The Catholic Spirit - December 6, 2012

December 6, 2012 TheCatholicSpirit.comNews with a Catholic heart

The Catholic SpiritNewspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

23

New media fornew evangelizationPope prepares to launch @PontifexTwitter account

Third-century saint wasmodel of charity andjustice, author says

Jesus is the reason for the Christmasseason, but the man who gets much ofthe attention this time of year isn’t ourSavior who was born in a Bethlehemmanger 2,000 years ago. It’s the “jollyold elf” in the red suit riding a sleighand delivering presents to good girls andboys. We know him as Santa Claus or St.Nick — a commercialized version of areal saint: Nicholas of Myra who lived inthe third and fourth century in what isnow Turkey and who was known for hisgenerosity and commitment to justice.

Adam English, an associate professorof theology and philosophy atCampbell University in Buies Creek,N.C., has written a new book, “TheSaint Who Would Be Santa Claus: TheTrue Life and Trials of Nicholas ofMyra,” telling the story of Nicholas’faith and his role in shaping the earlyChristian church.

English believes the life of St.Nicholas, whose feast day is Dec. 6, canbe a model for refocusing on the realmeaning of the season. As one reviewernoted, “Having devoted his life toserving Jesus Christ, the real St.Nicholas invites us to a truer and morejoyful celebration of Christmas.”

Turn to page 11 for an interview withthe author.

Istockphoto.com

A man portraying St. Nicholas arrives in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in this photo from 2008.

St. Nicholas

Discover ways to keep the Advent flames burning— see pages 12 to 14

The real

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Fund benefitsretired religiousAnnual collection helpsthose who contributed— and still contribute— to serving God’speople.

— Page 3

Parishes get ready to GROWFarmington parish hostsfirst meeting for parish-level planning initiative.

— Page 5

Catholics offer help near, farCatholic Charities,Catholic Relief Services among agenciesaiding HurricaneSandy, Syrian civil warvictims.

— Page 10

Evidence points to createduniverseJesuit priest says someeminent scientistsadmit cosmos had tohave a creator

— Page 15

Note to readersThere will be a Dec. 13 issue of The Catholic Spirit. The newspaper is normally published bi-weekly.

DECEMBER 6, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT2

The Catholic SpiritThe Catholic Spirit’s mission is to pro claimthe Good News of Jesus Christ in theArchdiocese of St. Paul and Min ne apolis.It seeks to inform, educate, evan gelizeand foster a spirit of com munity withinthe Catholic Church by dissem inatingnews in a professional manner andserving as a forum for discussion ofcontem porary issues.

Vol. 17 — No. 24

MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDTPublisher

SARAH MEALEY JOE TOWALSKI Associate publisher Editor

Materials credited to CNS copy righted byCatholic News Service. All other materialscopyrighted by Cath olic Spirit Pub lishingCompany.

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Published bi-weekly by the Catholic SpiritPublishing Com pany, a non-profit Min -nesota Corpora tion, 244 Dayton Ave., St.Paul, MN 55102 (651) 291-4444, FAX (651)291-4460. Per i od i cals pos tage paid at St.Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Post -master: Send ad dress changes to TheCatholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul,MN 55102.

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USPS #093-580

That TheyMay All Be One

ArchbishopJohn C.

Nienstedt

Announcement — Free electronichearing tests will be given all next weekMonday thru Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

The tests have been arranged for anyonewho suspects they are not hearing clearly.People who generally feel they can hear, butcannot understand words clearly areencouraged to come in for the test, whichuses the latest electronic equipment.

Everyone, especially those over age 55should have an electronic hearing test once

a year. Demonstrations of the latest devicesto improve clarity of speech will beprogrammed using a computer to yourparticular needs — on the spot — after thetests.

See (and HEAR) for yourself if newly-developed methods of correction will helpyou understand words better.

Tests will be performed at one of 20convenient Greater Twin Cities AvadaHearing Care locations.

Hearing Tests Set for Senior Citizens

www.avada.com Call 1-877-328-9161 ©2012 HHM, Inc. 304

Rediscovering our Catholic faithI hope readers of The Catholic Spirit have had the

opportunity to read my latest Pastoral Letter on theNew Evangelization, “I believed, therefore I spoke”(2 Corinthians 4:13), a letter that was published inthe Sept. 27 edition of this paper.

One of the main points I make in this text is thegratitude we should have for the forebearers in thislocal Church who made great sacrifices and boreheavy burdens in order to bring the message of theGospel to the native people of our area, as well as tothe immigrants who had come after them.

Figures such as Father Louis Hennepin, Father Lu-cien Galtier, Father Augustin Ravoux, the Sisters ofSt. Joseph and Bishop Joseph Cretin are all familiarto us as heroic pioneers who established the founda-tion for the local Church in which we live today. Weare in their debt and our gratitude should be gener-ously authentic.

Everyone’s responsibilityBut, at the same time, we have learned from the

Second Vatican Council that the duty to spread theGospel applies not only to priests and religious, butalso to every baptized member of the laity.

In fact, in many ways, lay people are better posi-tioned to carry out the task of evangelization in theworld than clergy — at home, at work, in the neigh-borhood, at recreation centers, and in the great mar-ketplace of ideas that is the modern world.

Those who have left the practice of the faith orthose who have never known it will be much moreinfluenced by the way in which they see other laymen and women live the faith or hear them speakof this marvelous gift that Christ has shared withthem than with the lives of priests and religious whoare often quite removed from their everyday experi-ence.

For this reason, we in this archdiocese have nowentered a new stage of the strategic plan for our

parishes and schools, a plan that we embarked uponfour years ago. This stage is truly crucial, and dependson the lay faithful embracing their baptismal call tobe evangelists in our world.

PLEASE TURN TO NEW ON PAGE 19

New initiativeaims for a moredynamic,engagedlocal Churchof faith, hopeand love

His Excellency, the Most ReverendJohn C. Nienstedt, has announced thefollowing appointments in the Archdio-cese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Effective November 5, 2012! Deacon Michael Wurdock, ap-

pointed ad nutum episcopi to exercisethe ministry of a permanent deacon atthe Church of Saint Albert and theChurch of Saint John the Baptist of Day-ton, Minnesota.

Effective November 7, 2012! Reverend Dominic Assim, granted

the faculties of the Archdiocese of SaintPaul and Minneapolis for the duration ofhis residence at the Church of Our Ladyof Grace in Edina, Minnesota.

Effective November 15, 2012! Deacon John Wallin, appointed ad

nutum episcopi to exercise the ministryof a permanent deacon at the Churchof Saint Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove,Minnesota.

Effective January 1, 2013! Reverend Paul LaFontaine, ap-

pointed priest representative to theComprehensive Assignment Board. Thisappointment is for a three-year term.

Departures! Reverend Wilfred Lowery, CSsR,

transferred from the Redemptorist Com-munity at the Church of Saint Alphonsusof Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, effectiveNovember 14, 2012.

! Reverend Daniel (Kenneth) Moore,SEMV, transferred from the Church ofSaint Francis de Sales of Saint Paul, Min-nesota, to the SEMV Community in Spain,effective November 26, 2012.

! Deacon Juan Duran Ulloa, recalledto his diocese of incardination, the Dio-cese of Brooklyn, effective November19, 2012. This ends his assignment as per-manent deacon at the Church of SaintJohn the Evangelist of Interlachen Park.

The following will also be taking effecton January 1, 2013.

! The canonical merger of the Churchof Saint Joseph of Hopkins and theChurch of Saint John the Evangelist ofInterlachen Park. The merged parish willhave the name ‘The Parish of SaintGabriel the Archangel of Hopkins, Min-nesota.’ although the parish churcheswill retain their original titles.

Three more parishesexceed Appeal goal

Three additionalparishes have nowexceeded their 2012Catholic ServicesAppeal goal, bringingthe total number ofparishes over goal to127.

The three new parishes are: ! St. Michael, Farmington! St. Peter, Forest Lake! St. Olaf, MinneapolisParishes that previously exceeded their

goal are: St. John the Baptist, ExcelsiorSt. Joseph, HopkinsSts. Peter & Paul, LorettoMost Holy Redeemer, Montgomery

PLEASE TURN TO PARISHES ON PAGE 23

The Academy of Holy Angels Congratulates

John Bierbaumon his retirement from his post as

Chief Financial Officer for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

We are grateful for his service to the Archdiocese as CFOand for the many years he has dedicated to Holy Angels

as a parent, Board of Trustees member, Board Chair, and active member of the community.

Best wishes!

OfficialArchbishop’s schedule

! Friday, Dec. 7: 11:30 a.m., St. Paul, RiverfrontCrowne Plaza Hotel: University of St. ThomasAlumni Association Christmas luncheon.

! Saturday, Dec. 8: 5 p.m., Savage, Church ofSt. John the Baptist: Sunday Liturgy.

! Sunday, Dec. 9: 11 a.m., Minneapolis, Churchof St. Thomas the Apostle: Sunday Liturgy.

8 p.m., St. Paul, University of St. Thomas: “Lectiodivina.”

! Monday, Dec. 10: 6 a.m., St. Paul, St. JohnVianney College Seminary: Holy Hour and HolyEucharist, followed by breakfast.

3:30 p.m., Washington, D.C., Catholic Universityof America: Board meeting.

! Tuesday, Dec. 11: 9 a.m., Washington, D.C.,Catholic University of America: Board meeting.

! Wednesday, Dec. 12: 11:35 a.m., St. Paul, TheSt. Paul Seminary: Holy Eucharist, followed bylunch with seminarians.

3:30 p.m. St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting withCatholic Community Foundation staff.

5:30 p.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence:Stewardship reception.

Please turn to ARCHBISHOP’S on page 19

“The worst of work nowadays is what happens topeople when they cease to work.”

G.K. Chesterton, Catholic theologian and apologist, debater, historian and author

LocalDECEMBER 6, 2012 News from around the archdiocese THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 3

The completed sentence must appear on the frontof an 8 1⁄2 by 11-inch poster. Artists may use anymedia to create a vivid, colorful and memorablepicture. Hint: Strong colors with lots of contrastreproduce better than soft pastels in the newspaper.

Entries will be judged on originality, artistic abilityand how well the artist interprets the theme. A first prizeof $50 will be awarded for one poster in eachcategory: grades three and under, grades four to six,grades seven to nine, and grades 10 through 12.

Winning entries will be published in The CatholicSpirit’s Christmas edition, Dec. 20.

Poster entries must be postmarked or dropped off byDec. 14. Entries must include the artist’s name, address,telephone number, grade and parish (include city). Mailto: The Catholic Spirit Christmas Contest, 244 DaytonAve., St. Paul, MN 55102.

Youth Christmas poster contest

Christmas essay contest open to all NEW THIS YEAR, Catholics of the archdiocese — adults included — may submit an essay (200 words or less) instead of a poster, answering the same question: “The ornament onmy family Christmas tree I like best is . . .”

There are no prizes for essays, but a selection of entries also willbe published in The Catholic Spirit’s Christmas edition, Dec. 20.

All essays must be postmarked or emailed by Dec. 14. Theymust include the writer’s name, address, telephone number,grade (for students) and parish (include city).

• Mail to: The Catholic Spirit Christmas Contest, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

• Or email to: [email protected]. Please write “Christmas Essay” in the subject line.

The Catholic Spirit invites young artists across the archdiocese to participate in its annual Christmas poster contest. To enter, complete and then illustrate this sentence:

“The ornament on my family Christmas tree I like best is . . .”

Retirement doesn’t mean religious stop workingBy Dianne TowalskiThe Catholic Spirit

On a recent morning, School Sister ofNotre Dame Jane Thibault sat at a smalldesk in a classroom at Hope Academy, acharter school on St. Paul’s East Side, play-ing word games with a second-grader andmaking him feel confident as he readaloud.

The “retired” sister can be found herefour days a week helping students ingrades one to four in a tutoring programrun by the School Sisters.

Retired sisters, brothers and religiousorder priests in this archdiocese andaround the country often are working asmuch as they ever did, but as volunteers.

“The word retirement really isn’t in ourvocabulary,” Sister Jane said.

The Retirement Fund for Religious col-lection was launched in 1988 by theCatholic bishops of the United States toaddress the significant lack of retirementfunding for Catholic sisters, brothers, andpriests in religious orders. Proceeds fromthe collection go to religious communitiesto help underwrite retirement and health-care expenses for their members.

Need for fundingThe crisis in retirement funding can be

attributed to three primary factors: insuf-ficient retirement savings, rising health-care costs, and declining income, ac -cord ing to the Office of Retirement Fundfor Religious of the Archdiocese of St. Pauland Minneapolis.

“For me, joining the community in the‘50s, we always worked in parishes andwere paid a small stipend. We always had

the younger generations coming up andit always leveled out,” Sister Jane said. “Formany years we didn’t even have Social Se-curity until we realized we had to jointhat. There’s a need, like with all the otherelderly people, for help with retirement.How do we cover everything?”

The 25th annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will betaken up Dec. 8 and 9 in this archdiocese.

Nearly 95 percent of donations directlysupport senior religious and their commu-nities.

“I don’t see a phase in my life when I’mnot committed to my call,” she said. “Ifeel called always to transform life aroundme, mainly through education.”

After joining the School Sisters in 1954,Sister Jane taught high school for morethan 30 years, most recently at Totino-

Grace High School in Fridley. After thatshe worked with mentally challengedyoung adults, helping them become inde-pendent. She also worked at the mother-house in Mankato before “retiring” aboutfive years ago.

Of the $27.4 million that was raised na-tionwide last year for the Retirement Fundfor Religious, the Archdiocese of St. Pauland Minneapolis gave more than$460,000. In 2012, the Benedictine Sistersand the Order of St. Clare in the archdio-cese received financial assistance from theappeal.

Religious who serve or have served inthe archdiocese but whose communitiesare based elsewhere may also benefit fromthe appeal. The many School Sisters ofNotre Dame that serve in the archdiocesebenefit, even though after a consolidationof provinces the order is now based in St.Louis, Mo. The order, which has 1,149members, received $676,523 last year, ac-cording to Sister Midge Breiter, coordina-tor of the Office of Retirement Fund forReligious of the archdiocese.

Despite the unparalleled generosity tothe collection, religious communities con-tinue to face significant challenges inmeeting the high costs of care. Last year’sdistributions amounted to approximately$907 per eligible religious. Yet the averageannual cost of care for a senior religiousstands at $37,200 per person, while skilledcare can exceed $56,000. In 2011 alone,the total cost of care for women and menreligious was over $1.1 billion.

For more information, go online to WWW.RETIREDRELIGIOUS.ORG.

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

School Sister of Notre Dame Jane Thibault helped second-grader Yeng Yang with readingat Hope Academy in St. Paul Nov. 27 as part of a tutoring program run by the SchoolSisters of Notre Dame.

4

Look forThe Catholic Spirit advertising insert from

Catholic Charitiesin all copies of this issue.

NOTICE

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012 LocalSt. Francis-St. James UnitedSchool to close atend of school yearThe Catholic Spirit

St. Francis-St. James United School inthe West Seventh neighborhood of St. Paulis closing at the end of the 2012-2013school year, school officials announcedNov. 30.

Although it was sad news for theschool’s 75 students and their families,principal Gail Rappé said she and her staffsaw it coming for a while. Enrollment hadbeen dropping steadily in recent years, shesaid.

The present financial crisis was precipi-tated by the recent loss of a major tenantin one of the parish buildings, but therealso were significant underlying sustain-ability issues.

A task force of parish and school leadersand other stakeholders was set up in thefall to discuss the future of the school. Itdetermined the school was not financiallysustainable and recommended closure.

“They have been financially fragile fora few years,” said Laurie Acker, director ofurban education in the archdiocesan Of-fice of Catholic Schools. “They looked atall the statistics and finances and realizedthat the school, with [75] kids and a lot ofthe families not being able to afford it,was just not financially viable.”

St. Francis-St. James has received finan-cial support to ensure its operations willcontinue through the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

Providing assistanceTwo parish schools merged in 1988 to

PLEASE TURN TO STUDENTS ON PAGE 22

Local Serra Club chapter celebrates 50 yearsBy Dianne TowalskiThe Catholic Spirit

The Serra Club of Midway St. Paulmarked its 50th anniversary Dec. 3 witha celebration at the Town and CountryClub in St. Paul.

The 60-member group, one of twolocal chapters of Serra International in St.Paul, received its charter from the USACouncil on Sept. 13, 1962.

The group’s mission is to foster and af-firm vocations to the priesthood andvowed religious life.

Club member Gary Davis, who alsoserves as the director of USA Region 8,which includes Minnesota, presented thechapter with a certificate commemorat-ing the anniversary during the celebra-tion.

Monthly gatherings The club has a monthly Mass followed

by a meeting at the Lexington restauranton Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Each meet-ing features a guest speaker.

“My wife Lolly and I love being in-volved with promoting and encouragingvocations, not only to the priesthood,but religious sisters and brothers as well,”said Norb Santoski, the club’s vice presi-dent for communications. “I’m mostproud of our organization’s involvementwith the two local seminaries,” he said.

Members support St. Paul Seminaryand St. John Vianney College Seminaryin a number of ways. They attend occa-sional Masses followed by social timewith seminarians, take seminarians outfor meals and host two steak fries eachyear, one in the fall for students at St.Paul Seminary and one in the spring fortransitional deacons. Members are alsowelcome to attend morning Masses at

both seminaries.College Connection for Catholics, a

program that aims to help young adultskeep their faith alive by connecting themto campus ministries when they go off tocollege, is a national initiative that localSerrans support.

“I so admire the generosity of all theSerrans in support of our local seminari-ans, priests and bishops,” wrote FatherMichael Becker, rector of St. John Vian-ney Seminary and the club’s chaplain, ina short history of the group published forthe celebration.

The anniversary celebration — at-

tended by Archbishop John Nienstedtand Bishop Lee Piché — included aChristmas carol sing-a-long, lunch and avocations talk by first-year seminarianMatthew Goldammer. About 135 peopleattended the celebration, including clubmembers, invited priests and religious,and guests.

“Our past chaplain, Father Bill Baer,entertained the crowd with many color-ful stories,” Santoski said.

Serra International is formally recog-nized by the Holy See as the global layapostolate for vocations in the CatholicChurch.

Photo by Richard Graner

Serra Club of Midway St. Paul president Jack Makowski, right, accepts a certificatecommemorating the club’s 50th anniversary from USA Region 8 director GaryDavis during a luncheon Dec. 3 at the Town and Country Club in St. Paul.

Local DECEMBER 6, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 5

Send your story — 300 words or less — to The Catholic Spirit:

! By email to: [email protected]. Write “Rediscover Faith Story” in the subject line; or

! By postal mail to: “Rediscover Faith Story,” c/o The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

If you know someone whose story will truly inspire, please encourage them to submit their story as well.

A selection of stories will be published in future issues of The Catholic Spirit and online at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM.

Please include your name, parish and a daytime telephone number at which you can be reached if we have questions.

How has Jesus given you “a reason for hope?”The Rediscover initiative — to be unveiled during the Advent season — invites fellow Catholics to rediscover a real and personal

relationship with Jesus and re-engage in the full life of the Church.

In light of this, The Catholic Spirit is inviting Catholics who have rediscovered the depth and beauty of our Catholic faith to sharetheir stories.

! Were you sleepwalking in your Catholic faith for a time? If so, what woke you up from your spiritual slumber to re-engage with it?Was there a trigger or perhaps a series of triggers over time? Was there a person who made a huge difference in your faith whochallenged or encouraged you? What continues to nourish the fire of faith in your heart?

! Are you a convert? Or were you away from the faith for a time? What happened that drew you to (or back to) Christ and hisChurch?

! What did it mean to you to come back into full life in the Church? How has it changed you or affected those around you?

Share your story about how yourediscovered

your Catholic faith

Initiative aims to help parishes ‘grow’ in mission, ministry effectivenessBy Joe TowalskiThe Catholic Spirit

Leaders from five parishes gathered Nov. 27 at St.Michael in Farmington for the first meeting of a newarchdiocesan-supported initiative designed to help themstrengthen parish life and operations through a six-month strategic pastoral planning process.

The initiative, called GROW, builds on the parish visi-tation process and flows from the archdiocese’s 2010strategic plan, which sets criteria for long-term parish vi-ability and calls for more efficient use of resources withinand among parishes and schools.

Participating parishes work in conjunction with theOffice of Parish Services, TeamWorks International andCatholic Finance Corporation to de-velop a three-year plan for sustain-ability and efficient resource man-agement.

“Very few parishes now are doingstrategic planning,” said MarkDittman, director of the Office ofParish Services. “The archdiocesewants to reinforce and support theviability of parishes, and the best wayto do that is to promote pastoralplanning.”

The goals for parishes participatingin GROW, he said, are that they will“grow in clarity of their strengths,that they will grow in intentionalityand focus, particularly around theirmission, and that their operatingchoices — pastoral and administra-tive — will be intentional and reflect their mission” aswell as best practices.

Examining the dataParishes meeting Nov. 27 were St. Michael in Farming-

ton, St. Joseph in Rosemount, St. Dominic in Northfield,St. John the Baptist in Jordan and Our Lady of Guadalupein St. Paul.

Participants — which included pastors, trustees, parishbusiness administrators and other parish and parishschool staff members — received a detailed GROW toolkitoutlining the process.

They also received and reviewed demographic infor-mation, including population, economic and sacramentaldata, from TeamWorks specific to their parish. And, theyreviewed financial data about their parishes collected byCatholic Finance Corporation.

Father Paul Jarvis, pastor of St. Joseph in Rosemount,said the data packaged and presented by the two organ-izations gave him insight into some of the pastoral needs

of his parish community.“St. Joseph’s resides in a community that has rapidly

changed from small town to a suburb with many youngfamilies,” he said. “We have sensed, and the GROW datavalidates, that our parishioners are more diverse thanever — in age, language, income and degrees of partici-pation in parish life.

“I also found it fascinating that, as a parish in thepath of huge suburban housing development, we cannottake for granted that the approximately 25 to 30 percentof the incoming Catholic families will automatically wor-ship at St. Joseph’s,” Father Jarvis added. “I found it in-teresting that because Catholic parishes rarely reach outto newcomers to a community, they are vulnerable to

other denominations’ outreach, andthat one-third of Catholic newcom-ers will end up in other denomina-tions’ congregations. This is soberingand an impetus to embrace the arch-diocese’s new evangelization effort.”

The GROW process will help theparish as it sets a course for the future,he said.

“We were just embarking on astrategic planning process under thesponsorship of our pastoral councilwhen GROW was announced,” Fa-ther Jarvis said. “The timing is perfectin terms of dovetailing our effortswith GROW, using the tools providedand jump starting our efforts.”

The five parishes who attended themeeting are members of the southern Region 2 vicariate— one of three regions in the archdiocese established bythe archdiocesan strategic plan.

Each region has a priest appointed by the archbishopwho serves as a vicar to assist him in the governance andadministration of the archdiocese. Parish visitations arepart of the vicars’ responsibilities. To participate inGROW, which is offered at no cost to parishes, parishesmust have had a parish visitation or have one scheduledin the near future.

What’s next?The meeting in Farmington was the first of three in

which the five parishes will participate. Before the nextmeeting in April, leadership from each parish will reviewthe demographic and financial data they received anddiscuss the results of parish surveys of pastoral needsthat will be conducted in each parish. At a full day meet-ing in July, each parish will develop a pastoral plan,action steps for the first year, and identify next steps forcommunicating and implementing the plan.

Another round of three GROW meetings begins inJanuary for parishes in the northwest (Region 3) vicariateand in April for the northeast (Region 1) vicariate.

Parishes that don’t participate in the initial round ofmeetings will have an opportunity to join the processwhen a new cycle of meetings begins, as space allows.

“As a trustee, I think this is a very good idea,” said JeriJolley of St. Michael in Farmington. “We’re all trying toget to the same place.”

“Maybe because we’re all thinking about this now, wecan help each other because we do have a connectionwith our neighbors,” she said, and “can help each otherlearn best practices — what works, what doesn’t work.”

Such sharing also is one of the goals of GROW — byplanning in a group, parishes in a region have the op-portunity to share insights with other parishes as theyplan. And, the archdiocese will be better equipped toidentify planning challenges and allocate resources tomeet the needs of parishes and schools.

As a result of the GROW planning process, the personin the pew “should see more and better informationabout the parish — about its ministries, about its opera-tions,” Dittman said. “Ideally, the person in the pew willbe exposed to more of the value of the parish. . . . Theywill see an increase in intentionality about a parish’s op-erations and ministry.”

“As a trustee, I think this is avery good idea.We’re all trying to get to thesame place.”

JERI JOLLEY

Trustee, St. Michael in Farmington

Ave Maria Academy PresentsAn Evening withCARDINAL BURKE

Tuesday, December 18th

Medina Golf & Country Club

6:30 pm

Tickets for Dinner & Program:

Individual: $75Premiere: $250

Please join Ave Maria Academy as we welcome Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura & past Archbishop of St. Louis, who will speak on:

“Virtue: How We Build a Better Future”All are welcome. Premiere ticket holders will have the opportunity to attend a private reception with the Cardinal.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Mary Hodgdon at 952-237-8423, or by email at

[email protected].

www.AveMariaAcademy.org

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012 Local6

www.saintpaulseminary.org

Contact [email protected] or call (651) 962-5050.

Classes begin Februa

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SOD057713

Local businessmanseeks preliminaryinjunction fromHHS mandateBy Susan KlemondFor The Catholic Spirit

Facing the prospect in January of eitherhaving to violate Church teaching or leavehis employees without health insurance,Twin Cities’ Catholic business owner Stu-

art Lind has filed a mo-tion in federal court forrelief from the Obama

administration’s contraception mandatewhile the lawsuit he and another localCatholic businessman filed last month op-posing the requirement is pending.

Lind is seeking a preliminary injunctionfrom the HHS mandate (called so becausethe Department of Health and HumanServices is enforcing it as part of the Af-fordable Care Act), which requires for-profit businesses to provide insurance cov-erage of contraceptives, sterilization andabortifacient drugs for their employees orface substantial fines. Next year, non-prof-its also will have to comply with the man-date.

In their lawsuit, Lind and co-plaintiffTom Janas claim that the mandate notonly is forcing them to violate their con-stitutional right to free exercise of religionbut also is creating a competitive disad-vantage if they don’t offer health insur-ance, according to attorney Erick Kaar-

PLEASE TURN TO BUSINESSMAN ON PAGE 7

Follow up

Catholic Spirit Christmas basketball tourney setBy Dave HrbacekThe Catholic Spirit

Once again, boys basketball fans willhave the chance to get their fill of hoopsright after they celebrate Christmas.

The Catholic Spirit Christmas Basket-ball Tournament begins Dec. 27 and runsfor three days, with the finals at 8:15 p.m.Dec. 29. As usual, there will be eightteams, with four games each day. Thetournament will take place at the Ander-son Athletic and Recreational Complexat the University of St. Thomas in St.Paul.

Last year’s winner returnsSix of last year’s teams are returning,

including the champion, Wayzata, andthe runnerup, Cretin-Derham Hall in St.Paul. Other returnees are Holy Angels inRichfield, St. Agnes in St. Paul, Hill-Mur-ray in Maplewood and Providence Acad-emy in Plymouth.

Wayzata has won the tournament twoyears in a row and Cretin-Derham Hallhas finished second both times.

“I think Cretin’s team is a lot youngerthis year than they have been,” said tour-nament organizer Bill McKee, whocoaches at Augsburg College in Min-neapolis. “But, they’ve got [sophomoreSam] Neumann who started last year asa freshman. He’s going to be a toughmatchup for anybody. He’s a nice player.”

Two teams are new this year — Rose-mount and Milwaukee Bay View. McKeesaid the Wisconsin school was lookingfor a holiday tournament and called him

when the coach found out there wereopenings for this year’s tournament. Mc-Kee said the school features one playerwho is a Division I recruit.

Rosemount, meanwhile, had an overallrecord of 11-16 last year.

The tournament schedule for Day 1 isas follows:

! Wayzata vs. Hill-Murray, 3 p.m.; ! Rosemount vs. Providence Academy,

4:45 p.m.; ! Cretin-Derham Hall vs. St. Agnes,

6:30 p.m.; ! Milwaukee Bay View vs. Holy Angels,

8:15 p.m.Game times for Days 2 and 3 are the

same, with losing teams playing eachother in the early games on Day 2, andwinning teams playing later.

Then, on Day 3, there will be gamesfor seventh place (3 p.m.), fifth place(4:45 p.m.), third place (6:30 p.m.) andfirst place (championship game, 8:15p.m.).

Looking backMcKee has coached two teams that

have played in the tournament, Cretin-Derham Hall and Blaine, and won cham-pionships with both teams.

Cretin-Derham Hall’s last champi-onship came in 2009, and the Raidershave won the tournament a total of sixtimes (more than any other team), andhave finished second six times.

In fact, they have failed to reach thechampionship game only three times.They played Rosemount twice last season,winning once and losing once.

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

In action from The Catholic Spirit Christ-mas Basketball Tournament last year,Sam Neumann of Cretin-Derham Hallguards Wayzata’s Drake Mjaanes duringthe championship game. Wayzata won,75-71, and took home the first-place tro-phy for the second straight year.

Local DECEMBER 6, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 7

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Businessman seeks relief from federal contraceptive mandate

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

dal of Minneapolis-based Mohrman & Kaardal, P.A., whotogether with ActRight Legal Foundation of Indiana, isrepresenting the two men in the case.

When the motion for an injunction is heard in U.S.district court on Jan. 4, it will be the first time a Minnesotajudge will interpret whether the mandate sufficiently ac-commodates religious objections, he said.

Decisions on similar cases around the country, includ-ing another injunction granted on appeal to a Missouricompany in late November, are strengthening the Min-nesota case, he said.

Because Lind, a parishioner at Holy Trinity-St. Augus-tine in South St. Paul, has fewer than 50 employees athis medical device company, Annex Medical, the gov-ernment doesn’t require the business to provide a healthplan as it began requiring larger companies to do lastsummer.

But he has been unable to find a plan that doesn’t re-quire the coverage because under the mandate, all healthplans must include it. He must either add the coverageor drop the health plan altogether when it comes up forrenewal on Jan. 31, Kaardal said.

“Mr. Lind is between a rock and a hard place and he’sconcerned that there will be a detrimental effect to hisbusiness because he can’t comply with the HHS mandateand his personal view, and continue in good standingwith the Church’s teaching,” he said.

Without health insurance, Lind may have trouble re-taining some of his 18 skilled employees who constructdevices used with endoscopes at the nearly 25-year-oldcompany.

“It’s going to make it hard not only to retain employeesbut to get new ones because basically out there the stan-dard for professionals is you provide benefits,” Kaardalsaid.

Getting attentionLocally, Lind and Janas’ case has attracted attention

from Minnesota businesses and others, Kaardal said. Nationally, in addition to the Missouri case, two other

injunctions against the mandate have been granted tofor-profit companies and more cases are pending. Okla-homa-based Hobby Lobby is seeking an injunction onappeal, while a hearing on another appeal brought bytwo religious colleges is scheduled for this month.

The merits of Lind and Janas’ case for the injunctionand lawsuit are pretty clear: the government’s failure toprovide religious accommodation, Kaardal said.

“There aren’t many disputed facts,” he said. “The HHSdoesn’t accommodate religious objections of our clients.”

MissionTree offers another way to giveWebsite offers donors opportunity to sponsor specific persons or projects and follow their progress online By Susan KlemondFor The Catholic Spirit

Three years ago, Brandon Zingsheim was moved bythe mission appeal that Zambian priest Father DennisPhiri made at his parish, St. John the Baptist in NewBrighton, and he wanted to know more about thepriest’s diocese and vocations work.

But then he wondered, “OK, I put my dollar in thecollection plate — now what? What happens? I neverhear back. He’s never going to come back to our parish.”

These questions led Zingsheim, a software engineer,to develop with the help of a team an interactive websitecalled MissionTree, which offers donors the opportunityto not only electronically sponsor specific persons orprojects in a mission diocese but also to learn about andfollow them through on-line biographical articles,blog updates and photos.

Since its official launchin June, the site, SUPPORTMISSIONS.ORG, has raisedmore than $15,000 for tu-ition and expenses of fiveseminarians from theChipata mission diocesein Zambia — the home ofFather Phiri, he said.

The website “createsthis sort of one-to-one re-lationship that wasn’t really possible before,” said Dea-con Mickey Friesen, director of the archdiocesan Centerfor Mission, which awarded Zingsheim a grant for theproject. “It’s a whole other way of thinking about howwe support mission vocations overseas.”

Great potentialInitially focused on African vocations, Zingsheim

hopes to add other types of mission projects to the Mis-sionTree site. It helps donors get more involved in mis-sion work, either individually or through their parishes,where MissionTree organizers seek to develop partner-ships, he said.

As evidence of the growing relationship between Mis-sionTree, St. John the Baptist and the Chipata mission,the diocese’s bishop, George Lungu, concelebrated andspoke at weekend masses at the parish in October.

With more than 1,150 young and developing diocesesin 120 countries, there is no shortage of possible proj-ects, Deacon Friesen said. “Potentially there are all thesemission dioceses. This is a perennial need to have theresources to train their future leaders.”

Zingsheim decided to take on the vocations projects

in part because he learned that many young men whowant to attend seminary in the Chipata mission don’thave the funds.

“A major focus for us will always be vocations becausewe believe that that is the seed for so much of what theChurch is capable of,” he said. “In some ways, it’s almostlike an eternal reward to fund someone becoming apriest or a sister.”

MissionTree also is interested in helping women reli-gious and with humanitarian projects such as buildingwells in other countries and regions. Zingsheim is con-sidering applications from Africa and Central America.

MissionTree donors can designate which project orperson they’d like to fund. They are able to see the per-centage of funds raised for each seminarian, along witha personal bio and blog, Zingsheim said. They are alsoable to pledge prayers for the young men.

The site makes it possible to donate almost in realtime, Deacon Friesen said. “It’s not like you’re becominga pen pal with a seminarian but you have the ability to

hear from them and to beable to support them andpray for them,” he said.“It puts a little more of aface on it this way thathas not been possible be-fore.”

It’s a tangible way toget involved, said Mis-sionTree board memberMike Brashier, who at-tends the Cathedral of St.Paul. “You almost fosterrelationships with the

people you’re giving to.”Seeking to complement existing mission relation-

ships, Zingsheim is working with the Center for Missionto introduce the site to parishes. “Depending on theneeds of the parish and depending on what the desiresare of social justice ministries, we’ll be inclined [to offer]brochures to suggest MissionTree as a partner for themto engage with,” he said.

Zingsheim added: “The whole objective of our min-istry is to make this information transparent for peopleand to do it consistently, regularly, with feedback andgiving people a real sense that there’s fruit coming fromtheir donation.”

Though donors don’t have to be Catholic, Mission-Tree enables them to answer the Catholic call to missionwork, which the mission churches themselves are an-swering, he said.

The site is a means to bring people to Christ — bothdonors and recipients, Brashier said. “We recognize theneed of this kind of avenue for outreach to be able toevangelize the world,” he said. “It will, I think, bring astreamlined way to do charitable giving and also justevangelize on other levels.”

“It’s a whole other way ofthinking about how wesupport mission vocationsoverseas.”

DEACON MICKEY FRIESEN

Archdiocesan Center for Mission


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The Council at 50The priest: Ever growing for his people

The following isone of a series of blogposts on the SecondVatican Council pub-

lished by the U.S. Con-ference of Catholic Bish-

ops. Vatican II, which drewtogether the world’s bishops,

opened 50 years ago in St. Peter’s Basilica, Oct. 11, 1962.

By Archbishop Robert Carlson

The qualities of today’s priest stood out in “Presbytero-rum Ordinis” (of the Order of Priests), the “Decree onthe Ministry and Life of Priests” promulgated Dec. 7,1965 by the Second Vatican Council.

The decree highlighted the call to preach the Gospelto all people as the “first task of priests.” The Council re-focused the Church on the centrality of the Word of Godand raised the Liturgy of the Word to greater prominencewithin the Mass. Since then, priests have worked to im-prove the quality of preaching to move the hearts ofboth priest and the faithful to conversion and a morededicated fidelity to Jesus Christ.

The “Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests” speaksof priests as the “indispensable helpers and advisers” ofthe bishops in the ministry of teaching, sanctifying andshepherding the People of God. Since this decree, theChurch has developed the presbyteral council, a groupof priests chosen by the bishop to advise him in diocesanmatters.

The most important development occurred with PopeJohn Paul II’s apostolic exhortation “I Will Give YouShepherds.” The pope wrote that within the Church, thepriest is a “man of communion.” This phrase capturesthe heart of priesthood: a man in communion with Godwho is called to become a mediator of this relationship,

bringing God to people and people to God. This happensin many ways, and especially at Mass.

As a man of communion, the priest also is called tobecome “a man of mission and dialogue.” Priesthood isnever simply about the priest. It is about mission — car-rying the message of Jesus Christ into a world hungryfor meaning and purpose. It is about dialogue — bringingpeople within the Church and outside of it into commu-nity. The priest is to be a man of witness and a man ofpeace.

Focus on formationThe “Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests” called

for the Church to engage in the “progressive formation”of priests. Since then, a great deal of vision and effort hasgone into the formation of priests after their ordination.

Blessed John Paul spoke with eloquence on this needfor the ongoing formation of priests quoting St. Paul inhis Second Letter to Timothy: “I remind you to rekindlethe gift of God that is within you.” The U.S. bishopspromulgated the “Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formationof Priests” in June 2000 to implement the pope’s visionfor the renewal of priests here in the United States.

This “rekindling” must happen in several areas. Thepriest is called to grow in human formation, the decree

said, “to develop and sharpen his human sensitivity” tounderstand the needs and unvoiced questions of his peo-ple. He needs spiritual formation, to deepen his relation-ship to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.He needs intellectual formation to be an ongoing studentof Scripture, theology and the culture in which he lives.

And, he needs ongoing pastoral formation to help himgrow in his pastoral charity, exercising a shepherd’s carefor his people. In other words, he is to grow in the virtueof love.

Each priest is called to engage in this formation as ayoung, middle-aged or older priest.

Finally, “The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests”calls priests once again to imitate Jesus the Master: Theyare to serve and not be served. They are called to improvetheir ability to listen before they speak. This humility iscentral to the spirituality of the priesthood and is anever-present challenge to any attitudes of superiority orpride. Clericalism has no place in a Church that seeks toevangelize — to bring Christ and his love to the world.

Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis chairs the U.S.bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life andVocations.

“The pope wrote that within the Church, the priest is a ‘man ofcommunion.’ This phrase captures the heart of priesthood: a manin communion with God who is called to become a mediator ofthis relationship, bringing God to people and people to God.”

ARCHBISHOP ROBERT CARLSON

“Assistance to Palestinians, already heavily conditioned, is essential for humanitarian purposes andfor building capacity for a future Palestinian state. Cutting aid will only harm the peace process.”

Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace,in a Dec. 3 letter to Congress in the wake of reports it may consider legislation seeking to “punish” Palestinians for

achieving higher U.N. status

Nation/WorldDECEMBER 6, 2012 News from around the U.S. and the globe THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 9

Pope makes newrules to strengthenCatholic identity of charitiesBy Francis X. RoccaCatholic News Service

Warning that Catholic charitable activ-ity must not become “just another formof organized social assistance,” Pope Bene-dict XVI issued new rules to strengthenthe religious identity of Catholic charitiesand ensure that their activities conformto church teaching.

The pope’s apostolic letter on the “ser-vice of charity,” issued “motu proprio”(on his own initiative), directs bishops inoverseeing charitable works in their dio-ceses. The document, dated Nov. 11, wasreleased by the Vatican Dec. 1.

Charities approved by the church orsupported by church funds “are requiredto follow Catholic principles in their ac-tivity and they may not accept commit-ments which could in any way affect theobservance of those principles,” the popewrote.

The staff members of such charitiesmust therefore “share, or at least respect,the Catholic identity” of their agencies,and exemplify “Christian life” and faith.Bishops are to provide these employeeswith “theological and pastoral formation”through special courses and “suitable aidsto the spiritual life.”

Catholic charities are forbidden to “re-ceive financial support from groups or in-stitutions that pursue ends contrary to thechurch’s teaching,” or to “accept contri-butions for initiatives whose ends, or themeans used to pursue them, are not inconformity with the church’s teaching.”

When “the activity of a particular char-itable agency is no longer being carriedout in conformity with the church’s teach-ing,” Pope Benedict wrote, the responsiblebishop must inform his flock and “pro-hibit that agency from using the name‘Catholic.’”

Latest effortThe document is the Vatican’s latest

measure aimed at reinforcing the religiousidentity of Catholic institutions. In May2012, the Vatican issued rules strengthen-ing its control over Caritas Internationalis,a confederation of 164 Catholic relief, de-velopment and social service agenciesaround the world, including Catholic Re-lief Services in the United States.

In the apostolic letter, the pope praisedCaritas for its “generous and consistentwitness of faith and its concrete ability torespond to the needs of the poor.”

Pope Benedict specified that the Pontif-ical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican officein charge of coordinating and promotingcharitable giving, would be primarily re-sponsible for “promoting the applicationof this legislation and ensuring that it isapplied at all levels.”

U.S. gets a new cardinal

Vatican praises new U.N. status for Palestine

The Vatican praised a United Nationsvote making Palestine a non-member ob-server state but called for full recognitionof Palestinian sovereignty as necessaryfor peace in the region.

One hundred thirty-eight memberstates voted Nov. 29 to boost Palestine’sstatus from “entity” to “non-memberstate” — the same status held by the HolySee — in an implicit recognition of Pales-tinian sovereignty. Israel, the UnitedStates and Canada were among the ninestates that voted against the motion.Forty-one countries abstained.

But Palestine’s enhanced status at theU.N. “does not constitute, per se, a suffi-cient solution to the existing problemsin the region,” the Vatican said. Such asolution would require “effective com-mitment to building peace and stability,in justice and in the respect for legitimateaspirations, both of the Israelis and ofthe Palestinians,” it said.

Pope says poverty aproblem in fighting HIV

In a special appeal against HIV andAIDS, Pope Benedict XVI called for special

attention to those unable to afford life-saving drugs, especially pregnant andnursing women affected by the disease.

The pope, speaking before World AIDSDay Dec. 1, said AIDS has caused “mil-lions of deaths and tragic human suffer-ing, most markedly in poorer regions ofthe world, which have great difficulty ingetting access to effective drugs,” he saidNov. 28.

The Vatican has estimated Catholicagencies provide about 25 percent of allHIV treatment and care throughout theworld. The World Health Organizationhas estimated that perhaps as much as70 percent of all health care in Africa isprovided by faith-based organizations.

Late cardinal honoredfor rescuing Jews

The late archbishop of Florence, ItalianCardinal Elia Dalla Costa, has been rec-ognized as Righteous Among the Nationsby the Yad Vashem Holocaust memor-ial in Jerusalem for the role he played ina widespread network set up to rescueJews following the Nazi occupation ofItaly.

During World War II, Florence was thescene of a major rescue mission in a jointeffort by Jewish leaders and members of

the Catholic Church. Described in testi-mony of one of the Catholic rescuers as“the soul of this ‘activity of love,’” Car-dinal Dalla Costa guided, initiated andencouraged Catholic clergy to participatein the network.

26 schools ‘at risk ofclosure’ in New York

The New York Archdiocese has an-nounced that 26 of the 159 regional,parish and archdiocesan elementaryschools are at risk of closing next June.In addition, St. Agnes Boys High Schoolin Manhattan also is at risk of closing atthe end of the current school year.

The Nov. 26 announcement of “at risk”schools comes two years after the arch-diocese closed 20 schools as part of a re-configuration plan.

A decision about the future of Catholicschools on New York’s Staten Island hasbeen postponed until January while theregion continues to struggle with the ef-fects of Hurricane Sandy.

Archdiocesan officials are meeting withlocal pastors, principals, administratorsand elected officials for in-depth discus-sions on how to best serve the needs ofschool families.

— Catholic News Service

CNS photo / Paul Haring

New U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey lets John Stollenwerk, 8, of Mequon, Wis., try on his red zuchetto Nov. 24 following a con-sistory at the Vatican. Cardinal Harvey, a native of Milwaukee who has spent the last 30 years at the Vatican, was among sixnew cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI.

Briefly

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012 Nation/World10

CNS photo / Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters

Syrian children are seen at the Turkish border fence as gunfire is exchanged betweenmembers of the Free Syrian Army and armed Kurds of the Kurdish Democratic UnionParty in northern Syria Nov. 25.

Amid chaos of Syrian war, refugees worry about impact on their childrenCatholic Relief Services is working to establish desperately needed, child-friendly social outletsBy James MartoneCatholic News Service

Many Syrian families fleeing war intheir homeland and stranded in Turkeyare desperate to provide a sense of nor-malcy for their children despite the chaosand upheaval of war, said the head of anemergency mission of the U.S. bishops’Catholic Relief Services.

“Both fathers and mothers’ biggest con-cern [is] that their children are scared andhave seen terrible things . . . and needsomething to do,” Jennifer Poidatz, headof the agency’s Syria emergency responseteam, told Catholic News Service. Poidatzwas in Turkey to launch a million-dollarproject focused in part on providing hun-dreds of Syrian refugee children with ur-gently needed social outlets.

Poidatz said assessments carried out inNovember showed that a primary con-cern of refugee parents on the border wasthat their uprooted and troubled childrenwere spending long hours in crampedand crowded temporary homes withnothing to do.

“Kids are withdrawn and not sleeping.This is what parents are concernedabout,” said Poidatz. She said that, in re-sponse, CRS was working to establishchild-friendly spaces where the childrencan spend time with each other underthe guidance of trained staff and volun-teers at facilities providing social activi-ties, including art, theater, dance, sports,reading and games.

“Parents want the best for their kids.Despite having to leave their country,they want normalcy and safety” for chil-dren “who need a safe place to go,” Poi-datz told CNS Nov. 24 from Turkey’sHatay province, which borders Syria.

Threatening kids’ futureCRS’s announcement of the child-

friendly spaces coincided with the publi-cation in a newspaper of the results of a

Turkish university psychological surveyshowing that thousands of Syrian refugeechildren in the country were facing “se-vere psychological problems.”

“This is threaten-ing for the chil-dren’s future,”Bahcesehir Univer-sity’s Serap Ozer —who was involvedin the survey’s field-work — told Hur-riyet Daily News.The English-lan-guage paper put theoverall number ofSyrian refugee chil-dren now in Turkeyat 60,000.

Poidatz describedthe child-friendlyspaces as “a startingpoint” toward ad-dressing the survey’s findings.

“They are based on the expressed desireof parents and will provide a safe, socialenvironment, with recreational and edu-cation activities for children that will helpthem to adapt to their new environment.There will be basic activities to addressfear, anger, etc. . . . We are also workingon linkages for professional care throughreferral,” Poidatz said.

War between government loyalists andrebels in Syria has sent an estimated430,000 refugees to bordering countries,according to the U.N. High Commis-sioner for Refugees, which estimates thatabout 200,000 are in Turkey, mostly alongthe 560-mile Turkish-Syrian frontier.

Turkey’s government has set up reliefcamps with shelter, food, health and lim-ited education services for about 120,000of these refugees, but UNHCR reports thatas many as 80,000 more refugees live inurban areas around the camps or withrelatives nearby and are not receiving thisgovernment aid.

In wake of Hurricane Sandy, Catholic relief efforts stretchfrom New York to CubaCatholic News Service

As victims continue to recover fromHurricane Sandy, several dioceses andCatholic charitable agencies are still ask-ing for support for the affected areas.

Catholic Charities USA and CatholicRelief Services are the two main charitiesdioceses were using to distribute thesedonations. Catholic Charities is workingmainly in New York and New Jersey,while CRS is mostly in the Caribbean.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul,which has branches throughout thecountry, also has been asking for contin-ued support for hurricane victims.

With the memory of Hurricane Ritathat hit the region hard in 2005, the Dio-cese of Lake Charles, La., was among thedioceses that took a second collection atMasses.

“All of us here can relate to those whoare recovering from the devastation ofHurricane Sandy with its torrential rainsand winds,” said a statement from FatherWayne LeBleu, secretary for the diocese’sMinistry of Pastoral Services. “We also re-member the benefits of those who as-sisted us in our time of need and wewould like to offer our prayerful supportand gifts to assist those in need at thistime.”

Aid for CaribbeanA planeload of nonperishable food

items — about 8,500 pounds — left Mi-ami Nov. 19 for thehard-hit Archdio-cese of Santiago deCuba to help theCatholic Churchthere feed people af-fected by the rav-ages of Sandy.

The food — cansof tuna, Viennasausages, Parmalatmilk, rice, beansand other nonper-ishable staples —was collected byvarious groups insouth Florida, in-cluding the Friends

of Caritas Cuba; the LaSallistas, alumni

of schools run by the De LaSalle Brothersin Cuba; the Municipios de Santiago enel Exilio, an exile group of former resi-dents of the various towns in theprovince of Santiago de Cuba; and theDaughters of Charity of St. Vincent dePaul, who have convents throughout theisland.

The Miami archdiocese also took up acollection over two weekends in Novem-ber at all of its parishes to raise funds toaid those hit by Sandy in Cuba, Haiti andup the East Coast.

Within the Archdiocese of Santiago,100,000 dwellings were destroyed, alongwith 13 church buildings.

East Coast reliefThe Knights of Columbus tallied more

than $500,000 in donations for Sandy’svictims.

The amount was announced Nov. 15by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson in Dal-las at an annual meeting of Texas stateleaders.

In addition to more than $450,000 be-ing distributed by the Knights of Colum-bus Supreme Council in New York, NewJersey and Connecticut with the help oflocal Knights in the affected area, the or-ganization also sent two truckloads ofsupplies, one to New York and one toNew Jersey.

The Archdiocese of New York is distrib-uting nearly $1 million raised throughparish collections to those in the arch-diocese hardest hit by Sandy.

Catholic Charities’ Sandy Relief Fundwill forward the money to pastors inhard-hit communities so that they canprovide immediate help to about 1,000families and individuals in need.

Catholic Charities in the Diocese ofCamden, N.J., shut down its disaster reliefoperations and has switched to disasterrecovery mode.

According to an announcement on thediocesan website, it “will soon be coordi-nating clean-up crews to assist those in-side and outside of our diocese. We willalso continue to make special deliveriesof relief supplies to parishes and commu-nities.”

CNS photo / Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

Ted and Arlene Capeci, residents of New York’s Breezy Point neighborhood for 42years, eat a donated Thanksgiving meal atop cardboard boxes Nov. 21. Charitiesand government agencies continue to assist the battered neighborhood in the af-termath of Hurricane Sandy.

How to help! Catholic Charities USA is

accepting cash donations to aidvictims of Hurricane Sandy. Donationscan be made online at WWW.CATHOLICCHARITIESUSA.ORG, by calling toll-free (800)919-9338 or by mail to P.O. Box 17066,Baltimore, MD 21297-1066.

! Catholic Relief Services is helpingSyrian refugees as well as HurricaneSandy victims in the Caribbean.Donate online at WWW.CATHOLICRELIEF.ORG,by calling toll-free (877) 435-7277 or bymail to Catholic Relief Services, P.O.Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090.

Taking a closer look at the real St. NicholasThe following is an edited version of a

Nov. 28 interview with Adam English,author of the new book, “The Saint WhoWould Be Santa Claus: The True Life andTrials of Nicholas of Myra.” It wasconducted by Joe Towalski, editor of TheCatholic Spirit.

Q: I assume that, growing up, yourideas about St. Nicholas were like a lotof other kids’ ideas about St. Nicholas,that he was Santa Claus?

I grew up in a Christian home and myparents had some misgivings, as manyChristian parents do, about Santa Claus.They wanted to reinforce that Jesus is

the reason for theseason. But, at thesame time, they alsowanted us toexperience the joysof Christmasmorning, discoveringpresents under thetree. On ChristmasEve, we would read“The Night BeforeChristmas” and the

biblical story from Luke.That’s another reason I became

interested in St. Nicholas, because I reallysee that the historical person of St.Nicholas gives us a way, as Christians, toreconcile these two seeminglyincompatible things — Santa Claus andthe birth of our Savior. Here you have St.Nicholas, a Christian pastor, a bishop [ofMyra], who models for us Christiancharity and Christian virtue. So you havethis connection. As Christians, I don’tthink we have to simply say no to SantaClaus; we can say yes to St. Nicholas.

Q: If we thought of Santa Claus morein light of St. Nicholas, and if he weremodeled a little more after the real St.Nicholas, how might that change ourapproach to the Christmas season?

I think it would broaden it in so manyways because part of what St. Nicholaschallenges us to do is expand our scopefor Christmas. If all you do is SantaClaus, it’s a purely domestic sort ofcelebration centered on the hearth andhome and warm family memories. Butto bring St. Nicholas into the tradition,he’s going to challenge you to moveoutside of your own home, to involveyour community, to give beyond yourown immediate family. His example ischarity, not presents for his own family,but for those he didn’t even know.

I think it can challenge us to do evensomething simple — like bake a batch ofcookies with your kids and leave cookiesfor your neighbors, or bag up groceriesand leave them anonymously on thedoorstep of someone who needs them,or go to [a store] and pay off someone’slayaway bill, as we hear of people doing

from time to time. That’s really thechallenge that Nicholas gives us: to sayyour giving has to be more than to thepeople you love, it has to be those onthe outside.

Q: Do you have a favorite story thatyou really appreciate about St.Nicholas?

One of the earliest stories thatcirculated about Nicholas is the story inwhich he saves three innocent men frombeheading. What I love about that storyis that it makes us appreciate thatNicholas was not only interested incharity. We associate him with gift-giving and that’s right and true, but thenhe was also associated with justice —defending the innocent and demandingthat justice be served and that people betreated fairly.

There’s a side of him that was verymuch the lawyer, the social activist, theperson that was not afraid to get hishands dirty and get in the mix of thingsand defend those who neededdefending. We still have some residue ofthat when you think about Santa Clauswith his list of naughty and nice, kind ofweighing out deeds, maybe that’s theAmerican residue of this virtue, of thistrait. It was very much in Nicholas, thisvery deep concern for justice.

Q: Did St. Nicholas play a significantrole in early Christian history? Is hemore than just the gift-giver we hearstories about?

He lived at a very transitional momentin church history. When he was born[sometime after A.D. 260], Christianitywas an illegal minority religion. Whenhe died [in 343], Christianity was alegalized and a highly favored religionon the ascendancy. He attended one themost famous, most important councilsin church history, the council of Nicea in

the year 325. This is where things get difficult as a

historian because Nicholas, although helived through all these things, he did notseem to necessarily contribute anythingof enormous historical importance at thetime. It really is after his death thatpeople begin to notice him for the smallthings.

There’s a story I spend a good bit oftime recounting in the book about howhe gives dowry money. There are threeyoung girls who were on the verge ofdestitution, one foot in the poorhouse,and he anonymously in the middle ofthe night goes by their windows andtosses in a bag of gold three separatetimes so that each of them can use it as adowry to marry.That act, althoughreally of nohistoricalimportance — it’snot an empire-shaping kind ofevent — reallygrabs theimagination of thepeople at the time,as it does even forus today. It reallydemonstrates:What is Christianvirtue? What doesChristian charitylook like?

He doesn’t leave us sermons ortheological tracks or legislation. Heleaves us a witness, a model. And, really,I think that’s what people need. Manypeople are not going to take time to reada lengthy expositional sermon, but ifyou can capture, in just a picture: Here’swhat Jesus would do, here’s whatChristian charity demands — that’s whatcaptures people’s hearts andimagination. That you find somebody

who is on that brink of hopelessness andyou help them out in the name of Jesus,not because they deserve it, not becausethey’re high and important, but becauseit’s the right thing to do. He gives, forthe ordinary Christian, this amazingexample of Christian charity andChristian justice.

Q: Is there a meaningful way forChristians to incorporate St. Nicholasinto their spiritual lives during thisAdvent season?

I would really love to see families morefully celebrating St. Nicholas Day andusing St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, to reachout into the community as a family or asa church to make that a day of givingand a day of service, to do something foryour neighbor.

You have a 10-year-old daughter.When you talk to her about St.Nicholas, having done all this researchand writing the book, is it a little bitdifferent than it might have beenbefore you did the research?

I could bore her to death with detailsnow that I couldn’t do before [helaughs]. We have always tried to tell herthe truth; I guess that’s been our policy.Which is to say we’ve always told herthat Nicholas was a good, lovingChristian pastor from very old timeswho is now dead, and that parents reliveSt. Nicholas and relive some of thewonderful things he did by playing therole of Santa Claus for their children andgiving gifts in the same way that St.Nicholas gave gifts during the middle of

the night. I guess [this

approach] doeslose some of thechildish mystery ofChristmas eve, butwe just really feltthat we didn’twant to be tellingher that SantaClaus was real andat the same timesaying also, by theway, Jesus is realand we’recelebrating hisbirth on this day.

And then at some point saying, ‘Oh, andby the way, Santa Claus is not real, buteverything we told you about Jesus isreal. I guess we just felt that if she can’ttrust us on the one, how’s she going totrust us on the other?

So she still is happy to get thepresents, even though she knows they’refrom us, and not from the North Pole.That’s the way we’ve handled it, but Idefinitely feel that each parent needs todo what he or she feels is right.

ENGLISH

11THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012

“He gives, for theordinary Christian,this amazingexample of Christiancharity and Christianjustice.”

ADAM ENGLISHSpeaking about St. Nicholas of Myra

The book“The Saint Who Would be SantaClaus: The True Life and Trials ofNicholas of Myra” by Adam C.English. Baylor University Press(Waco, Texas, 2012). 246 pp.$24.95. For more information, visitHTTP://SAINTWHOWOULDBESANTA.COM.

New books offer wealth of options forspiritual readingduring Advent

! “Exploring Advent With Luke: FourQuestions for Spiritual Growth” by TimothyClayton. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame,Ind., 2012). 149 pp., $13.95.

! “A Catholic Family Advent: Prayersand Activities” by Susan Hines-Brigger.Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 50pp., $7.99.

! “Advent and Christmas Wisdom fromSt. Vincent de Paul” by John E. Rybolt, CM.Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo., 2012). 128

pp., $10.99.! “Italian Christmas Eve: The Feast of

Seven Fishes: A Reminiscence withRecipes” by Linda and Rocco Maniscalco.StataBuon.com (2010). 77 pp., $12.95.

! “Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts,Fasts and Other Solemnities of the Church”by Pope Benedict XVI. Wm. B. Eerdmans(Grand Rapids, Mich., 2012). 94 pp., $12.

! “A Mary Christmas” by Kathleen M.Carroll. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati,

2012). 94 pp., $12.99.

! “Holy Family Prayer Book: Prayers forEvery Family” by Missionaries of the HolyFamily. Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo.,2012). 111 pp., $8.99.

! “O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute PrayersAround the Advent Wreath” by Lisa M.Hendey. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame,Ind., 2012). 32 pp., $1.25.

— Catholic News Service

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012 12

Advent saints are role models for entering more deeply into seasonBy Father Michael Van SlounFor The Catholic Spirit

Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus,” meaning coming,and the primary focus of the season is the comings of Jesus, past,present and future — at the first Christmas, during this holy seasonand at the end of our lives or at the Second Coming.

Because of this strong emphasis, the sanctoral cycle, or thememorial of the saints celebrated during Advent, sometimes remainsin the background, but it deserves our attention and can be helpfulin our preparation for the coming of the Lord.

! Dec. 6: St. Nicholas St. Nicholas (280-345) is one of the most popular saints of Advent

and Christmas. His parents were wealthy, died from the plague whenhe was young, and left him a considerable inheritance. At the time ofhis ordination, he distributed his money to the poor and thus beganthe tradition of St. Nick giving gifts (to learn more about the life ofSt. Nicholas, see page 1). As we shop for Christmas gifts, in addition

to gifts for family and friends, it is also good toshare with the needy. Nicholas went to churchearly every morning to pray, an importantfactor in his selection as bishop. Daily prayer isindispensable in the rush to Christmas. Finally,we should reclaim the spiritual meaning ofSanta Claus. In German the word for Nicholas is “Nicklaus” or“Klaus” for short, while Santa means holy or saint; Santa Claus,“Saint Nicholas” or “Holy Nicholas.”

! Dec. 7: St. Ambrose St. Ambrose (340-397) was the bishop of Milan, Italy. He was

renowned as an eloquent preacher, and his words, sweet as honey,were firmly grounded on his study and reflection on Sacred Scripture.Two excellent ways to prepare for Christmas are daily Bible readingand meditation, as well as regular Mass attendance and carefulattention to the homily. St. Ambrose played a key role in theconversion of St. Augustine by teaching him the fundamentals of theChristian faith. There are many parties and family gatherings aroundChristmas time and in our socializing there may be opportunities toshare our faith or explain the spiritual meaning of Christmas.

! Dec. 8: The Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the patronal feast of the United

States and a holy day of obligation, so we attend Mass on this day.Mary was conceived without sin, a reminder that we should do our

best to steer clear of sin, particChristmas. It also is an opportthat through the intercession nation might remain true to ireligious liberties will be respebe able to practice their faith

! Dec. 12: Our Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe celebrates t

Mother Mary to St. Juan Diego in 153time of terrible racial strife between SpAztecs. Over the ensuing years, these unified by their common devotion toworship at the new cathedral. Our Ladsaint of the Americas, especially for rafeast is a reminder that all racial and ewelcome and a home in our parishes,Christmas, but throughout the entire

! Dec. 13: St. LucySt. Lucy (d. 304) was a virgin and m

the Latin word “lux” which means “liand filled with the light of faith, she dGod and refused marriage. When she give in, and when tortured, she faced courage and gave awesome witness to

ADVENT

“The surest way for me to tapinto the spirit of Advent is to givean anonymous gift to a neighborin need. My mom began this tra-dition when I was young. She letme choose a classmate whosefamily was struggling to makeends meet and then one evening,after dark, we’d drive over, turn

off the headlights and dash up to the front door to leave agift. We gave a cute wooden Christmas tree one December,having heard they couldn’t afford a tree.

Last Advent I dropped off a gift basket for a nearby family with a handicapped son. I’ve never met them buthaving driven by many times, I’ve come to admire them:assisting their boy in and out of vehicles, displaying across on their front door. Praying for them as I arrangedthe basket and tied a bow made it more meaningful.

Advent is a time for delighting in mystery, for makingour way in the dark and for lighter footsteps. This simpleritual helps me do that.”

— Christina CapecchiAuthor of “Twentysomething” column

“Each night of Advent, my fam-ily gathers together before bedtimeand lights the candles of our Ad-vent wreath and turns off all otherlights. We sit in quiet for severalminutes as we listen to an Adventsong called “Night of Silence.” Atthe end of the song we place a newfigure on our Advent Calendar.

Sometimes we offer prayers or blessings at the end of thesong. Having a time of quiet together each night has helpedus to create a little space of peace that Advent offers in waitingfor Christ to come.”

— Deacon Mickey FriesenDirector of the Center for Misson of the

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

“Re-read the Infancy Narrativesas they are presented in theGospels of Matthew and Luke.The Infancy Narratives of Mat -thew and Luke do more than justprovide biographical details con-cerning the Christ child’s birth —they encapsulate his unique iden-tity and mission and foreshadow

how the world will be forever changed by the action of the

one, true God, who in Jesus Christ, accepts a real humannature, with all its implications, permits himself to be borninto this world and lives real, human life. This gloriousimpossibility that God makes possible called the Incarnationis present in the life of the Church in myriad ways andthrough a careful consideration of Christ’s birth we canbetter appreciate and prepare ourselves for Christ as hemakes himself known in his Church.”

— Father Robert BarronFounder of global ministry Word on Fire

“God chose to come into theworld as an innocent, helpless,thoroughly dependent child. Inthat act, God surrendered to theultimate collaboration with hu-manity. As we approach Advent,the theme of my prayer and re-flection has been this question:When was the last time you reallyplaced your trust in God? It would seem to me that all of ushave at least one situation in our lives at the moment thatneeds to be surrendered to God, one situation where weare being invited to place our trust in God.”

— Matthew KellyFounder the Dynamic Catholic Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio

“As Catholics, we recognize theneed for spiritual preparation dur-ing this season of Advent as weanticipate the joy of celebratingChrist’s coming at Christmas, andyet this is often the busiest timeof the year for families. To ‘re-claim’ Advent in your home, sim-ply aim to spend a few quiet mo-ments in prayer each day around your Advent wreath,enjoying the day’s Scriptures, praying a decade of the rosaryor the St. Andrew Novena together, or remembering theintentions of your loved ones. Also, remember that the‘right time’ for prayer may vary with your family’s uniquerhythm -- consider morning prayer, or even ‘carpool prayer’on the way to school or work if traditional evening prayerdoesn’t work in your home. Finally, look for opportunitiesto support those in need this Christmas through your ownparish or great organizations like Catholic Relief Services.When we share our blessings with those in need, we blessour own families as well.”

— Lisa HendeyAuthor, blogger and founder of CatholicMom.com

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Tips for celebrating Advent

Read about Advent’s ‘O Antiphons’ at

TheCatholicSpirit.com

13

cularly in the days beforetunity to pray for our country,of the Blessed Virgin Mary our

its spiritual foundation, thatected, and that Americans willfreely.

ehe appearance of the Blessed

31 near Mexico City. It was apaniards and Native Americanrival Mexican groups were

o Mary and their desire tody of Guadalupe is the patronacial and ethnic harmony. Thisethnic groups must find not only during Advent andyear.

martyr. Her name is derived fromight.” She was born in Sicily,dedicated herself exclusively towas assaulted, she refused toher hardships with immense

o her faith. The holidays are a

time of great temptation, particularly overindulgence in food, drinkand other pleasures. St. Lucy is an inspiration for us to live honor -ably, as in daylight (see Romans 13:12-14), without yielding to sin.! Dec. 14: St. John of the CrossSt. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a Carmelite priest from Spain

who is best known for his long poem, “The Dark Night of the Soul,”a reflection on loneliness and suffering. He did his best to reform theCarmelites but was harshly criticized for his efforts. John believedthat his sufferings were his participation in the Cross, and that theCross is the route to union with God. For some, December is aparticularly dark time, and the best way through the low spots is tostay firmly united to Jesus, the light who conquers the darkness (seeJohn 1:5).

! Dec. 21: St. Peter CanisiusSt. Peter Canisius (1521-1597) was born in Nijmegen, Holland,

educated at the universities of Louvain and Cologne, became a Jesuitpriest, and was one of the leading theologians of the Catholic counter-reformation. He was a consultant at the Council of Trent, and thenspent the next 30 years as the “second apostle of Germany,” teachingand strengthening the Catholic faith with his new catechismpublished in 1555. Peter remained true to the Church and its doctrineat a time when many had grown lax or left for other denominations.His memorial is timely in our increasingly secular and pluralisticculture. The Church is our home, and Jesus is the path to eternal life.

Father Michael Van Sloun is pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka.

T • 2012

Advent 101The liturgical season of Advent always begins on the nearest Sunday

to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (Nov. 30) and includes fourSundays. It is based on the Latin for “to come to.” Many churches willdecorate during this time with purple, the liturgical color of repentancethis season shares with Lent.

Advent’s Scripture readings compel Catholics to “ready the way ofthe Lord,” combining Old and New Testament stories prefiguringChrist’s birth and second coming.

Advent is a time for Catholics to prepare to:

! Celebrate the Incarnation at Christmas.

! Receive the Eucharist.

! Accept the Final Judgment at death and at the end of the world.

The Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday.“Gaudete” means “rejoice” in Latin and is taken for the first word inthat Sunday’s Mass’ introit, or opening psalm. This Sunday reminds thefaithful that joy should always be in a Christian’s heart.

Advent originated as 40-day fast before Christmas as early as thefifth century, beginning around the Nov. 11 feast of St. Martin of Tours.Over the years, Advent was shortened to its present duration and thefast replaced by simple abstinence, meaning the church asks thefaithful to make small sacrifices through Advent as it awaits theChristmas season.

Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia

Gather around the Advent wreathto pray with family, friendsAdvent: Week 2 — Dec. 9

The following Advent wreath prayer is intended to help busyhouseholds make Advent a prayerful time during the rush ofChristmas preparations. The language is fairly simple, to be usedby groups of adults or adults with children, and options arenoted to allow for participation by a variety of members of thehousehold.

Leader: Today begins the second week of the season of Advent.In order to help each of us prepare our own hearts for the birth ofChrist, we take these few moments each week to pray together.

! Light the first two candles on the Advent wreath.

! (optional) Read aloud Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11;Luke 3:1-6.

Leader: No matter how desperate things get, our faith teachesthat if we keep trusting in God and live a life guided by justice,mercy, peace – and especially love – God will keep his promise tous. In the Bible passages for this second week of Advent we areagain encouraged to be better people. John the Baptist reminds usthat we’d better work seriously to make straight our own pathsand to clean up the wastelands in our own lives. Here’s a challenge to each and every one of us: What one thing will we dodifferently this week to be a better follower of Jesus?

Closing prayer:

Leader may read all, or others in the household may eachread a segment.

! Father in heaven, this second week of Advent, help us seeclearly the times when we have sinned. Accept our sorrow forhaving pulled away from you, and give us firm resolve to stayclose to you.

! God above, help us conduct ourselves in holiness. We long tobe the people you expect us to be. Help us as we strive to makeour souls blameless and at peace.

! Help us, Lord, to remember that we were baptized for a reason. Help us realize our baptismal call to live as a child of God.

! And, dear God, don’t let us miss chances this week to be welcoming to other people and to work in harmony with everyone. Help us as we try to change our ways so that we aregood examples of people who love and follow the Lord.

CNS photo/Lisa A. Johnston


ADVENT • 2012

TwentySomething

ChristinaCapecchi

Advent and the art of anticipationTwenty-five years ago Hallmark in-

troduced a simple device that rev-olutionized the mechanics of gift

giving: a paper bag attached to twohandles.

The gift bag freed us from tape andscissors, from sizing and snippingand folding. It enabled us to shop onthe run, to pick up present and pack-age in one quick stop — en route tothe party, even.

With its cheery polka dots andbold hues, the gift bag won us over,becoming the norm and often thesole present carrier at birthday partiesand bridal showers. It’s sleek, modernand eminently recyclable, makingthe rounds from closet to closet,across neighborhoods and throughextended families, sometimes return-ing to the original buyer.

Yet, I can’t help but wonder ifsomething’s lost with this added con-venience. Back before the gift bag,presents had personality. Aunt Kathywrapped everything in the funnypages. Grandma tied her packages inred yarn. You could trace a person’sfingerprints on the gift she had pre-pared. For a moment, you paused totake it in, to tilt your head and be-hold.

The guessing was inevitable, if pri-vate — turning the gift, gauging itsdimensions — and then, delight in

destruction. Let the paper fall whereit may. Childhood revisited.

Wrapped with loveThere’s something about receiving

an artfully wrapped gift that makesyou feel special — beauty that wasassembled just for you. And nothinglooks better beneath a Fraser fir thanwrapped presents, a wide base lead-ing up to that pointed star.

So I decided to ditch my gift bagsand take up the dying art of presentwrapping. I play Bing Crosby orwatch some made-for-TV holiday ro-mance involving a widower and anangel, a small town and a Christmas-

morn kiss. Then I set to work creasingmy foil gift wrap, fanning a wide,wire-rimmed ribbon and adding a tagand topper — pinecones or a cran-berry strand, a glittery reindeer or aglass ornament. I think of the recipi-ent as I wrap and I relish the details:an emerging theme, coordinatingcolors, signing the tag in loopy cur-sive. Then I tuck it away.

For me, it’s a way to sink into Ad-vent, that hushed, holy season muf-fled by big business. Advent remindsus how to wait and wonder, a giftwe’ve never needed more. It rebuildsour muscle memory of the times weused stamps and landlines and

phone books, when we snapped pic-tures we couldn’t see right away andwrote articles we couldn’t publishwith a click. It brings an instructivenostalgia, especially for young adultswhose lives have been rewired alongfaster circuits.

Opening doors of hopePope Benedict XVI invites us to re-

discover Advent every December. Myfavorite reflection came in his 1986book “Seek That Which Is Above.”In it he wrote, “It is the beautiful taskof Advent to awaken in all of usmemories of goodness and thus toopen doors of hope.”

What more could you ask of anyseason than to awaken memories ofgoodness, of loving parents and sim-pler times, of childlike hope in thenewborn King and a world that isnothing but open doors?

Advent empties us out, clearingroom on our counters and in ourminds, teaching us how to delay andto believe, calling us to lose ourselvesin thought of others. We slip gifts be-low the tree and seek that which isabove.

Christina Capecchi is a freelancewriter from Inver Grove Heights. Shecan be reached at WWW.READ-CHRISTINA.COM.

There’ssomethingaboutreceiving anartfullywrapped giftthat makesyou feelspecial

Stock Photo

“God looked at everything he had made,and found it very good.”

Genesis 1:31

This Catholic LifeDECEMBER 6, 2012 Opinion, feedback and points to ponder THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 15

Scientific evidence points to created universe, Jesuit saysBy Peter Finney Jr.Catholic News Service

Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer — a philosopher, account-ant, former university president and leadership consult-ant — always has had a fascination with the intersectionof faith and reason.

He’s smart enough to have debated physicist StephenHawking, an avowed atheist, on national television over

the scientific underpinnings of thebeginning of the universe and thetheological arguments for the exis-tence of God.

In a recent address in New Orleans,Father Spitzer said the exciting newsfor the new evangelization beingcalled for by Pope Benedict XVI isthe recent discoveries in “space-timegeometry,” prompting eminentphysicists to assert the cosmos hadto have a beginning and thus had to

have a creator.On the occasion of Hawking’s 70th birthday in January,

physicist Alexander Vilenkin, director of the Institute ofCosmology at Tufts University, read a paper asserting justthat. Science journalist Lisa Grossman, writing in NewScientist, pithily described Vilenkin’s presentation as “theworst birthday present ever.”

If the rate of expansion of the universe is greater thanzero — something virtually all physicists agree on — “atthe end of the day we will reach an absolute beginningpoint prior to which the universe and multiverse (a com-bination of universes) were nothing,” said Father Spitzer,founder and president of the Spitzer Center for EthicalLeadership in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“Physical reality itself was nothing, and the one thingwe know about nothing is that it’s nothing,” he said,eliciting laughter from his audience at the annual dinnerof the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of NewOrleans.

“The second thing we know about nothing is thatnothing can only do nothing, and if the only thing noth-ing can do is nothing, then the whole of physical reality,configured as universe or multiverse, was nothing. Itcould never have moved itself to something by itself, be-cause the only thing that it could do when it was nothingis nothing.”

The scientific evidence points only toward a createduniverse, he said.

“There is something else, and that something else hasto transcend the universe and be powerful enough to lit-erally create it,” he continued.

“And then, as you begin to investigate the cosmologicalconstants, the initial conditions of the universe and mul-tiverse, and when you look at the fine-tuning paradoxesthat virtually every physicist, including Stephen Hawking,has admitted, then that creator is not just transcendentand powerful but really, really smart.”

Why this is important, Father Spitzer said, is that itgives Catholics another reason to evangelize a culturethat is mired in materialism and “its loss of the sense ofeternal dignity.”

Father Spitzer said when he teaches college students,someone usually poses the question about the existenceof God and whether we really know “that Jesus walkedand talked upon this earth.”

“And then the rest of the classroom goes, ‘Yeah, do wereally know?’” said Father Spitzer, who retired in 2009 aspresident of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

“The answer is, ‘Yes, I think we do know,’” he said.“What’s my point? This contemporary approach is givento us almost as a gift from God. Alexander Vilenkin saysin the final part of his essay that a good argument willconvince a reasonable man and that a proof will convinceeven an unreasonable one. Well, now that the proof isin place, cosmologists cannot even hide behind the pos-sibility of a past eternal universe. They must confrontthe reality.”

Pointing to GodAll this allows us to answer “our kids’ questions” about

the evidence for God. Father Spitzer said even recentstudies about near-death experiences point to God.

Dr. Eben Alexander, a Harvard-trained neurosurgeon,wrote about his experiences after being in a coma forseven days with his cortex completely shut down.

“He was clinically dead and he was monitored thewhole time and he actually had these experiences,” FatherSpitzer said. “He could show definitively there was nophysical activity that produced it. There are really goodstudies taking place in multiple hospitals that give evi-dence that human beings survive bodily death, that wehave a soul that literally leaves the body.”

This is riveting evidence that God exists and is movingin the world, and Father Spitzer said, “it’s a chance forre-evangelization.”

“But then it comes right back to the resurrection of Je-sus Christ, the resurrection into glory, into unconditionallove,” he said.

“We do have to make it contemporary. But as we pointand point again, our eternal destiny becomes clearer andclearer even in the midst of the darkness of secularism. Itfalls upon us, as church, to move once again to beginthe process of re-evangelization, of healing the cultureand of reminding everyone that they are transcendent.You are not simply molecules and atoms.”

Father Spitzer, who also is founder and chairman ofthe Magis Center of Reason and Faith in Irvine, Calif.,said the early church transformed the Roman Empire bypreaching the Resurrection, the intrinsic and eternal dig-nity of every human being, love as the greatest com-mandment and the redemptive view of suffering.

“We are grounded in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spiritis with us,” Father Spitzer said. “Human beings are tran-scendent and destined for eternal destiny and dignity.We must evangelize it.”

FATHER SPITZER

“Our eternal destiny becomesclearer and clearer even in themidst of the darkness ofsecularism. It falls upon us, aschurch, to move once again tobegin the process of re-evangelization, of healingthe culture and of remindingeveryone that they aretranscendent. You are notsimply molecules and atoms.”

JESUIT FATHER ROBERT SPITZER

“Our eternal destiny becomesclearer and clearer even in themidst of the darkness ofsecularism. It falls upon us, aschurch, to move once again tobegin the process of re-evangelization, of healingthe culture and of remindingeveryone that they aretranscendent. You are notsimply molecules and atoms.”

JESUIT FATHER ROBERT SPITZER

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • DECEMBER 6, 2012 Commentary / This Catholic Life16

From orphan to archbishop: thanks to religious womenThe following column is reprinted

from the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops’ blog.

Throughout the United States onthe weekend of Dec. 8-9 theChurch will take up the 25th an-

nual collection for the retired reli-gious.

I have a special fondness for all re-ligious because I deeply appreciatethe sacrifices that they have made inorder to serve God’s people in ourcountry.

My father died when I was 6 yearsof age. My older brothers were awayin the military service in Septemberof 1945. I was home alone with mywidowed mother. On the day afterLabor Day I woke up to begin myseventh grade at St. Columba Schoolin Schenectady, N.Y.

That morning is very clear in mymemory. I found my mother dead.What was supposed to have been theday beginning seventh grade was aday in which funeral preparationswere made for my mother’s burial. Iwill never forget that painful experi-ence.

However, when I went back toschool on the following Monday

there was a beautiful Sister of St.Joseph, Sister William Edmund. Herfamily name was Mary Rose Eagan.She received me warmly and shep-herded me through that seventhgrade.

I often wonder how I would havemade it without her tender caring.She demonstrated this in so manyways — in asking me question aboutwhat I did after school, helping mewith various projects and keeping meoccupied as well as she could. Shewas and is in my memory of grati-tude to this very day.

Then, as I went on to high schoolthe superior of that school wasMother Maris Stella. I remember shewas principal of the high school andthe grade school and superior of theconvent with about 16 nuns in it.

On a Friday afternoon when Iwould be leaving school, she would

call me and tell me to be at the con-vent on the following morning at 9.She wanted me to have a New YorkState Regent’s Diploma when I grad-uated from high school, and shespent her Saturday mornings, inwhich she could have been involvedin many other pursuits, going overformer Regent’s examinations so thatI would be acquainted with themwhen I would face the examinationthe following June.

She was outstanding in her gen-erosity and I think of that generosityto this day.

Opportunity to helpI’ve always been fond of religious

brothers and sisters. I would be lessthan honest if I did not say that myexperience was solely with the sistersand my heart wells up with gratitudewhen I think of them.

I have observed the Church in the

United States. It is a healthy Church.Our U.S. Church has 77 million peo-ple. I have thought, and thought of-ten, as to where the Church wouldbe if it were not for the women reli-gious and the men religious.

The women religious taught inschools all over our country. Theyministered in hospitals. They performthe works of charity. They were theface of the Church in so many dif-ferent areas as were the brothers.Where would the Church be in theUnited States without them?

Now we have the opportunity tohelp them in their need. They do nothave the numbers coming into thereligious life to support the elderlywho need care. They worked forsmall stipends, and any other surplusincome was reinvested in commu-nity ministries.

As a result, they need our help nowand they need it badly. It is my hopeand prayer that American Catholicswill show their gratitude to thesevaliant religious by being generousin this great collection.

Archbishop Harry J. Flynn is arch-bishop emeritus of St. Paul and Min-neapolis.

Opportunity to deepen faith, take action on Immigration SundayStatewide Immigration Sunday

Minnesota is being held again onthe Feast of the Epiphany of Our

Lord, which is Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013.This year’s observance is significantconsidering that 2013 may be one ofthe best opportunities for compre-hensive immigration reform in morethan a decade.

In 2009, the bishops of Minnesotainaugurated Immigration Sunday toencourage Catholics to reflect on ourresponsibility to welcome migrantsand undocumented workers into ourcommunities, and to educate our-selves about enacting comprehensivereform of our nation’s immigrationlaws that protects human dignity andthe well-being of immigrant families.

In other words, we are presentedwith a two-fold challenge of faith andaction: to first better recognize that“the reality of human solidarity,which is a benefit for us, also imposesa duty” (“Caritas in Veritate,” 43);and then, to ask ourselves how we,as individuals called to faithful citi-zenship, can be part of fixing thiscountry’s broken immigration systemin 2013.

Pilgrimage of faith, hopeThe right of people to migrate is

listed as a fundamental human rightin the Second Vatican Council’s Con-stitution “Gaudium et Spes” (no. 65).However, it is a right often exercisedout of necessity, not choice. It oftenbegins in poverty, fear or trauma —typically due to persecution or vio-lence.

As Pope Benedict XVI noted in hismessage for the 99th World Day ofMigrants and Refugees, “Migrations:pilgrimage of faith and hope,” mi-grants have no choice but to acceptthrough faith that they will “en-

counter acceptance, solidarity andhelp, that they will meet people whosympathize with the distress andtragedy experienced by others, rec-ognize the values and resources thelatter have to offer, and are open tosharing humanly and materially withthe needy and the disadvantaged.”

The enormity of this need requiresthat we look beyond the many char-itable services that the Church offersto migrants and refugees to some-thing deeper. In his message, His Ho-liness urges us to “promote real inte-gration in a society where all areactive members and responsible forone another’s welfare, generously of-fering a creative contribution andrightfully sharing in the same rightsand duties.”

This task is particularly importantas we celebrate the Year of Faith. Thepope notes that “[h]uman promotiongoes side by side with spiritual com-munion, which opens the way ‘to anauthentic and renewed conversionto the Lord, the only Savior of theworld.’ The Church always offers aprevious gift when she guides peopleto an encounter with Christ, whichopens the way to a stable and trust-worthy hope” (“Migrations: pilgrim-age of faith and hope,” 2013).

Through better understanding thespiritual goods of our faith, theChurch has promoted, and oftenopened new paths for, the develop-ment of temporal goods. Socio-eco-nomic problems can be resolved onlywith the help of all forms of solidarity— between rich and poor, among na-tions and people (Catechism of theCatholic Church, 1941-2). ThroughGod’s grace, spiritual communionwith our immigrant brothers and sis-ters can help us better understandauthentic Christian solidarity.

2013 immigration reformWhile solidarity with immigrants

begins through spiritual commun-ion, it is manifested by our public ac-tions — from charitable services topublic advocacy. And, the nation’sbishops are hopeful that comprehen-sive immigration reform could moveforward in 2013.

In light of the significant bipartisansupport for immigration reformemerging after this past election sea-son, the chairman of the U.S. Con-ference of Catholic Bishops’ Com-mittee on Migration, Archbishop JoséGomez, issued a statement calling forthe newly elected Congress to enactbipartisan comprehensive immigra-tion reform. For this to happen,Catholics will need to make ourvoices heard on this issue.

As one commentator recently de-scribed it, the current U.S. immigra-tion system is a “Frankenstein” of in-tervening fixes that are “internallyinconsistent, impractical to admin-ister and impossible to navigaterules” that hurt employers, workers,and families, here and abroad.

The Church’s public advocacy typ-ically involves articulating the prin-

ciples upon which sound public pol-icy is based. In some instances, theChurch will advocate for particularpieces of legislation or work to enactlegislation with certain key elements.The bishops believe any comprehen-sive immigration reform packageshould recognize these principles:

! Persons have the right to seekeconomic opportunities in theirhomeland; conditions ought to besuch that persons can work and sup-port their families in dignity andsafety;

! Persons have the right to migrateto support themselves and their fam-ilies when they are unable to findwork and therefore are unable to sup-port their families at home;

! Sovereign nations have a rightto protect and control their bordersfor the common good;

! Refugees and asylum seekersshould be afforded protection; and

! The human rights and humandignity of all persons, including un-documented immigrants, should berespected.

We encourage you to read or re-read the full immigration statementfrom the bishops of Minnesota tobetter understand the Church’steaching on immigration. It can befound on the MNCC.ORG “Immigra-tion Sunday MN” webpage.

Then, join MCC’s Catholic Advo-cacy Network (MNCC.ORG) for updateson how to take action. It is vital thatwe communicate to our congres-sional representatives that compre-hensive immigration reform isneeded immediately.

Jessica Zittlow is communicationsassociate with the Minnesota Cath -olic Conference.

Read moreabout thecollection for retiredreligious on page 3

“My heart wells up with gratitude when Ithink of them.”

ARCHBISHOP HARRY FLYNN

Faith in the

Public ArenaJessica Zittlow

CommentaryArchbishop

Harry J. Flynn

The nation’sbishops arehopeful thatimmigrationreform could moveforward in2013

‘Facing the Screen Dilemma’ helps navigate ‘media-saturated’ cultureEvery time you ask a question about what’s on TV,

you’re doing the right thing. You are becoming moremedia literate.

It’s perfectly fine to ask questions about the pervasiveinfluence of commercials, the content of programming,and the seductive spell cast by the glow of the flat screen(or tube, if you’ve got an old-enough set that still works).

The task becomes a critical one forparents as they grind their teeth inanxiety over making TV their chil-dren’s electronic baby sitter. Or mak-ing the computer the sitter. Or thevideo game.

A new online guide, produced jointly by the Campaignfor a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Alliance forChildhood in collaboration with an organization calledTRUCE — short for Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Chil-dren’s Entertainment — helps clarify the issues for par-ents, and grandparents, too.

Called “Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young Children,Technology and Early Education,” the 27-page guide asksand addresses the questions about “screen time” thatparents find difficult to frame, let alone resolve.

“Based on mounting evidence, we are worried aboutthe harm done to children’s health, development andlearning in today’s media-saturated, commercially drivenculture,” says the foreword to “Facing the ScreenDilemma.”

The evidence, all duly footnoted, is daunting on itsface. “Exposure to media violence is linked to aggression,desensitization to violence and lack of empathy for vic-tims. Media violence is also associated with poor schoolperformance,” the guide says.

“For preschoolers, watching just 20 minutes of a fast-paced cartoon show has been shown to have a negativeimpact on executive function skills, including attention,the ability to delay gratification, self-regulation, and prob-lem solving,” it adds. “Extensive screen time is linked toa host of problems for children including childhood obe-sity, sleep disturbance and learning, attention, and socialproblems.”

But it doesn’t stop — or start — there. “On any givenday, 29 percent of babies under the age of 1 are watching

TV and videos for an average of about 90 minutes,” notesthe guide. “Little is known about the amount of timechildren under 2 currently spend with smartphones andtablets, but in 2011 there were 3 million downloads justof Fisher Price apps for infants and toddlers.”

Even so, the guide asks, “how do we best support chil-dren’s growth, development and learning in a world rad-ically changed by technology?”

The answer is not necessarily what you think. “Screensalso take time away from children’s interactions withcaring adults,” says “Facing the Screen Dilemma.” “Evenwhen parents co-view television or videos with children,they spend less time engaged in other activities withtheir children.”

And for educators clamoring for “smartboards” to takethe place of the chalkboard, and parents hoping to thrustan iPad into every first-grader’s hands, the guide hassome startling news.

“There is no evidence to support the popular view —heavily promoted by companies that sell electronic media— that children must start early if they are to succeed inthe digital age. And as smartphones and other new tech-nologies become less expensive, more and more veryyoung children are already spending too much time withthem at home,” it said.

Developing other skillsThe use, or overuse, of screens at home has led educa-

tors to find out the hard way that many children new tothe school environment have little if any experience atplain old tinkering. Even the basic motor skills neededto use a pair of scissors have to be taught because chil-dren’s hands have been used only to manipulate videogame and smartphone controls at home.

While there will always be a place in the world for ul-tra-rich computer geeks like Bill Gates and the late SteveJobs — neither of whom, the guide points out, cameinto contact with a computer until they were age 12 —there are additional kinds of learning to take place atschool than computer skills.

These include “physical skills, social-emotional learn-ing, the cognitive development that stems from activeexploration and problem solving in a child’s own physicalenvironment, oral language skills, and the creative useof a wide variety of play objects. These take time and of-ten some adult support if they are to develop fully.”

The full guide can be found online at HTTP://COMMERCIALFREECHILDHOOD.ORG/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/FACINGTHESCREENDILEMMA.PDF.

Mark Pattison is media editor for Catholic News Serv-ice.

This Catholic Life / Commentary DECEMBER 6, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 17

Start an apostolate? Insight from a guy who didH ave you ever wondered whether

you should quit your job andstart an apostolate serving God

full time? A good friend of mine ac-tually did that.

Dale Ahlquist was working as a lob-byist for the National Airspace Coali-tion in the early 1990s, honing theskills he would need to launch theAmerican Chesterton Society in 1997.

After having worked as a projectmanager in real estate development,Ahlquist went to work for the NAC,heading up an effort to limit thegrowth of military airspace over pri-vate property.

“That experience helped me tolearn about the operation of a non-profit organization,” explainedAhlquist from his home in Bloom-ington. “I also traveled all over thecountry and spoke to groups, organ-izing people into local coalitions.This would prove to be great trainingfor the ACS.”

Persuasive writerAt the same time, Ahlquist was de-

veloping an affinity for G.K. Chester-ton, the British writer who authoredthousands of essays and several booksduring his life, which spanned from1874 to 1936.

Ahlquist was so enamored withChesterton’s work that he beganinviting friends to get together for

monthly meetings to talk about it.Ahlquist, who grew up Baptist, felthimself called to the Catholic Churchbecause of Chesterton’s persuasivewriting; Chesterton himself con-verted to Catholicism in 1922.Ahlquist and his family were ac-cepted into the Catholic Church onthe Feast of the Holy Family, the Sun-day after Christmas, in 1997.

In February 2001, when he and hiswife Laura were on a marriage retreat,Dale felt a calling to turn his love forChesterton into a full-time aposto-late. They had no savings and Laurawas pregnant. “Well, let’s give it atry,” Laura said.

I have always believed that one ofthe most important things an entre-preneur needs to be successful is asupportive spouse. With Laura’s cau-tious endorsement, Dale quit hiswork for the NAC and devoted him-self exclusively to the ACS. Lauraworked for the organization, too, asdid their oldest daughter, Ashley.

Eighteen months prior, Ahlquisthad appeared on Marcus Grodi’s“Journey Home” EWTN televisionshow. Ahlquist talked about Chester-ton’s conversion and how it led tohis own conversion. The producerwas so intrigued by Ahlquist’s pres-entation that he offered him his owntelevision series. “The Apostle ofCommon Sense” began running on

EWTN in 2001. A woman in Chicago saw one of

those first-year shows and immedi-ately contacted Ahlquist.

“She said she was so glad to see aTV show about G.K. Chesterton,”Ahlquist explained. “She said she hadbeen influenced to become a stay-at-home mom because of what she readfrom Chesterton. She said shewanted to do something to help us.”

Shortly thereafter, Ahlquist and theACS received a $30,000 donationfrom the woman. Ahlquist said thatif there had been any doubt aboutventuring into the ACS full time,those doubts were dispelled by thesizable gift.

Changing livesToday, with thousands of members

around the world, the ACS puts on a major annual conference in addi-tion to hosting numerous localevents. ACS continues to produce itstelevision show and publish a maga-zine.

When he’s not traveling to talkabout Chesterton to university stu-dents and other audiences, Ahlquistis writing. He has written countlessessays in addition to three books onChesterton, including the just-re-leased “The Complete Thinker: TheMarvelous Mind of G.K. Chesterton.”

Ahlquist said the ACS has nevermade a lot of money but that Godhas provided for him and his family.More important, he has seen manypeople come to the faith or grow intheir faith as a result of reading G.K.Chesterton.

So if someone feels called to startan apostolate, should they?

“When people ask me that ques-tion, I tell them what I did,” Ahlquistsaid. “To most people an act of faithseems like a big risk. But what usuallyhappens is that God gives us a pas-sion to do something, and thenblesses us when we actually do it.”

Contact the author at WWW.TOMBENGTSON.COM.

In an act of faith, Dale Ahlquistlaunched theAmericanChestertonSociety in1997, and hehas beenreapingblessingsever since

Faith and the

WorkplaceTom Bengtson

DALE AHLQUIST

GuestColumn

Mark Pattison

What do you think?Do you agree with the conclusions of “Facing the

Screen Dilemma”? Do you think the guideexaggerates the concerns about television and otherelectronic screen time? How do you navigate theissue of media technology in your home?

Send your responses to The Catholic Spirit by emailto CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM. ORG or to The Catholic Spirit,244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. Please includeyour name, city, parish and daytime telephonenumber at which you can be reached if we havequestions. We will print a selection of responses onlineand in a future issue of The Catholic Spirit.

The Lesson Plan18 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Reflections on faith and spirituality DECEMBER 6, 2012

“Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;put on forever the splendor of glory from God.”

Baruch 5:1

Daily ScripturesSunday, Dec. 9 Second Sunday of Advent Baruch 5:1-9Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 Luke 3:1-6

Monday, Dec. 10 Isaiah 35:1-10Luke 5:17-26

Tuesday, Dec. 11 St. Damasus I, popeIsaiah 40:1-11Matthew 18:12-14

Wednesday, Dec. 12 Our Lady of GuadalupeZechariah 2:14-17Luke 1:26-38

Thursday, Dec. 13 St. Lucy, virgin and martyrIsaiah 41:13-20Matthew 11:11-15

Friday, Dec. 14 St. John of the Cross, priest anddoctor of the ChurchIsaiah 48:17-19Matthew 11:16-19

Saturday, Dec. 15 Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11Matthew 17:10-13

Sunday, Dec. 16 Third Sunday of AdventZephaniah 3:14-18aPhilippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18

When sharing the faith, keep it simple and joyful, pope saysBy Carol GlatzCatholic News Service

In a world of hardened hearts and titillating distrac-tions, Christians need to keep the Gospel message simpleand live what they teach with love and joy, Pope BenedictXVI said.

The best place to start is with one’sown family, he said, learning tospend time together, listening andunderstanding one another, and “be-ing a sign for each other of God’smerciful love.”

During his weekly general audi-ence Nov. 28, the pope spoke aboutthe challenge of communicating thesaving truth of Jesus to today’s menand women whose hearts are “oftenclosed” and whose minds are “some-times distracted by the glitz andglam” of the material world.

In his catechesis to some 5,000 pil-grims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul

VI hall, the pope said “it’s necessary to recover simplicity,to return to the essentials.”

The first condition to establish is that people can legit-imately talk about God because God himself speaks tohumanity, the pope said.

“The first condition for talking about God is, therefore,listening to what God himself has said to us,” he said.

“God is not a distant hypothesis about the origin of

the world” and he isn’t an abstract form of “mathematicalintelligence,” rather he is real and “is concerned aboutus and loves us,” the pope said.

In Jesus, people can see the face of God, who descendedfrom heaven to be with humanity, “to teach us the art ofliving, the road to happiness, to liberate us from sin andmake us children of God,” he said.

“Jesus came to save us, showing us the good life of theGospels.”

Another essential condition for communicating thefaith is to put Christ on center stage, not oneself, he said.

When St. Paul, for example, shared the faith, he didn’tespouse a philosophy he developed or ideas he dreamedup, but rather stuck to the real presence of God in hislife.

The apostle “didn’t talk about himself; he didn’t wantto create a fan club or lead some school of thought,” but wanted to lead people directly to Christ, the popesaid.

This is the style individual Christians and their com-munities are called to follow: “to show the transformativeaction of the grace of God, overcoming individualism,narrowness, egoism and indifference, and living God’slove in daily interactions,” he said.

Christians need to look at how Christ communicated.He spoke about God and his kingdom showing “completecompassion for the distress and difficulties of human ex-istence,” the pope said.

Jesus communicated by continually “bending down

to mankind in order to lead them to God.”The way Jesus lived and what he preached “are en-

twined” and this style is “essential for us Christians andour way of living the faith in charity.”

It demonstrates credibility and “that what we say isnot just words, but reflects reality,” the pope said.

For that reason, Christians need to be aware of the“the potential, desires and obstacles in current culture,especially the desire for authenticity, the yearning forthe transcendent and concern for safeguarding creation.”

That way Christians can “communicate, without fear,the answers that faith in God offers” to people’s needsand today’s challenges.

Starting at homeOne of the best places to start talking about God is in

the family — “the first school for communicating thefaith to new generations,” he said.

Parents need to help their children become aware ofGod’s love, talk about the Christian faith, foster a criticaleye toward the many influences children are exposed toand be prepared to answer children’s questions aboutGod and religion, the pope said.

But above all, he said, communicating the faith mustalways be done with joy — a joy that doesn’t ignore orhide from the pain, difficulties and conflicts of the world,but knows how to respond to them with Christian hope.

“It’s important to help all family members understandthat faith is not a burden, but a source of deep joy,” hesaid.

From theVatican

Pope Benedict XVI

‘Prepare the way of the Lord’ with prayerIn this week’s Gospel, we get a glimpse

of Luke’s literary purpose of tying theinauguration of John the Baptist’s min-

istry to the wider world culture. In today’s terms, imagine if he said

something like this:“In the fourth year ofPresident Obama,when Mark Daytonwas governor of Min-nesota, under theepiscopacy of JohnNienstedt, the wordof the Lord came toJohn the Baptist onthe corner of Snellingand University, ‘Avoice crying out inMinnesota: Preparethe way of the Lord,make straight hispaths.’”

By situating the event within the arenaof world history, Luke heightens the sig-nificance of the Word of God that comesto John.

Additionally, we catch a glimpse ofLuke’s “great reversal” theme that runsthroughout his Gospel.

For example, he places Isaiah 40:3-5 onthe lips of John the Baptist in saying thatwhereas valleys will be “filled,” everymountain and hill shall be made“straight.”

In other words, John announces thatthe coming of the Lord will result in a re-

versal of fortunes in that the humble (val-leys) will be “filled,” while the prideful(mountains) will be made “straight.”

The reader, for his or her part, has beenprepared for this reversal in Mary’s “Mag-nificat,” wherein she says the Lord has“put down the mighty from their thrones,and exalted those of low degree” (Luke1:46).

Finally, we learn from John the Baptistthat “all flesh shall see the salvation ofGod” (Luke 3:6). What Simeon hadprophesied is now coming to fulfillment.For the child coming onto the scene willnot only be the “glory for your people Is-rael,” but also a “light for revelation tothe Gentiles” (Luke 1:32). In John the Bap-tist’s ministry, this “word of salvation”

(Acts 28:28) is slowly beginning to un-fold.

Time with the LordJohn’s proclamation is quite fitting for

us as we “prepare the way of the Lord”this Advent season.

One way we can do this, of course, isby taking some time in the “desert” likeJohn the Baptist in sitting quietly andpraying with the Lord. Without suchprayer, like John, we cannot fulfill whatthe Lord asks of us. In prayer, the Lordcan “lift us up” when we are feeling lowor “bring us down from our thrones”when we are acting prideful.

Second, like John, we can read and en-joy the Sacred Scriptures each day. Johnwas a man deeply immersed in the Wordof God as evidenced by his ease of quotingthe prophet Isaiah.

If you are not familiar with God’s Word,I suggest starting small by picking onebook of the Bible and reading one chapterper day. This can be done either individ-ually or together as a family. In doing so,pray confidently, “Speak, Lord, for yourservant is listening,” so that the word ofGod can come to you just as it did forJohn the Baptist.

Deacon Leonard Andrie is in formationfor the priesthood at St. Paul Seminaryfor the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Min-neapolis. His home parish is St. Patrick inInver Grove Heights, and his teachingparish is St. Odilia in Shoreview.

SundayScriptures

DeaconLeonard Andrie

ReadingsSunday, Dec. 9Second Sundayof Advent! Baruch 5:1-9! Philippians

1:4-6, 8-11! Luke 3:1-6

ReflectionReview the readings for this Sunday’sMass. What sentence or phrasestands out and speaks to you?


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MP3 players with spiritual material reach thousands of soldiersBy Chelsea WeikartCatholic News Service

American troops have a strong presence around theglobe, serving in 75 percent of the world’s countries, yet“one soldier told me they are starving for spiritual sup-port,” said Cheri Lomonte, founder of Frontline Faith.

The Catholic nonprofit organization gives MP3 playersloaded with the Mass, stories and prayers to active-dutymembers of the military.

In the two years since its founding, Frontline Faith hasdistributed 30,000 MP3 players. The organization startedwith Lomonte, a Catholic radio host from Austin, Texas,creating a Catholic MP3 player with recordings of Mass,prayers, Scripture readings and words of encouragementto members of the military.

Although the first two years of the organizationbrought in enough donations to cover the orders, theyare left with a shortage of donation money and 1,500 re-quests for players they can’t fill.

Need still exists“Americans think the war is over because they see pic-

tures of troops coming home,” Lomonte told CatholicNews Service in a telephone interview. “What peopledon’t realize is there are still 60,000 troops in Afghanistanand there are more troops going out in December.”

Lomonte came up with the MP3 idea after learningthat soldiers can go months without access to a militarychaplain. The aim of the player was to be a supplementto Scripture readings in response to a lack of Catholicchaplains.

Last February, at the request of a Methodist pastor, aProtestant version of the MP3 player was recorded anddistributed.

The players cost $24 each and are specifically for ac-tive-duty military, those preparing to deploy and thosein military hospitals. The website wWW.FRONTLINEFAITHPROJECT.ORG lists ways to help with the project, including

how to follow it on Facebook, how to connect a parishto the effort and how to donate money to support it.

Father Phil Mahalic, an Army chaplain with the rankof colonel, distributes the Frontline players to troops be-fore they deploy and overseas when they attend Mass.He told CNS in a recent telephone interview that thereare 326 slots for Catholic priests to serve as military chap-lains, but only 89 of those are filled.

Because of an overall shortage of priests and diocesesbeing reluctant to release priests they need to serve inthe military as chaplains, soldiers are left with infrequentvisits from chaplains. Lomonte said some soldiers gomonths without seeing a chaplain, let alone a Catholicchaplain.

“The MP3 players are an educational tool and a spiri-tual motivator,” said Father Mahalic. One new tool is aseries of videos called “Faith in the Crosshairs,” writtenand hosted by Father Mahalic, which can be accessedonline for free.

Father Mahalic, a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette,Ind., said the players are an important evangelizationtool. “They are one more step in the right direction, itgives them moral and spiritual support they need,” headded.

Priests released by dioceses to be chaplains serve theU.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, which providespastoral care to Catholics in all branches of the military,their families and those at Veterans Affairs hospitals na-tionwide.

New Evangelization begins with personal encounter with Jesus

CNS photo / Shamil Zhumatov, Reuters

A girl gestures to a U.S. soldier on patrol in the town ofSenjaray in the Kandahar province of southern Afghan -istan in this photo from last June. The Catholic organiza-tion Frontline Faith gives MP3 players loaded with theMass, stories and prayers to active-duty members of themilitary.


The first stage focused on right-sizing our resources so as to have the capacity toembark upon the task of having our parishes be more dynamic communities of faith,hope and love.

But this second stage, the stage we are entering now, involves a program called Re-discover: — which calls all of us to re-evaluate the meaning that our Catholic faithhas in our lives.

There are several components to our plan:1) Rediscovering the place of daily prayer, especially “lectio divina,” in our lives;2) Rediscovering a more dynamic engagement with the Sunday Eucharist;3) Rediscovering our need for the sacrament of penance/reconciliation for the for-

giveness of our sins;4) Rediscovering a three or 10-minute testimony of why one is Catholic, a testimony

that one can share with others;5) Rediscovering our exercise of the corporal works of mercy;6) Rediscovering a new enthusiasm for ecumenical dialogue;7) Rediscovering the communal dimension of our Catholic journey in the faith

through the special archdiocesan events that have been planned for this year.

Encounter with JesusAs Pope Benedict XVI has said so frequently, the New Evangelization begins with

an intimate personal encounter with the Lord Jesus and results in a compellingwitness to his Gospel that responds to a changing social and cultural environment.

Ultimately, we must rediscover Jesus, so that we may rediscover, or perhaps discoverfor the first time, the joy and peace we are called to share with the world.

Please join me in praying for the success of Rediscover:, aimed as it is at a more dy-namic, engaged local Church of faith, hope and love.

God bless you!

Archbishop’s schedule ———————————————————CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

! Thursday, Dec 13: 9:30 a.m., Mendota Heights, St. Thomas Academy: School visitwith campus ministry class.

3:30 p.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: High tea with 2012 Winter Carnivalroyalty.

! Sunday, Dec. 16: 10 a.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Sunday Liturgy andinstallation of rector of Cathedral.

4 p.m., St. Paul, Town and Country Club: St. Thomas Academy board of trustees’Christmas reception.

! Monday, Dec. 17: 11 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: USCCB Doctrine Committeepreparation.

5 p.m., St. Paul, Jesuit Novitiate: Holy Eucharist and dinner with Jesuit novices andstaff.

! Tuesday, Dec. 18: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Staff meeting. 10:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Council meeting. 11:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Advent open house for priests.6:30 p.m., Edina, Medina Golf and Country Club: Ave Maria Academy dinner with

Raymond Cardinal Burke. ! Wednesday, Dec. 19: 11 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Catholic Spirit interview

regarding Rediscover: program.3 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Catholic Cemeteries board meeting. ! Thursday, Dec. 20: 3 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archdiocesan Finance Council

meeting.! Friday, Dec. 21: noon, St. Paul, Town and Country Golf Club: Archdiocesan staff

Christmas luncheon.7 p.m., Buffalo, Christ the King Retreat Center: Retreat for men interested in the

priesthood.

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT CLASSIFIED ADS CAN TURN YOUR UNWANTED ITEMS INTO CASHCall The Catholic Spirit at 651-291-4444

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TournamentDec. 27, 28, 29

University of St. ThomasAnderson Athletic andRecreational Complex

“A Sistine Chapel could be lost. And once it’s gone, it’s gone forever and thatwould be a loss. The world would be more impoverished.”

Father Mark Haydu, international director of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums,which financially supports preservation and restoration of the Museums’ collection

Arts & Culture20 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Exploring our church and our world DECEMBER 6, 2012

Nativity story’s significancecontinues to unfold today,Pope Benedict writesCatholic News Service

The Nativity story, like the whole story of Christ, isnot merely an event in the past, but has unfolding sig-nificance for people today, with implications for such is-sues as the limits of political power and the purpose ofhuman freedom, Pope Benedict writes in his third andfinal volume on the life and teach-ings of Jesus.

“Jesus of Nazareth: The InfancyNarratives” is only 132 pages long,yet it includes wide-ranging reflec-tions on such matters as the signif-icance of the virgin birth and thedistinctive views of nature in an-cient pagan and Judeo-Christiancultures.

The book was published in Eng-lish and eight other languages in50 countries Nov. 21.

In the book, Pope Benedict examines Jesus’ birth andchildhood as recounted in the Gospels of Sts. Matthewand Luke. His interpretation of the biblical texts refersfrequently to the work of other scholars and draws on avariety of academic fields, including linguistics, politicalscience, art history and the history of science.

The book’s publication completes the three-volume“Jesus of Nazareth” series, which also includes “From theBaptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration” (2007) and“Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to theResurrection” (2011).

Real historyJesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman,

said that the three books are the “fruit of a long innerjourney” by Joseph Ratzinger, whose personal views theyrepresent. While much of what the pope says is acceptedCatholic dogma, the texts themselves are not part of thechurch’s Magisterium and their arguments are free to bedisputed, Father Lombardi said.

In his new book, the pope argues that Matthew andLuke, in their Gospel accounts, set out to “write history,real history that had actually happened, admittedly in-terpreted and understood in the context of the word ofGod.”

The pope calls the virgin birth and the resurrection“cornerstones” of Christian faith, since they show Godacting directly and decisively in the material world.

“These two moments are a scandal to the modernspirit,” which expects and allows God to act only inideas, thoughts and the spiritual world, not the material,he writes. Yet it is not illogical or irrational to supposethat God possesses creative powers and power over mat-ter, otherwise “then he is simply not God.”

The pope enriches the Gospel accounts with personalreflections as well as questions and challenges for hisreaders.

For example, considering the angel’s appearance to theshepherds, who then “went with haste” to meet the childSavior, the pope asked “How many Christians make hastetoday, where the things of God are concerned?”

Pope Benedict examines the political context of thetime of Jesus’ birth, which featured both the so-called“Pax Romana” — the widespread peace brought by theRoman ruler Caesar Augustus — and King Herod’s thirstfor power, which led to the slaughter of the innocents.

“Pax Christi is not necessarily opposed to Pax Augusti,”

PLEASE TURN TO POPE ON PAGE 24

Local chapter of Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums supports therestoration and care of valuable artifactsBy Susan KlemondFor The Catholic Spirit

The Church has a preferential option for the poor,but its Vatican Museums also seek to be a cultural ex-tension of the Gospel to show God’s love and theChurch’s interest in everyone — functions that seem to

be resonating as museum atten-dance is up even during the eco-nomic downturn, according to Le-gionaries of Christ Father MarkHaydu, international director of thePatrons of the Arts in the VaticanMuseums (PAVM), which finan-cially supports preservation andrestoration of the Museums’ collec-tion.

“You almost notice that peopleare more interested in timeless, eter-nal things in the midst of the fluc-

tuating and uncertainty of today’s economy and poli-tics,” said Father Haydu, who was in the Twin Cities lastweek to meet with the Minnesota/North Dakota PAVMchapter.

Along with 22 other chapters in the U.S. and Europe,members of the Minnesota/North Dakota chapter havebeen part of the Museums’ cultural extension of theGospel through support for the restoration and care ofa growing body of art and artifacts, including the chap-ter’s latest project: a fifth-century monastery excavatedin recent years near one of the Church’s major basilicasin Rome, said Johan van Parys, the chapter’s board chairand director of liturgy and sacred arts at the Basilica ofSt. Mary in Minneapolis.

“The collection is so enormous that to keep up thepreservation it’s a very, very expensive endeavor and itreally needs to be done,” he said. “That is why we havecommitted ourselves to helping with that task.”

Founded as the first public museum in 1503 by PopeJulius II, the Museums continue to make a broad rangeof works, including many donated to the popes andthe Church, available to visitors from around the world.

Among only a handful of museums that regularly at-tract more than 5 million visitors, the 12 Vatican Mu-

seums located within the Vatican walls also lend manyobjects to traveling exhibitions, such as the “VaticanSplendors” exhibit that came to the Twin Cities fouryears ago.

Because of the huge number of artworks and artifacts,some dating to the 10th century before Christ, there isalways need for restoration and Museum sales coveronly daily operation, Father Haydu said. The VaticanMuseums has in-house restorers and seven restorationlabs for different types of objects, he said.

“They’re material objects deteriorating over time andthose beautiful objects, those inspiring objects can belost,” he said. “A Sistine Chapel could be lost. And onceit’s gone, it’s gone forever and that would be a tragedy.The world would be more impoverished.”

As the need for restoration grows, the PAVM also isgrowing. The Minnesota chapter was founded in 2000,and its 70 members include Catholic and non-Catholics,van Parys said, adding that new chapters are formingin other parts of the country.

New projectsChoosing from a “wish book” of needed restorations

the Museums compile each year, the chapter has fundedprojects ranging from a 17th-century papal chasuble toa hammer used to verify a pope’s death to gilded sculp-tures of the apostles, several of which were included inthe “Vatican Splendors” exhibit. More recently, thechapter has funded restoration of contemporary paint-ings, including Gaetano Previati’s “Stations of the Cross”and works by Bernard Buffet.

While some chapters choose to fund renaissanceworks for which sponsorship may be easier to find, theMinnesota chapter has sponsored preservation of lesswell-known work, van Parys said.

The chapter’s newest $1.3 million project is to helpmake an excavated monastery near the St. Paul Outsidethe Walls basilica accessible to visitors, van Parys said.

“Right now you can look down on the excavation,but the plan is to build walkways within it so thatpeople can get a much more up-close look at what hasbeen excavated,” he said.

While he encourages benefactors to support localcauses, Father Haydu appreciates that they also recog-nize the Museums’ importance to humanity.

For more about the Patrons of the Arts in the VaticanMuseums, visit WWW.VATICANARTPATRONS.ORG/INDEX.HTML.

At a VaticanMuseums restorationlaboratory, masterconservatorFrancesca Persegatti,left, explainsrestoration of apainting by BernardBuffet toMinnesota/NorthDakota members ofthe Patrons of the Artsin the VaticanMuseums: Johan vanParys, center, SarahHargrove and NatalieJoly.Photo courtesy of Vatican Museums

FATHER HAYDU

Helping to preserve world’s great artwork

Calendar DECEMBER 6, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT 21

Parishevents

‘LaNatividad’ presented by the Heartof the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatreat the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis— December 8: 2 p.m. at 88 N. 17th St.

Songs from the Heart: French andScandinavian songs for voice andstring quartet at St. Olaf, Minneapolis— December 8: 1:30 p.m. at 215 S.Eighth St. Free admission.

The St. Paul Vocal Forum performs,‘Reflecting Mary: A Choral Midrash’ atSt. Peter, North St. Paul — December8: 7 p.m. at 2600 Margaret St. Free ad-mission. Donations of hats and mittenswill be accepted for the Mary HallSupportive Housing Program.

St. Anthony of Padua Women’s GuildChristmas craft and bake sale atCatholic Eldercare, Minneapolis —December 8 and 9: 2 to 7 p.m. Satur-day and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m Sunday at817 N.E. Main St.

Annual French Christmas Market atOur Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis —December 8 and 9: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundayat 1 Lourdes Place. Features Frenchmeat pies to eat while shopping or totake home, items from Paris, Catholicstore and more.

St. Bridget/ St. Austin arts and craftsboutique at the St. Austin campus,Minneapolis — December 8 and 9: 3to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1p.m. Sunday at 41st and Thomas Av-enue N. Features handcrafted itemssuch as scarves, mittens, doll clothesand more.

CCW craft and bake sale at St. Timo-thy, Maple Lake — December 8 and9:9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 8a.m. to noon Sunday at 8 Oak Ave. N.

Land of Lakes Boys Choir Christmasconcert and silent auction at St.Katharine Drexel, Ramsey — Decem-ber 9: Doors open at 5 p.m., concertat 6 p.m. at 7101 143rd Ave. N.W.Suite G. Free will offering. A desert re-ception will follow.

Men’s retreat: ‘The Year of Faith: To theSource of Revelation’ at ImmaculateConception, Lonsdale — December15: 6:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at 116 Ala-bama St. S.E. Presenter is FatherThomas McCabe. Sponsored by theKnights of Columbus, ImmaculateConception Round Table. Call theParish Office (507) 744-2829 or [email protected] to sign up for the re-treat by December 13. Free willoffering.

Christmas concert featuring parishchoirs at St. Michael, Prior Lake — De-cember 15 and 16: 7:30 p.m. Saturdayand 3 p.m. Sunday at 16311 DuluthAve. S.E. Reception to follow.

Christmas Bake Sale at St. Matthew,St. Paul — December 15 and 16: 11a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.to 1 p.m. Sunday at 500 Hall Ave.Christmas cookies, sweet breads, fruit-cake, candy and other holiday treats.Sponsored by the Rosary Society/CCW.

‘Star of Wonder’ A holiday concert atGuardian Angels, Oakdale — De-cember 16: 7 p.m. at 8260 Fourth St.N. Features Ensemble Aventura. Pro-

ceeds benefit Hope For the JourneyFamily Shelter. Free will offering. Re-ception will follow.

Prayer/liturgies

Sant’Egidio Community EveningPrayer at St. Richard, Richfield —every Thursday: 7 p.m. at 7540 PennAve. S. Legion of Mary prayers in front ofPlanned Parenthood, St. Paul — EveryFriday: 3 p.m. at the corner of Van-dalia and Charles. For information,call (651) 439-9098.

Knights of Columbus traveling rosaryat St. Bernard, St. Paul — December 9:2 p.m. at 187 W. Geranium.

Knights of Columbus traveling rosaryat Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — De-cember 16: 2 p.m. at Stanford Ave.and Prior Ave. S.

All night vigil with the Blessed Sacra-ment at Our Lady of Guadalupe, St.Paul — December 7 and 8: 7 p.m. Fri-day to 8 a.m. Saturday at 401 Con-cord St.

National Night of Prayer for Life at St.Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings — De-cember 8 and 9: 9 p.m. Saturday to1 a.m. Sunday at 2035 15th St. W. Forinformation, visit WWW.SEASPARISH.ORG.National Night of Prayer for Life at st.Mark, St.Paul — December 8 and 9: 9p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday at2001 Dayton Ave.Ecumenical Taizé prayer service at St.John Neumann, Eagan — December11: 6:30 p.m. at 4030 Pilot Knob Road.Includes 40 to 45 minutes of music,scripture, intercessory prayer andsilent meditation.

Healing Mass at Holy Name of Jesus,Wayzata — December 14: Rosary at6:30 p.m. and Mass at 7 p.m. at 155County Road 24. Father Jim Livingstonwill be the celebrant.

Advent‘Advent Taizé prayer service at St.Richard, Richfield — December 7:7:30 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S. For in-formation, visit WWW.STRICHARDS.COM.

Advent Evening Prayer at St. Cecilia,St. Paul — December 9: 7 p.m. at 2357Bayless Place. Features cantors, choir,

instrumentalists and a reception.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing: The Musicof Mary, Mother of the Church at Mary,Mother of the Church, Burnsville — De-cember 9: 2 p.m. at 3333 Cliff Road.Free admission. A CD of Christmas andAdvent music will be on sale for $20that features the Living Spirit, Exulta-tion!, The Children's Choir, the BellChoir, and Women's Ensemble.

Advent Lessons and Carols at St.Mark, St. Paul — December 9: 4 p.m.at 2001 Dayton Ave. Features theadult and children’s choirs. Dinner willfollow, cost is $5 for adults and $3 forchildren.

Advent vespers with the Sisters of St.Joseph and Consociates at St.Catherine University chapel, St. Paul— December 9: 4:30 p.m. at 2004Randolph Ave. A quiet hour forprayer, song and reflection. All arewelcome. For information, call (651)696-2805.

Cathedral Choristers Advent concertat the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul —December 16: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 239Selby Ave. Concert features morethan 100 singers performing BenjaminBritten’s Ceremony of Carols. Free willoffering, suggested donation is $15.

Advent vespers with the Sisters of St.Joseph and Consociates at St.Catherine University chapel, St. Paul— December 16: 4:30 p.m. at 2004Randolph Ave. A quiet hour forprayer, song and reflection. All arewelcome. For information, call (651)696-2805.

Diningout

Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall,Bloomington — Every Friday: 5 to 9p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Cost is$10.95. Call (952) 888-1492 for reserva-tions.

Chicken and rib dinner at Knights ofColumbus Hall, Bloomington — EveryWednesday: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 Amer-ican Blvd. Cost is $10.95. Call (952)888-1492 for reservations.

KC waffle and pancake breakfastwith Santa at Knights Events Center,Shakopee — December 9: 8 a.m. tonoon at 1760 Fourth Ave. E. Cost is $8for adults and $5 for ages 4 to 12.

KC shrimp and steak dinner at KnightsEvents Center, Shakopee — Decem-

ber 14: 5 to 8 p.m. at 1760 Fourth Ave.E. Cost is $12 for shrimp or steak and$15 for both. Children’s meal avail-able for $3.

Pancake breakfast at ImmaculateConception, Columbia Heights — De-cember 16: 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. at 4030Jackson St. N.E. Free will offering.

KC benefit breakfast at Knights ofColumbus Hall, Stillwater — Decem-ber 16: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1910 S.Greeley St. Cost is $7 for adults and $4for children 12 and under.

KC lumberjack breakfast at Mary,Queen of Peace, Rogers — Decem-ber 16: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 21304Church Ave. Free will offering.

Santa breakfast at St. Mary, St. Paul —December 16: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 261E. Eighth St. Cost is $6 for adults and $4for children.

SinglesSunday Spirits walking group for 50-plus Catholic singles — ongoing Sun-days: For Catholic singles to meetand make friends. The group usuallymeets in St. Paul on Sunday after-noons. For information, call Judy at(763) 221-3040 or Al at (651) 482-0406.

Singles group at St. Vincent de Paul,Brooklyn Park — ongoing second Sat-urday each month: 6 :15 p.m. at 910093rd Ave. N. Gather for a potluck sup-per, conversation and games. For in-formation, call (763) 425-0412.

50-plus Second Sunday Supper eventat St. Joan of Arc, Minneapolis — De-cember 9: 5 p.m. social hour, 6 p.m.dinner and 7 pm entertainment — theRoe Family Singers, local old time stringband, return for our annual Christmasgathering and sing along. 4537 ThirdAve. S. Cost is $10. Call (952) 884-5165or visit WWW.SECOND-SUNDAY.ORG.

Otherevents

St. Catherine University Women'sChoir and String Chamber Orchestracandlelight Christmas concert at St.Catherine University, St. Paul — De-cember 8: 8 p.m. in Our Lady of Vic-tory Chapel at 2004 Randolph Ave.The St. Catherine University Women’sChoir and String Chamber Orchestrawill present Gloria in Excelsis.

KC Bingo at Mary, Queen of Peace,Rogers — December 9: 2 p.m. at21304 Church Ave. Cost is $7 for onecard, $12 for two and $15 for three.Snacks and beverages available.

Schoolevents

Annual Advent candlelighting cere-mony for former students of Our Ladyof Peace School at William MitchellCollege of Law Auditorium, St. Paul —December 8: 2 p.m. at 875 SummitAve. There will also be a celebrationof the 50th anniversary of the class of1962. Bring a $5 donation for ex-penses and a treat to share.

CalendarSubmissionsDEADLINE:NoonThursday,seven daysbefore theanticipatedThursday dateof publication.Recurring orongoingevents mustbe submittedeach timethey occur.

LISTINGS:Accepted arebrief no tices ofupcomingevents hostedby Catholicparishes andinstitutions. Ifthe Catholicconnection isnot clear,pleaseemphasize itin your pressrelease.

ITEMS MUSTINCLUDE thefollowing tobe consideredfor publicationin the calendar:• Time and

date ofevent.

• Full streetaddressof event.

• Descriptionof event.

• Contactinformationin case ofquestions.

E-MAIL:[email protected].(No attachments,please.)

FAX:(651) 291-4460.

MAIL:“Calendar,”The CatholicSpirit, 244 DaytonAve., St. Paul, MN55102.

Hill-Murray presents ‘White Christmas’‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical’ will be presented at

Hill-Murray School in MaplewoodDec. 6 to 16.

A classic-style musical based onthe beloved, timeless film, thisheartwarming musical adaptationfeatures 17 Irving Berlin songsincluding Blue Skies, Sisters, Snow,and the perennial favorite, WhiteChristmas.

Performances are: Dec. 6 at 7:30p.m., Dec. 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 9 and 16 at 2 p.m.

Hill-Murray School is located at 2625 Larpenteur Ave. E. Forinformation and to order tickets, visit WWW.HILL-MURRAYTHEATRE.ORG.

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By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

The Vatican is offering a new app that provides livestreaming of papal events and video feeds from the Vat-ican’s six webcams.

“The Pope App” also will send out alerts and links totop stories coming out of the Vatican’s news outlets, saidGustavo Entrala, founder and CEO of the Spanish firm101.es, which developed the free app.

“You’ll have almost everything that the pope does orsays” delivered to a mobile device and app users “will beable to watch the pope live every time he speaks,” he toldreporters during a Dec. 3 news conference at the Vatican.

The app should be available Dec. 10 for iPhone and iPadwhile an Android version is due out in January, he said.

Most people only get to watch the pope live during thesatellite broadcasts of Christmas and Easter events at theVatican, he said.

“And I was wondering, ‘What if the pope could be ableto reach our hands, the hands of every single person inthe world’” who has access to a mobile device or smart-phone, he said.

“We’ll have everything the pope says directly broadcastto your phone,” for example, his Sunday Angelus,Wednesday general audience talks and other importantevents, he said.

Users also can browse through the latest photos of thepope as well as search archived media, and all the linkswill be shareable online, he added.

The Vatican started offering live streaming online ofpapal events on its Silverlight video player and through

its news portal, news.va, in 2011.The new “Pope App” will alert users when an event is

about to begin and the mobile device will receive the livefeed directly from the Vatican Television Center, he said.

The app also will give users views from any one of theVatican’s six live webcams. Two webcams are located onthe dome of St. Peter’s Basilica: one looking at St. Peter’sSquare and, another at the Vatican governor’s office. An-other is situated high on the colonnade around St. Peter’sSquare looking at the basilica and papal apartments. Oneis directed at Blessed John Paul II’s tomb in St. Peter’sBasilica, another is high on the Vatican hill pointing to-ward the dome of the basilica and the last is aimed at thegardens of the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo.

Entrala’s communications company also is designinga new e-book on the Year of Faith that will be releasednext year.

Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the PontificalCouncil for Social Communications, said the Vatican hasalready sent out requests to every bishops’ conference inthe world asking them to send his office texts, docu-ments, photos, videos and even music tied to “localevents celebrating the Year of Faith.”

The first volume of the e-book will be dedicated to thepope’s contribution to the special year — all his talks andother events, he said.

Then there will be one volume for each of five conti-nents containing multimedia materials showing how theYear of Faith was celebrated and lived out locally.

When the Year of Faith ends Nov. 24, 2013, “we canhave the richest, largest collection possible of these cele-brations,” the archbishop said.

Students at closing school to get help finding new school


become St. Francis-St. James United School, with bothhaving operated independently just blocks apart priorto that. St. Francis opened in 1884, St. James in 1913.The two parishes merged in January 2011 under thearchdiocese’s strategic plan.

With more than six months before the end of theschool year, Rappé and the Office of Catholic Schoolswill be working to help place the students in otherCatholic schools.

Leaders of nearby Catholic schools — including St.Peter Claver, Holy Spirit, Highland Catholic, St.Thomas More, and Community of Saints, all of whichare within roughly a 10-minute drive of St. Francis-St.James — will be coming to the school Dec. 11 to talkwith parents and give them information about cur-riculum, tuition and financial aid availability.

“I’m confident if we have families that found aCatholic school they want to go to, we’ll do everythingpossible to help get them the funding to go to thatschool,” Rappé said.

Acker said one important funding source is theLegacy Grant, which the archdiocese uses to help stu-dents and families in financial need attend urbanCatholic schools.

Archbishop Nienstedt also has asked the Office ofCatholic Schools to work with teachers and staff at St.Francis-St. James United School to assist them in find-ing employment in other Catholic schools.

Vatican webcam feeds streamed live with new 'Pope App'


All Saints, LakevilleSt. Paul, Ham Lake Sacred Heart, RobbinsdaleSt. John Vianney, South St. Paul St. Mark, St. Paul St. Thomas More, St. Paul Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul St. Ambrose, Woodbury St. Francis Xavier, BuffaloImmaculate Heart of Mary, MinnetonkaSt. Michael, Prior LakeSt. Mark, ShakopeeSt. Timothy, BlaineOur Lady of the Prairie, Belle PlaineSt. Charles, BayportSt. Patrick, FaribaultSt. Mary, BellechesterSt. Joseph, MiesvilleSt. Dominic, NorthfieldRisen Savior, BurnsvilleSacred Heart, Rush CitySt. Patrick, St. Paul Holy Spirit, St. Paul Corpus Christi, Roseville St. Pius X, White Bear Lake St. Michael, West St. Paul St. Ignatius, Annandale St. Hubert, ChanhassenSt. Luke, Clearwater St. John the Evangelist, HopkinsSt. John the Baptist, JordanSt. Timothy, Maple Lake

Mary, Mother of the Church, Burnsville St. Bartholomew, WayzataSt. Joseph the Worker, Maple GroveSt. Albert the Great, Minneapolis Ascension, Minneapolis St. Charles Borromeo, St. AnthonyNativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

Bloomington Immaculate Conception, Columbia HeightsSt. Margaret Mary, Golden ValleyOur Lady of Grace, Edina St. Patrick, Edina Immaculate Conception, Madison Lake St. Andrew, Elysian Divine Mercy, FaribaultMary, Queen of Peace, RogersSt. Cecilia, St. Paul Maternity of the Blessed Virgin, St. Paul St. Catherine, JordanOur Lady of the Lake, MoundAssumption, RichfieldSt. Raphael, CrystalSt. Henry, Le CenterSt. Patrick, Oak GroveSt. Mary, Hampton St. Mathias, HamptonSt. Genevieve, Centerville St. Michael, Stillwater St. John the Baptist, VermillionSt. Nicholas, Elko New MarketSt. John, St. Paul St. Rose of Lima, Roseville

St. Joseph, West St. Paul St. Peter, MendotaSt. Mary of Czestochowa, DelanoSt. Thomas the Apostle, CorcoranSt. John the Baptist, Savage Holy Rosary, Minneapolis Our Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis St. Peter, RichfieldGood Shepherd, Golden Valley St. Mary of the Lake, Plymouth St. Mary, Le CenterSt. Pius V, Cannon FallsSt. Rita, Cottage Grove St. Francis of Assisi, LakelandSt. Joseph, RosemountSt. Francis Xavier, Taylors FallsCathedral of St. Paul, St. PaulSt. Francis De Sales, St. Paul St. Adalbert, St. Paul St. Jerome, MaplewoodSt. Nicholas, CarverAll Saints, Minneapolis St. Anthony of Padua, Minneapolis Holy Family, St. Louis ParkSt. Michael, Pine IslandSt. Paul, ZumbrotaSt. Elizabeth Ann Seton, HastingsAscension, Norwood Young AmericaSt. Anne-St. Joseph Hien, MinneapolisSt. Casimir, St. PaulSt. Katharine Drexel, RamseySt. Louis, King of France, St. Paul

St. John the Baptist, HugoSt. Boniface, St. BonifaciusSt. Odilia, ShoreviewSt. Anne, HamelSt. Helena, MinneapolisOur Lady of Victory, MinneapolisOur Lady of Mount Carmel, MinneapolisSt. Bridget of Sweden, LindstromSt. Patrick, JordanSt. Mary of the Lake, White Bear LakeSacred Heart, St. PaulSt. Stephen, AnokaSt. Albert, AlbertvilleSt. Michael, St. MichaelSt. Mary, StillwaterSt. Agatha, RosemountSt. Joseph, Taylors FallsHoly Trinity, WatervilleSt. Michael, KenyonSt. John the Baptist, DaytonLumen Christi, St. PaulSt. Agnes, St. PaulSt. John the Evangelist, Little CanadaNativity of Mary, ClevelandSt. Stephen, Minneapolis

The CSA has now reached more than$9.4 million in pledges and gifts. If you wouldlike to make a pledge/gift to the CSA,please go to WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/APPEAL todonate online; or if you have questions,contact the Development and StewardshipOffice at (651) 290-1610.

Parishes exceeding Catholic Services Appeal goal now at 127

With @Pontifex, pope reaches out to new kind of followersBy Carol GlatzCatholic News Service

To celebrate the launch of hisnew Twitter account, Pope Bene-dict XVI will tweet the answersto a handful of questions fromhis Twitter followers.

The pope’s rare question-and-answer exchange on the socialmedia site shows the churchdoesn’t just want to teach thetruth, but also wants to listen toothers, said Archbishop ClaudioCelli, president of the PontificalCouncil for Social Communica-tions.

The archbishop and other Vat-ican officials spoke at a newsconference Dec. 3 to reveal thepope’s new Twitter account@PONTIFEX.

Building bridgesStarting Dec. 12, the feast of

Our Lady of Guadalupe, thepope will send messages in eightlanguages, including Arabic,from eight different Twitter ac-counts. @PONTIFEX is the Englishfeed while the other language accounts use an extensionof the main handle. For example, the Spanish feed is@PONTIFEX_ES.

The handle “Pontifex” was chosen because it means“pope and bridge builder,” said Greg Burke, media adviserfor the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. The name suggests“reaching out” and bringing unity not just of Catholics“but all men and women of good will,” he said.

Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the communicationscouncil, said the pontifex name also “refers to the officemore than the person,” that is, it highlights the leader ofthe church and the Catholic faithful.

A more practical consideration was that numerous per-mutations of the name Pope Benedict XVI were alreadytaken by other people not affiliated with the pope,whereas the handle “Pontifex” was available.

Using a handle that wasn’t already taken meant theVatican didn’t have to “go around and get people to va-cate the space,” the monsignor said.

The pope’s first tweets from the new accounts will beresponses to four or five questions about the Catholic

faith sent to the pope on Twitter via the hashtag #ASKPON-TIFEX, he said.

The very first question came in during the news con-ference announcing the initiative. It was in Spanish andasked: “What is the core of the message of the Gospeland how can we help to share it?” he said.

While it’s expected people will send questions that areoff-topic — like one asking who will win an upcomingsports match — only questions dealing with the Catholicfaith will get serious consideration, said Burke.

The pope will personally send the inaugural tweetsaround noon Dec. 12 at the end of his general audience.

The Q&A exchange will be offered just that one time,and the rest of the papal news feeds will be excerpts fromhis general audience talks, Angelus addresses or otherimportant speeches, Burke said.

Each tweet will be crafted by a Vatican official and thepope will review and approve each one before it is sentfrom the Vatican Secretariat of State’s offices, he said.

The papal tweets will be posted with some regularitybut won’t be too frequent given the time constraints ofthe pope and that each tweet needs his approval, Msgr.

Tighe said.Even though he won’t be

physically sending the tweets,the messages “are pearls of wis-dom coming from the heart ofthe pope’s teaching and comingfrom his own mind and ideas,”he said.

To avoid making people feelleft out or underappreciated fornot being followed by the pope,the pope’s accounts won’t followanyone else on Twitter, exceptthe other @PONTIFEX language ac-counts, Burke said.

The pope’s presence isn’t toamass a fan club, but to encour-age all the other Catholics whoare present and active online,Msgr. Tighe said. Even thoughthe pope won’t be using the siteto retweet, follow others or com-ment, his presence is meant to“encourage them to engage indebate and discussion” withtheir fans and followers.

The Vatican isn’t afraid of thelikelihood of insults or criticismbeing aimed at the pope on

Twitter, both Burke and Msgr. Tighe said.“It’s a free market of ideas and that’s good,” said Burke.The monsignor added it would be worse to have kept

the pope out of the Twittersphere out of fear of engage-ment and then to leave that space “vacant.”

‘Through the roof’Claire Diaz-Ortiz, manager of social innovation for

Twitter, told Catholic News Service that before the ac-count was made public, @PONTIFEX had 11 followers.Within an hour of its unveiling, it had more than 14,000followers, she said, which was “a pretty great feat” con-sidering the figure snowballed from the Tweets of thepontifical council, Vatican Radio and fewer than 100 re-porters at the Vatican news conference.

Diaz-Ortiz said she works with “high profile” religiousleaders and started helping the Vatican in the spring of2012 expand its presence by opening a papal account.

“The thing we see with religion and what makes it sointeresting,” she said, “is that their engagement levelsare really through the roof.”

CNS / Vatican

This is a screen capture of Pope Benedict XVI’s newly created Twitter account. The pope will begin tweet-ing Dec. 12 using the handle @Pontifex.

Sacred Heart in Robbinsdalecelebrated its 100th anniversary bycompleting a building project that adds

a new gatheringspace and connectsthree buildings – thechurch, school andactitivies building.

The 14,000-squarefeet of new spacewas dedicated after

the 10 a.m. Mass Dec. 2 by Bishop LeePiché.

The project also featured the additionof school offices, four new classroomsand an elevator to make the spacehandicapped accessible.

Total cost of the project is $2.5million, with $1.8 million raised so farthrough the parish campaign, calledFocus on Facilities.

Eagles win football title,BA, Holy Family second

Totino-Grace High School in Fridleywon its second consecutive statefootball championship overThanksgiving weekend.

The Eagles trounced Owatonna 49-21Nov. 24 to capture the Class 5A title andfinish the season undefeated at 13-0.

They defeated Apple Valley 42-14 inthe quarterfinals and Bemidji 23-0 inthe semifinals.

Two other Catholic high schools alsoplayed in state championship games.

In Class A, Bethelehem Academy inFaribault was edged by Mahnomen 20-14, finishing with a record of 11-3.

In Class 4A, Holy Family High Schoolin Victoria was defeated by Hutchinson67-7, and finished with a record of 10-4.

“Work is a prayer. And I start off every morningdedicating it to our Creator.”

Dr. Joseph Murray, the Catholic surgeon who conductedthe world's first organ transplant, who died Nov. 26

Overheard24 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT Quotes from this week’s newsmakers DECEMBER 6, 2012

News Notes

The Catholic Spirit

“Many Lebanese families havewelcomed Syrian families intotheir own homes. They’re notrelatives, they’re just people inneed, and they’ve beenwelcomed. But the welcome iswearing thin.”

— Hessen Sayah, project manager forSyrian refugees for Caritas Lebanon,the local church’s charitable agency,on the flood of refugees fleeing toLebanon to escape Syria’s civil war

“You are called to give witness tothe values that are part of yourtradition: love for the family,tenderness toward children,attention to those with disabilities,care for the sick and the valuingof the aged with their wealth ofexperience.”

— Pope Benedict XVI, speaking Dec. 1to an estimated 8,000 performers andcarnival workers gathered at theVatican as part of a pilgrimagesponsored by Pontifical Council forMigrants and Travelers

“It’s a good message for youngkids saying you can do what youcan set your mind to. Helping theenvironment is one of the waysthat can help change the world.”

— Fourteen-year-old Catholic highschool student Ashley Cortes, one ofthe 10 artists who recorded volumeone of “Pacha’s Pajamas,” a cartoonabout protecting the environment

Pope welcomes ‘people of the traveling show’

CNS photo / Paul Haring

Pope Benedict XVI pets a lion cub during an audience with circus performers and music bands in the Paul VI hall at the VaticanDec. 1. The Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers sponsored a “people of the traveling show” pilgrimage to the Vaticanas part of its Year of Faith activities. The pilgrimage participants, who came from 15 countries, met the pope after paradingdown the main boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square and watching a short performance by jugglers, clowns and acrobatsin the Vatican audience hall.

Sacred Heart connects buildingsby adding new gathering space

Pope writes about human freedomCONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

he writes. “Yet the peace of Christ sur-passes the peace of Augustus as heavensurpasses earth.”

The political realm has “its own sphereof competence and responsibility;” itoversteps those bounds when it “claimsdivine status and divine attributes” andmakes promises it cannot deliver.

The other extreme comes with formsof religious persecution when rulers “tol-erate no other kingdom but their own,”he writes.

Any sign God announces “is given notfor a specific political situation, but con-cerns the whole history of humanity,” hewrites.

The pope writes that the Three WiseMen symbolize the purification of sci-ence, philosophy and rationality.

“They represent the inner dynamic ofreligion toward self-transcendence, whichinvolves the search for truth, the searchfor the true God,” the pope writes.

The pope also argues that the star ofBethlehem was a true celestial event.

It “seems to be an established fact,” hewrites, that the conjunction of Jupiterand Saturn happened in 7-6 B.C., which

“as we have seen is now thought likelyto have been when Jesus was born.”

Freedom in obedienceA key topic in the book is the role of

human freedom in God’s divine plan forhumanity.

“The only way [God] can redeem man,who was created free, is by means of afree ‘yes’ to his will,” the pope writes. Itis precisely “the moment of free, humbleyet magnanimous obedience,” such asMary and Joseph showed when listeningto God, “in which the loftiest choice ofhuman freedom is made.”

Jesus, too, in his human freedom, un-derstood he was bound to obedience tohis heavenly father, even at the cost ofhis earthly life.

The missing 12-year-old, rediscoveredby an anxious Mary and Joseph in theTemple, was not there “as a rebel againsthis parents, but precisely as an obedient[son], acting out the same obedience thatleads to the cross and the resurrection,”the pope writes.

Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrectionis a story filled with contradiction, para-dox and mystery, the pope writes, and“remains a sign of contradiction today.”

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The Catholic Spirit - December 6, 2012

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