The Catholic Spirit - August 10, 2023

CELEBRATING SCHOOL SISTERS Judy Menden, center, who retired June 30 from St. Michael in Prior Lake as director of facilities and liturgy, poses July 29 with two School Sisters of Notre Dame who served at St. Michael Catholic School, which she attended from first through eighth grade. Sister Rita Schwalbe, left, was Menden’s sixth-grade teacher during the 1965-66 school year, and Sister Marion Welter, right, became principal around 1970. These and other sisters from their order came to St. Michael for a celebration of jubilees. Sister Marion was one of eight sisters celebrating a 70th jubilee, with 17 jubiliarians total, ranging from 40 to 75 years. Menden worked for the parish from 1996 to 2023 and volunteered for three years before that.

‘Our Lady in a Hurry,’ do you like that?

Let’s all say it together: ‘Our Lady in a Hurry.’ She hurries to be close to us. She hurries because she is a mother.

Pope Francis speaking to 200,000 pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal. The pope called for a new Marian devotional title, “Our Lady in a Hurry,” Aug. 5, to describe how Mary hastens to care for all her children. “There are many Marian invocations,” the pope told the crowd, saying one that is not common and should be comes from the biblical account of the visitation when Mary sets off to see her cousin who also is pregnant. “Every time there is a problem, every time we invoke her, she doesn’t delay, she hurries,” the pope told the crowd, which was a mix of young people visiting Portugal for World Youth Day and thousands of locals who came from across the country to Fátima to see the pope.

NEWS notes

A group of 36 sixth through 12th graders gathered Aug. 1 for a service day at Calvary Cemetery in Faribault. The group scrubbed tombstones, pulled weeds and watered plants, among other tasks. “In this act of service, we felt the embrace of our faith and the importance of preserving the memories of those who have gone before us,” a Facebook post from Divine Mercy in Faribault read, in part. Other service days this summer have included visiting the elderly at New Perspectives Senior Living in Faribault; helping sort, fold, label and organize uniform donations through Divine Mercy Catholic School; and pack meals for nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. It’s all part of the Summer Stretch program, which allows high school teens to mentor middle school youth; they spend the mornings in service and the afternoons in leisure — for example, visiting a water park, a St. Paul Saints baseball game or a ropes course.

Joan Walerius has been conducting Vacation Bible School for about 15 years at St. John the Baptist in Savage, but the unity displayed among 189 preschool through sixth graders and 95 volunteers on the last day of this year’s July 31 to Aug. 4 event was striking, she said. “As I looked out (during a hymn) everybody was praising and worshipping” and swaying to the music, including parents and caretakers who had come to pick up their children, Walerius said. The unity was built through a week that included students in grades four through six conducting service projects to feed the hungry, make fleece blankets for the elderly, create laminated placemats with inspirational messages and pictures for Meals on Wheels, and write “kindness cards” for distribution among parishioners by the pastoral care team, Walerius said. It also was the third year in person since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 prompted the parish to offer VBS online, she said. The VBS in 2021 was deliberately limited to 130 in-person students as the pandemic began to wane, and last year there were 178 students, Walerius said. This year’s numbers were more in line with the years before the pandemic, she said.

Individuals broke into and vandalized St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in St. Anthony July 22. School officials said the vandals caused thousands of dollars in damage that so far has required more than 700 hours of cleaning, and the work continues. A photo of two individuals wanted for questioning is posted on the school’s Facebook page. The school offers a preschool program and classes for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

PRACTICING Catholic

On the Aug. 4 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviewed Marci Franzen, project manager in the Office of Communications at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Julie Woodruff, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Red Wing, who described their recent visit to the Diocese of Kitui in Kenya, as part of a partnership with the archdiocese. Also featured were Amy Cummings, executive director of Partnership for Youth, who discussed Steubenville Youth Conferences; and Franciscan Brother of Peace Paschal Listi, who described his order’s charism and work, and reflected on Blessed Solanus Casey. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicingcatholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

ST. JOHN VIANNEY FEAST Father Jonathan Kelly, center, rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, talks with Bishop Richard Pates, left, former SJV rector, and Rob Vischer, president of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, during a gathering Aug. 4 on the feast of St. John Vianney as more than 200 alumni from Nazareth Hall (open 1923-1970) and St. John Vianney (since 1968) celebrated 100 years of seminary formation in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

ON THE COVER: Artist Joshua Cunningham paints a landscape scene at Pickerel Lake in Lilydale Aug. 1. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

COURTESY ST. JOHN VIANNEY

COURTESY BRITTANY SEABURG, ST. MICHAEL

FROMTHEARCHBISHOP

ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Passing on the faith

Twins fans can speak about the summer as baseball season.

Lakeside cabin aficionados can refer to these months as boating season. For me as a bishop, however, the season is surely characterized by the installation of pastors. Just about every weekend, I am presiding at installations where I have the privilege of celebrating God’s goodness as he works to bring new gifts to our parishes and new opportunities to our priests. I have been especially edified this year by the openness of our priests to accepting new — and usually more challenging — assignments and to our faithful who are so eager to open their hearts and homes to their pastors even when there’s some lingering sadness about bidding farewell to their predecessors.

The rite for the installation, drawn from the Book of Blessings, highlights the collaboration that the Church has rightly expected from its priests and laity since the time of the Second Vatican Council. The new pastor is encouraged to share his ministry with his staff “in a spirit of mutual trust, common prayer and genuine concern.” He is to recognize his parish pastoral council as the “voice” of his people and to “always be attentive to the needs they express.”

The rite calls the pastor to be a “loving father, a gentle shepherd and wise teacher” of his people, guiding them to Christ. It’s in that context that the rite calls upon the pastor to lead his people in professing their faith by reciting the Creed. He’s obligated as well to take an oath, so that the bishop and the faithful can count on him to “preserve communion in the Church” and to hold fast to the deposit of faith in its entirety, to hand it on faithfully and to make it shine forth, shunning any teachings that are contrary to it. Every pastor in this

Transmitiendo la fe

Los fanáticos de los “Twins” pueden hablar del verano como una temporada de béisbol. Los aficionados a las cabañas junto al lago pueden referirse a estos meses como temporada de canotaje. Sin embargo, para mí, como obispo, la temporada es sin duda caracterizado por la instalación de pastores. Prácticamente todos los fines de semana presido instalaciones donde tengo el privilegio de celebrar la bondad de Dios mientras trabaja para traer nuevos regalos a nuestras parroquias y nuevas oportunidades a nuestros sacerdotes. He sido especialmente edificado este año por la apertura de nuestros sacerdotes a aceptar nuevos, y generalmente más desafiantes, asignaciones y a nuestros fieles que están tan ansiosos de abrir sus corazones y hogares a sus pastores incluso cuando hay cierta tristeza persistente por despedirse de sus predecesores.

El rito de la instalación, extraído del Libro de las Bendiciones, destaca la colab oración que la Iglesia ha esperado con razón de sus sacerdotes y laicos desde la época del Concilio Vaticano II. Se alienta al nuevo pastor a compartir su ministerio con su personal “en un espíritu de mutuoconfianza, oración común y preocupación genuina”. Debe reconocer a su consejo pastoral parroquial como la “voz” de su

Not a day goes by when I don’t ask myself in the course of my examination of conscience if I’m faithfully passing on our faith and acting in communion with the pope. I count on your prayers that I may exercise this duty well.

archdiocese has taken that oath.

It’s essentially the same oath that I took at the vigil on the evening before my ordination as a bishop. At the ordination itself, moreover, I had to express my resolve to “proclaim the Gospel of Christ faithfully and unfailingly,” to “guard the deposit of faith, pure and entire according to the tradition preserved always and everywhere in the Church from the time of the Apostles,” and to “remain in the Church’s unity, with the Order of Bishops under the authority of the successor of the blessed Apostle Peter.” Not a day goes by when I don’t ask myself in the course of my examination of conscience if I’m faithfully passing on our faith and acting in communion with the pope. I count on your prayers that I may exercise this duty well.

While there are particular responsibilities in this area for the pope, bishops and priests, the task of passing on the faith falls to all who are baptized. As was stated in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium”: “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of Christ, according to his state” (LG 12). That responsibility is particularly clear in the case of

pueblo y a “estar siempre atentos a las necesidades que expresan”.

El rito llama al párroco a ser “padre amoroso, pastor tierno y maestro sabio” de su personas, guiándolas a Cristo. Es en ese contexto que el rito llama al pastor a dirigir su personas en la profesión de su fe recitando el Credo. También está obligado a prestar juramento, así que que el obispo y los fieles pueden contar con él para “preservar la comunión en la Iglesia” y retener íntegramente el depósito de la fe, transmitirlo fielmente y hacerlo resplandecer adelante, evitando cualquier enseñanza que sea contraria a ella. Cada pastor en esta arquidiócesis ha tomado ese juramento.

Es esencialmente el mismo juramento que hice en la vigilia la noche antes de mi ordenación como obispo. En la misma ordenación, además, tuve que expresar mi resolución de “anunciar el Evangelio de Cristo fiel e indefectiblemente”, para “guardar el depósito de la fe, pura e íntegra según la tradición conservada siempre y en todas partes en la Iglesia desde el tiempo de los Apóstoles”, y “permanecer en la unidad de la Iglesia, con el Orden de los Obispos bajo la autoridad del sucesor del bienaventurado apóstol Pedro”. No pasa un día sin que me pregunte en el curso de mi examen de conciencia si estoy transmitiendo fielmente nuestra fe y actuando en comunión con el papa. Cuento con sus oraciones para que pueda ejercer bien este deber.

parents, “who have the first responsibility for the education of their children” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2223), passing on to them what we believe. In the Document on Christian Education, “Gravissimum Educationis,” the fathers of the Second Vatican Council noted that “it is particularly in the Christian family, enriched by the grace and office of the sacrament of matrimony, that children should be taught from their early years to have a knowledge of God according to the faith received in Baptism, to worship Him and to love their neighbor” (GE 3).

I always feel privileged when parents turn to our parishes and to our Catholic schools to assist them in fulfilling their sacred duty to educate their children in the faith. We have such a strong tradition in this archdiocese of a fruitful collaboration with parents, going all the way back to the arrival of the first Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1851, who traveled up the Mississippi at the invitation of our first bishop, Bishop Joseph Cretin, to assist in the work of Catholic education. I feel grateful for the generosity of those sisters, and the thousands of priests, women and men religious, and lay faithful, who like them have dedicated themselves over the decades to the work of parish catechesis and Catholic education.

I feel blessed to be reminded each day of their phenomenal contribution. Living on the grounds of Visitation School, which this year is celebrating its 150th anniversary, I can’t help but recall the contribution of the Visitation Sisters and all who have collaborated with them in the work of passing on the faith. As we prepare in these days throughout the archdiocese for yet another school year and catechetical year, may our hearts be filled with gratitude for the opportunities that God gives to each of us to pass on the treasure that is our faith.

Si bien existen responsabilidades particulares en esta área para el Papa, los obispos y los sacerdotes, la tarea de transmitir la fe corresponde a todos los bautizados. Como se afirma en la Constitución Dogmática sobre la Iglesia, “Lumen Gentium”, “La obligación de difundir la fe se impone a cada discípulo de Cristo, según su estado” (LG 12). Esa responsabilidad es particularmente clara en el caso de los padres, “quienes tienen la primera responsabilidad en la educación de sus hijos” (Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica 2223) transmitiéndoles lo que creemos. en el documentosobre la Educación Cristiana, “Gravissimum Educationis”, los padres del Concilio Vaticano II, señaló que “es particularmente en la familia cristiana, enriquecida por la gracia y el oficio de el sacramento del matrimonio, que los niños deben ser enseñados desde sus primeros años a tener una conocimiento de Dios según la fe recibida en el Bautismo, para adorarlo y amar a sus prójimo” (GE 3).

Siempre me siento privilegiado cuando los padres acuden a nuestras parroquias y a nuestras escuelas católicas para ayudar en el cumplimiento de su sagrado deber de educar a sus hijos en la fe. Tenemos un fuerte tradición en esta archidiócesis de una fructífera colaboración con los padres, que se remonta a la llegada de las primeras Hermanas de San José de Carondelet en 1851, quienes viajaron por el Mississippi por invitación de nuestro primer obispo, el obispo Joseph

Cretin, para ayudar en el trabajo de educación católica. Me siento agradecida por la generosidad de esas hermanas y los miles de sacerdotes, religiosas y religiosos y fieles laicos, que como ellos se han dedicado durante décadas al trabajo de la catequesis parroquial y la educación católica. Me siento bendecido cada día recordando su fenomenal contribución. Vivir en los terrenos de Visitation School, que este año celebra su 150 aniversario, no puedo dejar de recordar la aportación de las Hermanas de la Visitación y de cuantos han colaborado con ellas en la obra de transmitiendo la fe. Mientras nos preparamos en estos días en toda la arquidiócesis para otro año escolar y año de catequesis, que nuestros corazones se llenen de gratitud por las oportunidades que Dios nos da a cada uno de nosotros para transmitir el tesoro que es nuestra fe.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointment in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Effective August 1, 2023

Deacon Patrick Evans, granted status of retired deacon. Deacon Evans has served this archdiocese since his diaconate ordination in 1999, most recently at the Church of Saint Joseph in Red Wing.

