The Catholic Spirit - July 21, 2011

Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Girls of Summer blaze trail of service

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Parish festivals serve up menu of food, fun

The Catholic Spirit

July 21, 2011

11 TheCatholicSpirit.com

News with a Catholic heart

Countdown to Madrid

Sweating for a cause St. Joseph volunteers brave heat to build Habitat for Humanity house

Pilgrims from archdiocese to attend World Youth Day for a Catholic faith boost

By Kathryn Elliott For The Catholic Spirit

Justin Stroh first responded to the Holy Father’s call for an international gathering of youth by attending World Youth Day in Denver in 1993.

“Every time I’ve gone to World Youth Day, I’ve left with a deeper sense of love for my Catholic faith — it’s my identity, who I am as a son of the eternal Father in heaven who loves me,” he said.

Ninety-two youth of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, representing 12 parishes, will travel to Madrid, Spain, from Aug. 10 to 23 to celebrate World Youth Day through trips organized by the archdiocese. Another dozen parishes will send groups that are organizing their own trips.

Getting ready

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Teresa Bellows of St. Joseph in Rosemount reacts to the heat as she works on site at a house she and other parish volunteers are helping to build for Habitat for Humanity. The parish has been organizing week-long Habitat service visits every year since 2003. On July 18, the crew had to quit early due to excessive heat. According to lead organizer Craig Fleming, this is the first heat-related work stoppage the St. Joseph crews have ever had. See story on page 7.

One such combined group of 48 from St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata, St. Michael in St. Michael, and St. Albert in Albertville has an itinerary that includes stops in Portugal and at holy sites in Spain. In preparation for the trip, they held a potluck last Sunday for everyone going together.

A youth leader from Divine Mercy in Faribault, Stroh and 29 others from his parish have been fundraising for two years in preparation for the pilgrimage. Rather than holding a traditional bake sale, they sold home-grown veggies, coupons and cookie dough — unbaked goods, if you will — as fundraisers.

Raising $3,500 to cover plane flights, hostel stay, PLEASE TURN TO PILGRIMS ON PAGE 9

Confession: It puts you straight with everyone The following was written by Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for the USCCB Media Blog. It is reprinted with permission.

Penance, aka confession, is the sacrament of the forgiveness of sin. You can’t beat it for convenience. It’s available practically whenever.

Tell a priest you want to go to confession and you’ll get his attention.

One bishop I know was cornered on an airplane. Another passenger figured out what was going on and asked if he could confess, too. It must have been an interesting game of musical seats. An

The answers I’ve gathered include “in a sports bar, at a graduation party” and “on the golf course, walking up the fairway.”

Confession has benefits. Here are 10: 1. Confidentiality guaranteed. There’s nothing like confessing your sins to someone guaranteed not to tell anyone else. Sometimes you need to talk in absolute confidence.

interesting question for priests might be: Where was the strangest place you ever administered the sacrament of penance?

Even under subpoena, a priest can’t tell anyone what’s said to him in confession.

He can’t even hint at it. Now that’s confidentiality.

PLEASE TURN TO TOP ON PAGE 23

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JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Answering God’s call to a vocation

That They May All Be One Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

Seed that is a vocation comes from God, but it requires the local community of faith to feed, water and nourish it

On March 5 of this year, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, visited the major Roman seminary on its patronal feast of Our Lady of Confidence.

Interestingly enough, we have a statue in the chapel of our own St. Paul Seminary dedicated to our Blessed Lady under this title.

During that visit, the pope presided at a “lectio divina” on St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. He commented on St. Paul’s use of the word “call” or “vocation” as it applied to the Virgin Mary.

Then he said, “The Lord has called each of us; each is called by name. God is so great that he has time for each of us.

He knows me, he knows each of us by name, personally. . . . I believe that we must meditate on this mystery again and again; God, the Lord, has called me, he calls me, he knows me and awaits my response as he awaited Mary’s response, as he awaited the response of the Apostles.”

What God wants Whether to marriage, priesthood, religious life or the single life, a vocation involves a great mystery, a genuine mix of nature and grace. A vocation is quite different from a career. A career is something I want to do with my life. And that’s OK as far as it goes. But a vocation is something that God wants me to do.

And that makes all the difference.

How does a woman know that out of all the possible husbands in the world that her fiancé is the one for her? Well, she senses the attractions of her heart, but then she tries to objectivize that in evaluating how he works, how he responds, what his values are, what he thinks, what he believes.

The same is true in discerning a vocation to the priesthood, diaconate or religious life, wherein the fiancé is not only Jesus, but his bride, the church. Do I love Jesus in and through his church? Do I love how the church thinks, what she teaches, how she

Archbishop’s schedule ■ Thursday, July 28: 1 p.m., Rapid City, S.D., Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena: Episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect Robert Gruss.

■ Sunday, July 31: 11:10 a.m., St. Paul, University of St. Thomas: Sunday Liturgy for Steubenville North 2011 Youth Conference.

■ Tuesday, August 2: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.

9:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s cabinet meeting.

Attendance at the Knights of Columbus 129th Supreme Convention in Denver, Colo.

responds to human needs, what values she holds, what she believes?

In a vocation, it is God who calls. And those who are called are expected to respond, thereby finding the greatest peace, happiness and joy one can have in this world.

Since becoming archbishop, I spend one morning a month at our two fine seminaries: for college seminarians, St. John Vianney College Seminary, and for graduate seminarians, The St. Paul Seminary.

I always join the college men for their 6:15 a.m. holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. I sit over to the side in the front of the chapel where I can easily glance at the faces of the men at prayer. How impressive that sight is to behold! They are serious to the point of being intense, caught up in dialogue with the Lord. And yes, a few like the apostles with heavy eyelids, struggle to stay awake!

And here is where the process of discernment takes PLEASE TURN TO JOIN ON PAGE 23

The Catholic Spirit The Catholic Spirit’s mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It seeks to inform, educate, evangelize and foster a spirit of community within the Catholic Church by disseminating news in a professional manner and serving as a forum for discussion of contemporary issues.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Catholic Coalition for Church Reform

Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by Catholic Spirit Publishing Company.

Subscriptions: $29.95 per year Senior 1-year: $24.95 To subscribe: (651) 291-4444 Display Advertising: (651) 291-4444 Classified advertising: (651) 290-1631 Published bi-weekly by the Catholic Spirit Publishing Company, a non-profit Minnesota Corporation, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. www.TheCatholicSpirit.com e-mail: catholicspirit@archspm.org USPS #093-580

Four priests have been given assignments in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Father Matthew Ehmke, a former member of the Crosier order who recently became a diocesan priest, was named to serve as a full-time chaplain at St. Therese Nursing Home in Hopkins, effective July 10.

Most recently, he served at Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

Three Redemptorist priests were named to serve at St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center, beginning Monday, Aug. 1. Father Peter Connolly was named pastor. Father Tuan Nguyen and Father Steven Nyl will serve as associate priests.

Official Archbishop John C. Nienstedt has made the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis: Effective July 10, 2011: Rev. Matthew Ehmke, full-time chaplain, St. Therese Nursing Home, Hopkins.

Effective Aug. 1, 2011: Rev. Peter W. Connolly, CSsR, pastor, Saint Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center.

Rev. Tuan Nguyen, CSsR, associate priest, Saint Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center.

Rev. Steven Nyl, CSsR, associate priest, Saint Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center.

Tell us about your memories of 9/11

MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT Publisher JOE TOWALSKI Editor

One new chaplain and three religious priests appointed

Reader Inquiry

Vol. 16 — No. 15

BOB ZYSKOWSKI Associate publisher

Appointments

It has come to the attention of the Archdiocese that the group calling itself the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) is planning a second “synod” in the Archdiocese, to be held in Bloomington on September 17, 2011. The CCCR also has announced a fundraising event that will take place in Lake Elmo on August 2, 2011.

While the purpose of the synod purports to be communicating the voice of the people throughout the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is not being conducted under the auspices of the Archdiocese, the universal Roman Catholic Church, or any entity or organization affiliated with the Archdiocese or the universal Roman Catholic Church.

The Archdiocese wishes it to be known that the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, the 2011 synod, and individuals endorsing the same, are not agents or entities of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis or the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, the Archdiocese wishes to lovingly caution those members of the faithful participating in activities sponsored by the CCCR or who are intending to attend the synod of the potential that the issues on which CCCR will seek reform are magisterial teachings of the Church, and are therefore to be believed by divine and catholic faith.

The Archdiocese also wishes to remind the faithful of its need to shun any contrary doctrines, and instead to embrace and retain, to safeguard reverently and expound faithfully, the doctrine of faith and morals proposed definitively by the magisterium of the Church.

The Catholic Spirit will publish a special section on Sept. 1 marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and we are seeking input from readers.

What personal experience from that day lingers most in your mind?

Did 9/11 change the way you think about the world?

As Catholics, what should we be thinking about as this 10th anniversary nears? How should we mark it?

Send us your answers to one or more of these questions: ■ By email to: CATHOLICSPIRIT@ ARCHSPM.ORG. Please write “9/11 Anniversary” in the subject line.

■ By postal mail to: 9/11 Anniversary, c/o The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

A selection of responses will be printed in the newspaper and online at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM.

Correction A story in the July 7 issue about local Catholic bookstores misidentified one of the owners of Holy Cross Books and Gifts in Lakeville. The owners are Erv and Kathy Ertl.

“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.”

Blessed Mother Teresa

Local News from around the archdiocese

JULY 21, 2011

The Catholic Spirit

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Girls of Summer blaze trail of service and fun

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Julia Prins and seven of her 10-year-old friends gathered recently on the deck of her Prior Lake home on a postcard-perfect summer day.

With the cool waters of Prior Lake lapping at their lakefront property, going for a swim seemed inevitable.

But first, there was important business to take care of. Wearing homemade tshirts with the words “Girls of Summer” emblazoned on the front, they wrote “kindness reminder” cards pledging favors for their parents and families.

Julia’s card read: “Do the dishes for my mom.”

Her mother, Anja, was impressed.

“Wow. I love it that she’s going to do the dishes,” Anja said. “Actually, she does them a lot.”

Reaching out This summer, Julia has taken this desire for service beyond just her own family and pulled together a group of friends, most of them her classmates at St. John the Baptist School in Savage, to form the “Girls of Summer.” They gather weekly on Wednesdays during the summer to work on service projects, have fun and eat lunch together.

On this particular day, after doing the kindness reminders, the girls took a brief swim after a lunch of pizza was served by Paula O’Keefe, whose daughter, Kayla, is part of the group. After that, they headed to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley to drop off a donation of cat toys, blankets and haystacks for the animals at the shelter.

The girls were eager to see the shelter animals that were up for adoption, and they also gathered around a bronze statue of St. Francis in the lobby for a photo.

But, make no mistake, their top priority — as it is each Wednesday — is to serve others.

“For me, this is really simple — it’s faith in action,” Anja said. “I want action.

I want them to connect [with people who have a need]. Anyone can give money. I want them to do something, and I want to get it in their heads that if you see

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Kristina Beer, left, Kayla O’Keefe, Grace Martin, Julia Prins and Rosa Gomez work on their “kindness reminders” during a Girls of Summer gathering at the Prins home in Prior Lake. The girls are classmates at St. John the Baptist School in Savage.

“For me, this is really simple — it’s faith in action. . . . I want to get it in their heads that if you see something that’s not right, do something about it.

”

ANJA PRINS Mother of Julia Prins, one of the Girls of Summer

something that’s not right, do something about it.”

Initially, what wasn’t right for Julia was

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simply boredom. Last summer, her older brother, Jasper, was involved in a program called Summer Stretch, designed for

kids entering seventh through ninth grade and implemented by individual churches of various denominations. St. John the Baptist runs the program, and Jasper participated, leaving his sister and playmate at home once a week.

“I remembered being really bored because I didn’t have anybody to play with,” Julia said. “And so, this year, I decided to invite my friends over [once a week].”

After getting approval from her mom, Julia rallied her friends at the end of the PLEASE TURN TO GIRLS ON PAGE 7

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Danger and miracles accompanied nun on journey to perpetual vows

By Susan Klemond The Catholic Spirit

Sister Jackie Nguyen, a recently professed Missionary Sister of St. Peter Claver, knows the power of prayer.

In her third attempt to escape from Communist South Vietnam in about 1983, 13-year-old Jackie Nguyen and three of her young relatives boarded a boat already crowded with refugees near her home town, Phuoc Tinh. Realizing there was little food or fuel for the fourday voyage to freedom in Indonesia, the girls got off at their first opportunity. Not long after, Communists captured the boat and sent all the passengers to prison.

Back at home, Nguyen discovered that her parents, who had stayed behind in case one of their children couldn’t escape, had been praying fervently for them.

“I could see that it was a miracle for us,” she said.

Nguyen and her parents did leave Vietnam the next year, and after spending another year in Indonesian refugee camps, they reunited with the rest of their family in Orange County, Calif.

A new journey begins Now, many years after her harrowing experience, Sister Jackie’s parents and other family members prayed once more, along with St. Peter Claver Sisters, friends and St. Joseph parishioners, as she continued on her journey — this time professing perpetual vows July 6 at St. Joseph in West St. Paul.

At the Mass, which included hymns

St. Peter Claver Sister Jackie Nguyen signs the formula of profession at the altar as Father Michael Creagan watches. The pastor of St. Joseph in West St. Paul presided at the July 6 profession Mass.

Photo courtesy of the Nguyen family

and a reading in Vietnamese, Sister Jackie made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and resolved to live the Gospel and keep the community’s constitution.

“Today, Sister Jackie became Jesus’ bride,” said Father Andrew Cozzens, who gave the homily during the Mass, at which St. Joseph pastor Father Michael Creagan, presided. “It’s a relationship she was already living but the vows now make it final. The vows are an act of sacrificial worship for her whole life to live as a sacrifice to God.” As part of an international religious community serving 23 countries, nine St. Peter Claver sisters currently live in St.

Paul. The community’s mission is to build “the kingdom of God in the world, especially among the poorest and marginalized, by means of continuous prayer, the gift of self and mission activity,” according to its website

Seed was planted early The fifth of nine children, Sister Jackie was inspired by her grandfather in Vietnam, whom she said had great confidence in God. Also, the example of Dominican sisters at her school and parish first made her consider becoming a nun.

“I believe that this seed of the vocation

was planted in my heart when I was a small child,” she said.

The desire persisted when she came to the United States, but instead she chose an accounting career. Some years later, she read a mailing her parents had received from the St. Peter Claver Sisters and decided to respond. At age 29, she entered the community.

Sister Jackie’s father, Dien Nguyen, of Garden Grove, Calif., said he first thought his daughter might have a vocation when she started doing charity work in her early 20s. He added that the family will continue to pray for her to keep her commitment.

“I’m very happy Sister Jackie has chosen to follow God to be a nun,” he said.

“I hope God continues to guide her to follow as his servant.”

Her older brother, Diem Nguyen, of Anaheim, Calif., also pledged the family’s support for her vocation.

“God has chosen each to do something,” he said. “God called her to be a nun. We will pray for her to be the best nun she can be.”

Sister Jackie said she doesn’t yet know how she will serve the community as a professed sister but that she will continue to pray and trust in God who has brought her through so much.

“We can’t understand right away God’s plan but when I reflect back I recognize his goodness and care for me and calling me to this life,” she said. “I just feel that’s the great gift God has given me and I just cannot thank God enough for that. I thank him every day.”

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JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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In Kenya, Bishop Piché ordains deacon, confirms hundreds

By Julie Carroll The Catholic Spirit

It was a dream come true for Bishop Lee Piché.

As a boy, he imagined visiting the exotic places captured on National Geographic’s glossy pages. So when the auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis received an invitation to travel to Kitui, Kenya, this summer with a group of teachers, students and archdiocesan employees, he jumped at the chance.

“It was amazing,” he said last week after his return to St. Paul. “I went with a very open mind and said whatever I was going to be asked to experience I was just going to try to take it as it came.”

In Kenya, Bishop Piché visited several schools, an open-air hospital and a village for orphaned boys. He saw African animals in their natural habitat. He toured sites where dams and irrigation systems have been built with Minnesotans’ assistance. He helped confirm 900 young people. He even ordained a transitional deacon.

Seven-year friendship The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis formed a partnership with the Diocese of Kitui seven years ago through Catholic Relief Services’ Global Solidarity Partnership program.

In 2004, Archbishop Boniface Lele, then bishop of Kitui, traveled to Minnesota. Since then, two other delegations from Kitui have visited the archdiocese.

The June 27-July 12 visit to Kitui was the third for members of the archdiocese.

Bishop Piché said the Kenyans’ joy, their “exuberance for life” and their faith impressed him.

