September 15, 2022 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis The sharing continues Mary Jo Copeland brings heart, hugs and hope to thriving ministry as she nears 80th birthday — Pages 11-13 UNITY CATHOLIC: Meet the newest Catholic high school in archdiocese — Page 5 PREGNANCY CENTERS ‘ALERT’ 6 | SACRED MUSIC SERIES 7 | HOW TO TALK ABOUT ABORTION 8 BLESSED JOHN PAUL I 9 | PRIEST RETIREMENTS 14 | DISCERNING LIFE AFTER WORK 17
In the Aug. 25 issue, “Archbishop Hebda: Immigration policy should include mercy” gave an incorrect date for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. It is Sept. 25.
NEWS notes
The annual Archdiocesan Candlelight Rosary Procession from the State Capitol to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul led by Bishop Joseph Williams will be held Oct. 7, with a 6:30 p.m. lineup and 7 p.m. start. Parishes are encouraged to bring banners to represent their communities in this public witness to the Catholic faith. The event concludes at the Cathedral with Marian prayers, eucharistic adoration and Benediction. Organizers are seeking volunteers, who can contact Connie Schneider at connieSchneider@earthlink net
are exempt from certain non-discrimination mandates under Title IX’s religious exemption, Catholic schools are able to continue to participate in the federal school lunch program while integrating Catholic teaching and deeply held religious beliefs on sexual identity and gender ideology, an Aug. 12 memo to local Catholic schools from two offices in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis confirmed. The memo from the Office of the Civil Chancellor and the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education responded to correspondence in May from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that appeared to imply that schools that participated in the federal school lunch program have to adhere to certain policies that contradict Church teaching. As some Catholic schools petitioned for religious exemption from the policy, the USDA clarified Aug. 12 that religious schools are not required to seek an exemption.
COURTESY ST. THERESE
PRACTICING Catholic
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
ON THE COVER Mary Jo Copeland radiates joy as she visits with families staying at her transitional housing facility — Mary’s Place — that is part of Sharing and Caring Hands. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul-Twin Cities is holding its Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul celebration Sept. 23 at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at 5 p.m. Mass, and there will be a 6 p.m. social hour and 7 p.m. dinner. A freewill offering is suggested and a silent auction will be held. People can register with Serina Drake at 612-803-3648 or Serinadrake@SvdPmPlS org
Becauseadvancement.they
More than 300 backpacks full of school supplies, a goal of more than $200,000 to help build homes, and an effort through September to collect baby and household items will assist members of the sister parish of St. Michael in Prior Lake — Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chimbote, Peru. “It’s been exciting,” said Father Tom Walker, pastor of St. Michael, which has been supporting the Chimbote parish since 1996. Father Walker has been on two mission trips to the region in his seven years as pastor. Another trip is planned for 2023.
BREAKING GROUND Archbishop Bernard Hebda joins others to break ground Sept. 1 for St. Therese of Corcoran senior living community in Corcoran. The archbishop also offered a blessing for the site and the more than 50 people who were there, including Corcoran Mayor Tom Mckee and St. Therese CEO Craig Abbott. The Corcoran facility is expected to open in April 2024, joining a network of nonprofit St. Therese senior housing and services that includes sites in Brooklyn Park, New Hope and Woodbury. St. Therese was founded in 1964 by the late Father Gordon Mycue of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, two laypeople and a Benedictine sister. The nonprofit continues to promote Benedictine values of spirituality, hospitality, helping others and valuing each individual. Each community offers at least two Masses a week, rosaries, adoration and other spiritual benefits.
On the Sept. 9 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviews Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who delivers his latest “Mass class” on preparation of the gifts and the eucharistic prayer. The latest show also includes interviews with Father Paul Hedman, parochial vicar of St. Peter in Forest Lake, who describes balancing his roles of priest and teacher at the parish; and Mark McInroy, associate professor of theology and associate chair of the theology department at the University of St. Thomas, who discusses the theology of beauty. Find interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing catholic Show with links to podcasting platforms.
A penitential pilgrimage acknowledging the often-negative effects on Native Americans of residential boarding schools run from 1819 to 1996 in the United States will be held at a number of sites in Minneapolis Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. “Walking Together: Twin Cities — A Penitential Pilgrimage with St. Kateri Tekakwitha and Servant of God Black Elk” will begin with a watch fire prayer vigil from 6 p.m. Sept. 30 to 6 a.m. Oct. 1 at Gichitwaa Kateri parish. At 9 a.m., a 2.5-mile pilgrimage walk will begin at the Basilica of St. Mary and conclude at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. A speaker will address the pilgrims, Archbishop Bernard Hebda will lead a prayer and there will be a meal and fellowship.
At a Catholic School Leadership Banquet Sept. 9, the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, along with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, recognized 19 heads of Catholic schools who have reached significant years-of-service milestones or recently retired. Held at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, the event brought together more than 170 leaders from Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to celebrate their work and accomplishments, especially through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline OMCE’s plans and goals for the year ahead.
Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper. Subscriptions: $29.95 per year; Senior 1-year: $24.95. To subscribe: (651) 291-4444: Display Advertising: (651) 291-4444; Classified Advertising: (651) 290-1631. Published semi-monthly by the Office of Communications, Archdiocese of “Paul and Minneapolis, 777 Forest “, “Paul, MN 55106-3857 • (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at “ Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 777 Forest “, “Paul, MN 55106-3857. TheCatholicSpirit.com • email: tcssubscriptions@archspm.org • USPS #093-580 The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 27 — No. 17 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor 2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 CORRECTION
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St. Paul’s Outreach announced Sept. 8 its organization’s second president: David Fischer, SPO’s current executive vice president. Fischer assumes the role from Gordy DeMarais, who founded the organization in 1985 and plans to continue helping it. Inver Grove Heights-based SPO is a campus evangelization ministry that trains young adults to serve at colleges across the United States. Fischer served as an SPO missionary from 20012003. He also worked as director of legal affairs for the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul prior to coming to SPO in 2015 to serve as vice president for
DUNK THE PRINCIPAL Benito Matias, principal of Ascension Catholic School in north Minneapolis, sits atop his perch in a dunk tank while a young, would-be dunker attempts to hit the bullseye that will send Matias into the water during Ascension’s Back to School Block Party Sept. 1. The annual event takes place the Thursday before Labor Day weekend, and Matias takes his turn in the dunk tank so that students and families can give him a warm — and, hopefully wet — welcome. “I get in it each year with my dunktank suit, so I have a really good time with the families,” said Matias, 49, who is entering his 10th year at Ascension and seventh as principal. This year, enrollment at the K-8 school is 333, up from 280 last year. “That’s a pretty big jump for us that we’re really, really excited about,” Matias said.
he beginning of September always brings me another birthday. While it is somewhat concerning that they seem to be coming more quickly in recent years, I always welcome my birthday as an opportunity to thank God and my parents for the gift of life. That I now legitimately qualify for the senior price reduction at my barber shop has been an additional reason to celebrate this year.
su exhortación apostólica de 2016, Amoris Laetitia, escribió sobre el papel fundamental que desempeñan las personas mayores en la transmisión de la fe y, en general, en cimentar nuestras comunidades en la verdad del pasado: “Escuchar a los ancianos contar sus historias es bueno para niños y jóvenes; los hace sentir conectados con la historia viva de sus familias, sus barrios y su país”. Al observar que “la memoria es necesaria para el crecimiento”, concluyó que “conocer y juzgar los eventos pasados es la única forma de construir un futuro significativo”. Puedo atestiguar que aprecié especialmente durante los tres años de nuestro proceso sinodal las ideas compartidas por los Simeones y Anás entre nosotros, aprovechando sus décadas de experiencia.
T
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3
El Papa Francisco ha reconocido a menudo el tesoro que nuestros hermanos y hermanas mayores representan para nuestra Iglesia. En
Compartir regalos, sin nuestraimportaredad
I love the implication that aging can be a pathway to sanctification and that there’s a saintly way to grow old. Even as St. Philip himself experienced the
Por diseño de Dios, tenemos importantes dones para compartir con nuestra Iglesia sin importar nuestra edad. Incluso cuando las limitaciones de la salud nos impiden participar precisamente de la misma manera que lo hicimos cuando éramos jóvenes, todavía tenemos algo importante que aportar. Oremos por una gratitud más profunda por los dones que Dios nos ha dado y por los dones tan evidentes en nuestros hermanos y hermanas mayores. Enriquecidos por esa gratitud, animémonos unos a otros a un servicio aún mayor y más gozoso, con la mirada puesta únicamente en Jesús, Aquel que se humilló a sí mismo para asumir la carne humana y crecer en edad.
E
Muchosviejos.deustedes me han escuchado predicar en el pasado sobre San Felipe Neri, un santo italiano que revitalizó la Iglesia de Roma en el siglo XVI a través de su ministerio particularmente gozoso. Como seminarista en Roma, a menudo visitaba la capilla donde estaba enterrado su cuerpo cuando
l comienzo de septiembre siempre me trae otro cumpleaños. Si bien es un poco preocupante que parezcan estar llegando más rápido en los últimos años, siempre recibo mi cumpleaños como una oportunidad para agradecer a Dios ya mis padres por el regalo de la vida. Que ahora califico legítimamente para la reducción de precio para adultos mayores en mi barbería ha sido una razón adicional para celebrar este año.
Somos bendecidos en esta Arquidiócesis por el ejemplo inspirador de tantos sacerdotes mayores y mujeres y hombres consagrados que continúan brindando un testimonio convincente de lo que Cristo puede hacer en la vida de aquellos que dicen “sí” a su llamado. Siempre me motiva su disposición a derramar sus vidas en un servicio humilde mucho después de que sus
Sharing gifts, no matter one’s age
Our parishes and families are likewise sustained and enriched by the active involvement of lay leaders who serve so generously in their golden years. I recently had the opportunity to spend a delightful evening with the Ambrosians, a group at the parish of St. Ambrose in Woodbury for those over the age of 50. The energy in the room clearly rivaled that of any youth group. I loved hearing of their commitment to Christian service, spiritual growth and socializing for the purpose of building community. They’re supporting food shelves and serving at shelters and nursing homes, they are volunteers for parish festivals and events, and they serve as our faithful lectors and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, all the while giving witness to their children and grandchildren.WhenIthink
about the many groups like that around the archdiocese, a veritable army of the faithful to be mobilized, I feel so blessed to be here.
Nuestras parroquias y familias también son sostenidas y enriquecidas por la participación activa de líderes laicos que sirven tan generosamente en sus años dorados. Recientemente tuve la oportunidad de pasar una agradable velada con los Ambrosianos, un grupo en la parroquia de St. Ambrose en Woodbury para personas mayores de 50 años. La energía en la sala claramente rivalizaba con la de cualquier grupo de jóvenes. Me encantó escuchar sobre su compromiso con el servicio cristiano, el crecimiento espiritual y la socialización con el propósito de construir una comunidad. Están apoyando los estantes de alimentos y sirviendo en refugios y hogares de ancianos, son voluntarios para festivales y eventos parroquiales, y sirven como nuestros lectores fieles y ministros extraordinarios de la Sagrada Comunión, mientras dan testimonio a sus hijos y nietos. Cuando pienso en los muchos grupos como ese alrededor de la Arquidiócesis, un verdadero ejército de fieles para ser movilizados, me siento muy bendecido de estar aquí.
A veces me pregunto si mi sentido de la edad es exacto. Incluso cuando mi padre estaba cerca de los 90, comentaba sobre los hábitos de conducción de las “personas mayores” en Florida de una manera que demostraba claramente que él no se veía a sí mismo en esa categoría. En una sociedad que valora tanto a la juventud, existe una resistencia a admitir que nos estamos haciendo
compañeros en el mundo secular se hayan jubilado. Es notable la frecuencia con la que nuestros sacerdotes jubilados responden a las llamadas para unciones de emergencia en nuestros hospitales o cobertura de misas en nuestras parroquias. ¡Gracias!
ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA
Church. In his 2016 apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” he wrote of the vital role that senior citizens play in passing on the faith and, more generally, grounding our communities in the truth of the past: “Listening to the elderly tell their stories is good for children and young people; it makes them feel connected to the living history of their families, their neighborhoods and their country.” Observing that “memory is necessary for growth,” he concluded that “knowing and judging past events is the only way to build a meaningful future.” I can attest that I especially appreciated throughout the three years of our Synod process the insights shared by the Simeons and Annas in our midst, drawing on their decades of experience.ByGod’s design, we have important gifts to share with our Church no matter our age. Even when the limitations of health prevent us from engaging in precisely the same way that we did when we were young, we still have something significant to contribute.Letuspray for a deeper gratitude for the gifts that God has given to us, and for the gifts so evident in our older sisters and brothers. Enriched by that gratitude, may we encourage one another to even greater and more joyful service with our eyes fixed only on Jesus, the one who humbled himself to take on human flesh and to grow in age.
Pope Francis has often recognized the treasure that our senior brothers and sisters represent for our
I love the implication that aging can be a pathway to sanctification and that there’s a saintly way to grow old.
physical limitations that often come with advanced years, his generosity and joy continued to attract others to him, especially young adults who were otherwise losing their way. His brother Oratorians found his pastoral zeal to be inspiring up until the end of his life at age 80.
Many of you have heard me preach in the past on St. Philip Neri, an Italian saint who revitalized the Church of Rome in the 16th century through his particularly joyful ministry. As a seminarian in Rome, I would often make a visit to the chapel where his body was interred on my way to and from class, and I soon came to appreciate both his example and his intercession, especially in my own vocational discernment.Notsurprisingly, the parishioners at the Church that he built (still called “Chiesa Nuova” — the New Church — after 400 years), would often pray a litany to St. Philip. I always found particularly intriguing one of the invocations in that litany: “Modello della vecchiaia, prega per noi,” translated by St. John Henry Newman, an Oratorian son of St. Philip, as “Picture of old age, pray for us.”
We are blessed in this archdiocese by the inspiring example of so many senior priests and consecrated women and men who continue to provide a compelling witness to what Christ is able to do in the lives of those who say “yes” to his call. I am always motivated by their willingness to pour out their lives in humble service long after their peers in the secular world have retired. It’s remarkable how often the calls for emergency anointings in our hospitals or Mass coverage in our parishes are answered by our retired priests. Thank you!
iba y venía de clase, y pronto llegué a apreciar tanto su ejemplo como su intercesión, especialmente en mi propio discernimiento vocacional.
No es sorprendente que los feligreses de la iglesia que él construyó (todavía llamada “Chiesa Nuova” — a Iglesia Nueva — después de 400 años), a menudo rezaran una letanía a St. Philip. Siempre encontré particularmente intrigante una de las invocaciones en esa letanía: Modello della vecchiaia, prega per noi, traducida por St. John Henry Newman, un oratoriano hijo de St. Philip, como “Imagen de la vejez, ruega por nosotros”. Me encanta la implicación de que el envejecimiento puede ser un camino hacia la santificación y que hay una forma santa de envejecer. Incluso cuando el mismo St. Philip experimentó las limitaciones físicas que a menudo vienen con la edad avanzada, su generosidad y alegría continuaron atrayendo a otros, especialmente a los adultos jóvenes que de otra manera estaban perdiendo el rumbo. Sus hermanos oratorianos encontraron inspirador su celo pastoral hasta el final de su vida a los 80 años.
I sometimes wonder if my sense of age is accurate. Even when my father was pushing 90, he would comment on the driving habits of the “old people” in Florida in a way that clearly demonstrated that he didn’t see himself as being in that category. In a society that so highly values youth, there’s a resistance to admitting that we are getting old.
FROMTHEARCHBISHOP
Notre Dame Sister Rose Anthony Krebs, center, loads her belongings on a cart Sept. 6 as she prepares to move into Benedictine Living Community in Shakopee. Helping her are two family members who also are School Sisters of Notre Dame: Sister Rose Marie Krebs (her sister), left, and Sister Lavonne Krebs (her niece), right. The three all lived at the Our Lady of Good Counsel campus in Mankato. Sister Rose Marie and Sister Lavonne moved to Shakopee Aug. 29, with a total of about 100 School Sisters expected to be moved in by Nov. 10. The order is working with a developer for the purchase of its Mankato campus, which the sisters established in 1912 and served as a provincial house.
together…thatFamiliesmove
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4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 LOCAL
Now that the school is Unity Catholic, it will invest in a new logo, signage and
and desires of each student, he said.
letterheads, and increase its marketing efforts, Cassady said.
PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Ryan Kracht, a mechanical and project engineer, and his wife, Tracy, saw their 19-year-old twins graduate last year from Unity, and two more of their 10 children are at the school now. As graduates, Catherine works at Guiding Star Wakota pregnancy resource center in West St. Paul and Clare is a machinist in Burnsville.
The closest Catholic high schools to Unity are about nine miles north: St. Thomas Academy and Visitation School, both in Mendota Heights, and Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. Unity is the only Catholic high school in the metro area south of Interstate 494.
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“I am proud to be able to say that as of now, all of our students attend Unity Catholic High School,” Cassady said, also noting that the efforts began well before he became principal July 1.
Unity Catholic was founded in 2018 by Tom Bengtson, who helped launch Chesterton Academy in 2008, and retired NFL player and former Minnesota Viking Matt Birk, who is now running for lieutenant governor. It is organized around four pillars: academics, virtue, leadership and service.
By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 LOCAL THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5
“We’re interested in a solid Catholic education,” Ryan Kracht said. “It’s comforting that all the teachers share that and think it’s really important.” The school also is attractive because it doesn’t strive simply to be an elite step into a four-year degree, but considers the talents
“That seemed like real world to my wife and I,” Kracht said.
The curriculum relates academics to life experiences and needs, including weekly “real world Wednesdays” with hands-on cooking, car maintenance, managing personal budgets and other tasks. The goal is forming graduates in Catholic theology, spirituality and virtue while preparing them to pursue any number of options such as higher education, the military or immediately entering the workforce, Cassady told The Catholic Spirit.
Emily Dahdah, director of the Department of Educational Quality and Excellence in the archdiocese’s Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, said it’s exciting to have another “educational institution that wants to partner with the Church.”“AsCatholic educators, we are preparing children for the world,” she said, helping to answer the question: “What does it mean to be a spiritual creature in the image and likeness of God?”
ABOVE From left, juniors Austin Alschlager, Carly Bonfe, Lilly Bradford and Andrew Gansler engage in discussion during English class at Unity Catholic High School in Burnsville. BELOW Teacher Mary Buffie and a student talk in economics class.
Bernard Hebda signed the document on the feast of the school’s patroness, St. Teresa of Kolkata, Principal Joe Cassady wrote Sept. 8 in an open letter to the families of Unity’s 70 students in grades 9-12.
Math teacher Erin Breid said she was among the first teachers at Unity, which now has a faculty and staff of 12. Gaining recognition as a Catholic school affirms “everything we were already doing,” Breid said. “It’s great to be able to put that name on it and show people that’s important to us as a school.”
The high school is in a former religious education center attached to Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville. The building can accommodate up to 200 students, Cassady said.
Burnsville school joins 15 other Catholic high schools in archdiocese
A three-year process culminated Sept. 5 as Unity High School in Burnsville was officially recognized as a Catholic school, joining 15 other Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The change is reflected in the school’s new name: Unity Catholic HighArchbishopSchool.
“I think it will help recruit students,” he said. “We haven’t done a lot of marketing yet in the Twin Cities or even south of the Twin Cities. We wanted to wait to push our name out there.”
“CPCs are private organizations that attempt to prevent or dissuade pregnant people from accessing their constitutionally protected right under the Minnesota Constitution to a safe and legal abortion,” the alert states.
Twin Cities pro-life leaders decried an Aug. 23 consumer alert issued by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison criticizing the state’s crisis pregnancy centers, with one leader calling it “horribly disingenuous and harmful.”Theimpact of Ellison’s statement is to besmirch the good work of pregnancy resource centers and put people on notice that he has a target on their back, said Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel for the Minnesota Catholic Conference.
— Barb Umberger
The alert can be found at ag state mn us/ abortionrights
Any impact of the alert on pregnancy resource centers was not immediately apparent. Calls to 10 local pregnancy resource centers Sept. 2 found that none had received questions in person or by phone regarding the consumer alert after itsAdkinsrelease.said he thinks Ellison hopes to generate complaints against pregnancy resource centers, impose penalties and provide excuses for lawmakers to try to cut Positive Alternatives Grant funding, a state program that provides funding to some pregnancy resource centers as they “promote healthy pregnancy outcomes, and assist pregnant and parenting women in developing and maintaining family stability and self-sufficiency,” as the state’s Catholic bishops described it in JohnJune.Stiles, deputy chief of staff and media spokesperson for the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General, said several reasons prompted the attorney general’s alert. Ellison has issued other consumer alerts, including those addressing technology-related scams or warnings to be wary of door-todoor sales, he said. And the office has heard from some consumers who have concerns about “misrepresentations that some of these crisis pregnancy centers make,” Stiles said, such as not necessarily providing the services that they claim to.
‘DESIGNED TO DECEIVE’
Stiles said that above all, timing of the alert was prompted by national attention “suddenly focused on the right to abortion by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.”OnJune 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, striking down its 1973 Roe v. Wade and 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions. Abortion remains legal in Minnesota under the state constitution.OnJuly28, Ellison said he wouldn’t appeal a separate ruling in Minnesota that struck down most of the state’s restrictions on abortion as unconstitutional, saying the state was not likely to win an appeal and had spent enough time and money on the case.
The focus of its work is to ensure “equitable access to evidence-based reproductive health care and to secure transparency and accountability in government-funded programs for pregnant people.” To that end, the Alliance’s website says it partners with California Women’s Law Center and researchers across the country “to examine the expanding network of crisis pregnancy centers, which are anti-abortion organizations that undermine the reproductive autonomy of vulnerable pregnant people while purporting to assist them.”
The irony, he said, is that Minnesota’s abortion clinics are unregulated, and abortion advocates have fought proposals at the Capitol to be licensed and subject to the same regulations as ambulatory clinics.“And it is pro-choice politicians who have stood in the way of laws that could prevent something like the Kermit Gosnell incident from happening here,” he said, referring to a physician who was found guilty in 2013 of murdering three babies born alive in a Philadelphia abortion clinic. “Organizations that purport to stand for women should also care about their health and safety and not put the interests of abortion providers first.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison’s consumer alert referred to “a recent comprehensive study of the CPC industry” with a link to a report published by The Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. The report published data for centers in select states, including Minnesota, in a document titled “Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry in Nine States.” The Alliance describes itself as a collaboration of state-based law and policy centers working across the country to advance gender equality at the intersection of reproductive rights, economic justice, LGBTQ+ equality and genderbased violence.
Brian Gibson, executive director of St. Paul-based Pro-life Action Ministries, said Ellison’s consumer alert was “horribly disingenuous and harmful to these amazing places that help out so many in need.”
“He was supposed to be defending laws that would help protect women who are going for abortions, and he failed miserably in doing his duty there,” Gibson said. “And now he’s attacking the very places that offer real, concrete help, generously helping women all the time, helping families.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer alert June 1 titled “Know the Difference: Crisis Pregnancy Centers v. Reproductive Healthcare Facilities,” leading with a warning that crisis pregnancy centers do not provide comprehensive reproductive Massachusettshealthcare.
6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT LOCAL SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Because crisis pregnancy centers are unregulated under Minnesota law, the
Of the alleged problems listed in the attorney general’s report, Hansel took issue with all eight except for a phrase in one of them — that the number of crisis pregnancy centers may, in fact, outnumber abortion clinics in Minnesota by about 11to-1. That may be true, she said.
attorney general wanted to use the power of his office to let people know that they should be careful and ask exactly what services are provided and which are not, Stiles
By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit
Jill King, executive director of Lakes Life Care Center in Forest Lake, said she wishes the attorney general’s office had called her to verify critical information before issuing the alert. Pregnancy resource centers are not deceptive, she said.“We give information to women,” she said. “We provide facts. We feel like knowledge is power, and the more information a woman can have, the better choices she can make for herself and her baby.”
“Tens of thousands” of people have been helped by crisis pregnancy centers over the years, Gibson said, and “tens of thousands” of babies’ lives have been saved “and he’s attacking them without knowing what they do. He’s taking the word of pro-abortion activists, of which he is one, with no knowledge of the truth.”Lastyear, Elevate Life affiliates offered educational and, in many cases, medical services including ultrasound and pregnancy testing, to more than 7,500 clients, Hansel said. The organization’s
Adkinssaid.said there is no specific CPC regulatory framework, and CPCs come in all forms and offer different services. Some may have more regulatory oversight than others, he said.
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Attorney General Maura Healey issued a consumer alert July 6 with a warning that “CPCs do NOT provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare. CPCs are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing abortion care.”
“Whatever their services, these organizations are subject to all sorts of laws and regulations, including OSHA (workplace safety laws), charitable and nonprofit laws, deceptive trade practices, etc.,” Adkins said.
Executives at Minnesota pregnancy resource centers — sometimes called crisis pregnancy centers — and leaders in the pro-life movement disagree with that premise. Vaunae Hansel, president of the Eagan-based nonprofit Elevate Life, is one. Hansel, whose organization provides training and resources to a network of 37 pregnancy resource centers in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, said she was deeply saddened because the alert is not factual. She encourages people with questions to visit a local pregnancy resource center and ask about its services.
Asked by The Catholic Spirit for numbers and names of specific clinics accused of making misrepresentations, Stiles cited Minnesota statutes indicating
“Of course, PRCs should be truthful about what services they offer and what they do not,” Adkins said. “Not all of them have medical staff, nor do they hold themselves out as having such resources.”Manyfocus on connecting women with housing and providing a safe, nonjudgmental environment where women can access clothing and other support, Adkins said. “But this alert is a solution in search of a problem.”
investigative data and consumer complaints are classified as protected nonpublic or private data.
The attorney general’s alert states that “many so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) may pose as reproductive healthcare clinics despite not providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare to consumers,” and some don’t provide any health care services at all.
Asked by The Catholic Spirit whether the attorney general’s office considered looking for information from a neutral source, Stiles replied, “We consider the source well researched. Other attorneys general have issued alerts about CPCs,” citing California and Massachusetts.
Jacob Benda, the Chapel Arts Series’ director and a renowned organist, said that whether or not those attending the program are Catholic, they will be invited to experience beauty through music.
“I think that in the world and culture today, we need beauty,” he said.
He hopes the series can “model how people of different faiths can not only live together in harmony, but can also work together and can discover the treasures of each other’s faiths as well, which hopefully leads them to a respect that they are going to take into their lives after they leave St. Thomas,” he said.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 LOCAL THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7 DISCERNMENTUPCOMINGEVENTS! September 20 Andrew Dinner with Archbishop Hebda for men, age 16 and up September 23 – 25 Women’s Discernment Retreat for women, age 18 -28 October 28 – 30 Archbishop’sRetreatDiscernment for men, ages 17 – 24, who do not have a college degree October 29 Day of Discernment with Bishop Williams for men, who have a college degree November 17 – 19 Vianney Visit for men, High School Juniors and Seniors More information and registration links 10000vocations.orgat Uniting our local Church through need-to-know news and stories of faith.
By Anna Wilgenbusch
To open the season Oct. 1, the awardwinning and internationally-acclaimed organist Wolfgang Rubsam will perform an organ concert exclusively of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose music the artist has recorded professionally.
Performances continue through May, including concerts for Advent and Holy Week to draw the audience into contemplation of these liturgical events.
The Chapel Arts Series will culminate May 6 with organ concertos performed by Benda and accompanied by the UST orchestra. The full schedule of events is available at stthomas.edu/mission.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Jacob Benda, the director of the Chapel Arts Series at the University of St. Thomas, stands outside the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul, where the series’ performances are held.
For The Catholic Spirit
This fall, the University of St. Thomas will launch its second season of the Chapel Arts Series, an initiative that uses music, performed by world-renowned artists, as a mode of transcendence accessible to anyone.
The season, which is free to the public in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on the university’s St. Paul campus, promises diverse performances including a celebrated Bach master, a silent film accompanied by organ, and improvisational music inspired by a Jewish prayer.TheChapel Arts Series began last year under the leadership of Father Larry Snyder, who was then St. Thomas’ director for mission, and it continues under his successor, Jesuit Father Chris Collins. Father Snyder intended to create an opportunity for the UST community, as well as the greater Twin Cities, to access sacred music that can help people encounter God through beauty.
UST’s Chapel Arts Series opens second year
At the end of her freshman year, Albrecht became copresident of the club, which had only four members from a student body of 3,000. They knew they needed a new game plan and discovered the Equal Rights Institute. They all enrolled in its online Equipped for Life course.
They set up a table in the student union with a poll: Should abortion remain legal in the United States? “People would come up and voice their opinion on that … and we would engage in conversations with hundreds of students,” Albrecht said. “We did this constantly for three straight years … and if we fastforward to three years later, everything about my campus had changed.”
It was the year before Emily Albrecht enrolled at the school to study vocal music education, but the incident would deeply shape her college experience.
A group of mothers filed a motion to intervene in Ramsey County District Court Sept. 12, two months after a judge ruled July 13 that six laws regulating abortion in Minnesota were unconstitutional under the state constitution. The laws struck down included a 24-hour waiting period and requirements affecting minors, including parental notification for abortion-seeking girls under age 18.
Teresa Collett, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus, serves as lead counsel to “Mothers Offering Maternal Support,” a group of about 50 mothers of at least one minor daughter, who filed a motion Sept. 12 to intervene in Dr. Jane Doe, et al. v. State of Minnesota. She said she found it “astounding” that in three years of litigation, Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to consider a fact known to every parent of a teenager: They often make risky
The club witnessed an attitude shift on campus toward pro-life advocates, Albrecht said.
be genuine and loving, and at the same time, be able to engage with good arguments, be able to have these conversations and be respectful.”
The Minnesota Catholic Conference and other pro-life groups support MOMS’ efforts, said Jason Adkins, MCC’s executive director and general counsel. A decision on the motion is expected relatively soon, he said.
Albrecht, 23, is a speaker, writer and coach with the Equal Rights Institute, a secular pro-life organization that trains pro-life advocates to dialogue with pro-choice advocates. She is presenting “Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations About Abortion” Oct. 1 at Lumen Christi in St. Paul to prepare attendees for confident conversations about abortion.
“We figured out in about the first two seconds that it was the game changer that we were looking for,” Albrecht said. By the fall of 2019, “our very tiny club was now completely trained through ERI on how to talk to pro-choice people, how to understand their arguments, how to respond to them, how to create dialogue.”
During Albrecht’s senior year in 2021, the Northfield Women’s Center fundraising banquet returned to campus — and no students protested, she said.
uSponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Minnesota Catholic Conference uRegister at archspm org/events
decisions and are susceptible to stress andMOMSpressure.held a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol Sept. 13, where Collett and three members of MOMS spoke. Renee Carlson, general counsel for Minneapolis-based True North Legal, which supports the MOMS group’s effort, emceed the news conference.“Weareoptimistic that the district court judge will, in fact, allow us to enter the case, reopen the judgment and allow us to defend these laws that the attorney general failed to defend,” Collett said.
Mothers who have at least one minor daughter and are interested in becoming involved with the MOMS group can email momsofmn@protonmail com
EMILY ALBRECHT
However, “every single thing we tried failed epically,” she said. Club members spent hours putting up a prolife display with information they thought would appeal to students’ interest in equality, and it was torn down 13 times in a single week.
DAVE HRBACEK THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
u 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at Lumen Christi, 2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul u$15 half day, $20 full day
A parishioner of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Albrecht has worked for ERI since 2020, and she’s one of its most recognizable faces. She appears on ERI’s social media including YouTube, Facebook Reels and TikTok, and she co-hosts its podcast “Equipped for Life” with Josh Brahm, president of the North Carolina-based organization. For a pro-life person, “Your No. 1 goal is to show pro-choice people that you are not what they thought,” she said. “These stereotypes are abounding right now, and pro-life people are feeling scared and betrayed. ... Pro-life people have this incredible opportunity and even a little bit of an obligation to stand up to that, to demonstrate who we are.”
By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit
“I cannot tell you how many conversations I had at that table that ended with the pro-choice person saying to me something like, ‘I don’t know what to think right now. I need to take some time to process this, but I just want you to know that I really respect your club,’” she said. “We were taken seriously because even if people didn’t agree with our stance, they respected us because they genuinely had never seen pro-life people
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u”Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations About Abortion”
Before college, pro-life activism wasn’t on Albrecht’s radar. Her Catholic high school had a pro-life club, but the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, native wasn’t a member. “I was pro-life because that’s what my parents told me to be, and that’s what the Church told me to be,” she said. “So, when I got to college, I had zero plans to get involved.”ItwasAlbrecht’s roommate Meredith Maloley — now client services director at Northfield Women’s Center — who encouraged her to join the college’s pro-life club, Oles for Life. Members were painfully aware of campus animosity toward the pro-life movement, which had been on full display at the Northfield Women’s Center banquet“(Students)protest.managed to organize themselves and line the hallways of the student union with signs, screaming at the mostly elderly members of the community that had come to support the pregnancy resource center. That is what the St. Olaf campus was like when I got there,” Albrecht said. In that environment, she didn’t want to tell anyone she was pro-life, but acquiesced
After campus success, speaker helps pro-lifers improve arguments
Teresa Collett, center, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, talks during a news conference at the State Capitol Sept. 13 held by a group of mothers known collectively as MOMS — Mothers Offering Maternal Support.
In 2016, students at St. Olaf College in Northfield loudly protested as people arrived for a fundraising banquet for the Northfield Women’s Center, a pro-life pregnancy resource center, which was holding its event on St. Olaf’s campus.
By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
uEmily Albrecht of the Equal Rights Institute will share a tested set of practical tools to use in conversations about abortion. Participants will practice conversations with pro-life advocates who defend abortion with arguments based on difficult circumstances, biology, personhood and bodily autonomy.
HOW TO TALK ABOUT ABORTION
MOMS fight for abortion regulation return
with Maloley’s persistence.
Pope praises Gorbachev’s efforts at progress
Blessed John Paul’s holiness “is important for the Church and for the world today because it is through his example we are called back to the heart of Christian life, to the humility and goodness of a person who can see a sinner in need of mercy and who wants to serve” others, said the cardinal.
“Personally, I am totally convinced that he was a saint, because of his great goodness, simplicity, humanity and courage,” then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in an interview in 2003.
20 churchmen into the College of Cardinals. During the ceremony, each of the new cardinals, including Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, California, professed their faith by reciting the Creed and formally swearing fidelity and obedience to the pope and his successors. They approached Pope Francis, one by one, to receive their biretta, their cardinal’s ring and the assignment of a “titular” church in Rome.
God’s mailman: Blessed John Paul I always delivered Gospel with a smile
Catholic News Service
“For me, he was one of the greatest, most gifted popes of the 1900s,” she said.
Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1980, Cardinal McElroy, 68, was an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese from September 2010 until he was named to head the Diocese of San Diego in 2015.
as an instrument of God.
In a telegram sent to Gorbachev’s only child, Irina Virganskaya, the pope conveyed his “heartfelt condolences” to her, all family members and those “who saw him as an esteemed statesman” with a “far-sighted commitment to harmony and fraternity.” The Vatican published the telegram Aug. 31.
Gorbachev was known for his policies of “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (restructuring) that set the stage for the
He never picked up the papal tiara and he finally dropped the “royal We,” speaking directly in the first person with the endearing air of chatting with a friend. At his first Angelus address, he began simply, “Yesterday morning I went to the Sistine Chapel to vote tranquilly. Never could I have imagined what was about to happen!”Itwasn’t just the everyday Catholic who was touched by his familiarity, gentleness and deep love for God and his Gospel. His priests, family members, fellow bishops and cardinals were all similarly struck, especially by his ability to be kind and firm and demanding, as evidenced in another new book, “Il Postino di Dio” (“God’s Mailman”), illustrating the way he saw himself as a “carrier” of God’s word to the faithful.
This book collects the testimonies of several cardinals, including retired Pope Benedict XVI, who was one of the 111 cardinals who elected Italian Cardinal Albino Luciani as Pope John Paul I.
Invested Catholic Plan for forever, too.
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
“Let us pray, in his own words, ‘Lord take me as I am, with my defects, with my shortcomings, but make me become what you want me to be.’”
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9 NATION+WORLD Catholic FOUNDATIONCommunityOFMINNESOTA Learn more about planning an endowment. Call 651.389.0300 or visit ccf-mn.org causes Church,forever.yourgift can support your parish and favorite
Cardinal Stella said at the news conference he cherished his memories of Blessed John Paul, who was his bishop when he was a young seminarian and priest for the Diocese of Vittorio Veneto.
PAUL HARING | CNS
In a ceremony to create 20 new cardinals, Pope Francis encouraged the College of Cardinals to have the same spiritual zeal for all people, whether they are in positions of power or ordinary Christians.“Acardinal loves the Church, always with that same spiritual fire, whether dealing with great questions or handling everyday problems, with the powerful of this world or those ordinary people who are great in God’s eyes,” the pope said Aug. 20 during the consistory, a prayer service during which he personally welcomed
faith and values. By building an endowment into your estate plan, you can
As the sainthood cause of Blessed John Paul I reached a major milestone with his beatification at the Vatican in early September, promoters and supporters of his cause hope his legacy continues to get the attention it deserves.Hisbrief
CARDINAL MCELROY
Catholic News Service
pontificate did not do justice to a man who excelled as a gifted catechist, communicator and shepherd in his 23 years as a priest in the Italian Alps, 12 years as bishop in the pre-Alpine hills and eight years as patriarch of Venice, said Stefania Falasca, vice postulator of his cause.
the Vatican website has all of his papal talks translated into English, Spanish and other languages: a true rarity for papal remarks before 1996.
Always stressing political solutions over military action, he established the nonprofit Gorbachev Foundation in 1992 to address international socioeconomics and political studies, and in 1993 he founded the environmental organization Green Cross International.
Pope Francis offered his prayers and praise for former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who died at age 91 Aug. 30 in Moscow after a long illness.
His sainthood cause brought together so many pieces of evidence, background and direct testimonies regarding his 43 years of ordained ministry that they have finally been able to build a complete “reconstruction” of this figure, who was beatified for his lifetime of holiness, not his few weeks as pope, Falasca said. He could have been “a dock worker” or a “garbage collector,” she said. His holiness depended not on his job, but on living and communicating “the essence of the Gospel” and doing it in an extraordinary way.
and granted according to the teachings of the leave a legacy that reflects your
A man holds a photo of Pope John Paul I before the late pope’s beatification in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sept. 4.
Beatifying him in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said, “Let us pray to him, our father and our brother, and ask him to obtain for us ‘the smile of the soul’” that is “transparent, that does not deceive.”
The consistory brought to 226 the total number of cardinals in the world; 132 cardinals are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.
San Diego bishop among newest cardinals
Elected Aug. 26, 1978, Blessed John Paul brought quick quips and a storytelling form of preaching with him to Rome as pope, making an immediate impact on and heartfelt connection with his listeners.
Cardinal Beniamino Stella, postulator of Blessed John Paul’s cause, said the 19 years of meticulous historical research needed for the cause allowed for an official and “the first complete biography” of his life, published this year, “I Am the Dust.” The title comes from a favorite saying of the blessed, reflecting the way he saw himself
Known as “the smiling pope,” “the humble pope,” and “the pope who talked to children,’’ Blessed John Paul’s 34 days as pontiff are just the tip of the iceberg, she said. She and others spoke at a Vatican news conference ahead of his Sept. 4 beatification.
breakup of the Soviet Union and the return of religious freedom. He played a pivotal role in ending the Cold War of long-standing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union as well as the fall of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe into two separate political worlds of east and west. A Nobel Peace Prize awardee, he led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.
The official biography joins a growing collection of newly published works that are seeking to make these collected materials, especially those never-beforepublished, more accessible to the general public. Even
Planning for the future?
Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She acceded to the throne Feb. 6, 1952, and her coronation took place at Westminster Abbey June 2, 1953. The accession of 1952 made 2022 the year when the world’s oldest monarch and the longestserving monarch in British history celebrated the platinum jubilee of her reign — the point when Elizabeth had sat on the British throne for 70 years.
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uGermany’s fourth synodal assembly ends with reform proposals. The fourth of five plenary assemblies of the Synodal Path in Frankfurt ended Sept. 10 with a series of far-reaching reform resolutions, several to be considered by the pope. They concern, for example, the position of women and trans people in the Church, sexual morality, gay priests and the national leadership structure of the Catholic Church, reported German Catholic news agency KNA.
02 A portion of your payments may be tax free. And you may decrease your tax liability when you use appreciated assets for your gift. Depending on your personal situation, a portion of the capital gains may be either spread throughout the payments for your lifetime or deferred completely.
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Catholics in the United Kingdom paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her death Sept. 8 and the end of a reign that lasted more than 70 years.
Catholic News Service
You’ve worked hard. You’ve lived humbly. And you hope to have a lasting impact on your community. Perhaps you wish to make a legacy gift to your parish or favorite charity — but worry that if you do so now, you’ll outlive your savings.
10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT NATION+WORLD SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
is general and educational in nature. CCF and its staff do not provide individualized legal or tax advice. We recommend you consult
uPope issues new constitution, code for the Order of Malta. Culminating a multiyear effort, Pope Francis promulgated a new constitution and code for the Knights of Malta Sept. 3, appointed a provisional sovereign council and called for an extraordinary general chapter to be held at the start of the new year. Founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century, the Knights of Malta is a lay religious order recognized as a sovereign state by international law, which helps facilitate its mission of humanitarian and charitable assistance around the world and diplomatic relations with over 100 countries.
Split-interest gifts are an option that provide you income for today and establish your legacy forever. These include charitable gift annuities (CGAs) and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), which both offer great benefits.
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personal
Pope Francis sent a telegram addressed “To His Majesty the King, Charles III,” her son who immediately ascended to the throne.
your
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uAustralian bishops offer Catholic schools guidance on identity, gender. To assist the country’s almost 2,000 Catholic schools serving more than 780,000 students, the bishops released “Created and Loved: A guide for Catholic schools on identity and gender.” The guide outlines a pastoral approach that in part opposes non-biological gender affirmation and its medical interventions.
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The queen was able to witness the celebrations in her honor but handed over all of her public duties to her nearest relatives. Her final act of office was to receive Prime Minister Liz Truss in Scotland Sept. 6, when she was also last photographed.
“I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late queen’s eternal rest and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises,” Pope Francis said.
—Front.Catholic News Service
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uOklahoma death-row inmate executed by lethal injection. Ahead of Oklahoma’s Aug. 25 execution of death-row inmate James Allen Coddington, 50, the Diocese of Tulsa joined calls by a coalition of faith leaders and others for the Oklahoma governor to commute his death sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole. But an announcement midday Aug. 24 said Gov. Kevin Stitt rejected clemency for Coddington, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing a 73-year-old man with a hammer in 1997, when the inmate was 24.
And when you entrust the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota (CCF) to steward your gift, you can rest assured that your gift is invested in alignment with your Catholic faith. CCF’s investment practices leverage all three USCCB strategies for principled stewardship: Do No Harm, Active Corporate Participation, and Promote the Common Good.
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Elizabeth’s Christmas message from 2000, in which she said the teachings of Christ and her own “personal accountability before God” gave her a framework of how to live, and that Christ’s words and example offered her “great comfort in difficult times.”
The British sovereign died “peacefully” at Balmoral, the royal residence in Scotland, surrounded by members of her family. She was 96. The U.K. entered a 10-day period of
Catholics pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
In an appeal titled “No More War!” the bishops urged “all parties to cede their weapons and return to the peace option, to prioritize dialogue and an option that will end the suffering of our citizens.” The statement was dated Aug. 18 but released Sept. 2. Since Aug. 24, the fighting has shaped into a full-scale war between federal government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation
Queen Elizabeth died 17 months after the death of her husband, Philip, who died in April 2021 at age 99. Her 73year marriage to Philip was the longest of any British sovereign.
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uArriving in Kazakhstan, pope makes case for peace. Arriving in Kazakhstan, a country that borders Russia, Pope Francis said he came at a time when “our world urgently needs peace; it needs to recover harmony. I am visiting you in the course of the senseless and tragic war that broke out with the invasion of Ukraine, even as other conflicts and threats of conflict continue to imperil our times,” the pope said Sept. 13 in the capital city, Nur-Sultan, where he will attend the Sept. 14-15 Congress of World and Traditional Religions.
mourning.Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, paid tribute using many of the queen’s own words.“On
Income for Today, Legacy Forever
21 April 1947, on her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth said, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,’” Cardinal Nichols said. “Now, 75 years later, we are heartbroken in our loss at her death and so full of admiration for the unfailing way in which she fulfilled thatThedeclaration.”cardinalquoted Queen
uEthiopian bishops say “No more war!”As fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia, the nation’s bishops urged both parties to prioritize peace, saying women, children and the elderly had been most affected.
“People say I’m a
Christ. “I’m proud of you.”
She is decisive, pondering each query and making a decision in seconds. She offers $10 for laundry detergent, $20 for gas and a Visa card for insulin. She is unapologetic, telling one woman that her tennis shoes are just fine and declining a request for a cellphone.
Mary Jo holds Viviana Woods at Mary's Place.
the page. MARY JO COPELAND
their requests, and this morning, the 79-yearold is ready to do business — Post-Its at her left, rosaries on her right.
She sits in the corner of the sun-drenched room rimmed with sculpted butterflies, a small figure with a big presence, a humble worker and a celebrity-saint. She will be the arbiter of
She is both firm and comforting. “I don’t do funerals. Those funeral homes rip you off,” she tells a woman right before praying over her. “I’ll remember you. There’ll be no more tears or suffering.”Sheismeasured in her provisions. “I’ll give you bus tokens,” she says, “and if you get a job, I’ll give you a bus card.”
“You’ll always stay sober if you trust in him,” she says, peering into his eyes, speaking of
“Sometimes she’s got tough love. Both times she prayed for me, I got sober. I don’t think she’s a saint — I know.”
I
Tears stream down Bernadette’s face.
Next is a petite woman with a red rosary around her neck and a bag of microwave popcorn under her arm. “I’m making a change in my life,” she says.
80,
“I always loved Mary Jo,” she later says.
“You’ve been waiting for her to come back for a long time, and now she’s coming back.”
Mary Jo gives her a bus pass and a purple rosary. “You better keep it with you!” she says.
On the cusp of Mary Jo Copeland is unwavering
says. “No, I’m not. I’m just a servant. I don’t understand that. Maybe God never wanted me to understand that. He just wanted me to love and serve.”
She was widowed, she survived the height of the pandemic and she isn’t going anywhere. Checking in with the high-profile founder of Sharing and Caring Hands.
A tall man with dark, somber eyes approaches her. “Last year, you helped me stop drinking,” he tells her.
Her name is Bernadette. She’s a 55-year-old professional cleaner who was raised Catholic.
“I got robbed when I fell asleep at the bus stop,” a middle-aged woman tells Mary Jo.
Mary Jo Copeland hugs Aliyah Woods Aug. 18 at Mary’s Place, a transitional housing facility with apartments for families in need located next door to Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis. saint,” Mary Jo
Mary Jo sizes her up and prays to God:
A woman in a ballcap asks for money to buy food at Target Field. “She’s never been to a Twins Game! She wants a snack,” Mary Jo later relays. She is certain of her choice to give a little money. “The world would say, ‘How is she going to use that money?’ But that’s what Jesus would do.”
t’s 10:05 on a Wednesday morning, and 200 people stream into the vaulted cafeteria at Sharing and Caring Hands in downtown Minneapolis. Half head toward the breakfast buffet, and the other half line up to meet with Mary Jo Copeland. They need money, they need bus passes, they need vouchers, they need glasses, they need shoes. And — once they speak with her, they realize — they need her prayers.
For more on Mary Jo Copeland, turn
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
12 • SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 MARY JO COPELAND
“She’s holy,” Father Rohlfing says by way of explanation.“Butatthe same time,” he adds, “she’s real. She’s got her flaws and she knows them. Sometimes at Sharing and Caring Hands, she’ll look someone in the eyes and say, ‘I love you, but you’re going to have to go right now.’”
12 kids, endless laundry
In 1985 — once her nest was empty — she founded Sharing and Caring Hands, a humble storefront intended to be a safety net for those who couldn’t get help from the welfare system. Today, its scale has expanded but its approach is still modest. The center relies solely on donations from the community, not accepting federal or state aid. It is run almost entirely by volunteers who thrill at the chance to pray with Mary Jo and serve alongside her.
Her early years filled her with a compassion that now is a bridge for the poor and marginalized in her midst. “I can relate to them and they can relate to me. They’ve taught me to go on no matter what happens. Many of them don’t have religion when they come here. But they learn how to pray when they come here, in their own way.”The bonds Mary Jo forges at Sharing and Caring Hands are striking, Father Rolhfing said. “She has the ability to see Jesus in the poor. She just can. She has the charism of mercy. That’s a gift that allows her to see people’s needs.”
ABOVE LEFT Mary Jo stops in the entryway of Mary’s Place
As her milestone birthday nears, that gift is more pronounced. “It costs her more to continue her work,” Father Johnson said. “It’s a greater generosity of heart.”
Until a few months ago, she had refused the elevator, only taking the stairs. But a bad knee and sore foot finally brought an end to that boycott.
Prayer was a lifeline in her difficult childhood. “I’ve been doing the Stations of the Cross since I was a little girl,” she says. “I had a 10-cent booklet. That’s what softened my heart, to know God did such great suffering. I got sick a lot, and I thought about how much the Lord has endured — and his mother Mary. She never questioned it.”
The past few years have been turbulent. Her longtime husband, Dick, died two-and-a-half years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the world. While other shelters closed, Sharing and Caring Hands remained open, serving triple the crowd.
Mary Jo has made a few adjustments as she has aged. She delegates more, and her bad knee has required her to end her ritual of washing people’s feet.
A humble hero
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
“It taught me a lot of organization,” Mary Jo says. “I folded all those clothes on the steps, I ironed all those loads of wash every day. God wanted me to learn how to keep moving no matter what.”
“She is not of this world,” says longtime volunteer Maureen McNeary, a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings. “That’s the only way to explain how she can keep doing what she is doing, day in and day out. She’s taught me so many great lessons in surrendering and trusting God. Worry is useless energy, she says: ‘If God brought you to it, he’ll get you through it.’”
“You have to stand there for a minute!” she says. “That’s insane.”
She rises by 4 a.m. to pray and work. In her mission, she is unflinching and impatient, bothered by having to wait for an elevator.
Eyes on the cross
ABOVE RIGHT From left, Amelia Woods and Estreya Martinez
Next month, Mary Jo turns 80, and as she grapples with the constraints of an aging body, she is undeterred, pouring even more time and prayer into her ministry.
“If I don’t take care of myself, I can’t take care of others,” she says.
person just needs a prayer or for someone to be kind to them or when they need just plain financial help,” he said.Losing Dick meant no longer having her sounding board. “She’s had to do a little more now,” Barb said. “She’s done fantastic with that, and that’s due to her
ubbed “Minnesota’s Mother Teresa” and honored with a Presidential Citizens Medal, Mary Jo Copeland’s celebrity has grown along with her impact. The Minnesota native, a graduate of the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, is founder and director of Sharing and Caring Hands, a large facility behind Target Field that provides clothing and food to 300 to 500 poor and marginalized people daily. Next door, she operates Mary’s Place, transitional apartments for 600 that are trimmed in cheerful blue paint and lined by white rose bushes.
There was delight in the duty, with Dick as a loving partner. The couple danced every Saturday night — a tradition they continued for many decades, hitting up The Lookout in Maple Grove for the country bands.
“I struggle with being patient with things,” Mary Jo says. “This building wouldn’t be here if I had one ounce of patience in my fingernails. I have to have everything done in a second.”
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She does not look 80. “I think God is preserving her,” says her daughter Barb Copeland. “He has a lot of work forOtherher.” than the bend in her neck, Mary Jo looks untouched by time. Her hair — more pepper than salt — holds its signature curl, and her face is unwrinkled. It catches the light.
That’s not to say she’s stern. Mary Jo has a bubbling levity. She is young at heart, drawing children to her side. “When you don’t grow up,” Mary Jo says, grinning, “it’s a good feeling.”
A simple pleasure: eating cookie dough and watching a mystery on TV. “I like mysteries because I can figure out who killed that person. I used to work with the FBI. I love all those shows — “Chicago Fire” — because they save people. And I love “9-1-1” — ‘What’s your emergency?’”Aquiethour of TV is well earned. Mary Jo raised 12 children — six daughters, six sons — before launching her ministry. The Copeland family lived in a twobedroom expansion in north Minneapolis. The kids slept in bunk beds in the attic.
Sitting before that long line responding to request after request would be “super taxing” for most people, he said — but not Mary Jo. “She has the ability to know who is in need, what kind of need, is it genuine — when a
“She has changed,” says longtime friend Father Joseph Johnson, pastor of Holy Family in St. Louis Park. “Her self-gift is more transparent. Her life is being poured out. She jokes about how she’s bent over now and moving slower, but she’s still showing up and still giving of herself despite how she feels physically. What we see is a more transparent witness of what someone who has given her life entirely to Christ looks like.”
Like Father Rohlfing, McNeary senses holiness in Mary Jo’s radiant face. “She radiates a peace that surpasses all understanding. Her trust in God is so strong that it actually shows in her face. There is a calmness and serenity there in the midst of chaos. When you make real eye contact with her, it’s as if you can feel her loving soul envelop you.”
Her impatience is tied to her clarity of purpose, says Father Cory Rohlfing, pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault. He served on the Sharing and Caring Hands board for a decade and is Mary Jo’s spiritual director. “If she’s convinced this is God’s will, she moves. She’s decisive.”Herunwavering focus on God simplifies the equation. “She got over people-pleasing a long time ago,” Father Rohlfing said. “She’s not worried about what people think, she’s worried about, ‘Is this God’s will.’”
with each passing year, it feels more and more like her mission.“Iwant to bring prayer to the world,” Mary Jo says. “That’s my dream. The power and peace of prayer changes our lives. There wouldn’t be the turmoil in our world if our leaders would remember the power of prayer.”Shedoes it one by one, making her way through the long breakfast line with the offer of a rosary and a prayer. Not one is declined.
Maureen McNeary
BOTTOM Mary Jo hugs Jaida Clark.
gave it to Jesus. I know Dick is praying for me. I know he’sWidowhoodhere.”
Mary Jo Copeland takes a break from her daily routine to spend some time in the chapel at Mary’s Place. “Every day I get up and I say, ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, that I was worthy to be here.’ I’m just a nobody. I’m a simple little nobody.”
prayer life. She always tells the seminarians and priests that she focuses on that cross. That gives her that strength.”Two-and-a-half years after his death, she is still grieving. She’s lost 35 pounds since his death.
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13COPELAND
“She gives hope,” Barb says. “We need that more than ever, especially in these times. She has a simple faith. Nothing fazes her. When someone comes with all their life problems, she goes, ‘Well, you made it here! Everything is going to be fine.’ She was handpicked by God, and she’s got that trust.”
Martinez Ortiz greet Mary Jo during a weekly gathering with residents.
has given Mary Jo even more hours to pour into prayer. She often devotes three hours to prayer, beginning her first rosary each morning in the shower. It combats her worries about the state of the world. And
She radiates a peace that surpasses all understanding. Her trust in God is so strong that it actually shows in her face.
“It’s been so hard,” she says. “I sure miss him. But I
TOP Mary Jo takes a child’s hand as she walks with help from staffer Na Lee Lor.
It powers her, morning after morning.
Place to pray with members of a family as she exits the building following the weekly gathering.
“This is the hardest time I’ve ever experienced here, in all my years,” Mary Jo says. “People can’t find proper housing. Landlords are just putting them on the street. The price of food. Gun violence. The dysfunction, the sadness. I promised God he could count on me to finish his work. I live each day knowing that I’m serving him. He’ll bring me when the time is right. He keeps telling me there’s a lot more work for me to do.”
PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
s Father Paul Feela reflected on devoting half his 44 years as a priest to academia and the other half to parish work, he said is grateful for the ways that combination shaped his ministry.Fromteaching liturgical theology at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul for 23 years, Father Feela, 70, said he’s gained an understanding of the breadth of Catholic tradition. This wideness is important, he said, because it speaks beyond current concerns and problems.
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Of the 10 parishes where he’s served as pastor or associate since his 1983 ordination, the six years he spent serving smaller, rural communities at St. Michael in Pine Island and St. Paul in Zumbrota helped him get to know parishioners better.“I’m
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14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 FAITH+CULTURE
Father Feela said he saw this tradition embodied through the parishioners he’s served as a pastor or associate pastor in five parishes before and after his work at theAfterseminary.leaving the seminary faculty in 2003, Father Feela was assigned as pastor of Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park. Then, in 2007, he was named pastor of Lumen Christi in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, which consisted of three formerly separate parishes that had merged: St. Gregory, St. Leo and St. Therese. He ministered there until his retirement this summer to unite the Catholics who had been in the separate parishes.Ashetransitions into retirement in St. Paul, Father Feela wants to write and
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
FATHER TIM DOLAN
Ordination 1983 • St. Margaret Mary, Golden Valley 1983-1986, 1990-1995 • Holy Trinity, South St. Paul 1986-1987 • St. John the Evangelist, Little Canada 1987-1990 • St. Lawrence, Faribault 1995-1996 • St. George, Long Lake 1996-2003 • Annunciation, Minneapolis 2003-2005 • St. Michael, Pine Island 2005-2011 • St. Paul, Zumbrota 2005-2011 • Our Lady of the Lake, Mound 2011-2013 • St. William, Fridley 2013-2016 • Retired 2021
a city kid, so I never would have thought that I would have enjoyed living in the small town down there and just ministering to those two communities, but I did,” said Father Dolan, 66, who grew up in south Minneapolis.
FATHER PAUL FEELA
“We can always fall back to the way people have lived faith in the past as a way to just see how we can live things in the now,” he said.
He’s approaching retirement with flexibility: “Because I don’t know what this next stage is going to look like yet, … I’m kind of open to what happens.”
He’s offered sacraments to troops in Middle Eastern war zones, ministered to deaf Catholics in St. Paul, and assured the dying and their loved ones of God’s love and grace in Twin Cities hospitals.
He has also faced death with many families during his hospital ministry, and he shares in their grief when their loved ones die. When he finally retires his chaplain title, he anticipates helping in parishes. But, he added, “Most of us (priests) never really ‘really’ retire.”
He also officiated at three memorial services for soldiers from his own battalion who died in Iraq, though not all in combat. Enemies don’t “have to be ‘good,’ they’ve just got to be lucky with their rockets or mortars,” he said.
“Besides the opportunity to serve and get to know a lot of people, I’m grateful for the support they gave back to me,” heDuringsaid.
Seven recently retired priests look back — and ahead
An avid reader, Father Dolan also likes watching Minnesota Twins baseball games, going to movies, and spending time with family and friends. He’s also hoping to travel, but for now, he said, “I don’t have to go anywhere. I don’t have to do anything.”
his active ministry, Father Dolan enjoyed serving in different locations in the archdiocese, but he’s also glad to have the freedom in retirement to pursue other interests. He’s most enjoyed preaching and teaching, which he’s glad to continue as he helps parishes during retirement.
A native of northeast Minneapolis, Father Fehn, 69, served as a parish associate for four years after his 1978 ordination. Then he started his first chaplain assignment at Methodist and Fairview Southdale hospitals in the Twin Cities. Apart from a few breaks for military deployment, he’s been serving in hospitals ever since. Now officially retired, Father Fehn and another retired priest continue to serve in several hospitals until they’re replaced by a permanent chaplain.
While in Iraq in 2007, he had the opportunity to celebrate a Christmas Eve Mass for soldiers and civilians outside an ancient, pyramid-shaped ziggurat temple in Ur, close to what’s believed to be the birthplace of Abraham. Celebrating Mass there with 350 soldiers and civilians was risky because the site, adjacent to a U.S. military base, was outside the base’s inner perimeter and more vulnerable to attack, Father Fehn said, but he still considers it a high point of his ministry.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
hrough his 44 years of priestly ministry, Father Jerome Fehn has shown there are many ways to serve as a chaplain.
Recently retired priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have had varied ministries, from a seasoned combat chaplain to a worldrenowned liturgical composer, and academic faculty members to longtime parish pastors. The Catholic Spirit invited all priests who have retired since Sept. 1, 2021, to reflect on their ministries for this feature, which runs through page 17. The following priests
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
spend time with family. He anticipates having more time for biking, golfing, growing vegetables, cooking, reading and traveling. He is not sorry to leave the increasingly complex parish administrative work, but he hopes to help parishes with their ministerial needs.Father Feela said his ministry has surpassed his expectations, even though it hasn’t unfolded the way he had planned. Life’s disruptions have taught him the importance of lifelong learning and growth, and living close to parishioners has taught him to have compassion for their struggles, he said.
Before he started parish work, Father Dolan served as a chaplain at North Memorial hospital from 1983 to 1986, where he learned about caring for the sick and dying, as well as their families. “You didn’t have to say a lot and just let them know you were there for them and pray with them and be with them, and they’re very, very appreciative of it,” heAssaid.pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley and later St. George in Long Lake, leading successful capital campaigns were high points in Father Dolan’s ministry. More challenging was serving as parochial administrator of St. Lawrence in Faribault, where in 1996 he facilitated the parish’s merger with another Faribault parish, Sacred Heart, to form Sacred Heart-St. Lawrence. In 2000, Sacred HeartSt. Lawrence merged with Immaculate Conception in Faribault to form what is now Divine Mercy.
— Father Tim Dolan, Father Paul Feela, Father Jerome Fehn, Father Joe Fink, Father Michael Joncas, Father Mark Juettner and Father Curtis Lybarger — agreed to be interviewed and share their stories with freelance writer Susan Klemond.
reflectionsMinistry
— The Catholic Spirit
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Ordination 1978 • St. Helena, Minneapolis 19781979 • Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis 19791981 • St. Luke, St. Paul 1981-1982 • The St. Paul Seminary 1982-2003 • Most Holy Trinity, St. Louis Park 2003-2007 • Lumen Christi, St. Paul 2007-2022 • Retired 2022
“One of the things I always found was to be there with them, share their joys and sorrows, be a part of their life and kind of guide, hopefully, by my spiritual struggle as well,” he said.
In 1983, Father Fehn was also assigned as chaplain for hearing-impaired Catholics in the archdiocese. For two years he celebrated the Mass in St. Paul using sign language skills he learned in high school. He began his third chaplaincy with the Army National Guard in 1998. By the time he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2018, he had spent almost 40 months on overseas deployments in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
FATHER JEROME FEHN
Ordination 1978 • St. Edward, Bloomington, 1978-1979 • St. Joseph, Hopkins 1979-1980 • St. Margaret Mary, Golden Valley 1980-1983 • Office for the Deaf 1983-1985 • Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital 1985-2022 • M Health/Fairview Southdale Hospital 1985-2022 • Archdiocese for Military Services USA 1998-2018 • M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital 2021-2022 • Retired 2022
ooking back on his 35 years as a priest in the archdiocese, Father Tim Dolan said he’s loved working with parishioners, but he also has thoroughly enjoyed administration and hiring.
Ordination 1983 • St. Peter, Mendota 1983-1985 • Most Holy Redeemer, Montgomery 1985-1987 • St. Pius X, White Bear Lake 1987-1991 • St. Thomas the Apostle, Corcoran 1991-1994 • St. John, St. Paul 1994-2000 • St. Mary, Shakopee, 2000-2006 • St. Raphael, Crystal 2006-2007 • St. Bernard, St. Paul 2007-2008 • St. Mark, St. Paul 2008-2009 • St. Joseph, West St. Paul 2009-2011 • Immaculate Conception, Watertown 2011-2017 • Holy Childhood, St. Paul 2017-2022 • Maternity of Mary, St. Paul 2017-2022 • Ascension, Norwood Young America 2019 • St. Bernard, Cologne 2019 • Retired 2022
ather Joseph Fink’s battle with prostate cancer about 18 years ago forced him to downsize from the administrative rigors of being a pastor. But that setback brought new ministry opportunities in the years leading up to his retirement, he said.
FATHER JOSEPH FINK
In his retirement, he is thinking about starting a similar baking project this fall or winter at two northern Minnesota parishes, St. Edward in Longville and St. Paul in Remer, where he helps out on weekends. While he’s up in the resort area, Father Fink has been biking and socializing with relatives — but he has yet to take St. Edward parish’s boat out fishing.
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been building relationships with youth and other parishioners, and using skills from his baking hobby. Father Fink said he especially enjoys working with the elderly and the young — and when possible, getting them to work together.
As an associate at St. Joseph in West St. Paul from 2008 to 2010, he taught the youth group to make large quantities of bread as a fundraiser and for homebound parishioners. At his last assignment at Maternity of Mary and Holy Childhood parishes in St. Paul, he led parishioners in making hundreds of pounds of caramel for a parish project in “One2021.of
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
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What resonated most was the people, Father Fink said. For example, as pastor of St. Mary in Shakopee (now part of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee), he worked with a team of dedicated parishioners, another priest and a deacon to build a new school for Shakopee Area Catholic School in 2003.Inmore recent assignments, he has
After his 1983 ordination, Father Fink, 67, served in 12 archdiocesan parishes, as pastor or associate pastor. He enjoyed them all, he said.
the advantages of not being a pastor is that you can do those kinds of things to build community, where you’re not necessarily the guy who’s in charge of the project per se, but you get to be with the people,” he said. “That’s been part of the fun of being a priest but at the same time being with the people on a practical level.”
When it comes to prayer, Plymouthnative Father Juettner, 70, has promoted eucharistic adoration at many of the five parishes he’s pastored, and he built a perpetual adoration chapel at St. Timothy in Maple Lake and reconstructed one at St. Raphael in Crystal.Asfor
The recommendation he received as
Another of Father Joncas’ roles was teaching theology as a faculty member
he hopes to have more time for reading and attending concerts and plays. He may write classical music, but probably not much more liturgical music, aside from lyrics.
O
But Father Juettner is not retiring from learning: He’s thinking about signing up for a more formal training program in spiritual direction. “I hope to adjust to a different schedule that is less busy and less demanding,” he said.
“Honestly, probably the thing that I love the most is preaching, and I’ve had the opportunity to not only preach regularly but to actually speak about preaching,” Father Joncas said.
He’s most enjoyed opportunities to meet Catholics and provide the sacraments, he said.
HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
MICHAEL JONCAS Ordination
DAVE
Father Joncas said he is grateful that his music seems to have helped people pray, and also that his students have kept him thinking and learning.
a new pastor to “be nice to the people” has sometimes meant learning with parishioners or meeting their particular needs — whether it’s studying a new devotion with them or even deciding to learn Spanish at age 66.
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During his last assignment at St. George in Long Lake, Father Juettner joined parishioners in learning about the Italian visionary Luisa Piccareta’s writing on the Divine Will, which he plans to continue studying during retirement.ToassistSt. George’s Spanishspeaking parishioners, Father Juettner started learning the language online and eventually signed up for Spanish classes at the University of St. Thomas. He learned to celebrate Mass, give homilies and administer sacraments in Spanish.“When you have a Latino community and they don’t speak English, especially the older ones, and you want to assist them, I thought, ‘Well, I’ll give it a try.’”
“I think the key thing priests say is ‘we want to be priests, we don’t want to be CEOs,’ but by the very nature of the parish, in its composition and corporate realities, you have to take on that responsibility,” he said. “It is the priest who is responsible for the fiscal and structural operation of the parish.”
the
ver the past 42 years, the pastoral, academic and artistic dimensions of Father Michael Joncas’ priestly ministry have been the result of his varied talents, interests and hardButwork.asthe internationally known liturgical composer, author, speaker and professor contemplated his retirement this year and his love of music, people and preaching, he put the priesthood at the core of all he hasSincedone.his 1980 ordination, Father Joncas, 70, has served as a pastoral associate at three parishes, including as campus minister at the University of Minnesota’s Newman Center in Minneapolis.Thoughhe’s no longer assigned to a particular parish, Father Joncas has often celebrated Mass and administered sacraments at parishes such as St. Thomas the Apostle in Minneapolis.
Twenty years after being diagnosed with the neurological disorder GuillainBarré Syndrome, Father Joncas said he still lives with residual effects of the illness, including tingling in his feet and his fingers that prevent him from playing the guitar.
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“What having that syndrome really taught me was gratitude,” he said.
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Minneapolis 2021 • Retired 2022
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ather Mark Juettner served as a pastor during all but seven of his 43 years in active priestly ministry, and he has never forgotten advice he received at the start of his first pastorate: “Say your prayers, pay the bills and be nice to the people.”
at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul for 40 years. Toward the end of his ministry, he was an artist in residence at the university and a research fellow in its Catholic Studies program.Outside of his pastoral and academic work, Father Joncas has continued to write and record hymns and sacred music. The Minneapolis native began composing church music as a high school student and is well known for his liturgical work, including the hymn “On Eagles Wings” based on Psalm 91. He considers composing music to be part of his ministry, but of lesser importance than pastoral work, studying and teaching.
Learning languages is one of Father Juettner’s hobbies, and he plans to continue working on Spanish conversation skills during retirement, while he also helps Latino and other parishes with pastoral ministry. He anticipates having more time at his home in a western suburb of Minneapolis for prayer and spending time cooking, traveling, researching family genealogy, and attending concerts and theater productions.
“Every day is really a gift and that’s a switch from the way I was before that time.”Inretirement,
“I’m just 70,” he said, “and in a way, I’m thinking that I just need to shut up and let new voices arise.”
FATHER 1980 • Presentation of Mary, Maplewood 1980-1984 • Newman Center and Chapel, Minneapolis 1984-1987 • College/ University of St. Thomas 1987-2021 • The St. Paul Seminary 1991-2021 St. Cecilia, St. Paul 1991-1993 St. Thomas Apostle,
•
paying the bills, Father Juettner gained significant experience managing parish administrative responsibilities, including overseeing building projects. He is grateful to all the staff he’s worked with since his 1979 priestly ordination for sharing their talents and supporting his pastoral efforts and leadership.
FATHER MARK JUETTNER
Ordination 1979 • St. John the Baptist, New Brighton 1979-1980 • St. Joseph, Lino Lakes 1980-1983 • St. Michael, West St. Paul 1983-1986 • St. Timothy, Maple Lake 1986-1996 • St. Raphael, Crystal 1996-2009 • St. Michael, St. Michael 2009 • St. Andrew, St. Paul 2009-2011 • Maternity of Mary, St. Paul 2011 • St. Charles, Bayport 2011-2014 • St. George, Long Lake 2014-2022 • Retired 2022
While reflecting on what’s changed during his years
beautiful.”TheNext Chapter consists of readings and assessments coupled with sharing and time to reflect. The cohort met monthly on Saturday mornings at the Iversen Center for Faith on the St. Thomas campus and attended a weekend retreat; a second session with a new cohort begins this month.
A
“We try to assist the group in
“Spirituality is an important component of the program — my job or my identity as a parent may be different now, but how does God see me, what are the gifts I have and how do I put those to good use?” Father Collins said.
Discerning ‘The Next Chapter’
The goal of the program, offered at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, is to help participants proactively plan for a meaningful next chapter in life.
Since retiring, Buckley joined the Minneapolis Rowing Club, has more time for golf, and increased his involvement as a volunteer with
understanding how the creator has already wired us, through our experiences and where we find joy,” he said. “We also expose them to a variety of opportunities where they might serve, and we have each person work on and share a concrete plan for themselves.”“I’vereally enjoyed my retirement, but retirement is one of the major challenges of life,” he added. “Everyone had a suggestion of something for me to do, but how do I decide what God wants me to do? That is the deep need for this Sandyprogram.”Best,59,of Hudson, Wisconsin, retired this month after 38 years of military service. The deputy adjutant general and chief of staff of the Minnesota Air National Guard was a member of The Next Chapter’s inaugural“Retirementcohort.can be daunting; there are many directions I could take,” said Best, a parishioner of St. Patrick in Hudson.“I’vebeen preparing a lifetime for this next adventure, and I want it to be God-inspired and reflect what I was born to do and be,” she said.
Best noted that for her, the program’s core principle of Ignatian discernment — assisting people in hearing God’s voice in life decisions — was invaluable.
“I had worked in a corporation for many years, did a lot of traveling and enjoyed the social connections,” said Buckley, a 66-year-old Medina resident who retired from Boston Scientific as senior director of the company’s Global Capital Equipment Technical Services.
Father Lybarger was ordained for the Omaha
Jesuit Father Chris Collins, vice president for mission at UST, helped launch The Next Chapter in 2017 at St. Louis University in St. Louis, where he served from 2012 to 2020 as a faculty member, director of the Catholic Studies program, and as assistant to the president for mission and identity.
“OnePaul. of the things we focus on in The Next Chapter is helping the participants see how God is present in their everyday life,” Scapanski said. “That was a really key point for St. Ignatius, who founded the Jesuits, and his prayer, the Examen.”
“Then one day it was gone,” he said. “I faced the grief of losing something that I had, and wondered, how do I replaceBuckleythat?”gained some insight into his next stage of life through The Next Chapter, a six-month guided journey grounded in Ignatian spirituality. The program helps people discern who God is calling them to be in retirement, and what God is calling them to do.
Now that his retirement is official, Father Lybarger has returned to Omaha to spend time with family and friends. Moving states has made retirement even more unsettling, but when all the boxes are unpacked, he anticipates having more time to help in parishes, read Church history and enjoy murder mysteries.
archdiocese in 1977. After serving there for seven years and after his parents had passed away, he decided to incardinate into the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese, where he had attended seminary.
North Memorial Health Hospice in Robbinsdale, visiting hospice patients and giving their caretakers a break.
The University of St. Thomas will offer a new session of The Next Chapter beginning in January 2023. The cost is $750. For more information, contact Michele Goodson at mkgoodson@stthomas edu
Ordination 1977 • Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul 1984-1989 • St. Vincent de Paul, Osseo 1989-2001 • St. Mary of the Lake, Plymouth 2001-2022 • Retired 2022
UPCOMING SESSION
UST program offers a spiritual, guided journey for retirement
“Why didn’t I learn this sooner? But I know it now,” she said.
said.“We started with an overnight retreat based on Ignatian discernment/ spirituality, which grew to the development of The Next Chapter program; I planted the seed at St. Thomas when I first got here,” he said. “As soon as we had a few facilitators, we offered the pilot beginning in January, and it was
“We cap the number of participants at 18 to keep a good size for a sense of community and small group discussions,” he said. “You can feel the Holy Spirit move in some of those conversations.”WhileTheNext Chapter is not exclusively for Catholics, it is for people who are open to engaging in Ignatian prayer and learning about and practicing Ignatian discernment.
FATHER CURTIS LYBARGER
“As I got to know a lot of alumni in St. Louis, I kept hearing that common thread: ‘I’m going to retire, I’m anxious, what am I going to do?’” Father Collins
“I never would have been anything but a parish priest,” said Father Lybarger, 73. “Getting to know generations of families, that was the wonderful part. Just working with parishioners.”
One of the program facilitators is Gene Scapanski, 80, of St. Paul. Scapanski is retired from the University of St. Thomas, where he served as vice president for mission from 2003 to 2008. He was also dean and professor of systematic and pastoral theology at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 FAITH+CULTURE THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17
Along with successful building projects, he is grateful for the relationships he’s developed with the Catholics at the parishes where he’s served in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and before that, in the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska, he said.
SUSAN SZALEWSKI | FOR THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
A
He’s just as proud that the congregation more than doubled to 3,000 families.
By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit
Buckley participated in The Next Chapter’s inaugural cohort of 12 women and men, half retired and half expecting to retire within the next six months. The program began this past January.“Wewere blessed with a great group — all were engaged and supportive while sharing their experiences and insights,” said Buckley, who is Catholic and searching for a new parish after a recent move. “And the overnight retreat created a sacred space where I could share the challenges I was facing in retirement, coupled with gaining clarity with what I was being called to do.”
Father Chris Collins, vice president for mission at the University of St. Thomas, helped launch the university’s The Next Chapter program for UNIVERSITYMARKdiscernment.retirementBROWN|COURTESYOFST.THOMAS
“It just came to me one day: It’s time to go and give a younger person a shot at this place,” he said. “Time to move on.”
s his March 2022 retirement feeling:confrontingBuckleyapproached,dateTomfoundhimselfastronggrief.
Father Lybarger said he is retiring later than some of his classmates, who retired three years ago. He decided to stay at St. Mary of the Lake beyond age 70 because he was happy with his home and staff.
“For me, The Next Chapter provided immense clarity and peace of mind,” she added. “The program really helped to ground me and caused me to be deliberate in making time for my relationship with God, listening and ultimately strengthening my spiritual life and the relationships around me.”
of ministry, Father Lybarger noted that he served with two or three other assistants during his first assignments. Now, he’s seen the number of priests diminish. As fewer priests are asked to cover more parishes, those ordained after him might have a more difficult time, he said. He noted that as he retired from his 21-year assignment at St. Mary of the Lake in Plymouth this summer, his successor, Father Andrew Zipp, was given the added responsibility of being a high school chaplain.
high point in Father Curtis Lybarger’s 45-year priestly ministry was overseeing construction during the 1980s of the entire campus of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Osseo — the church, school, social hall and office building.
Monday, Sept. 26 Jb 1:6-22 Lk 9:46-50
Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 or Rv 12:7-12ab Jn 1:47-51
1 Tim 6:11-16 Lk 16:19-31
SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER JAMES PERKL FOCUSONFAITH
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Am 8:4-7 1 Tm 2:1-8 Lk 16:1-13
Father Perkl is pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville. He can be reached at jperkl@mmotc org
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Am 6:1a, 4-7
FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER
St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Mt 9:9-13
Quickly choose life. Hurry while there is yet time. Settle your account with God and accept the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. As Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and (money).”
Thursday, Sept. 22 Eccl 1:2-11 Lk 9:7-9
Saturday, Oct. 1
KNOW the SAINTS
St. Vincent de Paul, priest Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 Lk 9:51-56
Two errors are to be avoided. One error is: “My relationship with God is a private thing. I will pray alone. You pray alone. We won’t pray together.” The other error is: “Let’s pray together, and since we are praying together, we don’t need to pray by ourselves.” This is not either-or — pray individually or pray together — but both-and. Both the wife and husband need to have individual relationships with God nurtured by personal
Prv 3:27-34 Lk 8:16-18
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Tuesday, Sept. 27
gift of his life in the Spirit.
Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest, and Paul Chong Ha-sang, and companions, martyrs Prv 21:1-6, 10-13 Lk 8:19-21
private prayer, and a joint relationship with God nurtured by their common prayer.
What may we learn from the untrustworthy steward?
prayer is an ideal way to pray together. The wife and husband speak to God out loud, spontaneously, in their own words, in each other’s presence. It is very intimate and selfrevelatory. The person tells God their inmost thoughts, their praise and thanks, worries and concerns, joys and sorrows, regret over sins and failings, personal needs and special requests for others. As the person bares their soul before God, the person also bares their soul before their spouse, and it has a miraculous unifying effect both with God and one’s spouse.
St. Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 Lk 10:13-16
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church Jb 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Lk 10:17-24
St. Pius of Pietrelcina, priest Eccl 3:1-11 Lk 9:18-22
Saturday, Sept. 24 Eccl 11:9–12:8 Lk 9:43b-45
ST.
There are other prayers that can be said together daily around the house: prayers before meals, the morning offering and bedside night prayers. Some couples like to pray together while they are outside for a walk or during a drive in the car.
Hurry to choose life
The marriage triangle helps to illustrate this. God is the point at the top. The wife and husband are the points at each corner on the bottom. The base of the triangle is the distance that separates the husband and wife, and the two sides of the triangle are the distance that separates the wife or husband from God. The goal is to grow closer to God and each other. When the wife or husband grows closer to God through prayer, the person slides up the side of the triangle, and by growing closer to God they grow closer to each other. Likewise, when the wife and husband grow closer to each other through good communication or acts of love, they grow closer to God.
So, I invite the Holy Spirit to come and light up my interior to better welcome the word of God. In the Gospel for Sept. 18, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus uses the example of the untrustworthy steward who sits down quickly to settle accounts. Why I wondered, did my eyes settle upon the word “quickly” in the parable Jesus was telling? Lingering in prayer upon that word, I wondered if any doors would swing
Sunday, Oct. 2
The couple that prays together stays together MICHAEL VAN SLOUN
Prayer is communication with God, it needs to have a central place in every Christian marriage, and it has a powerful unifying effect for a couple. Healthy communication strengthens relationships, and if prayer is communication with God, regular, sincere communication with God strengthens a person’s relationship with God, as regular, sincere communication between a husband and wife strengthens the person’s relationship with one’s spouse.
Sunday, Sept. 25
Friday, Sept. 23
Monday, Sept. 19
Wednesday, Sept. 21
open.My heart opened to that memory of concelebrating Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. On pilgrimage with the Visitation Sisters, we had arrived just moments before Mass was to begin. Walking by the sacristy, the sacristan surprised me with the question, “Priest?” I said, “Yes.” Pointing inside he said,
Wednesday, Sept. 28 Jb 9:1-12, 14-16 Lk 9:57-62
As I experienced in the cathedral that day in Paris, when the altar bells rang, it was “good and pleasing to God” that the eyes of the entire world were on Jesus, lifted above the altar in the consecrated Host. Held up in the “holy hands” of the priest, I cherished the hope that one day, everyone would want to be with us in that place of worship and adoration, “without anger or St.argument.”Benedict, too, gives encouragement to this hope of ours when he writes in his Rule, “So we should at long last rouse ourselves, prompted by the words of Scripture: Now is the time for us to rise from sleep. Our eyes should be open to the Godgiven light, and we should listen in wonderment to the message of the divine voice as it daily cries out: Today, if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts; and again: If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. And what does the Spirit say? Come my sons, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Hurry, while you have the light of life, so that death’s darkness may not overtake you.”
Sunday, Sept. 18
Born in an Italian farming village, Francesco Forgione gained worldwide fame as Capuchin friar Padre Pio, who bore the stigmata, or
Before opening the Bible to read, perhaps you, like me, find it helpful to turn on a light to see what you are reading. This is especially true since I wear trifocals. Yet, more than glasses and light, I realize that my soul needs the illumination of the Holy Spirit to understand what I read in sacred Scripture.
Prayer needs to be an essential element of every day. It deserves priority attention. No excuses. Once I saw a roadside church sign that said, “If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.”Shared
The vital and indispensable pillar of a Catholic couple’s common prayer is to attend Mass together every weekend. The Mass provides the spiritual sustenance of word and sacrament and keeps them connected to the community of faith, the body of Christ, the Church.
What debt is greater than this life that God is giving us? Who but Jesus Christ is qualified to give us life and so pay the ransom that sets us free from death? As St. Paul writes to Timothy in the second reading (1 Tm 2:1-8), “Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone ... This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. … It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.”
Father Van Sloun is the clergy services director for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This column is part of a series on the sacrament of marriage.
18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Thursday, Sept. 29
“Hurry.”So“quickly” I vested and followed the procession to the altar. It was a joy to see the cathedral filled, standing room only, with people present from all around the world. Still wondering why the Holy Spirit might lead me to reflect upon that moment, there was this inspiration when I reflected, without hurry, upon the distribution of holy Communion.
DAILY Scriptures
2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14 Lk 17:5-10 PIO OF PIETRELCINA (1887-1968) wounds of Christ, invisibly from the time of his ordination in 1910 and visibly from 1918. As his renown as a confessor grew, the Vatican investigated the genuineness of his stigmata and ministry of prayer and healing. At San Giovanni Rotondo, he built a hospital to treat patients using prayer and science, as well as a pilgrimage and study complex. Shortly before his death, the stigmata disappeared. He was canonized in 2002. He is the subject of “Padre Pio,” a film directed by Abel Ferrara starring Shia LaBeouf in the title role, which premiered Sept. 2 at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival. — Catholic News Service
Was I witnessing Jesus Christ settling “quickly” the debts that each one owed, as in the Gospel for today? Certainly. In the Mass, we encounter the risen Lord who by his life, death and resurrection has conquered death and given us the unmerited
Friday, Sept. 30
There are many ways to pray either individually or together, and couples have many options available to them. It is common to say the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary or to pray the rosary. Many parishes offer eucharistic adoration. Other possibilities include Bible reading, the Stations of the Cross, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, litanies, novenas and hymns. Couples would be well-advised to heed the age-old adage: The couple that prays together stays together.
Every day in service to God is an adventure. It’s also a source of abiding peace.
Our “why” acts as a compass for our life, helping us identify with the core beliefs we say we hold true, whether we actually do or not. When we attempt to put our “why” into action by the “what,” if there is no consistency, no joy, no life for us there, then we can know our “why” is inaccurate and needs to be addressed.Our“why”
to live more authentically true to the nature God has uniquely given to each one of us.
As the seasons shift and a new school year clicks into gear, may we pay attention to openings from the Holy Spirit. May we rise each morning with holy curiosity, asking, “What does God want to happen?”
accelerate his cause, we can connect the dots, we can be his hands and Immediately,feet.Ithought of my aunt Jan, an empty nester whose generosity and availability flows from a deep prayer life. She trusts in God, she trusts the stranger in her midst, and she jumps at any chance to somehow connect the two.
Then there was the time a priest friend from Indiana called about Craig, a parishioner who had gone into cardiac arrest right before his flight made a layover at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Jan zoomed into action. She and her husband, Rick, hosted Craig and his wife for three weeks.
Pope Francis in “Fratelli Tutti” is calling each one of us to be “true people of dialogue,” as we help create a world of peace. We are to become “an artisan of peace” as we extinguish hatred and open new pathways of dialogue. If such a change in our world is created through our consistent actions related to our “why,” which hopefully includes the desire for peace in our broken world, then we will become mediators for peace.In“Veritatis Splendor,” St. John Paul II reminds us not to be conformed to this world, but rather to strive for things from above. We are to “cast light on the exalted vocation of the faithful in Christ and on their obligation to bear fruit in charity for the life of the world.” We are also called to “look for a more appropriate way of communicating doctrine to the people of (our) time.” The saint is calling us to be present to others in our path each day and to live a life that is open and accessible to others.
Her generosity is fueled by gratitude. “Look, look, look! God has been so incredibly generous. I can’t possibly not return that generosity.”
Soucheray
I recently interviewed a Catholic counselor, focusing on the nature of his work. Once we’d covered my final question, I asked how he likes his job.
Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.
Because Jan is paying attention and always in conversation with God, she sees these opportunities more than the rest of us. She joins her energy to God’s, as the counselor put it.
You may want to go to the adoration chapel and simply ask the Lord what he wants for your life: What is his purpose for which you have been sent to this earth? Open your heart to whatever response you receive. Then take action on what you heard him say to you. If you are wrong, any action you take will be good if it is ordained by God. Pray each day for clarity and consistency of action, as you align your will with the will of God for you.
should always be informed and infused with the will of God for our lives, which is a graced experience. When we pray to God and ask for his grace to know his will, we are opening ourselves to an entirely new experience. This new experience may hold surprises for us because we will be called
“I pray for the people who God puts in my path,” Jan said. “And I ask God to remove all the obstacles keeping me from Spendinghim.”10 minutes in silence every day listening to God has been crucial for Jan. If God can work through a donkey carrying Mary to Bethlehem, she figures, he can work through her. “I believe I’m right where God wants me to be — and if I’m not, he will direct me.”
We will find it very difficult to live the mandates of Pope Francis and St. John Paul II if we are distracted and unaware of our “why.” We will not be able to resonate with our “why” because we are not paying attention to the most important things, but rather overwhelmed with the tasks of each day, which often do not allow us to focus on the higher calling given to us by WhatGod.can you do today to take a step back and ask
His life story spilled out. Dale had studied under Ansel Adams and befriended Jack Kerouac. He’d been widowed. And most recently, he’d lost the right to drive a car.Jan checks in with Dale regularly and plans to help with his next camping trip.
What a thrilling prospect! God is always at work, but in mostly hidden ways. If we can attune ourselves to his promptings, we can actually assist him. We can
yourself the deeper questions about your “why” in life? Ask yourself how God is calling you to align your will with his will, so you can more clearly understand your “why.” Expect this little exercise to take you a bit of time and thought. Your answer to the question of your “why” in life will not be found by asking Google or Siri, but will come from deep within your own heart, as you spend time in prayer and attentiveness to God’s will for your life.
When I was a practicing therapist, I would often talk with my clients about “knowing our why.” Our “why” was the reason, or reasons, we told ourselves was the impetus for the actions, or inactions, we took in life. When we know our “why,” we can more clearly understand the “what” we must do to achieve this “why.” And our “what” always sends us back to our “why,” so that the process is circular in nature, as well as progressive.
“It’s been a joy,” he said. “My mantra is, ‘What wants to happen today?’ In the guidance of the Holy Spirit, things are always trying to happen. And once in a while, we pay enough attention to join our energy to what God wants to happen.”
Sometimes gold flakes surface along the periphery. The first or last picture in a photo shoot is the winner. The opening or final page of a book delivers the line that you hold to your heart. Or the wind-down of an interview — right after the formal conversation has wrapped up — produces a comment that stops you in your tracks.
“Something is happening in my life recently,” she said. “I just cannot believe how God is so generous in showing us his ways: ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be frustrated. I’ve got it under control.’”
Take her morning walk to Mass — which begins at 7:30 a.m. 3 miles from her home — at St. Odilia in Shoreview.Onemorning she was passed by an 81-year-old man in a motorized scooter. They struck up a long conversation. Soon, Jan was serving Dale lunch at a nearby park and giving him flashers and a reflective visor for safer night-time scooting.
Dedicate yourself to understanding what God is asking of this precious gift of life you have been given and ask for his grace to understand his voice in your head and heart as you attempt to live authentically true to your calling. Ask him to help you understand your “why” and the “what” you are to do to help create his kingdom on this earth.
is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. Learn more at her website ifhwb com COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19 How to participate with the Holy Spirit TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI Knowing your ‘why’ SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY FUNERAL CHAPELS, INC. Robbinsdale • Plymouth • St. Louis Park Please cut out form below and mail to: 3888 West Broadway • Robbinsdale, MN 55422 CityAddressName State Zip o Please mail information regarding pre-need funeral arrangements. o Please have a funeral director call me with information regarding prearrangements. My phone number is Find out more at: www.saintvdp.org/cemetery or (763) 425-2210 Our expansion includes contemplative gardens and courtyard areas with traditional graves, cremation graves and a beautifully designed columbarium with more than 300 niches for cremation.
Another morning, Jan relieved a biker who had been chased by two lost dogs on his way to work. She assumed reign of them, keeping the wilder one from the highway and finally securing its collar in order to call the owner.
Richard Ireland died in 1887, but the William Dahl house is still standing. Instead of being demolished, it was
OF CATHOLIC MINNESOTA
An unscrupulous observer — or, to return to added sugar, an unscrupulous eater — eschews a posture of control over reality. They don’t need to find just the right shot or consume that item that will bring them to their next sugar high; they can simply eat and observe what nature provides, genuinely enjoying it, allowing it to lead them into a more accurate and fruitful relationship with reality.
Luiken is a Catholic and a historian with a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She loves exploring and sharing the hidden histories that touch our lives every day.
Sugar releases opioids and dopamine, and some studies have linked its addictive properties to those found in cocaine. If you’ve ever tried to avoid added sugar in your diet, this probably won’t surprise you. Once you’re used to a high amount of added sugar, the cravings you experience when weaning yourself off of it can be intense.
This suggests that our addiction to artificially sweetened food not only impairs our health, but it also distorts our connection to reality. The pleasure that sugar produces becomes not a gift to be received, but a reaction to be engineered.
Although there were already 18 carpenters in town, Richard quickly made a name for himself. He settled his own family in the heart of town, building a home at 68 W. Fifth Street across from Rice Park. In addition to plying his trade
restored as a single-family home and moved to the West Seventh neighborhood in St. Paul.
Like Dillard, we should seek to walk more without our proverbial camera — be it by dialing down our Twitter usage so we stop viewing reality through the lens of “possible tweets,” or even taking a break from fantasy football so we can enjoy the big game on its own terms, instead of neurotically obsessing over which players are accruing what stats.
COURTESY ARCHDIOCESAN ARCHIVES
In 1997, a battle ensued over a small stucco house dwarfed by the state houseSt.thesurroundingbuildingsitnearStateCapitolinPaul.Bythen,theseemedoldand
This modest home had something important in common with “one of the finest residences in town.” Two years earlier, H.M. Rice, one of Minnesota’s
every human desire to the limit and to create as many new desires and synthetic passions as possible.”
More broadly, this probably means less screen time, more walks in nature. Less online shopping, more mending old clothes. And yes, less sugary, processed junk food, and more pure, unadulterated apples.
and running a business, Ireland became a figure of the civic community, often serving as a juror, becoming deeply involved in Democratic politics and even running for office. Despite limited formal education, he succeeded as a pioneer.
first pair of U.S. Senators, had hired to build his mansion the same carpenters — Ireland & Donovan. In addition to homes, modest and opulent, Richard Ireland also contributed to the construction of the Catholic Block, a commercial building on St. Paul’s Third Street near the Mississippi River.Ireland was tall, lean and walked with a jerky motion. He always spoke and moved quickly. He had come to St. Paul as a refugee of the Irish Potato Famine in 1851 with his family, but that was not the beginning of his troubles. Ireland had six children of his own, and in the early years of the famine, he had adopted his sister’s four children when they were orphaned. Hoping to create a welcoming home for his family, Richard had come to America with his oldest nephew in the winter of 1848 to 1849 and sent for his family later that year. After a time in Burlington, Vermont, and Chicago, they settled in the bustling town of St. Paul.
A “carte de visite,” or small portrait, of Irish emigrant and pioneer Richard Ireland, ca. 1870 by Falkenshield in St.
Paul.
All credited their vocations, in part, to the deep devotion Richard and his wife, Judith, had to their faith. They credited their love of Irish lore to Richard’s passionate telling of the tales of Ireland’s heroic kings and warriors.
But on the other side of kicking the sugar habit is a pleasant revelation: grapes, bell peppers, and so many other normal fruits and vegetables are actually delightfully sweet, in a way that can be surprising if you’ve only just moved away from eating copious amounts of artificially sweetened food.
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What’s the solution? It probably has something to do with what Annie Dillard described in “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” as a “kind of seeing that involves a letting go.” Dillard illustrates this perspective by describing the difference between walking with and without a camera. “When I walk with a camera, I walk from shot to shot, reading the light of a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on my own silver gut. When I see this second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer.”
ALREADY/NOT YET JONATHAN
The sweetness of reality IrelandWhatLIEDLRichardbuilt
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Liedl, a Twin Cities resident, is a senior editor of the National Catholic Register and a graduate student in theology at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
ECHOES REBA LUIKEN
When our desires are strained in this way and given a seemingly endless supply to act upon, our hands grasp for immediate satisfaction instead of opening up to receive a gift of more meaning and lasting permanence. One of the most evocative illustrations of this I’ve come across comes from Chance the Rapper’s track “Cocoa Butter Kisses”: “Cigarettes on cigarettes, my momma thinks I stank/I got burnholes in my hoodies all my homies think it’s dank/I miss my cocoa butter kisses.” Chance’s chain-smoking may make him look cool among his friends and satisfy a craving, but it closes him off to the deeper love he actually desires: his mother’s affection.
Americans are addicted to sugar. And unsurprisingly — it’s added to nearly every normal, acrossdrinkprocessedeverydayfoodoryou’llcomeatCubFoods or
It’s almost as if there exists some kind of fitting correspondence between the human person and the fruits that nature provides.Perhaps
that’s why the Catholic intellectual Simone Weil once observed that “the pure taste of the apple is as much contact with the beauty of the universe as the contemplation of a picture by Cezanne.” On this account, the simple experience of eating an unadorned piece of fruit can be a gateway into reflecting upon the gratuity of the cosmos, its ultimate origin and our place within it — but it can be hard to taste this natural sweetness and have that kind of experience when you’re used to consuming 17 teaspoons of sugar a day.
The Catholic spiritual writer Thomas Merton noted this problematic tendency in his “Seven Story Mountain,” writing that it is contemporary society’s “whole policy” to “excite every nerve in the human body and keep it at the highest pitch of artificial tension,” and “to strain
Many other things in modern life act like added sugar, hooking us on artificial, adulterated sweetness while robbing us of a sort of sweet and sober contact with reality.
had been converted into an office of the state’s criminal justice system. When the Dahl family built it in 1858, however, it was the last of nearly 1,500 working class homes constructed in the neighborhood. At its construction, it cost $300 and had a full basement but no kitchen. This was added in 1886.
20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Saturday,
Aldi, from marinara sauce to granola. As a result, the average American consumes nearly three times more sugar per day than what’s recommended.
And that’s the problem. Our culture’s array of “artificial sweeteners” closes us off from the deep love that truly satisfies — not only prohibiting us from experiencing the natural correspondence between ourselves and reality that makes us realize “all is gift,” but also oversaturating our ontological taste buds to the point where we’re unable to recognize and reflect upon the fact that as good as this world is, it isn’t enough. This was the basis of Blaise Pascal’s concern with our addiction to distraction, already apparent in his own day in 17th-century France. “You find a rhinoceros in the middle of your house. The rhinoceros is wretchedness and death. How in the world can you hide a rhinoceros? Easy: cover it with a million mice.” These multiple diversions — or the synthetic desires that Merton mentions — cut us off from the ultimate inadequacy of earthly life, thereby cutting us off from our need for God.
Many other things in modern life act like added sugar, hooking us on artificial, adulterated sweetness while robbing us of a sort of sweet and sober contact with reality: social media, the hookup culture promoted by dating apps, even the ready supply of cheap and trendy clothing.
His children, biological and adopted, went on to become some of the bestknown figures in St. Paul. His eldest nephew and adopted son, Thomas Howard, was at one time or another a school board member, county commissioner, municipal judge, chairman of the Democratic Committee and Register of Deeds of Ramsey County. His daughter Ellen and her cousin Ellen Howard joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, later becoming leaders of the religious community. His oldest biological son, John, would become a priest and then the first archbishop of St. Paul.
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The longer the culture is running cold or hot on an issue, it can begin to feel normal even if it demotes life, dignity and the common good. Therefore, we need the Church and all her members to be thermostats. Catholics can be the ones to help bring the culture back into a stasis that allows for human flourishing by ensuring vital issues are not mischaracterized or overlooked.
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An Aug. 25 writer thinks conservatives don’t support “programs like food stamps, school lunches and other government programs to help the poor” (“Care expansion necessary”). I don’t know how the letter writer knows that, any more than I happen to know that liberals want to use other people’s money rather than their own money to help the poor through government programs. More importantly, the letter got me to wonder: Is it better to help the poor through the government or through charity? I haven’t made up my mind on this. Perhaps letter writers and columnists could weigh in. From what I can see, if help is given through
Kay Ness
St. Paul says, “If I give away all I have, … but have not love, I gain nothing.” Hard to see love in a government program. Yet, government programs may be more dependably funded.
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The State Fair poll can be a useful thermometer for Minnesota Catholics, too. The poll is unscientific — there is nothing to prevent any one individual from submitting multiple responses — so the real utility for Catholics comes from examining the questions being asked and what is being ignored. For example, the State Fair poll neglects to ask questions about a spectrum of life issues, whether it be about legislation that would support mothers in crisis pregnancies, improving family economics or improving the quality of end-of-life care. Yet, when the poll addresses issues such as recreational marijuana use and school choice, the issues are not framed through a lens that brings into focus the impacts on human dignity and the common good.
“Inside the Capitol” is a legislative update from Minnesota Catholic Conference staff. THEM
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SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 COMMENTARY THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 21 INSIDE THE CAPITOL | MCC The Church as a thermostat
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for
Government or charity?
We
we are actively helping to change the temperature by ensuring the right questions are being asked.
One way to be that thermostat is to start asking your legislative candidates the questions that matter to the bishops and the Church in Minnesota. By doing this, you can help them begin to better understand what issues are important to the Catholics they are
vying to represent. To help you do this, the Minnesota Catholic Conference created a questionnaire for you to send to your state legislative candidates. The questionnaire features 11 questions that cover a spectrum of life issues and more. Legislators’ longstanding affirmation of the State Fair poll’s utility proves they want to know what their constituents care about. So, let’s make sure that as we help inform our legislators and candidates, we aren’t just providing a passive temperature reading, but that
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and register at CatholicsAtTheCapitol.org
state’s electorate.
Gina Wolfe is a Professor Emerita at Catholic eological Union and Senior Wicklander Fellow at DePaul University’s Institue for Business and professional Ethics. She held the Christopher Chair in Business Ethics at Brennan School of Business Dominican Univeristy. She also served on the faculty at the School of eology and Seminary and is currently a member of the Board of Regents. Her publications include Alleviating Povery rough Profitable Partnerships (2020) and Global Women Leaders: Breaking Boundaries (2017). Her research interests include women’s leadership and empowerment, corporate social responsibility, poverty alleviation and Christian hospitality. She holds a bachelor’s degree from McDonough School of Business Georgetown University, a master’s degree from the Jesuit School of eology in Chicago, and a PhD from King’s College London University of London.
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In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King makes an observation about the impact the early Christians had in the public square stating, “there was a time when the church was very powerful … the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of Everysociety.”summer the Minnesota House and Senate Information Offices offer a thermometer to our legislators. Via their State Fair opinion polls, the nonpartisan staff encourage fairgoers to weigh in on a mix of hot-button issues and issues that may not have been addressed but could emerge in the next legislative session. Because the fair draws voters from a wide range of geographic and socio-economic backgrounds, legislators readily admit that they pay attention to the questions and results as means to “take the temperature” of the
Dennis and Mary Kay Smid Fr. Bob Flannery and SJU Men’s Chorus Alumni
You can view the complete State Fair poll results at mncatholic org/2022_state fair poll results
Thursday, October 6, 2022 - e Minneapolis Club, 729 2nd Ave. S, Minneapolis 11:30 a.m.: check-in and meal, 12:00-1:30 p.m.: presentation
BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 20: will offer a one-time opportunity anyone in the Twin Cities who has cremated remains at home that are at least 1 year old, to permanently place them in a communal crypt at either Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights or Gethsemane Cemetery in New Hope.
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the government, it is impersonal and is seen as a right by the recipient. Charity provides a sense that people care.
Mike Ebnet
Our Lady of Grace, Edina
You can download your free copies of the candidate questionnaires by visiting mncatholic org/candidate questionnaire
Share your perspective by emailing TheCaTholiCSpiriT@arChSpm org. Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit.
Regardless of industry or type of organization, the workplace as we knew it has changed and done so at an unprecedented pace. While we slowly move beyond the pandemic, our attention is turned to understanding the effects of that change and the opportunities and challenges it presents. As leaders in business and civil society, we are tasked with shaping the new normal, addressing problems of equity and inclusion and attending to sustainability. Our faith calls us to be proactive in undertaking this task and ensuring our workplaces are structured to respect human dignity and promote human flourishing. We have a wealth of theological and spiritual resources available to aid us in accomplishing this task. Together we’ll examine some of these and their relationship to best practices as we consider appropriate ways to shape the new normal in the workplace.
BRINGING
I’ve also taken part in a Divine Mercy Cenacle. There we learned about the diary of St. Faustina, Jesus’ emptying out through blood and water, and special devotions of Divine Mercy Sunday — by reciting the rosary and going to confession, a person may receive great graces at the moment of death. We also say the Divine Mercy prayer, which gives us an endless supply of light and love if it’s said often.
Why I am Catholic
I am just so happy, too, that somebody like Matthew Kelly is affirming us and making it easier to be Catholic. He is a great hero and Bible teacher. I am deeply inspired by him.
D
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
By Ruth Schaffenberger
when I was sick, and I receive it now. I think of how the saints appreciated this great gift.
I’ve always had the love of God in my heart. I’ve always wanted that for my family, as well as for everyone. My heart burns to see God.
Schaffenberger, 33, attends St. John Neumann in Eagan. She participates in her parish’s choir and likes to volunteer, including helping out at a nearby church.
“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholiCSpirit@arChSpm org with “Why I am Catholic” in the subject line.
As I grew a bit older, I had another very moving experience during my freshman year of college, thanks to a young lady named Stacy, my floor’s Academic Role Model. She went doorto-door to invite all of us freshmen on the floor to do church activities with her. She befriended me, inviting me to do things with her friends and staying up for late-night conversations. All along the way, my mom has always given me the knowledge that the Catholic religion was key to a good life. We both enjoy the Catholic rituals of the Mass and the great sacraments, particularly Communion. It’s a memory we have of the Last Supper, and it’s something we are all freely given, like it was given to the disciples. I was given it in the hospital
uring the summer before my freshman year of high school when I was 14, I went to a Christian camp with my best friend, Christine. Everything was phenomenal. We sang a lot of songs. But what I remember most about the camp was the vespers service, where we sang soft, slow songs for Jesus and worshiped at the altar. I remember us washing each other’s feet at the campsites with our fellow camp friends, like Jesus did. Then, a girl prayed for a storm, and instead, we got a tornado warning. We all huddled inside the one building and prayed. It was awe-inspiring. It made me think of God and his power and might.Mylife has been filled with these moments, where I’ve experienced God’s dominion, love and grace. Among them was my confirmation. I chose St. Maria Goretti as my saint, and I’ve always admired her courage and pureness of heart.
22 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Good priests and lay evangelists have also been important to my faith. Father Al Backmann, one of my favorite priests, would say, “May the peace and the love of the Lord be with you,” and he would smile a smile that was so full of warmth while saying it. I was so touched by that.
Resurrection Cemetery: (Dble Niche)
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When asked if the attorney general’s office had looked into connections between sex trafficking and abortion providers — more serious allegations than what is alleged against CPCs — Stiles said the issues are unrelated.
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providers where those deaths took place?” Adkins asked. “Is he ensuring abortion clinics are safe places for women, despite evidence that abortion clinics, among other things, facilitate sex trafficking of minors?”
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The consumer alert also states that more than 95% of CPCs do not provide prenatal or wellness care to “pregnant consumers, and a majority do not even
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The Secular Franciscan fraternity at the Prior Lake Retreat Center invites you to a “come and see” meal with fellowship and fun on Sunday, September 18 from 3 to 5:30 pm. It’s FREE and everyone is welcome, including children! Join us at 16385 Saint Francis Lane, Prior Lake, MN. For more information, call Mary, 952-240-1604.
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“Is A.G. Ellison investigating the
“Be Smart for Kids: Gun Safety and Awareness Workshop” — Sept. 28: 6:15–7:15 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace, 5435 11th Ave. S., Minneapolis. Parents will learn strategies and tactics to normalize conversations about gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries. olpmn ChurChCenter Com/regiStrationS/eventS/1407510
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values align with the Catholic Church’s, but it is not directly connected with the Church, she said.
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Fall/Winter Children’s Clothing and Toy Sale — Sept. 24-25 at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane N., Maple Grove. Sept. 24: 9 a.m.–2 p.m.; Sept. 25: 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Credit cards accepted. All items 50% off Sept. 25. Sjtw net/fall winter ChildrenS Sale
Asked whether the attorney general’s office could take action to investigate the deaths, Stiles said state law provides no authority to the attorney general to investigate or take action.
voting details in Minnesota elections, and show how to locate information regarding candidate positions on the issues. prinCipleSoverpolitiCS org
Hansel refutes the alert’s claim that CPCs do not counsel or provide accurate information about available abortion services. “We provide medically accurate information on all of their options, including abortion,” she said. “We encourage all of our centers to use the Minnesota Department of Health’s (printed) piece ‘If You’re Pregnant.’ We don’t refer for or provide abortions, but we do provide medically accurate information from the Minnesota Department of Health on abortion and abortion procedures.”
“Election 2022: Principles Over Politics” — Sept. 27: 7–9 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, 835 Second Ave. NW, New Brighton. Speakers: Tim Staples of Catholic Answers and John Helmberger of the Minnesota Family Council. The objectives are to form Catholics in their faith regarding voting, educate Catholics on
“Sex trafficking is illegal in Minnesota and the abuses of sex trafficking are well documented,” he said. “Attorney General Ellison is a leader in fighting sex trafficking, working with county attorneys and advocates to coordinate and bring more resources to prosecution and taking various steps to ease reentry into society for people who have been victimized by sex trafficking.”
Thank you Jesus and St. Anthony for prayers answered. DB
provide prenatal referrals.” Hansel said that is not true. For example, Options for Women East, an Elevate Life affiliate on St. Paul’s East Side, provides full prenatal care at no cost to clients, she said. And Options for Women St. Croix Valley in Oak Park Heights, another affiliate, also offers prenatal care. “Every one of our centers provide referrals for prenatal care,” Hansel said — and usually three referrals, so women have a choice.
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And in the five cases noted, Stiles said it appeared that “all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice” were taken “to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant,” as required by Minnesota law in statute 145.423. In one example, according to the MDH report, “fetal anomalies were reported resulting in death shortly after delivery. No measures taken to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.”
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 23
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Ellison’s actions on abortion are selective and appear to be ideological, Adkins said, noting that the 2021 Minnesota Department of Health abortion statistics report (available at tinyurl com/46tzksx3) indicated five babies were born alive during abortion procedures and left to die. “That is against the law,” Adkins said. The statute can be found at revisor mn gov/statutes/ cite/145.423
With Ellison up for reelection this November, he might want to look “really good” to his base, which is “pro-abortion,” Gibson said. “It’s not surprising in that sense that they’re making these statements and … some in their base get charged up to go vote.”
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Fall Rummage Sale — Sept. 23-25 at St. Mark, 1983 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Pre-sale 5–7 p.m. Sept. 22 ($5 admission). Sept. 23-24, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sept. 25, 9 a.m.–noon. Clothes, household items, collectibles, books and more. oneStrongfamily org
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Immaculate Conception organ recital — Sept. 18: 2 p.m. at 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. Organist Ray Bannon will perform works by J.S. Bach, Handel and four Masters of the English Organ Voluntary. Freewill offering to benefit Immaculate Conception music and liturgy ministries.
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Sharing & Caring Hands/Mary’s Place is located in Minneapolis and is a compassionate response to the needs of the poor. They provide an array of services to the homeless and poor and stand as a beacon of hope to those that are alone, afraid, and in need. They are hiring for multiple job positions as well as seeking volunteers. For job descriptions/how to apply, please email kklement@sharingandcaring hands.org.
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To learn more about volunteering as a tutor to the children living at Mary’s Place (must be age 16+), please email kklement@sharingandcaring hands.org. To learn more about volunteering in the dental or medical clinic (must be a dentist, doctor, or nurse), please email mcozart@ sharingandcaringhands.org
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Walk for Peace 2022 — Sept. 17: 10–11:25 a.m. at St. Mary of the Lake, 4741 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake. Sixth annual event begins with 10 a.m. prayer service. Participants then proceed at their own pace along a 2.5-mile route with 12 prayer stations that offer reflections. The event closes with a second prayer service at 11:20 a.m. No signs or banners.
Fit for Life — Sept. 24: 10 a.m.–noon at 9831 Rebecca Park Trail, Rockford. Chipped-timed 4-mile walk/run at Lake Rebecca Park. Hosted by Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello. holySpiritaCademy org/fit for life
Trinity Sober Homes Fundraising Banquet — Sept. 29: 7 p.m. at DoubleTree Hilton, 1500 Park Place Blvd., St. Louis Park. The Catholic sober house for men 40 and older will honor William Slattery with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Live music, keynote speaker David McNally and Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Tickets are $150 at trinitySoberhomeS org
Immaculée Ilibagiza: “Faith, Hope and Forgiveness” — Sept. 22: 6:30 p.m. at Shakopee Area Catholic School, 2700 17th Ave. E., Shakopee. Presentation by Ilibagiza, Rwandan American author and speaker. Followed by 8 p.m. book signing. $10 adults, $5 students. Organized by Sts. Joachim and Anne SSjaCS org
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Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit — Sept. 16-18 at St. Peter, 2600 Margaret St., North St. Paul. Sept. 16: 6:30–8:30 p.m.; Sept. 17: 5–9 p.m.; Sept. 18: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. A photographic exhibit displaying the work of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young man devoted to the Eucharist who created a website documenting eucharistic miracles from around the world prior to his death at age 15. ChurChofStpeternSp org
Q Was your last year emotional?
For nearly half a century, David Johnson has taught second grade at St. Agnes School in St. Paul. This fall, he is not. At 83, the Roseville grandfather of 22 decided to retire. He leaves a powerful legacy in the classroom and the theater, where he directed 32 musicals.
Q What keeps you young at heart?
A I love to garden. When you direct a musical, you’re busy in February, March and April, and then there’s the last month of school when you better get everything done, so by the time I’d get out to my so-called garden, the weeds could be up to my knees. So, I’m looking forward to getting out there in March and pouncing on them.
A There are so many hoops you have to jump through with adoption and inspections. We had one inspector that even went through our closets. My wife, Nancy, and I just felt, “OK, we have the energy, we have the love of children. If God wants us to do this, He’ll make it work out.” And it did.
INSET David Johnson.
PHOTOS COURTESY NEAL ABBOTT, ST. AGNES SCHOOL
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
24 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
After 49 years, beloved St. Agnes teacher retires
Q How did you know it was time to stop?
Q How do you participate in the work of God?
A On the very first day of school, I always read them “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister. It’s a fish with shiny rainbow scales that he refuses to share, so nobody will have anything to do with him. When he starts to give away his scales, he realizes what a warm feeling that is, and before you know it, he gives them all away except one. I read this as a kind of theme for the year: You have to be willing to give of yourself.
Q What did you learn from raising 12 kids?
Q What do you enjoy about gardening?
A I thought, “I want to stop while I’m still on top.” I didn’t want to start a year and because of age problems and so on not be able to finish it. I knew God would let me know when it was time.
A The lower school director makes out the class lists,
A I learned that God was in charge. Money was always an issue. As teachers at a Catholic school, there were many days when we’d go to the grocery store, and before we’d go, we’d look at the checkbook to see how much we could spend. There always seemed to be doors open. We took advantage of everything we could. There’s a WIC program that helps you with food. We were not too proud to accept help. It’s interesting. God just always provided.
A The big thing about staying young is: Just don’t stop. You have to keep active. If you sit down and say, “I’m old and tired,” before you know it, you will be old and tired. About four years ago, I had a knee replacement. I had to go through the usual therapy, and that particular year, the musical demanded a lot of tap dancing. The knee replacement was the first week of December, and by the first week of February, I was tap dancing. I had to! I’ve always felt very blessed that I have been able to enjoy 83 years. Each day is a gift from God.
A Knowing it was my last year, I had a little extra power behind me. Everything we did was done with extra gusto. I was not emotional though. I felt calm and I felt satisfied that this was what God wanted me to do.
Q Besides subbing, what will you do in retirement?
A I visited my teaching partner, who moved into my room. It was a half-day, so I timed it. I slipped in during dismissal, and I waited in her room till she came back in. I didn’t want to make a fuss. It was fun to visit with her and wish her well. She has done amazing things with my room. It didn’t feel like my room, and I didn’t feel, “Oh, dear, I wish I was here.” I was really happy with the changes she made. She had it repainted, everything was moved differently, she brought in some of the things from her room. I was very glad. I didn’t want her to teach in my shadow. This is all hers now.
Q What parenting advice would you give?
ABOVE David Johnson teaches his second-grade students “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” at St. Agnes School in St. Paul. Now 83, he retired earlier this year after 49 years teaching there.
Q Your maternal grandparents were charter members of St. Agnes. Your mom attended the school and so did you and all your kids, and now 12 grandkids are enrolled. What makes it a special place?
THELASTWORD
Q Do you have a favorite picture book you share with your students?
Now, I’m not quite done yet. I’m planning on subbing in the preschool and for K-3, along with music and art. I’m also a lector and an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at St. Agnes, so I have volunteered to continue that. One of the greatest thrills of my life is to touch the body and blood of Jesus and give it to a person. It’s something you can’t explain.
A I like the surprises. You put this plant in, and you don’t expect much, and it blooms into this beautiful bush. And then you buy other things and they don’t do anything at all. It’s kind of like the plants talk and say, “Nuh-uh. I’m not going to bloom here.”
Q What was the first day of school like for you this year?
A My advice would be to be firm but temperate with love and patience. Today, parents are afraid of the word “no.” It’s so important that you have to say “no” when it’s necessary. If you coddle them and say yes to their every want, when they get out in the world, the world isn’t going to treat them that way. They have to accept disappointments — “no, we can’t afford this; no, you can’t do this” — but then you can go too far with the word no. You have to temper it with love and patience.
Q And you learned to trust him, adopting six of your children.
A It is such a calm and safe place. As you walk through the school, that’s the first thing you notice. Christ lives in every classroom. It’s the focus of all of us teachers, to bring him into whatever we’re teaching. As you walk down the halls, they are filled with work from children expressing their experience with Christ, their journey in faith. I’m sure I could have made many more dollars in a public school, but I couldn’t match the feeling and security I felt at St. Agnes.
but I’ve always felt that God has a hand in it. It’s not just a shuffle of the cards. I have to recognize, “Now why is this child in my room and what can I do for them?” A few years ago, I had a boy who was brand new to the school and gave me a real run for my money. But I did notice during the time when everyone could choose their own books to read, he always went to my religious books. By the end of the year, he said to me, “I would like to be baptized and become Catholic.” I didn’t want to take any credit, but I did have a few things in my room that were inspirational, and maybe that’s what turned the tide for him.