Prayers with wings

Young adults gather near a gate at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport July 29 to board a plane headed for Portugal and World Youth Day Aug. 1-6. Before their departure, they collected more than 100 prayer intentions, which they placed in two boxes with a plan to pray for them during World Youth Day. “A lot of our pilgrims fundraised for their trip,” said Michelle Boris, 33, group leader and coordinator of young adult ministries at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake, “and so one way that we can give back to people and bring them along with us and thank them for that is to bring their (intentions) with us.” The group includes, front row, from left, Mary Polnaszek of St. Paul in Ham Lake, Maggie Schauff of St. Helena in Minneapolis, Katrina Silverdahl of St. Paul in Ham Lake, and Nikki Ngamne of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake. Back row, from left: Anna Alleven of Our Lady of Grace in Edina, Brandon Plante of St. Paul in Ham Lake, Gabriel Johnson of St. Mary of the Lake, Paul Lucke of Our Lady of Grace, Nick Brady (group leader) of St. Paul in Ham Lake, Thomas Meyer of Our Lady of Grace, Trevor Haugdahl of St. Mark in St. Paul, Michelle Boris, Nathan Schuster of St. Mary of the Lake, and Jacob Mischke of St. John Neumann in Eagan. Not pictured: Kari and Mason McGrath of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi. More on page 6

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Byrne Residence renovation in full swing

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

On a hot, sunny day in late July, workmen found a shady spot to cut siding for a west-facing wall of the Leo C. Byrne Residence in St. Paul. Their work is one task on a list of repair and renovation needs at the residence for retired priests.

Built in 1995, the 29-apartment residence located next to The St. Paul Seminary needs stucco and other exterior work; a new roof; balcony repairs; upgrades to lighting, heating and cooling systems; repairs for water damage; updates to apartments and to the building’s kitchen, dining room, community room and laundry facilities; and door and window replacement, in part to improve energy efficiency. The chapel on the third floor will be renovated. Work is expected to be completed by spring 2024.

“I like to say that we’re bringing it into the 21st century,” said Father Patrick Kennedy, a resident and a trustee of the Byrne Residence Charitable Trust, which owns, maintains and operates the residence. Replacing windows with more energy-efficient ones is “probably the biggest part of the project,” he said.

Renovations are needed now because the building was neglected along the way for a variety of reasons, Father Kennedy said. “This is a real opportunity to not only bring it up to snuff, but to provide for the next generation of priests who will live here.”

In an interview with The Catholic Spirit in November 2021, Deacon Phillip Stewart, administrator for the Byrne Residence, said about 80% of the priests at the residence remain active in ministry in some capacity, such as helping with Masses and confession.

As of Aug. 15, Deacon Stewart will reduce his time at the Byrne Residence, and Father Kennedy will assume the administrator role on an interim and volunteer basis.

People driving down the street may not notice a difference once renovations are complete, Father Kennedy said. “But when you walk through the building or when people move into the building, hopefully they will be able to plug things in and turn

lights on that will last (longer),” he said, in part due to use of LED technology. And though “no one looks at boilers,” the new ones will be “much more efficient” than the ones installed in 1995, Father Kennedy said.

In late 2021, Michelle and Patrick Fox, parishioners of St. Olaf in Minneapolis, led a fundraising campaign — using announcements from the pulpit and in parish bulletins, and special envelopes in the pews — that raised about $1.5 million for repairs from parishioners across Minnesota.

This fundraising effort has been further strengthened by a group of generous donors who have come forward and are helping to meet the $6.5 million goal, along with raising additional funds to create an endowment to help cover future capital expenditures at the residence, said Father Kennedy.

Father Jack Long, 73, who retired five years ago and first lived at a rectory for three years with two

Private donors continue quest to buy property for camp

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

A nonprofit group of private donors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is pursuing its goal of buying property for a Catholic summer camp for middle schoolers and for fall, winter and spring retreats for parishes and schools.

Last year, Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership members identified a 600-acre property in May Township in Washington County, but they continue “to face headwinds with the township and a group of lakeshore owners on Square Lake,” one of three lakes on the property, said Tim Healy, president of the partnership.

At the same time, partnership members have been in contact with “a number of people” from May Township who are “very supportive of what we’re trying to do,” Healy said. “They appreciate that we are reaching out to young people and … (offering) a positive alternative in an incredibly negative and damaging culture. Our goal all along has been to work with youth and eliminate the noise of the outside world, including social media, and help them through nature, God’s creation, hear God’s voice.”

Healy met with, and answered questions from, township board

DONOR’S MATCH

The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota is managing trust funds that are paying for renovations and ongoing maintenance at the Byrne Residence in St. Paul. The funds balance and commitments total nearly $6 million today, but according to its website, $11 million is needed for repairs and to fund ongoing maintenance at the residence for retired priests. An anonymous donor recently announced a donations match of up to $2 million made to the Leo C. Byrne Residence Maintenance Fund, which also is managed by the foundation. To learn more and to donate, visit ccf-mn org/byrneresidence

other priests, said his prior arrangement was a good community but he could no longer “handle the steps.” So, he moved to the Byrne Residence because, as he said, “I’d rather come in when I’m healthy.”

Father Long has known many in the building for years; he and Father Kennedy, for example, went through the seminary together 50 years ago, he said.

He likes that “if you desire community, you can find it in the building,” Father Long said. “You can go up to the reading room, you can go have dinner, lunch, breakfast, and if you want to be isolated, you can do that as well.”

About the renovations, Father Long said while there have been inconveniences during the work, “it’s all right.”

Father Long retired after serving five years as pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka and 12 years at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park. He also served as pastor at then-St Joseph in Hopkins (now St. Gabriel), and before that, taught at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights and served Hill Murray in Maplewood.

Father Long values the Byrne Residence’s central location, including to downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. And while other residents enjoy walking along the river, he loves walking the sidewalks on the campus of nearby University of St. Thomas.

The Byrne Residence “is a good place,” he said.

MCC director: Legal, adult-use recreational marijuana a ‘travesty’

members at the board’s most recent meeting Aug. 3. No public comments were made, and the board took no action.

Board members planned to analyze the group’s proposal and discuss it at their regular meeting Sept. 7, Healy said. He expects public comments at the September meeting “and we’ll see what happens from there.” No date has been set for the board to vote on the partnership’s plans, Healy said.

Members of the Square Lake Conservancy, formed earlier this year, raised concerns at a previous township board meeting about the proposed camp’s environmental impact. A school that had been on the property had 225 students and was approved for up to 300, Healy said. “We’re not asking for anything more than that.”

Existing buildings on the property include a dining facility with commercial kitchen and dining room, and four large dormitories, Healy said. One building called “the meeting house” is too small for projected needs, so the partnership needs approval to construct another building for campers to enjoy “songs, talks and skits,” he said.

The partnership’s vision is to “create a safe, fun, supportive environment where young people can have that great encounter with Jesus, a really lifechanging encounter,” Healy said.

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Adult-use, recreational marijuana became legal Aug. 1 in Minnesota, “a travesty that will harm this state’s quality of life,” said Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public-policy arm of the state’s bishops.

It’s also an example of how Catholics need to be more engaged with the political process, Adkins said in an email exchange. “We need to be just as vocal and organized as marijuana advocates about our own set of political preferences so that legislators feel the need to address them,” he said.

One of several laws that took effect Aug. 1, the legalization of recreational marijuana has received widespread attention and marks the beginning of a new industry and legal intoxicant in the state. The new law immediately allows people to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis in public and 2 pounds in their homes. Minnesotans also can cultivate up to eight plants for personal use. Four of those plants can be flowering at any given time.

By early 2025, rules and regulations are expected to be in place allowing businesses to sell recreational cannabis to people 21 and older. At least one known exception to a later start for

businesses is the Red Lake Nation Reservation, which as a sovereign entity opened a dispensary in Red Lake Aug. 1.

Marijuana for medical purposes has been legal in Minnesota since 2014. Allowing recreational use “puts profits and politics over people and will have a host of negative consequences, including the likelihood of an increase in traffic-related deaths,” Adkins said.

It’s also an example of how politicians increasingly view their role “as catering to vocal and organized groups of political consumers and satisfying their preferences instead of pursuing the common good,” Adkins said. Lawmakers should be responsive and represent constituents’ views, but “always in light of what promotes authentic human flourishing,” he said. As of Aug. 1, Minnesota joined 22 states, two U.S. territories and the District of Columbia that have enacted measures to regulate cannabis for adult non-medical use.

“It is understandable that, in a culture in which depression and despair are prevalent, people are excited about marijuana as an escape and a way to dull the pain,” Adkins said. “It underscores the importance of evangelization — to bring hope amid hopelessness and bring light to the darkness. If we really believe Jesus is savior, then the urgency of evangelization in word and deed never ceases.”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

From left, Travis Raines and Michael Skarlupka of McGough Construction cut a piece of siding July 28 at the Byrne Residence in St. Paul.

Don’t be afraid to change the world, pope tells crowd at WYD closing Mass

By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service

To end “Catholic Woodstock” — as World Youth Day has been called by the Portuguese press — Pope Francis told 1.5 million weary-eyed and sleep-deprived young people in Lisbon not to let their “great dreams” of changing the world be “stopped by fear.”

In his homily for the closing Mass Aug. 6, the pope asked for “a bit of silence” from the pilgrims who, after staying overnight in Lisbon’s Tejo Park following the previous night’s vigil, at 6 a.m. were already dancing to techno music mixed by a DJ priest before the pope’s arrival.

“Let’s all repeat this phrase in our hearts: ‘Don’t be afraid,’” he told the hushed crowd. “Jesus knows the hearts of each one of you, the successes and the failures, he knows your hearts,” Pope Francis said. “And today he tells you, here in Lisbon for this World Youth Day: ‘Don’t be afraid.’”

Pilgrims in several groups from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis joined the Portuguese WYD Aug. 1-6, along with over 1,300 other groups comprised of more than 28,600 individuals from across the United States. Several members of groups from the archdiocese met up with Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams at WYD. Some from the archdiocese also visited Fátima, praying for intentions gathered and brought from home.

Youth from all corners of the United States came to one of Lisbon’s parks for an Aug. 2 National Gathering at WYD, and Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester gave a keynote address.

“Let Christ come to life in you, set your heart on fire and then you’ll know

who you are,” he said. “Through your mission, you will find joy and transfigure the world.”

“The Gospel says when you hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, and he takes possession of your heart, you know who you are,” Bishop Barron said.

Nathan Schuster of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake shared a few thoughts from WYD via email, saying the days were a whirlwind that included the opening Mass, packed with pilgrims from around the world.

“The music at that Mass was beautiful and engaging, and we recognized the universality and beauty of the Church in the youth gathered together — and in Christ appearing in our midst at Communion as he did with the two

apostles on the road to Emmaus,” Schuster said.

At the closing Mass, 30 cardinals, 700 bishops and 10,000 priests concelebrated the Mass with Pope Francis.

Before revealing the location of the next World Youth Day, Pope Francis invited young people to travel to Rome for a youth celebration during the Holy Year 2025. The next WYD, to take place in 2027, he continued, “will be in South Korea, in Seoul,” he said to cheers from the sizeable groups of Koreans scattered in the crowd.

In remarks after Mass, the pope also recalled the suffering of Ukraine and asked young people if he, “an old man,” could share a dream of his: “the dream of peace, the dream that young people may

pray for peace, live in peace and build a peaceful future.”

Young pilgrims interviewed by Catholic News Service during World Youth Day constantly returned to the pope’s main point during the official welcome ceremony for WYD Aug. 3: In the Church there is room for “everyone, everyone, everyone.”

He asked the jubilant crowd of flagwaving young people to repeat the refrain with him in Lisbon’s Eduardo VII Park and shouts of “todos, todos, todos” — “everyone” in Spanish and Portuguese — spread throughout the crowd.

As he did often during the trip, the pope solicited engagement from the crowd, asking them to repeat after him or consider in silence a question he posed.

Yet it was during his meeting Aug. 2 with Portuguese bishops, priests, religious and pastoral workers that the pope first issued his “todos” message.

“Please, let us not convert the Church into a customs office” where only the “just,” “good” and “properly married” can enter while leaving everyone else outside, he said. “No. The Church is not that,” he said, rather, it is a place for “righteous and sinners, good and bad, everyone, everyone, everyone.”

Asked during his in-flight news conference Aug. 6 how the Church can be for everyone when women and gay people are excluded from some sacraments, Pope Francis said that “the Church is open to all, but then there is legislation that regulates life inside the Church.”

“This does not mean that (the Church) is closed. Each person encounters God by their own way, inside the Church, and the Church is mother and guides each one by their own path,” he responded.

Ancient word: Jews, Christians study shared past in Vatican manuscripts

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

From a dark past of once allowing and ordering the censoring, banning and burning of the Talmud and other Hebrew texts, the Vatican has deepened its decades of fruitful dialogue and cooperation with Jewish leaders with a new interfaith study program.