“By and large, they seemed like a people who have hope,” he said. “They obviously have a love for each other, and they treated us with such great generosity and hospitality and care.”

Photo provided by the Center for Mission

Bishop Lee Piché of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, right, and Bishop Anthony Muheria of Kitui, Kenya, kneel in prayer as transitional deacon candidate Jefferson Mutinda lies prostrate during his ordination for the Diocese of Kitui.

Bishop Piché said he was surprised when Bishop Anthony Muheria graciously invited him to ordain a transitional deacon in his diocese.

“This is what is going to seal the partnership,” Bishop Piché said the Kitui bishop told him, “the fact that we are so identified in oneness through the celebration of the sacraments.”

During the outdoor ordination Mass, about 3,000 people crowded under tents, which provided the only shade.

“It was dusty, dry, hot,” Bishop Piché said. “But the Mass was beautiful.” Children dressed in bright yellow and white uniforms danced while a choir sang in

Lundholm-Eades accepts national church management position

By Pat Norby The Catholic Spirit

After working in the archdiocese for 17 years, Jim Lundholm-Eades will leave his current position as parish services and planning director to take a similar position with the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, based in Washington, D.C., beginning next month.

Ever since the organization gave LUNDHOLM-EADES him an award in 2010, “they have been talking with me about the possibility of working for them,” said Lundholm-Eades. But, at that time, he was knee deep in the archdiocesan strategic planning process and wanted to help complete the implementation of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s vision of “communio” (gathering to celebrate Christ in Word and sacrament) and “missio” (bearing witness to the faith), as set forth in “Lumen Gentium.”

“More than anything, getting people in relationship around the mission of

the church, that’s the plan and that’s what we did,” said Lundholm-Eades, who attends St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake with his wife, Kim. The Strategic Plan, he said, will make the mission of the church sustainable, and future planning and collaboration will be part of the ongoing life of the archdiocese.

Lundholm-Eades said he learned a lot from the planning process that he will carry into his new position with the roundtable, which currently offers management tools and training in about 300 dioceses, parishes and institutions.

A native of Australia and former Christian Brother, Lundholm-Eades first traveled to the United States in 1990 to study post-traumatic stress disorder and chemical dependency.

He then returned to the Diocese of Armidale, Australia, where he had cocreated Catholic Social Services and served seven years as its director. Two years later, he returned to the U.S. to marry Kim, a student he met while studying here.

Lundholm-Eades will remain based in Minnesota, but will be working with Catholic groups throughout the nation.

Swahili and Kikamba, the local language.

After Bishop Muheria received the deacon candidate’s promises, Bishop Piché laid hands on him, said the prayer of ordination, and presented him the book of the Gospels.

The following week, he assisted Bishop Muheria in confirming 900 young people from one parish.

“The population of the Catholic faithful [in Kitui] is growing by leaps and bounds,” Bishop Piché said. “It’s just exploding.”

Water crisis Bishop Piché also witnessed some of

the challenges facing the people of Kitui, including HIV/AIDS, food shortages and one of the worst droughts in decades.

“I had been told about the problems with the drought and the shortages of water and the struggles with feeding the people,” he said. “Seeing it firsthand really made an imprint. It’s much more real for me than it had been.”

Because the area hasn’t seen rain for about two years, streams and rivers have dried up.

“You see people along the roads with their pails,” Bishop Piché said. “They’re about 20-gallon cans, and they have two, three, four of these. You need a bike, a burro, or a cart with oxen or cows pulling it.

“Everywhere you go, there are people going to where the riverbed is, which is dry, but they dig a hole and they can get some water that way, or there are watering stations where they’re pumping water and people are lined up,” he said.

Bishop Piché and the rest of the delegation saw a series of dams that were built with assistance from Minnesota schools and churches. Members of the archdiocese also have helped dig wells and install water purification systems in Kitui.

“We’re sharing something of what we have with them,” Bishop Piché said.

“Whatever it is we give, whether it’s water, money, time or prayer, it’s a gift of ourselves.”

“Their investment,” he added, “is the gifts of their love, their faith, their understanding of the family and the importance of the church community, the way they do catechesis — all these kinds of things that we can learn from.”

For more information about the partnership, contact Mike Haasl, global solidarity coordinator for the archdiocesan Center for Mission, at (651) 291-4504 or HAASLM@ ARCHSPM.ORG, or visit WWW.CENTERFOR MISSION.ORG.

Parish Services Team member takes national education position

By Julie Carroll The Catholic Spirit

Lori Dahlhoff, a member of the archdiocesan Parish Services Team, has accepted a position as executive director for the Department of Religious Education at the National Catholic Educational Association.

Dahlhoff, who has served as director of catechesis, parish faith formation, RCIA and adult formation for the archDAHLHOFF diocese for 10 years, will leave the archdiocese in mid-August to relocate to Arlington, Va. She begins her new job Sept. 1.

As part of the Parish Services Team, Dahlhoff helped lead the archdiocesan strategic planning process, which, she said, ushered in “a vision of lifelong faith formation.”

“I could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through so many different people across the archdiocese, especially in the passion and concern

expressed about the future of parish life and the ability to continue living out the mission of Christ in this area,” she told The Catholic Spirit in an email.

She also is proud of the relationships the archdiocese has formed with partner organizations like the Association of Coordinators and Religious Educators, the RCIA Network, Murray Institute and the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, which, she said, have resulted in better support, education and training for paid and volunteer catechetical leaders and religion teachers in the archdiocese.

During her time at the archdiocese, Dahlhoff earned a certificate in dispute resolution from Hamline University law school in St. Paul, and she also is pursuing a doctorate in education at Hamline.

She is a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in St. Paul.

Dahlhoff said it has been a “privilege” to serve the archdiocese. “I pray I will continue to serve the people of the diocese as I move into this national role in advancing excellence in catechesis and increasing the effectiveness of religious education.”

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Adherence to ideology: the tie that blinds The following column is provided by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which advocates on behalf of the state’s bishops for public policies and programs that support the life and dignity of every human person.

The 2011 legislative session is finally drawing to a close.

Many were surprised by the inability of legislative leaders and the governor to reach a comproJason Adkins mise agreement before a shutdown occurred. When the two parties did finally produce a budget framework, neither side was pleased with an outcome that few believe represents the beginning of a long-term solution to the state’s fiscal woes.

The inability to compromise, however, was not based so much on stubbornness or sheer partisanship as it was on adherence to ideological principle.

On one level it is refreshing to see politicians stake out principled positions and stick to them. But on another level, an almost slavish adherence to ideology in politics can and does inflict harm to the very people public officials claim to serve. And it was ideology that marked the 2011 legislative session.

Faith in the Public Arena

‘The Catholic mind’ An ideology typically involves building an intellectual system around a particular idea or truth, but to the exclusion of other ideas or information.

It is a lot like a theological heresy. In many cases, an ideology represents an “ideal” system whose adherents are often, you might say, religiously devoted to it.

By contrast, what the Jesuit philosopher James V. Schall calls “the Catholic mind” is a radical intellectual openness to “all that is.” It recognizes that truth and reality are not so much ours to create but instead are gifts to be received. We flourish as human beings only when we conform our actions to the truths around us, which we must first have the humility to recognize and receive.

We should not be surprised, then, that in our post-Christian Western world —

“In contrast to a Catholic worldview that aims to integrate all truth wherever it is found, we are left with a choice between partisan agendas that are at best gravely incomplete answers to a set of comprehensive problems and at worst the cobbling together of various special interests.

”

JASON ADKINS

Speaking out

‘Leaven for the world’

Visit WWW.MNCC.ORG and click on the box on the right side of the page that says “Join MNCAN” to access the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s advocacy network. Once there, you can navigate to “Elected Officials” to find contact information for your lawmakers or navigate to “Issues & Legislation” to access current MCC action alerts.

marked by the increasing rejection and disintegration of Catholic tradition — ideological devotion to particular truths or ideas is the hallmark of our politics, even among Catholics.

For many Catholics of the “babyboom” generation, the civil rights movement and the War on Poverty were defining issues.

Thus, their “hunger and thirst for righteousness” compelled them to support the Democratic Party. But when faced with the evidence that there are active attempts being made in the courts and in the Legislature to redefine the bedrock social institution of marriage, some of those same people turn a blind eye and write off protecting marriage as a “Republican issue.” Or worse, they may embrace a false ideology of civil rights that upholds people’s ability to do what they want instead of what they ought.

Conversely, many younger Catholics — as well as elderly Catholics of the

lation of certain truths to the exclusion of all others.

In contrast to a Catholic worldview that aims to integrate all truth wherever it is found, we are left with a choice between partisan agendas that are at best gravely incomplete answers to a set of comprehensive problems and at worst the cobbling together of various special interests.

Certainly, the political realities of today often require us to make an informed judgment about which party or candidate constitutes the greater good (or, more accurately, the lesser evil).

But what does not bode well for our church are the number of us who are quick to identify as Republicans or Democrats instead of, simply, Catholics.

Fortunately, there is a remedy to the slavery of ideology if we are humble enough to open our mind and will to receive it: Catholic social teaching.

Greatest Generation — were shaped by opposition to communism and the culture wars, thus causing them to be more sympathetic to Republicans. When some of these Catholics are confronted with the reality of increasing poverty and declining economic opportunity, they tend to minimize the problems or try to explain them away through the lens of the faux-capitalist dogma that animates much of GOP politics today.

Asserting that government can and should prudentially step in when necessary to help alleviate the effects of poverty and build a ladder out of it are seen as dangerous endorsements of the Democrats and will, in the end, endanger liberties and ultimately thwart the pro-life movement, among other things.

Catholic first What marks these two understandable perspectives is people’s well-meaning iso-

CST is a true philosophy of society. The ethical framework it proposes to both sustain and reconstruct the public order is the fruit of thousands of years of intelligent, prayerful reflection.

It can hardly be contested that had the West embraced the teaching of Pope Leo XIII in his social encyclical “Rerum Novarum” (1891), the world would have been spared much of the destruction and loss of life caused by the ideological battles of the 20th century.

Rather than taking our political cues from a party platform because we are deeply devoted to a few of its planks, we should be attentive to the collective wisdom of the church.

If we have the heart to receive Catholic teaching and let it form our politics, then the church will truly provide a leaven for the world that will not only re-orient the political landscape, but also offer the opportunity for real political solutions that safeguard human dignity, the family and the common good.

Jason Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

Seven more parishes reach Catholic Services Appeal goal An additional seven parishes have now exceeded their 2011 Catholic Services Appeal goal. The addition of the seven parishes now brings a total of 82 parishes over their 2011 CSA goal.

The seven new parishes are: St. Stanislaus, St. Paul St. Ambrose, Woodbury Blessed Sacrament, St. Paul All Saints, Minneapolis St. Lawrence, Minneapolis St. Michael, Pine Island St. Andrew, Elysian Parishes that previously exceeded their goal are: St. Joseph, Miesville The Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul Assumption, St. Paul Corpus Christi, Roseville St. Mary of Czestochowa, Delano St. Michael, St. Michael St. Anne/St. Joseph Hien, Minneapolis Our Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis Mary, Queen of Peace, Rogers

St. Hubert, Chanhassen St. Luke, Clearwater Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul St. Mary of the Lake, Plymouth St. Michael, Stillwater St. Peter, Forest Lake St. Michael, Kenyon St. Helena, Minneapolis Ascension, Norwood Young America St. Bartholomew, Wayzata St. Adalbert, St. Paul St. Genevieve, Centerville St. Bonaventure, Bloomington St. Albert, Albertville St. Rita, Cottage Grove Our Lady of Victory, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Risen Savior, Burnsville St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul St. Canice, Kilkenny St. Vincent de Paul, St. Paul St. Patrick, Jordan St. Thomas the Apostle, Corcoran Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Minneapolis

St. Anne, Hamel St. Peter, Mendota St. Joseph, West St. Paul St. Francis of Assisi, Lakeland Holy Family, St. Louis Park St. Patrick, Faribault St. Margaret Mary, Golden Valley St. Patrick, Edina Our Lady of Grace, Edina St. Francis Xavier, Taylors Falls St. Pius V, Cannon Falls St. Paul, Zumbrota St. Nicholas, New Market St. Michael, Prior Lake St. Paul, Ham Lake Guardian Angels, Chaska St. Charles, Bayport St. John the Baptist, Hugo St. Bridget of Sweden, Lindstrom St. Joseph, Taylors Falls Lumen Christi, St. Paul St. Cecilia, St. Paul Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul St. Rose of Lima, Roseville

St. Louis, King of France, St. Paul St. Francis De Sales, St. Paul St. Agnes, St. Paul Sacred Heart, St. Paul St. John of St. Paul, St. Paul St. Odilia, Shoreview St. John Vianney, South St. Paul St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings St. Henry, LeSueur Nativity, Madison Lake St. John the Baptist, Savage Most Holy Trinity, St. Louis Park Good Shepherd, Golden Valley St. Nicholas, Carver St. Joseph, Waconia St. John the Baptist, Dayton St. Katharine Drexel, Ramsey It is not too late to give a gift. If you would like to make a pledge/gift to the Appeal, please visit WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/APPEAL to donate online.

Or, if you have questions, contact the Development and Stewardship Office at (651) 290-1610.

7

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Heat halts parish Habitat project for first time in 8 years

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Helping those in need find affordable housing has been the legacy of Habitat for Humanity, which relies on church members like the dozens of volunteers from St. Joseph in Rosemount, who worked throughout this week’s heat wave.

On a sweltering Tuesday morning, 27 parishioners came together to help build a house in Shakopee. On hand were several volunteers whose sole job was to pass out water and Gatorade to the workers.

“We actually brought some water, but they had a good supply,” said volunteer

Katie Hansen, who came with her husband, Ryan. “Somebody was thinking.”

When asked about the heat, she said: “It’s not too bad. It’s not completely unbearable.”

That wasn’t the case the previous afternoon when the heat index shot up to 102 degrees and led to something that crew leader Craig Fleming has never seen since he started organizing parish Habitat crews in 2003 — a shutdown caused by excessive heat.

“This was the first time we closed early,” he said. And, with temperatures predicted to be in the mid to upper 90s all week and heat indexes over 100, afternoon shutdowns were expected throughout the crew’s week of service. Yet, the

heat did not keep volunteers away.

“I feel blessed. Every year, we get a full amount [of volunteers],” said Fleming, who leads the parish Habitat committee with his wife, Donna. “I never have to worry about filling it.”

Working through the pain People like Jan Holmes would not even consider missing out, even though she is grieving the loss of her husband, Phil, who died suddenly in October 2010. For several years, they came together to the house their parish was assigned. Even though Phil is gone, Jan chose to come.

And, she gladly — though tearfully — accepted the proposal to put Phil’s name on every T-shirt the volunteers wear.

It is a parish tradition to have T-shirts printed for the volunteers to wear on site every year. The words “Phil’s crew” on this year’s shirts are a tribute both to his hard work every year and his love of the T-shirts.

“Phil was very proud of his Habitat shirts,” Jan said. “He had the whole collection.”

The volunteers who come are passionate about their desire to help build affordable housing for the poor. Matt Timmers is using a week of his vacation time to serve.

“Habitat is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said. “I’ve got vacation to burn. I might as well use it in a good way.”

Catholic churches, institutions take precautions in heat, humidity The Catholic Spirit Catholic Eldercare in Minneapolis has had several clients attending its day care program for “extra days” because of the recent extreme heat and the clients’ lack of air-conditioning at home, said Nikki Stenger, adult day program director.

“We definitely see the importance of seniors coming to our program while it is extremely hot outside,” she said July 19.

“The biggest concern we have is the possibility of dehydration and overheating.”

Although supplying water is standard practice, Stenger said consuming liquids is encouraged more when it is extremely hot outside.

Dave Brennan, administrator of Benedictine Health Center in Minneapolis, said that staff at the skilled nursing facility have been making extra rounds

with water, popsicles and other beverages to “keep people hydrated as much as possible.”

find a way out of the heat), and don’t produce milk. No solutions here, but just to pray.”

Elsewhere

Father Peter Richards

The Catholic Spirit asked parishes if the excessive heat was impacting their parishioners or neighbors and what they are doing to help. Following are a couple of responses.

■ “We have several people who bring holy Communion to shut-ins on Friday or Sunday and check in on families. Most people have a family member taking care of their loved ones in air-conditioning and lots of hydration. . . . One thing to pray for is the farm animals — farmers do what they can for them, but especially the big ones (cows), are having a hard time. They don’t want to eat, are confused (wander more, probably trying to

M AG I T R AV E L

Pastor of St. Michael, St. Michael

■ “The Missionaries of Charity began their two-week summer camp here at [St. Stephen in Minneapolis] today and due to the heat we have had to readapt our schedule a bit. . . . A few ice pops help cool off the kids either after the games or just before they leave to enter back into the heat on their way home. . . . Overall, the positive attitude of the MCs is what powers the kids to go forward in spite of the onset of droopiness from the heat! . . . Here they are safe, well fed, cool and learning about the faith in a positive and welcoming environment!”

Jennifer Smeby St. Stephen, Minneapolis

■ “While we are proud of our centuryold church building, St. Agnes lacks air conditioning. . . . Due to the humidity, the church floor was as wet as on any winter Sunday morning following a snowstorm. . . . We coped by leaving the chandeliers off, keeping the doors closed, and providing ice water for our servers. . . . I scratched the 1,200-word written homily, replacing it with a new one, just half the length. I noticed that the lectionary provided a short form of the Gospel. This week I took full advantage of the option! No one seemed to complain!”

Father John Ubel Pastor of St. Agnes, St. Paul

Read more on the impact of the heat at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM

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Girls of Summer consider service efforts fun, not work CONTINUED

FROM PAGE

3

school year to join the group. They met twice in May to plan events and make their T-shirts and flip-flops.

Moms also got involved in the planning, and they now serve as helpers with the crafts, drivers to service projects and lunch chefs. Though this adds to their already-full calendars, they see value in having their daughters be part of the group.

“I think it’s really important for thegirls to continue their friendships outside of school,” said Paula O’Keefe, whose daughter, Kayla, is part of the group.

“And, it’s a perfect balance of fun, being creative with the crafts, and being able to help others in need or share with others in need.”

The week after going to the Humane Society, the girls gave school supplies they collected to a Prior Lake woman who is going to Honduras to teach.

At the end of this month, they will be donating books to Maria Keller of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, a student at Holy Name of Jesus School who is hoping to collect and distribute 1 million books to needy readers by the time she is 18. (A story about Maria and the Read Indeed

program appeared in the Aug. 12, 2010 edition of The Catholic Spirit.)

The group also has a website: WWW. GIRLSOFSUMMER11.WEEBLY.COM.

‘Sun and Service’ The final meeting of the summer — and the grand finale — will take place Aug. 24. The girls will start the day with service at Feed My Starving Children and will come back to the Prins home for a dinner, bonfire and sleepover, thus fulfilling the group’s theme: Sun and Service.

Though they put forth an earnest effort, the girls and moms do not see it as work.

“It’s fun,” said Peg Voxland, whose daughter, Leah, participates. “Leah loves it. All the kids love it. We keep coming back week after week. We can’t get enough. It’s so much fun.”

It seems that others in the parish are taking notice. Paula O’Keefe recalled some positive feedback she got recently.

“I talked to another mom at church and she said she might have to do this same idea for her two girls,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Said Anja: “I hope other people pick it up. I hear people are picking it up and that’s great. It’s a small thing to do — just open your house.”

“In terms of the sheer numbers of people affected, this is one of the worst droughts the world has seen in a long time.”

Duncan Harvey, acting country director for Save the Children in Ethiopia

Nation/World 8

The Catholic Spirit

News from around the U.S. and the globe

JULY 21, 2011

Pope urges aid for African drought victims

Briefly

Catholic News Service

Archbishop Chaput to lead Philadelphia

Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, especially Somalia, where tens of thousands have fled drought and famine.

The pope, addressing pilgrims at his summer residence outside Rome July 17, said he had been following news of the region’s humanitarian catastrophe with “deep concern.” U.N. experts say the prolonged drought combined with a rise in food prices have forced many families to make long and often deadly overland treks to reach refugee camps.

“Innumerable people are fleeing from that tremendous famine in search of food and assistance. I hope the international community will increase its efforts to quickly send aid to our sorely tested brothers and sisters, among them many children,” the pope said.

“Our solidarity and the concrete assistance of all people of good will should not be lacking,” he said.

On July 16, the Vatican announced it was making an initial aid contribution of 50,000 euros ($70,000) for the victims of the crisis in Somalia. The funds were sent in the pope’s name from the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who also serves as apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, Somalia.

Most of those fleeing Somalia have

Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will succeed Cardinal Justin Rigali as archbishop of Philadelphia.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted Cardinal Rigali’s resignation and named the Denver archbishop as his successor July 19.

At 76, Cardinal Rigali is a year past the age at which bishops are required to submit their resigARCHBISHOP nations.

CHAPUT Archbishop Chaput is scheduled to be installed as Philadelphia’s new archbishop Sept. 8.

Bishops praise foster care ruling headed toward refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, walking across a barren landscape in journeys that have taken more than a month. Many mothers arriving in the camps have described losing children along the way to disease and malnutrition.

The drought in eastern Africa has been

reported as the worst in 60 years, and U.N. officials say it has placed the lives of 11 million people at risk.

U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said July 17 that U.N. agencies have requested $1.6 billion to pay for life-saving programs in the region, but so far have reached only half that amount.

Report finds fewer priests, parishes; more Masses

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service

More U.S. Catholics are attending Masses at fewer parishes staffed by a rapidly declining corps of priests, according to a new report titled “The Changing Face of U.S. Catholic Parishes.”

Produced by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate for the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership project of five national Catholic ministerial organizations, the report documents what it calls the “supersizing” of U.S. Catholic parish life.

“Bigger parishes, more Masses and ministries in languages other than English are becoming the norm,” said a news release on the report released July 18.

CARA found that the number of Catholic parishes has declined by 1,359 since the year 2000 to 17,784 in 2010, representing a 7.1 percent decrease. The 2010 number is roughly equal to the 17,637 U.S. parishes in 1965 and 1,836 fewer than the peak number of U.S. parishes in 1990.

The average number of registered households in each U.S. parish grew to 1,168, and the average number of people attending Mass at Catholic parishes was 1,110 in 2010, up from an average of 966

a decade earlier.

Half of U.S. parishes celebrate four or more weekend Masses each week, and nearly one in three (29 percent) has Mass in a language other than English at least once a month. But the Masses are being celebrated by a corps of priests that declined by 11 percent in the past decade.

One-third of all U.S. parishes have more than 1,201 registered households, while the percentage of parishes with 200 or fewer households dropped from 24 percent in 2000 to 15 percent in 2010.

Smaller parishes are more likely to be closed or consolidated, but they also have higher average Mass attendance than larger parishes.

In terms of individual registered parishioners, the average for U.S. parishes was 3,277, an increase of 45 percent over the 2,260 average a decade ago, CARA said, adding that 40 percent of the growth in registered parishioners in U.S. parishes between 2005 and 2010 was among Hispanics.

More demands on parishes The report said the current U.S. Catholic population is about 77.7 million, based on Americans’ self-identification in national surveys. The church’s official estimate of Catholic population is

about 68 million.

Using three different models for population projection, CARA estimated that the U.S. Catholic population would be between 95.4 million and 128 million in 2050.

“Although Mass attendance has declined in the long term since the 1950s, there has been no recent decline or increase in attendance in the last decade,” the report said. “As Mass attendance remains steady and the Catholic population grows, this suggests increasing demands on parishes as the real number of Catholics attending and needing sacraments increases.”

The report, funded by the Lilly Endowment, also looked at parish finances and services offered, staffing, composition of the parish community, the race and ethnicity of parishioners and staff members, and parish consultative bodies.

The data was drawn from responses to a survey sent to a “partially stratified random sample” of 5,549 U.S. parishes between March 2010 and December 2010. CARA received responses from 846 parishes for a response rate of 15.3 percent.

The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Illinois bishops Daniel Jenky of Peoria and Thomas Paprocki of Springfield praised an Illinois judge’s ruling July 12 that the state’s termination of its contracts with Catholic agencies providing foster care and adoption services risks causing “irreparable injury” to the nearly 2,000 children involved.

Sangamon County Judge John Schmidt issued a temporary injunction allowing Catholic Charities agencies in the dioceses of Peoria, Springfield, Joliet and Belleville to continue providing state-funded foster care and adoption services, despite July 8 letters to each agency from Erwin McEwen, director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, effectively canceling those contracts as of June 30.

McEwen said the contracts would not be renewed because each agency “has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.” The law, which took effect July 1, permits civil unions for same-sex couples and stipulates that they would have the same rights and benefits as married couples in the state, including the right to adopt and provide foster care.

Illicit Chinese bishop excommunicated The Vatican said a Chinese bishop ordained illegitimately in mid-July has been automatically excommunicated and lacks the authority to govern his diocese. Father Joseph Huang Bingzhang’s July 14 ordination at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Shantou, in southern China’s Guangdong province, was the second ordination of a Chinese bishop without papal mandate in the last month.

— Catholic News Service

Nation / World

JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

9

Pilgrims busy collecting funds, travel tips, prayer requests CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 meals and an event fee goes along with spiritual preparation that starts months ahead, Stroh said.

Pilgrims from Faribault have been preparing by meeting monthly to pray together and attend Mass and eucharistic adoration. Friends who can’t go to Spain but want to take part put their names on a model of Madrid’s main cathedral so the travelers remember to pray for them during the trip.

“When World Youth Day happens in a city, the whole city becomes an evangelistic megapoint,” Stroh said. As someone who has gone to the last six World Youth Days — in the U.S., France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia — he’s seen it over and over.

“When the people who live there begin to see the faith of the young people in the street, they encounter Jesus,” he said.

Not a vacation The personal faith of Mariann Kukielka, 17, has already had an impact on the people in her parish of St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.

When Kukielka realized she was the only young person going to World Youth Day from the parish, she decided to hold her own fundraiser — a Sunday continental breakfast. It took a lot of planning, but she raised $900.

Kukielka also shared at each Mass that morning about how she was excited to put aside distractions like her makeup and hair dryer to focus on God during the trip. Because she had spent two years on the debate team in high school, Kukielka said coming up with a concise message wasn’t hard.

“It’s a pilgrimage, not a vacation. It’ll be pushing me personally — I won’t have a cell phone or an iPod, so it’ll take me out of this materialistic world and I’ll

Send yourself to Spain in virtual World Youth Day The Catholic Spirit Can’t make it to Madrid for the Aug. 16-21 World Youth Day? Send an avatar of yourself to the Spanish capital instead.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a Facebook application, fan page and website where people can create avatars, or digital representations of themselves, to participate in a virtual pilgrimage.

On the Facebook fan page, visitors can view live video feed from Madrid, follow key Twitter feeds and blogs, and upload photos and videos. USCCB staff, young adults and young adult leaders attending World Youth Day will post additional content.

The website is at WWW.VIRTUALWORLDYOUTHDAY.ORG, and the Facebook fan page is at WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/VIRTUAL-WORLD-YOUTHDAY/155152027881863.

For more information, send an email to Catherine Panzica at CPANZICA@USCCB.ORG. focus on people and faith,” Kukielka explained.

Libby Dupont, Kukielka’s youth minister at St. John the Baptist, was a member of the World Youth Day leadership and planning team for the archdiocese, which started its work in July 2009.

Together, Dupont and a handful of others discussed matters like housing for the pilgrims, whether or not to take a side trip, how long they would be in Spain, and which travel agency to use.

Dupont, now a mother of two, is the daughter of a pilot. She offered her travel experience by preparing a “What Not to Pack” presentation and a flier about getting through airport security for pilgrims from the archdiocese.

Days in the Diocese The archdiocesan planning team — led

by Bill Dill, youth ministry events coordinator — decided to use a tour company

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Archbishop Nienstedt’s Column “That They May All Be One” in every issue of The Catholic Spirit

called Youth in Europe that specializes in World Youth Day pilgrimages. The group organized a 14-day trip for members of the archdiocese who want to spend a few days at a parish in Valencia, Spain, before official World Youth Day activities commence.

The program in Valencia, called Days in the Diocese, will welcome pilgrims by hosting youth events and cultural activities. Both the two-week trip and a separate 10-day tour sponsored by the archdiocese will include an extra day in Avila, Spain, where St. Teresa of Avila was born.

Albertville native Betty Berling, a chaperone for St. Michael and St. Albert, waited months for a spot to open up. Berling wanted to see for herself what World Youth Day was about, but for years she has also wanted to go to Fatima, where Our Lady appeared. Her group will fly into Lisbon, bus to Fatima, then stay in hotels in cities along the way until local

churches put them up in Madrid.

Details are still in the works, Dill said, but hopefully everyone from the archdiocese will gather for Mass with Archbishop John Nienstedt during the trip. The archbishop will travel to Spain with a group of other bishops.

Spirit of adventure Faribault resident Jacie Carson and her 18-year-old son, Nick, both Lutheran, are familiar with Catholic tradition because Nick attended Divine Mercy Catholic School for years. Now, they’re continuing the ecumenical trend by traveling with the parish to see Pope Benedict XVI. “It gives me a whole new perspective on what the Catholic Church is about.

It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” Jacie said.

Even though Jacie is a state employee and won’t be paid for this vacation if the government shutdown continues, she said she wouldn’t think of backing out. “[We’re] going to be with a million Catholic people, seeing the pope, being immersed in the whole culture,” Jacie said. “I have no idea what to expect. But we’re going with an adventurous spirit.”

Jesus visibly unites his people at World Youth Day. “That we all be one — that’s what Our Lord really wants,” Stroh said.

With the Internet and Facebook, Stroh hopes youth on the trip will be able to stay in touch with God’s people all over the world like never before. He produced a song, inspired by the World Youth Day movement, which can be viewed on YouTube (visit HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/ WATCH?V=TKO6PQBB5S8).

“Africa on drums, on bass — Latin America! Spain on guitar and on keyboards the USA! And on vocals: the World over! . . . The church is one over all the earth, one in Christ let’s put him first.”

2010 WINNERS

Celebrating 100 years of publishing, The Catholic Spirit proudly announces the 10th annual Leading with Faith Awards

Nomination time!

We are looking for folks like these, business owners, supervisors, anyone with management responsibilities who lives their faith in the work-a-day world.

Presented by — PRESENTING SPONSOR — Available — PATRON SPONSORS —

The Catholic Spirit kindly requests nominations for the 10th annual “Leading With Faith" Awards.

Now is the time to nominate a Catholic manager, owner or business person for this prestigious award.

Do it now: deadline is July 22 The 2011 awards will be presented to individuals who have influenced the workplace through business practices that reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Church and who share of themselves in their parish and/or community.

Business people will be honored in both large and small companies as well as leaders of nonprofit organizations.

Forms are also available online at TheCatholicSpirit.com. You will find a "Leading With Faith" nomination form with requirements and criteria the nominees must meet.

Please duplicate blank forms and nominate individuals in any or all of the three categories: businesses with fewer than 50 employees; businesses with 50 or more employees; and nonprofit organizations. The more thorough the nomination, the better the chance of selection.

If you have questions or to make reservations for the awards luncheon, contact Mary Gibbs at (651) 251-7709 or gibbsm@archspm.org.

— SPONSOR —

WORKPLACE PRACTICES — USE ADDITIONAL PAPER (Note: This is the most important part of the nomination. If you do not work with the nominee, it may be helpful to talk with him/her or someone who works with him/her.)

1. List and describe examples that demonstrate the nominee's faith-based leadership. Examples might include treatment of employees and/or shareholders, value-based wages and benefits, role modeling, mentoring and others.

2. Describe an ethical dilemma the nominee has faced in his/her work environment and how he/she resolved the dilemma.

AWARD CRITERIA REQUIREMENTS:

3. List major parish, archdiocesan and/or spiritually based non-church community organizations to which the nominee belongs. Identify leadership roles with each organization.

• Nominee must be employed currently in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

NOMINEE INFORMATION:

NOMINATOR INFORMATION:

• Nominee must be an active member of his/her parish.

Name: ________________________________________________

Name: ________________________________________________

Parish: ________________________________________________

Title: __________________________________________________

Phone: ________________________________________________

Relationship to nominee: ________________________________

E-mail:_________________________________________________

Phone: ________________________________________________

Company name (note whether for-profit or nonprofit):

E-mail: ________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Company contact information, if available:

SUBMITTAL PROCESS: Nominations must be submitted and postmarked by Friday, July 22, 2011.

Mail or e-mail nominations to: Mary Gibbs The Catholic Spirit 244 Dayton Ave. St. Paul, MN 55102 or gibbsm@archspm.org

Archbishop John Nienstedt will present the “Leading With Faith” Awards at a noon luncheon banquet on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, in the Rauenhorst Hall Ballroom in the Coeur de Catherine building at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Number of employees: _____

_______________________________________________________

Job title: _______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

How long has nominee held that position?_________________

_____________________________________

“To sit in the shade on a fine day . . . is the most perfect refreshment.”

Jane Austen

Parish Festivals JULY 21, 2011

A Catholic Spirit special section

Don’t miss a minute of fun, food at parish festivals July July 24 — St. Patrick of Cedar Lake, Jordan: Outdoor Mass at 10 a.m. at 24425 Old Hwy. 13 Blvd. Chicken dinner follows, as well as live music, children’s games, country store, beer garden and more.

