“Giving is faith in action,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda declares in a video for the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation’s annual campaign. CSAF board members prayerfully discerned four focus areas as the foundation supports pro-life efforts, education, archdiocesan ministries today and priorities going forward. This four-page special section, a mission to ministries, highlights that work.
Pat Regan and his wife, Mary, have been parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings since 1980. As Pat recalls, their annual contributions to the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation may go back almost that far, 30 to 40 years. He and his wife served as “chair couple” for a couple of those years.
Early on, the Regans were motivated to contribute financially because “we knew it was supporting Catholic schools, where we and our kids had such a great, impactful experience,” Pat said, giving a shout-out to his and his wife’s “bicentennial class” (1976) at Hill-Murray. “It’s just a way to give back. And it’s very impactful for people with real needs.”
Pat said he is “very committed to helping our priests and their missions,” naming Father Greg Schaffer as one example, who has served in Venezuela for many years. But Pat said he is happy to support other ministries as well.
This year, the Regans and other parishioners across the archdiocese began seeing CSAF communications Feb. 18-19 as the annual appeal was announced, and commitments will be particularly encouraged Feb. 25-26.
But parishioners might bear in mind that money raised or pledged is distributed to ministries over the course of a year, and donations are accepted any time, said Tizoc Rosales, CSAF president.
“The campaign actually is a year long,” an important aspect of the effort, he said.
People can make a one-time gift, a recurring gift or a pledge that is fulfilled over the course of the year, Rosales said. Donations can be set up in several different ways, he said, “because these ministries need it so much and the work that’s being done by them is so important.”
Jim and Teresa Lodoen, parishioners of St. Peter in Mendota, have contributed to the annual CSAF campaign for the past 25 to 30 years. Jim, 62, believes they initially gave $100 to $200 a year, but increased the amount over the years as much as they were able.
Jim appreciates that the recipients of donations “are so thoroughly vetted” and represent ministries so important to them, including education, prolife ministry and seminarians.
As Catholics, it’s not only important to be active and engaged “in our parish,” Jim said, but to be committed to the broader Catholic community as well. The CSAF campaign provides “a very easy way to contribute to a number of very worthy causes,” he said.
This year’s goal is raising “at least $8.6 million,” Rosales said, which is about the same as last year. “We get gifts big and small, and every one of them helps,” he said.
“The better we do, the better we’re able to assist these vital ministries with their important work.”
CSAF provides informational materials to parishes in English and Spanish, including a video, poster, brochure, flyer, bulletin insert and bulletin announcements with a QR code for making donations.
can donate online at csafspm org/givecsaf, by telephone at 612-294-6622 or by mail to The Catholic Services Appeal Foundation, P.O. Box 6488, St. Paul, MN 55106.
By Rebecca Omastiak The Catholic SpiritAs the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation launches its annual financial appeal for Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, it is placing Christ’s example at the center of it all.
The St. Paul-based foundation’s board members spent time praying and collaborating as well as gathering feedback from leaders both within and outside the archdiocese, with donors, and with Catholics in the pew to define its core values, revitalize its mission statement and develop four pillars that describe the foundation’s renewed focus areas of support.
CSAF President Tizoc Rosales, a member of St. Peter in Mendota, said a prayerful strategic planning process at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul in spring 2022 helped the board define CSAF’s three core values: to be Christcentered, to be collaborative through other Catholic community partnerships, and to practice gratitude.
Taken individually, Yen Fasano — chair of CSAF’s board of directors and a member of All Saints in Lakeville and St. Anne-St. Joseph Hien in Minneapolis — said to be Christ-centered is to ask, “Does everything we support, everything we say, our actions, our ministries, is this making Jesus known and loved? Because we’re all called to be disciples.”
Collaboration, Fasano said, requires listening first. “It’s really the root of collaboration, listening and discerning.” She added, “Recognizing that we need each other is really important; we’re not doing this work alone.”
And gratitude “is the root of stewardship,” Fasano said. “Living a life of gratitude, recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God, and that whatever we give back is just a fraction of what he gives us. It’s a response to all the blessings he’s bestowed on us.”
Fasano said those three core values help drive the foundation’s purpose, expressed through its revitalized mission statement.
During the spring 2022 strategic planning process, Rosales said the board approved an updated CSAF mission statement: “To make Jesus known and loved within our archdiocese through financial gifts in service of the Church.”
Fasano said it’s a process of prioritizing “what our local Church has said it would wish the archdiocese to move forward in” and being open to where that “fruit” can come from.
That includes being good stewards of financial gifts received, Fasano said. She noted that CSAF directly gives the funds it receives to its designated ministries while keeping administrative and fundraising costs lean — specifically, less than 12%. “We really take care of what’s been entrusted to us, and make sure that it goes back into the ministry,” she said.
Rosales said CSAF also wants to “create measurable outcomes and to be able to tell the story of the impact of our gifts.”
As CSAF board members gathered and evaluated feedback from archdiocesan leaders, CSAF donors and parishioners on how best to bring the foundation’s core values and mission into the community, they developed four pillars that describe the foundation’s renewed focus areas of support:
u“Pro-life: To nurture, sustain and protect life at all
CSAF lists its priorities on a prayer card with the image above, which also includes this prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank you for your great love. Move us, in real and concrete ways, to an ever deeper level of compassion, conviction, and trust. In our love and care for others, and support of the ministries of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, may we draw ever closer to you and those we serve.
We ask this in your most holy name. Amen.
“The noble love of Jesus impels us to do great things, and stirs us up to be always longing for what is more perfect.”
— Thomas à Kempisstages and to affirm the dignity of each and every person.”
u“Archdiocesan efforts today: To serve those most in need and to strengthen the faith.”
u“Church’s priorities going forward: To support the priorities of the future Church and vigorously express the Good News of Jesus.”
u“Catholic education: To educate our children and young adults in safe and healthy environments that provide both academic and spiritual growth.”
In keeping with those four focus areas, CSAF has designated 19 Catholic ministries in the archdiocese to receive its support.
Lisa Gott — a member of St. Michael in Stillwater who serves on the CSAF board’s executive committee and is chair of the ministry committee — said CSAF board members “were able to make sure that the ministries we support fit within those four pillars, to give the most benefit to the most people that are in need or had the best potential for growing our archdiocese in their Catholic faith.”
Fasano, Rosales and Gott said CSAF aims to meet the needs of the local Church.
Considering the PRO Act recently signed into state law, which codifies a right to abortion in Minnesota, Fasano said the pro-life pillar matters “more than ever.”
“The culture of life really directly impacts our local
‘To make Jesus known and loved’ drives CSAFParishioners TIZOC ROSALES COURTESY CSAF
CSAF CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2A
Church here in Minnesota,” she said. Meanwhile, Rosales said he views the outreach and seminarian support ministries as exemplifying the pillar focusing on “archdiocesan efforts today.”
“We want to serve those most in need, strengthen the faith, and support future leaders of our Church,” Rosales said. For the latter, he pointed to CSAF’s commitment to pay for room, board and retreat fees for seminarians studying for this archdiocese at St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, as well as the commitment to pay for tuition, room and board for seminarians studying for this archdiocese at The St. Paul Seminary, also in St. Paul.
Father Michael Van Sloun — director of clergy personnel for the archdiocese — said he promoted CSAF efforts while he was pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka and St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. He also was a CSAF board member “for five or six years.” Having known Rosales since Rosales’ time as senior advancement officer at St. John Vianney and The St. Paul Seminary, Father Van Sloun said “the working partnership is excellent.”
“I’m glad to promote the Catholic Services Appeal (Foundation) because I know about the good things that it does,” Father Van Sloun said.
The good things include serving ministries that need support from more than one parish — like hospital chaplains. According to Father Van Sloun, there are currently 10 full-time archdiocesan chaplains and two regular substitute chaplains serving 18 hospitals in the archdiocese.
Father Van Sloun said his experience as a hospital chaplain at what is now RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago taught him how to respond to patients, their families, nurses and doctors. “It was a much bigger ministry than I anticipated.” He was surprised to discover that instead of wanting to talk about their medical conditions, patients “were more worried about their relationship with God, their relationship with their families and whether their life has been a purposeful life.” He spoke with patients about the meaning and regrets of their lives. “The need for someone to be available when you’re trying to address those spiritual questions, having a priest there for that, is wonderful,” Father Van Sloun said.
Priests who are hospital chaplains are also able to provide the sacraments of confession and anointing of the sick, Father Van Sloun said, and to offer patients who are dying last rites — confession, anointing of the sick and viaticum. The apostolic pardon is also offered.
The support offered through the hospital chaplain ministry — which is just under 9% of CSAF’s designated ministry budget — is of great value, Father Van Sloun said. “If you’re in the hospital, wouldn’t you want to have a priest available for you?” Through CSAF, he said, “we’re trying to support the priests who will provide this, and we want to have as good a coverage as we can.”
A hospital chaplain visited a family friend of Rosales in the man’s final moments. Rosales said beyond the fact that the chaplain “embodied his duties so well” was the gratitude the family felt. “He witnessed to the kids and the grandkids; here comes this priest, this chaplain to do this, above and beyond the help that he gave (the family friend’s) soul.” Rosales said that there are “countless of those” situations of service every year and that “all of the ministries have that kind of impact in various ways.” He said that’s why it’s important for donors to give to CSAF throughout the year, “because we spread that support out throughout the year.”
Broadly, Father Van Sloun said, Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s vision of the Church’s priorities going forward through the Synod process — “about where we’re going as a diocese and what we need to support” — is critical for building the local Church.
This year’s appeal features a video — shown in parishes
Feb. 18-19 and Feb. 25-26 — with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and CSAF President Tizoc Rosales on the golf course.
In a golf cart, the archbishop drives up to Rosales, who is contemplating how to get his golf ball out of the rough. They begin talking about CSAF, and the archbishop compares the foundation to a golf caddy “who is assisting the Church with the best shot,” to help “make Jesus known and loved within our archdiocese through financial gifts in service of the Church.”
The two talk about CSAF’s focus areas. “To help more families give their children a life-changing Catholic education,” Rosales says, before Archbishop Hebda adds, “And gifts for vocations to the priesthood to flourish.”
“To strengthen the faith for young and old,” says Rosales, and Archbishop Hebda responds with, “For more moms and families to choose life and get the help that they need.”
“Giving is faith in action,” the archbishop says. “Yes, and we do it because the love of Christ impels us to,” Rosales responds.
Francesca Fasano — daughter of Yen Fasano, chair of CSAF’s board of directors — makes a bright appearance in the video, informing viewers they can use a QR code to donate online, mail in a check, or drop a donation into parish collection baskets.
uAbria Pregnancy Resources
uAmerican Indian Ministry
uArchdiocesan Council of Catholic Women
uCampus Ministry Newman Center
uCampus Ministry Saint Paul’s Outreach
uCatholic Charities
uDeaf Ministry
uElementary School Funding
uElementary School Scholarships
uHigh School Scholarships
uHospital Chaplains
uLatino Ministry
uMission of Catholic Education
uOffice of Marriage, Family and Life
uPrison Ministry
uSeminarian Tuition, Room and Board
uThe Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Twin Cities
uVenezuelan Mission
uYouth Ministry
Even beyond the archdiocesan Synod implementation plan for forming parishes in evangelization, forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young, Gott and Fasano said CSAF intends to focus on the future of a Church that is, as Fasano described it, “vibrant, alive.”
“We want to make sure that we are working to meet the needs of the Church going forward and meet the needs of our community going forward,” Gott said, adding, “Our Church in the past isn’t always going to be what our members need in the future.”
Father Van Sloun agreed: “Change is the rule.” He went on to say, “Things in life and in the Church are always evolving.”
Gott suggested, “We need to encompass a broader
range of families in meeting their needs, to bring the youth back into our parishes and into our pews. So, we have to be changing and we always have to be looking at new programs to work with that next generation.”
CSAF emphasizes the next generation as it presents the pillar of Catholic education. Fasano said CSAF efforts to support school-age children “from elementary to high school” continue to be a priority, and good news includes the archdiocesan Office for the Mission of Catholic Education’s annual report indicating that total K-12 enrollment at Catholic schools in the archdiocese has increased 9% over the past three years.
Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education for the archdiocese, said giving to the appeal provides “direct support for helping ensure that the beauty, truth and goodness of the Catholic faith is handed on to the next generation.”
Slattery noted that CSAF’s support of the Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education helps the archdiocese, parishes and schools “partner with parents in the education of their children.” Announced by OMCE in January 2019, the Roadmap has helped Catholic schools in the archdiocese grow in governance, leadership development, curriculum and assessments, access and sustainability, and mission schools.
“The Roadmap helps all those seeking to support Catholic education remain well coordinated in our common effort to make sure that children and families have access to a quality Catholic education,” Slattery said. “Parents need good partners and students have a right to an education rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
As CSAF shares its core values, revitalized mission statement and four pillars of support with the community, what is a primary challenge the foundation faces? Father Van Sloun noted a demographic shift: “As the donors are getting older, the younger ones aren’t giving as much.” Father Van Sloun said he views evangelization as the way to bridge the gap. “If you really believe in Jesus and you really practice your faith, the dollars will follow. So, if you get people to be alive in their faith, that’s good fundraising … because you donate to what you love and support. And if you love Jesus and you love his Church, you’re going to support his Church.”
Rosales said the CSAF board is considering how to appeal to younger members of the Church and encourage their financial gifts. “It’s not that they’re not generous, but they have a lot of choices,” he said. The board is evaluating CSAF messaging, its website and its social media to creatively reach younger generations. The board is also evaluating the makeup of its committees with goals of expansion and diversification in mind, he said.
Fasano said she views those who contribute to CSAF efforts both through their donations and their service to ministries as “the ones watering our roots.”
“Their participation says something greater than just their financial gifts,” Fasano said. “Yes, we need their financial gifts, but their participation is kind of an affirmation that ‘I love my parish, I love my local Church and I love God and my neighbor.’”
That participation is why Gott calls her work on the CSAF board “a true honor.”
“There are so many people out there that are really working to make Jesus known and loved,” Gott said. “And to be able to work with all of these teachers and see the impact that they have on our children and teaching them the faith, it’s such an honor to work with so many wonderful people that are doing so much to spread the love of Jesus.”
The Catholic Spirit
Members of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation Board of Directors play a vital role in shaping and furthering the foundation’s initiatives, said Tizoc Rosales, CSAF president. Current members are:
Stephen Carter
A parishioner at Holy Trinity in South St. Paul, Carter is the CSAF board secretary and a member of the board’s finance and ministries committees. He also is a retired business administrator at St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul, and a past board member of Eden Invitation. “I bring parish administration experience to the board, along with assisting in various administrative tasks.” It means, “participating in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy by helping to make possible the funding needed by various ministries in our local Church.”
Yen Fasano
A member of All Saints in Lakeville and St. Anne-St. Joseph Hien in Minneapolis, Fasano is chair of the CSAF board. She is associate director of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, leading the Drexel Mission Schools Initiative. She was a member of the Archdiocesan Synod executive committee and an emcee and host. She has been a board member of the Aim Higher Foundation and an All Saints Mission Partner as a middle school basketball coach. “I wholeheartedly believe in the values and mission (of CSAF), and I love that I get to support, all at once, a plethora of ministries that make Jesus known and loved in this local archdiocese.”
Lisa Gott
An executive committee member of the CSAF board and chair of the ministries committee, Gott is a member of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater. A member of the Council of Catholic Women, she also has served as president of her parish’s Catholic School Advisory Committee and was a confirmation leader for four years. She served on the steering committee that formed Faithful Shepherd Catholic School in Eagan. In memory of her son, Gott helped establish a nonprofit that for three years hosted high school lacrosse tournaments, raised money for college lacrosse scholarships and taught lacrosse skills to underserved children in the metropolitan area. She and her husband were the chair couple for the 2009 and 2010 Catholic Services Appeal campaigns. “I am a board member because I believe strongly in the mission and purpose of the organization. It is a privilege to be stewards of our donors’ yearly contributions and ensure that their trust and intentions are always upheld. “
Victoria Iacarella
A member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Minneapolis, Iacarella is on the CSAF board’s executive, marketing and development committees. She retired last year as creative director of Target. She assists the ministry Unbound with sponsorship of children and youth, is a Minneapolis Council of Catholic Women board member and newsletter editor and is on Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s finance council. Iacarella has been an advisory council member at St. Olaf in Minneapolis; past president and board member of Adoption Option Council of Minnesota (now Bellis); an advocate for children in juvenile and family courts with Guardian Ad Litem of Minnesota; an eMentor at Target and Minneapolis Edison High School; and a career and college readiness mentor at Achieve.
Please pray for all priests especially these spiritual directors on our upcoming faith based travels.
www.jericochris�anjourneys.com
“I’m on the CSAF board first for the love of Christ. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring my marketing and creative experience and use the gifts I’ve been given to contribute in a meaningful way to an organization that supports what I truly care about.”
Harold Parsons
Parsons, a member of Holy Trinity in South St. Paul, serves on the parish’s finance committee and is a member of the CSAF board’s finance and executive committees. A veteran of the Air Force, he is a retired CPA who focused on religious, social service and fundraising nonprofits, including many Catholic organizations in the archdiocese.
Karen Rauenhorst
A member of the CSAF board’s executive committee and chair of its governance committee, Rauenhorst is a member of Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata. A retired nurse, she most recently oversaw the health care of her father-in-law and her parents. She is on the board of Catholic Relief Services and the National Catholic Educational Association. Among other commitments, she has been involved with the Aim Higher Foundation for the past 10 years and was its first board chair. Rauenhorst also has volunteered at the archdiocese for the last 15 years and is on the strategic planning committee for parishes.
Father Leonard Andrie
Editor’s note: Father Andrie, pastor of St. Therese in Deephaven and a recent addition to the CSAF board, was on pilgrimage and unavailable for comment before press time.
“The real meaning of synodality is walking together in order to evangelize the world,” he said. The School of Discipleship is the first part of the Synod implementation plan Archbishop Bernard Hebda laid out in his pastoral letter in November, “You Will be My Witnesses.” DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
‘This
what the pope wants the Church to do and be.’
BLESSED STANLEY ROTHER SHRINE Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley poses after celebrating the Mass and dedication of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City Feb. 17. Blessed Stanley is the first U.S.-born martyr formally recognized by the Church. His ancestors settled near New Trier from Germany and relatives continue to live in that part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He was among three “blesseds” with local ties invoked at the June Synod Assembly of about 500 people in St. Paul.
Honoring and celebrating St. Patrick can include enjoying a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat on the third Friday of Lent, March 17, which marks the “feast of the saintly first bishop of Armagh,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a decree Feb. 16. Life in the archdiocese has been shaped by Irish immigrants, and the first archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop John Ireland, was a native of the “Emerald Isle” who honored the saint with a chapel among the Shrines of the Nations in the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Archbishop Hebda wrote. People living or physically present in the archdiocese can “enjoy the favor of the dispensation” but also are encouraged to undertake a work of charity, an exercise of piety or an act of comparable penance on some other occasion during the third week of Lent, the archbishop said. Hill-Murray School in Maplewood invited California-based college professor and singercomposer-recording artist ValLimar Jansen to the school Feb. 13 to address students during Black History Month. Her presentation focused on “Six Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood,” influential men and women in the Catholic Church, including Mother Mary Lange, who opened the first Catholic school for Black students in Baltimore, Father John Augustus Tolton, considered the first Black man ordained a priest in the United States; and Sister Thea Bowman, the first Black member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, who advocated for racial harmony and cultural awareness.
For Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 29-Feb. 4, Keegan McSherry, third grade teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Columbia Heights, suggested that her 19 third grade students pray rosaries for the other 90 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, with each child assigned several schools. Each school received a letter explaining the rosary prayers, and a personal note from the third grader assigned to that school. Immaculate Conception principal Jane Bona said it may seem like a small gesture, “but that’s the power of prayer — to know that we’re being held up in prayer by each other. I think it really speaks volumes.”
Registration opened Feb. 15 for the July 17-21, 2024, National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, and slots are expected to fill fast. The Year of the National Eucharistic Congress and Missionary Sending 2024-2025 is the third and final year of the U.S. bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival. The congress is expected to draw more than 80,000 people, and organizers have compared the event to World Youth Day, with prayer and liturgies, catechesis for individuals and families, and a festival-like atmosphere. People can register at euchariSticcongreSS org
The football team at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park won a National Football Foundation National High School Academic Excellence Award in the State of Minnesota in Class 4A. It was the second year in a row BSM won the award, which is presented to the top academic football team from each level of play in 12 states. BSM is one of seven schools in the state receiving the award. The school met the NFF’s criteria of having a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, having superior academic application and performance, and having a successful football season. Of the 60 state winners around the country, one will be chosen as the best in the nation and claim the Hatchell Cup.
OSV NEWS | GLEB GARANICH, REUTERS
WALKING WITH UKRAINE U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk next to St. Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral in Kyiv Feb. 20. Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet with Zelenskyy, a gesture of solidarity hailed by Ukrainian Catholics that came days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country Feb. 24, 2022. “We wouldn’t expect that President Biden would come to the capital. Maybe Lviv, as it’s safer, but Kyiv? It’s really an amazing boost of hope and strength for us,” Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia told OSV News. Biden, who is the U.S.’s second Catholic president, and Zelenskyy laid wreaths at Kyiv’s Wall of Remembrance.
Church regulations for fasting and abstinence during Lent:
uEveryone 14 or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22 this year), all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday.
uEveryone 18 or older, and under 59, is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the regulation does not apply.
uCatholics should not lightly excuse themselves from these prescribed minimal penitential practices.
On the Feb. 17 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviews Kendra Tierney, a mom of 10 and owner of the Catholic All Year blog, who shares some practical ideas to use at home during the Lenten season. Also featured are two key Native leaders discussing the July 19-23 Tekakwitha Conference in the Twin Cities: Margie Creel, conference board member, and Charlene Patton, board president and interim director. Plus two employees of St. Timothy in Blaine, Rhonda Miska and Cindy Novak, describe their experience serving near the U.S.-Mexico border at the Humanitarian Respite Center operated by Catholic Charities. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with linkS to Streaming PlatformS
The Catholic Spirit Deacon Michael Medley — who was ordained in 2000 and ministered for 22 years, including 14 years at St. Ignatius in Annandale and five years at St. Henry in Monticello — died Feb. 9. He was 75. A teacher, he also served as principal of St. Timothy School in Maple Lake
from 2008 to 2013. After retiring from active ministry in 2019, he continued to minister as a deacon at St. Timothy. Deacon Medley is survived by his wife, Ann; son, Father Samuel Medley of the Clerical Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity; daughter, Sara; and nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His funeral Mass was Feb. 17 at St. Timothy.
There is an African proverb recounted in different stories that tells of a teacher who found on the teacher’s desk a gift from one of the students. The gift was a beautiful and expensive seashell. The teacher knew that the family could not afford such a gift. The teacher also knew that the shell could only be found on the beach of a secluded bay many miles away.
The teacher saw the student and was most thankful for the gift. The teacher then said, “You walked many miles to get this shell, didn’t you?” The student nodded, smiled and replied, “The walk is part of the gift.”
Our Lenten season is a walk to the foot of the cross of Good Friday. Whatever we do in the principal areas of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the effort is part of our offering to God.
For example, simply praying before meals requires little effort. The effort to add time in a busy life to pray is part of the gift of prayer. It takes little effort to give up chocolate-covered rutabagas for Lent.
Hay un proverbio africano narrado en diferentes historias que hablan de un maestro que encontró en el escritorio del maestro un regalo de uno de los alumnos. El regalo fue una hermosa y costosa concha marina. El maestro sabía que la familia no podía permitirse tal regalo. El maestro también sabía que la concha solo se podía encontrar en la playa de una bahía apartada a muchos kilómetros de distancia.
El maestro vio al estudiante y estaba muy agradecido por el regalo. El maestro luego dijo: “Caminaste muchas millas para conseguir este caparazón, ¿no es así?” El estudiante asintió, sonrió y respondió: “La caminata es parte del regalo”.
Nuestro tiempo de Cuaresma es un camino al pie de la cruz del Viernes Santo. Hagamos lo que hagamos en las áreas primarias de oración, ayuno y limosna, el esfuerzo es parte de nuestra ofrenda a Dios.
But giving up a favorite food or beverage can take conscious effort and can be a daily reminder of the Lenten season. Likewise, it takes effort to plan our Friday meals according to the Lenten fast. Tossing a few coins or a paper bill into an alms box can be of little effort and sometimes accomplished without breaking our stride through the demands of daily life. But choosing purposefully a monetary contribution to provide resources for those most in need can be a real effort and part of the gift of sacrifice.
We make heroic efforts out of love. Parents walking with their children through the challenges of growing up, parents walking with their adult children through the challenges of life. People walk with a spouse, family member or friend to their last day on earth. Friends who do us a favor often say, “It was nothing!” Oftentimes, it was hardly nothing and it took a real effort for them to be there for us.
In our relationship with Jesus, we are invited to do more than the bare minimum. We make our sacrifices and efforts out of love and by his example. Nevertheless, the path of Lent is not a solo hike. It is a group effort as a parish and as the whole Church.
Por ejemplo, simplemente orar antes de las comidas requiere poco esfuerzo. El esfuerzo de agregar tiempo en una vida ocupada para orar es parte del don de la oración. Se necesita poco esfuerzo para renunciar a los colinabos cubiertos de chocolate para la Cuaresma. Pero renunciar a una comida o bebida favorita puede requerir un esfuerzo consciente y puede ser un recordatorio diario de la temporada de Cuaresma. Asimismo, requiere esfuerzo planificar nuestras comidas de los viernes de acuerdo con el ayuno de Cuaresma. Lanzar unas cuantas monedas o un billete de papel en una caja de limosnas puede requerir poco esfuerzo y, a veces, lograrlo sin interrumpir nuestro paso por las exigencias de la vida diaria. Pero elegir a propósito una contribución monetaria para proporcionar recursos a los más necesitados puede ser un verdadero esfuerzo y parte del regalo del sacrificio.
Hacemos esfuerzos heroicos por amor. Padres que caminan con sus hijos a través de los desafíos de crecer; padres caminando con sus hijos adultos a través de los desafíos de la vida. La gente camina con su cónyuge, familiar o amigo hasta su último día en la tierra.
If my faith party is just me and Jesus, well, then the Holy Spirit was not invited. The Holy Spirit binds as well as leads.
There are numerous opportunities during the Lenten season to grow in holiness and become more disciplined in living out and giving witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Lent is a time of repentance and conversion, but it is not an automatic withdrawal with little or no thought on our part. Part of our Lenten season is the desire for a deeper understanding of what it really means to be a baptized member of the Church.
As a pilgrim Church, Lent is a walk to Calvary. On our own, even by our efforts in prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we only make it to the foot of the Cross. It is only by the hand of the risen Christ and the Spirit of Pentecost that we are led beyond the shadows of sin and death to become an Easter people.
In our gratitude to God for all that we have been given and in our prayers of thanksgiving for the joy of our faith, whatever our efforts are in this Lenten season, whatever our “walk,” they are part of our gift back to God.
Los amigos que nos hacen un favor suelen decir: “¡No fue nada!”, pero en realidad tomó mucho esfuerzo estar allí. En nuestra relación con Jesús, estamos invitados a hacer más que lo mínimo. Hacemos nuestros sacrificios y esfuerzos por amor y por su ejemplo. Sin embargo, el camino de la Cuaresma no es una caminata en solitario. Es un esfuerzo de grupo como parroquia y como toda la Iglesia. Si mi grupo de fe somos solo Jesús y yo, bueno, entonces el Espíritu Santo no fue invitado. El Espíritu Santo ata y guía. Existen numerosas oportunidades durante la temporada de Cuaresma para crecer en santidad y ser más disciplinados al vivir y dar testimonio del Evangelio de Jesucristo en nuestra vida diaria. La Cuaresma es un tiempo de arrepentimiento y conversión, pero no es un retiro automático con poco o ningún pensamiento de nuestra parte. Parte de nuestra temporada de Cuaresma es el deseo de una comprensión más profunda de lo que realmente significa ser un miembro bautizado de la Iglesia.
Como Iglesia peregrina, la Cuaresma es un camino hacia el Calvario. Solos, incluso con nuestros esfuerzos en la
oración, el ayuno y la limosna, solo llegamos al pie de la Cruz. Es solo por la mano de Cristo resucitado y el Espíritu de Pentecostés que somos llevados más allá de las sombras del pecado y de la muerte para convertirnos en un pueblo de Pascua.En nuestra gratitud a Dios por todo lo que se nos ha dado y en nuestras oraciones de acción de gracias por el gozo de nuestra fe, cualesquiera que sean nuestros esfuerzos en esta temporada de Cuaresma, cualquiera que sea nuestro “andar”, son parte de nuestro regalo a Dios.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointment in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis: Effective February 9, 2023
Bishop-elect Michael Izen, appointed to the office of Vicar General for the Archdiocese. This is in addition to his assignments as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Charles in Bayport, and as pastor of the Churches of Saint Mary and Saint Michael in Stillwater.
Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking out new paths to take with Jesus and for avoiding the traps of stagnation or impromptu experimentation, Pope Francis said.
“Jesus is himself the way, and therefore, both in the liturgical journey (of Lent) and in the journey of the synod, the Church does nothing other than enter ever more deeply and fully into the mystery of Christ the savior,” the pope said in his message for Lent, which began Feb. 22 for Latin-rite Catholics.
Released by the Vatican Feb. 17, the text of the pope’s message focused on seeing Lenten penance and the synodal experience both as arduous journeys that lead to the wondrous experience of Christ’s divine light and splendor.
The Gospel accounts of the transfiguration of Christ offer an illustration of this, he said.
Jesus led three of his disciples to Mount Tabor to pray after they failed to understand and accept the reality of his coming passion and death on the cross. On the mountaintop they witnessed his face shine “like the sun” and his clothes become “white as light,” and they heard a voice from a cloud proclaiming Jesus as the “beloved Son” of God. “The disciples’ experience on Mount Tabor was further enriched when, alongside the transfigured Jesus, Moses and Elijah appeared, signifying respectively the law and the prophets,” the pope said.
“The newness of Christ is at the same time the fulfillment of the ancient covenant and promises; it is inseparable from God’s history with his people and discloses its deeper meaning,” he said. “In a similar way, the synodal journey is rooted in the Church’s tradition and at the same time open to newness.”
Therefore, he said, “tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking new paths and for avoiding the opposed temptations of immobility and improvised experimentation.”
“To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity,” the pope said. “We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration,” he said.
“These requisites are also important for the synodal journey which, as a Church, we are committed to making,” the pope said. “During any strenuous mountain trek, we must keep our eyes firmly fixed on the path; yet the panorama that opens up at the end amazes us and rewards us by its grandeur.”
From left, Steve and Caroline Lyngdal talk on the dance floor with Linda and Dan Schluender during the Church of St. Paul Annual Valentine’s Dinner and Dance at Brookhall Event Center in Blaine Feb. 11. The event is organized every year by members of Couples in Christ at St. Paul in Ham Lake, which offers this celebration of marriage for parishioners and other guests. It is designed to coincide both with Valentine’s Day and National Marriage Week. After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, participation increased this year to 80 couples. That may be the highest number ever for the event, which goes back at least 25 years, according to Valerie Amundsen, one of the organizers. “People look forward to it,” Amundsen said. “It’s a special date night for couples.”
Anne Cullen Miller, president of the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, and Tim Marx, former president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, often talked about their organizations’ missions and Catholic social teachings, including that all people are made in God’s image and possess an equal, inalienable worth.
After George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, Cullen Miller said she and Marx discussed how to respond. They decided to put Catholic social teaching “to work and see if other leaders of Catholic institutions in our community might find that they resonate with these ideas.”
She and Marx started calling some of their partners, and a coalition formed in the summer of 2020. The Catholic Racial Justice Coalition now includes eight of the largest Catholic organizations in the Twin Cities metro area — the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota; Catholic Charities Twin Cities; the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; the GHR Foundation; the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province; and the universities of St. Catherine, St. Mary and St. Thomas.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda said “there’s clearly a need in our community for this important work and I have been happy to connect our local leaders with the excellent resources that are available through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”
The coalition aims to use members’ “institutional power to work in solidarity” with those most affected by racial injustice, convene the broader community through the organizations’ relationships, act as a resource for people and communities to connect with
Those involved in racial justice ministry or who would like to learn how to engage in this work are invited to a Catholic racial justice ministry gathering 8:30-11 a.m. March 18 at the Iversen Center for Faith at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
It is free but registration is requested online at tinyurl com/3993vd4p or by email at crjctwincities@gmail com
education and action, and support local efforts that align with the coalition’s values.
“The issue is important enough for us to ask that question of ‘how can we come together to do something bigger than ourselves?’” said Michael RiosKeating, social justice education manager at Catholic Charities. “What can we do better together that we can’t do alone?”
Good work in racial justice is happening in the community and institutions, Rios-Keating said, “but what are some of those things that we could move the needle on?” Referencing the eight Catholic organizations, he said, “we have resources, we have the capacity, we have ideas, and we have connections to the community that we can capitalize on together.”
Michael Goar, who succeeded Marx as president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, said his organization recognizes “the profound impacts of racial injustice and works actively — in both our direct services and our advocacy — to advance our vision of a community where race is no longer a predictor of outcomes.” He added, “Rooted in Catholic social teaching, we know that we are all one human family.”
Donations to the Catholic Racial Justice Fund, which supports coalition programs and others that share its mission, can be made at ccf-mn.org/crjc.
The Catholic Spirit
Praise and worship, adoration, confession and healing prayer teams await participants at an event being held March 4 at St. Peter in North St. Paul, organizers said.
Presented by Minnesota-based Light in the Darkness ministry and titled “Awaken the Heart,” the 6-9 p.m. gathering will offer an opportunity for an “authentic encounter with Christ” and his love, said Ross Olson, who is coordinating the event with his wife, Jodi. They are members of St. Peter.
The featured speaker will be Father Joe Freedy, president of Pennsylvaniabased Dry Bones Ministries, a nonprofit focused on faith revitalization. Father Freedy will address “From fear to freedom: Encounter the healing love of Christ who breaks down barriers, meets desires, fulfills promises and restores hearts.”
The Olsons met Father Freedy, a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and that diocese’s associate director of evangelization, when he served as a chaplain at the John Paul II Healing Center in Tallahassee, Florida. The center offers training for clergy and laity, with a mission, it says, of helping “people activate the fullness of their sacramental graces, while transforming their lives,” deepening their faith and outfitting them to evangelize. The Olsons were there for training in inner healing prayer.
Now, the Olsons lead a nonprofit called Kut to the Heart Apostolate,
which Ross Olson said is based on the teachings of Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center. Many apostolate members are trained “specifically in inner healing prayer,” Olson said.
The Olsons also met the founders of Light in the Darkness ministry, Rose and Shehan Perera, of St. Peter in Mendota, during a visit to the healing center. They joined Light in the Darkness as a prayer team and now organize apostolate prayer teams for events.
Participants at the March 4 gathering will have access to about six “healing prayer teams” from Kut to the Heart, with team members available to pray with an individual or couple for about 10 to 15 minutes, Ross Olson said. “It’s just amazing to see the transformation that takes place because we prayed with people,” he said.
Father Jose Cortes, pastor of St. Peter, who came to the parish about six months ago after serving as chaplain at the St. John Paul II shrine in Washington, D.C., is gifted in the area of healing and will be available for praying with participants, Olson said. Father Cortes has been performing “a lot of deliverance ministry,” Olson said, describing it as “the act of being released or freed from spiritual bondage to a demon, lie-based belief or inner vow through renunciation in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“Awaken the Heart” is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but those interested can RSVP at darknesslit com
After seeing a one-woman play in New York called “Mary Speaks,” a parishioner at St. Peter Claver in St. Paul brought word of it to the parish’s social justice committee, chaired by Everlyn Wentzlaff.
Wentzlaff, who saw a recording of the play, found it “powerful.” It’s about the life of Mary, mother of Jesus, but “used as a parable to explore the history of Black mothers and their sons, from slavery until the present day,” she said. “Mary becomes a prototype for the struggles of Black mothers to raise and keep their sons alive in this society we live in today.”
As an African American mother, Wentzlaff said the play “makes me think about my own two sons and their safety and how to talk with them about being safe.”
Wentzlaff said the play — which uses music, spoken word and dialogue — reaches religions beyond Catholicism.
“I think she speaks a universal language that can be related to any religious faith or non-faith.” But Wentzlaff believes naming the play’s character Mary allows attendees to “identify with the spiritual piece as well.”
Three performances of the one-woman play take place March 3-5 at Concordia University’s E.M. Pearson Theatre. For tickets, visit Eventbrite at tinyurl com/2p9abf47.
Wentzlaff said she hopes the play encourages attendees to talk about social justice, racism “not just in general but also particularly in the Catholic Church,” raising awareness and sparking action.
The play is the Catholic Racial Justice Coalition’s “first sponsored local effort,” said Michael Rios-Keating, social justice education manager at Catholic Charities. An important part of the coalition’s work is to support what’s already happening in the community, he said.
From Portland, Oregon, to Peru and many places in between, hundreds of people came to St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud Feb. 14 to witness the ordination and installation of the Diocese of St. Cloud’s 10th bishop, Bishop Patrick Neary, an Indiana native and priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read a decree from the pope and offered brief remarks to Bishop Neary, who succeeds Bishop Donald Kettler, the diocese’s shepherd from 2013 until his retirement in December.
More than 150 bishops, priests and deacons attended the ceremony as well as members of the diocese’s religious communities.
Serving as the principal ordaining bishop was Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The co-ordaining bishops were Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland and Bishop William Wack, who heads the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, and is a Holy Cross priest.
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Recently named as ombudsperson for victim-survivors of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Julie Craven said she is honored to take on the work of accountability for the Church and promoting healing for those harmed.
Craven, associate director of the Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, succeeds Twin Cities attorney Victoria Newcome Johnson, who had served as ombudsperson since May 2020. Johnson said she hopes to spend more time with her children and grandchildren.
Johnson had succeeded her late husband, Tom Johnson, who in 2018 became the first person to hold the volunteer position, which was created out of a 2015 settlement agreement between the archdiocese and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. The settlement stemmed from civil charges the county filed alleging the archdiocese had failed to protect children in a clergy sex abuse case.
Since the settlement, the archdiocese has continued to support the role of an ombudsperson, who acts as an independent, outside resource for people with questions or concerns about clerical sexual abuse in the archdiocese.
Craven said she is “honored to be asked to serve in this role,” and it will complement the work she is doing with
the restorative justice initiative at the university and at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. She also has worked over the years with parishes locally and in other dioceses, Craven said.
Those experiences “will be a wonderful background in this work of accountability and healing,” she said.
Tim O’Malley, director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment for the archdiocese, said he appreciates Craven’s work. “I have had the privilege of working alongside Julie for a number
of years and have long admired her commitment to building a better future through action and accountability combined with compassion, accessibility and restorative justice,” O’Malley said.
At St. Thomas, Craven works closely with Father Daniel Griffith, founding director of the restorative justice initiative and the liaison for restorative justice and healing in the archdiocese. Father Griffith also is pastor and rector of the Basilica of St. Mary.
Johnson serves on the advisiory
board of the St. Thomas initiative. She is a former assistant Hennepin County Attorney and an advocate for restorative justice and healing.
She thanked Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi for entrusting her with the task of ombudsperson, and O’Malley’s office for “implementing new policies and approaches which have made a positive difference in the treatment of victim-survivors of clergy sexual abuse.”
“Replacing my late husband Tom Johnson as ombudsman was a decision I made carefully, and prayerfully,” she said in a statement. “My service over the past two years has been challenging at times, but also deeply moving and incredibly rewarding. Accompanying victimsurvivors of clergy sexual abuse (along with members of their families) in their quest for justice and healing — often after many years have passed — was a heartfelt and humbling experience.”
Archbishop Hebda said he was grateful for the Johnsons’ service. Both, the archbishop said, “came to our Church’s aid when we needed them most. Their combined efforts have positioned us to serve not only those who suffered harm, but to be responsive to our broader community and prepare for challenges still ahead.”
More information about the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts can be found at safe-environment. archspm org Craven can be reached at ombudsarchspm@gmail com or by leaving a text or voice mail at 320-416-0708.
The Catholic Spirit’s website and social media coordinator, Michael Pytleski, spent nearly two years — amid breaking news, special projects and COVID-19 adjustments to the workplace — re-imagining The Catholic Spirit website. The result has arrived. To see it, visit thecatholicspirit com Pytleski sat down with Editor-in-Chief Joe Ruff to discuss some of the benefits of the new site.
Q Michael, how will changes to the website improve the experience for readers?
A The website displays in a much more friendly way on phones and tablets. It is easier to navigate. All the content is readily available from the homepage. The
stories are organized in a clearer fashion, with an emphasis on the beautiful and compelling photos we’ve always had. Readability is improved with intentional use of white space and eye-pleasing fonts.
Q What did you have to do to make this happen?
A It was really a matter of putting a new face on the website. We wanted to preserve the content we had and the same type of content we will have going forward, but present it in a more friendly, fresh way. Something that meets the expectations of today’s online newspaper reader. The template used is very flexible and we will be able to keep up with new trends in the online publishing world so that we can continually meet those expectations.
Michael Pytleski, website and social media coordinator at The Catholic Spirit, puts final touches on the newspaper’s improved website, TheCaTholiCSpiriT Com
A new round of earthquakes jolted the already heavily damaged region of Turkey’s Hatay province on Feb. 20.
The Associated Press reports a 6.4 magnitude earthquake was followed by a 5.8 magnitude quake and dozens of aftershocks.
The AP reported Turkey’s disaster management authority estimated six deaths and nearly 300 injuries as of early Feb. 21.
The latest damage comes after early February earthquakes that left hundreds of thousands dead, injured or homeless in Turkey and Syria. Humanitarian needs in those regions are desperate, especially in Syria, which continues to suffer from a civil war that began nearly 12 years ago.
Catholic organizations — including the U.S.-based Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), Germanbased Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and the Caritas network — are putting millions of dollars into aid efforts.
“We have had an incredibly generous response thus far from our donors, and we trust the drive will continue,” Inés San Martin of PMS told OSV News.
The Caritas network has started distributing supplies in cities and villages devastated by the earthquake. Mattresses, blankets,
Rescuers
hygiene kits and food baskets are among the items most needed by people whose houses were turned into ruins.
“I am close to you, and I pray for you,” Pope Francis wrote to the Turkish people reeling from the earthquakes. During a meeting with Ufuk Ulutas, Turkey’s new
uSuspect arrested in murder of LA Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell. A 65-year-old Hispanic man was taken into custody the morning of Feb. 20 by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies as the prime suspect in the murder of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell of Los Angeles. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna announced at a news conference Feb. 20 at the Los Angeles County Hall of Justice in downtown LA that citizen tips led to the arrest of Carlos Medina, the husband of a housekeeper who had worked at Bishop O’Connell’s home in Hacienda Heights. Bishop O’Connell, a native of Ireland who spent most of his 43 years as a priest serving in LA’s inner city, was found dead in his home on the afternoon of Feb. 18. The next day, the LA Sheriff’s department announced that Bishop O’Connell’s death was being investigated as a homicide. In an emotional press conference, Luna said “my heart grieves” for the death of Bishop O’Connell, based on all the calls of support he received in the investigation over the last 48 hours. “This man, this bishop, made a huge difference in our community,” said Luna. “He was loved. It is very sad that we are gathered here today about this murder.”
uThe Archdiocese of New York has announced that 12 of its Catholic schools will close at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. Four other schools will be merged into two schools due to the financial outlook for these schools. “Shifting demographics and lower enrollment made worse by the pandemic” have had a “detrimental” impact on these schools’ “financial stability,” the archdiocese stated. “It is never a good day when we announce closures to any of our beloved schools, but the goal is always to strengthen the remaining institutions and preserve Catholic education in New York for decades to come,” New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in a Feb. 15 statement. Five schools in the New York borough of Manhattan will close, as will six in the Bronx borough and one in the Staten Island borough. The four schools that will be merged into two are in the Bronx. The Office of the Superintendent of Schools said it will work with families affected by the closures or mergers to help them find a neighboring Catholic school for their children for the fall.
uChurch leaders upbeat after key synodal assembly for Europe. Catholic delegates have praised the conciliatory atmosphere of debates on the Church’s future direction at a continental assembly preparing Europe’s recommendations for October’s Rome Synod on Synodality. “With so many cultural and liturgical differences, particularly between East and West, we won’t achieve a complete consensus — but this very diversity gives Europe its distinctive voice within the universal Church,” Father Jan Nowotnik, mission director for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told OSV News. Separately, a continental synod assembly for the Middle East wrapped up Feb. 17. Father Nowotnik spoke
Powerful earthquakes struck parts of Turkey and Syria Feb. 6 and Feb. 20, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, injured or homeless. Thousands of buildings were destroyed.
Archbishop Samir Nassar — who leads the Maronite Archeparchy of Damascus in Syria and visited the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Jan. 26-31 to celebrate and strengthen his archeparchy’s partnership with the archdiocese — said the need following the earthquakes is overwhelming.
“Forty seconds made 9 million refugees homeless again,” Archbishop Nassar wrote in an email to The Catholic Spirit Feb. 16 about the earthquakes. “Please pray for them.”
During his January visit, Archbishop Nassar talked about the fragmentation of families because of Syria’s ongoing civil war and other unrest in the region. He helps minister to refugees in his community who are deprived of resources and shelter.
According to the Center for Mission, which serves the archdiocese and facilitated Archbishop Nassar’s recent visit, collections have been organized by several Catholic institutions to help those in Syria and Turkey:
uPontifical Mission Societies — This fund provides food, shelter and clothing to those in need. Donations can be made online: https://tinyurl com/5x82znpk
ambassador to the Holy See, the pope wrote a message to the “noble Turkish people” and said his thoughts and prayers were with them “in this moment of so much pain.”
uCatholic Relief Services — The U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas relief and development agency offers food, shelter, clean water and hygiene supplies. Donate online: support crs org/donate/earthquakes
uThe Catholic Near East Welfare Association — Aid to families in Syria and Turkey through this organization consists of food, medicine, bedding and baby essentials — including formula and diapers. Donations can be made online: cnewa org/work/emergency-syria
— Rebecca OmastiakCONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
to OSV News after presenting a 22-page draft report on the European gathering to the assembly in Prague, attended in person or online Feb. 5-9 by 590 delegates representing 39 bishops’ conferences across the continent and including 44 guests from church organizations and non-Catholic denominations.
u’Not another Love Canal,’ Ohio Catholic pastor prays for his town struck by toxic train. An Ohio Catholic priest told OSV News “it will be a long time” before he and his parishioners feel secure in their surroundings, following a Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine that dumped toxic chemicals into the environment. Numerous local, state and federal agencies have been working to address the wreck, but “despite all of the cleanup … we’re learning now how dangerous those chemicals were,” said Father David Misbrener, pastor of the Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Jude Parish Communities, located respectively in East Palestine and Columbiana. “I’m just hoping this is not going to be another Love Canal,” Father Misbrener said, referring to the New York state neighborhood that became the site of the U.S.’s worst chemical waste disaster after decades of stored toxins leached into the area’s soil and water. During a Feb. 14 news conference, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on Congress to investigate a failure to flag the train for hazardous materials prior to the derailment.
uPro-life groups, members of Congress weigh in on chemical abortion case. Pro-life groups, as well as several members of Congress and state attorneys general, filed 15 friend-of-the-court briefs Feb. 10 with a federal court involving the U.S. government’s approval of drugs for early abortion. Four medical associations and four doctors filed suit in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the FDA’s approval of the use of chemical abortion drugs — sometimes referred to as a medical or medication abortion — which they say present adverse health and safety risks to women who use them. Marc Wheat, general counsel for Advancing American Freedom, a political advocacy group launched by former Vice President Mike Pence and one of the groups that filed a brief, told OSV News that “what we are seeing in a post-Roe world is a full-frontal attack from the left on the pro-life movement.” Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Pediatricians, the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, and doctors Shaun Jester, Regina FrostClark, Tyler Johnson and George Delgado in the case, argued that the FDA unlawfully approved the drugs without appropriately evaluating their potential risks for women.
Q There are many website development companies. Why did you take this task on yourself?
A Designing a website is something that I’ve wanted to do for some time. There were aspects of the former website that I always wanted to improve on over the years and I’ve had specific ideas that I wanted to implement myself. Development companies also come with costs that I wanted to avoid as a matter of prudent stewardship of our resources.
Q What if something on the site is not working well?
A Now if something happens that needs to be fixed, I know exactly how the whole thing was put together from start to finish and will be able to address it quickly.
Q How did you make this happen as you met other responsibilities at work?
A Doing it in-house required carving out time in my schedule and leaning on other Catholic Spirit team members to take up slack from time to time. The whole project took almost two years, which was much longer than I had anticipated.
Q Who can readers reach if they have questions or suggestions about the new site?
A I am available for any questions at spiritwebmaster@archspm org
carry a body from a destroyed building in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 21, after an earthquake struck the border of Turkey and Syria the night of Feb. 20, sparking fear and anxiety for people already bereft and those helping them since two devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes. At least six people were reported killed in the latest quake.
erhaps, in my case, a better title for this column is “Why I have stayed Catholic.”
I was baptized and raised in the Catholic Church. I was catechized from the Baltimore Catechism.
Early on, I sat on a fence. For fear of hell, I didn’t want to commit a mortal sin. My religious conviction didn’t care to go any deeper than that. In my high school years, I began to wrestle with: What is the meaning of life? What is fulfillment? Is it pleasure? Is it amassing things?
Through creation I do believe in God. Evolution didn’t bring this wonderous creation to everything that it is. It might have finetuned it.
A high school girlfriend introduced me to reading the New Testament. The Gospels especially are short and easy to read — and compelling. Lukewarm faith is not good enough. But Jesus’ Semitic hyperbole, e.g. “You must lose your life” (Mk 8:35) and “take up your cross” (Lk 9:23) presented a new fence for me to sit on. Do I go all the way with Jesus? The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5) was downright scary. Life since then has been a gradual process in embracing Jesus.
The late 1960s and early ‘70s brought what I considered to be a “Spirit of Vatican II” free-for-all; religious education was dumbed down and moral theology of consequentialism was rampant.
I attended the College (now University) of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Fortunately for me, I attended theology classes, taught by Father Roy Lepak, that presented St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica, which went over the faith logically and credibly. I was grateful for the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II. The Holy Father took part in the Vatican Council and provided faithful interpretation of it in continuity with the faith.
I still wrestled with the “groveling” of the saints who all seemed to believe that sainthood relied on God’s grace. I believed that I could be holy relying on my own willpower. Parenting five children with a wonderful Catholic wife and 40 years of career humbled my ambition.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “Love God with all your heart, soul and mind” (Mt 22:37). How could I acquire that
degree of love? That is where the Catholic Church lifted me — and continues to.
Jesus is the personification of a God that exceeds understanding (Col 1:15). The apostle John said that all the books in the world couldn’t contain everything that Jesus did (Jn 21:25). The Catholic Church therefore embraces what Jesus shared with the Apostles as he lived with them. That is handed down with tradition. Tradition frequently gives the Church context to interpret the Bible.
I’ve had to acknowledge that from its very beginning, some of the Church’s leaders have had their faults — some major. Those faults, however, are the result of human failure to live up to the faith of the Church, and not a corruption of the faith itself.
The Church presents exemplary saints to guide us. The Immaculate Mother Mary reached out to us at Fatima and presented a way of life for this generation. To elevate our life, we have sacraments that confer what they signify and raise us when we fall — as I experienced that we inevitably do. Greatest of all is our sacrifice of the Mass that brings us closest to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We join our prayers, work, suffering and good intentions with Jesus’ sacrifice to the Father. We take Jesus at his word (Jn 6), that in partaking of the Eucharist, we share Jesus’ life by an indwelling, and we become part of an eternal and holy family of God. With Jesus truly, really, substantially present, we commemorate and offer his sacrifice to the Father and seek union with Jesus.
All are good reasons I am happy to be Catholic.
Classen, 67, is a retired civil engineer. He and his wife, Jayne, are members of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. They have five children and nine grandchildren. He takes interest in anything his grandchildren take interest in. He also enjoys reading about great construction projects and all things religious.
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholiCSpirit@arChSpm org with subject line “Why I am Catholic.”
By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit
Caroline Metzinger has been on the Twin Cities music scene since 1996, serving on West St. Paul-based NET Ministries and leading music for local teens at Lifeline Masses. In 2002, she co-founded Sonar, the Catholic band that continues to perform across the country. Now 48, the talented Australian native teaches at Chesterton Academy in Hopkins, belongs to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and is raising six kids — ages 11 to 22 — with her husband, Nathan, in Woodbury.
Q Was it hard to be so far from your family when you first became a parent?
A Yes. My mom got to come up for the birth of our oldest. She had nine kids, and my sister has nine, but she’d never been present for another woman’s labor. That was beautiful.
Joan and Robley Evans (a Mendota Heights Catholic couple) were my anchor here. I had the opportunity to live with them while Nathan and I were engaged. They were my home away from home.
Q I’m guessing your babies heard beautiful lullabies.
A We used to sing a lot at home! I’d make them match pitch when brushing their teeth to keep their mouths open.
Q Has parenthood played out as you expected?
A It has exceeded my expectations. One of the biggest things we learned early on is you can’t parent each kid the same way. They’re all so different. You have to be really in tune with each other and with them.
Q When do you feel closest to God?
A When I’m in nature. I grew up 15 minutes from the ocean and the mountains, too. When I’m on the beach, I’m awed by his creation.
Q Do you try to get your teens outside?
A Yes. Yesterday, our oldest daughter, who just moved back home from two years on NET Australia, said, “OK, we’re going on a family walk.” We took everyone and the dog. We love to ski. For a long time, we skied as a family every weekend at Welch Village rather than having our kids in sports. And we’re on a pond, so we skate out there.
Q Sounds like a good break from screens.
A Our kids don’t get a phone until they drive. It’s tough being that parent, but I think the kids are better for it.
Q Do the younger ones miss out on social invitations, not having phones?
A If one of my kids gets invited over by a friend, their parents have to contact me or Nathan. As parents, we need to be on the same page and not be surprised if some random kid is at the house. I don’t feel like, from an organizational standpoint, it’s a hindrance. I think it has spared my kids some drama that goes on. One of my daughters said, “Mom, I can’t do Instagram. I’m deleting my account.
It’s horrible. It doesn’t bring me life.” I was proud of her.
Q What helps you get more out of Lent?
A I love the Magnificat’s Lenten supplement “Walk in Her Sandals” by Kelly Wahlquist. We see the Lord’s passion and crucifixion from the perspective of a woman who might have been a villager who had an encounter with Christ. Those types of devotionals really draw me in.
Q Over many decades, you’ve led thousands, probably millions, of Catholics in worship. What does that feel like?
A It’s a big responsibility, and it’s a humbling responsibility. You try to really engage the people who you’re leading in worship, but you have to live it. Especially teenagers — they spot a fake a mile away. You have to practice what you preach.
Q Have there been times when you were tempted to just phone it in?
A All the time! I’m human. I mess up. There are times when I say, “OK, Lord, you have to give it to me today because I don’t have it.”
Sometimes you can get into autopilot, and it’s in those moments that I realize, “Oh my gosh, no! What are we doing here? We are worshipping the Lord and adoring him!” And that’s my focus, that’s what I need to pour into.
Q There’s that great St. Augustine quote when you sing once, you pray twice. Does that feel true?
A Where my voice goes, my heart follows. It doesn’t have to be in the happy songs. It can be in the gut-wrenching songs. At one Lifeline, I was singing a song and I started crying, and my bandmate had to take over.
Q What did you learn from founding Sonar?
A Common vision is huge. Why are we doing this? Who are we doing it for? What are our end goals? You can have the best musicians in the world, but if the vision isn’t there, it can be a struggle.
Q Sonar blends contemporary music with traditional Church hymns.
What’s your favorite old hymn?
A I have two favorites. “What Wondrous Love Is This” — I love, love that song! It just gets me every time. There’s a beautiful version by a Christian artist called Chelsea Moon. It brings me to tears. And then “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” That song is a journey.
Q Tell me about your songwriting process.
A We get together as a band and just play chords and let things happen organically. Songs come out of that.
Personally, I just sit down with myself and a guitar and a pen and a paper and get on a chord structure and go from there. Usually, I’ll have a phrase I’m trying to go with. The song “I Will Run,” which is on our latest EP, came that way. I was driving home and that melody and those words came into my head, and then I popped it together.
Q What dulls your creativity?
A Probably my own resistance to stopping and living in the moment and jotting a few things down. I feel like I always have to go, go, go and I don’t have time to breathe.
Q Do you make time to play?
A My husband and I dabble in mixology. That’s fun! During the summertime, I’m outside a lot. In the wintertime, we play a lot of board games — that’s our hunkerdown mentality. Play, for me, is probably being hospitable and having people over.
Q What helps you live more simply?
A Being OK with just having each other around, especially as the kids get older, is a gift. We don’t go on any huge family vacations. We just try to do things around the house — simply being there and enjoying one another’s company.
Q What do you know for sure?
A I’m a daughter of God. I am loved beyond measure. And I want everyone to know that they are, too.
Every character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings” faces the temptation to take the One Ring for him or herself. But there are two characters tempted by the Ring in whom we can see more clearly how we might respond to the temptation to sin.
The first character is Boromir, the man of Gondor who travels with the Fellowship of the Ring. After many months with the Fellowship, he has grown restless, agitated, and cannot keep Frodo, the Ringbearer, out of his sight or mind for long. Eventually he confronts Frodo and rationalizes his way to why he should have the Ring. “We do not desire the power of wizard-lords, only the strength to defend ourselves, strength in a just cause. It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor. It is mad not to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him. The Ring of Power would give me power of Command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!”
Setting aside all the wisdom he had received over his lifetime, Boromir rationalizes his way to trying to take the ring from Frodo by force. This rationalization in the face of temptation brought Boromir into sin.
The second character is Faramir, the brother of Boromir. When he takes Frodo captive but before he even knows Frodo has the Ring, Faramir declares, “I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling into ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo.” Eventually the truth comes out that Frodo is carrying the One
ASK FATHER MIKE | FATHER MICHAEL SCHMITZQ I had thought that I was doing God’s will; I had prayed, and every indication was that this was the direction that God wanted me to pursue. But after some time, every roadblock was put in front of me, and I had to go elsewhere. How could I have been so wrong about what God was calling me to?
A This is such a great question. So many people have been in your shoes and know the frustration of believing that God had called them to do one thing only to realize that the door they thought God wanted them to go through was shut. I hear you. I also hear you asking where you went wrong.
I see this most often with people in relationships. There are times when two people will have been very thoughtful and prayerful about discerning whether God was calling them to be in a dating relationship (or even engagement) with each other. They could have sought out wise counsel and really submitted their plans to whatever God wanted. In that, it might have become very clear to them that God was inviting them to enter this relationship. (I have also seen this with men entering seminary and women entering discernment with a religious community.) Then, sometimes suddenly, the other person breaks up with
Ring. Frodo becomes fearful, remembering his last encounter with Boromir. But Faramir relies upon the wisdom and counsel he has received, and lets that wisdom form his heart, so that his desires are already disposed against taking the ring. He holds true to his word. “Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I know that there are some perils from which a man must flee.” Faramir holds to the wisdom he has received, and so remains free from sin.
We are often like Boromir. Amid temptation, we start to rationalize why this sin should be allowed to us, or even why it’s a good thing. Yet rationalization leads us out of the wisdom of the Lord, which we receive in his word. Faramir is a character who follows in the way of Jesus, even as Christ faced temptation. Jesus clung to the wisdom God had given to his people, and so Jesus overcame every temptation. So can we. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” In the humanity he has assumed, Jesus shows us that in our humanity we can overcome the temptations that befall us, if we cling to the wisdom and love that we have received from him, particularly by clinging to the words of Scripture.
As we begin our Lenten journey, we begin a journey to fight against temptation and sin. I encourage you to examine your heart and your life. See what temptations you are particularly vulnerable to or the sins you easily rationalize yourself into committing. Then search the Scriptures, or ask someone who knows the Scriptures well, for a passage or two that can speak wisdom against that temptation. Then, when the temptation comes or the rationalization begins, speak this verse against the temptation. Cling to the wisdom that God has given you in his word. Then you may find a new strength to rise above the temptation, invite you out of your sins, and keep you in the grace of God.
Father Aamodt is associate pastor of St. Hubert in Chanhassen. He can be reached at aric aamodt@st hubert org
them. Or the seminary instructs them that they are not called to continue formation for the priesthood. Not only can this be incredibly painful, but it can also send a person into a kind of tailspin when it comes to their ability to hear the voice of God. They begin to doubt whether they can ever wisely and accurately discern God’s will again.
There are a few things to keep in mind when discerning God’s will. The first is that God’s will is not always obvious or even specific. We know that God’s will is always that we become saints. God constantly wills that we say yes to him and surrender our lives to him. But he also gives us quite a bit of leeway when it comes to our choices. While there are some things that God has always prohibited (like murder or adultery — you don’t have to discern whether he wills you to kill an innocent person or break marriage vows), and there are some things that God has always commanded (like going to Mass on Sundays or loving our neighbor), there seem to be quite a few choices that God is quite OK with us going this way or that.
A general rule of thumb could be: If God hasn’t revealed his will on a topic through Scripture or the Church’s teaching, and he hasn’t made it absolutely clear to you that he wills a particular choice for you, then he is giving you the freedom to choose for yourself.
Many of us often say that we want this. Of course, when it comes down to it, many of us want to do God’s will so that we have some imagined guarantee that things will turn out well, or because we want someone to blame if things turn out poorly. It could be worth our time to reflect on why it is that we want to know God’s will. Is it because we desire to submit our entire lives to him or because we want someone else to decide for us?
In creating us with free will, God is also entrusting us with the responsibility of exercising that free will. And this means that sometimes we will not choose the best for ourselves. But it was
PLEASE TURN TO ASK FATHER MIKE ON PAGE 12B
Sunday, Feb. 26
First Sunday of Lent Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Rom 5:12-19 Mt 4:1-11
Monday, Feb. 27 Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 Mt 25:31-46
Tuesday, Feb. 28 Is 55:10-11 Mt 6:7-15
Wednesday, March 1 Jon 3:1-10 Lk 11:29-32
Thursday, March 2 Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Mt 7:7-12
Friday, March 3 Ez 18:21-28 Mt 5:20-26
Saturday, March 4 Dt 26:16-19 Mt 5:43-48
Sunday, March 5 Second Sunday of Lent Gn 12:1-4a 2 Tim 1:8b-10 Mt 17:1-9
Monday, March 6 Dn 9:4b-10 Lk 6:36-38
Tuesday, March 7 Is 1:10, 16-20 Mt 23:1-12
Wednesday, March 8 Jer 18:18-20 Mt 20:17-28
Thursday, March 9 Jer 17:5-10 Lk 16:19-31
Friday, March 10 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Mt 21:33-43, 45-46
Saturday, March 11 Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
Sunday, March 12 Third Sunday of Lent Ex 17:3-7 Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 Jn 4:5-42
ST. CASIMIR (1458-1484) Born in Krakow, Casimir was the son of Casimir IV, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, and Elizabeth of Austria. Known for his refusal to take up arms, as well as his personal piety, generosity to the poor and devotion to the Blessed Mother, he rejected the idea of marrying in favor of voluntary chastity. During a visit to Lithuania, he fell ill, died from tuberculosis at the age of 25 and was buried in the cathedral in Vilnius. Canonized in 1521, he is the patron of Poland and Lithuania. His feast day is March 4. — OSV News
eal challenges. Catholics are called to respond.
voice that says, I thirst.
bishops, dynamic Church leaders, and 1,000+ Catholics from a day of inspiration and advocacy at our State Capitol.
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A woman approaches me after a retreat I’ve been leading. She begins to tell me her story.
After nearly 10 years of solid sobriety from drugs and alcohol, she relapsed, during which time, and in some part due to her drug-induced negligence, her teenage daughter was kidnapped and trafficked. In an extraordinary turn of events, some months later, the authorities got the woman’s daughter back and brought her home. The woman’s daughter now lives in an institution where she fights for her life and her sanity, the horrors of her experience so torturous, it’s unclear whether she will ever be able to live outside of an institution again.
Learn the issues, hear dynamic speakers, and meet your legislators.
Another woman on another retreat tells me that her husband died not too long ago of a merciless, progressive, degenerative illness. Caring for him, watching him suffer this way for years, she said, nearly killed her. And now, it turns out the disease is genetic and has been passed on to her eldest son. He is now dying by this same merciless method, and he is angry, bitter, thrashing at the world around him, including at his mother, for this cruel fate. As she sits with me, I see she is a slight thing, maybe a hundred pounds, perhaps less, like a little sack of frail bones. And so weary. She says, “I don’t know if I can do this again,” and I believe her.
Once more, there it is, so faint you’ll miss it if you do not pay attention: I thirst.
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To hear Jesus say from the cross ‘I thirst’ may not help to end our suffering, but it crushes into dust the lie that we are isolated from the Lord in it. In the most profound way possible, it proves Jesus is right there, with us, in our suffering, thirsting with us. And he’s not going anywhere.
profound way possible, it proves Jesus is right there, with us, in our suffering, thirsting with us. And he’s not going anywhere.
The woman has been freed of her addictions once again and is battling like a mighty lioness, doing everything she can for this daughter who was miraculously returned to her. Still, the grief, the regret, she wears like a heavy coat three sizes too big. There are no easy amends here. She says to me: “How can I ever forgive myself?”
BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS BERNARD HEBDA Archdiocese of Saint Paul & MinneapolisAnother soul, I learn on another retreat, has recently lost her very young grandchildren and daughter-in-law to murder-suicide. No one saw it coming. There was no history of mental illness. No one even knew there was a gun in the house. How can God be God?, she is wondering earnestly. No bitterness has yet made its way into her heart, only the agony of the impossibility that this tragedy will ever make sense. I listen to her, hard and long, as she explains she will never be whole again. From this, she will never recover, she says, staring off into the distance, “not on this side of heaven.”
I strain my ears to hear it, so low, so faint, but here too, Jesus whispers, “I thirst.”
In this Lenten season, may we bring our thirst to the foot of the cross, as great and as overwhelming as it may be, and find the courage to look upon our crucified Lord, and to remember his promise: “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Lord, show us how to draw the thirstiest among us to your eternal, healing well. Amen.
In that moment, I think, there it is, that still small
To hear Jesus say from the cross “I thirst” may not help to end our suffering, but it crushes into dust the lie that we are isolated from the Lord in it. In the most
Kelly Stanchina is a nationally recognized retreat leader and author of 12 books. A portion of this column draws from her book, “A Place Called Golgotha: Meditations on the Last Words of Christ” (WAUP 2023).
HOSTS:
“Public authorities have the duty to sustain the family … the family does not exist for society or the State, but society and the State exist for the family”
(Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 214). This is a bold calling. As faithful citizens, we must advocate for policies that prioritize the family. Without strong families, we cannot expect to have a strong society.
One policy that puts families first is a nation-leading Minnesota child tax credit. Economic relief in the form of direct cash support to families, such as a refundable CTC, helps sustain families and does so in a manner consistent with the Church’s teaching on subsidiarity. This form of tax relief provides families with the freedom to choose how best to structure their budgets. A Minnesota CTC could also help address long-term workforce and population concerns. While many studies show that financial difficulties encourage divorce and family fragmentation, lack of economic security also discourages family formation. A fiscal commitment could be a catalyst for new families to be formed or for existing families to stay together.
Work to pass a CTC began last year when the Minnesota Catholic Conference, along with Children’s Defense Fund and Legal Aide, convened a meeting between the Republican and Democrat tax committee chairs to present a CTC as the solution to the Gordian knot between GOP-favored tax cuts and DFL-favored “Walz checks.”
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If you would like to share your story of how the 2021 Expanded Federal Child Tax Credit helped your family, please contact Ryan Hamilton, MCC Government Relations Associate at rhamilton@mncatholic org
This year, the Minnesota Budget Project and MCC began promoting this concept to the governor’s office. Those efforts proved successful when the Walz administration included a CTC proposal in its budget recommendation. Simultaneous outreach to build a groundswell of public buy-in has resulted in over 30 advocacy organizations adding their names to a letter of support.
Another milestone occurred when a bill to create a new Minnesota CTC (HF 1369) received its first hearing in the House Taxes Committee on Feb. 9. Four parents from MCC’s Catholic Advocacy Network participated in the hearing by sharing how the proposal would provide them with economic relief.
While only 12 states currently offer a CTC, there are several ways in which the policy can be crafted, with per-child benefit amounts and income eligibility thresholds being the most significant variables.
A CTC would signal to families that Minnesota supports their vital contribution to society. This “families first” proposal has built momentum, but we need voices like yours to help it reach the legislative finish line.
What’s the most important influence on a child’s faith, according to numerous studies?
It is not attending Mass with their family; not watching their parents’ habits of prayer. It’s not pastors, youth group leaders, Catholic school, faith formation classes, summer camp or mission trips.
Instead, it’s the simple act of parents talking to kids.
In their recent book “Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation,” sociologists Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk report that not only do parents have the biggest influence on their children’s future faith lives, but the most powerful factor is how parents speak with their kids about religion and God in everyday life.
It turns out, ordinary conversations matter more than anything else.
These surprising findings need not undermine what we believe as Catholics. We know our celebration of the sacraments (especially Eucharist) is essential; daily
CATHOLIC OR NOTHING | COLIN MILLERCatholics love to disagree about all sorts of things. But when it comes to the Church’s engagement with the poor, we all seem to agree on one thing: the little word “for.”
“Christians help the poor by doing things for them” is a sentiment few disagree with, and it’s hard to overstate the difference this makes for our whole way of being Church, from personal discipleship to diocesan initiatives to the training of priests. So, we volunteer at the soup kitchen, we give to charities, we build schools in Africa, and we carry granola bars in our car for the guy on the corner. There is nothing wrong with this, and we do all these things “for” the poor because we want to do them “for” Jesus.
And yet, I’m convinced, “for” is missing the heart of the Gospel. “For” accomplishes some good things, but it doesn’t build community, it doesn’t ask the poor what they want, it doesn’t make new friends, and it doesn’t overcome the isolation and loneliness that is often the cause of our problems in the first place. “For” makes those with resources the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10B
our choice, not God’s.
Second, we can sometimes discern wrong. God is incredibly involved in our lives; he does not want to remain some distant “force” somewhere outside of the universe. He is a Father who loves us and who draws close to us. He wants the best for us and does reveal himself and his will in various ways. And there are times when we get him wrong. Just look at the history of Christianity to see how often people sincerely get God entirely wrong. From various heresies that have arisen over time, to the Reformation that ended up fracturing Christ’s body into tens of thousands of splinters — well-meaning Christians can get it wrong. I’m sure
prayer is a must and forming generations in faith is a huge priority.
But such studies of families across the U.S. underscore the truth that parents are the primary catechists of their children. It turns out, forming kids in faith does not come from even the best parish programming but from regular conversations at home.
It might feel daunting to bear the weight of this responsibility, but consider the possibilities: It’s not religious professionals at church or school who impact kids the most, but the adults they interact with all week long. This fact holds huge promise for what parents and grandparents can offer.
Through ordinary conversations, we normalize faith as part of daily life. Parents don’t have to preach or teach in the typical sense. The best thing we can do is bring conversations about faith to the dinner table, the drive to school, the bleachers, or the backyard — wherever we’re already interacting with our kids.
Showing young people that faith is a normal, natural part of life speaks volumes. Think about school struggles, sports seasons, friendship dramas, political debates, health concerns, news headlines or family milestones. Any conversation we start through the lens of faith can show how God’s light shines on every part of life.
To be an authentic witness to faith does not require learning a new language. We simply need to share what matters to us. As we know from our kids’ practices and rehearsals, regular repetition is what helps us grow into new skills.
Try it with your children this week. Start one small
benefactors and saviors. It has a hard time knowing what Pope Francis could mean in desiring “a Church of the poor.” Perhaps most worryingly, making those with means the heroes, “for” doesn’t transform us, doesn’t allow us to see our own poverty, because the lack is always somewhere else.
The Gospel’s word is not “for,” but “with.” “With” is the way that God chooses to relate to us, and so the way that we should relate to the poor. “The Word was made flesh,” we read at Christmas, “and dwelt with us.” “They called him Emmanuel, which means God with us.” God himself spent 33 years walking the earth, and for most of those years — at least 30 of them — he did very little “for” us, except to be “with” us. When Christ gives us the Church he promises “I am with you always, even to the end of the ages.” And at the end of those ages, he will return so that “the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God … and God himself will be with them.”
We have stumbled on the most important word in the Bible. The point is not that God never did anything “for” us, nor that we should never do anything “for” others, but that our “for,” like God’s, can only ever come based on a prior, unalterable, utterly unswerving “with.” The Gospel’s challenge, in other words, is to make our ministry incarnational, just like Christ’s was, by coming alongside others in the flesh. I recently had dinner with a group of
that Martin Luther or John Calvin were praying and thinking and discerning when they broke away from the Church — and they were still wrong. Because of this, we can’t rule out the possibility that we can discern incorrectly.
Third, one of the criteria for deciding whether we discerned wrongly cannot be that it has led us to a place of pain or failure. I will talk to people who say that their current situation must have meant that they missed God’s will, because their plans didn’t work out or because they encountered a tragic amount of pain: The person who tried a new job only to fail or the person who took a moral stand at work and ended up paying a price for their courage. Doing the right thing does not mean that everything will work out the way
conversation and see where it leads. Speak up about a political issue in the news, an injustice you see in the world, a question about last Sunday’s homily or a way you’re helping a friend through a hard time. Share with your children what reminded you of God today: a vibrant sunset, a smile from a stranger, a song on the radio, or a kind word when you needed it most.
Ask your children what they think God might say about a certain situation. Listen to their responses. Wonder together about their questions or go searching for the answers.
The Gospels prove the power of ordinary exchanges. Jesus walked and talked with friends and strangers every day. Many of these brief encounters became life-changing events. So, too, the greatest gift we can offer our children is to keep faith at the heart of family life together.
In the car, after the game, before bed, over dinner. We can’t simply drop kids off at Catholic school or religious education classes and consider the job done. We can’t expect Sunday Mass to teach our children everything they need to know. Faith formation is what happens at home. As parents we cannot control how our children turn out, but we have a powerful role to play — and we can mindfully share the faith more in our conversations, starting today.
Fanucci is an author, speaker and founder of Mothering Spirit, an online gathering place on parenting and spirituality. She is a parishioner of St. Joseph in Maple Grove.
Catholics who had become involved with the poor in their hometown of Kansas City. “It’s fine to serve food at the homeless shelter,” one woman said. “But we like to go through the line and eat with them, just to be with them and get to know them. To be one of them.”
To turn a “them” into an “us” is the challenge of being “with.”
But, you might object, “with” seems much harder than “for.” It takes time, it might be uncomfortable, and it might require that we change. Indeed. That’s one way to know it’s the Gospel. But also, because it’s the Gospel, none of us will start by being good at it — it’s baby steps for all of us, and we are simply invited to begin wherever we are. And the first step toward being “with,” for many of us, might simply be to do something small to put ourselves closer to the poor than we usually are. That might be serving a meal at the shelter, talking to the guy on the corner, or walking home through a different neighborhood. But whatever it is, in whatever small way, the promise is that, in being with the poor, we discover another way that Christ has chosen to be with us.
Miller is director of Pastoral Care and Outreach at Assumption in St. Paul. He has a Ph.D. in theology from Duke University, and lives with his family at the Maurin House Catholic Worker community in Columbia Heights. You can reach him at colin miller1@protonmail com
we had hoped. For proof of this, we only have to look to Jesus. He did the Father’s will perfectly, and yet he was rejected, betrayed, brutally tortured, and killed. God does not promise that things will be easy for us if we do his will. Instead, he warns us that we will be rejected and hated.
Lastly, you might have discerned exactly what God was calling you to do. What you might not have discerned was how long he was calling you to do it. There are times when I will offer counsel to someone who was so sure that God had called them down a certain road only to discover that he was then calling them to go down another road that was very different than the original road. They can be tempted to see this as failure. I do not.
I see this as a person who is continually
allowing themselves to be led by God without falling into the trap of thinking, “I’ve figured out God’s will for my life, discernment is for someone else.” If God got a person to start moving down one road and calls them to “turn,” that means that the first discernment was accurate! It got them to the next road that God was calling them toward.
We often want to know the entire route, but God most often gives us just enough light for one step. We often want to know the whole story, but God wants to write the story with us, one choice at a time.
Our Lady of the Prairie –– Baked fish dinner, 4:30–6:30 p.m., March 10, 17, 24 and 31. 200 E. Church St. Freewill offering. Includes breaded and unbreaded baked fish served with salad, au gratin potatoes, a roll and desert. Takeout available. Sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 1503. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. ourladyoftheprairie.com
St. Timothy — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m., Fridays during Lent. 707 89th Ave NE. $15 adults, $8 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under. Includes baked cod or deep-fried pollock, baked beans, creamy coleslaw, French fries, bread and beverage. Takeout is available upon request. Fresh baked goods from KC Ladies Auxiliary will be available for purchase. churchofsttimothy.com
Knights of Columbus Marian Council of Bloomington — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent including Good Friday at 1114 American Blvd. W. Dine-in or takeout. $16. Includes fried or broiled cod fillets (or mixture), lemon slice and tartar sauce on the side, coleslaw, baked potato, butter, sour cream and a cookie. Dine-in reservations: Call 952-888-1492, prompt #1 or email the reservations to reservations@bloomingtoneventcenter.com. Takeout orders are online only. For each Friday, specify an order and pick-up time at kofcbloomington.com/order. No phone orders. bloomingtoneventcenter.com
Nativity of Mary — Fish Fry Festival, 5–8 p.m. March 24 at 9900 Lyndale Ave S. Dine-in or drive-thru option available. $13 in advance or $15 at the door. Includes cod fillets or grilled cheese, French fries, baked beans, coleslaw, bun and an assortment of desserts. Beer, wine and cocktails extra for indoor dining only. The festival includes a meat raffle, Bingo and entertainment for kids. Bingo called by the entertaining Dan Boulay. Tickets may be purchased in the parish office or after Masses starting in March. nativitybloomington.org
St. Bonaventure — Fish dinner, 4:30–7 p.m. March 3 and 31 at 901 E. 90th St. (in the Activities Building off 10th Ave.) Includes ocean perch, au gratin potatoes, special recipe coleslaw with fresh hot buns, a dill pickle, beverages and a free soft serve ice cream dessert. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. saintbonaventure.org
St. Edward — Fish dinner, 5–7 p.m. March 10 at 9401 Nesbitt Ave. S. $15 per meal, $50 family four-pack, free ages 5 and under. Includes beerbattered cod, macaroni and cheese, fries, coleslaw, dessert, condiments and beverage. Takeout is available. Proceeds support youth ministries. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. Preorder at stedwardschurch.org/signup.
St. Francis Xavier — Fish fry, 4–8 p.m. March 3 at Bison Creek Bar and Dining, 1207 N. Highway 25. $13 adults, $8 ages 10 and under. Hosted by the Knights of Columbus with all proceeds going to STFX youth ministries. Check bulletin for menu updates. Stations of the Cross, at the church, 300 First Ave. NW, all Fridays during Lent at 7 p.m. Living Stations of the Cross on March 24 only, at the school, 219 19th St NW. Pizza dinner prior to Stations 5:30-6:30 p.m. All proceeds go to STFX youth ministry. stfxb.org
St. Pius V — due to construction, we cannot hold our fish fry this year. We look forward to seeing – and serving – you next year!
St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Township — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m. March 31 at 24425 Old Highway 13 Blvd., Jordan. $16 adults, $6 ages 4-12, free ages 3 and under. All you can eat. Baked or fried cod, French fries, au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, beans, bread, macaroni and cheese, and dessert. Takeout available. st-patricks.org
St. Genevieve — Fish dinner, 5–8 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 14383 Forest Blvd N., Hugo. (St. John’s site) $13 adults, $11 seniors ages 60+, $9 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under. Includes fried Icelandic cod, baby red potatoes, French fries, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, pickle, rolls, cookie and beverage. Free bike raffle (boy and girl). A 50/50 raffle with 50% of proceeds going to local food shelves. stgens.org
Guardian Angels — Fish fry, 4–7:30 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at 1st St. and Cedar St. $15 adults, $5 ages 5-12, free ages 5 and under. Includes pollock (deep-fried beer-battered, deep-fried dry rub or lemon pepper oven baked), mashed potatoes and potato salad, coleslaw, green beans, dinner roll, coffee, water or milk. Takeout is available. Proceeds go to various charities. Hosted by Knights of Columbus. gachaska.org
St. Luke — Fish dinner, 4–7 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at 17545 Huber Ave. NW. Drive-thru and inside seating available. $15 adults, $6 ages 12 and under. Includes fried fish, cheesy potatoes, vegetable, dinner roll, cookie and bottled water. All proceeds from March 3 will go toward St. Luke’s youth activities. Hosted by Knights of Columbus Council 14013. kc14013. mnknights.org
Catholic Softball Group — Fish fry 4:30–6:45 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at Immaculate Conception 4030 Jackson St. NE. $13 adults and seniors, $7 ages
The Catholic Spirit’s annual Fish Fry & Lenten Meal Guide features listings for parishes that wished to be included and provided information before deadline. For updated information and a guide map visit TheCatholicSpirit.com/nomeat. Fridays during Lent are February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 and April 7 (Good Friday).
6-11, free ages 5 and under. Includes deep-fried fish, French fries, coleslaw, roll, dessert and beverage. Kids’ menu is macaroni and cheese. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. Proceeds go toward the Catholic Softball Group. catholicsoftball.com
Immaculate Conception — Fish fry, 4:30–6:30 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and 24 at 4030 Jackson St. NE. $13 adults and seniors, $7 ages 6-11, free ages 5 and under. Includes deep-fried fish, French fries, coleslaw, roll, dessert and beverage. Kids’ menu is macaroni and cheese. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. iccsonline.org
Epiphany — Fish fry, 4:30–6:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 11001 Hanson Blvd. NW. In cafeteria. $15 ages 13+, $10 ages 62+, $5 ages 6-12, $50 immediate family, free ages 5 and under. Includes baked tilapia, beerbattered deep-fried cod and homemade cheese pizza, choice of potato (baked with all the fixins’ or tater tots), coleslaw, cookie and beverage. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. Epiphanymn.org
St. Therese — Soup and fish fry dinner, approximately 6 p.m. (following Stations of the Cross) at 18323 Minnetonka Blvd. Soup dinners: Feb. 24, March 3, 17 and 31. Freewill offering includes: minestrone, broccoli cheese, potato leek or vegetable soups. Fish fry: March 10 and 24. $10 per person or $35 per family. Includes beer-battered cod, coleslaw, fries, and macaroni and cheese. Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. st-therese.org
DELANO
St. Maximilian Kolbe — Fish fry, 4:30–9 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Delano American Legion, 200 Babcock Blvd. All you can eat. Hand-battered cod plus traditional sides. Takeout available. $19 adults ($17 in advance), $10 ages 10 and under ($9 in advance). Advance tickets can be purchased at the church or school (763-972-2528) or at the Legion (763-972-2969). Benefits St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic School. stmaxkolbechurch.org
EAGAN
St. John Neumann — Walleye Fry, 4:30–7 p.m. March 3,10, 24 and 31 at 4030 Pilot Knob Road. Inside dining only in SJN Social Hall. $18 meal includes walleye, potato and coleslaw. $5 ages 8 and under includes macaroni and cheese and animal crackers. Sponsored by Dakota County Elks, St. John Neumann and Knights of Columbus Council 7604. sjn.org
EDINA
Our Lady of Grace — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 31, 5071 Eden Ave. $15 adults, $5 ages 10 and under. Includes Tin Fish-battered cod, pasta, baked potato, coleslaw, bread and butter and cake. Takeout is available. Live music. Back by popular demand, Father Kevin Finnegan’s Pub with Guinness on tap, microbrews and wine for an additional charge. Hosted by OLOG Men’s Club. olgparish.org
FARMINGTON
St. Michael — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 10 and 24 at 22120 Denmark Ave. Dine-in or takeout. Freewill donation (suggested $12). Includes fried fish, coleslaw, tater tots, roll with butter, cookie, tartar sauce and lemon. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. stmichael-farmington.org.
FOREST LAKE
St. Peter — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1250 South Shore Dr. Freewill offering (suggested donation: $13 ages 13+, $7 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under). Includes fried cod, baked tilapia, fries or potatoes, coleslaw, Texas toast, beverage and dessert. Alternative meal includes meatless pasta or grilled cheese sandwich. Takeout is available. Confession: 6–6:45 p.m. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. stpeterfl.org
HOPKINS
St. Gabriel the Archangel — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 10 and 24 at 1310 Mainstreet. $15 per person, $12 for seniors and kids ages 5-12. Includes choice of fried fish, baked fish or fish tacos with side dishes of red potatoes, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, dinner roll and beverage. Youth group will offer various desserts for freewill offering. No takeout. stgabrielhopkins.org
St. Patrick — Soup Suppers, 5–6:30 p.m. March 3 and 17 at Shamrock Hall, 3535 72nd St E. Freewill offering. Includes three different kinds of meatless soups, bread and crackers, a dessert and beverages. Living Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m., in the church, both evenings. churchofstpatrick.com
St. John the Baptist — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 10 at 313 Second St. E. (Louis Hall – church basement). $12 adults, $5 ages 3-12, free ages 3 and under. All you can eat. Fish, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner rolls, dessert and beverages. Takeout is available. Soup suppers: 5:30–7 p.m. March 17, 24 and 31, also in Louis Hall. Freewill offering for soup suppers only. Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent at 7 p.m. sjbjordan.org
LINDSTROM
St. Bridget of Sweden — 3:30–4:30 p.m. to-go orders; 5–7 p.m. dine-in Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 13060 Lake Blvd. $12 adults, $10 seniors ages 65+, $7 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under. All you can eat. Pub-battered or baked cod, French fries, green beans, coleslaw, dinner roll, dessert and drink. Alternative kids’ meal: meatless spaghetti. Call the parish office at 651-257-2474 or visit website for more information. stbridgetofsweden.org/fishfry
LINO LAKES
St. Joseph of the Lakes — Lenten meal, 5–7 p.m. March 3, 10, 17 and 24 at 171 Elm Street. $15 adults, $7 ages 5-10, free ages 4 and under; $45 family. Includes fried or baked cod, tomato-basil soup, roasted potatoes, green beans, creamy coleslaw, bread, coffee, water and a variety of homemade desserts. Dine-in or takeout. Pay at door. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. mystjoes.me
St. John the Evangelist — Fish fry, 4:30–6:30 p.m. March 3 and 24 at 2621 McMenemy St. (in school gym, park in main lot and use gymnasium entrance). $14 adults, $12 seniors ages 55+, $10 ages 4-12, $40 family. All-you-can-eat meal includes fried and baked tilapia, green beans, potatoes, coleslaw, roll, beverage and dessert. Alternative meal includes grilled cheese sandwiches. Catered by St. John’s Men’s Club. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. in the church. sjolc.org/fish-fry
LONG LAKE
St. George — Fish fry dinner, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 31 at 133 N. Brown Road (in the community center). $12 per person, free for ages 5 and under. Includes deep-fried cod, coleslaw, all you can eat French fries, roll and all the fixins’. Stations of the Cross at 7p.m. in the church both evenings. Hosted by Knights of Columbus. stgeorgelonglake.org
Immaculate Conception — Fish dinner, 4–7 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 24 at 202 Alabama St. S.E. Dine-in or pick-up. $15 adults, $8 children, free ages 6 and under. Includes fried and baked fish, au gratin potatoes, steamed vegetables, coleslaw, fresh baked dinner roll and dessert. Pick-up only in Civic Center parking lot. Proceeds will support local pro-life ministries. icchurch.cc
Sts. Peter and Paul — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m. March 3 at 150 Railway St. E. $15 adults, $13 seniors ages 65+, $8 ages 4-10, free ages 3 and under, $60 family (max). Includes baked cod, deep-fried cod, red parsley potatoes, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, fresh baked bread, cookies and beverage. All prepared by Dobo’s Catering and served by Knights of Columbus Council 9601. Takeout available. Stations of the Cross (with the KC 4th Degree Honor Guard) at 7 p.m. in the church. saintsppta.org
St. Jude of the Lake — Fish bake, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at 700 Mahtomedi Ave. $14 adults, $10 seniors ages 65+, $7 ages 12 and under. Includes baked tilapia, baked breaded cod, red potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, roll and dessert. Adult beverages for sale. stjudeofthelake.org
St. Jerome — Fish fry, 5–7:30 p.m. March 31 at 380 Roselawn Ave. Pre-order, pre-pay only. Select either curbside pick-up or dine-in and time slots. To order: stjeromefishfry.org. Meals: $12/1-piece, $14/2-piece, $16/3-piece. Includes hand-battered 4 ounce deep-fried cod fillets, French fries, coleslaw, baked beans and dessert. $10 pasta meal with meatless red sauce. Includes all sides listed above, except fish. Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23 followed by a soup supper at 6 p.m. Freewill offering. Stations of the Cross only at 5:30 p.m. March 30. stjeromefishfry.org
Presentation of Mary — Fish dinner, 4–7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and 31 in Kenney Hall, 1695 Kennard St. $14 large meal, $11 small meal. Includes fried fish, baked potato, coleslaw, dinner roll, tartar sauce, butter, and lemon. Alternative meal: $7 soup (veggie chili or broccoli cheese) includes roll and drink. Dine-in and take-out offered. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. except Good Friday. presentationofmary.org
St. Peter — Fish dinner, 5–7 p.m. March 31 at 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway. Freewill offering. Serving tilapia, salad, roasted new potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, beverages, and assorted desserts. All proceeds go to fund projects for St. Peter’s Uganda Mission. A team will be traveling to Uganda this summer to work on these projects. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. stpetersmendota.org
Holy Family Maronite — Lebanese Lenten dinner, 4–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 1960 Lexington Ave. Dine–in. Served with a side of Lebanese hospitality. $15. Includes baked fish, green beans in tomato sauce served over a bed of Lebanese rice, fried cabbage, flat bread, garlic sauce, homemade cakes and desserts. holyfamilymaronitechurch.org
St. Joseph — Corned beef and cabbage dinner, 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m. March 12 at 23955 Nicolai Ave E., Hastings (in parish hall). Takeout and sit-down. $13 adults (advance $11), $6 ages 6-12 (advance $5), free ages 6 and under. Includes corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, homemade Irish Soda Bread, homemade dessert and beverages. Hot dogs for the wee lads and lasses. For advance tickets, call parish office or check website for details. Auction items for all ages. Sponsored by Knights of Columbus Blessed Stanley Rother Council 17013. stjosephmiesville.com
Holy Cross — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 3, 17, 24 and 31 at 1621 University Ave. NE (in Kolbe Hall). Handicap access off 16th and University. $12 ages 12+, $2 ages 3-11, free ages 3 and under. Includes fish, French fries, baked potato, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, dessert and beverages. Carry-out is available. Forty Hours, March 10. Stations of the Cross: 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. (in Polish) at Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m. at St. Clement. ourholycross.org
Our Lady of Lourdes — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at One Lourdes Place (Hofstede Hall – lower level of church). $12 adults, $10 seniors ages 65+, $5 kids. Includes fish, fries, coleslaw. Beverages available. Credit cards, cash and checks accepted. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 5 p.m. lourdesmpls.org
Our Lady of Peace — Fish fry dinner, 5–7 p.m. March 3 and 31 at 5426 12th Ave S. Cost TBA. Includes fried fish, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, carrots, rolls, beverage and cookies. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. followed by adoration and confession. Soup Suppers: Feb. 24, March 10, 17 and 24. Freewill donation. olpmn.org/event
St. Albert the Great — Fish dinner, 4:30–7:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 3204 E. 29th St. Overflow parking one block north at Sullivan School. $15 adults; $7 ages 6-12; free 5 and under. Includes baked and fried tilapia, mashed potatoes and hash browns, coleslaw, rolls, beverage and dessert. Alternative meal: meatless spaghetti. Takeout is available. Bingo 5:30–7:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross 3:30 p.m. saintalbertthegreat.org
St. Helena — Fish taco dinner, 4:30–6:30 p.m. March 3 and 24 at 3204 E. 43rd St. (Rowan Hall – downstairs of the church). $10. Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent at 7 p.m. Speaker every Friday during Lent except Good Friday at 7:30 p.m. Questions: 612-729-7344. sainthelena.us
Immaculate Heart of Mary — Fish dinner, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 3, 24 and 31 at 13505 Excelsior Blvd.
$15 adults, $8 ages 12 and under. Includes baked fish, fish tacos, salad bar, au gratin potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, cookies and beverage. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. ihm-cc.org
Most Holy Redeemer — Lenten meal, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and 4–7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at American Legion Club, 102 Elm Ave. SW. $15 adults, $7 ages 5-10, free ages 5 and under. $15 takeout. Includes all-you-can-eat buffet of baked cod and baked breaded cod, cheesy potatoes, green beans, coffee, bread, coleslaw and homemade bars. Special: 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. only, baked cod sandwich with chips or fries for $7. hredeemerparish.org
St. Henry — Fish dinner, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and 24 at 1001 E. 7th Street. Dine-in or takeout. $12 adults, $8 ages 12 and under. Includes fried pollock, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, corn bread, pickle and cookie. A portion of the proceeds will go toward Coats for Kids. Hosted by Knights of Columbus Council 6825. sthenrycatholic.info
Our Lady of the Lake — Lenten meal, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 2385 Commerce Blvd. $15 adults, $13 seniors ages 65+, $7 ages 6-12, $1 ages 5 and under. Shrimp dinner, served with coleslaw, baked potato or fries, dinner roll and cookie. Macaroni and cheese available for children. ourladyofthelake.com
NEW BRIGHTON
St. John the Baptist — Lenten meals: 6–7 p.m. Soup suppers: Feb. 24, March 3, 17 and 24. Fish frys: March 10 and 31. Soup supper: suggested donation $8 per person. Includes unlimited soup (two options) and breadsticks. Fish fry: $12 adult, $8 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under, $45 family max (family is children and parents). Includes fish, macaroni and cheese, tater tots, coleslaw, bread and butter, bars and cookies, lemonade, water and coffee. Checks, cash, credit cards accepted. 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Mass and Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. every Friday except Good Friday. stjohnnb.com
NEW PRAGUE
St. Wenceslaus Catholic School — Fish Fry, 11 a.m.–
1 p.m. and 4:30–7 p.m., Feb. 24. For advance tickets, call 952-758-3225. Pre-orders: $13, $6.50 ages 5-10. At door $15, $7.50 ages 5-10. Includes fried fish, cheesy potatoes, coleslaw, roll, beverage and chocolate chip cookie. Takeout available. Living Stations of the Cross at 4:30 and 6 p.m. npcatholic.org
St. Peter — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except for Good Friday at 2620 N. Margaret St. (in school cafeteria). $15 adults, $14 seniors, $5 ages 7-12, free ages 6 and under. Includes deep-fried and baked (gluten free) cod, au gratin potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, coleslaw and bread stick. Takeout meals available. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. churchofstpeternsp.org
Ascension — K-C Fish fry, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. March 3 at 323 Reform St N. $15 a meal, includes Alaskan pollock, beans, baked potato, coleslaw, cookies and water. Drive-thru only. Option to eat meal in social hall. ascensionnya.org
Guardian Angels — Fish fry, 4–7 p.m. March 3, 17 and 31 at 8260 4th St. N. $18 ages 11+, $16 ages 65+, $8 ages 6-10, free ages 5 and under. Includes all-you-can-eat (dinein only) baked or fried haddock, red potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, roll with butter, lemon, tartar sauce and dessert. Order online for carry-out and curbside orders, $16. guardian-angels.org/fish-fry
Transfiguration — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and 24 at 6135 15th St. N. $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 ages 5-12, free ages 5 and under, $40 household max. Includes all you can eat fried and baked fish, coleslaw, grilled cheese, French fries, tots, baked potatoes, dessert and beverage. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. transfigurationmn.org
OAK GROVE
St. Patrick — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 19921 Nightingale St. NW. $14 ages 13+, $7 ages 6-12, free ages 5 and under. Includes all-you-can-eat fish, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, choice of corn or green beans, macaroni, dinner roll and dessert. Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. st-patricks.org
St. Michael — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 451 Fifth St. SW. $13 adults, $6 ages 5-12, $45 family. Includes fried or baked fish, roasted potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, rolls, dessert and beverage. Stations of the Cross at 7:30 p.m. stpaulstmichael.com
St. Michael — Fish fry 4:30–7 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 10 at 16400 Duluth Ave SE. $15 adults, $12 seniors ages 65+, $7 children, free ages 5 and under. Includes lightly breaded fried Alaskan pollock, potato wedges, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, green beans, corn, homemade rolls, coffee, milk and dessert. Takeout is available. Sponsored by Catholic United Financial 364. Stations of the Cross at 6:30 p.m. stmichael-pl.org
ROBBINSDALE
Sacred Heart Catholic School — Fish and Meatless Spaghetti dinner, 4:30–7 p.m. March 3,10,17, 24. Dine-in or takeout available. $17. Includes fish fillet, baked potato, green beans, and garlic bread. $15 for meatless spaghetti dinner with garlic bread. $15 for fish sandwich with spaghetti. Children meals, ages 4-10 and free ages 3 and under: $7 for spaghetti and bread or $8 for fish fillet, green beans and bread. shrmn.org
ROGERS
Mary, Queen of Peace — Fish dinner, 4:30–6:30 p.m. March 10 and March 24 at 21304 Church Ave. $14. Includes baked cod, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner roll, cookie and beverage. Dine-in or takeout available. Sponsored by NW Hennepin Knights of Columbus Council 11941. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. mqpcatholic.org
ROSEMOUNT
St. Joseph — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m., Feb. 24 and March 24 at 13900 Biscayne Ave. (in Social Halls A and B). $15 per person or $45 max per family. Includes baked or handbattered cod, choice of potato or macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, roll, dessert and beverage. Takeout is available. Holy Hour 4:15-5:15 p.m. Stations of the Cross 5:30 p.m. stjosephcommunity.org
RUSH CITY
Sacred Heart — Lenten meal, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except for Good Friday at 415 W. Fifth St. $12 adults, $6 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under. Includes deep-fried cod, potatoes, coleslaw, bread, beverage and dessert. Alternative meal includes meatless pasta for children. Takeout is available. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. shc415@hotmail.com
SHIELDSVILLE
St. Patrick — Fish fry, 5–7 p.m. (or until fish is gone) March 3, 17 and 31 at 7525 Dodd Road. Freewill offering. Includes baked or fried fish, potato, vegetable, salad bar and dessert. Entertainment (March 17 only) by the Charlie Sticha Band from 5–9 p.m. Proceeds support youth and parish outreach. spshieldsville.org
ST. LOUIS PARK
Holy Family — Fish dinner, 5–6:30 p.m. Fridays in Lent except Good Friday at 59 Lake St. W. $12 adults, $6 children. Includes baked or fried fish with a choice of sides including macaroni and cheese, green beans, coleslaw and cheddar biscuit. Proceeds to benefit the parish school, Holy Family Academy. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. hfcmn.org
ST. PAUL (South St. Paul, West St. Paul included)
Nativity of our Lord — Fish fry, 5–8 p.m. Feb. 24 and 5–6:30 p.m. March 10 at 1938 Stanford Ave. (enter from plaza on Wellesley Avenue.) To-go can be ordered at the garage on Wellesley Avenue. $15 adult, $8 ages 12 and younger, $50 household. Includes choice of fried or baked cod, fries or baked potato, veggies, coleslaw and breadsticks (for the kids) plus beverages. Stations of the Cross after 5 p.m. Mass every Friday during Lent. info@nativitymen.org.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Diocesan Shrine — Enchilada lunch and dinner, eat-in or takeout, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 401 Concord St. Eat-in options: $13 large order (three enchiladas), $11 small order (two enchiladas). Includes delicious homemade cheese enchiladas, rice, beans, dessert, coffee or water. $1 soda or bottled water. Two All-Day Takeout Options: (1)
Full Meal: $13 large order (three enchiladas), $11 small order (two enchiladas). Includes delicious homemade cheese enchiladas, rice, beans, and dessert. (2) Enchiladas only at $24 dozen, $12 half dozen. Call ahead orders at 651-228-0506 or order online at olgcatholic.org
St. John Vianney — Fish fry, 4–6:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 840 19th Ave. N. $15 adults, $10 children. Includes fried fish, baked potato or French fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, coleslaw, green beans and dessert. Stations of the Cross at 3:30 pm. sjvssp.org
St. Matthew — Fish fry, 4:30–7:30 p.m. Fridays in Lent including Good Friday at 510 Hall Ave. Dine-in or curbside-to-go. $15 adults, $7 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under. Includes choice of fried or baked Alaskan pollock or both, baked potato, vegetable, coleslaw, roll and dessert. Coffee, milk and water included. Alternative meal: $13 adults, $7 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under. Includes spaghetti or grilled cheese meal. Beer, wine and pop available for purchase with dine-in. Dine-in: social hall entrance at back of the church. Curbside-to-go: enter off Humboldt Avenue onto Robie Street to Hall Avenue. st-matts.org
St. Pascal — Fish fry, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent at 1757 Conway Street. $16 adults, $8 ages 6-11, free ages 5 and under. Includes fried or baked cod, coleslaw, steamed veggies, au gratin and seasoned fried potatoes, macaroni and cheese, roll, coffee, water or milk. Bottled water and soda extra. Cash, check or card accepted. Hosted by St. Pascal’s Men’s Club. stpascals.org
St. Patrick — Lenten meal, 4:30–7 p.m. Feb. 24 at The American Legion, 1129 Arcade St. $14. Includes fried cod, tater tots, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, dinner roll and beverage. Takeout available. Extra treat: Bake Sale! stpatrickmn.weconnect.com
St. Stanislaus — Lenten Soup Suppers, 6–6:40 p.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 398 Superior St. (in church hall). Followed by a 6:40-7:10 p.m. service in church. Fridays during Lent attend 10 a.m. Quiet Prayer and 11 a.m. Stations of the Cross. Check website for details. ststans.org
St. Thomas More Catholic School — Fish fry, 5:30–7:30 p.m. March 10, 24, and 31 at 1065 Summit Ave. $15 adults, $8 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under. All you can eat. Fried cod, French fries, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, dinner rolls, peach cobbler, cookies and lemonade. Beer and wine available for $5 and soda for $1. Eucharistic adoration 1–5 p.m. Stations of the Cross 5-5:30 p.m. (in the church). Buy tickets at the door or online in advance at morecommunity.org/fishfrys.
St. Michael and St. Mary — Fish dinners, 4:30–7 p.m. Fridays during Lent except for Good Friday at St. Michael’s Social Hall 611 Third St S. $16 adults, $6 ages 7-12. Includes beer-battered cod, buttered parsley potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, dinner roll and beverage. Takeout is $16 a box. Special menu for ages 6 and under. Confession 5–5:25 p.m. Mass 5:30–6 p.m. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. Hosted by the Men’s Club. stmichaelstillwater.org
St. Joseph — Fish fry, 4–7:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent except Good Friday at 41 E. First St. $15 adults, $7 ages 7-12, free ages 6 and under, $50 max per family. The “tentative” menu includes all-you-can-eat fish, pasta, potato, roll, coleslaw and cake. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. For up-to-date information on dates, menu, payment and pickup options, check website. Hosted by the Waconia Knights of Columbus. stjosephwaconia.org.
St. Pius X — Fish fry, 4–6:30 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and 24 at 3878 Highland Ave. $17 adults, $15 seniors and togo meals, $7 ages 6-12, free 5 and under. Includes fried or baked cod, baked potato, coleslaw, pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, roll, dessert and beverage. Curbside to-go service available in the northeast parking lot on Oak Knoll St. Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. churchofstpiusx.org
St. Paul — After St. Patrick’s Day ham dinner, 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. March 19 at the Zumbrota VFW, 25 E. First St. Includes ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, vegetable salad, buns, dessert and beverage. Bid on items at the silent auction, which will take place during the dinner. Takeout available. Call parish office for prices: 507-732-5324.stpaulstmichael.com
Farmington KC’s Spaghetti Dinner and BINGO — Feb. 25: 5:30–9 p.m. at Asset Marketing Services, 1300 Corporate Center Curve, Eagan. Meal: $10 adults; $30 family (max). Bingo: $10/card, $5 each additional card. Cards are good for the entire evening. Children can play for $5/card with adult purchase. Hosted by Farmington Knights of Columbus. StmiChael-farmington org
A ‘wee bit early’ St. Patrick’s Day Dinner — March 4: 6–8:30 p.m. at St. Peter, 1405 Highway 13, Mendota. Traditional Irish meal with Irish stew, colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage), Irish cheeses, assorted breads, and desserts. Live music with the Jameson Twins. Cost: $15 per person, $25 for two, $35 for a family of four, $5 for each additional child. Freewill offering bar with Irish beer and wine. StpeterSmendota org
Awaken the Heart — March 4: 6–9 p.m. at St. Peter, 2600 Margaret St. N., North St. Paul. Encounter the healing love of Christ who breaks down barriers, meets desires, fulfills promises and restores hearts. Presenter Father Joe Freedy will speak on From Fear to Freedom. Adoration, praise and worship with folk artist Aly Aleigha. Also, confession and healing prayer teams. darkneSSlit Com
Women’s Lenten Morning of Reflection — March 11: 8:30 a.m.-noon at Divine Mercy, 139 Mercy Drive, Faribault. Mass, breakfast and presentations by Debbie Koop. The theme is: God, Source of all Belonging: Our Identity as Beloved. Hosted by the CCW of Divine Mercy. Cost is $10/person. Register by March 3; call or text Mary at 507-323-5682. divinemerCy CC
Lenten Day of Centering Prayer — March 1: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” — Is 30:15. Beginners welcome. $50 per person, lunch included. Register online or call 763-682-1394. kingShouSe Com
Lenten Day of Prayer — March 1: 9:30 a.m.–2:15 p.m. at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Starts at 9:45 a.m. Confession, spiritual direction, a prayer experience, Stations of the Cross and Mass. Bring a bag lunch. Beverage provided. Additional dates in Lent: March 8: Joel; March 15: David and Goliath; March 22: Esau and Jacob. franCiSCanretreatS net
The Essence of Unity-Lenten Morning of Reflection for Moms — March 4: 8 a.m.–noon at St. Raphael, 7301 Bass Lake Road, Crystal. Be renewed this Lent by inspiring talks, community and prayer. Cost: $25; after Feb. 18: $35. tinyurl Com/nhd8xx8y
“Good Shepherd” Retreat for Men and Women — March 10-12 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 1st
Ave. S., Buffalo. Presented by Father Greg Paffel. Praise and worship included. Register online or call 763-682-1394. kingShouSe Com
Men’s Retreat — March 11: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. at St. Paul, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake. Features Catholic speaker, musician and faith-filled leader, Pat Millea. Theme is St. Joseph: Model for Manhood. This is not a retreat for perfect men; this is a retreat for men who have a desire for greater joy, peace, passion and fulfillment. ChurChofSaintpaul Com/menS-retreat
Catholic Healthcare Workers Lenten Retreat
— March 11: 10:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. at St. Mary’s, Lowertown, 261 E. 8th St., St. Paul. Come renew your spirit. Theme is “Jesus the Great Physician: Catholic Witness in a Secularized Medical Profession.” Join Father Byron Hagan for an 11 a.m. Mass followed by catered lunch, talks, Stations of the Cross (for health care), adoration and Q & A.
CuratioapoStolate Com/eventS-2/upComing-eventS
Solemn Closing / Annual Forty Hours — March 12:
2–3 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1621 University Ave., Minneapolis. Solemn closing of Forty Hours Devotion. A joyful, eucharistic celebration with music, preaching and ceremony. A reception with wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres follows in Kolbe Hall. ourholyCroSS org
Organ Recital ‘Return to Versailles’ — Feb. 27: 7–9 p.m. at St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul.
Jean-Baptiste Robin, prominent French concert organist and composer (appointed as one of the organists of the Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles), will give a solo performance. oneStrongfamily org/poSt/verSailleS
Quam Pulchra Es: A Concert of Baroque Gems — March 4: 7:30 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1621 University Ave., Minneapolis. Soprano Sarah Jackson, lutenist Thomas Walker, and countertenor Timothy Faatz will perform a concert of works by Claudio Monteverdi and other composers of the early Baroque era. Free admission and ample parking. ourholyCroSS org/SaCred-muS C
Highland Catholic: Used Book Sale — March 1-4 at Lumen Christi, 2055 Bohland Ave., St. Paul. Special preview March 1, 6–8 p.m. $10 entry fee. Free: March 2-3: 8 a.m.–6 p.m., March 4, 8 a.m.–noon. Benefiting Highland Catholic School. Thousands of adult and children’s books, DVDs, puzzles and games. Most items $0.50-$2. lumenChriStiCC org/Community
STEM Camp for Boys (Grades 3-5) — March 4: 9:30–11:30 a.m. or 12:30–2:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Academy, 949 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights. Aerodynamics, forces in motion, biodiversity and block coding with Sphero. A “hangout lounge” for parents who want to stay onsite. Space is limited. Register at todaymCadetS Com/Stem
“Rend Your Heart: Offering Humility in Lent” — Feb. 28: 6:30–7:30 p.m. at Risen Savior, 1501 E. County Road 42, Burnsville. Where does fasting fit into daily spirituality, and deepening love of God and neighbor?
Join Mike Rios-Keating of Catholic Charities Twin Cities for a conversation on fasting, humility and re-thinking spiritual commitments. riSenSavior org/event/lenten-faSting
Marriage In Christ Seminar — March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: 6–8:30 p.m. at All Saints, 19795 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. Five Thursday evening sessions to help make healthy marriages even better. Includes practical and spiritual resources to both focus on marriage and have an incredible Lent. Cost: $100. allSaintSChurCh Com/miC
Unity Catholic High School Breakfast Club — March 14: 7–8 a.m. at Mary, Mother of the Church, 3333 Cliff Road E., Burnsville. Speaker: Paul Hillen, author, executive coach and consultant, will share thoughts on leading with faith in a secular world. Hillen has held leadership positions with Procter and Gamble and Cargill. He serves on The St. Paul Seminary board of directors. He wrote “How Goodness Pays,” a top-selling business book. unityCatholiCmn org
Lenten Parish Mission — March 26-28: 4–5:30 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi, 16770 13th St. S., Lake St. Croix Beach. Presenter: Father Ed Shea, OFM. Reflections on Gospels: The Women at the Well; The Man Born Blind; the Raising of Lazarus. Cost: $25 for all three; $10 at the door. Hosted by St Francis of Assisi. StfranC SlSCbmn org
Great Desire: Pope Francis’ liturgy document and ongoing liturgical reform — March 30: 6:30–8 p.m. at St. Thomas More, 1079 Summit Ave., St. Paul. Father Anthony Ruff, OSB, will present an examination of Pope Francis’ vision of liturgy in his recent document “Desiderio Desideravi.” Sponsored by the Association of Liturgical Ministers. $5 members, $20 nonmembers. almSpm org/eventS/2023/popefranCiS
‘The Passion of Jesus in Music, Word and Light’ — March 22-25: 7:30–9 p.m. at Sts. Joachim and Anne (St. Mark’s campus), 350 Atwood St., Shakopee. Relive the final days of Jesus’ life on earth, from Palm Sunday to the Last Supper, and through his crucifixion and resurrection. March 22, 23 and 25 in English; March 24 in Spanish. Free admission. Music begins at 7:30 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m. This is the final year for this performance. For additional information or questions, call 612-849-3485 or email kmphilipp7@gmail Com ShakopeepaSSionplay org
Lifeline — March 4: 6–9:30 p.m at NET Center, 110 Crusader Ave. W., West St. Paul. NET Ministries is excited to partner with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to reestablish Lifeline — an opportunity for young people to encounter Christ. With engaging speakers, improved programming and an elevated
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School of Divinity Grad Studies Info Night Spring 2023 — March 7: 6–7 p.m. at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, 2260 Summit Ave., St. Paul. The lay graduate programs are hosting an evening at The St. Paul Seminary. Enjoy dinner and meet professors. SaintpaulSeminary org/event/SChool-of-divinity-grad-StudieSinfo-night-2
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February is a nostalgic month for Matt Birk. Every year, the 46-year-old husband and father of eight recalls what happened on Feb. 3, 2013, when his team, the Baltimore Ravens, won a thrilling victory in Super Bowl XLVII over the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31.
Although much has happened in his life since that day, including helping start Unity Catholic High School in Burnsville and running for lieutenant governor last fall, the memories of the game are still clear, as well as what happened before and after.
“The best part about having a moment like that is you share the experience with people you love,” said Birk, who belongs to St. Joseph in West St. Paul with his wife of 21 years, Adrianna, and their eight children, six biological and two adopted. “We talk about that game, and the night after and the morning after, which is what it kind of spilled into. It was a great moment, right? You don’t have many days like that. It was fun.”
He recalls being at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans the day of the game, marveling at his “one in a million experience.”
“The whole thing was surreal,” he said. “I can remember being at the stadium before the game, thinking to myself, ‘Every kid wants to play in a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl — literally, like every boy, just about. And I’m about to go try to do that.’”
Despite being in such a “huge moment,” he remembers also being “very calm, for some reason. God blessed me with just a calmness that day, with a focus to go out there and do what I’ve been trained to do for the last 15 years.”
After taking a 22-point lead in the first half, the Ravens — perhaps distracted by a lengthy power outage that delayed the third quarter for 34 minutes — saw the 49ers storm back and nearly score the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds.
That close call — and his faith — continue to ground Birk, even as he pushes forward with a life that has him walking the hallways of Unity Catholic High School daily, then going home to a family with children ranging in age from 6 to 20. During it all, he fights for — and finds — both balance and a deep relationship with God that is nurtured through regular time in a eucharistic adoration chapel.
The practice began 15 or 16 years ago, when a Catholic friend “told me to get in the adoration chapel on a regular basis, so I did,” Birk recalled. “With any kind of big undertaking, I always, always bring it there, and just lay it at Christ’s feet and say, ‘What am I supposed to do with this? Why is this on my heart? Why do I feel like you’re asking me to do this? Is this what you want me to do?’”
What was on his heart six years ago was starting a Catholic high school in the south metro area, a desire he found out was shared by Tom Bengtson, a local author, speaker, entrepreneur and former board member and co-founder of Chesterton Academy in Hopkins. The two put their minds and energy together and decided to try to make it happen.
Their search eventually landed them at Mary, Mother of the Church, whose pastor, Father Jim Perkl, eagerly embraced the idea and offered classroom space for the school, which opened in fall 2019. It started with just ninth graders, adding a grade each year. This is the first year with all four grades, with nine seniors set to graduate June 1.
“It’s been a big year for Unity Catholic,” said Birk, who is vice chairman of the school’s board of directors.
In addition to filling up with 65 students in grades nine through 12, the school was officially recognized as a Catholic school of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Sept. 5, just as this school year was beginning.
“But, the biggest thing, or the best thing, is I know a lot of our students, a lot of our families, would not be getting a Catholic education if it wasn’t for us,” he said. “Whether it’s because of our location, our price point, the type of school we are — we’re growing the pie of Catholic education. And, that’s the biggest thing, that’s the point. … We thought there was a need for this type of school in this area, and we could ultimately play a part in helping more souls get to heaven.”
As involved as Birk has been in the school, his life was poised to take a turn when he agreed last March to be the Republican running mate of Dr. Scott Jensen in Jensen’s bid for governor of Minnesota. But their attempt to unseat Gov. Tim Walz fell short, and Birk isn’t sure if his name will ever appear on a voting ballot again.
Yet, the experience was valuable — and educational — for a man who faced a different kind of battle than the one he waged over a 14-year career in the NFL as a center on the offensive line, the first 10 of which were spent with the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted him out of Harvard in 1998. He and Jensen both took heat from Democrats on the issue of abortion, which Walz made one of his major rallying points by ardently supporting abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy during his campaign. Walz backed that viewpoint by recently signing into law the PRO Act that legalizes abortion without restrictions.
Through the campaign, Birk realized “just how important it is to have a disciplined prayer life and faith life,” he said. “If you keep that in order, then whatever else happens, it doesn’t even faze me. Scott and I, we took a lot of arrows, and it was intense, and people were saying, ‘Are you doing OK?’ It’s like, ‘Man, I’m fine. I got my Catholic faith, I got my wife, I got my kids.’
“I actually enjoyed the campaigning part. It was harder on my wife and kids, just with the amount of time that it took (to campaign). But we knew that going in, and we talked about it. My wife prayed about it, and she was on board. So, it was an awesome sacrifice that they made for me to be able to go do that.”
With the campaign behind him, Birk is able to focus his energy, not only on Unity Catholic, but also on his family. He admits that being a parent to that many kids, with that large of an age range, is hard.
“Most of the time, it feels like you’re battling, you’re
struggling,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m doing a good job or not. It’s not like one of those things where every day you get affirmation, like, ‘Man, you’re crushing it as a dad.’
“But the good part about that is it keeps you on your knees, keeps you praying, like, ‘Hey, God, I need help. Help me, please. Help me, Jesus.’ … Parenting: It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.”
In describing the chaotic life that he has led for decades, Birk is ardent in his praise for Adrianna, who has had to manage the household through his NFL career, his political campaign, and now his efforts to help Unity Catholic thrive. He jokes that she is “probably not going to have too much time in purgatory when she’s done.” One way they have kept the sanity and love alive in their marriage is to “almost religiously” carve out time for a date night once a week.
Also, they “try to keep Jesus at the center,” he said. “I mean, that’s all you can do, right?”
“Plus, I mean, we got eight kids,” he added. “It’s not like she can go anywhere. She’s trapped. That’s my joke.”
For sure, the Birks are now anchored in the Twin Cities, having moved back six years ago after stints in New York and Florida. Likewise, Unity Catholic likely will stay right where it is, even though a natural temptation is for school leaders to want their own building.
“People always say, ‘What about a new building?’” he said. “(But), we can’t get off mission when we’re sitting above an adoration chapel. We can’t get off mission when every day you come to work and there’s priests and deacons and nuns walking around. It’d almost be impossible for us to drift from our mission and from the vision and from what’s the most important thing.”
Thus, the plan is to stay at Mary, Mother of the Church. There’s some room to grow, but Birk likes the idea of keeping the student body small, which he thinks is a good fit for families who enroll in the school.
“In our hallway, every kid is known,” he said. “We not only know the kid, we know the family. We know a lot. Nobody’s blending into the background and hiding out at Unity. If you really talk about the whole person — spiritually and intellectually — you’ve really got to know them. But they’ve also got to feel like they belong. We were built for communion.
“I don’t know how big we’ll get here, but we just want to give families here in the south metro a vigorous Catholic education.”
We thought there was a need for this type of school in this area, and we could ultimately play a part in helping more souls get to heaven.
Matt Birk