Some 20 Jewish and Christian scholars began a three-month hybrid course in mid-July at the Vatican Library to dig into more than 1,000 years of teachings contained in more than 800 ancient Hebrew manuscripts from the 9th to 16th centuries housed in its collections.

Launching the start of the program at a news conference in the library’s Barberini hall July 19, Claudio Pszemiarower, president of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, called the joint initiative between the Vatican and the seminary “historic.”

The scholar-students of different backgrounds and faiths will follow lectures online and in person by preeminent Jewish and Christian experts, and study together to share and grow in their spiritual and academic interests, he said.

Archbishop Angelo Zani, Vatican archivist and librarian, said the Vatican

Library, which is open to qualified scholars worldwide, is a place of encounter and dialogue in line with Pope Francis’ emphasis on creating a more fraternal world through education and by offering places for different cultures to come together.

The unique initiative came about thanks to the generosity of Pope Francis, Rabbi Ariel Stofenmacher, rector of the

Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires, told Catholic News Service at the program’s launch at the library.

The future pope, “Cardinal Jorge (Bergoglio) was very well-known to us at the seminary,” which is an important center for Jewish academic and spiritual formation in Latin America, he said. The rector at the time was also the pope’s good friend, Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

When Rabbi Stofenmacher led a delegation from the rabbinical seminary to visit Rome in December, “the pope asked us what we wanted to do specifically” during their visit “and I said I wanted to look at the manuscripts” in the library “because it is our heritage.”

“So he graciously agreed,” the rabbi said. After seeing the collection, Rabbi Stofenmacher thought, “we should do more. So we suggested to the pope and the prefect (of the library) to do a program” that taps into “this absolute richness that the Vatican has here.”

“They amazingly agreed and so here we are!” he beamed. “It’s like a dream come true.”

While the library’s collection is not one of the largest, it is one of the most important in the world, especially for Hebrew manuscripts, U.S.-born Rabbi David Golinkin, president of The Schechter Institutes in Jerusalem, told CNS.

It includes: important commentaries on different parts of the Talmud; one of only two manuscripts in the world of the Jerusalem Talmud; and a 9th- or 10thcentury manuscript of the Sifra, which is “the oldest midrash that exists and might be the oldest Hebrew manuscript

COURTESY KATRINA SILVERDAHL

From left, Michelle Boris, coordinator of Young Adult Ministries at St. Mary of the Lake, in White Bear Lake, and parishioner Nathan Schuster stand with Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams and Paul Lucke of Our Lady of Grace in Edina at World Youth Day Aug. 3.

CNS PHOTO | CAROL GLATZ

A group of some 20 Jewish and Christian scholars stand with Vatican officials and Jewish leaders in the Sistine hall of the Vatican Library July 19, 2023. The scholars began an interfaith program to study ancient Hebrew manuscripts in the Vatican Library. The three-month program is supported by the Vatican Library and the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

INTERFAITH STUDY CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

in existence, other than the Dead Sea Scrolls,” he said.

One reason these early manuscripts are so important is they reflect the rich variety in Jewish traditions and teachings, Rabbi Claudio Kupchik, senior rabbi of Temple Beth El of Cedarhurst, New York, told CNS.

“The talmudic texts were transmitted orally in a fluid form until quite late,” sometimes past the 9th century, and “that orality allowed for a lot of variation,” which was then written down by hand in manuscript form, he said.

With the advent of the printing press in the 15th century, editors then had to either “condense” different versions or choose just one version to put into print, Rabbi Kupchik said. While printing made texts more widely and cheaply available, “the rainbow of variant texts” found in “the various schools of manuscripts” were lost with the printed form.

Printing also made texts vulnerable to censorship, he said. “Some editions of the Talmud were subject to the censorship of the (Catholic) Church in the past,” and the altered texts and missing passages can be rediscovered in the original manuscripts.

Finally, “a lot was lost with persecutions” and burnings of the Talmud, Rabbi Kupchik said.

The first infamous mass burning of the Talmud took place in Paris in 1242, ordered by King Louis IX. Condemnations of the Talmud were issued over the following centuries by a number of popes, reaching fever pitch during the Counter-Reformation and the

HEADLINES

Convention summons Knights of Columbus to discipleship and transformation of world. Nearly 2,300 members of the Knights of Columbus, spouses and family members gathered from all parts of the globe Aug. 1-3 in Orlando, Florida, under the theme “First in faith and charity.” But the unmistakable, uplifting message of the 141st Supreme Convention from start to finish was the power of each Knight — all 2 million in the order — to transform the Church and the world around them by deepening their faith as disciples of Jesus and living out a charity that evangelizes. “We too can do great things, if we allow the Lord into our lives,” Bishop John Noonan of Orlando preached in his homily at the opening Mass he celebrated for the Knights’ convention held at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, addressing the Knights Aug. 1, shared the scope of the Knights’ work that year — $185 million given to charity, 49 million volunteer hours and $121 billion of life insurance in force — but also connected it to their faith in Jesus and the importance of deepening it. Each day also had Mass, confession, and ample time for Eucharistic adoration.

Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s death sentence is the first under the Biden administration. A federal death sentence for the man convicted of a 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue marks the first such penalty sought for and won by the Biden administration, despite President Joe Biden’s pledge as a candidate to end the practice at the federal level. A jury on Aug. 2 recommended Robert Bowers be sentenced to death for his conviction in killing 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood in October 2018. Bowers posted antisemitic and white supremacist views online before targeting the Tree of Life synagogue, prosecutors said. He also wounded two worshippers and five responding police officers in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, which advocates against the death penalty, offered prayers for the victims and survivors, but said the sentence “sends a mixed message” from the administration on the subject.

Roman Inquisition.

Pope Julius III ordered the confiscation and burning of the Talmud and other Jewish texts, resulting in a public burning Sept. 9 on Rosh Hashanah in 1553 in Rome’s Campo dei Fiori.

Today, a brass plaque in Italian, with two quotations in Hebrew, marks the site, in the shadow of a statue dedicated to Giordano Bruno, a philosopher and cosmologist condemned by the Inquisition and burned at the stake in the square in 1600.

Rabbi Golinkin estimates “around one third of the Hebrew manuscripts in the Vatican were captured in

Box office hit “Sound of Freedom” draws kudos and concerns from human trafficking experts. A summer box office hit is garnering kudos and concerns for its approach to the issue of child trafficking. “Sound of Freedom,” starring Jim Caviezel, has edged out both the latest “Mission Impossible” and “Indiana Jones” releases to notch the fourth spot in IMDb’s July 28-30 rankings, with distributor Angel Studios projecting close to $150 million in ticket sales so far. Produced by Eduardo Verástegui and directed by Alejandro Monteverde, the film casts Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former undercover operative for the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team who went on to form the private Operation Underground Railroad foundation, which assists international governments and U.S. law enforcement in dismantling criminal trafficking organizations that target children. Verástegui told OSV News he believes “movies can move people” to take action, and that he wants to “give a voice to those who don’t have a voice.” But several anti-trafficking organizations have taken issue with the film’s approach. “(It) reflects the experience of one person and situation, not the trends and patterns that comprise the majority of human trafficking cases. It should only be taken as one story,” said Rafael FloresAvalos, director of bilingual communications for the Washington-based Polaris Project, which since 2007 has operated the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline and has since built the largest known dataset on human trafficking in North America.

New metal fence is a sign of worsening conditions for Holy Land Christians. The Stella Maris Carmelite monastery has seen destruction and banishment over its centuries’ old history, dating back to mid-13th century. The recent attempts by a group of Jewish religious extremists to declare the monastery a Jewish holy site has, however, for the first time led to the monks installing metal fencing around its entrance. “I understand this is to keep those extremists we don’t want out, but the problem is the fence also keeps the community out,” said Rania Lahem, 47, a member of the Haifa Christian community. “For us as Christians this is a very popular holy site for all denominations. We come here often as a family.” And indeed,

war in Germany in, I believe, Heidelberg” in the 17th century as part of military campaigns between the Spanish Empire and Protestant states.

Others were “confiscated by the Catholic Church from individual Jews” all over Europe and around the Mediterranean at many different times, he said, “so there’s no country to repatriate them to, though, in theory, they could repatriate them to a specific family that owned the manuscript. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

For now, the Hebrew manuscripts are well-preserved, well-cataloged, available online and in person to scholars. And the new joint study program between the Vatican and the rabbinical seminary invites Jews and Christians to study them together.

The dialogue and collaboration “since ‘Nostra Aetate’ of the Second Vatican Council is allowing us to rediscover not only the wealth we can gather from our relationship with each other but also the wealth of our traditions and texts,” Rabbi Kupchik said.

“The texts are a window to the past and that past had wonderful blessings and sometimes difficulties,” he said. “We need to try to recover the blessings and understand the difficulties of the past” in order to understand “why things evolved the way they did and which kind of choices we ought to make” for a better future.

Rabbi Stofenmacher said this initiative is only the beginning. He is calling for a similar program for Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars to study the Vatican’s Islamic texts together. “When there’s collaboration, the sky’s the limit.”

the mountaintop monastery at Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, facing the sea, has been a place of pilgrimage and tours for peoples of all faiths. Jewish, Christian and Muslim residents of the surrounding neighborhood took pride and respected the beauty and tranquility of the monastery in their midst. In early May, however, a few fringe members of the Breslov ultraorthodox sect began arriving at the monastery, claiming it was a Jewish holy site and the burial site of the prophet Elisha, the successor of the prophet Elijah — both of whom are venerated by Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Restoration and repairs are underway at Minnesota church after arson destroyed sacristy. The sacristy was destroyed at St. Edward Church in Elmdale in the Diocese of St. Cloud and other parts of the building were damaged by a mid-July fire that firefighters determined was set intentionally. Repairs are underway, and the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a suspect, but that is all that is known right now, according to Father Jimmy Joseph, who was assigned pastor of St. Edward just three weeks before the July 18 blaze. In the parish’s Sunday bulletin, Father Joseph reported July 30, “We have met with the insurance adjusters and building inspector. The pews have been removed for cleaning. The statues are being sent to a company in the (Twin Cities) for restoration. This is a restoration, maintenance, repair project so we won’t know yet how long it will take. We need prayers and support for the people and the church. The rest will happen and is in God’s hands.” The priest discovered the fire as he was locking the church

doors for the evening, and firefighters were called to the scene about 5:30 p.m.

Black Catholics at national congress reflect on their calling: ”The Church needs our gifts.” As people left the July 23 closing Mass for the National Black Catholic Congress, Vernon Taylor of St. Joseph in Wilmington, Delaware, said he was moved particularly at the end of Mass when Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell Jr., the congress’ president, invited any young people considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life to come up for a blessing — and some young adults, teens and children stepped forward. The event offered a time for participants to reflect on the legacy of the six U.S. Black Catholics being considered for sainthood. Sister Stephanie Henry from Philadelphia, the president of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters founded by St. Katharine Drexel, said she had met and spoken with one of those potential saints, Sister Thea Bowman. “Her whole being radiated praise and joy,” Sister Stephanie said.

— OSV News

CNS PHOTO | CAROL GLATZ Archbishop Angelo Zani, Vatican archivist and librarian, left, speaks July 19 with Claudio Pszemiarower, president of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, in Barberini hall of Vatican Library.

‘Built on

leader’s ability, compassion puts archdiocese on solid footing after clergy abuse crisis

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Fair. Disciplined. Thorough. Compassionate. Experienced. Credible.

Co-workers, victims-survivors and other observers use those words as they describe Tim O’Malley, 67, who as director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment helped lead the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis out of a crisis stemming from clergy sexual abuse.

After shaping and leading the office for nine years, O’Malley began a new chapter Aug. 1, now working part-time as an adviser to Archbishop Bernard Hebda and senior archdiocesan leadership in areas related to strategic planning and organizational health. O’Malley also plans to consult with the new director of the Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment office, Paul Iovino, on long-term safe environment efforts and be a resource and sounding board for victims-survivors.

Iovino joined the archdiocese as deputy director of the office in 2021, and now will lead efforts with archdiocesan leadership, the Ministerial Review Board and other groups to protect children and vulnerable adults in Catholic parishes, schools and ministries.

By all accounts from clergy, local and national leaders, O’Malley brought credibility to a highly contentious situation in 2014, with his background as a state administrative law judge, director of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he sought justice for those harmed and safety for the vulnerable as he helped develop safe environment

A RETIREMENT

Michael Campion was hired as assistant director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment in October 2014, only a month after Tim O’Malley became director. It was a reversal of sorts: As commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in 2006, Campion promoted O’Malley to superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Now, O’Malley has stepped away as director of the archdiocesan office and Campion retired July 28. The shift in leadership is significant, but with Paul Iovino taking O’Malley’s position, a strong safe environment culture in the archdiocese and the early crisis abated, it is a good time to retire, said Campion, who plans to spend more time with his wife, Kathryn,

protocols and procedures in the archdiocese, even as it faced claims of sexual abuse, many dating between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, and lawsuits from victims-survivors, criminal charges stemming from the crisis and the need to file for bankruptcy protection in a $210 million settlement of more than 400 claims of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Hebda said O’Malley was a “key player” as the archdiocese negotiated to settle the civil and criminal charges filed by Ramsey County and to arrive at a settlement in bankruptcy court: “A man of principle and perseverance, Tim brought to the table a keen intellect and a deep sense of fairness that gave the archdiocese credibility at a time when few had any confidence in bishops and Church leadership,” the archbishop said.

