The Catholic Spirit - April 24, 2014

Living Water 6 • Kids to the Rescue 8 • Lilies of the Field 21 April 24, 2014 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

thecatholicspirit.com

CELEBRATING TWO NEW SAINTS Canonization Ceremony April 27

JOHN PAUL II 1920-2005

JOHN XXIII 1891-1963

Archbishop Nienstedt reflects on their ministry • Pages 3 & 12

Biographical timelines • Pages 12 & 13

How to watch, participate in canonization • Page 13

ALSO inside

Journey to Easter

‘Fly a Little Higher’

Catholic celebration

See photos from the Easter Triduum liturgies at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

— Page 5

In her new book, Laura Sobiech talks about her son’s illness and death from cancer.

— Page 24

Find out what’s being planned for this year’s 2014 Rediscover: Catholic Celebration.

— Rediscover: section

Page Two

2 OVERHEARD

in PICTURES

“It is necessary to reassert the strongest opposition to every direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless life, and the unborn child in the womb is the definition of innocence. Every Christian is responsible for this evangelical witness: to protect life in all its stages with courage and love.”

— Pope Francis, in a meeting April 11 with almost 500 Italian pro-life activists

NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit BLESSING THE OILS Priests from around the archdiocese gathered with the faithful April 10 at the Cathedral of St. Paul for the annual Chrism Mass. During the Mass, Archbishop John Nienstedt consecrated the holy chrism and blessed the oil for catechumens and the oil of the sick. The priests present also renewed their commitment to priestly service. Above, Deacons Paul Tschann, left, and Tom Michaud Jr. carry a vessel of oil to be placed on a pedestal after presenting it to Archbishop Nienstedt. Dianne Towalski /The Catholic Spirit

David Haas receives national award David Haas will receive the Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis from the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors. He was recognized during the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors convocation awards banquet April 23 in Pittsburgh, part of the annual convention of the National Catholic Educational Association.

Haas, a member of the campus ministry team at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul, is a liturgical composer, cantor, workshop leader, David HAAS conference speaker, author, concert performer and recording artist. Beginning in the 1980s, along with the creative contributions and collaborations of fellow Minnesotans Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, he influenced the direction of new genres of liturgical music.

The award honors someone each year with a national or international reputation in the field of catechetics and religious education who has made a significant contribution to Catholic catechesis through writing, publishing or teaching over a period of at least 10 years.

St. Thomas Academy headmaster named

VIGIL FOR LIFE Desiree Schlangen, center, of St. Patrick in Oak Grove carries a sign during the annual Good Friday prayer service for life in front of Planned Parenthood in St. Paul April 18. Next to her at right is Amy Rhein, also of St. Patrick.

At far left and behind Schlangen is her husband Mark. Hundreds of people throughout the day came to pray and march in front of the abortion facility.

Archbishop John Nienstedt came in the morning to lead and join others in prayer.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

67th annual rosary procession set for May 4

WHAT’S NEW on social media A Catholic Spirit Facebook post this week asks: What is your favorite memory of Pope John Paul II?

In the latest in a series of video commentaries, Father Robert Barron comments on the meaning of Easter. Father Barron is the founder of the global ministry, Word on Fire, and the rector/president of Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago. To view the video, visit http://bit.ly/1fgjQwe.

The Catholic Spirit is published bi-weekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 19 — No. 9 MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT, Publisher ANNE STEFFENS, Associate Publisher JOE TOWALSKI, Editor

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

It was announced April 17 that Matthew Mohs will take over as headmaster at St. Thomas Academy effective July 1. He currently serves as chief academic officer of St. Paul Public Schools. Mohs, a 1990 alumnus of the Academy, is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame, holds master’s degrees from the University of Portland (in teaching) and the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and is currently working on a doctorate in leadership at the University Matthew MOHS of St. Thomas. Mohs has dedicated his 20-year career to K-12 education, in Catholic and public education, in teaching and public service positions. He succeeds Thomas Mich, who will retire this summer after 10 years as headmaster.

Clergy and faithful from across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and greater Minnesota will gather May 4 for the 67th annual Family Rosary Procession. Participants will gather at the State Capitol in St. Paul at 1:30 p.m. with the procession to the Cathedral of St. Paul beginning at 2 p.m.

Inside the Cathedral, the consecration of the archdiocese to Mary will be renewed and prayers will be offered for marriage and the family. The event will close with adoration and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The event is sponsored by the Office of Worship for the archdiocese in collaboration with the Family Rosary Processions Association. For more information, visit www.familyrosaryprocession.org.

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3 Pope Francis will give the universal Church a great Easter gift in the canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27. I hope to be present in the Piazza San Pietro on that historic occasion. I have been told that for the first time ever, any and every bishop present is invited to concelebrate the Mass.

I was in the eighth grade of my parish Catholic grade school when I received news of the death of Pope Pius XII and, within a few days, the death of my own archbishop, Cardinal Edward Mooney.

I remember feeling that it was the end of the world! God had taken the only pope and archbishop I had ever known in my short life. My home parish took up a spiritual bouquet on behalf of the two spiritual leaders and I pledged to offer 100 Masses apiece for each of them. It took me a few years, well into high school, to redeem that pledge.

THAT THEY MAY ALL BE ONE Archbishop John Nienstedt

From the moment he was elected pope, John XXIII had an immediate positive impact on the Church and the world. He had a warm, smiling demeanor, which was quite a change from the rather austere but ever so proper comportment of his predecessor.

He was a heavyset man who reflected his simple, peasant origins. But we soon came to learn that behind that friendly exterior lay a seminary professor, a military chaplain, a diplomat and a pastor of souls. He served as apostolic delegate to Bulgaria, then Turkey and Greece. Later, he was named by Pope Pius XII to the prestigious position of apostolic nuncio to France, and from there he became Patriarch of Venice.

The rich diversity of these postings in both Eastern and Western Europe allowed for a rich education on the state of the Church in the contemporary world. Those insights, I believe, led him to call for the Second Vatican Council, the first of its kind to deal primarily with the pastoral concerns, as opposed to the dogmatic concerns, of the Universal Church.

It has been told that when a highly placed Vatican official told him that it would be “absolutely impossible” to open the Council in 1963, he responded, “Fine, we’ll open it in 1962.” And, he did. One of the best quotes that reflects the deep faith of “Good” Pope John still provides guidance for us today: “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

I was standing in the crowd before St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of Oct. 16, 1978, when Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was announced as Pope John Paul II. At the time, I was serving as priest secretary to Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit. I was with him for the election of Pope John

Paul I a month before, and here I was back so soon for the election of the first non-Italian pope in many years.

At the young age of 58, the new “Polish” pope also had an extensive background. He was a poet, a playwright, a scholar, a campus minister and a zealous pastor of souls. He had lived through the Nazi occupation of his homeland and narrowly escaped arrest for clandestine activities.

I had the opportunity to meet him shortly after I had been assigned to the Vatican Secretariat of State. As he approached me, he asked, “What is your name?” I knew it wasn’t a trick question, but I couldn’t think of what to say, so caught up in the moment as I was. His secretary, Msgr. John McGee, stated, “This is Father Nienstedt from the English language Section.” The pope smiled at me ever so gently and said, “You will do good work!”

I followed closely the activities of this tireless pastor for the next five years. I watched from a window in the Vatican palace as the ambulance took him to the Gemelli Hospital after he was shot on May 3, 1981. I met him again in person when he began his pastoral visits to Roman parishes after a long recuperation. He had a great memory for faces as he would say to me, “I know you! But don’t I? Yes, yes, I know you!”

From the Archbishop

A wonderful Easter gift for the Church

In 1996, he named me an auxiliary bishop in Detroit and five years later, he named me to be the third bishop of New Ulm.

Identifying a new model for Catholic schools

I attended two “ad limina” visits under his tenure and participated in the World Youth Days in Denver and Toronto. And, of course, I was home in Detroit as rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary when he made his visit in 1987. It was there that I had yet another opportunity for a personal encounter. This time he said to me, “I know you, but you have abandoned me.” I answered, “No, Holy Father, I have not abandoned you. I’ve been given this important ministry and you must pray for me and for my seminarians.” He looked away and then turned back.

“OK,” he said, “I will pray. I will pray.” And with that, he patted the side of my head.

Catholic schools are vital to sustaining the message of Jesus Christ in our world. All families desiring excellence in Catholic education for their children should have that option.

However, many of our schools are struggling to balance the rising costs of education with keeping tuition affordable for all families.

I am pleased to announce that I have authorized and strongly support a broad and faithfilled group of leaders to initiate an archdiocesan schools sustainability study. The study will focus on a variety of highly successful models for Catholic schools across our nation to identify what might best meet the needs of this archdiocese and our schools.

A committee of religious and lay leaders from across our community, all with a strong commitment to and passion for the mission of Catholic schools, will be formed in the coming weeks. Members of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Advisory Council will participate in the process.

The quote from the “Great” Pope John Paul that resonates with me still is: “There are no coincidences in God’s Plan for Salvation.”

This is a moment of hope for our Catholic schools and our local Church. I ask God’s blessing on this initiative, and I offer my prayers for its success.

Indeed, there are not! Just as it is no coincidence that these two great pastoral leaders will be canonized together on April 27!

— Archbishop John Nienstedt

God love you!

Read more about the canonizations on pages 12 and 13

Pope sends Easter eggs to hospitalized children, gift to homeless Catholic News Service Ensuring small patients at a Vatican-owned hospital could keep an Italian Easter tradition, Pope Francis donated 150 brightly wrapped chocolate Easter eggs to children, including those undergoing cancer treatment, at the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital near the Vatican.

Shortly before Christmas, Pope Francis had toured the hospital, which was founded in 1869 and has been owned by the Vatican since 1924. Romans call it “the pope’s hospital.”

The pope also had 200 food pack-

ets — containing milk, olive oil, pasta, fruit, jam and salt — delivered to poor families in Rome’s Tor Bella Monaca suburb.

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, and Msgr. Diego Ravelli, from the office of papal charities, offered 100 homeless people in the city an Easter card signed

by Pope Francis in an envelope that included an undisclosed gift of financial aid, reportedly of 40 or 50 euros ($55-$69).

A similar card and money also were given to 30 women living at the Casa Dono di Maria in the Vati-

More inside Read more about Pope Francis’ celebration of the Easter Vigil and Easter Mass on page 11. can, a shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Archbishop Krajewski told an Italian reporter that some of the homeless men he had met April 18 while distributing the papal gifts were already preparing cardboard

beds for the night outdoors. On opening the envelopes, “They began to dance with joy and to thank the Lord,” he related.

At Christmas, the pope had given homeless people in Rome phone cards and bus and subway tickets.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

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4 ARCHDIOCESAN news briefs

Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women announces award winners At its annual convention April 30-May 1 at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women will present Laywomen Volunteer Awards to four women:

Geralyn CLASEMANN

Geralyn Clasemann of Holy Childhood in St. Paul – In addition to her many volunteer activities, Clasemann, a Third Order Carmelite, purchased a house to provide shelter for expectant mothers in need and raised money for a second home — “Philomena House” — for women in crisis pregnancies; Karen McCann of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul – McCann expands her pro-life Karen mission to the McCANN Spanish-

speaking community, delivers baby supplies and financial donations to expectant mothers, and has opened her home to pregnant women as overnight guests while they work through difficulties; Lorraine Nelson of Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale – Among her numerous volunteer roles, Nelson has observed a weekly adoration hour, served as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at Mass and a eucharistic Lorraine minister to the NELSON homebound,

and has been a daily Mass communicant; Joan Schultz of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee – A parishioner since 1960, Schultz has had various leadership roles, and as the mother of 11 children (one deceased; all who attended parochial Joan SCHULTZ school), she spent many years raising them on her own after her husband died at age 50.

For more information about the ACCW convention, visit www. accwarchspm.org.

Kueppers to receive award from Catholic University

ACCW convention set for April 30 - May 1 The 82nd annual convention of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women will be Wednesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 1, at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.

The event, which begins at noon on Wednesday, features keynote speakers Donna Sanders and Judy Cozzens that day and Dr. Theresa Deisher and Kate Soucheray on Thursday.

The convention also includes Mass with Bishop Lee Piché, as well as a sunrise rosary, marketplace tables, election of officers and the Lay Women Volunteer Awards.

A wine and cheese reception will take place before Wednesday night’s banquet dinner.

For more information, visit www.accwarchspm.org.

Andrew Kueppers, a senior at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., has been chosen to receive the President’s Award, the school’s highest award.