July 30 and 31 — St. Mark, Shakopee: Julifest begins with outdoor polka Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday followed by a street dance from 7 to 11 p.m. at 350 S. Atwood St. Sunday includes entertainment, craft and bake sale, beer garden and more.

July 30 and 31 — St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center: Fun Fest with live entertainment all weekend, food from around the world, 5K Fun Run, classic car show and more. Multicultural Mass at 11 a.m. Sunday at 7025 Halifax Ave. N.

August 6 and 7 — St. John the Baptist, Dayton: Street dance 7 to 11 p.m.

Saturday at 18380 Columbus St. Continues Sunday 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a chicken dinner until 2:30 p.m., wine tasting, flea market, pony rides and more.

August 7 — Divine Mercy, Faribault: Spiritfest from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 139 Mercy Drive. Features food, raffles, live music and more. For more information, visit HTTP://DIVINEMERCY.CC. August 7 — St. John Vianney, South St. Paul: Feast of St. John Vianney and pig roast begins with outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m. with Bishop Lee Piché at 789 17th Ave. N. Potluck at 11:30 a.m. followed by a baseball game, St. John Vianney vs.

Holy Trinity.

August 7 — St. John the Baptist, Hugo: Old fashioned community picnic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 14383 Forest Blvd.

Features brats, hot dogs and fresh sweet corn, music, craft fair, baking contest and more.

August 7 — St. Anthony of Padua, Minneapolis: Summerfest begins with a polka Mass at 11:30 a.m., followed by festival from noon to 5 p.m. at 813 Main St. N.E. Live music, food, bake booth, crafts and more.

August 7 — Immaculate Conception, Lonsdale: Polka Mass at 10 a.m. followed by a roast beef dinner served until 2 p.m. at 116 Alabama St. S.E. Also features a bakery booth, music, games and bingo.

St. Bridget in north Minneapolis ready to celebrate with neighbors The Catholic Spirit

5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 4:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Saturday and 10 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at 4030 Jackson St. N.E. Features live music, games, a car show and more. For information, visit WWW.IMMAC-CHURCH.ORG.

August 5 to 7 — St. Raphael, Crystal: 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday with music by River City Express at 7301 Bass Lake Road. Continues Saturday noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7 p.m. with food, music, softball tournament and more.

11

By Pat Norby

July 29 to 31 — Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights: Fun Fest Summer Jam

August

The Catholic Spirit

Jim Bovin / For The Catholic Spirit

Twins Landon and Jayden Krone, 2, play a beanbag toss game at the St. Albert parish festival in Albertville.

August 13 and 14 — St. Joseph, Lino Lakes: Outdoor Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday with a pig roast and dance to follow.

Fireworks at 10 p.m. Sunday begins with a chicken dinner, and games and events follow at 171 Elm St.

August 13 and 14 — St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park: Begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with “Faster than the Pastor” 5K race and a talent show from 1 to 4 p.m.

Continues on Sunday with food, games and more. Visit WWW.SAINTVDP.ORG.

August 13 and 14 — St. George, Long Lake: Corn Days from 1 to 11 p.m.

Marystown, Shakopee: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 15850 Marystown Road. Features a country-style smorgasbord from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with more food available under the tents at 1 p.m. Includes games, quilt auction, wall of wine, and music by Czech Area Concertina Club from 4 to 6 p.m.

August 21 — St. Bernard, St. Paul: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 187 Geranium Ave. W. Outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by entertainment, booya, country store and more. Food, including fried bananas, will be available.

Saturday featuring fresh roasted corn, authentic Mexican food, live music, games, raffle and more. Sunday Mass at 9:15 a.m. followed by a pancake breakfast and parade at noon. Festival from noon to 4:30 p.m. at 133 N. Brown Road. Visit WWW.CORNDAYS.COM.

August 21 — St. Mathias, Hampton: Fun

August 13 and 14 — St. Wenceslaus, New Prague: Polka Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday

followed by festival from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1315 Second St. N.E. Food includes Polish sausage, hot dogs, cabbage rolls (Holubky) and Hispanic foods. The Don Pafko and Lipa Slovak Dancers will perform at about 1 p.m.

followed by a euchre tournament, bean bag tournament and video game competition at 215 Main St. E. Also features booths, food and beer tent.

Polka Masses Sunday at 8:30 and 10 a.m. followed by a grilled chicken dinner, children’s carnival and more. Visit WWW.SAINTWENCESLAUS.ORG/PARISH/FESTIVAL.HTML.

August 19 to 21 — St. Gerard, Brooklyn Park: Corn Fest from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m.

Sunday at 9600 regent Ave. S. Features live entertainment, games and food, including fresh sweet corn. Friday night music by Zebra Mussels, Saturday is Boogie Wonderland. Visit WWW.STGERARD.ORG.

August 21 — St. Mary of the Purification,

Fest begins with a polka Mass at 11 a.m. at 23315 Northfield Blvd. followed by food from noon to 3:30 p.m., country store, games and live country music.

August 21 — St. Cyril and Methodius, Minneapolis: Polka Mass at 10:30 a.m.

August 21 — Most Holy Trinity, Veseli: Annual Ho-down begins with a polka Mass at 11 a.m. at 4939 N. Washington St. Features a chicken cook-out, home baked Kolacky, tea rings and mocha cakes, games and music until 6:15 p.m.

August 21 — St. Bridget, Minneapolis: Backyard BBQ from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3811 Emerson Ave. N. Includes a pig roast, spaghetti dinner, silent auction, children’s games and more.

FESTIVALS continues on page 12

Traditionally, the St. Bridget Summerfest has been celebrated the first week in June at the north Minneapolis parish.

But after Franciscan Father Anthony Criscitelli saw the damage to the neighborhood and heard the insurance assessment on damage to the parish’s school building from the FATHER CRISCITELLI May 22 tornado, the pastor postponed the annual fundraiser and community gathering to Sunday, Aug. 21.

“When we found out the school would be under construction all summer — and we use the school for the Summerfest — we had to rethink it,” he said. “People were trying to rebuild their lives, put a roof over their families, literally, put food on the table and try to keep life as normal as possible, so it wouldn’t be a good time to come together for a carnival.”

As August approaches, Father Criscitelli said he believes it is time to celebrate the rebirth of the neighborhood and the coming together of people.

“The spirit seems to be that it’s time that we do something fun. We spent a lot of time this summer cleaning up and fretting about the future,” he said. “Now, it’s time to come together and give thanks to God for the fact that we are safe and we are here and we are able to do this and invite our neighbors, parishioners and friends to celebrate with us and see that this is not just our event, but their event as well.”

Damage about $1 million Father Criscitelli said insurance agents arrived shortly after the tornado hit that Sunday afternoon and started to help board up broken windows, sweep up glass and arrange for roofers to start working on the school building, which the parish rents out to a charter school.

Damage to the building was estimated at about $500,000. The Sojourner Truth Academy charter school also lost books, supplies, computers and fencing.

PLEASE TURN TO SIGNS ON PAGE 13

12

Parish Festivals

The Catholic Spirit • July 21, 2011

Features authentic Mexican food, American food, music dancers, games and more.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

August 28 — St. Luke, Clearwater: 10 a.m. polka Mass followed by a pork chop dinner at 17545 Huber Ave. N.W. Features square dancing, live music, food booths, games and quilt auction.

September 11 — St. Joseph, Rosemount: Parish picnic at 11:30 a.m. with “pork chop on a stick” lunch, bingo and kids’ games at 13900 Biscayne Ave. W.

September

September 11 — Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine: Praise and worship Mass at 10 a.m. with a chicken and ham dinner to follow until 2 p.m. at 214 N. Chestnut St. Also features live music, food stands, games and a wood auction.

September 9, 10, 11 — St. Patrick, Oak Grove: Countryfest begins with a teen dance Friday from 8 to 11 p.m. at 19921 Nightingale St. N.W. Saturday features a 5K Fun run/walk, Highland games, magic show and fireworks. Mass at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday with games and more from noon to 4 p.m. and classic car show until 3 p.m. Visit WWW.ST-PATRICKS.ORG.

September 11 — St. Mary, Stillwater: Wild Rice Festival and chicken dinner from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. at 423 S. Fifth St. Also features kids’ and teen games, fancy work, quilts and more.

September 9, 10, 11 — Our Lady of the Lake, Mound: 33rd Incredible Festival

September 16 to 18 — St. Patrick, Inver Grove Heights: Begins Friday with a wine

features live music, 5K run, carnival rides and games, beer tent and more throughout the weekend. BBQ chicken dinner served at noon Sunday at 2385 Commerce Blvd.

and beer tasting event with live music and dancing from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday Mass at 4 p.m. followed by a taco dinner, bingo and games. Continues Sunday with a classic car show from noon to 5 p.m.

September 10 — St. Ignatius, Annandale: Polka Mass at 4 p.m. at 35 Birch St. E., followed by a pork chop dinner, live polka music from 5 to 7 p.m., bingo, raffles, beer garden and more. Music by Unleaded from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Big Stock WWW.STODILIA.ORG.

September 10 and 11 — St. Michael, St. Michael: Saturday bingo from 2 to 5 p.m.,

September 10 — Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata: Outdoor tent Mass at 4:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 155 County Road 24. Features performances by Sonar and Tim Mahoney (featured on “The Voice”) after dinner.

polka Mass at 4:30 p.m. in the historic church on Main Street and German dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday features a chicken dinner, games, petting zoo, country store and more at 11300 Frankfort Parkway N.E.

September 10 and 11 — St. Odilia, Shoreview: Saturday noon to 10:30 p.m.

September 10 and 11 — Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale: Fun Fest begins with 4 p.m.

and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at 3495 N. Victoria St. Features grill foods and authentic Latino foods, games, marketplace/boutique, and more. Local talent is featured all weekend including Dan Perry and the Ice Cream Band. VISIT

Mass Saturday followed by food, games and live music with The Dweebs at 4087 Broadway Ave. Continues Sunday at 11 a.m. Visit WWW.SACREDHEARTROBBINSDALE.ORG.

September 10 and 11 — St. Mary of the

41st St. Boni s Fall Festival Better than ever in 2011

First WEEKEND AFTER Labor Day

FRI., SEPT. 9

St. Bonaventure

Chicken Dinner

901 East 90th St., Bloomington

4:30-7 p.m.

Adults: $10; Children 5-12: $5 4 and Under: Free

(Between 10th and Chicago)

Phone: 952-854-4733 Fax 952-851-9690 office@saintbonaventure.org www.saintbonaventure.org

SAT., SEPT. 10 10 a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . Parade 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Raffle 7:15 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Mass Free Entertainment all day 200+ Classic Cars • Rides • Games • Quality Foods Galore

Fall Festival October 1 & 2, 2011 St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 16770 13th St. S., Lake St. Croix Beach, MN 55043 (651) 436-7817

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1: Pet Blessing 10 a.m.

Spaghetti Dinner 6 p.m.

Silent Auction • General Store • Entertainment

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Raffle (Prizes: Freedom Gas Cards, Jordan Meats & Deli Gift Cards and Cash)

Food • Silent Auction • General Store • Bottle Lotto Cake Walk • Bingo • Kids Games • Entertainment and more

Lake, White Bear Lake: Saturday features a 5K run/walk at 3 p.m., outdoor Mass at 5 p.m. followed by a spaghetti dinner at 4690 Bald Eagle Ave. Turkey dinner served from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Activities also include games and inflatable rides for the kids. Visit WWW.STMARYS-WBL.ORG.

September 11 — Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Minneapolis: Mass at 8 and 10 a.m. with Marian procession following the 10 a.m. Mass at 701 Fillmore St. N.E. Spaghetti dinner served from noon to 4 p.m. Also features games, raffles and door prizes.

September 16 to 18 — Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul: Nativity County Fair from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday at 1900 Wellesley Ave. Includes an online auction, craft fair, rides, games, food and more. Outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Visit WWW.NATIVITYCOUNTY FAIR.ORG.

September 16 to 18 — at St. Francis Xavier, Buffalo: Glory Days celebration begins 5 to 11 p.m. Friday with a carnival, beer tent, music and fireworks. Continues Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with children’s activities, 5K race, bean bag toss contest and more. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday with a chicken dinner, carnival,

September 11 — Sacred Heart, St. Paul: FESTIVALS continued on page 14

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 840 E. Sixth St.

42nd ANNUAL WILD RICE FESTIVAL AND CHICKEN DINNER St. Mary’s Church Adults $10 Children 4-10 $5 3 & under FREE

423 S. 5th St., Stillwater

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2011 Dinner served from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Wild Rice • Chicken • Potatoes • Relishes • Rolls • Fruit Pie Kids and Teens Games, Fancy Work, Homemade Quilts, Bingo, Silent Auction

FALL FESTIVAL September 10-11 2011 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10: Bingo 2-5 Polka Mass at Historic Church 4:30 p.m.

German Dinner 5-7 p.m.

Games, Inflatables, Raffles, Refreshments 5-8

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11: Broasted Chicken Dinner 11-2 Bingo, Kid’s Alley Games, Inflatables, Petting Zoo, Silent Auction, Crafts, Country Store, Refreshments 11-5 Grand Raffle drawing $10,000 5 p.m.

St. Michael Catholic Church 11300 Frankfort Pkwy. NE, St. Michael, MN 55376 www.stmcatholicchurch.org

Parish Festivals

JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

13

Signs of God’s presence abundant in midst of ‘horrific incident’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 “Even the playground mulch and sod had to be discarded because there was glass in it,” he said. In addition, the convent and church had an estimated $250,000 to $500,000 of damage.

“The school was the hardest hit building,” he said. “A part of the roof ripped back . . . like peeling a lid off a can.

Consequently, the building got flooded.

The gym and first floor were underwater and it leaked from the second floor. It took about three weeks to dry out the building to prevent mold and mildew.”

The strong winds ripped off the limestone capstones, a cross and some gothic tracery work on the main entrance of the school, which was built in the 1920s and closed in 1995 as a Catholic school when it merged with St. Elizabeth Seton School on the Our Lady of Victory campus, he said.

“The masons did a wonderful job of reconstructing all that with pieces that they found and pictures we had,” he said.

But Father Criscitelli said he is especially grateful for God’s presence that day, although two deaths were attributed to the storm.

“Our deacon had a baptism that afternoon and they left the church building about 2 o’clock and the tornado hit about 2:15,” he said. “The church had windows blown out above the sanctuary that put a mess of glass throughout the church. . . . I couldn’t believe the damage from those windows being blown out in terms of the glass flying all over the place.

It shredded the altar cloth on the altar and took some nicks out of the wood in the sanctuary.”

Fortunately, only one of the stained glass windows in the church was damaged. It was hit by a tree that fell against it, he said, adding that the windows above the sanctuary were not stained glass.

The convent, which had some damage to the chimney and storm windows, “is a tough old building like the sisters who used to live there,” he said.

Seeing God’s presence “One of the wonderful things to come out of this is the way the neighborhood pulled together and the generosity of people,” he said. People who used to belong to St. Bridget years ago and people from St. Gerard in Brooklyn Park, where he pre-

viously served as a pastor, came to help clean up, and many sent checks to help the parish and people in the community.

“If we knew of families in the parish who have been in need, we have been helping pay the deductible on their insurance, get them into some temporary quarters or just providing the basic necessities,” he said. “We have one family with six children under the age of 12. They had a baby the Monday before the tornado. They are living in a motel all summer while their home is being restored.”

In the days after the tornado, people came with saws, rakes or brooms and pitched in wherever there was a need.

“These have all been signs of the presence of God, even in the midst of that horrific incident,” he said. “It boggled my mind when I heard that our tornado was downgraded to an F1 and the one in Joplin [Mo.] was an F5. When I looked outside and saw everything that happened here, I thought, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in an area that’s five times worse.”

Although many trees are gone, houses are still being repaired and work is still going on inside the school, Father Criscitelli expects the neighborhood to be ready

for the Summerfest, which he described as being “like a miniature state fair.”

It will begin about 10:30 a.m., after the 9:30 Mass, and continue until about 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “Backyard Barbecue.” It will feature roasted pig, a spaghetti dinner, silent auction, raffle, children’s games and more.

“We will try to create the sense that it is a neighborhood event, not just a parish event,” he said. “We just want people to know that we are here — and we are not only here for the people that worship in the walls of the church but we are a sign and a presence of the kingdom of God and the presence of God for them, as well.”

St. Bridget is especially reaching out to nearby St. Austin, which has been identified for merger with St. Bridget under the Strategic Plan for the archdiocese. That merger was appealed to the Holy See, which has not yet issued a decision.

“We and St. Austin have discussed and decided that whether a merger happens or not — we’re in the same neighborhood, we have the same demographics, we deal with the same challenges — that we would do well to collaborate where we can,” Father Criscitelli said.

Fall Festival & BOOYA October 16, 2011 Polka Mass 10:30 a.m.

Church of St. Mary 261 E. 8th St. St. Paul, MN 55101 (651) 222-2619

7:30 pm– The Dweebs Party Band

FOOD & FUN 11:30 A.M. TO 2 P.M. Booya, Bake Sale, Flea Market, Crafts, Raffles, Kid’s Games and more!

Church of the Immaculate Conception Lonsdale, MN

ANNUAL PARISH FESTIVAL Sunday, August 7, 2011 Masses: 8 a.m., 10 a.m. (Polka Mass)

eslaus Church St. Wenc

Festival 2011 Saturday, Aug. 13 Sunday, Aug. 14

ROAST BEEF AND HOT HAM DINNER Including homemade rolls, kolackys, pies for dessert Buffet style — Take out available • Serving from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Air conditioned Civic Center open for eating take out dinners

Adults $10 — Children 0-10 $5

SNACK BAR opens at 1 p.m. Serving hamburgers and hot dogs Refreshments • Homemade bakery booth in Civic Center • Bingo • Games for kids Ice cream stand • Chance booth • Country Market & Crafts • Raffle Wheel NEW this year — Split the Pot ENTERTAINMENT — New Prague Czech Singers • Billy K Karaoke • The Ravens

DRAWING AT 5 P.M. — $3,263 in prizes

Saturday, August 13

Sunday, August 14

POLKA MASS 5 P.M.

POLKA MASSES 8:30, 10:30 A.M.

Euchre Tournament, Video Game Competition, Music,Food & Beverages

Grilled Chicken dinner Served from 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Grilled Pork Burgers, Floats, Ice Cream, Crafts, Pull-Tabs, Bingo and Live Entertainment both Saturday and Sunday

14

Parish Festivals

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

CORN DAYS Church of St. George Long Lake, MN

Aug. 13 & 14, 2011 A variety of family activities will be featured including live music, food and beverages, teen and kids' games, exhibit booths, bingo, silent auction and a parade.

The Church of St. George is located 4 blocks south of Old Hwy. 12 on Brown Rd. in Long Lake, just 17 minutes west of downtown Minneapolis

For more information contact

(952) 473-1247 www.CornDays.com

www.TheCatholicSpirit.com Join in a real, old-fashioned Country Church Picnic!

DON’T MISS St. Genevieve’s Annual Country Chicken Dinner & Picnic Sunday, August 21, 2011 — Serving 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Adults $8.50, Children $4 (age 10 and under) Chicken, potatoes & gravy, dressing, slaw, garden tomatoes, corn on the cob, home-made pies & beverages. Crafts, Silent Auction, Amusements, Bingo, Cake Walk, Children’s Games, Raffle (cash prizes).

6995 Centerville Road, Centerville, MN Dinner and all other events held at Parish Community Center, 2 Blocks South of Church

(651) 429-7937

The Catholic Spirit

Touch of Lebanon Festival St. Maron Catholic Church 602 University Avenue, NE – Minneapolis

Saturday, September 24, 2011 1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Authentic Lebanese Cuisine, Games, Raffle, Silent Auction, Gift Shop, And Live Music.

Dancing by The Cedars Dabke Group

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 raffles and more at 223 19th St. N.W. Visit WWW.STFXB.ORG.

September 16 to 18 — Transfiguration, Oakdale: Dinner Friday evening followed by a teen dance, arcade and rides.

Saturday features a 5K family run/walk, games, food and music by GB Leighton.

Sunday outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by a breakfast at 6133 15th Ave. N.

September 17 to 18 — St. Matthew, St. Paul: Begins with a chicken dinner at 5 p.m. Saturday with activities including games, an antique car display, wacky hair styles and face painting until 10 p.m.

More Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 490 Hall Ave.

September 17 — St. Rose of Lima, Roseville: Barbecue dinner from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 2048 Hamline Ave. N. Live music, kids’ games, bingo and more from 6:30 to 10 p.m.

September 17 and 18 — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings: 1:30 p.m. start for golf tournament Saturday at the Hastings Country Club. Festival Sunday 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 2035 15th St. W. features games, pony rides, raffles and more. Visit WWW.SEASPARISH.ORG.

September 17 and 18 — Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul: 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday with music, food, dancing and coronation of the queen. Continues Sunday noon to 6 p.m. with music, food and kids’ games at 401 Concord St.

September 17 and 18 — All Saints, Lakeville: Hilltop Autumn Fest from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 19795 Holyoke Ave. Craft fair, farmers market and more. Continues Sunday with a dinner. Visit WWW.ALLSAINTSCHURCH.COM.

September 18 — St. Canice, Kilkenny: Mass at 10 a.m. followed by a chicken and ham dinner served until 2 p.m. at 183 Maple St. Activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. include a country store, jar bar, crafts and raffles.

Chaska: ‘Tunes and Food’ from noon to 11 p.m. at 215 W. Second St. Old-time music in the afternoon followed by a polka Mass at 4 p.m. More music follows.

Also features American and ethnic foods, country store craft sale and more.

Visit WWW.ANGELFEST.ORG. September 24 and 25 — Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul: Saturday activities include the Cathedral Art Fair and “Tacos in a Bag” served by the Knights of Columbus. Traditional festival Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with live music, cake walk, petting zoo and more at 239 Selby Ave. Visit WWW.CATHEDRALSAINTPAUL.ORG.

September 24 and 25 — St. Michael, West St. Paul: Outdoor Mass at 5 p.m.

Saturday followed by a lasagna dinner and silent auction at 337 E. Hurley St. Beginning Sunday at 11:30 a.m. are kids’ games, hole-in-one golf, live music and more.

September 25 — St. John the Baptist, Vermillion: Mass at 10 a.m. Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 106 W. Main St. Activities include bake sale, beer garden, games and silent auction.

September 25 — Most Holy Redeemer, Montgomery: Mass at 10:30 a.m. with a chicken and ham dinner to follow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entertainment, raffles and activities all day at 206 Vine Ave. W.

September 25 — St. Peter, Delano: Harvest festival at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 204 S. River St. Features a full turkey dinner, beer garden, live entertainment, games, farmers market and more.

September 25 — St. Timothy, Maple Lake: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 241 Star St. E. Features a chicken dinner served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., food booths, games, cash and meat raffles and more.

September 25 — St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul: Noon to 5 p.m. at 1757 Conway St. Event includes home-cooked spaghetti dinner, bingo, children’s games, raffles, the festival general store and more.

September 18 — Immaculate Conception, Watertown: Turkey dinner

October

from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 109 Angel Ave. N. Also features a silent auction, raffle, country store and games for all ages.

October 2 — St. Peter, Mendota: Noon

September 18 — St. Jerome, Maplewood: Outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m.

October 7 to 9 — Holy Trinity South St. Paul: Begins Friday at 5 p.m. with Bingo

followed by festival activities including pony rides, cherry tree and a car show at 11:30 a.m. Booya and other grilled foods will be available. Booya available for take-out at 7 a.m. (bring a non-glass container), 380 E. Roselawn Ave.

Bonanza for adults 21 and over.

Continues Saturday with a taco dinner at 6 p.m. followed by a live auction.

Festival opens Sunday at 11:30 a.m. with games, tractor pull, turkey dinner and more at 749 Sixth Ave. S.

September 23 — Holy Childhood, St. Paul: Taste of Como Oktoberfest from 5

October 9 — Holy Rosary/Santo Rosario, Minneapolis: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30

to 9 p.m. at 1435 Midway Parkway. Wine and food sampling and music. This is an adult-only event. Cost is $15 in advance, call (651) 489-2428. Cost is $20 at the door.

p.m. at 2424 18th Ave. S. Chicken dinner and Mexican foods, games, raffles and more.

September 23 to 25 — St. John the Baptist, New Brighton: Fallfest begins with Friday evening festivities, continues with Saturday polka Mass and street dance and Sunday Booya at 835 2nd Ave. NW. Also features children’s games, food, shopping and more. Visit WWW.STJOHNNB.COM.

September 24 — Guardian Angels,

For more summer fun in the sun, go to www.TheCatholicSpirit.com and check out the calendar

to 4 p.m. at 1405 Hwy 13. Features food, games, boutique vendors and more.

Visit WWW.STPETERSMENDOTA.ORG.

October 9 — Holy Name, Minneapolis: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3637 11th Ave. S. Event includes a pancake breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to noon, kids’ games and face painting, live music, bingo and more. Visit WWW.CHURCHOFTHEHOLYNAME.ORG.

October 16 — St. Mary, St. Paul: Fall festival and booya begins with a polka Mass at 10:30 a.m. at 261 E. Eighth St. Booya, bake sale, flea market, games and more from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Whoever is making his way toward God cannot fail to transmit peace, and whoever builds peace cannot fail to draw nearer to God.” Pope Benedict XVI

This Catholic Life JULY 21, 2011

Opinion, feedback and points to ponder

The Catholic Spirit

15

World’s religions have role in solving conflicts

By Sara Angle Catholic News Service

Few would argue against the notion that to solve conflict created by religious intolerance, prejudice and discrimination, it is essential to understand how religion motivates believers and shapes their worldviews. Simply respecting all religions is not enough.

While religion can be a cause of conflict, it carries political leverage that many say makes it a source for solutions and a tool for peace building.

“We are giving a whole government effort to put religion on the table,” said the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, the new U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The United States is “on the front lines of confronting conflict and urging and pressing governments” to fight for religious freedom, she told Catholic News Service in a phone interview.

While religion can be a cause of conflict, it carries political leverage that many say makes it a source for solutions and a tool for peace building.

Change from within Her comments came in response to remarks of participants during a recent panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington on the role of faith-based diplomacy and the use of religion to resolve conflict, especially with regard to Pakistan.

The press club discussion, held in mid-June, focused on a new book by Douglas M. Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, who says the U.S. should realign its view on the role religion plays in politics.

Among those joining Johnston were James Glassman, former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, and Edwin Meese, former U.S. attorney general.

Johnston said his book — “Religion, Terror and Error” — is a “how-to” book for U.S. foreign policy as it relates to religion.

In it, he addresses what he says are political ambiguities surrounding religion and the state; describes the need for additional training of military chaplains; offers suggestions for reorganizing the executive branch of the U.S. government to create a religion attache position; gives examples of effective conflict prevention; and highlights the important work of nongovernmental organizations.

Johnston’s book also introduces the idea of “organic suasion,” a method of change from within. He specifically focuses on one of his ongoing projects at the international center — a teacher-training workshop to reform madrasas, Pakistani religious schools, by transforming the pedagogy.

Over the past seven years, he said, the workshops have had success in more than 20,000 madrasas. The project works to expand the curriculum to include issues of human rights and women’s rights, but suggested changes are grounded in Islam. The program also appeals to Islamic heritage, respects the importance of having ownership in the culture and is taught “with humility.”

By changing the education of young Pakistani boys, the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy hopes to change the future of Pakistan by combating

the nation’s historically violent past, according to Johnston.

Speaking of government methods of solving religiousbased conflict, Johnston said, “most of what we’ve done today is addressed the symptoms, but we need to address the cause.”

New avenue to diplomacy Johnston said in his book that “there is nothing more persuasive on or off the battlefield” than religion.

Glassman said, “We need to take the tools of public diplomacy as seriously as we take the tools of violence” and “engage the persuasive impact of religion.”

He described Johnston’s approach as “a new avenue to diplomacy,” adding that the U.S. needed to “address the ideas behind the guns.”

Meese said he believes religion is often excluded as a solution to political issues because there is a misunderstanding of what the concept of “separation of church and state” means.

He cited the First Amendment, which says the government cannot endorse one religion over another or establish a national church, but “there is no mention that government should exclude religion in their activities.”

“There is no prohibition from properly using religion and providing a bridge between people,” said Meese.

Meese said Johnston’s work provides an accurate depiction of what a proper relationship is between church and state, and his approach would allow readers

to “rediscover what our founders had in mind.”

Glassman said the problem now is that “the State Department is not constructed to address issues of religion.”

Johnston agreed, saying the department is “still tightly bound in a straightjacket of dogmatism.” He also emphasized the pragmatic side of the issue: “It’s not that they need to be religious, it’s just that they need to be informed about religion.”

New course But Rev. Cook told CNS the State Department is already taking an active role in addressing issues of religion.

For example, the Foreign Service Institute in June launched a new program offering an annual religion and foreign policy course to all foreign service officers.

Rev. Cook said the course was such a success State Department officials hope to expand the program and offer the course more often.

Rev. Cook agrees with Johnson that “education is an ongoing process,” saying the State Department is “not afraid of having the conversation” about religion and has monthly religious seminars with scholars, as well as faith round tables.

“The change is already here,” she said. “I’ve come into a structure that exists and we’re making it work.”

She said she is confident about effecting change. “The structure does not confine me; it compels me.”

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Opinion-Letters

/ This Catholic Life

A principle in need of more respect eligious freedom is one of the hallmarks of U.S. society. But this bedrock principle is increasingly being challenged across the nation — both by government officials seeking to infringe on the deepest convictions held by religious groups as well as by those seeking to muzzle the voice of churches and other faith communities in the public square.

R Editorial Joe Towalski

Religious freedom is coming under fire in several states

The latest example of the former comes from Illinois, where the state has sought to terminate its contracts with Catholic agencies providing foster care and adoption services because of the agencies’ practice of only placing children with married heterosexual couples or single people who are not cohabitating.

State officials said a new law that went into effect July 1 — the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act — won’t allow Catholic Charities to refer same-sex couples to other agencies, as it did in the past. This interpretation of the law is being challenged, and a judge has issued a temporary injunction that allows Catholic Charities to continue to provide the service pending a final court ruling.

Legal protections Illinois isn’t the only place where religious freedom is under fire. Earlier this year, a judge ruled against a law passed by the Baltimore City Council that required pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs indicating they didn’t provide abortion or birth control, although such signs weren’t required of organizations like Planned Parenthood regarding what services they didn’t provide.

Paper books may not be first choice of today’s youth

“Nothing in the Constitution prevents churches and other faith-based groups from speaking on topics being debated in the public square.”

Letter

JOE TOWALSKI

The case continues to move through the courts. A similar law targeting pro-life pregnancy centers in New York City is also moving through the court system.

And it isn’t just Catholic beliefs being targeted. In San Francisco, a Jewish community group is leading the fight against a ballot measure that would ban circumcision, even though it’s a religious rite practiced by most Jews and Muslims.

At issue in all of these cases is whether the government should be able to compel religious institutions and their adherents to abandon deeply held beliefs for a secular purpose. The answer, except in very limited cases, should be no. That’s what the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against when it declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Conflict unnecessary The idea that government shouldn’t interfere with religion, however, doesn’t preclude religious institutions and the government from working together on issues that benefit the common good as long as religious freedom is respected.

In reading Julie Pfitzinger’s excellent piece on today’s Catholic bookstores and the challenges they face [July 7], I may have given the impression that today’s youth do not read.

Having three college-age children, I know that is far from the case. The point I was trying to make is that today’s readers may be doing so more with technology versus paper, and because of that the hard copy of the book or periodical may not be their first choice.

As a result, book stores are obviously faced with the challenges of a shifting marketplace. I appreciate the good coverage by The Catholic Spirit and the continued support of the local book buyers.

And nothing in the Constitution prevents churches and other faithbased groups from speaking on topics being debated in the public square, whether it is voicing views about how the poor should be protected in a state budget agreement or advocating for proposals to preserve the traditional definition of marriage, as the church in Minnesota recently has done.

Budgets and laws have moral implications, and religious communities have every right — no, a responsibility — to speak out and educate their members as well as lawmakers about the potential consequences of legislative proposals, just as any other group is able to do.

Sometimes citizens want to squelch the voice of religious communities because they don’t like the messages being conveyed or don’t think religion should have a role in the public square. Sometimes citizens and government officials want to compel people of faith to act against their convictions and their consciences.

When either happens, everyone loses — people of faith, people of no faith, and everyone who believes in the principles of religious freedom on which this nation was founded.

TIM DORAN The writer is president of St. Patrick’s Guild in St. Paul.

Where to write ■ E-mail: CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM .ORG ■ FAX: (651) 291-4460 ■ Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 Material printed on the Opinion and Letters page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the archdiocese or The Catholic Spirit.

Faith must be rooted in Christ and church, not individuals hese days, it seems like every couple of months new information is released that reminds the world that we priests are all too human.

These revelations are particularly painful when they involve well-known and greatly loved priests and pastors, men who have done great things in the name of the church or preached powerfully on the providence and mercy of God. Confusion, anger Father and even a questionJohn Paul ing of one’s faith can Erickson follow the very public failings of the church’s shepherds. But such public humiliations of the bride of Christ can in fact serve as a purifying reminder that we are called to place our hope and trust in Jesus Christ and his bride the church and not in particular personalities.

And it also is a reminder that the mysterious, indissoluble union of Christ and his beloved bride does not eliminate the broken and frail humanity of the church’s members, members through whom Christ acts by his own free choice and grace, and not due to the personal holiness of the individual.

T

From the earliest years of the church’s

I am sure we all know of priests or bishops who have been given great gifts for the sake of communion with the church,

Father John Paul Erickson is director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship.

“When we become too focused on the particular spiritual gift, rather than the gift giver, who is God the Father of all, our disappointment at the gift bearer’s failures can be an unduly burdensome trial.

”

Commentary

Drawing closer to Christ

For the sake of the church

the kind of gifts that are exercised in the pulpit or the confessional. The gifts of preaching, healing or prophesy are indeed wonderful gifts, but they are for the sake of the church, not the glory of the gift bearer.

It is well and it is good to thank your pastor after Mass for a great homily.

Please do so. But remember to also pray for him, who is, after all, an earthen vessel. Equally important, remember to also thank God who has chosen, in divine freedom, to speak through this frail, broken man.

These days, it is all too easy to recognize the frailty of priests. But the fact is that this has always been the case. Christ chose to build his church upon the waffling, blustery Peter and 11 ordinary men with ordinary struggles, not the least of which was the temptation to run at the sign of danger.

By His grace and His patience they were made to be Apostles, bearing witness at the end of their lives to the truth of Christ by their blood.

Please pray that we priests, ordinary men that we are, might be made extraordinary through the virtues of faith, hope and love. In the end, they are the only gifts that truly matter.

FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON

life, the desire to identify oneself by one’s allegiance to a particular preacher or teacher of the faith, rather than with Jesus Christ and the creed of his church, has been a problem. Paul’s words to the Christian community of Corinth bear witness to this frustrating fact (1 Corinthians 1:10-31). In our day, the tendency to division, already present in the early church, can be exacerbated through television, the Internet, the radio, and yes, even the good old fashioned paper.

But it can also be exacerbated by the God-given talents of God’s shepherds, or rather, by focusing on these talents and the bearers of them too much, rather than allowing these talents and gifts to draw us closer to Christ himself and into deeper communion with the church and her shepherds, the bishops of the Catholic world who stand in union with

the Holy Father.

This, of course, is the purpose of all spiritual gifts in the church — the building up of the mystical and hierarchical body of Christ, which is the church.

When we become too focused on the particular spiritual gift, rather than the gift giver, who is God the Father of all, our disappointment at the gift bearer’s failures can be an unduly burdensome trial.

Likewise, stubborn allegiance to a particular personality due to their charisma or talents can lead to division in our own life, a division that is not of God and part of discipleship, but one of pride and selfrighteousness.

This Catholic Life / Commentary

JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

17

Is there really ‘no longer enough for all’ in state and nation? ummertime in Minnesota is typically a time to push back a bit and enjoy the blessings of the sun. This summer, however, has been anything but typical. And I am not referring to the weather — more the atmosphere, the political climate that is weighing on all of us.

By and large the issue before us is about the role of government in the protection and promotion of the common good. But the focus of the conversation has centered largely on the scarcity of resources. The predominant wisdom is that there is no longer enough for all.

To be sure, there are huge budgetary concerns related to the aging of our population, rising health care costs and the uncertainty about whether the economy will ever be able to have sufficient jobs to support workers and supply those workers with a wage sufficient to care for their families. As things currently stand, we are not taking in enough in revenues to deal with the needs of the state.

S

Faith and Justice Kathy Tomlin

Election cycles can often yield misleading identification of problems and simplistic solutions

The business of government In addition to our concerns about the balance between spending and revenue, we should be compelled to examine the way we do the business of government in the protection of the citizenry.

Minnesota, in particular, has a long held history that extols the virtues of public-private partnerships in advancing education, human development, health care, social services, technology and the sciences. In the last 10 years, the Legislature has convened any number of special commissions to study and make recommendations for reform on health care, tax structure, long-term care, education, etc. The

“It seems unreasonable to arbitrarily hold the line on spending without having the conversation about the needs.

”

problem is that, for the most part, many very solid reform principles and frameworks have been left on the shelf or in the digital file.

Facing these large questions requires long-term thinking and planning. This ability to “re-position” ourselves, however, conflicts with the very nature of our political calendars. Pursuing the two-year election and budgeting cycles focused more on party ideology, party bosses and politicking doesn’t create the space for good planning.

Combined with a mixture of facts and myths, these election months turning into years can often yield misleading identification of the problems we face and simplistic solutions.

Both the state and the nation need bipartisan leadership focused

on the quality of life that we expect to enjoy and how governments can balance reform, a fair tax structure and spending cuts. It seems unreasonable to arbitrarily hold the line on spending without having the conversation about the needs of the state and the revenue it will take to meet the needs.

Looking to the future It also seems unreasonable to arbitrarily decide to expand revenue without doing the quality planning that will streamline services and develop more innovative ways of doing the work.

Most businesses and non-profits know that it takes investment to do planning that is thoughtful, engages the right people and communicates recommendations clearly.

KATHY TOMLIN

It also takes leadership to provide the framework and information to persuade the public about the rationale for the direction, the investment and cost-benefit of not continuing to do things the same old way.

Going forward, it would be good to: ■ Ask for charity — treating each other as travelers along the way, rather than vilifying each other.

■ Ask for patience — while we try to shake the cement of “my way or the highway” from our shoes.

■ Ask for bold courage — because that is how faithful leadership is defined.

Kathy Tomlin is director of the Office for Social Justice of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Following humble path means knowing ‘who’ and ‘whose’ you are uring the days of government shutdown, political standoffs and ideological battles, it amazes me how sure everyone is about their position.

It reminds me of an article I read

by David Brooks written for The New York Times in which he observed in our country an increasing kind of overconfidence and inflated sense of our abilities, intelligence and selfesteem.

Among several anecdotes to support this observation, he highlighted how 12 percent of high school seniors in the 1950s identified themselves as being “a very important person” compared to the 1990s in which more than 80 percent believed they were very important.

His big question was this: In an age of “self-confidence” and “selfexpansion,” does it contribute to some of the social and political problems we face today? Does this perceived self-importance decrease our ability to foster community and seek the common good?

D Mission Link Deacon Mickey Friesen

Behind the humble people I’ve met are persons who have had to face their limits and discovered God’s graciousness

Lessons from our church Sometimes this same kind of overconfidence can sneak into our reli-

gious and faith discourse as well.

Self-assured preachers and teachers of all stripes proclaim with certainty their version of the “truth.” God is said to be on “our side” of the issue.

When doctrines, Bible quotes and teachings become reduced to egopossessions and ammunition to defend certainties they no longer are related to faith.

I’m reminded of the early Church Fathers who crafted the language that eventually became our creed.

First, they would humbly acknowledge how God is so totally beyond our comprehension and control, leaving us only in awe and adoration. In that spirit, they offered their thoughts on doctrines of Christian faith.

St. Augustine is known to have said regarding knowing God, “If we have comprehended, then what we have comprehended is not God.” Mystics and teachers of faith such as St. Teresa of Avila made a point that Christian maturity is grounded in humility. She said, “Humility is to keep within the bounds of truth.”

This includes an honest appraisal of the truth of who we are before

God and neighbor.

When we can be humbled from self-preoccupation and need to control, it is amazing how we can be led into the great mysteries of our faith and led into community and be freed to offer our gifts to be shared for the common good and building up the body of Christ. The categories of winning and losing, being right or wrong, best and worst begin to fade away.

Sometimes, people who have suffered, faced their own mortality or fallen from grace learn humility despite themselves. Behind the humble people I’ve met are persons who have had to face their limits and discovered God’s graciousness.

They have uncovered what St. Paul calls the wisdom of the cross — that in our weakness, we discover strength.

A different path From the place of humility we can experience God’s providence, which gives meaning to our ups and downs, our successes and failures.

We can witness to truth without needing to control the outcome of where that truth should lead us.

Christian humility opens us to possibilities beyond our current understanding and creates a spacious heart able to hold contradictions and conflict graciously until there is reconciliation.

Humility helps us to grow in honesty. Humility helps us to participate in community. Humility can inspire reverence and awe that lead us to true worship and thanksgiving to God who is beyond understanding.

Humility can realign us to find our place in God’s plan.

The path of humility is the path of God among us. As St. Paul says, “Even though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself. . . .

He humbled himself” (Philippians 2:6-8).

Following the humble path is not about being passive or disengaging from action. Rather, it means knowing “who” you are and “whose” you are as you engage that world.

Deacon Mickey Friesen is director of the archdiocesan Center for Mission.

“The secret of a happy life isn’t buried in a treasure chest . . . it lies within your heart.”

Author unknown, from “Life is for Living”

The Lesson Plan 18

The Catholic Spirit

Reflections on faith and spirituality

JULY 21, 2011

We are privileged to know, spend time with our treasure uring every Easter Vigil in the parish in Ghana where I grew up, we received, baptized and confirmed more than 100 people into the Catholic faith.

Each year, many of these people came from the remote villages of the town and would have to walk 15 to 20 miles to get to the church so they could be there in time for the Easter Vigil Mass.

As I reflect on this, and why these people would walk such a long distance so they can be there for Mass, I realize that they don’t just enjoy walking a long distance — they do this because they have found Christ, whom they have come to recognize as their treasure and their pearl of great price. So, the people will, and Deacon do, walk these long distances so they Robert can be with him at Mass.

Abotzabire We have great examples in the history of the church, where many of the first martyrs gave up their lives, willingly, because they had found their treasure and pearl of great price.

What comes to mind when you hear Matthew’s Gospel? — “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

We have him in the Eucharist after Mass, where we can adore him and praise him and also give him thanks or tell him all that is worrying us.

We have his word in sacred Scripture, which has guided the church for centuries.

And, we have our church leaders and our pope, to whom Christ said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).

D

Sunday Scriptures

Christ is the clear treasure For me, it is clear that as Catholics, we have found

Readings Sunday, July 24 17th Sunday in ordinary time ■ 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 ■ Romans 8:28-30 ■ Matthew 13:44-52

For reflection Take some time to consider what sacrifices you are willing to make for your Catholic faith.

that our treasure and our pearl of great price is Christ. It is he who reveals the Father’s love to us, and it is he who gives us the very food of heaven — his own body and blood — so we can be saved.

And, now that we have found our pearl of great price and our treasure, what do we do next?

We might not go out and sell all our belongings, our house or our car. We might not walk 15 to 20 miles. But we can spend time getting to know our “treasure and pearl” better.

As Catholics, we are privileged to have all the sacramental avenues we need to be with Christ.

We have the Mass every day, because he said in Luke 22:19: “Do this in remembrance of me.” In every Mass, he constantly reveals himself to us.

What a privilege we have If our treasure and our pearl of great price is Christ, do we spend time with him in the celebration of Mass? Are we attentive to his word when we go to Mass? Or, do we look at our watches to see how long the priest has preached, or leave Mass early or wish that Mass would be done so we can go watch a football, soccer or baseball game?

Christ is more valuable than anything else we can have, and a person must be willing to give up everything to be with him.

Remember the man who discovered the treasure in the field, who had stumbled upon it by accident, but knew its value when he found it. Remember the merchant, who was earnestly searching for the pearl of great value, and when he found it, sold everything he had to purchase it.

You and I are called today to reflect on the time we spend with Christ and the sacrifices we are willing to make to be with him.

Deacon Robert Abotzabire is in formation for the priesthood at The St. Paul Seminary for the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga in Ghana. His teaching parish is Holy Spirit in St. Paul.

Daily Scriptures Sunday, July 24 17th Sunday in ordinary time 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:44-52 “The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, ‘Ask something of me and I will give it to you.’”

— 1 Kings 3:5 We know that in response to God’s invitation Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people and to distinguish right from wrong.

We also know that despite this promising beginning King Solomon failed to remain faithful to the Lord. No one is immune to a similar fate as we are often blind to our own weaknesses. Meeting with a trusted companion as well as taking time to quiet our hearts on a regular basis can help us become aware of both our gifts and our illusions.

Monday, July 25 James, apostle 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 Matthew 20:20-28 We underestimate the seduction of power, privilege and status.

Tuesday, July 26 Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 Matthew 13:36-43 Without humility we can become what we criticize and hate.

Wednesday, July 27 Exodus 34:29-35 Matthew 13:44-46

Interior freedom and joy are worth surrendering the need to win, stay safe and be in control.

Thursday, July 28 Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38 Matthew 13:47-53 Remain faithful to the beliefs, practices and desires that draw you closer to the compassionate heart of God. Friday, July 29 Martha Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37 John 11:19-27 Confusion and doubt as well as trust are all part of our faith journey.

Saturday, July 30 Peter Chrysologus, bishop Leviticus 25:1, 8-17 Matthew 14:1-12 Whenever we make choices out of a desire for approval, we lose our freedom.

Sunday, July 31 18th Sunday in ordinary time Isaiah 55:1-3 Romans 8:35, 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21 “Come to me heedfully; listen, that you may have life.”

— Isaiah 55:3 I was surprised and touched when one of my adult daughters told me that when she was growing up, I didn’t always pay attention to every word she said. She also knew she could count on me to really listen and hear what she was saying when it counted. Listening with our hearts as well as our heads isn’t easy or always convenient, but it is the way we

communicate that someone matters to us.

Listening to the Spirit requires that same willingness to put aside our assumptions, prejudices and even our most cherished opinions, so that we might make life-giving choices.

Monday, Aug. 1 Alphonsus Liguori, bishop Numbers 11:4b-15 Matthew 14:22-36 We can be controlled by our fears or listen to what they reveal about ourselves.

The choices that first appear terrifying may ultimately prove to be life giving.

Saturday, Aug. 6 Transfiguration of the Lord Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 2 Peter 1:16-19 Matthew 17:1-9 Any grace-filled experiences we are given are meant to help us live on earth, not above it.

Thursday, Aug. 4 John Mary Vianney, priest Numbers 20:1-13 Matthew 16:13-23 When we get too attached to our vision of how things should unfold, we become blind.

Sunday, Aug. 7 19th Sunday in ordinary time 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33 “Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side.”

— Matthew 14:22 My friend’s physically challenged son recently moved out into his own apartment. Naturally, she worries that he will attempt things beyond his capabilities; however, she tries to temper her concern for his safety with support as he ventures out into the world. Jesus seems to be doing something like that when he sends the disciples out alone. Yet, he is there when the storm threatens to overwhelm them.

Appropriate risk is a necessary part of our life of faith. Remaining safely on shore is not an option if we are going to follow Jesus.

Friday, Aug. 5 Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome Deuteronomy 4:32-40 Matthew 16:24-28

The daily reflections are written by Terri Mifek, a member of St. Edward in Bloomington and a certified spiritual director at the Franciscan Retreat House in Prior Lake.

Tuesday, Aug. 2 Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop, or Peter Julian Eymard, priest Numbers 12:1-13 Matthew 15:1-2,10-14 Whatever is not rooted in compassion, justice and mercy will not last.

Wednesday, Aug. 3 Numbers 13:1-2, 25 — 14:1, 26-29a, 34-35 Matthew 15:21-28 The Spirit continues to expand our vision and open our hearts to new possibilities.

The Lesson Plan

JULY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

19

NFP Matt and Julia Doffing Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

By Matt Doffing

NFP Awareness Week

For The Catholic Spirit

y wife and I had dated for five years by the time I slipped my engagement ring on her finger. It was because of this long wait that when my thenfiancee said, “I think I am going to sign us up for NFP classes,” my heart sank.

I was not at all attracted by what I thought I knew of NFP. It brought to mind thoughts of unwanted abstinence and 10-person families.

M

Changing attitude

Enhancing an appetite for intimacy To mark Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, July 24-30, The Catholic Spirit is featuring testimony about NFP from two couples and a pastor.

Natural family planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancies which, in conformity with Catholic teaching, do not involve use of any artificial means of contraception.

For more information about NFP, contact the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life at (651) 291-4488.

Jay and Lynn Tomaszewski Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

By Jay and Lynn Tomaszewski For The Catholic Spirit

e have been married for seven years, and natural family planning has been an interesting part of our marriage. Neither one of us was familiar with NFP before we took a class as part of our preparation for marriage, and we were amazed to discover the beauty of the natural cycle that God gave women.

It gave us a deeper respect for the human body and made us appreciate God’s design and how he intended things to be. And then we had to put it into practice in our marriage. After our first daughter was born, our cycle returned when she was only 3 months old.

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Upon reflection, I found the image I had created of intimacy had been formed by five years of abstinence.

Don’t miss It reminds me of this last Thanksgiving, waiting all Finding balance morning for the delicious smelling meal to be ready.

Father Leo Patalinghug of the As a husband I, Jay, was drawn to the passage, “Lay What if someone had tried to tell me then that I could Archdiocese of Baltimore will down your life for your bride” because I loved the only eat so much of it and only at a specific time? present a talk entitled, “Satisfying chivalry of it. I always imagined myself saving her But then I saw how similar my desire for intimacy the Human Appetite in a Natural from a fire or shooting all the bad guys as they were was to an appetite. It had that quality of wanting to Way: A Discussion Relating to the breaking into our house. I realized years into our consume without being hindered. It was equally Human Hunger in Body, Mind marriage that the macho side of that passage has little grudging when someone suggested a limitation. Yet it and Spirit ” from 7-9 p.m. July 26 to do with what it actually means. had a nobler side, one motivated by love that drew me at St. Peter in Mendota.

Allow me to explain: Nature’s urge to be with your to the life pledge of marriage. This noble side trumped Cost is $25 per couple, $15 for wife is intense, to say the least, which is how it was my appetite; my wife would not be a thing I consumed individuals. For information and to designed so that we would procreate. At the same time, but rather my beloved whom I would serve. obtain a registration form, call FATHER (651) 291-4488, or email since virtue always resides in the middle, we can’t This limitation on intimacy in NFP is also connected PATALINGHUG SCHULTEN@ARCHSPM.ORG. satiate every urge we have or we become gluttons. to control of reproduction. Did NFP work for those This means there needs to be some restraint or who needed to plan their family? temperance of our desires. Since this is truly what God This worry was laid to rest when I learned how NFP wants for us, to be balanced, we need a tool. That tool is NFP. It has given me the employs a scientific method. The couple collects data and applies principles to ability to see my wife as much more than a way to fulfill my desires and to lay my inform the decisions they make about intimacy. Compare this with the desires down for her and for her well-being. uncertainty that hormonal contraceptives create in a woman’s cycle and you have As a wife I, Lynn, wanted to obey my husband and help him become a better two options: We would either be intimate without knowing if conception was man. In the beginning of our marriage, this was not as easily attained as I had possible or we would know if conception was possible and then decide. I preferred imagined — two wills crashing into each other, two different ways of doing to know and choose rather than letting synthetic hormones decide for us. everything, two souls trying to unite and both of us struggling to find some Finding fulfillment common ground.

The final turning point came after Julia and I were married, when we saw the Looking back, my biggest downfall was not realizing, recognizing and validating joy that the mentality of NFP brings. My wife and I began to observe the effects of my husband’s greatest desire — to be with his wife. The tool that has helped me openness to life in the joy of parents in playing with their kids and in seeing them understand my husband, and ultimately help him become a better man, is NFP. learn and grow.

With the use of NFP, and the sacrifices that it requires, my admiration for my I had imagined such a collection of displeasure that I had overlooked altogether husband has grown immensely and encouraged me to be a more loving wife. the reward of the work. After all, I was willing to bike 10 miles a day to stay in By using NFP, we constantly have an open dialogue about our needs, wants and shape or work long hours for my career, but I was not willing to work for another emotional struggles throughout our cycle. By doing so, we have found a new level human person. This self-criticism informed my view of children, and I saw that of respect and deep understanding for each other. persons are a far more worthwhile thing to suffer for than my own comfort.

This has brought us extremely close, strengthened our love and commitment to My wife and I are now parents of a beautiful baby boy who has brought us more one another and also given us a greater desire to bring the other spouse to God’s joy than diapers and more fulfillment than sleepless nights. heavenly kingdom.

Matt and Julia Doffing are members of Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

Jay and Lynn Tomaszewski are members of Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

What’s the big deal about natural family planning?

By Father Thomas Dufner For The Catholic Spirit

riests have a thousand concerns in the parish — gathering God’s people together, forming them in the truth, loving them and staying with them in their sorrows.

We try to speak the truth in all things, but it’s easy to put off speaking on certain truths because they seem so private, so delicate, so unpopular.

To put it another way, we like to be

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liked. We like smooth sailing, no fights, no troubles. We would never deny the faith. But we might speak the hard messages only rarely, and then only with a glancing blow, rather than with both feet planted and firmness in our voice.

We sometimes count more on our human ability to manage the conflict than the power of the cross to convince the minds and win the hearts of our people. Yet, the power of the cross is

revealed most majestically in those parts of the faith hardest to live.

Core of discipleship Perhaps the most central teaching to the support of stable marriage, strong parishes and a Christian culture is the church’s teaching on sexuality (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph No. 2331 and following).

It’s the hardest to speak about, the most challenging to live, yet stands at

the core of discipleship. Are we followers or not? Do we offer our bodies as “a living sacrifice of praise” or not?

The crux of the matter today is the contraceptive mentality and contraceptive practices. We can’t build faithful disciples and develop Christian families with these attitudes and practices. The great division in society is PLEASE TURN TO CONTRACEPTION ON PAGE 20

20

The Lesson Plan

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Glory to God in the highest, and — prepare for new words n most Sundays at Mass — after gathering, signing ourselves with the cross, confessing our sins and acclaiming God’s mercy — we praise God with the singing of the Gloria. The Gloria is also sung on feasts and solemnities throughout the church year. While our liturgical books and documents allow for the Gloria to be recited, it is a hymn, and hymns are most effective when they are sung.

The Gloria is one of the church’s most ancient hymns, dating from as early as the fourth century. The Gloria has a peculiar place among the parts of the Mass that are sung: It is one of the few instances in which music is not accompanying another liturgical action. Much of our sung and instrumental music at Mass accompanies processions, including at the entrance, the procession with the Gospel book, the preparation of the altar and gifts, the distribution of Communion, and the procession at the end of Mass.

Sometimes our music accompanies a liturgical action such as the Rite of Sprinkling, or the breaking of Michael the Bread — properly known as the Silhavy Fraction Rite. At other times, our singing is a dialogue with the priest celebrant or other liturgical ministers. Our singing can also consist of interjected acclamations, like those sung during the Eucharistic Prayer. But the singing of the Gloria is the liturgical action taking place; nothing else is happening at that moment in the Mass.

O

Lift Up Your Hearts

Structure of the text The Gloria begins by echoing the good news sung by the angel choirs at the birth of Christ. The Gospel of Luke records these words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Our present translation of the Gloria reads: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.”

The new translation will be, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.”

One notes that while all three passages begin the same way, the endings are quite different. The new translation seeks to be a more literal rendering of the Latin Mass text, “et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.” This illustrates an important point: The new translation of the Roman Missal is precisely that; a translation of the Latin Mass text, not a translation of the Scriptures.

In the new translation, the triune God is then praised in a type of litany: “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory.” Note that five verbs are used in this sentence: “praise,” “bless,” “adore,” “glorify” and “give” (you thanks). Our current translation uses only three verbs: “worship,” “give” (you thanks) and “praise.”

Here is a clear example of the new translation follow-

Current text

Revised text

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Coming up next in the liturgy series: Aug. 4 — “The Creed, part 1”

Some practical considerations

have known and loved for 40 years — will be unusable.

Some composers have admirably adapted their old settings to fit the new words, and as can be expected, some results have been successful while some have not.

While we may be forced to bid farewell to some musical settings of the Gloria, we will no doubt delight in all the brand new settings composers will be creating.

As the Gloria is not sung on the Sundays of Advent, many people will be encountering the new translation of the Gloria for the first time at the Christmas liturgies.

Music directors would do well to find a musical setting of the Gloria in which the congregation sings a refrain while the choir or cantor sings the majority of the Gloria text. Such refrain settings are indeed allowed, and the Latin refrain “Gloria in excelsis Deo” — so well known and beloved from the carol “Angels We Have Heard on High” — would be an excellent refrain to use on Christmas and throughout the Christmas season.

It is also possible for the choir alone to sing the Gloria.

Rather than being seen as taking sung parts away from the congregation, the occasional use of a choral Gloria may be a festive way to heighten the music on special days — like Christmas.

An occasional choral Gloria also allows the choir to exercise its unique role in the liturgy. When sung by the choir, and especially when sung by all, the Gloria is nothing less than our opportunity to join our voices with the angel choirs in heaven proclaiming the glory of God, the God of glory who does great things for us.

Based on the numerous textual changes above, music directors have come to the realization that virtually all English language settings of the Gloria — settings we

Michael Silhavy is a member of the archdiocesan Parish Services Team.

ing the Latin text quite literally. The Latin contains these five phrases: “laudamus te,” “benedicimus te,” “adoramus te,” “glorificamus te” and “gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.” Even those with limited or no Latin skills can see how closely some of the words are related: “adore” and “adoramus,” “glorify” and “glorificamus.”

After praising God the Father, “Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father” (language almost identical to the current translation), we direct our praise to Jesus Christ: “Lord Jesus Christ, only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.”

Here we can see some of the poetic form of the Latin text. Note the double usage of the phrase “you take away the sins of the world” and also the double usage of the phrase, “have mercy on us.” These repetitions were dropped in the current translation. Note also the extended string of titles by which we acclaim the second person of the Trinity: “Lord Jesus Christ, only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.”

If you find yourself overwhelmed with all the textual changes listed above, fear not. The new text of the Gloria ends with the familiar translation to which we are accustomed.

Contraception corrupts total self gift required in true marital love CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 between those who hold that the sexual act is only for the union of a husband and wife and must be a total self gift, and those who say that sex is for my personal gratification.

True marital love requires a total self gift, by which we mean that we intend our union to be lifelong, faithful, with each embrace open to new life.

Contraception corrupts the gift. It separates life from love in the sexual embrace of a husband and wife. It starts off with an altruistic sense of loving the other, but ends up loving self. Instead of giving oneself to the other, we use the other for our gratification and the marriage is wounded. Once I diminish the total gift of myself by separating love from life, I’ve said, “This act is closed to life.” By definition, every life conceived from this point on is a contraceptive failure and unwanted, perhaps even resented. This attitude is the basis of our abortion laws.

Furthermore, since I’ve now made myself the absolute arbiter of life, if I want a child, I reserve the right to do anything to attain it. And so we have test

tube babies, stem-cell research derived from aborted children and attempts at human cloning.

On a cultural level, if the goal of any sexual act is merely one’s own gratification, and that end is attained, who can say that the loving embrace of a husband and wife is better than extramarital sex, or premarital sex, or sex alone or homosexual sex?

If the goal is one’s own gratification, and the goal is attained, all acts appear morally equal. So the contraceptive mentality is the root of much of the breakdown of our culture.

What does the church propose? That when spouses give themselves to one another, they give their whole self, including their fertility. All intimate acts between a husband and wife should be open to life. What we call natural family planning, and what Pope John Paul II called fertility awareness, lets us know when we are fertile as a couple and use that knowledge to attain or postpone pregnancy.

Pope John Paul II established a natural family planning clinic in every parish in his diocese of Krakow. He had discussion groups meeting on the subject in parishes all over the diocese, and every

couple preparing for marriage took the course!

At Holy Family, we preach on this message to the whole congregation, and we also expect each couple preparing for marriage to take the full NFP course.

Learning about one’s fertility is a given. Acting on this knowledge is the challenge. The many, many couples who embrace this message, which is an integral part of discipleship, find that their marriages grow stronger as does their faith. They are in communion with God and one another. They experience the inner harmony that virtue brings together with joy as a fruit of the Spirit! They come to understand the meaning of St. Paul’s words, “You are not your own . . . so glorify God in your bodies.”

So, if your otherwise wonderful priest decides to talk about these matters, don’t assume he slipped a cog.

He’s spending all his political capital because he knows that on this issue turns the health of your marriage, the strength of the parish and the survival of the Christian culture.

Father Thomas Dufner is pastor of Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

“Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.”

Writer Jessamyn West

Arts & Culture Exploring our church and our world

July 21, 2011

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

21

Vatican newspaper says Harry Potter film champions values

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

The last battle of the almost-grownup Harry Potter may be too scary for young viewers, but it champions the values of friendship and sacrifice, the Vatican newspaper said.

“The atmosphere of the last few episodes, which had become increasingly dark and ominous, reaches its pinnacle,” said one of two reviews of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” printed July 12 in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

Evil never attractive The darkness “may disturb younger audiences,” said reviewer Gaetano Vallini.

“Death, which was a rare occurrence [in the previous Harry Potter films] is the protagonist here,” which is another reason the film may not be appropriate for everyone, he said.

“As for the content, evil is never presented as fascinating or attractive in the saga, but the values of friendship and of sacrifice are highlighted. In a unique and long story of formation, through painful passages of dealing with death and loss, the hero and his companions mature from the lightheartedness of infancy to the complex reality of adulthood,” he said.

Young people introduced to Harry Potter through the seven books by J.K. Rowling and the films based on them have grown with Potter and his friends, Vallini said, “and they certainly have understood that magic is only a narrative pretext useful in the battle against an unrealistic search for immortality.”

In the second review, Antonio Carriero reaffirmed one point Vatican reviewers have made since the Harry Potter books first appeared in Italian: The story cap-

tured the imagination of millions of children around the world and got them reading books.

And, he said, the saga championed values that Christians and non-Christians share and provided opportunities for Christian parents to talk to their children about how those values are presented in a special way in the Bible.

Potter’s archenemy, Lord Voldemort, “does not represent Satan, as it would be easy to think, but is a man who has made bad choices in his life,” Carriero said.

Voldemort has chosen not to love others and sees himself as the center of the universe, he said.

Carriero said Voldemort is like many modern men and women who think they can do without God and without others; they don’t believe in heaven, and yet they are the most frightened of dying.

“Eternal life is reached through death, not without it. And Harry Potter, although he never declared himself a Christian, calls on the dark magician to mend his ways, repent for what he has done and recognize the primacy of love over everything so he will not be damned for eternity,” he wrote.

CNS photo / Warner Bros.

Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint star in a scene from the movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.” The Catholic News Service classification is AII — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. Read the CNS review at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM.

Changing the world The “Deathly Hallows” demonstrates that “from the pure of heart like the young Harry, ready to die for his friends,” come big lessons, Carriero wrote.

The film also teaches that “it’s possible to change the world. It is Harry, with his inseparable friends, who demonstrates that it is possible to vanquish evil and establish peace. Power, success and an easy life do not bring the truest and deepest joys. For that we need friendship, selfgiving, sacrifice and attachment to a truth that is not formed in man’s image,” the review said.

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Calendar

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Dining out Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — Every Friday: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Cost is $10.95. Call (952) 888-1492 for reservations.

Chicken and rib dinner at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — Every Wednesday: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Cost is $10.95. Call (952) 888-1492 for reservations.

KC pancake breakfast at the Crystal Community Center, Crystal — July 31: 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 4800 Douglas Ave. N. Cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children 10 and under.

Parish events Garage sale at St. Stephen, Anoka — July 22 and 23: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at 506 Jackson St. Cash only.

Youth group car wash at St. Peter, Richfield — July 23 and 24: 1 to 6 p.m.

Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at 6730 Nicollet Ave. S. Free will donations will go toward the youth group trip to the Steubenville North youth conference.

80th birthday celebration for Father Jim Schoenberger at St. Mary of the Purification ‘Marystown,’ Shakopee — July 24: Refreshments will be served after the 10 a.m. Mass at 15850 Marystown Road.

Choral group LIBERA to perform at the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul — July 29: 7:30 p.m. at 239 Selby Ave. For information about the group, visit WWW.LIBERA.ORG.UK or WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/ OFFICIALLIBERA. 40th ordination anniversary celebration for Father Cletus Basekela at St. Jerome, Maplewood — July 31: 10:30 a.m. Mass followed by lunch and a program at 380 E. Roselawn.

Basilica Day at the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis — August 14: Masses at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. at 88 N. 17th St. to celebrate the Assumption of Mary and the 96th anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica followed by a gathering outdoors for a special Basilica ice cream

by Sebastian Joe’s, visits to the Mary Garden, walking the labyrinth and more. VISIT WWW.MARY.ORG. Assumption Grade School reunion at Assumption, St. Paul — August 21: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 51 W. Seventh St. Refreshments will be served. To RSVP, call (651) 777-2115.

Archdiocesan Choir Camp at the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul — August 22 to 26: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 239 Selby Ave. A choral experience for current members of the St. Cecilia Choir and new choristers ages 10 to 17. Cost is $75 and includes lunch. For information, email LLAWYER@CATHEDRALSAINTPAUL.ORG. Basilica night at Target Field, Minneapolis — August 26: 5 p.m. BBQ at the Basilica, 88 N. 17th St. followed by the 7:10 p.m. Twins game. For information, visit WWW.MARY.ORG. Garage sale at Sacred Heart, St. Paul — September 10 and 11: 9 a.m. to

Early Catholic Family Life program session offered The annual training session for the Early Catholic Family Life program will be held Aug. 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Hayden office building in St. Paul.

The ECFL program is a parent-child program that assists parents of children, birth to age five, with the tools they need to teach their children the Catholic faith.

Consisting of a parent-child component, a parent discussion time, and children’s time, ECFL also gives parents the opportunity to discuss faith education with other Catholic parents and to have fun learning more about God together.

Cost is $100 and includes training for up to four individuals and all workbooks.

For more information, visit WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/ FAMILY. noon Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday at 840 E. Sixth St. Senior wellness education series, ‘Caregivers caught in the middle: The sandwich generation’ at Lumen Christi — September 20: 7 to 9 p.m. at 2055 Bohland Ave. Presentation gives an overview of the challenges facing caregivers caught between the demands of their aging loved ones and of those of their own family. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to (651) 698-5581.

Retreats Healing retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center, Buffalo — July 29 to 31: 7 p.m. Friday to 12:45 p.m. Sunday at 621 First Ave. S. Theme is: “Healing the Deepest Hurts with Contemplation.” For information, visit WWW.KINGSHOUSE.COM.

Prayer/ liturgies Legion of Mary prayers in front of Planned Parenthood, St. Paul — Every

Friday: 3 p.m. at 1965 Ford Parkway.

For information, call (651) 439-9098.

Knights of Columbus traveling rosary at Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — July 24: 2 p.m. at Stanford Avenue and Prior Avenue S. Knights of Columbus traveling rosary at St. Agnes, St. Paul — July 31: 2 p.m. at 548 Lafond Ave. All night vigil with the Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — August 5 and 6: 7 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday at 401 Concord St.

Singles Sunday Spirits walking group for 50plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sundays: For Catholic singles to meet and make friends. The group usually meets in St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. For information, call Judy at (763) 221-3040 or Al at (651) 482-0406.

50-plus singles picnic at St. Joseph, New Hope — July 24: 5 p.m. at 8701 36th Ave. N. Includes social hour, potluck dinner and games and visiting to follow. Bring a dish to share, brats and hot dogs privided. Call (763) 439-5940.

NFP classes July 22 — St. Ambrose Church, Woodbury: Couple to Couple League - sympto-thermal, (612) 721-3791.

July 26 — St. Joseph’s Hosptial, St. Paul: Twin Cities FertilityCare ovulation, (651) 232-3088.

Aug. 4 — Holy Family, St. Louis Park: Billings Ovulation Method ovulation, (612) 396-4019.

Aug. 8 — Woodwinds Hospital, Woodbury: Twin Cities FertilityCare ovulation, (651) 232-3088.

Aug. 9 — Divine Mercy, Fairbault: Family of the Americas - ovulation, (952) 934-0382.

Aug. 15 — St. Charles Borromeo, Minneapolis: Twin Cities FertilityCare - ovulation, (651) 232-3088.

Aug. 16 — St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Paul, Twin Cities FertilityCare - ovulation, (651) 232-3088 Aug. 16 — St. Michael, St. Michael, Billings Ovulation Method - ovulation, (763) 263.8297 Aug. 16 —St. Stephen Church, Minneapolis (Spanish), Billings Método de la Ovulación (Spanish); (612) 767-2437 Aug. 18 — Holy Family, St. Louis Park, Billings Ovulation Method - ovulation, (612) 396-4019 Aug. 18 — Mercy Hospital, Coon Rapids; Twin Cities FertilityCare - ovulation, (651) 232-3088 For more information on NFP classes, call the Archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family & Life at (651) 291-4489.

Calendar Submissions DEADLINE: The Catholic Spirit is biweekly.

Items should be submitted

by Noon Thursday, seven days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication.

Recurring or ongoing events must be submitted each time they occur.

School events Open house at Transfiguration School, Oakdale — July 25 and 26: 6:30 to 8 p.m. both evenings at 6135 15th At. N. For information, call (651) 501-2220.

50th anniversary celebration at St. Peter School, Forest Lake — August 6 and 7: 5 p.m. Mass Saturday with Bishop Lee Piché followed by a reception and dinner. Cost for the dinner is $30. Continues Sunday with a breakfast served after Masses, dedication and blessing of new Alimni Garden following the 8 a.m.

Mass. Visit WWW.SCHOOL.STPETERFL.ORG.

Young adults Frassati Society BWCA trip — July 30 to August 7: Cost is approx. $200. For more information, call (612) 518-5490 or email JENMESSING@USFAMILY.NET.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted

by Catholic parishes and institutions.

Items are published on a space available basis.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event.

• Full street address of event.

• Description of event.

• Contact information in case of questions.

E-MAIL:

Other events Day of Honor and Recognition for Birth Mothers at Our Lady of Grace, Edina — July 23: 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at 5071 Eden Ave. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in conjunction with Catholic Charities. Cost is $15 and includes lunch. Register online at WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG. Information event at Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality at Carondelet Center, St. Paul — July 28: 6 to 8 p.m. at 1890 Randolph Ave. Learn about programs offered at Sacred Ground.

Call (651) 696-2798 to reserve a spot.

‘Come and See’ weekend with the Visitation Sisters of Minneapolis — July 29 to 30: 6 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m.

Saturday at 1527 Fremont Ave. N. Spend time in prayer and relax with the Sisters. Learn about religious life and Salesian values. For information, email MULLINKF@AOL.COM. Steubenville North youth conference at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul — July 29 to 31: For information and registration, visit WWW.PARTNERSHIPFOR YOUTH.ORG/EVENTS_STPAUL.HTML

SPIRITCALENDAR@ ARCHSPM.ORG.

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FAX: (651) 291-4460.

MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

23

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JULY 21, 2011

Join me in fasting from meat on Fridays for priestly vocations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 place: not what do I want, but what do you want Lord? And as Blessed John Newman said, “Cor ad cor loquitur,” heart speaks to heart.

Someone recently sent me a pamphlet printed 50 years ago with an imprimatur by my predecessor, Archbishop John Murray. It highlighted the reaction of parents to a son or daughter’s announcement of a religious vocation. On the one hand, parents are able to pooh-pooh the notion and deep-six it, or they can hold it up as the answer to their prayers.

Either response is a turning point for the discerner.

In 2009, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) did a survey that discovered 90 percent of the priests ordained that year said they went to the seminary because a priest asked them to go. Yet, in that same year, only 10 percent of the priests surveyed said they had asked a young man that question. Imagine what might have been if more priests had asked!

Yes, the seed that is a vocation comes from God, but it requires the local community of faith to feed, water and nourish it so that it can grow.

When I was installed as the bishop of New Ulm in August 2001, we had 66

Top 10 reasons for confession CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

priests for 81 parishes. We also had four men in the seminary. I asked the diocese to pray at every Mass, at every meeting (imagine!) and at every family meal for priestly vocations. But then I asked them to put some punch in their prayer by fasting from meat every Friday.

Together with several others, I have kept that devotion these past 10 years.

The diocese has ordained six fine priests in that decade and still has six more men in seminary discernment.

During the past 11 years, we in the archdiocese have ordained 70 priests to serve this local church, and we expect to have 64 seminarians come September.

This is great, but it could also be better.

Recently, the episcopal conferences in England and Wales asked their Catholic priests, religious and faithful to return to the practice of Friday abstinence as a “shared habit” that would make the church stronger.

I believe that those bishop conferences are on to something important.

I ask our readership to consider joining me in this weekly Friday fast. And as you do, ask the Lord for the specific intention of calling more priests to serve in his vineyard.

God love you!

2. Housekeeping for the soul. It feels good to be able to start a clean life all over again. Like going into a sparkling living room in your home, it’s nice when clutter is removed — even if it’s your own.

3. A balm for the desire for revenge.

When you have been forgiven you can forgive others. If the perfect Jesus forgives me, who am I to want to avenge the slights in my life. Think: “Why did they promote him over me?’ or “Mom played favorites!”

4. Low cost therapy. It’s free, which makes it cheaper than a psychiatrist for dealing with guilt.

5. Forced time to think. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. To examine our lives and acknowledge failings marks the first step of making things right with God, others and ourselves. Life can be more worth living when you ponder the meaning of your own life.

6. Contribution toward world peace.

“Gaudium et Spes,” the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, said that the imbalances in the world that lead to war and tensions “are linked with that more basic imbalance which is rooted in the heart of man.” Peace of soul leads to peace of heart leads to

peace beyond oneself.

7. A better neighborhood.

Confession leaves you feeling good about yourself, thereby cutting back the inclination to road rage and aggressive shopping cart driving. With the grace of the sacrament you’re energized to, as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “go and sin no more.”

8. Realistic self-perception.

Confession helps overcome arrogance when you have to admit you’re as much of a sinner as anyone else. It helps build tolerance for others’ perceived shortcomings.

9. One more benefit of being Catholic. There are lots of benefits, including a sense of community, liturgical rites to help us encounter God in prayer, and the wonderful sense of humanity exemplified in the saints, from Mary, the loving Mother of God, to Augustine, the exasperating son of Monica. The sacrament that leads us to inner peace is among the greatest boons.

10. Closeness to God. Confession helps you realize that you have a close connection to God and receive his grace through the sacraments. What can be better than knowing God’s on your team, or, to be less arrogant about it, that you are on God’s.

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Prefer St. Paul east metro areas.

Background check and references provided. Call or email for complete information (651) 398-4157 or CAREBYCREA@GMAIL.COM. 12636

NOTICE: Prayers must be submitted in advance. Payment of $8 per line must be received before publication.

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HOME REPAIR

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Tile/Glass Block/Masonry/Concrete/Carpentry/Misc. home repair. 30 years experience. Insured. Call Steve (612) 532-3978.

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LANDSCAPING

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Check out the Classified Ads on the Web: www.thecatholicspirit.com

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PAINTING

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For the finest job available. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND.COM. Or call 6996140.

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Free Estimates (763) 543-0998. 12048

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■ ROOFING — SIDING — GUTTERS ■ Grussing Roofing. Licensed Since 1971. Free Estimates & Free Property Inspection.

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TEXTURED CEILINGS

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Michaels Painting. Popcorn & Knock down Texture, Repairs. 40 Year Family Business (763) 12327 757-3187.

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TOWNHOUSE FOR SALE

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EAGAN. 3 BR, 1 ⁄2 Ba. Washer and Dryer, detached garage with 2 parking spaces.

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Full Time Middle School Religion Teacher Holy Rosary School, Duluth, MN. Qualifications include actively practicing the Catholic faith, teaching license or degree in related field, experience/knowledge in curriculum development, experience/knowledge of current technologies used for instruction and reporting. Email cover letter, resume with credentials and copy of current teaching license to: Mr. Jesse Murray, Principal: JESSE.MURRAYHOLYROSARYMN.ORG.

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CD of the Month Club Lighthouse Catholic Media Scott Hahn, Jeff Cavins Fr. Corapi and more! $5/month includes shipping Subscribe online at www.LighthouseCatholicMedia.com 10328 Please Enter Code: 1195

Experienced trustworthy cleaning for your home and office. Ex Ref Linda. (651) 32412299 0246.

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GREAT CATHOLIC SPEAKERS

All Seasons Paint & Repair. Int./Ext. Wood/ Stucco 25 yrs. Experience. Insured. Free Estimates (651) 699-2832.

11890 Merriam Park Painting. Professional Int./ Ext. Painting. WP Hanging. Moderate Prices, Free Estimates. Call Ed (651) 224-3660. 11269

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12354

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VACATION/FAMILY GETAWAY

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Deadwood/Lead/SD Condo. Rent weekly/daily/monthly. Sleeps 6. $500/week.

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WANTED TO BUY

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“Leadership is first and foremost a love story. It’s a love story in the sense that you have to really care and love the mission that you’re given.”

Carolyn Woo, who will become the president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services on Jan. 1

Overheard 24

The Catholic Spirit

Quotes from this week’s newsmakers

Drought devastates eastern Africa

A woman holds her baby outside a tent serving as a medical clinic established by the African Union peacekeeping operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 16. Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the drought-stricken region of eastern Africa, which is affecting an estimated 11 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Read more on page 8.

CNS photo / Stuart Price U.N. handout photo via Reuters

JULY 21, 2011 “People were crying — for joy and probably also in sorrow for those who didn’t live to see this day happen.”

— Steve Hilbert, Africa policy adviser to the U.S. bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace, on the July 9 ceremony marking the new Republic of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan held in the capital city of Juba

“We are certainly for the separation of ‘mosque and state,’ but we say clearly that a healthy democratic society must have as its foundation values that, whatever anyone says, have a religious root: freedom, respect, peace, equality, the preferential option for the poor, solidarity.”

— Archbishop Maroun Lahham of Tunis in Tunisia, in a pastoral letter supporting the country’s transition to democracy

“Why would we not want to embrace their dedication, energy, talents and courage — characteristics that have made our nation great? It would be to our detriment to forsake them.”

— Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, speaking at a July 12 press conference announcing Sept. 23-25 as DREAM Act Sabbath, a time to support legislation that would allow students who were brought to the United States as children the chance to legalize their immigration status by attending college or serving in the U.S. military

Catholic-friendly movie coming soon to the Twin Cities If you’ve ever complained about how the Catholic faith is treated in motion pictures, here’s a movie you shouldn’t miss. Watch for a special engagement of “Vito Bonafacci,” sponsored by The Catholic Spirit, coming soon. Catholic News The Service reviewer John Mulderig had Catholic Spirit this to say about it: “Were the Catholic Church to begin giving cinematic imprimaturs, few films would be better qualified to receive one than ‘Vito Bonafacci’ (Cavu), writer-director John Martoccia’s meditative — and theologically impeccable — exploration of Scripture-based doctrine and spirituality.”

News Notes

Minnesota Boychoir at Vatican The Minnesota Boychoir recently completed a tour of Italy, where the group sang four songs for the 5:30 p.m. high Mass on the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Although the pope was not presiding, Mark Johnson, the choir’s artistic director, said the stress level was especially high for the Catholic boys in the choir, who also were able to take Communion at the Vatican.

“The boys all realized and knew that they were about to do something pretty fantastic,” he said. With about 1,500 people seated for the Mass and many tourists also in the church, “they knew the significance of the event.”

All the concerts in Italy during the 12-day tour were in major cathedrals and venues, he said.

“The Boychoir . . . is a lot about experiences that change lives and build character and change young men,” said Johnson, who added that before the tour he had received a letter from Archbishop John

Nienstedt. The letter said, in part: “I can only imagine how memorable your participation at Mass in St. Peter’s will be. Having sung there in a choir myself many years ago, I know how special this experience will be for you and your choir members.” For more about the Minnesota Boychoir and the Italy tour, read the blog and see photos on the web at WWW.BOYCHOIR.ORG.

1929 with majors in English and journalism.

She worked as a teacher in Eveleth before entering her community at age 42. She then taught journalism at Aquinas High School in LaCrosse.

After retirement she was a pastoral minister and religious education coordinator at Epiphany in Coon Rapids until 1990.

Sister Thelma Vetsch to be honored

New Totino-Grace president

Sister Thelma Vetsch, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, will be honored with a Mass and reception beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 24, at Holy Childhood, 1435 Midway Parkway in St. Paul, where she has served the past 26 years. She is retiring to the motherhouse in Mankato after 67 years of active ministry as a teacher, principal, librarian and parish worker in the states of Washington, North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. In this archdiocese, she also served at Assumption and St. Agnes in St. Paul and Corpus Christi in Roseville.

William Hudson was named president of TotinoGrace High School in Fridley on July 1. He succeeds Christian Brother Milton Barker, who retired after serving 24 years as the school’s president. Hudson served seven years as vice president for mission at the high school. He previously served with the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington, D.C., at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood and Trinity Catholic School in St. Paul. He also is an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and serves on several archdiocesan Catholic school boards.

Sister Julia Maus dies at 106 Sister Julia Anne Maus, the oldest living Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, died June 26.

Services were held in LaCrosse, Wis., where her community is based.

Sister Julia was born in Albany in 1905. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph in 1922, St. Cloud College in 1926 and the University of Minnesota in

Reflection day for widows

SISTER JULIA ANNE

Our lady of Grace in Edina hosted the first “Hope Rekindled: Widows’ Day of Reflection,” co-sponsoring the event with the Archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life and the Knights of Columbus.

About 200 widows from six states attended the event, which began with a Mass and featured reflections by author and television producer Johnnette Benkovic. Benkovic is the producer of Women of Grace on EWTN and Women of Grace Live, a call-in radio talk show.