew. If I was lucky – I could time it so they’d get caught making faces at me when Mom or Dad were watching and then they’d get in trouble.) But for all the mischief, Mom taught me very early in life that I was to worship with the Church. Too, I remember bitterly resenting being made to follow along in the missalette when I was old enough to read. Daydreaming was a lot harder to do when you had to prove to your mother on a moment’s notice where we were at in the Mass by pointing to the right spot in the missalette. But for all my protests, I knew at an early age the order of the Mass and, in time, the depth of its meaning followed into my heart as a deep love. Also, I dreaded Saturdays when I was growing up. Those were church cleaning days. And I made sure Mom knew this was clearly not what other little boys were made to do since I was the only one there each time! Nonetheless, I was made to tag along and “help.” My thing was supposedly dusting the pews. But Mom never said a
word when I’d sneak away and hide out in the Sacristy looking in all the closets and cupboards at all the cool stuff Father used at Mass. In time, I knew she knew what I was doing. But she never said a word. And all the while, I was falling in love with the Sacristy as “my room” in the church. There are many more ways that Mom so thoroughly influenced my life of faith. But each Mother’s Day, I find myself praying to God in thanksgiving that I had a mother who shared her Catholic faith with me in such beautiful, simple and lasting ways. Mom provided the best Catholic school of my life as only a little “peanut” of a French-Welsh mother could. And for this and for so much more, her priestly son will forever remember and give thanks. (By the way – for all you romantics out there – No, Mom’s skating partner that night didn’t wind up being my Dad. But that would have made for a great story, no?)
PLEASE
pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life
wants your news and advertisements! Find 2015 publishing dates and submission deadlines on the web: http://www.crookston.org/ond/ The next OND submission deadline is: Wednesday, June 3 by 12:00 p.m. Email: Janelle C. Gergen, Associate Editor jgergen@crookston.org
6 May 20, 2015
AROUND THE DIOCESE
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
JUBILEE: Continued from Page 1
invited everyone to join in singing “For He is a Jolly Good Fellow” to Father Sundaram. Bishop Hoeppner was the first speaker. He spoke about Jesus calling the Apostles in Mark’s Gospel. He said that Jesus chose them for these three things: First, so he could teach them, second, so he could send them out to share his teaching with others and third, so he could give them his authority. “Jesus … gave them authority to cast out evil and to heal,” said Bishop Hoeppner. “Those first apostles, of course, are directed to call and ordain successors, and the successors of the apostles are bishops, who in their turn, hear the call of Holy Mother Church, and ordain priests to be collaborators with them. … So that the ministry and presence of Jesus can continue and Jesus can continue to save us and bring us God’s redeeming love.” “I thank Father Manny for collaborating in this wonderful ministry and bringing you God’s redeeming love as an ordained minister,” added Bishop Hoeppner. “I thank him for his presence in ministry here and we wish him God’s blessing wherever he goes.” Father Ilango was the second speaker. “Today we are all here to celebrate the priesthood of Christ that is lived and proclaimed by this wonderful priest in our midst,” he said. “He has a deep and sincere love for
Father Manuel Sundaram lifts up the Eucharist during the Consecration. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
“He has a deep and sincere love for Mother Church, for God and Jesus.” - Fr. Xavier Ilango Mother Church, for God and Jesus. He has a special way of touching everyone’s heart and that is a special charism. … He brings them the true image of Christ by his genuine, authentic relationship as a priest.” Following Father Ilango’s speech, Martin shared a story about a time Father Sundaram met Mother Teresa, saying, “Mother Teresa looked at him [Father Sundaram] and said ‘maybe this one will make a priest,’ and the pastor he was with said ‘oh no, I don’t think so’… Father Manny piped up
and said, ‘yes mother, I would make a priest,’ and she’s always been an inspiration for him.” Brian Franck then came forward and sang his own version of the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Franck, a parishioner of St. Joseph’s, Bagley, reworked the lyrics of the song to make them about Father Sundaram. The congregation joined in singing the chorus. Martin then offered Father Sundaram a message on behalf of the parishes of St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s, and presented
Father Antony Fernando, Pastor of Our Lady of the Pines, Nevis, and Father Kuriakose Nediakala, Pastor of St. Charles, Cass Lake, page through a photo book created in honor of Father Sundaram’s Silver Jubilee before the Holy Mass of Celebration and Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s, Fosston, on May 3. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
him with a plaque from the parishes commemorating his anniversary. Father Sundaram then led everyone in praying a prayer entitled: This is the Body of Jesus … This is the Blood of Jesus.
After the Mass concluded, Father Sundaram greeted his guests, who filled the social hall to capacity. Dinner was served and people enjoyed a time of fellowship.
Sister Rita Marie Bonneprise, CSJ, dies Sister Rita Marie Bonneprise, CSJ, passed away quietly at Villa St. Vincent in Crookston, Minn., on May 4. Sister Rita Marie was born January 10, 1929, to Joseph and Matilda (Kromrey) Bonneprise in Osceola, Wis. Her early formative years were spent in Osceola with her sister, Joan, and brothers, John and Ben. Her parents enrolled her at St. Joseph’s Academy in Crookston, where she graduated in May of 1946. Having great admiration for the sisters who taught her, Rita Marie entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph on July 22, 1946. She received the religious name of Sister Mary Michael. In 1948, she pronounced her First Vows and made her Final Profession in 1951.