The award is presented to a graduating senior who has demonstrated prominent leadership, outstanding scholarship, and who exemplifies the highest ideals of Christianity.

Kueppers, an accounting major, graduated from St. Agnes High School in St. Paul in 2010.

He is the son of Joseph and Vicki Kueppers; Joseph is the chancellor

for civil affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

His home parish is St. Joseph, West St. Paul.

He will be formally recognized for receiving this award at a ceremony on April 28 and he will be presented the award by President John Garvey at the graduation ceremony on May 17.

Andrew KUEPPERS

Seven men to be ordained transitional deacons May 3 at Basilica of St. Mary Seven men will be ordained as transitional deacons by Archbishop John Nienstedt during a 10 a.m.

Mass on Saturday, May 3, at the Basilica of St. Mary, 88 17th St. N. in Minneapolis.

parish: Cathedral of St. Paul

The seven to be ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are:

Peter Hughes – teaching parish: St. Nicholas in New Market; home parish: St. Paul in Ham Lake

Jake Anderson – teaching parish: Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Paul; home

Thomas McKenzie – teaching parish: St. Bridget of Sweden in Lindstrom; home parish: St.

Byron Hagan – teaching parish: St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park; home parish: St. Agnes in St. Paul

Lawrence/Newman Center in Minneapolis

Anthony; home parish: St. Mark in St. Paul.

Bruno Nwachukwu – teaching parish: St. Joseph in West St. Paul; home parish: St. Mark in St. Paul

In addition to the seven men from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Brother Alvaro Perez Silva of Pro Ecclesia Sancta has been called by his religious superiors to the order of deacon.

John Powers – teaching parish: St. Hubert in Chanhassen; home parish: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Minneapolis James Stiles – teaching parish: St. Charles Borromeo in St.

Seminarians are ordained to the transitional diaconate before their last year of preparation for ordination to the priesthood.

Theology Day. Find out.

A Poor Church and a Church for the Poor Tuesday, May 13, Saint Frances Cabrini Church, 1500 Franklin Ave. SE, Minneapolis 6 p.m.: check in , Presentation will begin within 30 minutes Pope Francis proclaimed publically, “Ah, how I would like a church that is poor and is for the poor.” This session will explore the concept of Christian poverty. To do so it will look backward and inward in order to look forward. Our time will include a discussion of the biblical notion of poverty in Jesus’ sermons and the apostolic lifestyle found in scripture, images and writings from Francis of Assisi, and review of recent statements by Pope Francis. Finally we will examine how Christians in our modern context might cultivate something of the vision shared by Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis.

FREE but registration is required: www.csbsju.edu/sot or 320-363-3570

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

2014

NOTICE

Shawn Colberg is Assistant Professor of theology for Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary and the undergraduate Department of Theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. He received his doctorate in the History of Christianity from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in medieval and Reformation thought with particular focus on the theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure.

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Above: Candidate David Johnson, center, receives the sacrament of confirmation from Archbishop John Nienstedt during the Easter Vigil Mass April 19 at the Cathedral of St. Paul. At left is Johnson’s sponsor, David Hueller. There were seven candidates — those who have been baptized and are seeking full communion with the Church — from the Cathedral parish and six from the University of St. Thomas. During the Mass, the archbishop baptized four elect from the Cathedral parish and two from the University of St. Thomas. Archbishop Nienstedt said during his homily, “The message of this Easter night is one of great hope. Hope for the catechumen and the candidate. Hope for the sinner.

Hope for the archbishop, the priest, the deacon, the religious, the laity.

Hope, indeed, for the world. For he is risen, and we have become ambassadors of this great message.” Dianne Towalski /The Catholic Spirit Archbishop Nienstedt venerates the cross, held by Deacon Phil Stewart, during the Good Friday service April 18 at the Cathedral.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit Middle right; Children carry candles lit from the Easter candle in procession at the start of the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Dianne Towalski/The Catholic Spirit

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5

Archbishop Nienstedt washes the foot of Father Troy Przybilla, director of the archdiocesan Vocations Office during the Holy Thursday liturgy April 17 at the Cathedral. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Jamie Hornnes, left, and her sister Jessie Hornnes, students at the University of St. Thomas, smile at the congregation after their baptisms. Dianne Towalski/The Catholic Spirit

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

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6

You can help people in Kenya build much-needed dams Center for Mission’s Living Water Program provides funds for Diocese of Kitui

By Jennifer Janikula For The Catholic Spirit An African woman visited a park in Red Wing during the fall of 2012. Tears streamed down her face as she sat on a bench and watched the abundant water flow down the Mississippi River.

Water is To donate and scarce in the learn more about woman’s homeland.

Living Water Many Contact Mike people in the droughtHaasl at haaslm@ stricken archspm.org or villages near (651) 291-4504. To Kitui, Kenya, learn more about walk for miles to the Center for collect water Mission, visit each day. www.

They dig deep holes in the centerformission.org. earth and wait for muddy water to trickle in — water much different from the water that flows freely from multiple faucets in American

homes.

In response to this need for water, the archdiocesan Center for Mission in St. Paul established the Living Water Program last year. The program supports the goals of the partnership between the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Kitui.

The two-week Living Water Program encourages participants to share the life-giving water of the Easter season, both literally and spiritually.

Catholic school students and parishioners in the archdiocese can collect money in water bottles for the construction of earthen dams that hold sporadic, but precious, rainwater in rural Kitui. Spiritually, participants share living water by offering prayers as they learn about the lives of people in Kitui.

“We are connected to our brothers and sisters in Africa,” said Mike Haasl, global solidarity coordinator for the Center for Mission. “The Living Water project is totally in line with what Pope Francis wants us to do — to be a mission-oriented Church, attentive to one another across the world in solidarity.”

Solidarity and sustainability Last year, the Church of St.

Joseph in Red Wing raised more than $7,000 for the Living Water Program.

LoriAnn Myers, St. Joseph’s faith formation director, attributed the program’s success to the personal connections created when delegates from Kitui visited Red Wing in 2012.

Parishioners recognized many faces in the pictures used to introduce the Living Water Program during Masses. The description of the Kitui woman watching the Mississippi River came from the memory of one of Myers’ faith formation students.

“I was blown away by the support of the parish,” Myers said.

“The kids received water bottles, filled them with coins and then refilled them again. Giant water cooler bottles were placed in the back of church, and you could hear the money sliding into the bottles before each Mass.”

Myers used the Living Water Program as a foundation to discuss solidarity and sustainability with the high school-aged faith formation students. The students saw pictures of the Kitui bishop blessing a new backhoe purchased in part with funds collected through the Living Water Program.

Students talked about how

building the community-owned dams would speed up exponentially with the help of mechanical equipment.

Global perspective During Lent this year, Holy Cross Catholic School in Webster implemented the Living Water Program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

They raised more than $800 and gained a new appreciation of water in the sacraments and in daily life.

“Our students live in a rural community, and the Living Water project opened their eyes to a much bigger, broader world,” said Holy Cross Principal Lisa Simon. “All of the students, K-8, really got it, and several parents thanked me for exposing the kids to the needs of people outside our community.”

Construction costs for each earthen dam averages approximately $35,000. Each dam serves about 1,250 people (250 households).

Last year, the Living Water pilot generated about $23,000, with nine parishes and five schools participating. This year, with 14 parishes and six schools participating, the Center for Mission hopes to exceed that amount.

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7 Over the past few months, Rediscoverfaith.org, the archdiocesan website, archspm.org and aimhigher.org have been undergoing a subtle transformation. Readers may not even notice when the new sites go live in the next week, but there are some key changes that will make both sites more user friendly and engaging.

It’s all happening because of a change in platform that has been in the works for about a year. The current sites are all on a proprietary platform, one that is provided by a company whose services are paid for on a monthly basis.

The new sites are being created on Wordpress, a popular and easy to use content management system that can be used for anything from blogs to full websites.

“The big reason that we are doing all of the sites is so they can be on one platform (Wordpress) so it is easier for us to edit in-house, and also more flexible to add new features in the future,” said Nicole Mamura, Office of Communications webmaster. Part of the problem with the current system is that it takes longer for changes to be made, she said.

The cost of maintaining the sites was also a factor in the decision to change platforms. “We found that if we invested the time and money now to get them on a new platform that’s easier for us to use in-house, we could save a lot of money in the long run,” Mamura said.

The project was not meant to be a redesign, but there was an opportunity to make visible changes to improve the sites. “In doing the switch-over, we had a chance to look at the sites and, not redesign them,” Mamura said, “but get ‘under the hood,’ so to speak, and decide what we could move, improve or add.”

The archdiocesan history section under the “About” tab is one improvement. It now includes details about key moments throughout the archdiocese’s history, including pioneer priests, changes over time and major milestones, with accompanying photos. Another improvement was making the News and Events separate sections and including more entries. More changes are detailed on this page.

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Website users will see subtle transformation

On rediscover-faith.org: A new tab feature makes finding content even easier. Readers can browse new content including, a “Look & Listen” tab that features music and movies, a guide to talented Christian artists and values-based entertainment for the whole family. Other content will be reorganized under the new tabs Learn, Pray, Get Involved, Find and Check it Out.

A new “How Do I…” section addresses key questions that site visitors most commonly have — putting the answers and more resources on popular topics at their fingertips.

Other new features include: • Revamped Careers section.

• Better search capability (to find content on the site) • Enhanced find (parish, Catholic school, nearest Mass, etc.)

On archspm.org: The “Our Bishops” tab on the home page is now “Leadership” and will feature not only bishops, but also vicars within the local Church.

Social media share buttons are more prominently placed, encouraging site visitors to share content on their own social networking pages.

On aimhigher.org: A few changes have also been made to aimhigher.org, the Catholic schools website.

They include: monthly profiles of professionals working at Catholic schools, News and Events now featured in their own separate sections and optimization for viewing on mobile devices.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

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Kids to the rescue, $1 at a time St. Thomas Academy student heads organization that responds to people in need

By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit One dollar at a time, Andrew Floeder is working to raise $55 million for the Salvation Army.

A junior at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Floeder’s work as president of the charitable organization Kids to the Rescue made him a distinguished finalist in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the nation’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. To date, Kids to the Rescue has raised more than $50,000.

Floeder’s family started the organization in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Floeder, his older sister, Rachel, and a friend wanted to help alleviate the suffering of kids down south. Floeder was in third grade, and his sister and her friend were in sixth grade.

“My sister and I thought — and her friend — if we could just get kids K-12 to donate $1,” Floeder said.

Based on the number of schoolaged children in the U.S., $1 from each of their cohorts across the country would total about $55 million. With the help of Floeder’s

Andrew Floeder, a junior at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, drops off supplies for students at Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights to help create valentines for children at Mary’s Place | Sharing and Caring Hands, and veterans at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Home. The sixth-grade students in Ann Mattson’s class made 500 valentines. Photo courtesy of Kids to the Rescue mother, Deb Floeder, they contacted a number of non-profit and charitable organizations. The Salvation Army — a national Christian charitable organization — responded positively to the Floeders’ idea, and Kids to the Rescue became a charitable organization. No money goes back into the organization, but rather, lands in the coffers of the Salvation Army.

“The mission is to teach kids to help other kids in need, knowing that kids can make a difference,” Floeder said. “However small, it will add up in the end.”

To take the fundraising national, Annette Bauer, public relations director for the Salvation Army, helped with the marketing, and a

family friend created a website.

Though neither of the Floeder children had a Facebook page at the time, schools from outside of the Twin Cities have responded to their call to help since 2006.

Three years ago when Rachel went off to college at New York University, Andrew took over as president — organizing fundraising activities from start to finish, soliciting volunteers, and collecting and delivering supplies.

In between volunteering and school, he also participates in tennis, track and swimming. The hardest part for Floeder is time.

“There’s not enough time in the day to get the full benefit with what everyone has to offer,” he said.

The fundraising work continues annually with the Send Love campaign, when Kids to the Rescue challenges students to donate $1 during their classroom Valentine’s Day party. This year, Floeder worked with sixth-graders at his elementary school, Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights, to make 500 valentines for kids at Mary’s Place | Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis, and veterans at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Home.

Floeder and other volunteers also ring bells for the Salvation Army’s red kettles at professional sports games and the Mall of America.

Over the years, their efforts have benefited victims of the earthquake in Haiti and natural disasters across the U.S. They have also organized fundraisers at their schools — bagel sales and free dress days that let students who donate $1 come out of uniform for a day.

But Kids to the Rescue isn’t just about money. Projects also include cleaning kettles for the Salvation Army, making Easter baskets, collecting necessities for families at homeless shelters, and shoveling out fire hydrants.

