The Catholic Spirit - March 15, 2013

Cathedral restores organ

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Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

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March 14, 2013

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Get the latest updates For the latest news about the conclave and the election of a new pope, visit THECATHOLICSPIRIT. COM.

CNS photo / Paul Hanna, Reuters

Cardinals enter conclave invoking aid of Holy Spirit, all the saints

In digital age, Vatican sticking with smoke, bells to announce new pope

By Cindy Wooden

By Carol Glatz

Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service

Invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit and the holy men and women from all over the world recognized as saints, 115 cardinals processed slowly into the Sistine Chapel to begin the process to elect a pope.

Once in the chapel, the cardinals from 48 countries vowed that, if elected pope, they would faithfully fulfill the ministry of universal pastor of the church and would defend the rights and freedom of the Holy See. They also solemnly swore to scrupulously follow the rules for the election of a pope and keep secret the results of the votes, unless they have express permission from the new pope to reveal details.

After reciting the oath together, each cardinal walked up to the Book of the

Though the Vatican has become increasingly savvy with more modern forms of communication, it’s still sticking with more primitive methods — swirling smoke and tolling bells — to announce whether a new pope has been elected.

In a similar vein, the Vatican press hall will not immediately issue an official bulletin, email alert, SMS or tweet to tell the 5,000 accredited journalists and other observers whether “Habemus papam.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman and head of the press office, said he would prefer people “live the moment” and try to figure out on their own what color the smoke is “rather than have a communique from the press hall.”

“Therefore, I won’t be spending time sending SMSs at that moment; I believe

PLEASE TURN TO CARDINALS ON PAGE 8

PLEASE TURN TO IN ON PAGE 9

Oils blessed at Chrism Mass touch lives all year Priests in attendance will renew promises they made on ordination day

Mark your calendar

The Catholic Spirit The annual Chrism Mass, at which Archbishop John Nienstedt will bless the holy oils to be used locally for sacraments this coming year, is set for 7 p.m., March 19 at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Among the oils to be blessed is chrism, a fragranced oil that only a bishop can consecrate and which is used during baptisms, confirmations and the ordinations of priests and bishops.

“The way I like to describe it is that chrism is used in all of the sacraments that change a soul forever,” said Father John Paul Erickson, director of the archdiocesan Office of PLEASE TURN TO ALL ON PAGE 22

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Deacon Paul Tschann, left, and Deacon Thomas Michaud carry the oil that was blessed by Archbishop John Nienstedt during the Chrism Mass last March at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

! What: Chrism Mass ! When: 7 p.m., March 19 ! Where: Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul

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MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Collection offers hope to Holy Land

That They May All Be One Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

The Good Friday collection provides muchneeded financial assistance

The eyes of the world have been riveted since Feb. 11 on the Vatican and the Catholic Church. The announced resignation of then Pope Benedict XVI and the subsequent preparations for the conclave have called attention to the immense impact that the Catholic Church has on the world-wide stage and in the lives of billions of believers.

And, the role of this Church in defending the faith and guarding its heritage for generations to come is no more uniquely found than it is in the Holy Land. Here, pilgrims and visitors alike are able to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, witnessing the places where the Savior ministered, suffered, died and rose from the dead.

Here, too, one can imagine and encounter the beginning of the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost at these very sacred sites, a Church which now is found in every corner of the world.

Facing many challenges The historical churches and monuments located in the Holy Land are maintained by the Latin communities of the Patriarchal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custody, in addition to the PLEASE TURN TO COLLECTION ON PAGE 13

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.

Vol. 18 — No. 6 MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT Publisher SARAH MEALEY Associate publisher JOE TOWALSKI Editor 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.

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Archbishop’s schedule ! Saturday, March 16: 10 a.m., St. Paul, University of St. Thomas: Archdiocesan Men’s Conference. ! Sunday, March 17: 10 a.m., Minneapolis, Church of St. Olaf: Sunday Liturgy.

8 p.m., St. Paul, University of St. Thomas: “Lectio divina.” ! Monday, March 18: 6 a.m., St. Paul, St. John Vianney College Seminary: Holy Hour and Holy Eucharist, followed by breakfast.

10:30 a.m., St. Paul, The St. Paul Seminary: Meeting with administration.

11:35 a.m., St. Paul, The St. Paul Seminary: Holy Eucharist, followed by lunch with seminarians. ! Tuesday, March 19: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.

9:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archdiocesan Comprehensive Assignment Board meeting.

1:30 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Cabinet meeting.

4:30 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Vespers and dinner for priests.

7 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Chrism Mass. ! Wednesday, March 20: 10 a.m., St. Paul, St. Agnes Catholic School: Pastoral visit.

6 p.m., Belle Plaine, Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church and School: Pastoral visit and dinner with

confirmants. ! Thursday, March 21: 8:30 a.m., Belle Plaine, Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church and School: Allschool Mass and school visit.

3 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archdiocesan Finance Council meeting. ! Saturday, March 23: 1 p.m., St. Paul, Auction item for Little Sisters of the Poor. ! Monday, March 25: 3 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Jim Steier interview. ! Tuesday, March 26: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.

10:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting with superior of U.S. Fraternity of St. Peter.

1:30 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Council meeting. ! Wednesday, March 27: 11 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Episcopal scheduling meeting. ! Thursday, March 28: 7 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Mass of the Lord’s Supper. ! Friday, March 29: 9 a.m., St. Paul, Planned Parenthood facility: Annual Good Friday vigil.

3 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. ! Saturday, March 30: 8 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Easter Vigil. ! Sunday, March 31: 9:30 a.m., Minneapolis, Basilica of St. Mary: Easter Liturgy.

Marathon not a

Sprint

Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

2013 Archdiocesan Men’s Conference Saturday, March 16, 2013 • 8 a.m. – noon Confession beginning at 7 a.m.

University of St.Thomas Field House

•

St. Paul Campus

Featuring: Archbishop John Nienstedt Glenn Caruso, University of St. Thomas head football coach Father Bill Baer, Men’s Chaplain Raymond de Souza, Director of Evangelization/ Apologetics for the Diocese of Winona Adults $20 • Students $10 Registration: www.archspm.org or call 651-291-4488 Walk-in registration available the day of the event

Sponsored by the Office of Marriage, Family and Life

Official His Excellency, the Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt, has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Effective February 13, 2013 Reverend Manuel Uppamthadathil Philipose, granted the faculties of the Archdiocese for the duration of his residence at the Saint Paul Seminary.

Reverend Saw Joseph, granted the faculties of the Archdiocese and appointed associate priest of the Church of Saint Bernard of Saint Paul, Minnesota. This appointment is “ad nutum episcopi.”

Effective February 14, 2013 Reverend Lawrence Blake, granted permission for lawful absence until June 13, 2013. Father Blake will be serving as Air Force Chaplain at Grand Forks Air Force Base during this time.

Effective February 15, 2013 Reverend Larry Snyder, granted an additional four years of lawful absence so that he may continue as President of Catholic Charities, USA. Effective March 1, 2013 Very Reverend Peter A. Laird, assigned “ad nutum episcopi” parochial administrator of the Church of St. Thomas of Minneapolis. This is in addition to his assignment as Vicar General/Moderator of the Curia.

Reverend Harry Tasto, accepted resignation as pastor of the Church of St. Thomas of Minneapolis, and granted the status of a retired priest.

Effective April 1, 2013 Reverend Edwin Savundra, granted the status of a retired priest.

Effective June 15, 2013 Reverend Doug Pierce, assigned to the Saint Paul Seminary and released for two years of graduate study at l’Institut Catholique de Paris.

Effective June 30, 2013 Reverend Dennis Dease, granted the status of a retired priest. He will continue to serve as President Emeritus of the University of St. Thomas.

Obituary Father Wolter served as pastor, chaplain Father Richard Wolter, 80, died Feb. 25. He was born June 21, 1932 and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on Feb. 22, 1959.

Father Wolter served as pastor of St. Genevieve in Centerville, and also served at St. Matthew, Holy Spirit and St. Thomas the Apostle, all in St. Paul; St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley; St. Rose of Lima in Roseville; St. John Vianney in South St. Paul; St. Wenceslaus in New Prague; and as chaplain for Hennepin County General Hospital.

The Mass of Christian Burial was March 11 at Blessed Sacrament, St. Thomas the Apostle site, in St. Paul.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Local News from around the archdiocese

MARCH 14, 2013

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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Let’s get packing St. Patrick hosts food prep event for Feed My Starving Children

Above, from left, Emma Johnson, Reegan Patnode, Madison Matthews and Taylor Bergum of St. Patrick of Inver Grove Heights scoop ingredients as they prepare meals for Feed My Starving Children March 6. On four consecutive days last week, parishioners of all ages joined volunteers from other local churches to prepare meals for the Twin Cities organization, which packs and ships food to needy children around the world. They packed a total of 54,000 meals.

Finished bags of food await sealing at a prep station during a Feed My Starving Children event at St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights.

Photos by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Left, Kyle Laundry of St. Patrick removes a finished box of packed meals from the prep station. He was part of a group of 100 faith formation students who participated.

NOTICE Look for The Catholic Spirit advertising insert from

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

St. Thomas hockey: Titles come in threes From left, senior forward Jack Stang, senior forward Danny McManus, sophomore defenseman Seamus Donohue, junior defenseman Zach Weier and senior forward Alex Johnson of St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights celebrate their team’s 54 win over Hermantown in the Class A championship game March 9 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The win gave the Cadets a three-peat in Class A, with all of their wins in the finals coming against Hermantown. St. Thomas Academy will move up to Class AA next season. STA senior goalie David Zevnik won the Frank Brimsek Senior Goalie Award. Zevnik helped the Cadets to their third consecutive Class A championship by compiling a 1.20 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. In Class AA, Hill-Murray lost to Edina 4-2 in the finals to finish second for the second year in a row. Last year, the Pioneers lost to Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the championship game.

Dr. Peter Bretzman / For The Catholic Spirit

The day after the tournament, senior forward Grant Besse of Benilde-St. Margaret’s, pictured, was named Mr. Hockey. As a junior, Besse scored all five of his team’s goals in the Class AA championship game against Hill-Murray, a 5-2 win. Besse picked up where he left off last year, scoring 48 goals for the Red Knights this season. The team advanced to the Class 2A Section 6 finals, losing to Wayzata 5-2.

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MN Catholics urged to make voices heard at State Capitol The Catholic Spirit As Minnesota legislators debate bills this session ranging from redefining marriage to increasing the minimum wage, the Minnesota Catholic Conference is encouraging Catholics around the state to get involved in promoting public policies that advance human dignity and promote the common good.

“One of the challenges a lot of people have with the political process is that they don’t feel like they have a voice or an opportunity to make their voice heard,” said Jason Adkins, the MCC’s executive director.

“What we’re trying to do at the Catholic Conference is develop ways through our website and other tools to make it easier for Catholics to make their voices heard in the public arena,” he said.

For more Those efforts — all of which can legislative be accessed from the MCC’s webnews, see the site at WWW.MNCC.ORG — include the MN Catholic Advocacy Net‘Faith in the work, in which people sign up to Public Arena’ receive updates on policy issues column, and information about action opportunities regarding specific legpage 11 islation. An “Action Center” link on the website features a list of recent action alerts.

The website includes a “Bills” link under “Legislation” that allows people to track a list of current bills on which the state’s bishops have taken a formal position. It also offers information about Catholic social teaching and background on a variety of public policy issues.

“We want to provide Catholics the opportunity to buttress [the MCC’s] advocacy efforts on those pieces of legislation and let legislators know either that they’re thankful for their work on an issue or to encourage them to get behind a particular issue,” Adkins said.

“As few as 10 phone calls to a legislator on a particular issue can really make a significant difference,” he said.

In a March 8 interview with The Catholic Spirit, Adkins highlighted several issues the MCC currently is tracking at the Minnesota Legislature: ! MINIMUM WAGE Bills: SF 399, HF 430 — Family Economic Security Act Sponsor: Sen. David Tomassoni, Rep. Melissa Hortman MCC position: Support The legislation would raise the minimum wage in Minnesota from $7.25 to $9.50 for large employers and $8.25 for small employers; provide child care subsidies for those at or below 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines; increase the Working Family Tax Credit and create a state version of the Child Tax Credit.

A full-time minimum wage worker in Minnesota currently makes about $15,000 per year. Currently, some 24 percent of Minnesota families are among the “working poor,” Adkins said.

“This increase in the minimum wage is overdue and is certainly a matter of economic justice because it recognizes the importance of helping low-income families make it through tough economic times,” he said. “It’s really a family-centered piece of legislation oriented toward establishing better economic security and creating a ladder out of poverty.” ! MARRIAGE REDEFINITION Bills: SF 925, HF 1054 Sponsor: Sen. D. Scott Dibble, Rep. Karen Clark MCC position: Oppose The bills would redefine marriage to allow two persons of the same-sex to marry. Both were scheduled to be heard in committees March 12 and, if passed, could move to a floor vote at any time, Adkins said.

“We’re encouraging people to continue to contact their legislators,” said Adkins, who added that he was encouraged by the turnout for the March 7 Minnesota March for Marriage rally at the State Capitol and a recent StarTribune Minnesota Poll that found 53 percent of Minnesotans don’t want state law changed regarding marriage.

“Minnesotans still strongly believe, despite the defeat

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Kim Doyle, left, of St. Joseph in Rosemount, and Lupe Santos and Mary Hamilton, both of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, cheer while listening to a speaker at the March for Marriage rally at the State Capitol March 7. The event featured speakers, including Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, and Teresa Collett, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas and member of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. After the rally inside the Capitol rotunda, participants were encouraged to visit their legislators and encourage them to vote against a bill that would redefine marriage in Minnesota.

of the amendment [last fall], that marriage is between a man and a woman and the law should be left alone,” he said. “We’ll see if the legislators listen.” ! HUMAN TRAFFICKING Bills: SF 384, HF 485 — Safe Harbor/No Wrong Door Implementation bill Sponsors: Sen. Sandra Pappas, Rep. Susan Allen MCC position: Support The bills follow passage of the Safe Harbor Act in 2011 and creates the social service infrastructure needed to help sexually exploited youth.

“It would continue to ensure that Minnesota stays a leader in the fight against human trafficking,” Adkins said. “Unfortunately, Minneapolis and St. Paul are among the metropolitan areas that have significant trouble with the human trafficking issue as identified by the Department of Justice.” ! BULLYING Bills: SF 783, HF 826 — Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act Sponsors: Sen. D. Scott Dibble, Rep. Jim Davnie MCC position: Oppose Adkins said the MCC takes a strong stand against bullying: “We abhor bullying. We think bullying is a tremendous problem and that it needs to be dealt with effectively by schools and particularly at the local level.”

Catholic schools “have the best anti-bullying program out there,” he added. “The best anti-bullying program is to say that every child is created in the image and likeness of God and should be treated with dignity and respect.”

The MCC is opposing these bills because they impose mandates and curriculum requirements on private schools, including Catholic schools, that violate constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

It also has concerns that the bills usurp the authority of parents to teach their children in areas such as gender

and sexuality. “We’re concerned that this legislation, by promoting values that we do not think serve human flourishing, would undermine parents’ roles as the first educators of their children,” Adkins said. ! ‘BAN THE BOX’ BILLS Bills: SF 523, HF 690 Sponsors: Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, Rep. Tim Mahoney MCC position: Support These so-called “ban the box” bills would forbid employers from asking a prospective employee about his or her criminal history until the applicant is selected for a job interview.

“We think we should be working to help people reconcile themselves with the community and then reintegrate back into society,” Adkins said. This includes being able to access employment opportunities, housing and other vital social services that will help keep them from reoffending. ! SURROGACY Bills: HF 291, SF 370 Sponsors: Rep. Steve Simon, Sen. Scott Newman MCC position: Oppose The bills are an attempt to legitimize surrogacy contracts in the state of Minnesota, Adkins said.

Such contracts increase the risk of women, particularly poor women, being exploited by others, he said.

“There’s also the fact that we’re denying children their natural right to be connected to their biological mother and father,” Adkins added. “All of our family law is really rooted in the well-being of children. But now, with some of these emerging issues — same-sex marriage, surrogacy, the advent of certain forms of biotechnology — we’re focusing more and more on the preferences and desires of adults and not on the well-being of children. Children are being treated more and more like commodities.”

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MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Lebanese youth await participation in Vatican’s Way of the Cross

By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service

When a committee of Catholic youth in Lebanon set out to compose the meditations for the Way of the Cross, they had no idea that a new pope would preside over the Good Friday service at Rome’s Colosseum.

By custom, the pope invites a cardinal or an ecclesial community to prepare the meditations. This year is the first that young people of a particular country were asked to participate. Pope Benedict XVI invited the youth of Lebanon to participate through Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, who was named a cardinal in November.

The meditations were submitted to the Vatican Feb. 10, the day before Pope Benedict announced he would resign.

A bridge between popes Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Imelda and her daughter Elena Joana, 1, sit in the Ecuadorian Consulate office in Minneapolis. The area behind them will be remodeled to house Centro Vida y Salud, a health resource center run in cooperation with St. Mary’s Health Clinics.

St. Mary’s Health Clinics partner with Ecuadorian consulate

By Dianne Towalski The Catholic Spirit

Minnesota has a flourishing Latino population, including nearly 40,000 Ecuadorian immigrants who reside in the state, with most of them living in northeast Minneapolis.

They have been coming here in large numbers since the 1990s. Many are undocumented, living under the radar and trying to support family members here and back home.

Because they live in fear of being deported, they have gone without one of their most basic needs: health care.

But that is changing. Members of the Ecuadorian community will soon be able to seek health care without fear because of a groundbreaking agreement signed Feb. 14 between the country of Ecuador and St. Mary’s Health Clinics, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

The two organizations are working together to address the physical and mental health needs of Ecuadorian foreign nationals living and working in Minnesota, particularly the Twin Cities.

SMHC will set up a health resource center inside the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis. Ecuadorian citizens will receive health education, health screenings and referrals to available programs or free health care through SMHC. It is slated to begin later this month.

Trust factor Thousands of Ecuadorians, almost all of them Catholic, are expected to use the services of the health resource center, which will be called Centro Vida y Salud, or simply CVS. Given “the fact that we’re a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph, I think there’s a trust factor there,” said Barbara Dickie, executive director of St. Mary’s Health Clinics. “The Ecuadorians that want to come to us for help feel safe.”

The arrangement will help people like Imelda, the mother of four children and a Minneapolis resident since 2001.

Imelda, who did not want her last name used, left Ecuador with her husband and two small children 20 years ago in search of a better life. “We like it a lot here, we have enough to get by,” she said.

“But when you go to a hospital, the first thing they ask for is an insurance card.

We don’t have insurance.”

A pathway likely exists for some Ecuadorians to legalize their status, “but they may not know about it because Ecuadorians are so shy,” said Silvia Ontaneda, consul general for the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis. “They are very humble.”

Ontaneda said that “some would rather die than go to a hospital. I have seen so many cases, it’s so sad. They are afraid they will be turned in to immigration or that they won’t be able to pay and will be put in jail.”

SMHC has been providing health care to low-income and uninsured families for the past 20 years.

“We don’t ask if our clients are documented or undocumented, so we have no idea,” said Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, founder of St. Mary’s Health Clinics.

“We take care of everyone because we believe that health care is a basic human right.”

SMHC has been working with the consulate and local churches for a few years, coordinating health fairs and flu shot clinics, so people know about St. Mary’s, said Cristina Flood, community health outreach coordinator for SMHC. “A lot of people are more comfortable coming to the church or the consulate to ask for help,” she said.

“This is a huge deal, that they will have access to something as vital as preventive health care,” Ontaneda said.

“This is the first agreement of this kind in the United States,” she added. “With the goal of improving the physical and mental health of Ecuadorian citizens, our hope is that this will become a model that will help us meet the needs of our citizens wherever they are.”

“Now, on Good Friday, the Lebanese Catholic youth will be like a bridge between Pope Benedict XVI and his successor, because it will be one of the first official ceremonies of the new pope after he is elected,” said Father Toufic Bou Hadir, who directs the Maronite patriarchate’s youth programs.

More importantly, Father Hadir said, “We are taking all the wounds and suffering of the Middle East and uniting it with the passion of Christ and the prayers of the universal church.”

Describing the opportunity to compose the meditations as “a great honor,” Father Hadir said the invitation is considered a symbolic gesture of gratitude from the pope for the warm welcome he received from young people during a visit to Lebanon in September.

Some 20,000 young people gathered on the grounds of Bkerke, the seat of the Maronite Catholic Church north of Beirut, to meet Pope Benedict Sept. 15, waving papal flags, singing and chanting in what amounted to an energy-filled World Youth Day for the Middle East.

In his speech that day, Pope Benedict told the young people that they were “the

hope and the future” of Lebanon.

“You are living today in this part of the world which witnessed the birth of Jesus and the growth of Christianity,” the pope said. “It is a great honor. It is also a summons to fidelity, to love of this region and, above all, to your calling to be witnesses and messengers of the joy of Christ.”

Under the direction of Cardinal Rai, the task of composing the 14 meditations was divided equally among committees from the six rites of the Catholic Church represented in Lebanon: Latin, Maronite, Melkite, Armenian, Syriac and Chaldean.

In addition, six Catholic youth groups, a special needs group and a nongovernmental organization were randomly chosen and assigned a station to focus on, “so as to be fair and transparent” Father Hadir said.

Working together “It was a very beautiful experience, because working together with all the different rites, it gave us an opportunity to live a real communion in the church,” Sister Gioia, 29, a member of the Maronite Mission of Life congregation, said of her participation.

“It gave the youth a chance to really say what is in their hearts,” she explained.

“We tried to show the biggest difficulties facing the youth, not just in Lebanon but for the whole Middle East, so that we can unite them with Jesus Christ on that (Good Friday).”

Yet in all the passages, “there’s a vision toward the resurrection, a hope,” noted Tattiana Rouhana, a member of the patriarch’s youth committee.

Pierre Nacouzi, a 32-year-old engineer who serves on the Maronite patriarch’s youth committee, said the main objective of the effort “is to pray with all Catholics in the world and to present our suffering here, and also to be a testimony of God’s love.”

“It’s a way of saying, ‘Don’t forget that Christ was born here, and here is the origin of Christianity.,” Nacouzi said. “Don’t forget the Christians of the Middle East,’”

Farewell visit

Dave Hrbaek / The Catholic Spirit

Lt. Col. Mark Weber, right, greets Cretin-Derham Hall senior Anna Burke, as junior Roxanna Lozoya, left, senior Sam Esch and junior Alisha Engelbrekt await their turn March 6 following Weber’s talk at the school. Weber, who graduated from the school in 1989 and is 41, served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, and was diagnosed with stage IV intestinal cancer in 2010. Saying he doesn’t have much longer to live, he wanted to address the students, teachers and staff at his alma mater. “Faith has played a significant role” in his journey through the illness, he said in an email interview with The Catholic Spirit. “God is, as advertised, with and for me every step of the way.” Weber and his wife Kristin have three sons.

“What he did in the face of adversity at the risk of his own life was remarkable.”

Former Kansas congressman Todd Tiahrt, speaking about the late Father Emil Kapaun, who is being awarded the Medal of Honor for his live-saving actions during the Korean War

Nation/World MARCH 14, 2013

News from around the U.S. and the globe

Boston cardinal asks House to pass Health Care Conscience Rights Act

Arkansas law on fetal heartbeat breaks new ground, supporters say

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has asked members of the House to approve the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. Introduced March 5 by three House Republicans, the bill had 66 co-sponsors as of March 11.

The bill will “help preserve the vitally important traditions of religious freedom and the right of conscience,” Cardinal O’Malley said in a March 11 letter to House members.

He also asked representatives to “help incorporate its policy into upcoming ‘must-pass’ legislation.” The principal sponsors of the bill had voiced at a March 5 press conference introducing the bill their hopes that it would be folded into a continuing resolution needed to fund federal government operations beyond March 27.

Protections needed CNS photo / Bob Roller

Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, a registered nurse, speaks during a March 5 press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington regarding proposed legislation to address religious freedom concerns about the Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate. Cenzon-DeCarlo, a Catholic, talked about being coerced into participating in abortion at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital since 2004, even though she said the hospital knows of her religious objections to abortion.

“An example is the mandate for coverage of contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs and devices being implemented under the Affordable Care Act’s ‘preventive services’ provision.

“The lawsuits filed against this mandate by dozens of Catholic organizations, and dozens of for-profit and nonprofit organizations led by other people of faith, highlight the need to reassert Amer-

icans’ right to live and serve in accord with their deepest convictions about the sanctity of human life,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

“Doctors, nurses and other health professionals, as well, have reason today to fear that their ability to serve others in accord with their values will not be well defended in our nation’s laws or in our judicial system.”

Korean War hero priest to receive Medal of Honor Catholic News Service

FATHER KAPAUN

Father Emil Kapaun, whose actions as a U.S. Army chaplain during the Korean War saved the lives of dozens of soldiers in the field and in a North Korean prisoner of war camp before his death, will be awarded the Medal of Honor.

A priest of the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., Father Kapaun will be honored during ceremonies at the White House April 11 and at the Pentagon the next day, said Todd Tiahrt, a former Kansas congressman who has advocated

for the honor for years.

Citing a letter from an Army staff member preparing for the ceremony, Tiahrt said the award is well deserved.

“What he did in the face of adversity at the risk of his own life was remarkable.

I’m very pleased by the award. I think it’s justified fully,” Tiahrt told Catholic News Service March 1.

The Wichita Eagle reported that President Barack Obama called Father Kapaun’s sister-in-law, Helen Kapaun, of suburban Bel Aire, in December to tell her the news.

She and her family were expected to be on hand to receive the medal.

In 2001, Tiahrt asked then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to review the priest’s record.

The record shows the 35-year-old chaplain had the chance to fall back to safety

7

Briefly

Catholic News Service

The cardinal was in Rome to participate in the conclave to select a new pope.

“Protection for conscience rights in health care is of especially great importance to the Catholic Church, which daily contributes to the welfare of American society through a network of schools, social services, hospitals and assisted living facilities,” Cardinal O’Malley said in his letter.

“The legal protections which allow us to fulfill our obligation to serve others, without compromising our religious or moral convictions, are essential to the continued vitality of these ministries.

While those protections have long enjoyed bipartisan consensus, they are under greatly increased pressure today,” he added.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

during a battle between U.S. and Chinese forces, but instead chose to stay and was captured along with dozens of men. Former prisoners of war said that during his captivity, Father Kapaun defied the intimidating camp guards by praying with captive soldiers, sharing food rations with injured comrades and urging them to resist relentless interrogation.

Father Kapaun died of starvation and pneumonia May 23, 1951, in a prison in Pyoktong, North Korea.

A canonization cause for Father Kapaun formally opened in 2008 with a Mass at St. John Nepomucene Church in his hometown of Pilsen, Kan. Church officials in Kansas and elsewhere have collected documentation to support the sainthood cause and continue to advocate for the priest’s canonization.

Six days after passing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks’ gestation, the Arkansas Legislature approved an even stricter ban.

The House of Representatives and Senate voted March 5 and 6 to override Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto and approve the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, just as they did Feb. 27-28 to override his veto of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. While the fetal pain bill went into effect immediately, the heartbeat bill banning most abortions at 12 weeks will take effect this summer.

Opponents have vowed to file lawsuits to stop the 12-week law from taking effect.

The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act bans most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected and the pregnancy is 12 weeks or greater.

According to National Right to Life, a fetus’ heartbeat begins at the 22nd day.

Exceptions are made for rape, incest, to save the life of the mother or if a “highly lethal fetal disorder” is discovered. It has been called the strictest abortion law in the country.

Pakistani Church condemns arson attack on Christians The Catholic Church in Pakistan condemned a March 9 attack by an estimated 3,000 Muslims on a Christian colony in Lahore that left more than 175 buildings, including two churches and dozens of homes, torched and hundreds of people homeless.

The attack came after a Christian sanitary worker allegedly criticized Mohammed three days earlier.

The church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace in a March 10 statement also criticized police for charging the worker, Sawan Masih, who is Catholic, with blasphemy.

“The police and administration [were] mainly responsible [as they] allowed the situation to develop for 24 hours into a tragedy in the heart of the provincial capital,” the statement said.

Lahore is the capital of Punjab, one of Pakistan’s five provinces.

Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, commission director, lamented that “the political leadership in the country also did not find courage to address the sufferings of religious minorities especially those related to abuse of blasphemy laws.”

— Catholic News Service

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

Cardinals invoke aid of Christ as conclave begins CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gospels, put his right hand on it, said his name and sealed his oath, “So help me God and these holy Gospels that I touch with my hand.”

The portion filmed by Vatican television ended with Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, saying, “Extra omnes,” ordering out everyone not authorized to remain.

Among those staying behind was 87year-old Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech, an Augustinian priest and expert on the fathers of the early church. The cardinals had chosen him to give a meditation “on the problems facing the church” and “on the need for careful discernment in choosing the new pope.”

The afternoon events began in the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, not far from the Sistine Chapel. The average age of the cardinals entering the conclave was close to 72 years. Forty-eight of the 115 cardinals previously voted in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI; for the other 67 cardinals, this was their first conclave.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the topranking cardinal elector, led the others in prayer, beginning, “May the Lord who guides our hearts in the love and patience of Christ be with you all.”

He told them, “The whole church, united with us in prayer, insistently invokes the grace of the Holy Spirit so that a worthy pastor for the whole flock of Christ would be elected by us.”

“May the Lord direct our steps in the path of truth so that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holy apostles Peter and Paul and all the saints, we would always do what is pleasing to him,” the cardinal prayed.

Chanting the Litany of the Saints, the cardinal electors began their walk to the Sistine Chapel, led by U.S. Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and the lowest in the church’s internal cardinal ranking.

In pre-conclave homily, Cardinal calls for unity

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

Hours before the start of the conclave that is choosing the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals celebrated the papacy as a source of unity among Catholics and of evangelization and charitable service to the world.

Christ “has established his apostles and among them Peter, who takes the lead, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church,” Cardinal Angelo Sodano said in his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica March 12. “Each of us is therefore called to cooperate with the successor of Peter, the visible foundation of such an ecclesial unity.”

Cardinal Sodano, 85, concelebrated the Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” (for the election of the Roman pontiff) with some 170 other cardinals, including 115 under 80 who would be entering the conclave.

Words of thanks

CNS photo / Vatican CTV via Reuters

Swiss Guards are seen as cardinals from around the world enter the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel March 12 to begin the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI in a still image taken from video.

They chanted requests that God would have pity on them, they asked the saints, archangels and ancient biblical prophets to pray for them. They invoked the aid of Christ, asking for his mercy and protection. They also prayed for the needs of those who have died and those threatened by hunger and war.

The cardinals asked God to give the world peace, to “comfort and enlighten” the church, help Christians reconcile with each other and to lead all people to the truth of the Gospel.

When they reached the chapel, the cardinals sang the ancient invocation of the Holy Spirit, “Veni, Creator Spiritus.”

CNS photo / Stefano Rellandini, Reuters

Cardinals from around the world attend a Mass for the election of the Roman pontiff in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 12.

Concelebrating were some 170 cardinals, including 115 under the age of 80 who were to enter the conclave in the Sistine Chapel that afternoon.

At the start of the Mass, as a choir and the congregation chanted verses from the psalms, the cardinals processed up the main aisle of the basilica, wearing vestments in the red of Pentecost, signifying their invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide the papal election.

Cardinal Sodano’s homily included words of thanks for the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict XVI, which prompted applause.

The cardinal quoted the retired pope’s description of charity as a “constitutive element of the Church’s mission and an indispensable expression of her being,” and his warning that charity must not be reduced to “solidarity or simply humanitarian aid,” since the “greatest work of charity is evangelization, which is the ‘ministry of the word.’”

Christ’s “mission of mercy,” Cardinal Sodano said, “is especially entrusted to the bishop of Rome, shepherd of the universal church.”

“The last popes have been builders of so many good initiatives for people and for the international community, tirelessly promoting justice and peace,” the cardinal said. “Let us pray that the future pope may continue this unceasing work on the world level.”

Given its timing, the homily at the cardinals’ last Mass before a conclave is commonly interpreted as an exhortation to the cardinal-electors on the priorities they should follow in choosing the next pope.

On the same occasion in 2005, the cardinal dean gave a now-famous sermon that warned believers against trends in contemporary culture, particularly a “dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.”

He emerged from the Sistine Chapel the next day as Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Sodano’s words could also prove influential, but he is too old to vote in this conclave.

Nation/World

MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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In addition to smoke, bells to announce election of new pope CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 we should be living it,” he said to a round of applause from journalists during a news briefing March 9.

It was a surprising response from media whose 24/7 schedules and digital demands have long clashed with the Vatican, which still uses faxes, conducts almost all news conferences in Italian and most often closes shop between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

the smoke.

Even Father Lombardi said he was not sure what color the smoke was when gray puffs curled out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after a successful round of voting that chose now-retired Pope Benedict XVI.

Perhaps those applauding the more romantic notion of “Carpe diem” were unaware that, with smoke colors high in the Roman sky, it’s always been “Hard to see ‘em.”

In addition to the packets of chemicals, which are concocted by Vatican workers, the Vatican had also decided it would toll the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica with a successful vote in order to remove any doubt about the results. However, in 2005, the bells did not start ringing until about 10 minutes after the smoke had been wafting out.

Telling whether the smoke is white (a successful election) or black (unsuccessful) has never been easy, even during the 2005 conclave, when the Vatican started using chemical packets to enhance the color of

Father Lombardi recalled phoning Vatican officials to see if the bells were going to be rung or not and said the uncertainty is actually part of “the beauty of these events.”

Father Lombardi said Vatican television will be broadcasting the “fumate” (smoke) live with a camera positioned about 10 yards away from the chapel chimney, giving people a shot that’s “right in front of your nose.”

People unable to make it to St. Peter’s Square can tune in online at HTTP:// PLAYER.RV.VA/.

Or they can get on social media like Twitter and follow the many handles offering “on-the-roof” coverage and alerts such as @PAPALSMOKESTACK, @CONCLAVE CHIMNEY, @CONCLAVESTOVE and @POPE ALARM and POPEALARM.COM which are promising “When the smoke goes up, you’ll know what’s going down” via email or SMS.

‘Smoke schedule’ Whatever method people chose, the following is the expected “smoke schedule”

(all times central): ! Beginning March 13, smoke would be expected at about noon and again about 7 p.m. (6 a.m. and 1 p.m. CDT). ! However, if a pope is elected on the first ballot of the morning, the white smoke would billow forth between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m.

CDT). ! If the pope is elected on the first ballot of the afternoon, the white smoke would be seen between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

(11:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. CDT). ! After a white smoke signal, it takes about 40-45 minutes before the announcement of the name of the candidate who won. He must accept the office and change to white vestments, and the cardinals must pledge their obedience and pray again before he comes out on the balcony.

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11: 1

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This Catholic Life THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Opinion, feedback and points to ponder

MARCH 14, 2013

“One of the challenges to my faith is

not classic atheism but what Jesuit Father John Courtney Murray many years ago identified as ‘atheism by distraction.’ Given the achievements of science, technology and engineering that meet my needs for water, food, health care and national security, I am distracted away from a sense of my dependence on God. . . .

For me, the remedy for this is an abiding sense of gratitude.

”

JESUIT FATHER WILLIAM BYRON

Reflection and rediscovery in the Year of Faith When the Year of Faith opened last October, Pope Benedict XVI invited the whole church into “a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith.”

He later decided to vacate the chair of Peter and now pursues his own journey of reflection and rediscovery. The prayers of the entire Catholic world are with him on that journey. His prayers are undoubtedly with the rest of us as we follow the faith and move into our own unknown future.

Commentary

Questions for us all

Father Adolfo Nicolas, the superior general of the Jesuits, has, Jesuit Father in response to Pope Benedict’s inWilliam Byron vitation to a Year of Faith, asked Jesuits worldwide this question: “What lights, shadows, challenges and opportunities do we see in our environment with regard to faith?”

And he followed that question with another: “What operative role does faith actually play in my life: for example, in my work; in the way I deal with difficulties; in the way I use time, resources, energy?”

And he then extended that question by asking: “What do I experience as challenges or obstacles to faith, and what sustains and deepens my faith?”

Those questions are worthy of consideration by all Catholics, and I’d like to provide some impetus for that reflection.

I think of religious faith as the act, the attitude, the mindset by which we entrust ourselves to God. In my view, faith and trust are twins. There is content to faith, of course. We make statements about who God is and what God has done in creation and throughout human history.

But propositional faith and attitudinal faith are different realities. There is no truth at all to that singsong childhood chant, “seeing is believing; seeing is believing.”

You do not believe what you see; you know it. You have sensible experience of it and you just know.

What you do not or cannot see, you can still believe (and thus know) on evidence given to you by another — a trustworthy other. In this case, you do not see, but you surely know.

For me, faith is indeed the act by which I entrust myself to God. I don’t have “faith in the future,” for example; my faith is in God.

One of the challenges to my faith is not classic atheism but what Jesuit Father John Courtney Murray many years ago identified as “atheism by distraction.”

Given the achievements of science, technology and engineering that meet my needs for water, food, health care and national security, I am distracted away from a sense of my dependence on God. Hence, I become an atheist by distraction.

For me, the remedy for this is an abiding sense of gratitude. Building a spirituality based on gratitude is one way, by God’s grace, of deepening my faith.

So all of us can take an inventory of that for which we should be grateful and then let an attitude of gratitude — the awareness of being indebted to God who is the giver of all we possess — get to work within us to quietly deepen our faith.

Not a bad way to spend what’s left of this Year of Faith.

Father Byron, is a columnist for Catholic News Service. He writes from Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., where he is writing books, teaches part-time and is available for lectures, workshops and retreats.

This Catholic Life / Commentary

MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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Papal transition: Opportunity to showcase the faith

I

Guest Column Stephen Kent

There is an interest currently in all things Catholic

t was another one of those conversations that have occurred with some frequency in the past few weeks.

“So, who do you think will be the new pope?” some asked. “I don’t know, they haven’t called,” I said, forfeiting any claim to being a prestigious Catholic journalist in the know. The interest in who will be pope appears to surpass the interest in the teaching and philosophy of the Church that the new pope will lead.

There are more than 4,400 journalists accredited to the Vatican for the conclave, added to the 600 permanently accredited. That means there are about 5,000 media types in the tiny city-state. They are drawn by the pageantry, certainly, with the colorful vestments and liturgies, more so this time because it is not overshadowed by mourning for a deceased pope.

Conveying joy With so much interest in the leader, how can we capitalize on this moment? How can we Catholics transmit the joy of our faith?

This moment in time can be used to begin a conversation that otherwise might have been uncomfortable for someone. For example, we could include a particular aspect of our faith in conversation by saying “as long as you asked.”

There is an interest currently in all things Catholic. However, “aggressive secularization” is often doing a more effective job in telling us what we believe — which really isn’t what we believe.

Satellite trucks and a riser for television journalists are seen at the foot of Via della Conciliazione, the road leading to the Vatican.

CNS photo / Paul Haring

At a recent luncheon of our Catholic university alumni, a table companion asked what happened “since our time” until now, when many young people are not active in the faith. She referred to it as a rejection of the faith into which they were baptized and educated. I responded that it is more of a disinterest than a rejection, stemming from the time when there was more emphasis on catechesis than on formation.

Obviously it is important to know the articles of faith, but it is supremely important to think of who we are as Catholics. A Catholic is not just a member of an institution. A

Catholic is who we are as people.

“Most of us need to rethink our relationship with the Church. If we perceive the church as an institution — the entity where we go for sacraments or for Catholic school, we are missing the point,” Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila told the Living the Catholic Faith Conference.

All called to evangelize In the luncheon conversation, a term was used that is sometimes heard today — “fallen away” Catholic. It is a good metaphor if you think of a leaf fallen away from a tree. It withered and dried for lack of support and nourishment from the trunk.

This disinterest could be overcome.

“Every Catholic is called to evangelize others by their lives, in what they say and do,” Archbishop Aquila said.

The amount of media coverage in the next few weeks, some feel, will help get the Church’s message out.

Perhaps. But think about what is more effective. Is it a message coming from the media or one delivered by a friend or neighbor?

Kent, retired editor of archdiocesan newspapers in Omaha and Seattle, writes for Catholic News Service.

Same-sex ‘marriage’ is just the beginning

B Faith in the Public Arena Jason Adkins

It is the harbinger of broader social change aimed at breaking down the supposedly repressive social norm of heterosexual monogamy

y the time you read this column, legislation to redefine marriage (HF 1054/SF 925) will likely have been passed out of committees in both the Minnesota House and Senate, and sent to the floor of each chamber, where it could receive a full vote at any time. (Have you called or visited your elected officials?)

The redefinition of marriage should not be seen as a stand-alone act. It is the harbinger of broader social change aimed at creating gender and sexual “freedom” and breaking down the supposedly repressive social norm of heterosexual monogamy.

And it is accompanied by other significant pieces of legislation working their way through Minnesota’s Legislature that should be resisted just as vigorously as same-sex “marriage.”

Prevention of school bullying or re-education camp?

Much ink has been spilled inside and outside the Church critiquing the irrationality of this false movement of liberation.

Irrational ideas cannot subsist in a true marketplace of ideas. Criticism must be shut down or the Big Lie will be exposed.

This is plainly the case in the context of the marriage debate, where intimidation and name calling are

“If marriage is redefined, the coercion of silence will enter the legal sphere.”

JASON ADKINS

used in the social sphere to silence people (or churches). If marriage is redefined, the coercion of silence will enter the legal sphere, where real penalties will befall those so-called “bigots” who “discriminate” by clinging to the traditional definition of marriage.

But it will not end there. In fact, the schools are the ideal place to foster this new regime of “tolerance,” and forcefully suppress any bad thoughts or “hate” speech that may emerge.

Enter HF 826/SF 783, the “Safe and Supportive Schools Act,” which is being sold as a measure to combat school bullying.

Legislation to combat school bullying seems like a no-brainer. No one wants his or her child bullied.

But this bill is not designed to protect all kids from school bullying.

The proposed law singles out certain “protected classes” of students — including sexual orientation and

“gender identity and expression” — for special attention and favored treatment, including curriculum mandates aimed at fostering acceptance of these groups. The traditional victims of bullying (“nerds,” the overweight, not to mention “religious” kids) get no special protection in the bill.

In attempting to guarantee select groups of students a “safe and supportive learning environment” (dangerously undefined) by prohibiting any words a student could arguably view as “interfering” with her “educational performance,” the bill would place chilling authority and burdensome administrative responsibilities in the hands of schools.

StarTribune columnist Katherine Kersten offers these examples: ! The bill would compel schools to police cell phone activity, texting and “cyber-bullying,” including comments a student writes on her Facebook page.

! Equally problematic, the bill would prohibit conduct that creates “a real or perceived imbalance of power between students,” along with conduct that violates “the reasonable expectation of privacy” of any student. Courts would have trouble applying these standards, let alone school officials. ! The bill also appears to withhold due process of law from students accused of bullying. It requires schools to investigate anonymous accusations and does not give students the right to confront their accusers. Paradoxically, it would permit students to harass one another by making unsubstantiated charges of misconduct with little or no accountability. ! One of the bill’s most chilling aspects is that students who dissent from certain state-approved cultural/political attitudes could potentially be referred to “counseling” by school authorities for failing to sufficiently “value diversity.”

We are not done yet! The bill’s proponents want to require private schools to follow the mandates of the law as well. If a Catholic school refuses to comply, its students could lose their pupil aid, such as textPLEASE TURN TO SURROGACY ON PAGE 13

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

Commentary

/ This Catholic Life

We can do better for Minnesota’s homeless youth

I

Faith and Justice Kathy Tomlin

Increasing state’s investment is both the right thing and smart thing to do

these other providers by increasing its investment in these youngsters.

Catholic Charities and our partners are requesting that the state increase its investment in this biennial budget.

This modest investment is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. It is right because these youth have assets and potential that should not be left to the vagaries of the streets. We can ill afford to waste one young person’s gifts in an increasingly aging society. They deserve our investment and so do we.

It is the smart thing to do because not investing will cost us dearly down the road in lost wages, lost taxes and added expenditures for any number of services. These services will be all the more costly as homelessness, ill health and poverty become more and more a part of the fabric of the lives of these youth.

magine trying to graduate from high school, not knowing where your next meal will come from or where you’ll sleep at night.

Every night, 2,500 young people in Minnesota are homeless. Catholic Charities and many of our partners are working to reverse this trend during the 2013 legislative session.

These youth aren’t those who are merely facing the typical teenage years striving for independence in a home with disgruntled parents. Instead, many are kids who may have fallen through the cracks in Minnesota’s child welfare system or aged out of the system while not yet “grown up.” More than half, 56 percent, were told to leave home or were locked out.

These kids aren’t runaways or “homeless by choice.” They are young people at risk. They may have experienced domestic abuse, family homelessness, drug violence, parental income levels that make financial support impossible, the trauma of bouncing from one foster home to another, mental health issues, academic failure, or the failures of the child protection, juvenile justice and education systems to intervene before the situation came to a crisis point.

Every night on the street puts them at increased risk of physical and sexual abuse, poor health and suicide.

‘We can do better’

BigStock photo

Please join with us by talking with your legislator. Catholic Charities knows, through our own work at Hope Street, that we do not need to lose these kids to the streets. Street outreach, transitional shelter, home placement and case management are working solutions and have made the difference between the weariness of the streets and hope for the future.

No young person in Minnesota should have to go even one night without a safe place to sleep. We can do better. Please join us in addressing this critical statewide issue with a specific solution by supporting the funding of the Homeless Youth Act at $8 million this legislative session.

for homeless youth in the entire state.

We believe the state should join

Tomlin is vice president for social justice advocacy at Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

More help needed Currently the state spends $238,000 every two years to assist the more than 2,000 youth who are homeless or precariously housed. Social service providers and foundations along with the support of some local units of government have done what they could to patch to-

gether interventions that may support some of these young people.

But there are only 108 shelter beds

Today’s mission fields are around the world and next door

R

Sharing Faith Deacon Mickey Friesen

The call of mission is not restricted to certain peoples or geographical areas

ecently, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our newest priests to arrive in the archdiocese, Father Joseph Kureh.

Father Joseph comes from Burma (also known as Myanmar) in southern Asia. After serving the Church there for 20 years in remote jungle terrain, he has been called thousands of miles away to enter the mission field of the East Side of St. Paul.

He is ministering to the growing population of refugees and newcomers from Burma’s Karenni and Karen ethnic groups who are making St. Bernard’s and Blessed Sacrament parishes their spiritual home.

He told me it is so different here compared to his homeland. Besides experiencing snow and icy cold for the first time, he is trying to understand our customs and learning how to “speak Minnesotan” compared to the British English he knows.

New map for missionaries Jesus said, “I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). We may think of the “mission fields” as only those foreign and exotic places on the other side of the

world, and missionaries as being a special breed of people. While there are still people making a lifelong commitment to leave home and travel to foreign lands for many years, we may be less aware of how the geography of mission has changed over the last 50 years and continues to change.

The Second Vatican Council declared that mission is the birthright of every Christian when it said, “The Church is missionary by her nature” (“Ad Gentes,” 2). This means that each of us is called to witness to the good news of Christ with our life.

Pope John Paul reflected further to say, “There is a new awareness that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians, for all dioceses and parishes” (“Redemptoris Missio,” 2).

The call of mission is not restricted to certain peoples or geographical areas (“mission lands” or “missions”); it includes people of all races, nations and generations. Mission is not just “out there,” but also “in here.” It is about exploring the geography of faith in the human heart.

“Mission is not just ‘out there,’ but also ‘in here.’

”

DEACON MICKEY FRIESEN

Giving and receiving And so, what are the mission fields today?

First, there are the fields of those who have never heard or seen the Gospel message. They have never witnessed the love of Christ and his Church.

Second, there are the pastoral fields of mission which St. Paul describes as “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). This is the fellowship and ministry we offer one another within the Church. It is a field as local as our family, neighborhood, parish and diocese. It is as universal as our solidarity with brothers and sisters around the world whom we have never met.

Third, there are the mission fields of the new evangelization, which reaches out to those who have been separated, disengaged or have simply faded away from Church life. This mission tries to help people re-discover their faith and life in the Church.

Finally, there are the mission fields of transforming the world. The Church exists for the world. The Church has something to say to the pressing questions of our day and how to bring about a world that reflects God’s design and plan. The Church can add to civil discourse, the marketplace, the issues of conflict and human dignity, working toward greater justice and peace for all people.

The mission fields today are around the world and next door. We each have something to receive and something to give to God’s mission of drawing all people to the reign of God and the fullness of God’s life in Christ.

Deacon Friesen is director of the archdiocesan Center for Mission.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

Collection delivers essential aid to Holy Land residents CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Melkite, Maronite, Syrian, Armenian, Coptic and Chaldean faithful who live, work and worship there.

Theirs has not been an easy lot because of the violence and political instability in the area. Often these Christians find themselves being discriminated against by the very neighbors with whom they share the land of Jesus.

For years now, one of the great sources of assistance for our Christian brothers and sisters who abide in the Holy Land is the Good Friday collection. It provides much-needed financial assistance necessary to maintain the holy sites as well as support for the communities that dwell there.

The funds collected also provide immediate relief to the catastrophic consequences of war and other emergencies.

Through a qualified network of pastoral, educational and health care specialists, these resources come to the aid of families, frequently saving the lives of the old,

the sick and the disabled.

In addition, aid is provided to those without work, especially the youth who long for a brighter future.

Reaching out to help The collection offers the hope of stemming some of the incessant exodus of Christians from their motherland as well as hope for the displaced and the refugee.

A significant part of the proceeds is used to fund student scholarships, to help small businesses and to build schools and sports centers for children.

I urge our Catholic faithful to be generous in giving to the Good Friday collection. It is most appropriate that on this holy day when we commemorate the saving death of our Lord and Savior, we also reach out with prayerful and financial help to those who have oversight in maintaining those important shrines, churches and convents that are found in the land where he died and rose.

God bless you!

New Iraqi patriarch pledges dialogue, warns against emigration Catholic News Service The new patriarch of Chaldean Catholics pledged to foster coexistence and dialogue and urged Christian Iraqis not to leave their homeland, warning that if emigration continues, “there will be no more Christians in the Middle East.”

Ululating and apnearly plause drowned out the choir as Patriarch apSako Louis proached the altar at St. Joseph Cathedral PATRIARCH SAKO in Baghdad for his installation March 6 amid tight security.

The 64-year-old patriarch, who had served as archbishop of Kirkuk, Iraq, since 2003, replaces Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly, 85.

“I open my heart and mind to you all carrying my motto: ‘Authenticity, Unity and Renewal,’” Patriarch Sako told Church officials, religious, laypeople,

imans and senior Iraqi officials gathered in the cathedral. Eastern Catholic leaders, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sunni parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi were among those who attended the installation.

The new patriarch pledged to work toward coexistence and dialogue, as he did in his previous assignments in Mosul and Kirkuk. More than 72 churches have been attacked or bombed in Iraq since June 2004. Iraq’s Christian population, believed to number up to 1.4 million in the late 1990s, now is believed to be significantly fewer than 500,000. Almost twothirds of Iraqi Christians belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Addressing Iraqi Christians in particular, the Chaldean patriarch said: “I know your concern and fears.”

“You are not a minority in this country,” he said, reminding them that Christians have been there for more than 2,000 years, an important presence and witness.

“If emigration continues, God forbid, there will be no more Christians in the Middle East,” he warned. “It will be no more than a distant memory.”

Surrogacy agreements exploit women, commodify children CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 books, school nurses, and transportation.

Does this sound like an Orwellian nightmare? It should because it is one.

The plethora of free speech and freedom of religion problems contained in this legislation will inevitably lead to an enormous legal headache, but an equally pressing concern is the relentless assault in our schools on the dignity of the human person, authentic sexuality, and the institutions of marriage and family.

The truths found in the natural order continue to be suppressed.

Assisted reproduction, or the commodification of women and children?

Speaking of nature, one more bill merits your close attention.

Those who choose not to live in accordance with the natural law soon discover that it is difficult (impossible) for two people of the same sex to create a child.

Sometimes, the natural desire to have children of one’s own persists, and therefore some same-sex couples resort to technology or the use of a surrogate mother to carry a child to term.

Interestingly, though surrogacy agreements are becoming more common, they are not, as of yet, considered enforceable contracts under Minnesota law. The birth mother still has certain rights and responsibilities.

HF 291/SF 370 has been introduced to allow surrogacy agreements to be used as admissible evidence in custody proceedings between surrogate mothers and “intended parents.”

This might all sound very technical and legalistic, but it is supposed to sound that way. Its real aim is to covertly decide a controversial public policy question — the legitimacy of surrogacy agreements — without opening a big public debate.

If state law considers surrogacy agreements as admissible evidence, it will signal to courts that these are, in fact, legitimate and enforceable contracts, paving the way for a full-blown surrogacy business in Minnesota.

Groups as diverse as the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Women have contended (rightly) that such a regime would lead to the exploitation of women and the commodification of children, denying them their right to be connected to their biological parents.

Widespread acceptance of surrogacy will likely transform the way in which our society brings children into the world.

Children will become “products” that are produced, bought, and sold; often, poor women will become incubators for these new consumer “goods.”

The 2013 Minnesota legislative session is offering a glimpse into a brave new world. Though well-intentioned by some as a path to freedom from both nature and outdated social norms, it ultimately threatens our humanity.

Please take the time to oppose these three related bills.

Jason Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

Mother Teresa

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Jubilees A Catholic Spirit Special Section

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

MARCH 14, 2013

Knights honor sisters for their dedication, service

By Dianne Towalski

Want to go:

The Catholic Spirit

What: 45th Annual Nun’s Appreciation Day, Knights of Columbus, Blessed Virgin Mary Council 4381, Fridley

Sister Betty Gits joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet just after high school. After her first vows, she set out to teach elementary and junior high school for the next 21 years. After that, she worked in parishes in the archdiocese and the New Ulm diocese, mostly ministering to the sick and elderly.

At age 70, she returned to her hometown of Minneota to volunteer at the parish and the local nursing home.

Even after returning to the Provincial House in St. Paul, she visited the war veterans at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Minneapolis once a week.

“I always wanted to be a social worker, but the degree wasn’t offered at St. Kate’s,” Sister Betty said about her history of ministering to those in need. “A person gets more than they give. It’s such a rewarding thing when you get to know these people. It’s wonderful.”

Sister Betty’s work and the work of hundreds of sisters like her does not go unappreciated.

For the past 45 years, the Fridley Knights of Columbus Council 4381 has been sponsoring Nuns’ Appreciation Day. The event began as a way to show the sisters in the Twin Cities area how much their work is valued.

“It’s just a pleasure to wait on these ladies who dedicate their lives to helping others, and to see the smiles on their faces and all the good feelings that come out of it,” said Linus Ulfig, chair of the committee planning the March 24 event.

When: 1 p.m. March 24 Where: Immaculate Conception, 4030 Jackson St. N.E., Columbia Heights TO ATTEND: Call (763) 786-2191 or (654) 636-2382 by March 18

Getting together “The nuns really like this because it gives them a chance to get together,” Ulfig said. “I think for some of them it’s the only time they see each other.”

Each year, between 65 and 70 sisters come to socialize, play games like cribbage and bingo and share a meal together.

“We see sisters from other communities that we may be acquainted with but don’t get to see very often,” said Sister Mary Ellen Ward, also a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who has been attending the event for more than 20 years. “It’s just very enjoyable,” she said.

“I like to support the Knights of Columbus; they have done so much good over the years,” Sister Betty said.

“They’ve been awfully good to us sisters.”

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Sisters attending the Nun’s Appreciation Day enjoy a buffet-style meal in this photo from 1997.

In the beginning, the sisters went bowling or snowmobiling, said Mickey Rooney, who started the event in the late 1960s and was in charge of planning until Ulfig took over four years ago.

“I just wanted to get the sisters from different communities together,” he said. “I started by taking the sisters from Holy Cross in Minneapolis and the sisters from Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights bowling.”

The sisters enjoyed it so much that it became an annual event. “It’s such a fun thing. I’ve made lots of friends,” Sister Betty said. “I also get to see old friends. The only

Remember that story you read in The Catholic Spirit last month?

Last year?

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other time we see each other is if we go on retreat or something.”

“We get more joy out of giving than receiving,” Rooney said. “I think we get more out of it than they do.”

The event includes an informal, picnic-style meal. “We hear that they don’t want a formal dinner, they get that all of the time,” Ulfig said. “We prepare hamburgers, with lots of fried onions and chips.”

When the sisters bless the Knights and others who prepare the meal and plan the day, “they all hold up their hands and say, ‘May the blessing of the Lord be upon you,’” Rooney said.

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BURNSVILLE EDEN PRAIRIE MAPLE GROVE MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL BUCADIBEPPO.COM

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Jubilees

MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

15

Religious women and men celebrate jubilees The Catholic Spirit congratulates the following members of women’s and men’s religious communities who are serving in or are from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and are celebrating jubilees this year. This information is provided by the archdiocese.

50 years Sister Paula Pohlmann

Women Religious

Franciscan Sisters, St. Paul

Benedictine Sisters, St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul

70 years Sister Mary Clara Thomas 60 years Sister Mary Lucy Scheffler

WWW.OSB.ORG/SPM

75 years Sister Richardine Schackmann 70 years Sister Jeron Osterfeld Sister Duane Moes 60 years Sister Mary Joanne Lusk

Franciscan Sisters, Rochester, Minn.

WWW.ROCHESTERFRANCISCAN.ORG

50 years Sister Sara Ruble

Franciscan Sisters, Sylvania, Ohio WWW.OSFDBQ.ORG

50 years Sister Brenda Rose Szegedy

Good Shepherd Sisters and Contemplatives, Oak Park Heights, Ill

Dominican Sisters, Sinsinawa, Wis. WWW.SINSINAWA.ORG

65 years Sister Catherine Lyons Sister Bianca Madden 60 years Sister Mary Catherine St. Martin 50 years Sister Mary Margaret Murphy

65 years Sister Teresita Mater 60 years Sister Patricia Marie Thomas 40 years Sister Rose Vuthi

Franciscan Sisters, Little Falls, Minn.

WWW.FSLF.ORG

65 years Sister Maureen Kelly

Guadalupan Sisters, Mexico 60 years Sister Maria Dondiego PLEASE TURN TO RELIGIOUS ON PAGE 16

Congratulations, Blessings & Thank You,

Sister & Consociate Jubilarians from the

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet & Consociates SISTER ANNIVERSARIES

A wo rl d - wi d e r el i gi o us community serving on four continents; born 222 years ago in France amidst chaos, transition and revolution That same spirit of hope which continues to impassion our hearts today amidst chaos, transition and revolution in the 21st century.

This is our story. We are Marian women for Christ Courageous in Faith and Daring

~ 65 ~ Helen Coughlan Kathleen Foley Rosalind Gefre Mary Kessler Mary Margaret Langteau James Theresa Mullen Julie Noonan Theresa O'Brien Caroline Pfeifer Susan Streff Evelyn Wadsworth

~ 80 ~ Mary Mark Mahoney Marguerite Turgeon ~ 75 ~ Marquita Barnard Isabella Ferrell Ancelle Gagnon Leona Steinbeisser ~ 70 ~ Elizabeth Delmore Ursula Foley Laura Ann King Ernesta Mahlmann Mary Martin Nelson

~ 60 ~ Pat Binko Jean Dummer Mary Ann Fath Rita Foster Roseann Giguere Diane Hunker Laurie Kelly Martha Kieffer Mary Lang Claudian Moore Peggy O’Leary Ramona Rademacher Gretchen Reintjes Donna Sklar Mary Anne Wolter

~ 50 ~ Betty Adams Susan Hames Charlotte Madigan Joan Mitchell Katherine Rossini Catherine Steffens ~ 10 ~ Charlotte Berres Baya Clare Suzanne Herder Teresa Kim Monica Lubitz Jill Underdahl Lillian Waldera

CONSOCIATE ANNIVERSARIES ~ 15 ~ Deborah Chernick Lou Cooney Erickson Judith Oberhauser

~ 10 ~ Cherie Andresen Pam Conway Linda Crosby Kathleen Olsen

~ 10 ~ Margaret Post Elizabeth Scott Mary Anne Seaton

www.csjstpaul.org

~ 10 ~ Ruth Weise Kay Welsch Janet Williams

16

Jubilees

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

Religious celebrate special anniversaries CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Little Sisters of the Poor, Palatine,Ill. WWW.LITTLESISTERSOFTHEPOOR.ORG

70 years Sister Edith Marie Martin 60 years Sister Emmanuel Barrett 40 years Sister Christina Marie Fu

Living Word Sisters, Arlington Heights, Ill. 60 years Sister Veronica Hoffman

Presentation Sisters, Dubuque,Iowa 50 years Janet Stelken

School Sisters of Notre Dame, St. Louis, Mo. 60 years Sister M. Yolanda Latessa Sister M. Bernelle Taube Sister Marion Welter 50 years Sister Loriann Stanton

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul

75 years Sister Marquita Barnard Sister Isabella Ferrell Sister Ancelle Gagnon Sister Leona Steinbeisser 70 years Sister Elizabeth Delmore Sister Ursula Foley Sister Laura Ann King Sister Ernesta Mahlmann Sister Margaret Mary Miller (deceased) Sister Mary Martin Nelson 65 years Sister Helen Coughlan Sister Kathleen Foley Sister Rosalind Gefathere Sister Mary Kessler Sister Mary Margaret Langteau Sister James Theresa Mullen Sister Julie Noonan Sister Theresa O’Brien Sister Caroline Pfeifer Sister Susan Streff Sister Evelyn Wadsworth 60 years Sister Pat Binko Sister Jean Dummer Sister Mary Ann Fath Sister Rita Foster Sister Roseann Giguere Sister Laurie Kelly Sister Martha Kieffer Sister Mary Lang Sister Brigid McDonald Sister Claudian Moore Sister Peggy O’Leary Sister Ramona Rademacher Sister Donna Sklar Sister Mary Anne Wolter 50 years Sister Betty Adams Sister Charlotte Madigan Sister Joan Mitchell Sister Katherine Rossini Sister Catherine Steffens

WWW.CSJSTPAUL.ORG

Congregation of St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio

80 years Mary Mark Mahoney Sister Marguerite Turgeon

50 years Sister Mary Ellen Proulx Sister Sue Torgersen

Holy Week/Easter Mass Times

Holy Thursday: 7 p.m.

Good Friday: Celebration of The Lord’s Passion 7 p.m.

Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil 8 p.m.

Easter Sunday: 8:30, 10:30 a.m.

The Church of Saint Paul 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake, MN

No matter what’s going on in this changing world, it’s nice to know you can always return to a place where inspiration lives. Where you’ll find in-depth stories about people making a difference in the world.

And where you can reconnect with your faith as you learn about the Catholic Church’s viewpoint on some of the difficult issues we face.

It’s news with a Catholic Heart.

651-291-4444 thecatholicspirit.com

The Catholic Spirit

Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, Stevens Point, Wis. 60 years Sister Janine Rajkowski

Visitation Nuns, Mendota Heights 60 years Sister Péronne Marie Thibert

Men Religious Benedictine Monks, Collegeville, Minn.

40 years Father Gregory Miller

Carmelites of Mary Immaculate — Sacred Heart Province, Kerala, India 25 years Father Sebastian Mathai Adilchilathu

Conventual Franciscan Friars, Mount St. Fatherancis, Ind. 65 years Father Juniper Cummings

Maryknoll Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Maryknoll, N.Y. 40 years Father David Schwinghamer

Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Washington, D.C. 60 years Father Raymond Kirtz Father John Pilaczynski 50 years Father Ronald Harrer 25 years Brother Paul Daly

Is God calling you to a religious vocation?

“What will you do with your life? What are your plans? Have you ever thought of committing your existence totally to Christ?

Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus?” — Pope John Paul II Practical ways of discerning Discernment requires asking God what will make you happy. People faithfully discern God's will by bringing Him in the decision through: Prayer: Prayer, especially in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Praying the Rosary, staying in touch with Our Lady, whose total surrender to God is a model for all followers of Christ.

Sacraments: Reception of the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist, which clear the mind and heart of barriers to hearing God. Counsel: Seek counsel from people you trust: parents, priest, Brother, or Sister.

Get spiritual direction from someone trained to do so.

Silence: Being with God in silence in parts of our daily life and on periodic retreats.

Decision: Avoid conflicting decisions (e.g., one can not faithfully discern a call to consecrated life or priesthood while discerning married life in an exclusive dating relationship).

Visit: If God may be calling you to priesthood or Religious life, get information on the life and the Orders you may be interested in. Visit a convent or seminary: You do not know what you are saying yes or no to unless you go and see.

Trust: Above all, trust that your happiness is God's desire.

The above is reprinted from the website of the Office of Vocations of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. For more information visit WWW.10000VOCATIONS.ORG.

Archbishop Nienstedt’s Column

“That They May All Be One” Every issue The Catholic Spirit

Inspiration for living the Catholic faith

The CatholicSpirit.com

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

John 8:7

The Lesson Plan MARCH 14, 2013

Reflections on faith and spirituality

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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Daily Scriptures “During Lent, we

take time to consider where we need to do better in following God’s will and not ours — where we need change in our lives, to turn away from sin and toward love.

”

DEACON ANDREW STUEVE

Sunday, March 17 Fifth Sunday of Lent Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:8-14 John 8:1-11 Monday, March 18 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop, doctor of the church Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 John 8:12-20 Tuesday, March 19 St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a Wednesday, March 20 Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 John 8:31-42 Thursday, March 21 Genesis 17:3-9 John 8:51-59 Friday, March 22 Jeremiah 20:10-13 John 10:31-42 Saturday, March 23 St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, bishop Ezekiel 37:21-28 John 11:45-56 Sunday, March 24 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Luke 19:28-40 Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Luke 22:14 — 23:56

Light of Christ helps us discern God’s will

W

hen we pray the petition, “thy will be done,” we may find ourselves at times being caught up in distrac-

tion.

This is a very human reality. When distracted — admittedly, this can be very common — the will of God for those praying this petition can be easily mistaken for one’s own will. In other words, we think we already know the will of God. We can go astray and need the divine light of grace.

An illustration of this is found in today’s Gospel.

The Gospel illusDeacon trates the tense scene Andrew consisting of the PharStueve isees, the woman caught in adultery and Jesus Christ. With the intent to trap Jesus, the Pharisees were certainly not prepared for the divine wisdom that would come from his words and his actions.

By referring to the need to conform to the Law of Moses, the Pharisees were seemingly following God’s will. However, the divine physician read their hearts and re-

Sunday Scriptures

Readings Sunday, March 17 Fifth Sunday of Lent ! Isaiah 43:16-21 ! Philippians 3:8-14 ! John 8:1-11

Reflection How can you better discern God’s during the remaining days of Lent?

sponded by saying, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Their attempted trickery turned into a failure, and they were convicted of their own personal sin.

The true light of Christ scattered their darkness.

The Pharisees, as well as the woman caught in adultery, were confronted with the grace of Christ in this difficult moment. Their sin was laid bare, and now they had to make a choice.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”

The divine light can move our hearts out of the past and into the divine light of Jesus Christ.

In the responsorial psalm, those with the divine light are able to rejoice in humble gratitude, “‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.”

This is only when we encounter the real will of God. In the second reading, St. Paul wrote that those with the divine light are in “pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”

Time to reflect During Lent, we take time to consider where we need to do better in following God’s will and not ours — where we need change in our lives, to turn away from sin and toward love.

Our Gospel reminds us that we need to be confronted by the light of Christ to see that will, to see where we need to change.

This week, ask Christ to shine his light on your heart, to truly follow him, and not just your idea of him and his will. That way, we may better rejoice at Easter.

Deacon Stueve is in formation for the priesthood at St. Paul Seminary for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

His home parish is Mary Queen of Peace in Rogers, and his teaching parish is Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.

Monday, March 25 Isaiah 42:1-7 John 12:1-11 Tuesday, March 26 Isaiah 49:1-6 John 13:21-33, 36-38 Wednesday, March 27 Isaiah 50:4-9a Matthew 26:14-25 Thursday, March 28 Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Friday, March 29 Friday of the Passion of the Lord Isaiah 52:13 — 53:12 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 Saturday, March 30 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night Genesis 1:1 — 2:2 Genesis 22:1-18 Exodus 14:15 — 15:1 Isaiah 54:5-14 Isaiah 55:1-11 Baruch 3:9-15, 32 — 4:4 Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28 Romans 6:3-11 Luke 24:1-12 Sunday, March 31 Easter Sunday of the resurrection of the Lord Acts 10:34a, 37-43 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-9

The Lesson Plan

MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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CRS Rice Bowl helping women in Dominican Republic The Catholic Spirit One way that you can make a difference in the lives of our poorest brothers and sisters throughout the world is to become involved with CRS Rice Bowl.

This Lenten program invites Catholics to act on their faith by helping people in need through prayer, sacrifice, solidarity and charity.

CRS Rice Bowl asks that you eat a meal each week prepared with a recipe from a developing country to get a taste of the subsistence diet so many survive on. This week’s featured country is the Dominican Republic.

When you try these simple meatless meals, you are urged to put money into a symbolic “rice bowl” to be

donated to CRS through your parish at the end of Lent.

Or you might watch a video or read a story to gain a better awareness of the hopes and dreams of those overseas.

The Rice Bowl campaign collects about $8 million annually, with 25 percent of funds staying in local diocesan communities to fight hunger. The remaining 75 percent of the collection funds CRS anti-hunger efforts around the globe.

Visit CRSRICEBOWL.ORG to find more ideas and resources to help integrate CRS Rice Bowl into your own Lenten observances.

Photo by Robyn Fieser / CRS

ILSA’S STORY My name is Ilsa Dolores Gomez and I live in Las Lomas, a small town in the Dominican Republic.

Catholic Relief Services came to help the women in our town form a community savings group. We got a lock box to keep our money safe, learned to keep good records of deposits and withdrawals, and chose a president, secretary and other officers to lead the group.

I don’t have a lot of money, and I knew that being part of the community savings group would help me to start saving and have money available for emergencies. What I didn’t expect was that my role as an officer in the group would change my life.

I never thought of myself as a leader before, but my responsibilities within the savings group showed me that I have something to offer. A few months after we started our group, I decided to go back to school to finish my high school degree. I have the best grades in my class!

I also bought a hair dryer and some brushes, and on a few nights each week, I turn my front patio into a beauty salon. The extra money I earn helps to pay the household bills, but it’s much more than that. I know that I can depend on myself, and I have the strength to make a life that is better for my family and myself.

More online Father Leo Patalinghug from “Grace Before Meals” hosts a cooking show with CRS to show Catholics how to make fun, meatless meals from around the world for Lent. Visit WWW.CRSRICE BOWL.ORG every week for Lent.

FATHER PATALINGHUG

Confessors called to help Catholics recognize God’s love Catholic News Service The sacrament of penance, or reconciliation, helps Catholics recognize “the truth about themselves: that they are beloved children of the Father, who is rich in mercy,” said Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro.

The cardinal, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican court that deals with the sacrament of penance and matters of conscience, said the sacrament is an inteCARDINAL gral part of evangelizaDE CASTRO tion because it is a proclamation of the good news of God’s love. Cardinal Monteiro de Castro, one of the few top Vatican officials whose job does not end with the end of a pontificate, spoke to more than 500 seminarians, dea-

cons and priests attending a March 4-8 Vatican course on the sacrament and matters of conscience. “To evangelize is not only to teach doctrine and proclaim the truth. To evangelize is especially to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel that can touch human hearts and open them to accept the love of God,” he said.

Trusting in God’s mercy Msgr. Krzysztof Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, said the priests who are the best confessors know how to balance being a father, counselor and judge; they must know and understand church teaching and know how to convey it in the confessional with “prudence, discretion, discernment and goodness.”

The confessor, he said, must avoid “the danger of creating anguish” in the penitent and instead help him or her learn to “trust the infinite mercy of God.” The personality of a priest, “his qualities

and his defects, have a noticeable weight in the confessional, more than in any other sacrament,” Msgr. Nykiel said.

With ordination, every priest receives the faculty to absolve sins in the name of the Church, he said, but often “the penitent does not need only forgiveness.”

Frequently, the monsignor said, he or she needs education and guidance in forming a truly Christian conscience, or has need of encouragement or comfort.

Exercising the ministry of confessor is “one of the most difficult and delicate tasks for a priest,” he said.

He needs “to intuit situations of fragility, anxiety, pain or situations of superficiality, boasting and pride.”

A priest also needs to be able to set aside his own concerns and worries and the cares of the previous penitent, giving his full attention to the person in front of him at the moment, Msgr. Nykiel said.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

Dorothea Lange

19 T

HE

Arts & Culture CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Exploring our church and our world

MARCH 14, 2013

Portrait exhibit puts face on homelessness in Minnesota

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

In their portrait on exhibit at St. John Neumann in Eagan, a smiling couple identified as Alisha and Emiliano who are holding their tiny daughter look like any other young family.

But dial the phone number listed below the large, black-and-white photo and the St. Louis Park couple tells in a recording how they lived for a year in a family member’s van, moving when it was too cold to shelters and the homes of family and friends.

In overcoming the difficulties of homelessness — they eventually found an apartment and made a new start — they also speak of hope and happiness. “Don’t give up!”

Emiliano exhorts.

Alisha and Emiliano’s picture is one of 50 portraits of Minnesotans who have experienced homelessness that make up an exhibit titled “Homeless is My Address, Not My Name,” on display at the parish during Lent.

“It’s so counter to what you would think of as an exhibit of pictures of homeless people,” said parishioner Bob Brezinski, who proposed bringing the photos to St. John Neumann. “Most people have smiles and their countenance is hopeful, upbeat, promising.”

Raising awareness The exhibit has stirred up curiosity and awareness of the plight of the homeless at a parish that already serves them and others in need through a range of ministries.

Faith formation leaders also are involving parish youth in the exhibit.

In bringing the photos to St. John Neumann, Brezinski along with a charity and justice ministry he leads, hope more parishioners will decide to serve.

“Our hope is this will sensitize more people to the difficult situation of people who are homeless and that we’ll get more people to come forward and volunteer to be part of these ministries that serve people in these situations,” he said.

Along with displaying portraits in the church’s social hall, organizers have strategically rotated others in high traffic areas around the church premises to attract attention, he said.

Half the professionally-done 20-by-24-inch portraits are accompanied by telephone numbers that connect to a voicemail box containing a recorded narrative of the subjects of the photos so visitors can listen to the stories as they view the portraits.

The ongoing project was developed in 2008 by the Minneapolis non-profit St. Stephen’s Human Services in partnership with several other regional organizations to document homelessness in the state, according to Margaret Miles, development and communications director for St. Stephen’s Human Services, which assists the homeless.

Six volunteer photographers and nearly three dozen interviewers have created 700 portraits and first-person narratives so far, she said.

In the past several years, the exhibit has been displayed at churches and social service organizations, and the Minnesota Historical Society eventually will archive the portraits and narratives, Miles said.

Exhibit developers hope viewers will gain an understanding of the ways people become homeless, how they cope and how they get out of it, said Miles, noting that many of the people pictured are no longer homeless.

Parish youth are being challenged to see Christ disguised in the faces in light of the Gospel parable of the sheep and the goats (which stresses the need to show kindness and mercy toward the disadvantaged), said Pat Howard, youth catechesis director for 600 kids in grades

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

This photo from the “Homeless is My Address, Not My Name” portrait exhibit at St. John Neumann in Eagan features “Russell, Nicole and James” of Minneapolis. It was taken by photographer Joey McLeister in 2010.

six to 12.

“I think many of them have ‘seen’ a homeless person — being downtown, driving and seeing somebody they thought was homeless,” he said. “But now to see these portraits [in] which they have varying expressions on their faces and many of them joyful and then to hear their personal stories. . . . It really can change things.”

Facing the issue The exhibit also has sparked discussion among adult parishioners. Liz Lutton said she found it “beautifully done and very poignant. It gives you pause to think we are rich in many things — home, family, enough to eat,” she said.

According to Kristin Fahrendorf, the images “capture people’s dignity and sadness. They’re smiling but they’re not necessarily happy.”

The portraits are “in your face” for good reason, Howard noted.

“They’re everywhere and there’s no escape, which is sort of the way the Gospel should be presented, that there’s no escape from what Jesus is calling me to,” he said. “Jesus is calling me to take the faith and not have it be some abstract in my life but to have it be real and lived.”

Photo submitted

Alisha, left, Emiliano and their young daughter are featured in this exhibit photo by Barclay Horner.

20

Calendar

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

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 $12. Call (952) 8881492 for reservations.

Pancake breakfast at St. Patrick, St. Paul — March 17: 9 a.m. to noon at 1085 De Soto Street. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children 2 to 10 and $20 for a family with three or more children.

Cub Scout pancake breakfast at St. Raphael, Crystal — March 24: 8 a.m. to noon at 7301 Bass Lake Road. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 5 to 12 and $20 per family.

Palm Sunday pancake breakfast at Presentation School, Maplewood — March 24: 8 a.m. to noon at 1725 Kennard St. Served by Boy Scout Troop 461. Cost is $7, children 5 and under are free.

KC fundraising partnership breakfast at Knights of Columbus Hall, Stillwater — March 17: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1910 Greeley St. Cost is $7, children 12 and under are $4. Partnership is with St. Michael’s Boy Scout Troop 132.

Parish events ‘Celtic Spirituality’ at St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center — March 13 and 14: 7 p.m. each evening at 7025 Halifax Ave. N. Father Peter Connolly will speak on the history, music, story and prayer of Celtic spirituality.

Bells of the Lakes bell choir performance at St. Joseph, Rosemount — March 16: Performance follows the 5 p.m. Mass at 13900 Biscayne Ave. No admission cost.

Annual Mass and brunch for people with disabilities at St. Edward, Bloomington — March 16: 9 a.m. at 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S. Entertainment by the Harmonikers. Call (952) 835-7101 to RSVP.

Bingo at Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights — March 17: 12:15 to 3:15 p.m. at 4030 Jackson St. N.E. Snacks and beverages available for purchase. For information, visit WWW. ICCSONLINE.ORG.

Lenten dinners The following is a list of parishes, schools and organizations hosting fish fries or dinners during the Lenten season:

Cash and ham bingo at Holy Cross, Minneapolis — March 17: 2 to 5 p.m. at the Kolbe Center at 17th Avenue and Fourth Street N.E.

March 14 (Thursday):

March 20 (Wednesday):

St. Jerome, Maplewood — soup supper follows Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.

Holy Cross, Minneapolis — soup supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center on 17th Avenue and 14th Street N.E.

March 15: St. Peter School, North St. Paul — 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St. Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis — 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 5426 12th Ave. S. Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata — Seafood buffet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 155 County Road 24.

Holy Family, St. Louis Park — 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 5900 W. Lake St. Holy Cross, Minneapolis — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E. St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St. Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.

March 21 (Thursday): St. Jerome, Maplewood — soup supper follows Stations of theCross at 5:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.

March 22: St. Peter School, North St. Paul — 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St. Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata — Family macaroni and cheese dinner from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 155 County Road 24.

Holy Cross, Minneapolis — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1621 University Ave. N.E. Holy Family, St. Louis Park — 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 5900 W. Lake St.

St. Matthew, St. Paul — 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave.

St. Pascal Baylon, St. Paul — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St.

St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis — 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S.

Holy Family Maronite Church, Mendota Heights — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1960 Lexington Ave. S.

St. Peter, Forest Lake — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 S. Shore Drive.

St. Jerome, Maplewood — 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 380 E. Roselawn.

Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 4087 W. Broadway Ave.

St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis — 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the corner of E. 29th Street and 32nd Avenue S.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen) St. Bernard, St. Paul — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.

St. Michael, Prior Lake — 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 16311 Duluth Ave. Menu also includes macaroni and cheese.

Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 4087 W. Broadway Ave. Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — Mexican enchilada dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. (Enchiladas also sold by the dozen) Good Shepherd, Golden Valley — 5 to 7 p.m. at 145 Jersey Ave. S.

Knights of Columbus, Faribault — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.

St. Bernard, St. Paul — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.

Swing dance at St. Joseph of the Lakes, Lino Lakes — March 16: 8 to 11 p.m. at 171 Elm St. Features the Saints of Swing Big Band. Admission is $12 and includes two drinks.

Knights of Columbus, Bloomington — 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd.

Knights of Columbus, Faribault — 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 N.E. Third St.

St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park — Lenten dinner from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at 9100 93rd Ave. N.

Knights of Columbus, Bloomington — 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd.

Beer tasting at Guardian Angels, Oakdale — March 16: 6 to 10 p.m. at 8260 Fourth St. N. Features craft beer tasting, Irish music, prizes and raffles.

Tickets are $25 in advance at WWW.GUARDIAN-ANGELS.ORG or $30 at the door. Proceeds benefit Hope for the Journey Home Shelter.

St. Joseph, Hopkins — 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 1310 Mainstreet.

KC Ham bingo at Transfiguration, Oakdale — March 16: 5 to 9 p.m. at 6133 15th St. N.

Mary, Queen of Peace, Rogers — 5 to 7 p.m. at 21304 Church Ave. Menu also includes macaroni and cheese.

Ham bingo at St. Peter, Richfield — March 16: A light supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. with bingo from 6 to 9 p.m. at 6730 Nicollet Ave. S. Corned beef and cabbage dinner at St. Joseph, Miesville — March 17: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 23955 Nicolai Ave. E., Hastings. Wine and green beer will be available for purchase.

Silent auction until 2:30 p.m. Cost is $12 for adults and $5 for ages 6 to 12.

St. Mary, St. Paul — Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. followed by enchilada dinner St. Pius V, Cannon Falls — 5 to 7 p.m.

At 410 Colville St. W.

St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park — Lenten dinner from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at 9100 93rd Ave. N. St. Pius V, Cannon Falls — 5 to 7 p.m.

At 410 Colville St. W. Epiphany, Coon Rapids — 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 1900 111th Ave. N.W. Transfiguration School, Oakdale — 5 to 7 p.m. at 6135 15th St. N. Mary, Mother of the Church, Burnsville — 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 3333 Cliff Road.

Epiphany, Coon Rapids — 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 1900 111th Ave. N.W.

St. Raphael, Crystal — 5 to 7 p.m. at 7301 Bass Lake Road.

Mary, Mother of the Church, Burnsville — 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 3333 Cliff Road.

Our Lady of Grace, Edina — 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 5071 Eden Ave.

St. Raphael, Crystal — 5 to 7 p.m. at 7301 Bass Lake Road.

Totino-Grace High School, Fridley — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1350 Gardena Ave. N.E.

St. Peter, Mendota — 5 to 7 p.m. at 1405 Highway 13.

St. Bonaventure, Bloomington — 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 901 E. 90th St.

Easter boutique and bake sale at St. Boniface, Minneapolis — March 23: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 629 N.E. Second St. Features baked Easter treats, handicrafts and more. Refreshments available.

School events Open house at Benilde-St. Margaret School, St. Louis Park — March 21: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 2501 Highway 100 S. For students entering grades 7 to 12. Pre-register at WWW.BSMSCHOOL .ORG/IMPORTANT-DATES.

Prayer liturgies Sant’Egidio Community Evening Prayer at St. Richard, Richfield — every Thursday: 7 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S. Legion of Mary prayers in front of Planned Parenthood, St. Paul — Every Friday: 3 p.m. at the corner of Vandalia and Charles. For information, call (651) 439-9098.

Gaelic Mass at St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center — March 16: 8 a.m. at 7025 Halifax Ave. N. Father Peter Connolly will be the celebrant. A light Irish breakfast will follow.

Taizé prayer service at Cretin-Derham Hall School, St. Paul — March 18: 7 p.m. at 550 S. Albert St. Service will be lead by Father Ray East and David Haas.

Taizé prayer service at St. Joseph, Rosemount — March 19: 7 to 8 p.m. at 13900 Biscayne Ave. Solemn Choral Vespers for Passion Sunday at St. Mary, St. Paul — March 24: 5 p.m. at 261 Eighth St. E. A soup supper will follow. Free will offering.

Lent events ‘The Passion of Jesus: Music, Word and Light’ performed at St. Mark, Shakopee — March 15 and 16: Musical prelude at 7:45 p.m., performance at 8 p.m. both nights. Friday night performance is in Spanish, Saturday performance is in English. Free admission. St. Mark’s is at Fourth Avenue and Atwood Street.

Lenten evenings of renewal at St. Michael, Prior Lake — March 17, 18 and 19: 7 to 8:30 each night at 16311 Duluth Ave S.E. Father Geoff Rose, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, will be the guide for each evening. See WWW.STMICHAEL-PL.ORG for more information.

Mothers and Daughters Lenten retreat at Immaculate Conception, Lonsdale PLEASE TURN TO CALENDAR ON PAGE 21

Calendar Submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, seven days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication.

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

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted

by Catholic parishes and institutions. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your press release.

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: SPIRITCALENDAR@ ARCHSPM.ORG. (No attachments, please.)

FAX: (651) 291-4460.

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

Calendar

MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 — March 23: 6:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at 116 Alabama St. S.E. Presenter is Father Thomas McCabe on the theme “God’s Divine Mercy Found Fully in Jesus and His Catholic Church.” Call (507) 744-2829 to make a reservation before March 13.

A Women’s Lenten Morning of Reflection with Father Peter Laird at Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — March 23: Mass at 8:15 a.m. with the talk beginning at 9 a.m. at Stanford Avenue and Prior Avenue S. Refreshments and fellowship to follow. For information, call (651) 696-5401.

Passion Play at St. Casimir, St. Paul — March 24: 3 p.m. at 934 Geranium Ave. E. Living Stations of the Cross at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Maplewood — March 29: Noon at 1725 Kennard St. Presented by the Servants of the Cross. For information, visit WWW.SERVANTSOFTHECROSSMINISTRY.COM. Living Stations of the Cross at Transfiguration, Oakdale — March 29: 7 p.m. at 6133 15th St. N. Presented by the Servants of the Cross. For information, visit WWW.SERVANTSOFTHECROSS MINISTRY.COM.

21

Don’t Miss Men’s Conference welcomes walk-ins

Marathon not a

The annual Archdiocesan Men’s Conference will be held March 16 at the University of St. Thomas Field House in St. Paul.

Sprint

Beginning at 7 a.m., there will be eucharistic adoration, reconciliation and registration.

The conference officially begins with Mass at 8, followed by the speakers.

Archbishop John Nienstedt and University of St. Thomas head football coach Glenn Caruso will be among the speakers.

Singles

The conference is sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life.

Cost is $20 for adults and $10 for students.

Register online or call (651) 291-4488. Registration is also available the day of the conference.

Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus 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.

Singles group at St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn Park — ongoing second Saturday each month: 6 :15 p.m. at 9100 93rd Ave. N. Gather for a potluck supper, conversation and games. For information, call (763) 425-0412.

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MARCH 14, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

All are invited to attend archdiocesan Chrism Mass CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Worship.

Chrism is also used during the dedication and consecration of churches and altars.

The other oils to be blessed at the Mass are the oil of catechumens, which is used for infant baptisms and in some of the preparatory rites for catechumens as they prepare for baptism and initiation into the Catholic Church, and the oil of the sick, used in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.

Also, during the Mass, the priests in attendance will be asked to stand following the homily and renew the promises they made on their ordination day.

“This part of the Mass is very moving — to witness these men who again pledge their lives and their love to Jesus and his Church,” Father Erickson said.

Connection to priesthood

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

The holy oils at St. John Neumann are housed in a wall cupboard called an ambry.

The vessels contain chrism (orange streak), oil of catechumens (blue streak) and oil of the sick (purple streak).

The Chrism Mass is traditionally associated with Holy Thursday, with the blessing of the oils taking place at a morning Mass followed by an evening Mass recalling Jesus’ institution of the priesthood and Eucharist at the Last Supper.

“The oil, which is traditionally consecrated on the birthday of the priesthood, shows that connection between the priesthood, which is so easily seen as connected to the Eucharist, and the celebration of these other sacraments,” he said.

However, because of the demands of Holy Week and the distance some priests and parishioners must travel, many dioceses, including the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, typically celebrate the Chrism Mass in the days before Holy Week, he said.

MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY (MPHA) OPENS ONLINE WAITLIST FOR FAMILIES THAT QUALIFY FOR A 3, 4, or 5 BEDROOM UNIT The MPHA will be accepting waitlist applications for families that qualify for a three bedroom or larger unit. Applications for the 3, 4 & 5 bedroom units must be submitted online from March 26, 2013, 12:00 a.m. through March 30, 2013, 11:59 p.m. (CST). MPHA will not accept paper applications.

An applicant must complete the Waitlist Application on line by logging on to www.apply4housing.com/MPHA. An applicant may use any computer with internet access including the computers at the locations listed below. MPHA does not have computers available to the public.

A. MPHA staff will be at each of the following libraries to assist prospective applicants during the hours listed.

1. North Regional Library 1315 Lowry Avenue North, Minneapolis Applicants who timely (Tues. & Thurs. — 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wed. & Fri. — 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) apply from March 26 to March 30, 2013, and who meet the 2. Franklin Library 1314 E Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis preference criteria will be (Tues. & Thurs. — 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wed. & Fri. — 10:00 to 4:30 p.m.) randomly placed on the waitlist 3. Minneapolis Central Library 300 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis (Tues. & Thurs. — 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wed. & Fri. — 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

4. Hosmer Library 347 E 36th Street, South Minneapolis (Tues. & Thurs. — 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wed. & Fri. — 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

according to preference points without regard to actual time of submission. Eligible applicants may have the choice to rent a unit in a suburban location.

Procession and blessing The archdiocese has a custom of having people who represent the charism of each oil carry it as part of the procession at Mass.

Youth who are receiving the sacrament of confirmation this year will process in with the chrism, Father Erickson said. A couple expecting a child will come forward with the oil of catechumens. Individuals who work in the health care field will bring up the oil of the sick.

Additionally, a seminarian preparing for ordination to the priesthood will come forward with the perfume — typically balsam — that will be mixed with the chrism to give it its special fragrance.

“It really does show the powerful reality of these sacraments and the blessings that are imposed on the oil,” Father Erickson said. “They’re not just symbolic. They really will affect people’s lives in radical ways.”

Each oil is blessed during a different part of the Mass. The oil of the sick, for example, is blessed within the context of the Eucharistic Prayer.

“It’s a beautiful way of showing the connection between the sick and infirmed and the offering of the sacrifice,” he said.

“We believe that by means of the anointing with the oil of the sick, those who are sick are strengthened to offer up their sacrifices in union with the sacrifice of Calvary made sacramentally present upon the altar.”

When it’s time to consecrate the chrism, Archbishop Nienstedt will pour the special fragrance into the oil and blow on it. Just as God the Father blew upon the waters of the earth, “so, too, the Church sees this image as a sign of God re-creating the world and elevating the broken world up into divine life and making it bear His own divine grace.”

All are welcome Everyone in the archdiocese is invited and encouraged to attend the Mass, Father Erickson said.

“Anyone who has a grandmother who is going to be anointed this year, anyone who is going in for surgery this year, anyone who is presenting a child for baptism, anyone who is walking with a child or grandchild for confirmation — all of these oils will quite clearly affect their life,” he said. “To be there for their blessing is a great gift and a great opportunity.”

Furthermore, he added, “To come to a celebration like this, which bears witness to the whole body of Christ, is a great affirmation of our community in Jesus. It’s also a great way of showing our support for our priests. It’s an evening in which [we] will renew our promises, and we as priests need the support and love of God’s holy people.”

Also, this MPHA Family Waitlist will be open the 3rd Wednesday of each month beginning June 19, 2013, until further notice.

Please check MPHA’s website at: www.mphaonline.org after May 20, 2013 for further details on how to apply on June 19, 2013, and every 3rd Wednesday thereafter.

Equal Housing Opportunity

Equal Employment Opportunity

archspm.org

23

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MARCH 14, 2013

Two students are perfect in ACT News Notes

Two juniors from St. Thomas Academy in The Mendota Heights Catholic Spirit recorded perfect scores of 36 in the ACT college entrance exam.

Walker Lee and Connor Plunkett

were among 781 students nationwide who achieved the perfect ACT score, which amounted to one-tenth of 1 percent of those taking the test, according to Jon Whitmore, CEO of ACT. More than 1.7 million students took the test last year.

The ACT, which is taken by nearly 60 percent of America's collegebound students, is comprised of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and a student’s score is the average of the four tests.

LEE

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• Preparation and dissemination of policies and procedures related to functional responsibilities of staff that reports into this position.

• This position provides staff support to a number of Archdiocesan Boards in order to result in informed consultative bodies to the Archbishop, for oversight of financial operations and decision making purposes.

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“I won't be spending time sending SMSs at that moment; I believe we should be living it.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, explaining to reporters March 9 that he would prefer people try to figure out what color the smoke is rather than initially sending an email alert, SMS text message or tweet about whether a new pope has been elected

24

Overheard

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Quotes from this week’s newsmakers

MARCH 14, 2013 “This is beautiful. This is the most loving experience, how an election should be. I wish all the elections in the world could be like that: in an atmosphere of prayer.”

— Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, who was part of the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, describing the atmosphere of a conclave

“The polls are showing that Catholic people are marrying at [the] same low rate as the rest and are divorcing close to the national rate. That means we have a vocation problem.”

— New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, citing the challenge of a vocations crisis that extends beyond priesthood and religious life to marriage and family, all of which were issues the cardinals of the world discussed in pre-conclave meetings focused on the needs of today’s Church

The new casework, located in the choir gallery, was built by Arko Woodworking of Richmond, Calif.; carving was done by Agrell Architectural Carving, LTD., of San Rafael, Calif.

Cathedral organ restoration nearly complete

— Sister Jane Marie Klein, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration who is chairperson of the board of Franciscan Alliance, a Midwestern hospital group, speaking in support of a bill to protect conscience rights for workers in the health care industry and employers in light of the federal mandate requiring employers to cover contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs

Story and photos by Dianne Towalski The Catholic Spirit

The Cathedral of St. Paul’s $3.5 million organ restoration project is nearing completion.

The two pipe organs, which are located in the sanctuary and in the rear gallery (the choir loft), were restored by Quimby Pipe Organs of Warrensburg, Mo. The E. M. Skinner Organ Company built the sanctuary organ in 1927, and the Æolian-Skinner Organ Company added the Gallery organ in 1963.

The restoration project — which began last September with the dismantling and shipping of the organs — included complete tonal refurbishing of both organs.

“The 1927 Organ was in need of some serious repair and updating. A decision was made to proceed during the tenure of Father Michael Skluzacek, and the signing of the final contracts was completed during the tenure of Father Joseph Johnson. Thus, it has been a project that has now spanned several rectors,” said Father John Ubel, rector of the Cathedral.

Workers moved a new console into the sanctuary Feb. 28 and unloaded the 5,879 pipes — ranging in size from 35 feet to the size of a pencil — that will be installed in the casework in the coming days. The project is expected to be finished in time for the organ to be played at the Easter Vigil March 30.

The casework in the gallery was designed by Duncan Stroik, professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame, and crafted by Agrell Architectural Carving of San Rafael, Calif., and Arko Woodworking of Richmond, Calif.

“The people have been overwhelming in their positive response to what they see being assembled in the choir gallery. They have expressed amazement at the look of the casing,” Father Ubel said. “Of course, we need to complete the funding of the project, and this may take some time. It is currently about 80 percent complete in its funding.” For more information, or to make a donation visit HTTP://SOUNDOFF.CATHEDRALHERITAGEFOUNDATION.ORG.

“God is good. He’s still in charge. I think he’s going to see us through this. We have sisters who are praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week for this.”

“To persecute people for their religious belief and form of worship is to deny the most fundamental commitment of a liberal democracy.”

Above, one of the two new organ consoles is moved into the Cathedral sanctuary Feb. 28.

Below left, the inner workings of the organ console are visible during the move.

Below right, pipes sit in crates before they are installed.

— John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., testifying Feb. 27 in the U.S. House against the rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world

“One of the most striking and effective statements over the years by the pro-life movement has been ‘Abortion stops a beating heart.’ It’s still true, and it’s about time the law starts catching up with that fact.”

— Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, speaking after the Arkansas Legislature voted March 5 and 6 to override Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, which bans most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected and the pregnancy is 12 weeks or greater

Jesus’ greatest teachings Learning more about our faith The Catholic Spirit’s 4-page Rediscover: pullout section in each issue of 2013 highlights a new Rediscover: theme for you to reflect on and discuss with others.

Coming up March 28: What do we celebrate during Holy Week and Easter?

Jesus teaches us what to believe, how to live

T

HEART OF THE MATTER Father John Paul ERICKSON

he important teachings of Jesus Christ — and there are many — can be divided into two helpful categories: faith and morals. Jesus not only taught us what to believe, he also taught us what to do. The teachings of Christ in both of these categories are the source of life and, indeed, eternal life.

The following is by no means an exhaustive list. However, any list claiming to be comprehensive would certainly need to include the points mentioned below.

What to believe ! Jesus is God with us, the Savior of the world (Matthew 12:6; Matthew 12:8; Matthew 16: 16,17; John 5:17,18; John 8:28; John 10:36-38).

It is Christ himself who claims equality with the Father, and it is Christ himself who claims to be the Messiah. Certainly this teaching, which is his own person, is a truly remarkable gift and must be considered one of the greatest of his teachings. ! The Church has been granted the authority to forgive sins and to make sacramentally present the saving gift of Christ’s passion and death, as

The Catholic Spirit • March 14, 2013

well as to teach in the name of Christ on matters of faith and morals (Matthew 16:18,19; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:14-20; John 20:21-23).

On the night before he died, Jesus Christ instituted the awesome gift of the Eucharist, which is the celebration of a memory that truly makes that which is remembered present. In this case, the memory is Christ himself, and his total gift of self to the Father. What is more, Jesus granted to his disciples the divine gift of forgiving sins, a gift that is experienced even now in the great sacrament of reconciliation. ! Those who believe in Jesus Christ and persevere in charity will rise from the grave and experience eternal glory with him, body and soul (John 6:44; John 11:23-27; John 14:3).

Christ is quite clear that those who follow him will experience by grace the glory that is his own.

Christians believe in the physical resurrection of the body because Jesus himself rose and promised the same destiny to those who follow him. ! Those who follow Christ will experience trial Please turn to WE ARE CALLED on section’s back page

Rediscover-faith.org

“Jesus is clear that to be his disciple will involve the cross. If we want to experience the joy of being with Jesus forever in heaven, we must be willing to suffer with him by means of our radical and sometimes unwelcome witness in the world.”

Father John Paul Erickson

What are Jesus’ greatest teachings?

Much of what Jesus did and said was radical. But to discover Jesus’ enduring radical nature you have to delve into his teachings. We hear his teachings proclaimed every Sunday at Mass, yet very often we fail to absorb all the implications of the Gospel.

One of the most beautiful aspects of our Catholic faith is how we pray for other people. If you dissect the Mass and list the various individuals and groups of people we pray for throughout the Mass, it is extraordiCELEBRATING nary.

This is particularly true during the CATHOLICISM Prayers of the Faithful, but almost every aspect of the Mass finds us Matthew praying for people. Then consider that at this very moment our family KELLY — the Catholic Church — is praying for the whole world in the thousands of Masses that are being prayed around the world right now.

But often our prayers are missing one group of people: our enemies. Jesus encouraged his followers to love their enemies and pray for their enemies (Matthew 5:44). But I never heard a prayer in any of our churches for Osama bin Laden.

Who is it that has ideas that you despise? When was the last time you prayed for them?

Jesus’ teachings are radical.

“As the Gospel is In our lust-obsessed society being read, I ask it may be worthwhile to consider anew that Jesus equated myself, ‘If I looking lustfully at a woman with adultery. applied this These were radical teachings Gospel to my life 2,000 years ago and they are radical teachings 2,000 years 100 percent, if I later.

Sisters ‘live Jesus’ in troubled Minneapo

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

A small plaque on the wall of a Minneapolis home speaks volumes about the women who live there.

It says: “Nuns in the ‘hood.”

The Visitation Sisters, who reside there and in a second house nearby, wear the moniker with pride. It’s all part of what they call “living Jesus” in a troubled, crime-ridden area of north Minneapolis.

It’s a neighborhood that makes most of its headlines from the people who die there.

But make no mistake. The 24 years of ministry provided by these courageous sisters in one of the most violent spots in the Twin Cities is much more about living than it is about dying.

The six sisters who are living out the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales easily can answer the question posed to Jesus in the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan: “Who is my neighbor?”

“Our primary Their answer is simple: anyone who walks through the door of Visitation Monastery. thing, the heart “Our primary thing, the heart of of everything we everything we do, is prayer,” said Sister Mary Frances Reis, 75. “When we were led do, is prayer. to come here, what the Lord put on our When we were hearts was, ‘I don’t want you to have a school. I don’t want you to have a soup led to come kitchen. I don’t want you to have a clothing I want you to go live your life of here, what the store. prayer and community. And when the Lord put on our doorbell rings, I will be there. And, that’s what we’ve been doing for 24 years.”

hearts was, ‘I Responding to needs don’t want you A group of four Visitation Sisters answered the call in the fall of 1989 to set up shop on to have a school. the corner of 16th and Fremont Avenue I don’t want you North. All four are still there — Sisters Karen Mohan, 66, Mary Virginia Schmidt, 82, to have a soup Mary Margaret Mckenzie, 84, and Mary kitchen. I don’t Frances. They are joined by two others: Sisters Katherine Mullin, 73, and Suzanne want you to have Homeyer, 64.

Six days out of the week, they take turns a clothing store. I answering the doorbell and responding to want you to go practical needs by handing out things like bus tokens and Cub gift cards. They also live your life of invite their neighbors inside for prayer and Mass, which is celebrated there twice a week prayer and by local priests. community. And, But they do not just sit inside the safety and serenity of this home and their second when the home on nearby Girard Avenue and wait for doorbell rings, I neighbors to come calling. They venture out onto the streets and look for ways to help will be there. others and spread the love of Christ.

They do so even amid gunfire. On the And, that’s what night of Oct. 4, 1991, the Feast of St. Francis we’ve been doing of Assisi, Sister Karen and Sister Mary Frances were packing their clothes as they for 24 years.” prepared for a retreat the next morning. A

lived just this one Transformative message reading But what are Jesus’ greatest completely, how teachings?

I’m not sure. I am no Scripmuch would my ture scholar. He was asked life change?’” which was the greatest of the

commandments, and he replied, “Love the Lord with your whole heart, with all your strength, with all your soul, with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Loving God with your whole being: Radical. Love your neighbor as yourself: Radical.

How are you doing with that?

When was the last time you loved God with your whole being even for a brief moment or two? When was the last time you intentionally treated someone else as yourself in a way that was inconvenient for you?

Jesus was a radical, his teachings were radical, and he wants to turn your life upside down — which turns out to be right-side up.

There is an exercise I practice at Mass on Sunday. If you want to know how powerful Jesus’ teachings are I encourage you to try it.

As the Gospel is being read, I ask myself, “If I applied this Gospel to my life 100 percent, if I lived just this one reading completely, how much would my life change?”

Every Sunday the answer is: radically. My life would change radically if I just lived one reading fully.

The Gospel is potent. There is genius in Catholicism. I hope we can all embrace it a little more with every passing week.

Matthew Kelly

loud noise interrupted their conversation.

“We heard a sound like a furnace exploding,” Sister Mary Frances said. “Karen looked out the window and said, ‘My God, someone’s been shot.’ So, we just hustled out. We called 911 and we hustled out there and we held Lou Lou [the victim] — that was his name. I still remember — black hair and green warmup jacket. I can just see him. Black pants, and then his shoes were across the street — a couple of bullet holes in his head. So, we just prayed with him.

“When we got to the Our Father, he kind of groaned. And when the paramedics came, we were going to leave. And, they said, ‘No, you stay here. You’re doing what he needs to have done.’ And, he died probably en route to the hospital. But, the word got out, ‘These nuns are OK.’”

Sister Mary Frances Reis

Having an impact

Kelly is an international best-selling Catholic author, speaker and founder of The Dynamic Catholic Institute.

The Catholic Spirit • March 14, 2013

Nowadays, just about everyone in the neighborhood knows who

Visitation Sisters Karen Mohan, left, and Mary Fra

the Visitation Sisters are. And, they watch out fo lend a hand when necessary.

There are people like Sonny, a former drug add encountered shortly after they arrived. When th house to see his wife and the couple’s grandchild laying on the couch strung out on heroin. The s quietly by him and helped out wherever they co made it a point to talk and play with the two gra “About four years ago, he [Sonny] came and k Sister Mary Frances said. “And, he said, ‘I am no have my own yard service. I’m going to shovel y to mow your grass, I’m going to trim your trees anymore because you were there for my family w “So, he’s been doing this for four years for us. [it snows] with his little snowblower out there. A accept anything [as payment] from us. All he wa Somehow, the relationship came through to him Dozens of people of all colors and circumstanc homes every week. Some come for prayer, some some come for both. In fact, the sisters hang a si during prayer services and Masses letting people have to wait to receive help but are welcome to sisters in prayer.

Centered on Eucharist

And, sometimes, it works the other way aroun taking their prayers to the streets. The Eucharist in their tabernacle will be placed in a monstranc the neighborhood. They will have a eucharistic will just drive around with it as they pray for the “We believe in the power of the Bread of Life,” “Just having the Eucharist in this neighborhood draws people in. When Holy Thursday comes, we’ll do our In his ow procession from this [Fremont] house to the Visit Re other house. We do it every watch a year.”

Sisters t Said Sister Mary Frances:

in north M

Gospel living at Taco Bell

olis neighborhood

A friend of mine blogged about working at a Taco Bell drive-through as a teenager. It sounded miserable: poking earphone, mumbling customers, rattling cars and numb fingers.

One night, Kate wrote, toward the beginning of a 5-to-close shift, inspiration struck: If the customers weren’t going to change, she would have to, so she would offer up one compliment to each person, something specific and sincere.

Her first candidate wasn’t easy — a woman puffing cigarette smoke in her face. Still, Kate held to her plan, saying, “Your hair looks nice.”

She watched the woman’s eyes widen, a physical manifestation of the way Kate had just brightened her world.

A little light on a cold night.

“It felt ridiculously contrived for a few minutes,” Kate wrote, “until something hot and hard inside my chest began REFERENCE to loosen, like a muscle being massaged. . . . . I discovered POINTS that I felt buoyant, bubbly — charitable, even.”

It was the first time she’d enjoyed work in weeks.

Christina I love picturing Kate, an introverted brunette in a small Missouri town, offering up compliments based on a quick, CAPECCHI shoulders-up glance. Not a whole lot to go on but enough.

Sometimes a simple compliment is, in fact, enough to brighten an entire day.

Kate made the exchange of bills and burritos an exercise in one of Jesus’ key teachings, that profound three-word command: “Love one another.”

Verb, object, period.

The biggest challenge

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

ances Reis.

or them. They also

dict whom the sisters hey would visit his dren, Sonny would be sisters simply walked ould. They always andchildren. knocked on our door,” ow clean and sober. I your walks, I’m going until I cannot crawl when I wasn’t.’”

He’s there every day And, he will not ants is a hug. m.” ces visit the two come for help, and ign on the door e know that they will come in and join the

“On [the Feast of] Corpus Christi, we drive around the neighborhood to places where there has been a violent act and we go with the Eucharist and we sing hymns, read [prayers] and bless the spot, quietly. Maybe, we’ll leave a little flower there. That’s our procession.”

The natural question to older single women living in such a violent neighborhood is this: Are you afraid?

Their beaming smiles and infectious joy as they talk about running a monastery in the inner city provide the answer.

“We’re a safe house,” said Sister Mary Frances, noting that no bullet has ever penetrated either home. “The reason we’re so protected is people know who we are, and they don’t mess with the nuns.”

Perhaps, the biggest adversary for the six nuns isn’t violence, but age. With their youngest member only one year in front of the normal retirement age, that signifies the need for youthful reinforcements.

The good news is they have plenty of people to draw on for help.

They have about 20 lay members, plus they get help regularly from students at Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota, where some of the sisters have taught.

Divine reflection

Thus, the sisters, the lay volunteers and the residents of the neighborhood combine to form a community that is getting stronger with each year the sisters live here. It’s a community where the face of Jesus is reflected in the prayers and the relationships unfolding under the roof at two houses that have small signs in the front yards nd, with the sisters that is always present containing one simple word: peace.

“There’s a prayer that I say every morning,” Sister Mary Frances ce for a trip through said. “It’s a Cardinal [John Henry] Newman prayer: ‘Dear Jesus, help procession, or they me to spread your fragrance everywhere. Flood my soul with your e local residents. spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my being so utterly that all my ” Sister Karen said. life may be only a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in d is a blessing, and it me that everyone I come in contact with may look up and not see me, but see only Jesus.’ wn words “I think that’s what it means to live Jesus. When people look at me, hopefully they’ll know something of the divine. I ediscover-faith.org to believe that every one of us was created to reflect something of a video of The Visitation God in a unique way. And, when it’s done, we’re done, and we talking about their ministry go back to God.”

Today, there are just four faces that pass through Kate’s “drive-through,” but loving her demanding young children in a house that’s been plagued by viruses since the first of the year can be harder than smiling at the stranger in pursuit of a taco.

The breadth of Jesus’ commandment is the challenge. “One another” always alternates: from stranger to acquaintance to sister to spouse, colleague and neighbor, friend or rival.

Which one is hardest to love varies by day, but all too often, I’ve come to realize, it’s the person closest to you.

That strikes me as one of the tragedies For reflection of human nature, the weakness of What’s one thing I can say or do today to character we must actively resist — first live out Jesus’ command to “love one thing in the morning, at the end of a another”? work day or right before bed, when frustration gets greased and misfired.

The good news is one loving gesture can set forth a domino effect. Kate’s been the first domino and the last one. The other day she was on a “the-sky-is-falling cliff,” as she put it, stepping on DVD cases, tripping over pie plates and breaking up fights. At dinner that evening, a 70-something couple came up to her and said, “Your kids are so well-behaved.”

I bet they could almost see her stand a little taller and breathe a little deeper. It was enough — enough to keep her going through a protracted bedtime ritual, a disrupted sleep and an early morning.

Loving intensely Jesus demonstrated love in many radical forms: protecting the adulterer, healing sinners, feeding thousands and putting the last first. He upended the meritocracy that paves modern America, a corporate world doling out gold stars and extra credit.

Though his greatest teaching is an immense challenge, it also provides relief: Life with its dizzying demands has been neatly prioritized, boiled down to a singular command to love God and love one another. And in any given moment, deep down, we know what that means.

We may be lazy or tired, angry or hurt, but we are always capable of love — and in Jesus’ eyes, we are always worthy of it.

I keep my favorite Bible verse on a yellow Post-It stuck to my printer: “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

We can mess up again and again, but if we love intensely, we can right all those wrongs.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Minneapolis

Rediscover-faith.org

Eucharist, other sacraments offer strength Keeping God at center of

one’s life is final talk topic

The Catholic Spirit Human life is a mystery: We all want to be happy, but happiness is elusive. We all make mistakes — sometimes big ones. We want to do the right thing, but choose at times to do what’s clearly wrong.

In order to live how God wants us to live, we all need divine help, Father Andrew Cozzens said during a talk March 5 at St. John Neumann in Eagan. That’s why God gives us the sacraments, including baptism, through which we come to share in the new life of Christ.

But, to live a Christian life, we also need “a continual source of strength,” said Father Cozzens, assistant professor of sacramental theology at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. This strength comes from the Eucharist — the body and blood of Christ.

“This food is what strengthened St. Augustine in the fourth century,” he said. “It’s what strengthened St. Francis in the 12th century. And, it’s what strengthened Mother Teresa in the 20th century. In every century, Christians have found their source of strength in this eucharistic food.”

Father Cozzens’ multimedia presentation — the third talk in the Rediscover: Speakers Series — was titled “Overcoming Life’s Challenges Through God’s Grace.”

He also spoke March 4 at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton and March 7 at Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

Going beneath the surface If people don’t comprehend what the Eucharist is, they can find Mass “boring,” Father Cozzens acknowledged. But this is because they don’t understand what’s happening during the liturgy.

“The Mass, if we go beneath the surface and begin to understand what’s going on, has the potential to become the most important thing in your life,” he said. “It has the potential to become a source of strength for your whole life and give meaning to your whole life.”

What’s happening at Mass, he said, is this: “The most important person in the history of the world, and the most important event that ever happened in the history of the world become present. The Mass really and truly contains Jesus Christ, and it puts us in real contact with the event of his death and resurrection.”

But too often, Father Cozzens said, people don’t see the world correctly, viewing it in a “scientistic”

The Catholic Spirit

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Father Andrew Cozzens speaks March 5 at St. John Neumann in Eagan.

manner. Science “is a beautiful thing and one of God’s great gifts,” he said, but scientism falsely holds that the only things that are true are those that can be seen or proven empirically.

“Reality is much greater than what can be seen or sensed,” he said. Many things that are true — such as the love between a parent and child — cannot be proven empirically.

A sacrament is a sign that makes present a deeper reality; it points to and makes present an invisible reality, he said. Sacraments in the Church provide a unique encounter with the power of God. “Every Sunday, right here in this church, hundreds of people come and receive the living Jesus in Communion,” he said. “They actually touch Jesus.

But the truth is many are not changed by it. . . . But those who come with faith, those who recognize what they’re receiving when they receive Jesus, [they] receive healing, strength [and] love. They receive power to be able to live with Jesus and for Jesus. They discover that their lives are transformed.”

Why does Jesus give us the gift of the sacraments?

Father Cozzens asked. “It’s because he wants us to experience today that life-saving power” as we face life’s struggles.

“When we begin to live a sacramental life, we discover that God comes to meet us and to be with us,” he said. “In the midst of all those different kinds of struggles, he gives hope, he gives strength, he gives peace, concretely. This is the beauty of the sacraments.”

The first three talks of the 2013 Rediscover: Faith Speakers Series focused on questions about God’s purpose for our lives, living in communion with him, and drawing strength and support for our spiritual journey, particularly through the Eucharist.

The series’ final talk, “Rediscover: the way — Keeping God at the Center of My Life,” focuses on the journey itself: “What does it look like? What is the way to be on ‘the way’?” said Deacon Joseph Michalak, archdiocesan director of diaconate formation.

He will present the free, multimedia talk at 7 p.m. March 18 at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton and March 21 at Our Lady DEACON MICHALAK of Grace in Edina. (He also spoke March 12 at St. John Neumann in Eagan, just after this edition of the newspaper went to press.)

A point Deacon Michalak said he would stress is that “simply being ‘on the way’ for its own sake isn’t sufficient. The point of any journey is to get somewhere.” The destination for Christians is a life in communion with God, he said, and staying connected to Christ is the surest approach to get there.

The first Christians weren’t called “Christians,” he noted, but rather followers of “the way.”

“It was evident to people around them that it wasn’t just what these people [of ‘the way’] believed that distinguished them, but what they did and didn’t do,” he said.

Christians today must also live a life visibly and faithfully centered on Jesus in a world with other views and lifestyles competing for their attention.

“If we’re not intentional about it, we end up getting distracted down byways,” said Deacon Michalak, who identified several key practices on which he will elaborate during his talk to help Christians stay on the right path. They include: ! Daily prayer and Scripture reading; ! Participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and penance; ! Generous service to God and others; and ! Meeting God in suffering when it comes.

We are called to love God, help the poor, forgive our enemies Continued from first page

and difficulty (Matthew 16:24-27; Luke 14:25-27, 33; John 15:18-20).

There is no getting around it — Jesus is clear that to be his disciple will involve the cross. If we want to experience the joy of being with Jesus forever in heaven, we must be willing to suffer with him by means of our radical and sometimes unwelcome witness in the world, through our commitment to the daily duties of our state in life performed with love and devotion despite the challenges and disappointments, and the willingness to bear wrongs with patience, humility and mercy. No cross, no glory — these are the facts.

What to do ! Love God with every ounce of life you have within you (Matthew 22:36-38; Luke 10:27).

The greatest of the commandments is definitively given to the Church by Jesus: We are to love God with everything we

have, and to make certain that everything in our life is second to him and to his will. ! Love the poor and vulnerable (Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus could not be clearer in regard to the attitude Christians must have toward the poor and vulnerable. “Whatsoever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me.” ! Forgive your enemies (Matthew 5: 4348; Mark 11:25; John 15:12).

A particularly difficult teaching of Jesus is his commandment to forgive, even as God forgives. Patience, compassion, and mercy must be shown to all, but in a particular way they must be shown to one’s enemies. There can be no vengeance for the Christian. Justice is of course by no means prohibited, however, restitution is a very real need in order for true reconciliation to take place. But the awareness that the one who has hurt me is a child of God and is deserving of my love and compassion is an essential feature of the Christian way of life. ! Control of one’s heart is needed to be pleasing to God, not just good actions

The Catholic Spirit • March 14, 2013

(Matthew 5:21-30).

Jesus teaches that sin comes from the heart, and therefore, it is the heart that must be made pure, not just our outward actions. Control of one’s imagination and passions, whether anger or lust, must be a constant battle within the Christian’s heart. There can be no surrender in these areas without damage done to our relationship with God and neighbor.

Equally constant must be the struggle against pride and vanity. ! Do not judge the heart of another (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37, 38; John 8:311).

Actions are plain to see, but the heart of another can never be known accept by God alone. Jesus reminded his disciples of this fact of nature, and the teaching remains true today. Actions can be judged and condemned, and sometimes they need to be, with great forcefulness. But the human person who commits these actions must be loved and welcomed. “Hate the sin, love the sinner” can sound rather trite, but it’s right there in the Gospel.

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