The Catholic Spirit - September 14, 2017

Archdiocese Marian reconsecration 7 • Tommie-Johnnie rivalry 16 • Loome Books’ new location 17 September 14, 2017 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

EDUCATION EXPANSION Chesterton Academy opens St. Paul campus — Page 6

David Soto of Risen Savior in Burnsville talks about his experiences of being a “Dreamer” at a news conference Sept. 9 outside St. Stephen in Minneapolis. Also attending and giving remarks were Archbishop Bernard Hebda, right, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, left. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Archbishop Hebda, Klobuchar ask Congress to help ‘Dreamers’

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

D

avid Soto was 6 years old when he and his brother were brought from Vera Cruz, Mexico, to California to be reunited with his parents. His family was undocumented, but they sought what Soto, 31, called “the American dream” and moved to Minnesota for new opportunities when Soto was 12. He went to school in Farmington, earned a scholarship to study graphic design at a technical college and began to build a career. His pursuit of the American dream began to unravel, however, when his dad was detained for his undocumented status in 2009. Fighting for his father’s release drained Soto’s family financially, he said, and then immigration control also detained David and his brother.

A parishioner of Risen Savior in Burnsville, Soto shared his story at a press conference outside St. Stephen in Minneapolis Sept. 9. Standing with him were Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Archbishop Bernard Hebda, both of whom spoke in support of young immigrants like Soto who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

Ninth-grader Bridget Tracy reacts during class at Chesterton Academy’s St. Paul campus Sept. 6. At left is ninth-grader Marcus Hipp. The Edina-based school opened a second campus, located at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, Aug. 28, kicking off the school year with Mass and a ribbon cutting with school co-founder Dale Ahlquist and Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Blessed Sacrament. The school is designed to serve the east metro, where some of last year’s students live who have transferred to the St. Paul campus. The St. Paul campus has enrolled 19 students. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Please turn to DREAMERS on page 10

After the storms • Local men join Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas — Page 8 • Caribbean, Florida residents assess damage after Irma; how Catholics can help hurricane victims recover — Page 11

ALSO inside

UST launches two-year college

Priests restore native prairie

Martyred priest remembered

Dougherty Family College aims to provide educational opportunity for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

— Page 5

Two long-time pastors transform their rural properties to create natural environments, in the spirit of “Laudato Si’.”

— Pages 12-13

Archbishop Flynn, local Catholics recall faith and courage displayed by Father Stanley Rother ahead of beatification.

— Page 15

2 • The Catholic Spirit

PAGE TWO

September 14, 2017 OVERHEARD

in PICTURES

“Under what conditions are the vocational fruits of special consecration born? No doubt in situations full of contradictions, of light and darkness, of complex relational realities. We are a part of this cultural crisis and, in the midst of it, in response to it, God continues to call.”

Pope Francis, calling on Catholics to find their future priests and religious in rough and imperfect places during his visit to Medellin, Colombia, Sept. 9.

NEWS notes

MCCL hosting updates in Catholic parishes OPENING MASS Archbishop Bernard Hebda gives Communion to Benjamin Barry, a junior at BenildeSt. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, during the opening Mass at the school Sept. 6. In the background is Father Tim Wozniak, a BSM alumnus and the school’s chaplain. During the Mass, Archbishop Hebda installed Adam Ehrmantraut as the new school president. “The opportunity to have Archbishop Hebda celebrate Mass with our community is a privilege and a blessing,” said campus minister Becca Meagher.

Courtesy Benilde-St. Margaret’s School

Five Catholic parishes will host pro-life updates from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the state’s oldest and largest pro-life organization. The events will include information on abortion, Planned Parenthood and euthanasia. Events will be held Sept. 25 at St. Albert, Albertville; Oct. 10 at All Saints, Lakeville, and St. Joseph, Waconia; and Oct. 24 at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul. Another meeting will be held at Holy Family, St. Louis Park, but a date has yet to be scheduled. All events will begin at 7 p.m. For more information, visit the events page at www.mccl.org.

Group for clergy sex abuse survivors begins The Twin Cities Peace Circle will meet 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of the month beginning Sept. 25 at the North Regional Branch of the Hennepin County Library, 1315 Lowry Avenue N., Minneapolis. It is open to people who have experienced the trauma of clergy sexual abuse.

According to organizers, “The purpose of this group is to gather victims/ survivors/thrivers in a safe, supportive environment to share their experiences, listen to others and explore healing. ... All are welcome, privacy is respected and no assumptions are made.” For more information, contact Jim Richter at 773-412-0909 or richter316@aol.com or visit http://bit.ly/SurvivorsPeaceCircles.

COLOMBIA VISIT Pope Francis greets Sister Blanca Nubia Lopez as he blesses the cornerstone of Talitha Qum homeless shelter in Cartagena, Colombia, Sept. 10.

Sister Blanca is the shelter’s director. Pope Francis capped a five-day trip to Colombia with a call for culture change in a country attempting to pursue a path of peace and reconciliation after decades of armed conflict and centuries of social exclusion. The final Mass, celebrated at the docks and full of up-tempo music and worship, reiterated many of the themes Pope Francis raised throughout his trip to Colombia: peace, reconciliation and social inclusion. He also invoked the motto for his trip, “Let’s take the first step.”

The motto speaks to the need to pull together a country polarized by class divisions and social inequality, and the need to implement a recently approved peace accord.

Read more stories from the trip at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.

CNS/Paul Haring

Historian to present on church architect Author Geoffrey Gyrisco will present “The Story of Victor Cordella, Architect for All” 1 p.m. Sept. 30 at Holy Cross, Minneapolis, about the Krakow architect who designed 21 Minnesota and Wisconsin churches. A free-will offering will be taken. The event is sponsored by the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota. Among the churches Cordella designed are Holy Cross, Sts. Cyril and Methodius and St. John the Baptist Byzantine in Minneapolis; St. Casimir, St. Paul; St. John the Baptist, Vermillion; St. Francis Xavier, Buffalo; St. Mary of Czestochowa and St. Peter, Delano; and Sacred Heart, Faribault. For more information about the event, visit www.pacim.org.

Annual Red Mass held Oct. 7 in St. Paul The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ annual Red Mass for lawyers, judges and others involved in the administration of justice, as well as their families, will be held 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at Assumption, 51 Seventh St. W., St. Paul. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will be the celebrant. A reception will follow Mass. The event is sponsored by the Lawyers Guild of St. Thomas More. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/redmass.

ONLY ON THE WEB and social media Karen Ritz, a parishioner of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, reflects at www.catholichotdish.com on what it’s like to watch her grandson Jack start preschool at her parish school, walking on tile floors she helped to design in the building’s 2005 renovation. “I sat with my colored pencils and those plans, and thought about how big this new school would seem to such a small child, and that a pattern — and change of pattern — would help them find their way,” she wrote. “Look down, Jack, and follow the path. You will find your way, and it’s OK to hop now and then.”

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 22 — No. 17 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor

CORRECTIONS “What to do about water” (Aug. 24) incorrectly stated that half of Minnesota’s lakes are too polluted for fishing or swimming. Half of the lakes in the state’s southern half are polluted to this extent, according to a 2015 report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

In “Catholics to be honored with Champions for Life Awards” (Aug. 24), Sarah Hackenmueller’s name was misspelled.

The Catholic Spirit apologizes for the errors.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Cath­olic Spirit Newspaper.

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September 14, 2017

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP

The Catholic Spirit • 3

Making Jesus our guidepost

W

ith many friends and family members living in the paths of Harvey and Irma, I found myself frequently consulting the website of the National Hurricane Center to get the most up-todate reports on the projected path of those storms. I devoured any information that I could find concerning the various projections and what made them reliable. The weather forecasters all seemed to have had particular respect for the so-called “European Model,” noting that it was based on observations from the greatest number of points of reference: weather networks around the globe, atmospheric soundings, reconnaissance aircraft and much more. The information was broader, more detailed and seemingly more reliable.

As we chart the course for the archdiocese and for each of us individually, we need to know the points of reference, the guideposts, along the way. As followers of Jesus, our No. 1 point of reference, of course, has to be Jesus himself. Everything that we do has to be in alignment with Christ. While we no longer see so many of the WWJD bracelets, we really do have to be intentional in asking “what would Jesus do?” as we make decisions. That matrix for decision-making should have a concrete impact on our pastoral outreach, our spending, our relationships and our daily to-do lists.

If we’re going to be able to look at the world through Jesus’ eyes, we really need to learn as much as we can about him and about his teaching, so that we can “put on Christ” and apply his reasoning even to questions and circumstances that weren’t part of life in first century Palestine and were not directly addressed in the teachings recorded in the Gospels.

How do we get to know Jesus well enough to think as he thinks? St. Teresa of Kolkata reminded us that we can have a genuine encounter with Jesus as we pour ourselves out in service to our brothers and sisters in need, who are truly Christ “in the distressing disguise of the poor.” We know that ONLY JESUS we can also encounter Christ and come to know him better in our prayer and as we celebrate the sacraments, where Jesus Archbishop makes himself truly present. We can also have genuine

Bernard Hebda

Haciendo de Jesús nuestra guía

C

on muchos amigos y miembros de la familia viviendo en los senderos de Harvey e Irma, me encontré con frecuencia consultando el sitio web del Centro Nacional de Huracanes para obtener los informes más actualizados sobre la trayectoria proyectada de esas tormentas. Absorbi toda la información que pude encontrar sobre las distintas proyecciones y lo que los hizo fiables. Los pronosticadores meteorológicos parecían tener un particular respeto por el llamado “Modelo Europeo”, observando que se basaba en las observaciones del mayor número de puntos de referencia: las redes meteorológicas de todo el mundo, sondeos atmosféricos, aviones de reconocimiento y mucho más. La información era más amplia, más detallada y aparentemente más confiable.

A medida que trazamos el rumbo para la Arquidiócesis, y para cada uno de nosotros individualmente, necesitamos conocer los puntos de referencia, las guías, a lo largo del camino. Como seguidores de Jesús, nuestro punto de referencia # 1, por supuesto, tiene que ser el mismo Jesús. Todo lo que hacemos tiene que estar alineado con Cristo. Mientras que ya no vemos tantos de los brazaletes de la WWJD, realmente tenemos que ser intencionales al preguntar “¿qué haría Jesús?” Mientras tomamos decisiones. Esa matriz para la toma de decisiones debe tener un impacto concreto en nuestro alcance pastoral, nuestros gastos, nuestras relaciones y nuestras listas de tareas diarias.

Si vamos a ser capaces de mirar el mundo a través de los ojos de Jesús, realmente necesitamos aprender todo lo que podamos acerca de él y de su enseñanza, para que podamos “revestirnos de Cristo” y aplicar su razonamiento incluso a preguntas y circunstancias que no formaban parte de la vida en Palestina del primer siglo y que no fueron abordadas directamente en las enseñanzas registradas en los Evangelios. ¿Cómo podemos llegar a conocer a Jesús lo suficientemente bien para pensar como piensa? Santa Teresa de Calcuta nos recordó que podemos tener un encuentro genuino con Jesús mientras nos sirven a

encounters with Christ, the Word, as we study sacred Scripture.

I am particularly encouraged by the number of high-quality opportunities for Bible study that will be offered throughout the archdiocese this fall. Our Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, for example, is offering an eight-week course, The Great Adventure: A Quick Journey through the Bible, beginning in October. Our Office of Evangelization, moreover, has a Bible study page on its Rediscover website, http://rediscover.archspm.org/ bible-study, that provides great up-to-date information about the many Bible studies being offered in our parishes. St. Jerome reminded us that “ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ” so we want to do all that we can to become more familiar with God’s word.

A secondary, but always secure, point of reference in determining our path is our Blessed Mother. In this month of September, we not only celebrate her birthday (Sept. 8), but we also celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Sept. 12) and commemorate her under the title Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15). The Second Vatican Council reminds us that she is truly the model of the Church. Given by Jesus from the cross to John — and by extension to the Church — Mary serves for us as the model of what it means to be a disciple. How could we not be inspired by her humility, her obedience, her generosity, her fortitude?

In this year in which we mark the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances at Fatima, we turn to her in a special way to lead us to her son, Jesus. On Oct. 13, we remember Fatima’s “miracle of the sun” and Mary’s final apparition to the shepherd children. That evening, in the context of our annual rosary procession from our State Capitol to our Cathedral of St. Paul, we’ll be entrusting our archdiocese and all our endeavors to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. We will be asking Mary to guide us in our legal proceedings, in our pastoral outreach to those who have been hurt in our Church, and in our efforts to pass on the faith to our young people, to support families, to serve and evangelize those on the peripheries, and to revitalize our Church. I invite you to join me that evening for the candlelight procession, rosary and devotions that will begin at the Capitol at 7 p.m. and conclude at the Cathedral. (See story on page 7.)

With Jesus and Mary as our guideposts, may we journey joyfully along the path that has been chosen for us by our loving God.

nuestros hermanos y hermanas necesitados, que son verdaderamente Cristo “en el doloroso disfraz de los pobres.” Sabemos que podemos también encontramos a Cristo y lo conocemos mejor en nuestra oración y en la celebración de los Sacramentos, donde Jesús se hace presente. También podemos tener encuentros genuinos con Cristo, la Palabra, mientras estudiamos la Sagrada Escritura.

Me siento particularmente alentado por el número de oportunidades de alta calidad para el estudio de la Biblia que se ofrecerán en toda la Arquidiócesis este otoño.

Nuestro Arzobispo Harry J. Flynn, por ejemplo, ofrece un curso de 8 semanas, La gran aventura: un viaje rápido a través de la Biblia, a partir de octubre. Nuestra Oficina de Evangelización, además, tiene una página de estudio de la Biblia en su Rediscover sitio web, http://rediscover.archspm. org/bible-study, que proporciona gran información actualizada sobre los muchos estudios bíblicos que se ofrecen en nuestra parroquias San Jerónimo nos recordó que “la ignorancia de la Biblia es ignorancia de Cristo,” así que queremos hacer todo lo posible para familiarizarnos con la Palabra de Dios.

Un punto de referencia secundario, pero siempre seguro, en la determinación de nuestro camino es nuestra Madre Bendita. En este mes de septiembre, no sólo celebramos su cumpleaños (8 de septiembre), sino que la conmemoramos bajo el título de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (15 de septiembre) y celebramos la fiesta del Santísimo Nombre de María (12 de septiembre). El Concilio Vaticano II nos recuerda que ella es verdaderamente el Modelo de la Iglesia. Dada por Jesús de la cruz a Juan — y por extensión a la Iglesia — María sirve para nosotros como el modelo de lo que significa ser discípulo. ¿Cómo no podíamos ser inspirados por su humildad, su obediencia, su generosidad, su fortaleza?

En este año en que celebramos el centenario de las apariciones de Nuestra Señora en Fátima, nos dirigimos a ella de una manera especial para llevarnos a su hijo Jesús.

El 13 de octubre, el centenario del Milagro del Sol en Fátima, el Cardenal Donald Wuerl, Arzobispo de Washington, va a confiar a nuestra nación al Inmaculado Corazón de Nuestra Señora en el Santuario Nacional de la Inmaculada Concepción en Washington DC esa misma noche aquí en nuestra Arquidiócesis, en el contexto de nuestra Procesión anual del Rosario desde nuestro Capitolio Estatal a nuestra Catedral, confiaremos a María nuestra Arquidiócesis y todos nuestros esfuerzos.

Pediremos a María que nos guíe en nuestros procedimientos legales, en nuestro acercamiento pastoral a aquellos que han sido heridos en nuestra Iglesia, y en nuestros esfuerzos para transmitir la fe a nuestros jóvenes, para apoyar a las familias, para servir y evangelizar a aquellos en las periferias, y revitalizar nuestra Iglesia. Los invito a acompañarme esa noche para la procesión de candeleros, el rosario y las devociones que comenzarán en el Capitolio a las 7:00 y concluirán en la Catedral.

Con Jesús y María como nuestras guías, que caminemos con alegría por el camino que ha sido escogido para nosotros por nuestro amoroso Dios.

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

Effective August 23, 2017 Reverend Stanislaw Poszwa, SChr, granted the faculties of the Archdiocese and appointed parochial vicar of the Church of the Holy Cross. Father Poszwa is a member of the Society of Christ and replaces Father Stanislaw Michalek, SChr, who has been reassigned outside the Archdiocese by his religious superior.

Effective September 6, 2017 Reverend Michael Powell, OMI, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Casimir and the Church of Saint Patrick, both in Saint Paul. Father Powell has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parishes.

Effective September 27, 2017 Reverend Nels Gjengdahl, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Bloomington. This is a transfer from his assignment as chaplain of St. Thomas Academy and as sacramental minister at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

Reverend Stephen O’Gara, granted permission to retire from his assignment as parochial administrator of the Church of the Assumption in Saint Paul.

Reverend Paul Treacy, appointed pastor of the Church of the Assumption in Saint Paul. This is a transfer from his assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park.

Reverend Dennis Zehren, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park. This is a transfer from his assignment as pastor of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Bloomington.

4 • The Catholic Spirit

4 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

September 14, 2017

LOCAL

March 9, 2017

SLICEof LIFE SLICEof LIFE

‘Angel’ among us Outdoor explorers

St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Avis Allmaras, center, talks with Rose Carter, left, and Irene Eiden at Peace House in south Minneapolis Feb. 27. Sister Avis goes to the center weekly and visits Fifth-graders Janee Chlebeck, left, frequent guests like Carter. Eiden, of and Liam Ryan examine flowers and St. William in Fridley, is a lay consociate write their observations in the of the Carondelet Sisters. Peace House is butterfly garden at St. Jude of the a day shelter for the poor and homeless.

Lake Catholic School in Mahtomedi “It’s a real privilege to know these people Sept. 7. The school created the and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I garden two years ago, then added could not survive on the streets like they an outdoor classroom adjacent to it do. There are so many gifted people that opened this school year. On here.” Said Carter of Sister Avis: “She’s this day, first-, fourth- and fifthan angel. She hides her wings under that graders went exploring through the sweatshirt. She truly is an angel.” garden, plus listened to a story read Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit by fourth- and fifth-grade teacher Jill Ryan, Liam’s mother. “We have all these beautiful flowers for them to explore,” said first-grade teacher National Catholic is Molly Cullen.Sisters “We’reWeek so excited to March 8-14.

Anour official use it for kids.”component Jonah of Women’s History Month and Schimnowski, a 14-year-old headquartered at St. Catherine University parishioner of St. Jude of the Lake, in St. built Paul,athe week celebrates large drawing boardwomen for the religious and their contributions to the outdoor classroom.

Church andHrbacek/The society. ViewCatholic local events, Dave Spirit including two art exhibitions, at www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org.

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LOCAL

September 14, 2017

Students begin class at UST two-year college

in BRIEF NASHVILLE, Tennessee

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit On a campus accustomed to law and business graduate students, a new class of undergraduates was immersed in a biology project identifying birds Sept. 7, the first day of classes for the University of St. Thomas’ new two-year Dougherty Family College.

University President Julie Sullivan had a two-year college in mind early on when she took St. Thomas’ helm in 2013. She recalled being asked by a CEO mentor about that goal for the Twin Cities Catholic institution.

“Ten, 20 years from now, I want people to be looking up at these skyscrapers; I want them to be filled with Tommies, but I want the demographics of those Tommies to represent the demographics of the state,” she said.

She said that vision resembles the Arrupe College program at Loyola University in Chicago, which helps low-income students work toward a four-year college degree and professional career. She learned about the program from its founding dean, Jesuit Father Steve Katsouros.

The first 107 students at Dougherty Family College begin that foundation for Sullivan’s vision. Many of the students are first-generation college students from low-income families.

“It’s a dream that came true because St. Thomas has been my No. 1 [choice] ever since I was a [high school] freshman,” said Jessica Lopez, a student from Rockford who said her family couldn’t afford to send her to college. “I can’t believe I got this opportunity.”

Dougherty Family College opened to accommodate such students so they can advance to a four-year institution after obtaining an associate of arts degree. Tuition and fees are $15,000 for the 2017-2018 academic year, but with financial aid, actual tuition is as low as $1,000 for the students with

The Catholic Spirit • 5

Lakeville grad professes final vows

From left, Andrea Mena Rodgriguez, Xavier Abdullahi, Jessica Lopez, Cin Morris and Esteban Farfan talk after class Sept. 7 at the Minneapolis campus of the University of St. Thomas. All are students of the new two-year Dougherty Family College. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit greatest need. Benefactors support a portion of the college’s expenses.

Among those benefactors are the college’s namesakes, Mike and Kathy Dougherty, alumni of St. Thomas and the former College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, respectively.

“There’s a gap in the achievement of bachelor’s degrees for low-income students who have been educationally under-served,” said Alvin Abraham, the founding dean of the college. “We know that a college degree can support them long term.”

The students take the same core courses that the University of St. Thomas requires, and the credits can transfer to any college in the state. In addition to academics, the students also participate in a required weekly internship program in the spring semester that will give them professional experience.

“We will do an incredible job of preparing the students [not only] professionally but academically as well,” said associate dean Doug Thompson.

Students at the two-year college come from diverse backgrounds, including immigrant families. The student body has 42 African-

Americans, 33 Latinos, 11 Asians and 14 Caucasians among the 66 female and 41 male students. They also come from more than 40 different local high schools.

Dougherty Family College students are considered part of the full St. Thomas student body and can participate in any student activities at the St. Paul campus except for NCAA athletics.

St. Thomas announced the decision to open the college in November 2016. The university hired faculty for the college, which will collaborate with members of the St. Paul campus faculty. The college will add its second class next year, but college officials don’t anticipate the program to exceed 300 students.

Sarah McCann, who teaches theology, considered it an easy decision to join the faculty when she heard of the opportunity. She worked in K-12 Catholic education before and has joined a graduate education program at St. Thomas in the past year.

“I knew immediately after reading about it, that this is something that was going to transform the experiences of our students,” McCann said.

Sister Ann Dominic was among 14 Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia who professed perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience July 25 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. The daughter of George and Maureen Mahowald, Sister Ann Dominic is a former parishioner of All Saints in Lakeville and a graduate of Sister Ann Lakeville High School. Her parents DOMINIC now attend St. Richard in Richfield. Sister Ann Dominic earned a bachelor’s degree in French and secondary education at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and is teaching religion and French at St. John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries, Virginia.

ST. ANTHONY

‘Miracle Hunter’ speaking locally Michael O’Neill, known as “the Miracle Hunter,” will be speaking Sept. 23-25 in St. Cloud, St. Anthony and New Brighton. His presentation at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony is 6 p.m. Sept. 24. His presentation at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton is 7 p.m. Sept. 25.

The presentations honor the centennial year of the appearances of Our Lady of Fatima. The author of “Exploring the Miraculous” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2015), O’Neill researches miracles and is the creator of www.miraclehunter.com, a catalogue of Marian apparitions and miracles deemed authentic by the Catholic Church.

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin

Padre Pio relics to stop in Wisconsin A glove and blood-stained cotton gauze are among the relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina — better known as “Padre Pio” — that will be on display Sept. 20 in La Crosse and Sept. 21 in Milwaukee. The relics have been on tour in the United States and will be traveling to 11 dioceses this fall, though not the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. They will be on display 9 a.m.–7 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse and 9 a.m.–9 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee. Also displayed for veneration will be “crusts” from St. Pio’s wounds, a lock of his hair, his mantle and a handkerchief that was soaked with his sweat hours before he died in 1968. Born in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, St. Pio was a Capuchin Franciscan priest who was known as a mystic who received the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ. He was canonized in 2002.

Fate of bankruptcy plans in judge’s hands, ruling expected soon The Catholic Spirit The judge overseeing the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ bankruptcy is now considering what he will do with the two competing plans of reorganization before the court.

Counsel for multiple parties with interests in the matter, including representatives of the archdiocese, parishes, insurers and clergy sexual abuse claimants, presented objections to the plans before Judge Robert Kressel in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis Aug. 29. The objections were previously outlined to the court in written briefs during July and August.

The archdiocese’s plan would provide $156 million to claimants after court approval and would protect parishes and several Catholic high schools from further lawsuits from past claims of sexual abuse. Proceeds from the sale of archdiocesan properties on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul, insurance settlements and parish contributions fund the archdiocesan proposed plan.

The competing plan was submitted by the Unsecured

Creditors Committee, which represents creditors, including sexual abuse claimants, in the bankruptcy proceedings. The UCC plan rejects most of the insurers’ settlements in the archdiocesan plan as insufficient, calls for an $80 million contribution from the archdiocese secured by the Cathedral of St. Paul and several Catholic high schools — and retains the ability of creditors to sue parishes, schools and other Catholic entities. That plan would require years of further litigation during which victims would not receive compensation.

This spring, creditors, including abuse claimants, took a nonbinding vote on the plans to indicate their preference to the court. The majority of abuse claimants voted for the UCC plan. The decision of which plan to implement ultimately rests with the judge.

During the more than two-hour-long hearing, Judge Kressel asked attorneys representing the UCC whether they had considered the fact that their plan prolongs the bankruptcy. He pointed out that at least two abuse claimants have died since the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 in January 2015.

If there is additional delay, “more people are going to die and without meaningful compensation,” he said.

The archdiocese has argued that its $156 million plan represents the best way to provide meaningful compensation to the victims in the shortest time possible, and all available assets of the archdiocese have been liquidated and the proceeds will be contributed to the plan. Counsel for the archdiocese have reached settlements with all of the archdiocese’s insurance companies — those who provide current coverage and those who provided coverage as far back as the 1950s.

Attorney Richard Anderson, who represents the archdiocese in the bankruptcy, said that the archdiocese’s plan provides fair compensation for victims/survivors, while allowing the archdiocese, parishes and schools to reorganize and continue their ministries. In June, Anderson called the UCC plan speculative and “based on an illusionary source of financing.”

Judge Kressel said he was taking the arguments presented under advisement. He is expected to rule in the coming weeks.

6 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

September 14, 2017

Edina’s Chesterton Academy opens second campus in St. Paul

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

said. “There’s something really special about small schools.”

Mass and a ribbon cutting marked the Aug. 28 opening of Chesterton Academy’s second campus, which is located in St. Paul.

The Edina-based Catholic school expanded with the new campus to accommodate the growing interest in enrollment among families in the eastern metro area.

Students at the new campus include 15 freshmen and four juniors. Two of the juniors used to make long treks from the state’s eastern side to attend Chesterton in Edina, including Bridget Kaari, who lives in Stillwater. She enrolled anticipating the St. Paul campus opening sooner than 2017, but she didn’t want to wait to attend Chesterton.

“It was a lot of sacrifice on my family’s part, and it was really hard on me, but it was completely worth it,” Kaari said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat because I love the school.”

The new campus’ location at Blessed Sacrament church, 2119 Stillwater Ave. E., cuts Kaari’s commute in half. She said she felt at home on the first day at the new site.

“There’s just the same joy and energy here,” Kaari said. “The most important thing is everybody’s enthusiastic, and everybody wants to be here, and everybody is on fire for their faith.”

Multiple campuses were not part of the initial vision for the school, which opened in 2008, said its co-founder and board member Dale Ahlquist.

“It was always a group of parents that wanted a Chesterton Academy out east because it was too far to travel to our present campus,” he said.

The school has explored the possibility of adding other campuses.

“We don’t have expansion plans per se; we just simply want to go where we’re wanted,” Ahlquist said. “The idea is to have small schools as they are needed and as there’s interest for them, rather than having one large school.”

‘Deliberate investment’

‘A breath of fresh air’ The St. Paul campus opened the door for Woodbury resident Anna Damm to enroll at Chesterton. She said her family wanted her to attend but knew the cross-metro trip to the Edina campus wouldn’t work.

“It’s really different from what I’m

Chesterton Academy co-founder Dale Ahlquist, right, and Father John Paul Erickson cut a blue ribbon Aug. 28 to celebrate the first day of classes at the school’s new campus in St. Paul. The Edina-based Catholic school opened a new campus at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, where Father Erickson serves as pastor, to accommodate students living in the eastern Twin Cities.

Chesterton students Caecilia Hipp, left, and Bridget Kaari held the ribbon for the ceremony.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit used to, but I think it has potential to grow [in enrollment] especially,” said Damm, who previously attended Trinity School at River Ridge in Eagan.

While some students attended other schools before Chesterton, a number came from homeschool co-ops.

Freshman Max Rosenthal, who had been homeschooled, said he looks forward to making new friends.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Rosenthal said of the first day.

Freshman Jack Foley, who also came from a homeschool co-op, appreciates having a small learning community. He said he especially liked teacher Shane Dowell’s interactive approach to his Latin class.

“It’s a breath of fresh air for so many students,” Chesterton superintendent and headmaster Dave Beskar said about the new campus.

Beskar will primarily work at the Edina campus but will also spend time at the St. Paul campus. The school placed two full-time teachers, Dowell and Greg Billion, to lead and supervise the students. The St. Paul campus also employs a few part-time teachers.

Though 40 minutes away, the Edina campus shares the same administrative staff with the St. Paul campus, and students from both campuses will take part in schoolwide events, such as choir concerts. The St. Paul campus will offer

If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, your first call should be to law enforcement.

The archdiocese’s Victim Assistance Program is also available to offer help and assist with healing. For confidential, compassionate assistance from an independent and professional local care provider, please call (651) 291-4497.

its own extracurricular activities.

“It’s really a joint effort,” Beskar said of the two campuses working together.

With a small student body and staff, the St. Paul campus is expected to become a tight-knit community.

“The personal relationships that can develop between the teacher and the student are the building blocks of a school and the life of a school,” said Billion, who teaches math and science.

“I think that’s really going to help this campus get off the ground.”

Chesterton Academy earned recognition from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as a Catholic school in 2016 and has been named one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in the U.S. by The Cardinal Newman Society. It’s the first Catholic school in the archdiocese to add a second campus.

Chesterton chose Blessed Sacrament for the site after years of searching and considering an east metro campus. The parish has a small wing of classrooms, a small social hall to serve as a cafeteria and a youth room upstairs to serve as a recreation area.

The school will rent the parish facilities for two years before searching for a long-term home. Beskar said the small facility served as good place to start.

“It’s beautiful [and] it’s peaceful,” he

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Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Blessed Sacrament, said he had been working to bring Chesterton to the parish campus.

“It’s not real spacious, but for the kind of beginnings that they were looking for, it seemed to me that they would be a great fit,” he said.

Though not officially the school’s chaplain, Father Erickson will be present on campus and celebrate Mass daily for the students. He also hopes the school’s presence will benefit the parish.

“Part of the reason I pursued Chesterton so strongly is because I strongly believe the presence of a vibrant school within our parish will be a source of life for my community,” he said.

Blessed Sacrament’s grade school closed in 2005. The parish merged with nearby St. Thomas the Apostle in 2011 and moved to that site. St. Thomas had a grade school from 1956 to 1969.

Father Erickson said his parishioners are active but aging. He considers the school “a deliberate investment” for the parish’s future. “We need to bring young families to our doors if we are going to continue to be a presence on the East Side,” he said.

Interest in Chesterton’s classical educational model has spread far beyond the archdiocese. Other schools have opened around the country and Italy using Chesterton Academy’s curriculum, forming the Chesterton Schools Network.

Besides traditional subjects such as math and science, students study four years of theology, Latin, philosophy, visual arts, choir and drama.

The school is named for early 20thcentury writer and Catholic G.K. Chesterton, whose works include fiction, biography and social commentary on many issues still challenging the modern world. The Diocese of Northhampton, England, is exploring the possibility of opening his cause for canonization. Ahlquist is president of the American Chesterton Society, which promotes G.K. Chesterton’s works.

Speaking of the school’s namesake, Ahlquist said, “He represents the model thinker that we want all of our students to become.”

9/8/16 9:01 AM

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September 14, 2017

The Catholic Spirit • 7

Archdiocese to be reconsecrated to Mary’s heart Catholics invited to join 33-day preparation for individual or family act of piety

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Archbishop Bernard Hebda has invited Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to participate in preparation for a reconsecration of the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Oct. 13.

People of the archdiocese can join in the 33-day preparation for an individual or family consecration to Mary, which began Sept. 10 and concludes Oct. 13. The archdiocesan Office of Evangelization, which is organizing the devotion, directs people to the book “33 Days to Morning Glory,” a user-friendly guide to making a personal consecration to Mary.

“She’s the queen mother, the ‘gebhirah.’ From Old Testament times, they always went to the queen mother to make their petitions more acceptable to the son,” said Crystal Crocker, director of the Office of Evangelization.

The reconsecration will occur at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul as part of the annual archdiocesan rosary procession at 7 p.m. The consecration honors the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s final appearance in Fatima, Portugal, and the famous miracle of the “dancing of the sun.”

According to her seers, Our Lady of Fatima requested devotion to her Immaculate Heart and specifically the consecration of Russia to it.

Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart in 1942.

Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia specifically to the Immaculate Heart in 1984, as well as the world. Pope Benedict and Pope Francis reconsecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

The archdiocese has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart annually at the October rosary procession. Archbishop Hebda is placing greater emphasis on this year’s reconsecration because of the Fatima anniversary.

Although consecration to Mary as a devotional practice dates to the Church’s early centuries, St. Louis de Montfort wrote a treatise on Mary in 1712 that later popularized a 33-day preparation for consecration.

Marian Father Michael Gaitely, the author of “33 Days to Morning Glory” (Marian Press, 2013), synthesized St. Louis de Montfort’s material and weaved in other insights from more recent saints such as St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Maximilian Kolbe, the latter of whom worked to spread devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through the Marian movement he founded, Militia of the Immaculata.

The Office of Evangelization has worked with Catholic bookstores Leaflet Missal in St. Paul, St. George Books and Gifts in Blaine and Holy Cross Books and Gifts in Lakeville to make “33 Days to Morning Glory” available for purchase in conjunction with the archdiocesan-wide act of piety.

Crocker said the book is easy to use in completing the daily prayers.

She encouraged Catholics to adopt the devotion.

“You’re spending time with your mother, Mary,” she said.

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A standing-room only crowd came for the first Nigerian Mass at St. Peter Claver Aug. 27. Archbishop Bernard Hebda presided for the first monthly Nigerian Mass, organized by Father Bruno Nwachukwu and a committee of local Nigerian Catholics. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Nigerian Mass begins in St. Paul Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Father Bruno Nwachukwu concelebrated the first of what will be a monthly Nigerian Mass at St. Peter Claver in St. Paul Aug. 27. The 1:30 p.m. liturgy will be held the fourth Sunday of each month.

Although English is Nigeria’s official language, the local Mass will be celebrated in a Nigerian tribal language, with hymns and sometimes dance, particularly at the offertory.

A regular Nigerian Mass will help immigrants who struggle with English, stay connected to the Catholic Church and give their U.S.-born children a connection to their culture and what Mass is like in Nigeria, said Father Nwachukwu, associate pastor of St. Hubert in Chanhassen. He hopes it also might inspire Nigerian American men to consider the priesthood.

— Matthew Davis

8 • The Catholic Spirit

LOCAL

September 14, 2017

Father Tibesar was advocate for others

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit Father Leo Tibesar, known for putting Catholic social teaching into action, died Aug. 31. He was 74.

A member of Father Tibesar’s 1968 ordination class described him as soft-spoken and introverted, but by no means passive when it came to standing up for the rights of others, particularly the underprivileged and defenseless.

“The works of mercy were very, very important to him,” said retired priest Father Stephen Adrian, who first met Father Tibesar at Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in the 1950s. The two were later ordained in a class of 18 men.

“Leo was the kind of guy who would take a public stand on things.”

In the homily he preached at Father Tibesar’s Sept. 11 funeral Mass at St. Frances Cabrini, Father Adrian remembered his friend as a pro-life advocate and early supporter of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an advocate for farm workers and activist against the Vietnam War, and for his ministry to LGBT Catholics.

Father Tibesar was a long-time pastor of St. Frances Cabrini in

Minneapolis, where he served from 1994-2011. He also ministered as a hospital chaplain at the Fairview Riverside Medical Center in Minneapolis from 1987-2012.

Other assignments included associate pastor at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, librarian at the St. Paul Father Leo Seminary, TIBESAR tribunal judge for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and chaplain of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Long-time parishioner Bob Reid described the priest as a “really gentle person” who was “an outspoken supporter of diversity and inclusivity” and “a blessing to Cabrini [parish].”

Reid enjoyed monthly meals with Father Tibesar in a group that included his wife, Beverly, and four other parishioners. He noted that Father Tibesar enjoyed trying interesting food, nature photography and collecting African art.

As quiet as Father Tibesar could be, some folks may not have

recognized what a powerful brain rested behind his mild-mannered exterior, said Father Adrian, who also highlighted his classmate’s intelligence and dedication during the homily.

“He was the kind of person you could walk into a room and not notice. There were people who made judgments about him that there really wasn’t much there,” Father Adrian said. “But, they were really very, very wrong. He was an incredibly bright man, and an incredibly active man.”

Father Adrian last saw Father Tibesar at a Mass he celebrated several weeks ago. Even though Father Tibesar’s health was failing, he “was very positive,” Father Adrian said.

Father Tibesar was looking ahead to 2018, when the priests and their still-living classmates would celebrate their 50th anniversary of ordination.

“I think I’ll miss most his insightfulness,” Father Adrian said. “Leo was a good summarizer. He could listen to a whole mess of stuff for hours on end, and then ... within a paragraph or two, he could summarize what happened. He had an insight and an ability to bring material together, which made him a very valuable person.”

Local men help Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit A group of eight men from around the Twin Cities, including several Catholics, traveled to Texas to assist with recovery from Hurricane Harvey Aug. 31-Sept. 4.

“I had been feeling a call to go to Houston that week as things progressed,” said Robert Erisman, 35, a former Marine who recognized his previous work in disaster recovery could be of service. It turned out Erisman, who attends St. Peter in Forest Lake, wasn’t alone. His brother, Rick; cousin Eric Rainey; a couple of co-workers and friends also desired to help the hurricane victims after the storm struck Aug. 25. “It was the Holy Spirit,” Erisman said about the trip coming together.

They traveled 1,170 miles south with four vehicles loaded with donated food, water, toiletries and Bibles for the victims. The group also hauled two flat boats, two canoes and a safety raft for rescuing. The Knights of Columbus and Catholic Watchmen from St. Pius V in Cannon Falls provided donations, as did members of Community of Christ the Redeemer, a lay Catholic community in West St. Paul. Edinbrook Church, a non-denominational church in Brooklyn Park, also made sizable donations to help the men’s efforts.

Rescuing needs had dwindled by the men’s arrival, but the need for food and water for victims persisted.

Rick Erisman, 38, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Miesville, said the people they encountered “would just express their gratitude to be alive. Everyone seemed to be in very good spirits although they had gone through just a traumatic ordeal.”

Collaborating primarily with the Texas and Cajun Navies, informal groups of boat owners who have assisted after recent natural disasters, the men helped to set up aid stations and brought water, groceries and diapers to displaced residents and people stuck in their homes.

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September 14, 2017

U.S. & WORLD

Judicial nominee grilled on religious views

By Kurt Jensen Catholic News Service Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, spurred outrage about possible religious tests for judicial appointees when she questioned a Catholic judicial nominee Sept. 6 about what impact her faith would have on her interpretation of the law. Reaction from Catholic leaders to the hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, nominee for a seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, was swift, with a leading archbishop calling the Senate hearing “deeply disappointing.”

In the hearing, Feinstein not only referred to Barrett’s speeches in the committee hearing, but also to a 1998 article by Barrett, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, about the role of Catholic judges in death penalty cases.

The Marquette Law Review article, co-authored by John Garvey, who is now president of The Catholic University of America, concluded that although Catholic judges opposed to the death penalty could always simply recuse themselves under federal law, “litigants and the general public are entitled to impartial justice, which may be something a judge who is heedful of ecclesiastical pronouncements cannot dispense.”

Feinstein did not question Barrett about capital punishment cases, but rather upholding Roe v.

Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

“When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you.

And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country,” she said.

Barrett addressed this issue early in the hearing, answering a question from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, by saying: “It is never appropriate for a judge to apply their personal convictions, whether

it derives from faith or personal conviction.”

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, said the hearing was “deeply disappointing” since a number of senators failed to “simply consider the professional achievements of a nominee for the federal judiciary” and instead “challenged her fitness to serve due to Amy Coney her Catholic BARRETT faith.”

In a Sept. 8 statement, the archbishop said the line of questioning Barrett received was “contrary to our Constitution and our best national traditions, which protect the free exercise of one’s faith and reject religious tests for public office; they are offensive to basic human rights.”

Garvey was among the first to respond in print to the hearing.

“I never thought I’d see the day when a coalition of left-wing groups attacked a Republican judicial nominee for opposing the death penalty,” he wrote in a Sept. 7 opinion article for the Washington Examiner. “Catholic judges are not alone in facing such dilemmas. An observant Quaker would have the same problem.”

Garvey and others accused Feinstein of echoing talking points from The Alliance for Justice, a liberal advocacy group that has prepared reports on all of Trump’s judicial nominees.

The report also criticizes Barrett for signing a letter, produced by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, that criticized the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate as “morally obtuse.”

Eric Rassbach, the Becket Fund’s

deputy general counsel, issued a statement in response: “It’s not something you could sue her over, but Sen. Feinstein would break her oath to defend the Constitution — including the part about no religious tests — if she were to vote against Barrett because of her Catholic religious beliefs.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Illinois, a Georgetown University graduate, added fuel to the fire when, after calling himself “the product of 19 years of Catholic education,” he brought up the use of the term “orthodox Catholic” in Barrett’s law review article.

He asked Barrett to define the term and to say if she considered herself an “orthodox” Catholic.

Barrett explained that in the context of the article, the term was “a proxy” for Catholic believers, but she didn’t think it was a term in current use.

She added, “If you’re asking whether I take my faith seriously and am a faithful Catholic, I am.

Although I would stress that my present church affiliation or my religious beliefs would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.”

Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, sent a letter to Feinstein Sept. 9 expressing “my confidence in her [Barrett’]s competence and character, and deep concern for your line of questioning.”

He challenged Feinstein’s stated concern that “dogma lives loudly in (Professor Barrett)” when it pertains to “big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country.”

He wrote that “dogma lives loudly” in his heart as well as “in the lives of many Americans, some of whom have given their lives in service to this nation.” He said dogma guided the country’s founders, who believed citizens should practice “their faith freely and without apology.”

Study examines Christians’ political shifts

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service The American Values Atlas, released Sept. 6 by the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington, took note of the role religion plays in shaping trends in U.S. politics. The numbers may to some seem striking, but also may provide confirmation of things long suspected.

One such piece of evidence: “The religious coalitions of the Democratic and Republican Parties are drifting further apart,” the study said. According to numbers gleaned from a Pew Research Center survey in 2006, 81 percent of Republicans identified as white Christian: white evangelical Protestant, 37 percent; white mainline Protestant, 22 percent; and white Catholic, 20 percent. At

the same time, 47 percent of Democrats identified as white Christians: white evangelical Protestants at 17 percent, and white Catholics and mainline Protestants at 16 percent each.

The latest PRRI figures show declines of Christian membership in both parties: down 8 percentage points to 73 percent for the GOP, but down 18 percentage points to 29 percent for the Democrats.

As for Catholics themselves, “the Catholic Church is experiencing an ethnic transformation,” the study said. In 1992, 87 percent of Catholics were white and nonHispanic, compared to 55 percent today. And 36 percent of Catholics under age 30 are white, nonHispanic; but 52 percent are Hispanic. “The cultural center of the Catholic Church is shifting south,” the PRRI report said. “The

Northeast is no longer the epicenter of American Catholicism — although at 41 percent Catholic, Rhode Island remains the most Catholic state in the country.

Immigration from predominantly Catholic countries in Latin America means new Catholic populations are settling in the Southwest.”

Compared to 1972, when 69 percent of U.S. Catholics lived in either the Northeast or Midwest, those regions are home to only 46 percent of U.S. Catholics, with 54 percent living in the South or the West. “Demography is incredibly important when we’re watching really substantial religious change in the U.S. — and over a relatively short period of time, given how glacial stuff like this happens,” said Dan Cox, PRRI’s research director.

The Catholic Spirit • 9 in BRIEF COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh

Humanitarian crisis emerges as Rohingya flee to Bangladesh Bangladesh is bracing for a massive humanitarian crisis because of a lack of food, sanitation, medicines and even basic housing following the exodus of as many as 350,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, fleeing violence in which at least 1,000 were killed in just two weeks. The U.N. Refugee Agency reports at least 300,000 Rohingya Muslims entered Bangladesh within two weeks of a military crackdown in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, triggered by an Aug. 25 Rohingya militant attack on security checkpoints. In Chittagong, Bangladesh, James Gomes, regional director of Caritas, the Church’s charitable agency, expressed concern over the Rohingya crisis and predicted an epidemic due to unhealthy conditions if people did not get help soon.

CARTAGENA, Colombia

Church leaders, including from U.S., pray for victims of Mexico quake Church leaders prayed for Mexicans and Guatemalans affected by the magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck the Pacific Coast. At the end of Mass in Villavicencio, Colombia, Sept. 8, Pope Francis prayed “for all the people who are suffering because of the earthquake last night in Mexico.” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for prayers “for the victims and their families, as well as for emergency personnel and rescuers.” The Sept. 7 quake occurred shortly before midnight. In less than 24 hours, Mexico’s seismology service reported more than 260 aftershocks, with the strongest registering magnitude 6.1. By midday Sept. 11, Mexican officials put the death toll at 96, with most of the deaths occurring in the southern state of Oaxaca.

WASHINGTON

DOJ backs baker who declined to make cake for same-sex wedding A Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake to celebrate the wedding of a same-sex couple has gained an ally in the U.S. Justice Department. In a Sept. 7 brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall wrote that the government agreed with baker Jack Phillips’ argument that his cakes are a form of expression and that he cannot be compelled to use talents for something that he does not believe in. “Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights,” the brief said. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in the term that begins this fall. Wall also maintained that when Phillips declined to make the cake in July 2012 samesex marriage was not recognized in Colorado.

VATICAN CITY

Salesian abducted in Yemen freed Indian Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted by Islamic State militants in Yemen and held captive for more than a year, was freed. According to a Sept. 12 report from Oman’s state-run news agency ONA, Father Uzhunnalil was “rescued” by Oman authorities “in coordination with the Yemeni parties.”

Upon his release, the Salesian priest “expressed thanks to God almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos (of Oman). He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release.” Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped March 4, 2016, from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. Four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others were murdered in the attack.

— Catholic News Service

10 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & WORLD

Catholics turn out to support ‘Dreamers’

By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service Mercy Sister Rita Parks stood near the large crowd in front of the White House that was almost silenced after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced shortly after 11 a.m. Sept. 5 that the Trump administration was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

“I’m astounded, saddened. I saw their faces, the tears and their dreams shattered,” said Sister Parks, of some of the DACA recipients nearby who were trying to take in the recent news. Many of them, the majority in their 20s, had just heard what they didn’t want to believe: that the program that grants them a work permit and reprieve from deportation, is months away from disappearing.

The attorney general said that by giving job permits to DACA recipients, jobs were “denied ... to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same jobs to go to illegal aliens.”

Sessions also criticized the program, calling it “unilateral executive amnesty” and said it was responsible for “a surge of unaccompanied minors on the southern border that yielded terrible humanitarian consequences.” However, many organizations have attributed the surge of unaccompanied minors to scaling violence in Central America, not to the DACA program.

The Department of Homeland Security, which administers the program, has stopped accepting DACA applications, and current

Pope Francis’ take On a flight from Colombia to Rome Sept. 10, Pope Francis said he had heard of Trump’s decision, but had not had time to study the details of the issue.

However, he said, “Uprooting young people from their families is not something that will bear fruit.”“This law ... I hope he rethinks it a bit,” the pope added, “because I’ve heard the president of the United States speak; he presents himself as a man who is pro-life, a good pro-lifer. If he is a good pro-lifer, he understands that the family is the cradle of life and its unity must be defended.” recipients will not be affected until March 5, which Sessions said gives Congress an opportunity to find a legislative solution. On its website, DHS says DACA recipients can continue working until their work permits expire. Those with DACA permits that expire between Sept. 5 and March 5, 2018, are eligible to renew their permits, the website says, but they won’t be able to renew after that two-year extension.

President Barack Obama established DACA in 2012 by executive action after Congress could not agree on legislation that would have legalized youth brought to the U.S. as children.

In what can be interpreted as a command, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Congress, get ready to do your job — DACA!,” kicking the political ball into

Congress’ hands.

Hours later, the president seemed to backtrack, just a bit, by saying that if Congress can’t find a legislative solution to legalize the program’s 800,000 beneficiaries in six months, he might step in.

“Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!” Trump tweeted.

“We’re not a political hot potato,” said DACA recipient Greisa Martinez, who is advocacy director at United We Dream, a national immigrant youth-led organization for so-called “Dreamers,” as the DACA youth are called. The moniker comes from the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, a legislative proposal that has repeatedly failed to pass in Congress and which would give DACA recipients conditional residency. Though a recent bipartisan version of the DREAM Act was once again proposed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the president said pre-emptively he would not sign it.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the cancellation of DACA “reprehensible” and said in a Sept. 5 statement that the president’s announcement “causes unnecessary fear” for the youths and their families.

The bishops repeatedly called on the president to keep the program.

They told DACA recipients on Sept.

5: “You are children of God and welcome in the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church supports you and will advocate for you.”

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September 14, 2017 DREAMERS Continued from page 1 Soto was among the first applicants to gain temporary protection from deportation and permission to work under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. His status was again put at risk Sept. 5, when President Donald Trump rescinded the executive order, asking Congress to address the issue instead. (See story at left.)

In his remarks, Archbishop Hebda described how Jesus “walked” with people who were in need and afraid. He encouraged people to imagine themselves in the situation of undocumented young people who have faced a lifetime of instability but who, through DACA, “found a place in this country,” but who now live in fear.

“It should stir within us the necessary urgency to see that these young brothers and sisters of ours find a way to continue to live their dreams,” Archbishop Hebda said. “While we are deeply concerned and distressed by the president’s announcement earlier this week, let us use this time as an opportunity to find and embrace a long-term congressional solution that is ultimately needed to secure a future for undocumented youth and fix our broken immigration system.”

Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said she would support legislation that would enact DACA, which gave certain undocumented young people access to a driver’s license and work permit, or a new version of the DREAM Act, which would create a path to citizenship for undocumented young people. She said she was hopeful that Congress could pass a new measure with bipartisan support.

The rescinding of the DACA program affects 800,000 immigrants in the U.S., including more than 6,000 in Minnesota.

Also present at the press conference were several clergy members representing different Christian denominations, immigrant advocacy leaders and civic leaders. Archbishop Hebda and auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens released a joint statement Sept. 6 in support of “Dreamers” after the DACA repeal.

“Today I join the others here in calling for Congress to come together and protect the ‘Dreamers’ from deportation and secure their future,”Archbishop Hebda said at the press conference.“I will pray earnestly for this solution, and I hope you will join me in praying that our God will bless our elected officials — certainly our senator — with the wisdom and courage they need.”

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The Catholic Spirit • 11

Like Harvey, Irma leaves path of destruction; islands anticipate Jose

By Catholic News Service A weakened Hurricane Irma churned in Florida after ripping through southern portions of the state and the Caribbean islands, flooding cities, knocking out power to millions, destroying homes and businesses and killing more than 20 people.

The massive hurricane, which dwindled to a tropical storm as it neared the Florida-Georgia line early Sept. 11, was forecast to die out over southern states later in the week. Officials in Florida and across the Caribbean, meanwhile, started to dig out and evaluate the full scope of the disaster Irma left behind.

The strength and size of the storm, with 120-plus mph winds stretching 70 miles from its core, left hardly any place near its path untouched. It leveled entire islands in the eastern Caribbean, snapped construction cranes in downtown Miami, and brought unprecedented flooding on Cuba’s north coast.

“The hurricane has caused serious damage in the towns, villages and farms of the north coast of our island, from Camaguey to Havana,’’ said Maritza Sanchez, director of Caritas Cuba.

“Flooding was caused by hurricane force winds and rains all the way from Camaguey to Santa Clara in the middle of the country, reaching as far as Matanzas and Havana along the northwest coast.”

By evening Sept. 10, roughly 5.7 million Florida residents were left without power. Aerial footage showed large swaths of cities like Miami and Naples, on the Gulf Coast, under water.

State officials had ordered 6.3 million of the state’s approximately 21 million residents to evacuate; many headed north to stay with relatives.

“Millions of Floridians are being impacted by this storm,’’ Florida Gov. Rick Scott said during a news conference Sept. 10.

Funding disaster relief Parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis took a special collection Sept. 9-10 to help Hurricane Harvey victims through Catholic Charities USA, the official domestic relief agency of the Church in the United States. Those wishing to donate further to Harvey relief can send checks to the Center for Mission in the archdiocese through the end of September. Checks should be made to Center for Mission with “Hurricane Harvey Relief” in the memo and mailed to Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Center for Mission, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106.

Catholic Charities USA is also aiding Hurricane Irma victims. To donate directly to Catholic Charities USA’s disaster fund, visit www.catholiccharitiesusa.org or text CCUSADISASTER to 71777.

Earlier, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for prayers for all those in the path of Hurricane Irma.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of GalvestonHouston, whose diocese was hit by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, noted that people in the Caribbean had “felt Hurricane Irma’s full force.”

“Let us join in prayer for those who are in the path of Hurricane Irma, and may God bless and protect you,’’ he said in a statement Sept. 9. “At a time like this, when our endurance is tested, we implore God to direct us to yet unknown reserves of strength and human compassion for those suffering so deeply.

May our manifestations of love and solidarity be lasting signs in the midst of this crisis.”

The cardinal noted that, as with Harvey, the bishops’ conference would work with local dioceses, Catholic relief agencies and other groups to offer assistance.

Hurricane Irma had already left a path of destruction in the Caribbean before hitting Florida. The Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction

ABOVE Residents look at a collapsed house Sept. 12 after Hurricane Irma passed the area in Vilano Beach, Florida. CNS RIGHT A flooded church caused by Hurricane Irma is seen Sept. 7 in Villa Vasquez, Dominican Republic. CNS Technology, a disaster risk analyst based in Germany, estimated more than $10 billion in damages in the Caribbean, making it the costliest storm ever in the region.

The Netherlands estimated that 70 percent of the houses on St. Martin were badly damaged or destroyed. That left 40,000 people in public shelters as Hurricane Jose approached.

The Pentagon mobilized the military to respond to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where at least four people died and devastation was widespread. “This is a horrific disaster,’’ Gov. Kenneth Mapp said Sept. 9. “There will be no restorations or solutions in days or weeks.’’

In Antigua and Barbuda, Arthur Nibbs, minister of Barbuda Affairs who was on

Barbuda when Irma hit, said it was the worst storm he’d ever seen.

“It was enormous. There’s nothing that is comparable. It destroyed everything that was in its path,” he said.

Nibbs said roofs were torn away, trees were toppled, government buildings were destroyed, and cell towers were snapped in half, leaving the small island of about 1,600 people without any form of communication.

Officials scrambled to evacuate the island before the arrival of Hurricane Jose. The category 4 storm veered north of Barbuda, sparing it from a second direct hit.

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12 • The Catholic Spirit

Priests plant native grasses and flowers in spirit of ‘Laudato Si”

F

Prairie r

Story and photos by Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit ather Kevin Clinton waded through a field of bluestem prairie grass that reached over his head and up into the deep summer sky Aug. 28.

His excitement grew as he approached the crest of a hill on 140 acres of land he co-owns with his sister in the far southwestern corner of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, near St. Peter.

From that vantage, the landscape burst with native flowers and grasses, beauty Father Clinton has enjoyed since undertaking a prairie restoration project in 1994. This year’s summer rains, combined with a spring burn, have made it one of his prairie’s strongest years.

“This is my childhood playground. I grew up here on this farm,” said Father Clinton, 68, pastor of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague. “I have deep roots in this land. My ancestors are from here. My father ran this farm. His uncle ran the farm.”

Twenty-three years ago, Father Clinton decided to take half of the land out of crop farming and put it into a permanent program called Reinvest in Minnesota, which guarantees this portion of land will never again go under the plow.

That is exactly the way Father Clinton wants it. Doing all of the tasks associated with prairie restoration — planting, removing unwanted weeds and trees, and burning his whole prairie every three years — has helped him develop a deep connection to both the earth and God. And, he said, this pays great dividends in his ministry.

“I’ve been a priest for 43 years,” he said. “I find my life very, very intense and very complex. I’ve noticed that priests who have a cabin or a place to go to on their day off seem to be more healthy and balanced. Since my experience here on the farm [growing up] was so great, I thought this would be a good thing for me to do when I need to unwind.”

About 63 miles northeast, Father James Notebaart is doing something similar. About 15 years ago, he bought some land not far from his childhood home of Red Wing and

began converting it to native prairie. Like Father Clinton, he finds spiritual nourishment when he gets his hands dirty working in the prairie.

“It’s incredibly peaceful,” said Father Notebaart, 72, who came out of retirement a year ago to take over the Native American parish of Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis, where he had served up to his retirement, after the death of his predecessor, Father Michael Tegeder, in July 2016. “I’ve got a dog, and she and I will take long walks and explore. She explores where she wants to, and I explore where I want to.”

Because he has spent 25 years ministering to the Twin Cities’ Native American community, Father Notebaart feels drawn to some of the cultures’ spiritual elements. The edge of his property is used periodically by a nearby Dakota tribe for parts of its ceremonies. He has participated in some of them over the last 21 years.

“It’s like a retreat, in many respects,” he said.

“It’s a series of ceremonies for seven days of purification. Then, there’s a period of fasting from food and water alone on the bluffs.”

Both priests said spending time in their respective prairies connects with the theme of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home,” published in June 2015.

“I read it recently, and the first chapter nails the American Indian sense of the sacredness of the land, belonging to the land on one side, curating it, and then it, in turn, nourishes us,” Father Notebaart said. “What the American Indians would say is that many of these plants and grasses are medicines. It’s just that we may not know how to use them yet. Medicine in the Indian sense is a spiritual thing, but it’s also a physical thing. So, it’s this unity of humanity with nature. I think the pope’s encyclical is very much about that.”

Father Clinton not only sees the connection between the pope’s words and what goes on at his prairie, but wants every visitor to see it, too. At the front edge of his property near the road, he has erected a sign with the words “Laudato Si’” at the top, which matches a similar sign in St. Wenceslaus’ parking lot.

There, too, native grasses and flowers can be found, planted in and around the concrete and asphalt.

The pope’s message is so important, Father Clinton said, he wants to take every opportunity he can to spread it.

“In ‘Laudato Si’,’ Pope Francis talks about how important it is for people to have in their

ABOVE Father James Notebaart stands in a field of native grasses and flowers on property he owns near Red Wing.

RIGHT A monarch butterfly spreads its wings on Father Notebaart’s land.

minds, in their experience, not just occasionally but very regularly, exposure to ... the natural world,” he said. “I was delighted, absolutely delighted, with ‘Laudato Si’’ coming out. I thought, ‘He knows what I know.’ In fact, not only does he know what I know, he knows more than I know. And, he’s nailing it.

He’s put this issue on the agenda of our living a faith life in the 21st century.”

Adding to the emphasis of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis issued a joint message with an Orthodox leader about the care for creation to mark the Sept. 1 World Day of Prayer for Creation. Along with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constaninople, the pope said that that ignoring God’s plan for creation has “tragic and lasting” consequences for both the human and natural environments, and that “our human dignity and welfare are deeply connected to our care for the whole of creation.”

As Father Clinton has continued his prairie restoration project, which may include expanding to new parts of his property in the coming years, he has learned that the core of the Christian message — death and resurrection — can also be found in the process of maintaining a prairie.

“It’s just part of the mystery of how God

works, of how God time, with suffering greater life coming said. “That’s what a summer, fall and th starts all over again teaching me that I a mystery that not on the heart of our Ch identity, but is also going on in nature.

One poignant exa which experts in pr recommend doing Father Clinton said every summer after one.

“The transformat amazing,” he said. “

restored

September 14, 2017 • 13

creates — very slow over g, dying and rising, and as a result,” Father Clinton a prairie is — spring, he death of winter, and it n. The prairie has been am part of a paschal nly is something that is at hristian and Catholic right at the heart of what is .” ample is the spring burn, rairie restoration every three to five years. d he sees dramatic results r the burn, including this

tion in the prairie is “Prairie fires renew prairies.

Native prairie grasses abound on property owned by Father Kevin Clinton, pastor of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, who began the work to restore the natural landscape in 1994.

Big bluestem is illuminated by late afternoon sun in Father Notebaart’s restored prairie.

ABOVE Father Clinton, left, talks with Matt Lasch, Minnesota contracting manager at Applied Ecological Services, who has helped Father Clinton with his prairie restoration.

LEFT Field thistle thrives on Father Clinton’s restored prairie.

The tinder and grass of the previous four years is burned. It’s gone, and the ash is the fertilizer for the prairie plants that are down there with deep roots to jump start and take off in the spring and summer.”

Because the roots of the prairie grasses and flowers are deep — with some plunging down 15 feet — the fire doesn’t kill the plants.

Instead, the non-native and undesirable species like Canadian thistle are torched and thereby eliminated. Meanwhile, some seeds only germinate through fire, he noted.

Father Clinton has hired prairie restoration expert Matt Lasch of Wisconsin-based Applied Ecological Services to work with him on his restoration project. Lasch, who attends St. Wenceslaus, said more individuals and companies are choosing to restore native prairies. Municipalities are deciding to plant native grasses and flowers, while learning they save money in the long run on things like lawn mowing.

Father Clinton also noted that southern and western Minnesota has historically been prairie, which was admired by earlier settlers in the 1800s.

“The pioneers coming to this area would refer to the prairie as a sea of grass,” he said.

“It would look like an ocean. You can see the wind flowing through the prairie grass and it’s like an ocean.”

The beauty of this restored landscape is something both priests have had opportunities to share with others. Father Clinton has

invited groups of students and teachers from St. Wenceslaus Catholic School to come and explore. He said the fourth- and fifth-graders who arrive “go nuts. They just have a wonderful time.” He has also hosted students from a Catholic school in Mankato. Father Notebaart, meanwhile, treats his property as more of a retreat, but he has invited many Dakota guests to walk his grounds.

Both priests occasionally spend the night — or several days — on their respective properties. About 10 years ago, Father Notebaart purchased a cabin built in the 1860s, which he moved onto the far end of the property. It’s rustic and decorated with furniture from Tibet. He has a small stove and sleeps on the floor, even during the winter, which happens to be one of his favorite times of year to go to his land.

“I come to the cabin all the time,” he said.

“It’s isolated nicely. There’s no electricity, no phones, no water, no anything. It’s just serene.

It’s absolutely serene. ... I come here simply to be here.”

Both priests are nearing the end of full-time ministry. When they truly retire, an easy bet would be that both spend more time on their properties. Neither plans to live there, but the prairie will be woven into their lifestyles.

“I’m a couple years from retirement and I think one of the things that will happen [afterward] is my days here will increase significantly,” Father Clinton said. “I’ll be helping various places as a priest, but I’ll be able to spend more time in this wonderful place where I experience the presence of God and the reality of God’s goodness in God’s creation.”

As for Father Notebaart, strolling his restored prairie “is just part of who I am.”

14 • The Catholic Spirit

September 14, 2017

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FAITH & CULTURE

The Catholic Spirit • 15

‘They killed a man, but they created a saint’ Archbishop Flynn, others describe Father Rother’s life, legacy and Minnesota ties ahead of Sept. 23 beatification

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

A

rchbishop Harry Flynn was rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, when he got a call in 1979 from an old friend from seminary, asking if he could visit for a week. That friend was Father Stanley Rother, a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and a missionary in a rural part of Guatemala.

He picked up Father Rother from Dulles airport and was appalled by the horrific situation the priest described in Guatemala. Members of his congregation had “disappeared” and were presumed dead, victims of a civil war between the government and guerilla groups.

“If they asked for a few more cents for picking coffee beans, they were considered communists, and a truck would come into the village that night, stop at the home of the man or woman who asked for a few more cents, take them out to the country, torture them, kill them, and then throw their bodies into a well to poison that well,” Archbishop Flynn said.

Father Rother described the situation “with a passion,” Archbishop Flynn recalled. “It was haunting him. He said, ‘If I speak, they’ll kill me, but if keep silent, what kind of a shepherd would I be?’”

The friends shared meals together that week, but Father Rother spent his days praying at the seminary’s historic Lourdes grotto, a place he had loved while he and Archbishop Flynn were seminarians at “the Mount.” At the end of the week, he told then-Father Flynn, “I know what I must do. I must go back and speak.”

“But,” Archbishop Flynn recalled, “he also said this: ‘They’re not going to take me out and kill me somewhere in the country and then throw my body into a well.’ He said, ‘I’ll put up a fight like they’ve never seen before.’”

Archbishop Flynn took Father Rother to the airport and said goodbye. He knew it would be the last time he would see him alive. Two years later, Archbishop Flynn opened a newspaper to read that an American priest had been killed in Guatemala. He didn’t have to read further to know it was Father Rother.

Archbishop Flynn will be among others who knew the priest gathering in Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center Sept. 23 for Father Rother’s beatification. In December 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Father Rother as a martyr, making him the first U.S.-born martyr recognized by the Church. Also there will be members of the Rother family, including distant cousins from Minnesota.

Farm boy Father Rother grew up on a farm near Okarche, Oklahoma. He was a farm boy with a knack for fixing things. After high school, he left home for seminary in Texas, but he was asked to leave after struggling with Latin. Undeterred, he transferred to the Emmitsburg seminary, where he met Archbishop Flynn, who was three classes ahead of him. Archbishop Flynn noted his friend’s deep prayer life.

“We could be downstairs in recreation, laughing and carrying on, and then the bell would ring to go up to chapel for night prayer and Stanley seemed to me to go right into prayer, which I found enviable,” Archbishop Flynn recalled in May. The two were in seminary around the time that Pope John XXIII encouraged U.S. bishops to form partnerships between their dioceses and those in Latin America. The then-Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa paired with the Diocese of Sololá, Guatemala. In 1968, Father Rother was asked to minister there in Santiago Atitlán, a mission established by Franciscans. The Mayan people there had been without a priest for nearly a century.

Given his earlier academic struggles, Father Rother accomplished impressive feats while ministering to the Guatemalans. He was instrumental in getting the Bible translated from English into Tz’utujil, the language spoken by his flock. He founded a small hospital,

Father Stanley Rother, a priest of the Oklahoma City Archdiocese who was brutally murdered in 1981 in the Guatemalan village where he ministered to the poor, is pictured in an undated photo. He will be beatified Sept. 23 in Oklahoma.

CNS Catholic school and radio station. He worked alongside his parishioners in the field. His biographers surmise that he was well received by the Guatemalan people because of his humble, unassuming nature and willingness to engage in hard work — both physical and spiritual.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon, and I think it has a touch of the divine in it: Stanley Rother was dismissed from the seminary in Texas because of his inability with the Latin language. He goes down to Guatemala, he learns a very, very difficult Indian dialect, [and] he translates the New Testament into that dialect,” said Archbishop Flynn, to whom Father Rother sent one of the translated books.

People who knew Father Rother weren’t surprised that he returned again and again to Guatemala after the violence began, even with many opportunities to stay in the U.S. The Christmas before he died, he famously wrote to his archbishop, “A shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.”

On July 28, 1981, three men burst into the parish rectory, demanding Father Rother. He was hiding, but when the men threatened the life of one of his protectors, he emerged. He was ultimately gunned down in his rectory, his knuckles raw from the fight, his spattered blood staining the wall. The Guatemalans left the stains, and to this day, visitors — many of them pilgrims — can see the aftermath of what the gunmen did to their priest. The fatal bullet remains lodged in the wall.

Minnesota cousins Lee Rother remembers hearing at that time that one of his Oklahoma cousins — a priest — had been murdered in Guatemala. His mother went to the funeral in Oklahoma, where the area around Okarche included several sets of Rother cousins.

Father Rother’s great-great-grandparents emigrated from Germany and settled in rural Minnesota, near New Trier. One of their sons moved to Oklahoma in 1893.

Over the years, second and third cousins — including Lee Rother — would visit each others’ farms in Minnesota and Oklahoma. Despite the close friendship

Visit www.TheCatholicSpirit.com for a video interview with Archbishop Flynn about his friendship with Father Rother and for more stories related to the priest’s ministry, death and beatification.

between their fathers, Lee never met Father Rother. To Lee’s knowledge, the priest never visited family in Minnesota, although his great-great-grandparents are buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in New Trier.

“We’re all very proud [of Father Rother’s beatification],” said Lee, who plans to attend the Mass.

He said it feels special that his family has a saint who can intercede for them, and now the whole world.

Lee, 78, has made a point to learn as much as he can about this third cousin, who was just a few years older than him. He keeps a thick file of news clippings, including a lengthy feature on the priest from 2006, when the canonization cause started to pick up steam 25 years after Father Rother’s death. Lee also keeps a copy of a report written about another Okarche cousin, Sandra Rother McGougan, who credits an unlikely deathbed recovery to Father Rother’s intercession. She was in a terrible car crash in 1992. The 22-year-old was pronounced brain dead and was being kept alive only for organ donation, but her mother begged for a second opinion, and doctors discovered some brain activity. It was later determined she had suffered a rupture in her brain stem. Doctors weren’t optimistic she would live, but the family prayed for Father Rother’s intercession.

Sandra fully recovered, much to her doctors’ amazement.

Her story was among the documents sent to the Vatican to support the priest’s canonization. Not included was Lee Rother’s own story, which he also considers miraculous, thanks to his cousin’s intercession. In June 2016, Lee suffered a stroke. He prayed to Father Rother and experienced a full recovery within two days, he said.

“I think he helped me,” he said, “[but] I can’t prove it, you know.”

He regularly asks for Father Rother to pray for him and his family, he said. He’s presented his cousin’s story at his parish, St. Joseph in West St. Paul. He’s also visited Father Rother’s former grave site in Okarche. At his last visit in April, it was covered with stones and mementos from people praying for healing.

Lee retells the stories from his Oklahoma cousins who knew Father Rother well. The last time his cousin Vince saw the priest, Father Rother told him, “Whatever happens, happens.” Lee said Father Rother’s father, Franz, was in the field when archdiocesan leaders arrived to share the news of his son’s murder. Franz knew immediately what had happened, Lee said. “It hit his parents hard — very, very hard.”

A younger cousin, Gary Rother, sees the priest as a fascinating member of the Rother family tree. Pouring over genealogy software, he deciphers the relationship web that links him to his saintly third cousin.

He first heard of Father Rother not from family, but from a 2006 St. Anthony Messenger article about the priest written by Minneapolis journalist John Rosengren. With the last name, Gary, 73, figured they must be related and began his homework.

Gary, who attends Holy Name in Minneapolis and St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, is struck by the fact that Father Rother “was a simple, ordinary man who became great,” he said. “He reached out to everyone.”

Local devotion Along the way, Gary discovered that St. Ambrose in Woodbury has a clay relief of Father Rother in a prayer niche commissioned in 1999 for the new church. Father Rother was chosen with the input of the parish’s youth, who selected four “modern day people whose faith lives are an inspiration,” according to a parish bulletin. The other niches honor St. Teresa of Kolkata, St. Maximilian Kolbe and Dorothy Day. Father Rother has also sparked the devotion of 12-year-old Harrison Gibbs, a parishioner of Divine Mercy in Faribault. His mother, Andrea, is on the advisory committee of Friends of San Lucas, which supports a Catholic mission across Lake Atitlán from Santiago in San Lucas Tolimán. Harrison has visited Please turn to ROTHER on page 22

16 • The Catholic Spirit

A

student skipping vespers may never have cost a Catholic university more.

In 1901, St. John’s University star running back Ignatius O’Shaughnessy skipped vespers for a party and was expelled from the Collegeville school. The Benedictine-run Catholic college missed out on donations in the millions as O’Shaughnessy became an oil tycoon and donated $8.5 million to his alma mater, now the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

That’s how the football rivalry between the two Catholic institutions really heated up. The Tommies and Johnnies will meet for the 87th time when they kick off at Target Field in Minneapolis 1 p.m. Sept. 23 for the Holy Grail trophy.

“There’s great rivalries at every level of college football. We just happen to be blessed to be part of one of the best in the nation at any level,” said St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso.

This year’s Tommie-Johnnie game could fill the 39,500-seating capacity at Target Field for the biggest crowd in NCAA Division III football history, a record the rivals owned until last year. More than 17,000 crowded the stands in 2015 when the Tommies beat the Johnnies in Collegeville, 35-14.

St. Thomas and St. John’s drew national attention with ESPN’s Sports Center on the Road broadcasting before the 2015 game, only the second time ESPN has brought a show to a Division III program. Attendance in Collegeville topped three Division I Football Bowl Subdivision games that day, including the Army-Eastern Michigan game.

Setting attendance marks has been the norm in the Tommie-Johnnie rivalry, with six of the 14 largest crowds reported for a Division III football game. That included 16,000 last year in Collegeville when the Tommies beat the Johnnies 33-21.

“The game itself is [such] a great institution of our state that I think it’s only appropriate that we give them the opportunity to share [that] with as many people as we possibly can on game day,” Caruso said.

Budding rivals Tens of thousands didn’t attend the Johnnies’ inaugural 16-0 win on Thanksgiving Day 1901 at Lexington Park in St. Paul, but it commenced a rivalry that has only grown since.

O’Shaughnessy played a key role with 76 yards rushing. He never played in another Tommie-Johnnie game, however, since the teams didn’t meet again until 1907.

O’Shaughnessy’s expulsion — and what it wrought — is the stuff of oft-repeated college legends at both universities. “We all would say that was the biggest mistake we ever made,” said Benedictine Father Wilfred Theisen, who has been around the Johnnies football program for 75 years.

After his expulsion, O’Shaughnessy headed by train to his hometown, Stillwater, but stopped at St. Thomas on the way. He ran into Father John Dolphin, the school’s president, and told him what had happened.

Father Dolphin gave O’Shaughnessy a second chance, and the young man enrolled at St. Thomas. That included playing football for the Tommies, with O’Shaughnessy serving as team captain in 1905.

St. Thomas later benefited from his oil industry success with funding for several buildings on campus, including the library, as well as an auditorium and gym recently replaced by the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. His name is also on the stadium. A part owner of the Cleveland Indians in the 1950s and 1960s, O’Shaughnessy’s philanthropic endeavors also included funds for the then-College of St. Catherine, the University of Notre Dame and an ecumenical institute in Jerusalem.

Since the football series between St. Thomas and St. John’s resumed in 1907, the Johnnies have found their gold on the football field. The Johnnies own a 51-34-1 lead in the series in addition to the program’s overall success.

St. John’s has a 622-246-24 all-time record and a .711 win percentage, the best in Division III history. The school has won four national titles, made 27 playoff appearances since 1963 and earned 32 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles since 1932.

St. Thomas has earned its own successes. The Tommies have made two national championship game appearances in the past six years and have been in the

FAITH & CULTURE

The history of a rivalry Tommie-Johnnie lore begins with an expelled student turned oil tycoon, but the annual matchup is an ever unfolding drama

By Matthew Davis • The Catholic Spirit

The 1904 College of St. Thomas football team. Holding the football is I.A. O’Shaughnessy, the Johnnie-turned-Tommie whose story fuels the teams’ longstanding rivalry. The TommieJohnnie game — the annual football game between the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University — will be held for the first time at Target Field in Minneapolis Sept. 23.

Courtesy the University of St. Thomas archives top 10 rankings consistently.

“That’s probably helped the most as far as getting more people interested in [the rivalry]. Now, you have two schools that are yearly nationally ranked,” Johnnies head coach Gary Fasching said.

In 1907, St. Thomas beat the Johnnies in a 21-0 victory. St. John’s bounced back to win 9-6 in 1908 but fell in their second meeting that year, 4-0. St. Thomas won the next meeting 23-6 in 1909 before the rivalry hibernated from 1910 to 1921.

The Tommies made the 13-year wait worth it for their fans by shutting out St. John’s 27-0 in 1922, the only time they met that decade. Former Notre Dame star quarterback Joe Brandy coached that Tommies squad, which included lineman and future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Walt Kiesling.

The schools didn’t meet again until 1933 when the Johnnies won 7-6. The Tommies bounced back in 1934 with a 12-0 win, but the Johnnies returned the favor — sort of.

They tied 0-0 in 1935, the only tie in the series.

According to The Aquin, St. Thomas’ student newspaper, the teams played in conditions “more suitable for hockey than football by a snowstorm that rapidly turned to slush and ice.”

Contests remained close through 1941 with neither team winning by more than two scores. St. Thomas won the final meeting 18-0 in 1942 before World War II wiped out the 1943 season.

Tommies’ dominance When the series resumed in 1945, the Tommies dominated with a 30-0 win and an 18-0 victory the following year.

They didn’t meet again until 1949 when the Tommies edged the Johnnies 28-27 in a game with five lead changes. That game included future NFL players from St. Thomas — running back Jim Brandt and kicker Don Simonsen, who hit the winning extra point in the final minute. It also marked the final game for Johnnies coach Joe Benda, who had been battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Father Theisen called that 1949 game a classic. He said that between 40-50 monks used to attend the

September 14, 2017 games, which has now dwindled to a dozen.

Father Theisen and company soon saw the Johnnies end a 14-year winless drought against the Tommies, 13-7 in 1952. Then in came John Gagliardi as the Johnnies’ coach. He amassed the most wins in NCAA history — 465 — during his career. He didn’t have a losing season from 1967 on.

His first game against the Tommies produced a 14-6 victory, but the Tommies then took four-straight wins from 1954 to 1957. That included St. Thomas’ last unbeaten regular season in 1956 before the Caruso era.

Then-Tommies coach Frank Deig also won his final matchup 14-7 with the Johnnies in 1957 despite a 2-5-1 season.

Johnnies take over Father Theisen said Gagliardi’s Johnnies “got their number,” which fed a 38-12 record against the Tommies for the legendary coach. It took off after 1957 with two straight shutouts and another two wins by 20 or more points.

St. Thomas fell shy of the Johnnies 28-23 in 1962 and couldn’t keep up with the 1963 national champion Johnnies team in a 32-6 loss. Notably, that St. Thomas squad included Vince Lombardi Jr., the son of Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.

After enduring three-straight shutouts by the Johnnies, the Tommies won 13-2 in 1967 to end a ninegame slide in the series. Players from that Tommies squad celebrate the victory annually, including its 50th anniversary this year.

Momentum swung back to Collegeville with five consecutive wins over the Tommies through 1972 followed by another four-straight after St. Thomas’ 1410 win in 1973.

Johnnies stars in that era included Mike Grant, son of legendary Vikings coach Bud Grant. The younger Grant has coached Eden Prairie High School to 10 state football titles in 25 years.

“Maybe those times we were just a little bit ahead of them [St. Thomas]” in recruiting, said Fasching, who played alongside Grant. “Usually, it evens out over time.”

The Tommies ended their Johnnies skid with a 21-3 win in 1978 followed by a 30-0 rout in 1979, which included a big performance by St. Thomas freshman and future Vikings receiver Jim Gustafson.

St. John’s owned the series in the 1980s, but St. Thomas won big twice, in 1983 at 41-14 and in 1986 at 56-21. They traded wins in the early 1990s, including a 15-12 St. Thomas win in 1992, considered the biggest upset in the series. St. John’s got payback in 1993 with a 69-13 win, their biggest margin of victory of the series.

It went the Johnnies’ way against the Tommies for the next 12 years, beginning in 1998 with a 31-13 win.

St. Thomas came close a few times, including a 15-12 loss in 2003 after a Johnnies field goal in the final seconds.

“I remember 2003. We won the national championship that year, and one of the closest games we had was at St. Thomas,” said Fasching, who served as an assistant coach then.

Offenses shined in 2007, when the rivals had their highest-scoring game of the series, a 51-34 win by the Johnnies.

Caruso-Fasching era It took overtime in 2010 for St. Thomas to snap the losing streak with a 27-26 victory. That win commenced the Tommies’ recent edge in the series.

St. Thomas rolled 63-7 in 2011, but St. John’s ended a three-year skid in 2013 to win 20-18 on a missed Tommies field goal, Fasching’s first win over St. Thomas after taking the helm. The Johnnies won again in 2014, but the Tommies have won three straight since, including the 2015 playoffs.

“Being able to win both of those games in ‘15 is probably a memory I don’t think people are going to forget anytime soon,” Caruso said.

This year’s Tommie-Johnnie contest at Target Field, first announced Oct. 17, 2016, will mark the first-ever football game at the Twins’ new grounds. The rivalry is “a tangible reminder of the importance of football on college campuses and not just what it can do for pride,” Caruso said, “but also for what it can do for building community, camaraderie and togetherness.”

FAITH & CULTURE

September 14, 2017

The Catholic Spirit • 17

Loome Theological Booksellers returns to Stillwater

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

T

wenty years ago, Christopher Hagen read his way into the Catholic Church through good books. Now he lives and works among them.

The owner of Loome Theological Booksellers returned the bookstore to Stillwater this summer and hopes the Main Street location will draw new customers and lead them to the faith.

“I love our Lord, I love the Church, and I love good books,” Hagen said. “I want to put things in here that the Holy Spirit can use to prick consciences and draw their hearts into the Church.”

Thomas Loome, theology professor at then-College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, founded the internationally known bookstore in Stillwater 34 years ago. Hagen, 41, took the helm in 2008. Four years ago, he moved the bookstore’s hard-to-find scholarly and classic theological works to a farm-based store southwest of Stillwater, where he and his family could engage in a Catholic-inspired vision of work, agriculture and scholarship.

A rent increase on the farm compelled the Hagens to move both the store and their family back to Stillwater. Hagen sold 80 percent of the bookstore’s inventory to a single buyer. He moved the remaining stock into the 4,000 square-foot Stillwater store — half the space it occupied on the farm. Hagen said the smaller size will increase efficiency.

“I feel much more part of the Stillwater community in this location,” said Hagen who, with his wife, Christelle, 44, and their seven children, belongs, to St. Michael in Stillwater.

Unlike the last move — which involved 100 minivan trips — returning to the city required only 15 trips because of the sale and donation of books. But many hours of book sorting, combined with liquidating farm equipment, the family move and caring for a newborn, made the process exhausting, even with help, he said.

“Overall, my family looks back on the farm as satisfying and challenging in a good way,” Hagen said.

“Now that we live back in a neighborhood, we’re trying to take what we can from the farm and plant it, literally in some ways and figuratively in others.”

Loome Theological Booksellers’ owner Christopher Hagen stands in front of the bookstore’s new location, 229 Main St. S., Stillwater.

Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit

Grand opening Loome Theological Booksellers’ grand opening at 229 Main St. S., Stillwater, will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sept. 30. For more information visit www.loomebooks.com or call 651-430-1092.

Now living in a house on a large lot a mile from the bookstore, the family hopes to maintain a beehive, chickens and a vegetable garden, vestiges of their Claret Farm as well as a nod to the agrarian side of the Catholic Worker Movement, one of their inspirations.

Founded in 1933 by activist Dorothy Day and others, the movement includes a focus on the works of mercy.

Hagen plans to weave that vision with the bookstore by providing customers opportunities to participate in works of mercy, such as donating to mission projects. He is also patterning the bookstore after a monastery, evident in the layout, signage and patio behind the store. The offerings, however, are not only Catholic; the store includes Orthodox and Protestant works as well.

Downsizing inventory and moving into a smaller space was intentional, Hagen said. While he once dubbed Loome “the largest theological bookstore in the

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world,” he realized that customers never saw 60 percent of the books. In trimming the collection to roughly 15,000 volumes, Hagen sold many duplicate copies.

Customers should find it easier to locate books in the smaller collection kept on two levels in the store.

Smaller inventory and less space also will make it possible for Hagen to process more of the books he obtains from individuals, estates and institutions, he said. Books are also available online at www.loomebooks.com.

“One of the things I want to do — and will be forced to do much better in this space — is to have fresh books out more often,” he said.

Anticipating new customers, Hagen plans to expand the bookstore’s primarily secondhand offerings to include new materials. He also plans to add new and used children’s books, fiction and books on social issues and Minnesota history, as well as works by Stillwater authors.

Customer Heidi Giebel, 41, a parishioner of St. Patrick in Hudson, Wisconsin, said she is delighted to see the bookstore back in Stillwater.

“Especially right on Main Street, where it should get a lot of well-deserved foot traffic,” said Giebel, who’s been a Loome customer for five years. “The new store is very nicely laid out and organized; it has a really peaceful and welcoming atmosphere. And its smaller size is just right for browsing.”

We congratulate Fr. Gregory Abbott on the 10th anniversary of your Ordination with thanks to God for the gift of your vocation Your “Yes” leads us to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God. From the parishes of Ascension, Norwood Young America and St. Bernard, Cologne.

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“…If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” - John 14:23

18 • The Catholic Spirit

FAITH & CULTURE

September 14, 2017

In new book, pope upholds traditional marriage, need to help sinners

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

B

y virtue of its very definition, marriage can only be between a man and a woman, Pope Francis said in a new book-length interview.

“We cannot change it. This is the nature of things,” not just in the Church, but in human history, he said in a series of interviews with Dominique Wolton, a 70-year-old French sociologist and expert in media and political communication.

Published in French, the 417-page book, “Politique et Societe” (“Politics and Society”) was released Sept. 6.

When it comes to the true nature of marriage as well as gender, there is “critical confusion at the moment,” the pope said.

When asked about marriage for same-sex couples, the pope said, “Let’s call this ‘civil unions.’ We do not joke around with truth.”

Teaching children that they can choose their gender, he said, also plays a part in fostering such mistakes about the truth or facts of nature.

The pope said he wondered whether these new ideas about gender and marriage were somehow based on a fear of differences, and he encouraged researchers to study the subject.

Pope Francis also said his decision to give all priests permanent permission to grant absolution to those who confess to having procured an abortion was not meant to trivialize this serious and grave sin.

Abortion continues to be “murder of an innocent person. But if there is sin, forgiveness must be facilitated,” he said. So often a woman who never forgets her aborted child “cries for years without having the courage to go see a priest.”

“Do you have any idea the number of people who can finally breathe?” he asked, adding how important it was these women can find the Lord’s forgiveness and never commit this sin again.

Pope Francis said the biggest threat in the world is money. In St. Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus talked about people’s love and loyalty being torn between two things, he didn’t say it was between “your wife or God,” it was choosing between God or money.

“It’s clear. They are two things opposed to each other,” he said.

When asked why people do not listen to this message even though it has been clearly condemned by the Church since the time of the Gospels, the pope said it is because some people prefer to speak only about morality.

“There is a great danger for preachers, lecturers, to fall into mediocrity,” which is condemning only those forms of immorality that fall “below the belt,” he said.

“But the other sins that are the most serious: hatred, envy, pride, vanity, killing another, taking away a life ... these are really not talked about that much,” he said.

“The most minor sins are the sins of the flesh,” he said, because the flesh is weak. “The most dangerous sins are those of the mind,” and confessors should spend more time asking if a person prays, reads the Gospel and seeks the Lord.

One temptation the Church has always been vulnerable to, the pope said, is being defensive because it is scared.

“Where in the Gospels does the Lord say that we need to seek security? Instead he said, ‘Risk, go ahead, forgive and evangelize.’”

Another temptation, he said, is to seek uniformity with rules, for example, in the debate concerning his apostolic exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia.”

“When I talk about families in difficulty, I say, ‘Welcome, accompany, discern, integrate ...’ and then everyone will see the doors open. In reality, what happens is you hear people say, ‘They cannot receive Communion.’ ‘They cannot do this and that.’”

That temptation of the Church to emphasize “no, no and no” and what is prohibited is the same “drama

Jesus [experienced] with the Pharisees.”

This closed, fundamentalist mindset like Jesus faced is “the battle I lead today with the exhortation.”

Jesus followed “another logic” that went beyond prohibitions as he did not adhere to customs — like not touching lepers and stoning adulterers — that had become like commandments, he said.

Church leaders are used to “frozen norms” and “fixed standards,” but when they ask, “’Can we give Communion to divorcees?’ I reply, ‘Speak with the divorced man and woman, welcome, accompany, integrate and discern,” which opens a path and a way of communication to lead people to Christ.

Encountering Christ is what leads people onto a path of living a moral life, he said.

Concerning the persecution of Christians, particularly in the East, and the question of why God would allow such tragedy, the pope said, “I do not know where God is, but I know where man is in this situation. Men make weapons and sell them.”

It is easy for people to question God, he said, but “it is we who commit all this” and allow it to happen; “our humanity is corrupted.”

Speaking about women, the pope said they have an important role in society because they help unify and reconcile people.

Some people mistake women’s demands to be represented and heard in the world with a kind of “machoism in a skirt,” but machoism is a form of “brutality” and does not represent what women should be. He said with the reform of the Roman Curia, “there will be many women who will have decision-making power,” not just roles as advisers.

While he said he believes he will succeed in opening up more positions to women in the curia, it will be difficult and there will be problems — not because of misogyny, but because of “the problem of power.”

September 14, 2017

FAITH & CULTURE

The Catholic Spirit • 19

A faith-filled kick-off for Catholic high schools’ football seasons

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

T

wo Catholic school matchups kicked off this year’s high school football season, with both games outwardly indicating the schools’ commitment to faith.

The Hill-Murray Pioneers and Holy Angels Stars met for Mass Sept. 1 before putting on pads, a day after the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders and Totino-Grace Eagles prayed together before meeting for the first time ever.

Players from the Stars and Pioneers attended Mass with Archbishop Bernard Hebda before the Richfield game.

“It was really cool that they had two Catholic schools come together for Mass before a game to show that it’s more than just a football game,” said Hill-Murray senior defensive back Ben Nelson.

The archbishop exhorted the players gathered in Holy Angels’ St. John the Evangelist chapel to work toward winning the goal of the Christian life — heaven.

“We want to make sure that just as we prepare for a big football game, we want to make sure that we prepare for whenever it is that the Lord might come,” Archbishop Hebda said in his homily. “None of us knows the day or the hour.”

At one time, the potential for a matchup of longtime football powers Cretin-Derham Hall and Totino-Grace was also unknown. The winners of 12 state titles combined have played in different classes and conferences for most of their histories, but the two played each other for the first time Aug. 31 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Not having played each other before was “kind of unusual, being that we both have good football programs,” said Totino-Grace head coach Jeff Ferguson.

“Cretin-Derham Hall’s a bigger school. For many years they’ve played a bigger-school schedule, and we played with the smaller schools.”

With the two Christian Brothers-sponsored schools coming together, the players and fans joined in the prayer of St. Francis, a traditional prayer at their schools, before the game. Retired priest Father John Forliti, who has worked with the CDH football team for many years, led the prayer as the teams stood together at midfield.

“It was a pretty special moment, getting to meet some of their guys before the game,” said CDH senior running back Anthony Czech. “Starting off the game with a prayer is always a plus, especially from our two schools.”

Totino-Grace senior linebacker Joey Linders said it set the tone to have the teams praying together before kickoff.

“When a player gets hurt, both sides said a prayer, too,” Linders said. “I thought that was something special that you usually don’t see in every single game.”

The following day, Archbishop Hebda led a prayer on the field before Hill-Murray and Holy Angels kicked off.

He also did the coin flip.

“It was awesome,” said Keontay Shorter, a Holy Angels senior defensive back and wide receiver. “I loved having the Mass and him [the archbishop] being there.”

Faith on the field Shorter’s explosiveness on the field helped Holy Angels, a state Class 4A title contender, rout Hill-Murray 47-6. He had an interception, a punt return for a touchdown and a 25-yard TD reception.

Totino-Grace, based in Fridley and the defending Class 6A state champions, had a much harder grind to beat Cretin-Derham Hall, based in St. Paul. The Eagles rallied from 10-0 down in the second half to edge the Raiders 13-12. Senior fullback Kameron White punched in the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

ABOVE Players from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul and Totino-Grace High School in Fridley stand at midfield for the national anthem before their game Aug. 30 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

RIGHT Archbishop Bernard Hebda preaches to players from the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, left, and Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood during Mass before a game between the two teams Sept. 1 at Holy Angels.

Archbishop Hebda also led prayer on the field before the game and did the coin toss.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit “They really shocked us right away,” Linders said.

Having public displays of faith at Catholic high school football games didn’t shock the players or those in attendance. Faith has been interwoven in all four teams’ programs for years.

“We run our whole program through faith,” Linders said. “Our coaches always talk about it. That’s kind of what our coaches do is prepare us more for life … than just preparing us for the game.”

Prayer — and sometimes faith sharing — is part of their practices. The Eagles also have a Mass before their games when possible. School chaplain Father Paul Shovelain works with the team.

“All of our coaches are called to have a faith plan — how do you bring Christ to your players,” Ferguson said.

At CDH, Father Forliti has been a long-time fixture with the Raiders program. He will have Mass for the players on Thursdays before their games.

“Father Forliti’s always around the program,” Czech said. “He loves the game. He loves our team, and he’s always looking out for us.”

Raiders head coach Brooks Bollinger said his staff tries to “use football as a tool to help them [the players] become the best version of themselves and learn those lessons and those values and apply them in all areas of their lives.”

At Hill-Murray, Pioneers head coach Pete Bercich made Mass before games a priority when he took the position in 2016. Bercich said Mass was a regular part of his high school football experience at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois.

“Being Catholic is how we differentiate ourselves. It’s important,” Bercich said.

Benedictine Sister Linda Soler has been a “spiritual coach” for the Maplewood team over the years and helped organize the Masses for the players. Hill-Murray now has a full-time chaplain, Father Kevin Manthey, who will work with the team, too.

Holy Angels head coach Jim Gunderson sees faith as central to his football program.

“A lot of what we preach here is life’s all about relationships,” he said.

Father Mike Tix, chaplain for Holy Angels, offers Mass for the team and spends games on the sidelines with the Stars. After games, the players and fans gather at a St. Joseph statue in the school’s courtyard for a postgame prayer and feedback from coaches.

“It’s great,” said Holy Angels junior fullback Rook Rowe. “It brings us together as a team [and] shows that we are a community.”

A new network Holy Angels athletic director Michael Kautzman invited the archbishop to the Sept. 1 game after the recent formation of the Catholic Sports Network, which broadcast the game. He said he wanted the archbishop’s presence to highlight the meeting of two Catholic schools on the field.

“We in the Catholic system frequently have a lot of special traditions and history,” Kautzman said. “I don’t know if the story is told frequently enough.”

More opportunities for Catholic schools to play each other became apparent when the Minnesota State High School League adopted districts for football in place of conferences in 2015. Six Catholic schools play in the Suburban Districts.

Kautzman and Jerry Pettinger, the athletic director of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, reached out to Peter Waggoner about finding a way to broadcast some of those matchups. Known for his broadcast work with ESPN 1550 AM in Minneapolis, Waggoner is one of the managing partners for Sports Content Management, which helped form the Catholic Sports Network.

Kautzman said it serves as “having some sort of forum to get the word out there for potential students who may be looking at high schools and their parents [too].”

The online network will carry four more football matchups this fall between Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: Benilde-St. Margaret’s at DeLaSalle, 2 p.m. Sept. 16, DeLaSalle at Holy Angels, 7 p.m. Sept. 22, DeLaSalle at Hill-Murray, 7 p.m. Sept. 29, Holy Angels at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 7 p.m. Oct. 6. Games will be broadcast online at http://catholicsportsnetwork.org.

20 • The Catholic Spirit

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

Deacon Daniel Gannon

Forgiveness: You get what you give In our Gospel for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive another. Peter suggests “seven times” as an attempt on his part to be generous, surpassing the common Jewish view that forgiving the same offense just a few times was sufficient. However, Jesus responds that he must forgive not seven times but “77 times.” This response is hyperbole, a number that essentially means “without limitation.” There is no limit to God’s forgiveness, and so there should be no limit to the forgiveness we extend to others.

To illustrate his teaching, Jesus then tells the parable of the unforgiving servant who was forgiven a “huge amount” by his king. This expression falls short in English. Scripture scholars translate this phrase from the Greek as literally “a myriad of talents,” a myriad being 10,000 talents. A talent was worth 6,000 denarii. A

FOCUS ON FAITH single denarius was a typical day’s wages. Hence, Jesus’ parable doubles down on his command to forgive without limitation, as the servant who was forgiven his debt was forgiven wages that would span hundreds of lifetimes. In other words, Jesus is saying the servant was forgiven a debt he could never repay. Of course, this is where we stand with God. Then we are jolted into indignation when Jesus describes this same servant refusing to forgive a “much smaller amount” he was owed by a fellow servant. The king throws that unforgiving servant into prison and pain “until he should pay back the whole debt.” Jesus declares this is how we will be judged if we do not forgive one another “from the heart.” That is to say, we must always forgive others and truly mean it — we must will it.

Does this mean we must feel warm, affectionate feelings while forgiving another? No. Authentic, true love is an act of the will, not our emotions. Emotions can be difficult to control. Authentic love consists in willing the good of another, as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches. So too, to forgive another is also an act of love and an act of the will, or to put it another way, an act of “the heart.” Jesus thus commands us to forgive from the heart — which means we can, with the grace of God, make an act of the will to forgive another by willing their good (including their salvation) even when it feels all but impossible to “like” that person at the moment or feel warm feelings.

In the Lord’s prayer we pray for God to “forgive us

September 14, 2017

Sunday, Sept. 17

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings

• Sir 27:30–28:7 • Rom 14:7-9 • Mt 18:21-35 our trespasses as we forgive” others. This means if I do not forgive others, I am actually praying that God would not forgive me. We get what we give — if we give forgiveness, we will receive it from God. If we give condemnation, that is what we will get from God. We should also manifest our forgiveness by communicating it to another, which can become the beginning of healing in the relationship. How do I know I’ve forgiven another? Praying for the person we will to forgive is the surest sign we have heeded our Lord’s command to “forgive ... from the heart.”

Deacon Gannon is director of the St. Paul Seminary Institute for Ongoing Clergy Formation. He is ordained for the Diocese of La Crosse and lives in Prescott, Wisconsin, with his wife, Lisa, and four children. He holds a law degree and a masters in theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Deacon Gannon teaches at the seminary, the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute and in deacon formation programs.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Sept. 17 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 27:30–28:7 Rom 14:7-9 Mt 18:21-35 Monday, Sept. 18 1 Tm 2:1-8 Lk 7:1-10 Tuesday, Sept. 19 1 Tm 3:1-13 Lk 7:11-17

Wednesday, Sept. 20 Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest; Paul Chong Ha-sang and companions, martyrs 1 Tm 3:14-16 Lk 7:31-35 Thursday, Sept. 21 Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Mt 9:9-13

SEEKING ANSWERS

Father Michael Schmitz

Renouncing, not just confessing, our sins Q. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve been praying and I’ve been to confession (repeatedly), but I seem to commit the same sins. Even worse, I know that Jesus promised that we would receive a closeness to God when we call out for him, but I haven’t experienced that.

A. Thank you so much for writing. I think that your experience sounds a lot like most people in the Church.

Now, when I say that, I don’t mean “most people who don’t care about getting close to the Lord” in the Church. What you described is what most people who are showing up and who long to be closely connected with God are experiencing every day. We want God so desperately, but we don’t seem to be able to experience his presence and his power. So what do we do?

Well, it sounds like you already know what to do: prayer and the sacrament of confession. But it might be possible that you could enter into confession in a way that will be much more profitable for you.

Am I implying that you aren’t genuine in the confessions you are making? Not at all. I have no idea what level of genuineness you are at. And God is so

Friday, Sept. 22 1 Tm 6:2c-12 Lk 8:1-3 Saturday, Sept. 23 St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), priest 1 Tm 6:13-16 Lk 8:4-15

Sunday, Sept. 24 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 55:6-9 Phil 1:20c-24, 27a Mt 20:1-16a Monday, Sept. 25 Ezr 1:1-6 Lk 8:16-18 Tuesday, Sept. 26 Ezr 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20 Lk 8:19-21

good that he can even take some pretty lame and halfhearted confessions of sin and do miracles with them.

Very few of us are truly sorry for our sins because of our purified and perfect love for God. Many times, we approach confession because we know it is something we need to do or because we fear the reality of hell. If either of those are your primary reasons for going to confession, please keep going. God is so good that he will take even the minimal amount of contrition and respond with his mercy. Do not avoid confession simply because you aren’t perfect. (A little ironic, right?)

But we can definitely grow in our approach. The first area is our awareness of sin and how it relates to confession. Consider the words you use when you go to confession. What do you call the sacrament? Many of us call it the sacrament of reconciliation. This is a good thing, because it is the end result: We are reconciled to God and to his Church. Forgiveness and reconciliation are words that describe what God does. But what is our part in it? What do we do? We confess. And what do we confess? We confess our sins.

It might sound strange that I am belaboring this point. But I have found that many people come to the sacrament of confession to tell a story rather than confess their sins to almighty God. We say things like, “Bless me, Father. ... I’m really working on my temper lately and being short with my kids.” Or people will say things equally ineffective like, “I am struggling with selfishness (or anger, lust or pride).” This is “ineffective” because I am not confessing my sins, I am merely “sharing” what I am “working on” or “wrestling with.”

Are these sins being forgiven, even if we haven’t “worded it right”? Absolutely. But you will not see a change as a result. Why not? Because a person who confesses in that way is often not interested in a change.

They merely want to be forgiven. Many of us have

Wednesday, Sept. 27 St. Vincent de Paul, priest Ezr 9:5-9 Lk 9:1-6 Thursday, Sept. 28 Hg 1:1-8 Lk 9:7-9 Friday, Sept. 29 Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 Jn 1:47-51

Saturday, Sept. 30 Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a Lk 9:43b-45 Sunday, Oct. 1 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ez 18:25-28 Phil 2:1-11 Mt 21:28-32

shown up to the sacrament of reconciliation because we knew that we needed forgiveness or because we knew that we needed absolution before we could receive holy Communion. That is a good thing, but that is not a life-changing thing. We confessed and received forgiveness, but we did not change. Why? Because we did not renounce the root of the sin.

Turning to God requires us to turn away from something that is not of God. I know that I have gone to confession many times, but without intentionally and firmly turning away from my sin and my attraction to sin. I have gone to confession because I wanted mercy, but not because I wanted a real, lasting change.

This is where renouncing our sins comes into effect.

Rather than saying, “I’m working on anger,” it makes a real difference when we say, “I am guilty of acting out in anger.” It goes even deeper to say at the end of the confession of this sin, “In Jesus’ name, I renounce the sin of anger.” One could also say, “In the name of Jesus, I renounce the root of the spirit of anger in my past.”

Believe me, this could make all the difference in the world in your life with Christ. You have been showing up and praying and asking for mercy. You have received it. But you may have not renounced the lies that you’ve become comfortable with. You may not have renounced the attraction or dependence you have towards the sins you commit. You may not have named and renounced the sins you have asked him to forgive. Once you get into the practice of renouncing these lies, wounds and sins, you will experience an awakening in your spiritual life that you may have never known before.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@gmail.com.

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

September 14, 2017

TWENTY SOMETHING

The miracle was not just the eclipse but its impact, that millions stopped to look up. These days we tend to run low on wonder. This filled us up again.

Christina Capecchi

Lead with beauty: evangelization and the solar eclipse The rain fell heavy Monday morning in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bleary-eyed travelers plotted alternative routes while eating eggs and potatoes at the Embassy Suites.

A white-haired man wearing a Saturn shirt had heard it would be clearer in Columbia, Missouri, than Kansas City, Missouri, and decided to attempt the added hour of travel for a better view of the Great American Eclipse.

“If we can’t make it there in time,” he said, “our ship is sunk.”

Preparations had begun with such precision: a map to consult, checklists and charts. Did you want 2 minutes and 34 seconds of totality in Grand Island, Nebraska, or 2 minutes and 38 seconds in St. Joseph, Missouri?

It felt like a menu, like an Amazon-Prime level of control: order and arrive.

Armchair research continued in that satisfying blend of novel and familiar: cities to consider and amenities to compare with the same pick-and-click power. Make your reservation, guarantee your fun.

Then came the packing: coolers filled to the brim,

iStock/RomoloTavani pristine eclipse goggles tucked into glove compartments, tripods and telescopes collapsed in trunks.

But after months of careful planning, the one factor we could not control — the weather — forced many Midwesterners into last-minute recalculations. Amid our anxious Googling, more than one of us uttered a prayer for a break in the clouds.

My husband and I chose Lathrop, a tiny town in northwest Missouri, as our destination, and after two hours of construction delays inching down I-35 and two panicked stops for a selfie stick, we arrived with 20 minutes to spare and parked beside a cornfield that fell squarely in the path of totality.

The clouds obscured part of the view, revealing more of a crescent than a ring, but we still rejoiced in the sight. The sudden and complete darkening was a thrill in itself. The air cooled, and the crickets began chirping

FAITH AT HOME Laura Kelly Fanucci

The sacred act of dishwashing I hate dishwashing.

Laundry, I love: transforming jumbled heaps of tumbled clothes into neat, folded piles. Sweeping is satisfying. Wiping counters, even scrubbing sinks, brings simple pleasure.

But I cringe at crusty pots and pans. Any night of the week, I’d trade for any other chore. Yet life in a household requires rolling up sleeves and doing whatever dirty work needs to be done.

Even in the house of the Church. Turns out the saints agree.

“Regard all utensils of the monastery and its whole property as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar,” reads the Rule of St. Benedict.

I watch the priest at Mass as he wipes the chalices and ciboria, the cups and plates used for Communion.

I’ve heard grumbles from the pews about “waiting for

the dishes to be done,” but I love this quiet moment we all spend watching the washing up.

This act reminds me that God is found in the smallest moments of care. Our habits of devotion depend on details: the daily prayers and gestures that deepen in meaning as we repeat them over time.

And honestly? I love the reminder that caring for the vessels of the altar is an act of reverence. It nudges me to see cleaning up after family meals as an echo of the Eucharist.

God comes to us in food and drink — and we are transformed. If we are a eucharistic people, it means we care about the crumbs, the last drops and the dishwashing, too.

“God walks among the pots and pans,” said St. Teresa of Avila.

Saints help us learn the patient, plodding secrets of the spiritual life: That small acts hold great love, that no task is too ordinary for God, that faithfulness is the repetition of love.

They teach me to quiet my grumbling about dishes, too.

Over our kitchen sink I hung a print of St. Therese of Lisieux doing the dishes, lifting a plate to heaven as the steam rises like incense. I look to her while loading the dishwasher and muttering to myself about cereal-crusted breakfast bowls.

In this least-loved task of my day, can I follow her lead and do small things out of love?

I need practice. Conversion takes patience. But three meals a day come around without fail, so there

their lullaby.

Before long we were back on the road, participating in another national act of solidarity: the Great American Traffic Jam. What would have normally taken six hours nearly doubled in length, an endless row of Minnesota license plates in gridlock. A group of college-aged men in one car rolled down their windows and tossed grapes to a car of young women, hungrier for the entertainment than the fruit.

Waiting in line to use the restrooms at a Casey’s General Store, travelers swapped weary smiles.

Somehow, we were meeting the traffic, like the clouds, with optimism; it was all part of the experience.

It called to mind a G.K. Chesterton quote: “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.

An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

The miracle was not just the eclipse but its impact, that millions stopped to look up. These days we tend to run low on wonder. This filled us up again.

The older I get, the more clearly I see that life can echo the mysteries of the rosary: joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous. Every now and then, we pack them all into a single day or even an hour. Like Mary, we are called to respond with gratitude and trust, to offer our own fiat.

In classical tradition, truth, beauty and goodness are upheld as transcendentals. The Catholic Church recognizes how closely they are intertwined, one pointing to another.

As we aim to evangelize, we do well to lead with beauty, remembering the seekers who journeyed so far Aug. 21. Our Church has a beauty like no other: cathedrals, sacred art, the liturgical year and a way of sacramental living available to all.

They will travel hundreds of miles for seconds of awe.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

is always more to wash. Always another chance to see our daily work and daily bread with Christ-like eyes.

“Wash the plate not because it is dirty nor because you are told to wash it, but because you love the person who will use it next,” said St. Teresa of Kolkata.

My 3-year-old loves to wash dishes. He wields the sink sprayer like a fireman’s hose, sending shimmering water across the counter. He digs out clean cups from the cupboards so he has more to dunk in the soapy bath.

When I watch him play in the water and light and see the gleam of wet cups and billowing bubbles, I remember that beauty and boredom are both in the eye of the beholder. What I see as drudgery, he sees as delight.

If I can borrow just a teaspoon of his joy, my perspective shifts. I see the gift of hot water running through a faucet. The privilege of plates heaped with food. The abundance of a house full of family to feed.

Maybe all it takes to see the holiness of our work is fresh eyes. The wisdom of saints, a preschooler’s joy, the pastor’s faithful service. All of them teaching what I keep trying to learn: that the humblest, dirtiest acts of our days can be the most sacred.

Fanucci, a parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove, is a mother, writer and director of a project on vocation at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville.

She is the author of several books, including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting,” and blogs at www.motheringspirit.com.

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22 • The Catholic Spirit

THIS CATHOLIC LIFE • COMMENTARY

THE LOCAL CHURCH Father Paul Jarvis

Against spiritual couch potatoes “Just do it!”

Most everyone recognizes this Nike ad.

It should be a slogan for Christianity.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that we earn our way to heaven, much as a child earns his or her way to Disneyland. I am, however, suggesting that faithful disciples of Christ must “do it” in order to “get it.” You know, the “ah-ha” type.

I’ve seen agnostics and atheists transform in the doing of work with the poor in Mother Teresa’s ashram in Kathmandu — folks going from disbelief and indifference to profound faith. I’ve also seen believers deepen their faith in the doing of Christianity.

In other words, in doing more than simply “going to church” — as important as such prayer within an assembly is.

In actually “being Church.”

Going to church without doing Christianity outside of the church structure is like a person who signs up at a physical fitness center, only to sit on the side of the workout room and watching others work out, paying no attention at all to the fitness coach’s instructions.

And when these couch potatoes head for home after the non-workout, they continue to not do “the program” the rest of the week. The fitness coach’s lessons are quickly forgotten in the gym’s parking lot.

The above analogy may sound a tad creepy. But the approach is most definitely ineffective. As is its spiritual counterpart.

We not only need to spend time in getting off the rollercoaster of life to pray and/or meditate by ourselves as well as with others.

We need to act. That’s what Jesus was talking about throughout our four Gospels: How we are to be with each other and how we are to act in life.

ROTHER Continued from page 15 Santiago Atitlán twice, once when he was six, and again when he was 10. Both times he visited Father Rother’s shrine in the church and the room in the rectory where he was murdered.

Although the first visit didn’t leave much of an impression, he learned more about Father Rother before the second visit and felt a connection to the priest-martyr.

He continues to be inspired by his brave witness.

“He still did extraordinary things, even though he was still normal, and anyone can do that,” Harrison said. “Just because they think, ‘I’m not like that,’ but you [Catholics] are. You could do something amazing.”

He recently chose the priest as the subject of a presentation for his homeschool group, and he may choose him as his confirmation saint. Harrison also plans to attend the beatification with his mother, grandmother, three of his four siblings and a family friend.

After her first trip to San Lucas Tolimán while in college and multiple trips a year since, Andrea, 36, said she feels a special connection to Father Rother — like she knows him, not just about him. She added that it feels somewhat strange to have him go from a seemingly little-known martyr venerated in her household, to a household name.

Her family has been influenced by the spirit of Father Rother and his contemporary, Father Greg Schaffer, a St. Paul native and priest of the Diocese of New Ulm who ministered in San Lucas Tolimán from 1963 to his death in 2012, and who was friends with Father Rother. Knowing Father Rother’s story and leading trips to Guatemala has changed “every aspect” of her family’s life, Andrea said, including the way they shop, travel and handle money.

“You cannot come into contact with Christ in the poor and those that have given their lives as martyrs and not be changed by this,” she said in an email.

Our brothers and sisters in other Christian traditions are right in asserting that such action, such relating should indeed flow from profound faith in Jesus and his teachings.

But it’s also true that action can lead to faith — and, subsequently, to even greater levels of faith. At least, that’s been my experience over the past half century.

I’d like to direct you to an example of how being active leads to greater faith, or perhaps even faith itself.

Several years back, the Knights of Columbus at St. Joseph’s parish in Lino Lakes took on the seemingly impossible task of repairing a long mothballed country chapel, just in front of its modern 90s church. It started with one or two Knights spending a weekday cleaning out decades of junk.

Like Tom Sawyer, they tantalized passersby by opening the long-closed, mysterious relic for joggers and walkers to see. People poked their heads in and were invited in to look around. One passerby even asked if he could help, even though he wasn’t Catholic. An affirmative answer boomed back, and he and other passersby would eventually spend a lot of time and energy in renovating that quaint country (now suburban) chapel.

The Knights of Columbus group not only grew in membership. It, more importantly, grew in active membership. Inactive Catholics became active. One person actually converted to the faith — not from simply doing the work, but in hanging out with people of “walk the walk” faith.

Now their council is one of the more active Knights councils and assemblies in the state. That’s because many people “got it” by “just doing it.”

There’s a lesson here for every parish, Knights council and church ministry. Yep, some meetings are necessary. But most people I know enjoy the fellowship and sense of achievement through activity. People just have to be active with others in the building up of God’s kingdom here on earth. Or they just slump back into spiritual couch potatoism and eventually stop practicing the faith. Or even believing.

At St. Bridget’s parish community in Minneapolis’ Northside — “the little parish that could” — I’ve noticed that the more parishioners get engaged with their parish and its ministries, the more they get out of it. And the more they “get it.”

Christianity: Just do it!

Father Jarvis is senior associate pastor of St. Bridget in north Minneapolis.

Harrison and his dad, Jeremy, also plan to run two halfmarathons next year to raise money for a San Lucas project.

Meanwhile, the parish of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings has organized a bus for 27 people to make the 11-hour trip to Oklahoma City for the beatification. On the trip will be Father Martin Siebenaler, a retired priest who grew up among Rothers in the New Trier area, as well as several Rother cousins, including Faith Siebenaler, 61, communications and stewardship coordinator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. She said her parents stayed with Father Rother’s parents on their honeymoon, but she didn’t know anything about Father Rother’s story until his beatification was announced.

“It’s been an eye-opener,” she said. “I am so excited. ...

What a beautiful testimonial, in reading his writings ... and how he so faithfully cared for the sheep and never batted an eye.”

In 1999, Archbishop Flynn traveled to Father Rother’s church in Santiago Atitlán, visited the room where he was shot to death and celebrated Mass in the parish church.

Father Rother’s body was returned to Oklahoma, but the missionary’s heart was left behind with the Guatemalans, who have since enshrined it as a relic.

Archbishop Flynn also prays for his friend’s intercession, keeping his photograph on his altar for Mass. He feels that he had a graced opportunity to be with Father Rother that summer while he was discerning his impending death.

“I’ll always remember sitting in the room where he was martyred, and sitting there and looking at his blood all over the wall, splattered, and experiencing anger in my heart with the people who did that to him — this gentle, gentle shepherd,” he said, “and then realizing what he would have said — something that Christ said, ‘They don’t even know what they’re doing,’ and they probably didn’t. ... They killed a man, but they created a saint.”

September 14, 2017 LETTERS

Seeking joy This thought in response to the recent exchange of letters: True joy comes from living a virtuous life (including Christian sexual integrity), with the hope of eternal life in Christ, our Lord and savior. Approving of others’ sins out of a misguided sense of “acceptance and tolerance” risks their eternal joy and shortchanges their ability to experience real happiness even in this life.

Debra Braun St. Agnes, St. Paul

Christianity more than ethics There has been a lively exchange in these pages about Catholicism and doctrine. Two points have been made: first, the Church must always affirm her whole body of teaching. Second, it is untrue to the Gospel to judge another by means of oversimplified litmus tests for faithfulness. I would add that Christianity is neither a morality nor an ethics. It’s true that there is a Christian morality. It’s true that there are Christian ethics. But Christianity itself is not the total collection of “truths” about morality and ethics (do this, don’t do that). Christianity is the devoted human response to the event of the Incarnation of God in Christ. My meeting with Christ is personal, for Christ has come to meet me as I am so as to make me something more. In a truly personal meeting I can be awakened to the other’s personal history with God. Only then can I “be Christ” for her. If I choose either condemnation or silence in the face of another’s doubt then I cancel out his personhood. But if I seek a personal meeting with the other in order to bring light to him from within his doubt — then I am imitating Christ, who does not come to condemn, but to save (Jn 3:17).

Father Byron S. Hagan, parochial vicar Holy Cross, Minneapolis

Better fact-checking The recent front page article on water quality (“What about Water?,” Aug. 24) began with the statement that half of the state’s lakes are too polluted for swimming and fishing. A quick reference to the Minnesota PCA’s website on impaired water shows that less than 10 percent of our lakes are listed as impaired. If the author of this article cannot get such a simple fact correct, why would we believe any other statement she makes? Shame on both her and the editors for failing to stop the spread of fake news.

Len Lorence St. Pius X, White Bear Lake Editor’s note: Unfortunately, we omitted the key qualifier that it’s in the southern half of the state that 50 percent of the lakes are often too polluted for swimming or fishing. Please see the correction on page 2 of this edition. We strive for high journalistic standards and with this mistake failed to meet them.

We sincerely apologize for the error.

Share your perspective by emailing CatholicSpirit@archspm.org. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

CALENDAR

September 14, 2017 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.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission.

Music

Retreats

Young adults

Organ recital at Immaculate Conception — Sept. 24: 2 p.m. at 4030 Jackson St. N.E., Columbia Heights. Organist Ray Bannon. parish.iccsonline.org/news/organ-recital.

Retreat for those in grief — Sept. 15-17: at 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. www.franciscanretreats.net/womens_retreat.aspx.

Archdiocese Young Adult Cookout — Sept. 30: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at Moir Park, 10320 Morgan Ave. S., Bloomington. Young adults ages 18-39. tiny.cc/diocese.

Parish events

Conferences/seminars/ workshops

Other events

Transfiguration Psalms Bible Study — Sept. 12-Dec. 5 (except Oct. 31 and Nov. 21): 9–11 a.m. at 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. Registration deadline Aug. 31. 651-238-0645 or jcstudy@transfigurationmn.org.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: • Time and date of event • Full street address of event • Description of event • C ontact information in case of questions ONLINE: www.thecatholicspirit.com/

St. Patrick garage sale — Sept. 13–16: 5–9 p.m.

Sept. 13: 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. Sept. 14; 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Sept. 15; 8:30 a.m.–noon Sept. 16 at 6820 St. Patrick’s Lane, Edina. www.stpatrick-edina.org.

How to be Married and Stay Engaged — Sept. 18: 7–9 p.m. at St. William, 6120 5th St. N.E., Fridley. Dr. James Healy will present. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. $25/couple. www.engagedcouples.wix.com.

“Catholicism: The Pivotal Players” Bible study — Tuesdays, Sept. 29-Dec. 12: 7–8:30 p.m. at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. www.saintmark-mn.org.

calendarsubmissions

FAX: 651-291-4460 MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106

More online:

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St. Maron Lebanese Festival — Sept. 23-24: 1–8 p.m. Sept. 23; 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sept. 24 at 602 University Ave. N.E., Minneapolis. Authentic Lebanese cuisine, beer and wine, raffle, silent auction, country store, gift shop, games, Cedars Dabke dance group and live music. www.stmaron.com/events.html.

Prayer/worship Dining out Pancake Breakfast — Sept. 17: 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com.

Spaghetti Dinner for Vocations — Sept. 23: 4:30–7:30 p.m. at Epiphany School cafeteria, 1100 Hanson Blvd. N.W., Coon Rapids.

CCW salad luncheon at Holy Trinity — Sept. 28: 11 a.m.–1 p.m. at 749 6th Ave. S., South St. Paul.

The Catholic Spirit • 23

Taize Prayer — Third Friday of each month: 7 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Taize Prayer — First Friday of each month: 7:30 p.m. at St. Richard, 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. www.strichards.com/first-fridays.

Polka Mass at St. Richard — Sept. 30: 5 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S., Richfield. Mass will be followed by more live music, food and dancing in the social hall. www.strichards.com.

Spiritual Direction and the Journey with God — Sept. 19: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Art Speaks Into Life — Sept. 26: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. 651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Singles Sunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sundays: For Catholic singles to meet and make friends. The group usually meets in St. Paul on Sunday afternoons. Kay at 651-426-3103 or Al at 651-482-0406.

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

Knights of Columbus bingo — Wednesdays: 6–9 p.m. at the Solanus Casey Council Hall, 1920 S. Greeley St., Stillwater.

Art and spirituality art exhibit — Aug. 20-Nov. 1: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

651-777-7251 or www.stpaulsmonastery.org.

Women’s Life Care Center Family Fun Festival — Sept. 16: 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at 2900 Rice St., Suite No. 380, Little Canada. www.wlccforlife.com/volunteer.

Housing for All bus tour — Sept. 19: 5–8 p.m.

Meet at St. Gerard Majella, 9600 Regent Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. Sponsored by St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove. www.sjtw.net/housing-for-all.

Aim Higher Foundation Night of Light — Sept. 22: 6–9 p.m. at JW Marriott Minneapolis, Mall of America, 2141 Lindau Lane, Bloomington. www.aimhigherfoundation.org/night-of-light.

Schools

Women With Spirit Bible Study — Tuesdays Sept. 26-April 10: 9:30–11:30 a.m. at Pax Christi, 12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie. University-based teachers. $100. www.paxchristi.com.

Cadet Coffee and admissions informational sessions — Sept. 21, Oct. 5: 9–10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas Academy, 949 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights. www.cadets.com.

Project Life fundraising banquet: 30 Years Continuing the Legacy — Sept. 28: 6–9 p.m. at Envision Event Center, 484 Inwood Ave., Oakdale. www.stillwaterprojectlife.org.

Speakers Pro-life update — Sept. 25: 7–8 p.m. at St. Albert, 11400 57th St. N.E., Albertville. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life education presentation. www.mccl.org.

Find fall festivals in the

2017 Parish Festival Guide

“Faith throughout my Misdiagnosis” — Sept. 26: 7–8:30 p.m. at Maternity of Mary, 1414 N. Dale St., St. Paul. Jean Abbott will describe living with a medical misdiagnosis for thirty years as she kept the faith. www.maternityofmarychurch.org.

thecatholicspirit.com/festivals

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24 • The Catholic Spirit

THE LAST WORD

September 14, 2017

LEFT Leopold Maas places the vested priest figure into his Lego Mass scene in the dining room of his St. Paul home.

His father, Stephen, created the Lego Mass kit and sells it to families who wish to have a Catholic themed Lego set.

Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit BELOW From left, Rebecca, Leopold and Stephen Maas of Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul work on assembling a Lego Mass set.

Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit

Building faith brick by brick Father Leopold Lego kit brings the Mass to children

By Kateri Schmidt For The Catholic Spirit

S

tephen and Jennifer Maas’ family business, Domestic Church Supply Company, carries one product: a Lego kit that brings the mystery of the Mass into the living rooms of families around the world.

“Father Leopold Celebrates Mass” began as a quirky passion project, but it has morphed into a popular and successful ministry for Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul parishioners Stephen, 39, and Jennifer, 42, and their five homeschooled children, the oldest of whom is 10-year-old Leopold, whom they call “Leo.” It all began during the search for Leo’s first Communion present. Among the standard rosaries, devotionals and holy cards, nothing seemed likely to excite their young son.

What they wanted was a Lego kit that Leo — an avid Lego fan — could use to act out the Mass. There was just one problem: It didn’t exist. “So,” said Stephen, “that got me thinking: How come there’s no priest in Legoland?”

That question launched a year-and-a-half-long process of “tinkering.” Stephen raided his son’s Lego bins and began fiddling with different brick combinations. Leo’s first Communion came and went as Stephen continued to test out miniature altars and ambos, going through eight or nine versions of a Lego tabernacle.

Wanting the set to be as complete as possible, Stephen found someone who could print a white collar onto a black-clothed Lego figurine and gold etching onto Lego “books” to create a lectionary and Roman Missal. For the vestments, he began roaming through fabric stores searching for a lightweight material that would lie flat on the small figure. (He finally settled on Nike athletic fabric, laser-cut for the purpose.)

The whole family got involved, taking notes whenever visiting a new church. The kids and their friends acted as consultants, testing out an early version of the instruction manual.

The Maases knew that they wanted to share the product they were creating with others, so as they tinkered, they began asking a crucial question: Would it sell? They researched potential copyright issues and discovered that, according to the first-sale doctrine, once a product has been purchased, the original creators have no say in what happens to it.

They took the plunge.

Stephen ordered supplies from BrickLink, an online store where Lego enthusiasts can buy huge quantities of bricks in specific sizes, shapes and colors from collectors around the world. He and Jennifer got to work assembling the kits each night after the kids went to bed.

The product launched at the Minnesota Catholic Homeschool Conference in May 2015. Word spread on social media. Soon, Catholic bookstores across the United States and the United Kingdom, including the online store Holy Heroes, began requesting their product. Laurie Murphy, a former employee of St. Patrick’s Guild in St. Paul, says it was one of their biggest sellers. Orders are also taken at the Maas’ website, www.domesticchurchsupply.com.

“It’s really grown itself,” Stephen said. He and Jennifer now hire an employee to assemble the kits in an outbuilding behind their house. Due to the cost of bricks and the time needed for assembly, the finished sets cost $49.99.

Stephen’s previous work as a graphic designer means that each finished kit looks entirely professional, down to a beautifully photographed box and glossy instruction manual (neither of which bear the Lego logo). The kits contain 174 genuine Lego bricks, including three modified bricks (the collar, lectionary and Roman Missal), plus four vestments (in green, white, purple and red).

But it’s the innovative details that make the product stand out. That cross atop the tabernacle? In typical

Lego sets, it serves as old-fashioned wheel spokes.

Those graceful candlesticks? Made with tiny Lego telescopes. In addition to the tabernacle, altar, ambo, presider’s chair and credence table, there are cruets, a lavabo dish, a paten with hosts, a chalice, candles and a sanctuary lamp. A tiny “bone” serves as a saint’s relic inside the altar.

The name “Father Leopold” is inspired by St. Leopold Mandic, a 5-foot-4-inch Croatian priest and renowned confessor — and Leo Maas’ namesake.

Stephen and Jennifer have one goal in mind for their little business: to normalize the faith for children.

“We intended this to be primarily evangelistic in nature,” Stephen said. “Our goal was to get boys to bring their Lego Batmen to [play] Mass.”

Father Leopold seeks to demystify the rituals of the faith, showing kids that the Mass and the priesthood are integral parts of everyday life.

They are certainly succeeding. Online at Holy Heroes, one commenter notes, “We gave this to my 8 yr old on his 1st Communion, and he immediately opened the box, built the model and ‘had Mass’ in our living room. ... A wonderful gift!” Online videos show kids modifying the set for traditional Latin Masses, Anglican liturgies and more. It is popular with religious education and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd programs.

“All of those details provide an opportunity to teach children about the elements of the Mass,” said Mary Harens, who has bought several kits for her young godsons and one for a seminarian friend to share with his nieces and nephews. “It’s an easy evangelistic gift. ... The combination of a secular toy with a Catholic message is just perfect.”

The sets’ fans have more to look forward to. The Maases plan to launch a confessional set in the spring of 2018, and they are also expecting to design a line of saint, pope and bishop mini-figures sometime in the future.

One thing is clear: Legoland will never be the same.