A highlight for Floeder was meeting with former president Bill Clinton in 2005. Clinton met with the founders of Kids to the Rescue when he was in St. Paul and mentioned the organization in his book “Give.”

“Bad things happen to good people, so you have to help them,” Floeder said.

To learn more, visit www. kidstotherescue.org.

Avoiding mirrors for Lent helps two women feel freer

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit Throughout Lent, Angela Deeney avoided mirrors and reflective surfaces.

The University of St. Thomas senior was featured in a March 13 Catholic Spirit article about her Lenten project that inspired a website and blog (www. paintthemirrors.com), and invoked others to join her in “redefining beauty.”

Rachelle De la Cruz, a graduate student at the University of St. Thomas, followed suit after overhearing Deeney talk about her “Paint the Mirrors” project. Both women share their experience in the Q&A below.

How was the experience?

Deeney: I built new habits. I feel like this 40 days was a good chunk of time because I’ve been able to go through the process of [being] excited [that] I’m starting a new challenge . . . to getting to the point of [not] thinking about looking in that mirror. I’ve been able to live my life the way I normally would, but with more freedom.

De la Cruz: I’ve learned a lot about how much I look in the mirror. To be able to catch myself doing those things . . . I’m wasting a lot of time worrying

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

glorification of God. Beauty is an ambiguous term, like love, but we all are moved by it. I think being more open to what that actually means is where the redefining comes in.

What part has God played in this?

DEENEY

DE LA CRUZ

about it. I think it’s much deeper than just seeing yourself as beautiful — it’s seeing yourself as an eternal soul who needs to be moved in a direction toward greatness.

What is your definition of beauty? Has it changed?

Deeney: Beauty really encompasses the whole person, body and soul. I see beauty as equated with dignity, rather than beauty being outward appearance. I still desire affirmation, and I still want to know that I look good, and all of that.

It’s not that desire for affirmation that’s bad, but it’s just where I’m choosing to get that affirmation from — am I choosing to get it from people, or am I choosing to get that from God? De la Cruz: I think beauty is the

Deeney: There’s been inspiring stories — people have told me their stories of beauty in the midst of accidents, in the midst of disability, in the midst of trauma. And so, beauty takes many forms, and I don’t think I would have seen that if he wasn’t there.

De la Cruz: I’ve learned what it means to be faithful to something and to trust that there’s going to be an outcome that’s fruitful . . . trusting that the Lord is going to transform me in a way that I didn’t expect to be transformed.

How can you encourage others to look past society’s definition of beauty to see themselves as God sees them?

Deeney: [We need to ask:] What do we surround ourselves by? What magazines are we reading? What shows are we watching? Does this increase my selfconfidence, or decrease it? So, first drawing awareness to that. I’m hoping women will start countering those lies

with truths. It’s making a conscious effort to actually change your mindset regarding beauty.

De la Cruz: I think there’s a lot to say about transforming the culture and going away from using certain idols to define what beauty is and just trying to see it for ourselves.

How will you carry this through?

Deeney: What’s been really beautiful is I feel like this Paint the Mirrors thing has tapped into something bigger. I know [God] is the author of this, and it will go wherever he wants it to go. I plan to blog on a regular basis. I hope it will reach a lot of different people.

De la Cruz: Being able to reflect on what I’m doing just really brought to light that there’s such a disconnect of who we want to be and who we really are already. Even though we see ourselves in the mirror, or we get compliments or we compare ourselves to others, we forget that there’s something beyond our interpretation that we’re beautiful. So I try to bring that dialogue more into my conversation [with others]. I’m still praying how [the experience] can be translated in an evangelistic way.

9

The Catholic Spirit The man appointed last fall to oversee all issues related to clergy sexual misconduct in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is now focusing on implementing the recommendations of a newly released report aimed at improving the archdiocese’s safe environment program and ability to protect children.

“At this point, it’s my task to go over it, look at the recommendations and determine how best to execute them in conformity with civil and [church] law,” said Dominican Father Reginald Whitt, a University of St. Thomas law professor appointed last October by Archbishop John Nienstedt as the episcopal vicar for ministerial standards.

The report and recommendations from the independent Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task Force were released April 14.

The task force was created last fall to review the archdiocese’s policies and practices related to clergy sexual misconduct following a series of media reports critical of the archdiocese for its handling of some accusations against clergy.

While the report by the task force noted the archdiocese’s diligence in adopting policies and procedures to protect children, it noted those policies and procedures were not always followed. It also included recommendations to address “serious shortcomings” in how the archdiocese has implemented the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

The report “shows a good deal of research, hard work and hard thinking on their part. They didn’t hold anything back. It’s a very candid report. It’s very frank.”

Dominican Father Reginald Whitt

Comprehensive work Archbishop John Nienstedt previously pledged to accept the task force’s recommendations.

“I thank the Task Force members for their clear, thoughtful and precise efforts,” Archbishop Nienstedt said.

“Their report reflects their obvious dedication to this work, as well as the comprehensive nature of the results,” he said. “It will guide us in fulfilling our important goals which I have stated before and repeat now: the protection of children, the healing of victims, and the restoration of trust of the faithful and of our clergy who are serving our communities with honor. We look forward to working in collaboration with Father Whitt to implement these recommendations.”

The report identified problems with the archdiocese’s safe environment organizational structure, communication, record keeping regarding the performance and conduct of clergy, compliance auditing, and complaint-reporting system.

The task force recommended that the archdiocese:

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• Establish a single clergy review board composed primarily of lay people; • Create a comprehensive “compliance auditing and monitoring program” to review the efficacy of the archdiocese’s safe environment program; • Develop a record-keeping system that ensures information related to clergy sexual misconduct is compiled, centralized and made accessible to safe environment decision-makers; • Strengthen and expand ways people can report abuse; • Continue to use the St. Paul Seminary as a resource in strengthening the candidate selection process and maintaining a “robust” admissions and evaluation framework; and • Improve the process for background checks, expand its training and update its codes of conduct.

The seven-member volunteer lay task force met 23 times, reviewed thousands of pages of documents and interviewed 32 individuals — including archdiocesan officials, parish priests, experts and advo-

Local

Law professor overseeing implementation of task force’s recommendations cates experienced in child abuse issues — as well as other members of the community.

Father Whitt said he seeks to implement the task force’s recommendations “both efficiently and effectively.”

The report “shows a good deal of research, hard work and hard thinking on their part,” he said. “They didn’t hold anything back. It’s a very candid report. It’s very frank.”

Task force history Father Whitt appointed the task force, whose members came from a variety of professional fields and operated independently of the archdiocese to ensure the integrity of its findings and recommendations. The group focused on the archdiocese’s safe environment organizational structure and its processes related to preventing and detecting abuse; it did not investigate specific allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors.

The task force had full authority and all the resources needed to complete its work, the archdiocese said in its statement.

In a separate statement, the task force said it believes its work will improve the archdiocese’s safe environment program and help protect children. It also said that members “will not be involved in press activities related to its release.”

To read the full report, visit www. archspm.org and click on “Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task Force Report and Recommendations.”

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April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

10

Local

Archbishop Nienstedt’s deposition posted on archdiocese’s website The deposition that Archbishop John Nienstedt gave as part of a civil lawsuit in a case of alleged clergy sexual abuse has been posted on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ website.

“We offer the deposition in its entirety, as part of our renewed commitment to transparency,” the archdiocese said in an April 22 statement as this edition of The Catholic Spirit went to press.

The deposition was conducted April 2 by attorneys for a plaintiff known as “John Doe 1.”

The plaintiff alleges that a former priest of the Diocese of Winona, Thomas Adamson, who had assignments in the archdiocese, sexually abused him in 1976 or 1977 when he was a minor.

“The archbishop answered every

question asked,” the archdiocese noted.

He was not asked any questions about Doe 1 or Adamson, although he did respond to all questions posed to him during the four-hour time period as prescribed by the court.

More online To read the entire un-redacted transcript of the deposition, go to www.archspm.org, and click on “Archbishop Nienstedt’s Deposition.”

The archdiocese also posted a video of the deposition and plans to post a question-and-answer resource as well.

Priest returns to ministry The Catholic Spirit After a five-month voluntary leave of absence related to past sexual misconduct that didn’t involve minors, Father David Barrett returned to public ministry April 12 at St. Wenceslaus in New Prague.

Father Barrett’s return to ministry as an assistant parish priest follows careful review by the archdiocese’s Ministerial Standards Board, which is made up primarily of lay professionals, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement.

The review involved an extensive interview with Father Barrett, reports from a licensed psychologist and Kinsale Management Consulting — a team of independent experts that reviewed his personnel file — and reports and letters from

supervisors and others who have worked closely with the priest.

Father Barrett voluntarily took a leave of absence last November so that his past sexual misconduct, which took place more than a decade ago and did not involve minors, could again be reviewed.

He was returned to ministry in 2005 following review at that time regarding the same misconduct.

Father Barrett returns to ministry with some conditions, including continued monitoring by a representative of the archdiocese, continued ongoing medical treatment and therapy as determined to be necessary by a medical professional, living in community with at least one other priest to avoid social isolation, and appropriate disclosure of his past misconduct to the pastor, trustees, and parishioners of St. Wenceslaus.

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11 Pope Francis says evangelization requires ‘leaving ourselves behind’

first moment they really recall having encountered Jesus.

Catholic News Service

Referring to the Easter account from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Pope Francis noted how the women who went to Jesus’ tomb were told first by the angel and then by the risen Lord to await him in Galilee and tell the disciples to go as well.

“After the death of the Master, the disciples had scattered; their faith had been utterly shaken, everything seemed over,” the pope said. Yet they were told to go back to Galilee, the place they first met Jesus.

Returning to Galilee, he said, means re-reading everything — “Jesus’ preaching, his miracles, the new community, the excitement and the defections, even the betrayal — to re-read everything starting from the end, which is a new beginning,” one that begins with Jesus’ “supreme act of love” in dying for humanity’s sin.

Departing repeatedly from his prepared text, Pope Francis kept telling people: “Have no fear. Do not be afraid. Have the courage to open your hearts” to the Lord’s love.

Returning to Galilee, he said, “means treasuring in my heart the living memory” of “the moment when his eyes met mine.”

“Where is my Galilee?” the pope urged people to ask themselves.

“Have I forgotten it? Have I gone off on roads and paths which made me forget it?”

Pope Francis encouraged people to ask the Lord’s help in remembering and in telling the Lord, “I want to return there to encounter you and to let myself be embraced by your mercy.”

Pope Francis baptized 10 people at the Easter Vigil; they ranged from a 7-year-old Italian boy to a 58-yearold Vietnamese woman. Four other Italians and one person each from Senegal, Lebanon, France and Belarus also were baptized. He confirmed the 10 during the liturgy, anointing them with oil and giving each a kiss on the cheek.

‘Where is my Galilee?’

Pope Francis urged Christians to remember how they first encountered Christ and to share his love and mercy with others, especially through acts of caring and sharing.

Proclaiming the good news of Jesus’ resurrection means giving concrete witness “to unconditional and faithful love,” he said April 20 before solemnly giving his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

Celebrating the second Easter of his pontificate, the pope told at least 150,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and on adjacent streets that evangelization “is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast.”

Whatever is going on in one’s life, he said from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Jesus’ victory over sin and death demonstrates that “love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness.”

Prayers for the vulnerable Overlooking the square where he had just celebrated Easter morning Mass surrounded by hundreds of flowering trees and bushes and thousands of daffodils, tulips and roses, Pope Francis said Christians proclaim to the world that “Jesus, love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised him and made him the Lord of life and death.”

In his Easter message, the pope prayed that the risen Lord would “help us to overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by the immense wastefulness for which we are often responsible.”

He also prayed that Christians would be given the strength “to protect the vulnerable, especially children, women and the elderly,

A boy smiles after being baptized by Pope Francis during the Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 19. CNS photo/Paul Haring who are at times exploited and abandoned.”

The pope offered special prayers for those facing serious difficulties and threats in various parts of the world: for victims of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; the victims of kidnapping; migrants and refugees; and for the victims of war and conflict in Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan and Venezuela.

In his “urbi et orbi” message, the pope offered special prayers for peace in Ukraine, a country with various Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Latin-rite Catholic communities.

The pope’s celebration of Easter got under way the night before in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica.

His Easter Vigil began with the lighting of the fire and Easter candle in the atrium of the basilica; walking behind the Easter candle and carrying a candle of his own, Pope Francis entered the darkened basilica. In the silence and solemnity of the moment, very few pilgrims and tourists disturbed the atmosphere with their camera flashes.

In his homily, Pope Francis, who often tells people to look up the date of their baptism and commemorate it each year, urged people to remember and reflect on the

U.S. & World

Easter calls us to share Christ’s love, mercy with others

Pope apologizes for clerical sex abuse, promises tough sanctions

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service “I feel called to take responsibility for all the evil some priests — large in number, but not in proportion to the total — have committed and to ask forgiveness for the damage they’ve done with the sexual abuse of children,” Pope Francis said.

“The Church is aware of this damage” and is committed to strengthening child protection programs and punishing offenders, he told members of the International Catholic Child Bureau during a meeting April 11 at the Vatican.

The remarks appeared to be the pope’s first apology for the sex abuse scandal, following earlier statements affirming the Vatican’s work investigating and punishing perpetrators, and encouraging bishops to support

abuse victims. The pope also has said the Church deserves to be forced to make monetary settlements to victims.

In December, Pope Francis established a Vatican commission to promote improved child protection policies throughout the Church.

Meeting with leaders of the International Catholic Child Bureau, an organization based in France and dedicated to defending children’s rights, Pope Francis said it was hard to believe “men of the Church” would commit such horrors.

“We don’t want to take a step backward in dealing with this problem and with the sanctions that must be imposed,” the pope said. “On the contrary, I believe we must be very strong. You don’t play with children’s lives.”

Pope Francis also spoke about the importance of de-

fending children’s right “to grow in a family with a mother and father able to create a healthy environment for their growth and affective maturity,” which includes “maturing in relationship to the masculinity and femininity of a father and a mother.”

Parents have a right to determine the appropriate “moral and religious education” of their children, he said, and should not be subject to school curriculums that are thinly veiled courses of indoctrination into whatever ideology is strongest at the moment.

Obviously, he said, children need help in responding to the problems and challenges contemporary culture and the media raise. Young people can’t be kept in “glass jars,” but must be given the values that will help them evaluate what cultural trends respect their dignity and freedom and the dignity and freedom of others.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

New Saints

12

Saints-to-be remembered as men of hope with p Archbishop to attend canonization Mass in Rome April 27 for Popes John Paul II, John XXIII The Catholic Spirit When Pope Francis presides at the canonization Mass for two of his predecessors, Archbishop John Nienstedt plans to be among the bishops from around the world concelebrating around the altar.

Typically, only cardinals are invited to concelebrate at sainthood liturgies, he said, but the Vatican extended the invitation more widely for the April 27 canonization of Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII. He will be joined at the ceremony by as many as 1 million pilgrims, including 5,000 coming from Poland on five special trains. Nineteen heads of state, 24 prime ministers and 23 government ministers from various countries also are expected to attend.

Before being ordained a bishop, Archbishop Nienstedt served from 1980 to 1985 with the Vatican Secretariat of State. Living in Rome provided an opportunity to watch Pope John Paul II’s ministry up close.

“He was such a tireless minister of the Gospel,” said the archbishop, noting the pope’s 129 country visits, hundreds of pastoral visits to Italian churches and his prodigious writing of encyclicals, other papal documents and books.

“He was a marvel to be able to do as much as he did and still to be able to have that common touch that he had with other people,” Archbishop Nienstedt said.

Being with the people He witnessed that common touch firsthand on several occasions, including during a stop Pope John Paul II made at a Carmelite convent — his first pastoral visit after recuperating from surgery to remove a bullet following a 1981 assassination attempt.

The convent was near the parish where thenFather Nienstedt lived, and he occasionally celebrated Mass for the nuns when the regular chaplain, Msgr. Justin Rigali — now Cardinal Rigali — was unavailable.

After praying and speaking with the nuns, Pope John Paul II was preparing to leave when he encountered a boy about 7 years old — the son of

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

Archbishop John Nienstedt — then Father Nienstedt — greets Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Before being ordained a b Archbishop Nienstedt served with the Vatican Secretariat of State from 1980 to 1985. Photo courtesy of Archbishop Nien the porter — who wanted to read a poem he wrote for the pope.

“There was the Holy Father with his arms folded, looking at this young boy who was reciting his poem,” Archbishop Nienstedt recalled. “Afterward, the Holy Father leaned down and took the young man’s head in his hands and kissed him on the top of his head.”

The porter’s wife handed the pope a picture of him on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on the day he was elected. Someone handed the pope a pen and he wrote his name in Latin on the photo.

“When he got to the Roman numeral II, he did a sharp [nod with his chin] and then another one to

emphasize that,” Archbishop Nienstedt said. “T he looked at me and kind of gave me the chin, was so caught up in the moment that I looked at him and I did the same.

“He turned and had a big smile on his face a came back and he gave me a double jab with h jaw,” the archbishop said. “Afterwards, I was a embarrassed — you don’t want to be caught mimicking the pope to his face.”

Afterward, Archbishop Nienstedt said, “We w walking to the door and Monsignor was thank him as he was getting in his car. He turned aro look at all of us, and he saw me. I was four peo back in the crowd. He motioned to me to come

13

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and he his little

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New Saints

pastoral touch forward. It was like the Red Sea parting — people just moved aside. I walked up, genuflected and kissed his ring. And he looked at me with this funny look on his face, almost as if he was saying, ‘Defend yourself.’

I just said, ‘How are you feeling?’ He smiled and said, ‘I feel fine, very good.’” Father Nienstedt then walked the pope to his car.

“I like to tell that story because Pope John Paul II was probably the holiest priest I’ve ever met,” the archbishop said. “And, yet, he had a great sense of humor. He liked to be with people. He liked to ham it up a bit.”

Leaving an impression Archbishop Nienstedt said he has taken to heart Pope John Paul II’s example of going out to meet and be with people. As bishop of New Ulm, he scheduled regular parish visits — a practice he has continued in the archdiocese, where he has so far visited 183 parishes.

“The bishop shouldn’t be sitting behind his desk,” he said. “He needs to be out talking to the people and listening to them.”

Pope John Paul II’s legacy also includes his “very clear identification of the Church in her role of fostering marriage and family life,” the archbishop said. “And, he was an ardent defender of the gift of human life and the dignity of life — all human life.”

The pope’s witness was key to fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life. “We are able to identify one generation of seminarians and young priests who call themselves the ‘John Paul II generation,’” he said.

Although Archbishop Nienstedt never met Pope John XXIII — he was in eighth grade when the pontiff who convened the Second Vatican Council was elected in 1958 — “good Pope John” was known as “a very likable, very approachable kind of man,” the archbishop said.

“We see so much of him in Pope Francis, just his common touch with people,” he said. “I think that really helps him to identify with people and people with him.”

Both popes, he said, conveyed a sense of hope to Catholics and others of good will around the world.

“They were optimistic men,” Archbishop Nienstedt said. “They believed in the Gospel. They believed in the message of the Lord Jesus. You have to be a man of hope to give your life to that message.”

This story contains information from Catholic News Service.

Watch the Mass on TV EWTN will air “Holy Mass and Canonizations of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II,” a live broadcast from Vatican City, from 2:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. (Central time) on April 27 (check local listings to confirm the time). The liturgy will be rerun from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Read more online For full news coverage of the canonization ceremony on April 27, visit TheCatholicSpirit.com.

Join the celebration The northeast Minneapolis Catholic community is preparing a Canonization Celebration at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, with Mass on the Holy Cross campus of Holy Cross parish, 1621 University Ave., N.E., in Minneapolis. Food, fellowship and entertainment will follow. All are welcome.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

Focus on Faith • Scripture Readings

14 SUNDAY SCRIPTURES Deacon Bruce Anderson

Jesus offers us his love and mercy, even when we’re doubtful and fearful During the octave of Easter, we continue our joy in the glorious day of the resurrection of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. This Second Sunday of Easter ought to be a time of great happiness as we celebrate the day Jesus Christ overcame sin and death and invited us to share in that victory.

We also celebrate the canonization of two new saints: Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. In their lives and leadership as popes, they witnessed Easter joy and the hope in mercy that this most high feast celebrates. Even amidst the great uncertainties and doubts of their day, they held fast in faith to the mercy of the risen Lord. They lived well what our readings today proclaim.

After the resurrection, the disciples were locked in the upper room out of fear. But “Jesus came and stood in their midst.” Jesus came to bring peace to the disciples and to all of us, too. His greeting of peace still echoes in our Church today. While Jesus was with the apostles, “he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Through the Holy Spirit, Christ gave the apostles the power to forgive sins

DAILY Scriptures

Acts 4:23-31 John 3:1-8

Sunday, April 27 Sunday of Divine Mercy Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31

Tuesday, April 29 St. Catherine of Siena, virgin, doctor of the Church Acts 4:32-37 John 3:7b-15

Monday, April 28 St. Peter Chanel, priest, martyr; St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, priest

Wednesday, April 30 St. Pius V, pope Acts 5:17-26 John 3:16-21

and allow the people to receive God’s mercy.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina, who gave us the Divine Mercy devotion, and designated the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. On this day, we need to be mindful of the mercy that each of us needs for our sins — our failures in love — against God and our neighbor. In the sacrament of reconciliation, we can seek this forgiveness for our sins and receive the mercy of God. Through this sacrament of mercy, we are reunited with our Father in the peace and joy of the resurrection.

Thomas was not present went Jesus first appeared to the apostles, and so he did not immediately encounter Jesus as risen from the dead. As a result, he did not immediately believe the others, and declared, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hand and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Yet, Jesus once again appeared to the apostles and spoke directly to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” This should give us great hope. The Thursday, May 1 St. Joseph the Worker Acts 5:27-33 John 3:31-36 Matthew 13:54-58 Friday, May 2 St. Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the Church Acts 5:34-42 John 6:1-15 Saturday, May 3 St. Philip and St. James,

Readings Sunday, April 27 Sunday of Divine Mercy • Acts 2:42-47 • 1 Peter 1:3-9 • John 20:19-31

Reflection How can we extend Christ’s love and mercy to others?

How can we look to new saints Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II to accomplish this?

risen Lord appeared to Thomas and offered him his love and mercy even in the midst of Thomas’ own doubts, struggles and fears.

On this second Sunday of Easter, this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us strive to let Jesus bring us the peace, joy and mercy that come because of his suffering, death and resurrection. Let us seek out the great sacrament of that mercy, so

apostles 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 John 14:6-14

Tuesday, May 6 Acts 7:51–8:1a John 6:30-35

Sunday, May 4 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 22-33 1 Peter 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35

Wednesday, May 7 Acts 8:1b-8 John 6:35-40

Monday, May 5 Acts 6:8-15 John 6:22-29

Thursday, May 8 Acts 8:26-40 John 6:44-51 Friday, May 9 Acts 9:1-20

that like St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II, we may know the joy of mercy and share that joy with others.

Deacon Anderson is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary for the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. His teaching parish is St. Gabriel the Archangel in Hopkins.

John 6:52-59 Saturday, May 10 St. Damien de Veuster, priest Acts 9:31-42 John 6:60-69 Sunday, May 11 Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 36-41 1 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10:1-10

What’s on the Archbishop’s mind?

Read all about – in every issue of The Catholic Spirit April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

15

Father Kenneth Doyle

Is Communion complete with just the host?

What is ‘buying a Mass’?

Q. I have noticed that, at

both species was, then, a return to the original practice.

Communion, some people will take the host but not drink from the chalice. Is Communion complete when you consume the Body but not the Blood? Also, why do some churches still provide only the host at Communion?

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal is clear in stating in No. 282 that “Christ, whole and entire, and the true Sacrament, is received even under only one species.” But that same document clearly encourages more frequent use of both the consecrated bread and the wine since, in this way, “the sign of the eucharistic banquet is made more fully evident.”

A. From the earliest days of the Church’s celebration of the Eucharist, holy Communion was customarily received under both species — in accordance with Christ’s command to “take and eat . . . take and drink.”

It was only in the late 11th century that it became commonplace for just the host to be distributed. The Second Vatican Council’s extension of the use of

The general instruction, in No. 283, authorizes each diocesan bishop to set norms regarding the use of both species; that same section allows bishops to delegate to a pastor the determination as to when Communion will be distributed under both forms.

A. Simony, which is sinful, is the buying or selling of spiritual things. The term takes its origin from the Acts of the Apostles, where (in Chapter 8) a man named Simon the Magician sought to purchase from St. Peter the spiritual power derived from the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit.

Examples of simony would be to seek ecclesiastical promotion through a cash gift or to attempt to bribe a priest to receive sacramental absolution.

Mass stipends are not simony, and there is no such thing as “buying a Mass.” A Mass stipend is a free-will offering given for celebrating a Mass for a particular person or intention.

In the early Church, it was often the sole source of a priest’s income and support, and in poorer countries, it sometimes still is.

You are correct that the merits of

Christ’s redemptive death are infinite. A Mass intention is simply a plea to the Lord to channel some of those already-gained merits in a particular direction.

The Church’s Code of Canon Law takes pains to avoid the appearance of “buying a Mass” by explaining that the poor are never to be denied a request for a Mass because of their inability to provide the customary offering (No. 945) and by forbidding a priest from keeping for himself more than one Mass stipend per day (No. 951).

Like most priests, I have on a number of occasions declined to accept a stipend because I thought it might be a hardship for the person requesting the Mass intention. (In many U.S. dioceses, the suggested offering is $10.)

Despite these canonical cautions, the misunderstanding persists, and nearly every week a caller or visitor to our parish office will ask, “How much does a Mass cost?” I use that as a teachable moment.

Even in a typical American parish, donors seem to feel comforted by knowing that they have “done something” for the named beneficiary of a Mass.

Focus on Faith • Seeking Answers

SEEKING ANSWERS

Q. I am a member of a faithsharing group, which is ecumenical. Recently, a question came up with regard to “simony” and “buying a Mass.” Please explain the concept of a stipend being offered for a Mass for a deceased person; non-Catholics (and Catholics, as well) find it confusing. Was not the value of the Mass already purchased by the sacrificial death of Jesus? What, exactly, is being bought?

Father Doyle writes for Catholic News Service. A priest of the Diocese of Albany, N.Y., he previously served as director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

This Catholic LIfe • Commentary

16 EDITORIAL Joe Towalski

Undocumented? Illegal?

Don’t overlook dignity When it comes to immigration, word choice is among the debated issues.

A caller to the The Catholic Spirit complained recently about the use of the phrase “undocumented immigrants” in an editorial calling for more mercy in society, including in regard to deportations that split apart poor and vulnerable families.

Describing them as “illegal aliens” would be more accurate, the caller said.

Indeed, there is disagreement about the best way to describe people who have entered the country illegally. The Associated Press style-

book, the “Bible” for most news organizations across the country, prefers the term “illegal immigrant.”

The U.S. and Mexican bishops, in their pastoral letter on migration titled “Strangers No Longer,” use the phrase “undocumented immigrant” to describe such persons because they lack the required paperwork to be in a country legally.

In the end, no term is perfect.

And, we should be cautious about any label we put on another person. No matter their status, every person, including every immigrant, has an innate dignity because he or she is created in the image and like-

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA Jessica Zittlow

Victim of payday lending debt trap speaks out Sherry Shannon needed a little extra money to get her car fixed. On Social Security disability, Shannon needed every dollar to pay her rent, utilities, and phone bills — leaving room for little else each month.

When someone suggested she take out a small payday loan to finance her car repairs, she thought, “Why not?” After all, the loan was just to fill a temporary gap of about $140. But at a 260 percent annual

ness of God. Many are brothers and sisters in faith. We must not forget that fact in debates over what to do about those who are “undocumented” or “illegal.”

But maybe more important to consider is why many risk their lives to come to the United States: to seek work and escape situations of abject poverty. The current immigration system is a broken one.

There aren’t enough visas to accommodate the needs of the labor market and those seeking to reunite with families. Too often, the system contributes to the exploitation and abuse of migrants. Sadly, an estimated 11 million people are forced to live in the shadows.

Repair needed The U.S. bishops have wanted to reform this system for a long time.

Many of those who are undocumented or otherwise in the country in violation of the law have been here for years, working hard, raising families and contributing to their communities.

A bill passed last year by the Sen-

percentage rate, paying it off was to become a challenge.

That was in 2012. After about 12 more “small” loans, and even moving into a one-bedroom apartment to help save on monthly expenses, she continues to struggle to find a way out of a vicious debt cycle.

Q. You took out your first payday loan to pay for car repairs, but since then you’ve taken out several more. Why? A. Once I got moved in, I thought, “I’m ready to pay this off!”

Since I receive Social Security disability, I was told to come back on the third of the month to pay my loan.

When I paid it off, I realized that I didn’t have enough money for my month. There is no way I’m going to be able to do this. So I paid the amount and took out a new loan on the same day to cover my expenses.

Here are talking points for HF 2293/SF 2368, the Payday Lending Regulation Bill, and HF 291/SF 2627, the Commercial Surrogacy Bill — both of which need urgent consideration and action by Minnesota Catholics:

Common sense payday lending reforms “Help Minnesotans avoid the payday lending debt trap. Please support HF 2293/SF 2368, the Payday Lending Regulation Bill.”

Legalization of commercial surrogacy “Please say NO on the Commercial Surrogacy Bill, HF 291/SF 2627. Commercial surrogacy threatens the well-being of women and children. It is banned in some states and in many countries. Women are not for rent, and children are not for sale.”

For more information and additional talking points on these advocacy issues, or to look up your legislators’ contact information, go to www.mncc.org and click on the Action Center under the “Take Action” menu tab. You also can call Senate Information directly at (651) 296-0504 for help in identifying your representative and senator. The Catholic Advocacy Network is an initiative of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

That’s how come I’ve been with this company for so long. Every month when I receive my Social Security check, I pay off my loan and take out a new one. And I don’t see how I’m going to get out of this cycle. Today, I owe $264, and the APR of my current loan is 171 percent. In the last year, I’ve paid nearly $500 in fees, but I still owe them $264.50.

Q. While the loan fulfilled a financial need in the beginning, you said you started observing things about your payday loan lending store that made you change your opinion about payday loans. Could you explain?

A. I looked at it differently because, when I first went there, I was more focused on how I was going to solve my problem, how

ate offered these individuals and families a “path to citizenship” — not carte blanche immunity, but the ability to become a citizen after many years, after paying any fines and taxes owed and learning English. The bill also included additional spending on border security.

It’s not a perfect bill by any means, but it would go a long way toward helping the situation.

The political debate over immigration reform will continue. But, unfortunately, meaningful action on the issue does not appear to be on the horizon in the nation’s capital. Catholics, however, can make a meaningful contribution by contacting their U.S. House and Senate representatives and urging them to support the type of comprehensive immigration reform envisioned by the bishops.

Catholics can also help by reminding people about the real lives and struggles faced by today’s immigrants — many among the poor and vulnerable the Gospel commands us to help — no matter what adjective is put in front of their names.

they could help me.

But I started noticing the long line around the first of the month [the time people receive Social Security disability payments]. They set up for the people who have been coming there the longest, and they have a special lane for you. You can just walk in like a “VIP” type thing.

They put an ATM in there, so people can get their direct deposit.

You have to get your money out, but that is a big rip off because you can only get $200 at one time, and the loan is more than $200. And each time you take money out, I think they charge you about $3 or $4.

I also noticed that there were people saying, like I was, “Can I pay a little bit of this because I still got to pay my rent,” or “Can we work something else out?”

That’s when I started saying that I want to get out of this. I want to pay this off and be through with it. But when I attempt to do it, I find myself stuck.

Q. How can communities, churches and other organizations help certain groups of people who are especially vulnerable to the payday loan lending trap?

A. One way is by talking about it — like me doing this. A lot of people are not even aware of it.

They are thinking about the money, and that’s what I was thinking about. I have experience in it, so now I have started talking to people.

When I hear people say [that they are going to get a payday loan], I say, “No, don’t go there. That’s not going to be good for you.”

Zittlow is communications director for the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

17

This Catholic Life • Commentary

We are an Easter people

By Sharon Wilson For The Catholic Spirit Stories printed after Easter often focus on those coming into the Church at the Easter Vigil. This story is also an Easter story; however, it is a reflection on a funeral, and it is a story I almost missed.

I had the opportunity to attend daily Mass at my local parish the week before Holy Week. I am normally not around for daily Mass at my home parish, but I had an appointment in town so I thought I would make the effort to go.

I was running late, my hair was still wet from my shower, and I needed to prepare for my meeting.

But since it was daily Mass, I figured I had time to attend and still be able to run back home to get ready.

What happened at that Mass April 11 at the Immaculate Conception site of Divine Mercy parish in Faribault was a special grace that I was blessed to witness.

When I showed up at the church, a hearse was sitting out front. My first thought was selfish: “Oh no, what’s going on? Mass will probably take longer. I may be late for my appointment.”

It was a Mass with students from the local Catholic high school, Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, and they were hosting a funeral — a funeral for a woman I did not know and a woman none of the students at the school knew, either.

Community connection The principal of Bethlehem Academy, Tom Donlon, received a phone call earlier in the week from Father Kevin Finnegan, pastor of Divine Mercy, with an unusual request: “Would the Catholic high school be host for Mary Manahan’s funeral?”

At 98 years old, Mary, a twin and one of the youngest of a family of 12, had outlived all of her friends and most of her family. She had never married. The original funeral plans for this Bethlehem Academy alum were for a simple ceremony at the funeral home with virtually no one in attendance.

Donlon’s response to Father Finnegan’s request was an immediate “yes.”

In a letter to parents and faculty, Donlon said: “As I listened to Father Finnegan’s request . . . I was moved . . . and thought that no one from the Bethlehem Academy family should ever be alone, in life or in death. So I said, ‘Yes.’ While having a funeral at a school Mass is highly irregular . . . I thought how caring it could be and to remember it is a corporal work of mercy to bury the dead. Is this not a gift we can give to celebrate Mary’s life?”

Initially, Father Finnegan didn’t realize that Mary had graduated from B.A. in 1933, but that connection gave the students reason to respond with great love. They wanted to know more about Mary’s life.

Photographs of graduating classes

Students from Bethlehem Academy in Faribault served as pallbearers and attended the funeral of Mary Manahan at the Immaculate Conception site of Divine Mercy parish in Faribault April 11. Manahan was an alum of Bethlehem Academy and had few living relatives. Photo courtesy of Rene Thompson, Bethlehem Academy

“Dying with dignity has less to do with the one who dies as it does with those around them. . . . There are occasions that people die all alone with no family.

That is a call for all of us to be family for them.”

Father Kevin Finnegan, pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault

line the hallways of the school, and students were stopping in the hallway to pick out Mary and her twin sister Mildred from the class photos.

Students learned things about her life — like her favorite color ,(pink) and planned to wear that color to the funeral. Flowers with a tag from the class of 2017 adorned the casket.

Morgan Purdie, a senior at B.A., was moved by the gesture of the school and Catholic community.

“To know that Mary graduated from B.A., to know that she was not alone touched my heart,” she said.

“It was great to know that no matter where I am in my life, I will always be a part of the B.A. community,” Purdie added. “As a senior, this isn’t just where I have spent my last years, but this is a family that will always be with me.”

The understanding that we are all part of something larger than ourselves was reiterated in the homily when Father Finnegan reminded the students that, when they get to heaven, it will be Mary welcoming them. This teaching comes from the early Church Fathers’ understanding that when we die, it won’t be our parents or friends that welcome us into heaven, but it will be the poor and downtrodden that we

have helped on this earth.

Regarding the outpouring of love by the students at B.A., Father Finnegan said later: “I’ve been here for 15 years, I have baptized some of the kids, and I am so proud, but in some ways I am not surprised.

The younger generation is a great generation and they want to live beyond themselves in lives of generous love. I see that all the time.”

In the homily, Father Finnegan spoke about Mary’s life and reminded us that no one dies alone, although Mary had few visitors in her last years at the nursing home with the exception of parish pastoral staff and the priests.

She suffered from advanced dementia. Although she rarely spoke or interacted with others, she would attend the monthly Masses at St. Lucas Care Center with a smile.

Father Finnegan, visibly moved to tears, relayed the last time he had visited with her. “I was up at St. Lucas to do the prayers of the dying. I anointed her and was telling her she had nothing to be afraid of, that God loves her, that he delights in her, and that God made her for all eternity. As I am leaning over her a few inches from her face, not even knowing if she was responsive, she leaned forward and whispered, ‘I love you’ and leaned back. A few

days later she died.”

The story moved my heart and the hearts of many others at Mass that day.

Dying with dignity There was nothing really remarkable about Mary’s life, but in her death she was able to touch the lives of others.

In the work of upholding human dignity, the response of this community gave me new meaning to a phrase often used in the pro-life community: “dying with dignity.”

Father Finnegan gave me new insight into that phrase. “Dying with dignity has less to do with the one who dies as it does with those around them,” he said. “Mary was treated with dignity as she died — by the staff and those around her and with the response of the Catholic community. That said, there is a call for us to be attentive to those who are dying. There are occasions that people die all alone with no family. That is a call for all of us to be family for them.”

As Father Finnegan closed the homily, he took his cue from Mary’s last words. Possibly with the thought that he will be moving to a new assignment this summer and leaving the Faribault community, he looked at the students and reminded them of our greater connection to each other and the Church. And then he said, “I love you.”

We are an Easter people. We believe in the resurrection. We believe in the community of saints and life everlasting, and maybe it is fitting to remember this Easter season by a reflection on a funeral.

Wilson is the respect life coordinator for the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life.

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

From Age to Age

18

Portraying saint is chance to share message of God’s mercy Actress says one-woman drama about St. Faustina has taught her lessons about prayer, sacrifice

By Joanne Fox Catholic News Service Besides the challenge of portraying St. Faustina, actress Maria Vargo said she also was drawn to the role by the opportunity to share “the message of God’s mercy for every soul.”

“I have had a devotion to Divine Mercy and have been praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy for a long time,” Vargo explained. “I have experienced and continue to experience God’s mercy personally, and I understand the great gift that it is.”

Vargo travels the country portraying St. Faustina in a multimedia drama, “Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy.”

The saint had a special devotion to God’s divine mercy. The chaplet is a series of prayers focusing on the gifts of his mercy, especially shown through the passion of Christ.

Vargo was in Sioux City, Iowa, last month to perform the onewoman drama, which is directed

by Leonardo Defilippis of St. Luke

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

Productions, based in Battle Ground, Wash.

Faustina for the St. Luke production.

“I was surprised to learn that Sister Faustina was a joyful person, a great storyteller, and that people were drawn to her,” she told The Catholic Globe, newspaper of the Diocese of Sioux City. “She was fearless and not afraid to speak the truth to others. She had a lot of determination and spunk!

“The way she spoke to Jesus was so intimate and affectionate, but also courageous and free. She never minced words with him, asking him for mercy for even the most hardened.”

Vargo spent a week living with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Dorchester, Mass., in preparation for the role.

‘Jesus, I trust in you’ St. Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in 1905 to a large peasant family in Poland. After a vision from Jesus encouraged her to become a nun, the young woman entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She took Maria Faustina as her religious name and spent the rest of her life doing menial labor at the convent.

In 1930, Sister Faustina began having mystical visions. Jesus appeared to her in a white garment, with rays of white and red light emanating near his heart.

He asked her to paint his image with the message, “Jesus, I trust in you.” That was the beginning of a mission that turned into a devotion for the Church — the Divine Mercy.

Sister Faustina kept a diary of her visions until her death from tuberculosis in 1938.

Blessed John Paul II beatified her in 1993 and canonized her in 2000. He also made Divine Mercy Sunday a Church-wide feast day to be celebrated the Sunday after Easter. The late pope, along with Blessed John XXIII, will soon be canonized himself — on Divine

Called to holiness Actress Maria Vargo, pictured in a photo collage, travels the country portraying St. Faustina in a multimedia presentation, “Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy.”

CNS photo/courtesy Saint Luke Productions Mercy Sunday, which this year is April 27.

Vargo, a Hollywood-based actress, researched the part of St.

Prior to taking on this role, Vargo characterized herself as an active Catholic, attending Mass regularly. But now she has “a much deeper understanding of sacrifice,” she said. “I think that comes from the hard work involved in presenting this drama night after night in different locations.”

Vargo said she always believed prayer could change the world.

Please turn to ACTRESS on page 19

19

Continued from page 18 “But portraying Sister Faustina has taught me that everything we do in life is a prayer, and that sacrifice has great meaning in the eyes of the Lord, especially in union with praying the chaplet,” she said, referring to the Divine Mercy chaplet.

Performing the life of a saint has its challenges, she admitted.

“Portraying a saint and a real person who had so many holy characteristics” means having “to always remember that I need to be prayerful as I pour myself into this role,” she said.

Another challenge, Vargo continued, is taking the message she portrays on stage and keeps in her heart “off stage.”

“I realize that all of us are called to holiness, and that it is only through humility and love of God and neighbor that we can achieve our goal of closeness to God.”

With those challenges comes great satisfaction, Vargo noted.

“The greatest joy is that I get the chance to bring St. Faustina — an amazing woman who loved the Lord so much — alive and face-toface to audiences,” she said.

“She is such a friend to us — not a plaster, holier-thanthou statue. She was a normal person of our modern times, who experienced the same temptations we do, yet through the darkness she trusted in Jesus.”

For Vargo, the experience of traveling the country and bringing this message of the power of God’s mercy to an age and culture in need of it has gone beyond what she ever imagined.

“I feel so humbled by the way God is using the talents he has given me,” she said. “I love performing and it is a joy to be playing a role in which I wholeheartedly believe every word that I speak.”

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Faith & Culture

20

‘Heaven Is for Real’ Movie about 4-year-old’s near death experience is faith-affirming story about reality of death, virtue of hope

By John Mulderig Catholic News Service “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength.” Those familiar words, addressed to God in Psalm 8 of the King James Bible, might serve as the tagline for the fact-based drama “Heaven Is for Real” (TriStar).

Audiences of almost any age will benefit from this intriguing, childguided glimpse into the afterlife.

As readers of Todd Burpo’s bestselling book (written with Lynn Vincent) will know, this is the story of his young son, Colton.

After coming close to death during an operation, the 4-year-old (Connor Corum) startled his Wesleyan minister father (Greg Kinnear) and choir-director mother, Sonja (Kelly Reilly), by announcing that he had visited heaven and met Jesus.

His subsequent description of two deceased relatives, the existence of one of whom was

previously unknown to him, lent remarkable credibility to the lad’s claim.

Perhaps because they seemed too literal to be readily accepted, however, Colton’s matter-of-fact statements about paradise stirred controversy in his family’s smalltown community of Imperial, Neb. Ironically, they also provoked a crisis of faith for Todd, who was forced to ask himself how genuinely he believed what he had long been preaching.

Director and co-writer (with Christopher Parker) Randall Wallace’s adaptation of Burpo’s account is substantial and moving, thanks in large part to the mature way in which it grapples with fundamental issues of religious belief — and doubt. What could have been a hokey, feel-good exercise in Christian cheerleading instead comes across as a sober, though far from humorless, meditation on the reality of death and the virtue of hope.

Connor Corum and Greg Kinnear star in a scene from the movie “Heaven Is for Real.”

CNS photo/Paramount Along with its faith-affirming revelations about the beyond, “Heaven Is for Real” also showcases a tenacious marital bond. Beset by money troubles, illnesses and other worries, Todd and Sonja occasionally quarrel. Yet their underlying commitment to each other is unwavering.

Viewers will particularly appreciate Colton’s takeaway from his celestial journey, a message so simple and liberating that those around him, including believers,

were hesitant to accept it: Thanks to the existence of heaven he says, “We don’t ever have to be afraid.”

The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

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21

By Dianne Towalski The Catholic Spirit Open Window Theatre will close out its third season with “Lilies of the Field,” the stage adaptation of the novel by William E. Barrett and Oscar-nominated 1963 movie.

“It has been a favorite film of mine for a long time,” said Jeremy Stanbary, the theater’s artistic director. “When I found that there was a stage adaptation for it, I got really excited and wanted to do it.”

Those who have seen the movie are in for a pleasant surprise.

The play, which opens April 25, will feature more music than other adaptations. “[The music] enhances it and also gives that atmosphere and flavor of the time,” said director Joy Donley.

There are some Catholic hymns and other hymns, spirituals, folk songs and a bit of Mexican folk music, too.

“What I wanted to do was give it a little bit more of almost a cinematic feel to it,” Donley said.

A folksinger, played by Christopher Erickson, sings a short folk song at the beginning of each of the play’s three acts.

“Christopher’s musical talents are just fantastic,” Stanbary said.

“It is really a nice addition to the show.”

Inspirational story The story — about a traveling handyman in the mid-1950s who becomes the answer to the prayers of a group of nuns who want to build a chapel in the desert — fits well with the theatre’s mission, Stanbary said. It is a faith-based, inspirational and family-friendly story.

Homer Smith, the handyman played by Lamar Jefferson, comes upon the nuns working in a field and offers his help for a day’s hire.

The sisters believe he has been sent

by God to build them a chapel in answer to their prayers, and they convince him to stay and build it even though they have no money or supplies.

The story itself is interesting and

Faith & Culture

God provides in Open Window’s ‘Lilies of the Field’

Homer Smith, played by Lamar Jefferson, and Mother Maria Marthe, played by Gail Ottmar, in a scene from Open Window Theatre’s production of “Lilies of the Field.” Photo courtesy of Open Window Theatre compelling, even for non-religious; the success of the film has shown that, Stanbary said.

The story deals with racial and religious prejudice in an indirect way by showing the humanity and the richness of the individuals and how they were able to forge friendships in the midst of their differences, he said.

“Their faith is shaken throughout a little bit, but what they accomplish in the end is remarkable,” he said.

Donley, who has directed three previous Open Window productions, including “Shadowlands,” one of the theater’s most successful shows, says it’s not just about the relationships between Homer, a black Southern Baptist man, and the nuns. It is also the

relationships with the people in the community. They see what happens with him and the nuns and are a little skeptical about the nuns’ insistence that God will provide.

“It’s a neat story because it isn’t heavy handed in the religious component, yet you watch the story and it is undeniable to see God’s hand at work in the lives of these people and the lives of these nuns and what is going on,” Stanbary said.

“You see stuff like that happening all the time — through these amazing miracles where you witness God at work — and it blows your mind because, from a human perspective, what is taking place should not be possible, it should not be happening.”

Dates and ticket information When: April 25 to May 25. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 7:45 p.m., Sunday performances at 2 p.m. An additional 2 p.m. matinee will be on Saturday, May 24.

Where: Open Window Theatre, 1313 Chestnut Ave., #102 in Minneapolis.

Tickets: $14 to $28, with discounts for advance tickets, students, seniors and children; available at openwindow theatre.org or by calling (800) 838-3006.

Doors open 40 minutes prior to each performance.

TheCatholicSpirit.com April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

22

Calendar

Retreats Mini-Retreat: Believing Despite the Evidence at Benedictine Center, Maplewood — May 10: 9 a.m. to noon at 2675 Benet Road. Participants will examine the resurrection of Christ as a lesson in hope, and learn that the tomb was a beginning and not the end. Father Michael Byron, associate professor of theology at Saint Paul Seminary and pastor of St. Pascal’s Church in St. Paul, will lead the retreat. Cost is $30. For information, visit stpaulsmonastery.org and click Benedictine Center.

Day Retreat for Physically and/or Mentally Challenged Adults at St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn Center — May 17: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 7025 Halifax Ave. N. Cost is $20 and includes lunch and optional dinner. The retreat will include Mass, adoration, sacrament Divine Mercy of reconciliation and quiet devotions time for prayer and reflection.

The day will also include Divine Mercy singing, bingo and crafts.

Sunday is April 27.

Caregivers are also welcome.

For a full listing of For more information, contact parish celebrations Deacon Sean or Joan Curtan in the archdiocese, at (651) 291-4543 or visit The Catholic curtans@archspm.org.

Spirit.com/divine mercy.

Young adults For a statewide listing, visit www.

West Metro Young Adults catholicnewsnet.

Theology on Tap at Mozza com.

Mia, Edina — April 29: Doors open at 7 p.m. at 3910

W. 50th St. Alyssa Bormes will speak on “Why We Need Jerry Springer and Reality TV.” For information, visit www.facebook.com/ events/839927819356024/

Brewery and more. Food service will continue until 9 p.m. Adult beverages and refreshments will be available for sale. There will also be live music. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. For information, visit www.c-dh.org.

West Metro Young Adults Theology on Tap at Mozza Mia, Edina — May 6: Doors open at 7 p.m. at 3910 W. 50th St. Dr. William Stevenson will speak on “Faith and Reason: Are They Compatible?” For information, visit www. facebook.com/events/813858108644272/

School events Spring open house at Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield — April 24: 6 p.m. at 6600 Nicollet Ave. S. For students entering grades 9 to 12. For information, email jfoley@ academyofholyangels.org or edapper@ academyofholyangels.org .

“Oklahoma!” presented at Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul — April 25 to 27 and May 2 to 4: Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors, and are available for purchase in the main office or at the box office before each performance.

A Taste of CDH at Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul — April 26: 6 p.m. at 55 S. Albert St. Admission includes all food and beverage items offered by 30 area restaurants and vendors with a CDH connection, including O’Gara’s, Plum’s, Mancini’s, Skinner’s, Cossetta’s, Shamrocks, Luci Ancora, El Burrito Mercado, the Lift Bridge

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Blessed Trinity’s eighth annual Fiesta Latina at Assumption, Richfield — April 27: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 305 E. 77th St. Fun for the whole family including music, entertainment, games, 50/50 cash raffle, prize raffles and homemade authentic food. For information visit www.btcsmn.org or call the school office at (612) 866-6906.

Rummage sale at Blessed Trinity School, Richfield — May 7 to 10: Presale Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. with $1 admission. Sale continues Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday (half price day) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday (bag day) from 8 a.m. to noon at 6720 Nicollet Ave. S.

Other events Council of Catholic Women meeting at St. Helena, Minneapolis — April 29: 7:30 p.m. at 3204 E 43rd St. Dr. Deborah Savage, professor of theology and philosophy at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, will present “John Paul II Speaks to Women.” Cost is $5, complimentary tickets are available.

Reservations are not necessary. Call (612) 729-9445 or (612) 729-7344 with questions.

Siena Symposium Conference: Woman as Prophet and Servant of Truth at the

Don’t miss More events online Additional parish and school events in the archdiocese can be found at TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendar.

University of St. Thomas, St. Paul — May 3: 7:30 p.m. at the Owens Science Building, 3M Auditorium. Keynote address by Mary Eberstadt on “How the West Lost God.” Eberstadt is the author of several books, including Adam and Eve After the Pill.

‘The impact of pornography on children, youth and culture’ at Lumen Christi, St. Paul — May 7: 7 to 9 p.m. at 2055 Bohland Ave. Learn about what children and teenagers are exposed to in the media, how you can help them navigate a pornified culture, and how the impact of pornography has escalated through the reach of technology.

Catholic Man Night at Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale — May 9: 6:30 p.m. holy hour/ confessions/talk, 7:30 p.m. Dinner (burgers/ brats/beer) and 8 p.m. raffle, discussion, fellowship at 4087 W. Broadway. Bishop Andrew Cozzens will present, “The Miracle of the Resurrection.”

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.

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23

In grieving, mother consoled by legacy son left behind Continued from page 24

Order the book

boy. I consider it to be such a privilege to see this child’s whole life, to be there when he entered [the world] and then to be there when he left.”

One of the consolations in her grieving is the legacy Zach left behind.

It has a spiritual form in the many faith lessons he embraced and shared with her and others. But, it also has a monetary form in the fund created in his honor that is designed to help others diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

It’s called the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, and it has swelled to $740,000. Laura and Rob have given away $500,000 of that money to a local research team at the University of Minnesota formed specifically to address this rare form of cancer.

“I now have hope that we will crack this thing open [and find a cure],” Laura said. “And, wouldn’t that be a glorious end to this story, that Zach’s life and death will eventually lead to other kids not having to go through what he had to. That’s our earthly hope.”

But, she makes a clear distinction

“Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom’s Small Prayer in a Big Way” can be pre-ordered at www.flyalittlehigher. com.

Book signing and concert Laura Sobiech will sign copies of her book from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 4 at the Mall of America rotunda in Bloomington. Copies will be available for purchase. Musical guests including Zach’s former bandmate Sammy Brown, Zach’s uncle Luke Frederich and local recording artist Alison Scott will perform “Clouds” and other songs. between earthly and heavenly hope.

That has been one of the most important parts of the faith journey for her, and why she has been able to navigate all of the emotional ups and downs that come with the catastrophic illness of a child.

“I spent so much time thinking about things like suffering,” she said.

“Why God allows it. Joy. What joy

means. And, especially, hope. Hope was the big thing for me. You hear these things all the time, like our hope is in eternity, but what does that mean on a practical level?

“It was something I struggled with from the very moment that we found out he had a tumor. In that moment, I knew God was asking us to trust him. I just knew that from the very

depths of my soul that that’s what was being asked of us, and it was going to be hard. But, I said yes.”

As time went on, she knew that her yes was echoing the yes of her son — and, ultimately, the yes of Jesus, who accepted death on a cross because he knew it was the only way that people could be saved.

Laura now understands that simple and timeless truth more deeply, even as she continues the grieving process that she senses could get harder in year No. 2 without Zach.

“We miss him. We miss Zach terribly,” she said. “But, on the other hand, we are so blessed because we’ve gotten to see the amazing things that he’s been able to accomplish. And, I don’t think that the impact would have been as great had he not died. I don’t think that his message and his music would have had the response that it’s had, had he not had [cancer as] part of his story. And so, we are a family that is blessed in the sense that we have been able to see the fruit of our suffering, and what God has done with it. And I think that has helped us.”

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The Last Word

24

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

L

of our lives was death. It was looming, and everything else just popped against that background.”

Of course, the brilliant colors soon fade, and the leaves eventually fall.

That process mirrored the final stage of Zach’s journey, which took place over the winter and early spring of 2013. The last weeks and days of his life are well documented in the book, which offers a deeply personal and intimate look at the final chapter of Zach’s life, which also happens to be the last chapter of the book.

The simple yet powerful descriptions of that intense time take the reader into the room of a teenager who changed the world and continues to impact the culture in which he lived through the music he left behind.

His now-famous song, “Clouds,” has more than a million hits on YouTube, and a line from this song is the title of Laura’s book.

aura Sobiech considers herself an ordinary mom who spent 18 years with an extraordinary

son.

Readers of her soon-to-be-released book may have a slightly different opinion. Once they are done with the 340 pages of “Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom’s Small Prayer in a Big Way,” they might come to the conclusion that Laura is every bit as remarkable as her son Zach, who died almost a year ago and sent shock waves through the culture with his music and amazing courage in facing a rare and fatal form of cancer called osteosarcoma.

On May 6, just days after what would have been Zach’s 19th birthday, and just two weeks before the one-year anniversary of his death (May 20, 2013), Laura is releasing a book she started writing just one month after Zach died. It gives readers an inside look at how Zach and his family struggled since the initial diagnosis in 2009, and how faith helped all of them get through it.

Laura’s words are riveting, raw and full of references to a God who gave her hope in the midst of a deadly diagnosis, and gave her a keen eye for the beauty that unfolded during a grueling journey that would lead many others into despair.

Joy in midst of suffering The book actually began long before Zach died, when she decided to write down her reflections as he suffered through hundreds of doctor visits, dozens of surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy over a span of four and a half years.

“Throughout our journey with cancer, I’d started writing on Caring Bridge as a way to update people, but also as a way to take time to just sit and reflect on what we were going through — the medical stuff but also the spiritual stuff,” said Laura, 44, a member of St. Michael in Stillwater with her husband, Rob, and children.

“It was a really great tool for me,” she said. “Then, it turned out to be something that people were responding to. In unexpected ways, people were relating to what I was talking about. Through that process, I had tucked away different memories and different poignant moments in our journey. What I was really struck by were those moments of pure joy in the midst of suffering.

“In the middle of it, I was so profoundly graced by how beautiful it was. As hard as it was, it was still so beautiful. So, I wanted to take some time to write about that. Through our journey, I had tucked away these different things that would come up and I knew I wanted to write about them in some way. I didn’t think it would be a book. I didn’t think I had it in me to actually put it in that format. It seemed too big of a project.”

But, she had a great source of support just a few miles away. Long-time friends Stephanie Landsem and Anne Brown (mother of Zach’s longtime friend and music partner, Sammy), both authors, encouraged her and even helped her find a publisher. One thing led to another, and Laura ended up turning in the first draft of her

April 24, 2014 • The Catholic Spirit

‘Extraordinary grace’

‘Fly a Little

Higher’ Mom writes about son Zach’s illness and death

manuscript right around Labor Day weekend.

“This is our story of faith,” Laura said. “We’re not a perfect family.

We’re very average, we’re very normal people who had an extraordinary thing happen through God’s grace and [want] to share that with the world.”

As a mother of four children, Laura’s life has been filled with many mundane moments, like driving kids to school and cleaning up many messes. But, when one of those children is dying, the simple can become the sacred. Like the time when a visit to the refrigerator became a powerful marker of the journey.

“I was cleaning out the refrigerator and I came across a container of spaghetti,” she said. “That was a meal that [Zach] made for us. And, I remember having this moment that so many moms do when their kids bring home an art project. You’re just inun-

dated with all of these things that your child has made. And, at some point, you have to throw them away.

And, I remember having this moment of sheer agony. ‘How do I throw this [spaghetti] away? I know this will be the last meal that he’s going to make.’ He was too sick [to cook any more]. And, at that moment, it just hits you. I have to do this.

“Another moment that stands out is the leaves in the fall, the fall before Zach died. We knew he was terminal.

We were coming back from a friend’s funeral, a kid that he roomed with at the hospital who also had osteosarcoma. I remember just being so overwhelmed by the beauty around me that day as we drove home from Forest Lake. The leaves were just screaming with color. I was just like, ‘I can’t get enough of this.’ I remember thinking, ‘What is with me? Why am I so enraptured with this?’ And then I realized it was because the backdrop

But, there’s a price for recounting the family’s journey in such stunning detail. Writing several drafts of the book, and editing it four or five times, brought Laura back to those heartwrenching days, when bad news flowed through their lives, and she had to watch her son suffer through some excruciatingly painful procedures. One that was particularly hard to watch was something called a port flush, which involved sticking a large needle into Zach’s chest.

She could read the pain on his face during the procedure and would agonize that she couldn’t do anything about it. Yet, it was those very moments that produced some of the deepest conversations of the entire journey.

“We were coming home from that [procedure]” one day, Laura said. “I was just thinking about how much he hated having it and how patient he was with it. He really didn’t complain.

“I said, ‘You know, Zach, are you ever just mad? Just angry that you got cancer?’ And, he thought about it for a little bit and then he said, ‘You know, I would rather it be me than somebody I loved, because I can handle it. But, I couldn’t handle watching somebody [else] go through this.’

“At the time, I think he had just turned 15. He had been through some really hard stuff at this point. He had to have his hip replaced, he had to have lung surgery twice. I just remember it really hitting me at that moment that he had such extraordinary grace. He had such a capacity for empathy. He could see through his own suffering and think about what it was like for his friends and his family.”

Actually, Zach may have been right about it being harder to watch suffering than to experience it. During a 45-minute interview about the book and her journey through Zach’s sickness and death, Laura broke down and began to cry just once — when she was asked to describe what it was like seeing her son in pain.

“I can so relate to [the Blessed Virgin] Mary and what she went through with her son, as far as witnessing the suffering,” Laura said. “It’s a powerful thing to witness [death], especially, I think, in a child. I gave birth to that Please turn to IN on page 23

Mealtime prayers Learning more about our faith The Catholic Spirit’s 4-page Rediscover: pullout section in each issue highlights a new Rediscover: theme for you and discuss with others.

Coming up May 8: What does it mean to pray with Mary?

As Christians, we’re called to give public witness to the faith

I HEART OF THE MATTER Father John Paul ERICKSON

n the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

My brothers and sisters, we are by our baptism missionaries! The light of Christ must shine through us in all we do and say. There is no part of our life that should not be influenced by our faith in Jesus, and no part of our life in Christ that can be separate from our call to mission, seeking to spread his kingdom and striving to preach his name.

Giving public witness to the faith is a critical component of the Christian way of life, which is, after all, the missionary’s way of life. We have been given the greatest of all gifts — communion with the triune God, and it is our responsibility to invite others into this same saving relationship of love that is membership within the Church.

Certainly the most important and effective

The Catholic Spirit • April 24, 2014

way that we do this is through lives of compassion, service and great love, serving as a kind of sacramental of God’s holy presence within a struggling world. But public acts of devotion are also important, including praying before and after meals in public.

Sanctifying family time Such an act of public piety can be difficult at times and can even be the source of embarrassment, especially if one is with friends or family who do not share our faith and perhaps even find it bothersome.

But the silent power of a bowed head and a fervent prayer said in a public setting can be the powerful medium by which God reaches out and touches one who is searching for meaning and salvation.

In my own life, I have been especially impressed by young families, who, in the midst of all of the challenges that accompany taking youngsters out for dinner, still take the Please turn to CHURCH on back page of section

Rediscover-faith.org

“The silent power of a bowed head and a fervent prayer said in a public setting can be the powerful medium by which God reaches out and touches one who is searching for meaning and salvation.”

Father John Paul Erickson

A time to give thanks: Faribault family feasts on prayer before meals

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit Six children of Justin and Lynette Stroh of Divine Mercy in Faribault take their place around the dining room table.

Overlooking them is a crucifix on one wall and a photo of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on another.

The spiritual ambience is unmistakable. As the chatter about their day in school subsides, the most important moment takes place.

“It’s not just about duty.

I’m making a conscious decision to invite God to be a part of our family, especially during the time when we’re together, eating food and having conversation about what happened today.”

Almost in unison, all bow their heads, fold their hands and come to silence, as their father leads the prayer they have prayed together several thousand times: “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Great care is taken to deliberately recite these words, so that their meaning sinks in.

“It’s not just about duty,” said Justin, 47, who works at Divine Mercy parish as a steward of faith Justin Stroh formation. “I’m making a conscious decision to invite God to be a part of our family, especially during the time when we’re together, eating food and having conversation about what happened today.”

take some of them away from the dinner table, the standard is relaxed. But, never for long. They always come back to a tradition both Justin and Lynette grew up with and want very much to pass along to their own kids.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re serving soup and salad or a big Thanksgiving meal,” said Lynette, 46. “It’s the same prayer, it’s the same blessing. It’s a prayer of thanksgiving.”

The way the family practices the routine even becomes evangelistic at times. They pray the simple meal prayer at restaurants.

One of their favorite places to go is Godfather’s Pizza in Faribault, just a couple of miles from their home. When the pizza arrives at their table, they take a brief pause for prayer before digging in.

Long-time practice

“The first time, the kids said, ‘Do we really have to do this in public, Dad?’” Justin said. “And, I said, ‘Well, it’s the same God who made the pizza at Godfather’s. It’s called Godfather’s. I think we should pray a meal prayer at Godfather’s. I mean, c’mon.’”

Justin and Lynette have dedicated themselves to this important mealtime prayer throughout the 20 years they have been raising their eight children (their two oldest have graduated from high school and moved out).

Though not intending to draw attention to themselves, the Strohs often witness other patrons taking notice. And, the comments Justin and Lynette hear are overwhelmingly positive.

During brief periods when their children’s activities

Another way the mealtime prayer ritual gets passed on

The Catholic Spirit •April 24, 2014

to others is when guests come to the Stroh dinner. Often, it’s friends of their children spot at the table.

“They don’t say a word, [but] you can te watching,” Lynette said. “Even though the they’re going to remember it, and they’ll a own family one day, hopefully.”

Sometimes, the guests are older, and unf Stroh family. Like the single mother and h Lynette met while doing volunteer work a Vincent de Paul Society in Faribault.

“One Thanksgiving, we invited a family nowhere to go for Thanksgiving — just a p Lynette said. “And, we invited them over. really nervous about that. ‘Why are we do don’t know these people.’ It was great.”

Like every other meal, it began with the they always say. The guests didn’t commen came back again, but that doesn’t bother L Justin in the least. In fact, Lynette said she that they were able to give without expect return.

Yet, there most certainly is a reward in b this mealtime ritual.

hs’ home for n who take a

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being faithful to

Bumping into prayer

Clockwise from left, Lynette Stroh gets plates ready moments before beginning the traditional mealtime prayer with Isaac, Sarah, Daniel, Justin, John Paul, Rebecca and Elizabeth.

Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit

Reaping the fruits Because the kids are so used to it, they rarely drag their feet in coming to the table. And, Lynette and Justin have seen the fruits of praying before meals when their two oldest children, Mary Clare, 20, and Catherine, 19, come home for a visit.

“They’ll gather the kids, sometimes: ‘All right, everybody, c’mon. Let’s go, it’s time to pray,’” Justin said.

“They’ll be the ones initiating things.”

Further evidence of the impact is the fact that Mary Clare chose to serve a year in NET Ministries, with Catherine nearing the end of her one-year of missionary work with NET. And, next year, John Paul, 18 and a senior at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, will take his turn with NET.

On Feb. 25, the roads were laden with ice, which would not melt in the subzero temperatures. Wanting to avoid the crowded freeways on my way to St. Paul, I took the slower, but safer side streets — which began an adventure.

Just as I was marveling at my steady progress, I braked for a stoplight, and proceeded to slide three car lengths into the car in front of me. There was a beautiful man in the next car, and for him this accident was the awful culmination of many terrible months.

In what can only have been a gift from God, I was utterly calm, able to call the insurance company and tow truck, while assuring this fragile man that everything would be made right. Peace filled our encounter.

Although my car was towed westward, my journey was still eastward. When my cab driver didn’t know the location of St. Thomas, a stranger drove me there while his mother purchased eyeglasses. It happens that Joe and Regina volunteer at a food shelf in Minneapolis. As a thank you for their help, I volunteered with them a few weeks ago.

PRAYER The regular workers at the food shelf, including the JOURNAL pastor, were intrigued by my presence. “So your car accident was a gift?” I assured them it was because I had met the man in the car, and Joe and Regina, and all of that had the Alyssa makings of a gift.

BORMES As the conversation progressed, the pastor asked where I attended church. “I admire you Catholics. You are brave when you pray before meals in public because everyone knows who you are,” he said.

Of course, he was referring to making the Sign of the Cross, which is often a sign of Catholicism. This began another journey — one in my heart.

Are we really brave?

Why do we pray in public — if we pray in public?

And, do we cross ourselves?

A public witness

“And then the quiet voice was heard. She gently explained that she prays in public as a witness because so many people have drifted away from the Church. She hopes that her prayer, which includes the Sign of the Cross, can be a reminder to them of the good of the Church.”

I posed these questions to women on a retreat. Their answers gave my heart a place to rest.

One recent convert said she only remembers to cross herself part of the time, but intends to always do it. All the other women spoke of crossing themselves each time. A few women admitted to an embarrassment when they first began to pray in public, but no longer feel that way.

Then, the answers began to blossom: “I was a convert, and my husband began it.”

“If I am really grateful for what I’ve been given, why would I hide it?”

“I want to teach our kids that it is OK to be Catholic in public.”

“I pray in public for the same reason I Alyssa Bormes pray in private — to thank God.” “What kind of message would it send to my children if I only prayed in private?”

“It is a subtle evangelization.”

“It is the one time to boldly share my faith with no fear.”

“Jesus Christ did all of this for me, so I must acknowledge him publicly.”

And then the quiet voice was heard. She gently explained that she prays in public as a witness because so many people have drifted away from the Church.

She hopes that her prayer, which includes the Sign of the Cross, can be a reminder to them of the good of the Church. Perhaps her small act of faith will ignite a spark, and become a sort of kindling for a bonfire of love for Christ and his Church.

I caught my breath; my heart was humbled with the expanse of her faith. I quietly offered thanks for the providence of those icy roads that led me on this journey.

Bormes, a member of Holy Family in St. Louis Park, is the author of the book “The Catechism of Hockey.”

As Lynette and Justin continue to watch their children leave the nest, they are reflecting on how important and meaningful it has been to gather around the table and recite a simple prayer before enjoying a meal.

“For me, the gift of praying together with my family is one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in my life,” Justin said. “Prayer before meals is an expression of something even deeper that we have as a family.”

Rediscover-faith.org

Registration opens May 1 for Rediscover: celebration

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit Registration opens May 1 for the 2014 Rediscover: Catholic Celebration slated for Oct. 3-4 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

To register, visit www.rediscover-faith.org. For those without access to the Internet, call the Rediscover: Program Support Helpline at (651) 2914411 to register. People may purchase individual tickets, and parishes can buy group registrations.

With the theme “Horizon of Hope,” the event will bring together Catholics in the archdiocese to celebrate Mass, hear dynamic local and national speakers, and learn about worship Jeff and service opportunities. (See CAVINS sidebar below for a list of speakers.)

But rather than an event where people sit and listen to talks, organizers are billing the celebration as “an experience” — a tangible way people can participate in their Catholic faith.

“We hope to engage the faithful during this celebration,” said Jeff Cavins, director of

evangelization for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “We want to establish or renew a relationship with people and hopefully work with them throughout the year. This is just the beginning.

If you need hope, you need to be here.”

New to the celebration, which was held on a single day last October, is a Friday evening session geared toward adults in their 20s and 30s. It will feature speakers, live music and social time with refreshments.

On Saturday, there also will be “practical and inspirational” break-out sessions for youth, young families, men and women that are targeted to their specific needs. “Redescubre,” a special segment for Latinos, will also be featured.

As the new director of evangelization for the archdiocese, Cavins oversees the nationally recognized Rediscover: initiative. He emceed at the 2013 celebration and is leading this year’s planning efforts with Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens; Crystal Crocker, a Rediscover: consultant and this year’s event chairwoman; and an executive committee.

“It really is a family gathering that involves the lay, clergy and diaconate leading our hearts to Christ in hope,” Cavins said.

More than 1,000 people who are currently in or are graduates of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute will volunteer their time and

talent in some way at the celebration.

The event’s theme of hope was inspired by Pope Francis’ Advent message encouraging Catholics to unite as a Church: “Let us rediscover the beauty of being together along the way: the Church, with her vocation and mission, and the whole of humanity, the people, the civilizations, the cultures, all together on the paths of time.

“The journey is never finished,” Pope Francis continued. “Just as in each of our own lives, there is always a need to restart, to rise again, to recover a sense of the goal of one’s own existence.”

“The idea of hope is a hope that is based on the work of Christ and the relationship we’re called to work with him,” Cavins said.

Also new this year is an intentional prayer effort for the event and evangelization in general that will launch before the celebration.

Even with a larger venue that can accommodate 12,500 people, organizers expect the event to sell out as it did last year, so they encourage early registration.

More than 5,000 people attended last year’s celebration at the St. Paul RiverCentre, and others listened to a live national broadcast of the event on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “Plan to be engaged in the love of being Catholic in laughter, joy and hope,” Crocker said.

2014 Rediscover: Catholic Celebration speakers Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City Archbishop Coakley calls Catholics to embrace the Archbishop challenges and Paul opportunities of the COAKLEY New Evangelization. A “refreshing and dynamic” speaker, he heads up one of the most successful men’s conferences in the country. Last fall, he was named president of Catholic Relief Services’ board of directors.

Father Dave Dwyer

perform at various World Youth Days,

Before answering the call to priesthood, Father Dwyer directed television for MTV and Comedy Central. He is director of Busted Halo®, a ministry and media outreach to Catholics in their 20s and 30s. He has offered commentary for CNN, The History Channel, NBC Nightly News, Fox & Friends, The Today Show, The New York Times, Newsweek and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Father Stan Fortuna Father Fortuna has used his experience as a former professional jazz musician to establish music and message. He travels around the world speaking and performing, with proceeds from bookings and sales going toward his work with poor and impoverished families. He has been invited to speak and

EWTN’s program, “Life on the Rock.”

Scott Hahn As a best-selling author, popular speaker and teacher, Hahn has delivered numerous talks nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith.

His talks have been

Curtis Martin Martin is a proven dynamic speaker who has the ability to help audiences discover a vision for life. He is the president and founder of FOCUS — Fellowship of Catholic University Students — and author of the best-selling book “Made for More.” He co-hosts a new

New Evangelization.

Scott HAHN

fallen away Catholics embrace the Catholic faith.

Father Mike Schmitz Known nationally for his inspiring homilies, consistent hilarity and genuine coolness, Father Schmitz is quickly becoming a Catholic household name. He serves as director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, as well as the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Church has a long tradition of also praying after meals time and effort to say grace before meals, even in public settings.

What a moving witness this is of the sanctification of family time, when we break bread and just be with one another. And these prayers, infrequently said perfectly, are a call to the world, a clarion call of sanity and right order in the midst of a landscape so often marred by disintegration and by poverty of right relationships.

But perhaps even more basic than our call to mission and Christian witness is the fundamental duty we have to thank God for all he has given us.

It is a moral imperative to offer God gratitude. While the most effective way we do this is through the holy Mass, it is also the case that prayers before meals, and afterwards, help us to fulfill the essential task of the Christian, which is to give God the glory in all things.

While many Christians say grace

The Catholic Spirit • April 24, 2014

before meals, (“Bless us Lord…”) many of us forget the great tradition of the Church of also praying after a meal.

While versions of the prayer vary, the traditional thanksgiving prayer after meals goes something like this: “We give thee thanks for all thy benefits, O Almighty God, who livest and reignest world without end.” Often the prayer for the poor souls is added.

“And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”

Rediscover-faith.org

Perhaps you and your family might consider adding this post-meal prayer to your daily prayer routine, a routine that is meant to give glory and thanks to God, and hopefully, shine a light for others, leading them to the God who grants all good things to those who seek his blessing.

Father Erickson is director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship.