The
COURIER
St. Pio of Pietrelcina September 23
September 2023
Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN | dowr.org
The Native Into the Sweltering Heat American Girls' School � in Avoca: Going Out Through the Door
By DEB MCMANIMON
hen I talk to groups about evangelization, I always share this quote from Pope Francis: "We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities when so many people are waiting for the Gospel! ... It's not enough simply to open the door in welcome, but we must go out through that door to seek and meet the people." Each time our St. Paul Street Evangelization teams go out, we are doing just what our Holy Father has urged us to do. We are also following the call of our own shepherd, Bishop Barron, who reminds us of the urgency of the mission of evangelization. Sometimes we talk to and pray for those who know nothing about God, and we can talk about why we believe in Him. Sometimes we talk to and pray for those who have a Protestant faith background, and we can share why we are Catholic or just plant a seed for the Lord to nurture. Sometimes we talk to and pray for those who have left the Church, and we can invite them to come home. Sometimes we talk to and pray for those who are faithful Catholics, and we can witness to the call we all have to share our faith with others. Oftentimes we encounter all of these in our time on the street. Today (August 22, 2023) was one of those days. Today when we went out, I think it was the hottest day of the summer so far this year (it got to 97 with a heat index in the triple digits). We went out a little earlier than usual to try to beat the worst of the heat and because Bishop Barron was going to join us on the Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester. As usual, we prayed before we went to the Plaza for those we would meet and for all of our evangelists. Before the Bishop joined us, we set up our prayer stations and began talking to and praying with people.
Bishop Barron with St. Paul Street Evangelists in Rochester on August 22.
A man who worked at a nearby restaurant walked by, and we asked if he would like a blessed medal or prayer. He stopped to talk and told us he used to be Catholic. I said, “Tell me what happened.” He told us that there were many things, but the tipping point was when he got hollered at during Confession. He said after that, he just left. His mom told him later, that she had a dream that he would have a problem during Confession. I apologized for that happening, and we prayed for him. He wanted to pray for the priest, so we also named him and prayed for him. The man had to leave, so we told him that we would continue to pray for him in our adoration chapel. Our evangelist Laurie recognized a young man who was working on filming some people who were part of PossAbilities - a group that works with those with disabilities. Several of the young adults in the group came over to look at our medals and talk to our evangelist.
Sweltering Heat, cont'd on pg. 16
Reaching Through Time, History, Faith and Culture in Southwestern Minnesota
By LISA KREMER, OFS
� was blessed to grow up in the little village of
Avoca in southwestern Minnesota. It was a place where everyone knew everyone, and we all knew something about our past. When I was very young, my aunt, who loved to make up stories for us, would take us for walks along Lime Lake in Avoca on the “Indian Path.” There was a path there to follow, but I don’t know if it was a yarn that my aunt wove to entertain us, or if there was truth in that identity of the path. I suspect the former, but now realize that in the process of the story my aunt was teaching us that it was the land of the Sioux long before our people (mainly the German, Irish and Scandinavians) arrived in Avoca. Before many whites came to the region, the Sioux were driven out to the reservations, making way for a great
Girls' School, cont'd on pg. 10
INSIDE this issue
Lifeguarding and Why We Can't Wade In page 4
Wheat, Weeds, and the Fields of Our Lives page 5
Steubenville Youth Conference
page 8