Teaching and administering schools were great loves of Sister Mary Michael. Between 1949 and 2000, she ministered at St. Rose School, Argyle, Minn.; St. Joseph’s Academy, Crookston; St. Peter’s School, Park Rapids, Minn.; St. Anne’s School, Somerset, Wis.; St. Joseph’s School, West St. Paul, Minn.; St. Joan of Arc School, Minneapolis, Minn.; and St. Richard’s School, Richfield, Minn. When new fields of ministry became an option for sisters, Sister Mary Michael’s pioneering and adventurous spirit became apparent. She returned to her baptismal name, and after further training, branched out as a religious educator in Strandquist, Minn., and Fargo, N.D. She also served as a family therapist at Glenmore Recovery Center in Crookston. Later,
Sr. Rita Marie Bonneprise, CSJ
she served the Hmong Community in St. Paul, Minn., as a pastoral minister. In Brooklyn, N.Y., Sister Rita Marie befriended women who had formerly been incarcerated, and at Marian Care Center in St.
Paul, she helped the elderly. Her personal experiences and encounters with people of various ages and cultures, and the charism of the Congregation of St. Joseph were the inspiration of her work, relationships and energies. While recuperating from a heart attack, Sister Rita Marie lived at Marywood, where she began writing a book of poems. “New Horizons” was published in 2011 after her move to the Summit Apartments. Sister Rita Marie is survived by the Sisters of St. Joseph; her sister, Joan (Jerry) Felling of Osceola, Wis.; brothers, John Bonneprise of Osceola and Ben (Evelyn) Bonneprise of Tucson, Ariz.; niece, Rita McKee of Rochester, Minn.; as well as other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Sister Rita
Marie’s parents preceded her in death. Services for Sister Rita Marie Bonneprise were held on May 11, at the Villa St. Vincent Chapel. A Wake Service was held at 3 p.m., and the Mass of Resurrection followed at 4 p.m. On May 20, an 11 a.m. Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at Assumption Church in Farmington, Wis. Interment will be in the family plot in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Farmington. Memorials to the Congregation of St. Joseph are preferred and can be sent to the Mission Advancement Office at 3134 Hundred Oaks Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-1541. Online registry: www.stenshoelhouske.com
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RETIREMENT: Continued from Page 1 the month; and also at Villa St. Vincent. The Diocese of Crookston owes a debt of gratitude to the men who have served, and continue to serve in priestly ministry. People across the diocese are invited to contribute to the Collection for Retired Priests, which will be held on the weekend of Father’s Day, which falls on June 21. “It is so touching to witness the generosity of the faithful toward our retired priests,” said Reathel Giannonatti, JD, Director of the Office of Stewardship and Development. “As Catholics, we make a special effort to provide for the medical needs of those gentlemen who spent their lives caring for all of us.” The following are updates and information about the retired priests of the Diocese of Crookston: BISHOP EMERITUS VICTOR BALKE - RETIRED NOVEMBER 2007: Bishop Emeritus Victor
Balke is in residence at Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks. He actively ministers in the community by celebrating Mass, hearing confessions and visiting and anointing the sick.
FATHER JAMES BERNAUER RETIRED AUGUST 1991: Father
James Bernauer is living in an assisted living center in Hopkins, Minn., where he still celebrates Holy Mass.
MSGR. ROGER GRUNDHAUS – RETIRED JULY 2010: Msgr.
Roger Grundhaus is first, and foremost, the Chaplain for the Sisters of Mount Saint Benedict, in Crookston. He cares for their spiritual needs by offering Mass, visiting and anointing sisters who are ill, offering spiritual direction, presiding at funerals, and other duties. He also assists as a substitute in parishes when needed. He is a member of the Crookston Noon Day Lions Club and will take over the position of president for the group in July. According to Msgr. Grundhaus, the group is very active and works on various projects. “One of the major preoccupations of the group is sight, and it jives well with Christ as the light of the world,” he said. Msgr. Grundhaus was invited by Father Joe Richards, pastor of St. Lawrence, Mentor, to help with a committee that is working on raising funds and building a bell tower.
MSGR. WILLIAM MEHRKENS – RETIRED JULY 1997: Msgr.
William Mehrkens is a resident of Goldpine Homes in Bemidji.
FATHER RAY PALCISKO – RETIRED JULY 2000: Father Ray
Palcisko lives in a motor home. He spends winter in Naco, Ariz., which is near the Mexican border. Father Palcisko comes to Baudette in the summer. “At 84 I still enjoy working just about every weekend substituting,” said Father Palcisko. When he is in Arizona, he enjoys getting exercise at the golf course across the road from the motor court where he lives. He also has an astronomy telescope and spends time exploring for deep sky objects. FATHER MARIO PRADA – RETIRED JULY 2014: “I continue
Renew in them a true zeal for their mission.
my ministry,” said Father Mario Prada. “I am very busy every day which is something I wanted to continue … I continue to provide some opportunities for people to find God.” Father Prada helps with pastoral assistance. He travels around the Diocese of Crookston substituting at parishes when needed. “That is something I appreciate and value,” said Father Prada. He celebrates weekday Masses at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception a few times per week. He also offers Mass in Spanish occasionally, and celebrates Mass at the Villa every Thursday, and continues to hear confessions and do other ministerial duties.
In gratitude for these men of faith, we ask upon them your choicest blessings,
FATHER DUANE PRIBULA – RETIRED OCTOBER 2013: “I am
Msgr. Roger Grundhaus stands at the edge of the hole dug for the foundation of the St. Lawrence Bell Tower Project at St. Lawrence, Mentor. (Photo credit: Reathel Giannonatti)
PRAYER FOR RETIRED PRIESTS: Father in heaven, thank you for calling these, your precious sons, to be our Priests. You have exalted their humanity and worked through them to bless us with the sacraments, to forgive our sins and to feed your people the true Body and Blood of Christ. As their ministry to the people of God takes on new forms, continue to make them holy as you are holy. Bring them health and healing, provide for all their needs.
In the name of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, giver of all good gifts. St. John Vianney, pray for us. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us.
His other hobbies include playing classical piano music, spending time at his cabin in the woods near Shevlin, traveling and learning. Currently he is listening to a series focusing on the history and theology of the Old Testament. FATHER JOSEPH KIESELBACH – RETIRED JULY 2006: Father
Joseph Kieselbach is living at the Clayco Center in Barnesville, Minn.
MSGR. DONALD KREBS – RETIRED JULY 1999: Msgr.
Donald Krebs lives in Moorhead, and is a member of St. Joseph’s Parish. “I enjoy participating in parish life and ministering in the
sacraments in parishes of the Moorhead-Fargo area,” he said. During the winter months, he lives in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, where he ministers in a parish. He is also a Benedictine Oblate in connection with the Good Shepherd Monastery in Rio Grande City, Texas. “Swimming, reading, music, playing cards and cooking round out my usual activities,” added Msgr. Krebs. FATHER FRANK KULHAWIK – RETIRED JULY 1993: Father
Frank Kulhawik is a resident at Villa St. Vincent in Crookston, and still concelebrates Mass there. He celebrated his 100th birthday last September.
now ‘semi-retired’, that is, I am no longer involved in the duties of parish administration, but I continue to actively serve as a ministerial priest,” said Father Duane Pribula. He serves as a Catholic chaplain at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) Riverview in Fargo, N.D. Father Pribula offers Mass Tuesday through Sunday at CHI Riverview. He also leads round table discussions, provides opportunities for fellowship, and visits with the residents as part of a four-person spiritual services team. “Pope Francis is inviting us Catholics to become reengaged in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy as we move toward the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” said Father Pribula. He is responding to that call. “I have begun some limited Catholic ministry and advocacy on
behalf of the men and women residing at the Fargo Cass County jail,” he said. Father Pribula enjoys traveling and recently returned from leading a pilgrimage to Israel and Italy. He lists his hobbies as: nature walks, bike riding, social media among friends and Catholic Social Justice groups, following Pope Francis on YouTube, gardening, playing pinochle, attending concerts and plays at area universities and high schools, listening to the birds, and praying. FATHER G. ROBERT PRYOR – RETIRED JUNE 1988: Father G.
Robert Pryor is 87. He lives in Henderson, Nevada, and has been assisting at Holy Family Parish in Las Vegas for the past few years. “I’m enjoying every day,” said Father Pryor.
FATHER BOB STONE – RETIRED JULY 2013: “I began
my retirement by driving four days cross country to my new home in Irvine, California,” said Father Bob Stone. “I am very fortunate to be working at my home parish, St. Elizabeth Ann Parish, helping the pastor with Mass, some hospital visits, some Reconciliation and counseling.” Father Stone spends a lot of time with his son, Christopher, and two grandchildren: Kaydin, age 14, and Shea, age 11. “They are very active and I don’t have to go to the gym to get a workout as they are energy personified,” said Father Stone. “I do miss very much the Crookston Diocese – the churches, the people – but most of all my brother priests there. No matter where I am in life, I will always consider Crookston to be my home diocese,” he added.
FATHER LARRY WIESELER – RETIRED OCTOBER 2004:
Father Larry Wieseler lives and ministers in Maracay, Venezuela. “My ministry is as a priest caring for one of the missions of a parish that has eight of them,” said Father Wieseler. He also helps out in a few other places. There are about 2,500 families in his area. “My pastime is trying to find meat, toilet paper, milk, oil for my car and many other things,” said Father Wieseler. “But there are plenty of beans and rice so I can’t complain, and gas is cheaper than water.”
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First Holy Communions Celebrated
Blessed Sacrament, Greenbush (Submitted photo)
Our Lady of the Pines, Nevis (Submitted photo)
St. Joseph’s, Bagley (Submitted photo)
St. Peter’s, Gentilly (Submitted photo)
St. Francis Xavier, Lake Park (Submitted photo)
St. Stephen’s, Stephen (Submitted photo)
More First Holy Communion photos can be found on page 16! St. Peter’s, Park Rapids (Submitted photo)
St. Ann’s, Waubun (Submitted photo)
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St. Michael’s School welcomes Bishop Hoeppner By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND MAHNOMEN, MINN. — On May 8, Bishop Michael Hoeppner spent the morning with the students and staff of St. Michael’s School, Mahnomen. The morning began with Mass concelebrated by Bishop Hoeppner and Father David Super, pastor of St. Michael’s and St. Joseph’s, Beaulieu. At the end of Mass, Bishop Hoeppner took a moment to present a check for $7,000 to St. Michael’s School, to help pay for new desks and chairs, tuition support, or any other educational purpose. The money came from the diocesan St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Educational Endowment fund. Doris Eiynck, a member of Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court St. Justin #2020, Mahnomen, announced state-level winners of the annual Catholic Daughter’s Education Contest. Four students received awards. As the new State Chaplain for the Catholic Daughters, Bishop Hoeppner shook the students’ hands as they received their certificates. The winners were: Garret Eiynck, second place, computer
art; Hanna Worms, third place, photography; Sady Swiers, honorable mention, essay; Jenna Geray, second place, poetry and third place, computer art. Bishop Hoeppner then met with the students at St. Michael’s School in two groups. He spoke to them about parts of the Mass, and focused on the significance of the processions that take place during Mass. “When we do a procession, that reminds us that we are marching from earth, to heaven,” Bishop Hoeppner told the students. “What we see is people marching, but in the church it is a reminder of marching to heaven.” He referenced the Gospel that was proclaimed at Mass saying, “Today, Jesus said ‘I choose you to be my friend.’ It is important because Jesus opens the gate to heaven.” He also explained that at the conclusion of Catholic funerals, the priest leads the casket out during the final procession. “That’s why priests are sent to you, to get you to heaven,” said Bishop Hoeppner. “The priest leads the casket out the doors of the church, through the gates of heaven.”
Above: Bishop Hoeppner and Father David Super take a moment to pray with the altar servers and lector before Mass. Top Left: Two members of the St. Michael’s School Kindergarten class offer the sign of peace to members of the congregation along the main aisle at the School Mass. The younger grades take turns doing this as a way to further participate in the Mass. Bottom Left: Doris Eiynck of St. Michael’s Catholic Daughters Court St. Justin Education gave Contest awards to four students of St. Michael’s School at the end of School Mass on May 8. The winners were: Garret Eiynck, Hanna Worms, Sady Swiers, and Jenna Geray. (Photos credit: Katrina Genereux/ OND)
Sixth graders tour Chancery Offices
Bishop Hoeppner offers a tour of the artwork in his office for the sixth grade students of Holy Rosary School, Detroit Lakes, on May 4, when the class visited the Chancery. (Photo credit: Janelle C. Gergen/ OND)
Bishop Hoeppner shares imagery from the St. John’s Bible in his office while sixth grade students of St. Michael’s School, Mahnomen, toured the Chancery on May 5. (Photo credit: Janelle C. Gergen/OND)
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Catholic Daughters earn awards, reveal Education Contest winners Catholic Daughters throughout Minnesota gathered for the 46th biennial state convention of the Minnesota Catholic Daughters in Worthington, Minn. The 2015 convention was hosted by Court Santa Marie, #247 of Adrian, Minn., Court St. Bernard #866 of Lismore, Minn. and Court Madonna #839 of Wilmont, Minn., who chose as their theme, “Christ Be Our Light”. During the convention, many courts were honored for the charitable works they do in the Circle of Love Program. The seven points of the program are life, youth, legislation, education, spiritual enhancement, leadership and special projects. The seven points selected indicate the needs of the church and community best served by the Catholic Daughters. The program itemizes these needs with suggestions of how Catholic Daughters can effectively serve their community. The chapters’ patroness is the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following awards were won by CDA Courts in the Diocese of Crookston: Spiritual Enhancement
3rd place - Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston, Honorable Mention - Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes Support Our Seminarians (SOS)
Special Attention - Ct. St. Cecelia #2025 Red Lake Falls Quality of Life
Honorable Mention - Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes, Honorable Mention - Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston Legislative
2nd place Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes, 3rd place Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston National Projects
2nd place Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston Website/Publicity
Honorable Mention - Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston, Honorable Mention - Ct. St. Cecelia #2025 Red Lake Falls Youth
Div. 2, 2nd place - Ct. St. Cecelia #2025 Red Lake Falls Honorable Mention - Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston Youth Winners
Div. 2, 2nd place - Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston, Honorable Mention - Ct. St. Cecelia #2025 Red Lake Falls Div 3, 2nd place - Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes
Newsletter
Cat. 2, Div. 2 1st place Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes
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Mass held for prom attendees
Many youth across the state received awards for their entries in the Education Contest in the following categories: art, essay, photography, music composition and poetry and computer art. Entries are first judged on the local level and all first place winners are forwarded to the Minnesota Catholic Daughters Education State Chair. Then all first place winners on the state level are forwarded to the National Office of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas to be judged. Those receiving first place honors from our diocese at the state level will be forwarded to the National Catholic Daughters for further judging. Winners from the Diocese of Crookston are: Poetry
Div. 1, 2nd place - Jenna Geray Ct. St. Justin #2020 Mahnomen Computer Art
Div. 1, 3rd place - Jenna Geray Ct. St. Justin #2020 Mahnomen Div. 2, 2nd place - Garrett Eiynck Ct. St. Justin #2020 Mahnomen Essay
Div. 1, 1st place - Ainsley Boucher Ct. Bishop Schenk #2010 Crookston Honorable Mention - Sadie Swiers Ct. St. Justin #2020 Mahnomen Photography
Div 2, 3rd place Hanna Worms Ct. St. Justin #2020 Mahnomen Congratulations to all winners. Submitted by Mary J. Buschette, CDA Regent Ct. Holy Rosary #1916 Detroit Lakes
A Mass for prom attendees was held at St. Stephen’s Church on Saturday, April 18. This Mass is held for students of Stephen-Argyle Central. The youth are able to attend Mass dressed in all of their finery prior to the grand march. (Submitted photo)
Nei Bottling Inc. P.O. Box 516 Bemidji, MN 56619 Phone: (218) 751-3847
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Rain cannot dampen spirit of Rosary Convocation By Katrina Genereux Staff Writer, OND HUOT, MINN. — More than 100 people from around the Diocese of Crookston made the journey to the Marian Shrine located at Old Crossing Treaty Park in Huot, Minn., to celebrate the fifth annual Rosary Convocation. The theme this year was “Responding to Our Lady of Fatima”, and the crowd gathered despite the rainy weather to honor her by praying the Rosary, celebrating Mass, and enjoying a meal and fellowship. A devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and Mary in general, as well as an invitation from a fellow parishioner brought Andrew Engesser of St. Bernard’s, Thief River Falls, to the Rosary Convocation. “It’s a good opportunity to celebrate,” he said. “It’s cool to see all the people from different parishes come out even if the weather is not the best.” Donna Malarkey of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Crookston, also attended. “It’s right here in our backyard, so I decided to go,” she said. “It is nice to see young kids, families, and people of all ages.” “You don’t have to go to Fatima or drive across the country,” added Malarkey, expressing that there are places for prayer and devotion located right in the Diocese of Crookston. Father Robert Schreiner, Father Bill DeCrans and Father Rick Lambert concelebrated the Mass, assisted by Deacon Dan Hannig. “The message of Fatima lives on,” said Father Schreiner during the homily. “It certainly had a particular message for its day, and it was heeded by three little children, and it changed a world for its time. But, as history went on, the Church realized that this particular apparition of Our Lady has a lingering and lasting message for every age. It encourages the children of our Church to turn to Our Lady and meditate upon the message of Fatima, which in summary, is a message of conversion and
A statue of Our Lady and Jesus marks the Marian Shrine at Old Crossing Treaty Park in Huot, Minn. In the background, participants of the Rosary Convocation pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary prior to celebrating Mass. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
intercession for peace. We all need that in our hearts, we all need that in our homes, we all need that in our communities and we all know we need that in our world.” Father Schreiner spoke about how the three children who received the apparitions at Fatima were prepared in advance by an angel who invited them to repentance and served them mystical Communion. “You and I, as children of Our Blessed Mother, must prepare for what is to come, must prepare to be the heralds of reconciliation and peace,” he said. “We must have our hearts first converted ever more deeply to the love of Jesus Christ, her son. And we must come into a deeper, more intimate, everlasting communion with his Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. As we do that, then the
everlasting message from Portugal of conversion and peace will echo through our lives.” He closed saying, “My dear children of Our Lady, studiers and meditators on the message of Fatima, be at peace and seek a communion with Mary’s son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Eucharist.” A hearty, warming meal of meatballs and boiled potatoes was served at the park’s picnic shelter where people gathered for fellowship. The Rosary Convocation was previously held in August, but was moved to May 13 in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions which will occur in 2017. The next two convocations are planned to be held at the Shrine on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Attendees process forward to receive Holy Communion from Father Robert Schreiner during Mass at the Rosary Convocation on May 13. (Photo credit: Katrina Genereux/OND)
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COMMENTARY
WORD to LIFE May 24
PENTECOST SUNDAY Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Galatians 5:16-25 Gospel: John 20:19-23 or John 15:26-27; 16:12-15 By Catholic News Service About 15 years ago, my dad traveled to Brazil on business and, while there, he purchased a beautiful gold and aquamarine necklace for my mother. It was stunning. We all admired it when she opened the gift on Christmas morning, after which my sister and I began the usual good-natured jokes about which one of us would inherit the piece. Much to our surprise, however, mom never wore the necklace in public. Instead, she announced a few months later that she had sold it and was using the proceeds to fund a four-day vacation – four adult children, spouses and all eight grandkids – to a beach in Florida. It turned out to be a wonderful time of family bonding and the beginning of an annual tradition that we observe to this day. Mom could have kept the necklace in a drawer and brought it out on those relatively rare occasions that called for a little extra bling. But she realized that such an extravagant gift was better shared, and it was in the sharing of it that she took the greatest delight. Each of us receives a magnanimous gift from God, bestowed first on the day of our Baptism and then strengthened on the day of our Confirmation. It’s the gift of that same Spirit that Jesus breathed on his disciples in the upper room and so lavishly poured out at Pentecost. But it was plain that God’s gift was not private property to be hoarded. Jesus told them, “As the Father has sent me,
so I send you,” and he clearly intended for the power of his Spirit to be the means of mercy and forgiveness – or, as the psalmist proclaims, to “renew the face of the earth.” I think that as much as my dad delighted in buying that necklace for my mom, and as much as he would have enjoyed seeing her wear it, he could not have foreseen its greater benefit for the entire family or the many wonderful memories that were created as a result. But his generosity was amplified because my mother didn’t limit his largesse. Rather, she found a way to multiply both its value and her joy.
Questions: Have you ever received a gift which was intended for yourself but which you, in turn, shared with others? How was its benefit multiplied, and what was its effect on you?
“TO EACH INDIVIDUAL THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS GIVEN FOR SOME BENEFIT.” — 1 CORINTHIANS 12:7
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
FOR FAITH-SHARING GROUPS
May 31
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Romans 8:14-17
Psalm: 33:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22 Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20
By Catholic News Service Moses describes our God, “before your time” when he created humankind. Then he mentions people hearing God’s voice and witnessing him take a nation with a strong hand and outstretched arm. Finally, the prophet says to fix one’s heart in God because he provides a place for us forever. That’s the essence of the passage in Deuteronomy for this Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. God is beyond us, among us and within us all at once. It’s challenging to imagine an experience in which one could parse out each person of our triune God existing in a single moment. But I was in a situation recently that serves as such an example. I was hiking in the back country with friends and a guide on a steep mountain ridge. If it had been photographed, my feet would be on the ground and my head in the clear blue sky. I definitely sensed the almighty Father and Creator of the entire scene (God beyond). The trail was precarious, and I felt our guide’s hand take my arm and hold me steady (God among). Usually, I like to think I can maintain my balance on my own, but at that instant I was totally grateful for the certainty that I wouldn’t fall (God within). It wasn’t a momentous occasion, but it demonstrated how God, in all God’s persons, is present to us. Moses’ description was of a God all-powerful and transcending all time. Yet his message emphasized that this almighty God is also very close to us –
within us, in fact. If we accept and keep God’s commandments, Moses said long before Jesus arrived, our God offers us and our children a life with him forever. When Jesus came among us, he modeled the life God desires, the life lived according to the Father’s commandments, and promised if we follow his way, he will accompany us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Again, forever. Forever begins now, he suggested, as he enjoined us to participate in the mission of bringing along our descendants: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” in the name of our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Question: How does following God’s commandments fill you with his life? When has the Holy Spirit empowered you to go and make disciples?
“FIX IN YOUR HEART, THAT THE LORD IS GOD IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE AND ON EARTH BELOW, AND THAT THERE IS NO OTHER.” — DEUTERONOMY 4:39
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- ARCHIVED EDITIONS Vol. 69, No. 9 (May 6, 2015) can be viewed here: www.crookston.org/ond/
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DIOCESAN
PRAYER CALENDAR JUNE 1 - ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR Fr. Bob Stone (retired)
JUNE 8 - WEEKDAY Mr. Michael Arey (seminarian)
JUNE 2 - STS. MARCELLINUS AND PETER, MARTYRS Fr. Pat Sullivan
JUNE 9 - ST. EPHRAM, DEACON, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Mr. Nate Brunn (seminarian)
JUNE 3 - ST. CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS Fr. Manuel Sundaram
JUNE 10 - WEEKDAY Mr. Matt Schmitz (seminarian)
JUNE 16 - WEEKDAY Fr. James Bernauer (retired)
JUNE 4 - WEEKDAY Fr. David Super
JUNE 11 - ST. BARNABAS, APOSTLE Mr. Nathin Voeller (seminarian)
JUNE 17 - WEEKDAY Fr. Don Braukmann
JUNE 5 - ST. BONIFACE, BISHOP, MARTYR Fr. Emmanuel Sylvester
JUNE 12 - THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner
JUNE 6 - ST. NORBERT, BISHOP Fr. Craig Vasek
JUNE 13 - THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY; ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, PRIEST, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Bishop Victor H. Balke (retired)
JUNE 7 - THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST Fr. Larry Wieseler (retired)
JUNE 14 - ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Fr. Todd Arends JUNE 15 - WEEKDAY Msgr. David Baumgartner
JUNE 18 - WEEKDAY Fr. Luis Buitron JUNE 19 - ST. ROMUALD, ABBOT Fr. Tim Bushy
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JUNE 2015 JUNE 22 - ST. PAULINUS OF NOLA, BISHOP; STS. JOHN FISHER, BISHOP, AND THOMAS MORE, MARTYRS Fr. Bill DeCrans JUNE 23 - WEEKDAY Fr. Joe DeCrans JUNE 24 - THE NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Fr. Larry Delaney
JUNE 29 - STS. PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES Msgr. Roger Grundhaus (retired) JUNE 30 - WEEKDAY; FIRST MARTYRS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH Fr. Adam Hamness
JUNE 25 - WEEKDAY Fr. Antony Fernando
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JUNE 26 - WEEKDAY Msgr. Mike Foltz
JUNE 20 - WEEKDAY Fr. John Christianson
JUNE 27 - ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Fr. Tom Friedl
JUNE 21 - TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Fr. John Cox, OMI
JUNE 28 - THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Fr. Augie Gothman
VOCATION PRAYER OF POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II: Lord Jesus, as you once called the first disciples to make them fishers of men, let your sweet invitation continue to resound: Come follow me! Give young men and women the grace of responding quickly to your voice. Support our bishops, priests, and consecrated people in their apostolic labor. Grant perseverance to our seminarians and to all those who are carrying out the ideal of a life totally consecrated to your service. Awaken in our community a missionary eagerness. Lord, send workers to your harvest and do not allow humanity to be lost for the lack of pastors, missionaries, and people dedicated to the cause of the Gospel. Mary, Mother of the Church, the model of every vocation, help us to say “yes” to the Lord who calls us to cooperate in the divine plan of salvation. Amen.
DAILY SCRIPTURE JUNE 1 - Tb 1:3, 2:1b-8; Ps 112:1b-2, 3b-6; Mk 12:1-12 JUNE 2 - Tb 2:9-14; Ps 112:1-2, 7-9; Mk 12:13-17 JUNE 3 - Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a; Ps 25:2-5b,6,7bc, 8-9; Mk 12:18-27 JUNE 4 - Tb 6:10-11; 7:1 bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a; Ps 128:1-5; Mk 12:28-34 JUNE 5 - Tb 11:5-17; Ps 146:1b-2, 6c-10; Mk 12:35-37 JUNE 6 - Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20; (Ps) Tb 13:2, 6egfh, 7-8; Mk 12:38-44 JUNE 7 - Ex 24:3-8; Ps 116:12-13, 15-18; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26 JUNE 8 - 2 Cor 1:1-7; Ps 34:2-9; Mt 5:1-12 JUNE 9 - 2 Cor 1:18-22; Ps 119:129-133, 135; Mt 5:13-16 JUNE 10 - 2 Cor 3:4-11; Ps 99:5-9; Mt 5:1719 JUNE 11 - Acts 11:21b-26, 13:1-3; Ps 98:16; Mt 5:20-26 JUNE 12 - Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9; (Ps) Is 12:26; Eph 3:8-12, 14-19; Jn 19:31-37 JUNE 13 - 2 Cor 5:14-21; Ps 103:1-4, 9-12; Mt 5:33-37 JUNE 14 - Ez 17:22-24; Ps 92:2-3, 13-16; 2 Cor 5:6-10; Mk 4:26-34 JUNE 15 - 2 Cor 6:1-10; Ps 98:1, 2b, 3-4; Mt 5:38-42 JUNE 16 - 2 Cor 8:1-9; Ps 146:2, 5-9a; Mt
JUNE 2015 5:43-48 JUNE 17 - 2 Cor 9:6-11; Ps 112:1bc-4, 9; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 JUNE 18 - 2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111:1b-4, 7-8; Mt 6:7-15 JUNE 19 - 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30; Ps 34:2-7; Mt 6:19-23 JUNE 20 - 2 Cor 12:1-10; Ps 34:8-13; Mt 6:24-34 JUNE 21 - Jb 38:1, 8-11; Ps 107:23-26, 2831; 2 Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41 JUNE 22 - Gn 12:1-9; Ps 33:12-13, 18-20, 22; Mt 7:1-5 JUNE 23 - Gn 13:2, 5-18; Ps 15:2-4b, 5; Mt 7:6, 12-14 JUNE 24 - Is 49:1-6; Ps 139:1b-3, 13-15; Acts 13:22-26 JUNE 25 - Gn 16:1-12, 15-16 or 16:6b-12, 15-16; Ps 106:1b-5; Mt 7:21-29 JUNE 26 - Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22; Ps 128:1-5; Mt 8:1-4 JUNE 27 - Gn 18:1-15; (Ps) Lk 1:46-50, 5355; Mt 8:5-17 JUNE 28 - Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-13; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43 JUNE 29 - Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34:2-9; 2 Tm 4:68, 17-18; Mt 16:13-19 JUNE 30 - Gn 19:15-29; Ps 26:2-3, 9-12; Mt 8:23-27
A i k r
POPE FRANCIS’ PRAYER INTENTIONS
JUNE 2015
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(Photo credit: CNS)
UNIVERSAL: IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES That immigrants and refugees may find welcome and respect in the countries to which they come. EVANGELIZATION: VOCATIONS That the personal encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their own lives in priesthood or consecrated life.
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14 May 20, 2015
NATIONAL
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
Benedictine nuns make their home on the range By Jim West Catholic News Service VIRGINIA DALE, COLO. – Sister Maria Walburga Schortemeyer is at home wading through the mud and manure of a barnyard in boots, work pants, a fleece jacket, and her white veil. Minutes later, in the blackand-white habit of a Benedictine nun, she is equally at home singing psalms and praying the Divine Office in a chapel with other nuns. Sister Maria Walburga is the ranch manager at the Abbey of St. Walburga in Virginia Dale. The town sits in the arid and isolated foothills of the Rocky Mountains, almost within shouting distance of the Wyoming border. This community of 24 Benedictine nuns is a semi-cloistered contemplative order. They view their main work as prayer, coming together in the chapel seven times a day. What makes them unusual is their ranch. They raise beef cattle on 250 acres that they own and another 1,500 acres where they have grazing rights. The abbey was originally established in Boulder in 1935 by Benedictines from Eichstatt, Germany, who fled Adolf Hitler’s growing power. Benedictines have always been associated with agriculture, and the Boulder community established a dairy and grew alfalfa, corn, oats and barley for the cows. When the abbey needed to expand and with Boulder growing into a crowded city, the sisters moved to Virginia Dale in 1997 on land donated by a Denver couple. As they moved, the sisters changed from raising dairy cattle to beef. They keep 40 female cows and a few bulls and steers. Calves stay until they are ready for slaughter at 2 years old. The processing is contracted out to a commercial operation. St. Benedict said to treat everything “as vessels of the altar,” she explained in an interview for Catholic News Service. The nuns treat the animals with reverence, she said, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be consumed. Treating the animals with reverence, said Mother Maria Michael Newe, the abbess, means not “pumping in hormones and things of that nature to make them be more than they are supposed to be, and just for the pure purpose of using them for money.” The abbey’s beef is in such demand that it can only be purchased when an existing client
drops off the customer list. Besides cattle and chickens, the sisters also keep bees, raise water buffalo and a few llamas, and have five cats. The llamas guard the cattle from mountain lions. It is not a life for slackers. The sisters’ day is governed by the Benedictine philosophy of “ora et labora,” or “pray and work.” “Idleness is the work of the devil, in a sense, so we fill our lives with working on God’s land and managing what he has given to us,” said Mother Maria Michael. The sisters wake at 4:20 every morning for prayer, Scripture, more prayer, and Mass before breakfast, which is eaten in silence. Throughout the day work on the ranch, in the kitchen and elsewhere is interspersed with prayer before the day ends at 7:30 p.m. On a recent morning, Sister Maria Walburga and Sister Maria Gertrude Reed were trying hard to convince a calf, Cracker Jack, to drink from a bottle. Cracker Jack had to be weaned early, but did not seem to understand the concept of milk arriving in a bottle. Before they were finished, there may have been as much milk on the sisters as in the calf. Other chores that morning included handling a grumpy cow who did not want to be milked – the abbey milks one or two cows to make cheese – as well as gathering eggs from the henhouse, ordering medicine for a cow with foot rot, and hauling a salt lick to a pasture. The abbey also maintains a retreat house for individuals and groups who wish to spend one or more days in prayer and contemplation. Participants are allowed to roam much of the abbey’s land, and can hike a Stations of the Cross trail that overlooks the valley. Sister Maria Walburga said she finds the concept of solidarity an appealing reason for the work the sisters do. “The majority of people in the world, including Third World countries, do some kind of agriculture to support themselves,” she explained. “Our prayer (is) in sync with what so many people are doing just to survive.”
Above: Sister Maria Walburga Schortemeyer, ranch manger at the Abbey of St. Walburga, reaches out to a calf in late March in a pasture near the abbey in Virginia Dale, Colo. Along with running the ranch, the community of 24 Benedictine nuns also maintain a retreat house for individuals and groups who wish to spend one or more days in prayer and contemplation. (Photo credit: Jim West/CNS) Right: Benedictine nuns pray in the chapel in late March at the Abbey of St. Walburga on a ranch in Virginia Dale, Colo. (Photo Credit: Jim West/CNS)
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
INTERNATIONAL
May 20, 2015
15
In family relations, good manners are no joke, pope says By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY – The closer two people are to each other, the more care is required in respecting the other’s freedom and feelings, Pope Francis said. Even Jesus knocks at the door of a person’s heart awaiting permission to enter, he said May 13 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. “Intimacy does not authorize you to take everything for granted,” he said, starting a series of audience talks he said would look at the “real life” of families today. The audience was held on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The pope began the gathering by praying silently before a statue of Mary and, after a Portuguese aide summarized his talk, the pope asked him to lead the Hail Mary in Portuguese. The aide complied, his voice breaking with emotion at the surprise request. Pope Francis’ main talk focused on the three phrases he often recommends families use frequently: May I? Thank you. Forgive me. The words are simple, he said,
and hearing the pope advise their frequent use could make someone smile at first. “But when we forget them, it’s no laughing matter, right?” The three phrases, he said, “open the path to living well in a family, living in peace.” Without them, he said, the family’s foundation develops “cracks that can even make it collapse.” “Sometimes it seems that we are becoming a civilization of bad manners and dirty words as if they were a sign of emancipation. We hear them so often, even publicly,” he said. “Kindness and an ability to say ‘thank you’ are almost seen as a sign of weakness.” Families must work hard to counter that tendency, he said. “We must be uncompromising in educating people in gratitude and thanksgiving,” the pope said. “If family life ignores this, our social life will lose as well.” In addition, he said, “for believers, gratitude is at the very heart of faith. A Christian who does not know how to give thanks is one who has forgotten God’s language.” “Listen up, eh,” he told the estimated 25,000 people in the
square, and repeated the sentence. Pope Francis said a “very wise” woman once told him, “’gratitude is a plant that grows only in the soil of noble souls.’ The nobility of soul, the grace of God, pushes one to give thanks. Gratitude is the flower of a noble soul.” Asking permission, even to do something that one thinks one has a right to do as a husband, wife, parent, son or daughter is a sign of respect, the pope said, and one that builds trust. “The more intimate and profound love is,” he said, “the more it requires respect for the other’s freedom and an ability to wait for the other to open the door of his or her heart.” The most difficult and most important phrase of all, he said, is “forgive me.” As he has done on many occasions, the pope said that while fights are never a good thing, they are normal, and even if “plates fly” in the heat of the moment, a sincere apology and request for forgiveness – sometimes even just a caress – can restore the peace.
Pope Francis touches a statue of Our Lady of Fatima after praying in front of it during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican May 13. `(Photo credit: CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Faith expressed in charity, unity, pope says at canonization Mass By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY – Declaring four 19th-century women religious saints, Pope Francis said they are models for all Christians of how faith, nourished in prayer, is expressed concretely in acts of charity and the promotion of unity. The new saints, proclaimed during a Mass May 17 in St. Peter’s Square, included two Palestinians -- Sts. Marie-Alphonsine, founder of the Rosary Sisters, and Mary of Jesus Crucified, a Melkite Carmelite -- as well as French St. Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve and Italian St. Maria Cristina Brando. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was present at the Mass, as were Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham and Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem. Abbas had a 40-minute private meeting with Pope Francis the day before the canonization Mass. The Vatican said the two expressed pleasure that their
representatives had finalized the text of an agreement on “essential aspects of the life and the activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine, to be signed in the near future.” They also spoke about the need for a resumption of direct talks in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Vatican said. “Finally, with reference to the conflicts that afflict the Middle East, and in reaffirming the importance of combating terrorism, the need for interreligious dialogue was underlined.” Pope Francis gave Abbas a medallion depicting the “Angel of Peace” and said he hoped Abbas would be that angel of peace for his people. Peace and understanding were also key elements in Pope Francis’ homily during the canonization Mass the next morning. Speaking about St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, the pope said, “Her docility to the Holy Spirit made her a means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world. So, too, Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas came
to understand clearly what it means to radiate the love of God in the apostolate, and to be a witness to meekness and unity. She shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of living lives of service one to another.” The faith of Christians today, the pope said, is firmly linked to the testimony of the Apostles who witnessed the resurrection and to those who have passed on the faith through the centuries. “Like the apostles,” he said, “each one of Christ’s followers is called to become a witness to his resurrection, above all in those human settings where forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident.” Pope Francis held a special audience May 18 with dozens of Rosary Sisters and Carmelites from the Holy Land, who had come to Rome for the canonization. “Pray to the two new saints for peace in your land so that this interminable war would
end and there would be peace among nations,” the pope told them. “And pray for the persecuted Christians, those chased from their homes and land,” as well as for victims of “whiteglove persecution,” those discriminated against because of their faith. After reciting a Hail Mary for peace with the sisters, the pope remarked on their loud and lively exuberance. “I’m very happy about this pilgrimage of sisters for the canonization of the new saints,” he said. “The president of the State of Palestine told me that he left from Jordan with a plane full of sisters. The poor pilot!” The four women saints, the pope said in his homily at the canonization Mass, were shining links in the chain of witnesses to Christ’s resurrection, offering their testimony not primarily through their words, but through their actions of love. “This love shines forth in the testimony of Sister Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve, who consecrated her life to God and to the
poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the exploited, becoming for them and for all a concrete sign of the Lord’s merciful love,” he said. St. Maria Cristina Brando, he said, “was completely given over to ardent love for the Lord. From prayer and her intimate encounter with the risen Jesus present in the Eucharist, she received strength to endure suffering and to give herself, as bread which is broken, to many people who had wandered far from God and yet hungered for authentic love.” The witness of the four women, Pope Francis said, should prompt all Christians to examine the strength of their own witness to Christ. “How do I abide in him? How do I dwell in his love? Am I capable of ‘sowing’ in my family, in my workplace and in my community, the seed of that unity which he has bestowed on us by giving us a share in the life of the Trinity?”
16 May 20, 2015
AROUND THE DIOCESE
OUR NORTHLAND DIOCESE
First Holy Communions
Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks (Submitted photos)
Cathedral of the Immaculate Crookston (Submitted photos)
Conception,