“I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity that I had to thank Tim’s delightful mom, Loretta, for giving him a dependable and Catholic moral compass. “

O’Malley also brought compassion and a desire for healing to his work with victims-survivors in particular, but also with clergy facing accusations, civil authorities and archdiocesan leaders. Co-workers and observers said he sought partnerships with all parties to bring the local Church to a healthy place that better protected children.

“Tim O’Malley coming to the archdiocese was definitely a ‘gamechanger,’” said Susan Mulheron, chancellor for canonical affairs, who was appointed to her position in 2013 just as the scandal broke.

“Tim stepped into the role with a wealth of experience that immediately took us to a higher level in terms of policy development, professionalizing our internal operations and providing appropriate support to our clergy review board,” Mulheron said. “He also came to us with an incredibly high degree of credibility with government agencies and other leaders in the community, which was critical for us moving forward at the time.”

Under O’Malley, and now Iovino, the archdiocese’s safe environment standards and internal protocols have become a model for other dioceses to follow, Mulheron said. Mulheron and O’Malley, for example, were invited to take part in February 2019 in a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on emerging best practices in response to the abuse crisis. The discussion was sponsored by the

Leadership Roundtable, an organization of lay and clergy dedicated to good management and leadership development in the Church. Mulheron and O’Malley have twice been invited to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome for an annual International Safeguarding Conference on clergy sexual abuse. They were two of only six participants from the United States.

Mulheron said of O’Malley, “He has been a champion of innovative healing and outreach efforts, including restorative justice and healing circles, which was an essential component of settling the criminal cases. He has been bold in engaging those who have been most critical of us, such as sexual abuse survivor advocacy groups, and even partnering (with) and befriending them in some cases. He was able to recognize how intentionally listening to these critical voices and engaging with them would help us all get closer to our common goal of keeping kids safe.”

Kathleen McChesney, who in 2002 set up and led the Office of Child Protection under the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, now runs a management consulting company that helped the archdiocese in the early days of the crisis. Prior to O’Malley joining the archdiocese, she had asked him for leadership recommendations for the child protection office being set up in the archdiocese.

“I’ve known Tim for lots of years,” said McChesney, who held the FBI’s third highest position as executive assistant director of law enforcement before helping the USCCB and then leading Kinsale Management Consulting. “I’ve always admired his intellect and his compassionate leadership.”

“I knew Tim and asked him who might be interested,” McChesney said. “We talked about the potential to really do good. I think that interested him, and he said, ‘I can recommend a lot of people, but might they consider me?’”

“I knew he would take it to a new level, and he did,” McChesney said.

It wasn’t just O’Malley working hard at the archdiocese, McChesney said. Archbishop Hebda, Father Charles Lachowitzer as the vicar general and moderator of the curia, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, now bishop of Crookston, and many others came together to make things better, she said.

“That was a team you couldn’t beat, in terms of knowledge, empathy and

interpersonal skills,” she said.

Looking back on his tenure, O’Malley pointed to that team as well, and to others he has worked with in the archdiocese and in the community.

“Over the past decade, so many people joined together for the well-being of others and our Church,” O’Malley said. “Clergy like Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Cozzens, (then-Auxiliary) Bishop (Lee) Piché (now vicar for retired priests), Father Lachowitzer, Father (Michael) Tix and so many other priests and deacons,” he said.

“Laity like members of the Ministerial Review Board and the Archdiocesan Finance Council and Corporate Board, staff at the (Archdiocesan) Catholic Center, in parishes and schools, law enforcement and prosecutors, counselors, and most important of all, the scores of victims-survivors … and their loved ones who partnered in reform and healing efforts when to do so was risky. They showed fortitude, compassion and courage. They are the difference makers,” O’Malley said.

MSSE beginnings

“The Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment started on a napkin in the old archdiocesan offices” on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Father Lachowitzer said of revamping the archdiocese’s safe

their three children and 10 grandchildren.

Taking the job with the archdiocese when he was 66, at a time he could have been retired but worked global security and investigations for a company in Minneapolis, was a response to a call to help the Church, said Campion, a member of St. Odilia in Shoreview.

“There are some callings that you simply can’t say no to,” Campion said. A lifelong Catholic and St. Paul native, Campion said working for the archdiocese was an opportunity to help the Church at a difficult

time, and to make a difference.

“I think Tim would agree with me that when we first got here, our heads were spinning a little bit,” Campion said. “What do we really do? How do we do it? This was very new to everybody. So, it took us a while to get our feet on the ground and determine a course of action. … But we did ultimately figure it out collectively, not any one person. I think we all contributed to that.”

One source of pride Campion mentioned also was brought up by investigator Neil Nelson, a retired St. Paul Police commander who responded to O’Malley’s request for help. They were pleased by helping exonerate priests who had been wrongly accused of some misdeed, a point O’Malley also

made. “I am proud of the fact that there were innocent priests that we helped get back into clergy work, or ministry work,” Campion said. “It wasn’t a negative thing. It wasn’t just a negative course action.”

Nelson also commented on the privilege of being able to witness the ministry and dedication of the priests of the archdiocese.

“It’s an honor to know these priests,” he said. “Tim has held us investigators to a high standard. It isn’t enough to say there was not enough evidence” prove wrongdoing, Nelson said. “We needed to prove they didn’t do it, so that it’s not a gray mark their file.” They needed to be exonerated, he said.

— Joe

Nine-year

Tim O’Malley, second from left, gives remarks during of four panelists at the symposium. The others are, from Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.

MICHAEL CAMPION

PAUL IOVINO

a firm foundation’

PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Tim O’Malley, a lifelong Catholic, said he feels his most important accomplishment as head of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment was partnering with individuals and organizations “to put in place a practical safe environment approach that should withstand the test of time, so that kids are safer for generations to come.”

A second accomplishment worth noting is “justly holding abusive priests to account while also proving the innocence of erroneously or falsely accused priests,” O’Malley said.

The most rewarding part of his job was “working with Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda, senior staff and the finest collection of investigators and support staff I have ever been associated with” and developing “the relationships and, in many cases, the deep friendships that have been forged with victims-survivors.”

“The faith journey with the archdiocese has been extraordinarily meaningful, fulfilling and rewarding,” O’Malley said.

— Joe Ruff

environment practices.

Then O’Malley was hired, and he “had a head for structures of organizations and a heart for team building,” Father Lachowitzer said.

That team included Michael Campion, a former superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Janell Rasmussen, a former BCA program administrator who coordinated the state’s AMBER Alert program. Investigators included Neil Nelson, a retired St. Paul Police Department commander who through a federal grant led statewide efforts to battle internet crimes against children.

The imposing team brought questions among clergy and others in the archdiocese, said Father Tix, now vicar general but at the time pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage and executive director of the Presbyteral Council.

“There was skepticism on the part of clergy and the feeling that the diocese was being run by law enforcement, whether police officers or lawyers, which in hindsight was necessary for the institutional change that was needed,” Father Tix said. “Everyone was shaken by the crisis, and unsure how the archdiocese would regain a position of moving forward, especially our clergy. Tim was a key figure to collaborate with others including lay leadership in helping our local Church to learn from our past ways

to better serve in the future.”

“Tim came to be quickly respected by our clergy as someone who was fair and seeking only the truth in a particular situation,” Father Tix said.

Patty Wetterling, an advocate for child protection since her son, Jacob, was abducted in 1989 in St. Joseph, joined the MRB in 2016 and served for five years. She said O’Malley worked on her son’s case as an agent with the BCA and was this “compassionate law enforcement officer. He led with such integrity and compassion. When he invited me to join the (board) it was so easy to say yes. He surrounds himself with people of competence and integrity.”

Now, O’Malley’s efforts are known across the country, Wetterling said. “I know it’s a model. It’s a model not only for the Church, but for the problem our culture has” with child abuse, she said. “It’s getting people help and in positions where it won’t happen again.”

Victims-survivors of clergy sexual abuse — including Jim Richter, who sits on the MRB, and Frank Meuers, the southwest Minnesota chapter director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, since 2012 — said they worked closely with O’Malley and respect him. For a time, Meuers, who pressured the archdiocese to take more action and helped in a fight that successfully suspended the state statute of limitations

in cases of sexual abuse, met once a month with O’Malley, a relationship Meuers once said to his knowledge was unlike any other that a SNAP leader had with a Church official.

“We weren’t quite sure where we were going. That’s OK, then we never failed to meet our goal,” Meuers said with some humor of finding innovative ways to help victims-survivors and protect the vulnerable from abuse.

Victims’ voices were heard, and steps were taken, including strengthening the 12-member MRB with people who have a wide range of professional experience, Meuers said. O’Malley “whipped an organization into shape” by hiring people with law enforcement backgrounds like Campion and Rasmussen, he said.

“He was able to bring in good people, and that’s what you want,” Meuers said. As to the future, Meuers said, “I think the thing is functioning very well compared to what it was.”

Richter said he had been through some measure of healing of his own when he contacted O’Malley in the early days of the archdiocese’s crisis, offering to help in whatever way he could. They met for breakfast.

“I remember meeting a guy who wanted to know what was possible, what could be done in the circumstances of the moment,” Richter said of O’Malley. “There were lawsuits, hundreds of complainants and a void of meeting people’s needs. Tim wanted to gain some understanding and not make a bad situation worse.”

Richter joined the MRB in 2016. He moved a year ago to a town near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and now takes part virtually or commutes into the Twin

Cities for MRB meetings. Richter said he feels listened to, valued and empowered as board members discuss complaints that can include such issues as financial misdeeds, personal improprieties and potential abuse. He admires what O’Malley has done and trusts that Iovino will continue the good work that preceded him.

“There’s something dynamic about him. He is open to change, adaptable, looking to others,” Richter said. “Tim O’Malley is a shining example of the right person who was in the right place, doing the right thing, at the right time.”

Kevin Conneely, an attorney and member of Annunciation in Minneapolis, chaired the MRB in 2013, when thousands of clergy files were examined and cases were presented to the board, then called the Ministerial Standards Board. The board was given great responsibility as it made recommendations to the archbishop, he said. “It really was a high-powered thing. It was humbling to be part of it,” he said. “Tim brought a rigor to what we were doing, and led by his own example of digging in, being fair, but getting to the bottom of things. He respected everyone involved in the process. He didn’t come with an agenda in any direction.”

Some people in the archdiocese might have thought the effort was window dressing, Conneely said. But that was not the case. “These were very serious, professional people,” he said. “They weren’t going to sit around being a front for other people, or a rubber stamp for the archbishop. No.”

Safe environment efforts going forward are on solid footing, Conneely said, adding, “It’s built on a firm foundation.”

Please mail

regarding

funeral arrangements.

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DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT a symposium on restorative justice at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2019. He was one from left, Stephanie Wiersma, assistant Ramsey County attorney, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and

FAITH+CULTURE

Society of G.K. Chesterton conference highlights role of St. Francis of Assisi

By Mark Johnson For The Catholic Spirit

The Twin Cities hosted the Society of G.K. Chesterton’s annual conference July 27-29 — a celebration of Chesterton’s “wit, wisdom, and joy,” in the words of the society’s president, Dale Ahlquist.

The gathering featured nationally known speakers — like Bishop Robert Barron of the Winona-Rochester diocese, founder of the “Word on Fire” Catholic media network — and drew more than 450 people from as far away as New Zealand, Chile, Ireland, Mexico and Norway.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, who died in 1936, was an English writer and Catholic convert, and one of the world’s best-known apologists for the Catholic faith. Chesterton stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 300 pounds. Ahlquist described him as sporting a cape and a crumpled hat with a cigar clenched in his teeth. He had “tiny glasses clipped to the end of his nose and laughter blowing through his mustache,” Ahlquist added. Chesterton’s hundreds of books, poems, plays and short stories made him one of the most prolific writers of all time. His best-known books, “Orthodoxy” (1928) and “The Everlasting Man” (1925), are classics of Christian apologetics that continue to draw people to the faith.

The theme of the Twin Cities conference, the society’s 42nd annual gathering, was “Chesterton and St. Francis: Jugglers of God.” It commemorated the 100th anniversary of the publication of Chesterton’s biography of St. Francis of Assisi. The idea of the “Juggler of God” refers to the saint’s whimsical, break-the-mold life of faith.

Bishop Barron, the conference’s keynote speaker, became an ardent Chesterton fan when, at age 20, he took a class on Chesterton’s works at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago.

Chesterton’s biography describes the “picturesque and popular” aspects of St. Francis’ life as a bridge to features that modern readers find discomforting, Bishop Barron said. For example, while many of the faithful celebrate Francis’ happy communion with nature — his brother

sun and sister moon — Chesterton reminds readers that he coupled this with a fierce, sometimes frightening asceticism.

Bishop Barron recalled an image of St. Francis in a monastery, in which he appears as a gaunt, austere figure with a skull at his feet. The saint’s combination of “gaiety and austerity” can be hard to reconcile, Bishop Barron said, “unless we understand that for Francis, Christianity was a ‘love affair,’ rather than a theory.” He added this example. “Think of a husband who writes beautiful poetry to his wife, and yet exhausts himself staying up all night to care for her when she’s seriously ill.”

Bishop Barron also noted that St. Francis viewed nature not as our mother, as some might claim, but instead as a sister. “In the great liturgical procession of Genesis,” observed Bishop Barron, “the beauty of all created nature is recounted, but man is reserved for creation’s final day, which confirms that he leads nature’s procession in praise of God. This understanding in turn leads us away from a false worship of the natural world.”

The conference, held at a hotel in Minnetonka, is the society’s most important annual event. Along with Bishop Barron, the conference featured a diverse array of speakers, including English-born American writer Joseph Pearce; Daniel Kerr, the president and co-founder of a Catholic boarding school for boys in Kansas; and a panel of men in their 30s who said they are revitalizing the Rust Belt town of Steubenville, Ohio, using Catholic social teaching and the inspiration of Chestertonian “localism.”

The conference reflected the society’s signature combination of deep faith and whimsical fun — daily Mass, rosary and evening prayer, followed by a traditional favorite: the “Afterglow,” a freewheeling, outdoor discussion late into the night, flavored with cigars and spirits.

In addition to the conference, the society spreads its mission through

publications, podcasts and local chapters — including two in the Twin Cities — whose members read and discuss Chesterton’s books and poetry.

In recent years, the society’s central project has become the Chesterton Schools Network, which provides support for Chesterton schools around the country and the world. These classical high schools combine a broad, liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the cultivation of Christian virtues and an appreciation of beauty. The network began in 2008 with an academy in the Twin Cities, now in Hopkins, and will include 58 schools this fall, with another 14 in the pipeline.

Ahlquist said the Chesterton Society’s mission is to “evangelize through education, inspiring people to live joyful, holy lives, with G.K. Chesterton as a model of lay spirituality.”

2023

• WI Shrines (Fr. Grundman/Fr.Mischke) Sept 18 20

• Midwest Shrines (Fr. Todd) Sept 25 Oct 2

• WI Shrines Solemnity Day (Deacon Dan) Oct 8 11

• Branson Miracle of Christmas Nov 30 Dec 3 2024

• Guadalupe MEX (Fr. Omar) Feb 16 23

• Ireland Pub/Pew (Fr. Peter/Fr. Popp) April 2 12

• Holy Land (Fr. Fitz/Fr. Clinton) April 11 22

• Eucharistic Revival/IN (St. Cloud Diocese) July 17 21

• CA Mission/Wineries (Fr. Binsfeld) October

• Poland & Prague October

1 877 453 7426

www.jericochristianjourneys.com

The Catholic Social Difference Speaker Series

Thursdays, 7 p.m. • Aug 31-Sept 21, 2023 Assumption Church, St. Paul Free and Open to the Public

Michael Naughton (St Thomas)

Introducing Catholic Social Teaching 8/31

Michael Goar (CEO Catholic Charities) Poverty and the Common Good 9/7

Fr. Daniel Griffiths (Basilica)

Catholic Economics 9/14

Msgr. Martin Schlag (St Thomas)

The Church and Politics 9/21

For more information, and to register: catholicsocialthought.org

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ABOVE LEFT Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester gives a keynote address July 27 during the Chesterton Conference in Minnetonka.

ABOVE Dale Ahlquist, left, president of the Society of G. K. Chesterton, talks with Anisha and Pedro Virgen of Encino, California, July 27 at the Chesterton Conference.

Fr. Fitz

Fr. Mischke

Fr. Clinton

Deacon Dan

Fr. Grundman

Fr. Peter Fr. Popp Fr. Binsfeld

Fr. Todd

Fr. Omar

To Kitui, Kenya, and back: Reflections from a delegate

Marci Franzen For The Catholic Spirit

On June 6, 14 people from 10 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis left the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bound for Kitui, Kenya. For several members of the delegation, the trip was a homecoming — a chance to reconnect with friends made during the nearly 20 years of the partnership between the archdiocese and the Diocese of Kitui. For others, including myself, it was the beginning of a journey in appreciation, gratitude and hope for a country, its people and our connectedness to those who share our faith.

The global solidarity partnership with the Diocese of Kitui began in 2003 in response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document, “A Call to Solidarity with Africa.” Archbishop Harry Flynn, Father Nicholas Maanzo and Bishop Boniface Lele formalized the partnership in 2004 and the first delegation from the archdiocese arrived in Kitui in 2005. The purpose of each two-week trip is not to perform tasks but rather to mutually share faith, experience, culture and resources — gifts to us from God.

After spending our first night in Nairobi, we arrived at the Kitui Pastoral Center. The Pastoral Center looks and operates similarly to a retreat center you would find in the U.S. It hosts groups from all over the world and offers private accommodations in its gated campus filled with trees, flowers and occasional wildlife.

We were welcomed with music, dancing and introductions; then it was time to get to work.

According to personalized itineraries, Everlyn Wentzlaff and I would be leaving with Father Patrick Mwavu in the morning for the Kimangao parish.

Kimangao is about two and a half hours north of Kitui City. We saw modern roads change to dirt roads shared with donkeys, cows, goats and their escorts. We felt as though we’d been dropped into a MarioKart game as Father Mwavu avoided animals, washed-out roads, and people on foot.

For safety and security, St. Theresa Catholic Church in Kimangao is located in a gated compound, as are most homes and churches in Kitui. Behind the stucco walls are the church, priest housing, vegetable gardens and grazing room for chickens and goats. Sister Brenda, one of the two sisters assigned to the parish, greeted us and led the way to our rooms at the small convent next to the parish.

Our days in Kimangao were long. Daily Mass was often before sunrise. Then, breakfast was served at the priest residence. Our meals were prepared by the parish’s cook, Abdallah. Though he had been working as a cook in the diocese for 15 years, he appeared youthful and was eager to join our conversations. Working with only fresh ingredients (there is little refrigeration or running hot water in Kimangao) Abdallah treated us to a minimum of three meals a day. If our schedule allowed, we would return for morning and/or afternoon tea, and if we returned late in the evening, he would often prepare us dinner at 9 or 10 p.m. When we finally returned to the convent for the night, our hearts and stomachs were full.

One morning, we headed to Kandwia to visit a rock catchment for water supported through the partnership. Our first stop was to the home of Josephat and Stella who live near the catchment. We were welcomed into their home with hugs and handshakes and sat down for a small breakfast. We shared stories as if we had known each other for years. Stella, who is in her mid-60s, nearly died of COVID last year and is still in recovery. She had spent a month in ICU in Nairobi. Her struggle was visible but overshadowed by her generosity, hospitality and love of God. She asked Father Mwavu to bless several items she had stacked on her table. He blessed them and we prayed together. We left feeling connected in our faith and overcome with their generosity.

After breakfast, Josephat led us on a walk to the water catchment site, which was busy. Women were gathered on two sides filling their jerry cans with water. One side had steps but on the other side, the women were gathering water on the slope of the rock. Josephat told us that two people drowned in the past year due to the lack of safety measures. Additionally, the catchment is

leaking and needs repair. It will not rain again until late September and half the water collected in May had been used by mid-June. They can’t afford to lose more water and they need help. We left the site with notes and photos to share with our fellow delegates and the team from Kitui.

Other days were spent visiting nearby parishes and schools. We left each site with feelings of gratitude, joy, connection and admiration for everyone we met.

On June 10, the delegation was reunited for the day to attend the ordination of seven priests and four deacons. Over 7,000 attended the outdoor ceremony and as special guests, we had front row seats next to the concelebrating priests, deacons and seminarians. The five-hour ceremony was astounding. Filled with African music, dancing and singing, we were completely immersed in the joy of those being ordained, their families and the communities receiving the newly ordained into their parish. We returned to Kimangao exhausted and in awe of what we had witnessed.

Our time in Kimangao went quickly. We were able to express our gratitude to Father Mwavu, Sister Brenda and Abdallah with prayer shawls donated by St. Patrick in Edina and St. Thomas Becket in Eagan. It was a small token for all they had done for us.

Back at the Pastoral Center in Kitui, our delegation regrouped to share experiences and meet with the team from Kitui. Josephat from Kimangao also joined us for the last evening. He had seen the prayer shawls and asked if there were any extras for Stella. Janine Ricker, our trip coordinator from the Center for Mission, was able to get one of the last two available for us to pass on the next day. Father Patrick sent me a photo of Stella wearing it soon after. She looked beautiful.

Franzen is the project manager for the archdiocesan Office of Communications. She is a member of Assumption in St. Paul.

To help fund water projects in Kitui and to learn more, go to centerformission org

Marci Franzen stands with Sister Brenda in Kimangao.

PHOTOS COURTESY MARCI FRANZEN Children on their way home from school June 12 fill their lunch buckets and bottles with water from an earthen dam in Kathanze. The Kitui Partnership was not involved in the initial excavation but is considering involvement in the rehabilitation.

At 68, woman publishes first novel, winning awards and confidence

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit

Marge Blenkush looks back on the detours in her life with appreciation, recognizing how God was guiding her. She studied theology at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, worked as a director of religious education for 13 years, then earned a master’s degree in library science. She then worked for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, managing its video library for 13 years, before a rare autoimmune disease led to her early retirement.

Now, at 68, she’s in a sweet spot, nurturing a new career as a novelist. “Retirement is the best time of life,” said Blenkush, who belongs to St. Matthew in St. Paul. “If anybody has thought, ‘Oh, I wish I could do this’ or ‘I always wanted to do that’ — well, this is the time to do it!”

Beaver’s Pond Press published her debut novel, “The Doctor of Bellechester,” last year — it’s available at St. Patrick’s Guild in St. Paul — and she will release the next book in the series, titled “Welcome to Bellechester,” this November.

Q You live in South St. Paul in your childhood home.

A Yes. I live on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street — so how’s that for Biblical? It was the perfect place to grow up. We were a half block from school, Holy Trinity. I have an identical twin, and our best friends were a set of twins (who) lived across the street and were in the same grade.

Q Do you feel nostalgic for those simpler times?

A The older you get, the more idyllic it is. My sister and I would take our wagon, walking a mile down to the library and filling it up with books. We could take up to 12 picture books, and we went to the max each time. We’d walk up that huge hill with our wagon and then play with neighbors, and at 6 o’clock, the church bells would ring. Mom would always say, “When the church bells ring, you come home.” We had so much freedom. We were a lot more creative. We made up our own fun.

Q You took a long and winding road to launch a writing career.

A I’ve always written. I used to write stories to amuse myself from the age of 10 on. When I got to high school, I wrote a little article for the newspaper, but that was the first and only article I ever wrote for publication. Fear and doubt are the twin killers of a dream.

When COVID hit, I was already retired and all my volunteer work dried up, and in order to relax and educate myself, I decided to write fan fiction based on the Father Brown Mysteries. As I was writing, I introduced a character and thought, “Well, she’s more interesting than these characters that I’m trying to follow!” So, I scrapped the Father Brown characters and made her the main character. In many ways, she’s the person I always wanted to be.

Making that phone call to a publisher and saying, “Will you please publish my book?” was a huge leap of faith.

I always had these conversations with God. I told God, “If it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way. I’m just going to do my part, and then you’re going to do your part.”

The first publisher said, “We’d love to publish it!” But it was in Minneapolis, and I’m a St. Paul girl. The second publisher — Beaver’s Pond Press — said yes, too.

Q You got two yeses right away; that must’ve been so affirming!

A Oh, gosh, yes! I felt a peace within me that (said), “Yeah, this is the right thing. You should be working on your writing. Let’s see how far this will go.”

When they introduced me to my project manager

at Beaver’s Pond — well, it turns out she’s a Brady grad like me. I mean, how about that? That was a sign. “Keep going, you’re on the road.”

Q The younger you would’ve been amazed by your courage — and by your success. Earlier this summer, your novel won national awards (honorable mention best Catholic novel and honorable mention best book cover artwork) from the Catholic Media Assocation.

A It was incredible!

I almost died twice from that autoimmune illness. I decided, after the second time, “OK, God, I’m living for you. Show me what I’m supposed to do.” That’s when the desire to write — which has always been in my heart — came to the surface. And if you face death and survive, there’s not a whole lot you can be afraid of anymore.

Having confidence in my own work is a big thing. I’m more confident in saying, “Hey, it’ll be a good read for you.” Or in going to a library and saying, “You should carry my book.” I wrote my book with an older audience in mind because it’s in large print. It’s made for book clubs, because the religious educator in me created discussion questions at the end. I’m always open to being a part of Catholic book clubs if they’d like to have a night with the author.

Q How important is it to have a sense of wonder?

A I’ve always been in wonder and awe at everything. I just have to look at my life: I was born an identical twin. That’s rare! You live on this earth, you see the seasons change, especially in Minnesota — how can you not wonder and awe at creation?

I’m a gardener. I plant seeds. If that’s not an act of faith, when you’re planting those tulip bulbs in the fall, (asking) “Are they going to survive the winter?” And then in the spring, you have this beautiful display.

Gardening is a spiritual practice because it’s being out there, close to the ground, trying to create some beauty. You’re closer to God out there, when you’re rummaging around in the dirt.

Q Wonder is a beautiful virtue

A When I worked for the archdiocese, I worked mainly under Archbishop (Harry) Flynn. The thing I remember from him is gratitude: Everything’s a gift. He used to have monthly meetings with us, and he’d finish his talk and then he’d thank everybody, and we’d all roll our eyes because we’d be there another 10 minutes.

Q Describe your writing setup.

A I seem to be my most creative in the morning, and so sometimes I’m in my pj’s, at my computer in the backroom early in the morning, and it just flows. Creativity comes from within us, and because we all carry a spark of the divine, that spark of God the creator, we are by our very nature creative. I really do think our creativity is meant for building up the kingdom. That’s what we all strive to do in our own way.

Q Do you have a go-to prayer?

A My favorite Scripture verse is Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” My faith gets tested a lot. I have this belief, but there’s always that doubt and fear, so, “Help my unbelief, help me overcome that fear and that doubt.”

Q The most powerful prayers begin with honesty.

A Definitely. I also love Julian of Norwich, “All is well, all is well, in every manner of things, all will be well.”

Q What do you know for sure?

A That little voice in the deepest recesses of our heart comes from God and is true. Somehow, God will fulfill our deepest desires, so we never have to worry. And at 66, I can start a writing career. That’s the blessing of old age, being able to see how God’s hand has been in your life.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FOCUSONFAITH

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER LARRY SNYDER

Jesus’ constant, patient and saving presence

As Jesus appeared on the scene in Galilee teaching a new message that he called the good news, people asked the question: “By whose authority do you presume to teach? Where do you and your message come from?” Jesus, knowing that his words alone were not enough to convince everyone of his authority, combined them with wondrous actions and deeds that would earn him credibility in people’s eyes. Our Gospel passage today is one of those shows of power meant to reinforce the faith of his disciples. As Jesus walked across the water, as he calmed the turbulent waters, the disciples were given a powerful insight into his identity.

An important image that is prominent in our passage today is a boat. In 1986, the level of the Sea of Galilee was extraordinarily low. An ancient fishing vessel that had been buried in the mud was discovered. Carbon 14 tests concluded that the boat had been built between the years 40 BC and 70 AD. No one has claimed that this is the exact boat used by Jesus and his disciples; but it does give us a picture of the boat used on the Sea of Galilee at that time.

Boats have been prominent in the history of Christianity. Jesus preached from a boat to the crowds gathered along the shore. It was by sea that Peter traveled to Rome and established it as the seat of Christianity. It was by sea that Paul traveled around the Mediterranean region, evangelizing in the name of Jesus Christ. It was by sea that missionaries in every age after Paul have taken the

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Marriage enrichment

The grace that God bestows on a bride and groom on the day of their marriage is not a oneday gigantic salvo of sacramental grace given once and only on their wedding day. Rather, it is a grace that God renews and resupplies each day for the rest of their married lives. The secret to success is to cooperate with God’s grace. And the way to cooperate is for a couple to take steps to strengthen their love and commitment to each other.

A plan for spiritual growth is vital if a couple wishes to advance in grace, and there are a number of key components. It is important for the couple to pray by themselves, together and at church; receive the sacraments regularly, especially the Eucharist and reconciliation; have other couples who believe in the value of marriage as their friends; be open to the gift of life and gladly welcome children; be service oriented and help each other, their children, family, friends and others; and be committed to quality time together each day. Healthy couples take time to converse every day, and not just for a minute or two. It could be over a cup of coffee in the morning, a glass of wine before dinner, a walk outside or a drive in the car. Daily dialogue is one of the most important ways to express love for one’s spouse, and it strengthens the bond of marriage.

In addition to daily time together, a couple should arrange for weekly time together, like a date night, and monthly time together, like a day or weekend getaway, and yearly time together, like a vacation escape. Once a couple has children, one of the best ways to invest in one’s marriage is to budget for a babysitter, so the couple has opportunities to focus on each other.

There will be bumps along the road, and it is important to pay attention to them right away. When one spouse feels hurt and is

good news to people who would hear it for the first time. And boats have become an important part of our iconography.

But there is a deeper level of meaning at work in our Gospel passage. Already in the days of Matthew’s community, a boat had become a symbol for the Church. They would have understood the significance of this passage to be that no matter what the struggles or trials faced by the Church, we should never lose faith. God will be our protector and defender no matter what storm may beset us. In Matthew’s community, there were struggles and there was persecution. So, this is a message meant to give them hope. But there is a personal dimension here as well. Jesus did not let Peter drown in the midst of a personal trial. He shows himself to be patient with us as well; he will never abandon us in our struggles. Jesus is always there with hand outstretched, ready to lift us up again. Like Peter trying to walk across the water, when we lose sight of who is supporting us and look only to ourselves, it is then that we falter. We must never forget who it is who calls us to come across the water.

But it is not enough to simply seek God at the tumultuous or stormy times of our lives. God is to be found in the ordinary, in the day-to-day. Some of the greatest leaps forward in Christian spirituality came from hearing God speak in quiet tones: Benedict at Subiaco, Francis at LaVerna, Ignatius at Manresa, Teresa in her Spanish cloister. And more recently, Dorothy Day as she simply stopped by a church and knelt before the Blessed Sacrament. Each of them made the time and the space to let God penetrate their lives, to speak in a whisper.

We are people of faith; but faith needs to be nurtured. Just as in the storm we focus on our need for safety, so each day let us spend some time focused on what is safe, powerful and holy: our relationship with God. Then we need fear no more.

Father Snyder is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who previously worked at Catholic Charities and the University of St. Thomas.

angry, St. Paul wisely advises, “Do not let the sun set on your anger” (Eph 4:26). It is best to speak to one’s spouse before the end of the day, to be open and honest, gentle and patient, responsible and compassionate.

The wife and husband are two unique people, and different people have differences. Conflict is inevitable. It is impractical to think that every difference can be completely resolved. But with mutual love, conflict can be managed. Calm, honest communication and flexibility are key.

If a couple cannot get over a bump on their own, it is wise to get help, and the earlier the better. Just as medical conditions are easier to treat when diagnosed and treated early, so are the snags in a relationship. A couple can turn to another person or couple that they respect, their parents, a pastoral minister at their parish, a deacon or a priest. A couple can also seek the assistance of a professional counselor or therapist, preferably one who is Christian and upholds the Gospel values of marriage and family. Often, especially if addressed early, the program can be as short as a single consultation or a few sessions.

It is advisable for a couple to go on a retreat once a year. It could be informal, like a weekend vacation together, or it could be a formal retreat like a one-year anniversary, newly married retreat, a Marriage Encounter or a Retrouvaille weekend.

Married couples can participate in parish marriage enrichment programs such as a Cana Retreat near Valentine’s Day, an adult education program with a guest speaker on the value of marriage and family, small groups comprised of married couples, and ministry as a mentor couple for an engaged couple or a newly married couple.

Marriages do not flourish without effort. The grace God provides must be put to good use.

Father Van Sloun is the director of clergy personnel for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This column is part of a series on the sacrament of marriage.

DAILY Scriptures

Sunday, Aug. 13

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a Rom 9:1-5 Mt 14:22-33

Monday, Aug. 14 St. Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr Dt 10:12-22 Mt 17:22-27

Tuesday, Aug. 15

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab 1 Cor 15:20-27 Lk 1:39-56

Wednesday, Aug. 16 Dt 23:1-12 Mt 18:15-20

Thursday, Aug. 17 Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17 Mt 18:21—19:1

Friday, Aug. 18 Jos 24:1-13 Mt 19:3-12

Saturday, Aug. 19 Jos 24:14-29 Mt 19:13-15

Sunday, Aug. 20

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 56:1, 6-7 Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 Mt 15:21-28

Monday, Aug. 21 St. Pius X, pope Jgs 2:11-19 Mt 19:16-22

Tuesday, Aug. 22 Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Jgs 6:11-24a Mt 19:23-30

Wednesday, Aug. 23 Jgs 9:6-15 Mt 20:1-16

Thursday, Aug. 24 St. Bartholomew, Apostle Rv 21:9b-14 Jn 1:45-51

Friday, Aug. 25 Ru 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22 Mt 22:34-40

Saturday, Aug. 26 Ru 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17 Mt 23:1-12

Sunday, Aug. 27

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 22:19-23 Rom 11:33-36 Mt 16:13-20

KNOW the SAINTS

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX (1090-1153) This French abbot and doctor of the Church is considered the second founder of the Cistercians. He entered the relatively new monastery at Citeaux in 1113 with four of his own brothers and 27 friends, and later founded the monastery at Clairvaux, which gave birth to 68 other communities. Despite poor health and his devotion to personal mortification, St. Bernard was an early Western European rock star: He was consulted by popes and kings, battled heresies, and supported the Second Crusade. The sick and maimed lined the roads he traveled, hoping for a miracle. Dante chose St. Bernard as his final guide in “Paradiso,” at the end of “The Divine Comedy.” He is the patron of Gibraltar. His feast day is Aug. 20. — OSV News

TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

COMMENTARY Patient hearts and horse dreams

There’s something about girls and horses.

Call it a sweeping generalization, sure, but it often holds true. While boys dream of faster forms of transit — racecars, rocket ships — girls prefer to amble along on a fourlegged friend. While boys fantasize about making the major leagues, girls harbor another ambition: to one day own a horse.

Every summer, horse camps fill up with girls. They are drawn to the massive, mystical mammals, somehow sensing that a form of therapy is available on their backs. Preteen troubles can be smoothed out with a curry comb.

This June, I observed a horse camp in rural Minnesota, where suburban girls donned boots and jeans, not a cellphone in sight. Each girl was assigned to a horse for the week, and no sooner were the pairings announced than that horse became hers.

BRIDGING FAITH | DEACON MICKEY FRIESEN

The journey of faith

Hundreds of thousands of young people are returning home from World Youth Day held in Portugal.

Pope Francis had invited them to come with the same spirit that Mary had when she left the concerns of her own situation and “arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39) to visit her cousin Elizabeth. He invited them to “set out in haste toward concrete encounters, toward genuine acceptance of those different from ourselves.”

The story of the Visitation describes faith as an encounter with Christ between us and among us. When we are willing to leave behind our concerns, our fears and judgments, we can be open to something new and joyful that “magnifies the Lord.” We can bridge the distance that exists between generations, between classes and races, between the old and the new. World Youth Day concluded on the feast of the Transfiguration — a day which marks another

LETTERS

Outstanding coverage, difficult subject

The Catholic Spirit’s presence at, and coverage of, the Tekakwitha Conference July 19-23 were outstanding. My own attendance, motivated simply by a desire to learn about American Indian Catholics, immersed me in the historical and present-day injustices suffered by my fellow Catholics who are American Indian and my own complicity in them by my ignorance, forgetting and inaction.

The injustices included territorial dispossession by national legislation, military battles, and unfulfilled treaties. Then, American Indian Boarding Schools to separate Native American children from their families and assimilate them by suppressing their language, appearance, and religious and cultural practices. Researchers have not yet gotten the full facts of these boarding schools and speakers suggested that some reluctance to provide records on the part of religious bodies has been an obstacle. We do know that over 500 children died and were buried on the grounds of the boarding schools. Of the more than 400 U.S. boarding schools, 87 were run by the Catholic Church.

As Catholics, we face a huge challenge, very clearly pointed out by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart,

All was well with the world. After 51 weeks of longing — of remembering and dreaming and waiting — this was the week when the girls’ dreams and reality aligned.

The Caldecott-winning illustrator Susan Jeffers turned that longing into art with her 2003 book “My Pony.” It chronicles a girl’s wish for a horse, which her parents cannot afford or lodge. Instead, she draws pictures of a dappled mare named Silver, then fantasizes about riding it through the woods in the moonlight.

“My earliest memories are about wanting a horse,” Jeffers writes in the author’s note at the end of the book. “But what to do with all that longing?” Her answer is unflinching. “I think if I had gotten my wish for a horse, I may not have found my love for drawing,” she writes. “My pencil and paints became the vehicle to my life of fantasy horses. My pencil seemed fueled by the desire to be with those exquisite animals.”

The absence of horses made space for the art that became a fulfilling career. The horses would come. As an adult, Jeffers rode horses daily — just as surely as she drew daily.

I’ve been thinking about deferred dreams. The end of summer calls them to mind, that bittersweet time when a new school year encroaches on the vast freedom of summer. Did we do all the things we wanted? Did we make all the memories? August brings a reckoning, revealing the gaps between our hopes and realities.

I believe God places dreams on our hearts with purpose. They are not wrong or selfish. They come from

encounter of disciples following Jesus up the mountain to get a glimpse of his glory. There are many roads that one can take on the journey of faith. Whether it be on a retreat or pilgrimage, in nature or quiet prayer, in a time of pain or loss, or in the ordinary and daily moments, the road leads us to encounter Christ in ways that are personal, intimate, transforming and loving. Like the visitation of Mary, the encounter with Christ between us can change our view of the world, home and a path forward.

In my ministry, I have the privilege of meeting missionaries returning home from their service abroad after several years. They tell stories of encounters with people in distant places that opened their eyes to seeing their relationship with the world, with God, and with their vocation in the Church in new and unforeseen ways. Once, I met a man at a gathering of returned missioners. The man had been in Nepal with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He told the group how mission had “ruined me for life.” At that point all of the other returned missioners nodded their heads in agreement. I felt like they knew something that I did not know yet. When I asked the meaning of this motto, he told me how encountering others in mission changes one’s view of everything and opens one to God in ways unknown before.

professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. In the name of our Savior, who taught us to love one another as he loved us, we must begin the task of healing. Brave Heart outlined the framework for this healing: 1) confront the trauma, 2) understand the trauma, 3) release the trauma, and 4) transcend the trauma. This is ours as Catholics because our Church was, and still is, part of the harm. We must be part of the healing.

Even this will not complete the healing. Still to be faced are the trafficking of American Indian children and the great number of missing and murdered American Indian women. We must find ways to see Christ suffering in our American Indian fellow Catholics.

Richard Podvin St. Odilia, Roseville

No end to learning

What a delightful testimonial in the “Why I am Catholic” (Carol Rusinko), July 13 edition. Something in it caught my eye that is critical to our personal growth as functional Catholics: “I realized as an adult that I had to fully learn my faith when my oldest daughter asked

the Creator, and their intensity emboldens us, just as they propelled the great artists, explorers and saints.

But some dreams are not meant to be realized today or this year or ever, even — at least not in the way we envision. We cannot know the reasons, but we can trust that God will do something special with the unfulfilled spots in our hearts. Something new.

Maybe we’re not ready yet. Perhaps God is quietly preparing us — equipping us through unwelcome trials, leading us to other loves first, introducing us to helpers, teaching us through the waiting. Father Ron Rolheiser gave a name to the stirrings of the heart: “the holy longing.” They are a sign of a fruitful spiritual life, placing us on the path intended by God. A beginning.

“Long before we do anything explicitly religious at all, we have to do something about the fire that burns within us,” Father Rolheiser writes in his bestselling book “The Holy Longing.”

“What we do with that fire, how we channel it,” he added, “is our spirituality.”

The holy longings are leading us somewhere. And the dreams we cannot realize today may be sweeter later.

“There is a time for everything,” Scripture promises.

As summer gives way to fall, the lush greens fading into ambers and rusts, may we too find peace in the waiting, being patient with the parts that are unresolved, trusting that something beautiful is at work.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Last month, our most recent delegation to our sister Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, returned from a two-week visit. Many delegates recounted experiences of amazing hospitality in villages and joyful celebrations of Mass that they had never seen before. The welcome and joy they received from people who live with so little made them wonder who is truly rich and who is poor. The encounter opened them to the presence of God in new ways. It has made some question and think more deeply about their own priorities, values and God’s calling in their lives. (See page 13.)

Pope Francis has called the whole Church to foster a culture of encounter, to be ready to set out in haste to meet Christ between us in each moment. To move beyond the borders that keep us apart and build bridges of faith that can change and heal us. The missionary spirit is the same spirit that prompted Mary to arise and set out in haste. May we be open to leaving ourselves behind enough to be open to encounter Christ — and to be ready to be ruined for life — with the life of Christ alive between us and among us.

Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission, which supports missionary outreach of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He can be reached at friesenm@archspm org

me a question … I knew the answer but couldn’t fully explain it to her.”

Our Catholic faith (philosophy of life) is like any study. Engineers don’t work with eighth grade science. Journalism professors don’t teach with eighth grade information. As we progress through life, we grow mentally. That increased capability demands more study to satisfy the attendant curiosity and results in a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Where are our adult education materials? There should, at the very least, be a copy of the “United States Catholic Catechism for Adults” (USCCB) in every Catholic home. As we progress through our evangelization efforts, let us remember an old salesman’s adage: It’s easier to retain present customers than to recruit new ones.

Art Thell St. Joseph, West St. Paul

Share your views by emailing ThecaTholicspiriT@archspm org Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit. Read more letters from our readers at ThecaTholicspiriT com

Not everything is relative

So much of our media and the messages we receive attempt to convince us that everything is relative.

These messages tell us there are no absolutes, there is nothing that we can count on without question, nothing that is completely assured. Many live without hope, believing life is meaningless.

As Catholic Christians, these messages can elicit as much anxiety for us as they do for everyone else. However, we know there are absolutes, and it is our responsibility, as the lay apostolate, to speak about this and to live with the belief that this is true.

The late Cardinal Avery Dulles encouraged us to be counter cultural in our beliefs, our words, and our actions, living with the assurance that God is always with us. God’s love for us, his complete commitment to us, and his pledge to be with us through the real presence of his Son in the Eucharist is all we need to stand firmly in the belief that Jesus is really, tangibly present. This is absolute.

As members of the lay apostolate, we learn each

ALREADY/NOT YET

JONATHAN LIEDL

The only way to win the battle of the sexes

In case you haven’t noticed, the battle of the sexes has entered new and dangerous territory.

It’s not just that there’s heightened conflict within malefemale relationships and interactions. Instead, gender relations in the U.S. are increasingly marked by something else: downright detachment from, and disregard for, the opposite sex.

After decades of feminist insistence that women are not only equal to men but also don’t require them, it is now men who are living out a version of that old Gloria Steinem slogan, increasingly behaving as if they need a woman like a fish needs a bicycle.

This is exemplified in the growing prominence of figures like Andrew Tate — a former kickboxer-turned-misogynistic influencer who once said he would never get married because it doesn’t have any “tactical advantage”; or the rise of the Men Going Their Own Way movement, which encourages men to separate themselves from women and a society that has been corrupted by feminism.

So, if men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, increasingly both are just staying put, not even bothering to deal with each other on planet Earth.

This sexual isolationism has been aided and abetted by technology that

week at Mass that, even though the Church has diverse ministries, we have unity of mission. And that mission is to be leaven, or yeast, in a world that is hurting, in a pluralistic society that has accepted the message of relativity.

As Catholic Christians, we are to be joyful and radiate the light we receive from Christ, who is really and truly present to us in the Eucharist. We become members of Christ’s mystical body through our acceptance of this truth and our participation in the Eucharistic meal. We do this in community. There is a seamlessness to the way we live, as we promote our union with him in every aspect of our lives, which draws others to us as they wonder about the source of our joy.

As members of the lay apostolate, we are exhorted to take an active role in the explanation and defense of Christian principles, each according to our talents and abilities. In many ways, we are like the early Christian Church during the apostolic era. We, like the Apostles, are living in a world that is hostile to our beliefs, and perhaps even threatened by our conviction and passion, which should only spur us to supply light in this dark world.

The Vatican II document, “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity,” or “Apostolicam Actuositatem” states that “the laity have an active part of their own in the life and action of the Church. Their action within the Church communities is so necessary that without it the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect. … (L)ay persons of a genuinely apostolic spirit supply the needs of their brothers and are a source of consolation no less to the pastors than to

reduces sex and reproduction to mere mechanical functions, rather than interpersonal realities. With in vitro fertilization, women don’t need men to have babies. With pornography — and the development of disturbingly lifelike virtual reality simulations — men don’t need women for sexual pleasure.

The problem hasn’t escaped mainstream attention. For instance, the new Barbie movie (which I haven’t seen, but have read copious reviews of) tries to resolve this dynamic by essentially offering a model of “coexistence.” The tensions that emerge in the film between the Barbies and the Kens reach an agreeable conclusion by, in the words of one reviewer, opting for “Swiss neutrality in the battle of the sexes.” Men are awesome, women are awesome, and they can live together peacefully without having to define themselves in relation to the other.

But this kind of coexistence is not true harmony. Instead, it is the “harmony” of the savanna watering hole, as if men were crocodiles and women were hippos, and the best they can hope to achieve is a kind of “go along to get along” nonaggression.

This is certainly not the kind of harmony one might hope to achieve between men and women, whose very bodies seem to indicate that they are, in a sense, made for each other. Barbie just offers this kind of cease-fire, but no real and lasting peace, because peace requires justice, and justice requires things to be in right relationship with each other.

If Barbie isn’t the answer, what is?

The work of Catholic scholar Erika Bachiochi suggests that part of a solution can be found in the origins of feminism, particularly in the thought of Mary Wollstonecraft. Unlike second wave feminists, who sought to erase legal and social distinctions between men and women, and certainly unlike the third wave feminists who began to undermine sexual distinction in toto, this 18th century English woman’s solution to the tensions that emerge between men

ACTION PLAN

uRead the Vatican II document, the “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity.” It can be found at tinyurl com/mr3evjjn

uBe convinced of the importance of our role in the world.

uLive the faith in small ways each day.

the rest of the faithful” (A.A., 10).

Ours is a time for great courage and conviction, not timidity and fear. The Lord needs every one of us to help reclaim this broken world for God. Whether at work, in our neighborhood, or even our own family, we must understand what is being asked of us and then bravely step forward in faith that the Holy Spirit will guide and help us.

The “Apostolate of the Laity” asserts that “the laity accomplish the Church’s mission in the world principally by that blending of conduct and faith which makes them the light of the world” (A.A., 13). What can we do today to live as vibrant members of the lay apostolate? We can radiate our Christian joy, showing that there are absolutes we can rely on, and be leaven in our hurting world.

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. Learn more at her website ifhwb com

and women was something else entirely: virtue.

Wollstonecraft didn’t ignore or deny that there could be injustices in malefemale relationships. Her solution wasn’t to create barriers between the two or deny distinctions, but to emphasize

Who is CCF?

how men and women, equal and complementary human beings, must find ways to live together in harmonious interdependence. For instance, differences in the frequency of sexual

PLEASE TURN TO ALREADY NOT YET ON PAGE 19

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Iwas raised in a spiritual, but non-religious, household. I was taught who Jesus is with a focus on his love for all of us. I didn’t attend church until high school. I joined a youth program at a Lutheran church in Cloquet and I really enjoyed the sense of community and the opportunity to learn more about my faith. However, I stopped attending church in college due to being busy and falling away from my faith.

In my early 20s, I started to long for a spiritual connection to God. I was dating Emily, the woman to whom I am now happily married, who invited me to attend Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the liturgy and the warmth of the community. I knew that I had found a place where I could grow in my faith.

In 2016, I started the OCIA process, which is the Catholic Church’s program for adults who are interested in becoming Catholic. I learned about the rich tradition of the Catholic Church, and I was confirmed in 2017.

One of the things that drew me to the Catholic Church was its approach to the Bible. I had always struggled with how people literally interpreted the Bible, but I learned that Catholics approach the Bible spiritually and take into consideration the context of the time that it was written and the bigger message that God is sharing. This really broke down barriers I had built up in my heart over 20 years.

As a Catholic, I see how we put into practice God’s word every day. Helping the poor and those in need is so crucial to my faith, and I’m proud to serve with others in my faith community. I now serve as a team leader in OCIA, walking with young and old people who are deciding whether to become Catholic. This ministry has strengthened my own faith and belief, and it’s inspiring to see the Holy Spirit work in others.

Why I am Catholic

By Xander Broeffle

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

I am a Catholic because God has called me to be one from the very beginning. All my internal values and beliefs align incredibly well with this Church.

In addition to the above, here are some other reasons I am a Catholic:

I believe in the importance of tradition. The Catholic Church has a rich history and tradition that I find deeply meaningful.

I believe in the importance of community. The Catholic Church is a global community. I feel a strong sense of belonging when I am part of this community.

I believe in the importance of social justice. The Catholic Church has a long history of working for social justice. I am inspired by the Church’s commitment to helping the poor and those in need.

I am grateful for the gift of my faith, and I am excited to see where God leads me in the future. I believe that the Catholic Church is the best place for me to grow in my relationship with God and to serve others.

Broeffle, 36, is a member of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. He is the father of Frances, 2, and has been married to Emily for eight years. He enjoys spending quality time with his family and playing and collecting video games. Broeffle works from home as a revenue operations consultant and podcast host for CS2, an agency that helps companies optimize marketing and sales. He says he is blessed in more ways than he could ever imagine and tries to give back whenever possible.

“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholiCSpirit@arChSpm org with subject line “Why I am Catholic.”

PARISH EVENTS

Rummage Sale — Aug. 10-11: 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Aug. 10; 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Aug. 11, (Bag Day); at St. Victoria, 8828 Victoria Drive, Victoria. Clothing, shoes, toys, household goods, collectibles, garden, tools, furniture and more. StviCtoria net

WORSHIP+RETREATS

Spirit and Fire — Aug. 11: 6:30–8:30 p.m. at St. Rose of Lima, 2048 Hamline Ave. N., Roseville. Praise and adoration, teaching and testimonies, with prayer for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Prayer teams and confession available. Worship music by Alex Schindler. SaintroSeoflima net/newS/Spirit-and-fire

Grief to Grace MN: Healing the Wounds of Abuse

— Aug. 15-20. Five-day, overnight program for anyone who has suffered degradation or violation from physical, emotional, spiritual, clerical or sexual abuse. A traumainformed model of care that is a safe and hopeful path to restoring dignity — a therapy for the soul. This is a confidential Twin Cities location due to the nature of the event. Address provided directly to registrants. For additional information visit grieftograCemn org

Blessed Is She: Burn Revival — Aug. 18: 7–9 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace, 5426 12th Ave. S., Minneapolis.

