Eighth grader Alli Madison gives a piggy-back ride to first grader Rowan Steiner in the newly renovated gymnasium at St. Jude of the Lake Catholic School in Mahtomedi Oct. 10. These students and others, along with staff and other friends of the school, gathered that day for a dedication ceremony in honor of Jack Gunderson, who attended the school through eighth grade and died at age 28 on Nov. 9, 2024. He was an inspirational student and leader at the school and throughout his life, and school leaders along with the Gunderson family decided to dedicate the gym to him to inspire students to follow his example of caring for others and working to include those who struggled or felt alone.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
PAGETWO
RENEWAL IN ACTION On Oct. 14, the operator of a large crane prepares to lift new heating and cooling units into place on the roof of St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Financial support for the project was provided by gifts to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Lord, Renew Your Church campaign, which has been underway in waves of parishes since January and will run into 2027. Strengthening campus ministry is one priority for the $250 million campaign chosen by Archbishop Bernard Hebda, based on feedback from the parishioners in the archdiocese. Other areas include supporting Catholic schools and faith formation programs, priest support and renovations at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Learn more about the campaign at archspm.org/lordrenewyourchurch.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
HOFFMAN HOME BLESSING Archbishop Bernard Hebda, second from left, blesses the home of Sen. John Hoffman, left, and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, third from left, during a visit Oct. 21. Accompanying Archbishop Hebda was Jason Adkins, right, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. The Hoffmans were shot inside their home during an attack June 14. The suspect, Vance Boelter, is in custody and awaiting trial. The Hoffmans have spoken publicly about the targeted shooting at their Champlin home. Prosecutors say Boelter went to at least four homes of legislators, fatally shooting Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. Both John and Yvette Hoffman are still recovering from their injuries, with John Hoffman scheduled for another major surgery in November. He has not returned to his job in the Minnesota Senate.
Practicing CATHOLIC
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Oct. 17 “Practicing Catholic” radio show included Renee Oakes, who shared how natural family planning honors women’s health and God’s design for marriage. The program also included Bishop Kevin Kenney, who talked about the Catholic Church’s call to mission. Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
NEWS notes
An “Enduring Histories of Displacement: Understanding the Disproportionate Impact of Homelessness on Native American Minnesotans” report, released in September by the St. Paul-based Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s Wilder Research, indicates Native Americans in Minnesota are disproportionately affected by the experience of homelessness. Relying on findings from its 2023 Minnesota Homeless Study and 2023 Reservation Homeless Study, Wilder Research reported Native Americans make up 2% of the state’s adult population and represent 30% of adults interviewed as part of the homelessness studies. As a comparison, white Minnesotans make up 80% of the state’s adult population and represent 28% of adults interviewed. Ongoing effects from “genocide, forced displacement and assimilation, coercive relocation, boarding schools, and cultural oppression” were cited in the report as contributing to the disproportionate experience of homelessness among Native Americans.
A household of archdiocesan priests aspiring to establish an Oratory of St. Philip Neri in the Twin Cities has been officially acknowledged as a “community-in-formation” ready for a minimum three-year probationary period before final canonical establishment. Fathers Bryce Evans, Byron Hagan and Kyle Etzel, along with a lay brother-in-formation, Kai Olson, are in residence at St. Mary in Lowertown St. Paul. Fathers Evans and Hagan also serve as priests-in-solidum (co-pastors) at St. Mary. Father Etzel ministers at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and as a chaplain and instructor at Unity Catholic High School in Burnsville. In a recent news release, the group said they had received a letter about their new status from the Oratorian Confederation in Rome. Members of a fully established Oratorian household enjoy the right to stability of “life in residence.” They are no longer diocesan priests, but priests of the community. This facilitates the mission and spirituality of the Oratorians, who strive to imitate St. Phili Neri in his simplicity, prayerfulness and dedication to lifelong friendship. St. John Henry Newman, who will be declared a doctor of the Church Nov. 1, brought the Oratory to the English-speaking world and is considered its co-founder and co-patron.
Father Jim Cassidy, a staff member of St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis, has been recognized with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Nebraska at Kearney for his work in the local community and 25 years of ministry in South Africa. In the early 1980s, Father Cassidy began his 35 years of ministry as the spiritual care coordinator for the Allina Health Hospice Program while simultaneously serving at St. Joan of Arc. Following a trip to South Africa in 2000, Father Cassidy founded Arm in Arm in Africa (aiaia.org), a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of individuals in South Africa. Each year, a delegation from that mission travels to that country to assess and strengthen the relationship. Father Cassidy has made every trip and plans to return with the delegation in February.
A group of seven or eight male suspects ambushed and injured two staff members in the parking lot of St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis just after 8 a.m. Oct. 19, according to media reports. One victim was pushed to the ground, causing injuries to his head, and kicked before being robbed of his wallet. No arrests were announced, but camera footage of the incident included a license plate from one of the suspects’ vehicles, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. Parish administrator Dennis Heaney said a detailed security plan that includes locking doors during services is being followed at the parish, particularly after a fatal shooting Aug. 27 at an all-school Mass at Annunciation’s church in Minneapolis.
Rabbi Skorka, a friend of late Pope Francis, to speak on interreligious relations
By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
A Nov. 4 dinner and keynote reflection by Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, a close friend of the late Pope Francis, will highlight a celebration of the 60th anniversary of a Vatican II document on interreligious relations, “Nostra Aetate” (In Our Time).
Archbishop Bernard Hebda is slated to make remarks as well at the 7 p.m. dinner at the Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka.
The Vatican II document “was a point of change” for the Catholic Church’s relationship among different faiths and for Jewish-Christian dialogue, said Father Erich Rutten, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle and Christ the King in Minneapolis.
“Nostra Aetate” promulgated that the Catholic Church accepts what is true and holy in non-Christian religions, called for an end to anti-Semitism and said any discrimination based on race, color, religion or condition of life is foreign to the mind of Christ.
“Since then, we’ve been trying to grapple with who we are together” with other faiths, in dialogue and “walking together as a human race,” said Father Rutten, the archdiocese’s officer for ecumenical and interreligious affairs.
Rabbi Skorka grew to know Pope Francis when the latter was a cardinal and the archbishop of Buenos Aires. The two co-hosted a television show and co-authored a book addressing a range of moral, cultural and social topics. Rabbi Skorka and Omar Abboud, a Muslim leader from Buenos Aires, later became the first non-Christian leaders to join a papal entourage when they accompanied Pope Francis during his May 2014 visit to the Holy Land.
The evening in Minnetonka is hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) in partnership with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies and the Encountering Judaism Initiative at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at St. John’s University in Collegeville.
REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher JOE RUFF, Editor-in-Chief REBECCA OMASTIAK, News Editor
COURTESY GIANNA BONELLO, ST. LAWRENCE
FROMTHEVICARGENERAL
ONLY JESUS | FATHER MICHAEL TIX
Celebrating the saints
As November quickly approaches, with Thanksgiving celebrations at the end of the month, the Church reminds us that the whole month is a time for gratitude and thanksgiving starting with the commemoration of All Saints and All Souls. We give thanks for the example of the saints who have shown us how to follow Christ, and we remember with a spirit of gratitude and prayer all those who have died, especially in the past year.
Do you have a favorite saint, one you turn to for intercession in a time of need? St. Anthony for a lost item? St. Jude for a hopeless situation? Our Catholic faith is rich with the stories of intercession from souls living anew in the communion of saints. I would like to share with you one such faith-filled story involving perhaps a lesser-known intercessor who is not yet a saint, but who is in the Church’s process of canonization, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.
Father Seelos was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1819 and entered a seminary of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (what we know today as the Redemptorists) in 1842 with hopes of ministering to German immigrants in the United States. He was ordained in 1844 in Baltimore; his first assignment was parochial vicar of St. John Neumann in Pittsburgh. Later, Father Seelos became an itinerant missionary serving in parishes and leading parish missions as near to us as Wisconsin. It was in 1866 that Father Seelos went to New Orleans and chose to care for
Celebrando a los santos
Apatients of the yellow fever epidemic and share with them the caring and compassionate presence of Christ in their time of suffering. Father Seelos was known to say, “Oh, come without fear or trembling! I promise to receive you with all gentleness.” Father Seelos himself contracted yellow fever and died on Oct. 4, 1867, at the age of 48. Because of his heroic example of following Christ and giving his life for the sake of others, he was beatified on April 9, 2000, by St. John Paul II. His feast day is Oct. 5.
I came to know about Father Seelos some years ago when I served as pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage. One summer, I learned that Joey, one of our eighth grade graduates preparing to begin his freshman year at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, was diagnosed by the University of Minnesota with a form of cancer that had only a handful of known cases. The harsh reality was that this cancer had a high mortality rate, and after learning all this, Joey and his family were understandably shocked and searched for remedies. At the same time, a family friend of Joey’s randomly heard about Father Seelos and his shrine in New Orleans. Joey and his family decided to be open to all possibilities in this time of great challenge and opted to travel to the shrine in New Orleans. Before leaving for their trip, Joey was anointed at Mass in Savage where there wasn’t a dry eye. All were united in prayer, and there was great support for whatever journey lay ahead for Joey, his twin brother and parents.
Joey and his family went to the National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in New Orleans on several occasions during their
medida que se acerca noviembre, con las celebraciones de Acción de Gracias al final del mes, la Iglesia nos recuerda que todo el mes es un tiempo de gratitud y agradecimiento, comenzando con la conmemoración de Todos los Santos y los Fieles Difuntos. Damos gracias por el ejemplo de los santos que nos han enseñado a seguir a Cristo, y recordamos con gratitud y oración a todos los que han fallecido, especialmente en el último año.
¿Tienes un santo favorito al que recurres en busca de intercesión en momentos de necesidad? ¿San Antonio por un objeto perdido? ¿San Judas Tadeo por una situación desesperada? Nuestra fe católica está llena de historias de intercesión de almas que reviven en la comunión de los santos. Me gustaría compartir con ustedes una historia llena de fe, la de un intercesor quizás menos conocido, que aún no es santo, pero que está en proceso de canonización: el Beato Francisco Javier Seelos. El Padre Seelos nació en Baviera, Alemania, en 1819 e ingresó en un seminario de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor (hoy Redentoristas) en 1842 con la esperanza de atender a los inmigrantes alemanes en
weeklong trip, and Joey was blessed by a relic of Father Seelos before returning to Minnesota. Soon after his return home, Joey had a medical appointment for a variety of scans at the University of Minnesota. While meeting with the doctors to learn the results of the scans, all were surprised to hear that all the tests were clear, and no cancer was detected. Joey’s family considered it a miracle and shared the news with the shrine in New Orleans for what could be grounds for a second miracle needed for the Catholic Church to declare the beatified priest a saint. All indications are that Joey continues to do well with no recurrence of cancer.
After Joey’s recovery, I asked his dad, Paul, to share the story and his own personal reflection of the experience with the parish. You could have heard a pin drop as he shared the story of his son and their family, and how the intercessory power of the saints took on a whole new meaning for them. It also made the experience real for the parish as Paul could point to Joey sitting in the front pew, as well as point to the life-size icon of Blessed Seelos commissioned as an act of thanksgiving for God’s mercy.
As November approaches, we can think of saints as people who lived in times and places different from our own. November challenges us to be inspired by, and grateful for, the saints as we seek to follow in the footsteps of Christ. May we recognize in these holy people — whether officially canonized by the Church or saintly people we’ve known who will never be canonized — the goodness that comes from God and God’s neverfailing love that surrounds us in our journey of life.
Estados Unidos. Fue ordenado sacerdote en 1844 en Baltimore; su primer destino fue vicario parroquial a San Juan Neumann en Pittsburgh. Posteriormente, el Padre Seelos se convirtió en misionero itinerante, sirviendo en parroquias y dirigiendo misiones parroquiales tan cerca como Wisconsin. Fue en 1866 que el Padre Seelos viajó a Nueva Orleans y decidió atender a los pacientes de la epidemia de fiebre amarilla y compartir con ellos la presencia compasiva y cariñosa de Cristo en sus momentos de sufrimiento. El Padre Seelos era conocido por decir: “¡Oh, vengan sin temor ni temblor! Prometo recibirlo con toda gentileza”. El propio Padre Seelos contrajo la fiebre amarilla y falleció el 4 de octubre de 1867, a la edad de 48 años. Por su heroico ejemplo de seguimiento a Cristo y entrega de su vida por el bien del prójimo, fue beatificado el 9 de abril de 2000 por San Juan Pablo II. Su festividad se celebra el 5 de octubre.
Conocí al Padre Seelos hace algunos años cuando servía como párroco en San Juan Bautista en Savage. Un verano, me enteré de que Joey, uno de nuestros graduados de octavo grado que se preparaba para comenzar su primer año en la Academia de los Santos Ángeles en Richfield, fue diagnosticado por la Universidad de Minnesota con un tipo de cáncer del que solo se conocían unos pocos
casos. La dura realidad era que este cáncer tenía una alta tasa de mortalidad, y después de enterarse de todo esto, Joey y su familia, comprensiblemente conmocionados, buscaron remedios. Al mismo tiempo, un amigo de la familia de Joey escuchó por casualidad sobre el Padre Seelos y su santuario en Nueva Orleans. Joey y su familia decidieron estar abiertos a todas las posibilidades en ese momento de gran desafío y optaron por viajar al santuario de Nueva Orleans. Antes de partir, Joey fue ungido en una misa en Savage, donde no hubo ni un solo ojo seco. Todos estaban unidos en oración y había un gran apoyo para cualquier viaje que les esperaba a Joey, a su hermano gemelo y a sus padres.
Joey y su familia visitaron el Santuario Nacional del Beato Francisco Javier Seelos en Nueva Orleans en varias ocasiones durante su viaje de una semana, y Joey fue bendecido con una reliquia del Padre Seelos antes de regresar a Minnesota. Poco después de su regreso a casa, Joey tuvo una cita médica para diversas exploraciones en la Universidad de Minnesota. Al reunirse con los médicos para conocer los resultados, todos se sorprendieron al saber que todas las pruebas dieron positivo y que no se detectó cáncer. La familia de Joey lo consideró un milagro y compartió la noticia con el santuario de Nueva Orleans, lo que
podría justificar un segundo milagro, necesario para que la Iglesia Católica declare santo al sacerdote beatificado. Todo indica que Joey continúa bien y sin recurrencia del cáncer. Tras la recuperación de Joey, le pedí a su padre, Paul, que compartiera la historia y su propia reflexión sobre la experiencia con la parroquia. Se sentía como si se oyera caer un alfiler mientras compartía la historia de su hijo y su familia, y cómo el poder intercesor de los santos adquirió un significado completamente nuevo para ellos. Esto también hizo que la experiencia fuera real para la parroquia, ya que Paul pudo señalar a Joey sentado en el primer banco, así como el icono de tamaño natural del Beato Seelos, encargado como un acto de agradecimiento por la misericordia de Dios.
Al acercarse noviembre, podemos pensar en los santos como personas que vivieron en tiempos y lugares diferentes a los nuestros. Noviembre nos desafía a inspirarnos y estar agradecidos por los santos mientras buscamos seguir los pasos de Cristo. Que reconozcamos en estas personas santas, ya sean canonizadas oficialmente por la Iglesia o personas santas que hemos conocido pero que nunca serán canonizadas, la bondad que proviene de Dios y su amor inagotable que nos rodea en nuestro camino por la vida.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
An icon of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos at St. John the Baptist in Savage.
‘Wave of Light’
Madelynn Do places a candle on a memorial at Epiphany Cemetery in Coon Rapids Oct. 15 during a “Wave of Light” ceremony honoring babies lost during pregnancy, childbirth or infancy. Her mother, Melissa Do, read the names of 50-plus babies during the ceremony.
Melissa Do has suffered three miscarriages and co-leads a miscarriage support group at Epiphany. The Epiphany event coincides with “Wave of Light” ceremonies held around the world on Oct. 15. The ceremony “was something we needed,” Melissa Do said. “I think it was very powerful and very healing, and wonderful.”
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Vatican Unveiled: Archdiocese to host exhibit of largest collection of papal artifacts outside of Rome
By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
From Jan. 10 to Feb. 1, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will host Vatican Unveiled, an exhibit of the largest collection of papal artifacts outside of Rome, in celebration of the archdiocese’s 175th anniversary.
The 19,000-squarefoot exhibit — curated by Father Richard Kunst, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth — will be hosted at the Mall of America in Bloomington. Items will include a document with the second-oldest papal signature outside the Vatican and a Swiss Guard uniform, the archdiocese announced in a news release Oct. 6.
In a video announcing the exhibit, Archbishop Bernard Hebda extended the
invitation “to a very special celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It’s called Vatican Unveiled, and it is a special exhibit of the largest collection of papal and other artifacts outside of Vatican City, the home of the Catholic Church.”
Go to archspm.org/vaticanunveiled for more information and updates to the event. A media day will be held Jan. 9.
Father Kunst, ordained in 1998, has said he grew up collecting items. Before his ordination, he was a staff member for the late U.S. Sen. Rod Grams, a Republican from Minnesota.
Father Kunst has developed a deep knowledge of the items in the Vatican Unveiled collection and a “passion for telling their stories,” the archdiocese stated in the news release.
Father Kunst is the vocations director for the Duluth diocese and a former columnist for The Northern Cross, a monthly diocesan newspaper in Duluth that ceased operations last November. The diocese recently announced in a Facebook post that it plans to publish The Northern Cross in a magazine format beginning in December.
Archdiocesan Passport Adventure concludes with ice cream social in Cathedral courtyard
By Josh McGovern
The Catholic Spirit
An ice cream social followed three Masses at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul Oct. 12 as the faithful celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the dedication of the Cathedral 67 years ago and the conclusion of the Archdiocesan Passport Adventure.
Bishop Kevin Kenney presided at the noon Mass and Archbishop Bernard Hebda concelebrated. At 10 a.m., Archbishop Hebda presided with Bishop Michael Izen concelebrating. Bishop Izen presided at the 8 a.m. Mass.
“The Cathedral is truly the Church of all of us in the archdiocese,” Archbishop Hebda said during his homily at the 10 a.m. Mass. “We should feel at home here. ... When we consider the whole history of our Church, we think not only of this magnificent structure, but of the more humble structures, the first St. Paul’s Cathedral that would have been in existence here in this part of Minnesota. It’s important for us to recognize that we truly have been designated by the Holy Father, by the successor of Peter, as a local Church. And for 175 years, we’ve been proclaiming the kingship of Jesus Christ, not only in the Cathedral, but indeed in all of the parishes of this archdiocese.”
Archbishop Hebda recognized those who participated in the Archdiocesan Passport Adventure, including their commitment to visiting a number of churches in the archdiocese since May. The archdiocese created booklets for people to mark and describe their visits.
“We always have Jesus Christ at the center of who we are as a Church, regardless of the structure,” Archbishop Hebda said of the many churches in the archdiocese. His message this year, in the 175th anniversary of the archdiocese, is that Catholics of the archdiocese take seriously “being those living stones on which the Church is built, always relying on the stone that is Peter, but recognizing that the Lord invites us to be living stones,” the archbishop said.
In remarks to the congregation after the Mass, Bishop Kenney joked that his favorite food is ice cream, and when a priest is ordained a bishop, he tries not to
put favorite things in writing because people will send an abundance of it in celebration.
Bishop Kenney said he wrote down ice cream, hoping plenty would be sent his way.
Following the noon Mass, the archbishop and Bishop Kenney made their way to the tent in the courtyard. They shared ice cream and conversations with those in attendance. Bishop Kenney sat with Vinny Lopiano and his parents, Kathleen and Sal Lopiano, members of St. Peter in Mendota. Vinny Lopiano visited nine parishes as part of the Archdiocesan Passport Adventure.
“The Lord has a plan for every one of us,” Archbishop Hebda said during his homily. “For 175 years, this Church, this archdiocese, has been strengthened by men and women who have been willing to live out that consecration, to be firm in the faith, as are the very stones of this cathedral. ... May the Lord bless us, not only today, but for the next 175 years as well.”
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A Swiss Guard helmet is part of Vatican Unveiled.
JOSH MCGOVERN | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Father Ryan Glaser, parochial vicar of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, carries a stack of ice cream during an ice cream social Oct. 12 at the Cathedral, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the dedication of the Cathedral 67 years ago and the conclusion of the Archdiocesan Passport Adventure.
JOSH MCGOVERN | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Bishop Kevin Kenney laughs with Vinny Lopiano, a parishioner of St. Peter in Mendota, during the ice cream social. Lopiano visited nine parishes as part of the Archdiocesan Passport Adventure.
JOSH MCGOVERN | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Three ice cream trucks were parked outside the Cathedral during the ice cream social.
FATHER RICHARD KUNST
Annunciation parents seek legislative change, gun control bills
By Josh McGovern The Catholic Spirit
Matthew Tews said he drove with alarm from his downtown Minneapolis office to Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis Aug. 27. A friend of Tews, who was at the school, told him that they only found one of his two children in the school gym.
A shooting at their children’s school was a thought that kept Tews’ wife, Melissa, up at night, Tews said. That nightmare became a reality when a shooter fired more than 100 rounds through the stained-glass windows at Annunciation Church while their children, a first and a fourth grader, attended an all-school Mass.
Two students were killed in the gunfire; more than a dozen were injured. Police said the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Both of the Tews’ children were found safe, but sleep doesn’t come easily for any of the family members. Nor does it come easily for Tess Rada’s daughter, Lila, 8, who was near pews that were hit by bullets.
But the reality of school shootings, Matthew Tews said, didn’t feel so distant, even before that August morning.
“You pray that it’s never going to happen,” Tews said. “The beauty and the curse of living in a really, really big country that is so connected now with social media and news media and everything is (that) when you start looking for it, it does happen so often. … You can become numb to it — but it didn’t feel like it could never happen. And now it did.”
Tews said that day feels like a lifetime ago — and like no time has passed at all.
“It’s still very, very, very fresh and (we’ll) probably live (with it) for a long time,” Tews said.
Since Aug. 27, Tews said, he has attended meetings with other Annunciation families to discuss what can be done to prevent shootings like what they experienced from happening again. Rada is also in this group of parents. Currently, Rada said, the group is considering all avenues for promoting change. Rada and Tews said this work has become an important part of their lives.
On Sept. 27, Rada and other Annunciation parents and volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action gathered on the Minnesota State Capitol steps to demand that Gov. Tim Walz call a special legislative session be called to ban semi-automatic rifles.
“It’s easy to think that there’s nothing we
can do, but we can,” Tews said. “There are things we can do to make things better for us. That’s what Americans do, is we come together to make things better.”
Annunciation families demanding change include Malia Kimbrell who, during a news conference Sept. 14 at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, urged local lawmakers to fund mental health support, improve measures on background checks and place an immediate ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Kimbrell’s daughter, Vivian St. Clair, was among the children wounded in the Aug. 27 shooting.
“I will get the names of any lawmakers who stand in the way of that happening,”
Kimbrell said. “I will invite you to come to my living room, and insist that you hold Vivian’s hand while we do her dressing changes each night and she cries the entire time. You can look her in the eye while you cleanse her bullet wounds.”
In a perfect world, Tews said, shootings
like this would never happen.
“We’ve shown in America time and time again that we’re unlikely to reach that goal,” Tews said. “So, my personal goal is to make it way less likely that they (mass shootings) happen, and if they do, that we mitigate damage as much as possible.”
Tews believes there are many issues to address in the wake of the shooting, but his main concern is banning AR-style rifles and high-capacity magazines. He also believes buy-back programs should be implemented. Rada agreed, and said boundaries should be put in place to limit sales of high-capacity magazines and binary triggers, which increase the rate of fire on a semi-automatic firearm.
Aside from firearm-specific legislation, Rada said there are other means to prevent tragedies such as what happened at Annunciation.
“Things like having better checks and balances in place for people buying these weapons,” Rada said. “It’s truly so many
different things,” she said. “One gun law is not going to do anything. One mental health law is not going to do anything. It needs to be many, many different things. And hopefully that’s something that we can all come to some sort of compromise about.”
A middle ground might be banning weapons capable of rapidly firing many rounds, Tews and Rada said.
Tews said he comes from a family of hunters and he supports the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. People should be able to own hunting rifles and should be able to conceal and carry handguns, he said. Rada said that even before the shooting she was against guns in any capacity.
The sticking point, both said, is the Second Amendment.
“If you look at countries like Australia or Scotland that have had mass shootings and then they completely changed their laws and now they’re totally eradicated, that’s wonderful, but they don’t have that Second Amendment that we have, so it was a lot easier for them to do that,” Rada said. “I do realize that even though I am not a fan of guns in any capacity, it is going to be very, very hard to get around that Second Amendment. Looking at it realistically, there’s no reason for anybody to have an AR-style weapon. There’s no reason for somebody to be able to shoot 116 rounds in two minutes. If you’re hunting, you don’t need to do that. You would totally eviscerate the animal.”
Rada said she sent an email to each state senator in Minnesota and received a wide variety of responses. She feels that gun reform is stuck in gridlock.
“I’m optimistic in the long-term, not necessarily in the short-term,” Rada said. “Getting bills passed takes so much time. It’s not going to be a quick fix. Nothing is probably going to happen very fast. But something I’ve heard from every parent is that we are in this for the long haul and we’re going to see it through to its conclusion, even if it takes our whole lives. What happened is not something that we’re going to forget. It’s imprinted on us forever. I feel like this is the fight of my life.”
Meanwhile, Tews said he is proud to be part of the Annunciation community. “I was before, and I’m more so now,” he said. “All of the amazing things that the whole community has done for each other after this. There’s always a light, and that has been the light.”
The call to comfort those who mourn is at the heart of our mission at The Catholic Cemeteries—but we are so much more than that. We are an organization built around the fundamental truth that death is not just an end but a beginning.
Calvary St. Paul Gethsemane New Hope Resurrection Mendota Heights St. Anthony’s Minneapolis St. Mary’s Minneapolis
COURTESY ELINOR JONES
Tess Rada, left, sits at the Minnesota State Capitol during a rally Sept. 27 demanding that Gov. Tim Walz call a special session to ban assault weapons. The rally included a gathering of some Annunciation parents and volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action.
Catholic ministries that inter abandoned cremated remains are about ‘honoring the dead’
By Peter Finney Jr. OSV News
A funeral urn filled with ashes was found abandoned in 2022 on a park bench in Tennessee, more than 1,000 miles east of Minneapolis.
As Jamie Moloney, director of pastoral outreach for the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, recalls the family odyssey her staff helped resolve, she realizes the spiritual and emotional significance of the archdiocese’s “Bringing Them Home” initiative that provides a proper Catholic burial for cremains that long have been forgotten on a mantel, inside a dark closet or tucked away in a storage unit.
Or, in this case, plopped on a park bench.
The key to cracking the Tennessee case was a small, stainless-steel disc with a unique serial number — mixed in with the ashes — that bore the name of the deceased man and the Minnesota funeral home that had cremated his body.
After looking up the deceased man’s records, the funeral home was able to contact his brother.
“He told them, ‘Oh, my gosh, I am so relieved,’” Moloney said. “His mother had kept his urn in her apartment for years, but when she died and they went to clean out her house, it was nowhere to be found. They were devastated. They had given it up for lost. Somehow, after her death, that urn got placed on a park bench hundreds of miles away.”
That urn found its way back to the family. Other urns needed a permanent burial space and since 2019, 95 urns have been buried in
Jamie Moloney, director of pastoral outreach for the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, with an urn of containing cremated remains. Moloney is in the chapel mausoleum at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, where the urn will be interred as part of the “Bringing Them Home” program, which provides a secure resting place for the cremated remains of loved ones.
one of two chapel mausoleums set aside in Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights and Gethsemane Cemetery in New Hope.
“Bringing Them Home” was championed by Sister Fran Donnelly, a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Joan Gecik, a former cemeteries director, to provide a permanent, secure resting place for the cremated remains of loved ones.
Many of the urns interred in the two crypts in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and
Maximize and Grow Your Family’s Giving
You’ve experienced the joy of giving. Now, there’s a way to share that joy with your family as well.
With a donor advised fund at CCF, you can grow your charitable impact today while empowering your loved ones to increase their capacity to give tomorrow. Together, you and future generations can make a meaningful difference that lasts in your community and in your hearts.
Minneapolis have come from funeral homes — families have never come back to claim the cremains. The cost is minimal — about $200 — and the deceased does not have to have been Catholic, Moloney said. A formal record of burial is maintained at the cemetery, and the name of the deceased is inscribed in a book of remembrance.
One of the important stipulations to which families must agree is that the cremated remains will never be disinterred.
“They are here to rest,” Moloney told OSV News.
Catholic Cemeteries has taken the ambitious step to advertise the initiative in The Catholic Spirit, the archdiocesan publication, in parish bulletins and in the metro area’s two daily newspapers.
One family saw the advertisements and began to rethink what they had done after their grandmother’s death: They had taken some of her cremated remains and fashioned them into lockets or other pieces of jewelry to wear.
“The family came back last year, and they collected all the jewelry they could find, because now they realized they didn’t want all this jewelry floating around out there,” Moloney said. “They collected as many as they could and brought it to us to bury with the cremated remains we had already buried of that person.”
Personal preference for keeping loved ones “close” can be short-sighted, Moloney said.
“It’s an issue for honoring the dead,” Moloney added. “When people have the urns at home, they can very quickly become someone else’s property. So, Mom and Dad die, and they maybe had Grandpa’s urn, then one of the kids gets the urn, and the kids move, and they forget that the urn is there, and pretty soon it’s lost. So, people who buy a new home might find an urn in a cupboard.”
The issue of properly interring cremated remains continues to grow in importance.
The Cremation Association of North America, or CANA, said the cremation rate grew to nearly 62% in 2024 and is expected to rise to 65.2% in 2025 and nearly 73% by 2030. On the West Coast, the cremation rate is nearing 80%.
Joseph Heckel, vice president of the Catholic Cemetery Conference, the national Catholic cemeteries association, and executive director of Catholic Cemeteries of
the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, said the growth in cremation requires a vigorous catechetical outreach to Catholics.
“I’ve been doing this for 33 years for the Archdiocese of Newark, and when I started, we had no cremation space at all,” Heckel told OSV News. “Now, a third of our interments are cremains. When loved ones are cremated, sometimes people keep them at home. Ultimately, you’re trying to help them come to holy ground and not to be scattered.”
In Newark, Heckel said Catholic cemeteries provide multiple options — some less expensive than others — to help people make the decision for burial. One easy option is interring the cremains in an existing family grave.
“If a family has a grave and all the right people approve it, there’s a place to memorialize a cremation space,” Heckel said. “It’s inexpensive for families and they can be together and get their loved ones into holy ground.”
Sherri Peppo, executive director of New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries, said many New Orleans Catholics — who now choose cremation 52% of the time — use family tombs to inter cremains. There are other options such as niches in a cremation garden. Because of the sensitivity of the topic, Peppo prefers to use a soft approach to persuade people to bury their loved ones’ cremated remains.
“We will talk about, ‘Who’s going to be responsible for the remains once you pass away? Where’s the urn going to end up?’” Peppo said. “We tread lightly and go with a little bit of reasoning.”
And, at a practical level, Peppo said, there is the genealogical significance of official burial records.
“We do get a lot of genealogy requests,” Peppo said. “If you don’t bury these urns, the trail just runs out. There’s just no place to find them.”
Betty-Ann Hickey, associate director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said it is understandable why families want to keep their loved ones close, which is manifested by the jewelry products that are available for cremains.
“While these things are well-intentioned, they miss the mark on what we believe is the value of the human body,” Hickey said. “So, if you turn this person’s cremated remains into a diamond, you’re going to wear this. Is the next person who wears this going to understand what this is? I get phone calls from folks who have found cremated remains in urns at Goodwill or in the dumpster. I get phone calls from generations down the line who say, ‘I have my great aunt’s ashes. I don’t want them.’”
“And then,” she continued, “they may not necessarily treat them with the respect due to a human body, not to mention that those remains become the possession of just one person. If I have Grandma’s remains in my house, I’m then in control of who can and can’t come and visit and anyone can come and pray. I know that the family members who chose to keep those remains never imagined this would happen.”
In Minneapolis, Moloney said the bottom line is the Catholic teaching on respect for the body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
“I would just hope that people would understand this as a person whose life made a difference, and they deserve a final resting place,” she said. “Our goal is to bury the dead and not leave them kind of wandering out there. It is truly honoring the whole person and letting them rest in peace.”
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Prayer, struggle continue in effort to end abortion in Minnesota
By Joe Ruff
The Catholic Spirit
Maggee Hangge, assistant director for operations and family policy at the Minnesota Catholic Conference in St. Paul, sat down recently with The Catholic Spirit to discuss the status of pro-life initiatives in Minnesota, including efforts to end abortion. The conversation is edited for length and clarity.
Q Maggee, thank you for agreeing to spend time with us during Respect Life Month. People concerned about the right to life in Minnesota are struggling with recent events when it comes to abortion. There was a glimmer of relief in June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the country. But that turned to some dismay when a court’s ruling in Doe v. Minnesota that same year ended the state’s two-parent notification law for minors seeking an abortion and a mandatory 24-hour waiting period between an initial consultation and an abortion. Can you share with us other changes in abortion law that have occurred in Minnesota since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade, including the 2023 Protect Reproductive Options Act, or PRO Act?
A (As) you mentioned, 2023 — coming off the high of Roe v. Wade — was a hard (legislative) session from a pro-life perspective. Minnesota moved that year from being a pro-choice state to really being a pro-abortion state. Lawmakers passed the Protect Reproductive Options Act, which now guarantees a right to abortion. They repealed the Positive Alternatives Act, which gave money to pregnancy resource centers and other profamily organizations. They significantly modified the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which mandated care for infants who are born in a botched abortion.
On top of that, the Democrat-controlled Legislature tried to pass — but luckily this didn’t pass — the so-called Equal Rights Amendment, which would provide a constitutional right to abortion, assisted reproduction, transitioning your sex, among other things. Different versions passed the House and the Senate. Fortunately, that language didn’t match up, and it didn’t go to the ballot. But we know that they’re going to keep trying to get that passed.
Q There are several protections for abortion in Minnesota, including a Minnesota State Supreme Court decision.
A You’re referring, I think, to Doe v. Gomez. This is a 1995 court case that many argue constitutionalizes a right to abortion. That kind of binds us in a sense, with what we can do. But the Doe v. Minnesota decision really took away all the safeguards around abortion that we had been working for, for 50 years. If the procedure is going to be happening, we had at least tried to make sure that women are safe, that they know what they’re getting into and some of these things. Those things got struck down by the case or repealed at the legislative level, which is really hard to see.
Q The Legislature will convene Feb. 17 for the second half of its 2025-2026 session. What might the Minnesota Catholic Conference be watching for at this point in legislation that would impact access to abortion in the state?
A Our top three from the pro-life perspective are the Equal Rights Amendment, the IVF insurance mandate and physician-assisted suicide. All three of these directly involve the state sanctioned killing of human life, the
state allowing us to kill innocent humans. That’s why we’re watching them so closely and activating Catholics on these issues.
Q Reproductive technology in many of its forms can pose a threat to the call by the Catholic Church to respect life. Can you describe some of these threats and what Minnesotans can do to protect life? For example, in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Minnesota.
A There’s just so many ethical concerns. We have a lot of sympathy for couples who are facing infertility. I don’t wish that on anyone. But going down the path of using this technology is just not the answer. We’ve seen (attempts) to mandate health insurance coverage for IVF, and that’s really what we’ve been successfully stopping so far.
Q What are some of the concerns?
A It’s very expensive and it doesn’t have a very high success rate. Mandating coverage of IVF could raise premiums. When you look at it from the ethical perspective, more babies are killed, discarded, aborted through the IVF process than at Planned Parenthood. I think a lot of people don’t think about that side. We think about the life that comes from it. But there are so many other lives that are created that are discarded or potentially frozen. Now we’re seeing parents who have their tiny babies frozen trying to figure out what to do
with that. And it’s expensive — $12,000 to $15,000 per cycle. Many families have to go through three cycles. Another problem is that it doesn’t solve the problem. Infertility is not a disease. It’s a symptom of something else. If you have something else going on and you get funneled into IVF, your chances of achieving pregnancy still may not be very high because you have another reproductive problem that’s happening that needs to get taken care of first.
Q Surrogacy. What is that and what is the latest in Minnesota in this regard?
A Like IVF, surrogacy poses a lot of risks in this assisted reproductive technology space. Paid surrogacy arrangements are akin to reproductive trafficking. Surrogacy provides an opportunity for anyone who has the money and means to buy a child to do so. And even at times to buy that gametic material that they need to make that child. We call them donors, but they are sellers. Basically, it creates a mix-and-match motherhood. You’re going to have someone who is carrying the child. You’re going to have someone who’s providing the material to create that child. That may be the intended parent, but it may not be. And then you’re going to have the intended parent. So, you potentially have three people involved in creating that child. And it’s expensive. The average surrogacy arrangement could cost anywhere from $45,000 to $80,000. Depending on other fees and costs these intending parents have to pay, they could be paying $100,000 to get a child. Isn’t having children good? Isn’t creating children good? I think this is what catches a lot of people. When you start to think of the commodification of children, when the child is grown in this mother’s womb for nine months and then stripped from that mother and sold for money to another parent — that
Discover the benefits of pre-planning and get your questions answered so you can focus on the here and now.
poses a lot of risks for that child and creates dilemmas for them. We saw surrogacy pass in Minnesota in 2024 off the House floor. Fortunately, it didn’t make it through the Senate. But we expect to see that come up again. It’s something we’ve been vigilant about.
Q There was a term presented to me that I wasn’t familiar with: restorative reproductive medicine.
A Restorative reproductive medicine can be the answer for a lot of couples. Infertility is the symptom. It’s not the problem. There is a root problem. Endometriosis, hormone imbalances, things like this that cause women and men to struggle with their fertility. Why aren’t we trying to get to the bottom of that instead of funneling families and couples down these really expensive paths?
We have proposals and we’ve been talking with legislators. Can we encourage or mandate the Department of Health, for example, to include information about restorative reproductive medicine in some of their programing and some of the information that they’re giving out in this space? If we’re going to cover, for example, IVF, we should also be covering restorative reproductive medicine. Let’s give parents that option first, to figure out what’s going on before they get put down this path of assisted reproductive technology.
Q See a good doctor.
A Right. Exactly. Some good doctors would just call this medicine.
Q Respect for life includes care for the elderly and infirm. What has happened in Minnesota in regard to physician-assisted suicide, and what proposals might lie ahead in 2026?
A We address this issue in partnership with the Minnesota Alliance for Ethical Healthcare (ethicalcaremn.org). For the last 11 years, we’ve been able to stop physician-assisted suicide from becoming law in Minnesota. We hope that continues. We have a lot of advocates through our coalition, whether that be disability advocates, those concerned about racial disparities, health care advocates and people of faith. Many people have come together to say, let’s not support this. We remain vigilant and are asking Catholics to remain vigilant as well on this issue.
HANGGE Q&A CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
OCT 28 | 12 PM
The Exchange, New Brighton
NOV 6 | 12 PM Pizza Luce, Hopkins NOV 7 | 12 PM Pub 42, New Hope
NOV 12 | 12 PM Axels, Roseville NOV 13 | 12 PM Nokomis Park Chapel, Minneapolis
NOV 14 | 12 PM Pub 42, New Hope
NOV 18 | 12 PM
Pinstripes, Edina
NOV 18 | 12 PM
Coon Rapids Chapel, Coon Rapids NOV 19 | 12 PM The Exchange, New Brighton NOV 20 | 12 PM
Redstone American Grill, Eden Prairie NOV 21 | 12 PM Redstone American Grill, Maple Grove or visit WashburnMcReavy.com/Seminars
612.377.7841
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT MAGGEE HANGGE
HANGGE Q&A CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
Q Are there any other pro-life issues you are monitoring as we approach the 2026 legislative session?
A We are also monitoring legislation to protect life from gun violence and will support wellcrafted bills as appropriate.
Q People have prayed, marched and voted to end abortion in Minnesota in an effort that has lasted more than 50 years. I know that ultimately, God does not disappoint. And I know that in addition to your work on legislative issues, the MCC has prayer hours in the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. Can you describe those opportunities?
A It’s been so uplifting. We have First Friday Eucharistic adoration while the Legislature is in session in the basement of the (Minnesota) State Capitol. That’s been well attended by people from across the state. This year, we’re going to have three months of adoration — March, April, May — on the first Friday,
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. We hope Catholics from around the state, and especially from the archdiocese, those local Catholics who can get here a little more easily, that they come to pray. We’re called to civic engagement. We’re called to pray, always. This is a way you can pair those things.
Q People can sign up for the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s Catholic Advocacy Network.
A This is where we send out our monthly newsletters, our Action Alerts, where we really help Catholics stay informed on issues so they can connect easily with their legislators. Through our action alerts you can connect with your legislators and send it off at the click of a mouse. (People can sign up for the network at MCC’s website, mncatholic.org.)
If we don’t show up, where are we going to go as a state? We need Catholics showing up. We need to remain vigilant on these issues that I’ve talked about, but others as well. And not lose hope, but instead to have hope in Christ and let that lead you to continue participating and exercising your responsibility as Catholics.
Plan for Joy. Skip the Stress.
The leaves have turned, and soon snow will begin to fall. Suddenly, the end of the year is upon us. Your to-do list can seem overwhelming this time of year. Family commitments, shopping for gifts, seasonal events, parish and school obligations, and more demand our attention and energy. The responsibility of getting last-minute year-end donations to our favorite charities by December 31 can increase anxiety during an already stressful season.
It feels good to give. And giving should generate joy! Regrettably, processes, deadlines, logistics, and tax considerations can make charitable giving feel stressful. But did you know there’s another way?
What a Donor Advised Fund Can Do for You
Giving through a donor advised fund (DAF) can make your generosity joyful again. Here are some of the ways a DAF can work for you:
• When you establish your fund with an initial gift, you receive an immediate tax deduction.
• Your fund is invested and grows tax free.
• You decide when you give. No need to meet an IRS-imposed deadline.
Parish pro-life efforts continue unabated
By Joe Ruff
The Catholic Spirit
Jacquie Schmitz, 81, said she and her husband, Greg, have been active in the prolife movement at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 legalized abortion across the country.
They watched as the high court overturned that decision in June 2022, only to see court decisions and Minnesota lawmakers in 2023 dismantle many of the state’s guardrails against abortion. Prolife advocates worked to establish those protections through decades of lobbying.
“It’s been really hard,” said Jacquie Schmitz, who now leads the parish’s Respect Life Committee of roughly 25 people. “We were young parents when Roe v. Wade happened.”
• A DAF is flexible. You can give a variety of assets, such as cash, appreciated stock, real estate, and personal property.
• A donor advised fund makes tax preparation easy. No need to hunt or dig for charitable giving receipts. Your gift history is recorded in one convenient place online.
• You’ll have the ability to name your fund — or give anonymously without having to establish a private family foundation.
Align Your Giving with Your Faith
When you partner with the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota (CCF) for your donor advised fund, you can rest assured your gifts are stewarded in alignment with your Catholic values. CCF has been recognized as a leader in faithconsistent investing. CCF also screens recipients of grants to ensure their work does not conflict with Catholic social teaching.
Curious how a DAF can increase your joy and minimize the fuss? The team at CCF is here to discuss your charitable giving goals and help you determine if a donor advised fund is right for you.
Despite setbacks, efforts to end abortion and to provide support for expectant mothers, fathers and their children continue at St. John the Baptist, other parishes, ministries and groups across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and around the country.
People are praying in front of abortion clinics and serving people’s needs through parenting classes, pregnancy resource centers, shelters and thrift stores with maternity, baby and children’s clothes.
St. John the Baptist offers a special blessing each quarter for expectant parents. A recent favorite for Schmitz is the parish’s Banner on the Bridge Brigade. A group of parishioners displays the banner on a bridge over Interstate 694 during busy drive times. On one side the banner reads, “Honk if you love life.” The other side reads “All lives matter.”
“It’s great to get the honks,” Schmitz said.
About soldiering on in the pro-life effort, she said, “God will recognize that you’ve been trying. He doesn’t expect it to be perfect. But he wants us to keep up the fight.”
Angela Schmollinger, 43, a member of the tri-community of Maternity of Mary, Holy Childhood and Maternity of Mary St. Andrew School in St. Paul, said she joined her parish’s pro-life initiatives about six years ago when a friend invited her.
“It became apparent I could be of assistance,” Schmollinger said of her marketing and communications skills. “We are one of the largest groups in our parish,” with about 50 people on the mailing list and 15 regularly attending meetings.
The group is active through 40 Days for Life prayers in front of abortion clinics, lobbying through letters and other means for pro-life legislation in the Minnesota Legislature and working with nearby parishes to broaden their efforts, Schmollinger said. This year, the group donated a total of $6,500 to 10 pro-life organizations including the Philomena House and Joseph’s Coat, both in St. Paul.
“We need to have more of a coalition of pro-life groups and parishes, so we are not in silos,” she said, adding that the hard work of faithful people since 1973 should not be lost.
“We can’t lose the impact those folks have put before us,” Schmollinger said, referring to Roe v. Wade being overturned. “This was not done out of nowhere. There was a lot of labor and love.”
COURTESY ANNABEL RILEY
In this picture from March, Esther Riley, daughter of Annabel Riley, parish director of Maternity of Mary, carries a balloon outside Planned Parenthood in St. Paul for the spring 40 Days for Life.
The legacy of No. 33: A jersey, a gym and
Story and
The
Catholic Spirit
by Dave Hrbacek
Jack Gunderson was a junior on the junior varsity hockey team at Mahtomedi High School in December 2013.
The Zephyrs made a trip to northern Minnesota for several games, playing in a tournament called Run for the Range. One stop was Hibbing. When the team arrived there to play Hibbing High School, Gunderson, a product of St. Jude of the Lake school and parish in Mahtomedi, was told he would dress for varsity and play in that game.
“That’s a big deal,” said his mom, Dawn. It was the first time he had made a hockey “A” team of any kind, she noted. Playing in a town and against a team steeped in hockey tradition made this milestone even more special.
There was only one problem: No game jersey could be found. The extras had been left behind. A frantic search finally led to one jersey — No. 33, worn by the backup goalie. Such jerseys are generally much larger due to the amount of padding goalies use.
“The thing was down (past) his arms and down (past) his waist,” Dawn recalled. “But he was so proud.”
Jack wasn’t about to let an oversized jersey get in the way of his varsity debut. He tucked the bottom of the jersey into his hockey gear as best he could and joined his new varsity teammates on the bench. He logged some ice time in the game, which set the stage for a full season on varsity as a senior the next year.
When jerseys were handed out that year, Jack was told that his traditional number (4) was available.
He turned it down.
Instead, he stuck with 33. There was something special about that number.
There still is. This number recently was painted on the newly remodeled gymnasium at St. Jude of the Lake Catholic School in honor of Jack, who attended the school through eighth grade, as did his father, Greg Gunderson, and four siblings. This number, along with Jack’s full name, is something Principal Ben Vasko hopes every person who walks into the gym will see.
Sadly, Jack himself will never get to see the artwork created in his honor. He died on Nov. 9, 2024, after being hit by a car while taking a walk. According to his parents — Dawn and her husband, Greg — it was dark and rainy when Jack started to cross the street. The young woman at the wheel never saw him, they said, and he died after being struck by her vehicle. He was 28.
Just hours after the tragedy, Greg and Dawn hastily prepared to return to the Twin Cities from a work trip to receive the body of their son, the fourth of their five children. As they did so, word spread like wildfire about what had happened to a young man who made a legendary impact on others — a ripple effect larger than Greg and Dawn ever knew.
Days later, people waited in line for two hours at the funeral home for a chance to greet the Gunderson family. At the funeral on Nov. 16, St. Jude of the Lake overflowed with attendees.
“Our church seats 430 people, and we had 200 (additional) people in the basement,” said Father Michael Johnson, the pastor of St. Jude of the Lake. “That’s more than we have on Christmas Eve Mass at 4 o’clock.”
He added: “If you can go through life and influence 630 people so that they come to your funeral, that’s a life well-lived.”
What made Jack Gunderson so special, and so beloved?
Many people pointed to one thing: He noticed people, especially those who were struggling and those who had disadvantages in life. Jack not only noticed them, he encouraged them. He wrote countless notes throughout his life, all of them ending with his famous signature, the number 33 with a heart around it. That signature is now immortalized in artwork on the east and west walls of the gym.
“So many people have told us stories (that) they felt seen when they were with Jack,” Dawn said. “Sometimes, the people who were least seen, they would always say, ‘I felt seen when I was with him.’”
Greg called Jack an “energetic includer” who “found fun wherever he went” and “could just bring it out in people.”
Making others feel included was important to Jack, his parents and others said. Like the time when he was getting ready for his senior year at Mahtomedi High School and was attending a summer hockey camp. He met a boy at the camp who was going into ninth grade. The boy was new to the area. Later, the boy told Greg and Dawn he was nervous just walking into the locker room at camp.
“He didn’t know if he belonged, and he was shy,” Greg said. “Jack just grabbed him and said, ‘Come over and sit down.’ Then, he ended up giving him rides to and from practice (for the duration of the camp).”
Stories like these have been pouring in ever since Jack died. Many are compiled in a special book made by the Gundersons’
other four children — Grant, Gretchen, Blake and Grace. On May 10, Jack’s birthday, people were invited to the Gunderson home to share stories of how Jack touched their lives. Dawn and Greg were gone at the time. The gathering turned into an all-day celebration of Jack’s life. The children later presented a book of stories, many of them handwritten, to Dawn and Greg. They say there are at least 100 stories in that book.
One entry, from friend and St. Jude classmate Mike McGill, contained these words:
“Jack made everyone feel seen and valued. He was the kind of friend who made everything feel more vibrant, more real, more worth it. ... I’ll always remember Jack for the way he embraced life — without hesitation, without fear, and with an incredible amount of heart.”
Dawn and Greg have read every word, and cherish the ways in which their son encouraged, helped and inspired others.
“There were people that he did things for that we had no idea,” Dawn said. “There was a young guy who went to Mahtomedi with him who had a neck injury. He was a very big, tall guy and he could never play sports. He always got pushed away and never found his group (of belonging).”
During his junior year, Jack asked the boy to be manager of the varsity boys hockey team. The boy accepted.
“His parents said that changed that kid’s life forever,” Dawn said. “Being the manager of the hockey team, they said it changed the trajectory of his life — 180 degrees.”
The stories are beautiful, Greg and Dawn said, yet painful at the same time.
“It’s hard to hear it because that’s what you’re missing (now that Jack is gone),” Greg said.
There is some comfort in having a small piece of Jack’s life — his jersey number and heart signature — as a sign of his presence. This artwork is part of the gym’s renovation, an upgrade from the plain vinyl floor that Jack played on when he went to school there.
The new look was completed in early October, and included a new floor, lights, basketball hoops, two scoreboards, sound panels, bleachers and a jumbotron. A dedication ceremony was held Oct. 10 during the school day (another dedication ceremony took place two days later after Mass). Students, teachers and staff gathered at the entrance doors of the gym for a ribbon cutting. Greg and Dawn stood front and center, joined by a small group of students with ties to the family.
Father Johnson addressed everyone at the start, comparing Jack to recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis, who also died at a young age (15) and was known for his care and concern for others.
Andrea Kangas described the grand opening as both “emotional” and “amazing.”
“We miss Jack a lot,” she said, noting that her three children were close in age to the Gunderson children and went to school with them at St. Jude of the Lake. “Coming to watch this gym (grand) opening just reminded me — Jack would say, ‘Everyone, come in.’ He would open the door and say, ‘Everyone, come in. Let’s have fun.’ He was amazing.”
Her son, Andrew Kangas, was a year behind Jack. Like Jack, he went to St. Jude for grade school and attended Mahtomedi High School, where he played on the boys’ hockey team with Jack for two seasons. During Jack’s final season, Mahtomedi made the Class A State Tournament. In the tournament’s first game, Andrew played on the same line as Jack and passed him the puck that resulted in Jack scoring the first goal of the tournament.
The two remained friends after high school. After Jack died, Andrew Kangas started a golf tournament in Jack’s honor, named the Jack Gunderson Memorial Golf Tournament. It took place on Aug. 4. Andrew and three of his friends won the tournament. Each golf cart used that day carried two players and was assigned a number.
Andrew’s cart number was 33.
From left, seventh graders Samantha Verbout, Estelle Semerad and Carmela Catholic School in Mahtomedi Oct. 10 shortly after a ribbon cutting and dedication
Dawn and Greg Gunderson hold a photo of their son, Jack, wearing his Mahtomedi
photos
and the gigantic heart of a man named Jack
This is one of several examples in which the number 33 keeps showing up in the lives of Jack’s family and friends. Greg and Dawn take great comfort in that phenomenon, which Father Johnson said is more than just coincidence.
As if to put an exclamation mark under the number 33, there was an incident within the last few weeks involving the old scoreboard in the gym that was taken down and replaced with two new ones. “Nothing was working” on the old scoreboard, Greg said, but someone tried to fix it so that it could be sold. “They got it hooked up and got it to light up,” Greg said. “When it lit up, the only number that came up (on the board) was 33 under the home team score.”
Father Johnson was told this and relayed the story to Dawn and Greg in September at the annual parish festival called Corn Fest.
“He came over to us; he was very excited,” Greg said of Father Johnson.
What does Greg make of it?
“Well, he (Jack) is with us,” Greg said. “That (number) 33, we see it everywhere.”
Chuck Scobba has taught at the school since before Jack arrived. Scobba taught first grade when Jack started school there. Although he did not have Jack in his classroom, he noticed the youngster’s presence and identified the qualities people still talk about today.
“I just remember his infectious smile and grin,” said Scobba, in his 26th year teaching at the school. “I also remember the love that he had for his classmates, his friends, his teammates.”
Although Jack could sometimes initiate “a little mischief” with his classmates, he mostly tried to draw people in and make sure no one felt like an outsider, Scobba said. Father Johnson highlighted that trait specifically in his remarks before the ribbon cutting, and he encouraged all students to look for and reach out to anyone who appears to be on the outside or who is sitting alone.
“He learned how to be loving, to have humor, to not be so serious about life and to bring happiness to not only himself and his family, but to his friends and the people who were around him,” Scobba said. “He never left anybody out, whether it was outside for recess or lunch or gym or one of the other activities that we did. He always was making sure that everybody was part of the team and they were enjoying themselves.”
Dawn traces this quality to Jack’s early childhood and a cousin, Alyson (“Aly”) Andrist, who was born six weeks after him. She has a disease called spinal muscular atrophy, which affects the central nervous system and is similar to muscular dystrophy. Her symptoms began at a young age, as did Jack’s constant vigilance toward her and her well-being.
One time, when Aly was 9 or 10, a group of family members, including Jack, went to a cabin to swim and play in a lake. A large van pulled up, and Dawn saw lots of children “fly out of the van.” En masse, they all ran to the dock and jumped into the water. Except for Aly. While the others were splashing and frolicking, she was making her way down a ramp from the van in her wheelchair.
Jack noticed. He stayed behind with Aly. Together, they made their way to the water.
“Jack and Aly were very tight,” Dawn said.
Aly told this story in a letter she wrote for the memorial book given to Greg and Dawn. She wrote:
“As you know, I never do anything fast. And even though Jack was getting older and probably more interested in hanging with the guys, he didn’t rush off like the others. He waited. Patient, kind, and without saying a word — he just stayed with me, like he always did.”
Now, the family believes, he is waiting for them to join him in heaven. In the meantime, the “heart 33” paintings will keep Jack’s presence alive at St. Jude of the Lake for years to come.
“I want everyone who comes to St. Jude to know his story,” Vasko said, “so his story can inspire them, and hopefully help them become a better person by choosing to be like Jack.”
Just two months before his death, Jack expressed a special feeling he had about the school. Carrie Hackman, who was principal when Jack attended the school and retired after the 2024-2025 school year, went to Corn Fest and looked for Jack. Just days before, she had found Jack’s old school identification card while moving a cabinet in the nurse’s office. When she found Jack at Corn Fest, she handed him the card.
Dawn said Jack told Hackman after receiving the identification card: “This is my home.”
“He knew it,” Dawn said.
From now on, everyone who walks into the gym at St. Jude of the Lake will know it, too.
Fourth grader Emma Marolt, right, runs into the gymnasium shortly after the ribbon cutting Oct. 10. Younghans play in the newly-renovated gymnasium at St. Jude of the Lake dedication ceremony.
Mahtomedi High School hockey uniform with No. 33 on his jersey.
FAITH+CULTURE
Ditching suburban life to sail across the world
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
Last spring, Catherine and Sean Green and their three boys paused their modern suburban life to sail across the globe for four months. Their journey through Asia-Pacific spanned five countries, 23 flights and 64 nights on a sailboat. “Five Greens on the Go,” as they dubbed their adventure, sparked spiritual growth and bonding for the family, who belong to St. John Neumann in Eagan. “I think God calls us to have adventures, and this was a big adventure,” said Catherine, 42, an HR business partner for Medtronic, with its U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis.
Q How did this trip come to be?
A About 11 years ago, Sean and I took a sailing class on Lake Phalen (in St. Paul) on a tiny sailboat. He fell in love with sailing. Around that time, we started following a family (on social media) who moved onto their boat permanently. That planted a seed.
As the boys got older, we began to talk and pray about going for a longer stretch of time. That opened up all kinds of possibilities. If we were going to rent boats instead of owning one, we could move around. Where in the world do we want to go?
Q In getting on that first boat, what were you sailing away from?
A We found ourselves getting so caught up in the busyness of life that we were feeling like we were missing the opportunity to connect with our kids in a different way. The idea of pausing life for a little bit of time really intrigued us — as a way to get to know our kids differently, to get to know our family differently and really strengthen the bonds we have.
Q What held you back?
A At first, I imagined all these guardrails — the stories in my head about how people would respond at work. I thought they’d think I was crazy. But every single person was so supportive. It felt like God saying, “Go! Do!” It felt almost like a calling: “Go do something different, go be different for a little while and grow as a family.”
Q A permission slip.
A Right — that soul, inside permission. That’s one of my big ah-has: the power we have over our lives. The second (was) I gave myself permission to say, “It doesn’t have to be what it is today; it could be different.” It unlocked something. I realized: This could be anything!
Q How did you make it work, logistically?
A We’d been saving a long time. I was able to take a sabbatical, so I was able to step back and had someone covering for me. Sean had to quit his job but he was re-hired shortly after we returned.
The boys were in seventh, fifth and first grade. We were surprised to learn that, in Minnesota, if you miss school for more than 15 consecutive days you are unenrolled. After a few weeks into our trip, we were officially homeschoolers!
We talked to their teachers before we left and asked: “What is most important for our kids to learn or do over this period of time?” Almost unanimously the teachers said: “You’re giving them an experience they’ll never have again to see the world and experience different cultures. That’s their No. 1 education. Learn about what’s around you. Take the time to experience the geography and science around you.” That
took the pressure off. We focused on math, daily journaling and reading, but most of the learning came from what we experienced together.
Q What did life on the sailboat look like?
A It made us realize how little we actually need to live and be happy. Each of us had one carry-on bag and a backpack for the whole trip. We didn’t really need anything else. Food became a focus. We had to provision carefully because we’d often be out on the boat for two weeks at a time. You keep your garbage with you until you get to a marina. That made us very aware of what we were buying, what we were eating and what we were throwing away. Now I compost. I try to be more intentional about what we truly need.
Q What are your fondest memories?
A Exploring together. Jumping off the boat to snorkel with manta rays, reef sharks and colorful fish. Stopping the RV on the side of the road to try out a hidden gem like a waterfall. Every day felt like we were able to be explorers and see what we would find. After dark on the sailboat, there’s nowhere to go. You’re on a boat in the middle of the water. You’re anchored. We spent so much time playing games — Left, Right, Center (a dice game), Speed Uno. We taught the boys how to play 500. I look back on the laughter and enjoyment with those games, cracking each other up. There were no outside distractions. The boys seemed funnier!
Q Were you completely disconnected at times?
A Yes, especially in Australia. There was no Wi-Fi and no cell service. To check in, we had to use the radio on the boat. It was so freeing. It was amazing. We often joke: We should just turn off our Wi-Fi at home every so often.
Q How did the trip affect your faith?
A The piece that filled it with learning and God moments was seeing how the tides
change. How at low tide you see different parts of the beaches and the corals and at high tide, it’s a totally different landscape. How when the wind shifts, the currents change and our sailboat goes slower and faster — and how it all works together. It brought to light what an amazing world God has given us to enjoy and learn from.
Q Your boys must’ve learned so much!
A We learned along with the kids. “OK, we’re in Thailand, what does their government structure look like?” For me, it was practicing curiosity as a lifelong skill.
Q How did it feel to become more curious?
A It gave me energy! “Oh, I can learn in a different way, and I can ask questions in a different way!” I’d never been to these countries, so I was able to be new in it with the boys, which was freeing and energizing. I still have a list of notes on my phone to research.
Q The trip ended in June. What was it like returning to regular life back in Eagan?
A I was nervous to come back. What if I don’t like my job anymore? What if I want to do something different? The trip reaffirmed for me that God has me in a place that he wants me to be in, and I can see the impact I’m making in a very different way. This trip clarified who I am and the strengths God has given me that I can bring to my work and my family and the people around me.
Q Are you different now?
A For sure. I try to be more intentional. If we have an hour of free time, let’s play a game instead of everyone going and doing their own thing. If we have an afternoon, what are we going to do together? I try to bring that intentionality back to our time.
One of my biggest learnings was the power of perspective. Even now, I come back to it multiple times a day, being able to take that step back and ask: What perspective is that person coming to this with? What is causing them to have a different idea or reach
a different decision than I would’ve? And spiritually, what perspective does God want me to take here? What perspective is God trying to show me that I’m missing? That has been grounding for me in terms of putting it in God’s hands.
Part of sailing was that you’d make a plan and start it and then the wind changes, the waves change, the weather changes and, inevitably, your plans change. You have to decide: Are we going to push through this to reach our goal today or are we going to modify our plans and just go to this closer anchor right here? It’s created a mindset of: Making a plan is important, but the plan will always change and that’s part of the journey, recognizing it’s all a learning experience.
After coming back, I went through a period of time where I said: “OK, let’s get rid of all this stuff. We have too much stuff around!”
Q Has that influenced your thinking about Christmas and presents?
A It has! I’ve always struggled with the focus of things around Christmas. As I reflect on our adventure and the holiday season coming up, our focus will be primarily around experiences together and trying new things. One of my sons wants to try paintball. We want to make memories with others, such as dates with Grandma and Grandpa.
We learned through this trip that it’s worth saving for the bigger things instead of lots of little, short-term presents.
Q Will you sail again?
A I don’t think we’d do something this big again. But I could see us doing weeklong sailing trips. It has sparked a sense of adventure.
Q What do you know for sure after this experience?
A I know for sure that God loves us and has blessed us and wants us to share that with others.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
From left, Sean and Catherine Green stand with their sons Ronan, Seamus and Connor at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan.
Abortion is never medically necessary, ‘even in an emergency,’ experts say
By Katie Yoder OSV News
Abortion — an act performed with the sole or primary intent of ending human life in the womb — is never medically necessary, according to medical doctors and Catholic experts on the issue.
“The direct killing of an unborn child is never necessary, even in an emergency,” Dr. Kathleen Raviele, a retired, boardcertified OB-GYN and past president of the Catholic Medical Association, said of abortion.
Instead, these experts said, doctors must endeavor to care for the two patients involved in every pregnancy: the woman and her unborn baby.
“When the lives of mother and child are both in danger, the goal should always be to do all we can to save both patients,” said Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
These experts spoke about so-called emergency abortions in emailed comments to OSV News. Life-affirming alternatives to abortion exist in situations where a mother or her unborn baby faces a life-threatening condition, they said. Some procedures, they added, are also mistakenly called “abortion.”
Most of all, they wanted women facing pregnancy complications to know they are not alone.
Their comments followed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ decision earlier this year to revoke guidance that instructed hospitals to perform abortions in emergency situations regardless of state law under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.
The term “emergency abortion,” said Joseph Meaney, past president and senior fellow of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, or NCBC, is “often used by abortion supporters to describe situations where a pregnant mother’s life is at risk and they believe a direct abortion is indicated as a means to prevent the mother’s death.”
He and the other experts began their discussion by defining abortion itself.
The definition of abortion includes the purpose or intent to end human life, experts agreed.
An induced abortion is “a medical intervention to end a pregnancy such that it does not end in a live birth,” said Dr. Christina Francis, a board-certified OB-GYN and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or AAPLOG, as she cited the definition provided by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, known as ACOG.
“Note the phrasing ‘such that it does not end in a live birth,’” she said, “which reveals
A file photo shows the entrance of an emergency room. Abortion an act performed with the sole or primary intent of ending human life in the womb is never medically necessary, medical doctors and Catholic experts on the issue said.
that the purpose of induced abortion is to end the life of the child in the uterus.”
Raviele agreed, saying, “Every procedure or medication whose intention is to directly kill a human life from fertilization until birth, is a direct abortion.”
Meaney cited the U.S. bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which identify abortion as “the directly intended termination of pregnancy before viability (or before a baby can survive outside the womb) or the directly intended destruction of a viable fetus (who can survive outside the womb).”
With this definition in mind, these experts said that abortion is never necessary.
“It is never medically necessary to purposely end the life of a preborn child in order to save her mother,” Francis said, adding that “under certain circumstances where a pregnancy complication threatens a mother’s life, a physician must separate mom from baby, sometimes when the baby is too young to survive outside the womb.”
This separation of a mother and her baby is not an abortion, she said.
“AAPLOG recommends referring to these interventions as ‘maternal-fetal separations’ given the clear difference of intent between those lifesaving treatments and induced abortion,” she said.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive research organization that supports abortion, only 7% of women cited their physical health or possible problems affecting the health of their unborn baby as their “most important reason” for an abortion in 2004.
More recently, a 2022 analysis from Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of pro-life advocacy group SBA Pro-Life America, found that over 95% of abortions are for “elective and unspecified reasons” rather than “risk to the woman’s life or a major bodily function” (0.03%) or
“abnormality in the unborn baby” (1.2%).
Raviele and Meaney recognized situations can exist in which a pregnant woman may receive lifesaving treatment for herself even if it threatens or indirectly leads to her baby’s death. The intent here is to save her life, not end her baby’s life. Both cited the bishops’ directives: “Operations, treatments, and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the child is viable (or can survive outside the womb), even if they will result in the death of the unborn child.”
Raviele gave an example. A woman “who is 12 weeks pregnant and diagnosed with ovarian cancer could undergo a complete hysterectomy with the baby in utero, even though there is no chance the child will survive,” she said. “The surgery is to treat her cancer, not to kill the baby.”
Meaney cited the principle of double effect attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas. This “involves evaluating certain good actions intended for a good purpose that can also have foreseen but unintended bad effects,” as Meaney describes in an NCBC essay.
“What the Church is saying is that the principle of double effect can justify treatments to save the life of the mother if everything is done to also save the child and there is no other option available,” Meaney said of the directives. “What is never ethically acceptable is to directly kill or abort the preborn child as a ‘treatment’ for the mother.”
Francis echoed Meaney and Raviele while responding to claims that women need abortion for complications such as miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, a
life-threatening situation where an embryo implants outside the womb.
“In the case of miscarriage management, the preborn child has already passed away, and the purpose of the physician’s interventions is to help the mother’s body safely pass the baby’s body and pregnancy tissue,” she said. “In the case of ectopic pregnancy treatment, early delivery for preeclampsia, and other similar interventions, the purpose is to save the mother’s life, not to end the baby’s (life).”
She added: “By contrast, in the case of induced abortion, if the baby survives, the procedure is considered to have failed.”
Bishop Thomas also addressed “certain rare and life-threatening conditions” that “may require medical interventions that unintentionally and indirectly lead to the death of the preborn child,” including ectopic pregnancies.
“(E)thical treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not considered an abortion,” he said. “These interventions may include the removal of the damaged fallopian tube containing the embryo or, if the death of the embryo has already occurred, medication may be used to resolve the ectopic pregnancy.”
Addressing Church teaching, Bishop Thomas said that abortion is “never the right moral decision” and that “(w)e must make a clear moral and legal distinction between tragically losing a child and intentionally taking the life of a child.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which summarizes Church teaching, recognizes the inherent dignity of the human person beginning at conception and condemns any “crime against human life,” such as abortion.
“Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion,” it reads. “Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”
At the NCBC, Meaney repeated that direct abortion is never allowed.
“Both the preborn child and mother are human beings with rights. Both their lives are precious and have equal dignity,” he said. “One can never intentionally kill one person to save another.”
John E. Trojack Attorney at
OSV NEWS | BING GUAN, REUTERS
FOCUSONFAITH
SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER JAMES PETERSON
Keep fighting the good fight
One year and one month from now it will be the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie “Rocky.” The film focused on a humble and hardworking boxer named Rocky Balboa who was given the opportunity to get into the ring with the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed. With its compelling storyline, the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and launched a series of sequels and reboots and spinoffs.
Though Rocky did not become the world champion in the first movie — spoiler warning — he did indeed by the end of the sequel. His perseverance and dedication and humility (not to mention his CatholicChristian faith) enabled him to beat the proverbial odds and become the greatest fictional boxer of all time.
At this point some of you reading this might be thinking, “Is this article part of movie reviews or Sunday Scriptures?” Let
me assure you, dear reader, that it is most definitely the latter! In fact, let’s home in on the second reading for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18) and see the connection with Rocky Balboa.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote to his friend Timothy, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (4:7). St. Paul had undergone many hardships and difficulties to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ.
In his Second Letter to the Corinthians he wrote, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the
COMMUNION AND MISSION | FATHER JOHN PAUL ERICKSON
churches” (11:25-28).
Through all those challenging circumstances, St. Paul competed well in the battle of life — or as some translations from the original Greek into English have put it, he “fought the good fight.” According to Church tradition, the patron saint of our archdiocese “competed well” and “finished the race” and “kept the faith” to the point of martyrdom. He willingly laid down his life for the love of Jesus Christ. In the metaphorical boxing match of life, we might be like Rocky Balboa as we strive to be humble and hardworking with dedication and perseverance in living out our Catholic-Christian faith. This isn’t easy in today’s world, but it is possible as we keep our hearts fixed on our eternal goal. We might encounter hardships and sufferings and difficulties like St. Paul, but with God’s grace through the sacraments and sacred Scripture and our fervent prayer, we can press onward through it all — even when things get a bit rocky.
Father Peterson is pastor of St. Odilia in Shoreview.
The importance of praying for the dead
On Nov. 2, the Church commemorates All Souls Day. It’s a unique celebration, manifested in at least one way by the fact that it is the one day in the Church’s current calendar when the celebrant may wear black. But the differences go beyond fashion.
The day’s prayers always replace the usual Sunday texts when Nov. 2 falls on the Lord’s Day (like this year) and the Gloria is omitted, just like in Lent or Advent. Priests are explicitly allowed to offer three Masses on this day, just like on Christmas, with separate prayers for each Mass. Powerful ancient chants are associated with the day, most notably the “Dies Irae” which would have been sung before the Gospel at Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council. (Mozart’s setting of the “Dies Irae” is worth a listen by the way — full blast.)
Many parishes mark All Souls Day with a memorial Mass offered for all the deceased from a parish who have died throughout the previous year. It’s a beautiful practice, and a fine way to mark this unique day. But I think it is important to remember that the day’s primary meaning is not just the remembrance of the dead. The day’s primary meaning is to be found in praying for them.
The Church still teaches, as she has always taught, that when someone dies who is not yet perfected in charity — that specific way of loving that is God-like — God allows in his divine mercy a period of time in which the deceased learns how to love as he loves, that
KNOWtheSAINTS
is, perfectly detached from self-interest.
I emphasize God’s mercy here because purgatory is first to be thought of as a place of love and not punishment. To learn how to love is hard, and hence we speak of temporal punishment. But counter to what many may imagine purgatory to be, purgatory is without bodies, and deeply mysterious. All we really know is that in that “place” we continue the same process of becoming holy that we began on Earth. And, especially important for our understanding of All Souls Day, we know that our prayers and sacrifices help our loved ones currently within that place of transition between Earth and heaven become what they are called to be — like unto Jesus — forever.
Offering Masses for loved ones who have died is a particularly powerful way to honor the dead. Allow me to offer an analogy to help explain why. Every Mass has within it the power to redeem the entire world, and everyone in it. I like to think of it like the sun — the sun has enough power and light to bathe the whole world, and to give billions of humans enough heat and warmth to survive. But it is possible through instruments, such as a magnifying glass, to take that power and to focus it on a particular point, even as this focus does nothing to detract from the power the sun sheds upon the rest of the world. The magnifying glass in this analogy is like the Mass for the dead — it focuses the infinite merits of Calvary, made present in an unbloody manner upon the altar, upon a specific need and intention, including the blessed repose of our loved ones who have died.
Perhaps your loved ones are already in
heaven. Many people often assume this to be the case when they lose a mother, a spouse or a dear friend. It is easy enough to understand why, and we Christians are absolutely people of hope. And yet praying for the dead stubbornly remains a spiritual work of mercy, and not an antiquated relic of the past. Indeed, we are commanded to do so by our mother, the Church, and every Nov. 2 she tells us to do so in the stirring prayers of All Souls Day. Memento mori! And remember the needs of the dead!
I sometimes imagine reaching purgatory myself one day (if I make it) and being met by my dear mother, who crossed the veil 10 years ago. In my theologically imprecise anxiety dream, her Irish eyes meet mine with unexpected anger — “All those wonderful things you said about me from the pulpit didn’t help me one bit up here. You should have been saying Masses for me! I’ve been stuck here since 2015! Did I teach you nothing?”
Needless to say, Masses continue for my mom to this day.
I hope you get the point of this rather silly image. Remembering the dead and all the good they did is very important. But just as important is the duty to pray for them. Hopefully one day, when we ourselves are in that place we call purgatory, our family and friends won’t just toast us; they will pray for us. And in doing so, they will help us find that peace that is only found in heaven.
Father Erickson is parochial vicar of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul and interim chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission.
DAILY
Sunday, Oct. 26
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18 Lk 18:9-14
Monday, Oct. 27 Rom 8:12-17 Lk 13:10-17
Tuesday, Oct. 28 Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles Eph 2:19-22 Lk 6:12-16
Wednesday, Oct. 29 Rom 8:26-30 Lk 13:22-30
Thursday, Oct. 30 Rom 8:31b-39 Lk 13:31-35
Friday, Oct. 31 Rom 9:1-5 Lk 14:1-6
Saturday, Nov. 1 Solemnity of All Saints Rev 7:2-4, 9-14 1 Jn 3:1-3 Mt 5:1-12a
Sunday, Nov. 2 Commemoration of All Souls Wis 3:1-9 Rom 5:5-11 or 6:3-9 Jn 6:37-40
Monday, Nov. 3
Rom 11:29-36 Lk 14:12-14
Tuesday, Nov. 4 St. Charles Borromeo, bishop Rom 12:5-16ab Lk 14:15-24
Wednesday, Nov. 5 Rom 13:8-10 Lk 4:25-33
Thursday, Nov. 6 Rom 14:7-12 Lk 15:1-10
Friday, Nov. 7 Rom 15:14-21 Lk 16:1-8
Saturday, Nov. 8
Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Lk 16:9-15
Sunday, Nov. 9
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Ezek 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17 Jn 2:13-22
ST. CHARLES BORROMEO (1538 – 1584) Though St. Charles Borromeo suffered all his life from a speech impediment, his intelligence and zeal made him an outstanding figure of the Catholic Reformation. In 1560, he was named a cardinal and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan by his uncle, Pope Pius IV, but was kept in Rome to assist with the reconvened Council of Trent. He helped draft the council’s catechism and liturgical books, and in 1563 was ordained a priest and bishop. Finally, in 1566, he was allowed to go to Milan, where he worked tirelessly to reform priestly training and lay catechesis. He also exhausted his own funds to provide relief during periods of famine and plague. He is the patron of seminarians and catechists. His feast day is Nov. 4.
COMMENTARY
God’s power in man
God is all-powerful, and when he made us in his image he bestowed some of that power upon us, too. As children of God, Adam and Eve were to take part in God’s work — to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the Earth. In God, power is coupled with love and expressed through self-gift, and so their power was meant for the same purpose.
Satan’s worst lie to us is the one he believed himself — that the power God endowed to be at the service of love would be better used to exalt oneself. In his prideful power grab, however, he and those angels with him fell to the utter depths of hell instead. All their great gifts had been turned inward and became distorted and evil. When Adam and Eve chose to misuse their power, too, their gifts became distorted, coupling power with pride and domination rather than humility and selfgift.
As devastating as the misuse of power has been throughout history and today, God is still more powerful. The might of angels and men is only a shadow of the strength of the Almighty in whom it has its origin. Christ conquered Satan, sin and death, and he redeemed power. He taught by word and example its true purpose and the falsity of worldly strength. By grace he gave us the willpower needed to turn away from selfinterest and to act out of sacrificial love. In short, as St. John beautifully proclaimed:
Power might force a bent knee, but that kind of power is as artificial as the gesture before it. Real power evokes a bent knee, drawn down by a heart moved with love and respect. Jesus modeled this when he washed his disciples’ feet, the lowliest of tasks, and told them to do likewise.
“He gave power to become children of God.”
Power might force a bent knee, but that kind of power is as artificial as the gesture before it. Real power evokes a bent knee, drawn down by a heart moved with love and respect. Jesus modeled this when he washed his disciples’ feet, the lowliest of tasks, and told them to do likewise. Greatness might evoke awe for a time, but when someone kneels down to care for us in our moments of weakness and need, we are moved in the depths of our hearts. This bonds one another in reciprocal love and respect, the very kind that the Lord describes in the communion of saints in heaven. Christ said, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In this, he reveals the purpose of power. When
and community
In recent columns we’ve been exploring Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God with an eye to how the Church is socially relevant today. One of the kingdom stories that Jesus tells is his parable of the wedding banquet (Mt 22:1-13). There is a great feast, he says, to which the high-status people — the nobles, the king’s court, the rich, the scholars, the religious elite — are all invited but don’t show up. All those already well-meshed into the fabric of society can’t come — all for their own “good” reasons. There’s a lack of community — times are hard, and everybody has too much to do.
But the twist in the parable is that the king — who represents Jesus — has the party anyway. He calls together a bunch of misfits from the “highways and byways.” People from the street, people who are awkward, people finding it hard to make ends meet, people who don’t have any “people.” He tells his servants: “‘Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So, the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Mt 22:9-10).
This, Jesus says, is what the kingdom is like. It’s a community, and it’s a particular kind of community. It’s made from misfits — pieces that don’t fit anywhere else, but that, when you put them together, make a whole. This is perhaps the most commonly overlooked aspect of the story of Jesus we find in the Gospels. For he tells this parable, of course, precisely to explain what was happening in his own ministry. “Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” many asked. “A glutton and a drunkard!” “He should have known what kind of a woman this is!” Everywhere he went there was a party, and it was with the
wrong kind of people.
commanding us to do the same, he assured us, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
The truth is in the fruits. In serving, we experience meaning and a deep sense of purpose for our lives, whereas those who strive for power for its own sake live very unhappy, lonely and insecure lives, because that kind of power must be constantly protected due to its forced nature.
Another place we encounter disordered power is within ourselves and feelings of anger. Anger turned to revenge can feel powerful, but in truth emerges from a lack of power over ourselves. Christ calls us to meekness, which frees us from the power struggles that encumber so many individuals, relationships and societies. With our anger in bounds, and the power of God at our side, we can stand for truth
And yet, Jesus said, this was precisely the point. The long-awaited time had finally come. The “wedding feast” — using the poetic language of the Old Testament — between Israel’s God and his people was happening, in their midst, wherever Jesus went. And even after he left, he would leave behind small societies of people who would continue to be that feast wherever they went.
I suspect that this — had we been ordinary Jews living in Galilee at the time — would have been the most striking thing about the whole Jesus movement. The healings, of course, attracted many, and people came to him because he quickly developed a reputation as a healer. And there were the other miracles, too — the exorcisms, the feeding of the multitudes, the stilling of the storms, even the raising of the dead. And there was his preaching — here was a new interpretation of the Torah from a charismatic leader “who taught with authority, and not as the scribes” (Mt 7:29). All these things attracted attention, to be sure.
But the first impression that most people would have had, the first thing they would have encountered, was what we today would call a large grassroots movement. The first thing they would have known about Jesus was that he was the leader of this movement. He was not just preaching a generalized message — not just conveying information — like a guy at a baseball game holding a John 3:16 sign. He was traveling around the tiny villages of Galilee, founding intentional communities of people who were committing to his way of life. We’ll go on to explore what exactly this way of life involved, but the first thing we must know about it is that it was about joining a new community — the kingdom community.
This resulted in small groups of Jesus-followers in the towns, and larger groups that came out to see him as he made his way through the countryside. Those larger groups
With the help of grace, we all have a choice about what to do with our power — to let it be wielded by pride or by love. The hardest battle lies within our own soul. Thankfully, we do not fight alone. As the Lord assured St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
Jendro teaches theology at Providence Academy in Plymouth and is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran. She’s also a speaker and writer; her website is taketimeforhim.com.
were, we must imagine, comprised mainly of many smaller groups of people who lived in the villages. As he and the Apostles came around, all the cells of his followers in the neighboring villages (Mk 1:38) would come out. This is how there came to be such multitudes at his miraculous feedings, as well as the crowds that sometimes gathered.
Jesus, in other words, was founding the Church as small cells of disciples committed to life together. And this, as we’ll see, is the key to exploding the social dynamite of the Gospel today.
Miller is the director of the Center for Catholic Social Thought at Assumption in St. Paul. He is the author of “We Are Only Saved Together: Living the Revolutionary Vision of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement,” published by Ave Maria Press. and leave the judgment to God, who alone knows the heart of man and says, “vengeance is Mine.” If a person’s attack proceeds from real malice, the Lord who is just will punish; and if the strike spouted from the depths of insecurity and inner pain, then our prayers and mercy might bring healing to the wound.
PIVOTAL PECS
“It has given me greater knowledge and insight into our faith, especially the life of Jesus. I have learned so much through Scripture and others in my group. Their insights are very helpful, and I enjoy hearing others’ perspectives.”
Bebe Paulson, 55, St. Hubert, Chanhassen
Archbishop Bernard Hebda is encouraging the faithful to experience the small-group model Parish Evangelization Cells System (PECS) in their parishes. Designed to strengthen parish life through small groups and encourage parishioners to share their faith and hope in Jesus Christ with each other and then the broader community, it is having an impact. At last count, there are nearly 1,800 groups and more than 16,000 participants in 138 parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. See the opportunities to join a small group at archspm.groupvitals.com/groupFinder
The tender theology of lullabies
When I was a child, I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world because I got four lullabies sung to me every night — one each from my mother, father, sister and brother. I can still hear their voices — soprano, alto, tenor and bass — singing my favorite songs.
To be loved like that, so specifically and tenderly, night after night, year after year, was one of the strongest shaping influences from my childhood. But it wasn’t until I started singing lullabies to my own children that I realized the power of this bedtime ritual.
Lullabies sing a tender theology, soft words of love and comfort to remind a child they are safe and cherished, all through the night. Lately I’ve been musing on the words I sing to my youngest children in the dark, and I realized that their favorite songs hold deep truths of our faith.
“Tender Shepherd” sings of God as the Good Shepherd watching over us. The Shaker song “Simple Gifts” gives thanks for forgiveness and the gift of turning back to each other in love. Even “Frère Jacques” sings of waking with the morning bells, the monastery’s call to prayer.
With gentle rocking rhythms, generations of parents have hushed their children to sleep with the same songs, the tunes we know by heart, the words we heard from our elders, the gifts we now pass to our young.
Lullabies stretch back for centuries. Today I sing a song to my youngest that my grandmother sang to me. In the mystery of the communion of saints, I feel her love with me in the well-worn words: “Now run along home, jump into your bed, say your prayers, and cover your head.”
Not every family sings lullabies of course.
But bedtime rituals and nighttime prayers are common across cultures, the routines that help children (and adults) settle down for sleep. A therapist once told me that the same routines that help to calm children — rocking in the dark to gentle music — can help adults struggling with anxiety, too. Our bodies remember the first rhythms of comfort, starting with the soft swaying within our mother’s womb, her heartbeat our first lullaby.
Lullabies even evoke what is central to our Catholic liturgies: remembering God’s faithfulness through daily prayers and practices. They evoke the beauty of making music together, the traditions that anchor us in a turbulent world, and the rituals that make us who we are.
Mary helps with broken pieces
In this month of the rosary, a night at the theater reminded me that time spent with the Blessed Mother is never redundant. We cannot say enough rosaries.
The fullness of God’s grace bestowed upon her is too powerful as she leads us to Jesus.
My wife and I recently joined a group of Catholic Watchmen, spouses and friends for a pre-movie rosary as we attended a showing of “Broken Mary: The Kevin Matthews story.” It is a documentary about a popular Chicago radio personality who hit rock bottom in his career, had a profound conversion back to his Catholic faith and found his way through his bustedup life with the guidance of the Blessed Mother and a broken statue.
You can learn the rest of the story by going to the movie; it is worth the time. On the screen at the end of the documentary was a suggestion to stick around after the credits to participate in a rosary led by Matthews. Since we showed up a little late
and missed the first mystery of our parking lot rosary, we thought we had best stay and close the loop with our Blessed Mother. There is something about Mary — we looked at each other with the same thought, “you can’t pray too many rosaries.” So, we stayed and prayed the rest of the decades to the end — “Hail Holy Queen….”
Catholics cannot resist the call of our Blessed Mother to pray persistently.
Sometime during the formal OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) session going on this fall through Holy Saturday, those catechumens and candidates joining the Church will want to know why Mary and the communion of saints are so important, especially the number one saint, the first disciple, the first evangelist — the holy mother of our Lord.
My OCIA teaching colleague and I will need to be compelling, compassionate and sincere witnesses to Mary — witnesses who can help move people to develop a relationship with Mary.
Whether the venue is a formal teaching environment; a discussion with a family member or friend, or a small group; or
Let it be known that bedtime traditions need not compete with high church rituals. (I have also been singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” to our 8-year-old for a year now.)
But what matters is giving a child your full attention for a few moments each night, reminding them that they are seen, known and loved.
No matter our age or stage of life, the smallest moments matter most in love. A morning cup of coffee waiting for your spouse. A text to a friend on a hard day. A favorite dish cooked every family holiday. A sidewalk shoveled by a kind neighbor. In our unsettling world, gentle rituals and loving gestures keep us grounded.
God loves us in small, specific ways, too. The morning sunrise we catch with awe.
The song on the radio that lifts our spirits. A line of Scripture that makes us sit up and pay attention. A hug from a friend when we need it most. God moves in gentle, daily moments like the still, small voice that whispered to Elijah.
The greatest gift of my life has been mothering my children, singing them songs of love through the years. The deepest hope of my heart is that the memory of that tender love will linger with them long after I am gone, just like a lullaby echoing in the hushed dark.
Fanucci, a member of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is an author, speaker and founder of Mothering Spirit, an online gathering place on parenting and spirituality at motheringspirit.com
street evangelization — a true witness makes all the difference. That includes our devotion to the Blessed Mother, who provided and continues to lead us in the Gospel story via the 20 mysteries of the most holy rosary — from the Annunciation to the crowning of Mary — to the joy and light, suffering and sorrow at the foot of the cross, the hope of the resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Mary — big-time — leads us to God’s only Son, who promised to be with us to the end of the age. Often, we are broken in the journey of this life, or a friend or family member is suffering, and Mary can intercede powerfully to put the pieces back together or give us the strength, through prayer, to work through it all.
It never gets old, and we cannot pray the rosary enough. The timelessness and transcendence of the holy rosary is an example of the goodness, beauty and truth of our Catholic faith. We give the rosary special attention this October, and we should take advantage of each day of the month that is left — and beyond. We as Catholic Watchmen — providers,
protectors and leaders of the faith — are to pray regularly with family, friends and others in devotion to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and we are to encounter our Lord and the holy family in the Scriptures.
The more time we give to praying the rosary the more we can understand the way it captures the Gospel story with originality, creativity and freshness. The Blessed Mother’s last words (but not her last activity) recorded in the New Testament are, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5) at the wedding in Cana. This was luminous advice at the time, and today it delivers the profound message that the magnitude of God can be found at the level of ordinary life. We cannot “do whatever he tells you” enough and we cannot pray too many rosaries.
Deacon Bird ministers to St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville and assists with the archdiocesan Catholic Watchmen movement. See heroicmen.com for existing tools supported by the archdiocese to enrich parish apostolates for ministry to men. For Watchmen start-up materials or any other questions regarding ministry to men, contact him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com
CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD
NATHAN SCATENA | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Building families: A Catholic case for the Minnesota Starter Homes Act
Housing is more than bricks and mortar. It is where families are formed and safeguarded, ensuring they have a place to grow. However, today’s soaring housing prices are discouraging young adults from getting married, starting families or having more children.
The Minnesota Starter Homes Act (SF2229 and HF1987) is a timely response to this challenge.
While there are several reasons why homes are expensive in Minnesota, including construction code mandates, the Minnesota Starter Homes Act is a place to begin the conversation. Introduced in spring 2025, this bipartisan legislation helps to make homeownership more feasible for Minnesota families, especially first-time buyers.
Families priced out of homes
According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of first-time homebuyers has risen from 28 in 1991 to 38 today. This increase over the past three decades is largely due to the rising cost of housing, which leaves less room in a family’s budget for groceries, health care, childcare, and other daily expenses. If you can’t afford a home, it’s harder to build wealth and provide children with a stable life.
...today’s housing affordability crisis in Minnesota and throughout the United States now reaches into the middle class, and families are being priced out of homeownership.
The Catholic Church recognizes the family as the “domestic church.” A society, in essence, is a family of families. Through various ministries, such as Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Church has long provided housing services to the poor and vulnerable. However, today’s housing affordability crisis in Minnesota and throughout the United States now reaches into the middle class, and families are being priced out of homeownership. As a result, new public policy initiatives, such as the Minnesota Starter Homes Act, can be part of the solution.
Part of the solution
The Minnesota Starter Homes Act aims to address the state’s housing crisis by increasing the supply of affordable homes for families, including smaller single-family houses, duplexes, accessory dwelling units and townhouses. At the same time, it proposes loosening restrictive zoning laws, reducing lot size requirements,
streamlining the approval process and reconsidering other mandates, such as HOA fees. In addition, the act has the potential to create more opportunities for multigenerational living by caring for loved ones in accessory dwelling units. Hopefully, by relaxing zoning restrictions in residential areas, the supply of homes will increase, while prices decrease.
Although the Minnesota Starter Homes Act gained traction in the House, it did not pass the Senate State and Local Government Committee. While its future is uncertain, negotiations among the House, Senate and interested stakeholders are ongoing. Meanwhile, Catholics can advocate for changes needed to improve the housing affordability crisis.
Rebuilding the domestic church
Subsidiarity, a core Catholic principle, insists that decisions should be made at the most local level, when possible, because those people are typically best situated to address the problem. Unfortunately,
Prenatal Partners for Life offers life-affirming support, information, and encouragement to families anytime before or after birth who receive a diagnosis of special needs, health issues or a life limiting condition. We believe every life is a precious gift from God, made in His image, with a plan and a purpose.
PO Box 2225 • Maple Grove, MN 55311 763-772-3868 www prenatalpartnersforlife org
too many cities want to restrict the types of housing that can be built in their residential communities, so it is sometimes necessary for legislation such as the Starter Homes Act to preempt these local zoning prohibitions.
As faithful citizens, Catholics are called to engage in politics with a spirit of cooperation and dialogue — helping to build common ground while advocating for policies that uphold dignity and promote the common good, including those that strengthen family life.
For more information and to act:
• Read the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s letter of support for the Minnesota Starter Homes Act: tinyurl.com/yn7ykjc4.
• Reach out to lawmakers and encourage them to support this legislation.
• Share this information with your pastor and fellow parishioners, inviting them into the conversation.
If we want to renew family life in Minnesota, we must ensure families have a place to grow. The Minnesota Starter Homes Act offers a hopeful path forward. Let’s work together to rebuild the domestic church — one home at a time.
Inside the Capitol is a legislative update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff.
Support, Information, Encouragement
Why I Am Catholic
BY TONY MULLEN
Iam proudly Catholic today because, after years of retrospection, I see how Godloving people poured their hearts into me and throughout my life guided me toward a personal, active faith in God.
My parents first provided this foundation, enrolling me in Catholic schools — St. Joseph Catholic School in West St. Paul and St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights for high school. This structure was reinforced by my grandparents, who were fiercely loyal to their Catholic faith and modeled an ethic of dignity, hard work and service that taught me the value of honest effort and a foundational sense of character.
While at St. Thomas Academy, several teachers and coaches, particularly Bob Slater and Dave Ziebarth, profoundly impacted me. They didn’t just mentor me; they stretched me and challenged me to contribute fully to the success of the team and to become someone who my teammates could absolutely count on.
As a senior, I finally earned significant playing time as the team’s starting center, a position I had never played before. The coaches put me in situations that fostered my potential and built my confidence.
My teachers and coaches gave me a lifelong gift: the faith to pursue new opportunities, put forth my best effort and trust the rest to God. I learned to control my attitude and effort, knowing that good can be forged from every outcome.
The way my teachers and coaches saw my potential and put me in situations to succeed is a microcosm of God’s call to all of us.
I’m reminded that our Catholic saints were once relatively ordinary people who, when presented with a challenge or an opportunity, chose to boldly step forward and partner with God. They demonstrate that ordinary effort, empowered by faith, can make a substantial
impact. They are wonderful role models for every practicing Catholic.
These faithful servants are testaments to one of my favorite Bible verses, Romans 5:3-5, which speaks to the transformative power of endurance:
“Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
Even though I grew up attending Catholic schools, my faith only truly transitioned into something personal after college, when I started attending daily Mass at Assumption in St. Paul. I simply wanted to start my workday with Christ. What I didn’t expect was a completely life-altering community to grow around me. Not only did I connect with a core group of faithful, early rising Catholics, but this new habit delivered an even greater gift: my future wife, Jocelyn. It began when I met her father, a fellow daily Mass-goer, who introduced me to her. My faith continued to deepen through this daily Mass, prayer and Scripture reading, even as I balanced a corporate career in sales and marketing while earning an MBA and a law degree through evening classes.
Corporate success was fulfilling for many years, until, upon much reflection and prayer, I realized I was being called to use the skills I gained in the corporate world to help more kids experience the transformative power of Catholic education.
This was a monumental shift that led me to become an advancement leader, first at Totino-Grace and now at St. Thomas Academy (STA). It’s truly humbling to realize I have joined such a dedicated group of faculty
and staff at STA, working alongside them to help shape the faith of today’s students — just like those who guided me. The students energize me daily and call me to action, motivating me to build strong relationships with the parents, grandparents and alumni who wholeheartedly support our school’s vital mission and future.
Personally, Jocelyn and I have made it our priority to attend Mass and raise our daughter within the heart of the Catholic faith. Along with the dedicated teachers and coaches in her Catholic schools, we are actively striving to guide her toward a personal relationship with God and a deep, lifelong understanding of the importance of believing in God’s faithful plan for her life.
I am Catholic because it is the Church that built me. It gave me the saints as models of courage, the sacraments as grace and a community of faithful people who taught me how to live out Romans 5:3-5 — to embrace the struggles that forge character and lead to hope. This foundation is not just a belief system; it’s a vocation to serve.
Mullen, 50, belongs to Assumption in downtown St. Paul with his wife, Jocelyn Bozivich, and their daughter, Madeline Mullen, who is a sophomore at Visitation School in Mendota Heights. He is the director of advancement at St. Thomas Academy, also in Mendota Heights. He enjoys playing golf, taking walks, listening to podcasts, traveling and trying new restaurants.
“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.”
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
CALENDAR
PARISH EVENTS
OLP’s Party at the Patch Oct. 25:
10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace, 5400 12th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The event is in the school parking lot, playground and gym. OLP’s annual Party at the Patch will feature a petting zoo, festival games, face painting, live music, The Brick Oven Bus (brickovenbus.com), the Midwest Tap Truck (taptruckmidwest.com) and pumpkins. tinyurl. com/42w4zvxb
Knights of Columbus Council 4967 Booya
Oct. 26: 8 a.m. at St. Peter, 2600 N. Margaret St., North St. Paul. Booya: Chicken and beef style with 10 vegetables and seasonings. Takeout at church’s east entrance and garage on 17th Avenue; containers provided. More information: 651-777-8304, tinyurl.com/23dm8tv4
Assumption RCCW Holiday Bazaar Nov. 1: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at 305 E. 77th St., Richfield. Featuring handmade craft items, vendors, recycled Christmas items, baked goods, great food, games and our famous caramel rolls. Gift wrapping available. tinyurl.com/ytztujaj
Day of the Dead Celebration Nov. 1: 5-7 p.m. at St. George, 133 N. Brown Road, Long Lake. A festive cultural event! Authentic Mexican dinner features choice of enchiladas or flautas, served with a side of rice and beans. Adults: $15; kids: $10. Play lotería (Mexican bingo) during dinner. Raffle for $500 prize. tinyurl.com/9w43ujcs
Pre-Holiday Bazaar & Bake Sale Nov. 1-2: 12-6:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at St. Odilia, 3495 N. Victoria St., Shoreview. The Bazaar features a variety of sweet treats, kitchen items and gadgets, fall and Christmas items, handcrafted goods, glassware and more.
Fair Trade Market Nov. 1: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. John Neumann, 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. The Fair Trade organizations offering unique products at our market ensure that farmers and artisans in developing countries and disadvantaged regions are paid a fair price for their products, enabling workers to provide for their families. sjn.org
ABORTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
Mary Mother of the Church Craft Fair Nov. 1: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Mary Mother of the Church, 3333 Cliff Road E., Burnsville. Over 50 vendors featuring holiday and traditional craft items. mmotc.org
St Joseph the Worker Lady Knights of Columbus Craft Sale Nov. 1: 1-5 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Do your Christmas shopping early at our Country Store, featuring homemade crafts and goods and Father Mike’s jams. This is our yearly fundraising event for charity. sjtw.net
A Glimpse of Heaven Nov. 6: 7 p.m. at St. Wenceslaus, 215 Main St. E., New Prague. Hear about Paul Zucarelli’s unbelievable near-death experience during the two hours that he was clinically dead, an experience that changed his life forever. Thank you to the Newman Center for sponsoring this event.
Praise and Worship Concert Nov. 7: 6 p.m. at 4741 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake. Enjoy an hour of high-quality praise and worship music. Performers include Ernest Bisong, Greg Byers, Jennifer Eckes, David Feily, Wesley Frye, Daniel Greco, Sheena Janson Kelley and Jaclyn Schwartz. stmarys-wbl.org/ Spaghetti Supper Matching Grant Fundraiser Nov. 7: 4:30-6:30 p.m. at 411 Fourth Ave. SW, New Prague. St. John the Evangelist’s Catholic United Financial #37 is hosting this event to support Catholic education. Bring your appetite, and we’ll bring the pasta! Every forkful helps the grant match grow. Freewill offering; takeout available.
WORSHIP + RETREATS
Archbishop’s Discernment Retreat Oct. 24-26: at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 S. First Ave., Buffalo. This annual discernment retreat is for men who are juniors in high school through age 24, do not have a college degree, and are interested in the priesthood. 10000vocations.org
Autumn Triduum: Snapshots of Sanctity and Habits of Holiness – Presented by Father Joseph Nassal Oct. 31-Nov. 2: at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. We celebrate All Hallows Eve, All Saints, and All Souls, remembering
These experts shared their guidance for pregnant women who are feeling overwhelmed or scared by their situation.
Francis wanted them to know that no state law prevents excellent obstetric care and that they have access to additional support through pregnancy centers and other programs.
Raviele added that, if a woman has been told to
how it is God who makes us worthy to be saints by calling us children of God. When we take off our masks and deepen our desire to live as children of God, we find sanctity for all. kingshouse.com
The 12th Annual Seven Sisters Apostolate Day of Reflection and Renewal Nov. 1: 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Maternity of Mary, 1414 Dale St., St. Paul. Experience “The Holy Influence of Beauty” through the priesthood, saints and prayers. Includes adoration/rosary, Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, fellowship, Scola of priests, vintage vestment display, relics for veneration, apostolate updates, lunch and vendors. sevensistersapostolate.org
Who Do You Say That I Am? Nov. 1: 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Christos Center, 1212 Holly Drive, Lino Lakes. This is a day to ponder who God is for you and who you are for God. Pause, connect with yourself, and connect with God. tinyurl.com/ydjtu2em
Mozart Requiem Nov. 3: 7 p.m. at St. Agnes, 548 Lafond Ave., St. Paul. The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale and Orchestra will present Mozart’s final composition, the Requiem Mass in D minor. Experience this haunting and powerful work as it was intended, as part of a solemn Catholic Mass. catholicchorale.org
Men’s Silent Weekend Retreat: “Pilgrims of Hope” Nov. 7-9: 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. As pilgrims of hope, join us for three conference talks, Holy Hour and spiritual direction, healing service and personal time for prayer and reflection. Private sleeping rooms include a bathroom with shower; home-cooked meals. Mass on Saturday and Sunday. kingshouse.com
SPEAKERS + SEMINARS
Catholic Thought-Leader Summit Oct. 25: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at 5071 Eden Ave., Edina. The Holy Spirit isn’t finished with the Church and neither are you. We’re gathering bold Catholics who are ready to stop waiting and start building. Register: forms.csbsju.edu/LGRNXSK69X
Life, Love and Limits: Catholic Answers to Infertility and IVF Nov. 1: 6:30-8 p.m. at 3495
abort her baby, she should seek a second opinion. She recommended women turn to the Catholic Medical Association, which provides a search tool for Catholic physicians, or AAPLOG, which hosts an online directory of pro-life OB-GYNS and other pro-life medical professionals.
Bishop Thomas addressed how the Church, including everyday Catholics, can accompany pregnant women facing life-threatening situations.
“First, to accompany with love and pastoral care
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 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.
ITEMS MUST INCLUDE:
Time and date of event
Full street address of event
Description of event
Contact information in case of questions
The Catholic Spirit prints calendar details as submitted.
TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendarsubmissions
Victoria St. N., Shoreview. Leah Libresco Sargeant will explore key questions about in vitro fertilization (IVF). stodilia.org
OTHER EVENTS
“Hope” Memorial and Benefit Concert for Annunciation Community Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. Join Minnesota’s finest musical ensembles for a powerful evening of music and reflection. Free admission with freewill donations supporting the Annunciation community’s rebuilding efforts, affected families and community recovery. cathedralsaintpaul.org/prayers-for-peace-andhealing
pregnant women who find themselves in these frightening situations,” he said.
He called on pastors and pro-life family and friends to be aware of the nuances to better help women.
“(M)any women facing life-threatening maternal health conditions may be offered abortion as their only option and may be unaware of moral and ethical alternatives to abortion,” he said. “It is good to be informed about and to advocate for these ethical treatments.”
Mind & Body Chiropractic * Dr. Kuznia $80/mo. Indiv. * $120/mo. Family * SJBG mindbodychiropractic.com/ 651-600-3521
FINANCIAL PLANNERS
Win-A-Key to Unlock Your Retirement Income http://www.yourretirementkeys.com/ Susan Wieneke financial advisor SJBG
Installation, Refinishing, Repairs Mark Schroeder: 612-987-5175
HEALTH CARE
THE FAMILY CLINIC, LLC
Direct Primary Care • Functional Medicine 651-400-1554 • info@mnfamilyclinic.com
MORTGAGE LOANS
Home Loans with Honesty & Integrity Matko Lending LLC; NMLS# 2656175 matkolending.com/952-484-1613 (call/text)
Residential Mortgage Lending in MN & WI Conventional, FHA and VA NMLS #422758 Christopher.Burr@rcu.org 651-202-1367
PAINTING
For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND.COM or call (651) 699-6140.
Rosary by bonfire
Annunciation reaches 50 days of nightly prayer gathering
Hrbacek
The Catholic Spirit
It was well after dark when more than 100 people gathered at Annunciation in Minneapolis on Oct. 19. They stood in front of a memorial to Sophia Forchas and her fallen classmates, Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski. Then, they lit a bonfire in a portable pit to bring warmth and light to the evening.
It was the 50th consecutive day of a nightly rosary in front of the church. At the 9 p.m. start time, an estimated 120 attendees started praying the Glorious Mysteries. The appointed leader for the evening was grade school student Abe Pedersen, who attends regularly with his family and belongs to the parish.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has participated regularly, including Oct. 19. People who come find that comforting, several participants said. Another regular attendee has been Bishop Michael Izen, who, like Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Kevin Kenney, had visited injured students in the hospital.
The first rosary gathering took place Aug. 31, just four days after the tragic shooting Aug. 27, claiming the lives of students Fletcher and Harper, and injuring 21 others. The most seriously injured was Sophia Forchas, who was discharged from Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis last month and transferred to Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul for rehab. She is scheduled to be released before the end of this month. She is a focus of the nightly prayer, and organizers said they will pray the rosary daily until her release. After that, they hope to do it at least once a week.
The idea came from parishioner Kristin Carlson, a mother of five who had children at
the school for 11 years through the end of last school year. After the tragedy, she wanted to come up with a prayerful response.
“I was heartbroken, and I felt so helpless” in the first few days after the shooting, she said. “About a year ago, I started doing a daily rosary. ... That’s all I could think of to do” in response to the tragedy.
She texted women in her mom’s group, plus other parishioners she knew. The first one to text back was Emily Koenig, who gave a quick and enthusiastic yes. Then Koenig, a mother of eight whose youngest graduated from Annunciation last spring, started texting others she knew. The first gathering drew about a dozen people. Attendance has grown steadily since. Prior to the Oct. 19 gathering, the previous high was about 75 to 80 people, attendees said.
Koenig, who works at the parish as the faith formation director, livestreams the rosary on Facebook. People from as far away as Texas have joined in, she said, and people throughout the Twin Cities metro area have come to Annunciation for the rosary, even some from as far away as St. Cloud.
“It’s the best thing ever,” Koenig said of the nightly rosary. “It’s like my nighttime story, my comfort. Everybody’s praying together, like (in) unity. It feels peaceful.”
She noted that after the rosary, people linger for what they now call an “after party.” It can last a half hour or more before people finally disperse and head home. On Oct. 19, a dozen people were still talking at 10 p.m., about 30 minutes after the rosary.
Attendees interviewed said they don’t know when the church will reopen; there are still some damaged doors and it could be months. Currently, Masses are celebrated in the school
auditorium next door to the church.
The church closure hasn’t deterred those who show up for the rosary, especially members of the Kaiser family. They are aware of the many prayers that were offered for Lydia, an eighth grader who was hit by a bullet in the head and spent several weeks in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries. She came home Oct. 6 and is back in school. Now, she comes to the rosary regularly with both her dad, Harry, a teacher at the school in physical education, and mom, Leah.
“As soon as Lydia got out of the hospital, we started coming every night that we can and (have) missed very few,” Harry Kaiser said. “I can’t even explain how much it has meant to have so many people tell us that they have been praying for us.”
A few days before the Oct. 19 gathering, Sophia’s father, Tom Forchas, came to the gathering and addressed the crowd, expressing his gratitude for the prayers his daughter and family received. That fueled a passion among the rosary regulars to keep Sophia as a focus of their prayer.
“I love Sophia,” Harry Kaiser said, “and I think that we are praying her home.”
He said he feels a lot of emotion about the number of people who come nightly to pray.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “It’s very moving and powerful and uplifting to see all these people interrupt their evening to pray for someone. Many of these people don’t know the students (at Annunciation). ... But they want to help. Their hearts are broken and they’re just coming out here doing whatever they can to help the injured get better.”
Nothing can offset the tragedy, attendees said, but there is no denying the positive effects of the nightly rosary.
“You see those beautiful things that have come from it,” said Amy Smith, who came Oct. 19 with her son, Ben, a junior at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. “I love the rosary. I pray it every day and our family prays it. ... When I first came up here, (some) people didn’t know how to pray (the rosary) — (it was the) first time they’ve ever prayed the rosary. They’re coming (regularly) now and praying it. And it’s so beautiful.”
An encouraging sight for older attendees is seeing teens and young adults come. High school and college students are scattered among the crowd, some of whom are graduates of Annunciation Catholic School. One of them is Matthew Sable, a junior at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis. Koenig said he is “there every night” and helps her with the Facebook livestream, taking on the task whenever she can’t make it. His mother, Beth, teaches first grade at Annunciation.
Together, children, parents and even grandparents are showing — and living — the power of prayer as a response to the tragedy. “I say, pray for sure, and move our feet,” Koenig said. “You’ve got to pray. Don’t forget that. Pray. That’s how the Spirit moves.”
It’s also how people at Annunciation parish and school move.
“Everybody who goes here has always known what a great community this is,” Harry Kaiser said. “I think one of the reasons that we’re recovering so well is because of the unity and support. Everyone has stepped up and done absolutely everything possible to get through this and heal and make light out of the darkness. That has been what everybody’s focus is — to bring some goodness out of this and, with faith, to rebuild and repair.”
Story and photo by Dave
About 120 people gather at Annunciation in Minneapolis Oct. 19 for a nightly rosary. This event began on Aug. 31, just four days after a shooting at the church claimed two lives and injured 21 others. Archbishop Bernard Hebda came Oct. 19 and has attended regularly.
