Issuu

Marking the 50th anniversary of March on Washington

10 August 29, 2013

Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

The Catholic Spirit News with a Catholic heart

14 - 17 TheCatholicSpirit.com

Pope Francis denounces ‘atrocious acts,’ in Syria

All are welcome Mass celebrates gifts people with disabilities bring to archdiocese

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

By Dianne Towalski The Catholic Spirit

Debi and Dan Moffatt were wondering earlier this summer if their 16-year-old special-needs triplets would have the opportunity to be confirmed. They were trying to decide if they should enroll them in confirmation classes at their parish, St. Patrick in Edina, when Debi received an email from her sister, who has a daughter with autism, asking her what the family was planning to do for confirmations. Debi said she knew about the annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities that is celebrated at the St. Paul Seminary chapel, and she told her sister she would do some digging to see what might be offered for her niece and for her own teens. Debi did her research and found out about the confirmation program offered through the Outreach to Persons with Disabilities office of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The program started in just two days, and the Moffatts might have missed the opportunity had it not been for the email from Debi’s sister. Enter Deacon Sean Curtan, who runs the disabilities office as part of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life with the help of his wife Joan. “I emailed right away, and Deacon Sean called me back within a half hour,” Debi said. “Everything just fell into place so

It’s back-to-school time

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Debi Moffatt helps her daughter Jennifer prepare for confirmation class. Jennifer and her brothers Patrick and Daniel will be confirmed Sept. 8 at the annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities.

Want to go? What: Annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities. When: Sept. 8, 3 p.m. Where: St. Paul Seminary, St. Mary's Chapel, 2260 Summit Ave. St. Paul.

Prayers for peace

This year’s celebrant will be Bishop Lee Piché. A sing-along will begin at 2:30 p.m. and a social with light refreshments will follow the Mass.

smoothly,” she said. The Moffatts’ triplets — Patrick, Daniel and Jennifer — have varying degrees of cerebral palsy. Daniel, whose condition is very mild, could have taken classes at the parish but opted for this program so he could be confirmed with his brother and sister. The Curtans facilitate the classes — two Saturday mornings for two hours. “Deacon Sean really emphasized, like

Pope Francis called again for an end to the fighting in Syria, denouncing the “multiplication of massacres and atrocious acts,” including the suspected chemical weapons attack that left hundreds dead. As U.N. weapons inspectors received permission from the Syrian government Aug. 25 to visit the site of the alleged attack, Pope Francis said the “terrible images” of the dead, including children, “push me once again to raise a voice so that the roar of the weapons would stop.” “It is not clashes, but an ability to meet and to dialogue that offers prospects for a hope of resolving the problems,” the pope said after reciting the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square.

we believe in this house, that everyone has something to give,” Debi said. “Sometimes even if it’s just a smile or a hello, that can really brighten other people’s lives.” “He really stressed that all of the candidates are members of the body of Christ and they have a right to be able to go to church and be part of that community,” PLEASE TURN TO CONFIRMATION ON PAGE 24

Once again the pope asked the crowd to join him in praying that Mary, queen of peace, would intercede to stop the fighting that has raged in Syria since March 2011 as rebels try to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. “From the depths of my heart, I want to express my closeness in prayer and solidarity with all the victims of this conflict (and) all those who are suffering, especially the children, and ask them to keep their hopes for peace alive,” the pope said. PLEASE TURN TO CHURCH ON PAGE 9

Catholic Spirit to launch redesign of newspaper, website Every so often, a newspaper looks in the mirror and decides it could use a makeover. For the last several months, the staff of The Catholic Spirit and the Communications Office of the archdiocese have been working on a redesign to better serve readers. The new look will debut with the Sept. 12 issue. It’s been seven years since the last time we assessed the layout, content and readability of the newspaper, and we had three goals this time around: ! First, we wanted to make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for and include more of what they have told us really matters to them, especially local stories and inspirational stories of our faith being lived out here in our archdiocese. ! Second, we wanted the design and new content to increasingly appeal to youth and young adults. The redesign

includes a page designated specifically for young writers and topics of interest to them. ! Finally, we really wanted to use this opportunity to ramp up the ways we integrate what we do in the newspaper with our online presence on THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM, our CATHOLICHOTDISH. COM blog and social media. That also will assist us in more successfully reaching younger audiences that get nearly all of their news and information online. To this end, THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM is undergoing a redesign that also will launch Sept. 12. Currently, the newspaper and website don’t tightly align visually or from a content flow perspective. In addition, the website is a bit PLEASE TURN TO CATHOLIC ON PAGE 2

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Cooperating with the Creator’s plan

That They May All Be One Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

The Church’s teaching on sexual morality is analogous to an environmental steward’s desire to protect nature — both understand what was meant to be in the design

Earlier this month, I made my fourth annual trip to the Boundary Waters with incoming senior college seminarians. We were accompanied by a St. John Vianney College Seminary faculty member and a recent graduate of the school. We went canoeing and fishing, camping and fishing, swimming and fishing, grilling out and . . . fishing. We prayed the Liturgy of the Hours and I celebrated Mass each day. We watched the sun go down and told stories over the campfire. It is a privileged time for developing those relationships that are so important for male development and spiritual growth. I am not sure how much longer my body will let me do it, but as long as I can, I enjoy it.

Ten camping commandments What I found interesting this particular time was the video presentation we had to watch before obtaining our pass to enter the area. Now, as you no doubt are aware, the Boundary Waters are Minnesota’s environmental paradise. It is pristine in its condition, and park officials are intent on keeping it that way. They have their own Ten Commandments: 1. You will camp only at desig-

The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit’s mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It seeks to inform, educate, evangelize and foster a spirit of community within the Catholic Church by disseminating news in a professional manner and serving as a forum for discussion of contemporary issues.

Vol. 18 — No. 19 MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT Publisher SARAH MEALEY Associate publisher JOE TOWALSKI Editor Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by Catholic Spirit Publishing Company. 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 bi-weekly by the Catholic Spirit Publishing Company, a non-profit Minnesota Corporation, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM E-MAIL: CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM.ORG USPS #093-580

Official His Excellency, the Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt, has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Effective August 7, 2013 Reverend Ronald DesRosiers, SM, appointed “ad nutum episcopi” as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Louis, King of France (Saint Paul). Effective August 16, 2013 Reverend Daniel Griffith, appointed “ad nutum episcopi” as Delegate for Safe Environment. This is in addition to his current appointments as Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and to the faculty of the University of Saint Thomas School of Law.

Photo courtesy of Archbishop Nienstedt

Archbishop John Nienstedt, right, stands in the Boundary Waters with seminarians, from left, Aric Aamodt, Colin Jones, Matthew Bearth and Corey Manning of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul.

nated sites, marked out by a fire grill. All members of a permit group must camp together. 2. You shall not cut, peel or deface a tree or shrub, nor pick flowers. 3. For firewood, you shall only collect dead wood from trees that are no longer standing. 4. No more than nine people can be together at any place in the wilderness — on the water, or portages, or in camp. Four watercraft are the maximum allowed in

a group. 5. You must carry food and drinks in reusable plastic containers. Cans and glass bottles are not allowed except for fuel, insect repellent, medicines and toilet articles. 6. You may not dump unused bait into the waters of the State. Unwanted bait must be packed out with you. 7. Wash dishes and pans at least PLEASE TURN TO WE ON PAGE 20

Effective September 1, 2013 Deacon Thomas Winninger, appointed “ad nutum episcopi” to ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes of Saint Anthony (Minneapolis). Effective September 3, 2013 Reverend Jon Vander Ploeg, appointed pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence, of Minneapolis, chaplain to the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), and director of the Newman Center. Effective September 8, 2013 Reverend Spencer Howe, assigned to an additional year of academic studies at the Pontifical North American College.

Reader Inquiry

Catholic Spirit to get makeover CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 cluttered and busy. We want to make it crisper, easier to navigate and align much more clearly with how we’re covering content in the print newspaper. That said, because we have greater space opportunities online, website visitors will be able to find even more information and news. One aspect of that will be moving all of our parish calendar items online so that we have much greater capacity to promote their events, such as parish festivals, pancake breakfasts, fish fries, etc. The new, cleaner look is integral

to the change, but the larger value will be in the news and information we will include going forward. We will continue to include our new Rediscover: center section and increase our focus on assisting Catholics of this local Church in understanding the faith more deeply and to go out and share the faith with others who are so in need of the Gospel message. Watch for a more detailed explanation of the changes in the next issue of The Catholic Spirit. — Sarah Mealey, associate publisher Joe Towalski, editor

Liturgical music conference set for October In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale, the Catholic Music Association will be hosting a local conference this October entitled “The Renewal of Sacred Music and the Liturgy in the Catholic Church: Movements Old and New.” Internationally renowned speakers, solemn high Masses and a perform-

ance of Mozart’s “Solemn Vespers” will all be a part of the conference, which will be held at St. Agnes in St. Paul and the Cathedral of St. Paul from Oct. 13-15. More information, including registration information, may be found at HTTP://MUSICASACRA.COM/EVENTS/STAGNES.

TheCatholicSpirit.com

Tell us about your Summer Share Project success story Did you take part in the Rediscover: initiative’s Summer Share Project? Do you have an inspiring story to tell about how it helped someone connect or reconnect with the Catholic faith? The project, launched at the end of May, made free, business-size cards available featuring the Rediscover: website on one side and the site where the Rediscover: app could be downloaded on the other. Catholics of the archdiocese were encouraged to take two cards and give them away this summer to people they thought could benefit from what Rediscover: has to offer. If you have a Summer Share Project success story to tell, we would like to hear from you and possibly highlight it in the newspaper and online. Please email your story to CATHOLIC SPIRIT@ARCHSPM.ORG, and write “Summer Share Project” in the subject line. Or mail it to The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. In either case, please include your name, parish and daytime telephone number.

“When they’re needed, they’re always available and willing to help.” Father Kevin Kenney, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul, speaking about the parish’s Knights of Columbus council

Local News from around the archdiocese

AUGUST 29, 2013

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Knights council reaches out to Spanish-speaking community By Susan Klemond

years to start a council at the parish were unsuccessful, the fact that the new council’s meetings and training are expected to be conducted in Spanish has enabled it to attract more first-generation immigrants, Sonnen said. In the parish of 1,200 families, two-thirds of parishioners speak primarily Spanish. If the council attracts more parishioners with Spanish meetings, it will be good for the parish and the community, said Father Kenney, who also serves as archdiocesan vicar for Latino ministry. “It offers for the men an opportunity in the church to continue growing in their faith and to offer something back to the parish that they could do by way of service and helping,” he said.

For The Catholic Spirit

How do you say “Knights of Columbus” in Spanish? “Caballeros de Colon” is how an increasing number of Catholics refer to the gentlemen in black capes and plumed hats (chapeau) who serve their own parishes and the greater Church in a variety of ways. With the establishment in January of Minnesota’s first Spanish-speaking Knights of Columbus council at Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul and as they seek to add more Spanish-speaking councils around the state, the Knights are drawing new Latino members who are enriching the fraternal benefits society culturally and who are becoming more involved in the local Church. As part of the Knights of Columbus, which was founded more than 130 years ago on the East Coast to help Catholic families, the Caballeros de Colon at Our Lady of Guadalupe have taken on a number of projects and may in the future help with a program for those with immigration problems. “We want this to be for our Spanish community,” said Emeterio Orozco, the council’s current grand knight. “We can get our people involved with church, with their faith [and] to grow families in our church.”

Dedicated members The Our Lady of Guadalupe Council has 40 members — male parishioners mostly in their 40s and 50s — with more continuing to show interest. With the goal of assisting their pastor, Father Kevin Kenney, the council has helped with parking during Holy Week and Easter, food for the parish festival and for the parish’s summer

Growing interest

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Members of the newly-formed Knights of Columbus Council of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul gathered to volunteer at the Latino Family Day event at Como Park in St. Paul Aug. 25. Pictured are top row, from left, Lou Alvarado, Father Kevin Kenney, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, George Sonnen and Grand Knight Emeterio Orozco. Bottom row, from left, are Hipolito Barboza, Jose Rodriquez and Pablo Lopez.

camp for kids, altar renovation and other needs. “Pretty much anything Father needs help with,” said Lou Alvarado, a council trustee and founding grand knight. “We bring lots of manpower and a lot of dedication.” He added, “Through the brotherhood and fellowship we strengthen our faith which really has a direct correlation to strong families and strong neighborhoods, strong communities, and, of course, a strong parish. It offers a lot of communi-

Hearing Tests Set for Senior Citizens Announcement — Free electronic hearing tests will be given all next week Monday thru Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. The tests have been arranged for anyone who suspects they are not hearing clearly. People who generally feel they can hear, but cannot understand words clearly are encouraged to come in for the test, which uses the latest electronic equipment. Everyone, especially those over age 55 should have an electronic hearing test once

a year. Demonstrations of the latest devices to improve clarity of speech will be programmed using a computer to your particular needs — on the spot — after the tests. See (and HEAR) for yourself if newlydeveloped methods of correction will help you understand words better. Tests will be performed at one of 20 convenient Greater Twin Cities Avada Hearing Care locations.

Call 1-877-328-9161

cation and also resources.” The council conducts some of its training in Spanish. The organization has four degrees of knighthood; fourth-degree Knights receive a cape and chapeau. So far eight Caballeros in the council have completed fourth (patriotic) degree training, said George Sonnen, chairman of new council development, who approached the parish about forming a council. He predicts membership will rise to 100 in the next three years. While previous efforts over the past 50

St. Odilia 3495 North Victoria Street Shoreview, MN

Check our website at www.stodilia.org

“Celebrating Our Abundant Blessings” Saturday, September 7: Noon to 11:00 pm Sunday, September 8: Noon to 5:00 pm

NOTICE Look for The Catholic Spirit advertising insert from

LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR in all copies of this issue.

Spanish-speaking parishes around the state are showing interest in the Knights, Sonnen said. Councils are planned for St. Stephen in Minneapolis and St. Mary in Worthington. Locally, the Knights are considering a pro bono assistance program for those with immigration problems which would rotate between parishes, he said. Latinos have a lot to offer the Knights and the Church, Alvarado said. “On a broader sense, the Knights of Columbus of Minnesota see us and realize that we’re much broader and have a lot to offer — different aspects of our culture. . . . We bring different perspectives and different ways to celebrate.” The Caballeros have benefited the parish, Father Kenney said. “When they’re needed, they’re always available and willing to help,” he said. “As projects come up, the invitation goes out and they’ve been very responsive.”

FALL JAM 2013 – “The Voice” of St. Odilia

Musicians of all ages, performing all genres for over 14 hours of music! Gambling Permit #X-62107

Live Auction and Silent Auction Food, Marketplace, Games, Inflatables Festival Sweepstakes and “Lovers Knot” Quilt Raffle

Local

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

Parish welcomes head of Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter The Catholic Spirit Parishioners and visitors to All Saints in Minneapolis gathered after Mass recently to welcome Father John Berg, a Bloomington native who now heads a group of priests dedicated to offering the traditional Latin Mass. The priests, members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter established by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1988, serve around the world, including in 34 U.S. dioceses. Two priests of the fraternity — Father Peter Bauknecht and Father Simon Harkins — began serving at All Saints in July. Father Berg, who lives in Fribourg, Switzerland, is serving his second six-year term as the fraternity’s superior general, often traveling around the world to visit its 250 priests and apostolates. He offered a solemn high Mass at All Saints Aug. 11 and then met with worshipers in the parish center. Archbishop John Nienstedt accepted the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter’s offer to serve after consulting with All Saints’ parish trustees, parish pastoral council and archdiocesan presbyteral council, a representative body of priests from across the archdiocese. The parish had been without a pastor for more than a year. “The service that we typically provide is what we’re doing here at All Saints, which is to provide a parochial life for those who desire to have the sacraments in what we now call the extraordinary form,” said Father Berg, a graduate of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Bloomington and Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. “We are priests who live in community,” Father Berg said. “Our priests are expected to get up in the morning and pray together, pray together at night and have meals together. So, it’s a more structured life than maybe a

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Father Simon Harkins, left, Father John Berg and Father Peter Bauknecht stand outside of All Saints in Minneapolis. The priests are members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Fathers Bauknecht and Harkins began serving the parish in July; Father Berg, the fraternity’s superior general, celebrated a solemn high Mass at the church Aug. 11.

diocesan priest has.” In addition to celebrating the Mass using the extraordinary form of the liturgy according to the liturgical books of 1962, the priests of the fraternity also celebrate the other sacraments using the extraordinary form. “All of those differ a little bit in the extraordinary form,” Father Berg said. “It’s not just a question of Latin, but also a lot of the symbols, moments of silence and things like that.”

A priest of the archdiocese, Father Jim Livingston, continues to offer the Mass in the ordinary (English) form on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Taking a look back The history of the Mass using the extraordinary rite in the archdiocese dates back to Archbishop John Roach, who granted permission for it to be celebrated

PLEASE TURN TO PRIESTS ON PAGE 5

That’s how many ways, both in print and online, The Catholic Spirit touches your life. By: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

Providing clear Catholic teaching. Enriching with facts people’s conversations about our faith. Challenging Catholics to live morally and justly. Inspiring noble acts. Deepening spiritual and prayer life. Celebrating Catholic traditions, Strengthening Catholic identity. Enlivening our Catholic community into action.

The Catholic Spirit

THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM

Fall Festival St. Gabriel • Hopkins www.stgabrielhopkins.org — 952.935.5536

St. John’s Campus - Friday & Saturday, Sept. 6 & 7 6 Interlachen Road, Hopkins 55343

Mass at 4 p.m. followed by

Mass at 8 and 10:30 a.m.

5-7 p.m.

8 a.m.-Noon

Grandpa Ittel’s Country-Grilled Pork Chops Alan Godage & The Sundown Band 5-10 p.m.

! FREE children’s Movie Night (8 p.m.) ! Adult & Kid’s Games ! Barnyard Bingo ! KC Beer & Beverage Tent ! Mike’s Mini Donuts & More ! Silent Auction ! Theme Baskets ! Country Market ! Root Beer Floats

SUNDAY BRUNCH

! Country Market ! Ben’s Bean Bag Tournament (Registration form: www.stmarys-waverly.com) ! Bingo ! Cake Walk ! KC Food & Beer Tent ! Apple Pie Baking Contest ! Barnyard Bingo ! Barrel Train Rides (12-3 p.m.) ! Pie Eating Contest ! Theme Basket Silent Auction ! Large Item Silent Auction ! Music by Chopper ! Root Beer Floats ! Mike’s Mini Donuts & More ! RAFFLES GALORE! (All Raffles follow Large Item Silent Auction

Music • Hamburgers • Brats • Hispanic Food GIANT inflatable and Children’s Games Friday Events: 5-10 p.m. Saturday begins 8 a.m. with Interlachen Park Garage Sale Mass at 4:30 p.m.

Live Music 5:30-8 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Campus - Sunday, Sept. 8

1310 Mainstreet, Hopkins 55343 Mass 10:30 a.m. (Bilingual)

Chicken Dinner 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

BINGO • Silent Auction • Games • Bake Shop • Country Store Wine & Beer Garden and Concessions Vikings on big screen at Noon Live Music 1-4 p.m.

00 $4,0 ffle in Ra es Priz

Local

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Citizenship path, family unity key to immigration reform The Catholic Spirit recently interviewed Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy and public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He will speak Sept. 4 at a discussion on faith and federal immigration reform hosted by Archbishop John Nienstedt at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. The following is an edited version of the interview. Q: Why is the issue of immigration reform a top priority for the U.S. bishops? A: It’s important because we’re an immigrant Church; we’ve grown with the country. Immigrants who are coming here are Catholic, so there’s a pastoral dimension to the issue for the Church. We’re a social service provider. We’re a health care provider. We have people in our parishes, all of whom are impacted by this immigration system. So, unless the bishops speak out and try to change the system, they’re APPLEBY not going to be able to help families who are separated, or children who have lost their parents, or a loved one who’s in detention. Q: Would you say the bishops’ stance on the immigration issue isn’t anything new? A: No, it’s not. The Church has been involved in immigration-related issues for decades, if not centuries. It’s not just a U.S. issue; this is global. The [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’] initial reason for creating the conference was to respond to war refugees after World War I and that’s been maintained ever since as a pastoral area of the Church — to minister to people on the move. It’s nothing new. We have broad experience within the Church on receiving immigrants into the community. So, we have a lot to say on the issue. Q: How do you see society and the Church benefiting from ethnic and cultural diversity? A: I think we benefit greatly. We’re all a part of the family of God, and we’re all part of his creation. Whenever we get diverse views, types of worship, different languages, I think it’s only good. If we were all the same, it would get pretty boring after a while. There are also a lot of different talents that are brought to the Church when we receive immigrants. A diverse Church represents all of God’s children. Q: When the bishops are talking about comprehensive immigration reform, what are the main points for which they’re advocating, particularly in terms of legislation? A: Having a path to citizenship is of primary importance. I think bringing people out of the shadows, getting them on a regular status and having them work toward being full citizens is solid policy. It eliminates the underclass in society and gives them an opportunity to fully contribute to their communities. We also believe in keeping families together — having

Discussion to focus on faith, federal immigration reform Archbishop John Nienstedt will host a discussion on faith and federal immigration reform from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Schulze Grand Atrium, 1000 La Salle Ave., in Minneapolis. Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy and public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with Minnesota business leaders, clergy, Catholic immigrants and other “people in the pew” will discuss the U.S. bishops’ support for immigration reform and the important role people of faith play in this critical national debate. A question-and-answer period will follow the panel discussion. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP to: INFO@MNCC.ORG.

a family reunification system that’s efficient and expedites family reunion and family relationships. We believe there should be a program that brings people in that want to work, giving them legal avenues to come in and work in a safe and orderly manner as opposed to the current situation where they rely on smugglers and traffickers, exposing themselves to those dangers to get here to work. We believe that due process should be restored to the system, that people should have their day in court. Some of those rights were taken away in 1996. Finally, we need some policies that look at why people are coming in the first place. What can we do to help address the issue at its core? Sustainable economic development is one issue to address. How can people stay where they are and support their families? That’s really the ultimate answer to irregular immigration. Q: It seems the issue of illegal immigration and having a path to legalization is one of the biggest points of contention for Congress and the public. How do you talk to people about this aspect of the issue? A: We’re not going to be able to deport 11 million people. What we’re doing now is deporting some of these people, and one consequence of that is family separation — U.S. citizen children who are left behind or traumatized and lose faith in their country. You’re never going to solve the problem that way. What you need to do is give [undocumented immigrants] an opportunity to earn their right to stay — have them pay a fine, have them pay a penalty, have them get in the back of a line, have them continue to work and help them learn English, things of that nature. That way, those who want to remain and really want to be citizens will work to get that. I think it’s a good solution. I think it’s a fair solution, and I think it will help bring people out of the shadows and stabilize immigrant communities.

Q: Perhaps it was presumptuous to speculate that creating a path to legalization is the biggest point of contention in Congress. Is this, indeed, the biggest obstacle to passing comprehensive immigration reform in your opinion? A: I think you can say the axis around which the debate turns is the path to citizenship. It brings out a lot of emotions. I think the hardest issue for legislators is what to do with the 11 million and do it in a way that doesn’t undermine the rule of law and doesn’t penalize people who play by the rules, but also reflects our values of compassion and forgiveness and allowing people a second chance. For the U.S., I think we’ll benefit by and large from those who are allowed to come out of the shadows and fully contribute and have their kids be part of the future, being future citizens. I can understand why folks have a hard time getting over the rule-of-law issue, but, ideally, [an immigration reform] bill will correct that so in the future we’ll have a system based on legal behavior and not illegal behavior. There’ll be enough visas for people to access so they can come legally, within limits of course, and don’t have to rely on other means. What we have now is an incongruent system. We have a “Don’t Enter-Keep Out” sign at the border, but we have a “Work-Help Wanted” at the workplace, and people are coming to the “Help Wanted” sign and ignoring the trespassing sign. Q: What are some other immigration-related issues at play in this debate? A: The issue that’s underreported is the cultural fear. People think, “Our way of life is going to be changed. We’re going to be a different country.” Q: Maybe that’s felt in many cases on the parish level as well? A: The Latino community is growing larger than any other [immigrant] community. So you’re starting to see more Hispanics in all sorts of roles in our society and in our parishes — even parishes that may be in traditional white, suburban areas. By and large, Catholics are very welcoming people. All the polls show that they are strongly supportive of this, that they welcome new immigrants but they also want them to integrate. They want them to learn English. They want them to learn civics, so I think the path to citizenship really responds to that desire: “Come join our country. Come join our parish. But you have to play by all the rules we’re playing by.” Q: What are one or two practical things that Catholics in the pew can do, whether it’s specifically related to legislation in Congress or about the immigration issue in general? A: The first thing they should do is contact their legislators. Whoever their representative is, either call them in Washington or call them at their local district office and say, “We want this done. We want immigration reform with a path to citizenship, and we’ll support you if you work for that.” They can either call them, or they could go on our website — JUSTICEFORIMMIGRANTS.ORG — and there are postcards there they can send electronically.

Priests at All Saints in Minneapolis offer traditional Latin Mass CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Augustine in South St. Paul on Dec. 8, 1984, in response to a petition from 500 parishioners requesting a Latin Mass. A year later, he granted an indult to St. Augustine parish, allowing for the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass on the feast of the Immaculate Conception each year and the first Friday of each month. In 1988, Pope John Paul II urged bishops to be generous in granting dispensations for the rite to be celebrated. Later, Archbishop Harry Flynn allowed the rite to be used for other sacraments as well. And, in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, in the document “Summorum Pontificum,” allowed priests to offer the Latin Mass at

their parishes as part of their regular schedule in consultation with the bishop. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter does not serve in any other parishes in the archdiocese, although traditonal Latin Masses are celebrated on a regular basis at a few others, including Holy Trinity in South St. Paul (Holy Trinity and St. Augustine campuses) and St. Agnes in St. Paul. Father Berg said that, unlike a territorial parish, which is defined by a specific geographical boundary, All Saints serves those throughout the archdiocese who desire to celebrate the sacraments using the extraordinary form. The parish will also offer faith formation for both children and adults. “There will be a lot of what you typically find in other parishes,” he said, “not only preparation for the sacraments, but also

ongoing education at every level.” “As members of the fraternity, we live with the conviction that the entire effectiveness of our apostolate flows from the Sacrifice of Our Lord, which we daily offer,” Father Harkins said. “Our goal for the parish of All Saints is that through that selfsame sacrifice and the treasures of Catholic culture — whether liturgical, educational or artistic — we may draw all people, young and old, to an ever-deepening love of Christ and his Church.” Both priests serving the parish are newcomers to the archdiocese. Father Harkins was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and worked for 10 years as a civil engineer before joining the Fraternity of St. Peter at its seminary in Denton, Neb., in 2003. He was ordained in 2010.

He served as chaplain at St Gregory’s Academy in Elmhurst, Pa., and then as assistant pastor of North American Martyrs parish in Seattle, Wash., before coming to All Saints. Father Bauknecht, pastor of All Saints, was born and raised in northern Wisconsin. He spent seven years in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician with tours in Japan, Spain and Diego Garcia. He entered the fraternity’s seminary in Denton and was ordained in 2010. He previously served in the Archdiocese of Edmonton and the Diocese of Calgary, both in Alberta, Canada, and the Diocese of Dallas. Read more about the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter on its website at WWW.FSSP.ORG.

Local

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

Rediscover: Speakers Series set; four new locations The Catholic Spirit Due to popular demand, the 2013 Rediscover: Speakers Series will be repeated this fall at four new locations. Each of the four 90-minute multimedia talks in the series features a speaker addressing ideas central to the Catholic faith and how they can lead to deeper, more meaningful connections in our lives. The series of four talks will be held on Mondays at Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata, Tuesdays at Epiphany in Coon Rapids, Wednesdays at the University of St. Thomas and Thursdays at Pax Christi in Eden Prairie. All the presentations, which begin at 7 p.m., are free; no registration is necessary. (See sidebar box for the full schedule.)

New opportunities The presentations drew 12,000 people earlier this year — many of the talks had standing room only. The new sites will give more people an opportunity to attend. “The locations for the talks in late winter were largely skewed eastward within the archdiocese. We wanted to give folks on the west side of our 12-county area an opportunity to attend something a little closer to home,” said Sarah Mealey, director of communications for the archdiocese. In addition to the three churches hosting talks this fall, the University of St. Thomas was selected as a site to reach out more directly to young adults. “We are excited about the partnerships we have been forming with the campus ministry organizations at the University of St. Thomas, St. Kate’s and the University of Minnesota, as well as with St. Paul’s Outreach, a wonderful Catholic ministry on the UST and University of Minnesota campuses,” Mealey said. “We definitely want to make special efforts to connect youth and young adults, especially college students, to the re-

Rediscover: Speakers Series fall talks ! “Rediscover: meaning Finding God’s Purpose for My Life” Presented by Father Peter Laird Monday, Sept. 16: Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuesday, Sept. 17: Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesday, Sept. 18: James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center, UST, St. Paul Thursday, Sept. 19: Pax Christi, Eden Prairie ! “Rediscover: belonging Living in Communion with God” Presented by Father Michael Keating Monday, Sept. 30: Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuesday, Oct. 1: Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesday, Oct. 2: James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center, UST, St. Paul Thursday, Oct. 3: Pax Christi, Eden Prairie ! “Rediscover: strength Overcoming Life’s Challenges through God’s Grace” Presented by Father Andrew Cozzens Monday, Oct. 21: Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuesday, Oct. 22: Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesday, Oct. 23: James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center, UST. St. Paul Thursday, Oct. 24: Pax Christi, Eden Prairie ! “Rediscover: The Way Keeping God at the Center of My Life” Presented by Deacon Joseph Michalak Monday, Nov. 4: Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuesday, Nov. 5: Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesday, Nov. 6: James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center, UST, St. Paul Thursday, Nov. 7: Pax Christi, Eden Prairie

sources of Rediscover:.” “One of the tools we think they will really appreciate and use is our Rediscover: mobile app, which includes Mass, confession and eucharistic adoration times in our ‘Find’ feature for all three of the campuses with whom we are partnering in our outreach efforts,” she said.

Presentation topics The schedule of talks includes: ! Father Peter Laird on “Rediscover: meaning — Finding God’s Purpose for My Life,” addressing “big questions,” such as: Who is God? What is God’s purpose and plan for my life? ! Father Michael Keating on “Rediscover: belonging — Living in Communion with God,” focusing on how personal sin weakens our relationship with God and how living the life we are called to through our baptism unites us with God and our family of faith. ! Father Andrew Cozzens on “Rediscover: strength — Overcoming Life’s Challenges through God’s Grace,” exploring how the sacraments put us in real contact with the living Lord, who gives the strength and power to overcome the challenges of life. ! Deacon Joseph Michalak on “Rediscover: The Way — Keeping God at the Center of My Life,” addressing what it means to live out a Christian life in the Church and keep God at the center of our lives. It is an exploration of how prayer, service to others and acceptance of God’s gift of the sacraments lead to true and lasting happiness in this life and the next. “We’re asking the thousands of people who attended the talks earlier this year to encourage friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to attend the talks this fall,” said Mealey, who encourages people who previously attended the presentations to “consider attending again and inviting two or three people to join them.”

Little Sisters of the Poor Please join us Feast Day of Saint Jeanne Jugan Friday August 30th Mass at 10:30 a.m.

Saint Jeanne Jugan Golf Classic

Monday September 23rd at Indian Hills Golf Club

“Makng the elderly happy - that is what counts!” St. Jeanne Jugan

If you are a Catholic young woman and feel that God may be calling you to serve the elderly, contact us to learn more about our vocation. We’d love to share the joy of consecrated hospitality with you! vcstpaul@littlesistersofthepoor.org

Serving the elderly poor of Minnesota for 130 years Little Sisters of the Poor

Local

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Evening of reflection focuses on women’s gifts to the Church By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

Blessed John Paul II’s 1988 teaching that women possess a unique genius that complements that of men is even more relevant now as we seek to understand women’s roles and why God made us male and female, according to presenters at an evening of reflection on the 25th anniversary of the Holy Father’s apostolic letter, “On the Dignity and Vocation of Women.” Opening with Mass for the Feast of the Assumption celebrated by Bishop Lee Piché at the St. Paul Seminary, a panel of presenters later spoke on the letter’s significance at the University of St. Thomas. About 250 attended the Aug. 15 event. The evening was sponsored by Siena Symposium for Women, Family and Culture, along with St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, Center for Catholic Studies and the Archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life.

Working together Presenters noted the letter’s emphasis for women on motherhood — physical or spiritual — and the feminine gift of sensitivity in caring for others at home and in the workplace. It is part of finding their mission in working together with men. “It is to the fullness of what it means to be a woman that the Church calls us to bring not only our natural capacity to attend the needs of others but to offer our wisdom, our strength, our love — indeed everything that we are,” said Deborah Sav-

“It is to the fullness of what it

means to be a woman that the Church calls us to bring not only our natural capacity to attend the needs of others but to offer our wisdom, our strength, our love — indeed everything that we are.

”

DEBORAH SAVAGE

age, theology and philosophy professor at St. Paul Seminary and co-founder of the Siena Symposium, an interdisciplinary faculty group at UST dedicated to rebuilding families and culture through scholarship and the insights of the Catholic faith. The Church needs women’s gifts and must further develop their role and a theology of womanhood, Bishop Piché said. Pope John Paul’s teaching in the letter is important for people today because “love is always relevant and ‘Mulieris Dignitatem’ [the letter’s Latin name] identifies the vocation of women as promoting the true order of love wherever she is, whether in the home or in the world,” said R. Mary Lemmons, philosophy and Catholic studies professor at the University of St. Thomas and Siena Symposium co-director.

“True love requires sensitivity to the needs of others; and women, because they are the ‘life-bearers’ of the human race, have that sensitivity; it is their feminine genius,” she said. The model of the feminine genius is the Blessed Mother, Bishop Piché said. “Mary’s Assumption was and is the definitive fulfillment of the gift and vocation of human life — human life which she lives to the fullest as woman now in complete union with God,” he said. The letter offers a starting point from which we can understand why God made us male and female, Savage said. Men and women have their own genius and they complement and need each other’s gifts. The letter “is an acknowledgement that [women] have something to offer that dis-

tinguishes our unique contribution from the equally significant and unique contribution of men,” she said.

Finding our place As John Paul taught, each person is called to a “unique, irreplaceable, exclusive relationship with the Holy Trinity,” according to presenter Gina Bauer, senior high youth director at St. Joseph in West St. Paul. “We all have our place, and why is that so important? So we can work together.” We need to equip ourselves for our mission through prayer, she said, later adding that one of the greatest needs now is to teach young men and women in St. Paul about their dignity and worth. Laureen Bluhm of Lumen Christi in St. Paul said she was impressed by the presentation. “It enlightened me on the document and made me more excited to read it and share some things I’ve heard,” she said. Elizabeth Jacobsen, who is studying at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., said she found the discussion relevant to questions she’s considering. “I’ve been looking to find a place in the world as a Catholic woman,” she said. “I was not sure what to do. This answers my question.” Jacobsen said she took away from the talks insights into the feminine genius and the fact that we need both males and females. “Men and women are distinct,” she said. “One can’t replace the other and our mission is all about love.”

Director of Parish Planning & Strategy

Director of Evangelization

Location: Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Chancery Corporation; St. Paul, MN

The Director provides long range planning processes and facilitation for the parishes of the Archdiocese, as well as the Chancery Corporation of the Archdiocese, and its various divisions and departments. Included in its long range planning for parishes is the Archdiocesan response and implementation of the Strategic Plan. Minimum requirements include a Master's degree in theology, divinity, pastoral studies, business management, and/or human resources and a minimum of 10 years’ experience in a diocesan setting or relevant experience.

Church / Ministry Jobs Assistant Editor Location: Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Chancery Corporation; St. Paul, MN The Assistant Editor works with the Publications Manager/Editor to oversee, contribute original content for and provide editing for The Catholic Spirit. Essential functions include, but are not limited to news writing and photography, and editing the work of editorial staff members, columnists and regular contributors to make it publication ready. Minimum requirements include a B.A. in journalism or related degree, and five or more years’ experience in a related field. Parish Business Administrator Location: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church; St. Paul Park, MN Duties include business, financial & cemetery administration; representative to Parish Pastoral Council, Finance & Administration Council, & various committees; Human Resource administration; physical plant administration; supervision of office & maintenance staff; fundraising & special event coordination; communication/liaison - staff, trustees, Archdiocese, various committees. Qualifications: experience and/or education in business related field as well as experience in the following: financial management, supervision & Human Resources, property management, stewardship/fundraising, computer skills in MS Office, leadership & coordination skills, communication skills. Substitute Teacher Location: Our Lady of the Lake School; Mound, MN Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Mound, MN is looking for substitute teachers to join our faculty on an as needed basis. Our Lady of the Lake is a P-8 School that focuses on the Archdiocese mission of forming students to live out the Gospel message, to achieve academic excellence and to lead by faith, virtue and reason. Applicants should hold a MN Teaching license or Archdiocesan Sub Training Certificate, have completed Virtus Training, and pass a Background Check. For more information on these and other job openings, or to apply online, please visit www.archspm.org/careers.

The Director provides leadership, vision and advocacy for the development and implementation of the Archdiocesan Evangelization strategy. Minimum requirements include a Master’s degree in Theology or equivalent and a minimum of 5-8 years’ experience in a diocesan setting or equivalent experience.

“The history of the Coptic Church is both glorious and tragic.” Otto F.A. Meinardus

Nation/World THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

News from around the U.S. and the globe

AUGUST 29, 2013

Egypt’s Christians proud of history traced to Jesus, St. Mark By James Martone

“We are the original inhabitants on Egyptian soil because we were here before anyone, and before Islam,” said the priest from the Orthodox church on the Nile, Father Tadros Youssef.

Catholic News Service

The Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary sits in a tiled courtyard a few miles outside Cairo, on the left bank of the Nile as the river bends south toward Upper Egypt. The structure’s front doors overlook the famed river, which Egyptian Christians who pray and worship here are convinced transported Mary, Joseph and their small boy, Jesus, to safety from persecution back home. “In those times, this was a dock area from where the boats took off for Upper Egypt. The Holy Family came here from Palestine and got on one,” explained one of the church’s five priests, from an office overlooking the water. Like the priest, many Copts — the name for Egypt’s indigenous Christians — trace their religion all the way back to Jesus who, according to the Gospel of St. Matthew, sought refuge in their country from the wrath of Herod the Great 2,000 years ago. Coptic tradition holds that Christ stayed in Egypt for three years and that later, around the year 42, St. Mark the Evangelist also came to evangelize in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria before being martyred there.

Glorious and tragic history Christianity continued to spread among the locals called “Copts,” a derivative from the Greek word for Egypt, and by the third century, Christianity was the country’s dominant religion. By the time the newer religion of Islam arrived in Egypt in the middle of the seventh century, Egyptian Christianity had already provided the church with some of the world’s major Christian saints and had introduced new forms of monastic life. “The history of the Coptic Church is both glorious and tragic,” wrote Otto F.A. Meinardus in his authoritative book on Egyptian Christianity, “Christians in Egypt.” “Glorious,” he wrote “in the number of her illustrious sons, such as Sts. Athanasius, Cyril, Anthony, and Pachomius, to mention but a few; and tragic in the vast number of her children, who in the various persecutions suffered martyrdom for their adherence to the Christian faith.” Today, Egypt’s Christians represent the largest Christian minority group of the Middle East and North Africa, and they number anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of Egypt’s 82.5 million people, who are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The vast majority of Egypt’s Christians are Coptic Orthodox, but there are other local Christian groups, including Protestants and Catholics from various Eastern Catholic rites. Egypt’s Coptic Catholic Church is the largest of the Catholic rites in the country and accounts for as many as 300,000 faith-

Increasing tension

CNS photo / Dana Smillie

A priest baptizes a child at the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in the Maadi suburb of Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 25. Christians make up between 10 and 15 percent of Egypt's 82.5 million people, who are predominantly Sunni Muslim.

Bishop urges U.S. to help Egyptians end violence Catholic News Service The United States should work with the international community to help Egyptians end violence, restore the rule of law and build an inclusive democracy in their country, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. In an Aug. 23 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, urged a path of dialogue and reconciliation that promotes peace, human rights and religious freedom in Egypt. “Amidst the tragedy of violence and bloodshed in Egypt, our conference has a special concern for the Christian community,” Bishop Pates wrote. “Extremists have scapegoated Christians, blaming them for the current state of affairs, and viciously attacked Christian churches, institutions and communities, destroying property and terrorizing people. The destruction of Christian churches and the targeting of BISHOP PATES Christians are unacceptable.” Bishop Pates said U.S. bishops join Pope Francis in praying for “all the victims and their families, the injured and all those who are suffering.” He expressed concern for Egypt’s poor and refugees, who are particularly vulnerable in a time of upheaval. “We urge the United States to preserve, and even increase, humanitarian and economic assistance,” Bishop Pates wrote. “Poor and vulnerable Egyptians should not pay the price of the political turmoil and violence gripping their nation.” In an Aug. 23 memo to all U.S. bishops, Bishop Pates and Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., chairman of the board of directors of CRS, pointed out that CRS is working in Egypt to help those most affected by the violence and unrest.

ful. Both Coptic Catholics as well as Coptic Orthodox refer to their respective leaders as “patriarch of Alexandria” and see themselves as the “original” Egyptians because of their ancient ties to the land. “A Copt is an Egyptian par excellence. Add to this the fact that the Coptic Church . . . is essentially a national church, identified with Egypt,” said Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, who has written exten-

sively on Egypt, Islam and the Coptic churches. The Copts’ deep roots in Egypt are reinforced all the more so because until today, they have been as present in the Egyptian countryside as they are in cities, as opposed to other Christians of the Middle East who are mostly urban, said MayeurJaouen, who teaches Middle Eastern History at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris.

Tension between Egypt’s Copts and Muslims has long been a problem, but recently it has dangerously spiked, first since President Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow by popular revolt in 2011, and even more so since the military’s July 3 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Morsi was aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members the Egyptian military is now pursuing. Violence has surged even further since Aug. 14, when security forces raided two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, which killed hundreds of people, most of them protestors. Church leaders and independent human rights groups have recorded attacks on dozens of churches, schools, buildings, homes and other institutions belonging to Christians. Some non-Christian institutions have also come under attack in the violence, including government and security offices. Egypt’s military and interim government have condemned all the attacks, calling them the “work of terrorists,” and blaming them on the Muslim Brotherhood and other pro-Morsi groups. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak have openly supported the military, which is part of the reason their communities are being attacked, observers note. Coptic Catholic Father Yuhanna Boulas, Arabic for John Paul, said that on the day the pro-Morsi camps were raided in Cairo, his parish in the town of Az-Zarabi in southern Egypt was threatened by an angry mob. “But we have great comprehension with our Muslim neighbors, and they came and said, ‘don’t worry, no one can harm you,’ and they came and sat in front of the church, and prevented any harm,” Father Yuhanna Boulas said. Still, he said many Copts had been trying to leave Egypt in a quest “for more security” abroad, especially since the 2012 election of now-disposed Morsi. “And we are witnessing church burnings,” he said, surmising that even more Copts would consequently be tempted to emigrate. Back at the Church of the Virgin Mary, Samir Ebrahim, 65, prayed alone in front of a Bible, which was in a framed case on the wall, with an inscription above it. “This Bible was found floating on the water, opened on the page that reads ‘Blessed be Egypt my people,’” Ebrahim told an inquisitive reporter. “I hope Egypt will get better and better,” he said, and resumed praying.

Nation/World

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Canonization date for John Paul II, John XXIII to be known in September By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

Pope Francis will host a meeting of cardinals Sept. 30 to formally approve the canonization of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII; the date for the canonization will be announced at that time, said Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The cardinal told Vatican Radio Aug. 20 that only Pope Francis knows for sure the date he will proclaim the two popes saints, although he already implied that it is likely to be in 2014. Speaking to reporters traveling with him from Brazil to Rome July 28, Pope Francis said he had been considering Dec. 8, but the possibility of icy roads could make it difficult for Polish pilgrims who would travel by bus to Rome for the ceremony. Another option, he said, would be April 27, which is the Sunday after Easter and the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, a celebration instituted worldwide by Pope John Paul.

Tale of two popes Asked to describe the two late popes, Pope Francis said Blessed John was “a bit of the ‘country priest,’ a priest who loves each of the faithful and knows how to care for them; he did this as a bishop and as a nuncio.” He was holy, patient, had a good sense

of humor and, especially by calling the Second Vatican Council, was a man of courage, Pope Francis said. “He was a man who let himself be guided by the Lord.” As for Blessed John Paul, he told the reporters on the plane, “I think of him as the great missionary of the church,” because he was “a man who proclaimed the Gospel everywhere.” Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing the miracle needed for Blessed John Paul’s canonization July 5; the same day, the Vatican announced that the pope had agreed with the cardinal members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes that the canonization of Blessed John should go forward even without a second miracle attributed to his intercession. Before declaring new saints, the pope consults with cardinals around the world and calls a consistory — a gathering attended by any cardinal who wants and is able to attend — where those present voice their support for the pope’s decision. A date for a canonization ceremony is announced formally only during or immediately after the consistory. Except in the case of martyrdom, Vatican rules require one miracle for a candidate’s beatification and a second for his or her canonization as confirmations that the candidate really is in heaven with God.

Church hopes for International dialogue in Syria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He asked the international community to pay more attention to the conflict in Syria and help the nation’s people “find a solution to this war that is sowing destruction and death.” Archbishop Mario Zenari, the Vatican nuncio to Syria, told Vatican Radio Aug. 25 that looking at the images of the alleged chemical attack, “I hear the cry of these children, these innocent victims.” At the same time, he said he prayed

that the leaders of both sides in the conflict as well as leaders in the international community “would be gifted with much wisdom and much prudence” as they decide how to move forward. Chaldean Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo told Vatican Radio Aug. 26 that Pope Francis was calling for a real commitment by the international community to encourage dialogue and negotiations in Syria. “If there were a military intervention, I think this would lead to a world war,” the bishop said. “There is this risk.”

Theology Day. Find out. Distant Markets, Distant Harms: Thinking Clearly about Economic Complicity Tuesday, September 17, Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Maple Grove 6 p.m.: check in, Presentation will begin within 30 minutes There are many reasons why Christians should feel responsible to relieve the suffering of people half-way around the planet. These reasons have nothing to do with whether the believer played any role in causing that suffering. However, this presentation will ask: Is there a causal relationship between me and the Asian woman who sewed the stitches in the collar of the shirt I am wearing – even if I have no idea who she is? And if she is denied bathroom breaks or may even have been killed in a fire or the collapse of a factory, am I, along with others, in any way responsible because I bought this shirt? Economic science depicts the market as an abstract mechanism, but understanding the market as relational – as a system of relationships – is superior, both empirically and morally. Christians who want to live as responsible consumers need to think carefully about these relationships, particularly those that harm distant others. Daniel Finn is the William E. and Virginia Clemens Professor of Economics and a Professor of Moral Theology for both the Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary and the Department of Theology at the College of Saint Benedict.

FREE but registration is required: www.csbsju.edu/sot or 320-363-3570

October 12, 2013 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. Saint Paul RiverCentre

Attendee First Name

Tickets Adult Grades K-6 Grades 7-10 Box Lunch

Cost $15 Each $5 each $7 each $15 Each

Last Name

Quantity

Grand total

Total $ $ $ $ $

Last Name

Address City

State

Email address

Phone

Parish Name

Breakout Session (English or Spanish)

Parish City

$15 Box Lunch (Y or N)

Adult Age Group (50+, 31-50, 22-30, 16-21)

Youth Youth Grade (K-2, 3-4, Emergency Contact & 5-6, 7-10) phone for Grades K-10

(Box lunches can be pre-ordered when registering. Alternatively, attendees may opt to enjoy the dining options available in and around the RiverCentre.) Make check payable to: Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Mail check with registration form & attendee names to: Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Attn: Rediscover: 226 Summit Avenue • St. Paul, MN. 55102 Questions? Call 651-291-4411 or email rediscover@archspm.org

Zip

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This Catholic Life THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Opinion, feedback and points to ponder

AUGUST 29, 2013

King: ‘I have a dream’ — Do we?

his week marks the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington and his famous “I Have a Dream” speech — a dream in which he outlined a vision of racial equality, justice and freedom for all. The eradication of racial segregation and discrimination based on the color of one’s skin was also a dream of hundreds of thousands of other marchers that day — black and white. While at the time there were Catholics around the country who were reticent to take up the cause of racial equality or opposed it altogether, there were many others — priests, religious and laity — committed to breaking down racial barriers by witnessing to their faith in words and actions. The Catholic Bulletin (the former Joe Towalski name of The Catholic Spirit) reported that 58 Minnesotans were among those who “marched for jobs and freedom equality among the races” on Aug. 28, 1963, and met with the state’s congressional delegation. One archdiocesan priest who was among 18 Minnesota clergymen at the march “won” his trip in a drawing among seven priests who contributed the money for one of them to attend. Another Minnesotan at the march was Mathew Ahmann, a St. Cloud native and graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville. He was the founding director of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice and Catholic co-chairman of the March on Washington. He also delivered one of the speeches that day from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “We are gathered,” Ahmann said, “to dedicate ourselves to building a people, a nation, a world which is free of the sin of discrimination based on race, creed, color or national origin; a world of the sons of God, equal in all important respects; a world dedicated to justice, and to fraternal bonds between men. I am a Catholic. These are goals the Catholic community shares with all other Americans.” As Catholics once fought for their own rights as citi-

Editorial

Mathew Ahmann, center, stands with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the March on Washington.

zens, he added, they now needed to fight for the rights of African-Americans and other minorities.

Still work to do Much good has happened in the intervening five decades. There is more appreciation for racial and ethnic diversity today than there was in 1963 and more civil rights protections. But challenges remain: Racial stereotypes and prejudices persist. Poverty is still far too rampant in communities of color. Tensions continue to flare from time to time, as they did recently following the verdict in the

Trayvon Martin case. The Church can, and must, continue to play a role in creating a world free of the sin of racism. In their recent statement marking the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, members of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church said marchers “rooted themselves in infinite hope.” “We also must join with one another rooted in infinite hope and, in light of what faith teaches, work to advance and fulfill the dream,” they wrote. “We join the call for positive action that seeks to end poverty, increase jobs, eliminate racial and class inequality, ensure voting rights, and that provides fair and just opportunities for all.” Ten years ago, Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn wrote a pastoral letter on racism titled “In God’s Image,” in which he reflected on his own experiences of racism, called racism “a serious moral evil” that violates God’s will, and urged Catholics to combat it in their personal lives and in the public square. (The letter can be accessed on the archdiocesan website at WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG.) “It is my invitation and fervent wish that every Catholic in the archdiocese will join me in making this local Church the ‘salt and light’ for the world through its efforts to fight racism and promote racial diversity and harmony,” Archbishop Flynn wrote. “Let us make this Church a place of welcoming and learning, a place of encounter and dialogue among peoples of all races and cultures. Let us make this church a clear sign to the world by speaking out against racism and by working to transform the institutions and structures in which racism is so deeply embedded. By doing so, we will make God’s love more present. We will make God’s unity more visible. We will make God’s justice more real.” John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, recently characterized Rev. King’s address as “a sermon, not a speech.” Fifty years ago, that sermon inspired Catholics to stand together against the evils of racism. Today that sermon, along with what the Church teaches about human dignity and respect for all people, should motivate us to keep pursuing Rev. King’s dream until it becomes an unquestioned reality.

Local Catholic recalls March on Washington, lifetime of activism By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Josie Johnson was in her early 30s and working for the Urban League in Minneapolis when she was called upon to attend the March on Washington in 1963. She witnessed the stirring speech of the Rev. Martin Luther King, in which the words “I have a dream” became synonymous with the cause of civil rights for African-Americans. Like the several hundred thousand in attendance on Aug. 28, 1963, she was inspired by Rev. King’s words. But, unlike most, she was able to meet him several times. As a local activist in Minneapolis, JOHNSON where she attended St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Johnson, 82, who now belongs to St. Peter Claver in St. Paul, became intensely involved with civil rights efforts. That brought her in contact with King, who made visits to the Twin Cities in 1963 and 1967. “My younger brother [James Robinson], who is a lawyer and was very much involved in housing and also issues

of social justice, worked rather closely with Dr. King,” she said. “So, I had a chance to meet Dr. King on many occasions. . . . I was just awed by him because he was such a strong spiritual person and tried to keep us focused on the morality of the struggle. That impressed me deeply.” Her mother was Catholic and her father was Methodist, and both set a strong example of how to put faith in action. Her dad got a job as a railroad dining car waiter, and he helped organize the workers into a union. Her activism continued when she and her husband Charles moved to Minnesota in 1956. For her, faith and civil rights activism go hand in hand. “I can’t imagine anyone who really speaks about faith issues without having a sense of morality and justice,” she said. “That’s what our faith teaches us. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus was surely the model of exercising justice for the least of us. So, I can’t imagine anyone who truly feels that they are a spiritual person not being interested in the moral issues of social justice and fairness.” One of the most encouraging things she has seen here in the Twin Cities is Archbishop Harry Flynn’s pastoral

letter on racism, which he published in 2003. In it, he confronts what he calls the sin of racism and calls on all Catholics to “root out racism in the structures of our society and our church.” Johnson wants all Catholics to embrace it. “I think it’s time for our Church to recommit itself to the issues of justice and to the message of Jesus Christ, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself and to care about the least of these,” she said. “We have moved a very far distance from that as a society. And I pray our Church, which has a wonderful history of being concerned about its people, will take up that struggle and help us all remember to love each other, to care about our people, to be moral, to be just. Somebody has got to do it, and I think Catholicism is the vehicle to help us get back on track.” She calls herself blessed to see the sense of justice alive in her parish and, particularly, in her pastor, Father Kevin McDonough. She said not a Sunday Mass goes by that he doesn’t touch on the subject of loving your neighbors, no matter the color of their skin. “We see him as one of us, as a person who understands our issues,” she said.

This Catholic Life / Opinion

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Local seminarians put ‘evangelization in action’ “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” — (Matthew 28:19-20) These are the last recorded words of our Lord in the Gospel of Matthew, and his great commissioning for us to spread the Good News to all the corners of the world. This summer, 18 of my brother seminarians and I went out into the streets of the Twin Cities attempting to heed this call from our Lord. We Neil Bakker were part of a twoyear-old program at St. Paul Seminary entitled “Evangelization in Action” that gets seminarians experience in evangelizing and spreading the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. As stated in Pope Paul VI’s document on evangelization, “Evagelii Nuntiandi,” all Christians are to be witnesses to the saving power of the Gospel in how they live their daily lives while at the same time proclaiming with their words and deeds the Good News. Over the course of eight weeks we went door to door, visiting a wide variety of people, talking about faith, and inviting them to the Church. We were stationed at St. Michael and St. Joseph in West St. Paul, St. Matthew and Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul, St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony and Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights. Each night we would join with volun-

Guest Column

Photo courtesy of Neil Bakker

Seminarians participating this summer in the St. Paul Seminary’s Evangelization in Action program helped to organize a Holy Hour for the New Evangelization at St. Michael parish in West St. Paul, for the parishes of St. Michael, St. Matthew and Our Lady of Guadalupe on July 23. The seminarians prayed for people of the neighborhood they visited during the summer.

teers from the parish and go knocking on doors on a particular street. Sometimes, we would get a polite “thank you but we are not interested,” while other times we would get into very deep, personal conversations with people. For many people, we were an ear to listen to their story and sometimes to apologize on behalf of the Church for something that may have happened to them in the past. One thing I learned from door-to-door evangelization is the need to bring your

whole self to the conversation. It’s comfortable to hide behind a script and to be somewhat distant because you can guard yourself from being hurt if someone rejects you. But when you bring your whole self to the conversation, listening with genuine empathy and exhibiting, even if in a small way, Christ’s love for that person in that moment, tremendous things can happen.

Beginning with prayer God’s grace is necessary to begin every

action, sustain it and bring it to completion. Certain of this, we acknowledged that any effort to evangelize in a parish must first begin with prayer. Therefore, we hosted a Holy Hour for the New Evangelization at St. Michael parish. We had two weeks to put everything together and get the word out about the event. This wasn’t a small task, but with much support from volunteers at the parish, we were able to attract more than 70 people to the Holy Hour. We prayed the Liturgy of the Hours evening prayer together. Father Michael Rudolph, the pastor of the parish, gave a reflection on evangelization. After some time in adoration and Benediction, we went to the church basement for social time with ice cream and dessert. The event was so well liked by volunteers and those who attended that they are hosting another Holy Hour at 7 p.m. Aug. 29th at St. Michael’s. Evangelization is the work of God, and we were simply graced with being his instruments over the course of the summer. There were times when we could see some immediate fruit of our labor in the responses people gave. Other times, we would go days wondering if we were doing any good at all. But these latter times were the ones that reminded us that this is God’s field, and while we plant the seed, we may not see the harvest. It is important in doing the work of evangelization to avoid discouragement, placing the successes and failures into the hands of Jesus, and trusting that your work is not done in vain. Bakker attends St. Paul Seminary. His home parish is the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Job creation and the right of economic initiative

he last edition of this column highlighted the main themes of the U.S. bishops’ 2013 Labor Day statement. The bishops are particularly concerned about rising economic inequality and persistent unemployment. The bishops urge job creation as a remedy to combat poverty and economic inequality. As the U.S. bishops have said elsewhere, “The first line of attack against poverty must be to build and sustain a healthy economy that provides employment Jason Adkins opportunities at just wages for all adults who are able to work.” (“Economic Justice for All,” No. 196.) But what does the Church mean when it calls for expanded “employment opportunities,” and how can they be achieved?

Faith in the Public Arena

Right to economic initiative When the bishops speak of “employment opportunities” they do not mean only the opportunity to be a wage-earning employee, but also that a person’s right of economic initiative — self-employment, entrepreneurism, enterprise creation — is protected. As the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states: “The Church’s social doctrine considers

“When the bishops speak of ‘employment

opportunities’ they do not mean only the opportunity to be a wage-earning employee, but also that a person’s right of economic initiative — self-employment, entrepreneurism, enterprise creation — is protected.

”

JASON ADKINS

the freedom of the person in economic matters a fundamental value and an inalienable right to be promoted and defended. Everyone has the right to economic initiative; everyone should make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all, and to harvest the just fruits of his labor. . . . Experience shows us that the denial of this right, or its limitation in the name of an alleged ‘equality’ of everyone in society, diminishes, or in practice absolutely destroys the spirit of initiative, that is to say the creative subjectivity of the citizen” (Nos. 336-37). The private initiative of persons and associations is the principal way in which jobs are created. “The role of disciplined and creative human work and, as an essential part of that work, initiative and entrepreneurial ability [in fostering economic opportunity] becomes increasingly

evident and decisive” (CSDC No. 337). To this end, business leaders have a particular vocation and responsibility to serve the common good. (See “The Vocation of the Business Leader,” Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2012.) Unfortunately, however, individuals, firms, and small business seem to be facing new barriers every day as they try to exercise their right of economic initiative.

Barriers to entry In Catholic teaching, the state has a role in directing the economic life of society so that commerce lifts up the poor, promotes participation in its productive endeavors, and serves the common good (CSDC No. 351-54). “The fundamental task of the State in economic matters is that of determining an appropriate juridical framework for regulating economic affairs, in order to safeguard the prerequisites

of a free economy” (No. 352). Though the state should not be overly intrusive in this task (CSDC No. 336), it can, for example, legislate to ensure fair wages for workers (Pope John Paul II, “Centesimus Annus,” Nos. 15, 35). But regulation is not an unmitigated blessing. When the dignity of the human person is forgotten, a spirit of solidarity and community is lost, and greed becomes the controlling passion in economic life, crafty and powerful interests will use the state to reinforce the monopolistic and exploitative aspects of a market system. And rather than an instrument of the common good, the state becomes a pawn of special interests.

Regulation: Who benefits? We have an economy that is at once over-regulated in some areas and underregulated in others. In more and more industries, the regulatory landscape favors large, established enterprises (agriculture, energy, health care, insurance, financial services). Indeed, it is easier for large enterprises to absorb regulatory costs or be exempted from them altogether through the work of their government lobbyists. Meanwhile, it is increasingly difficult to start a business, particularly at the local level and on a small scale. Bob Waldrop of the Oklahoma City Catholic Worker Community offers these examples that prevent those in poverty or those who are PLEASE TURN TO TO ON PAGE 12

Commentary

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

/ This Catholic Life

Why choose a Catholic school? “The greatest challenge to Catholic education in the United States today, and the greatest contribution that authentically Catholic education can make to American culture, is to restore to that culture the conviction that human beings can grasp the truth of things.” — Blessed John Paul II Why Catholic schools? The question is more urgent than ever in a crowded K-12 marketplace. It’s not enough for a Catholic school to be a smaller version of a public school, with prayer and service projects added. Essential as prayer and service are, ours is first a teaching mission. If we are to serve families well, we need to focus on how that mission makes a contribution not ofTodd Flanders fered elsewhere. This first of two articles explores the challenge laid to us by Blessed John Paul II, indicating our unique opportunity to make a contribution. The second will address ways Catholic educators can commit and prepare to meet the challenge. The pope was right, “Human beings can grasp the truth of things.” Yet, our culture and the American education establishment increasingly doubt truth can be known outside of math and science. The challenge Pontius Pilate put to Jesus, our culture now puts to us: “What is truth?” There is a fear today of anyone proposing answers to questions like, “How should I live?” “How should I love?” It’s a fear that claiming to know ethical truth makes people dangerous. “A common truth intimidates us,” writes Pope Francis in “Lumen Fidei,” “for we identify it with . . . totalitarian systems.” So, the standard approach in schools now is to avoid possible danger through inculcating a view that people of different backgrounds have different truths, so everyone’s “truth” demands equal respect. But isn’t this really the same as teaching there’s no ethical truth at all? I offered a simple critique of this ideology to an upper level class at the University of Minnesota recently. I pointed out cultures whose “truths” include honor killings of women, death sentences for homosexuals, or brutal repression of religious groups. A bright young woman said, “Well, if that’s their culture, who are we to question it?” She had absorbed the new dogma well.

Commentary

“The pope was right, ‘Human

beings can grasp the truth of things.’ Yet, our culture and the American education establishment increasingly doubt truth can be known outside of math and science. The challenge Pontius Pilate put to Jesus, our culture now puts to us: ‘What is truth?’

”

TODD FLANDERS

Now, we should all favor cultural diversity in the best sense. People of different backgrounds can all contribute to the common good. In America, our phrase “e pluribus unum” captures this understanding: “Out of many, one.” The idea is that since everyone shares a common human nature, “oneness” or real community is possible. Whether Christian, Jew or Confucian, Western or Asian, black or white, our common humanness grounds moral principles all can know. People in cultures around the globe know you shouldn’t lie, cheat, steal or murder. They couldn’t get on very well otherwise. And when a culture goes bad, as Stalin’s U.S.S.R. and Hitler’s Germany did, the only way to judge them is by standards that saner people actually know.

‘Dictatorship of relativism’ What if the newer idea, that all cultural values are equally respectable, were taken to its logical conclusion? There could be no moral principles for ordering our lives together, no judgments to be made. Pope Benedict XVI put it this way: “A ‘dictatorship of relativism’ threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate good.” It’s a way of saying that those who deny unchanging truth will come to look with suspicion — even intolerance — on any who think there is such truth. “In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished,” Pope Benedict said. “This is a real threat we face.”

Intolerance of clear thinking has educational consequences. Denial of moral principles for ordering our lives together is a dilemma for anyone teaching young citizens of the U.S. Our nation, the first in history to do so, was founded on a declaration: “We hold these truths...” During the Civil War, Confederates claimed that a slave society was their “way of life,” a cultural truth demanding equal respect. That view was rejected by the Union, whose president said our nation is “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Here’s the dilemma: human equality is either an example of an “unchanging truth” or not. To teach it as merely a cultural value is to undercut it — by accepting the Confederacy’s arguments. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. And, if there is one truth of human nature, there are probably others. Logic finds itself leading to the conclusion, taught by the Church, that there are indeed many truths about the human person.

Teaching truth Catholic schools must teach them. We must reinvest in teaching rational principles that ground our common lives together. Such principles are part of our Catholic heritage, so we have special equipment for so urgent a task. They are at the root of Catholic support not only for human equality but for life, family, religious freedom and much more. Denial of truth today presents another

yet deeper challenge for Catholic schools. Some of our moral positions are increasingly seen as irrational, and worse, as prejudiced. George Weigel calls this emerging attitude “Christophobia,” a gut-level aversion to Christian ideas. Catholic education should help dispel this fear. For our faith is itself a form of knowledge. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. This is good news, and not only for us who already believe. Acceptance of good news, reliably proclaimed, is not irrational. To the contrary, our acceptance of Christ truly risen can transform reason away from our tendency to bend it toward selfish interests, toward our preferred “way of life.” The Christ we proclaim proposes that the deepest questions have a reasonable answer. That answer is ultimately a person, and that person is Love itself. The truth which is love is not prejudiced or intolerant. It is not dangerous to coexistence. “As a truth of love,” Pope Francis writes, “it can penetrate to the heart, to the personal core of each man and woman. Faith is not intransigent, but grows in respectful coexistence with others. Truth leads to humility, since believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing truth, it is truth which embraces and possesses us. Far from making us inflexible. . . it enables witness and dialogue with all.” Dialogue is important since we usually don’t grasp truth very well, fallen as we are. And, tempted to selfishness, we can think and act in undignified and prejudicial ways toward others. We are prone to disregard moral truths we all at some level really know. We do so for the sake of greed or power or pleasure, or to conform to popular opinion. We have a word for these defects — sin. But the fact of sin shouldn’t turn us away from the pursuit of truth. It should instead turn us toward the pursuit with greater humility and vigor. So, why Catholic schools? Because we have the freedom and responsibility to lead the young in pursuit of truth. Ultimately, to the truth that sets us free. It’s the answer to Blessed John Paul II’s challenge. The unique service Catholic schooling can offer requires of educators special commitment and preparation. I will address these in a second article, in the next issue of The Catholic Spirit. Flanders is headmaster of Providence Academy in Plymouth and instructor in the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechet-

To expand job opportunities, we must encourage economic initiative CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 in difficult economic circumstances from climbing out: ! In most areas it’s illegal to sell along public right-ofways (sidewalks, roads, rest stops on the highways and toll roads, etc.) Where legal, such high prices are charged for licenses, and bizarre requirements are enacted so as to make street vending illegal for all practical intents and purposes. ! It’s illegal to practice small-scale itinerant trades without “proper licenses” which often have expensive prerequisites so that they function as barriers to market entry rather than protections for the public. These are trades like hair braiding, hair cutting, carpentry, plumbing, etc. The proliferation of coercive credentialing in general raises political barriers to finding and doing work and lowers compensation. ! It’s often illegal for poor people to practice trades

out of their houses. ! Laws limit the number of garage sales people can have at their homes and restrict the ability to open a small sales or hospitality operation in a home. ! Laws forbid people from making non-hazardous foods (like jams, pickles, and baked goods) at home and selling them to the public. ! Poor people who own cars can’t drive people around and charge for the service. It would likely be illegal to use a van to establish a jitney service (a type of transit, common elsewhere, where a van or small bus drives a route but deviates around the route to pick up fares dispatched from a central location). Transportation has serious political barriers to market entry. ! It’s generally illegal to teach people how to apply makeup without government licenses, which require expensive training.

! It is generally illegal to grow vegetables in your backyard and then sell them in your front yard. Again, larger businesses, even at the local level, benefit from certain forms of regulation because it suppresses competition. It is the same reason that many industries ask legislators to create licensing schemes — they often fence out competition. But beyond mere aesthetics and theorizing, we have to ask ourselves who benefits from these regulations. If we seek to increase access to employment and jobs, our communities must consider ways in which we prevent genuine economic initiative that is an expression of the dignity of the human person and his or her Godgiven creative abilities, and which is “decisive” for the economic well-being of society. Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

The Lesson Plan AUGUST 29, 2013

Reflections on faith and spirituality

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Daily Scriptures Sunday, Sept. 1 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a Luke 14:1, 7-14 Monday, Sept. 2 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Luke 4:16-30 Tuesday, Sept. 3 St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11 Luke 4:31-37 Wednesday, Sept. 4 Colossians 1:1-8 Luke 4:38-44 Thursday, Sept. 5 Colossians 1:9-14 Luke 5:1-11 Friday, Sept. 6 Colossians 1:15-20 Luke 5:33-39 Saturday, Sept. 7 Colossians 1:21-23 Luke 6:1-5 CNS photo / Jim West

Volunteers serve breakfast to the needy at a shelter in Mount Clemens, Mich., in this photo from 2011. Jesus challenges us to refine our intentions, especially when we do service for others, writes Deacon Joseph Kirembwe.

Humility is a virtue we learn from Christ

have seen many people — politicians, celebrities, even priests — especially in Uganda where I grew up, demanding honor and respect from others. Being honored and respected is good. But, if we overly demand it from others, it may not be good. The readings of this Sunday challenge us as Jesus’ followers to learn to be humble. Humility is one of the virtues most characteristic of our Lord. It is a virtue that he explicitly said we should learn from Deacon him: “Learn of me Joseph that I am meek and Kirembwe humble of heart.” Humility is also one of the most misunderstood and least appreciated of the virtues. It is not a virtue of the weak; rather, it is a virtue of the strong. The first reading from the book of Sirach proposes that genuine humility is more than merely superficial. It requires some searching, inquiry, reflection and responsible effort. Indeed, humility actually increases the value of the real treasures of life, for it allows our focus to be where it belongs.

Daily Scriptures

Readings Sunday, Sept. 1 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time ! Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 ! Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a ! Luke 14:1, 7-14

Reflection How can you cultivate the virtue of humility more deeply in your life? What obstacles must you overcome?

In other words, “It is not about me.” The more gifted a person is the more she or he has received — and the more that person should be humble. The more humble a person is the more that person finds the favor of God. The Gospel blatantly challenges us to live according to true wisdom when we are in the midst of controversy and dispute. As with the first reading, Jesus extolled humility as a great way to be a valuable and important participant in social life. Jesus is asking us not to think about the immediate rewards for doing what is right and virtuous; he is encouraging us to do what is right in the knowledge that we will be rewarded in heaven. He knows when we serve those who cannot repay us; he knows when we have

allowed ourselves to be humble and to take the lowest place. He also knows that when it is right, we will be given places of glory, and we will be exalted with others who have done the same when we go to heaven.

Doing the right thing

Sunday, Sept. 8 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 9:13-18b Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Luke 14:25-33 Monday, Sept. 9 St. Peter Claver, priest Colossians 1:24—2:3 Luke 6:6-11 Tuesday, Sept. 10 Colossians 2:6-15 Luke 6:12-19

Jesus challenges us to refine our intentions, especially when we do service for others. He encourages us to be exalted not through our greatness, but to serve others out of humility. It is easy to serve others when we know that we will be rewarded for it. But, when we know that those we serve cannot repay us or give us any elevation in social standing or monetary gain, it often makes us think twice about serving them. Let us pray, dear friends, that throughout this week, we may all think about how we might serve humbly those around us without looking for fame and glory but in wanting to do what is right — what we are called to as Christians. May God give each of us the grace to incorporate the message of the Gospel in our lives.

Wednesday, Sept. 11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 6:20-26

Deacon Kirembwe is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary for the Archdiocese of Kampala, Uganda. His teaching parish is Holy Spirit in St. Paul.

Sunday, Sept. 15 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-32

Thursday, Sept. 12 The Most Holy Name of Mary Colossians 3:12-17 Luke 6:27-38 Friday, Sept. 13 St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14 Luke 6:39-42 Saturday, Sept. 14 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Numbers 21:4b-9 Philippians 2:6-11 John 3:13-17

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela

Back to School A Catholic Spirit special section

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 29, 2013

Neighborhood outreach pays off for Ascension School By Dianne Towalski The Catholic Spirit

When students and staff return to Ascension School in Minneapolis this fall, they will see a lot of unfamiliar faces. The school has accepted 50 new students for the coming year and is opening two additional classrooms, said Principal Dorwatha Woods. The students are coming in large part as the result of the school’s outreach to its north Minneapolis neighborhood with the aim of raising awareness about the school and what it has to offer. One of those new faces is Jeremiah Austin, a kindergartener who will be attending Ascension thanks to an outreach relationship with Shiloh Temple, a Pentecostal church in the neighborhood. Jeremiah’s mother, Jataun, was at church one Sunday, she said, when her bishop made an announcement encouraging parents to consider the school because its values align with what they believe. “So I gave Ms. Woods a call and I just felt like she was so warm and welcoming, and I liked her spirit,” Austin said.

Helping local children The effort to bring new students to the school began about three years ago when Woods began working with the Northside Achievement Zone, a collaboration of organizations and schools partnering with families in north Minneapolis. They help children graduate from high school so they can go to college and leave behind the multigenerational poverty that exists in the neighborhood. “My idea has always been that we need to look in and around our community for new students,” Woods said. But before engaging more students, she wanted to make sure that instruction is the very best it can be. She worked with NAZ, attending administrator trainings each month and getting instruction from the University of Washington on effective teaching. “So we have trained ourselves to know what it looks like,” she said. She took her training back and shared it with her teachers and now feels the school is ready to welcome more students.

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Jataun Austin helps her son Jeremiah try on a uniform sweater at Donald’s Uniform in St. Paul Aug. 24. Jeremiah will be a kindergartener at Ascension School in Minneapolis.

Becoming a NAZ anchor partner school was the next step. It is now one of eight elementary and high schools that are part of the organization. NAZ family coaches, who give families one-on-one support and refer them to services they need, now can recommend Ascension School to parents they serve.

New Campus opening Fall 2014

Enroll now! Educating students PreK through 8th grade Deeply Committed. More than a School.

ARCHSPM.ORG

Educational partners Last spring, Woods reached out to the Northside Child Development Center — a NAZ anchor partner and

“They have brought groups of parents on tours [of the school] and the parents are signing their kids up,” Woods

We’re Building!

www.AveMariaAcademy.org

said. “We are giving them, through NAZ, the wrap-around services they need to be successful in school.”

763-494-5387

• THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM

Our Lady of the Prairie Belle Plaine, MN

PLEASE TURN TO NORTHSIDE

ON PAGE

Opens Sept 27! Relive the Tradition!

Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013

PRAISE & WORSHIP MASS AT 10 A.M.

Chicken & Ham Dinner Serving 11 a.m-2 p.m.

Take out Orders Available (All Take Outs $10) Adults $10 — Children (3 to 12) $5 Under 3 FREE

ERNIE STUMPF BAND

11:30-2 PM • Country Store • Bingo • Crafts • Raffle • Children’s Games • Refreshments • Bake Sale • Food Stand • Wood & Quilt Auction at 2:00 Fun for the Whole Family!

Returning for the first time in 20 years!

952-934-1525

C H A N H A S S E N D T. C O M

Back to School

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Students and teachers benefit from ‘flipped’ classroom By Dianne Towalski For The Catholic Spirit

As a teacher, Rachel Whitney wants all of her students to succeed in her algebra class at Presentation School in Maplewood. That is easier said than done, but Whitney has come up with a teaching approach that is making it much easier to accomplish. Last year, she started videotaping lessons for one of her students who had dyslexia. “I thought it was a great tool for him to be able to go back and watch the videos at night while he was doing his homework,” Whitney said. “But then I thought, what a great tool for all students.” She did some research online to see what other teachers were doing. That led to her decision to try a “flipped classroom” approach with her eighth-grade students. Instead of doing assigned algebra problems at home, students watch a short, 5to 10-minute video on each new topic at home and then work on the “homework” during class. “She saw the potential to reach students in a different way, and she wanted to try it out,” said Michael Rogers, the school’s principal. “It’s really helpful because you do your homework in the classroom, and if you have questions, the teacher is right there,” said Lizzie Ott, a member of last year’s class who is now a freshman at Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood. Another benefit is that there is less homework, she said.

Benefiting all students The students who do really well with

Photo courtesy of Presentation of Mary School

Rachel Whitney’s eighth-grade “flipped” algebra class was featured last spring on the KARE11 News segment, “What’s Cool in Your School.” Here students talk with news anchor Kim Insley about how they watch video lessons at home and do their homework in class when the teacher is available to help them.

algebra like this approach because they don’t have to wait for others to catch up. Once they master a concept, they take a test and move ahead, Whitney said. But it also helps students who struggle with math because they can take their

Faribault BETHLEHEM ACADEMY (507) 334-3948 www.bacards.org

Welcome to another faith-filled year!

2013 2014

Fridley TOTINO-GRACE HIGH SCHOOL (763) 571-9116 www.totinograce.org

Maplewood HILL-MURRAY SCHOOL (651) 777-1376 www.hill-murray.org

Mendota Heights VISITATION SCHOOL (651) 683-1700 www.visitation.net

SAINT THOMAS ACADEMY (651) 454-4570 www.cadets.com

time and go back and watch the videos again, as many times as they need to, and make sure they fully understand the concept before moving on, Whitney said. “It really gave me a lot more time during class for direct instruction and working

Minneapolis CRISTO REY JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL (612) 545-9700 www.cristoreytc.org

DELASALLE HIGH SCHOOL (612) 676-7600 www.delasalle.com

Plymouth PROVIDENCE ACADEMY (763) 258-2500 www.providenceacademy.org

Richfield ACADEMY OF HOLY ANGELS (612) 798-2600 www.academyofholyangels.org

with students that needed more help.” Whitney creates the videos on her iPad, using an app named “Explain Everything.” “I chose this one because it made it really easy to upload the videos to YouTube and it is just really easy to use,” she said. Students access the videos on EDMODO. COM, a site similar to Facebook. In order to be a part of Whitney’s class on EDMODO.COM, students have to be invited by her, so there is controlled access, Rogers said. They can post questions if they need help with a concept, and other students that are logged in can answer them. “Facebook is a native thing for them — it’s just wired into their brains,” Rogers said. “So when they log on to Edmodo, they’re doing the same thing, but they’re having a conversation about math, which is pretty incredible.” This approach is good for parents, too. “You get to see what the kids are learning, which I think is great,” said Michelle Ott, Lizzy’s mom. “It’s not just what’s in the textbook. It’s hearing and listening and seeing the teacher explain it.” When your children are doing their homework out of a book, if they need help, you can’t always help them, she said. This way the students have a video they can go to. “Once that video is in the system, it’s always there, so the kids have access to it,” Ott said. Whitney said this approach could work with other classes, like history or science. Students could get the concepts down with the videos at home and then have more time for hands-on labs.

St. Louis Park BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S SCHOOL (952) 915-4345 www.bsmschool.org

St. Paul CRETIN-DERHAM HALL HIGH SCHOOL (651) 690-2443 www.c-dh.org

SAINT AGNES SCHOOL (651) 925-8700 saintagnesschool.org

Victoria HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL (952) 443-4659 www.hfchs.org

Catholic High Schools in The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

aimhighermn.org

Back to School

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

AP classes give students jump start on college By Jennifer Janikula For The Catholic Spirit

Classes at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus don’t start until Sept. 3, but incoming freshman Charlie Carlson has already completed half of his first year. Thanks to the Advanced Placement (AP) classes he took during high school at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Carlson will head off to college this fall with 18 credits under his belt. “I feel really prepared — I am used to the depth and intensity of college classes,” said Carlson, a member of Annunciation parish in Minneapolis. “I learned good study habits — especially in science and social studies.” Like many high schools across the nation as well as Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Academy of Holy Angels offers AP courses to prepare juniors and seniors for the rigor of college-level courses. In many cases, students who do well on their AP exams are able to obtain credits or advanced placement in college.

Other benefits Kate Caron from St. Peter in Richfield graduated from Holy Angels in 2012. She entered St. Catherine University last year with a whopping 39 credits — essentially bypassing her entire freshman year. Caron quickly realized the benefits of her hard work. She was able to move into the honors dorm after her first semester, she had much more flexibility in her course schedule, and she was offered a paid research assistant position by her organic chemistry professor. “Anyone who has the opportunity should take as many AP classes as they can physically fit in their schedule,” Caron suggested. “The classes teach you to be responsible for yourself in the same way you need to be in college.” Caron explained that Holy Angels prepared her well for col-

lege. She even joked that she might have been over-prepared. “I felt like I was going backward a bit. The college-level work on a high school timetable was more intense than college in some ways,” she said. “I think I get more time to complete assignments and projects in college.” Holy Angels principal Heidi Foley believes AP courses are an important component of college readiness and give students an advantage when applying to colleges. “Research shows that students who take AP classes are far more likely to double major and to finish university courses in four years because they get college practice in high school,” Foley said. “Students learn valuable skills like technical writing, delivering and defending a hypothesis, critical thinking and problem solving.” Ann Kjorstad, one of the high school’s career counselors, agreed: “AP courses prepare students for college-level work and provide a better transition to college. They show colleges that you are going to be successful and you have been challenged.” Surprisingly, most students do not use their AP credits to finish college early. Instead, the credits allow them to enhance their college experience. Students are able to add a second major, study abroad or complete an internship, and still finish college in four years. Caron’s college plans illustrate this trend. Instead of using her credits to finish college early, she plans to add a concentration to her major, continue competing on the St. Kate’s golf team, and maybe even add a minor or two. In recent years, Holy Angels has expanded its AP offerings to encourage all students to try these challenging classes. Its 15 AP classes go beyond the traditional history, science and math classes to include courses in computer science, fine arts and world languages. Last year, 69 percent of juniors and 50 percent of seniors at Holy Angels took at least one AP class.

Mahtomedi school is first Catholic IB Primary Years Program in Midwest By Kristi Anderson For The Catholic Spirit

“What are we going to do today?” is a popular question teachers are asked, sometimes several times a day. Lynette Loch, third-grade teacher and computer specialist at St. Jude of the Lake School in Mahtomedi, said that through their newly received International Baccalaureate authorization and Primary Years Program designation, the students answer that question for themselves. “The IB Primary Years Program has brought a renewed energy to staff and students,” she said of the IB approach, which was integrated fully into the school’s curriculum at the start of the 2012-13 school year. “I have noticed the natural curiosity of the children flourishing. Students no longer come into the classroom asking, ‘What are we going to do today?’ Instead they come in with suggestions about what we should do that will help us gain a better understanding of our central idea.” St. Jude of the Lake School announced July 22 that it received authorization as an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program School. With the authorization, St. Jude became the first Catholic IB PYP School in the Midwest and just the third in the nation. PLEASE TURN TO STAFF ON PAGE 21

Back to School

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Northside school committed to helping kids achieve CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

seminar on preparing children for kindergarten.

Aim Higher Foundation provides essential aid

program of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “One of Northside’s major goals is to provide kids with a solid early childhood educational experience to make sure that they are ready when they get to kindergarten,” said Keith Kozerski, director of Catholic Charities Children’s Services. “So it’s really important for us that we help parents identify solid educational partners to continue the work that we’ve done up to that point. We really see Ascension as a solid partner and a good choice that some parents didn’t even realize was a choice for them.” Some Ascension teachers have participated in the center’s parent enrichment nights. Woods said she presented a mini-

“They have been a great partner — they’re committed to the neighborhood and the kids from the neighborhood,” Kozerski said. “They really take a holistic look at the child and the family.”

Funds from the Aim Higher Foundation — a non-profit organization that provides tuition assistance to families in need that send their children to a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis — help several families at Ascension School with the cost of tuition.

A team of Ascension eighth-graders have visited the Northside Child Development Center weekly to spend time reading to the children. “Our eighth-graders are trained to be role models for the younger students, so this was another opportunity for them to use those skills,” Woods said. “I know that their mission is to really foster academic excellence,” Austin said. “And that’s what my values are and what I want for my son.”

Jason Slattery, president of Ave Maria Academy, stands on the site in Maple Grove where the new school building will be constructed. The groundbreaking took place Aug. 15. Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Renting days are numbered for Ave Maria Academy By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Under the watchful eye of the Blessed Virgin, Ave Maria Academy in Maple Grove is growing. With a 6-foot statue of Mary positioned on property earmarked for a new school building, President Jason Slattery watched joyfully as Archbishop John Nienstedt led prayers during a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 15. The 20 acres of land sit along Bass Lake Road less than a mile from the current location. The school, formerly called Cedarcrest Academy, has rented space from a local Protestant church, with the lease set to run out on July 1, 2014. Thus, construction of the 40,000-squarefoot building will be completed no later than the last week of June. The goal is for the current enrollment of 175 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade to swell to 300 students. A projected Phase II of the project will create space for up to 500 students within the next several years. Based on the demographics of the area, Slattery believes that maximum capacity will be reached. “Maple Grove and northern Plymouth are expanding rapidly,” said Slattery, who has been at the school 10 years, eight as principal (the school has existed for 17 years). “The birthrate here is still very high. There are houses being built, particularly on the school’s western border, at the highest rates in the metro area.” One need not look far to see the growth.

New houses are sprouting up in a development right across the street from the property where the new school will be built. Slattery himself lives on the far end of that development, and noted some of the houses sit on land the school had to sell off from its original parcel of 67 acres due to falling land prices. He’s hoping some of the children growing up in houses on that land will end up attending Ave Maria. The school received its formal designation as a Catholic school in the archdiocese in May 2011. One of the most encouraging signs of future growth is the number of children enrolled in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. There are three sections of pre-K and two sections of kindergarten (24 students per section) signed up for this year, plus a waiting list. That should keep plenty of kids in the older grades in future years. “For me, there’s been an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Slattery said. “The school has a very strong devotion to Our Lady, and she has seen us through some very difficult and challenging times over the years. And, I really can’t feel anything other than gratitude for where we are today. “As I looked out during the groundbreaking and looked upon the faces of families who I’ve seen here for 10 years, many who have sacrificed greatly to see this school sustained and grow, you could see in their eyes tears, and you could see great emotion because they had persevered so hard.”

Last year, 26 students at the school received scholarships of $400 each. “It’s a wonderful help for these families,” said Dorwatha Woods, the school’s principal. Aim Higher funds are helping some of the students who are attending Ascension for the first time this school year as a result of the school’s outreach efforts in the north Minneapolis neighborhood. “The fun thing about Aim Higher is that they’re not just saying, ‘We’re going to give money to this child.’ They’re saying, ‘We want this child to achieve,’” said Woods. “That’s just a great combination, that they have the expectation behind it that the children need to achieve.” For more information on the Aim Higher Foundation, visit WWW.AIMHIGHER

FOUNDATION.ORG.

“Evangelization must touch people’s mind and hearts, stir their consciences and engage all their energies.” Blessed Pope John Paul II

Arts & Culture Exploring our church and our world

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

AUGUST 29, 2013

Beauty and beer Monks’ outreach is part of new evangelization By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

Even before retired Pope Benedict XVI set up a pontifical council for new evangelization and convoked a world Synod of Bishops on the theme, a new group of Benedictine monks was using Latin and liturgy to reach out to those whose faith was weak or nonexistent. Now they’ve added beer to the blend, and people are flocking to the monastery in Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict, about 70 miles northeast of Rome in the Umbrian countryside. But for the 18 members of St. Benedict’s monastery, life is still about prayer. “If the prayer doesn’t come first, the beer is going to suffer,” said Father Benedict Nivakoff, director of the Birra Nursia brewery and subprior of the monastery. The monks in Norcia initially were known for their liturgical ministry, particularly sharing their chanted prayers in Latin online — HTTP://OSBNORCIA.ORG/BLOG — with people around the world.

Earning their keep

CNS photo/Henry Daggett

Benedictine Father Cassian Folsom, prior of St. Benedict's Monastery, pours beer for a guest at a tasting commemorating the first anniversary of the monastery's brewery in Norcia, Italy, Aug. 14.

But following the Rule of St. Benedict means both In many circumstances, Father Nivakoff said, “we prayer and manual labor, with a strong emphasis on have to preach the Gospel without preaching the the monks earning their own keep. Gospel — just through the example of Christian charity After just a year of brewing and selling their beer in and being kind to people.” the monastery gift shop and through restaurants in The monks’ Mass, often celebrated using the Norcia, financial self-sufficiency seems within reach, extraordinary or pre-Vatican II rite, and their beer may and the monks are talking appeal to different people, but expansion. Father Nivakoff said the beauty in “We didn’t expect it to be so both can open people to God. enormously successful,” said Father After years of study and research, If the prayer Cassian Folsom, the U.S. including Father Folsom’s visits to doesn't come Benedictine who founded the Trappist breweries in Belgium to see community in 1998 and serves as how the monks ensure their first, the beer is its prior. “There’s been a huge business does not disrupt their response, and our production can’t prayer and community life, the going to suffer. keep up with the demand, and the monks in Norcia decided to make demand continues to grow.” two Belgian-style beers — a “blond” FATHER BENEDICT NIVAKOFF But even with the talk of and a dark, which has an alcohol expanding the brewery, and content of 10 percent. perhaps exporting some of the brew The dark’s alcohol content is to the United States, the Mass and the liturgical hours much higher than U.S. beers, but is similar to the are still the centerpiece of the monks’ lives. “tripel” Belgian Trappist beers. It also goes well with the “Our life is very much unified by the liturgy, which food of Norcia — famous for pork sausage and wild forms a kind of skeleton around which everything else boar — and traditional Italian drinking habits in which takes shape,” Father Folsom said. wine or beer accompanies a meal, Father Nivakoff said. Many visitors tread a path between the church and Celebrating their one-year anniversary Aug. 14 with the gift shop and, increasingly, from the crates of beer an open house and beer tasting, the monks imbibed to the church. along with their visitors — something that does not Father Nivakoff said the monks began brewing Aug. happen every day, or even every feast day. 15, 2012, with three goals: contributing to the “It’s too valuable to drink ourselves,” Father Nivakoff monastery’s self-sufficiency; solidifying bonds with the said. However, when mistakes are made in the brewing town; and reaching out to people who are “turned off or bottling, some of the foamy liquid makes it to the by religion.” refectory table and “no one’s upset.” For those who wouldn’t think of going to Mass, he Making sure the mistakes are kept to a minimum is said, the monastery gift shop gives them a contact with the responsibility of Brother Francis Davoren, a native the monks “in a setting and over a product they feel of Dallas who is the brewmaster or “head brewmonk.” comfortable with. There’s a spiritual gain for them, He had some experience helping a home-brewing even though they aren’t looking for it.” friend before joining the monastery, but is still learning

“

”

even after studying at breweries in Belgium and having a Belgian brewer travel to Norcia to teach. “The biggest challenge for me has been going from learning theory to actually putting that into practice,” he said. “Because beer is a natural product — it has live yeast in it — it can tend to have a mind of its own.

Bringing people together “Beer is something that often can break down barriers,” he said. “The beer is a catalyst” for bringing people together and giving them something to talk about, but the conversations at the monastery often do not end with the beer. Father Basil Nixen, the novice master, said the beer enterprise has raised the morale of the monks and reinforces their sense of community because all the monks are called on to help with some aspect of producing, bottling, distributing and selling the beer. “Here in Norcia, we’re at a very important place for evangelization” because so many tourists and pilgrims come through the town, he said. “We’re continually sharing with others our life, above all the liturgy. “People come to the monastery for the beer,” he said, but they leave realizing God brought them to Norcia to meet him. Making beer “perhaps dissipates any fear that we might be judgmental or overly critical of them,” he said. People assume beer-making monks will accept them. Brother Anthony Zemenick, a native of Arlington, Texas, who has been at the monastery for seven years, said the beer “is really good stuff.” “I’m not the world’s most experienced beer connoisseur, but I’ve tried several different types and I’d say ours is the best . . . not just because it’s ours, but because of the flavor, too,” he said.

Calendar Dining out Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — Every Friday: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Cost is $10.95. Call (952) 888-1492 for reservations. Chicken and rib dinner at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — Every Wednesday: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Cost is $12. Call (952) 8881492 for reservations. KC booya fest at St. Raphael, Crystal — September 7: 5 to 8 p.m. at 7301 Bass Lake Road. Cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children under 10. Refills are $3/bowl. Pancake and sausage breakfast at St. Joseph, Waconia — September 14: 7 to 10:30 a.m. at 41 E. First St.

Prayer/ liturgies First Friday Taizé Prayer at St. Richard, Richfield — September 6: 7:30 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S. Taizé Prayer is held the first Friday of each month preceded by an entire day of prayer starting at 8 a.m. Visit WWW.STRICHARDS. COM/FIRSTFRIDAYS.PDF. World Apostolate of Fatima Vigil of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heat of Mary at St. Paul, Zumbrota — September 6 and 7: 7 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday at 749 Main St. S. The Vigil includes rosary, confession, Mass of the Sacred Heart, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, silent and public prayers, and Mass of the Immaculate Heart at Midnight. For information, call (651) 426-9401 or visit WWW.FATIMA ONLINE.ORG. Catholic Charismatic Mass at St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis — September 8: 1 p.m. at 3200 E. 29th St. Refreshments will follow the Mass. For information, visit WWW.NEWLIFECRM.ORG.

Parish events Used Book Sale at Sacred Heart, St. Paul — September 7 and 8: Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 840 E. Sixth St. Lots of children's books and some Spanish books. For information call (651) 7762741. Lunch and Learn: Caregiving 101 at Our Lady of Grace, Edina — September 10: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5071 Eden Ave. First in a three-part series meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Program offers an interactive discussion with caregiving tips and new ideas and resources. Lunch is provided. Cost is $5 and pre-registration is required. Call (952) 929-3317. Garage sale at St. Thomas the Apostle, Corcoran — September 11 to 13: 1 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday ($4 bag day) at 20000 County Road 10. ‘A Biblical Walk through the Mass’ with Jeff Cavins at St. Hubert, Chanhassen — Begins September 12: 10-week Bible study meets 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday evenings. Cost is $70 and includes 10 lectures by Jeff Cavins, the study

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT lunch Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also features live Bluegrass music, petting zoo, game garden and more.

Don’t Miss Health care professionals retreat Curatio Apostolate of Health Care Professionals presents a threeday retreat for those who work in health care Sept. 13 to 15 at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo. The retreat, “By His Mercy, with His Mercy and for His Mercy,” features Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder and mother servant of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth. For registration information, visit CURATIOAPOSTOLATE.COM book and small group discussion. For information, VISIT WWW.STHUBERT.ORG. Vespers at Lourdes at Our Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis — September 12: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 1 Lourdes Place. Features chanted evening prayer, a lecture on seeking holiness in today's world, and genuine community with other young professionals. John F. Boyle, PhD., will speak on the priestly, prophetic, and kingly roles of every Christian as applied in the concrete situations of our daily lives. $5 suggested donation. For information, visit WWW.OURLADYOFLOURDESMN.COM. Parish Community of St. Bridget fall rummage sale at St. Austin campus, Minneapolis — September 12 to 14: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday ($3 bag day, two for $5). Located at 4051 Thomas Ave. N.

Other events Lay (Third Order) Carmelite information Sunday at Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — September 1: 1 p.m. at Steiner Hall, 324 S. Prior Ave. An invitation to baptized adult Catholics, in good standing, who want to grow spiritually by learning about the classic Carmelite way of life. For information, call (651) 454-6123.

School events Preschool open house at St. Jerome’s Kids Korner, Maplewood — September 5: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 384 Roselawn Ave. E. Call (651) 771-1203 for information. The Gathering 2013 benefitting St. Bartholomew Catholic School, Wayzata — September 6: 5 to 10:30 p.m. at 630 E. Wayzata Blvd. Features games, inflatables, face painting, food and more. Highland Catholic School block party at Lumen Christi, St. Paul — September 7: 4:30 p.m. Mass, followed by a pig roast, games for the kids, and ‘70s and ‘80s music by the Dweebs at 2055 Bohland Ave.

Parish festivals Fall festival at St. Bonaventure, Blomington — September 6 and 7: Chicken Dinner Friday 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday begins with a parade at 10

a.m. and free entertainment, food, games and a car show with over 200 cars. Lebanese festival at Holy Family Maronite, Mendota Heights — September 6 to 8: Bingo Friday at 5 p.m. Estate sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Outdoor festival Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. features ethnic foods and baked goods, belly dancers, games and more. All events at 1960 Lexington Ave. S. For complete information, visit WWW.HOLY FAMILYEVENTS.ORG. Fall Carnival at St. Timothy, Blaine — September 6 to 8: 707 89th Ave. E. Hours are: 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Incredible festival at Our Lady of the Lake, Mound — September 6 to 8: Features silent auction, chicken dinner, food booths and more at 2385 Commerce Blvd. Visit WWW.OUR LADYOFTHELAKE.COM. Annual CountryFest at St. Patrick, Oak Grove — September 6 to 8: 19921 Nightingale St. N.W. Teen dance Friday. Saturday and Sunday feature games, food, beer garden, street dance, car show, fireworks and more. Visit WWW.ST-PATRICKS.ORG. CornFest at St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi — September 7: 700 Mahtomedi Ave. Hours are 2 to 10 p.m. Features food and live music with High & Mighty. Visit WWW.STJUDE OFTHELAKE.ORG. Fall festival at Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata — September 7: Mass at 4 p.m. at 155 County Road 24, followed by food and kids’ games, as well as activities for all ages. Music from local Catholic band Sonar begins at 6 p.m., then GB Leighton performs at 8:30 p.m. Fall festival at Transfiguration, Oakdale — September 7: 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 6133 15th St. N. Features music from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with Mark Andrew, Tim Mahoney, Martin Zellar and more. Also includes a festival market, 5k run/walk and food trucks, rides and games. Visit WWW. TRANSFIGURATIONMN.ORG. Fall festival at St. Odilia, Shoreview — September 7 and 8: 3495 N. Victoria St. Hours are: Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Features auctions, food, games, inflatables and a quilt raffle. Steamboat Days at St. Nicholas, Carver — September 7 and 8: Noon to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 412 Fourth St. W. Features a chicken dinner Saturday at 4 p.m. and a Memphis-style pork

Barn Dance at St. Mary, Waverly — September 7 and 8: Mass at 4 p.m. Saturday at 606 Elm Ave. followed by a pork chop dinner, children’s movie night, games, mini donuts, theme baskets and more. Brunch Sunday is from 8 a.m. to noon. Also features bean bag tournament, barrel train rides, music by DJ Chopper, pie eating contest and more. Visit WWW.STMARYS-WAVERLY.COM. Fall festival at Immaculate Conception Marysburg, Madison Lake — September 8: Outdoor Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by a pork tenderloin dinner at 27528 Patrick St. Also features a bake sale, farmers market, games, root beer floats and more. Fall festival at St. Stanislaus, St. Paul — September 8: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 398 Superior St. Features a turkey dinner, car show, petting zoo, bakery, games, a beer tent to watch the Vikings game and more. Fall festival at Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon, St. Paul — September 8: 840 Sixth St. E. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Features authentic Mexican and American foods, music, dancers, games, raffles and more. Fall festival at Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine — September 8: 215. N. Chestnut St. Mass at 10 a.m. followed by a chicken and ham dinner served until 2 p.m. Also features live music, children’s games, refreshments, country store and more. County fair at Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — September 13 to 15: 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 1900 Stanford Ave. Activities for all ages include rides, kids games, bingo, food, beverages, Art Market, Fun Run, ongoing entertainment and more. Fall festival at St. Michael, Farmington — September 14 and 15: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at 22120 Denmark Ave. Saturday features a pulled pork and chicken dinner, hay rides and music by ContriBand. Sunday’s activities include children’s games, Last Hope Pet Rescue, Farmington danceline, bake sale and more. Fall Festival at St. John the Baptist, Jordan — September 14 and 15: Polka Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday at 316 N. Broadway St., followed by food, beverages, music, and bean bag tournament. Masses at 8 and 10 a.m. Sunday followed by home-style chicken and bone-in ham dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., huge quilt auction at 3 p.m., games, silent auction, country store, music, and more. Fall festival Holy Cross, Minneapolis — September 14 and 15: 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday features music by Dr. Kielbasa. Polka Mass at 9:30 a.m. Sunday followed by a chicken dinner, polish food, games and more at 1621 University Ave. N.E. Fall festival and booya at St. Jerome, Maplewood — September 15: Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by a talent show, pony rides, games, a car show and more. Booya takeout begins at 6 a.m. Located at 380 E. Roselawn Ave. Visit WWW.STJEROME-CHURCH.ORG.

Calendar Submissions DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, seven days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions. ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event. • Full street address of event. • Description of event. • Contact information in case of questions. E-MAIL: SPIRITCALENDAR@ ARCHSPM.ORG. (No attachments, please.)

FAX: (651) 291-4460.

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Back by by popular demand! These talks drew 12,000 attendees in early 2013.. If you missed the talks then,, or just jus want to experience them all over again,, make plans to attend this fall — and bring a friend or family member with you.

New sites, sites, including inc Univ University er sity of St. Thomas All talks begin at 7:00 p.m. Talks a are free and no registration is required.

Finding God’ God’ss Purpose ffor or o My Lif Life fe Presented by Faather Peter Laird Monday, September 16 – Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuuesday, y September 17 – Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesda edne e y, September 18 – Woulf o fe Hall,, Univer sity of St. Thomas Thur sda daay, September 19 – Pax Christi, Eden Prairie

Living in Comm Communion union with God Presented by Faather Michael Keating e Monday, September 30 – Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuuesday, y October 1 – Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesda edne e y, October 2 – Woulf o fe Hall, Univer sity of St. Thomas Thur sda daay, October 3 – Pax Christi,, Eden Pr P airie

Ov Overcoming ercoming oming Lif Life’s fe’ e s Challenges Through Through God’s God’s Grace Presented by Faather Andrew Cozzens Monday, October 21 – Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata y Tuuesday, y October 22 – Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesda edne e y, October 23 – Woulf o fe Hall, Univer sity of St. Thomas Thur sda daay, October 24 – Pax Christi,, Eden Prairie

the way

Keeping K eepin e ng God at the Center ter of My Lif Life fe Presented by Deacon Joseph Michalak Monday, November 4 – Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata Tuuesday, y November 5 – Epiphany, Coon Rapids Wednesda edne e y, November 6 – Woulf o fe Hall, Univer sity of St. Thomas Thur sda daay, November 7 – Pax Christi, Eden Prairie

For more inf information, fo ormation,, please visit

Rediscover-faith.org

Rediscover is a trade mar k of the Archdioces of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Photo courtesy of Archbishop Nienstedt

Colin Jones, right, of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul roasts marshmallows with Archbishop John Nienstedt during a recent trip to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters.

We must respect God’s designs for natural world and human behavior CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 150 feet from the water. You may not use shampoos or soap, even of the biodegradable variety. 8. You shall not leave fires unattended. You shall make sure a campfire is completely extinguished before leaving a campsite. 9. You shall enter and leave the area on the days appointed. 10. You shall leave no trace. You shall take your trash with you. Now these commandments are not meant to restrict or limit the enjoyment of adventurers within the park. Rather, they are meant to protect the natural, Godmade beauty and integrity of these lakes and forests and thereby ensure the enjoyment of those human beings who visit them. These ten commandments are aimed at fostering life as it was intended from the beginning. Everyone with an ounce of common sense can appreciate their worth and understand the importance of their enforcement.

An apt analogy So, I ask myself: Why is it that we cannot transfer this same regard and respect over to God’s Ten Commandments for human behavior and his designs in the order of creation? Take human sexuality, for example. A woman’s body is obviously made in such a way so as to welcome a man’s body, and his is made to respond in kind. Their unimpeded conjugal union is designed to be reproductive, bringing forth new human life that needs to be protected and nourished. The natural context for such a relationship is the life-long, mutually exclusive union of husband and wife in what has, until recently, been called “marriage.” The woman’s body has both fertile and infertile cycles, so as to allow for human reproduction as well as human intimacy and pleasure. Programs of natural family planning teach a couple how to read the signs so as to gain knowledge of how they should respond. It takes much of the guess work out of conception. True, it also takes discipline, but that leads to self-knowledge and virtue. Natural family planning is not a Catholic version of contraception. Far from it. It is

Archbishop’s schedule ! Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 29-31: Duluth, Bishops provincial meeting. ! Tuesday, Sept. 3: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff. 1:30 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Cabinet meeting. ! Wednesday, Sept. 4: 11:00 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting with HealthEast representatives. 2 p.m., Minneapolis, University of St. Thomas School of Law: “Faith and Federal Immigration Reform.” 5 p.m., St. Paul The St. Paul Seminary: Opening Mass and staff Profession of Faith and Fidelity, and banquet. ! Thursday, Sept. 5: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Planning for “lectio divina” at the University of St. Thomas. 5:30 p.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Dinner with new investees of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. ! Sunday-Saturday, Sept. 8-14: Washington, D.C., USCCB Administrative Committee meetings: Religious Liberty; Respect Life; Doctrine Committee and New Evangelization Symposium.

a valued and valuable method by which the married couple cooperates with nature and its laws, all of which have been designed by God “from the beginning.” So, the Church’s teaching on sexual morality is analogous to the environmentalist’s desire to protect nature. Both understand what was meant to be in the design of nature. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said: “The relationship between individuals or communities and the environment ultimately stems from their relationship with God. When man turns his back on the Creator’s plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order.” So, I ask myself again, why is this so difficult for people to understand? God bless you!

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

Staff prepared for IB program for three years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 “This is a historic and exciting accomplishment for St. Jude of the Lake School,” said Cressy Epperly, principal at St. Jude. “This authorization puts us into an elite group of schools in the country.” According to its website, WWW.IBO.ORG, the IB Primary Years Program is a curriculum framework designed for students aged 3 to 12. It is a teaching method that emphasizes inquiry, encouraging children to ask questions, seek understanding, connect new learning to prior knowledge and become lifelong learners.

Teachers enthusiastic Epperly explained that the St. Jude staff spent the last three years pursuing and preparing for the school’s IB authorization by visiting other IB-authorized schools, attending extensive IB training courses, and gradually incorporating IB practices and principles into daily class work. Mike Langer, IB coordinator and physical education/health teacher at St. Jude notes that there are many exciting aspects and benefits of the PYP. “What I am particularly excited about is the way the program encourages and stirs the natural curiosity of children — enabling them to dig deeper into subject material and establish more meaningful learning,” he said. “Combine this with the fact that the program brings out the best in educators, in terms of collaborative creativity and resourcefulness, and the PYP is a wonderful way to both learn and teach.”

New edition of

GREAT LOVE

“

What I am particularly excited about is the way the program encourages and stirs the natural curiosity of children — enabling them to dig deeper into subject material and establish more meaningful learning.

Released nationwide this month Mary Jo Copeland’s work with the poor and needy has been her passion for 30 years. “I think reading Great Love will help people gain insight into not only what I do, but what they can do to make a difference in the lives of others, in every city in our nation.” Mary Jo Copeland, Founder, Sharing & Caring Hands

Order your copy of

GREAT LOVE The Mary Jo Copeland Story Cover Price: $16.99 • Ebook: $9.99 Available through all major bookstores and Amazon.com. All proceeds go to meeting the needs of the poor.

”

“Her unyielding vision for stronger neighborhoods has inspired people nationwide, and her compassion for the poor and the marginalized speaks to the depth of the human spirit. The United States honors Mary Jo Copeland for sparking hope in those who need it most.”

MIKE LANGER IB coordinator St. Jude’s of the Lake School

First-grade teacher Tammy Green said, “With the PYP, I notice a stronger sense of wonder with my first graders. “The children take ownership of their learning as they work together to inquire about how the world works and their place in it. “I am amazed at the connections and discoveries they make and the enthusiasm they express in their sharing. “They are able to take learning to the next level by taking action to demonstrate understanding.”

U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House ceremony for the Presidential Citizens Medal, February 15, 2013. White House Press Photo 02.15.2013

TheCatholicSpirit.com

CELEBRATING THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY Patronal Solemnity and Titular Feast of the Marist Fathers (Society of Mary)

Soirée of Sacred Musical Offerings Based on the ‘Salve Regina’ ON THE

FEAST OF THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

at the Marist Parish in the Archdiocese Gregorian Chant (Tonus Solemnis and Tonus Simplex) And settings by Handel, Fauré, Dupré, Langlais, Poulenc, Pärt, and others

FEATURING THE CHŒUR DE SAINT LOUIS

Brian T. Carson, B.Mus., M.Mus., Maître du chœur et du grand orgue George H. Fergus, B.Mus., Organ Scholar

7:00 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 CHURCH OF SAINT LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE The Little French Church at the corner of Cedar Street and Tenth Street Saint Paul, Minnesota Freewill offering accepted

Soyez des nôtres… Come join us and REDISCOVER a most ancient prayer to Mary, Mother of Mercy This ad was underwritten by anonymous donors in honor of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Marists in the U.S.A. Inspiration Artistique Priscilla Heimann Agente de liaison Dee Hobbie Imprimerie Bywords Printing

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Vatican orders slight change in text for sacrament of baptism Catholic News Service

If you have been abused or victimized by someone representing the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, we want to hear from you. We are here to offer you help and healing. We will also help you make a formal complaint of abuse to this Archdiocese or assist you in contacting another archdiocese/diocese/eparchy.

To emphasize that the sacrament of baptism formally brings a person into the church of God and not just into a local Christian community, the Vatican has ordered a slight change of wording in the baptismal rite. At the beginning of the rite, instead of saying, “the Christian community welcomes you with great joy,” the officiating minister will say, “the church of God welcomes you with great joy.” “Baptism is the sacrament of faith in which people are incorporated into the one church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him,” said the decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. The decree is dated Feb. 22 and was published in the latest issue of “Notitiae,” the congregation’s newsletter.

Signed by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, congregation prefect, and Archbishop Arthur Roche, congregation secretary, the decree said the change to the wording in Latin and all local languages was approved Jan. 28 by Pope Benedict XVI; the pope resigned a month later. The new wording, the decree said, better emphasizes Catholic doctrine that through baptism a person is incorporated into the universal church and not just into a parish. The decree said the change was to have gone into effect in the Latin text March 31. Msgr. Rick Hilgartner, executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the bishops were due to have a preliminary draft translation of the Rite of Baptism of Children next year, so he believed the change would simply be incorporated in the revised edition as it is approved and published.

Please call me, Greta Sawyer on my confidential phone line, 651.291.4497, or email me at sawyerg@archspm.org.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH

FALL FESTIVAL Sunday, September 8 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. FESTIVITIES INCLUDE:

Education is her future Nancy, El Salvador

Wee be W believe li e v e eevery v e ry child should have h a v e the chance ch a nce to go g o to school. schoo l. Spo Sponsorship n so r ship he helps lp s oopen pe n th that a t doo door.r. CHRISTIAN FOUNDA AT TION FOR CHILDREN AND AGING

Fo u n d e d b y l a y C a t h o l i c s . S e r v i n g f a m i l i e s i n 2 2 c o u n t r i e s .

All Saints is located at 5th St. & 5th Avenue Northeast Minneapolis

FESTIVAL & BOOYA Sunday, Sept. 15th ST. JEROME CHURCH 380 E Roselawn Ave. (at 35E) • stjerome-church.org

www.hopeforafamily.org/stpaul

10:30 a.m. Outdoor Mass

I want to sponsor a child for $30 a month: Girl Boy Any

Followed by Entertainment for the Whole Family • Booya by the bowl • Grilled Food • Car Show • Kids Games • Bingo • Cherry Tree • Silent Auction • Pull Tabs

Name: Address:

800.875.6564

CASH PRIZES

200 gallons of “Carry Out” Booya will be ready at 6 a.m. until gone

Phone: Please mail to: CFCA Sponsor Services 1 Elmwood Avenue, Kansas City y, KS 66103

Main Raffle with $2,000 in cash prizes Two winners for a Jax Cafe Brunch for 2 Polish Dinner or Ala Carte • Just Desserts Refreshments • Live Music • Flea Market Bingo • Pull Tabs • Mini-Raffle Wine & Spirits Raffle • Children’s Games

36428

“World Finest” Booya

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • AUGUST 29, 2013

Basilica of St. Mary garners Minnesota preservation award The Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis recently was named a winner of the 2013 Minnesota Preservation Award. The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota honored The the basilica for a Catholic Spirit project that restored aging and damaged stone interiors. There were a total of 10 winners, who will be recognized at the Minnesota Preservation Gala at Christ Lutheran Church in Minneapolis Sept. 27. In 2011, via a Facebook contest, the basilica was awarded a $110,000 Partners in Preservation grant to complete repairs to the narthex and sanctuary. Crews returned limestone walls to their original patina, repaired stone and restored ceiling paint and decorative gold leafing.

News Notes

Woman professes perpetual vows Sister Amelia Hueller, formerly of the Cathedral of St. Paul, made her perpetual profession of vows to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn., on July 22. She was joined by 10 others at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville for the ceremony, with Bishop David Choby of

Nashville serving as the main celebrant. Sister Amelia is a graduate of Stillwater High School and currently teaches at St. Cecilia Academy in Nashville. The community of 280 sisters serves in 33 schools throughout the U.S., SISTER AMELIA including St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater.

Local pastor visits Croatia for meeting Dominican Father Jim Spahn, pastor of Holy Rosary in Minneapolis, went to Croatia from July 22 to Aug. 8 for a meeting of his order, The Order of Preachers (also called Dominicans). For almost 800 years, Dominican friars from around the world have gathered in General Chapter regularly to define the main directions of the government of the order. The Dominican Friars have been active in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis since 1878, when they were asked to serve at Holy Rosary. They also serve at St. Albert the Great in Minneapolis.

Catholic United sets goal of more kits Catholic United Financial is stepping up its aid to the homeless and victims of natural disasters by increasing the number of care kits assembled for those in need. CUF raised its goal from 4,000 to 5,500 kits. Since 2010, more than 5,000 kits, containing toiletry items such as towels, toothpaste and soap, have been assembled and donated through Gather4Good. On Aug. 5, 200 members of St. Paul’s Outreach helped deliver 750 kits to metro area charities. Agencies such as Sharing and Caring Hands, Love, Inc. and Catholic Charities distribute the kits to people in need. “We wish the need for the care kits didn’t exist. Unfortunately, the demand for help has never been greater,” said Harald Borrmann, President of Catholic United Financial. “By increasing the number of kits we’re putting together this year, we are able to involve more families in our outreach and ultimately serve a greater number of people who need our help the most,” CUF also serves the needy through its Gather4Good events, which bring together volunteers from the community and local Catholic parishes. The next event will be on Sept. 29 at St. Elizabeth

Classified Ads

Ann Seton in Hastings. All materials are provided, along with food, entertainment and activities for children. For more information and to register, visit WWW.CATHOLICUNITED.ORG/LINKS/GATHER4 GOOD.

Priest to celebrate 50th anniversary Father Ralph Goman will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination Sept. 15. The celebration takes place at the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. John the Evangelist Campus of St. Gabriel in Hopkins. A reception will follow the Mass. Father Goman was born with a rare blood disease and continues to battle the condition, which FATHER GOMAN requires regular blood transfusions. He retired in 2004 and lives at St. Therese Southwest in Hopkins. He previously ministered at Incarnation in Minneapolis, St. Mary’s Hospital, St. John Vianney Seminary, St. Olaf in Minneapolis and St. John the Evangelist in Hopkins.

Reach nearly 85,000 homes with Minnesota’s largest paid bi-weekly newspaper E-mail: CLASSIFIEDADS@ARCHSPM.ORG • Phone: (651) 290-1631 • Fax: (651) 291-4457 Next issue: 9-12 • Deadline: 4 p.m. 9-6 Rates: $8 per line (35-40 characters per line) • Add a photo for $25 !

ACCESSIBILITY SOLUTIONS

STAIR LIFTS - ELEVATORS WHEELCHAIR LIFTS

FOR HOMES, CHURCHES & SCHOOLS 10105 Arrow Lift (763) 786-2780

ANTIQUES

TOP CASH PAID For Older Furniture — Rugs — Pictures — Bookcases — Pottery — Beer 4185 Items — Toys & Misc. (651) 227-2469.

ATTORNEYS

Edward F. Gross Wills, Trusts, Probate, Estate Planning, Real Estate. Office at 35E & Roselawn Ave., St. Paul (651) 631-0616. 11270

BOILER REPAIR

KENNY BOILER & MFG. CO.

651-224-7471 344 E. University Ave., St. Paul

5725

! CASKETS — HANDCRAFTED PINE ! Beautiful, personal, affordable alternative. Steve O'Rourke (612) 822-7320. WWW.DUST TODUSTPINECASKLETS.COM. C126027

CEILING TEXTURE

Michaels Painting. Popcorn & Knock down Texture, Repairs. TEXTURECEILINGS.COM (763) 12327 757-3187.

CEMETERY LOTS FOR SALE

Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul MN: 2 crypts, $4000. Call (651) 636-1757.

www.ShowcaseRenovation.com

12910

! !

CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING

COUNTERTOPS AND SINKS

Miele Concrete + Design: Specializing in artistic concrete overlays applied to your existing laminate or cultured marble countertops and vanities.: WWW.FACE BOOK.COM/MIELE.CONCRETE.DESIGN (507) 301-MELO [6356].

DVD TRANSFER

Preserve Your Slides & Film Transfer them to DVD Today! For quality transfers at great prices call Astound Video Duplication and Transfer 7811 at (651) 644-2412

! EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ! Please see Executive Director display ad on page 17 of this edition. Small apostolate seeks PHP Database Administrator for website, newsletter, mailing list projects. Connie (651) 776-0363.

FOR SALE

QN. Pillowtop Set In Plastic!! New $150 Must Sell!! Sheila (763) 360-3829. 12972

GREAT CATHOLIC SPEAKERS

CD of the Month Club Lighthouse Catholic Media Scott Hahn, Jeff Cavins and more! $5/month includes shipping Subscribe online at WWW.LIGHTHOUSECATHOLICMEDIA.COM/CDCLUB Please Enter Code: 1195 11988

HARDWOOD FLOORS

Sweeney’s Hardwood Floors

Spruce up your house with new or refurbished hardwood floors: 10% off labor. 10435 Sweeney (651) 485-8187.

HANDYMAN

WE DO 1,162 THINGS AROUND THE HOME! Catholic Owned Handyman Business: We will fix/repair remodel almost anything around the home. Serving entire Metro. Call today. Mention this ad and receive 10% off labor. Handyman Matters (651) 784-3777, 12068 (952) 946-0088.

HEALTH INSURANCE

Dental, Health, Medicare Parts A, B and D, and Long Term Care Insurance. WWW. GENWORTH.COM/JERRYBIESE (612) 38212095 4363.

LANDSCAPING

Drainage problems? Retaining walls, paver patios, steps. Jeff (651) 436-6568. C12558

OLD COINS — GOLD — SILVER Buying coins, currency, gold, silver. We buy gold and silver jewelry. 45 yrs.experience serving individuals, banks and attorneys. BBB rated A+ Honesty, Integrity, Reliability! Gary Adkins Assoc., Inc. (952)835-2244 Visit our website at WWW.COINBUYS.COM

ROOM FOR RENT

For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND.COM. Or call (651) 699-6140. 7521

RSMT near St. Joseph’s: 10 acres, w/ kitch. & sunrm, $600/mo. Sue (651) 423-3147.

Merriam Park Painting. Professional Int./ Ext. Painting. WP Hanging. Moderate Prices, Free Estimates. Call Ed (651) 224-3660. 11269

Michaels Painting. Texture and Repair. MICHAELSPAINTINGLLC.COM. (763) 757-3187. 12327 Dennis Heigl Painting Interior/Exterior Reasonable, Fair Pricing. Free Estimates. 12048 (763) 543-0998 • Cell (612) 819-2438

PLUMBING

Justen Plumbing, Inc. (651) 605-5025 JUSTENPLUMBING@GMAIL.COM Call or email Mike for a free estimate. 12345

! !

PAINTING

PRAYERS

Thank you Jesus, Blessed Mary, St. Jude, St. Anthony and St. Anne for prayers answered. M.A. C4574 Thank you Lord Jesus, Blessed Mother Mary, and St. Jude for prayers answered. S.E. C12909

PRAYER — STATE CAPITOL

PRIVATE NURSE NEEDED

VACATION/FAMILY GETAWAY

Knotty Pines Resort, Park Rapids, MN. 1, 2 & 3 bdrm cabins starting at $550/week. WWW.KNOTTYPINESRESORT.COM (800) 392-2410. 12598 Giants Ridge Golf Resort private condo on site. Disc. rates. Joanie 651 484-7173. Naples, FL Condo. Lovely 2/2 + den. Avail Dec - April, $3100 per mo Carol (612) 965-5047

WANTED TO BUY

$$$ for OLD SEWING Machines, Patterns, Fabric, Hankies, Postcards, Vintage Lamps, Old Photos, Jewelry, Silver + Gold, Lighters + Collectibles (612)823-8616. C3919 Downsizing estates. I buy ?? + bicycles. C6158 Steve (651) 778-0571.

Join me to pray at the front steps Fridays 36 p.m. for an hour or three, or pray at home. Eugene (651) 488-0660.

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

ROOMMATE WANTED

Home of single women, secure, clean and great place to study and save money. TMJB00@GMAIL.COM. (651) 485-5115. C2079

R.N. or LPN for home care PT hours flexible to fit your schedule. Hrs. avail. on all shifts. Please call (651) 695-1156.

WINDOW WASHING

Experienced Catholic college students — third summer in the business. Streakfree shine every time. Storm windows/screens. Lots of positive client references. Cheapest pricing guaranteed. We go anywhere in the Metro area. Call Kevin Mealey for a FREE estimate — (612) 859-0250 or email at PATANDKEVWINDOWS@GMAIL.COM.

AUGUST 29, 2013 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Crisma Propeza, 18, helped her little sister Gemma, 3, choose a cookie from the table provided by the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women.

Celebrating Latino culture Second annual celebration draws nearly 2,000 Nearly 2,000 people braved temperatures in the upper 90s to gather for the second annual Latino Family Day celebration at Como Park in St. Paul Aug. 25. The event began with a prayer circle and included food, music and dancers, a soccer tournament and children’s games. More than 200 volunteers helped the event run smoothly. Each of the 20 participating parishes competed in tamale, salsa and piñata contests. Above, a young girl tries her hand at breaking open the first of 20 piñatas that had been entered in the piñata contest. Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Left, Grupo de Chinelos San Pablo Apostol, a dance group of people from parishes across the Twin Cities, performed in the hot sun. Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Far left, Four-year-old Ariana Sanchez Vazquez from St. Joseph in Red Wing recited the creed to Bishop Lee Piché, center, during the celebration. Photo courtesy of Julie Meyer

Confirmation program for those with disabilities emphasizes that all have something to give CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 she said. The Curtans believe that everyone belongs and has something to contribute. When parents call their office and ask if it is possible for their child to receive the sacraments, “it’s not a matter of can, it’s how are we going to do it,” Deacon Curtan said.

The ministry Deacon Curtan has been running the archdiocesan Outreach to Persons with Disabilities since 2008, but the couple’s experience with people with disabilities goes back much farther. Their first experience came when Joan was chair of the social action group at their parish, Assumption in Richfield. She helped get approval from the city for a group home to be built in their neighborhood. “I had never been exposed to anyone with disabilities but felt that everybody should have the same opportunities,” Joan said. “It was a real eye-opener for me.” Deacon Curtan has a background in teaching, but got

involved in working with people with disabilities when the group home was built and they served on the board of directors. Then, he took a job at Opportunity Partners, an organization that supports choices for people with disabilities through innovative services and strategic collaborations. “I decided one day that I really wanted to serve this population, so I went to work at Opportunity Partners and was there 22 years,” he said. “It was a true calling in ministry, and I just truly loved it.” The archdiocesan ministry is a perfect fit for them. “It’s a true gift to be able to see it and feel it when you meet parents and people with disabilities, and it’s a true calling,” Deacon Curtan said. “The fantastic gift of working with the archdiocese is working with the DREs and the pastors and the associate pastors and Archbishop [John] Nienstedt and Bishop [Lee] Piché. There’s not a person in the entire Church that doesn’t want this inclusion for people,” he said. Before he was ordained, Deacon Curtan and Joan at-

tended the Mass for Persons with Disabilities at the seminary. “I said, ‘This is for me,’ and little did I know then that it really would be for me,” he said. The Curtans see this Mass, which will be celebrated by Bishop Piché, as a great gift to the archdiocese, and Debi Moffatt agrees. “It’s huge, it even means more than if they were making [confirmation] through our parish, because I think that as parents you really understand and sympathize with the road that each of you are on,” she said. “To celebrate that with other people who get that is just amazing. It’s powerful.” The Mass is hosted by the seminarians of the St. Paul Seminary, and the Franciscan Brothers of Peace help with a sing-a-long beforehand. “Sometimes when the Holy Spirit fills the rest of us, we kind of tone it down a bit,” Debi said. “But if Jenny’s excited about something, she’ll just let it out, you really know how she’s feeling. To be there and experience that . . . we’re really looking forward to it.”

Prayer Learning more about our faith The Catholic Spirit’s 4-page Rediscover: pullout section in each issue of 2013 highlights a new Rediscover: theme for you to reflect on and discuss with others. Coming up Sept. 12: How should I pray?

What is prayer? Why should I pray?

HEART OF THE MATTER Elizabeth KELLY

woman I knew with 12 children and a husband who traveled frequently for work said that when her children were young, some days the only prayer she could muster would be to stand at the kitchen sink, fling her apron over her head and beg heaven for help, energy, patience, for the oatmeal not to be lumpy or the milk not to have turned. Her children knew that was her prayer time, under the apron. When Mom was under the apron, even if only for a moment, she was not to be disturbed — because she was speaking with Jesus. And that’s about as helpful a definition of prayer as I can imagine: simply speaking with Jesus, keeping company with angels and saints and the Lord with as much humility and authenticity and presence as we can muster.

Getting to know one another Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminds us, “Prayer cannot be taken for granted: We must learn to pray, as if gaining back this art; even those who are very advanced in the spiritual life

The Catholic Spirit • August 29, 2013

always feel the need to get to school to learn from Jesus to pray with authenticity. We receive the first lesson from the Lord through His example. The Gospels describe Jesus in intimate and ongoing dialogue with the Father.” We also remember that prayer is not a technique as much as it is a relationship — in the same way that Truth is not a concept, Truth is a person. When we fall in love with the Truth, we are falling in love with the person of Christ. But we must get to know that person; we must spend time together. We get to know one another through conversation on any variety of topics until we get to the point where we can sit in silence together and be completely at ease. We can sit with one another in suffering, in joy, in every season of the heart. Furthermore, we remember that prayer addresses a deeply human need. In 2011, Pope Benedict delivered a marvelous Please turn to PRAYER on back page of section

Rediscover-faith.org

“We pray to learn the Father’s voice and to gather the graces we need to heed it. We pray not because it changes God, but because it changes us.” Elizabeth Kelly

How do your best days begin? Matthew Kelly is taking a break from writing his column while he recuperates from successful cancer surgery. He is scheduled to begin writing again in October. Please keep him in your prayers. In the interim, this column space will feature excerpts from his other writings. The following is from his book “The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.” Life is a collection of days, and some days are better than others. This may seem obvious, and so we perhaps don’t question CELEBRATING it. But, why are some days better than others? CATHOLICISM If you look back over the past couple of months, a few days were probably great Matthew days, most days were average, some days KELLY were not so good, and perhaps there were even a couple of days that were horrible. But what made the difference? Was it something outside your control or something within your influence? One thing I have discovered as I become more and more conscious of what is happening within me and around me, is that if a day doesn’t get off to a good start, it very rarely finishes as a good day. Once a day gets away from us, we tend to go into survival mode. And a day can get away from us in so many ways. In fact, a day will almost certainly get away from us unless we consciously take the time to focus our day first thing each morning. How do your best days begin? Most people don’t know. They have a hunch, but they have “Try beginning your simply never thought enough about it or experimented with it. day with prayer, This is the first thing that sets however brief, and dynamic Catholics apart. They know how their best days begin, observe how and they use this knowledge to beginning your day give real direction to their lives at beginning of each day. with prayer impacts theThe first sign of a Dynamic Catholic is prayer. More the rest of your day.” specifically, it is a daily Matthew Kelly commitment to prayer. Dynamic Catholics universally begin their day with some type of prayer, a spiritual routine that focuses their day. Some settle down in a big comfortable chair with their morning coffee. Others go to Mass. Some focus their day by praying the morning offering, and have their main time of prayer at some other time in the day. But all of them begin their day with prayer of some kind, however brief, and on a day when they don’t follow their routine, they can feel the difference. They feel unfocused, stressed, less conscious of what is happening in and around them, less capable of giving those they care about the love and attention they deserve, and disconnected from God. It is as if they feel disconnected from themselves when they don’t start their days in the way that they know works best.

Making it routine Dynamic Catholics know how their best days begin and the more mature among them (mature in wisdom, not in age) will do almost anything to defend their morning routine. They would rather get up an hour early then forgo their morning routine. They know that a day that doesn’t start well tends not to end well. It is simply too difficult to shift the momentum of a day. How do your best days begin? Try beginning your day with prayer, however brief, and observe how beginning your day with prayer impacts the rest of your day. Kelly is an international best-selling author, speaker and founder of The Dynamic Catholic Institute.

The Catholic Spirit • August 29, 2013

Crashed ice: Where hockey d By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

A broken leg changed Dan Moran’s life. At first, his tumble at Edina’s Braemar Arena in March 1981 felt like his worst nightmare come true. More than bones were shattered when he slid into the boards while wearing the hockey uniform of the Edina West Cougars. Just a week earlier, in his senior year and only season on varsity, the team qualified for the state tournament. It’s every youth hockey player’s dream to make the trip to St. Paul to compete in one of the largest high school sporting events in the nation. With the excitement and anticipation of fulfilling his childhood longing clearly in his sights, he took to the ice for team pictures days after qualifying for the tournament. The agenda was to hit the ice in full uniform, line up for a team photo, then have a brief practice afterward. Moran never made it to the practice. Instead, he rode in an ambulance to the hospital, thanks to a rare breech of his straight-laced manner. He was so worked up about playing at state, he decided to do a little showing off shortly after lacing up his skates on picture day. “Some of the girls, who were my friends, were just coming onto the ice and they had their skates on because they were going to get their pictures taken, too. They were cheerleaders,” said Moran, 50, who grew up attending Our Lady of Grace in Edina and still belongs there today with his wife Sheryl. “So, I said to my buddy, ‘Hey, watch this.’ I was going to skate as fast as I could and spray them [with ice after skidding to a stop]. I thought it would be kind of cool.” The result was anything but cool. “I go full speed down the ice and I catch an edge right before the boards and go into the boards at absolute full speed,” he said. “Boom! Broke my leg.” And, his heart along with it. The fall ended a dream he had worked hard to fulfill for at least a decade. Though there were many talented players on the roster, including a future Stanley Cup champion (Dave Maley, Montreal Canadians), Moran managed to finally move up to varsity that year. He played on the third line as a right wing, and scored a couple of goals during the Cougars’ undefeated regular season.

Scripture in sight Now, all he could do was sit in a hospital room and think about the huge price he would have to pay for one brief moment of youthful foolishness. Fortunately, his friends rallied to his bedside. One of them wrote a message on the cast encasing his left leg that created a huge turning point in his life. Following a long tradition in American culture, his cast became a writing tablet for the dozens of friends who would scribble encouraging notes. One of the messages stood out, and became the focal point of his recovery. “My buddy writes Romans 8:28 on my cast,” he said. “All things work together for good for those who love God and have been called according to his purpose.” That simple reference was strategically placed where he would see it constantly — on the portion of the cast covering the top of his foot. To this day, these words remain the most vivid memory he has of the whole experience. And, they sparked a renewal of his daily prayer life that continues to guide his life. Now, he puts that spiritual life into practice as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch. He regularly prays for and with his clients, and his daily time with the

Lord sits at the top of the list of priorities in his life. It is part of his life’s mission statement, and something he never misses. And today, because of his faith-filled trajectory, he no longer looks back on his hockey fall with regret. “This tragic event turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise,” he said. “It was a great thing — my faith developed because of that.” And, that same faith has helped guide a successful, 25-year career at Merrill Lynch, which started after a three-year stint as a youth minister at Our Lady of Grace. Those early days as a financial adviser weren’t easy, however. At one point, he wasn’t sure he would even keep his job. After struggling to gain new accounts, he abandoned his daily prayer so that he could focus on developing new business. Big mistake. “Six months went by, and I was the most miserable I’ve ever been in my entire life,” he said. “I hated my job. I was just so disappointed. With no faith, I felt distant from God, and it was just horrible.” His misery finally bubbled over one day when he came home from work and greeted Sheryl. “She said, ‘How was work?’ And, I broke down and I started to sob,” he said. “I couldn’t keep it from her any longer. . . . It was an absolute low point in my life.” He felt like a failure. He thought he would get fired due to a lack of productivity. He wondered if he should go back to youth ministry.

Back on track But, after his wife gently encouraged him, he got back on track. This time, he decided to do something concrete to avoid drifting from God again. He drafted a personal mission statement. At the top of

“Pr w be

that read “O perso princ Th this the B Th offic leave time in h most Th a po on t phot the w He clien conv “I he sa

dream ends, faith begins

‘Prayer isn’t a cosmic vending machine’ It seems a particularly American tendency to link effort to outcome: hours worked, dollars earned; calories burned, pounds lost.

In his own words Visit Rediscover-faith.org to watch a video of Dan Moran’s testimony. Click on “videos” at the botton of the page.

rayer has significantly helped me in my life. It’s helped me grow in my relationship with God and with Jesus, it’s helped me to be a better husband, helped me be a etter father, a better financial adviser. It keeps me grounded. So, for me, it’s been one of the top things in my life. My encouragement [to others] would be to xplore it and journey with it. There’s so many different things that you can do.” Dan Moran

two-page document is prayer. The first sentence s as follows: On a daily basis, further develop and nurture my onal relationship with Jesus and live out the cipals that Jesus Christ taught.” he next paragraph offers the blueprint: “To fulfill mission, I have a daily quiet time to pray, read Bible and spend time alone with my Lord.” hough he says he is the first one to arrive at the ce every morning (at 7:10 a.m.) and the last to e (at 5:40 p.m.) he does not miss his daily prayer e. Not only that, he has several visual reminders is office of what — or, rather, who — matters t. he first thing his clients see when they walk in is ortrait of Jesus smiling, positioned at eye level the wall to their right. He has another small to of Christ on his computer, and a crucifix on wall behind that. e is not shy about discussing faith with his nts, and says they often are eager to have that versation. get to pick who my clients are, to some extent,” aid. “Because I spend a lot of time in faith circles,

those tend to [produce] my clients. Prayer is really important to them. And, it’s important to me, and faith is important to me. So, faith conversations always come up when I’m meeting with clients.” Along the way, Dan has passed on the prayer legacy to his own children, John, 23, and Katie, 20. “All four of us knelt around our bed and we prayed every night before we went to bed,” he said. “That was just a family ritual growing up for our kids.” Dan has started to give his testimony on prayer and faith. His talk at Our Lady of Grace is on the Rediscover: website at REDISCOVER-FAITH.ORG. “Prayer has significantly helped me in my life,” he said. “It’s helped me grow in my relationship with God and with Jesus, it’s helped me to be a better husband, helped me be a better father, a better financial adviser. It keeps me grounded. So, for me, it’s been one of the top things in my life. My encouragement [to others] would be to explore it and journey with it. There’s so many different things that you can do.” Perhaps, he could add a light-hearted exhortation that goes something like this: Now’s the time to start praying. Break a leg.

We’re not good at doing something just for the sake of doing it — for the love of that thing, for the leisure, for the fresh air. We want something to show for it. But the simple cause-and-effect relationship we count on as kids — good behavior, gold star — doesn’t always deliver. We see this when we try to attach prayer to outcome, a practice that is always misleading and sometimes heartbreaking. How can two mothers pray to beat cancer and only one survive? Is one a better pray-er? A better person? More deserving of God’s REFERENCE saving grace? POINTS These are hard realities for life-long Catholics, let alone the many people who were raised outside the Christina Church. Mark Shea, 54, a father of two from Seattle, is CAPECCHI among that group; he grew up in a non-Christian home, converted to Catholicism in his late 20s and became a prolific Catholic author. Though he’s elbows deep in theology books these days, Mark hasn’t forgotten the confusion he once felt when pondering prayer. “If God is allknowing, what’s the point of prayer? Isn’t he going to pony up anyway? Does he like to play Simon Says?” Mark explored these questions in his book “The Heart of Catholic Prayer: Rediscovering the Our Father and the Hail Mary,” published last year by Our Sunday Visitor. “Prayer is not a cosmic vending machine,” Mark told me in a conversation about the book. “The point of prayer is not that God needs information or my helpful For advice. But once you undertake the logic of the reality that God actually loves us and wants us to reflection become persons in his presence, then prayer makes What can you let perfect sense. A Greek magician would say God go of in your life to knows everything, so you don’t have to tell him create more time anything. Jesus says, ‘God knows everything and for prayer and therefore you can tell him anything,’ because Jesus is nurturing your looking at relationship.” relationship with That, ultimately, is why we pray: to deepen our Christ? relationship with God, to grow closer to our Creator. “It’s not that God needs anything,” Mark said, “it’s that we need to become persons in his presence.” The only way to strengthen a relationship is to spend time with that person; so, too, it is with prayer — our chance to commune and converse with God. But many Christians fall out of practice. Just as it’s hard to return to the gym after breaking a New Year’s resolution, we can get psyched out about prayer. We build prayer up in our minds as something that requires credentials, votive candles, initials after your name. We assume it must be steeped in Augustine theology, written in iambic pentameter, penned in calligraphy and bound in leather.

Gentle reminder It’s much simpler than that. Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn reminded me of this last December in a homily he gave on the Saturday before Christmas, an afternoon when my mind was spinning with yuletide todos: party planning, errand running, present wrapping. I’ll never forget his words, spoken in that slow, soothing voice of his, with such love and understanding. “Prayer is inviting Jesus into your heart,” he said. “Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus. Come.” Ahhh. . . I felt a surge of peace and clarity with that gentle statement, as though something that had been tightly coiled in my chest had just loosened. I rejoiced in the simplicity: It’s as easy as that! Three words — one even. “Come, Lord Jesus.” “Come.” Prayer is not a recitation or a competition; it’s an invitation. And isn’t it nice to be invited, wanted, welcomed? Invite God in. Set the table, clear space in your busy life. And let the prayer that follows — the words that tumble out or trickle, or the silence that ensues — make you a little more like him. Christina Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

Rediscover-faith.org

Prayer is time for recollection, spiritual rest, focus on Jesus Continued from first page of section series of general audiences he referred to as “a school of prayer.” Highlighting the notion that “prayer is . . . written on the heart of every person and of every civilization,” the Holy Father examined meditation, silence, spiritual reading, intercession and other elements that aid in developing a thriving life of prayer. “Each one of us needs time and space for recollection, meditation and calmness,” he said, “Thanks be to God that this is so! In fact, this need tells us that we are not made for work alone, but also to think, to reflect or even simply to follow with our minds and our hearts a tale, a story in which to immerse ourselves, in a certain sense ‘to lose ourselves’ to find ourselves subsequently enriched.” The series is an excellent overview of some of the most fundamental aspects of prayer and can be found at the Vatican website — WWW.VATICAN.VA — under “Man and Prayer.” Why pray? We pray because Jesus did, because he asked us to, and because we need this time of recollection, spiritual

“As Pope Francis has requested, I bet you could find five minutes a day to simply pray Psalm 102. ‘Pray all of this psalm,’ he says, ‘and with this we learn the things we must say to the Lord when we request a grace.’ Indeed, the Psalmist does our work for us: Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.’” Elizabeth Kelly rest and focus with, and on, Jesus. We pray because here we learn the voice of the Lord, and we can better understand what it means to “be about my Father’s business” in the grand scheme, but also in the daily choices we make. We pray to learn the Father’s voice and to gather the

graces we need to heed it. We pray not because it changes God, but because it changes us.

One day at a time You may not have time to do a 30-day silent retreat or to spend an hour every day before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. Those acts of prayerful devotion are not for everyone, but you can work toward a deeper prayer life one day at a time. As Pope Francis has requested, I bet you could find five minutes a day to simply pray Psalm 102. “Pray all of this psalm,” he says, “and with this we learn the things we must say to the Lord when we request a grace.” Indeed, the Psalmist does our work for us: “Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.” If not, you can always fling your apron over your head to speak with Jesus about the oatmeal. He will be waiting there for you, too. Kelly is an award-winning author of five books, including “A Book of Grace-Filled Days,” 2014. She is is managing editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, published under the auspices of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Tune in Fridays at 9 a.m. on Relevant Radio1330 AM • Rebroadcast: 6 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. Sundays

The Catholic Spirit • August 29, 2013

Rediscover-faith.org