Women invited to join in prayer with the Blessed is She community, to worship and listen to a talk by Beth Davis. Enter into a Holy Hour with confession available. bleSSediSShe net/produCtS/burn-revival-for-CatholiC-womenminneapoliS-mn

SPEAKERS+SEMINARS

Catholic Social Difference Speaker Series — Aug. 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21: 7–8:15 p.m. at Assumption, 51 7th St. W., St. Paul. A four-week series of conversations with local Catholic leaders (see website for speakers) introducing Catholic social teaching and imagining how to practice it in real life. Talks are free and open to the public. For more information and to register, visit CatholiCSoCialthought org/2023-CatholiC-SoCial-differenCe-Conf

OTHER EVENTS

Walk for Life — Aug. 12: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Eastview

ALREADY NOT YET

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

desire common between married men and women — and the conflicts that can result — was neither a problem to be ignored nor a glitch in need of a technological fix. Instead, Wollstonecraft argued, it was an opportunity for spouses to grow in virtue — and in particular for men to grow in chastity and continence.

High School (athletic field), 6200 140th St. W., Apple Valley. Fun, food and fellowship to raise funds for Pregnancy Choices life care center and educational materials. Visit knightSforlifemn org for additional information or to donate online.

“Fully Alive” Art Show — Aug. 13: 2:30–4:30 p.m. at Dunrovin Retreat Center, 15525 St. Croix Trail N., Marine on St. Croix. Local Catholic artist Madeline Orsinger explores the line attributed to St. Irenaeus, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Open gallery with refreshments

2:30–4:30 p.m. Artist talk at 3 p.m. madelineorSinger Com/fully-alive

St. Joe’s Nickle Dickle 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament — Sept. 16: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic School, 41 E. First St., Waconia. The 30th annual outdoor three-on-three basketball tournament, features divisions from third grade to adults over 35. $72 per team. A 3-point shootout and slam dunk contest at 6:15 p.m. niCklediCkle Com

Catholic Studies Alumni Event — Sept. 21: 5–8 p.m. at O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co., 600 Malcolm Ave. SE, Minneapolis. Alumni from the classes of 2013-2023 and their guests are invited to celebrate 30 years of this life-changing program. Jonathan Liedl (2016 CSMA) will moderate a panel of special guests. Registration required. Limit two tickets per person.

CaS StthomaS edu/departmentS/areaS-of-Study/CatholiCStudieS/30th-anniverSary/index html

YOUNG ADULTS

Catholic Softball Group: Fall Season —

Aug. 17-Oct. 19: 6–10 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 2950 Centerville Road, Little Canada. Join the email list to be notified of all events at: CatholiCSoftball Com/join Must be 18 or older to play. Come play or watch every Thursday. Make new friends and grow in faith. CatholiCSoftball Com and CatholiCSoftballgroup@gmail Com or 612-578-4446

ONGOING GROUPS

Career Transition Group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. Speakers on topics to help people look

“The two sexes mutually corrupt and improve each other,” she once wrote.

“This I believe to be an indisputable truth, extending it to every virtue.”

Wollstonecraft’s vision of men and women virtuously finding harmony in and through — not in spite of— their unique and complementary differences should sound familiar — because in many respects, it is the Church’s vision, too.

As the Catechism teaches, “God

for a job, change careers or enhance job skills. Network with others, resume review.

hnoj org/Career-tranSition-group

Caregivers Support Group — Third Thursdays: 6:30 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. For those challenges of life, health, career and caring for an aging parent, grandparent, or spouse. tinyurl Com/yCxxCtxx

Healing Hope grief support — Second and fourth Thursdays: 6 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine. Facilitated by Bob Bartlett, licensed therapist. No fees or required registration. ChurChofSttimothy Com

Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Contact Bob at bob Sjtw@gmail Com Sjtw net/job-tranSition-networking-group

Natural Family Planning (NFP) — Church-approved ways to achieve or postpone pregnancy while embracing the beauty of God’s gift of sexuality. For a complete list of classes visit arChSpm org/family or call 651-291-4489.

Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) Third Sundays: 2–4 p.m. at St. Leonard of Port Maurice, 3949 Clinton Ave. S., Minneapolis. Lay Catholic men and women striving to observe the Gospel of Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis. 651-724-1348

Restorative Support for Victims-Survivors — Monthly: 6:30–8 p.m. via Zoom. Open to all victimssurvivors. Victim-survivor support group for those abused by clergy as adults — first Mondays. Support group for relatives or friends of victims of clergy sexual abuse — second Mondays. Victim-survivor support group — third Mondays. Survivor Peace Circle — third Tuesdays. Support group for men who have been sexually abused by clergy/religious — fourth Wednesdays. Support group for present and former employees of faith-based institutions who have experienced abuse in any of its many forms — second Thursdays.

Visit arChSpm org/healing or contact Paula Kaempffer, outreach coordinator for Restorative Justice and Abuse Prevention, at kaempfferp@arChSpm org or 651-291-4429.

created man and woman together and willed each for the other.” Men and women “were made ‘for each other’ — not that God left them half-made and incomplete: He created them to be a communion of persons, in which each be ‘helpmate’ to the other, for they are equal as persons (‘bone of my bones…’) and complementary as masculine and feminine.”

This is the only way to resolve the battle of the sexes — not by achieving an

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empty “coexistence” nor by separating from the enemy — but by men and women recognizing and embracing the fact that the only way to win is to do so together, in mutual interdependence, starting with our own marriages, interactions and relationships.

Liedl, a Twin Cities resident, is a senior editor of the National Catholic Register and a graduate student in theology at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.

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PAINTING

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Art and abundance

By Rebecca Omastiak The Catholic Spirit

Applying oil paints on a 9-inch by 12-inch canvas, plein air painter Joshua Cunningham explored how a beaver path cutting through vegetation and algae at Pickerel Lake in Lilydale visually opened up the shoreline, providing “an interesting leading line … weaving its way through the lily pads.” The lily pads appeared to him as if “they are giving praise, because their ‘palms’ are kind of cupped up.”

These observations come naturally to Cunningham. “In almost every place, the paintings feel like an invitation and me showing up, just like showing up to Mass, or showing up to adoration,” said Cunningham, 48, a member of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. “The painting is the fruit of the connection between me and that place and me walking in faith as best I can that day in that place.”

Plein air — or outdoor — painting is often about paying attention to how the “abundance of light, air, color, things that change” all go together, Cunningham said. Though the scene before Cunningham on a summery August morning was one he’s witnessed many times, the changes the landscape undergoes year by year offer him “more than I would ever be able to paint in a lifetime.”

After scouting his location by the side of the road just before 8 a.m., he set up a Pochade box on a tripod, lining the box with dozens of brushes. An umbrella connected to the Pochade box shaded his painting and oil paints while he worked. Cunningham laid out, and mixed, his paints according to a prismatic palette; Frank Vincent DuMond, the artist who developed it, taught that looking at a natural scene was like looking through a prism, or a rainbow of colors.

Cunningham paints original works; he does not make prints. He sometimes relies on a photograph to continue his work in his St. Paul home studio. When he works outdoors, he said he’s not physically moving much beyond a 5- to 6-foot space for three to four hours at a time. His setup becomes “a little hermitage.”

An Isanti native, Cunningham grew up in the middle of five male siblings — an experience he described as “a rough and tumble world.” Growing up on 60 acres of former farmland, Cunningham said “the seeds were planted” for painting. His interest in art started with drawing, including making his own comics and drawing the animals he encountered outside.

In 1993, Cunningham began studying art, then criminal justice at St. Cloud State University before transferring to Metropolitan State University in St. Paul to pursue law enforcement. It was during this time that his youngest brother, Ryan, died in a car accident. Six months after that, Cunningham injured his back to the degree that future law enforcement work became unlikely.

“So, I’m broken inside and out,” Cunningham said. He started drawing again, because “there was nowhere else to put some of those feelings.”

“My faith kind of blossomed in that space,” Cunningham said.

Recognizing how much Cunningham had gone through, Shirley Wanchena — founder of Pacem in Terris in Isanti and a family friend — extended an open invitation to him to stay at the hermitage, which was just a couple miles down the road from where Cunningham grew up.

At the hermitage, he reflected on his uncertainty about the future. “In my not-knowing, I just went to prayer with those questions over and over and over and over. And it wasn’t so much that I was getting answers, or at least that I could discern. The asking was honing, and it was changing me and softening me and cleaning out my ears so I could hear.”

Cunningham returned to his studies, this time at

St. John’s University in Collegeville. He pursued an art degree while studying theology; he considered entering seminary. Cunningham felt his time at St. John’s was spent “rebooting” his pursuit of art “through a lens of faith.” It was “the difference of looking at things from one point of reference — mine — or an eternal reference point.”

A spring break visit to Pacem in Terris led to an encounter with the hermitage’s artist in residence, Mark Balma. Balma suggested that Cunningham help him with studio tasks during summer break of 1999. Cunningham apprenticed with Balma and ultimately didn’t return to St. John’s University, instead becoming “totally immersed” in art. Balma “opened up this world of art I didn’t even know existed,” Cunningham said.

Before Balma stepped away from studio teaching, he encouraged Cunningham to consider two art schools: the Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Northeast Minneapolis and the Florence Academy of Art in Tuscany, Italy. Cunningham was accepted to both at the time he met his now-wife, Shannon. At that point, he thought maybe his pursuit of art was what led him to Shannon. “If it only led me to the love of my life … what a gift.” Grant funding to help support his dream of going to the Florence Academy of Art fell through; with Shannon’s encouragement, Cunningham continued studies at the Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts, then Hurinenko and Paquet Studio in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood. Jeffrey Hurinenko taught portraiture and Joseph Paquet taught landscape painting.

Cunningham studied without considering whether he might ultimately become a plein air painter. Landscape painting was simply “something I thought would be good to know,” he said; it became “a gift I never expected to open.” He began absorbing more from Paquet, who taught Cunningham to observe the subtleties that make each day different and thus develop an appreciation for every day. “You feel privileged to be there,” taking in the scene, Cunningham said.

By the time his two children — Greta, who graduated this spring as valedictorian from Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul, and William, who is a junior at Cretin-Derham Hall — arrived, Cunningham was bringing them with him to scout outdoor painting locations, as he focused on fatherhood and painting full time.

Now, Cunningham recognizes the interaction of art and mystery. “There’s a reason they call it art and not craft, because you don’t know until it’s over whether it will work out. I’m sure there’s a big life lesson in there, too.” For Cunningham, painting — and perhaps the life lesson — is about “making the next best decision … and then you make that choice. And if you make it well, it will lead you to the next thing.”

Faith guides Cunningham through those decisions; he relies upon it when fears of failure creep in. Faith becomes a way of “mending and healing into a place to

ARTIST HIGHLIGHTS

SIDEBAR

private collections throughout the United States and a few in Europe, according to his website.

His piece “So Begins the Green” received the PleinAir Magazine award in the 16th International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, with an awards ceremony held in July. Thousands of artworks are entered each competition, according to ARC — which is a New Jersey-based arts educational nonprofit that hosts what it calls “the largest online museum.”

Cunningham’s work has also gained recognition through inclusion in the Oil Painters of America’s national juried exhibition, which seeks to recognize oil paintings that excel in craftsmanship, composition and color usage, among other criteria.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Cunningham has artwork at Red Wing Arts’ Depot Gallery in Red Wing and Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis this summer.

In September, Cunningham will be part of “Flora and Fauna: The Plein Air Experience 2023” at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona. He’ll be doing a plein air painting demonstration on Sept. 29 with other artists and his work will be exhibited. The first weekend of December, Cunningham will open a solo show at Groveland Gallery; the exhibit will include 20 to 30 of his latest paintings.

Cunningham’s website can be found at joshuacunningham com

feel like you’re worthy of the gift that has been given.”

As the sun moved across the August sky, Cunningham layered paint on the canvas, at times balancing his brush hand on his opposite arm as he painted a trestle bridge’s details and shading. Bicyclists glided past. One stopped, asked if he could observe, and did so for a time before pedaling off again. Stops from passersby happen often, Cunningham said. Mostly, he said, those interactions are about “listening to their stories.”

“I’ve had people pray with me, and it started with a ‘hello,’ and tell me incredible stories of their own faith, and that all started because I was here, and they were there.” Over the years, Cunningham has come to view the conversations as part of his process.

Reflecting on what his art might convey, Cunningham hopes “if I do well by what’s given me to paint, it will touch people so specifically to their own lives. … It will tumble into their life and stir up their memories and faith and experience in ways I could never ever have predicted or anticipated. And so all that’s required, not unlike prayer, is to show up and do your best with the time you’ve been given.”

Plein air painter Joshua Cunningham’s work is featured in

Artist Joshua Cunningham works on a painting in his home studio in St. Paul.

DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT