The Cathlolic Spirit - May 11, 2023

PAGETWO

Brian Ragatz, leader the last three years of Edina-based Catholic Schools Center of Excellence, will take the helm as president July 1 of St. Thomas Academy, an all-male high school in Mendota Heights, his alma mater. “That place, that community plays a special role in my heart,” Ragatz said of STA. In addition to leading CSCOE, Ragatz has been a teacher and a principal at four Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Consecrated women and men from across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will celebrate milestone anniversaries at a 10 a.m. Mass May 14 with Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Religious order men and women celebrating jubilees in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be recognized.

A kindergarten student at Providence Academy in Plymouth, Isobel “Izzy” Ketcher was so touched by the Center for Mission’s program Living Water, for the drought-plagued Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, that she advertised among her neighbors, and from her driveway and doorto-door sold many of her toys and other items, raising $248. The center, which supports the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ global solidarity partnership with Kitui, will highlight her effort this month in its spring newsletter. The center said Ketcher heard about the program from her teacher, Tasha McMorrow, who shared the center’s calendar, a video and water bottles for students to collect funds. The center’s Living Water effort is an opportunity for students in Catholic schools to learn about another culture.

BLESS THIS HOUSE Father Mike Sullivan, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, blesses Marie Johnson at senior living center St. Therese of New Hope. Last month, Father Sullivan also blessed the building, asking God to be present and for things not of God to be cast out. He blessed any residents he saw and each apartment on all seven floors of the center’s senior living apartments, sprinkling them with holy water. Father Sullivan also heard confessions, which he now will do on a monthly basis at the New Hope facility.

A record-breaking, urban-concept, one-person, hydrogen-powered vehicle is the St. Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team’s latest claim to fame. The team of 11 students from the high school in Mendota Heights traveled to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway April 14-17 and broke the Shell Eco-marathon Americas’ performance record with an efficiency of 118 miles per cubic meter of hydrogen — the equivalent of 1,430 miles, about half the width of the United States, per gallon of gasoline.

Parishioners across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis bolstered retirement assistance for consecrated men and women by donating $416,629 to the annual Retirement Fund for Religious, particularly in December. Gifts to the fund are accepted year-round, but with March 31, 2023, the closing date for the 2022 appeal, School Sister of Notre Dame Lynore Girmscheid, archdiocesan coordinator for the fund, noted that she is grateful “to our many supporters for their faithful generosity and to assure them that the sisters, brothers and religious order priests hold them in daily prayers of gratitude.” Since the fund began in 1988, contributions from the archdiocese have totaled $17.1 million.

Students from two high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were among the more than 250 from 17 schools across the state who recently competed at the state level in the National Economics Challenge, facilitated regionally by the Minnesota Council on Economic Education. DeLaSalle in Minneapolis placed first in the division focused on general economics and won the state competition in that category in the final, quiz bowl round. DeLaSalle lost in the online Regional National Competitions. One team from St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights placed second in the division focused on advanced economics, and a second team placed third in the general economics division. Neither team advanced further.

in REMEMBRANCE

Deacon Yekaldo served 23 years in St. Paul and Woodbury

GUARDS AT THE VATICAN Pope Francis greets one of 23 new members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard and his family May 6, before the traditional swearing-in ceremony held at the Vatican. Pope Francis asked the new members to draw close to the sacraments, read Scripture and meditate on spiritual texts, including during calm shifts while on guard. “Your mission here in the Vatican is a path the Lord has opened for you to live your baptism and bear joyful witness of faith in Christ,” the pope told them. “In the many faces that approach you each day, be they members of the Roman Curia or pilgrims and tourists, may you see just as many invitations to recognize and share God’s love with each person.” The ceremony is held May 6 each year to commemorate the 147 Swiss soldiers who died protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome on that date in 1527. The present guard is composed of 125 Swiss men.

PRACTICING Catholic

On the May 5 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviews Jeremy Rohr, founder of Freedom to Love, a ministry focused on the transformative impact of human and spiritual formation to free young men from the lure of pornography. Also featured are Cami Berthiaume, producer of the Practicing Catholic radio show, who shares memories from the show and where she will be contributing next in her career; and Sharon Shuck, whose parents attended Indian boarding schools, who discusses the schools’ generational impact. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

Deacon Fred Yekaldo, who ministered for 22 years at St. Ambrose in Woodbury and nearly a year at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, died surrounded by family April 15. He was 90. A native of St. Paul who served in the Navy, Deacon Yekaldo worked as a plumber and was ordained a permanent deacon in 1982. He ministered at Blessed Sacrament before serving at St. Ambrose and had been on a personal leave of absence since 2005. Among other attributes, he was known as a good cook and a woodworker who created wooden signs for family and friends. Deacon Yekaldo was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Myra, his parents, Ralph and Lillian, and his brothers, Frank and Tony. His survivors include four children, nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass was held May 5 at Guardian Angels in Oakdale. Interment was at Guardian Angels Cemetery.

CORRECTION

A photo caption in the April 6 issue mistakenly identified figures in a marble crucifixion scene at Holy Cross church in northeast Minneapolis. On either side of Jesus are his mother, Mary, and St. John the Beloved (or Evangelist).

COURTESY BARB HEMBERGER, ST. THERESE

CNS | VATICAN MEDIA

DEACON FRED YEKALDO

ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Meeting the needs of God’s people

It’s budget season for those of us on a fiscal year calendar that starts on July 1. This is always an experience that deepens my gratitude for the generous financial support that our parishes provide to the archdiocese from the offerings that you, the faithful, so generously offer Sunday after Sunday.

While the precise expectations and procedures vary from diocese to diocese, the essential reality is pretty much the same around the world: the Church relies upon donations to accomplish her work. The flipside of that reality is that all Catholics are obliged to support the Church. In fact, that’s the fifth of the “five precepts of the Church” that we all had to memorize when we were kids.

The obligation isn’t simply to help the Church pay its electric bills or make sure that the parking lots are plowed. The Code of Canon Law goes beyond that, noting that we are “obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary … for the works of the apostolate and of charity … .”

As we prepare to finalize this year’s budget, we are hoping to dedicate more of our resources to apostolic work and works of charity.

I am grateful that this issue of The Catholic Spirit is helping us to focus on one of the works of charity: the care that is provided to the homeless of our community. As I pass the Higher Ground Residence at Dorothy Day Place in St. Paul on my way to our offices each day, I am reminded to pray for the great work that Catholic Charities undertakes to address the needs of what seems to be an ever-expanding population of homeless brothers and sisters. I’m grateful for the witness that their staff and volunteers offer day in and day out to the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked and giving shelter to the homeless. It’s precisely what Christ asked us to

Satisfacer las necesidades del pueblo de Dios

Es temporada de presupuesto para aquellos de nosotros en un calendario de año fiscal que comienza el 1 de julio. Esta es siempre una experiencia que profundiza mi gratitud por el generoso apoyo financiero que nuestras parroquias brindan a la arquidiócesis a partir de las ofrendas que ustedes, los fieles, tan generosamente oferta domingo tras domingo.

Si bien las expectativas y los procedimientos precisos varían de una diócesis a otra, la realidad esencial es prácticamente la misma en todo el mundo: la Iglesia depende de las donaciones para realizar su trabajo. La otra cara de esa realidad es que todos los católicos están obligados a apoyar a la Iglesia. De hecho, ese es el quinto de los “cinco preceptos de la Iglesia” que todos teníamos que memorizar cuando éramos niños.

La obligación no es simplemente ayudar a la Iglesia a pagar sus facturas de electricidad o asegurarse de que los estacionamientos estén limpios. El Código de Derecho Canónico va más allá, señalando que estamos “obligados a asistir en las necesidades de la Iglesia para que la Iglesia tenga lo necesario … para las obras del apostolado y de la

do in Matthew 25.

For this reason, I am delighted that our budget for next year allows us to reintroduce some direct support to Catholic Charities even though these continue to be lean years for the archdiocese. While there are other wonderful organizations and individuals that are working with the homeless in our area, our historic connection to Catholic Charities, as well as some particular needs they are facing this year, prompted us to support their work in the Lord’s vineyard. My fifth grade teacher, Sister Agnita, always told us that “the Lord is never outdone when it comes to generosity.” I trust that the Lord will bring blessings as we give from “our need” rather than from “our surplus.”

I am certainly inspired to greater generosity by the magnanimity that I so regularly see in our Catholic community, especially now that we are in the height of “gala season.” I never knew the word “gala” when I was a priest in Pittsburgh (and still mispronounce it about 50% of the time). We held street fairs and card parties and an occasional “night

caridad…”. Mientras nos preparamos para finalizar el presupuesto de este año, esperamos dedicar más de nuestros recursos al trabajo apostólico y las obras de caridad.

Estoy agradecido de que esta edición de The Catholic Spirit nos ayude a centrarnos en una de las obras de caridad: el cuidado que se brinda a las personas sin hogar de nuestra comunidad. Al pasar por la Residencia Higher Ground en Dorothy Day Place en Saint Paul en mi camino a nuestras oficinas todos los días, recuerdo que debo orar por el gran trabajo que Caridades Católicas lleva a cabo para abordar las necesidades de lo que parece ser una población cada vez mayor de hermanos y hermanas sin hogar. Estoy agradecido por el testimonio que su personal y voluntarios ofrecen día tras día a las obras de misericordia corporales: dar de comer al hambriento, dar de beber al sediento, vestir al desnudo y dar cobijo a los desamparados. Es precisamente lo que Cristo nos pidió que hiciéramos en Mateo 25.

Por esta razón, estoy encantado de que nuestro presupuesto para el próximo año nos permita reintroducir algo de apoyo directo a Caridades Católicas a pesar de que estos siguen siendo años difíciles para la arquidiócesis. Si bien hay otras organizaciones e individuos maravillosos que están trabajando con personas sin hogar en nuestra área, nuestra conexión histórica con Caridades Católicas, así como

at the races.” Here, however, it seems like Catholics look for opportunities to come together to eat ovenroasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary and to offer financial support to endeavors that they value, whether they be schools or parishes or pregnancy resource centers or evangelistic outreach ministries or charitable organizations like Catholic Charities. Some of those institutions are Church-related while others are simply faith-inspired. When they are doing the Lord’s work, they need to be supported.

I greatly admire both the creative lay leadership that is the backbone of these events and the exceptional generosity that they engender. I always find myself marveling at the end of the evening at both the sums that were raised and the passionate support that was evidenced. I love going to these events when I learn something new and especially when I experience a strengthening of the ties that bind us as the body of Christ.

In many ways it seems appropriate that “gala season” should coincide with “confirmation season.” The readings and prayers for our confirmation celebrations speak about the anointing of the Holy Spirit being given to individuals but always for the good of the community. There is a social responsibility that flows from having received the transformative gift of the Holy Spirit. That’s what led Peter and the other Apostles to go forth “to preach the good news to the poor” and to “bind up the broken-hearted.” The gifts we receive are not to be placed under a bushel basket or buried out of fear. They are always to be invested and shared.

While the needs in our community are great, I trust that the Lord in his providential care has given us the gifts that we need to address them. As we continue our celebration of Easter, please join me in praying that our response to God’s love might always be generous and bold, especially as we strive to care for our sisters and brothers in need.

algunas necesidades particulares que enfrentan este año, nos impulsaron a apoyar su trabajo en la viña del Señor. Mi maestra de quinto grado, la hermana Agnita, siempre nos dijo que “El Señor nunca es superado en generosidad”. Confío en que el Señor traerá bendiciones a medida que demos de “nuestra necesidad” en lugar de “nuestro excedente”.

Ciertamente estoy inspirado a una mayor generosidad por la magnanimidad que veo tan regularmente en nuestra comunidad católica, especialmente ahora que estamos en el apogeo de la “temporada de gala”. Nunca supe la palabra “gala” cuando era sacerdote en Pittsburgh (y todavía la pronuncio mal alrededor del 50% del tiempo). Celebrábamos ferias callejeras y fiestas de naipes y una “noche en las carreras” ocasional. Aquí, sin embargo, parece que los católicos buscan oportunidades para reunirse para comer papas asadas al horno con romero y para ofrecer apoyo financiero a los esfuerzos que valoran, ya sean escuelas, parroquias, centros de recursos para el embarazo, ministerios de evangelización o organizaciones benéficas, organizaciones como Caridades Católicas. Algunas de esas instituciones están relacionadas con la Iglesia, mientras que otras simplemente están inspiradas en la fe. Cuando están haciendo la obra del Señor, necesitan apoyo.

Admiro mucho tanto el liderazgo laico creativo que es la columna vertebral

de estos eventos como la generosidad excepcional que engendran. Siempre me maravillo al final de la noche tanto por las sumas que se recaudaron como por el apasionado apoyo que se evidenció. Me encanta ir a estos eventos cuando aprendo algo nuevo y sobre todo cuando experimento un fortalecimiento de los lazos que nos unen como cuerpo de Cristo.

En muchos sentidos, parece apropiado que la “temporada de gala” coincida con la “temporada de confirmación”. Las lecturas y oraciones para nuestras celebraciones de confirmación hablan de la unción del Espíritu Santo que se da a los individuos, pero siempre para el bien de la comunidad. Hay una responsabilidad social que brota de haber recibido el don transformador del Espíritu Santo. Eso es lo que llevó a Pedro y a los demás apóstoles a salir “a predicar la buena nueva a los pobres” y a “vendar a los quebrantados de corazón”. Los regalos que recibimos no deben colocarse debajo de una canasta de bushel o enterrarse por miedo. Siempre deben invertirse y compartirse.

Si bien las necesidades de nuestra comunidad son grandes, confío en que el Señor en su cuidado providencial nos ha dado los dones que necesitamos para abordarlas. A medida que continuamos con nuestra celebración de la Pascua, únase a mí en oración para que nuestra respuesta al amor de Dios sea siempre generosa y audaz, especialmente mientras nos esforzamos por cuidar a nuestros

While the needs in our community are great, I trust that the Lord in his providential care has given us the gifts that we need to address them. As we continue our celebration of Easter, please join me in praying that our response to God’s love might always be generous and bold, especially as we strive to care for our sisters and brothers in need.

A love celebrated

From left, Father Michael Creagan, pastor of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, says a special blessing on April 30 over parishioners John “Jack” Larson and Lillian “Lil” Larson, who are celebrating 75 years of marriage. Father Creagan called Jack “one of the pioneer parishioners of St. Joseph,” because he helped set up the folding chairs for the first Mass celebrated on Sept. 27, 1942, by Msgr. James Foran at then-Sibley Junior High School — St. Joseph Masses were first celebrated in the school gym. The Larsons expressed their gratitude and happiness about being together the past 75 years. “She’s the most understanding person in the world,” Jack said about his wife. Lil said even when she and Jack faced challenges, “I never thought of anything but getting over it. It was always ‘for better, for worse’ and you stay with it.”

COURTESY DAVID RINALDI

More than 1,200 ‘Come to the Table’ with CCF of Minnesota

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

With Bishop Robert Barron emphasizing the faithfilled influence of the laity, more than 1,200 people gathered at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis April 27 to celebrate 30 years of the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota’s stewardship and grantmaking for Catholic efforts across the state.

Relying on generous donors, including many lay women and men, and meeting their wishes to help endeavors of the Catholic Church, the foundation since its inception in 1992 has granted more than $240 million to parishes, schools and other ministries. It now stewards more than 1,200 charitable funds totaling $530 million and grants of roughly $18 million annually.

In his keynote speech, Bishop Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, noted that Vatican II was largely a missionary council that stressed the influence of lay men and women in all manner of employment and skills supporting and spreading the faith.

“It seems to me it’s one of the great, frankly, unrealized dreams of Vatican II,” Bishop Barron said. “This is the universal call to holiness. What it looks like is the laity going out into the world as great Catholic lawyers, and great Catholic politicians, and great Catholic business leaders and great Catholic educators and great Catholic writers and parents, so as to ‘Christify’ the world.

“So, taught and sanctified by the clergy, it’s the laity’s great privilege and prerogative and duty and

responsibility to bring (that) into your arenas of expertise,” the bishop said. “You’re the ones who know the areas of law and finance and government and business and education. You know it in a way that we

clergy don’t.”

CCF President Anne Cullen Miller thanked everyone for their support, noting that generous donors help the foundation assist the Church. The gathering included laypeople and priests, as well as Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishops Joseph Williams and Michael Izen of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun of St. Maron in Minneapolis, and bishops and retired bishops from Duluth, New Ulm, St. Cloud and Dubuque, Iowa.

Kelly Wahlquist, director of The St. Paul Seminary’s Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul and founder of WINE, Women in the New Evangelization, emceed the event, at one point calling to the stage Father Michael Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Father Schmitz, who helped create widely known podcasts “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year,” took on a challenge: to explain the seven cardinal and theological virtues in eight minutes. Sitting with Wahlquist, he did it, both seriously and lightheartedly, and talking very fast.

Summarizing the evening, which was titled Come to the Table, Celebrate the Joy and Power of Giving, Archbishop Hebda compared the speakers and the depth of sharing to a fine, several-course meal.

“And for that, my brothers and sisters, we have to be eternally grateful,” the archbishop said, as he closed the evening with a prayer.

UST president shares his work, faith journey with CEND’s young professionals

By Barb Umberger

The Catholic Spirit

Rob Vischer, president of St. Paul-based University of St. Thomas since Jan. 1, told about 70 young professionals May 2 that he tries to worry less about what his faith means for his professional life and more about whether he is becoming “the person I was created to be.”

“Which, to be clear, has implications for my professional life, but they’re different,” he said. “So, who’s the person I was created to be? Well, I was created for a relationship with God. And what does that mean? It’s going to be seen through our work.”

Conversation about what faith means for the professional life is “super important,” Vischer said, but it’s also important to remember “God cares a lot less about what I do than about who I am. What God wants is relationship. And sometimes, especially if we’re highachieving, driven Christians, we start mistaking our own, what I call addiction to productivity, for a spiritual life,” he said.

Vischer spoke to people in their 20s and 30s participating in a Center for Evangelization and Discipleship event at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. CEND is a Twin Cities nonprofit formed in June 2020. It encourages Catholic young adults to get to know one another and be active in their faith. The group also helps local parishes foster young adult involvement. Its young Catholic professionals’ gatherings focus on educating, mentoring and inspiring young adults to advance their careers and do so from a Catholic frame of reference. Events include meeting the first Tuesday of each month for Mass, fellowship and networking, and remarks from a local Catholic business leader.

Dominican Father Brian John Zuelke, parochial vicar of St. Odilia in Shoreview and a member of the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great, celebrated Mass May 2 in the Basilica’s lower-level chapel. Hospitality, networking and Vischer’s comments took place in the nearby parish hall.

Referencing a book titled “The Second Mountain,” Vischer said its thesis is that in most lives that are well lived, young adults work hard to climb the first mountain — achievement — by stretching and pushing themselves. “You’re working hard to climb the

mountain of achievement, to show that you matter, to show that you belong in whatever field you’re trying to conquer,” Vischer said. “At some point, you realize that that first mountain is not a sustainable source of joy.”

And then the second mountain, which is about connection and contribution, Vischer said, “that’s where you discover the joy.”

Vischer also emphasized community in his opening remarks, saying that the CEND group’s “most impactful legacy is not something you hear from the podium,” but “the relationships you form at the table.”

“So, lean into those,” he said. “That’s really important in the faith journey” and in professional life.

Vischer said his own journey has taught him cultivating joy as a leadership virtue can involve three traits. First, empathy as a leader, on the job and with friends and family.

Second, confidence, but not confidence premised on never failing or making a mistake, but confidence that comes through an accurate understanding of who we were created to be, Vischer said. “On my good days, I’m able to root my confidence in my relationship with God, my relationship with neighbor,” he said. Third, self-awareness. Many people view leadership

as “I’m going to be a leader; I need to be this person,” Vischer said. “I’ve got to figure out how to be different than I actually am … as opposed to understanding yourself enough to know how leadership emerges from who you were created to be and what your life experience has shaped you to be.”

Many Christians under-use self-awareness as a tool because they think they can “just focus on God,” Vischer said. “Do focus on God, but God also reveals himself through the life journey.”

A Catholic today, Vischer said he was raised in the Evangelical Christian Church. During his remarks, he described how, at age 8, his journey included the day his father left their family’s home. The same day, a Sunday, Vischer’s mother called to inform their church’s pastor who, later that evening at a service, announced it from the pulpit and asked attendees to pray for his family. “About half the congregation got up in the middle of the service and drove over to our house just to be there,” Vischer said.

No crisis intervention team was there, he said. Instead, “these were just regular people in a small church in a small town in Iowa who said, ‘Oh, we’re people of faith. We need to be where the pain is.’”

Vischer recalled it as a terrible memory, but also one that gave him a memory “of what it looks like to be the hands and feet and voice and tears of Jesus,” he said. And “if you want to know who you are as a leader and you’re not trying to fake it and you’re not trying to be somebody else, you better know where your pain is because it’s going to come out,” Vischer said. “It’s going to come out in healthy ways or it’s going to come out in unhealthy ways.”

It’s important to know ourselves, our history, sources of joy and of pain, and what will energize us, Vischer said. “If we really believe that God created us with a unique set of gifts and a purpose and things that energize us, and things that don’t, we have to be able to depend on self-awareness as a guide to what our leadership will look like,” he said.

An individual’s journey, the good and the pain, shapes how people “are as a leader,” he said. “The confidence, the empathy, the self-awareness … will facilitate the contribution and the connection, and that’s the path.”

TIFFANY BOLK, COURTESY CATHOLIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester discusses the importance of the laity in the mission of the Church at the 30th anniversary celebration of St. Paul-based Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota April 27 in downtown Minneapolis.

BARB UMBERGER | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Rob Vischer, president of the University of St. Thomas, talks with a participant at a Center for Evangelization and Discipleship event May 2 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

Father Tiffany’s more than 50 years as a priest included serving at 15 parishes

By Joe Ruff

The Catholic Spirit

Father Eugene Tiffany, who retired from active ministry in 2012 and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest last year, died April 27. He was 77.

A native of Minneapolis who was ordained in 1972, Father Tiffany ministered at 15 parishes across the archdiocese. He also served at the chancery in St. Paul, Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis and Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield.

“He was well-liked wherever he went,” said his sister, Estelle Gunkel of Elk River. “He was very gregarious. He could be silly and extremely serious. He was a take charge kind of person.”

Father Tiffany played hockey in a men’s group and loved to ride his bicycle, Gunkel said. He enjoyed working with contractors on church building projects and other needs, she said.

He loved being a parish priest, Gunkel said. “He really engaged with young families. He wanted to be part of their faith lives.”

He had a stroke in 2010, which over time may have contributed to his suffering from dementia in recent years, she said. April 22, all six of his siblings and other family members gathered around for an anointing of the sick with Father Jeff Huard, a spiritual director at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, who delivered the homily at his funeral, Gunkel said.

The funeral Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding was May 9 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, followed by a luncheon. Interment was at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.

Father Huard said his first assignment as a priest was associate pastor of All Saints in Lakeville while Father Tiffany was pastor. “He and I from that day on forged a deep friendship through the years,” he said. Father Tiffany was instrumental in building the present All Saints church, Father Huard said. “He was a skilled carpenter and tradesman,” the priest said. “He loved all the details.”

He led the parish staff with grace, recognizing people’s need to be with

family, particularly when it came to difficult times in people’s lives, Father Huard said. “There wasn’t drama when Gene was involved,” he said. “He was very adept. He was family first.”

That same forthright and fair leadership was reflected in Father Tiffany’s actions when he served as director of priestly life and ministry at the chancery from 2008 to 2010, Father Huard said. “You had that feeling, ‘he will handle it. He’ll tell me and work a plan with me.’ He honored easily and loved deeply,” Father Huard said.

Toward the end of Father Tiffany’s life, Father Huard met him every week for coffee. “He was one of my great friends in life,” Father Huard said.

One of Father Tiffany’s brothers, Kevin, of St. Vincent de Paul in Osseo, said Father Tiffany pitched in to help family members with any number of needs, including home remodeling or construction projects. His brother once built his own cabin at a lake, he said.

“He was very much family oriented,” Kevin Tiffany said. “Anything came up, he was always there.”

Carved into Father Tiffany’s gravestone are images depicting two of his greatest loves: a chalice with the Eucharist on the left, and two hockey sticks at the lower right, his brother said. In between are his name with dates of his birth, ordination and death.

Before his retirement, Father Tiffany was parochial administrator of St. Boniface in Minneapolis for a year. He served at All Saints in Minneapolis in 2012 and Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights from 2011 to 2012.

Ordained June 3, 1972, his ministry also included: Holy Spirit in St. Paul (2006-2009), St. Andrew and St. Mark in St. Paul (2009), St. Olaf and Risen Christ Catholic School, both in Minneapolis (2004-2006), All Saints in Lakeville (1992-2004), Holy Trinity in South St. Paul (1985-1992), St. Henry in Monticello (1981-1985), Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield (1980-1981), Immaculate Heart of Mary in St. Paul (1980-1981), St. Peter in Richfield (19771980), Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale (1976-1977), Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul (1973-1976) and St. Matthew in St. Paul (1972-1973).

You live a faith-filled life. You participate in the sacraments. You pray and read scripture. You share generously of your time and talents. And your parish is at the center of it all.

Have you remembered your parish in your estate plan?

A simple bequest to your parish ensures future generations can call your parish home, too.

See sample bequest language to include in your estate plan at www.ccf-mn.org/bequest

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father Eugene Tiffany, left, joins in the applause during the episcopal ordination of Bishop Peter Christensen Sept. 14, 2007.

The Saint John’s Bible: Sharing the joy at a Shoreview parish

By Maura Keller

For The Catholic Spirit

In November 2022, Father Erich Rutten, pastor of St. Odilia in Shoreview, received an email from the John Roberts Company, a Minneapolis-based commercial printing company.

Wanting to honor former owner and CEO Robert “Bob” Keene, the company hoped to donate its seven-volume Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible to the parish, of which Keene was a longtime member. Company officials — including Michael Keene, the late Keene’s son and current owner of the company — had a deep desire to find a home for the Bible, where it could more fully accomplish its purpose of being seen, experienced and used. On Jan. 22, Father Rutten formally presented St. Odilia’s set of the Bible to the parish. Representatives from the John Roberts Company were there to make the formal gift.

“Many parishioners stayed after Mass to get a closer look, to ask questions, and to personally turn pages,” Father Rutten said. “They were ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing.’ Since then, we’ve had a number of parish events and a public event discussing the history of The Saint John’s Bible Project and the wonder of it all. The response from parishioners and the Shoreview community has been very positive.”

The Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten and illuminated Bible to be commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in over 500 years, is the result of a collaborative effort that began in 1998 among the monks of St. John’s Abbey and St. John’s University in Collegeville and renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson, as well as theological advisers and artists. The Heritage Edition of the Bible is a limited-edition, full-size fine art edition enhanced by hand with gold and silver foil applications and leather-covered binding.

“As Catholics we are incarnational,” Father Rutten said. “We experience God through our senses, including hearing, sight … and touch.”

“But we also greatly honor the power of God’s word,” Father Rutten said. “The Saint John’s Bible is an amazing expression of God’s word in both the handwritten script and the incredibly beautiful art. Having the Heritage Edition here allows us to more fully engage God’s word in study, prayer and conversation. It is one more way of learning more about God and actually experiencing God.”

The addition of the set has prompted parishioners to use the Bible in the parish school, faith formation programs, faith sharing and Bible study groups, and in ecumenical and interreligious dialogues in the broader community.

“I am imagining that our teachers can occasionally open a volume of the Bible for our grade schoolers to see and touch and discuss,” Father Rutten said.

“We might have an Advent or Lent series with reflections on particular images and texts. A couple of times a year, we might host an open house for the public so that people can come and see. I am also hoping that we can use the Bible on special feast days in our Masses.”

St. Odilia is also recruiting a team of parishioners to build a permanent display for the Bible.

Rick Storms, parish administrator at St. Odilia, said the number of attendees for events highlighting the Bible have been great, but even better is the excitement and energy as people experience the word of God in a new way. “The reactions have universally been over the top excitement with it,” Storms said.

St. Odilia parishioner William Walsh said he appreciates “how the Bible was intentionally made much larger than a personal Bible so that it can be read and viewed communally.” He is particularly drawn to the illuminations because

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they “present a new way for me to understand the Scriptures. I have had the opportunity to view several illuminations and each one helped me reflect on the meaning of the Scripture in a new way.”

Though fellow parishioner Teresa Marchek said she heard the story of The Saint John’s Bible years ago, she had never seen an edition before the Heritage Edition arrived at St. Odilia. “Having it here makes it more accessible to everyone in the broader community,” Marchek said. “Its presence is also creating unique opportunities to come together and share our faith through discussions.”

The Saint John’s Bible will also play a role in the parish’s post-COVID “Ignited by the Spirit Campaign,” which encourages members of the community to be “re-ignited in their faith and in their involvement with the parish,” Father Rutten said.

Marchek and her family have attended several events in the past year at St. Odilia through the initiative. Some were community-building activities like the fall festival or food truck nights, and some have been faith formation offerings. “All of them have been critical to helping us rebuild the sense of connection we had to the parish before the pandemic loosened the ties,” Marchek said. “I think events like these are a critical component of making

everyone feel welcome and wanted again.”

“We are hoping to use The Saint John’s Bible to encourage small groups and faith sharing among our parishioners,” Father Rutten said. “For the folks willing to participate, I have no doubt they will deepen their understanding and their faith. They will form greater bonds with each other and with the parish.”

Our expansion includes contemplative gardens and courtyard areas with traditional graves, cremation graves and a beautifully designed columbarium with more than 300 niches for cremation.

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COURTESY ST. ODILIA

From left, Jean Nickman, a parish trustee, stands Dec. 30 with Father Erich Rutten, pastor of St. Odilia in Shoreview; Rick Storms, parish administrator; and Mike Nordberg of John Roberts Company, in front of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition given to the parish.

COURTESY ST. ODILIA

Father Rutten points out features of The Saint John’s Bible to parishioners Ryan Hauenstein and his daughter, Clara, at St. Odilia on March 6.

The Saint John’s Bible’s “Word Made Flesh” by Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, St. John’s University, Collegeville. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Hundreds pray in St. Paul for Mary’s intercession for families and human dignity

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Prayers rose in St. Paul as hundreds gathered at the State Capitol for the 76th annual Family Rosary Procession and made their way to the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Rick Cooper, 75, and his wife, Cathy, 76, of Epiphany in Coon Rapids were among those gathered. With their daughter, Candace, 43, also of Epiphany, they prayed for health in their family, for an end to abortion in Minnesota and across the country, and for a society too often turned away from Christian ethics and principles.

MoeMoe Ye, 44, of St. Casimir in St. Paul, was there with her son and two daughters, including 9-year-old Mayni Zar, a third grader from St. Jerome School in Maplewood, in her white first Communion dress with a rosary adorning her neck. The family came, Ye said, to “celebrate the rosary.”

Others celebrating their first Communion this spring, along with their families, participated in the 30-minute walk. All gathered prayed the rosary, and many carried roses as they sought Mary’s intercession for their parishes, the ill, government leaders and

others. Some were in wheelchairs, others in baby strollers, some carried umbrellas or wore hats for shade on the sunny, 73-degree afternoon.

Arriving at the Cathedral, with members of the Knights of Columbus in full regalia leading the way while carrying on their shoulders a statue of Mary on a platform decorated with flowers, people knelt in the pews. Together, they sang hymns and prayed the Litany of Loreto seeking Mary’s intercession, and a prayer to renew the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ consecration to Mary.

In his homily, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said, “We’re praying for a peace that seems so difficult to obtain. We’re praying for a respect for the dignity of each human life that seems to be escaping us as well. We pray for a return of reason in the midst of our society, most especially in our state. Mary is always with us as our mother, but we know that she is particularly with us in our time of need.”

In a May 4 video, the archbishop had urged people to participate in the procession and pray for lawmakers as legislators prepare to wrap up the legislative session May 22. It has been a difficult session, the archbishop said, for those opposed to abortion and working for the advancement of human

dignity. The Legislature, controlled in the Senate and House by Democrats, and Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, placed into state law this session a right to abortion for any reason and without a limit on viability.

In these latter days of the session, the Minnesota Catholic Conference is encouraging people to reach lawmakers (see pages 9 and 21) as they consider legislation that would repeal the need for informed consent before obtaining an abortion and other safety measures for women and their unborn children, as well as bills that would assert a person’s right to subjectively define gender identity and limit counseling for minors confused about their gender identity, views contrary to teachings of the Catholic Church.

The archbishop closed his homily by noting that “all of us as a people have been enriched by the presence of our loving God.” Now, the faithful must share the graces they have experienced through “what Jesus and Mary have done for us,” he said.

“May we go forth strengthened by the presence of Mary in our lives,” the archbishop said. “May she hold our hand and show us her maternal love, so that in all things we might be bold proclaimers of the good news that Jesus Christ is truly risen for us and calls us to life everlasting.”

ABOVE Members of Knights of Columbus Council 16198 from St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul carry a statue of Mary during the annual Family Rosary Procession May 7 from the State Capitol to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

LEFT People sing and wave inside the Cathedral as a statue of Mary is carried up the aisle and into the sanctuary. Some people waved white handkerchiefs, as is customary at this event.

Bills opposed by bishops make headway in Legislature

By Joe Ruff

The Catholic Spirit

Despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church and others, Gov. Tim Walz signed into law April 27 a bill designed to make so-called “gender-affirming” health care readily accessible to minors traveling or brought illegally to Minnesota from other states.

The “transgender refuge” law allows Minnesota courts to disregard parental rights and court orders from other states and take “emergency jurisdiction” over minors to ensure their access to gender therapies that have been stopped by other countries such as Sweden and the United Kingdom. Critics allege that the bill, HF146, violates multiple state and federal laws.

Walz also signed into law a related bill designed to ban so-called “conversion therapy” for minors and vulnerable adults that bars counseling which attempts to address unwanted same-sex attraction or gender discordance. The Church has argued that allowing “gender-affirming” health care and banning professional counselors from assisting minors and others struggling with their sexual identity can cause irreversible harm and undermine a person’s ability to live an integrated sexuality ordered toward marriage and family.

Minnesota Catholic Conference Executive Director Jason Adkins said, “We live in an upside-down world where it is allegedly harmful for young people to access licensed mental health professionals to help them live in accord with their biological sex, but it is OK for those same minors to access pubertyblocking hormones and undergo surgical procedures in an attempt to make their bodies align with their psychological state. The latter is the real ‘conversion therapy’ that should be banned.”

He continued: “Protecting human dignity requires that we respect the objective reality that each person is an embodied soul created in the image and likeness of God. We have a given human nature, not one that

we create for ourselves and can manipulate at will. The consequences would be disastrous if we allowed our respect for each person to rest on their own subjective views of themselves, or the way in which we or others subjectively viewed them.”

Along with the counseling ban and transgender refuge bill, Walz signed a law providing refuge for those seeking abortions in states in which it is banned, as well as for abortion providers who have lost their license or have been forbidden from performing abortions in other states. The bills were framed by Minnesota Democrats as an attempt to position Minnesota as a welcoming state for abortion and transgender procedures.

In another area opposed by the state’s Catholic bishops, the Democrat-controlled House and Senate passed legislation April 25 and April 28, respectively, to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults. The bills will have to be reconciled before the legislation can reach Walz’s desk. He has pledged to sign legislation to legalize recreational marijuana. Minnesota already allows medicinal use of marijuana.

“Legalizing a recreational marijuana business is a big setback for the state of Minnesota, which will have tremendously harmful consequences and negatively impact our quality of life,” said Adkins. “Legislators refused for nakedly political reasons to pump the brakes on this proposal and learn the lessons from other states. It was irresponsible lawmaking at its worst.”

In a series of stories in late 2021 through mid-2022, The Catholic Spirit explored health concerns around recreational marijuana, business benefits promised in other states that have failed to hold up and Church teaching against legalizing recreational drugs. The package of stories can be found at TheCaTholiCSpiriT.Com/marijuana.

UST PRESIDENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

During a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Vischer was asked about his vision for the Catholic culture at St. Thomas. He said his answer had to be shaped in part by the fact that 40% of St. Thomas students are Catholic. “So, it means connecting with people where they’re at and stretching and growing them,” he said. “… it’s what Pope Francis calls us all to do, is to build a culture of encounter where every person has an experience of being seen, known and valued in their daily interaction.”

Vischer said, “we want to make sure we have eyes that notice, ears that listen, voices that encourage.”

That in itself, in a higher-end world that is becoming more and more transactional, is a radically transformative culture, he said.

Vischer added that “we want to be a culture that supports the flourishing of students, whatever faith tradition they have,” mentioning for example, hosting iftar dinners during Ramadan for “a growing number of Muslim students.”

“I think that’s really important because we want to walk alongside students, whatever their faith tradition is, to support them,” he said. “We also want to be presenting pervasive, accessible opportunities to connect with the Catholic faith through campus ministry, through peer ministries, through lots of different things.

“Of course, we want a critical mass and a strong population of Catholic students,” Vischer said. “But the Catholic identity also has to mean something to the students who want to partner. So, it’s an ongoing conversation.”

At another point, Vischer said he doesn’t characterize it in any way compared to what it has been or will be, but rather that “the Catholic identity is distinctive of St. Thomas,” and this has never mattered more than it does today.

“What young people need today is formation in body, mind and spirit,” Vischer said. “Not just a transaction to give them job skills. Job skills are important, but the aspiration has to be greater than that.”

JASON ADKINS

Catholic governors inconsistent on role of death penalty

By Kate Scanlon OSV News

Some Catholic governors are embracing the use of capital punishment as part of their political platforms despite the Catholic Church’s opposition to the practice. Another Catholic governor in a southern state recently called for an end to the practice.

However, despite the support for the practice from some Republican governors, a growing number of Republican state lawmakers are backing efforts to repeal the death penalty, marking a notable shift in conservatives’ views on the matter.

On April 20, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation, SB 450, that will eliminate the state’s requirement that juries in capital punishment cases agree unanimously to recommend death sentences, lowering the number of jurors needed to hand down a death sentence from 12 to eight, the lowest threshold of any U.S. state. Florida’s Catholic bishops criticized the legislation, which is an outlier among states where the death penalty remains legal. Of the 27 states that permit capital punishment, three do not require a unanimous jury to impose it. Alabama allows a 10-2 decision, while Missouri and Indiana allow a judge to decide when there is a divided jury, according to the National Center for State Courts.

DeSantis, who is seen as a likely contender for the 2024 Republican presidential primary but has not declared his candidacy, is Catholic.

Texas has a long history of capital punishment, having carried out more executions than any other U.S. state to date, executing 583 people since 1982, according to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. A 1998 report by the Department of Justice found that Texas “executes more people than any other jurisdiction in the Western world.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is Catholic, has called capital punishment

“Texas justice.” Abbott oversaw five executions in 2022, tying his state with Oklahoma for most executions in the country last year.

By Beth Griffin OSV News

Sadness, relief and hope accompanied the April 13 decision by the Sisters of Charity of New York to embark on a “path to completion,” according to Sister Donna Dodge, president of the congregation founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Delegates to the group’s 2023 general assembly voted unanimously to stop recruiting or accepting new members, while continuing to live their mission to the fullest.

Sister Dodge told OSV News May 3 the immediate response of the delegates to the vote “was very moving. There was absolute silence in the room, and there were tears, but we are filled with hope and it is somewhat of a freeing experience.”

Former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican and a Catholic who is now a U.S. senator for the Cornhusker State, helped finance a referendum in 2016 to preserve the death penalty after his state’s unicameral Republican Legislature voted to repeal it the previous year.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who is Catholic, called for an end to the death penalty in Louisiana during his final State of the State address April 10, arguing doing so would reflect Louisiana’s identity as a “pro-life state.”

Despite a push from some Republican governors in defense of the practice, Demetrius Minor, national manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said that support for the death penalty is not conservative.

“It’s natural to have an emotional response to tragedies that occur. But policy cannot be rooted in emotion,” Minor told OSV News. “Here are the facts about the death penalty: It’s a wasteful and expensive government program. It has an unacceptable probability of executing innocent people. It is failed policy for victims’ families. It is also arbitrarily and unfairly administered by the government.”

Minor said Texas and Florida should

follow the example of “Republican states such as Ohio, where there is legislation in the Ohio General Assembly, with the GOP controlling both the House and Senate chambers, to repeal the death penalty.” In the previous two years, 11 states had GOP-sponsored bills to end the death penalty, Minor said. “Republicans are also helping lead death penalty repeal campaigns in Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri,” he added. Several decades of surveys conducted by Gallup have shown that more Americans say they favor the death penalty for a person convicted of murder. A Nov. 14 Gallup survey found support for the death penalty was at 55% last year, a significant decline from 1994, when the survey recorded its alltime high of 80%.

Justin McCarthy, a spokesperson for Gallup, told OSV News that in recent decades, “smaller majorities have supported capital punishment compared to the peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s — but still, most Americans support it.”

In his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis cited the writings of St. John Paul II, arguing that his predecessor “stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate

from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice.”

“There can be no stepping back from this position,” Pope Francis wrote.

“Today we state clearly that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible’ and the church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.” In 2018, Pope Francis revised paragraph No. 2267 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to reflect that position.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, told OSV News that “for years, capital punishment was considered a partisan issue, but over time, that’s become less and less true.”

“Today, much of the progress being made to abolish the death penalty is being spearheaded by Republican politicians,” Vaillancourt Murphy said.

Opposition to the death penalty is a consistent pro-life view, she said, and it is not surprising more Republican lawmakers and voters are embracing that view, despite the actions of some Republican governors.

“It’s not hard to see why this is,” she said. “Republicans — especially Catholic Republicans — who profess pro-life values, fiscal conservatism and a dislike for government overreach have ample reasons to oppose the death penalty. Likewise, Democrats who focus on racial equity, fairness, fighting against inequality, and health and safety recognize that capital punishment does not advance any of these goals.”

Despite growing bipartisan opposition to the practice, Vaillancourt Murphy said, “when an election season rolls around, we sometimes start to see politicians promote pro-execution rhetoric and legislation.”

“Recently, a handful of Catholic Republican leaders deviated from their party’s increasingly anti-death penalty position, and their Church’s unconditionally pro-life position, in order to ramp up executions in their states for political gain,” she said. “These leaders might believe what they’re signaling is a ‘tough on crime’ public image, but what they’re actually signaling is a willingness to compromise on deeply held Catholic principles and so-called Republican values.”

She said the Holy Spirit was present as the sisters voted and then acknowledged the outcome by singing the hymn “Ubi Caritas” (“Where there is love and charity, God is there”).

The vote was not unexpected. Sister Dodge said the congregation, like many others in the United States, has been challenged by a dearth of vocations. “In 21 years, no one entered and stayed. That was the reality; we all knew it but didn’t want to name it,” she said.

The median age of the Sisters of Charity of New York is 83. There are currently 154 members in the community. Demographic statistics suggest the congregation may have only 35 members 15 years from now, Sister Dodge said.

The Sisters of Charity are not the first to head toward completion, and congregations throughout the country

are discerning their future options.

In 2022, there were 36,321 religious sisters in the U.S., according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which is affiliated with Georgetown University. That compares to approximately 100,000 sisters 30 years earlier.

The Sisters of Charity of New York belong to the Sisters of Charity Federation, which includes 14 congregations of women religious founded or inspired by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. There are 1,871 sisters in the member congregations.

Sister Dodge said her group would refer potential vocations to the federation.

The Sisters of Charity of New York operate or sponsor programs dedicated to education, health and human

services, and peace and justice in New York.

The logistics of the path to completion are complex. Sister Dodge said that the congregation’s leadership will spend the next few years working with the laypeople who lead many of the ministries to determine the best role for the sisters in those operations going forward.

She said the sisters have addressed financial and health care planning for many years, but also will now need to determine how the congregation’s property will be used, sold or repurposed, and where the archives will reside.

The Sisters of Charity began its work in New York in 1817 when the foundress, then-Mother Seton, dispatched three sisters from the group’s fledgling organization in Maryland to open an orphanage in lower Manhattan.

Sisters founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in New York to begin ‘path to completion’

OSV NEWS | KEVIN LAMARQUE, REUTERS

Demonstrators hold signs protesting capital punishment in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington June 29, 2022.

HEADLINES

uBishops in Texas troubled by ’disregard for life.’ A vehicle crashed into a crowd waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 10, authorities said. Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville called the crash indicative of a “corrosive tendency” to devalue vulnerable human life. Around 8:30 a.m. on May 7, a gray Range Rover crashed into a bus stop where a group of individuals were waiting for a bus, several of whom were sitting on a curb as the unmarked city bus stop lacked a bench, local police said. The driver, George Alvarez, 34, has been charged with eight counts of manslaughter, police said. The bus stop is outside the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, where surveillance footage captured the incident. Many of the victims were Venezuelan men, local officials said, who were waiting for a bus back to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the shelter. In another tragedy, Dallas Bishop Edward Burns addressed the faithful of that diocese “with a heavy heart” late May 6 after at least eight people, including a child, were killed during a mass shooting that afternoon at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas. “Like all of you, I am deeply troubled by the shooting in the community of Allen and the senseless disregard for life that has occurred in our community,” Bishop Burns said in a statement. “The Catholic community is in unity and solidarity with the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.” Late May 7, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the gunman as Mauricio Garcia, 33, and investigators were looking into whether he had ties to extremist groups.

uPossible eucharistic miracle in Connecticut under Vatican investigation. A possible eucharistic miracle in Connecticut is now under investigation by the Vatican. Archbishop Leonard Blair told a Hartford television news station May 2 that the Dicastery (formerly Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith will examine whether an apparent multiplication of Communion hosts during a March 5 liturgy at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Connecticut, was supernatural. The church, along with Immaculate Conception Church and St. Casimir Church, both in Terryville, Connecticut, is part of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish. St. Maximilian Kolbe pastor Father Joseph Crowley said in a YouTube livestream of his March 12 homily that an unnamed extraordinary minister of holy Communion at the previous week’s liturgy had begun to run out of hosts — only to find that “all of a sudden there (were) more hosts in the ciborium.” Speaking to media May 2, Archbishop Blair said he had “(sent) out an experienced priest who has knowledge of Church law, canon law, to follow procedure, (and) to just examine exactly what happened and under what circumstances.” He noted that “the guidelines for these kinds of situations do call for me to notify the (Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.” The Vatican’s investigation is expected to take approximately two weeks.

uNew eucharistic procession aims to bring Christ into the U.S. capital’s public square. When Father Charles Trullols was growing up in Spain, solemn eucharistic processions on the streets were a regular part of the Catholic way of worship. The director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington for the past six years wants to start his own

annual tradition for the CIC with a Saturday, May 20, procession — not connected to any liturgical observance — through downtown Washington. Father Trullols told OSV News he found inspiration from his seven years in Rome participating in the “really beautiful” eucharistic processions of St. John Paul II. The procession begins May 20 with a 9:30 a.m. Mass at the CIC, which is just two blocks from the White House. The route is about a mile in length and includes Farragut Square, Lafayette Square and McPherson Square. The May 20 date was chosen for the probability of temperate weather “so families can come in the morning,” Father Trullols said. “The streets are quiet at that moment.” The route focuses on statues of historical figures on the squares, Father Trullols explained, “so we can pray for our country.”

uAbortion bans fail in GOP-controlled Nebraska and South Carolina. Abortion bans failed in Nebraska and South Carolina,

two Republican-led states, while passing in North Dakota in the final week of April. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June that overturned prior rulings by the high court — including Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which found abortion access to be a constitutional right — many states moved to either restrict or expand access to the procedure. In Nebraska, lawmakers in the unicameral Legislature came one vote short of breaking a filibuster April 27 to vote on a six-week abortion ban. In a post on its Facebook page, the Nebraska Catholic Conference said the state’s Legislature “failed to protect mothers and babies from abortion. ... The bill may have died, but we’re not done. We have all shown up and given our greatest of efforts.” In South Carolina, state senators rejected a bill April 27 that would have banned nearly all abortions in a 22-21 vote. Meanwhile, Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a law April 24 banning

nearly all abortions, with narrow exceptions in the first six weeks for cases of rape or incest, and narrow exceptions beyond six weeks for medical emergencies. If North Dakota’s law goes into effect, it is not immediately clear how much impact it would have in a state with no remaining abortion facilities.

uUS religious freedom panel finds conditions ‘worsening’ around the globe. Conditions for religious freedom are “worsening” around the globe, a U.S. government body monitoring international religious freedom said in a recent report. In its 2023 report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom identified “regression” last year in countries including Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua and Russia. The annual report by the independent, bipartisan commission makes recommendations to the U.S. government for the promotion and protection of religious freedom abroad.

— OSV News

Basic needs & beyond

How Dorothy Day Place offers shelter and serves neighbors

By Rebecca Omastiak

The Catholic Spirit

Editor’s note: This report is part of The Catholic Spirit’s ongoing Homelessness in Minnesota series.

THETtemperature in the Twin Cities April 12 climbed to 84 degrees — setting a record for that day; a perfect day for barbeque.

Steaming heaps of barbeque ribs and chicken — along with fruit salad, roast vegetables and cheesy potatoes — awaited clusters of people gathered for lunch. Steady meals are among the services offered at the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation St. Paul Opportunity Center in St. Paul as people experience housing challenges and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have people who are experiencing homelessness — whether they’re sheltered or unsheltered — receiving meals here, we have our campus housing residents receiving meals here, and we have a strong mix of people who are housed in the community … a lot of people who are housed but still are in fairly deep states of poverty come here because it is a guaranteed, secure meal for them,” said Christine Michels, director of housing stability and opportunity at Catholic Charities Twin Cities.

Michael DeJong, 65, has been the food service supervisor for Catholic Charities Twin Cities for the past 17 years. It’s unique work, DeJong said, because “instead of planning a menu and ordering, we depend so much on donations … and so our menus (are) planned after we get the food in.”

DeJong, 10 kitchen staff members, and volunteers prepare and serve three meals a day every day of the year at the St. Paul Opportunity Center — currently, the kitchen averages serving 210 to 270 meals per mealtime, DeJong said; sometimes up to 300 meals are served. Having volunteer help is necessary, he said, not just to help with the volume of food preparation and serving but also in making connections with people.

“A lot of our volunteers have been here for years and years and so a lot of people get to know them … people anticipate, they know those people,” DeJong said. Michels, who has been working with Catholic Charities Twin Cities for the past 13 years, agreed, saying, “The long-term relationships are key.”

Peggy Parenteau, 72, has been active as a coordinator with the Loaves and Fishes ministry through her parish of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake for over 20 years. She and her husband, John, who is also a coordinator, help to organize the list of parish volunteers and order food to be delivered to the St. Paul Opportunity Center’s kitchen.

Parenteau said the third Wednesday of every month, a parish volunteer group of about 10 people visits the center to serve dinner — this meal service has been taking place since 1985, when the ministry launched at St. Mary of the Lake. Parenteau said she and her husband have a list of close to 100 volunteers that they add to the monthly rotation. “It’s a very popular ministry,” Parenteau said. “There’s so many people that would do it every single month.”

A volunteer supplies a dessert for each month’s visit. Volunteers also set out new silk flower arrangements as table centerpieces — “a couple of our parishioners in the ‘80s started that,” Parenteau said.

As center visitors move through meal lines, volunteers make connections with comments such as “Enjoy your meal,” “Thanks for being here,” and “We’re glad you came,” Parenteau said.

“It’s very humbling to know this is maybe their only meal that day,” she said. “All we know is we can feed them this wonderful meal and we can be the hands, the feet and the smile of Jesus to the guests that we serve.”

Currently, groups from 28 Catholic parishes and two Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis volunteer regularly to support Catholic Charities’ offerings.

‘Next step of service delivery’

Catholic Charities Twin Cities programs assist more than 20,000 people per year, including 10,000 who seek support at the nonprofit’s four emergency shelters and two day centers.

Receiving both public and private funding, the St. Paul Opportunity Center opened in October 2019. Also on the $110 million Dorothy Day Place campus is the Higher Ground St. Paul building, which opened in 2017, and connects to the St. Paul Opportunity Center via skyway.

The St. Paul Opportunity Center — which serves about 1,000 people per day — offers meals, shelter, employment and housing resources, social services, financial assistance programs, veterans services and medical care, among other services. The St. Paul Opportunity Center also has 177 units (77 efficiency apartments and 100 single-occupancy units) on site. Higher Ground St. Paul offers overnight and emergency shelter — its five floors of emergency, transitional and permanent shelter have capacity for 356 people and include 193 single-occupancy units.

According to Michael Goar, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, the nonprofit organization is the only provider in the Twin Cities of both overnight and daytime shelter and services — including hot meals, showers and laundry services as well as storage locker access.

Meeting a variety of basic needs in one location is one approach to addressing the multi-faceted issue of the experience of homelessness, according to Michels.

“The expectation that someone is able to step up and out of whatever their circumstance is, when they’re not getting those fundamental basic needs met, is really unlikely for any individual,” Michels said, adding that “the stabilizing aspects that we’re able to provide along with engagement, relationship-building,

garnering and brokering trust with people, is really how we elevate to that next step of service delivery.”

Parenteau said the center is “a beautiful, beautiful space” that “can provide so many different tools for the guests that are in need.” Having services near shelter residents was a critical consideration for the St. Paul Opportunity Center’s design. “Residents talk about the experience of homelessness as being shuffled around and told to go to different places,” said Mike Rios-Keating, social justice education manager at Catholic Charities Twin Cities. “So, the entire vision for this space was can we have (services) in a single space … to be able to say upstairs versus downtown. That’s a huge difference in terms of those barriers for individuals.”

Needs beyond a roof and walls

In its 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determined that, on a single night in January 2022, the total number of people experiencing homelessness nationwide was 582,462. Of that total, 60% were sheltered — meaning, in “emergency shelters, safe havens or transitional housing programs”— and 40% were unsheltered — meaning, “on the street, in abandoned buildings, or in other places not suitable for human habitation.”

In Minnesota, the report determined that, on a single night in January 2022, the total number of people experiencing homelessness was 7,917. Of that total, 77.7% were sheltered and 22.3% were unsheltered.

Meanwhile, a key finding from a report the Minnesota Department of Health and the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute partnered to release in January 2023 was that those who experience homelessness face an earlier and greater risk of death regardless of age, gender or race — the death rate is triple that of the general Minnesota population.

To compile that report — produced with

nonprofit CDC product of the Center Health and Homelessness used data gathered December 2021. merged Minnesota Information System who used homelessness-related as shelters or transitional to 2021 with state data from 2017 to compare sociodemographic causes of death homelessness. The data from substance use-related experiencing homelessness at 36.7%, overall for 36.1% of deaths, suicide, homicide, accidents and trauma”) deaths, and infectious were at 5.1%. The report also people experiencing Minnesota meet chronic homelessness. most people experiencing Minnesota lived Ramsey (17.3%) portions of Anoka, Washington counties. metro area, 10.6% County designated other areas throughout On top of unique always a clear-cut, someone experiencing all think about second? And also, housing, what’s more difficult question what’s second is varied.”

Frustrating to which someone

Foundation support as a Center of Excellence on Public Homelessness — MDH and HHRI gathered from January 2017 through 2021. The partnering agencies Minnesota Homeless Management System data on 93,923 people homelessness-related services (such transitional housing) from 2017 state death and state population to 2020 from the U.S. Census sociodemographic differences and among those experiencing from that report show overall use-related deaths for people homelessness in Minnesota were overall chronic diseases accounted deaths, external causes (including homicide, traffic incidents and “other trauma”) accounted for 15% of infectious disease-related deaths

also showed roughly 15% of experiencing homelessness in meet the federal HUD definition of homelessness. The report indicated experiencing homelessness in lived in Hennepin (29.9%) or (17.3%) counties; 8.7% lived in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott and counties. Beyond the Twin Cities 10.6% lived in the Duluth/St. Louis designated area and 33.4% lived in throughout the state. unique needs, Michels said it’s not clear-cut, linear story of progress for experiencing homelessness. “We can ‘housing first,’ but what’s also, while you’re trying to find happening? And that’s a much question to answer because is person-centered, unique and Michels are the moments in someone she, or a member of the

Catholic Charities Twin Cities staff, is working with can articulate a need — and then there’s a roadblock to meeting that need.

For example, Michels said, “somebody says, ‘I need treatment’ and it’s three months of bureaucratic red tape to get somebody into that place (of treatment).” Or, “somebody says ‘I just need some empowerment and some mentorship and maybe some education on financial resources and support’ — if I don’t have that volunteer that I can connect them with when that lightbulb has gone on, it’s really disheartening not only for the individual who is expressing a want and a desire for the service, but for the person who’s trying to make a referral or a connection to that service. And that was what we lived through 24/7 during COVID.”

Michels noted the community she encounters on a regular basis on the St. Paul campus “is suffering pretty significantly and I think it’s going to take at least a few more years of really authentic and intentional services.”

Andrea Hinderacker, program coordinator of St. Paul’s Homeless Assistance Response Team, said she, too, witnessed new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic as she and her outreach team visited encampments throughout the Twin Cities. “When it came to mental health appointments, when it came to getting your prescriptions renewed, when it came to getting your general assistance or any type of basic benefits, you had to navigate a now complex system on top of just surviving every day.”

HART issues a weekly report on encampment population demographics and locations; the reports also feature team perspective for community education. In one report, Hinderacker answers the question, “Why would anyone pitch a tent outside a shelter when they could just go inside?”

She writes, in part, “When I speak with community members about homelessness and why some solutions seem too easy from the perspective of a stable, housed individual who

experiences a decent night’s rest on a regular basis, eats regularly, manages their physical health through preventive measures, and relaxes now and again with friends and family...sometimes the answer is as simple as — ‘If you had none of those things going for you — how would you be functioning on a daily basis?’

“Now add years of trauma, perhaps incarceration, debilitating illness or addiction, suddenly nothing is easy and more solutions are so far out of your view that survival is the only mindset possible.”

Hinderacker also said her role, at times, is mediator between unhoused and housed community members; she speaks to the latter often at panel discussions that include shelter providers, outreach teams and police officers, among others. “My job is to help both of you ... And what I need from both of you is patience and if we can find that place where we understand this isn’t a quick fix overnight, then we’re going to be able to make progress.”

A particular challenge for many who are unsheltered is seeking shelter availability when places fill up quickly. In recent years, Hinderacker said, “shelters have become residences, so you know, they’re full almost every night.”

The amount of time it takes someone to find stable housing is critical; “The increased likelihood of long-term homelessness after being homeless for one night, it just ramps up so quickly after 24 hours,” Rios-Keating said.

Hinderacker said she’s hopeful local efforts to create and convert spaces for transitional and permanent affordable housing will generate “movement from the street level to the housing level.”

Hennepin County invested over $55.8 million, across multiple funding sources, last year to finance about 3,300 affordable rental units and affordable home ownership opportunities. This year, county and Housing and Redevelopment Authority representatives

UPPER

have so far budgeted $15.2 million for housing development. Meanwhile, Ramsey County invested over $29 million, across multiple funding sources, last year to support affordable housing — those investments will lead to 1,128 new rental units and the preservation of 1,029 rental units.

One of HART’s goals, Hinderacker said, is not to continually move people from one location to the next, further displacing them, but rather to “do one move to something better.”

This is Michels’ work as well. “If we could serve people in a more dignified way, we could speed up the revolving door of people in and out of shelter to better destinations.”

Wholehearted care

Two weeks after the unseasonably warm April 12, Minnesota spring returned with a cool and wet vengeance. On the second floor of the St. Paul Opportunity Center, people eased their feet into warm footbaths that Andrea Arntzen and several of her fellow nursing program participants prepared.

St. Paul-based St. Catherine University nursing program students have been holding therapeutic foot care clinics at Catholic Charities sites for the past 15 years.

“People just love it, especially in the wintertime, when folks are outside in the cold a lot, you know, feet getting wet … it’s just such a service,” said Lauren Erchul McCabe, resource coordinator at the St. Paul Opportunity Center.

It was Arntzen’s first time providing such foot care; her focus was on providing “holistic, wholehearted care and just recognizing everyone’s human.” Wholehearted care, the 23-year-old said, “is just really listening from the heart and providing care from the heart … providing dignity and just doing whatever that means for the patient … you go based off their needs and try to really support them.”

Megan Williams, assistant professor of nursing at the St. Catherine University, said

FAR LEFT From left, volunteers Kevin Johnson and Norita Dittberner-Jax, who belong to Assumption in St. Paul, help get lunch ready at the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation St. Paul Opportunity Center in St. Paul April 28.

RIGHT Farida Osman, right, a nursing student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, washes the feet of Wade Souster at the St. Paul Opportunity Center April 28.

LOWER RIGHT Osman dries Souster’s foot at the end of the session.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

St. Paul forms homelessness response team

By Rebecca Omastiak

The Catholic Spirit

In 2021, St. Paul officials implemented a Homeless Assistance Response Team in response to a significant rise in the number of unsheltered residents.

As program coordinator, Andrea Hinderaker is at the helm of HART, which is part of the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections and consists of three team members.

The team often crosses paths with Catholic Charities Twin Cities; in one of HART’s weekly reports, Hinderacker noted that “St. Paul is fortunate to have Catholic Charities St. Paul Opportunity Center as a hub for someone to find even just one solution to myriad barriers: meals, laundry, showers and service providers from across the country.”

Hinderacker has been in her role with HART since March 1, 2022. Before that, she spent almost 10 years working at the Listening House in St. Paul — a daytime shelter for those experiencing poverty and homelessness. She also worked at St. Paul-based Model

HOMELESSNESS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

the foot care clinic allows nursing students to “honor where people are in their life journey and provide that sort of non-judgmental care” to recipients. Williams, 48, said she tells her students that “it’s more about that therapeutic communication that you can have with a client.” She describes wholehearted care as “recognizing people’s humanity and meeting them where they’re at and recognizing they’re more than just the illness that they might present with … so that they’re recognized as a person first.”

For Arntzen, being in that caretaker role is about “giving respect to one

Cities, where she learned the “dynamics of families transitioning out of homelessness” — including for two and a half years helping to run the Model Cities emergency shelter contracted with Ramsey County at Safe Space Shelter in St. Paul. Her experience also includes working in the adult foster care system and at group residential housing sites in Dakota County.

“I’ve always had a passion to help people,” the 46-year-old said. Working with HART “brings me so much joy,” Hinderaker said, especially when members of her team interact with those experiencing homelessness “and say ‘Hey, we see you, and you’re valuable, and you deserve better, and we want to figure out how to change things.’”

Growing up in poverty in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Hinderacker said her mother experienced a persistent mental illness and her father struggled to land stable and consistent work. Hinderacker said “I watched him get up every day as if he had a job, and he did odd jobs all day long to keep our family afloat.”

“I’ve learned firsthand about the stigmas and the challenges, just watching my family navigate them,” Hinderacker said.

another … solidifying that wholeheartedness and being just good, godly people.”

Seats filled up and the nursing students soaked feet, trimmed nails and talked with clinic visitors. The scents of soap and essential oils filled the room, mingling with the soft “spa music” Williams played from her phone. A recipient of Arntzen’s care stood up and both smiled as they hugged.

Michels said these acts of care allow for special attention to be paid to the “day-today experiences that, when you’re living in the cycle of homelessness, you lose sight of.”

‘It’s not just numbers’

In its conclusion, the report from

Her experiences have taught her how “to pause when I meet people and to better understand that there’s complexities behind the person standing in front of me and that it’s never as easy as (saying), ‘Just get a job’ or ‘If you take your meds, everything will be better’ or all of those things.” She said oftentimes, people she encounters through her work “don’t have someone to protect them from the world, to offer them a safe space, to love them unconditionally.”

It’s why — when asked for her thoughts on the nationally-recognized concept of “housing first,” which advocates getting people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing first and then finding ways to improve quality of life — Hinderacker said, “I feel that housing is most successful if it comes with community. If it’s just a roof and walls, it’s just as isolating as anything else. But if it comes with a community of people … they offer a safe space. It’s unconditional care, it’s creativity, it’s patience, it’s all of the things that we appreciate in our own social worlds.” She added, “It’s not enough to just put someone somewhere; you really have to remember that as a human being, there’s so many other things that we require.”

MDH and HHRI recommends investments in “cross-sector health and housing programs” to address high death rates among Minnesotans experiencing homelessness.

A cross-sector approach can restore the dignity of a person’s “unique and varied” experience, as Michels said. It also avoids reducing a person’s experience to a statistic.

“Every time I put those (HART weekly reports) out, what people are really wanting is the stats,” Hinderacker said. “But I try to say, it’s not just numbers. These are people, there are lessons to be learned here and there’s compassion to be found here.”

Scott K. is looking forward to having his own place again.

He and his mother have been at Higher Ground St. Paul since the beginning of February. “I was fortunate enough to sign up for the lottery and get a bed over there the very first day,” Scott said. “And I’ve had that bed since.” His mother has a bed in the on-site women’s shelter.

Scott and his mother — who has spinal stenosis and who Scott helps care for — were evicted from their apartment and are in an ongoing court eviction hearing process.

“As stressful as it has been, I do stay positive, and I keep a positive mindset and I just keep going,” he said.

Scott has been utilizing housing and job resources at the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation St. Paul Opportunity Center in St. Paul and his mother has been utilizing housing and medical services.

Though he’s eager to move on from the shelter, “there are small things that do make me happier here,” Scott acknowledged. “I love feeding animals, so I’ll go outside sometimes and feed the pigeons out here. And I love doing that.” He also visits nearby Rice Park with his mother; sometimes, “the pigeons and squirrels will eat right out of our hands.”

He pays attention to those who surround him at the shelter. “Everyone has their own stories and their struggles, and you don’t know. Sometimes talking to people here, if you get to know them well enough and they do tell their story, it’s interesting. It can be inspiring.”

Catholic Community of St. Odilia Shoreview, MN

‘I JUST KEEP GOING’

FAITH+CULTURE

Music and memory: How Blaine woman lives with grief

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit

Jessica Ottman, 38, is a University of St. Thomas graduate and co-owner with her mom, Mary, of Siena Soap, an all-natural skin care line named after St. Catherine of Siena. Two years ago, they endured a horrific tragedy: Jessica’s sister Leah — an acclaimed singer, songwriter and violinist known as LOTT — died from fentanyl poisoning. She had just turned 33.

Today, the Ottman women honor Leah’s memory through Siena Soap, including the LOTT Bar and the LOTT Foundation, which gives stringed instruments to underprivileged kids in the Twin Cities. “I hope it will inspire them to know their worth and keep Leah’s generous spirit alive,” said Jessica, a member of St. Paul in Ham Lake who lives in Blaine.

Q All four of your siblings were adopted from Korea. Do people comment on how lucky they are to be in your family in Minnesota?

A Yes. That really irks me, because it implies they’re a charity case, as if they’re not worthy of a life just like you or me. That’s not true. My parents and I were the lucky ones who were blessed to have them in our lives.

Q Leah was known for her method of looping with her violin.

A She had a machine that would make different sounds with her violin, and it would record her playing and then do another sound and loop them over each other. I’m so thankful for all the music recordings we have of her because listening to that makes it seem like she’s right there. We also have other videos of her talking.

I urge people: Record your loved ones talking! You won’t regret it.

Q The fentanyl crisis has claimed so many lives. What a shock to lose Leah to it.

A Society would say it was an accidental overdose. We see it as she was poisoned from fentanyl. It was a bad batch of drugs and she had no idea any fentanyl was in it — let alone a deadly amount.

Q What have you learned about grief?

A The grief process is hard because it’s such a lonely experience. Everyone experiences it differently, and an important lesson is just respecting how others grieve.

I also would say: I don’t know how I would’ve gone through this without my faith. It sustained me. It would be a very hard and hopeless experience without believing in God and heaven and knowing you get to see the person again.

Q What has helped you process the complicated, traumatic nature of Leah’s death?

A For me, it’s been feeling all the feelings when they come, not stuffing them down. I’ll just start crying and I don’t really care if I start crying. I try to honor the feelings and work through them. People would say, “You have to remember she’s so much happier now. She wouldn’t want you to be sad.” That’s hard to hear because it’s not honoring the person’s grief. It makes you feel like you have to pretend to be fine around others and put on a front. I understand that people don’t know what to say, but what would be more helpful is just sitting there with you and not trying to fix it, making space for the person to feel

exactly how they’re feeling. If you want to say anything, say, “Yeah, this is really horrible.”

It also helped when people showed up for us months after Leah’s death. When you lose someone, you’re initially surrounded by so much love and support, and that’s wonderful, but then everyone’s lives go back to normal and yours doesn’t. Remembering that year of firsts and reaching out on that person’s birthday, on holidays, on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day means so much.

Q What does sitting with your feelings look like for you?

A Sometimes just sitting there and decompressing. This would sound weird to someone who’s not gone through grief, but those who have would get it, but those first several months, a lot of times I would go home and just lay on my bed and stare at the wall for hours. My mind was trying to keep up with the processing.

When I get up, and I feel the tears coming, I’m not embarrassed. I just let them out.

Leah passed away in the winter — a really cold winter — but I started going for winter walks because I craved the cold fresh air, maybe even to feel a little bit more alive.

Shortly after the one-year anniversary of her death, I went on a silent retreat at Pacem in Terris, a hermitage retreat center near Isanti that was founded by a couple from our church. I didn’t want to leave.

Q Did you like to envision Leah in heaven, free from suffering?

A Yeah, I just think she’s so happy, enjoying life. It makes me happy that my grandma’s up there with her, and they really loved each other. I picture them dancing around.

Q How did Leah’s death change you?

A It changed me to the core. I’ve always been a very high-functioning person. You have to be to run a small business. But I couldn’t do it anymore. It’s as if my body didn’t let me. Just doing simple things was so much harder. I’d move so much slower, and I couldn’t understand. Cleaning still takes me longer.

I’ve always been a very sociable person, and I’m a little less social now. I need more down time to decompress and process.

I’m now part of this worst club ever, the grief club. It unveils this different reality for you. Grief has dulled some of the wonder in life. For example, those first nice spring days that you just feel in your soul and make you so excited — I can’t fully get that anymore. I miss that. I hope that will return. I’m not even two and a half years into this grief journey.

Q You can’t measure yourself by the old metrics of productivity. It’s one day at a time.

A And sometimes not even a day at a time. It’s an hour at a time for the first few months, then it moves to a day at a time. And after that, you can have some — not great days, but some OK days. In between it all, you still laugh and have fun. You can still do things you enjoy, but the joy feels different.

Q How so?

A There’s always going to be a heaviness in your life. It’s like a little bit of innocence is taken. The grief never goes away; you just learn how to carry it with you. In a sense, you don’t want it to go away, because that person was so amazing and you love them so much, they’re worth that. It’s all the future love you’re never able to give them.

Q Do you have a go-to prayer?

A The St. Michael prayer for protection. There’s so much going on in the world that it can be overwhelming. It’s easy to give in to fear. That prayer blankets you with protection and gives strength. I also do a weekly hour of eucharistic adoration — every Wednesday at 9 a.m. It brings me a lot of peace.

Q What do you know for sure?

A There’s beauty in pain. It changes your heart in ways you never knew were possible as you navigate life’s valleys and hills. Even though I’ll never understand some of God’s choices — I don’t always agree, I wish I had my sister — I know that someday I’ll know the reason why.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Jessica Ottman holds a picture of her late sister, Leah.

SPRING&SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE

MAY

St. Cecilia, St. Paul — May 21, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Catered meal, silent auction and a calendar raffle. Watch the parish bulletin for more information and registration forms.

2357 Bayless Place. stceciliaspm.org

JUNE

St. Stanislaus, St. Paul — Spring Fling: June 10, 4 p.m. Polka Mass, followed by an outdoor picnic. $7 includes hot dogs and hamburgers, beans, chips, dessert and lemonade.

398 Superior St. ststans.org

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Minnetonka — IHM Block Party: June 17, 9 a.m.–8 p.m.

10 a.m. 5K run; cornhole tournament throughout the day; 11–11:45 a.m. The Teddy Bear Band; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Classic Car show; noon Llama petting; 1–3:30 p.m. bingo, food trucks, beer garden (opens at noon), 4:30 p.m. outdoor Mass (weather permitting), live music by the Last Picked String Band. Signup required for 5K run and cornhole tournament.

13505 Excelsior Blvd. ihm–cc.org

St. Anne–St. Joseph Hien, Minneapolis — Summer Festival: June 23–25; 5–10 p.m. June 23; 2–10 p.m. June 24; 11 a.m.–4 p.m. June 25. Live music, food, raffle tickets, drawings and games for kids. 2627 Queen Ave. N. gxannagiusehien.net

Annunciation, Hazelwood — Summer Festival: June 25, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. 10 a.m. Mass. A progressive raffle, KC food booth, music by Concrete Cowboy and Charlie Sticha Band, bingo, pull tabs, beer garden, country store, cake walk, quilt raffle, kids bouncy house and many more activities for all ages. 4996 Hazelwood Ave. thechurchoftheannunciation.org

JULY

St. Mary of Czestochowa, Delano — 40th Annual Church Festival: July 22, 2–11 p.m. Grilled pork chop dinner by Hollywood Catering, kids’ games and inflatables, live Polka music 2–6:30 p.m., country store, raffles, silent auction, bingo, bean bag tournament (starts at 5 p.m.), and live music by Black Dog Road from 7–11 p.m. Mass at 4 p.m. For ticket information and event details, check out our website. 1867 95th St. SE. stmarydelano.org

St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Township, Jordan

— July 23, 11 a.m.–5 P.m. 10 a.m. Mass. Chicken dinner: 11 a.m. –1:30 p.m. (takeout available until 2:30 p.m.). Family fun, games, raffle tickets, money prizes, bingo, country store, silent auction, pull tabs, snack bar, cold beverages, antique tractors, live music by Novotny Trio Band. DRS baseball game at 1 p.m. with the St. Patrick Irish vs. New Market Muskies. 24425 Old Highway 13 (Rural) Blvd. stpandc.mn.org

AUGUST

Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights — Aug. 4-6, 6–10:30 p.m. Aug. 4 and 5; noon–4 p.m. Aug 6. Different food each day, beer tent, pull tabs, raffle (all 3 days). Aug. 4 Xpedition tribute band to Journey, Foreigner, Kansas, Styx; Aug. 5 Rubber Soul tribute band to the Beatles. Admission: Aug. 4 and 5 $10; Aug. 6 Family Day, free with bingo, kids’ games and more. 4030 Jackson St NE. iccsonline.org

St. Raphael, Crystal — Aug. 4-5, 5:30–10 p.m. Aug. 4, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Aug 5. A variety of food and drink, softball and cornhole tournament, pull tabs, bingo, live band, a kids train and games. Fun for ages 1-101. 7301 Bass Lake Road. straphaelcrystal.org

St. John the Baptist, Dayton — Aug. 6, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Chicken dinner served 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Raffles, theme basket silent auction, flea market, country store, bingo and refreshments. 18380 Columbus St. sjbdayton.org

Immaculate Conception. Lonsdale — AugustFest: Aug. 6, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Mass 10 a.m. Chicken dinner, KC grill, fresh cookie stand, family fun, kids’ games, bingo, cornhole tournament, cash raffle drawings and more. 202 Alabama St. SE. icchurch.cc

Transfiguration, Oakdale — Sunday Funday Festival: Aug. 6, noon–6 p.m. Smoked ribs and pulled pork sandwiches, eggrolls, corn on the cob, beer garden, bingo, games for all ages, music, karaoke, door prizes each hour, 50/50 raffle and more. Open to the public. 6133 15th St. N. transfigurationmn.org

St. George, Long Lake — Corn Days Festival: Aug. 12, noon–10 p.m. Roasted corn, live music, Alma Folklorica dance performance, beer tent, inflatables and inflatable games, caricaturist, petting zoo, super raffle, variety of food, craft and merchandise vendors, and classic cars. 4 p.m. Mass. Parade and 5K run TBD. Aug.13: 9:15 a.m. Mass, breakfast, and Super Raffle Drawing. 133 Brown Road N. corndays.com; stgeorgelonglake.org

St. Joseph of the Lakes, Lino Lakes — Summer Festival: Aug. 12-13, 5 p.m. Aug. 12 Mass under the big tent, followed by pork dinner and other concessions, 6 p.m. Joe’s Bar, GB Leighton 7–10 p.m., fireworks afterwards 11 a.m.– 5 p.m. Aug. 13, chicken picnic and other concessions, Joe’s Bar, games for all ages, bingo, live music with Saints of Swing and Java Soul, silent auction (online and in person) raffles and more. 171 Elm St. mystjoes.me

St. Wenceslaus, New Prague — Aug. 13, 11:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Highlights include two Polka Masses at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Food trucks all day, merchandise mart, plus bingo, games, ice cream, beer garden, raffles, live music and more. npcatholic.org

Blessed Sacrament, St. Paul — Fun Fest: Aug. 19-20; 5–9 p.m. Aug. 19; noon–4 p.m. Aug. 20. Aug.19: Spaghetti dinner, music, drinks and fun. Aug. 20: Food, drinks, music, Take–A–Chance, silent auction, book sale and games for all ages. 2119 Stillwater Ave E. blessedsacramentsp.org

Ss. Joachim and Anne, Shakopee—JACS JAM; Aug. 19-20, 4 p.m. Polka Mass (under tent), 5–10 p.m. live bands and festivities, food, beverage, raffles, country store, bake sale, bingo, pull tabs, adult and children’s games. 9 a.m. Mass Aug. 20, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. festivities include family entertainment, Czech Concertina band, silent and live quilt auctions, and famous Chicken Plop game. SJA–Marystown campus, 15850 Marystown Road. ssjacs.org

Most Holy Trinity, Veseli — Aug. 20, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. 11 a.m. Polka Mass, grilled pork and dumpling dinner, continuous music, games for all, country store, silent auction, home-baked goods with Czech favorites, food and refreshments. Raffle drawing, 6:30 p.m. Na Shledanou Ve Veseli! (See you in Veseli!). 4939 N. Washington St. mhtveseli.com

St Genevieve, Centerville — Aug. 20. Fun, food and friends. Still working on the details. Check the parish website for updates. 6995 Centerville Road. stgen.org

St. Thomas the Apostle, Corcoran — Aug. 20, 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. Masses. 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m. turkey dinner, DJ music, kids’ area, inflatables, face painting, bingo, lawn games, cake walk, beer tent, bake sale, farmer’s market, silent auction, cash raffle and more. 20000 County Road 10. churchofstthomas.org

Our Lady of Guadalupe, S. Paul — Family Fun Festival: Aug. 25-26, 5:30–9:30 p.m. Aug. 25, 5:30 p.m. Mass; 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Aug. 26, 8 a.m. Mass. Authentic Mexican food stands, entertainment, music, dancers, children’s games, face painting and more. Proceeds benefit the parish. 401 Concord St. olgcatholic.org

Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Minneapolis — Summer Festival: Aug. 26, 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Food and beverages, live music and dancing, raffle, games. 1315 2nd St. NE. parishonline.com/find/ss–cyril–methodius

St. Victoria, Victoria — Sunset Fest: Aug. 26-27. Family night, Aug. 26 with a talent show and outdoor movie night. Aug. 27 Mass at 5 p.m. followed by food and beverages, bingo, kids’ games, teen zone, and beer tent with live music. See the parish website for more information. 8228 Victoria Drive. stvictoria.net

St. Luke, Clearwater — Aug. 27, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Food and beverages, games for all ages, quilt raffle, cash raffle, silent auction, quilt auction, bingo and country market, cake walk. 17545 Huber Ave. NW. churchofstlukes.com

In this file photo from 2019, Conventual Franciscan Father Bryan Hajovsky, pastor of St. Bonaventure in Bloomington, joins the parish festival parade. DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FOCUSONFAITH

Eucharist: The heart of life

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” While Jesus had in mind all Ten Commandments, perhaps it is the word, “if” that captures most of my heart and attention.

Do I love Jesus? Do I trust Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? While each of the commandments requires us to put ourselves in a proper relationship with God and our neighbor, it is the first three commandments that assist me and our parish family in examining our relationship with God. Consider the Third Commandment: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

In speaking with parents and grandparents in the Catholic Church and in all denominations about “keeping holy the Sabbath day,” sadly, often the answers are, “I am busy on Sunday. I have things to do. We have sports to play. My parents are busy, too.” Are you surprised by what I am hearing?

While these answers are all given to me in a matter-of-fact way, it is Jesus’ statement, “If” that most pierces my heart. Again, do I love Jesus? Do I trust Jesus?

In the Acts of the Apostles, God worked miracles through Philip, Peter, Paul and John to overcome indifference and to catch people’s attention. Are you aware of a recent eucharistic occurrence that is presently under investigation as a miracle and happened in Thomaston, Connecticut, through the intercession of a parish priest named Blessed Father Michael McGivney? Blessed Father McGivney is the founder of the Knights of Columbus. Ironically, the event occurred in St. Thomas church,

The liturgical prayers at a wedding

The prayers offered during the celebration of the sacrament of marriage reveal the Church’s theology and understanding of the sacrament. It is wise to read or listen to the words carefully and reflect on the spiritual messages they convey. This column focuses on the opening prayer, the collect.

The collect is the first or opening prayer. It is addressed to God and says, “uphold what you have established for the increase of the human race.” God established the institution of marriage. God is the creative genius, the master designer. The natural order of creation reveals God’s plan for the earth and the people who inhabit it. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gn 2:18), so “Male and female he created them” (Gn 1:27) and explained that “a man … clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body” (Gn 2:24).

The prayer makes a request, “Uphold (this marriage).” Evil forces will assault the newly married couple. The devil is pleased when there is conflict and division, and even happier when a marriage fails. The petition asks God to give husband and wife the divine assistance they will need to persevere, particularly when they are under attack and it seems like they are sinking or falling.

The collect states that marriage is “for the increase of the human race.” God said, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth” (Gn 1:28). Marriage is “ordained for the procreation and education of children” (Gaudium et Spes, No. 48). The love between a wife and husband is not to be inwardly directed and is

the last parish that Blessed Father McGivney served. Apparently, on March 5, an extraordinary minister of holy Communion was running low on hosts and was looking to other Communion ministers for more when, to her surprise, the ciborium was filled with more consecrated hosts.

What caught my attention about this was knowing that members of our local Knights of Columbus council had been praying through the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney, asking that the “Core Principle of ‘Eucharist’” would be established as a fifth core principle of the Knights of Columbus Order, along with charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. When Father Joseph Crowley of St. Thomas parish asked if anyone had prayed for such a miracle, we had.

Why does God work miracles in times past or in present times? Perhaps it is to deal with the question of “if.” There is no “if” about God’s love for us. Jesus demonstrates he loves us in abundance. As Jesus promises in the Gospel, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” “... On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”

When we realize the truth of what Jesus is saying, the Eucharist will become the living heart of our lives.

God answers prayers. Perhaps, this is God’s way of renewing not only the Knights of Columbus, but the whole Church through the Eucharist. Is Jesus Christ, through this recent eucharistic action, expressing his desire to have the Eucharist be named a fifth core principle, which would be the “cornerstone” principle? Indeed, our very life is built upon Christ, and having the Eucharist as a principle reflects this truth.

I believe God wants to renew his Church through the Eucharist. A new Pentecost is just beginning in your local parish. There, the miracle of the Mass is being celebrated every Sunday, even daily. So, “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day,” showing God our love and answering our “if.”

God’s love is multiplying, no ifs, ands or buts about it!

Father Perkl is pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church, in Burnsville. He can be reached at jperkl@mmotc org

not solely for themselves, but to extend beyond themselves. Their love for each other bubbles up and overflows, so much so that it is open and fruitful, the outcome is children, and the immense love they have for each other is shared with the children that God gives them.

The collect refers to the couple as a “union you have created.” Every marriage is a miracle and an example of the providence of God. Over the years, the bride and groom have met countless people at school, activities, work and social gatherings, and they enter countless relationships as classmates, teammates, co-workers or friends. Some relationships are superficial. Others are deep and meaningful. Some are fleeting. Others last for a long time. Then, after meeting and knowing so many people, that one special person appears. It might be love at first sight. It might take a while for a friendship to blossom into an authentic, deep and abiding love, the kind of love the two eventually decide to share for a lifetime. God placed them together, gave them their love for each other, and caused their love to grow. It is a union that God created.

The collect concludes, “may it be kept safe by your assistance.” This petition builds upon the earlier request to uphold the marriage. It acknowledges the somber truth that the couple’s world is not safe. Peter sounds the alarm, “The devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). The Catechism teaches that marriages are “threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation” (No. 1607). The prayer is a reality check, even on their joyful wedding day, that tests and obstacles are looming down the road. The prayer invokes “your assistance.” God is a rock of refuge, a shield (Ps 18:3), and a sure defense, and if the couple will turn to God in their times of trouble, with the grace that God supplies, they will be kept safe.

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, May 14 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 1 Pt 3:15-18 Jn 14:15-21

Monday, May 15 Acts 16:11-15 Jn 15:26–16:4a

Tuesday, May 16 Acts 16:22-34 Jn 16:5-11

Wednesday, May 17 Acts 17:15, 22–18:1 Jn 16:12-15

Thursday, May 18 Acts 18:1-8 Jn 16:16-20

Friday, May 19 Acts 18:9-18 Jn 16:20-23

Saturday, May 20 Acts 18:23-28 Jn 16:23b-28

Sunday, May 21 Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Eph 1:17-23 Mt 28:16-20

Monday, May 22 Acts 19:1-8 Jn 16:29-33

Tuesday, May 23 Acts 20:17-27 Jn 17:1-11a

Wednesday, May 24 Acts 20:28-38 Jn 17:11b-19

Thursday, May 25 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Jn 17:20-26

Friday, May 26 St. Philip Neri, priest Acts 25:13b-21 Jn 21:15-19

Saturday, May 27 Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 Jn 21:20-25

Sunday, May 28 Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23

KNOW the SAINTS

ST. PASCHAL BAYLON (1540-1592) Born to a Spanish shepherd family, Paschal was said to have taught himself to read while tending sheep. At age 21, he joined an austere group of Franciscans, devoting himself to prayer and charity. He was sent on a dangerous mission to French Franciscans, and a shoulder wound he received caused him pain for the rest of his life. Long hours of prayer on his knees before the Eucharist earned this lay brother the honor of being patron of Catholic eucharistic congresses. His emblem in art is a monstrance. His feast day is May 17. — OSV News

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Classical sacred music taking hold at St. Nicholas in Elko New Market

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

In fall 2021, a small group of musicians from St. Nicholas in Elko New Market and Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale entered a “church band showcase” in New Prague.

One member of the group, Tim Havlicek, who also sang in the St. Nicholas choir, suggested ending the performance with “something obviously Catholic,” as their group was the only Catholic one. The group sang a piece of sacred Catholic music composed in the 1500s, “If Ye Love Me.”

“We ended up singing it at Mass the following weekend and that was the beginning of classical sacred music at St. Nicholas,” said Ryan Flicek, a parishioner with his wife and their five children. Flicek volunteers as the parish’s organist and director of music ministry. In addition, he is a member of the parish council and Liturgy Committee. The parish has about 400 registered families.

Once Flicek began leading the choir and the parish acquired a digital organ, he introduced a few “classical sacred pieces” he had used when he was a member of Immaculate Conception. Before Flicek came to St. Nicholas in 2016, music in the parish was dominated by piano, and had a more contemporary flair, he said. In 2022, Flicek asked the choir’s vocalists if they’d be willing to learn a work of sacred music for Ash Wednesday Mass. Parishioner feedback was positive, so the choir learned more classical sacred music for Holy Week.

Flicek also debuted a new “Mass setting” last year that he composed “in dedication to our parish and in honor of our parish patron.” He named it the “Mass of St. Nicholas.”

A Mass setting is a musical composition set to the text of the ordinary of the Mass, Flicek said, text that is the same week to week. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lists them as Lord, Have Mercy; Glory to God in the Highest (“Gloria”); Nicene Creed; Holy, Holy, Holy; Memorial Acclamations

MUSIC TO THE EARS

To learn more about music ministry at St. Nicholas, visit stncc net/music-ministry

The site includes links to video from the parish Ave Verum Corpus eucharistic adoration events, audio of St. Nicholas Mass settings and two audio samples of the St. Nicholas choir singing sacred music.

‘AVE VERUM CORPUS’

Ryan Flicek, director of music ministry at St. Nicholas, described a new, recurring eucharistic adoration event titled Ave Verum Corpus, first held at the parish in fall 2022. Four have taken place so far. The event begins with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on the altar in the church, with candles illuminating the sanctuary. The church choir sings sacred music for about 45 minutes, both chant and polyphony, while the faithful adore the Eucharist. Father Michael Rudolf, pastor, is available to hear confessions. A vespers service and Benediction follow adoration.

“They’ve been very well attended and very well received,” Flicek said. He went on to say, “We always end our period of music by singing Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” (Hail, True Body).

(“the mystery of faith”) and Lamb of God. The oldest musical settings of the Mass ordinary were Gregorian chant, he said.

The new Mass setting at St. Nicholas has been used for special Masses and feast days since then, and during Holy Week this year. “We’re now using it more

FROM THE LOCAL CHURCH | KATHIE BOMSTA

Finding Christ through eucharistic adoration

Editor’s Note: As the Church celebrates a special three-year National Eucharistic Revival to help people gain a greater understanding of Jesus’ presence in holy Communion, readers of The Catholic Spirit have begun sharing their experiences with the Eucharist.

While praying in the adoration chapel one afternoon, a little girl (who was with her mom) came quietly over to me, with a big smile, and whispered as she pointed to the monstrance, “That’s baby Jesus.” And pointing to the Mary statue, she continued, “And that’s his mommy.”

It was so sweet and pure. Isaiah 11:6, with the phrase “and a child shall lead them,” came to mind. She wanted to introduce me to her friend, Jesus, and to his mom, too. Adoration was certainly deepening this little

one’s friendship with Jesus.

frequently for regular Sunday Masses,” Flicek said. “We plan to slowly increase the frequency that we use it as the congregation gets accustomed to it.”

Choir members at St. Nicholas are junior high through retirement age, with a good percentage of students, Flicek said. When he started leading the choir,

Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1379 states: “Eucharistic adoration … as faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist deepened, the church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord under the Eucharistic species.” At times, I wonder, do we really know that when we spend time in eucharistic adoration, that we are truly in the real presence of Jesus? We believe it in faith, but is it only knowledge in our head, or has it reached our heart? When it does, wow, what an honor and a gift.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the meaning of adore is, “To worship or honor as a deity or as divine; to regard with loving admiration and devotion.”

For those wishing to enhance their relationship and friendship with Jesus, the adoration chapel is a great place. Spending time in adoration, adoring Jesus — while sitting, kneeling, lying prostrate before the monstrance — we worship and honor our Lord as the divine one, regarding him with loving admiration and devotion.

Telling our Lord how grateful we are, pouring out our desires, sharing our pains and joys or deepest sorrows and sufferings quietly in our hearts — Jesus is there to listen, to comfort and to rejoice with us. We don’t need eloquent prayers; even better, simply “being” in his presence is healing, and I’m pretty sure Jesus enjoys this.

Being quiet and listening to him is essential. Who wouldn’t want Jesus as their best and closest friend? I like to imagine Jesus praying with me as I pray the

he represented about the middle of the choir’s age range. Today, at 41, he is one of the older members. “The core of our involvement is the teenagers,” he said. Not only are they singers but a few play the violin, he said.

“I see a lot of young people being really drawn to more of the traditional history of the Church,” Flicek said, including artwork, architecture and music. And as young choir members shared their enjoyment for sacred music, he believes it had “a snowball effect.”

In all the changes to the parish’s music program in a short time, there is much to be proud of, Flicek said. But he is most proud of the youth involvement and how that’s grown, “because there’s nothing more important that we can do than to show these kids how to serve their parish.”

Tim Havlicek’s daughter, Maggie, 19, has sung in the choir since middle school and continues when she is home from college. Younger members have brought “new life” to the choir, she said.

Sacred music is “so dear to my heart,” Havlicek said, adding that it can help her enter prayer in a deeper way. Flicek does “a great job” balancing chant with regular hymns, she said. “Growing up with chant, I have a deep appreciation for it, and I know that by putting it into our Masses here and there, it can help foster that love.”

Her mother, Molly, 43, also sings in the choir. She said sacred music has brought a deep richness to the Mass.

“I’m not well versed in the language of music, but there’s a connection to the musicians of the past (such as Mozart) that has brought a depth of music to liturgy,” she said, “and we don’t hear much (new music) being created today to that caliber.”

But Flicek has accomplished that in creating a Mass specifically for St. Nicholas, Molly said. “What a gift he’s left us and has opened new doors, I think, to the creativity of being able to enter into … a really rich history in the Church, of bringing beauty to the liturgical music.”

rosary in honor of his mother, and for me, it is a comfort. And as the saying goes, if we want to get to know someone better, we spend time with them. What an excellent place to become better acquainted with the King of Kings and to express to him our gratitude for — well, for everything — the good and the bad, and for the fact that he is always with us, always, along with his dear mother, also our mother.

When I was in grade school, all the different grades took turns going into the church for Holy Thursday adoration. I remember looking forward to that time and wondering why it wasn’t more often. A few years ago, two of my dearest friends and I often had prayer time together, tea visits and mini day trips. One summer, we decided to include (what we called) “chapel hopping” on our trips. We’d find a church that offered 24-hour adoration and spend time in prayer together in various chapels. It was wonderful.

I find adoration to be truly my “spiritual filling station.” I would certainly recommend it to everyone, individuals and families. You will be filled with peace and wonder and possibly an excitement to introduce others to our Lord, as the little girl wanted to introduce me to her friend, Jesus.

Ryan Flicek, director of music ministry and the organist at St. Nicholas in Elko New Market, is pictured in a familiar place: the church choir loft.

COURTESY ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC CHURCH

Bomsta, 74, and her husband, Ron, are members of St. Paul in Ham Lake. They live six miles from St. Patrick Church in Oak Grove, where Bomsta usually goes for adoration of the Eucharist.

COMMENTARY

ECHOES OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA REBA LUIKEN

Catholic Youth Center’s drive for youth service

In 1961, the young, popular and Catholic President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Corps into law. In 1962, the Catholic Youth Center in Minneapolis launched Peace Corps, junior grade, to capture the spirit of its namesake and empower high school students from across Minneapolis and the west metro to put their faith into practice for two weeks (or more) of their summer vacation under the supervision of young adults. High school freshmen were limited to in-town projects, but sophomore, junior and senior volunteers could choose to serve on a local music ministry team, support inner-city residents in Winnipeg, Canada, or San Felipe, Mexico, or work on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota (among other sites). Like young people across the city and the country, Catholic students were inspired by the civil rights movement to do something to solve social problems.

Peace Corps junior grade members went to work. At Pine Ridge, for example, young people served on projects like digging ditches or sewing curtains in the morning and led a school for Native American children in the afternoon. The program was meaningful for participants, too. Maureen Arms, a junior at then-St. Margaret’s Academy, explained, “You don’t go into the program with a paternal attitude — ‘We’re going to do something for you’ — because we get more out of it than they do.” Students learned more about inequality, poverty and their own abilities as leaders and problem solvers. As Dennis Neal, one staff leader, explained, “Christianity doesn’t mean just piety; it means service.”

Evidently, naming programs after the Peace Corps was a popular tactic because the federal government

ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL

Like songbirds set free

I saw a remarkable video involving birds being set free the other day, ironically on the “bird app,” aka Twitter.

Allow me to set the scene: A streetside vendor with a cage full of songbirds stoops alongside an SUV with its windows down. A sun-glassed man is sitting in the passenger side front seat. He has apparently just purchased a number of the songbirds in the cage, perhaps all of them. One after another, the vendor takes a single bird from the cage and places it in the hand of the man in the SUV — and one after another, the sunglassed man casually releases the just-purchased songbird — without ever even looking up from the vendor he’s dealing with! — allowing the now-released bird to flutter skyward to freedom.

As an act of kindness to animals, the scene is obviously a compelling one. A man purchases songbirds from a caged life, not so he can hold them captive in his own house, but so they can be free.

Call me overly spiritual, but I also want to suggest that this scene of songbirds set free paints a

passed a law in 1963 prohibiting other groups from using the title. The Minneapolis program was renamed Operation Neighbor Corps, but its efforts to give high school students summer service opportunities and leadership training continued to expand. By the 1980s, ON Corps had provided more than 6,000 Catholic high school students in the Twin Cities with leadership and service experiences that would shape their faith and futures. For some, they inspired careers in education, social work or even international relations.

ON Corps was one of many programs offered for teenagers and young adults at the Catholic Youth Center in Minneapolis. During the school year, retreats, weekend seminars and study groups were designed to help high school students integrate Catholicism with daily living while learning leadership skills. The Saturday Nighters program

compelling image of Christ’s intervention in our own lives.

Locked in the cage of our own sins, and incapable of escaping on our own, Christ ransoms us. Indeed, he is the only one who can pay the price — the only one who has something that can cover the cost of our well-earned captivity, and the only one among us free to offer it.

Like the man in the video, Jesus pays for our release, not so he can hold us captive, but precisely so that he can liberate us from anything that restricts our flourishing. “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1). Of course, this freedom isn’t a license to simply fly into the void of the sky, doing whatever we want. Our true freedom, in actuality, is friendship with Christ, because relationship with God is what we are made for. “I no longer call you slaves … I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15).

When I suggested this “Christological” reading of the bird video on Twitter, someone commented that it was all a trick. That the songbirds had been conditioned to fly back to the vendor and his cage. Thus, even though they’ve been freed, it’s been habituated in them to prefer captivity. If true, the implication was that this somehow lessened the significance of the man’s purchase and subsequent release of the songbirds. If they were likely to fly back to captivity, who cares?

But rather than lessen the Christological quality of the scene, I think it heightens it. God frees us from our sins knowing full well that, in the very near future, there is the possibility that we will spurn our newfound friendship with him and return to the cage of sin. Like the conditioning of the birds even after

supported high school graduates to continue to live these values in small communities. Members often became mentors in the high school programs and volunteered at fundraisers that benefited ON Corps.

CYC’s home for all of these programs was a mansion at 2120 Park Ave. in Minneapolis, built in 1902 for Franklin Crosby, a leader in the Minneapolis flour business. After the CYC closed in 1994, Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reached an agreement to turn it into a center for AIDS patients in 1995. Today, the house is home to some of People Incorporated’s mental health services.

Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.

Our freedom was never about our own strength and effort anyway. It’s about the relentless mercy of Christ.

they’ve been freed, the effects of sin still plague us, including our habits of choosing ourselves over God and others.

But God doesn’t offer his mercy because we’re perfect. He offers it because he loves us. And he will never cease offering it, even as we struggle with our sins and our selfish habits that lead us back to them.

This can be an especially important message to hear at this stage of the Easter season. The euphoria of the Resurrection has somewhat faded, and we can be faced with the recognition that — despite Christ’s victory over death and sin — we are still prone to live the old life, not the new.

This can be frustrating and disheartening. But our freedom was never about our own strength and effort anyway. It’s about the relentless mercy of Christ. He is like the man who purchases songbirds from a streetside vendor, just to set them free. Except unlike the man in the SUV, Christ never runs out of what frees us, and he never tires of paying the cost.

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.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

This mansion on Park Avenue in Minneapolis once served as a home for programs operated by the Catholic Youth Center, including the Operation Neighbor Corps.

A holy husband and wife

When we begin our marriages as Catholics, we always do so in a Catholic Church, under the guidance of a Catholic priest or deacon, who administers the sacrament of matrimony before the witnesses gathered there. We have also engaged in all the preparation required for a successful wedding day. But primarily, our focus must be on the union we are creating in the eyes of God. Maintaining that focus is not always easy, given the turbulent nature of our time. As married couples, we have children to raise, bills to pay, work to fulfill, a house to keep up, and our own health and well-being to attend to so that we can continue to honor these commitments. Holiness with our spouse can often fade in importance when compared to these other

obligations and responsibilities. The question is often asked, “When do we have time to honor the primary commitment to our marriage, which we thought would remain the focus of our life together, regardless of how busy we may become?”

St. John Paul II reminded us of the beautiful union of St. Anne and St. Joachim, parents of the Virgin Mary, when he stated they were “members of the people which rose from the faith of Abraham, of that people formed by Moses, which Exodus describes as thirsting to know God’s face.” The pontiff continued by reminding us that this must be the mark of our prayer and the contemplation for which our soul yearns: to thirst to know God’s face.

When we look into the face of our spouse, we must remember we are both disciples of Christ. Therefore, St. John Paul II reminded us, we must be “channels of God’s salvific action, by being ceaselessly purified, enlightened and comforted by frequently approaching the God of tenderness and piety.”

When we go to God together as a couple, attending Mass, spending time in the adoration chapel, saying the rosary, or being together at home, we can help one another grow in holiness, and we can encourage one another as gifts given to each other by God. Just

Pope Francis’ challenge for World Communications Day

If you’ve never heard of World Communications Day, you’re not alone.

Each Sunday before Pentecost (May 21 this year), the Church celebrates social communications media as God’s gift to humanity, with great potential for evangelization. World Communications Day reminds the Church to embrace media technologies for the proclamation of the Gospel and the spread of goodness, and to educate her sons and daughters to be critical thinkers when engaging media messages.

In this year’s message, Pope Francis addresses “Speaking with the heart.”

Jesus once warned the Pharisees that what makes one unclean comes from the heart. “For from the heart come wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and blasphemy”

(Mt 15:19). Of course, if our hearts are filled with joy, compassion, love, gratitude and forgiveness, then those very qualities will overflow into our lives and communications with one another. To paraphrase Luke 6:44, every tree is known by its fruits.

To be better communicators of God’s love, both in our words and in our lives, Pope Francis presents a few challenges for us within this digital age.

Purify one’s heart. If we are to speak the truth with charity, we must purify our hearts. Our hearts will never be

as St. Anne and St. Joachim were a precious link in the divine plan for salvation of humanity, so must we follow their example and provide encouragement to our spouses, so that we, too, may become precious links in the divine plan of salvation.

In our marriages, we are called to remain open and available to the grace of the Holy Spirit working through us as we face the trials that come to us. When we believe that it is through the crosses that we bear that we will most ardently witness the saving intervention of Christ in our lives, we realize we are a vital part of God’s plan of salvation. The paradox is that the very difficulties we face together help us grow in holiness and friendship.

As “Gaudium et Spes” by St. Paul VI states, “married love is an eminently human love because it is an affection between two persons rooted in the will and it embraces the good of the whole person; it can enrich the sentiments of the spirit and their physical expression with a unique dignity and ennoble them as the special elements and signs of the friendship proper to marriage” (art. 49).

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury.

totally pure due to sin, but we strive to grow in virtue each day. The Holy Father states, “Only by listening and speaking with a pure heart can we see beyond appearances and overcome the vague din which, also in the field of information, does not help us discern in the complicated world in which we live.” Ask: What in my heart needs to be purified so my communication uplifts others?

Communicate cordially. This seems like a no-brainer, but I recently saw a news segment about an airline passenger who was unreasonable and loudly complaining about a crying baby on the plane. His shenanigans caused the flight to be diverted and he was arrested. His communication was far from cordial. Pope Francis refers to the risen Jesus who speaks to the distraught disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35). Jesus speaks to them from his heart, respects their suffering and doesn’t impose himself on them.

Be authentic. The Holy Father presents St. Francis de Sales as a model of communication that comes from

love. St. Francis was convinced that “in order to speak well, it is enough to love well.” This 17th-century Jesuit believed that “we are what we communicate.” Authentic communication has suffered in a culture marked by outrageous behavior. On social media, many people present what they wish they were rather than their true selves. “Speaking from the heart” means being real in our communications. Ask: Am I being authentic in my communications, especially online?

Speak according to “God’s style.” This challenge touches on the synodal process. Pope Francis says, “We have a pressing need in the Church for communication that kindles hearts, that is balm on wounds and that shines light on the journey of our brothers and sisters.” This kind of communication first listens to the other without prejudice and then speaks, nurtured by closeness, compassion and tenderness. If we can model this kind of communication in a polarized world, what a gift it would be to our culture. Ask: Do I model listening in my communication, or am I too busy trying to be heard?

With these challenges, Pope Francis calls all people to grow in a way of communication that speaks the truth from the heart, “which is essential to foster a culture of peace.” Only when we speak from the heart can the “miracle of encounter,” as the pope calls it, take place. The pontiff closes his message with a prayer that we can offer for ourselves and our world:

“May the Lord Jesus, the pure Word poured out from the heart of the Father, help us to make our communication clear, open and heartfelt.

“May the Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, help us to listen to the beating of hearts, to rediscover ourselves as brothers and sisters, and to disarm the hostility that divides.

“May the Lord Jesus, the Word of truth and love, help us to speak the truth in charity, so that we may feel like protectors of one another.”

Amen to that.

Daughter of St. Paul Sister Hosea is the associate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies, a ministry of the Daughters of St. Paul. — OSV

Hand-me-downs, pick-me-ups

beaded floral design.

It wasn’t until Hoefer’s oldest daughter, Eva, was preparing for her first holy Communion that it occurred to the busy mom: Perhaps, her wedding dress could be made into a first Communion dress. Mindy couldn’t find anyone willing to take on a project of that scope, so instead, she contributed her wedding veil for Eva’s big day.

Life marched on, but Mindy never forgot her vision to give the old dress a new purpose.

Last year at their parish fundraiser, Mindy’s name was drawn in a raffle. She could pick one item from the live auction before it began.

LETTERS

Have you no fear?

eal challenges. Catholics are called to respond.

It all started with a used coat.

Betty Henson didn’t need her fuzzy green coat anymore, so she offered it to her son, an aspiring puppeteer. Jim stuffed and stitched it, creating a round head, a dense torso and lanky limbs. He folded a deep mouth and split a ping pong ball to make the eyes.

Mindy recalled that a parishioner named Debbie had donated an alterations certificate. And Mindy’s daughter, Cecilia, would be making her first holy Communion the following spring.

OTECT LIFE & MAN DIGNITY

Mindy made her choice.

An adorable amphibian was born: Kermit the Frog.

In 1955, Kermit debuted in “Sam and Friends,” airing on WRC-TV, a local station in Washington, D.C. The frog proved remarkably expressive, thanks to Jim’s decision not to stuff the head. With only his hand inside it, each movement became a subtle change of expression. Somehow, Kermit reached through the television and connected with viewers.

Debbie was more than receptive to the idea. The two women discovered “a unity in dream and desire to draw my daughter closer to Jesus through the dress,” Mindy said. “The Holy Spirit’s involvement became abundantly clear.”

As Debbie worked, the dress proved to be “a vehicle for evangelization,” Mindy said, sparking conversations with friends, neighbors and grandchildren about its special purpose.

bishops, dynamic Church leaders, and 1,000+ Catholics from for a day of inspiration and advocacy at our State Capitol.

He would soon become a star, paving the way to the global phenomenon of “The Muppet Show” — all thanks to a mother’s hand-me-down.

students 22 -and -under FREE!

lunch included with

I’ve been reflecting on her gift this May, as we celebrate Mother’s Day and power through a busy month held together by moms armed with snacks, schedules and stain remover, the family’s comprehensive to-do list etched into their sleepdeprived brains.

Twenty years after Mindy wore her wedding dress, it was worn for another sacrament: Cecilia’s first Communion.

God blesses our faith-filled efforts. He multiplies our generosity — finding the seamstress, making the way. He simply asks us to set things into motion.

 Learn the issues, hear dynamic speakers, and meet your legislators.

 See the newly renovated State Capitol!

Pope Francis expressed this during Lent of 2020, early into the COVID-19 quarantine. He preached, “This is what we need today: the creativity of love.”

Democrats, have you no fear of the Almighty ... of a God whose love cherishes his creation of each unique human life? When I recently gazed upon our Minnesota newspapers’ front-page photos of Governor Walz and a cluster of Democratic women excitedly witnessing the signing of legislation permitting abortions in Minnesota throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy, I could not help but remember the Bible’s stern admonition (Mt 7:13) warning that the road to perdition is, sadly, broad indeed. How about a straightforward display, on the editorial pages, of a political cartoon showing a mob of picketing prochoicers marching toward a glowing red destination, quite visible just ahead, entitled “Hell.” This is my sincere advice to those who unrepentantly encourage and even embrace this modern scourge of infanticide — avoid the impending wrath of human life’s Creator by being very, very careful to never die.

Paul S. Petronack

Their daily sacrifices make it all possible. Sometimes their dreams are spurred in surprising ways, and the Church — the Body of Christ — springs into action.

That’s what happened to Mindy Hoefer, a 42-year-old mom of eight who belongs to the Church of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. For years, her wedding dress sat in a brown box in the closet, professionally cleaned and tucked away. Out of sight, out of mind.

It had been perfect for her June wedding — a David’s Bridal “Lady Eleanor” dress with a sheer overlay and

What some might call magic or luck — the winning of a raffle, the work of needle and thread, the transformation of an old green coat — has a more apt name. The creativity of love.

So, go ahead with your meager offerings. Give up your scraps, your bad jokes, your early mornings. Reheat the leftovers and say a prayer. Offer up your off-key songs and your lumpy body, your half-baked ideas and your overcooked ham. Toss it all into the “Strega Nona” pot and trust the creativity of love.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Other times, committees “hold bills over for possible inclusion in their omnibus bill.” Instead of passing hundreds of individual bills, the committee chairs and staff compile the bills that they hope to pass into an “omnibus bill.” In early April, the respective committees began hearing these omnibus bills. Each omnibus bill must pass out of its committee, and off its respective floor.

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do things such as expand taxpayer funding of abortion and undermine conscience rights. The best way to stay informed and message legislators is to become a member of the Catholic Advocacy Network online at mncatholic.org/actioncenter.

Civics explainer

Numerous Catholics have called or emailed the conference in recent weeks asking about the legislative process at the end of the session, so here is a quick explainer.

Each body of the Legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) is split into about 20 different committees. Each committee has its own focus — Health and Human Services, Taxes, Agriculture, etc. Throughout the session, the committees hear bills that pertain to their subject area. Sometimes they pass bills onto another committee, and eventually to the floor, where all the representatives or senators vote on the bill.

Because the House and Senate must ultimately pass omnibus bills with the same language, once the House and Senate have passed their individual version, a small group of legislators, or a “conference committee” (made up of representatives and senators on both sides of the aisle) come together to work out the differences. Once they determine what will be in the final omnibus bill, it must go back to the floor of both chambers for final passage before it can be signed by the governor.

Because many of these omnibus bills still need to be either passed by one body or worked on in a conference committee, there is still time for your voice to be heard.

Some key bills:

Tax omnibus bill

MCC has spent a significant amount of time in the tax committee this year working to pass a robust, ongoing, child tax credit. MCC staff members are hopeful of its passage since a version of it is included in all three versions of the budget — the Senate, House and the governor’s proposals. Although each version is targeted to help low-income families, which is a minimum requirement for MCC, the conference is also advocating its extension into the middle class to assist families.

Fortunately, another pro-life tax provision that MCC brought to legislators — an expansion of the types of baby items that would be exempt from sales tax — is included in both the House and Senate tax bills, where MCC will work to keep it in the final versions.

St. Pius X, White Bear Lake

Share your perspective 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

You can view MCC testimony on these and more bills, and contact your legislators, by visiting mncatholic org/issues

Health omnibus bill

The House health committee is coming to its conference committee with a bill that is littered with provisions to repeal the health and safety protections surrounding abortion, as well as to expand taxpayer funding of abortion. The Senate version comes free from those, but instead, it includes a health insurance coverage mandate for controversial infertility treatments like in vitro fertilization. All large-group health plans would be required to cover these expensive services for couples, even in cases when they are not medically necessary.

Public safety omnibus bill

MCC also supports three provisions in the public safety omnibus bill: the Clean Slate Act, which provides mechanisms for the automatic expungement of certain convictions; expanding criminal background checks for certain types of gun purchases including pistols; and an increase in the nonprofit security grant program. MCC is concerned with other proposed bills to narrow conscience rights and religious liberties currently protected in the Minnesota Human Rights Act in the areas of housing and youth programming.

“Inside the Capitol” is an update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff during the legislative session.

and ‘the creativity of love’

TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

INSIDE THE CAPITOL | MCC

Every voice matters as session end nears

MARCH 9, 2017 • SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA

ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

s is our moment.

Let’s go!

BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS

Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis

and register at CatholicsAtTheCapitol.org

Why am I Catholic? The simple answer: My parents loved me enough to baptize me as a Catholic. They also gifted me with a Catholic school education as a foundation to foster my relationship with Jesus.

Growing up in Milwaukee as a Catholic, I thought everyone was Catholic. I loved all things Church-related with the simple love of a child. As early as elementary school, I loved going to Mass. I loved the music, the beauty of the stained-glass windows, and I looked upon the statues of the saints with a sense of wonder. At my first holy Communion I believed I was the Bride of Christ, and I was going to be more holy every time I went to church. I couldn’t wait to make my second holy Communion. I don’t know if I fully understood at that age the beauty of the Eucharist as the bread of life. I just felt joy, peace and holiness when I was at Mass.

When I received my confirmation, I felt the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I actually wondered if my sacramental grace was visible to the archbishop when he blessed me with the (chrism) oil. Humility was not yet present as one of my virtues. I thought I was a saint in the making.

When my husband, Michael, entered the diaconate, I realized my love of being Catholic was still that of a child — simple. What a

Why I am Catholic

By Maureen Daly

COURTESY DEACON MICHAEL DALY

blessing it was to be allowed to attend formation classes with him. Knowledge made the sacraments come alive for me. I discovered all kinds of things I never knew about my faith and being Catholic. I was starved and searching for anything I could find to strengthen my relationship with Jesus. I started with the (Archbishop Flynn) Catechetical Institute (at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul), which is life changing, and it was my jumping-off point to more learning. It was so extraordinary, I followed it up with the institute’s School of Discipleship and School of Prayer. Currently, I am learning to teach Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at our parish.

Why am I Catholic? It was gifted to me at my baptism and nurtured throughout my life, through the sacraments. It makes me a whole person and brings me happiness I cannot live without.

Daly, 56, is a member with her husband of Our Lady of the Prairie in Belle Plaine, and a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

“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.”

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CALENDAR

PARISH EVENTS

Garage Sale — May 10-13 at St. Bonaventure, 901 E. 90th St., Bloomington. Preview sale ($2 admission): 5–8 p.m. May 10; 9 a.m.–6 p.m. May 11; 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 12 (half price day); 9 a.m.–2 p.m. May 13 ($5 bag day). saintbonaventure org/garage-sale

Art-A-Whirl — May 19-21 at St. Clement, 901 24th Ave. NE, Minneapolis. 5–8 p.m. May 19; noon–8 p.m. May 20; noon–5 p.m. May 21. The St. Clement campus of Holy Cross is hosting over a dozen artists showcasing photography, ceramics, jewelry, fused glass and more. There will be food, drink, “make-it and take-it” art, sugar egg art, icons and church tours to see the church’s stainedglass windows. ourholycross org

Children’s Clothing and Toy Sale — May 20-21 at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane N., Maple Grove. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. May 20; 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. May 21. Children’s clothing sizes: newborn to 16. Toys, shoes, baby items, highchairs, strollers, books and more. Credit cards accepted. All items 50% off May 21. sjtw net/childrens-clothing-and-toy-sale

Chicken BBQ — May 21: 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. at St. Peter Claver, 375 Oxford St. N., St. Paul. Admission: $15. Features BBQ chicken, “Dunk the Priest” and some great prizes. Tickets can be purchased online or day of event. spcchurch org

A Heart Aflame — May 30: 4–9 p.m. at St. Mary, 267 8th St. E., St. Paul. Worship, fellowship and reflection. 4 p.m. Holy Hour; 5:30 p.m. solemn Mass; 6:30 p.m. reception, dinner and a presentation by Father Bryce Evans: “Neri, Newman and the Evangelization of Culture in a Secular Age.” 8:45 p.m. Compline. stmarystpaul org/nerifeast

WORSHIP+RETREATS

Women’s Mid-Week Retreat — May 16-18: at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. May Women’s Mid-Week Retreat features four conference talks, spiritual direction, Mass and open time for rest and reflection. franciscanretreats net/ womens-midweek-catholic-retreat-may-16-18-2023

Day Retreat: A Reason to Hope — May 18: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Learning to live amidst change and loss takes time and patience. The Hope Day retreat offers that time in an atmosphere of calm. Lunch included. Presented by Kings House Preaching Team. kingshouse com/event/hope-day-retreat

CONFERENCES+WORKSHOPS

MN Catholic Home Education Conference and Curriculum Fair — June 2-3 at St. Paul College, 235 Marshall Ave., St. Paul. Keynote speaker is Pam Barnhill, host of the “Your Morning Basket” podcast. Come find inspiration and encouragement through speakers, vendors and networking with other homeschool parents. Registration: $25. See more details at mnconference org

SCHOOLS

Admissions Open House — May 18: 9–11 a.m. at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 2501 Highway 100 S., St. Louis Park. Student-led tours to explore the suburban campus. bsmschool org/admissions/attend-an-open-house

Bingo Fun Day — May 21: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 111 Main St. W., Vermillion. After 10 a.m. Mass. Bingo, other games, silent auction and food. stjohns-vermillion com

OTHER EVENTS

Landmark Spark — May 19: 5:30–11 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Minneapolis. 30 years ago, volunteers created the Friends of The Basilica nonprofit, now known as The Basilica Landmark. Events start with aCocktail Hour followed by dinner, auction and more. thebasilicalandmark org/spark

Vatican International Exhibition: The Eucharistic Miracles of the World — June 16-18: 9:30 a.m.–8 p.m. at St. Peter, 1405 Highway 13, Mendota. Designed and created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, with over 153 eucharistic miracles that have taken place around the world and throughout the history of the Church. Each miracle is described on a 2-foot by 3-foot panel displayed in an art gallery setting. stpetersmendota org

Basilica Music and Arts Immersion Camp — June 26-30: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 88 N. 17th St. Minneapolis. For singers entering grades 4-8. Participants also work with local artists and visit local arts organizations during the week. Tuition: $100. Scholarships available ($75). mary org/musiccamp

ONGOING GROUPS

Bridge Club — Last Saturdays: 7–8:30 p.m. year-round at St. Joseph, 13015 Rockford Road, Plymouth. From veteran players to new, all are invited. Simply show up. Tables, treats and tallies are provided. Contact Mike or Janet Malinowski at 952-525-8708 or stjosephparish com/book-and-card-clubs

Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. First Sunday via Zoom, Third Sunday in person with potluck breakfast hosted by Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. In Assembly Hall, lower level. Calix

is a group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholics with alcohol or other addictions. Zoom meeting link, call Jim at 612-383-8232 or Steve at 612-327-4370.

Career Transition Group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. Hosts speakers on topics geared toward helping people look for a job, change careers or enhance job skills. Networking and opportunities for 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 anyone juggling the 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 registration. churchofsttimothy com

Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Network, share ideas and learn about searching for a job. Faith-based meeting every Tuesday. Email Bob at bob sjtw@gmail com or visit sjtw net/job-transition-networking-group

Natural Family Planning (NFP) — Learn Church approved ways to achieve or postpone pregnancy while embracing the beauty of God’s gift of sexuality. Find a class at 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. Learn more about lay Catholic men and women striving to observe the Gospel of Jesus Christ by following St. Francis’ example. 651-724-1348

Restorative Support for Victim-Survivors — Monthly: 6:30–8 p.m. via Zoom. Open to all victim-survivors. 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 Thursday. Visit archspm org/healing or contact Paula Kaempffer, outreach coordinator for Restorative Justice and Abuse Prevention, kaempfferp@archspm org or 651-291-4429.

SINGLES

Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sundays. For Catholic singles to meet and make friends. The group usually meets in

CALENDAR submissions

DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission. Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

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uTime and date of event

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St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. Call Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-439-1203.

Singles group — Second Saturday each month: 6:15 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. Potluck supper, conversation and games. 763-425-0412

YOUNG ADULTS

Catholic Softball Group — May 4 through July 13: 6–10 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 2950 Centerville Road, Little Canada. Register now to play summer softball, make new friends and grow in faith every Thursday night. Details: $75 per player; individual registration only (teams will be divided evenly based on skill level). catholicsoftball com

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Resurrection Cemetery: 2 Non-Monument Plots.

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Sunset Memorial: 2 lots. Market $4500/ea.; Price $7500/pair. 612-789-4217

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HANDYMAN

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MUSIC SCHOOL

St. Joseph’s School of Music: Summer Music Camp for ages 8-15; registration now open. Weekly lessons and classes too - all instruments, all levels, all ages. Excellence in music education since 1970. stjomusic.org; 651-690-4364

HARDWOOD FLOORS Sweeney’s Hardwood Floors Spring’s Here! Spruce up your home with new or refurbished hardwood floors. 15% off refinishing. Sweeney (651) 485-8187

PAINTING

For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND.COM or call (651) 699-6140.

Merriam Park Painting. Professional Int./ Ext. Painting. WP Hanging. Moderate Prices, Free Estimates. Call Ed (651) 224-3660. Michaels Painting. Texture and Repair. MichaelsPaintingllc coM. (763) 757-3187

PRAYERS

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

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Ukrainian priest conducts wound-healing mission for fellow citizens

By OSV News

The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known colloquially as the “Dominican Church,” is the best-known landmark in Ternopil in western Ukraine. Before World War II, it was a Dominican Catholic Church, closed by the communists in 1945 and handed over to Ukrainian Catholics in 1989.

For many Ukrainians pouring westward to flee conflict, the baroque 18th-century church with its distinct twin bell towers, standing tall above the old city’s red rooftops, proved a natural beacon for those propelled far from home.

“In the beginning (of the war), in February 2022, our cathedral, which is in the center of town, became the main humanitarian hub,” said Father Martin Chomiw, a Ukrainian Catholic priest at the Ternopil cathedral.

“Almost every Saturday, and then once every two weeks, we gave out food and supplies to up to 2,000 people,” he explained, adding that locals could not believe how many people were fleeing parts of eastern Ukraine.

“We were only talking about a small percent of the people displaced by the conflict, but still, people were surprised and not very happy at first,” said Father Chomiw of the community’s response to so many people arriving.

However, Father Chomiw said, with constant awareness-raising by the church and other groups, and as the true gravity of the war set in, attitudes changed quickly. People began to come to the church, asking, “What can we do, and what do you need?”

But for Father Chomiw, food and supplies were only half the problem. People’s misery and vulnerability were appalling. Mostly women were standing in line for food distribution — mothers, grandmothers, other relatives — with children of any age.

“We began to realize we needed to organize other types of help, for all the invisible wounds people have,” said Father Chomiw. “The wounds aren’t from missiles, but they are there inside, unseen.”

In many ways, people wanted a place of belonging and to feel a part of something. The schoolchildren coming from eastern Ukraine weren’t initially easily accepted by the children in Ternopil, because they spoke “funny,” with thickly accented Ukrainian, sometimes mixing in Russian words. (In the eastern part of the country, Ukrainians speak Russian).

Culturally and religiously, western Ukraine is very different from eastern Ukraine, and the children and adults experience culture shock when crossing the Dnipro River, which flows through the capital, Kyiv, and demarcates a border between east and west.

Father Chomiw and the parishioners set out to build a community — the new community that Ternopil would become to include all the new people uprooted by war.

That community now benefits from the Invisible Wounds of War project, which the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) funds as part of a grant from a Catholic partner, GHR Foundation, based in the Twin Cities. ICMC is the lead agency coordinating help to some of the millions of refugees and internally displaced peoples, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality.

Art therapy is one of the project’s activities, so the parish opened its playground and created an open space where displaced kids can draw, paint, model with clay and do craftwork. The parish also arranges excursions outside of town, to the countryside, in addition to regular visits to cultural sites around the city, such as museums, a castle and monasteries. The trips include local children and children who have arrived from the east, so they can mingle and make new friends.

Father Chomiw’s wife, Maria (Ukrainian Catholic priests can marry), is a trained psychotherapist. She initiated one of the most important components of the project to help children deal with severe trauma, negative feelings and psychological stress.

The couple contacted the makers of the “Hibuki dog,” or “Huggy dog” in Hebrew, which was developed by Israeli psychologists to assist children who were displaced or living in situations with the constant threat of conflict.

Maria took online training to become accredited and

We began to realize we needed to organize other types of help, for all the invisible wounds people have. The wounds aren’t from missiles, but they are there inside, unseen.

Father Martin Chomiw

now helps families in Ternopil to “adopt” a Hibuki dog. Each dog is assigned to a specific child, and Maria teaches parents how to use them. More than 30 families have received a therapy dog so far.

“We have to underline to the parents that the stuffed dog is not a toy — it is therapy. And we teach them how they should be using the dog, and how the child should be using it,” Father Chomiw explained.

If there is an air raid siren and everyone has to go to a basement or a bunker for safety, which occurs two or three times per week, the children are encouraged to comfort their Hibuki dogs. This allows for “transferencefocused” therapy; by comforting the stuffed animal, the child expresses his or her own thoughts, fears and stresses. By playing an active role in soothing the dogs, they are, in fact, self-soothing. They transfer all those feelings onto the dog, helping them to relieve some of that stress and anxiety.

Many of the children are alone, Father Chomiw said, with no friends, or maybe just one friend. “This friend is always close. This friend gives hugs. This friend is intimate. So, the child opens up and talks to the dog.”

Despite yearning for home, people continue to arrive in Ternopil. Some move on to other countries in Europe, while some, such as those from Kyiv, have been able to return home. For most, however, a return home isn’t currently part of the equation. But in Ternopil, they have found their place of belonging in the meantime.

A young girl and her mother during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday in Ternopil, Ukraine, April 21. CNS | ANDREY GORB, COURTESY PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES